With Buster Posey out for the season with hip surgery, all baseball fans alike question Posey’s Hall of Fame case. The lifelong Giant has a curious career; Posey has a slew of awards with underwhelming stats. Over his ten years of service, he has 1,276 hits, 246 doubles, 635 RBIs, an impressive .306 batting average, and 133 home runs in 1,144 career games. Additionally, Posey’s home run numbers has been steadily declining since 2014, basing at only five in 2018. However, Posey has four Silver Sluggers, with the most recent coming in 2017. The three time World Series champ also won the Rookie of the Year in 2010 and the MVP and Comeback Player of the Year in 2012, to go along with six All Star appearances and a Gold Glove. Award wise, Posey is in very good shape at this point of his career. Posey is still far, but he stills needs to compile more awards and milestones if he wants to be enshrined among the immortals in Cooperstown.
Category: Players
Contains content concerning past and present Major League Baseball players.
National League Cy Young Tensions
As of August 25, with five weeks left of the regular season, the National League Cy Young of 2018 is certainly gaining traction. The National League possible front runners are the Mets’ Jacob deGrom, Phillies’ Aaron Nola, and the reigning winner, Max Scherzer. So far, Scherzer is 16-6 with a 2.13 ERA and a league leading 244 strikeouts in 181.2 innings. Nola is 15-3 with 169 strikeouts, all while matching Scherzer’s ERA. deGrom is currently has 214 strikeouts and is leading the NL with an immaculate 1.77 ERA. However, deGrom only has a .500 record (8-8). His lack of wins looks bad to the eye, but his minimal ERA contradicts the stat. In an age where Sabermetrics matter and people want to “kill the win,” deGrom has a better chance of winning this year than past decades. Scherzer is a better candidate than Nola because Scherzer has more innings under his belt, more strikeouts, and more wins while sustaining an identical ERA. So, the National Cy Young is up for grabs between Scherzer and deGrom.
Breaking News! Huge Trades After ASG
After the All Star Game, just before regular season games restart, two huge trades took place. Manny Machado was just traded to the Dodgers in his walk year. The multi-position All Star brings Gold Glove defense and a power bat to Los Angeles. The Dodgers are without their main shortstop Corey Seager for the season after he needed Tommy John Surgery.
The Cleveland Indians got a huge boost to their bullpen from the Padres on July 19. Dominant southpaw Brad Hand was traded in turn for a package of prospects. Hand carries in 24 saves with the Padres through 44.1 innings of work.
MLB TTM Status 2018
This year, I have adapted a new way of autograph collecting; through the mail autograph requests. Basically, I send out a letter, a card to be signed, and a self addressed stamped envelope to both former and current baseball players. As of July 17, I have sent out 32 letters. Out of the 32, I have gotten 11 back. I have gotten back Rob Manfred, Pat Neshek, Ken Singleton, Danny Duffy, Raisel Iglesias, Brad Ziegler, Chris Iannetta, Ryan Goins, Adeiny Hechavarria, Juan Gonzalez, and Ryne Sandberg. Of the 21 I still have out there, Mark Teixeira, Clayton Kershaw, Todd Frazier, and Greg Bird highlight the pending requests.
BP Report with Jacoby Nolnaho: 4/6/18
On April 6, 2018, I went to my first baseball game of 2018. As usual, it was the Yankees hosting the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have now introduced a three hour batting practice block. In other words, on select Friday home games, the gates will open three hours before game time instead of the traditional two. This is great for ballhawks like me, giving us an extra hour of opportunities to catch balls. Using the Clear Lane, I was able to get into the stadium a tad before anybody else. Only the right and left field seats were open, but I was still in luck.
Within ten minutes of getting in, a worn baseball was sitting approximately twenty feet from the wall. Yankees reliever Adam Warren was making his way to the dugout when I exclaimed, “Hey Adam, over here!” Warren turned and threw a liner right to me. I did not realize I caught the ball until I turned around and saw it in my glove. I quickly turned around and thanked Warren along with giving him a thumbs up. Later during BP, I ran into Zack Hample (once again). I did not want to bother him because he was swarmed with ten year olds, so I simply said hello and moved on.
The game was long and very slow. The game went 14 innings with the Yankees leaving lots of men on base. I was originally sitting in the Budweiser Party Deck, but as the game moved on, I transitioned to the Toyota Terrace. I was over the Yankee bullpen when Orioles hitter Pedro Alvarez launched a game winning grand slam into the right field stands. The Yankees ended up losing to a final score of 7-4. I was happy the game ended since I was there right when the gates opened up until the final out. I was actually at Yankee Stadium well over ten hours.
Overall, I had a lot of fun and hope this game is just a beginning for good things to come in the 2018 Major League Baseball season.
Tom Seaver
Standing at a powerful 6’1’’ and 206 pounds, Tom Seaver was a devastating sight for any hitter to see. Besides the intimidating mound presence, Seaver’s slider, curveball, dirty rising fastball, and later a changeup proved that he was in control of the at bat. In his 20 year career spanning from 1967 to 1986, Seaver was able to win 311 games, strike out 3,640 batters (sixth most all time), post a 2.86 ERA, and throw an absurd 231 complete games with 61 of them being shutouts. He also threw 4,782.2 innings, good for nineteenth most all time. 23 years after being born in Fresno, California, Seaver received the National League Rookie of the Year with the Mets by winning 16 games, posting a 2.76 ERA, and striking out 170 batters in 251 innings of work.
1969 was a great year for the Mets. They won their first World Series in franchise history and Tom Seaver took home the Cy Young award. For the first of three times, Seaver led the National League in wins to go along with a 2.21 ERA in 273.1 innings. He would the Cy Young award again in 1973 by pitching 290 innings and leading the league in strikeouts with 251, ERA with 2.08, WHIP with 0.98, and tied for the lead with 18 complete games. Two years later, he would win a league leading 22 games and strike out 243 batters, leading him to claim the Cy Young.
Though the Mets pitching staff was centered around him, Seaver was traded midseason to the Cincinnati Reds for a bunch of hopeful stars. Needless to say, the Reds got the better package making this deal one of the most lopsided trades in the history of baseball. Seaver never won the Cy Young again, but he was able to put up five double digit win seasons.
For the last five years, Seaver bounced around with the Mets and White Sox before calling it quits with the Red Sox in 1986. The Fresno native was able to put up record numbers and collect 12 All Star during his Major League tenure. Seaver went into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1992 wearing a Mets cap. The Mets retired Seaver’s jersey number 41 on June 24, 1988. Whether you remember him as a Met or Red, Tom Seaver is among legends with his Hall of Fame statistics.
References
Baseball Reference
ESPN
MLB.com
Mets.com
Hall of Fame Ballot 2018
As you know, I am not in the BBWAA, so I cannot vote for the Hall of Fame or awards such as Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP. Instead, I share my thoughts and opinions with you through The Bleacher Creature. This year, Jim Thome, Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, and Trevor Jones got inducted. If I could vote, my ballot would look like this:
- Chipper Jones
- Jim Thome
- Vladimir Guerrero
- Trevor Hoffman
- Mike Mussina
- Edgar Martinez
- Billy Wagner
- Fred McGriff
- Omar Vizquel
- Curt Schillling
Chipper Jones, one of the greatest switch hitters of all time, is a no-brainer with his 468 home runs and MVP. Jim Thome also fits in this class because of his 612 home runs and record 13 walk off home runs. The oddballs are Mike Mussina and Billy Wagner. Billy Wagner was one of the most dominant relievers in Major League history by striking out 1,196 batters in 903 innings. He also collected a solid 422 saves and 2.31 ERA. Mike Mussina won 270 games, struck out 2,813 batters, and posted a 3.68 ERA over an 18 year career that saw him pitch 3,562.2 innings.
Steal Facts: Aaron Judge
Aaron judge
- Aaron Judge was born April 26, 1992 in Linden California. He was adopted the day he was born by his foster parents, the Judges. Despite being officially being told at age ten, Judge knew he was adopted due to his already strong and soon to be six foot seven, 282 pound frame. Now, Judge is a MVP candidate for the New York Yankees.
- Aaron Judge won not only the 2017 MLB Home Run Derby, but he also won the 2012 College Home Run Derby.
- After hitting a home run in his first Major League at-bat, Judge fell off the table in 2016, batting .179 with 42 strikeouts in 84 at bats. Using these statistics as motivation, Judge plugged them into his phone and told him that he could slump any time in his career.
- In 2017, Aaron Judge was the unanimous American League Rookie of the Year. He set all time rookie records with 52 home runs and 127 walks. He also won the Silver Slugger for American League right fielders and was nominated for a Gold Glove.
- Judge finished in second place in MVP voting just behind the Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve.
- Judge also drove in 114 RBIs and scored 128 runs in his 155 game season. His overall WAR (Wins Above Replacement) was a solid 8.1.
Stats and Info
Big Weekend Around Baseball
The holidays came early for us baseball fans this weekend. Two way Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels, significantly strengthening their pitching and offense. Ohtani’s new teammate, Mike Trout, is getting married to fiancé Jessica Cox. Also, the New York Yankees have been reported as the winners of the Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes, making the Yankees lineup look a lot like the 1927 Murders Row.
Roy Halladay Dies in Plane Crash
Today, November 11, 2017, former Major League pitcher Roy Halladay was killed in a plane crash at age 40. The former Blue Jays and Phillies pitcher went 203-105 in his 16 year career. Pitching a perfect game and a no hitter in the season, Halladay was a solid pitcher. His durability was known throughout baseball as he led the league in innings pitched four different times. Part of a select few with a Cy Young title in both leagues, Halladay was a franchise pitcher for both of his team. He last played in MLB in 2013. Halladay also is known to gamers as the coverboy of the iconic MLB 2K11. He was an avid flyer and would practice flying his plane in his free time. It was only him in the plane when it crashed, similar to Thurman Munson’s tragic death. Roy Halladay will forever be in our thoughts.