Random Images

Less than 10 games into his big league career, Samuel Basallo convinced the Orioles that he had to be part of their core.  The rookie catcher, who dazzled when I saw him for AA Bowie a year ago, just signed a eight year extension worth at least $67 million.   The big question in Baltimore is how Basallo and former top prospect Adley Rutschman -- whose numbers have dropped dramatically since the middle of 2024 -- can co-exist moving forward.


Luke Ritter went above and beyond last Thursday for the Syracuse Mets.  Not only did the veteran minor leaguer homer for his team's only run, he left the outfield and took the mound in the 8th inning.  Mixing knucklers and Steve Hamilton-style floaters, Ritter baffled the Indianapolis batters for two scoreless frames -- the most effective Syracuse pitching of the evening.  While the AAA Mets still fell 16-1, Ritter could at least feel as if he channeled his inner Ohtani! 

Below: Nick Solak is enjoying his second straight big AAA season.  The onetime Yankee prospect and former Rangers 2nd baseman, is again hitting over .300 and has reached double digits in home runs.  Now 30 years old, do those strong numbers for Indianapolis, the Pirates top farm club, lead to an invitation with another organization next February?  Or has he already been tabbed as a "4A" player, a star in the minors not quite productive enough to stick with a big league club?

It's Wayback time: 10 years ago this month, I was in New Britain, Connecticut to catch the AA Rock Cats (then a Twins affiliate) host the then Binghamton Mets.  Their lineup included a pair of players who'd make their major league debuts a year later.   Above, it's Brandon Nimmo, now a Citi Field mainstay.

And on the mound, it's Seth Lugo.   The Mets always saw him as a reliever, while he wanted to be a starter.  Since leaving Queens three years ago, he's been an effective rotation arm first for the Padres, and currently, the Royals.





 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If Your Birthday is January 3rd...

Image
...you share it with AJ Burnett .  The well traveled righthander, who after seven years with the Marlins. spent time with the Yankees, Pirates, Blue Jays and Phillies, won 164 big league games and struck out more than 2500, but inconsistent control kept him from becoming an ace: he twice led the American League in wild pitches and once in hit batters. The Arkansas native earned a pair of World Series rings -- with the 2003 Marlins (while recovering from Tommy John surgery) and 2009 Yankees (where he set a record for hitting five batters in a post-season series).   Also in the January 3rd birthday circle: longtime big league reliever Gary Lavelle , the late Phllies catcher Darren Daulton  and utilityman Luis Sojo , who between his time with the Mariners and Yankees, made the post-season six times in 13 seasons.  But among the 68 players born on this date who've played in MLB, Burnett was -- if you go by WAR -- the most productive of them.
Read more

Wayback: 70 Years Ago Today

Image
September 2nd, 1955 :  Whitey Ford takes a no-hitter into the 7th inning, while Yogi Berra adds two hits and Mickey Mantle crushes a three-run homer as the Yankees beat the Washington Senators 4-2 . It's also a big day for Billy Martin .  Back from a year and an half of active duty in the Army, the shortstop goes 2-for-4 as the Yanks stay a half-game back of the league-leading White Sox. (They would regain 1st place on the 16th and go on to their 21st American League pennant.   Martin would hit .300 over the final 22 games.) The Monument Park plaques are from a 2021 visit to Yankee Stadium.  The image of Whitey and Yogi up top is from the 2012 Old Timers Day at the Stadium.
Read more

If Your Birthday is September 5th...

Image
...you celebrate it with  Bill Mazeroski , the first player to end a World Series with a walk-off home run. 65 years ago next month, leading off the last of the 9th in game seven against the Yankees, he crushed Ralph Terry's second pitch over the left field wall, giving Pittsburgh perhaps its greatest baseball moment. A gifted defensive player with more modest offensive skills, Maz remains one of the more controversial inductees of the Hall of Fame. A statue, depicting his joyful scamper around the bases following that 1960 home run, is one of several outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh. And below,  Pablo Lopez  , who earlier this season, added his name to the nearly 170 who have played for both the Yankees and Mets. The utilityman got into 24 games for Bronx Bombers -- highlighted by driving in the go-ahead run against the Royals on June  12th,  His Mets tenure was microscopic -- he pinch ran for JD Martinez (and scored a run) in the September 1st, 2024 game against...
Read more