tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9358011547667513582024-03-13T23:10:32.953-04:00Baseball with MattMatt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.comBlogger630125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-85403893526827058642021-04-01T19:20:00.001-04:002021-04-02T07:35:57.180-04:00The Last One 4/1/21<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTMt_qqYhT8/YGcBkBd_teI/AAAAAAAAGYk/aa0tveR2B_sDvc6LhwkgDV6AXxwSr-c5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/matt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTMt_qqYhT8/YGcBkBd_teI/AAAAAAAAGYk/aa0tveR2B_sDvc6LhwkgDV6AXxwSr-c5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/matt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Hey baseball fans!<p></p><p>No, this is not an April fools joke. Baseball with Matt is coming to an end today after existing for nine years <i>to the day</i>. I started this blog on April 2, 2012 with the intention of only doing it for a couple of years. Now, almost a decade in, I'm so happy about everything I've accomplished while blogging. </p><p>It's been a wild ride, to say the least. I've talked with so many wonderful baseball personalities, got to go to some of the best baseball events in the United States, but most of all, I got to talk about my favorite topic within my favorite sport: the history of baseball. Being able to share my love of baseball history with you over the years as been an absolute joy. Being able to grow that love with you has been just as much a joy. I mean, that's what this has all been about, right? I started the blog because I knew a lot about baseball and wanted to share and expand that love with a dedicated audience. After 600+ posts, I can safely say that this mission has been accomplished. </p><p>I want to thank everyone who has read my blog posts, whether you stopped after the first one or read all of them. All of you mean so much to me for keeping up with my blogging journey. I want to thank everyone who bought/has read my book. Writing <i>AA to ZZ</i> was incredible and I'm so happy to have donated as much as I did to charitable causes. I want to thank my family and friends for all of their love and support, from showing up to book signings to quizzing me on random baseball questions, sharpening my knowledge daily. I want to thank my mom and my sister for always having my back when it came to all of my BwM projects, even though they're not big baseball fans. And lastly, I want to thank my dad, my manager, agent, and editor, who has been by my side for every single decision, and has been my biggest inspiration through all of this. All I can say to everyone who has joined me through the trials of Baseball with Matt is thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.</p><p>So, what's next? Well, for the time being, not much. I'm currently finishing my final year at Binghamton University, studying for my Certified Public Accountant exams, and will be starting at PricewaterhouseCoopers in October full-time. I have a baseball podcast with my friends up at Bing called Baseball for Breakfast, which you can find on any podcast-providing platform, but that's pretty much it. Don't worry, though; I'll come back to baseball journalism at some point in the future. It might be in a year or it might be in five, but you'll hear from me soon. </p><p>So, for the final time, thanks for reading Baseball with Matt. I hope you enjoyed it and that you'll never stop learning about "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-18670738304421320492021-03-19T11:00:00.000-04:002021-03-19T11:00:30.754-04:00Baseball History's Impact on Interpreting Today's Game 3/19/21<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>One of the reasons I enjoy baseball history so much is that it puts modern baseball into perspective. I always preach that understanding the precedence or background of a current subject is paramount if you want to be an expert in it. I don't consider myself an aficionado when it comes to talking about all 30 rosters of the MLB, but I do know how to judge teams, players, managers, and championships because of what I've learned about baseball's past. So, I figured that for this post, I would share some of the guiding principles I've picked up that will help you understand modern baseball a little better. </p><p>I'll start with my calling card, the saying that I repeat on most episodes of the podcast I do with some of my friends, Baseball for Breakfast: <b>Batting average wins MVPs.</b> Mathematically speaking, it clearly doesn't. OPS (on-base-plus-slugging) or OPS+ (a scaled version of OPS which puts the average OPS of the league at 100) are more indicative of Most Valuable Player winners than any other stat in modern baseball, and I'm including WAR in that grouping. But as history has shown, if a player has a high/higher than career-average batting average in a given season and is in the MVP conversation, chances are that they'll win it. This isn't a proven science, but it just goes to show how tough it is to hit a baseball, especially in a modern age when batting averages are going down and homers and strikeouts are on the rise. There are productive ways to get on base besides getting a hit, yes, and any hitter can get screwed over by a spectacular fielding play, yes, but batting average is the best raw stat that answers the question of whether or not the guy who's up can hit off the guy on the mound. It's that primitive, but it's also that simple. Onto the next topic!</p><p>I don't like the GOAT debate across any sport. I think it's useless and doesn't provide any knowledge to a given sports fan, other than the knowledge of when the analysts that are having the debate grew up. But in baseball, the GOAT debate is different because the GOATs in conversation all have "what-if" factors. For example, what if Babe Ruth didn't start off as a pitcher? What if Ted Williams didn't serve in the army? What if Barry Bonds never took steroids? Because these "what-if" factors exist perpetually, <b>you can't play the what-if game in baseball.</b> It's unfair, no matter which hypotheticals you look at and which ones you choose to ignore. And this mantra isn't just for the GOAT debate. It works for a lot of topics. Look at the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. There were a lot of stars that had down years. Is it justifiable to use the 60-game season as an excuse for their slumps? No, because although it's fair to say that they could've rebounded had they played 162 games, we'll never know, so there's no point in bringing up the suggestion. </p><p>And finally, <b>winning isn't everything.</b> I definitely sound like an entitled Yankees fan with just that sentence, but hear me out. At the end of the day, the small moments of a season have a lot more magnitude and fondness attached to them than the climactic finishes because only one team gets the ultimate finish. The same thing goes for the players, the announcers, the ballpark dimensions, and even the dumb songs stadiums play for certain outcomes. Championships feel great, but I'm certainly not a baseball fan because the Yankees have 27 rings (sorry, I had to). That would be petty and disingenuous of me as a fan to say. I love baseball because I get to find my heroes through it, I get to learn from it, and I get to make connections with it. It's a distractor from the real world, sure, but I like to think that all pastimes have some subliminal messaging, and to me, reading between the foul lines indicates a lot more about baseball's impact on any generation than watching your squad lift the Commissioner's Trophy does. </p><p>Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-66342359284113388072021-03-05T13:52:00.000-05:002021-03-05T13:52:05.033-05:005 Bold Predictions for the 2021 MLB Regular Season 3/5/21<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>We are officially in Spring Training, which means the 2021 regular season is less than a month away! Because of this, as is customary on Baseball with Matt, it's time for some of my bold predictions for the upcoming campaign, five of them to be exact. </p><p>Although they have catchy-sounding nicknames, <b>Belli and Yelli will not escape their season-long slumps at the plate from last year</b>. Yes, Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich have won two of the last three NL MVPs, but they both had really terrible seasons last year. I'm here to tell you that these bad seasons are here to stay, at least for 2021. Bellinger's golf-like baseball bat swing has always been fluky to me and Yelich's eruption of power since he arrived at Milwaukee was never going to stick around; he was a contact hitter with the Marlins and only exhibited enough power and potential to barely crack 20 homers a season. I'm not saying these slumps will end forever, but let's just say that I wasn't surprised to see them both struggle in the shortened 2020 season. </p><p>Now, while these two sluggers will not rebound, <b>Luke Voit will lead the league in homers </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">again</u>. I feel like the baseball media didn't talk enough about Voit's crazy season as much as they should've and still forget to mention that he led the league in dingers. Ever since he got traded to the Yankees from St. Louis, he's shown immense gravitas with the bat, sending balls flying at an impressive pace. I guess the main reason he gets buried in the Yankee talk is because of the stars in the rest of the lineup, but you heard it here first: Nuke Voit will be back and better than ever. </p><p>I'm just going to come out and say this: <b>if Aaron Nola wins the Cy Young, the Phillies win the NL East</b>. Although this is not the most competitive division in baseball, the National League East is a bit of a toss-up. The Braves will probably win it, in my opinion, but the Mets, Nationals, and Marlins have solid rosters, too. And then there are the Phillies, one of the most underachieving teams in baseball that had a historically bad bullpen in 2020. However, they do have a bona fide ace in Aaron Nola, and if he can prove all the doubters wrong, Philadelphia's pitching will catch up to its hitting, propelling the Phils to the top of the East for the first time since 2011. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-34FeJI229CY/YEJvXVcFQSI/AAAAAAAAGXw/s40y4Pe_u4c7UjwPmdtXn-DGpWcbBPquwCLcBGAsYHQ/s322/nola.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="322" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-34FeJI229CY/YEJvXVcFQSI/AAAAAAAAGXw/s40y4Pe_u4c7UjwPmdtXn-DGpWcbBPquwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/nola.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Let's stick in the NL and talk about batting average, one of my favorite statistics in baseball. Who will win the NL batting title? <b>Donovan Solano</b>, of course! Solano is a veteran second baseman on the Giants who sneakily batted .326 last year and .330 in 2019. Sure, he's 33, and sure, those impressive marks might be as fluky as Bellinger and Yelich, but this is a real shot in the dark, and if it sticks, I'll be over the moon. <p></p><p>And finally, the World Series. I end up being close with this pick every year, but in the sense that the matchup usually ends up in the playoffs. This year, I'm hoping for a different outcome, but we'll have to see. Anyway, without further delay, <b>my 2021 World Series picks are the Padres and White Sox</b>. Why? They are the two youngest and most exciting teams in baseball with great rosters and even greater swagger. They were Wild Card teams this past year, but with their amazing players, they could easily meet up in late October for a chance at the Commissioner's Trophy. </p><p>Do you agree with my bold predictions? Let me know in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."<br /></p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-6920813313069508632021-02-21T11:54:00.000-05:002021-02-21T11:54:42.633-05:00The Case for Alan Trammell 2/21/21<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>It's my birthday, which means it's time to talk about my Hall of Fame birthday buddy, Alan Trammell! I've done a post about Trammell pretty much every February 21st since I started my blog in 2012, so this birthday will be no different! Today, rather than just go over his career for the 1,000th time, let's take a deep dive into why he deserves to be a Hall of Famer based on the three categories I use to judge Hall of Fame candidacy: longevity, consistency, and intangibles. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5yUxBSceVjo/YDKP1TlszMI/AAAAAAAAGW8/qEHdOi7QtrsFAOZvki-tSLv_A-BblDRhwCLcBGAsYHQ/s259/tram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5yUxBSceVjo/YDKP1TlszMI/AAAAAAAAGW8/qEHdOi7QtrsFAOZvki-tSLv_A-BblDRhwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/tram.jpg" /></a></div><p>Trammell did play for a while, I'll give him that. But that's not what <b>longevity</b> actually means in this case. How close was Trammell to the Hall of Fame benchmarks we have come to know and love? Well, the short answer is not at all, at least in the offensive department. 2,365 career hits isn't close to the 3,000-hit threshold, especially considering he played 20 years. The cumulative stat that he has actually met is defensive wins above replacement. dWAR is a newer stat in the Hall of Fame conversation, considering fielding gurus like Andruw Jones and Scott Rolen only just made the ballot, but it's an important stat nonetheless. You don't have to be good at everything to be a Hall of Famer, so even though Trammell's cumulative hits aren't there, his 22.7 career dWAR (which is 33rd on the all-time list) at a premier position like shortstop certainly puts him in the conversation, not to mention his 70.7 career total WAR is in the ballpark of that of Derek Jeter. </p><p>The <b>consistency</b> category marginally helps Trammell more than the longevity category, even though it's less important. A .285 lifetime batting average and 152 hits a season during his prime years from 1980-1990 make it known that Trammell was a consistent hitter. But other than those stats, why is Trammell a Hall of Famer? We can talk about his six All Star Games, three Silver Sluggers, or four Gold Gloves, but that's not enough. Again, I ask the question: why is this guy a Hall of Famer? The answer lies in the piece I've left out of this post so far on purpose: he's a legend in the Detroit Tigers organization. Sure, he's one of their worst managers ever, but the lifelong Tiger meant more to the city of Detroit than a lot of baseball fans realize. You can't tell the history of the Detroit Tigers without mentioning the 1984 World Series MVP. Although the <b>intangibles</b> category is the least important criteria for me for Hall of Fame candidates, it matters the most in Trammell's case. </p><p>Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-25696862156719881242021-02-09T16:36:00.000-05:002021-02-09T16:36:36.729-05:00A Preview of the 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot 2/9/21<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>The 2021 Hall of Fame inductees have been released and, to be honest, I'm not surprised that no one got in. Schilling's stock fell a lot after the Capitol riots and I expected the steroid-users not to move up that much. There were a couple of big risers, but again, it makes sense that the 2021 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will only feature the 2020 inductees. But who's on the ballot next year?</p><p>There are several very interesting first-timers on next year's ballot, namely Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. Both have steroid scandals associated with their careers, but Ortiz's has been called into question by reliable sources, a la Commissioner Manfred, and Rodriguez has seen a personal resurgence post-retirement, mostly from television appearances. It will be interesting to see how the voters view these two mega-stars, especially compared to Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who will be on the BBWAA ballot for the last time in 2022. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-imc2dd5R2WM/YCLr36hgxPI/AAAAAAAAGWU/fvVJd5x_vtEzUIekhQl-trEVPgE-OGOTACLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/ORTIZ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1055" data-original-width="1440" height="146" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-imc2dd5R2WM/YCLr36hgxPI/AAAAAAAAGWU/fvVJd5x_vtEzUIekhQl-trEVPgE-OGOTACLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h146/ORTIZ.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p>Other notable first-timers who I think could see some significant voting percentages include Jimmy Rollins, Mark Teixeira, A.J. Pierzynski, Ryan Howard, Joe Nathan, Prince Fielder, and Jonathan Papelbon. Out of this group, I'm really rooting for the relievers, Nathan and Papelbon. As we move deeper into the Age of the Bullpen, relievers of all kinds will start getting the recognition they deserve. I was a massive advocate for Trevor Hoffman's induction and just talked about Billy Wagner, so to say that I "like bullpens a little" would be a gross understatement. I think that A.J. Pierzynski actually has the best shot out of the hitters that I just named because he was a catcher, so his numbers should be taken with more than just one grain of salt. 2,000+ hits and a .280 batting average as a catcher are impressive stats. I'm not sure if he has the recognition to get into the Hall via the BBWAA, but we'll have to wait and see. </p><p>And then, besides the first-timers who won't see more than 10%, we have the guys who have been on the ballot for a while. Todd Helton and Scott Rolen saw huge jumps during the 2021 voting, Omar Vizquel's number went down because of his ongoing domestic abuse scandal, and Jeff Kent only rose a little. It seems that Helton and Rolen have the momentum to make it in before their times on the ballot are up and both of them have plenty of time to do so, but it won't be next year. What I am excited for, however, is to see how far their numbers do jump. </p><p>Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-3615774832426640302021-01-26T07:22:00.000-05:002021-01-26T07:22:28.335-05:00If I Had A Hall of Fame Ballot 2021 1/26/21<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>The 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees will be released later TODAY! So, as is customary on Baseball with Matt, here's my *unofficial* ballot. </p><p>I've already discussed why I think <b><a href="http://baseballwithmatt.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-case-for-todd-helton-121120.html">Todd Helton</a></b> and <b><a href="http://baseballwithmatt.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-case-for-jeff-kent-11321.html">Jeff Kent</a></b> deserve to be in the Hall (click on their names to see my posts about them), so naturally, they're on my ballot this year. But, as a quick summary, Helton's seasonal averages and synonymy with the Colorado Rockies organization and Kent's unique second baseman power are the reasons why they should have permanent residencies in Cooperstown. According to ballots that have already been released, both Helton and Kent aren't polling well, but even if this was a post about predicting who will eventually be in the Hall out of the players on the ballot this year, I would still include Helton and Kent in that conversation. A lot of my Hall of Fame criteria is based on precedence, so naturally, the topics of who I think should be a Hall of Famer and who I think will be a Hall of Famer are quite similar. </p><p>This is actually my shortest ballot to date because I only have one other guy on it, and that's <b>Billy Wagner</b>. The longtime closer with a better WHIP than Mariano Rivera (0.998 compared to 1.000) has never gotten the love he deserves, nor have most closers besides Mo. But the bottom line is that closers are a necessary part of the game, so although they don't provide a lot of value, a good closer is a good closer. Period. And Wagner was a <i>great</i> closer. He's sixth on the all-time saves list with 422 and his 2.31 ERA is tops among anyone with over 300 career saves besides The Sandman and Craig Kimbrel and the ERA+ of Wagner and Kimbrel are only 1 point apart (187 for Billy and 188 for Craig). I just think closers are grossly underrated, especially in the Age of the Bullpen. Although Wagner was no Trevor Hoffman, his numbers speak for themselves. He deserves induction. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lSD0mgghdVE/YA9LySh0nRI/AAAAAAAAGVY/DIMizVe-c7cy2QlL7YE7xGasN7VQVhs6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s854/BILLY-WAGNER-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="854" height="134" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lSD0mgghdVE/YA9LySh0nRI/AAAAAAAAGVY/DIMizVe-c7cy2QlL7YE7xGasN7VQVhs6ACLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h134/BILLY-WAGNER-1.png" width="200" /></a></div><p>I don't usually do this, but I want to talk a little about the guys who I'm not voting for. I had Curt Schilling on my ballot for a long time and you can go through my previous editions of the "If I Had A Hall of Fame Ballot" series to verify that information. He's a Hall of Famer on paper, for sure, but his politics tell a different story. The character clause that Hall of Fame voters are supposed to abide by is vague on purpose and I don't think there should be explicit statistical hurdles that keep a player out of the Hall. But Schilling won't shut up. It would be one thing if he was just annoying on social media, but the stuff that he says is unfiltered and careless. I don't care if he has political beliefs that aren't liked; Mariano is a known Trump supporter. It's about wielding the power as a celebrity that can mess up your chances in my book. Yes, half of the personalities in the Hall of Fame were extremely bigoted, but they didn't have social media. Schilling does and he's using it like an idiot. We'll see if he can curtail this behavior for next year's voting, which I think he'll be a part of, but as of now, Curt Schilling is not on my ballot. </p><p>And finally (because you know how I feel about steroid-users), we have the fielders. Scott Rolen, Omar Vizquel, and Andruw Jones are all eligible this year and would all be Hall of Famers because of their gloves. All three do, in fact, have considerable cases when looking at their advanced defensive metrics, but the Hall of Fame isn't convinced that defense matters. This is because offensive WAR <i>generally</i> outweighs defensive WAR for all players, even for Rolen, Vizquel, and Jones. So why even look at their defense, right? Well, if Hall of Fame legitimacy was solely measured on value, then Mariano Rivera wouldn't be a Hall of Famer. That's why I don't love WAR so much when it comes to talking about the Hall. Besides Joe Morgan, you can make the case for every Hall of Famer without using it. On top of that, skill is just as important for the Hall as value is, maybe even more. My only problem with the trifecta of fielders I'm talking about in this paragraph is that I'm just not as familiar with defensive statistics as I am with offensive ones. So, for that reason, I don't feel comfortable putting them on my ballot. And especially with Omar Vizquel's ongoing domestic violence issues, I'm glad he's not on my ballot anyway.</p><p>Who do you think should be in the Hall of Fame in 2021? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this episode and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-56772209486787724292021-01-13T11:36:00.000-05:002021-01-13T11:36:29.822-05:00The Case for Jeff Kent 1/13/21<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>It's my first post of 2021 and it's a doozy! Because we are officially in the month when we find out the 2021 Hall of Fame class, it's time to ramp up the Hall of Fame content on Baseball with Matt. With that being said, let's talk about Jeff Kent, who is appearing on the ballot for the eighth time this year. Given his voting percentage of roughly 27% last year, his Cooperstown chances are slim, but he is certainly a Hall of Famer. Here's why:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8qMOCTyIEA4/X_8Sk15qEpI/AAAAAAAAGUY/G6Glgef3zDUWTKkGdPt1olnRHtWIJcCJACLcBGAsYHQ/s1400/kENT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8qMOCTyIEA4/X_8Sk15qEpI/AAAAAAAAGUY/G6Glgef3zDUWTKkGdPt1olnRHtWIJcCJACLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h200/kENT.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p>Jeff Kent has a weird career. Usually, players slow down as they age. Their first decade in baseball is, by and large, much better than their second. That's not the case with Jeff Kent. Much like Paul O'Neill, Kent had a couple of alright seasons in his 20s, but his career really took off in his 30s, specifically as the starting second baseman for the Giants, Astros, and Dodgers. The sheer fact that his career numbers look flipped, with better seasons occurring in the latter half of his career, is probably a huge bias for Hall of Fame voters. But, as I've stated, the accumulation of statistics is what's more important than individual seasons when it comes to Hall of Fame legitimacy, no matter when the bulk of that accumulation took place.</p><p>Kent's numbers are more impressive when you consider the fact that he was a second baseman. For a lot of positions, mainly corner infielders and the outfield, defensive positioning isn't that important when considering offensive statistics. But second baseman aren't usually signed to be amazing hitters. Elite defense is required at the position, but elite offense is a competitive advantage that Kent definitely has. For starters, Kent is the all-time leader among second baseman when it comes to homers (377) and third in RBIs (1,518, behind Hall of Fame legends Rogers Hornsby and Nap Lajoie), while his 2,461 career hits rank above Hall of Fame second basemen such as Ryne Sandberg and Bobby Doerr. Then, there are the seasonal averages: a .290 batting average, with 22 homers and 89 RBIs over 17 years, not to mention his .500 career slugging percentage, which only ranks under Hornsby for the category among non-active second basemen. </p><p>And then there are the intangibles. He won the MVP in 2000 and was a pivotal part of the 2002 pennant-winning Giants and the 2004 almost-pennant-winning Astros. I could mention the four All Star Games and four Silver Sluggers, but I don't need awards to determine how good of a second baseman Jeff Kent really was. If I were to sum up Jeff Kent's Hall of Fame candidacy in one sentence (and you really only need one), he was, by far, one of the most powerful second basemen baseball has ever seen, and, for that reason, deserves to be talked about by future generations of baseball fans who use the Hall as a lesson plan. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-71300325429149308882020-12-24T12:40:00.000-05:002020-12-24T12:40:09.663-05:00The Negro Leagues and Hall of Fame Standards 12/24/20<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>Big news came out recently about the Negro Leagues being elevated to Major League status. A lot of people had a lot to say about the racial sensitivity that went into this move (which was called "correcting a longtime oversight" by the MLB), but I'm going to tackle the story from a different angle and discuss the ramifications it has for the Hall of Fame. </p><p>As I've said time and time again, Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby are not Hall of Famers solely because they're black. Sure, they broke the color barriers in the NL and AL, respectively, but because the National Baseball Hall of Fame is the most benchmarked of all the American sports halls of fame, I can't justify their induction by the color of their skins because, indeed, they were both insanely good. You can argue that Doby got propped up by his resilient status a little bit more than Robinson (Jackie is objectively the better player), but it's impossible to ignore Larry Doby's power surge of the 1950s in Cleveland. In other words, the dominant reason that Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby have permanent residencies in Cooperstown is because they could hit a baseball, plain and simple. </p><p>With the Negro Leagues finally getting the major league label after last week's MLB super-announcement, it got me thinking about a couple of things regarding judging players who played either most or all of their wonderful careers in the Negro Leagues. First of all, the move is going to motivate intense fact-checking and stats verification (which, as a future auditor, I am excited about on a reconciliation basis) to ensure that the stats from the time period elevated, 1920-1948, are correct. Statistical historians could uncover and/or verify a whole bunch of stats that were lost to Father Time, excavating the careers of forgotten Negro Leagues stars onto Hall of Fame ballots, which brings me to a second point. We're finally going to hear more about Negro Leagues players that already <i>do</i> have verifiable stats, like Oscar Charleston or "Cool Papa" Bell. In addition, Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson's numbers are going to be beefed up, along with other names of Hall of Famers that I can't even name off the top of my head because the league they played in was considered secondary until this year!</p><p>What I'm trying to say is that I'm tired of the talk of putting Negro League players in the Hall because they're black. It's not fair to the hard work that they put in on the field, the same work that's been put in by black players after the breaking of the color barrier. This move is going to motivate voters to put them in because they're good, which they <i>are</i>, and that fact is proven by Robinson and Doby, who made the transition from the Negro Leagues to Major League Baseball without much of a learning curve. There is more to this move than just recognizing the Negro Leagues as being legitimate. It's about acknowledging that the players, too, were the top ballplayers of a generation. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-61394901778934902932020-12-11T17:48:00.001-05:002020-12-11T17:48:48.561-05:00The Case for Todd Helton 12/11/20<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>With 2020 coming to an end, the 2021 Hall of Fame class is the only thing on my mind. So, let's talk about some of the potential members of the class and why they should get in, starting with the guy who I think is the most underrated on the ballot: Todd Helton. I think the lifelong member of the Colorado Rockies from 1997-2013 and friend of Peyton Manning (they both went to Tennessee) deserves a spot in Cooperstown, but his sub-30% performance on last year's ballot doesn't bode well for the first baseman. Still, there's a lot to learn about how I view Hall of Fame candidates when looking at Helton, so if anything, his career will be a nice case study for any Hall of Fame voter hopeful, such as myself. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Shrow8AwkeI/X9PTpnbcdgI/AAAAAAAAGTk/SsJbWVNNOCcY_3abp8r4TTbau9E82zVdACLcBGAsYHQ/s268/helton.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="268" height="141" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Shrow8AwkeI/X9PTpnbcdgI/AAAAAAAAGTk/SsJbWVNNOCcY_3abp8r4TTbau9E82zVdACLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h141/helton.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p><b>He could beat anyone at the plate in a multitude of different ways</b>. Todd Helton's .316 lifetime batting average looks a lot more impressive, now that the stat has been deflated in priority by batters over the past five years. He batted over .330 in four seasons and even batted a league-leading .372 in 2000. He also had a career slugging percentage of .539, which is actually 36th on the all-time list. To top it all off, his career OPS (on-base plus slugging percentages) is an astounding .955, which equates to an OPS+ of 133. Carl Yastrzemski and Dave Winfield both had a 130 career OPS+, just to provide some context for how good Helton was comparatively to plenty of guys who cheated. </p><p><b>His cumulative stats are on the cusp.</b> Hall of Fame legitimacy relies on consistency and longevity. Helton's excellent lifetime percentages give him an edge in the first category, while in the second, Helton is good, but not great. His 2,519 hits and 369 home runs over 17 years is 148 hits and 22 homers a season. For any hitter to be on pace for 3,000 hits and/or 500 home runs in a career, they would need 150 hits and 25 home runs a season over 20 years. For hitters who play less than 20 years, those expected averages go up. Vlad Guerrero's numbers are a perfect example of this desire by Hall of Fame voters. So, even though Helton's per-season stats are close to being very good, they're not past the mark, which is why I think he hasn't gotten his deserving share of votes on the ballot. Still, the fact that he's almost on pace for <u style="font-style: italic;">both</u> 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, the two biggest and most clear Hall of Fame benchmarks for any eligible player, boosts his legitimacy a lot. </p><p><b>He's a fan favorite.</b> Yes, I can talk about his Gold Gloves and All Star Games, but Helton doesn't have enough of either to boost his case. And yes, this is a controversial and taboo topic, but a topic that deserves to be taken into consideration. Like I said before, Helton played his entire career a mile above sea level, which might make him a subject of the Coors Effect, but that's a debate for a different day. My point is that the fans loved him. <i>I</i> loved him when I watched him play in his late 30s. And because the Rockies are such a young franchise, he is literally one of the best players in the history of the Colorado Rockies. His #17 is retired by the club, for goodness sake. The Bicentennial State worships him. The Hall of Fame is looked at as this heralded and hallowed sanctuary that honors god-like men, but in reality, the meaning behind the Hall is to teach baseball history to the masses, so shouldn't a player who represents a franchise be included in that lesson plan?</p><p>Do I think Helton will get in this year? No. Do I think he will ever get in? Yes. Does he deserve it? Absolutely. Should he have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer? In theory, no, but everyone (or at least 75% of the voters) should realize the greatness that resides in Todd Helton. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-90039928785584992852020-11-26T17:29:00.000-05:002020-11-26T17:29:02.019-05:002021 Hall of Fame Ballot: The First-Timers with a Connection to Me 11/26/20<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>We are about two months away from the 2021 Hall of Fame class announcement, but it's never too early to talk about the Hall, especially when the 2021 official ballot was just released! I'll get into my actual predictions as we approach late January, but for this post, I'd like to talk about some of the guys who I grew up watching who are eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time. </p><p>In more ways than one, the 2021 Hall of Fame ballot first-timers shows how long I've been a baseball fan. The first season I really remember was 2009, when my Yankees won their 27th World Series championship. For the Yankees to make it to the Fall Classic, however, they needed some offseason help. Before the '09 season, they signed AJ Burnett and traded for Nick Swisher, two players who are appearing on their first Hall of Fame ballots this year. I remember AJ Burnett as the runt of the Yankees pitching staff litter because they also had fan favorite Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia. In other words, AJ was good, but nothing compared to the rest of the starters in the Bronx. As for Nick Swisher, the outfielder/first baseman had a wild personality and a switch-hitting bat that could smack lasers out of the ballpark. His crazy antics on and off the field, as well as his All Star power, were big reasons for the Yankees' 103 wins. But I can't skip over Mark Buehrle, who pitched the first perfect game I ever watched, which occurred during the 2009 season. He is also making his debut on the ballot after posting a career ERA+ of 117. Not too shabby for the White Sox legend. </p><p>In the 2009 ALDS, the Yanks faced off against the Twins and another first-timer on the ballot, Michael Cuddyer. Cuddyer was great in seasons that occurred before, during, and after 2009, so I remember him at many different points in his career. And as someone who grew up in New York, not only did I see him a lot because the Yankees and Twins played each other in plenty of playoff series, but Cuddyer also made a lot of noise when he signed with the Mets in 2015. All of my Mets fan friends were so excited for him, but he barely batted over .250 and was no help in the Mets' 2015 World Series run. But going back to 2009, the Yankees faced off against a very formidable Philadelphia Phillies team in the World Series, a team which featured Shane Victorino, yet another player making his debut on the 2021 Hall of Fame ballot. "The Flyin' Hawaiian" was never the best player on the field for any of his championship teams, but was disruptive enough on the base paths to certainly earn a cult status among fans. His most prominent moment in the MLB, in my opinion, came with the Red Sox in 2013, when he hit a clutch Game Six grand slam that helped lift the Sox over the Tigers in the ALCS. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uk3tF-iwhSY/X8Acs0IP2QI/AAAAAAAAGSw/XYN9yG3lEsgWPW3B0UcQY4cD4kPCIuDuQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/maxresdefault.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="181" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uk3tF-iwhSY/X8Acs0IP2QI/AAAAAAAAGSw/XYN9yG3lEsgWPW3B0UcQY4cD4kPCIuDuQCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h181/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>What's funny about me describing these players is that, although I remember them vividly from my youth, I don't think any of them belong in the Hall of Fame. It's just exciting for me that I've now seen Hall of Fame candidates in action. I guess I'm getting older. Anyway, thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz." <p></p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-2105763882078694552020-11-15T15:07:00.000-05:002020-11-15T15:07:48.654-05:00My Thoughts on Kim Ng 11/15/20<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>The Miami Marlins have made history, a sentence that isn't so common, but when it's uttered, is monumental. Two days ago, they hired Kim Ng to be their new general manager, making her the first woman and East Asian to hold that position in Major League Baseball. But what does this hiring mean for all sports, and more importantly, what does it mean for us as fans?</p><p>I've been thinking a lot about why I follow baseball, beyond the enjoyment I get out of it, and have come to the conclusion that baseball isn't just a game. If any professional sport was just a game, then how can it be professional when games, by definition, are recreational? I know that not all sports players participate in athletics for monetary gains, but the figureheads of the world of sports certainly do. With this being the case, how come we are so driven to watch these games, to follow these players, and to root incessantly for outcomes that benefit one side over the other? Subconsciously, I think it has to do with the life lessons we garner from sports. I say that these lessons are subconscious because when I argue about Hall of Fame legitimacy, I don't judge players based on the lessons they taught me, but this very judgement teaches me how to argue and how to believe in those arguments. And when I played baseball in high school, learning to take pitches outside the strike zone taught me patience, while crafting pick-off plays and practicing run-down helped me understand how to plan methodically. </p><p>Then, there are the times when lessons are a little more on the surface, like integration and treating everyone equally. Baseball was the first sport to break the color barrier, the biggest sport in the US when the biggest immigration waves came to Ellis Island, and is the sport that is the most shaped by American history, so it's fair to say that baseball is a sport of resiliency. It's not a sport that's defined by the people trying to segregate it. It's a sport that's defined by perseverance and trail-blazing. So, when I see the Marlins hiring Kim Ng, not only do I see the emphasis of baseball's metaphorical mission statement. I also see a woman of East Asian descent, who has been in the game for so long, finally getting the chance to show the world what she's made of.</p><p>It's no coincidence that Derek Jeter hired Ng. After all, Ng was an assistant general manager under Brian Cashman during the Yankees dynasty of the late '90s, a period that saw Jeter go from prodigy to superstar in the Yankees organization, not to mention the fact that Jeter was born to biracial parents just seven years after the landmark Supreme Court case, <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia">Loving vs. Virginia</a></i>. But what I love the most about this hiring is that this wasn't the Marlins trying to prove that they're "up with the times" or even that they are "the most woke team ever." Kim Ng is getting her shot because she deserves it, not because the Marlins are trying to meet a quota. After all, the Marlins are a baseball team trying to win ballgames, so they just needed to hire the best general managing candidate on the market. It was as simple as that. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-POj5u84e6IU/X7FSc-zb-XI/AAAAAAAAGSM/THmJwCZOpUst1k_Z5xAg9FBv4r1e07RJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s931/ng.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="931" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-POj5u84e6IU/X7FSc-zb-XI/AAAAAAAAGSM/THmJwCZOpUst1k_Z5xAg9FBv4r1e07RJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/ng.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br />Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."<p></p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-29507989648604493492020-11-02T12:39:00.000-05:002020-11-02T12:39:02.204-05:00Gibby, Orel, and the '88 Dodgers 11/2/20<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>The 2020 season is officially over and the Dodgers are world champions! This is their first championship since 1988, a championship I'd like to discuss this, because of how interesting a team it was. </p><p>The 1988 Dodgers didn't have a star-studded lineup. Only three hitters in their lineup had double-digit home runs that year and only one hitter had more than 20. One might call it a coincidence, however, that the hitter with 20+ homers for the '88 Dodgers was the National League MVP, Kirk Gibson. It was his first of three years in LA after spending the first nine years of his professional baseball career with the Tigers, where he won a ring in 1984. Now on the West Coast, Gibson basically carried the Dodgers to first place in the NL West, at least on the batting side of things. In 1988, Kirk Gibson hit 25 homers, batted .290, stole 31 bases and had an OPS of .860. It wasn't even Gibson's best year, but I can't emphasize enough how depleted this Dodgers lineup was, especially compared to the franchise's great lineups of the late 1970s and early 1980s. </p><p>As for the pitching? Well, it was electric. Orel Hershiser was the ace, at one point going <i>59 straight innings </i>without allowing a single run. That record-setting stretch helped his seasonal ERA reach a miniscule 2.26 and was probably the main reason for his '88 NL Cy Young Award. Tim Leary and Tim Belcher each posted ERAs below three, while veterans Fernando Valenzuela and Don Sutton (a Hall of Famer) performed excellently, too. The squad also had a great bullpen, which included All Star Jay Howell and the all-time leader in appearances, Jesse Orosco. All in all, the 1988 Dodgers had an ERA of 2.96, a miraculous mark by today's standards, but a mark that was actually higher than the champions of the NL East, the New York Mets. In a hard-fought National League Championship Series, the underdog Dodgers actually outlasted the Mets in seven games, pitting them against the Oakland A's for a chance at their first title in seven years. </p><p>It was no secret that the A's were favored in this World Series, which makes the Dodgers' winning it in five games one of the biggest series upsets in history. But the big play that everyone talks about is in Game One, when MVP Kirk Gibson, who injured himself badly multiple times in the NLCS, got the chance to win the game for LA with the Dodgers down by one in the bottom of the ninth with a runner on first and facing future Hall of Fame closer, Dennis Eckersley. Gibson, barely able to move, was used as a pinch-hitter in this situation. After working the count to 3-2, he waited for Eck's backdoor slider and crushed it over the right field wall in Dodger Stadium for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4nwMDZYXTI&t=411s" target="_blank">an improbable home run</a>. The dinger is one of the greatest moments in baseball history, and a moment from which the A's never recovered. It was Gibson's only at-bat of the World Series.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rI_B4NLXifQ/X6AckuVEfGI/AAAAAAAAGRk/-kkIK2R4xukNjUHq-qlg06_sRLBpP1KqACLcBGAsYHQ/s259/kirk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rI_B4NLXifQ/X6AckuVEfGI/AAAAAAAAGRk/-kkIK2R4xukNjUHq-qlg06_sRLBpP1KqACLcBGAsYHQ/w150-h200/kirk.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><p>Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz." </p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-45974271037670665882020-10-23T10:55:00.000-04:002020-10-23T10:55:11.957-04:00A Historical Look at the 2020 World Series 10/23/20<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>The 2020 World Series is here, which means that it's time for me to give you a historical look on the matchup, which pits the Rays against the Dodgers!</p><p>The <b>Tampa Bay Rays</b> are making their second World Series appearance in franchise history and their first since 2008. This marks the second time that a 1990s expansion team is making its second World Series appearance, joining only the Marlins. Having lost that 2008 World Series to the Phillies, the Rays are one of six teams to never win a World Series title. They will be facing the <b>Los Angeles Dodgers</b>, who are looking to win the franchise's seventh ring in its storied history, having not won a World Series since 1988, but making it in 2017 and 2018. If the Dodgers lose the 2020 World Series, they will join the 1911-1913 Giants and the 1907-1909 Tigers as the only teams to lose the Fall Classic in three out of four years. Also, it should be noted that the Dodgers have one of the worst World Series championship percentages out of the teams that have rings. With only six championships in 20 tries, the Dodgers have the third-worst success rate on baseball's biggest stage, behind the Phillies (an original NL team that didn't win its first World Series until 1980) and the Cubs (who didn't even appear in a World Series from 1946-2015). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_Se5_22a_s/X5LqNy_MdiI/AAAAAAAAGQ8/lmOeqoZP_lkoWr8laBgMMYYeY4GsLVc_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/2020.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_Se5_22a_s/X5LqNy_MdiI/AAAAAAAAGQ8/lmOeqoZP_lkoWr8laBgMMYYeY4GsLVc_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2020.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>This marks the fourth time in the Wild Card era that the top two teams in each league have made the World Series, joining the 1995, 1999, and 2013 editions of the Fall Classic. What's even more interesting is that the 2020 World Series has the highest combined regular season winning percentage of all time. The Rays and Dodgers had a combined winning percentage of .692 during the shortened 2020 campaign, surpassing the 1906 World Series combined regular season winning percentage of .690 between the Cubs and White Sox. In other words, this World Series is supposed to be one of the most competitive World Series ever and I'm excited to see how it all plays out. If you want to know who I think will win the World Series, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/61QPVQbkO8qukbusZ82zZN?si=oJ_sz3phSkODNqZnYk122A">click here</a> to listen to the newest episode of my baseball podcast, Baseball for Breakfast, where me and my friends talk all about the 2020 World Series!</p><p>Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-55574736911313924902020-10-09T10:15:00.000-04:002020-10-09T10:15:26.875-04:00My Top 5 World Series Walk-Off Home Runs Of All Time 10/9/20<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>The World Series is only about a series away, so it's time to start imagining how the 2020 edition of the Fall Classic will be entered into the history books! Personally, I'm a big fan of the walk-off home run and hope we see some crazy game-winning dingers during the final stage of the MLB postseason. To honor this, let's run through my top five World Series walk-off home runs of all time. </p><p><b>Number Five: Derek Jeter, Game Four, 2001</b></p><p>The game-tying home run by Tino Martinez in the bottom of the ninth was amazing, too, but the walk-off by Derek Jeter off of Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Byung-Hyun Kim in the tenth is legendary for Yankees fans. Because the World Series was delayed due to the September 11th attacks, Jeter's home run came during the first moments the MLB has ever had games during the month of November, hence Jeter's nickname, "Mr. November." I like this home run a lot because Jeter was my favorite player growing up and this is one of his best moments and certainly one of his best home runs. </p><p><b>Number Four: Bill Mazeroski, Game Seven, 1960</b></p><p>See? This isn't a Yankees blog! Maz's shot in Game Seven of 1960 ended a back-and-forth affair between the Yanks and champion Pittsburgh Pirates with the first ever walk-off Series-winning home run (and the only one in a Game Seven). Personally, I think Mazeroski is an overrated Hall of Famer, but I have to give credit where credit is due. He made history against a franchise that hadn't been sent such a crushing blow in their 40-year dynasty prior to that homer. It's a big deal, for sure. </p><p><b>Number Three: Joe Carter, Game Six, 1993</b></p><p>To put it simply, this used to be my favorite moment in baseball history, let alone my favorite World Series walk-off home run. While Mazeroski's home run came in Game Seven with the game tied, <i>this</i> walk-off Series-ending home run that Carter hit with the Blue Jays against the Phillies came with his team trailing in the ninth in Game Six. The reasons why Carter's homer is so good is the crazy pitching motion by Phillies reliever Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams that Carter read well, the Hall of Famers on base (Paul Molitor on second and Rickey Henderson on first), and the impact that the homer had on the city of Toronto. A lot of Canadians are baseball fans because of this moment.</p><p><b>Number Two: Kirby Puckett, Game Six, 1991</b></p><p>"And we'll see you tomorrow night." One of the best home run calls I've ever heard (it was by Jack Buck, Joe Buck's dad and longtime MLB announcer), and it was made during arguably the best World Series of all time. Kirby Puckett is one of my favorite players ever, and the fact that it was him, the star of the Twins championship teams in 1987 and 1991, that hit this home run against the Braves makes it that much sweeter.</p><p><b>Number One: David Freese, Game Six, 2011</b></p><p>All Nelson Cruz had to do was run a little bit faster, and he would've caught Freese's game-tying triple in the ninth, which would've ended the game and the Series for the Rangers. But instead, we were left with one of the greatest couple of innings that the World Series has ever seen, which ended with Freese's walk-off that sent the St. Louis Cardinals faithful into a frenzy. I remember watching this home run live and realizing that because I was watching it, I was part of history. That's why this homer takes the top spot on my list (even though Joe Buck stole his dad's signature line from the Puckett homer for Freese's homer). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w_mFU-8UO3g/X4Br3655HVI/AAAAAAAAGQA/mydE4u4SZxgIe12m3cD8SMmu_mjEPxZ0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s274/FREESE.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w_mFU-8UO3g/X4Br3655HVI/AAAAAAAAGQA/mydE4u4SZxgIe12m3cD8SMmu_mjEPxZ0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/FREESE.jpg" /></a></div><p>I'm going to get ahead of some of you and address the missing Carlton Fisk homer that the Hall of Fame catcher hit in Game Six of the 1975 World Series to send it to Game Seven. The Red Sox didn't win Game Seven against the Reds! The home run was meaningless in the grand scheme of things! Sure, Derek Jeter's homer didn't amount to much for the 2001 Yankees in the long run, but that homer doesn't need to be carried by magnitude because it was a Game Four and not a Game Six! But anyway, what do you think of the rest of my list? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-43875382140389418762020-09-30T14:30:00.000-04:002020-09-30T14:30:06.561-04:00Worst To First: A 1991 Baseball Story 9/30/20<p>Hey baseball fans!</p><p>The 2020 playoffs are officially here, with a few notable curse-breakers in the bracket. The Marlins, White Sox, and Padres all snapped massive playoff droughts when they clinched playoff berths this season, with the Marlins and Padres going from last place in their respective divisions in 2019 to the postseason in 2020. Worst-to-first teams have become more common in baseball with the popularity of free agency and the rise of analytics, but I want to talk about the first worst-to-first teams in baseball history, the 1991 Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins. That's right: they did it in the same year and, get this, <i>both</i> made the World Series that year.</p><p>Before the Braves won 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005, they were a struggling franchise in the National League West. They finished the 1990 season with a 65-97 record, good for last place. They had pieces, like star pitchers Tom Glavine and Steve Avery, but Greg Maddux was still in Chicago at this time and John Smoltz wasn't the Hall of Famer we all know and love. So, the Bravos went to free agency. Terry Pendleton, a third baseman for the Cardinals, happened to be available, so Atlanta signed him. Boy, what a move, that was. Pendleton would go on to win the 1991 NL MVP by leading the Senior Circuit in hits (187) and batting average (.319). Hall of Famer Tom Glavine made his first All Star Game, won 20 games, and grabbed the 1991 NL Cy Young Award. The rest of the Braves did really well, too, winning 94 games and the NL West by a single game over the Dodgers. They then beat the Pirates in the NLCS to advance to the franchise's first World Series since 1958, where they would face the Minnesota Twins. </p><p>The 1990 Twins, three years removed from a World Series title, disappointed the Land of 10,000 Lakes, only winning 74 games and finishing in the basement of the AL West. Then, in the offseason, they signed slugger Chili Davis and the winningest pitcher of the 1980s and St. Paul native, Jack Morris. They also brought up speedy second base prospect Chuck Knoblauch. Alongside Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett and Twins legend Kent Hrbek, these new stars flourished. Davis hit 29 homers and drove in 93 runs, Morris won 18 games, and Knoblauch stole 25 bases and won AL Rookie of the Year. Couple those stats with solid seasons from Puckett and Hrbek, and the '91 Twins were in business from the get-go. They won 95 games, the AL West, and the AL pennant, setting up the first all-worst-to-first World Series. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Heci0G-eXY/X3StD132DDI/AAAAAAAAGPg/ZeUqTUGfLV07aXc8F9Irrncy2LC9mZd4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s262/1991%2Bworld%2Bserie.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="262" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Heci0G-eXY/X3StD132DDI/AAAAAAAAGPg/ZeUqTUGfLV07aXc8F9Irrncy2LC9mZd4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/1991%2Bworld%2Bserie.png" /></a></div><p>The 1991 World Series is ranked by many, including myself, as the top edition of the World Series in baseball history. Five games were decided by one run, four were decided in the final at-bat, and three went to extras. Was this World Series primed to be this good because of the way the teams got to it? I certainly think so. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-24394277442115968602020-09-20T09:36:00.000-04:002020-09-20T09:36:48.198-04:00Baseball for Breakfast: My New Podcast! 9/20/20<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>Myself and two of my college friends have started a baseball podcast. It's called "Baseball for Breakfast," with new episodes releasing every Monday morning for the foreseeable future. <a href="https://anchor.fm/baseballforbreakfast" target="_blank">Click here</a> to access all our episodes so far. We're really excited for you to listen!</p><p>So, why did we start a podcast? Well, me and my friends, Brendan and Logan, love baseball, but as you could probably guess, have different opinions going across all topics relating to America's Pastime. We figured it would be quality entertainment to listen to us bicker for an hour about who knows what in the world of baseball. What you could also probably guess is that I'm the historical perspective on "Baseball for Breakfast," using my knowledge of baseball history to win arguments spanning generations of baseball fans. So, I figured for this post, I would go into greater detail about our last podcast topic from a historical point of view. If you want to hear the full episode before reading this post, click the hyperlinked words in the first paragraph of this blog post. </p><p>So the topic of the most recent episode of "Baseball for Breakfast" was the rule changes for the 2020 season. We discussed things like the seven-inning double-headers, the universal DH, the expanded playoff format, and the hastened extra innings. For the most part, we as a trio like the changes for this season alone and don't want to see these same rule changes in future seasons. The only rule we all like for the rest of the MLB's existence is the universal DH. The designated hitter has been a position in a baseball lineup going as far back as 1973, when Ron Blomberg of the Yankees became the first DH in baseball history. The DH, solely a rule in the American League, was originally implemented because of the crazy pitching years of the late 1960s, a la Bob Gibson posting a 1.12 ERA in an absurd 1968 year for pitchers across Major League Baseball. The situation is much different today, as home runs have exploded in recent years, but the DH rule for the National League would, as I said in the podcast, homogenize the league. Baseball is the only American professional sport with a noticeable rule differentiation that alters the play between conferences. There's no four-point field goal in the NFC, nor is there s two-point foul shot in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Giving the NL the DH would stabilize lineups across the Senior Circuit and will even out claims that the NL is the "better pitching league," but only in theory. </p><p>The only other rule change I'll go into for this post is the expanded playoff format. For the 2020 season, eight teams from each league will make the postseason, by far the most for a single postseason in MLB history. I don't like the rule going forward, but commissioner Rob Manfred has said that the expanded playoffs are here to stay, so I might as well criticize the decision. Baseball has probably the least equality among its teams out of the over 120 teams in America's four biggest sports. What I mean by that is big-market and small-market teams are much more pronounced in baseball. In addition, the MLB is the Big Four sport where the one seed is least likely to make the championship round. So, having an expanded route to the World Series would give teams that don't generally compete a chance to wreck the league's powerhouses. A perfect example of this is seeing the Marlins in the postseason picture this year. For all we know, they could win their third World Series in franchise history this year. This move would make the World Series trophy a true dogfight, which I personally don't want to see, but will try to accept when the rule change becomes permanent and official. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SuTdQl8cD2Y/X2X8vxFpLDI/AAAAAAAAGO8/6o1hNlyJb10TaC-vt78CYqKFz1o52VTyACLcBGAsYHQ/s279/MLB%2Bpostseason.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="279" height="206" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SuTdQl8cD2Y/X2X8vxFpLDI/AAAAAAAAGO8/6o1hNlyJb10TaC-vt78CYqKFz1o52VTyACLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h206/MLB%2Bpostseason.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Again, make sure to check out our podcast, "Baseball for Breakfast." You can get it anywhere you normally listen to podcasts. And while you're at it, let me know what you think of the 2020 MLB rule changes. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz." </p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-65948527141651505322020-09-08T15:59:00.000-04:002020-09-08T15:59:39.099-04:00Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Cubbies? 9/8/20<p>Hey baseball fans!</p><p>From 1946-2015, the Chicago Cubs failed to win the National League pennant. We can blame their struggles on a plethora of factors, but the Cubs actually sported some great players during that span. Here are my top five Chicago Cubs Hall of Famers during their grueling World Series appearance drought. </p><p><b>Honorable Mentions: Greg Maddux and Andre Dawson</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">The one major rule for this post is that the player has to go into the Hall as a member of the Cubs. Maddux and Dawson each won awards in the Windy City, but the Braves and Expos logos on their Hall of Fame plaques means they are disqualified from this list. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Number Five: Ron Santo</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Ron Santo was a staple at third base in Wrigley Field throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Santo played his entire career in Chicago (his last year was with the White Sox), making nine All Star Games in his 14-year Hall of Fame career. Although his .277 batting average is subpar for Hall of Fame standards, his on-base percentage of .362 certainly isn't. In fact, Santo led the NL in walks in four seasons and regularly posted over 90 walks a season. If he wasn't hampered by the strains of Type 1 Diabetes, who knows what this Cubs legend could've additionally accomplished?</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Number Four: Billy Williams</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">It's hard to separate Santo and Williams apart, considering their primes with the Cubs coincided almost perfectly. But Williams gets the edge in several ways, all of which have to do with his seasonal averages. From his Rookie of the Year season in 1961 to his last All Star Game in 1973, Billy Williams averaged 183 hits, 29 homers, and 98 RBIs a season. To put up that kind of consistency <i>definitely</i> gets a hitter on this type of list. The fact that Billy was a fan favorite only solidifies his spot at #4. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Number Three: Ryne Sandberg</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">After the days of Santo, Williams, and the next two guys on my list, the Cubs needed a player to rally around. Besides Andre Dawson and Greg Maddux, that player was Ryne Sandberg. The 1984 MVP and ten-time All Star (all of them consecutive), Ryno was the typical five-tool player. Throughout his career, he had seasons with at least 180 hits, 25 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and/or 100 RBIs. He was also a a Gold Glove second baseman, winning the award nine times in nine years.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Number Two: Fergie Jenkins</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">The only pitcher on my list, Fergie Jenkins certainly had a career to remember in Chicago. In his twelve years with the Cubs, he posted a win-loss record of 167-132, an ERA of 3.20, and 2,038 strikeouts. For his career, the first Canadian-born Cooperstown resident and 1971 NL Cy Young recipient sits in twelfth place on the all-time strikeouts list, with 3,192 career K's.</p><p><b>Number One: Ernie Banks</b></p><p>Was it going to be anyone else? Mr. Cub <i>was</i> the Cubs from 1953-1971. He won back-to-back MVPs in 1958 and 1959, averaging 46 home runs for those two years. He topped 40 homers in a season three other times, finishing his career with 512 of them, currently good for 23rd on the all-time list. One of the greatest shortstops of all time, the positive attitude of Ernie Banks never failed to cast a smile on Cubs fans. As he used to say, let's play two!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AJoevAYdlw4/X1fIints4hI/AAAAAAAAGOY/xJhkXswWkqE9Q32iXe14lFgLDDLKDaXdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s235/BANKS.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AJoevAYdlw4/X1fIints4hI/AAAAAAAAGOY/xJhkXswWkqE9Q32iXe14lFgLDDLKDaXdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/BANKS.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Do you agree with my list? Let me know in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</div><p><br /></p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-56123335022931894302020-08-25T13:07:00.000-04:002020-08-25T13:07:21.182-04:00A Historical Perspective on Baseball's Legal Larceny 8/25/20<p> Hey baseball fans!</p><p>Even in a shortened 2020 season, we are sure to see some crazy home run numbers across Major League Baseball, a trend that will only continue to pick up as we advance deeper into the 21st century. But with an emphasis on power comes the slow demise of one of baseball's most underrated and exciting statistics: the stolen base. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lCoNw39cTww/X0UlJxnNSUI/AAAAAAAAGNc/Ls_f6SssDZMy_IEo59_RniNNCXJCjD58gCLcBGAsYHQ/s346/HENDERSON.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="346" height="117" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lCoNw39cTww/X0UlJxnNSUI/AAAAAAAAGNc/Ls_f6SssDZMy_IEo59_RniNNCXJCjD58gCLcBGAsYHQ/w277-h117/HENDERSON.jpeg" width="277" /></a></div><p>Most baseball fans like to think that base-stealing was always as common as it was right before the new millennium, but that's actually incorrect. Maury Wills and Lou Brock were the first consistently excellent base-stealers, regularly crushing the rest of the league in the category throughout the 1960s. But it was "Larcenous Lou" who oversaw the true rise of the stolen base in the 1970s. In 1975, Jerry Remy of the Angels and Jose Cardenal of the Cubs tied for tenth place in baseball in steals with 34 each. In 1976, Freddie Patek of the Royals came in tenth in steals with <b>51</b> of them. From 1976-1998, there were only two seasons (besides strike-shortened ones) in which the tenth-best stealer had less than 40 steals, a phenomenon that hasn't happened in baseball since 2006 (Alfonso Soriano, 41, Nationals). What's also important to note is that from 1976-1998, four hitters made it to the 500 Home Run Club (Hall of Famers Willie McCovey, Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, and Eddie Murray) but from 1999-2015, <b>twelve</b> hitters accomplished the feat. </p><p>With this information, I wouldn't go as far to say that homers and stealing bases are antitheses of each other, but it is certainly fair to say that the long ball and small-ball aren't not opposites. That's why it makes sense that hitters are stealing less bases and hitting more home runs in modern baseball, but is this good? Does it make sense? Analytically, at least, yes. Hitting a home run is the quickest way to score a run in a baseball game, and sure, a team is more likely to score if there is a runner on second versus one on first, but having more players involved in a run-scoring opportunity makes a team less efficient statistically. But why is base-stealing still important? To answer that question, I'm going to drop some business vocabulary, so hold on to your briefcases. </p><p>A competitive advantage is a proportionate advantage of one entity over another. In the business world, a company that can manufacture a product in a cheaper way than other companies has a competitive advantage in that market. That company isn't unstoppable in that market necessarily, they're just better-equipped. The same thing goes for teams with more base-stealers. As baseball moves more and more into the power department, pitchers and catchers will be trained to be less and less worried about steals. It might be purely psychological, but it'll happen. This would let base-stealers feel more comfortable on the base paths and will collect stolen bases exponentially. Based on WAR, stolen bases might still be inferior to home runs in this future speedy utopia I'm describing, but always remember Syndrome's quote from <i>The Incredibles: </i>"If everyone's super, no one's super." In other words, if every team is trying to win in the same way, the team that will prevail is the team that's winning differently, the team that emphasizes batting average and OBP to reach base, the team that drives pitch counts through the roof, the team with a competitive advantage.</p><p>Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-21822803552789132142020-08-13T10:54:00.000-04:002020-08-13T10:54:01.184-04:00The Coors Effect 8/13/20<p>Hey baseball fans!</p><p>Thus far into the abridged 2020 MLB season, it seems that former and present members of the Colorado Rockies (DJ LeMahieu and Charlie Blackmon) are some of the best hitters in baseball in terms of batting average. DJ is now on the Yankees, but when he played a mile above sea level, he did, in fact, win a batting title. But why are hitters on the Rockies so good? The answer is simple, and I kind of already hinted at it when I said "a mile above sea level." That's right: it's the Coors Effect. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hmr96jM0zwk/XzVTMykcKMI/AAAAAAAAGM4/0VzKf-ULbNcqC8NfUpKxEkp80U_JkKWigCLcBGAsYHQ/s299/COORSFIELD.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="134" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hmr96jM0zwk/XzVTMykcKMI/AAAAAAAAGM4/0VzKf-ULbNcqC8NfUpKxEkp80U_JkKWigCLcBGAsYHQ/w239-h134/COORSFIELD.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div><p>Denver, Colorado is one of the highest cities in the United States and is also where the Colorado Rockies home ballpark, Coors Field, is situated. This high altitude means that balls hit within the confines of the field travel farther, due to less air density. When Coors Field opened in 1995, the builders were aware of this natural phenomenon, so the field was made with some wide dimensions. But if anything, this just keeps the caverns in between the outfielders open for business. In 2019, Coors Field had the highest park factors in terms of hits, runs, and home runs, meaning that when pitchers pitch there, the ballpark has more to do with their failures than at any other stadium. This works both for and against the Rockies, and here's how. The Rockies lineup has always been full of All Stars. LeMahieu and Blackmon are just the tips of the iceberg, because the current lineup also has hitters like Trevor Story, David Dahl, and my favorite player in baseball, Nolan Arenado. Historically, it doesn't stop there. Todd Helton was a longtime great first baseman in Denver; recently-elected Hall of Fame outfielder Larry Walker made a name for himself in a Rockies uniform; and Andres Galarraga was one of the best hitters in baseball at the turn of the millennium. </p><p>But what about the pitching? Well, while the Rockies rank as one of the best-hitting teams in the modern era, they have had some astronomically terrible pitching seasons. Last season, the Rox ranked dead last in the National League in terms of team ERA (5.56) and have never had a seasonal ERA below 4 <i>in the team's entire history</i>. That's why the Rockies have never won a division title in their 28-year existence. Sure, they've been a Wild Card team a couple of times and even made a World Series in 2007 (which was a sweep by the Red Sox), but they can't keep up in the pitching department because of their ballpark. So, in order for the Rockies to win a World Series, they will have to have one of the best run-producing seasons <i>ever</i> to compensate for the Coors Effect. I, for one, can't wait to see Nolan Arenado hit 60 bombs on the way to the Fall Classic, if it ever happens. </p><p>Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</p>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-64446860485188998002020-08-01T10:58:00.002-04:002020-08-01T10:58:32.300-04:00The Bronx Fireman Not in the FDNY 8/1/20Hey baseball fans!<div><br /></div><div>Relievers are sometimes called firemen because, well, they put out fires, "relieving" the starters they replace on the mound by getting out of jams. This didn't come from nowhere, however, because it was actually the nickname of one of the first modern-day relievers baseball ever saw, Johnny "Fireman" Murphy. So, let's talk about him!</div><div><br /></div><div>When I started blogging about baseball history eight years ago, my grandfather, who grew up in the Bronx, told me about how he used to work in a store near Yankee Stadium. Sometimes, members of the Yankees would come in to shop in the store and one of the Yanks that visited often was Johnny Murphy. I had never heard of him, so I did some research and found out some very interesting stuff on him. Murphy was not a Hall of Fame closer, but he was one of the first closers in MLB history. From 1937-1942, Murphy led the league in saves in four out of six years, making All Star Games in the first three years of that span. His highest saves total came in 1939, when he had 19 of them, which was the second-highest amount of single-season saves at the time. Murphy collected 107 saves during his 13-year career in the 30's and 40's (with some of those years eaten up by military service during World War II), which was actually a record that stood all the way until 1961, the same year he joined the front office of the newest MLB expansion team, the New York Mets. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's right, Mets fans. Your 1969 Miracle Mets team was built up by one of baseball's first relievers. Murphy, along with former Yankee executive George Weiss, helped construct the Mets farm system throughout the 60's that would eventually sprout great names like Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and Jerry Koosman. Murphy was also responsible for the trade that brought legendary manager and should-be Hall of Famer Gil Hodges to the Amazins', a move that helped the Mets win an improbable World Series title in 1969. Sadly, "Fireman" died of a heart attack three months after the team from Flushing won their first Fall Classic. Had he lived, who knows how good the Mets could've been. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qc5X2ocxPK8/XyVw7CdJ76I/AAAAAAAAGLo/Zsgd37L1e1MgIrukFgJw1ztjpqLCIvXTQCLcBGAsYHQ/s233/MURPHY.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="216" height="186" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qc5X2ocxPK8/XyVw7CdJ76I/AAAAAAAAGLo/Zsgd37L1e1MgIrukFgJw1ztjpqLCIvXTQCLcBGAsYHQ/w173-h186/MURPHY.jpeg" width="173" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</div>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-11209851251731993432020-07-18T13:47:00.000-04:002020-07-18T13:47:06.472-04:00The Story of "The Bird" 7/18/20Hey baseball fans!<div><br /></div><div>The Detroit Tigers are one of the most storied franchises of the American League, originating as a part of the AL's inaugural season in 1901. With this history comes many Hall of Famers, but no Detroit legend, whether it be Hank Greenberg or Al Kaline, can compete with the meteoric rise and fall of "The Bird," Mark Fidrych. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mark Fidrych was a non-roster invitee for the Tigers in 1976, officially joining Detroit's MLB roster in late April. He was lanky and curly-haired, which is how he got his nickname from Big Bird from Sesame Street. "The Bird" made his mark on the baseball world on May 15, when he allowed a single run in a complete game against the Indians at Tigers Stadium in Detroit. Throughout the game, Fidrych would talk to the ball and pat down the mound repeatedly, idiosyncrasies that elevated his celebrity status to levels that you could say have never been seen since. Fidrych continued to dominate the American League with his weird tendencies and masterful pitching. By the All Star break, his seasonal ERA was under 2 and was elected to start, the second rookie in MLB history to be named an ASG starting pitcher. Fidrych would finish the season with a 19-9 win-loss record with a league-leading 24 complete games and 2.34 ERA. He obviously finished in first place for AL Rookie of the Year voting, but also came in second for the Cy Young Award behind the Hall of Famer pitcher for the Orioles, Jim Palmer. Throughout this amazing year, Fidrych was asked for curtain call after curtain call, as fans fell in love with the quirky future of the American League. To this day, he is the only baseball player to appear on the cover of <i>Rolling Stone </i>magazine. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UISTMhtf_CA/XxMuT_mKbLI/AAAAAAAAGLI/IfMqpNTye2sno6O2pqu84ZuqLBOxpn6OACLcBGAsYHQ/s1082/FIDRYCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="913" height="205" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UISTMhtf_CA/XxMuT_mKbLI/AAAAAAAAGLI/IfMqpNTye2sno6O2pqu84ZuqLBOxpn6OACLcBGAsYHQ/w173-h205/FIDRYCH.jpg" width="173" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Sadly, Fidrych suffered an injury before the 1977 season and was never the same pitcher again. It was diagnosed in 1985 as a torn rotator cuff, a surgery that could've saved Fidrych's career from imploding the way it did, had the injury been dealt with sooner. "The Bird" only pitched professionally for another four years after that amazing 1976 season, but lived a quiet, fulfilling life at his Massachusetts farm until his untimely death in 2009. So, this begs the question: what if "The Bird" continued flying after '76? Well, he would've had a lot of fun with 1984 Cy Young Award and AL MVP recipient, Willie Hernandez, who helped the Tigers win the World Series that year, but overall, he would've been a superstar pitcher, mesmerizing fans with his precise control, until he was elected into the Hall of Fame. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</div>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-14681892683203019452020-07-04T14:57:00.000-04:002020-07-04T14:57:13.119-04:00Five Alternative Team Names for the Indians and Braves 7/4/20Hey baseball fans!<div><br /></div><div>The NFL recently opened discussions about changing the name of the Washington Redskins to something more appropriate. This has prompted the MLB to consider the Cleveland Indians, who got rid of their red-faced Native American mascot and logo, Chief Wahoo, in 2018 (on Columbus Day, of all days). The Redskins moniker is definitely worse than Cleveland's, but it still begs the question: if the Indians change their name, to what will it be changed? I'll be proposing five of these potential names, three for Cleveland and two for the Atlanta Braves, a team that also has a questionable name, thanks more in part to the culture of the team (the Tomahawk Chop and their defunct mascot, Chief Knockahoma) rather than the team's actual name.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PlI5Cbnml7U/XwDFeTSLTqI/AAAAAAAAGKY/JotZukVx7TsOQ9mDTKUcKObvPmjoffLmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s225/INDIANSBRAVES.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PlI5Cbnml7U/XwDFeTSLTqI/AAAAAAAAGKY/JotZukVx7TsOQ9mDTKUcKObvPmjoffLmgCLcBGAsYHQ/w180-h180/INDIANSBRAVES.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Cleveland...</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Hammers</b></div><div>Cleveland is known as a blue-collar city with a vibrant industrial life that made it inviting for immigrants during the 20th century. Blow-up hammers at games for children might get a little annoying, but this also makes for some potentially excellent home run puns. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Rockers</b></div><div>There's a better name to epitomize the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's home in Cleveland, but I can't think of it right now. Still though, with music's soulful connection to baseball that dates back decades, this name seems like a great fit. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Spiders</b></div><div>A random name to some, sure, but there used to be a team called the Cleveland Spiders that played in the 19th century. The team was absolutely putrid, posting the worst win-loss record in baseball history in 1899 (20-134), but used to have a lesser-known pitcher named Cy Young in their rotation. The name is original, fearsome, and a merchandising goldmine. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Atlanta...</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Beats</b></div><div>Atlanta's history with music is extremely vast, with artists of all different genres calling Atlanta home. The same logic that makes the Rockers name logical applies here. Musicians just love singing about baseball. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Pilots</b></div><div>I'm stealing another former baseball team name, this time from Seattle in 1969 (the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers just a year into their existence), to honor the world's busiest airport. Yes, sports names involving flying vehicles, whether it be birds or airplanes, are seen across the sporting landscape, but Atlanta's airport is the king of air traffic. </div><div><br /></div><div>What other names should the Indians and Braves consider? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz." And have a great July 4th!</div>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-89150329532579917192020-06-26T12:41:00.000-04:002020-06-26T12:41:02.898-04:00A Look at Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline 6/26/20Hey baseball fans!<div><br /></div><div>It's Derek Jeter's birthday! However, because I'm sure some of you think I love him a little too much, we're not going to discuss the Captain today. Instead, let's talk about one of the best players who played in the state in which Jeter grew up. Yes, Mr. November is from New Jersey and rooted for the Yankees, but he attended and was drafted out of Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Let's see: who's an awesome player who played for the Tigers? Oh, of course! It's Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline!</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the premier contact hitters of the 1950s and 1960s, Kaline bridged the gap between Tigers eras that were ruled by Hank Greenberg in the 1930s and 1940s and the double play duo of Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker in the 1970s and 1980s. But Kaline wasn't just a bridge. He could really hit, too! Al Kaline is the youngest hitter in American League history to win a batting title, for starters. In 1955, at the age of 20, Kaline led the Junior Circuit with a .340 batting average. It would end up being the only season in which he led the league in average, but he batted over .280 in all but five of his remaining seasons in the MLB. That 1955 season for Kaline also saw him win his only hits title, totaling 200 for the season, but would average 137 hits a season for his entire career. Yes, that number is lower than average for a contact specialist, but because he played for 22 seasons, 1953-1974, he made it to 3,007 hits, good for 31st on the all-time list. But Kaline wasn't just a great hitter. He was also an exemplary outfielder. He won ten career Gold Gloves (in an eleven-year span) and was revered by the rest of the league for his prowess in right field. All in all, he made 18 All Star Games and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, 1980, with 88.3% of the vote. </div><div><br /></div><div>But arguably his most shining achievement in a Tigers uniform came during 1968, when he put up a World Series performance for the ages. 1968 was the first year he hadn't made an All Star Game since that amazing year in 1955, so many people around the league thought he was nearing the end of his career. But boy,did Kaline rebound in the World Series. Sure, the '68 Series is known for amazing pitching from Tigers legend Mickey Lolich, but Kaline's hitting in the Fall Classic against the Cardinals was historic. In the seven-game set, Kaline collected 11 hits, which was good for a .379 batting clip, with two homers and eight RBIs. Detroit ended up winning the franchise's third World Series that year, as Al Kaline cemented himself as Mr. Tiger. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZRf8fs8PbM/XvYAqWrUmsI/AAAAAAAAGJM/nYNL4JwQWiIywLPJUGNzjwB8N5skJcwcwCK4BGAsYHg/s225/KALINE.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZRf8fs8PbM/XvYAqWrUmsI/AAAAAAAAGJM/nYNL4JwQWiIywLPJUGNzjwB8N5skJcwcwCK4BGAsYHg/w180-h180/KALINE.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>After retiring in 1974, Kaline worked in the Tigers broadcast booth until 2002, at which time he switched to the front office until his death in April of this year. Kaline epitomized consistency and all-around play, which is why he is known as one of the best to ever lace up cleats at a professional level. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</div>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-12621999642546558852020-06-17T11:10:00.000-04:002020-06-17T11:10:40.504-04:00The Tragic Story of Tony Conigliaro 6/17/20Hey baseball fans!<div><br /></div><div>Carl Yastrzemski is one of the greatest hitters in Red Sox history, but he was not the only star outfielder that graced the grass of Fenway in the 1960s. The Red Sox used to have a right-handed hitter by the name of Tony Conigliaro. Conigliaro was a great hitter for the first few years of his career, and looked to continue that trend deep into that 1967 "Impossible Dream" season for the BoSox. Then, in August of that season, tragedy struck. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tony Conigliaro debuted in Boston in 1964 at the ripe age of 19. He didn't place for Rookie of the Year voting, but he <i>did</i> hit 24 home runs that year and batted .290. Those 24 home runs are a record among teenage hitters in baseball history, getting Red Sox fans excited for a possible World Series championship in the coming years, something they hadn't experienced since 1918. Conigliaro continued his power at the plate in subsequent years, hitting a league-leading 32 homers in 1965 and a respectable 28 home runs in 1966. In 1967, the Red Sox right fielder made his first All Star Game, reaching 20 homers by mid-August, and became the second-youngest hitter ever to 100 career home runs (only behind Mel Ott). Then, on August 18, 1967, in a home game against Angels pitcher Jack Hamilton, Conigliaro was struck by a pitch on his left cheekbone, which left him with a broken jaw and a damaged retina. Conigliaro wasn't wearing a helmet with an ear-flap that we see often today, but it's this specific incident that actually made that flap so encouraged for hitters. Conigliaro was forced to sit out the entire 1968 season. Although he returned in 1969, winning Comeback Player of the Year with 20 homers and 82 RBIs, he was not the same hitter as before. 1970 was his last great year, when he collected career highs in home runs (36) and RBIs (116). After that, he fizzled out due to his deteriorating sight. He died in 1990 at 45 years old. </div><div><br /></div><div>Not only was Conigliaro not in the Red Sox lineup for the 1967 World Series, but had he played a full career, he would've most likely been with the Sox for the 1975 World Series. Both the '67 and '75 Fall Classics went seven games, so it's justifiable to say that had Conigliaro not gotten so tragically injured, the Red Sox would've broken the Curse of the Bambino long before events involving Mookie Wilson <i>or</i> David Ortiz. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dGrbHbBdD78/XuowjhVTHWI/AAAAAAAAGIY/kTQMl2cJH88k2ZUSvG-QQOYHw_3HEPKUACK4BGAsYHg/s262/CONIGLIARO.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="192" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dGrbHbBdD78/XuowjhVTHWI/AAAAAAAAGIY/kTQMl2cJH88k2ZUSvG-QQOYHw_3HEPKUACK4BGAsYHg/w154-h210/CONIGLIARO.jpeg" width="154" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935801154766751358.post-23273596710166787782020-06-05T15:04:00.000-04:002020-06-05T15:04:36.935-04:00My History with Baseball 6/5/20Hey baseball fans!<br />
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It's a somber time to be a baseball fan for plenty of reasons, so I wanted share my story of how I fell in love with America's pastime. I don't think I really talk about how I got involved with the game much, but it's a story worth telling.<br />
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Back in 2007, Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre and the New York Yankees were in the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians. The Yanks had stars like Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, while the Indians had recognizable names such as CC Sabathia and Victor Martinez, among others, on their roster. The Indians would go on to win the series, then lose to the Red Sox in the ALCS. I was eight years old at the time, beginning the third grade. I remember liking one of my third grade teachers, Mrs. Nathan, a lot. We were learning where to put commas in numbers with more than three digits, and I taught the class a trick my mom taught me. <i>1, 2, 3 kick, 1, 2, 3, kick</i>, which is to say that after every three digits, you put a comma. Mrs. Nathan liked that trick so much, that she invited me to the front of the class to do a kick line with her. I was embarrassed at the time, but it's certainly funny looking back. The mantra would help me remember how to correctly write down the multimillion-dollar contracts that MLB players would soon receive.<br />
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One school night, my dad was watching one of the games of the 2007 ALDS in his bedroom. I can't recall how I ended up watching the game with him, or whether it was the "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_GJse-anfk">Joba Chamberlain Gnats Game</a>" in particular, but I remember being absolutely hypnotized by the game of baseball, jumping up and down on my parents' bed like a monkey. Soon after the Yankees got eliminated from the postseason that year, I got my first baseball video game, <i>MLB Power Pros 2007 </i>for the Wii. It was an amazing game, a game I still play to this day, despite the unrealistic home run robbery animations or the lack of difficulty, and a game that helped shape my love of baseball even further. The next year, I switched schools because my old one closed down. So, I had to make some friends in the new one through the only way I knew how: baseball. We were fourth-graders, so it wasn't like we were talking about sabermetrics, but the conversations were definitely complex for a non-baseball fan. That was also the time I started researching more into baseball's past, solidifying my stance as a Yankees fan.<br />
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The Yankees moved into a new stadium in 2009. I went to the first Spring Training, regular season, and World Series game at the new Yankee Stadium, and all three were a blast (even though the Yanks lost the two games that counted). 2009 was the Year of the Walk-Off in the Bronx, so I used to stay up late, switching to reruns of the George Lopez Show on Nick at Nite during YES Network commercials, as I watched the Yankees win in the clutch night after night. As I walked into the House That the Boss Built for Game One of the 2009 World Series, I saw that the Yankees had played in the Fall Classic against the Phillies once before '09. This I was unfamiliar with, and immediately asked my grandpa, who grew up in the Bronx, what that was about. He vaguely remembered the 1950 Phillies, who were called "The Whiz Kids" because they were so young, but he more so remembered the teams from his younger days, teams with Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio. He told me all about those winners of the 1920s and 1930s, as my other grandpa told me about how he used to listen to the Dodgers while growing up in Cuba. It was a whole lot of information for a fledgling fifth-grader to grasp, but I knew I wanted more.<br />
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I started <i>Baseball with Matt</i> three years later, on April 2, 2012, about a month after my bar mitzvah. I became an MLB pro blogger that October and a published author three years after that. Baseball has become my life, my anchor, and my passion in my 13 years of fandom, and it means so much for so many other people. In these confusing times, I encourage you to ask people about how they fell in love with baseball, or about any hobby or interest that has a unifying sense, because if there's one thing that we all need right now, it's a little bit of unity.<br />
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Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed hearing my story. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."<br />
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Stay safe, keep yourselves educated on what's going on, and just keep swinging.<br />
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<br />Matt Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162876125425756652noreply@blogger.com0