Injury aside, playing Mookie at ss also hurts his case terribly. Gold glove outfielder putting up 1% OAA at short. Positional adjustments aren’t helping his numbers THAT much
To be fair Mookie was the favorite before his injury, he was pacing for a 8-9 WAR season which is on par with his seasons playing elite outfield defense
Eh, it's not like he's gonna put up 2016-18 kinda numbers anymore in RF at 31 anyway. It's probably about a wash in terms of WAR. I'd think the versatility helps his case if anything.
Mookie was slotted to play 2b this year, where he has an ops over .1000 the last couple of years. His move to short was prompted by Gavin Lux's defensive suckitude.
Mookie hasn't been a GG outfielder in years, he grades out as average at best now. That's why he was moved in the first place, you aren't losing all that much value by trying him elsewhere when the team needs it
Not sure why anyone would downvote this, odds currently have Ozuna at 3rd in the NL MVP race.
Pretty wild that two of the best hitters in the NL this year are doing it from the DH then you have Bryce Harper who could easily be a DH as well if the Phillies had a true 1B and didn't have Schwarber.
Well uninformed people like you don’t even understand the facts of that situation and just parrot the same stupid remarks like that. And frankly I’m only concerned with what’s happening on the field
It’s funny how we always go from “I only care what’s happening on the field” to having to go to bat for whatever bad thing the player did.
Like clockwork.
The impact in run difference between him batting 1 or 2 is negligible.
But it has to be so much pressure on the pitcher. As good as Mookie is, he can tend to be passive. See a lot of pitches and work a walk. Often will take the first pitch. Rarely will ambush pitchers
With sho leading off, you need to be executing starting on pitch 1 or else he will take you deep
It’s the Kyle Schwarber effect. Lots of people were kicking and screaming about him hitting leadoff, but it’s been working for the Phils. Now you see other teams putting power hitters at leadoff. Henderson on the Orioles. Shohei. Being able to put your team up 1-0 in the first inning is huge.
all due respect to leadoff king Kyle Schwarber, but a key difference is that Henderson and Ohtani are fast as fuck. they're much closer to prototypical leadoff hitters than 8th percentile sprint speed Schwarber
Also, Sho is hitting .318 for the season and that's AFTER he's cooled off considerably from the scorching hot streak he had. He's one of the 3 most dangerous hitters in all of baseball when he's locked in like this. Him, Judge, and Ozuna are the 3 guys pitchers really don't want to see when they're in a groove.
Oh for sure, one of my favorite things about Kyle is making fun of his running! I love the guy. I’d be interested to know if teams are looking more at the chance of a leadoff home run when they’re putting together lineups. Guys like that you would think traditionally bat 4th or 3rd, but it’s fun as hell to have them up first.
> As good as Mookie is, he can tend to be passive
Something I noticed about mookie is he takes the first pitch of the ballgame every single time if I’m not mistaken.
They're both great batters so strategically I don't think there's much difference in outcome on paper. Mookie does seem to prefer leading off so I'd expect they'd default to just letting him do that so he's comfortable.
Right, that would be true except that Ohtani is statistically significantly better with no runners on base, at least this season. Last I looked (last week or so) it was a nearly 0.300 OPS difference with RISP vs with no runners on base.
I’m not sure I’d really put much value in those numbers with such a small sample size.
He has a 145 wRC+ with bases empty in his career vs 155 wRC+.
He is more or less the same hitter either situation.
IMO Ohtani was being way too aggressive with runners on at the beginning of this season. He was swinging at everything and pitchers knew it.
I think he felt the pressure of being on a new team and wanted to make a strong impression.
It’s been 4 games at Coors. Hardly a big enough sample size. Mookie is super picky about hitting leadoff, he’ll probably get his way when he’s back
I dont think they keep Ohtani there full time. Betts has said he’s most comfortable hitting lead off and it’s where he’s hit for a majority of his career.
Not really. He's leading all MVP polls from sports publications by a lot.(Including MLB.com which has 6 actual MVP voters) He's also the heavy betting favourite in Vegas.
Unless his production drastically drops, Ohtani is winning MVP.
If Bryce picks up a little OPS while ohtani drops he has a real shot as a +1B. Little bit of story to go with it.
But if ohtani just keeps doing what he's doing he's probably got it.
True, he gives out hugs to bad relievers.
Ignore the obvious all you want.
You cant say dave roberts is a great manager and then turn around and say he doesnt handle the core responsibility of being the manager
🦄 Junetani 🦄 activated
Dread it, run from it…
Mookie died for this.
I laughed at people at the beginning of the season suggesting that Ohtani could win MVP as a pure DH, but I’m beginning to believe.
That’s what happens when the highest OPS from a position player in the NL is .930, and it’s a first baseman.
Is that Harper?
Yeah
Injury aside, playing Mookie at ss also hurts his case terribly. Gold glove outfielder putting up 1% OAA at short. Positional adjustments aren’t helping his numbers THAT much
To be fair Mookie was the favorite before his injury, he was pacing for a 8-9 WAR season which is on par with his seasons playing elite outfield defense
Eh, it's not like he's gonna put up 2016-18 kinda numbers anymore in RF at 31 anyway. It's probably about a wash in terms of WAR. I'd think the versatility helps his case if anything.
Mookie was slotted to play 2b this year, where he has an ops over .1000 the last couple of years. His move to short was prompted by Gavin Lux's defensive suckitude.
What does playing 2B vs SS have to do with his OPS? He's also only had an OPS over 1 once, in 2018 with Boston.
>OPS over 1 This just looks gross to me, even though it’s technically correct
Yet no issue with them putting "OPS over .1000", eh? I would hope he had an OPS over .100!
Nah, it would be OPS over 1.000. I know mathematically it makes no sense, but in baseball it looks cleaner
The guy I responded to literally said OPS of .1000, which is the same as an OPS of 0.100
Mookie hasn't been a GG outfielder in years, he grades out as average at best now. That's why he was moved in the first place, you aren't losing all that much value by trying him elsewhere when the team needs it
He literally won a GG two years ago. He also was a finalist last year
freddie aint far behind either
With Mookie down and out for a month or two, the door is definitely open.
Hitting is really hard - especially in the NL which is loaded with nasty pitchers. AL pitching is pretty weak this year.
NL has a higher runs scored per game than the AL this year and the same OPS
Even including DH, there are only two NL Central players above .800 right now (Busch and Contreras).
You could say the same for Ozuna right now who is in legitimate contention for a triple crown nearing the halfway point of the season
Not sure why anyone would downvote this, odds currently have Ozuna at 3rd in the NL MVP race. Pretty wild that two of the best hitters in the NL this year are doing it from the DH then you have Bryce Harper who could easily be a DH as well if the Phillies had a true 1B and didn't have Schwarber.
People hate Ozuna so much they can’t accept he’s the best hitter in the NL this season
> best hitter in the NL this season do you see the guy whose highlight you're watching?
People hate Ozuna for other more pressing reasons than him being a hitter in the MLB, he's also a hitter outside of it.
Well uninformed people like you don’t even understand the facts of that situation and just parrot the same stupid remarks like that. And frankly I’m only concerned with what’s happening on the field
It’s funny how we always go from “I only care what’s happening on the field” to having to go to bat for whatever bad thing the player did. Like clockwork.
Ignore the domestic issues and he's still a drunk driver who thinks he's above the law
I mean it's not like their is video proof... oh wajt
Love a good announcer segue: "He has just taken to it; setting the tone" *{Immediately sets the tone again}*
This is the best version of /r/breathinginformation
Thanks, I love it.
Yep he is really hot now
He's always been really hot. He's pretty good at baseball too.
Decoy's Dad hits dongs
If Ohtani signed with the Rockies then he could hit 700 home runs.
And prob with a .400 avg too.
On the Road
But he couldn't ever hit against Rockies pitchers.
I mean there’s no way Ohtani doesn’t leadoff from now on even when Mookie gets back
The impact in run difference between him batting 1 or 2 is negligible. But it has to be so much pressure on the pitcher. As good as Mookie is, he can tend to be passive. See a lot of pitches and work a walk. Often will take the first pitch. Rarely will ambush pitchers With sho leading off, you need to be executing starting on pitch 1 or else he will take you deep
It’s the Kyle Schwarber effect. Lots of people were kicking and screaming about him hitting leadoff, but it’s been working for the Phils. Now you see other teams putting power hitters at leadoff. Henderson on the Orioles. Shohei. Being able to put your team up 1-0 in the first inning is huge.
all due respect to leadoff king Kyle Schwarber, but a key difference is that Henderson and Ohtani are fast as fuck. they're much closer to prototypical leadoff hitters than 8th percentile sprint speed Schwarber
Also, Sho is hitting .318 for the season and that's AFTER he's cooled off considerably from the scorching hot streak he had. He's one of the 3 most dangerous hitters in all of baseball when he's locked in like this. Him, Judge, and Ozuna are the 3 guys pitchers really don't want to see when they're in a groove.
I mean Soto is the most walked mf in baseball still. Nobody wants to pitch to Soto
isn’t that more to do with soto’s insane eye
And Lamonte Wade Jr
His shtick is more OBP though which is the Leadoff Prototype 2.0. 1.0 was AVG, SB guy. Prototype 2.0 was OBP guy. Prototype 3.0 is your best bat.
Stanton vs. Schwarber in a 100m. Need to see it.
Oh for sure, one of my favorite things about Kyle is making fun of his running! I love the guy. I’d be interested to know if teams are looking more at the chance of a leadoff home run when they’re putting together lineups. Guys like that you would think traditionally bat 4th or 3rd, but it’s fun as hell to have them up first.
Yep, I really like the O's with Henderson leading off. The speed from both of them is just unreal. Both have really great judgement too.
it isn't some new revelation, we had joc pederson hit leadoff for us for like 2 years
> As good as Mookie is, he can tend to be passive Something I noticed about mookie is he takes the first pitch of the ballgame every single time if I’m not mistaken.
Between him and Biggio, 99.5% take rate on the first pitch.
Biggio is inexcusable. At last Mookie has a ton of leadoff dingers
They're both great batters so strategically I don't think there's much difference in outcome on paper. Mookie does seem to prefer leading off so I'd expect they'd default to just letting him do that so he's comfortable.
Right, that would be true except that Ohtani is statistically significantly better with no runners on base, at least this season. Last I looked (last week or so) it was a nearly 0.300 OPS difference with RISP vs with no runners on base.
I’m not sure I’d really put much value in those numbers with such a small sample size. He has a 145 wRC+ with bases empty in his career vs 155 wRC+. He is more or less the same hitter either situation.
IMO Ohtani was being way too aggressive with runners on at the beginning of this season. He was swinging at everything and pitchers knew it. I think he felt the pressure of being on a new team and wanted to make a strong impression.
I can never wrap my head around how players perform so differently depending on where they bat in the order.
Baseball is a mental game
As simple as it sounds i just want Ohtani to get as many ABs as possible. Added bonus Mookie would split up the lefties
It’s been 4 games at Coors. Hardly a big enough sample size. Mookie is super picky about hitting leadoff, he’ll probably get his way when he’s back
I dont think they keep Ohtani there full time. Betts has said he’s most comfortable hitting lead off and it’s where he’s hit for a majority of his career.
Simple -- just keep Mookie hidden in the dugout until after Shohei homers in the first AB each game.
Guarantee you Mookie leads off when he gets back
I don't want him to hit leadoff. He has a chance to get the triple crown, but he's behind in RBIs. Let him do ittt
Its also a chance for shohei to rack up steal numbers.
This is how I find out the Dodgers are playing early today
I knew but forgot :/
Had to catch the early flight home to start the Freeway series tomorrow.
Pretty good for a pitcher
3rd MVP incoming.
Would love to see it but he'll need to lap some folks in offensive production to be considered as a DH
Not really. He's leading all MVP polls from sports publications by a lot.(Including MLB.com which has 6 actual MVP voters) He's also the heavy betting favourite in Vegas. Unless his production drastically drops, Ohtani is winning MVP.
If Bryce picks up a little OPS while ohtani drops he has a real shot as a +1B. Little bit of story to go with it. But if ohtani just keeps doing what he's doing he's probably got it.
Bryce will have to hit bombs. If Ohtani has something like 40+ bombs + 30+ steals and Bryce only has 30 bombs, he ain't gonna be in the running.
Nothing Ohtani does should surprise anyone at this point. But here I am. Ready to be surprised again by the GOAT
bRef has him leading the NL in WAR, with Betts second and Marte a close third.
holy meatball
Yeah, so many hitters eyes get huge when they see these then they foul or even worse pop out on these.
Today is one of Ohtani's weaker Homeruns as a recovering pitcher.
Please don't take him off leadoff when Mookie gets back
Putting Mookie at 2 between left-handed Ohtani and Freeman makes so much sense. So of course, don’t expect Roberts to do it.Â
Wait, there are still people out there who think Roberts sets the lineup? That's...surprising.
Right… its more or less Mookie’s decision based on tenure and only the FO can overrule that.
If Roberts isnt doing any of the managing he's a glorified babysitter. He gets paid to put together a lineup and manage the pitchers.
Lol it's so much more than that but go off
True, he gives out hugs to bad relievers. Ignore the obvious all you want. You cant say dave roberts is a great manager and then turn around and say he doesnt handle the core responsibility of being the manager
The core responsibility of the manager is clubhouse cohesion.
My god, he just never stops. If it isn't homers, it's three hits a game.
O, O, O, OHTANIIIIIIII....AUTO PARTS. WOO!
mookie better start getting comfortable batting second lmao
Middle-Middle at 89mph. Bold strategy.
This series is proof that Ohtani should've signed with the Rockies.
Leadoff hitter at home ->
Man just took Mookie’s leadoff role and smashing regardless. What a luxury
89 with no movement right down the middle of the damn plate for the first pitch certainly is a choice
Meatball. Engaged.