Very sad. Knew he had been sick but just saw the notice that he had passed. He was only 54. The man could hit a baseball. RIP. -- Al
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Just looked at Tony Gwynn's career stats. The man played his whole career, 20 years, for the Padres, and only once, in his rookie year, did he hit less than .300 and that was .289. None of the fabled hitters of the last 50 or so years, not Rose, not Carew, not Brett, had as many .300+ seasons or as high a career average as Gwynn did, .338. You have to go back to Ted Williams, who batted .344, to find a higher average. -- Al
And speaking of Ted Williams, what stands out to me, beyond his unbelievable stats in general, is his lifetime .482 On Base Percentage! Williams played in 2292 games in his career, accumulated 2654 hits for his .344 BA, but he also drew 2021 walks. He was on base an average of two times in every game he played in. That is pretty impressive. They sure don't make them like Williams or Gwynn anymore. -- Al
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Tony Gwynn was as good off the field as he was on it. He did everything for San Diego. There are too many examples of this to list. The LA Times noted that a theater in San Diego wanted to advertise its summer Shakespeare season, Gwynn was pictured with a bat, with a quote from Hamlet, "A hit, a very palpable hit." Ticket sales skyrocketed.
He was baseball and he was San Diego. He will be missed by baseball fans and those beyond the game.
He was baseball and he was San Diego. He will be missed by baseball fans and those beyond the game.
Peter Reuss
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This just keeps shaping up to be 'the year' in Milwaukee. Last night, they again came back from a 3 run deficit to beat the D-Backs. Even in games they've lost recently they have pulled even from behind. In most years if they didn't score first it was all over. Good to see they have a bit more pluck!
Didn't see the late nighter last night, but it sounds like Braun got plunked to load the bases (first pitch behind his back, second int he middle of it, and the pitcher got tossed), and Lucroy hit the next pitch out for a grand slam to take the lead for good.
If they're not careful they are going to force me to care about baseball well into September...or (dare I say it) October! Many years by the time football starts I can fully shift gears
Didn't see the late nighter last night, but it sounds like Braun got plunked to load the bases (first pitch behind his back, second int he middle of it, and the pitcher got tossed), and Lucroy hit the next pitch out for a grand slam to take the lead for good.
If they're not careful they are going to force me to care about baseball well into September...or (dare I say it) October! Many years by the time football starts I can fully shift gears
Peter Reuss
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Today I'll be keeping a close eye out for one of the horses of the apocalypse...the Royals are in first place.
Good thing the trading deadline hasn't past yet...must be time for a youth movement in KC!
Good thing the trading deadline hasn't past yet...must be time for a youth movement in KC!
Woke up and saw this and found myself wondering where I had been during the Royal's run. They did it under the radar. Heck, Detroit was hiding from the rest of the division just a few short weeks ago. Nice job KC. Pete, I hadn't realized that the Brew Crew was putting distance between them and St. Loo. After the Cards swept my Nats, I just figured business as usual in the NL Central. Congrats. I really have to start checking the standings more closely.:redface2: -- Al
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I think the Royals being in first is great for baseball. They have been down trodden for years and they are a small market team. Good for them and their fans!
I keep an eye on former O's pitchers that have ended up on other teams and one of them is Jake Arrieta, now with the Cubs. Jake just fanned 11 in a 7 inning outing that resulted in his record going to 3-1, 1.98 ERA, with the last place Cubs. Interesting that Guthrie of KC also won today, lowering his ERA to 3.86. These two could have been of use to an O's rotation that has 3 starters with ERAs over 4.40. I wish they had stayed in B-more. -- Al
Forgot to mention Scott Feldman, currently with Houston, who has a losing record but a decent 3.98 ERA. The fly in the ointment with Feldman is that he went to Houston for Bud Norris, who is 6-5 with a 3.73 ERA as an O's starter. In fact, Norris leads the O's starters in ERA. So that trade was a plus for the O's, at least.:tongue: -- Al
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The Giants have lost 5 in a row. Hudson could not stop the losing streak and worse in those 5 games they have given up 35 runs. I am not panicking yet, but I am getting worried.
One of those aces will put a stop to the skid then all will be right. That's what good pitching staffs do. A mini-slump here or there but no long losing streaks. Nats just lost 4 in a row but stopped it last night. So will SF. -- Al
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Al:
I hope you are right. I am most concerned with Cain. He is 1-5, giving up close to one hit per inning and he has an era of 4.52. Maybe the injury is worse than the organization is letting on?
If there is an injury involved, I would hope the club would close him down until he heals. Is it possible Cain won't let on to the extent of the injury? Pitchers have been known to do that. The Nats Gio Gonzalez was pitching with a strain before his fall off in performance forced him to the DL. Sometimes the club has to overrule what the pitcher tells them if the lack of results demands it. -- Al
The Dodgers Clayton Kershaw spun a no-hitter last night that is being touted as the best pitched game in baseball history. Kershaw walked no one while fanning 15 men. The only base runner was allowed through a fielding error. According to various baseball stat sources, this is the FIRST time that a pitcher has fanned as many as 15 men and not allowed a hit or a walk. There is some number-metrics mumbo-jumbo that says only one game in MLB history ranks higher, Kerry Woods 1998 1-hitter where he fanned 20 men and walked 0. Kerry's game carries a number value of 105, while Kershaw's gets a 102. There are 11 total games ranked 100 or higher that deal with low or no hits, walks, and high strikeout totals. Of these 11 games, 3 belong to Nolan Ryan. No one else appears more than once, but includes Matt Cain, Sandy Koufax, Brandon Morrow, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, and Warren Spahn. -- Al
The Nats are really scuffling. They just can't get anything going long enough to make a difference. They can't beat St. Louis or Atlanta. Seems to be feast or famine. Their talent keeps them competitive but something is missing, whether it's confidence or killer instinct, I don't know. A perfect example is their starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann. Had an ok April, a down May, but has been on fire in June. But it hasn't really translated to wins. He has 4 starts in June, has 32 innings pitched, 27 k's, 3 BB's, and only allowed 3 runs in those 4 starts, yet his record is only 2-2 in those 4 starts. He has twice won shutouts and twice lost shutouts. A perfect definition of the Nats season, so far. VERY frustrating. Just spinning wheels... -- Al
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Al:
I know the Nats and Giants are slumping but your post made me think, wheel spin is better than a flat tire.
Best,
Jason
Es verdad.^&grin{sm3}{sm4} -- Al