2023 MLB (non-Tigers) catch all thread

[CMU97]

My best Grid ever! It helped they had some repeats. I don't know if I'll be able to do better than this.

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 189 9/9:

Rarity: 2

IMMACULATE!

🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩

Play at:

https://immaculategrid.com

@immaculategrid x @baseball_ref

 

 

[casimir]

15 minutes ago, CMU97 said:

My best Grid ever! It helped they had some repeats. I don't know if I'll be able to do better than this.

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 189 9/9:

Rarity: 2

IMMACULATE!

🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩

Play at:

https://immaculategrid.com

@immaculategrid x @baseball_ref

 

 

That's outstanding.

[theroundsquare]

rarity of 2 is really impressive!  i've yet to crack double digits

[Tenacious D]

4 hours ago, CMU97 said:

My best Grid ever! It helped they had some repeats. I don't know if I'll be able to do better than this.

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 189 9/9:

Rarity: 2

IMMACULATE!

🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩

🟩🟩🟩

Play at:

https://immaculategrid.com

@immaculategrid x @baseball_ref

 

 

I can confidently say that I could not have come up with any of those.

[CMU97]

4 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

I can confidently say that I could not have come up with any of those.

LOL

Too much old baseball in my head. I've done a ton of research on players who had a very brief time in the show. That helps a ton with players who have a lifetime .300 avg or hit .300 in a season. 

When the Rockies came into the league, Topps made cards of all the players they had drafted from the other teams. For some reason, I have a photographic memory of baseball cards.

[oblong]

I'm reading Joe Posnanski's book, The Baseball 100, and it's been a lot better than I expected. Great stories about these players and most of them are ones I never heard before.  He often expands beyond the subject player, for example, on Cool Papa Bell he goes into a thing on Jesse Owens and shows how it relates to Bell.  

Highly recomend this

 

[Tiger337]

45 minutes ago, oblong said:

I'm reading Joe Posnanski's book, The Baseball 100, and it's been a lot better than I expected. Great stories about these players and most of them are ones I never heard before.  He often expands beyond the subject player, for example, on Cool Papa Bell he goes into a thing on Jesse Owens and shows how it relates to Bell.  

Highly recomend this

 

I second that.  It's one of the best baseball books I have ever read.  Like you said, I expected to read a lot of stuff about these guys I've already heard before, but it was mostly new.  It's a perfect blend of stats and stories. 

People shouldn't read it as a definitive list.  He admits at the outset that it's impossible to do that.  It's just great sories.  

[oblong]

35 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

I second that.  It's one of the best baseball books I have ever read.  Like you said, I expected to read a lot of stuff about these guys I've already heard before, but it was mostly new.  It's a perfect blend of stats and stories. 

People shouldn't read it as a definitive list.  He admits at the outset that it's impossible to do that.  It's just great sories.  

yeah that's a good point.  I view it as stories about 100 of the most prominent players, not necessarily the best.  I almost didn't buy it because I figured "I am not interested in an encyclopedia version" but it's not that at all.

I've always enjoyed reading him and for some reason he fell off my radar over time.

His section on Schillling was very very good.   Another tidbit that stood out was on Neikro.  When the scout finally came to sign Phil he said something like "We'd like to sign your son for a $500 signing bonus".  HIs dad says "I'm sorry sir but I'm a coal miner, we don't have that kind of money".

 

[ben9753]

He just put out another baseball book. Did anyone read it?

[Tiger337]

5 minutes ago, ben9753 said:

He just put out another baseball book. Did anyone read it?

I read it.  It's not quite as good as the top 100, but it's worth reading.  It's got a little less depth than the previous book, but some really good stories surrounding baseball's great moments.   

[chasfh]

4 hours ago, oblong said:

yeah that's a good point.  I view it as stories about 100 of the most prominent players, not necessarily the best.  I almost didn't buy it because I figured "I am not interested in an encyclopedia version" but it's not that at all.

I've always enjoyed reading him and for some reason he fell off my radar over time.

His section on Schillling was very very good.   Another tidbit that stood out was on Neikro.  When the scout finally came to sign Phil he said something like "We'd like to sign your son for a $500 signing bonus".  HIs dad says "I'm sorry sir but I'm a coal miner, we don't have that kind of money".

 

Sold! I'm checking this out of the library!

[theroundsquare]

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 197 9/9:
Rarity: 73
IMMACULATE!
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
Play at:
https://immaculategrid.com
@immaculategrid x @baseball_ref

Woohoo!  My best rarity score.  Having the Tigers on there helps

[Jim Cowan]

2 hours ago, theroundsquare said:

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 197 9/9:
Rarity: 73
IMMACULATE!
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
Play at:
https://immaculategrid.com
@immaculategrid x @baseball_ref

Woohoo!  My best rarity score.  Having the Tigers on there helps

I got 7 right.  Their combined rarity was 9.8.  Yes I got to use Edwin Jackson and 2 other faves, Lou Johnson and Wes Covington.

[casimir]

3 hours ago, theroundsquare said:

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 197 9/9:
Rarity: 73
IMMACULATE!
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩
Play at:
https://immaculategrid.com
@immaculategrid x @baseball_ref

Woohoo!  My best rarity score.  Having the Tigers on there helps

9/9 and 116.  I don’t think I recall a grid where all 6 franchises are from among the original 16.

[1776]

In a shocking turn of events, the Marlins announced on Monday that general manager Kim Ng will not be returning in 2024.

"Although the club exercised its team option for her to return for the 2024 season, Kim has declined her mutual option," Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said in a statement. "We thank Kim for her contributions during her time with our organization and wish her and her family well.

[Tiger337]

This is astounding.  

 

[gehringer_2]

2 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

This is astounding.  

 

One  theory would be that it's the Rhapsodo machine. If you can tell when a guy spins it harder you can teach him to do it more consistently, which is more stress on the parts of the forearm that spin the ball.

[gehringer_2]

Ironically the tech might make a solution possible that never was in the past. 

Let just say for the sake of argument that these injuries are the result of increasing lateral spin velocities. So what do you do? In the past you could never talk about banning a particular pitch anyway because it wasn't really possible to prove a guy was throwing it. Well now you can. Of course if you did something like 'outlaw the slider' you'd have to make other shifts to compensate the pitchers' loss. Maybe enlarge the K zone and raise the mound etc.....

[Tenacious D]

I doubt they would ban a pitch under these circumstances, but it would help the team and pitchers self-police themselves better.

[gehringer_2]

5 hours ago, Tenacious D said:

I doubt they would ban a pitch under these circumstances, but it would help the team and pitchers self-police themselves better.

I agree banning a pitch would be a 'nuclear option' and extremely unlikely, on the other hand it's just a fact that athletes will always put themselves at risk for the sake of the winning and the money. They will not protect or police themselves. So I don't know what the answer is. The other question is will the numbers continue to get worse and is there some wastage rate high enough that owner will decide it's enough? Clearly it hasn't reached that point .....yet..

[casimir]

15 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

This is astounding.  

 

Tommy John and Dr. Frank Jobe's estate should look into retroactive residuals.

[Sports_Freak]

Why is Nick hitting 7th for the Phillies? He's on a HR binge.

[CMRivdogs]

Not MLB related but MiLB. Diamond Baseball Holding has increased their stable of minor league teams. Adding Norfolk (AAA) and Albuquerque (AAA) to the 20 plus teams under their ownership.

Evidently front offices and affiliate relationships will not be affected.

 

 

 

 

[chasfh]

On 10/16/2023 at 10:57 PM, gehringer_2 said:

One  theory would be that it's the Rhapsodo machine. If you can tell when a guy spins it harder you can teach him to do it more consistently, which is more stress on the parts of the forearm that spin the ball.

The most convincing research I've seen has concluded it's the quest for more velocity.

[gehringer_2]

42 minutes ago, chasfh said:

The most convincing research I've seen has concluded it's the quest for more velocity.

does what you are seeing discriminate between trying to throw harder sliders vs just harder fastballs? There has certainly been an uptick in very hard sliders in recent years, though the sudden rage for the 'sweeper' does seem to be a move back the other way.