Plunking A-Rod
Via the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia, it’s:
2002-2009
Leaders in OWP, with PLATE APPEARANCES >= 4000
HIT BY PITCHES displayed only–not a sorting criteria
OWP OWP HBP PA 1 Albert Pujols .781 60 5406 2 Manny Ramirez .734 58 4722 3 Alex Rodriguez .716 102 5364 4 Lance Berkman .713 47 5143 5 Chipper Jones .708 10 4524 6 Jim Thome .697 29 4353 7 Todd Helton .690 30 5016 8 David Ortiz .688 23 4828 9 Jason Giambi .685 116 4052 10 Vladimir Guerrero .676 49 4782
Pitchers are more than happy to get inside on A-Rod, and hit him, if that’s result, than they are when facing other great sluggers like Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez or Lance Berkman. Why do you think that is?
Go ask Roger Clemens about Game 4 of the 2000 American League Championship Series, and he’ll tell you…
Pitchers know that you can get inside A-Rod’s head. And, many of them probably don’t respect him all that much, as a person. So, it’s a perfect storm, of sorts.
Alex Rodriguez should be used to getting peppered with pitches by now. It’s what pitchers do to him. Why would this change just because we’re now in the World Series?
“Pitchers know that you can get inside A-Rod’s head. And, many of them probably don’t respect him all that much, as a person. So, it’s a perfect storm, of sorts.”
Not your best argument, Steve. Jason Giambi is one of the best-liked guys in baseball, yet he’s been plunked more often. How do you explain that?
Besides, according to baseball-reference.com, Jeter’s been hit 143 times. He’s another one who is apparently beloved.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jeterde01.shtml
@ lisaswan:
Jeter’s swing causes him to dive out over the plate, that explains him.
Yep, those pitchers are so far inside his head that he’s won 3 MVP’s, led his team through the ALDS/ALCS gauntlet and drove in the decisive run in last night’s game.
The Yanks are one win away from the World Series — a postseason filled with tremendous A-Rod moments — but we’re still questioning him? Really?
“Pitchers know that you can get inside A-Rod’s head”
Lidge might disagree…Nathan too.
but we’re still questioning him? Really?
Hopefully the only question he’ll hear next week is….What’s your ring finger size.
clintfsu813 wrote:
Quote of the day.
Fair enough, Corey. As for the getting into A-Rod’s head argument, given that he had a homer Saturday after getting HBP, and a game-winning double after the HBP, it doesn’t look like it’s working. Just the opposite, in fact – he didn’t get a hit against Phillies until after the first HBP.
lisaswan wrote:
Good point. I wonder if that’s a coincidence or something else at play but, either way, I definitely don’t buy that the Phillies (or anyone else, for that matter) is in A-Rod’s head.
@MJ: I think it’s just the opposite, that the Phillies were more worried about A-Rod than the media hysteria about his first eight at-bats. It was their tough-guy way of walking him without walking him. Nothing to do with mental toughness, or lack thereof. Even Skip Bayless is a believer in him now.
@ lisaswan:
Yeah, probably right on Philly not wanting to walk him and HBP him instead.
As I wrote in my game-thread ranting last night, I’d like to see Burnett hit either Utley or Werth early in the game in order to retaliate for their HBP’s on A-Rod and to prompt the umps to issue a warning as they did last night (only this time we get to give out the bruises).
clintfsu813 wrote:
This made me smile
@ YankCrank:
I aim to please, lol. I may comment infrequently, but I try to bring it with each one
It probably has a lot to with the fact that the recipe for pitching to him is to bust him inside with hard stuff, more so than many of these other sluggers.
AJ, at his first chance (i.e., no one on, right score, etc…), needs to nail Utley. He needs to protect his teamie. He did it earlier in the season when he buzzed the tower on Nelson Cruz to protect Tex after Padilla pulled his assclown act back in June…. BTW, that was the game AJ became a “True Yankee” in my book. Yankee pitchers need to remind A-Rod that they have his back, and they need to remind the Phillies hitters that the doors swings both ways.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=290602110&teams=texas-rangers-vs-new-york-yankees
#15 wrote:
I’m sorry, I’m going to have to disagree with you guys. This is the World Series. No need to put extra people on base, ensight a riot, or jump start the Phillies. You want revenge? I’m fine with that. Wait till spring training. First guy to get on base gets pinch ran for by Shelley Duncan, and let him loose on Utley, then. But, not in the world series guys. We need to worry about winning.
Corey wrote:
I was just about to write the dame thing. Winning is the sweetest revenge, and we’ve been doing that. A-Rod got revenge last night too with the game winning RBI. If you want to hit someone then take care of it in Spring Training, but don’t mess around during the world series. No hit by pitch will sting as much as watching the Yankees celebrate in Philly.
Prediction, Joba buries a few fastballs in Werth’s ribs next year, in spring training. Maybe CC puts a couple into Ryan Howard…
KPOcala wrote:
I certainly hope not. Like most people have said here, winning is always the sweetest revenge. Drinking champagne and celebrating at their expense is far better than any fastball to the ribs.
At some point in time, you have to retaliate, and physically protect your players. The Dynasty teams didn’t look to start trouble, but they didn’t shrink from a fight, either.
I seem to recall one Darryl Strawberry looking to take on just about the entire Orioles’ team in the ALCS of 1996…or is my memory failing me?
On the other hand, that “point in time” is not the 1st inning of Game 5 vs. Cliff Lee. If AJ can duplicate his game 2 start, then he can plunk the last valuable Philly hitter he faces in the 7th, and risk the ensuing suspension, because he’s won’t be pitching anymore this season anyway. (I suppose it’s possible he could potentially throw an inning of relief on 2 days’ rest in game 7, but I’m willing to risk that.)
Evan3457 wrote:
I recall Darryl destroying Armando Benitez in 1998 after Benitez had plunked Tino. Maybe that’s what you’re thinking of?
To be honest, I don’t even remember Darryl being on the 1996 ballclub.
MJ wrote:
I do, I have a picture of him with the other 96 Yanks on my wall…ah the memories.
MJ wrote:
Really? I remember him being there in 95 and 96. Both were partial seasons. I remember he was signed in 96 after destroying the league as a St Paul Saint; I think he batted near .500 with them.
Now that I think about it, I wonder if him not playing over Reuben Sierra in the 95 ALDS cost them?
lisaswan wrote:
Think about the “signature” HBP for Giambi and A-Rod. For Giambi, it’s Don-Baylor-ish, crowding the plate, not budging, and taking one off the upper-arm-tricep, and then taking the base. For A-Rod, it’s turning in, pointing his rump towards the field, taking one in the small of the back, between the numbers, and dropping the bat like a member of the Village People just being told that he’s holding a power tool.
Pitches hit Giambi often because he wants to get hit. Pitches hit A-Rod often because they want to hit him.
Corey wrote:
Agreed, 1,000%
As for the signature of Giambi vs. A-Rod, here’s how I see it:
* Giambi: The player who stunned his teammates by begging out of starting Game 5 of the 2003 World Series, after reportedly spending the night before partying with RIcky Williams.
* Rodriguez: This player who busted his butt coming back from torn labrum surgery for the good of the team, and who had 15 RBI – and three critical late-inning playoff homers (and one World Series game winning-hit) – to get his team within one game of winning the World Series. Yet some fans still think he’s a wimp.
You know what? A-Rod could prance around in a dress and heels as far as I’m concerned, but he’s still shown more guts than Giambi’s faux-tough guy act ever did.
lisaswan wrote:
Agree completely, Lisa. Giambi seemed like a nice enough guy and, eventually, I even grew to like him and appreciate him (I hated him at first). But he was definitely no leader and he was definitely no gamer.
A-Rod plays hard and plays hurt every game, every day. Everyone forgets this.
MJ wrote:
No, I’m sure he was on the team in 1996, and he had a great ALCS vs. the O’s.
Maybe the fight was about Tino getting plunked in 1998 regular season. I might be confusing the two.
Well, my original point stands; the Dynasty teams fought when they had to. They just didn’t want to.
@MJ: Exactly. It’s going to be interesting to what happens to A-Rod’s legacy, now that he’s the No. 1 reason that Yankees are about to win No. 27. My guess is that a lot of the haters will still hate him, as the no rings/choking/true Yankee nonsense was just a smokescreen to cover up the fact that they *just don’t like the guy.*
I’ve heard good things about Jason Giambi being a likeable guy/fan-friendly, but he still quit on the Yankees in their last chance until now of winning a World Series. Yet he never got the grief A-Rod did. Why? Because of all his other glittering World Series rings? Because he “only” made $22 M a year? Because he once hit a walkoff in the rain? Good grief.
lisaswan wrote:
Begging out of starting game 5, or was pulled because of his knee? I can’t see how staying out late would have any effect, especially considering that the game was a night game.
Detroit Tigers fans would disagree on that night game thing, after the Miguel Cabrera .26 BAC debacle.
Regardless, Cabrera didn’t play the 2009 season on a bum knee like Giambi did in 2003.