Mack’s Apples - Drew Mendoza, What To Do Now, Japanese-American Baseball, Racist Remarks, Daniel Murphy

MLB Draft 2019  -

         

   Drew Mendoza, 3B, Florida State

As a freshman at Florida State in 2017, Mendoza batted .270 with 10 home runs en route to garnering Freshman All-American honors from both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America, as well as earning a spot on the ACC All-Freshman team. The year also put Mendoza, who was previously drafted in the 36th round of the 2016 draft by the Detroit Tigers, on the radar of scouts as a potential first-round pick in 2019. He did nothing to dispel that notion as a sophomore, as he batted .313 on the year with seven home runs and a slugging percentage near .500, earning him Third Team All-ACC accolades. Though he may not be able to stay at third base as a professional, as he led Florida State in errors this season, his bat and 6-5 frame will likely carry him past that obstacle. Scouts really like his power from the left-hand side of the plate and, though he strikes out a fair amount, think his approach plays well into his skill set.  He’s playing for the Y-D Red Sox this summer in the Cape Cod League and a good showing against the best talent in the country will help solidify Mendoza at the top of next year’s class.

Mets Respond To Standing Pat With Historic Loss. What To Do Now? –

       

    Tuesday’s 4PM trade deadline came and went without the Mets making any deals. A little past 7PM, one of their heavily rumored trade targets, Steven Matz, was on the mound at Nationals Park, still clad in his familiar blue and gray. A short time later, he was headed for the showers after retiring two of 12 Washington hitters and giving up seven runs. By the end of the second inning, the score was 10-0. By the end of the fifth, it was 19-0. By the seventh, announcers Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling were ignoring the game and entertaining viewers with “Media Guide Musings,” reading aloud a passage that chronicled better times - the 1969 postseason – set to music.

Exhibit celebrates deep roots of Japanese, American baseball -

         

  Perhaps the most significant piece for Berenbak is the ticket to the 1934 tour of Japan by the American All-Stars — including Babe Ruth — a trip that helped prompt the origins of professional baseball in Japan. The tours continued up until World War II, and picked up again afterward.

In fact, much of the material from the Prange collection comes from the occupation period in the late ’40s. But the baseball exchange between the countries had existed long before then.

Baseball players' racist tweets are not the whole story –

        

   Major League Baseball is white rural America, only it doesn't want you to think so.

That's why, in the recent aftermath of three ballplayers having their past racist and homophobic tweets from 2011 and 2012 uncovered, Major League Baseball rushed in with sponges and Clorox bleach -- anxious (desperate, really) to show the world that the thoughts of Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb, Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner and Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader do not represent the so-called national pastime.

Who plays second base murphy-walker-cabrera/ for the 2019 New York Mets? –

      

PC - Mack

     Daniel Murphy has spent the last few seasons beating up the Mets in a Washington Nationals’ uniform. In 2016, he was the runner-up in the MVP voting. Last year wasn’t nearly as phenomenal yet still far greater than the production the Mets got at just about every position.

Injuries have limited Murphy in 2018. I have no doubt he will come up with at least one big hit against his former team at some point.