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Thread: The Major League Baseball thread

  1. #3256
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    I know the Silver Slugger Award is relatively new compared to other awards (it was first awarded in 1980), but Mookie Betts became the first BoSox player to win both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger in the same season. I would have thought there would have been someone else in there before him.

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    Busted Astros used electronic sign-stealing method during title-winning 2017 season, report says

    by Matt Snyder - CBS Sports


    Major League Baseball rules do not allow teams to use electronic technology to steal signs from the catcher and then relay what pitch is coming to the hitter. But there is an ongoing issue in the league with teams stealing signs electronically, according to a report from The Athletic on Tuesday.

    While this issue stretches beyond any one team, the Astros are the club most implicated in the report. Many examples in the story come from 2017, when they won the World Series. Former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers spoke on the record about Houston's sign-stealing system at Minute Maid Park, which included a TV monitor with a feed from a center field camera near the dugout steps. Astros players would try to decode their opponents' signs and then alert hitters if an off-speed pitch was coming by banging on a dugout trash can, per the report.

    In a statement in response to the report, the Astros announced the launch of "an investigation in cooperation with Major League Baseball," and added that "it would not be appropriate to comment further on this matter at this time."

    Fiers, who pitched for the Astros from 2015-17, said his former team was "advanced and willing to go above and beyond to win." Here's more:

    "That's not playing the game the right way," said Fiers.

    [...]

    "I just want the game to be cleaned up a little bit because there are guys who are losing their jobs because they're going in there not knowing," Fiers said. "Young guys getting hit around in the first couple of innings starting a game, and then they get sent down. It's (B.S.) on that end. It's ruining jobs for younger guys. The guys who know are more prepared. But most people don't. That's why I told my team. We had a lot of young guys with Detroit (in 2018) trying to make a name and establish themselves. I wanted to help them out and say, 'Hey, this stuff really does go on. Just be prepared.'"

    Former MLB pitcher Danny Farquhar also went on the record with The Athletic. Farquhar, who pitched for the White Sox in 2017, recalled how he noticed a banging in the Astros dugout when his catcher called for a changeup. Sure enough, video from a Farquhar appearance backs up his claim (key footage comes shortly after the 2:58:30 mark). Hat-tip to DBITLefty on Twitter for the excellent find:



    Remember, there were allegations against the Astros this postseason about whistling when an off-speed pitch was coming.

    But this issue isn't just limited to the Astros. The Red Sox and Yankees have dealt with allegations as well. The story makes it clear that most teams in baseball believe the Astros go further than any other team, but this piece is important, too:

    One Astros source was adamant: The team should not become the poster child for sign stealing. Not when so much is going on with other clubs that MLB has not stopped, they said.

    The Astros lost the World Series in seven games after a franchise-record 107 win regular-season in 2019. In fact, three of their four highest win totals ever have come in the past three years, a stretch that includes their first World Series title and two pennants. Of course, their playoff run was marred a major off-field issue, as assistant general manager Brandon Taubman's was fired after harassing female reporters in the clubhouse. MLB is investigating Taubman, and the league could expand that inquiry into the franchise's sign stealing, according to The Athletic.

    Expect the issue of high-tech sign stealing to be a key point of discussion this offseason for Major League Baseball.

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    Update Report: MLB to Expand Astros Sign-Stealing Probe, Severe Penalties Possible

    By Tim Daniels - Bleacher Report




    Major League Baseball has reportedly expanded its sign-stealing investigation beyond the 2017 Houston Astros as league officials also contacted the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.

    ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Thursday that MLB is trying to unearth evidence teams "used technology to aid hitters." Based on the results of the wide-ranging probe, potential severe penalties could be "unlike anything seen in the sport's recent history," according to Passan.

    Rumors about the Astros' high-tech efforts to steal signs aren't new.

    Last October, Bleacher Report's Scott Miller reported opposing clubs warned each other about Houston's "devious technological behavior," though sources said the 'Stros weren't alone in their efforts.

    "The Astros will do anything and go to any length to try to win," a source told Miller. "I don't fault them for that, because you can't tell me the Indians, the Yankees and the Red Sox aren't trying to figure out how they can steal signs, too."

    Former Astros starting pitcher Mike Fiers brought the situation to the forefront this week when he told Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic that the club electronically stole signs during its championship season in 2017.

    "That's not playing the game the right way," Fiers said. "They were advanced and willing to go above and beyond to win."

    The Astros' system allegedly included an outfield camera pointed toward the catcher that relayed footage to a hallway near the dugout. Players and other team employees would then try to decode the signs and pass them along to hitters via loud noises.

    Jimmy O'Brien compiled video of the alleged process, which happened in a matter of seconds (warning: NSFW language):

    Passan noted The Athletic's report "brought into question the methods used by people involved in at least the past three World Series." Boston defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games to capture the 2018 title.

    The MLB department of investigations is in the process of creating a list of players, managers, coaches and other team personnel it wants to speak with, but it will need MLB Players Association approval to speak with members of the union.

    No timetable has been provided for the probe and determination of any subsequent punishment.

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    CBS Sports had him ranked as #5 of the best 50 free agents this year.

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    Rumor Yankees Rumors: Gerrit Cole Record Contract Offer Approved by Owners

    Joseph Zucker - Bleacher Report




    The New York Yankees have "ownership-level approval" to offer Gerrit Cole a record-breaking contract in free agency, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

    Passan added the Yankees identified Cole as "their clear offseason priority."

    David Price's seven-year, $217 million contract with the Boston Red Sox remains the biggest given to a free-agent pitcher.

    Passan reported the belief among some MLB executives is that Cole could receive more than $250 million.

    Last offseason the Yankees made little effort to pursue Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, the two biggest stars on the open market. General manager Brian Cashman indicated in November that wouldn't be the case again with Cole and Stephen Strasburg available.

    Despite finishing second to teammate Justin Verlander in the American League Cy Young voting, Cole led all pitchers in WAR (7.4) in 2019, per FanGraphs. He averaged 13.8 strikeouts and 2.0 walks per nine innings while posting a 2.64 FIP.

    At one point, the veteran right-hander went 11 straight starts with double digits in strikeouts (playoffs included).

    Starting pitching is by far the Yankees' biggest need. They have a solid rotation that includes James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino, but they lack a truly elite ace such as Cole.

    The Yankees have reached the American League Championship Series in two of the last three years, falling short of reaching the World Series. Their last title came in 2009, which is a veritable drought for a franchise that carries such high expectations every year.

    Adding Cole wouldn't guarantee New York a title in 2020, but it would help shore up one of the team's most obvious holes.

    And if ownership is prepared to spare no expense in pursuit of the three-time All-Star, the Yankees arguably vault to the front of the line to get his signature.

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    Bleacher Report is reporting that the Yankees are offering Gerrit Cole a 7 year $245 million deal.

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    So Strasburg is staying put in the District and now Bleacher Report is reporting that Cole's deal will be north of $300 million.

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    I don't follow MLB much but that 9 year Cole contract is more than 3x what any NHL'er has made in their entire career I'm not sour, I'd rather see the players take their cut than not... but it really puts into perspective how much bigger baseball is.

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    9 years and $324 million....absolutely ridiculous contract for a pitcher.

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    That's hilarious.

    Is baseball all guaranteed money like hockey, or is it more like the NFL where only a portion of contracts tend to be guaranteed?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Godfather View Post
    That's hilarious.

    Is baseball all guaranteed money like hockey, or is it more like the NFL where only a portion of contracts tend to be guaranteed?
    Yup, MLB is guaranteed money.

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    RIP Don Larsen, former Yankees pitcher who threw only World Series perfect game, dead at age 90

    By Samuel Chamberlain | Fox News




    Don Larsen, a journeyman pitcher best remembered for throwing the only perfect game in World Series history as a member of the New York Yankees, has died, a spokesman announced late Wednesday. He was 90 years old.

    "The world is less 'perfect' today," tweeted Larsen rep Andrew Levy. "Don Larsen, the only man to pitch a perfect game in World Series history, is gone. Goodbye, my friend. We will miss you!" Levy told the Associated Press that Larsen had died of esophageal cancer in Hayden, Idaho.


    Larsen pitched for seven different teams during a 14-year career in the big leagues, compiling a record of 81 wins and 91 losses. In 1954, he went 3-21 while making 28 starts for the Baltimore Orioles, who had just moved east from St. Louis and been rechristened from the Browns.

    But on Oct. 8, 1956, Larsen ensured his place in baseball immortality. Taking the mound for the Yankees in crucial Game 5 of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Larsen outdueled Brooklyn starter Sal Maglie by retiring all 27 batters he faced. Larsen struck out seven Dodgers in the 2-0 Yankees win, throwing just 97 pitches and only going to three balls on a batter once.

    The image of catcher Yogi Berra leaping into Larsen's arms after the final out is one of the most iconic in the sport's history.

    "When Yogi Berra jumped on me and grabbed with the bear hug, my mind went completely blank," Larsen wrote in his autobiography. "I was under friendly attack ... I was swept into the dugout."

    "We are devastated to hear of the loss of Don Larsen," the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center tweeted late Wednesday. "Don was an incredible teammate, friend, and man. In our eyes, he was perfect."

    The Yankees won the 1956 World Series in seven games while Larsen, who had started Game 2 of the series but had been chased in the second inning in an eventual Yankees loss, was named MVP of the Fall Classic. He won a second title with New York in 1958. The following year, Larsen was traded to the Kansas City Athletics as part of a seven-player deal that netted the Yankees slugger Roger Maris.

    Larsen also pitched for the Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Houston Colt .45s (now Astros) and Chicago Cubs before retiring following the 1967 season. He later worked as a liquor salesman and paper company executive.

    More than four decades after his World Series perfect game, Larsen threw one more pitch to Berra from the Yankee Stadium mound. This time, Larsen threw a ceremonial first pitch to mark Yogi Berra Day on July 18, 1999. Yankees starter David Cone then took the mound and proceeded to throw a perfect game against the Montreal Expos.

    Born Aug. 7, 1929, in Michigan City, Ind., Larsen moved with his family to San Diego, where he went to Point Loma High School, the alma mater of another perfect game pitcher, David Wells. Larsen played basketball and baseball and was signed by the St. Louis Browns for a $500 bonus and $150 a month.



    After two minor league seasons, Larsen hurt his arm and then spent two years in the Army. He was promoted to the Browns in 1953 and moved with the team to Baltimore the following year. He struggled through his 3-21 season but two of the wins were against the Yankees, who insisted on Larsen's inclusion in the 18-player trade that also brought pitching star Bob Turley to New York.

    Larsen started 1955 with the Yankees farm team in Denver, where he went 9-1 and developed the no-windup delivery. Promoted to the Yankees midway through the season, he finished 9-2 for New York. Larsen went 11-5 the next season and enjoyed the party atmosphere of the Yankees, often running with Mantle, Billy Martin and Whitey Ford in their late-night rounds of the city. On the night before his perfect game, he had been out on the town, believing he was not in manager Casey Stengel's plans for the next day.

    But when he reached Yankee Stadium on the morning of Oct. 8, he found a baseball in his shoe, the signal from Stengel that he would start Game 5.

    "I must admit I was shocked," Larsen wrote in his autobiography. "I knew I had to do better than the last time, keep the game close and somehow give our team a chance to win. Casey was betting on me, and I was determined not to let him down this time."

    Larsen pitched in three other World Series. He won Game 2 of the 1957 series against Hank Aaron and the Milwaukee Braves but lost the decisive Game 7. He shut out the Braves 4-0 on six hits in Game 3 of the 1958 series, when New York beat Milwaukee 4-3, and was back in the 1962 matchup with the Giants. Pitching against the Yankees on Oct. 8, the sixth anniversary of his perfect game, he won in relief at Yankee Stadium.

    No other pitcher has thrown a perfect game in the postseason, but in 2010 the Phillies’ Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds during the National League Division Series. “They can never break my record,” Larsen would say of his game. “The best they can do is tie it. October 8, 1956, was a mystical trip through fantasyland. Sometimes I still wonder whether it really all happened.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    Red Sox and Mookie Betts agree on a one year $27 million deal to avoid arbitration. Of course this only pushes the issue of re-signing him long term down the road another year.

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    The White Sox have kicked ass this off season, they are in a really good place to seriously compete.

    The Cubs? *crickets* What the fuck are they doing?
    I wanted to be a Monk, but I never got the chants.

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