Honesty is always the best policy. Keith, people don't want to hear the truth. So many of us have unrealistic hopes and dreams about our teams prospects. Keep up the great work. Go Giants!
I think the problem is the vast majority of people who ask these types of questions don't watch minor league baseball, so they do the next best thing and scout the stat line. So if a prospect puts up good numbers, the assumption is he must be good. These questions don't come for football or basketball because these fans would likely watch college football or college basketball, at least enough to draw a conclusion, even if it could be wrong.
The really big problem in MLB is their 52% injury rate, which is bigger than the NFL rate of 35%. The reason for the big rate is that MLB players are required to lift 4 million pounds of weights every year. Last year, 22 Yankee players were injured. Already this year, its 14. MLB teams paid over $1 billion for injured salaries. 8 studies have found that stiff ball players get more injuries than flexible ball players. Weights make players stiff because they tear thousands of muscle fibers, which then creates scar tissue. This scar tissue can be released with Somax Microfiber Reduction, but MLB teams are not interested. Instead they will continue to have their players lift 4 million pounds this year--and hope for fewer injuries. In the meantime, teams are signing players from Japan because they are more flexible because they don't lift so many weights.
When I’ve thought about your work before, I usually wonder about the awkwardness of your subject matter being real people, but this frustration makes sense. A list like the Top 50 celebrates promising talent, but the response inevitably centers on omission, flaws, and failings.
“He'll get a callup at some point and I hope he has some big hits or another great moment, but my job is to be realistic about what these players are likely to become in the long term.”
This feels like a perfect line to explain your (baseball) writing mission in a piece like the Top 50.
You leave Quinn Mathews out of this.
I read this whole newsletter only to find out my favorite prospect Joey Bagodonuts actually sucks.
Honesty is always the best policy. Keith, people don't want to hear the truth. So many of us have unrealistic hopes and dreams about our teams prospects. Keep up the great work. Go Giants!
I think the problem is the vast majority of people who ask these types of questions don't watch minor league baseball, so they do the next best thing and scout the stat line. So if a prospect puts up good numbers, the assumption is he must be good. These questions don't come for football or basketball because these fans would likely watch college football or college basketball, at least enough to draw a conclusion, even if it could be wrong.
The really big problem in MLB is their 52% injury rate, which is bigger than the NFL rate of 35%. The reason for the big rate is that MLB players are required to lift 4 million pounds of weights every year. Last year, 22 Yankee players were injured. Already this year, its 14. MLB teams paid over $1 billion for injured salaries. 8 studies have found that stiff ball players get more injuries than flexible ball players. Weights make players stiff because they tear thousands of muscle fibers, which then creates scar tissue. This scar tissue can be released with Somax Microfiber Reduction, but MLB teams are not interested. Instead they will continue to have their players lift 4 million pounds this year--and hope for fewer injuries. In the meantime, teams are signing players from Japan because they are more flexible because they don't lift so many weights.
When I’ve thought about your work before, I usually wonder about the awkwardness of your subject matter being real people, but this frustration makes sense. A list like the Top 50 celebrates promising talent, but the response inevitably centers on omission, flaws, and failings.
“He'll get a callup at some point and I hope he has some big hits or another great moment, but my job is to be realistic about what these players are likely to become in the long term.”
This feels like a perfect line to explain your (baseball) writing mission in a piece like the Top 50.