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The last twenty comments in true blog fasion, with the links to their authors and the player commented upon.
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Hit nineteen homers in the second half.
Slashed .359/.416/.711 in the second half (128 AB).
Slashed .202/.228/.349 in the second half (109 AB).
It couldn't have been a more exciting ending. The hero won it off the villain after another villain blew it for the hero's team. Villains aren't named as such because of their team, but rather because of their personal abusive history.
Just looking at this, you would think the Yankees won last night.
Yesterday's Top Performers
Batters:
Jose Altuve* (HOU): 2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
Gio Urshela* (NYY): 3-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R
Yuli Gurriel* (HOU): 2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R
DJ LeMahieu* (NYY): 1-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
Didi Gregorius (NYY): 2-4, 1 R
Michael Brantley (HOU): 1-3
Pitchers:
J.A. Happ* (NYY): 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 K, 1 BB, 55 GmSc
Luis Cessa (NYY): 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 55 GmSc
Adam Ottavino (NYY): 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 54 GmSc
* - pictured above
The even more brash Bregman.
“We knew this morning when we woke up, we’re going to be watching football tomorrow.”
Careful, Carlos.
“Like they call themselves, they’re savages. But in this jungle called the American League, we’re the apex predator.”
Looked like a good pitch.
A win probability of 79 percent with a three-run lead in the first inning, against Verlander, seems high. A win probability of 63 percent with the score tied seems very high.
Yesterday's Biggest Play
Batter: Aaron Hicks (NYY)
Pitcher: Justin Verlander (HOU)
Situation: Bottom 1st, 1 out, 3-2 count, Runners On 2nd and 3rd
Score: NYY 1, HOU 1
Home Run (Line Drive to Deep RF Line)
3 runs scored on the play, and NYY's win probability increased 16% points, to 79%
NYY went on to win the game, 4-1
Actually, MiLB news:
In brief...
MLB has offered a proposal that, if adopted, would reduce Minor League Baseball from 160 teams—not counting the complex league teams that are wholly MLB-owned—to 120 beginning in 2021.
The proposal is described as a preliminary offering subject to alteration. But if the proposal, or some version of it, is adopted, it will lead to the most dramatic restructuring of the minor leagues in more than half a century. Under the proposal, not only would more than 25 percent of MiLB teams be eliminated, but the remaining leagues would also be dramatically reworked with some leagues getting much smaller, others getting bigger, and teams switching classification levels all around the country.
Here's Lu Blue.
He was actually born in 1897.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bluelu01.shtml
As we see, he ended up with a higher OBP than slugging average for his career. He must have driven pitchers batty, fouling their best pitches off. In four separate seasons, he got MVP consideration.
But I had never heard of him either (Juan Soto thread).
What a name.
in consideration for the Pirates manager job
The Draft Day speculation was that Padres could have taken him instead of Weathers ... I'm thinking they probably wish they had ...
See the Juan Soto thread about players who began with a .400 OBP over two seasons.
In today's game where walks are valued a lot more, do you think Boggs would have debuted so late (age 24?). He started in low A and hit 263/364/296. No power at all, but he walked 29 times and only struck out 15 times in 57 games as an 18 year old.
Age 19, went to high-A 332/423/382 65 BB and 22 Ks
Age 20, moved to AA 311/400/370, but stalled there
Age 21, also AA 325/420/377, slightly better, but I guess they felt they had to promote him
Age 22, AAA 306/396/364. Someone who does this would move up today. But, no.
Age 23, AAA 335/437/460.
There are 12 players with at least 1000 PA in their first two seasons and a .400 OBP. Jone Soto has the 7th highest OPS+ among them. He's the youngest of the bunch. Ted Williams was 20-21 in his first two years, Soto, a year younger respectively.
The group is very impressive:
Johnny Mize* 169
Teddy Ballgame* 161
Paul Waner* 151
Elmer Flick* 146
Wade Boggs* 142
Charlie Keller 142
Juan Soto 140
Earl Averill* 135
Roy Thomas 124
Ferris Fain 122
Fielder Jones 121
Lu Blue (who?) 115
No. 2 prospect in the Appy League.
Rival manager said, "He crushed the ball. You try to teach young kids to go the other way and go gap-to-gap, and he does that as well as any young hitter."
Stats coming soon.
Baseball America's No. 1 prospect in the Sally League.
"He can line doubles to left field, but he also has the ability to yank homers over the right-field fence. He seemed one step ahead of hitters throughout his time with West Virginia."
Part of the haul the M's got from the Mets for Diaz and Cano.
Stats coming soon.
Baseball America's No. 2 prospect in the Midwest League.
"Outside of dealing with some late-season back spasm, he had a nearly perfect first full pro season."
Stats coming soon.
I'm of the persuasion that that was, by definition, the Yankees' best effort ... just not their best result.
Click on the name of a player (or thread) to go directly to that page and see the comment in context with the other comments.
Hit 32 homers in the second half.