Sunday Notes: Pondering Pedroia, Wright, and a HoF Ballot Dilemma

Which player had a better career, Dustin Pedroia or David Wright? I asked that question in a Twitter poll a few days ago, with the erstwhile Boston Red Sox second baseman outpolling the former New York Mets third baseman by a measure of 58.8% to 41.2%. Results aside, how they compare in historical significance has been on my mind. Both are on the Hall of Fame ballot I will be filling out in the coming days, and depending on what I decide to do with a pair of controversial players that have received my votes in recent years, each is a strong consideration for a checkmark. More on that in a moment.

It’s no secret that Pedroia and Wright were on track for Cooperstown prior to injuries sidetracking their seemingly clear paths. Rather than having opportunities to build on their counting stats, they finished with just 1,805 and 1,777 hits, and 44.8 and 51.3 WAR, respectively. That said, each has a resumé that includes an especially impressive 10-year stretch (Wright had 10 seasons with 100 or more games played. Pedroia had nine).

To wit:

From 2007-2016, Pedroia slashed .303/.368/.447 with an 118 wRC+ and 45 WAR. Over that span, he made four All-Star teams, won four Gold Gloves, and earned both Rookie of the Year and MVP honors. Moreover, he was an integral part of two World Series-winning teams.

From 2005-2014, Wright slashed .298/.379/.492 with a 134 wRC+ and 48.1 WAR. Over that span, he made seven All-Star teams and won two Gold Gloves. Unlike his Red Sox contemporary, he captured neither a Rookie of the Year or MVP award, nor did he play for a World Series winner. That said, as Jay Jaffe wrote earlier this month, “Wright is the greatest position player in Mets history.”

As for my forthcoming ballot decision, eight of my 10 available votes are already decided. Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez are the question marks. I have voted for both in each of the four ballots I’ve previously had the privilege of filling out, but should I do so again, knowing that neither has a realistic chance of ever being elected due to their PED transgressions? My colleague Jay hasn’t voted for them, as their suspensions came after the applicable rules had been put into in place. Rather than continuing to hold my nose and once again put checkmarks next to their names, might it be better to give those votes to other deserving candidates? (Being a big-Hall voter, I will once again go with the maximum allowed).

If I opt not to vote for A-Rod or Manny, which two players are most deserving of checkmarks? Pedroia and Wright are certainly serious candidates, but a few others are, as well. One is Félix Hernández, who himself seemed Cooperstown-bound until his body became less cooperative and his dominant 20s segued uncomfortably into ineffective 30s. In his own 10-year peak, which spanned 2006-2015, King Felix’s 50.1 WAR was the highest among MLB hurlers.

Hence the dilemma. Should I opt for A-Rod and Manny, or two of Pedroia, Wright, and Hernández? And again, there are a handful of others who merit consideration. A lot of thought will go into the decision before my ballot is mailed in by the end of the year.

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Christian Vázquez is 14 for 24 against Alex Cobb.

Christian Walker is 15 for 29 against Antonio Senzatela.

Christian Yelich is 15 for 37 against Jacob deGrom.

Hank Greenberg went 11 for 14 against Larry Jansen.

Bill Virdon went 21 for 52 against Sandy Koufax.

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As The Athletic’s Noah Furtado wrote at the beginning of the month, the NIL (name, image and likeness) era of college sports, in which players are paid by school boosters through third-party collectives, extends beyond basketball and football. Baseball is being impacted as well. Signing players drafted out of high school to professional contracts will presumably become more and more challenging going forward.

I asked Baltimore Orioles VP of Player Development and Amateur Scouting Matt Blood for his thoughts on the subject during the Winter Meetings.

“It just gives players more options for what they want to do, whether that’s signing with a major league team or go play in college,“ Blood said. “Ultimately, a player still has to make a decision of whether they want to go into professional baseball and get their career started, or whether they feel like going to college helps best for them. Every one is a little different. I don’t necessarily think it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

The Baltimore Banner’s Danielle Allentuck followed up , asking the exec if we might start seeing a shift, with more players going to college, and making more money right away, versus going to the minors where the salaries are a bit lower.

“I think it’s all a personal decision,” Blood replied. “If there’s more money there, it very well could happen. It’s a decision in the long-term play, too. if they think they’re going to an organization that does a really good job of development, that might be a better a long-term strategy than taking a little more money in the short term.”

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A quiz:

Ivan Rodriguez has the most career hits (2,844) among players who were almost exclusively catchers throughout their careers. Which catcher has the second-most hits? (A hint: he is in the Hall of Fame.)

The answer can be found below.

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NEWS NOTES

The 2025 MLB Draft, which will begin on July 13 in Atlanta, will be a two-day event, rather than the traditional three. Rounds 1-3 will take place on the first day (per Baseball America).

The Miami Marlins have reportedly promoted Brandon Mann from pitching strategist to bullpen coach. The former MLB and NPB hurler was featured here at FanGraphs in June 2020.

Derrick Loop announced this week that he is retiring after 19 professional seasons, six of which came Stateside in affiliated ball. All told, the 41-year-old southpaw made 918 pitching appearances, the majority of them in them in the Mexican League. Loop was featured here in Sunday Notes in October 2016.

Roberto Gómez, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in nine games for the San Francisco Giants across the 2017-2018 seasons, died earlier this month at age.35. The Santo Domingo native’s lone decision was a win, courtesy of a 14th-inning, three-run, walk-off homer by Andrew McCutchen against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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The answer to the quiz is Ted Simmons, with 2,472 hits. If you guessed Carlton Fisk, he is third with 2,356 hits.

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When he presented at Saberseminar this past August, Brian Bannister told attendees that he “really got into pitch usage from 2014 to 2016,” and from there “kind of went on a seam-effect binge for a five years.” Serving in pitching analysis and development roles for the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants over that span, Bannister subsequently moved on to the Chicago White Sox, with whom he has held the title Senior Advisor To Pitching since September 2023.

His analytical approach dates back to his playing career, which included taking the mound for the New York Mets in 2006, and for the Kansas City Royals from 2007-2010. As a matter of fact, they stretch back to his days as a farmhand. Back in July 2005, I first interviewed Bannister — this for a bygone publication called Inside Pitch Magazine Online — when he was preparing to start for the North squad in the Eastern League All-Star Game, in Portland, Maine. One of the things I asked the then-prospect was if he feels that pitching is more math, or more psychology.

“I’d say it’s more psychology,” replied Bannister, who was 9-4 with a 2.56 ERA over 109 innings for Double-A Binghamton when we spoke. “It’s understanding how to get outs, when to pitch around hitters, and knowing how to let hitters get themselves out. You’ll see a lot of guys who aren’t rated very high in the handbooks succeed because they know how to pitch. I hear all the time that I don’t have overpowering stuff, but that’s not necessarily what it takes to win.”

Driven largely by technology, pitching knowledge has grown by leaps and bounds since my initial conversation with Bannister. Befitting his reputation within the game, he has not only grown with it, he has striven to be on the cutting edge. On a related note, time flies.

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Tomoyuki Sugano met with reporters over Zoom on Thursday night (Friday morning in Japan), a few days after signing a one-year-contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Why did the 35-year-old right-hander choose the Orioles other suitors?

“The pitching staff, the pitching development, a great team,” said Sugano, whose 12-year-NPB career was spent with the Yomiuri Giants. “Also that they are contending for a World Series and have an opportunity to win a World Series immediately. Those were the biggest factors.”

Asked about his arsenal and skillset, Sugano said that while he’s not a guy who throws 100 mph, he is very confident in his control, command, and pitch mix. He attributes his success in Japan to those qualities, and doesn’t anticipate changing anything — at least not immediately. Asked about conversations he’s had with his new team, the erstwhile NPB ace allowed that he’ll be open-minded to adjustments.

“We talked a lot about my pitch selection, pitch mix, pitch values, and how certain pitches may be more effective in certain parts of the zone, and against certain hitters,” Sugano explained via VC Sports Group agent Shawn Novak, who served as an interpreter. “We will possibly test different pitches, and how I can be more effective with the ones I have. Also the difference in strike zones between MLB and NPB, and how that may impact me. We talked about a lot, but there is a ton more to talk about. I’m very excited to get going, and talking more pitching with the front office and the coaches.”

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Junior Guerra is 8-1 with a 2.13 ERA over 63-and-a-third innings for the Venezuelan Winter League’s Navegantes del Magallanes. The 39-year-old right-hander pitched in MLB from 2015-2021, most recently for the Los Angeles Angels.

Patrick Weigel has 22 strikeouts, and has surrendered 12 hits, five walks, and two runs, over 19 innings for the Dominican Winter League’s Estrellas Orientales. The 30-year-old, former Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers right-hander was inked to a minor-league deal by the Washington Nationals earlier this month.

Osvaldo Berrios has 17 strikeouts, and has surrendered just three hits, one walk, and one run, over 11 innings for the Puerto Rican Winter League’s Gigantes de Carolina. The 25-year-old right-hander, who was in the Oakland A’s system from 2017-2022, had eight saves and a 2.34 ERA with the High-A Peoria Chiefs after being signed out of the Frontier League by the St. Louis Cardinals this past June.

James Bradwell is 4-0 with a 2.65 ERA over 17 innings with the Australian Baseball League’s Adelaide Giants. The 26-year-old right-hander from North Vancouver, British Columbia went 12-0 with a 2.72 ERA this year with the Frontier League’s Capitales de Québec. He has never played in affiliated ball.

Sun Yeop Yook has allowed two runs, fanned 13 batters, and issued three walks over 11-and-a-third innings with the ABL’s Brisbane Bandits. The 19-year-old right-hander pitched in 11 games for the KBO’s Samsung Tigers this year.

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The Minnesota Twins made changes to Rocco Baldelli’s coaching staff earlier this month, with two of the additions coming via the promotion route. Co-hitting coach Rayden Sierra had been serving as the organization’s minor league assistant hitting coordinator, while first base/infield coach Ramon Borrego was the manager at Double-A Wichita. Jeremy Zoll addressed the upward moves during the Winter Meetings.

“We’re always trying to find that right balance of honoring the group that we have, to make sure that we have that consistency top to bottom,” Minnesota’s GM told reporters. “We also want to make sure we’re not missing out on opportunities to bring in new ideas from outside the organization. That’s a delicate balance. But when you have someone in the organization that you feel is ready to take on a role, there is real value to taking advantage of that. It is motivating for the remaining members of player development, across the board, when they see Rayden and Ramon get promoted,. ‘Okay, this is something that I’m working towards.’”

Zoll joined the Twins organization in 2018 and was promoted from assistant GM to his new role in November.

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

Ralph “Blackie” Schwamb might be the most notorious player in MLB history that you’ve never heard of. A right-handed pitcher who appeared in 12 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1948, Schwamb developed a drinking problem, became involved in organized crime, and was implicated in a murder that took place in October 1949. He was convicted, sentenced to life, and spent time in both San Quentin and Folsom Prison before being paroled in 1960 at age 33. Schwamb went 1-1 with an 8.53 ERA in his brief time as a big-leaguer.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Which pitchers had the biggest difference between actual OPS and expected OPS? Mark Simon has the numbers at Sports Info Solutions.

PHG Baseball Now’s John Perrotto wrote about what the Pittsburgh Pirates are seeking in a new farm director.

Twins Daily’s Nick Nelson presented us with a short history of Minnesota Twins managers.

Longtime SABR member Chuck Hildebrandt recently returned a 50-years-overdue copy of “Baseball’s Zaniest Stars” to the Warren (Michigan) Public Library. Neal Rubin wrote about it for The Detroit Free Press.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Rickey Henderson swiped 110 bases against each of the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays, his highest total against any team. He was caught stealing 24 times against the Twins, and 25 times against the Blue Jays. Henderson started 189 games against both teams, logging a .411 OBP against the former, and a .412 OBP against the latter.

Tim Raines stole 808 bases, the fourth highest total in the modern era. His 84.7% success rate is the highest in history among players will at least 400 attempts.

Paul Goldschmidt is 20-for-53 (.377) with three home runs in 65 career plate appearances versus the New York Yankees.

Félix Hernández pitched in 419 games and went 169-136 with a 117 ERA+.
Kevin Appier pitched in 414 games and went 169-137 with a 121 ERA+.

Andre Dawson had 589 career walks and 1,508 career strikeouts.
Don Mattingly had 588 career walks and 444 career strikeouts.

Steve Kemp had 576 walks, 1,128 hits, and a .367 OBP.
Alex Bregman has 576 walks, 1,132 hits, and a .366 OBP.

On today’s date in 2011, the Cardinals announced that free agent outfielder Carlos Beltrán had agreed to join the team on a two-year deal. The switch-hitter went on to play two seasons in St. Louis, slamming 56 home runs and logging a 127 wRC+ and 6.1 WAR.

Players born on today’s date include Orlando Isales, an outfielder whose MLB career comprised three games and six plate appearances for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980. A native of Santurce, Puerto Rico, Isales went 2-for-5 with a triple, a walk, and three RBIs.

Also born on today’s date was Jon Ratliff, a right-hander whose big-league career comprised one inning for the Oakland Athletics in 2000. The product of Liverpool (NY) High School toed the rubber in Tampa and retired all three Devil Rays batters he faced.

Jocko Flynn had two highly successful seasons on the mound before a sore arm torpedoed his career at age 22. The right-hander from Lawrence, Massachusetts went 25-11 with a 0.68 ERA over 333 innings for the minor-league Meriden Maroons in 1885, and he followed that up by going 23-6 with a 2.24 ERA for the National League’s Chicago White Sox in 1886. The latter was his only big-league season.

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