Can Corey Seager duplicate what Fred Lynn did in 1975?
The legend of Corey Seager continues to grow, and as the Dodgers inexplicably climbed back into a tie with the Giants for first place in the NL West the MVP chatter has started to grow. With good reason, because Corey epitomises to me what an MVP is. I’ve always been on the outside looking in on this debate because I’ve always felt the MVP was what it says, the Most Valuable Player not the best player, and in 2016 you can make a fairly good argument that Corey Seager has been the Most Valuable Player in the NL in 2016.
I was hoping to do this article without resorting to any talk of WAR this and WAR that because I didn’t want to write about WAR. But damn it, according to Fangraphs and their fWAR, Corey Seager is the best player in the NL. I’ll let others wax poetically about his fWAR.
This is what I want to write about.
There is no doubt the Dodgers would be in a much different position without him. Game after game you can look at what Corey Seager has meant to the team, key hits here, moving the offense along, providing solid defense, leadership, never wilting when the going got tough, always consistent. When Grandal, Turner, and Howie were trying to find their way Corey was there to give the team some offense. While cleanup hitter Adrian Gonzalez struggled with his power, Corey was there to keep the team afloat. When the starting pitching could barely get 15 outs, Corey added his bat to Grandal, Turner, and Howie to make sure they scored enough runs anyway.
Seager is starting to remind me of Fred Lynn who won the 1975 MVP, ROY, and Gold Glove with an outstanding season. They are both doubles hitter who turns their doubles into home runs enough that while not known as a home run hitter, home runs are definitely part of their game. Lynn led the league in doubles with 47, and of course, Corey Seager already has 31 doubles so far this year.
Let’s take a look at them head to head:
| Player | | | OPS | | | OPS+ | | | XBH | | | fWAR |
| Lynn | | | 0.967 | | | 162 | | | 47-7-21 | | | 7.1 |
| Seager | | | 0.888 | | | 139 | | | 31-3-21 | | | 5.6 |
Yes, Fred Lynn had a much better offensive season, but it is a testament to the season that Corey Seager is having that he’s even in the conversation with one of the greatest ROY seasons in history. Corey could match that fWAR(dammit) by the end of the season.
All this is still premature and I hate to even bring it up, but if Seager has another consistent final seven weeks, and the Dodgers win the NL West, I can see a Fred Lynn scenario.
Jharel Cotton almost perfect, credits Nashville pitching coach for new found success
Jharel Cotton was traded on August 1st to the Oakland A’s, and in his second start for his new organization pitched the greatest game of his career coming within one out of a perfect game. It was also probably the greatest game pitched in the minor leagues this year.
Baseball America did a small write up:
Jharel Cotton, rhp, Athletics. Cotton, part of the package that headed to Oakland for Josh Reddick and Rich Hill, came within one out Tuesday of a perfect game against Triple-A Round Rock before veteran Doug Bernier tripled in the ninth. Still, the Virgin Islands native finished with a one-hitter and a career-high 12 strikeouts in Nashville’s 3-0 win. Cotton now leads the PCL with 136 strikeouts in 112 2/3 innings. Cotton said he has worked with Nashville pitching coach Rick Rodriguez on his mechanics and now feels like he has more deception.
“Well, last night I was feeling sick and I woke up with a cold this morning. I took some DayQuil on an empty stomach, and it was the same thing again. It took my mind off the game itself, so I wasn’t anxious or nervous for the game all day because I just wanted to feel better.”
Before Cotton was traded by the Dodgers, MLB had ranked him as the Dodgers 13th top prospect.
The game that Vin Scully got a little ahead of himself
I only have one Greg Brock story and it is very ingrained into my brain. In 1983 Greg Brock had the misfortune of replacing Steve Garvey at 1st base. The iconic Dodger left for San Diego as a free agent, and 1st base was handed to Greg Brock. Brock had put up massive numbers in the minor leagues slugging 44 home runs in 1982 and was expected to provide power to the 1st base position.
Brock got off to a good start but was really starting to hit in May moving his OPS up to .938 on May 15th. On May 17th Brock walked five times giving him ten walks in the past four games and moving his OBP over the .400 mark. The best was yet to come as on May 18th Greg Brock put his best stamp on his rookie campaign.
In the fifth inning, Brock hit a grand slam to give the Dodgers a 7 – 1 lead but it was in the 8th inning I’ll never forget the call by Vin Scully. Brock came up and slugged a two-run home run and Vin Scully exclaimed: “that Greg Brock has arrived and he won’t be going anywhere for a long time”. Now it is very possible I don’t remember the quote correctly but what I do remember is thinking that if Vin Scully says that Greg Brock has arrived than he has arrived.
But he hadn’t. The would be the best game of Greg Brocks career. That would be the high point of his season. His OPS after that game was a .989. He would end the season with an OPS of .739 even hitting a low point of .676 on August 3rd. Not only had Greg Brock not arrived he would be gone by 1986 when he was traded for Tim Leary and Tim Crews. Brock may not have helped the team win any championships during his short run, but Tim Leary sure did.
Seager jumps past Karros and Brock on LAD Rookie home run leaderboard.
With those two home runs last night Seager leapfrogged past Eric Karros and Greg Brock into fourth place on the LAD rookie home run leaderboard.
Only Mike Piazza, Joc Pederson, and Frank Hondo Howard are now in front of Seager.
| Player | HR | Year | Age | PA | OPS | Pos |
| Mike Piazza (RoY-1st) | 35 | 1993 | 24 | 602 | 0.932 | C |
| Joc Pederson | 26 | 2015 | 23 | 585 | 0.763 | CF |
| Frank Howard (RoY-1st) | 23 | 1960 | 23 | 487 | 0.784 | OF |
| Corey Seager | 21 | 2016 | 22 | 474 | 0.889 | SS |
| Eric Karros (RoY-1st) | 20 | 1992 | 24 | 589 | 0.730 | 1B |
| Greg Brock (RoY-7th) | 20 | 1983 | 26 | 543 | 0.738 | 1B |
| Yasiel Puig (RoY-2nd) | 19 | 2013 | 22 | 432 | 0.925 | OF |
| Raul Mondesi (RoY-1st) | 16 | 1994 | 23 | 454 | 0.849 | OF |
| James Loney (RoY-6th) | 15 | 2007 | 23 | 375 | 0.919 | 1B |
| Ron Cey (RoY-6th) | 15 | 1973 | 25 | 595 | 0.723 | 3B |
If you don’t think a rotation that can’t get 15 outs a game isn’t problematic, think again
The Dodgers have made 112 starts in 2016 and in 51 of those starts the rotation has gotten a maximum of 15 outs. In those 51 starts, the team is 22 – 29. If you drop it by one out, meaning a pitcher has not been able to go at least five innings the numbers get quite ugly.
Let’s break it down:
- 1 out – 1 win – the Bud Norris back game
- 8 outs – 1 win, 1 loss
- 9 outs – 1 win, 1 loss
- 10 outs – 1 win
- 11 outs – 2 wins
- 12 outs – 2 wins, 9 losses
- 13 outs – 2 losses
- 14 outs – 4 losses
- 15 outs – 14 wins, 12 losses
Less than 15 outs the Dodgers are 8 – 17, and 25 games of this nature are simply too many games of this nature. Some may say that the role of the starting pitcher is evolving as the bullpen keeps becoming more and more important, and this may be true, but you still need to get at least 15 outs to provide your team with the best chance of winning.
Evidently the best scenario is for the pitcher get either 10 or 11 outs. The new winning efficiency. In games, the Dodger starters went at least four innings but not five innings the team is 2 – 15. Ouch
The complete list provided by Bref:
Good odds that if/when Rich Hill takes the mound for the first time he won’t get five outs. We aren’t sure right now that Brandon McCarthy will ever get five outs again this year. When Brett Anderson gets inserted into the rotation fifteen outs will probably be his max for a few starts.
Obviously, a team that is 63 – 49 is doing great work when the starters can get at least 16 outs. The math says they are 41 – 20 in such cases. That is how you lead the wild card race and are breathing down the backs of the Giants. To keep this pace up, it would behoove the rotation to start having more games of at least 15 outs but I’m not sure this rotation as it is stands, will be up to the task.
Get well soon Mr. Kershaw
Brett Anderson finishes up 3rd rehab game and looks ready to join the beleaguered rotation.
Normally you want a pitcher who hasn’t pitched since last October to get around four or five rehab starts but Brett Anderson is already doing what everyone else is doing in the Dodger rotation.
Getting fifteen outs or less.
Given the state of the rotation, it would make sense that they simply slot Brett into the rotation since he can probably do right now what everyone else is doing. Brett has pitched very well in his three rehab games going from 3 to 4 to 5 innings.
His overall rehab numbers are 12 innings, 14 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, and 11 strikeouts. Ideally, you’d want Brett to make at least one more rehab start but given that the Dodgers are giving someone a start who hasn’t even pitched since July 7th they probably don’t have that option.
At least with Brett we don’t have an arm issue that he’s coming back from. He had back surgery in early spring, and once his back was good to go, he started throwing again. Brett simply needs to get his arm strength and conditioning back up to par. A healthy and fresh Brett Anderson could really give this rotation a shot in the arm. Heck by Sept he might be the best pitcher in the rotation.
That may or may not make you feel better.
Should Rich Hill be allowed to take the Hill on Friday?
Have to admit I don’t quite get that Rich Hill is the scheduled pitcher on Friday. Rich Hill has not pitched since July 7th, and Friday will be August 12th. Who goes a whole month without pitching and doesn’t throw a rehab game before pitching in a major league game again?
The man has been scheduled to start three different times and each time has been unable to take the mound. At least with a rehab game he can prove that his blisters are behind him before they send him out to the mound. What happens if he pitches one inning and re-opens either of the two blisters that have kept him sidelined for over a month?
If he can take the mound, how many innings can you really expect from someone who hasn’t pitched in a month?
Well, I’m sure the Dodgers know what they are doing, just seems odd to me.
Corey Seager leading all rookie SS in OPS in HISTORY
We already know how special Corey Seager is, but just in case how about one more leaderboard to drive the point home. In the history of baseball, Corey Seager has the highest Rookie OPS for shortstops.
And for good measure OPS+.
| Player | OPS | OPS+ | Year | Age | Tm | PA |
| Corey Seager | 0.889 | 139 | 2016 | 22 | LAD | 474 |
| Nomar Garciaparra (RoY-1st) | 0.875 | 123 | 1997 | 23 | BOS | 734 |
| Joe Sewell | 0.856 | 116 | 1921 | 22 | CLE | 683 |
| Alex Cintron | 0.848 | 112 | 2003 | 24 | ARI | 487 |
| Troy Tulowitzki (RoY-2nd) | 0.838 | 109 | 2007 | 22 | COL | 682 |
| Mike Aviles (RoY-4th) | 0.833 | 121 | 2008 | 27 | KCR | 441 |
| Hanley Ramirez (RoY-1st) | 0.833 | 116 | 2006 | 22 | FLA | 700 |
| Specs Toporcer | 0.825 | 116 | 1922 | 23 | STL | 391 |
| Jung Ho Kang | 0.816 | 124 | 2015 | 28 | PIT | 467 |
| Derek Jeter (RoY-1st) | 0.800 | 101 | 1996 | 22 | NYY | 654 |
| Tom Tresh (RoY-1st) | 0.800 | 116 | 1962 | 23 | NYY | 712 |
Cory Seager jumps into top 10 for home runs in a season by a Shortstop twenty-two and younger
Once again Corey Seager showed off his power, blasting two home runs last night. Corey had already broken the LAD record for most home runs by a LAD SS, most doubles by a LAD rookie, most home runs by a LAD rookie infielder non-catcher edition so we need to look for other horizons.
Since Corey Seager is only twenty-two years old, I thought it would be interesting to see how he stacks up against other twenty-two-year-old shortstops. As expected, he stacks up very well.
The full list is here, but below were are only going to show shortstops who hit at least 20 home runs. He is currently 10th on the list, but two more home runs will vault him into a tie with Alex Rodriquez for 6th. His current OPS of .889 would place him 3rd on this list.
| Player | HR | Year | Age | Tm | PA | OPS | HR/AB |
| Alex Rodriguez | 42 | 1998 | 22 | SEA | 748 | 0.919 | 17.81 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 36 | 1996 | 20 | SEA | 677 | 1.045 | 18.81 |
| Cal Ripken | 28 | 1982 | 21 | BAL | 655 | 0.792 | 23.39 |
| Cal Ripken | 27 | 1983 | 22 | BAL | 726 | 0.888 | 26.89 |
| Troy Tulowitzki | 24 | 2007 | 22 | COL | 682 | 0.838 | 28.42 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 23 | 1997 | 21 | SEA | 638 | 0.846 | 27.74 |
| Carlos Correa | 22 | 2015 | 20 | HOU | 432 | 0.857 | 19.64 |
| Ron Hansen | 22 | 1960 | 22 | BAL | 606 | 0.781 | 27.55 |
| Vern Stephens | 22 | 1943 | 22 | SLB | 571 | 0.839 | 25.95 |
| Corey Seager | 21 | 2016 | 22 | LAD | 474 | 0.889 | 22.57 |
Alex Rodriquez who is going to retire at the end of the week (08/12/16) owns this leaderboard appearing it on three times. Carlos Correa has a chance to get on here three times but this will be Corey’s only appearance since he’s already 22. Corey has a good chance to move into the top three putting his name above HOF Cal Ripken and just below Alex Rodriquez. That is some nice company to be sandwiched in between.
Homegrown home runs
Eric Stephen put together the definitive look at the 300 home run club including anyone who ever played for the Dodgers that has hit 300 home runs and how many home runs they hit as Dodgers compared to their career.
What I liked about the list that Eric put together was quickly scanning the homegrown Dodgers who are on the list.
- Paul Konerko 439 / 4
- Adrian Beltre 429 / 147
- Mike Piazza 427 / 177
- Duke Snider 407 / 389
- Frank Howard 382 / 123
- Gil Hodges 370 / 361
- Ron Cey 316 / 228
That is a list that can make a grown man cry. Konerko was traded for a closer that didn’t help the Dodgers into the postseason as they only won 83 games. 1998 was not the best year for the Dodgers, trading Piazza and Konerko within weeks of each other. By my count, the Dodgers traded away over 800 home runs. They did get 122 back from Sheffield so I guess I’ll round ball it at 650 home runs.
Beltre left as a free agent possibly the worse decision among many by the Depodesta regime, and of course the Piazza deal, which brought us back a 300 home run hitter in Gary Sheffield. Check that, a 500 home run hitter in Gary Sheffield. Damn
One can only wonder what Frank Howard would have done with the Dodgers. He would have never had Ted Williams move his game to the next level but he’d surely have hit many a bomb for at the Ravine to the delight of Dodger fans. But the cost might have been the 1965 Championship.
I was a little surprised to see that Ron Cey hit so many home runs after he left the Dodgers. If I had seen this list in 1990 I wouldn’t have been surprised but time had left me thinking that Cey only had a few productive years with the Cubs when the reality is quite different.
Duke and Gil did all their damage for the Dodgers, mostly for Brooklyn but each left their mark in Los Angeles.
That list has two current HOF in Duke Snider and Mike Piazza. One HOF to be in Adrian Beltre. Vinny has long lamented about Gil Hodges not being in the HOF. Gil would generate as much fame as being the manager of the 1969 World Champion Mets as he ever garnered in his long Dodger playing career.
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 