Weekend Rumblings - News for May 16, 2020

Weekend Rumblings - News for May 16, 2020

Sam Mellinger doesn’t want to see baseball ruin its chances of getting back on the field.

Baseball, sadly, is doing what baseball has too often done in recent years: owners attempt to nightstick restrictions, players go nuclear and everyone comes out the worse as the sport continues to fall behind.

They all lose, doing it this way, particularly as American sports fans will increasingly compare baseball’s behavior to those in other sports.

The most frustrating part for those of us who love the game is the opportunity that will be lost if this continues. Baseball could have had something of a captive television audience, a nation of 330 million people starved for live sports.

A look at the fastest players in the division includes Adalberto Mondesi.

Mondesi has proven that elite speed in games. He stole 32 bases in just 75 games in 2018. Last season, in 102 games, he stole 43 bases. In a full season, many around the game believe Mondesi could steal 60-70 bases.

Statcast backs up the argument of Mondesi’s elite speed. His 29.9 feet/second average sprint speed in 2019 was ninth best in baseball, a tick ahead of Gore and Hamilton. Mondesi had 68 “Bolts” — those runs about 30 feet/second — which was second best in MLB, despite missing over a third of the season.

Jeffrey Flanagan talks to George Brett on his 67th birthday.

“Loyalty,” Brett explained. “I signed with them the day after I graduated high school. They trusted me at a very early age with a five-year deal. Then I got a five-year extension. Then another five-year extension. They trusted me, and I trusted them.

“Now, would I have stayed with the organization if they were bottom-feeders and never made the playoffs? Probably not, because every player wants to play on a championship team.

A list of unexpected players to hit inside-the-park home runs includes Drew Butera.

Shawn Bauman at Kings of Kauffman looks back on the Neifi Perez trade.

Players ask owners to turn over financial documents in negotiations over pay.

MLB will hold a five-round remote draft on June 10.

Former Astros player and baseball executive Bob Watson dies at age 74.

Former Athletics manager Art Howe is in intensive care with the coronavirus.

What we lose in postponing the World Baseball Classic.

J.J. Cooper at Baseball America proposes a 44-game schedule with expanded playoffs.

Quibi will air a docuseries on the Houston Astros cheating scandal.

Former A’s pitcher Barry Zito talks about his big reveal on The Masked Singer.

An introduction to KBO awards.

How the coronavirus pandemic is affecting college baseball recruiting.

How much credit and blame does Jerry Krause really deserve?

A Chinese esports team has been banned from competition for match fixing.

How pandemics end.

Facebook is buying Giphy and merging it with Instagram.

CBS Access will develop a new Star Trek show about Captain Pike.

Your song of the day is John Coltrane with Wise One.