Tagged With "Joey Votto"
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Right vs Left and Left vs Right
Interesting Statistics Right vs Left and Left vs RightThe recent thread about LHP got me to thinking. I checked the statistics (splits) for the top homerun hitters in the Major Leagues last year. Of the 11 who hit 36 or more homeruns, 5 were left hand...
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What does it take?
Have you been watching the World Baseball Classic? Not too sure why, but I have. I kind of think its a bit of a farce as many of the very best players are not in it...but some are...Votto, Kimbrell, Phillips, A. Jones, etc... Anyways,...
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Bryce Harper makes young fan happy!
http://athleteswag.lockerdome.com/media/107353524 I saw this link on twitter today and wanted to share it...good for Bryce Harper! I recall that this board had plenty to say about Byce and his antics over the past couple of years, but...
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Canadians making their mark!
I know full well this is a high school board but lets take a look at some of the higher picks of late to come from Canada and make us proud!Scott Thorman- 1st round ATL Braves 2000Adam Loewen- 1st round BAL Orioles 2002Jeff Francis- 1st round COL...
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2011 MLB Awards
AL MVP:Justin VerlanderNL MVP:TBA Ryan BraunAL Cy Young: Justin VerlanderNL Cy Young: Clayton KershawAL ROY: Jeremy HellicksonNL ROY: Craig KimbrelAL Manager of the Year: Joe MaddonNL Manager of the Year: Kirk GibsonAL Gold Glove WinnersC: Matt...
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Re: Inspiring stories
Guess due to what we do, we have many very inspirational stories. Currently there are over 250 Major League players we have had the privilege of watching when they were younger. There are many great stories, maybe we will tell them some day. Also, my own son is an inspirational story. Here are just some of the ones we know who have a great story behind their success, that should be told. Every story is different. Joe Votto Carl Crawford Brian McCann Adam Jones Zach Duke David Aardsma Dana...
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Re: Inspiring stories
The Nava story is something to behold. Jonny Venters was a skinny lefty scout team team mate of my son in 2003, who maybe hit 84 or 85 on the gun as he headed to a middle of the pack juco program. The Braves took him as a DNF and signed him 5 or 6 years ago. Man, did they teach how to pitch since then. That guy really play now.
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Re: Joey Votto
We were fortunate enough to be among the first to recognize Joey Votto. He also had championship caliber makeup. Though it was expensive, he went from an event in Ft Myers back to Canada and showed up to attend the PG National at Tropicana Field the very next week. His performance in Ft Myers earned him an invite to the National and he was there. He showed that great swing at both places. Scroll down and read the reports. Joey Votto
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Re: Joey Votto
A few tidbits... Two years ago, an article appeared in the Myrtle Beach Sun news about Coastal Carolina's recruiting of a prospect named Stephen Matz of New York. In it, Coach Gilmore expressed his reservations about getting Matz on campus in light of what happened with Joey Votto. As it turned out, Matz was a 2nd rounder and never attended Coastal. In Votto's case, when Coastal became aware of him from one of their camps or tournaments, they could not believe what they were seeing...
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Re: Joey Votto
Stories tend to get confusing. Truth is, Votto went to the National in June of 2001, a full year before he was drafted, so every MLB club saw him. At that event every MLB club had scouts in attendance. Also, over half of the 30 scouting directors were there as well as pretty much every top college program and 5 months before the early signing period. So every MLB scouting department saw Joey Votto a full year before the draft. Typically MLB clubs only invite those to their MLB Stadium...
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Re: Joey Votto
rowandfan, That is a good question. I went back to our database to look at the notes. He was a 3B back then and showed decent arm strength but his lateral movement and glove were just OK. He looked like a tough projection at a position. Later they made him a catcher and also played him in the outfield. Still the bat alone should have made him a 10. Also back in 01 I think we were grading on a bit different scale. It was actually harder to get a high grade because we didn't use the either/or...
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Re: Joey Votto
I think that its cool that you didn't give him a 10 actually.... it proves that predicting is just that... a prediction. I can't wait to here the story of the kid you guys give a 6 who turns out to be a star. I don't mean that in a bad way, but it would be a sick story line.
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Re: Perfect Game Top Prospects
What??? That is not accurate. BOF, seeing you're from California, here are some players that we first saw for the first time at the Sunshine West and invited to the PG National. Gerritt Cole, Will Swanner, Justin Bellez, Nick Romero, Jasom Stoffel, Ryan O'Sullivan, Kyle Skipworth, Thomas Pham, Matthew hall, Ryan Babineau, and many others. One year we selected around 20 players just from the Sunshine East. Here is a few of those from Sunshine East events.... Joey Votto, Andrew Miller, Yasmani...
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Re: The change-up: how to use it and when...
3rdgen- Good point. The reason I brought up Santana in the previous post: I was invited by a friend to a Mets-Rockies game at Citi Field in the end of August. I got BP passes to the game because my friend's dad is the bench coach for the Mets. As I was standing there watching BP I was chatting with my friend's dad and we were watching Carlos Gonzalez playing pepper with the bleachers. I made a comment about how unbelievable his swing was and he pointed at Ike Davis, who stood about 15 feet...
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Re: Player Releases
Actually I talked about other players and not just mine ! You are maligning an organization that has severed Ontario BB as best it can based on volunteer coaches ! It may not meet your high expectations , but you are free to pay thousands of dollars to get paid coaches. Very few not for profit teams left since the Rebels folded ! How did you know I was a genius ? Should I list the players who played OBA and ended up in the pros ? Starting with Joey Votto
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Re: Player Releases
I agree with your statement...the OBA has "severed" Ontario BB (perhaps you meant served and the genius label was premature) A trained monkey (which you may well be) can name MLB players ...how about a real challenge...name all the kids that have quit baseball since the OBA decided players have no rights (unless the OBA says they do). Of course the OBA (or their apologists & lackies) will shine a light on "success stories", but those are .001% of the players that go through the OBA...how...
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Re: Curveballs
Bobble, Yea, that's great about Davidson. Is Joey Votto headed to the Hall of Fame or what... Hee Haw! Seriously, will he ever stop hitting?
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Re: Playing Assignments - Changing Position
It is very common that college coaches take players and re position them. A 2year SS I know is now playing 3B. A hard hitting friend of my son played 1st b when he signed D1. He pitched all 3 years and nver picked up a bat at a D1. Joey Votto was drafted as a catcher. He had played 3rd all his career until he was converted by a pro scout to catch. Nice 600K bonus at a position he never played before. He is expected to make the 40 man roster this year. I can tell you many stories of converted...
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Re: MLB stats you may not have noticed
Sabermetrics have definitely found a following in pro ball at least at the ML level especially when arbitration cases are argued or Scott Boras has one of his 75 page brochures of a key free agent printed up. Some of the stats discussed such as the pop up rate of Joey Votto are more "fun" than important. The fact that Derek Jeter is hitting in the .320's while setting new standards of ground ball hitting while not being all that speedy shows that he has been extrodinarily lucky on balls put...
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Re: MLB stats you may not have noticed
Actually, that part about Jeter is wrong. His career average on balls in play is .355. This year's average on balls in play is .352. So no, he's not been "extraordinarily lucky." He's been doing it his entire career. Also, I think the draft is a completely different argument. Teams draft based on projection and tools for the most part.
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Re: Nearly 150 Virginia Prospects Named by Rawlings
Actually this same list a year ago had Kenny Towns 2nd Team All Region. (The "region" 6 states... MD, NC, PA, SC, VA, WV) As you might imagine there is a lot of talent in those states every year. He is now a freshman at UVA. Someone could sure make a good argument that we should have placed Kenny on the first team. They very well could be correct. The kids from VA that were on the first team were... Jake Cave, Evan Beal, Deshorn Lake, Shawn Morimando, TJ Costen, Leland Clemens, Taylor...
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Re: canada
I think you both may be right - and wrong just depends on how you look at it. UBC Thunderbirds were in the news last year about going D2 - but I can't confirm if it's official or when. They're a good NAIA school traditionally, top 20/30 usually. World Series alumni Jeff Francis would be the most famous. (Too bad Joey Votto or Brett Lawrie weren't alums of Cdn schools - but at least they played in the snow at some point). Besides the 2 BC schools mentioned - other BC schools may be more prone...
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Re: Wood Bat Rules
timmyK, I can't argue if Louisville told you that. The M9s are Maple and maple is even a heavier wood than ash. -5 seems almost impossible without a narrow barrel or a real deep cup. Typically they might make the handle real skinny to lighten the bat, but I've not seen any -5 maple bats. BTW, the real skinny handles are a major reason for breakage. -3 is the lightest I have seen. That said, I sure don't know it all and I sure wouldn't claim to know as much as Louisville Slugger when it comes...
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Re: Buster Posey..best player in baseball?
I'm a big Buster Posey fan. These names thrown out as the best player in the game are hard to argue against. Think we could add Joey Votto and several others to the list. There are a lot of great young players right now. No one beats Molina defensively, but Buster is very good. Molina is great, no doubt about it, and he is having a career year hitting. However, still, Buster has the higher batting average, more doubles, more homeruns, 26 more RBI, just better across the board in all...
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Re: Buster Posey..best player in baseball?
I can't help but be biased because I had the pleasure to watch Buster all through high school. I not sure you can say any player that is only in his third year is the "best player in baseball", but if you can, you would have a hard time arguing against Buster. I'm sure Mike Trout, Joey Votto, Bryce Harper, etc. were the same as Buster in their hometown. I'm sure that others that know them could get on here and write the same things that I am saying about Buster. The one thing that separates...
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Re: Success and failure
Originally Posted by bballman: Well, here's the other dynamic with the sabermetric stuff. Everyone has heard and knows that anyone can take stats and make them what they want. So, let's say a scout sees someone they like, but the regular numbers just aren't there. So they start looking for ways to make that guy look good. So instead of looking at BA, they say, hey, let's combine BA, Slugging % and OBP and see how he looks. Wow, this guy looks real good now. Let's call this OPS and tell...
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Re: Your Favorite Offensive Stat
Originally Posted by Rob Kremer: Lets say any level of college or pro ball, JH. Is there a single stat that is the first thing you might look at, just to get things started in analysis? In pro ball there is a stat called wRC+, which stands for Weighted Runs Created. It is an all-encompassing stat that normalizes both the values of each particular occurrence at the plate and includes park factors as well. In the public sector, I believe this is the most accurate statistic to get the best...
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Re: Exciting times ahead
We have 1st row tickets next to 1st base dugout (section 106 i think) (glad Votto is back in time), really looking forward to the game. Hoping for a Cuerto / Freak matchup. Thinking about heading up early for the Stadium tour, just need to find out of we can kill 5 hours after the tour and before game. Mico climate in California is an understatement. first part of trip in Sacramento has temps expected around 98, Stanford area looks to be in 80's and then SF down into the 50's at night. Since...
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Re: Exciting times ahead
Originally Posted by KauaiDad: We have 1st row tickets next to 1st base dugout (section 106 i think) (glad Votto is back in time), really looking forward to the game. Hoping for a Cuerto / Freak matchup. Thinking about heading up early for the Stadium tour, just need to find out of we can kill 5 hours after the tour and before game.... If you don't take the tour, be sure to take a long walk straight up behind your seats to the 1st base side highest cheap seats while it is still light out for...
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Re: Exciting times ahead
Originally Posted by KauaiDad: We have 1st row tickets next to 1st base dugout (section 106 i think) (glad Votto is back in time), really looking forward to the game. Hoping for a Cuerto / Freak matchup. Thinking about heading up early for the Stadium tour, just need to find out of we can kill 5 hours after the tour and before game. Mico climate in California is an understatement. first part of trip in Sacramento has temps expected around 98, Stanford area looks to be in 80's and then SF...
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Re: 2011 All Star Game Gems
Two great plays at 1st by Votto. I really liked the first one, getting to that ball before it could go foul.
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Re: Young Hitter's Swing
So far here are the players that were on the field that day who have already appeared in the Major Leagues. Prince Fielder – Milwaukee Brewers Jeff Clement – Seattle Mariners Alex Gordon – KC Royals Scott Kazmir – Tampa Bay D’Rays Lastings Milledge – NY Mets Scott Moore – Baltimore Orioles Jarrod Saltalamacchia – Texas Rangers BJ Upton – Tampa Bay D’Rays Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds Note: Kazmir was drafted by the Mets, Moore was drafted by the Tigers, Saltalamacchia was drafted by the...
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Re: What's with all the Wood Bat Tournaments?
Hitting is actually the #1 tool that scouts look for. The first round of the draft has many high school players each year. If a player can’t hit, he won’t be a first round pick. Position is not as important as hitting ability. There are just as many, if not more, high school first baseman than high school shortstops drafted in the first round. If a player can hit with wood, he will be able to hit with any other bat. If a player can hit with metal, it does not mean he can hit with wood.
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MVP
Congratulations to Joey Votto and Josh Hamilton for winning their respective league's MVP awards for 2010.What a great story for Josh Hamilton. I've just ordered his book for Christmas and will be hearing him speak at a local church this winter. Can't...
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Joey Votto
Did anyone see what he did today against the Giants? I think he put on a clinic today on how to hit. He took an inside pitch and drilled it opposite field for a homerun. Then he took a pitch off the outside corner opposite field for another homerun....
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Plate discipline tip by carlos santana
carlos Santana who has the second highest walk rate in the Majors of the last 5 years (of course behind votto) gave a nice tip for plate discipline. He said he Imagines a ring in the air about halfway to home plate and if it passes the ring he swings and if not he doesn't. pretty simple Approach but seems to work for him really well. maybe you could even put a physcial ring into a Cage to work on that. https://www.fangraphs.com/blog...-hosmer-alternative/
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Bronson Arroyo Interview
I just released my interview with Bronson. I think it could really ad some value for parents on this site and in general. Bronson talks about how his Dad was never a "well you went 3-4 today but should've been 4-4". He also talks about what Joey Votto is like as a person and life after baseball. Here is the link on iTunes. Also available on google play and stitcher. iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/patrick-jones-baseball/id1282221540?mt=2
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Re: So, in MLB, is it mostly about the hitting?
The best hitter in baseball in 2013 was Miguel Cabrera. According to Fangraphs, Miguel Cabrera was worth 67.9 Batting Runs. The best defensive player in baseball in 2013 according to Fangraphs was Andrelton Simmons, who was worth 41 Defensive Runs Saved. 2012: Batting- Miguel Cabrera, 53.5 Defense- Darwin Barney, 28 2011: Batting- Miguel Cabrera, 61.6 Defense- Austin Jackson, 29 2010: Batting- Joey Votto, 55.9 Defense- Michael Bourn, 30 2009: Batting- Albert Pujols, 68.9 Defense- Franklin...
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Re: Why College Bats Disappeared from the Top of the Draft - Baseball Prospectus
Most of the top hitters in high school that are well known end up getting drafted early and don't go to college. If they did go to college they would be early draft picks out of college. You can dream big on a great HS hitter that has shown he can hit top level pitching. Think MVP types, or those considered the top hitters these days. While some have come out of college the very best seem to come straight out of HS (Trout, Cabrerra, McCutchen, ARod, Mauer, Hamilton, Votto, Jeter). Some used...
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Re: Timing of Perfect Game Sunshine events
It is true that some areas are still playing at that time. The reason for those Sunshine dates... The #1 showcase in amateur baseball based on talent and results is the PG National. Has been for the past 8 years. It is a huge event for many of the very best prospects in the country and is usually held in a Major League Stadium. This year there will be a top official from MLB Headquarters talking to the players about professional baseball and the draft. There will also be top official from...
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Re: Albert Pujols
fenwaysouth- Pujols's agent is Dan Lozano, not Boras. Lozano also represents Jimmy Rollins, Nick Swisher, Michael Young, Joey Votto, Dallas Braden, JC Romero and Orlando Cabrera, among others. He left his previous firm (Beverly Hills Sports Council) last year to start his own agency. Also, A-Rod's contract is going to yield him about $32 million in 2011. Over the life of the contract the Yankees will owe him a minimum of $275 million, with more depending on incentive based milestones (Ie:...
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Re: The dream dies
Three Bagger, I don't want to get too far off topic, but it has been quite an experience. Actually some of the kids I remember the best weren't the very best prospects. A few that I liked the least were among the best prospects. And then there are many like Posey, Heyward, Votto, Greinke, Fielder, and many others, who left a lasting impression in every way. It has been like winning the lottery, except without the retirement party.
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Re: The dream dies
Yes Votto is a shock to us who knew him !!! He blossomed under a certain scout/coach ! He had been suspended twice on a team for acting a fool. He showed some power !
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Re: The dream dies
Guess we never saw the acting like a fool part, he was anything but a fool around us. I really liked him as a kid, maybe even more so than a player. We didn't know who he was. He went to one of the Sunshine Showcases we did in Florida and stood out. Based on that, we invited him to the National Showcase the following week at Tropicana Field. He told us he didn't think he could make it back from Canada but was honored by the selection. Then two days later, he called me and said he found a way...
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Re: #39.... Interesting fact
The .390 against fastballs is way too high. First assuming that fastballs are thrown at least twice as often as other pitches, that would make the league average for hitting an incredible .322. Actually fastballs are probably thrown a greater percentage than that even. The ML hitters have not hit even .287 as a group since the early 1930's. During the great hitting steroid era, the ML averages was in the mid .270's. But here is the definite proof .390 is not right: In 2010, according to...
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Re: All Star Game
I would say welcome to the board. But I have to think to make this a first post on a board designed to get kids to college ball was done to incite the board. Hell, welcome to the board. Now I'll give you a little then I'll stay away from the thread. A utility player does not deserve to make the all-star team over every day players. It would have been a crime had Infante made it and Votto didn't. Fortunately Votto was voted in. But others got screwed. I'm not going to do you the favor of...
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Re: Pulling vs. oppo theory
whatever.........I know what I teach in hitting works. It's not quick fixes, it's not temporary solutions and it's not stuff I pull out of stinky orafices. What I teach is information that I get from listening to people I consider credible. That includes - college HITTING COACHES, MLB / MiLB hitting coaches, private hitting coaches like yourselves and other coaches who are successful. I don't just throw up drills that mass produce hitters because each hitter is different and my staff will...
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Re: Draft question
jerseydad, Good point, guess I should have said "Early Round Money" instead of just the first few rounds. For the sake of this discussion, it is easier to look at (and to find) the rounds players are drafted in rather than the signing bonus. Here is the first 10 rounds 2002 Draft, Red = HS MLB, Blue = College MLB... Sorry for any mistakes, I'm sure I missed some, but this gives a general overview of the top 10 rds in 02 Rnd. Pick Name Position Drafted By School 1 1 Bryan Bullington P Pirates...