The 2023 Running Baseball Thread

Cat fud, yo.

 

Magic number = 7.

 

I don't know the ins and outs of Steiner vs. John Sterling in New York, but I know us Yankees fans seriously lost that battle, with Charley departing after just a few years in the Yankees' booth in the early aughts and Suzyn moving up out of the clubhouse and into the booth. Charley was (is) so good. Sterling is a future Frick HOFer just for sheer longevity, notwithstanding his utter ineptitude for the last 20 years or so, but Charley is actually a competent and enjoyable listen.

 

I've heard that Steiner is good, but he was terrible for the Yankees. IDK if it's because he hated Sterling or was mailing it in or what, but I remember being shocked at how bad he was.
For at least 40 years the Mets have consistently had top notch announcers while the Yankees have had varying degrees of not. I rarely have been jealous of my Mets fan friends for their team or leadership (this year is an exception), but I have always envied their broadcasters.

 

To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of Phil Rizzuto. But he was Scully compared to who has been at the mic since.

 

Today's Immaculate Grid got me thinking about the 3K strikeout mark and how that might be as tough to achieve here as 300 wins going forward thanks to all of the bullpen specialization. Here are the ones on the doorstep:

Probable
Zack Greinke (age 39) 2972
Clayton Kershaw (35) 2934

And some further down the list...
Nope
Adam Wainwright (41) 2202, retiring at the end of the year
Chris Sale (34) 2180, no way he stays healthy enough to threaten it
Jacob deGrom (35) 1652, see above

Maybe?
Gerrit Cole (32) 2138

That's all I can find.

 

Greinke's not going to get there. He's been terrible this year and he of all people doesn't care about stuff like that. I assume he's going to retire since he's a free agent

 

Speaking as a Midwesterner, I concur. Mets radio is top notch, the best of the East Coast teams by a wide margin. Howie Rose is fantastic. Mets TV is also very good. They might have the best combination of both.

They are one of just a few radio broadcasts that are worth listening to whether you're a fan or not. I'd put the Mets, Blue Jays, Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants in that rarefied air, and of course, the Brewers too. Twins aren't bad either.

Reds and Padres used to be in this group, but they fell off with the retirement of long-time voices. I would put Cleveland's Tom Hamilton in there, who is generally pretty good when normal stuff is happening, but his cartoonish over-excitement docks him a notch for annoyance.

Then there's some clubs that are inexplicably terrible, like the Yankees, who are unlistenable dreck.

 

Weak:

 

As Guy noted, Steiner & Sterling HATED each other. Sterling is the Al Michaels of the Yankees booth: He doesn't work well with anyone b/c it's his territory and don't you forget it. Don't be deluded by the Ma & Pa Pinstripes schtick, Suzyn & Sterling have little use for one another outside the booth. I always liked Steiner here, but that may have been as much my annoyance with Sterling and my fond memories of Steiner on ESPN as anything he did in the booth. He's A-OK in my book for having the dumb luck of being in the booth and calling Aaron Boone's walk-off in 2003. That pissed off Sterling to no end so of course he barged in there to yell his trademark phrase, which Steiner said along with him. Thus, Steiner rules.

 

Another Cubs collapse.

This season was maddening at first, then ecstatic, now demoralizing to finish. They are so gassed.

I'll be rooting for the Orioles or Rays to win it all.

 

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game, set, match