It’s time to consider grooming two-way players
As the Padres opened the season they thought they were going to embark on a grand experiment named Christian Bethancourt. As in 2016, Bethancourt would be an all-around utilityman including a backup catcher. In addition, he would be a relief pitcher.
It turned out to be something less than a brilliant success.
Bethancourt made four appearances as a pitcher and compiled a total of 3 2/3 innings. He walked eight of the 25 batters he faced and yielded hits to six of the other 17. He batted seven times (five as a pinch hitter) and managed one single.
It was still April when Bethancourt was demoted and he has remained in El Paso ever since.
No doubt, the whole thing produced plenty of chortling and guffaws in most major league front offices.
I, for one, however, don’t find it all that funny. I think the Padres may be on to something. Unfortunately they made a bad choice when they selected Bethancourt for their experiment.
For reasons that no one seems to be able to explain, major league pitchers are becoming increasingly fragile. Starting pitchers are now averaging fewer than six innings per start. Relief pitchers seldom pitch more than an inning at a time and typically take a day off between outings. Every major league team carries five starting pitchers and most feel the need to carry eight relievers. That means 13 spots on the 25-man roster are used for pitchers which leaves only 12 slots for position players. Houston Los Angeles Texas Seattle Oakland
Tuesday’s games
.667 _ .500 12 .500 12 .493 121⁄2 .437 161⁄2 Baltimore 6, Cleveland 5
L.A. Angels 8, N.Y. Yankees 3 Tampa Bay 6, Cincinnati 5 Texas 6, Toronto 1 Minnesota 9, Chicago White Sox 7 Boston 8, Kansas City 3 Houston 8, Oakland 4 Seattle 5, Detroit 4, 10 innings
Wednesday’s games W
48 37 35 36 31
L
24 37 35 37 40
Pct
Tampa Bay 8, Cincinnati 3 Kansas City 6, Boston 4 Cleveland at Baltimore
L.A. Angels at N.Y. Yankees Toronto at Texas Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Houston at Oakland
GB
In the American League nine of those 12 are going to be in the starting lineup. When the game begins the manager will have only three bench players available and one of them will be a backup catcher who will not be used before the ninth inning except in an emergency. That doesn’t leave him much room for maneuvering.
The National League manager will have one more bench player available, but he is actually more hamstrung than his American League counterpart. The NL manager needs to be able to pinch hit for his pitcher or Detroit at Seattle
Thursday’s games
Chicago White Sox (Quintana 3-8) at Minnesota (Turley 0-1), 1:10 p.m. Toronto (Stroman 7-3) at Texas (Perez 3-6), 2:05 p.m.
Houston (Paulino 1-0) at Oakland (Hahn 3-4), 3:35 p.m.
Cleveland (Clevinger 2-3) at Baltimore (Miley 3-4), 7:05 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Chavez 5-7) at N.Y. Yankees (Severino 5-2), 7:05 p.m.
Detroit (Norris 4-4) at Seattle (Gallardo 3-7), 10:10 p.m.
Friday’s games
Texas at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m. Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m. L.A. Angels at Boston, 7:10 p.m. Minnesota at Cleveland, 7:10 p.m. Oakland at Chicago White Sox, 8:10 p.m. Toronto at Kansas City, 8:15 p.m. Detroit at San Diego, 10:10 p.m. Houston at Seattle, 10:10 p.m. make a double move when he brings a relief pitcher into the game. He struggles to do it with a short bench.
A pitcher who could pinch hit, DH, or even play a position occasionally would be a valuable asset. So would a position player who could take a stint on the mound once in a while. A true allaround player who is a pitcher but not exclusively a pitcher would be a significant asset.
I can think of some players in the recent past — Todd Helton and John Olerud are two who come to mind — who were successful pitchers in college. Ron Darling was a part-time right fielder in college, but was only a pitcher as a professional. A current pitcher, Sean Doolittle, was an All-American first baseman in college but has had only one at bat in more than five major league seasons.
Two of the top four players in last week’s draft clearly have potential both as a pitcher and as a position player. The Reds took Hunter Greene second and labelled him a pitcher, even though he has plenty of potential as a shortstop. The Rays called Brendan McKay a first baseman when they picked him fourth, but he is also an accomplished pitcher. In 2016 Washington Miami Atlanta New York Philadelphia Milwaukee Chicago Pittsburgh St. Louis Cincinnati Bobby Dalbec was the starting pitcher for the University of Arizona in the NCAA championship game. The Red Sox drafted in the fourth round as a third baseman and he hasn’t been on a pitching mound since.
Players like these have always existed. Perhaps the time has come when they shouldn’t have to choose one phase of the game and ignore the other when they become professionals. Perhaps the time has come when teams ought to encourage these players to develop all their skills.
It is true that a starting pitcher goes through a routine that includes running, throwing and often other exercises on the days he doesn’t pitch. It would not be practical to ask that man to play another position on the days he doesn’t pitch. But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t pinch hit or even serve as the DH on an American League club. That’s exactly what Japanese star Shohei Otani did last year with the Nippon Ham Fighters. He has already indicated he would like to do the same thing on this side of the Pacific.
The other possibility would be for a position player to also be available to pitch in relief. That arrangement would work much better Colorado Los Angeles Arizona San Diego San Francisco
Tuesday’s games
St. Louis 8, Philadelphia 1, 11 innings Washington 12, Miami 3 Tampa Bay 6, Cincinnati 5
San Francisco 6, Atlanta 3 Pittsburgh 7, Milwaukee 3 Chicago Cubs 4, San Diego 0 Colorado 4, Arizona 3
L.A. Dodgers 12, N.Y. Mets 0
Wednesday’s games W
47 46 44 29 27 26 26 27 44 46 Miami 2, Washington 1 Tampa Bay 8, Cincinnati 3 San Diego 3, Chicago Cubs 2 St. Louis at Philadelphia San Francisco at Atlanta Pittsburgh at Milwaukee Arizona at Colorado
L Pct
.644 .639 .620 .397 .370
GB
_ 1⁄2 2 18 20 in the National League than the American League, but it would allow the team to carry one less relief pitcher and one more bench player.
Maybe it’s time for general managers to become a little more creative.
A FEW STATISTICS (Wednesday’s games not included):
Twenty-six of the Rockies’ 47 victories have been credited to rookie pitchers. Seven more wins have gone to second-year players…Orlando Arcia of the Brewers leads all major league shortstops in fielding chances with 349. He shares the lead in double plays (55) with Dansby Swanson of the Braves…The Dodgers lead the National League in doubles with 145. They are last in triples with only six…Before this season Jason Vargas had a career ERA of 4.18 and a 67-70 lifetime record. After 14 starts with the Royals this season he is 10-3 with a 2.27 ERA….The Twins are 15-24 at home but 20-9 on the road…Mike Trout of the Angels hasn’t played since May 28, but he still leads the American League in intentional walks with 10…Opponents have stolen only 23 bases against the Phillies, which leads the majors…Logan Morrison of the Rays has belted 21 homers. He hit only 14 all of last season…The Reds are 3-14 against left-handed starters. They’re 27-26 vs. righties…Mychal Givens of the Orioles seems to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Pitching almost exclusively in middle relief he has a 6-0 record…Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies leads the majors with 10 triples. Only two other players have as many as five…Byron Buxton of the Twins is the only major league regular who has not grounded into a double play…On May 23 the Cubs beat the Giants, 4-1, in Wrigley Field. The game was completed in 2:05, making it the shortest game of the season.
Hall of Fame voter Jay Dunn has written baseball for The Trentonian for 49 years. Contact him at jaydunn8@ aol.com N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodgers
Thursday’s games
St. Louis (Martinez 6-5) at Philadelphia (Nola 3-5), 1:05 p.m. Pittsburgh (Nova 7-4) at Milwaukee (Anderson 5-2), 2:10 p.m.
Arizona (Godley 2-1) at Colorado (Senzatela 9-2), 3:10 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Arrieta 6-5) at Miami (Locke 0-2), 7:10 p.m.
San Francisco (Cain 3-6) at Atlanta (Garcia 2-5), 7:35 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Matz 1-1) at L.A. Dodgers (Wood 7-0), 10:10 p.m.
Friday’s games
Cincinnati at Washington, 7:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Miami, 7:10 p.m. Milwaukee at Atlanta, 7:35 p.m. Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m. Philadelphia at Arizona, 9:40 p.m. Colorado at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. Detroit at San Diego, 10:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.