Miscellaneous Weekly Notes:

A-ROD: MORE HR'S BY AGE 32 THAT ANYONE EVER!!!

Lost in A-Rod's ascension to the throne as the white knight in shining armor, who has been anointed to remove the stain on baseball's record book left by the dragon that is Barry Bonds, is this simple fact:

A-Rod has hit approximately 25% more home runs, vis-a-vis during a comparable period of time in both career stage and chronological age as Henry Aaron himself.

Which begs the question: If it was such an insult to the sensibilities of baseball purists that Bonds passed Aaron all-time by 1 HR, why doesn't anybody bat an eyelash when the graphic is displayed showing A-Rod 25% ahead of Aaron career-wise from age 20 to 32?

On a comparable basis, Bonds would have to finish with approximately 930 career home runs to assault the record book in a similar fashion.

And doesn't this show conclusively how the OVERALL environment in which to hit home-runs has changed for the better again by a value that approaches 25-30% better across the board? (smaller parks, less foul territory, harder baseballs, harder bats, softer pitching, better strength training and legal nutritional methods)


Jayson Stark wrote an article about A-Rod and listed the top HR hitters and their production before and after 32:

Alex Rodriguez 500 ???
Hank Aaron 398 357
Barry Bonds 332 421
Babe Ruth 356 358
Willie Mays 373 282
Sammy Sosa 386 218
Ken Griffey Jr. 460 129
Frank Robinson 399 187
Mark McGwire 277 306
H. Killebrew 393 180
R. Palmeiro 232 337

Is A-Rod really a 25% better home-run hitter than Aaron? I'm not sure, but he is hitting in an era that allows him and others to appear to be. And in a sense he and the HR hitters to follow benefit from playing their ENTIRE careers within this environment whereas, the Bonds, Sosa, McGwire era players, for the most part, played half their careers in the Astroturf era where speed and the stolen base was emphasized vs. those who came along from the mid 1990's. By that time, Astroturf became a relic and the long-ball replaced the stolen base and the hit and run as the offensive weapon of choice.

SMALL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN BASEBALL MAKE FOR BIG DIFFERENCES IN THE GAME.

When the mound was lowered by a few inches after 1969, in my opinion it ushered out the short right handed pitcher (under 6-0 tall) at the major league level. Pitchers, especially rightys, had to get taller to compensate.

When you combine many small changes, all of which benefit the hitters, why is it such a surprise that the 500 HR and 600 HR club is going to increase it's membership by leaps and bounds in this generation?

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THANK GOD LITTLE LEAGUE'S PITCH COUNT RULE HAS NOT TOTALLY DONE AWAY WITH "COACH TROPHYCOLLECTORS" ABILITY TO PLAY TO WIN AND RUIN KIDS ARMS

Yesterday's LLWS Western Regional final between Arizona and California featured an incident that demonstrates why the newly minted pitch count rule may not work as well as intended and may in fact have some unintended consequences.

California had just replaced their starting pitcher with a reliever who began to noticeably poke, prod and otherwise manipulate pain that appeared on the inside of his elbow. This is the tell-tale trouble spot for "Little League" elbow. The announcers commented on it, but the coaches were either oblivious to it or since the kid had not come anywhere near the pitch count limit that would REQUIRE they take him out, were stubbornly going to let him "pitch until his arm fell off" with a trip to Williamsport on the line.

It won't be long before the pitch count is listed on the scoreboard as the way it looks and sounds, it is going to change the hitting strategy for teams when they face the other teams top pitcher. "Take some pitches Johnny, he's at 57" and "What's his pitch count" are going to be common phrases around the old ball yard. It's going to rise to as important a level as knowing what the game score is, the inning and the count on the batter which have traditionally been the important "game situation" stats. Going forward, add the pitchers pitch count.

I guess I rail on this topic every year around this time, but here we go again.

Listen clearly, I'll only say this once for you corporate sponsors and telecasters (ESPN & ABC) who along with your exposure and money and nationally televised pressure have created and perpetuate and profit from the conditions under which this epidemic of arm injuries emanates and continues. Because you know, or should know that what I am saying on this subject is true:

Stop saying this rule is what is going to initiate a downtrend in the amount of injuries to young pitching arms. The only thing that is going to stop it is if you either ban national broadcasts of these events or ban the tournaments themselves outright. The pressure to get EXPOSURE for their kids led to the Almonte incident and leads to borderline child abuse across the country year after year. And a rule change that the parrots behind the mike will laud, while at the same time calling the sliders that pitchers throw along with the curve balls, "breaking balls" and "off speed pitches" in a lame attempt to divert attention from the abuse is disingenuous at best and criminally fraudulent reporting at worst. PLEASE STOP IT.

The parents sell their collective souls and potentially their children's future in baseball in this insane chase for "exposure". Who's watching these kids for future reference anyway? College scouts? Pro scouts? I doubt it. How'd the added exposure work out for the Almonte kid? Not very well.

REMEMBER THE WORD THAT I THINK MOST PEOPLE WOULD ASSOCIATE WITH "EXPOSURE" IF WE WERE PLAYING A WORD ASSOCIATION GAME. THAT'S RIGHT "INDECENT". IT APPLIES HERE.

If you don't know that what I am saying is true and correct regarding the problem and the conditions that brought us to this place, you are either woefully ignorant regarding the topic or criminally and shamefully negligent by putting profits and ratings over kids LONG-TERM health.

YOU CANNOT CONTINUE TO PUT LIPSTICK ON THIS PIG AND SELL IT AS PRETTY. Time and another generation of ruined arms will be the legacy you have created and continue to perpetuate. And you will divert attention or blame someone/something else. SHAMEFUL.


The best part of the game I watched was when the California team coach yelled to his batter from the 1st base coaching box to move up in the box in order to "get the curve ball". Hit it before it breaks, I suppose (pure youth coaching genius since a curve ball breaks from virtually the moment it's released by the pitcher). You could hear the Arizona coach retort (he was miked also) from his dugout, "Yeah, move him up so he can't catch up to the fastball". Sure enough, they called for the FB and one weak swing later, the result of looking CB with two strikes and getting FB, is you have a strike out to the batter, with an assist given to the hitting coach. That's if you're scoring at home.

Priceless. And we wonder why Johnny can't hit the curve ball. If he stays back, he doesn't telegraph to the opposition what he's looking for, he has a longer look at the curve if he gets it, so you have less swings at CB's in the dirt, and you can still attack the FB. The Arizona coach was ex-major leaguer Clay Bellinger, so what does he know, right? The Cali approach has been a pet peeve of mine for years and years, it was great to see it's weakness exposed so conclusively. Thanks, Clay.
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