I think that is how you get to be like the Angels in the first place.
I think helping your team win should be part of MVP voting, but that is not the same thing as your team winning. A 2 run home-run to take the lead in the top of the ninth is more valuable then a home-run in a 10-1 game. I don’t think the closer blowing the game in the bottom of the ninth makes the home-run less valuable Thus I like WPA (and not say win shares) as a proxy for clutchness. In this Judge does have the substantial edge.
"The New York Mets today clinched at least a wild card playoff spot in the National League. Commenting after the team’s victory over the Brewers, Mets star Pete Alonso said, “This is the goal we’ve been working for. Now we can relax. Just getting into the playoffs is enough. The fans love us and we’re making great dough, so the pressure’s off.”
Obviously not a real story, but just once I’d like to see players gaslight reporters who ask stupid questions.
The Blue Jays are going into a little two game set with the Phillies but it’s an important two games - the Phillies are fighting for their lives, right on a postseason knife edge, and Toronto is the first Wild Card by a whisker and not out of the woods by any means. I’m nervous.
Maury Wills, a star shortstop for the Dodgers in the 1960s, died last night at age 89; the family has not released information on the cause of death.
Wills was one of the top base-stealers of his generation. In 1962, he broke Ty Cobb’s single-season stolen base record, and became the first player to steal 100 bases in a season (he was also named the National League’s Most Valuable Player that year). He led the NL in stolen bases for six straight seasons, and was named an All-Star seven times.
His son, Elliott “Bump” Wills, was the Rangers’ second baseman for several seasons in the late '70s.
I was just looking at his stats on Baseball Reference. He played with the Dodgers from 1959-1966, then played at Pittsburgh for two years. He then played 47 games for the Expos in their inaugural season in 1969 before being traded back to the Dodgers, where he played until he retired after the 1972 season.
I had no idea he was on the Expos roster during their first year. RIP, Mr. Wills.
Maury was a fine player - kind of a silly choice for MVP in 1962, but it was an unusual accomplishment - but he was famously, hilariously bad as a manager.
Wills bragged for years that he’d make a great manager; he specifically claimed that he could take any team, no matter how terrible, and turn it into a champion in four years.
The Mariners in 1980 decided to give him a shot at it, and he was horribly underprepared. He was just disastrous at it. Once he called for a relief pitcher, but had forgotten to have anyone warm up. He didn’t communicate with his players much at all, once told the grounds crew to help him cheat by altering the size of the batters’ boxes, shit like that. He didn’t last a year.
A cooler fact about him; he was a highly skilled musician, capable of playing a number of instruments at a professional level. He supplemented his playing days income with TV and live gigs.
The Dodgers have Maury Wills’ #30 on their mound along with plenty of in-ballpark tributes to him today. A giant baseball card with a bouquet of flowers; a highlight video.
In other news, the Nationals aren’t going to need to find another place to play after all. At least, not for awhile.
As a kid in the 70s who lived and breathed baseball, he was a household name. A baseball card flipped against the wall. I knew him as a base stealer and an MVP, and at that age I didn’t question the creds. R.I.P.
If he does hold onto the Batting Average lead, he would be the first since Miguel Cabrera {Tigers} in 2012. Who was the first since Yaz in 1967.
Fun trivia with the Triple Crown:
.
What year was there 2 winners? 1933
.
Who were they? Jimmie Foxx, Athletics (AL) & Chuck Klein, Phillies (NL)
.
Added bonus, Lou Gehrig took it in 1934 so 3 in just 2 years.
