Pregame Pepper
Did You Know . . .
Hard-hitting Francisco Alvarez, No. 1 catcher for the New York Mets, will miss two months after thumb surgery required after an awkward fall while sliding into second base . . .
Giants catcher Patrick Bailey hit baseball’s first inside-the-kayak home run last Saturday when his blast not only cleared the Oracle Park stands but went into a kayak passing by in McCovey Cove . . .
The Colorado Rockies can’t catch a break: an apparent game-winning home run by Jacob Stallings in the home ninth inning of a 0-0 game against Seattle at Coors Field last Sunday was ruled an out because of fan interference (the Rockies eventually won, 2-1, in 10 innings) . . .
Aaron Boone’s reputation as a hothead cost him an early ejection — after five pitches — even though home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt mistook a heckling fan’s voice for the manager’s . . .
Houston can’t unload or demote struggling first baseman Jose Abreu (.068 with one extra-base hit through Monday) because he’s owed $19.5 million this year and next.
Leading Off
Connor Wong (!!) Off to Impressive Start
By Jamie Gatlin
During the first few weeks of the 2024 campaign, the Boston Red Sox have dealt with seemingly never-ending injuries. While their depth has been tested, they have gotten some key contributions from unlikely places. That list includes Connor Wong, who has been a hits machine.
Through 54 at-bats, the former third-round pick has posted a .370 batting average and added five home runs to his resume. He has also driven in 11 runs, which, entering play on Thursday, is the most on the Red Sox. Regardless of who is on the mound, Wong has been a less-than-ideal match-up.
In a small sample size, Wong is showing more power than ever before. Entering the 2024 campaign, he had hit 10 home runs since making his debut in 2021. Wong’s success was partly due to his work during the off-season.
“He’s made adjustments,” manager Alex Cora told MLB.com’s Ian Browne during spring training. “It started towards the end of the [2023] season. And in the off-season, [hitting coach] Pete [Fatse] came down here to Fort Myers. They started cleaning up a few things with the leg kick and all that.”
His adjustments were on display Wednesday night against the Guardians. Following a disappointing loss, the Red Sox bounced back in impressive fashion with an 8-0 win. At the center of their success was Wong. The Houston native recorded four hits and drove in three runs.
It was the latest stellar performance in an impressive start to the season. Thursday’s game marked Wong’s seventh multi-hit game of the 2024 campaign. Six of those have come this month as his playing time has steadily increased and McGuire has cooled off at the plate.
While the talented catcher has made headlines with his bat, he has also been solid in the field. Through 109 innings behind the plate, Wong has not committed an error and caught one runner stealing. He has also shown off his versatility, making an appearance at second and at first. At times, the Red Sox defense has been questionable, but Wong has not been part of the problem.
Although Wong is not expected to hit over .300 all season, his success has been hard to ignore. He has not had to rely on his power to make an impact and has taken advantage of what pitchers have given him. That has been key for a Red Sox offense currently without Triston Casas.
As the games pile up, the Red Sox will need Wong to continue his recent success. Along with Reese McGuire, the Red Sox have a lethal catching duo that hits the cover off the ball with no signs of slowing down.
Jamie Gatlin is a freelance writer covering the NHL and MLB for Prime Time Sports Talk and a former MLB writer for Runners Sports. You can find him on Twitter @JamieGatlin17 and @TalkPrimeTime. His email is gatlinjamie1@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
Rangers Get Older But Not Necessarily Wiser
By Dan Schlossberg
In baseball, age is a matter of mind. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.
Maybe that’s why the Texas Rangers agreed to a minor-league contract with 38-year-old pitcher Johnny Cueto.
Once a standout, he brings 16 years of experience to the table. And he’s actually younger than Max Scherzer, another fading star who spent the start of the 2024 season on the sidelines.
Jacob deGrom is yet another erstwhile but aging ace recovering from injury — Tommy John elbow injury in his case. He’s a relative spring chicken at 35, an age when most pitchers not named Nolan Ryan or Phil Niekro start thinking about hanging up their spikes.
Only a handful of players, most of them pitchers, celebrate their 40th birthdays in major-league uniforms.
The oldest active player is Houston starter Justin Verlander, who turned 41 in February. Right behind him are Atlanta right-handers Charlie Morton, a starter likely in his last season, and Jesse Chavez, a reliever who has already announced this year is his last.
Adam Wainwright and Zack Greinke creeked to the finish line at 40 last year, with the former retiring and the latter unable to find a team willing to meet his exorbitant salary demands.
A Cy Young Award recipient in 2009, Greinke is 21 strikeouts short of becoming the 20th pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts. In fact, he has the most strikeouts of any pitcher below the 3,000-strikeout mark, with Clayton Kershaw next at 2,944.
But who would want a pitcher who went 2-15 with a 5.06 ERA last season? Even the Kansas City Royals didn’t try to keep him — and are rising in the standings now that he’s gone.
Nor did anyone sign 44-year-old Rich Hill, living proof that it’s impossible to last forever — even if you are left-handed.
Thanks to their knuckleballs, Niekro and fellow Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm almost made it to age 50. But the game is getting younger and less tolerant of graybeards commanding seven-figure salaries.
Even Warren Spahn, who won more games than any left-hander and more games than any pitcher after World War II, eventually had to concede to Father Time. He ran out of gas overnight, suddenly finished after going 23-7 at age 42.
Position players rarely reach their 40s, as the rigors of playing every day are too much. That’s why Nelson Cruz is no longer in the majors, not to mention Julio Franco.
Jack Benny may have been 39 forever but he didn’t play ball — only the violin.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron [Sports Publishing, $32.95] and 40 other baseball books. He covers the game for forbes.com and MLBReport.com, among others. E.mail him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: on Homers, Steals, Batting Titles
“Incredible. Absolutely incredible."
—Ronald Acuna, Jr. after Braves teammate Travis d’Arnaud hit five home runs in eight at-bats.
d’Arnaud, whose brother Chase previously played for the Braves, joined Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and Gary Carter as the only catchers with multiple three-homer games . . .
The Atlanta catcher was the only one who did it in both leagues, however, as he was with the Tampa Bay Rays the first time he socked three in a game . . .
Acuña, Jr. hit just one homer through the Braves’ first 22 games but stole 10 bases, giving him 190 lifetime and one more than previous Atlanta record-holder Rafael Furcal . . .
Herman Long owns the Braves’ franchise record with 433 steals while Hank Aaron owns the Modern Era (since 1900) franchise mark with 240.
The only active players with batting titles in both leagues — D.J. LeMahieu (Yankees) and Luis Arraez (Marlins) — have had Aprils to forget, with the former sidelined by a broken foot and latter struggling to produce his usual flurry of line drives . . .
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.