The New York Mets swept an abbreviated two-game series from the Philadelphia Phillies this week, but I think the bigger news is that the teams were able to play two out of three after Monday’s snow out.
My friend Vinny invited me to join him for Tuesday’s game, but I have to admit I had my doubts that it would be played. It rained most of the afternoon, and a light mist continued to fall through the night.
One day remains until the curtain rises on the 2018 Major League Baseball season.
One day more until the games count… but don’t tell that to the 25,000 fans and one proud dad who watched Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a walk-off home run to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in a exhibition game at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium last night. (Fun footnote… Vladimir Guerrero Sr. hit the last walk-off home run in an official Major League game in the ballpark in 2003.)
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Dodgers are probably happy to have a little more time to get ready… an exhibition game between the Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels at Dodger Stadium came to an early end last night after a pipe broke and flooded the field, leaving the grounds crew to cope with a smelly mess.
The Oakland Athletics are probably enjoying the headlines.
Speaking of the A’s, they’re bringing back an old mascot to help celebrate their 50th anniversary season. According to Baseball Digest, Harvey the Rabbit started delivering baseballs to the home plate umpire during games in the 1960s when the Athletics played in Kansas City. The A’s brought him to Oakland when they relocated, but he last appeared at the Coliseum in 1971. The new Harvey is remote-controlled and will serve a more limited role: bringing out the baseball for the ceremonial first pitch.
I’m generally in favor of anything that seems fun and unique, but I do wonder if there’s any nostalgic outcry for a mascot last seen 47 years ago.
And to bring us back around to the Mets, Todd Frazier let us know about a cool thing they will be doing this season:
In less than a week, pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training…and there are still around 100 free agents who are looking for a team. Eric Hosmer, Yu Darvish, J.D. Martinez, Jake Arrieta and Mike Moustakas — some of the biggest names to hit the market this winter — are among the players still unsigned. The union is actually going to run a spring training camp for all of the players who are still looking for jobs.
It got to the point where some players are openly talking about the possibility of going on strike and others reportedly considered waiting until Feb. 24th’s mandatory reporting date to show up in spring training camps in a show of solidarity with the unsigned players.
While this off-season’s free agent market has worked out pretty well for the Mets, it’s clear that the the current system is broken. It’s pretty clear that no one is going to give J.D. Martinez the seven-year, $210 million contract he was reportedly looking for back in November. But it’s equally ridiculous that Martinez has only received two offers this winter, and that one of them was for a one-year deal to come back and try again on the free agent market next off-season.
I don’t think we’re looking at collusion, but we are looking at 30 front offices who are tired of getting burned by free agent contracts that make them look bad. Thirty front offices that are increasingly obsessed with young, controllable players to the point where they manipulate player service time to delay free agency and arbitration eligibility. A select group of owners who do not care about winning, at least in the short term.
And that means that even though MLB enjoyed record revenue last year, it’s not translating into more money for the players that we are paying to watch.
Now Martinez should not expect to earn $30 million when he is 37, but Jacob deGrom should be able to expect more than the $7.4 million he will earn this year. And even though he’s one of the most marketable players in baseball, the Yankees could get away with paying Aaron Judge the major league minimum salary.
Brandon Moss is right that players gave away too much in recent bargaining sessions with owners. Here’s hoping that the MLBPA and MLB owners figure out a way to get more of the game’s profits to the game’s younger players without totally turning off fans in the process. Because the current system is broken and is not good for players, fans or even owners in the long run.
The New York Mets continued their bargain shopping this week, signing third baseman Todd Frazier to a two-year, $17 million contract. I think that Frazier strikes out too much and doesn’t get on base enough, but he’s a definite upgrade over Wilmer Flores and Jose Reyes at the plate and a much better defender. So it’s definitely a win – this hasn’t been a bad offseason for Sandy Alderson’s crew at all.
If they could find a way to add a starting pitcher, I’d feel pretty good about the Mets’ chances to compete for a Wild Card spot. And if they could somehow land Yu Darvish, I’d start dreaming about them challenging the Washington Nationals for a division title.
The Texas Rangers signed 44-year-old Bartolo Colon to a minor league contract this week. I’d been hoping for a reunion with the Mets, but as long as gets a major league shot sometime this season I’ve got another year before I have to deal with a reality where all the players are younger than me.
So thank you, Bartolo… I will be rooting for you.
I bought my first pack of 2018 Topps Series 1 baseball cards this week. Fittingly, a member of the World Series Champion Houston Astros was the top card in the pack. Michael Conforto was my first Met (yay!) while Aaron Judge was my first Yankee (boo!)
I like this year’s design, but I think I will try to avoid buying more packs and just pick up a Mets team set from eBay.
Thirty years ago this June, my favorite Eddie Murphy movie Coming to America made its theatrical debut. The Fresno Grizzlies will celebrate its anniversary by playing as the Zamunda Lions for one night.
January 20 Update: This event has been postponed due to weather concerns.
Next Saturday, new Chicago White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier will be signing autographs to benefit Operation Shoebox New Jersey, a non-profit charity that ships personal care packages to US troops deployed around the world.
Frazier, a 2015 All-Star and Home Run Derby champ, is a lifelong New Jersey resident who was part of the 1998 Toms River Little League World Champion team and played for Rutgers University before turning pro.
Pro Custom Solar will be hosting the charity event at Freehold Raceway Mall on Jan. 23 from noon until 2 p.m. Frazier will sign one flat item for a $20 donation. Memorabilia (a bat, jersey, etc.) will be signed for a $50 donation.
I got three signed baseball cards in the mail this week.
First up is St. Louis Cardinals closer Jason Motte, a converted catcher who won the job late last year and was on the mound when the Cardinals won both the NL pennant and World Series championship. Continue reading “In the mailbox this week: Jason Motte, Todd Frazier & Gaylord Perry”
PaulHadsall.com 