Watching Ohtani, the last few days hit so many monster homers, really makes me look back at some of the longest I have ever seen hit. The two I saw Stargell hit out of Dodger Stadium in the 70’s stand out. Mantle supposedly hit one 565 feet at old Griffith Stadium.
I heard Vin call a game in Philadelphia where Howard hit the light tower above the left field stands. Vin said it was still climbing when it hit. I saw a video of Kirk Gibson almost blasting one out of old Tiger Stadium. But Stargell’s were by far the longest shots I ever saw in person.
Tatis hit one over the left-field pavilion in a televised game. I remember going to a Dodgers-Phillies game that featured one of the most power filled BP’s I have ever seen. Schmidt and Luzinski hit several shots deep into the left-field pavilion.
I watched Frank Howard hit a shot off of Whitey Ford in the 63 series that landed in the loge deck of Dodger Stadium. It went right down the line. I haven’t seen anyone come close to replicating that shot.
Back when Hanley Ramirez was with LA, he hit a ball at Coors that landed on the walkway above the left field stands. I also saw McMahon hit one to right that hit off of the facing of the third deck in right at Coors. Piazza clearing the bullpen in left and the ball landing on the walkway out there.
But I have never seen one player hit so many massive homers in one season. Of the 10 longest homers by a Dodger this season, Ohtani has 7 of them. And we are not even 80 games in yet and the hottest part of the season is a couple weeks away.
Let’s face it, we all really dig the long ball, but we all also realize, there needs to be more to the offense than just pure power. Vin’s homer call was pretty simple, she is gone! Drew Goodman actually has a decent HR call, take a good look, you won’t see it for long.
Giants’ announcer, Jon Miller, Adios pelota. Tim Prince would call homers over the left field wall at Forbes with, get upstairs there Aunt Minnie and open a window. Joe Davis, well I can’t think of him using any one call.
Back in 1998, during the McGwire/Sosa race, I was at the game where McGwire hit one over the pavilion roof in LF.
He hit the ball so high and so far, I couldn’t even see it for a second, but I saw the centerfielder Devon White take a couple of steps and just stop and stare high into the air.
I’ve seen several long home runs from a number of players. I saw Frank Howard hit a shot into the second deck, similar to what Bear described, though it wasn’t in a playoff game. The seats he hit were empty and the sound it made was as if an M80 went off. I also saw Piazza put on a one man show in batting practice that was one 400’ shot after another as he was aiming for the pavilion roof in left field. He came close, but none went out. A lot of oohs and has from those of us watching the show.
One of the most memorable displays of power I ever saw happened on Field 2 at Camelback. Puig and Ethier got into a friendly match of home run power that I’ll never forget. Puig went first, hitting 3 over the fence in left, then center, then right. Ethier stepped in and matched him. Then Puig went left, center, right, right, center, left and Ethier followed but missed center on his second round and Puig danced around laughing in victory. They were both laughing and clearly enjoyed the moment as they knew they had just put on a show those few of us who witnessed it would never forget. Timmons might have been there that day. Not sure about that. We met up a couple times at Camelback.
Just for grins and giggles, look up Vargas history of hitting right handed pitching in the minors. To save some of you the time he hit.298 and his .OPS was.998. He deserves and honest chance without a broken hand.
Reggie Jackson at the all star game in Detroit
What is Bear’s opinion on the Home Run Derby? Fun or contrived?
Rosenthal reports Dodgers have “interest” in both Crochet and Robert, but Robert may be removed from the market because his value is low and dropping.
Watching Joey Gallo take BP was a sight. One moon-shot after the other.
Hey gang, how about some props for Crochet’s opposite number last night, Mr. Paxton.
No one in his right mind would take Paxton over Crochet if the price was equal but Paxton has been a huge asset for us this year and really is pretty much being ignored. He’s 7-1 and, unlike a great number of our other starters, has avoided injury. Last night, he pretty much matched Crochet’s performance and kept us even so that we could win the game once Crochet was removed. Even if he didn’t pitch another inning for us this year, it was a worthwhile signing.
Three cheers for the Big Maple.
There has been a lot of angst exhibited towards the bottom of the lineup, and admittedly rightly so. But just like a lot of baseball, it can be cyclical, and lately the bottom of the order has been excellent. I did not hear the exact stat of how many games total, but it was reported that the LAD bottom three in the order have MLB’s top OPS over the last XXXX games.
I did my own calculations over the last 10 games (from KC series).
On Monday, Teoscar was not available, and Jason Heyward was in the #9 spot against a tough LHP. J-Hey would not have been in the game and Vargas (Lux) would have been in the #7 spot. But for the bottom 3 in the lineup calculation I did include him. But to acknowledge that Vargus (and Lux) would have been in the #7 spot, I also included them. So yeah, I took a little liberty since they are considered “automatic outs”, and it is my calculation, and I can do with it as I please. 😄
For the last 10 games, the bottom 3 are 31-110 (.282). That also does not take into consideration the positive ABs Lux and J-Hey had that moved runners to 3rd with less than 2 outs on Monday.
I readily acknowledge that the trend will also cyclically reverse as will Will Smith’s numbers. These are MLB hitters and are capable of hitting in MLB even if they are not All Stars.
Individually (See Chart below):
I know that it is a pay wall, but if any out there subscribe to the Athletic, here is an excellent story on Mark Prior.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5588893/2024/06/25/greenberg-mark-priors-second-tour-in-baseball-is-going-great-as-dodgers-pitching-coach/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=343446
For those interested as to why Teoscar was gone on Monday and out of the lineup tonight:
https://x.com/MikeDiGiovanna/status/1805717814398816314
At least this will give Miguel Vargas a chance at hitting a RHP, even though Chris Flexen is not a top of the rotation RHP. Hope he goes 4-4.
Well, it is almost secure that I will be in a minority, but I was not impressed by Crochet. With his funky delivery and pitches combo, he had been effective lately. Then, with his history of injuries, you are just adding a new kid in the block. But the real issue is, let’s supposed we indeed get him and Kershaw slowly get in shape and is ready in the playoffs. And here come this game that Doc has to decide between Crochet and Kershaw, what do you think will happen?
And Miller looks awful out of the gate. He’s working too hard to last very long.
Either Bobby Miller is still injured or he has temporarily lost it. He needs to go back to OKC to work on his pitchability. For all those who do not want to trade for a starting pitcher, do you still feel comfortable in believing that Miller is sound?
The Dodgers primary need at this point is starting pitching. And I mean healthy starting pitching. I would think they need at least one starter at the deadline, a back of the bullpen arm, and some depth on the bench who can actually hit the ball.
Cubs released C Yan Gomes.
Now one would be hard pressed to find a team in the National League that matches up to the Dodgers. Phillies might be close Atlanta would be but their injuries have made them a different team. That is what separates the Dodgers versus the other teams. Personally I like Pages in CF, wouldn’t question the Dodgers if they brought up Outman to platoon with Vargas.Vargas and Freeman can platoon though Vargas is ready for a full time roll. Cartaya versus Rushing in a trade to pick up a stronger third base man would make sense. I would hesitantly throw in Grove or Hurt. As we get closer to the trade deadline teams that are slipping out of contention could want to unload a contract or an expiring contract for whatever catcher and whoever pitcher. I hope we don’t overpay. Winning the Division ever year is fun.