Welcome to the Valley
Hello from Peoria, Arizona. It’s happening. It’s really happening.
I had originally planned on sending this newsletter out yesterday morning before boarding my flight to Phoenix, but I decided to wait for the Wacha news to go official (see below).
I’m not entirely sure when the next newsletter will come out—it may not be until late next week before the first game. But I’ll still be churning away on Twitter and Instagram, so if you’re desperate for some Spring Training content, you’ll be well covered.
As I’ve previously written, I really do consider this such a special chunk of the baseball calendar. Can it compare to what we experienced last October? Probably not…let’s call that apples/oranges…but boy is it a tremendous amount of fun.
Rotation Reinforced
This morning the Padres announced they had agreed to terms with free agent RHP Michael Wacha.
Ya know that cliché about never having enough pitching? It’s true. And if you’ve paid attention to the last three seasons for the Padres, you’ve become acutely aware of just how true. Anytime I’m on a radio show or a podcast or anything else during the offseason, one of the hosts will inevitably ask what I’d like to see the Padres do in terms of moves, I always have some version of the same answer: mas pitching, please.
As you can probably guess, then, this Wacha news get a big, Texas-sized thumbs up. He’s coming off a super-solid 2022 with the Red Sox and most importantly, he provides starting pitching depth. Does this mean the Padres will definitely use a six-man rotation (as is many peoples’ preference) to start 2023? No…stuff can happen, guys can get hurt, etc. But it becomes that much more likely with another big league arm added to the mix.
Wacha said that at the end of the day it was a pretty easy decision to sign with the Padres. He, like everyone else in the room, is in ring-chasing mode, and it certainly seems like he is very comfortable with the expectations that hover over this team.
By the way, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if there was another move made. Or two. That’s just how AJP rolls.
Dept. of Perspective
With all the talk about how fun this time of year is, there’s another side of it all that is probably worth mentioning every now and again.
For every baseball dream that is made this Spring, there will be many more that are delayed, derailed, or terminated.
I met a free agent pitcher yesterday. A guy, who I’m not going to name, but who has had a cup of coffee in the big leagues, and who has pitched in a handful of different organizations since he was drafted out of college. We met because he was driving the Uber that picked me up from the airport.
This guy has been through every challenge you can imagine as a professional baseball player: injuries big and small, being a Rule 5 pick, being released, being traded, all of it. And he’s out there working his tail off to try and get another crack at it. Couldn’t have been a nicer guy. I’ll be keeping track of him and pulling for him for however long his career goes. And of course, he’s not alone.
It’s a story—or at least a version of it—that’s familiar to most everyone in baseball. And for all of us, a good reminder that the Mannys of the world are the ultimate exceptions. There are so many other guys grinding it out, trying to make it, and pushing through so many challenges in order to keep chasing the dream. I know I’ll be keeping them all in mind this spring.
(More) New Rules
By now, we all likely know about the “big” rule changes coming to MLB in 2023:
Pitch Timer (15 seconds with bases empty; 20 with men on)
Shift Restrictions (two defenders on each side of second base, no playing on OF grass)
Bigger bases (shortens the distances between the bases, much safer).
I’ll have mucccccch more to write about those as we get closer to Opening Day (or at some point if/when Spring Training slows down).
On Monday, however, two other potential rule notes were reported (though not yet officially announced by MLB):
The “automatic runner” rule for extra innings will become permanent.
Born out of the pandemic and continued after the lockout last year, all extra innings will begin with a runner on second base. Call him a Ghost Runner or a Manfred Man, whatever you like. I could probably write 10,000 words on this, so I’ll try and be as succinct as I can here. Personally, I like this rule. I think most (all?) managers, GMs and players like it as well. Does that make it a good rule, though? Definitely debatable. Is it weird having different rules for the regular season and postseason? Meh. That’s the case in football and hockey, so it doesn’t shock my system. The better argument is that weirdly long extra inning games are just sort of…fun. If you’ve ever been one of those 500 people left at 1 in the morning as the 14th inning stretch is being played, you know what I mean. But fun doesn’t mean practical and there are myriad practical reasons for trying to limit games like that. They can destroy pitching staffs for days (or more) on end and let’s be real, the season is already quite long. The rule, btw, has done its job: in 2019, there were 37 games that went 13 or more innings. Last year? Just 11.
There are new and stricter restrictions on position players pitching.
I’m really glad about this. For most of the last couple of decades, a position player coming in to pitch was so rare it really was something of a treat for staying tuned into a blowout. But then, teams realized that it was actually a good strategy insofar as they could save their pitching staffs. In the last 10 years or so, it has steadily become less rare and thus less quirky and fun. And frankly, in this guy’s opinion, somewhat annoying at times. So! The new rule: before extra innings, a team that is winning can only use a position player to pitch in the 9th inning…and they have to be up by 10 or more runs. A team that is behind by eight or more runs can use a position player to pitch at any point. In extra innings, there are no restrictions. Good rule. I have no notes at this time.
MLB also clarified some things about balks and illegal pitches this week
This one isn’t as sexy as some of the others, but the league basically said it would be cracking down on pitching deliveries that are against the rules. With a man on, they will be calling balks and with the bases empty, an automatic ball. Am I anticipating a record number of balks called this Spring? I am. Do I know what that record is? I do not. What is an illegal delivery you ask? Why there are many types! And instead of me breaking it down here, you can read two excellent explanations. The first from Jeff Passan of ESPN and the other from The Athletic (subscription required).
Job Posting
The Padres’s team photographer, Matt Thomas, is a really, really talented person and great dude. And now if you’re a photog (or you know one), you have a chance to work alongside him in 2023. Talk about having one of the best seats in the house to what promises to be an exhilarating season.
Questions
I might have to rename the Q&A section of this newsletter in honor of reader John F. who has sent in a handful of questions, all of which are stellar. We’ll knock out one of them here today:
Q: The Padres up till [recently] were a mediocre team and often fought for 3rd place in the division. During those bad years, how did you make it through the grind of the season and keep a positive attitude to each broadcast? Any tips that could be transferred to just living life?
A: I could probably write a book on this. As could anyone who has spent any time being around or covering a team that struggles for any length of time.
Let me start here, though: this job, even on its most “difficult” days, is still all I’ve ever dreamed of doing. And when things were tough, the losing didn’t really bother me in any sort of substantial way. I wasn’t thinking to myself “Man, I really need to try and get a job with a winning team!” or anything like that.
Long time ago, I got a piece of advice once from a TV guy I’ve known forever—he spent many years working for a club that was rarely good—and he said, in essence, that he likes to treat every game as its own, little, unique package. What happened last night doesn’t matter; what may happen tomorrow doesn’t matter. Just focus on tonight. I don’t know that I ever totally followed that, but I think there’s something there in terms of not driving yourself crazy.
He was onto something, though. In baseball, it’s probably easier to focus on the “now” than in any other sport, right? Even a terrible team is going to win 60 games. So on any given night there’s a decent-enough chance you’ll have something to celebrate.
At the end of the day for me, I just thoroughly enjoy baseball. I’ve never had to feign excitement…the enthusiasm you heard for Christian Villanueva really does come from the same place as the enthusiasm you hear for Manny Machado. Is the whole thing different now? Of course. Is it more fun to broadcast a 90-win team than a 90-loss team? Obviously. But for me at least, the difference is probably less than you would think. I really enjoy this sport and this job that much.
If you’d like to submit a question for a future newsletter, we now have a fancy gold button to do so. And I’m 85% sure it works, too:
Know Java Joe ☕️
One of the things I have taken to saying about Joe Musgrove is that he’s got an uncommon ability, as a starting pitcher, to be a team leader. It’s not normally a role that starters slide into…they are very much about their own prep and routines and obviously only take the field once or twice a week. Joe, as I’m sure many of you know, is just…different.
And this week in the U-T, Kevin Acee did a stellar job of illustrating so much of what makes Joe the man he is.
One thing I learned? Joe was invited to pitch for Team USA in this year’s World Baseball Classic…and turned it down. He said as much of a thrill as that would be, it didn’t feel right to do so in the first year of a new contract. That’s Joe in a nutshell, I believe.
Check out the story for sure if you haven’t already.
And Lastly
I enjoy nonsense like this in a very serious way:
Some fun Padre connections here:
Two current Pads are on the list: Nelson Cruz & Xander Bogaerts
Obviously neither has yet to hit a home run as a Padre.
Two former Padres are also first-name home run leaders: Gary Sheffield & Quilvio Veras
It should probably go without saying that Veras is the best name on this entire list. 15 of his 32 HRs came as a Padre (he also had nine as a Marlin and eight as a Brave). Coincidentally, his last-career HR came as a visitor at Qualcomm while playing for the Braves…he got this Bobby Jones in May of 2001.
Sheff, meanwhile, hit 43 of his 509 during parts of two seasons as a Pad.
Thanks again for signing up and reading! Feel free to forward to any friends or family you think may enjoy it. Talk soon…