The Yankees are leading the majors in home runs but that’s not surprising. That’s how they are built. Judge is leading the team in home runs and he isn’t using a torpedo bat. The Dodgers are only one home run behind them.
It was really never much of a thing. The Yankees had a historic opening series against an OK team. After those first few games they went back to normal. Which still means hitting a lot of home runs but not to a ridiculous level.
Also, the Yankees got into the bat modification business to correct a flaw in Anthony Volpe’s swing. Basically, he was missing the barrel consistently in the same way, over and over. The so-called ‘torpedo bat’ was designed to move the barrel toward his natural spot of contact. It’s too soon to be sure of the bat’s benefit, but Volpe’s barrel rate and exit velocity have improved. So, we’ll see. Goldschmidt is also using a ‘torpedo’ bat he he’s hitting .347 but as with Volpe, we’re gonna need a lot more data.
Colorado’s at 9-47.
You know that little thing in the expanded standings that shows you a team’s record in their last ten games? There has not been any point this year when that part of the Rockies’ line has been better than 2-8.
Volpe hit .243 last year and he’s hitting .246 this year. His slugging has improved.
An ESPN article from last night indicates that Braves pitcher Chris Sale, who reached 2500 career strikeouts last night, is the “fastest” to achieve that milestone in MLB history.
I read the headline, and thought, “wait, he’s been around for a long time, hasn’t he?” Well, in reading the article, it’s technically true, but based on number of innings pitched: Sale reached the milestone in 2,026 innings, surpassing Randy Johnson, who reached it in 2,107 2/3 innings.
The reason that the headline caused me some cognitive dissonance is that Sale is 36 years old, and has been in the majors since 2010. He, of course, missed a large amount of time in six straight seasons (2018-23) due to a variety of injuries, before having an amazing comeback season last year.
Yeah, so that’s definitely not how anyone would take that headline. They’d think in terms of seasons, or age.
If you asked me “who got to 300 home runs the fastest” I’d think of guys like Hank Aaron, A-Rod or Ralph Kiner, who got there YOUNG, not the number of games played, in which case it’s Aaron Judge. The former way of looking at it is much more interesting, surely? It tells you maybe a guy might hit 700 or something.
It’ll be intriguing to see if Sale can continue to be productive (and stay healthy) for a few more years. Up until the All-Star break in 2018, he was working on a Hall of Fame career, but then the injuries started. Over a four-season stretch (2020-2023), he only pitched 151 innings; I suspect that, unless he is able to string together another few excellent seasons, he would seem to wind up in the “not good enough for long enough” category when he’s up for Hall voting.
On the other hand, as has been noted in other threads recently, we’ve entered an era in which starting pitchers simply don’t put up the kinds of innings and numbers that they have, historically, and I’m not at all sure how voters for the Hall will be evaluating pitching candidates once the older of today’s pitchers (Verlander, Scherzer, and Kershaw, really) get in. If you look at bWAR among active pitchers, after the three of them, there’s a big drop-off to Sale at #4, and then another significant drop-off to the next tier (deGrom, Cole).
Maybe Sale does make it in, because after him, I’m not sure who else would be seen as “qualified.”
Unless their over-replacement guys get traded… 
Trout returns to the Angels, batting 5th.
I’m pretty sure Sale will make it in, no matter what happens going forward. Seven top-five finishes in the Cy Young voting, and his 140 ERA+ is elite, ranking him above guys like Maddux, Randy Johnson and even Sandy Koufax.
That makes me question the stat. There is no way in hell Sale is better than Maddux, let alone Koufax and Johnson.
When measured against his peers, Sale is one of the best pitchers of his generation. I threw in those names to show the company he was keeping in terms of ERA. Maddux tossed 3000 more innings than Sale. In his short career (only 200 more innings than Sale), Koufax had 137 complete games. Sale has 16.
Sale has only pitched 2000 innings over his injury-plagued career. That’s only 500 more than Gossage and Fingers. Still, when he’s able to pitch, he’s been pretty damn good. I predict he gets in the Hall. Maybe not first ballot, but by the writers before his eligibility runs out.
You should question all stats. But I like ERA+ - it’s fun to show how dominate guys are over short spans of their careers. But it’s not a useful career stat, especially comparing players of different eras.
Ohtani and Judge combined for 3 home runs. Dodgers won 8-5.
Worst start as a Yankee for Fried.
Again not MLB, but last night LSU Shreveport won the NAIA baseball championship, defeating Southeastern University 13-7.
Shreveport finishes the season 59-0. At whatever level you’re playing, an undefeated season in baseball is a remarkable accomplishment. Unsurprisingly, they are the first team in men’s college baseball history to go undefeated.
On the season, the Pilots’ lineup averaged more than 11 runs per game while their pitching staff maintained a 2.38 ERA.
Link to CBS Sports.
Dodgers are crushing the Yanks cuurently. 14-1. Judge is 2 for 3 with a homer, but far too little sadly.
Before the month ends, I just wanted to point it the Tigers are the best team in baseball right now. Not much talk of them in this thread this month, but they’ve been destroying it.
Started June thread here.