June 30, 2021
1. Kyle Schwarber is approaching superhuman levels
The home run phenomenon was already many days into making headlines, with all eyes on him, and then yesterday — the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning, another home run.
And maybe the stat of the night, Schwarber entering the Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds zone — with one game left in the month of June to go for the record:
2. Data from the substances crackdown: Spin rates are dropping
Less than two weeks into the new rule enforcement era, and it’s what you would expect — pitchers are complying, substances are vanishing, and spin rates in turn are slowing:
3. Shohei Ohtani watch: Two more HRs at Yankee Stadium
He hit one the game before, in his first-ever at-bat in New York, and now last night he goes yard twice more — for the outright MLB lead (#27, #28).
It’s getting hard to tell these home runs apart, they’re happening so often.
And tonight? At Yankee Stadium, he’ll be on the mound. Pitching. The must-watch game of the night (7:05 ET).
4. The NCAA College World Series final is tonight on ESPN2
Mississippi State vs. Vanderbilt, in a winner-take-all Game 3 finale to the College World Series — after the controversial elimination of NC State for COVID violations just days ago.
I’ve never watched even an inning of college baseball, and you very well might be in the same boat. So, maybe tonight is the night:
5. Angry moments of the night: Rich Hill & Tommy Pham
First, baseball’s oldest pitcher, assaulting the dugout bench with a bat:
And then Tommy Pham, who just won a settlement in a lawsuit after getting stabbed in the parking lot of a strip club, seemingly with a hankering for more street fights — after Reds fans were heckling him in Cincinnati:
6. Barehanded plays of the night: Arenado and Aguilar
Arenado doing his very best Arenado-ing, and then first baseman Jesus Aguilar, shifted over to third base — who knew he could do this?
7. Josh Donaldson and Lucas Giolito sounded off on each other
After Donaldson hits a home run, touches the plate, he taunts Giolito for not having the sticky stuff to pitch with anymore — picked up on the ambient ballpark mics:
And then after the game, which the Sox won, Giolito responded:
8. George Springer, former Houston Astro, gets heckled in Buffalo
Even in another uniform, even at a “home” game. Everywhere these guys go, they continue to hear it:
9. Quote of the day: The state of the Yankees
They won last night, to get up to three games over .500, but the recent goings have been a tough watch — rancor festering in the Yankees fanbase.
And so Brian Cashman confirmed, yesterday afternoon:
10. German Marquez lost a no-hitter in the ninth
It would’ve been the eighth no-hitter of the season, not counting the Bumgarner seven-inning one. And the culmination of a very great stretch for Marquez — who might just be pitching himself into a trade, very shortly.
And still, a complete-game shutout on just 92 pitches.
11. Stat of the day: The luck of the Orioles
Two straight wins against the Astros, and it’s a bit of a miracle.
12. Umpire moment of the night: “BOOM! How ’bout that, then?”
13. Nestor Cortes tried to shake Ohtani out of his rhythm
Literally. Check out the leg action, here:
14. A Giants pitcher got an 80-game suspension for PEDs
If you’ve followed track & field lately, you would know that it was just a simple mix-up of eating the wrong pork burrito, right? (See Shelby Houlihan).
15. Conflicting quotes of the night: The struggling Cubs
They’ve lost five in a row, and the last two nights in Milwaukee in a series that might determine the NL Central for the next month, at least.
And so, on the good or bad baseball question, there’s a bit of a split:
16. And lastly, Jacob deGrom wrestling at the ballpark
Mets fans worldwide praying that there’s no injury to come.
See you tomorrow, most valued readers and friends.
