Tag: AJ Pollock

World Series to feature pair of Notre Dame baseball standouts

World Series hopes and predictions?

The 2022 World Series will feature the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies as the Fall Classic gets underway on Friday night.  It’s the Astros’ fourth trip in the last six years, having won it all in 2017 while the Phillies are making their first trip since 2009 when they fell to the Yankees.

The Astros will feature designated hitter [autotag]Trey Mancini[/autotag] who was dealt from the Orioles at this year’s trade deadline.  In 51 games with Houston this regular season, Mancini struggled to a .176 batting average, .622 OPS, and hit eight home runs.  He’s 0-12 with a walk and hit-by-pitch this postseason.

Phillies outfielder [autotag]Matt Vierling[/autotag] hit .260 this regular season with six homers.  He’s 2-10 this postseason with a double and RBI for the National League champions.

Mancini starred at Notre Dame from 2011-2013 while Vierling did so from 2016-18.  Whichever wins will become just the third former Notre Dame player to win a World Series crown since [autotag]Brad Lidge[/autotag] did so with the Phillies in 2008, as they’ll join[autotag] A.J. Pollock[/autotag] who did so with the Dodgers in 2020.

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Two former Notre Dame players on move at trade deadline

Neither player has done much in 2023.

The MLB trade deadline officially has passed, and that meant two former Notre Dame players were off their respective teams. One player is heading to another team, and the other’s future is in limbo. Neither player has been particularly good this season.

[autotag]AJ Pollock[/autotag] was acquired by the San Francisco Giants from the Seattle Mariners, landing him on his fifth team in 12 MLB seasons. Pollock currently is on the injured list with a strained left hamstring but could be activated soon despite a career-worst slash line of .173/.225/.323. The playoff-contending Giants need some outfield depth to offset the temporary loss of the injured Mike Yastrzemski.

Meanwhile, [autotag]Trey Mancini[/autotag] has been designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs to make room for Jeimer Candelario, who was acquired from the Washington Nationals. Mancini has been the Cubs’ primary first baseman for much of the season, but he also has had an off year. His slash line is .234/.299/.336, and his four home runs are by far the fewest he’s hit in any full season.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Top 10 Notre Dame baseball players according to ChatGPT

How many of these players do you recognize?

So Notre Dame will not make the College World Series for a second straight season. In fact, it didn’t make the NCAA Tournament at all. So what are Irish fans left to do? Look into the past, of course.

Not long ago, we took the liberty of asking ChatGPT, the AI information bot that supposedly is threatening to put all of us writers out of work, its opinion on Notre Dame athletic history. Specifically, we asked it to rank what it believed were the top 10 Notre Dame football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball players. Now, we’re bringing it back to seek its opinion about Irish baseball players.

Keep in mind that ChatGPT gives this disclaimer:

“As an AI, I don’t have access to real-time information or the ability to provide subjective opinions. However, I can tell you about some notable baseball players who have had successful careers at the University of Notre Dame. Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive and does not rank them in any particular order.”

There’s also this:

“Please note that this is not an exhaustive or ranked list, and there have been many other talented baseball players who have represented the University of Notre Dame.”

So with all of that said, let’s see who ChatGPT came up with. Please note that some of these have been edited to remove inaccurate or outdated information:

Watch: AJ Pollock hits game-winning home run for White Sox

Maybe this an omen to an amazing rest of the season.

No matter how long you’ve been in baseball, homering against the New York Yankees in the Bronx always is a thrill. That’s especially true if the Yankees have the best record in the bigs. We find that to be the case this year, and Notre Dame alumnus [autotag]AJ Pollock[/autotag] didn’t let that intimidate him Sunday. With his Chicago White Sox and the Bombers tied at 1 in the top of the ninth inning of the first game of a doubleheader, he decided to unleash his power in a timely manner against Aroldis Chapman:

The Sox added an insurance run in the inning and won, 3-1. For Pollock, it was the perfect recap to a solid week. After a slow start that included a trip to the injured list, he has been swinging the bat well as evidenced by his slash line of .375/.407/.667 over the past seven days. Here’s hoping he continues to look good at the plate.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Watch: AJ Pollock gets game-winning hit for Chicago White Sox

A familiar face played hero Saturday.

Notre Dame alumnus [autotag]AJ Pollock[/autotag] is in the middle of the worst season of his career. He’s frequently been cited as one reason the Chicago White Sox arguably are baseball’s most disappointing team in 2022. It’s a club that had World Series aspirations but can’t even get above .500.

For one night at least, Pollock’s struggles were forgotten when they really needed to be. The White Sox already had lost the first game of a doubleheader against the division rival Cleveland Guardians and were in danger of letting another one slip away. They trailed by a run in the bottom of the eighth inning but had the bases loaded with two outs. That’s when Pollock came up and did this:

That 5-4 score held up, giving the Sox their first win of the season’s second half. For Irish fans, it had to be a thrill to see that Pollock’s heroics came in front of a national TV audience. For Sox fans, any win is welcoming right now. They sure got one at a needed time.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Watch: Pinch hitter AJ Pollock has go-ahead double for White Sox

A former Irish player comes through in the clutch.

I don’t care how badly Notre Dame alumnus [autotag]AJ Pollock[/autotag] has struggled so far this season. He plays for my Chicago White Sox, and I’ve decided I’m going to spread as much good news about him this season as I can, .600 OPS be damned.

Pollock wasn’t in the starting lineup Tuesday for the Sox’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that traded him shortly before the season began. Eventually, the game was in a scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the Sox had runners at the corners with two outs. With the Dodgers opting to bring in veteran left-hander David Price in relief, the right-handed Pollock was called on to pinch hit. Pollock needed only one pitch to make Tony La Russa, his oft-criticized manager, look smart:

Pollock came around to score himself when Jake Burger hit his own double, and the Sox breezed to a 4-0 win from that point on. Pollock understandably has taken some heat for not hitting well during the first two months of the season. If he is to bounce back this year, this was a good step toward doing so.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Former Notre Dame players currently in Major League Baseball

Who was your favorite at Notre Dame?

As the sun has finally decided to start to come out across the midwest this spring it finally is starting to feel like baseball season, even if the big leaguers have been underway for a solid month now.

Notre Dame is in the middle of another successful campaign under head coach Link Jarrett that should see them reach the NCAA Tournament again after being one win away from a College World Series appearance last season.

What about the Notre Dame baseball stars of yesterday though?  How many might you find if you’re flipping around and stumble into MLB Network or a random baseball game this summer?

Here are the six former Notre Dame baseball players currently on Major League Baseball rosters.

The Dodgers astonishingly hit 2 grand slams through the second inning

That’s a lot of grand slams.

The Los Angeles Dodgers struggled to score runs in their first three games against the Milwaukee Brewers this series, where they’ve managed just seven runs in 29 innings during that span.

But in Sunday’s finale, the Dodgers have already surpassed that run total thanks to not one, but two grand slams, where they jumped out to a 9-0 lead over the Brewers.

Oh, and did I mention that it all happened within the first two innings?

With the Dodgers nursing a one-run lead in the first inning, AJ Pollock connected on a grand slam to give them a five-run cushion. Then Matt Beaty, who had an RBI single earlier in the first inning, hit another grand slam to give Los Angeles a 9-0 lead in the second inning.

And, as you can imagine, the Internet was having its fun with the Dodgers’ offensive resurgence.

Notre Dame Product A.J. Pollock is World Series Champion with Dodgers

For the first time since Brad Lidge with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008, a former Notre Dame player has won a World Series title.

For the first time since Brad Lidge with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008, a former Notre Dame player has won a World Series title. That player is Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder A.J. Pollock, whose team won its first championship since 1988 on Tuesday. Though he had only one double and one walk in seven plate appearances during the Fall Classic, he’ll surely take a ring in his second season in Los Angeles.

Pollock’s seven seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks included an All-Star selection and Gold Glove in 2015. After reaching the playoffs only once during that time, he took his talents to Chavez Ravine for a four-year, $55 million deal beginning in 2019. During the pandemic-shortened regular season, he tied with Mookie Betts for the team lead in home runs with 16. He also posted a slash line of .276/.314/.566 and had 34 RBIs over 55 games.

Congratulations to A.J. for playing a role in making the City of Angels the city of champions in 2020.

Notre Dame’s Five First Round MLB Draft Picks

Notre Dame isn’t known to be a baseball powerhouse but has had it’s share of big-time prospects. Here are their all-time first round picks.

As you’re all well aware, no sports of late leaves us craving anything that has to do with sports. That meant some people spent Wednesday night watching the MLB Draft, something some probably never would have considered doing previously.

No Notre Dame players were selected, not that any were expected to be, but Notre Dame has had a handful of baseball players have their names called in the first round of the MLB Draft before.

Before I tell you who, can you guess any of the five?

First – the third catcher ever drafted…

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