Trout versus Harper -- Mike is well ahead, but...

They came into the majors together; Mike Trout has always, for the most part, had better numbers. But he has been injured more than his slightly younger counterpart.

Could the DH in the National League help Harper's numbers better? That might be a slight factor.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
2012	19	WSN	NL	139	597	533	98	144	26	9	22	59	18	6	56	120	.270	.340	.477	.817	118	254	8	2	3	3	0	*89/7H	AS,MVP-30,RoY-1
2013	20	WSN	NL	118	497	424	71	116	24	3	20	58	11	4	61	94	.274	.368	.486	.854	133	206	4	5	3	4	4	*79/8H	AS
2014	21	WSN	NL	100	395	352	41	96	10	2	13	32	2	2	38	104	.273	.344	.423	.768	111	149	6	1	3	1	4	79/8H
2015	22	WSN	NL	153	654	521	118	172	38	1	42	99	6	4	124	131	.330	.460	.649	1.109	198	338	15	5	0	4	15	*98/D	AS,MVP-1,SS
2016	23	WSN	NL	147	627	506	84	123	24	2	24	86	21	10	108	117	.243	.373	.441	.814	114	223	11	3	0	10	20	*9/H	AS
2017	24	WSN	NL	111	492	420	95	134	27	1	29	87	4	2	68	99	.319	.413	.595	1.008	156	250	15	1	0	3	11	*9/H	AS,MVP-12
2018	25	WSN	NL	159	695	550	103	137	34	0	34	100	13	3	130	169	.249	.393	.496	.889	133	273	7	6	0	9	16	*98/H3D	AS
2019	26	PHI	NL	157	682	573	98	149	36	1	35	114	15	3	99	178	.260	.372	.510	.882	126	292	10	6	0	4	11	*9/HD
2020	27	PHI	NL	58	244	190	41	51	9	2	13	33	8	2	49	43	.268	.420	.542	.962	158	103	5	2	1	2	8	*9D/8
2021	28	PHI	NL	141	599	488	101	151	42	1	35	84	13	3	100	134	.309	.429	.615	1.044	180	300	12	5	2	4	14	*9/D3	MVP-1,SS
2022	29	PHI	NL	30	128	116	23	31	10	1	6	19	5	1	8	32	.267	.320	.526	.846	143	61	5	2	0	2	0	*D/9
11 Yrs				1313	5610	4673	873	1304	280	23	273	771	116	40	841	1221	.279	.390	.524	.914	142	2449	98	38	12	46	103

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
2011	19	LAA	AL	40	135	123	20	27	6	0	5	16	4	0	9	30	.220	.281	.390	.672	89	48	2	2	0	1	0	897/HD
2012	20	LAA	AL	139	639	559	129	182	27	8	30	83	49	5	67	139	.326	.399	.564	.963	168	315	7	6	0	7	4	*87/9H	AS,MVP-2,RoY-1,SS
2013	21	LAA	AL	157	716	589	109	190	39	9	27	97	33	7	110	136	.323	.432	.557	.988	179	328	8	9	0	8	10	*87/D	AS,MVP-2,SS
2014	22	LAA	AL	157	705	602	115	173	39	9	36	111	16	2	83	184	.287	.377	.561	.939	169	338	6	10	0	10	6	*8/D	AS,MVP-1,SS
2015	23	LAA	AL	159	682	575	104	172	32	6	41	90	11	7	92	158	.299	.402	.590	.991	176	339	11	10	0	5	14	*8/D	AS,MVP-2,SS
2016	24	LAA	AL	159	681	549	123	173	32	5	29	100	30	7	116	137	.315	.441	.550	.991	173	302	5	11	0	5	12	*8D/H	AS,MVP-1,SS
2017	25	LAA	AL	114	507	402	92	123	25	3	33	72	22	4	94	90	.306	.442	.629	1.071	186	253	8	7	0	4	15	8/D	AS,MVP-4
2018	26	LAA	AL	140	608	471	101	147	24	4	39	79	24	2	122	124	.312	.460	.628	1.088	198	296	5	10	0	4	25	*8D/H	AS,MVP-2,SS
2019	27	LAA	AL	134	600	470	110	137	27	2	45	104	11	2	110	120	.291	.438	.645	1.083	182	303	5	16	0	4	14	*8D/H	AS,MVP-1,SS
2020	28	LAA	AL	53	241	199	41	56	9	2	17	46	1	1	35	56	.281	.390	.603	.993	167	120	1	3	0	4	4	*8/D	MVP-5,SS
2021	29	LAA	AL	36	146	117	23	39	8	1	8	18	2	0	27	41	.333	.466	.624	1.090	195	73	0	2	0	0	5	8	AS
2022	30	LAA	AL	27	116	95	25	32	8	1	9	19	0	0	19	27	.337	.457	.726	1.183	248	69	1	2	0	0	1	*8/D
12 Yrs				1315	5776	4751	992	1451	276	50	319	835	203	37	884	1242	.305	.420	.586	1.006	177	2784	59	88	0	52	110

Trout has better hits and batting average, but the number of walks is almost even, so Harper still has a good On Base Percentage at .390, to Trout's .420, which is more or less the difference in Batting Average.

The injured seasons and pandemic-shortened season the last few years hit Trout harder, and they are now within two games played of each other.

If Trout cannot stay healthy, Harper may eventually catch up in production.

This season will be interesting to see how they both do.

So far Mike Trout is having much better hits and OBP, a handful more of home runs 30 games into 2022. Trout is well above is career average, and Harper is a little below his norm. .337 to .267, respectively.

Bob Knight Lost Touch with Reality, Indicated by His Words

I have recently engaged in some conversations with some folks on FaceBook about words, names, epithets, cursing. It got me thinking about the legendary college basketball coach, Robert Montgomery Knight.

I grew up in his backyard; he was a big deal before I made it to kindergarten. I learned to both love and hate him, with some respect and disdain in between. He is still alive as I write this, but his sharp mind has been worn down by time, age, brain issues. Part of nature.

I am reflecting on whether his language, antics, and behavior for him was a trajectory or downward trend as he aged. He was known for his bullying attitudes and tactics, very strong language and at times outrageous or abusive acts.

His last 8 years in Bloomington, after reaching the peak of success in the 1970s and 1980s, he went down in recruiting and success, and eventually was caught on film for "choking" a player during practice, Neil Reed, (I saw him play as a talented high school talent), and put on a Zero Tolerance policy for this. By a school president named Myles Brand, who left IU for better pastures soon thereafter. 

He was fired by Brand for squeezing the arm of an unsuspecting freshman, a young man that I had student taught in neighboring Brown County, a mere year prior. Maybe six months before the whole brouhaha. 

Knight was undoubtedly smart, and was a good or great coach, but his pride or ego, or penchant for the extreme, would often times get in the way. Temper, age, many of us can get more fiery or impatient over time, we can let little things bother us, get to us.

The youth talent at high school age that would have been his best players would see and perceive this crustiness, and no longer feel like playing for him, and the talent was still steady but never as it was in the elite days of the Final Four teams, achieved five times, the last in 1992. (His recruits made it to the final game in 2002, after he had decided to coach out his career at Texas Tech.)

I could write and analyze more about his life and times, but suffice it to say that his coarse vocabulary, to me, was an indicator that he was going down the wrong path mentally, emotionally, intellectually, and professionally.

He purposely dropped all F bombs at a post-game interview, just to mess up the feed and follow up.

He could be a bully and a mean grudge holder, for sure.

His own mentee, Mike Krwshevsky (I can never spell that without help), was shut out of his life for many years. Knight was jealous and indignant, but I think they have finally come to terms with their shared legacies, their decades-long rivalry and lifelong relationship.

Some know of his more recent visit to the NGA in Virginia (a building of map specialists), where he was openly groping some women. Perhaps that was in 2016 or so. After his retirement. 

Long after his best glory days.

He did not start really cursing heavily until he had lost control of his best recruits, best teams, best results and accolades.

To me, a study in psychology and language.

More to think on.

Blog on.

Three Young Home Run Hitters - Harper, Machado, Soto

197.	Steve Garvey (19)	272	9466	R	HR Log
	Bryce Harper (11, 29)	272	5593	L	HR Log
	Andrew McCutchen (14, 35)	272	7698	R	HR Log

222. Roy Campanella+ (18) 259 5656 R HR Log

  Chase Utley          (16) 259 7863 L HR Log

224. Manny Machado (11, 29) 258 5747 R HR Log

225. Ian Kinsler           (14) 257 8299 R HR Log

226. Bob Allison          (13) 256 5924 R HR Log

  Larry Parrish        (15) 256 7451 R HR Log

  Vada Pinson      (18) 256 10405 L HR Log

909.	Earl Battey (13)	104	4105	R	HR Log
	Jackie Bradley Jr. (10, 32)	104	3796	L	HR Log
	Ivan Calderon (10)	104	3672	R	HR Log
	Jorge Cantu (8)	104	3395	R	HR Log
	Kal Daniels (7)	104	2739	L	HR Log
	Ryan Doumit (10)	104	3407	B	HR Log
	Luke Easter (8)	104	2355	L	HR Log
	Jacoby Ellsbury (11)	104	5375	L	HR Log
	Granny Hamner (17)	104	6293	R	HR Log
	Mitch Haniger (6, 31)	104	2226	R	HR Log
	David Murphy (10)	104	3847	L	HR Log
	Xavier Nady (12)	104	3241	R	HR Log
	Jim Piersall (17)	104	6593	R	HR Log
	Placido Polanco (16)	104	7887	R	HR Log
	John Roseboro (14)	104	5529	L	HR Log
	Juan Soto (5, 23)	104	2127	L	HR Log
	Franklin Stubbs (10)	104	2899	L	HR Log
	Jim Tabor (9)	104	4136	R	HR Log
	Trea Turner (8, 29)	104	3126	R	HR Log

    29 years-old is young in the scheme of things, but in major league baseball it might be the age when one is at the peak of a player's career. Some guys in their somewhat young 30s are trending down in production, while a few elite players are productive into their 40s.

    The best all time players are able to play well for at least 20 years, but there are some exceptions of some who played very well in shorter time spans. The amazing pitcher for the Dodgers in the 1960s comes to mind, Sandy Koufax, or the rounded phenom Kirby Puckett for the Twins in the 1980s and 1990s. They did not enjoy longevity of dominance as performers, but they dominated so well while they worked.

    The three players featured in this comparison are all expected to play for twenty good decades. It will be interesting to see if any of them make it to their 40s in the league in good health. It would be fun.

Bryce is up to 272 homers, tied for 197 all time, with 5,593 plate appearances.

Manny Machado, also 29, has now reached 258 all time homers, tied for 224 in the top home run hitters of all time. All this in only 5,747 plate appearances. Bryce is doing better.

Soto, is only at 104 career home runs, but he is only 23 years old, with a mere 2, 127.

All three have bright futures, perhaps Juan the best among them since his batting average is the highest. He has the highest ceiling, but all three are superior talents.

Harper career BA and OBP:      .279 & .390

Machado career BA and OBP:  .282 & .340

Soto career BA and OBP:         .299 & .430

If Soto can maintain these high numbers, he has a chance at surpassing the older younger "great" guys, who look to play another decade each, both locked into very lucrative contracts for many years.

I am surprised that Machado has such low OBP career numbers, but so far in about 100 at bats this 2022 season he is off to a tremendous start, hitting a red hot .382 with a .458 on base percentage. Maybe his career is just taking off. Pretty good for a third baseman, former short stop.

The designated hitter upgrade of the National League should favor all three.

I expect all three to make it to 500 career homers. And the Hall of Fame.

In the Name of Deity

 I accidentally posted this. I changed the name; it is my last post before this

Blogging along.

Russia in the day 70s of the invasion in Ukraine.

Russia is killing so many innocent people, it is deplorable.

 In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen

I hold those words sacred, and noble. I try not to use them lightly. I believe that there is power in using them, and it is a way of affirming my faith in Jesus, the Son of God, and the way to properly address God the Father in prayer, normally the way that we end our prayers, or solemn statements or meetings. We do things in the Lord's name, and His name is serious and not to be used tritely. It is part if how I understand the Ten Commandments and the sacramental vows that I took upon myself at baptism when very young, and the vows that I renew almost every Sunday throughout the year.

To me, this is solemn, important, and a vital part of the way that I believe and try to act. It is a signature of who I am, and what I believe.

I was thinking about this statement of faith and belief, the main way I as a Christian and Latter-day Saint communicate publicly and privately.

I have some anecdotes about it, like the time in 2011 that I used it for the Thanksgiving prayer at my government office, and once person talked to me about and why he disagreed with it. Save that story for another day.

Now I have observed this statement used, properly, at a couple of funerals of close friends or family, and those who used it may not be active in the faith, or necessarily believers. I am not sure. Not up to me to know their personal beliefs, but it got me thinking.

It is the norm and acceptable way to end our thoughts, messages, and prayers from the pulpit.

It is not to be abused or taken lightly. And, it should not be used to brag or make others uncomfortable.

There are times and places are using it, tactfully.

More later...

Government Must Not Subsidize Dereliction

    Paying for babies and children who have parents that do not help and financially support their own children is a bad trend, which leads to family chaos, community ruin. Societal decay. We all understand that the nuclear family has gone through major problems in our lifetime. I have been around since the beginning of the 1970s. Children without both parents have struggled. We understand not every family can have two parents. But does the government need to subsidize a child from conception to adulthood?

    No. Kids without strong parental support, guidance, and supervision, often become societal problems. Drug use, dealing with illegal alcohol consumption and other illicit behaviors. Many of them have relations in jail and prison. Their fathers, their uncles, their cousins, their brothers are locked up, repeat offenders on the wrong side of the law. Other poor behaviors crop up in huge communities of deadbeat fathers, how many millions who do not help in raising their progeny?

    Millions depend on government checks to survive. Food, shelter, healthcare. 

    Am I describing a particular demographic that you know, or that you know of? If I am, than the facts of which I speak line up.

    All of us benefit from the U.S. government, even the wealthy. Our taxes subsidize so many things for the common benefit: the military, research and development, homeland security and law enforcement, transportation, medicines and public health, social services, veteran benefits, public housing, the corrections systems.

    

    The corrections system might be a giant misnomer.

    We all may be unintentionally funding and abetting generations of derelicts. We ourselves might be part and parcel of the dereliction.

How do we define dereliction?

der·e·lic·tion

[ˌderəˈlikSH(ə)n]

NOUN

1. the state of having been abandoned and become dilapidated:

   "every year valuable gardens start the slow slide to dereliction"

   synonyms:

   dilapidation · disrepair · decrepitude · deterioration · ruin · rack and ruin · abandonment · neglect · disuse · desertion · rejection · forsaking

   • (dereliction of duty)
     the shameful failure to fulfill one's obligations

   Our government has done many good or great things for us, and millions of us have either been the benefit givers or the beneficiaries, or in most cases both.

2. Are we solving the problems of our current and future generations?

   We need to figure out how to bring up the numbers of two parent homes, and not incentivize mothers or fathers, parents, to be derelicts of their children, raising (or not raising) other derelicts, the next generation of derelicts, that do not contribute to positive communities and a good society of contributors.

   The U.S. government and us, the people that populate the Presidency and Congress and our local governments, need to learn to overcome this ruinous cycle.

    

    

    

Six Major League Teams to Go for a World Championship

Baseball is over a month into its regular 162 game season in 2022. Hope springs eternal for some teams. Not so fast Cincinnati! They are deplorable so far. Could they not even win 50? After today they should be 3-20. Egads.

    Of the six franchises that have never won it, since 1900 or so, three of them are looking good: San Diego, Tampa Bay, and Milwaukee. The other three have less hopeful aspirations, but even Colorado is doing ok with a record of 14-10. Seattle, which has never even been to the World Series, sits at 12-13.

Who is the sixth? Let's see... Oh, yes, the Texas Rangers are 10 -14. Not looking good.

My Washington Nationals are off to a poor start, but I think that they are showing promise and will improve. Offensively and defensively. They are now 9-17, but might win another series against today.

The Chicago White Sox are under-performing, 11-13, but their injuries will hopefully subside and they will surge as predicted preseason.

My teams are the Nats and White Sox.

Other teams look strong, like the Yankees and the Dodgers. Wealthy and loaded. The Mets are looking good, too. 

But if my teams cannot win, I would like to see a never-before team do it, like the Padres, or the Rays, or the Brewers. Why not the Rockies?

Crazier things have happened, but we shall see.

Money has the Dodgers, as they did it in the pandemic-shortened 2002.

Atlanta got hot and surprised many last year.

Play ball! Let's have normal while war wages in Europe. And, the pandemic winds down.