Numbers
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 9:51 am
Ian Kinsler retired this week. Kinsler was a favorite of fantasy baseball drafters during his career. Middle infielders with speed and power were hard to find during most of Kinsler's career. Along with Michael Young, really, in fantasy, they were a better tandem than the more talked about Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker.
Kinsler retired with 1.999 hits. He is petitioning MLB to change an error to a hit from a previous day.
Ah, the power of the even numbers!
Sometimes I marvel at the power of it.
Remember at the end of last year when Texas left Mike Minor in the game far beyond the plan of his pitch count.
Why?
Because he had 199 strike outs for the season.
There was even a pop fly to the third baseman with two strikes on the batter struck in foul territory with Minor exhorting the third sacker to drop the ball.
The Red Sox had Eduardo Rodriguez make every start while resting their other Starters.
The reason?
E-Rod had a chance at winning 20 Games.
Base stealers with 19 or 29 stolen bases going into the last week of a season are bound to steal that last even numbered base.
Look through the history of players stealing bases.
A player is more than twice as likely to have ended his season with the last digit of a zero than the last digit of a nine.
Yet, when interviewed, almost every MLB player or Manager will tell you that they don't care about such numbers.
They are liars.
Even numbers matter.
Ted Williams was set to retire.
A fan approached him and told him how close he was to certain numbers. Including 500 home runs.
It changed Williams mind and Williams played longer.
Very late in his career, Mickey Mantle came to the plate against Denny McLain.
It would be Mantle's last year. McLain was the talk of baseball. He would go on to be the last pitcher to win 30 games.
Every move Mantle made was being documented across the country in his retirement year.
For the moment, it was about Mantle being tied with Jimmy Foxx on the all time home run list at 534.
McLain called his catcher out to the mound. McLain respected Mantle and wanted to do him a solid.
"Tell Mick that a batting practice fastball is coming."
When getting to the plate, the catcher dutifully told Mantle.
Disbelieving, Mantle let the pitch, a batting practice fastball, go by.
McLain nodded and winked to Mantle that the same pitch would be coming again.
Mantle clobbered it into the seats.
Times have changed since Williams and Mantle. Players hardly ever retire when still under a contract for millions.
They play out the string.And it gets ugly.
Currently, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Chris Davis, and Ryan Braun are shells of themselves.
If any of them were free agents, it would be more likely that they would retire more than sign for their real worth of just a million or two a season.
Instead, their contracts not only guarantee them way too much money, but playing time to boot.
Although today's teams are called 'smarter', they are not beyond playing washed up players over prospects, in hopes that they are somehow getting more of their money's worth.
Cabrera, whose descent has been very rapid due to continual injury, has hit 473 home runs and has 2,815 hits.
The Tigers will keep running him out there. Hoping he gets near enough to those even numbers to get a few extra fannies in the seats.
For Cabrera, his ticket assured for the Hall of Fame, a chance at those even numbers.
Even if almost embarrassing himself by the meager production he now provides.
Will Kinsler get his 2,000th hit through the back door?
I don't care.
What I do care about is players lie about numbers. They care.
They most certainly do.
A LOT.
Kinsler retired with 1.999 hits. He is petitioning MLB to change an error to a hit from a previous day.
Ah, the power of the even numbers!
Sometimes I marvel at the power of it.
Remember at the end of last year when Texas left Mike Minor in the game far beyond the plan of his pitch count.
Why?
Because he had 199 strike outs for the season.
There was even a pop fly to the third baseman with two strikes on the batter struck in foul territory with Minor exhorting the third sacker to drop the ball.
The Red Sox had Eduardo Rodriguez make every start while resting their other Starters.
The reason?
E-Rod had a chance at winning 20 Games.
Base stealers with 19 or 29 stolen bases going into the last week of a season are bound to steal that last even numbered base.
Look through the history of players stealing bases.
A player is more than twice as likely to have ended his season with the last digit of a zero than the last digit of a nine.
Yet, when interviewed, almost every MLB player or Manager will tell you that they don't care about such numbers.
They are liars.
Even numbers matter.
Ted Williams was set to retire.
A fan approached him and told him how close he was to certain numbers. Including 500 home runs.
It changed Williams mind and Williams played longer.
Very late in his career, Mickey Mantle came to the plate against Denny McLain.
It would be Mantle's last year. McLain was the talk of baseball. He would go on to be the last pitcher to win 30 games.
Every move Mantle made was being documented across the country in his retirement year.
For the moment, it was about Mantle being tied with Jimmy Foxx on the all time home run list at 534.
McLain called his catcher out to the mound. McLain respected Mantle and wanted to do him a solid.
"Tell Mick that a batting practice fastball is coming."
When getting to the plate, the catcher dutifully told Mantle.
Disbelieving, Mantle let the pitch, a batting practice fastball, go by.
McLain nodded and winked to Mantle that the same pitch would be coming again.
Mantle clobbered it into the seats.
Times have changed since Williams and Mantle. Players hardly ever retire when still under a contract for millions.
They play out the string.And it gets ugly.
Currently, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Chris Davis, and Ryan Braun are shells of themselves.
If any of them were free agents, it would be more likely that they would retire more than sign for their real worth of just a million or two a season.
Instead, their contracts not only guarantee them way too much money, but playing time to boot.
Although today's teams are called 'smarter', they are not beyond playing washed up players over prospects, in hopes that they are somehow getting more of their money's worth.
Cabrera, whose descent has been very rapid due to continual injury, has hit 473 home runs and has 2,815 hits.
The Tigers will keep running him out there. Hoping he gets near enough to those even numbers to get a few extra fannies in the seats.
For Cabrera, his ticket assured for the Hall of Fame, a chance at those even numbers.
Even if almost embarrassing himself by the meager production he now provides.
Will Kinsler get his 2,000th hit through the back door?
I don't care.
What I do care about is players lie about numbers. They care.
They most certainly do.
A LOT.