The Sunday Baseball Notes Column
Billy-Ball has a little something for everyone
We all have baseball heroes. Growing up, mine was Mickey Mantle. I loved The Mick and everything he did (little did I know). As time went on, my heroes came and went as players on the field are wont to do. But for a number of decades now, my baseball heroes have become less transient because they are the men and women who do their work off the field. I’m referring primarily to the members of the media. The more the writers and broadcasters do, the more my admiration grows. Over time, you will read more from me on many of them in these columns, but in this inaugural Sunday Notes column, I want to hail two of them.
Peter Gammons, who celebrated his 80th birthday on April 9, and whom I worked with on gammonsdaily.com, created the Sunday Baseball Notes column. His is a legend’s legend.
And Nick Cafardo, who gave me the honor of contributing to his version of the Boston Globe’s Sunday Baseball Notes column. Nick introduced me to many of his colleagues and opened many doors for me. I learned so much from him, and I miss his presence in my work and my life.
Many around the country and the Globe write Sunday Baseball Notes columns, but we are all just wannabes compared to these two greats.
LET’S GET GET TO WORK
Last night, the Dodgers were losing 1-0 to the Cubs, going to the top of the 6th. By the time the game ended, the 16-0 loss marked the worst home shutout loss in Dodger franchise history.
The Dodgers have been blanked by scores of at least 16-0 five times in franchise history.
Last night, the Cubs had two two-out RBIs, which added to their MLB-leading total of 48. The Yankees are next with 34. The Rockies, Pirates, and Mets have scored just 14 runs with two down.
I can almost understand the Mariners hitting a major league worst .152 with runners in scoring position. The Mets hitting .154 is inexplicable. Juan Soto is 0-9 with RISP, and Mark Vientos is 1-18. Those numbers will likely change quickly as ascension to the mean takes place.
The Braves entered play on Saturday 3-10 and tied with the Rockies and White Sox for the worst record in baseball. In the first month of the season last year, the Braves were 19-9. In the first month of 2023, they were 18-9. In 2022, they were 10-12. They need to go 9-2 the rest of the month to reach that level. They are now 1-0 in their quest, picking up their first road win of the season yesterday.
The Red Sox have now lost all seven games that Richard Fitts has started in his career despite a 2.39 ERA. After yesterday’s walkoff loss to the White Sox, Boston has scored a total of 15 runs in his seven starts. Adding injury to insult, Fitts is on his way to an MRI today for his shoulder.
Meanwhile, the White Sox have their first two-game winning streak of the season. Last season, the Pale Hose had one four-game winning streak and five three-game winning streaks.
Prior to this season, Tommy Edman never had more than four homers in the first month of the season (2023). He now has six and plenty of games left.
If I had to pick a Cy Young favorite today, I would go with Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers have a formidable staff, but thus far, Yoshi has shown that he has formidable stuff. In 22.0 IP, he has allowed 13 hits and struck out 28, which leads the majors. He has allowed three runs and has a 1.23 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. My biggest concern is his 8.4% walk rate. While his seven walks have not cost him at this point, he has thrown 363 pitches, the most in the majors, and that has limited him to 5.2 IP in the four games he has pitched.
It’s time to start paying attention to the NBA. Whether you call it the regular season or the months-long preseason, postseason basketball, with its better play and shortened benches, begins next week. Good thing I always have the legendary Bob Ryan on speed-dial.
Dodgers and Red Sox outfielders lead the majors with six assists.
I know every team plays every other team, and interleague play is almost a misnomer at this point, but so far the Yankees have only played three games against the American League.
WHAT MOVIE IS THIS FROM?
(ANSWER BELOW)
The last time the San Francisco Giants had an above .500 record in the opening month(s) of the season was in 2022, when they went 14-7 (.667). Last season, they went 14-16 (.467).
Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. has worked this weekend as a photographer for Masters.com. “I'm not here to take anybody's job, but I am here to learn about as much as I can about sports photography as well as the history of the Masters," Griffey said. “To be able to sit here and really soak it in for four or five days has really been absolutely unbelievable.” His old Mariners teammate Randy Johnson is a terrific photographer. Take a look at his website: https://rj51photos.com/.
If you haven’t noticed, the 12-3 Padres have a better record than any team in the major leagues. The Padres of 1998 had their team’s best first month of the season when they went 19-7 (.731). Only 15 Padres teams (out of 56) had more than 12 wins in April/March.
Robert Suarez, the Padres closer, already has seven saves. He had four of them last week. Speaking of saves, the Orioles picked up their first on the season last night. A phrase not applicable to the White Sox or the Twins, who have no saves as of yet.
This is odd: It’s not such a big deal that the Rays have not permitted any inherited runners to score as of yet. What’s peculiar is that Rays pitchers have bequeathed only three baserunners.
Last week, Luis Robert Jr. stole five bases, giving him six on the year, and Jake Myers stole five bases, giving him five on the year.
Rafael Devers has struck out 23 times in 16 games this season. It took him 24 games last year to have 23 Ks.
Shohei Ohtani has hit four homers, but he only has six XBH and five RBI.
There are two Max Muncys this season. The veteran plays for the Dodgers, the youngster plays for the A’s. Here’s how they are doing:
Baseball is still mourning the loss of one of its favorites: Octavio Dotel. Three players hit three homers off Dotel: Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Gary Sheffield. What do those three have in common besides the homers? I hope it makes you feel better knowing that he struck out Sosa 13 times.
The weather has been cold and nasty in the New York area. Polar Bear weather. Pete Alonso is off to a great start, hitting .347. He is hitting .406 off starting pitchers with a 1.205 OPS and an unsustainable .458 BABIP.
No Cardinals, Phillies, or Rays infielder has made a throwing error yet this season. Red Sox infielders have made six.
That’s all for today. Here’s how you can help. This newsletter, which will start appearing at least three times per week, will start to be my source of income. I’m hoping to set up a paid version of this shortly. I would appreciate any feedback of any sort so that I can make it a success. If you are a subscriber, my goal is to keep your subscription free for now, if I can figure out how to do that. I hope to have a tiered paid system to keep you and me happy. Let’s see how it works out.
Be healthy, have fun, and learn a lot.
Bill
MOVIE ANSWER
That’s Spike Lee on the left, wearing a classic Jackie Robinson uni, and Danny Aiello. two of the stars of Lee’s brilliant “Do the Right Thing.”