Baseball Is Back! Let’s Remember Some Stuff
Baseball is back! Baseball is Back! BASEBALL IS BACK!
After a months-long fight between MLB and the MLBPA about how to (not) share fractions of revenue generated in our COVID-19 reality, MLB has seemingly figured out a way to make it work. There will be time to figure out all the problems, logical inconsistencies, and downright dangerous decisions made to bestow baseball upon the bored American population, but for now, let’s just take a moment to remember the real, practical baseball things that we were thinking about in March.
Maybe we knew this stuff in March. Maybe you still know this stuff readily, but it’s been a weird time since then and I can’t be the only person who was happily surprised to remember some things about baseball.
The Reds Are Fun
The Reds made splashes this winter. Their big move, to acquire Trevor Bauer, was really last summer, but they added a number of other guys that you probably know. Mike Moustakas is listed as the second baseman. Nick Castellanos is listed as the Right Fielder. But they also have:
- Aristides Aquino, who hit 19 homers in 56 games last year
- Nick Senzel, who was a top 5 prospect, now entering his sophomore year
- Shogo Akiyama, an outfielder from Japan, who has yet to make his Major League debut
- Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray, who are good
- Joey Votto, also a good player
The Rangers Have Corey Kluber Now
Remember Corey Kluber? The two-time Cy Young winner? The guy who had a 2.85 ERA from 2014-2018? One of only 3 guys to put up 30+ fWAR in that timeframe? The Rangers got him this winter and I’m excited to see him pitch again. He has a good curveball!
The Rangers also have Jordan Lyles, who has a curveball and is good now, and Greg Bird, and Rougned Odor, and Joey Gallo.
Last August, I predicted the A’s to Win the World Series
I really did. My logic is spelled out in full in that post, but the basic idea is this:
“While you may not know it, the A’s have a few guys performing like stars on the position player side. They don’t have the same ‘death by 1,000 cuts’ approach that the Rays have, but they’re solid all around.
….They have pitchers all over the spectrum: underrated veterans, prospects, post-hype pitchers that could still make an impact.”
They didn’t do much in the offseason, but they have some new guys ready to make an impact in Jesus Luzardo, AJ Puk, and Sean Murphy. Plus, Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Ramon Laureano are stars. Seems like a fun group to make a surprise run in a short season.
The Blue Jays Have Hyun Jin Ryu
So… like… Americans can’t go into Canada right now, and the Blue Jays are in Canada, but apparently the rules and COVID don’t apply to baseball players? Whatever, this is a celebratory post. Hyun Jin Ryu signed to pitch in Toronto! He led baseball with a 2.32 ERA last year, finished second in the Cy Young voting, and has combined for a 2.21 ERA over his last 265 innings pitched. That guy is now on the same team as Vladito and Bo Bichette.
Tommy John Surgery is Still a Thing
It’s not celebratory, but I just remembered that Noah Syndergaard, Chris Sale, and Chris Archer will not be pitching this year because of injury.
But Home Runs Are a More Common Thing!
So are stolen bases, outfield assists, double plays, 2-seam fastballs that run off the plate, 2-seam fastballs that run back over the plate, disappearing changeups, 90mph sliders, overzealous bullpen guys, and the infield fly rule’s complexities. Baseball is back!
-Sean Morash
