The boys of summer! (Baseball Thread)

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I heard on the drive into work today that the last pitch literally broke the pitch grading scale. A 'perfect pitch' is graded as an 80... Ohtani's slider that struck out Trout, apparently, graded at 81 plus.... but Trout is a fuckin loser for not hitting it.

Speaking of tired narratives I'm so tired of the 'Trout is being wasted' stuff..., especially from fans of teams like the Red Sox who wasted the entire career of Ted Williams by their own logic... no one says Bonds was wasted on the Giants, Jr. wasted on the M's... etc, etc... but social media makes meat headed group-think morons out of us.

I don't know who is supposed to do anything with this. Hitters weren't seeing this stuff 20 years ago let alone 100. Honestly, I just leave it. Let people marinate in their own juices.

It's not social media. The mindset has been this way for generations. Social media amplifies it. For years, certain legions of baseball fans have been moaning about how nobody "makes contact" and "puts the ball in play." They fail to grasp that there are guys nobody has ever heard of throwing sliders that break like crazy and changeups are now upwards of mid 90 MPH. Then you have the elite guys. Then you have Ohtani. Just about Everyone throws hard, just about everyone throws crazy. If you don't, teams find guys who do.

Championships are team accomplishments. I will not judge individual greatness on that. How the hell is Trout, Bonds, Williams or anyone else supposed to "carry" a baseball team?

 

[ab2cmiller]

 

[irishff1014]

Some of these rules in baseball anymore are trash. Like the pitcher can’t throw over more than twice. It gives the runner the complete advantage.

 

[ACamp1900]

Some of these rules in baseball anymore are trash. Like the pitcher can’t throw over more than twice. It gives the runner the complete advantage.

I’m not a big fan of any of them but this one is the new rule I def hate the most,…

 

[irishnd31]

New rules are awful. God forbid you grab a snack or take a piss at any point in the game. You can miss an entire half an inning.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

New rules are awful. God forbid you grab a snack or take a piss at any point in the game. You can miss an entire half an inning.

If you stream TV, you should be able to pause live so you can grab a handful of cabbage and take a squirt.

Sox-Astros first pitch was 6:14 PM. The game was 2 hours and 38 minutes. I watched John Wick 2 afterwards. I am going to love west coast road trips if I can be in bed before midnight on a 9 PM CST start.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

"Just make contact and put the ball in play", they say.

 

[Irish#1]

I like the pitch clock and the other changes as well. Should create more offense. The game should be closer to the way it was played in the 70's and 80's with the changes.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

New rules are awful. God forbid you grab a snack or take a piss at any point in the game. You can miss an entire half an inning.

I tend to agree. I get what the MLB is trying to do; shorten the games in a greater attempt to attract more attention to the sport, but traditional baseball fans are going to hate these changes.

One of my favorite things about baseball was the timeless aspect of it. Some games took 2.5 hours, some took 4 hours. If you're a true fan, you don't care how long the game is.

We'll see how long these rules stay in affect. I'm not a fan, personally.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Also, can someone please inform the Tigers that the season has started? What a piss poor effort in Tampa yesterday. Picking up right where they left off last season, ranked last in the MLB offensively....

 

[NorthDakota]

Feel horrible for Ohtani, 10 K's and doesn't get a W lol.

Twins 1-0!

 

[chisea03]

But then this happened…

 

[ACamp1900]

So frustrated, that was literally the single worst way they could start the season. Great start in shitty Oakland blown by the exact same bullpen pieces that blew so many last year. Btw CAN. WE. PLEASE. OPEN. SOMEWHERE. OTHER. THAN.THE. OAKLAND. COLISEUM!!! Four years straight now that shit has been our scheduled opener. And even before that it seems like we open there every couple years

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

So frustrated, that was literally the single worst way they could start the season. Great start in shitty Oakland blown by the exact same bullpen pieces that blew so many last year. Btw CAN. WE. PLEASE. OPEN. SOMEWHERE. OTHER. THAN.THE. OAKLAND. COLISEUM!!! Four years straight now that shit has been our scheduled opener. And even before that it seems like we open there every couple years

I have nothing to contribute, other than the fact that the Coliseum should be demolished.....

 

[ab2cmiller]

Interesting video talking with the college umpire from the viral video that made that terrible call to end the game between Univ of New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State.

The video seems to be from an umpire related podcast and the host goes a bit overboard carrying the water for his fellow umpire. But it was extremely interesting to get the umpire's perspective of what had been going on throughout the game leading up to that moment. Certainly doesn't excuse his poor choice, but helped explain why it happened. I had read a news article that touched on this interview and it came across as a bunch of excuses, but after seeing the interview, I think he's being as honest as he can about the situation.

 

[T-Boone]

Looks like there are a lot more bases being stolen. I think that’s a good thing.

 

[irishff1014]

Looks like there are a lot more bases being stolen. I think that’s a good thing.

No it’s not. There is plenty of offense in the game. They swing for the fence and put up big numbers. The catchers don’t have a chance once the pitcher does a second throw over. And then the bases are bigger. The pitchers and catchers have to be perfect and will probably still probably won’t throw anyone out.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

"Just make contact and put the ball in play", they say.

“MLB hitters can time a jet airplane…” - Chipper Jones

Your point stands though, it still ain’t easy & is the most difficult thing to do in any major sport. I’ll die on that hill.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Two reasons I cut the cord & subscribed to YouTube TV was more college football access & MLB Network all on one service. Per usual, the networks pick a provider to hold hostage for more dough & this year it’s YouTubeTV. Anyone know if these two are any closer to coming to an agreement? Eventually, I’ll sign up for MLB.TV to get all the games I want but I usually wait until half way through season for the price to drop.

 

[ACamp1900]

If you’re a T-Mobile customer you get mlb tv free this year,…

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

“MLB hitters can time a jet airplane…” - Chipper Jones

Your point stands though, it still ain’t easy & is the most difficult thing to do in any major sport. I’ll die on that hill.

The last pitch he saw was 2012. He never faced the stuff they're throwing now.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Two reasons I cut the cord & subscribed to YouTube TV was more college football access & MLB Network all on one service. Per usual, the networks pick a provider to hold hostage for more dough & this year it’s YouTubeTV. Anyone know if these two are any closer to coming to an agreement? Eventually, I’ll sign up for MLB.TV to get all the games I want but I usually wait until half way through season for the price to drop.

YouTube TV has done a good job of eventually getting something done in these situations, but right now it is anyone's guess. The timing comes with YouTube TV's first price increase in three years. I've had it now since September 2019 and run it through a Roku.

 

[ACamp1900]

Big time man crush on Logan OHoppe,… dude has been great thus far.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Looking back at 1961 and the number of career years that occurred by a lot of hitters. This was the year of expansion so pitching was watered down. That didn’t mean there wasn’t some dominating pitchers b/c Whitey Ford, Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn and others dominated on the bump.

It was the number of hitters who put up steroid era numbers that made me take a closer look. Obviously, there’s Roger Maris who had his career year but was also coming off an MVP season in 1960 as well. Here’s some others that had a tough time replicating their success again.

Batting Avg:

Norm Cash - 1B, Detroit: .361
Clemente - RF, Pitt: .351
Vada Pinson - OF, Cincy: .343
Ken Boyer - 3B, STL: .329
Wally Moon - LF, LAD: .328

HR:

Maris - RF, NYY: 61
Mantle - CF, NYY: 54
Jim Gentile - 1B, BAL: 46
Killebrew - 1B, MIN: 46
Cepeda - 1B, SF: 46
Rocky Colavito - OF, DET: 45


RBI:

Cepeda - 142
Gentile - 141
Maris - 141
Colavito - 140
Cash - 132

For those that only look at WAR, it was pretty similar for this season as the above names filled that list out as well. It’s good context when talking about the steroid era b/c I think there’s so many more factors to consider: height of the mound, how tightly were the balls wound, expansion = watered down pitching, 8 extra games beginning in ‘61, injuries, who else is in the lineup?, etc.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

The Tampa Rays are 9-0.

First team to hit the mark since the 2003 KC Royals.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

The Tampa Rays are 9-0.

First team to hit the mark since the 2003 KC Royals.

Sadly they have more wins than fans in their stadium. Fun team to watch though.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Sadly they have more wins than fans in their stadium. Fun team to watch though.

With the A's likely headed to Vegas (???), the Rays best bet could potentially be Charlotte even though there is already a Triple A team there. You would also have to assume Nashville would be in that mix as well.

The Rays front office is second to none. Working on a fraction of what the teams in their own division spend let alone the rest of MLB.

 

[ACamp1900]

I think Oakland and Tampa could both work with better venues,…

 

[Irish#1]

“MLB hitters can time a jet airplane…” - Chipper Jones

Your point stands though, it still ain’t easy & is the most difficult thing to do in any major sport. I’ll die on that hill.

Did I read something about radar technology improving over time to better gauge the speed of the pitch or am I making shit up?

Agree with the bolded.

 

[Irish#1]

Looking back at 1961 and the number of career years that occurred by a lot of hitters. This was the year of expansion so pitching was watered down. That didn’t mean there wasn’t some dominating pitchers b/c Whitey Ford, Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn and others dominated on the bump.

It was the number of hitters who put up steroid era numbers that made me take a closer look. Obviously, there’s Roger Maris who had his career year but was also coming off an MVP season in 1960 as well. Here’s some others that had a tough time replicating their success again.


HR:

Maris - RF, NYY: 61
Mantle - CF, NYY: 54
Jim Gentile - 1B, BAL: 46
Killebrew - 1B, MIN: 46
Cepeda - 1B, SF: 46
Rocky Colavito - OF, DET: 45

Mantle probably breaks the Babes record in '61 and possibly beats Maris if he doesn't get hurt. They were neck and neck until he got hurt. I can only imagine what Mantle's career numbers would look like if he hadn't been injured so much and didn't spend so much time in the nightclubs.