The Spitter

The representatitves are: Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, CJ Abrams, Max Muncy (Dodgers), Drake Baldwin, Andy Pages, Michael Harris II, Juan Soto, Brandon Marsh, Teoscar Hernandez,

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ernie Clement, Bobby Witt, Jr., Junior Caminero, Shea Langaliers, William Contreras, Mike Trout, Jesus Sanchez, Dalton Varsho, Byron Buxton, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger.

Some of the voting was on point. Some was a Canadian conspiracy. A couple of the finalists do not have the stats to be there. Several of the second place finishers also did not deserve the votes they received. George Springer and his .221 batting average outpointed Kyle Schwarber? C’mon, maaaaaannnnnnn. The Athletics are probably under-represented. Check out the

The boys looked at the voting a little differently. Andrew is trying to build a team. Bob is trying to focus solely on the best performers of the year. The boys do their best to get you the stats you need since a lot of them are missing from your ballots.

American League First Base:

Andrew: On reputation, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. On stats, Willson Contreras. Honorable Mention Nick Kurtz and Ben Rice.

Bob: Contreras. Ben Rice for the home run derby. 15 Hrs in 40 games at first?

National League First base:

Bob: Matt Olson. Honorable Mention Freddie Freeman.

AL Second Base:

Andrew: Ernie Clement. No Jazz Chisholm Jr., thank you. What about Brandon Lowe? 17 Hrs ought to account for something.

Bob: Jose Altuve has just two errors. Fan favorite gets in on name alone? We’ll see.

NL Second Base:

Bob: I like Xavier Edwards from Miami despite his four errors. He’s leading that team in many different ways. Ozzie Albies has a single error and is likely to be chosen. Luis Arraez is hitting .319 and deserves to go.

NL Third Baseman:

Bob: Max Muncy.

Andrew: Agreed.

AL Third Baseman:

Andrew: Miguel Vargas. Good RBI guy. I’d build a team with this guy.

Bob: Josh Jung

NL Shortstop:

Bob: Otto Lopez. Makes a lot of errors. Makes a lot of plays. Hitting .343 and deserves the nod.

AL Shortstop:

Andrew: Bobby Witt Jr. Better than the rest.

Bob: I’d like to see Kevin McGonigle.

Catcher:

Andrew: Shea Langaliers for the A’s. 883 OPS. Daniel Susac is off to a good start.

Bob: William Contreras. .295 average. Drake Baldwin hasn’t played as many games. He would be great in the Home Run Derby.

Outfield:

Andrew: Randy Arozarena, Byron Buxton has a .936 OPS. Why isn’t he stealing?Carlos Cortes for the A’s throws with either arm and deserves recognition just for that. No Aaron Judge this year.

In the NL, Jung Hoo Lee from the Giants. 331 has to be recognized. Adam Marsh is hitting .322.

Bob: Michael Harris II. Pete Crow-Armstrong gets to more balls. Batting average is certainly decent. Andy Pages.

Honorable mention to Adam Marsh, Mickey Moniak, Jordan Walker, James Wood.

Juan Soto is only playing the field half the time.

Designated Hitter:

Bob: Shohei Ohtani for average and power. Patrick Bailey

Andrew: Yordan Alvarez is better than Ohtani. Yandy Diaz is also killing it.

Pitchers:

Andrew: Aroldis Chapman, Paul Skenes, Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Bob: Jacob Misiorowski, Cristopher Sánchez, Mason Miller, Clay Holmes, Brad Lord, Aaron Ashby, Antonio Senzatela

Andrew: National League looks stronger.

Bob: Agreed.

Check back with us in a couple of weeks to see how your ballot measured up. Then, it’s Round 2of voting!

During the summer before Andrew Moffitt’s 8th Grade year, he and his dad got a chance to see a lot of the United States and to catch some baseball games. This is their report after visiting the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum AKA The Ring Central Coliseum for one of the very last home games played by the Oakland Athletics.

What did the stadium look like walking up? “Prison.” Taking Bay Area Rapid Transit was a super smart idea. We arrived early enough to catch batting practice and had to deal with none of the traffic issues.

Just like at the World Series in 2020, Andrew got a ball. River Ryan tried three times to get it up to us. I will try the same number of times to get an autographed piece of paper to go with the ball.

Teoscar Hernandez homered to start and things were looking up for the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. Gavin Stone started for the Dodgers. It was not an amazing start. Outfielder Seth Brown homered (402 feet) for the Athletics. Shea Langeliers hit one (436 feet) to San Jose. Brent Rooker hit one to Richmond (419 feet).

In the 5th inning, the A’s got three men on base and everyone scored. The Dodgers couldn’t buy a hit or a walk, much less an RBI. Joey Estes went six innings and allowed just three base runners. The Dodgers put four on in the following two innings, but couldn’t score. Catcher Will Smith did what he normally does not, and argued a called third-strike.

A Public Service Announcement about knowing your surroundings: This was obviously a child I was with. The very nice people behind us did not seem to know that their language and subject matter should be altered when within earshot of a boy. There was some pretty x-rated language and conversation going on in those seats. Try to remember that you are not the only at the ballpark.

Somewhere during the Dodger malaise, Andrew and I decided to wander around. We found ping pong tables, a virtual reality race against Rickey Henderson, cornhole, and a pitching simulator. He thought it was great. I wished these were activities we could be doing before or after the game…not during it.

Then the 9th happened. Kike Hernandez got on. Then James Outman did as well. Shohei Ohtani had looked off balance all game. He found his balance when he needed it and smoked one to center; 405 feet later, it landed in the centerfield stands.

The sunset was glorious.

Smith grounded out and it was all over. We made our way to mass transit and then to our car and then to the highway for the three hour drive home.

PSA #2: Pull over for ambulances.

Final thoughts: That sunset was amazing. Oakland could have been amazing for kids and for baseball. MLB put the team there even though San Francisco had just arrived a few years earlier. It never seemed like there were enough fans to go around. A’s fans never turned out even when they were winning. The City of Oakland didn’t help. So, off to Sacramento .

Final, final thought: the hot dog. Big. Beef? Rubbery. Weird. Next-to-last in the race for best dog. Thanks for the game, Oakland. Can’t imagine why we’d be back.

Bob and Andrew’s last stop of the 8th Grade Field Trip. Yankee Stadium. New York. The Bronx. The City That Never Sleeps. The Big Apple. No Aaron Judge. Giancarlo Stanton was ready to go. Gerrit Cole? Had to leave? What happened? The Orioles didn’t care. Ryan Mountcastle came to play. So did Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins.

The game measured up. What about the new Yankee Stadium? Every Major League field is beautiful, right? You can’t beat that color green. But what about the rest? Bright lights. Lots of colors. Kind of… lacking? In what, exactly? Check out the boy’s trip to Yankee Stadium, the Times Square of Major League Baseball parks, for a matchup between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees.

Bob and Andrew took in a game in style in the nation’s capital with monuments and history galore surrounding them. A truly exceptional experience, except for the Budget Rental Car counters. Good grief, people. Signs? Google? Customer service? And on-street parking? Working Green Line Trains? Nope. But, free food for kids!!! The hot dogs! Oh, the hot dogs! It was awesome. So was Corbin Carroll. Click below for the podcast.

Camden Yards is now the eighth-oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. It certainly did not disappoint as the boys overcame a lack of mass transit at the airport and relied on the generosity of the Comfort Inn and Suites Inner Harbor’s bag-stowing policy to make the game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Maryland Fleet Week and Flyover Baltimore event taking place simultaneously certainly added to the ambience. The rest of the city? Well, hear for yourself.

These doors have been closed to Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson for a long time. But, Commissioner Rob Manfred has lifted the ban that kept both men from being recognized as the game’s greats. The Hall will likely welcome the men as inductees if 12 members of a Classics Era committee votes as expected in 2027 that the two are Hall-of-Fame worthy. Bob Moffitt has his take on the announcement and the reasons why it took so long.

Bob and Andrew’s Stadium Road Trip Part 2: Fenway

This episode, part of Bob and Andrew’s and Paul Revere’s Midsummer/Midnight ride, takes us to baseball’s oldest ballpark in the quest for historical knowledge and the best stadium experience. No way this sucks, chowda heads. The hated Yankees are in town.

Andy Smith and Numbero Unobro Andy Smith leads us through buying Springsteen tickets and Orioles futility with Patrick Smith. Flashback to the earliest days of Spitter yesteryear and see if Smitty knew what he was talking about! From December 2015.

It’s been a crazy year. A gorilla kills just one small child and gets the death penalty. Hulk Hogan has to get on a witness stand. David Bowie, Prince, and half of the entertainment world die. Donald J. Trump becomes President. The Cubs and Red Sox are in the mix for the World Series. Andy Smith hosts a staff party preview of the postseason.