Innholdsfortegnelse for August 3, 2018 i Baseball America

“I’m going to sit in the back of the locker room, keep my mouth shut and speak when spoken to”.CHIPPER JONES ON HOW HE WILL APPROACH FELLOW HALL OF FAMERS AT HIS INDUCTION, PAGE 1…

For even the greatest hitters, facing big league pitchers as a teenager is often too much, too soon. When Alex Rodriguez arrived in Seattle as a 19-year-old, he hit .232 in 142 at-bats. He was second in the MVP balloting as a 20-year-old, but as a teenager, he struggled through uncomfortable at-bats. Mike Trout reached the majors as a 19-year-old and hit just .220 in 123 at-bats. Greatness had to wait until he was Rookie of the Year and second in the MVP balloting the next season. Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Ivan Rodriguez both found it hard to keep up with big league pitchers as 19-year-olds. So did Manny Machado, Andruw Jones and Adrian Beltre. Merely making to the majors as a 19-year-old hitter is a strong indicator…

Chipper Jones boarded a private jet bound for his personal tour of the Hall of Fame in golf pants and flip flops. He also wore the harried expression of a former professional athlete who just rushed from a charity golf tournament through Atlanta traffic and skipped lunch. Only after the twin engine Cessna had climbed several thousand feet, and the hastily-purchased Chick-fil-A sandwich started to work on his stomach, did Jones let the reason for this April trip—an orientation for his upcoming induction—sink in. “We are off to Cooperstown, New York,” he said, eyebrows raised, peering out the window. Eight-passenger corporate jets don’t come with flight attendants announcing final destinations. But soon-to-be Hall of Famers entering a new kind of rarefied air often need a little confirmation. “I still don’t…

The All-Star festivities in Washington, D.C., were a very colorful affair, helped along by what the major leaguers wore during the event. New Era introduced the All-Star Game cap design, showing a return to the tri-color pinwheel scheme of old, to go with a mixture of new event-specific apparel items. With the hat serving up a colorful display of nostalgia, there was a fresh perspective for All-Star Sunday’s Futures Game, All-Star Workout Day on the Monday before the big game and, well, the most patriotic sock design we’ve ever seen. The 59Fifty cap design from New York-based New Era includes an embroidered team logo at the front panel and the MLB Batterman logo at the rear. Additional details include a 2018 MLB All-Star Game side patch at the right-wear side…

The Braves were in a bind following the 1992 season, one in which they lost the World Series to the Blue Jays in six games. Atlanta was so well stocked with talent and protecting just 40 players for the pending expansion draft was difficult. The final protected spot reportedly came down to outfielder Deion Sanders, who was splitting time between playing for Atlanta’s major league baseball and football teams and had just completed his best full season in the big leagues, or righthander David Nied, a September callup and the Braves’ top pitching prospect. “I kind of felt I was going to be protected,” Nied said. “There were a lot of rumors, and I don’t know what was right or what was wrong. I heard that (Braves owner) Ted Turner…

Walt Weiss arrived in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., this spring a curious man. The longtime shortstop and former manager was beginning his first year as the Braves’ bench coach. He had heard all about the organization’s assemblage of young talent and wandered into spring training intrigued to see it for himself. Weiss knew what he was joining. He anticipated seeing a burgeoning group of talented players in their early 20s. That was a big reason he took job. What Weiss didn’t anticipate was the feeling that hit him. The feeling of familiarity. The feeling he had seen this before. Weiss was 23 years old the first time he walked into the Athletics clubhouse in 1987. He was welcomed by a 23-year-old Mark McGwire, a 22-year-old Jose Canseco and a 25-year-old…

With the final out of the College World Series nestled in his catcher’s mitt and Oregon State the newly minted national champions, Adley Rutschman went charging out to the pitcher’s mound in jubilation. There, he met Beavers righthander Kevin Abel, who had thrown a two-hit shutout against Arkansas in the decisive third game of the finals, and his football training took over. Rutschman wrapped up Abel and pushed him off the mound to start the celebratory dogpile with a tackle his old football coaches would be proud of. Rutschman said he was just trying to get Abel down to the ground safely, but he looked more like an all-state linebacker laying out a quarterback. “Obviously, I’m going to put a little form into it, if I can,” Rutschman said. “Got…

ATLANTA BRAVES BEST PLAYER: Outfielder Drew Waters, a 2017 second-rounder out of the Atlanta area, has displayed his five-tool ability at a more polished level than the Braves expected at this point in his young career. Serving as leadoff hitter for low Class A Rome, Waters is developing into a prototypical center fielder with pop. Aggressive in all phases of the game, he has displayed impressive range as well as a strong, accurate arm. Waters’ bat has above-average power with room to grow. Named a starter in the South Atlantic League all-star game, the switch-hitter batted .292/.340/.517 with eight home runs through 65 games. “Drew Waters is going to be a very special player,” field coordinator Dave Trembley said. “He can run, throw, defend. He can hit for power and…

Replacing Augie Garrido, who finished his career as the winningest coach in college baseball history, was never going to be easy. Texas went through a protracted search following the 2016 season when Garrido retired before landing on David Pierce, who was then the head coach at Tulane. The choice has been an inspired one. Pierce this season, his second at the program’s helm, led Texas to its first Big 12 Conference title since 2011 and to the College World Series for the first time since 2014. This wasn’t a vintage Longhorns team loaded with elite prospects. It was a team that had to grind out results, that fought back from a disappointing 9-9 start against an ambitious nonconference schedule and was tested emotionally, when Garrido passed away in March. In…

Oregon State could not have won the 2018 College World Series without Kevin Abel. On a team that has won 111 games over the last two seasons and produced three top-40 draft picks this year, it was the freshman righthander who proved indispensable in Omaha. A day after earning his third win of the CWS in a 23-pitch relief outing, Abel hurled a 129-pitch two-hitter against Arkansas in Game 3 of the finals to clinch the national championship. Using a low-90s fastball, a devastating low-80s changeup and a biting upper-70s curveball, Abel retired the last 20 batters he faced. He struck out 10 and walked just two. He became the first pitcher in CWS history to win four games. No other pitcher has ever won two games in the same…

There are big shoes to fill when following in the footsteps of a giant. Tanner Burns knows that well. Burns, the man who was the Robin to Casey Mize’s Batman this year at Auburn certainly felt the expectations of following the act of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft in every start he pitched this season. “It’s a lot,” Burns said. “I wouldn’t say pressure, but it’s a lot because he goes out and dominates every outing. He racks up 10-15 strikeouts a night, and I wouldn’t say it’s tough following his footsteps, but it is, I guess. It’s in the back of my mind.” Burns is a 6-foot, 215-pound rising sophomore from Decatur, Alabama. He was considered a top prospect coming out of high school…

The Potomac Nationals’ quest for a new ballpark appears to be taking them 35 miles south to Fredericksburg, Va. In a letter to the franchise’s friends, fans and business partners, the team’s family of owners revealed their plan to move the high Class A Carolina League club from Woodbridge, Va., where it has played in Pfitzner Stadium since 1984. The P-Nats are joining the city of Fredericksburg in a letter of intent that would lead to the construction of a new ballpark near the Celebrate Virginia concert venue just off Interstate 95. The franchise would like to move into a 5,000-seat stadium, estimated to cost $35 million, in time for the 2020 season. “As almost all of you know, we have been seeking a site for a new facility for…

The Braves appeared in five World Series in the 1990s, doing so largely with the same core players. Tom Glavine and John Smoltz played for all five of Atlanta’s World Series teams, while Greg Maddux and Chipper Jones suited up for three of them, in 1995, ’96 and ’99. The quartet suited up as teammates for 10 seasons from 1993-2002, and now all four are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Seldom has one team had such a high concentration of HOF players—but a few others come close. Here are 10 other Expansion Era teams with Hall of Fame flavor, listed chronologically by the “signature” edition of the team. Players’ ages are listed in parentheses. 1961 YANKEES HALL OF FAMERS: C Yogi Berra (36), LHP Whitey Ford (32), CF Mickey…