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4/22/20

John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 4/22/2020



Good morning.  Some twists and turns in the MLB’s drive to contract Minor League Baseball teams, and more comments on Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez possibly buying the Mets, on the anniversary of Tom Seaver striking out 19 in 1970.

First, Baseball America breaks a shocking story “MiLB Ready To Agree To Significant Reduction In Teams.”

Then as Mack’s Mets had late yesterday MiLB released the a statement on the media reports saying: “Recent articles on the negotiations between MiLB and Major League Baseball (MLB) are largely inaccurate. There have been no agreements on contraction or any other issues. MiLB looks forward to continuing the good faith negotiations with MLB tomorrow as we work toward an agreement that best ensures the future of professional baseball throughout the United States and Canada.”
Stay tuned. 


Mets Links:



Yahoo Sports: You’ve probably never heard the story of the best pitching performance in Mets history.  October 2, 1965, 20 year old rookie “Rob Gardner [Binghamton NY Native] threw 15 scoreless innings for which he received a no decision in a non-game. The whole thing was redone the next day starting from scratch. The Mets lost, but by then Gardner was already on his way home.”

SNY.TV: Time Machine Tuesday: Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto during their 2015 Double-A days. The two future Mets chatted it up over some burgers in Binghamton.

NY Post: Mets could ‘fall into the laps’ of Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez at huge discount. “Multiple sources say the key money player in the arrangement being put together by investment bankers at JPMorgan would appear to be Miami billionaire Jorge Mas, who tried to buy the Miami Marlins in 2017.”

Rising Apple: Three reasons why Alex Rodriguez may want to buy the Amazins.  1) A-Rod’s strong New York roots; 2) Need for a bigger role in Major League Baseball; 3) Rivalry with Derek Jeter.

Forbes: Why Alex Rodriguez Buying The New York Mets Is Unrealistic. Rodriguez would have to raise too much money with too much uncertainty facing the economy.

Mike’s Mets talks about the potential Mets sale to A-Rod in Thoughts on a Potential A-Rod Led Ownership and Shopping in the Bargain Aisle.


Centerfield Maz: Remembering Mets History (1970) Tom Seaver Ties MLB Record With 19 Strike Outs In A Game, April 22, 1970.


Centerfield Maz: Rico Brogna: Former 1990's Italian / American Mets Player (1994-1996).


MLB LINKS:


MLB.com: Top 150 Draft prospects list. With the draft being cut to 5 rounds, that’s all we need, right?


Did The Rangers Find A Bullpen Gem In The Bargain Bin? Rafael Montero in 2019…”tallied 29 innings with Texas, logged a sterling 2.48 ERA, punched out 34 hitters and issued just five walks”.



Asian Baseball:

The Korea Herald: Korea ready to play ball amid COVID-19 pandemic. The Korea Baseball Organization announced Tuesday that the 2020 regular season will kick off on May 5, which is also the Children’s Day holiday.

Taiwan News: Taiwan baseball boosted by NT$2 million English-language broadcasts.  Taoyuan government spends big on Eleven Sports' CPBL broadcasts up to end of season.

Yesterday in the CPBL it was the Fubon Guardians 13, Uni Lions 2, (Line Score).

CPBL Stats via TwitterAccording to ETtoday, the Fubon Guardians are going to provide English commentary broadcast for overseas fans starting April 24. The stream will be available on their Twitter account

#CPBL

Joe Veyera via Twitter: Today, starting at 6:35AM Eastern: One-time Mariners reliever Donn Roach (four games in 2016) gets the start for the Uni-President Lions against the Fubon Guardians this morning in Taiwan's CPBL.

ChinaTrust Brothers also take on the Rakuten Monkeys, also at 6:35AM.  Rakuten games have been broadcast in English via twitter on Eleven Sports.





Mack’s Blast From The Past: The Morning Report – 4-22-14:  Mack talks the minor league options at third base including Zach Lutz, Wilmer Flores, and “And lastly, Savannah adds two non-prospects to the list, Jeff McNeil (.320) and Victor Cruzado (.190).” 


Transactions:

Texas Rangers claimed Darren O'Day of the New York Mets on waivers on April 22, 2009.


1970
On the day he is presented with his Cy Young Award, Mets' fireballer Tom Seaver ties a major league record by whiffing 19 Padres, including the last ten he faces, to gain a 2-1 win at Shea Stadium. Batterymate Jerry Grote sets the major league mark with ten consecutive putouts in a game for a catcher.
2008
In a scheduling oddity, both New York big league teams play in Chicago, with the Mets playing the Cubs in a matinee, and the Yankees taking on the White Sox in an evening tilt. This unusual occurrence marks the first time in 11+ years that two teams from one city have both played as the visitors in the same city on the same date, a quirk likely necessitated due to the Pope's weekend visit to the Bronx, whose appearance included a mass at Yankee Stadium two days ago.



1962 - The Pittsburgh Pirates win their 10th straight game, edging the New York Mets, 4 - 3, and matching the major-league record to start a season, while the Mets tie a National League record by opening 0-9.

1966 - The Braves win their first game in Atlanta by beating the Mets, 8 - 4.

1996 - John Franco of the New York Mets becomes the first left-handed pitcher to reach the 300-save plateau with a scoreless 9th inning in a 3 - 2 Mets win over the Expos at Shea Stadium.


Want something else tracked here each day?  Please leave a comment below.

6 comments:

  1. It is a sad franchise statement to say that a player like Harrelson, who hit just .236/.327/.288 in his career, is the franchise's 2nd best ever SS. Loved Buddy, but...

    That "keeper" game where Seaver fanned 19 Padres - best Seaver fastball I ever saw. Almost all strikes in that 10 straight K streak were, to my recollection, high fastballs that no one was touching.

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  2. Bud is the only Mets shortstop to appear on two Mets World Series teams as a SS. He also was the 3rd Base Coach in 1986. Defense "wins rings...championship rings".

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  3. John, maybe. But in 1969, they may well have won with someone else at short. In 1973, they were 82-79, so I have to defer to someone with a better memory as to how impactful Buddy was in them making the playoffs.

    He also only played 1270 games during his 11 prime seasons - 115 games per season. An Iron Man he certainly was not.

    But he was a true scrapper. And strong on D.

    But his lack of power was painful. Baseball Reference projects his stats' average over 162 games, and it worked out to 14 doubles, 5 triples, and < 1 HR per 162 game season.

    Different position, but give me Dave Kingman any day.

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  4. Tom,

    I respectfully disagree.

    Dave Kingman the model of today's player. 1816 career K's; 1575 hits. Possibly the worst defensive player to wear a Mets uniform. But hey, .780 OPS. How many winning teams did Kingman play for? How many WS appearances?

    I agree with Whitey Herzog - Pitching, speed, and defense.

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  5. Check out this OPS comparison - Kingman .780 Career OPS. Keith Hernandez - .821 Career OPS. Yet Hernandez 2182 career hits, only 1012 career Ks. Only 30 points higher OPS yet clearly Keith is better.

    Now check out career WARs Keith: 60.3; Kingman 17.2; Buddy...20.3!!!!

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  6. John, the thrill of gargantuan Kingman homers outweighed Buddy’s other skill sets.

    And Derek Jeter career WAR, comparing SS to SS, was 71.3.

    People were drawn to Foreman and Tyson for their power. I am a power aficionado.

    ReplyDelete