Mark Gubicza was a great beginning pitcher. Making all however two of his 384 big-league appearances with the Kansas Metropolis Royals, the massive right-hander logged 132 wins to go together with a 3.96 ERA, 42 full video games, and 16 shutouts. His finest season got here in 1988 when he went 20-8 with a 2.70 ERA and completed third in A.L. Cy Younger balloting.
Gubicza additionally had two saves, each of them in 1993. That was the 12 months he gained a real appreciation for the way difficult it’s to guard a late-inning lead for a teammate. How he got here work out of the bullpen — one thing he did sparingly exterior of that one season — was a matter of circumstance.
“We didn’t have a bridge to get from our starters to Jeff Montgomery,” defined Gubicza, who now serves as a TV analyst for the Angels. “The 12 months earlier than, my shoulder was somewhat sketchy, so [manager] Hal McRae requested me if I might be the bridge. At first I used to be hesitant, as a result of I favored beginning. However I used to be constructing again my arm energy, so I mentioned, ‘You understand what? I’ll do no matter it takes to win video games. I’ll be that bridge to get to Jeff Montgomery.”
The transition was initially bumpy. Gubicza’s coronary heart would begin racing when the bullpen telephone rang, and as soon as he started warming, he could be throwing as onerous as he might. Furthermore, whereas adrenaline was telling him that he was prepared, his stuff wasn’t prepared. A lot for these causes, he took his lumps earlier than determining what labored for him within the unfamiliar position.
The primary of Gubicza’s two saves was of the three-inning selection. The rating was 2-1 when he entered the sport, and from there the Royals rolled to a straightforward 9-4 win. The shortage of ninth-inning drama didn’t deter him from savoring the consequence. As Gubicza put it, “Having a save on my [baseball] card was actually cool.”
The sensation that accompanied his second save was totally different.
“I keep in mind it being the ninth inning and interested by all these years as a starter the place it was, ‘Man, they blew my save,’” mentioned Gubicza. “Now I’m questioning, ‘What’s the beginning pitcher pondering of me?’ I wanted to protect the win for [Tom Gordon], and that’s somewhat extra aggravating. The entire mentality of the sport being in your shoulders… you don’t get seen except you blow it. For those who get a save, it’s simply ’You had been supposed to do this.’
“It’s like a kicker in soccer,” continued Gubicza. “For those who miss a discipline aim, everyone seems to be operating over to you and asking, ‘How did you miss that?’ It performs in your thoughts, as a result of kicking discipline objectives is your solely job. Identical factor for a more in-depth: your solely job is to get these final three outs. Folks act prefer it’s simple to do, however it’s not. All the stress on the earth is on you. For those who don’t get that save, it’s ‘How did you blow it?’ It was fairly wild being on the market within the bullpen.”
Gubicza went 5-4 with a 3.61 ERA over 43 reduction appearances and 72-and-a-third innings in 1993. Montgomery had 45 of his franchise-best 304 saves.
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Edgar Martinez went 10 for 26 towards Mariano Rivera.
Todd Helton went 13 for 25 towards Trevor Hoffman.
Jack Clark went 11 for 27 towards Lee Smith.
Hank Blalock went 9 for 21 towards Francisco Rodriguez.
Mariano Duncan went 10 for 20 towards John Franco.
Miguel Olivo went 8 for 12 towards Billy Wagner.
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This previous Tuesday’s recreation at Fenway Park featured a catcher’s interference that wasn’t catcher’s interference. Extra particularly, it was till it wasn’t. Here’s what occurred:
With one out and Boston’s Enrique Hernández on first base within the eighth inning, Reese McGuire hit a weak floor ball to the left aspect, with the house plate umpire instantly signaling catcher’s interference. The slow-roller was fielded and thrown to first, the place Minnesota’s Donovan Solano caught the ball, albeit with out his foot on the bag. Hernández, seeing that third base wasn’t being lined, proceeded to motor round second and advance one other base. The Crimson Sox had runners on the corners.
Which brings us to the catcher’s interference that wasn’t, and the confusion that accompanied it. Many available — from the press field, broadcast cubicles, and past —believed that the unusual incidence gave the Crimson Sox a selection. They might both A: Take the catcher’s interference, giving them runners on first and second, or B: Take the play, placing runners at first and third.
That wasn’t the case. Whereas an A-or-B choice does exist on catcher’s interference calls — the Crimson Sox had chosen A just some days earlier in a recreation towards the Angels — it didn’t on this state of affairs. Per a guidelines professional I checked with, catcher’s interference was negated as soon as the batter reached first base safely, and the runner who’d been on first reached second base safely. That the runner proceeded to take off for third was irrelevant. Secure or out, he was trying to advance on a play that, by rule, might not be deemed catcher’s interference.
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A quiz:
Earlier this week, Clayton Kershaw turned the third modern-era pitcher whose final identify begins with the letter Ok to log 200 or extra big-league wins. Who’re the opposite two?
The reply might be discovered beneath.
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NEWS NOTES
Jeff Dooley is asking his first MLB video games this weekend. The play-by-play voice of the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats for the previous 25 years (the crew was often called the New Britain Rock Cats when he began out), Dooley is filling in on the Colorado Rockies radio broadcast.
Dave Frost, a right-hander who appeared in 99 video games from 1977-1982, died earlier this month at age 70. Drafted out of Stanford College by the Chicago White Sox in 1974, the Lengthy Seashore native went 16-10 with a 3.57 ERA for the California Angels in 1979.
Don Leppert, a catcher who performed for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1961-1962, and for the Washington Senators in 1963-1964, died earlier this month at age 91. The primary of Leppert’s 15 round-trippers got here in his first big-league plate look.
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The reply to the quiz is Jim Kaat with 283 wins, and Jerry Koosman with 222 wins. For those who guessed Jimmy Key or Sandy Koufax, that they had 186 and 165 wins respectively.
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When groups purchase a participant by way of commerce— significantly a youthful participant — it isn’t unusual for them to have had curiosity in him on the time he was drafted. For quite a lot of causes, they both went in one other course or one other membership took the participant earlier than that they had a possibility accomplish that in no matter spherical. To Kyle Bradish’s data, that wasn’t the case when Baltimore didn’t name his identify in 2018.
“I didn’t actually hear something from them,” mentioned the 26-year-old right-hander, whom the Angels took within the fourth spherical that 12 months and subsequently swapped to the Orioles the next December as a part of the Dylan Bundy deal. “I hadn’t actually even talked to the Angels. It was extra the Cubs, and the Yankees somewhat bit. There have been a couple of telephone calls right here and there on draft day.”
A flurry of calls final April are much more memorable. On the highway with Triple-A Norfolk, Bradish was in a Gwinnett, Georgia resort room on a Thursday morning when he heard from Orioles pitching coach Chris Holt. The phrases he heard had been music to his ears: ”Are you able to pitch on Friday towards the Crimson Sox?
Bradish proceeded to name his spouse, his dad and mom, his spouse’s dad and mom, and his sisters to share the information. The next day, he took the mound at Camden Yards and allowed three runs in six innings because the Orioles fell to their A.L. East rivals 3-1. Consequence apart, it was “a very good day.”
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Sonny Grey started his big-league profession with the Oakland Athletics in 2013. Two years earlier, he’d been drafted 18th-overall out of Vanderbilt College.
“I used to be anticipating to go earlier than that, to be sincere with you,” admitted Grey, who spent four-plus seasons in Oakland and now takes the mound for the Minnesota Twins. “The Diamondbacks picked at three and 7, and there was massive discuss of them wanting faculty arms. After which the Brewers picked at [12 and 15]. I used to be pondering it was in all probability going to be a type of two. After that, I actually didn’t have a clue. I by no means actually talked to the A’s.”
The D-Backs took Trevor Bauer and Archie Bradley with their first two picks that 12 months. The Brewers tabbed Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley.
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Roki Sasaki continues to be NPB’s most dominant pitcher. The 21-year-old Chiba Lotte Marines wunderkind has thrown 20 scoreless innings over three begins, with 30 strikeouts, three walks, and 5 hits allowed.
Shoki Murakami has thrown 17 scoreless innings whereas permitting simply three hits, with no walks and 16 strikeouts for NPB’s Hanshin Tigers. The 24-year-old rookie right-hander was lifted for a pinch-hitter after throwing 84 pitches over seven excellent innings towards the Yomiuri Giants on April 12.
Sheldon Neuse is slashing .304/.355/.420 with two dwelling runs in 76 plate appearances for Hanshin. The 28-year-old infielder performed in 89 video games with the Oakland Athletics final 12 months.
Cy Sneed is 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. The 30-year-old former Houston Astros hurler is in his third NPB season.
Shaun Anderson is 1-2 with a 3.46 ERA for the KBO’s Kia Tigers. The 28-year-old right-hander pitched for 5 MLB groups from 2019-2022, most not too long ago the Toronto Blue Jays.
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I used to be in Cubs camp this spring when a Chicago scribe requested Tucker Barnhart concerning the promising younger arms developing by the crew’s farm system. The veteran backstop mentioned that he’s been impressed by numerous them, together with “a few lefties which might be throwing bowling-ball sinkers at 95-plus.” He’s additionally bullish on a 23-year-old right-hander whom the Cubs acquired from the Phillies finally 12 months’s commerce deadline in trade for David Robertson.
“Ben Brown come to thoughts,” mentioned Barnhart. “Huge, tall lanky man that has tremendous good extension. The ball will get on you. He’s 97 [mph] and has a curveball that he can actually spin.”
Brown has made three begins for the Double-A Tennessee Smokies this month and has allowed seven hits and one run in 15 innings. He’s walked six and fanned 22.
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FARM NOTES
Wade Meckler is 22-for-45 with six doubles, six walks, and 6 strikeouts with the Excessive-A Eugene Emeralds. The 23-year-old (as of Friday) outfielder slashed .367/.500/.544 in 100 plate appearances between the ACL and Low-A San Jose after being drafted within the eighth spherical final 12 months by the San Francisco Giants out of Oregon State College.
Junior Caminero is slashing .404/.462/.702 with 4 dwelling runs in 52 plate appearances with the Excessive-A Bowling Inexperienced Sizzling Rods. The 19-year-old infielder is No. 5 on our Tampa Bay Rays High Prospects listing.
Ronan Kopp has 17 strikeouts and has allowed simply six hits and one earned run in 10 innings for the Excessive-A Nice Lakes Loons. The 20-year-old left-hander is No. 32 on our Los Angeles Dodgers High Prospects listing.
Caden Dana has fanned 18 batters whereas permitting simply six hits and two runs in 15 innings fo the Low-A Inland Empire 66ers. The 19-year-old right-hander was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels within the eleventh spherical final 12 months out of Ramsey, New Jersey’s Don Bosco Preparatory Excessive College.
Frank Mozzicato has thrown 11 scoreless innings with 4 hits allowed and 20 strikeouts for the Low-A Columbia Fireflies. The 19-year-old southpaw was drafted seventh total in 2021 by the Kansas Metropolis Royals out of Manchester, Connecticut’s East Catholic Excessive College.
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When the Crimson Sox beat the Angels 2-1 final Sunday, the sport was performed in a crisp 1:57 — the shortest period of time to finish a nine-inning recreation at Fenway Park since a 5-1 Boston win over the Milwaukee Brewers on October 1, 1989 took simply 1:50. Being a baseball historical past buff, I perused the boxscore from that three-plus-decades-ago contest.
The sport was the ultimate one of many season for each groups, and from all appearances, the respective hitting approaches had been, “Go up there swinging and let’s get this over with.” A pair of Brewers pitchers mixed to throw 80 pitches, whereas two Crimson Sox pitchers mixed to throw 90 pitches. All instructed, there have been eight strikeouts and only one stroll.
Robin Yount accounted for Milwaukee’s lone run together with his twenty first long-ball of the season. Luis Rivera hit a two-run shot for the house crew and later added a run-scoring single. Terry Francona DH’d for the Brewers and grounded out 4-3 in all three of his plate appearances. Gary Sheffield dedicated an error enjoying third base. Paul Molitor swiped a bag. John Dopson bought the win, Jaime Navarro the loss, and Dennis Lamp the save.
All in all, it was an unremarkable recreation — one which was brief in length.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
Kim Yu-seong, a highly-regarded 21-year-old right-hander whose path to the KBO had been stalled by bullying prices, is now poised to debut with the Doosan Bears. Jee-ho Yoo has the story at Yonhap Information Company.
Munetaka Murakami is off to a sluggish begin with NPB’s Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and Yuri Karasawa explored his struggles at JapanBall.
At The Pioneer Press, Betsy Helfand wrote about how Carlos Correa’s endless quest for self-improvement has him turning to books.
Purple Row’s Renee Dechert tried to measure the apathy of Colorado Rockies followers.
A 30-year-old castoff named Luis Tiant misplaced a frigid dwelling opener for the Triple-A Rochester Crimson Wings on April 22, 1971. Kurt Blumenau wrote concerning the contest for SABR’s Video games Venture.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
The Boston Crimson Sox have received precisely 1,000 video games towards the Minnesota Twins franchise. They’ve received 999 video games towards the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians franchises.
Dan Osborn went 3-0 with the White Sox in 1975, his solely big-league season. Regardless of the righty’s unblemished report, the Southsiders misplaced 19 of the 24 video games he appeared in.
Nick Lodolo was drafted forty first total out of highschool by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016, however opted attended Texas Christian College fairly than signal knowledgeable contract. The Cincinnati Reds subsequently drafted and signed the southpaw three years later.
Ichiro Suzuki logged 262 hits when he captured the American League batting crown with a .372 common in 2004. Ernie Lombardi logged 102 hits when he captured the Nationwide League batting crown with a .330 common in 1942.
Babe Ruth holds the modern-era single-season report for runs scored with 177 in 1921. Ruth had a profession excessive 168 RBIs that 12 months.
Henry Aaron hit the primary of his 755 dwelling runs on right this moment’s date in 1954. The eighth-inning blast off of Vic Raschi helped elevate the Milwaukee Braves to a 7-5, 14-inning win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
On right this moment’s date in 1959, Frank Robinson hit a ninth-inning sacrifice fly to provide the Cincinnati Reds a 10-9 walk-off win towards the Milwaukee Braves. Cincinnati reliever Willard Schmidt reached base twice in a six-run third inning, every time by way of a HBP.
Lou Brock hit a Tenth-inning walk-off dwelling run to provide the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on right this moment’s date in 1968. The pennant-winning dwelling crew had plated a pair of runs within the ninth to knot the rating at 2-2.
Gamers born on right this moment’s date embrace Rheal Cormier, a local of Moncton, New Brunswick who pitched for 5 groups over a profession that spanned the 1991-2007 seasons. A member of the Canadian Baseball Corridor of Fame, the southpaw made 683 appearances and was credited with 71 wins and two saves.
Additionally born on right this moment’s date was Elam Vangilder, a right-hander from Cape Girardea, Iowa who pitched for the St. Louis Browns from 1919-1927, and for the Detroit Tigers in 1928-1929. Vangilder’s finest season got here with the Browns in 1922 when he went 19-13 with 5 saves and a 3.42 ERA, and slashed .344/.396/.559 in 110 plate appearances.
