All the Madness!
(in a good way)
All-Star Madness
When MLB released the starters for this year’s All-Star game on Wednesday night, we knew we were going to get some good news…it was just a matter of how good.
The Padres had four finalists and ended up with two elected starters—Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis, Jr., who will make up 2/3 of the starting OF for the National League.
With Fernando’s injury, of course, he’s not likely to play, but still he becomes just the third Padre OF to ever be elected as a starter (Gwynn & Winfield) and the first guy EVER to be voted a starter as both a SS and an OF.
In addition, the Padres had two starters elected for the first time since 1997 (Gwynn & Caminiti).
Profar’s story, though, may be bigger than all of that. Even if the game weren’t in Arlington, where he began his career, his comeback story would be pretty remarkable…but the fact that the game will be next door to the stadium he debuted at and hosted by the team he came up with really ties the thing together in a very special way.
The Pads should end up with at least another All-Star or few (Robert Suarez is a no-brainer) when the full teams are announced on Sunday afternoon.
Merrill Madness
Congrats to CF Jackson Merrill, who was announced this week as the National League’s Rookie of the Month for June.
To say it was well-earned would be putting it gently.
Merrill hit .320 with 9 HRs, 20 RBIs and seven doubles in 28 June games; far and away his most productive month as a big leaguer.
Beyond that, he capped it off with an insane series at Fenway to end the month. He went 7-14 with two homers and two doubles in the first games he ever played at the home of his childhood team.
Dreams do come true, I guess. Just wow.
Meanwhile, very nice story on Jackson from David Laurila of Fangraphs if you want to get into some of the talk about his power potential moving forward. They caught up in Boston last weekend and Jackson had some really insightful things to say. One quick passage to share, but the whole thing is definitely worth your time.
“It’s not trying to force extra power, it’s just kind of getting adjusted to the pitching and letting it come naturally,” said Merrill, who proceeded to punish Red Sox pitching to the tune of 15 total bases over three games. “When I first got up here, I was still getting accustomed to everything, and getting my timing and my pitch selection right. The power comes naturally when you get your swing feeling good and are putting the barrel on the ball more.”
Ballpark Madness
As I posted on social media, the Tuesday game at Globe Life Field in Arlington completed the ballpark cycle for me. That is to say I have now called a game at all 30 current parks.
Not that I’ve kept an actual list, but I also had the chance to work regular season games at the old place in Miami, Turner Field in Atlanta, the old place in Arlington, the games in Seoul this past March, plus games in both Mexico City and Monterrey, MX. So unofficially, that’s 36 different ballparks in which I’ve had the chance to call a Major League game, which, as a kid who grew up literally wanting to do nothing but this, is very cool.
Of course, next year, with the A’s (presumably) playing in Sacramento, a spot will open up on the to-do list. Nothing wrong with having another box to check.
I’m a very lucky guy.
Bunch more Fenway stuff over on Instagram.
Question Madness
Last week’s call for q&a material elicited a very strong response, which I appreciate. So here are a few…
Brinn: Keeping the score for extra innings, what do you label the Automatic (Ghost) runner? I have been using "AR"
Jesse: Great question. When the new rule was put in place a few years ago, I read somewhere official that the runner would technically be placed on second base via fielder’s choice, so I have always labeled it as “FC,” which of course looks a little weird, but once you start doing something like that, it takes a lot to change.
The great thing about keeping score, of course, is that it’s an ultimate example of “whatever works for you.” The reality is, so long as I know what I mean by my little notations, that’s all that matters, even if Brinn looking at my book would be lost and confused. And vice versa, of course. So let your “AR” flag fly all you want.
Kevin: I noticed you like to predict how many rows back foul balls land. I love the visual aid as a listener, but when I am watching a national broadcast on TV and listening to the radio, I’ve noticed that you’re also pretty good at it. “13 rows back” is pretty tough to estimate on the fly and, pausing to count, you are usually on or close. Have you ever done an analysis on your own accuracy? Is there an intern that you can force to generate this data for us?
Jesse: First of all, this is one of my favorite bits, and it’s been fun as more and more people have taken note of it the last few years. For those unaware, a lot of the time when there’s a foul ball hit into the seats, I will mention a very specific row in which the ball landed. Obviously an inexact science…as Kevin points out…not enough time to actually count on the fly. But I do try and make it as much of an educated guess as possible.
For example, last weekend at Fenway, I took the time to count that there were 15 (I think it was 15, already forgot) rows in the lower box seat section. So if one came down there, I had a pretty good starting point. Further, if a ball came back in the lower grandstand behind that, I knew it would be row 16+.
Now, do I count at every place? I do not. But it’s a fun little game to play and I like to think I have a pretty good feel for it. The best ones, of course are like 25+, because it’s just sort of laughable to drop “ball lands in the 34th row behind the rolled up tarp,” or whatever.
Thanks to Kevin for noticing and taking the time to check my work lol.
Mitch: Hello sir. I always enjoy your newsletter and especially the job you do on the radio for the Padres. Two simple questions for you. (I hope). Is there any preparation or process involved when you do your weekly incorporator word for the game? Does Tony (or any other substitute radio partner) know what is going on when you use your designated incorporator word? I would love to hear the process on this.
Jesse: Thanks for the nice words, Mitch. Another little bit of inside-baseball here. Every Tuesday during the season, I make an appearance on Ben & Woods on our flagship radio station, 97.3 The Fan. And as part of the conversation, they give me a word that I have to sneak into the broadcast that night.
For instance, this past Tuesday in Arlington, the word was nudiustertian, which is an adjective referring to the day before yesterday.
Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
As for Mitch’s question, most Tuesdays when they give me the word, I have an idea pop into my head as to how I want to use it. Sometimes it works out that way, oftentimes not. If I’m being totally honest, I usually forget about the word until like the 7th or 8th inning and then kinda scramble to get it in. But that’s all part of the thrill.
Self-Promotion Madness
Buried this on purpose, because I really don’t love “me” stuff and it makes me really uncomfortable, but much thanks to Jay Posner of the U-T for this “me” piece that came out on Wednesday.
Jay reached out earlier this season and said he wanted to tell the story of how the heck I ended up here and he might have gotten more than he asked for, but did a truly remarkable job telling the story. I very much appreciate the care and sincerity he put into it. Weird to read your own life’s journey in narrative form, but if you’ve ever wondered how this particular goofball ended up working for your favorite team, well, here ya go.
Hope everyone had a great 4th of July…one big homestand to go before the All-Star Break. D-backs this weekend, Mariners Tues/Weds and then Braves next weekend before we rest.
Talk soon..