Forbes: Hundreds Of Unopened Sports Card Packs Found In Aunt’s Attic Likely To Top $1 Million

In mid-afternoon a few weeks ago, Brian Drent received a mind-blowing phone call: “Hello, I have some unopened full boxes and almost full boxes from the 1950s and 1960s that I am considering for your auction.”

Mets Fan Kicked Out Game For FIRE TERRY COLLINS Sign - May 30&31; 2017

This is atrocious.  Needs to go viral.

West Michigan reliever handed 30-game ban for role in MWL fight

Tigers prospect Eduardo Jimenez received a 30-game suspension this week when the Midwest League issued punishments to five players for their roles in Sunday’s brawl.

Jimenez, a 22-year-old reliever, received the biggest suspension handed out by the league after he ran onto the field and threw a ball at an opposing player during a melee between Class A West Michigan and Dayton on May 28. The Whitecaps said his punishment is retroactive to May 29.

Whitecaps shortstop Daniel Pinero was ...

Park Factors and Other Early-Season Statcast Fun | FanGraphs Baseball

Park factors are an endeavor fraught with peril.

The Friday Fire Farrell Index: Ask for courage, not for victory! - Over the Monster

First, my friends and enemies, a mea culpa. A perceptive reader suggested that the 1-11 scale of the inaugural Friday Fire Farrell Index was backward, and that a higher number should indicate a better chance Red Sox manager John Farrell is fired, not worse. My instinct to lash out aside, this is correct, and last week’s 8, indicating job strength, is now a 4, indicating job strength. I regret the error. It seems pretty obvious. This is where we’re at right now.

Fan says Mr. Met showered with profane heckles before bird-flip | New York Post

As if holding up that head isn’t tough enough.

“The fans were cursing at Mr. Met with the F-word and saying derogatory things about Mr. Met’s mom . . . which led to the gesture because of a personal matter with his mom,” the source said.

“It triggered something that recently happened. It was his breaking point.”

Yonder Alonso finds power stroke with Oakland Athletics, hopes to land in All-Star Game

Alonso had to overhaul his swing if he wanted to stay in the game. He talked to everyone from Carlos Beltran to Rougned Odor to Pujols to Adrian Beltre to Bryce Harper to Eric Hosmer, discussing their individual hitting approach and trying to design a swing that could work for him.

He incorporated video work along with his offseason batting cage efforts, analyzing different swings frame by frame.

“I wanted him to do this for years,” Machado says. “We would argue back and forth on what ...

Khris Davis Me in Real Life | MLB.com

In his own words.

My name is Khris Davis. I’m an outfielder for the Oakland A’s, and for me, it all starts with my parents. They are my role models, and they taught me that hard work pays off. They also showed me that happiness is important and is worth pursuing.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 6-2-2017

Pittsburgh Gazette Times, June 2, 1917:

Hank Gowdy, catcher and hero of the 1914 world’s series, [yesterday] gained the distinction of being the first ball player to relinquish voluntarily the luxurious life of a big league ball player to carry a rifle as a private in the Army. Gowdy [yesterday] left for his home in Columbus, O., to enlist.
...
His teammates were infested with the military fever by his decisive step and a day off, and Stallings fears others will follow suit.

Gowdy spent time on ...

OMNICHATTER is calling its shot, for June 2, 2017

Ken Rosenthal on Twitter: “Sources: Struggling reliever Sam Dyson will be designated for assignment by

According to Rosenthal, the Rangers are looking to trade him.

Sources: Struggling reliever Sam Dyson will be designated for assignment by #Rangers. Jose Leclerc will come off DL to take Dyson’s place.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 2, 2017

Phillies prospect Mickey Moniak is only 19, but he’s already shown a power swing

“He has shown true gap power to right-center and left-center, and at 19 years old he is still getting there,” Malloy said. “I don’t see why he can’t be a 15-20 home-run guy at the next level.”

One scout who has seen Moniak with Lakewood agreed.

“The ball jumps off his bat, and I think he is going to be a very good hitter, and the power will come,” the scout said. “When you look at it, he is such a young kid, and it’s hard to play in that league, playing against some 23-, 24-year-olds.”

“I ...

Brinson smashes two homers for Sky Sox | MiLB.com News

“So far this year, he’s done everything the organization has asked of him,” Colorado Springs’ hitting coach Al LeBoeuf said. “He’s got all the tools that you’d want and the most important one is his mind. His mind is progressing every day and getting in the right place to allow his athletic ability to take over.”

“I think the mental side of my approach has been a work in progress throughout my career,” Brinson added. “These past few years, I think I’ve got a lot better at taking it one at-bat ...

Different Mr. Met has quiet day at Citi Field | Newsday

This might be the dumbest baseball story this year.

Batted-ball data visualization using an alternative to a heatmap – fivetwentyone

This is some cool work. (Yes, data analysis can be cool.)

Data visualization research suggests that spatial separation and length are the most effective ways of showing quantitative comparisons, and in particular that color is better for categorical variables than quantitative variables. My goal here is to explore an alternative to a heatmap that uses a line graph instead of color to show the quantitative dependance of batting average on launch speed. One complication with that is that the way ...

Prospect Heat Check: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going to be a star just like his dad

If you want prospect talk, Jeff Passan has prospect talk.

Braves Matt Kemp off to hot slugging start | MLB.com

In 2017, Kemp’s xwOBA is .399, and his actual wOBA is .416, and now you can see what we’re talking about. At .399, his combination of batted ball contact and strikeouts and walks has very truly been a big step up over last year, one of the 25 best in baseball, ahead of stars like Buster Posey or Francisco Lindor. But instead of underperforming as he had in the [ast two years, Kemp has overperformed this year by 17 points. You can see that in his .398 BABIP, which is 100 points higher than last ...

We asked our staff for their favorite baseball broadcasters. Here are their answers

Ian Casselberry: I really like Ron Darling’s work. Maybe we favor play-by-play guys because they do most of the talking and set the tone for a broadcast, and because it’s really difficult to overcome an annoying or poor one. But Darling benefits from a strong play-by-play man setting him up in Gary Cohen, and he’s taken the opportunity to develop into a broadcaster capable of providing insightful analysis, being entertaining at slow points in the action, and also calling a game if needed. ...Read More...

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: June 01, 2017 at 11:39 PM | 47 comment(s)
  Beats: broadcasters, dan shulman, don orsillo, jon miller, len kasper, ron darling

What if The King Wanted to be The Kid?

Still not as good as Jordan…..

What if a nine-year old LeBron James, inspired by Ken Griffey Jr.’s 45-homer monster season in 1993, had picked up a bat and glove? Instead of setting his ultra-competitive mind to chasing the ghost who played in Chicago (Michael Jordan), he could have set it to the one who played in San Francisco (Willie Mays), Atlanta (Hank Aaron), Seattle (Griffey) or Pittsburgh (Barry Bonds).
Given that James has been in the NBA for 14 years, and we were watching his high ...

101-year-old diehard Mets fan attends her first game in person

On Thursday, June 1, 2017, Rudal “Rudy” Ahlen, who turns 102 on July 29 and has been a Mets fan since Day One in 1962 after nearly a half-century as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, was treated to a game and a meet-and-greet with some players after the organization read a Newsday story about her watching Opening Day at the Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Commack, where she lives and shouts at the screen when they lose.

MLB officially has too many damn home runs

Please remove 3.

p.s. I am not a crackpot.

Kyle Schwarber Is Not Bad at Baseball | FanGraphs Baseball

Monstrous production of 2015?

Schwarber’s has recorded a .343 xwOBA for the season. That’s a good bit above average and would produce about a 110 or 115 wRC+ after park adjustment. It remains to be seen whether Schwarber returns to the monstrous production of 2015. He’s going to walk a ton, though, which should keep his on-base percentage afloat. He might always strike out a lot, too, which will limit his upside some. Even if he hits the rest of the season just like he has so far, that’s ...

Heyman | Hot Seat Isn’t Hot But Here Are 14 Names To Consider

AL Notes and NL Notes.

1. John Farrell, Red Sox.

There have been a few bad signs, most notably when star Dustin Pedroia yelled over to his friend Manny Machado that “it wasn’t me, it was them,” seeming to pin the team’s beanball silliness on nondescript reliever Matt Barnes and someone above Barnes (presumably Farrell). Even Red Sox people admit that didn’t look good at all. It also wasn’t great when Farrell had an argument in the dugout in Oakland with Drew Pomeranz. And ...

Heyman | Boras Goes To Bat For Arrieta After Up-And-Down Start

Boras is consistent. If one of his clients was in an accident and lost a leg, Boras would be claiming the weight loss would help him hop faster down the line.

Astronomical – Joe Blogs – Medium

The Poz on the Astros, Kyle Schwarber, and Mr. Met.

A few years ago, when Theo Epstein was first talking about how to make the Cubs winners, he kept going back to a singular philosophy: You need to control the strike zone both on offense and on defense. He thought of the strike zone the way football coaches think about the line of scrimmage.

Here’s why the Atlanta Braves won’t trade Matt Kemp | Mark Bradley blog

Matt Kemp is teasing the Braves. What happens when he comes to camp next year with 20-30 extra pounds?

Why MLB hitters are suddenly obsessed with launch angles - Washington Post

This is some great stuff.

What The Mets Really Need To Apologize For

I can’t disagree.

Felix Hernandez scheduled to begin rehab assignment soon | The Seattle Times

Hernandez, who hasn’t pitched in more than a month, will likely throw a few innings in a simulated game on Friday or Saturday. If that goes well, Hernandez will make at least one minor-league rehab start, although Servais said “most likely two will be the right amount.”

That means Hernandez is about two weeks away from returning to the Mariners’ rotation.

Which MLB manager should be your life coach? Take this quiz to find out | MLB.com

I got Tito.