# MLB: March/April 2019 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 27, 2019, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604 "2019-03-27T13:17:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2019, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/141 "2019-04-09T18:03:02Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > My bad. I kept hearing that Kelly blew another game and assumed he was closing. Nah. But he’s made 5 appearances and given up runs in all but one of those appearances, including surrendering critical, game-changing runs in all three of the Dodgers’ losses. And in the one appearance where he didn’t give up any runs, it’s because he was only in for a third of an inning, in which he got hit with a comebacker and had to leave the game. So yeah, it hasn’t been pretty. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/142 "2019-04-09T18:09:35Z")
No one mentioned yet that Edwin Encarnacion belted two home runs in an inning yesterday. That’s actually the second time he’s done that; he did it in 2013 with Toronto. What I find remarkable is that he’s actually the fifth player who had twice hit two homers in one inning; Willie McCovey, Andre Dawson, Jeff King (!) and A-Rod also did it. How about that. I would have thought it a rarer feat. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/143 "2019-04-09T21:04:25Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > 4- I despise the lack of a bench in the AL. Pinch hitting is a lost art. Pinch running is almost unheard of. Why oh why so many fucking pitchers? Why not go to 40 man roster all year? In Japan they have a 28-man roster, with 25 designated as eligible for any particular game. This eliminates three of the “dead roster spots” occupied by starting pitchers who aren’t starting on that particular night. However this still requires owners to pay 28 major-league-level salaries, and if you bring that proposal to an American owner, he will say “What do I get in return?” And if your answer is, “a more interesting game that restores the role of pinch hitters, pinch runners, and defensive replacements”, he will look at you like you’re from another planet. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/144 "2019-04-09T22:08:02Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > However this still requires owners to pay 28 major-league-level salaries, and if you bring that proposal to an American owner, he will say “What do I get in return?” And if your answer is, “a more interesting game that restores the role of pinch hitters, pinch runners, and defensive replacements”, he will look at you like you’re from another planet. Heck, during the late 1980s, MLB teams noted that, while the league rules set a maximum roster size of 25, their agreement with the union also set a minimum roster size of 24. And, then, for several years, every MLB team only carried 24 players on their active rosters (which did, I imagine, save them a little money). I agree, one should not underestimate the willingness of teams to spend less money if they can get away with it, and resist paying more money than they have to. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/145 "2019-04-10T13:11:07Z")
“Little money” being the operative word. It’s essentially inevitable that your 26th, 27th and 28th guys will be making the MLB minimum, so right now it would add $1.65 million to each payroll. Not exactly chump change to me, but to MLB it strikes me as being a reasonable price for a better game and quite possibly labor peace. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/146 "2019-04-11T01:03:39Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > No one mentioned yet that Edwin Encarnacion belted two home runs in an inning yesterday. > > That’s actually the second time he’s done that; he did it in 2013 with Toronto. What I find remarkable is that he’s actually the fifth player who had twice hit two homers in one inning; Willie McCovey, Andre Dawson, Jeff King (!) and A-Rod also did it. How about that. I would have thought it a rarer feat. I completely agree. I am also surprised that Encarnacion was the fifth player to do this twice in a career. There are 56 different players that have hit two home runs in one inning; 3 players did it from both sides of the plate. And on April 23, 1999, Fernanado Tatis of the Cardinals hit two grand slams in one inning. > **[Players with two home runs in an inning](https://www.mlb.com/news/two-home-runs-in-an-inning-c266221190)** > > Connecting for a homer is a difficult enough feat in baseball. Getting the chance at a second at-bat in an inning, and then going yard again is a truly remarkable -- and historic -- achievement. > Phillies shortstop Trea Turner is the most recent of... ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/147 "2019-04-11T01:07:13Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > And on April 23, 1999, Fernanado Tatis of the Cardinals hit two grand slams in one inning. > > [Two Home Runs in an Inning](https://www.mlb.com/news/two-home-runs-in-an-inning-c266221190) That never happened. It’s all a huge lie. And I certainly wasn’t watching when it happened. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/148 "2019-04-11T01:20:43Z")
Jose Altuve is a fairly good baseball player. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/149 "2019-04-11T01:34:49Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > That never happened. It’s all a huge lie. And I certainly wasn’t watching when it happened. And I wasn’t listening to the game either, apparently! The astonishing thing to me was not the two grand slams on their own, but the fact that the two were hit off the same pitcher. A fictional pitcher perhaps, but you can’t have everything. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/150 "2019-04-11T02:24:17Z")
Outfielder Aaron Altherr has a 90 MPH fastball?! ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/151 "2019-04-11T02:34:02Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The one really radical rule change I would wholeheartedly support is a significant pitchers-per-roster limit. One of the analyst sites, maybe BP but maybe Fangraphs, had a really good set of proposed rules to bring it down to 10 pitchers plus an emergency pitcher. There would be a great many benefits. When I was a kid in the 80s/90s, ten pitchers was the standard amount to carry on a roster. I still contend that using starting pitchers deeper into the game gives a team their best pitcher for a longer time and when guys’ arms get tired they can start throwing more breaking pitches to show the hitters a different look the third time through the line up. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/152 "2019-04-11T03:00:46Z")
Altherr was the best Phillies pitcher tonight. Suddenly the Nats have series wins over two division rivals on the road. Also, Rosenthal got 3 outs while only giving up one run, lowering his ERA from infinity to 72.00 ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/153 "2019-04-11T13:04:38Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > And I wasn’t listening to the game either, apparently! > > The astonishing thing to me was not the two grand slams on their own, but the fact that the two were hit off the same pitcher. A fictional pitcher perhaps, but you can’t have everything. Funny (imaginary) story. I was so disgusted by what was happening after the first grand slam that I turned the TV to some other channel. For quite a number of minutes. After a while, I decided to tune back in to see where things had ultimately settled. Just as Tatis was rounding 1st base for the second time. It took quite a while for me to comprehend what had happened. And then I changed the channel for good. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/154 "2019-04-11T13:48:53Z")
The fictitious Chan Ho Park is a useful literary device. Gave up two grand slams in one inning (apparently that never happened.) Gave up record-setting home runs 71 and 72 to Barry Bonds (absurd, no player ever hit that many in a single season.) Surrendered a home run to the retiring Cal Ripken jr. making his final all-star game appearance (c’mon, way too Hollywood.) Coughed up a home run to CC Sabathia (ok, that might have happened. It’s not as crazy as Bartolo Colon hitting one out.) Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/155 "2019-04-11T14:36:21Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > When I was a kid in the 80s/90s, ten pitchers was the standard amount to carry on a roster. > > I still contend that using starting pitchers deeper into the game gives a team their best pitcher for a longer time and when guys’ arms get tired they can start throwing more breaking pitches to show the hitters a different look the third time through the line up. The evidence does not support your position. Fresh middle relievers pitch better than tired starters unless we are dealing with elite pitchers. Interestingly breaking pitches are increasingly being used to get though the first couple time through the lineup. Fastball usage is down significantly particularly in traditionally hitter counts. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/156 "2019-04-12T12:19:47Z")
The wife would like me to note that the Padres are in sole possession of first place in the NLWest. Since the last time this happened was for one day (Opening Day) in 2014, this is a notable event. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/157 "2019-04-12T12:54:46Z")
Chris Davis is at 0-53 going back to last year. I wonder at what point pride will overcome the $90 million he’s owed if he doesn’t quit. I mean, at some point he will get a hit, but will it really feel all that great to be 1-for-35 this year or whatever it’ll be? “Woo, my batting average soared 29 points… to .029!” ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/158 "2019-04-12T13:56:59Z")
Ozzie Albies signed an extension for seven years, 35 millions, which might be the worst one from a player perspective in the history of sport. He could have easily earned 35 million in arbitration. I understand being risk adverse, but that deal is insane. ---
**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:** [April 12, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/159 "2019-04-12T14:02:48Z")
Davis could help his team by laying down a few bunts. ---
**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:** [April 12, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604/160 "2019-04-12T14:40:58Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > Ozzie Albies signed an extension for seven years, 35 millions, which might be the worst one from a player perspective in the history of sport. He could have easily earned 35 million in arbitration. I understand being risk adverse, but that deal is insane. I did some mental gymnastics trying find justification for that deal, but it’s even worse than you posted. With the team options, it’s effectively a 9 year/$45 million dollar deal. He won’t hit free agency until he’s 31, which is the new 35. His agent should be fired for gross incompetence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-march-april-2019/831604.md?page=9)