Baseball Savant has a feature about team travel distances. We all know that West Coast teams log the most air miles and this coming season is no different:
Here's a graphical look. You can run an animation on the Baseball Savant site for each club or for the entire league.
One of the features of the 2023 season is a series in México City. The Giants will face the San Diego Padres in Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú on April 29th and 30th. And yes, the Giants do play the Seattle Mariners, they have a home series with them July 3rd through 5th. That means they will travel to Seattle in 2024. If you have not looked at the Giants 2023 itinerary, you should. They open the season at Yankee Stadium!
It's Thanksgiving and that means travel time for many. Have a safe and happy holiday!
--M.C.
19 comments:
some will like all the interleague play, I for one do not. If we are going to have so many interleague games, why even have leagues and divisions, just let the top 8 or ten teams go into some kind of a playoff tournament. Baseball is changing its way into losing its longest hard core fans. But I guess they are looking into the future, and some of us will only be here for a given amount of time. These changes are upsetting the natural order of baseball. Some changes in the past have been necessary, but other changes seem to be ill conceived. To me, interleague play dilutes the strength of league and divisional play.
Division play came about in 1969 and that was a pretty radical change. Baseball had existed for decades with two leagues and one post-season series.
I like the "balanced" schedule. Once they started inter-league play it seemed only reasonable that everyone play everyone else.
Now that there is a universal DH there is no difference between the leagues. Next year it will be 13 games against division foes instead of 19. That's 52 games or about 1/3 of the schedule.
I do not like it. Perhaps at some point the World Series will be the two best teams which both can come from the same league, assuming that we still have two leagues. The trend line is making that a sure future.
The Giants non-tendered four players last week (Sam Delaplane, Mauricio Llovers, Colton Welker, and Drew Strotman) but all have returned, signing minor-league deals this week.
Really nice post from Leo Morgenstern at FanGraphs about the Giants and pinch-hitting.
The Giants pinch-hit more than any other team, by far, and they were successful at it. In 258 PA they hit 5 HR and 10 2B and got 40 (!) walks. Good for 121 wRC+ (1.6 fWAR) better than everyone on the team except Slater and Pederson.
It's not just Kap's fondness for substitution, obviously, but a reflection of the roster. There just weren't any really great hitters in the bunch. That's why they play match-ups. It would be nice to have a hitter like Machado, for example, who is good against everyone and can be on the field every inning. (The leader in PA for SF in '21 was Yaz with 558 in 148 games.)
I actually like the platooning and pinch-hitting as I enjoy seeing all the players and what they can contribute. But I certainly wouldn't complain if an Aaron Judge-like player could be plugged into the lineup every day!
a few steady players and a bunch of platooning showed that the 1969 Mets could over-achieve. Was surprised that more teams did not use that formula after the Mets' success. Later with all the mathematics involved in winning baseball it became clearer that at times platooning could be a winning tool in the right circumstances.
Earl Weaver and John Lowenstein!
Gaylord Perry dies at the age of 84. I remember vividly listening to the radio (Lon Simmons!) with my brother the night he pitched a no-hitter in SF. I think I was 8 years old. Ray Washburn no-hit the Giants the next day!
I saw Perry pitch in Game 1 of the 1971 NLCS. They beat the Pirates that day but lost the series. Willie Mac hit a homer.
Jacob DeGrom gets 5 years and $185M from the Texas Rangers.
What's that do for Carlos Rodón? FanGraphs projected 4/135 for DeGrom. They were only off by 1 year and $50M!
FG projected 5/135 for CR. I think the Giants should go after Rodón and not take 'no' for an answer!
I WANT Rodon back. Texas took a big gamble as DeGrom, is injured so often. Rodon actually had a healthy year last year. Any pitcher could have health issues at any time.
I really think Rodón is the best FA deal out there. He's young-ish and coming off his best season. Judge is awesome but pitching is pitching and you can never have enough. I think he's a better risk than Verlander/DeGrom/whatever.
2 years and $87M for Justin Verlander (Mets). He'll be 40 in February.
I suppose players (and agents) all believe that modern athletes can keep performing at a more advanced age. Verlander is an outlier of course but it makes Judge's case for a deal into his late 30s more acceptable. There are clearly some guys who can play at a high level in their "decline" years. It seems like teams will pay for quality over quantity, too. Older players will log fewer innings but they will be top-notch innings. Dodgers gave Kershaw $20M and you know he won't throw much more than 120 IP. But those 120 IP will be high quality! Think of how the Giants used Buster in 2021. When he was on the field he was great but he only played 113 G (454 PA).
Word is Rodón is seeking a 6-year deal.
The Giants could surely use Rodon, but to their credit, they have 4 starters in Wood, DeScalfani, Cobb and Webb. You can argue that only Webb is not a "back of the rotation" kind of starter, but still.... Plus there are the minor league guys who are supposed to be good. On the other hand, without Belt and Longoria, they have Estrada and a bunch of outfielders who might hit their weight. Even if they land the big bauble (Judge) they still need more hitters. I wouldn't mind seeing Belt come back although I would not be surprised to see him in a Ranger uniform for more than a one-year deal. I guess if I were in charge, I'd be taking a very hard look at Sendai (although, I'm obviously prejudiced in regards to Japanese players) and then try to spend some money on hitters.
Rodon and the Japanese 100 mph fireballer. Can never have too many starters, and we have guys who have suffered injuries last year and are questionable. If Belt is healthy, I want him back, if his health is in question he can go the way of Mark DeRosa. Looks like LaStella has gone that way too. They are already givng Lono a 5 million buy out, so an incentive contract to bring him back for a final year while our young infielders figure it out would be ok. I would like two offensive quality signings, and two quality pitching signings. Seems mandatory while we are in the division of the bums and the Pads. Not easy to compete with just scrap heap pick-ups.
When I read about the giants, the baseball gurus seem to suggest that Estrada is a below average fielding second baseman. That does not comport with my eye test. He seems to me to be an above average fielding second baseman. He has good range, turns the DP quickly and makes most of the routine plays while also making some exceptional plays. Am I getting this wrong?
Trea Turner gets 11 years and $300M. Teams are paying for performance NOW and not sweating the sunk costs that will emerge later. And they are gambling on players being good when they are older.
Phillies signed Turner, btw.
Jarlín García goes to the Pirates. $2.5M with a club option for 2024.
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