Red Sox/MLB Buffalo Blue Jays - Mookie Betts agrees to sign 12-year, $365 million contract extension with LA

[Smitty93]

Fictional post, but don't let facts stop you. He played 7 seasons in PITT and never hit more than 34 HRs before he started juicing after the 92 season. This is well known.

The top 4 hitters by bWAR, fWAR, and WAA stats are Ruth, Bonds, Mays, and Cobb. Look it up.

Pretty sure it's well known that Bonds started using after '98. That's when Greg Anderson became his trainer. I'd love to see the evidence that he was using before then because I've never seen it. Sounds like speculation on your part.

I don't see anything about @Dennis Bonvie's post that is "fictional".

 

[RoccoF14]

Another player on the Top 100 list that is one of the hardest players to accurately rank is Nolan Ryan. He came in at #50, behind pitchers such as Tom Seaver, Maddux, Randy Johnson, Pedro and Clemens.

I understand the rationale and don't have any issues with where he's placed, primarily due to his lack of consistency. However I will say this: When he had his stuff working, he was the filthiest pitcher I've ever seen. None of those guys listed above, even came close....

 

[McGarnagle]

Another player on the Top 100 list that is one of the hardest players to accurately rank is Nolan Ryan. He came in at #50, behind pitchers such as Tom Seaver, Maddux, Randy Johnson, Pedro and Clemens.

I understand the rationale and don't have any issues with where he's placed, primarily due to his lack of consistency. However I will say this: When he had his stuff working, he was the filthiest pitcher I've ever seen. None of those guys listed above, even came close....

Yeah, the evolution of what the game values out of pitchers keeps messing with his legacy. I didn't get into baseball until just after he retired, so I never saw him live and just have the stats and what I've heard from others to go by. For a long time he was overrated historically because of the overvaluation of strikeouts in traditional viewpoints, then when sabermetrics came into vogue with Moneyball and all that, and everyone became concerned with things like pitch count and efficiency, he was forgotten. but now they've come around to realizing that strikeouts are good again, so it seems he's got a fair placement somewhere in between. Looking at his stats, he's a great pitcher with a great career, easy HOFer. But there were more than a few seasons throughout his career where his overall ERA+/FIP/etc were near or barely over league average.

What is crazy though is that his first game was in 1966 and he retired in 1993. That's an absurd amount of time. For a guy who threw gas, to be that durable...that's nuts, I don't know how he did it. Never started less than 27 games a season from 1970-1992 aside from the strike year in 1981. And this guy threw 100 with regularity. These days f***ing everyone gets Tommy John or strains an elbow or a shoulder and misses time regularly. His durability is downright absurd.

Edit: And most importantly, he beat the crap out of Robin Ventura that one time

 

[RoccoF14]

I was actually at his last no-hitter in 1991 against Toronto. I lived in Texas at the time and I worked the tarp crew for the Rangers. Was also at the game when he dummied Robin Ventura.....LOL.

The guy was 44 years old and it was probably the most amazing pitching performance I've ever seen.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Fictional post, but don't let facts stop you. He played 7 seasons in PITT and never hit more than 34 HRs before he started juicing after the 92 season. This is well known.

The top 4 hitters by bWAR, fWAR, and WAA stats are Ruth, Bonds, Mays, and Cobb. Look it up.

Consensus is Bonds started his steroid use after the 1998 season. Not sure where you got your info from.

 

[GabeTravels]

LOL at the image of them all sitting in random bleacher seats.

Gimme electronic balls and strikes all day!

 

[RoccoF14]

Gimme electronic balls and strikes all day!

I disagree. Especially since I was a pitcher in my younger years. I think having an umpire call balls and strikes is a variation that makes baseball special.

I don't want the strike zone being the exact same for a hitter every time they come to bat, just like I don't like having all stadiums having same exact field dimensions. To me, being able to determine whether an umpire is giving you an extra inch or 2 off the plate or out of the zone, and being able to exploit that, is one of the idiosyncrasies that makes baseball unique and what gives a player an edge. I don't want that to be eliminated from the game and I'll take a few disputed called 3rd strikes, or walks to maintain that aspect.

That said, I DO support a system of accountability for umpires and I do believe that they should be graded and evaluated based on how they call a game. The Joe Wests and Gary Cederstroms of the world, who are awful behind the plate, need to either be better at their craft or need some accountability from the league.

 

[Bruinaura]

I remember watching this live. Somewhere I have it on VHS. This was pretty much at the height of my Orioles fandom.

I'm watching it now on ESPN and the video quality is ATROCIOUS.

Mussina pitching for the Orioles

 

[Bruinaura]

Baltimore sure loved Cal.

I like how the announcers were silent through this whole ovation.

 

[Fenway]

The plan would allow teams to return to the comforts of their spring training sites for three weeks of training, which would also include exhibition games, before opening the regular season and playing a schedule with wholly different divisional opponents.
Here's a look at one realignment structure:

GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE
NORTH: New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates.
SOUTH: Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles.
EAST: Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins.

CACTUS LEAGUE
NORTHEAST: Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics.
WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels.
NORTHWEST: Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals.

MLB realignment: League considers radical move for 2020 season

 

[McGarnagle]

The plan would allow teams to return to the comforts of their spring training sites for three weeks of training, which would also include exhibition games, before opening the regular season and playing a schedule with wholly different divisional opponents.
Here's a look at one realignment structure:

GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE
NORTH: New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates.
SOUTH: Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles.
EAST: Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins.

CACTUS LEAGUE
NORTHEAST: Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics.
WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels.
NORTHWEST: Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals.

MLB realignment: League considers radical move for 2020 season

This is a terrible idea, but whatever they have to do to get this season going is fine I guess.

What I'm most upset about is how much this whole thing has protected the Astros. Now they want to remove them from all their AL rivals who would boo them off the field and put them in a division with a bunch of NL east teams.

 

[JRull86]

The plan would allow teams to return to the comforts of their spring training sites for three weeks of training, which would also include exhibition games, before opening the regular season and playing a schedule with wholly different divisional opponents.
Here's a look at one realignment structure:

GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE
NORTH: New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates.
SOUTH: Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles.
EAST: Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins.

CACTUS LEAGUE
NORTHEAST: Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics.
WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels.
NORTHWEST: Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals.

MLB realignment: League considers radical move for 2020 season

this is stupid

 

[CDJ]

Of course the Yankees get a trash division. Of course.

I wonder how that happened

 

[McGarnagle]

Of course the Yankees get a trash division. Of course.

I wonder how that happened

And Cactus Northwest might be the worst division in sports if it came to be.

 

[CDJ]

And Cactus Northwest might be the worst division in sports if it came to be.

Wow I wasn’t even paying attention to that, that’s a remarkable division in the worst possible way

Sox are the clear cut #4 team in their division imo

 

[Fenway]

ALL BASEBALL FANS - FS1 will show 4 classic episodes of TWIB from 40 years ago starting at 11 AM Eastern (4/11)
Somewhere Mel Allen is saying 'How About That'

 

[Fenway]

Sea Dogs make unbelievably generous gesture to employees

 

[CDJ]

He’s flown under the radar due to injury but Austin Maddox retired. Couldn’t overcome the shoulder problems

 

[Therick67]

Sea Dogs make unbelievably generous gesture to employees

good on them.

Another team making the Jacobs look like the pigs they are...

 

[DarrenBanks56]

The plan would allow teams to return to the comforts of their spring training sites for three weeks of training, which would also include exhibition games, before opening the regular season and playing a schedule with wholly different divisional opponents.
Here's a look at one realignment structure:

GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE
NORTH: New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates.
SOUTH: Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles.
EAST: Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins.

CACTUS LEAGUE
NORTHEAST: Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics.
WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels.
NORTHWEST: Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals.

MLB realignment: League considers radical move for 2020 season

any sport will be good right now.
even regular season baseball.

 

[Centrum Hockey]

MiLB: We’re in the endgame now
MLB wants complete control over the minors like The NHL has over the AHL.

 

[sarge88]

I remember watching this live. Somewhere I have it on VHS. This was pretty much at the height of my Orioles fandom.

I'm watching it now on ESPN and the video quality is ATROCIOUS.

Mussina pitching for the Orioles

I was there.

Huge Cal fan growing up.

The day the lockout ended, I bought tickets for that series vs, the Angels and the 3 games after the anticipated date in case of rainouts.

Saw him tie and break the record and it was pretty awesome!

 

[Bruinaura]

I was there.

Huge Cal fan growing up.

The day the lockout ended, I bought tickets for that series vs, the Angels and the 3 games after the anticipated date in case of rainouts.

Saw him tie and break the record and it was pretty awesome!

Cal was my first ever favorite professional athlete.

I never got to see him play in Camden Yards in person though, sadly. I did see him play a couple times in Memorial Stadium. What a concrete dump that place was.

 

[McGarnagle]

Hank Steinbrenner died

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

NTSB: Halladay did stunts prior to '17 fatal crash

Not a good end for Roy Halladay