Episode 1050: The Big Leaguer Born at Sea

## Summary

*Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Chris Coghlan’s slide and the Pirates’ new international players, then answer listener emails about Korean baseball, fixing slides, the impressive JC Ramirez, baseball and humility, Space Jam and Hey Arnold!-inspired scenarios, Clayton Kershaw’s undoing, Billy Hamilton’s speed vs. on-base ability, a mysterious Seager, a pitching-change clock, Eric Thames-esque ownership of one team, intentionally walking Bryce Harper, and more.*

## Topics

* Eric Thames & KBO talent level
* JC Ramirez
* Player humility and stubbornness
* 'Space Jam' baseball hypothetical
* Domination of a single team
* Leadoff walks/singles
* Baserunning value
* Sibling contract hypothetical
* Intentional walk strategy
* Reliever warm-ups and pace of play

## Banter

* Chris Coghlan front-flip slide
* Ariel Hernandez
* Wandy Peralta
* Pittsburgh Pirates called up first Lithuanian and first African players ever in MLB.
* Players being born or dying at sea.

## Email Questions

* Ed: "So as everyone is currently aware, Eric Thames spent 3 years in the KBO and returned to the MLB this season and is currently on fire for the Brewers. There is also the case of Jim Adduci, who in 12 games in Toledo (Tiger AAA) hit .349/.375/.488 before being called up last week, and in two games with the Tigers he has hit .600/.636/1.000. I know these are small sample sizes, but is there a potential trend here? Is the KBO better than people thought?"
* Eric: "Just listened to the podcast about the Machado slide and everything that followed. It seemed like a lot of that problem started because Pedroia got hurt and had to be helped off the field. What if Machado were wearing plastic spikes? Do you think a ban to metal spikes could cut down on this sort of stuff? What other implications could a change like this have?"
* Robert: "JC Ramirez is sort of weirdly interesting. Ramirez was converted from the bullpen to the rotation due to the lack of depth for the Angels, and it has been done despite the fact Ramirez hasn't been a starter since 2011. As a starter this year, Ramirez has sat around 96 MPH with his fastball and at 90 with his slider. Have the Angels actually found something of worth from a reliever that was readily available to the league as recently as last year?"
* Joey: "I just watched Justin Turner get thrown out on the bases with Adrian Gonzalez at bat and it got me thinking: do you think ballplayers have humility in moments like that? Like did Turner get back to the locker room and say, "my bad guys, I goofed," and Gonzalez said,"it's okay pal, I probably would have struck out anyway," and they left it like that? Do we even want them to have humility in that way? Is it somehow "weak" if they do?"
* Chris: "In the timeless classic "Space Jam", the NBA commissioner announces that, until the health of the players can be guaranteed, the season would be canceled. This happened after just 5 top stars became incapable of even dribbling a basketball. My question is: how many top MLB players would have to have their baseball prowess sapped (to the point where they can't even play catch) by cartoon aliens before Manfred canceled the season? Would that number be different if, instead of top MLB players, they were randomly selected players?"
* Shawn: "Let's say for some unexplainable reason, every batter Clayton Kershaw faces for the rest of his life gets a clean base hit off him. All his pitches stay exactly the same (movement, velocity) he has the same command, but the batters just keep getting hits. How long would it be before he throws his last major league pitch. Keep in mind he's got a contract that the Dodgers probably wouldn't want to just release because of 5 or 6 terrible starts."
* David: "Is there any proof that lead off walks score more often than lead off singles?"
* David: "Obviously OBP says a lot about a player's production, but what Billy Hamilton did today on the basepaths -- singled to lead off the game, then stole his way to third, and scored on a Joey Votto sac fly -- made me realize that not all OBP is created equal. That is, a team can probably stomach someone with Hamilton's sub-.300 OBP if, when he actually does get on base, he makes the most of it. So, could a player with a ~.290 OBP actually be just as productive as a guy with a ~.390 OBP... if he can essentially stretch any single into a triple with his wheels!? More broadly -- When evaluating a player, how much should we weigh his propensity to *GET* on base (OBP) vs. the value he adds relative to other players once he actually gets there?
* Stephen (Portland, OR): "Imagine you're a team president, and your best scout unearths a 4th Seager brother. You know that this Seager is 18, plays baseball, and is roughly 6'2" and 215 lbs (somewhere between Kyle and Corey). Would you sign this player sight unseen? And if so, what's a reasonable bonus/contract (ignoring the draft in this hypothetical).
* Chaim: "Hi guys I have a question that is inspired by the 90's cartoon Hey Arnold. During this episode called Dangerous Lumber every time Arnold comes up to bat he  indirectly hits one of the fielders or the pitcher.  So my question is this: if there was an MLB player that every time he steps up to the plate he makes contact and gets a base hit be he consequently beans and most likely injures one of the fielders on the opposite team.  How long would it take for and the league to notice?  Would the league take action against this player?  Hypothetically this player would hit 1.000 but he would also injure a lot of other players in the process."
* Michelle: "Michelle: After Bryce Harper's two home run game last night, one of which was a grand slam, I have to ask this question.  Which team will be the first to intentionally walk Bryce Harper with the bases loaded?  It's gotta happen, right?"
* John: "We know it is unlikely there will ever be a limit on the number of relievers that can be used per inning or per game. How about a pitching change clock. The reliever has X amount of minutes to get from the bullpen and commence game action. If the reliever gets to the mound early, he can throw warmup pitches. If the reliever walks slowly from the pen, no on the mound warmup pitches. There can be a penalty associated with breaching the pitching change clock, such as a free ball to the batter, free base to the batter, or all runners move up a base.  This clock will help mitigate the time wasted during pitching changes. The reliever will more or less have to be ready immediately out of the pen. We can keep the pitch clock to keep the current pitcher from wasting time on the mound to allow the reliever time to warmup."

## Stat Blast

Eric Thames has hit 11 HRs, most against the Reds. Jeff wanted to look into players' domination of specific opponents. The most number of HRs a player has hit in a season against the Reds is 11.

Todd Zeile had a tOPS+ of .246 against the Angels.

Travis Snyder had a career OPS of 1.385 against the Twins, with a tOPS+ of .285.

## Notes

* There are now 20 places of origin with one player in MLB history, including one player born 'at sea'.
* Leadoff walks do not score more often than leadoff singles. Each scores 38% of the time.
* Stephen's question is similar to one asked about a hypothetical Mike Trout twin in Episode 910: Mike Trout's Identical Twin.

## Links

* Effectively Wild Episode 1050: The Big Leaguer Born at Sea
* Blue Jays' Chris Coghlan flips into home plate
* Meet the cast of the Chris Coghlan slide by Sam Miller
* The Quizzical Case of Ed Porray: Cruise Ship Baby or Baseball's First Merman?
* Hey Arnold, "Dangerous Lumber"
* Brant Brown audio clip, Ron Santo "Oh no!"