I was reading an article on yahoo about players who played in both the majors in baseball and the NBA. Multi-sport athletes are nothing new. Jim Thorpe played in the majors and also in the fore runner of the NFL. Babe Didrickson Zaharias played golf and numerous other sports in her life. And of course, Michael Jordan, and Deion Sanders both played two sports at the professional level.
13 players have played in the NBA and the Major Leagues. Most have spent just a short time in one or the other. Chuck Connors, who gained fame as an actor in the TV series, The Rifleman, had a short career in both. Connors played parts of two seasons in the bigs, 49 with the Dodgers and in 1951 with the Cubs. He hit 2 homers and drove in 18. From 1946-48 he was a center/forward for the Boston Celtics. He averaged 4.5 points a game and made 25.2 % of his shots. He fared much better as an actor.
Conley-Celtics
Gene Conley had an 8-year career as a major league pitcher, and played in 52-53 for the Celtics, came back to play from 58-61 for the Celtics and finished up from 62-64 for the Knicks. Conley was big, 6’8″ 225 pounds. He pitched to a career 91-96 record with a 3.82 ERA. In basketball he averaged 5.9 points and 6.3 rebounds a game.
Danny Ainge is best known as the GM of the Boston Celtics. He recently retired from that post. His baseball career was short and undistinguished. He played in the majors for only three seasons finishing with a .220 with 2 homers and 37 driven in. Transitioning to basketball, his career started off slow. But he would eventually play 15 seasons in the NBA and averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.0 Assists a game. After his career, he moved into the executive suite.
Frank Baumholtz played in the majors for 10 seasons. He had a .290 career BA. He hit only 25 long balls in his career, but he did finish second in batting in 1952 with a .325 average. A 5’10” guard, he played one season for the Cleveland Rebels of the BAA which 3 years later became the NBA.
Biasatti had a cup of coffee in both baseball and basketball. He played in 21 games for the A’s in 1949 going 2-24. In 46-47 he appeared in 6 games for the Toronto Huskies and scored 6 points.
DeBusschere had a 2-year career as a pitcher for the White Sox. He went 2-4 with a 2.90 ERA in 36 games. As a basketball player, DeBusschere was much more impressive. At 6’6″, 225lb. power forward, he played from 1962-74, he played for Detroit from 62 to the middle of the 68-69 season. He was traded to the Knicks and became a key part of their 69 and 73 Championship teams. He averaged a double-double with 16.1 PPG and 11 RPG for his career. He was a 8 time all-star and was elected to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team in 2021-22.
Dick Groat was a college basketball star at Duke, but he made his mark as a SS. He played for the Pirates in 1952, went back to the minors and returned in 55 for good. He would play in the majors until 1967. He won a batting title in 1960 beating out the Dodgers Norm Larker. He was on the Pirates World Champion team that year and earned the NL MVP award. He also played for the Cardinals, Phillies and Giants. In basketball, he played one season at guard for the Fort Wayne Pistons, averaging 11.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game.
Steve Hamilton was a 6’6″ left-handed pitcher who played in the majors from 1961-72. He pitched for the Yankees, Indians, Senators, White Sox, Giants and Cubs. He had 40 wins, 31 losses and 40 saves in his career. He played two seasons with the Minneapolis Lakers as a forward. He averaged 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds a game. After he retired, he coached Morehead State for 10 years before becoming the Athletic Director. A post he held until his death in 1997.
Mark Hendrickson, a 6’9″ left-handed pitcher, played in the majors from 2002-2011. He pitched for the Blue Jays, Rays, Dodgers, Marlins and Orioles. He was 58-74 for his career. His ERA was 5.03. Prior to playing baseball, he played in the NBA from 1996-2000. He played for the 76ers, Kings, Nets and Cavaliers. He averaged 3.3 points a game and 2.8 rebounds.
Nash was a college basketball star, and a first baseman on the Kentucky baseball team. He was drafted by the White Sox but overall played in only 16 career MLB at-bats with the Sox and the Twins. He had two hits. He fared a little better in the NBA His rookie season was split between the Lakers and the Warriors. He averaged 3 points and a little under 2 rebounds in 64-65. He also played for the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA in 67-68 averaging 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Reed was 6’6″ and threw right-handed. He pitched in the majors from 1966-1984. He had a career record of 146-140 with a 3.46 ERA and 103 saves out of the bullpen. He pitched for the Braves, Cardinals, Phillies and White Sox. He also played two seasons for the Detroit Pistons averaging 8 points a game and just over 6 rebounds.
Ricketts was a power forward in basketball and a pitcher in baseball. He only played one season in the majors, 1959, with the Cardinals. He was 1-6 with a 5.82 ERA in 12 games. Nine of those were starts. He played in the NBA from 1955 to 1958 with the Hawks and Royals. He averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds a game.
If Schultz’s name seems familiar to Dodger fans, it is because he played for the Dodgers from 1943-47. Howie played in the majors until 1948. He was a first baseman. He hit .241 with 24 long balls and 208 RBI’s. He also played for the Phillies and Reds. In basketball, Howie played for the Anderson Packers, and Fort Wayne Pistons his first year. Spent a year in a rival league and then returned to the NBA with the Minneapolis Lakers from 51-53. He averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds a game as a power-forward. Schultz was 6’6″ 200 pounds.
There they are, 13 players who spent at least some time in the NBA and MLB. Reed probably had the best numbers in the majors. and Debusschere the best basketball career.
Michael Jordan never ended up playing in the MLB, and instead returned to the NBA in 1995. Terry Francona, Jordan’s former baseball coach, spoke highly of MJ’s baseball potential in an interview with ESPN: “I do think with another 1,000 at-bats, he would’ve made it.”
I still believe that baseball is the most difficult sport to play.
As a teenager I was a mediocre hurdler but a first-rate track geek. I glad that Bear saluted Jim Thorpe, one of the greatest legends of all. (Bear probably just had an oversight with no mention Bo Jackson, who was better at both sports than Deion.)
The title of “world’s greatest athlete” was often bestowed on the winner of the Olympic decathlon. It’s an amazing feat, of course, but we are left wondering what a guy like Michael Jordan or Bo or Deion might have done if they took up the decathlon. (I read somewhere that Bo was a state decathlon champ in high school. Perhaps apocryphal.)
My high school was a state champ in track. We had a superb coach, and he once told a few of us that he had no doubt that his best athlete could have won the gold in the decathlon.
This guy was a state champ in hurdles–but he could have won the 100 instead. Rules limited the number of events he could compete in–but in dual meets he’d sometimes win the long jump, high jump and shot put. The coach said he was almost as good in the pole vault–an event he competed in during junior high. He was recruited for football, and ran track on the side–and finished second by an eyelash in the 100-yard (yes, yard) dash to teammate Eddie Hart, whose sprinting career ended sadly in Munich when his coach gave him and his teammate the wrong time for a prelim.
Back in high school he was commonly known as Bobby, but Isaac Curtis found fame and success in the NFL. He was so good as a rookie–so big, with world-class speed–that the NFL adopted new rules to allow the “bump-and-run” defense . In some circles this became known as “the Isaac Curtis Rule.”
Bo Jackson was awesome, but the article was focusing on NBA-MLB players. I just used Thorpe and Sanders because I had just watched Jim Thorpe, All American with Burt Lancaster, and Sanders is now the head coach at CU in Denver.
You beat me to mentioning Bo. To me, for a period of time he was the best two sport athlete ever.
Cheers
Jordan Played For The Chicago White Sox In An Exhibition Game. Michael Jordan played for the Chicago White Sox in an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs on April 7, 1994. This may have only been an exhibition, but it still stands as the only official MLB game Jordan had ever played in.
I find all the trade proposals for pitchers and Mike Trout to be comical.
1. Bobby Miller is developing very nicely. Imagine how well he will pitch as he gains confidence.
2. Urias will be back next month.
3. Clayton will be Clayton
4. We should know if Dustin May will be back by the All-Star Break
5. Ryan Pepiot should return in the second half of the season. Obliques seldom cause one to miss a season.
6. Walker Buehler says he will return by September 1st.
7. What about Tony Gonslin?
8. Then there is Michael Grove…
Why in the hell would the Dodgers trade great prospects for broken-down old has-beens like Chapman and Greinke (sorry guys, but you are old!)?
Moreno would be a dope-fiend to trade Mike Trout and Friedman would be a dope-fiend to trade for him!
Your timelines seem a bit optimistic to me.
Plus, Clayton being Clayton sounds like he is due for some ailment. When May went down, the injury bug bit Pepiot. And then, right on cue, it bit Grove. This has not been smooth sailing.
When Julio comes back, will we get the old, good Julio, or the guy who isn’t so good?
I was optimistic about Stone, but he obviously isn’t ready.
On the plus side, Bobby Miller is looking like a lifesaver for a rotation that has lost indefinitely. Sure hope he keeps it up. Rooting for Gonsolin too.
Meanwhile, in another bold move for the Angels, Ben Joyce and his 105-mph heat got called up. Good first outing as the Angels win.
Daniel Hudson is throwing a pen on Thursday, good news, the pen would get a huge boost with that guy back. CK is what he is. I think the timeline on Urias is a bit optimistic, he is still only throwing on flat ground. Not good for him heading into free agency. Some of the trade proposals border on being lunatic.
Old Bear from the little I’ve seen of the rookie Stone I think he needs to believe more in himself, feel that this is his great opportunity to succeed, when he achieves control and command it will be very good. Maybe some kind of emotional therapy is necessary (he’s very young).
What do you think?
The kid is pretty confident, he just was missing his spots. I think the Dodgers have a great system of support for their players in the minors.
Knack, Sheehan and Frasso coming along very nicely too. Dodgers have lots of trade ammunition if they decide to make a trade or two. If May is able to return the Dodgers starting pitching will be in good shape plus they could use 1-2 of the young arms to bring in a difference maker with a big RH bat, preferably playing ss or lf. Can not keep all the youngsters around or you lose some of them via the Rule 5 draft.
Miller has been surprisingly good so far. I expected Stone to be the more polished guy but at the moment it just looks the other way around. Stone got good stuff but something is not clicking yet.
JDM more and more looks like the hitter he was 2-3 years ago.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are no ss’s coming to the Dodger rescue. Anderson has been bad this year. Wouldn’t want him. A right handed bat in LF is more likely.
Your timelines seem a bit optimistic to me.
Plus, Clayton being Clayton sounds like he is due for some ailment. When May went down, the injury bug bit Pepiot. And then, right on cue, it bit Grove. This has not been smooth sailing.
When Julio comes back, will we get the old, good Julio, or the guy who isn’t so good?
I was optimistic about Stone, but he obviously isn’t ready.
On the plus side, Bobby Miller is looking like a lifesaver for a rotation that has lost indefinitely. Sure hope he keeps it up. Rooting for Gonsolin too.
Meanwhile, in another bold move for the Angels, Ben Joyce and his 105-mph heat got called up. Good first outing as the Angels win.
Clayton Kershaw in an interview with Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times said he disagreed with the Dodgers’ decision to honor The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium, though he didn’t plan to boycott that night.
It did prompt Kershaw to accelerate the announcement of the Dodgers’ already-planned Christian Faith and Family Day, which is July 30 at Dodger Stadium.
From Harris:
Kershaw declined to offer specifics about his research into the Sisters’ group, or how he reconciles his stated belief “to love everybody” with opposition to a group that, despite his objections, has a long history of raising awareness and money for LGBTQ+ causes.
“I think in these situations, instead of maybe criticizing or trying to find something wrong with a group, it’s better just to focus on what you do believe in,” Kershaw said. “For me, that’s Jesus. So I think that was our best response.”
That last quote is nice and humble.
Kershaw is a very religious guy. He speaks from the heart.
The source article:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2023-05-29/clayton-kershaw-explains-dodgers-christian-faith-family-day
I saw Bo Jackson run in two huge Touchdowns at Mile High Stadium while sitting in with the Season Ticket Holders in my Raiders shirt.
Also saw him hit a HR at Angel Stadium while playing for The Royals (i think).
What an athlete.
Enjoying this season more than any recent seasons.
My observation having followed the great game for a long time is that it far better to keep your better Pitching Prospects as you can never have enough, plus they cost a lot either in Prospect Capital or in dollars in Free Agency.
I think this is why the Dodgers always seem to Draft Pitchers ahead of Position Players. Better to spend your money on a proven Position Player (Mookie, Freddie) that are less likely to get injured and therefore earn their corn for the duration of their contract.
Pitchers break.
Thanks for another interesting article Michael.
Shout to Badger – hope you’re ok pal.
Unless I missed it, reading the comments, Everyone’s forgetting Brian Jordan, who actually played for the Cardinals, Braves and our own DODGERS before ending his baseball career in Texas. in the NFL he was a safety for the Atlanta Falcons
Jordan actually ended his career Going back to Atlanta after playing one year in Texas
I forgot all about Jordan, but like I said, the article is about basketball and baseball players.
BRian played football and baseball.
The foundation to a great MLB team is starting pitching. As Dodger fans we have sadly learned that the rotation during the season and the rotation during the playoffs are two different animals. Because I have no life, I broke down who I felt was either Our best current starters or who project to be starters by the 2025 season. Projecting out is dangerous because a plethora of issues can derail a pitcher or a pitcher comes out of no where. My uneducated opinion is developing your starter through your system. Actually building the whole team through the system would be great with the possible exception of relief pitchers, they are an unpredictable lot. Speaking of bullpen make up, I think when you have a rotation such as the Dodgers have currently, some of the you pitching would be used in the “Andrew Miller” mode. There is no reason to allow a young pitcher to go through what Stone went through in Tampa Bay. When the team has a veteran staff sometimes one has to take one for the team to eat up innings. When going through what I felt was our top twenty pitchers only four our left handed. I did some adjusting to get to four southpaws. With the trade dead line quickly approaching, I wanted to play GM for a moment. You guys that are reading this have to suffer through my thoughts. First, don’t trade any of your top twelve pitchers for a temporary stop gap. Two don’t put any two of your top twenty for a single player. This post is much too long, I could go on but as my mother would say “please don’t”. For this season we have one urgent need for the playoffs and that is a right handed hitting outfielder. Hopefully Thompson turns it around. I’d love to hear from Mark and Bear their thoughts on our top twenty current and projected out two years starting pitchers.
Good post. I generally agree with your points. But I don’t think we can avoid trading away some of our top 12 pitching prospects. The fact that the Dodgers have been able to win so many games the last few years while retaining almost all of our minor league talent is an impressive feat.
However, there is a flip side to that deep pool of talent. Our current injury prone rotation (and mediocre bullpen performance) overshadows the impending log jam that is coming. We have players in AA that should probably be in AAA already and more than a few AAA players that would likely already be in the Show on half the teams in the league. Maintaining talent for our current and future MLB roster is the priority, but we also can’t let talented MLB level players rot away in the minor leagues. We can’t let players sit in AA because they wouldn’t get enough playing time in AAA or spend unnecessary time in AAA because they won’t get much playing time on the MLB roster.
AF is a master at selling high. Think Willie Calhoun for Yu Darvish or Yusniel Diaz for Machado. All the other teams in the league are fully aware of this, I’m sure. Which I believe has made completing trades more difficult in recent years. Teams may like a Dodger prospect but likely second guess themselves the moment AF shows interest in including them in a trade. A real catch 22.
We will have to trade some of our top 30 either by the deadline or in the off-season simply to make room for players to continue to progress (and get appropriate playing time) and to maximize their perceived value to other teams. We have quite a few pitchers that currently project to be MLB starters who we won’t (anytime soon) have room for in the rotation. And plugging them into our bullpen will significantly reduce their trade value.
So I went on too long as well. But my point is I think (given our current problems) AF might have a very busy trading deadline. My guess is we will trade for an MLB pitcher and possibly an MLB outfielder. And we will give up several of our top 12 pitchers and top 30 prospects. But I also think AF will engineer some chips into those trades to reload the lower levels of the minor leagues. I think this will be the busiest trade deadline for the Dodgers in many years.
Thank you for your comments. If I recall correctly we also gave up Zach Pop and Dean Kremer along with Diaz and Rylan Bannon for a month and half of Machado. I liked the move at the time. Pop and Kremer have become serviceable mlb pitchers, Diaz is back in the Dodgers organization. Darvish trade at the time seem good but it blew up in the playoffs though who we surrender didn’t hurt. I respect your thoughts and agree but a rotation is different in the playoffs than in the regular season. Probably not popular but I think we are okay at short, not great but I’d love to see what Lux can do. We will be picking up Urias props Lt in the middle or late June and May in July. With them along with a Kershaw and Goslin I believe we are set up nice rotation wise for the playoffs. Hopefully one of the kids will break out like Miller or Stone plus a bunch of others. What scares me with the team as is, good left handed pitching. We need a right handed bat.
Darvish was a victim of the Trashtros, so I wouldn’t say the trade “blew up” in the playoffs. The trade was excellent. Darvish helped the Dodgers down the stretch, and if not for the Trashtros, the Dodgers might have signed him to a long-term contract. How many millions did the cheaters cost Darvish in free agency?
As I recall it, the Dodgers gave up Willie Calhoun and ?? for Darvish. Calhoun was MLB-ready bat who is best suited for DH. He’s managed to stay in the majors as a bench guy, now with the Yankees. Looks like he’s added about 30 pounds since his prospect days. He’s no Pedro Sandoval, but Calhoun deserves a a spot on the All-Stout-Star team, along with Vogelbach and Alejandro Kirk. (I like these guys who look like slow-pitch players who drink beer in the dugout and sometimes take the can out to the field.)
That’s good Duke! The Dodgers were able to get Mookie and had to take a bad contract for Verdugo, Wong and Downs. I have a friend that is a Red Sox’s fan, I told him that Verdugo was a James Looney type of player, will hit for a decent average but lacks power. An organization can’t have enough good pitching. With an unexperienced eye but one that follows the minor leagues closely (dodgers teams) we have about twenty possible starters that could be up by 25-26. That’s a long ways out and many things can happen. Keeping the top ten or so still gives a team leverage. In 2020, the Dodgers had Mookie and Pollock, the rest were either homegrown or came to LA while they were young. Thank you for the feed back
Dodgers sent, Calhoun, Brenden Davis and A. J. Alexy to Texas for Darvish. I disagree that Darvish was much help down the stretch. He was 4-3 in 9 starts with a 3.53 ERA. He gave up 7 homers in 44 innings. Now, his best two games came in the playoffs against Arizona and the Cubs. He went 5 innings against Az and 6.1 against the Cubs. He allowed 2 runs total. He then imploded when they needed him the most in the World Series. Some believe he was telegraphing his pitches. He allowed 9 runs in 3.1 innings. Davis made it to the majors with Detroit last year. Calhoun is now with the Yankees and will be at Dodger Stadium this weekend.
Makes sense to me.
The Dodgers system is deep in pitching and catching–and thin in MLB-ready infield talent. No reason to hoard talent when the major league roster has needs.
Tulsa and Great Lakes both have potentially good middle infielders. The system isn’t as deep in the infield and out field as they are at pitching and catching. OKC has two outfielders knocking on the door right now.
Austin Gauthier is one to watch.
He was undrafted out of Hofstra. As I recall it, he was in Rancho last year and is now getting promoted from Great Lakes to Tulsa.
From TrueBlueLA:
The Dodgers signed Gauthier as a non-drafted free agent out of Hofstra in 2021. The 24-year-old is hitting .365/.487/.568 with a 203 wRC+ on the season for the Loons, leading the Midwest League in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS (1.055), and runs scored (39). He’s second in hits (54) and third in walks (36).
His .487 on-base percentage ranks fourth-highest in the minors.
The majority of Gauthier’s starts this season have been at third base, but he’s also started at second base, shortstop, and even left field, the latter for the first time ever. Last week, he started twice each at third base, second base, and left field.
He might turn out to be a bit like Zach McKinstry, who was a late draft pick (33rd round, 2016) but worked his way to LA. He basically replaced Kike in the UT role and started well, but then had struggled recovering from injuries. Flipped to the Cubs for reliever Chris Martin–nice!–and the Cubs traded him to the Tigers, where he has played some 2B SS and batted leadoff. In fact, he’s leading the Tigers with an .837 OPS and .390 OBP.
Always great when a late draft pick–or an undrafted prospect–turns out to be a success.
Always thought neon deon was so overrated, but bo was a freak of nature! He didn’t play in the nba but Dave Winfield wa a pure athletic stud in 3 sports. Nice job by Miller last night. Catman today and possibly syndergard s last start Wednesday, if grove is ready. Can’t keep running Thor out there pitching (throwing) like he has. Should be some nice outfielders available soon!
Nice article Bear. Sorry most of us have hijacked it to include football players haha.
I was at that Raiders-Bengals playoff game in 1990 or 1991 when Bo injured his hip. Prior to that, he was the freakiest athlete I’ve ever seen and to this day is the best football player I’ve ever watched. Of course, back then I was an LA Raiders fan, but dumped them when they became bay area trash.
I read this snippet this am: “Dodgers pitching at Double-A Tulsa has been exceptional this year. The staff has a combined 2.68 ERA and the starting rotation alone has five pitchers with ERAs under 2. The combination of Landon Knack, Emmet Sheehan, Kyle Hurt, Nick Nastrini, Nick Frasso, and River Ryan (yes, it’s a six man rotation) has a 1.59 ERA (37 ER/209 IP) and could be part of the next wave of help for the Dodgers at the big league level”
No problem Bobby, just gives me fodder for another blog. With the A’s tentatively moving to Las Vegas if they get the stadium agreement through, Oakland will have dumped it’s trash in the desert. One weird thing though, this stadium is supposedly going to seat about 30,000. That is 26,000 less than Dodger Stadium.
I too dumped them when they went North Bobby
Hope you’re good
Carson Fulmer signs a minor league deal with the Angels.
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
#Dodgers have recalled Alex Vesia and Optioned Gavin Stone.
The move opens the door for Michael Grove to start this weekend on Saturday against the New York Yankees. When that happens Bruihl will probably be optioned to Oklahoma City. The Dodgers are currently carrying 9 relief pitchers and only 4 starting pitchers.
* Good stuff Bear. Fun read.
* Gene Conley grew up in my parents neighborhood and I played some golf with him. Hot Rod Hundley had some great Gene stories. Apparently he was sort of a pre-Dennis Rodman or Bill Walton, type character. He might just fly to Israel as make his next start. Original flake.
* Math question- if Bobby Miller throws a 100 mph fastball on your thumbs, it ticks the bat and goes 12 feet up the line fair, what was the exit velocity and launch angle?
* Bobby Miller’s straight change at 90, is magnificent
* Omar knows what a middle infielder looks like. His assessment of Vargas as a real 2nd baseman, is spot on. Vargas has picked it up quickly and could play there long term if the Dodgers want to that way. He’s more than just taking up space to keep his bat in the line up. That would give Will room move to 3rd when a young catcher is ready.
* I’ve never seen Hayward throw home before to cut down a runner. I never thought much of his arm motion when he makes routine throws. He’s kind of a pie thrower, with little shoulder rotation. Kind of missing a sling or 2.
Then I saw him cut loose yesterday to cutdown the runner at home by a mile. Looked like Vida Blue with that big overhand motion with mustard. No chance for that baby tailing. Perfect one hop, straight bounce. I didn’t know he had that in his bag.
* Wouldn’t it be nice to see Outman start hitting. He has to feel like he’s walking the plank.
* I’m thinking Freddie needs an extension to about age 45 or there’s no chance of him returning to Atlanta.
Don’t you mean Nomar????
No Bear. I obviously meant Omar Sharif. You know Dr. Zhivago, a legendary baseball expert. Sadly, he died 8 years ago, but I’m sure he would have like Miquel Vargas.
My bad
😉
DODGERS RECALL ALEX VESIA
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have recalled left-handed pitcher Alex Vesia and optioned right-handed pitcher Gavin Stone to Triple-A.
Vesia, 27, returns for his second stint with the team after going 0-2 with a 7.84 ERA (9 ER/10.1 IP) and 15 strikeouts in 13 games with the Dodgers this season. He appeared in 10 games for the Oklahoma City Dodgers, allowing five runs in 9.2 innings with 18 strikeouts.In his last nine outings with the club, he has posted a 0.00 ERA (0 ER/9.1 IP) with 18 strikeouts against five hits. He is in his third season with Los Angeles, and he is a combined 8-3 with a 2.78 ERA (32 ER/103.2 IP) and 147 strikeouts in 116 games. He has been in the Major Leagues parts of four seasons with Miami (2020) and Los Angeles (2021-23) and he is 8-4 with 152 strikeouts in 108.0 innings. He was originally acquired from the Miami Marlins on February 12, 2021 along with right-hander pitcher Kyle Hurt in exchange for right-handed pitcher Dylan Floro.
Stone, 24, made three appearances for the Dodgers, allowing 16 runs on 23 hits in 10.0 innings. Last season, he was named the 2022 Dodgers Branch Rickey Pitcher of the Year after going a combined 9-6 with a 1.48 ERA (20 ER/121.2 IP) and 168 strikeouts between High-A Great Lakes, Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Arkansas native has been in the Dodger system since being drafted in the 5th round of the 2020 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Central Arkansas and he is a combined 13-10 with a 2.68 ERA (74 ER/248.1 IP) and 347 strikeouts.
I suspect we will see Stone back sooner than later!
We assume a lot as fans. And it is a lot easier for us to make trades and roster moves than it is for AF. If we had the same information he had, we could make much more informed choices, but we do not have that info. Orioles signed Aaron Hicks.
Well, I am not assuming… I just “suspect” he will figure it out. 😉 But, progress is not linear. He does not look the same this season as last season. His pitches are not as “tight” as last season and the control is erratic.
All true… but we can also evaluate trades that were made and didn’t get made.
For example: Why did the Blue Jays land Matt Chapman when he seemed like an ideal fit for the Dodgers? When we talk about which team “won” or “lost” a trade, we can extend the analysis to the teams who weren’t even in on the deal. The Dodgers lost that one.
As I’ve mentioned before, I think AF got outplayed last season by his peers. Preller’s moves helped the Pads bounce the Dodgers. A team that won 111 games went into the playoffs with a weak bench–Barnes, the not-ready Vargas, the season-slumping Gallo. Why? Preller picked up Drury, having a career year, and Hader, one of the best closers in the game.
I hope AF is more aggressive this season.
Maybe because the Jays gave up four prospects to get him and he is a free agent after this season, so why spend prospects when you can get him for just money when the payroll is really lower? He is hitting for a higher average than Muncy, but no where near the power Max is generating. They can sign him as a free agent, install him at third and move Max to DH if they want next year.
Rotation in Mid-July:
1. Urias
2. Kershaw
3. Gonsolin
4. Miller
5. Pick one: Pepiot, May, Stone, Syndergaard, Knack, and Grove.
A lot can happen and most of it is good.
It might be interesting to see of one of these guys could be a multi-inning reliever:
Frasso
Sheehan
Hurt
Stone
Knack
Hopefully May is back as a starter. I would like to see Frasso as a multi-inning reliever. Stone is not ready for prime time. Maybe a call up in September.
A side note, ex Dodger prospect Jacob Amaya (who had an abysmal ST with the Marlins following the trade) had been playing really well in AAA. .850 OPS with 7 HRs after a very slow start to the minor league season. I liked the trade at the time, but this one might come back to haunt us.
Nahhhh….
Jacob is a good dude who plays the game the right way, but he is AAAA player.
You’re probably right. I hope you’re wrong. He IS a good dude. I’d like nothing more for that trade to come back to bite us. Because that would be great for Jacob.
10:10 PM ET
Nationals (23-31) Last Place NL East 9.0GB
Dodgers (33-22) First Place NL West 1.5GH
SP Jake Irvin R
1-2 5.32 ERA 22.0IP 19K
SP Tony Gonsolin R
2-1 1.82 ERA 29.2IP 23K
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Martinez R
RF J. Heyward L
LF D. Peralta L
CF James Outman L
SS Miguel Rojas R
C A. Barnes R
Partly-cloudy-day
10% Precipitation
64° Wind 8 mph Out
Tuesday schedule
4:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes at Beloit [Marlins]
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City vs. Reno [D-backs]
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Landon Knack) at Wichita [Twins] (Blayne Enlow)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Chris Campos) vs. Inland Empire [Angels] (Leonard Garcia)
All four affiliates were off Monday. Next week (on June 5), the Arizona Complex League and Dominican Summer League start their seasons on Monday.
Dodgers might not see Bader this weekend, He pulled up lame in yesterday’s Yankees game.
Bader’s on my radar again. Kid’s a straight-up baller.
Injury prone.
True that.
Hope he’s okay…..by monday.
Barnes back in the lineup again. When he is in there, you have a 90% chance of getting him out. I like Barnsie, but sheesh, he is a black hole in the order
Austin Barnes is a career .217 hitter with a .325 OB%.
That he is off to a bad start is an understatement, but it is only 69 ABs and the Astros won the World Series with a catcher who had a career BA 10 points below Barnsie.
I believe in Barnes. All I am saying is give peace a chance!
His at bats are just very hard to watch
Yes, but……. Game 1: RHP Justin Verlander
Game 2: LHP Framber Valdez
Game 3: RHP Lance McCullers Jr.
Game 4: RHP Cristian Javier
Need I say more
I still believe that come the deadline, AF is going to trade for the best MLB ready arm he can find that is not the most expensive in prospect capital.
You just contradicted yourself.
Not really. It is what I believe will happen, not what will happen. Matt Beaty DFA’d by the Giants. I am not assuming it will happen, but based on his track record, AF usually goes after needs at the deadline.
Maybe we can trade Vargas’s!
Somebody needs to fire Dontrelle Willis he’s the worst broadcaster I’ve ever heard in my entire life.
Different strokes, I like him better than I do Hershiser. And you obviously have never heard the Rockies broadcasters. They are the absolute worst ever.
It’s almost good that I don’t have cable any longer so I can’t see any of the Rockies games with those horrible broadcasters anymore. I just listen to the radio.
Don’t understand why when our bullpen has been overtaxed, we pulled Gonsolin after only 70 pitches.
Would’ve felt the same way if Vesia, went 1,2,3
Have bat Will travel, reads the card of the man
A night without armor in a savage land
His fast bat for hire heeds, the calling wind
A soldier of fortune is the man called JDM
He and Freeman are aliens.
Excellent.
Emojis never show up when posting on phone or iPad??
Love seeing the defense, from Peralta and and J-Hey
Their bats have been coming around for a while now
With the win, they have the best record and best run differential in the National League.
Despite all the offseason losses and in-season injuries, the Dodgers are where they normally are: at the top of the National League.
Freddie is really on an MVP pace. His OPS is up to 1.005, and he is equally lethal against lefties and righties.
He just doesn’t care.
Against southpaws, the OPS is 1.007. Against northpaws, 1.004.
(Still, I wish he hadn’t tried to stretch that single into a double, especially with only a one-run lead. Just a minor quibble.)
No much difference in Vesia.