Remember Me?
Hi there! Been a bit, I know. Apologies. I had intended to send out a newsletter when we were in Minneapolis earlier this month, but I had some family stuff come up and have kind of been in catch-up mode ever since.
Anyway, here we are.
I figure there’s no place to start this morning than with Padres IF Rougned Odor, who I think you could argue has had three potentially season-saving swings in the course of a five-day stretch through yesterday in DC.
Sunday vs BOS: In the bottom of the 1st inning against a struggling Corey Kluber, the Padres had gotten a run thanks to three walks and an error. The bases were loaded. There were two outs. We had seen this situation before. And more often than not this year, it seemed as if the one run was all the Padres would get. Odor had other plans, though, as he swatted a bases-clearing double to give the Padres a 4-0 lead. They would go on to win 7-0. I could almost feel the weight lifted off the shoulders of the guys in the dugout from all the way up in the booth at Petco.
5th inning yesterday: With the Padres ahead 3-1, they had already scored one run in an inning that really set up to be a crooked number. But with two outs, all the recent struggles w/RISP were on the front of everyone’s mind. Then Odor delivered a 2-run double that made it 5-1 and ensured that they got what was needed out of the inning and wouldn’t be back in that all-too-familiar position of late. Like the hit on Sunday, it seemed to bring a major sense of relief.
9th inning yesterday: His 3-run home run turned a 6-5 deficit into an 8-6 lead with the Padres down to their final out. The most dramatic and obvious of his big moments, it allowed Josh Hader to come on and overpower the Nats in the bottom of the 9th to seal what feels like something of a potentially season-saving win.
Odor has turned into something of a Captain Clutch for the Padres and just in the nick of time.
Yesterday in DC, of course, he wasn’t alone. Brandon Dixon’s mid-AB pinch hit opportunity in the 2nd turned into a single that set up Trent Grisham’s 2-run homer, and please don’t forget the great defensive play made by Brett Sullivan in the bottom of the 7th that ended an inning that felt like it would never end. Not only did that keep the new deficit at 1-run, but a nightmare inning actually ended on a high note and we could see the energy immediately zap back into the Padres dugout after his lunging tag of Alex Call at home plate. And then in the bottom of the 8th, Drew Carlton went out and tossed a 1-2-3 inning that set up the comeback in the 9th. He ended up getting the win, his first ever in the Big Leagues.
On a day in which the Padres were uncharacteristically sloppy in the field and on the rare afternoon when the bullpen faltered a bit, those guys picked everyone up and helped the team collect a much-needed series win.
Speaking of the Nats
With the Padres’ slower-than-expected start this year and the trip to DC this week, it was only natural to bring up the 2019 Nationals team that won the World Series. As you may recall, after 50 games, they were 19-31.
Yesterday’s win came in the 50th game of this season, as the Padres improved their record to 23-27, four games better than the pace of that Washington team. The 2019 Nats began to turn it around on 5/24/19. We’ll see if 5/25/23 turns out to be the start of better times for the Padres.
Speaking of DC…
Like this year, we had an off-day in DC last season. I took a nice long run towards the Lincoln Memorial, checked out the MLK Memorial for the first time and did some other Washington-y type things that I love. For someone as fascinated by history as I am, it’s obviously about as good of a place as there is to have a day off.
Through the years, it feels like I’ve hit almost every museum and tour imaginable, with one glaring exception: The White House.
I forget exactly how it came together, but when we were here last time, a displaced Padre fan who lives in the area reached out and mentioned if I ever wanted to do the White House tour, to let her know.
Well, some months later, we made it happen, and the whole experience was even more incredible than I imagined.
Huge thank you to Tess, Brad, and Tess’s dad, who were wonderful company as we made our way through the East Wing of the White House. Brad also provided incredible historical detail that really added to the experience.
Our conversations sort of oscillated back and forth from the White House to baseball and I drew the comparison of walking these halls to being at Wrigley Field, for example. Just that sense of wonder as you look around and realize the people who stood in those spots before you.
A most wonderful time and thank you to them again. More pics below:
And Now…
The Yankees.
Always neat to come here, really is. The new Stadium doesn’t necessarily have all the feels of the previous iteration, but it’s still The Bronx, it’s still loud, and it’s still pinstripes. If you’re a baseball geek as I am—and as I assume most of you are—it’s a special place.
It also has—and this doesn’t impact any of you at all—one of the best broadcast booth situations in all of baseball. Maybe even THE best. It’s down low and spacious and just steps from an unbelievably well-stocked media dining area. And after dangling on the roof of Nationals Park for the last three days, that’s a welcome change.
Tony and I were joking about this with Don and Mud after the game yesterday and we kind of all realized the AL East is probably the best “booth division” in MLB. Baltimore and New York are two of the best in the league, TB and Toronto both play in older facilities that get you down nice and close, and while I still haven’t gotten to broadcast a game at Fenway, I’ve heard great things (plus, it’s Fenway!).
Quick and dirty broadcast booth rankings1:
AL East…see above.
NL West…Our booth at Petco is phenomenal, LA is cramped but very well located, AZ is a great location and set up, SF amazing view and COL also pretty well situated and comfortable.
AL West…I’ve heard the new Rangers park is notttt great, but I haven’t been there yet. The others all have fantastic locations.
AL Central…Rock solid all around, no major opinions one way or the other.
NL Central…Pittsburgh is high, but has a great view; Wrigley is cramped, but has a great view; St. Louis fine, Cincinnati fine, Milwaukee really good.
NL East…Nats and Braves both wayyyy high, Mets has an obstructed view, Philly solid, Marlins nice and spacious, but a bit up the first base line—hard to see balls and strikes.
Tonight’s game, btw, is on AppleTV+, so remember there’s an option on your TV (or iPad) to select the radio audio…or at least there was the last time we had an Apple game. Tony and Jesse would be more than happy for you to join us.
Mt. Everest Follow-Up
I know this feels like forever ago, but last newsletter, I relayed the following question from Jeremy:
Has there ever been a Major League pitcher who has climbed the equivalent of Mt. Everest (29,029’) simply by going up and down the mound during their entire pitching career?
I solicited reader assistance, since I’m a math moron and received several compelling, though conflicting replies. The one that I felt was maybe the most convincing is below—from a reader named “GoPadres192,” but let’s treat this like a peer review project. Please let me know if you’re buying what he’s selling:
Alright, let’s use Java Joe as a first example for this one. Also, this will only account for pitchers going UP the mound, rather than both up and down. Going for positive elevation here. Also also, this won’t account for situations like pitchers backing up the catcher on a throw home, fielding plays, or bench clearing brawls. For that last one, I’m sure that Hunter Strickland gets 10 inches added on to his total.
Joe has pitched 867.1 innings in his career, all of which (obviously) happened after the mound became 10” high. So, if we do that math:
867.1 x 10
We get 8,671, which would be 8,671 inches climbed by Musgrove in his career. A little short of the 29,029.
From this formula however, which would be
IP x 10
We would have to find a pitcher who has pitched 2,902.9 (let’s round it to 2,903) innings in his career, preferably after the mound was changed.
Taking a quick trip to good ol Baseball Reference, we can see many, MANY pitchers who have pitched above that IP baseline, but on the list, there are only two current players.
The two current players who have climbed the height of Mount Everest simply by going up the mound…. are Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke. That’s certainly something to put on the HOF plaque.
So again, if you’re smarter than I am, please let me know what you think. And we’ll get back to fresh questions next time!
These are my opinions only and please don’t take any of these as a complaints. The fact that I get to live my dream and see every ballpark and get paid to talk about games is the most wondrous thing in the world. But people are always asking about booths, so here ya go.
BTW, every time someone subscribes to the newsletter, I get a notification. Part of that message includes the e-mail address of the person who subscribed. My rough estimate is that 75% of you have the number 19 somewhere in your e-mail address, which is both not surprising and also so wonderful.