MLB Off-Topic

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

That's like half a season against 3 Hall of Famers... Incredible. It's almost hard to imagine a dude facing 3 pitchers that caliber now in consecutive games without striking out 3+ times, let alone 270 AB's.

[CMH]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Stat of the day: Tony Gwynn faced the vaunted Braves trio of Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux 270 times. He struck out a total of 3 times and hit .394 against them.

Smoltz told me it was 4 times!

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[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Smoltz told me it was 4 times!

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I was going to say that :P

They showed a graphic of what Gwynn did against MLB-N analysts and he absolutely RAKED against all of em except one. (I forget who the other was but it was limited ABs)

[CMH]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I was going to say that [emoji14]

They showed a graphic of what Gwynn did against MLB-N analysts and he absolutely RAKED against all of em except one. (I forget who the other was but it was limited ABs)

I think it was Plesac?

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[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I think it was Plesac?

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I just found video of the segment here's the numbers:

Plesac .747 AVG
Leiter .455 AVG
Smoltz .444 AVG
Darling .441 AVG
Pedro .314 AVG
Magrane .289 AVG
Dempster .143 AVG (1-7 in 8 PAs)

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Stat of the day: Tony Gwynn faced the vaunted Braves trio of Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux 270 times. He struck out a total of 3 times and hit .394 against them.

I have the documentary they did on his life in my DVR...can't wait to watch it.

I don't think we'll ever see another hitter who CHOOSES to hit for average rather than power.

[Jr.]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I don't think we'll ever see another hitter who CHOOSES to hit for average rather than power.

Ichiro. Altuve. Votto. Dee Gordon. Billy Hamilton (he's not good at it, but he's trying). Let's not lump everyone into the same category. There are still plenty of contact-first hitters at the MLB level.

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Ichiro. Altuve. Votto. Dee Gordon. Billy Hamilton (he's not good at it, but he's trying). Let's not lump everyone into the same category. There are still plenty of contact-first hitters at the MLB level.

Ichiro, yes.

There isn't another player that I've seen can hit over .300 without striking out over 50 times...which Gwynn never did.

[Blzer]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Ichiro, yes.

There isn't another player that I've seen can hit over .300 without striking out over 50 times...which Gwynn never did.

... Barry Bonds?

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

While I wouldn't put Votto in exactly the same mold as Gwynn I think you can say he's in the same ballpark as far as approach goes. Over the years he was criticized for not hitting for power and expanding the zone hence his high walk totals. It's only been in the last couple years where he's adjusted his approach a bit.

[Blzer]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

While I wouldn't put Votto in exactly the same mold as Gwynn I think you can say he's in the same ballpark as far as approach goes. Over the years he was criticized for not hitting for power and expanding the zone hence his high walk totals. It's only been in the last couple years where he's adjusted his approach a bit.

He still has two of the most amazing stats I've ever heard regarding bat control. I e-mailed these to my softball players once:

1) Votto went through the entire 2010 season without hitting a single infield pop-up for an out. Two years later, Votto added only one such blemish to his name.

2) Quote from a 2012 article: "Not only has Votto only pulled one foul ball into the stands during his 2,821 big-league plate appearances, but he can still remember the moment he put that baseball into the seats."

[Sportsforever]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Ichiro, yes.

There isn't another player that I've seen can hit over .300 without striking out over 50 times...which Gwynn never did.

The game is SO different now than when Gwynn played. The number of pitchers who could throw 95+ you could count on 1 hand, plus bullpens weren't used like they are now.

I guarantee that if Tony Gwynn played today, he wouldn't be striking out 20 times in a season.

Your statement would be like someone watching baseball in the 1970's/1980's and lamenting that there will never be another contact hitter like Joe DiMaggio who would hit more HR's than strikeouts in a season. The environment was different in the 1930's/1940's than it was in the 1970's/1980's...and just like it's different today.

[Speedy]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Good point, SF.

[Sportsforever]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

On another note, Orthopedic Surgeon George Paletta (Cardinal team doctor) has come up with a new procedure to replace TJS.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/01/12/tommy-john-surgery-could-be-a-thing-of-the-past-thanks-to-primary-repair-procedure/?utm_term=.dbfe3a807b7a

It sounds amazing, if it works, and would be tremendous to get pitchers back in the game quicker. If you think about it, TJS has been around since 1974...with all of our medical advances, you'd think something better would be available by now.

[LowerWolf]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

“Sometimes hitters can pick up differences in spin. They can identify pitchers if there are different release points or if a curveball starts with an upward hump as it leaves the pitcher’s hand. But if a pitcher can change speeds, every hitter is helpless, limited by human vision.

“Except for that (expletive) Tony Gwynn.”

— Greg Maddux