I’m so happy that today’s OTC is focused mostly on baseball and players and a lot less on scandals, pandemics and financial disputes. There is a little bit on those more disreputable topics (the real world keeps intruding), but most of today is about incredibly-talented athletes playing a wonderful sport. And isn’t that what we all want all the time anyway?
- Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani was hitting 100 miles per hour on the radar gun in Friday’s game against the Athletics. He struck out five in 1⅔ innings in his Spring Training pitching debut. It wasn’t all great for Ohtani as he did allow a run on three hits and a walk. But hitting triple-digits is a great sign for someone coming off Tommy John surgery like Ohtani.
- Bob Nightengale reports that Ohtani is “having fun” and showing why he was such a hyped prospect when he came over from Japan.
- Here’s some more fun with the Angels. We’re used to talking about Angels shortstops making incredible plays on defense, but Andrelton Simmons has moved on to the Twins. This time it’s José Iglesias who made an incredible bare-handed pickup/throw to first to nail speedy Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis at first base.
- The Mariners had their own defensive highlights as they turned the rare 5-2-3-2 triple play on Friday against the White Sox. We don’t have Spring Training stats over the years on such things, but the last time a 5-2-3-2 triple play happened in the regular season was by the 1955 Cubs.
- New Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer pitched three innings of scoreless baseball with one eye closed on Saturday.
- A fun moment happened in the Orioles/Pirates game on Sunday when O’s pitcher Evan Phillips faced off against Bucs infielder Phillip Evans. Phillips ended up walking Evans.
- The Astros have signed free agent right-hander Jake Odorizzi to a two-year deal.
- Peter Gammons believes that the current collection of young, talented Latino players means that baseball has a bright, exciting future. (The Athletic sub. req.) Gammons also recalls the historical prejudices against Latin ballplayers.
- The Nationals released former Cubs right-handed reliever Jeremy Jeffress for “personnel reasons” just two weeks after signing him to a minor league deal. Whatever that means. I think most of us would like to see him back in blue.
- Tony Wolfe looks at the decision the Mets will have to make about signing outfielder Michael Conforto to a long-term extension.
- Mike Axisa notes that five (5!) top shortstops are scheduled to become free agents at the end of this upcoming season and he predicts what will happen to all five of them, including Javier Baez.
- The Brewers signed outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to a two-year deal last week and Jay Jaffe tries to figure out how Bradley fits into the crowded Brewers outfield.
- Mike Petriello has three teams — the Rays, the Brewers and the Giants — that you should keep an eye on in 2021. So that’s who Bauer is going to pitch with one eye closed against!
- OK, I’ve put the bad stuff off as long as I could. MLB has suspended reliever Sam Dyson for all of 2021 for a violation of the league’s domestic violence policy. Of course, Dyson is a free agent and has been since the end of the 2019 season, so his career may be over in any case.
- Barry Svrluga writes that baseball’s culture needs to change its attitudes towards women before more women get hurt and more scandals ensue.
- The Indians sent home outfielder Franmil Reyes and third baseman José Ramírez and told both players to isolate after both players violated the team’s COVID-19 protocols. Reyes got sent home for violating protocols last season as well.
- Dayn Perry looks at the issue of service-time manipulation by MLB teams and why it is likely to be the most-contentious issue in the upcoming collective bargaining talks.
- Speaking of service-time manipulation, the big issue earlier this spring was about Mariners outfield prospect Jarred Kelenic and the team’s former CEO Kevin Mather all but admitting the team was keeping him in the minors to start this year to manipulate his service time. As it turns out, the Mariners may now have the perfect excuse to do that as Kelenic has suffered a left adductor strain that should keep him sidelined for a few weeks.
- And it’s that time of the year that we have to start paying the butcher’s bill. Astros top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley may need Tommy John surgery after a diagnosis of a strain in his ulnar collateral ligament.
- Back to better news. The state of California announced that it would allow limited attendance at major and minor league games (and other public venues) starting April 1. You will have to be a California resident to attend games, however. I can just imagine everyone crossing the border from Nevada now. “Got any fruit in the car? Or are you planning on attending any baseball games?” By the way, don’t mess with the fruit police.
- The top pick in the 2021 draft could very well be a pitcher from Vanderbilt. But will it be Kumar Rocker or Jack Leiter? Kiley McDaniel looks at the strength and possible weaknesses of both pitchers. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
- MLB Pipeline has the top slugging prospect in each minor league system.
- Sports Illustrated has an excerpt from an upcoming book about Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza, a broken bat and the 2000 World Series. If you’re old enough to remember, you know what I’m talking about. And it scares me that some of you have graduated from college and aren’t old enough to remember.
- The KBO team formerly known as the SK Wyverns will now be called the SSG Landers. The name is to honor the city of Incheon where they play, which is where the seaport and airport where most people who arrive in Korea “land.” Also, it harkens back to the “Incheon landing” which turned the tide of the Korean War in 1950. Also, it’s a shame, but ESPN will not be televising KBO games this year. I don’t know why—the games got very good ratings, even sometimes outdrawing some midweek MLB games played at a reasonable hour—but I assume it has to do with the costs of the satellite hookups and the availability of broadcasters (like Jon Scambi) who will actually be working this season and won’t be available to call games at 4 a.m. anymore.
- It was like old times for the Mariners this weekend as Ichiro Suzuki and Mike Cameron suited up and played in a simulated game.
- And finally, Anthony Castrovince has the story of the 1995 Yonkers Hoot Owls, whom Castrovince claims may be the worst professional baseball team of all-time. The Hoot Owls played one season under horrible conditions in the independent Northeast League.
Let’s have a good day today and a better one tomorrow.