The 2020 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

**deadphish** · 05-06-20, 09:48 AM

"He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football."
"Jackson finished his career with an average of 6.6 yards per carry, which set the SEC record (minimum 400 rushes)"
"In 1984, Jackson's junior year (most of which Jackson missed due to injury), he earned Most Valuable Player honors at the Liberty Bowl after defeating Arkansas."
Collegiate baseball[edit]

Jackson missed much of his senior season after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA following a visit with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who he believes tried to sabotage his baseball career.^[15]
In his report, a scout stated that his only weakness was a lack of baseball experience. The scout said that he could be one of the all-time greats barring any injuries. He had a minor shoulder injury in the beginning of his collegiate football career, which didn't cause him issues in the long term. The scout also noted that this was his first year playing baseball and he seemed to be a "do it all type of player" and also stated he was "the best pure athlete in America today". This was in April 1985 when Bo was a 22-year-old scholarship athlete at Auburn University trying to make an even bigger name for himself than he already had in his football career. In this scouting report, Jackson's worth to an MLB team was listed at only $200,000, much less than what he would end up taking home later on in his short-lived careers.^[16]

**BigSpoon** · 05-06-20, 10:02 AM

Originally posted by deadphish

so was Bo Jackson the GOAT college football running back?

The GOAT video game RB in Tecmo Bowl.

**koz-man** · 05-06-20, 11:54 AM

Originally posted by BigSpoon

The GOAT video game RB in Tecmo Bowl.

Even made an episode of the Family Guy.

**Stallion** · 05-06-20, 12:39 PM

Bet the over in the Korean baseball games.

**Otters27** · 05-06-20, 01:37 PM

Crazy to think what BO Jackson would have been with out the injury

**deadphish** · 05-06-20, 05:31 PM

Originally posted by BigSpoon

The GOAT video game RB in Tecmo Bowl.

well thaz obvious

**JMobile** · 05-06-20, 05:44 PM

On this day, in 2005, Trevor Hoffman earned his 400th career save.

**Cross** · 05-06-20, 09:32 PM

I would argue LT was the Defensive Goat of Tecmo.

**EmpireMaker** · 05-06-20, 11:35 PM

Cubs star Javier Baez hasn’t been shy about publicly discussing his contract talks with the Cubs, and that trend continued this week as the two-time All-Star told ESPN’s Marly Rivera that extension talks with the team have been on hold since the league shut down in mid-March. Both sides decided to “leave it there,” with the 2020 season on indefinite hold, although the 27-year-old made clear that he still hopes to reach an agreement at some point.
Transactions have halted and rosters frozen during the hiatus, and extension talks were reportedly placed on hold as well. Of course, that’s a tough policy to enforce and one that could conceivably be circumvented so long as a new deal wasn’t announced or reported until the limitations were lifted. It seems that has not been the case, despite Baez’s emphasis on what a “blessing” it’d be to spend his whole career with one team and the fact that neither party feels the need to put a deadline on talks. On the other hand, Baez is keenly aware of the business side of the game and did discuss the possibility of playing with multiple teams in his chat with Rivera. The two also discussed his charitable works in Puerto Rico during the shutdown and Baez’s workouts with his brother-in-law: Twins righty Jose Berrios. Cubs fans will want to take a full look for the full breadth of his comments.
The Cubs currently control Baez through the 2021 season, after which he’ll join a historically strong class of free-agent shortstops. He and the Cubs agreed to a $10MM salary for the 2020 season over the winter, although the best-case scenario for him is now that he’d receive a prorated portion of that sum (dependent on how many games are able to be played in a shortened season). He’ll have one more trip through arbitration on the horizon, barring an agreement on a new deal.
A Baez extension would require a change of trajectory for a Cubs organization that has become increasingly averse to spending over the past two seasons. It’s easy to envision Baez, a potential face of the franchise for the better part of the next decade, as an exception to that philosophy, but it’s hard not to notice the team’s decrease in spending. Craig Kimbrel was signed last summer, but only after a prolonged stretch on the restricted list for Ben Zobrist unexpectedly opened up some funds. Chicago also brokered extensions for Kyle Hendricks (four years, $55.5MM) and David Bote (five years, $15MM) in Spring Training 2019, but a Baez deal wouldn’t be in the same stratosphere as those two deals. Outside of those deals, the Cubs have spent just over $14MM in free agency dating back to October 2018.
That said, the Cubs will also have Jon Lester, Tyler Chatwood, Jose Quintana, Daniel Descalso, Steven Souza Jr. and Jeremy Jeffress come off the books this coming winter. They had been slated to enter the season with about $214MM worth of luxury-tax commitments on the books, but that number will crater to $93MM next year (not including sizable arbitration raises for Baez, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Willson Contreras). It’s also perhaps telling while each of Bryant, Schwarber and Contreras saw his name kicked about the rumor circuit this past offseason — Bryant in particular — there were little to no such rumblings regarding Baez.
Whenever talks are able to resume, they’ll take place against the backdrop of sizable revenue losses for teams throughout the league — a reality that could make it more difficult for the two parties (or any two parties) to agree on a potential price point. That cuts both ways, as while the Cubs may not want to pay as much as they would have with an uninterrupted revenue stream, Baez (and other players set to hit free agency in the next couple of years) could be wary about going out into the open market at a time when owners are looking to recoup their losses. The expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement in December 2021 only further muddies the water, making it nearly impossible to predict just how contract negotiations of any type will play out in the foreseeable future.

**deadphish** · 05-07-20, 07:12 AM

trivia (kynda):
what MLB stadium seemed to be most popular among players as their favez to play at in the 70s, 80s & 90s?

**spider** · 05-07-20, 08:26 AM

Originally posted by baobo

How long do I have to wait for the trivia points post on my account?

trivia points are awarded the following morning after trivia.

**Chi_archie** · 05-07-20, 08:49 AM

Originally posted by deadphish

trivia (kynda):
what MLB stadium seemed to be most popular among players as their favez to play at in the 70s, 80s & 90s?

Tiger stadium?

**koz-man** · 05-07-20, 09:50 AM

Originally posted by Otters27

Crazy to think what BO Jackson would have been with out the injury

Agree...got his autograph @ spring training 100 years ago...very friendly guy..

**Cross** · 05-07-20, 10:53 AM

Wrigley field has to be the answer!

**stevenash** · 05-07-20, 11:41 AM

On this day, in 2016, exactly four years ago Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon at age 42 became the oldest player to hit his first MLB home run.

**ApricotSinner32** · 05-07-20, 06:02 PM

Originally posted by Stallion

Bet the over in the Korean baseball games.

Why should we do this? Any rational reason?

**jrgum3** · 05-07-20, 07:21 PM

Originally posted by Stallion

Bet the over in the Korean baseball games.

Yesterday this was true but I bet the under 9.5 the only time I bet a total in Korean baseball two days ago and won so it's not always the case. The pitching is pretty bad though and eventually the hitting will catch up to the pitchers and you'll be able to take advantage most nights.

**batt33** · 05-07-20, 09:24 PM

Originally posted by deadphish

"He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football."
"Jackson finished his career with an average of 6.6 yards per carry, which set the SEC record (minimum 400 rushes)"
"In 1984, Jackson's junior year (most of which Jackson missed due to injury), he earned Most Valuable Player honors at the Liberty Bowl after defeating Arkansas."
Collegiate baseball[edit]

Jackson missed much of his senior season after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA following a visit with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who he believes tried to sabotage his baseball career.^[15]
In his report, a scout stated that his only weakness was a lack of baseball experience. The scout said that he could be one of the all-time greats barring any injuries. He had a minor shoulder injury in the beginning of his collegiate football career, which didn't cause him issues in the long term. The scout also noted that this was his first year playing baseball and he seemed to be a "do it all type of player" and also stated he was "the best pure athlete in America today". This was in April 1985 when Bo was a 22-year-old scholarship athlete at Auburn University trying to make an even bigger name for himself than he already had in his football career. In this scouting report, Jackson's worth to an MLB team was listed at only $200,000, much less than what he would end up taking home later on in his short-lived careers.^[16]

He was something to watch.....

**EmpireMaker** · 05-07-20, 11:13 PM

While Spring Training impressions were limited due to the mid-March shutdown, the Mariners were still encouraged by the progress demonstrated by some expected key players, manager Scott Servais said this week on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link, with audio). In particular, lefty Justus Sheffield and righties Justin Dunn and Logan Gilbert looked to have taken notable strides. Sheffield, the centerpiece of the Mariners’ James Paxton return, allowed two runs on five hits and no walks with 12 punchouts in eight spring innings. Dunn, acquired alongside Jarred Kelenic in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz blockbuster, whiffed 10 hitters in six innings while holding opponents to two runs in 6 2/3 frames. Gilbert, Seattle’s first-rounder in 2018, pitched four shutout innings with four strikeouts, no walks and one hit. The M’s are hopeful that this trio can soon ascend to the big league rotation alongside Marco Gonzales as the organization emerges from an accelerated rebuilding process. There’s clearly more to the belief that strides were made than those surface-level stats, but the trio’s showing nevertheless was heartening for Mariners fans.
Rangers slugger Joey Gallo spoke with reporters about the dimensions of the newly constructed Globe Life Field, noting that the team’s new home park was “playing big as hell” during his batting practice session (link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). Gallo pointed out that the park is particularly deep in center field, where it’s 407 feet straightaway. That said, as Grant points out, the distance may not make a huge difference for Gallo, whose home runs to center field have averaged 434 feet in distance. GM Jon Daniels added that Gallo has been hitting with the roof closed, and opening it while hitting game balls against live pitching could change things. Still, it’d be a notable change for the Rangers to suddenly find themselves in a pitcher-friendly or even neutral park after long playing in one of the game’s most hitter-friendly stadiums. Gallo did offer positive reviews of the park’s artificial surface, calling it the “best turf I’ve ever been on” and touting its lack of “lingering side effects.” Gallo acknowledges that Rangers players were worried about the surface heading into the season, but his early experiences have allayed some of those concerns.
The Astros are facing a potential exodus in the outfield this coming offseason, and Jake Kaplan of The Athletic notes in his latest mailbag column that they’re looking at a similar slate of departures post-2021, when Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers Jr. could all hit the open market. Houston will see George Springer, Michael Brantley, Yuli Gurriel and Josh Reddick hit the market after whatever type of 2020 season we get. Given their poorly regarded farm system — not to mention the loss of draft picks in 2020-21 — the ’Stros are faced with an increasingly precarious position. It’s of course possible that the Astros could yet work out some extensions with various members of that core, but it’s also eminently apparent that a fair bit of roster turnover can be expected in the next couple of years — with several high-profile names likely to depart.

**Chi_archie** · 05-08-20, 08:36 AM

Originally posted by EmpireMaker

The Astros are facing a potential exodus in the outfield this coming offseason, and Jake Kaplan of The Athletic notes in his latest mailbag column that they’re looking at a similar slate of departures post-2021, when Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers Jr. could all hit the open market. Houston will see George Springer, Michael Brantley, Yuli Gurriel and Josh Reddick hit the market after whatever type of 2020 season we get. Given their poorly regarded farm system — not to mention the loss of draft picks in 2020-21 — the ’Stros are faced with an increasingly precarious position. It’s of course possible that the Astros could yet work out some extensions with various members of that core, but it’s also eminently apparent that a fair bit of roster turnover can be expected in the next couple of years — with several high-profile names likely to depart.

Fuk the Astros

**Chi_archie** · 05-08-20, 08:37 AM

Originally posted by Cross

Wrigley field has to be the answer!

based on how it was phrased, it seems like a stadium that closed AFTER the 90's

otherwise why would it stop being the most popular in the decades following?

but as far as wrigley, alot of visiting players hated it, because the visiting team's clubhouse, and dugout were so old and dungeon like. The pitchers often hated the wind blowing out days, relievers hated the bullpen situation

**stevenash** · 05-08-20, 08:54 AM

On this day, in 2018, exactly two years ago Mariners pitcher James Paxton threw a three walk, seven strikeout no hitter versus the Blue Jays.

Paxton, a native Canadian threw the no hitter in Toronto, his native country.

**deadphish** · 05-08-20, 09:49 AM

possibly...tho i doubt it. im thinkin of another. anoither hint...
Reggie Jackson said it was favez

**deadphish** · 05-08-20, 09:51 AM

Originally posted by Cross

Wrigley field has to be the answer!

i think that would be mine...i drove by summer 2013, but did not catch a game.
BUT, thatz not the 1

**BigSpoon** · 05-08-20, 09:52 AM

Originally posted by Chi_archie

Fuk the Astros

Coronavirus saved them from the hate they were going to get in 2020 from the fans.

**Otters27** · 05-08-20, 11:40 AM

Who lost their perfect game with 2 outs in the 9 the vs the A's

**stevenash** · 05-08-20, 11:54 AM

Originally posted by Otters27

Who lost their perfect game with 2 outs in the 9 the vs the A's

Curt Schilling.

**JMobile** · 05-08-20, 05:42 PM

Originally posted by BigSpoon

Coronavirus saved them from the hate they were going to get in 2020 from the fans.

Astros are saved. Lol

**stevenash** · 05-08-20, 05:47 PM

Originally posted by JMobile

Astros are saved. Lol

I have a feeling the boo birds will come out in force once they crank up again.

**Cross** · 05-08-20, 10:33 PM

Coronas definitely saved the Astros. Lucky B’s.

**ApricotSinner32** · 05-08-20, 10:43 PM

Originally posted by Cross

I would argue LT was the Defensive Goat of Tecmo.

You could definitely argue that. Best of luck to everyone today.

**jrgum3** · 05-09-20, 12:24 AM

Originally posted by Cross

Coronas definitely saved the Astros. Lucky B’s.

Not really. 2017 will always have an asterisk by it whether baseball comes back or not this year. I personally don't feel any hatred towards the Astros but people will always despise them going forward because they cheated their way to a championship.

**EmpireMaker** · 05-09-20, 12:34 AM

Looking back to 2013, Frazier was a sixth-round pick (that means he wouldn’t have been selected this year) who topped out as Baseball America’s 27th-ranked Pirates prospect after the 2015 campaign. As BA noted then, Frazier somehow went three seasons at Mississippi State without hitting a home run, but he has since shown more pop in the majors. Last season was his second straight 10-HR showing, which isn’t saying much in such a power-happy era, but he has still been a roughly average offensive performer since debuting in 2016. He’s the owner of a respectable lifetime .279/.342/.420 line and a 103 wRC+ across 1,574 plate appearances, and he managed a decent fWAR of 2.2 in 608 PA last year. And while Frazier’s penciled in as the Pirates’ second baseman, he’s versatile enough to move around the diamond if they find a better option there. The 28-year-old has logged a substantial amount of time in the outfield, where he has played all three spots, and has seen a bit of action at shortstop and third base.Newman, 26, has also shown off a good amount of versatility, having lined up at both middle infield positions, third and in left since he got to the majors in 2018. The majority of Newman’s work has come at short, though, and that’s a position he has on lockdown – at least, until rising prospect Oneil Cruz gets to MLB.Even if Cruz does reach the league sometime soon and bump Newman off short, the club may still have a keeper in the latter. A first-round pick in 2015 and a former top 100 prospect, Newman impressed in his first full season in 2019 with 2.4 fWAR and a .308/.353/.446 line with 12 homers and 16 steals in 531 PA. Newman doesn’t hit the ball that hard or bring a lot of power to the table, but he’s a fast runner who consistently makes contact. Those factors make him a good candidate to continue posting high averages. Just four hitters outdid Newman’s strikeout percentage of 11.7 last season, and only three bettered his 87 percent contact rate.Frazier and Newman aren’t exactly exciting players, but they could make for a nice, inexpensive duo for the Pirates going forward. They’ll combine for less than $3.5MM this year, which is important for a low-budget Pirates team that will put a dirt-cheap roster on the field if a season does happen. Of the two, though, Newman seems more likely to stick around for longer, considering he has five years of control left to Frazier’s three. The Pirates haven’t been shy about selling off players with dwindling team control, but perhaps that will change with new general manager Ben Cherington at the helm. In the meantime, the hope for Pittsburgh is that Frazier and Newman will continue as the effective, low-cost performers they’ve been so far.

**deadphish** · 05-09-20, 08:09 AM

final hint on that "stadium trivia"...
fountains!!!

**stevenash** · 05-09-20, 08:13 AM

On this day May 9, in 2019, exactly one year ago the Angels Albert Pujols hit a solo home run to become just the fifth MLB ever ever player to reach the 2000 RBI plateau.

Some say he was the third player ever to reach 2000 RBI because the RBI stat did not become official until 1920 deducting 226 RBI from Babe Ruth's total.

Whatever, Pujols is an all time great hitter.