David, Author at Baseball Roundtable

Ballpark Tours’ Kentucky Bourbon Tour – Day Eight

June 16, 2019 by David

DAY EIGHT – WE FOUND PITCHING, FIREWORKS AND A ROCKIN’ BAND – BUT NO BLOODY MARYS

Our baseball adventure continues with a trip to Indianapolis to see the Indianapolis Indians (a Pirates affiliate) take on the Pawtucket Red So. We’ll look at the game later in this post, but first a quick quiz and a few comments on our trip to Indy. For a look at Days One and Two of the tour, click here. Days Three and Four, here. Days Five and Six, here. Day Seven, here. Days Nine & Ten, click here.

Side note: Writing this on a moving bus as my battery winds down. Please excuse any typos.

QUICK QUIZ – WHO/WHAT IS ROWDIE?

Rowdie the Indianapolis Indians’ mascot may very well be having a species-identity crisis. Our group of BPT trekkers made a few guesses with the most common being rat (or rodent of some sort) and possum, What’s your guess? Answer at the end of this post.

We left Louisville at about 11 a.m., after enjoying the (free) breakfast buffet at out Holiday Inn Suites and Express. On the way, we made a stop at the Huber Family Orchard, Vineyard and Winery. A family operation that boasted a winery, distillery, fruits and vegetables, restaurant/bar, ice cream shop and (for Bob) even souvenirs. We enjoyed outdoor dining, wine and spirits tasting, homemade ice cream and freshly picked fruit (“Let’s share a quart” took on a new Ballpark Tours meeting meaning when applied to strawberries.)

GAME TIME … YOU MEAN THE INDIANS HAVE NOTHING TO TO WITH THE INDIAN$?

Next it was on to Indianapolis, where the Indianapolis Indians (a Pirates affiliate) were taking on a familiar group – the Pawtucket Red Sox. On this overcast, slightly drizzly night, we once again had great seats – just beyond third base overlooking the bullpen.

Victory Field has a roomy, walk-around concourse, a view of Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Indianapolis Colts – oh, those pesky naming rights) beyond right-center field; a very clear, easy-to-read video scoreboard; and banners hanging throughout the concourse area honoring past Indianapolis players (like Harmon Killebrew, Roger Maris and Herb Score).

We did see a more crisply played game, with Pawtucket prevailing 4-2. Indiana scored first, as lead off hitter RF Cole Tucker tripled to left and 2B Jake Elmore immediately followed with a double to center. After two outs, CF Jason Martin, singled to center scoring Elmore, but was retired on a bang-bang play at second base (throw by RF Gorkys Hernandez). Starting pitcher Kyle Hart then settled down and tossed six scoreless frames. The Red Sox were held scoreless by Indians’ starter Eduardo Vera until the fourth, when they manufactured a run on a single by CF Rusney Castillo, a double by 1B Josh Ockimey and a sacrifice fly by LF Cole Sturgeon. It would be the only run given up by Vera in six innings of work. The only other scoring came in the top of the seventh, after Vera had been relieved by Chris Stratton – and the Red Sox put across three runs (one earned) on a walk, a single, a double and an error. A few observations:

Scouting reports indicated both starters (Hart and Vera) are contact pitchers. They went a combined 13 innings with zero walks and ten strike outs.
After seeing double-digit walks as commonplace, there were only two walks total in this game.
We saw, much to BBRT’s pleasure, four double plays – a 2-6 strike ’em out – thrown ’em out; a 4-3 (on a grounder to second); a 5-4-3; and a 6-3 (grounder to shortstop).
A crowd of 13, 702 was on hand – and into the contest; not to mention the fireworks (lots of kids in the stands).

Friday Night Fireworks contributed to the size of the crowd – and made for nice post-game entertainment.

Refillable popcorn, with vodka lemonade.

The food fell a bit short of Louisville (but, then again, Louisville was exceptional). The breaded pork loin sandwich ($9.50) was well received). I had the foot-long grilled (way better than steam or boiled) hot dog with fried and raw onions and jalapenos ($7). But the real hit may have been the baseball-themed, refillable (no charge) containers of popcorn ($8).

Grilled foot-long, pictured resting upon BBRT mandatory scorecard.

Grilled foot-long, pictured resting upon BBRT’s mandatory scorecard.

If you are waiting for the usual BBRT Bloody Mary review. Bad news! No Bloody Marys at this ball park. Not that they don’t have them, they were totally out of Bloody Mary mix. Since I asked for one pre-game, I assume Bloody Marys are not a priority here. They, however, have all the “fancy” (Tutti-Frutti, anyone) beverages promoted on this sign. What is this world coming to? Next, we’ll have batters waived to first base on an intentional walk. Oh, wait ….

PLAYERS OF THE GAME – GOTTA BE THE STARTING PITCHERS (after what we’ve been seeing)

Kyle Hart, LHP, Pawtucket. Hart went seven strong innings for the win, giving up just five hits and two earned runs, walking none and fanning five. The 26-year-olds ran his record with Pawtucket to 3-1, 3.38 – with just four walks and 19 whiffs in 24 innings. (He was also 3-6, 2.91 with Portland this season.) The 6’5″, 170-pound southpaw was a 19th-round pick (out of Indiana University) in the 2016 draft. In four NCAA seasons (interrupted by Tommy John surgery), he went 27-6, 2.76. In four minor league campaigns, he is 18-23, 2.94.

Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis. The 24-year-old Vera (6’2″, 195-pounds) pitch six solid innings – six hits, one run, no walks, five strikeouts; but got no decision (he left with a 2-1 lead). Vera signed (out of Mexico) as a 17-year-old in 2012. In seven minor league seasons, he’s gone 28-18, 3.67.

POST GAME … MUSIC AND LIBATIONS

The post-game choice for trekkers was the Slippery Noodle Inn – Indiana’s oldest bar. Good food and drink and, more important, the Big Daddy Caddy Band; which played all kinds of music, tackled pretty much any request and rocked the house.

ROWDIE, THE INDIANS’ MASCOT IS A BEAR. REALLY, I’M NOT KIDDING.

More posts from the road to come.

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Ballpark Tours – Kentucky Bourbon Tour – Day Seven

June 14, 2019 by David

DAY SEVEN – CULTURE AND CUISINE … It’s all about the food, Baby.

Breakfast AND a show.

Day Seven was also Day Two in Louisville, with an evening Pawtucket/Louisville match up leaving us with time to explore the city – after the Holiday Inn and Suite’s excellent “multiple choice” and free breakfast (biscuits and gravy, four kinds of omelets, bacon, sausage, bagels and much more.) And, no veteran readers and travelers, I am not going to wax poetic about the pancake machine. But, for nostalgia’s sake, I will include a picture from the first time I referred to this baby as “breakfast and a show.”

Note: For Days One and Two, click here. Days Three and Four, click here. Days Five and Six, click here. Day Eight, click here. Days Nine and Ten, click here.

As we hit the town, the most popular stop was probably the Louisville Slugger (factory and) Museum. The tour provides a great look at how baseball bats are made (and tailored to the players who order them), as well as the history of this weapon of the game. In addition, there are opportunities to swing game-used bats of the stars. Of you are a baseball fan, the tour is well worth the $14 charge. The gift shop there also has a great range of offerings –from the usual trinkets like t-shirts and beer “coozies” to autographed game-used bats. (One of our group noted that the Kirby Puckett bat – at about $900 – was twice as pricey as the Stan Musial stick. A bat signed by my favorite all-time player, HOFer, Eddie Mathews, went for only $245.00. Ouch!)

My choices for the day were the KMAC Modern Art Gallery, with its “In the Hot Seat” exhibition of artist-designed chairs and the Muhammad Ali Center. I’d recommend them both. First, the KMAC is a free exhibit, with three floors of interesting, non –traditional art.

The Muhammad Ali Center features lots of film/video and deals as much with Ali from civil/human rights, political and humanitarian perspectives as from an in-the-ring point of view. You can also do some shadow boxing, punch the speed bag and watch of TV coverage of key Ali fights. I spent a very informative, entertaining and, in some way, inspiring 2 ½ hours there. Well worth the $13. The man was a master in the ring, but actually for bigger battles in the cultural arena.

Found the photo at the top of Ali throwing out the first pitch at the dedication of a youth ball field. The catcher is his son.

AT THE BALLPARK … IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD, BABY

Good seats once again.

The game – a Pawtucket Greenjackets/Louisville Bats rematch started at seven. A few easy observations:

The game started at 7:00, not 7:05 or 7:10 like most MLB games (which accommodate TV coverage).
The announced attendance was 6,153 – and it appeared to be an honest count.
Great seats, just to the first-base side of home plate.
The National Anthem was again “old school,” live organ music and an, appropriately, brisk tempo.
The game, like yesterday’s contest, illustrated the gap between the majors and (even) the high minors. In the first two innings, we witnessed:
- Seven runs scored;
- Eight hits;
- Four walks;
- Two errors;
- A wild pitch; and
- A Balk.
It was “Thirsty Thursday” (following “Whiskey Wednesday” – these Kentuckians know their baseball), with 16-ounce Bud and Bud Lights available for $2. There was extra security around the center field Overlook Grill and Bar.
Maybe, it’s me, but I found it strange that the sixth-inning scoreboard “Turbo Trivia” questions focused on basketball.

A WEIRD BALLPARK –WHERE THE MASCOT IS A BAT

There was one strange (to me) incident at the bat-themed ball park. First, let me note that there were three additional trekkers, within eye shot of me, who were keeping score. In the top of the sixth, three of the four of us (Bob, Joe and I) apparently had a simultaneous hallucination. We all three scored Bats’ lead off hitter Alex Blandino with a strikeout, followed by a Christian Colon ground out to third. The only problem was that, after the ground out, Colon seemed to again stroll to the plate. Only the fourth scorekeeper in our group, Nina, had it right. Blandino never struck out, he was the one who grounded to third. PS: Neither alcohol nor cannabis was involved in this simultaneous divergence from reality.

Ultimately, Pawtucket prevailed in the see-saw battle 10-8. Here’s a bit of the back-and-forth. After one inning, Louisville was up 2-0. Pawtucket tied it in the top of the second, but Louisville added three tallies in the bottom of the inning. Pawtucket came right back with three in the top of the third to tie the game at five apiece. Then Louisville plated three in the bottom of the fifth, to jump out 8-5. In the top of the sixth, Pawtucket scored a game-tying three runs. Pawtucket added single runs in the top of the eighth and ninth to complete the 10-8 scoring.

Overall, we ten pitchers, 25 hits (17 by Pawtucket); three home runs (all Pawtucket); 17 strikeouts; two errors (and a third that should have been charged); two wild pitches; one hit batter; and two balks. We also heard plenty of cheering, as the score went back-and-forth. For the purists, we did see both a 6-4-3 and 4-6-3 double play (the 6-4-3 to squelch a Pawtucket rally in the fifth, included leaping tosses by the shortstop, who went into the hole for the play, and the second baseman on the pivot); a catcher throwing out a base runner who strayed too far off first; and a nice tag-avoiding slide on a play at the plate.

OBLIGATORY BLOODY MARY REVIEW

Skip this one. Tried the Bloody Mary ($8.25) and was reminded that this is Bourbon Country. Nothing wrong with the pour, but the mix was pretty much thick tomato juice (not spicy at all) and the garnish a small wedge of lime. When in Louisville, stick to whiskey-based libations or craft beers

The food was once again All Star quality. Yesterday, I noted that the Rib-Eye Sandwich, Fried Bologna Sandwich, Gyros, and Black Angus Hot Dog all got rave reviews. Today, it was the Smoked Turkey Leg ($8.50); Buddy Bat Hot Browns ($5.50); and the $5 craft ice cream (both peach and mint-chocolate chip were reviewed) drew raves.

Jerry, who noted that he’s a turkey-leg regular at the Renaissance Festival and State Fair declared the Louisville Slugger Field turkey limb the best he’d ever had. The Buddy Bats (pretzel bites with turkey, bacon, tomatoes and mornay sauce) were described as “ball park rich.” I had the peach ice cream. The flavor was great and there were plenty of large peach chunks. Another BPT trekker (Joe) said the mint chocolate chip was well worth going back for more. In addition, another trekker (The Rev) was offered to test taste (free) a new organic all beef hot-dog. Thumbs up to the slightly spicy dog from Rev.

Really, the food (of all types) was a hit and we had just one criticism. While at the second Bats game, Casey (at the Bats) indicated that the offering of onions and peppers on the fried bologna sandwich bucked tradition. She noted that the old school fried bologna is simply bologna, cheese and mayo on white bread.

BBRT PLAYER OF THE GAME

Bryce Brentz 2012 card.

Today’s star was Bryce Brentz of Pawtucket (LF, batting in the three spot) – and his story shows just how hard it is to make (and stay) in the big leagues. In yesterday’s game, Brentz went two-for-four, with two home runs, a walk, three runs scored. On the season, Brentz is now .248-11-32 in fifty games.

Now for the background (and a lesson in how difficult it is to have an MLB career). Brentz is not one of those 21-year-old prospects (although he once was). He’s thirty-years-old and has 34 games of MLB experience (2014 and 2016), with a .287-1-9 stat line. He was All-State baseball player in at South-Doyle High School in Knoxville (hitting over .400 for his H.S. years). In college (Middle Tennessee State), he was a consensus All American (2009). In those college years, he went .329-17-68; .465-28-79; and .348-15-63 … and was the Sunbelt Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore. He was drafted in the first round (36^th overall, a supplemental pick) of the 2010 MLB draft,

Once a top-ten prospect in the Red Sox system, Brentz now has ten minor league seasons under his belt – .262-152-539 in 822 games. He was a 2017 International League All Star and topped Dan Vogelbach in the IL Home Run Derby that season. He has played in the Red Sox and Mets minor league system, as well as in the Mexican Pacific, Dominican and Puerto Rican Winter leagues.

So, here he is at 30, ten seasons (and a couple of injuries) into his professional career, still looking for a chance to “stick in the show.” This game ain’t easy, folks.

For our group, here’s final tidbit. Brentz got his first MLB hit (a double) off then-Pirate Francisco Liriano and his first (still only) MLB home run off current Twin Martin Perez.

More posts from the road to come.

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Ballpark Tours’ Kentucky Bourbon Tour – Days Five and Six

June 13, 2019 by David

Welcome to Louisville – Bats Baseball and Whiskey Wednesday.

It’s time to look at Days Five and Six of Ballpark Tours’ Kentucky Bourbon Tour – as well as give you a look at our group’s Lexington, Kentucky hotel. For a look at/read about Days One and Two, click here. Days Three and Four, click here. Day Seven, click here. Day Eight, click here. Days Nine and Ten, click here.

DAYS FOUR AND FIVE

Now that’s some hotel!

Our two nights in Lexington, Kentucky were memorable – and not just because a good portion of them were spent in a ball park. The hotel was also –and as usual – a Ballpark Tours plus. Our esteemed (at least by some) tour operator works to put us in a position to comfortably enjoy the culture, cuisine and nightlife of the communities in which we also enjoy the “blessings of baseball.”

21c Museum Hotel … the fine art of Ballpark Touring.

In selecting Lexington’s historic 21c Museum Hotel, our leader outdid himself. The 21c is in an historic building in downtown Lexington, has a great restaurant and lounge/bar and a contemporary (and free) art gallery right in the hotel. What are we talking about here? The kind of hotel with plush robes in the bathroom, peppermint soaps and shampoos, an urban chic lounge (that makes you feel like you are at a party at Frank Sinatra’s house) and interesting art at every turn.

You know, the kind of place where they deliver chocolates and ice to your room each evening. Also, the kind of hotel that is just a block away from a below-street level bar – with a country flair – called The Stagger Inn. Now, how do you top that? Note: Remember in my last report, I noted the embarrassment of finding a fairly notable contingent of Ballpark Tour trekkers, including the tour operator, in the Whitaker Bank Ball Park Tap Room – watching basketball (on television) during the baseball game. Well, on Day Five, the embarrassment was one of our group ordering a drink called “The Tutti-Frutti” at The Stagger Inn – a basement bar that features benches made the tailgate section of old pick-up trucks and prides itself on being “country.”

Breakfast at the 21c Museum Hotel. Chorizo, eggs, avocado, cheese and spicy jalapeno sauce – with sourdough toast.

DAY FIVE BOURBON, BEER AND BASEBALL – ON THE CHEAP

We started Day Five at about 9:30 a.m., hopping into our trusty coach for a ride to the Buffalo Trace Distillery in nearby Franklin – reportedly the oldest continuously operating distillery in the nation. They teased us with a tour of the facility and its well-landscaped grounds before getting on to the real business of the day bourbon (as well as bourbon cream and vodka) tasting. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. It’s the Ballpark Tours way.

That evening it was back to the ballpark for a second Augusta Greenjackets/Lexington Legends mashup. Let me say first, as in many minor league parks, there were bargains to be had. It was 25-cent hot dog night – and they were tasty all-beef offerings. Then in the sixth inning, the West Sixth craft brewery pours 12-ounce beers for a dollar. Hot dogs and cold beers at a bargain price. Our group was all smiles. I should add that one of our group offered up a very complimentary review of the Hot Brown Egg Rolls (egg rolls stuffed with bacon, turkey, tomatoes and a special sauce – with real cheese for dipping – and $8.50 ball park treat). The pretzel-crusted cheese curds were not as well received, with the most common comment being they were more like pretzel-dusted than pretzel crusted.

BAD CHOICE OF WALK UP MUSIC

Legends’ first baseman Reed Rohlman could, perhaps, have chosen better walk-up music than Garth Brooks’ “I ain’t as good as I once was.” Then again, he was hitting in the .240’s after .286 a year ago.

The Lexington squad suffered another loss, 6-3 this time, but it was a better game. First the pitchers had a little more zip, touching the low- to mid-90s, which we didn’t see much of yesterday (lots of 88 m.p.h. fastballs). Also, we saw only four walks, compared to 14 in yesterday’s game. We did see two errors, a wild pitch, a balk and a hit batsman – but, in the minors, that comes with the territory.

Bonus Photo: Lexington Legends at sunset. Photo: K. Dixon.

All in all, a much crisper game, played in slightly warmer weather, with even less expensive hot dogs and beer. (Place your smiley face here.)

Both BBRT players of the game came from the victorious Greenjackets of Augusta.

RHP Keaton Winn (21-years-old/Fifth round of 2018 draft) was appropriately the WINN-ing pitcher. He went six solid innings, giving up just three hits and no runs, while walking one and fanning six. The 6’4”, 205-pounder improved his 2019 record to 3-4, 3.90. This season, he’s walked just nine, while striking out 44 in 60 innings.

Ismael Munguia, lead off hitter and CF for Augusta. Munguia went two-for-four, with two doubles, a run scored and two RBI. The 24-year-old is hitting.340+ for the season.

After the game, trekkers skipped, marched, swayed or meandered off to their chosen night spots. I joined a group headed for The Stagger Inn, a basement bar with a good juke box and reasonably priced beverages, which was quite lively for being the day before payday (you had to be there to get that reference.)

DAY SIX – ON TO LOUISVILLE

We left on the morning of June 12 for Louisville, where we slated to take in a Pawtucket/Louisville clash. Notably, the Louisville team is called the “Bats” and we drove by Lexington’s Transylvania University on the way out of town. Surprisingly, there was plenty of daylight foot traffic on the campus.

On the (Bourbon) Road Again

On the way to Louisville, our tour operator opened a Manhattan Bar mid-bus; sharing some of his Buffalo Trace Distillery purchases. So, we’ve now had an on-the-bus Bloody Mary Bar; Craft Cocktail Bar; and Manhattan Bar. Seeing a theme here?

We arrived at Louisville Slugger Field at about 11 a.m., parking right in front of the Pee Wee Reese statue. It proved be a great ball park – good sight lines, a walk-around the stadium open concourse, games and even a carousel for the kids and LOTS of good food and drink options. For the bigger kids, it was also “Whiskey Wednesday” – shots of Coopers’ Craft Bourbon for just three dollars. It would be inappropriate to rate a Bloody Mary on Whiskey Wednesday, so let me say here the Coopers’ Craft 100-proof was smooth (and popular). Not as much “bite” as some of the bourbons we tasted yesterday, but enough quality to make “Whiskey Wednesday” a Ballpark Tours hit.

Great seats – $11. Is this heaven? No it’s Louisville Slugger Stadium.

The Pawtucket Red Sox Louisville Bats game was a Triple A match up – so we were expecting a much cleaner contest than we saw an A-Level Lexington. Oops! There were 13 walks, four wild pitches and two hit batsmen in this tilt – won by the Bats 10-8. A few notes:

Despite the 18 runs scored, the two teams went a combined 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position.
It was 7-6 after two innings and we had already seen 10 hits (three home runs); six walks; and one error. (Things calmed down a bit after that with both teams scoreless from the thirds through the sixth inning.)
In the space of two batters in the second inning (when Pawtucket scored six times), Louisville starter Vlad Gutierrez gave up a bases-loaded walk to Pawtucket DH Tzu-Wei Lin and a Grand Slam to SS Chad De La Guerra. At this point, Gutierrez’ day was done
The attendance was 6,728 including several sections of very excited youngsters.

We saw 17 players with some level of major–league experience in the game (from just one game to 364 games to a former American League All Star). Here are the two more notable examples:

Stephen Wright, who pitched three scoreless frames for Pawtucket has a 24-15, 3.77 record in six MLB seasons. He was an All Star in 2016, when he went 13-6, 3.33 for Boston. The 34-year-old is coming of an 80-game substance-related suspension.

Gorkys Hernandez, who started in CF and hit lead off for Pawtucket, had the most MLB experience of any of the players in the game – 364 games in four MLB seasons, including 142 games with the Giants in 2018 (.234-15-40). Hernandez is a well-traveled ballplayer: signed with the Tigers in 2005; traded to the Braves in 2007; traded to the Pirates before the 2008 season; traded to the Marlins in mid-season 2012; traded to the Royals, mid-season 2013; traded to the White Sox early in 2014, released in July; signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in December 2014; signed a minor-league deal with the Giants in 2018; signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox in December 2018.

Other MLB players appearing in the game (with MLB game appearances in parenthesis) were: Tzu-Wei Lin (75 MLB games); Rusney Castillo (99); Oscar Hernandez (22); Bryce Bentz (34); Ryan Weber (30); Dan Runzler (97); Tyler Thornburg (185); Brian Ellington (97); Jenrry Mejia (113);Christian Colon (142); Phillip Ervin (116); Aristides Aquino (1); Sherman Johnson (10); Juan Graterol (61).

A few more observations:

When we moved from A- to AAA-level ball, when went from two umpires to three.
Each team managed to deliver one bases-loaded free pass.
The organist played the National Anthem at the correct brisk tempo (first time this trip).
Members of the senior choir that sang the anthem at one of our Lexington games were sitting behind us in Louisville.
The scorecards had plenty of room for both scoring and adding comments.

The food choices in Louisville were a big hit. All of the following got rave reviews: Specialty Fried Bologna Sandwich (fried bologna, fried onions and peppers, cheese, mustard and ketchup on white bread – $6.50); Greek Gyros ($8); Big Angus Hot Dog ($8); and made-to-order Rib Eye Sandwich ($7.50). I had the rib eye (medium rare) and it literally was one-third bigger than the bun (and delicious).

Everything from rib eyes to Big Angus dogs to fried bologna.

Everything from fried bologna to Big Angus dogs to rib eyes.

A FINAL THOUGHT ON THE GAME/BALL PARK

The Bats hand out a Kidzone magazine (free) with lots of activities for the youngsters (coloring pages, mazes, connect the dots, word finds, etc.). Of interest to BBRT was Page Six – a tutorial to teach kids how to score a ball game. Kudos to the Bats for that.

POST-GAME LOUISVILLE

Plenty to do in Louisville. The live music at Stevie Ray’s was popular with a number of trekkers. However, the most popular was the Mussel and Burger Bar (a real local hot spot). I’d say about three-fourths of our group ended up eating there. I went with a group of eight and we had about an hour wait for a table (no reservations taken), but it was worth it. I had the curry mussels (they had about eight kinds) and Elote (Mexican roasted corn). We had four or five of the mussel offerings at our long table (in the Bourbon Barrel Room) and passed them around. A great meal.

Tomorrow another ball game and most likely some museum action.

More posts from the road to come.

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Ballpark Tours – Kentucky Bourbon Tour – Days 3 & 4

June 11, 2019 by David

Days Three and Four … More versus Cubs Cardinals and a Legendary Half Inning.

Day Three (June 9) saw us still in Chicago – looking forward to an event Cubs/Cards tilt. During the day, our adventurers headed out to places like the Second City Comedy Club Brunch, the Steppenwolf Theater or back for a second day at Chicago’s Blue Fest. Note: To check out Days One and Two, click here. Days Five and Six, click here. Day Seven, click here. Day Eight, click here. Days Nine and Ten, click here.

In mid-afternoon, a group of us near the juke box at The Lodge to toast a much-loved and much-missed Ballpark Tours family member (Lin) that we lost this past year. The Lodge is a BPT Gold Coast tradition – and the juke box is a focal point. Side note: Some of the “crew” was still there as the Cubs and Cardinals took the field.

Most BPT trekkers made it (via the EL) to Wrigleyville in plenty of time to enjoy the neighborhood. As usual, the beverages were nice and cold, the fans nice and warm, the music nice and loud and the emporiums all packed.

The Cubby Bear was packed.

Our seats were again down the left field line, this time in the second deck ($65, by the way). The site lines were good, we could see all the scoreboards and all the players. The weather was bit cool, with a noticeable fog over the city. Much to the pleasure of the Cubs’ fans, the home squad completed a sweep, topping the Redbirds 5-1, behind eight strong innings from Kyle Hendricks who picked up his seventh win) and some key hits from another Kyle (Schwarber), who went two-for-three, with a walk, run scored and two RBI. Former Rockie Carlos Gonzalez chipped in with a pair of hits, including an eighth-inning home run.

From a Baseball Roundtable perspective, I was pleased to see the first 4-6-3 double play (Cardinals’ Wong-to DeJong-to Goldschmidt), as well as three successful sacrifice bunts.

BBRT Observation

It’s generally accepted that the National League is the “running” league and the NL relies more on bunts, the hit-and-run and stolen bases to create runs. However, as I write this post, seven of the top eight teams in stolen bases for the season are American League squads. (The only NL team to crack the top eight is the Brewers at number five.)

For the second Cubs’ game, I went traditional – a Chicago Dog. An all-beef hot dog on a poppy seed bun – and you add your own pickle spears, tomato wedges, raw onions, hot and sweet peppers, relish, mustard and ketchup. All for just $7.75. A ballpark bargain.

Once the final out was made, it was another rendition of “Go, Cubs, Go,” an EL ride back to the hotel and either off to bed or off to a few more celebratory libations.

DAY FOUR – A BUS RIDE, A LONG BOTTOM STRETCH AND A BALL GAME

Appropriate shirt for this group?

We said goodbye to the Windy City at about 9:30 a.m. June 10 (Monday), headed for Lexington Kentucky, home of the Class A Lexington Legends. We found out a few things early (some we already knew): the back of the bus is always louder than the front; certain members of the group will talk endlessly about such topics as baseball, Soupy Sales, pro-wrestling and gluten-free; Chicago Mix (cheese corn and caramel corn) is addictive; snacks shared are snacks best-enjoyed; and karaoke can fill a bus (especially “Highway to Hell”).

Early on, one of our intrepid travelers (Nina), traveled all the way from the front of the bus to the back – to set up a “Long Bottom Stretch” bar. These refreshing cocktails (High Balls?) proved to go well with everything from Chicago Mix to Meat and Cheese to nothing at all.

Long Bottom Stretch

In a tin, shake 1 1/2 ounces Fords Gin, 1/2 ounce lime cordial*, 1/2 ounce lime juice, and 1/2 ounce Benedictine. Strain into a 10 ounce Collins glass over ice. Top with tonic and a pinch of salt. Garnish with an orange peel.

*Lime cordial: Heat 6 1/2 cups water and 2 cups sugar in a saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved, and then cool to room temperature. Stir in a cup of lime juice and chill.

Traffic and a time change brought us into Lexington at about the time the ballpark gates opened, so it was a late hotel check-in … but first the game.

Lexington has a nice ball park with great site lines and, as you’d expect in a Class A park, all the seats are pretty close to the action. We were seated in the lower deck, between home plate and first base (and the tickets were just $12.)

Before taking out seats, we stopped in the Kentucky Ale Tap Room, where one of the popular choices was Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (aged in a bourbon barrel and about 9 percent alcohol) at $6.25.

I had the obligatory Bloody Mary – at $9.00. Nice pour of smooth vodka, but the mix was a little too much tomato and not enough spice. Still, it was $7.00 less than Wrigley – gotta love the minor leagues – and the service was good. In fact, service was good all over the park. For example, I needed team rosters to fill out my scorecard. They were available at Guest Services, but a staff member ran off to get one for me, so that I wouldn’t have to abandon my drink.

A few thoughts about the game and ballpark.

The announced attendance was 3,001; but our group generally agreed that we’d be surprised if there were even 1,000 in the park. (That too was a surprise. The Legends started the game in second place in their division, just ½ game out of first and 1 ½ games up on the third-place Augusta Green Jackets – who they were playing that night.)
Class A ballplayers are young – and learning. Consider, this contest featured, nine walks, three errors, one hit batter, and one wild pitch BY THE WINNING TEAM (Augusta 8-5). Each team had 12 hits and Lexington pitchers also walked four batsmen.
Professional optimism was evidenced by the fact that the Legends (Royals affiliate) were pictured on the video board (as they came to the plate) not in Legends’ caps, but in Royals’ caps.

Now for a little Ballpark Tours narrative on the contest.

Legends’ starter Charlie Neuweiler (a 2017 fifth-round draft choice) seemed to have the game in hand early. Over the first four innings, he gave up just one run on four hits and had a 5-1 lead to work with. He retired the first two batters in the fifth and seemed to be on cruise control – and that’s when things went out of control. The next six batters went: walk; walk; single (loading the bases); two-run single; walk (loaded again); two-run single. Then, a pitching change (Bryce Hensley coming in), followed by: one-run single; one-run single; and finally out number three. So, Augusta had eight straight hitters reach base after two out in the inning – scoring six runs on three walks and five hits.

BBRT Players of the Game.

Legends’ CF Michael Gigliotti (23-years-old/2017 fourth-round draft pick). Gigliotti covered a lot of ground out in center (including a full-out, diving catch in the first inning) and went two-for-four with two walks. (He’s hitting .290 on the season.)

Legends’ LHP Bryce Hensley (23-years-old/2018 22nd-round draft pick). Gave up just one run in 4 1/3 innings of relief.

Augusta Greenjackets’ 1B Frankie Tostado (20-years-old/2017 19^th-round draft pick. Tostado went three-for-five, with a run scored and three RBI. He’s .278-10-43 on the season.

Greenjackets ‘RF Diego Rincones (19-years-old/2015 International Free Agent). Rincones went three-for-five (one double) with two runs scored and one RBI. He’s hitting .285 on the season.

Long Balls a Major accomplishment.

The Legends/Greenjackets contest featured 24 hits, but just four extra-base hits (all doubles, three by the losing squad). Contrast that with the Diamondbacks/Phillies game on the same day – which featured 27 hits – 16 for extra bases, including a new MLB single-game (combined) record 13 home runs. (The D-backs went deep eight times in the 13-8 win.) Here are the culprits. D-backs: Eduardo Escobar and IIdemaro Vargas (2-HR each); Jarrod Dyson; Ketel Marte; David Peralta; Alex Avila. Phillies: Scott Kingery (2-Hr); Jean Segura; Rhys Hoskins; Jay Bruce.

A few more observations:

Embarrassingly, a large portion of our group was seen in the eighth inning, in the bar, watching the NBA playoffs on TV – while a live baseball game was taking place just about 50-feet away.
Thanks to the Legends ten-plus hits, everyone won a free order of fried pickles from the Tilted Kilt (don’t know when we will collect).
The game included one inning of $1 beers.
The best audio of the evening was when a visiting player took a called strike. Over the PA you heard; Man’s voice: “Can I help you with anything?” Woman’s voice: “No thanks, just looking.”

This head-snapping punch to the jaw may have been the prize winner.

Finally, the Legends offered up perhaps the most brutal fan promotional contests BBRT has seen. Large glove boxing with fans cheers determining who had handed out the best beating. Post-Post Note: Seriously, look at the size of those gloves, no one was going to be hurt in this promo.

Anyway, we checked into the hotel about 11 p.m. and out tour master had outdone himself – but more on that in a future post. (Spoiler alert: There is a contemporary art gallery/museum right in the hotel. If that doesn’t have Ballpark Tours written all over it, what does?)

Watch for more from the road in the coming days.

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Filed Under: Ballpark Tours, BB Fun Facts, News

Ballpark Tours – Kentucky Bourbon Tour – Days 1 & 2

June 9, 2019 by David

DAY ONE – ON THE ROAD AGAIN

On Friday June 7, it was off again with St. Paul-based Ballpark Tours – my 31st trek with this dedicated if somewhat undisciplined, group or baseball fans. This time a ten-day trip that will take our hardy group of 26 baseball fans to five cities and eight ball games -not to mention several breweries and distilleries.

As I have in the past, I will chronicle this adventure to give readers and idea of what a Ballpark Tour is all about.

We left Saint Paul via motorcoach (fancy word for big bus with comfortable seats and a bathroom) at about 10:00 a.m. for a day of travel (without baseball) – headed for Chicago and a pair of Cardinals/Cubs contests. The trip started with a lot of the usual Ballpark Tours hoopla. At about 11:00 a.m., the tequila showed up and made it’s way down the aisle. (Tequila – It’s not just for breakfast anymore, but it is for breakfast.) At about the same time, the Bloody Mary Bar opened mid-bus. As usual, BBRT rates Bloodies and these were good – nicely spiced with horseradish and garnished with hard salami, white cheddar and green olives. (Side note: The Tequila was also very smooth.) Later, the traveler know as The Rev, The Associate Pope and the Lunchmaster fed the masses with crackers, cheese, deli meats and, appropriately, fish. (Side note: Given the conduct on our deluxe motorcoach, aliases are to be considered a good thing.) Meanwhile, an assortment of treats from bing cherries to brownies to Chicago mix was circulating around the bus.

From the A.M. Bloody Mary Bar.

A The Associate Pope feeds the masses, With a very “Latin” chant of “Nomar Garciaparra, my son.”

As we continued down that long – but no so lonesome – highway, other Ballpark Tours’ traditions were honored: A baseball book exchange; distribution of the traditional baseball trivia “K-Kwiz”: the contest forms for a contest in which you predicted how many runs would be scored in three days of major league baseball (Who’s Got The Runs?); the sharing of lots of tales (some even about baseball); and plenty of loud music and dancing at the “back of the bus.”

This trip, like so many before it, was becoming a “family and friends reunion.”

Note: For Days Three and Four, click here. Days Five and Six, click here. Day Seven, click here. Day Eight, click here. Days Nine and Ten, click here.

At about 2:30 p.m., it was time for the lunch stop – at (of course) a brew pub (Great Dane Brew Pub in Madison, Wisconsin). The beer was cold, the food both tasty and (in some cases) unique and the company excellent. I, by the way, opted for the Imperial IPA and the West African Chicken Peanut Stew, gorgonzola salad and pretzel bread. Then it was back on the bus, for the “run ” into Chicago – where back-of-the-bus music and dancing had deteriorated into some form of karaoke – with dueling “blue tooths.” Or should it be dueling blue teeth?

About eight p.m. we checked into the Claridge House (Chicago’s Gold Coast) boutique hotel and either settled in for the night – or headed out for a bit more celebration. I opted to stay in and monitor the Twins game. Tomorrow – brews, blues and BASEBALL!

Just When You Think Nothing Can Ever Be the Same Again.

We departed on June 7, which happened to the the 83rd anniversary of the day Yankee pitcher Red Ruffing picked up a 5-4, 16-inning victory over the Cleveland Indians. A couple of notes: Ruffing went the distance, facing 63 batters and earned his victory without striking out a batter. (Also, there was only one home run in the game – the 16th-frame game-winner by George Selkirk.) “My how the game has changed,” he mused with a bit of remorse.

Ah, but then on this year’s June 7, the Rockies’ Antonio Senzatela picked up a win (Rox topping the Mets 5-1), throwing six innings of one-run ball – without a strikeout. And, yesterday (June 8), the Phillies’ Nick Pivetta and Rangers’ Adrian Sampson both earned wins, while throwing their first-ever MLB complete games. Baby steps, but progress -maybe.

PS: For those of you who like to know this stuff, the average number of strikeouts per game so far this season (combined, both teams) is 16.8.

DAY 2 – BLUES AND BASEBALL

I started the morning of Day Two with a trip down the street to Chicago’s Division Street Farmers’ Market – vegetables, fruit, flowers and lots of food (cheeses, pastries, meats and even street-vendor paella. I grabbed a chocolate-filled croissant and washed it down with coffer al fresco, outside the hotel.

Breakfast!

Coffee in front of the Claridge House.

Then it was off to Millennium Park for the 36th Annual Chicago Blues Fest. Six stages of FREE live blues. Did about five hours there, before getting ready for today’s headliner – the Cardinals/Cubs at Wrigley. I learned later that other in our group spent the afternoon in places like the Museum of Science and Industry, The Field Museum, the Chicago Art Museum and The Lodge (you had to be there to understand). Ballpark Tours is nothing if not cultured.

Yes, Virginia, there was a ball game!

Our view.

I took the EL to Wrigleyville, for the 6:15 p..m game. As usual, I’ve written about this before, there was plenty of opportunity for pre-game music, libation and laughter at spots like The Cubby Bear, Murphy’s Bleachers and the Sports Corner. Once inside the friendly confines of Wrigley itself, we found out seats located in the deep, left field corner (foul territory). A couple of observations, from our seats we could not see the old, traditional scoreboard beyond the CF wall (which I missed) nor the newer, jumbo video board above the RF stands (which I did not miss). Still, the Cubs do charge $74 for those seats. Breaking the World Series curse may have gone to their heads just a bit. (Also, in the banner-style video board directly in our line of sight, the Cubs chose to display the ball-and-strike count – only when the Cardinals were at bat.)

Still, the site lines to the field were good – as was the company.

The game itself started out badly for the home squad. Jon Lester started for the Cubbies and after just seven batters, he had surrendered a walk, two singles and a pair a home runs. He was down 4-0 and not yet out of the first, Surprise! He settled down and, five innings later, was still around to pick up the win. Lester ended up going six innings and giving up five hits, two walks and four earned runs, while fanning six. In fact, after those first seven batters through the end of the game, the Cardinals only hit one ball out of the infield. During that time, hey touched Chicago pitching for:

11 strikeouts;
13 infield ground outs – one a double play’
Two infield foul pop ups’
One batter safe on an infield error – erased on that double play;
One walk;
One batter safe on a passed ball on strike three; and
one fly out to left field (second inning)

Chicago prevailed 9-3.

As is tradition, BBRT tried and rated the Wrigley Field Bloody Mary. First observation – not cheap at $16. However, it was top flight vodka and a good pour, came in a Cubs’ souvenir mug, was embellished with four large (and firm) olives and a line wedge. (A key BBRT pet peeve is mushy Bloody Mary olives.)

The bar was out of hot sauce, but my bartender did a good job of spicing up the Bloody with the pepper she had on hand. Overall, a solid offering (although the mix was a bit salty) that would place in the upper mid-range of the BBRT ratings.

A few other Wrigley observations:

I’m not fond of the new video boards, maybe I’m too into nostalgia.
Like most parks, lots of people seemed more into selfies than the action on the field.
I was proud to see at least four others in our group keeping scorecards – including mentor Nina and her “Grasshoppers” Joe and Pamela.
We were seated in the LF corner and I had been told a new Beer Can Chicken Sandwich – available in the RF corner – was a good concessions bet. One of our tour group made the cross field trek, but pronounced the sandwich not worth the effort.
The singer who presented the national anthem held the “free” longer than the anthem should have lasted. Why do so many feel the anthem is a chance to honor their personal”song stylings” and ignore the fact that the song is supposed to be rendered at a brisk tempo?
The seventh-inning “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is sung with special fervor in Wrigley.
Hearing the crowd’s boisterous rendition of the song “Go, Cubs, Go”is always stirring.

An Unlikely Hero

With the bases loaded and the game tied 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth, the Cubs called on backup catcher Victor Caratini to pinch hit. In three MLB season to that point, Caratini was hitting .128 in 38 pinch hit at bats. He cleared the bases with a double. (Also in his two previous MLB seasons, Caratini had average just .238 in 107 games. This season, he is hitting .366 in 17 contests. He did, however, average .290 in seven minor-league seasons.)

A final thought, yesterday’s night game at Wrigley came on the 56th anniversary of the first Sunday night game in MLB history (June 8, 1963). In that contest, the Astros topped the Giants 3-0 in Houston. (Because of Houston summer heat, MLB had granted them permission to schedule Sunday evening contests.

Watch for more from the road in the coming days.

BASEBALL ROUNDTABLE ON THE TOP 100 BASEBALL BLOG LIST

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I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT

Follow/Like Baseball Roundtable’s Facebook Page here. More baseball commentary; blog post notifications; PRIZES.

Member: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Filed Under: Ballpark Tours, News

BBRT May Wrap UP – a Hum-Dinger of a Month

June 1, 2019 by David

In May, major league hitters bashed 1,135 dingers …

a new one-month record for home runs.

It’s June 1 and that means it’s time for Baseball Roundtable’s traditional previous month wrap up – statistics, standings and stories that caught BBRT’s eye over the previous month, along with the BBRT Players and Pitchers of the Month and the BBRT Trot index. Here’s a bit of a spoiler – a preview of the kind of thing you’ll read about – if you last to the end of the post. Among the things we saw in May:

The season’s first no-hitter – the second career no-hitter by a pitcher who has only two career complete games (Mike Fiers) in more than 160 starts.
A pitcher (Pat Venditte) hitting batters on two consecutive pitchers – one tossed left-handed and one right-handed.
A team (Red Sox) scoring nine runs in an inning – after the first two batters were retired.
A batter (Nolan Arenado) hitting over .400 for the month – and a team (Rockies) hitting .300.
A hitter (Albert Pujols) becoming just the third MLB player to reach 2,000 RBI.

Who said life was fair? Chris Sale, with a 2.82 ERA, won one and lost two in six May starts. Ivan Nova, with an ERA of 5.08 went 3-1 in six starts.

A team (White Sox) turning a triple play and hitting a Grand Slam in the same game.
One team (Twins) hitting 100 home runs in the first 50 games of the season – and another (Orioles) giving up 100 homers in a MLB-low 48 games into the campaign.
One team (Dodgers) go a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts.
Four team playing .700+ ball (Yankees, Dodgers, Twins, Astros).
One batter (Nolan Arenado, Rockies) hitting over .400 for the month.
One team (Rockies) hitting .300 for the month.
Four starting pitchers with at least five May starts put up earned run averages under 1.00 for the month (Hyun-Jin Ryu; Mike Soroka; Jake Odorizzi; Julio Teheran).

Reasons to Read On?
As you read through this lengthy post, you may be rewarded with tidbits of interest. For example, BBRT found it interesting that, through May, the Rays’ had the AL’s (and MLB’s) best starters’ earned run average – and their starters had pitched the FEWEST innings of any staff. The Dodgers’ had the best starting-staff earned run average in the NL (and were second only to the Rays in MLB) and their starters had pitched the MOST innings of any staff. (Details in the post.)

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Josh Bell, 1B , Pirates – Trevor Story, Rockies (tie)

Photo by mwlguide

I know a tie may be a cop-out, but there was no space between these two.

Bell was a beast in May – raking at a .390 pace and blasting an MLB-best (tied with the Reds’ Derek Dieterich and the Astros’ Alex Bregman) 12 home runs, driving in an MLB-high 31 and scoring 26 (second only to Trevor Story). Bell was held hitless in only two games all month, raising his average from .286 to .343. His 12 May doubles also led MLB, and his .797 slugging percentage was second only to the Dieterich.

Photo by jenniferlinneaphotography

So, why the tie? How can you not honor a player who hit .425 for the month? that would be Arenado. He also hit nine May long balls (seventh best in MLB); drove in 29 (second only to Bell); and scored an MLB-best 30 runs. (And there’s also that Gold Glove defense.) In the NL, the race for player of the month was a Bell of a Story.

Other contenders: The Cubs’ 1B Anthony Rizzo hit a solid .360, with nine home runs and 24 RBI; and LF Derek Dieterich of the Reds hit .309-12-22.

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox

Photo by DandreaPhotography

Devers hit .351 for the month, led the AL with 40 base hits, knocked eight home runs (fifth in the AL), 24 RBI (fourth in the AL) and 25 runs scored (tied for first in the AL). He even tossed in three stolen bases. All-around a great “En-Dever.”

Other contenders: LF Eddie Rosario, Twins, .313-6-25; RF Hunter Pence, Rangers (.299-8-26); Alex Bregman, 3B, Astros (.260-12-24);

NATIONAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH

Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers

Photo by Keith Allison

Really, no contest here. Ryu was MLB’s stingiest pitcher in May – with MLB’s lowest earned run average (among pitchers with at least 20 May innings) at a minuscule 0.59 and the third-lowest WHIP at 0.68. Ryu averaged 7.5 innings pitched over his six May starts – going 5-0 and giving up just three runs in 45 2/3 innings. In today’s power-focused game (at the plate and on the mound), he was an exception – fanning just 36 batters, but giving up zero home runs.

Contenders: Brandon Woodruff, Brewers (4-0, 1.36 – 37 strikeouts in 33 innings); Aaron Nola, Phillies (4-0, 2.73 – 42 strikeouts in 33 IP); Kyle Hendricks, Cubs (4-0. 1.81 – 37 strikeouts in 44 2/3 IP).

AMERICAN LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH

Lucas Giolito, White Sox

Giolito was the AL’s only five -game winner in May – going 5-0, 1.74 in six starts and fanning 46 batters (walking just ten) in 41 1/3 innings. The highlight of the month may have been when he shut down the potent Astros’ offense on May 23 – tossing a complete-game, four-hit shutout, walking one and fanning nine.

Other contenders: Justin Verlander, Astros (4-1, 2.29 – 42 whiffs in 35 1/3 innings), who allowed only 15 hits in his 35 frames; Aroldis Chapman, Yankees (0-0, 0.79, with an MLB-high 11 May saves – in eleven opportunities – and 18 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings).

TROT INDEX … A REGULAR BBRT FEATURE

Through May, 36.3 percent of all MLB’s 65,019 2019 plate appearances ended in a trot (back to the dugout, around the bases, to first base). We’re talking about strikeouts, home runs, walks, hit by pitch and catcher’s interference – all outcomes that are, basically, devoid of action on the base paths or in the field. Here’s the breakout: strikeouts (22.9%); Walks (8.8%); home runs (3.5%); HBP (1.0%); Catcher’s Interference (less than 1%). Personally, I’d like more action in the field of play.

For the 2018 season, 34.8 percent of all MLB’s 185,139 plate appearances ended in a trot.

_________________________________________________________________
THE BEST AND WORST OF TEAMS …

The Twins’ (21-8) not only led MLB in May victories, but also in May runs scored (191) and home runs (56). In addition, they topped the AL in May batting average (.289), put up an earned run average of 3.45 (second only to the Rays in the AL and third in MLB) and played superior defense. Notably, the Twins showed offensive firepower up and down the lineup. Consider these May numbers: SS Jorge Polanco (.355-4-17); LF Eddie Rosario (.313-6-25); 1B C.J. Cron (.299-8-21); RF Max Kepler (.259-5-20). The Twins had four player with at least five home runs on the month. On the mound it was Jake Odorizzi (4-0, 0.94); Martin Perez (4-2, 3.15) and Jose Berrios (3-1, 3.48) leading the way. May was truly a team effort in Minny.

The Yankees (20-7 in May) are, arguably, as big a surprise as the Twins, given New York’s continuing injury woes. Fortunately, for the Bronx Bombers, some unexpected “names” rose to the challenge. The Yankees were bolstered by the May performances of Gio Urshela, who hit .315 and drove in 15 runs; D.J. LeMahieu (.323-5-17); Gleyber Torres (.305-9-16); and Gary Sanchez (285-9-15). On the mound, Aroldis Chapman gave the Yankees eleven saves in eleven opportunities, while starters Domingo German and J.A. Happ combined to go 8-1.

The Astros (20-8) in May) were just “The Astros” – a potent offense led by the likes of George Springer (.368-8-19 in May), Alex Bregman (.270-12-24); Michael Brantley (.327-5-18); Carlos Correa (.291-5-17); and a pitching staff that could boast of proven veterans Justin Verlander (4-1, 2.29) and Gerrit Cole (3-1, 4.13) – along with with better than anticipated results from Brad Peacock (3-1, 2.76) and Wade Miley (4-1, 3.25).

Bang for the Buck. The Tampa Rays,with the lowest payroll in baseball, had a 35-20 record as MLB closed out May… the fifth best in the majors. In addition, they were the only team with a team ERA under 3.00 at 2.96.

Over in the NL, the Dodgers reeled off 19 May wins (seven losses) – the only NL team to reach the 19-win mark for the month. While they showed a steady offense (they were sixth in the NL in May runs scored), it was their pitching that carried the day (the NL’s best – and MLB’s second-best – earned run average). Among the May LA leaders: Hyun-Jin Ryu (5-0, 0.59); Kenta Maeda (-4-0, 2.73); Clayton Kershaw (4-0, 4.22).

Now for the bad news. The Mariners and Blue Jays each went an MLB-worst 7-21 in May. You don’t have to look far for the reasons. The Mariners team ERA of 6.03 was the second worst in MLB (the Pirates were at 6.19) and their 144 May runs were the sixth-lowest in MLB;. The Blue Jays’ May ERA was the fifth-worst at 5.66 and they scored the second-fewest May runs in MLB (98 – only the Marlins scored fewer at 89).

If the season ended May 31, your playoff teams would be:

AL: Twins; Yankee, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Red Sox/A’s/Rangers (tied)

NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Brewers, Braves/Padres (tied)

NOTE: FULL STANDING AND STATISTICS THROUGH MAY 31 AT THE END OF THIS POST.

_________________________________________________________________________

Now, before a look at some May highlights, here are May’s team stats.

—-LEAGUE LEADERS – TEAMS – month of May

RUNS SCORED … MLB Team Average – 132

AL: Twins (191); Red Sox (170); Astros (155)

NL: Rockies (183); Reds (149); Cubs (131); D-backs (145)

The Marlins scored an MLB-low 89 runs in May, after an MLB-low 82 runs in March/April. The Tigers and Blue Jays were at the bottom of the AL with 98 May tallies.

BATTING AVERAGE … MLB Team Average – .253

AL: Twins (.286); Red Sox (.279); Astros (.278)

NL: Rockies (.300); Dodgers (.275); Pirates (.272)

HOME RUNS … MLB Team Average – 38

AL: Twins (56); Red Sox (51); Astros (47)

NL: Cubs (51); Reds (45); Rockies (42)

The Marlins hit only 17 home runs in May, the only team under 20.

SLUGGING PERCENTAGE – MLB Team Average – .431

AL: Twins (.521); Astros (.500); Red Sox (.491)

NL: Rockies (.527); Dodgers (.476); Cubs (.468)

The Twins were the only team to top 500 total bases for the month (531).

STOLEN BASES ... MLB Team Average – 12

AL: Royals (25); Indians (19); Red Sox (17)

NL: Reds (19); Brewers (17); D-backs (16)

Talk about futility on the bases. The Cubs stole just one base in May – and were caught five times. On the other end of the spectrum, the D-backs were 16-for-17 in May steal attempts.

BATTERS’ STRIKEOUTS … MLB Team Average – 238

AL: White Sox (304); Mariners (269); Tigers (266)

NL: Padres (271); Brewers (264); Mets (259)

The Rockies and Twins led their respective leagues in doubles (67 and 61, respectively). Consider this. Miami had 54 total extra base hits for the month.

WALKS DRAWN … MLB Average – 89

AL: Red Sox (1139; Indians (119); Angels (105)

NL: Cubs (121); Brewers (115); Cardinals (99)

____________________________________________________________

EARNED RUN AVERAGE ... MLB Average – 4.47

AL: Rays (2.97); Twins (3.45); Yankees (3.45)

NL: Dodgers (3.11); Cubs (3.74); Mets (3.85)

The only teams with May ERA’s over 6.00 were the Pirates (6.19) and the Mariners (6.03).

STRIKEOUTS … MLB Average – 238

AL: Astros (282); Red Sox (270); Twins (260)

NL: Reds (288); Nationals (268); Brewers (256)

Only two teams average more than ten strikeouts per innings – the Astros (10.19) and the Reds (10.25).Eleven teams averaged at least one K per inning for the month; while the Tigers (7.35) and White Sox (7.48) had the lowest K/9 rate.

SAVES … MLB Average – 6

AL: Yankees (14); Astros (9); Angels (7)

NL: Padres (10); Phillies (9); Dodgers (9)

FEWEST WALKS SURRENDERED … MLB Average – 89

AL: Indians (63); Twins (65); Yankees (74)

NL: Dodgers (45); Padres (58); Mets (80)

When you look at the strikeouts-to-walks ratio, the Dodgers were the May kings (4.98 strikeouts per walk).

__________________________________________

MAY HIGHLIGHTS

May 2 – Thor Wields a Silver Hammer

Photo by slgckgc

On May 2, the Mets’ Noah “Thor” Syndergaard was on his game. Facing the Reds in New York, Syndergaard threw a complete-game, four-hit shutout (one walk/ten whiffs). The Mets also got four-hits and their only run came on a Syndergaard home run in the bottom of the third – making Syndergaard just the seventh MLB pitcher ever to homer, while also pitching a 1-0 shutout. Here, by the way, are the other pitchers to throw a shutout and go yard for the only tally in a 1-0 game: Red Ruffing, Yankees (1932); Spud Chandler, Yankees (1938); Early Wynn, White Sox (1959); Jim Bunning, Phillies (1965); Juan Pizzaro, Cubs (1971); Bob Welch, Dodgers (1983).

One for the Books

On May 2, Stephen Strasburg took the hill for the NationalS – against the Cardinals – in Washington D.C. In a game that included sitting out a two-and-a-half hour rain delay, Strasburg threw 6 2/3 innings of six-hit, one-run ball, while walking two and fanning nine. It was the eighth strikeout of the night – when Cardinals’ pitcher Dakota Hudson watched a 1-2 curve ball for the last out of the fifth inning – that made the news. It was Strasburg’s 1,500th career strikeout and it came at the 1,272 1/3 innings pitched mark – the fewest innings ever needed to reach the 1,500 whiffs. (The old record, at 1,290 innings, belonged to Chris Sale). The Nationals, by the way, won the game 2-1 and Strasburg got the win.

Red Sox Put Up a Really Big Inning

On May 4, the Red Sox came up in the top of the third inning trailing the White Sox 1-0. Manny Banuelos looked good on the mound for Chicago, having retired the first six Boston batters in order. He continued the trend by getting the first two hitters in the third on a ground out and a fly out. Then, all “H” (for Hits) broke loose – as the Red Sox turned a two-out, no-one-on-base situation into a nine-run inning; drilling ten straight hits (two short of the record). It went like this:

Christian Vazquez – single to CF.
Andrew Benintendi – single to CF, Vazquez to second.
Mookie Betts –double to left, Vazquez and Benintendi score.
D.J. Martinez – double to left, Betts scores.
Xander Bogaerts – home run to left, Bogaerts and Martinez score.
Michael Chavis – home run to CF.
Rafael Devers – double to right.
Steve Pearce – ground ball single to LF, Devers scores, Pearce goes to second on the throw.
Eduardo Nunez – homers to left-center, Pearce and Nunez score.
Vazquez – ground ball single to left (his second hit of the inning).

Finally, Banuelos is pulled, replaced by Carson Fulmer.

Benintendi – walk, Vazquez goes to second.
Betts – fly ball out to right. It’s finally over.

The Red Sox, by the way, prevailed 15-2.

Back-to Back-to Back

On May 5, the Reds faced off against the Giants and Great American Ball Park – and they made a solid first impression. After Joey Votto singled to open the contest, Eugenio Suarez hit an 0-1 pitch from Jeff Samardzija into the right field stands to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. On the very next pitch from Samardzija, Jesse Winker homered to center to make it 3-0 – and the very next pitch saw Derek Dietrich take Samardzija out of the park (to right) for a 4-0 lead. Three home runs on three pitches. The Elias Sports Bureau indicates that no team had gone deep on three consecutive offerings since June 12, 2007 (Mets Wilson Betemit, Matt Kemp and Hong-Chih Kuo.) Despite the first-inning fireworks, the Reds lost 6-5

Ouch! From Both Sides Now.

Pat Venditte Photo by Keith Allison

On May 6, San Francisco Giants’ pitchers tied an MLB record by hitting four Reds’ batters in the bottom of the sixth inning. That record, however, seems incidental when compared to what Giants’ pitcher Pat Venditte “accomplished.” Venditte not only tied the MLB record for most batters hit in an inning, he became (at least by BBRT’s search) the first pitcher to hit at least one batter pitching left-handed AND right-handed in the same inning.

The ambidextrous hurler’s inning went like this:

Reds’ 1B Joey Votto flies out to left on a 3-2 pitch.
3B Eugenio Suarez is hit by Venditte’s first offering (pitching right-handed).
RF Yasiel Puig walks on a 3-2 pitch.
2B Kyle Farmer hits an infield single (1-1 count), loading the bases.
SS Jose Iglesias hits a two-run single on Venditte’s first offering.
C Curt Casilla singles in another run on a 1-0 pitch.
LF Juan Peraza is hit by Venditte first pitch to him (again throwing right-handed).

Ah, then the notable toss.

PH Josh VanMeter is hit by a Venditte’s first pitch (this time throwing southpaw).

So, Venditte not only tied a record by hitting three batsmen in an inning, he hit two, on consecutive pitches – one right-handed and one left-handed. That, by the way, ended Venditte’s outing (and the Giants ended up losing 12-4).

Later in the inning, the Giants’ Sam Dyson plunked Votto – for the record-tying fourth HBP in the frame.

Fiers On Fire – Second N0-No

On May 7, A’s righty Mike Fiers pitched his second career no-hitter – and the first no-hitter of the 2019 season – shutting down the Reds 2-0 in Oakland. Fiers gave up just two walks and fanned six. (He threw his first no-hitter for the Astros on August 21, 2015). In today’s game of pitch counts, it’s important to note that Fiers threw 131 pitches in the game. It’s also of interest to BBRT that Fiers has now started 165 MLB games in nine seasons – and has just two complete games, both no-hitters. He came into the May 7 game with a 2-3 record and a 6.81 ERA on the season. It was the 300^th MLB no-hitter and Fiers became just the 35^th pitcher with multiple no-hitters on his MLB resume.

A Pretty Exclusive Club

Photo by bk1bennett

On May 9, the Angels’ Albert Pujols popped his sixth homer of the 2019 season. More significant, as he touched home plate he notched his 2,000^th career RBI, making him just the third player to reach 2,000 runs batted in – following Hank Aaron (2,297) and Alex Rodriguez (2,086). At the close of May, Pujols career line was .301-642-2008.

Relax Out There in the Field – I Got This

On May 14, Chris Sale reached a career-high 17 strikeouts in a game – and he did it in just seven innings – becoming the first pitcher to fan 17 batters in seven or fewer frames. (In baseball, we do like the obscure.) What did he get to show for this effort? A no decision. Sale left after seven innings with a 3-2 lead and the Red Sox went on to a 5-4 loss in 11 innings. Despite fanning 98 batters in 68 1/3 innings (12 starts) and a respectable 4.35 ERA, Sale ended May 1-7 on the season.

It’s as Easy as 1-2-3

On May 17, the Cubs’ Kris Bryant had his second career three-homer game – and he waited to the last possible moment(s) to do it. As the Cubs thumped the Nationals (in Washington) 14-6, Bryant hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning (off reliever Justin Miller), a solo shot (off Kyle Barraclough) in the eighth and another two-run blast (off Matt Grace) in the ninth. For the game, Bryant was four-for-six, with three runs scored and five driven in. Bryant, by the way, also became just the 12^th MLB player to go deep in three consecutive innings.

Youth Will be Served

On May 19, the Indian Shane Bieber was on top of his game – throwing his first-ever complete game and his first-ever shutout (as the Indians beat the Orioles 10-0). In the contest, he gave up just five hits and no walks, while fanning 15. (Throwing 107 pitches, 75 strikes.) With that performance Bieber became the fourth-youngest pitcher to record 15 whiffs and no walks in a complete-game shutout. The youngest was Dwight Gooden (19 years, 302 days) – followed by Kerry Wood (20 years, 324 days), Vince Velasquez (23 years, 312 days) and Bieber (23 years, 323 days).

Double Your Pleasure, Triple Your Fun – and then Roll Four Tallies All into One

On May 22, the White Sox worked hard to stay out of trouble – turning double plays to end each of the the first two innings against the Astros in Houston. Then, they added to the fun in the third – completing a nifty third-to second-to fist triple play to end the frame. It went like this.

Astros’ DH Tony Kemp doubled to right off Ivan Nova to open the inning. Catcher Robinson Chirinos was hit by a pitch. Number-nine hitter CF Jake Marisnick grounded hard to White Sox’ third baseman Yoan Moncada, who stepped on the bag and fired to second baseman Yolmer Sanchez for out number two.
Sanchez then relayed the ball to first baseman Jose Abreu for the final out.

Then in the sixth inning, the Pale Hose added to the fun, as RF Charlie Tilson popped a Grand Slam (the Sox scored six in the inning) – making Chicago just the fourth team in MLB history to record a triple killing and a Grand Slam in the same game (1979 Blue Jays, 2002 Mets, 2017 Tigers). The Sox, by the way, won the game 9-6.

Triple Play Trivia

There was once a triple play turned without a batted ball. On September 2, 2006 – as the Mariners faced the Rays in Tampa. In the first inning,with runners on first (Adrian Beltre) and third (Jose Lopez), the Mariner’s cleanup hitter Raul Ibanez struck out. Beltre broke for second and Rays’ catcher Dioner Navarro threw to shortstop Ben Zobrist who applied the tag for out number two. Meanwhile, Lopez broke for the plate (figuring to score as the Rays tossed out Beltre). Zobrist threw back to Navarro, who tagged the sliding Lopez. Completing a 2-6-2 triple killing without the bat striking the ball.

Can We Keep Things Moving, I’m Kind of in a Hurry

On May 24, Rockies’ shortstop Trevor Story hit a two-run seventh-inning homer, as Colorado beat the Orioles 8-6. (Story hit his 101^st career homer in the ninth inning.) The 100^th blast made Story the fastest shortstop ever to reach triple digits in long balls (488 games played). The only other shortstop to reach that milestone in less than 500 games were Alex Rodriguez (470) and Nomar Garciaparra (491).

A Century that Doesn’t Come Around Often

On May 24, the Twin hit their 100th and 101st home runs of 2019 – just 50 games into the season. Only one other team has reached 100+ homers in a season’s first 50 contests – the 1999 Mariners (102).

The One That Got Away

Back on July 27, 2018, my hometown Twins traded reliever Ryan Pressly to the Houston Astros for a pair of minor leaguers. Who knew Pressly would become “The King.”

In his first four appearances for the Astros, Pressly gave up two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Then, on August 15, 2018, Pressly began a run that would see him not allow a single earned run until May 24 of this season – an MLB record-setting streak of 40 consecutive scoreless appearances. Over the forty-game span, Pressly pitched 39 innings, giving up just 17 hits and three walks, while fanning 49.

By the way, the streak was broken in style. Pressley came on in the eighth inning of the May 24 Astros/Red Sox contest and gave up a inning-opening home run to the Red Sox’ number-nine hitter, CF Jackie Bradley, Jr.

Eight is Enough

The Twins hit eight home runs as they trounced the Angels 16-7 on May 23; the second time this season they have hit eight long balls in a game. (The other was on April 20.) Notably, both outbursts came in makeup for rain outs – and both resulted in 16-7 wins. The record for home runs by one team in a game is ten, by the Blue Jays (against the Orioles) on September 14, 1987.

Yes, Virginia, MLB Does Track Everything

On May 24, baseball again provided evidence that “We do, indeed, count everything.” With National’s trailing the Marlins 9-8 in the inning, Nats’ LF Juan Soto stroked a 100.1 mph fastball from Tayron Guerrero to the left-center for a three-run homer. Washington first-sacker Matt Adams followed up by blasting a 101.5 mph Guerrero fastball over the right field fence. According to MLB.com, it’s the first time two players have hit back-to-back jacks off pitches clocked at 100 mph or faster. (At least since the tracking era began in 2008.)

A Different Kind of Cycle

On May 27, as the Mariners topped the Rangers 6-2 in Seattle, Mariners’ CF (and number-nine hitter) Mallex Smith drew an eighth-inning walk and then ran wild on the bases – stealing second, third and home in the span of seven pitches (and enabling the Mariners to plate a run without the benefit of a base hit). In the process, Smith became the 43rd major leaguer to complete the “steal cycle” in a single inning. For those who like to know these things, only four players have achieved this feat more than once: Ty Cobb (four times); Honus Wagner (four times); Jackie Tavener (twice); and Max Carey (twice). Smith finished the month with a total of 14 steals for 2019.

Three’s a Crowd

Going into their May 29 match up against the Red Sox, the Indians were the only MLB team without a triple this season. They made up for lost time,with three three-baggers (Greg Allen 2, Carlos Santana 1) as Cleveland topped Boston 14-9.

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HERE’S A LOOK AT MAY’S TOP PERFORMERS.

_–INDIVIDUAL LEADERS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2019—

BATTING AVERAGE … (at least 75 May plate appearances)

AL: Christian Vazquez, Red Sox (.373); George Springer, Astros (.368); Avasail Garcia, Rays (.360)

NL: Nolan Arenado, Rockies (.425); Josh Bell, Pirates (.390); Juan Soto, Nationals (.380)

The lowest average among players with at least 75 May plate appearances belonged to the Cardinals’ Kolten Wong and the Phillies’ Maikel Franco – both at .170 (15-for-88).

HITS

AL: Rafael Devers, Red Sox (40); Jorge Polanco, Twins (39); Whit Merrifield, Royals (36)

NL: Josh Bell, Pirates (46); Nolan Arenado, Rockies (45); Starling Marte, Pirates (37)

When it came to extra-base hits, your May leader was the Pirates’ Josh Bell with 24 … 12 doubles and 12 round trippers.

HOME RUNS

AL: Alex Bregman, Astros (12); Jose Abreu, White Sox (10); Eduardo Escobar, Twins (9); Gary Sanchez, Yankees (9); Gleyber Torres, Yankees (9)

NL: Josh Bell, Pirates (12); Derek Dietrich, Reds (12); Kris Bryant, Cubs (10); Pete Alonso, Mets (10)

RUNS BATTED IN

AL: Eduardo Escobar, Twins (28); Hunter Pence, Rangers (26); Jose Abreu, White Sox (26)

NL: Josh Bell, Pirates (31); Nolan Arenado, Rockies (29); Anthony Rizzo, Cubs (24)

RUNS SCORED

AL: Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox (25); Rafael Devers, Red Sox (24); Mookie Betts, Red Sox (23); Alex Bregman, Astros (23)

NL: Trevor Story, Rockies (30); Josh Bell, Pirates (26); Kris Bryant, Cubs (25); Nolan Arenado, Rockies (25)

STOLEN BASES

AL: Alberto Mondesi, Royals (12); Kevin Kiermaier, Rays (7); Mallex Smith, Mariners (6)

NL: Jarrod Dyson, D-backs (9); Starling Marte, Pirates (6); four with five

BATTER’S STRIKEOUTS

AL: Yoan Moncada, White Sox (44); Brandon Lowe, Rays (39); Joey Gallo Rangers (38)

NL: Javier Baez, Cubs (42); Bryce Harper, Phillies (38); Trevor Story, Rockies (34)

While Javier Baez led the NL in whiffs with 42, he managed to hit .305 for the month.

WALKS

AL: Mike Trout, Angels (23); Carlos Santana, Indians (22); Mookie Betts, Red Sox (21)

NL: Kyle Schwarber, Cubs (22); Yasmani Grandl, Brewers (20); Paul DeJong, Cardinals (20)

Only 15 batters with 75 or more plate appearances had at least as many walks as strikeouts in May, led by the the Giants’ Joe Panik with 1.48 walks per whiff.

PITCHING VICTORIES

AL: Lucas Giolito, White Sox (5-0); Jake Odorizzi, Twins (4-0); ; Domingo German, Yankees (4-0); Justin Verlander, Astros (4-1); Wade Miley, Astros (4-1); J.A. Happ, Yankees (4-1); Martin Perez, Twins (4-2)

NL: Hyun-Jin Ryu (5-0); Kyle Hendricks, Cubs (4-0); Aaron Nola, Phillies (4-0) Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (4-0); Brandon Woodruff, Brewers (4-0); Kenta Maeda, Dodgers (4-0); Kyle Hendricks, Cubs (4-0); Max Fried, Braves (4-2)

The Mariners’ Marco Gonzalez lost five games (0-5, 5.86) in six May starts. Nine pitchers lost four games during the month.

EARNED RUN AVERAGE (minimum 20 May innings)

AL: Jake Odorizzi, Twins (0.94); Lucas Giolito, White Sox (1.74); Yonny Chironos, Rays (2.19)

NL: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers (0.59); Mike Soroka, Braves (0.79); Julio Teheran, Braves (0.98)

STRIKEOUTS

AL: Chris Sale, Red Sox (66 – 38 1/3 innings pitched); Shane Bieber, Indians (51 – 39 1/3 IP); Gerrit Cole, Astros (47– 28 1/3 innings pitched)

NL: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals (50 – 41 1/3 IP); Zack Wheeler, Mets (50 – 50 – 41 1/3 IP); Max Scherzer, Nationals (48 – 38 IP)

Among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched in May, the Red Sox Chris Sale had the highest rate of strikeouts per nine innings at 15.50. Despite the high whiff rate, Chris Sale won just one game (1-2, 2.82) in May. Others meeting the 20-inning threshold and fanning 13 or more batters per nine inning were the Astros’ Gerrit Cole (14.93) and D-backs’ Robbie Ray (13.35).

SAVES

AL: Aroldis Chapman, Yankees (11); Roberto Osuna, Astros (9); Brad Hand, Indians (6); Shane Green,Tigers (6)

NL: Kirby Yates, Padres (8); Felipe Vazquez, Pirates (7); Sergio Romo, Marlins (7); Sean Doolittle, Nationals (7); Kenley Jansen, Dodgers (7)

Sean Doolittle of the Nationals picked up seven saves (just one blown save), despite a 6.52 May earned run average. The May ERA was primarily the result of a May 22 appearance (against the Mets), when he gave up four hits and four earned runs without recording an out.

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–—LEAGUE LEADERS – TEAMS – THROUGH MAY 31 —-

RUNS SCORED … MLB Team Average – 267

AL: Twins (332); Rangers (312); Red Sox (304)

NL: Dodgers (314); Rockies (308); D-backs (303)

The Marlins and Tigers were the only team to have scored fewer than 200 runs through May (171 and 192, respectively).

BATTING AVERAGE … MLB Team Average – .247

AL: Astros (.274); Twins (.272); Red Sox (.258); Rays (.259)

NL: Dodgers (.266); Rockies (.265); D-backs (.261)

The lowest averages through May belong to the Blue Jays and Giants – both at .221.

HOME RUNS … MLB Team Average – 76

AL: Twins (106); Mariners (103); Astros (93)

NL: Brewers (98); Cubs (92); Dodgers (92)

The only teams with less than 50 home runs through May were the Marlins (40) and the Tigers (48).

STOLEN BASES … MLB Team Average – 27

AL: Royals (54); Mariners (40); Rangers (40)

NL: Brewers (33); Nationals (32); Cardinals (31)

The Royals speed not only showed up in stolen bases, KC also led all of baseball with 25 triples (MLB average). Surprisingly, the top seven teams in total steals through May come from the American League.

BATTERS’ STRIKEOUTS … MLB Team Average – 496

AL: Mariners (586); White Sox (547); Tigers (541)

NL: Padres (559); Brewers (557); Mets (536)

Angels’ hitters fanned an MLB-fewest 361 times through May.

WALKS DRAWN … MLB Average – 191

AL: Red Sox (230); Indians (223); Mariners (216)

NL: Dodgers (237); Cubs (236); Phillies (225)

_______________________________________

EARNED RUN AVERAGE … MLB Average – 4.40

AL: Rays (2.96); Astros (3.42); Yankees (3.68)

NL: Dodgers (3.55); Reds (3.71); Cubs (3.88)

Five teams finished May with a year-to-date ERA over 5.00: Orioles (5.70); Royals (5.21);Mariners (5.19); Rockies (5.11); Rangers (5.03).

PITCHERS’ STRIKEOUTS … MLB Average – 496

AL: Astros (566); Red Sox (554); Yankees (536)

NL: Reds (556); Nationals (546); Brewers (531);

The Astros led MLB in strikeouts per nine innings through May – at 9.97. The Reds led the NL at 9.86. Ten teams averaged at least one strikeout per inning.

SAVES … MLB Average – 14

AL: Yankees (20); Tigers (18); Astros (18)

NL: Padres (25); Dodgers (19); three with 16

The Astros had MLB’s best bullpen ERA through May at 2.88 – the only relief staff under 3.00. Meanwhile, the Nationals’ disappointing season can be traced in great part of the team’s MLB-worst 7.08 bullpen ERA.

The best starting staff ERA through May was put up by the Rays at 2.35 – although, thanks to their “opener” and “bullpen day” approach, their starters threw the fewest innings (245). A paradox? Dodgers starters had the lowest ERA through May in the NL (and second lowest in MLB) at 3.02. The LAD starting staff was at the opposite end of the innings pitched spectrum – leading MLB with 337 innings logged through May.

FEWEST WALKS SURRENDERED … MLB average 191

AL: Astros (149); Twins (154); Indians (157)

NL: Dodgers (131); Padres (142); Reds (184)

The Orioles have surrendered the most home runs through May (118), while the Rays’s gave up the fewest (47). The MLB average was 76.

___________________________________________________________________

—INDIVIDUAL LEADERS THROUGH MAY 2019—

BATTING AVERAGE (qualifying hitters)

AL: Jorge Polanco, Twins (.338); Michael Brantley, Astros (.329); Tim Anderson, White Sox (.328)

NL: Cody Bellinger, Dodgers (.379); Nolan Arenado, Rockies (.344); Josh Bell, Pirates (.343)

HOME RUNS

AL: Eddie Rosario, Twins (17); Gary Sanchez, Yankees (17); George Springer, Astros (17); Alex Bregman, Astros (17)

NL: Christian Yelich, Brewers (21); Cody Bellinger, Dodgers (20); Pete Alonso, Mets (19)

The Marlins’ Miguel Rojas had the most most at bats through May without a home run (178).

RUNS BATTED IN

AL: Jose Abreu, White Sox (50); Eddie Rosario, Twins (49); George Springer, Astros (43)

NL: Cody Bellinger, Dodgers (52); Josh Bell, Pirates (52); Nolan Arenado, Rockies (50); Marcell Ozuna, Cardinals (50)

The Dodgers’s Cody Bellinger led all of MLB with a .465 on-base percentage through May. Mike Trout (Who else?) led the AL at .458.

RUNS SCORED

AL: Mookie Betts, Red Sox (45); Mitch Haniger, Mariners (43); Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox (43)

NL: Trevor Story, Rockies (52); Cody Bellinger, Dodgers (50); Andrew McCutchen, Phillies (45); Nolan Arenado, Rockies (45)

STOLEN BASES

AL: Aldaberto Mondesi, Royals (20); Jose Ramirez, Indians (14); Mallex Smith, Mariners (14); Tim Anderson, White Sox (14)

NL: Jarrod Dyson, D-backs (12); Christian Yelich, Brewers (10); Trevor Story, Rockies (10)

Trea Turner of the Nationals and Kolten Wong of the Cardinals had the most steals through May without getting caught (8), On the other side of the coin, Jeff McNeil of the Mets had the most attempts without being successful (4).

While we have often heard that the NL is the running league, seven of the top eight base stealers through May were from the AL.

BATTER’S STRIKEOUTS

AL: Joey Gallo, Rangers (76); Mitch Haniger, Mariners (72); Brandon Lowe, Rays (72); Domingo Santana (72)

NL: Bryce Harper, Phillies (76); Javier Baez, Cubs (75); Wil Meyers, Padres (72)

WALKS DRAWN

AL: Mike Trout, Angels (52); Joey Gallo, Rangers (41); Carlos Santana, Indians (40)

NL: Andrew McCutchen, Phillies (42); Rhys Hoskins, Phillies (40); Bryce Harper, Phillies (37)

Not a big fan of WAR (Wins Above Replacement), but for those of you who like it, Cody Bellinger led all of MLB in WAR through May at 5.4. Mike Trout was a distant second at 3.7.

PITCHING VICTORIES

AL: Domingo German, Yankees (9-1); Justin Verlander, Astros (8-2); Lucas Giolito, White Sox (7-1); Martin Perez, Twins (7-2); Jose Berrios (7-2); Jake Odorizzi, Twins (7-2)

NL: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers (8-1); Brandon Woodruff, Brewers (7-1); Kenta Maeda, Dodgers (7-2); Max Fried, Braves (7-3)

Just two MLB pitchers lost seven games by the end of May – Chris Sale, Red Sox (1-7, 4.35) and Jhoulys Chacin, Brewers (3-7, 4.35). Jorge Lopez of the Royals had the most losses without a win (0-6, 6.67).

EARNED RUN AVERAGE (qualifying)

AL: Jake Odorizzi, Twins (2.16); Justin Verlander, Astros (2.38); Mike Minors, Rangers (2.74)

NL: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers (1.48) Zach Davies, Brewers (2.19); Luis Castillo, Reds (2.45)

The highest ERA among qualifying pitchers through May was 7.13 – Kyle Freeland, Rockies, over 59 1/3 innings in 12 starts.

STRIKEOUTS

AL: Gerrit Cole, Astros (112– 71 2/3 innings pitched); Justin Verlander, Astros (95 – 79 1/3 IP); Chris Sale, Red Sox (98 – 68 1/3 IP)

NL: Max Scherzer, Nationals (102 – 77 1/3 IP); Stephen Strasburg, Nationals (98 – 79 IP); Zack Wheeler, Mets (87 – 77 IP)

Among qualifying pitchers, Gerrit Cole of the Astros had the highest rate of strikeouts per nine innings through May at 14.07. He was followed by the Red Sox’ Chris Sale (12.91) and Ray’s Blake Snell (12.11). Indicative the the fact that we are now in a hard-throwing/free-swinging era – 38 pitchers averaged at least one strikeout per inning through May.

SAVES

AL: Shane Greene, Tigers (18); Aroldis Chapman, Yankees (16); Roberto Osuna, Astros (16)

NL: Kirby Yates, Padres (22); Kenley Jansen, Dodgers (17); Felipe Vazquez, Pirates (14)

GAMES PITCHED

AL: Adam Kolarek, Rays (29); Victor Alcantara, Tigers (29); Ryan Buchter, A’s (28);

NL: Bryan Shaw, Rockies (30); Alex Claudio, Brewers (30); four with 28

For those who follow WAR (Wins Above Replacement), the leaders through May are Mike Minor, Rangers in the American League at 3.8 and German Marquez in the National League at 3.1.

Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; Baseball-Almanac.com; MLB.com

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Red Rover. Red Rover. Let Max (or Cliff) Come Over.

May 30, 2019 by David

On this date (May 30) in 1922, the Cubs and Cardinals made a trade that made MLB history. The two squads were facing off (in Chicago) in a Memorial Day doubleheader. Remember those?

The Cubs won Game One 4-2 – and batting fifth in their lineup (collecting one RBI, despite going 0-for-4) was RF Max Flack. The CF for the Cardinals that game (batting seventh) was Cliff Heathcote – who went 0-for-3. Flack was in his ninth season for the Cubs, while Heathcote was in his fifth season for the Cardinals.

In between Games of the twin bill, Flack and Heathcote were traded for each other. The two outfielders each crossed over to their new team’s clubhouse and suited up against their previous team for Game Two – becoming the first two players to take the field for two major league teams in a single day. Both collected hits for their new teams in the second game (Flack a single in four at bats, Heathcote a pair of singles in four trips to the plate).

BASEBALL ROUNDTABLE ON THE TOP 100 BASEBALL BLOG LIST

Baseball Roundtable is on the Feedspot list of the Top 100 Baseball Blogs. To see the full list, click here.

I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT

Follow/Like Baseball Roundtable’s Facebook Page here. More baseball commentary; blog post notifications; PRIZES.

Member: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Filed Under: BB Fun Facts

Everyone Loves Barney – Well, Maybe Not Casey Stengel

May 25, 2019 by David

Not everyone loves Barney – Dreyfuss, that is. On this date (May 25) in 1919, Casey Stengel famously gave Pittsburgh Pirates’ owner Barney Dreyfuss the “bird.” It has been reported that Stengel – a former Brooklyn Robin (Dodgers) – was aiming this bit of wildlife sarcasm at the Brooklyn fans. Here, however, is the tale of that day, as told by someone who was there – one of Casey’s Pittsburgh teammates. After the video, BBRT will also share some Stengel trivia and, of course, quotes.

With that out of the way, here’s piece of trivia to, perhaps, stump your friends.

What New York outfielder – and future Hall of Famer – hit Yankee Stadium’s first-ever post-season inside-the-park and over-the-fence home runs? (Both game winners, by the way.)

Nope, it wasn’t Babe Ruth, although he was there. The batsman was New York Giants’ center fielder Casey Stengel – and here’s the story.

Photo by The Library of Congress

On October 10, 1923, Yankee Stadium hosted its first-ever post-season game. Appropriately, the first World Series in “The House that Ruth Built” featured a six-game Yankees’ victory and three round trippers by the Babe himself. However, New York Giants’ outfielder Casey Stengel nearly stole the show.

In Game One, Stengel (playing center field and batting sixth) Casey Stengel (one-for-two with a walk at the time) came up in the top of the ninth with the score knotted at four apiece, two out and no one on. Stengel hit a drive to deep left-center and dashed around the bases – losing a shoe along the way – to score the winning run (and record the first post-season home run in Yankee Stadium history).

The Series then went to the Polo Grounds for Game Two (the home sites would alternate game-by-game for this all-NY World Series), where Ruth would poke a pair of home runs as the Yankees prevailed 4-2. Then back to Yankee Stadium, where Stengel hit the second-ever post-season home run in that ballpark – a seventh-inning, over-the-fence shot that provided the winning tally in a Giants’ 1-0 victory. The Yankees went on to win the Series four games to two.

By the way, Stengel, who hit .339 in 75 regular-season games for the Giants that season, hit .417, with two homers and four RBI in the Series.

Here, before we look at some Stengel quotes, are a few tidbits about “The Ol’ Perfessor.”

Stengel was a solid athlete. At Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri, he played football, basketball and baseball (pitcher/third base/second base).
Stengel had intended to be a dentist – and actually attended dental college.
In his first MLB game (September 17, 1912, with Brooklyn), Stengel collected four singles and a walk – and stole two bases – in five plate appearances.
In 14 MLB seasons (Dodgers, Pirates, Phillies, Giants, Braves), Stengel hit .284, with 60 home runs, 535 RBI and 131 stolen bases. Although often platooned (he played 100 or more games in just seven seasons), he hit .300 or better in four campaigns and, in 1914, led the NL in on-base percentage (.404). He also notched double-digit triples in five seasons.
Stengel managed in the major leagues for 25 seasons (Dodgers, Bees/Braves, Yankees, Mets) – running up a 1,905-1,842 record.
In the 12 seasons from 1949 through 1960, Stengel managed the Yankees to 10 American League pennants and seven World Series Championships.

Now, how about a few of those famous/infamous Stengel quotes.

He (Lyndon B. Johnson) wanted to see poverty, so he came to see my team (1964 New York Mets).
He’d fall in a sewer and come up with a gold watch. (About Yogi Berra.)
He threw the ball as far from the bat and as close to the plate as possible. (About Satchel Paige.)
Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It’s staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in.
There comes a time in every man’s life, and I’ve had plenty of them.
Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice-versa.About Casey Stengel

“Casey (Stengel) knew his baseball. He only made it look like he was fooling around. He knew every move that was ever invented and some that we haven’t even caught on to yet.”

Sparky Anderson

More Stengel quotes:

This club (1969 New York Mets) plays better baseball now. Some of them look fairly alert.
All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height.
Most people my age are dead at the present time. You can look it up.
They told me my services were no longer desired because they wanted to put in a youth program as an advance way of keeping the club going. I’ll never make the mistake of being seventy again.”
Never make predictions, especially about the future.

My Favorite Casey Stengel Quote

When you are younger you get blamed for crimes you never committed and, when you are older, you begin to get credit for virtues you never possessed. It evens itself out.

Primary Resrouces: Baseball-Reference.com; Society for American Baseball Research; Baseball-Almanac.com

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Roger Maris Take Your Base – Four Intentional Walks in a Game

May 22, 2019 by David

On this date (May 22) in 1962, the Yankees Roger Maris set an MLB record (since broken) by drawing four intentional walks in a single game. As the Yankees squeezed by the Angels 2-1 in 12 innings (in New York), Maris drew five walks (four intentional) in six trips to the plate. (Andre Dawson, Cubs, drew five intentional passes in a 16-inning game on May 22, 1990. Maris still holds a share of the AL record.)

Here’s how Maris ’evening went it went:

Second inning – Fly out to center, leading off (facing Dean Chance)

Fourth Inning – Walk with no one on and one out (Chance)

Sixth Inning – Intentional walk with runners on second and third and no outs (Chance)

Eighth Inning – Intentional walk with a runner on second and one out (Ryne Duren)

Tenth Inning – Intentional walk with a runner on second and two out (Jack Spring)

Twelfth Inning – Intentional walk with a runner on third and one out (Tom Morgan).

A BIT OF IRONY

While Maris set the record for intentional walks in a single game in 1962, he did not draw a single intentional pass in 1961 – when he hit 61 round trippers (the most home runs ever by a player not drawing a single intentional pass in a season). In fact, his 61-home run season is the only season in his MLB career that Maris did not draw a single IBB. (It helps to have Mickey Mantle hitting behind you.)

Barry Bonds – King of the Intentional Walk

Notably, when you talk intentional walks, the conversation pretty much has to focus on Barry Bonds. (We need to keeping in mind, however, that IBB’s did not become an official statistic until 1955.) Bonds holds the records for:

IBB in a season – 120 with the Giants in 2004. (Bonds, in fact, holds the top three spots. The first non-Barry on the list is the Giants’ Willie McCovey with 45.) In 2004, Bonds also set the single-season mark for total walks with 232. Note: Only three players had as many total walks as Bonds had intentional walks in 2004 – Bobby Abreu, Lance Berkman, and Todd Helton (127 each).
IBB in a career – 688. Second Place goes to the still active Albert Pujols of the Angels with 310 as this is written. Stan Musial comes in third at 298.
Most seasons leading the league in IBB – 12.
Most IBB’s in a nine-inning game – four (twice) on May 1 and September 22, 2004.

Barry Bonds hit .362 with 45 home runs and 101 RBI the year he drew an MLB record 120 intentional walks (2004). The season he hit 73 home runs (2001), he drew only 35 free passes. That season, Sammy Sosa led MLB with 37 free passes (and hit 64 dingers).

A few other free-pass marks:

Most IBB in a season in the American League – 33 by Ted Williams in 1957 and John Olerud in 1993.
Most IBB to a rookie – 16 to Mariners’ OF Al Davis in 1984, when he hit ..284-27-116 and was the AL Rookie of the Year.
Most intentional walks received by a team in a game – Six, provided by the Cardinals (to the Giants) in a 5-2 loss On July 19, 1975 – with three going to number-eight hitter catcher Dave Rader.

WHAT SKIPPER? PUT HIM ON? THERE’S NO PLACE TO PUT HIM?

Six players have received intentional walks with the bases loaded: Abner Dalrymple (August 2, 1881); Nap Lajoie (May 23, 1901); Del Bissonette (May 2, 1928); Bill Nicholson (July 23, 1944); Barry (of course, he did) Bonds (May 28, 1998); and Josh Hamilton (August 17, 2008).

Primary Resources: Baseball-Almanac.com; Baseball-Reference.com; MLB.com.

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Running Wild in Cleveland – A Couple (a trio, actually) of Unexpected Steals of Home

May 21, 2019 by David

On this date (May 21) 22 years ago (1997), thought I’d save you the math), Jim Thome – he of the 612 home runs – won a game for the Indians, not with his bat, but with his feet.

Photo by Keith Allison

It came about in the bottom of the fourth inning of a scoreless tie (versus the Royals). Thome (playing 1B and batting third) that day opened the inning with a single off Royals’ starter Kevin Appier. Indians’ third baseman Matt Williams followed with a single, with Thome moving up one base. DH Julio Franco then grounded to second base, with Williams forced at second, Thome going to third and Franco safe on the fielder’s choice.

On the fourth pitch to RF Brian Giles, Franco broke for second arriving safely ahead of Royals’ catcher Time Spehr’s throw. During the play Thome scampered (Would lumbered be a better word?) home – stealing home and scoring what turned out to be the only run in a 1-0 Indians’ victory. The two hits in the fourth inning were, in fact, the only hits the Indians would get off Appier, who pitched a complete game (with eight walks and seven strikeouts), while four Indians’ pitchers shut out the Royals.

How unexpected was the 6’4”, 250 pound Thome’ swipe of home? Consider:

1) It was his only stolen base of the 1997 season – he only attempted two;

2) He only stole 19 bases in his 22-season career – and was thrown out 20 times;

3) It was his only career steal of home; and

4) After that steal of home, he only stole four more bases (over the next 15 seasons.)

Thome’s steal of home is not the most momentous – and, perhaps, not the most surprising – in Cleveland Indians’ lore. On this August 14, 1958, Indians’ 3B Vic Power became just the eleventh player in MLB history to steal home twice in one game – a feat that has not been accomplished since. What makes this momentous is that (like Thome’s steal) Power’s second steal of home was a game winner. It came in the bottom of the tenth and gave the Tribe a 10-9 “run-off” victory. What made it surprising is that Power stole only one other base all season.

Here’s how it went down. The Tigers were leading the Indians 7-4 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Cleveland RF Rocky Colavito started the inning with his second home run of the game (his 26th of the season). Then pinch-hitter Gary Geiger (hitting for SS Woodie Held) walked. Next up was another pinch hitter – Vic Wertz – for pitcher Morrie Martin. Wertz tied the contest with a two-run long ball.

After a Detroit pitching change – Bill Fischer in for Tom Morgan – Indians’ 2B Bobby Avila reached on an error by Tigers’ 1B Gail Harris. Cleveland 1B Mickey Vernon sacrificed Avila to second and Power singled him home – moving to second on an error by Detroit catcher Charlie Lau. And, the pesky Power was just warming up. He went to third on a wild pitch by Fischer and then stole home (after a short fly out to center by catcher Russ Nixon) to run the lead to 9-7. LF Minnie Minoso was up next and was hit by a pitch and stole second before CF Larry Doby flied out to end the inning.

The Cleveland bullpen, however, could not hold the two-run lead – and the Tigers tied it in the top of the ninth. That opened the door for Power’s historic second steal of home – which came in the bottom of the tenth, with the bases loaded, two outs and one of the AL’s most dependable RBI men (Rocky Colavito, with 74 driven in on the season) at the plate.

Here’s how that tenth went. Vernon grounded out. Then, Power singled to right (his third hit of the day, raising his average to .319). Nixon followed with another single, Power moving to second. Minoso grounded to short, with Power moving on to third, Nixon forced at second and Minoso reaching first on the fielder’s choice. Larry Doby was intentionally walked, loading the bases and bringing Colavito to the dish. On the fourth pitch to the Indians’ slugger, Power – who had been scampering up and down the third base line – broke for the plate and ended the game on steal of home.

Hmmm? That seems a bit odd.

Both Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth notched double-digit steals of home in their MLB careers (15 and 10, respectively). Among those who did not reach ten steals of home plate? Rickey Henderson, Lou Brock and Maury Wills.

Going into that August 14 tilt, Power had exactly one stolen base on the season – and he did not steal a single a bag (after the two steals of home) that campaign. The fact is, he was much more likely to beat you with his glove (seven Gold Gloves) or his bat (.284 career average) than his legs. In twelve MLB seasons, Power stole just 45 bases (and was caught 35 times).

Hmmm? This seems to make sense.

Ty Cobb stole home an MLB-record 54 times – 21 more times than runner up Max Carey. Cobb also holds the MLB and AL record with eight steals of home in a season (Tigers, 1912). Pete Reiser holds the NL record at seven (Dodgers, 1946).

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