Since I am not paid by anyone to write about baseball, I chose to take a hiatus for the last few weeks — the driest, dustiest part of the offseason. Things have been so silly and boring that the baseball group chat made a motion to permit us to talk about other sports. And then the Niners lost their third and fourth string quarterbacks in the absolutely excruciating NFC championship game and well, here we are.
But peak silliness must give way to the dawn of a new baseball season, and with it comes this very funny piece in The Athletic about whether NFL players play fantasy baseball at anywhere near the rates that MLB players play fantasy football.
“I ain’t even know that was a thing,” Wallace answered. “I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve never heard of it.”
“Well, it’s like fantasy football,” I said, “but it’s…”
Wallace cut me off.
“I get what you’re saying,” he said “but I haven’t ever heard of it.”
If 25-year-old K’Von Wallace crisply and firmly rejecting the premise of this inquiry doesn’t make you shudder for the future of baseball I don’t know what will.
I’ve never played fantasy baseball, but Brandon has invited me to join his league so we’ll see if I make it past the end of …May?
WBC (and Spring Training).
Rosters for the quadrennial-ish World Baseball Classic are out. I’ll be in Arizona next month for a little Spring Training/birthday fun and with a ticket to see an exhibition game between the Giants and Team USA. No Giants are on the USA roster, but Camilo Doval will be pitching absolute fire for the Dominican and Joc Pederson will be hitting for Israel. Jealous of those who get to see Shohei Ohtani pitching and hitting for Japan. Team Mexico looks absolutely stacked, too.
A final Giants x Carlos Correa update
[Imagine here that I’d spent the month between him coming to an agreement with the Mets and that deal also falling apart due to his mysterious ankle issue, blogging about it.] He’s a Minnesota Twin, just like he never left. Good for him. See you once a year, Carlos!
Curiosities
Has a famously crotchety retired ump been editing his own Wikipedia page to take out the stuff that makes him look famously crotchety? Was he banned from Wikipedia for it? A case is made but only “Crewchief22” knows for sure. [Reddit]
That big Insider investigation into actual baseballs dropped like a hard hit ball to right in Oracle Park at night but newly minted D-back Evan Longoria hasn’t forgotten. [Insider]
This profile of newly promoted MLB ump Malachi Moore is absolutely umpaganda but I still enjoyed reading it, especially his description of kids (?) at umpire camp (?) being excited about his path. [MLB]
Despite the parental crime of giving them such similar names, it’s so obvious which Rogers Twin is Tyler and which Rogers Twin is Taylor. Isn’t it??? Tyler is obviously the [redacted] one. [SF Giants]
Seriously…seriously…how is Jurickson Profar still a free agent? [Fox Sports]
Pitchers and catchers report next week.
<3,
Shani