3 MAJOR MLB STORYLINES, THUS FAR

MLB / Baseball

Written by Gus Cousins

Nothing makes baseball more fun than the weird. The weird is what drives interest, what fuels fan interaction, and what makes an otherwise long sport become less annoying. Plenty has happened so far, but here are three noteworthy storylines from 2022 so far…

Source (Background photo): Getty Images

1. THE LOS ANGELES ANGELS

After many years of underperformance, mismanagement of assets, and all-around wasting of Mike Trout’s career, the Angels find themselves as one of the biggest headline-makers one-quarter of the way into the season. Currently, one game back of the ever-irritating Houston Astros, Joe Maddon’s club has had one of the most impressive starts to the 2022 season. They’re hitting, they’re (finally) pitching, and their defense has been really good.

Los Angeles’ issues have never revolved around hitting - a year in and year out, they are one of the best run-producing teams around. Especially in recent years, when Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Anthony Rendon are surrounded by the arrivals of Jared Walsh, Taylor Ward, and Brandon Marsh. Two-thirds of their usual starting lineup has 22 or more RBIs, with the otherworldly Mike Trout playing - once again - at an MVP-caliber. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how many runs you score if your pitching is consistently at an AAAA-level, as it has been for many years - until now.

Among a smattering of Free Agent signings, the Angels brought in a duo of notably troubled righties - Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen. Syndergaard, once heralded as the second coming of deGrom, had a tumultuous ending with New York and their fans…a time that he often enjoys poking fun at on Twitter. Lorenzen is already well on his way to having the best season of his career, supplying an ERA just above 3.00 in 41 ⅓ innings - only slightly better than the aforementioned Thor, who sits at a 3.60 ERA over just 30 innings. Both have supplied the Angels with some much-needed rotation consistency, however, it may very well end up being the lesser-known arms who’ve had the most impact. While Ohtani - and Syndergaard and Lorenzen - have been great, lefties Reid Detmers and Patrick Sandoval have had shining moments of their own too. Detmers’ best outing came against Tampa Bay on May 10th when he chucked a no-no, while Sandoval supports a clean 1.79 ERA through seven starts after not allowing a single earned run through fifteen April innings.

LA's ‘pen has been quite good as well, with fairly-unknown relievers Jimmy Herget and Oliver Ortega, as well as veteran Aaron Loup, having great starts to the year. All this to say; Los Angeles has certainly grabbed most people's attention and, as they sit at 26-17 on the tail of Houston, will hopefully remain competitive throughout 2022 - if not for Mike Trout, for their fans who deserve a playoff berth.

2. THE BALLS

Ah yes, let's talk some more about balls. Because we’re not all completely sick and tired of this conversation yet, are we?

Year after year after year, the balls supplied by Major League Baseball continue to change - and this year, they’re deader than ever. Pitchers have said it, hitters have said it, and fans have seen it. For a sport that is supposedly trying to grow itself as a “younger person’s game”, removing home runs from games makes no sense. Then again, it’s Rob Manfred so who really knows what he’s thinking. Take this Zack Collins flyout for example:

As Sportsnet’s Black points out, the correlation between offense being down league-wide and rumors about a new baseball being in play is undeniable. Objectively, it seems like Manfred has added another issue to an increasingly-full plate of problems that the MLB has to deal with - sign stealing, hit by pitches, and game lengths.

It’s not just a team here or there, not just a game here or there, but the issue is evident across both the AL and NL. Recently, issues have been raised with how a number of nationally televised MLB games have gone - some believe the balls used for Apple’s Friday Night games (as an example) may be different than most other days. Or that different balls are being used in different geographical locations, such as San Francisco on the West Coast. How legitimate are these rumors? Who the hell knows! They’re certainly not as easily squashed as they should be, mainly because Rob Manfred & co. don’t exactly have a sterling reputation when it comes to the constant authenticity of the game itself.

Forgetting the lack of homers also brings an issue of safety into play. Jays’ Kevin Gausman and Mets’ Chris Bassitt, among others, have expressed irritation with the grip on said balls. As Bassitt says; “I had some close calls tonight. I've been hit in the face, I don't ever want to do that to anybody ever. MLB has a very big problem with the baseballs. They're bad. Everyone knows it. They don't care.

MLB doesn't give a damn about it.”

It’s hard to disagree with Bassitt’s comments, and this story will continue until the MLB steps in.

3. POSITION PLAYERS PITCHING

Just for something to be a storyline, doesn’t mean it has to be 100% true - no wait, I’m serious, hear me out. Doesn’t it seem like there’s been an absolute TON of position players pitching this year? Blowout wins, blowout losses, who cares! Giants Utilityman Luis Gonzalez has pitched in three games this season - 4 ⅓ innings, three runs - including back-to-back outings on May 22nd and 23rd throwing two innings and one inning, respectively (he didn’t give up a run over his two-inning performance!).

In direct comparison, if Charlie Montoyo uses Jordan Romano for two innings in a game then he sure as hell won’t use him the next night, so…what’s going on?

Well, sometimes it’s for fun. Of course - Albert Pujols throwing an inning against the Giants is entertaining! However, there is a legitimate reason in some cases for this. Giants’ Manager Gabe Kapler expressed interest in having someone like Luis Gonzalez available; “It's really, really marginal value, but it's valuable nonetheless.” In Gonzalez’s case, he’s been relatively effective simply because no MLB hitter prepares for hitting a ball thrown at 45 miles per hour. Completely coincidentally, Gonzalez actually faced Pujols when the Cardinals legend took the mound.

Being weird is a fundamental part of baseball success. Switch-hitting, sidearming, Openers - all once considered abnormalities with no benefit. And now, in the most minor way, utilizing position players as pitchers. Yeah, throwing (Rays’ OF) Brett Phillips on the mound isn’t a surefire ride to the World Series, but effective bullpen management is a key component to any team’s success. So far, fourteen different position players have toed the bump at some point this season. Seems like a lot, right? Numbers, when averaged out, are actually on a slight decline from previous seasons.

The concern here is this: being competitive. There’s nothing against position players pitching in the rules, but look at the Jays’ game in 2016 when both Infielders Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney were forced to pitch - competitively - in the 18th and 19th innings of a tie game. Ideally, it never comes to that ever again due to the runner-on-second rule in extras (although I am one of the anti-that-rule people in this world), but a bullpen exists for a reason…and sending non-pitchers out to pitch isn’t competitive - at least not generally.

So where does this leave baseball? Well, for now, it needs to be allowed to happen. However, I doubt “strategically saving the bullpen by giving up and throwing in a position player” is a norm that Rob Manfred wants to see in the future.

And, for the time being, it leaves Luis Gonzalez with an additional tool that the Giants value.