Posted on 21 May 2013. Tags: 'moonwalks', after, balance, losing, Manny, Manny Ramirez, plate, Ramirez, Taiwan, Video
Manny Ramirez had another hilarious moment during a baseball game in Taiwan over the weekend when he threw himself so off-balance after taking a big swing on a foul ball that he ended up backpedaling to prevent himself from falling. By the time he finally regained his bearings, Ramirez had walked backwards at least 20 feet from home plate.
A nightly news program in Taiwan found the Ramirez “moonwalk” hysterical, and even spliced in footage of the famous Michael Jackson moonwalk from the “Billie Jean” performance at the Motown 25 television special as a basis of comparison.
Just “Manny being Manny” once again.
H/T BLS.
Visit us at holdoutsports.com and follow us on Twitter @HoldoutSports.
Related Posts:
Posted in MLB News Wire
Posted on 17 January 2013. Tags: Athletics, Billy Beane, Discipline, improves, Jaso's, John, John Jaso, Oakland Athletics, plate
The Oakland Athletics won the American League West last season despite a virtual black hole on offense from the catching position. In 632 plate appearances by all of their catchers in 2012, the triple slash line from the position was: .204/.262/.325. That .587 OPS was abysmal and worked out to a 64 OPS+. And so it made sense for Billy Beane to use a couple of his pitching prospects for the on-base capabilities of John Jaso in a three-way trade with the the Mariners and Nationals first reported yesterday by Adam Kilgore. Jane Lee, MLB.com’s Athletics beat reporter, later tweeted that Beane had been trying to get Jaso for months.
Jaso will also improve a team that led the league in offensive strikeouts last season. He rarely swings and misses (4.6% for his career) and rarely swings at pitches out of the strike zone. According to PitchF/X, Jaso has only swung at 19.3 percent of pitches out of the strike zone in his career. That leads to the rare statistic that Jaso actually ha…
Related Posts:
Posted in MLB News Wire
Posted on 06 January 2013. Tags: agree, Astros, Berkman, calf, deal, inking, Lance Berkman, plate, Rangers, team, the Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangers finally added some offense to their team this winter, inking long-time Astros first baseman Lance Berkman to a one-year deal worth $ 10 million. The deal also contains a vesting option for 2014 based on plate appearances with a $ 1 million buyout. After struggling in 2010 after being dealt from the Astros to the Yankees, Berkman signed with the Cardinals for 2011 for $ 8 million, and served as the team’s every day right fielder. Finally healthy, Berkman posted a .959 OPS in 145 games with St Louis, homering 31 times (his highest total since 2007) and walking 92 times (compared to just 93 strikeouts). However, after signing a $ 12 million extension with the Cardinals for 2012, Berkman played in just 32 games due to calf and knee injuries. If Berkman is healthy, this deal could be a major win for the Rangers. After losing Josh Hamilton to the Angels and Mike Napoli to the Red Sox this winter (assuming the deal isn’t voided), Texas had a major hole in the midd…
Related Posts:
Posted in MLB News Wire
Posted on 31 December 2012. Tags: Billy, Billy Hamilton, Hamilton, minor leagues top prospects, plate, prospect, Record, Reds, Speed, stolen base record, the Reds top prospects
Billy Hamilton came into the 2012 season as one of the Reds top prospects, but after his 2012 season split between Bakersfield and Pensacola he established himself as one of the minor leagues top prospects and the Reds top one. While everyone gets excited about the speed, and it is otherworldly, it wasn’t the stolen base record that boosted his stock in the prospect world, but his vast improvement at the plate. His walk rate went through the roof, he showed a better average and at the plate he just looked better even without the numbers to back it up.
With the improvement in the numbers and the overall look at the plate, particularly from the left side, I wanted to look at the changes that Hamilton has made from 2011 to 2012 from both sides of the plate. First, let’s look at the left side.
Pre-swing there are three things that stand out to me. First is that his feet are closer together in 2012. That in turn makes the second thing that stood out which is that he is a little more upr…
Related Posts:
Posted in MLB News Wire
Posted on 23 December 2012. Tags: Cleveland Indians, Coach, contract, Daily, Indians, Leaves, Nick, Nick Swisher, Ohio State, plate, Rbis, Signs, Swisher, Yankees
Outfielder Nick Swisher, who spent the past four seasons in New York, has agreed to a four-year, $ 56 million contract with the Cleveland Indians, according to The New York Daily News.
The deal includes a $ 14 million vesting option for a fifth year based on plate appearances that could make the contract’s total value $ 70 million through the 2017 season.
Swisher, 32, batted .272 with 24 homers and 93 RBIs in 148 games last season with the Yankees.
The Tribe made it known they wanted Swisher, giving him and his wife, actress JoAnna Garcia, the red carpet treatment when the two visited Progressive Field on Dec. 18. Swisher, who played college at Ohio State was given a tour of the team’s facilities, and had lunch with manager Terry Francona, team executives and former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.
The Indians also played a video on the scoreboard featuring current Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer, basketball coach Thad Matta and baseball coach Greg Beals, w…
Related Posts:
Posted in MLB News Wire
Posted on 17 December 2012. Tags: Adrian Beltre, Alternatives, answer, Base, Cruz, isn't, League, Luis, Luis Cruz, major, Major League Baseball, percent, plate, There, Third
If only Adrian Beltre was a free agent this winter…
Luis Cruz was a nice story. He really was. But a “nice story” isn’t good enough to be a starting third baseman in Major League Baseball.
Cruz, 28, got a chance to play this season and took advantage of it. He hit .297/.322/.431 in 78 games. He had surprising pop, hitting six home runs and 20 doubles (tied for fourth-best on the team). But there’s one key statistic that shows Cruz is probably due for a regression in 2013: his walk rate.
Baseball is about getting on base, and Cruz did that about 32 percent of the time in 2012. Not bad for a utility player, but not good enough for an every day third baseman. He walked just 3 percent of his plate appearances (nine times in 296 plate appearances) and his batting average on balls in play was a little better than average (.320). When he stops hitting at a .297 clip, which is going to happen because he’s Luis Cruz, his on-base percentage will plummet. I…
Related Posts:
Posted in MLB News Wire
Posted on 15 December 2012. Tags: Anthony Gose, Antony Gose, Arencibia, Award, Dickey, Examining, Gose, home, plate, potential, prospect, swap, Toronto, Toronto Blue Jays, trade
The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets are close to agreeing on a trade that could send Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey to Toronto for a couple of yet to be defined players, according to major league sources.
The speculation and buzz is pointing to Antony Gose and J.P. Arencibia.
Outfield prospect Anthony Gose who batted .222 with a .622 OPS in 166 at-bats with 59 strikeouts and 15 stolen bases. Gose, 22, has a career slash of .264/.343/.391 in five minor league seasons. Gose’s offensive game is very similar to Luis Castillo with very little power and above average speed.
According to several reports, the second player in the deal would be catcher J.P. Arencibia rather than Travis d’Arnaud who the Mets love, but the Jays are still reluctant to deal him – especially if they are giving up two players.
Arencibia, who turns 27 in January, hit .233/.275/.435 with 18 home runs in 372 plate appearances for the Blue Jays in 2012. He has hit 41 home runs in 858 plate appearances over the …
Related Posts:
Posted in MLB News Wire
Posted on 28 November 2012. Tags: amphetamine, amphetamines, Baseball, Carlos Ruiz, Chooch, Erik Kratz, Mistake, Philadelphia Phillies, plate, popped, suspension
It looks like the Philadelphia Phillies will have to begin their 2013 campaign without All-Star Carlos Ruiz behind the plate.Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that the fan favorite (Phan Phavorite?) has been suspended 25 games for using a banned amphetamine.”I am sincerely regretful for my mistake in taking a prohibited stimulant,” Ruiz said in a release. “I apologize to my teammates, the Phillies organization, and the Philadelphia fans. I will serve the imposed 25-game suspension to begin the season and I look forward to returning to the field and working toward bringing a championship back to Philadelphia in 2013.”The 33-year-old had a career season in 2012…hitting .325 with 16 home runs and 68 RBI. His suspension means Erik Kratz will likely begin the season as the team’s starting catcher.Suffice it to say, Kratz didn’t do as well as “Chooch” this past season…nor does he have as catchy of a nickname.
Related Posts:
Posted in MLB News Wire
