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J.W.
14 years ago

Pretty brilliant. This was an even better strategy considering that Gwynn’s relatively low power numbers during this period (17 HR in 1997, 16 in 1998, 10 in 1999, 1 in 2000) meant that even if he got a hold of one he might not have done much more than he would have with a pitch on the outside edge.

Ken Arneson
14 years ago

I’ve heard a similar story from Mike Krukow about throwing hanging sliders to Mike Schmidt.

Adam
14 years ago

Jeez, and all this time I thought Tomko threw it right down the middle to everyone.

Since we’re talking Yankees, here’s why I love the internet.  Listening to the game at work (hey, it’s why I work for myself) and Sterling says “Because of injuries, Nick Swisher has been batting second a lot, and done very well there.”  Well, that strikes me as fishy, and so I jump on to Baseball Reference (again, I work alone) and see that yes, Nick Swisher is hitting over .400 as the #2 hitter.  In three games, 12 ABs.  Which doesn’t strike me as a particularly large sample. I don’t know why, but the ability to prove instantly that John Sterling is full of it made me strangely happy.  Is that wrong?

J.W.
14 years ago

Adam, perhaps you’ve seen this already, but if not you might enjoy it:

http://riveraveblues.com/2009/05/cant-the-yankees-do-better-than-john-sterling-11853/

Fish
14 years ago

Interesting story, but here’s the oddest part:

Tony Gwynn vs. Pete Harnisch

51 PAs, .364/.412/.523

Pete should have followed his own advice.

Adam
14 years ago

Thanks, J.W.  Hadn’t seen it, but everything in there is true.  What’s so frustrating is that baseball and radio are a perfect marriage, and these two clowns make it nearly impossible to listen.  Growing up in my family meant you didn’t choose to be a Yankee fan (like you didn’t choose your parents or religion), but boy, they do so many things that make it difficult to be a fan.  And I would put having to grit my teeth through thousands of hours of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman at the top of the list.