things I learned about in baseball this week/how i learned to stop worrying and love baseball

lol

best swing of all time obv

This was quoted in this pretty good oral history.

Sports Illustrated once described Clark’s swing as “the sweetest swing anyone had ever seen, an uppercut with a long, loopy follow-through that made it seem as if was wielding a buggy whip instead of a 32-ounce bat.”

Candy Maldonado, teammate: Yeah, he’s the only man in the world whose answering machine is “The Thrill is gone.” Oh, that hillbilly!

Obsessed with this guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtImIqR5neU

And I really should have included this too, the tongue is just too much

2023 Giants FanFest on February 4 is almost here!

Let’s throw it back to 2019, when we got Buster Posey to give his best Bruce Bochy impression 😂 pic.twitter.com/F1fn2HUn8b

— KNBR (@KNBR) January 26, 2023

I will eventually get back to reading & writing about stuff but atm thread is kind of this stuff

Spahn & Sain & delay for rain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cByahfjo6U

this is a classic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey-rq-9mYm0

I saw that! I think he might have mentioned it in Curveball?! I need to upload this pie chart I saw about why Zito lost games really quick…

https://i.postimg.cc/RhMChV5p/B12-DFF2-A-0-FFE-49-E8-A313-DE5044397-C90.png

Iirc: Huddyed - pitched well but fucked over by the defence
Cained - no explanation needed
Zitoed - the quality of being Barry Zito and being basically a law unto himself

I really like Zito even though I mock him all the time.

Atm watching videos of runners jumping over the catcher to score, of which this is obviously the greatest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3BDn2K6sgo

Watched some more brawls, surely no brawl has a better memorial tshirt than this?
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/bBgAAOSwhgZjP4fn/s-l1600.jpg

Was reading this article about clubhouse cancers and found my way to this Athletic article about Joan Ryan’s 2020 book, Intangibles: Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry.

I read and loved Ryan’s Little Girls in Pretty Boxes about fifteen years ago, long before I started reading her SF Chronicle work about the Giants. So I knew her behind the scenes work was great already.

In this book, which kind of has an eyerolly business book title and sometimes - only sometimes, I stress - vibe, she investigates theories of what makes a successful clubhouse work. What personalities they need, who fulfils those roles, and even drops in some science about it all. I’m only partway through this book but her sources and stories are incredible. She has a whole chapter about Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent.

Anyway I need to actually finish and read this book and I’ll review it in the book thread as before. But if what I’ve described here is at all of interest to you, consider this:

The concept of conventional team chemistry is anathema to Kent’s individualistic orientation to the world. “I’m not a friendly person. I don’t really like people that much. Because I’m self-satisfied. I’m self-motivated. I don’t dance. I wasn’t a part of a fraternity. I don’t cheer when I go to sporting events. I don’t celebrate birthdays and anniversaries even though my wife kills me when I don’t. Friends don’t motivate me. Friends don’t make me better, personally. Doesn’t fuel me.” He conceded that feeling comfortable in a clubhouse and having relationships with teammates probably affect the performance of “people who aren’t self-motivated and (are)a little bit weak.”

“And then there are guys who are bad motivators. They think they’re creating chemistry but really [they’re] making it worse. When they try to challenge you as a person or your work ethic or ‘this is the way the game’s supposed to be played.’ You look at him and think, ‘Who in the hell made you God? You’re not even the number one player on the team.’” I asked if he was referring to Kent. “Jeff Kent wasn’t like that! Jeff Kent was never like that!” he said, his voice rising. “Folks can say whatever the hell they want to say about that guy and me. We were both A-type-personality players. We didn’t hang out. I didn’t care what he was doing. You have players who care what another person’s doing in the locker room. It’s stupid. It’s hard enough to prepare yourself to be good — why do you care what that dude is doing over there? Why do you care Jeff Kent is over there looking at properties for his hunting places? Who gives a crap? “When it came to game time, what name would you want on the back of the uniform of the guy playing second base? I want Jeff Kent. Because he’s a ballplayer. When it comes to guts, someone who goes out there to do his job — they can say whatever they want about Jeff Kent, they can say whatever they want about Barry Bonds — when it came to who they want to play in left field, who they want to play at second base, it would be Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent.”

One day in the clubhouse at the end of August, Burrell found Huff and together they ushered Lincecum into the small office. The superstar pitcher had lost all five of his starts that month. The Giants had slipped six games out of first place. Lincecum didn’t seem to be listening to his coaches or manager Bruce Bochy, and he balked at suggestions that he improve his workout routine. He had been so spectacularly successful his entire life that he seemed paralyzed by failure. “Timmy, man, I know you’re struggling, bro,” Burrell said, leaning forward in his chair, locking eyes with the young pitcher. “I know this is hard for you. But we need you, Bud, we need you.” Huff mostly listened. Burrell was pointed but loving. “Look, Timmy, you’re our rock. If we don’t have you, we’re dead. We’re dead.” “As I’m watching Timmy,” Huff told me later, “his head starts coming up, the chin’s coming up, the chest is coming out a little bit more. You could see in his facial expression, in his eyes, that somebody had belief in him. He’s 0 and 5. He’s getting bad press. Everybody’s on him. And then something was triggered inside of him. You could see it. I’m sitting there in awe watching and listening to this. And no shit, the very next start against Colorado, on September first, he shoved it up Colorado’s ass.”

Over time, he began to feel an ease he hadn’t known since, well, maybe ever. He became more open to the everyday signals of trust and became more trusting, more accepting, and less self-centered in return. His life outside of baseball was a mess — he was still drinking and popping Adderall, and his marriage was still crumbling — but with his teammates he could be the person his teammates seemed to think he was. He began arriving at the park early and leaving late. He rediscovered his power at the plate and led the team in doubles, triples, and home runs. Most surprising, he found teammates gravitating to him for advice or a laugh, as if he were a leader. “They’d ask me about things,” he said, “and that had never happened to me in my life.”

wow thx for that gyac. those excerpts are great!! gotta admit i kinda warm to jeff kent after reading that as my personality skews that way somewhat (minus the athletic talent or irl success).

also your titling of another thread has had depeche mode stuck in my head for a week now. could be worse.

Jeff Kent actually comes off a lot better than that excerpt suggests, I was laughing so much at it when he’s like I DON’T DANCE OR CELEBRATE BIRTHDAYS

This followed right after:

I shared a comment from a player who said teammates lifted his performance in ways he couldn’t do for himself. “Can he quantify it?” Kent asked. “No,” I said. “Does that mean the effect isn’t real?” He said maybe for highly emotional players, it’s real. “And even if it’s real,” he said, “if you can’t quantify it. …” I interrupted. “OK, you say you love your wife. But you can’t measure it, right? So how do you know it’s real?” “Because I’ll take a bullet for her.” “And there’s the baseball equivalent of that, right?” The toothpick bobbed. “Sure. I’d take a bullet for a guy on the mound whether I like him or hate him,” he said. He smiled. “Yeah, I get your point.” If his willingness to take a bullet for his wife means his love is real, then his willingness to do the same for a teammate means that something deep and even profound existed between him and his teammates. Maybe even between him and Bonds. I could almost see the wheels turning in Kent’s head. He was thinking this through.

the show i can remember was back in the day on ch4 or 5 where they used to show a game on weds nights presented by i think tommy boyd? and a canadian called todd macklin. (there must of been a show prior to this i guess because i think my rooting for atlanta predated the show. i was definitely following them for a few post season disappointments, blowing a 2-0 lead to the yankees etc before they finally got the ring by beating cleveland).

tbh not sure i'd call myself a proper fan cos i find regular season games a really hard slog to sit through. but post season baseball incredible, but even then i could only really enjoy games if i recorded them and could skip adverts, pitching changes etc havent been to america for 25 years or so but last time i did i saw a couple of spring season games and a minor league game. they were okay but didn't find the in person experience anywhere near as compelling as the in person experience of watching football which is the only other sport i've seen live regularly. also when on holiday in the US i really enjoyed listening to games on the radio.

my peak fandom years were definitely the maddux/smoltz era. tho i also loved the theo epstein red sox years. my interest tailed off a bit post bonds(loved watching him play) and a bit more post ichiro.

Posting this image here in order to say hi to roxymuzak if she drops in.
Also importantly, what is going on here
https://64.media.tumblr.com/3be844cc831cfbc3fa7dccf736de4ac5/tumblr_n4dd45hsGW1rjr6zho1_500.gif

tbh not sure i'd call myself a proper fan cos i find regular season games a really hard slog to sit through. but post season baseball incredible, but even then i could only really enjoy games if i recorded them and could skip adverts

i think that is just timmy tim’s hot breath lighting up a chilly april afternoon tbf

Why isn’t Buster’s though

Reading about ex-Giant Robby Thompson and his glove, specifically this on his Wikipedia page:

Thompson was known for the well-used baseball glove with which he played for almost his entire career.[36] He was offended when the San Francisco Chronicle printed a story titled, "Thompson's Ugly, Pathetic Glove is a Gem."

In a 1990 Sports Illustrated article on mitts titled (as many in the genre are) "Glove Story," former player and manager Phil Garner went so far as to say, "Players become sexually attached to their glove," an assertion for which we offer no proof, or even comment.

Now, mind you, not all players are so fanatical about their gloves. The old Twins shortstop, Zoilo Versalles, used to throw his away after each error (eventually alienating his glove company so much he had to go to sporting-goods stores to replenish his supply).

Another superb defender, Omar Vizquel, had such uncharacteristic fielding problems early this season that his teammates took it upon themselves to "sacrifice" the offending glove, which Omar had borrowed from teammate Zach Sorensen. In a scene inspired by the movie "Major League," they constructed an altar containing the glove, a bottle of wine, a hanging roast chicken, a Buddha-like figure, 14 candles, incense, two rosaries and a baseball with "the curse is killed" written on it.

In the 19th century, however, the use of a glove was considered the province of weaklings.

"Padding hands like that to prevent injuries or not feel pain was an unmanly act,"

I have spoken with a number of English cricket fans who are still on that gloves-are-unmanly train. Not sure they realise how hard baseballs are thrown in the modern game. It's a trip checking out really old gloves though. A friend of my dad's has one from ca 1945 or so and it really is like an oversized leather glove that you might use for garden chores. No webbing.

The lore about how to break in a glove is extensive.. another rabbit hole for you some time. These days Rawlings et al will "pre break in" the gloves to an extent and there's a whole science/art to it. Check out this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i_x0neoseU

My English cricket fan went HUH?????? when I read this out to him, we’re going to need some more info on this pls

On what? I'm telling you, English people I know have scoffed at gloves in baseball, like it's a sissy affectation

Really?! My better half disputes that!

The term dick in the spread

oh no

used to have a real fascination with the incredibly battered and pine tar besmeared batting helmets that some hitters would wear year after year. i seem to recall biggio was one but then again I could be mistaken cos he was just generally raggedy and always put me in mind of pigpen from peanuts.

also was semi obsessed with andy pettite's eyes, or more specifically how they looked when he wore his cap pulled down low and was just about to throw. oh and his killer pick off move.

xp
definitely sure that the difference between how fielders threw the ball in cricket compared with baseball in the 1980s was much starker than what it is now. seems clear that cricket has really taken on board the lessons from baseball in the last 20 years.

I think of John Kruk when I think of filthy batting helmets

PROCTOR IN SHAMBLES, BURNS GLOVE

He said “everything I had” was a part of the bonfire, presumably meaning his glove, cap, spikes and who knows what else. The smell wafted up to the press box, and it reeked as bad as Proctor’s outing.

i looked it up, he pitched the next day, gave up 5 runs, walked three, took the loss.

ah wait hang on, wrong month! he pitched two days later, pitched one inning, struck out two. it worked!

scott proctor wasn't that good, but joe torre absolutely wrecked him -- 83 appearances/102 innings in 2006 + 52 appearances/54 innings in the yankees' first 105 games of 2007 before trading him for . . . wilson betemit!

and he walked his share of guys, so those innings were not low-effort

he pitched a couple more years after that, during which he had a 6.59 era

Besides the big controversial rule changes, the clubs & MLB seem to be producing more content like this now. with bat flipping and celebrating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IG3ATI_g24

Videos like these and the micd up videos are a nice way of showing the players’ personalities and giving them someone to pull for. I mean I know it sounds obvious but this is ironically a great traditional part of the game that’s previously been only spoken about and not shown much as far as I can tell?

https://i.postimg.cc/vZGVfydf/96-A2101-D-5-D94-4-CEB-857-B-CFC146838045.jpg

Obviously I have to tip my cap to the iconic scene from The Franchise ofc:

Amazing clip of Bruce Bochy telling Brandon Belt he made the team in 2012 🥲

"If you need a beer, grab a beer." pic.twitter.com/HuqL4tTlkN

— KNBR (@KNBR) January 11, 2023

Decided to have an AL league team too - the Mariners. I watched them the whole playoffs last year and with Téoscar they’ve got so many players I like now. Obvs would support the failing Giants in a hypothetical Giants-Mariners final, but lol, when is that ever going to happen.

M’s have been my runner up AL team for a long time. There’s never not been someone I really enjoyed watching on that team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiN9K7lMOd4

The phantom grand slam! I can’t get over the umpiring of this. Fucking spectacular.

dying at the little bitty fake swing after he went back to the box

very odd they made him go back though?? the only rule i'm aware of is that you have to touch the bases in order, that's all

Who knows? It must be a near once in a lifetime occurrence for an umpire. Might as well make it worth it.

Morse also hit that legendary hr to tie the score in 2014 NLCS game 5. It was followed pretty fast by the Ishikawa one, which was legendary too.

Morse had lost his home run swing three months earlier. But Bonds gave him a tip before Game 5, telling him to be sure to get his front foot down. Morse did, and the results were seismic.

This clip honestly lives in my mind rent free.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6bhpUoorms

Bochy getting the reliever tossed out on a technicality in a tight game because Mattingly stepped on the mound a second time - absolutely ruthless.

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy came out to protest to the plate umpire Adrian Johnson that Mattingly’s about-face constituted a second trip to the mound. The umpires huddled and agreed, and Broxton had to leave the game.

“It’s an easy mistake to make,” said Bochy, who snared the Dodgers and Grady Little, manager at the time, in the same trap in 2006 when he managed San Diego.

Amazing. And the Giants end up winning 7-5

Sergio Romo said for every kid who asked for his autograph in spring training, he asked for theirs. The result is this amazing cap full of kids’ autographs. He’s one of a kind. pic.twitter.com/pRXyPoEt8W

— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) March 28, 2023

That’s what’s up! I love him. I remember reading this from 2011:

Sergio Romo’s locker is in the corner right next to Wilson’s. If you didn’t already love Romo before, you should see the space above his locker (where his name and number are) where he put up several letters from fans (one from a kid that’s written in black and orange marker), along with a black and white poster someone drew of his heavily bearded face. I think it’s a pretty good bet that if you send Romo fan mail, he won’t just read it. He might display it, too.

That fastball down the middle wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment choice. The decision to throw it tracked back to Game 1 of the series. Romo, sitting on the top step of the Giants dugout, caught eyes with Cabrera as he chased a Marco Scutaro foul ball.

“I’m ready for your slider,” Cabrera said after he blew a kiss to Romo and walked away.

Giants reliever George Kontos whipped his head around. “Did he just tell you he’s ready for your slider?” he asked.

Romo couldn’t even process the smack talk.

“Woah, Miguel Cabrera knows who I am,” Romo said to Kontos.

https://i.postimg.cc/k4n6xbmC/42-B7-B55-E-3-AB2-43-A0-A236-7-B6-A70-DCFBA0.jpg

🥹

Jesus Christ

Sergio Romo is the best among us. If you've never read @BrownieAthletic's story on Romo and a girl named Ariel Gariano, take 10 minutes and do it now. You won't regret it.https://t.co/ag3sovw1rv https://t.co/8LoYSaNOwN

— Perryn Keys (@PerrynKeys) March 28, 2023

fucking hell

Mookieproof sent me this article with Wade Boggs, Ted Williams and Don Mattingly all discussing hitting. It was great.

"Have you ever smelled the smoke from the wood of your bat burning?" asked Williams in a voice not unlike that of John Wayne.

"Whaaat?" said Boggs.

"The smell of the smoke from the wood burning?"

"What are you talking about, Ted? I don't understand."

"Five or six times, hitting against a guy with good stuff, I swung hard and—oomph—just fouled it back. Really hit it hard. And I smelled the wood of the bat burning. It must have been that the seams hit the bat just right, and the friction caused it to burn, but it happened five or six times."

WILLIAMS: Have you ever smelled the smoke from the wood burning?

MATTINGLY: I've had it happen. Yeah. Twice, for sure. All of a sudden, I smelled a real big burn, and at the same time I was thinking, "I just missed that one." Two or three times. I've never told that to anyone, because I didn't think anyone would believe me. I think one of the bat burns came off Nunez, too.

BOGGS: That's the damndest thing I've ever heard. I thought I'd heard everything about hitting, but that's unbelievable. Amazing.

WILLIAMS: I think the hardest thrower I ever faced was Virgil Trucks. He threw as hard as Feller. DiMaggio said he was the hardest thrower he ever faced. I hit more home runs off him than any pitcher because he challenged me.

I had never heard any of these stories. Incredible work gyac.

The red seat at Fenway I didn’t know about until reading that article, and then funnily enough it came up in an old tweet of Adam Wainwright’s where he tours stadiums the Cards go to.

The seats are all green in right field except one that is red. This was the famous landing spot of Ted Williams' 502 foot HR in 1946 (longest in Fenway's history). It was so far that Gene Mack, cartoonist for the Boston Daily, wrote it would be talked about for a long time. Yep pic.twitter.com/XgpMJc4vWA

— Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) June 19, 2022

Jeremy Affeldt on the time Bruce Bochy accidentally roasted Xavier Nady right in front of him 😂 pic.twitter.com/7udroUlGgm

— KNBR (@KNBR) August 16, 2022