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John Rocker Reveals Our Fantasy Draft Order At His Discretion

Paul Eide — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 14:15:55 +0000

The 14th season of “OUCH, My Fucking Clavicle!” is upon us. A league known for its inappropriate fantasy football team names.

Yes, the league is smoking cigarettes, using swear words, MASTURBATING, and skipping days of 9th grade – regularly.

So who better to announce 2025 draft order than noted asshole John Rocker?

But how did we get here?

In the year of our Lord, 2012, Chargers running back Ryan Mathews was a “can’t miss” fantasy first round pick.

Coming off a 1,500+ total yard 50+ rec, 6 TUD season in limited duty, the Mathews Hype was at peal levels entering year 3 as he took the reigns from newly departed best fantasy RB ever, LaDainian Tomlinson.

He was the “missing link” in an offense that featured Vincent Jackson, A Gates, Malcom Floyd, and Triggerman/father of ELEVENTEEN, Philip Rivers.

But then, he broke his right FUCKING CLAVICLE on his first preseason carry – for a nice 5 yard gain which would easily lead the NFL over a full season, .5 fantasy points – and sucked ass all year.

According to numerous reports, including players at field level, after the sound of his clavicle cracking subsided, Mathews reportedly screamed, “OUCH, My FUCKING CLAVICLE – I’m reasonably sure its broken!”

(https://www.nfl.com/news/ryan-mathews-of-san-diego-chargers-breaks-clavicle-0ap1000000048067)

Not only was Ryan “Raw Dog” Mathews broken, but so were innumerable fantasy teams who had selected him with their first round pick. He missed the first 2 weeks and was compromised for far more.

In week 3 he scored his first TUD of the season – and what would be his ONLY TUD of the season.

Then in Week 15, the unthinkable happened in the fantasy playoffs – he broke his LEFT FUCKING clavicle.

(https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/chargers-rb-ryan-mathews-headed-to-ir-with-broken-clavicle/)

According to numerous reports from people at field level, after the sound of his clavicle being crushed against the force of an unforgiving earth, he reportedly screamed, “OUCH, MY FUCKING CLAVICLE – THIS TIME i BROKE MY LEFT ONE!’

Per the Mayan calendar, 12/21/2012 was supposed to be the end of the world. And for many fantasy owners, their world ended with the sound of Mathews’ fragile clavicles being crushed to dust.

Is this YOUR year to get completely buttfucked? Your fate awaits.

Past Champions List:

1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | Your Finish

2024 Restaurant with Ted Danson Demardiac Arrest lSmotherdngravy 12th
2023 Captain Insano Castillo Nation Demardiac Arrest 9th
2022 Penis Inspector 🍆🍆🍆 Deshaun’s Massage Envy Captain Insano 1st
2021 Penis Inspector 🍆🍆🍆 Captain Insano The Boner Express!!! 1st
2020 Penis Inspector 🍆🍆🍆 Sen. Ernie McCracken Buc Nasty 1st
2019 Da Beers Sen. Ernie McCracken Lit & Gay AF 10th
2018 Captain Insano Dickface HernandezNeckTieCo 12th
2017 Marty Ball Dickface Lit & Gay AF 7th
2016 Buttfuckin’ Marty Ball Tom’s lot lizard 1st
2015 Captain Insano The Boner Express!!! DCarr4MVP 7th
2014 DCarr4MVP The Boner Express!!! Sacks to be Cutler 8th
2013 The Boner Express!!! K.C.C.O. Captain Insano 8th
2012 WhoWnts2SmellMadonna FLF Crew IPG 1st

The post John Rocker Reveals Our Fantasy Draft Order At His Discretion appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

How Does PitchCom Work (Thanks Trashstros) 🔊⚾

Paul Eide — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 23:39:35 +0000

I watch a ton of Major League Baseball. But in all those hours I had never once seen, or heard, how PitchCom works. This article exists to explain PitchCom to you like you are five-years old.

Why Does MLB Use PitchCom?

PitchCom was implemented to speed up the pace of play. And, to supposedly eliminate sign stealing – THANKS TRASHSTROS 👉🏻🗑️!

No word on if it adapts to trash can banging.

PitchCom – The Basics

The catcher (ex: Salvador Perez) is equipped with a wristband a keypad on his wrist or just above his knee. There are nine buttons for calling the pitch and location.

The pitcher has a receiver/speaker that fits on the inside of his hat, just above his ear.

The catcher presses the button corresponding to the pitch he wants. The pitcher (let’s say Zack Greinke) gives a nod or a headshake to indicate “yes” or “no” once he hears the transmission.

PitchCom allows for 700+ different pitch combinations and locations. In addition to standard pitches (fastball, curveball, slider, etc.) and locations (inside, outside, high, low) MLB teams can customize the signals.

For example, if you were playing a no-good, lying, yellow-bellied, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking MLB team from Houston that’s name rhymes with “Trashstros” you could change fastball to “Your Mom.”

Or, a curveball to “Altuve Killed Epstein” – completely up to the team.

It also uses a direct radio connection – no Wi-Fi or mobile data – as those are unsecure. Funny to think that the more technology moves forward, the more it relies on old tech. It can also be recorded in anyone’s voice.

PitchCom can be programmed to speak in any language and can be fully customized. Which makes me wonder how you say, “high hard one” in Swahili.

Up to three other defensive players can wear the PitchCom receiver at the same time – five players total. Batters and runners cannot wear PitchCom.

What Does PitchCom Sound Like?

A dystopian nightmare. Just kidding (kinda).

The voice is fully customizable. Which makes me want my pitch options served to me in the voice of Little Richard on “Good Golly Miss Molly.”

Get you an earful “hear”:

Do MLB Teams Have to Use PitchCom?

“Use of the PitchCom device is optional for clubs and wholly voluntary for players,” MLB said in a 2023 memo to teams. “The decision of one club to not use the PitchCom device shall not preclude their opposing club from using the PitchCom device.”

MLB provides each team at least three transmitters, 12 receivers and two charging cases.

Teams may not have more than three transmitters or 12 receivers at any time. (Looking at you, Jose Altuve you SCUM.)

Is PitchCom The Death Knell of Old School MLB?

Possibly. With the strike zone being framed for TV viewers for over a decade, and successful changes made by MLB like larger bases, the pitch clock, and robot umpires set to take over in the next year or two, it seems that way.

No matter what “improvements” are made to “secure” the game, when you have a billion dollar industry + 32 teams and thousands of employees working tirelessly to find any edge they can exploit, its only a matter of time until they do – like the Infinite Monkey Theorem.

Change is necessary to keep the product, fresh, exciting, and fair – unless you’re the Houston Astros and MLB lets you blatantly cheat and steal multiple World Series victories.

Overall though, the changes MLB implemented recently have made the game more enjoyable to watch (reflected in the most recent TV ratings) and we can hope that continues.

The post How Does PitchCom Work (Thanks Trashstros) 🔊⚾ appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

Is Salvador Perez Really a Hall of Famer?

Paul Eide — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 16:40:13 +0000

The term “sure fire Hall of Famer” and the name Salvador Perez, have been linked for years – but is that accurate? Should they be?

As I mentioned in my previous article about Zack Greinke making the Hall of Fame, bad teams need to find a way to sell tickets.

One popular way to do this for an MLB team to anchor their marketing efforts to their best player, and spew hyperbole.

Sure, this wouldn’t work if the player wasn’t good. But when a player gets longer in the tooth, has a prolonged run of success, or just plays for a really long time, “sure fire Hall of Famer/or, “next stop, Cooperstown” practically roll off the tongue.

Just like the weatherman in your neck of the woods, no one remembers his prediction from yesterday, let a lone a week ago.

Because, who is going to fact check?

I am.

And that’s why this article exists – to explore the Baseball Hall of Fame candidacy of Royals catcher, Salvador Perez, aka SALVY.

I will be using the exact criteria the Baseball Hall of Fame uses. Here is the fine print from Baseball Hall of Fame website:

Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

It is definitely a nebulous definition. So let’s break each one down in the case of Perez as best we can.

Player’s Record: As of this writing (8/22/25), Salvador Perez is playing in his 14th season (he missed all of 2020 due to injury, when people thought he was cooked).

During those 14 seasons, Perez has accumulated 295 home runs, 987 runs batted in, 1,687 hits, and a career .266 batting average.

He has more home runs than he does walks (266)!

Perez appeared in the 2014 World Series where the Giants bested the Royals in seven games. The Royals won the World Series in 2015 and Salvy was named World Series MVP.

But how do you quantify his effect on games as a catcher? We will get into that later.

Playing Ability:

– 9× All-Star (2013–2018, 2021, 2023, 2024)
– World Series champion (2015)
– World Series MVP (2015)
– 2× All-MLB First Team (2020, 2021)
– All-MLB Second Team (2024)
– 5× Gold Glove Award (2013–2016, 2018)
– 5× Silver Slugger Award (2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2024)
– AL Comeback Player of the Year (2020)
– Roberto Clemente Award (2024)
– MLB home run co-leader (2021)
– MLB RBI leader (2021)
– Most home runs by a catcher, single season (48 in 2021)

Integrity, Sportsmanship, Character: I’m lumping all of these together because it is a bunch of word-salad/synonyms your third grade English teacher would be proud that you knew were synonyms.

Have you ever seen Salvy on the baseball diamond without a smile on his face? Gregarious.

Every time he plays, looks like the best moment of his life. Pure joy. Laughing with teammates, coaches, opposing teams, and even the umpires.

Which is really saying something because the Royals have had 5 seasons in his 14 where they finished at or above .500. And made the postseason just three times.

For further perspective, the Royals have lost 100+ games in three seasons during that same span. The Royals’ combined record in 2018 and 2019 was 117-207.

If he was ever going to complain, it would’ve already happened. He’s never complained about his contract or held out. He’s never gotten into any off-field trouble.

Nebulous as it may be, Salvy checks all the boxes in the “Integrity, Sportsmanship, Character” section.

Contributions to the Team: Is there another MLB player more synonymous with his team? Salvy IS the Royals.

The only player that’s even close is Aaron Judge/Yankees and that’s because of NYC’s standing as the largest media market. And he’s never once suffered through a sub-.500 season.

Salvy has played in three postseasons, a total of 37 games. He’s accumulated 32 hits, 6 home runs, 15 RBI, and hit .229. Plus, the 2015 World Series MVP award in a winning effort.

His 295 career home runs are second in Royals’ franchise history only to Hall of Famer George Brett (317). 987 RBIs are 4th behind Amos Otis (992), Hal McRae (1,012), and Brett (1,596).

His 20 multi-homerun games is a club record. 9 seasons of 20+ home runs is a club record. 28.6 offensive His WAR is 5th highest in franchise history. 699 runs scored is eighth most, 1 run behind Mike Sweeney.

His 34.8 position player WAR is tied for 5th with Frank White. His defensive WAR of 13.7 is second only to Frank White (21.9).

Also, how do you quantify his status as “The Captain?” How many pitchers has he made better – for one AB or for an entire career?

How many times has his baseball intelligence and attention to nuance led to a positive outcome that would not have otherwise occurred?

This is the effect a great catcher has above and beyond any other position on the baseball field.

Salvador Perez Hall of Fame Player Comparisons

At this point it is clear: Salvador Perez clearly a top-10 player in Royals history, and probably top-5.

But how does he stack up historically, against the best catchers in MLB history?

– He is 8th all-time in home runs (295) and is 12 behind “The Kid” Gary Carter (307).
– He is 15th in RBI (987) and 3 RBIs behind Ernie Lombardi (990).
– He is 29th all-time in games (1,641).
– He is 22nd all-time in runs (699).
– He is 19th in hits (1,687).
– He is 15th in doubles (314).
– 11th in hit by pitches (92).
– 6th in strikeouts (1,252).

There are 20 catchers in the MLB Hall of Fame. Which is the second fewest by position players, second only to third basemen (19).

I am going to use the next sentences to compare Salvy to the Twin’s Joe Mauer.

Mauer played 15 seasons – one more than Salvy’s current 14th/2025 season. So about the most apt comparison we can get.

Mauer was the most recent catcher inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (2024).

Actually I was wrong, all it took was one graphic. Is Salvador Perez really a Hall of Famer? Based on this graphic comparing him to Mauer, YES.

Prior to Mauer, Ted Simmons was inducted to the HOF in 2020. For Salvy fans this is a little more sobering.

Simmons had an outstanding career that spanned 20 seasons. Not bad for a guy from Omaha, Nebraska who went to Millard South High School, which is about 1.5 miles from where I am typing this right now.

If Salvy dropped dead right now, he’d have the edge on Simmons in the most important categories – dingers, slugging, team accomplishments, and success. I was joking about slugging.

As it stands, and you went Simmons vs. Salvy head to head with other Baseball Sickos, you’d probably see that vote split 50/50.

Salvy has extended his career by becoming a legit first baseman. Watching him this season, it is easy to estimate he will play at least two more seasons.

If he does that, he will begin accumulating more and more offensive stats.

Which voters love and people can easily point to as another “yes” factor, thanks to catcher being viewed as historically low on offensive numbers in the context of other positions.

But when you lump in Mauer, who legitimately lowered the bat…err, bar for catcher Hall of Fame inclusion, that makes Salvy an absolute no doubt Hall of Famer.

If you want your mind completely blown apart, take a look at “Carlton’s Fisk”:

MY GOD LOOK AT HOSE NUMS!!

In closing, YES, Salvador Perez should be in the Hall of Fame.

The post Is Salvador Perez Really a Hall of Famer? appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

Tony LaRussa On Dominance Of The A’s, His .199 Batting Average, ARF

Paul Eide — Sun, 02 Mar 2025 16:10:54 +0000

Tony LaRussa Interview

Tony Larussa is a 3× World Series champion (1989, 2006, 2011) and 4× Manager of the Year (1983, 1988, 1992, 2002). And has the 2nd most wins in Major League Baseball history.

I spoke to the newest manager of the Chicago White Sox about the dominance of his Oakland Athletics teams, his video game Tony La Russa Baseball, and his career batting average of .199.

Not only is he a Hall of Fame manager, we he is also the founder of ARF, the Animal Rescue Foundation.

Watch the Tony LaRussa interview video here:

Paul Eide: You moved to Oakland in the latter part of the 80s and early 90s and that team was just an absolute machine. And me being 10 and 11 years old at the time, it was just so cohesive and it was just so dominant — like a machine. I mean you had the Bash Brothers of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, but that whole team was tough. You’ve got Dave Stewart on the mound, you’ve got Carney Lansford; even Mike Gallego and Walt Weiss were tough. It seemed like everyone knew what they were doing at all times. How would you describe that level of cohesion?

Tony LaRussa: Well that part of cohesion was something we developed in Chicago and later St. Louis.To me it’s a frame of mind that you put together where your team is your is your family a little bit. Like the military.

You know it’s a brotherhood we all do our best but we’re working together and you know that’s that connects you forever. Those relationships exist to this day it just turned out in Oakland and later on in St. Louis you know we had some talent there. Every so often they would just go up to me and tell me “hey, just tell us what time the game starts, who were playing, and just get out of the way.”

Paul Eide: That’s what it looked and felt like, too! I have to ask about the Tony LaRussa Baseball video game. A huge video game for me as a kid. It’s become even more relevant now with sabermetrics. What do you know remember about producing that video game?

Tony LaRussa: I remember coming to Oakland and we started to have success. And a gentleman named Don Daglow, who lives in the Bay Area, approached me. He was part of I think one of the first computer baseball video games; he worked with Earl Weaver on Earl Weaver Baseball and then he had moved the Bay Area.

He contacted us and knew that we were really into preparation and we just talked baseball. And he created this game which I guess you know I ran for three or four, five years. And several years it was like, you know, sports game of the year or something. So it was Don Daglow that was the inspiration for that game. But I knew that we had a basis for the game, you know a pitching coach like Dave Duncan an example was incredible how cutting-edge he was.

Paul Eide: You’ve mentioned preparation several times and it’s been noted that you have a close friendship with Bill Belichick the Patriots head coach. He’s a huge proponent of preparation, which is covered extensively in the book The Education Of A Coach. What’s the one characteristic that you guys have in common? And, can talk about the necessity of preparation?

Tony LaRussa: Well, it’s hard to say one thing. What we talk about a lot is that creating that family where accountability of each person to the team, but then you also have to get that frame of mind where you treat every single practice as preparation for the game. And you mean quality repetitions.

You build your competitiveness from the ground up. You know that just by doing the the fundamentals correctly, then you’ll play the game at a higher level. And then, you just understand that it’s a game against another team, that there’s a score, and you’re supposed to your best to win the game.

If you win you, you celebrate. If you lose, you tip your cap. But one of neat things about what we’re talking about, while we’re here, Bill has been a huge friend since we’ve been friends probably about 10 years now. He’s always supported our efforts with ARF. He’s been involved in our Pets and Vets campaign.

Four paws, a wagging tail, specialized training and a lot of heart is the recipe for transforming a rescue dog needing a home into a service dog helping veterans with Post-traumatic stress disorder. Recent studies are finding that Veterans with service dogs report lower levels of depression and anxiety among other benefits.

And in fact I’ve talked to Bill about this service dog named Lucas, who he has spent time with, he’s been involved with our pets and vets program. So I’m sure he has already watched the Purina video about the ARF program. He asked me how to help and I told him, “hey just go to Purina.com dog chow slash service and he commented how much he enjoyed it. He’s said how many times he’s gonna share it. Now if he gets that word out, with a popular the Patriots are, hopefully gonna raise a lot of money and get these services members the help they need.

Paul Eide: Final question, this one about your playing career. Are you upset that your career batting average is .199 and not .200?

Tony LaRussa: Yeah man! When you call it the Mendoza Line, I was closer to the “LaRussa Line,” just a shade under .200. So if I got one more hit, I’d be right at the Mendoza Line. But seriously, realising how bad I was I was as a player, lucky I got that close to .200.

The Best Frank Thomas Interview Ever

Paul Eide — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 16:50:50 +0000

This the Best Frank Thomas interview EVER.

No production, no graphics. Me in my mac miller shirt in my home office with a pull up bar and a life-size picture of myself in the background. Just like this interview with White Sox manager Tony LaRussa.

Two dudes talking baseball and Tom Selleck’s mustache – one of them just happens to be MLB hall of famer Frank Thomas.

Frank and I kept it light and talked Mr. Baseball, the best ball he ever CRUSHED, his favorite pitcher to RAKE DINGERS off of, and what he calls the baseball stadium in Chicago – Comisky, The Cell, or Guaranteed Rate Field.

Paul Eide: Big Frank!

Frank Thomas: Hello Paul, what’s going on.

Paul Eide: I’m stoked to talk to you today Frank. I just want to talk about your career a little bit and then talk about nearsightedness versus farsightedness – where should we start?

Frank Thomas: I think we should start with Varilux.

Paul Eide: Let’s do it

Frank Thomas: They changed my life; it is the world progressive lens in the world. So as for most of us around 40, we develop presophobia which is a condition. And to be honest you know i had 20/10 vision my whole baseball career. And then around 45 to 47, you know, you started stretching out those menus, those text messages and all the apps, it all became hard to read. I thought something was wrong with me so I’d reach out to my eye doctor and he was laughing at me he’s like “welcome to being old.”

That condition is real and uh you know you need to do something about it. so for me i didn’t want to wear glasses for so long trying to be cool or whatever. but now I’ve realized having these lenses and these glasses have changed me for the best because I’m on TV now looking at custom screens and cameras and the glare and everything else and it affects your eyes as you get older. So I’m happy to be with Varilux and we’re moving forward.

Make sure you check us out at essilorusa.com. You need to see your eye care provider though so you can get these lenses fantastic

Paul Eide: So what’s it called when I’m holding the pill bottle or the menu as far as my arm can stretch – is that nearsighted or farsighted?

Frank Thomas: Whoa Paul, I’m not i care provider now. I can’t diagnose eye problems, you gotta check with your doctor with that one.

Paul Eide: Big Frank it’s been 30 years and after all this time do you feel bad about how it went down between you and jack Elliot during your time with the Yankees in 1992 as Ricky Davis…?

Frank Thomas: yeah Ricky Davis was a heck of a young ball player!

Paul Eide: Man he could do it all. five tools!

Frank Thomas: That was a heck of a movie, it was a heck of an experience. I got to spend a week and a half in LA filming a major motion picture with Tom Selleck. And he nailed it he worked his butt off.

He was in a cage non-stop because he told me he did not want to disrespect you the major league ball players acting out that part in that role. So he did a hell of a job, he put in the work man. And that’s why he’s been one of the world’s greatest actors for a very long time.

Paul Eide: Is he taller than you?

Frank Thomas: He’s a big boy. He’s six four we’re right close eyed eye. But yeah he’s a tall guy; he fit the part. He had the swagger, he had everything down. He did a lot of homework becoming a major league baseball player.

Paul Eide: Was the mustache more impressive or less impressive in person?

Frank Thomas: You know, what it was more impressive.

Paul Eide: Well I I’m sure you didn’t get on this call to talk about Tom Selleck’s mustache but we sure can.

Frank Thomas: He is a class act man i enjoyed my time with him.

Paul Eide: Awesome. Do you remember the best ball you’ve hit in your whole life? Like you know that feeling of just stroking one – do you remember it?

Frank Thomas: Yes I would say uh it was against Johan Santana when he was with Minnesota Twins. He came inside, a fastball, one night and i hit it pretty much really close to the top in our ballpark in Chicago and left center field but it almost reached the concourse. It was a big home run; it was a game-winning home run actually.

Paul Eide: Hey that’s even better

Frank Thomas: um yes.

Paul Eide: Where are your two American League MVP awards sitting right now?

Frank Thomas: In my trophy case at home yeah. Yeah that’s a really nice trophy case.

Paul Eide: When you’re just sitting in your living room watching the news they’re just kind of over there like you know like “oh there’s those two AL MVP trophies.”

Frank Thomas: Yeah I remember this all the time. You know i look at i look at all of my trophy case and all the accolades and awards and I’m proud of it because i put in a lot of work. Nobody gave me nothing they always thought I was a football player playing baseball. And to achieve the way I did it was something special mentally and physically and I’m really proud of my career

Paul Eide: Talk about that for a second – do you ever think about how your life would be different if you hadn’t gotten hurt playing football early in your career at auburn?

Frank Thomas: No. I really wanted to achieve in baseball. We won back-to-back state championship in high school and i knew i could play baseball. But down South everybody looked at me as a football player. So i had to prove my worth. you know i went to Auburn to play college football and uh coach Pat Dye gave me a chance to walk onto the baseball team. But he said I had to earn my way in football first. And I did so he gave me the chance to walk on and rest his history.

Paul Eide: What is the best pre-social media 80s to 90s real world interaction story that you Bo Jackson, and Charles Barkley had?

Frank Thomas: Well you know it’s one of those things that uh we didn’t have the cell phones like we do now. you don’t have the social media but uh just to talk amano amano and uh the to fill that testosterone in the room with three of us you know great players a few different sports. and uh very proud of the university because uh you know we put out a hell of a players. and you look at cam newton in the mix now we got one hell of a mountain Rushmore at auburn university.

Paul Eide: You three guys one room all the testosterone, all the joking around i just love it. are you guys everybody’s been told you’re one of the best they’ve ever seen you know what i mean. as well yes oh it just goes all night.

Frank Thomas: Yes, every now and then. But Charles will tell you he’s the most famous auburn tiger ever you know there’s only one chuck he’s saying he’s one pose two and um three and he’s at cam’s four he said Cam didn’t go to Auburn long enough so he’s number four.

Paul Eide: That’s fair. What was your favorite stadium to crush dingers in?

Frank Thomas: I would say Fenway. Really, all you had to do was get the ball up. once you got it up it went a long way out of that on that short ballpark in left field.

Paul Eide: In your days with the White Sox what was the big piece of metal that you’d swing in the on deck circle

Frank Thomas: My rebar! I’m in Sarasota, Florida and right across the street, there was a house been built right next to our spring training site. I just ventured over there one day because I was I was either earlier or later than everyone else. So i walked over and saw these these bars over there and I said, “what the hell is that?” I picked it up it was heavy and it looked like a long bat. So i just picked it up, and they had like quite a few over there, and I just I really helped myself to one and next thing you know i’m swinging the old deck circle.

Paul Eide: That’s a weird story frank

Frank Thomas: Yeah but it made the bat feel like a toothpick. All I did was put tape around it took it home back and had it in the on deck circle because I never liked the way, the ends like, uh you know the weights in the top; the round weights they put on the top of the bat it doesn’t make me feel good going to the plate it’s like top heavy you know what I’m saying.

Paul Eide: I’m just imagining reigning stud MVP white sox slugger Frank Thomas on a construction site rummaging around for rebar

Frank Thomas: well it was right across from the clubhouse okay it was basically part of the clubhouse. so i went over and saw it that was awesome. yeah that’s the bigger pieces but i got one i could handle take it up put it in the bag and old deck circle. the next day a lot of guys tried to swing it too

Paul Eide: “tried”

Frank Thomas: yes

Paul Eide: all right rapid fire on you frank. Favorite pitcher to rake off of?

Frank Thomas: ugh i mean i never had a favorite one to rake off of i had a lot of success against Mike Mussina and Randy Johnson so two two hall of fame guys that uh i did well against.

Paul Eide: favorite teammate

Frank Thomas: i would say i had a few but the one who made me laugh the most was tim Raines.

Paul Eide: ROCK!

Frank Thomas: yes

Paul Eide: In casual conversation do you refer to Comisky, as Comisky, the Cell or Guaranteed Rate Field?

Frank Thomas: Comisky

Paul Eide: perfect. who’s the biggest name you have a text thread going with on your phone right now

Frank Thomas: um no i’m not a big texter. i have a lot of famous friends i’m not going to throw names out there though. but i’m not a big texter but i do have
quite a few names in my rolex from musicians to ballplayers to politicians

Paul Eide: do you feel like the statue at Comisky looks like you?

Frank Thomas: not really just it it it i wanted to be better because the statue is more early 90s and my look kind of evolved down the road there so i wish that i kind of took the 2000 frank thomas look with the longer pants than that old school look.

Paul Eide: furthest you’ve ever hit a ball batting left-handed?

Frank Thomas: left-handed never did much of that but i could hit left-handed. it was kind of weird i could turn around and still hit the baseball but it was
just awkward i could hit it 350.

Paul Eide: 350?

Frank Thomas: yes

Paul Eide: that’s awesome. more nervous – all-star game home run derby at bat or regular season at bat?

I’ll say home run derby everybody’s watching you’re trying to pound it yes yes

Paul Eide: final question has anyone ever had the stones to call you the big skirt to your face?

Frank Thomas: yes

Paul Eide: really?

Frank Thomas: yes, fans.

Paul Eide: oh god what Yankees fans?

Frank Thomas: all kind of fans you know that’s just they got to get in your psyche somehow.

Paul Eide: did anybody ever get in your psyche?

Frank Thomas: no but they tried

Paul Eide: Frank Thomas the man the myth the legend. Loved speaking to you sir thanks for everything!

The post The Best Frank Thomas Interview Ever appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

Behind The Skenes: Paul Skenes 7 Strikeouts vs. Storm Chasers

Paul Eide — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 19:00:40 +0000

When I heard Paul Skenes was coming to Omaha to face the hometown Storm Chasers I had to go and feel the heat for myself.

Feel the heat via this video RN (or read about it below):

It was Kid’s Day at Werner Park and first pitch was 11:05. These kids had no idea they were witnessing a generational talent; a term I despise but will use in honor of today’s NFL Draft #BearDown.

For all the kids cared, Todd Van Poppel could’ve been out there hurling the pearl and it would have been all the same to them and their sea of balloon animals, free t-shirts, mobile devices, and future dreams that will doubtlessly go unrealized.

Other than the kids, there were a bunch of old man baseball nerds such as myself thirsting over Paul Skenes, reigning College World Series champ at LSU and #1 selection in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Skenes was the second player in LSU history to be selected first overall in the draft, joining Big Ben McDonald. Skenes signed with the Pirates for a $9.2 million signing bonus the highest ever.

In his first four starts in Triple A, Skenes allowed five hits and four walks in 12 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out 27 dudes in 12 2/3 innings, 57.4% of the batters he’s faced for all you math nerds (me).

So not only was he cutting the mustard but he was exceeding the expectations.

Which impressed me, especially seeing the old dudes (me), kids, and babes leering at him during his pre-game warmup from outside the locker-room and behind the chain-linked fence of the Indianapolis Indians’ bullpen.

In this game Skenes was facing-off against Zach Davies, he of 200 MLB starts and led the majors in games started (33) in 2017 for the Brewers. Kind of a cool opponent, like two ships passing in the night. If Skenes had the career of Davies he could never be labeled a “bust.”

But he sure looks to be a helluva a lot better.

Skenes K’d two of the first three batters and from there he was completely dominant.

Over 4.1 innings he struck out 7 Chasers. And not career-minor leaguers like Razor Shines. Young Royals prospects Nick Pratto, Drew Waters, Nick Loftin, Nate Eaton all went down swinging to the 21-year-old.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Nate Eaton’s single drove in CJ Alexander and Skenes gave up his first earned run in five starts and 30+ innings. Then he struck out the next two batters.

It isn’t just that he is overpowering (see the 100 MPH in the video above) but his control is awesome.

Skenes has five pitches:

Fastball (he leads MiLB in most pitches 100+ MPH by a wide margin)
Slider
Splinker
Changeup
Curveball

To sit directly behind homeplate I really got a feel for how different each of these pitches look. The movement and change in speeds is awesome.

And as my buddy Mike noticed during the game, his arm slotting makes it hard to have an idea/guess what pitch is coming.

BTW would you ever say that to another dude in-person? “Dude, your arm slot is awesome.”

The 4.1 innings he completed on the day were the most of his Triple-A career and first time he has been allowed to pitch into the 5th inning.

You can see the Pirates gradually ramping up his workload:

3 innings, 46 pitches
3 innings, 44 pitches
3 1/3 innings, 55 pitches
3 1/3 innings, 65 pitches
4 1/3 innings, 71 pitches

Will the Pirates call Skenes up this season?

There is no reason they shouldn’t, especially because they are competitive and Skenes would nicely round out all the other young arms (Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, Bailey Falter) on the staff.

The post Behind The Skenes: Paul Skenes 7 Strikeouts vs. Storm Chasers appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

Worst Trades In MLB History By WAR

Paul Eide — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 21:39:56 +0000

How did we calculate the worst trades in MLB history?

We used all future WAR for the players involved, even if someone played for multiple teams. We sifted through many, many trades.

We definitely checked Brock, Frank Robinson, Foster, Sosa, Ferguson Jenkins, Randy Johnson, Eckersley, Ozzie, Jimmie Foxx, Cochrane, Tris Speaker, Miguel Cabrera . . . and many more.

1. Babe Ruth for cash and a curse.

142 future WAR in exchange for 0. There are to my knowledge no other player-for-cash trades that come close to this one, or any on this list, even though in this comparison one team gets nothing in exchange for the player.

2. The Mets traded Nolan Ryan, Frank Estrada, Don Rose and Leroy Stanton for Jim Fregosi.

The Mets got: Jim Fregos: 2.8 in future WAR.

The Angels got: Nolan Ryan 78.8 (Includes minus 1.8 as a hitter).
Frank Estrada 0.0
Don Rose minus 0.7
Leroy Stanton 6.9

Net value for the Angels 83 WAR.

3. The Joe Morgan for Lee May trade.

The Reds also got Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo and Denis Menke in addition to Morgan. The Astros also got Cincinnati Reds for Tommy Helms and Jimmy Stewart in addition to Lee May.

Morgan: 73.5 future WAR
Armbrister: minus 0.1
Billingham: 5.4
Geronimo: 14.0
Menke: 4.1

Lee May: 11.2
Helms: 4.2
Stewart: minus 0.7

Net value for Reds: 82.2 WAR

Truth be told, this apparently didn’t look bad for the Astros at the time. In the previous three seasons, May hit 111 home runs with 302 RBIs for the Reds. The Astrodome wasn’t as power-friendly but May still hit 82 home runs with 288 RBIs in three seasons before getting traded to Baltimore.

However, Joe Morgan was a two-time MVP and five-time Gold Glove winner while Cesar Geronimo won four Gold Gloves. Their stellar defense was a key reason the Reds won three pennants and two World Series between 1972–1976.

4. Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson.

79.9 future WAR for 3.8

Net value for the Astros: 76.1 WAR.

5. Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields.

82.8 future WAR for 14.4

Net value for the Expos: 68.4 WAR.

6. Ryne Sandberg and Larry Bowa for Ivan De Jesus

Cubs got: Sandberg 68.0 and Bowa 1.2

The Phillies got: De Jesus 2.2

Net value for the Cubs 67.0 WAR. Easily one of our favorite worst MLB trades in history.

7. John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander

Netted the Braves 60.1 net WAR.

8. Kenny Lofton and Dave Rohde for Willie Blair and Ed Taubensee

Cleveland got: Lofton 68.4 and Dave Rohde minus 0.2. Total 68.2

Astros got: Willie Blair 3.6 and Ed Taubensee 6.0. Total 9.6

Net value for Cleveland: 58.6 WAR.

By the way, I feel very strongly that Lofton and Andruw Jones should be in the Hall of Fame. And Bobby Grich, and anybody else in the top 12 at their position in JAWS.

9. Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby [and Rick Behenna] for Len Barker.

That’s 47.2 + 15.2 = 62.4 WAR post-Braves trade for a pitcher who gave Atlanta 0.7 pitching WAR (and only had 1.0 WAR left in his career after the trade). That’s a pretty stupid trade. Barker had an outsized rep because of his perfect game.

And, the Braves were trying to bolster their starting pitching for the ’83 pennant race after winning the division in ‘82, but it completely backfired because the rumors got out that the very popular Butler was going to be one of the “players to be named later.”

10. Steve Carlton for Rick Wise

Rick Wise was a solid pitcher but in two seasons for the Cardinals, Wise went 32–28 with 3.20 ERA.

Steve Carlton played 15 years for the Phillies and went 241–161, won four Cy Young Awards, and compiled a 3.09 ERA.

Wise 20.7 pitching WAR, plus 0.7 hitting WAR: 21.4 total
Carlton 63.2 pitching, plus 4.9 hitting: 68.1 total

Net value for the Phillies: 46.7 WAR.

11. George Foster for Frank Duffy and Vern Geishert.

Legend has it that Willie Mays went apoplectic when the Giants traded George Foster, a promising 22 year old outfielder to the Reds for 2B Frank Duffy and P Vern Geishert.

Foster was late developing and didn’t hit his stride until 1975 but from 1975–1981, Foster batted over .300 four times, led the NL in RBIs three times, and led the NL in home runs twice. In 1977, Foster hit .320 with 52 HRs and 149 RBIs and was voted MVP.

Meanwhile, Duffy had just 28 ABs in San Francisco and hit .179 before getting traded to Cleveland where he hit .233 over six seasons. Vern Geishert never made it to the majors.

12. Ferguson Jenkins for Larry Jackson

For a change, the Cubs weren’t on the short end of a deal.

Hall of Famer Jenkins compiled a 167–132 record in Chicago and was a six time 20 game winner. Jackson pitched three years for the Phillies and went 41–45.

13. Dennis Eckersley for David Wilder, Brian Guinn, and Mark Leonette.

The Cubs thought Eckersley was over the hill. They traded him for three minor league players. Not one of them ever made it to the majors.

Eckersley was converted to the closer, pitched nine seasons in Oakland and compiled a record of 41–31 with 320 saves. In 1992, Eckersley was voted both MVP and Cy Young winner.

If there a worst trades in MLB history that we forgot, that really gets your GOAT? Leave us a comment below.

The post Worst Trades In MLB History By WAR appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

Is Zack Greinke Really a Hall of Famer?

Paul Eide — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 22:38:24 +0000

Zack Greinke delivers a pitch to Shohei Ohtani on 6/18/23

I listen to almost every Kansas City Royals game on 610 KCSP-AM. Insert joke here about how they are so bad, you wouldn’t be able to watch them on TV without spewing your lunch all over your shoes.

While that may be partly true, as seven consecutive losing seasons would indicate, the real reason is because of the ridiculous local black out policy of Bally Sports. Which is a completely different article entirely.

One absolute bright spot of listening via radio is the broadcast team. Denny Matthews has been calling games since 1969, the first season in franchise history. Grizzled vet with the experience and vernacular of a true old-schooler. I love him and the entire crew; Ryan Lefebvre, Steve Physioc, Jake Eisenberg, and Steve Stewart.

During games that Zack Greinke starts, or is even mentioned as an upcoming starter, the broadcast team and certain Royals marketing promotions refer to Zack Greinke as a “future Hall of Famer.”

I get it – they need to sell tickets to an otherwise uninspiring collection of players.

And with owner John Sherman’s perceived belligerence and ensuing insistence that Kauffman Stadium needs to be torn down because of “concrete cancer” that does/doesn’t exist depending on who you ask, there are not many positives to sell or focus on.

Salvador Perez being the lone holdover from the 2015 World Series champion being the only other marketable player and angle. If it weren’t for Shohei Otani (more on him later), Salvy would’ve won the 2021 American League MVP Award.

Is Zack Greinke a Hall of Famer? Does he deserve to make the MLB Hall of Fame?

Not if you look at this season.

In 2023, Greinke is in the middle of what projects to be the worst season of his pro baseball pitching career.

Through 18 starts, he is 1-9 with a robust 5.44 ERA. The only comparably bad season is 2005. Greinke was 5-17 with a 5.80 ERA.

That was for a horrible 56-win team. In 2023 the Royals are even worse, with just 26 wins a week before the All-Star Game.

If Zack Attack is able to equal the 5 win total of ’05 with the ’23 version of the Royals, it would take a Herculean effort.

So what makes a Hall of Famer? What’s the criteria?

Here is the fine print from Baseball Hall of Fame website:

Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

It is definitely a nebulous definition. So let’s break each one down in the case of Greinke as best we can.

Player’s Record: As of this writing (7/4/23), Zack Greinke’s record during his 20-year career is 224-150 with a 3.48 ERA and 2,946 strikeouts.

Playing Ability:

6× All-Star (2009, 2014, 2015, 2017–2019)
All-MLB Second Team (2019)
AL Cy Young Award (2009)
6× Gold Glove Award (2014–2019)
2× Silver Slugger Award (2013, 2019)
2× MLB ERA leader (2009, 2015)

The Silver Slugger award denotes the best hitter in the game by position. (Mark) Prior to writing this piece, I didn’t realize how good of a hitter he has been.

In 521 at bats, he sports a .225 average with 9 homeruns and 34 RBI. The 2023 Royals are batting .233 as a team in 2023.

He also has hit for the “cycle” of sorts with 29 doubles and 1 triple. He’s also stolen 9 bases on 10 attempts.

Integrity, Sportsmanship, Character: I’m lumping all of these together because it is a bunch of word-salad/synonyms your third grade English teacher would be proud that you knew were synonyms.

Zack Greinke has long been known as one of the MLBs greatest weirdos. Which is why people love him. And why some people do not love him.

Here’s a link to a video “How Zack Greinke Became The Weirdest Player In Sports” that is very good.

He also allegedly pretended to sign a kid’s ball and instead threw it into the stratosphere. Which I find hilarious. He has a great, very DRY sense of humor. How else could he tolerate pitching for the Royals for so long?

Contributions to the Team: Greinke has been in eight different MLB playoffs pitching in 17 different series. He has started 21 games. His record is 4-6 with a 4.14 ERA. He has appeared in two separate World Series.

He entered Game 5 of the 2021 World Series as a pinch-hitter and recorded a hit, being the first pitcher to have a pinch hit in a World Series game since Jack Bentley of the New York Giants in 1923.

How much should longevity be weighted in considering HOF status?

Hall of Fame Player Comparisons

In order to round out my understanding of his place in history, I looked to the recent past. Who were the most recent starting pitchers to be inducted in the HOF?

In 2022 Jim Kaat was inducted. Check out how compares to Greinke:

Standard
Rk	Name	From	To	Age	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9	SO/W
1	Jim Kaat	1959	1983	20-44	283	237	.544	3.45	898	625	102	180	31	17	4530.1	4620	2038	1738	395	1083	116	2461	122	6	128	19023	108	3.41	1.259	9.2	0.8	2.2	4.9	2.27
2	Zack Greinke	2004	2023	20-39	224	149	.601	3.47	573	531	8	17	5	1	3334.1	3149	1380	1285	357	752	25	2943	77	6	101	13650	121	3.50	1.170	8.5	1.0	2.0	7.9	3.91

Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 7/4/2023.

In 2019, Roy Halladay was inducted. Here is the comparison for each:

Standard
Rk	Name	From	To	Age	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9	SO/W
1	Roy Halladay	1998	2013	21-36	203	105	.659	3.38	416	390	6	67	20	1	2749.1	2646	1135	1034	236	592	28	2117	81	9	56	11287	131	3.39	1.178	8.7	0.8	1.9	6.9	3.58
2	Zack Greinke	2004	2023	20-39	224	149	.601	3.47	573	531	8	17	5	1	3334.1	3149	1380	1285	357	752	25	2943	77	6	101	13650	121	3.50	1.170	8.5	1.0	2.0	7.9	3.91

Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 7/4/2023.

In the case of Kaat, it is difficulty to compare apples to apples. Kaat dominates in wins, complete games, shutouts., innings.

But it was a different era where workhorse pitchers were the norm. Greinke smokes him in strikeouts and walks. Kaat’s 25-year career is insane. Greinke’s 20-year career and counting is equally impressive.

Versus Halladay, I can’t tell if Greinke’s Hall of Fame campaign gets stronger or weaker.

Halladay wins in ERA, complete games, shutouts. And he won nearly as many games in 25% less the time. He also pitched on bigger stages and was as clutch as they come, as his playoff perfect game indicates.

Will Zack Greinke Make The Hall of Fame?

I wrote this piece as a way to consolidate my thoughts on if he is HOF worthy. He definitely is, there is no question about that.

I was stoked to see Greinke’s start against the California Angels on 6/18/23. He faced off against Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. As a Royals fan, you go to the games to watch the other teams.

Ohtani and Trout hit back to back homeruns in this game off Zack. I even caught the Shohei bomb in this video:

I left the game and listened to the Royals postgame on the radio as I left Kauffman Stadium.

Josh Vernier summed up the day by saying, “we lost a close one today, but you got to see three sure-fire Hall of Famers – Trout, Ohtani, and Greinke.”

Did we really though? Or, did I just see this generation’s Bert Blyleven? If we did, than Greinke will get into the HOF.

Since it is universally accepted that no pitcher will ever eclipse 300 wins again, you take the next best thing.

And Zack Greinke is probably that.

The post Is Zack Greinke Really a Hall of Famer? appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

The Worst $100+ Million Contracts in Baseball History

Paul Eide — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:10:24 +0000

It’s the off-season which means it’s time for MLB free agency. Undoubtedly a number of players this year are going to pull in massive contracts, like Aaron Judge, Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, Jacob deGrom and Xander Bogaerts.

But history has shown that these massive deals don’t always work.

Sometimes they turn into a financial sinkhole for the team where the ownership and the fans are just counting down the days until they no longer have that player on the books.

There have been 72 Major League Baseball contracts when adjusted for inflation come to more than 100 million dollars.

In this article we’re going to look at the 11 absolute worst of those 72 contracts.

11. Mike Hampton – 2001 Rockies – $190 Million

The Colorado Rockies have always been a team with a pitching problem. Playing in the highest elevation stadium in baseball by a long margin, the lowered air resistance means pitchers pitches don’t have near as much movement, are more hittable, and the ball flies further when the batter does make contact for that reason.

Free agent pitchers have always been hesitant to sign with the Rockies as it’s been known to be a place where
pitchers careers go to die. Meaning the Rockies have to shell out a bit more than any other team to land top pitching. And that was the case with Mike Hampton.

Signed in December of 2000, Mike Hampton was offered the largest contract in baseball history up to that point. Mike was a good pitcher leading up to that contract but when you think of the pitchers in the league at that time (Pedro Martinez Greg Maddux Roger Clemens Randy Johnson), Mike Hampton isn’t near that level.

You knew even at the time that him getting the largest contract in baseball history was a hell of an overpay but the Rockies had a glaring need at starting pitching.

Since their Inception the Rockies had the worst starting pitching era in the league league and the third worst starting pitching wins above replacement. It made sense for them to splurge on starting pitching.

But compared to another pitcher (Mike Mussina who signed a six-year 88.5 million dollar deal with the Yankees just nine days before Hampton Hampton’s eight-year 121 million dollar contract), is almost criminal.

But how did he perform during the contract? Well not great.

During his first two years he started 62 games and had a 5.75 era his strikeouts per 9 innings was a laughably low 4.6.

On the bright side he was by far the best hitting pitcher in the league during those two years hitting .315 with 10 home runs – absolutely crazy stats.

With Colorado he accumulated 0.3 War minus 1.6 on the pitching side and plus 1.9 on the hitting side – his entire positive output was with the bat.

After those two years the Rockies had seen enough they packaged Hampton with Juan Pierre in a trade with the Marlins. The Marlins were apparently only interested in Pierre because just two days later they traded Hampton to the Braves for a relief pitcher and minor leaguer.

To Hampton’s credit he did bounce back a little. While nowhere near his pre-Rockies days from 2003 to 2005, on the Braves he was a slightly below league average starting pitcher before requiring Tommy John’s surgery near the end of 2005.

He missed all of 2006 and 2007 before returning in 2008 for the last year of his contract. He played pretty mediocre across 13 starts that year and secured a much smaller one-year 2 million dollar contract in 2009 with the Astros.

He only pitched 4.1 innings in 2010 with the Diamondbacks before retiring. All said baseball inflation adjusted Mike Hampton signed an eight-year 190 million dollar contract earned 6.2 wins above replacement coming to 30.65 million per war.

10. Albert Belle – 1999 Orioles – $135 Million

Unlike Mike Hampton, Albert Belle had a track record going into free agency that demanded a massive deal.

Finishing top 10 in MVP voting in five of six seasons from 1993 to 1998 he was one of the best left
fielders in baseball in the mid 90s and his first free agent contract with the White Sox showed that.

After signing with the White Sox he became the highest paid player in baseball for the 1997 season and the first player in baseball history to make over 10 million in a season. In that contract he lived up to hitting 79 home runs and accumulating 8.6 war in two seasons.

After the 1998 season he had a unique clause in his contract that stipulated he would remain one of the three highest paid players in baseball throughout his contract.

The White Sox didn’t agree he was worth that much opting out and making him a free agent going into 1999.

The Orioles on the other hand saw it differently. They then signed him to a five-year 65 million dollar contract which again made him the highest paid player in baseball. In the end the White Sox look very smart passing up on Belle’s pay raise.

While he had a good 1999 with the Orioles hitting 37 home runs with a 941 Ops, his 2000 season was a step back offensively. It’s also important to note that he was one of the worst defensive left fielders in the league during this time accumulating negative 3.3 D War.

But things went from bad to worse in 2001. During spring training he was diagnosed with degenerative hip osteoarthritis. The Orioles said that he was totally disabled and unable to perform as a major league baseball player.

He was forced into retirement and never played baseball again. Fortunately for the Orioles about 70 percent of his remaining contract was covered by Insurance.

Still his inflation-adjusted contract was a total of five years 135.1 million dollars and he accumulated four wins above replacement coming to 33.78 million per win.

9. Prince Fielder – 2012 Tigers – $237 Million

Coming off his last year with the Brewers in 2011, Prince Fielder was an icon of the game.

The Home Run Derby champ and three-time All-Star was set to make a massive amount of money in free agency. The Brewers made an offer of five years 100 million dollars but that was never a serious offer that anyone thought Fielder would sign.

Instead Fielder signed a massive nine-year deal worth 214 million with the Detroit Tigers. Along with Miguel Cabrera the Tigers were looking to have one of the best one-two punches in the league. And off the bat that looked to be the case.

By the 2012 All-Star break Fielder and Cabrera combined for a league leading 134 RBIs. After 2012 the contract was looking like a massive success. Fielder accumulated 4.7 War the second highest total in his career and received MVP votes.

However 2013 saw a bit of a dip. He was worse than nearly every single offensive stat along with some of the worst first base defense in the league.

With seven years still on the contract the Tigers were sufferingand they traded Fielder to the Rangers for Ian Kinsler. Much like the White Sox opting out on Albert Belle’s contract, this turned out to be a great move for the Tigers.

Fielder’s decline was real; he had an injury riddled 2014 and 2016 with 2015 being the only semi-productive season with the Rangers. Again very similar to Albert Belle, Fielder was forced in a medical retirement during the 2015 season due to C4 and C5 herniation in his neck.

Also similar to Belle, insurance picked up some of the remaining money on his contract. Of the 96 million dollars of payments still due to Fielder the Tigers would pay 24 million the Rangers would pay 36 million and insurance would pay 36 million.

Interesting fact about this contract: because all that money is guaranteed and paid in full regardless of Fielder playing, in 2020 when all active players had their contracts prorated due to the covid shortened season, Prince Fielder was the highest paid player in the league despite retiring four years earlier.

With an inflation-adjusted contract of 9 years 237 million dollars, his production of seven war in the end Fielder’s massive deal came to 33.9 million dollars per win

8. Josh Hamilton – 2013 Angels – $124 Million

Hamilton’s story is a weird one. Drafted first overall by the Devil Rays in the 1999 draft, in 2001 he began excessive drug and alcohol use and was sent to the Betty Ford Center for drug rehabilitation.

He ended up failing a drug test during spring training of 2003 and took a year off for personal reasons. He then failed three drug tests in 2004 earning a suspension for the entire season.

He was arrested in 2005 for smashing the windshield of a friend’s truck and was suspended again for the entire season following another relapse.

At this point he was looking like a massive bust for the Rays. They left him unprotected in the 2006 Rule 5 draft where he was taken by the Chicago Cubs and then immediately traded to the Reds for cash. But this is where the story turns around.

In 2007 he was apparently clean for the first time in years and broke out with the Reds. Prior to 2008 he was traded to the Rangers and continued his prolific hitting earning his first All-Star appearance in garnering MVP votes. At this point in his career Hamilton was the post boy for overcoming addiction and turning one’s life around.

His remaining team control years with the Rangers were wildly productive with him winning League MVP in 2010. But there were still relapses in 2009. Photos of him shirtless in a bar with reports of him looking for cocaine emerged prior to the 2012 season his last team control year.

It was reported that he had another relapse with alcohol but every time these reports serviced he would apologize. The team would report how they have him on a program with a mentor and his off-field availability and production remains strong.

So the warning signs were there for an implosion but like in many sports, production reigns king and the Angels ignored all the warning signs giving Hamilton a five-year 125 million dollar contract.

On the Angels, Hamilton never came close to his level of play with the Rangers.

After two pretty subpar seasons with the Angels and a shoulder surgery prior to the 2015 season, Hamilton relapsed again and voluntarily reported to Major League Baseball while the Angels laid out a rehab plan for him. Angels owner Arte Moreno hinted to the press that they were looking to cut ties with Hamilton.

They traded him back to the Rangers for cash and a player to be named later in April of 2015 with three years still left on the contract. He played a total of 50 games with the Rangers in 2015 before knee injuries kept him off the field for the rest of his career.

From a contract standpoint he damn well earned his spot on this list inflation adjusted his contract was five years 125 million and he earned a total of 3.2 wins above replacement coming to 39 million dollars per win above replacement and memories that Angels fans wish they could erase.

7. Carl Crawford – 2011 Red Sox – $159 Million

All the contracts previously mentioned you could argue were overpays even at the time of the signing. Sure the players were good, but relative to other free agent deals at the time along with the risk, those players carried all of them were at least on the higher end of what you’d expect.

Carl Crawford doesn’t fall out of that category; he was a bona fide star with his time with Tampa Bay and an exciting player to watch. Always near the league league in stolen bases and triples along with a healthy batting average and on base percentage, he was your prototypical leadoff hitter and had his best season right before hitting free agency. In his last year with Tampa he stole 47 bases hit 307 knocked a career-high 19 home runs and scored 110 runs accumulating a great seven War season and finished seventh in the MVP voting.

It was the best case scenario for him to lock up a lucrative deal and he did just that signing a seven year 142 million dollar contract with the Red Sox. His first season with the team was headline inducing and not for the right reasons.

One of the most infamous stories of Clubhouse dysfunction that I can remember, articles came out about how the pitching rotation settled into a routine of swilling Brew eating, fast food chicken, and playing
video games in the clubhouse rather than support their struggling teammates during games.

in The Dugout manager Terry Francona completely lost his ability to motivate the team and was distracted by his own marital problems he apparently lived in a hotel during the season leadership was constantly in question and multiple reports linked players to being detached and uninspired.

At the center of this and possibly the scapegoat of the team was Crawford. He developed a chronic wrist condition and a strained ligament in his elbow that eventually resulted in wrist and Tommy John’s surgery. He had a number of complaints about the medical staff during this time and later described his two years with Boston as “the toughest time in my life.”

Asked if he regretted signing with the Red Sox Crawford replied A lot of times I did you hear a lot of talk about how I just wanted money at some point you wondered if you made the right decision.

The fans had no love for Crawford either. He was viewed as an overpaid Diva that was really a summation of the problems the Red Sox had that season. Needless to say he had to get out of Boston.

After two injury-riddled seasons where he performed nowhere close to the level he did in Tampa, the Red Sox traded him to the Dodgers in a massive salary dump for the team. While Crawford played a little bit better with the Dodgers he was still nowhere close to his Tampa Bay production.

He had nagging injuries throughout his tenure and with almost two years left on his contract the Dodgers released him and he went into retirement.

Inflation adjusted Crawford signed a seven-year 159.7 million dollar contract and accrued 3.6 War good enough for 44.4 million dollars per win.

6. Jordan Zimmerman – 2016 Tigers – $109 Million

When the Expos moved to Washington and became the Nationals, the Nationals embarked on a half decade rebuild that was highlighted by a number of great draft picks.

Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasbourg – all highly touted memorable players. But somewhat forgotten in that time was 2007 second round pick Jordan Zimmerman.

He threw the Nationals first no-hitter, finished top 10 in the Cy Young voting twice, was a two-time All-Star and was a staple in the Nationals rotation for five years.

Why is he forgotten? Probably due to the free agent deal sign with the Tigers going into 2016. While he had five seasons in a row with an era under four prior to the deal and one season under three after signing with the Tigers, he never saw below four and a half while he made 32 or more starts in the four seasons leading up to free agency.

He never crossed 30 again as injuries took their toll. While he put up 20.3 war in seven years with the Nationals, he put up a total of 1.8 over the course of his five-year deal.

Funny thing is the deal was off to a great start his first month with the Tigers. In 2015 he was the American League pitcher of the month with a 5-0 record and only giving up two earned runs in 33 Innings pitched.

After that month he missed action due to a variety of injuries including a neck strain, right shoulder strain, UCL strain, and right forearm strain. And when he was able to pitch their results were not very good all in all.

Zimmerman’s inflation-adjusted contract was five years 109.7 million dollars accruing just 1.8 War for a total of 61 million per war.

5. Mo Vaughn – 1999 Angels – $160 Million

Mo Vaughn was a stud first baseman for the Red Sox winning MVP in 1995 and putting up an Ops plus of over 144 in the Five Seasons leading up to free agency. Based off that, the Angels decided to give him a five-year 80 million dollar contract.

Now if you were to just look at his raw offensive numbers with the Angels it doesn’t look too bad.

In the first two years the contract he had over 30 home runs over 100 RBIs and pretty solid looking stats. But when you adjust for this being in the midst of the steroid era those two seasons take a huge hit compared to the rest of the league.

After those two years you wouldn’t think this contract would be fifth worst of all time but things took a turn for the worst as he missed the entire 2001 season due to injury.

He was traded to the Mets for Kevin Appier prior to 2002 and the last three years of his contract with the Mets were pretty lackluster with him missing almost two whole seasons. When he was able to play he racked up a total of negative 1.2 War.

Vaughn’s contract inflation-adjustment was a six-year 160 million dollar deal where he put up a total of 2.4 War for an end result of 66.8 million per war.

4. Justin Upton – 2018 Angels – $107 Million

This marks the third Angels contract to make this list. Add in that Albert Pujols was just outside this list at number 18 and Anthony Rendon is well on track to go down as a bad contract, the Angels could soon be owners of a whopping five free agent contracts in the top 20 worst contracts of all time.

They basically have a terrible contract Dynasty. As we saw in 2022 it shows on the field despite having two of the best players in baseball – Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani – they have no depth whatsoever. And nearly every draft pick trade or signing has done nothing to fix that.

In 2022, Ohtani and Trout combined for 15.9 B War. The rest of the Angels roster combined for 15. That means without Trout or Ohtani the Angels on paper are around a hundred loss team.

Back to Upton. Upton had a very impressive career at least up until signing that extension with the Angels.
At the age of 29 he was finishing up a two-year contract with the Tigers and having one of his better career seasons and was traded to the Angels near the 2017 trade deadline.

He continued to impress with a short stint with the Angels to close out the year which is good enough for the Angels to extend him right after the season ended.

In total a five-year 106 million dollar deal, his first year of that contract was very good 30 home runs 121 RBIs and it looked like maybe the Angels were gonna buck the trend of their terrible free agent signings. But in 2019 the wheels fell off. Injuries took their toll as he never crossed 90 games in a season from 2019 to 2022.

When he was healthy he looked like a shell of his former self while he accumulated 3.7 war in 2018, the last four years of the contract he managed to pitiful negative 2.4 War. As his offense was well below average and and defensively he lost a step and was one of the worst left fielders in the league.

In total Upton was given an inflation-adjusted contract of five years 107 million accumulated 1.4 War for a total of 76.5 million dollars per war.

3. Barry Zito – 2007 Giants – $169 Million

I can already see Giants fans rushing to the comment section to let me know that this contract was well worth it due to his 2012 playoff performance. Zito started a must-win game five in the NLCS against the Cardinals with the Cardinals up three games to one. Giants fans were not optimistic at the time as his performance up to that point with the Giants wasn’t very good.

Surprisingly Zito pitched seven and two-thirds Innings of shutout baseball to give the Giants a five to nothing victory over the Cardinals. They went on to win the last two games of the series to go up against the Tigers in the World Series. Zito started game 1 and through five and two-thirds Innings giving up only one run he exited with the game well in hand with a Giants leading six to one and en route to an eight to three game one win they went on to sweep the Tigers in four games.

Zito proved to be a catalyst of six straight wins in the playoffs and the Giants second ring in three years.

So if Zito was so instrumental to this run why is he number three on this list? Well because this list is only based on regular season results and Zito’s regular season results of minus 0.4 War over the course of a seven year 126 million dollar contract goes down as pretty terrible.

Before that 2012 playoff run, Giants fans were ready to run him out of town and his 2013 is up there with one of the worst starting pitching seasons in the last decade with an impressive 5.74 era and a negative 2.5 War.

Over the course of his inflation-adjusted contract of seven years 170 million dollars, Zito’s minus 0.4 War gave him a formula breaking negative 425 million dollars per war.

2. Chris Davis – 2016 Orioles – $162 Million

This dumpster fire of a contract has been covered ad nauseum over the past four years or so.

Chris Davis the once MVP candidate who is the heart of the Orioles offense during one of the best five-year stretches in recent Orioles history, was given a seven year 161 million dollar contract for his age 30 through 36 seasons.

Now giving a contract that big to someone over 30 has turned out bad in the past but what happened to Davis was beyond bad.

After two so-so seasons where Davis was slightly below MLB average, he seemingly forgot how to play baseball.

In 2018 he put up one of the worst seasons by a full-time starter in baseball history hitting just 168 and striking out over 35 percent of the time he ended with minus 2.6 War.

Not only that he ended the season on a 21 at-bat Hitless streak that streak continued into 2019 where he set a Major League record with 49 straight hitless at-bats by a position player.

2019 and 2020 were much of the same where Davis put up a batting average well south of the Mendoza Line and racked up strikeouts at an unprecedented rate. The Orioles kept sending Davis out to the batter’s box to take at bats because they were in full tank mode at the time and were crossing their fingers that maybe he could turn it around.

A knee injury ended his 2020 season early and also kept him out all of 2021. At that point the Orioles had seen enough they worked out a deal with Davis where he could retire but still get the remaining payments on his contract.

Inflation-adjusted Chris Davis signed a seven year 162 million dollar contract accumulated minus 2.8 War a total of negative 57.9 million per war.

1. Ryan Howard – 2012 Phillies – $146 Million

It’s often overlooked how great Ryan Howard was in his first full seven seasons with the Phillies. In those seven years he averaged over 40 home runs and 122 RBIs.

He was the heart and soul of the offense for a Phillies team that had five straight playoff appearances and one World Series ring. Going into the 2010 season the Phillies gave Howard a five-year 125 million dollar extension with an option for a sixth year. however they already had Howard signed for two more seasons through age 31.

And this may be a lot of hindsight talking but preemptively signing a guy for a premium for his age 32 to 37 seasons seemed like a lot of jumping the gun and setting yourself up for a problem contract.

But it was almost poetic in a bad way how this contract started out. On the very last at-bat of the last game of the Phillies 2011 playoff run which was Howard’s last game under his original contract, Howard came to the plate representing the tying run in the fifth game of a best-of-five series against the Cardinals. A win would have clinched the series from of the Phillies and sent them to the NLCS.

Instead Howard grounded out to second, ending their season. But one of the biggest cases of adding injury to insult, Howard tore his Achilles while running to first.

Howard was never the same after that. A guy that averaged over 40 home runs the previous seven seasons never hit over 25 again. Someone with over 120 RBIs in a season never cracked 100 again.

Not only that but it served as a major turning point for the Phillies franchise itself. After five straight playoff runs the Phillies didn’t have a single winning season for the next nine years, finishing in the cellar in the NL East for three of those years.

Once Howard’s contract was up in 2016 at the age of 36, the Phillies declined their team option for 2017. Howard tried to catch on with the Braves signing a minor league contract but never saw the majors again he officially retired in 2018.

All in all Howard signed an inflation-adjusted contract of five years 147 million and managed a staggering negative 4.8 War for a total of negative 30.6 million per war.

The post The Worst $100+ Million Contracts in Baseball History appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

Best Pitching Season Ever: Roger Clemens 1997 Blue Jays

Paul Eide — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 01:28:15 +0000

Roger Clemens had the best season of his storied career with the Blue Jays in 1997. And the Best Pitching Season Ever.

The Blue Jays attempted to re-establish themselves in the American League East by signing Roger Clemens via Free Agency and bringing All-Stars Carlos García and Orlando Merced through trade.

Clemens rejuvenated himself with the Blue Jays (en route to one of the best-ever single seasons by a starting pitcher).

In 1996 he finished with a 10-13 record and 3.63 ERA for the Red Sox.

Everyone thought he was DONE.

A common belief is Roger Clemens was on the downside of his career in his final year in Boston in 1996 and only PEDs brought his game back to Cy Young level.

Nerd metrics disagree. In 1996 Clemens finished;

~2nd in pitcher WAR
~2nd in WAA
~5th in ERA+

Ridiculous right? Let’s look at his old fashioned stats;

~7th in ERA
~7th in walks/hits per 9 innings
~2nd in hits/9 innings
~1st in Ks/9 innings
~5th in innings
~1st in Ks
~4th in complete games
~8th in K/BB
~3rd in lowest homers/9 innings
~2nd in FIP

Not his best year, but pretty damn good right?

I’m assuming his 10 and 13 record plus 3.63 ERA are the main reasons. A few explanations for that;

1. Clemens recieved 3.9 runs per 9 innings. AL teams averaged 5.39 runs per 9innings.

2. Red Sox were a terrible defensive team. Rtot negative 77.

3. Fenway was a real good hitters park, inflating offenses by 9%.

He was still a top pitcher when he left Boston.

But in 1997, Clemens had the best pitching season ever.

He won the pitching Triple Crown and won the AL Cy Young Award. Clemens led the majors in pitcher fWAR with 10.7 (Pedro was second with 8.5).

That year he led the league in:

~21 wins
~2.05 ERA
~9 complete games
~3 shutouts
~264 innings pitched
~292 Ks
~2.25 FIP
~1.030 WHIP

In geeky stats he also lead the league in;
~11.9 WAR
~222 ERA+

Clemens 11.9 WAR is tied for the 3rd best single season mark since the deadball era(1920).

His 2.22 ERA+ is tied for 10th best for a pitcher all time since 1920.

WAR and ERA+ are calculated by comparing performance to league average. 100 ERA+ is average, so Roger was 122% better than the average AL pitcher in 1997.

To demonstrate, in 1997 the average AL pitcher had a 4.93 ERA and the average batter had a batting average of 271, OBP of 340 and slugging of 428.

Clemens had an ERA of 2.05 and batters had a BA of .213, OBP of .273 and a slugging of .291.

Clemens actually had below average run support with 4.81 runs per game as opposed to league average of 4.94. With better run support, he almost definitely would have an even better won/loss record.

Roger Clemens had an ERA of 2.05 over 264 innings. Clemens struck out 28% of all batters he faced, with 292 strikeouts on the season.

Yeah, Rocket was probably juiced to the gills during the best pitching season ever, but he was facing batters equally juiced and as a whole the league was one of the most offensive in MLB history.

So most pitchers were losing the steroid battle to hitters.

But not Roger Clemens during the best pitching season ever.

The post Best Pitching Season Ever: Roger Clemens 1997 Blue Jays appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

Alex Gordon LOVE SCREAM

Paul Eide — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 16:25:10 +0000

WAIT for it…not all peer pressure is bad. In this video, me, and my daughter egg on my lifelong best friend, Eric Hoffman, into proclaiming his love FOR Alex Gordon, TO Alex Gordon.

This video took place on Sunday September 30th, 2018. During a rare Royals win over the Indians, 9-4 at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City.

Alex Gordon was 2-5 on the day with an RBI. But that isn’t what got Eric so excited.

It was that not only did Alex Gordon attend college and play for our beloved Huskers before being drafted in 2005 by the Kansas City Royals with the second pick overall, becoming the highest draft pick out of Nebraska since Darin Erstad was selected with the first pick of the 1995 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft.

But it was that he is FROM Nebraska, just like us. And is 2 “ish” years younger.

We watched him progress through the minor leagues at a blistering pace, occasionally playing for our hometown #Omaha Storm Chasers.

In short, we LOVE Alex Gordon. But my friend Eric’s love borders on insanity. As evidenced in this clip.

We were as close to Alex Gordon aka “GORDO” as we have ever been in our entire lives.

So how could we NOT show our appreciation? for one of the greatest Royals #baseball players in Kansas City history?

After much goading from me and my then-9 year old daughter, E-HO let hurl one of the greatest showings of admiration a Nebraskan can bestow on a former Husker – that chant of GBR – GO BIG RED!

And not only did Alex respond when Eric yelled his name, at the end of the video you can see him laughing.

And 2 pitches later, I caught a foul ball for my daughter!

GREAT memory.

During his rookie year in with the Royals, Alex Gordon lived in Lincoln. He moved to Leawood, Kansas in 2009. After his first child was born in 2010, he moved back to Lincoln to be closer to his grandparents.

When he signed a four-year contract with the Royals in 2016, he moved back to Leawood with his family in order to pick a convenient full-time school for his children.

Alex Gordon Royals Franchise Records:

Gordon ranks in the top-10 for most offensive categories in Royals history:

hit by pitches (121, first);
walks (684, third);
home runs (190, fourth);
doubles (357, fifth);
total bases (2,622, fifth);
extra-base hits (573, fifth);
WAR (34.5, fifth);
hits (1,643, sixth);
runs batted in (749, sixth);
runs scored (867, sixth);
games played (1,753, sixth);
singles (1,070, sixth);
at bats (6,391, sixth);
plate appearances (7,250, sixth);
sacrifice flies (43, seventh);
intentional walks (48, seventh).

And the two records that count the most: two World Series Appearances and one World Series championship.

In 2015, Gordon hit trouble as a groin injury held him to only 104 games. Despite the injury, the star appeared in his third straight All-Star game. He went on to hit .271 with 18 doubles. Gordon was a key piece to the World Series Championship team. His game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 1 off of Jeurys Familia led to a win in extra innings.

After the season, Gordon signed a four-year, $72 million contract, which was the largest in franchise history at the time.

He finished his career with four straight Gold Gloves. Gordon continued to shine with his arm and willingness to put his body on the line to make incredible plays. Additionally, he finished his career tied with Frank White for the most Gold Gloves in franchise history. Gordon also has two Platinum Gloves to go along with his three All-Star Game selections and one World Series Championship.

With his cleats hung up for good, Gordon finished with a total fielding percentage of .994. He accumulated 14 double plays and 102 outfield assists.

The latter led all outfielders in the span of 2011-2020. At the plate, he had 1,643 total hits, 190 home runs, 749 RBI, and 357 doubles.

The post Alex Gordon LOVE SCREAM appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

What’s The Rarest Play In Baseball?

Paul Eide — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 17:41:38 +0000

The unassisted triple play which has occurred 15 times in MLB history since 1900, is the rarest play in baseball for which there is a specific statistic and which is truly about a single play, and not the context in which the play occurred.

Here is a list of the rarest plays in baseball as a batter that have actually occurred, each happening one time in the history of MLB(in no particular order):

– 2 grand slams in a single inning. 1a Baseball Almanac, Wikipedia article
– 8 runs batted in during a single inning 1a Baseball Almanac
– 1 grand slam from both sides of the plate in a game 1b Wikipedia article
– 3 inside-the-park home runs in a game 1c Baseball Almanac
– Hitting for the natural cycle with a grand slam 1f Baseball Almanac
– 9 hits in a game 1g Baseball Almanac
– 7 singles in a game 1g Baseball Almanac
– 4 triples in a game 1h Baseball Almanac
– 5 intentional bases on balls in a game 1i Baseball Almanac
– 4 intentional bases on balls in a 9-inning game

Here are a few baseball hitting events that though rare, happen more frequently than I would’ve guessed:

2 – HR from both sides of plate in same inning
2 – 7 hits in a 9 inning game
6 – hitting for cycle with a grand slam
12 – 2 grand slams in same game
15 – 4 HR in a 9 inning game
21 – HR on first pitch in MLB
223 – Inside the park grand slam
13 – hitting for the natural cycle
273 – hitting for the cycle

Here is a list of the rarest plays in baseball as a pitcher that have actually occurred, each happening one time in the history of MLB (in no particular order):

– 4 consecutive home runs surrendered in a single inning Baseball Almanac
– 7 home runs surrendered in a game 1r Baseball Almanac
– 21 strikeouts in a game 1s Baseball Almanac
– 10 consecutive strikeouts in a game

Here are a some popular baseball pitching events that though rare, happen more frequently than I would’ve guessed:

9 – Perfect game lost on the 27th batter
24 – Perfect Game
104 – Immaculate Inning (retiring 3 batters on 9 pitches)
198 – 3 pitch inning

The rarest of rare plays, that I’m sure will never actually happen but would be amazing to see, would be one that can only happen under National League rules.

It would be where, in the bottom of the ninth, the home team pitcher hits a walk off home run to preserve his own perfect game, and in the process breaks up a bid for a perfect game by the opposing pitcher.

The “quadruple play” which someone else mentioned is pretty rare too, although probably not quite as unlikely.

This would be a situation where a team turns what is already a triple play, but must record a “fourth out” to negate a run that would otherwise count.

BTW officially this would “only” be a triple play. Only three outs can officially be recorded. If a team records four outs, though, then only three outs will count, but the official “third out” will be whichever one is most advantageous to the team recording it.

Still a very, very rare play especially if in combination with a triple play.

However, it turns out that the antithesis of an unassisted triple play—three errors by one player on play—is even rarer, having occurred only once as far as I can tell in MLB history.

Tommy John, pitching for the NY Yankees against the Milwaukee Brewers, achieved this “accomplishment” on July 27, 1988.

Ironically, apart from this one very bad play, John appears to have pitched a good game. He went eight strong innings for the win in a 16–3 blowout.

Two of the three Brewers’ runs occurred on the three-error play, although one of them became an earned run due to a subsequent single allowed by John.

A feat that has only occurred high school or college baseball, but has never happened in the major leagues, is hitting a home run cycle — solo shot, 2-run homer, 3-run homer, and grand slam.

Here’s an incredibly rare baseball play/scenario – like astronomically rare:

A pitcher hitting walk-off homer to preserve his perfect game and ruin the other pitcher’s perfect game is rare. But there is even more rare and technically possible scenario that would make that situation even more rare.

That is, in addition to the aforementioned scenario, if each pitcher had only thrown 27 pitches. It would require each batter to swing at first pitch and make an out. I think this is a scenario that is far more rare.

It’s incredible to think that somewhere in a professional baseball game today there is a really good chance that a player will accomplish some feat that has never or rarely been accomplished.

I think that’s a testament to what a terrifically complex game baseball can be. Not to mention every year during the playoffs and the World Series, there’s always an instance of a play or circumstance that rarely happens in DS/CS/WS.

Did you know that there is only one player that has played for every National and American League team? Can you name him? Give up?

The organ player! #ZING

The post What’s The Rarest Play In Baseball? appeared first on I-80 Sports Blog.

Baseball Blogs | MLB Baseball Blogs | Baseball Interviews

John Rocker Reveals Our Fantasy Draft Order At His Discretion

The 14th season of “OUCH, My Fucking Clavicle!” is upon us. A league known for its inappropriate fantasy football team names.

But then, he broke his right FUCKING CLAVICLE on his first preseason carry – for a nice 5 yard gain which would easily lead the NFL over a full season, .5 fantasy points – and sucked ass all year.

Per the Mayan calendar, 12/21/2012 was supposed to be the end of the world. And for many fantasy owners, their world ended with the sound of Mathews’ fragile clavicles being crushed to dust.

How Does PitchCom Work (Thanks Trashstros) 🔊⚾

I watch a ton of Major League Baseball. But in all those hours I had never once seen, or heard, how PitchCom works. This article exists to explain PitchCom to you like you are five-years old.

Why Does MLB Use PitchCom?

PitchCom – The Basics

What Does PitchCom Sound Like?

Do MLB Teams Have to Use PitchCom?

Is PitchCom The Death Knell of Old School MLB?

Is Salvador Perez Really a Hall of Famer?

The term “sure fire Hall of Famer” and the name Salvador Perez, have been linked for years – but is that accurate? Should they be?

And that’s why this article exists – to explore the Baseball Hall of Fame candidacy of Royals catcher, Salvador Perez, aka SALVY.

Player’s Record: As of this writing (8/22/25), Salvador Perez is playing in his 14th season (he missed all of 2020 due to injury, when people thought he was cooked).

Playing Ability:

Integrity, Sportsmanship, Character: I’m lumping all of these together because it is a bunch of word-salad/synonyms your third grade English teacher would be proud that you knew were synonyms.

Contributions to the Team: Is there another MLB player more synonymous with his team? Salvy IS the Royals.

Salvador Perez Hall of Fame Player Comparisons

But when you lump in Mauer, who legitimately lowered the bat…err, bar for catcher Hall of Fame inclusion, that makes Salvy an absolute no doubt Hall of Famer.

Tony LaRussa On Dominance Of The A’s, His .199 Batting Average, ARF

Tony Larussa is a 3× World Series champion (1989, 2006, 2011) and 4× Manager of the Year (1983, 1988, 1992, 2002). And has the 2nd most wins in Major League Baseball history.

Watch the Tony LaRussa interview video here:

Tony LaRussa: Well that part of cohesion was something we developed in Chicago and later St. Louis.To me it’s a frame of mind that you put together where your team is your is your family a little bit. Like the military.

Related MLB Content:

The Best Frank Thomas Interview Ever

This the Best Frank Thomas interview EVER.

Frank and I kept it light and talked Mr. Baseball, the best ball he ever CRUSHED, his favorite pitcher to RAKE DINGERS off of, and what he calls the baseball stadium in Chicago – Comisky, The Cell, or Guaranteed Rate Field.

Paul Eide: Big Frank it’s been 30 years and after all this time do you feel bad about how it went down between you and jack Elliot during your time with the Yankees in 1992 as Ricky Davis…?

Frank Thomas: yeah Ricky Davis was a heck of a young ball player!

Paul Eide: Awesome. Do you remember the best ball you’ve hit in your whole life? Like you know that feeling of just stroking one – do you remember it?

Behind The Skenes: Paul Skenes 7 Strikeouts vs. Storm Chasers

When I heard Paul Skenes was coming to Omaha to face the hometown Storm Chasers I had to go and feel the heat for myself.

Worst Trades In MLB History By WAR

How did we calculate the worst trades in MLB history?

1. Babe Ruth for cash and a curse.

2. The Mets traded Nolan Ryan, Frank Estrada, Don Rose and Leroy Stanton for Jim Fregosi.

3. The Joe Morgan for Lee May trade.

4. Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson.

5. Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields.

6. Ryne Sandberg and Larry Bowa for Ivan De Jesus

7. John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander

8. Kenny Lofton and Dave Rohde for Willie Blair and Ed Taubensee

9. Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby [and Rick Behenna] for Len Barker.

10. Steve Carlton for Rick Wise

11. George Foster for Frank Duffy and Vern Geishert.

12. Ferguson Jenkins for Larry Jackson

13. Dennis Eckersley for David Wilder, Brian Guinn, and Mark Leonette.

Is Zack Greinke Really a Hall of Famer?

Is Zack Greinke a Hall of Famer? Does he deserve to make the MLB Hall of Fame?

So what makes a Hall of Famer? What’s the criteria?

Hall of Fame Player Comparisons

Will Zack Greinke Make The Hall of Fame?

The Worst $100+ Million Contracts in Baseball History

11. Mike Hampton – 2001 Rockies – $190 Million

10. Albert Belle – 1999 Orioles – $135 Million

9. Prince Fielder – 2012 Tigers – $237 Million

8. Josh Hamilton – 2013 Angels – $124 Million

7. Carl Crawford – 2011 Red Sox – $159 Million

6. Jordan Zimmerman – 2016 Tigers – $109 Million

5. Mo Vaughn – 1999 Angels – $160 Million

4. Justin Upton – 2018 Angels – $107 Million

3. Barry Zito – 2007 Giants – $169 Million

2. Chris Davis – 2016 Orioles – $162 Million

1. Ryan Howard – 2012 Phillies – $146 Million

Best Pitching Season Ever: Roger Clemens 1997 Blue Jays

Roger Clemens had the best season of his storied career with the Blue Jays in 1997. And the Best Pitching Season Ever.

In 1996 he finished with a 10-13 record and 3.63 ERA for the Red Sox.

But in 1997, Clemens had the best pitching season ever.

His 2.22 ERA+ is tied for 10th best for a pitcher all time since 1920.

Yeah, Rocket was probably juiced to the gills during the best pitching season ever, but he was facing batters equally juiced and as a whole the league was one of the most offensive in MLB history.

Alex Gordon LOVE SCREAM

WAIT for it…not all peer pressure is bad. In this video, me, and my daughter egg on my lifelong best friend, Eric Hoffman, into proclaiming his love FOR Alex Gordon, TO Alex Gordon.

In short, we LOVE Alex Gordon. But my friend Eric’s love borders on insanity. As evidenced in this clip.

And 2 pitches later, I caught a foul ball for my daughter!

Alex Gordon Royals Franchise Records:

And the two records that count the most: two World Series Appearances and one World Series championship.

After the season, Gordon signed a four-year, $72 million contract, which was the largest in franchise history at the time.

What’s The Rarest Play In Baseball?