Rockers Rip A's Boss For Leaving Oakland
ALSO: JUDGE, OHTANI HAVE LOCKS ON 2024 MVP TROPHIES
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
The Washington Nationals probably decided the NL East title chase by going 7-4 against Atlanta but 11-16 against the rest of the division . . .
The Gnats have two more to play against the Braves, Sept. 10-11 in Washington . . .
Released two days after pinch-hitting a game-winning homer, veteran Jason Heyward was distressed that the Dodgers designated him for assignment, according to close friend and former teammate Freddie Freeman . . .
The hazards of serving as home-plate umpire were graphically illustrated last Sunday when Nick Mahrley left on a stretcher after he was struck by a piece of Giancarlo Stanton’s broken bat . . .
The Marlins have promoted 27-year-old Griffin Conine, son of two-time World Series champion Jeff Conine, “Mr. Marlin” for fans of the Florida franchise and widely considered one of the better players in team history. Griffin had 19 homers and an .825 OPS for Triple-A Jacksonville . . .
Barry Bonds, just inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame, says he has abandoned his long-held hopes of reaching Cooperstown.
Leading Off
Punk Rockers Rancid Urge Sale of Oakland Athletics While Performing at MLB Stadiums
By Paul Banks
Green Day, in support of their new album ("Saviors"), and to honor the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album ("Dookie") and 20th anniversary of their most critically-acclaimed album ("American Idiot"), have been playing to sold-out shows at Major League Baseball stadiums this summer.
Smashing Pumpkins, a headliner in their own right, have been opening for them.
Those shows have also featured two more opening acts, the Linda Lindas and Rancid, which is where we find the second direct baseball connection to this tour.
Lars Frederiksen, front man of Rancid, made this observation last Saturday night at American Family Field (everyone still calls it Miller Park): “I see some folks in Oakland Athletics gear. I’m from Oakland. I just don’t like what’s going on with the A’s. So John Fisher, the statement remains the same: SELL THE FUCKING TEAM.”
To which the crowd responded with a roar of approval. Rancid then went straight into one of their biggest hits, "Time Bomb," which they dedicated to the fans dressed in Oakland A's regalia. A's fans have shown up to other shows on this tour, with Frederiksen calling this a "phenomena," and repeating the routine at other ballparks.
You can see the rendition at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, in both of the links below.
https://twitter.com/Mattyplayzbass/status/1827488938539262454
https://twitter.com/robduncan_27/status/1825172521106526259
Sometimes Frederiksen refers to Fisher as "a silver-spooned prick," and/or a "piece of shit," so he has made his feelings on the Oakland A's ownership abundantly clear. He isn't subtle about it either.
In April of 2023, the Athletics announced a plan to build a new stadium on the Las Vegas Strip at the former site of the Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel casino, adjacent to Interstate 15.
At the same time, the club ended negotiations with the city of Oakland. Since then, we have seen protests by fans against the relocation with a "reverse boycott," with A's supporters wearing green t-shirts reading "Sell." They also hold up signs reading "Sell the team!" and chant that slogan during the game.
In April of 2022, Forbes estimated Fisher's net worth at $2.4 billion.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
Cleaning Up
Unanimous MVPs Could Happen Again
By Dan Schlossberg
Will Most Valuable Player trophies be awarded by unanimous vote for the second year in a row?
Although it’s never happened before, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers are about to make baseball history.
They’re virtually certain to win the 2024 MVP trophies by unanimous vote — something Ohtani, then with the Angels, and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves did last season.
Ohtani, en route to the first 50/50 season in baseball history, will also become the first man to win consecutive MVP trophies by unanimous vote and will join Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players to win the prestigious trophy in both leagues.
Robinson won with the 1961 Reds in the National League and 1966 Orioles in the American.
It’s been quite a year for Ohtani.
First, he broke the bank when he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract to jump from the Los Angeles Angels to the Dodgers last Dec. 11. All but $2 million a year of the record deal was deferred, a common practice for the Dodgers.
Then he found himself front and center in an early-season scandal in which his friend and interpreter allegedly embezzled $16 million from the player’s bank account. Ohtani was quickly cleared by Major League Baseball, for whom he’s the golden child who could do no wrong. But the feds, namely the FBI, may have more to say on the subject.
For his part, Ohtani decided to let his performance do the talking. A left-handed batter but right-handed pitcher, he can’t throw this year in the wake of an elbow procedure but he can hit and run — doing both so well that he’s about to become the first full-time DH to be crowned MVP.
Even Acuna, who had the first 40/70 season in 2023, never reached his stated goal of 50/50 and probably won’t after tearing his ACLs on both legs three years apart.
Thanks to Ohtani’s decision to cross league lines without leaving Southern California, he’s kept the Dodgers on track to take yet another National League West title, despite serious challenges from the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
As a result, Ohtani will wind up on a winning team for the first time in his career and perhaps reach the promised land of the World Series, also never achieved previously.
He could even wind up playing against Judge, whose Yankees last won a pennant in 2009, also the last time they played in the Fall Classic.
The 6’7” Judge leads the American League in everything but batting, where Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt, Jr. seems determined to keep him from winning the first Triple Crown in the majors since Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
Judge is a one-man juggernaut, though aided this year by the acquisition of Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. The powerful right-handed hitter, an unlikely but surprisingly solid center-fielder, is on track for the second 60-homer season of his career — and perhaps a shot at his own American League record (62 in 2022).
FOX Sports, which televises the final round of the postseason, would love to see the Yankees play the Dodgers, a marquee matchup that hasn’t happened since 1963.
The mileage they could get from a Judge-Ohtani meeting on the world stage would be great for the network and terrific for the teams and players involved.
Ohtani won two MVPs during his eight-year tenure with the Angels, while Judge won once before.
Barry Bonds was named Most Valuable Player more often (7 times) than any other player but has been excluded from the Hall of Fame by voting writers who suspect his performance was enhanced by forbidden drugs.
Both Ohtani, 30, and Judge, 32, have time to catch up while playing without help.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is on a book tour for Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron. A national baseball writer for forbes.com, he also contributes to Sports Collectors Digest, Memories & Dreams, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, and many other outlets. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
"He does all the little things that winning pitchers do.”
— Braves manager Brian Snitker on rookie Spencer Schwellenbach
Braves starters allowed three runs or fewer for 19 consecutive games through Friday night in Philadelphia . . .
Chris Sale, on course for his first Cy Young with an NL-best 15 wins, has more strikeouts this season than any previous Braves southpaw, including Hall of Famers Warren Spahn and Tom Glavine . . .
Spahn won four strikeout crowns while with the Boston Braves from 1949-52 but never struck out 200 men in a season . . .
Sale has a serious shot at the Triple Crown of pitching, indicating league leadership in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average . . .
The streak is over but Braves closer Raisel Iglesias retired 38 men in a row over a recent stretch of the season.
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.