Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.
Today’s Headlines
Front Office News
It looks the Giants are getting a new, fun guy in the ownership group! I hope he knows something about baseball…
Today, the #SFGiants announced three-time World Series Champion and seven-time All-Star Buster Posey has become a member of the ownership group. This marks the first time that a former player has joined the organization as a principal partner and member of the Board of Directors. pic.twitter.com/KzmgDRkk3a
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 21, 2022
Posey played under Farhan Zaidi as GM during his final seasons with the team. Now, Zaidi answers to Posey (in part), not the other way around! I’m hoping we will get to see their new dynamic play out, but most of that stuff unfortunately goes on behind closed doors.
On a different note…
The Royals announced the departure of Dayton Moore, who served as President of Baseball Operations since 2006. pic.twitter.com/vPRXyKJ8I8
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 21, 2022
Moore was the architect behind the Royals’ 2014 and 2015 deep postseason runs, zigging towards contact and speed to build out their roster, while the rest of the league zagged towards three true outcome-oriented players. It looked like Moore had the team moving in the right direction for the 2022 season, but the Royals have completely fallen flat, thanks to the slow development of many of the Royals’ prospects.
An Important Record Chase Update
It’s record chase season. Aaron Judge is hoping to break some record, Albert Pujols might be hitting some homers or something, and Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina did something, but those are small potatoes compared to the record that was set today:
Buck Showalter asked for the baseball from Luis Guillorme's HBP in the ninth. It was the Mets' 106th hit batsman of the season, setting a new modern (since 1900) MLB record. pic.twitter.com/V6yuBlOedA
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 21, 2022
Opposing pitchers hate them! Watch how Mets players get on base with this one simple trick.
Uh… what’s Buck going to do with this ball, though?
"It would be obscene to tell you what I'm going to do with it"
Buck Showalter received the baseball that hit Luis Guillorme and set the record for most HBPs in a season: pic.twitter.com/gqqkErFPz5
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 21, 2022
Speaking of our other record chasers, let’s see what Pujols and Judge were up to today:
The Machine broke up Blake Snell’s no-hitter in the 7th:
Pujols didn’t hit Home Run 699, but he did end a no hitter pic.twitter.com/NYdL2LyxTG
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) September 22, 2022
Judge doubled twice, scored twice, and walked once. His BA now sits at an excellent .317.
Judge gets walked and the crowd boos HEAVILY pic.twitter.com/neyhqiUFVT
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 22, 2022
Speaking of Judge, please check out this thread:
Teams are throwing Aaron Judge way more strikes this month. I do not understand baseball teams sometimes. pic.twitter.com/DN8QAY4I5o
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) September 21, 2022
WBC Roster Update
Last night, Team Great Britain (GB) clinched their spot in the World Baseball Classic with a late victory over Spain:
Great Britain WALKS IT OFF to clinch a spot in the World Baseball Classic!! https://t.co/iCySVdUogP
— Brian (@byysports) September 20, 2022
See you in March, Great Britain. 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/Kz7QBceMRy
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) September 21, 2022
And, Team GB got some more good news today:
Jazz Chisholm Jr. says that he will play for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic, via @BallyMarlins pic.twitter.com/YvSJTqYLZ6
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 22, 2022
Notable names (besides Chisholm) on the Team GB roster: Rays prospect Tahnaj Thomas, former MLB journeyman Vance Worley, and Angels prospect D’Shawn Knowles.
Best Moments from Wednesday
Joey Votto is a Cool Dude(TM)
Throwback Barry Larkin jersey? Check. Cool fan interactions? Check. Joey Votto rocks:
Joey Votto: man of the people 🙌
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/jw48BGhw7z
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 21, 2022
If you’re on TikTok and not following Joey Votto, please look at what you’re missing:
https://twitter.com/BushLeague101/status/1547242001199812608
The finished product of Joey Votto’s TikTok with a fan pic.twitter.com/OzeaUXnDdI
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 14, 2022
What a Relief! Noah Syndergaard Edition
You may remember the NLDS between the Dodgers and the Mets in October 2015. The Mets won the series in 5 games, thanks to some excellent outings from Jacob deGrom and timely hitting from Yoenis Céspedes/Daniel Murphy.
Also, in Game 2 of the NLDS, a very questionable (dirty or not, it was objectively not the cleanest, rule-following-est slide you’ll ever see) Chase Utley slide into second base broke Mets IF Rubén Tejada’s leg.
Chase Utley upends Ruben Tejada to break up a double play during game 2 of the 2015 NLDS pic.twitter.com/3S45in1J97
— Baseball In Pics (@baseballinpix) August 14, 2022
Thanks to that slide, MLB changed a 100-year-old rule to prevent future injuries like Tejada’s. Utley never apologized to Tejada:
Ruben Tejada says it took him about a year and a half to fully recover from the Chase Utley slide in the 2015 NLDS. He hasn't talked to Utley since that day. pic.twitter.com/bcGpCfLlNQ
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 14, 2019
However, he did receive a 2-game suspension that carried over into the 2016 season. That 2-game suspension, as huge as it was, ended up being overturned by Joe Torre prior to the 2016 season. Understandably, the Mets were quite aggravated by the slide when it occurred, and it still didn’t sit right with them a few months later. So, Noah Syndergaard decided to take matters into his own hands:
5/28/2016 Noah Syndergaard and Terry Collins are ejected after Syndergaard threw behind Chase Utley. Seven months prior, Utley broke Rubén Tejada’s leg in Game 2 of the NLDS. Utley’s initial two game suspension was overturned in March of 2016 by Joe Torre. pic.twitter.com/9LiX5HPmI3
— This Day in Mets History (@NYMhistory) May 28, 2020
Syndergaard was ejected (you can listen to the hot mics from the incident here, it’s absolutely worth your time) and didn’t get in a lot of pitching work as a result. So, then-Mets manager Terry Collins decided Syndergaard needed a relief appearance to keep his arm on track. Syndergaard came in for the 7th inning, with the Mets up 4-3 over the White Sox, and struck out Adam Eaton and Todd Frazier for a scoreless inning and a hold.
6 years later, Syndergaard made his second relief appearance of his career, piggybacking off 4 strong innings from Zach Wheeler:
this will be Noah Syndergaard's second career relief appearance and first since May 31, 2016, which only happened because he threw at Chase Utley three days earlier and got ejected after 34 pitches and Terry Collins wanted him to get some work in before his next start lol pic.twitter.com/Ze5eeQ8mfx
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) September 22, 2022
Syndergaard tossed 2 more clean innings, handing the ball off to the rest of the Phillies’ bullpen.
Sausage Race
Speaking of the Mets…
🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊 pic.twitter.com/qFnOarrr5z
— Cut4 (@Cut4) September 21, 2022
That’s SNY/Mets reporter Steve Gelbs racing the rest of the sausages in Milwaukee. Gelbs comfortably beat out the other sausages en route to his first and only sausage run victory, and you can hear just how excited the guys up in the booth are for him. That’s good ol’ fashioned fun in Milwaukee.
Injuries
Johnny Cueto is good to go for Thursday’s start after he was scratched Saturday in Detroit. Cueto couldn’t pitch on the weekend due to a sinus issue but was apparently feeling much better Tuesday.
Spencer Strider is dealing with left oblique soreness and will be given a few extra days to rest. He will reportedly join Atlanta’s rotation again next week, which would line him up for a start against the Mets during the September 30-October 2 series, where the NL East title might be decided once and for all.
Nick Senzel was placed on the 10-day IL with a fractured left toe yesterday. Senzel sustained the injury after crashing into the outfield wall during Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox. Michael Siani, Cincinnati’s 26th-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline, will be called up to replace Senzel.
Brusdar Graterol is expected to return today for the Dodgers after throwing a live BP session against Gavin Lux and Miguel Vargas on September 19. He left the session “feeling healthy” enough to return to the roster. Meanwhile, Blake Treinen will not be activated, as his rehab from right shoulder soreness is progressing slower than expected. Tony Gonsolin will face live hitters today for the first time since suffering a right forearm injury in August. If all goes well, Gonsolin will throw another bullpen and perhaps make a rehab appearance before potentially joining the bullpen for the Dodgers’ postseason run.
C.J. Cron left yesterday’s game after getting hit on his left hand by a pitch from Logan Webb. The Rockies announced that Cron had a “left-hand contusion” but that X-rays came back negative for a fracture. There was no update on his potential return to the lineup.
Articles You Should Read
Introducing CAW%: A Projection for Equal Spending — Dylan Drummey, PitcherList
MLB’s new rules: How pitch clock, shift ban and bigger bases will — and won’t — change the game — Jayson Stark, The Athletic
The Chase Is The Thing — Barry Petchesky, Defector
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)