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ATR: Ask the Reports Answers Your Baseball Questions: WBC, Pascucci, MLB Standings, Bonds, Clemens, Pedroia, Bautista and Wild Cards
Monday September 3rd, 2012
Jonathan Hacohen: I have some baseball thoughts on my mind. Ok…I have baseball thoughts seemingly always on my mind! Call it what you like. A gift. A curse. I am what I am. And I do love baseball a ton. So before we jump into your weekly questions, here are three topics that I wanted to throw out to the baseball world:
1) In my respectful opinion, the organizers of the World Baseball Classic should be ashamed of themselves. Yes, I said it. Two of the qualifying groups have their games being played this month before the end of the regular MLB season. How does that make any sense? Firstly, you lose MLB players who still have their games going, who otherwise would have been eligible and possibly participated. For a country like Canada, that is a huge blow which could mean to elimination before the tournament itself even begins next spring. Add to the fact that coverage of the tournament has been literally non-existent, and people need to ask themselves what exactly they are doing. If marketed right, the WBC should be big. Huge in fact. But it’s not. With the addition of 12 new eligible countries in the qualifiers, there should be a huge amount of hype going into the games. But now, people don’t know when these games are being played, where, rosters and even that these games even exist. If we are going to promote baseball to the world, let’s do it right. There is no baseball in the Olympics, so let’s get the WBC to be a bigger global stage. Until that happens, the WBC will not fulfill its potential. Ever. Groups 3 and 4 are playing their qualifiers in mid-November. Now that makes sense.
Quite frankly, I don’t care about excuses on timing, locations etc. There are thousands of ballparks around the world. The games could all have been played much after the World Series and had its own captive baseball audience to shine. I certainly hope that is considered in the 4th edition of this great tournament.
2) Valentino Pascucci: Big Val (@PoppaValentino) on Twitter, is a huge guy. 6’6″ and 255 lbs. to be exact. He recently passed the 250 home run mark in the minors. Pretty big stuff. In 14 minor league seasons (8 of them in AAA), he has a .269 AVG, with a .390 OBP and .484 SLG. After representing Italy in the 2009 WBC, I expect to see Val back there in 2013. Glad to see that he will get to represent Italy and play at one of the highest levels of the game in the world. Whenever I think of Val, I always wonder why the man never truly got his “shot”. He got into 32 games with the Expos in 2004 (Expos??!!) and 10 games with the Mets last year. Even hitting 34 home runs in 2007 (AAA Marlins) didn’t do the trick. Could Big Val had become the next Big Papi if given his shot? We will never know. You can never have too much offense in baseball. I wish teams could have seen that and had tried Valentino Pascucci on their team one year. Who knows what could have resulted – 20-30 bombs, 70+ walks. But rather than thriving in the show, Valentino Pascucci will likely one day retire as one of the top home run hitters in the history of the minors. I wanted to take a moment and salute a great hitter in this game. Mr. Pascucci, whether the 2013 WBC will be your last or you stay in the game for another season or two, thank you the home runs and having one of the greatest baseball names we will ever hear. Well done sir.
3) If you were sleeping under a rock and looked at the MLB standings today, your jaw will drop on the floor. Yankees in first place in the AL East, with the Orioles only 2 games back. In September! White Sox and Tigers in a dead heat in the Central. Rangers on top of the West, but the A’s only 3 games back. The NL picture is a little more certain though. The Nationals (is that possible) are on top, ahead of the Braves by 6.5 games. While most of us have accepted the Nationals dominance this season long ago, someone new to the picture would still be doing a double take. Let’s not forget that this was once a losing franchise not so long ago, that just recently put it all together. In the Central, the Reds are close to becoming champs with a stranglehold 9.5 games on the Cardinals. And that is significant considering St. Louis is 10 games over .500! In the West, it’s the Dodgers and Giants, with San Francisco enjoying a 4.5 game lead. Two wild cards per league? If the season ended today, Baltimore and Oakland would meet in the sudden game playoff. If you had bet that in Vegas during spring training, you would be a millionaire soon. But the Wild Card race in the AL is far from done, with the Rays, White Sox/Tigers and Angels all in shooting distance. With much baseball to be played, anything can still happen. In the NL, Atlanta and St.Louis have the Dodgers and Pirates to contend with to clinch their respective Wild Cards. Yes, it has been an unbelievable season thus far with lots more ball to be played. Care to make your predictions at this point? Watch out. As last year taught us, it ain’t over till it’s over.
For our Batting Stance Guy featured video of the week, we bring you Gar’s recent contest: Who Takes Most Steps Out of MLB Batter’s Box? This one is fun and damn funny:
Now let’s get to your top questions of the week: Read the rest of this entry
Roger Clemens and the Sugar Land Skeeters
Wednesday August 29th, 2012
Sam Evans: Roger Clemens deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. If Cooperstown picked candidates with regard to their off-field activities, players like Dick Williams and Mickey Mantle might have never been chosen to the elite class that is the Hall of Fame. If Hall of Fame voters look at Clemens’ career numbers, they’ll find it hard to not see him as having one of the best starting pitching careers we’ve ever seen. Clemens is currently pitching with the independent league Sugar Land Skeeters after five years away from the game. It’s been only one game so far, with more possibly to come. Let’s look at Clemens, his first start, and how he stacks up against some of his teammates.
Roger Clemens ranks eighth all-time among major leaguers in WAR, and second among starting pitchers (145.5). His upper 90’s fastball, nasty splitter, and above-average changeup led him to over 300 wins and a twenty-four year career in the majors. His last season, in 2007 with the New York Yankees, Clemens still managed to pitch at a fairly high level, posting a 4.14 FIP in seventeen starts. His average fastball velocity was just over 90 MPH for the 2007 season.
After Clemens figured out a bunch of legal things, he “tried out” for the Sugar Land Skeeters, who play in the independent Atlantic League, and made the team. In his first start on Saturday, August 25th, Clemens lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing only one hit, not walking a batter, and striking out two. Facing a Bridgeport team that features former major leaguers Joey Gathright and Shea Hillebrand, Clemens topped out at 88 MPH and got a few outs via his splitter. Read the rest of this entry
The Best Teams from 1980-2012: Will Texas claim the title this year from 2010-2012?
Wednesday July.11, 2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- There is only so much one can read in an article, otherwise I would make these lists up from the turn of the 20th century. If you gave me enough time as a reader, I promise to backdate this topic with another article featuring the best teams dating back further in years. Eventually, all of the years may be dissected and we can have a healthy debate on some of my selections. I really started watching baseball in the early 1980’s. As I became older and discovered ways to research the history of the game, my knowledge and curious mind grew for more information. I have studied and read baseball stat books and breezed through the odd Bill James novel. If I ever take a break from writing or baseball park chasing, I may find some time down the road to watch the 9 part PBS documentary that Ken Burns did on baseball’s history.
Baseball lends itself more to the history than any other sport because of how it has been chronicled throughout their past. Writers, announcers, former players, parents etc.. have always carried on with the stories of America’s favorite pastime. I will never be sold that NFL is the greatest pastime in sports right now. NFL is the greatest gambling sport presently. It is my firm belief that the only reason why the NFL draws in more cash from its sport is because of the gambling factor. If you took that aspect out of it, I believe baseball is the #1 sport. Can you imagine how much attention we would pay to baseball if there were only a 16 game schedule? Enough with that rant, let’s get down to the list. Who were the best teams at any specific time period for the last 32 years? We will start with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1980-1983. Read the rest of this entry
Barry Enright Interview: Haley Smilow Talks Baseball with the Arizona Diamondbacks Pitcher
Thursday June 7th, 2012
Barry Enright was drafted out of Pepperdine University by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round for the 2007 amateur draft.
The right-handed pitcher made his major league debut on June 30, 2010. He pitched five innings and earned the win that day against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Enright, 26, is in his second season with the Reno Aces, the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate. Enright was 9-5 with the Aces last season, and is 4-3 with 4.82 ERA (as of June 5) this year.
Haley: First, congratulations on your engagement. Have you set a date yet? And if it is not a surprise where are you going on your honeymoon?
Barry: Thank you. We set a date for January 19 2013 in Santa Barbara. We haven’t decided on our honeymoon yet, but our qualification is clear blue warm ocean water.
Haley: Can you share with us your first memory as a professional?
Barry: My first memory as a professional was in Yakima Washington. I gave up an 0-2 double off the wall to start off the inning but proceeded to strike out the side after that. I was a reliever my first half season to keep my innings down, it was a lot of fun. Read the rest of this entry
Passing of the Torch as The Greatest Player in The MLB: From Pujols to Hamilton
Wednesday June.6, 2012
Josh Hamilton is on pace for 64 HRs and 177 RBI in 2012 with a .345 AVG. He has taken over as the best player in MLB from Albert Pujols -Photo Courtesy of http://www.real-fans.com
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- While watching Josh Hamilton this year, I started thinking about the best players in the MLB over the last 33 years. I am talking the best player of the game at any point of time. I tracked back to 1979 for this article. I may expand further back in follow up articles. I did rank defense highly when I came up with the players. I did agonize over Mike Schmidt, Jim Rice, Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken for some of the years given in specific time frames. These gentlemen were given every consideration. In the end, we are talking about the best player in the game though and it is always subject to debate and personal opinion. The criteria had to involve leading the league in several different offensive and/or defensive categories, followed by routinely being in the top 7 in MVP balloting(if not taking home the honor), All-Star Appearances for every year I listed them for and most of them won silver sluggers and/or Gold Gloves as well.
George Brett won batting titles in 3 different decades and flirted with .400 in 1980 while hitting .390 for the year. -Photo courtesy of lanius.wordpress.com
George Brett 1979-1983-George Brett was the best hitter in the game from 1979-1983. He hit for a .320 average and slugged his way to having the Royals as perennial contenders. He led the league in triples (20) and hits in 1979. In 1980, he hit .390 with a .454 OBP, 664 SLG and a 1.118 OBP which led the league. In 1983, Brett led the league in slugging an OPS once again. Brett won the MVP in 1980 and was the runner-up in 1979. In 1985, George Brett would lead the Royals to a World Series. He later won a batting title at age 37 with a .329 average. This was the toughest time frame to judge from 1979-1983. Mike Schmidt was an incredible force at third base with huge power and Jim Rice also put up mammoth numbers, but in the end I chose George Brett because he was more consistent out of 3. Read the rest of this entry
Jack Morris: It Is Time To Elect This Winner Into The Baseball Hall Of Fame!
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Jack Morris led the Major Leagues for Wins in the 80’s by posting a 162-119 Record (.577). He was a 5 Time ALL-Star and had 6 Top 10 Finishes for AL Cy Young. He also hurled 175 Complete Games. He won 20 Games 3 separate years, 16+ Wins in 10 Years and 15+ Wins in 12 of his 16 full years – and 18 seasons overall.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
The debate for whether or not Jack Morris belongs in the Baseball Hall Of Fame has heated up to an ALL-Time high with the big vote going down tomorrow. 575 members of BBWAA fraternity will decide whether or not the big man from Minnesota will enter one of the hardest Hall Of Fame’s to enter in pro sports (if not the hardest). Morris will need a 75% (432 Minimum Votes) of them to write down his name on their ballot for enshrinement into Cooperstown. Last year, Morris received 66.7 % of the writers votes in his 13th year of eligibility. He will have his name on a 14th ballot this year. He has been trending up in recent years, so if he can improve with the same amount of 2011-2012 jump of (+13.2%), then he will make it in. If he fails to reach the Hall this year, 2014 would be his last year of eligibility for the BBWAA Vote. He could still make it via the Veterans Committee after that.
Jack Morris was a winner, a true throwback pitcher who came after hitters with reckless abandon. He pitched based on what the score was – and had no personal regard for his own personal statistics. It is this very reason why the debate has hit epic proportions on social media hubs, amongst bloggers, former players, analysts, broadcaster and statisticians. I intend to prove the case for the guy in a manner that will have some similarities to other pieces you may have read, yet promote a big look into the numbers that I have been bouncing around in my head for months. I even have had a #JackMorrisAwarenessWeek on Twitter and have been having feuds with people on the other side who don’t think he belongs in Cooperstown- while I have been Retweeted by his biggest supporters. Let the battle lines be drawn!
Looking Ahead to the 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot
Saturday February 4, 2012
Rob Bland: When Barry Larkin was elected into the Hall of Fame, it was obvious going in that he would likely be included. As it turned out, he was the only player voted in by the BBWAA in 2012. Larkin received 86.4% of the vote, a jump from 62.1% the year before, when he had the highest vote total of those who did not receive the requisite 75%.
The 2013 class boasts 13 players who received less than 75% but more than 5% of the vote to remain on the ballot. There are also 32 new players on the list. Players must have played in at least 10 MLB seasons, and have been retired for 5 full seasons to be eligible for the ballot. Of returning players, the most notable are Jack Morris (66.7%), Jeff Bagwell (56%), Lee Smith (50.6%), Tim Raines (48.7%), Mark McGwire (19.5%) and Rafael Palmeiro (12.6%). It’s hard to imagine that two of the best home run hitters of all time (McGwire and Palmeiro) could garner less than a quarter of the vote, in McGwire’s 7th year on the ballot and Palmeiro’s 3rd respectively. However, due to steroid usage and their laughable performances in a congressional hearing, this is the case.
2013’s ballot gets a whole lot crazier when you add baseball’s all-time home run leader, and possibly best player in history, one of the most prolific strikeout pitchers of all time, the best slugging catcher of all time, and a guy who hit over 60 HR THREE times, and totalling 609 blasts.
Barry Bonds. Roger Clemens. Mike Piazza. Sammy Sosa. All four of these players have in some way or another been connected with steroids, whether it is pure speculation, or blatant proof. Knowing what we know about McGwire and Palmeiro’s statuses in the Hall of Fame voting, 2013 could prove to be the most heavily debated election year ever. Many believe that players who used steroids should never be elected in the Hall, and all records should have asterisks beside them. Many others believe they should let them in, and that because steroids and PED usage was so rampant in the “Steroid Era” that it doesn’t affect the way they vote.
Jack Morris’s case for the Hall has been so widely discussed that it bears not repeating. He was a good pitcher on some very good teams that scored a lot of runs. Bagwell put up tremendous numbers and has never been proven to be linked to PEDs but is kept out of the Hall because some suspect him of it. Raines is inching closer to being elected, and Lee Smith is nearing the end of his run on the ballot. Since I have already given my vote for 2012, and my opinion has not changed on any of those players, I won’t go into too much detail, other than the fact that I believe Morris will be elected in his 14th year.
Bonds and Clemens would have been first ballot Hall of Famers, no doubt about it. But because of this cloud of PED usage hanging over their heads, it could be a while, if at all.
Bonds’ CAREER OPS 1.051 is higher than every player in the MLB not named Jose Bautista in 2011 alone. His peak season in OPS+ was
268 in 2002. 268! Career OBP of .444. 514 stolen bases. He holds the record for most career home runs with 762. Bonds was a 7-time National League MVP, 14-time All-Star, 8-time Gold Glover, and 12-time Silver Slugger. Simply put, steroids or not, Bonds was a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and should be treated as such. He should be in the Hall, but may not be elected for many years due to his links to PEDs, his perjury charges, and his overall sour disposition when it came to dealing with the scrutiny of the media.
Clemens was one of the top 3 pitchers in a generation dominated by hitting, along with Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson. He has the highest fWAR of any pitcher (by a landslide) with 145.5 Wins Above Replacement. His 8.56 K/9 ranks in the top 10 all time for starters with over 250 GS. At age 42, (albeit possibly aided by PED) he went 13-8, 1.87 ERA, 185K/62BB, and ERA+ of 226. Clemens won 7 Cy Young Awards while attending 11 All-Star Games and even winning the AL MVP Award in 1986. Clemens was always known for his military-style workouts and his bulldog mentality, but as with Bonds, his links to PEDs will taint his legacy.
Mike Piazza is another case where others have implicated him, and there has been no proof of his taking any PED. Highest career slugging of any catcher in history; .545. #1 in ISO; .237. 7th in fWAR; 66.7. 1st in HR; 427. If these stats don’t make Piazza look like the best offensive catcher in history, I don’t know what else to say. Maybe his .308 AVG and 140 wRC+, 9th and 1st all time for catchers, respectively, will convince you. A 12-time All-Star, Piazza also won the 1993 NL MVP award with the LA Dodgers. He also won 10 Silver Slugger Awards and was voted in the top 10 for the MVP 7 times. Piazza should be voted in the first ballot as well, but, like Bagwell, will likely wait many years even though there has not been a shred of credible evidence that he took a PED.
Between 1998 and 2001, Sammy Sosa hit 243 home runs. 60.75 home runs per year. In the history of the MLB, there have been eight seasons where a player has hit 60 HR. Sosa owns three of them. With 609 career home runs and an OPS of .878, it is no wonder Sosa was regarded as one of the best power hitters of his generation. Sosa played in 7 All-Star Games, won the NL MVP in 1998, and was voted in the top 10 six other times. He also won 6 Silver Slugger Awards. Sosa tested positive for PED use in a 2003 supposedly anonymous survey. Also, not helping his reputation as a cheater is that he was caught using a corked bat on June 3, 2003.
Curt Schilling needs to get a long hard look as well. He was able to amass only 216 wins, but his career 1.13 WHIP and 128 ERA+ are very good. Schilling also compiled over 3100 strikeouts while walking only 711 in 3261 innings. If Jack Morris gets into the Hall of Fame with much lesser career numbers, but gets in on the merits of his Game 7 victory in the 1991 World Series, Schilling should be elected in his first 3 years of eligibility. Before Game 6 of the ALCS in 2004, in which the Red Sox were down 3-2 to the Yankees, Schilling tore a tendon sheath in his ankle. Doctors built a wall of stitches in his ankle to hold the tendon in place so that he could still pitch in the game. Schilling went 7 innings, all the while blood oozed out of the wound through his sock. He gave up 4 hits, no walks, and struck out 4 batters, and gave up 1 run. The Red Sox won the game, and won the series the next night. The game will forever be known as the Bloody Sock Game. Schilling’s performance on one leg was one of the gutsiest events I have ever witnessed in this game.
There are so many other notable names of good to great baseball players, but none should have a real chance of being elected into the Hall of Fame this year…with most likely never getting in. These players include Craig Biggio, Jose Mesa, Roberto Hernandez, Kenny Lofton, David Wells, Shawn Green, Julio Franco, Sandy Alomar, and of course, Jaret Wright. Remember that guy?
2013’s ballot is littered with guys who SHOULD be in, but won’t be elected. Not now, and maybe not ever. Personally, I vote Bonds, Clemens, Piazza, Sosa and Schilling. Due to their PED connections, the first four won’t get in, and Schilling may take a few years to pay his dues through the process.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our Baseball Writer, Rob Bland. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Blandy on Twitter***
Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan onFacebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.
Young Phenom Pitchers May Ignite Your City
Monday January 30th, 2012
Doug Booth- Baseball Writer: Perhaps it is because we see pitchers for more plays in any given baseball game, or maybe it is that young pitchers so rarely dominate to start their careers. But witnessing young pitchers start their careers with a flash- ignites the baseball cities they play for at epic levels. Sometimes these players may even captivate the baseball world across the nation or even the world. Today I take a look at 4 players that I have watched or heard about from my baseball experiences. These players are: ‘The Bird’ Mark Fidrych, Kerry Wood, Dwight Gooden and (the last player is underneath everyone’s radar,) former Blue Jays pitcher Juan Guzman.
Juan Guzman– Career Record was 91-79 with a 4.08 ERA. For those people that watched this guy burst onto the scene in Toronto, this was guy was virtually unhittable in his first four seasons. Barring any other person telling me different, he holds the record for winning percentage for his first 50 starts. Guzman started his career 39-11 (.780). Guzman helped anchor a pitching staff that won back to back World Series in ’92 and ’93, by going 5-1 with a 2.44 ERA in his postseason starts. Guzman would routinely walk batters and throw wild pitches, but when he was looking at runners in scoring position, he often left them stranded with a strikeout or a weak grounder. The early 1990’s Toronto Blue Jays were the model franchise in the Major Leagues. The SkyDome created enough buzz about futuristic ballparks to have all teams look at building their own new ballparks for themselves. Juan Guzman was there for much of the early successes. The fans gravitated towards him at the park. It seemed the more they cheered for him, the better he would bear down and concentrate. Even though Juan struggled after coming out of the lockout in 1995 (until he retired) going 51-69, he is forever entrenched in the Blue Jays championship seasons.
Dwight Gooden– Career Record was 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA. As a teenager at age 19, Dwight Gooden went 17-9 with a 2.60 ERA in capturing the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award. In his next season, Gooden had one of the best pitching seasons in the modern era. He went 24-4 with a mind-boggling 1.53 ERA. He threw 16 complete games and 8 shutouts, while his 268 strikeouts in 271 innings pitched helped solidify the pitching ‘Triple Crown’ of wins, ERA and strikeouts. This New York Mets team was looking like they were on the verge of a dynasty with the likes of Gooden, Strawberry and veteran catcher Gary Carter playing so well. In 1986, the New York Mets won the World Series with Gooden as their ace. Even though he struggled in the postseason for his career with an 0-4 record, most times his ball club would have never made it to the playoffs without his strong regular seasons. By the age of 26, Gooden was 132-53 for his career(.721). He was headed for a Hall of Fame Career, however drug problems (as was the case with fellow Met Darryl Strawberry) caused the rapid decline of his career. Gooden spent parts of many seasons fighting the addiction. Gooden had his career revived with the New York Yankees in 1996. In wearing the pinstripes, he threw a no-hitter and helped the team win the 1996 World Series. His career winning percentage is still decent at .634, but what could this man have done if he was playing it straight? As years go by, he is still revered by both New York clubs. So who knows what could have been?
Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych– Career Record was 29-19 with a 3.10 ERA. This guy is the best of example of a phenom pitcher capturing a city by storm. At age 21, Mark Fidrych blitzed onto the scene with a 19-9 record, with leading the league in ERA (2.34) and CG (24), even though he did not make his first start until early May. He won the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award and his pitching galvanized the city of Detroit despite a 74-87 season. Fidrych displayed some of the weirdest antics on the mound. He would fix scuffs on his cleats, talk to the baseballs, manicure the pitching mound and throw back baseballs to the home umpire he thought ‘were going to make him give up hits.’ As a tall and lanky player, with constant body-jerk movements, he was given the nickname ‘The Bird” with his likeness to Sesame Streets character ‘Big Bird.’ Fidrych had his own fans come out for games at Tiger Stadium. These fans were often referred to as ‘Bird Watchers.’ He was a big draw for attendance for both home and road games. His 16 starts drew half of the teams 81 home games attendance in 1976. Fidrych was truly a national celebrity by the time he started his second year. However, a torn rotator cuff plagued him for the remainder of his brief career, as it went improperly diagnosed until Dr. James Andrews saw him in the mid 80’s. Fidrych was still a popular figure around MLB until he was killed while working on his truck in an accident in April of 2009.
Kerry Wood– Career Record is 86-73 with 3.64 ERA. Still only age 34 right now, Kerry Wood has been pitching in the Majors since 1998. In his 5th start as a player at age 21, Wood turned in one of the best all time single game performances. The man struck 20 batters in tying Roger Clemens established record. There were only two batters to reach base, a hit batsmen and a questionable hit that could have easily been scored an error, prevented Wood from throwing a no-hitter or perfect game. Instantly Wood’s name was recognizable across the Cubs fans. This was the year that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were going toe to toe in the historic single season homer chase, yet Wood was just as popular at Wrigley Field. Soreness in his elbow forced Wood to miss the last month of the season. He still registered a 13-6 record, en route to a ‘Rookie of the Year’ award. Wood spent 1999 on the shelf, from there he struck out 200 batters or more in three of the next four season. In 2003, the ace teamed up with Mark Prior to deliver a great regular season that ultimately led to a 3-2 lead in the NLCS before the Marlins came back to win the NL Championship (Bartman). The next 4 seasons were marred by injury, as neither he nor Prior could stay healthy for the Cubs. It was only a move to the bullpen that finally saw him revive his career in 2007. Wood was part of 2 division championships in his time with the Cubs, but the one that was sweeter was the 2008 season. He made the All-Star team as a reliever and the fans were able to cheer for him on a regular basis again. That season he converted 34 of 39 saves. After decent years with Cleveland and New York in 2009 & 2010, Wood took less money to return to the city that he loves and started his career with. Chicago fans will always return the love back for Wood. He is where he ought to be, wearing number 34 for the Cubs.
So who might be the new pitcher to take on this mantra? Could it be Matt Moore? Or maybe it will be Stephen Strasburg in a larger sampling? Whoever it is, that MLB team and/or baseball will be better served with another new pitching phenom entering its ranks!
*** Thank you to our Baseball Writer- Doug Booth for preparing today’s feature on MLB reports. To learn more about “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” and Doug Booth, you can follow Doug on Twitter (@ChuckBooth3024) and click here Doug’s website, fastestthirtyballgames.com***
Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.
Interview with J.R. Bradley: Diamondbacks Pitching Prospect
Sunday December 18, 2011
Jonathan Hacohen: Today on MLB reports we are proud to feature James Ray (J.R.) Bradley: 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks draftee. J.R. was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft. He recently completed his 2nd season in the Dbacks organization, with his most recent season completed with the South Bend Silver Hawks (A-Ball). At 19-years of age, J.R. has a strong future ahead with the Dbacks. As a high draft selection, J.R. was clearly valued highly by the Dbacks. As he continues his progression through the organizational ladder, J.R. looks to continue to develop as he progresses to Arizona one day.
Featured on MLB reports, I proudly present my interview with Dbacks Pitching Prospect J.R. Bradley:
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MLB reports: Welcome to the Reports J.R. Bradley. Starting off: Who was your favorite baseball player growing up, that you most idolized and patterned your game after?
J.R. Bradley: Growing up, I always liked Roger Clemens and Jon Garland. Liking Garland came from within the White Sox because Jon Adkins was playing for them. He’s from WV (West Virginia) and has helped me through baseball since I was younger.
MLB reports: Which current MLB star do you most admire and why?
J.R. Bradley: Roy Halladay. Just the way he competes and handles himself.
MLB reports: What are your proudest accomplishments in baseball?
J.R. Bradley: Being drafted for sure. But we went to the states all 4 years in high school and won it twice.
MLB reports: What are your goals going into the 2012 season?
J.R. Bradley: Just go out and get better, and make all my scheduled starts.
MLB reports: Were you surprised when you were drafted in the 2nd round- did you have any expectations on the draft and who would draft you?
J.R. Bradley: I wasn’t too surprised I went to the Dbacks. I was hearing rounds 2-4 from everyone and was on the phone with Oakland when I found out.
MLB reports: What do you consider your greatest baseball skill(s)?
J.R. Bradley: I’ve always been a guy who threw strikes. Now it’s a matter of throwing quality strikes, which is something I aim to improve this year. Knocking on wood, I’ve always been pretty durable. I think it’s important to throw innings and make all my starts.
MLB reports: What facets of your game do you most wish to improve upon?
J.R. Bradley: Fastball command and getting ahead of hitters early in the count. Also consistency with my slider
MLB reports: How do strikeouts and walks figure into your game?
J.R. Bradley: When I walk guys I get hurt, because I pitch to contact and try to get ground ball outs. Strikeouts I think will come when I tighten up my breaking balls. Once I do that, it will be easier to put guys away.
MLB reports: Long term do you see yourself as a starter or reliever?
J.R. Bradley: Starter for sure.
MLB reports: What do you need to do in order to be successful in this game?
J.R. Bradley: I think a positive mindset. Baseball is a game of failure already. No need to beat yourself up.
MLB reports: If you had to look into a crystal ball, when do you see your expected time of arrival in the big leagues?
J.R. Bradley: Man… I’m just focusing on next season!
MLB reports: Has pro ball been everything you expected it to be thus far?
J.R. Bradley: Yes, for the most part. I didn’t realize how important it was to have a routine.
MLB reports: What do you do for fun when you are not playing baseball?
J.R. Bradley: Just hang out. During the season we’re at the stadium so much. In the offseason, I’ve just been working out and playing some basketball.
MLB reports: Do you have a favorite pre-game meal?
J.R. Bradley: No, I don’t really have a favorite pregame meal.
MLB reports: Final Thoughts?
J.R. Bradley: Thanks for everything man, really enjoyed it. Now just looking forward to getting out there!
Thank you again to J.R. Bradley for taking the time to join us today on MLB reports. We highly encourage our readers to post at the bottom of the article any questions and/or comments that you may have for J.R. You can also find J.R. Bradley on Twitter (@JR_Brad)
Jonathan Hacohen is the Lead Baseball Columnist & Editor for MLB reports: You can follow Jonathan on Twitter (@JHacohen)
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Time to Elect Don Mattingly into Cooperstown
Monday December 5, 2011
Doug Booth- Guest Baseball Writer: Okay, it is time for me to make my argument for my favorite player of all time to be inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. There will be several people that will say that Don Mattingly’s career stats of: H-2154, HR-222, RBI-1099, AVG-.307 and 9 Gold Gloves are not enough in just 14 seasons. I am not counting his 7 game-stint in 1982 with this. As a rookie in 1983, Don only .hit .283 with 4 HR’S and 32 RBI’s. In Donnie’s first year as a full time first baseman, he led the AL with a .343 AVG-with 23 HR’S and 110 RBI’s, also leading the league in hits with 207 and 2B’s with 48.
They say that if you have a shortened career-(and Mattingly’s back injury in the late eighties certainly robbed him of a definite Hall of Fame Career,) then you better have an incredible stretch as the best player in baseball. It is my belief that Don Mattingly was the best all-around player from 1984-1989, with apologies to Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn and Dale Murphy, Don’s incredible consistency during this 6 year stretch included these numbers. A .327 AVG with 160 HR’s and a staggering 682 RBI’s with 257 doubles and 1219 hits. Nobody had more RBI’s and extra base hits in that time frame. Only Wade Boggs had more hits. The 6 year AVG breaks down to an AVG of .327 with H-204, 2B-43, HR-27 and RBI-114. What is most impressive is that Mattingly only averaged 33 strikeouts a season/or about 1/23 Plate appearances in this stretch.
During this stretch-Mattingly was also an All-star for 6 straight seasons-and was a Gold Glover for 5 years straight from 85-89. Donnie led the league in doubles three times, (84-86), hits twice, (84-86), total bases twice, (85-86), AVG in ’86, slugging and OBP in 1986. Don’s 145 RBI’s in 1985 were the most RBI’s by a left hander since the 1960’s. The same could be said for his 388 total bases in 1986. Other dominant stretches included his 1987 power streaks, in which he hit a record-6 grand slams(since equaled by Travis Hafner,) and also is still tied for homering in a record-tying 8 straight games (and should be the official leader because only Don hit 10 HR’S in that stretch of 8 games.) Mattingly is a silver slugger three times over (84-86), and The Sporting News Player of the Year for the seasons of (84-86). Don was the AL MVP in 1985, and finished 2nd in 1986 to Roger Clemens, but for hitting he was listed as #1. His 1984 and 1987 seasons also garnered serious MVP considerations. All impressive for a man who was not considered a power hitting prospect.
Back injuries slowed Mattingly down from 1990-1995, where he lost most of his power, but he was a .290 contact hitter who would still drive in about 80-85 RBI’S per year. If he could have kept playing healthy, instead of retiring at the age of 34, he would have had nearly 3000 hits, and probably would have hit 600-700 2B, and 300 HR’s-with about 1600 RBI’S. He probably would have finished up career with an AVG. that was near .300. You could probably add 3-5 more Gold Gloves as well. Instead, he finished with 2154 hits. His .307 career average will be one of the higher averages never to be in the Hall of Fame if he is not voted in. Don’s average season is still .307 with 20 HR’S, 97 RBI’S, with close to 200 hits and 40 doubles.
Another fact that gets overlooked was Don’s strikeout ratio to plate appearances. Mattingly only struck out 444 times in 7721 PA’s, or
once every 19 times. This stat is unbelievable for a modern age hitter-and 444 Strikeouts is only 2 less doubles than the man hit in his career with 442. Only Tony Gwynn has had a better ratio for striking out in the last 50 years. You add the 9 Gold Gloves-(2nd all-time for a 1B), and this man should be gaining more consideration for the hall.
Other comparisons in numbers for players already in the Hall, would be Jim Rice and Kirby Puckett, Puckett for average and power, while Rice has similar offensive numbers for his 162 game AVG. Rice had a few more HR’s and RBI’s while Mattingly had a better AVG. and had more hits/doubles for an average season. Both played 14 seasons.
For all of those kids watching Donnie Baseball play live, or on TV, we saw a guy that exemplified a professional hitter. Amongst fielding 1st baseman that I have seen, no one has ever been better. His swing was pure poetry in motion, even when he older, it must have drove pitchers crazy that they could not strike him out. I am only sad that Don Mattingly has missed out on all of the Yankees championship seasons.
At least his fans can always recall his last at bat in the 1995 playoffs where he crushed a homer in a 5th game loss to the Mariners in the ALDS. It was a great career shortened by back injuries. If defensive prowess is deemed a lot more lucrative for a Hall of Fame bid, once again they have to consider ‘Donnie Baseball.’
*** Thank you to Doug Booth for joining us today on MLB reports. To learn more about “The Fastest 30 Ballgames” and Doug Booth, you can follow Doug on Twitter (@ChuckBooth3024) and click here for Doug’s website, fastestthirtyballgames.com***
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