Hey Bill,  

RE: Luis Leal/Blue Jays. I was a young teenager when Luis was pitching and my recollection is that the Jays didn't like him very much, but of course as a Venezuelan I am biased and really don't trust my memory very much. However, this was him from 1981 thru 1984: 107ERA+, 11WAR, 26 COMPLETE GAMES! including 10 in 1982, but a W/L of 45/48. His numbers look pretty decent although his ERA was in the high 3's, and I don't see any sign of his performance dropping. Then he pretty much disappeared after '85. Do you have any idea why was he gone that fast? Also, that early 80's Jays pitching staff was something else!

Hey, Bill. When a pitcher throws a shutout and hits a home run in the same game, as Noah Syndergaard did today, I call that a "Superman game." As in, that's what would happen if Clark Kent, tired of hiding his powers from the world, tried out for the Smallville High baseball team. Superman game.  

 

What do you think?

So what's the deal with Stormont-Vail Hospital? PS: if I rode 3000 miles on an exercise bike, my feet would crack. Jes sayin'....

The MLB/AAA baseball is contributing to more homeruns this year.  Some say you can measure the how ball is different with Statcast data-- (velocity crossing home plate)/(velocity at mound) .  If the ball has less drag it carries further causing more homeruns.  

 

As is, pitchers are getting hijacked (but maybe not on teams with more information) because MLB does not adequately control or MLB decides to change the equipment of the game without telling everyone.  

 

Should MLB measure and publish what is going on with the balls so that the information is more uniform?  

 

 

As an old Yankees fan (since switched to Cleveland), I was tickled to see Mattingly make your list there. And no mention of Kirby Puckett!

You mentioned awhile back that Nolan Ryan was known for messing with the ball in his later years, but no one would talk about it.  

 

I had the feeling that some of what Greg Maddox was able to do with the ball seemed... astounding at the end. He had darting movement he lacked early on. Maybe that was craftiness, but it sure seemed like he was doing something.

Not a question but a comment. It was a treat to meet you at the Library of Congress last Saturday; thanks for taking my question. I must confess that when you said old teams that don't care about being good would try to move a player to a defensive position where he might be over matched (paraphrasing here) my mind immediately jumped to Josh Bell's latest adventure at first base for the Pirates. Under present ownership I fear I'll not see another World Championship in my lifetime and I'm only 63.  

 

All the best.

Just curious. Who are some of your all-time favorite players? Not in any analytical sense but just guys you were a big fan of.

Hi Bill,  

 

Based on your comments about women's college basketball, I know that you occasionally enjoy watching women's college sports. On May 10, 2019, Drake senior Nicole Newman set a new record by throwing her fifth perfect game in a season. I feel like fast-pitch softball has a competitive imbalance that is too advantageous to the pitcher. Do you think they should change the sport so that hitters have a greater chance to influence a game? Or is the sport fine the way it is? And if they changed it, what would be the easiest way to introduce more offense? Thanks for your thoughts!  

 

Cheers,  

Roel

Bill: I was looking at Verlander's career box this morning and noticed he's now 27-10 with the Astros, which I immediately recognized as Carlton's W-L record with the '72 Phillies. Here's how they line up in some other key categories:  

 

        Carlton             Verlander  

IP:      346.1                305.1  

H:        257                   216  

K:        310                   401  

BB:       87                     56  

HR:       17                     42  

ERA:    1.97                  2.36  

 

Obviously you're looking at different eras ('72 was a big pitcher's year), different parks, and, most of all, the difference between playing for a WS winner and a terrible last-place team. I give Carlton a big advantage in HR, Verlander a big advantage in strikeouts, and a smaller edge to Verlander in walks. All in all, I think Verlander has basically pitched as well as 1972 Steve Carlton since coming over to the Astros (split over two seasons, mind you, so not as valuable).

Hey Bill,  

 

We hear a lot about how pitchers today are throwing every pitch at maximum effort and this is taking a tremendous toll on their arms.  I wonder if there's a better way that's worth trying.  I heard a recent quote from Jim Kaat.  The father of a pitching prospect told him that his son was striking guys out in high school and his fastball had been clocked in nineties.  Kaat's response was "That's great, but if you want him to learn to pitch, teach him to get guys out throwing the fastball at 86."  All that is prelude to two questions:  Are pitching prospects today who don't throw in the mid nineties seriously considered as prospects?  Would pitchers be more durable if they were able to limit the number of max effort pitches to a fraction of their total?  

 

How does management typically feel about a mid-career player running through a stop sign for an inside the park HR making the score 11-0 in the 8th inning?  Head case?  Over exuberant?   Smart?  No reaction at all?

Hey, Bill!  

When/where is [i}Floating Kansas[/i] going to be available.  Am really looking forward to reading it.

Hey Bill, looks like there are some similarities so far between Xander Bogaerts second season in 2015 at age 22 and Rafael Devers second season at the same age. Are they that similar as hitters ?  

Re: players maintaining the field... about 5 years ago I attended a Brooklyn Cyclones game (short season A, Mets), there were MASSIVE rains, and the whole team was out there with squeegees to get things going. The tradition isn't dead yet.