ERIK: I couldn’t write the title for today’s post without thinking fondly of the Gear Daddies, a great 1980s-90s Minnesota garage band whose first album included the song “2-18,” which I must’ve listened to hundreds of times over the years. So now I have this chorus/homage stuck in my head:
2-18 is a lonely grid for me/ 2-18 is a lonely grid for me now…
Except today’s grid was actually fun for me: five original-16 teams and one of the newer stats. Might be less fun for you, Tim, since it’s mostly American League.
Can anyone figure out the goal I had for the day?
Not TC caps particularly, that was just a side benefit. No, once I went Tovar for the center square, I thought, “Can I do the Yankees column without a Yankees cap?” After Soderholm, of course, that thought became, “Hey, can I make it an all-Twins column?” And while, yes, Tiant was a Twin for a season, and we got a photo with him on Camera Day 1970, I was thinking of someone who would represent as a Twin, too; who would be wearing the TC in their default photo. And looking over the answers, I’m not seeing anyone that fits that bill. So I’ll just claim victory and move on.
I was surprised Liriano represented as a Twin. I thought he spent more time in Pittsburgh. Nope: five vs. seven seasons. I was also surprised by the 9%. I assumed bigger, but I guess Gerrit Cole was absorbing all the recency juju. And I was lucky. Liriano got 200+ Ks once with the Twins (201), once with Pittsburgh (205), and no other time. 200Ks is a tougher row to hoe than I realized. I mean, in their long history, just seven Pittsburghers have managed it:
Ed Morris, who did it twice in the 19th century
Bob Veale, who did it four times in the 1960s (Yes, no Pirate managed between 1886 and 1964)
Five guys in the 21st century, including Liriano and Cole in the same season: 2015. The others are Oliver Perez, A.J. Burnett, and (drumroll) Mitch Keller from this past season. Had no idea.
I was half hoping, given my Wilbur Wood debacle on Oct. 25, that I’d guess him and be wrong again (fool me once, shame on you…, etc.), but no, WW did manage 200 Ks one season—but just one. And not the season he threw 359 innings (199 Ks) and not the season he threw *379 innings* (193 Ks). No, it was the season before those, 1971, when he threw a mere 334 innings but still somehow managed to strike out 210.
Even the Vida Blue guess was kind of lucky. Yes, I knew that in his MVP/Cy Young/cover of TIME magazine/wunderkind season, he struck out north of 300 (just north, actually: 301), but I assumed, given that, he went 200+ often. Nope. Just that one time, it turns out. His next highest total was 189 in 1975. In other words, if the category had been 200-299 Ks SEASON, Vida Blue would’ve been WRONG.
And now, back to the Gear Daddies.
TIM: This was a forgettable grid for me. Yeah, mostly American League, but also I just rushed through it. I decided to see what happens if I go the Michael Schur route and fill it in as quickly as I possibly can. Evidently, that way lies doom, unless it’s M’s and Cards and Gold Gloves or something.
First guys to mind, obviously, for Schur Style. I didn’t expect a good rarity score. I also didn’t expect gutterballs on an entire column, but 200+ Ks is apparently something I have to think about, because all first guys to come to mind were wrong.
Pirates: Cole was first, but I’d used him. Second, for whatever reason, Dock Ellis. Ellis topped at 173 Ks in his first full year, so I don’t know why I thought he would work. A’s: Tim Hudson. Maybe because I had tried and failed with Tim Hudson last week sometime, I don’t know, but Hudson’s high-water mark was 181 Ks in 2001. Chisox was the real whiff, not even close. I thought of LaMarr Hoyt, Cy Young winner and innings-eater. But not a strikeout guy, because his best K year (also the Cy year) was 148 in 261 innings. No one will pitch that many innings in a season again, at least not until bullpens shrink.
Hopefully I’ll be back on my game tomorrow. But I doubt I’ll try the Schur Style approach again, at least not for a good while.
Meanwhile, a note about the substack in general: We’re not seeing any comments from people besides us, even though we’ve got some regulars. Except for Mark, who we seem to have lost from the sub list. Neal, Mike, come on guys, chime in with some Grid thoughts, at least make fun of our Willie McGee/Cesar Tovar obsessions or something. Who do you guys have as go-tos when you play the grid?
So Counsell fled Milwaukee for the big bucks at Wrigley. That instantly makes the Cubs better. And the Diamondbacks extended Torey Lovullo, apparently not caring that bullpen games in the postseason are incredibly stupid. The Mets hired someone I’m not familiar with. And Cleveland hired away Seattle’s bullpen coach in Steven Vogt. I’m intrigued with that one, Vogt seems like a guy that could succeed—smart, seems to be well liked, observant as hell. Just a year removed from playing, though, I wonder if that’ll be a plus or a minus.
Oh, and the Gold Gloves: Geno Suárez deserved at least a “finalist” showing and got bupkis. Going from the guy that led the NL in errors four years running to being one of the best defenders at the hot corner has apparently gone completely unnoticed outside the PNW.