Sunday Notes: Mike Stanley Hit C.J. Nitkowski. Nitkowski Didn’t Hit Stanley

Mike Stanley was C.J. Nitkowsk’s greatest nemesis. In seven profession plate appearances versus the now-Atlanta Braves broadcaster, Stanley homered twice, hammered a double, and walked 4 instances. That added as much as a 4.333 OPS. Of the 592 batters Nitkowski confronted over 10 big-league seasons, nobody was extra injurious to his stat sheet.

Considerably surprisingly, the pair of gophers — one at Tiger Stadium in 1996, the opposite at Fenway Park in 2000 — aren’t what the southpaw most remembers about his matchups with the slugging catcher/first baseman. What stands out is the two-bagger.

“I’ve a narrative about Mike Stanley,” defined Nitkowski, who made 336 MLB appearances, 213 of them with Detroit, whereas pitching for eight groups from 1995-2005. “As a child who grew up in New York and was a Yankees fan, I at all times knew who he was. He was a Yankee once I was in highschool. Once I acquired drafted and went right down to Orlando for my first spring coaching [with the Cincinnati Reds in 1995] — I went early to get out of the chilly — I used to be figuring out with Chad Mottola, who’s now the hitting coach for the Rays. He was my first roommate in skilled baseball.

“Chad lived down there,” continued Nitkowski. “Mike Stanley occurred to stay in the identical neighborhood, and so they labored out collectively as soon as in awhile, so I met him. I used to be 21 or 22 years outdated, so it was a giant deal. You meet a big-leaguer and try to play it cool — you’re knowledgeable now — nevertheless it was Mike Stanley. That’s cool. I believed it was form of a giant deal. I acquired to know him a bit of bit.”

Quick ahead to August 12, 2000. Stanley was enjoying for the Oakland Athletics, whereas Nitkowski was pitching in reduction for the Tigers. A request was made within the dugout throughout the sixth inning.

“Phil Garner was our supervisor,” Nitkowski recalled. “The evening earlier than, Juan Gonzalez had hit a house run for us in a recreation that we had been profitable by rather a lot. It was late within the recreation and a 3-0 pitch. The A’s weren’t glad about it. Swinging 3-0 whenever you’re up massive was frowned upon again then. So, first at-bat the following day, they hit him. To me, it ought to have been over. He hit the house run, they hit him, he wasn’t harm. Every thing ought to be high-quality.

“I’m coming into the sport,” Nitkowski continued. “I’m going to be going through Terrence Lengthy first. Phil says to me, ‘Get Terrence Lengthy out, then hit Mike Stanley.’ Properly, Terrence Lengthy stays on a breaking ball that was off the plate and hits a bit of bleeder over the shortstop’s head for a base hit. I didn’t get Terrence Lengthy out, so I didn’t hit Mike Stanley. I pitched to him. He hit a tough floor ball down the third bottom line that ended up being a double.

“I come again to the dugout and Garner is like, ‘Hey, how come you didn’t hit Stanley?’ I mentioned, ‘You instructed me to get Terrence Lengthy out, then hit Stanley. I didn’t get Terrence Lengthy out.’ He mentioned, ‘All proper. You perhaps know him a bit of bit, so I simply wished to ensure you didn’t ignore me since you preferred him.’ I mentioned, ‘No, I adopted your directions; I simply didn’t get the primary man out.’ I really want that I might have hit him, as a result of he hit a double.’”

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Jazz Chisholm went 5 for 13 towards Ian Anderson.

Sonny Jackson went 7 for 19 towards Invoice Stoneman.

Wealthy Rollins went 2 for five towards Dave Baldwin.

Dave Sax went 3 for 7 towards Jimmy Key.

Jackie Robinson went 9 for twenty-four towards Monk Dubiel.

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Walt Weiss is enthralled with hitting mechanics. Sitting down with the Atlanta Braves supervisor for a forthcoming installment of my Talks Hitting collection, I used to be regaled with well-informed views on hip and shoulder separation, the serape impact, and way more. Here’s a teaser for what you’ll learn within the not-too-distant future:

“I’d say Drake Baldwin has the most effective swing mechanics on our crew,” Weiss mentioned. “I instructed him this in spring coaching. We’d discuss hitting, and swings, and I’d inform him, ’You do quite a lot of issues that the greats do, or did.’ The best way he sequences his strikes. That’s actually the Holy Grail. It’s not solely the correct sequence, but additionally the correct sequence on the proper time. The timing facet. Whenever you sequence correctly, you purchase your self extra time to hit. You’re additionally constructing momentum with the barrel. That’s why the best hitters hit for common and energy. You don’t need to sacrifice one for the opposite. It’s been a fallacy on this recreation perpetually, that in the event you hit for energy it’s a must to sacrifice common.”

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Ten years in the past, I talked to a cross part of individuals throughout the recreation — a dozen veteran gamers and eight managers or coaches — for a chunk titled Participant’s View: Which Present Gamers Are Future Managers? Presciently, many had been spot on with their responses (which included a handful of then-recently retired gamers). Listed here are a number of the names that had been talked about:

Rocco Baldelli, Alex Cora, Don Kelly, Mark Kotsay, David Ross, Mark DeRosa, Henry Blanco, José Molina, Willie Bloomquist, Buster Posey, A.J. Ellis, Nick Hundley.

The primary 5 on that record had been subsequently employed as MLB managers, whereas DeRosa went on to handle Workforce USA, Blanco and Molina are at the moment managing groups within the Mexican League, and Bloomquist is the pinnacle coach at Arizona State. Posey didn’t change into a supervisor, though he did rent one after changing into the president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants. Ellis and Hundley additionally joined entrance places of work — the previous is a particular assistant for the San Diego Padres, the latter a senior advisor for the Texas Rangers.

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A quiz:

MLB historical past consists of 50 gamers who had been born in Hawaii. Which ones has probably the most hits, in addition to probably the most house runs? (A touch: he’s at the moment concerned within the recreation in a non-playing capability.)

The reply will be discovered under.

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NEWS NOTES

Charlie Moore, a catcher/outfielder who performed for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1973-1986, and for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1987, died on Could 23 at age 72. His prime particular person efficiency got here in 1980 when he hit for the cycle and likewise stole a pair of bases. Moore batted .354 within the 1982 postseason, together with .346 within the World Sequence, which the Brewers misplaced to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven video games.

Bob Horner, a slugging nook infielder who logged 218 house runs and a 126 wRC+ with the Atlanta Braves from 1978-1986. died on Could 26 at age 68. Drafted first-overall in 1978 out of Arizona State College — he by no means performed within the minors — Horner spent 1987 with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and 1988 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

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The reply to the quiz is Kurt Suzuki. Now managing the Los Angeles Angels, the native of Wailuku, Hawaii had 1,421 hits and 143 house runs. Shane Victorino, additionally a local of Wailuku, ranks second in each classes with 1,274 and 108.

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Final Sunday’s column included a short passage from Lawrence Ritter’s 1966 Basic, The Glory of Their Instances. Right here is one other, this time with the quotes coming from Invoice Wambsganss, whose MLB profession spanned the 1914-1926 seasons.

“Really, extra individuals most likely know me as Invoice Wamby than as Invoice Wambsganss. Wamby matches right into a field rating simpler, in order that’s the way it was often reported. Nevertheless it doesn’t matter. Similar factor. Wamby — unassisted triple play. You’d assume I used to be born the day earlier than and died the day after.”

A second baseman for the Cleveland Indians, Wambsganss turned his unassisted triple play — the one one in World Sequence historical past — in Recreation 5 of the 1920 Fall Basic versus the Brooklyn Robins. There have been 14 in regular-season play, the newest by Philadelphia’s Eric Bruntlett in 2009.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Tokyo Yomiuri Giants supervisor Shinnosuke Abe resigned earlier this week after it was reported that he bodily assaulted his 18-year-old daughter at their house. A catcher for the Giants from 2001-2019, Abe homered 409 instances and received 4 Golden Gloves.

Hiroto Saiki is 5-2 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.93 FIP over 54-and-a-third innings for the Hanshin Tigers. The 27-year-old right-hander leads all certified NPB pitchers with a 34.2% strikeout charge. His stroll charge is 5.4%.

Anders Tolhurst is 6-3 with a 3.44 ERA and a 4.26 FIP over 52-and-third innings for the KBO’s LG Twins. The 26-year-old right-hander joined the Seoul, South Korea-based ball membership final yr after enjoying within the Toronto Blue Jays group.

Jen-Ho Tseng is 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA over 17 innings for the CPBL’s Wei Chuan Dragons. The 31-year-old right-hander from Taipei, Taiwan appeared in three video games for the Chicago Cubs throughout the 2017-2018 seasons.

Justus Sheffield is 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA over 35 innings for the Mexican League’s Sultanes de Monterrey. The 30-year-old southpaw appeared within the three video games for the New York Yankees in 2018, and in 45 video games for the Seattle Mariners from 2019-2022.

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Tommy Watkins performed in 9 big-league video games, all with the Minnesota Twins in 2007. His batting common was admirable. At .357, it’s the second highest in Twins historical past amongst place gamers who got here to the plate no less than 30 instances. Glenn Williams batted .425 over 43 PAs, whereas Luis Tiant — clearly a pitcher — was a surprisingly strong .406 over 36 PAs.

I just lately requested Watkins, who’s now the third base coach for the Atlanta Braves, about his bygone cup of espresso.

“It was an excellent expertise,” Watkins mentioned of his August 2007 tenure. “I want everyone might really feel the joy of enjoying within the massive leagues, and I used to be fortunate sufficient to get that chance. I used to be 10-for-28 (with 4 walks). My first hit was off of Jarrod Washburn in Seattle. I completed with a seven-game hitting streak.”

Watkins went on to clarify that he acquired harm and missed the remainder of that season, spent the following two years in Triple-A, then determined it was time “to begin doing one thing else.” He turned a minor-league hitting coach, then a minor-league supervisor, and in 2019 a member of Minnesota’s big-league teaching employees. That is his first season with the Braves.

Watkins instructed me that he’s conscious that Williams is the one hitter in Twins historical past with a better batting common within the comparatively low variety of plate appearances. I requested him how he knew that.

“I used to be within the group for 28 years,” replied Watkins. “You study issues.”

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FARM NOTES

Jay McQueen is slashing .446/.563/.643 with two house runs and a 202 wRC+ in 71 plate appearances for the Texas Rangers’ Arizona Advanced League affiliate. The 19-year-old outfielder was drafted within the twentieth spherical final yr out of Mississippi’s Brandon Excessive College.

Drew Davies is slashing .268/.452/.366 with one house run and a 136 wRC+ in 166 plate appearances for the Low-A Daytona Tortugas. The 20-year-old outfielder from Adelaide, Australia was signed as a world free agent by the Cincinnati Reds in 2023.

Wei-En Lin is 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA, a 3.18 FIP, and a 29.5% strikeout charge over 44-and-a-third innings for the Double-A Midland RockHounds. No. 5 on our Athletics High Prospects record with a forty five FV, the 20-year-old left-hander from Taoyuen, Taiwan was featured right here at FanGraphs in August 2025.

On Thursday, the Clearwater Threshers (Low-A, Philadelphia) rallied with two runs within the backside of the ninth, then 4 within the backside of the tenth, to beat the Dunedin Blue Jays (Toronto) by a rating of 12-11. Nolan Beltran despatched the sport into extras with a two-out, two-run homer. The 21-year-old infielder/outfielder from Barranquilla, Colombia has 4 round-trippers and a 123 wRC+ on the season.

Additionally on Thursday, Received-Bin Cho had three hits and 5 RBIs in a shedding trigger because the Peoria Chiefs (Excessive-A, St. Louis) fell to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee) by a rating of 13-11. The 22-year-old outfielder from Seongnam, South Korea is slashing .271/.404/.529 with seven house runs and a 137 wRC+.

On Wednesday, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Double-A, Marlins) blasted the Birmingham Barons (White Sox) by a rely of 23-4. Fenwick Trimble, a 23-year-old outfielder out of James Madison College, went 5-for-6 with a double and one in every of his crew’s seven house runs. Trimble has seven taters and a 108 wRC+ on the season.

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A random obscure former participant snapshot:

Harry Steinfeldt’s declare to fame is being the fourth member of the well-known Tinker-to-Evers-to-Likelihood Chicago Cubs infield of the early 1900s. A 3rd baseman who spent his first seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Steinfeldt manned the new nook for the Cubs from 1906-1910, a five-year stretch wherein the North Aspect membership reached the World Sequence 4 instances, profitable in 1907 and 1908. His 1906 marketing campaign was simply his finest from a statistical standpoint. Steinfeldt compiled 7.5 WAR whereas posting a 152 wRC+ and main the senior circuit in RBIs. The Cubs went 119-36-3 that yr earlier than falling to the White Sox within the Fall Basic.

In contrast to Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Likelihood, Steinfeldt doesn’t have a plaque in Cooperstown.

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A less-obscure former participant snapshot:

Lefty O’Doul performed in 970 MLB video games throughout the 1919-1934 season, slashing .349/.413/.572 with a 141 wRC+ in 3,660 plate appearances. He received two batting titles, one with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1929 when he logged a .398 common, and one other with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932 when he hit .368. In his lone World Sequence at-bat, which got here with the New York Giants in 1933, he stroked a two-run, pinch-hit single. He additionally made 34 pitching appearances over the course of his profession.

O’Doul additionally starred within the Pacific Coast League. From 1924-1927, a four-year span that included an MVP award, his batting averages ranged from .338 to .392. O’Doul later managed within the PCL for 23 years, largely with the San Francisco Seals, profitable 5 championships. A bridge over McCovey Cove is now named for him. No much less notable is his being instrumental in spreading baseball’s reputation in Japan.

O’Doul is in each the Japanese Baseball Corridor of Fame and the Pacific Coast League Corridor of Fame. That he’s not additionally within the Nationwide Baseball of Fame is one thing that must be corrected.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

How dangerous can an MLB participant hit in 2026 and keep within the lineup? Buster Olney delved into that query at ESPN.

Sports activities Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein wrote about how the Tampa Bay Rays are bringing small ball again — and it’s working.

MLB.com’s Mike Petriello wrote about Brandon Marsh’s second-only-to-Ty-Cobb’s BABIP.

Pitcher Listing’s Anthony Licciardi checked out Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford’s distinctive ability set.

Baltimore Orioles right-hander Brandon Younger has a brand new splitter grip. Steve Melewski wrote about it at his Substack.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

The Braves are the one visiting crew in MLB with a profitable document at Fenway Park, enjoying to a 29-22 all-time document. (per the Braves recreation notes.)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has 3,937 profession at-bats and has grounded into 131 double performs. Byron Buxton has 3,310 profession at-bats and has grounded into 17 double performs.

Ray Oyler had one of many poorest offensive seasons in MLB historical past in 1968 when he slashed .135/.213/.186 with a 23 wRC+ over 247 plate appearances with the World Sequence champion Detroit Tigers. The slick-fielding shortstop hit his lone house run off of Baltimore Orioles left-hander Dave McNally, who completed the yr 22-10 with a 1.95 ERA.

Jack Nabors pitched in 52 video games for the Philadelphia Athletics throughout three seasons and completed with a profession document of 1-25 and a 3.87 ERA. The suitable-hander from Montevallo, Alabama went 0-5 in 1915, and 1-20 in 1916. His lone win was a complete-game effort towards the Boston Purple Sox and included a strikeout of Babe Ruth.

The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros 1-0 in 16 innings on at present’s date in 2003. Sammy Sosa despatched the Wrigley Area trustworthy house proud of a walk-off single, whereas Todd Wellemeyer was credited with the primary of his 32 profession wins.

Ed Hock recorded his solely MLB hit on at present’s date in 1924. The Franklin Furnace, Ohio native did so within the final of his 11 profession plate appearances, slapping a pinch-hit single off of Corridor of Famer Grover Alexander in a 6-3 Cincinnati Reds loss to the Chicago Cubs. He loved quite a lot of sizzling summers down on the farm. Hock had 3,475 hits over 23 skilled seasons, together with 230 for the Western League’s Oklahoma Metropolis Indians in 1926.

Gamers born on at present’s date embrace Rikkert Faneyte, an outfielder from Amsterdam who’s one in every of 9 natives of the Netherlands to seem within the majors throughout the fashionable period. Faneyte performed in 80 video games throughout the 1993-1996 seasons, seeing motion with the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.

Additionally born on at present’s date was Peaches Davis, a right-hander from Glen Rose, Texas who took the mound for the Cincinnati Reds 117 instances from 1936-1939, logging a document of 27-23 with a 3.87 ERA over 542 frames. Thirty-one years outdated when he made his MLB debut, Davis had gone 19-15 for the Fort Value Cats in 1934. Bubber Jonnard was one in every of his catchers with the Texas League membership.