Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander has drawn trade interest this winter, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. However, as Kubatko suggests, that doesn’t necessarily mean Santander will go anywhere. The 26-year-old is coming off a highly productive season in which he batted .261/.315/.575 (130 wRC+) with 11 home runs, and he’s not scheduled to become a free agent until after 2024. Santander will earn a projected $1.7MM to $3MM in arbitration next season. All of that makes Santander an appealing trade candidate, but the Orioles could simply retain him as a building block.
- The Padres are still attempting to re-sign free-agent infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. The switch-hitting Profar, 27, spent last season with San Diego, where he batted .278/.343/.428 (111 wRC+) with seven home runs in 202 trips to the plate. Defensively, Profar divided most of his time between left field and second base. Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth are among the options for the Padres at those spots, but the team seems to believe it will be able to keep fitting Profar in if it re-signs him. MLBTR predicted at the start of the offseason that Profar would land a one-year, $7MM contract in free agency.
- Clubs “routinely ask about” Giants catcher Joey Bart in trade talks, Rosenthal writes. The Giants are not actively attempting to move the 24-year-old, though, according to Rosenthal. Bart, the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, got off to a rough start in the majors last year with a .233/.288/.320 line, no home runs and 41 strikeouts against three walks in 111 plate appearances. However, Bart was dominant at the Double-A level the previous season. He or Patrick Bailey, the Giants’ first-round pick last summer, could end up as their answer at catcher when the iconic Buster Posey departs (potentially after next season).
- The Twins were among the finalists for reliever Kirby Yates before he agreed to join the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News relays. It’s not surprising the Twins were in on one of the open market’s highest-profile relievers, as their bullpen has taken hits this offseason with Trevor May, Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard getting to free agency. May signed with the Mets, though Romo and Clippard remain without contracts.
- Former Mets general manager Jared Porter was part of negotiations for right-hander Trevor Williams before the team fired the executive Tuesday, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. It’s unclear if the Porter-less Mets will continue pursuing Williams, whom the Pirates designated for assignment in November, especially after acquiring fellow starter Joey Lucchesi from the Padres on Monday. Williams was a solid part of the Pirates’ rotation from 2017-18, but he struggled to a 5.60 ERA/5.01 SIERA in 201 innings and 37 appearances (all starts) between 2019-20.
the O’s should lock up Santander
bruh lol bwahaa meh
you are a complete and utter child
It’s mean to insult children like that
Yes, one more year and IMO they will. He’s a Rule 5 guy who’s starting to look like an All-Star. Having him man the corners for the near future would be desirable.
I thought Santander was a core piece of the Orioles rebuild. Would be surprised if they traded him.
He’s not good. Strikes out a lot.
Acuña strikes out a lot
He’s only struck out 19.5% of the time across the last two seasons. That’s pretty solid.
mlb1225:
Not to be nitpicky, but according to BB Ref his SO% is 19.8% (I guess that is being nitpicky). But you’re right. With the MLB average at 22.4% that is solid.
Santander is wholeheartedly underrated. These are his stats from 2019-2020 combined in which he played a total of 130 games: .261/.302/.505/.807 with an ops+ of 111. As for strikeouts, that has averaged a 19.5% mark over the past two seasons (below average) and also a walk percentage of 5.1% (oddly low). His BAbip has also reinforced the sentiment that he is actually putting up good numbers since it has averaged out to a mere .274 over the past two seasons. As for power numbers, he trended way up in that department in 2020, but over 2019 and 2020 combined they dilute down to numbers like his .244 ISO and .343 wOBA over that 130 game span. If you want to see more traditional numbers, then his 31 homers and 91 RBIs might tickle your fancy (still only over 130 games, might I add). He’s a really intriguing trade piece and a really good future option the O’s have going forward. I’m excited to see where he goes.
Dang son, RangDueceNine brought the invoices
Did everyone fail to notice Dom’s avi is Alex Jones in a tinfoil hat? A little too obvious of a troll.
Bart is so overrated.
yeah I think some of these good catching prospects get a bit too much hype.
I thought the same, but over the subsequent 25+ years, Homer, Lisa, and Marge came much more into focus.
The only reason that Bart was so popular was because he had Milhouse as a character foil. His traits reflected greater off of those of Milhouse’s rather than the other characters in the series who lacked that foil causing Bart to be the most popular. Simple math.
If you are going to give Milhouse the credit for Bart’s success, you better have the stats to back it up. Otherwise what are we doing here, talking opinions?
This is great…remember, we’re here to debate using facts!
Hahahahaha
Sorry, opinion here, but I personally always thought Bart owed everything to Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes)
We all stand on (and pee off) the shoulders of giants
Underrated comment
He will be a lot better than Posey ever was.
Posey won an MVP as a catcher. i highly doubt it.
Posey also won Rookie of the year in 2010, NL batting title in 2012 (Hank Aaron award), Comeback Player of the Year in 2012 (after his brutal ankle break in ‘11) and caught just about every inning of three WS wins. But yeah, “[Bart] will be better than Posey ever was.” Right…
That won’t be difficult since Bob Posey was pretty bad in the minor leagues.
baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=pos…
Posey was way better than Contreras ever will be
And most catchers have been in the last few decades. Yadi may be the only exception
You’re kidding right? Haha, the dude gets shoved into catching/hitting Mlb ready pitching with zero time in AAA and now we’re to he’s overrated? Give the kid a chance before you fan scouts write him off. SMH
Agreed Balk
Couldn’t agree more..Imagine how crappy Posey would’ve been if he went through the same experience as Bart..I think Posey would’ve been worse..
He just didn’t show many skills. He showed power but could hardly hit the ball. He showed a great arm but routinely took strikes at the bottom of the zone and turned them into balls.
The Giants picked a catcher 13th overall in 2020 for a reason; the most likely one being that Joey Bart brings a lot of question marks.
Sadler:
No team drafts for need. Unless there are financial issues, or doubt that a player can be signed, they always draft the guy they consider the best player available, regardless of position. So your inference as to why the Giants drafted another catcher is completely without foundation.
And, the fact that, as the article states, other clubs “…routinely ask about… Bart in trade talks” ought to tell you that people with more knowledge that you or I, do not share your assessment.
Bart has had all of 111 plate appearances in the majors. How can you judge a player on that small of playing time?
@tad2b13….agreed….take the Orioles for example….they have a young catcher in Sisco already but drafted Rutschman with the 1st overall pick not because they needed a catcher as Severino and Sisco are serviceable catchers while the latter is still young….but they took Rutschman because he has huge upside and should be a beast of a catcher….
usafcop:
Excellent point. In fact, I’m thinking, damn, why didn’t I think about Rutschman?
Yeah, he was clearly the right guy for the O’s to draft, even though pitching might have been a bigger need.
Plus, Bart has never had a AAA at bat! They threw him into the bigs this past
season because they wanted to give him more
experience than the 60 player pool training camp. Bart needs more reps in the minors. All of that said,
I’m not convinced he’ll ever be a powerhouse on both sides of the plate, and I could see Z trading him if the return was good enough. But to say he’s a bust at this point is short-sighted.
Let’s hope Zaidi doesn’t treat Bart like previous Giants GMs. In years past, they would trade away a young prospect for an aging has-been and then watched that prospect become an all-star for someone else. Giants have a dismal history in developing position players…
It’s not fair, I get judged by my small sample size all the time.
That’s a bit of an overstatement.
Aside from trading Luis Castillo for Casey McGehee, not a ton of trades have completely blown up in their face, as far as prospects go.
Look at the trades:
Longoria: best player given up: Denard Span? Maybe Stephen Woods. Arroyo is a massive bust.
McCutchen: Bryan Reynolds, And even that one decent season he had was unsustainable.””
Matt Moore: Fox and Duffy have been objectively bad since that trade.
WIll Smith: Bickford and Susac aren’t very good. Bickford *might* have some upside as a middle reliever. Might.
Mike Leake: Duvall was pretty good, but had no spot in San Francisco.
The idea that the Giants were just handing over All-Stars for aging veterans is nonsense.
@tad2b13….yeah no doubt they need pitching….I mean the last time they had REALLY GOOD pitching was in the 80’s with Palmer and Flanagan and McGregor….
Then more recently they had Bundy and Harvey and Tillman and Arietta and Matusz and I thought maybe they could be decent again but it wasn’t until Arietta and Bundy left that they became good….lol
Tillman and Matusz are gone….and Harvey is just now showing signs that he will be good as a reliever not a starter….
Their best starter is John Means who would be #2 or #3 on most teams so yeah they needed pitching more than the need for a catcher with Sisco there already….
But as u said teams take the best take by available and Rutschman is going to be a stud….
Best player available*
Sign Cashner, he was having a good year when traded. He was like 8-3 with .382 ERA
He played maybe 20 games in AA, and SKIPPED AAA. Give him some room, and watch him get ROY when he comes back up
13Morgs13:
The only thing germane about your comment is that it shows you must be seriously lacking in experience. Nobody that’s been around baseball for very long would declare a young player, without hardly any minor league seasoning, overrated, based on a miniscule sample.
He’s also 24. There’s a reason 24 year olds haven’t played 3A. It’s bc they haven’t been good enough.
In his defense, all catchers are over rated. At the end of the day u get a dude who hits 230 w 15/20 homers and is a platoon player.
bot:
Are you completely unaware that there was a pandemic? He didn’t play in AAA, not because he hasn’t been good enough, it’s because there was no minor league baseball last year.
I’m guessing you’re also clueless to the fact that most catchers need more time in the minors than any other position do to the complexity involved in playing there effectively.
And I’m not so sure blanket statements like “all catchers are over rated (sic)” are much of a useful insight.
*…due to… Not do to…
You do know there was no minor league season in 2020, right? Bart missed a good chunk of 2019 as well because of an injury. Otherwise, he probably would have gotten his first taste of playing time at AAA during ’19.
I’d have no problem seeing the Jays acquire Santander to avoid having him wear out Jays pitching like he did last year. The staff made his bat look all-world.
Then again the O’s make Randal Grichuk look like part Willie Mays, part Hank Aaron.
Attempting to re-sign Profar? How hard of a sign can he really be?
I’d imagine a lot of clubs are interested in Profar, @removewins –
He’s a switch hitter with legitimate 20 homer 20 steal offense. He plays everywhere on the infield & some on the grass.
A player like that can contribute to a lot of teams.
He’d look good in LF for the Cubs, but their free agent budget is $1M per player again this offseason.
& I’d love him as the Yankees utility player. So sick of Tyler Wade, man. I still think the Yanks will sign more players. He’d be a nice add.
Always a pleasure, Mrs Schwarber.
Profar might think playing time is more important than $$$ if he has to take a one year contract.
20 steal? The most he has had in a season is 10. Even if you extrapolate his stolen bases in 2020 out to a full season he still misses the mark. And 20 homers doesn’t really matter anymore considering everyone and their grandmother hit 20 home runs in 2019. As far as being a switch hitter, so am I. I never made it past little league. You still have to be good.
He’s a nice player to have for the right price but not much more.
Commenting on Jurickson Profar:
“he’s a nice player to have” ~ removepitcherwinsfromtherecordbooks
… for the right price
What is your point bub?
“I’d imagine a lot of teams are interested in Profar” ~ DB Fent.
Point is, as you freely admit Profar is a “nice player”. Which sorta flies in the face of “how hard of a sign can he really be?”, uh?
You really can’t have this one both ways. He’s either “easy to sign” or he is not due to competition. Which was your take. & what started the whole dialogue. I thought that was obvious.
I disagreed. I told you why. You then agreed with me. Now you seem confused.
I feel like I really overexplained all that? But I guess it was necessary.
Bub.
😉
I said he’s a nice player to have for the right price. Note the second half of that. He is not a player who you try to wine and dine or take part in a bidding war to sign.
Not really sure where he fits anyway with the Kim signing and with Tommy Pham coming back.
Wouldn’t “for the right price* apply to every free agent…well, ever? Ya know?
Not really sure about the wining & dining stuff? He’s a player that adds some different things to just about every team. I don’t think he’s going to just waltz into some GM’s office & sign whatever piece of paper is laid in front of him.
Dunno. You seem to be applying a bunch of new caveats. In the end, I completely see why there is some apparent competition for his services. Apparently you did not but now sorta do.
Pretty much it.
Anyway, have good night, bro.
“Wouldn’t “for the right price* apply to every free agent…well, ever? Ya know?”
No, some fans seem to think some players should be signed “at all costs.” Jurickson Profar is not that type of player, notwithstanding what some in the Padres fanbase seem to think of him.
If there is an actual competition for his services the Padres should just let the other teams have him. Like I said, I’m not really sure where he fits anyway with the Ha-Seong Kim addition and with Tommy Pham coming back. And you can stop it with your snide “have a good nights” now 🙂
Santander has a career K rate of 19.7 %. More importantly, that number dropped to 15 % last year. He certainly does NOT strike out too much.
Good player. Not the best defensively, but far from the worst. Pretty good all around player.
Come on’ Connor Byrne…I like you how guys at MLBTR post articles and names but then censor the comments how you see fit. Twitter censorship class 101 ehh?!?! smh…….
Like Twitter, this is a private service. It’s their call. Go to Reddit if you want to talk about closed comment topics.
Is it going to still be there call when section 230 gets replaced?
unfortunately Liberals have seen how 230 actually helps them to suppress Conservative voices…highly doubt it changes anytime soon….but MLBTR is a publisher and can censor how they like (i was just talking crap and making a point lol)…Twitter, however, is a platform and can’t censor technically, but yet they are
I agree Arthur blank, I too was making a point about Twitter/Facebook etc…people must be either to blind to see how Twitter and major news organizations interfered and became an arm for the liberals. SMH
Mo, are you like the hall monitor on here? ahahaha
Twitter is different Mo. A service like that cannot block speech only on one side which is why it’s such a BIG problem.
Huh, a private enterprise running things how they want to? Crazy!!!
Then quit making comments about storming the Capitol.
If we Naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets!
Wait..you mean there’s somewhere your opinion is unwanted, unneeded and it ISN’T illegal to keep you from posting it? Damn..first world problems, right?
yep exactly…that’s going to change tho if just fall-in-line and not speak our unwanted voices lol
Scary part is that they won’t realize it until they try to disagree with something later and they are censored.
yeah I’ve heard several in the House and Senate say that exact sentiment…’You may like it now b/c it benefits you, but you won’t like it when it doesn’t…we must correct it now for both ideologies’…
The Mets may or may not be pursuing Williams but it’s a sure thing that Porter is texting him even as we speak.
I wonder if Profar is also going to sit on those texts for 5 years because they’ll ‘hurt his career.’ riigggghht…
Joey Bart is going nowhere
Giants could probably trade Bart to the Cubbies for Contreras, Bryant, and Baez. Not sure they would entertain that.. But, I believe it’s attainable when observing the Darvish trade.
It would certainly make for a fun baseball season..even for a Tiger’s fan like myself : j
I don’t want Contreras, and I don’t know if I would agree to take KB and El Mago. I like Bart and I think he shows a lot of potential, he just needs more seasoning
I get Bart is 24 and has control. But I wonder why we don’t hear about clubs calling on Christian Vazquez? His contract would be over before bloom tries to build a contending club. Affordable contract with a couple years left. You’d think that has value.
Seriously, if Boston can’t extend Vazquez- now – they should trade him. There’s other stop gap free agents that can fill in for the mealtime
giving him away for cheap?
No reason to?
just kidding!
He’s Alex Cora’s favorite. Vasquez is staying put
They signed him to an extension in 2019. Have a club option for 2022. After 2022 he’ll be 32. At that point you can decide whether to extend him again but right now there’s no need
He’s got 1 +1option. Your return degrades greatly if only one year control instead of two. Typically if your long term plan isn’t there you want to trade away with 2yrs left.
Its not that hard to rework the deal, pick up the 2022 option in the new deal, and add two more options on the back end. Then you’ve got a contract through 2022, a 2023 option, and a 2024 option.
Let’s be honest. Bloom isn’t doing Jack to improve the team for next year. I’d wager that will continue into next offseason as well as likely as not as they wait for JDM, eovaldi, price deals to clear.
If you’re not competing, it’s your job to maximize assets. Forget trading Benny. Gain more control on Vazquez or sell him for max return while he still has some significant value left.
You heard it here first, Sam Huff will have better career numbers than Bart.
westex87:
So you must have a crystal ball. Or maybe you’ve time-travelled to the future. Otherwise I don’t know how you could be so sure about something that even the smartest baseball people don’t know.
I’m not basing anything off what my crystal ball is telling me, I’m making a prediction based off what I saw out of both last year and minor league careers. That’s just my opinion, we shall just wait and see what happens.
westex87:
You didn’t make a prediction, which is a guess as to what might happen. You stated matter-of-factly that Sam Huff “will” have better career numbers than Bart.
Then you tell me we need to wait and see what happens, after that being exactly the same thing that I said to you.
You made a couple smart comments about time travel and crystal balls. My broad speculation on who will have the better career is based on what I see and my opinion. These things don’t mean I will be right, I have no issues being wrong. I don’t understand why people get so triggered all the time, you just posted both of their minor league numbers, which aren’t significantly different, so it’s not far fetched that Huff can be as successful as Bart in the majors. Thanks for the dialogue, I hope they both have great careers, I would never wish that anyone fails at the big league level.
westex87:
You did not express your thoughts as an opinion. You made a declarative statement. If you don’t want people to call you out, try being more clear. That aside, making a prediction on the slimmest amount of data is a foolish one.
1. Expressing ones thoughts or making “declarative” statements can always be based on opinions.
2. Calling me out? You are saying I’m wrong about my prediction based on your opinions and slimmest amount of data. Also, I could care less that you “called” me out. As said before, I don’t care if my prediction is wrong, it’s my opinion about who I think will have a better career.
3. You are arguing your point based on the slightest amount of data and your opinion is Bart will be better…and I respect that, but the issue is that you can’t handle someone’s opinion being different than yours. Move on man.
He might, mostly because he’s not going to stay behind the plate, not with his frame. The guy is built like Joe Mauer.
Also, if you’re basing anything off a .471 BABIP in his debut, then you should probably temper your expectations. There’s not a snowball’s chance in heck he hits anywhere close to that.
Everything I have ever read about him talks about how everyone in the organization is optimistic he will stick behind the plate. He is definitely athletic enough to do so and has just as much of a chance to stick as Salvador Perez. He will be leaps and bounds above Gary Sanchez defensively behind the plate, so just because he is built like Mauer doesn’t mean he won’t stick. I am also not basing my opinion off has BABIP, I am basing it off his minor league numbers and how comfortable he looked at the plate in his debut. Baseball is a passion of mine and I love to delve into minor league stats and articles on prospects. Just because my opinion is he will be better doesn’t mean I will be right at all, but I’m not just basing it off a hunch either. Also, Joey Bart is only 3” shorter than Huff and they are reported as the same weight. I wouldn’t put it past Huff sticking longer behind the plate than Bart, he might just be more athletic anyway.
westex87:
Other than 31 ABs in the majors, Huff hasn’t played a game above High-A. And other than their rookie league seasons, Bart has hit better in the minors than Huff. At High-A, Bart has an OPS of .793, to Huff’s .751. It’s hard to compare the rest since Bart had an .983 in one season at Low-A, while Huff had an .820 OPS in 2 seasons in A-Ball
Bart had a .912 OPS in the pitcher-friendly AA, but it’s a small sample of only 79 ABs, much like his and Huff’s MLB samples (as well as Bart’s). And there’s no AA season from Huff to compare to.
And I wonder if Huff’s name routinely comes up in trade proposals from other teams like Bart does. But like I said earlier, no one knows how they will compare when their careers are over.
“He will be leaps and bounds above Gary Sanchez defensively behind the plate, so just because he is built like Mauer doesn’t mean he won’t stick.”
That’s purely speculation and based off nothing other than your own fandom.
Also, you set a really low bar by saying he’ll be better than Sanchez defensively. Honestly, if your catcher is worse than Sanchez, he probably shouldn’t be a catcher.
It’s not speculation when he is already better defensively than Sanchez, doesn’t matter that he has less time in the majors. I’m not comparing his defensive skills to Sanchez, although it’s obvious Sanchez has been terrible up to this point, but I was comparing his size and build and how he can stick at the position.
Right. So saying, “he’s better than Sanchez” is like making a meal and saying, “well, it’s healthier than Skittles!”
We’re not exactly clearing super high bars here. So congrats to Sam Huff, on being better than one of the worst defensive catchers in baseball! Let’s elect him into the Hall of Fame right now.
Yeah well look how far Mauer made it. What will move him away, if any, will be the fact that he throws lefty. Personally, I think he should move. I haven’t seen him play but I do know that it is so much harder for lefties to catch than it is for righties
Huff isn’t a lefty
Sam Huff??
Yeah right
Padres need to offload the Myers contract for the Profar signing to make sense.
Say they trade Myers (22.5M, 2023 FA) and a mid-tier prospect to the Cardinals for Dexter Fowler (16.5M, 2022 FA). They’ll free up 7M and then they can sign Profar for 7M and/or go after a free-agent reliever.
padres2021:
Why in the wide world of sports would the Cardinals do that? Myers is owed $46M, and Fowler is owed $16.5. Plus, Fowler is more useful with the glove. The Padres would have to eat a lot of Myers contract to make the Cards even consider that, or offer more than a mid-tier prospect.
Pass
I love these trades people propose. Let’s trade this guy we don’t want because he makes too much money for two many years! I’ve got it. I’ll trade for another player, who makes less and has a expiring contract for my crappy player who’s due over double!
If the value for Santander is anything decent I say trade him. He’s a solid player but I’m not sure how he’ll fare in 3-5 years when the birds are hopefully competing. Loved when the European field trip was at the game and he became their favorite player. That didn’t seem to get much coverage. Check it out if you haven’t seen it. Was pretty cool for both Santander and the fans.
Santander is not going anywhere so put the rumors to rest. The Orioles will sign him to an extension. Everyone talks bad about the Orioles but they got a steal when the O’s got him from Cleveland.
Rule 5…didn’t know that until I looked up where Santander came from!
I don’t know, if the Os wont be ready to contend until 2023 (which is still optimistic) and Santander is mashing until the 2022 deadline, his value in a trade may get too high to keep and you build around the prospects you get in return for him. I agree he wont go anywhere now but in a year or two, mayben.
Cgoss:
“The Orioles will sign him to an extension.”
Easier said than done.
I just dont see the Os locking him up with more OF help than they have space for. He is solid but not MVP caliber and players like Diaz and Kjerstad could likely patch that OF hole with less value lost than say, locking up Rutschman. Perhaps they deal him for prospects or they make a contender to contender trade to patch another hole instead (Id say TB with Xavier Edwards or Brujan makes sense in a year if the Rays weren’t so cheap)
CHS O’sFan:
Actually, I think if the O’s could sign him to an extension they should. It gives them financial certainty, and he can still be traded. I don’t think a guy has to be MVP -caliber to be extremely useful. It just isn’t easy if a player wants to test the FA waters. But I think it does give them more options, in case guys like Diaz and Kjerstad, can’t be extended.
At least he made the Cleveland trade before this happened…..i think brodie set him up
Springer to the Jays might be breaking soon boys!
Is it?????
twitter.com/DanClarkSports/status/1351717601462808…
It’s also Dan Clak. What’s even funnier is that he’s hiding all replies and comments that bring up when he said Machado to the Yankees lmao
This is just getting funnier and funnier. I don’t have twitter, but I just love looking up people’s reactions there lmao.
Here’s another good one: twitter.com/marisnickstan27/status/135172242987017…
JAYS ARE FRONTRUNNERS!!!
twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1351728642095804431
I see the Jays are going to try the Angels way of winning games; outslugging your opponent. Granted, they could still get some pitching.
I find it cool to see how different teams handle how they build their winning teams. You see the Padres and Rays that boost their staffs, and you also have the offense heavy Yankees, Rangers, Angels teams that use the big bats to get their wins. Personally – being a pitcher – I have to say that I’d be pitcher heavy. The reason being is that your offense is more likely to get in some two or three day ruts rather than your pitchers who might have a bad start though the next day a different guy takes the bump. Pitching is more stable in that matter. I’m curious about what you think though.
Kirby Yates: “I want to freeze my butt off! Minnesota and Toronto! Whatchagot?!”
Lol
You’re not all that wrong. The north is an acquired taste. Not everyone is as thrilled as I was to go grouse hunting in 17° as I was this afternoon, uh? At this point in my life, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
But, as a ballplayer in my 20-30’s? I think my priorities & preferences would be markedly different. I’m thinking San Diego would have a lot to offer.
Ducky:
Having lived in Boston, what I hated about the weather there was not the severity. It was the perceived, never-ending, aspect of it. Snow storms in April had me calling for an investigation. A big part of it is, I like warm weather sports, softball, bicycling, kayaking, golf, tennis, etc, and not so much winter sports.
That said, summer in Toronto could be very nice. And when the season is over there’s the opportunity to go anywhere that suits your fancy.
I grew up in NYC but spent a lot of time in Maine, as well. So it’s not like I was raised in Hawaii, or whatever.
But the same thing you disliked about the winter is the thing I like most about it. Winter lasts a really long time out here. I always think it should be kinda cold, or at least cool, when I’m hunting. I get plenty of that.
If I didn’t have something I really loved I’d go insane over the winter, serious.
Your point is completely correct. The northern cities are fantastic over summer. & – yeah – nothing stopping these guys from living elsewhere the rest of the year. They’ve pretty solid incomes.
Ducky:
I love Maine. But only in the summer, and it’s fantastic then.
I posted this on another thread, but seems worth repeating. Having lived all over the country (almost), I love living in northern California. Virginia is absolutely beautiful, and I loved it there, and the Chesapeake Bay is truly, as they say, the land of pleasant living.
My heart is in Kansas, and the Jayhawks are my BB team, but I can’t live there anymore, much like the farm boys that have seen Paree.
But I’m not a winter guy. I never really hated winter until I moved to Boston, but that did it for me. The Bay Area has great weather IMO, even if the evenings are a bit too chilly. What I loved was the weather almost never forced me to change plans like it did all too often in Boston. But too many people live there so traffic was always a problem, and I hated that.
Now that I live in the north state of California, I couldn’t be happier. There are 4 distinct seasons, even if it doesn’t include snow, but I can see it on the mountains. Not much traffic, beautiful country, incredible birds. Saw both bald and golden eagles last week. Love hearing the snow geese fly over. Fly fishing, biking and golf. And I live in a college town. I couldn’t ask for more.
@tad2b13 –
Such a harshly beautiful place. Maine has a sea duck season that runs through January. When I was a kid, I’d go out on the Atlantic – this time of year! – hunting them with my grandfather. These waters were no joke, man. A delta of ~ 28′ from high to low tide.
My grandfather was a better sailer than I’ll ever be, serious.
I grew up on the east coast, spent a couple years in the Bay Area, & accidentally wound up living in New Orleans for a stretch. So I’ve had the experience of different experiences, myself.
Good way to figure out what one does or really does not like. Man, I have a couple friends I grew up with that have pretty much never left NYC. They’re happy? But I always wonder if that’s really where they are the happiest they could be.
Ya know?
I get various hunting licenses & permits not only for here in MN, but WI, North Dakota, & Nebraska as well. So I get to experience the north woods, the Great Plains, Great Lakes (Superior is every bit the challenge that the ocean is), Great Rivers, & 35K+ lakes (great or otherwise).
More than several lifetimes worth of explorations & experiences.
I hunt prairie grouse, geese, & prairie turkeys in Nebraska (the Missouri River valley, & the Sandhills). So I actually understand the beauty of Kansas.
Winter represents “freedom” to me. I’m a contractor. So from sometime in May until sometime in September I work a soul crushing amount. Things like 50+ consecutive days with no day off (like Joe DiMaggio lol), 16 hour days, & routinely put in 80+ hour work weeks. Oct – April, however, I pretty much coast. Not for everyone, I know. But as a single parent it’s always been the time that I can really be a part of my son’s life.
Although, he’s pretty much got his own deal going on these days,
I still get to spend time with him & go to his ball games & stuff.
& I can pretty much go hunting everyday.
I like hearing from anyone who feels a passion & connection to the land they live on. Too many people don’t.
Leave you with a couple images of my own. Last week, I was out for grouse & hare. The dogs & I were going cross country. I ducked under a branch, stood up & was face to face with a Grey Owl! I wonder which one of our eyes were bigger. I could feel the wind from his wings when he took flight. A few days ago, my retriever got into a scuffle with a Fisher cat (first one I’ve ever seen) over a goose. She brought back the goose…minus head & neck. For a few moments it was a water battle worthy of a nature program, uh.
Kansas? Who’s your baseball squad?
“I hunt prairie grouse, geese, & prairie turkeys in Nebraska (the Missouri River valley, & the Sandhills). So I actually understand the beauty of Kansas.”
As someone raised in Nebraska, saying Nebraska looks like Kansas is deeply offensive…
Not really. Although Nebraska is less bland than it’s neighbors to the south and east, both states I spent significant time in as well. The thing that makes it so unique is every part of the state really has it’s own character: the east has rolling hills and farms. The central has the Sandhills. The West has badland-style geography. The north has the Niobrara and is very open (looks like Wyoming).
Kansas, aside from some pretty cool parts around Scott City out west is about the same everywhere. And Iowa is as boring as it gets… at least they have the world’s largest truck stop!
Anyway, next time you’re in Nebraska, stop and grab a meal at Sandhills Corral in Thedford. Great stuff.
You’re right.
Nebraska does offer a lot of topographic variety. Whereas Kansas is mostly plains/farmland. & I’m not nearly as familiar with it.
In fact…I think I’ve only been there (just driving, as well) a couple times. So a pretty unfounded statement lol.
Sandhills Corral in Thedford. Noted. Pretty cold up here. Might be heading there soon. Gotta check the weather.
Either way, I’ll be there a couple more times this winter & then again in May. I’ll take any more tips you have as I “upgraded” to Nebraska from IA a couple years ago.
Ducky:
I was born in Kansas, which is where my mom’s family was from, but being an army kid, besides Kansas, we lived in Nebraska, Missouri, and Colorado. And other than a couple years in Panama. lived mostly in Kansas until I was 13. This will show my age, but I briefly rooted for the KC A’s.
As to the beauty of Kansas, I don’t think it can compare to Virginia, or California, but I always loved seeing the wind blow the wheat when it was tall, and looked like the ocean.
My favorite player was Roberto Clemente, so I also rooted for the Pirates. We moved to Washington DC, and then I rooted for the Senators since it was the first time in my life that I lived in a city with a major league team.
But I became a Giants fan in 1962, since my best friend and I loved Willie Mays and (sorry), hated the Yankees. I’ve been a Giants fan ever since. So moving to the Bay Area was serendipity
I know you’re a Yankee fan so you might find interesting some of the Yankee players I got see. My father was a big baseball fan and with the Senators in the AL, and the Orioles only 30 miles away, I was lucky to see guys like Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson, Clete Boyer, and Whitey Ford.
@tad –
Typically, I prefer more water based environments. I guess mostly I’ve just found the plains to be beautiful in a rather stark way. If you are familiar with the Sandhills that’s kind of my idealized image.
Kansas has become the best bobwhite quail hunting in the country. I often times consider a trip there. But I don’t know if I’m necessarily gentlemanly enough for quail hunting.
Clemente one helluva ballplayer. He was a bit before my time, however. My childhood squad were those Bronx Zoo clubs. Mercy. What a fun team, man. Was at The Stadium when Chambliss took Littel deep & fought his way to home plate.
The vibe was indescribable.
Pretty much ensured I’d be a Yankee fan for life.
No apology necessary.
I understand pretty much everyone hates the Yanks. Trust me. I bury my fanhood in front of my homeowners. Twins fans loathe the Yankees, man.
Couldn’t help but root for those recent Giants teams in the World Series. Great club. Likeable players. Smart manager.
I do a lot of lake & river kayaking. But I’ve only done open water once (I probably should have drowned that time, serious) but I’d love to do the McCovey cove thing if I ever get the chance. I think I’d actually – blasphemous as it is – rather do that then go to the “new” Yankee stadium.
That’s a pretty amazing list.
Mantle. Man. My grandfather said he was the best. When in doubt, I defer to him.
I’m a native Kansan and have driven 65,000 miles in the region in the past 4 years…Nebraska included. Anyone saying most of Kansas and Nebraska arent fairly similar havent really seen them both. Iowa? Eastern Iowa is pretty…lived in Cedar Rapids 10 years.
Deeply insulted…get out of here. No one knows what they’re talking about. I’m writing from the middle of Kansas now…the state does change. KC looks NOTHING like western KS…at all..and the SE borders the Ozarks.
Mostly I’m familiar with the Missouri River valley (seems pretty similar no matter Nebraska, Kansas, or Iowa) from hunting snow geese.
& the Sandhills which – at least in my travels – are a pretty unique land.
Anyway, I’m pretty sure nobody intended any slight towards Kansas.
But…do you have any quail hunting tips?
My “offense” was pure sarcasm. Chill out kid.
There are a lot of similarities between certain parts of Nebraska and Kansas, no doubt. But I’ve been all around that state, and it’s pretty standard everywhere… at least until you get to the western portion of the state.
If we’re talking the Lake Scott/Little Jerusalem area, yeah, it’s more like Colorado than Kansas City. But let’s be honest: the area of Dodge City looks a lot more like Wichita than you’d probably care to admit.
Kansas is largely indistinguishable in 90% of the state. And this is coming from someone who spent very good years in the Hays area. (I live in Missouri now).
Nebraska is much, much different depending on the location. Scottsbluff and Grand Island and Lincoln and Norfolk and McCook and Valentine and Broken Bow all look way different. Like, almost different states entirely in their topography.
I also lived in Central Iowa (near Pella) for several years. Like any state, there are areas that are pretty unique, but Iowa might be the most bland state in America. I love the Loess Hills, but those are more the exception than the rule for Iowa.
Ducky,
I grew up in Nebraska and moved around to many areas of the midwest… I lived in Wisconsin, Kansas, Iowa, and now live in Missouri. All are beautiful and unique in their own way.
But there’s something unique about Nebraska, and perhaps because everyone bases Nebraska based on what they see along I-80 around Lincoln and Omaha.
People who knock Nebraska have never been out to Scottsbluff and seen the Scotts Bluff Monument or been up to Smith Falls by the Niobrara. They’ve never been up to Chadron and seen some of the beauty up there.
And frankly, it’s better to keep it that way. One of the beautiful things about the state is how quiet it gets outside of Lincoln/Omaha. I grew up in Lincoln, went to school in Omaha… and getting away in the country was always the best.
My advice to enjoying Nebraska: take backroads every chance you can. There is so much hidden beauty in the state, and as you’ve probably already found out, there are so many incredibly nice people out in the little towns and the little restaurants.
Grab a Runza, get in the truck, and enjoy the peace and quiet.
“and frankly it’s better to keep it that way.”
Absolutely.
Yeah, NE takes a bad rap as far as being thought of as boring.
Anyway.
There are still places in MN, WI, ND, & NE where I can completely get away from everyone. I cannot tell you how valuable I find that.
I’m an old school “take the redlines” guy. I definitely take the less traveled path when I’m able.
“Incredibly nice people.” Man, that’s underselling it if anything. Since I’m there for geese & Huns mostly – as opposed to mallards & pheasants – I get so much help. For real. If those folks did any more they’d just mail me the birds.
Runzas! So good. They kinda remind me of pasties that you get in Northern WI, or the U.P.
Ducky:
I don’t think Mantle was the best, but only because of the injuries. Had he not had to deal with those knees, he could easily have been the best ever. He certainly had all the tools.
Living in AL country it was all AL players that I saw when I was young. I did get a chance to see Clemente when the Pirates played the Orioles in the ’71 WS. He not only did not disappoint, he exceeded my hopes. He hit .414/.452/.759 with a 1.210 OPS. He had 2 2Bs, 1 3B, and 2 HRs, one of which was in game 7, which the Pirates won 2-1. He was of course the WS MVP. I didn’t go to all 4 games Baltimore, I let my mom go with my dad to game 7.
It’s a bittersweet memory though. My dad had recently been diagnosed with cancer, loved baseball, and had never been to a WS game, so I took him to the series for his birthday. He passed away the following summer, and then of course, Clemente was killed about 6 months after that.
Living in Topeka when I was young, the funny thing, to me anyway, about the Yankees, was they were my favorite team when I first started watching baseball. I think it was more about how the name rolls off the tongue than anything. But when my grandmother heard, she took me aside. She simply said don’t root for that team. Root for any other team, but not that one. My Grandma was a great woman, and everyone in my family knew it. Because the memory of her is still strong long after her passing, she is still the most highly regarded person in my family that’s old enough to remember. So, even at the age of 7 or 8 or I had to do what she asked.
Look at that OPS. Man. It has a decimal point. From what I understand, he probably had a few excellent plays with the glove, too.
I was adopted, but for some reason or other, I wound up being really close to my grandfather. In the end, the reality was I was the only grandkid that shared his interests; football, baseball, hunting, & fishing.
Anyway, I don’t remember it but I was going to The Stadium in ’71. I may have actually seen that Orioles squad. I’ll make sure & ask him if I make it to heaven, uh?
“but not that one.”
That’s awesome. She sounds like an incredible woman.
John…lol…kid? Lol…I wish…you’re taking me too serious with this..I got you lol. I’m 43..maybe you’re 90..and that would make me a kid so that’s fair. Trash KS all you like….I’m just laughing cause it’s all kind of the same. Oh I see the issue…I was responding to someones “Deeply Insulted” comment..that seemed so strange.
Ducky Buckin Fent- we have too many coyote to have many quail. The coyotes even push the fox into town.
Yeah, coyotes have gotten out of balance other places, too. Something hunters can actually help with. Same thing with geese & rock doves for example.
I had just recently read an article about hunting bobwhite quail in Kansas. The article claimed KS to have the best remaining quail shooting in the country. Apparently, they’ve continued to put some money & resources into preserving their habitat. Unlike some southern states that were formerly known for their abundant populations.
If I remember correctly, it was in the NE & Central parts of the state.
I lived in Northern WI for 3 years (Oconto County) and had pasties one time. I’ll be okay if I never have another. Just bleh.
As far as Redlines… we would take family trips out to Rapid City, SD all the time and my dad would refuse to take the fast path. We’d always meander through the central part of the state and come up in SD out of Gordon, NE. As a kid, I hated that it took a few more hours. (I-29 and I-90 would have been so much faster), but now, I realize I’ve seen more of the beauty of that state than most Nebraskans and met some of the nicest people on the planet.
Godspeed on your travels and expeditions. Enjoy God’s country that is known as Nebraska.
Williams would be a great get, providing some decent 4and 5 till Thor returns. Peterson, Matz, Lucchesi and Williams.
Typical Twins update.
If, as the article suggests, all it’s going to take is $7 million for one year to sign Jurikson Profar, the Phillies ought to leap at him right now. Play him in CF where we have a gaping hole. To wit, Haseley needs 350-400 AAA at bats, and, well, one just can’t count on Roman Quinn staying on the field.
Profar was once listed as the best prospect in all of baseball a few year back. Injuries and lack of playing time hampered him early on. However, from about mid-season in 2020, Profar was one of the best hitters in the NL. He’s a switch hitter with speed and modest pop (15-20 HR).
Hope Dombo and GM Sam Fuld read this comment and sign Profar.
I agree Williams would be solid depth/swing guy…Well our GM made a splash in his brief stint. I wonder if we try to sign JBJ…we need a true CF imo but also glad we didn’t give springer 160 million. Simply have hard time believing he stays in CF for more than couple years…