Shohei Ohtani, Max Scherzer Named AL, NL Starting Pitchers for 2021 MLB All-Star Game
Jul 12, 2021
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JULY 11: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels looks on from the dugout before the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on July 11, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani and Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer have been named the starting pitchers for the American League and National League, respectively, for Tuesday's All-Star Game.
Ohtani was voted by fans as an AL starter at the designated hitter position.
The batting orders for both teams were also announced Monday:
The American League All-Star lineup… Ohtani will serve as both the starting pitcher and DH. pic.twitter.com/Q7N6bKSfz4
Ohtani, 27, has become a mythical figure in his four seasons with the Angels. He leads MLB hitters with 33 home runs this year, is third in baseball with 70 RBI, has posted a 1.062 OPS and is 4-1 on the mound with a 3.49 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 67 innings.
Shohei Ohtani will be the SECOND Japanese-born pitcher to start an All-Star Game – and first for the AL side.
Hideo Nomo – as a rookie – started the 1995 Midsummer Classic for the NL.
Kevin Cash said Ohtani will be used as two players. He “begged MLB” for the rules so he would t mess it up. Ohtani will stay in the game after he pitches as a position player.
He'll also feature in Monday night's Home Run Derby.
Injuries limited Ohtani to 12 starts in his first three seasons, and he wasn't utilized as a pitcher in the 2019 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018. But he's returned to a dual role and is thriving both on the mound and at the plate in a way baseball arguably hasn't seen since the early days of Babe Ruth's career.
When anything you do evokes the accomplishments of Ruth, you're on a special trajectory.
While the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year will appear in his first All-Star Game, Scherzer is heading to his eighth Midsummer Classic. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is having another fantastic season, going 7-4 with a 2.66 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 134 strikeouts in 98 innings.
In case you were wondering, Scherzer doesn't have any hits in 30 at-bats this year.
Joe Ross' Father Willie Gives Woman Heimlich at Nationals vs. Giants Game
Jul 10, 2021
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Joe Ross delivers a pitch during a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, July 4, 2021, in Washington. The Dodgers won 5-1. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Dr. Willie Ross, who is the father of pitchers Joe and Tyson Ross, performed abdominal thrusts on a woman choking on a hot dog at Oracle Park during the Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants game on Saturday.
Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle provided more information:
Just put two and two together. This was Joe Ross's dad, who is a doctor. Hero at the ballpark today. https://t.co/DLnfHSZ3jn
Dr. Willie Ross is chatting with Nationals reporters in front of the press box after saving a woman's life at Oracle Park. Dad of Joe and Tyson, who grew up in Oakland.
Dr. Willie Ross says he attended to the recently retired nurse who had three pieces of hot dog lodged in her throat and she's doing well, was very thankful and a little embarrassed. Dr. Ross also once saved a woman who had a stroke at an amateur field in San Leandro. What a guy!!
Dr. Ross is a pediatrician who practices in the Bay Area.
Joe Ross, a starting pitcher for the Nationals, was slated to start against the Giants this weekend. However, he landed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with right elbow inflammation. He was coming off an 11-strikeout performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tyson Ross pitched in MLB from 2010 to 2019. He opted out of the 2020 season and signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers in February.
Nationals' Max Scherzer Named Replacement for 2021 National League All-Star Team
Jul 10, 2021
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer works in the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Thursday, July 8, 2021, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
Washington Nationals star Max Scherzer has been named as a replacement for the National League in the 2021 All-Star Game:
He was named as part of a group of replacements along with fellow starting pitchers Walker Buehler, Taijuan Walker and Freddy Peralta, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
Not counting the shortened 2020 season that didn't have an All-Star game because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the eighth straight time Scherzer has earned an All-Star selection.
The openings were created after fellow NL pitchers Jacob deGrom, Yu Darvish, Kevin Gausman and Brandon Woodruff all dropped out after being selected as All-Stars, per Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
Scherzer fell short of selection the first time around, but he is deserving overall with a 7-4 record, 2.66 ERA, 0.878 WHIP and 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. The numbers were even better before giving up seven runs in 3.2 innings during his last start against the San Diego Padres.
It was his first time allowing more than two earned runs in a start since April.
The 36-year-old has also proved himself in the past with three Cy Young awards, finishing in the top five of voting in each year from 2013-19.
Washington has been up and down as a team this year, but the squad will be well-represented in Denver with Juan Soto, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber also selected as All-Stars.
Nationals' Juan Soto to Participate in 2021 MLB Home Run Derby
Jul 7, 2021
Washington Nationals' Juan Soto bats during a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, July 4, 2021, in Washington. The Dodgers won 5-1. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
One of the final two spots in the 2021 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby has been filled.
Washington Nationals star Juan Soto told reporters on Wednesday he will take part in the event.
Soto joins a group of competitors that already included Pete Alonso (New York Mets), Trey Mancini (Baltimore Orioles), Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels), Matt Olson (Oakland Athletics), Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals) and Trevor Story (Colorado Rockies).
This will mark the first appearance in the Home Run Derby for Soto. The Nationals was also named to the National League All-Star team for the first time in his career.
Since making his debut in 2018, Soto has established himself as one of the best all-around hitters in baseball. He led the NL in all three triple-slash categories last season (.351/.490/.695).
Soto hasn't shown as much power so far in 2021, but the 22-year-old is still hitting .277/.395/.438 in 74 games. He's proven over the past four seasons that there's more than enough pop in his swing to compete with anyone in a hitting exhibition.
The 2021 Home Run Derby will take place on Monday at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.
Nationals' Kyle Schwarber's Hamstring Injury Diagnosed as 'Significant Strain'
Jul 3, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 30: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Washington Nationals reacts after striking out in the fifth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Nationals Park on June 30, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Washington Nationals slugger Kyle Schwarber suffered a "significant" right hamstring strain and is likely to miss an extended period of time, manager Dave Martinez announced Saturday.
Dave Martinez says he doesn’t like putting timetables on injuries, but this will definitely be more than a 10-day IL situation for Kyle Schwarber. Tough, tough break for the Nationals, right as they were finding their stride.
Schwarber, who was pulled from Friday night's contest against the Los Angeles Dodgers after a second-inning single, was placed on the injured list Saturday and is expected to require more than the minimum 10 days before returning.
It's a crushing blow to the Nats, who rode the left fielder's bat back into contention for the National League East title over the last month. The 28-year-old set a franchise record with 16 home runs in June—including seven leadoff homers—to earn National League Player of the Month honors.
Through 72 games, Schwarber is slashing .253/.340/.570 with 25 home runs—the fourth-most in baseball behind Shohei Ohtani (30), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (26).
That power helped Washington overcome a 21-29 start and compile a 19-9 record in June. Entering Saturday, the Nats were 2.5 games behind the New York Mets for first in the NL East.
Schwarber described this injury as not the worst-case scenario. Doesn’t need surgery, just rest and treatment. Determined to come back as soon as he can.
Schwarber is far from the only player to suffer a strained hamstring this season, as Gabe Lacques of USA Today noted June 3:
Through May, there were 104 soft tissue injuries that resulted in stints on the IL, a 160% increase over the 48 after two months in 2019, according to Stan Conte, the former trainer for the Dodgers and Giants who now operates Conte Sport Performance Therapy in Arizona and consults for multiple MLB franchises and the league office.
Hamstrings are going haywire – already the most common injury in baseball, they are up 193% since 2019, with 47 IL stints compared to 16 through May 2021.
With Schwarber out, the Nats will rely on Gerardo Parra and may try to find additional help elsewhere.
There just may not be any replacement for the power Schwarber adds to the lineup. His historic June proved his presence is vital to the team's success.
Nationals' Rejuvenated Kyle Schwarber Has Slugged His Way into NL MVP Race
Jul 1, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 28: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Washington Nationals rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the New York Mets at Nationals Park on June 28, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
A few weeks ago, Kyle Schwarber was having a decent yet unspectacular season for a Washington Nationals club that was deep underwater in the National League East.
Now the Nats can't stop winning, precisely because their burly left fielder just can't stop hitting home runs.
With this 112.1 mph, 434-foot blast off Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Rich Hill at Nationals Park on Tuesday, Schwarber notched his 12th homer in his last 10 games:
Here's your daily Kyle Schwarber June HR tally update:
Now, a hitter cranking out 12 homers in a span of 10 games has happened before. But literally only once, as Schwarber is the first to accomplish the feat since Albert Belle set the bar back in 1995.
Factoring in the four homers that Schwarber also hit in a four-game stretch between June 12 and June 14, he likewise had a collection of 16 long balls in 18 games before coming up empty on Wednesday. This too is a historic feat that he shares with only Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds.
Accordingly, what had been a decent yet unspectacular season has shifted firmly to the latter side of the aisle. Schwarber, 28, is now second in the National League with 25 home runs, with a 155 OPS+ that's tied for fifth among qualified NL hitters.
Oh, and the Nats? They're 15-4 since Schwarber's home run binge began, thereby elevating themselves from a last-place team in an 8.5-game hole to a second-place team in a mere 2.0-game hole.
What we have here, then, is a legitimate contender being driven by a rising MVP candidate. And for Schwarber, it all has the feeling of an overdue payoff.
The Schwarber That Was
Back when the Chicago Cubs drafted Schwarber out of Indiana with the No. 4 pick in the 2014 draft, there was some uncertainty as to whether he would remain behind the plate as his professional career progressed. Sure enough, he hasn't.
There was virtually no uncertainty at that time, however, as to whether he would hit. To quote the book on him at MLB.com: "He offers lots of strength and bat speed from the left side of the plate, and he's not a one-dimensional hitter either. Schwarber controls the strike zone well and repeatedly barrels balls, so he should hit for a high average as well."
It took no time at all for Schwarber to live up to his offensive billing, as he immediately took to the low minors with a .344/.428/.634 line and 18 home runs in 72 games down the stretch of 2014. He then hit .323/.430/.591 with 16 blasts in 75 games at Double-A and Triple-A to begin the 2015 campaign, prompting the Cubs to promote him on June 16.
Rather than let the experience humble him, Schwarber just kept right on hitting. He slashed .246/.355/.487 with 16 homers in 69 regular-season games and subsequently marked his first postseason with a titanic blast in the National League Division Series:
Even after he tore his ACL just two games into the season, Schwarber eventually did add to his legend in 2016. He was healthy enough to serve as a designated and pinch hitter in the World Series, and he did his part to lead the Cubs to a victory 108 years in the making with seven hits in 17 at-bats.
Perhaps even more so than what he did in 2015, it might have been that performance that underscored Schwarber's massive offensive potential. Starting in 2017, he would surely cement himself as one of baseball's great hitters.
But he just...didn't.
He showed off plenty of power in slamming 94 home runs between 2017 and 2019, yet he slashed only .234/.337/.492 in the process. That resulted in a 114 OPS+ that had him rubbing shoulders with everymen like Marwin Gonzalez, Eddie Rosario and Domingo Santana.
In those years, nothing held Schwarber back as much as a swing-and-miss habit highlighted by a 27.8 strikeout percentage. Come 2020, he was striking out at a 29.5 percent clip and compounding his issues with a ground-ball rate over 50 percent. His production cratered to a .188/.308/.393 slash line, prompting the Cubs to cut him loose via a non-tender.
So when the Nationals signed Schwarber to a one-year, $10 million deal in January of this year, he was equal parts reclamation project and lottery ticket.
The Schwarber That Is
Cut to now, and the Nats' gamble on Schwarber is obviously paying dividends. But it's been a process, the first portion of which involved the slugger going back to the basics.
Shortly after he signed, Schwarber met up with Nats hitting coach Kevin Long in Tampa Bay, and they got to work on changing his hitting stance. Whereas Schwarber had been hitting out of an upright position in 2020, the idea was to get him back down into the more crouched position he'd had earlier in his career.
As Schwarber explained during spring training: "Hitting is kind of an evolution. The game started adjusting, going up, up, up [in the zone]. So I started going up, up, up and I lost some things down [in the zone]."
Even in spite of mismatched camera angles, the difference between Schwarber then and Schwarber now is clear:
To the extent that Schwarber's average against pitches at and beyond the bottom third of the strike zone has improved from .129 in 2020 to .213 this year, this change has had the desired effect.
It's also easy to credit Schwarber's new/old stance for his improved ground-ball rate, which is down to 40.1 percent. This is ensuring that his talent for generating exit velocity—his average of 92.2 mph is in the 89th percentile for 2021—isn't going to waste as often as it did in 2020.
Meanwhile, the former Hoosier has also settled into an approach befitting of a proper slugger. In that, he's letting breaking and off-speed pitches outside of the strike zone go more often while increasing his swings at fastballs within the zone:
Schwarber has also taken a counterintuitive yet effective approach to hitting leadoff since settling into that spot June 12. Though leadoff hitters are typically expected to work counts, he's actually upped his swing rate:
Nationals manager Dave Martinez has noticed, and he likes it: “He’s getting up there and he’s attacking the strike zone, he really is. He’s not waiting around.”
Indeed, Schwarber's aggressiveness has had a hand in reducing his strikeout rate from 29.3 to a more reasonable 26.0 percent. And of his 16 long balls since June 12, seven have been on either the first or second pitch of the at-bat. He had five such homers in all of 2020.
To be sure, these things don't necessarily paint a picture of a hitter who's drastically different than the one who used to work on the North Side of Chicago. They do, however, paint one of a guy who's the best possible version of that particular hitter.
Schwarber's MVP Odds Are Long...But Maybe Not That Long
If you're going to be an MVP candidate in today's MLB, you've got to have WAR. And in spite of all his offensive excellence in recent weeks, that's where Schwarber falls short.
Baseball Reference and FanGraphs both put his wins above replacement at 2.1. In either case, he's been only about half as valuable as dynamic San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who has 4.3 rWAR and 4.0 fWAR.
Even though he's about an average sprinter, Schwarber just isn't much of a baserunner. He's also accounted for minus-five outs above average in left field, putting him just one ahead of Toronto Blue Jays slugger Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for last among the qualifiers at that position.
On the plus side, things naturally look a lot better for Schwarber if the focus is narrowed to just the last few weeks. Per FanGraphs, he's accrued 1.8 of his 2.2 overall WAR just since June 12. The list of players with more fWAR since then is...well, empty.
Even though Schwarber will almost certainly cool down eventually, that works as a decent proof of concept for the notion that he can hit his way to the NL MVP award. He figures to have an especially strong case if:
He tops a 1.000 OPS and 50 home runs
The Nationals keep winning
Tatis tails off or is unable to stay healthy
By virtue of what's happening right now, those first two possibilities aren't that outlandish. And while Tatis' talent is undeniable, it was just last year that he hurt his MVP candidacy with a season-ending slump, and it's no secret that his left shoulder isn't entirely stable.
For the time being, consider Schwarber's at-bats to be appointment viewing. Because when he swings, chances are the ball is going to go far.
Trea Turner Ties MLB Record With 3rd Career Cycle in Nationals vs. Rays
Jun 30, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 28: Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner (7) celebrates after his first inning home run during the New York Mets versus Washington Nationals MLB game at Nationals Park on June 28, 2021 in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Most players will never hit for the cycle in their MLB careers. Great players, even. Babe Ruth never did it. Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr. never accomplished the feat, either.
Trea Turner did so for the third time Wednesday—at the age of 28—tying an MLB record:
Turner was 4-for-4 with four runs, an RBI and two stolen bases. He posted a single in the first inning, a double in the third, a homer in the fourth and a triple in the sixth.
Leading 11-5, the Nationals pinch hit Ryan Zimmerman for Turner in the bottom of the seventh inning.
He's having yet another excellent year, hitting .318 with 14 home runs, 38 RBI, 18 stolen bases and 50 runs. He seems like a lock to earn his first All-Star Game nod this season after finishing seventh in National League MVP voting a year ago.
Turner is a star. And he's one of the few players who can say they achieved a feat Ruth and Mays never matched.
Nationals' Kyle Schwarber Would Skip 2021 Home Run Derby Amid Historic Hot Streak
Jun 30, 2021
Washington Nationals' Kyle Schwarber prepares to bat during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Nationals Park, Tuesday, June 29, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Washington Nationals outfielder Kyle
Schwarber said Tuesday he hasn't been asked to take part in the 2021
Home Run Derby despite his recent hot streak but confirmed he'd turn down the
offer if it does arrive.
Schwarber, who hit his 16th homer in
the past 18 games in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, explained his previous experience in the 2018 Derby is a factor in his
decision.
"I think the best thing to do is
probably let it pass and rest up and look forward to the second
half," he told reporters. "The biggest thing is you're
going to get sore, after the fact. You're taking almost 13-15 minutes
of full swings. You never do that in a day [of] your daily routine in
baseball. That's just torturing yourself. It's definitely taxing on
the body."
Schwarber was with the Chicago Cubs
when he finished second to Bryce Harper in the 2018 contest.
The 28-year-old Ohio native encouraged
other players to take part in the Derby, especially if it would be
their debut in the event, but as for himself he noted it's
something he's checked off his "bucket list."
"I think it's a great experience
and the people that are in it, and especially for the first time,
they're going to love it," Schwarber said. "It's going to
be something they never forget."
The Nats slugger's recent barrage has him tied for third in baseball with 25 home runs, behind only the Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani (28) and
Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (26).
Meanwhile, Ohtani, reigning Derby
champion Pete Alonso from the New York Mets, the Colorado Rockies'
Trevor Story and Baltimore Orioles' Trey Mancini have committed to
the July 12 event at Coors Field in Denver.
The showcase has used an eight-player,
bracket-style format since 2015, which leaves four spots available to
fill over the next few weeks.
Kyle Schwarber Matches Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa Record with 15th HR in 17 Games
Jun 29, 2021
Washington Nationals' Kyle Schwarber watches his solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets at Nationals Park, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Washington Nationals outfielder Kyle
Schwarber tied a mark held by Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa by hitting
his 15th home run in the past 17 games Monday night against the New
York Mets.
Schwarber hit two homers in Monday's
8-4 victory, both off Mets starter Jerad Eickhoff, to match Sosa's
run from 1998 and Bonds' from 2001. His 11 long balls in the past nine
contests also tie Frank Howard from 1968 for the most over that span,
per The Athletic.
The 28-year-old slugger was having an average season before the hot streak. He'd posted a .716 OPS
with nine home runs through his first 51 appearances in 2021.
He started the eye-popping run with a
homer June 12 against the San Francisco Giants and added two more in
the series finale against the Giants a day later. He's had five
multi-HR games during the streak, including a three-homer game
against the Mets on June 20.
As a result, Schwarber now ranks fourth
in MLB with 24 home runs, and his OPS is all the way up to .906, which
is 16th in baseball.
"I think the biggest thing is just
not missing the pitch," Schwarber told reporters after Monday's
game. "Not fouling it off or taking it."
Mets manager Luis Rojas, who's watched
his team allow seven of the Ohio native's 15 homers during the
streak, said he doesn't really have an answer about how to slow him
down.
"We're trying everything,"
Rojas said. "We're pitching him in, away, down, up, we've
bounced balls. We've tried everything. This guy is swinging a hot
bat."
If Schwarber keeps this up for much
longer, he may start receiving the peak Bonds treatment —getting
intentionally walked in any situation remotely important.
That's easier said than done, however,
because he's followed by Trea Turner and Juan Soto in the lineup,
giving the Nats one of MLB's most dangerous top three in the batting order.
Washington is back in action Tuesday
night when it opens a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays at
Nationals Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.
Max Scherzer, Joe Girardi Fiasco Underscores Absurdity of MLB's Sticky Stuff Rules
Jun 24, 2021
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 22: Pitcher Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals is searched for foreign substances by umpires Tim Timmons #95 and Alfonso Marquez #72 during the fourth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on June 22, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
It took all of two days for Major League Baseball's new ban on foreign substances to go from potential embarrassment to actual embarrassment.
The ban had a smooth rollout Monday, with New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom notably serving as the first pitcher to be inspected for Spider Tack and other outlawed sticky stuff. Things hit a snag Tuesday, however, because Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi didn't think two checks was enough for Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner—who lives up to his Mad Max moniker even on the best of days—was none too happy as umpires carried out mandatory inspections after the first and third innings of the Nationals' eventual 3-2 win. Accordingly, he was even less happy when Girardi insisted on a third inspection in the middle of the fourth inning:
The pitcher substances controversy isn't going away anytime soon!
Joe Girardi asked the umpires to inspect Max Scherzer in the middle of the fourth inning and the Nats were NOT happy. pic.twitter.com/M1B5OsM2of
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 23, 2021
Like the first two checks, the umpiring crew's third inspection of the 36-year-old right-hander didn't uncover any wrongdoing. Though Scherzer had been taking his cap off to run his right hand through his hair, all that was there was sweat.
Of course, more drama ensued anyway. Scherzer gave Girardi an intense staredown as he walked off the mound at the end of the fourth, and the Phillies' second-year skipper was eventually ejected after leaving his dugout to yell at coaches in the opposing dugout:
After being checked for sticky substance 3 times tonight, Max Scherzer stared down Phillies Manager Joe Girardi while walking to the dugout. Girardi then left his dugout and had some words for Scherzer, which led to Girardi being ejected.https://t.co/3laApv2YdR
Welcome to the new normal in Major League Baseball. It's equal parts baffling, outrageous, tragic, comic and, ultimately, unsustainable.
MLB Must Close the Girardi Loophole
For all of the criticisms that can be lobbed at MLB's sudden crackdown on sticky stuff, at least the actual inspections are designed to be minimally invasive.
As was the case with the first two checks on Scherzer, the mandatory substance checks are meant to take place between innings or after pitching changes. This way, they don't interrupt the action. And even if they're still annoying, pitchers at least know to anticipate them.
But as was the case for years even before MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred deemed the use of foreign substances an "unfair competitive advantage," managers can still implore umpires to check an opposing pitcher if said pitcher is doing something suspicious. As Girardi explained, this is the right he was exercising:
Joe Girardi on asking umps to inspect Max Scherzer
“I’ve seen Max pitch a long time. I’ve never seen Max wipe his head like he did tonight. I was suspicious. I’m trying to win games here. I’m not playing games”
However, Girardi also had little to lose in asking the umpires to take another look at Washington's ace. If Scherzer had something, then he would be promptly kicked out of the game. And if not, oh well. Maybe the third interruption would get him out of a rhythm in which he'd allowed only a solo home run to Bryce Harper to that point.
That Girardi was engaging in a bit of gamesmanship was the general consensus on social media and, certainly unsurprisingly, within the Nationals organization. General manager Mike Rizzo was still fuming during a radio appearance on 106.7 The Fan on Wednesday morning.
"What are we idiots? Of course he was," he said, referring to the idea of gamesmanship on Girardi's part. "It's embarrassing for Girardi. It's embarrassing for the Phillies. It's embarrassing for baseball."
Mind you, this is not to suggest that Girardi had absolutely nothing on the line. As Hannah Keyser of Yahoo Sports noted, MLB's memo on the foreign-substance ban actually does include possible punishment for managers who don't act in good faith:
From MLB's memo to teams last week:
"Please note that a manager will be subject to discipline if he makes the request in bad faith (e.g., a request intended to disrupt the pitcher in a critical game situation, a routine request that is not based on observable evidence, etc.)"
But unless Statcast is suddenly capable of measuring a manager's faith level like it can, say, exit velocity and spin rate, this is ultimately a subjective call. And in situations like this, managers are always going to have plausible deniability.
Instead, MLB might want to take a cue from Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who modestly proposed that there should be automatic penalties for managers who come up empty on optional inspections, per Ethan Cadeaux of NBC Sports Washington:
Maybe if they lose a challenge, or maybe if they have a challenge they can't do it. I don't know. But I do think there should be repercussions for managers doing that on a whim like that because if you call somebody out -- anybody, but somebody of Max Scherzer's caliber -- and you don't find anything, I think that looks pretty bad on his part, the manager's part.
A lost challenge is one idea. Another would be subjecting the offending manager to the same punishment as pitchers who do get caught with a foreign substance: an automatic ejection and a 10-game suspension.
The One Silver Lining of Tuesday's Silliness
On the plus side, now we know that umpires aren't about to start giving pitchers the ol' heave-ho on account of sweat and rosin.
The question of whether they would first emerged when MLB granted an exception for rosin under its new foreign-substances rule but with the stipulation that pitchers "may not intentionally combine rosin with other substances (e.g., sunscreen) to create additional tackiness or they risk ejection and suspension."
Because neither umpires nor anyone else can prevent pitchers from sweating, whether sweat in and of itself would count as an "other substance" was perhaps absurd.
But as Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez noted on Twitter, sweat and rosin together make for a powerful gripping agent. And in one for the "Of Course He Did" file, outspoken Dodgers ace Trevor Bauer even offered a demonstration:
If you said trick question, good job. This was created by mixing sweat and rosin together. No other substance was used. No sunscreen. No pine tar. No firm grip. No spider tack. Just sweat and rosin. So, question! As you can hear and see, the ball is quite sticky. But I used legal https://t.co/g8t7O9DkiB
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) June 16, 2021
Scherzer himself, meanwhile, admitted that a mixture of sweat and rosin is what he was going for Tuesday. Per Bradford Doolittle of ESPN:
The whole night, I was sick of licking my fingers and tasting rosin. I couldn't even get sweat from the back of my head, because it really wasn't a warm night. So the only part that was sweaty on me was actually my hair, so I had to take off my hat to get any kind of moisture on my hand, to try and mix with the rosin. For me, that's the confusing part, because I'm just trying to get a grip of the ball.
Had the umpiring crew determined that Scherzer was breaking the new rules by mixing sweat and rosin, a clear precedent would have been set that such an action was now a no-no for pitchers.
Suffice it to say that it's a good thing the crew determined otherwise and let Scherzer continue. Because even if there's an argument that a sweat/rosin mixture is technically illegal, to actually take that stance would require holding both pitchers and umpires to an impossible standard on a game-by-game, inning-by-inning and pitch-by-pitch basis.
This Is Not Sustainable
To be clear, the problem with MLB's foreign-substance crackdown is not its intent.
When Manfred referred to the use of sticky stuff as an "unfair competitive advantage," he had plenty of anecdotal evidence to back him up. He was likewise backed by loads of statistical evidence, including an ever-rising spin rate, an increasing percentage of swings and misses on high-spin pitches and, of course, this season's historically low .238 batting average.
But even if pitchers should have known their days of getting away with using sticky stuff were numbered, the timing of MLB's crackdown couldn't have been worse. By implementing a ban in the middle of the season instead of, say, during the winter or before spring training, the league willfully cultivated a situation that was never not going to be awkward as players, coaches and umpires adjusted on the fly to a new environment.
What's more, this is quite literally a waste of everyone's time.
Maybe the odd pitcher will get popped for sticky stuff here and there, but it figures that most inspections will yield nothing. And any inspections that managers insist on will cause in-game delays, which is the last thing Manfred should want. Pace of play is his passion project, after all, and the average game already lasts well north of three hours.
Though it's doubtful that anything will happen before the 2021 season is over, the best way forward still involves the league office compromising with pitchers on what should be allowed for the sake of getting a better grip on the ball.
For instance, pine tar or the formerly oh-so-popular mix of sunscreen and rosin. Or better yet, the mythical proprietary substance that, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Jesse Rogers of ESPN, the league had been working on before it decided that grip-enhancers are bad, actually.
The worst way forward looks a lot like what everyone is seeing now. It's just baseball with added doses of agitated pitchers and conniving managers, which are things that nobody asked for.
