'Little Big League' Made Big-Time Impact
PLUS: CHRIS SALE'S ARRIVAL IN ATLANTA MAKES BRAVES BEST TEAM IN MAJORS
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Chris Sale won’t be able to keep the number he wore in Boston, as No. 41 has long been retired by the Braves in honor of Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews . . .
Sale was once reprimanded by the White Sox for cutting up throwback uniforms he didn’t like . . .
He’s one of three pitchers, along with Cooperstown denizens Lefty Grove and Robin Roberts, to start three All-Star Games in a row . . .
A Floridian who grew up a Braves fan, Sale said his first baseball autograph was from Chipper Jones, when the future pitcher was 12 years and attended a baseball camp . . .
Rico Carty hit .317 during his eight-year tenure with Atlanta but made the All-Star team only once — as the first starting lineup write-in, in 1970 . . .
Free agency could have united high school teammates Max Fried [Braves], Jack Flaherty [Tigers], and Lucas Giolito [Red Sox] but all will pitch for different teams again this season.
Leading Off
“Little Big League” a precursor to Sabermetrics
By Andrew C. Sharp
The film Little Big League reached theaters in the summer of 1994, about the same time as Disney’s reboot of Angels in the Outfield. The Sandlot had been released a year before. Both crushed Little Big League at the box office, which helps explain why it just hasn’t received the attention it deserves.
Greg Pincus, who did the initial script based on his concept, was a first-time screenwriter. Although director Andrew Scheinman had TV credits, this was his first directoral effort. Jason Robards Jr., whose part is relatively small, was the only well-known actor in the cast.
On July 15, 2014, the Kansas City Star published an appreciation by Rustin Dodd under the headline, “The forgotten brilliance and influence of ‘Little Big League.’” In the 20 years since the film had been released, he rightly noted, it had grown in statue as a precursor to the whole field of sabermetrics.
The film’s 12-year-old manager, Billy Heywood, Dodd wrote, hated the bunt.
Early in the film Billy, who inherits the team from his grandfather, tells Twins GM Arthur Goslin and pitching coach “Mac” MacNally that he’s naming himself the new manager.
“It’s not that easy. There are situations,” Mac tells the 12-year-old. “Try me. Give me one,” Billy responds.
Mac tries to stump him by asking what he would do in an extra-inning situation: Twins up, man on first, none out. Billy fires back key questions –- who’s up, home or way, who’s rested in the bullpen? Mac suggests the Twins sacrifice, but Billy counters with what the Yankees would do to neutralize the threat by likely switching pitchers and intentionally walking the Twins’ best hitter. Not a productive trip through our lineup, Billy explains, aside from giving up an out.
Admitting defeat, Mac tells the GM, “What does he need me for?”
Here’s a key part of what Dodd wrote:
“In the summer of 1994, the sabermetric revolution was in its infancy. Web sites like Baseball Prospectus and FanGraphs were still years away; Billy Beane was just an assistant general manger in Oakland…. But here was Billy Heywood, offering a cold and pragmatic takedown of the bunt as sound baseball strategy.
“It may be the greatest distillation of sabermetric thinking into a soundbite that’s ever been filmed,” says Rany Jazayerli, a founder of Baseball Prospectus and long-time baseball writer. “And that includes ‘Moneyball.’”
That quote for Jazayerli is pretty definitive that Little Big League was on to something long before many baseball experts. How could a movie of such little acclaim at the time been so prescient? And why is Little Big League still so lightly regarded by fans of baseball movies and critics alike? As of late December, it scored just a 54 audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, even though Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both had given it a solid thumbs up.
Even without predicting data-driven baseball, the movie is fun to watch for audiences of all ages. Where else could you see Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and more than a dozen other active big-leaguers playing themselves? As it nears its 30th anniversary, perhaps its frequent airing on MLB Network will make this film at long last the perennial favorite it ought to be.
Andrew C. Sharp is a retired newspaper journalist and a SABR member who has written and edited several dozen Bio and Games Project essays. He blogs about D.C. baseball at washingtonbaseballhistory.com
Cleaning Up
Does the Sale Swap Make the Braves Baseball’s Best Ballclub?
By Dan Schlossberg
Well, it depends.
According to the prestigious website FanGraphs, Atlanta now has the game’s best rotation, best offense, and best team.
That conclusion was published after the Braves obtained the 6’6” Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox for promising second baseman Vaughn Grissom last weekend.
Sale, a seven-time All-Star and two-time strikeout king, joins a rotation also occupied by Spencer Strider, who led the majors in wins and strikeouts last season, and Max Fried, a veteran lefty with added incentive to produce as he enters the walk year of his contract.
Manager Brian Snitker can also trot out 40-year-old Charlie Morton, 20-year-old AJ Smith-Shawver, holdover Bryce Elder, or rehabbing Huascar Ynoa or Ian Anderson.
Pretty heady stuff right there — and better than the Dodgers even after the additions of Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a front five that also includes Tommy John survivor Walker Buehler, sophomore Bobby Miller, and maybe-by-midseason Clayton Kershaw.
In addition, Atlanta has added Jarred Kelenic, once a first-round draft pick by the Mets, to succeed streaky Eddie Rosario in left field. The Braves already own the unanimous MVP (Ronald Acuna, Jr.) and the major league leader in home runs and RBIs (Matt Olson).
With 307 home runs last year, the Braves set a National League record that tied the 2019 Minnesota Twins for tops in major-league history. Almost forgotten in the lineup are DH Marcell Ozuna (40 home runs), Austin Riley (37), Ozzie Albies (33), Sean Murphy (21), and Michael Harris (18).
Four different Braves topped triple digits in runs batted in, three had 40 homers, and a record four had at least 35 home runs.
Sure, the Dodgers have Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani but their production drops sharply after that.
With most of the youthful Braves signed to long-term contracts, the team is ready and relaxed for spring training to start in North Port, Fla. next month. In fact, the only lineup regular not signed long-term is Ozuna.
Even with Phillies poised for a persistent challenge, the Braves should have no trouble coasting to their seventh straight division title — the longest current success streak in the majors. All they need to do is stay healthy when the postseason arrives.
Here’s The Pitch weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ also covers baseball for forbes.com, Memories & Dreams, Sports Collectors Digest, and USA TODAY Sports Weekly, among others. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
“He believed what we did was supportive of him, the Negro Leagues, baseball in general, and the game’s role in elevating society.”
— Former Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson on Hank Aaron
At the time of his election to the Hall of Fame, Aaron’s 97.8 percentage was second only to Ty Cobb’s 98.2 per cent . . .
After Aaron announced he was donating all his memorabilia to the museum, Tom Seaver and Ichiro Suzuki did the same . . .
The Aaron exhibit, “Chasing the Dream,” is one of only two devoted to a single player, with the other honoring Babe Ruth . . .
Aaron played in Atlanta before the advent of Ted Turner’s TBS SuperStation and prior to that in a much smaller market in Milwaukee . . .
Muhammad Ali said of him, “Hank Aaron is the only man I idolize more than myself.
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.