The Rhys Hoskins bat spike this weekend was rad
― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 13:38 (one year ago) link
xp on Kerry Wood & Pedro Martinez but I appreciate specific recommendations, tysm!
― barry sito (gyac), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 13:42 (one year ago) link
Also commit this to memory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn28Dz4RUxc
― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 13:44 (one year ago) link
gyac, I assume you've seen this classic moment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbEHAsZxRYo
― sometimes you have to drink to kill the paranoia (PBKR), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 13:58 (one year ago) link
Fun fact you might enjoy:
Left-handed relief pitcher Billy Wagner (known for his absurd strikeout rate) is actually a natural right hander but after breaking his right arm twice as a kid he learned to throw with his left arm. And now he’s probably going to wind up in the hall of fame for being such a dominant pitcher.
― omar little, Tuesday, 18 October 2022 15:56 (one year ago) link
Game 7 of the 2016 series is also my pick. Classic Cleveland clutch comeback to tie it coupled with a classic Aroldis Chapman meltdown, finished off with a determined Cubs team scraping out two runs (and Cleveland making it tense at the end too.)
― omar little, Tuesday, 18 October 2022 15:58 (one year ago) link
Ten cent beer night is an event that encapsulates baseball in Cleveland in the 70's
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daWdOwqQhCs
― brownie, Tuesday, 18 October 2022 21:02 (one year ago) link
I will respond to all these posts in time but I’m watching this alds game atm. However I am nearly finished A Band of Misfits, about the 2010 Giants, and I’ve seriously watched this clip about ten times & also Clark’s homer against Nolan Ryan in his first big league at bat (!)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUkTfbOEKTsLmao both at the guy going “you’re overmodulating” and Clark going “HUH??? NO WAY!” And also the guy stepping in from the side to clearly try to calm him down, and Clark shakes his hand instead. Supposedly he used The Thrill is Gone as his answering machine message as well. Legendary.
― barry sito (gyac), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 21:16 (one year ago) link
smoothest swing of all time
― Spottie, Tuesday, 18 October 2022 21:17 (one year ago) link
there's also a whole thread about BASEBALL MOVIES that i haven't really paid attention to
would recommend:
BULL DURHAM - it's long since passed into cliche (and tim robbins very obviously cannot pitch) but it presents the cliches in a nice manner, and also i used to live in durham and know where that house is
SUGAR - pretty honest look at what it's like to be a (dominican/puerto rican/venezuelan) kid left to fend for himself in the minor leagues. needless to say, there are a lot of non-success stories
NO NO: A DOCKUMENTARY - the story of 1970s pitcher dock ellis, who once threw a no-hitter (for the pirates, no less) while tripping on LSD. among other crazy shit like plunking four straight cincinnati reds to start a game. he was a troubled and interesting man
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 18 October 2022 23:45 (one year ago) link
This, along with Aaron's 715th, is my favorite baseball memory ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4nwMDZYXTI
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 18 October 2022 23:49 (one year ago) link
I remember that 2015 game (how did I not think of that first?)
These days Toronto vs Texas G5 is the first thing I think of when it comes to games/moments that I want to rewatch. But I didn't want to be accused of homerism by recommending it first ...
And that's only the last three innings!
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Wednesday, 19 October 2022 06:26 (one year ago) link
This week has been rough and I’ve barely watched any baseball.More things I learned specifically about “Surfin” Barry Zito from reading excerpts fromhttps://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61frVWPOc1L.jpg- Barry Zito did meth in his teens- the first chapter opens with a quote from someone saying “if San Fran wins the World Series, does Barry Zito get a ring?” (Ouch - though I am a fan of brutally honest sports autobios).- Barry Zito’s grandfather started a newspaper with Mussolini (!)I need to read this book, there’s nothing more boring than reading stories of endless success from people who go to bed early and never do anything bad.
― barry sito (gyac), Friday, 21 October 2022 21:32 (one year ago) link
watch game 5 2012 NLCS giants vs cardinals if you want some more zito lore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8S-PI7HZ8ohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Meay49NgGXIgiants down 1-3 in the series and he gets the start despite a very poor showing in the series before. giants win the next three then zito wins game 1 of the world series vs verlander which you mentioned.
― Spottie, Friday, 21 October 2022 21:45 (one year ago) link
I was thinking about which game I would recommend watching and actually realised the games I got the biggest kick out of weren't necessarily epic important ones. Like any Greg Maddux 85 pitch complete game shutout with like 2 strikeouts and upward of a dozen groundouts + handful of weak pop flys is amazing viewing imo. Especially with how different baseball is now.
― oscar bravo, Friday, 21 October 2022 21:53 (one year ago) link
Or Tom Glavine locating his fast ball consistently just outside the outside edge the strikezone with such monotone regularity that the umpire starts calling it a strike.
― oscar bravo, Friday, 21 October 2022 21:57 (one year ago) link
(xpost) You've almost perfectly described Maddux's G2 win against the Yankees in the '96 Series:
86 pitches, 6 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 0 runs. He didn't pitch a shutout, though--Bobby Cox brought in Wohlers for the 9th. He didn't let Maddux finish his Maddux.
― clemenza, Friday, 21 October 2022 22:07 (one year ago) link
yeah those 90s braves pitchers were clinical, hated them of course.
― Spottie, Friday, 21 October 2022 22:12 (one year ago) link
For what it's worth, Maddux was more of a strikeout pitcher than he's generally remembered as (with some help from the umps): 6.1/per 9 for his career, 6.9/per 9 during his '92-'98 peak. My favourite pitcher then--travelled to Montreal to see him somewhere in the middle there.
― clemenza, Friday, 21 October 2022 22:21 (one year ago) link
I did get the chance to see Smoltz's 3,000th career strikeout in person, that was epic. Still much love for him in the ATL.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 21 October 2022 22:44 (one year ago) link
ALCS game 3 2003
― after several days on “the milk,” (gyac), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 19:26 (one year ago) link
One that I forgot to recommend, on YouTube in its entirety: Mark Fidrych vs. the Yankees, June 28, 1976, 48,000 people in Yankee Stadium (on a Monday), ABC's Monday Night game, Fidrych 7-1 with a 2.18 ERA going in, the biggest story in baseball.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwGj4VfCreg
For style, Luis Tiant.
https://phildellio.tripod.com/tiant.jpg
― clemenza, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 19:42 (one year ago) link
Yes! I have been meaning to check out Fidrych as well!
― after several days on “the milk,” (gyac), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 19:45 (one year ago) link
xpsI'm glad!! He was my favourite player back when I first started watching baseball. used to love andruw jones as well. and in the non atlanta baseball players division it was tony gwynn and his incredibly flat no uppercut swing. then later i was all about ichiro.
― oscar bravo, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 19:53 (one year ago) link
(xp) I think you'll fall in love. I was so lucky to have watched that game (14 years old). It's just hard to convey today how one baseball player could so thoroughly capture the public's attention and imagination. It happened again a few years later with Fernando, although I don't know that there's one single game of his where it all coalesced so perfectly.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 19:54 (one year ago) link
xp Parker looking cool af.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 19:56 (one year ago) link
(Oops--the Fidrych game was in Tiger Stadium, which makes the 48,000 people even more remarkable. The mid-'70s Tigers were not good.)
― clemenza, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 20:03 (one year ago) link
I love they have the commercials too in that broadcast!
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 20:45 (one year ago) link
I’ll be honest, a thing I found - and find, tbh - really difficult about watching baseball both live and classic is the number of ad breaks! How does that not drive people mad?
― after several days on “the milk,” (gyac), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 20:47 (one year ago) link
“At that time, I often thought that if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowing overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it.”
— Albert Camus
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 20:49 (one year ago) link
Fidrych throwing 250 innings and striking out 97(!) that season is always really amazing to me. 9.6 bWAR!
― omar little, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 20:52 (one year ago) link
xp lmao
― after several days on “the milk,” (gyac), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 20:56 (one year ago) link
xp baseball as a tv spectator sport simply isn't designed to hold your attention 100% of the time, you gotta pair it with something else that can be done in fits and starts such as browsing the internet or chopping vegetables or playing a turn-based video game
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 21:10 (one year ago) link
Parachuting in to say that I am a 51-year-old American male human with exactly one sports allegiance. And that allegiance is to the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals. Not the Cardinals in general, not St. Louis teams in general. Pretty much just that one spectacular season.
I was exactly the right age to be excited by a baseball team. Especially, a locally beloved and long-storied team that suddenly caught on fire in a particular way. Was it slugfesty? No it was not. Was it Sabermetric? No it was not. Was it especially steroidal? No it was not. It was a style of play based on baserunning, stealing, speed, fielding, contact. It was called "Whiteyball" after the (in retrospect) rather unfortunately nicknamed manager Whitey Herzog.
Ozzie Smith. Lonnie Smith. Willie McGee. Keith Hernandez. Bruce Sutter. Joaquin Andujar. It's been 40 years and no sporting persons have dislodged those names from my memory. Nor will they.
Since then, I have watched a few other sporting contests, with varying amounts of interest. But none has matched the passionate intensity of being eleven years old in a red hat in terrible seats in that cranky old Busch stadium with a scorecard on my lap and a fire in my heart. Personally I am fine leaving it there: a whole life of fandom in a few humid evenings in 1982, eating ice cream from a novelty batting helmet.
― blissfully unawarewolf (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 21:11 (one year ago) link
― after several days on “the milk,” (gyac), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 21:14 (one year ago) link
That's beautiful, YMP.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 21:14 (one year ago) link
^
― after several days on “the milk,” (gyac), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 21:17 (one year ago) link
eating ice cream from a novelty batting helmet
i have one from every stadium i've been to in the last 8 years (4 total) and my kids love these. they were bath toys until my youngest recently decided to elevate the jays and yankees ones to the "display"shelf in her room that was normally reserved for her fancy in-the-box dolls.
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 21:26 (one year ago) link
ymp are you . . . me?
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 21:28 (one year ago) link
that would be a plot twist!
1982 cards ftw of course. the '85 version of the team is fun too. they didn't win the WS but they were even better and even faster and more exciting, a team tailor made to play on artificial turf. willie mcgee having his best season, the wizard ozzie smith doing his usual defensive stuff but also putting together his first above-average offensive season after being seen as a liability earlier in his career, jack clark looking like a bag of big league chew and the only power threat on a speedy team. mcgee stole 56, tommy herr and ozzie both stole 31, andy van slyke had an incredible name and stole 34, and vince coleman stole 110 bases (!) and hit one home run.
― Karl Malone, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 21:51 (one year ago) link
this is a fun thread, gyac, thank you for starting it
― Karl Malone, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 21:56 (one year ago) link
Very nice, YMP.
Truly amazing: the '82 Series matched up the Cardinals (67 HR, fewest in the majors) against the Brewers (216 HR, most in the majors). Surely that's the only time that ever happened. George Hendricks led the Cardinals with 19 HR, Darrell Porter had 12, and no one else had more than 8.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 22:23 (one year ago) link
Oh yeah put these names directly in my veins please: Lou Brock, Gene Tenace, Tommy Herr, Andy Van Slyke, Vince Coleman.
I gave exactly zero fucks about baseball (or any sport) before that. And I pretty much haven't since!
When my St. Louisan nephews cared about the Cardinals, it was the Mark McGwire to Albert Pujols era and I just couldn't get into it. Huge guys hitting long balls is not a Cardinal virtue. Base-stealing and relief pitching are Cardinal virtues. (That is, if you were an eleven-year-old St. Louisan in 1982. Plenty of other ways to be, but I cannot change my nature.)
Here in DC there was a brief flash of potential excitement around the Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, and Bryce Harper Nationals teams, but that has dissipated and I am back to not giving a shit.
― blissfully unawarewolf (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 22:35 (one year ago) link
We’re you a fan of the 2015/16 era Royals?
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 22:41 (one year ago) link
Or the 2022 Guardians?
― clemenza, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 22:42 (one year ago) link
I have no opinion on those, so I will punt to my apparent doppelganger. Take it away, mookieproof!
― blissfully unawarewolf (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 8 November 2022 22:52 (one year ago) link
i'm in the willie mcgee k-hole again, but this sabr.org profile on him has so many lovable moments: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/willie-mcgee/
Willie loved sports as a child and played baseball, basketball, and football, depending on what was in season. However, it was baseball for which Willie developed a true passion. Around the age of 10, he found out that one could make a living playing baseball, and for a while he slept with his glove and bat while wearing his ball cap and cleats. The most sensitive of the McGee children, he was shy and lacked self-confidence. His little league coach described his posture on the baseball field as that of a child who “spilled the milk.” He attended Henry Ells High School where his reserved nature initially kept him from trying out for the baseball team. He eventually joined the team in the 10th grade at the urging of coach Bill Erkkila. “I was his P.E. teacher when he was a sophomore, and he was tiny, scrawny, and very quiet. His outstanding athletic attribute was speed,” Erkkila later remembered.
The rookie was needled and teased by teammates, including Hendrick. This initially bothered him until he understood they did so because they liked him. Hendrick, along with coach Dave Ricketts and teammates Bruce Sutter, Bob Forsch, and Ozzie Smith, served as mentors. Smith took McGee under his wing more literally, allowing him to live in his home. It was months before the always respectful McGee called Mrs. Smith by her first name.
― Karl Malone, Tuesday, 8 November 2022 23:55 (one year ago) link
'85 Cards had five players finish in the top 11 of MVP voting (McGee, Herr, Tudor, Clark, Coleman) with Ozzie Smith down at #18. Andy Van Slyke was good that year too.
I didn't know STL had the revitalizing juice back then, an aging Cesar Cedeno (a mere 34 but he'd been around since 1970) came over during the season and hit .434/.463/.750 w/6 HR, 19 RBI, 5 SB in 28 games.
Andujar won 21 games (didn't have a *great* season but a pretty good one which was enough to get those wins.) Tudor didn't luck into his 21 wins though, i always forget he threw 10(!) shutouts that season.
― omar little, Wednesday, 9 November 2022 02:48 (one year ago) link
2003 ALCS game 3 brawl DELIVERS. The commentary on this is killing me.DON ZIMMER, A 72 YEAR OLD MAN WENT INTO PEDRO MARTINEZ’S FACE AND PEDRO MARTINEZ THREW HIM DOWNI see Martinez mentions this as his only career regret but I’m sorry, it’s seriously funny. You’re an old guy involved in baseball and you go charging into a brawl, what did you think was going to happen?!
― after several days on “the milk,” (gyac), Wednesday, 9 November 2022 11:58 (one year ago) link
actually both knees have been replaced
― after several days on “the milk,” (gyac), Wednesday, 9 November 2022 12:00 (one year ago) link
aww <3
― mookieproof, Friday, 12 April 2024 01:05 (one week ago) link
Also by this time next week I will be in Pittsburgh! I just checked and Brayan Bello is lined up for a start in that series which is great, hopefully Devers is back from his shoulder injury. Too bad about Story, guess I’m going to hope the bats have woken up by then and that clown fielding doesn’t dominate as it has all week (it will).
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Saturday, 13 April 2024 14:30 (six days ago) link
i realize the chances of this happening are infinitesimal, but as john sterling will tell you, you can't predict baseball
if you find yourself in a situation where a ball is coming your way, and you are standing anywhere near zack hample, it is your duty to prevent him from getting that ball by any means necessary
i think he only cares about home run balls, so if you're sitting in left field, be aware (tbf he was in pittsburgh last weekend, so you're probably safe)
― mookieproof, Sunday, 14 April 2024 21:47 (five days ago) link
I’m aware of Zack Hample but I also do not want to be on TV elbowing him out of the way
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Sunday, 14 April 2024 22:05 (five days ago) link
you would be a hero to millions tho
― mookieproof, Sunday, 14 April 2024 22:17 (five days ago) link
most importantly, to me
― mookieproof, Sunday, 14 April 2024 22:24 (five days ago) link
162 is hard! It’s wild to read and read about seasons past when teams were slumping and got out of it, because the time that must have lasted eternally for them passes in an instant for you looking back, but even when they’re playing every day, it’s tough. I remember, perhaps even at the very beginning of this thread, someone very wisely advising me to not pay close attention. Reader, I wish I had taken (or even was capable of taking - ocd) said advice, but alas. The only part of the season that really matters is in aggregate when it’s over. Does it mean anything that George Kirby had two terrible starts and two good ones? Who knows/cares, it’s four games. Does it mean anything that Raffy Devers may be rusty because he missed six games due to a sore shoulder? Who the fuck cares? Yet these questions and more, the trivia and the detail of the almost meaningless fraction of the season? They plague me.I’m sure this is something people who follow from childhood get out of the way very quickly. You learn not to live and die on every pitch, you stop paying attention for weeks or even months. Maybe you’re like Tracer Hand claimed he was and only check in once it’s summer. But man, it is painful atm and I’m very glad to have this thread. How do you care less?To end this, a list of things I have enjoyed at this early part in the season:Justin “I can’t believe the Mets traded him” Slaten:
Justin Slaten's Filth5Ks in 2 innings. pic.twitter.com/dWS2hl3wKK— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 7, 2024
Some catch probability numbers on Ceddanne Rafaela this season: 1) Rafaela diving forward to rob Cal Raleigh - 35%2) Game-saving grab against Shea Langeliers - 50%3) Leap against the wall to take a hit away from Brent Rooker - 95% pic.twitter.com/qbc8hbdtr1— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) April 6, 2024
Wilyer Abreu's catch and Kutter Crawford's amazed reaction. pic.twitter.com/S0JyQolzyX— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 15, 2024
Jung Hoo #Lee’s double !! 👏🏻 5-game hitting streak 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/Ex76dU4MDK— Joseph Kim (@blackwings2011) April 13, 2024
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 16:45 (three days ago) link
OH YEAH HOW DID I FORGET TO POST ROMAN ANTHONY
Roman Anthony hits his second homer of the day pic.twitter.com/tF8cO17Eag— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) April 14, 2024
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 16:48 (three days ago) link
I blame you and your great posts for caring this early lol
― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 17:26 (three days ago) link
You blame me but you should really blame him
Triston Casas on going for the Red Seat.Said he's not sure if it's a myth or not, but 429 FT is all he had. pic.twitter.com/rA4UhNH0nQ— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) April 13, 2024
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 17:29 (three days ago) link
oh man you will die if you hang on every pitch for six months. not even the players do that (apart from The Captain, Derek Jeter)
as earl weaver said, 'this ain't a football game; we do this every day'
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 16 April 2024 22:36 (three days ago) link
I know, clearly I need to Make The Adjustment ☹️
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 22:59 (three days ago) link
And as everyone who’s had the ad repeatedly pumped into their brane for months on end knows, it’s “The Captain, Derek Sanderson Jeter.”
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 23:00 (three days ago) link
My favourite players on teams I don’t follow (non exhaustive list):- Kodai Senga (pls be healthy for London)- Kerry Carpenter- Mason Miller- Tatis Jr- Bobby Witt Jr- Brandon Pfaadt- Christopher Morel- Lars Nootbaar - Nolan Jones- Yainer Diaz- Francisco Lindor- Andre Gimenez- Nico Hoerner
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Wednesday, 17 April 2024 19:22 (two days ago) link
Good nonfollow choices.
Wishing yinz wicked safe travels to your first MLB games on North American soil. Enjoy!
― felicity, Friday, 19 April 2024 02:27 (three hours ago) link
DO NOT be tempted by the Primanti Bros. sandwich at PNC park, it's a faint shadow of their off-stadium locations which I would highly recommend instead.
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Friday, 19 April 2024 04:47 (one hour ago) link
anyone recommending primanti bros is just recommending the pittsburgh equivalent of the cincinnati chili
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Friday, 19 April 2024 04:51 (one hour ago) link
i have said this before: it's a gimmick, and not actually pittsburgh lore
i'm told there's some kind of hot dog-pierogie thing though, which would be vaguely lore but nevertheless not something i can recommend
― mookieproof, Friday, 19 April 2024 04:55 (one hour ago) link
clark bar is lore but i'm not sure it even exists anymore
also my mom worked for heinz when i was born, so i support ketchup on everything
― mookieproof, Friday, 19 April 2024 05:01 (one hour ago) link
You guys are jaded rusted-out souls. Absolute madness.
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Friday, 19 April 2024 05:10 (one hour ago) link
#freeippeei
― mookieproof, Friday, 19 April 2024 05:21 (fifty-nine minutes ago) link