Author Archives: chuckbooth3023
Marco Scutaro: The Best 2012 Trade Deadline Deal And NLCS MVP
Wednesday, October.24/2012
The Post Season almost ended for Marco Scutaro in Game #2 in St. Louis as Matt Holliday slid late to break up a double play. Scutaro stayed in that game and collected a key hit before being pulled as a precautionary move. He would come back and play from games 3-7. —Photo Courtesy of giants.com
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I am pleased to always write about a player that has appeared one of my #UnheraldedAwarenessWeeks on Twitter. For those that don’t know what that is, every week I pick a retired player and a current player to talk about and share info, stats, stories and funny anecdotes about. Marco Scutaro was one of those players in September. My buddy Patrick (who hosts a PODCAST I do MLB Expert Interviews on called ‘The Big Ticket Show‘) was the first one to say this signing was good. I did remember that Scutaro was able to plate a 100 runs for the Jays in 2009 despite only playing in 144 games and also provided solid offense out of the Shortstop Position. He was hitting in low .300’s at the time of the trade on July.27 to the San Francisco Giants from the Rockies. I wasn’t as sold on the guy heading to AT &T Park to play half of his games at home. I quickly came on board when he started tearing it up in his 1st week as a Giant. Boy did I ever turn out to be wrong with him batting in San Francisco too, where he hit .352 in 33 games at AT &T Park in 2012. That is an incredible average for what is one of the toughest parks on player averages in the Major Leagues!
With his 3rd organization since Jan.21 of this year, Scutaro has provided the necessary spark to the Giants lineup that was voided with losing Melky Cabrera. At 37 years old, he should be able to garner one more multi-year contract
Scutaro ended up being the best trade deadline acquisition in the Major Leagues this year. Not only did he hit .339 in the second half, he also hit .402 in the month of September and the last 3 games of the regular season in October. After going 0-12 in the 1st 3 games against Cincinnati in the NLDS, Scutaro has put a 9 game hitting streak together-and he had 6 multi-hit games in the NLCS en-route to being named the NLCS MVP. He has pivotal game changing hits in Game #2 (where he also got run into by a hard and controversial slide by Matt Holiday before leaving) and in Games 6 and 7. Scutaro tied and LCS record by recording 14 hits in 28 AB for a .500 Average. while scoring 7 runs. The man has also contributed solid defense at second base, a position the Giants have struggled to fill since Jeff Kent left almost a decade ago. Read the rest of this entry
The Tigers Prevailed in the 1987 AL East Race Before Losing The ALCS: In 2012, They Want a Parade!
Friday, October.19/2012
Most of the 1984 Tigers were still on the roster in 1987 when the Tigers wrestled the pennant away from the Toronto Blue Jays. Those 7 games the two teams played in their final 10 games were better than anything I watched in the playoffs that year including the World Series!
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
In 1987, 3 of the 4 teams that are in the 2012 MLB LCS Round also qualified back then. The Cardinals and Giants won the NL East and West respectively while the Tigers won the AL East. The only difference was that the Yankees are in this version of the ‘Final Four’ now and the 1987 opponent of the Tigers was the eventual World Series Winners the Minnesota Twins. The Tigers were 3 years removed from their World Series Championship team and still held a majority of their core players from that run in 1984.
I was 11. I only point that out because most of us find our true sporting identity around this age. It would also be the last time my 3 brothers, my dad and I would watch every pitch of the post season together ever. That is why I remember the club so well. While I had transformed into a New York Yankees and Don Mattingly fan, I watched the Detroit Tigers all of the time on the WDIV Channel (Channel 4). As someone who lived in BC Canada cable subscriber we only ever received the Tigers, the CUBS (WGN), the Braves (TBS), the Blue Jays (TSN and CBC), the Expos (RDS and French Channel CBC) and the Mariners (KING 5). Those Braves and Mariners were bad in the 80’s and the CUBS you could only watch if you were sick from school because they always played day games. So it was a heavy dose of the Expos, Blue Jays and Tigers. Read the rest of this entry
Cincinnati’s Favorite Son (Pete Rose) Still Awaits Baseball Re-Instatement And A Spot In Cooperstown
Thursday, October.18/2012
Always driven by the “Almighty Dollar” Pete Rose has appeared in several WWE Pay-Per-Views and was paid to be unceremoniously dumped on his keester like this picture dictates. He was always feuding with the wrestler ‘Kane.” Rose usually showed up at the events as the San Diego Chicken first. This time he sent someone else as the Chicken and tried to sneak attack ‘The Big Red Machine ” with a baseball bat only to be caught. I guess Kane wasn’t a fan of the 70’s “Big Red Machine Player.”
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I started watching baseball when I was really young. Back in the day in the early 1980’s, one of my favorite players was Pete Rose. I mean who couldn’t admire the ALL-Time Hit Kings all out effort in running the bases? As a young baseball player myself, I emulated Rose by sprinting to first base when I drew a walk. I always love why he said he did this: “There is no point in not hustling down to first because that just makes you that much closer to second.” He was monikered with “Charlie Hustle” for his tenacity towards the game. Who could ever forget how he wiped out Ray Fosse in the 1970 ALL-Star Game? Pete Rose was ‘old school’ as they come. He is the ALL-Time leader in Games Played (3562) At Bats (14059), Plate Appearances (15890) and of course his 4256 hits still sits 1st on the Career list. The man also had 10-200 hit seasons (Tied for 1st ALL-Time with Ichiro Suzuki) and has won 3 batting titles. He was on 3 World Series Championship teams including being the key transaction in putting over the 1980 Phillies to their first franchise World Series Title ever. Rose had a .303 Career Avg while hitting .300 in 17 different seasons and making 17 different ALL-Star Teams. He was the Rookie of the Year for the Reds in 1963 and was the NL MVP in 1973, when he hit .338 and collected 230 hits. Rose also holds a 426-388 Career Record as a Manager with the Reds.
I wish every MLB Player would adopt Pete Rose’s intensity for the game of baseball. I am happy to see Mike Trout and Bryce Harper hustle their muscles off like Pete Rose did. Maybe others will follow.
Rose was also last Player/Manager in the Major Leagues, when he played and called the shots with the Cincinnati Reds in 1986. All of these incredible achievements should have placed him in Cooperstown by the early 90’s, however he was just as competitive in something else that would later be revealed. On Aug.24/1989, Pete Rose was issued a lifetime ban from the MLB for betting on the game of baseball. It shocked the world and was the biggest scandal in the National Pastime since the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. Pete fought for his innocence with as much reckless abandonment as he displayed with his famous head first slides. Read the rest of this entry
Carlos Beltran Is The Best Active Hitter For A Postseason Career
Wednesday, October.17/2012
Carlos Beltran is only amongst a select few active and retired players that possess 300 Career HRs (334) and 300 Stolen Bases (306) for their Career. At age 35, this year may be his last chance to win a World Series.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I love that baseball is a game of numbers. Every once in a while you stumble upon an awesome mind-blogging stat or ten that makes you sit and back and think, wow, that guy is awesome. I have a decent memory when it comes to the history of the game. So it came as no surprise to me that Carlos Beltran continues to be putting up video game statistics in the postseason. Having started this article, unfortunately the man has left the 3rd game of the National League Championship Series with a strained left knee. This is a shame. I hope that the slugger can come back in this series as he is listed on the injury report as Day-to-Day. Just how good is Carlos Beltran in the Playoffs? Check out these stat lines. In 111 career AB, the man has a .378 AVG with 14 HRs, 25 RBI and has a staggering OPS of 1.327 (His OBP is .489 and Slugging is .838.) These are unbelievable numbers and easily the highest OPS in the history of MLB for a playoff career.
When the St. Louis Cardinals lost Albert Pujols to free agency last year, it was a risky yet bold move to pick up the often injured slugger. The franchise signed Beltran to a 2 YR/26 Million Dollar contract (or just over 10% of the contract that Pujols signed for.) The team also re-signed Rafael Furcal and Lance Berkman to help carry the load offensively. Showing the wisdom as they have so often done, the Cardinals proved to work their payroll model and still improve their club in the process. While Furcal and Berkman would succumb to injuries during the year, Beltran has produced at a high rate for a nice portion of the year. At the 82 game mark, the outfielder had 20 HRs with 65 RBI and was a co-frontrunner (along with Joey Votto) for the National League MVP. While his numbers slumped a little in the second half, the club still knew they had a proven playoff performer. Beltran also played in 151 games this season, his highest amount since 2008 with the New York Mets. Read the rest of this entry
Enough With The Early Round Champagne Celebrations MLB!
Saturday, October.13/2012
This celebration of the Tigers was the final straw to me writing this article. The Tigers should count their lucky stars they won a weak division and that they drew the Athletics in the ALDS. Since when did these excessive celebrations for early round wins of the playoffs begin?
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I am 36 years old. In no way would I consider myself 100% a traditionalist when it comes to Major League Baseball. I like the 2 Wild Card Slots, I like the Designated Hitter, as for Interleague play, I wish they had more of it so I could see every team waddle through Seattle every so often. This doesn’t mean that I don’t agree with some ‘old school’ philosophies and certain underwritten rules about the game. One thing that has really set me off in watching the end of the season and the playoffs is the excessive Champagne Celebrations of the clubs once they win any series or clinch any playoff spot? I mean come on fellas, you are celebrating like you have won everything in the game and we are not even into the League Championships Series.
I am out of line in thinking that this isn’t a new trend? I don’t remember this many corks being popped off in previous years. I have no problem with a team celebrating divisional and the World Series crowns with a party. This has been a time-long tradition in the Major Leagues back to the start of the games existence. Where I first starting seeing this epidemic fly was when the Braves clinched a playoff spot and then went hog-wild in their dressing room after the game. I was surprised at their actions but almost dismissed it. I understood that after last years collapse, plus the added pressure of trying to make the playoffs for Chipper’s last chance, that maybe they were just blowing off some steam. If I were a player, I would be happy to be in the playoffs, however If I made it in via Wild Card, I would not carry on with an alcohol bender! I would be made I still lost the division. Read the rest of this entry
The Angels and Dodgers Have Plenty to Look Forward to Next Year + LAA Payroll in ’13
Thursday, October.11/2012
The Angels went 29-17 down the stretch while the Dodgers won 8 out of their 10 games to end 2012. With a full season with their revamped teams and added players, you have to think both will be amongst the favorites to be in the 2013 MLB Playoffs.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I know that the playoffs are going on right now and that everyone is captivated by the 4 games that are being played today. Which leads to me to ask the question? Do you think any of the Dodgers and Angels fans are watching these playoffs without a horse in the race? I am here to tell you and these said fans-that I believe both of these teams will be a playoff factor in 2013 . The Angels and Dodgers spent a fortune on new players in the last 365 days. Almost a Billion Dollars was added in player contracts between the two clubs. Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Hanley Ramirez are amongst the players traded or signed.
Lets start off with the Angels. I was there in Anaheim on opening weekend in April and witnessed the struggles of the club early and most notably Albert Pujols. As I was tweeting and talking to everyone, I could see that Pujols was not himself. I predicted a slow start based on seeing him play. The same thing could be said for the team. The Angels started out of the gate 8-14 before calling up Mike Trout. Soon after they fired hitting coach Mickey Hatcher and all was not well. Albert went into the May with 0 HRs and 4 RBI and was hitting near the Mendoza Line.
The Dodgers won 8 out of their last 10 and fought injuries all year to barely miss out on the playoffs. They have most of their revamped team all coming back next year and should add a healthy Carl Crawford to the fold in early spring. I believe they will add another starting pitcher such as Zack Greinke or Shaun Marcum. To see my entire breakdown of their impending 2013 Contracts situation and Team Payroll, please click here :
MLB Reports Playoff Power Rankings and Predictions 2012
Friday, October.5/2012
The Reds have Joey Votto back and definitely are the deepest team in the playoffs. They start in San Francisco versus the Giants on Saturday in a best of 5 Series in the NLDS Round.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
In what could be one of the most exciting days in MLB History, we present to you a special edition of the MLB Reports Power Rankings,
1. Cincinnati Reds: The reason I have chosen these guys is because of their path to the World Series is probably easier than any other team in the MLB when it comes to Strength of Schedule. Johnny Cueto, Aroldis Chapman and Todd Frazier will challenge for NL Cy Young Votes and the Rookie of the Year Award. They have a healthy Joey Votto and it is time for Brandon Phillips to show his playoff metal. They have the greatest bullpen in the playoffs and are playing in the 1st round against the San Francisco Giants. The Great American Ball Park should be a great home field advantage.
Unheralded Player to watch in this Playoffs: Starting Pitcher Homer Bailey has pitched really well this year and is coming off a recent no-hitter.
2. Detroit Tigers: The Tigers are playing their best baseball of the season and caught a break when the Athletics won the AL West. Miguel Cabrera was on fire in September en route to his AL Triple Crown win. The Tigers were 32-11 in their last 43 home games and their solid pitching bodes well versus all of the homer centric teams in the AL. Their toughest competition would be the Yankees and Rangers and I am not sure those teams will be able to match the pitching of the club. While in my rankings I have given the #1 ranking to the Reds, the Tigers were my preseason pick to win the WS Title and it will all be on the backs of Prince Fielder and Cabrera.
Unheralded player to watch in the Playoffs: Omar Infante. He is a great all around player who comes up with clutch hits.
Big Collapses in MLB (1964-2011) + NYY And TEX Are in The Playoffs But May Choke Away Divisions
Wednesday, October.3/2012
The Athletics are 71-38 since June.2nd and have forced a winner take the AL West crown matchup tonight versus the Rangers. They once trailed the Rangers by 13 games at the 80 game mark.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
In case you may have missed the standings of late, the Yankees and Rangers are in danger of choking away the AL East and AL West. If MLB had decided to not infiltrate this year’s extra Wild Card playoff birth, we could have been in line for another monumental collapse. Both of the Yankees and Rangers held sizable leads in their respective divisions over the Athletics and Orioles heading into the second half of the year. Now it has come down to Game 162 for each club to decide the divisions. If the perennial playoff teams of TEX and NYY end up losing their divisions, they still will have a playoff game against each other on Friday to see who moves on to the ALDS.
If you are a Yankees fan, you have to be elated the Raul Ibanez pulled a rabbit out of his hat last night, with a 2 run HR to tie the game vs the Red Sox-and then he won it with a single in the 12th. If the Yankees can win today versus the Red Sox, they will clinch the AL East division and best record in the American League. It is nice to have your own fate in your hands, but really it should not have come down to this. On July.18, the Yankees had a 10 game lead over the Orioles and were looking to cruise for the rest of the year. Ever since that day, the Orioles have ridden 16 straight extra inning wins to post a 46-24 (.657) stretch in which they have pulled to within 1 game of the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees have gone 37-33 (.529) in that same stretch. So it all comes down to the Yankees have a magic number of one. If New York wins, they clinch the division, if they lose and the Orioles lose, they win the division. If they lose and the Orioles win, it will force a one-game playoff Thursday in Baltimore in which the winner takes the AL East and the loser would play the AL West loser in the Wild Card Game Friday. The winner of the AL East will play the winner of the Wild Card game.
Amazing enough is all of the extra inning wins, now on the 162nd game of the season, the Orioles still have a chance to tie for the AL East crown with a win over Tampa Bay and a Yankees Loss to the Red Sox.
Jason ‘J-Hey Kid’ Heyward and ‘Fast’ Freddie Freeman were keys to A Braves Playoff Berth
Friday, September.28/2012
Even with Chipper Jones retiring at the end of this year, the Braves look to have a bright future with the likes of Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward taking over the club’s offensive lead.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
In Atlanta, making the playoffs became so common for the Braves that the fans would just shrug off the feat and stay away from coming to the ballpark until the NLCS if they happened to make it. 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005, (Now as a Expos than Nationals fan) I would like to point out that they were not anywhere near the Expos in the 1994 Strike Year), spoiled the fans each season to take it for granted. 5 World Series appearances (including a 1-4 record), 9 NLCS Appearances (including a 5-4 record) and the team had a 9-5 NLDS record. After a playoff loss in 2005, the team was smart enough to rebuild for 5 years before making another playoff appearance in 2010 as the National League Wild Card team. That was Jason Heyward‘s rookie campaign, in which he finished 2nd in Rookie of the Year Voting with a .277 Batting Avg, 18 HRs and 72 RBI. The team lost out to the eventual World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS.
In 2011, it was Freddie Freeman‘s turn to finish 2nd in ‘Rookie of The Year’ Voting, batting .282 wih 21 HRs and 76 RBI. Freddie Freeman was arguably the best Atlanta Brave last year and he did all he could to help the team make the playoffs-only to see the club lose the Wild Card Spot to the St.Louis Cardinals on the last day of the season. It was one of the biggest collapses in playoff clinching history (stay tuned for a big article on playoff collapses next week from your truly.) In the post-mortem analysis of the club, the startling ‘sophomore’ drop-off from Jason Heyward was one of the biggest reasons why. Heyward battled injuries, plus a lack of plate discipline, to hit only .227 with 11 HRs and 44 RBI. He wasn’t alone in struggling with the Braves during the 2011, however patrolling a highly productive position like Right-Field surely didn’t help in the late season charge. Read the rest of this entry
Ichiro Suzuki Is Proving To Be Just The Right Elixir For the Yankees Lineup
Wednesday, September.26/2012
Ichiro Suzuki has thrived in this AL EAST Pennant Race. Has he done enough to warrant a 1 or 2 year deal to re-sign with New York Yankees? We might get our answer after the 2012 MLB Playoffs.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Ichiro Suzuki has been tearing it up over the last 10 games for the New York Yankees. The ‘freshly’ named AL ‘Player of the Week’ is hitting .432 with 19 hits in that time-including a 14-20 stretch and 6 Multi-hit games. So does his renaissance remind of you anyone? ah, yeah… The 2001-2009 version of the Japanese Superstar. The Yankees were smart enough to think that Ichiro still had some good baseball in him. For the last 250 games as a Mariner, Suzuki was struggling just to hit .260. A Career lifetime hitter at Safeco Field of .325, was only hitting .214 there this year. The Yankees brass must have been banking on his road average of .294 for this year to see what kind of player addition he would make in their lineup.
Ichiro has been hitting out of the 1 or 2 slot for the majority of this run, a move I said to do as soon as the Yankees picked the guy up. Between he and Jeter, you have two professional hitters who have a combined 7236 professional hits when you add Jeter’s 3296 hits, plus Ichiro’s 2567 hits in the MLB and his 1273 hits with the NPBL. Folks, Ichiro has 3940 hits in his professional career. It is my opinion they should not mess with this lineup for the rest of the year. Jeter is challenging for a batting crown, so he may be a little better out of the #1 slot as he sees a lot more pitches–and tends to walk more. Plus as a left-handed batter hitting second, with pinpoint bat control, Ichiro is better to hit the ball to advance Jeter into scoring position or beat out infield hits with a hole open on the right side of the base when Jeter is at 1st.
Suzuki is also an excellent bunter and his speed is still way above average. While I don’t think Jeter will ever pass Pete Rose‘s 4256 MLB hits, I believe that if Ichiro plays the rest of this season, plus another 2 seasons, he may have a chance to club another 317 hits to pass Rose on the ALL-Time professional hits list. Read the rest of this entry
The Dodgers Are Going To Force the MLB Into Changes
Friday, September.21/2012
When Magic Johnson and his ownership group spent 2 Billion Dollars on acquiring the Franchise, that should have been a red-flag that they were going to outspend every club when it came to payroll. Get ready for it baseball world!
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Baseball is about to receive a serious wake-up call from the Dodgers. Perhaps the Yankees would have already done what the Magic Johnson ownership team is planning, had “The Boss” had full faculties and the team had not cashed in on the 2009 World Series. With no salary cap and a soft luxury tax on the heavy spenders, the MLB is really setting themselves up for a disaster when a team finally pulls the trigger on obliterating the payroll system. The Dodgers new ownership has spent 2 Billion on the California Franchise. They are in perfect position with Billions in revenue about to be promised for the TV rights of their franchise. So do you really think they are done spending on the team? I would be surprised if the Dodgers payroll isn’t in the $230-$250 Million Dollar Range for 2013.
I wrote an article about this very topic right after the trade that brought over the Boston Red Sox big 3 salaried players. You can check out that blog here. As it stands right now, the 2013 Payroll projects to be in the 200-210 Million Dollar Range already. You add the constant health doubts now plaguing Clayton Kershaw, plus a need for some more starting pitching and you could be sure these guys will make a play for a couple of starting pitchers. Zack Greinke has to be on the club’s radar. While Greinke might not be the top of the pitchers ‘Mount Rushmore’, he is really close to it. He may get a 5-6 YR contract worth 90-105 Million Dollars. He has pitched really well for the Los Angeles Angels, so clearly he likes the city. Read the rest of this entry
The Coors Field Effect: Part 3 of A 3 Article Series
Wednesday, September.19/2012
Even with playing teams in the NL West with Parks like Petco, Dodger Stadium and AT &T Park, a Rockies player gets 81 games of AB versus 27 against the other 3 California parks or a 75-25 % split. The Rockies continue to lead the MLB for Home Averages year in and year out-even with the Humidor Room taking effect.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Both myself (and Lead Baseball Columnist and Founder) Jonathan Hacohen think alike on some points as writers will often do when working for the same website. Jonathan wrote a brilliant piece on the ballooned numbers that a player in Colorado receives as a byproduct of playing at Coors Field. My head started spinning and swirling and I knew it to be true from my memory bank. My Part 2 column, dissected the Coors Field Effect on some previous players, plus what has transpired in the last decade since the Humidor Room has been implemented. You must read the 1st 2 parts of this series to fully understand what I am going to tell you here.
For Part 1 of the Article Series: Carlos Gonzalez on the Trade Block? Buyer Beware! click here
For Part 2 of the Article Series: The Humidor Effect at Coors Field-One Decade in click here
The numbers don’t lie in either of the first two parts to this series- with the Rockies having led the league in 19 out of the 20 Years for Home Batting Average overall in the MLB and every year in the NL since they have existed. This includes heavy hitting AL clubs, with hitter friendly parks such as: Yankee Stadium (Old or New), Citizens Bank Ball Park or Fenway Park. What people also fail to realize is that the Pitchers also account for about 140-150 AB at home per year. So really there is no way a Colorado team should have a higher BA than a team from the AL if that is the case? Wrong. The Batting averages for positional players from 1993-2002 in Colorado ranged from an average of .325-.345 every year. May I point out they also led the Major Leagues in overall batting average every year for this span in the Pre-Humidor days too!
A Todd Helton Walk-off Shot at Coors:
Buck Showalter Is Spinning His Managerial Magic One More Time
Monday, September.17/2012
Showalter was never given a fair shake after the 1994 year. He had guided the Yankees to the best record in the AL during the 1994 Strike Shortened Season. After the 1995 ALDS loss to the Mariners, he was let go in favor of Joe Torre.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Buck Showalter has a knack of coming in when a franchise is down and rebuilding the team within 2-3 years after. He started with the struggling Yankees back in the early 90’s and almost brought them to the promise land a couple of times. The Players Strike cost him a chance in the 1994 season and he was on the back-end of a hot 1995 Seattle Mariners club, (who were left for dead and caught lightning in a bottle with the emergence of Randy Johnson.) Showalter was blamed for not being able to reach the stars on the club even though he was a master tactician with young players. Don Mattingly quickly retired and a new wave of young players were meshing with the old stars . The Yankees went onto hire Joe Torre, while Buck was left to view the club win 4 World Series in 5 years and make 6 out of 7 World Series Appearances overall. Showalter’s managerial record was 313-268 with the Yankees.
Joe Torre was a great manager, however I am of the belief that if Buck Showalter was given one more chance with the PinStripers, that he would have succeeded. So Showalter went to the Arizona DiamondBacks 2 years before the franchise was even playing so he could hit the ground running, From the get go, the D’Backs brass were willing to sign premier free-agents. In the second year of the club’s existence, Showalter took the team to a playoff appearance with a 100-62 record- and was was named NL Manager of the Year. He left the club after the 2000 season. Bob Brenly swept into the fray and reaped the benefits of all the hard work put forth by Showalter, by winning a World Series with the D’Backs in 2001. Showalter was left to watch from a distance yet again. Actually it was his two former teams in the World Series of 2001 as the D’backs ousted the Yankees in 7 games. Showalter left the Arizona franchise with a 250-236 record. Read the rest of this entry
Ricky Romero Is Almost Half-Way to Anthony Young’s MLB Record of 27 Straight Losses
Friday, September.14/2012
Ricky Romero started the year out 8-1 and was poised to have his best win season of his career. He has lost 13 straight decisions since.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Ricky Romero has had a brutal season. Lets not lose the sight that he has lost 13 games in row here. He also was 8-1 to start the year. You must look at the numbers though. He was sporting an ERA of nearly 5 when that took place, so he was simply being bailed out by the first half offense. The Jays were killing the ball before the ALL-Star Break. It only has been since the offense dried up with injuries that Romero started tail spinning. Seeing a great young pitcher struggle with confidence is not foreign to the Jays. Roy Halladay nearly through a no-hitter in his first start during his rookie year. The phenom battled serious control issues and was sent back down all the way to A ball in order to fix his mechanics. This ultimately saved Halladay’s career. I am not saying that will have to happen with Romero. He needs to grind through his last few starts. Hopefully he can end the year off on a good note by erasing this losing streak.
‘On the Black.’ talks about the streak with They own this video and not the MLB Reports.
The Toronto Blue Jays Payroll 2013 and Contracts (Updated For MIA Trade Nov.13/2012)
Monday, September.10/2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles section here.
The Blue Jays have not qualified for the Playoffs since they won Back to Back World Series in 1992 and 1993. At that time, they were around the top of the MLB Payroll for all teams. How much will they spend in 2013?
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
It has been a disastrous season for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012. Only the Boston Red Sox can usurp them in the AL East for being more disappointing. It is not entirely anyone’s fault, injuries to many key pitchers-plus the loss of Jose Bautista just after the All-Break, crippled the team’s ability to compete. Just chalk up the season to unlucky. Fortunately for the Blue Jays, Alex Anthopoulos has kept the team flexible with the payroll going forward. I still think that getting out of the Vernon Wells and Alex Rios contracts was the biggest ‘Houdini Act’ of the New Millennium. Since he got out from under those contracts, only Joey Bats makes more than 10 Million Dollars now on the club. To contend in the AL East, the Jays will need to spend at least 100-110 Million Dollars. The core of the team is intact for a couple of more years. From 2013-2016 is the clubs best window to make a charge at the playoffs and have some success.
Perhaps the best move that the Blue Jays GM did this year was to lock up Edwin Encarnacion to a 3 YR/27 Million Dollar contract before he hit the Free Agency Market. In a downtrodden year, EE could have requested an arm and leg for his services and been obliged. He left between 8-10 Million Dollars on the Table in my opinion. The keys will be to lock up a couple of their young player to long-term contracts. The catching looks solid (Arencibia and Mathis) for years to come with some more prospects filtering through the Minor Leagues (Travis D’arnaurd.) Trading away Eric Thames and Travis Snider paved the way for the club to lock-up Colby Rasmus long-term-and maybe take a run at a power hitting Outfielder. The team’s starting pitching must heal up from multiple Tommy John Surgeries and come back to be relevant. The team should definitely be players for free agent pitchers.
For Part 1 of a 7 Part Article Series: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise 1977-1993, click here
For Part 7 of the 7 Part Series: Blue Jays 2013 Team Payroll: A Readers Thoughts, Click Here:
Josh Johnson brings a career record of 56-37 (.602) to the Blue Jays lineup in 2013. With one year and 13.75 Million Dollars left on this current deal. will Toronto try and extend him or wait to see if he can stay healthy all year.
The Aftermath Of The Stephen Strasburg(less) Nationals sweep in the NLDS Oct 2012
Thursday, September.06/2012
Stephen Strasburg is eligible for Arbitration after the 2013 season. He originally signed a 4 Year/14 Million Dollar Entry Level Deal after he was drafted in 2009. The salary hit for the Nats in 2013 places him tied for 3rd on the team with Mike Morse. He will be Unrestricted Free Agent in 2017, will he remain a National?
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
The Nationals are my favorite National League team. It is my firm belief that you are allowed 1 team in each League to cheer for. The Yankees are my team in the American League. The love for the Nationals goes back to when they were the Montreal Expos. It was a lean time for a lot of us fans until the last few years have given us hope. So before I go on about the contracts and payroll for 2013 tomorrow, I officially am going on record in saying that shutting Strasburg down is completely wrong. I don’t care about ramifications of the pitcher throwing his arm out. You never know when injuries are going to occur. The Babying method never worked for Strasburg the first time, or for Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes for that matter. This all stems back to the over using of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior by Dusty Baker in the 2003 year. Innings limits were soon introduced in every franchise to protect the players and managers from going after a championship and maybe shortening their career. It also has a lot to do with teams not being able to insure players any more.
Insurance companies (like Lloyd’s of London) realize that they will pay out teams at a less than profitable rate for Major League Baseball players based on how much these guys make now, so they will not cover any baseball player anymore. So Washington is freely shutting him down because they think it is the best thing to do for the player and the club. They think by preserving him from any injury at all, that this will prolong his shelf life and thus make the baseball team more profitable in the long run. This is a major role of the dice and could end up setting the fan base back with a sour taste in their mouth for generations. If Washington wins the World Series, this would be the only scenario where the question would not be brought up again. Anything short of this and it is going to start an epic debate. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: September 2012
Monday, September.3/2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 To say that this year has been a good year for baseball is an humongous understatement. I thought after last years finish, that nothing was going to duplicate the experience. Everyone forgets (or maybe not) that there should not even have been many races last year with Atlanta and Boston having such substantial leads on playoff spots. The Red Sox and Braves collapsed like a couple of bowling pins with King Kong Bundy splashing down on them!
This year, there are 15 teams still vying for 10 playoff spots. So far the only probable locks are Washington for a playoff spot-and Cincinnati to probably win their division The player races for all of the categories is almost as fascinating. Will Andrew McCutcheon catch Melky Cabrera for the Batting title? Or will 2012 be forever cemented in baseball folklore by a stained player like Cabrera? He could still end up determining who wins the World Series in the Fall Classic by his Testosterone filled antics in his MVP ALL-Star Game. The big question is, will the San Francisco Giants fans cheer for him if he comes back in the playoffs? They cheered for another league leader before when it was obvious he was guilty. Right now if you are the Giants, you will take an opportunity to boo or cheer for Cabrera because that means you would be in the playoffs.
Will the spending happy Dodgers have to wait another year to capitalize on their new plan to make the playoffs? If they ultimately miss the playoffs outright, are they going to buy every player they can in the off-season? I sure hope Magic knows that there are Luxury Tax penalties for spending over 178 Million Next Year. 1st year fine is 22.5%, 2nd year is 30%, 3rd year and beyond is 40%. So if they plan on having a 250 Million Dollar Payroll in 2013 (by adding 2 or 3 more top Free Agents) will the Dodgers just forego the worry of any financial penalties on a yearly basis– just to dominate the whole National League (plus baseball for that matter.) Every other team has to consider the urgency in cashing out a World Series right now while the Dodgers have not had a full off season with the new management yet. Can Oakland and their ‘New Money Ball philosophy’ make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2006?
The Best Players over the last month were: Buster Posey, Prince Fielder, Giancarlo Stanton, Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton, Yovani Gallardo, Kris Medlen, Adam Wainwright, Aroldis Chapman and Felix Hernandez. The best teams have been Oakland, Washington, San Francisco, San Diego, Baltimore and Texas. The worst teams have been Houston (at least its better to go down hard and stockpile #1 Draft Picks guys.) I have a feeling you will be there for a while with the division you are heading into and may even challenge the 120 Loss Single Season Record. At least you are not going into the NL West to compete with the LA Dodgers! The Cleveland Indians have fallen to an epic drop-off as well. Toronto misses their top sluggers. What has happened to the Minnesota Twins? The Mets have ownership and payroll problems, so at least they have an excuse. Plus they lead the world in guys being hurt. When David Wright has been your healthiest player, you know the season has been backwards! So sit back, get your notebook and popcorn ready for this Month’s Rankings! Read the rest of this entry
The Philadelphia Phillies Franchise Part 3 of 4: The Pitchers
Saturday September.01/2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles here.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 This team has played for almost 130 years. As such, they have a great deal of history, so there are going to be several more hitters than pitchers as is the case with most Franchises. For the first seasons as the Quakers, they had some decent pitchers. It wasn’t until Pete Grover Alexander joined the club, that Philadelphia Phillies fams got to see a Hall of Fame pitcher before their very eyes. From Alexander, to Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons, to Jim Bunning, Rick Wise and Chris Short, to Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw and Jim Lonborg, to Curt Schilling and Mitch Williams, to Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, the Phillies Pitchers have been improving in each generation.
Last year when the club won a record 102 games for the Franchise, they had the best 4 starters they had ever assembled in Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Roy Oswalt to take the mound. Having Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton as your 5th starter is an option most teams would love to have. The Phillies have been one of the best teams in the National League since 1975. They have appeared in 9 NLCS’s and 5 World Series while winning 2 of them. That is an impressive 36 year run. Going forward, the clubs pitchers still look solid. Cole Hamels just signed a 6 year extension, Cliff Lee is around for 3 more years and Roy Halladay still has 2 more years left after this. The club also signed Jonathan Papelbon up until the end of the 2015 season before 2012 began. Papelbon may have a chance to make this list when someone else chronicles the best pitchers in Phillies history one day 25 years from now.
If you ask me to have a Mount Rushmore of Pitchers it would be: Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Grover Alexander and probably Cole Hamels because of his instrumental pitching since the 2007 season.
For Part 1 of the Phillies Article Series: The Franchise click here:
For Part 2 of the Phillies Article Series: The Hitters click here:
For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series: Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here
For the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals Franchise 5 Part Series click here
Steve Carlton Highlight Reel:
Top Ten Stat of The Week Special Trade Edition! Boston Red Sox: Payroll 2013
Thursday, Aug.30/2012
As the longest-serving Red Sox Offensive Player under contract, Dustin Pedroia needs to return to his MVP like form of a few years back for Boston to be in contention next year.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024– In one fell swoop, the Boston Red Sox went from a team with no payroll flexibility at all for years to come, to a team that only has 4 players under contract for 57.2 Million Dollars next year. It is actually around 43 Million Dollars for Dustin Pedroia (10 MIL), John Lackey ,(16 MIL) John Lester (11.6 MIL) and Clay Buchholz (5.8 MIL.) Now since they are paying about 15 Million to the Dodgers as part of the trade it takes the total up to about 57 Million. So how does the team look going forward? Not that bad actually. The have about 25 Pre-Arbitration to Arbitration Eligible Players to re-sign. A lot of them are under club control or will not fetch that much of a boost in pay. Jacoby Ellsbury will probably get a bump from the 8 Million he received this year and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will also be due a raise from the 2.5 Million in 2012 with his breakout power year. Daniel Bard is a “Super 2” Arb Eligible Player and should not be that hard to resign considering his ineffective year. The most pressing thing to do is to resolve the David Ortiz matter and then to grab a couple of free agent pitchers and a power hitting First baseman or an outfielder.
Judging from my best estimate, it looks like the Boston Red Sox will have about an 100-110 Million Dollars for all of their Arbitration players, plus the guys already signed. This leads me to David Ortiz. He should be given a 2 or 3 year contract as soon as humanly possible at 15-16 Million Dollars a Year. He was the only player in the AL to have an OPS over 1 still going into tonight. Yes he has been hurt, but ‘Big Papi’ is not finished in the MLB. Yes he will be 37 heading into next year but he has been the best DH in the AL over the last 3 years. Ortiz had said earlier this year-that he would be open to playing for other teams so the brass better make him feel wanted or he will walk! He genuinely likes Pedroia so I am sure Ortiz could be persuaded to come back. You have to at least find this out early as it will let you know how to proceed on the Free Agent Market.
Here are some David Ortiz highlights. THIS VIDEO CONTAINS CLIPS COPYRIGHTED FROM MLB ADVANCED MEDIA. MLB REPORTS DOES NOT OWN THESE CLIPS.
For Part 1 of the Trade Breakdown: The LA Dodgers 2013 Top Ten Payroll click here .
Beltre and Hamilton Need to Carry the Rangers for a 3rd Straight WS Appearance
Tuesday, August.28/2012
Hamilton and Beltre need to carry the Rangers to their 3rd straight World Series Appearance. This feat has not been done since the Yankees went to 4 straight WS Appearances from 1998-2001.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 It is Adrian Beltre Awareness Week! What is that exactly? I have adopted an idea to carry out on twitter-in order to provide the unheralded players of the MLB, their just credit. So far there has been Juan Pierre, Mike Morse , Jose Altuve Awareness Weeks and now it is Adrian Beltre’s turn. I decided on the Rangers 3rd base slugger because I believe that he is on a path for Cooperstown. Rather than bore you with details I have already written about before on the Reports, you can click here for my previous article on Beltre hitting himself into Hall Of Fame Consideration: click here.
Okay back to the point. It was right after Adrian Beltre’s 3 HR game that I started sending out my link on the article and hailing Beltre as a man worthy for Cooperstown if he keeps it up. I had many of my followers indicate they had never thought about him like that. In bullet point style here. Right after that he had a 3 hit game, in which he was a Triple short of the cycle. The next day he hit for his second career cycle. It made me feel really good about my stance on the guy. 5 HRs, 2 Doubles, a Triple and 2 singles is a month for some guys and Beltre accomplished this feat in 14 AB over 3 games. That is 29 total bases folks, a slugging percentage of over 2 and a .714 Average. The Rangers offense has several players that seem to blow up like this. Nelson Cruz had 8 RBI not so long ago. Beltre had that 3 homer game in the ALCS last year. Then there was Josh Hamilton and his 4 HR game. Hamilton has also had 3 games this year where he had collected 5 RBI or more.
The Rangers are a power house offense. They have guys like Mitch Moreland and Mike Napoli hitting 8th routinely. They are going to win the AL West for a 3rd Straight year. With all of this said, something doesn’t resonate with me in them making their 3rd straight World Series this year. That feat has not been accomplished since the Yankees made 4 fall classics in a row from 1998-2001. The Rangers are vulnerable and have weaknesses in their pitching. They don’t have C.J Wilson this year and Rookie Yu Darvish is slowing down after a great first half. I think with Darvish, it is the innings that are catching up to him. In Japan, they usually have 6 man rotations. This is new territory for the talented chucker.
Adrian Beltre Highlights!
The Philadelphia Phillies Franchise Part 2 of 4: The Hitters
Friday August.24/2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles here.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024–The Phillies have had an incredible run in the last decade of baseball. Most of that time has been spent at Citizens Bank Ball Park which is a very hitter-friendly park. The management was smart enough to draft a whole bunch of offensive talent like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Scott Rolen, Jimmy Rollins and even J.D Drew(who never signed in 1997 with the Phillies and went back into the 1998 draft.) They also traded Scott Rolen for Placido Polanco. These guys have all taken advantage of the new baseball cathedral. Ryan Howard leads all active players in HRs per AB in the Major Leagues with hitting a HR per just a little over 13 AB. There is still a long way to go to chase down Michael Jack Schmidt. His 548 Career HRs and 1595 RBI lead the ALL-Time totals on the Phillies by quite a big margin.
Criteria for being put on this list was quite simple. You had to be a player of significance on the Franchise. Great watermarks are: 1000 hits, 100 HRs, 1000 games, if you led the league in any category for a few seasons or batted .285 or higher for the duration of your time. This is what I was looking for to include the players on the list. It has taken me a lengthy period of time to siphon through 130 years of baseball to bring you this list. From Ed Delahanty and Billy Hamilton, to Richie Ashburn and Dick Allen, to Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinki, to Von Hayes, to John Kruk and Lenny Dykstra, to Bobby Abreu and Scott Rolen-to finally get us to the gentlemen aforementioned in the first paragraph. I want this study to be as interactive as I can with the readers. If you feel that there is someone worthy of being included in the list for hitters, please feel free to comment or send me an email to booth7629@gmail.com. I would be glad to edit this post and add to it. After all, if you are reading this, chances are you are a Phillies fan, I am just a baseball historian.
For Part 1 of The 4 Part Phillies Article Series: The Franchise- click here
For Part 3 of The 4 Part Phillies Article Series: The Pitchers- click here
For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series: Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here
Ryan Howard Highlight reel
Baseball’s Greatest One Hit Wonders Part 2: The Pitchers
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Wedesday August 22, 2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer) Follow @chuckbooth3024 Pitching is the most unnatural motion I can think of. The human arm is not meant to throw 90-100 MPH repeatedly over and over. It is for this reason why I am never surprised when Pitchers go out for any injury. When I was 15, I was the catcher for former Major League Pitcher Chris Reitsma on our ALL-Star Team. I witnessed this kid throwing 90 MPH as a teenager. Honestly, no one could hit the guy. As a catcher for 10 years and having a a decent baseball IQ, I was mad that the coach never let me call his pitches for him. Why he would even throw sliders, curves and breaking balls is beyond me and it cost us some games versus some California and Arizona teams. There was no denying that he was a mega talented pitcher. He did go onto a decent MLB career, even appeared in 84 games for the Atlanta Braves in 2004. Yet he finished pitching by the age of 29 because he threw junk. Now I will move on here, I am just pointing out that kids should not be throwing junk until they are finished high school. There will be time in future articles to talk about pitching discipline and attitude.
Just like the hitters that I featured last week, the pitchers I am featuring here took the MLB by storm for a while. The fan bases were certain that these players would have great careers, only to see them fade quickly. If you ask me which position is tougher to stay up on top of, I would definitely say pitching! Remember that if you fail 70% of the time as a hitter, you are still labeled a great hitter. Pitchers have to have a success rate of 75% to be elite. Plus when they are out there, it is a continual one after another moment, whereas a hitter has a chance to regroup after an AT BAT.
This set of 5 pitchers (Mark Fidrych, Mark Prior, Jeff Zimmerman, Tommy Greene and Derrick Turnbow) in this list are all pretty much of recent vintage. I saw 4 of them play as I only started watching baseball in 1980 and Mark Fidrych was already done by that time. This doesn’t mean that I have not seen countless highlights from the man in the last 30 years. Here are a couple for your enjoyment before we start.
To see the article about Baseball’s Greatest One Hit Wonders Part 1: The Batters click here Read the rest of this entry
Top Ten Stat Of The Week: Most World Series Appearances since 1961
Sunday August 19, 2012
The Yankees have 27 World Series Titles and 13 Losses in the Fall Classic since 1921. That is 40 Total appearances in 90 Years. Can they make it 41/91 this year. Heading into Sunday Aug.19, they own the 1 seed in the AL.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 Baseball seasons are 162 games long. They used to be 154 games at one point, just ask all of the Yankees fans who did not want Roger Maris to break Babe Ruth’s HR Record with an additional 8 game schedule. The point is, every year is a marathon. Yes there are teams that can catch a hot streak and ride it all the way through the playoffs. We were privy to this the last few years with the World Series Championship teams of St. Louis and San Francisco. Ironically, both of these teams are on this top ten list. These organizations are on here because of a commitment to excellence as a Franchise. The New York Yankees do have a stacked lineup every year to help aid the World Championship Seasons, aside from them though, is there any other team that has spent money like crazy for decades? The answer is no.
Out of these teams listed in the top 10, The Baltimore Orioles have had the longest stretch since they have made the World Series (1983), yet the Cardinals were the closest to have been in the Fall Classic in wrapping up their 5th title in the last 50 years last year. Of teams that are not on this list, they are 5 teams that did not make the top 11 but have 2 World Series Trophies since 1961: Toronto won the WS in 1992 and 1993, Florida put away wins in 1997 and 2003, Pittsburgh won in 1971 and 1979, Detroit won in 1968 and 1984 and Minnesota in 1987 and 1991. Out of these 11 teams, only 3 teams have winning records in the Fall Classic since 1961: NY Yankees (9-6), Oakland (4-2) and St.Louis (5-4). This clearly shows that is easier to make the World Series than it is to win it. The Atlanta Braves made 5 World Series in the 90’s, only to lose 4 of them. All of these teams did exist in 1961. Some of the teams that are expansion clubs do have great numbers and maybe just haven’t been around long enough. Florida is in its 20th year and still has 2 World Series wins. The Blue Jays have only been around for 35 years and have 2 WS Titles. Arizona is in its 15th year right now and boasts a Trophy already. Tampa Bay has one WS appearance and is looking to make the playoffs for the 4th time in 6 years, to then add their 2nd WS Appearance if possible. It is long-suffering fans like the Chicago Cubs that haven’t won since 1909, or even appeared in the WS since 1945, that are growing extremely restless.
*** MLB Reports does not own the copyrights to the following videos or music. The videos are from MLB.com, courtesy of Fox, TBS, and KMOX, and the music is “Dark Horses” by Switchfoot from their album “Vice Versa”***
The Philadelphia Phillies Part 1 of 4: ‘The Franchise’
Friday August.17/2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Team’s Payroll going into in 2013 and 5. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) To follow all of the updates, be sure to check my author page with a list of all archived articles here.
It took the Phillies 77 years to win their first World Series in 1980, however since that time, they have been to 4 more World Series: In 1983, 1993, 2008 and 2009, while taking home the Trophy in 2008.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 The Phillies started as a franchise in 1883 in the city of Philadelphia-and have the longest continued stretch as their original name. It has been a club that suffered tremendous droughts for the player and fans alike. Only in recent vintage (since 1975) has this team come into permanent prominence, with the now Hall of Fame Mike Schmidt entering the league and turning the fortunes of the city. From signing Pete Rose to put them over the top for their 1st World Series Trophy, to just re-signing Cole Hamels to a 144 Million Dollar Contract, the team has been adamantly aggressive in keeping its name amongst the elite in baseballs annals.
One could even argue that the Phillies had been the best team in baseball from 2008 up until the start of this season. I recently named this club the best team from the years 1980-1983 and then again for the years of 2008-2009. But before the likes of: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, or Curt Schilling, Lenny Dykstra and Darren Daulton, or Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Pete Rose, they were plenty of other men who left a mark on this historic NL Franchise. We will look at all of the significant players that ever played for the club as a pitcher or hitter. The pitchers and hitters will be focused on solely in the next 2 weeks. Let us look and how the team has fared in its history.
Here are the final pitches of the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. Property of Major League Baseball & Fox.
For Part 2 of The 4 Part Philles Article Series: The Hitters, click here.
For Part 3 of The 4 Part Phillies Article Series: The Pitchers- click here
For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series: Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here
Baseball’s Greatest One Hit Wonders Part 1: The Batters
Wedesday August 15th, 2012
Phil Plantier made his debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1990. During the 1992 season, Plantier crushed 11 HRs and added another 35 RBI in just 53 games. He was then traded in the off-season to the San Diego Padres for Jose Melendez. Plantier then thrived in California.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Music has one hit wonders, some have even made an entire career out of just one stretch of time where they were deemed relevant. Baseball is like everything else, they have had their fair share of players that fit this mold. In the next two weeks, we will take a look at hitters and pitchers that were really on fire for a stretch before they petered out just as fast. I harken back to the movie ‘Tin Cup” for this next saying, “Greatness Courts Failure.” The difference between the two in baseball is so miniscule. Unfortunately for every player that makes it to the show, hundreds never get their chance at all. I am sure if you ask each one of these players if they were happy at their time in the Major Leagues, they would tell you that they thought they did not perform to their full capability.
The players would think highly of the time they had their biggest successes and would wish they could have had more of the limelight for a prolonged stretch. The fans of baseball are left to form their own opinions on these individuals. Just like what happens in the world, there will be some fans who remember these guys fondly and others will turn the page on them, not thinking much at all. The split is usually right down the middle. The next five hitters are players that I remember making a big splash before bowing out just as quick as they came into prominence. I contemplated adding Sam Fuld to this list, however he has a chance to play in the Major Leagues for years to come, so it is too early to list him amongst these men. So at the very least, I will give him the video tribute down below before the page break. Fuld is a great inspiration and I look forward to writing about him in future articles. Also, other players I considered for this piece were Bob Hamelin and Rick Ankiel. I gave Ankiel a pass in both pitching and hitting because he was so unique to have done both. You can read a recent article I wrote about the man here . In the end, I did not think Bob Hamelin had a standout performance even as a rookie. He was lucky to have such a weak class of rookies to compete against in the year he won it.
Top Ten Stat of the Week: Active Saves Leaders in the MLB (A Closers Role)
Monday August.13/2012
Mariano Rivera holds the ALL-Time Record for any closer (active or retired) with 608 Saves. Will he come back in 2013 to add to his totals?
Chuck Booth: (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- To be a closer in today’s baseball game takes quite the mental fortitude. There is a lot of psychological warfare one could do to himself in preventing a successful run at saving games. While I am of the mindset that the relief pitchers of yesteryear seemed to be relied on more for lengthier durations, this does not diminish this stat in any way. It is hard to acquire the 90-100% save rate that most teams are striving for in a pitching staff. In any given seasons the average save opportunities average from 45-65 chances to lock a game down. A lot of this also depends on what team you play for. There have been several phenomenal stretches put forth by closers of the game in recent vintage. Who could forget Canadian born Erig Gagne? This man once saved 85 straight games from 2002-2004. He is the all-time leader in that category and beat out John Franco’s previous record by an astounding 30 games. Another incredible run was Brad Lidge‘s incredible 2008 season where he did not blow a save opportunity out of 48 games both in the regular season and playoffs.
Sure these guys don’t log 120 innings anymore, or throw for 3 inning saves like Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage did for many years. By the way, we can all thank Tony La Russa for the invention of specialists pitchers (Rick Honeycutt, Jesse Orosco anyone?) and the one inning save closers. La Russa perfected this scenario with former starter Dennis Eckersley coming out of the pen for the Oakland A’s during their powerhouse days in the late 80’s. Eckersley was so dominant every team tried to duplicate their own bullpens to mock the A’s.
Before this time had come, relief pitchers were all mostly comprised of young pitchers trying to acclimatize themselves into the Major Leagues first, before earning a spot as a Starting Pitcher. For example, David Wells was once a relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays first and then was promoted to a starting pitcher after he proved he could pitch in the Major Leagues. In today’s baseball world, relief pitchers are now being drafted out of college and high school as relievers whereas they used to all come from the position of starting pitcher. It also used to be that relief pitchers were players that graduated to a starter and then could not find success as starters and were sent back to the bullpen once again to stay. When it came down to it, you had only a couple of chances to perform as a starter. Maybe it was because there were bigger than life characters like Gossage that make remember these pitchers in such favorable terms. Maybe it was because we never saw them interviewed on a social media platform like today’s athlete is and the mystery surrounded them made them more feared, or maybe it is because we tend to admire things more when they happened in the past. I still love the closers role in today’s game and nothing has more drama in a baseball game than trying to nail down the last 3 outs!
It Is The 5 Year Anniversary Of His Re-Debut As A Hitter: What Is Next For Rick Ankiel?
Thursday August.09, 2012
At Age 20 (and starting out the year at age 19), Ankiel finished 2nd in ROY voting, 7th in strikeouts and ERA, 2nd in K’s/Per 9 IP and Hits/Per 9 IP in 2000. He threw 94-97 MPH as a Young Pitcher, however a mental block and injuries plagued him to the point where he changed into a permanent Outfielder in 2005.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Playing the game of baseball is predicated on failure. Most of us that have played the game, realize how hard it is to hit a flying object with a piece of wood or metal. The majority of players, that are in the Major Leagues, have honed their skills from the time they were just starting grade school. Generally it takes a hell of a lot of repetition to become good at something. As an aspiring baseball player in my teens, I can remember swinging the baseball over 200 times a day in trying to perfect my swing. I had practice drills that would emphasize on weight transference, foot work and eye-hand coordination. So I imagine a lot of today’s current players did the same when they were a kid. Today marks the 5 year anniversary from one of the greatest stories ever produced on the field by a Major League Player.
The Cardinals Drafted Rick Ankiel in the 2nd round of the 1997 Amateur Draft. Ankiel had great pitching mechanics and made his dream come true on Aug.23 1999 (at the Age of 19), by making his pitching debut with the St. Louis Cardinals against the Montreal Expos He sported a 0-1 record in 5 starts to end the year with an impressive 39 Strikeouts in 33 innings, while posting a respectable 3.27 ERA. Ankiel was a budding prospect with a chance to become a perennial ALL-Star. In his Rookie year during the 2000 season, he finished with a record of 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA-and was 7th in the league with 194 Strikeouts.
This season was good enough to finish 2nd in Rookie of the Year Balloting. The Cardinals needed him to pitch in Game #1 of the NLDS because he and Daryl Kile were the only ones left on the roster as 3 starters from the regular season had become injured. To further put pressure on this young kid, his mentor for the game of baseball, his father, had been incarcerated in jail at the time as he was making it to the Major Leagues and it ate at him not having him there live to see him play. Still, Tony La Russa had complete faith in the kid to start in pivotal games at such a young age because of his electric arm.
It proved to be a costly mistake as Ankiel started to mentally fracture by the 3rd inning of that very game and ended up walking 4 batters and throwing a record 5 wild pitches in one inning-while giving up 4 runs. Ankiel never recovered from leaving the mound on that day. Against everyone’s better judgement, La Russa sent out Ankiel again to start in Game #2 of the NLCS versus the Braves. His first pitch of the game sailed over Timo Perez of the New York Mets. 5 wild pitches later and La Russa mercifully pulled him from the game. If you can believe it, La Russa brought out Ankiel to face four more hitters in Game #5 of the Series. This time he walked 2 more hitters and threw 2 more wild pitches. The Mets wiped out the depleted Cardinals pitching staff in that 5th game. If you ask La Russa, these decisions all haunt him more than any other thing that he has ever done as a manager.
Here is a great highlight reel showing off Ankiel’s best moments as a National in 2011.
Top Ten Stat Of The Week: Active Career Stolen Base Leaders
Wednesday August.8/2012
Juan Pierre was one of the most prolific hitters in terms of base hits in the last 12 years along with being the Active Leader for Career Stolen Bases. Pierre has 4-200 hit seasons in his resume.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on Twitter)- The game has been moving back towards speed, offense and athleticism since the adaptation of the steroid testing in the MLB. I think we will see a big emphasis on the Stolen Base in the coming years. We have Billy Hamilton coming in the near future and he could actually challenge a 100 Stolen Base in one season. 30 years ago there were several guys challenge or eventually succeed in stealing 100 bases. Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman both hit the century mark 3 times, while Ron LeFlore and Tim Raines cracked the 90 SB plateau. Teams used to have several speedsters in their lineup. Jose Reyes has the most stolen bases in one year for the active players with 78 swipes in 2007.
I omitted Luis Castillo from the list because he has not played since 2010, (much to the delight of the New York Mets fans I am sure.) I am sure that Boston Red Sox fans are hopeful that he can regain his stolen base prowess very soon with him being only in the second year of a 7 YR/140 Million Dollar Contract. Johnny Damon also has foraged a great career to be on this list from sheer determination. Out of this top ten , Jose Reyes has the most steals per games played, while Omar Vizquel (who has played 2947 games) has the least amount of steals per game played. I was most surprised by Derek Jeter cracking this list because he has never stolen more than 34 bags in one year. I wonder how many bags Ichiro would have stolen had he arrived in North America earlier? Johnny Damon and Omar Vizquel making this top ten is a test to their long-playing careers. I figured Jimmy Rollins had more steals than what his totals came in as. Bobby Abreu has the most HRs on this list with 286 and Juan Pierre has the least. with 17.
MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: August 2012
Monday August.6/2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- It has been a crazy month in which teams have stockpiled some heavy talent at the trade deadline to get ready for the playoffs. Amongst the biggest gainers for the rankings this month were: the Athletics, Reds, Braves, Tigers, Dodgers (because of the deals) and Mariners while the Mets, Red Sox, Indians and Royals saw brutal months all but seal their playoff fates. I do think that Boston has a punchers chance but that all is dependent on David Ortiz returning to the lineup swiftly. The power of the best teams is definitely leaning to the National League right now where several teams are playing great baseball. With one-third of the season left we are all in for a treat as baseball fans.
I will have one more regular season Power Rankings month of September (to be posted on Labor Day Weekend,) before I also provide a playoff style ranking of the 1-10 seeds right before the Wild Card Teams play the play in game. It certainly has been awesome to follow how the trade deadline has effected the Monthly Rankings this time around. I think it is safe to say that this years deadline provided more interest and following-from even the casual fan more than any other year before. I also believe that the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline is now the best Trade Deadline in all of sports. Social Media has a lot to do with this but so does parity. The 2nd Wild Card spot has also created more teams willing to trade prospects in lieu of going for it. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Reports 
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