Tag: Marcus Stroman

Cubs’ Marcus Stroman was called for the first regular season pitch-clock violation in MLB history

Marcus Stroman is now the answer to a future MLB trivia question.

Get ready to see a lot of pitch-clock violations in the weeks to come.

Opening Day 2023 is well underway as baseball is officially back! Things will look a bit different this year in Major League Baseball, as the league introduced a pitch clock. This will help speed along games by forcing pitchers to throw to hitters quicker and while batters have to step into the box faster.

And now, we officially have our first called pitch-clock violation in the regular season after Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman failed to beat the clock while pitching to Christian Yelich. Stroman was assessed a ball for the violation.

Neat piece of MLB history right there!

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Marcus Stroman shared an awesome moment with a young fan in return to Toronto

Class act.

When it comes to engaging with fans, few — if any — baseball players do it better than Marcus Stroman. He simply understands how impactful a personal connection can be for fans at the ballpark.

We saw that philosophy in action on Monday night.

Stroman — who is now with the Chicago Cubs — spent six seasons with the Blue Jays including his All-Star campaign in 2019. This week’s series was his first trip back to Toronto since the 2019 trade to the Mets, and he waited no time to make a young fan’s night.

The Cubs pitcher spotted a fan seated behind home plate in a Stroman Blue Jays jersey, and he immediately went up to the young kid to have a conversation and sign an autograph for him.

Reactions don’t get much better than that.

Fans also loved this moment from Stroman, who is scheduled to start on Tuesday.

Week 2 fantasy baseball start, sit or drop: Ohtani’s rollercoaster start and CJ Abrams kinda arrives

Shohei Ohtani just needed a few extra games to warm up. Trent Grisham, Patrick Corbin and Nick Pivetta still need a bit more time.

What a wild opening week for managers with Shohei Ohtani on their roster.

The two-way Japanese star offers plenty more rewards than risk in fantasy lineups, but for those who have to designate him as a pitcher or a hitter, the first matchup of the fantasy season initially left many thinking spring training ended too soon.

When the Los Angeles Angels gave Ohtani the ball on Opening Day, it seemed like the safer play would be to keep him in fantasy lineups as a hitter. The short spring meant he probably wouldn’t throw more than four innings and the visiting Houston Astros have a lineup that can make even the game’s best pitchers look like little leaguers.

So of course Ohtani went 4.2 innings with nine strikeouts, one walk, four hits and one earned run. At the same time, he went 0-4 at the dish with one strikeout. Ouch.

A week later Ohtani was back on the mound at the Texas Rangers getting shelled for six earned runs in 3.2 innings. He struck out five while allowing two walks, six hits and a home run. And in between those outings Ohtani slashed an anti-climatic .200/.231/.280 with 0 RBI and nine strikeouts. Double ouch.

How did Ohtani respond? First he gave his bat CPR. Then he launched three home runs in two games against Texas and busted the slump as only a reigning MVP can.

Yeah, he’s going to be just fine this season. Not that there was any doubt.

Here are a few other players with bigger question marks to begin the year and how to handle them.

All stats through Sunday, April 17

Marcus Stroman’s already sending Twitter recruiting pitches to Carlos Correa after MLB lockout ends

Marcus Stroman’s playing the opportunist!

Baseball’s return was less than a half hour old and Marcus Stroman’s already using Twitter for recruitment pitches.

In case you hadn’t heard, baseball is back as the MLBPA and MLB have agreed to terms and will start a full season on April 7. Fans are happy, teams and players are happy, and oh, free agency is set to begin Thursday evening. It’s gonna be a wild ride, that’s for sure.

Stroman wasted no time once the lockout ended, immediately sending a sales pitch to top free agent Carlos Correa on Twitter in the hopes that the former Houston Astro will join up with the pitcher’s new team, the Chicago Cubs, before Opening Day.

Given the chaos that’s likely to ensue in the month leading up to Opening Day, why not shoot your shot? We’ll see where the coveted shortstop lands over the next few weeks, as it very well could be Chicago!

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Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman had MLB fans in awe with his incredibly heads-up, diving tag at third

This has to be the play of the year. Wow.

Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman has only won one Gold Glove so far in his seven years in Major League Baseball but I think after what he did in Saturday win over the Nationals they might as well send him his second Gold Glove right now because this play below was incredible.

We’ve grown used to seeing Stroman doing cool things but this play was even better than the jumping-throw to first that he had a few weeks ago.

A bobbled ball at second led Nationals star Juan Soto to take off for third because the shift was on and nobody was near third base.

But then Stroman took off to third and made what could be the play of the year:

I mean, that was  just insane. And what a throw by Javy Baez.

Twitter loved it:

MLB fans were in awe of Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman’s jump-throw to first to get an out

Marcus Stroman is incredible.

The New York Mets have hit a rough patch of late, one that led to a scathing tweet from the team’s owner, Steve Cohen, which probably isn’t going to help matters.

But let’s forget about all of that and focus on a play last night by Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman that was a thing of absolute beauty.

The two-time Gold Glove winner made a backhanded play on the third base side of the mound and then pulled off an incredible jump throw to first that beat San Francisco’s Brandon Belt to the bag for a wild out.

You need to see this play:

So good.

Twitter loved it:

Phillies somehow manage to score twice on wild pitch strikeout against Mets

A typical Mets sequence through and through.

The Philadelphia Phillies managed to score not once, but twice on a very rare wild pitch strikeout play against the New York Mets on Friday. Of course, this was a very typical Mets play through and through, and the Phillies benefited greatly to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning.

With the bases loaded, two outs, and pitcher Chase Anderson facing down a 1-2 count against Marcus Stroman, the Mets nearly were out of the inning when disaster struck. Stroman was able to strike out Anderson, but the sinking splitter eluded catcher James McCann and took an errant and wild bounce all the way to the Phillies dugout.

The result? A wild pitch strikeout that was scored as a passed ball on McCann that allowed two runs home.

Quite an unfortunate play for the Mets for sure. Had McCann been able to track the wild pitch just a little better, the Mets likely would have gotten out of the inning just one run down — or even unscathed entirely — instead of two.

Just another example of the Mets being the Mets.

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Watch Mets’ Marcus Stroman make improbable slow-hopping backhander to record an out

Marcus Stroman with the show-stealer.

We’ve had our share of great defensive plays in baseball these last few days, and it’s time to add pitcher Marcus Stroman to the list. In Sunday’s matchup between the New York Mets and Colorado Rockies, Stroman had himself one for the highlight reel.

Facing down Josh Fuentes in the bottom of the eighth, the Rockies third baseman slapped a ball down the center of the infield. It was a slower-moving ball, so Stroman had the time to back up and make the backhanded snag — from behind his back, no less — and toss the ball to first for the out.

Already a great highlight, but here’s where it gets fun. Stroman’s throw to Pete Alonso was a soft one, bouncing in a crawl toward first as Fuentes was hustling down the line. Thanks to the stretch of Alonso, Fuentes was out at first, completing the impressive sequence of events.

Plus, Stroman’s celebration after the fact — pointing to his glove — seals the deal as one of the best plays of this young baseball season.

Stroman ended the game with eight innings pitched, three hits, one run, five strikeouts, and one great defensive play. All in a day’s work.

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Marcus Stroman says ‘no amount of money’ could get him to play for Tony La Russa

“Baffling on all measures.”

The Chicago White Sox’s shocking hire of Tony La Russa as manager was already poorly received across baseball when that move was announced. And on Monday night, that decision appeared to get even worse.

In fact, it has already cost the White Sox a chance at signing free agent pitcher Marcus Stroman.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Monday that La Russa was arrested on suspicion of DUI back in February in Arizona. He was formally charged on Oct. 28. The White Sox knew of the arrest before making the hire.

La Russa, who had already pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in 2007, was facing serious questions from the MLB world when he was hired to manage the White Sox. He had spoken out against Colin Kaepernick’s protests of racial injustice in 2016. He is also notoriously old school when it comes to baseball’s unwritten rules — a personality that doesn’t seem to fit with one of baseball’s more exuberant clubhouses.

All of this had Stroman ripping the White Sox and La Russa come Tuesday.

In a Twitter conversation with Keith Law, Stroman called the La Russa hire “baffling on all measures.”

He added that “no amount of money” could get him to sign with the White Sox and play for La Russa.

Stroman, who opted out of the 2020 season, is a free agent for the first time in his career. And, theoretically, the White Sox could have been a good baseball fit for the 29-year-old pitcher. But that’s definitely not happening now.

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Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman says NASCAR driver Kyle Larson ‘needs his [expletive] beat’

Kyle Larson was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing after saying a racist slur during a virtual race.

Warning: A video and tweets in this post contain a racist slur.

A lot of people are furious (and experiencing a wide variety of emotions) after NASCAR driver Kyle Larson used the N-word on Sunday during a virtual iRacing event, which was also being broadcast on Twitch.

People watching the livestream heard him use the racist slur, and clips of the moment quickly spread around the internet.

In the days since, Larson has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR and must participate in its sensitivity training. He was also fired by Chip Ganassi Racing after major sponsors, including McDonald’s and Credit One Bank, ended their relationships with Larson specifically.

And New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman wants to dish out his own punishment to the 27-year-old NASCAR driver, who went from being one of the most valuable upcoming free agents to unemployed in the early fallout.

Stroman tweeted Tuesday about how casually Larson said the N-word while trying to communicate with someone while racing and said, “He needs his ass beat.” So Stroman challenged Larson to a UFC-type event for charity when their careers are over.

Larson — who is of Japanese descent and an alumnus of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program — hasn’t responded to Stroman’s challenge on social media.

As word of him using a racist slur spread, Chip Ganassi Racing first suspended Larson without pay before being forced to fire him after his sponsors bailed. A free agent earlier than usual, Larson’s career and future are more uncertain now, even with the COVID-19 outbreak putting the entire sports world on hold.

Challenging Larson to a UFC-style event wasn’t the only thing Stroman had to say about the NASCAR driver’s behavior. He continued calling out Larson for using the racist slur, as did Adam Jones.

Warning: There is a racial slur in these tweets.

https://twitter.com/STR0/status/1250172599172202498?s=20

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