11/2/17

Mack's Apples - 11-2-17 - Jackie Robinson, Topps, Red Sox, Michael Conforto, R.A. Dickey


Good morning.



Jackie Robinson $591K Baseball Cap Breaks Babe Ruth Auction Record –

Also in the Lelands auction, Jackie Robinson’s final warmup jacket from 1956 changed hands for $159,441.60. He gave the jacket to a tenant in the same Brooklyn building where they lived after one of his relatives was involved in a fatal car crash. The recipient was the consignor’s godfather.

“One of the true Holy Grails of the sports collecting hobby, the cap has had only two owners since the Robinson Family,” said Lelands. Made before the advent of batting helmets, the custom wool cap that he wore in his rookie year, 1947, and in the following season shielded him from violent opponents.


 Topps adds daily cardboard photos to baseball card empire –

In an era when selfies and social media posts have become keepsakes, Topps, the venerable custodian of the fine art of baseball cards, has found a way to capture the moment quickly and in tangible fashion for fans who still long for handheld memories.

Topps is in its second season producing Topps Now, a daily cardboard photo gallery of the season's highlights. Employees confer daily to determine which moments are worth commemorating, and their choices are composed and sent to the printer the next day.


Red Sox new coaching staff will follow the way of baseball link -

                   
  The manager has a comfort zone with coaches and they generally must be a known and not an unknown. The baseball philosophy of the manager will be filtered to the coaches.  Cora is baseball smart and survival depends on coaches who know what to do with their delegated role. Cora is supposed to be a “natural leader to guide their clubhouse” according to owner John Henry. Part of that equation is to have eyes and ears of the clubhouse which is also a function of the coaching staff. That is the way of baseball.




 Michael Conforto has just scratched surface of MLB success –

           
2015: 9 home-runs, 26 RBIs, 17 walks, .335 OBP and .270 batting average
2016: 12 home-runs, 42 RBIs, 36 walks, .310 OBP and .220 batting average
2017: 27 home-runs, 68 RBIs, 57 walks, .382 OBP and .279 batting average

What you need to understand is that Conforto was able to improve his batting average and on-base percentage with 69 more at-bats in 2017 than he had in 2016. If you’ve been around the game of baseball for any amount of time, you’ll quickly realize that time works against averages, especially in hitting.


Should The Mets Bring Back  R.A. Dickey -

If R.A. chooses to hang around for one more season, think that’s great. He’s easily one of my favorite Mets players in the past 10 years. But when you break up with someone it’s important to know when to move on, and whether or not you should take them back. In this case, let’s all keep our memories of Dickey happy ones. I wish him all the best, just not back here in New York.



6 comments:

Reese Kaplan said...

I'm not big on reunions. About the only one that seemed to work well that I recall was Kelly Johnson. Some would argue Jose Reyes, but forget how much he stunk up the first half. He had to rally hard to finish in the .240s

Hobie said...

RA: I hope he has a long & gratifying retirement (Only attended RA games in 2012). I would bring him to ST to work with Jannis. Longer if necessary.

Conforto: I have this sinking feeling that his shoulder will never be the same, affecting his offensive & defensive performance. Hope I'm wrong, but the way the injury occurred is a bad omen. Pursuing Bruce makes a lot of sense to me.

Unknown said...

I share your same fears. I believe he and Becerra have the same injury. Posterior capsule to back batting shoulder. Plus conforto had the dislocation as well. Defense won't be affected as much as it is his non throwing shoulder.

Unknown said...

Plus he's a Mets so that's another strike against him.

Mack Ade said...

Alan

Welcome

Bill Metsiac said...

We have a potential "Dickey 2" in Mickey Jannis, who has been outstanding at Bingo and the AFL this year. With Sandy looking for a veteran innings-eater for a year, who better than the original RA to help the team both on the mound and as mentor to #2?

I vote yes.