2018 MLB Season

[Carolina Speed]

A few stats from last night:
Trout, LAA: 34 HR, D. Leading the league in OBP.,OPS., BB., OPS+, Also, closing in on SLG%. lead, .625.
Olson, OAK: 27 HR
Chapman, OAK: 23 HR
Bellinger, LAD: 23 HR and 6 RBI.
Reddick, HOU: 14 HR

 

[knightedsoldier5000]

Trout 2-5 with a HR (#35), 1 R , 1 RBI, and a SB last night.
It's a really long shot at this point but he's 3rd in the BA race. Time is running out on the season to catch the leaders but I really think he could do it if he had more time. Still a possibility. (These stats do not include the 2-5 last night)

Batting Average1.Betts • BOS.3372.Martinez • BOS.3283.Trout • LAA.3184.Altuve • HOU.3185.Brantley • CLE.3076.Segura • SEA.3067.Smith • TBR.3028.Merrifield • KCR.3019.Andujar • NYY.29810.Duffy • TBR.297

 

[Shadowlight]

I had mentioned this in the Mike Trout thread but upon further review I think that this is more unusual than I first thought.

Whit Merrifield, for the second year in a row, led the AL with 45. And SS Trea Turner led the NL with 43.

Unless I am missing something this is the first time since baseball was integrated in 1949 that white players led the league in stolen bases in both leagues during the same season.

That is 70 years!!!!!!!

 

[Flint]

That is pretty cool! Although technically MLB was "integrated" in 1947 and in 1948 Richie Ashburn and Bob Dillinger were the leagues stolen base leaders. But still for the modern era? Awesome.

It seems like the racial composition of the leagues has flipped. Many of the AL leaders in stats are non-white, and most of the batting leaders in the NL are White guys. Lots of young guys too.

 

[Shadowlight]

You are right baseball was integrated in 1947 and originally I was going to mention it but somewhere along the way I mistakenly went by the year Jackie Robinson led the NL in stolen bases in 1949.

Of course those first several years of integration the percentage of black players in MLB was under 5 per cent.

Still it is an extraordinary stat. I remember reading a sports book from the 1980's or early 1990's ( I can't remember the title or author) where the author proclaimed that only black players can lead the league in stolen bases and at that time non white players had a string of years of being on top until Craig Biggio led the NL in 1994.

 

[Liverlips]

Anyone have any thoughts on the MLB playoffs? I watched a few games near the end of the season and seems the A's, Braves and Rockies are pretty white.

 

[Booth]

Chris Yelich finish 1 hr & 1 rbi short of winning the triple crown. It would have been the first since 1936 in the NL.

 

[Truthteller]

Anyone have any thoughts on the MLB playoffs? I watched a few games near the end of the season and seems the A's, Braves and Rockies are pretty white.

Pretty White Friendly: Los Angeles Dodgers; Oakland A's; Colorado Rockies

Fairly White Friendly: Atlanta Braves; Chicago Cubs

Middle of the Road: Milwaukee Brewers; Boston Red Sox

Will Not Root For: Houston Astros

Strongly Root Against: New York Yankees; Cleveland Indians


Atlanta, Houston and Cleveland are propped up, I believe, by Latin players on Steroids... Might be true with Yankees, too, but it's hard to tell as the Stadium is a bandbox?

Check out the Pre All-Star & Post All-Star stats of a pair of diminutive "All-Stars", who likely popped Roids like candy during the off-season, then tanked during the season when testing kicked in at full force. Jose Ramirez was actually named a Steroid user in June, but beat the rap? At one point he was on a pace for 56 HR's, 142 RBI's and BA well over .300.

http://m.mlb.com/player/608070/jose-ramirez?year=2018&stats=splits-r-hitting-mlb

http://m.mlb.com/player/645277/ozzie-albies?year=2018&stats=splits-r-hitting-mlb

 

[Liverlips]

Thanks. Hope the A's, Dodgers and Rockies go far.

 

[white is right]

You are right baseball was integrated in 1947 and originally I was going to mention it but somewhere along the way I mistakenly went by the year Jackie Robinson led the NL in stolen bases in 1949.

Of course those first several years of integration the percentage of black players in MLB was under 5 per cent.

Still it is an extraordinary stat. I remember reading a sports book from the 1980's or early 1990's ( I can't remember the title or author) where the author proclaimed that only black players can lead the league in stolen bases and at that time non white players had a string of years of being on top until Craig Biggio led the NL in 1994.

Freddie Patek led the AL in stolen bases in 77'.

I vividly remember this as he was only White player of this era that was routinely near the top of the leader board of this category. He could really scoot and was very short at a listed 5'5".

 

[Bucky]

Let's go Rockies!

 

[Carolina Speed]

Freddie Patek led the AL in stolen bases in 77'.

I vividly remember this as he was only White player of this era that was routinely near the top of the leader board of this category. He could really scoot and was very short at a listed 5'5".

The great Scott Podsednik led MLB in 2004 with 70 stolen bases! He had a four year run where he stole 212 bases! Probably could have stolen 1,000 bases had he be given a chance to get the Majors quicker. Didn't start playing regularly until he was 27 and only played about 4-5 full seasons!
He was a WS Champion with the Chicago White Sox and hit a walk off HR in game two.
His first career hit was a bases clearing triple.
Lifetime BA. 0f .281.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Will Not Root For: Houston Astros

Hold on now TT. Houston starts:
MVP candidate 3B Alex Bregman. Probably the best player on the team!
OF Josh Reddick
C Brian McCann
DH Evan Gattis
P Justin Verlander
P Garrett Cole
P Dallas Keuchel
P Morton
I've seen worse teams not to pull for.

 

[Truthteller]

I've seen worse teams not to pull for.

Fair enough CS, that's why I have the Yankees and Indians ranked below them. I will not root against Houston; but won't root for them. Truth is, unless Oakland advances, I wont even pay much attention to the ALDS & ALCS. My focus will be much more on the whiter friendly teams in the NL. Hoping for Los Angeles/Colorado NLCS.

I think the Astros starting pitchers are great. But, reality is their lineup is mostly Latin players, with Springer and Kemp thrown into the mix. Perhaps Marisnick and Tyler White can get into the lineup over Kemp a few times?

Couple notes about Houston:

One, the Fresno Grizzlies (AAA) were loaded with top, white talent (Kyle Tucker, J.D. Davis, Derek Fisher and A.J. Reed), so that's worth noting for future reference.

Also, Cubs have added veteran "designated runner" Terrance Gore to their roster.....Last month the Astros promoted a speedy white kid named Myles Straw -- only had 9 AB's (3 hits), but had 2 steals. Straw had an eye popping 70 SB's total in AA/AAA this year. Could he, also, be on the roster as a pinch runner type?

 

[white is right]

The great Scott Podsednik led MLB in 2004 with 70 stolen bases! He had a four year run where he stole 212 bases! Probably could have stolen 1,000 bases had he be given a chance to get the Majors quicker. Didn't start playing regularly until he was 27 and only played about 4-5 full seasons!
He was a WS Champion with the Chicago White Sox and hit a walk off HR in game two.
His first career hit was a bases clearing triple.
Lifetime BA. 0f .281.

To be honest at the time I regarded the red headed Mulatto Bump Wills as White so I guess Patek was the only one now.

Wills was a poor mans version of his dad in all facets of the game but was still very speedy and was near the AL lead in this era too. I think Amos Otis led the AL in steals a few years too, so Patek and Otis were quite the small ball duo in the era. I'm not sure if they both overlapped with Willie Wilson who was another speedster that Kansas City had.

 

[Shadowlight]

Fair enough CS, that's why I have the Yankees and Indians ranked below them. I will not root against Houston; but won't root for them. Truth is, unless Oakland advances, I wont even pay much attention to the ALDS & ALCS. My focus will be much more on the whiter friendly teams in the NL. Hoping for Los Angeles/Colorado NLCS.

I think the Astros starting pitchers are great. But, reality is their lineup is mostly Latin players, with Springer and Kemp thrown into the mix. Perhaps Marisnick and Tyler White can get into the lineup over Kemp a few times?

Couple notes about Houston:

One, the Fresno Grizzlies (AAA) were loaded with top, white talent (Kyle Tucker, J.D. Davis, Derek Fisher and A.J. Reed), so that's worth noting for future reference.

Also, Cubs have added veteran "designated runner" Terrance Gore to their roster.....Last month the Astros promoted a speedy white kid named Myles Straw -- only had 9 AB's (3 hits), but had 2 steals. Straw had an eye popping 70 SB's total in AA/AAA this year. Could he, also, be on the roster as a pinch runner type?

I am rooting for the Rockies first and foremost and the Dodgers second. Then it boils down to individual white players on different teams but I tend to agree with Truth's layout. The Yankees might ditch Gardner and the Indians are not my cup of tea.

Rockies have a superstar SS in Story and a terrific established CF in Blackmon. They also have a five tool OF talent in David Dahl who is still pretty young. His problem has been injuries. Too many to count but he has produced big time for them down the stretch.

I am pressed for time right now but I have to say it is a rare day when I miss a player and I can't thank Truth enough for making my day. A long time ago when doing research I somehow thought OF Myles Straw of the Astros was black and never looked back.

GREAT to hear he is white and he had a hell of a season in the minors. I believe he is only 23. Blinding speed. One to watch closely going forward.

 

[Truthteller]

Thanks Shadow. I'd agree, Rockies would be the best team to root for in the NL....Dodgers very close second. A's are the only AL club to really root for hard, but their starting pitching is a mess, in part, due to injuries. Boston actually got more white friendly as the season went forward. Prior to the All-Star break they were similar to NYY.

Speaking of the Yankees, one good thing about them is they accumulated a lot of talented white youngsters in minors and traded them away to smaller market teams. Some goys to watch in the future include Dustin Fowler (Oak), Jake Cave (Minn), Ben Gamel (Sea), Tyler Austin (Minn), Billy McKinney (Tor) and Nick Solak (TB)...Would not be surprised if Greg Bird and Clint Frazier are dealt in the off-season, though Frazier (who they love) has serious concussion issues?

All the players I named above are in the Majors, except for Solak. He could be the best of the bunch already dealt, although Tampa suddenly does NOT have a gaping hole at second base, with the emergence of Joey Wendle (.300 BA).

Tampa is really a team to watch and root for going forward. Solak's college teammate at Louisville, Brendan McKay, is being hyped as a 5 tool prospect, who can pitch or play infield....The goys they got in the Chris Archer deal can be stars. They also have a dynamic athlete in AA, who's name I can't remember? He has an Italian surname (Millone?) and had committed to play center field and wide receiver at Connecticut. Was much more highly touted than George Springer coming out. Only time will tell if he reaches Springer's level. Last few years it looked doubtful, but he improved a lot this season in AA.

 

[Shadowlight]

Sadly the Astros left speedster Myles Straw off the 25 man playoff roster. They also left off hyper athletic CF Jake Marisnick. They did include speedster Derek Fisher but I doubt we will see him play a big role.

The Rockies have yet another athletic speedster MIF Garrett Hampson who I think will make the roster. Not only does Hampson have great speed (he stole 51 and 36 bases the past two seasons in the minor leagues) but he has hitting skills too so expect him to become a double play partner of Trevor Story perhaps as early as next season. Talk about a SS/2B combo to root for!

Truth alluded to it above but the Astros have an OF higher rated and younger than Straw named Kyle Tucker. Had a short stint with the big club (64 AB ) but had trouble adjusting. He is only 21 though. They have big plans for him. He is as highly rated as Alex Bregman was in 2015.

As for Straw I still can't pinpoint how I got messed up with his race although I was able to find the source I used in 2015 but the little scribble notes I had were tossed. Without those I can't say if I just forgot he was white or what? Not like me to forget a white speedster. Ha.

Straw in many ways reminds me of a young Brett Gardner. The key as it is with other speedsters like CF's Adam Engel and Steven Dugger is whether he can handle big league pitching. Like a young Gardner he shows little power. More of a slap hitter to take advantage of his speed which is out of this world. Scouts question if he will be overpowered by MLB pitching. And white CF speedsters rarely are given a long leash--the Astros have been toying around with Marisnick for too long now yanking him out of the lineup etc.

But Straw is a caste buster deluxe so here is hoping he makes noise at the MLB level preferably sooner rather than later.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Astros defeat the Indians in their playoff series, 3-0. Alex Bregman played well hitting a team leading .556 and 2 HR's. Both Verlander and Cole won their games. Reddick hit .400 also.
Dodgers defeat the Braves. Kershaw won his start. Pedersen, Muncy, Turner, and Freese hit HR's for LA with Turner hitting .357. Bellinger had a terrible series going hitless in all four games.
Freddie Freeman hit a HR for the Braves
Brewers sweep the Rockies, 3-0. Yelich with a HR, but hit just .250. Moustakas played well hitting .364. The Hebrew Hammer, Braun hit .385. 38 year old Erik Kratz hit .625.
Rockies had a horrible series.

Red Sox Yankees tied, 1-1 with the Red Sox leading in game 3, 10-1.
Benintendi hitting .400 and Holt hitting .667 in the series.

 

[Carolina Speed]

The Red Sox Brock Holt becomes the first player in MLB history to hit for the cycle in the playoffs!

 

[knightedsoldier5000]

Looks like Dodgers are the most white friendly at this point. I really hope the Yankees go down to defeat.

 

[BeyondFedUp]

Looks like Dodgers are the most white friendly at this point. I really hope the Yankees go down to defeat.

Pulling for the Dodgers again this year myself. The last title they had in '88 was very special to me, personally. I was hoping for it last year but Houston deserved the win in game 7 out there. I'm hoping they are resilient to the end this time. It ain't gonna be easy.

 

[Bucky]

Counsell is a genius! Relief pitcher Brandon Woodruff just went yard in early relief duties in 3rd inning ! 2nd homer this postseason. All the while pitching lights out.

 

[Heretic]

With the Dodgers down 3-2 in the top of the 8th, Justin Turner goes deep with a 2-run shot to win it for LA yesterday to even out the series with the Brewers, 1-1.

 

[Bucky]

With the Dodgers down 3-2 in the top of the 8th, Justin Turner goes deep with a 2-run shot to win it for LA yesterday to even out the series with the Brewers, 1-1.

Been a great series so far, very competitive games.