As the race for wild card spots heats up, we already have the top seed of the Major League season. Also, when eyes were watching the new rules that will somewhat change the course of the game for the next season, the Minor League players took a historic step, and we will be analyzing such an event in today’s column.
What is the formula for the Tampa Bay Rays to achieve success? Well, only Kevin Cash and Erik Neander know that one. The only thing we can say about it is that the duo Yandy & Randy is one of its fundamental parts. Therefore, we are ready to inquire about some feats that the two Cubans are achieving. Without further ado, let’s call the first strike.
First Strike
During the current season we have analyzed the importance that Randy Arozarena and Yandy Díaz have had for the Rays’ offense. But the objective of this analysis is to observe the performance of both in the second part of the campaign, in which Tampa has shown its best version and, together with the Mariners, Blue Jays and Orioles, fight for a wild card position heading to the postseason.
Since the second half began, the Rays are going (29-22), and only the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Guardians and Dodgers have won more games as of dawn last Friday. Therefore, in that period, they have been the team that has played the best in their division.
During that stretch, Randy (152) and Yandy (157) have been Tampa’s top hitters according to wRC+, a widely used metric today, which quantifies run creation adjusted for important external factors like stadiums and era in which the player plays.
As if that were not enough, the man from Villa Clara and the man from Vuelta Baja are the ones who have driven in the most runs and hit the most home runs for the Florida franchise, so we can classify what we are seeing from our countrymen as amazing.
Arozarena has already accustomed us to having spectacular second halves of competition. Do you remember why he was chosen Rookie of the Year in the last contest? Yes, thanks to a second historical part. This season, he has been no exception, the version of him has improved since the All-Star Game, as evidenced by his offensive line (Average / On-base percentage / Slugging / OPS).
Year 2021
First half: .251/.333/.400/.733
Second half: .308 /.389/.547/.935
Year 2022
First half .254/.314/.431/.744
Second half .295/.365/.495/.860
By the way, Arozarena is the first West Indian since 1988 to drive in at least 75 runs and steal at least 30 bases. 34 years ago, José Canseco achieved it, in what was his 40-40 campaign. The other Cuban to achieve it was Minnie Miñoso in 1951.
On the other hand, we have Yandy, who is having his best year and continues to establish himself as one of the most disciplined hitters in the business. Let’s also not forget his versatility, which allows him to defend in any of the corners of the infield.
The man from Villa Clara, at this time, has the seventh lowest percentage of swings to pitches outside the zone (22.9%) and, at the same time, he had the sixth lowest rate of swing failures (5.0%). All of this translates into an excellent correlation between walks and strikeouts. For example, Yandy has been retired via strikes in 10.1% of his appearances, the second-lowest rate among all qualified major league hitters, but he has also managed to walk free walks in 14.7% of his at-bats, seventh in MLB.
Yandy also wants to make history: he could become the fourth Cuban to register in a season with an average over .290, an OBP of at least .400 and 70 walks. Those parameters, with at least 130 games played, have only been achieved. Previously, they have done Miñoso (five times), Rafael Palmeiro and Tony Pérez.
The Rays are on their way to another postseason and their formula, like it or not, continues to deliver good results. But, among its positive points, is the duo Yandy & Randy. They are responsible for supporting an offense that, at times, suffers from a lack of leadership.
Strike Two
This time there were no surprises like there was a year ago, when the Giants won 107 games (one more than the Dodgers) to win the division title and break an eight-pennant streak imposed by the Los Angeles team in the National League West. This year, quite simply, the best team in the business proved their superiority.
In the Dodger Stadium offices there was a coup eight days after the second longest bosses’ strike in history was lifted. The president of Operations, Andrew Friedman, contracted for six seasons and 162 million dollars to Freddie Freeman, one of the most solid hitters of today. With that play, the franchise put on the field a Dream Team that has in its ranks the best one-two-three we can imagine for a lineup: Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie.
But that’s only part of the perfection that this set shows, given that in each department they paid big dividends. For example, offensively the Dodgers woke up last Friday leading the Big Show in runs scored, OPS and OBP. At the same time, they were the team with the best ERA and WHIP of their starting pitchers.
That’s not all, their bullpen posted the third-lowest earned run average and second-lowest walks per nine innings. Lastly, they showed off their baserunning skills and his defense ranks among the best in MLB.
After looking at the data above, we can understand why last week, in game 141 of the season, they became the fastest team to win the division since the franchise moved out of Brooklyn. The night before, they had already secured a place in the playoffs.
Now, let’s see the other side of the coin. This is only part of the plan that manager Dave Roberts laid out. The other will start in October and it is where they will have to crown everything they achieved over six months. Let’s remember that, in the last 10 years, the Chavez Ravine club has won the division in nine, but only once did they end up opening the champagne in the Fall Classic. In that span, they played in the World Series three times.
That is why they have not become a dynasty, even though they have what it takes to be one. Now, excluding that point, maybe we haven’t seen a Dodgers team as good as this one.
We can argue the above statement in many ways, but the Baseball Reference (Stathead) database shows us a simple Which Dodgers team has managed to hit at least .260, with a .790 OPS and, at the same time, Has he pitched under 2.85 with a WHIP under 1.10 in the first 142 games of the season? The answer only returns two results: the Dodgers of 1913, the year that fair racing became official, and the Dodgers of this 2022.
We will see what happens in the coming weeks, but at least they already have part of the battle won. The other will begin on October 7 at the start of the postseason, an instance in which the children are separated from the adults and history falls under its own weight.
Strike Three: Strikeout!
Since the Minor Leagues (MiLB) were created in 1901, the voice of the players has never carried as much weight as in recent days. The repercussion has been so great that MLB has had no choice but to accept the association with the Major League Baseball Players Union (MLBPA).
You have to understand something, the first thing is that everything has a limit and that of the employees of the Minor Leagues has been exhausted for a long time. Extensive road trips, low wages and poor living conditions are some of the problems that players have had to face over the years as they integrate into each franchise’s farm system.
There is a popular saying that fits perfectly with this situation: “Everything is not rosy”. For a player to make his MLB debut, he has to go through that, and sometimes they’re destined not to make it, so at best, they spend their entire career in MiLB.
The good news is that things are changing, although we must understand that, in order to meet the objectives, we will go through a long process. Since 2020, as a result of the pandemic and the situations mentioned above, a non-profit organization has been created to support MiLB players (Advocates for Minor Leaguers).
In such a short time, this organization has managed to take important steps. First, he forced MLB to pay 160 million dollars to MiLB players in order not to go to trial, due to low wages, although another lawsuit continues for the same problem.
Also, they managed to get the teams to put houses for each player. In the past, four or five people had to sleep in a room in order to pay the rent. Finally, payments went up, although they are still low compared to the average.
On August 29, the MLBPA sent a letter to each MiLB player for them to sign if they agreed to be represented by them. This fact has marked a before and after in the history of baseball.
According to the union itself, the vast majority of the letters have been signed and that gives the Association the power to represent MiLB players. The other procedure was also started by Tony Clark (executive director of the MLBPA) when he asked MLB if he accepted the new unionization.
If MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred had rejected it, then there was no alternative but to go to the National Employment Relations Board to force a vote. That way, if 50% of the players agreed, then the board would force recognition of the process. But, the response was positive and MLB recognized such a step even though they have to count the signatures on the letters (with more than 33% you can unionize).
It is important to understand that the player will not improve his conditions by joining the MLBPA, but, thanks to that, he will be able to sit down at the table to negotiate a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the MLB, just as the players who make up the MLB roster did. 40 a few months ago.
This will begin a new era and, for Latin players, especially Cubans, it will be very positive. With a well-negotiated CBA, they will spend less work. Although, the best thing that can happen within it is an international draft. In this way, corruption is minimized and the darkest process in the Major Leagues ends: the period of international signings.
