MLB Thread

[mojoween]

The Yanks / Sawx game was moved up to 6:30 tonight to get out of the way of a possible Celtics closeout game for the NBA Championship … so naturally there is a rain delay.

[mojoween]

The win probability graphic over the scorebug on ESPN is so so stupid.

[mojoween]

This elicited an unexpected snort-laugh

 

[mojoween]

Aaron Judge gets hit in the hand (and now he is getting pinch-hit for and I am sobbing) and Michael Kay says at the time “Yankees Nation collectively holds their breath” and it’s actually quite difficult to hold your breath when you are shrieking at the television.

Oh Willie Mays I don’t care how old he was that is sad.

Edited June 19 by mojoween

[BetterButter]

 

[ProudMary]

I have had a rough day on a lot of counts. I just wanted to sit and enjoy the Yankees/Orioles game.  Then, like @mojoween I was very upset about the injury to Aaron Judge, that we don't know the outcome of yet. But, the announcement of Willie Mays' death has me weeping. Agreed, it doesn't matter tonight that he lived a very long life. Tonight it's just extremely sad.

Rest in peace to an American legend.

[Jane Tuesday]

It's so sad that he won't be able to see the Rickwood Field game. They had already announced he wouldn't be attending in person, but he was looking forward to watching on television. 

[Harry24]

Judge’s scans came up clear for fractures (supposedly.  This is the Liars, er, Yankees we’re talking about.)

[ProudMary]

Here is post-game video of Aaron Judge discussing the good news he received after scans of his injured hand. Also stick around to hear his comments on the passing of Willie Mays. 

 

[mojoween]

 

[ProudMary]

Aaron Judge is not in the lineup tonight. This is not unexpected, of course. Even without a fracture, swelling, inflammation and pain will almost certainly keep him out for at least a few days. This couldn't be happening at a worse time, with the Orioles in town, hot on the Yankees' heels and the Braves coming in next, on a winning streak. Two Yankees got hit last night, including our Captain. I'm not happy.

 

[mojoween]

I loved Joe Girardi saying that he didn’t think Suarez was being malicious (apropos of nothing, Suarez is way hot) but if you can’t go in high and tight without hitting someone, maybe stop doing that.

That said, fully expect Verdugo to get plunked after what he was chirping in the dugout.

And how surreal for Aaron Boone, to miss half the game for your child’s graduation and come back to that news.

[mojoween]

I am not having any fun.

[Johannah]

I am.

 

But I know how you feel.

 

 

Edited June 20 by Johannah

[mojoween]

Ok but Jon Batiste having an absolute ball meeting the Negro Leagues players is a most excellent palate cleanser.

[ebk57]

6 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Ok but Jon Batiste having an absolute ball meeting the Negro Leagues players is a most excellent palate cleanser.

I love him soooooooooo much.

[mojoween]

FOX showing the fifth inning in black and white with old-timey graphics with no scorebug is so cool.  I hate to say nice things about FOX, but here we are.  They even have a projector sound!

[ebk57]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

FOX showing the fifth inning in black and white with old-timey graphics with no scorebug is so cool.  I hate to say nice things about FOX, but here we are.  They even have a projector sound!

It was cool.  Although I'm so old that it didn't seem fuzzy enough to be authentic.  Good effort, though.

My question is - why is the "home" team wearing gray and the "away" team wearing white?  It's the 8th inning and I'm still confused. 

[Jane Tuesday]

32 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

My question is - why is the "home" team wearing gray and the "away" team wearing white?  It's the 8th inning and I'm still confused. 

No idea, and I feel like I've read every article leading up to this game. 

That was beautiful. And we won!

Hopefully it becomes a yearly thing, and hopefully there are more than two Black players next time. 🤔 

[Perfect Xero]

10 hours ago, ebk57 said:

It was cool.  Although I'm so old that it didn't seem fuzzy enough to be authentic.  Good effort, though.

My question is - why is the "home" team wearing gray and the "away" team wearing white?  It's the 8th inning and I'm still confused. 

I assume it was because they were honoring Mays, so the Giants wore the home uniforms.

[DMK]

9 hours ago, Jane Tuesday said:

Hopefully it becomes a yearly thing, and hopefully there are more than two Black players next time.

They managed to pick two of the whitest teams for this. If they do it next year, maybe they should take a look at the rosters instead of picking by team nostalgia value.

[Jane Tuesday]

7 hours ago, DMK said:

They managed to pick two of the whitest teams for this. If they do it next year, maybe they should take a look at the rosters instead of picking by team nostalgia value.

To be fair, I think they picked the teams a couple of years ago. And the Cardinals do have several Black top prospects that either aren't quite up yet or went back down to work on stuff. We also have a Black RP who's out for the season. I'm not as familiar with the Giants, but they have a Black SP (Jordan Hicks) that's pitching tomorrow, and a guy on the IL that they tried to bring back early but MLB wouldn't bend the rules for them.

All that said, it definitely highlights the lack of Black American players, and why events like these are important. I'd love to see this become a yearly event with different teams cycling through. 

[mojoween]

I am still not having any fun.

[ProudMary]

3 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I am still not having any fun.

I'm right there with you. I actually stuck it out until the end yesterday. I'm not sure yet if I want to do that two nights in a row, especially when having to deal with AppleTV. 😒

[ebk57]

22 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I am still not having any fun.

Put on some Jon Batiste music.  Always fun!

And in case this helps somehow, I'm not having much fun now either. 

 

[mojoween]

I was doing errands so was listening on the radio between stops.  Suzyn told a great story about Kyle Farnsworth and peanut butter cookies, which he may or may not still eat.

Hey, if it weren’t for Carlos Rodon, the Yanks would have won one zip!

Also as crazy as this sounds, I do not hate the O’s.  If it can’t be New York, Baltimore is the only other acceptable alternative (unless Toronto is playing Texas and things go crazy).

[Johannah]

I think I broke my toe earlier today so even if the Orioles come back and win this game, my fun potential is limited.  🥺

Ouchie.

[voiceover]

Late with this, but wanted to post it here.  So many lovely tributes, vids, interviews, & stories about the Say Hey kid; here’s one of my favorites.  It’s about the first time he faced the legend, Satchel Paige:

His first at-bat, he doubled.  The second at-bat, Satchel told him: “Get ready to sit down, little boy.”   

First pitch: Willie swung & missed.  

Second pitch: Willie swung & missed.

Third pitch: Satchel threw the ball to home plate, and as soon as it left his hand, he started walking off the field (“Sit down, little boy!”).

Willie swung & missed.

I can imagine Satchel reminding him of this moment recently.  I’m guessing Buck O’Neil was there too — laughing.

 

[mojoween]

Carlos is infuriating to watch with how erratic he is, but it’s clear that he cares (and this is much better than his petulance last season).  Hopefully next game is a bounceback!

 

[mojoween]

Giancarl-noooooo :(

[ProudMary]

The Jasson Dominguez injury is even more upsetting now. 

[baldryanr]

Brian Cashman may have been a dick when he said he expected Stanton to get hurt again, but that doesn't mean he was wrong.  Stanton is the east coast Mike Trout.

Another related thought - Willie Mays was probably the greatest living ballplayer at the time of his passing.  Now that he's gone, who takes the mantle?  If it weren't for the PEDs I think most would give it to Barry Bonds.  However, if he (and Clemens, A-Rod, etc.) are off the table, then who gets it?  If Mike Trout hadn't turned into Mr. Glass he'd have the numbers to be in the conversation.  Maybe he still does.

Edited June 23 by baldryanr

[mojoween]

Personally I don’t think anyone rises to the level of Willie Mays, current or former.

[DMK]

1 hour ago, baldryanr said:

Another related thought - Willie Mays was probably the greatest living ballplayer at the time of his passing.  Now that he's gone, who takes the mantle?  If it weren't for the PEDs I think most would give it to Barry Bonds.  However, if he (and Clemens, A-Rod, etc.) are off the table, then who gets it?  If Mike Trout hadn't turned into Mr. Glass he'd have the numbers to be in the conversation.  Maybe he still does.

I would say the criteria should be someone retired, not still playing. And yeah, the PED era makes the pickings slim. Either way, I wouldn’t pick Mike Trout based on the made of glass issues. Craig Biggio? He was good. And he’s still pretty hot. *shallow*

[ProudMary]

2 hours ago, baldryanr said:

Another related thought - Willie Mays was probably the greatest living ballplayer at the time of his passing.  Now that he's gone, who takes the mantle?  If it weren't for the PEDs I think most would give it to Barry Bonds.  However, if he (and Clemens, A-Rod, etc.) are off the table, then who gets it?  If Mike Trout hadn't turned into Mr. Glass he'd have the numbers to be in the conversation.  Maybe he still does.

Fun topic for discussion. 👍

First let me say that, in my opinion, Willie Mays wasn't just the greatest living player, I believe he was the greatest player of all time. If Willie had played his home games at any stadium other than the Polo Grounds and Candlestick Park, Barry Bonds would have been chasing a higher number for the all-time HR record. Of course, he wasn't just about power, Willie was the living embodiment of the five-tool player.

Regarding greatest living player, now that Willie's gone and keeping it to retired MLB players only, I think you'd still have to give it to Barry Bonds. Bonds was also five-tool and had amassed the numbers to ascend that throne before he ever started juicing. With Bonds (also with Clemens) there seems to be a fairly clear line of demarcation as to when he began taking PEDs. He knew he was the best all-around player in the game and already had the numbers to stamp his ticket to Cooperstown, but he couldn't abide being sidelined by one-trick ponies like Canseco and McGwire. I do feel he's the greatest living player.

For the many who would write off Bonds, and that would be a legit opinion, I think I'd consider Rickey Henderson. Ken Griffey, Jr has to be in the conversation, too. Then, although he doesn't have the power numbers, but he many times showed he could have, I'd also throw Ichiro's name into the hat.

Again, all this is just my opinion. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone else's equally valid ones.

[shoregirl]

Yo Yankees I root for you one time and you lose 2 out of three to the Braves . Come on man 

( You can beat the Mets too if you like ..but that's really just for my own amusement 🤣)

The Phillies/Diamondbacks were on Roku and it wasn't a bad broadcast. They used the Phillies play-by-play and the D-backs color guy and they were enjoyable together.

Edited June 23 by shoregirl

[baldryanr]

33 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

For the many who would write off Bonds, and that would be a legit opinion, I think I'd consider Rickey Henderson. Ken Griffey, Jr has to be in the conversation, too. Then, although he doesn't have the power numbers, but he many times showed he could have, I'd also throw Ichiro's name into the hat.

Griffey has the same problem as Pujols - they both turned into pumpkins when they switched teams thanks to injuries and age. 

One underrated option is Mike Schmidt - arguably the greatest 3B of all time, but I don't hear him mentioned very often when the greats are discussed.

Edited June 23 by baldryanr

[ebk57]

Well, that was a totally sucky weekend.

[ProudMary]

54 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

One underrated option is Mike Schmidt - arguably the greatest 3B of all time, but I don't hear him mentioned very often when the greats are discussed.

He's definitely in the conversation, especially if you're looking at WAR.

Of note, Stanton got a PRP shot during the game.

 

Edited June 23 by ProudMary

[shoregirl]

Hammy injuries suck. Phillies just had two guys come back from hamstring strain. Trea Turner missed 6 weeks but Brandon Marsh only missed just under  2 weeks. Hope Stanton is on the lower end and gets back soon than later 

[Johannah]

1 hour ago, ebk57 said:

Well, that was a totally sucky weekend.

Yeah, but luckily for us Orioles ' fans, the Yankees lost 2 of 3 so we're only 1 1/2 games back, I think.  Also, I remind myself that the baseball season is long, lots of games.  Even losing a series doesn't have the impact as one football game loss.

On to the next game...

[Jane Tuesday]

For me, Barry Bonds is the greatest living player now. What he did pre-PEDs is enough, even if you discount everything after. 🤷‍♀️

[Jane Tuesday]

I'm so happy. ❤️ 

Almost as happy as Willson. 

 

Back just 6.5 weeks after breaking his arm. The experts thought it could be 10 weeks. Insanity. What a baller.

Edited June 24 by Jane Tuesday

[shoregirl]

The rare 1-3-5 triple play

 

First time in 95 years is crazy. 

[bosawks]

2 hours ago, shoregirl said:

The rare 1-3-5 triple play

 

First time in 95 years is crazy. 

I was watching live and I was, "Wait, what!?!?"

Nola has already had a 3 pitch inning this season and now this!

[shoregirl]

11 minutes ago, bosawks said:

I was watching live and I was, "Wait, what!?!?"

Nola has already had a 3 pitch inning this season and now this!

Me too. I don't know what the tigers player on third was doing. Did he think it bounced and the Phillies were conceding the run?

 

This team is so fun. The pitching staff is having such a good season so far. 

Edited June 25 by shoregirl

[Calvada]

On 6/23/2024 at 3:04 PM, ProudMary said:

Fun topic for discussion. 👍

First let me say that, in my opinion, Willie Mays wasn't just the greatest living player, I believe he was the greatest player of all time. If Willie had played his home games at any stadium other than the Polo Grounds and Candlestick Park, Barry Bonds would have been chasing a higher number for the all-time HR record. Of course, he wasn't just about power, Willie was the living embodiment of the five-tool player.

Regarding greatest living player, now that Willie's gone and keeping it to retired MLB players only, I think you'd still have to give it to Barry Bonds. Bonds was also five-tool and had amassed the numbers to ascend that throne before he ever started juicing. With Bonds (also with Clemens) there seems to be a fairly clear line of demarcation as to when he began taking PEDs. He knew he was the best all-around player in the game and already had the numbers to stamp his ticket to Cooperstown, but he couldn't abide being sidelined by one-trick ponies like Canseco and McGwire. I do feel he's the greatest living player.

For the many who would write off Bonds, and that would be a legit opinion, I think I'd consider Rickey Henderson. Ken Griffey, Jr has to be in the conversation, too. Then, although he doesn't have the power numbers, but he many times showed he could have, I'd also throw Ichiro's name into the hat.

Again, all this is just my opinion. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone else's equally valid ones.

I'm sure "Mr. Baseball" Bob Uecker is shocked that his name hasn't been mentioned - LOL!!  

I'd say Ken Griffey, Jr., would have this all sewn up if he hadn't had injuries later in his career.  I think it's probably Mike Schmidt, and Johnny Bench should be in the conversation, especially given the wear and tear of the position he played.    

[roamyn]

On 6/1/2024 at 10:39 AM, mojoween said:

I just read Tony Posnanski’s “Why We Love Baseball” (EXCELLENT book, everyone should read it) and he mentioned that a lot of what was previously said about Ty Cobb has come under scrutiny.  And Ty Cobb’s family was very gracious this week.  Doesn’t mean there isn’t some truth there, but maybe not *quite* as bad as we thought.

And I want to be friends with Josh Gibson’s great-grandson.

Ty Cobb actually DID stab a black Cleveland nightwatchman.  The guy didn't die, but was paid $1K for his troubles.

There's no fire without some semblance of flame.  Ty Cobb was a VERY angry individual due to his up bringing.  He was known for sliding into base w/spikes up, there are actual pictures showing evidence.

This doesn't mean he was racist, but more than likely - due to father & growing up in the South - he probably believed those non-whites (black, native, Hispanic, etc) WERE beneath him.

Edited June 26 by roamyn

[mojoween]

I don’t know why I find it odd that I am almost exactly eight months *older* than Derek Jeter, but here I am.  Regardless, welcome to the five decade club, Captain!

[smittykins]

Yeah, “Derek Jeter” and “50” does..not..compute(pun intended).

Edited June 27 by smittykins