SnakeBytes 9/30: And then there were six

Sep 30, 2022 - 2:00 PM

Going to keep this short and sweet today. By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be on the road heading to visit family in Nevada. Try not to let the team be too disappointing when I get back?

Diamondbacks News

(Arizona Sports) Rookies benefiting from familiarity built into young D-backs clubhouse

The D-backs are one of MLB’s youngest squads with rookie position players as of this weekend having totaled the second most games played in the league — behind the Pittsburgh Pirates — and Garrett already had friends in the clubhouse. That helped his transition.

“I’m not sure other teams have it this many guys who get called up during the season we’ve played with in Triple-A, but it’s been fun,” Garrett said. “You’re just not sitting in your hotel room on the road. You go get breakfast with the guys. It puts you at ease, for sure.”

(SI.com) Diamondbacks Payroll Snapshot

Jack’s annual crushing of our hopes and dreams for a league average payroll :-)

MLB News

(ESPN) Ace Shohei Ohtani takes no-hit bid into 8th inning, Los Angeles Angels defeat Oakland Athletics

I feel fairly confident that Shohei Ohtani will not be winning the MVP this year, especially if Aaron Judge hits just one more home run before the season is over, but boy is he making a case for himself. Tonight, he was four outs away from a no-hitter when a perfectly placed ground ball bounced off the shortstop’s glove, ending the attempt.

Oh, and he also went 2-for-4 with an RBI and extended his league leading 14 game hitting streak.

(CBS Sports) Aaron Judge free agency: Ranking all 30 MLB teams as potential landing spots for Yankees superstar

Shockingly, the Diamondbacks are not in the bottom tier for this ranking. In the author’s mind, the biggest knock against them is the fact our outfield is already set for the next six to seven years, which is a very valid point. Also, see Jack’s article above.

(BR.com) Prepare to Wait Decades Before Seeing MLB’s Next Member of the 700 Home Run Club

Decades is the typical waiting period for new 700 home run club members, after all. Ruth was the founding member in 1934. It then took about 40 years for Aaron to gain his membership in 1973, followed by 31 for Bonds in 2004 and then 18 for Pujols this year.

An optimist could look at this and see that the wait times are getting smaller. Yet we’d advise not to read too much into that, as neither the general conditions in MLB right now nor the league’s list of active home run leaders points to anyone getting to 700 any time soon.