Sunday, September 28, 2014

John McDonald's final at-bat a bit quieter for this 40-year-old shortstop

With all of the attention in Major League Baseball this weekend squarely focused on Derek Jeter's victory lap around the circuit, the final stages of another 40-year-old shortstop's quietly sneaked under the radar.

John McDonald, a reserve infielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, potentially ended his career with a bang when he doubled off of Seattle Mariners reliever Danny Farquhar in the 9th inning of Sunday’s regular season finale.

The veteran of 16 major league seasons hit a milestone when he turned 40 last Wednesday, becoming only the 17th major leaguer over 40 to play shortstop since 1900.

McDonald fit the mold of a dying breed of the classic great glove, no-hit middle infielder, batting a career .233 with nine teams from 1999-2014. He was so valued for his defense, that the eventual 2013 World Series champion Boston Red Sox acquired McDonald in an August 31st trade with the Philadelphia Phillies despite his .098 batting average at the time. He was used as a late-inning defensive replacement to bolster their playoff run.

Unfortunately, McDonald was left off the Red Sox post-season roster and it looks like he will be absent from the Angels active roster when they start the ALDS on October 2nd. With the presence of Gordon Beckham, there appears to be little room for McDonald in their playoff plans.

Sitting at his locker after Sunday’s game, McDonald not only held on to the ball from what is probably his last-at bat, but the sentiments as well.

“It’s a good feeling to get one more hit,” McDonald said to MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez on Sunday. “It might have more meaning later.”

Friday, August 29, 2014

Tony Oliva takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Tony Oliva
Minnesota Twins legend, the 76-year old Tony Oliva, showed that you aren't too young to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

The 1964 American League Rookie of the Year cheerfully took a dip in ice water in support of ALS research.

He calls out Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Orlando Cepeda, and my good friend Paul Casanova to take the corresponding plunge.



A candid Willie Mays talking baseball with Billy Sample

Willie Mays
Billy Sample, former major league outfielder of nine major league seasons, talked shop with the legendary Willie Mays in the spring of 2004.

In this 15-minute interview, Mays is rather lucid as they discuss his career from humble beginnings in Alabama, making his way from the Negro Leagues all the way to the Hall of Fame.
 

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Michael Conforto's outfield play turning heads in Brooklyn

Being a first-round draft pick carries high expectations from the moment a player signs their name on a million-dollar contract. In just over a month, Michael Conforto, the New York Mets 2014 first-round draft pick from Oregon State University, has been all that was advertised and then some.

Playing in thirty-six games thus far with the Brooklyn Cyclones in the short-season New York Penn League, Conforto has been a magician at the plate, batting .321 with two home runs and 18 RBIs. His prowess with the bat comes as little surprise to baseball insiders, as his hitting was the main factor in his nomination as a finalist for the 2014 Golden Spikes Award, the honor given to the top player in college baseball.

Going into the draft however, there was much speculation about Conforto’s abilities as an outfielder, with some analysts going as far as calling his outfield play, “a mess,” and saying that his arm strength leaves much to be desired.

Michael Conforto - N. Diunte
“He has a poor throwing arm that runners can take extra bases on,” said Christopher Crawford of MLB Draft Insider. 

In the short time that he has been in Brooklyn, he has laid the foundation to quell those naysayers about his defensive capabilities. He has five outfield assists and has made quite a few acrobatic plays in left field as well.

“The reports also said he was only an adequate defender; the same with his arm. But in the reports I've been sending back to the Mets, I'm telling them he's anything but that," Cyclones Manager Tom Gamboa said to the Staten Island Advance. "He threw out a runner trying to score (Monday night at RCCC), and tonight he made a diving catch. That's about the seventh or eighth diving catch he's made."

Conforto is glad that his defense is getting attention, as it was overshadowed by his strong bat throughout his entire college career. He recognizes that it is an area of his game that is continuing to be developed as he starts his journey in professional baseball.

“That's something that's been said that may be my weakness,” Conforto said to metroBASEBALL magazine, “so it's pretty cool that its been highlighted here. I've had the opportunity to be out there in left field every day and showcase my ability, so that's been pretty cool for me and it's helped me grow in a place where I really need to grow.”