We are currently in the midst of a talent explosion around the league, particularly in terms of young and prime-aged players. Mike Trout might be the best player of all time. There are seemingly an unlimited number of superstar shortstops around the league. Ronald Acuña and Juan Soto came in and absolutely dominated right off the bat this year. Every team has 50 pitchers who can throw triple-digits. It’s an exciting time to be a baseball fan, is what I’m saying. Today, though, we look back at the generation that preceded this one, as two former superstars whose careers followed somewhat similar and distressing trajectories could be calling it quits after this season. Not only is this a bummer for fans in New York and Minnesota, but it marks the official end of an era in the league as a whole.
The end of an era is coming
Friday morning’s Say Hey, Baseball includes the end of an era in the game, a big win for the Dodgers and the ultimate bat flip.
Despite the many playoff races going down around the league right now, the biggest news in the baseball world on Thursday came out of Queens. There had been some controversy around David Wright and whether or not the Mets would activate him off the disabled list this month, and we just discovered a plan. It’s a sad one. The third baseman and former face of the franchise is going to play one more game at the very end of the season in front of the home fans, and then hang up his cleats. It’s devestating news for Mets fans, even if the writing has long been on the wall. Wright was legitimately in the conversation for best player in baseball last decade and he was the shining star for the franchise for a long time. The atmosphere at Citi Field on September 29 is going to be a strange mix of electric and depressing.
Meanwhile, the news out of Minnesota is not so official but it has the potential to be just as sad. The Twins have long been among the lower-spending teams in baseball, but they’ve been able to succeed thanks to homegrown talent. The most successful among that talent was Joe Mauer, who appeared to be on a Hall of Fame track before concussions derailed his career. He’s been underrated for most of his career, and especially for the first few years after moving off the catcher position, but it’s clear that his career didn’t go as many saw it going. Now, he is considering making 2018 his final season. If he does actually decide to retire, it will be tough to imagine a Twins team that doesn’t feature Mauer.
- Is it possible to have to much bat flip? Grant investigates.
- There’s been some dumb talk about Manny Machado not living up to expectations down the stretch, so he shut everyone up on Thursday in one fell swoop.
- With the help of that big game from Manny Machado, the Dodgers took the first game in their huge series against the Cardinals in St. Louis.
- Hurricane Florence made landfall Friday morning, and the Braves are offering anyone displaced to Atlanta free tickets this weekend.
- The Brewers just won’t go away and they remain on the Cubs’ heels, and now they are starting to get in Chicago’s heads.
- In general, the National League is just wild right now and all of the playoff excitement can be found on the senior circut.
- The Red Sox, meanwhile, continue to roll through the American League, and while the MVP candidates get most of the attention, Xander Bogaerts has been a huge part of their success.
- Out in New York, the Yankees are in a battle for home field in the Wildcard Game, and they’ve been without Aaron Judge. He should be back, but if he stays on the shelf can they still win a World Series?
- The team battling the Yankees, the Athletics, just keep playing good baseball despite their rotation being decimated by injuries.
- If the season was a little longer than the 162 games, the Rays might have enough time for a run. Instead, they’ll settle for playing extremely fun baseball.
- In Kansas City, it’s been an absolutely dreadful season, but the Royals have looked like a different team in the second half. Does that kind of success carry over to the next season?
- The top of Houston’s lineup is still terrifying, but right now it’s slightly less so due to Carlos Correa struggling like he never has before.
