# MLB: June 2021 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [June 1, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367 "2021-06-01T18:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/241 "2021-06-28T17:08:44Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I’d like to know how many were the product of the extra innings, man on second, Manfred garbage. If you’re the home team and the game is still tied, two bunts and it’s over. Seems crazy not to. It’s not so easy. With the potential winning run at third base and less than 2 outs, the infielders will play in (i.e., very shallow) so they can have a better shot at throwing out the runner trying to score. Nobody is going to try to bunt in this situation, as the odds of it working are very low. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/242 "2021-06-28T19:50:08Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Nobody is going to try to bunt in this situation, as the odds of it working are very low. If you have a good bunter, the suicide squeeze will work even if the infield is drawn in. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/243 "2021-06-28T20:26:02Z")
I’m reaching ‘Get off my lawn!’ status but why the hell has MLB made the All Star game voting so confusing with all the multiple rounds? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/244 "2021-06-28T20:29:25Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > According to Fangraphs, there has been 1 extra innings bunt for an RBI this season (by DET’s Robbie Grossman) Holy crap - that was _last night_, several hours after jsc asked about suicide squeezes! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/245 "2021-06-29T01:21:46Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’m reaching ‘Get off my lawn!’ status but why the hell has MLB made the All Star game voting so confusing with all the multiple rounds? I don’t get it either, and so I have to assume they think it’ll make it more interesting by making you want to vote again. For instance, in the AL first base race, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got 51% of all the votes; no one else even got ten percent. So, under the old system, that means the race is over already. But now they can promote that it’s an all new race!!!1! with Guerrero, Yuli Gurriel and Jose Abreu starting from zero again. I don’t think anyone will really care, though. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/246 "2021-06-29T12:03:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I don’t think anyone will really care, though. It’s hard to care about the All Star Game any more. It was a bigger deal when it gave you the chance to see the stars from the other league, but now with interleague play and easy availability of highlights, that’s a thing of the past. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/247 "2021-06-29T12:32:15Z")
The All Star game has lost a lot of appeal for me. The voting is a joke, I wish it was limited to say the 3 top vote getters in each league voted by fans regardless of position and the manager picks the rest. But still of all the sports, the baseball All Star is the only one that is played like a real game. In the other 3 sports, the game looks little like a regular game with the lack of intensity and defense. I’m glad they took away the nonsense of having this game determine home field for the World Series. They hyped the living shit out of it when it came out but really the players didn’t give two shits about it. So it means nothing, as it should. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/248 "2021-06-29T12:57:39Z")
I miss getting the paper All-Star Game ballots at baseball games. It was fun using the golf pencil to punch out the little chads with the pictures of the baseballs on them. Voting online just isn’t the same, and now with this multiple rounds crap, I just can’t be assed to do it. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/249 "2021-06-29T14:07:43Z")
Yeah, I won’t vote in the ASG but I’ll watch it. It’s not must see TV for me like it was when I was younger. And, I’ll be skipping the Home Run Derby, overhyped to death. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/250 "2021-06-29T17:03:33Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m glad they took away the nonsense of having this game determine home field for the World Series. They hyped the living shit out of it when it came out but really the players didn’t give two shits about it. So it means nothing, as it should. I never minded that. It certainly doesn’t make any less sense than home field being determined by whether the year is even or odd numbered, which is how they did it before, and determining it by record in a league with an unbalanced schedule makes just as little sense. I like fan voting for the ASG in principle because 1. All true honor comes from fans. We’re the ones who make all this matter at all. and 2. Involving the fans is a good idea. But this multiple round thing is pointless, and the system still encourages ballot stuffing. Bill JAmes came up with a great solution back when you still had to vote at the ballpark; rather than going by vote totals, just divvy it up by ballpark. If Joe Slugger of the Orioles finished first in Baltimore he got ten points, no matter if he won it by a zillion votes or one vote. If he finished in second place in Toronto he got seven points, or whatever. That way if the fans in one park really stuffed the ballot boxes, it made no difference; you can only get ten points for first place, seven for second, etc., and the size of the market didn’t matter; it’s ten points in New York, or ten points in Milwaukee. A ridiculous candidate who won his home ballpark by ballot stuffing wasn’t going to get any points anywhere else so he wasn’t getting elected. The votes of fans who just automatically vote a straight home team ticket would cancel out. Someone widely respected, a REAL star like George Brett or Gary Carter, was going to get elected even if the fans in one market made a ballot stuffing effort, because Brett or Carter would finish high up in every ballpark; they’d always be second or third at worst and might even win a few ballparks they didn’t play in. But with the Internet how the hell do you do that? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/251 "2021-06-29T17:35:47Z")
I’d like them to give one ballot to every fan at the turnstiles and go back to mail in ballots. That way if you want to stuff the ballot box, you need to go to a lot of games or spend money on postage. I wish they’d keep online votes out of the mix. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/252 "2021-06-29T17:53:53Z")
Last night, the Cubs scored two runs in the top of the 7th to tie their game against the Brewers at 4. Then, in the bottom of the 8th, the Cubs’ bullpen imploded, and gave up 10 earned runs, losing the game, and leaving the Cubs four games behind Milwaukee. In Angels-related news: - Mike Trout, who’s been out with a calf injury since mid-May, was moved to the 60-day IL yesterday, and will now be out until after the All-Star break, though the team says that he’s recovering, and hit in a batting cage yesterday for the first time since his injury. - The family of former Angels pitcher Tylor Skaggs, who died two years ago in a drug-related incident, is suing the Angels, and two former team employees, for negligence related to Skaggs’ death. > **[Trout on 60-day IL, out until after All-Star break](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31727603/los-angeles-angels-mike-trout-moved-60-day-il-target-injury-recovery-joe-maddon-says)** > > Mike Trout was transferred to the 60-day injured list by the Angels on Monday, ruling out his return until after the All-Star break. He also swung a bat in a batting cage for the first time since he strained his right calf on May 17. > **[Skaggs' family sues Angels, former employees](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31731359/pitcher-tyler-skaggs-family-files-suits-angels-former-employees)** > > The family of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs filed two lawsuits against the club and two former employees, claiming negligence over his drug-related death two years ago, attorneys announced Tuesday morning. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/253 "2021-06-29T18:03:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The family of former Angels pitcher Tylor Skaggs, who died two years ago in a drug-related incident, is suing the Angels, and two former team employees, for negligence related to Skaggs’ death. It’s always about the money ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/254 "2021-06-29T19:33:53Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > It’s always about the money Considering his dealer was a team employee and other members of the team had to notice he was strung out and had some duty to care for him I’m not surprised. I think this will be interesting to see what the legal system believes the duty actually is for the medical professionals who see you day in and day out. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/255 "2021-06-29T23:20:50Z")
Kyle Schwarber with yet another lead off home run. He might be the hottest hitter I’ve ever seen in my years of following baseball ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/256 "2021-06-30T00:10:58Z")
And now Ohtani homers, this season hasn’t been perfect but damn it’s been fun. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/257 "2021-06-30T15:15:09Z")
The Mariners are 41-39, while having allowed FORTY-NINE more runs than they’ve scored. Shohei Ohtani leads the league in HRs and triples, a feat not done since Jim Rice in 1978. I can’t remember how good Rice’s slider was, but I think it was slightly below average… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/258 "2021-06-30T19:39:29Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > The Mariners are 41-39, while having allowed FORTY-NINE more runs than they’ve scored. The other side of this are the Marlins\*, who have outscored their opponents by sixteen runs and are somehow 33-45. - - My all time favorite Final Jeopardy! clue: “These are the only two Major League teams with nicknames that start with the same three letters; one might pursue the other.” > [@Munch](#): > > Shohei Ohtani leads the league in HRs and triples, a feat not done since Jim Rice in 1978. I can’t remember how good Rice’s slider was, but I think it was slightly below average… And the Angels have a losing record. Having wasted most of Mike Trout’s career, they are now embarking on a program of wasting Ohtani’s. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/259 "2021-06-30T19:40:42Z")
For those with an Athletic subscription, there’s a really fantastic article today about Ohtani by Rustin Dodd. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367/260 "2021-06-30T22:04:03Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > And the Angels have a losing record. Having wasted most of Mike Trout’s career, they are now embarking on a program of wasting Ohtani’s. IIRC, Shohei is under contract through next year. I wonder if he’ll stay loyal in the face of crushing suck-i-tude like Trout did or if he’ll go ring-hunting with an actually competitive franchise. I would hope the latter, it’s a damn shame that Trout made the (IMHO) wrong call there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-june-2021/943367.md?page=14)