Billy Hamilton had his first start yesterday- every previous appearance had been as a replacement- and, boy, he had one for the ages. He went 3-4 and had an RBI, 2 walks and 4 stolen bases in the Reds’ 13-inning win over the Astros. The four stolen bases is the most in a players’ first start during the live-ball era (1920-present)
Standings, as usual, under the jump:
Todd Helton, as you no doubt heard, is retiring at the end of this year. I decided to look up what the Diamond Mines Scouting Reports database had to say about what he looked like as a young prospect.
The first in the database, from Expos scout Ed Creech in 1992, looked at him as a senior in High School. Creech didn’t seem too impressed, as projected him as having below average hitting ability.
Another Expos scout, Pat Sullivan, was more optimistic, seeing him as having an average future at the plate but noting he was still “crude” and had a ways to go with the bat.
There are a bunch of ones from later in the decade. One of the more interesting ones include a 1995 one by Russ Bove of the Brewers, which projected Helton as being a .265 hitter in the big leagues. Note that Helton has only four times in his 17-year career been under .265 hitter, and three of those times have been in the past four years and the other one was during a year where he had injury problems. Another one, by George Bradley of the White Sox, is interesting if only for the fact it compares Todd Helton’s physical form to an old man and not a big-name school’s quarterback (Helton infamously was replaced by Peyton Manning at the University of Tennessee). Of the reports, perhaps the one that came closest to seeing Helton’s potential was Ed Pebley, also of the White Sox, who saw him as being a .280-.300 hitter.
In other words, none of the scouts really saw Helton’s career- one that may land him in the Hall of Fame- coming. At least, they didn’t see it as being a possible Hall-of-Fame one.
Chase Utley was 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBIs yesterday, so I’m naming him yesterday’s MVP.
Standings after the jump:
Max Patkin was a famous “baseball clown” during the second half of the 20th century, even making an appearance in Bull Durham. But before he became the Clown Prince of Baseball, he had a brief minor league career that was interrupted by WWII:
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | W | L | G | CG | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HBP | WP | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | 21 | Wisconsin Rapids | WISL | D | CHW | 10 | 8 | .556 | 3.94 | 27 | 13 | 178.0 | 170 | 94 | 78 | 95 | 134 | 9 | 13 | 1.489 | 8.6 | 4.8 | 6.8 | 1.41 |
| 1942 | 22 | 2 Teams | 1 Lg | D | CHW | 3 | 4 | .429 | 3.74 | 13 | 65.0 | 59 | 32 | 27 | 39 | 1.508 | 8.2 | 5.4 | ||||||
| 1942 | 22 | Green Bay, Wisconsin Rapids | WISL | D | CHW | 3 | 4 | .429 | 3.74 | 13 | 65.0 | 59 | 32 | 27 | 39 | 1.508 | 8.2 | 5.4 | ||||||
| 1946 | 26 | Wilkes-Barre | EL | A | CLE | 1 | 1 | .500 | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 Seasons | 14 | 13 | .519 | 3.89 | 45 | 13 | 243.0 | 229 | 126 | 105 | 134 | 134 | 9 | 13 | 1.494 | 8.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.00 | |||||
| D (2 seasons) | D | 13 | 12 | .520 | 3.89 | 40 | 13 | 243.0 | 229 | 126 | 105 | 134 | 134 | 9 | 13 | 1.494 | 8.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.00 | ||||
| A (1 season) | A | 1 | 1 | .500 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
John Philip Sousa, the man who wrote such patriotic standards as The Stars and Stripes Forever, also wrote a march for baseball, entitled The National Game. I’ve heard it performed at Orchestra Nights at the ballpark (yeah, Rochester has orchestra night every year), but I just found it on YouTube, so, well, here it is.
Feel free to imagine 19th century baseballers taking the field to this, dressed in uniforms for the Providence Grays or the Boston Beaneats, perhaps while also getting into drunken saloon brawls and going into second base with sharpened spikes. It’s what Old Hoss Radbourn (or at least @OldHossRadbourn) would do.
Andrew Cashner picked the wrong night to almost throw a no-hitter, because last night’s MVP was Cliff Lee. Why? Well, for one thing, he had 14 strikeouts. For another, he had 4 RBIs and a triple. His WAR yesterday as a pitcher on Fangraphs was 0.7, and hit hitting WAR was 0.2! That means his total WAR yesterday was 0.9, meaning he was worth almost a entire win more than what the average replacement player would have been.
Anyway, standings after the jump:
Found this online. I must one day buy it and then have it framed and placed upon my desk:
Yes, that’s a baseball card of Cal Ripken wearing an Iron Man suit.
Your mind… is now blown.
Paul Goldschmidt had 4 hits, a HR, and 5 RBIs yesterday… which is a good way to become the MVP of Yesterday.
Standings after jump:
Wladimir Balentien broke the NPB single-season HR mark early this morning, hitting his 56th home run of the year, breaking a record held by the great Sadaharu Oh since 1964. Check out this video, it’s awesome:
And, later in the game, he hit number 57.
However, the MVP of Yesterday is technically meant just for MLB, and thankfully, there is a very good candidate: Brandon Belt, who went 5-6 with a HR and 6 RBI in the Giants’ runaway 19-3 victory over the Dodgers. He JUST edges out Hunter Pence, who had 7 RBI, but only 3 hits.
Standings, as usual, under the jump:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia has a long name and he hit a big home run yesterday- a grand slam, to be exact, one of his two hits. So, I’m naming him the MVP of Yesterday.
Standings, as usual, under the jump:
The Baseball Continuum 