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Who's the best hitting pitcher everComment -
Babe ruth for sure no brainer in my opinion.Comment -
That guy was a thorn in the Giants side. I still remember he went off on the last day of the season to ruin the Giants playoff hopes when they won 103 games in 1993. To this day one of the best Giant teams ever but unfortunately for them the Wild Card didn't happen til the playoffs in 1995 and the Braves got hot to catch them at the end.Comment -
On this date April 26, 2000, exactly 20 years ago Vladimir Guerrero of the Expos hit his 100th career home run.Comment -
A team in a total rebuild is open to giving any player a chance, particularly when that team is drastically short on starting pitching. With the Orioles in such a state in April 2019, it paved the way for John Means to enter the Orioles’ rotation, on the heels of three relief outings earlier that season and one (disastrous) 3 1/3-inning appearance in his Major League debut on September 26, 2018. That outing saw Means surrender five earned runs, giving him an ugly 13.50 ERA heading into the 2019 campaign.
Means didn’t exactly force his way into the rotation during Spring Training, with only a 5.40 ERA over 13 1/3 frames of 2019 Grapefruit League action. Still, the southpaw did manage 15 strikeouts against just four walks, and given the lack of other pitching options available in Baltimore, the O’s figured it was worth giving Means a shot.
The result was one of the only bright spots of a 108-loss season for the Orioles. Over 27 outings and 147 1/3 innings as a starting pitcher, Means posted a 3.73 ERA, 3.09 K/BB rate, and 6.6 K/9. The majority of that production came in the first half of the season, as Means carried a 2.50 ERA through his first 82 2/3 innings and ended up as Baltimore’s All-Star representative.
Means struggled to a 8.34 ERA in his first five post-break starts, though he did manage to get on track with a 3.26 ERA over his final 49 2/3 frames of his rookie season. As a nod to his breakout performance, Means finished second in AL Rookie Of The Year voting, albeit a distant runner-up behind unanimous winner Yordan Alvarez.
Whenever (or if) the 2020 season gets underway, Means will stand as the de facto ace of the Orioles’ staff — an unlikely development given where he was slightly more than a year ago. An 11th-round pick in the 2014 draft, Means moved through the farm system with unspectacular but solid numbers over his 622 2/3 minor league innings, posting a 3.83 ERA, 7.1 K/9, and 3.50 K/BB rate. There isn’t much variance in Means’ year-to-year cumulative stats in the minors, or even in his MLB numbers in 2019.
That type of consistency gives the O’s some hope that Means can at least somewhat replicate his 2019 performance going forward, despite some of the red flags raised by advanced metrics. Means’ ERA predictors weren’t impressive, with a FIP (4.41), xFIP (5.48), and SIERA (5.02) that were all markedly higher than his actual 3.60 ERA. The lack of a high strikeout total hurts Means in this respect, and he also isn’t a hard thrower (average fastball velocity of 91.8 mph) or a ground-ball machine.
What he does offer is the ability to limit the damage when opposing batters do hit his offerings. As per Statcast, Means finished in the 90th percentile of all pitchers in fewest hard-hit balls allowed, while also sitting comfortably above average (72nd percentile) in exit velocity. Means also had only a 9.9% homer/fly ball rate last season, the fourth-lowest mark of any pitcher in baseball with at least 150 IP and a particularly useful skill for a hurler in the tough AL East.
Means’ heater isn’t particularly fast, though he does generate some good spin, as indicated by his spot in the 75th percentile of fastball spin rate. His top pitch, however, is a changeup that Fangraphs ranked as one of the best in the league last season. Only six pitchers with 150+ innings thrown had a better pitch value score on a changeup than Means’ +12.3 number.
Means just turned 27 yesterday and is under team control through the 2024 season (and not arbitration-eligible until the 2021-22 offseason), giving the O’s plenty of flexibility with his future. Given the long rebuild ahead for the Orioles, it may be a reach to count on Means to still be a productive member of the rotation by the time Baltimore is next ready to contend, so the O’s could eventually consider him as a trade chip.
There wasn’t much buzz about Means on the rumor mill this past winter, as while Baltimore is still at the point of its rebuild that any trade option must be considered, the club might prefer to see what they have with the left-hander in his sophomore year. A case could be made that the O’s should have sold high on Means given his lack of a track record, and yet even with some regression baked into his future numbers, the potential of Means being a solid innings-eater going forward carries a lot of value. For a team with so little pitching depth on hand, an unheralded prospect blossoming into at least a decent MLB-level arm counts as a big success.Comment -
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I have my eye on John MeansComment -
Greg Maddux could really hit.Comment -
- Shohei Ohtani has progressed to throwing bullpen sessions around twice per week, Angels’ GM Billy Eppler tells MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link). He’s throwing approximately 35 pitches per session at “80-85%” effort level, Eppler adds. Under normal circumstances, Ohtani would be nearing readiness to face live hitters in some capacity next month, Eppler says, but that’s obviously made difficult by social distancing requirements. The two-way star was estimated to need until mid-May to return to an MLB mound; assuming his rehab continues without a setback, he figures to be ready if the 2020 season resumes.
- MLB’s most recent long-term shutdown came twenty-five years ago, when a labor dispute resulted in the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and a delayed start to the following season. With that in mind, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, Ben Nicholson-Smith and Arden Zwelling revisited the mid-90’s strike. A number of former players, including Shawn Green and Aaron Sele, spoke about the challenges of staying mentally and physically prepared without a specific return date in sight. Sele and former MLB manager Bob Boone also noted the injury risks for players, especially pitchers, of ramping up quickly once the season was set to return. The whole piece is worth a read for those interested in the challenges current players could face if the 2020 season is able to resume.
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Mike Mussina, and Greg Maddux were the two greatest fielding pitchers I ever saw.
Both took pride and worked everyday on defense.
Jim Kaat was before my time, but he was in the same class defensivly.
Mad Bum and Maddux were two great hitting pitchers.
Dontrelle Willis could hit tooComment -
Maddux was definitely good for a pitcher, actually Mike Hampton and Carlos Zambrano were better. Z had 23 career bombs!Comment -
Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully home from hospital
LOS ANGELES -- Retired Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully is back home after falling and being hospitalized.
The team quoted Scully on Twitter on Saturday, saying, "I'm home and resting comfortably with my wife and we are both eagerly awaiting the Time for Dodger Baseball!" That's a phrase announced before the start of every Dodgers home game.
The 92-year-old fell Tuesday at his Los Angeles-area home.
Scully thanked the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the staff, doctors and nurses at the hospital.
"I am so eternally grateful for their help and selfless service," the tweet said.
Scully retired after the 2016 season, ending a career during which he called Dodgers games for 67 years. He began in 1950, when the team was located in Brooklyn, New York. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
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Not a fan of the Dodgers, But Scully was by far the Best baseball announcer ever. Didn't even need a partner (color guy) for support.
Kept the game pace with interesting information, esp the visiting team.Comment -
Mad Bum belongs on a short list of great hitting pitchers. He probably didn't want to go to the AL because he likes to hit. I think he'll hit a few bombs playing at Chase Field.Comment -
On this date, April 28, 2012 exactly eight years ago Bryce Harper made his major league debut.Comment -
It’s all but a foregone conclusion that fans won’t be in the seats if and when Major League Baseball holds its 2020 Opening Day. But most agree that some baseball — so long as it can be staged safely and responsibly in the midst of a global pandemic — is better than none.
There were several signs of promise today surrounding the outlook for a 2020 campaign of some kind. That’s not to say there’s a clear plan in place. Far from it, in fact. But it seems avenues are opening.
ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan discussed the situation at length, reporting that “nearly everyone along the decision-making continuum … has grown increasingly optimistic” of staging a season of some kind. That seems like a reasonably important broad-based sentiment, though we’re still quite a few steps away from hope converting into real, live ballgames.
Passan covers a lot of subjects in the piece, which is well worth a read. Just don’t expect any new direction in terms of how it’s all supposed to come together. That hasn’t been narrowed down in the least.
To some extent, the increased options that justify the optimism also make it hard to know what the 2020 season will look like. State and local officials will ultimately have final word on just what is possible. There’s some good news on that front also.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo indicated today that he sees a path to baseball being played in New York City this summer, as the Associated Press reports (via WTOP News). Of course, at the moment there’s no expectation that spectators would be on hand, but seeing games in Queens and the Bronx would nevertheless be an inspiring sight given the brutal toll of the coronavirus in the country’s biggest city.
It’s much the same situation in Chicago, home of another pair of MLB franchises, as Vinnie Duber of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Mayor Lori Lightfoot says that the city has contemplated the return of professional sports. While it’s nowhere near happening, she sounded a generally hopeful tone: “But can I envision a world where baseball might return to Chicago this summer? Yes. Is it likely to be without fans? Probably.”
Even if the logistics are lined up, there’s still the matter of getting the league and players on the same page. The sides drew up and signed a formal agreement, but immediately came to disagree on what it means for player salaries if games are staged without fans. The union says the late-March agreement establishes that players must be paid on a full pro rata basis for any games, regardless whether anybody paid to sit in the stands.
Passan provides some specific language that bears upon the assessment of that subject. Unfortunately, the clauses cited seemingly confirm that there’s some ambiguity in the contract on this point. As we explored recently, it’s bizarre to see a new and unnecessary layer of complication added through this oddly framed document, the interpretation of which could now become a major issue bearing upon the ability to resume play and labor relations more generally.Comment -
Rangers management feels North Texas could be an MLB hub if and when regular season opens
North Texas has more to offer than just the new Rangers ballpark should MLB decide to start the pandemic-delayed 2020 baseball season with teams grouped together in different regions.
Among the different plans looked at by Major League Baseball is to use Texas as a mid-American hub.
"Depending upon a variety of the other factors, it makes a lot of sense," Rangers general Jon Daniels said Monday, when asked about the possibility of Texas being part of such a plan. "Just given the nature of the market, the proximity of a lot of the facilities, the quality of the facilities, the quality of not just baseball facilities, but the hotels in the area and other things that you'd need."
While the Rangers have had "some involvement, just from a due-diligence standpoint" to help Major League Baseball gather information, Daniels stressed during a conference call with beat writers that it is just among several ideas being looked at by league officials.
MLB and the players' association have had preliminary discussions about potential ways for the season to start when given the go-ahead by federal, state and local governments and health officials amid the coronavirus. Having all the teams based in Phoenix has been examined, and there has also been talk of having groups of teams in Arizona, Texas and Florida, pending health conditions.Comment -
Mad Bum lifetime batting.
.177 batting average.
.228 on base percentage
11 bombs
40 sac bunts.
Year PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ SH 2009 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2010 44 39 2 7 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 11 0.179 0.22 0.205 0.425 17 3 2011 75 59 5 7 4 0 0 3 0 0 5 18 0.119 0.188 0.186 0.374 7 11 2012 75 68 4 11 1 0 2 6 0 0 1 25 0.162 0.174 0.265 0.439 23 6 2013 69 56 3 6 0 0 0 4 0 0 5 30 0.107 0.177 0.107 0.285 -16 7 2014 78 66 10 17 2 0 4 15 0 0 2 29 0.258 0.286 0.47 0.755 113 8 2015 81 77 9 19 2 0 5 9 0 0 3 27 0.247 0.275 0.468 0.743 100 1 2016 97 86 8 16 6 0 3 9 0 0 10 43 0.186 0.268 0.36 0.629 69 0 2017 36 34 4 7 0 0 3 5 0 0 2 11 0.206 0.25 0.471 0.721 84 0 2018 46 44 2 7 2 0 0 4 0 0 1 20 0.159 0.174 0.205 0.378 5 0 2019 76 63 4 8 0 0 2 4 0 0 9 40 0.127 0.236 0.222 0.458 24 4 11 YRS 679 594 51 105 18 0 19 62 0 0 40 255 0.177 0.228 0.303 0.532 46 40 162 Game Avg. 382 334 29 59 10 0 11 35 0 0 23 143 0.177 0.228 0.303 0.532 46 23 Comment
