Why Juan Soto shouldn't be an All-Star, the rocks in Jonathan Papelbon's head, the man you want at the plate to save humanity in a home run derby, and a great baseball program from 1960

Monday 7/14/25

Quite a few complaints about the Mets' Juan Soto not being an All-Star. Makes sense to me that he isn't. He's under performed based on his contract and expectations and where he is in his career. He's backslid rather than surged. He's looked aloof at times--in terms of his play--and as if he regretted his choice to leave the Bronx, and he hasn't been consistent.

The Red Sox swept the Rays yesterday with another solid, clean, efficient performance. Another strong start from Bello, a clutch two-run homer from Rafaela, and then Chapman closing it out in emphatic fashion.

The traditional thinking is that when you're hot like this, you don't want a break and would prefer to keep playing. I think there's something to that, but all the same, the break can still be a good thing. Gives a bullpen the chance to refresh. Maybe you especially don't want the break after you've won four in a row, but ten is different, in my view. Streaks matter far less in baseball than consistency and taking series anyway. Play the right way, play clean, crisp ball, and you'll be okay.

As soon as the game was over, Jonathan Papelbon, on the NESN studio show, made this comment--it was like the first thing out of his mouth--how the Sox haven't lost since they visited "the big man"--meaning, Trump--at the White House.

This guy is a real knucklehead. The thing about Papelbon is that he understands certain essential things about baseball. He pitched like he did. He was very aggressive from the first inning of his career. Always attacking hitters. As he said the other day, pitching is offense more than defense.

Maybe not being very bright otherwise helped him in his career. That is, he knew a few essential things, and he focused on them. He was a hell of a competitor. But that head is mostly made up of rocks.

Why would you be saying this after the team just swept a four-game series and has been playing some exciting ball and their best ball in years? You need to stump for Trump? I don't know much about this White House visit--I don't care; to me, athletes are athletes; they play a game, I watch the game, that's the end of it; they're not plush toys for me like they are for most people these days--but I'd venture that a bunch, if not most, of the players didn't go. You could tell that Will Middlebrooks had no time for Papelbon after he said this. The disgust was obvious. He looked like a parent who couldn't stand someone else's child. It was very obvious.

Then I saw a comment online in which someone asked why Papelbon looks like a tomato and another person opined that he must have some uncomfortable conversations with his cardiologist if he has one.

I think many of these guys hit it hard. The booze. I saw a video of Roger Clemens yesterday, and I couldn't believe how he looked. He's not that old. It was a grim sight. That part of their life comes to an end, they're at a loss, the excitement is gone, they have so much money, and like I said, I think they get after it, booze-wise. Hard to imagine Papelbon making a cup of Earl Grey and seeing what's on Turner Classic Movies.

The Devers trade was a good move. I seem to remember only one person who said that. I wonder who that was?

The Red Sox played themselves out of the playoffs last year with their bad stretch right out of the All-Star break. They'll take on the Cubs at Wrigley on Friday. The Cubs have a good team. With the Sox, it's about playing the right way. There's room for growth here with their prospect call-ups, Rafaela is feeling it, Duran, Bregman getting back to business, Bello starting to deliver on his potential. That could have been it for this team when they got swept by the Angels. If it'd gotten much worse after that, it would have been.

Tonight is the home run derby. A fun event. If you were going to have an all-timer of a home run derby, in which every player ever was eligible to compete, who would you want?

I'm thinking...Babe Ruth. Jimmie Foxx. Ruth would hit the ball high in the air; Foxx hit line drive home runs. Mark McGwire. Sammy Sosa. What about Reggie Jackson? Harmon Killebrew. Ralph Kiner. Frank Howard could be a nice dark horse threat. Mel Ott if we were having this contest at the Polo Grounds.

Interestingly, guys like Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Lou Gehrig were more like amazing hitters who hit home runs as a result but weren't what I think of as outright home run hitters, if that makes sense. I also don't really see Willie Mays as a home run derby guy necessarily, but then again, it also wouldn't surprise me if he topped all comers.

But you know who I'm taking all day long? You do if you've been paying attention...

Dave Kingman!

Let's say that there's a home run derby of this variety and humanity will either end or continue on depending on a certain number of epic moonshots being hit by one man...Kingman would be the man I'd expect to save us all.

You know what I really liked watching during the summer as a kid? The rebroadcasts of Home Run Derby, the show from 1960 (the matches were taped in December 1959) hosted by Mark Scott, that would pit the sluggers of the era against each other at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, which had uniform dimensions to left and right field. There were twenty-six episodes in total. I knew all about these players from my readings and research, but to see them come to life and perform--even if this wasn't the natural baseball context--was...it was thrilling. You could barely believe you got to see this. Aaron, Mantle, Mays, Ernie Banks, Killebrew, Duke Snider, Eddie Mathews, Al Kaline, Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Rocky Colavito, Jackie Jensen.

The episodes ran from January 9 to July 2, and then Mark Scott died of a heart attack at only forty-five-years-old on July 13, which caused the producers to drop their plans to continue the series (we probably would have had Roger Maris in season number two, perhaps squaring off against his fellow M&M Boy Mickey Mantle).

I delighted in seeing these episodes during summers in which I played so much baseball. Baseball shows--This Week in Baseball (hit me with those T.W.I.B. Notes, Mel Allen!) was another huge one for me--and black and white horror films and anything about the Revolutionary War were big-time treats and I was rapacious.