Before we fully dive in, I just want to make clear that I do not think the Yankees should pay Joey Votto $25mil/yr over the next 2 years. At the same time, the Reds are selling every decent player they have to cut costs and they may be looking to give their star player a real chance at a ring before he retires. That is why I think that the right package of prospects could get Votto for half-off. 

You may be thinking, “The Reds are cheap so there is no way they eat any salary.” But at the same time, no one is paying prospects AND $25mil/yr for a 37-year-old first baseman, no matter how good he is. So for the right group of prospects that the Reds think they can develop and eventually sell because they won’t ever stay competitive, I think you can convince Cincinnati to split the Votto contract.

Paying $12.5mil dollars and getting prospects to eventually try and flip is a better option than paying $25mil to a disgruntled face of your franchise. Plus, you’re saving $12.5mil because you’re a cheap asshole who shouldn’t own a team.

Now that I’ve established the move is possible, let’s talk about why Votto is a fit. 

1. The Yankees need flexibility– We have a ton of money coming off the books this offseason and with Votto at first base, for a discount, we would have a ton more money coming off the books when his and Donaldson’s contracts expire. The reason we can’t just go out and get Correa is because we already have too many long term deal that tie our hands and keep down our prospects from getting a real chance within the organization. 
2. Votto is better than Voit– Assume Voit is in the deal we send back to the Reds. We would have just upgraded massively at first base on both the offensive and defensive side. Voit is a huge liability in the field and while he can be a power hitter, we can’t rely on him staying healthy and not being streaky when he is healthy. It’s time to move on from Voit while not committing us for the next 6 years at a high price tag. Partly because I could see Judge at first in the future to save his body.
3. Votto stays healthy– Last year Votto missed a month with a broken thumb and a few games down the stretch with a sore knee but overall he has stayed on the field during his career. With the injuries the Yankees have dealt with the last few years, it would be nice to have some stability in the lineup.
4. Votto breaks up the lineup– Remember how much better our lineup looked with Rizzo in there as a lefty? We have been so righty heavy that it’s easy to get through our lineup even with all the fire power we have. Slotting Votto as a left between Judge and Stanton would break up the righties and provide a ton of protection for each other.
5. Votto would hit 40 Home Runs– Last year, Votto hit 36 home runs in 129 games in a bigger home ballpark. With the short porch in right field and Stanton behind him in the lineup, it is easy to see Votto mashing over 40 with no problem. Just look at his spray chart from last year and I can pick out at least 8 additional home runs.
6. Votto is motivated– We’re at the tail end of a great career and Votto only has 41 career postseason at bats. He could double that in one year alone in pinstripes. Discipline has been a huge issue for this team but adding another veteran, that can actually play (sorry Gardy) would help shape the clubhouse. Having a pissed off Donaldson and a pissed off Votto both chasing rings could get us there, while allow us to untangle the mess that is our roster going forward.

Our roster is in bad shape because of big bullpen contracts and extensions that haven’t worked out. One big long term signing like Correa or Freeman doesn’t change that situation, but getting Votto ONLY AT A DISCOUNT, would improve this roster to make us more complete, give the Yankees flexibility in the future, make extending Judge easier and give us another player that actually gives a shit. Because we’ve been missing that last one for a few years.

We discussed other moves the Yankees should make on this week’s George’s Box Podcast and react to the Donaldson trade. Go check it out here.

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Major League Baseball released the 2022 schedule for all 30 ball clubs, and the Yankees have a daunting task ahead of them to start the season.

The Yankees will begin a four-game series on the road against the Texas Rangers on March 30, 2022, and will finish off their first road trip against the Houston Astros. The Yankees will then have their home opener on April 7, 2020, against the Boston Red Sox, and will follow up with a four-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Other notable series include:

• The Yankees first series against the newly appointed Cleveland Guardians (April 22-24, 2020 @ Yankee Stadium)
• The first home series against Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (May 31-June 2, 2020 @ Yankee Stadium)
• The Pittsburgh Pirates (July 5-6, 2020 @ PNC Park, September 20-22, 2020 @ Yankee Stadium), Cincinnati Reds (July 12-14, 2020 @ Yankee Stadium), St. Louis Cardinals (Aug. 5-7, 2020 @ Busch Stadium), Milwaukee Brewers (Sept. 16-18, 2020 @ American Family Field) in interleague play.
• The Subway Series against the New York Mets (July 26-27, 2020 @ Citi Field, Aug. 22-23, 2020 @ Yankee Stadium)

The final series of the 2022 campaign will be against the Baltimore Orioles from Sept. 30, 2022, to Oct. 2, 2022.

For the entire 2022 New York Yankees schedule, click here.

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According to Major League Baseball, Griffey Jr. has been named the Senior Advisor to Commissioner Rob Manfred. Griffey will consult with Major League Baseball on multiple issues, including baseball operations and baseball youth development. He will also serve as an ambassador at youth initiatives and special events.

“I am humbled to be asked to work with Major League Baseball in this role,” Griffey Jr. said in a MLB press release. “It will be an honor to represent the best sport in the world and to promote our game among today’s youth.”

Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. has been named Senior Advisor to the Commissioner. He will consult with @MLB on a number of issues, with special emphasis on baseball operations & youth baseball development, and will serve as an ambassador at youth initiatives & at special events. pic.twitter.com/NoooGJTd7L

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) January 29, 2021

Commissioner Rob Manfred also issued a statement, stating, “We are thrilled that Ken will represent Major League Baseball at some of our sport’s most important stages, alongside our current and future stars. We welcome the perspective and insights that Ken gained as a historic player, as a parent, and as someone who has spent his life in and around our great game.”

BREAKING: The Kid joins MLB …

Ken Griffey Jr. will serve as Sr. Advisor to the Commissioner with an emphasis on baseball operations, youth development and improving diversity at all levels of the game. pic.twitter.com/GMAF7fSOtr

— MLB (@MLB) January 29, 2021

In his 22-year career, Griffey Jr. was a 13-time All-Star, a 1o-time Gold Glove winner, hit 630 home runs in his career, and was the youngest member in Major League Baseball’s All-Century team, which was unveiled in 1999.

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The Padres are making moves.

San Diego reportedly acquires Blake Snell from the Rays, pending physicals, per @Feinsand. https://t.co/t1pbuVYLVA pic.twitter.com/1I2P7HCEwC

— MLB (@MLB) December 28, 2020

Rebuilding after appearing in the World Series?

Here is a list of players they have either traded, cut, or declined to resign going back to August 2020:

There are also rumors that the Rays are shopping Kevin Kiermaier and his six-year, $53.5 million contract. Heading into 2021 the Rays will be without the 2018 Cy Young Award winner and the third-place finisher in 2019 and they had complete team control over both. Granted that Morton was due to make $15 million in 2021 but considering his skills the last few years, that would have been a no-brainer for most teams in the league. However, the Rays are a small market team, to say the least. As of today, they are projected to have a payroll just a hair shy of $56 million going into 2021.  That puts them about $106 million behind the Yankees payroll (No. 2 overall behind the Los Angeles Dodgers). The Rays are obviously shedding payroll and the only surprise is due to the fact that they just lost the World Series in six games to the Dodgers. So how does this affect the Yankees moving forward?

Do the Yankees change their offseason strategy?

Right now, the Yankees’ focus seems to be on re-signing DJ LeMahieu.  They still need to replace or re-sign Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and probably sign a bullpen arm or two. Up until the Rays began to shed payroll, they were looking at Tampa Bay as their main competition for the division title next year. Boston is still without direction and Baltimore is Baltimore. Now it appears the Toronto Blue Jays will be the main rival in 2021 especially if the reports that they want to bring LeMahieu in are true. Embed from Getty Images

My fear is that Brian Cashman will see the Rays selling off their key pieces and decide that the game plan for signing free agents need to adjust to that new information. Maybe he’s more confident in the team he currently has under contract if the Rays have no plans to compete next season. He will never come out and say that of course but I’m sure there are discussions being had behind closed doors at this very moment discussing this topic. If it were up to me, my game plan doesn’t change one bit. The reason for that would be the up and coming Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays are lurking…

Embed from Getty Images

The Blue Jays already have a solid core of young players currently on the big league roster. Look at the 2021 ZIP projections for the Blue Jays four best players IF they manage to sign LeMahieu away from the Yankees:

That’s a solid infield with Guerrero Jr. and Biggio on the corners while LeMahieu and Bichette take care of the middle infield. In my opinion, Bichette is the most talented player on the Blue Jays right now. A lot of the hype that surrounds Guerrero Jr. is real but Bichette has 30/30 potential and plays a premium defensive position and plays it well. Their pitching staff leaves something to be desired because right now their top two starters are Robby Ray and Hyun-Jin Ryu. They also have Ross Stripling whom they traded for prior to the deadline in 2020. They need another pitcher and preferably an ace. Lucky for the Blue Jays, they have about $24 million in free payroll compared to 2020 if they want to sign a pitcher like Trevor Bauer. If the Blue Jays were to sign Bauer instead of LeMahieu, they would still have a pretty good offense and a much-improved pitching staff heading into 2021.

This is all to say that the Yankees’ offseason plan remains unchanged despite the Rays rebuilding signal.  Re-sign LeMahieu, sign some starting pitching, and build up some depth for the inevitable injuries.

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As a result, Cano will be suspended for the entire 2021 season without pay.

BREAKING: Mets second baseman Robinson Canó has received a 162-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Stanozolol.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) November 18, 2020

Stanozolol is an anabolic steroid that can increase muscle growth for athletes. The drug received increased attention in the mid-2000s when it was reported as the PED used by Rafael Palmeiro. More recently, it led to the suspension of Ervin Santana in 2015.

This suspension is the second of Cano’s career, as he missed 80 games in the 2018 season when he tested positive for Furosemide. Cano, who just turned 38 in October, will still have two years remaining on his contract once his suspension is lifted. Meanwhile, the Mets will not have to pay Cano his $24 million for the 2021 season.

If Cano had any shot at the Hall of Fame, even with the first suspension, that door is now firmly closed.

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Forget just baseball. A woman never has been the general manager of a major American professional sports team period until Kim Ng was hired by the Miami Marlins today. Their COO is Caroline O'Connor. The Marlins' three highest-ranking officials are two women and an ex-shortstop.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 13, 2020

That ex-shortstop knows a thing or two about winning. Nick had a great point earlier for anyone who’s potentially skeptical about the hire.

Former Cashman Lieutenant. Derek doesn’t care about making a splash or making history, dude just wants to win. Clearly thinks she will help him do that. Very cool all around. https://t.co/K05OYdYM7W

— Nick Kirby (@NkirbyNYY) November 13, 2020

Just an extremely cool day for baseball, and hopefully a move that helps continue to grow the sport. Also, speaking of cool, check out this picture:

This pic!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/mYgCA8sgSs

— Matt (@HoodieGleyber) November 13, 2020

Congratulations to Kim as she joins The Captain and Donnie Baseball as former Yankees trying to bring greatness to Miami.

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Rob Manfred having to pause because he’s getting booed so loudly is the best thing of 2020 lmao pic.twitter.com/z8MQG2pUAe

— John (@iam_johnw) October 28, 2020

I could fill a book with complaints about Manfred. But since neither you nor I have the time for such a thing, here are four reasons I think the commissioner is doing an awful job.

“Piece of metal”

Most Yankee fans bash Manfred for how he handled the Astros’ cheating scandal. That’s definitely fair, not punishing the players at all was wrong. Levying a harsh suspension to Joe Kelly for throwing at the Alex Bregman wasn’t right either. But the worst thing Manfred did in regards to the Astros was call the World Series trophy a “piece of metal.” It’s unbelievably embarrassing for the man in charge of baseball to downplay the trophy awarded for reaching the pinnacle of the sport. The most ironic part is that it’s literally called the commissioner’s trophy.

“Calling the World Series trophy a piece of metal,…..the only thing devaluing that trophy is that it says commissioner on it,” Justin Turner to me today about the MLB Astros cheating crisis and Ron Manfred’s explanation. #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/Sq3XHWE8W6

— Liz Habib (@LizHabib) February 17, 2020

2020 season negotiations

Manfred also did a horrible job negotiating with the Players’ Association prior to the 2020 season. There was a long period of time where I really didn’t think baseball was going to be played this year. The fact that the NBA and NHL already had plans in place to return during the pandemic while Manfred was saying he “wasn’t confident” baseball would happen in 2020 was an absolute joke.

BREAKING: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred tells @Espngreeny that he’s “not confident” there will be a 2020 baseball season. “Unfortunately," Manfred said, "I can’t tell you that I’m a 100% certain that’s gonna happen.”

News at @espn: https://t.co/h1I6Yh5R55

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 15, 2020

MLB had a huge opportunity to be the first American major sport to come back during the pandemic. Manfred & the MLBPA squandered that chance, and put the future of baseball at risk in the process.

Attempt to grow the game

Another huge problem I have with Manfred is his approach in trying to grow baseball’s popularity. The guy acts like pace of play is this massive problem. I’m all for making the game run more smoothly. Limiting teams to six mound visits a game was a smart change in my opinion. But rules such as a runner on second in extras or seven-inning doubleheaders will do nothing but anger diehard baseball fans. Will people who don’t watch baseball because the games are three hours long start watching if they’re reduced to two hours forty-five minutes? No, so stop acting like that’s the issue. The real issue is how the game is marketed.

MLB blacking out games is a huge problem. How do they expect to grow the popularity of baseball when they don’t even let fans watch? In my opinion, implementing a broadcast similar to NFL RedZone could do wonders for MLB.

MLB really needs a "Redzone" type feature. Anyone who isn't a diehard might not be interested in watching a full nine innings, but if they jump around every game in the league showing big moments, stars' at-bats, etc., I think a lot of people could get into that

— Stanzo (@ncostanzo24) May 18, 2020

Apparently MLB has tried a few variations of this in the past. I had no idea though because they’re horrific at marketing, so even a diehard fan like myself never heard of it until people responded to my tweet. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Baseball doesn’t have a gameplay problem. It has a marketing problem.

Neutral site World Series?

I didn’t mind the playoff bubble for 2020. With the pandemic, it made sense. Limiting travel to reduce the potential for a virus outbreak seemed like a no-brainer. However, Manfred recently said neutral-site World Series “isn’t completely off the table” moving forward. Permanently shifting the World Series to a neutral site would be an insanely stupid idea. I get that the Super Bowl is always at a neutral site, but that’s a one-game championship. The World Series is a best-of-seven. Hopefully, we reach the point where it’s safe to have capacity crowds at sporting events soon. Why on Earth would you not want those fanatical crowds at World Series games?

And Manfred wants neutral site World Series. Idiot https://t.co/9Nq4wy76YU

— Stanzo (@ncostanzo24) November 2, 2020

You can’t replace that kind of passion at a neutral site. You just can’t.

I’m sure Rob Manfred is a nice guy. In fact, I’ve heard from people who have met him personally that he is. But I’m far from convinced that he even likes baseball. He attempts to appeal to the casual fan with rule changes that do nothing but bother the diehard fan. Every PR move he makes is a nightmare. To top it all off, he’s consistently blown every opportunity to grow the sport’s popularity. So Rob, if you decide you’d like to stop ruining our beautiful game, give me a call. I’d be happy to help.

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Breaking: Alex Cora is back as Red Sox manager

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 6, 2020

Clearly, this was the Sox’ plan for the last year. They parted ways with Cora after the Astros’ cheating scandal came to light. Cora was the bench coach in Houston in 2017 before being named the Red Sox’ manager in 2018. Both teams won World Series, and both were later investigated by MLB for sign stealing. Boston named Ron Roenicke the interim manager for 2020, leaving the door wide open for Cora’s return in the future.

People are already outraged that someone directly involved in two sign stealing scandals is back in baseball just one year later. But honestly, I’m happy to see Cora back. Not because I like him, but because I absolutely hate him.

I want to see the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry get back to being the best in sports. For that to happen, there needs to be some serious animosity between these teams. I need to see the Yankees get some revenge on a guy who said this at his championship parade:

Alex Cora: "We scored 16 at Yankee Stadium…Suck on it" pic.twitter.com/Oq2f3V3XDA

— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) October 31, 2018

So as much as I hate Alex Cora, him being back is good for baseball, and great for the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry. Let’s just hope that this time, it’s the Yankees telling him to suck on it during a parade down the Canyon of Heroes.

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1. The Kings of Walking

This year marks the first time the Yankees have led the league in total walks since 2011.  The team totaled 251 and walked 11.4%, just edging out the Reds (11.3%) in terms of percentages.  Looking back a few years, I expected to see the Yankees higher up on the charts at the end of every season in this category, but I was surprised to find that they only finished in the top five in walks in eight of the last eleven seasons going back to 2010 (2010 to 2012, 2015, and 2017 to 2020).  There is something each of those seasons have in common though.  They were all playoff seasons.  In conclusion, OBP over AVG!

 2. The other New York team

Speaking of batting average, the New York Mets led the league in that category, buoyed by Michael Conforto, Robinson Cano, Dominic Smith, and Jeff McNeil who hit .322, .316, .316, and .311 respectively.  They even had a decent OBP to go with their league-leading batting average.  Alas, this didn’t account for much at the year as the Mets failed to reach the postseason in 2020.  Keep your head up if you support the team from Queens though.  They just sold their team so that’s a thing I guess.

3. The “mythical” .300 hitter

2020 saw the first hitter to ever win the batting title in both leagues.  DJ LeMahieu won the AL batting title four years after he won it in the NL playing for the Colorado Rockies.  He finished 2020 hitting .364, marking the first time baseball had a hitter with a .350+ average since Josh Hamilton accomplished the feat in 2010.  In fact, there were two .350+ hitters this year:  Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals also hit .351.  Man, that kid is a stud.  The batting average stats don’t stop with those two though.  23 hitters hit .300 or better this season, marking the first time at least 20 players hit over .300 since 2017.  Five hitters hit .330 or better this year, the most since 2016.  It’s a shame we didn’t get to see a player flirt with .400, even in a 60 game season, but it’s still cool we got a handful of guys who averaged a hit every three at bats.4. WAR…what is it good for?

4. According to Fangraphs, your 2020 WAR leader is Jose Ramirez, followed by Freddie Freeman (3.3 WAR) and Shane Bieber (3.0 WAR).  If we extrapolate out Ramirez’s 3.4 WAR this year over a 162 game season, he would have had 9.5 WAR.  That total would be the third highest WAR in a single season since 2015 behind only Mookie Betts and Mike Trout’s 2018 totals of 10.4 WAR and 9.7 WAR.  In fact, extrapolating out the top ten performers in terms of WAR over a 162 game pace, 2020 would have had five players clear 8.5 WAR.  That would be the most 8.5+ WAR players since 2015, when there were four (Harper, Trout, Donaldson, Kershaw).

5. Becoming a Belieber

Shane Bieber joined the historical elite of pitching this season by winning the Triple Crown.  Bieber not only led the AL in strikeouts, ERA, and wins, but also led all starters in K/9 (14.2), LOB% (91.1%), FIP (2.07), WAR (3.0), and WPA (3.05).  No matter how you look at it, Bieber was out of his mind this year.  He is going to win the AL Cy Young and I’m really interested to see who doesn’t vote for him.  Oh, and the likely 2020 AL Cy Young winner will pitch against the Yankees…tonight.

6. Bullpen Overload

Coming into the 2020 season, some of us thought that bullpens would be utilized more due to the abnormal schedule and as a result, the numbers for relievers would suffer.  The number to look at is 4.44.  That’s the ERA for relievers league-wide in 2020.  It’s actually slightly lower than the bullpen ERA for 2019 (4.46).  Since the phrase “Super Bullpen” started to be used frequently during broadcasts in 2015, we have seen an upward trend in bullpen ERA.  Here are the bullpen ERAs from 2015 to 2020:

• 71 in 2015
• 93 in 2016
• 15 in 2017
• 08 in 2018
• 46 in 2019
• 44 in 2020

Even though the bullpen ERA was slightly lower in 2020, it will be interesting to see if the trend continues and we see bullpen ERAs continue to balloon across baseball.

7. The 2019 MVPs….and regression

All of the top three finishers for both leagues MVP races in 2019 had some form of regression in 2020.  Some had it worse than others though. Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon still had relatively great seasons this year but here are the stats the other MVP top finishers:

Bregman, Bellinger, Semien, and Yelich all fell off substantially.  Semien failed to build of his breakout year in 2019 and couldn’t even crack a .700 OPS.  Bregman had a decent year but still lost over 200 points off his OPS, hit below .250, and didn’t steal a single base.  Cody Bellinger had a similar drop off to Bregman, but the real disaster for 2020 is step back that Christian Yelich took.  After narrowly missing out on the NL Batting Triple Crown in 2019, Yelich barley managed to hit over .200 in 2020.  The rest of his advanced stats suggest it may have been some bad BABIP luck and an extended cold streak since his power numbers and on base numbers looked pretty good even if there was regression.  Either way, I’m going to see which Christian Yelich decides to show up in 2021.

8. Division titles don’t come cheap.  Or do they?

Two of the most famous penny-pinching teams in baseball one their divisions for the first time in a long time.  The Tampa Bay Rays won the AL East for the first time since 2010, and the Oakland Athletics won the AL West for the first time since 2013.  Both of these teams have never tried to hide their budget issues and honestly it looks like they took advantage of a 60 game season where randomness has a bit more bite.  Both teams took advantage of some slow starts and long losing streaks by the preseason picks to win the division (Yankees and Astros) and pulled out a division title in the COVID-shortened season.  Now all I can picture is Billy Beane laughing until he gets bounced from the playoffs by the Yankees again.

9. Speaking of division winners…

2020 is going to be the second season in a row where the defending World Series champions failed to reach the postseason.  The 2020 Nationals (like the 2019 Red Sox) aren’t going on a Cinderella run to a title this year and you can understand why.  They lost Anthony Rendon to free agency, had a multitude of issues in the bullpen, and lost Stephen Strasburg for most of the year on top having sub-par seasons from Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin.  Hopefully they can get some more talent to surround Juan Soto with because, I have to say it again, the kid is a stud.

10. Which division is the roughest to weather?

Each year there is always a debate on which division is the toughest.  Ten years ago it was the AL East.  Five years ago it was the NL Central.  This year that debate has flip, turned upside, down (hah Fresh Prince reference).  The best division by total record (the NL West at 160-140) only had two playoffs teams (the Dodgers with the best record in baseball and the Padres) while the division with the second worst total record (the NL Central at 143-155) had four playoff teams (the Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, and Brewers).  I think the NL Central was better than the total record says though since the worst team in baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates at 19-41, calls that division home.  I guess the debate will rage on when we get back to a regular 162 game season.

There you have it.  Ten statistics and facts for this weird baseball season that just concluded.  Postseason baseball is here and the regular season doesn’t really mean anything now.  Let’s focus on getting number 28 in the books and in 2021 we can have a regular, 162 season with an All-Star game and a normal postseason please.

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The question now is can/will Mike Trout win his fourth MVP despite his team missing the playoffs in what’s considered the easiest year for postseason play in MLB history? Mike Trout and the Angels have missed the playoffs rather consistently, but that hasn’t stopped Trout from walking away with the MVP trophy.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m about ready to watch someone else win the AL MVP this season, and if there has ever been a season to push away Mike Trout, it’s this one. With the shortened season and limited at-bats, Trout doesn’t seem to be running away with the race like in years past.

I’m going to take a look at Mike Trout’s very slight fall from grace and offer five other options for this year’s AL MVP race.

Mike Trout (LA Angels)

.295/.403/.639, 16 HR, 39 RBI, 2.3 WAR

Mike Trout may still be the favorite to win the AL MVP but that doesn’t mean he’s a sure fire win. First, Trout’s numbers are usually above and beyond most other AL players, but this year’s numbers are closer than Mike Trout has allowed before. Mike Trout has way less games this season to pull away from his competition, meaning his WAR numbers are closer and therefore less impressive. Since the Angels are almost certainly missing the playoffs, Trout’s MVP run needs to rely solely on his individual numbers, which simply don’t compare to his above and beyond numbers in years past. Not only does Trout have a lower WAR than some of his competition, he also is falling behind on batting average, RBI’s, and Home Runs.

Ultimately, it looks like Trout isn’t running away in either the offensive or defensive category. Normally, Trout is a solid defensive player and this pushes him ahead in MVP talks, but this year has been a struggle for Trout in center field. In 2019, a winning year for Trout, he had a DRS of -2 and a POS rank at 2o. In 202o, Trout has a DRS of -12 and a POS rank of 35. Mike Trout simply isn’t having the year he needs to win MVP especially considering the Angels are all but completely out of the playoffs.

If not Mike Trout….who?

I’m going to suggest five different AL MVP candidates who could potentially steal the trophy from Trout in 2020.

Nelson Cruz (Twins)

.323/.414/.646, 16 HR, 32 RBI, 2.0 WAR

Cruz has always been a home run hitter, but this year he is absolutely bashing the ball, finding himself with the second-most home runs in the league and the most home runs on a rather home run happy team. Cruz has basically lead his team to where they are offensively right now; he leads the team in almost every offensive metric. Leading a team like the Twins is more impressive than leading a team like the Angels because, well to be frank, the Angels suck and the Twins are a pretty damn good ball team. Cruz isn’t just stacking up against players on his own team, his stat line compared to other MVP caliber players is impressive too.   He is top five in important stat categories including batting average, home runs, RBI, on base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.  The only thing holding Cruz back in my opinion is the fact that he plays no defensive but with his offensive stats the way they are it isn’t impossible.

Fun Fact: Cruz is a DH and 40 years old, meaning a win for him would make history with him becoming the first DH to win MVP and the first player over 40.

Jose Abreu (White Sox)

.328/.370/.621, 15 HR, 48 RBI, 2.1 WAR

The White Sox have a lot of young blood on this year’s team, but 33-year-old veteran Abreu has been their star player by far. The first thing to mention about Abreu is his 22-game hit streak this season. Abreu’s practically picked up the team and put it on his shoulders with an out-of-this-world line of .370/.414/ .772, 10 home runs, and 28 RBI’s. Abreu’s hot streak helped the Sox come out with a 17-5 record, which gave them a solid hold on first place in the division. With the White Sox and Abreu both gearing up for their first postseason run in a long time, it makes sense to look at the guy leading the team both mentally and physically as an MVP prospect. Abreu is an all around package, making him an even more realistic candidate for the MVP trophy. Jose in ranked first in his position currently and has a DRS of 6, making him one of the best first baseman of the 2020 season.

Tim Anderson (White Sox)

.377/.414/.605, 8 HR, 19 RBI, 2.4 WAR

It’s kinda crazy to think that there are two White Sox players in the running for MVP, considering the team hasn’t done anything in almost 10 years, but that’s 2020. Anyway, Anderson’s stats easily match up to any of the players we will talk about today. He’s without a doubt had an all around impact on this unbelievable White Sox team that is, in my opinion, a threat to win the World Series. Tim Anderson leads MVP candidates, as well as, the entire league with his nearly .400 batting average and WAR making him more of the most productive players in the league. Anderson may not have many RBI’s but as a lead off batter he is constantly getting on base to get his team going. Anderson also might be lacking in the home run category, but easily makes up for it with excessive multi-hit games and walks. Tim Anderson has shown great improvement this season defensively as well  making plays look smooth and easy compared to last year.

The biggest thing to take into account with Anderson is his ability to motivate the team and help them produce. With Anderso,n the White Sox team is offensively sound, but without him, they just can’t seem it get things going. During a 6 game streak without the shortstop, the White Sox barely scored 10 runs, showing the deep impact Anderson has on the squad. Just like Abreu, Anderson has taken a team with little hope and helped elevate them to a post season ready team showing his true impact is deeper than numbers.

Luke Voit (Yankees)

.280/.343/.634, 18 HR, 42 RBI, 1.5 WAR

Luke Voit has been the one consistent player that the Yankees have counted on during the 2020 season. Despite “foot stuff”, Luke has gone on a offensive tear, leading the league in home runs with 18 and second in RBIs. Without Luke, the Yankees might not even be in a playoff run, considering the constantly injuries that plagued the team. Voit took the team and very literally carried it though a horrible stretch during which he was the only one producing. Voit has really only been a productive player for two years after the Yankees took him from the Cardinals, who had given up on his ability. It’s pretty impressive that a player like that could be holding his own statistically with the other players I’ve mentioned. With his league leading home runs, his MVP comparable numbers, and his invaluable position on the Yankees, Luke is a clear contender for his first AL MVP.

Shane Bieber (Indians)

7-1, 64 2/3 IP, 1.53 ERA, 102K, 2.9 WAR

I normally don’t like to bring pitchers into the MVP conversation because they have the Cy Young, but Bieber is the exception to that rule in every way. Bieber has been Cleveland’s best and most successful player, not just pitcher, this season. Despite having player like Lindor on the team, Bieber has been able to easily outshine everyone. Bieber leads the league in strikeout to walk ratio and has the best ERA in the AL. He’s put up a quality line every single one of his ten starts this season, averaging seven inning a game (unheard of for Yankee fans). Bieber is even more impressive this season because of the weird circumstances. Despite having to start up quickly, which lead to many injuries around the league, Bieber has had no issues, giving up just 5 runs in his first 40 innings. Bieber is absolutely the reason the Indians are in the position they are in right now.

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The Umpires

Starting off the list of MLB pet peeves is the umpiring. Sure, there are plenty of great or very good umpires out there. No snickering, it’s true. But, some of the umps, oh, are they bad. And, two come immediately to mind. I bet you know who I mean.

That’s right, Joe West and Angel Hernandez. It’s hard to tell which one is worse, which one has the bigger ego, and which I dislike more.

Both are under the impression that fans pay to see them. West is the more openly vocal of the two. If you’re general manager of a car dealership, are you going to criticize two of your best salesmen because they don’t sell a car the way you like?

In baseball’s version of the above metaphor, that’s exactly what West has done. He has openly criticized the Yankees and Red Sox for taking too long to play. Do you see the fans of either team complaining? The teams themselves? The TV networks? It’s not baseball’s fault that West is probably hungry by the third inning.

West was fired once and never should have been brought back. He shouldn’t have been used this year either, in the middle of a pandemic, after he questioned the veracity of the number of deaths caused by COVID-19.

Hey Joe, shut up and do your job…and do it a helluva lot better.

Hernandez thinks he has never made a mistake and his penchant for calling balks is both obnoxious and overdone. He’s also crossed the line with his superiors. In July 2019, Hernandez was the acting crew chief in a game (between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays) in which a 14-minute delay took place over confusion concerning the rules.

This past June it was reported that Hernandez had a phone interview with then MLB chief officer Joe Torre about what took place. When Hernandez’ time was up on the call, he, according to Torre, stayed on the phone and listened in on Torre’s conversation with fellow umpire Ed Hickox. As a result, Torre had Hernandez removed as acting crew chief.

Hernandez sued MLB in 2017, claiming racial discrimination prevented him from promotions. Perhaps instead it was instead because, as Pedro Martinez put it a couple of years ago, he’s the worst there is.

Unwritten Rules

This nonsense comes up from time to time, but this MLB pet peeve hit home in August and involved San Diego’s young star Fernando Tatis Jr. First off, if they are unwritten rules, they are NOT rules. They are antiquated guidelines that go back to the times of wool uniforms and the double-pump windup.

As the majority of you know by now, Tatis had the nerve to swing at a 3-0 pitch with his team up by seven runs against the Texas Rangers. Instead of lauding his grand slam home run, veterans like Eric Hosmer schooled him on baseball’s right and wrong and the team embarrassed him by forcing him to make a public apology. It should have said, “Sorry your team sucks so bad. Next time, I’ll take a BP fastball for a strike and then hit the next pitch for a grand slam. – Much love, FTJ”.

To make matters worse, Rangers reliever Ian Gibaut threw behind the next batter, Manny Machado. No one could blame Machado if he charged the mound, but the Padres would have had to order another apology.

In today’s game, no lead is safe. Have you seen the quality of Major League relief pitching? That’s why relievers are a hot commodity at every trade deadline. The Padres actions were shameful. Even baseball lifers like Hall of Fame members Reggie Jackson and Johnny Bench backed Tatis. I say, “Swing away, Fernando!”

While watching the Atlanta Braves’ Ian Hamilton nearly no-hit the Yankees recently, I watched as, of course, no one dared to bunt. The idea is to win the game and you can’t win the game if you don’t get hits. But, don’t you dare lay a bunt down and make it harder for the opposing pitcher to no-hit you. Think of the shame that follows. Asinine. Get on base any way you can.

The New Rules

The next MLB pet peeve is a major one, because it affects the way games are played. Among the new rules put into place this season are the 3-batter minimum for relief pitchers and the placing of a runner on second base in extra innings.

The 3-batter minimum is a joke. It takes the specialization and good chunk of strategy out of the game. Every team has a left-hander in the pen ready in a big spot to face likes of a Christian Yelich, or Bryce Harper, or Yordan Alvarez. But, the southpaw’s manager doesn’t want the said left-hander to face the right-handers that follow in the lineup. Now, he has no choice if he wants to make that move. It’s a horrible rule that should be eliminated next season.

The placed-runner in extra innings was used throughout minor league baseball with some success last season. But, that was the minor leagues. This is the Major Leagues, where a win should be earned and not aided by putting a pitcher in an immediate hole. These rules need to go, like yesterday.

Stand Pat-Brian Cash

The final pet peeve – our GMs who do nothing during the trade deadline, even when their team needs parts due to injuries and ineffectiveness. This might be the biggest pet peeve of all.

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Fernando Tatis Jr. smacked a grand slam on a 3-0 count with a big lead, leading to criticism from both managers.

What do you think about this unwritten rule in baseball?

@MLB #PadresTwitterpic.twitter.com/55rX1bL4Qm

— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) August 18, 2020

The thing is, not everyone was thrilled. Texas manager Chris Woodward wept that Tatis dunked on his Rangers. Tatis’ own manager even joined in on throwing his player right under the bus. This came after the Rangers had their pitchers throw at the Padres. Tatis’ manager – a man who is supposed to lead his team – would rather go after his star than the guys who wanted to hurt his players.

Apparently some unwritten rule that literally does not exist outside of the complaints of the same boomers and dinosaurs who tout batting average to measure success, are attempting to hijack one of the more important rises of a player that we’ve seen in a while. Without the Aaron Judges, Juan Sotos and Tatises of the world being so damn cool, what we have is a sport led by a stale superstar in Mike Trout that is more invested in the weather than helping to grow the game that has given him so much.

If there is anything that we have learned about the NBA it’s that the focus on individuality has made a player like Zion Williamson who plays for the New Orleans Pelicans cool in every time zone in the world. Think about where LeBron started out? He became a household brand in Cleveland because basketball allows players to be themselves. For whatever reason though, the gatekeepers of MLB haven’t seen this. Everybody has to be in line and as lame and gray as the clouds that Trout fawns over.

Eric Hosmer

Maybe one of the worst parts in all this is Eric Hosmer. Hosmer walked over to the Rangers bench and told them that he’d “handle” the situation that really wasn’t a situation at all. Hosmer then slouched over to Tatis and “let him know how it’s done.” Keep in mind that, while Eric Hosmer is a veteran, he’s also one of the worst people to be talking to Tatis about anything.

Love it, Eric Hosmer. Tatis was wrong in pimping the grand slam #RTG pic.twitter.com/o0VCVUqjmd

— 4c (@pete4c) August 18, 2020

Here’s a guy who made his money and quite literally hasn’t done much in his attempts to swing at any pitches – be it 3-0 or any other count. Since becoming a Padre, Hosmer has a -.1 WAR, 95 wRC+, an abominable AVG Exit Velo of 89.7 MPH as well as an even more abominable .317 OBP and .418 SLG. On top of this, his defense has been extremely poor. According to Baseball Savant, he was in the bottom 41% of Outs Above AVG at first in 2018 and an atrocious bottom 8% of OAA in 2019. Hosmer walks to the plate and nothing happens, and he’s telling a kid who is making everything happen to come closer to his washed level. In what way is that good for anybody?

Are we rooting for more Eric Hosmers and less highlights? If that’s the case then baseball really is doomed.

Baseball likes to tout the motto “Let The Kids Play” but the second they decide to play, they go after them. They go after Tatis for being productive. They go after Tim Anderson for making things fun. The gatekeepers even weep over Joe Kelly for making funny faces.

Why even tell the kids to “play” if you want them to be that boring, cloud chasing superstar? If that’s what they want then say it. Baseball can’t complain that the game isn’t growing, though.

If baseball wants to take the next step, then the first thing we need to do is let the asteroid crash down on the dinosaurs who gatekeep it. They need to go. Whatever’s left of them need to become fossilized.

The post Fernando Tatis Jr. is growing the game and the unwritten rules are killing it appeared first on Bronx Pinstripes | BronxPinstripes.com.

Embed from Getty Images

Drafted by the Yankees in the first round

Taken number 16 overall, Kaprielian was the Yankee’s highest draft pick in the first round since they took Carl Henry (SS) out of Putnam City High School in 2005. Kaprielian attended UCLA where he pitched for three seasons including pitching in a combined no-hitter during his junior year. The scouting report on him coming into the 2015 draft was that he is the most major league ready of all the pitchers in the draft. Scouts also said he didn’t throw particularly hard but he had a consistent delivery that allowed him to have great command. It was a fairly exciting first round selection for the Yankees to say the least. Then came the injury.

Tommy John Strikes

After spending two years in the minors, Kaprielian looked to be an option heading into the 2017 season. However, an arm injury would throw a wrench into those plans and on April 13^th, 2017 it was revealed he would need to have surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament. The dreaded TJS. It seemed that his ascension to pinstripes would be delayed or so he thought.

The Sonny Gray Trade

Fast forward to the 2017 trade deadline and the Yankees had an opportunity to acquire an “Ace”. Right at the deadline, the Yankees swung a deal that sent Kaprielian along with top prospects Jorge Mateo and Dustin Fowler to the Oakland Athletics for Sonny Gray. We all know how that trade ended up working out for the Yankees.

What’s the scouting report on him now?

Since the trade, Kaprielian has been working his way back to top prospect status within the Oakland organization ranking behind names such as Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk. The current scouting report on Kaprielian is quite similar to the one he got coming out of UCLA. He sits between 92 and 96 MPH with his four seam fastball that show natural run and sinking action. It also generates an above-average number of swings and misses as well being prone to creating fly balls when it is put in play. His changeup was rated as above average as a minor leaguer however he has thrown his slider more and that is his swing and miss off-speed pitch. He also mixes in a curveball as a show-me pitch. His calling card is still his command and consistency but with his injury history, the only difference between 2020 Kaprielian and 2015 Kaprielian is the risk factor and experience.

With him making his debut, I’m pulling for Kap. Before the Yankees went on their run in 2017, Kaprielian potentially making the rotation was one of the storylines I was following closely. He may not be debuting with the Yankees but I hope we can wish him all the best in Oakland. Except for if we see the Athletics in the playoffs. Then all bets are off.

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Source: MLB umps wishing to opt out for 2020: Tom Hallion, Mike Winters, Fieldin Culbreth, Phil Cuzzi, Brian Gorman, Jerry Layne, Scott Barry, Kerwin Danley, Sam Holbrook & Gerry Davis. @JonHeyman first to report some umps were opting out.

— Sean McAdam (@Sean_McAdam) July 16, 2020

To truly understand the impact of these umpires, lets look at each individually to see how they usually call a game:

Tom Hallion

At 63, Hallion is one of the oldest umpires in MLB. He first started umpiring in the National League in 1985 and served as the crew chief for the first game at the new Yankee Stadium. Behind the plate he is seen as slightly favoring the pitcher and calls 10% more strikeouts than the average umpire. In 2019, when calling balls and strikes he missed just under 16 calls per game which was slightly below average. Despite the missed calls, Hallion was very consistent and has one of the best strikeout calls in the game.

https://t.co/t8dycTFm14 pic.twitter.com/81Ssc5CKmc

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 16, 2020

Mike Winters

Winters first started as an umpire in 1988 and is one of the longest tenured umpires in the game. His most famous moment came in back in 2007 when his argument with Milton Bradley led to Bradley tearing his ACL. At the time, Winters was suspended for cursing at the Padres outfielder. Winters’ calls slightly favor the pitchers and like Hallion he is responsible for about 16 missed calls per game. Winters does have a tendency to miss more calls in high pressure situations. Last year, Fangraphs found him responsible for the most umpire runs created in 2o19.

(6/8) #Mets vs #Rockies A brutal called strikeout by umpire Mike Winters tonight missed the strike zone by 6.59 inches pic.twitter.com/ZCBPodN6bX

— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) June 9, 2019

Fieldin Culbreth

Culbreth has been an umpire since 1993 and has mainly flown under the radar. Unfortunately, his most notable moment came in 2013 which saw him suspended for a couple games. During a game between the Angels and Houston, he allowed the Astros to make two consecutive pitching changes without the first pitcher facing a batter. In 2019, he missed about 14.5 calls per game while just slightly favoring pitchers.

Phil Cuzzi

Cuzzi has been in MLB since 1991 and serves on Tom Hallion’s crew. In 2019 he averaged under 13 missed calls per game and was one of the better umpires when it comes to consistency. However, his most notable moment of the season came in the Bronx when he tossed Brett Gardner and C.C. Sabathia.

Umpires should pay attention to the game and not Gardner banging in the dugout pic.twitter.com/gqSFYq3o9T

— MLBdream (@MLBdream) August 17, 2019

Brian Gorman

Gorman has served as an umpire in MLB since 1991 and has had a fairly quiet career. Like the others, he ever so slightly favors the pitcher and is seen as very consistent. His only really notable moment came in a benches clearing brawl between Canada and Mexico in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. In 2019 he missed about 13.5 calls per game behind the plate.

Jerry Layne

When looking at Jerry Layne’s Wikipedia page you will see two main sections. One is a good amount of controversies surrounding the 2011 World Series between Texas and St. Louis. Layne notably was behind the plate for Game 7 and missed 17 balls and strikes; 14 of which went against the Rangers who would lose the game. Unfortunately for Layne, the other section is for injuries. Layne appears to get hit by baseballs….a lot. In 2019 he averaged about 16.5 missed calls per game and was seen again as slightly favoring pitchers.

Cliff Politte with an RBI single. I repeat—an RBI single.

And then look what happens to umpire Jerry Layne. pic.twitter.com/wM4TFaq8jL

— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) April 14, 2020

Scott Barry

At 43 years of age, Barry is one of the younger umpires on the list and currently serves on Brian Gorman’s staff. In 2019 he also missed about 16.5 calls behind the plate but slightly favored batters. For the most part, Barry has stayed out of the public’s eye outside of not cleaning home plate after Joe Girardi covered it with dirt in 2017.

Kerwin Danley

Danley started as an umpire in MLB in 1992 and was supposed to be the first African American crew chief in MLB in 2020. While Danley will have to wait for 2021 to make history, hopefully he is able to work on his craft. Advanced metrics show that Danley is considered one of the most inconsistent umpires in baseball. He averages about 16.5 missed calls per game and misses over 11% of pitches. Out of 76 full time umpires, he ranked 74th in 2019.

Umpire Jeff Nelson was forced to leave the game with a concussion, which meant Kerwin Danley (ranked 86th of 93) took over. Danley then called a strike to Brett Gardner on a pitch that missed high by 6.46 inches — the largest miss of the playoffs. #Astros v #Yankees pic.twitter.com/AEhRB8W1oV

— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) October 16, 2019

Sam Holbrook

Holbrook has been an MLB umpire since 1997 and most recently was the crew chief for the 2019 World Series. Advanced metrics show Holbrook missing about 14.5 pitches per game while consistently favoring pitchers. He called 11% more strikeouts last year than the average ump. While Holbrook is a pretty average umpire, he is absolutely hated in Atlanta. During the 2012 NL Wild Card Game, Holbrook called for an infield fly on a ball that landed in the outfield, costing Atlanta the chance to have the bases loaded with one out.

Why is it that when you know an umpire by name it's never because they're great at, you know, umpiring?

Case in point: Sam Holbrook

This was 237 feet from home plate. pic.twitter.com/NQH547IhPK

— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) September 30, 2019

Gerry Davis

Advanced metrics aren’t kind to the 67 year old Davis. He averages just under 16 missed pitches per game and ranked 67th of the 76 full time umpires last year. Unlike most on the list, his calls strongly favor the hitters but his dreadful consistency still sees him call 13% more strikeouts than his peers. Davis has also been a part of some more memorable ejections in recent history. In 2014 he tossed Michael Pineda for using pine tar and in 2017 he sent Adrian Beltre packing.

Adrian Beltre is the greatest and Gerry Davis is in need of a sense of humor. pic.twitter.com/y9Mi5EMoC0

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 27, 2017

Brian O’Nora and Bruce Dreckman

O’Nora and Dreckman are rumored to be opting out this season but are not as confirmed as the others on the list. O’Nora ranked 62nd in 2019 and missed on 15.5 calls per game. Despite the missed calls he is seen as highly consistent. Dreckman will be a blow to MLB. Last year he ranked 27th while missing 12.5 calls per game.

The biggest concern for MLB is that while most of the umpires were considered below average, the list does include 8 of the 19 MLB crew chiefs. In the NFL we experienced the issues with the replacement refs and just last year, we saw rookie umpire Brennan Miller struggle to call a game, eventually leading to the “Savages in the Box” moment.

The replacement umpires will have a lot of attention on their calls this year and MLB better make sure they are ready.

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The 2020 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, which was scheduled to be hosted by the @Dodgers and the City of Los Angeles, is being cancelled. With the @Braves already named as host of the 2021 ASG in Atlanta, the @Dodgers will host the next Midsummer Classic in 2022. pic.twitter.com/kDs5I7GqOO

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) July 3, 2020

This will be the first time since 1945, when World War II travel restrictions stopped the game from taking place at Fenway Park, that the league has cancelled the game.

Dodger Stadium in LA was originally scheduled to host the event in 2020. The Braves have already been selected to host the 2021 game in Atlanta so the Dodgers will host All-Star weekend in 2022.

MLB has officially cancelled the 2020 All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles will now host the 2022 All-Star Game. Here are statements from Commissioner Rob Manfred, Dodgers President/CEO Stan Kasten and a pair of LA politicians: pic.twitter.com/NT3QiIZzID

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 3, 2020

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It took a mandated season by Rob Manfred to get us here, but nevertheless here we are. Sixty games of the best sport are coming to you live from your TV starting with Opening Day on either July 23 or July 24.

Opening Day is July 23 or 24, MLB announces

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 24, 2020

Sixty games in 66 days means a whole lot of baseball in a short amount of time, but man am I ready for it. Spring training part two starts in less than a week with players reporting to their home ballparks on July 1.

Opening Day: July 23 or 24

Season: 60 games

Location: Home ballparks

Health and safety: "MLB's foremost priorities" pic.twitter.com/PWOu9GolDh

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 24, 2020

The two parties have seemingly agreed to everything, including health and safety protocols, which was the last big unknown for the sport.

There are finally no issues left to resolve, meaning the only thing left to think about is what the Opening Day roster will look like.

All remaining issues have been resolved and Players are reporting to training camps.

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) June 24, 2020

There are a few new rule changes for the abbreviated season. Rosters will be set at 30 on Opening Day. After two weeks, they will be reduced to 28. After four weeks, the number will be 26, and teams can add a 27th man for doubleheaders.

A universal designated hitter will be implemented in the National League; the trade deadline will be on August 31; and a runner will be placed on second base for each team in extra innings.

No details about the schedule have been released yet, but according to Jon Heyman, 40 of the 60 games will be within the division and the remaining 20 will be interleague match-ups. All match-ups will be based on geographical location.

Plan is for teams to play 40 games in division and 20 games interleague with their geographic counterpart (East vs. East, etc.) #MLB

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 24, 2020

There is only one thing left to say….

PLAY BALL

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The initial offer from MLB came with expanded playoffs and universal DH. MLB later made a last minute change offering to eliminate those ideas for 2021 if a full season wasn’t played, but still players rejected. Rob Manfred is now in the position to implement a mandated season, likely somewhere between 50 and 60 games.

This doesn’t mean baseball will certainly happen. ESPN’s Buster Olney ran down a list of possibilities:

And the dominoes are now likely set to tumble:
1. Implementation of a short season by MLB
2. Some players choosing not to play.
3. PA grievance
4. Upcoming free agents get destroyed in market
5. All major labor issues merely deferred to next spring.
Mutually assured destruction.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 22, 2020

No official announcement on next steps have been made, but the MLBPA released the following statement:

The Major League Baseball Players Association today released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/1OnFBsoEjd

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) June 22, 2020

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You can listen to him explain his hate below (On a side note Derek Jeter would never talk down to a fan the way Griffey did in this video. Just saying.)

This is why Ken Griffey Jr is my favorite baseball player of all time. Not the swing. Not the swag. Not the unbelievable talent. Just the fact that he hates the Yankees & all their lame bullshit as much as I do. Everyone should hate that team like The Kid pic.twitter.com/zfljOLeOqJ

— KFC (@KFCBarstool) June 22, 2020

Griffey took that moment to heart and on Sunday night those old wounds came up again on the MLB Network Father’s Day special dedicated to him. I’m not going to sit here and call him a baby. I love holding a grudge so I can relate to Griffey there. Here is what I don’t understand about this whole thing though. Griffey’s grudge coming back up to the surface is being seen as this thing where he was one-upping the Yankees. It’s as if to say the Yankees missed out on him.

Here’s the thing. They didn’t.

We remember the good years of Griffey, but the last decade of his career, where he played mostly with the Reds, was a mess. Look at the amount of games Griffey played from 2000 to 2010.

2000 – 145
2001 – 11
2002 – 70
2003 – 53
2004 – 83
2005 – 128
2006 – 109
2007 – 144
2008 – 143
2009 – 117
2010 – 33

WAR GAMES

In that time, Griffey missed 484 games, played over 140 games three times and when he was on the field, he totalled just a 9.2 fWAR. He had five seasons with a negative WAR, four seasons that were between a 0 and 2 WAR, one season between 2-3 WAR, 0 between a 4-5 WAR and just one, his first year in Cincinnati, above a 5 WAR.

In that time between 2000 and 2010, the Yankees had three outfielders with a higher WAR than Griffey. Johnny Damon had a 13.3 WAR, Hideki Matsui had a 12.6 WAR and Bernie Williams had a 10.9 WAR. You also had Nick Swisher with a 7.4 WAR, Bobby Abreu with a 6.7 WAR and Gary Sheffield with a 6.5 WAR. We can celebrate Griffey for his years on the Mariners, but it’s just statistically and factually untrue to say the Yankees missed out on him.

New York Media vs. Griffey?

Look at the way the New York media handles athletes spending a weekend on a boat. Imagine how they’d react to a high caliber athlete such as Griffey spending more time on the DL than on the field? We already see the way they freak out over Giancarlo Stanton, and he has only been here for three seasons with one of those seasons cut short by a freak once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic.

Hell, look at the treatment A-Rod got. People still remember some of those tough playoff appearances he had and hold it over his head. Other than that steroid thing, and every year in the playoffs other than 2009, he was always on the field. Griffey would have ended up being the most eviscerated athlete in New York history. It’s Carl Pavano times a thousand. After Griffey’s fourth straight year of playing under 100 games, George Steinbrenner would have called him Mr. DL.

He wouldn’t even give him a sarcastic month like May the way he did for Dave Winfield. That would mean he was on the field. If in that universe where Griffey signed with the Yankees and didn’t hate them, by the time his tenure was complete, he probably would have when he was done.

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The caveat is that Rob Manfred has the power to impose a schedule that the players must show up for. That is why he was able to make this statement on Wednesday.

Rob Manfred to @karlravechespn: "I'll tell you unequivocally: We will play Major League Baseball this year."

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 10, 2020

Under the two side’s March agreement, the commissioner has the power to mandate any schedule the owners choose and the players must show up — as long as they receive full prorated salary. They want it to be at least 80-ish games but apparently the owners can only afford 50-ish worth of full pay this season.

This blog isn’t about the financials (I wrote that one last week). Instead I wonder if the players would strike, even though it would technically be an “illegal” strike. A “legal” strike (which sounds oxymoronic) is allowed when the two sides are not bound by a CBA. So the next time the players could legally strike is after the 2021 season. But, if Manfred and the owners make players show up for a 50-game schedule with all the complexities of Coronavirus, only to earn about 1/3rd their full pay, would they strike? And if the players strike, would owners dare to use replacement players in 2020? Is that why Manfred can so confidently say they will play Major League Baseball this year?

Podcast – A Brief History: MLB Owners vs Players, The Oldest Rivalry in Sports

Listen to the latest A Brief History podcast covering the full history of the owners vs players 150-year feud.

Strike!

The last time MLB owners employed replacement players was spring 1995, when they almost made it to opening day with scabs. But that wasn’t the first time.

Even though there was no union, a player strike occurred in May 1912. The Detroit Tigers refused to play in protest of what they viewed as an unfair suspension of Ty Cobb — he had gone into the stands to attack a disabled fan who had been heckling him (yeah, Cobb was not a good guy). Fearing a forfeit and $5,000 fine, owner Frank Navin recruited local amateurs to play. These replacements got whooped 24-2 by the Philadelphia Athletics. Cobb’s teammates stuck by him even though they were all fined, but he convinced them to take the field while he finished his suspension.

Jumping ahead to 1994-95 when the players were on strike. Leading up to spring training the two sides were negotiating but not getting very far (sound familiar?). The owners almost imposed a new CBA with a salary cap. In January they backtracked on the idea but instead re-imposed the old CBA terms with a twist: replacement players. Bud Selig said:

We are committed to playing the 1995 season and will do so with the best players willing to play.

The threat of replacement players even got President Clinton involved. He asked that they go back to the bargaining table and make substantial headway toward ending the strike. They didn’t do that, so he threatened to strip baseball of its antitrust exemption if the dispute is not settled — something MLBPA president Donald Fehr attempted to do through Congress prior to the strike. Despite the President’s warning, owners carried on and opened spring training in February with replacement players even though not all were aligned on the issue. For example, Baltimore’s Peter Angelos refused to field a replacement squad.

Replacement Players

Today in baseball we use “replacement player” when discussing something like WAR, which literally means Wins Above Replacement. Aaron Judge’s WAR in 2019 was 5.5 — meaning he was worth 5.5 wins above a replacement level player. Well, not the replacement players who showed up for spring training 1995.

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The “scabs” (i.e. someone who crosses the picket line) were a motley crew. A few had MLB experience, most spent their time on affiliated minor league teams, and some had only played independent ball. As an article in the Los Angeles Times put it, it was “a wacky six weeks of replacement-player ball that was a fantasy camp for participants, an embarrassment to coaches and executives who oversaw it and a gold mine of material for baseball writers.”

The Marlins tried out a truck driver, a carpenter, a high school economics teacher, a junior varsity coach, a rookie league manager and two softball players at shortstop (funny because that could be a 2020 story as well).

The Angels had a replacement pitcher named Bryan Smith who was an active FBI Agent. They also had an outfielder named Jon Fishel who was arrested during the national anthem of a game for failing to pay child support. He spent the night in jail and was back in uniform the next day.

There was even a trade! The Indians traded five players to the Reds for future considerations. Cincy manager Davey Johnson said:

Cleveland definitely got the better end of the deal. They didn’t get anybody.

Johnson’s tone summed up the mood among coaches and fans. It was a charade, and nothing more. Fehr said:

It’s not the uniforms people come to watch. It’s the players.

And he was right. While we all root for laundry, the things wearing the laundry have to be able to hit a curveball and turn a 6-4-3 double play.

There are a few replacement players’ names you’ll recognize: Brendan Donnelly, Kevin Millar, Lou Merloni, Brian Daubach, and Shane Spencer.

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Players were offered $5,000 to cross the picket line and another $5,000 if they made the team. More important than money, they saw it as a realistic path to the major leagues — a dream they all shared. Jeff Grotewold, a 29-year old first baseman and replacement player for the Royals, talked about his feeling at the time.

My intention was not to cross a picket line. My intention was to keep a uniform on my back, continue to play and make a living. I was always the 26th, 27th, 28th guy on the roster, so you do what you can do. The common goal is for your family, and if I’m at home, I can’t support my family.

I get it. Not everyone had a big-money contract or was even a part of the Players Association. A Yankees replacement pitcher, Doug Cinnella, said:

I was all in, looking to do the best for the organization. The Major League Baseball Players Association did nothing for minor-league players.

That was the sad reality then and the reality now, although it has been nice to see David Price and Sean Doolittle go out of their way to help minor league players during the shutdown. Perhaps if that happened back in 1995, “scabs” wouldn’t have taken the field.

MLBPA guys were not happy. They sued owners for violating labor laws and after the strike ended, former replacement players weren’t universally welcomed in the clubhouse. But I wonder if anyone cared when Shane Spencer was hitting 10 home runs in September 1998? Or does anyone mention it to Kevin Millar now, seeing as how he’s now an employee of MLB Network?

Replacement players were also affected off the field. Since they were not a part of the union, they were not allowed to have their names or likeness used in MLBPA-licensed products. That’s why if you played a baseball video game in the late ’90s or early ’00s, those players had fake names.

People close to the situation said the ridiculousness of replacement players led to the end of the strike. They almost made it to opening day, but on March 31 Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a temporary injunction, preventing owners from playing with replacement players. This effectively ended the strike and the players went back to work under the terms of the old CBA, ready to play a 144-game season starting April 27.

They played the next two seasons without a new CBA, but free agency and arbitration was reinstated and players were credited with service time for the strike. Overall, the players came out on top post-strike and in the 1997-2001 agreement. The owners did implement revenue sharing and a luxury tax on the five highest payroll teams, but player salary continued to skyrocket (although not as high as franchise values). This agreement would be the last that the players had the upper hand and even though we’ve had 25 years of labor peace, we might be at a breaking point.

How would scabs be received today?

The general fan reaction to replacement players in 1995 was apathetic. I think there would be outrage today.

Leading up to the 1994 strike, the owners keenly positioned themselves as the good guys. Bud Selig and the owners claimed baseball teams were losing more and more money each year because of increasing player salaries and they projected many teams would be out of business unless a salary cap and revenue sharing system was implemented. While they didn’t provide financial data to back up this claim, they won the public relations battle.

My feeling is that the sentiment is firmly on the player’s side today. Yes, many of them are millionaires. Nobody feels badly for Giancarlo Stanton, who has already earned $115 million in his career (sorry G, just using you as an example). There are also plenty of players who’ve earned a couple mil and are probably doing fine. There are also the many high draft picks who signed million-dollar bonuses just a few years ago.

On the flip side, there are hundreds of players in the union who are pre-arbitration or have yet to receive any significant payday. While they’re still not poor — go look at the thousands of minor league baseball players if you really want to see struggling — they need to earn their salary.

Meanwhile, the average MLB franchise is valued at $1.65 billion (with a B!) and rising. Do I believe 2020 revenues are taking a significant hit without fans? Of course. Disregarding the reality that these uber-successful owners didn’t get there by giving handouts, collectively the owners can handle the hit more than the players can. That is why if the owners show up with replacements in 2020 the public will laugh in their face.

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The feeling is the players are still unsatisfied with the owner’s offer but at least there is still some back and forth between the two groups. There have been rumblings, although very shallow, of a potential player’s strike in the near future. Most of these rumors were based on the escalation of player salaries as well as the dispute over service time for players still on their entry level contracts. However, recent events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have fostered much more angst between the owners and the players leading some observers to conclude that another player’s strike is all but inevitable.

A history of disputes

The last player’s strike was in 1994 but the seeds of that event went back decades earlier. There were lockouts in ’72, ’73, ’76, ’80, ’81, ’85, and ’90 before the last major work stoppage. Only two of those lockouts (’76 and ’81) resulted in missed games. The biggest concern on the owner’s behalf was the need to control rising player salaries. By 1984, about 75% of players testing free agency would end up resigning with their teams via one-year contracts and that year marked the first time that the average MLB salary declined since the advent of free agency in baseball (1976). While it was found that the owners were colluding in the mid-’80s, their efforts to control salaries would continue as they pushed the idea of salary caps, pay-for-performance incentives, and various revenue sharing proposals. All of this was just added pressure to the powder keg that was the relationship between the players and the owner’s in 1994.

The 1994 work stoppage

In 1992 the owners voted to have then MLBPA executive director Donald Fehr resign. The person who lead this course of action was Bud Selig who, around the same time, became the acting commissioner of MLB. This did not go over well with the players and the player’s association. The 1994 season began with a cloud of combativeness above league’s head.

On August 12 that year the players officially went on strike and on September 14, 1994, the season was officially canceled. 950 total regular season games were canceled, as were the playoffs and the World Series for the first time since 1904. It cost owners nearly $600 million in revenue and players about $230 million in salary.

There was still tension (and no agreement) when spring training started in 1995. The owners threatened to use replacement players while the MLBPA held firm in their own stance. The players filed an injunction based on unfair labor practices which was upheld by Sonya Sotomayor, the future Supreme Court justice. This allowed the players the return to their default, pre-strike position until they could reach an agreement with the owners. Despite the 1995 season returning to normal, the players and owners did not reach a new labor agreement until the conclusion of the following season in November 1996.

The Bronx Pinstripes Show put out a great overview of the historic rivalry between the owners and the players today.

What does this mean for the future of baseball today? The owners and players continued fighting over money shows tensions are at their highest point in the last 25 years. The current agreement is set to end on December 1, 2021. There are a number of issues the owners and players are going to need to get together on before that date if they want to continue what will be a 27-year streak of labor peace.

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It’s all about the money

The biggest issue is and will always be money. Since 2003, the owners have seen the average player salary nearly double, going from $2.37 million to $4.45 million at its peak in 2017. Interestingly, the 2019 season marked the second straight year that the average salary actually dropped. It’s only a slight drop but it comes after 13 straight seasons of salary escalation (2005-17).

Looking at 1994, the highest paid player in each league was Bobby Bonilla ($6.3 million) in the National League and Joe Carter ($5.5 million) in the American League. For reference, the top-10 highest player salaries in 2020 range from $31 million (Clayton Kershaw) to $37.7 million (Mike Trout). That works out to a 598% increase between the top earner in 1994 and the top earner in 2020.

Was this growth in salary matched with a growth in franchise value? Yes, and more. The average franchise value in 1994 was $111 million. Today, the average franchise value is $1.87 billion. That’s a 1600% increase in value! There are obviously other factors at play when it comes to managing the revenue of a franchise with regard to player salaries. After all, no one is forcing the owners to sign a player to record contract each year. But there is an argument to be made that the players, as a whole, are underpaid.

Service time

Another point of contention is service time. As of now, a player is under team control for six years (seven if they are held down to start their rookie season). There have been a few recent examples of obvious service time manipulation such as Kris Bryant (2015), Gleyber Torres (2018) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr (2019).

For some players, it’s not as large of an impact at all. Using Torres as an example, he will have the chance to become a free agent at the age of 28. That’s right at the prime age for most players during their careers. For a player like Kris Bryant, who reached the majors at a slightly older age than Torres, he won’t be a free agent until after his age 30 season. The difference between an age 28 free agent and age 30 free agent in terms of salary and years on a potential deal can be humongous.

Here’s another example. Josh Donaldson and Anthony Rendon were two of the premiere players on the market this past offseason. Donaldson was coming off a great year but entering his age 34 season. Rendon, on the other hand, was coming off a career year and only entering his age 30 season. The main factor in their appearance in the same free agent class was that Donaldson became a mainstay in the majors at age 26 and Rendon at age 23. It’s not a perfect comparison because a team isn’t obligated to bring up a player at a certain age. However, part of the reason that Rendon was able to secure 7-year deal worth $245 million was because of his age. Donaldson was only able to secure a 4-year deal worth $92 million, which isn’t a cheap deal, but the point remains that his age limited his options for a bigger payday.

Shortening the season

The current problem that may cause the most strain in this relationship is the length of the season. This season might be an anomaly but it has brought to the forefront a conversation about whether the MLB season should remain at 162 games. There is support on both sides of the argument but this problem also brings in a third party, the fans.

Some people really like the idea of a shorter season because once you get into August, regular season baseball is not only a grind for the players, but for people to watch as well. Now there are some (including myself) that love the 162 game season and the fact that almost every day there is baseball for me to watch. I understand that the more games there are, the less important an individual game is to the team, but that’s not the point of baseball.

The goal of baseball today (and all sports) is to be entertaining. 162 might not be a selling point to the average fan who finds the long season to be a grind, but from my perspective it’s a part of the game that I don’t think I’m ready to give up. Having said that, if it means getting the owners and players back to some form of an agreement then I would be willing to listen to a potential plan of 120 to 140 games in a season.

I’m not the one who has the power to push back on that though. That would be the owners, and the financial bottom line for them is that less games mean less in-stadium revenue. Also keep in mind that if they were to move to a shorter season, everything from ticket prices to hot dogs would become more expensive. It is possible to get into a Yankees game for as little as $15, assuming it’s a mid-week game vs the Orioles, Mariners, or similar subpar team. I’ve made a hobby out of buying random single ticket games throughout the summer and spending no more than $150 total. That will be much harder with higher ticket prices due to a shorter schedule. Another drawback to a more expensive “at the ball park experience” would be that less people can afford to go. If less people can go to the games, you will see a drop in enthusiasm for the sport. It’s really hard to get that enthusiasm back for the general fan once it’s gone. The angst among the fans that was caused by the 1994 strike wasn’t really resolved until the 1998 home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. The good news is that it was the on-field product that drew the fans back in. The bad news is that I’m not sure if baseball has anything similar to that on-field product currently.

This battle is just getting started. The owners and player will continue to trade proposals and use the media to take public shots at one another. We will probably get some form of a mandated 2020 season and 2021 “normal” season, but as far as 2022 is concerned, we should gear up for the first work stoppage in 27 years.

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