Good evening and welcome to the January 24th Upset Update. Today’s music recommendation is an old friend of mine named Casey Black. I’m sure I’ve recommended “Lay You in the Loam” before—it’s one of my all-time favorite albums—so today, I’ll recommend “See the Black Sea” from 2016. He’s a gravelly-voiced poet, and perhaps that might take a minute to get used to for some who aren’t born and raised on Johnny Cash, but this is Texas; I think you’ll figure it out.
Welcome to the Upset Update!
1. Jake Diekman was awarded the 2018 Hutch award today in Seattle. Jake’s story from the last year-plus is pretty well-documented: a series of three surgeries to remove his colon—the nuclear option in his battle against Ulcerative Colitis—and the long hard trek back to a major league mound. We saw Jake at the awards ceremony, and he looked healthy, maybe as healthy as we’ve seen him. Compare these two photos: the first is from August of 2016. The second is from last week.
Okay, I’ll grant that I’m using the age-old before/after method of photo comparison from billboards. “Hey, so… do us a favor and give us your best I-just-got-busted-for-a-felony face,” the photographer says, clicking the Before Photo. Then just six short weeks later, they bring in the warm lights and tell the subject to smile. “Show your teeth,” they say. “Don’t worry, we’ll touch everything up in photoshop.”
But I can tell you from seeing him in person, the transformation is legit. Diekman looks like your college friend that fell in love with a girl that had her life together, stopped drinking six months, and started going to church, and you see him for the first time in six months and hardly recognize him.
It’s not just appearances, either. Diekman—who also won the Richard Durrett Hardest-Working Man Award—told us he feels worlds better, and not just on the mound. “A year ago, I was six days away from getting surgery,” the southpaw said, smiling from ear to ear. “I was super nervous. Now I’m not nervous at all, about anything. Nothing really bothers me anymore. I feel great. I just get to live now.”
The Hutch Award has been awarded since 1965 to the player who “best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire” of Fred Hutchinson, by persevering through adversity.” Hutchinson (for those who didn’t just click that link) was a former Tigers pitcher who managed the Tigers, Cardinals, and Reds. It was while he was managing in Cincinnati that he was diagnosed with cancer. After the diagnosis, he managed the 1964 season, passing away just a few weeks after the season ended.
2. The Hall of Fame inductees were announced today, and while yes: Vlad Guerrero was a member of exactly half of the Rangers teams to ever play in a World Series, it feels a little disingenuous to use the nomenclature “Former Texas Ranger” when making the announcement. Vlad played eight seasons in Montreal, six as an Angel, and one season each as a Ranger and an Oriole.
That’s not to say his season in Texas was Berkman-esque, however. Guerrero was a valuable part of the 2010 Rangers, hitting .300 with 29 home runs, 115 RBI, and an .841 OPS. he was named to the All-Star team, won a Silver Slugger, and finished 11th in MVP voting that season. Never mind that he hit .395 with 25 home runs and 70 RBI (1.122 OPS) against the Rangers in his career, It’s still okay to be happy for Vlad; the Rangers likely don’t make that first ever franchise World Series without him.
Joining Guerrero in the class of 2018: Jim Thome, Chipper Jones, and Trevor Hoffman.
3. Juan Leonel Garciga has been appointed to the club’s new position of Director, Youth Academy and Youth Baseball/Softball Programs, the team announced today.
Garciga, who started with the team today, will oversee the Rangers youth camps and clinics programs as well as the club’s Junior and Senior RBI efforts in Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Lancaster. He will also oversee and direct the programming at the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy at Mercy Street Sports Complex presented by Toyota in West Dallas.
“Juan will be a great asset to the Rangers as we grow and expand our youth baseball and softball programs and strive to make our Youth Academy the best in Major League Baseball,” said Karin Morris, Executive Director of the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation and Vice President of Community Outreach for the club. “He has extensive experience in developing and operating a successful program in Miami and we are excited that he has accepted this opportunity in Texas.”
Garciga joins the Rangers organization after spending the previous 11 seasons with the Miami Marlins, where he most recently served as the Manager of Community Outreach and Player Relations after being promoted to that position in November 2012. In that role, he oversaw the Marlins Youth Baseball and Softball Program, including youth clinics and Play Ball. He also served as the director of the Marlins RBI League, which won two RBI World Series Championships (2014 and ’15) and four RBI Southeast Regional Championships (2013-15) under his watch.
For more information Rangers’ youth programs and the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy at Mercy Street Sports Complex presented by Toyota, go to texasrangers.com.
That’s it for today, kids. Congrats to Jake Diekman, Vladimir Guerrero, and everyone else except people who didn’t vote for Edgar Martinez, who indubitably belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Michael Luna says
“Edgar Martinez, who indubitably belongs in the Hall of Fame.”
Them’s fightin’ words! Meet me in the student lot after 8th period so we can duke this out.
Levi Weaver says
i will punch your mouth.
state your case, robot
Michael Luna says
Okay, here’s my thing…I’ve seen the argument that if a position exists in the game, players who play that position should be eligible for the HOF. I don’t necessarily have a problem with the logic of that argument. What I do have a problem with is the very existence of the DH.
DH is a copout position. It’s a copout for the pitchers who aren’t very good at hitting. It’s a copout for the hitters who aren’t very good at fielding. Sorry you’re not very good at something that’s a fundamental part of the game, it’s still a fundamental part of the game. It makes no sense to me to eliminate a whole half of the game to accommodate guys who are old or just can’t cut it.
I’ve seen some make the case that putting (for example) David Ortiz at 1B would’ve actually hurt the team on defense and thus diminished his overall value to the team. To which I say “yep” and also “too bad.” It’s up to the team to take a good long look in the mirror and ask themselves if Ortiz’s value as a hitter outweighs his negative value as a fielder. Heck, since Ortiz was no threat on the bases, why not give him a Craig Gentry to be his designated runner? Why not give pitchers designated fielders to handle bunts? Jumping to basketball, why not give Shaq a designated free-throw-shooter? You see what I’m getting at.
Ultimately, if a player is only good at hitting (basically 2/5 of the baseball skillset) and you have to hide him at DH, then I don’t think he belongs in a Hall of Fame. Otherwise let him play defense and let the voters decide if the things he’s good at outweigh the things he’s not.
All that said, Martinez is getting in next year. If not, the old timers committee will eventually give him a call. They just let Jack Morris in on the basis of *a* game (an incredible game in which he was incredible, but still). The people who have spent all these years banging the Edgar Martinez drum will get the celebrate eventually.
Levi Weaver says
I think baseball fandom is just separated into two camps. You’ve pretty thoroughly outlined the “DH is dumb” camp, and I don’t expect I’ll ever change your mind. I’m in the “DH makes the game better” camp, for all the reasons you’ve heard before, but I’ll list again here:
– As a fan, would I have rather watched David Ortiz or Jon Lester take at-bats?
– Pitching is such a specialized and unique aspect of baseball, unlike any other position. We don’t ask position players to pitch, except in rare (and therefore fun) instances, why should we ask pitchers to hit?
– Furthermore, pitchers are already more prone to injury than other positions, due to the nature of their role. If I can keep from seeing Clayton Kershaw blow out a hammy running to first base (when it’s not even something he is required or expected to be even halfway decent at), why not eliminate that risk? No one is arguing that Kershaw isn’t a future Hall-of-Famer simply because he can’t hit, and no one is suggesting that Beltre isn’t, simply because he can’t pitch. So to the argument that being unable to do an essential and fundamental part of the game is somehow a disqualifier is, to me, nonsense.
Should it be *harder* for DHs to get into the hall? Absolutely. Take into account the fact that they provided no defensive value. But also add the value they provided in allowing their pitchers to focus on pitching and never (or at least, rarely) run the risk of bunting a fastball into their own face.
I’m sure I have thoroughly convinced you to abandon your sincerely-held belief.
Michael Luna says
A few points, somewhat scattershot:
1. It’s the specialization of the sport, I suppose, that I’m not thrilled about. A full-time DH will get up 4-5 times per game. Unless he’s hitting at a clip no one actually could (arbitrarily, let’s say, .500) I doubt he can provide nearly the value that a guy who also plays a positon for 9 innings can.
1a. In the same way, I’m not thrilled about relievers being in the HOF either. Rivera was great in ~70 innings a year. Kershaw knocks out 70 innings in his first 10 appearances. To me, how much of the heavy lifting you do counts for something in the same way longevity does. (There are other problems here too. Obviously the save stat inflates certain relievers’ value in the eyes of voters, which dings the chances of middle-relief guys.)
2. It’s true that DHs are basically all upside, but then we’ve started grading them on a curve. An all-time DH is still just a DH. And protecting pitchers from bunting balls into their dumb pitcher faces isn’t really a skill that deserves recognition.
3. What I think would actually be fun is that if DH stays (and I know it will and eventually they’ll be in both leagues) we tweak the rules so that the starting DH stays in the game only as long as the starting pitcher. Whether you have to pull Kershaw in the 1st or the 9th, you only get his DH that long. Then we get a little NL chocolate in the AL peanut butter.
4. Don’t tell me Beltre couldn’t pitch. He absolutely could, and he’d have no windup at all. Totally flat footed, he’d just sling it to the plate. And it would be amazing.
In conclusion, something something the wussification of America.
Matthew Bridges says
Edgar is one of a select few non-Ranger AL West players (Griffey and Trout also come to mind) that I was a fan of. Bummed that he didn’t make the cut this year.
Levi Weaver says
the good news is: it seems almost inevitable that he will make it next year.