An Unorthodox Review of a Strange Season
PLUS: READY OR NOT, WINTER MEETINGS WILL BE WILD AND WOOLY
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Pittsburgh’s signing of 36-year-old first baseman Carlos Santana, coming off a .202 season in Kansas City, is a puzzlement: the Bucs have also acquired Ji-Man Choi and Lewis Diaz to play the position . . .
Justin Verlander turns 40 in spring training — making him the oldest of the three top starters on the market — but is the best bet because he has no qualifying offer attached, would take a shorter deal than Carlos Rodón, and has better durability than Jacob deGrom . . .
Speaking of age, free-agent DH Nelson Cruz turns 43 before the All-Star break but is just 41 homers short of The 500 Club . . .
Jean Segura played second for Philadelphia but could return to his original position of shortstop if he finds a contender in need at that position [i.e. Atlanta if Dansby Swanson signs elsewhere] . . .
The 2022 Dodgers were the quickest team to reach 100 wins since the 2001 Seattle Mariners . . .
Remember Stephen Strasburg? The erstwhile ace of the Washington Nationals, owner of a seven-year, $245 million contract that he’s never justified, says he’s “not really sure what the future holds” . . .
One-time Cubs phenom Frank Schwindel was designated for assignment in September and not certain of landing a job for 2023.
Leading Off
The best, the worst, the weirdest of 2022 times
Would it have been a true baseball season without them?
By Jeff Kallman
When Harold Baines was inducted (controversially) into the Hall of Fame three years ago, he quoted his bricklayer father: “Words are easy, deeds are hard. Words can be empty, deeds speak loudest, and sometimes they echo forever.” (Sometimes?)
Especially so if and when they fall under the best, the worst, and the weirdest of times.
Baseball 2022 was much like that, above and beyond the owners’ lockout, the NHL-like postseason, the blaze-of-glory exit of one elder (see Pujols, Albert—finishing season and career with 703 lifetime home runs), the blaze of glory resurrection of another (see Verlander, Justin—American League Cy Young Award winner), and the deflations of some others.
I kept my own notes on the side of assorted such lights and lunacies, with no fear that they would gather for naught. In the spirit of good old Mad, the magazine that marked each issue’s contents as “departments” (and its contributors the usual gang of idiots), I offer as a season review of sorts:
And, in the End Dept.—Astros relief pitcher Phil Maton missed the entire postseason after fracturing his pinkie following his brief appearance in the team’s final regular-season game. Frustrated that the Phillies (the eventual victims of the Astros’ straight-no-chaser World Series conquest) scored the game’s only two runs on his dollar, Maton landed a hearty punch . . . on his locker.
Déjà vu All Over Again Dept.—2021: Little Abigail Courtney wept when her Reds idol Joey Votto was ejected in the first inning of a game she attended in San Diego. She received an apologetically-autographed baseball later that afternoon. She also received a personal audience with Votto at Petco Park the day after.
2022: Abigail and her family went to Angel Stadium to see some favourite ex-Reds in Mariners silks . . . and wept again after one, Jesse Winker, was ejected during a bench-clearing brawl. Winker, too, was made aware of the heartbroken girl. And he, too, sent her a signed ball before the game ended.
Dishonoured Guests Dept.—Fourteen times, a team scored ten or more runs in a game in the White Sox’s Guaranteed Rate Park. Thirteen times, it involved the visiting teams.
Doom Doom Mancini Dept.—Oriole fans weren’t thrilled about popular Trey Mancini being disappeared to the Astros at the trade deadline. Astro fans weren’t thrilled about Mancini performing his own disappearing act: hitting below the proverbial Mendoza Line down the stretch, and making Mendoza resemble Mantle by hitting .047 in the postseason.
Elder Abuse Dept.—Despite a rested-enough bullpen, in mid-to-late April aging, fading White Sox manager Tony La Russa inexplicably let his aging, fading, former Cy Young Award-winning starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel take a ten-run beating from the Guardians in which he didn’t escape the second inning alive. The White Sox bullpen kept the Guards to a single run after that.
Emotional Support Bear Dept.—Polar, that is. Pete Alonso, Mets first baseman: Seventeen of his forty 2022 home runs (43 percent, folks) came with men in scoring position. Everybody else: Hit no more than twelve with men in scoring position. Including National League home run king Kyle Schwarber (eight) and AL single-season record-setting Aaron Judge (eleven).
Even When You Win, You Lose Dept.—The sorry Reds no-hit the sorrier Pirates in Pittsburgh on 15 May . . . and still lost. (The game’s lone run: back-to-back-to-back, bases-loading, one-out walks, and a run-scoring infield ground out—in the bottom of the eighth.)
Ground Control Dept.—Blue Jays stars Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Bo Bichette were first and third in Show for whacking grounders into play. They were also first and fourth in Show in grounding into double plays. Guerrero’s Hall of Fame father led the Show once and his league alone once in grounding into double plays. Bichette’s slugging father never did either.
He’s on Third, We’re Not Talking About Him Dept.—But we should be. Ke’Bryan Hayes (Pirates) stole twenty bases, including third seven times. No other National League larcenist took third by crook more than four times.
Hello, I Must Be Going Dept.—After a tribute film shown to the gathering for unveiling his statue outside Dodger Stadium in mid-June, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax opened his thank-you speech by quipping, “I think the film said everything I want to say, so I’ll be leaving now.” (He didn’t. He spoke for ten minutes—doing honour instead to some sixty people who affected his career and his life.)
High-Low Dept.—The good news: the Angels tied a franchise record 4 August when they slugged seven bombs against the Athletics. The bad news: the Angels still lost—all seven were solo shots.
Immaculate Depression Dept.—Bad enough: the Rangers victimized by a Show season-record three immaculate innings. (Definition: three straight batters, three straight strikeouts on 0-2.) Worse: Two happened in the same 15 June game, courtesy of Astros pitchers Luis Garcia and the aforementioned Phil Maton.
Impatience is a Virtue Dept.—Whenever Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario put the first pitch of a 2022 plate appearance into play, his slash line was .529/.529/.838. Whenever he faced a full count, his slash line was .237/.442/.263.
Nitwhit Dept.—Royals infielder Whit Merrifield—one of ten barred from entering Canada thanks to not receiving COVID-19 vaccinations—said he’d get the jab only if the Royals traded him to a contender. The Royals took him up on it—and traded him to the Blue Jays.
Not Just No-Hit But Hell No-Hit Dept.—The good news: Padres pitchers Yu Darvish and Sean Manaea had back-to-back no-hit starts in early April. The bad news: The owners lockout-imposed short spring training left them so little time to prep for the season that neither pitched past the sixth.
Pass Side/Suicide Dept.—The good news: The Red Sox have finished in first place in the AL East exactly four times in the past ten seasons. (They’ve also won a pair of World Series in the span.) The bad news: The Red Sox have also finished in last place in the AL East exactly four times in the past ten seasons.
St. Elsewhere Dept.—Reds president Phil Castellini was not amused by fans hammering the Reds’ off-season talent purge last winter. Proclaiming the team would be better off elsewhere, Castellini invited Red fans to sit the hell down, shut the hell up, and take it like a manperson. I’m reasonably certain most Red fans’ counter-invitations can’t be repeated in polite company.
Start Me Up Dept.—In the third-longest such streak in Show history, the Red Sox also went 29 straight in July without one starting pitcher receiving credit for a win. (Considering pitchers get credit for “wins” won mostly by everyone else’s hard work, I’m not so sure that streak was that terrible.)
Taking 112 for the Team Dept.—As if it wasn’t enough for the Mets to collapse into a wild card berth after looking like NL East runaways early on, they set two dubious records: They became the team hit by the most pitches in a season (112); and, they featured the most players (six, including Mark Canha’s Show-leading 28) getting drilled ten or more times.
U.N. Dept.—The Rays became the first in Show history to field a starting lineup of nine individual nationalities on 21 August. El Hombres Division—The Rays also became the first in Show history to field an all-Latino starting lineup almost a month later.
Walk Off This Way Dept.—The Yankees led the entire Show in walk-off wins. (Sixteen.) The Yankees also led the entire Show in walk-off losses. (Eleven.)
On which note—and barring the now-unexpected opening to contribute another essay before this month and year expire—I wish one and all a joyous holiday season to come, however you worship; and, a New Year full of peace, joy, and in due course hits, runs, balls, strikes, and streaks.
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
Free Agent Frenzy Certain to Dominate Winter Meetings
By Dan Schlossberg
For the first time in three years, the Baseball Winter Meetings are back — this time with a vengeance.
Cancelled by COVID in 2020 and the lockout in 2021, this five-day extravaganza brings managers, general managers, owners, player agents, and media members under the same roof, in this case the Manchester Hyatt on the shores of San Diego Bay.
Hundreds of players remain suspended in the Twilight Zone of free agency with each waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Once Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom pick their 2023 teams, for example, other starting pitchers will fall into place.
And that four-way flood of All-Star shortstops also needs to shake out, with decisions pending for Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Carlos Correa.
Hanging over all of that is the enormous shadow of Aaron Judge, the 6’7” slugger who coming off a 62-homer season but considering trading his Yankee pinstripes for Dodger blue or the black-and-orange of the upstate Giants (his favorite team as a kid growing up in nearby Linden, CA).
With salaries spiking into the stratosphere again — thanks, Steve Cohen — the big-ticket free agents are virtually certain to break the records for annual average salary ($43.3 million by Max Scherzer) and overall dollars ($430 million for Mike Trout).
Scott Boras, of course, is thrilled. The boisterous agent, who loves to hold court for media members in hotel lobbies, will probably get more publicity for himself than for any of his clients — at least until they sign. And Boras is skilled at prolonging negotiations long enough to squeeze team treasuries beyond the last drop.
The Winter Meetings have a longer history than the American League, which began play in 1901.
The initial confab was in 1876, the year the National League played its first season. William Hulbert, an executive eventually enshrined in Cooperstown, was named the NL president while the New York Mutuals and Philadelphia Athletics were expelled for failing to complete their schedules.
More recently, meetings have been known for trades and signings. In 1975, White Sox owner Bill Veeck set up a lobby stand that said “Open for Business” and negotiated a half-dozen deals involving 22 players. P.S. His team lost 97 games anyway.
Whitey Herzog, who doubled as manager and general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, pulled off a memorable deal involving a pair of future Hall of Famers. On Dec. 12, 1980, he completed a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers that sent Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons and Pete Vuckovich to the Brewers in exchange for David Green, Dave LaPoint, Sixto Lezcano and Lary Sorensen. The trade ended a four-day stay in St. Louis for Fingers, whom Herzog had acquired from San Diego four days earlier in an 11-player deal.
The complexities of modern contracts make such massive maneuvering difficult if not impossible today. But teams continue trying.
The Texas Rangers made Texas-sized moves in 1988, signing native Texan Nolan Ryan while making transactions that involved 15 players.
There was the 1990 blockbuster that sent Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez from Toronto to San Diego for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter.
Barry Bonds signed with San Francisco during the ‘92 meetings in Louisville. In 2000, Alex Rodriguez inked a 10-year, $252 million pact with Texas. Albert Pujols got an almost identical contract from the Los Angeles Angels 11 years later.
The 2014 Dodgers made six swaps with four different teams, adding 19 players in a 24-hour whirlwind of frenzied activity. A year later, the Cubs beat bids from the Dodgers, Giants, and Red Sox for pitcher Jon Lester.
At the last winter meetings, in 2019, seven-year, $245 million contracts went to Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals and former National Anthony Rendon, who signed with the Angels (both have suffered serious injuries since). The big winner was starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, who jumped from the Houston Astros to the New York Yankees for a then-record $324, spread over nine years.
Once presented by Minor League Baseball, the Winter Meetings used to include a jobs fair, awards luncheon, evening gala, and trade show. Most are now history, though representatives of all 170 professional teams (30 from MLB and the remainder from the minors) do meet and mingle.
Still on tap, beyond transactions, are Hall of Fame election announcements, the Rule 5 draft, a Manager’s Luncheon with media members, and appearances by Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and players union chief Tony Clark, whose contract as executive director was just extended for five years.
Although most winter meetings take place in warm climates, there have been exceptions. Destinations have included Toronto, Indianapolis, Boston, National Harbor (Washington), Dallas, and Nashville.
The climate, in terms of temperature and activity, should be a whole lot better in San Diego. The Winter Meetings were cancelled by Covid in 2020 and by the lockout last year.
After the nuclear winter imposed by the 99-day lockout, baseball needs to keep its strikes between the white lines.
The Grand Old Game also figures to knock the winter sports out of the tabloid headlines for a few days as the Hot Stove League lives up to its name.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is weekend editor of Here’s The Pitch, national baseball writer for forbes.com, columnist for Sports Collectors Digest, and contributor to USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Latino Sports, and Memories & Dreams. Learn more at www.danschlossberg.net or e.mail ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
“Despite my many mistakes, I am so proud of what I accomplished as a baseball player. I am the Hit King and it is my dream to be considered for the Hall of Fame. Like all of us, I believe in accountability. I am 81 years old and know that I have been held accountable and that I hold myself accountable.”
— Pete Rose appealing to Commissioner Rob Manfred for reinstatement
Though banned for allegedly betting on baseball while managing the Reds, Pete Rose is scheduled to place the first legal bet at Cincinnati’s Hard Rock Casino in 2003 . . .
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman begins his 26th year in that post in ‘03 . . .
In the third alteration to CitiField’s original 2009 dimensions, the Mets will shorten the distance to right field by 8 feet, 6 inches over an area that stretches 50 feet . . .
In the wake of Tommy John elbow surgery, two-time MVP Bryce Harper said he hopes to return as Phillies DH “by the All-Star break” . . .
At age 21, AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners agreed in August to an eight-year, $209.3 million contract that could be worth a ridiculous $469.6 million over 17 seasons if he wins a pair of MVP awards . . .
Although the Houston Astros have reached the Championship Series six years in a row, the Atlanta Braves own the longest active divisional title streak [five years].
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Brian Harl [bchrom831@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.