September Songs: Some Sweet, Some Sour
PLUS: ROYALS REAP REWARDS OF SCRAP-HEAP SWAPS
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Astros right-fielder Kyle Tucker, out since fracturing his shin with his own foul ball June 3, is expected to rejoin the Houston lineup soon . . .
Outfielder-second baseman Darren Baker, Dusty Baker’s 25-year-old son, is the ninth top prospect promoted by the Nationals this season, following infielders Trey Lipscomb and Nasim Nuñez (both March 30), left-handed pitchers Mitchell Parker (April 15) and DJ Herz (June 4), outfielder James Wood (July 1), first baseman Andrés Chaparro (Aug. 13), right-hander Orlando Ribalta (Aug. 13) and outfielder Dylan Crews (Aug. 26) . . .
Young Baker got a hit in his first game with proud papa Dusty in the stands at Nationals Park . . .
The Braves this season have actually played much better against stronger competition, going 46-37 versus teams with a record of .500 or greater but only 28-26 against losing teams entering this week . . .
Food for thought: Atlanta has won the season series from Philadelphia for four straight years . . .
Since his debut with the Braves on Aug. 5, 2022, closer Raisel Iglesias has the best earned run average of any major-league pitcher but has never been an All-Star.
Leading Off
September Songs
. . . or, strange things keep happening
By Jeff Kallman
Those who thought a season as strange as 2024 would stop as September came out to play, think again. Remembering that in baseball strange isn’t necessarily a terrible thing . . .
Glove Story Dept.—The Giants signing 32-year-old Matt Chapman to a six-year/$151 million extension that begins in 2025 can be seen two ways: locking down one of the game’s premier defensive third basemen who can hit for power or throwing good money after a guy who’s liable not to look so good in the final half of the deal.
This season, Chapman’s worth 6.0 WAR at this writing with 1.7 of it based upon defense. Not exactly the levels with which he led the American League back-to-back in his A’s days, but enough. But now comes the challenge of the Giants finding other ways to fine-tune themselves back to full contention.
Great Scott Dept.—The Chapman signing moves the Astros’ Alex Bregman to the head of the third-base free agency class to come this winter. Thank Bregman’s performance since early May, when he shook off season-opening issues to play more like himself including his .847 OPS.
They have something else in common: they share Scott Boras as an agent. Meaning the Chapman deal (never mind it being Chapman who wanted to stay in San Francisco) is just the opening song on what some see as Boras’s “revenge tour” following last winter’s less-than-vibrant market for a few Boras clients.
Socked Dept.—That’s the postseason-contending Mets, who just followed a sweep of the so-lowly-up-is-the-basement White Sox with a sweep of the not-so-lowly/not-so-great Red Sox to run their current winning streak to seven.
Ever since closing out their horrific (9-19) May, the Mets have been 52-31 (.627 winning percentage). It hasn’t all been against the lower-life forms of the game this year, but they’re facing a harsh stretch to come including two sets against the Phillies, one against the Braves, and one against the Brewers.
These Mets and their fickle fans (too many of whom still proclaim seasons lost upon a single bad inning) are about to re-discover what they’re really made of.
South Side Story Dept.—I’m saying it again, as I’ve said elsewhere: the White Sox may push the 1962 Mets out of the season-long futility record book, but that’s about all. This humourless bunch of who-knows-what haven’t got any sense of humor about themselves. Even in occasional triumph, such as beating the AL East-contending Orioles 8-1 (the carnage began with Nicky Lopez opening the game with a home run), these White Sox manage to suck.
The ’62 Mets sucked . . . with style. And a lot of great humor. Which is why they remain objects of affection to those who saw them (including moi) and those who’ve read of them. This year’s White Sox remain on track to be remembered as a boring bad dream.
California Split Dept.—The AL West-floundering Angels picked a remarkable way to split their two-game set against the NL West-owning Dodgers on Wednesday. With still-struggling Bobby Miller pitching for the Dodgers, the Angels dropped a five-run first inning including, back-to-back, a two-run single (Anthony Rendon) and a three-run homer (Mickey Moniak).
If only the Angels could hit like that or pitch the way they did (Griffin Canning and three relievers keeping the damage to one Dodger RBI single in the seventh) more often this year they might not have a tragic number of seven before September’s a quarter of the way done.
Savings Dept.—The Yankees have reacted to Clay Holmes’s battles of late by going closer-by-committee. Hands up to everyone (including me) who thought they’d miss the injured Jonathan Loáisiga far more than they thought. (Loáisiga went down for the season after undergoing ulnar collateral ligament repair surgery—internal-brace surgery with shorter recovery time, not Tommy John surgery—in early April.)
The Yankees plan to move Nestor Cortes to the bullpen for the weekend, then return him to the rotation when the Yankees play the Red Sox starting late next week. Help may also be on the way for their coming weekend with the Cubs if Clarke Schmidt really does return to the rotation after missing three months with a lat strain.
But are you getting the impression otherwise that the Yankees’ pitching overall may prove their proverbial Achilles heel down the rest of the stretch?
Jeff Kallman is an IBWAA Life Member who writes Throneberry Fields Forever. He has written for the Society for American Baseball Research, The Hardball Times, Sports-Central, and other publications. He has lived in Las Vegas since 2007, where he plays the guitar and writes music when not writing baseball. He remains a Met fan since the day they were born.
Cleaning Up
Kansas City Royals — You Read That Right — Beef Up For Stretch Drive
By Dan Schlossberg
In the nine years that passed since the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Mets to win their second World Series, fans have suffered through payroll slashing, deals predicated on salary dumps, and a parade of pilots unable to save the sinking ship.
Until now.
The Royals, more than any team in the majors, capitalized on the Sept. 1 roster expansion to 28 players by adding veteran outfielders Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman and even trading for former batting champion Yuli Gurriel.
For a team that finished dead last with a 56-106 mark last year, that’s heady stuff.
But this year’s Royals are radically different.
They have an aggressive general manager in J.J. Picollo — no relation to the musical instrument — and an underrated second-year manager in Matt Quatraro, whose name is hardly known outside of Kansas City.
There’s even talk of a new downtown ballpark.
Predicted to finish last again in Lindy’s Sports Baseball 2024 annual, the Royals spent the winter stocking up on low-priced, high-performance players.
Among those added were veteran lefty reliever Will Smith, who has won World Series rings two years in a row — with different teams yet — and aims to make it 3-for-3, a major-league first.
The team also added Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, who became dependable front-line starters, plus outfielder Hunter Renfroe and others.
It also resisted an urge to re-sign 40-year-old local hero Zack Greinke, a past Cy Young Award winner and future Hall of Famer who stood just 17 strikeouts shy of 3,000. A kid named Cole Ragans got his spot after Greinke went 2-15 in 2023.
But the biggest reason the Royals have become royalty again is Bobby Witt, Jr., an All-Star shortstop about to win a batting title and possibly even wrest the MVP trophy from all-world slugger Aaron Judge of the Yankees.
As the calendar turned to September, Witt led the American League in hits, runs, and average while ranking second in doubles, triples, total bases, and slugging. Both he and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez were even candidates to finish as 40/40 players.
On Labor Day, the Royals were locked in a three-way race with the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins for the AL Central lead. Cleveland led both rivals by three-and-a-half games.
Pham, a right-handed batter on the field but an edgy clubhouse presence behind closed doors, is expected to help — despite his poor performance with the White Sox before they waived him.
Grossman, a switch-hitter, will also help the Royals as a jack-of-all-trades who can play all three outfield positions, play solid defense, and poke occasional pinch-hits.
Gurriel is a just-in-time addition in the wake of the thumb injury that sidelined first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, now on the IL along with Renfroe.
Don’t be surprised if the Royals make a September rush that leaves them first in one of the game’s most unlikely 2024 scenarios.
Even a wild-card showing would be wild.
You heard it here first.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of 42 books, including this year’s Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron [Skyhorse, May 2024]. He covers the game for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, Memories & Dreams and many other outlets. Email him via ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: Multiple MVP Award Winners
Barry Bonds (7) is the only player with more than three MVP awards . . .
Frank Robinson remains the only man to win the trophy in both leagues, though it’s a virtual certainty that Shohei Ohtani will join him this season . . .
Winners of three American League MVPs are Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, and Mike Trout . . .
Three-time winners in the National League are Roy Campanella, Stan Musial, Albert Pujols, and Mike Schmidt . . .
Ohtani won twice in the AL so he’ll join the overall list of three-time winners this fall in the wake of his historic season, especially if he becomes the first 50/50 man . . .
He’ll also be the first full-time DH to win an MVP, as Frank Thomas was mainly a first baseman when he won the AL honor . . .
Two-time winner Ted Williams was not voted MVP in either of his Triple Crown campaigns.
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.