Last Friday in a post on LADT our own DodgerBlueMom indicated she hoped a Bill Haselman column could be posted as he is one her favorite AAA managers. It just so happens that I had posted an article on Haselman in Think Blue LA way back on January 18, 2014. What follows is a reprint of that article with a few editorial changes and an update through his time in the Dodgers minor league system. This one is for DBM.
Just before Christmas in 2013 the Dodgers announced the 2014 coaching staffs for their minor league affiliates.
The managerial change that interested me the most was the assignment of a new manager to the Great Lakes Loons. Bill Haselman, former major league catcher, had moved into that position. I was most interested in this change as I followed many of the Loons games on MiLB.TV. I hoped Haselman would have the same type of relationship with his players as Razor Shines did in 2013. That is, be a player’s manager. I was not disappointed as he even tended to be John Shoemaker like.
Haselman graduated for Saratoga High School in Saratoga, California and attended UCLA where he played both baseball and football. He didn’t receive a hoped-for scholarship from UCLA but went anyway and walked on to the baseball team. By his last year, he’d played well enough to get that scholarship. On the gridiron he was the backup quarterback, behind Troy Aikman who was to become the Dallas Cowboys’ all-time leading passer. Haselman went from a walk on to the first round (23rd overall) selection by the Texas Rangers in 1987 First Year Player Draft.
His thirteen-year major league career as a backup catcher began with the Texas Rangers in 1990 and ended with the Boston Red Sox in 2003. In between those years he also played with the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers. Haselman appeared in 589 major league games overall, batting .259 with 47 home runs and 210 RBIs.
During his career, known as a knowledgeable, hardnosed player, Bill Haselman perhaps had his best year with the Red Sox in 1996. One of his highlights was catching Roger Clemens’ second 20-strikeout performance against the Tigers. Dom Amore, Courant Staff Writer reported on May 5, 1996 that Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy indicated: “… Haselman will catch when Clemens starts.” On the season he hit .274 with 8 home runs and 34 runs batted in. Behind the plate he had a .994 fielding percentage in 530 chances. Although he never really got the opportunity to be a starting catcher Haselman earned the respect of his teammates. “Hass could start for a lot of teams,” Red Sox first baseman Mo Vaughn said. As a side note, he also had caught lefty Randy Johnson with the Seattle Mariners.
On his part, more than once Haselman has acknowledged how difficult it is to play major league baseball and why he spent his career, a very productive one, as a back up. The most games he played was 77 in 1996 with the Red Sox. Looking back now he flatly says he just wasn’t good enough to be a regular in the majors.
“It was something you always strive for, but it was something, you know, I just wasn’t able to do. I wasn’t good enough. There were better players. I tried like crazy, but I just wasn’t able to do it.”
Haselman retired as a player at the end of the 2003 season. He then became part of the 2004 Red Sox championship team, earning that first Red Sox ring, while serving as the interim first-base coach for three months when the regular first base coach Lynn Jones injured his eye. In 2005 he became the bullpen coach and the full-time first-base coach in 2006. Although he was offered a minor league managing position by the Red Sox he then decided to leave the game to spend more time with his family.
Bill Haselman was away from baseball for almost three years and then the announcement was posted by the Associated Press on August 12, 2009 that he has been named as a volunteer assistant coach for the Washington baseball team, completing the staff of new coach and now somewhat renowned tough love coach Lindsay Meggs.
“I’m looking forward to getting back into coaching,” Haselman said. “I’ve been away from baseball for a little bit and I really enjoy teaching. For me, working with Lindsay is the main thing. I think he’s a tremendous hire. I’m not sure how much I would want to do this for any other coaches.”
Haselman returned to the full time coaching ranks in 2010 as manager of the Texas Rangers Class A California Leagues’ Bakersfield Blaze. In 2012 he joined the Anaheim Angels organization as manager of the Inland Empire 66ers, the Angels Single-A affiliate of the California League. His team captured an unlikely league championship in 2013. The Sixers finished two games under .500 at 69-71 but had qualified for the playoffs as the first-half Wild Card team. In the postseason they first defeated the second-half Wild Card winning Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in an exciting come-from-behind win in the final inning of the final game of the best-of-three series. The 66ers then defeated the heavily favored and defending Cal League Champion Lancaster JetHawks in the same manner, winning a 15-inning thriller in the final game of the best-of-five series. They then swept the San Jose Giants, a team that the parent club San Francisco Giants annually makes sure is loaded for a postseason run, in three games to capture the 2013 Cal League Championship.
Surprisingly on October 11, 2013, Michelle Gardner of InsideSoCal reported that despite winning the High-A California League Championship, the organization has severed ties with Inland Empire manager Bill Haselman and pitching coach Brandon Emmanuel.
Although that is a head scratcher, Michelle’s comments regarding the nature of Bill Haselman’s team makes his dismissal an even greater mystery. In the same report she wrote:
“The Sixers had a very unique team chemistry. All teams say they have it but this team REALLY had it. It was obvious in watching the team as much as I did this season. Players had nothing but good things to say about the coaching staff. One player even told me at the end of the season he would rather NOT get promoted to Double-A because he enjoyed playing for this team and coaching staff so much and wanted to compete in the playoffs with them.”
One teams loss is another’s gain and in this case the Dodger organization is the big winner. I certainly looked forward to watching Bill Haselman at the helm of the Great Lakes Loons in 2014. This man is a gamer and I definitely wanted him on my team. His Dodger coaching career, now in its seventh year, had begun.
Haselman caught for 13 years in the majors, and credited that position for helping him as manager.
“As a catcher, you’re involved in the game pretty much every pitch, calling the game and talking to 11-12 different pitchers on a daily basis getting them ready for a game,” Haselman said. “You have a lot of different personalities. It’s always a challenge to be able to figure out each individual by themselves and get them to perform the best they can.
“Being involved as a catcher, it’s an easy transition as a manager because you’ve already dealt with half a team your whole playing career.”
He did start his Dodger minor league coaching career with the Great Lakes Loons finishing the season with a 66-73 record.
He moved on to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League in 2015 and led the team to a 78-62 record and finished off the season by capturing the league championship by sweeping the San Jose Giants 3-0 in the championship series.
His next three years were spent as the manager of the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers in which the team twice made it the play-offs and in 2016 lost out in the championship round to the El Paso Chihuahuas. To make the play-offs in 2018 the Dodgers swept a pair of regular season double-headers with Colorado Springs in the Sky Sox home park. Unfortunately, they fell 3-1 to the Memphis RedBirds losing the final two games by a single run.
While at Oklahoma he spoke to his managing philosophy.
The now 54-year-old Haselman indicated that his main objective on the Dodgers’ farm is to make the road easier for players when transitioning from minor league ball to the majors, stating that the highest priority of the organization is the development of homegrown players.
“We try to teach them to guide themselves through the game—to develop them into players who think on their own, make decisions on their own, and make adjustments on their own. We don’t want to control them,” Haselman said after his first year at OKC, epitomizing the Dodger way. “We want them to learn how to make the right decisions and really learn how to play the game of baseball.”
Following the 2018 season, for most Dodger fans, Bill Haselman seemed to disappear. Many thought he would end up as a third base coach for the parent Los Angeles Dodgers to begin the 2019 season. That was not to be and his new role with the organization did not seem to get much publicity. It was thought he had left the organization or was let go by the Dodgers. That too was not to be.
He was approached by the Dodgers following the 2018 season in Oklahoma to take on a new and perhaps unique role. There are minor league hitting coordinators, pitching coordinators and other role specific coordinators. Bill Haselman agreed to take on the role of managerial coordinator for the farm system. As a new role he would be free to blaze a path in that role and the Dodgers appeared to have confidence he should be the one to do so.
In a July 2nd interview with OKC Dodgers play-by-play announcer Alex Freedman, Haselman spoke on a variety of topics including life with Covid-19 and more specifically about his role as a managerial coordinator.
At the end of the 2018 season Haselman saw an opportunity to continue to use his vast experience in helping to mentor young managers within the Dodgers minor league system. That is, to build relationships with managers and establish a trust factor so that they are never hesitant to approach him with any concern they may have. The opportunity was one of helping young managers with their leadership role and what can be done to help players to be better young men and players. Haselman is all about building relationships and he sees building relationships as one of his strengths.
He started out slowly and wanted managers to know they are not being judged. He has worked to build a relationship with the minor league managers just as he did with players when he was managing. He hasn’t forgotten how hard it was to play the game and how difficult it is to manage.
DBM – you called it. Bill Haselman is one guy we want on our side. We do get the feeling he will get back to MLB and we hope it is with the Dodgers. In the meantime he seems to be quite comfortable in his current role with the team.
Nice article on our organization:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-dodgers-legacy-may-depend-on-this-short-season/?addata=espn:losangeles:index
Good to know that Haselman is still with the Dodgers organization and contributing in such a meaningful way. I was on of those fans who thought he had somehow left the organization, to the detriment of the team. I think he brings the perfect blend of leadership skills, baseball IQ, and winning attitude to the organization. I remember reading the following quote: “He is very open and easy to talk to, but he doesn’t like to lose,” Quakes hitting coach Mike Eylward said. “He’s very competitive.” Players agree. “He can get pretty fired up in a heartbeat. He can go from 0 to 100 in a second when he needs to,” infielder Tyler Ogle said. June 20, 2015 San Bernardino Daily Bulletin (yes, I had to look this up). I look forward to Haselman remaining with the Dodgers for many years.
Great write up Harold. Haselman just seems like a winner and a great part of our organization. Any idea of how many employees in the entire Dodger organization and what that payroll looks like? It seems like the Dodgers have more front office types than anyone in baseball
DC, I was absolutely thrilled to see the subject of your article this morning. Thank you, thank you. I read it more than once. I am so glad Bill Haselman is still within the Dodger organization and hope he continues to be. In my opinion, he has guided so many young men to adjust to their preparation of moving from the minor leagues to the major leagues as is evident in the ones promoted. That they also had good character traits speaks volumes of his coaching and mentoring. In my books, he is a good man, and a great coach and manager, and I am sure his family is proud of him and his accomplishments.
DBM – glad you like the article. As mentioned I first started to follow him when he joined the Loons. Whenever he was interviewed he always put the players first just as John Shoemaker does. He never expressed a negative thought and as we have seen is very humble and grateful for what baseball has given him.
Cassidy – I don’t know how many employees the Dodgers have in total but on their website they list 62 members of the Baseball Operations Department without looking at all of the other departments. This does not include minor league employees. Bill Haselman is not in that list.
I was surprised to know that he excelled in football also and was the backup for Troy Aikman. Also was the Kevin Kennedy who was the manager for the Red Sox, the same Kevin Kennedy who broadcasts the games for the Dodgers? Thanks again, DC. You made my day.
That is the same Kevin Kennedy.
Kennedy also managed the Rangers and in the Dodgers system from 1984-1991 at 3 different levels including the AAA Albuquerque Dukes. I remember hoping he would be the next Dodger manager, but they hired Davey Johnson. Even though he only managed for 4 years, he has a winning record.
For me, there is a real question as to whether Dave Roberts is the person we want managing this team for another ten years. His people skills and ability to deal with the media are positives. His game management skills are definitely questionable, as we have seen three years in a row. “The other team cheated’ does not excuse the clear mistakes,which most fans and media are aware of. This is not something that just gets fixed, unless the Dodgers pile up so much talent that virtually anybody who can hold the clubhouse together can win the title with it. This may not be the time to be talking about changing managers, but assuming that we continue to have baseball, we do want to actually win some championships; and having the right manager in game situations is a big part of that. Maybe Hasselman would be that person. The Dodgers management, now and earlier, hates making changes, of course. I’m not sure that Don Mattingly might not have been kept on, had not rebelled against the request to rely more on computer analysis. Not to spoil the upcoming season, but one doesn’t want to forget the terrible decisions Roberts made in the fifth game against the Nationals, something that might have gotten any Yankees or Red Sox manager fired.
True, but it’s also hard to be a good manager when your best/star players consistently fail in October. If Michael/Scottie, Shaq/Kobe, Kobe/Pau consistently was a worse version of themselves in May/June than they were in November-April, Phil Jackson would be blamed for the team failures. Same with Magic/Kareem/Worthy and Pat Riley.
Bruce Bochy is seen as a genius. But his star, Madison Bumgarner, consistently excelled in October. If he was less than the regular season Bumgarner, perhaps Bochy and SF have zero titles, and Bochy isn’t seen as a Hall of Fame lock.
I’d be willing to bet that the Dodgers led by Bill Hassleman, or any other flavor of the month, wouldn’t change the consistent October failures of many of our Dodger stars. Depth and talent can get you thru 162 games vs. weaker teams. But in October, you’re playing very good teams, and/or very hot teams. Seems to me that the very good and/or very hot teams keep getting good performances from their stars (and sometimes from a non-star), while we don’t.
Couldn’t you say the same things about any manager? What if Koufax and Drysdale didn’t come through in ’63 and ’65? Or Johnny Podres in ’55? Would Walter Alston be in the Hall of Fame now?
All managers need their best players to step up in the post-season. The manager has to figure out who has the hot hand, put players in position to be successful, and be flexible.
Roberts consistently has this problem. He doesn’t put his players in a position to succeed. The 2019 post-season is just another example of this.
Yes, Koufax and Drysdale actually came thru! They did what they’re supposed to do. I’d think starting Kershaw is putting Kershaw in the position to be successful. Kershaw, except for 2017, has not been the Kershaw that Doc, and everybody else, rightfully expected. Bellinger has been in 3 postseasons and has been horrendous. Should Doc not let the “best pitcher of his generation” pitch in October? Should Doc bat his #4 hitter 8th in October?? Players need to perform in October as they do in April-September. Dodger players tend to be worse in October.
No manager can be successful if his best players consistently underperform when it matters most. I’m quite sure that Kershaw, Bellinger, and the host of others who don’t perform when it matters most would NEVER say “oh, the manager didn’t put me in a position to succeed.”
Players make the plays true. I have seen Alston make mistakes in playoff games. And Koufax for all his greatness is only 4-3 in World Series games. He and Big D put them in a 2 game hole in 65. They were saved by Claude Osteen’s game 3 win. They swept the Twins in LA when Big D and Sandy rebounded for wins. Drysdale was set for game 7, but Alston opted for Koufax on 2 days rest, and he shut out the Twins. But in the 62 playoffs, with the Dodgers up 4-2 in the ninth in the deciding game, Alston made one of his biggest mistakes. He opted to bring in Stan Williams when Roebuck got in trouble. Drysdale and Snider were begging him to use Big D. But Alston said he was saving him for game one of the World Series. Snider argued that you have to get there first. Remember, Koufax had injury problems that year, and his last 3 appearances before the playoffs, he was ineffective. Williams came in and proceeded to walk the bases loaded and walk in the tying run. A 2 run double by Mays, and the Dodgers were toast. Tommy Lasorda elected to pitch to Jack Clark, and the Dodgers lost to the Cardinals. Managers are just as culpable as players when decisions they make affect the game. Roberts sending Kelly back out for the 10th inning in game 5 last year was pivotal. And it blew up in his face. Decisions he made in 2017 against the Stros were iffy too. And pulling Hill against the Sox in 2018 when he was sailing through the lineup, that turned disastrous because the bullpen imploded. Now if someone boots a ball, or strikes out with the bases loaded, that is on them. No doubt. Yes, Bellinger has had horrible series, none worse than the 17 K performance against the Astros. But last year he was not alone, Pollock, Seager, and basically everyone except Turner, Muncy and Freese were pitiful. But they got beat last year because DC had better starting pitching. And the bullpen imploded again. But Roberts is no strategical genius. He has made many gaffes in the season, and the post season. I often wondered after the 62 season if Snider was sold because he went against Alston, and had no bones about telling the press.
You are correct dodgerrick, my biggest complaint with Roberts is his amazing ability to not put players in a position to be successful,and he does it over and over.
DC… Great article on Bill Hasselman. I was able to approach him after several games at Rancho Cucamonga … Nice guy and yes he knew the game inside and out… I hope he gets a shot in the bigs sometime…
Well heck, it didn’t take long to get the anti Roberts stuff going… Banish him in sackcloth to roam the outer fields of Camelback…
Also, made me spit up a bit with the names Bochy and Bumgarner brought up…
I’m ready for the reg(?) season… Facebook is good to put a face on a name…
Aw heck, I should be honest… I’m 73 and this is the least excited I’ve been about MLB and my beloved Dodgers… I got that “they’re gonna pull the mat out from under me” feeling…
Maybe just talking about it will make me feel better…
I think Roberts is a great motivator, and he communicates well with his players. But as a strategist, he sucks. I doubt Haselman will get another shot. He has not managed in the majors since the 90’s.
Bear, Haselman has never managed in the majors. He was still playing MiLB in 2003 with Pawtucket. He was a coach for Boston in 2004-2006. and after a short hiatus from Baseball back in Seattle, he came back to MiLB in 2010 as a Manager and has been in MiLB since. He is six years older than Doc (almost to the day). He is a lot younger than Joe Maddon and Dusty Baker.
I was thinking about Kennedy. My bad.
I thought you were, and I agree Kennedy is not managing again.
From the 538 article linked to by Bobby – something to think about:
“Their streak of consecutive division titles stands as the longest of all time without a championship.”
Yikes
Great article Harold! Haselman is a quality human being and baseball man. If anything, the Dodgers during the AF regime have worked hard at having quality people and instructors in their organization fro top to bottom. Haselman is a prime example of that.
This comment about putting players in a position to succeed is a crock! What would you do? Put Bellinger at shortstop and bat him ninth! Cmon! Kershaw pitch middle relief! If Kershaw, Bellinger, Seager don’t produce in October not even Mark could manage a WS!
Great stuff DC. Hassleman seems to be a great combo of being a good manager and a good guy. I chuckle when a coach, at any level, says “I don’t care if the players like me, as long as they respect me”. I contend that a good manager can do both.
As to Doc, I’m with William when he questions his ability to make decisions in big moments. Is Doc a championship Manager? He certainly is a popular guy with his public persona and charm but he hasn’t been able to bring it home when it counts as a Skipper. To Bobby’s point, sure the players have not gotten it done in critical moments and it’s their job to do so. But it’s the Manager’s job to put the right guy in the right spot to help him succeed. Doc hasn’t done that. Doc “felt great” about running Kershaw out for “2 more hitters” which promptly led to 2 homers. What happened to the idea of starting a reliever in a fresh inning? Yeah, Kershaw “should have gotten the job done” but he shouldn’t have been in that spot. Then, Kelly after a dominating 10 pitch 9th was sent back out for the 10th. He had no business being extended an extra inning. Than Doc chooses to walk a leftie to load the bases instead of going to Kolarek from the pen. This set up the grand slam. Did he have the right guy in there giving him a chance for success? Odd decisions for a skipper who loves to make moves. These were Grady Little moves to me at the time.
I really struggle with Doc’s line ups de jour with a big lead in September when he turned it into tryouts at positions (like 2nd base) to settle on a playoff roster. By that point Doc should have long settled on his best line ups versus lefties and righties and with normal rest, played those guys down the stretch. The Dodgers lost their competitive fire while Doc tried to have swiss army knives instead of everyday players. There is a reason why Wild Card teams are successful in post season. They have played meaningful games to the end with players who know their roles and have come through in clutch situations. Maybe it’s a disadvantage to have a big lead but I think the players were stale. The Manager has a major role in preparing his team success. I think the Dodgers have the best team in baseball, without the best Manager.
Totally agree. And while he is a top prospect, Gavin Lux had no business being on the post season roster. They should have went with the guys who got them there. They were outpitched. And even though they out homered the Nats, the Nats hit theirs when they needed them the most. Then they lose when Howie Kendrick hits a slam? Pitiful.
100% agree with you on last year’s Game 5. Nobody in their right mind would’ve let Kersh pitch to Soto, especially when Kolarek had done a good job on Soto all series, and was ready again. Nobody in their right mind would’ve let Kelly go out for a 2nd inning.
And to Bear’s point about taking Hill out: yes, taking Hill out of game 2 in the 2017 World Series was ridiculous. He was on his game that day.
I promise to get over game 5 last year but it was so blatantly mismanaged I can’t. Walking Soto intentionally to load the bases instead of bringing in Kolarek who owned him the previous 3 games was a huge mistake. Kelly had barely pitched down the stretch suffering from “overall body issues” whatever that is. So let’s extend him Doc. All the while KJ is in the pen ready to go as well but it was obvious Doc didn’t trust him. Despite claiming that KJ was still the man out of the pen, Doc still refused to trust him. And this is just one game that was a microcosm of many poor decisions Doc has made in big situation. Yeah I know, they won a 106 games so they must have a great manager.
Okay, i’m moving on. I promise.
philjones,
You are telling like it is. I wonder if AF would choose Roberts if he could choose all over again. Many fans are not happy with Doc.
Cassidy, you said it all… Well, except for the MT thing… He’d need Grandal as bench coach/ph..
I always wondered why the ATL couldn’t get to or win the Big One…
When a player executes in a certain situation, the manager is a genius.
When he doesn’t the manager is an idiot.
I will suggest that neither is the truth.
I personally had no issue with Roberts leaving in Kershaw to pitch to Soto and if Kershaw had executed, Roberts would have been a genius. He didn’t and Roberts is an idiot.
I am also going to suggest that if Roberts had brought in Kolarek and Soto homered, the same people that questioned Roberts leaving Clayton in would have done the same and said Roberts was an idiot.
Hindsight is 20/20 and armchair managers are never wrong. Roberts is a more polished version of Tommy – not a great tactician (maybe because his players didn’t produce), but a great motivator.
If Gibby had struck out in 1988, the narrative would be entirely different.
Gibby was waiting on that back door slider, and that was picked up by one of the coaches. Stengel was a genius with the Yankees and a senile old man with the Mets. Joe Torre was mediocre with both of his prior positions as a manager, then won with those powerful NY teams. Some people make lemonade with lemons, and some make the most god awful drink in the world. All in how you mix it. While it is on the players, always has been, to perform up to their abilities, sometimes managers mis manage those abilities. Case in point, in the 2003 ALCS, Grady Little listened to his pitcher and left Pedro Martinez in. Martinez clearly was out of gas. But Little left him in to pitch to Matsui, who doubled in the go ahead run, and Boston lost a pivotal game and eventually the series. Not believing what he was seeing cost the Sox. Martinez fault? Making a bad pitch, yeah, but Little should have just went ahead and changed pitchers. I am not saying DR is a bad guy, nor a bad manager. He probably is the best choice for this team. But, he is a lousy tactician and guys like Bochy, and even Green have out managed him in some critical situations. If he does not trust someone, that is on him.
Hindsight is usually the basis of how decisions are made in the future. Neither AF or Doc seemed to have had much. Although, I will give credit to AF for going after Mookie and some others to make the overall team that much better. Doc never seems to really get it.
Doc doesn’t seem to have a feel for the crucial moments I’m afraid.
Don’t like Saber metrics in those situations – and Doc doesn’t have the right ability to leave them aside.
He is very lucky to still be managing the Dodgers.
Tom Verducci had an excellent take on the Soto game in SI:
https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/10/11/new-york-yankees-washington-nationals-juan-soto
My son spent a lot of time with Bill Haselman in 2003 in Pawtucket. Haselman was his road trip roomy and they got along famously. I have asked Andy on a number of occasions if he thinks Haselman would be a good Major League manager and he has always said yes without hesitation. Bill helped Andy out a great deal in Pawtucket and Andy gives Haselman a lot of credit for teaching him how to be a ML baseball player. He is fantastic with the players, and he never “big-leagued” anyone.
Andy loves Terry Francona. He would do anything for him (except coach in Cleveland). Bill Haselman is huge Francona disciple.
Thanks for that note Jeff. I didn’t know there was a family connection. That’s the thing about Bill Haselman. He never forgot how tough it is to play MLB or even get there and has used his experience to mentor youngsters and build relationships. He is confident yet humble and as you say, has never played the big league card.
Watching MLB Tonight they just showed a shot from the centerfield ballpark camera. Pitchers working on PFP and Baez and Alexander were both shown taking ground balls. Good news!
Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks has decided to opt out. He is still recovering for TJ surgery, but would normally be back about now in a “normal” situation. But he also has Type 1 diabetes, and that is probably driving his decision. He will get another 8 months before next Spring to get back into baseball shape.
Doc indicating that Terrance Gore will likely be added to the roster in the next few days. They like him for pinch running and for situations like extra innings/man at second base, something which a number of us were thinking earlier on.
Let Chico Hit!
Let Terrance Run!
If Terrance Gore is the fastest Dodger (faster than Belly, CT3, Lux), then I’m all for this. Could be a nice strategic spot for the roster.
According to Baseball Savant, in a category they call sprint speed (ft/second) the three guys you mentioned have almost identical scores and Gore is faster than all three of them. Of course when it comes to running the bases, speed is probably the most important tool but other things factor in as well.
We gave away the fastest guy of all according to that list ……………………………….Tim Locastro.
and call up Jake Vogel!
AC, when will mlb update the top 30 prospects lists?
I am guessing after August 1. That is when draft picks have to sign or the team will lose them. I am sure the talent evaluators are working on many of them as most teams have signed all of their picks. Since there has been no MiLB games, I am guessing that the pundits will be guessing where the new guys will slot in.
I think that on August 1st, they set up baseball cards of every minor leaguer and have a monkey threw darts at them. Very precise science.
I still don’t know what to make of this COVID-19 season. It seems like the more we know, the less we know. In Indiana, cases are slightly up, while deaths are WAY down and that is happening in other states. Then there is this:
1. I know one person who was tested 9 times on consecutive days. Negative 5 times, positive 4 times.
2. I know two people who have COVID-19 Test appointments who had to cancel for various reasons. A week later, they got letters that they tested positive.
3. In Chicago, the cause of death for 5 people was listed as COVID-19… but they were all gunshot victims.
All I know is that masks help to stem the spread, so mask up!
I am confident there will be a season.
In case you didn’t read, a lot of the players not in camp were under quarantine… they may not have tested positive.
https://theathletic.com/1925083/2020/07/13/d-c-l-a-protocols-keep-nationals-and-dodgers-off-the-field-despite-negative-tests/
Hi, am new here having lucked upon here doing the google on Brett deGeus.
I saw the other article on the crossroads and though the comments are closed, I’d like to chime in with the opinion of this:
There is some great Dodgers talk here. We are all here for that. Keep it to Dodgers talk. Religion and Politics talk can be had somewhere else. Keep it to talk about baseball.
vr, Jack
I agree with Molly Knight.
And he’s back! Stirring the pot! I think you’ve made your opinion very clear Badger. Over and over and over……..