Sunday Notes: Taijuan Walker Ranks His Best Efforts

Taijuan Walker is coming off a strong 2020 season that followed a pair of lost seasons. The 28-year-old free agent fashioned a 2.70 ERA in 11 starts — five with the Seattle Mariners and six with the Toronto Blue Jays — after tossing just 14 innings in 2018-2019. We’ll hear from Walker on his return from Tommy John surgery and shoulder woes, as well as his pitch-design efforts, in the near future. Today we’ll touch on some of his career highlights. Earlier this week I asked the 2010 first-rounder for a ranking of his top performances to date.

“Numbers-wise it wasn’t my best, but I pitched a must-win game in Toronto,” recalled Walker, who was with the Mariners at the time. “This was [September 24, 2014] and while we didn’t end up winning, I feel like my fastball was the best it’s ever been. My breaking ball and my changeup probably were as well. We ended up losing 1-0, but stuff-wise I felt it was my best game.”

Out-dueled by Mark Buehrle in a contest that flew by in a crisp 1:59, Walker went eight innings and allowed four hits, one walk, and the game’s lone run. Six Blue Jays went down by way of the K.

Walker went on to cite his “two best games numbers-wise,” each of which was an 11-strikeout effort in a Mariners win. On July 31, 2015, he allowed just one hit — a solo home run by Minnesota’s Miguel Sanó — and a single free pass. On September 13, 2016, he threw a three-hit, no-walk, shutout against the Angels.

Asked how he would rank the three performances, Walker went 1. Twins, 2. Toronto, 3. Angels.

The last of those games particularly intrigued me, thanks to something I’d noticed while perusing the box score. Surprisingly, what caught my eye wasn’t what Walker mentioned when I inquired as to whether anything had stood out beyond his stat line.

“I had brand new mechanics that game,” said Walker. “We were working on that in between starts, and I was like, ‘OK, let me just try this little twist-turn.’ It was kind of like Felix [Hernandez], but not as exaggerated. That was the biggest thing. Seeing results my first time using new mechanics was kind of cool.”

I’d been expecting Walker to mention Mike Trout. Baseball’s best player came to the plate three times that day, and three times he walked back to the dugout having gone down on strikes. Making that especially notable are their head-to-head track records. All told, Trout is 10 for 16 with three home runs against Walker.

“Yeah, that’s crazy,” Walker said upon receiving the reminder. “He has some hits off me, but it’s not like they’re all super-hard hits. I think he has a few to the right side, and there was a jam-shot this year. And it’s funny too, because he loves the game of baseball, and he loves competition. You throw a good pitch, and he’ll look at you and smile. I’ll be like, ‘Don’t do that, bro; you’re smiling because you know you’re going to get a base hit here.’ It’s that easy for him.”

Walker has 13 career hits, two of which came on July 25, 2017 when he was playing with the Arizona Diamondbacks. One of them left the yard. Pair that with a strong pitching performance — one earned run over six innings — and the game ranks right up there with the aforementioned highlights. As a matter of fact, upon reflection, it merits more than a mere honorable mention.

“I hit the home run off [Atlanta’s] Mike Foltynewicz,” said Walker, whose career pitching mark is 35-34 with a 3.84 ERA over 581-and-two-thirds innings. “Making the moment even more special is that [my wife] had just had a baby, our first child. It was my first game back, I pitched well, and I hit a home run. I would say it’s probably the number-two moment in my career, right behind winning my debut [on August 30, 2013]. That was special as well.”

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Kohei Arihara has reportedly signed a two-year deal with the Texas Rangers. What can MLB fans expect from the 28-year-old right-hander? I asked that question to Frank Herrmann, who has seen Arihara pitch a number of times for NPB’s Nippon-Ham Fighters.

“He’s a big bodied pitcher with a slightly above average fastball,” said Herrmann, who plays for the rival Chiba Lotte Marines. “Two years ago his split-finger was a plus pitch, but he didn’t use it nearly as much last season when he featured an average changeup. He holds his velocity (92-95) well, even as he gets over the 100 pitch mark. He would benefit by pitching off his fastball more as he tends to get, unnecessarily, off-speed heavy at times.  I think he projects as a 4/5 starter type that can give you innings and the occasional dominant start.  I’ve just seen him be pretty inconsistent in my four years playing against him, as he tends to trade good months and bad months.”

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Sam Fuld went 5 for 10 against Chris Young.

John Castino went 5 for 10 against Matt Young.

Gary Redus went 5 for 10 against Curt Young.

Michael Young went 5 for 10 against Jason Grilli.

Chris Young went 5 for 10 against Chris Sampson.

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Taylor Rogers logged 30 saves for the Minnesota Twins in 2019, and he had a team-leading nine in 2020’s COVID-truncated campaign. That doesn’t mean he’s the A.L. Central club’s closer. According to Rocco Baldelli, the role doesn’t fit the Twins’ M.O.

“We’ve operated our bullpen in that fluid sense for a while now,” the Minnesota manager explained earlier this month. “We have Taylor Rogers. We have some other really impactful guys that can pitch late in the game… But we haven’t named a closer at any point in the last couple of years. And we’re not going to do that going forward. We want to pitch our guys when we think they’re going to help us win a particular game, maybe in a particular inning with a particular set of hitters coming up. Our guys know that.”

Last season, Rogers made three appearances in the seventh inning, five in the eighth inning, 13 in the ninth inning, and one in the 10th inning. Four different Twins pitchers recorded saves.

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Charlie Montoyo recently told reporters that he gets excited when team president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins update him on free agent and trade possibilities. How excited? The 55-year-old Toronto Blue Jays manager “feels like [he] has to go out and run five miles.” In all likelihood, he does just that. Two summers ago I encountered Montoyo outside Fenway Park, a handful of hours before game time, and he was dressed in a t-shirt, shorts, and running shoes. He was going to put in a few miles before the Jays took batting practice.

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Jim Gentile was known for his light-tower power, and for at least one of his 179 career home runs, that’s a literal description. I learned as much when I asked the1960s slugger about the longest one he remembers hitting.

“Reggie Jackson hit one off the transformer at Tiger Stadium, and the announcer said it was the longest home run ever hit there,” Gentile told me. “Well, I wish they’d have remembered mine, because I hit one off Paul Foytack that went into the lights, which were higher than the transformer. Otherwise it would have cleared the roof.”

Gentile hit the home run in question on April 30, 1961 in a 4-2 Baltimore Orioles win over the Detroit Tigers. And not only does he remember hitting it, Gentile — now 86 years young — has the newspaper clipping from that game in a scrapbook.

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NEWS NOTES

The BBWAA has announced its new officers for 2021. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (Cincinnati) will serve as President, Larry Stone of The Seattle Times as Vice President.

The Toronto Blue Jays have been named the 2020 recipient of the Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence, recognizing the organization’s “Blue Jays Community Commitment,” which raised $7.5 million to support those disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.

Baseball Canada has named Mike Wilner the winner of its inaugural Bob Elliott Media Recognition award. Information can be found here.

Billy Harris, an infielder for the Cleveland Indians in 1968, and for the Kansas City Royals in 1969, died earlier this week at age 77. Harris had 22 career hits, the first two coming in the first and second innings of his big-league debut.

The 26th edition of the Baseball Prospectus Annual is in the works. R.J. Anderson, Patrick Dubuque, and Craig Goldstein are the editors. As always, the list of people writing the team essays is impressive.

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David Bell was asked recently if a move to the starting rotation would close the door on Michael Lorenzen’s opportunities as an outfielder. The Cincinnati Reds manager suggested that isn’t necessarily the case. Prefacing his answer by saying that a starter-or-reliever decision has yet to be made, Bell said that Lorenzen could continue to occasionally play the outfield, and pinch-hit, either way. Moreover, the predictability that comes with a starting role would in some ways make it easier for him to play a two-way role.

Lorenzen has slashed .235/.284/.432 with seven home runs in 146 big-league plate appearances. He’s played 80 innings in center field, eight innings in right field, and five innings in left field. The righty has made 268 pitching appearances, including 26 as a starter. He’s gone 22-21 with 10 saves and a 3.97 ERA.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Zoilo Almonte has signed with the KBO’s KT Wiz. The former New York Yankees outfielder has spent the last three seasons with NPB’s Chunichi Dragons.

Daisuke Matsuzaka has signed a new one-year deal with the Seibu Lions. The 40-year-old right-hander didn’t pitch this past season as he was rehabbing an injury.

Roque Gutierrez, an 18-year-old right-hander in the Los Angeles Dodgers system, has a 3.09 ERA in eight relief appearances for Aguilas de Mexicali in the Mexican Winter League. The Dodgers signed the Guasave, Mexico native in September.

Zac Reininger has agreed to join the Australian Baseball League’s Perth Heat. The 27-year-old right-hander appeared in 53 games for the Detroit Tigers from 2017-2019 and spent this past season in the Oakland A’s organization.

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Chris Woodward was asked during his Winter Meetings media session if recently-acquired Nate Lowe, a left-handed hitter, is likely to get opportunities versus same-sided pitchers. His response strongly suggested that the answer to that question is yes.

“I don’t love platooning,” the Texas Rangers manager told reporters. “I really don’t. [But] if we have to we have to. I think I’m at the point now where we give guys opportunities, and hear what they have to say about how they’re going to handle the lefty. And it’s not even just about left-right. Sometimes it’s about the high-low game. Can they hit the high fastball, can they hit the spin — all the things we take into account.”

Woodward added that he’ll be soliciting the 25-year-old first baseman’s thoughts on the subject, then assessing the situation going forward. To date, Lowe has a .770 OPS in 200 big-league plate appearances versus righties, and a .769 OPS in 45 plate appearances versus lefties.

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Are the recent hirings of Sam Fuld and Chris Young to general manager positions — Fuld by the Phillies, Young by the Rangers — the start of a trend? That remains to be seen, but the possibility certainly exists. Moreover, the idea itself isn’t new. In October 2017, we published a piece titled: Player’s View: Are Today’s Analytically Inclined Players Tomorrow’s GMs? A cross section of players, coaches, managers, and front-office executives — 17 people in all — shared their thoughts on the subject. Three years later, it’s interesting to look back at what they said.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

At Our Esquina, Jesus Ortiz looked at how Minnie Miñoso’s Hall of Fame resume is enhanced by the granting of major league status to the Negro Leagues.

At Defector, Neil Demause delved into why MLB declared war on the minor leagues.

Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper wrote about how the new minor league landscape might damage franchise values and business relationships.

Cuban outfielder Oscar Colás is ready to sign with a big league club thanks in part to the lessons he learned in Japan. Jim Allen has the story at The Kyodo News.

Former Detroit Tigers beat writer Danny Knobler owns and runs a sports bar in Pattaya, Thailand. Mike DiGiovanna wrote about it for The Los Angeles Times.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Frank Thomas 1996: 649 PAs, 184 hits, 110 RS, 109 BB, 70 SO, .349 BA.
Frank Thomas 1997: 649 PAs, 184 hits, 110 RS, 109 BB, 69 SO, .347 BA.

In 1969, Dave McNally made 40 starts and had a 3.22 ERA and a 5.6 K/9.
In 1970, Dave McNally made 40 starts and had a 3.22 ERA and a 5.6 K/9.

Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth each scored 2,174 runs. Aaron drove in 2,297 runs; Ruth drove in 2,214.

Joe DiMaggio led the American League in runs scored once, in 1937. Dom DiMaggio led the American League in runs scored twice, in 1950 and 1951.

In 1948, Lou Boudreau came to the plate 676 times and struck out just nine times. The Cleveland Indians shortstop drew 98 walks and slashed .355/.453/.534.

Joe Sewell had a 1.4% strikeout rate, fanning just 114 time in 8,329 plate appearances from 1920-1933. Sewell struck out twice in a game on two occasions, once each against Pat Caraway and Cy Warmoth who combined to log 205 strikeouts over the course of their careers.

In 1959, Lew Burdette led National League pitchers in wins, with 21. The Milwaukee Braves righty made 39 starts, and allowed 38 home runs and 38 walks.

Ken Boyer hit 24 home runs in each of the 1961-1964 seasons. His doubles totals over that four-year stretch were 26, 27, 28, 30; his walk totals were 68, 75, 70, 70.

The Philadelphia Phillies signed Toby Harrah as an amateur free agent on today’s date in 1966. Acquired by the Washington Senators the following winter in the minor league draft, Harrah went on to play 17 big-league seasons and accumulate 45.7 WAR.

Players born on today’s date include Ducky Hemp, who played for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1890. The precursor to the Pirates, the Alleghenys went 23-113 that year — the worst record in franchise history. Hemp hit .235 in 90 plate appearances.