Sunday Notes: Tampa Bay Bullpen Coach Stan Boroski Bids Adieu

The Tampa Bay Rays’ season came to an end yesterday, and as a result, so did Stan Boroski’s coaching career. An underrated part of the A.L. East club’s success for over a decade, Boroski joined the staff prior to the 2010 season — he’d previously tutored pitchers in the Houston Astros organization — and became the bullpen coach in November 2011. He announced last month that he’d be retiring at the end of the season.

I recently asked members of Tampa Bay relief corps about their highly-regarded coach. What’s made him so good at his job?

“I really think it’s his presence,” said Pete Fairbanks, a mainstay in the Rays bullpen for the past three-plus seasons. “It lends itself to the environment that we’re in down there. It’s a very loose and unfocused group, and Stan does a great job of managing that. There is also his ability to put across our message of attacking the strike zone, and just how valuable that is. That’s something he has preached all of the time I’ve been here, It’s like beating a dead horse, but it’s a horse that needs to continue to be hit, over and over again. It’s that important.”

The message has resonated well. Rays relievers walked just 2.79 batters per nine innings this year — only the Dodgers were better — and their 2.96 walk rate since 2018 is the lowest in either league. In order to reach base against Boroski’s bullpen, you’ve typically needed to hit your way on.

Jimmy Yacabonis is new to the organization. Tampa Bay claimed him off of waivers from Miami in August, and the journeyman reliever’s early impressions of Boroski are in accord with those who’ve known him longer. In his view, the erstwhile Ohio University Bobcat “keeps everything simple, focusing on getting ahead in the count and having an attack mindset. He’s short, to the point, and concise.”

“He knows the shorthand of what to prep you with when you’re going into the game,” agreed JT Chargois, who joined the Rays bullpen at last year’s trade deadline. “There’s also his presence. The confidence of his presence spills over to all of us.”

Presence is a word you hear often when Boroski’s name comes up. Unassuming is another, which is a big reason that his communication skills are of high quality. His messages don’t come heavy-handed, but rather in a trustworthy and suggestive manner. The impact of his game-planning advice is akin to the old EF Hutton ad: When Boroski talks, pitchers listen.

Asked what he considers his greatest strength a coach, the personable 59-year-old pointed not to relationship-building, but rather to his ever-evolving quest for knowledge.

“Open-mindedness,” replied Boroski, who in 2015 was interviewed here at FanGraphs on the Rays’ use of PITCH/fx data. “The willingness to look at the different technological advances that are out there to help us with the mechanics and pitch design. Taking the analytical data, the KineTrax data — all of those things — and diving in to see how they actually help. It’s the willingness to do that, to try to take it all in and understand it.”

Tampa Bay pitching coach Kyle Snyder is well aware of those qualities, but much like the relievers I spoke to, the ability to deliver information in a concise manner was at the forefront of his assessment. Presented with what I’d been hearing, Boroski acknowledged that it has been an integral part of his M.O.

“Yeah, I’m pretty good at dumbing it down,” said Boroski. “When I first came over in 2010, that was pretty much my job: taking whatever analytical data we had at that time and seeing how we could use it at game-speed. I’ve tried to keep doing that, year after year, hopefully becoming better and better at it as I go.”

Given the success of Tampa Bay’s heavily-relied-upon bullpen throughout his tenure — one that has often included a revolving door of relievers — it’s safe to say that he’s excelled at his job. And as much as his presence will be missed, he’ll miss the bullpen even more.

“Every day,” said Boroski. “I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family — I’ve been doing this for a long time — but I’m going to miss this every day.”

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Raul Ibanez went 6 for 11 against Glen Perkins.

Bip Roberts went 8 for 14 against Shane Reynolds.

Jay Buhner went 10 for 15 against Chris Carpenter.

Ichiro Suzuki went 12 for 19 against Aaron Sele.

Tony Gwynn went 14 for 25 against Hideo Nomo.

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I mentioned in my September 4 Sunday Notes column that Cal Quantrill had a career record of 12-0 at Progressive Field, and five weeks later his home ledger remains unblemished. Following a W on Tuesday the Cleveland Guardians right-hander is now 14-0. What does Quantrill think about his spotless mark?

“I’m not avoiding [the subject], but I also don’t want to jinx anything,” Quantrill told me prior to his most-recent win. “I feel like it’s a combination of things. I’ve pitched well at home. We’ve scored runs. There have been a couple times where I probably shouldn’t have got off the hook, but did. I enjoy pitching here. Most importantly, I’d like to finish strong and head into the playoffs.”

Quantrill would have been on the mound later today had the Guardians and Rays needed a deciding Game 3 to settle their first round series. Instead, he’ll attempt to keep his streak going against the New York Yankees in the ALDS.

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A quiz:

Roger Clemens has the most wins (354) of any pitcher not in the Hall of Fame. Which non-Hall of Fame pitcher (modern era only) has had the second-most wins?

The answer can be found below.

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NEWS NOTES

Early registration is now open for the forthcoming SABR Analytics Conference, which will be held from March 10-12, 2023 in Phoenix. More information can be found here.

On a related note, nominations are now being accepted for the 2023 SABR Analytics Conference Research awards. Information can be found here.

The finalists for the 2023 Frick Award, which honors baseball’s greatest broadcasters, have been announced. They are Dave Campbell, Joe Castiglione, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Tom Hamilton, Jerry Howarth, Pat Hughes, Ernie Johnson Sr., Duane Kuiper, and Steve Stone. The winner will be announced during December’s Winter Meetings.

Chaz Scoggins, an official scorer at Fenway Park for the past 44 years, retired following the final game of the season. All told, Scoggins scored 1,895 regular-season games, 54 postseason games, and three All-Star Games. He first worked the press box as a beat writer, covering the April 6, 1973 Red Sox-Yankees contest in which Ron Blomberg became the first designated hitter in MLB history.

Tommy Boggs, a right-hander whose big-league career spanned the 1976-1985 seasons, died earlier this week at age 66. Drafted second overall in 1974 by the Rangers out of an Austin, Texas high school, Boggs logged 12 of his 20 wins with the Atlanta Braves in 1980.

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The answer to the quiz is Tommy John, with 288 wins. Bobby Mathews, who played from 1871-1887, had 297 wins.

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Which of the four Wildcard Series broadcast teams will you most, and least, enjoy hearing? I asked those questions in a pair of concurrent polls a few days ago, and the most popular grouping was Jon Sciambi/Doug Glanville/Jesse Rogers. The trio tallied 55.4% of the vote for most, and just 4.4% for least.

There was an even more clearcut winner — loser, if you will — in the LEAST poll. The Michael Kay/Alex Rodriguez/Alden Gonzalez trio received just 4.3% of the MOST votes, while 74.3% tabbed them the least desirable listen.

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FIVE SNAPSHOTS FROM THE REGULAR SEASON

Two teams finished this season with a record of 81-81. The San Francisco Giants did so while going 44-37 at home and 37-44 on the road, while the Chicago White Sox went 37-44 at home and 44-37 on the road.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had a plus-334 run differential and won the NL West. The Cleveland Guardians had a plus-64 run differential and won the AL Central.

The Boston Red Sox had a minus-52 run differential, the best among last-place teams. The next-best run differential for a team that finished at the bottom of its division was minus -167

The Baltimore Orioles were the only team with a winning record (83-79) and a negative run differential (minus-14). The Minnesota Twins were the only team with a losing record (78-84) and a positive run differential (plus-12).

Cleveland’s Amed Rosario led all players in both singles (134) and triples (nine).

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

In NPB, Yuki Yanagita hit a three-run homer in Game One and a grand slam in Game Two as the SoftBank Hawks swept their first-round series over the Seibu Lions with 5-3 and 8-2 wins. SoftBank will next face the Orix Buffaloes in a seven-game series. The Hanshin Tigers and Yokohama BayStars split their first two games and will play a deciding Game 3, the winner getting the Yakult Swallows.

Chunichi Dragons outfielder Yuki Okabayashi finished the season with 161 hits, tied with two other players for the most in NPB. The 20-year-old left-handed-hitter had 25 doubles, a league-leading 10 triples, 24 steals, and a .291/.329/.373 slash line.

Orix Buffaloes outfielder Masataka Yoshida had a .447 OBP, second-best in NPB behind Yakult Swallows superstar Munetaka Murakami. The 29-year-old left-handed hitter had a .335 batting average, a .561 slugging percentage, and 28 home runs.

Over in the KBO, LG Twins right-handers Casey Kelly and Adam Plutko have 16-4 and 15-5 records respectively. Their ERAs are 2.54 and 2.39. The Twins are 86-55-2, 2.5 games in back of first-place SSG Landers.

SSG Landers’ top pitchers are Wilmer Font, who is 13-6 with a 2.69 ERA, and Kwang Hyun Kim who is 13-3, with a 2.13 ERA. Shawn Morimando is 7-1, 1.67.

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Jumping back to polls, I asked which of Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado is better. The results weren’t as close as I expected.

Here is a snapshot of their 2022 numbers:

Arenado: 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, .381 wOBA, 151 wRC+, 7.3 WAR.
Machado: 32 home runs, 102 RBIs, .382 wOBA, 152 wRC+, 7.4 WAR.

And a slightly different snapshot of their career numbers:

Arenado: 1,384 games, 1,520 hits, 299 HRs, 124 OPS+, 52.2 bWAR.
Machado: 1,445 games, 1,597 hits, 283 HRs, 126 OPS+, 52.0 bWAR.

As for the poll, Arenado captured 57..3% of the votes cast, while Machado garnered 42.17. Given the coin-flip statistical comparison, the margin probably should have been smaller.

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FARM NOTES

A total of 32 pitchers threw a shutout in the minors this year, with none of them having more than one. Tyler Herb, a 30-year-old right-hander in the Milwaukee Brewers system, had the lone save among them.

Parker Dunshee allowed 117 runs and 38 home runs, the highest totals for each category in the minors. The 27-year-old right-hander in the Oakland Athletics system went 5-11 with a 9.22 ERA for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.

Brewer Hicklen had 57 singles and 62 extra-base hits for the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. The 26-year-old outfielder in the Kansas City Royals system had 30 doubles, four triples, and 28 home runs. He slashed .248/.348/.502 with 202 strikeouts.

William Bergolla had 83 plate appearances and fanned just three times in the Dominican Summer League. No. 12 in our Philadelphia Phillies prospect rankings, the 17-year-old infielder drew 11 walks and slashed .380/.470/.423.

Colorado Rockies outfield prospect Braiden Ward drew 34 walks and reached base 33 times via a HBP between Low-A Fresno and High-A Spokane. The 2021 16th-round pick out of the University of Washington had a .402 OBP and a 121 wRC+.

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Hampered by injury, Mike Trout played in 119 games and had 499 plate appearances this season. The numbers he put up in his truncated campaign were a reminder of just how great he is when healthy. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer went deep 40 times, had a 176 wRC+, and was worth 6.0 WAR. At age 31, he remains arguably the best player in baseball.

Which brings us to Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. (If you’ve grown tired of this debate — it’s understandable if you have — feel free to scroll down to the next section.)

Judge had an undeniably-brilliant, and historic, season. He’s the odds-on favorite to be named AL MVP. Meanwhile, Ohtani had 34 home runs, 304 total bases, 95 RBIs and a 142 wRC+. He also had 15 wins, a 2.33 ERA, and 219 strikeouts in 166 innings. Despite his two-way efforts, the Los Angeles Angels finished the season 73-89, well out of contention for a postseason berth.

What if Ohtani had a better supporting cast and his club had advanced to the postseason? In this writer’s opinion, it would be Ohtani, and not Judge, who would be the odds-on favorite to win the award. Truth be told, he probably merits the honor either way. That’s no disrespect to Judge. Look at Ohtani’s numbers one more time and try to reason how a player could be more valuable to his team. I’m not sure you can do it.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell wrote about Yu Darvish, who can replicate any pitch.

The Red & Black’s Alexis Derickson interviewed C. Trent Rosecrans, who covers the Cincinnati Reds for The Athletic.

Bradford Lee looked back at the Kansas City career of 1970s outfielder Jim Wohlford at Royals Review.

Munetaka Murakami earned a place in NPB history with a dominant season, and Jason Coskrey wrote about it for The Japan Times.

Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper looked into whether one-knee catching has led to more wild pitches in the minor leagues.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

There were 36 complete games in MLB this season. Bob Feller had 36 complete games in 1946.

Sandy Alcantara and Julio Urías each have 47 decisions over the past two seasons. Alcantara is 23-24 with a 2.71 ERA. Urias is 37-10 with a 2.57 ERA.

Paul Goldschmidt had a 145 wRC+ in his eight seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has a 144 wRC+ in his four seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

David Peralta has 1,001 career hits, including 202 doubles.
Scott Brosius had 1,001 career hits, including 200 doubles.

Chicago Cubs second baseman Billy Herman had 57 doubles in each of the 1935 and 1936 seasons. His strikeout totals in those years were 29 and 30. Herman finished his career with 486 doubles and 428 strikeouts.

In 1967, three MLB players hit 150 or more singles and all played for the Pittsburgh Pirates: Maury Wills (162), Matty Alou (156), and Roberto Clemente (150). The next two highest totals belonged to Curt Flood (142) and Lou Brock (141), both St. Louis Cardinals.

On today’s date in 1973, the Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 in 11 innings to win ALCS Game 3, while the Cincinnati Reds beat the New York Mets 2-1 in 12 innings to win NLCS Game 4. Campy Campaneris and Pete Rose hit deciding home runs in the respective contests.

On today’s date in 2005, Chris Burke homered in the 18th inning to give the Houston Astros a series-clinching 7-6 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the NLDS. Roger Clemens got the W with three innings of scoreless relief.

Players born on today’s date include Steve Gibralter, whose career comprised six games for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Gibralter singled in his first plate appearance for his lone big-league hit.

Also born on today’s date was Brian Downing, who logged 2,099 hits, including 275 home runs, along with a .370 OBP and a 124 wRC+ in an underrated career that spanned the 1973-1992 seasons. The catcher/outfielder spent 13 of his years with the California Angels.