January 31, 2025 [LINK / comment]

Juan $oto LOVES New York!?

Last October, former Washington National Juan $oto almost single-handedly brought an American League pennant to the New York Yankees for the first time in 15 years. Many people, myself included, assumed that Juan had found a new home in the Bronx, and that the Yankees' big pocketed owner would oblige him with a salary and terms commensurate with his immense value to the franchise. And then one month later he turned down a contract in favor of the cross-town rivals: the Mets! It was surprising, because when he left the Nationals during the 2022 season, it was assumed that he would rather play for a team with a good chance of making it to the World Series. The Yankees, sure, but the Mets??? They are famous for choking and for squandering talent and squabbling amongst themselves. In recognition of Juan's evident shift in priorities toward monetary incentives, I am replacing the "S" in his last name with a dollar sign.

Juan Soto lifts Yankees to World Series

For much of October, Juan Soto played a lot like he did for the Washington Nationals in the 2019 postseason, with multiple clutch hits and monster home runs that left the fans in awe. It seemed like the natural culmination of his superstar career, in the city that always seems to draw champion players like a magnet.

2024: the best World Series that money can buy!

A full 15 years elapsed between the last time the Yankees made it to the World Series, encompassing the first full decade with no Fall Classic in the Bronx since before the Yankees moved to the Bronx from northern Manhattan in 1923. It was a dramatic rematch of the 1981 World Series, which the Dodgers won, and of the 1977 and 1978 World Series, both of which the Yankees won. It's hard to believe that over four decades had passed since the last time those two teams faced each other in October.

Game 1 (in Los Angeles) went into extra innings, only the second such game in the 2024 MLB postseason. The Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 10th inning, and were one out away from beating the Dodgers in the bottom of the inning, when Freddie Freeman stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. You know what happened next: the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history! That twist of fate changed the whole complexion of the series, and the Dodgers won the next two games by a 4-2 score. In Game 4 the Yankees finally woke up, and they won it easily, 11-4. Game 5 was looking very good for the home team in the Bronx, and they built a 5-0 lead after three innings. Then came the God-awful nightmare of the 5th inning, where Murphy's Law reigned supreme: Everything that possibly could go wrong DID go wrong.

Here was my initial reaction on Facebook to the big defensive meltdown, which included three Yankee errors, enabling the Dodgers to erase the deficit with five runs scored:

That miserable fifth inning ...
Why did Aaron Judge take his eyes off the ball in center field?
Why couldn’t shortstop Anthony Volpe (the hero of Game 4) throw the ball to third base for the force out?
Why didn’t Gerritt Cole run to first base to get the force out? It would have ended the inning, preserving the 5-0 lead.

Maybe those goofs were connected in some kind of karmic way to those jerk fans who were trying to grab the ball from Mookie Betts yesterday. Alas, ...

After the inning, the Dodgers had the momentum once again, and they eventually came out on top in a fierce contest. Notably, one of the Dodgers' best relief pitchers was Blake Treinen, who used to pitch for the Nationals but often had a rough time on the mound. Somehow he fixed his approach to the game, and he is now a top-caliber hurler. Anyway, congratulations to the team that fought harder and deserved to win: the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Will Smith wins again!

FUN FACT: For the fifth year in a row, Will Smith (or a player with that name, rather) was on the team that won the World Series! Will Smith #1 has been the catcher for the L.A. Dodgers for several years, whereas Will Smith #2 (the pitcher) has bounced around from one team to another almost every year, most recently with the Kansas City Royals. Whether Will Smith the actor and rap singer is involved with this coincidence somehow remains uncertain.

1. 2020: the catcher (LAD)
2. 2021: the pitcher (ATL)
3. 2022: the pitcher (HOU)
4. 2023: the pitcher (TEX)
5. 2024: the catcher (LAD)

Comparing the ballparks

Every year in late October, I present the home ballparks of the two World Series teams, for easy comparison between them. Due to the unplanned hiatus in the latter months of 2024, however, my custom was interrupted. For the record, here are Dodger Stadium (built in 1962) and New Yankee Stadium (built in 2009). In any case, these two stadiums have little if anything in common.

Just roll your mouse over the thumbnail images to switch between the respective full-size diagrams.

Hurricane damages Tropicana Field

In early October Hurricane Milton shredded the flimsy roof at Tropicana Field, which was supposed to serve as a staging area for emergency workers. Instead, the facility was exposed to heavy rain and wind, wreaking severe damage. There are no drainage systems at the home of the Rays, which is why they can't just play in the open this year. Until that roof is fixed, every time there's a heavy rain in St. Petersburg, it's going to be a big mess inside. For that reason, the Rays have elected to play in George Steinbrenner Field across the Bay in Tampa this year.

For the future, the Rays hope to build a new stadium in the Historic Gas Plant area near downtown St. Petersburg, but the need to pay for repairs to their current home may delay construction of their new home. (See MLB.com.) It's a weird, very awkward situation.

Athletics get ready for Sacramento

As the former Oakland Athletics prepare to move to Sutter Health Park on the west side of beautiful downtown Sacramento, many wonder how long they will stay there while Las Vegas figures out who's going to pay for the Athletics' future home where the Tropicana resort casino once stood. I was skeptical about that relocation all along, but the demolition of the former landmark was an indication that the big honchos in Las Vegas were serious after all.

It's remarkable that the two teams that played in what are widely considered the worst stadiums today will be playing elsewhere this year, but for entirely different reasons.

R.I.P. Bob Uecker, Willie Mays, and many others

Former TV broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers, Bob Uecker, passed away earlier this month at the age of 91. Never more than a "so-so" player (with the Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Milwaukee Brewers), ending his career with an even .200 batting average. Uecker gained fame as a humorist on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, eventually making commercials for Miller Lite beer and other brands. His wry, self-deprecating style of humor literally made you "laugh out loud." He lifted all our spirits, and he will be remembered warmly.

Willie Mays, the "Say Hey" kid who was idolized by millions of younger fans in New York and later San Francisco, passed away in October. One of the most well-rounded baseball superstars of all time, he could do everything, and he did it with style, grace, and a big grin on his face. As a kid I remember trying to catch a baseball while holding the glove with his "basket" style. Mays had a lifetime batting average of .302, with 660 home runs -- currently ranking #6 among all baseball players.

This statue of Willie Mays stands at the main entrance to Oracle Park in downtown San Francisco.

In the weeks to come, I will try to give proper recognition to some of the other former baseball greats who passed away last year.

Hot stove chatter

The latest news on the player transaction front is that aging veteran pitcher (and former Washington National) Max Scherzer has signed a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Max is sure to get in the Hall of Fame a few years down the road, presumably wearing a Nationals uniform, but it sure is confusing to keep track of all the teams he has been playin with since that awful days in August 2021 when he was traded to the L.A. Dodgers, along with Trea Turner. A year later he was playing with the New York Mets, and then he got traded to the Texas Rangers. He will turn 41 in July. Wherever he plays, within limits (!), Nats fans wish him all the best as his career winds down.

The Dodgers' acquisition of pitching ace Blake Snell raises the odds of a World Series repeat this year. Like the Dodgers' contract with Shohei Ohtani the year before, a considerable portion of Snell's contract consists of deferred salary.

The Washington Nationals made a few minor acquisitions, most notably signing Josh Bell once again, but the owners wisely refrained from competing with the deep-pocketed Mets this year.