Category / Baseball

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Moving On

Jose Abreu, who has been the mainstay at first base for the White Sox since 2014, has reportedly signed a three-year deal with the Astros.  Terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, but are expected to be around $20 million per year.  He winds up ranking third on the team’s all-time home run list with 243 in his nine seasons with the White Sox.

Abreu, 35, signed with the White Sox in October of 2013, just months after defecting from Cuba.  Along the way, he won Rookie of the Year honors in 2014 and the MVP award in the corona virus-shortened 2020 season.  While still productive, he posted the worst power numbers of his career in 2022 as the White Sox fell to .500.

For the Astros sake, you hope that was a blip and not an indication of decline as Abreu plays through his mid-30s.  The White Sox, meanwhile, turn first base over to some combination of Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets, both of whom have been forced to play out of position in the outfield over the past two years.  The White Sox will face the Astros on Opening Day 2023.

Abeu’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I’ve attended and overall, were:

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Team Stats: Strike Outs

There are just about four months until baseball returns to Chicago.  I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with strikeouts.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the Diamondbacks have a commanding lead with over nine strikeouts per game, the only team to average at least a strikeout per inning.  Both the Cubs and the White Sox are in the bottom (or top, depending on your point of view) third, surprising given the number of at bats given to strikeout machines like Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, and Adam Dunn.  The California iteration of the Angels have the low water mark with a mere four strikeouts per game.

Strike Outs

Team Name Strike Outs
Chicago White Sox 4764
Chicago Cubs 3153
Minnesota Twins 548
Kansas City Royals 510
Detroit Tigers 500
Cleveland Indians 485
Houston Astros 406
Pittsburgh Pirates 384
Milwaukee Brewers 352
Cincinnati Reds 346
Texas Rangers 321
Seattle Mariners 314
New York Yankees 276
Baltimore Orioles 276
St. Louis Cardinals Continue reading →
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2023 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

On Monday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2023, with the results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, and induction taking place July 23rd.  With David Ortiz as the sole electee last year, the new ballot contains fourteen holdovers along with another fourteen newcomers.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who may be thankful come January.

Bronson Arroyo

The long time Red and Red Sox hurler really has no chance at election.

Carlos Beltran

A first look at how the voters will treat the players associated to the Astros cheating scandal.

Matt Cain

I can’t imagine that Cain, who threw a perfect game in 2012, will get the necessary support.

R.A. Dickey

The long-time knuckleballer would be lucky to survive to a second ballot.

Jacoby Ellsbury

I mean, he had a nice career and all, with 1300 hits and 104 home runs, but no.

Andre Ethier

The long time Dodger will need to purchase a ticket if he wants to get in.

J.J. Hardy

Yeah, that’s going to be a no.

John Lackey

The three-time World Series Champion ended up having a pretty nice career, but nice career’s do not get you to Cooperstown.

Mike Napoli

No.

Jhonny Peralta

Another no.

Francisco Rodriguez

That’s going to be yet another no.

Houston Street

Man, this year’s crop of additions, while solid players, is lacking in star power.

Jered Weaver

See what I mean?

Jayson Werth

Well, at least we’re done.

 

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2023 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

Yesterday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2023.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place July 23rd.  David Ortiz was elected in last year’s voting and notable PED suspects Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa fell off the ballot after reaching their ten-year limit, the new ballot contains fourteen holdovers along with another fourteen newcomers.  For the first time in a decade, the logjam caused by a combination of BBWAA rules limiting the number of votes on one ballot to ten and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs has come to an end.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers tomorrow.

Bobby Abreu
Years on ballot: 3
2022 Percentage: 8.6

A miniscule decrease for Abreu last year means he is trending in the wrong direction.

Mark Buehrle
Years on ballot: 2
2022 Percentage: 5.8

A big drop left the former White Sox hurler on the precipice of getting dropped off the ballot.  With the logjam removed and spaces open on ballots that were full last year, we’ll see if he regains some support.

Todd Helton
Years on ballot: 4
2022 Percentage: 52.0

Helton seems to be moving on the right track, getting over 50% for the first time, but I don’t think this will be his year.  He should make it eventually though.

Torii Hunter
Years on ballot: 2
2022 Percentage: 5.3

Hunter had the lowest percentage of the vote while remaining on the ballot from last year’s election.  Things do not look good for the long time Twin and Angel.

Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 5
2022 Percentage: 41.4

If voters were to stick to his first 11 seasons, Jones looks like a shoe-in for the Hall.  His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  Despite another big increase in votes, those final seasons seem to be holding sway.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 9
2022 Percentage: 32.7

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Team Stats: Saves

It will be five months until baseball returns to Chicago, so I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended.  We continue today on the defensive side of the ball with saves.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are once again the leaders in this category, seeing as they are the teams I’ve seen most often.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the Blue Jays lead the way with a little more than one save every other game.  At the bottom end of the spectrum are the Anaheim incarnation of the Angels, the Miami version of the Marlins, and the Devil Rays, who did not, or have yet to, manage to earn a single save.

Saves

Team Name Saves
Chicago White Sox 145
Chicago Cubs 98
Kansas City Royals 19
Minnesota Twins 17
Detroit Tigers 17
Toronto Blue Jays 14
Cleveland Indians 14
Los Angeles Angels 13
New York Yankees 12
Pittsburgh Pirates 11
Cincinnati Reds 11
Houston Astros 11
Boston Red Sox 10
Philadelphia Phillies 9
Florida Marlins Continue reading →
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Pruning The Roster

Following a disappointing 2022 campaign on the south side of Chicago, the White Sox started their roster overhaul tonight by declining to tender a contract for 2023 to Adam Engel, Danny Mendick, and Mark Payton.  Engel, who turns 31 next month, struggled to produce this season after missing the majority of 2021 due to injury.  Mendick, 29, was putting together the best season of his career filling in for the injured Tim Anderson when he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his right knee after a collision with Adam Haseley against the Blue Jays in late June 22.  Payton, a 30-year-old journeyman out of St. Rita, notched three hits in eight games for the White Sox last season.

Engel should have little trouble catching on somewhere as a fourth or fifth outfielder.  Even when he has struggled offensively, his defense will play anywhere.  I can see the White Sox trying to bring Mendick back on a minor league deal to see how he recovers from his surgery.  Payton is organizational filler and will likely sign on somewhere with a minor league deal.

 

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Team Stats: Walks

With 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with walks.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are, once again, the teams I’ve seen the most.  When you adjust the numbers per game, however, the California iteration of the Angels lead the way with an exceedingly high 5.5 walks per game.  Only four teams averaged less than three walks per game, cut in half from the last time we looked at these numbers, with the Miami version of the Marlins continuing to bring up the rear with just 2.5 walks per game.

Walks

Team Name BB
Chicago White Sox 2031
Chicago Cubs 1413
Minnesota Twins 212
Cleveland Indians 186
Kansas City Royals 179
Detroit Tigers 178
Milwaukee Brewers 165
Houston Astros 164
Pittsburgh Pirates 158
Cincinnati Reds 151
Texas Rangers 127
New York Yankees Continue reading →
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2022 BBWAA Award Predictions

The Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed baseball season, which will be announced next week.  It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate.  Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.

American League

Most Valuable Player: Yordan Alvarez, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani

Had Shohei Ohtani not had the season he had last year, he would easily walk away with this award.  But, as they say, familiarity builds, if not contempt, at least complacency. So Aaron Judge, who broke the American League home run record, will take home the prize.

Cy Young Award: Dylan Cease, Alek Manoah, Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander returned from Tommy John surgery at age 39 and won 18 games while posting a 1.75 ERA.  Seems a little suspicious to my eyes, but he will easily take home this award.

Manager of the Year: Terry Francona, Brandon Hyde, Scott Servais

As usual, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  Scott Servais should have won this award last year, but I don’t think he will make up for it this year.  Brandon Hyde led the Orioles to a 31-game improvement over the previous year and their first winning season since 2016.  That should get him the award.

Rookie of the Year: Steven Kwan, Julio Rodriguez, Adley Rutschman

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  While all three had very successful seasons, my guess would be that Julio Rodriguez brings this award back to Seattle.

National League

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Team Stats: Hit By Pitch

We are days away from crowning the champion to the 2022 season and now just five months away from baseball returning to Chicago. I thought it would be a good time to revisit, for the first time in six years, the all-time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 1040 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the defensive side of the ball with batters hit by a pitch.

Again, based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most. When you adjust the numbers per game, the Guardians and the Devil Rays lead the way, followed, surprisingly, by the Tigers, who hit a little more than 1 batter every other game.  The Mets are at the bottom, hitting less than one batter every nine games, while the California version of the Angels and the Miami version of the Marlins have yet to hit a batter in a game I’ve seen.

Hit By Pitch

Team Name Hit By Pitch
Chicago White Sox 221
Chicago Cubs 147
Minnesota Twins 33
Detroit Tigers 31
Cleveland Indians 28
Kansas City Royals 26
Houston Astros 22
Texas Rangers 18
Seattle Mariners 17
Cincinnati Reds 16
Boston Red Sox 16
Baltimore Orioles 16
Pittsburgh Pirates 15
Los Angeles Angels 14
Milwaukee Brewers Continue reading →
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The Pedro Grifol Era Has Reportedly Started

The White Sox have reportedly selected Pedro Grifol to be their next manager.  Grifol has spent the last ten seasons on the Royals staff and has been the bench coach under Mike Matheny for the past three years.  Given the emphasis general manager Rick Hahn placed on searching for candidates from winning organizations, a hire from the Royals, who finished their sixth straight losing season in 2022, is a little out of left field, but Grifol, a former catcher, appears to have a sparking reputation, thought to be well-prepared with analytics and a strong clubhouse presence.

Along with Grifol, the team is expected to revamp their coaching staff, with only pitching coach Ethan Katz and bullpen coach Curt Hasler remaining from former manager Tony LaRussa’s staff.  Former Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo is expected to join the staff as bench coach.  There should be more details released about the coaching staff once the World Series is over and the White Sox are able to officially announce the hire.