Although he only pitched six innings and did give up a earned run, Madison Bumgarner also struck out six, gave up just two hits, and had a hit of his own. He’s the MVP of Yesterday.
Standings, always, after the jump:
Well, that was awhile. My computer crashed while I was on vacation, leaving me unable to do all of the MVPs of Yesterday from the 13th to the 23rd. Needless to say, to go back day-by-day would be a time-consuming folly, but thankfully, Sully over at MLB reports does something somewhat similar to “MVP of Yesterday”, called “Who Owned Baseball”. He’s given me permission to use his picks* as research to help to me retroactively give MVPs of Yesterday, for which I am very grateful. So, pay him a solid if you are reading this and go check out MLB Reports. They’ve got some good stuff over there.
So, without further adieu, here are the MVPs from when I was gone:
8-13: Mitch Moreland
8-14: Matt Kemp (the first cycle in Padres history)
8-15: Jackie Bradley Jr.
8-16: Madison Bumgarner
8-17: Brian McCann
8-18: Curtis Granderson
8-19: Jesse Chavez
8-20: Chris Archer
8-21: Mike Fiers (No-Hitter… so duh)
8-22: Paul Goldschmidt
8-23: Clayton Kershaw (seriously, what were they thinking pulling him?)
Standings, as always, after the jump, and thanks again to Sully!
*(He picks multiple WOB winners, including half-winners for people who were good in losing efforts, while I just pick one every day and it’s full credit even if they were in a losing effort)
Your webmaster is on vacation, and as a result some of his posting might be erratic. Thankfully, he has set up some stuff go up in his absence. This is one of them.
Ever wonder what the scientific names for your favorite animal-named baseball teams would be?
No?
Well, too bad, because here we go:
The Toronto Cyanocitta cristata
The Baltimore Icterus galbula
The St. Louis Cardinalis cardinalis
The Tampa Bay Rhinoptera bonasus
The Detroit Panthera tigris
The Miami Makaira nigricans
The Arizona Crotalus atrox
…But, wait, we can go deeper! Let’s go into the Minor Leagues and sample some of the animal teams there!
The Toledo Fulica americana (It turns out a “Mud Hen” is actually a duck-like bird called the American Coot, which is a type of Rail)
The Buffalo Bison bison
The Durham Bos taurus
The Memphis Cardinalis cardinalis (yes, the name Redbird is literally a synonym for Cardinal)
The Fresno Ursus arctos
The El Paso Canis lupus familiaris (a Chihuahua, in the end, is just a dog)
The Salt Lake Apis mellifera
The Richmond Glaucomys volans
The Carolina Ameiurus natalis
The Myrtle Beach Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
The Brevard County Trichechus manatus
The Clearwater Alopias vulpinus
The Charlotte (Florida) Menippe mercenaria
The Jupiter Sphyrna mokarran
The Beloit Chelydra serpentina
The Wisconsin Crotalus horridus
The West Virginia Ursus americanus
The Missoula Pandion haliaetus
The Idaho Falls Alectoris chukar
The Ogden Utahraptor ostrommaysorum (Yeah, they have a dinosaur.)
AND NOW YOU KNOW!
Will Carlos Gonzalez be the next Rockies player traded? I don’t know. But he certainly did well last night, hitting two home runs and four RBIs.
Standings, as always, after the jump:
Well, that was fun.
To be sure, there have been many better All-Star Games. But there have also been many worse All-Star Games as well. And, what’s more, the festivities themselves were above average- the Home Run Derby, for example, has been reborn thanks to the brackets and time limits. It certainly isn’t perfect, but for the first time in quite awhile, I felt like I was watching the Home Run Derby beyond the first round because I was enjoying it, not simply because it was on.
And then there is Mike Trout. He batted four times last night, and in some ways the game became his showcase. He homered, he walked, he beat out a throw to first to avoid a double play. He rightfully was named MVP, his second in a row (the first player to do that), and he’s only 24. It is not out of the realm of possibility that, one day, the quote “The All-Star Game was made for Willie Mays” will instead be “The All-Star Game was made for Mike Trout.”
Not surprisingly, Trout is the MVP of Yesterday, just as he was the MVP of the game. Standings, as always, after the jump:
Last year, to great controversy, Major League Baseball didn’t do a thing to honor the memory of the great Tony Gwynn at the All-Star Game, leading many (including myself) to suggest that maybe MLB should take the opportunity every All-Star Game to pay tribute to the past and those we’ve lost by having a “In Memoriam” segment at the All-Star Game. One guy (Sully) even made a video on his own, and it was pretty good.
Well, we haven’t heard anything about a possible official “In Memoriam” video happening in a few weeks in Cincinnati, so I can only assume it won’t be happening, or it’s being kept a closely-guarded surprise. But, I (somewhat morbidly) wondered: who’d be in this year’s “In Memoriam” video anyway?
Here’s a list (and a semi-random order) I came up with, a * means that they’d get an extra emphasis, such as a highlight or interview clip about them:
Alvin Dark, 1948 Rookie of the Year, 3-time All-Star, lengthy managing career *
Frank Torre, member of 1957 World Champion Milwaukee Braves
Lennie Merullo, 7 seasons of MLB experience, last surviving man to have played in the World Series for the Chicago Cubs
Gordie Gillespie, all-time leader in coaching wins in college baseball (longtime NAIA coach)
Noella Leduc, winning pitcher of the last AAGPBL All-Star Game
Jim Fanning, longtime member of Expos front office, manager of Montreal’s 1981 playoff team
Riccardo Ingram, Twins minor-league roving instructor
Rocky Bridges, 1958 All-Star
Sy Berger, longtime Topps baseball card designer
Ray Sadecki, pitcher in 1960s and 1970s
Lon Simmons, Ford Frick Award-winning broadcaster for Giants and A’s*
Fred Gladding, 1969 NL saves leader
Jean-Pierre Roy, commentator for Montreal Expos from 1968 to 1984
Victor Sanchez, 20-year-old Mariners prospect
John Keenan, longtime Dodgers scout
Jose Capellan, pitcher during the 2000s
Bill Valentine, longtime umpire
Bill Slayback, 1970s Tigers pitcher, singer of “Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry)”
Wendell Kim, longtime coach
Minnie Minoso, 9-time All-Star, 3-time gold glover *
Carl Long, Negro Leaguer who later helped integrate the Carolina League
Dave Bergman, 17 years MLB experience, 1984 World Champion
Dick Bresciani, longtime Red Sox PR Man
Jerry Lumpe, 1964 All-Star
Ulpiano Cos Villa, Spanish-Language broadcaster for Angels and CBS in 1980s
Jeff Robinson, pitcher in late 80s and early 90s
Oscar Taveras, young Cardinals star *
George Spencer, top reliever for 1951 Giants
Bernardo Fernandez, longtime Negro Leaguer
Jerry Gross, early Padres broadcaster
Alison Gordon, first female member of the BBWAA
Hank Peters, longtime executive, GM of Orioles from 1976 to 1987
Brad Halsey, MLB pitcher 2004-2006
Ollie Brown, outfielder in 1960s and 70s
John Winkin, College Coach
Stuart Scott, ESPN legend, creator of the “Boo-Yah!” HR call
Alex Johnson, 1970 All-Star and AL Batting Champion
Jerry Dior, creator of the MLB Logo
Don Bryant, catcher of Don Wilson’s second no-hitter, Bullpen coach of the 1975 AL Champion Red Sox
Nelson Doubleday Jr., former owner of the Mets
Al Rosen, 4-time Star, 1953 MVP, 2-time AL HR champion, longtime executive *
Andres Mora, member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame, 3rd all-time in minor league HRs
Jose Martinez, former player and longtime coach and executive
Bill Monbouquette, 3 (or 4, depending on how you count the multiple ASG years)-time All-Star and thrower of a No-Hitter in 1962
James Stillwell, an original owner of the Seattle Mariners
George Shuba, member of the 1955 World Series Champion Dodgers, minor-league friend of Jackie Robinson
Joe Simenic, co-founder of SABR
Russ Kemmerer, MLB pitcher in 50s and early 60s
Nick Peters, sportswriter and winner of 2009 J.G. Taylor Gordon Spink Award from HOF
Stu Miller, 1961 All-Star, 1958 NL ERA champion, member of Orioles Hall of Fame
Darryl Hamilton, 13-years MLB experience, MLB Network analyst
Ernie Banks, Hall of Famer *
Tomorrow is the last day to vote for the “Franchise Four”, where you can vote on Mt. Rushmores of each franchise.
I, needless to say, have opinions on ALL of them (no write-ins allowed for the purposes of this article), and you’ll see them below, with one exception: I’m saving my picks for the Greatest Living Ballplayers for my next piece at “Hall of Very Good.”
So, this is a long post, so go below the jump for more:
It’s says something about how old baseball is that we can hold centennials for home runs. As in, individual home runs. Such as the case of today, where we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first of Babe Ruth‘s 714 home runs, which he hit May 6, 1915 at the Polo Grounds against the Yankees. He also made his first error that day, but that presumably won’t be commemorated. It wasn’t much noticed at the time- a cursory look at SABR’s online Sporting News doesn’t bring up anything (although certainly that doesn’t mean it isn’t there).
Perhaps that was because Ruth was, of course, a pitcher at the time. And on that day, he went all 12.1 innings of the game before finally he gave up the game-winning run in the 4-3 loss in 13 innings. He went 3-5 at the plate that day, though, moving his batting average to .417 on the season- he would end up hitting .315 on the year in 92 ABs.
It was, needless to say, a different time:
The MVPs of the weekend were, in order: Marcell Ozuna, Miguel Gonzalez and Tim Lincecum!
Standings, as always, after the jump:
Friday’s MVP was Felix Hernandez, who had a complete game shutout against the Twins giving up five hits and striking out nine.
Saturday’s MVP was Rubby De La Rosa, who struck out 8 and gave up just 4 hits in 7 innings of work for Arizona. He ended up with a no-decision.
Sunday’s MVP was Alex Gordon. While he had an alright day at the plate, going 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs, the main reason he is MVP is this:
I mean, are you going to argue with that?
Thought not. Standings after the jump:
The Baseball Continuum 