he's on pace to make the top 10 single season WAR list, which is basically all guys like Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds, plus those insane Yaz & Hornsby seasons
― frogbs, Thursday, 19 August 2021 15:58 (three years ago) link
there are a bunch of guys having monster seasons and he’s 2 wins ahead of them
― k3vin k., Thursday, 19 August 2021 16:49 (three years ago) link
even though ppl, like, intuitively understand this, it's still an under discussed story that the angels have had one of the greatest baseball players in 100+ years on their team for a decade, and now have an international superstar putting up one of the greatest seasons in 100+ years... and still LITERALLY CANNOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS MORE THAN ONE TIME!!! you can make a very reasonable argument that this fact alone has contributed to baseball's decline as a national interest and cultural phenomenon. you could also make a very reasonable argument that it's in the best interest of baseball to forcibly remove arte moreno as owner and find someone who could maybe run a franchise in LA w/ 2 of the best players in baseball and get them into the playoffs, like, one time before the world implodes. it's not asking for much!
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 19 August 2021 17:08 (three years ago) link
its a uniquely frustrating scenario...idk if the Angels ownership/management just sucks but I can't really point to a single thing they've done over the last decade that's worked, outside of maybe the trade for Andrelton Simmons. they also happened to grab those two players during the years where they knew Pujols was gonna be an albatross - they signed him knowing full well that they were likely going to be punting the last 4-5 years. they've also had a lot of bad luck - Trout's hurt, Rendon's hurt, they just cannot seem to develop a decent pitcher who doesn't overdose on fentanyl. its a shitty situation and I agree its bad for the game.
― frogbs, Thursday, 19 August 2021 17:58 (three years ago) link
they give big free agent contracts to older and/or injury prone players and rarely have homegrown talent, it's a really bad mix that comes from the top down. josh hamilton contract was a disaster, rendon contract isn't looking much better. they haven't had a good pitcher since like jered weaver. it's just a poorly run franchise.
they actually have some younger talent now... jo adell has looked good recently, brandon marsh is a top 50 prospect tho he flopped after being called up. reid detmers is finally a pitching prospect they have. if they had a healthy trout, rendon, ohtani, plus a good season from adell, and made some additions, found some pitchers.... it's still so many ifs. and trout is at the point now where he's prob more of a 130-140 game player -- at best -- than a 160 or 180 game player. the fact that they're 5.5 games worse than the mariners this year is insane.
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 19 August 2021 18:36 (three years ago) link
it’s a team sport
― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 19 August 2021 19:25 (three years ago) link
i wonder if any other team's management would have done anything differently about the "pujols problem", especially the 2017-now version of the problem. i guess it's easier said than done to bench him, because he truly always believes he's about to turn the corner and is vocal about it. i guess they just couldn't face the spectacle of releasing him years early and eating the cost?
― professional anti- (Karl Malone), Thursday, 19 August 2021 19:36 (three years ago) link
i mean, i think the marlins would have done something drastic for some reason. and the padres. although they haven't exactly done anything about their "eric hosmer problem"
― professional anti- (Karl Malone), Thursday, 19 August 2021 19:37 (three years ago) link
how many other teams would have even signed a stupid contract like that? I mean I guess I'll cut them some slack because 2009-2012 was like the prime era for teams giving fat contracts to fat players, despite the fact that IT HAS LITERALLY NEVER WORKED OUT A SINGLE TIME. to his credit Pujols has not been downright awful since that 2017 season but I still can't believe they didn't find some way to engineer a trade to some bad team that needs to get fans in the door. even if they had to eat like $80 mil
― frogbs, Thursday, 19 August 2021 20:05 (three years ago) link
how many other teams would have even signed a stupid contract like that?
*stares in chris davis*
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 19 August 2021 20:43 (three years ago) link
I think there are possible universes where the Chris Davis deal isn't awful, the Pujols one was just so doomed from the start. The only way it makes sense is if the Angels were a slugger away from being a championship team which they definitely were not
one that comes to mind that is definitely worse is Ryan Howard, sure it's a lot less money but also possibly the dumbest, most guaranteed-to-fail contract I've ever seen in pro sports. and it somehow turned out even worse than anyone could've imagined
― frogbs, Thursday, 19 August 2021 21:01 (three years ago) link
Yeah, definitely universes where the Davis deal wasn't as bad as it was, not sure there are universes where it was good, I guess maybe if the Orioles don't bring in Ubaldo in the 2016 WC game and win a pennant or WC with Davis contributing before the real decline kicks in?
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 19 August 2021 21:11 (three years ago) link
when the angels signed pujols he was turning 32 and had hit .328/.420/.617 over 11 seasons
when the orioles extended davis he was turning 30 and had hit .255/.330/.506 over eight seasons
the davis contract only went through his age-36 season, so that's a huge plus. but also he just wasn't that good -- and the orioles had seen how it might go in 2014 when he hit .196/.300/.404. i mean both contracts are terrible, but if you're gonna dream on a guy beating the aging curve you might as well go with the one who was the greatest hitter of his generation
― mookieproof, Friday, 20 August 2021 02:17 (three years ago) link
yeah, davis was very much a limited skill, adam dunn* kind of player
*and wasn't nearly as consistent as adam dunn, it turns out
― professional anti- (Karl Malone), Friday, 20 August 2021 02:31 (three years ago) link
holy cow I had no idea Davis's OBP was only .330, yeah that contract might be worse in retrospect
i mean both contracts are terrible, but if you're gonna dream on a guy beating the aging curve you might as well go with the one who was the greatest hitter of his generation
true but I still think it was fairly unlikely that Davis would be downright unplayable for 5 years of that deal, for Pujols it feels like that was one of the most likely outcomes. I can't argue it's one of the worst contracts ever because there have been so many bad ones but none of them involve paying a guy $24 million when he's 42
― frogbs, Friday, 20 August 2021 16:44 (three years ago) link
shit he just got hit in the right hand by a pitch
― k3vin k., Sunday, 29 August 2021 01:24 (three years ago) link
does not look great
― k3vin k., Sunday, 29 August 2021 01:25 (three years ago) link
Shohei Ohtani is the first American League pitcher to be intentionally walked since Jim Katt in 1970
― mookieproof, Saturday, 11 September 2021 06:59 (three years ago) link
homer and two walks yesterday, but got shelled on the mound
― k3vin k., Saturday, 11 September 2021 14:46 (three years ago) link
somehow i always miss his pitching days. when he's out of the game as a pitcher, does he switch to DH, keeping his spot in the batting order and taking whoever replaced pujols out of the lineup, i guess? or do they just take him out of the game completely at that point?
― "HYYOOOOOOONK!" is the sound I make (Karl Malone), Saturday, 11 September 2021 15:56 (three years ago) link
they don't get a DH
although it *kind* of seems like you should be able to use the DH on a non-pitcher if you want? (you cannot, by rule)
― mookieproof, Saturday, 11 September 2021 16:00 (three years ago) link
Guess who started Ohtani in the fantasy playoffs yesterday!! :((
― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Saturday, 11 September 2021 18:21 (three years ago) link
maddon has several times shifted ohtani to the outfield when he's done pitching, but not last night
― ✖, Saturday, 11 September 2021 21:11 (three years ago) link
0-5 tonight…the guy could really use some time off
― mens rea activist (k3vin k.), Thursday, 16 September 2021 03:42 (three years ago) link
Ohtani giving CPR to his dead bat pic.twitter.com/aFoZbMw4sG— Every Shohei Ohtani Highlight (@ohtanimoments) April 12, 2022
― Andy K, Tuesday, 12 April 2022 15:57 (two years ago) link
while looking up bobby witt jr's sprint and home to first speeds to see how how fast he is (A: very fast), i unexpectedly found OHTANI at the top of the 2022 leaderboard for fastest from home to first! 4.06 seconds. i was shocked, because his sprint speed (27.6 ft/s this year, 28.8 last year)is more 70th percentile. and not a fluke, either - in 2021 ohtani ranked 5th for home to first, with 4.05 seconds.
impressive - he must kick up into his highest gear much more quickly than the competition
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Monday, 2 May 2022 17:45 (two years ago) link
When he retires, if I'm still alive--50/50?--I'll think "I really didn't appreciate that guy while he was playing." Because honestly, I get a little tired of reading about his every waking movement.
He pitched great today: 7 shutout innings, 6 H/0 BB/11 K. MLB.com (not at all atypical of the way they cover him): "Stop us if you've heard this one: Shohei Ohtani did something nobody has since the Great Bambino."
What he did: "Hitting third and making his first start on the mound at Fenway Park, Ohtani became the first starting pitcher to bat in one of the top four spots in a game at the historic ballpark since Babe Ruth did so on Sept. 20, 1919."
Translation, if you feel his two-way abilities have already been duly recognized (and rewarded): "He played."
― clemenza, Friday, 6 May 2022 00:33 (two years ago) link
Feel like there needs to be a thread “Clemenza vs MLB.com headlines”
― Michael F Gill, Friday, 6 May 2022 02:16 (two years ago) link
what about my "fastest from home to first base" tidbit, though? now THAT's what i'm talking about
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Friday, 6 May 2022 04:39 (two years ago) link
First career grand slam tonight. And another HR too
― frogbs, Tuesday, 10 May 2022 04:25 (two years ago) link
all 100 of shohei ohtani’s home runs but it speeds up by 10% after each home run pic.twitter.com/l1hYPwy6eV— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 15, 2022
― mookieproof, Sunday, 15 May 2022 17:44 (two years ago) link
A work of art
― Michael F Gill, Sunday, 15 May 2022 19:05 (two years ago) link
Feel like there needs to be a thread “Clemenza vs MLB.com headlines”― Michael F Gill
Lead story right now on mlb.com, the day after the Jays beat Ohtani with five runs in six innings:
Force strong with this one
Shohei Ohtani's latest power: He doesn't need to tag you. He sends you to the dugout with his mind.
― clemenza, Friday, 27 May 2022 21:37 (two years ago) link
Ha!
To be fair, he still actually didn’t look bad in that start.
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Saturday, 28 May 2022 03:38 (two years ago) link
8 RBIs on Tuesday, then on Wednesday 8 shutout innings and 13 Ks
going to go out on a limb and say nothing like that's ever been done before
Angels only won one of those games lol
― frogbs, Thursday, 23 June 2022 13:26 (two years ago) link
damn, 94 game score on that last start, too.
pretttty good
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Thursday, 23 June 2022 15:10 (two years ago) link
if anyone else, it was probably Ruth, and i don't think they struck out that many people back then
Absolutely unreal
― Allen (etaeoe), Thursday, 23 June 2022 16:15 (two years ago) link
A night after homering twice and setting a career-high with eight RBIs at the plate, Ohtani set another career high with 13 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings to help lift the Angels to a 5-0 win over the Royals on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. Unsurprisingly, Ohtani, who retired 23 of the last 24 batters he faced, became the first player in AL/NL history to have at least eight RBIs in a game and strike out at least 10 batters the next day.
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Thursday, 23 June 2022 16:33 (two years ago) link
Never had an 8-RBI game: Babe RuthHenry AaronBarry BondsAlbert Pujols Never had a 13-K game: Lefty GroveCatfish HunterJack MorrisTom Glavine Ohtani did both - in consecutive days. 🦄— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) June 23, 2022
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Thursday, 23 June 2022 20:18 (two years ago) link
i am...weird not impressed at all by that list of pitchers, but for hitters, that's eye-opening.
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Thursday, 23 June 2022 20:19 (two years ago) link
I mean so much of that is luck - how often is a 3-4 line with 2 HRs gonna result in 8 RBIs?
― frogbs, Thursday, 23 June 2022 20:48 (two years ago) link
exactly shohei ohtani amount of the time
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Thursday, 23 June 2022 20:49 (two years ago) link
xp not to mention in a loss . . . to the royals
― mookieproof, Thursday, 23 June 2022 20:51 (two years ago) link
Sorry, but a little more Shohei Derangement Syndrome on mlb.com (lead story):
Ho-hum...just a little more history for Shohei
Shohei Ohtani became the first player since the RBI became an official stat in 1920 to strike out 10 on the mound, drive in two runs and steal a base.
He also scored a run--how did they fail to mention that?
― clemenza, Thursday, 7 July 2022 01:50 (two years ago) link
Next year the league will five extra wild cards and still Ohtani and Trout won’t make the playoffs.
― Michael F Gill, Thursday, 7 July 2022 14:17 (two years ago) link
I did not know he threw this hard
101.2 MPH FROM SHOHEI OHTANI!! THE HARDEST FASTBALL OF HIS MLB CAREER!! pic.twitter.com/DHclcTxw5q— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) July 23, 2022
― frogbs, Saturday, 23 July 2022 04:33 (two years ago) link
he was really humming through 6 innings last night, then couldn’t get an out in the 7th
― k3vin k., Saturday, 23 July 2022 13:35 (two years ago) link
if we played 7-inning games that’s when the closer would come in. ~think abt it~
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 23 July 2022 14:04 (two years ago) link
I never knew that--for one season, anyway--Fergie Jenkins was such a good hitter. In 1971, the year he won his Cy (and put up a 10.1 bWAR), he had a slash line of .243/.282/.478, hit six HR, and knocked in 20. There are--according to a graphic on FB today--nine pitchers with 20 wins and 20 RBI in the same season, and Jenkins is the only one later than 1948 (Bob Lemon). That'll be a hard one for Ohtani to match.
― clemenza, Thursday, 1 September 2022 22:32 (two years ago) link