2013 MLB Regular Season running thread

Very happy they stood pat at the deadline. They are loaded for a 5-7 year run, but resigning Pedro is going to be a bitch.

 

I was thinking about this today. In 1938 Hank Greenberg hit 58 home runs with five games left in the regular season. What if Hank Greenberg hits 61 home runs in 1938 surpassing Ruth's 60 home runs? In 1961 Greenberg was just 50 years old. Would Roger Maris been treated differently by the media and fans if Hank Greenberg was the single season home run record holder? I believe that Greenberg would have stepped forward and defended Maris if the media and fans still turned nasty on Maris.

 

The Yankee-Yankee connection probably had a lot to do with it. But if it had been relatively recently set, I don't think it would have generated as much interest. Same with Bonds hit 70-whatever (I honestly can't remember off the top of my head) to pass McGwire.

You know, even among Tiger fans, Greenberg probably ranks behind Ty Cobb and Al Kaline (blessed be his name) in the proverbial pantheon. It's entirely possible his being a Jew had something to do with, but the fact that he lost 4 1/2 seasons of his prime to World War II has much more to do with it. One of the less-recognized legends in comparison to impact in MLB history, no?

 

He broke his wrist in the 1935 World Series, then broke it again in 1936, just 12 games into the season (he had 16 RBI at the time)

So while not exactly war related, he missed time is more to the tune of five and a half years.

At least three thousand at-bats, with a HR rate of 6.4 per one hundred, we could add about 190 homers to his total of 331, so over five hundred is well within reach.

Did you know he was only 36 when he retired after playing with the Pirates in 1947? Bad back? (The Tigers waived him after the 1946 season when he became the first ever player to hit 40 homers with a batting average of below .300 (he hit .277)

Besides just the home runs that he lost out on, think of the runs batted in. He wound up with 1276 in only 6096 plate appearances. That's a better average of RBI per PA than Manny, Foxx, Gehrig, Ruth, Williams, or DiMaggio. Add on the missing years in his prime (and if you don't think he was still in his prime he was after all the reigning American League M.V.P. at the time) and those are some monster totals.

Plus, does anyone believe he wouldn't have a higher batting average as well. It's certainly not unreasonable to believe he would have ended his career with a .320 BA or higher.

Also check out his doubles per PA. Greenberg was an extra base producing machine. No doubt his career .605 SL% (Only Ruth, Williams, Gehrig, Foxx and Bonds are higher in MLB history) would have been even more grandiose.

Greenberg was a volunteer in 1941- before we were even in the war. He was planning to come back in 1942, but then Pearl Harbor happened and it was no longer his decision. For an able bodied young man during WWII though there were only 3 choices - enlist, get drafted or find some civilian defense job that kept you out of the draft. I suppose if you want to penalize Greenberg for missing 1941 because he was ahead of the rest of the country in opposing the Nazi's you could do that, but 42-45 was out of his control. Personally I find Greenberg's early commitment admirable and give him the full credit.

Sorry, kind of went on a tangent here. He just had a fascinating career/life.

 

I was there at Wrigley for two of those games in '88. It actually turned out to be a six-game series; the Saturday game was called a tie because of rain and was replayed on Sunday. The tie game counted in the books.

 

Yu Darvish has eight K's through three innings.

 

My algebra indicates that 8 over 3 = X over 9 would work out to X=24.

Would love to see that algebra but will anyone strike out 24 in 9 in our lifetime?

 

Yu is at 10 Ks through four. Halfway to Kerry Wood.

But he is also at 71 pitches, so ....

 

Easy to get around if you don't have to walk up all those damn hills.

 

No one has struck out 24 in 9 in anyone's lifetime (in MLB anyway).

 

14 thru 6 for Darvish.

 

He's at 98 pitches thru 6, so I doubt he challenges Clemens, Wood & the Unit.