Tag: Michael Kopech

Member of worst baseball team of all time wins 2024 World Series

Starting the season on the worst team in baseball, ending it on the best.

Congratulations to Michael Kopech.

The Los Angeles Dodgers reliever just won his first World Series title over the New York Yankees in five games in a postseason performance that’s best classified as solid for the 28-year-old.

He wasn’t the Dodgers’ best arm (because Walker Buehler exists, among other things), but he was solid enough to earn manager Dave Roberts’ trust in October with 10 strikeouts over nine innings with a 3.00 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.

DODGERS WORLD SERIES COMMEMORTIVE BOOK: Order it here!

Kopech, however, accomplished something much more astounding. Something he can hold over every one of his Dodgers teammates. He will now be credited with being a member of the worst MLB team of all time the same year he won the World Series.

Up until late July, Kopech was a part of the 121-loss Chicago White Sox. He was ultimately dealt to Los Angeles at the trade deadline as part of a three-team swap that sent  Kopech, Tommy Edman and Oliver Gonzalez to the Dodgers while the St. Louis Cardinals received Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham. Chicago received Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Pérez.

That trade proved crucial for Los Angeles as Edman earned National League Championship Series MVP against the New York Mets.

Vargas, the centerpiece of the return from the Dodgers, slashed .104/.217/.170 for the White Sox over 42 games after the trade.

Congrats, once again, to Michael Kopech for escaping baseball hell and reaching immortality only a few months later. Anything is truly possible.

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Fascinating breakdown video showed how the Giants noticed Michael Kopech tipping his pitches

This is the game within the game.

Major League Baseball players don’t get to that level on talent alone. They’re also elite at the game within the game — an attention to detail that separates themselves from other players.

You’d be shocked by what a big-league hitter can notice during an at-bat. That’s why the slightest fundamental flaw or inconsistent mechanics can derail a pitcher’s day. That exact scenario played out last week with Michael Kopech’s rough day against the San Francisco Giants.

He was slightly tipping his pitches, and that was enough to help the Giants hit five home runs and score seven runs against the right-hander. The folks at Jomboy Media took notice to what happened and broke it down in an excellent video.

Basically, Kopech’s glove was the major issue for him. When he was throwing a curveball, the glove would flare just enough for the hitter to notice. When Kopech’s glove remained flat on his wrist, he’d throw one of his other pitches (fastball, slider or changeup). The Giants were able to sit on that curveball when the glove flared, but they managed to put great swings on the other three pitches as well.

Still, when an MLB hitter is able to identify a pitch, the job becomes markedly easier. That minor inconsistency from Kopech was all the Giants needed. And to the White Sox pitcher’s credit, he identified the issue and cleaned it up for Sunday’s appearance where he allowed one run on two hits in six innings. You just would have liked the White Sox to spot it during the initial game.

Fans also appreciated the great explanation video.