Category Archives: The Rest: Everything Baseball
From Cuba to Japan, Opening Day to the World Series and the WBC
Did You Remember Back To When Twins pitchers batted?
The Designated Hitter rule came into play in the American League for the first time in 1973 and pitchers in the AL had to put their bats into storage where they still sit today.
Since 1973 very few AL pitchers have had to dust off and apply pine tar to their bats before walking to home plate to try to get some wood on the ball.
Do you know what pitcher got the last hit for the Minnesota Twins before the DH cane into play? How about that last Twins pitcher to bat before the DH?
The Dodgers Should Not Stop Acquiring Players Even After Signing Kazmir And Maeda
Scott Kazmir has revived his career over the last 3 years after seeing it almost end after his days with the Angels. The LHP has gone 32 – 29 record wise, but has dropped in ERA over the last 3 years from 4.04 in 2013 – 3.55 in 2014 – and 3.10 last year for both the A’s and Astros. Kazmir, who will turn 32 later this month, signed a 3 Year deal worth $48 MIL that he can opt out after next campaign. If that is the case, he will collect $16 MIL in 2016 for salary at hit the open market in a Free Agent class where he could really garner some big dollar offers.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part-Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Dodgers have finally entered the Free Agent Starting Pitchers frenzy this offseason In two moves over the last week they have inked Scott Kazmir to a 3 YRs/$48 MIL and NPBL stud Kenta Maeda to an 8 year pact – where terms were not disclosed until mid last week ($24 MIL is guaranteed – with incentives on performance that could bring that up to $10 MIL per year) .
These are decent deals to counter what the D’Backs did in picking up former Dodgers hurler Zack Greinke, and then trade for Shelby Miller, while the Giants inked Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija to help bolster both of their clubs.
10 Detroit Tiger Wishes For The New Year
I’m not going to start at with a World Series ring, as we’re a ways off still in Detroit for that. However there are 10 things that I think as fans we should be hope for in the New Year…
- A healthy Miguel Cabrera – Cabrera enters his 14th Major League season at age 33 and coming off the his first full season in not reaching 600+ plate appearances. Due to that, his 100+ RBI streak was broken and numbers looked down, although he did win his 4th batting title.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 30, 2015
Howard Simmons – New York Daily News
More of my conversation with Phil Hecken of Uniwatch where we lament the state of the New York Mets uniforms.
It is a matter of taste on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Follow Phil Hecken on Twitter by clicking HERE.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 29, 2015
Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Can you imagine an alternate universe where Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera would have been teammates?
It was possible.
Pondering parallel realities on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Looking Back At The Pace Of Play In 2015
On February 20, 2015, MLB announced a series of initiatives aimed at quickening the pace of play in Major League games, the key changes were:
- Umpires will enforce Rule 6.02(d), which requires hitters to keep one foot in the box during an at-bat, subject to certain exceptions.
- Timers will be used to ensure that the game resumes promptly at the end of inning breaks.
- Managers will no longer come out of the dugout to initiate a replay challenge. A manager will also keep his challenge after each call that is overturned. Last year, a challenge was retained only after the first overturned call.
So how did those changes pan out for you? Did you notice if the pace of play sped up? Did the pace of play speed up at all?
I can’t say that I noticed if a game was any quicker or not, I did notice the new rule about stepping out of the batters box because the announcers kept harping on it.
I also became aware of the clock between innings when I missed a home run because the game resumed before the television was back to the game from its barrage of commercials.
Check out the rest of the story at Twinstrivia.com.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 28, 2015
AP File
The man who gave me one of the greatest moments of my youth passed away.
Today I pay tribute to the immortal Dave Henderson.
RIP to the hero of 1986 in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 27, 2015
AP Photo
It is Sunday and time for The Sunday Request.
@sullybaseball I know its saturday but I dont want to forget. For my #sundayrequest I’d like to hear about the last RoY of any given team
— paul salinas (@RedSalinas) December 13, 2015
Breaking down each team’s last Rookie of the Year and a few surprising facts popped up.
Let’s avoid the Sophomore Jinx on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 26, 2015
Topps
Part 2 of my conversation with former big league outfielder Glenn Braggs.
We talked about his early days with the Milwaukee Brewers and how a fast food job almost interfered with his big league career.
Order is up on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Nats Sign Daniel Murphy: Why Not Have Just Kept Escobar And Sign Denard Span?
Daniel Murphy has a career 3 Slash of .288/.331/.424. The Nats signed him to a 3 YR deal worth $37.5 MIL – that will also cost the Nationals the 17th overall pick in the 2016 Draft next year. Some say that pick is worth $8 to $10 MIL. If this is the case, why wouldn’t the Nats just have kept Yunel Escobar for $7 MIL over the next 2 years, and then sign Denard Span to the 3 Year deal that Murphy just signed. The Nats are better off today than they were yesterday, but I have to ask the question whether or not they did the right moves.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Nats finally got their First Baseman they needed in the upcoming year with a 3 YRS/$37.5 MIL deal with former Met Daniel Murphy. It will cost the cash, plus the 17th overall pick in the 2016 as compensation for signing him.
It has been an offseason that has seen GM Mike Rizzo obtain several Bullpen pieces for the roster next year.
In the end here, I am not sure Washington wouldn’t have been better off just keeping Yunel Escobar, and signing Denard Span for the same deal that Murphy just got.
So I guess Anthony Rendon will leadoff for the Nationals in 2016?
New Manager Dusty Baker will probably see Bryce Harper move into the Starting Centerfielder position, play Jayson Werth in Left Field, and then use Clint Robinson and Michael Taylor as a platoon in RF.
Taylor could also play CF, with Harper in Right, but the idea is have the reigning NL MVP not have to crash into fences down the foul pole line. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 21, 2015
Topps
Today’s podcast is a message to Cornelius NC Mayor Chuck Travis and the board of commissioners to honor Hoyt Wilhelm and preserve the baseball diamond where he began his Hall of Fame journey.
It is a call to action episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Exploring The 1927 New York Yankees
The 1927 New York Yankees epitomize dominance in athletics. Nearly a century later they are still mentioned any time a team is lapping the field in their particular sport.
Led by future Hall-of-Famers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, the Bronx Bombers went 110-44 and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. Looking back at the squad reveals a number of compelling tidbits.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 20, 2015
MARK J. TERRILL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
It is Sunday and time for The Sunday Request.
@sullybaseball think there’s chance he didn’t want reinstatement? Prodigal thing good for his business. His case 4 reinstatement was a joke
— Ed Connealy (@edcfromkc) December 15, 2015
I had never thought on it, but man does Pete Rose seem to have ulterior motives.
Maybe bet against this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Baseball Hall Of Fame and Alan Trammel; Stacking Up Against Yount, Ripken, Ozzie, & Larkin
Now that we’ve taken a look at how Alan Trammell stacks up against other shortstops in the Hall, let’s take a look at how he stacks up against Shortstops in the Hall from his era which include Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr., Ozzie Smith, and then specifically against Barry Larkin as he was not in the Hall at the the time this was originally written.
I took a look at standard Hall of Fame stats as well as some simple Sabermetrics and then others like awards, games played at other positions, etc. Finally I took a look at Baseball-Reference.com’s who are they most like for their career. Take a look at how Tram faired…
Opt-out Clause Is A Black Eye For Baseball
opt-out clause – a clause that permits signatories to a contract to opt out of particular provisions, or to terminate the contract early.
I make no bones about it, I abhor the opt-out clauses that are being given to major league players today. MLB players today make millions of dollars a year and still they ask for and get opt-out clauses in their contracts. What is up with that?
To my way of thinking it is simple out and out GREED on the part of players and their agents. An opt-out clause in a baseball contract makes it totally one sided in favor of the player. The plan probably was originated by an agent that realized that there was more money to be made by negotiating more contracts. The players today have no loyalty to their teams or their fans what so ever and their single focus is putting more money in their pockets. They claim that they are doing all they can for the team but that is all BS, or they wouldn’t bail out of a contract if it was advantageous to them.
READ REST OF THE ENTRY
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 19, 2015
Baseball is recommending putting more nets for fan safety at ball parks.
That seems like a no brainer, doesn’t it?
Better to be safe than sorry in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Ranking The Top Rookie Baseball Card Classes From Topps For The Last 31 Years; 10-1
For the last couple of days, I’ve been ranking the top rookie classes for the last 31 years from Topps Baseball Cards with rankings from ranked 31-21 and yesterday we covered 20-11. Today we wrap up with my top 10, but before we get to that, here’s a little more background…
To start off, I am only going to use Topps and not any of its offshoot brands like Bowman or Finest. I’ll use the standard series cards and include traded/update sets as well. The term rookie card had only been defined in the last decade so things may not always be apples to apples. From 2006 on, a Rookie Card can only be established once a player has played in a Major League game. This makes update sets incredibly important as they catch the late call-ups in their sets.
Additionally, Topps backed off rookie cards for a while it seemed by allowing Bowman (their rookie card brand since 1989) to get the first cards of players like Mariano Rivera, or other manufactures may steal the Rookie Card title altogether like Fleer did with David Ortiz. You’ll also notice duplication of some rookie cards in the ‘80’s since the players cards that came out in traded sets were considered XRC (extended rookie cards) since the cards were only sold in set form and away from the standard sets.
I’ll look at Hall of Famers, potential Hall of Famers, impact players, overall potential, etc. and remember…the PED era has nothing to do with anything in my opinion. Here we go…
Ranking The Top Rookie Baseball Card Classes From Topps For The Last 31 Years; 20-11
Yesterday I started looking at the top rookie classes for the last 31 years from Topps Baseball Cards and ranked 31-21. Today we move on down the list, looking at the classes ranked 20-11. Before we get to that however, here’s a little more background…
To start off, I am only going to use Topps and not any of its offshoot brands like Bowman or Finest. I’ll use the standard series cards and include traded/update sets as well. The term rookie card had only been defined in the last decade so things may not always be apples to apples. From 2006 on, a Rookie Card can only be established once a player has played in a Major League game. This makes update sets incredibly important as they catch the late call-ups in their sets.
Additionally, Topps backed off rookie cards for a while it seemed by allowing Bowman (their rookie card brand since 1989) to get the first cards of players like Mariano Rivera, or other manufactures may steal the Rookie Card title altogether like Fleer did with David Ortiz. You’ll also notice duplication of some rookie cards in the ‘80’s since the players cards that came out in traded sets were considered XRC (extended rookie cards) since the cards were only sold in set form and away from the standard sets.
I’ll look at Hall of Famers, potential Hall of Famers, impact players, overall potential, etc. and remember…the PED era has nothing to do with anything in my opinion. Here we go…
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 18, 2015
LucasFilm Ltd
A new Star Wars movie is coming out. Not sure if you heard about it.
The last time we had a decent Star Wars movie was 1983. A lot has changed since then, especially in baseball.
The Force is with this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Ranking The Top Rookie Baseball Card Classes From Topps For The Last 31 Years; 31-21
I’ve been slacking on the baseball card side of this blog so far and want to start righting that ship starting today. Being close to 40, I started collecting cards 31 years ago when I bought my first packs and eventual box of 1985 Topps baseball cards. There has been a ton of change in the industry, but Topps remains consistent as the only licensed manufacture of cards by both MLB and the Players association.
With that said, I had recently gone through some cards and was amazed at some of rookie card classes in recent years, which gave me an idea to rank the classes since I’ve been collecting.
Let’s take a look at what that looks like…
Pittsburgh Pirates Must Continue To Strengthen Bullpen
Recent history shows that good things happen when the Pittsburgh Pirates pay close attention to their bullpen. 2016 should be no exception.
In 2012 the Pittsburgh Pirates found themselves in the middle of ‘Epic Collapse II.’ While their miserable finish to the season would extend one of the most notorious streaks in professional sports, that particular season served as a blueprint to illustrate how the team could improve its fortunes going forward.
That blueprint was not found at an everyday position; nor was it found with the men tapped to start the game on the pitcher’s mound.
It was found in the bullpen.
An Open Letter To Commissioner Robert Manfred: Reinstate Pete!
Dear Commissioner Manfred,
I have been a fan of Major League Baseball ever since I laid eyes on Howard Johnson and the 1991 Mets. From that point on, I have followed the game of baseball with a passion. From countless games in person at Citi Field and Shea Stadium, to repeat watching of old games on YouTube and video cassette; I have followed the game with a passion and vigor. Baseball, to me, is a game rich with history and legacy.
That is why I am perturbed at the fact Pete Rose hasn’t been reinstated into MLB and can’t be on the Hall of Fame ballot.
Look, I understand the frustration. The man bet on baseball. In fact, the man bet on everything. He had a serious addiction. He went underneath the table and bet on his team to win. Yet, it wasn’t a 1919 World Series situation with “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and the Black Sox scandal.
He never manipulated a lineup for a loss. Mr. Rose NEVER bet against his team. If he purposely bet against the club he was managing and doctored results to his favor, then THAT’S an issue. However, that has never been proven, thus I believe it’s a bit over the top to STILL have a lifetime ban.
Jose Bautista Bat Flip HR in Context of Toronto Sports Moments
How does the famous bat flip HR from Jose Bautista compare to other Toronto sports ‘big moments’?
To all Blue Jays fans, the holidays are upon us. It’s that time of year when even the most miserable people smile, where when you hold the door open for someone you’re almost guaranteed to get a ,“Thank You.” However some of the saddest people this year might be Toronto Blue Jays fans.
Jays fans aren’t feeling so hot about this offseason so far, the lack of moves, and the departure of Alex Anthopoulos, and even some believing Mark Shapiro was sent by Donald Trump to ruin Canadian baseball and ‘Make America Great Again’ there hasn’t been too much to cheer about.
It was only sixty-two days ago that us as fans witnessed one of the greatest moments not only in Blue Jays history, but in recent Toronto sports history.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 16, 2015
Sports Illustrated
Happy late birthday to Mo Vaughn, a player whose impact on the Boston Red Sox can not be underestimated.
Turn back to the 1990s for this episode of Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 14, 2015
Boston.com
Can you imagine Dallas being Red Sox country?
Or New Englanders being apathetic fans of an expansion baseball team?
Perhaps that reality could have happened.
It is an alternate universe episode of Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Be sure to visit Stadium Page by clicking HERE.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 13, 2015
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
It is Sunday and time for THE SUNDAY REQUEST.
@sullybaseball If Theo ends up breaking the curse in Chicago after doing the same in Boston, is he the greatest GM of all time?
— Jim Furlong (@EWOKinLA) December 12, 2015
Greatest of all time? Maybe not that high yet. But he should mentioned as an All Time Great already.
Praise the brains behind the scenes in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 12, 2015
Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
The Cardinals just lost Jason Heyward. How are the fans taking it?
@JasonHeyward I hope someone throws it at your face again you greedy piece of shit.
— clay jarrell (@cgjcards) December 11, 2015
Oh dear. Calm down Cardinals fans! Losing stars and still being a winner is part of Cardinals lore!
In the name of Stan Musial’s ghost, listen to this episode of Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Dear Santa 2015: A Xmas Letter (Wishlist) From All 30 MLB Teams And Their Fanbases
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It is that time of year. All the executives should be toting their favorite team pencil and get ready for a letter to old Saint Nick.
The Winter Meetings have concluded, and as of right now, the Cubs went four hours without acquiring someone so the rest of the league can quickly exhale for a few minutes.
This is the lull of the offseason right now with not much happening from right now all the way through to the Baseball Hall Of Fame Vote.
Speaking of the Hall of Fame – do you think Pete Rose does autograph signings in Vegas on Dec.25 – before gambling the winnings at the craps table right after? Okay sorry Pete. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 10, 2015
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
I know it is only December. But MAN the Cubs look like the team to beat in 2016!
They have been filling in their holes while the other NL contenders have bigger question marks.
Dare Cub fans dream?
It is a tempt the fates episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Odds To Win The 2016 MLB World Series
Pittsburgh had the 2nd best record in the Majors with 98 wins, yet were simirarily dismissed in the Wild Card Game by the Cubs – and a lightning hot Jake Arrieta at the time. It may actually get worse for the Bucs in coming years with the emergence of the young NL Chicago squad and the continued dominance of the St. Louis franchise. My idea was to spend some money this offseason, but if you are 5 or 6 games behind the playoff bar near the Trade Deadline, to deal all guys on the remainder year of their contracts and retool for 2017. Instead they have made a boneheaded trade in doling out Neil Walker for Jon Niese this week. Their odd should not be +1400 as the #3 ranked team in the NL Central. I don’t think 3 teams qualify for the playoffs out of that Division in 2016.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Okay hands up, how many of you followed my advice minutes after the Zack Greinke deal – and pounced on that 40/1 play? I am happy to say I did, and voila, they jumped from +4000 all the way to+1600.
Sure there was an added bonus of the club picking up Shelby Miller via the trade route – but that is how quickly the odds fluctuate. The job is to render value.
So far we have given really sound advice on this whole off season. The first time the new odd was posted we said to stay clear of the Dodgers as the favorite. Look at them right now – they are considered the 5th favorite in the NL.
Now if you think the Los Angeles franchise is not done on the winter with high priced talent, you can get them at this nice odd. I personally believe they need to add 1 more #2, #3 starter in addition to the latest Dodgers Hisashi Iwakuma signing – and another premiere Outfielder as well. Read the rest of this entry
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