‘Boy, what a life’: A visit with Bobby
Shantz, MLB’s oldest living MVP, as he nears his 100th birthday
They are boldface names with swagger to spare. An October
titan with his own candy bar. A high-kicking lefty with his first name on his
back. A mustachioed closer who pointed at his victims. Depression-era
champions. Steroid-era sluggers. A base-stealing savant who called himself the
greatest of all time.
Reggie, Vida, Eck. Grove and Foxx. Canseco, Giambi,
Tejada. Rickey. All of them played for the Athletics and won the American
League Most Valuable Player award. All of them, and one more.
You will find him in his living-room easy chair in the
Philadelphia suburbs, right where he’s lived for seven decades. Bobby Shantz
turns 100 years old on Sept. 26. He is trim and tan with a shock of light blond
hair, a bad hip, achy knees and a sense of wonder at the heights that a
5-foot-6 dreamer from Pottstown, Pa., could reach.
“Boy, I tell you, I really don’t know,” said Shantz, who
was 24-7 with a 2.48 ERA for the Philadelphia A’s in 1952, when he beat out a
trio of Yankees — Allie Reynolds, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra — for the MVP.
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A Look At Pro Strikeout Rates For 2025 Draftees
One of the numbers I feel most confident looking at when
we're still in small sample territory is strikeout rate for hitters.
According to the folks at FanGraphs, hitter strikeout
rate is one of the quickest stats to stabilize. They cite a 60 plate appearance
threshold, which is by far the quickest of any stabilization rate for a pitcher
or a hitter.
That's good to know when we want to check in on the
debuts of 2025 draftees and see what's useful to look at. Most of those players
don't have a large enough sample of playing time to read too much into.
As of Sunday morning, there are just six hitters who have
more than 100 plate appearances. On the pitching side, only five pitchers have
thrown 10 or more innings.
At Baseball America last week, I checked in on some of
the notable debut performances we have seen so far, but, in this newsletter I
wanted to specifically point out strikeout rate for hitters who have crossed
that 60 PA threshold. Among hitters drafted in the first five rounds, here are
the hitters who have 60 or more plate appearances, sorted in ascending order of
strikeout rate:
Kane Kepley, Cubs (56) — 11.2%
Trevor Cohen, Giants (85) — 11.8%
Antonio
Jimenez, Mets (102) — 11.8%
Kyle Lodise, White Sox (76) — 18.8%
Marek Houston, Twins (16) — 19.2%
Kaeden Kent, Yankees (103) — 19.5%
Baseball Hall of Famers Who
Served During World War II
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/hall-of-famers-wwii.html
Bob Feller – US Navy
Bob Feller was a teenage pitching prodigy who made it to
the major leagues when he was just 17 years old, and he was already playing
with the Cleveland Indians when he decided to enlist in the Navy. In fact, he
was the first professional American athlete to enlist with the US military.
Feller’s beginnings in the Navy didn’t exactly go as
planned. He initially intended on being a fighter pilot, but failed the
necessary hearing tests. He then wanted to serve on board the USS Iowa (BB-61),
but it wasn’t ready to be commissioned. As such, he was assigned to the USS
Alabama (BB-60).
After spending time sailing around the British Isles,
Feller and the crew of the USS Alabama were sent to the Pacific Theater, where
he saw action during Operations Galvanic and Flintlock. He also took part in
the Battle of the Philippine Sea, before completing combat duty in January
1945. He spent the remainder of the war serving as an instructor at the Grea t
Lakes Naval Training Station.
The Cleveland Indian was awarded six campaign ribbons and
eight battle stars during his service, and soon returned to his Hall of Fame
career. Later in life, he was also named an honorary Green Beret.
If the MLB playoffs started today, what are the matchups
and who has the pitching advantage?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6599520/2025/09/05/mlb-postseason-rotations-ranking/
9. New
York Mets
Perhaps the toughest rank of the group, the Mets rotation
“should” come in second-to last, if you use a trio of Sean Manaea, David Peterson and Nolan
McLean, and their
projected numbers. Two veteran lefties with an ERA around league average and a
rookie. Seems like a bottom option.
But wait, that rookie has been a revelation, with the
highest-spin curveball in the sport and pitches that bend every which way — not
to mention a veteran’s presence on the mound already. And McLean is joined by
Tim Lincecum clone Jonah Tong, and now rookie Brandon Sproat is
also up. What if Kodai Senga gets right? Tylor Megill has been really good in spots too.
Do you know what the Mets’ playoff rotation is right now?
Making the Case for Ranger
Suárez as the Top Free
Agent Starter
https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/making-case-ranger-suarez-top-free-agent-starter/
Despite never having reached the 160-inning mark, Suárez
is one of just 23 pitchers to throw at least 100 innings in each of the last
five seasons. Among those 23, he ranks fourth in ERA (3.22), seventh in FIP
(3.42) and ninth in fWAR, despite ranking last in innings pitched.
Did the Phillies Wait Too Long To Extend Ranger Suárez?
Although missed time has been a constant for Suárez, he’s
still been able to make a difference in the Phillies’ rotation year in and year
out. It would be a lot easier to make this case if it weren’t for the injuries,
but it’s still possible because of what he does when he takes the mound.
A Dominant Walk Year
Suárez made his 2025 debut on May 4, and he has since
posted a 3.02 ERA and 3.06 FIP in 131 innings. Dating back to the beginning of
May, only Tarik Skubal, Cristopher Sánchez and Paul Skenes have a higher fWAR,
while Suárez’s 3.6 mark is tied with Garrett Crochet’s.
Those other four pitchers will likely finish first and
second in their respective Cy Young races, and Suárez is right there with them.
As for the aforementioned other impending free agents,
none has a lower ERA in that span, and only Valdez has a lower FIP (3.00 to
Suárez’s 3.06).
Suárez’s success this year is a story of doubling down on
the things he was already good at. He may not have the best swing-and-miss
stuff, but he is a master of weak contact – this year especially.
MACK - And… he’s 22 years old
5 comments:
Mack Suarez is 30 and don't think DS will spend big bucks on any pitcher that age. Better to grow your own and get the cap # down but still don't get not paying Pete as we would be at best a .500 team w/o him.
I was only 8 years off😟
I would definitely have Suarez agent on the phone and keep in talks… wheeler was a steal when the Phillies grabbed him, maybe we can return the favor
He's a good pitcher but I'm building my future rotation from within
As of June 2026:
McLean
Senga
Tong
Sproat
Scott
I can understand that
And I love the salary flexibility
But you have to find the value when it exists
And just like I said during the 5 aces
When the value is there you need to identify which 4 you want to keep and flip the 5th for sustainability
Had we done that with a Harvey after the WS
We would have received a ransom especially since the Wilpons never would have resigned him
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