u/Reasonable-Power

Alright, my Q&A about middle relievers and set-up men didn't exactly work the way I thought it would, so I'm gonna broaden this one out a bit.

Now, I'm sure we've all taken a liking to a certain season by a player on a different team. And I'm fairly certain that at least a few of them are from starting pitchers. So, what's your favorite of these type of seasons, and why?

For me, a definite favorite of mine for a while has been Denny McLain in 1968. The stats he put up were just... 🤌. In 41 games (all starts), he went 31-6 (last pitcher to ever win 30 games in a season), went the distance 28 times with 6 shutouts, threw 336 innings of work, racked up a 1.96 ERA (73 ER), struck out 280 hitters compared to just 63 walks, gave up 31 homers, faced an insane 1288 hitters, collected a 154 ERA+, tallied up an 0.905 WHIP, won the AL MVP, and was the only pitcher in the AL to even gain Cy Young votes. He also started 3 games in the Fall Classic against the Cards, which included a 9-inning gem in Game 6.

I've asked this question several times about closers, so why not do one for the bullpen guys in the spots below them?

Now, I'm sure we've all taken a liking to a certain season by a player on a different team. And I'm fairly certain that at least a few of them include some mid-relief/set-up pitchers out of the pen. So, what's your favorite of these type of seasons, and why?

For me, my pick is pretty much already clinched. Rob Dibble in 1990 was honestly the poster child for great set-up guys, not only through the season, but the playoffs, as well. In 75 games pitched, he earned himself a 9-3 record with 12 saves, threw 107.2 innings of work, tallied up a 1.59 ERA (19 ER), gave up just 3 homers, struck out 150 hitters and walked just 36, tallied up an insanely low 0.94 WHIP, earned himself co-NLCS MVP honors with his closer Randy Myers, and played an integral role in the Reds taking home their 5th title.

Winning the World Series is literally every team's main objective through the season. But sometimes, we see a team that didn't take home the gold that we've taken note of. And since I've already done this same question for World Series championship seasons, what is your favorite team in MLB history to NOT take home the crown, and why? And to keep this impartial, disqualify your team from this discussion.

For me, as hilarious and ironic as it may seem, I probably gotta go with the 2019 Houston Astros. I know about the scandal, and their WS loss to Washington (who'd never even made it that far in the playoffs) is honestly kinda hilarious, but I feel that they were still one of the most dominant and loaded teams of the past 25 years, even with the loss. They had pretty strong years from multiple hitters, like Yuli Gurriel, Alex Bregman (who finished 2nd in MVP voting), Michael Brantley in his first year with them, Rookie Of The Year Yordan Álvarez, and George Springer. And their pitching was just absolutely insane, with an in-team Cy Young race between their top 2 starters, Gerrit Cole (who was unreal in the playoffs) and Justin Verlander, a strong second half from trade piece Zack Greinke, a solid year from closer Roberto Osuna, as well as Will Harris and Ryan Pressly in the late relief role, Josh James, who racked up 100 K's out of the bullpen, and solid production from José Urquidy and Joe Smith. Just an all-around excellent season, even though it ended in a disappointing loss (at least for them) to Major League Baseball's ultimate Cinderella story in the Fall Classic.

Every pitcher in the Major Leagues, current or long-retired, has a different throwing motion that they use for pitching. And some are definitely special in their own ways. Sidearm, over-the-shoulder, what have you. So, what's your favorite pitching windup from a player in MLB history, and why?

For example, Santiago Casilla's hunchbacked, over-the-shoulder motion has kind of grown on me, lately. I even made my own version of him in MLB: The Show 23 (only because he doesn't exist in the game, afaik), and I even tried to replicate his max pitch velos to the mile and used what I believe is the closest in-game windup to his IRL (Aaron Civale) to make it more realistic. But my all-time favorite might just be Hideo Nomo.

With a 4-2 win today in Washington, they take at least 2 of 3 from the Nationals on the road.

Their last series win came in a 3-game set against the Tigers at Comerica Park from June 22-24.

Alright, the last post I made didn't go as planned, so I'll just ask a real question, instead.

Announcers clearly play a crucial role in sports broadcasting. And while some of them are either beloved or maligned, they all have that one special call that proves why they were put in that position. So, with that said, what is your favorite broadcast call in MLB history, and why?

Now, for me, it's difficult to pick a specific favorite, but one that's always stuck out to me is Joe Buck saying "We will see you tomorrow night!" on David Freese's walk-off homer in 2011. It's not only a great tribute to his father, but he was also dealing with vocal cord paralysis around that time. And another recent favorite of mine is "TO BEAT THE CHAMP, YOU GOTTA KNOCK 'EM OUT" from my guy Joe Davis.

Is anyone else annoyed by the fact that the Black Hand still shows up and fights with the Army of Chaos, even after you take out Espinosa and finish the last stronghold? I mean, there's probably a canon reason for this, like trying to take back control of the country, but it's just irritating. Especially when I'm just trying to take a nice, relaxing drive around the countryside in my supply drop car, and a Black Hand chopper drops in to start shit. It's probably trivial as all hell, but I just wanted to get this off my chest.

I'm in the mood for another Q&A, so let's do it.

Every player has a bad or weak season here and there. No player is really immune, and sometimes, even the greatest of players have put up stinkers. Even Babe Ruth had a fairly weak season his last year in the Majors in 1935 with the Braves. So, what do you believe is the most disappointing season ever put up by a great player, and why?

For me, it's hard to pick a #1. But a strong contender is definitely Roy Halladay's junior year in 2000. For a year-in-year Cy Young case in his prime, he put up arguably the worst season ever by a starter that year. 4-7 in 19 games (13 starts), 10.64 ERA (84 ER in 67.2 IP), only struck out 2 more hitters than he walked (44 K's, 42 walks), put up a whip of 2.202, put up an ERA+ of just 48, and racked up an unbelievably low -2.8 WAR. Thankfully, he went on to redeem himself with 2 Cy Young wins in 2003 and 2010, and is now a Baseball Hall Of Famer. And may he rest in peace.

#THIS IS NOT A DRILL

#THE YANKEES HAVE WON A FUCKING GAME

So, yesterday, my family got locked out of our 3-bedroom that we've lived in since 2019, and we left several items there, because they rushed us on packing up. It's been a pretty shitty last few days for me, so I'll take the edge off with a fun Q&A.

Players playing for multiple teams is nothing new in baseball. But sometimes, we actually see said players put on an excellent season for a team you'd never expect them to play for. So, what's one (or more) good example(s) that you know of where a player put on a great season on a really random team?

For example, Andy Pettitte is obviously a Yankee legend. He was part of the Core Four (alongside Jeter, Rivera, and Posada) that won 5 titles for the Bronx from 1996-2009. He also spent all but 3 years of his career with them. But some might not know that those 3 years were spent with the Houston Astros. And weirdly enough, he had arguably his best-ever season with them in 2005. He finished 5th in NL (yes, NL) Cy Young voting with a 17-9 record in 33 starts, a 2.39 ERA (59 ER in 222.1 IP), 171 K's compared to 41 walks, an ERA+ of 177, a WHIP of 1.030, and played a role in the Astros' first ever World Series run.