Dave Raymond has fond reminiscences of June 13, 2012. Then in his ultimate 12 months as a broadcaster for the Houston Astros, the now TV play-by-play voice of the Texas Rangers received to name a historic pitching efficiency — and it wasn’t even his largest thrill of the day. Previous to the sport, he was within the presence of a legend.
Raymond had an inkling that the season can be his final with the Astros. He was within the ultimate 12 months of his contract, and an possession transition was leading to quite a few adjustments all through the group. Together with his future up within the air, Raymond determined that he was going to “hit all of the excessive notes,” ensuring to get pleasure from elements of his job that may typically be taken as a right. That’s how he met Willie Mays.
“In San Francisco, Willie was at all times down within the clubhouse, simply accessible to speak,” recalled Raymond, who graduated from Stanford College earlier than changing into a broadcaster. “I’d by no means wished to trouble him all these years, however I made a decision to make it some extent to speak to him, whether or not that was for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or no matter. So I went to the ballpark early, hoping to ask him some questions and listen to a number of tales. As an illustration, he’d hit his five hundredth house run on the Astrodome, and so they’d introduced him a cake afterwards.”
The hoped for five-to-10 minutes ended up being far longer. Mays held courtroom for hours, to the purpose the place Raymond needed to inform the enduring Corridor of Famer that he wanted to go upstairs, as the sport was about to start out. As he was getting as much as go away, he added that the Astros can be returning to San Francisco proper after the All-Star break, and possibly they may discuss once more. Mays responded by saying, “Properly, you’ve received to come back over to my home then.”
Equal components thrilled and anxious, Raymond raced as much as the sales space and was barely seated earlier than the primary pitch was thrown. He needed to fill out his lineup card whereas calling the primary inning, one wherein all three Astros batters who got here to the plate in opposition to Matt Cain have been retired. It was a harbinger of issues to come back.
“To see an ideal recreation is among the most unbelievable privileges you get,” mentioned Raymond. “It was simply electrical. After which, after the sport… the primary recreation I’d ever carried out within the large leagues was with the Giants, because of Jon Miller. Jon has been a mentor to me over these years, and Dave Flemming is an previous school buddy, so we frolicked afterwards for in all probability one other hour, having a beer and speaking concerning the recreation. We watched the umpires take an image out on the mound. We watched Matt Cain carry his spouse out to the mound to take an image. We watched them dig up the mound to ship to the Corridor of Fame. It was, with out query, probably the most magical day {that a} man like me was ever going to have at a big-league ballpark.”
Lower than a month later, Raymond skilled one other day he’ll always remember. Accompanied by Flemming, he spent a day at Willie Mays’s home.
“Willie confirmed us round,” recalled Raymond, who’d introduced his household to the Bay Space for an All-Star break trip. “He has a whole storage crammed with artifacts and collectibles — he truly gave me some stuff to take again to the youngsters — and he has one other room, which is in a separate constructing on his property, the place he has his batting crowns, bats from All-Star video games, jerseys that he’s collected from different ballplayers over time. Stuff like that. He even has a declaration on the wall from Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, and Louie Armstrong. It’s signed by all three of them. It’s this private little factor the place they wished to acknowledge him as ‘The Best.’ And he’s. Willie is an excellent, great man.”
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Babe Herman went 24 for 59 in opposition to Sheriff Blake.
Babe Ruth went 25 for 62 in opposition to Dixie Davis.
Dixie Walker went 20 for 40 in opposition to Hal Schumacher
Salvador Perez is 10 for 18 in opposition to Matt Shoemaker.
Eduardo Perez went 6 for 9 in opposition to Nate Robertson
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Taylor Ward is having career-best season with the Los Angeles Angels. That he’s doing in order an outfielder is one thing he wouldn’t have anticipated as lately as 5 years in the past. Chosen twenty sixth general within the 2015 draft, the 28-year-old Fresno State product was nearly completely behind the dish previous to the 2018 season. He’d been sporting the instruments of ignorance from a younger age.
“My dad was a catcher, and that’s form of why I wished to be a catcher,” defined Ward, who was born in Dayton, Ohio and attended highschool in Indio, California. “I did that rising up, in highschool, in school, after which was drafted as a catcher. However they’ve totally different metrics in professional ball — how they measure and grade you — and I didn’t essentially fall into the catcher class. Third base or the outfield is the place they noticed me shifting ahead.”
The place swap got here in Ward’s third skilled season, and his preliminary relocation was to 3rd base. In 2019, a 12 months after receiving his first big-league call-up, he transitioned to the outfield. Three years later, he’s slashing .270/.356/.442 with 18 house runs and a 128 wRC+. The explanations behind his emergence are equal components bodily and psychological.
“A number of mechanical changes I made within the offseason have helped, mainly issues to make me extra environment friendly with my swing,” mentioned Ward. “Figuring out what I might get rid of and nonetheless have energy was the primary focus there. There’s additionally been some mental-strengthening stuff to assist me keep on with my strategy within the field. There’s a course of I exploit on daily basis.”
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A quiz:
Mike Schmidt led the Nationwide League in house runs six instances from 1974-1983. Two different gamers led the NL in house runs throughout that 10-year stretch, every doing so twice. Who have been they?
The reply could be discovered under.
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NEWS NOTES
The Society for American Baseball Analysis introduced lately that subsequent 12 months’s nationwide conference will probably be held in Chicago from July 5-9. A rundown on SABR’s conference historical past could be discovered here.
Justine Siegel was introduced because the winner of this 12 months’s SABR Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors ladies in baseball. A tireless advocate for girls in baseball, Siegel is the founding father of Baseball for All.
Anthony Varvaro, a right-handed reliever whose MLB profession spanned the 2010-2015 seasons, died in an vehicle accident final Sunday at age 37. The Staten Island native made 153 of his 166 appearances with the Atlanta Braves.
John Stearns, who appeared in a single recreation for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1974, and in 809 video games for the New York Mets from 1975-1984, died earlier this week at age 71. A catcher throughout his enjoying days, he went on to scout, coach, and handle.
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The reply to the quiz is George Foster (in 1977 and 1978) and Dave Kingman (in 1979 and 1982).
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Mike Trout falling simply in need of matching the MLB document of house runs in eight consecutive video games brings to thoughts a participant who, one century in the past, went deep in six straight video games — and it wasn’t his most-notable feat that season. In 1922, St. Louis Browns outfielder Ken Williams went deep 39 instances and stole 37 bases, changing into the sport’s first 30/30 participant.
Additionally notable in Williams’s profession is that he twice had extra RBIs than video games performed. He had 155 RBIs over 153 video games in his record-setting 1922 season, and in 1925 he had 105 RBIs in over 102 video games. The Grants Cross, Oregon native performed from 1915-1929 and completed with a .319 batting common and a 134 wRC+.
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Which of Dusty Baker, Terry Francona, Brandon Hyde, and Scott Servais would get your American League Supervisor of 12 months vote? I requested that query in a Twitter ballot a number of days in the past, and the outcomes weren’t in any respect what I anticipated. Servais received going away, garnering a hefty 67% of the 648 votes solid. Hyde (19.8%), Francona (9.9%) and Baker (3.4%) have been left within the mud.
I anticipated each a far nearer contest and a unique winner. To my thoughts, Brandon Hyde — the person on the helm of baseball’s most surprisingly profitable squad — offered because the odds-on favourite. As for the forthcoming BBWAA balloting, Hyde would presumably must be thought of the favourite. Or would he?
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Yakult Swallows slugger Munetaka Murakami has 55 house runs. The Chunichi Dragons have 60 house runs as a staff.
Conner Menez earned his first NPB win on Friday because the Nippon-Ham Fighters beat the Orix Buffaloes 6-3. The 27-year-old left-hander appeared in a single recreation for the Chicago Cubs this 12 months earlier than being launched in late June.
Hiroya Shimamoto has made 117 appearances over 5 NPB seasons and has but to be charged with a loss. The 29-year-old Hanshin Tigers left-hander is 5-0 with a 3.36 ERA over 115-and-a-third profession innings.
Yuki Matsui recorded his thirtieth save final Sunday and has now reached that complete in 5 of his 9 NPB seasons. The 26-year-old Rakuten Golden Eagles left-hander has 196 profession saves to go together with a 2.48 ERA, 782 strikeouts, and 397 hits allowed in 598-and-a-third innings.
Dae-Ho Lee is slashing .340/.385/.506 with 20 house runs for the KBO’s Lotte Giants. The 40-year-old first baseman has 2,897 profession hits, together with 485 house runs, over 22 skilled seasons (17 within the KBO, 4 in NPB, and one in MLB).
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I requested Kansas Metropolis Royals supervisor Mike Matheny a query on Friday, anticipating that his reply is perhaps Luis Arraez. I wished to know which opposing hitter stood out most in opposition to his staff this 12 months, and the sweet-swinging Minnesota Twins infielder had gone 25 for 56 with a 1.000 OPS in 16 video games in opposition to his membership.
“Essentially the most spectacular shows of expertise have been [from] Shohei Ohtani,” was Matheny’s response. “Once we confronted [the Angels] he nearly singlehandedly modified the sport on the plate. After which, the following day he utterly dominated us on the mound.”
Ohtani went 8 for 19 with three house runs and a 1.499 OPS in six video games in opposition to the Royals this season. On the mound, he labored eight shutout innings, permitting only a pair of hits and a stroll, with 13 strikeouts.
As for Arraez, “He’s hit in opposition to everyone,” mentioned Matheny. “He’s a very good hitter.”
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Who’s the hardest pitcher you’ve confronted this season? I requested that query to Tampa Bay Rays outfield prospect Mason Auer following Recreation 1 of the South Atlantic League playoffs, which noticed Auer’s Bowling Inexperienced Scorching Rods fall to the Rome Braves 3-2 in 10 innings.
“It must be the man we confronted final night time,” mentioned Auer, referring to Royber Salinas. “Each time I’ve confronted him, I’ve thought he was powerful. He has actually good off-speed stuff and mixes effectively. His fastball performs up very well.”
Salinas was described by Eric Longenhagen this summer time as having an explosive mid-90s fastball and a plus-flashing curveball, but additionally simply 30-grade command. The 21-year-old right-hander logged a 3.55 ERA with 175 strikeouts in 109 innings in the course of the common season. Auer completed with a 134 wRC+.
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FARM NOTES
Vaun Brown leads all minor league gamers (minimal 250 plate appearances) in each batting common (.346) and wRC+ (175). A tenth-round decide final 12 months by the San Francisco Giants out of Florida Southern School, the 24-year-old outfielder had 23 house runs in 458 PAs between Low-A San Jose and Excessive-A Eugene.
Kyle Manzardo is slashing .329/.426/.621 with a 179 wRC+ between Excessive-A Bowling Inexperienced and Double-A Montgomery. A second-round decide final 12 months by the Tampa Bay Rays out of Washington State College, the 22-year-old left-handed-hitting first baseman has 22 house runs.
Jaison Chourio slashed .280/.446/.402 with a 141 wRC+ in 175 plate appearances with the Cleveland Guardians’ Dominican Summer season League staff. The 17-year-old outfielder is the trouble of Milwaukee Brewers prospect Jackson Chourio.
Jackson Chourio got here into the weekend slashing .296/.350/.556 with 20 house runs and a 143 wRC+ throughout three ranges, principally Low-A and Excessive-A. Lately promoted to Double-A Biloxi, the 18-year-old outfielder is No. 47 in our Top 100 Prospects rankings.
Brandon Pfaat leads all minor league pitchers with 202 strikeouts. First featured here at FanGraphs a 12 months in the past this month, the 23-year-old right-hander within the Arizona Diamondbacks group has a 3.88 ERA over 155-and-two-thirds innings between Double-A Amarillo and Triple-A Reno.
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Again in spring coaching, Toronto Blue Jays prospect Hagen Danner was quoted in this column saying that Nick Pratto “threw 90-92 [mph] and his changeup is the nastiest factor I ever caught in highschool.” On Friday, I requested Pratto — now a rookie first baseman with the Kansas Metropolis Royals — about his pitching prowess.
“I knew the right way to manipulate the ball and get the motion I wished,” Pratto mentioned of his days at Huntington Seashore Excessive Faculty. “I didn’t know what metrics have been on the time, however it will have been attention-grabbing to see what I used to be doing in comparison with how guys are throwing these days. I sat 88-89, and would stand up to 93, however I wasn’t overpowering by any means. I additionally didn’t actually concentrate on pitching.”
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
Sports activities Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein wrote about how the New York Mets are “(Principally) overcoming a long time of dysfunction.”
Purple Row’s Joelle Milholm wrote about how the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs are very totally different groups with nearly the identical document.
Which groups shift probably the most? Mark Simon answered that question at Acta Sports activities.
Arizona Fall League rosters have been launched this week, and Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo provided information on the gamers and groups for MLB.com.
Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Drey Jameson, first featured here at FanGraphs two years in the past, was dominant in his MLB debut on Thursday night time. Theo Mackie looked at the efficiency for AZ Central.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
Coming into the weekend, the Detroit Tigers franchise document stood at 9,500 wins and 9,400 losses.
Rod Carew batted over .300 in opposition to all 14 groups he performed in opposition to in his profession. His highest common was .363 versus Cleveland, whereas his lowest was .304, versus the Angels.
Walter Johnson received 20 or extra video games for the twelfth and ultimate time in 1925, going 20-7 with the Washington Senators. He additionally logged the best batting common amongst gamers who got here to the plate no less than 100 instances that 12 months. The “Massive Prepare” slashed .433/.455/.577 over 107 plate appearances.
Bob Lemon had 147 strikeouts and 10 shutouts in 1948.
Max Scherzer had 284 strikeouts and 0 shutouts in 2016.
Joe Black had 15 wins and 15 saves in his 1952 Rookie-of-the-12 months season. The Brooklyn Dodgers sight-hander had beforehand performed with the Negro Nationwide League’s Baltimore Elite Giants.
On at the moment’s date in 1963, Ron Perranoski tossed six scoreless innings of reduction and received the choice because the Los Angeles Dodgers topped the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 in 13 innings. The win was Perranoski’s sixteenth of the season, all out of the bullpen. He completed the 12 months 16-3 with a 1.67 ERA and 21 saves.
On at the moment’s date in 1971, Rick Wise’s third hit of the day drove house the successful run within the backside of the twelfth inning because the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3. Sensible went the gap on the mound, operating his document to 16-13.
The Washington Senators misplaced their 18th consecutive recreation on at the moment’s date in 1948. (The shedding streak was snapped the following day with a double-header sweep over the Chicago White Sox). The road, “Washington – first in conflict, first in peace, and final within the American League” coined by sportswriter Charles Dryden, dates all the way in which again to 1904.
Gamers born on at the moment’s date embody Dick Dietz, who caught for 3 totally different groups from 1966-1973. An underrated participant with a profession .390 OBP, Dietz slashed .300/.426/.515 with 22 house runs in his 1970 All-Star season with the San Francisco Giants.
Additionally born on at the moment’s date was Jeff Bronkey, who pitched for the Texas Rangers in 1993, and for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1994 and 1995. A right-hander who appeared in 45 video games and logged two wins and two saves, Bronkey is barely participant in MLB historical past to be born in Afghanistan.
