John Bowen

For the last 2.5 years, I've written words about baseball, sometimes coherent, sometimes less so - with the goal of assembling it into book form. Get your copy of Baseball's Most Fun Frivolities at the link below: tinyurl.com/muat8yk3

@BigLeagueDigest @PaulHembo "4 SB" is a great addendum

Kyle Schwarber’s ridiculous 162 game pace 🤯⬇️ 115 R 144 H 101 XBH 72 HR 👀 126 RBI 108 BB 6.5 WAR 4 SB

Say what you will about WAR, it shows you its work (at least bWAR does). Mattingly's "negative dWAR" comes from summing his very positive Rfield (+33) and his very negative positional adjustment (-97). This is also why his career WAR isn't just the sum of his oWAR and dWAR, because the positional adjustment applies to both subcomponents but only once overall. (WAR = oWar + dWAR - PosWAR) Deriving that he was a "bad 1B" from that is just wrong - the stat indicates that he was pretty good at 1B and penalizes him and every other 1B. The more interesting discussion is, was he really only worth +33? +33 means better than most but not elite (and Mattingly was certainly regarded as elite). Keith Hernandez was +117, John Olerud was +103, Tino Martinez was +61. (The one that really surprised me was J.T. Snow (6x GG) at -22). (btw, Olerud's +103 STILL equates to a negative dWAR with the positional adjustment).

"Mattingly was a bad first baseman" just staggered me to my KNEES and now my day is in the shitter

@OleTimeHardball Baines wasn't really overrated. He was appropriately rated in his day as a solid dependable bat, which he was. 12 people voted him into the HOF and the vast majority of the baseball public basically said "eh, that's pretty dumb"

Who is the most overrated player in MLB history 1, Harold Baines 2. Jack Morris 3. Yadier Molina 4. Ozzie Smith 5. Nolan Ryan 6. Derek Jeter 7. Pete Rose 8. Jim Rice 9. Dave Parker 10. Fernando Tatis Jr

Here's how I see it: Through 250 starts & 1549 IP, Jacob Degrom has put together an incredibly impressive body of work. 2 CYA, an ERA title, insane K/BB ratio, over 40+ WAR. But Bret Saberhagen also did that. And then he turned 28 and put together 1100 more IP of 124 ERA+/1.140 WHIP work.

@JABowen22 @podoffame If the question is “at his best, who was the better pitcher?” Then the answer, in my opinion, is unquestionably deGrom. If the question is, “who had the greater career?” Then I think it’s extraordinarily close - edge to Sabes but deGrom is still tacking on and likely to pass him.

Pick the best:

@notgaetti Scott Karl, obviously

Besides the two obvious answers — Jackie Robinson and Mariano Rivera — who is the first #42 that comes to mind in MLB history?

@AllAcesCards @podoffame The man turns 38 in June tho

@podoffame Saberhagen as of now, but I fully expect deGrom to pass him before he retires.

@RealCJ10 @notgaetti @RealCJ10 is just like "why is @notgaetti just showing that year's AL rankings"

Almost as if being a tough out….was a badge of honor! And it doesn’t appear that hitting for a high avg affected the slugging percentage much. Hmmmm….

@theaceofspaeder @SportsRadioWIP Had to dig into the WayBack Machine, but I had the exact same thought about Lee in 2012! Can't believe I didn't write a chapter about that...

Thirteen years ago, I called into @SportsRadioWIP during a Phils segment, determined to back Cliff Lee’s 2012 season with numbers beyond his 6-9 record, but callers don’t talk stats, and I got the hang up. That year, Lee became the first pitcher with at least 200 strikeouts and fewer than 30 walks in a season since Cy Young in 1904, and that was my first ever tweet, shared by @jaysonst—it all started there. Later, I did regular spots on WIP to talk numbers as a guest, and, thanks to @RealGlenMacnow, even a weekly segment to talk stats. Grateful to every one of you for following along and talking some baseball over the years, and I appreciate the many people who have helped me navigate my way through the base paths over the years. Baseball rules. Bryce Harper should bat leadoff every single game.

@_mcameron44 Day on @immaculategrid

On a per-inning basis, Ryan is by far the worst of the 5 - but he's also the biggest innings-eater. Conversely '97-00 Pedro was the best of the group on a per-inning basis - but even then, only notching 30 starts per year. Answer is: it depends. If trying to do a 4-man rotation for the regular season, you cut Pedro, otherwise you'll burn-out the bullpen or need about 5-10 extra starts from your "swing-man." If it's the playoffs, you cut Ryan ... or let him be the closer.

You’re going with a 4-man staff. Each pitcher in his prime. Who do you cut?

It's a fun hypothetical...fact is, he wouldn't really exist. Pujols continued to get PA's deep into his career, in the middle of the order, behind Mike Trout....because he's Albert Pujols (and was on a 10y/$250M contract). If a 1B/DH has the age 22-32 run that Pujols had from 32-42, and particularly those back-5 years prior to the 2022 swan song, he's maybe stringing together a couple 1-year deals but he'll basically be done after that. Chris (and also Khris) Davis is kind of a comp?

Would this career be HOF worthy? 516 Home Runs, 1,778 RBI 2,622 Hits .257 Batting Average with a 110 OPS+ 29.0 WAR 4X All-Star 0X Top 15 MVP Finishes.

@theaceofspaeder It involved the Dodgers, but they lost to the Yankees (a recurring theme for them over the next several years).

Fun-fact - 17 years ago (against the Blue Jays0, but at Miller Park), Prince Fielder hit an inside-the-park HR (his second in 2 seasons) because Alex Rios threw up his hands on an obviously fieldable ball (which he proved as much by picking it up and hucking it in after Fielder had rounded 3rd).

FUCKKKK

@notgaetti But his WAR tho?

32 years after hitting his famous walk-off bomb, Joe Carter finally gets to wear the iconic Blue Jays postseason home run jacket 🥹

@uniformcritic Let's take a minute to appreciate that, neither before nor right after this home run, was there an idea of taking Randy Johnson out of the game. Even after giving up 8 runs, he finished the 7th and then pitched the 8th, throwing 141 pitches overall.

Juan Gonzalez (turned 56 today) takes Randy Johnson deep & gets to 100 RBI before the 1998 All Star Break.

@notgaetti Write about both of these!

In 1996, Colorado Rockies third baseman Vinny Castilla batted .304 with 40 home runs and 113 RBI. In 1997, Colorado Rockies third baseman Vinny Castilla batted .304 with 40 home runs and 113 RBI.

All Brewers on @immaculategrid with a couple trade links: Newfield and Villone were traded together twice - once at the 1995 deadline from the Mariners to the Padres for Andy Benes and then again, 1 year later @gregvaughn23. Not a trade, but Vaughn and Cameron were both 1-year interloping teammates on the 1999 Reds team that went to a game-163. And then Nelson Cruz and Carlos Lee were traded together for 1.5 years of Francisco Cordero (oops).

In addition to earning the equivalent of a small Balkan country's GDP, part of the benefit for Ohtani of going to the Dodgers was to no longer have Tungsten Arm O'Doyle moments but alas: x.com/i/trending/196…

@pete_burns13 @AdamMcCalvy One's greatest legacy is their progeny, and Adames signed for $182M. Generational wealth for literal centuries.

@AdamMcCalvy Bums me out that a few million meant more to a Willy than a Brewers legacy

If you're wondering what Willy Adames meant to Pat Murphy and the Brewers, this from Murph about sums it up.

Technically a walk off home-run does count as reaching base