MLB Topics

[Mr. Ypsi]

Another oddity in Detroit today - the Tigers won in the bottom of the tenth on a wild pitch by the Seattle pitcher!  I'm not sure how rare that is, but a fan friend and I couldn't recall the last time the Tigers were ever involved in a 'walk off' wild pitch.

Reliever Kyle Ryan, recently recalled from Toledo, went from probable goat to hero - his throwing error on an attempted pick-off in the top of the tenth sent the runner all the way to third with no outs, but he emerged unscathed when the runner was thrown out at the plate and instead got the win.

I've gotta feel sorry for Seattle, who now have FOUR starting pitchers on the DL - their scheduled starter today (already a fill in for an injured pitcher) did not even get to the first pitch, suffering elbow pain during warm-up.  Kudos to their bullpen who pitched the entire game and got them to extra innings.

[Purple Heys]

Another oddity in Detroit today - the Tigers won in the bottom of the tenth on a wild pitch by the Seattle pitcher!  I'm not sure how rare that is, but a fan friend and I couldn't recall the last time the Tigers were ever involved in a 'walk off' wild pitch.

Reliever Kyle Ryan, recently recalled from Toledo, went from probable goat to hero - his throwing error on an attempted pick-off in the top of the tenth sent the runner all the way to third with no outs, but he emerged unscathed when the runner was thrown out at the plate and instead got the win.

I've gotta feel sorry for Seattle, who now have FOUR starting pitchers on the DL - their scheduled starter today (already a fill in for an injured pitcher) did not even get to the first pitch, suffering elbow pain during warm-up.  Kudos to their bullpen who pitched the entire game and got them to extra innings.

I don't feel sorry for the Pilots...errr...Mariners.  Go Angels!   

[Mr. Ypsi]

Another oddity in Detroit today - the Tigers won in the bottom of the tenth on a wild pitch by the Seattle pitcher!  I'm not sure how rare that is, but a fan friend and I couldn't recall the last time the Tigers were ever involved in a 'walk off' wild pitch.

Reliever Kyle Ryan, recently recalled from Toledo, went from probable goat to hero - his throwing error on an attempted pick-off in the top of the tenth sent the runner all the way to third with no outs, but he emerged unscathed when the runner was thrown out at the plate and instead got the win.

I've gotta feel sorry for Seattle, who now have FOUR starting pitchers on the DL - their scheduled starter today (already a fill in for an injured pitcher) did not even get to the first pitch, suffering elbow pain during warm-up.  Kudos to their bullpen who pitched the entire game and got them to extra innings.

I don't feel sorry for the Pilots...errr...Mariners.  Go Angels!   

I've got nothing against the Angels, but that's harsh!  Geez, FOUR starters out, including King Felix.   But if someone doesn't slow down Texas soon, you're ALL history anyway.

[Mr. Ypsi]

NEWS OF THE WEIRD:

After the fact, the umps changed the score of the Indians win over the Tigers last night from 7-4 to 7-5.  Bottom of the ninth, one out, Kinsler on second, Maybin on first, Cabrera hits a fly to deep right field.  Rajai Davis (a former Tiger and a favorite of mine) just manages to run it down, but initially bobbles it.  Kinsler and Maybin, thinking he dropped it, take off without tagging up.  Davis manages to catch it a second time before it hits the ground.  He now has a choice of runners to double up and end the game; the ball goes to first.  End of game?  Not so fast - the umps belatedly ruled that Kinsler scored before the final out.  EXCEPT that he had never tagged up!

I have no clue on the correct call.  My heart says Miggy went from his third double play of the game to a SF and RBI, so 'good call!'; my head says the umps screwed up.  Since they had already won the game, the Indians made no protest (and never bothered throwing to second for the 28th out! ).  Anyone want to chime in on whether the umps corrected a scoring error, or made one?

[Jim Dixon]

NEWS OF THE WEIRD:

After the fact, the umps changed the score of the Indians win over the Tigers last night from 7-4 to 7-5.  Bottom of the ninth, one out, Kinsler on second, Maybin on first, Cabrera hits a fly to deep right field.  Rajai Davis (a former Tiger and a favorite of mine) just manages to run it down, but initially bobbles it.  Kinsler and Maybin, thinking he dropped it, take off without tagging up.  Davis manages to catch it a second time before it hits the ground.  He now has a choice of runners to double up and end the game; the ball goes to first.  End of game?  Not so fast - the umps belatedly ruled that Kinsler scored before the final out.  EXCEPT that he had never tagged up!

I have no clue on the correct call.  My heart says Miggy went from his third double play of the game to a SF and RBI, so 'good call!'; my head says the umps screwed up.  Since they had already won the game, the Indians made no protest (and never bothered throwing to second for the 28th out! ).  Anyone want to chime in on whether the umps corrected a scoring error, or made one?

The ruling is correct.  The ball should have gone to third to eliminate the run.  Once the ball is touched, the runners can advance by tagging up.  The run did score before the third out and should count.

[Ralph Turner]

Spahn versus Marichal. For your enjoyment.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/07/july_2_1963_the_day_marichal_and_spahn_took_work_ethic_to_a_higher_level.html

[Mr. Ypsi]

Another oddity in Detroit today - the Tigers won in the bottom of the tenth on a wild pitch by the Seattle pitcher!  I'm not sure how rare that is, but a fan friend and I couldn't recall the last time the Tigers were ever involved in a 'walk off' wild pitch.

Reliever Kyle Ryan, recently recalled from Toledo, went from probable goat to hero - his throwing error on an attempted pick-off in the top of the tenth sent the runner all the way to third with no outs, but he emerged unscathed when the runner was thrown out at the plate and instead got the win.

I've gotta feel sorry for Seattle, who now have FOUR starting pitchers on the DL - their scheduled starter today (already a fill in for an injured pitcher) did not even get to the first pitch, suffering elbow pain during warm-up.  Kudos to their bullpen who pitched the entire game and got them to extra innings.

I don't feel sorry for the Pilots...errr...Mariners.  Go Angels!   

I've got nothing against the Angels, but that's harsh!  Geez, FOUR starters out, including King Felix.   But if someone doesn't slow down Texas soon, you're ALL history anyway.

My sympathy for the Mariners is now tempered by what has happened to the Tigers.  Monday, TWO Tiger starters went on the DL (Daniel Norris and UWSP's Jordan Zimmermann).  Tuesday, Anabel Sanchez was the emergency replacement for JZ - he showed why he was no longer in the rotation, yielding 7 earned runs in 4.1 innings.  (Since Sanchez led the AL in ERA in 2013, and was only 29, it is hard to fault the Tigers for signing him to a huge long-term contract, but in retrospect it was one of the worst deals in history - his ERA has risen every year since, and now has reached 6.56. )

[Mr. Ypsi]

Every so often my mind goes down 'memory lane': Mark (The Bird) Fidrych and the 1984 Tigers.

While they obviously didn't need him (the 1984 Tigers began the season with an all-time best 35-5 record, and never looked back - winning 108 games before sweeping to the WS title), it sometimes occurs to me that if the doctors hadn't totally missed the easily reparable rotator cuff tear in The Bird (who went 19-9 in his rookie season, then won only 10 games the entire rest of his career), he would have been right in his prime in 1984!  OMG - they might have won 120 games and been universally hailed as the best team of all time!

Fidrych, Herb Score, and Lyman Bostock are the names I'm coming up with for likely HOF careers cut tragically short by injury (or death, for Bostock).  Others?

(I'm not including potentially HOF careers cut tragically short by alcohol or other drug addictions.  Such players as Dwight Goodin, Bob Welch, and Steve Howe may otherwise be eligible for the list, but addiction is a treatable condition and they were unable or unwilling to be adequately treated.  Fidrych [undiagnosed reparable shoulder injury], Score [line drive to the face which partially destroyed his vision], and Bostock [gun shots intended for someone else], are in a different category.)

[Mr. Ypsi]

Miguel Cabrera today became the 100th player in MLB history with 2,500 hits.  He is one of only 8 to do so by age 33, and the youngest to reach that milestone since Hank Aaron in 1967.

[Jim Dixon]

Fidrych, Herb Score, and Lyman Bostock are the names I'm coming up with for likely HOF careers cut tragically short by injury (or death, for Bostock).  Others?

(I'm not including potentially HOF careers cut tragically short by alcohol or other drug addictions.  Such players as Dwight Goodin, Bob Welch, and Steve Howe may otherwise be eligible for the list, but addiction is a treatable condition and they were unable or unwilling to be adequately treated.  Fidrych [undiagnosed reparable shoulder injury], Score [line drive to the face which partially destroyed his vision], and Bostock [gun shots intended for someone else], are in a different category.)

I grew up watching Tony Conigliaro do the sports on the ABC affiliate.  Add him to your list.

There are plenty that never made the majors that ended their careers in the minors or in college.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Fidrych, Herb Score, and Lyman Bostock are the names I'm coming up with for likely HOF careers cut tragically short by injury (or death, for Bostock).  Others?

(I'm not including potentially HOF careers cut tragically short by alcohol or other drug addictions.  Such players as Dwight Goodin, Bob Welch, and Steve Howe may otherwise be eligible for the list, but addiction is a treatable condition and they were unable or unwilling to be adequately treated.  Fidrych [undiagnosed reparable shoulder injury], Score [line drive to the face which partially destroyed his vision], and Bostock [gun shots intended for someone else], are in a different category.)

I grew up watching Tony Conigliaro do the sports on the ABC affiliate.  Add him to your list.

There are plenty that never made the majors that ended their careers in the minors or in college.

Oh, no doubt, but those are pure speculation.  I'm talking about guys who had already done enough in the Majors that eventual HoF status did not seem at all implausible.  Tony C. is a good addition to my (admittedly very incomplete) list.

[Bombers798891]

Saberhagen, Eric Davis, Mattingly, Santana (probably), Lincecum (probably), Brandon Webb, Nomar.

[ElRetornodelEspencio]

Not sure all of those apply, but Donny Baseball certainly does. Guy still hit even when he had to hit with all arms.

One that I'd go with and I think be able to defend convincingly is Kerry Wood. Was the best pitcher in the NL as a rookie at 21. Very few guys at any age ever led their league in both hits/9 and K/9 in the same season. His rookie year K/9 is the 3rd highest ever, behind seasons authored by a couple of guys named Pedro and Randy.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Bombers, there are undoubtedly countless players who MIGHT have made the HoF if PERFECTLY healthy.  I'm focused on players whose careers were totally derailed by injury.  Even HoF players COULD have been better - IMO Mickey Mantle would probably have been the GOAT if not for leg injuries and his lack of training.  (His male ancestors all died young, so he never expected to live past 40 or 50, so he partied; I've seen several sources say he was THE fastest runner in MLB when he started - combine that with his power and you have GOAT.)

Your guys all had some bad breaks, but in terms of MY criteria (seemingly HoF careers totally demolished by bad luck), I'm sticking with Fidrych, Score, Bostock, Conigliaro, and (now) Wood.

[Jim Dixon]

LF:  Super Joe Charboneau - lifestyle, injuries, bad luck were reasons he never had much left after his rookie year.

P Darryl Kyle career was not ended by a physical injury