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

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

The Athletic had a longread this week about this rant, absolutely perfect, no notes, made Kevin Keegan look (even more) amateur.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiVVbYK9HXw

Watching Barves-Mets with my husband who got into baseball a few months after I did. Commentary on Spencer Strider: “blah blah he’s only six feet tall”

Himself: only six feet tall?!
Me, with all the authority of someone who has been into this game getting on for a year now: that is considered “short” for a starting pitcher, it’s not the same as real world height!

I also had this in my Twitter bookmarks, incredible “sorry” from Bochy

― limb tins & cum (gyac), Saturday, April 8, 2023 3:35 AM (three weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is hilarious. i went to high school with X, he was 2 years older. he was on my older brothers little league team, he was like 8 and my bro was 12 and x dominated. he was crazy good at hoops too. i tried to go to every sporting event he was playing in. one high school game he hit for the cycle plus a grand slam, i unfortunately missed that one.

gyac you might appreciate this

🍻 pic.twitter.com/ScHrfXWhvU

— Will Clark (@WillClark22) May 2, 2023

I will watch it tomorrow, however did you know this about Nady

Xavier Nady is the only non-pitcher to go directly to MLB since John Olerud in 1989.

i knew it at the time but didnt know that's held up. However, he didnt end up going straight to the pros, went to Cal and dominated there.

Injuries really derailed his career, sadly.

Yeah it’s a hard grind isn’t it. At least he was on that great World Series team. I love all the SF WS teams but the 2012 postseason was so dramatic and felt like a genuine team effort - in terms of all the individual moments - that they are perhaps the most talented as a cohort? Ofc the 2010 band of misfits will always be my favourites.

I looked up what he’s doing now btw and according to his Instagram, entering golf tournaments with Jacoby Ellsbury ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ at least he’s not hunting I guess

yeah he was a pretty normal bro all things considered.

He played for a shitload of teams.

yeah, was basically like always injured.

during his 75 games with the mets in 2006, xavier nady was such a 'fuckin badass' that some fans posted a song about him on their myspace

the song is no longer online, but here i -- among very few people in the world, presumably -- can offer you, in all its 96kpbs mp3 glory, The Ballad of Xavier Nady by Kuff & the Buttheads. it's pretty awesome; i wonder if he knows about it

(he was v. good with the pirates!)

Omggggggg

lmaaaaaao mookie thats amazing. the internet is a wonderful place.

That song is amazing! I can’t believe you held onto it all these years.

Clearing out some space on my phone and found this, real school disco hours.

https://i.postimg.cc/pV7Gs8zF/45892-A64-1-BCA-464-E-A316-D55-FA7-CC2450.jpg

Wow just saw this thread. Fantastic origin story.

Does gyac know about BZito's musical talent (sic)? His demos were scrubbed mostly from the internet but a couple songs still survived. This is one my wife and I often sing to each other apropos of nothing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUKln0aoB-A

I do but I didn’t know about his demos! Zito is a complete space cadet, I love weird guys like him. Thank you for this!

This is the greatest forgotten Zito recording btw

Didn’t Bochy call him “Planet Zito”?

Saw Prince Fielder’s home run celebration referenced & only just looked it up now, frankly amazing

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

Also anyone who hates home run celebrations should dry up tbh

lol the best. I watched his dad hit a number of towering homers in Knoxville, Tennessee when he was with the Blue Jays' AA team there.

I am obsessed with fielding this month. This catch!

Ji Hwan Bae with the circus catch 🎪

🎥 @Piratespic.twitter.com/7s5KxpAE6J

— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) May 28, 2023

Kutter Crawford. Athlete. 😳 pic.twitter.com/TuUxx3Nnv4

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 28, 2023

Casey Schmitt 94.1-mph dart 😲 pic.twitter.com/GNlaOKl4Po

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 17, 2023

can't believe this just happened 😮pic.twitter.com/AEL5fyu0D9

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 28, 2023

;_;

It's Oneil Cruz's first game of the season and he already recorded the hardest throw by an infielder this year at 96.7 MPH 🤯 pic.twitter.com/5XUlqHRjac

— MLB (@MLB) June 21, 2022

He’ll be back, dw king

gyac did you ever see the infamous "ass is in the jackpot" video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn28Dz4RUxc

Some of the most verité/straight out of peak-Cassavetes dialogue ever encountered.

I am late seeing this, but that’s incredible. Really liked seeing Ty Kelly in the corner of the screen as well.
I also laughed at this article exploring the history of the phrase.

I love when Collins starts going nuts and you hear Hallion mutter under his breath to the other umpire "take him, take him", meaning "take Syndegaard while I deal with the real problem."

I can’t remember if it was on this or some other thread I expressed my disappointment on learning that baseball players as a cohort are famously conservative, which is not great as a fan, you know?

Nevertheless, in dishonour of the Clayton Kershaws/Brandon Nimmos/John Rockers/AN Other Red Sox starter/Anthony Basses of the game, here is a non-exhaustive list of players who seem like non-shitheads. I haven’t added Sean Dolittle because no shit. Please add any others you are aware of!

David Ortiz: supports the gays

“I have gay friends and we have great relationships when it comes down to respecting each other,” he said. “It’s not something you choose to be. It’s not like, ‘I want to be a baseball player,’ or, ‘I want to be a basketball player.’ It’s something you’re born with and everybody needs to accept that. Hey, look, the way I see things, I love people the way they are. Especially if you are honest with yourself. You know what I’m saying?

“It’s the (expletive) 21st century man. Get over it.”

Kevin Kiermaier does too.

“It’s one of those things, my parents taught me to love everyone as they are, go live your life, whatever your preferences are, go be you,” Kiermaier said. “I can’t speak for everyone who’s in here, obviously, but this is a family-friendly environment here at a big-league ball field. … We just want everyone to feel welcomed and included and cheer us on. No matter what your views on anything are.”

June ❤️🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/ShVxVltgv0

— Julio Rodriguez🇩🇴🦁 (@JRODshow44) June 1, 2023

MARK CANHA SAYS HAPPY PRIDE MONTH pic.twitter.com/RMx6j56AHm

— Helen Elizabeth (@hesilf) June 1, 2023

Great to see Mobile native and baseball great @JakePeavy_22, a World Series and Cy Young Award winner, at this morning's parade in Selma. pic.twitter.com/cky351bwnW

— Doug Jones (@DougJones) December 2, 2017

Oh how did I forget future Cy Young Award winner and quadzilla Spencer Strider!

Going by his Twitter activity he:
- hates Elon Musk
- Is pro gun control
- supports women in baseball!

It’s deeply frustrating to see sexist and angry reactions to something that should be universally celebrated and supported. This is a fantastic development for the sport and our country. Rachel should be very proud of her appointment, and WE should be rooting for her success! https://t.co/L7yBicoLsl

— Spencer Strider (@SpencerSTRIDer) January 10, 2022

in preparation for your first baseball game, you may or may not wish to be apprised of 'keeping score'

Do you score the game?
jim caple on the art of scoring
interview with longtime red sox official scorer chaz scroggins
the unofficial scorer

every pro who keeps score now seems to swear by the eephus league halfliner but i have not tried it

in any case, i here offer a page (you will need two of them; one for each team) from the Wilson Sporting Goods Co Official Baseball Score Book No. E5317

hi def here

sample: https://i.imgur.com/k2xik8F.jpg

I want to like dontrelle as color guy but he’s such a dork

Aw i loved the one time I saw him commentate! The Marlins were getting crushed in some other game & he was like “I like to see so and so do well, but not against my fish!”

Also, in honour of it being Tim Lincecum’s birthday this week, from an article in a tab I’ve had open on my phone for at least six months:

Lincecum’s no-hitter - the first in Petco Park’s 10-year history - was popular well beyond the pro-Giants crowd in San Diego.

Lincecum is from Seattle and pitched for the University of Washington. During a pitching change during the Angels-Mariners game at Safeco Field, the ninth inning of the Giants-Padres game was shown on the video board, until there were two strikes on the last batter, Yonder Alonso.

Josh Hamilton then stepped into the batter’s box and the other game was taken off the board, drawing boos from the crowd. Hamilton had a long at-bat and word began trickling through the crowd that Lincecum had finished the no-no.

Before the next batter, the final out of Lincecum’s no-hitter was shown, and the crowd cheered.

Righetti recalled that early in Lincecum’s career, his stuff was so good that it wasn’t uncommon to think, “Uh oh, this is the day.”

“I don’t know that he’d say this publicly, I think he maybe felt his time was past,” Righetti said. “I knew he watched Jonathan get his, and then Cain, and you know he’s thinking about it.

“For him to get it, I had tears in my eyes. I know what he’s been through, back and forth, and being the guy, and people picking him apart. I’m proud of him. I told him that the last game - the way he’s been handling it all, and the way he’s gone through this wave that every guy’s got to go through.”

I will never love a player more than Timmy.

10 years ago today, Tim Lincecum threw 148 pitches en route to his first no-hitter against San Diego 🔥

No one has thrown more than 134 in a game since. pic.twitter.com/djOLuOUkmM

— KNBR (@KNBR) July 13, 2023

148 yeeeeeesh

Gee I wonder why he was never the same after that game...

He was never the same before that game! His worst regular Giants season was 2012!

Pavs wrote this about him on the day:

At the end of the historic night, as Yonder Alonso’s fly ball sailed toward Gregor Blanco’s glove in left field for the final out, Lincecum stood on the mound, pounding his glove with his fist. He was so locked in at the time that he was still thinking about the next set of pitches. Catcher Buster Posey jolted him out that mode, hitting him from behind with a massive bear hug. A huge smile broke out on Lincecum’s face.

“I felt it then,” he said. “I had been running on adrenaline the last couple of innings.”

Those last couple of innings put manager Bruce Bochy in an awkward position as Lincecum’s pitch count hit alarming numbers.

Lincecum had walked a batter in the first inning and hit one in the second while throwing 38 pitches. He settled into a groove, striking out six straight on just 21 pitches, but still was moving forward with a pitch count that looked as though it would force Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti to throw in the towel.

Lincecum had other ideas.

“He wouldn’t have talked to me the rest of the year if I took him out,” Bochy said, smiling. “There was no chance.”

Oh and yeah reading about his early Giants years and the amount of time Cain and Lincecum pitched deep into games to hold onto a slender lead - Righetti in the same interview actually highlighted the Giants developing a closer as a huge turning point for them - you can definitely lay some blame on the lack of bats and making the young pitchers more responsible for results than they should have been. Cain was destroyed by injuries later in his career too.

What I remember most at the time about Timmy local scouting reports when he got drafted was that he was an injury risk waiting to happen. He was of below average height and tried to compensate for the lack of arm torque with an absurd stride length. I forget what finally did him in, I'm guessing his hip/back?

Yeah his hip in theory, though Andrew Baggarly thinks his premature decline before this was due to losing flexibility with age and obviously having a delivery extremely dependent on being incredibly athletic. But he also wouldn’t have made it to the big leagues without that delivery. Baggarly wrote this in his magnificent piece about him:

Lincecum didn’t look like what a starting pitcher should look like and he didn’t throw the way a starting pitcher should throw. Scouts knew he didn’t fit the pattern. The Giants knew when they drafted him that his career probably wouldn’t last a decade. But they also knew the peak would be so, so high-impact. You just had to appreciate him while you had him, which is why the Giants didn’t hesitate to bring him to the big leagues when they did in 2007 — even though that decision cost them $10 million in arbitration down the road.

Non-exhaustive list of stadiums I want to visit based on the stadiums themselves:

Fenway
Wrigley
Oracle/whatever it’s called
PNC

Stadiums I would visit based on them being in places I would like to go to:

Yankee Stadium
Citi
T-Mobile/whatever it’s called now

Where my husband wants to visit based on places he wants to go:
-wherever the Marlins play
- Minute Maid
- Chase Field (“it has a pool and they play techno!”)

You can see my difficulty here.

Happy to host y'all in SF, I can usually pull pretty good seats unless the Dodgers are in town.

Fenway is the best. PNC is stunning.

San Diego's stadium I thought I'd hate but is really quite nice.

Wow! That’s so kind but honestly the expense of SF puts me off a bit. If we end up going to any of these places I’ll post about it here.

PNC looks great, heard Pittsburgh is nice to visit too. Really regret not visiting Wrigley last year (a whole three months before I got into baseball).

xp also Tracer Hand can confirm I am very annoying in person

i just went to wrigley for the first time a couple of weeks ago! my third (or fourth if you count "former") mlb park. game was 6:15, we got to our seats at 5:30 to get the pre-game "experience" of watching people roll in etc... and it got rain delayed until 9pm.

vibes were nerdier and more wholesome than expected (the concert the night before was drunk and vaguely aggressive, we were starting to get a weird vibe for the city for a sec! and 6 hours of potential drinking is never good!), wrigley is charmingly janky (i didn't have to sit in my seat, thankfully instead sitting a couple rows behind, because the roof was dumping all the rain water ON MY SEAT), 10/10 for vibes, 5/10 for comfort, 2/10 for ushers asking for our tickets in the 9th inning when we tried to get close to take a picture (we got to the 200s without a ticket anyway), 11/10 for the dj playing country roads at about 7:30 and all of the stadium singing along as we waited for what truly seemed like it was gonna be a rainout

also i was there with two of my fantasy leaguemates and me and one of them brokered a deal where i traded him dansby swanson before the game, felt kinda dirty trading a guy i was about to see play

100% incorrect it was a delight

unless I see someone wearing a Lincecum shirt in public!