2023 MLB Season Thread

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Chip Caray has been name the Cardinals Play-by-Play voice for Bally Sports Midwest games, replacing Dan McLaughlin. Caray was previously a broadcaster with the Braves.

MLB.com:

Through the years, when Chip Caray would return to his hometown of St. Louis as a visiting broadcaster, he would hit his favorite haunts for toasted ravioli and frozen ice cream. He’d visit his mother who still lives west of the city, and he’d honor as many ticket requests as possible for his many cousins in the area.

[...]

Caray, 57, will get to see the photo tributes to his late grandfather daily during the baseball season after being announced as Bally Sports Midwest's lead play-by-play announcer for the Cardinals on Monday, per the club and network. Caray will take over much of the same duties that Harry held while serving as the radio/TV voice of the Cards from 1945-69. Caray’s late father, Skip, was also a broadcasting icon in St. Louis, serving as play-by-play voice of the NBA’s Hawks before the franchise relocated to Atlanta.

[...]

Caray takes over for Dan McLaughlin, TV voice of the Cardinals for the previous 24 years prior to his December resignation following a third arrest for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Caray called McLaughlin “a dear friend” and someone who is “like a brother to me.” The two spoke often in recent months and Caray said he knows now McLaughlin is on the road to recovery.

While millions of Americans felt they knew Harry on a personal level because of his everyman broadcasting style, Chip did not have such a relationship and they didn’t develop a bond until years later. When Chip took the job to call Cubs games in 1998, plans were in place for him to work with his grandfather, but Harry’s death dashed those dreams. After graduating high school in suburban St. Louis, Chip went to college at the University of Georgia to be closer to his father in Atlanta. When Chip left Chicago for Atlanta in 2005, he did so for the sole purpose of working alongside his father on Braves telecasts.

I'll miss Chip.  He's a good broadcaster.

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The Red Sox are 2-1 after scoring 9 runs in each of their first 3 games. If they keep that up, they will finish 108-54. Shouldn't be too hard.

Extrapolating from small sample sizes for the win.

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The above story reminds me of a playoff game a while back where the Braves scored four runs on no hits in one inning thanks to a combination of walks, multiple hit batters, and errors.

Of course, for sheer baseball ineptitude, nothing will ever top Tommy John committing three errors on one play.

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Braves finished a 3-game sweep of the Reds, winning all 3 by one run on a late-game comeback.

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A's moving to Las Vegas

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Drew Smyly loses perfect game on infield collision in Cubs win

Click on the link to see the video, which is priceless.

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In tonight's Braves win over the Marlins, Spencer Strider threw 81 strikes and 20 balls in 8 innings, a strike/ball ratio of 4.05:1.  This is the highest ratio I recall seeing offhand, and I was wondering what the record for a starting pitcher is, but I can't seem to find it online.  Anyone know?

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The Marlins's Luis Arraez is chasing .400.

Entering tonight's game against the Padres, Arraez has a .399 batting average (83 hits in 208 at bats).

The last person to hit .400 was Ted Williams back in 1941, and the last person to seriously chase .400 was Tony Gwynn in the strike-shortened 1994 season.

There's a strong argument that Ted Williams was the greatest MLB player of all time.   His accomplishments were amazing, despite losing some of his prime playing years to military service in WW2 and Korea.

Great story about his .400 season: entering the final day, his batting average was .3995 -- which would have rounded up to .400 for the record books.  The Red Sox were scheduled to play a doubleheader with the Philadelphia Athletics, and the manager offered to let Williams take the day off to preserve his average.  He refused and played both games, going 4-for-5 in the first and 2-for-3 in the second to finish at .406.

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The Braves own the Mets, chapter 637:

The Braves beat the Mets last night in a wild one, 13-10 in 10 innings, coming back from 9-5 and 10-7 deficits.  The Braves overcame deficits of at least 3 runs in all 3 games to sweep the series.  It was the first time in Mets history that they've lost 3 consecutive games in which they led by 3 or more runs, and the first time the Braves have won 3 consecutive such games since moving to Atlanta in 1966.  The loss also broke the Mets' streak of 122 consecutive games won in which they led after 8 innings.

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Cardinals won 7-6 in the 2nd game of the London series, spitting it 1-1.

I thought spitballs were outlawed.

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In a battle of league leaders, the Braves won at Tampa 2-1 despite getting only two hits.

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Wild one going on in Atlanta as the Braves lead the Diamondbacks 11-8 after 5 innings.

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The Braves turned only the second 8-3-5 triple play in MLB history last night; the first was in 1884 (ironically, it was by the Boston Beaneaters, who later became the Braves).  However, it was the only bright spot for the Braves, who lost 7-1 to the Red Sox.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38071500/braves-turn-first-8-3-5-triple-play-1884-red-sox

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The Milwaukee Brewers are apparently considering relocation, with Nashville and Charlotte the frontrunners.

[ The Milwaukee Brewers could start looking for a new home this fall if state and local officials fail to reach agreement by then on a taxpayer-funded package to fund improvements to American Family Field required in the team’s lease with the state, sources say — a process that might lead them to the boomtowns of Charlotte, North Carolina or Nashville, Tennessee.

Months after Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers proposed spending $290 million in taxpayer dollars to help ensure the Brewers stay in Wisconsin, and after the Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred urged lawmakers to act quickly, a deal has not yet materialized.

That has pushed Brewers officials to a point of contemplating whether communities with fast-growing populations, and no Major League Baseball teams, might be options if state and local officials don't produce enough funding for stadium renovations, sources with knowledge of the dynamic told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel..

For the record, I'm pretty sure New York can support three baseball teams. Let's get a major league franchise back to Brooklyn!!!!

Anything to go south for the winter.

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The Braves and Mets are apparently playing football this series, as the Braves won 7-0 last night and 21-3 today.

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The Braves and Mets are apparently playing football this series, as the Braves won 7-0 last night and 21-3 today.

The football scores continued through the entire 4-game series as the Braves won the third game 6-0 while the Mets took the finale 7-6.

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Angels' Shohei Ohtani has elbow tear, won't pitch again this season

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Matt Olson has hit his 51st homer of the season tonight, tying Andruw Jones's franchise record.

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The Braves beat the Phillies 4-1 tonight, giving them a 17-game lead with 16 to play, thereby clinching their sixth consecutive NL East division title.

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Another heartbreaking loss in the final week. Bears are 0-3. It’s fine. I’m fine.

It was the 3rd time this year the Braves swept a series after trailing in every game.

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Anyone remember when the Rays started 13-0 and were early favorites to make the World Series?

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OMG, Braves!  What a finish!

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Michael Harris with another spectacular catch leading to an inning-ending double play.  So history has repeated to that extent.