Apropos of Nothing - vBaseball

[G-Fafif]

Just learned via tweet from CSN Chicago's Christopher Kamka (@ckamka):

For 5 of the 30 franchises, the oldest pitcher to start a game is a Niekro. Phil: Braves, Blue Jays, Indians, MFYs Joe: Twins

[Zvon]

Maybe you guyz & girls can help me out. What should go down as Thor's career highlights so far?



Also, where can I find out his contract status? I don't see it at the MLBmets site.

[Guest themetfairy]

Zvon wrote: Maybe you guyz & girls can help me out. What should go down as Thor's career highlights so far? Also, where can I find out his contract status? I don't see it at the MLBmets site.

The only Met to notch a save in the 2015 World Series

Has the most home runs of any current Mets pitcher

[Guest d'Kong76]

Also, where can I find out his contract status? I don't see it at the MLBmets site.

From Rotoworld:
2016-18: Pre-arb. Eligible, 2019-21: Arb. Eligible, 2022: Free Agent

[Zvon]

The only Met to notch a save in the 2015 World Series Has the most home runs of any current Mets pitcher

OOO, those are good, thank you TMF. Esp the WS save.

Also, where can I find out his contract status? I don't see it at the MLBmets site. From Rotoworld: 2016-18: Pre-arb. Eligible, 2019-21: Arb. Eligible, 2022: Free Agent

Rotoworld. Kool, thank you dKong

[Benjamin Grimm]

It wasn't a save, it was a win. Syndergaard was the starting pitcher in the game that the Mets won.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Hardest thrower in baseball.

Toughest NL pitcher to homer against in 2016. (In the majors, actually)

[fimg=333:30k3sy57]https://c5.staticflickr.com/1/296/31378545572_d3763c001b_b.jpg[/fimg:30k3sy57]

[Zvon]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It wasn't a save, it was a win. Syndergaard was the starting pitcher in the game that the Mets won.

I was going to add I forgot about the save. lol. Rather have a win anyways.

Kool card Batmags.

[Guest themetfairy]

Zvon wrote: themetfairy wrote: The only Met to notch a save in the 2015 World Series Has the most home runs of any current Mets pitcher OOO, those are good, thank you TMF. Esp the WS save.

I don't know why I typed save. I meant win.

[Guest themetfairy]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It wasn't a save, it was a win. Syndergaard was the starting pitcher in the game that the Mets won.

I know. I spaced out - sorry.

[Zvon]

Hows this sound? I want it to sound like a card as well as look like one .

Thank you Kong, Batmags, & TMF for the push start.



Wow, this guy sounds good.

[Benjamin Grimm]

This thread has managed to make me realize that the Mets have only won two World Series games in the last thirty years.

[Guest themetfairy]

Zvon wrote: Hows this sound? I want it to sound like a card as well as look like one . Thank you Kong, Batmags, & TMF for the push start. Wow, this guy sounds good.

Superlative - well done Z!

[Zvon]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: This thread has managed to make me realize that the Mets have only won two World Series games in the last thirty years.

The front of Noah's card was heavily influenced by one of your cards Grimm. The classic Heilman. I couldn't find the exact pose, and yours is a back view, but I wanted to go off center with the photo like you did. For some reason I love when Topps did unconventional things like that.

[fimg=600]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/etNRlcxzRqudaneM0eMdkp6E7IKKXuKegzB25ET4MLPmCm5nSjkpRU-PUXjHBeQVtuCjywuYNipB0-ZDMDv7PDRLv25G1DNeYaQ-OQAiTlmB0L-HRSW09hO4Qrl0R5wZ4rUu5hDWyQZbEOf4UqQRLZL-YXyD1OHZcJ6wDNVE0KXyMS-bjChkIqy4hIUbldPOT936DzqlMWMkyMvyM71Csk8pnRs7EFnJUMA97jfCxXZ9NHILtUlYalFY2oavQ9Yd-ZmZZrUQU_RGLHfccLvl7-tdTGynPoWZs18Hy38SBWo5cq6OkuDEJqvKaB7bc07PKbwzoR71roe4FyYrqgIkin1zCB73ykSdNN_KOlisUKUf5WU3QAC5OdjeRWHSSKljn9dce--I2UgTISsJlW6RqCd6kfrOEjKmsyJpblFElvbtCjOIvJgbomwMedtjf1ygiLww8rG7_Hce49dSzCmAyFSjig5BqycCknO5yFVnqD-CEjS77dbR_3JGb3fy3BrMw1pRVMUXUim3usQlDdyK4Qy9P8CFE0bfcyiCKSODGCYMqpWHTEPxuEn1RAXnDvMc4Dgbe0ffUEllIUq5ET2HwpHD3cXnK7zhi5VnlnczwcTQfcnIZ_YVng=w745-h530-no[/fimg]

Superlative - well done Z!

Thank you Sharon.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Wow, thanks for remembering! That card goes back a long long time!

[Zvon]

One of my all time favorites.

I made this a long time ago to post on the blog but got busy with actual Mets stuff that was happening and still have yet to run it.

[fimg=700:3hyauy09]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6Z3Gldr-iQlMFo1eSuq8-1io88vzkP9meC63Ad3SLtlVM_ljjgQ1hVhVHCA5WKG-3p_WhJUgbA-edO4zeKu0eBHv_WEyxeMN6qFzM4jPhFr81zGOZY-ySaCXFlXeB_EbHveMCXzdhHasODqaOz28MKklhobVwW5fGpyHW6zYtUmcJB6FXBsLon9r-f3tU5UKOv05oNm7wneX0j2R-3r0nD--GKBPZDNeokkuQXM9fYPsE5kI5ntfNl4lwI98Jzl5JM-4F4Z25whkO3K8hfLfsPOSbIc7xJRxuYlYu458kvqR_vU-qRSHgmJoLGwSofMRs2tcugSMbV_x0M4UE2yR6jCr60PqbkT9yogG8k_8odxloBm0dHf_RfE9qyToruNV8gERSD-Og7-XLsDoVEMH8W5XqYq4BRtvvU1IUwyr6qonCspqCSoF3-eidTQ-b9c0pSjpfOP9ZXcFjmZib50Jw0MgXcHEdM4eQ5VSHISlNhZ9JUsGSiPfN-N8fgFH5l50Wz__i78A2RHaT-kdtCqogV5kV-1At_sN1UWFjfL2zbb7NjrviJZln1CscF2npn7SLzW3oHud6vTDjdK5zWyAcYuNQQHc4OBJOrp74RRDRNY83BztdnxsyA=w1506-h1413-no[/fimg:3hyauy09]

[batmagadanleadoff]

Apr. 20, 2017 at 5:09 PM
Baseball’s New Leadoff Hitters Don’t Need To Be Speed Demons
Just look at Kyle Schwarber.

By Neil Paine 538.com

Intro:

Rickey Henderson. Kenny Lofton. Ichiro Suzuki. Kyle Schwarber? Schwarber may not play exactly like those other great leadoff hitters, but he’s been at the front of the Cubs’ lineup in every game he’s played in so far this season, and he currently ranks third in MLB among leadoff hitters in on-base percentage and fourth in OPS. With numbers like those, he’s shaping up to easily replace departed No. 1 hitter Dexter Fowler, who signed a big contract to hit leadoff in St. Louis this past offseason. Schwarber personifies a strange new trend sweeping through lineup cards across baseball: The leadoff guy who bears no resemblance to a prototypical leadoff guy. This modern leadoff man hits for big power, isn’t afraid to strike out and rarely steals bases. He’s essentially a middle-of-the-lineup hitter who happens to hit first — the next rung on the evolutionary ladder of lineup construction.

read it all at https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/baseballs-new-leadoff-hitters-dont-need-to-be-speed-demons/

Hi. My name is bat Magadan leadoff and I coulda told you most of this stuff more than 25 years ago.

[batmagadanleadoff]

This season marks the first time in the history of baseball since playoffs were instituted in 1969 that the final four remaining baseball teams from two seasons ago are all under .500 this late in the season. Two days ago, the Mets, Cubs, Royals and Jays were all under .500. The Cubs have since won their last two games and are now 20-19 - one game over .500.

Read about it at 538.com.

[batmagadanleadoff]

If it ain't one ex-Met. it's another.

[fimg=555:1ff6e365]https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4221/34735449812_8ea9e39903_z.jpg[/fimg:1ff6e365]

[Ceetar]

I wrote this before the 2012 season about why you'd want to watch a team you might think will suck.

Who knows, maybe this is the year the Mets finally pitch that illusive no-hitter. Would you want to miss it because you have the Mets penciled in for last place and decided to spend your Saturday afternoon in June at the zoo?

[Edgy MD]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: If it ain't one ex-Met. it's another. [fimg=555]https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4221/34735449812_8ea9e39903_z.jpg[/fimg]

It's amazing that not that long ago, in the great scheme of things, Murphy and Turner were two halves of a Mets' second base platoon.

[batmagadanleadoff]

From the Summer of 2014, SI's then outrageous prediction is suddenly looking very prescient.

[fimg=444:388p8591]http://usatftw.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/10464218_10154263320520431_6241616349984624771_n.jpg?w=1000[/fimg:388p8591]

[MFS62]

I heard a quote attributed to Yogi Berra, but not sure if he said it, "Predicting is hard, especially when its about the future." But it looks like SI may have nailed this one.
Of course, the was the magazine whose football expert (Tex Maulle) predicted the Colts would beat the Jets "66-0" in Super Bowl III.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

If these batting gloves they wear are so tight that hitters have to pull them off one finger at a time and with great effort once they reach base, how come they need to be re-tightened after each
pitch whether they swing at the pitch or not?



And why would fans pay hundreds of dollars for a front row seat only to then watch the game through a 5 inch screen?

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: If these batting gloves they wear are so tight that hitters have to pull them off one finger at a time and with great effort once they reach base, how come they need to be re-tightened after each pitch whether they swing at the pitch or not? And why would fans pay hundreds of dollars for a front row seat only to then watch the game through a 5 inch screen?

and why won't they get off my lawn?

[Frayed Knot]

Well yeah, that too.


But seriously, I'm watching the end of the Yanx/Red Sox last night and a crowd shot in the 9th inning shows the Boston fans behind the dugouts in YSIII all looking at the game through their phones.
Now I know we live in a 'Pics or it didn't happen' society, but geez, you spend hundreds to get that seat so you can see a live baseball game and you're watching the crucial 2-out / one-run game
Kimbrel vs Judge matchup through a screen approximately (quick guesstimation here) 1/150th the size of your home television.
I don't get it.

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: Well yeah, that too. But seriously, I'm watching the end of the Yanx/Red Sox last night and a crowd shot in the 9th inning shows the Boston fans behind the dugouts in YSIII all looking at the game through their phones. Now I know we live in a 'Pics or it didn't happen' society, but geez, you spend hundreds to get that seat so you can see a live baseball game and you're watching the crucial 2-out / one-run game Kimbrel vs Judge matchup through a screen approximately (quick guesstimation here) 1/150th the size of your home television. I don't get it.

If the camera/broadcast is on those fans, you're not watching the game either are you?

95% of them looked up.

[Centerfield]

I don't like how other MLB clubs keep emailing me after I go to a game.

Get the hint Pirates. It was just a one time thing. Don't be blowing up my phone afterwards. Next time I'm back in town I know how to find you. Until then, just chill.

Last thing I need is for my Mets to start getting suspicious.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

MLB is all up my in my guts too. I hit a wrong button on my MLB phone app and so my phone thinks I'm an Indians fan. I foolishly "checked in" so Lunchpail could get a worthless orange dish towel the other night and my phone exploded.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: MLB is all up my in my guts too. I hit a wrong button on my MLB phone app and so my phone thinks I'm an Indians fan. I foolishly "checked in" so Lunchpail could get a worthless orange dish towel the other night and my phone exploded.

It's not exclusive to MLB, though they're definitely "cutting edge" with it. Most of it's garbage, but there is maybe interesting potential, especially to entice repeat visits to places like ballgames, breweries, etc.