5 year All Star Anniversary: Jeter Bids Farewell

The year was 2014, and Minnesota got to host (another) All Star Game. It was a beginning and end of sorts. The Minnesota light rail system to St. Paul began to accommodate for the game, and Derek Jeter’s career was winding to a close. Minnesota successfully bid and got the game, although the Cubs tried to host it due to Wrigley Field's centennial anniversary. Nonetheless, Rod Carew was present in Minnesota to toss out the first pitch.

The starter elections went relatively normal, with only a few abnormalities. Matt Wieters was elected starting AL catcher but could not play, so Salvador Perez took his spot. Derek Jeter, in the midst of a 0.2 WAR season and posting a .256/.304/.313 line, was elected starting shortstop for the American League. Jeff Samardzija was an All Star for the National League’s Cubs but was traded to the Oakland A’s before the break so he was not eligible to participate for either team. Anthony Rizzo was elected for the National League’s final player vote, and Chris Sale for the AL. Coincidentally for the AL, the final player vote had the 2014 (Corey Kluber), 2015 (Dallas Keuchel), 2016 (Rick Porcello), and 2017 (Kluber) American League Cy Young winners, with perennial top finisher Sale and immaculate inning-tosser Garrett Richards also present.

Felix Hernandez started the game for the AL, facing Adam Wainwright. Andrew McCutchen led off the game with a single, and eventually made it to third base on a steal before Paul Goldschmidt grounded out to end the inning. Wainwright faced leadoff man Jeter, and wanted to give him “a couple of pipe shots." Jeter led off with a double, and was eventually driven in by a Mike Trout triple. Miguel Cabrera homered, giving the AL a quick 3-0 lead. Wainwright faced a lot of heat for his joking comment he made during the game about being Jeter's cookie dispenser.

The top of the second started with a Giancarlo Stanton flyout to Robinson Cano. Then Jon Lester gave up a barrage of hits: a single to Aramis Ramirez followed by doubles by Chase Utley and Johnathan Lucroy, scoring 2 runs. After that, Clayton Kershaw and Alfredo Simon kept the AL silent in the bottom of the 2nd and 3rd, and Yu Darvish did the same in the top of the 3rd. Simon gave up a single to Jeter for his final All Star Game at bat. In the top of the 4th inning, Sale induced 2 quick fly outs to Adam Jones and Josh Donaldson, before hitting Chase Utley with a pitch (that happened a lot to Chase). Jeter was gone at the top of the fourth, with the majority of the fanfare going along with it. Jonathan Lucroy hit his second double of the game, driving in pinch runner Dee Gordon to tie the game. Zack Greinke and Max Scherzer kept the game at 3-3 until the bottom of the 5th.

After getting one out, Pat Neshek gave up singles to Derek Norris and Alexei Ramirez, followed by a Mike Trout double scoring Norris. Tyler Clippard entered the game, trying to control the damage. On the third pitch Jose Altuve hit a line drive that was caught by Carlos Gomez, but scored Ramirez giving the AL a 5-3 lead. From here the AL bullpen took control, with Scott Kazmir, Koji Uehara, Greg Holland, Sean Doolittle, Fernando Rodney and Glen Perkins combining to allow no runs and strike out 7 NL batters swinging. Francisco Rodriguez, Craig Kimbrel, Tony Watson and Aroldis Chapman combined to keep the AL scoreless, so the score remained 5-3, with the Kansas City Royals getting to enjoy home field advantage in the World Series to watch Madison Bumgarner come in on short rest and throw 5 shutout innings to clinch Game 7.

Mike Trout was named MVP, and Jeter got one of his many curtain calls during the 2014 season.

May your pennants fly forever.

-Prentiss

Tommy Kahnle is Back

The Yankees traded for Tommy Kahnle during the middle of the 2017 season to strengthen their super-bullpen. Kahnle did exactly as he was expected to do, finishing out 2017 as a reliable reliever for New York. However, his 2018 season did not go as planned, and there were calls from fans and the media to cut him.

The Yankees were Kahnle’s original team. Although he never appeared in a major league game with them, Kahnle was drafted in the 5th round of the 2010 draft and spent several years in their minor league system. Sensing his promise, the Colorado Rockies scooped him up in the Rule 5 Draft and the righty made his MLB debut on April 3, 2014. After 2 years and 102 innings of 100 ERA+ relief pitching, they traded him to the White Sox after the 2015 season. Kahnle put in one and a half solid years for Chicago, who eventually traded him to the Yankees during summer 2017. Kahnle posted a 2.70 ERA for the Yankees through the remainder of the 2017 season. In 2018, though, the wheels fell off the wagon.

Kahnle lost more than 3 mph off his fastball, and that combined with batters not biting on his offerings, and being unable to find the strike zone compared to previous years, with his strike percentage down by 6, batters were able to hit Kahnle harder: he allowed a 16.1% soft contact rate, while his medium contact rate went down and his harder hit contact went up. His K-BB% dropped by 10%. This all led to a 6.56 ERA in the majors for the Yankees in 23.1 innings. He did not fair much better in the minors, posting a 4.01 ERA for the Yankees’ AAA affiliate.

This season, Kahnle is posting a 2.70 ERA, inflated by a disastrous 1 inning, 4 run appearance against the Indians on June 9. His fastball velocity is back up around 97 mph, and his slider usage has dropped, favoring his changeup a career high 42.3% of the time. Batters are swinging 7% more often than against him last year, while contact against his pitches is down 1.3%. Kahnle is now able to find the zone roughly half the time, compared to only 45.7% last year.

So while much of the credit for the Yankees’ bullpen dominance may go to Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino, Kahnle’s improvement is also a major reason why the unit has been successful.

May your pennants fly forever.

-Prentiss

Clemens Inducted Into [PawSox] Hall of Fame

Controversial candidate Roger Clemens has finally been inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. The PawSox Hall of Fame, I mean.

Generally, teams have their own particular Hall of Fame where they induct players who are important members in the franchise’s history but who are not good enough to make the actual Hall of Fame. Think of the Jason Variteks, Mark Belangers and Ron Ceys of the world. Very good players - but not superstars.

Minor league Hall of Fames are on a different level. The paradox is this: really good players do not play there long, as they get promoted to the majors. Roger Clemens is a perfect example of this, playing only 7 games in AAA Pawtucket (the Red Sox's AAA affiliate). He racked up an ERA of 1.93 in 7 games in Pawtucket in 1984 before being called up to the big leagues. Clemens, as many of you know, won 7 Cy Young Awards and is considered one of the best pitchers of all time with a caveat. His induction is on June 21, 2019 before the game at McCoy Stadium.

May your pennants fly forever.

-Prentiss