The 2019 MLB Season Heads toward Final Games

What a treat for a Mets fan. Walking on the Lower Eastside with my dad, we came upon this store on East Ninth Street called Mr. Throw Back so we went inside and I tried on a vintage 1980s Mets jacket. Not bad, eh?

The 2019 MLB playoffs are almost over and all fans are focusing on the final games of the World Series.

The NL Wild Card Game was pretty fun, it was 3-1 going into the 8^th, then, Juan Soto hits a single with a bunch of errors which scores 3. That changed the outcome of the game by 58%. Then, the Nats’ bullpen thankfully shutout the Brewers offense, which is surprising knowing how their bullpen has been the whole season. The AL Wild Card Game between the Rays and the A’s was the same, with the Rays winning, 5-1. The score was cruising normally the whole game with short gains here and there but those gains made the difference. Avisail Garcia of the Rays made the biggest difference with a two-run shot in the bottom of the second off of Sean Manaea of the A’s.

The Divisional Series were much more fun. However, the Twins and the Yankees were the least fun, with the Yankees sweeping the Twins and soundly defeating them in each of the games, with Gleyber Torres being my MVP. The Astros and the Rays played the second ALDS. It looked like a surefire sweep to everyone, but the Rays were determined and they tangoed for 5 games, with the Astros coming out on top, and Jose Altuve the A’s being my MVP. In the NLDSs, the games were a little more interesting. The Cardinals and the Braves played and again, the Braves looked like a surefire win, but no, the Cardinals win in 7, probably the most exciting series in all of the playoffs so far, with Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals being the MVP for me. The Dodgers and the Nationals played and everyone who knows baseball would know the Dodgers would smoke the Nats in 3, but no, the Nats fought their hearts out, the series going back and forth until Game 5. Then, Howie Kendrick of the Nats, who’s having an electric postseason so far, smacks a ball for a Grand Slam off of Joe Kelly and the Nationals continue their Cinderella story. The Nats’ Anthony Rendon is my MVP.

The Championship Series weren’t projected to be very fun or interesting, however they were for sure. The Nats and the Braves weren’t too interesting, with the Nats winning 4-0 in the series, with the offense fighting and being crazy good. The series MVP is Howie Kendrick leading his team in almost all categories. The American League Conference Series was interesting as ever. The Astros eventually won the series in 6 games but it was soooo fun to watch. It was 3-1 in the series, in the last game in New York. James Paxton was really good in that game, in 6 innings pitched, only 4 hits allowed and only one run allowed. The Yankees looked like favorites in this game, going back to Houston, but it took till the 9^th to define a winner. With the Yankees’ lights out reliever Aroldis Chapman on the mound, everyone was thinking extra innings was bound, with two outs, Houston’s Jose Altuve steps to the plate. With a 2-1 count, Jose sends a ball to deep left-center field to send the Astros home. GAME!!!!

Now onto the World Series between the Nats and Astros, which is tied at 2 games apiece.

Sharing Thoughts on Baseball with a Professional

For a budding baseball writer, I had the unique privilege of spending some time talking with a baseball expert, Mr. Gary Green, Chairman, and CEO of the publication Baseball America. Not only was I able to pose questions about baseball but from time to time I managed to express my opinion and share thoughts about America’s pastime with Mr. Green. The wonderful interview took place in his Manhattan home on September 30 of this year.

Gary Green of Baseball America answers Yulian’s questions about baseball.

Yulian: What do you do on a day to day basis as the CEO and the Publisher of Baseball America?

Mr. Green: I'm not the publisher; B.J. Schecter is the publisher and the editor. He was the editor at Sports Illustrated, so he’s much more equipped than I am to do that. I oversee business operations and make strategic decisions but when it comes to decisions on editorial, I leave it to them.

I tried, but I couldn’t recommend stories because I have a personal baseball opinion and agenda so I feel it’s better to create a wall between me and the editorial, otherwise it would be all Mets and Royals. 

Yulian: I think the 2015 World Series must’ve been really bad for you.

Mr. Green: I wish they would have made it in different years, it was torture. It was torture because I’m friends with the Mets and I’m friends with the Royals.

Yulian: Why is it that in your magazine you mostly focus on the younger aspect of baseball like prospects and college?

Mr. Green: There’s a lot of coverage of MLB, everybody writes about MLB. There’s not a lot of coverage about the minor leagues and high school. That’s our niche. 

Yulian: What sports do you follow and what are your teams?

Mr. Green: I love the Giants, the Rays, the Royals and, obviously, the Mets, and the teams that we’re affiliated with.

Yulian: The Rays have the lowest payroll in baseball, it’s like Moneyball. 

Mr. Green: We can talk about that. And the Giants. And the Knicks. I don’t care for the owner. I think he’s one of the worst owners in sports and made no moves. I think that the team wasn’t able to get any players because of the way James Dolan handled Charles Oakley, I think there’s some racism there. I refuse to go to a game and put $1 in Dolan’s pocket because he’s such a bad person to the fans. He’s in recovery, he’s a recovered alcoholic. My experience is that when you have people that are in recovery, they’re very humble. The people that have been down and out in their lives, when they come back up, they’re good people. He’s the rare occurrence of a horrible person who, obviously, was down and out, but he’s just so entitled and, and he’s a spoiled brat. And then as far as hockey, I used to love the Islanders in high school. I don’t really follow hockey anymore.

Yulian: What are some of the jaw-dropping perks that you receive in your position?

Mr. Green: I like that, “jaw-dropping.” My favorite players growing up were George Brett and Darryl Strawberry. I see Darryl a lot, probably, every month or two. He checks in on me every couple of weeks. Being able to be close friends with him and pick up the phone whenever I want to call him is kind of cool. And George Brett, I’m not as close with, but whenever I see him, he always gives me a big hug and knows who I am. A couple of years ago, we had Royals cocktail party and Darryl came with me and George was there and it was just really cool to hang out with both of them at the same time. I also was being able to meet with Warren Buffett half a dozen times. People pay $3 million for that meeting and I had it for free about half a dozen times. That was cool, probably it was my most awesome moment, my couple awesome moments. I'll give you my top three: one was when we dedicated a statue to Bob Gibson in front of our ballpark, because he’s from Omaha and I was able to speak and share the podium with Gibson, Joe Torre, Warren Buffett, Bud Selig, the governor of Nebraska and Tim McCarver, so that was cool. The other great moments are we won the National Championship two years in a row and to watch, like you do, the players pouring champagne on their heads. But to be able to do that three or four times with a different playoff series and then the championship – I never thought I’d be able to do that. So those are the great moments.

Yulian: What baseball team do you think is going to come out on top this year?

Mr. GREEN: I think Houston.

Yulian: Yeah, they’ll crush Yankees in the championship series.

Mr. GREEN: I don’t like the Yankees. I hope the Twins beat them.

Yulian: Where did your love for baseball come from?
Mr. GREEN: My dad was always a Little League manager for me and my brothers. I remember him throwing groundballs to us all the time in the backyard. My dad was a Brooklyn Dodger fan. When the Dodgers left Brooklyn, Dodger fans and Giant fans became Mets fans.

A Mets player, Tug McGraw, was our neighbor, so we went to the Mets games with Tug’s family and I was waiting outside of the locker room to get autographs. I think Tug McGraw and my dad are two of the main reasons why I love baseball.

Yulian: Tell me, please, about your Little League seasons and other baseball playing.

Mr. GREEN: I played Little League every year. I think I started when I was seven. Also, I played Hardball Tournament into my forties. I went to a Mets fantasy camp and to a Reds-Red Sox 75-year-old World Series fantasy camp. That was so cool to hang out with guys like Pat Zachry, John Stearns, Duffy Dyer and Doc Gooden.

Yulian: Do you think that the statistics are taking over the baseball world?
Mr. GREEN: From a fan’s standpoint, I think it’s too much. I don’t like it at the game when they show me the miles per hour off the bat of a groundball. If you want to show the miles per hour off the bat of a home run, that’s one thing. But I don’t need to see it on every pitch. I do like seeing the WAR rating that they put up at Citi Field. I think that’s cool. Watching StatCast at home is different. I don’t mind all the numbers, but watching it at the game, too many numbers, it’s just too much.

And as far as the stats that have taken over the game, I feel that you have to have numbers of people, there are certain GMs that are more instinct focused. I think Brodie Van Wagenen brought the analytic department to the Mets and they had the smallest analytics department in baseball.

Yulian: Brodie brought in 36-year-old Robinson Cano and he was suspended for half the year last season and they brought him in. He played average all this year.
Mr. GREEN: He got hurt. I think he should have taken a year to assess their minor league system. He should’ve known that this kid Kelenic was going to be the number 14 prospect in baseball.

Yulian: They kept him because they need a center fielder. I think they were like this offseason and they should bring in Lorenzo Cain then finish his career with the Mets and then they should’ve brought up Jarred Kelenic.

Mr. GREEN: Is he a free agent this year?

Yulian: No, I think they could’ve worked out a trade.

Mr. GREEN: Well, the Brewers are doing well. They should’ve have taken a year. I think that under Sandy Alderson they had the smallest analytics department in baseball. He did bring in Yoenis Cespedes, but you can’t act on hunches anymore. There are certain GMs that have been successful in the past that are going to be losing their jobs over the next couple of years. They don’t have the numbers people, they’ve worked on instinct, and they’ve done very well with it. But the game has changed now.

Yulian: If you created a baseball team, who are the first five players you would take? Reasonably speaking, not like Max Scherzer and Mike Trout. What would be the first five players?
Mr. GREEN: Well, you mean the current players? I'd say Trout, Alonso, of course. deGrom. I know Mookie Betts didn’t have a good year this year, but I’d still put him in there, he’s number 4. What would be your number 5?

Yulian: deGrom, Trout, Baez, Alonso.

Mr. GREEN: Not Betts?

Yulian: I want to see who else I can get. Oh, Yelich. We forgot about Yelich. Include him too.
Mr. GREEN: How about Bellinger?

Yulian: I like Yelich more because he has more speed and a better arm. I really would’ve wanted to see a 50-30 season. Do you think team chemistry is important for a team to have and why?
Mr. GREEN: That is the best question you’ve asked so far. Yes and no. I feel that when a player gets up to bat and he’s facing somebody who’s throwing 90 to a 100, I don’t think that he’s thinking about liking the guys on the bench or not. He’s trying to hit a ball. In the field, the chemistry works really well and I think it matters. And, if you can create an environment where people are having fun and they are happy, I feel like hitters will go up to bat in a better, positive frame of mind, so you have a team like the Mets who I’m sure when they were losing, the chemistry wasn’t great. And when they started winning again, chemistry became great.

I played in a Hardball Tournament in Cooperstown. We started out the tournament 0-4. Nobody liked anybody. It was brutal. And then we won the next six games and we won the championship and the chemistry changed – overnight. So I think it’s hard to find great chemistry in a losing team but a winning team doesn’t always have great chemistry, but it certainly increases for sure.

Yulian: Winning increases team chemistry. I love Alonso. He’s a rookie and I love and how he created LFGM and he’s just such a leader.
Mr. GREEN: Yes, he is and the way he handles it is right.

Yulian: What makes a good player in your mind?

Mr. GREEN: Athleticism. When they’re athletic, and if they train themselves properly, they get hurt less as opposed to a guy like Prince Fielder who got hurt. He was too big. When you carry too much weight on your structure, more than you’re supposed to, I think your body breaks down like Mark McGwire.

Yulian: I think hustle. As a coach, you love to see hustle in a player.

Mr. GREEN: That’s a great answer.

Yulian: Do you think Pete Alonso is a flash in the pan or will he do the same thing?
Mr. GREEN: I think it’s unreasonable to expect him to hit 53 home runs every year. I spoke about this with Darryl the other day. If he could hit 35, 40 or something like that every year and put up 120, 110 RBIs, I think that’s more realistic. But then again with these new baseballs rules that have changed the seams, the seams are lower. It’s more aerodynamic. The numbers that we’re used to spitting out like I just did, maybe those numbers are thing in the past. Maybe the expectations should be 45 to 50 home runs because of the ball. We saw in Minor League Baseball, they made us switch to the major league ball this year. Homers are up 60%. I feel that more home runs add more excitement to the game. MLB owns Rawlings. Major league baseball’s probably behind the better ball, the more aerodynamic balls.

Yulian: I would rather go to a game where it’s 11-10 rather than 1-0 or 2-1.

Mr. GREEN: I think most fans do.

Yulian:  What are your hopes and dreams for baseball?

Mr. GREEN: That the game perpetuates and evolves so that the younger generation can carry the torch. What MLB is attempted to do in MILB in current negotiations can potentially strip affiliated baseball from 40 cities in the U.S. MLB can’t say they want young people to grow the game while doing something like this.

Yulian:  I am sure I will have more questions for you in the future as baseball is living thing. May I contact you again for another interview?

Mr. GREEN: Of course!

Yulian: Thank you for your time and a great interview.

Mr. GREEN: It was my pleasure!

Thrill of a Lifetime – Meeting Baseball Legends

Baseball season is still in full swing. We still have a few weeks before the final game and I would like to share with you, my readers, a very memorable experience of the season 2019.

Going to a baseball game is exciting but no biggie. It is a biggie when you’re sitting in a luxury suite.

That’s Gary Green with me in his Citi Field suite.

On Saturday, September 14, my parents and I were invited by Gary Green to his private suite in City Field, to watch one of the best Mets games of the season. Mr. Green is Chairman and CEO of the publication “Baseball America” and a very affable and interesting person, a baseball lover and a Mets fan. This game was a pitcher’s duel between two Cy Young contenders, Jacob DeGrom and Hyun Jin-Ryu. Then, in the eight, the relievers came in and the Mets did their magic (all because of my rally cap). They loaded the bases and then the most unlikely candidate for this kind of a hit came up to the plate. Rajai Davis broke open the stalemate with a double laced down the left-field line to clear the bases. It was a magical night and I was lucky to see the Mets win on such a great ending.

Bobby Valentine and me.

Also, I was lucky during the game to meet two baseball legends: one of them was Bobby Valentine, "Bobby V,” a former American professional baseball player and manager of the Texas Rangers, the New York Mets, and the Boston Red Sox.

Baseball legend Tommy Lasorda and me.

The second legend was Tommy Lasorda, a former Major League Baseball pitcher, coach, and manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers for two decades. Mr. Lasorda celebrated his 92nd birthday and I sang Happy Birthday for him and shared slice of his birthday cake.

A few days later I had another unique opportunity – to sit down with Mr. Green and talk baseball. First time in my life – and I am just 12, going on 13, I talked about baseball with a businessman, who sees this sport from different angles and gave me the information first hand. That interview will appear next in my blog.

I hope I will have another opportunity to continue the conversation with Mr. Green as I got new questions to ask! 

MLB Update – Exciting Trade

The Trading Deadline was exciting, but not exciting enough for the likings of a lot of people including me. The headline deal is Zack Greinke, he went to the Astros, for a couple of top prospects. Another buzzer beater deal was Nick Castellanos going to the Cubs that really gives the Cubs some depth in the corner outfield positions and in the infield and a lot of power there. Another big one was the Indians getting absolutely jacked on offense, acquiring Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig, both absolute barrels and great at hitting, for this, the Padres improved their minor league system (I mean they really needed more good young players). That about tops out the trading deadline, there were other ones, like Jesus Aguilar to the Rays, which will help bolster the offense. Marcus Stroman, who the Mets shocked everyone with acquiring will help the Mets rotation be pretty much the Avengers.

The Mets are kicking up a notch, only a game out of the wild card and they’re really hot, one of the hottest players, Robinson Cano is out with a torn hamstring and will not need surgery but will be back in a couple of weeks. The Mets have amazing team chemistry and they just keep on winning in the most clutch situations. Their offense is working like a really-well-oiled machine, their starting pitching has been great (like always) and even their bullpen stop having their woes, except for Edwin Diaz. Right now they’re putting in Seth Lugo who is good, don’t get me wrong, but Edwin Diaz and burn in up there at about 101 MPH and he has an above average slider, I think he’s just in a hole and will obviously get out of it. Pete Alonso is tied with Cody Bellinger’s 39 in 2017 for the NL Rookie HR record.

First I want to start off with the rookies, Yordan Alvarez has been a literal god-send to the Astros, as if they need more power (My saying is, there is never too much power). Yordan has literally hit three homers in a game and has 17 overall, in his first 46 games, that’s amazing, but what’s more amazing is Aristides Aquino has hit 9 taters in his first 13 games a big leaguer, I’m telling you right now, the Reds are looking at 2020 and they’re prepared. Ronald Acuna Jr. is really good, when he first came up, I thought he was going to be an above average left/center fielder with speed and power. He has become to be so much more than that, he joined the 20/20/20 club (In case you’re wondering, that’s the 20 homers, 20 bags and 20 doubles), he’s also two bags away from getting into the 30/30 club and he might have his sights on the 40/40 club. The Rookie of the Year for 2018 is the outfielder that everyone would want, durable in the field, (he hasn’t gotten injured yet and he hasn’t missed a game either), power and speed. What I think is crazy is that Pete Alonso has been pushed to second place in the Rookie of the Year voting, Alonso has 19 first place votes but is somehow in first place and shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. who probably has the most swag in baseball behind, shortstop Javier Baez. What was probably the most clutch hit of the night, Carlos Santana hit a walk-off homer against the Red Sox to put the Indians in sole possession of the AL Central Division.  This stat is just getting funny, Gleyber Torres has hit 13 homers against the Orioles which is half his home run total right now (26). This guys is just a really big slugger, who can hit for contact, power and he has a lot of speed. The Yanks still play the O’s twice more so maybe Gleyber can beat out Lou Gehrig’s 14 against Cleveland in 1936. Elite closer who’s had a bunch of speed bumps Greg Holland has signed with the Nats. His baseball in saves in 2017 with 41 and never really got his elite stuff back.

Meet the Mets …

Art Shamsky and Erik Sherman with me.

On August 1 I had the privilege to go to the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair, NJ, for a book signing by former Met and 1969 World Champion Art Shamsky. He and fellow author but not former Mets player Erik Sherman wrote a book titled After the Miracle. All in about a half hour he explained the chemistry of the Mets in ’69, how he wrote the book and took questions. Later we had a chance for them to autograph our book and any other things that we have. I took a picture with the duo and asked after that they gave me a tip, “Don’t practice bad habits in practice because it will translate into your game.” It was a great experience.

Nelson Figueroa, Tim Teufel and me.

Then, on August 10 my family and I went up to the Long Island Arena near Hofstra University where they play all kinds of sports. There we met Nelson Figueroa and Tim Teufel, if you’re hearing those names for the first time in your life, Nelson was a pitcher for the Mets from 2008-09 and is now the host of Mets Pregame Show with Gary Apple. Tim Teufel was a player for the Mets from 1986 to 1991 and was a third base coach and now is the infield coach for the minor leagues. They explained how they got to the bigs and gave us motivational speeches and made us ready to run through a brick wall. Then we did batting, pitching and hitting clinics which gave us some tips and just some practice. I think it was really cool.

Analyzing Ballplayers …

50. Noah Syndergaard literally is Thor to all of the hitters. He throws his fire ball at them and the hitters are scared silly. His prowess has lessened this year than his crazy good four seasons before it. He finished 4th in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015 and in 2016 he was an All-Star and finished 8th in Cy Young voting. He was 14-9 in that season and, 9-7 before that and 13-4 last year, each year finishing with an ERA of 3.25 or lower. In the seasons beforehand he had a 2.93 ERA, struck out a mind-blowing 573 guys in 87 games. This season, he strikes out about a batter per inning, in his career, he’s striking out 1.08 guys per inning (718 Ks/666.1 IP). He didn’t get traded at the deadline. I think that the Mets shouldn’t deal him but deal Wheeler and get a hitter for him just because they just got Marcus Stroman so that will provide a nice starting rotation for a few years to come. I think he should move up to the high-30s.

49. Xander Boegarts of the Boston Red Sox is highly, highly underrated. I think he’s a really good player, offensively and defensively. A .302 BA, with 25 dingers, 88 runs batted in, 91 runs and a .547 SLG which ranks 8th in the AL. Defensively, he has 10 errors in 117 games and has 119 putouts which isn’t too bad for a  shortstop, it ranks 10th in the AL, which is actually really good for an offensive shortstop. The All-Star has also improved his batter’s eye, he’s one walk past his career high – and he’s played 39 games less. I think he’s also going to have the highest batting average of his life (.302 – right now, .320 career high), he’s also two past his career high in homers. He strikes out in 19% of his PAs, which isn’t too high, but he needs to bring everything up (or down) a notch if he wants the Red Sox to win the Wild Card or the division.  He has 66 XBHs which is tied for fourth in MLB with Christian Yelich. I think that he should be at 45.

48. George Springer, probably the most reliable player on the Astros, they have a great team overall but the most reliable is Springer. Springer doesn’t get injured very much, has a hit per game, he has so much raw power, he has more dingers that doubles, a reliable leadoff man, he has a .384 OBP but the only flaw in Springer is that he has no speed. He only has 5 bags stolen and three triples, he needs to improve his speed to be one of the best players in the league. It’s not like the Astros aren’t contenders, so George doesn’t really need to have speed, but where do the ‘Stros have speed? Jose Altuve? That’s one guy, even the Mets have more speed and they’re really slow. He was injured this year, but 45% of his hits (103) are XBHs (46) which is impressive. He strikes out in about a fifth of his plate appearances which isn’t up to snuff if you’re on such a great team, I’m not saying George is gonna get traded but he has to pull his weight. His walks numbers also lessened, he’s only walked 46 times and last year he walked 64 times and his career high is 88. I think he should go to the high-50s.

47.  Blake Snell is next and if I were to rank two players that were alike so much and the skill level being the same or almost the same, I would say that Chris Sale and Blake Snell are so much alike. They’re both tall, both have last names that start with the letter “s”, both have probably the most wicked slider in the AL, probably behind Brad Hand (I know, this will cause a lot of controversy), they both are great pitcher, but, where Snell is better is that he has won a Cy Young and Sale has come close, but has never won one (but this year is looking bright). Unless you’re an AL East Team, or fan, or member of the Rays organization, you never heard of him until last year. He was drafted in the first round out of college, spent 5 years in the minors and then made his debut in 2016, played two seasons as a starter and then win the Cy Young, seems unreasonable, right? His WAR last year was a gleaming 7.5, which was 5th in baseball and 1st in the AL for pitchers. He has 136 Ks this year, he’s 6-7 with a 4.89 ERA, not likely to win this year. He’s out until mid-September with a really gruesome injury, he had surgery for a loose body in his throwing elbow. I think he should stay where he is.

46. I think Trevor Story is the shortstop everyone wants, he’s got power, he’s got contact, he’s got speed,  he’s got elite defense and he’s got a pretty good eye. He’s got 27 homers, 126 hits and a .288 batting average. He has 16 stolen bases and 5 triples, not exactly Ricky Henderson but also not Kendrys Morales. He has only 7 errors and 127 putouts in 106 games, him and Arenado probably make the best all-around left side of the infield in baseball.  The first round pick out of college strikes out in 25% of his plate appearances, which is bad, he’s always had that flaw with too may strikeouts, he lead the league in Ks with 191 in 2017. He might win a Gold Glove in his time, I think definitely a Silver Slugger, his OPS is staggering, a .919 with a .568 slugging percentage. He hits an extra base hit in about 59% of his hits, which accounts for his 249 total bases, (which will smoke his career high) which means that he’s definitely a modern player. I think he has 35+ homer power with 40+ plus double power with 30+ bags speed, that’s kind of what makes a really good ball player.  He’s on pace for the most amount of walks ever in his career and he’s played in 50 less games than last year. He has a 4.9 WAR this year which means he really helps his team and last year he had a 5.6 WAR, which is nice. I think he should move up a few spots.

See you next time!

The Amazins are still Strugglin’

55. Cody Bellinger is a homerun masher and he was throughout this season and his past two, but somehow they put him in 55^th place. He is versatile in the field, he could play right field, first base and has a cannon for an arm. He’s first in homers in MLB, first in runs and first in total bases. This guy likes the XBH but can also hit singles and for average (he’s second in MLB in that category). He and his sweet home run swing aren’t all hits, he improved on his batter’s eye over his career and he’s on pace for his career high in walks (99), which smokes his previous record of 69 that broke his record of 64. Remember, he only came on the scene two and a half years ago and he already has 98 homers and he’s going to break 100 and all MLB fans and associates think that he’s going to win MVP. I think he should be in the 10s, around 13 or 14.

54. All-Star Whit Merrifield is next, he’s a 1930s type player, I’m sorry Royals fans, maybe you agree with me, maybe not, but he is. Only 12 homers this year, a .316 batting average and 15 steals (last season he had 45, leading the majors). For Merrifield, people think he doesn’t hit extra-base-hits, but no, he has 207 total bases, leading the AL and he has 47 XBHs. Last year, he beat out Jose Altuve for most hits in MLB, this year, he’s also leading this year by 7 hits, beating Boston’s Rafael Devers. Though the Royals’ playoff chances are very slim, Whit is doing everything to keep them alive. For a little guy like him, he has a .511 slugging % and he’s getting career highs in almost all batting categories. His batter’s eye isn’t too shabby, he’s not on pace to set a career high there but 32 walks isn’t too bad. I think he should be in the late 30s to mid-40s.

53. Kyle Hendricks is next and he has a few good games, like throwing a complete game shutout with only 89 pitches and then he completely bombs the next game. The 6-year veteran won an ERA title with a 2.13 ERA in 2016, but this year he has 3.46 ERA. He always pitches a lot of innings and this year he already has about 100 innings which isn’t that much this year but in past years he was around 200 innings. He gives up about a hit per inning and what’s crazy is that he only gave up 39 earned runs. He’s 7-7 and he gives up a mediocre amount of homers, 12, his strikeout numbers aren’t too appealing but it’s acceptable, he strikes out 21% of his batter’s, eh. He’s somewhat dependable to give you a good game, like starting the World Series (I’m not saying they’ll make it) or a playoff game but no Cy Young for him in his career. I think he’s good where he is.

52. Veteran journeyman Justin Upton is next. This guy actually knows that his skill level does not supply 35 bombs, 100+ RBIs and stealing 15 or so bags and so does the rest of MLB and the fans and the coaches. He’s only played 20 games this year, which produced 74 ABs. He gets a hit in about a fourth of his plate appearances but this year isn’t looking so good for the left fielder. He has 4 homers and 8 RBIs this season and only 1 stolen base. He was the most amazing in his years in Atlanta and San Diego, the face of the franchise for both teams. Over that stint, 82 dingers, 253 RBIs, 35 bags, 256 runs scored and a .262 batting average, not too bad. Last season was probably his last good one, 30 homers, 85 RBIs, 80 runs and a .257 average. His batter’s eye is actually pretty good, 706 walks over 13 years is about 54 walks a year, not the best but certainly not the worst. I think he should go up to the mid-60s.

51. Gary Sanchez is next. The power hitting catcher only knows how to do…… power hitting! When he came to the big leagues 4 years ago, he hit 20 homers and everyone thought that he would be the new face of the franchise, but then, the Yanks threw a wallet at their problems (as usual) and the problems got solved so Gary Sanchez didn’t go exactly unnoticed but he kind of faded into the crowd. Then, next year, he hits 33 homers, drives in 90 and gets 131 hits and the Yankees slowly start noticing the flaws of Gary Sanchez. He is a well below-average defender but a well above average offensive player, there’s no one to match him this year in the Silver Slugger chase but he’s never going to win a Gold Glove. He strikes out too much, but nowadays, players either hit the ball out of the playing field or whiff. Sanchez is the only good catcher that the Yankees have and they will stick with him all because of his offense. I think he should be in the mid-40s.

IN OTHER NEWS, Pete Alonso won the Home Run Derby, Jake deGrom pitched a 1-2-3 scoreless inning and Jeff McNeil got his at-bat with a wrong name on the board but he made a catch in the outfield. The AL wins again, I personally thought that the NL would win because of the abundance of hitters and power hitters, but, no. The Mets were on a 4-game win streak, but in the 16^th, Alonso hits a go-ahead dinger and then in the bottom of the inning rookie Chris Mazza gives up two runs for the Giants win.

The Trade Deadline is coming up but as we’re 12 days away, not much action is going around the majors, I hope the Mets get a decent hitter and a bullpen piece; we need Van Waganen to be really aggressive. The rest of baseball isn’t going to be that hot in trading, not too many big name free agents next year to trade but everyone likes a big trade. Aaron Boone got really heated yesterday when he thought the ump missed a call and he just exploded, he said that “My guys are savages!” Yes that is true, the red hot Yanks are real savages, they mow down every team in sight and hit homers to flatten their opponents some more. Chris Sale had a nice outing after a very, very rocky start to the season, he blanked them with only allowing 2 hits over 6 frames striking out 12 and walking only 2. Sale is 4-9 this year (again, the very poor start to the season) with a 4.95 ERA and 160 Ks. What really sucks about the Trade Deadline is that Zack Wheeler suffered the biggest shoulder impingement of his career, so, I don’t know why the Mets didn’t trade him before and this will certainly worsen his trade value. Brad Hand isn’t talked about as much as he should be. He is probably the most unhittable closer in baseball because of his filthy, dirty stuff, curveball, slider, changeup all really nasty and last night, he got the save, which is 1^st in the AL, second in baseball behind San Diego’s Kirby Yates. He has 60 Ks in 39.1 IP and a 2.29 ERA which is very good. The NL MVP race is heating up by a lot, Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich are head to head in this one, they both hit dingers, they’re both fast but I think Yelich is going to win it.

What Makes a Team Great?

OK, in addition to runs?

Bad team chemistry can make a team fall apart, even for a team with 20 MVPs on it.

However, good team chemistry can help a team in any sport win a championship even a bad team. You need a little skill to win some games, ok, your team needs a lot but team chemistry is the dark horse in the bag of elements that experts believe creates a championship-caliber team.

Here’s what some pros have said about teamwork in sports:

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth, even though he wasn’t the friendliest teammate to play with.

“The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven.” – Legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne.

“Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers were all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another.” – World famous NFL coach Vince Lombardi.

To have good team chemistry you must have a captain, eg. David Wright, a sparkplug, eg. Jose Altuve, and a coach who promotes good vibes (I know I sound like a flower child) and brotherhood, eg. Casey Stengel who said, “Finding good players is easy, getting them to play as a team is another story.” No kidding, look at the 1962 Mets, 40-120.

I know this from personal experience. Last year, in Little League, we had sluggers up and down the lineup, great fielders, fast runners, but 6 or 7 of those guys put everyone down for the smallest errors, leaving the other 4 of us in our own world. We only had 5 wins in a 16-game season.

This year, we had a good season, only 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the batting order produced, who were our catcher (me), pitcher, shortstop and first baseman. They were our pitching staff, but we had great chemistry and we won 9 or 10 games.

Team chemistry is better than talent because if you have a whole team of moderate players, and they make a few mistakes, strong team chemistry will pick them up, give them confidence and good vibes (Don’t tell me, I sound like a flower child again, I know) will project the team into winning.

The 2015 New York Yankees had bad team chemistry. A little stroll down memory lane: Babe Ruth and his Yankee teammates, (but mostly him) had absolutely horrible chemistry, Alex Rodriguez was suspended for allegedly using drugs, which worsened the spirits of the clubhouse in 2014 that carried on to the next year. What’s more, the 2015 Yanks were without their captain and great shortstop, Derek Jeter, for the first time in 20 years. You would look to Alex to fill the role, he sort of did, but no one ever compares to DJ. Also, they came in the 2015 season with sky-high hopes, Yankee fans were hoping the 27-time champs would make it 28 (like they do every year), but they only made it to the Wild Card game, ultimately losing to the Astros.

Winning is the thing that improves or fixes team chemistry and GMs usually fiddle with team chemistry because they don’t understand how important it is for their players to get along. If someone gets traded away, that makes the player sad and the whole team plays half-heartedly. If the team chemistry is bad from the beginning and the players are angry at each other, that’s the worst. Then you just pray for the best.

All in all, I think team chemistry is a very important virtue in the clubhouse and that certainly improves how the team performs. 

Coming up to the All-Star Break

60. Yasmani Grandal is one of the most dependable catchers that modern baseball has ever seen. Power, contact, a great defensive catcher, a perfect arm, everything you can ask for. His 15 homers already are 1st in the NL, 2nd in all of baseball for catchers. His power is great for the Brewers because more fire power is always good. His hits are second in baseball for catchers, only two behind in fact. He has 59 defensive runs saved as a catcher in his career, which just proves that he is a perfect catcher. Adding a little speed is always good and that’s what he’s doing, 3 bags in his pocket this year, that’s tied for second among catchers this year, second to a candidate you would never expect, Yadier Molina. If he could strike out 5% less (right now his SO% is 20%). I don’t know a single guy who has fewer runs than walks, that’s how good Grandal’s batter eye is. He needs help with this extra base hits, 62 hits with 120 total bases, that’s just not an appealing ratio. I think he’s good where he is.

59. Tommy Pham has too much hype surrounding him all over. The Rays pretty much think that he’s worthy of the MVP award and more. Last year when he went to Tampa he went off with 7 homers, 22 RBIs and 5 stolen bases in 39 games. This year, he doesn’t get extra base hits this year, only 116 total bases with 73 hits and 21 XBHs. This guy has amazing hustle as he knows he’s in his thirties, most guys in their thirties just absolutely don’t care, dinger or nothing. Pham has just a normal batter’s eye, a normal centerfielder, with a little more speed. He strikes out in about 18% of his plate appearances, if he could make it 15% that would make him arguably the best player on the Rays. He plays very aggressively on the bases, 31 runs, 2 triples and 6 bags. He’s never won a Gold Glove and I don’t think he will, I mean, you know, Mike Trout is right there. He has 6 errors and 13 defensive runs saved in his whole career. I think he’s not horrible but he’s a really good, solid player that brings charisma to his team along with talent. I think he’s good where he is.

58. Two-way star Shohei Ohtani started last year. I think he’s a lot worse than the hype that was around him in the beginning of the 2018 season. He’s a much better hitter than pitcher. He’s not horrible, 4-2, 63 Ks, 3.31 ERA. But hitting is just much better: 22 HRs, 21 doubles, 93 hits, 10 SBs and a .285 average. He was injured in the beginning of the year and he’s played 36 games, with 9 homers and 30 RBIs, that’s some players’ stats even when they’ve played 70 or so games. The Japanese rookie can also put on the jets and aggressive base running into play with 10 steals last year and 2 steals and 1 triple this year. The Rookie of the Year won’t have a chance against the big, power hitting DHs in the league to get an All-Star selection. He has a trained batter’s eye, great want to be the best on the Angels and to try to hit the ball as far as he can. Ohtani strikes out a lot, ¼ of his at-bats are Ks. He gets an extra base hit in 28% of his hits. I think he should go up to the high 40s.

57. Andrew Benintendi is really underrated, the Red Sox needed someone in the outfield in late 2016 and they called him up, not a lot of hype around him, didn’t produce, 2 homers, 14 RBIs and a nice .295 average. In, 2017, kills it, 20 homers, 20 doubles and 20 stolen bases, 90 RBIs and 155 hits and finishes second in Rookie of the Year voting. I think he is a sure All-Star and should be for every season up until he starts hitting only 40 hits a season and playing 100 games. Every good MLB writer knows that he has a bunch of pop, but speed is the factor that sooooo many people overlook. He has gap power, he has homer power, he’s a great contact hitter, he can get on base, and he’s like the player everyone wished for. His only rough spot is that he has as many hits as strikeouts, which really sucks. I think if he could fix that up and get a .300 average he could be one of or not the best overall player on the Red Sox. I think he should be in the high 30s.

56. James Paxton is a lethal southpaw, who makes his pitches dance and fool batters like absolutely nobody’s business. He’s not really showed himself this year, 4-3, a 3.93 ERA, 71 Ks, but the Yanks wanted him for more. In Seattle, he was really good, especially last season, 11-6, 3.76 ERA and 208 Ks, the cherry on top to that season was a no-hitter. He gave up about a hit per inning, 0.83 to be exact, which is actually a lot. He strikes out about 30% of his batters faced, walks only 9% and gives up a hit to 21% of his batter’s faced. He never had an All-Star appearances (Snubbed!), didn’t finish anywhere in Cy-Young voting, this man is really underrated. He isn’t a very faulty defender, no errors this year and only 6 errors in his 7 seasons. Last season would probably be his best season, 11-6, career highs in everything except ERA (3.76), his most innings pitched, 160.1, 208 hits, 134 hits and only, only 67 runs and all of them were earned. I don’t think he has a neon colored flaw in his performance but if I were to ask, then I would say he needs to go a little farther into games, he does pitch a lot, but for a pitcher of his caliber, he has to deeper into games. I think that he should be moved up 5 spots.

Can anyone stop Pete Alonso? Should Barry Bonds think about giving up his crown? He’s already broken the Mets rookie homerun record (26, set by Darryl Strawberry, Pete has 27). I think Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds should have something keeping them up at night. The Mets have done pretty much the impossible, they played a 4-game series against the NL Central leading Cubs and won three, I think after the Mets get Brandon Nimmo and Jed Lowrie back the Mets will have a big chance at the division.

Christian Yelich is just ripping the cover off the ball lately. I don’t even know how he has 29 homers and a .345 average, he has speed, a great glove and he deserves the All-Star start more than anyone in the NL outfield. I just don’t know how Pete Alonso didn’t get the All-Star selection, he has the second-most homers in MLB, that’s just crazy, Pete Alonso is better at every major batting stat except average and OBP, and Pete has .001 less than him in average and .023 in OBP. I think Fernando Tatis Jr. should totally make it to the All- Star Game, his hustle/speed is his strong suit, I absolutely love his passion for the game, I think any team needs this guy. I heard that the Mets are toying with the idea of putting Amed Rosario in center, so, with the empty shortstop hole, I think maybe Tatis could fit in there. Tatis has 8 homers, 9 SBs, a .318 batting average with 50 hits. Another amazing piece on his resume is that he literally tagged up and scored on a pop up to second base, SECOND BASE! Ronald Acuna Jr. really hit the ground running after the Braves put him in the leadoff spot in May, he has 17 dingers, 49 RBIs, 52 runs and a .288 batting average. Albert Pujols had some very special moments when he came back to St. Louis after getting traded 7 years ago, a standing ovation in his first at-bat, greeting with all his former teammates. He had 9 All-Star appearances, 6 Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, Rookie of the Year, 3 MVPs and 2 World Series. He had 445 dingers, 2073 hits, 455 doubles and led baseball twice in homers. He’s a great fielder, ranging from the outfield to first base, he only committed 107 errors in his 19 seasons, but everyone knows him for his hitting. It is really surprising that Tommy La Stella is making a case for an All-Star appearance because just 5 years ago, Tommy played 93 games and hit only 1 HR, 31 RBIs with a .251 BA, this season he played 71 games and hit 15 homers, 41 RBIs and a .295 BA. The Yankees have homered in 26 straight games, which rushes past their record, set in 1941. I think Nomar Mazara broke StatCast, he smokes the ball 505 into the last row of the upper deck, this isn’t the first time, he’s done this, and he’s done it a few times. Javier Baez, Cubs shortstop, the Cubs shortstop who can do it all, hits a go ahead homer in the bottom of the 8th inning on a 0-2 count, against, it hurts me to say this, the Mets, but I just had to include it. Mariano Rivera hit an inside the park home run on Old Timer’s Day, it was really cool, a reliever hit an inside the park homer, WOW. 

Mets Still Struggling in MLB Season 2019

65. Nelson Cruz has had a great power hitting career, in Texas, he was a consistent hitter, hitting .268 and 773 hits, his average home run total in those seasons was 20 homers in 100 games played on average, when he got traded to Baltimore, he played 159 games and hit a major league leading 40 homers, a 100% increase. I don’t know why the Rangers traded him away, he was a good piece, but then Baltimore traded him away. In Seattle, he continued his hot hitting and hit even more homers than the year before but didn’t get the home run crown. Cruz has never had a great glove nor ever ran well but his hitting keeps him from being bad. I think he’s a really good piece for the Twins because that just adds more fire power to the Twins organization who already have great power hitters. He pretty much only goes for XBHs, doubles and homers, this year about 46% of his hits are doubles or triples. I think he should be where he is now.

64. Travis Shaw is that stereotypical utility men, really inconsistent, has power, some speed, his batter’s eye is good, his contact is OK and he could play every single position on the field except center and short. This season is horrible for him, 5 homers, 11 RBIs and 15 runs. Only 26 hits with a .167batting average, his WAR is disgusting for a player on the Brewers, -0.7. Last season was a really nice season for him, 32 dingers, 86 RBIs and 73 runs. His contact sucked, .241 average and his OBP and SLG% are .281 and .290 respectively. Only 46 total bases this season, now that just hurts, I think I have more total bases in 16 games in Little League than he has 46 games. He has 59 Ks, like, that’s really high and he struck out in about 33% of his plate appearances, it’s likes he plays for his opponent every time.  I have no idea what happened this year, he just crashed and burned this year. I think all die-hard baseball fans are cheering against the Al Capone of the NL (The Brewers), so if Travis Shaw turns it up, the NL is done. I think he should go all the way up maybe to the low 70s because he just sucks this year but his past backs him up a lot.

63. Here’s a player that I think shouldn’t even be on this list, Patrick Corbin is worse than a lot of the players behind him, he’s one of the 13 starting pitchers to throw 200 IP, which would be elite company in my book. He threw about 6 innings per start but his ERA last year wasn’t amazing, 3.15 ERA, his stamina is really good because even if he gets beat up, he could still go a few more innings. While playing on one of the most mediocre teams in NL, the Diamondbacks, it’s hard to pitch in the tough NL West while having little to no run support. Now, pitching on the Nationals, who are struggling not to fall into the pit of doom, 5^th place in the NL East. Corbin strikes out a lot of players, already has 94 Ks. He only gave up 75 hits in 85.1 innings. If he brings his run and homer total down, then he will qualify for last in the elite pitcher club in baseball. I think he should go down a few spots because of his run total.

62. Jean Segura was one of the best shortstops in the AL. I really like this guy, he’s exactly like the old type of shortstop, speedy, great glove with pretty much no power, but the good thing is, Segura has the power. His contact is great, his batter’s eye is good and his power isn’t the best but for shortstops, it’s good. He makes a great addition to the Phils. He only strikes out in 11.7% of his plate appearances and he hit an extra base hit in about 37.3% of his hits. He’s not a leadoff hitter, he’s more of a 2 hitter, getting a double or a single. His batting average led all shortstops last year, 11^th this year. His SLG% is in the middle of all shortstops in MLB. He’s never won a Gold Glove because there’s always been Andrelton Simmons and Francisco Lindor in his way. He doesn’t touch the plate a whole lot, only 41 runs this year, but in his whole career he only has one season with more than 100 runs (which was his best season) and he only had 102 runs that season. I think he’s good where he is.

61. Rhys Hoskins is only second to Pete Alonso among first basemen that make huge impacts in the first months of their career. Two years ago he came into the show with a quick 18 dingers in 50 games and having a .618 SLG% and a .259 BA, not great and hitting for average. The next year he exploded helping the struggling Phillies as much he can, 34 homers and 96 RBIs in 153 games. His speed isn’t horrible for a first baseman, 8 SBs in his career, speed never hurt anyone. He doesn’t go for singles, he’s more of an XBH hitter, 44% of his hits are doubles, triples or round-trippers. He’s one of the most modern hitter ever, double, homer or punched out. He’s the four hitter and he’s the only four hitter on the team. His OBP is improving every year and he’s already leading the NL in walks. He has 125 total bases which is isn’t a whole lot but now MLB hitters are getting a lot more than that. I think that he should move up into the high 40s.

The Mets are getting gradually better but still struggling. They’re not as bad as getting swept by the Marlins but not as good as sweeping the Yanks. The Mets are also battling injuries and they’re not playing bad teams, so they’ve been clutching out. I don’t know why Pete Alonso isn’t at least 3^rd on the list of NL first basemen, c’mon, he’s tied for second in the home run total for MLB. The Mets farm system isn’t that bad, their pitching is where they focus on for some reason but Brett Baty is on the MLB Draft Prospect lineup and they got him. They need to focus on more hitting and getting a good, young outfield. Wilson Contreras is definitely going to get the All-Star selection unless someone like Brian McCan or JT Realmuto are going to hit 6 homers every game and get a double cycle every game until the All-Star break. I’m really surprised Wilson Ramos is still getting votes, heh-heh. Josh Bell is the equivalent of Iron Man who just drank two shots of tequila. He’s an absolute god, in his past 30 games, he has 9 homers and 27 RBIs. He also looks like Iron Man. Anthony Rizzo and Max Muncy aren’t doing much this year which is really pathetic because they’re 2 and 4 in the voting. I guess all baseball fans just care about last year, maybe the Ghost of Baseball Past visited them, at this point anything works. I think every team wants Ozzie Albies or some guy like him, a power hitting speed burner who was great hustle and want to get a homer. He himself is like a gallon of Death Wish Coffee (The Most caffeinated coffee ever). Mike Moustakas is new in this category and he’s already killing it, he’s a power hitter with no speed and little to no contact outside of making Bernie Brewer slide down his slide. Now, this one I’m really excited about, NL third basemen, it’s crazy, Arenado has taken a very commanding lead, Kris Bryant and he hasn’t been tearing the cover off the ball lately, he’s not being full Bryant, only 14 homers and 37 RBIs. Arenado has been a little more Arenado with 17 homers and 57 RBIs. In the shortstop category we all know who’s going to win, c’mon, it’s Javier Baez. He’s leading by almost 600,000 votes, then there’s Dansby Swanson who’s put on an offensive show for his team this year, 13 homers (It’s not a lot for Barry Bonds, but it’s a lot for Dansby Swanson). Javy has 17 homer and 46 RBIs with only two SBs, he’s supposed to bring a little more charisma to his team. Cody Bellinger has gotten more votes than Christian Yelich who’s obviously been the better player this year. Bellinger focuses on speed, raw power and nice BA hitting with 22 homers, 7 bags and a baseball leading .358 BA. Yelich focuses on those three also but he adds in nice alley hitting in addition to a crazy good glove.  Harper is not going to get the selection because he’s just not lived up to regular Harper, what the Phillies wanted him to play like or his mega contract, just 11 homers and 46 RBIs. The Braves are going to get quite a few guys in for his All-Star Game, I think four guys, McCann, Swanson, Freeman and Acuna Jr. In the AL, Sanchez is going to get the selection with an AL leading 20 dingers. For first basemen, Luke Voit of the Yankees is in a heavily contested first, the next two guys, Jose Abreu and CJ Cron are within 107K of the lead. I want Cron to get the selection because he’s just been so good lately. AL second basemen is a completely rigged race, Jose Altuve will come out on top but in the last ballot update, Tommy La Stella of the Angels, this time, I know the Ghost of Cannabis came to visit all 487K baseball fans that voted for La Stella. Alex Bregman is the obvious favorite in this year’s third baseman race, he’s just too much for any third baseman in the AL. The shortstop race is gonna come down to a photo finish, Jorge Polanco is gonna make it one way or another but the rest of these guys are shaky, like Carlos Correa and Gleyber Torres are going to have to fight it out, don’t sleep on Tim Anderson either. It’s gonna be crazy. Mike Trout is obviously the best player in the AL, so, he’s going to make it. George Springer is 2^nd on the list but all he has is a nice bat with no running speed and pretty much no great glove or arm. Austin Meadows is showing himself in the big leagues, exploding with base hits and an occasional XBH. In other news, Shohei Ohtani is the first Japanese born player to hit for the cycle. Zack Greinke almost had a no-no in his back pocket and then in the seventh inning he gives up a single to Trea Turner. While Wilson Ramos was waiting on deck in the fourth inning against the Cardinals, what an ingenious idea by his wife Yely.  Brodie Van Waganen is flirting with the idea of trading Noah Syndergaard, I mean, he’s hasn’t been at his best this year, but I’m on the fence with this idea, it depends for who they get him, but, they can’t get a few trash minor leaguers, they need a decent to MVP quality player for him.