Three Sundays in the past, the reply to this column’s weekly quiz was Carlos Santana. The query was, “Which player has appeared in the most regular-season games over the past 10 seasons?” and the now-Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman had performed in 1,440 — 13 greater than Paul Goldschmidt and 40 greater than Freddie Freeman and Anthony Rizzo.
Santana professed not to concentrate on the excellence once I talked about it to him earlier this week. He did appear happy to listen to it, and “humbly prideful” is perhaps one of the simplest ways to explain his response.
“I prepare,” stated Santana, who celebrated his thirty seventh birthday yesterday. “I prepare my body. I prepare mentally. I also try to enjoy the game every day. That’s why I can play a lot. The game is my passion. This is my 14th year and I want to play two more. Or maybe three more. Whatever God tells me, and what my body says I can do.”
Count Andrew McCutchen amongst those that are impressed by his teammate’s reliability and sturdiness through the years.
“It’s really good, to be honest,” stated McCutchen, who was likewise unaware of Santana’s distinction. “To be able to do it how he’s done it — he’s in [the lineup] more times than not —shows that he’s stayed healthy, which is a key to doing that. You have to be good enough to do it, too. You’ve got a whole lot of variables to be able to do what he’s done.”
McCutchen has been each bit as sturdy. The 15-year-veteran has performed in 1,902 video games since breaking into the massive leagues in 2009, the second highest complete over that span, behind solely Elvis Andrus (1,955). He is likewise happy with what he’s been capable of accomplish.
“For me to be able to keep doing it, and to still be out there in the outfield… I mean, there aren’t too many 36-year-old outfielders in the game,” stated McCutchen. “To me, it speaks volumes. It’s a little harder for a person my age to be an outfielder — there’s a lot of running around out there — so I definitely don’t take it lightly.”
McCutchen has performed in 150 or extra video games in eight completely different seasons. Santana has performed in 150 or extra in 10 completely different seasons. Both have appeared in all 9 video games the Pirates have performed this 12 months.
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The pitch clock impacts extra than simply the gamers on the sector. It additionally impacts broadcasters, who now have much less time to inform tales, and to in any other case present info, between pitches. That contains giving out-of-town scores. Long a staple of baseball broadcasts, notably on the radio, the observe is turning into much less handy — and it had already grow to be much less mandatory. In at the moment’s world, scores are available with a couple of easy clicks on the smartphone, laptop computer, or pill that you simply’re studying this on.
That stated, do followers nonetheless wish to periodically hear out-of-town scores on a radio broadcast? Based on a Twitter ballot I ran this week, the reply is a particular “yes.” Of the 1,436 individuals who contributed to the ballot, solely 9.9% voted “no.” An overwhelming 90.1% voted within the affirmative.
The handful of broadcasters I queried on the topic shared various views. Some favor to focus solely on the sport they’re calling and solely give out-of-town scores when one thing notable is going on, or if a pennant race is paramount in individuals’s minds. Other imagine that giving out-of-town scores stays a viable, if not invaluable, a part of the published. Based on the ballot outcomes, the latter group is on stable footing with that perception.
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Don Zimmer went 18 for 39 towards Curt Simmons.
George Hendrick went 17 for 33 towards Mark Langston.
Lou Piniella went 10 for 19 towards Tom Timmermann.
Dave Martinez went 7 for 12 towards Mike Maddux.
Kevin Cash went 5 for 8 towards Nate Robertson.
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The Miami Marlins made a pair of nice trades in 2017. In December, they dealt Marcell Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals in trade for Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Magneuris Sierra, and Daniel Castano. Earlier that summer season, they’d acquired Pablo López and three different gamers from the Seattle Mariners in trade for David Phelps.
According to Marc DelPiano, who was Miami’s VP of Player Development on the time, Jim Cuthbert performed a key position in these acquisitions.
“Jim was running the pro [scouting] department for the Marlins,” recalled DelPiano, who’s now an expert scout for the New York Yankees. “He was hunting starter arm actions and deliveries — guys he felt could be one, two and three starters, who could be up-and-comers for the Marlins rotation — and that’s how Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, and Zac Gallen came about. To get those guys… I don’t know if I’ve seen deals like that in my lifetime: three starters that good for David Phelps and Marcel Ozuna in a [few months] time. Those deals came while Michael Hill was the President of Baseball Operations, and really, Jim Cuthbert deserves a lot of the credit.”
Cuthbert is presently scouting for the Kansas City Royals.
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A quiz:
The Minnesota Twins franchise document for hits is held by Sam Rice, who had 2,889 with the Washington Senators from 1915-1933. Which participant has probably the most hits for the reason that franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961?
The reply could be discovered under.
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NEWS NOTES
SABR introduced that White Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti will ship the keynote deal with at this 12 months’s annual conference, which can be held in Chicago from July 5-9. More info could be discovered right here.
Fred Klages, a right-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox in 1966 and 1967, died on March 30 at age 79. A local of Ambridge, Pennsylvania, Klages appeared in 14 video games and went 5-4 with a 3.28 ERA over 60-and-a-third innings. His first strikeout sufferer was Frank “Hondo” Howard, and his first gopher got here off the bat of George “Boomer” Scott.
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The reply to the quiz is Kirby Puckett, with 2,304 hits. Joe Mauer is second with 2,123, adopted by Rod Carew (2,085), Harmon Killebrew (2.024), and Tony Oliva (1,917).
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The concept of getting a catcher arrange down the center has gained a certain quantity of traction. The reasoning is twofold. More strikes can be thrown — lengthy a recipe for fulfillment — and the motion, usually paired with plus velocity, can be sufficient to restrict stable contact. Given the ability arsenals that many pitchers now possess, it is sensible that aggressively attacking the strike zone makes extra sense than trying to dot corners.
Count Chicago Cubs catcher Tucker Barnhart amongst these on board with the technique — albeit solely when a selected phase of hurlers are on the bump.
“Each guy is different; each guy works well with seeing certain things from the catcher behind the plate,” Barnhart replied once I broached the topic throughout spring coaching. “I do know Tampa is large on simply having the catcher sit down the center and letting the motion work. Organizations that I’ve personally been in have perhaps thought a bit bit in another way — or they’ve considered it as a pitcher-to-pitcher factor, a pitcher-to-pitcher mindset — versus an organizational philosophy..
“I do think our young relievers would benefit from that,” continued Barnhart. “There’s not necessarily one guy that comes to mind, but I think a lot of younger guys get to the big leagues and think that they have to pitch on the edges to have success. Quite frankly, that’s not the case. A lot more times than not, it puts them in situations where they get in trouble. That’s why it’s super important for guys to come up and dominate the strike zone. Hitting is hard. When you’re behind in the count, as a hitter, it’s exponentially harder. The one way to make hitting easier is to fall behind.”
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks have every gained 5 of their first six video games. The Hokkaido The Tokyo Yakult Swallows have gained six of their first eight video games and have NPB’s greatest document. The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have misplaced six of their first eight video games and have NPB’s worst document.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has thrown 13 scoreless innings whereas permitting simply 4 hits and a pair of walks over two begins. The 24-year-old Orix Buffaloes right-hander — NPB’s prime pitcher in every of the previous two seasons — is rumored to be coming to MLB subsequent 12 months.
Roki Sasaki allowed two hits over six scoreless innings in his first begin of the season because the Chiba Lotte Marines beat the Nippon Ham Fighters 6-1. The 21-year-old right-hander walked none and fanned 11.
Yuki Matsui turned the youngest participant to document 200 saves in NPB. The 27-year-old Rakuten Eagles southpaw has allowed 399 hits and logged 792 strikeouts in 605-and-third innings.
Masahiro Tanaka recorded his 1,five hundredth NPB strikeout. The Rakuten right-hander had 991 Okay’s in MLB, plus 10 within the minors, giving him 2,507 as an expert.
Erick Fedde has thrown 13 scoreless innings, with 16 strikeouts, over two begins for the KBO’s NC Dinos. The 30-year-old right-hander went 21-33 with a 5.41 ERA for the Washington Nationals from 2017-2022.
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Per Statcast, Drey Jameson has thrown 49 sliders out of 130 complete pitches up to now this season. On the floor. which means the Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander has delivered his most-prevelent pitch 37.7% of the time. Digging deeper — albeit with no numerical breakdown out there — there’s range inside that quantity. As the gifted 25-year-old defined this spring, he throws three completely different sliders.
“It’s about situations and locations,” Jameson instructed me. “If I set my slider up with a fastball down, it’s usually going to be more horizontal, rather than depth-y, so it stays at the bottom of the zone. It’s almost a freeze pitch. I also have the one that’s hard, for 0-2, 1-2, 2-2 [counts], which is my put-away. It’s fastball the whole way, then it dives down. And then there are the ones for a strike. If you hit it, you hit it; I’m not walking you.”
Along with the depth with which he delivers the pitch, the location of his ring finger on the ball is what differentiates one from the opposite. Depending on the motion he desires, his finger is both — in his phrases — both “tucked more, higher on the ball, or halfway on the ball.”
The reasoning behind throwing three variations?
“The slider is my best pitch,” stated Jameson. “I thought that if I can make my best pitch three different pitches, why wouldn’t I?”
Jameson has made three appearances out of the D-Backs bullpen and is 2-0 with one save and a 2.16 ERA over eight-and-a-third innings.
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FARM NOTES
The Chattanooga Lookouts beat the Rocket City Trash Pandas 7-5 yesterday regardless of being held with no hit. Cincinnati’s Double-A affiliate scored all of its runs within the seventh inning on 5 walks, 4 HBPs, and an error.
Lookouts left-hander Andrew Abbott fanned 11 of the 15 batters he confronted on Thursday. The 23-year-old University of Virginia product is No. 15 on our Cincinnati Reds Top Prospects checklist.
Osleivis Basabe is slashing .393/.393/.607 in 28 plate appearances with the Triple-A Durham Bulls. The 22-year-old infielder is No. 8 on our Tampa Bay Rays Top Prospects checklist.
Maikel Garcia is slashing .400/.543/.640 in 35 plate appearances for the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. The 23-year-old shortstop made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals final 12 months and logged seven hits in 22 at-bats.
Luis Mieses is 7-for-10 with a pair of doubles for the Double-A Birmingham Barons. The 23-year-old outfielder is No. 20 on our Chicago White Sox Top Prospects checklist.
Samuel Basallo is 4-for-10 with a pair of residence runs for the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds. The 18-year-old catcher is No. 14 on our Baltimore Orioles Top Prospects checklist.
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The Cincinnati Reds opened the season by successful two out of three video games towards the Pittsburgh Pirates, a collection by which their starters mixed to fan 23 batters whereas permitting six runs over 15-and-a-third innings. Not surprisingly, the arms are what Derek Shelton cited once I requested him what stood out about his membership’s NL Central rival.
“Their pitching,” the Pittsburgh supervisor instructed me this week in Boston. “The guys we saw are going to be really, really good pitchers. That’s probably about as good of young arms you’re going to see in the game. Yeah. All three are really good. That’s what stood out.”
Hunter Greene (age 23), Nick Lodolo (25), and Graham Ashcraft (25) began for the Reds towards Shelton’s Pirates.
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Many followers of baseball historical past know that Virgil Trucks threw two no-hitters for the Detroit Tigers in 1952, a season by which the right-hander had a document of 5-19. Not as well-known is that he almost had a 3rd no-hitter. On July twenty second of that 12 months, Trucks surrendered a single to the primary batter he confronted — Washington Senators third baseman Eddie Yost — however allowed no hits thereafter. The last rating of all three video games was 1-0.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
Longtime broadcaster Glenn Geffner’s View from the Bleachers gives us with an in depth, inside look at big-league journey, from the planes to the buses to the motels, and extra.
The Score’s Travis Sawchik wrote about how Jeffrey Springs discovered to spin a sweeping slider — a pitch that has jumpstarted what had been an uninspiring profession — after becoming a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.
MLB is testing a brand new “enhanced-grip” baseball within the Double-A Southern League this season. Hannah Keyser shared the specifics at Yahoo Sports.
At MLB.com, the nice Sarah Langs gave us 10 nice stats from the primary week of the 2023 season.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
The Baltimore Orioles lead MLB with 13 stolen bases — they’ve been caught as soon as — whereas the Chicago White Sox are an ideal 9-for-9 in steal makes an attempt. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals have every gone 1-for-4. (Stats by way of Friday.)
The Tampa Bay Rays 18 residence runs, probably the most of any workforce. The Nationals and Chicago Cubs have 4 residence runs, the fewest of any workforce. (Stats by way of Friday.)
St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas has allowed 19 hits and one stroll one stroll in two begins. Miami Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera has allowed two hits and 13 walks in two begins.
Ike Boone had 323 hits, together with 55 residence runs, and a .407 batting common for the Pacific Coast League’s Mission Reds in 1929. A defensively-challenged outfielder, Boone batted .321 with 372 hits in 356 big-league video games, and .370 with 2,311 hits in 1,691 minor-league video games.
Freddie Fitzsimmons hurled 4 shutouts in 1940 whereas going 16-2 for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Five years earlier, he had thrown 4 shutouts whereas going 4-8 with the New York Giants. Fitzsimmons allowed 42 earned runs in every of these seasons.
On at the moment’s date in 1980, Mike Parrott was the successful pitcher on Opening Day because the Seattle Mariners outscored the Toronto Blue Jays 8-6. It was the right-hander’s solely W that 12 months. Parrott went on to complete with a document of 1-16.
The Cleveland Indians traded Sad Sam Jones and Fred Thomas to the Boston Red Sox in trade for Tris Speaker on at the moment’s date in 1916. Speaker went on to slash .386/.470/.502 with a 182 wRC+ in his first Cleveland season.
Players born on at the moment’s date embrace Ryan O’Malley, whose big-league profession comprised two outings for the Chicago Cubs in 2006. The lefty threw eight scoreless innings in a 1-0 win over the Houston Astros in his MLB debut, then allowed three runs over four-and-two-thirds innings towards the Philadelphia Phillies six days later.
Also born on at the moment’s date was Dizzy Sutherland, who appeared in a single recreation and pitched one-plus inning for the Washington Senators in 1949. The southpaw issued six free passes, surrendered two hits and 5 runs, and was tagged with the loss. The St. Louis Browns gained 15-6 in entrance of 1,817 followers at Griffith Stadium.
Luke Easter made his MLB debut at age 34 with the Cleveland Indians in August 1949 — this after taking part in within the Negro Leagues — and proceeded to homer 55 instances whereas driving in 210 runs over the subsequent two seasons. His quick time in Cleveland — his final recreation was in May 1954 — was then adopted by an extended stint within the minor leagues. Playing primarily with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, Easter lastly known as it a profession in 1964 at age 48.
Content Source: blogs.fangraphs.com