2024 MLB Season Thread
Nobody wants these games to start more than Mannfred.
Shohei just spoke to the media for the first time. In a prepared statement, he said:
-He never bet on baseball, or any other sport,
-He didn't know that Ippei lied to him, and that Ippei took the money from Shohei's account to pay his gambling debts
-He'll continue to cooperate with the investigation, and play as the investigation plays out.
If all that's true, then this is probably the best possible outcome for his reputation going forward. He's a naive star athlete who trusted the wrong person. It happens.
In any event, these games are about start! Last year, just like we all predicted, "Someone Else" came on strong in the playoffs, as the Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks for the World Series. Can that happen again?
T-Mobile is giving away a free MLB.tv subscription ($149 value) to T-Mobile subscribers starting TOMORROW (Tuesday 3/26 - April 1). Don't miss out.
So speaking of gambling, here are the current best odds for the World Series you can find, from Vegas insider!
Is there testing in place to gather the substance verify one way or the other? Odd that this is left entirely up to the umpire for suspension.
Cubbies getting a mustache ride today
God damn this guy is good
Aaron Judge in the last 3 games has made 1 out at the plate. ONE.
He also has 2 homers and 5 doubles. Dude really went from "washed" in April to the best player in baseball again.
Judge since 2022:
18.6 fWAR (2nd behind Ohtani's 21.2)
192 wRC+ (1st, 2nd is Yordan at 168)
25.4% barrel rate (1st, 2nd is Yordan at 18.5%)
Judge is clearly the best hitter in baseball. The only thing keeping him in the way of the undisputed best player in baseball label is Ohtani's 8 pitching fWAR. Pretty big mountain to climb, of course, but he's definitely top-2, overall.
Judge since 2022:
18.6 fWAR (2nd behind Ohtani's 21.2)
192 wRC+ (1st, 2nd is Yordan at 168)
25.4% barrel rate (1st, 2nd is Yordan at 18.5%)
Judge is clearly the best hitter in baseball. The only thing keeping him in the way of the undisputed best player in baseball label is Ohtani's 8 pitching fWAR. Pretty big mountain to climb, of course, but he's definitely top-2, overall.
Judge is definitely among the elite handful who can claim 2nd best player
But ya, as long as Ohtani breathes air he’ll never be the best
The guys in my fantasy league are neatly divided into two camps: THIS is the next greatest thing,
Or
He’ll blow out his elbow next week, wouldn’t touch him.
Me, I just miss Spencer Strider :(
My impulse is he’s basically Kerry Wood if Dusty were replaced by an organization determined to not grind him into dust
I'm pretty sure every Gm would chosen Mookie or Shohei at any point over the last few years.
Also Soto> Judge.
I'll go with Shota.
Edwin Diaz could be the worst contract for a reliever. Dude is lawn-fresh dogshit
There is a guy out there that keeps a list (not just pitchers) . Makes me think humans weren't meant to throw a baseball.
Javy Baez is bad you say? Just how bad could he be? Oh. THIS BAD:
Báez has an 18 wRC+ this season, meaning he is 82% worse than the average hitter. His 18 wRC+ ranks 166th among 166 qualified players, trailing Andrew Benintendi's 45 wRC+ in 165th place.
LOL. All it took was 2 really, really good games at the dish and Baez's wRC+ is up to 47 and he's ahead of Benintendi. Jack Suwinski, you're next!
At least this skubal guy is really good
Judge since 2022:
18.6 fWAR (2nd behind Ohtani's 21.2)
192 wRC+ (1st, 2nd is Yordan at 168)
25.4% barrel rate (1st, 2nd is Yordan at 18.5%)
Judge is clearly the best hitter in baseball. The only thing keeping him in the way of the undisputed best player in baseball label is Ohtani's 8 pitching fWAR. Pretty big mountain to climb, of course, but he's definitely top-2, overall.
It's worth distinguishing between the past and the future. Judge has clearly been the best hitter and the second most valuable player in baseball since 2022. It's a lot less clear at age 32 that he will be that good moving forward. The whole centerfield thing is a bit worrying as well.
Judge is drawing dead to be the best player in baseball, and the thought experiment for this is simple: let Judge pitch 130+ innings for three consecutive seasons while Ohtani plays OF. Most valuable player is a thing Judge might be, but that's different and I wouldn't base it entirely on f/bWAR which are flawed methodologies with substantial margins of error.
I'm sure your intuition is worth more than fWAR/bWAR. [emoji849]
There are three better players in LA and a fourth in Freddie isn't that far behind. Y'all are silly with the Judge stuff.
