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Netzer

By Netzer
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If only statcast had the technology to measure the launch angle and exit velocity of yankee balls that have been hit off of your chin.

Goo Punch
Goo Punch
Hank Chinaski
Hank Chinaski

Good fucking riddance. 

EuroHorn

EuroHorn 3287

Posted
Posted
19 hours ago, Goo Punch said:

god damn it.

 

https://people.com/sports/cubs-fan-viral-video-take-ball-kid/

 

In fact, the man reportedly gave baseballs to multiple children at the game — including the one in question, who a fellow game attendee said the fan gifted to a different child in his row. Yet another attendee told Kaplan, “That guy did nothing wrong. He gave three balls out to people around him including the little boy in question. He was great.”

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shnsajax

shnsajax 3605

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The Mets are putting right-hander Noah Syndergaard on the 10-day disabled list with hand, foot and mouth disease (Coxsackie viral infection).
I don't know what that is


My wife, newborn, and 2 year old twins got it 2 years ago when we were on vacation. It’s a nasty disease, and if it is on his hands he might not pitch for 15 days.
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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 55836

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theathletic

Quote
USATSI_8143549-1024x770.jpg
By Rustin Dodd Jul 23, 2018comment-icon.png 17 save-icon.png

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In 10 seasons in the major leagues, Billy Butler made an All-Star team, appeared in a World Series and spent his summers roping doubles in ballparks across America. Yet as he returned home to Idaho last summer, his first without baseball in decades, he searched for avenues to sharpen his competitive spirit.

He had spent the 2016 season batting .284 with five homers while playing in 97 games for the A’s and Yankees. But with little interest for his services, and his career on the precipice, he found an outlet in an unlikely place:

A local softball team named Pharmgrade in the Idaho Falls Parks & Rec men’s league.

“Obviously,” Butler said, “we do well.”

Playing games at a local park, and against opponents who have not played competitive sports for years, Butler put his sweet right-handed swing to good use. He crushed dingers at a staggering rate. He led his team in homers, slugging and (we presume) pretty much everything else. Like a young Edgar Martinez in Seattle, the hitter he was so often compared to during his years in Kansas City, he carried his team to a place atop the standings.

“I can hit the ball out of the park every time,” Butler said.

Butler is standing inside Kauffman Stadium on Sunday afternoon, his first trip back since a series with Oakland in 2015. He’s 32 now, and while not formally retired — he never did the press conference or press release thing — there’s nothing to suggest he’s pondering a comeback. He spends his summers coaching his daughters in softball. He talks about his career in the past tense. His last major-league game came nearly 22 months ago, during a short, late-season stint with the Yankees. He calls Idaho Falls — his home now — the place “where it started and ended for me.”

Butler played Rookie ball there in 2004, his first year with the Royals. He batted .373 that summer and clubbed 10 homers and met a local girl named Katie. They built a house in town and had three daughters and came back when baseball was over. They settled into the community, and that’s where the softball team comes in.

Butler smiles when he tells the story. It is, first and foremost, a fun hobby. The team is made up of his brothers-in-law and some guys they know from the local gym. Most played baseball at some level. But Butler is the ringer of all ringers, a 32-year-old who recorded 147 career homers and 322 doubles and won a Silver Slugger in 2012, the season he hit a career-high 29 homers for a rebuilding Royals team.

“Billy’s just a natural hitter,” said Royals left fielder Alex Gordon, his teammate for eight seasons. “He liked to drink some beer, too, so he’d probably fit right in there.”

If there are complaints from the other teams about the presence of a former All-Star designated hitter, Butler says he doesn’t hear them. Most of the teams are just there to have some fun. One squad includes some former players from the Idaho Falls Chukars. The goal of the league usually revolves around homers and post-game beverages.

Like most men’s softball leagues, there are rules to curb home runs, of course. One team can only have five more homers than the other team before dingers start counting as outs, Butler says. But even then, Butler was always the kind of hitter who could go the other way, so his skillset comes in handy when Pharmade starts bludgeoning an overmatched opponent.

“You have to work on hitting it the other way,” Butler says. “You can’t just hit it out of the park. You have to work on things.”

Butler heard similar sentiments while hitting for eight seasons in the cavernous confines of Kauffman Stadium. He debuted in 2007 at the age of 21, a first-round pick with the preternatural ability to hit (and plenty of self-confidence). Two years later, he batted .301 and hit 51 doubles as the losses piled up. He spent the next four seasons as one of the most underrated hitters in the American League, even as the Royals’ youth movement struggled to gain traction and fans wondered about his lack of power.

Butler came to love Kansas City anyway. He loved the way the fans chanted his name — “BILL-Y BUT-LER” — at the 2012 All-Star Game. He loved the season his own barbecue sauce became a phenomenon. He loved the process of building and the payoff of the 2014 wild-card game and World Series. “You’ll never forget those things,” he said.

He still wishes he could have played longer here, he says. But then the Oakland A’s offered a three-year, $30 million contract after the 2014 season, and the Royals were ready to move on.

“That’s the way it works,” Butler said. “It’s a business.”

As the Royals won the World Series in 2015, Butler was finishing the first of two difficult years in the Bay Area. His productivity declined from his usual standards; his power waned; his second season was marred by a clubhouse fight with teammate Danny Valencia, an incident that became public and preceded his release. He finished the season with the Yankees, hitting .345 in 12 games. Yet by then, his career was nearing what seemed like a premature end at the age of 30.

“I played here a long time,” Butler said Sunday, in some of his first public comments since returning home to Idaho. “This is where it all started for me. It was the organization that drafted me. It makes me miss it.”

Still, Butler says he is content, carrying many of the hallmarks of a former player. He returned to Kansas City this weekend as part of the Royals’ ongoing celebration of their 50th season. He made the rounds in the television and radio booths. He did some work in the community. He talked to the club about taking part in Royals Fantasy Camp this winter.

 

Another @Royals 50th Season celebration weekend, this time featuring great broadcasters through the years... and All Stars. #billybutler @goldbergkc

 
 

 

At some point, he’d like to consider getting back into baseball, maybe as a hitting coach or instructor. But he spent much of his time Sunday telling old friends about his favorite subject: his three daughters.

His youngest is 2 1/2 now; his oldest, Kenley, is 9 1/2 and playing her first season of kid-pitch softball. Butler, a player once nicknamed “Country Breakfast” for his persona and physique, has transformed into an active and patient coach. Well, most of the time.

“You can’t show any emotions or they’re just going to burst into tears,” Butler said.

Butler describes his post-career life in simple terms. He is back in Idaho. He’s spending time with family. He’s doing all the things he couldn’t before. And, yes, this also includes a recreational softball league where Country Breakfast is the most feared hitter in the league.

“That guy is going to be hitting for the rest of his life,” said Royals pitcher Danny Duffy, a former teammate.

There are no official stats available in the Idaho Falls Parks & Rec men’s softball league. There are no Statcast systems or exit velocities, and Butler rarely has to worry about grounding into a double play.

But last October, as the Dodgers battled the Astros in the World Series, Butler chased his own crown. The men on Pharmgrade defeated a team called “A+ Driving School” to capture the championship of the fall session. The league paid tribute on its Facebook page. Butler mashed all game.

“It’s a family league, so we put a family team together,” Butler said. “We’re doing well.”

 

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TheFlagship

TheFlagship 466

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Posted

Yankees now 6 games behind the Sox. It might be time to start making plans for another wild card game.

Meanwhile the NL Race is nuts. I think the Cubs and Dodgers will safely be playoff teams barring something crazy. Projected wins for other teams (per FG)

phillies -85

braves - 85

nationals - 84

brewers - 86

cardinals - 82

pirates - 82

dbacks- 86

Rockies - 84

giants - 81

Hoping for some September chaos.

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texifornia

texifornia 58843

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, TheFlagship said:

Yankees now 6 games behind the Sox. It might be time to start making plans for another wild card game.

Meanwhile the NL Race is nuts. I think the Cubs and Dodgers will safely be playoff teams barring something crazy. Projected wins for other teams (per FG)

phillies -85

braves - 85

nationals - 84

brewers - 86

cardinals - 82

pirates - 82

dbacks- 86

Rockies - 84

giants - 81

Hoping for some September chaos.

The league split is just bonkers this year

 

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Guadaloopy

Guadaloopy 11125

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15 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

But he is a good presence to have in the locker room.

“Nah, kid.  You’re doing it wrong.  What you wanna do is start with your spikes low and then let ‘em kinda bounce up at the last second.  Give ‘em an excuse to call you a ‘hard-nosed’ or ‘throwback’ player.  That’ll minimize the suspensions.”

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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9790

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Where does everyone gets tickets for cheap on out of town games these days?  Still stubhub?

How about Thursday night in Hotlanta?
Lower level is insane... over $100/ each.

Dodgers in town + Avett Brothers postgame concert = pricey weeknight game, I guess.

Where are other good locations in that ballpark?
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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 55836

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, TonyTexas said:

Looks like Britton is going to the Yankees. I guess they are hoping he can be a starter.

 

57 minutes ago, txhorns said:

That's going to be ugly.

Your sarcasm detector is on the fritz.

So the Yankees are going into the last two months with three starters who aren't rookies or trainwrecks...

1.  Severino, yeah, he's really good.

2.  Sabathia, who's 38 and weighs 300.

3.  Tanaka, who's over 4.50 ERA this season and was 4.74 last season.  

What are the odds of all three of those guys staying healthy through October?

 

But they have the best bullpen in MLB history.

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Helobious

Helobious 9768

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1 hour ago, Beau Vine said:

 

Your sarcasm detector is on the fritz.

So the Yankees are going into the last two months with three starters who aren't rookies or trainwrecks...

1.  Severino, yeah, he's really good.

2.  Sabathia, who's 38 and weighs 300.

3.  Tanaka, who's over 4.50 ERA this season and was 4.74 last season.  

What are the odds of all three of those guys staying healthy through October?

 

But they have the best bullpen in MLB history.

All 3 of those guys will be there come October. Sevy is as talented a pitcher as there is, Tanaka turns it up in crunch time, and you can never count out veteran presents. And Cashman isn’t done making moves, genius. He’ll get another starter before the playoffs. Granted the trade market for starters is embarrassingly bad this year but he’ll find a serviceable one.

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