The intro to the Upset Update got a little long, so I made it into its own entry over in the Writer’s Room: “Welcome to the Winter Meetings“. It has been a day. Let’s get to rounding up the baseball stuff from the last few days.
1. Shohei Ohtani chose the Angels.
…Welcome to the Winter Meetings.
2. Congrats to Jake Diekman, who became the first Texas Ranger in franchise history to win the Hutch award. The award is named after Fred Hutchinson, who passed away at age 45 in 1964 while he was still manager of the Cincinnati Reds. The award was first given to Mickey Mantle in 1965, and has been awarded each year since to the MLB player who “best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire” of Hutchinson, who was a native of Seattle, Washington. Diekman will be given the award in Seattle on January 24th as part of an annual luncheon. These luncheons have raised over $6.1 million in the last 18 years to benefit cancer research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute.
Diekman, as you’re surely aware by now, underwent a series of three surgeries in 2017 to replace his colon as part of his treatment for Ulcerative Colitis. He returned to the mound on September 1st, and pitched in 11 games, striking out 13 in 10⅔ innings.
3. Community Outreach Events: There really is no offseaon for the Rangers’ PR department and community outreach team. This week saw two events that brought the Rangers out into the community. The first was Thursday, when Willie Calhoun, Nomar Mazara, Jose Leclerc, and Ricky Rodriguez went to C.F. Carr Elementary school in West Dallas to give the students free baseball gloves. The Gloves were donated by State Farm Insurance.
The other event was Friday afternoon when Cole Hamels and the Hamels foundation put on the hitting and pitching clinic at Trinity High School. This event wasn’t free; there was a $250 fee per camper, but 100% of proceeds went to the Hamels Foundation to fund educational initiatives in the DFW metroplex
4. We’re to the Minor League Coaches portion of the offseason, so here’s the rundown of the Rangers’ organizational coaching depth chart at AAA, AA, High A, Low A, and Short-Season.
5. That’s it for today, unless you just want some more stuff to read, in which case:
– Nice to meet you, Isiah Kiner-Falefa
– It’s not stealing signs if you buy them.
Music Recommendation
One of my favorite songwriters that I discovered in my seven years living in Nashville was Madi Diaz. Plastic Moon came out in 2012, and she’s had two albums since, but “Love You Now” from Plastic Moon is the one that I still go back to a few times a year.
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