Sunday Notes: My Buddy Sam Has an Interesting CBT/Bird Rights Thought

Last Sunday’s column included my opining that Joey Votto ought to retire reasonably than signal with a workforce aside from the Cincinnati Reds, thus making him a one-franchise participant. My pal Sam — a bona fide baseball nerd — learn the column and proceeded to share an attention-grabbing thought once I bumped into him on the espresso store we each frequent. Being of the assumption that gamers sticking with one workforce is an efficient factor — I feel most followers would concur — Sam wonders if tweaking the Competitive Balance Tax in a way that might incentivize groups’ capacity to re-sign their free brokers is perhaps doable. For occasion, if participant X have been to signal a one-year $20M contract with a brand new workforce, your entire quantity would issue into the workforce’s payroll. Conversely, if Player X re-signed along with his outdated workforce, a lesser quantity ($10M?) would depend towards it.

Sam didn’t point out Mookie Betts, however he might effectively have had him in thoughts. With their celebrity outfielder one yr away from free company, and the CBT an acknowledged issue, the Red Sox traded Betts, together with David Price, to the Dodgers, thereby slashing over $40M from their forthcoming 2020 payroll. The deal put them a reported $18M beneath the edge. Whether or not Betts would have opted to re-sign with Boston is one other query, however the CBT clearly performed a job in his departure.

Ben Clemens introduced up basketball’s “Bird Rights” as a parallel once I requested for his ideas on Sam’s concept. As my colleague identified, NBA groups get to exempt hometown stars from the wage cap in some conditions. Of course, MLB doesn’t have a ceiling. Nor does it have a flooring, which additional complicates the problem.

There are admittedly imperfections in Sam’s concept. Most notably, groups just like the Red Sox whose payrolls are close to the luxurious tax threshold could be most straight impacted. Giving them a possibility to re-sign a beautiful free agent and nonetheless stay underneath the edge would drawback smaller market — i.e. lower-payroll — golf equipment who may in any other case ink him to a contract. That stated, how typically would a smaller-market membership, versus a deeper-pocketed one, be signing stated participant? Probably not too typically.

Finding a approach to higher allow smaller-market/decrease payroll groups to retain (ditto receive) gamers is itself an enormous problem, largely as a result of we’re usually speaking about billionaire homeowners who prioritize pocketing cash over spending it. (That’s to not counsel the Dodgers don’t have considerably extra assets than, say, the Guardians or Pirates, however a billionaire is a billionaire.) What baseball actually wants is the aforementioned wage flooring. Might that maintain extra gamers with one workforce longer, versus their primarily being waved goodbye as a result of Scrooge McOwner can’t “afford” them? Regardless, the CBT solely does a lot, and it’s removed from excellent. Baseball’s whole financial system is much from excellent.

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Matt Holliday went 5 for 12 in opposition to Ervin Santana.

Juan Gonzalez went 6 for 7 in opposition to Johan Santana.

Will Clark went 8 for 8 in opposition to Julio Santana.

Danny Santana went 9 for 14 in opposition to Gerrit Cole.

F.P. Santangelo went 9 for 11 in opposition to Frank Castillo.

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The Dodgers opened their coffers to the tune of a reported $1.2 billion in current weeks, signing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamato, and in addition buying and selling for and increasing Tyler Glasnow. With these costly expenditures in thoughts, I ran a Twitter ballot on Friday asking the diploma to which you [the person voting] will root for the Dodgers in 2024 relative to earlier seasons. The three choices have been elevated, decreased, and no totally different.

The outcomes advised that impartial followers aren’t vulnerable to root for… effectively, MLB’s equal of U.S. Steel, be it positioned in New York, Los Angeles, or wherever. Only 18.5% of voters opted for “increased,” whereas 34.3% went for “decreased” and 47.2% settled on “no different.” With the caveat that the best choice was itself impartial, potential bandwagon jumpers have been outpaced by naysayers almost two to at least one.

It was as soon as stated that rooting for the Yankees was like rooting for U.S. Steel, and that decades-old quote appears acceptable immediately — albeit with an impeccable timing twist. In the exact same week that the Dodgers signed the second of their two Japanese imports to a record-setting deal, Nippon Steel reached an settlement to accumulate U.S. Steel.

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A quiz:

Which place (proper subject, middle subject, and left subject counted individually) has accounted for essentially the most MVP awards?

The reply will be discovered beneath.

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NEWS NOTES

C.J. Nitkowski is leaving the Texas Rangers’ broadcast workforce and will likely be serving as the first analyst within the Atlanta Braves tv sales space starting subsequent season. The former big-league left-hander has been in his Rangers position since 2017.

The Chicago Cubs have employed Matt Hinkley as their Arizona-complex pitching coordinator. Hinkley has spent the previous two years as a pitching coordinator at Cressey Sports Performance.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have employed Kyle Driscoll as their minor league pitching coordinator. A Former pitching coordinator at Cressey Sports Performance, Driscoll was a coach with the New York Mets Triple-A affiliate final season.

Larry Miggins, an outfielder who appeared in a single recreation for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1948, and 42 extra in 1952, died earlier this month at age 98. The Bronx native had two big-league residence runs, one every in opposition to Preacher Roe and Warren Spahn.

Ryan Minor, an infielder who performed for the Baltimore Orioles from 1998-2000, and for the Montreal Expos in 2001, misplaced his life to most cancers this week at age 49. The Canton, Ohio native changed Cal Ripken Jr. within the Orioles lineup on September 20, 1998, ending the Iron Man’s file 2,632 consecutive-games-played streak.

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The reply to the quiz is first base, with a complete of 37 MVP seasons. Right fielders are second, with 30 MVP seasons. (Hat tip to MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan, whose November article on the topic was the primary that got here up once I did in search after arising with the quiz query.)

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Left on the cutting-room flooring from my quote-driven characteristic that ran right here at FanGraphs on Wednesday was Craig Breslow’s response to a query concerning the pitching-development program he’s instituting in Boston. I requested the membership’s new Chief Baseball Officer if vertical method angle and deception are being baked into their evaluation course of.

“Vertical approach angle is something we can very comfortably measure,” replied Breslow. “Deception is a little bit more nuanced, but technology is emerging that allows us to account for what we think might contribute to deception [and] to be able to model that and create some quantitative contribution of deception. Intuitively, one way to approach that is, ‘Who are the pitchers who consistently outperform expected outcomes, or underperform expected outcomes?’ You try to drill down into where that’s coming from.”

A couple of of Boston’s more-promising pitching prospects possess plus stuff, however are missing in command. The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey adopted up my query by asking how that every one too widespread shortcoming will be addressed .

“It’s difficult to articulate how you improve command in the same way we can talk out improving velocity or pitch shape,” stated Breslow. “I think command is something that takes more time; it’s something that compounds over time. But from a physical perspective, it’s providing immediate feedback on whether you accomplished a task, whether that’s throwing to a target or to strings. There are also mechanical markers that we’ve identified that are strongly correlated to command, and ensuring that we hit those benchmarks. And then, I think there is a mental component, a willingness to trust and to challenge the strike zone with your stuff.”

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My November 22, 2015 Sunday Notes column included the next:

Yuki Matsui gained’t be coming stateside any time quickly. The left-hander turned 20 years outdated three weeks in the past and he’s solely pitched within the Japanese Pacific League for 2 years. Even so, he’s a reputation value figuring out.

Three extra paragraphs adopted these strains, the final of which cited a scout’s opinion that Matsui would doubtless be a fourth-round decide have been he eligible for the beginner draft.

Eight years later, the now-28-year-old reliever is now a San Diego Padre, having signed a five-year take care of the Friars yesterday. He’ll come to MLB with a formidable résumé. In 10 seasons with NPB’s Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Matsui logged 236 saves and allowed simply 436 hits whereas fanning 860 batters in 659-and-two-thirds innings. A reputation value figuring out certainly.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Takahisa Hayakawa is 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 27 innings for the Australian Baseball League’s Perth Heat, The 25-year-old left-hander went 6-7 with a 3.44 ERA for Rakuten this previous season.

Yuhi Sako allowed two hits and one run over seven innings on Wednesday because the Australian Baseball League’s Canberra Cavalry crushed the Sydney Blue Sox by a depend of 10-1. The 24-year-old native of Japan pitched for the impartial Frontier League’s New Jersey Jackals this summer time.

Miguel Sanó is slashing .225/.346/.405 with two residence runs in 107 plate appearances for the Dominican Winter League’s Estrellas Orientales. The 30-year-old nook infielder final performed professionally with the Minnesota Twins in 2022.

Max Murphy is slashing.279/.380/.570 with 12 residence runs in 208 plate appearances for the Mexican Pacific Winter League’s Mayos de Navojoa. A 31-year-old outfielder who performed within the Minnesota Twins and Arizona Diamondbacks programs from 2014-2019, the Robbinsdale, MN native has spent the final three summers with the American Association’s Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Jeff Kinley is 5-0 with a 2.70 ERA over 53-and-a-third innings for the Mexican Pacific Winter League’s Algodoneros de Guasave. A 31-year-old southpaw from Saginaw, Michigan who pitched within the Miami Marlins system from 2015-2019, Kinley final performed stateside with the Atlantic Association’s Chicago Dogs in 2022.

Adael Amador — the highest prospect within the Colorado Rockies system — is slashing .243/.372/.300 in 86 plate appearances for the Puerto Rican Winter League’s RA12. The 20-year-old shortstop spent most of this season with High-A Spokane.

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Earlier this month, The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter wrote about New England-based sports groups that just about relocated to different cities — in addition to a couple of that really did. His point out of the Boston Braves, who moved to Milwaukee previous to the 1954 season, included a reality I used to be conscious of however had by no means actually put a lot thought into: Henry Aaron debuted that yr, and had he finished so in Boston, each he and Ted Williams would have performed in the identical metropolis on the similar time.

Porter didn’t current this particular situation in his column, however I can’t assist however questioning what might need occurred had the relocation — pushed by financial elements which included attendance points — not occurred when it did. The Braves have been coming off a pair of dropping seasons after they departed Boston, however promptly gained 92 video games after arriving in Milwaukee. Moreover, by the tip of the last decade they’d performed in two World Series, successful one in every of them. The roster on the championship membership included not solely Aaron, but in addition fellow Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn, and Red Schoendienst, in addition to eight-time All-Star Del Crandall.

As for Boston’s different workforce, the Red Sox have been routinely center of the pack throughout this era — regardless of the presence of The Splendid Splinter — and by no means severely contended at a time when the New York Yankees have been dominating the American League. With that in thoughts, suppose a younger celebrity like Aaron had been main a high-quality, Boston-based National League squad whereas the Red Sox have been treading water within the junior circuit? Might the Braves nonetheless be in Boston and the Red Sox elsewhere? Or might the town have continued to assist two groups? If so, for a way lengthy? We’ll by no means know.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

At The International Examiner, Emily Hawks talked to Kerry Yo Nakagawa — the founding father of the Nisei Baseball Project — concerning the little recognized historical past of Japanese baseball.

At Northwest Baseball History, Amanda Lane Cumming introduced us with a tribute to the extra-inning video games of yore, together with a 20-inning affair between the Mariners and Red Sox in 1981 that helped forge her fandom.

DRay Bay’s Elizabeth Storm wrote about Tyler Glasnow’s departure from Tampa Bay.

Royals Review’s Preston Farr feels that Kansas City’s 2024 offense may very well be higher than you assume.

Hall of Fame voter Bill Ballou put checkmarks subsequent to simply two names — Adrian Beltré’s wasn’t one in every of them — on this yr’s poll. He defined his reasoning at The Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

San Diego Padres batters had 1,316 hits and 1,311 strikeouts this previous season. Minnesota Twins batters had 1,336 hits and 1,654 strikeouts.

Minnesota Twins pitchers had 1,560 strikeouts and allowed 1,294 hits. Colorado Rockies pitchers had 1,129 strikeouts and allowed 1,599 hits.

Chase Utley had 1,885 hits, 3,189 whole bases, and 61.6 fWAR.
Robin Ventura had 1,885 hits, 3,133 whole bases, and 56.7 fWAR.

Ken Griffey Jr. had 1,662 runs scored and 1,836 RBIs.
Rafael Palmeiro had 1,663 runs scored and 1,835 RBIs.

Vinny Castilla batted .304 with 40 residence runs, 113 RBIs, and a .548 slugging share in 1996. He batted .304 with 40 residence runs, 113 RBIs, and a .547 slugging share in 1997.

Robin Yount had 21 residence runs, 103 RBIs, 19 stolen bases, 9 triples, and 9 GIDPs in every of the 1987 and 1989 seasons.

The New York Yankees signed David Wells to a free-agent contract on immediately’s date in 1996. The well-traveled southpaw — he performed for 9 totally different groups — went 34-14 over his preliminary two years in pinstripes. Wells went on to have a second two-year stint with the Yankees and went an an identical 34-14 from 2002-2003.

The Detroit Tigers traded Happy Townsend to the Cleveland Naps in change for fellow right-hander Red Donahue on immediately’s date in 1905. Donahue proceeded to go 13-14 in 1906, whereas Townsend went 3-7 in what was the final of his six big-league seasons. A local of Townsend, Delaware, “Happy” had gone 5-26 two years early pitching for a Washington Senators squad that completed 38-113 with 5 ties. Two of the tie video games have been extra-inning affairs in opposition to the Tigers through which neither workforce scored. Townsend tossed 11 scoreless frames in one in every of them.

Players born on immediately’s date embrace Kirt Ojala, who pitched in 56 video games for the Florida Marlins from 1997-1999. A left-handed knuckleballer, the Kalamazoo, Michigan native completed his MLB profession 3-10 with a 4.71 ERA.

Also born on immediately’s date was Keith Luuloa, an infielder whose MLB profession comprised six video games with the Anaheim Angels in 2000. The Honolulu native went 3-for-4 in his last recreation and had six hits in 18 at-bats in all.