Things I Loved In Baseball This Week
Launching a brand new feature for Baseball fans...
Welcome to a new weekly feature from Blogs Of Steele where, every Monday, I’ll be looking back at some of the highlights, performances and talking points I loved from the past few days in Major League Baseball…
Okay, so I know it is Tuesday but we’re launching the inaugural edition of this new feature - the first of a slew of features we’re going to be introducing you to over the coming weeks - a day later.
Good things come to those who wait.
Going forward, Things I Loved In Baseball This Week will be posted on a Monday so put that in your diary going forward.
So, what’s the gist of this weekly feature? Basically, I watch a lot of baseball. I mean, a hell of a lot. The other day I watched a Rockies - Royals game on a random Friday in June because, well, why not?
And it got me thinking. Given the obscene amount of baseball I digest on a daily basis, why not do a weekly roundup of all the moments that caught my eye, that made me jump up from my seat, that got me angry, that confused the hell out of me and that, most importantly, made me want to open the laptop and write about it. So that’s what this feature is - my random musings and scribblings on everything I’ve witnessed in baseball over a four or five day period.
And, hey, I may end up doing a couple of these during certain weeks because, let’s face it, with so many games being played every single day, one article a week probably won’t be enough.
And I won’t always just stick to MLB. With the 2023 Women’s College World Series in the final stages and the 2023 Men’s College World Series getting underway next week, I’ll feature some cool moments from the Road To Oklahoma City and the Road To Omaha respectively, as well as the latest highlights that catch my eye from the minor leagues.
Without further ado, let’s dive in to what really impressed me this past week or so…
Judge Isn’t Human
Aaron Judge is a freaking super-human cheat code right now.
He’s an absolute monster yet again.
That’s the only possible way to describe him given the unprecedented things he’s currently doing both at the plate and in the field.
There were some who felt after a stellar MVP campaign in 2022 - in which he broke Roger Maris’ long-standing and hallowed American League record of most home runs in a single season by belting 62 dingers - that some regression was only natural in 2023.
However, not only has that proved not to be the case, but Judge is seemingly on a path to carving out a better season than he had last year. If that is even possible.
But, to be fair, at this point nothing seems to be out of the realm of possibility for Judge who is on an all-time great run in sports, let alone baseball right now. He’s doing magical things with the bat and the glove and he had two moments over the weekend that really highlighted his greatness.
Firstly, he crushed his American-League leading 19th home run, a solo shot off the Dodgers’ Shelby Miller in the sixth inning. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Judge’s masterclass arrived later in the game and it came in the field rather than at the plate.
With a man on first and with a 2-2 count, J.D. Martinez blasted a shot to right field for what looked to be an extra-bases hit. However, Judge had other ideas. Running at full speed, the 6-foot-7, 282 lb giant made a full-on effort to get back to the warning track, snagging the ball out of the air with his glove before every inch of his powerful frame smashed through the right-field bullpen gate, causing some damage to the fence in the process.
It was truly a rare sight you had to watch over and over just to grasp the full reality of what had just happened. It was the sheer definition of a clutch play, and it will go down as one of the best highlight-reel plays of the season as well as one of the finest fielding plays of Judge’s entire storied career.
The only downside was that Judge hurt himself in the process, injuring his big right toe during the blockbuster catch. The superstar slugger is currently out of the lineup and may need to go on the IL.
Hopefully that isn’t the case and Judge is back soon because he is must-watch TV every time he’s in the lineup. The four-time All-Star has 14 homers over his past 19 games and is currently slashing .291/.404/.674 with a 1.078 OPS. That on-base percentage is an absolute joke, by the way. That highlights just how truly elite a clip Judge has been playing at this year. And you wouldn’t bet against him securing a second consecutive MVP Award if he can maintain this current pace.
Judge is special and we’re lucky to be able to watch him every single day.
Sarah Langs
Friday was Lou Gehrig Day in Major League Baseball, a day where the entire baseball community comes together every single year to help bring awareness to and raise funds to support research for the deadly disease that is ALS, the illness that claimed the life of the iconic Hall of Famer.
What made Friday remarkable, however, was that the baseball world didn’t just come together to honor Lou Gehrig, they came together to throw their support behind Sarah Langs who, at just 30-years-old, is currently battling ALS.
There is no doubt that Sarah has become the present-day face of ALS, and her incredible bravery and courage is truly an inspiration to everyone. Not only that, but Sarah has refused to let the terrible disease prevent her from doing what she does best, and that’s talking about the sport she loves the most. Baseball.
Sarah is the best baseball researcher in the game and a slew of writers and broadcasters have come across as smarter thanks to Sarah, me included. I have lost count of the amount of times I’ve seen a really cool stat that Sarah has Tweeted out (I’ve actually used one later on in this article) and decided to use it in whatever piece I’m working on at the time. There’s also been plenty of occasions where I’ve had an idea for an article based on Sarah’s incredible, magical baseball mind. The entire baseball world owes her a hell of a lot.
And, despite everything she is currently going through, she has never stopped smiling and her now iconic catchphrase - ‘Baseball Is The Best’ - has never been more true. Baseball is a sport that can bring all of us together and Sarah is the shining symbol of that.
So it was great to see Sarah get showered with all the love she deserves this weekend. Sarah was honored by the New York Mets - the team she grew up supporting - on Friday, where she was presented with a check for $10,000 for Project ALS. Sarah and her family also sported t-shirts with the phrase “Baseball Is The Best” on the front, made by the brilliant folks at RotoWear. In addition to the festivities at Citi Field, Sarah was also named the New York Yankees’ HOPE Week Honoree, which was done on a Zoom call with a cadre of key figures from the Yankees, including Manager Aaron Boone and General Manager Brian Cashman.
The outpouring of love for Sarah on social media was also incredible, and you HAVE to read this heartfelt, emotional and simply perfect tribute to Sarah from her best friend Mandy Bell, who covers the Cleveland Guardians for MLB.com.
You are truly incredible Sarah, and we are all with you every single step of the way. That’s a promise. #BaseballIsTheBest.
Fairytale Finish
We were treated to an amazing feel-good story over the weekend thanks to Liam Hendriks of the Chicago White Sox.
Hendriks was making his third outing of the season on Sunday since making a Herculean comeback from Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
The veteran reliever worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out two, to pick up his first win since returning from cancer. And, to make it all the more special, it came on National Cancer Survivors Day.
You can’t write a better script than that.
Is He For Freaking Real?
Luis Arráez is doing historical things right now.
No, wait, scratch that, Arráez is doing the kind of things that haven’t been seen in baseball in a long, long time.
Arguably the purest hitter in the game right now is having a season for the ages, and he had himself one hell of a weekend at the plate.
After putting together his first career five-hit game on Friday, Arráez is now chasing a very, very, very rare slice of history in 2023.
The chase to become the first .400 hitter since Hall of Famer Ted Williams accomplished the feat in 1941 is officially on.
No player has really come close to threatening Williams’ all-time record, other than George Brett in 1980 who was batting .400+ through 134 games.
So, the bottom line is that what Arráez is doing now isn’t only unprecedented, but he’s floating in very rarified air right now. And his achievements carry even more significance given that the modern-day game is built on home runs and strikeouts.
But Arráez is very much a player straight out of a 1950s time warp. If you watch him play - and you should because he’s so freaking entertaining to watch at the plate - you would think he’s been hit on the head and woken up in the wrong century. He almost doesn’t belong in the modern-day game so good is he at putting the ball in play.
Arráez could also become the first player since 1900 to be the batting champion in the AL and the NL in consecutive seasons. He captured the AL Batting Title while with the Minnesota Twins in 2022, slashing .316/.375/.420 with a .795 OPS. Arráez was then acquired in a blockbuster trade by the Marlins on Jan. 20, 2023 for right-hander Pablo López. Arráez is currently hitting .399/.450/.495/.945 with the Marlins and his chase for all-time greatness is going to be electric to watch the rest of the way.
There’s no doubt he’s one of the purest and most entertaining players to watch in the game today.
Every Dog Has Their Day
What do the Texas Rangers, the Baltimore Orioles, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Pittsburgh Pirates all have in common?
Answer: They all sucked for a substantial amount of time and consistently competed for the title of who could stink out the ballpark the most year after year after year.
Well, these are strange times we live in because the Rangers, the Orioles, the Diamondbacks and the Pirates are all now pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good to quote Larry David.
Wait, what? Some of the biggest dumpster fires in MLB in recent memory are actually all competitive and playing above .500 ball at the same time?
Yep, I kid you not. It’s actually happening.
The surging Diamondbacks are the story right now given they sit atop the NL West with the LA Dodgers, with both teams sharing an identical 35-25 record. Arizona might actually be legit good and they boast an electric rookie in Corbin Carroll who is lighting up the sport right now.
Like Arizona, the Pirates are top of their division with a 32-27 record having won six straight, the Orioles boast a core of young talent led by rising superstar Adley Rutschman and they are just 4.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East, while the Rangers are clicking in the AL West with a 39-20 record. By the way, Texas appears to be the real deal and they are a fun team to watch on MLB.TV right now. They boast arguably the best offense in the majors, sparked by Marcus Semien’s 24-game hitting streak, and they are a team with a hell of a lot of upside when it comes to a potential trip to the World Series in October.
(While writing this, it was confirmed ace pitcher Jacob deGrom will undergo Tommy John Surgery. That is a crushing blow for Texas, but they have done okay so far without deGrom so there is some hope there. It still stinks though).
In an ideal world you want every team to be competitive across the board and, at various points, all of the teams mentioned in this section have done their utmost to harm the competitive balance of baseball by tanking and sucking on purpose at historical rates. So, it is nice to say the least that a host of underdogs are finally getting their day in 2023 and are making the most of it.
And One More…
Okay, this one happened today but it is still pretty damn notable.
The Cincinnati Reds have finally done the damn thing by calling up highly-regarded prospect Elly De La Cruz.
The electric shortstop will make history today by becoming the youngest player to make his debut as a cleanup hitter in 46 years. Per the excellent Sarah Langs, the full list is:
4/9/63 - Rusty Staub: 19 years, 8 days
7/19/28 - Harley Boss: 19 years, 243 days
9/11/33 - Hal Trosky: 20 years, 304 days
4/13/76 - Andrés Mora: 20 years, 234 days
6/6/23 - Elly De La Cruz: 21 years, 146 days
That is quite some list.
The entire baseball world has been waiting for Elly De La Cruz and it is no surprise. Cincinnati’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 4 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, batted .297/.398/.633 with 12 homers and 36 RBIs in 38 games at Triple-A Louisville this year.
He’s a five-tool talent who produces a glut of highlight-reel plays for fun. The shortstop has recorded the hardest-hit ball in all of professional baseball this year with a 118.8 mph exit velocity, recorded by Statcast. He ripped a double at 117.3 mph on June 4. In early May, he recorded the hardest throw in Triple-A or in the bigs at the time with a 99.2 mph rocket. And, if that wasn’t enough, on June 2, De La Cruz’s 10.97 second sprint from home plate to third base tied him for the quickest trip from home to third tracked at the Major League level in 2023.
Yep, De La Cruz is gonna be a hell of a lot of fun to watch in Major League Baseball and I know I’m going to be tuning in to his debut later for sure.
That’s it for the inaugural edition of Things I Loved In Baseball This Week! I hope you enjoyed it and we’ll be playing around with the format over the next few weeks and experimenting as we go.
But this was fun - until next time!
