The Minnesota Twins hired Derek Shelton as their next manager. Shelton was fired as Pirates manager in May, early in his sixth season with Pittsburgh. Before that, he had been the bench coach in Minnesota under Rocco Baldelli, who was fired by the Twins at the end of a disappointing season. Shelton and Baldelli are famously close friends (who enjoy pranking each other) and I’m curious how that dynamic feels to both of them right now! Anyway, here’s a picture I took in 2022 at the Pirates ballpark of a shirt Shelton had commissioned. I’m not even sure if they were playing the Twins or if he just was hoping the message (which, is it even a prank if it’s just a compliment?) would somehow make it’s way back to Baldelli:
More managerial moves: The Washington Nationals are hiring Blake Butera as their next manager after firing Dave Martinez in season. Butera comes from the Tampa Bay Rays system, where he was most recently the Senior Director of Player Development but has also been a minor league manager. He’s also 33 years old. Managers shouldn’t be younger than me.
ESPN reports on a federal investigation into suspicious accounting of organizational funds, seemingly for individual gain, at the MLBPA. The allegations from whistleblowers and anonymous sources center on the Players Way, a youth baseball business launched by Tony Clark and the PA, which has reportedly received millions of dollars in funding from the union while producing little to show for it. The MLBPA needs to get its internal business sorted before the real clash with the league comes after next season.
The World Series could end as soon as tonight. It will definitely end by tomorrow night (or early Sunday morning). Let’s get some thoughts down before the Blue Jays go for the clinch back in Toronto.
⚾️ After the Blue Jays’ decisive Game 5 victory on Wednesday night, known Torontonian (?) Drake posted this on his Instagram story:
As Drake aptly captioned, it’s a narratively rich photo and so I appreciate Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline posting it with the proper credit to the AP photographer who took it, David J. Phillip.
If Trey Yesavage is keeping a scrapbook from this October, that’s gotta be the cover shot. –HK
⚾️ Trey Yesavage doesn’t scrapbook, he’s a true Gen Z: addicted to his phone.
If you don’t want to click through, the quote from Yesavage from after he set the rookie record for strikeouts in a World Series game was:
“I saw something on Instagram that someone took a video of me on my phone saying I was locked in,” Yesavage said, “but I was just doomscrolling on TikTok and Instagram reels.” –HK
⚾️ The FOX broadcast has done a very thorough job reminding viewers that Trey Yesavage has a weird, high arm angle. I think Tommy Edman might be the best data point in just how weird. The Dodgers utility man is a switch hitter, which means he would default to batting left-handed against Yesavage, a righty. Instead, he has been batting right-handed.
It hasn’t … helped. But clearly opposing hitters are flummoxed by the angle and the challenge of trying to distinguish Yesavage’s fastball from his splitter from his slider. They all look like they’re being fired down from the sky.
Over the past two seasons, including the playoffs, Edman has only discarded switch-hitting orthodoxy for four other pitchers: Emmanuel Clase (who throws mostly cutters), Jeremiah Estrada (who throws from an even higher angle than Yesavage), Tommy Kahnle (who throws 90% changeups) and John Curtiss (frankly, not sure why). Those are all relievers, and Yesavage is hurling quality starts in the World Series. Let this be lesson 337 in favor of the idea that Weird Pitching tends to be Good Pitching. —ZC
⚾️ We’ve chatted but not bits or bobbed since the 18-inning Game 3 and so I didn’t get to share this gif I made of Shohei Ohtani after … one of his two doubles in his night of reaching base nine times. Ohtani, for such an enigma, actually emotes a lot. He has an incredibly expressive face. But it usually manifests in cuteness and curiosity. This, however, is pure grandiose swagger. —HK
⚾️ If you’re a neutral seeking a reason to root for the Dodgers, at least in Game 6, here’s one: A Game 7 could unlock a new usage of Shohei Ohtani. Per the reports, Dave Roberts and company are mulling a way to use Ohtani on the mound in a short stint.
That could mean he acts as an opener, which would allow him to stay in the game at DH under the usual Ohtani rule that governs his starts. Or, more intriguingly, they could use him as a high-leverage reliever and move him to the outfield to keep his bat in the lineup (as a relief pitcher cannot stay in the game at DH). He has never played the field in MLB, nor has he pitched in relief in the big leagues. He did pitch in relief early in his career in Japan’s NPB, and he famously closed out the World Baseball Classic in relief, striking out Mike Trout. —ZC
⚾️ Quick, who has been the second-most productive hitter in this World Series? (Behind Ohtani, of course.)
…
Did you guess Addison Barger? Because it’s Addison Barger. The Blue Jays right fielder, who has also displayed his cannon of an arm, is batting .471/.500/.647 in the series. A bit of a post-hype prospect whose stock faded when it became clear he wasn’t an infielder, Barger established himself but sowed doubt again after a hot first half (125 wRC+) gave way to a cold second half (87 wRC+).
He swings very hard, 93rd percentile in bat speed hard, and that can lead to some inconsistency in the quality of his contact. We’re seeing the best version of Barger again at the biggest moment, and I think many agree it would be fun if he can sustain it. —ZC
⚾️ Chris Bassitt has become an unsung hero of Toronto’s run to the brink of a title. The 36-year-old starter doesn’t profile as a guy whose kitchen sink arsenal would play up in relief, but play up it has.
He has appeared five times in these playoffs, throwing 6 2/3 innings, and allowed zero runs. That includes the first back-to-back experience of his career. He summed up the impact of the role change like this:
He might get to enjoy lots of beers thanks to the extra padding his work has provided manager John Schneider and the Toronto bullpen. —ZC
⚾️ There’s a lot of symmetry potential however this series ends. Toronto last won in 1993, on Joe Carter’s walk-off homer in Game 6, which earned them back-to-back World Series titles. At CBS Sports, Dayn Perry took a fun run down memory lane to highlight that legendary moment.
The idea of a walk-off World Series win got me thinking about the recent rarity of a team clinching the championship at home. The 2022 Astros are the last team to finish things off in their home park, and before that you have to go back to the 2013 Red Sox. I don’t think this phenomenon means anything, but it sure will be memorable if the Blue Jays win with the roar of their home fans behind them. —ZC