#40 Brian Snitker is a man who reads literary fiction
You probably won't guess his current novel of choice! Plus: Andy Pages' month without walks
The Opener
Wander Franco was found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic, receiving a suspended two-year sentence and probation. ESPN reported the conviction is likely to make it difficult for him to secure a work visa to the United States. As long as he can’t secure the visa, the Rays wouldn’t be responsible for paying his contract. MLB discipline could also be on the horizon now that this legal proceeding has concluded.
The non-criminal Rays are playing well enough — half a game out of first in the AL East — that MLB has begun discussions about where they would play postseason games.
The Rockies are (in)famously insular and loyal to a fault. Owner Dick Monfort’s son, Sterling Monfort, is the director of pro scouting. And now, per an announcement on Thursday, his other son, Walker Monfort, will be the executive vice president. The Associated Press, notably not an opinion-forward outlet, presented the news thusly: Rockies promote owner’s son to leadership role amid one of worst MLB starts.
The Walk of Life
We’re a couple days from the end of June and it has been a big month for the Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages. Among his feats: Batting .333, bashing six homers, inserting himself into legitimate All-Star conversation after he began the season without a surefire spot in the lineup, beating the hapless Rockies on Thursday with a walk-off catch-and-throw.
Hey, it’s Zach and as for this next thing, well, you can decide if it’s a feat: Pages has done it all without taking a walk.
His .948 OPS in June currently stands as the eighth-best month in MLB history (min. 80 plate appearances) that didn’t include a walk, per Baseball-Reference. He could of course still move up his list or extricate himself from it by doing just a little bit of nothing at the plate.
It’s a fun fact in the present that doesn’t always age in a very fun way. The players on that list (aside from literally Ty Cobb) made their names in fits and starts, riding baseball’s roller coaster to the fullest and most nauseating degree. This sort of season — in which Pages boasts a 132 wRC+ to go with valuable defense in center field — is already a huge win for him and the Dodgers, but we can’t assume it is the new normal.
One of baseball’s more disappointing trajectories has some roots on this list. The Braves’ Michael Harris II, another gifted center fielder, pops up with the 28th-best walk-less month in MLB history. He batted .301 with five homers in September 2023, as he finished a strong enough sophomore follow-up to his NL Rookie of the Year performance in 2022. It was also the end of the last season in which he wielded an above-average bat.
Harris is back on the zero walks list this month, and it’s decidedly not a fun fact. His OPS is a bleak .441, 293rd out of the 311 such walk-free months so far, and unfortunately in line with a brutal overall season, .215/.241/.323 thus far, a 51 wRC+.
Pages is still evolving as a hitter (and, to be fair, his minor-league track record showed far more patience). Perhaps he’s reveling in his role on this Dodgers squad, or taking advantage of pitches to hit. Maybe he’ll cut back on the swings and let his burgeoning reputation earn him some free bases. Harris, though, is a cautionary tale he should consider as he locks down a role and takes his next steps.
Walks are not the spice of life; extracting them isn’t memorable except when it makes room for more exciting stuff. But like water droplets in the atmosphere, they’re important for their moderating qualities. The discipline required to pursue them helps bust slumps, to raise the floor, to float a hitter through mechanical struggles or bad luck or a change in how they’re being attacked.
Right this second, he’s thriving without them, but it won’t last forever. Hitting without walks is like a desert at its most extreme — a great place to visit, a tough way to live.
Rooting Around: Brian Snitker
by Hannah Keyser
Rooting Around is where we feature what baseball people are fans of — other than baseball.
Snit has been a staple of the Atlanta Braves organization for almost 50 years. He’s led the team to seven-straight postseason appearances and one World Series championship. Now — in what could be his final season as skipper, and as he approaches his 70th birthday in October — he’s giving his brain a break from all that baseball by reading… Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
It’s his first foray into Dickens and, in fact, not his typical style of literary fare. (#notallheterosexualmen)
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