Enjoying the Ohtani show tonight against Texas. Not quite Ohtani’s night but he’s hanging in there and looking tough with that last strikeout.
Ohtani is actually having his best offensive season, and he’s 6-2 as a pitcher.
If the Angels miss the playoffs (they are currently just one game out in a tight three-way race for the last WC spot) and Ohtani decides he’s had enough of that, how much could he get as a free agent? Assuming he remains healthy until the offseason, shit, if I’m a rich owner I’d give up $750 million if that’s what it took. I realize it’s unlikely the back end of that deal won’t be a disaster but on the front end you are getting the no-questions-asked greatest player in the world, a player of historic value the Angels have been wasting.
The current biggest deal a player has ever gotten is Aaron Judge’s $360 million extension. That deal is already looking very concerning; Judge was playing awesome this year but he got hurt and he’s 31. Is Ohtani worth way more? $500 million? $600 million? Fuck it, why not?
The Cubs completed their first home sweep of the season. Over the NL Central-leading Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Royals finally had a fun moment today. They tie it up 9-9 in the bottom of the 9th against the Angels, and Samar Taylor walks it off with an RBI single for his first base hit in his first MLB game. That’s a fun major league debut!
David Freese, who reached Roy Hobbs-level heroics in the 2011 World Series, has declined his election to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. Freese, who still works for the Cardinals front office, felt that his short career with team and overall career are undeserving of the honor, especially compared to several of his 2011 teammates.
Freese will content himself by still never having to buy a drink in St. Louis for the rest of his life.
KC was down 8-2 in the seventh. They scored 3 in the 7th, 3 in the 8th, and 2 in the 9th to snap a 10-game losing streak.
The bus driver for the Pittsburgh Pirates was arrested for DUI while driving the team to Milwaukee.
While he had a police escort.
How often do MLB players travel between cities by bus anymore?
That is a 550 miles bus trip. What the Hell?
I’m not sure, exactly. But the Pirates had just finished a series in Chicago, and Milwaukee is only about 90 minutes, according to this cite.
That makes a lot more sense. We made the trip from Great Lakes to Milwaukee a few times. That’s nothing.
I’m pretty sure the Yanks used the Acela train from NYC to Baltimore at least once, but that is a little over 2 hours.
It’s closer to 150 miles.
I gave the miles from Pitt to Mil. I thought my next post would have made that clear. Sorry.
Ok, here’s a question for the Dope.
Samar Taylor was at bat with the winning run on third and one out. Naturally, both the infield and outfield were drawn in. Taylor hit a drive that probably would have been caught at the track, but Mike Trout didn’t bother to chase it, as the game would end either way. The ball hit the track and bounced over the wall. Taylor was credited with a single. Should it have been ruled a ground-rule double?
My understanding is that, unless a game-winning hit is a home run, the batter is only credited with as many bases as the runner who scores the winning run needs in order to cross home plate.
So, in this case, with the winning run at third, the batter only gets credit for a single, even if he could have advanced further.
I don’t disagree at all, and I assumed the same thing. But I could argue that, if the ball leaves the field of play, such as a home run, the batter should be awarded the ‘normal’ number of bases.
Fact is, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this situation.
During this year’s ceremony the Cardinals will be inducting Jose Oquendo, apparently chosen by the owners. Oquendo was a decent middle infielder but his career it St. Louis was no more impressive than Freese’s.
I appreciate how the guy feels, I guess, but the fans wanted him there.
Oquendo spent a long time as a highly respected third base/infield coach. I assume that’s a big part of what he’s being honored for.
My vague memory of Oquendo was that he was a guy who could play anywhere.
But, I can see how tacking on a coaching career on top of the playing career gets you into the team ring of honor.
Oquendo played for the Cards for 10 years and had a .264 BA over that span. He averaged 23 ribbies a year and hit a total of 13 HRs. He played decent, but not great, defense, and, as mentioned, played a lot of different positions.
I think @dalej42 is right when he says that the years of coaching helps get you the needed votes for the team HOF.