Conforto’s bad luck with fastballs

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This season Michael Conforto has played only 51 games because of a right hamstring injury; however, in those games he has hit only .195 with an an SLG of .277 and an OBP of .342. His primary problem has been to get on base when the pitch is a fastball.

Against fastballs his batting average is .145. However, his xBA is 97 points higher, so Lady Luck has not been on Conforto’s side. Further, when he has put the fastball in play, which he has done 59 times, he has hit only four doubles and no home runs, resulting in an SLG of .193, 97 points lower than the xSLG of .385.

Against breaking balls and off-speed pitches he has had better luck, hitting .250 (xBA = .247).

Before this season, never hit less than .267 against fastballs, a pitch against which in 2020 he hit .327.

Conforto’s career stats against fastballs

Source: Baseball Savant

Tigers and A’s Share “One”

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In 1920 the Detroit Tigers played 155 games, finishing the season with a 61-93-1 record. The “one” occurred on August 3 in their 122nd game against the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park.

Fifteen innings after the game began, though 16 runners had crossed the plate, it ended without a winner.

It was never finished.

Each team used only two pitchers. For the Tigers, RHP Doc Ayers started the game and, after 6.2 innings, was replaced by LHP Red Oldham, who gave up only one earned run. The A’s started with RHP Slim Harriss. He lasted one inning: Five runs crossed the plate, but only one was earned. His successor, LHP Roy Moore, gave up 13 hits, but only three runners scored.

Combined, the teams got 30 hits. Center fielder Ty Cobb led the Tigers offense, getting four hits. A’s third baseman “Jumping Joe” Dugan did even better. He got five hits.

From Wikimedia Commons

Only five of the game’s hits were for extra bases, all doubles.

That season, the Tigers hit just 30 homers. Outfielder Bobby Veach, who led the team in homers with 11, hit more triples (15) than homers. The Tigers hit 72 triples, but that was only fifth-best in the American League, the White Sox hitting the most three-baggers, 98, one shy of the Brooklyn Robins’ MLB-leading 99 triples, the league as a whole hitting 621 versus only 369 homers.

Only two teams hit more home runs than triples, the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees, Babe Ruth blasting 54 in his first 50-plus season.

The Babe, not known as a triples hitter, hit nine in 1920 and 136 in his career.

From Wikimedia Commons

Eddie Ainsmith caught the whole game for the Tigers; whereas, for the A’s, Cy Perkins started the game, staying in it long enough to get seven plate appearances, the same number as his replacement, Glenn Myatt, the game’s starting right fielder. Though the boxscore does not reveal when Myatt switched positions, his replacement in right field, Dick Burrus, did not have a plate appearance, so it had to be late in the game.

The teams made nine errors. The A’s made six of them. Dugan’s error was his 29th of the season. Despite that, a BR Bullpen article says that he was “[a] brilliant fielding third baseman.”

Two men umpired it. George Hildebrand was behind the plate and George Moriarty at first base. Four umpires in a regular-season game did not begin until 1952.

The game lasted three hours and four minutes, but then, in those days baseball’s clock ran faster.

Other tie games in MLB history


Mets Catch McCann

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Artwork based on Image by Anne & Saturnino Miranda from Pixabay

When J. T. Realmuto priced himself beyond what the Mets wanted to pay, they focused their attention on a catcher who did not have Realmuto’s acclaim but was getting the job done: James McCann.

Though the Mets signing of reliever Trevor May was a significant move, at least one news source viewed McCann’s acquisition as the team’s first “big” one under their new ownership, one not burdened by the financial problems that handcuffed the Wilpons and limited the team’s player options.

There was competition for McCann. Fortunately, the Mets won. According to Maria Torres, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, the Angels offered McCann only a three-year deal.

A White Sox blog called McCann’s loss a “tough” one, adding that “The White Sox are losing a very important piece to their team with the departure of McCann.”

The blog article’s author, Vincent Parise, concluded his piece with this paragraph:

What are the New York Mets adding in McCann? They are getting a catcher who can do it on both sides of the ball. He can hit very well and be a phenomenal defensive catcher. He also is a fantastic leader for a clubhouse and will bring that dynamic to New York. He gets to work with pitchers like Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Marcus Stroman which should be really fun for them all. The New York Mets got a lot better today and should be very happy with the player they are getting.

Mets players have already started praising the team’s new catcher. One member of the Mets starting rotation, Marcus Stroman, expressed his satisfaction with the McCann acquisition.

We are in a new era of Mets baseball.

Let’s go Mets!

Possible Mets 2021 Starting Lineup — Position Players

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First base: Pete Alonso. Despite his struggles at the plate in 2020 — the sophomore jinx steamrolled him — his performance in his rookie season locks him into this slot for 2021. His primary backup should be Dominic Smith, who had a breakout season in 2020 with an .852 OPS.

Second base: Robinson Cano exceeded my expectations. At age 37, while not justifying the trading of Jarrod Kelenic to get him, Cano hit .316 with an OPS of .896. His WAR, however, was just 0.9. Another negative is that Cano is slow. In the latest Statcast Sprint-Speed Leaderboard, for second basemen, Cano is rated the slowest at 24.8 ft/sec.

Shortstop: Andrés Giménez. Though he got only one vote in the 2020 Rookie of the Year voting, his star started to shine in 2020. In 2021, baseball-reference.com projects his OPS to be .769; whereas, they project Amed Rosasio’s to be .723. stolen bases OBP. Further, though the two are the Mets fastest runners, last season Giménez had eight stolen bases while Rosario had none.

Third base: Jeff McNeil. Since David Wright, the Mets have had problems stabilizing the hot corner. A potential contender at that position is free agent DJ LeMahieu, whom David Adler views as the best available free agent. LeMahieu can play first, second, and third so, like McNeil, he is a multi-position athlete.

Left field: Dominic Smith earned that position last season, so should start in left unless the universal DH returns to the National League. Then, Smith should start at first with Alonso becoming the DH because of Smith’s glove skills. Smith could have competition from Brandon Nimmo if the Mets sign George Springer to play center field.

Center field: George Springer. In 2020, Brandon Nimmo played the most games at this position (27), and even though his slash line was .280/.404/.484. In an sny.tv article, Danny Abriano wrote, “the Nimmo experiment in center field needs to end,” suggesting that he be relocated to left field. To support his claim, Abriano said, “of the 39 qualified center fielders in 2020, Nimmo was second-to-last when it came to OAA (Outs Above Average).” Abriano suggests as a replacement either Jackie Bradley Jr. or George Springer. Either would be an upgrade.

Right field: Michael Conforto. In 2020 he had the second-highest OPS on the Mets: .927. (Smith’s was .993, seventh-best in MLB.) Conforto’s fans include Mike Vaccaro, a writer for the New York Post, who said, “He has, at various times in his five years with the Mets, been projected a batting champion in waiting, an MVP in waiting, a top-10 MLB player in waiting.” Though we are still waiting, he is getting closer. Last season was the first time he hit above .300, his .322 average 69 points higher than his career average from 2015-2019 of .253.

Catcher: J.T. Realmuto. How good is he? Jim Salisbury wrote on nbcsports.com that the “two-time All-Star [is] widely considered the best catcher in the game for his work both behind and at the plate.” To sum up his skills: He can hit. He can catch. He can throw. And he runs faster than Christian Yelich, Kevin Pillar, and Jackie Bradley Jr.