"The Perfect Ballplayer"

I started this blog six years ago out of impulse.  Major League Baseball was seeking volunteers who wanted to spend the entire 2011 baseball season living in a "fan cave" in New York City watching baseball games and blogging about them.  The occasional baseball player would stop by and hang out at "the cave" with the residents and you and your "cave-mates" would be on TV and the Internet talking baseball.  What red-blooded die-hard baseball fan wouldn't love that opportunity?  All you had to do was apply online and submit a writing sample.  Knowing full well that I could not conceivably (and in good conscience) leave my husband, kids, and job for six months, I applied anyway.  But a writing sample?  I hadn't written anything since my graduate thesis on the history of baseball litigation, and even I thought that was too much of a snoozer to submit.  So I created this blog so I would have some baseball stuff to submit, and of course I wasn't chosen (surely not because of the caliber of my writing - probably because it wouldn't look cool for a forty-something-year-old female to live with some twenty-something-year-old men). 

I started out writing almost daily, reporting scores from the previous day's games and piping in my opinions on certain occurrences here and there.  Then life got busy, my job got more demanding, and I blogged less frequently, focusing on baseball in general - the rules, the players, and of course, my opinions on just about anything baseball-related.  Now that I own my own business (a kitchen store in Frederick, Maryland called "The Kitchenette" - stop by and say hello if you're in the area!), I barely have time to cook a decent meal, let alone write a well-thought-out blog post.  But just because I write less frequently doesn't mean my passion for baseball has faded - I still scour the sports pages daily, check the MLB app on my phone constantly, and count the days until the start of the regular season (just seven more to go!).  But if something majorly important, super-exciting, or rather controversial is happening in the Majors, I will certainly find some time to write about it and give you my take.

The most recent blog-worthy event in baseball was the World Baseball Classic, which ended last week with Team USA beating Puerto Rico 8-0 in the final of what was an exciting and much-talked-about series that started out with 12 teams from all over the world - a true "World Series."  Unfortunately, long nights spent watching WBC games and busy days tending to my business and family did not allow me the opportunity to share my excitement with you (good thing, because I was downright obnoxious rooting for "Team PR"), and many news outlets have already reported on the WBC's playoff-like atmosphere, the national pride, and the fact that blond hair color was sold out all over Puerto Rico because all the PR players (and most of the residents of the island) chose to color their hair blond as a sign of team and island unity).  Even The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck, whom I have criticized here in the past, wrote a nice piece about how the WBC games brought so much enthusiasm to fans and players from all over the world.  In media standards, the WBC is old news - why keep talking about it when Gonzaga is going to the NCAA Final Four and the Washington Wizards and Capitals will both be in their respective playoffs?

But today's blog post is not about the WBC - I want to talk a bit about baseball history (please don't yawn!) and what makes "the perfect ballplayer."  When you ask a non-baseball fan to name a famous baseball player from the past, they may come up with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, or Joe DiMaggio (around these parts, people may mention Cal Ripken, Frank Robinson, or Earl Weaver).  Ask someone who follows the game and they might name Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens, or Derek Jeter.  Then of course there's Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier and is deservedly one of the most respected athletes of all time.  Ask any Puerto Rican, whether or not they currently live on the island, and he/she will inevitably mention Roberto Clemente.

Now, I've mentioned Roberto Clemente many a time in my blog - in seventeen different posts, to be exact.  But like current Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Beltrán mentioned in a 2016 article he wrote for "The Players Tribune," Roberto Clemente's legacy is something that is taught as part of the history curriculum in all schools in Puerto Rico.  Unfortunately, as baseball continues to evolve and the years pass, more and more people (including baseball players) go through their entire lives without knowing the impact that Clemente had both on and off the baseball field.  As more players reach the 3,000 career hits milestone, Clemente gets pushed lower and lower down the list of all-time hiters, now sitting at 30th with Adrián Beltre surely pushing Clemente to 31st sometime this season.

So why is a guy who has 29 other guys ahead of him on the all-time hits list considered to be "the perfect ballplayer?"  This is not a quote from a regular Puerto Rican person - it was actually said by a former player, an African-American Hall-of-Famer by the name of Willie Mays.  I know Willie is super-old and may not currently have all his faculties, but he said this a while ago, and the fact that he picked Clemente instead of his godson (Barry Bonds) says something.  Sportscaster Bob Costas likes Clemente too, but I don't like Bob Costas, so he's not worth mentioning further.  And if you ever visit Pittsburgh, those fans know their baseball history, and they know the former Pirate like he was one of their own.

Need some numbers to convince yourself that Roberto Clemente was the best baseball player ever?  Here are a few numbers to note: 1966 Most Valuable Player for the National League, NL batting champ (1961, 1964, 1965, 1967), World Series MVP in 1971, eleven-time Gold Glove winner, 12-time All Star, and National League leader in triples in 1969.  Oh, and he has an award named for him - the Roberto Clemente Award, which is given every year to a player with outstanding baseball playing skills who is personally involved in community work.

Oh, this Clemente guy did stuff for charity?  Don't many baseball players do that?  Yes, they do (and they should).  But Clemente went above and beyond to help those in need throughout his career, providing sports equipment to the needy, offering free batting clinics in his native Puerto Rico, and taking relief supplies to Nicaragua after a devastating earthquake on New Year's Eve, 1972.  Well, actually, he and the supplies never made it to Nicaragua, because the plane carrying Clemente was overloaded with too many supplies, had an incompetent flight crew, and crashed into the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Puerto Rico.  So yeah, poor Clemente died without finishing his baseball career - had he played for another year or two, he would probably be between Tony Gwynn and Alex Rodriguez at 19th of all time. 

So was this guy better than Ruth, Rose, or Rodriguez (Iván, not Alex - you all know I truly dislike A-Rod!)?  Yes.  Not only did Clemente have impressive career numbers and was a great humanitarian, but he demanded respect, let his bat and glove do the talking, and made a permanent impact on the game and how to play with intensity, discipline, and dedication.  He's the type of guy who, when mentioned to baseball experts, elicits an instant sigh of admiration not given to current stars.  They use words like "hero," "legend," and "class act" to describe him.  They don't argue that he was the best right fielder ever.  And his legacy needs to be explained to all current baseball players - this is how you play, this is how you behave, this is how you help others (except for the plane crash part). 

Alright, friends; thank you for letting me rant about "the perfect ballplayer."  Some people think I'm too "rah rah Puerto Rico," but this is my blog and I can write about whatever I choose.  But seriously, the 2017 season is getting ready to start, and I'm looking forward to writing about great baseball players - whatever country they're from and whatever team they represent.  Watch out for the Houston Astros, the Boston Red Sox, and yes, the Chicago Cubs (again!).  This promises to be a season of milestones, magic, and lots of home runs (Trout, Stanton, Machado...).  So keep checking in - I will do my best to keep you updated on all things 2017 - including Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in July (gee, did I mention who is being inducted?), Adrián Beltre's chase for 3000 hits, and maybe the coming of a new "Perfect Ballplayer."

"Slow down! You move too fast!"

Over the past 35 years, the length of a regular-season baseball game has increased by 30 minutes.  This is mainly because batters spend way too much time “adjusting things” when in the batter’s box, managers make way too many pitching changes (one of my pet-peeves), and pitchers sometimes make way too many throws to first base whether the baserunner has ever stolen a base in his life or not.  Major League Baseball is aware of fans’ short attention spans and is proposing all sorts of wacky ways to shorten the game, and you know me, I just have to put my two cents into this discussion.

One thing MLB is proposing is to start the tenth inning of a game with a runner already on second base.  Seriously?  I have sat through many an extra-inning game, and while they can be frustrating because you have no idea how many total innings it will go, starting extra innings with a guy on second is idiotic.  Do you put the guy who was supposed to bat next?  What if he was going to hit a home run?  You just ruined it by putting him on base instead of giving him a chance to hit.  It’s like starting an overtime in football by automatically putting the ball on the 20-yard line.  Plus don’t you have to play the bottom of the inning anyway?  Just dumb!

Another suggestion was to make the game only 7 innings instead of nine.  Really???  Aren’t these guys making MILLIONS of dollars to play a full game?  Do they have to stop selling beer after the fifth inning?  And w ill a beer at Nationals Park cost $15 because there will be less beers sold due to games ending faster? Are they going to have the “Fifth Inning Stretch?”  This one has definitely not been thought out very well.

Here’s one that is actually being implemented this year, since it was approved by the Players Union:  Instead of throwing four pitches way off the strike zone to a batter who is being intentionally walked, managers can now tell the home plate umpire that he wishes to intentionally walk the batter, and the batter can just walk to first base without facing any pitches.  Now you all know how much I DESPISE the intentional walk – I may have mentioned that a time or two before – but I have seen many occasions where a pitcher is trying to intentionally walk a batter, the pitch gets away from the catcher, and a baserunner is able to advance.  Just letting the runner go to first base without seeing a single pitch affects pitch counts and really only speeds up the game by a few seconds.  Last year there was one intentional walk every two-and-a-half games.  So if you’re expecting this new rule to make a big difference. Don’t hold your breath.

So what can be done to make the game a little shorter (the current length doesn’t bother me, but most people aren’t as “baseball nerdy” as me)?  I thought you'd never ask!  Here are some bullet points to consider:

·        Stop letting players step out of the batter’s box after every pitch.  You had time to stretch while on the on-deck circle – once you step up to bat, quit dilly-dallying.  Hank Aaron agrees with me – he says players spend way too much time adjusting their batting gloves and helmets and making all sorts of unnecessary movements.  And if Hank says it’s unnecessary, I believe it.  He's like John McCain talking about waterboarding - the guy knows his stuff!    

·        Don’t let catchers have meetings on the mound.  If a pitcher is stressed out, he needs to learn how to calm himself down; he doesn’t need a catcher to say “There, there, my friend – it’s going to be OK!”  Again, these guys are millionaires – they don’t need to be babied.  And if you have your signals mixed up because there’s a runner on second base and you forgot what the signs were in that situation, then you’re an idiot.

·        Get rid of instant replay, or at least have an extra umpire in each park who can check the replay way faster than the dudes who sit in an air-conditioned office in New York.  And don’t allow managers to stall while his coaches are viewing the replay to see if the manager should challenge or not.  Pitchers are being instructed to stall so the managers can have time to decide whether to challenge a call or not, and this is just silly.  Baseball players and managers are terrible actors.

·        Stop putting in a pitcher to pitch to one guy.  The whole “lefty lefty matchup” or “righty throwing to lefty” thing is something I have never understood.  Yes, you’re now getting into the strategy of the game, but if the starting pitcher was able to pitch to both righties and lefties, why all of a sudden does a reliever have to be put in to face one particular batter?  It infuriates me when a pitcher is credited with a win when he only pitched to one guy.  It’s one thing if a reliever is struggling; but using seven “specialist” pitchers in one game just so they can pitch to one or two guys at a time is ridiculous.

So there you go, Commissioner Manfred – this is one of the reasons I wanted your job before you took it from me.  Let’s see how this “intentional walk” thing goes this season – surely I will have some insightful opinions about the matter.  In the meantime, we have a couple of things to look forward to before Opening Day:  Former Red Sox/Cubs catcher David Ross participating in “Dancing With the Stars,” and the World Baseball Classic, where I turn into a lunatic fan rooting for my Puerto Rico team.  We have Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, Carlos Beltrán, and Francisco Lindor – watch out Dominican Republic; we’re going after you!