Saturday 4/27/24
Watching the Oilers game last night, I began to wonder if Connor McDavid could reach 40 points in a single postseason. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are the only ones to have done it. Gretzky did it three times, Lemieux once. (They have the five highest totals between them. Do you know who is sixth? Oilers defenseman Paul Coffey, at 37 in 1984-85, a year in which Gretzky had 47.) McDavid is at 9 points after three games. He'd need some long series, I think, but it's possible with him.
Something else I was thinking about yesterday: Wade Boggs had seven straight 200 hits seasons. That's remarkable. But it's all the more remarkable when you consider how much Boggs walked. Wade Boggs is one of the most underrated all-time great players--a term that fits--in baseball history. Also: Whenever I see a picture of Boggs, I think of Cliff Clavin saying that he was a strapping lad, "like myself."
Saw people debating whether Sergei Bobrovsky belongs in the Hall of Fame. Most said no, a few said yes, but reluctantly. I would definitely endorse his inclusion. The knock against him is that there are a few great years but a lot of average ones. I suppose. With goalies I tend to look at how high they went. I also think last year's playoff run was notable and only helps him. He has two Vezinas, the same as Tim Thomas, who I also think should be in. I'm the rare person who doesn't seem to have a big problem--or any at all-with Mike Vernon being a Hall of Famer. He was a Hall of Famer to me. The guy always seemed to be in the middle of something important, so far as hockey went.
An underrated year: Reggie Jackson's lone season with Baltimore in 1976. Fourth in offensive WAR, first in slugging, third in OPS, second in home runs, tenth in RBI.
Scoring trivia: Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, game tied, guy hits a ball to the outfield that bounces over the fence. How is that scored? I think he only gets credit with a single and a lone RBI. Along the same lines: Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, team down by one, guy hits a ball to the outfield that bounces over the fence. How is it that scored? I think he is credited with a double and two runs come in. But this also doesn't make sense. I'm probably wrong. The kind of hit shouldn't change just because of what is needed, score-wise, to win the game. You feel like both should be doubles, and in the first case the team wins by two, and in the second case by one. After all, if that batter hits a home run in either instance, he gets 4 RBI and those total runs are added on to his team's previous score.
