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John Michael Bertrand is an under-the-radar pitching prospect with multi-sport bloodlines and a great backstory. Furthermore, he’s performing above expectations in his first full skilled season. Drafted within the tenth spherical final yr by the San Francisco Giants out of the College of Notre Dame, the 25-year-old left-hander is 10-5 with a 3.17 ERA in 99-and-a-third innings throughout three ranges. Bertrand started the marketing campaign at Low-A San Jose and has since progressed to Excessive-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond.
Rising up in Alpharetta, Georgia, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound hurler aspired to play faculty basketball, however it will definitely turned obvious that baseball would supply him with the higher long-term alternative. The choice proved prudent, however solely after a bumpy starting. Bertrand’s Blessed Trinity Faculty prep days had been adopted by a pair of disappointments which may simply have ended his profession earlier than it even began.
“I went to the College of Dayton for a camp, they usually informed me that I didn’t throw laborious sufficient,” Bertrand defined. “I used to be round 82 [mph] and had a crazy curveball, so it was principally, ‘Thanks on your time.’ After that, my steerage counselor advised Furman [University]. It was nearer to dwelling, and purple occurred to be my favourite colour, so I used to be like, ‘Good, I’ll go.’ I walked on to their baseball workforce, however ended up getting lower my first fall. The coaches informed me that I wasn’t adequate to play Division One baseball.”
Undeterred, and extra decided than ever, Bertrand determined that not solely would he return the next yr and make the workforce, he meant to go on to play professionally. As he put it, ‘God form of referred to as me to return to that campus and work even tougher.’ That began that practice, began my journey.”
Bertrand did make the workforce the subsequent yr, and proceeded to pitch credibly in his first two seasons of faculty eligibility. He then acquired off to an excellent begin in 2020, solely to have COVID shut issues down after he’d logged a 1.50 ERA over 4 appearances. His tutorial progress continued unabated. Bertrand went on to earn a bachelor’s diploma in Philosophy, with furthering his training a giant a part of his life’s plan. So was persevering with to play baseball. That led the southpaw to South Bend.
“I’m from an Irish Catholic household, and my dad grew up in Eire taking part in rugby, so Notre Dame had all the time been a dream faculty of mine,” mentioned Bertrand, who had utilized out of highschool however wasn’t accepted. “I used to be in a position to begin my grasp’s program there, and I pitched nicely sufficient that I acquired one name on draft day [in 2021]. I made a decision that I couldn’t move up a second yr at my dream faculty, and be there with my little brother [JD Bertrand] who’s a beginning linebacker on the soccer workforce, so I went again hoping that we may win a nationwide championship.”
The Preventing Irish fell in need of that objective, getting eradicated by Texas A&M within the 2022 Faculty World Collection. Regardless of that disappointment, his Notre Dame tenure was a rousing success. Together with going 18-5 in his two seasons on the mound, Bertrand earned a pair of graduate levels, a grasp’s in Science and Administration, and an MBA.
His father had attended highschool in Greystones, Eire.
“That’s an fascinating story,” Bertrand informed me following his final begin with the Japanese League’s Flying Squirrels. “My grandfather really purchased two desks at Blackrock in order that my father and his brother, my uncle, may play rugby there. It’s an all-boys boarding faculty, and it’s mentioned that when you will have a child — when you will have a son — the very first thing you do is title him, and the second is that you simply signal him up on the wait listing for Blackrock.
“My grandpa moved to Eire from Dayton, Ohio once they had been round center faculty age,” continued Bertrand. “That clearly meant they weren’t on the wait listing, however he talked to the priest they usually let him purchase two desks. So, they performed at Blackrock and I believe my father [Jim Bertrand] continues to be the one American to captain a workforce to the [Leinster] Senior Cup and win it. Now, this weekend, my little brother is taking part in in the identical stadium the place my dad gained the Cup.”
That may be Aviva Stadium, in Dublin, the place JD Bertrand, a fifth-year senior and second-year captain, helped lead Notre Dame to a powerful 42-3 win over Navy yesterday afternoon. As for older brother John Michael, he was following as intently as his baseball schedule would permit. That the artful lefty with a six-pitch combine and an 89-90-mph heater was doing so two steps beneath the key leagues is not any much less notable. Twice informed that he wasn’t adequate, it seems that he really is.
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Andrew Benintendi is 11 for 21 in opposition to Shane Bieber.
Todd Benzinger went 10 for 21 in opposition to Orel Hershiser.
David Bell went 7 for 10 in opposition to Gary Majewski.
Tim Naehring went 7 for 12 in opposition to Shawn Boskie.
Scooter Gennett went 7 for 12 in opposition to Jon Gray.
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Left on the cutting-room ground from Thursday’s interview with Max Scherzer had been his ideas on lacking bats. That’s one thing he’s lengthy been good at. The 39-year-old right-hander’s 3,344 strikeouts are Eleventh most in MLB historical past.
“Producing swing-and-miss is a crucial a part of pitching,” Scherzer informed me. “It’s one thing you want, and ideally you’re doing it in-zone. If you happen to can throw pitches within the zone and generate swing-and-misses, it opens up so many different issues. While you’re getting chases, you’re counting on the hitter to make a unfavourable choice. You’ll be able to’t all the time throw each pitch out of the zone, you’ve acquired to throw pitches within the zone.
“You’re additionally making an attempt to get the very best quantity of swings-and-misses with two strikes. All swings-and-misses are good, however the ones with two strikes are nice. These are outs. Producing strikeouts is a optimistic objective on the mound. You’re seeing the at-bat ending the best way you need it to finish. Strikeouts are the perfect consequence.”
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A quiz:
Duke Snider (389) and Gil Hodges (361), each of whom performed primarily when the workforce was based mostly in Brooklyn, have probably the most dwelling runs in Dodgers franchise historical past. Which Dodger has hit probably the most dwelling runs because the workforce relocated to Los Angeles?
The reply will be discovered beneath.
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NEWS NOTES
The championship sport of this yr’s Little League World Collection will likely be held right this moment, August 27, at 3:00pm ET and will likely be aired on ABC. Willemstad, Curaçao will face El Segundo, California.
SABR’s Rocky Mountain chapter will host a Zoom assembly tonight, Sunday August 27, with Joe Posnanski the featured visitor. Registration for the free-to-all 6:00pm MT occasion will be discovered here.
Aaron Familia, a 24-year-old former Milwaukee Brewers prospect, died after struggling a coronary heart assault throughout an try and cross the United States-Mexico border. The information was reported by Dominican Republic newspaper El Diario Nuevo, and by the UK’s Day by day Mail.
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The reply to the quiz is Eric Karros, with 270 dwelling runs. Ron Cey is subsequent on the listing with 228.
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Brian Snitker was referred to as old-school when he was employed to handle the Atlanta Braves in 2016, initially on an interim foundation and 5 months in a while a full-time foundation. To the extent that the label was correct then, it’s much less so now. Requested by one other reporter how he’s turn out to be extra adaptable to analytics, he mentioned the next when the Braves visited Fenway Park in late July.
“Nicely, I knew it wasn’t going away,” replied Snitker. “If I began bucking it, or no matter, it was going to be on me. I decide and select what I take advantage of. It’s a part of the sport, and I believe it’s right here to remain. It’s good things. It’s data. We’ve a veteran workers, guys with numerous expertise, and [the front office] permits us to include that in. I believe it’s a great mix.”
Upon listening to that, I requested the 67-year-old baseball lifer if any of the coaches he’s labored with over time stand out when it comes to instinct — they’ve nearly a sixth sense of which strikes to make, no matter what information suggests.
“The entire guys I’m working with on this dugout, actually,” replied Snitker.” Walt Weiss has seen all of it as a participant, a supervisor, and now as a [bench] coach. I believe Kranny [pitching coach Rick Kranitz] has a fantastic really feel. He’s the one I’m closest to over the course of the sport, and I belief his sixth sense, his expertise, his really feel. We’re very blessed to have a man along with his expertise operating issues as our pitching coach.”
Kranitz turns 65 in mid-September. Atlanta’s 39-year-old bullpen coach can be nicely regarded by the supervisor of baseball’s greatest workforce.
“We’ve acquired a younger, actually vivid, new-age man in our bullpen,” Snitker mentioned of Drew French. “He’s additionally acquired a fantastic really feel. I believe Kranny goes to be a fantastic useful resource for Drew, as a result of he’s going to be a significant league pitching coach sometime. Rising up on this sport underneath Kranny goes to bode him nicely.”
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Keio Senior Excessive Faculty gained its first nationwide baseball championship in 107 years earlier this week when it beat defending champion Sendai Ikuei Gakuen Excessive Faculty 8-2 at Koshien Stadium. The ultimate sport of Japan’s most prestigious newbie event was attended by 42,100 followers.
Chiba Lotte Marines outfielder/DH Gregory Polanco homered thrice on Thursday within the NPB membership’s 9-5 loss to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The 31-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirate has 19 dwelling runs on the season to go together with a .250/.314/.466 slash line in 354 plate appearances.
Yokohama BayStars pitcher Trevor Bauer has one hit in 40 at-bats whereas taking part in in Japan. The erstwhile MLB right-hander went 7-for-105 professionally in the USA, together with 1-for-30 in his closing MLB season.
Jung Hoo Lee is slashing .315/.407/.456 with six dwelling runs in 386 plate appearances for the Kiwoom Heroes. A .340/.407/491 hitter over seven KBO seasons, the 25-year-old outfielder is predicted to be made obtainable to MLB groups this coming winter.
Eui Lee Lee is 10-6 with a 3.87 ERA in 100 innings for the KBO’s Kia Tigers. The 21-year-old left-hander has allowed 78 hits and fanned 123 batters.
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How do the Dodgers-Giants and Purple Sox-Yankees rivalries evaluate? I requested that query to Dave Roberts at Fenway Park on Friday, and his response got here as considerably of a shock. I anticipated compulsory diplomacy. What I acquired as an alternative was forthright honesty.
“It’s laborious to beat Purple Sox-Yankees,” mentioned the Los Angeles supervisor. “I believe that you need to give it a transparent nod due to the historical past. I don’t assume you’ll be able to take two groups that had been in New York and made their method westward [while] the preliminary, unique rivalry of Yankees-Purple Sox… is entrenched within the blood and the tradition of these two fanbases… No disrespect to the Dodgers and the Giants.”
Roberts’s ninth-inning stolen base in opposition to the Yankees in Sport 4 of the 2004 ALCS is among the most impactful performs in Purple Sox historical past, and the following vanquishing of their arch rival is a momentous second in Boston sports activities historical past. For these causes alone it could be laborious for Roberts to have answered any otherwise than he did.
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FARM NOTES
Pete Hansen is 10-3 with a 3.32 ERA, a 3.96 FIP, and 114 strikeouts in 103 innings for the Low-A Palm Seashore Cardinals. The 23-year-old southpaw was drafted within the third spherical final yr by the St. Louis Cardinals out of the College of Texas the place he went 22-4 with a 2.67 ERA over three collegiate seasons.
Tyler Cleveland is 13-5 with a 3.49 ERA, a 4.14 FIP, and 104 strikeouts in 126-and-a-third innings for the Low-A Modesto Nuts. A 14th-round decide final yr out of Central Arkansas, the 23-year-old submarining right-hander is No. 13 on our Seattle Mariners Top Prospects list with a 40 FV.
Kenedy Corona is slashing .263/.343/.488 with 22 dwelling runs and 29 stolen bases in 39 makes an attempt between Excessive-A Asheville and Double-A Corpus Christi. The 23-year-old outfielder from Maracaibo, Venezuela is No. 10 on our Houston Astros Top Prospects list with a 40+ FV.
Jackson Chourio is slashing .280/.333/.466 with 19 dwelling runs and 34 stolen bases in 40 makes an attempt for the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers. The 19 year-old outfielder within the Milwaukee Brewers system is No. 4 on The Board with a 60 FV.
Dru Baker is slashing .304/.392/.487 with 14 dwelling runs and 46 stolen bases in 49 makes an attempt between Excessive-A Bowling Inexperienced and Double-A Montgomery. The 23-year-old outfielder was taken within the fourth spherical of the 2021 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays out of Texas Tech.
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Evan Katz didn’t need his profession ERA to stay at infinity, so he made one other pitching look final month at age 67. Beginning for the unbiased Pecos League’s Austin Weirdos in opposition to the Alpine Cowboys, the right-hander allowed 14 hits and 12 earned runs over 4 innings in a 22-0 loss. In his one earlier skilled outing, which got here in 2017 with the Pecos League’s White Sands Pupfish at age 61, he walked a batter who subsequently scored earlier than he may file an out.
Infinity within the rear-view mirror, Katz now could be within the file books with a 29.25 ERA. As for the 2023 Austin Weirdos, they presently have a file of 1-47. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders could be proud.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
At The Los Angeles Instances, Sarah Valenzuela wrote about how Angels possession doesn’t ship their radio workforce on the street — a call that (in my phrases, not hers) embarrasses the group and is disrespectful to each the broadcasters and the fanbase.
The Las Vegas Overview Journal’s Mick Akers interviewed understandably-unpopular Oakland Athletics proprietor John Fisher concerning the workforce’s impending transfer to Nevada.
Brewers pitching prospect Robert Gasser — featured here at FanGraphs in July of final yr — discussed his arsenal at MLB Pipeline’s Pitching Lab.
Over at Royals Overview, Preston Farr wrote about how 20-year-old left-hander Frank Mozzicato, Kansas Metropolis’s first-round decide within the 2021 draft, has added a slider to his repertoire.
The KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes introduced Friday that they’ve reached a strategic partnership with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jee-ho Yoo has the story at Yonhap Information Company.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
Kyle Schwarber has 35 dwelling runs and a 111 wRC+. Mookie Betts has 34 dwelling runs and a 171 wRC+.
Pirates rookie Henry Davis is 3-for-3 with two dwelling runs off of Shohei Ohtani.
Stephen Strasburg went 14-2 with a 2.58 ERA in 27 begins in opposition to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Oakland Athletics pitchers have walked 544 batters this yr, probably the most of any workforce. Seattle Mariners pitchers have walked 321 batters, the fewest of any workforce.
Bob Tewksbury walked 93 batters in 783 innings from 1990-1993. Matt Young walked 259 batters in 459 innings.
The Detroit Tigers swept a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins on right this moment’s date in 1972, successful each video games on Eleventh-inning dwelling runs. Willie Horton’s blast sport the Tigers a 5-3 win the opener, and Aurelio Rodriguez went deep within the 1-0 nightcap.
Pete Mackanin capped a four-run backside of the ninth inning with a walk-off single because the Twins beat the Tigers 4-3 on right this moment’s date in 1981. It was Minnesota’s solely hit that inning.
Gamers born on right this moment’s date embody Ed Herrmann, a left-handed-hitting catcher who performed for 5 groups in a profession that comprised the 1967-1978 seasons.The grandson of 1918 Brooklyn Robins pitcher Marty Herrmann was all All-Star with the Chicago White Sox in 1974.
Additionally born on right this moment’s date was Dizzy Nutter, an outfielder who logged 11 hits in 52 at-bats whereas showing in 18 video games for the Nationwide League’s Boston Braves in 1919. The Roseville, Ohio native’s given title was Everett.
Jim “Coldwater” Hughey went 25-12 for the Western League’s Toledo White Stocking in 1894, and 21-15 for the Toledo Swamp Angels/Terre Haute Hottentots in 1895. He later went 4-30 with the Nationwide League’s Cleveland Spiders, who infamously completed with a file of 20-134, in 1899.
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