Sunday Notes: Walsh’s World, Reds Best, MLB Politics, more

Sixty-three plate appearances into his big-league career, Colin Walsh is two percentage points above batting average oblivion. A Rule 5 pick by the Milwaukee Brewers a year ago, the switch-hitting utility man logged just four hits in 47 official at bats. That computes to .085, which is as bad as it looks. Over the last 100 years, 5,842 non-pitchers have come to the plate at least 60 times, and only Enrique Cruz (.083) has a lower mark.

Walsh is a bit sheepish about his BA — he has an ego like the rest of us — but don’t expect him to lose any sleep over it. He intends to get back to The Show, and even if he doesn’t, he’s proud of where he’s been.

“No one can take away the fact that I played in the major leagues,” said Walsh, who inked a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves over the offseason. “In and of itself, that is a great accomplishment. If it ends up being my only major league experience, it’s still something that 99.99999 percent of people who ever played baseball haven’t done. I don’t think struggling in the major leagues is something I’ll go through life being looked down upon for.”

His career was on the upswing a year ago. Blessed with impeccable plate discipline, he’d earned the Rule 5 opportunity by slashing .302/.447/.470 for Oakland’s Double-A affiliate in 2015. Much to his chagrin, the sporadic action he saw in Milwaukee didn’t allow his skill set to translate to big league success. He doesn’t blame the Brewers for his lack of playing time — “I didn’t hit well enough to earn it” — but he does admit that sitting on the bench accentuated the uncertainty.

“It wasn’t as though I came in each day wondering if it was going to be my last,” said Walsh. “But it is a high-stress environment, especially when you’re on the cusp, when you’re basically the last guy on the team. I was getting in there to pinch-hit, not knowing if I was going to play the next day, or the next day, or if I’d be getting a start in the next weeks, or in the next two weeks. Thinking about the future too much can only hurt you, so I tried not to do that.”

He’ll never forget his first big-league hit. On April 19, he appeared in a game for the 12th time and hit a ringing double off of Minnesota’s Ervin Santana. Walsh being Walsh, the memory comes with both a good story and a dose of self-reflection.

“It took a few at bats to get there, so it was a relief and excitement all at once,” said Walsh. “Two or three weeks into the season, Keon Broxton and I were looking for our first big league hits. I think I was 0 for 10, and Keon, going back to his days with the Pirates, was something like 0 for 20. We were roommates, so we were sharing that stress. Keon got sent down, but I was still there when he came back up and got his first hit.

“It’s a surreal moment. For most baseball players, it’s hard to put into words, or images, all of the off-season training, all of the grind, all of the bus trips. That one moment is a culmination of years to get you to one moment. When you’re standing on first, second, third, crossing home — whatever your first hit was — you can encapsulate all of that work.”

In late May, Walsh was placed on waivers. On June 4, he was returned to the A’s organization and spent the rest of campaign with Triple-A Nashville. More travel followed. After the season, the 27-year-old Stanford graduate spent a month in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Australia.

“I’m a young, single guy, so I want to go out there and experience the world,” Walsh told me. “I’m not one to sit around in the offseason and play video games. I travel a lot. I’ve seen almost all of the United States through baseball, but I want to see other cultures as well. I did two months in Europe a few years ago. I’ve done a month in Thailand. Next year I’m going to South America. I think it’s an important part of growing as a person.

“Traveling was a lot easier this year with the major league salary. The minors don’t help you at all. The reason I was able to do the earlier trips was my signing bonus. When I signed, I decided I wanted to use my entire bonus to help me see the world. Outside of wanting to create a long career in baseball, that’s kind of my goal.”

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With Enrique Cruz and Colin Walsh holding ignominious claim to the lowest batting averages (minimum 60 PAs) for non-pitchers over the last century, you’re probably wondering who boasts the highest. Here’s your answer: Ty Cobb (.364) ranks second, while Tom Hughes sits gloriously — and very much anonymously — on top at .373.

In 1930, Hughes — a 22-year-old centerfielder — came to the plate 63 times for the Detroit Tigers and logged 22 hits in 59 official at bats. That 17-game September effort comprises the totality of his big league career. The following year Hughes was back in the minors. So too was Detroit’s regular centerfielder in 1930, Liz Funk, who is being mentioned here primarily because his name was Liz Funk.

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Where does Joey Votto rank among the best position players in Cincinnati Reds history? Counting only time spent in a Cincinnati uniform, I’m going to suggest he’s easily Top 10, and not far from Top 5.

Let’s take a look at where he stands in several categories.

Votto ranks first in franchise history in wRC+, wOBA, OBP, OPS, and adjusted OPS. He ranks second in SLG and WPA. He’s seventh in fWAR, which is notable given that he’s played just eight full seasons, and parts of two others. Four of the six Reds with more fWAR — Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Barry Larkin, and Tony Perez — had far longer tenures in Cincinnati, while Joe Morgan and Frank Robinson are all-time greats.

Whether you rank Votto above or below Perez depends largely on how much you value longevity and RBIs. I’m inclined to favor Votto, but I understand why others would opt for Perez.

Others certainly belong in the conversation. Dave Concepcion, George Foster and the vastly under-appreciated Vada Pinson are among them. Ditto long-ago stalwarts like Jake Beckley, Ernie Lombardi, Bid McPhee, and Edd Roush. A handful of players not mentioned here have arguments as well.

I’d be interested to know what Reds fans think. Has Votto done enough to rank right behind the big five, or does he belong farther down the list?

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On Friday, we ran an interview with Astros assistant GM Mike Elias on the subject of drafting and developing pitchers. Left on the cutting room floor were his thoughts on subtracting from a repertoire in the minor leagues. Organizations will sometimes ask a young pitcher to shelve an offering, at least temporarily, in order to better focus on another.

“It’s on a case by case basis for us,” explained Elias. “It’s based on the judgement of our pitching coaches after a conversation with the player. If we were to take away a breaking ball, it would be because a guy has two and we thought one was so much worse than the other, or if we felt that using both was taking away from the quality of his primary breaking ball — there was starting to be some confusion between the two. Those would probably be the only reasons to subtract a pitch.”

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Earlier this week, the Cleveland Indians re-signed Adam Moore to a minor league contract. The 32-year-old backstop, who came up through the Seattle system, has 96 games of big league experience and spent the bulk of last season with Triple-A Columbus.

This past summer, I asked Moore about pitching philosophies he encountered as a minor-league Mariner.

“When I was in Double-A and Triple-A with Seattle (2008-2010), they wanted a certain percentage of fastballs inside,” said Moore. “They wanted our pitchers to show in. There was no specific sequence, either. They wanted them to throw in, both for effect and to find that release point. They wanted to teach them how to pitch inside, and show how hard it is to hit an inside fastball on the black.”

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My all-time favorite baseball song is probably Past Time by The Baseball Project. The original can found on the album Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails, as can the song Harvey Haddix, which tells the story of the former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher losing a perfect game in the 13th inning of a contest played on May 26, 1959.

Haddix ended up losing not only the perfecto — and the no-hitter — but also the game itself. The Milwaukee Braves came out on top 1-0.

Coincidentally, the Braves had been held hitless into the 10th inning by three Cincinnati Reds pitchers on My 26, 1956. They won that game as well, scoring in the bottom of the 11th to come out on top 2-1.

Exactly three years apart, a Braves squad led by future Hall of Fame sluggers Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews won despite being without a hit through nine innings.

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Going forward, it will be interesting to see how MLB reacts to the political climate we’re living in. Sharing a partisan view has always come with risk, and that’s never been truer than it is today. The Super Bowl is a prime example. The owner, head coach, and quarterback of one of the participants have drawn the ire of millions of football fans for just that reason. Not surprisingly, the NFL is doing its best to sweep politics under the rug — transcripts of Super Bowl media day interviews have reportedly been cleansed of such content — in hopes of keep the focus on the playing field.

Baseball is in a tough spot. Just like the rest of us, players, coaches, and executives have every right to speak out about their beliefs. Whether or not they should is a matter of opinion. So too is the extent to which the commissioner’s office, and the 30 big-league organizations under its umbrella, deign to influence what any individual cares to share.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Ted Berg of USA Today wrote about Kyle Johnson, who is among the prospects fighting for a fair wage for minor league players.

Over at 2080 Baseball, Melissa Lockard wrote about how for minor league free agents, freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.

Is Freddie Freeman a good case study for Nomar Mazara’s next step? Behind the Boxscore’s Zach Crizer believes he might be.

Who are this year’s most intriguing non-roster invitees? Cliff Corcoran gave his erudite-as-always opinion at Sports On Earth.

Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle wrote about how farm director Andy McKay and the Mariners are working to train prospects on what happen in between pitches.

RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Albert Pujols has 5,232 total bases. Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion have combined for 5,232 total bases.

Sandy Koufax pitched 2,324 innings and went 165-87 with a 131 adjusted ERA. Addie Joss pitched 2,327 innings and went 160-97 with a 142 adjusted ERA.

Randy Johnson went 303-166 and led his league in ERA four times, and FIP six times. Lefty Grove went 300-141 and led his league in ERA nine times, and FIP eight times.

In 1938, Bobo Newsom went 20-16 with a 5.08 ERA. In 1945, he went 8-20 with a 3.29 ERA.

Jack Powell (254) has the most losses of any pitcher not in the Hall of Fame. The seven pitchers with more career losses than Powell are all in the Hall of Fame.