On a night when baseball’s playoffs put fans to sleep—literally in Atlanta, where the beloved Braves played until nearly 11 p.m. and still couldn’t score—we looked for answers that produced results.
Start the postseason basically five minutes after the regular season ends, and thus make it difficult for the ace pitchers to be ready for Game 1?
Uh, we have Cole Ragans and Michael King on Line 1…that doesn’t work.
So we ask: What is the great baseball playoff era we’re living in right now?
Well, that’s easy. They had George Brett, Brooks Robinson, Paul Molitor, David Wright, Miguel Cabrera and Chipper Jones at the same position when the franchise released Maikel Garcia, Ramon Urias, Joey Ortiz, Matt Vientos, Matt Vierling and Gio Urshela on Tuesday.
Whatever happened to Mike Schmidt, Adrian Beltre and Alex Rodriguez? Later this week, we will find out that they have been Alec Bohm, Max Muncy and Jazz Chisholm, Jr.
We were only 27 out in a very important baseball game, so it was a hasty conclusion in just one day. But what we saw on Tuesday is something that has been trending for years:
Apparently power-hitting third basemen have become punters.
Hey, don’t underestimate the idea.
According to legend, when Vince Lombardi visited the home of former California football player Bud Levitas almost 60 years ago, the legendary coach saw his friend’s grandson throwing a baseball with a friend in front of the house.
“You want to be a professional athlete one day?” asked Lombardi.
“Yes, sir,” 5-year-old Bobby Melvin replied proudly.
“Then you should learn football.”
Melvin kicked a few spirals, but found it boring. So he became a major league catcher and is now the manager of the San Francisco Giants.
If history will repeat itself today, with Melvin doing a visit and the late Lombardi’s great, great grandson does not recognize the famous captain, this is how the conversation will likely unfold.
“You want to be a professional athlete one day?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then learn how to play third base.”
The baseball playoffs opened with eight teams against eight third basemen. Free tickets to the Mike Schmidt Museum for anyone who can name even six.
Two look familiar: Alex Bregman and Manny Machado.
Then there are the uniforms written by Vierling, Garcia, Urias, Vientos, Ortiz and Urshela.
As a group, third basemen went 7-for-27 in the playoff opener. That’s not bad (.259).
But here it is: one extra-base hit (double), one walk, three runs and three RBIs.
Take away Vientos-Mets have an old-school third baseman and they scored eight runs; imagine that-and you have a bunch of guys who should have pinch-hit for, as one (Urias) with the game on the line in the ninth.
Pete Rose is rolling over in his grave … and he’s not buried yet.
Honestly: not much to expect. Garcia and Ortiz bathed last. Urias reached seventh and Urshela was eighth.
As the minds of baseball companies try to figure out how baseball became football, the answer was staring them in the face Tuesday.
The third baseman couldn’t hit anymore.
It’s horrible, and an epidemic.
How powerless is this position?
The leading home run hitter among third basemen on 11 different teams hit fewer than 10 this season. And not just in the White Sox.
The Yankees, for whom A-Rod once hit 52 homers as a third baseman in 2007, barely reached the threshold. He was led by 10 Chisholm.
Tyler Nevin, Phil’s father had 41 homers as a third baseman for the Padres in 2001, leading the A’s with four.
The Nationals sent 619 third basemen to the plate this season. They combined for seven homers, none of them more than three.
Schmidt once hit four IN ONE GAME. So did Graig Nettles and Bob Horner.
Overall, National League third basemen are hitting .243 with 294 homers this season. That was better than his American League counterparts, who hit .241 with 274 homers.
I guess we have to blame Fernando Tatis.
In 1999, he was one of six third basemen to hit 30 or more homers and one of 10 to hit .299 or better.
On January 2 of that year, Fernando had a son. He was named Junior … and sent out to play shortstop.
NL third basemen reached 391 homers in 1999. In the next decade, they failed to reach even 350 three different times, then six times in 2010 which.
In the AL, third basemen hit .265 or better seven times in the 00 decade, then just once in the 10.
The A-Rod era has been B-Inge’s fault.
And post-pandemic … Well, we can see on Tuesday. No NL third baseman has hit 350 or more homers once. AL third basemen have yet to hit .265 or better.
In 2021, NL third basemen hit 357 homers with a .249 average. This year: 294 and .243.
That year in the AL, third basemen hit 311 homers with a .248 average. This year: 274 and .241.
Moving on, Mario Mendoza. A .201 average with 3.3 home runs has been third baseman Carter Kieboom Line.
Five guys with 100 or more plate appearances as third basemen landed below the Kieboom Line this season. Spend another 11 if you lower the minimum plate view to 50.
Is there a man with a more misleading name?
That’s why kuningan is not confused.
