Around MLB 2018

[Ronin]

Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) tweeted at 3:48 PM on Wed, Apr 25, 2018:
The Cleveland #Indians officially announce signing of OF Melky Cabrera. He will earn base salary of $1 million in big leagues; 100,000 for 200 plate appearances; $150,000 apiece for 250, 300, 350, 400, 450 and 500 plate appearances. He has a June 1 opt-out clause if not on roster

 

[Ronin]

Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) tweeted at 4:16 PM on Wed, Apr 25, 2018:
Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer now has 68 career 10-strikeout games, just two behind Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, and six behind Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Sam McDowell. #Nats

 

[gimpy]

I really liked him when he was a dback. Couldn't understand why they traded him. I actually wanted the d backs to make him our closer.

 

[Ronin]

. @MLB has had 16 no-hit bids of at least 5 innings this month, with 5 days left. The most for any month last season was 13, according to Zach Lupica of @MLBNetwork.

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[Ronin]

Scott Miller‏Verified account@ScottMillerBbl
Across #MLB, 33% of plate appearances in 2018 have ended in K, BB or HBP. And into today, there have been 389 more strikeouts than hits (6,392-6,003). Talk pace of play all you want, but the lack of putting ball in play has passed epidemic & reached crisis point

 

[BC867]

Scott Miller‏Verified account@ScottMillerBbl
Across #MLB, 33% of plate appearances in 2018 have ended in K, BB or HBP. And into today, there have been 389 more strikeouts than hits (6,392-6,003). Talk pace of play all you want, but the lack of putting ball in play has passed epidemic & reached crisis point

Things like the humidor at Chase Field are only making it worse. I anticipate it will result in more strikeouts which, on average, take more pitches than contact outs.

Because pitchers' ERA's in the 4+ range are commonplace now (compared to decades ago), more strikeouts are a result of trying to help the pitchers.

More strikeouts take more time, but I wonder what the full effect is. For example, so do more walks. While, theoretically, base hits tend to produce more runs scored than walks do.

A lot of calculating and theorizing will go into this problem.

 

[Ronin]

Ken Rosenthal‏Verified account@Ken_Rosenthal 2m2 minutes ago
Ohtani not in Angels’ lineup tonight after suffering mild ankle sprain last night. Pujols DH, Valbuena 1B.

 

[Ronin]

ESPN Stats & Info‏Verified account@ESPNStatsInfo 1m1 minute ago
Miguel Cabrera hit his 465th HR Saturday, moving into a tie with Dave Winfield for 34th on the all-time list.

 

[Ronin]

MLB Stat of the Day‏Verified account@MLBStatoftheDay 2m2 minutes ago
Full steam ahead!

Gerrit Cole has struck out 61 batters in April, tying Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling for the most to start a season since 2002.

 

[Ronin]

ESPN Stats & Info‏Verified account@ESPNStatsInfo 59s60 seconds ago
.@Pirates P Nick Kingham retired the first 20 batters he faced today in his MLB debut.

Via @EliasSports, that's most by a player in his MLB debut in the Expansion Era (since 1961)

 

[Ronin]

MLB‏Verified account@MLB 2m2 minutes ago
Players with 10 HR this season:
@MikeTrout
@DidiG18

And now … Mitch Haniger!

 

[Ronin]

Jake Kaplan‏Verified account@jakemkaplan 45m45 minutes ago
Gerrit Cole finished April with a 1.73 ERA in six starts. He struck out 61 batters and walked only eight in 41 2/3 innings.

 

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

Gary Sanchez reached 60 career HR faster than nearly every player in MLB history (201 games). Only Aaron Judge did it faster (197 games).

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[Ronin]

The #Angels season:
Versus #Yankees & #RedSox: 0-6, outscored 44-8.
Against everyone else: 16-6, with plus-40 run differential.

 

[Ronin]

First game in live-ball era (most likely ever) where Yankees had ≤ 4 hits, struck out 13+ times, and won.

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[Ronin]

Doug Kern‏@dakern74 15h15 hours ago
Jesse Biddle: First Braves relief pitcher to strike out 5+ and record an extra-base hit on offense since Ron Reed (7 IP and a triple!) at NYM, Sep 3 1968.

 

[Ronin]

Jeff Passan‏Verified account@JeffPassan 49m49 minutes ago
The Marlins, Orioles, Padres Rangers, Reds, Royals and White Sox all are on pace to lose 100-plus games. We haven't seen an early-season mess like this in 15 years. And baseball's great divide doesn't look like it's getting better anytime soon. 10 Degrees: https://yhoo.it/2JCZAe4

 

[Ronin]

Bryce Harper looks to end an 11-game stretch without a home run tonight against the Pirates. His last homerless streak of at least 12 games was a 16-game stretch from Sept.-Oct. 2016.

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[Ronin]

On-base percentage leaders:
Rhys Hoskins: .468
Bryce Harper: .457
Joe Mauer: .454
Tommy Pham: .453
Aaron Judge: .449
Trailers
Kole Calhoun: .196
Carlos Gomez: .229
Lewis Brinson: .230
Brandon Crawford: .240
Ian Desmond: .240

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[Ronin]

ESPN Stats & Info‏Verified account@ESPNStatsInfo 35m35 minutes ago
The Red Sox are the fourth team in MLB history to have six grand slams in any calendar month (Expos in April 1996, Indians in May 1999, Mets in July 2006).

 

[Ronin]

Buster Olney‏Verified account@Buster_ESPN 43m43 minutes ago
ELIAS: Padres hitters are on pace for 1,668 K this season. The Phillies are on pace for 1,614, while the Orioles are on track for 1,585. The most strikeouts by a team in a single season is 1,571 by the 2017 Brewers. We have 3 teams on pace to break that record.

 

[Ronin]

Here are some horrific walk-to-strikeout ratios in April: Jake Marisnick (1-34); Kole Calhoun (3-30); Adam Jones (2-26); Marcell Ozuna (3-27); Evan Longoria (3-27); Hunter Pence (2-22); Jonathan Schoop (1-19); Carlos Gomez (5-40); Yoenis Cespedes (8-43). We could go on a while.

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[Ronin]

As ESPN's @SlangsOnSports points out, starters are averaging 5 1/3 IP per outing compared to 5 2/3 last April. And relievers are averaging 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings compared to 8.9 this time a year ago. That hasn't helped matters. (We're talking about you, Josh Hader).

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[Ronin]

The #Padres, #Whitesox, #SFGiants and #Orioles have the worst strikeout-to-walk ratios in the majors. The #Nationals are the best. (Thanks, Bryce Harper).

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