#happened to my buddy bryce harper

[starryeyedrookie]

The Newlywed Game: Friends Edition

A/N: Would you look at that! Two long posts in a day! Who am I?!😂 Anyway, sorry this took me a week to do. I finally had more time today so I was able to catch up. Thanks for the questions @jamespotterthefirst @takeharryandgo @crazy-loca-blog @coffeeheartaddict!

Questions for the friends

1. How did you first find out about their relationship? Were you surprised?

Sienna: I found out after they came back from the Miami conference and Evelyn told me everything that had happened and I promised not to tell anyone.

Naveen: I would say that I suspected something was up with them around that same time as well. When they were taking care of me, Ethan would keep glancing at her in a way that I had never seen him look at anyone.

Harper: Yes! I saw those glances as well.

Ethan: It suddenly feels like I’ve been examined under a microscope.

Jackie: Well, we all are doctors. For me, it was the night of the day that we went to the country club and I told Evelyn to text Ramsey. {rolls eyes} The girl went over to his place that night and didn’t come home until the next morning.

Elijah: That’s when I knew too.

Bryce: Man, I feel sorry that I didn’t get to see any of this. Jackie just messaged me.

2.How was the rumour mill at Edenbrook once they went public? Did you have to defend their honour?

Harper: Well, I don’t think anyone was surprised, honestly. They aren’t the best at being subtle.

Evelyn: Haha! Between the two of us, I think Ethan is worse.

Kyra: Can’t argue with that. Remember “paperwork?”

3. What was your first impression of Ethan? Did he fit into the friend group right away?

Kyra: Well, I had my first impression a while before the rest of the group did, but I thought he was hot as fuck.

Sienna: I thought he was quite imposing. The first time I met him is when he was yelling at Evelyn!

Bryce: Well I thought he was in great shape for an old guy.

Jackie: I wouldn’t say that he fit in instantly. Maybe he had to get used to the idea that one person could have so many friends.

Elijah: What about the time he did shots with us?

Jackie: Please. Do you know how long it took for Evelyn to convince him to lighten up?

4. What’s the most adorable thing they do as a couple?

Sienna: Sometimes at the hospital when they pass each other, I see them exchanging little notes. It’s so cute!

Jackie: Gross.

Sienna: Oh! Or when they dance together in the living room.

Raf: Sienna really is the softie of the group.

5. Which of their dates would you have liked to crash?

Raf: On Sundays, from morning to night, they do try out different hole-in-the-wall restaurants in and outside the city. I’d love to join them on that.

Kyra: Same. That one’s my favourite too.

Bryce: I’d either want to do an escape room with them, or go to Six Flags. I love rollercoasters.

Evelyn: So do I. Ethan isn’t a huge fan though. We don’t really go often because it’s a little far, but we should make a group trip next time!

Ethan: I just don’t see the purpose of rollercoasters. They’re just noise pollution. Why would you purposely put your life at risk going up over 200 feet off the ground, to come hurling down at over 70 miles an hour.

Evelyn: You sound like my mom.

6. Did you ever witness a walk of shame (or anything of the sort?)

Jackie: Hell yes! The morning Evelyn tried to sneak Ethan out of her room!

Elijah: I remember that. I asked him if he wanted to come back for my John Carpenter movie marathon.

7. What was your reaction when you found out Evelyn was moving out to move in with Ethan?

Jackie: Well I said that it’s about damn time! If you stay over at his place so many nights during the week, you might as well live with the man!

Sienna: It was a little bittersweet. Of course I was happy for my best friend, but I was a little sad that my baking buddy was leaving.

8. Who won the prediction pool about when Ethan would pop the question?

Everyone: Sienna!

Bryce: C’mon! That’s only because she cheated!

Ethan: To clarify, I had Sienna’s help with designing the ring.

Naveen: I will proudly say that I came the closest without having any information given to me.

Bryce: Naveen, I’m sure Ethan dropped hints to you.

Evelyn: {laughing} Just accept that you lost, Bryce.

9. Were you in the wedding party? What was your favourite part about the wedding?

Kyra: I was a bridesmaid, but my favourite part was the food.

Evelyn: Sienna, my sister Ally, Jackie, Aurora who couldn’t make it today, and Kyra were my bridesmaids.

Sienna: My favourite part was the first dance. It was so whimsical.

Ethan: I’m glad that was your favourite part. Eve made me practice it for months.

Harper: My favourite part was the lantern release. At the end of the reception, we all got a lantern to decorate, light, and release. I have a picture.

Evelyn: Don’t worry. They’re biodegradable.

For everyone, including Ethan and Evelyn.

Fuck/ Marry/ Kill

Ethan: Can I choose Evelyn for all except the last?

Bree: Don’t you think it would be more fun to play the game like a normal person?

Ethan: {grumbles something that can’t be understood}

Naveen: Since this is a young person’s game, I’ll sit this one out.

Harper: Me too.

Bryce: Are we only allowed to choose from the people here? Because Aurora and Tobias aren’t.

Ethan: Just the people here. Thank goodness Carrick isn’t here. He’d have a field day with this.

Bryce: Okay. Fuck Evelyn, marry Sienna, kill Jackie.

Jackie: Fuck you meathead. I’d kill Bryce, fuck Kyra, and marry Evelyn.

Kyra: Fuck Bryce, marry Sienna, kill Jackie.

Elijah: Fuck Kyra, marry Sienna, kill Bryce.

Sienna: Marry Raf, fuck Bryce, kill Jackie.

Raf: Marry Evelyn, fuck Sienna, kill Jackie.

Jackie: Why is everyone killing me?!

Ethan: Marry Evelyn, obviously. Kill Bryce and fuck myself.

Jackie: You had to choose three different people in the room, Ramsey.

Ethan: I’m in the room, aren’t I?

Evelyn: Well, I’m last. I’d marry Ethan, fuck Raf, and kill Jackie.

Jackie: Oh for fuck’s sake.

{everyone starts laughing}

Evelyn: Thanks do having us all today, Bree! We had so much fun!

Taglist: @mercury84choices @quixoticdreamer16 @a-crepusculo @josiesopenheart @headoverheelsforramsey @mm2305 @adiehardfan @schnitzelbutterfingers @potionsprefect @natureblooms24 @genevievemd @writer-ish @jamespotterthefirst @sophxwithers @liaromancewriter

Please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed❤️

[lem-20]

Most recent fics

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About the past

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Thirst trap (MC monday) | Follow up

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Frustrations (NSFW 🔞) Frustrated that Ethan won't let their relationship develop, will MC find some time alone with Bryce too much of a temptation? Rewrite of Bk1 Ch11 Bryce scene.

What is this? Set after the opera in Bk1 Ch12. MC questions Ethan on what is happening between them and also confesses something to him.

Green light (NSFW 🔞) Rewrite of 1.15 Ethan scene (Ethan's POV)

Moving on Will Ethan's trip to the Amazon help him move on from a certain someone? 🆕️

Gym buddies Mini 2.2 gym scene rewrite.

Long overdue (NSFW🔞) Set during the time jump. MC and Ethan spend a long overdue night together.

Kisses at midnight There's only one person MC wants to be kissing at midnight, but will Ethan show up in time? Set during the 2.18 time jump.

Desire and regret It's the day after the night before. How are Sienna and Jackie feeling about their new years eve kisses?

The love of his life Who (or what) is the love of Ethan Ramsey's life? This covers some of the time jump and Ethan's thoughts when he is alone in the atrium in chapter 19.

About time Chapter 20 rewrite.

Pillow talk MC and Ethan discuss some of the events of 3.1 & 3.2, including the psychic readings

Memories Ethan gets a little taste of his own medicine, resulting in him and MC discussing his chats with Harper. Set after 3.3

Welcome to the team Ethan isn't happy about the new addition to the diagnostics team. Set directly after 3.4 (Ethan's POV)

Relax (NSFW🔞)MC helps Ethan unwind after a stressful day at work. Set during 3.6

Something Different (Mildly NSFW) Ethan and MC discuss the new experience they just shared. 3.8 rewrite

Everything Ethan and MC spend the night at his apartment after his love confession. 3.16 missing scene (NSFW🔞) 🆕️

~~~

Those Three Words Ethan is in deep. MC and Ethan's relationship from Ethan's POV

A perfect Christmas MC asks Ethan to spend Christmas day with her. 🎄

The most important person MC finds a photo in Ethan's wallet. Set post bk 3.

Past and Future MC & Ethan discuss the story of how they met and what they want in the future.

Ethan's first Father's Day Ethan celebrates his first Father's Day

Other Choices One Shots

With Every Heartbeat: The star in her sky Two years later. MC struggles with the thought of moving on.

WIP's

Fic graveyard

[utterlyinevitable]

Dom! Give us an update on your theory 😘

> week three′s theory <

Woo! Alright! 

Not much has changed except now we know Tobias is on the team and deliciousness is about to ensue 😏

Sienna is still going through some things and I stand at she’s going to become a pediatrician. We now know that off screen she has all the roomies studying for the boards which is great! A small part of me still feels like she’s going to be the one to fail the boards and end up becoming a baker.

Jackie is going to have some power struggles with her interns. Maybe the one we were introduced to will put her through the ringer like Mitch/Esme did to their residents. I can see the intern being a driving force for us to get to know more about Jackie’s past since she’s identifying heavily with the intern. 

Still riding on the train of Elijah and my MC are going to have a fallout because my MC HATES Bloom. I can see him trying to stay working in the research department after residency. 

Aurora is missing in action. No new insight on her path. I assume it’ll all be Harper and Tobias related though 🙄

I don’t want it to happen but Bryce is definitely going to fuck up a surgery and the family of the patient will do research on him and his parents and make my sweet bby boi’s life hard. He’ll struggle to show how badly he’s coping and it’ll be up to MC to bring him back to himself 😭

Rafael’s entire plot is still going to be based around his new career and making things better in the community. Possibly something happening with that baseball player? Maybe at the end of the series he becomes the exclusive sports therapist to the team??? 

Ethan’s stayed the same. Still hates Bloom, working on his relationship skills, officially being the most difficult person for Bloom to deal with. Now that Tobias is around he’s going to really need to lean on MC for his sanity (which’ll get super awk if you don’t share the same views). I’m ready for the E &T redemption plot. 

Harper is still on track to become Bloom’s #1 buddy. I don’t see her getting as involved in the Tobias drama as Ethan’s about too; she’s too grown for that petty drama. 

Tobias is about to stir shit up. He’s going to question everything Ethan does and MC is definitely going to have to choose between the two egotistical men children. I think Bloom definitely offered him lots of money and clout, but personally would prefer it if June sabotaged him the second she took her position at MK. I’ve said it before but we’re definitely going to get a Tobias redemption arc. Tobias will see how shady Bloom is and him and Ethan will put aside their differences to take Bloom down. MC will also probably help the two reconcile (while also digging for dirt on their history).

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER -- Baz only left the team because Bloom convinced him to! #ilovebeingright

MC is still going to struggle with professional jealousy where these hot docs are concerned now that they need to think about life after residency. Definitely need to choose who to side with where Bloom is concerned and if they want to befriend Tobias. I’m still manifesting a future talk with our LI. 

&&&& that’s all I’ve got for now!

Thanks for asking! 💕

[crazy-loca-blog]

Heyyyy! Guess what? It's time for another round of the newlyweds game! Don't forget to answer as them ;)

For Both

What’s the most embarrassing childhood story you know about your spouse?

What did they want to be when they were younger?

What was your spouse's favorite band in high school?

Describe your spouse in high school using memes or/and gifs only.

How old was your spouse when they had their first kiss? Who was it with?

If you two were the same age and had met in college, how would you have met? Would you have liked each other? Dated? Eventually married?

Which of your spouse's friends is the most attractive?

Who was your spouse's hero when they were growing up?

Can you name all your spouse’s exes before you?

Masterlist

Casey: So now I'm a little scared...

Ethan: Why?

Casey: Because I know I've told you a lot of things about me, but I don't know how many embarrassing stories my brother has told you about me, so this might be dangerous

Ethan: Well, you're about to find out, sweetheart... just remember… "revenge is sweet", so choose your words wisely...

Casey: Ethan...

Ethan: What?

Casey: I love you...

Ethan: I love you too, but it's too late to convince me to not tell your darkest secrets...

Casey: Well, i tried... this is war, Ramsey...

What’s the most embarrassing childhood story you know about your spouse?

Casey: ...it may involve a teddy bear...

Ethan: *rolling his eyes* ...and here we go again...

Casey: ...but I'm going to go with the moment you realized you couldn't make a pancake... you were 12. Poor Ethan was so sad because he was learning how to cook and he wanted to impress this girl, Lucy, so he decided to make some pancakes... and he failed...

Ethan: I wasn't trying to impress anyone, I was just trying to be a good friend. Lucy and I used to go to school together. That day, she picked me up earlier, when I was still cooking breakfast for me and my dad, so I invited her to have breakfast with us. That’s all.

Casey: Well, that's not what your dad says...

Ethan: As well as your brother... what about rebellious Casey who decided to lock herself in an office in nursery school because she missed her mom?

Casey: *surprised* I can't believe he told you that! In my defense, I really, really missed my mom.

Ethan: Casey, you were 3 years old and were locked in that office for about an hour... not even your brother could convince you to leave the room!

Casey: Because I didn't want my brother, I wanted my mom...

Ethan: Funny thing is that you were so embarrassed after that moment that it took you a week to go back to school because you couldn't face anyone.

Casey: Guilty as charged.

What did they want to be when they were younger?

Casey: A detective, he always wanted to solve mysteries.

Ethan: She always wanted to become a doctor or a nurse to help people.

What was your spouse's favorite band in high school?

Casey: Not only my man is an old guy, but he is an old soul too... he liked, and he still likes, Queen.

Ethan: Even though her list is pretty extensive, she was obsessed with Amy Winehouse in her teen years.

Describe your spouse in high school using memes or/and gifs only.

Ethan: Again, what are those things? Aren't they the same thing?

Casey: Nope, they aren't... GIFs are the images in movement..

Ethan: Oh, OK, I get it... this one

Casey: *laughing* OMG, I love it! This is hillarious! I'm impressed... good job, babe! here is yours...

Ethan: Yeah, I can’t tell I have changed...

How old was your spouse when they had their first kiss? Who was it with?

Ethan: I couldn't believe it when she told me, but then her brother confirmed the story... *laughing* she doesn't remember it!

Casey: If the story is as my brother tells it, I was 5 years old, Ethan! How am I supposed to remember it?

Ethan: Well, your brother seems to remember it very well...

Casey: But I don't remember it and the boy involved in this situation doesn't remember it either, so I don't know if it was an awful experience that we both erased from our memories or if it never happened at all. Anyway... his first kiss was at the age 13 with... Lucy, the pancakes girl! See, babe? You did have a crush on her after all!

If you two were the same age and had met in college, how would you have met? Would you have liked each other? Dated? Eventually married?

Casey: We've talked about this! We both agree that we would have met in medical school. We would have been very competitive, but after a while we would have realized that we were stronger together, so we'd become study buddies... and we wouldn’t have noticed that we had feelings for each other until people started telling us how cute we looked together...

Ethan: We would have dated during med school, but none of us is certain that our relationship may have survived our residencies... keeping a serious relationship when you’re in a residency and then working as a doctor is very complicated and we don’t know if we would have been mature enough to handle things well... we see it every day in our friends and colleagues, that’s why we know it takes a lot of work. So we’d say our current timing is perfect.

Which of your spouse's friends is the most attractive?

Casey: Harper Emery... I mean, have you seen how gorgeous that woman is? If we weren't married, I would have definitely shipped them.

Ethan: You what?

Casey: Ship you, Ethan... I'd be rooting for you to go back together and rekindle your relationship.

Ethan: No, thank you... life has taught me to not try to fix what's already broken

Casey: Well, your turn...

Ethan: Lahela... the man is a Ken doll and he owns it!

Casey: *laughing* WHAT?!?! You have no idea about what you've done! Bryce is going to tease you forever! Mark my words!

Ethan: I’m beginning to regret my answer... can I change it to Varma, Greene, Trinh or any of you friends then?

Casey: *laughing* no way!

Who was your spouse's hero when they were growing up?

Ethan: Her brother, no doubt.

Casey: His dad, no doubt.

Can you name all your spouse’s exes before you?

Ethan: She has never wanted to tell me their names... and honestly, I couldn’t care less, I'm sure they’re all assholes... so I'll say jerk #1, douchebag #2 and I don’t know if I should include son of a... #3, who Casey thought was her boyfriend until he suddenly showed up with another girl and introduced her as his girlfriend.

Casey: When little Ethan was learning a thing or two about love, he was kind of a jerk to three poor girls that he considered his “girlfriends” but in fact, they were a joke to him. His dad knew about this behavior and he got SO MAD at him that he quickly learned his lesson on how he was supposed to treat a girl. So, after that incident and life lesson, there were Susan and Lauren in high school, Kristin in med school, and then his on and off relationship with Harper.

[jerzwriter]

8 or 9 for any otp pls🧡

8. Do they get along with each other’s friends and family?

9. Do their friends and family like their significant other(s)?

I'll preface again, that I am answering these questions based on my overall HC of each couple (starting with Their Two First Months for E/C and Their Start for T/C). But this particular question just takes me to my Delaying the Inevitable Series - but I'm going to refrain from answering based on that! lol

E&C: Ethan's friends are really limited to Naveen & Harper, and a reemerging friendship with Tobias. Naveen adores Casey and vice-versa. In my HC she and Harper have a very cordial professional relationship that translates to a warm friendship outside of work too (sorry, that catty BS PB built-in has no place in my universe), and Tobias's friendship with Ethan is rebuilt largely because of Casey, so that's golden too. As to Casey's friends, it is awkward at first. It's hard to separate him from that scary attending they met, but they're so lax and fun they eventually put him at ease (think of the scene before the gala and the rooftop scene in canon). As time goes on and Casey brings out Ethan's more playful side, things will warm further, but I don't think that they will ever bridge the age/lifestyle differences gap as comfortably as he and Casey do. That said, they're all medical professionals and have much in common, so they will get along very well, it will just be more of a "your friends" that I happen to be friendly with vibe than an "our friends" vibe.

As to family, Casey and Ethan are both only children. Like Naveen, Alan and Casey have a mutual admiration society. Casey's parents were initially hesitant because of the age/power gap (and her Mom was in on the whole Amazon thing which did not make her a fan), but after the attack and they saw how much he loved Casey and he's grown to be the son they never had.

Louise is the outlier here my intention is to have her and Ethan have a relationship, it is never going to be a typical mother/son relationship, but it will be better than they expected. However, I haven't brought it into TFTM because that's supposed to be all fluff and Louise didn't lend to that. I'll work on it. Casey and Louise will have a good relationship, warm and respectful, but I think Casey will always have her guard up a little bit.

T&C: I haven't created a friend circle for Tobias in their universe yet, as of now I HC him having one or two friends that he is somewhat close with when he meets Casey, and a bunch of loser "hang out" buddies. Some of these friends will be lost as he begins to change.

For those who know Tobias from my DTI universe, I've decided to build in some elements from there into his main HC. He and Bryce will develop a close friendship and he will become part of "the gang" in time. He's older, but he's much less highbrow than Ethan and they will have more in common. The reactions of each friend to him will vary as he and Casey's relationship gets off to a rocky start, but his response during and after the attack will sway most.

Casey's parents will really only know post-attack Tobias and they will have a good relationship. Again, for those who know DTI, I am going to bridge Vivian's (his mother's) character in and leave a lot of the back story the same. Tobias's Dad will also remain dead (sorry, lol) so he won't be an active part of the story but will play in. He will also get along well with David & Rose (Casey's parents) but it will vary a bit. Still a WIP, but they will get along.

[mvalentine]

I sort of think they are hinting at setting up the LIs with others

Ethan and Harper

Bryce and Kyra

Aurora and Jackie

I haven't played rafs route but they've all seemed to be paired off with specific people.

ok here’s my opinion (obviously this is only valid if the mc’s li isn’t one of the parties mentioned)

-ethan x harper: tbh i don’t really mind it.... i can see it, the only thing i would find weird is like they barely talked or interacted in the previous two books and now all of a sudden they’re buddy buddy?!? i mean they definitely are intellectually matched and do seem to get along so there’s definitely potential (but also my mc is romancing ethan so .... it’s not gonna happen for me anyways lmao)

-bryce & kyra: i mean.... we haven’t even seen kyra yet like GIRL where are you at i miss you fuck.... but also i mean.... i could see it? i guess? but also i could see it as friends plus we barely see them interact so i don’t know.... im telling you aurora x bryce has some potential ok.... it really does do not boo me i am right!

-aurora x jackie: see now this..... i can get behind..... like genuinely really get behind because oh my fuckin god the POWER COUPLE POTENTIAL hello?!?! like they both would be so cute and so bad at expressing how the feel but once it’s out in the open omfggg my mc would be the biggest wingwoman of these two.... also i feel like they would hold each other accountable and not take the other persons shit but also literally go feral to defend one another..... yup yup yup i like this. i like this a lot.

[bert-thefrog]

The Emergency: An Edenbrook Fic

Casey Valentine’s POV

We were getting ready to leave for the day, our rounds finally finished and the locker room was filled with laughing interns, chatting animatedly about what they’d do with their Friday night. “Agh! Bryce fuck off!” Jackie is half angry, half laughing as the surgical intern shakes himself like a dog after a shower, splashing water on all of us. “Oh my god! Everyone shut up!” Landry yells suddenly, turning up the volume on the small portable radio he likes to keep in his locker, his face is white, whiter than usual and for once we all listen to him, turning to hear whatever it is that’s shaken him.

‘There have been reports of an incident in KW Steel Fabricators, a fire has broken out as a result, it is not yet know the extent of casualties or fatalities, but there are many suspected. We will be back with more on this breaking news story as it happens.’ A newsreader’s voice crackles through the speakers and we all look at each other, the playful smiles from earlier gradually slipping into masks of horror.

The doors to the locker room burst open moments later and Ines and Zaid enter hurriedly, glancing round at all of us stood in shock. “Get back in your scrubs guys. Dr. Emery has called us all to the Nurse’s Station.” Zaid orders. For once, not even Bryce has a one-liner to crack about his state of undress. As we all gather out in the foyer that counts as the nurse’s station, we eye one another anxiously, the Night Shift are just arriving, already aware of what’s happened and joining the crowd. Harper Emery sweeps through the huge double doors, every move commanding attention. “I take it you’ve all heard what’s happened at the steel works? Then you know that we’re about to be slammed. I need all hands on deck, they’re transferring the victims to hospitals across the county, but Edenbrook will have the lion’s share. We will have to deal with not only those directly affected but also their relatives. Cancel any plans you made tonight, you are officially on the night shift.”

“Alright, lets get the ER cleared and ready for triage. Move it people!” Mirani claps his hand and begins herding a group of interns down the corridor. “Tanaka, get your interns together and prepped for surgery. Medical interns I want half of you down in triage, the rest of you are going to be up here to treat patients as they come through from triage. Any walk-ins are to be putting in waiting unless it is a literal life or death situation. Do I make myself clear?” Dr. Ramsey stares us all down, blue eyes aflame. My stomach churns with anticipation and fear for what’s about to come through those doors as we split and I head for the ER with Aurora and Landry. “Good luck.” Sienna squeezes my hand as I walk past and I pull her into a hug. “You too.”

“You guys ready for this?” I look to Aurora and Landry, both are grim-faced and stoic, internally preparing for the bedlam we’re going in to face. “God no. But I won’t freeze. Not this time.” Aurora’s voice is low and resolute as we hang back from Landry, he marches on ahead, unaware or maybe he just doesn’t care. “I believe in you.” I assure her, earning a wide smile in response. She’s been softer lately, less likely to assume someone’s using her for her aunt, in my case anyway. “Now is not the time for team bonding guys!” Mirani rushes past, handing both of us a stack of coloured tags as he goes. My heart is racing now, I can feel it thumping hard against my chest, reminding me with every beat, the urgency of the situation. “Let’s do this.” I brace myself, shouldering through the door with Aurora behind me. “Doctor, please! My husband he’s bleeding.” A man yells at me and I rush over, moving the man’s hand from his leg and being greeted by a bright red burst of arterial spray from the wound. “Fuck; Alright. Keep pressure on his leg like so.” I demonstrate, quickly gathering the materials needed to make a tourniquet. The patient is white, eyes rolling in the back of his head as I work, his partner whispering sweet words of comfort in his ear as I work. “That’s all I can do for now, someone will be with you soon.” I promise the couple, assigning him with a red tag and moving on.

“Casey this is Archie, seven years old, he’s sustained major burns to the right side of his body, he’s having issues with his respiratory system it’s under ten.” Rafael enters through the ambulance dock, pushing a small boy with a head of black curls towards me. “Alright, I’ll take him. Anything else?” I take over pushing the gurney whilst Archie clings to Raf’s arm. “Don’t leave me sir!” He cries, wincing from the effort. “I’ll be back little buddy, I promise. I’ll come visit you after work yeah?” Rafael detached himself from the small child, his face pained as the boy cries harder, struggling to breathe through the tears. “Hey it’s okay, he’ll be back to you soon. Raf’s just like Superman isn’t he?” I reassure my new patient as Rafael heads for the door. “Hey Raf?” I call after him and he turns his head to me. “Can you try not getting into mortal peril this time?” I flash him a quick smile and he can’t help but laugh. “I’ll do my best.” There’s an invisible but at the end of that though, we both feel it between us. We’ve no way of knowing what could happen out there. “Alright mister, lets get you on oxygen, and a nice nurse will be around soon to get those burns treated. Do they hurt?” I frown and the charred skin down his face and arms as I assign him a green tag, feeling guilty the entire time. “I’ll come visit you soon too.” I promise the little boy, getting ready to attend to the next person through the doors. “Can you find my daddy? He brought me to work with him.” Archie removes the mask for a moment, looking at me with wide, hopeful eyes. “I’ll do my best.” I pat his knee and head away.

Jackie Varma’s POV

“Lahela you’re with me.” Ramsey wheels a bloody and battered teenaged girl past, her skin shiny and crackled with burns as she struggles to breathe, a man follows behind running to keep up, his large stomach jiggling with exertion, his face red and blotchy from tears. “You’ve gotta fix her doc! She’s my little girl, you gotta fix her!” He yells at them.

“I need everyone to calm down. We will let you know as soon as possible what is happening but right now we need to get your details and the details of whoever you’re looking for so we can update you as soon as possible, sir please step back.” Dr. Delarosa is struggling to control the hysterical mob of family members and friends in the waiting rooms. “Sit down and shut up if you want to get any information tonight!” I yell, standing up on one of the coffee tables and praying I don’t fall straight through. “Not how we’re supposed to do things Dr. Varma, but thank you.” Delarosa hisses as the crowd fall silent. “Alright I’m sorry guys, look Danny and Lauren are here to take names and identification and we will update all of you as soon as we know something. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you, but you need to let us do our jobs.” My voice softens as I take in the weary, tear stained faces around me. “Better. Dr. Varma come with me.” Delarosa leads me into a room where a man lies moaning softly. A piece of metal sticks out of his shoulder painfully and I shudder involuntarily. “It looks worse than it is. I need you to sterilize and suture the wound. Can you do that? Also find out what his name is.”

“Piece of cake.” I snap on a pair of blue gloves and get to work, the man barely looks at me. “Get it out, just get it out, I need to find Annie.” He moans, screaming as I touch the skin around the object. “Who’s Annie sir?”

“My wife.” He puffs with exertion as I begin preparing to remove the piece of metal, it’s not big, maybe the size of my hand, but it’s cleanly wedged in his shoulder. “How did this happen?”

“I dunno, I fell after the explosion and one of the shelves came down on top of me.”

“Oh my. I’d like to examine you further please? There may be internal injury.”

“Alright, just hurry. I’ve gotta find Annie.”

“Annie is certain to be in the best care possible here Mr...”

“Brown. George Brown.”

“Okay George, can you feel that?” I press gently against his gut and he bellows with pain as I feel the tender tissue beneath the skin. “That’s not good sir. Ines!” Delarosa comes running in as I call for her, showing her the man’s gut. “His BP is dropping, I think his spleen is ruptured. George how do you feel?”

“It hurts, but, I’m so sleepy. I need to find Annie. Have you seen her?”

“Crap. All the OR’s are full and he isn’t high enough up the list to be priority. Just, monitor him okay?” Ines tugs at her hair in panic.

“I’ve got him. Don’t worry.” I promise her as she turns to leave.

“Has anyone seen Dr. Ramsey?” I hear Chief Emery in the hall and stick my head out the door. “He was with Bryce earlier, they were going off with a patient.”

“That was half an hour ago, I’ll page him.” Danny speaks up from where he’s filling out forms on the counter. “We need him down in ER, they’re getting overrun. Dr. Trinh come with me.” Emery beckons my roommate, she farts away after her, plait swinging back as forward on her back as they head for the stairs. “You don’t think there’s been complications do you?”

“I don’t think so. They were only supposed to be prepping that poor woman for surgery and they would’ve let us know if they needed us.” A crinkle forms between Ines’ eyebrows, her lips pursing as she contemplates exactly what could have happened. “I’ll hold down the fort here for a bit if you want to go check on them. Elijah and the nurses are here too.” I gesture around me, it’s not exactly peaceful but the mayhem is controlled. “I’ll be five minutes tops.” She beams at me, squeezing my shoulder as she passes, hurriedly making her way to the elevator Ethan and the Scalpel Jockey went through earlier, I almost want to laugh at the sight of her tiny feet, almost tumbling over themselves as she races away.

Casey Valentine’s POV

It’s quieter up on the actual wards, the drama and panic better contained behind cubicle curtains and closed doors. Jackie is standing out in the middle of it all, a clipboard in hand as she orders people around. “Alright there captain?” I joke, hunching up on the floor from exhaustion. It’s three in the morning and everyone is beginning to feel the strain of having gone nearly a whole day without sleep. “Ines went to find Ramsey and Lahela.” Jackie shrugs, kneeling down in front of me, her brown eyes wide sigh concern. “You okay Casey? No offense, you look like shit.”

“Gee thanks I’m fine, just tired. I was going to head to the on call room, Mirani ordered it.” I yawn, rubbing my eyes. “How long has Ines been away?”

“A while. But we’re three doctors down with her and the other two missing.” Jackie chews her lip anxiously. “I’m not doing anything right now, I’ll see what’s happened. Hey Danny, can you get me access to the security cameras?” I call to the nurse as he emerges from one of the rooms with a full catheter. “Give me a minute.” He grimaces, leaving to dispose of the equipment before returning, sanitizing his hands throughly. “What are you looking for?” Danny asks as Jackie gets back to work. “Ines, Bryce and Ethan, I think they went to the fourth floor pre-op rooms.”

“No nothing, wait.” Danny pauses the video.

“Is that a gun?” I feel bile rising through my throat as we watch Ines being pulled into one of the pre op rooms. “What?!” Jackie spins back round to face us, eyes wild. “Danny call the police. Now.”

I have no idea what I’m about to do, but I know I need to be there. “Dr. Valentine don’t you dare.” High heels click rapidly behind me and Harper catches up to me as I reach the corridor I know they’re down. “The police are on their way. What exactly do you think you can accomplish by being here?” She looks like a woman possessed, her hair wild and unkept, eyes bright and darting and her typically pristine white coat is stained red from blood. Before I can respond there’s a scream and a gunshot from behind one of the doors and the two of us spring into action, Harper producing a master card from her pocket as we open the door to our left. A huge bear of a man lies unconscious on the floor while Dr. Ramsey shields Ines, there’s a female patient lying out on a gurney but my eyes are drawn to Bryce, he stands frozen, our eyes meeting as he begins to fall in slow motion, crimson blood blossoming like a deadly flower from his gut. “Bryce!” I scream, rushing forward to catch him. “Help him!” I plead with Ethan and Harper as they freeze in shock. Panic and fear flash across Bryce’s face, foreign expressions to him, making him seem years younger. “I think he’s punctured my lung.” Bryce wheezes, his hands covering mine as I try to stem the flow off blood.

“Amongst other things. His lungs have collapsed, he’s bleeding out.” Ethan grimaces, his hands coming away from his examination bloody. “I need the trauma cart in here stat!” Harper runs into the corridor yelling, all composure is gone, she looks like the rest of us, vulnerable, human. “He shot him close range, there’s very little-.”

“Finish that sentence and see what happens Ethan.” Harper eyes him angrily, kneeling down beside us as we wait. Bryce is crying now, ugly heaving sobs that none of us can stop no matter how many times we try remind him to save his energy. “Don’t leave me Casey, I don’t wanna die alone.” He sobs hysterically, his face blotchy.

“You’re not going to die, shhh it’s all going to be fine.” I stroke his hair back from his face, shiny with sweat. “Where is that trauma cart, Delarosa keep applying pressure to the wound, Ethan get me a scalpel or something now!” Harper orders as I cradle Bryce in my lap, rocking him backwards and forwards, weeping myself. “Casey.. I’m cold.” Bryce has ceased crying, his breath coming in slow, shaky bursts. “Help will be here soon.” I kiss his forehead, trying to stop him seeing the bloody red liquid that is seeping onto everything. “Promise you’ll stay.” He clutches my hand weakly as Ethan races back into the room. “I’ll be here the whole time.” I promise him, running my thumb along his knuckles. “I need to perform a thoracostomy, to fix his lung.” Harper moves us out of the way, kneeling over Bryce and beginning to work, we all watch her in silence as Bryce stares vacantly up at the ceiling. “Dammit!” She screams suddenly, throwing the scalpel across the room. “There’s so much damage. It’s not enough.” She sits back on her heels, knees up to her chest as we watch Bryce fade in and out of consciousness. “You’re still here right?” He croaks.

“Right beside you.” I soothe him.

“If we start compressions we risk harming him further.”

“He’s dying Ines! I don’t see what we have to lose.” The two other doctors argue in low voices away from us. “Tell me something.” Bryce speaks up, the faintest smirk playing on his lips. “What?”

“Tell me I’m the prettiest surgeon in Edenbrook.”

“Bryce you’re the prettiest surgeon in the world.” I laugh, and he laughs back, but it cuts off too suddenly, turning into a gargling noise as his eyes widen in shock, hands frantically clawing his throat as he suffocates; blood flying in flecks from his lips. “It’s okay, calm down.” I stroke his face helplessly as he hemorrhages, the light in his beautiful brown eyes dying as he does. “Bryce stop fighting, it’s okay.” I plead with him as he struggles to breathe. “Where the hell is everybody!” Harper screams just as Ethan arrives back, flanked by Mirani and Tanaka. It’s just too little too late. Bryce’s hand slips from mine, slicked with his own blood, his head flopping to the side like a helpless infant. “Get him on the stretcher and into surgery now!” Tanaka orders, but I shake my head, clinging to my best friend’s body as they try to lift him. “He’s gone.” I whisper, looking down at his glassy pupils, staring into the distance but seeing nothing. Ines bursts into tears, burying her face in Zaid’s chest as he wraps his arms around her, soothing her gently. Harper watches me, her expression unreadable. “Rookie, I’m so sorry.” Ethan winces, slumping against the wall clutching his side. “Dr. Ramsey are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” He grunts, but his knees bend beneath him and he grits his teeth in agony. “I’ll treat him, someone... get Lahela out of here.” Tanaka bites his lip, glancing down at his former intern where he’s still cocooned in my arms.

———

It’s sunrise when we all emerge from Edenbrook. Shellshocked and silent, Sienna clings to me, afraid if she lets go that I’ll collapse and never get back up. “He’s really gone then?” Elijah shakes his head, as we all stand there staring up at the red streaked sky. Rafael leans against a pillar, waiting for us. “I’m sorry guys.” He frowns, holding out his arms to us. Jackie bursts into tears, letting him hold her up as she screams, pounding her fists against the wall. “It’s not fair!” She howls. “My last words to him were ‘fuck off’ why did I say that?” She sobs.

“Jackie, none of us knew this would happen, you were real and you were genuine and it was exactly the same as always. Your last words don’t matter, what matters is he knew you were his friend and he knew that, okay?” Sienna chokes back her own tears. Because nothing will be okay again.

“Can we just stop arguing, please.” I rub my eyes, lowering myself to sit on the ground. The doors open once more behind us and Landry is standing there, wringing his hands nervously. “Hey. I heard what happened, I know it doesn’t mean much but, I’m here for you. All of you.” He goes to leave but I put a hand out on his shin, stopping him. “Thanks.” I nod at him resignedly, it’s not worth fighting with him. Not anymore. He pauses for a minute but doesn’t leave, instead joining me on the cold cement floor by the ambulance dock and reaching for my hand. “You know he punched me when he found out what I did. I don’t blame him, like I deserved it.”

“He what?” Sienna joins us, crossing her legs and taking my other hand.

“He punched me, defending you Casey.” Landry gives a half-smile, squeezing my hand.

“Bryce was a stand up guy.” Rafael agrees, standing behind us with Jackie and Elijah in his chair. No one knows what else to say, so we just sit there in peace, watching the sun rise over the buildings on the horizon, each saying our own wordless goodbye.

*I know this doesn’t really explain what happened but all will be revealed in part 2, let me know if you’ve any criticism or advice or if you’d like to be tagged in part 2*

[sportscardsdtor]

About Me As Written In TCDB

I recently started the conscience effort to use Trading Card Database, for more than just a checklist for my Ryne Sandberg collection. I would like to use it a bit more proficiently. So first I decide to update the about me.

IT GOES LIKE THIS

I am a trading card hoarder, more so than a collector. Although, I love looking through my old cards and sorting them. I'm always changing my mind, when I'm 90% complete from the organizing them the previous way.

Baseball would be the sports most sought after in any version, since they cards have led me to be a bigger fan, and because I thought I was going to me on a card on day. However the baseball career ended in a junior college were I was not able to make the team. Some thing in life happened so the dream, ended there.

Cards have been a way for me to coup with life, they were my entertainment and my stress relief. I would even invent games or incorporate cards into games. So they kept my mind busy.

The total amount of years focused collecting, is much lower than most my age. I started and left late because I had to grow up, I was become a father. So my beginning was brief 3 years. After my separation from my wife and dealing with anxiety issues, the cards came back briefly. Then in 2015, the hunt began to add cards to my collections, from the dark years. Thanks to the internet, I found like minded collectors on facebook, then YouTube, Twitter, etc...

Now I'm in the middle of the hobby boom, and I'm having a good time hoarding cards that are appealing to me and making new hobby projects, such as binders, & set collecting.

The biggest collecting goals are finding unique and factory variations of Ryne Sandberg cards. Build a new collection of Mike Trout base cards, maybe some high end. Mike Trout has the local sports figure tag.

Here are players, I tend to trade or buy.

Ryne Sandberg Wil Myers Mike Trout Phillies (along with all team cards, I have separate projects within) Phavorite Phillies Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Scott Rolen, Mike Lieberthal, Jayson Werth, Andrew McCutchen, JT Realmuto, Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Roy Halladay, & Cole Hamels. Phanastic Phillies Cards (These are cards that just look sweet, or vintage) Steelers Player collections building for Jerome Bettis, TJ Watt, and Kordell Stewart. Goalie cards Building a franken set of just goalie cards Puerto Rican Baseball players Players from San Juan Dream Team in 1995, or world baseball classic team in 2017 Birthday Buddies, Any player born on August 1. Gregg Jefferies, Adam Jones, Madison Bumgarner, Pete Mackanin, Kenny Vargas, Edgerrin James, Stacey Augmon, etc... Sixers Joel Embiid is the most desire, with Allen Iverson, and Jerry Stackhouse. Newly added to the mindset Flyers Travis Konecny

I'm sure I am missing others I like to buy.

On trading card database, my hope is to build some trading relationship with cards, I'm willing to let go for cards, I would like or have on the want list.

My only issue is something I like other stuff, that I did not realize existed, or acetate & shiny. So hopefully this can get me away from the only Ryne Sandberg card offers.

Check back in January for more!

[ravensunday6-blog]

Kris Bryant Rejecting over $200M from Cubs Is Huge Gamble He May Regret

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Rumor has it that Chicago Cubs superstar Kris Bryant had the opportunity to become at least $200 million richer.

The same rumor also has it that he said "nah."

This is according to Chicago radio host David Kaplan during a Wednesday segment on ESPN 1000. As summarized by Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation, the Cubs reportedly approached Bryant and agent Scott Boras about a "'massive extension' worth 'well north of $200 million'" in the last several months. They reportedly turned it down.

Although MLB.com's Daniel Kramer confirmed Kaplan's report, The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma heard from sources that the specifics of these rumblings are "simply not true." So, take it all with a grain of salt.

It is, however, plausible that Bryant and Boras turned down $200 million. It's also plausible that such an offer is either still on the table or somewhere near it.

There have been regular reports during Bryant's four-year career about the Cubs approaching him to discuss a long-term contract extension. Each time, the gist has been that Bryant and Boras would rather play for free agency.

As Bryant himself put it to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times in April 2017:

"I guess it's a little early. I still feel super young. I'm still getting used to all of this playing at this level. I'll listen to whatever they have to say, but I just think that it might be in my best interest to just play it out and see where things go."

It's less early now, as free agency is just three years away for the 26-year-old. Assuming they did indeed make the offer, this helps explain why the Cubs might be feeling urgent about locking up Bryant.

It's not hard to discern why neither Bryant nor Boras seems willing to agree to an extension at any price. The slugger set a record by getting $10.85 million in his first arbitration payout. He's due three more of those (and, thus, plenty more life-changing money) before hitting the open market after 2021.

By then, megadeals for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado after this season and, potentially, Nolan Arenado after 2019 and Mike Trout after 2020 will have reset the bar for big-money free-agent contracts. If Bryant continues playing at an elite level through 2021, a megadeal of his own might be worth twice the Cubs' reported offer.

Still, a lot can happen in three years. And in the meantime, the magnitude of the money Bryant may have rejected must not be understated. 

John Minchillo/Associated Press

This isn't the Boston Red Sox lowballing Jon Lester with a $70 million offer back in 2014. There have been only a dozen $200 million contracts in Major League Baseball history. Only four of those were contract extensions, and three of them went to players (Joey Votto, Miguel Cabrera and Clayton Kershaw) who were more accomplished than Bryant is now.

The one exception is Giancarlo Stanton, whose 13-year, $325 million deal in 2014 with the Miami Marlins still stands as the largest in MLB history. He owned 21.3 career wins above replacement through five seasons at the time. Bryant owns 21.6 career WAR through one fewer season. This is not to mention his National League Rookie of the Year Award, NL MVP or World Series ring.

Ah, but the catch: Whereas Stanton was coming off his age-24 season and a career year, Bryant is 26 and coming off a career-worst season.

The numbers tell half the story. Bryant played in only 102 games and set new career lows in batting average (.272), slugging percentage (.460), OPS (.834), home runs (13) and WAR (1.9).

The other half of the story is couched in Bryant's trouble with the injury bug. His left shoulder started bothering him relatively early in the season and put him on the disabled list June 26. He played in only 10 games between then and Sept. 1, when he was finally back for good.

The left is Bryant's lead shoulder when he's in the batter's box. Such injuries are known to sap power from sluggers. Bryant proved to be no exception, as his isolated power (extra bases per at-bat) took a huge hit in the latter half of his season:

It's possible—perhaps even likely, in light of Kaplan's apparent walkback of his "last several months" remark—that the Cubs made their $200 million offer before Bryant's shoulder fell to pieces and that he therefore had no idea that his sky-high value was about to take a hit. If so, there's no scolding him in retrospect.

On the chance Bryant said no to their offer after his shoulder woes began, his and Boras' insistence on waiting for free agency looks all the more risky. 

According to Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, Bryant took his shoulder injury as an excuse to alter a practice routine that may have been overtaxing his body. That could resuscitate his power. Or, the cure may be worse than disease. After all, whatever he was doing before coincided with him slamming 94 home runs between 2015 and 2017.

If Bryant's shoulder saga doesn't precipitate a lasting power decline, the natural order of things might. Although power ages well relative to other skills, FanGraphs' Jeff Zimmerman found in 2014 that modern power hitters peak early and then start declining in their late 20s.

With his 27th birthday on January 4, 2019, Bryant will be there soon. He'll be 29 when he reaches free agency and looking to sell his age-30 season and beyond. At that age, any and all red flags are going to be heavily scrutinized. Perhaps enough to leave him well short of the contract he and Boras have in mind now.

Of course, this is the sky-is-falling take on a report of questionable veracity. If it is true, maybe Bryant has alternative reasons for turning down the offer—e.g., waiting to see if the Cubs sign his good buddy Bryce Harper or for some resolution with the service-time grievance he filed in 2015. And either way, things may go swimmingly for him in his final three seasons under Cub control.

But if a guy is going to say no to $200 million, he'd better have every assurance that he can do better in the near future. Bryant doesn't.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.

Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2800130-kris-bryant-rejecting-over-200m-from-cubs-is-huge-gamble-he-may-regret

[junker-town]

Juan Soto and Ronald Acuña, Jr. are a historical Rookie of the Year combo

It’s rare to have one rookie do so well before turning 21. It’s especially rare to have two of them.

On Monday afternoon, we’ll find out whether Juan Soto or Ronald Acuña, Jr. is the National League Rookie of the Year. It’s probably going to be Acuña, who has the edge in homers, WAR, stolen bases, and defensive value, but it’ll be a close race. And it’s a great excuse to appreciate how beautifully rare it is to see two under-21 players succeed like this.

It probably doesn’t feel as rare as it should, though. We happen to be in something of a boom time for under-21 players. Carlos Correa just wowed us all, but three years before that, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Mike Trout were all a part of the same rookie class. We were just getting used to the idea that Giancarlo Stanton and Jason Heyward were going to be All-Star outfielders for the next decade. At this point, it’s a little odd when a season doesn’t feature an under-21 player thriving.

But it’s not always like this. There were just five hitting seasons from an under-21 player that were worth at least 1 WAR in the 1980s, and one of them came from Dwight Gooden. There are tables and long lists of names below, so you can scroll down to a too-long-didn’t-read version, but if you look for seasons with multiple three-win players 20 or younger, you’ll see this is something of an anomaly:

It’s not enough to get just one preternatural talent under the age of 21. Now we’re used to a pair. And just think: Soto’s WAR is severely limited by his defensive metrics. Those don’t seem especially predictive, though, considering he’s a teenager learning how to play major league defense on the fly. Let’s look for the seasons with multiple under-21 players with 3 oWAR or better. There are just five of them:

2018 - Acuña, Soto 2012 - Harper, Trout 1952 - Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews 1928 - Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx 1911 - Rogers Hornsby, Whitey Witt

As you can see, the ... dammit, Whitey, you’re ruining my perfect narrative. But the overall point remains sound. It’s rare to get a couple of these seasons clustered together, and when it happens, the players usually enjoy Hall of Fame careers.

Just a simple list of the under-21 players who have recorded a 3-oWAR season is impressive, too:

In the Hall (or has the statistics to be in)

Sherry Magee George Davis John McGraw Travis Jackson Mel Ott

Rogers Hornsby Jimmie Foxx Arky Vaughn Eddie Mathews Mickey Mantle

Willie Mays Ted Williams Al Kaline Frank Robinson Orlando Cepeda

Johnny Bench Roberto Alomar Ken Griffey, Jr. Alex Rodriguez

Multiple high-level or All-Star seasons through 20s

Buddy Lewis Stuffy McInnis Vada Pinson

Solid careers

Butch Wynegar Claudell Washington

Career shortened because of war or injury

Dick Hoblitzell Tony Conigliaro

Narrative ruiner

Whitey Witt

Still active

Mike Trout Bryce Harper Carlos Correa Jason Heyward Ronald Acuña, Jr. Juan Soto

I broke up the Hall of Fame category into groups of five to make it easier to read. I did not have to do this for the other categories. This is because hitting this well before turning 21 is a great indication that player in question will make the Hall of Fame. There are exceptions to the rule. There are players who still end up breaking your heart. But for the most part, hitters like Acuña and Soto grow up to do amazing things.

(And if you limit the search to 3-oWAR players who are still teenagers, you get Mel Ott, Bryce Harper, and Juan Soto. That’s it. And two of them played in the same outfield.)

Celebrating two of these players in the same season is rare, then, even if we’re strangely used to Trout, Harper, Correa, et al, coming up and humiliating their peers before they can legally drink. It feels like a trend — something having to do with year-round baseball, travel ball, and the state of modern analytics — but there’s no way to confirm that the correlation and causation are linked. Could be a blip.

So if you’re looking for a TL;DR, it goes something like this:

It’s rare for a player 20 or younger to have a season as good as Juan Soto or Ronald Acuña, Jr.

It’s really rare for two of them to do it in the same season.

This is the first time that two players under the age of 21 finished 1-2 in the Rookie of the Year voting

A player who has a season like this is on a path to the Hall of Fame, more often than not

We should probably appreciate this more

It’s worth watching for more players like Acuña, Soto, Trout, and Harper. Maybe there is something to the trend. But for now, all that we know is that baseball has graced us with two of its most special mythical creatures in the same season, and they’ve finished 1-2 in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. It’s just as rare and amazing as you think.

[lakethread48-blog]

Albert Almora Jr. has a plan to cope with Manny Machado questions in Cubs camp

Albert Almora Jr. has a plan to cope with Manny Machado questions in Cubs camp originally appeared on nbcsportschicago.com

MESA, Ariz. - At this rate, it almost seems like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper may never sign.

Fans and media are worn out by the free agency stalemate of the two superstars and other players around the league are undoubtedly tired of being asked about it.

Including Albert Almora Jr., who grew up with Machado in the Miami area; the two are so close, they refer to each other as cousins. 

Machado was actually at the baptism for Almora's second son, Tino, last week along with Kyle Schwarber, but Almora insists he doesn't talk about free agency - or even baseball - with his childhood buddy.

"At my son's baptism, we were with family," Almora said. "Smoked a cigar, we had a good time. There were a lot of childhood friends that we had there - we talked about stories, we talked about fishing. Baseball was not a topic I wanted to talk about, especially because I didn't want to feel in that position because I knew I was going to get asked these questions and I don't want to know anything.

"It's none of my business. I think he's gonna do well, he's earned that. But I'm playing for the Chicago Cubs and that's all I know."

Plausible deniability - savvy move by the young veteran.

Almora has had plenty else to occupy his time this winter, from spending time with his two young sons to growing out his hair to getting in the best shape of his life to coming to terms with the fact he was the final batter of the 2018 Cubs season - "I hate being the last out. I'll never forget that," he said.

Still, Almora can't help but take notice of the free agency freezeout for Machado and a host of other players that has now lingered almost a full week into spring training.

"There's a lot of great talent out there that doesn't have a home," Almora said. "It's unfortunate. As a fan of the game, those are peers. Those are people that have worked really hard to deserve to be where they're at right now in free agency and that don't have homes right now starting spring training. 

"It's tough to swallow, but we'll see what happens."

Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Cubs easily on your device.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/albert-almora-jr-plan-cope-170341401.html?src=rss

[flauntpage]

Is Zack Hample Cool? Or is he a Weirdo?

Is Zack Hample a jabroni?

Or is he a cool dude?

I’m fascinated by this guy, a 41-year-old man who goes to baseball games with his glove, sits in the stands, and catches home runs and foul balls. He snagged Bryce Harper’s Sunday night dinger, which was the 67th career home run he’s been able to snare in the stands. That’s insane.

Here’s what Kyle wrote about Hample in today’s Morning Wood column:

Zack Hample is the moron who catches all those home run balls. You’ve probably heard of him. I interviewed him once because he got kicked out of Citizens Bank Park. He was back last night and, incredibly, got Harper’s home run.

Hample donates money to charity, but that’s a soft counter to a grown ass man who assails his way to wayward baseballs. This is his 67th home run ball, which is incredible. But when you dedicate your life to grabbing other men’s balls, you’re bound to get your hands on at least a few of them. Cool beans, bro.

As a general rule, I’m not sure how I feel about grown men bringing a glove to the ballpark. I think it’s a cool thing to do if you’re there with your son or daughter, assuming they also have their glove and you’re sitting in foul ball or home run territory. That’s a fun moment, and when you get home your kid can say, “hey mom, we caught a baseball!” But if you attend the game by yourself, is bringing the glove kind of a loser move? I’m leaning more towards “yes” than “no.”

That’s one layer.

The next layer is this:

“Should grown men, whether wearing a glove or not, keep home runs and foul balls for themselves?”

I’m in the camp of people who believe that all foul balls and home runs should be handed to your kid, and if you don’t have one, pick out the nearest kid and hand it to them instead. It’s a win-win, isn’t it? You can tell your buddies about how you caught a home run, then that kid gets to go home with Rhys Hoskins’ dinger ball and show their friends and bring it to show and tell (the school activity, not the strip club on Columbus Boulevard).

Gotta be honest, I’m not a big fan of adults who keep foul balls and home runs for themselves or sell them for profit.

Hample, as Kyle mentioned, does get involved with charity work. He’s partnered with “Pitch in for Baseball” over the years, a group that donates baseball and softball equipment to boys and girls.

On Hample’s website, his FAQ contains the following relevant passages about charity work:

Can I have a baseball? I’ve been asked this question quite a bit so I answered it in one of my Q&A videos. If you have a few minutes to spare, check this out. The short answer is that I give away lots of baseballs but only to kids at stadiums and to a certain charity.

What did you do with all of these famous home run balls? I gave the 3,000th hit ball to A-Rod in exchange for the Yankees making a $150,000 donation to my favorite children’s baseball charity and hooking me up with a whole bunch of stuff. I gave Trout his home run ball — no questions asked except to actually be the person to hand it to him after the game. (Security didn’t want to let me. They said it was get-away day and that the Angels had to catch a bus to the airport. I was like, “Okay, fine, in that case, I’ll just keep the ball,” and whaddaya know, the bus was somehow able to leave two minutes later.) I still have all the others. Despite what the Washington Nationals falsely accused me of, I’ve never sold a ball.

What did the Yankees give you for the A-Rod ball? When I first got it and met with the head of security, I was told that if I gave it back, I could meet A-Rod, have my own press conference, be interviewed on the YES Network during a game, receive all kinds of free tickets, and get lots of memorabilia including signed balls and bats and jerseys, but I wasn’t interested in any of that. After the game I met with Randy Levine (the president of the Yankees) and Lonn Trost (the team’s Chief Operating Officer) and they offered to make a “sizable donation” to the charity. As it turned out, in addition to the donation, they gave me all the things that had been offered to me in the first place, along with some other stuff I requested including tickets to the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game that season in Cincinnati and a behind-the-scenes tour of Yankee Stadium.

What’s the deal with the charity? Since 2009 I’ve been getting people to pledge money for the baseballs that I catch at major league games. The money goes to Pitch In For Baseball and Softball, a non-profit charity that provides equipment to underserved children and communities all over the world. Including the money that the Yankees donated for the A-Rod ball, I’ve raised more than $200,000. Here’s my 2019 fundraiser. I’d be thrilled if you’d make a donation or at least help spread the word.

That’s the charity stuff.

On the other side of the spectrum, Hample has also been kicked out of a few ballparks.

Kyle mentioned that he was booted from Citizens Bank Park, which took place in 2013 when a beer vendor heard him utter a cuss word to describe overzealous security guards.

Said Hample then:

For the record, the "offensive" word I used wasn't derogatory toward any culture or minority; it was an anatomical reference. And I'm sorry.

— Zack Hample (@zack_hample) August 4, 2013

Regarding the incident that got him kicked out of Nationals Park, Deadspin wrote this back in 2012:

It started when Zack tried to arrange the day’s bounty—11 baseballs in all—in a club-level hallway of the stadium so that he could pose for a photograph with his trophies.  At that point, a stadium employee must have noticed him and reached the conclusion that Zack was illegally selling baseballs like some sort of dirty huckster. At least, that’s what Zack thinks.

Hample said that seven security guards showed up and “simply insisted that I’d sold a baseball, and they ejected me from the stadium.”

In another incident, he somehow found his way into MLB’s Fort Bragg game back in 2016, which was organized specifically for American military members and their families. He created a Tinder profile as part of his attempt to gain admission, then issued a lengthy apology before making a charitable donation:

I am deeply sorry for going to Fort Bragg. There's lots of misinformation, so here's what really happened: pic.twitter.com/nld9YgGXAe

— Zack Hample (@zack_hample) July 4, 2016

On Hample’s website, he talks about a service he runs called “Watch with Zack,” where you can pay $1,000 plus travel expenses to, well, watch a baseball game with him. He guarantees a full refund if you don’t snag a ball.

Here’s his explanation for the cost:

…consider this: the average Major League Baseball game lasts three hours, and if we go early for batting practice, we’ll meet outside the stadium and spend a minimum of six hours together. If the game is slow or goes into extra innings, it’ll be more like seven or eight hours, and there’s a lot of planning that goes into setting this up in the first place. That said, it’s not just about the time. I’m an expert. Remember? And I’m pretty much the most fun person ever. (If you still think I’m crazy, try hiring a plumber for six hours. Or a wedding photographer. Or a personal trainer or a tutor or a psychologist or a lawyer — see how much THAT costs. Go get a six-hour massage and email me a copy of the receipt.)

Hample is based out of New York, so he talks a little bit about the time and expense needed to reach other cities. I honestly don’t see the big deal here. This is a private, multi-hour, pseudo-celebrity thing you’re paying for, and anything in this department is gonna cost you a decent chunk of change. Tom Brady was charging $1,200 for autographs not long ago, and you didn’t see get to meet the QB in person. He’d sign it in some room and the company running the gig would mail the item back to you.

Beyond all of this ball-catching stuff, Hample has written three books and has 355,000 Youtube subscribers. I went down a rabbit hole and some of his clips are pretty fascinating. There’s one where he explains why the security guards in Japan make you return baseballs that enter the stands.

So I’m finding it hard to pass judgment on Hample one way or another.

On one hand, the guy does involve himself with charity while also pulling off some pretty impressive feats. He’s carved out an interesting and profitable niche, so I can’t rip the guy for that. I’m cool with capitalism up until the point where you become one of those bloated asshole Wall Street executives, taking taxpayer bailout money.

On the other hand, I still think all home runs and foul balls should go to kids. And I can’t decide if bringing a glove to the game as a grown adult is okay, or kind of dorky.

So you tell me –

Is Zack Hample cool, or is he a weirdo?

The post Is Zack Hample Cool? Or is he a Weirdo? appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Is Zack Hample Cool? Or is he a Weirdo? published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[thefirsttimpressions-blog]

The Daily Listen: 2/26/19

The Daily Listen. Bryce Harper rumors are driving me slowly insane.

Stats / Other People’s Lives: I was introduced to this band via the Breaking section on Matt Wilkinson’s Beats 1 show. Pretty sure both “Rhythm of the Heart” and “Lose It” got some play, which isn’t surprising since they’re two of Other People’s Lives’ best tracks. There’s a very 1980s aesthetic to much of the record, and it’s at a crossroads of electric indie pop and classic synthpop. It also has a bit of a Miami feel to it, reminding me of a band like Lemonade. There are other influences I’m hearing too, like Methyl Ethel (”Raft”) and even John Lennon (”A Man Who Makes the Weather”). I liked this record quite a bit more than I expected to, and I’d be surprised if it doesn’t end up on my top 10 list of February’s best releases.

Weezer / Pinkerton: It’d be almost impossible to make a case that Pinkerton isn’t the most mythologized record in Weezer’s catalog. The “underappreciated classic” angle, everything that went into making it, casual fans looking for another “Buddy Holly” and not getting it... it all adds to the narrative around Pinkerton. But have we considered that maybe Weezer (The Blue Album) is actually better? That was my main takeaway from this listen. Pinkerton’s still an incredible record - I’m not denying that - but is it as strong as The Blue Album? There’s definitely a debate to be had there. When it comes to the songs themselves, “El Scorcho” sounds very much of its era, yet still holds up. It was also interesting to hear “The Good Life” for the first time since Vic Mensa interpolated it on The Autobiography track “Homewrecker.” Genuinely not sure how a track like “Pink Triangle” would play in today’s climate, but it’s a highlight either way. The opening “Tired of Sex” is another standout. And count me on the side of Weezer never touching the heights of their first two records ever again.

girlpool / What Chaos Is Imaginary: Second listen of this one and I like it about as much as I did the first time. It’s definitely a better record with more personality than their debut, Powerplant. Cleo Tucker’s transition and subsequently changed voice adds a new texture to the band, and they have some of the better tracks here, including “Lucy’s” and “Hire,” while Harmony Tividad stands out in her own right on “Pretty.” Also noticed a bit of Mac DeMarco happening with the guitars on “All Blacked Out.” Not sure I’m ever going to love What Chaos Is Imaginary, but I’ll definitely be friends with it.

Hayes Carll / What It Is: After being consumed by A Star Is Born for the past few days, it’s interesting to listen to Hayes Carll’s new record, What It Is, because there’s more than a little bit of a Jackson Maine sound to it. Hadn’t heard of Carll prior to this record, but Apple Music spotlighted it in its Americana section and I took notice as I was doing my weekly perusal of new music. I’m a fan of the opening “None’ya” and “Things You Don’t Wanna Know,” which have that ragged “roadhouse on a Friday night” sound that I usually dig. After one listen, “American Dream” is probably my favorite track, while “Be There” has a familiar sound that I can’t quite place yet.

Wild Pink / Wild Pink: Good record, solid debut, but not to the heights of where Wild Pink would go on 2018′s Yolk in the Fur. There are definitely some hints of where the band was heading with the heartland rock, War on Drugs sound of its sophomore album, but Wild Pink wasn’t quite on that level yet in 2017. There are some really good tracks here (”Battle of Bedford Falls,” “Great Apes,” and “Playing Through a Dip Related Injury”) but the record has a tendency to blend into itself a little too often.

[utterlyinevitable]

Your theories have been spot on so far Dom! Any updates whilst you are on roll?

Thank you! Maybe I should apply for that writers position after all 😂

> week five update <

Since I didn’t do a full round up last week, lets go over where all the babes stand in my prediction universe : 

Sienna is obsessing over the boards which makes me think she’s going to fail and become a baker bc that makes her happiest. Something about her still feels like she’s bogged down by Danny dying and searching for a bigger meaning. Hence the peds time. So if she doesn’t fail the boards she’ll become a pediatrician.    

Jackie and that intern that has a name I can’t remember are going to have something happen. Maybe the intern is the anti-Jackie since we know Jackie sees herself in the girl a lot. And possibly Jackie’s struggle this book will be to not project? or if they’re going to go down the route of making Jackie the anti-Ethan mentor-wise. 

Still thinking my MC and Elijah are going to have a major fallout. It feels like Bloom is pushing a Research v Diagnostics battle coming. 

Aurora I feel is going to get her arc later. Making amends with Tobias and yadda ya. If Ethan gets fired she’d probably take his place on the DT and will work with MC and Tobias to take Bloom down from the inside. 

My sweet bby boi Bryce fucked up for some reason PB didn’t care to give him. Now his confidence is shaken and he’s going to have to navigate through this and try not to have his reputation damaged in his bosses eyes. I would like for him to not handle it well and MC gets to help him work through it aside from that diamond scene. But it’s pb and i don’t think they’ll touch upon it. Especially for how little we’re seeing my man. 

Rafael’s entire plot is still going to be based around his new career and making things better in the community. Possibly something happening with that baseball player? Maybe at the end of the series he becomes the exclusive sports therapist to the team???

Ethan is still struggling with his hatred for Bloom and his distrust in Tobias. Still needing to lean on MC for his sanity. I think Tobias being around and T being mostly okay with Bloom’s tech etc will push Ethan to accept and bend the rules around his views of the new Edenbrook. Ultimately I think Ethan is going to lose control and get fired and Tobias will head the DT. 

Tobias’ redemption arc will happen with him, MC and Aurora working on the inside, consulting with Ethan on the outside. Then E, T and MC will start their own practice after she passes the boards and live in holy throuple matrimony. 

Harper is still on track to become Bloom’s #1 buddy once shit hits the fan with Ethan. (but let me TELL YOU all these smiles she’s throwing MC is totally baiting. don’t show me kindness if ur not gonne love me, harper emery)

Tobias gets his lifes desire of dethroning King Ramsey. but it’s short lived because Bloom’s a shithead. Enter the redemption arc. 

Binx may be a spy??? what other reason could pb have for giving a robot screentime over LIs? 

Bloom’s the Big Bad, Tobias is the baddie, the Boards are a baby bad. Though there’s definitely at least two more baby bads I’m missing atm. 

&&&& that’s where we’re at! 

Thanks for asking each week 💖

[junker-town]

An eagle, a giraffe, and Ron Gardenhire walk into a bar...

And anything else you might have missed in baseball this week.

Welcome to this week’s Mound Visits, where you can catch up on all of the things you might have missed in baseball this week. This week, we cover Ron Gardenhire wasting no time getting ejected, that whole eagle thing, and why someone didn’t cover themselves in Vaseline.

When Adrian Beltre met Adrian Beltre

Look who finally got to meet his namesake @FortWorthZoo. #beltrethegiraffe pic.twitter.com/qDqWfQ3aSk

— Emily Jones (@EmilyJonesMcCoy) March 30, 2018

There’s a giraffe named Adrian Beltre in Texas, and Adrian Beltre finally met him. It was adorable, and the best type of addition to the Adrian Beltre Contains Multitudes catalogue. At least Giraffe Beltre doesn’t have to worry about people touching his head.

Adrian Beltre Just Likes Hugs

"I was just giving my friend a hug," - Adrian Beltre... probably. pic.twitter.com/zzJyzV9TV6

— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) April 4, 2018

There’s the Adrian Beltre we know and love. Such antics, such lack of giving a shit about whether that’s completely against the rules or not. It worked though, so clearly Beltre’s instincts are foolproof.

Ron Gardenhire Is Here To Eat Sunflower Seeds and Kick Dirt, and He’s All Out of Sunflower Seeds

How on earth did I miss Ron Gardenhire getting the ultra-rare double ejection on Friday??? pic.twitter.com/ysVmRVcbgr

— Tipping Pitches (@tipping_pitches) April 2, 2018

The Tigers didn’t start their season until Friday thanks to some inclement weather that swept through the Midwest, but when they finally did break the seal on the 2018 season it was memorable. It ended 13-0 in the Pirates’ favor, but new Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire made sure that there were some fireworks before it was over.

In the bottom of the 10th, Nicholas Castellanos was originally called safe at home which would have given the Tigers a 11-10 win to start their season. After a lengthy review, the call was overturned and the game went on. But not before Gardenhire made his feelings about the call more than apparent, eventually getting ejected.

He not only argued with the home plate umpire — which, Ron buddy, he was the one who made the original safe call so he’s on your side — but anyone else who entered his general radius, resulting in the rare DOUBLE EJECTION. Two EMPHATIC gestures from both umpires. They weren’t half-assing this call, and Gardenhire was living for it.

The true money quote came after the game, when it was revealed that Leonys Martin asked Gardenhire in the dugout “What happens if they change it? Are you going to kick dirt on home plate?” and the reply was “Damn right I am.” Would you expect anything less from someone who was ejected from more than 70 games as skipper of the Twins?

**Daddy Yankee voice** Dame Más Vaselina!

This week, Kevin Kiermaier almost covered himself in Vaseline to counter the cold in New York. But then he didn’t. And we don’t know any details about why he didn’t, except for that one minute he was all for it and the next he no longer wanted any part of that with no real explanation why. The Great Vaseline Mystery of 2018.

Bryce Harper’s High Class Cleats

Live your best life.

A post shared by Bryce Harper (@bharper3407) on Mar 30, 2018 at 7:34pm PDT

When it comes to custom cleats or shoes, you usually see athletes sporting them more often in football or basketball where it’s not as likely that they’ll immediately get covered in dirt and grime. Baseball players have custom cleats of course, but often related to an event like Players Weekend or to honor the victims of tragedy as Harper did with his Vegas cleats last fall.

So Harper’s flashy Louis Vuitton/Supreme logo cleats — a pair of Under Armour Harper 2’s customized by Soles by Sir — were a pleasant surprise that brought some style to the diamond on the Nationals’ Opening Day.

Bryce Harper riding a Nats slugger breaks out the Louis Vuitton x Supreme Cleats for Opening Day. pic.twitter.com/5Knp55YZXT

— NBC Sports Nationals (@NBCSNationals) March 30, 2018

And they immediately got dirty. Still looked pretty good with mud all over the logos though.

EAAAAAGLEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Y’all see that eagle land on Mariners’ pitcher James Paxton? He just wanted to be friends and talk about whether he resembles the eagle on the dollar or not, James. Chill. (In all seriousness, whether it was because he has ice in his veins or because he was petrified, he handled this about as well as anyone can.)

Beef Harper

What it’s all about! #TheHarpers

A post shared by Bryce Harper (@bharper3407) on Apr 5, 2018 at 2:26pm PDT

This isn’t the first time that Bryce Harper has posted an Instagram that included his dad, but it is the first time he’s done it since Mound Visits started so we’re including it.

Because Ron Harper is jacked. This isn’t new information, as Harper hangs out with his dad a lot, but we’re going to discuss it anyway because this is one of those things that requires periodic reminders for no real reason. This picture from a November Vegas Knights game is the most blatant display of the rocket launchers he calls arms, but it’s almost more impressive how ripped he looks in a suit. It takes a lot to look that muscular in a well-tailored suit but Ron Harper did it.

We’ll probably revisit this in the future, just because.

Alex Cora’s College Memories Might Be Fuzzy

Before a game in Miami this week, Red Sox manager Alex Cora shared a nice little anecdote about playing PlayStation with The Rock when they were both at the University of Miami together back in the 90’s. Except there’s only one problem: the Rock graduated in 1995 and the original PlayStation wasn’t available in North America until the following fall.

Did they have a secret hookup that imported one from Japan? Were they actually playing Sega and Cora just forgot which games belonged to what console? There’s been no solid answer to this mystery, so it’s probably easier to believe that Cora and The Rock ran an underground console network in the mid-90’s while fronting as student athletes. As good a plot idea for the eventual 23 Jump Street as any.

There’s No Baseball Like Snow Baseball

Oh, the weather outside is frightful … pic.twitter.com/jZevBQtrDT

— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) April 4, 2018

Most people who live in the Northeast, Midwest, or Mid-Atlantic are far past the point where seeing snow makes them happy or fuzzy inside. It’s April, the snow refuses to stop, and everyone is slowly losing their confidence that Spring is ever going to come at all. It’s like a twisted version of Narnia where sure, it’s always winter, but there’s not even an evil witch to be angry at to pass the time or a half-man/half-goat that looks like James MacAvoy to pal around with while we wait for warmth.

In short, it sucks.

One thing that makes it suck less is watching snow baseball, which actually happens far less than it seems like it should and is always a pretty and surreal watch. You know who’s not sick of the snow? Fernando Rodney.

The perks of #snowbaseball. pic.twitter.com/wcZbVp3zwi

— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) April 5, 2018

The Twins enjoyed the snow enough on Wednesday to take away the Pirates’ status as the last unbeaten team in the league, and it happened again when the Tigers played the White Sox in Chicago the next day.

Watching this fantastic Rodney gif on a loop might add enough warmth to your heart to make it through one more snow storm. But only one more, you hear me nature? ONE MORE AND THAT’S IT.

[junker-town]

Grant Brisbee presents Grant Brisbee’s 10 favorite Grant Brisbee articles from 2017

A collection of the stories that I’d like you to remember at least once more.

I opened last year’s year-end review with a string of mewling complaints about how bad 2016 was. Buddy, I’m here from the future, and it can get worse. The catch phrase at the end of 2016 was “It can only go up from here!” The catch phrase at the end of 2017 is “as I fall deeper into the abyss, inching closer to a lonely death, know that I hated each and every one of you,” and boy if it doesn’t roll off the tongue. This isn’t going to get better. Stop pretending like the end of the calendar year is going to fix anything. We’re trapped. All of us. We’re going to start using each other for food soon, and I’m okay with t

Whoops, ha ha, got a little dark, anyway, 2017 was also a year in which I wrote a bunch of dumb baseball articles. Some of them I liked! The end of the year always seems like a fine time to share them with you, and it will help you forget about ... you know ... the other stuff. The everywhere things. Baseball is important because it makes you forget about what’s important, and I love it so.

Here are Grant Brisbee’s favorite Grant Brisbee articles of the year, presented by me, Grant Brisbee:

10. Mariners-Angels comeback

This is one of my favorite genres, where I methodically scrutinize a baseball game using grainy screenshots and the occasional GIF. That reads like sarcasm, but I’m absolutely serious. There’s something about diving into the minutiae of a single game and remembering that every foul ball is a hitter not doing his job as well as he wants, and that those are usually in front of every important hit. It will never fail to blow my mind.

This comeback was extra special because it happened against the Mariners, who had an absurd comeback of their own the previous year. They had earned this kind of pain.

I’m not sure about the rest of the pain the Mariners have accumulated, though. That probably exists because of something you did.

9. Defenestrating the Eric Thames hypocrisy

In which Jake Arrieta’s pitching coach hints that an out-of-nowhere success story must be dirty because he came out of nowhere. The pitching coach of Jake Arrieta, who arrived from Baltimore on a bus with a suitcase that had a hole in it and then became one of the best pitchers in baseball.

The pointless PED speculation was stupid then, and it’s stupid now. Sometimes it’s fun to get righteous. This was one of those times.

8. Bryce Harper vs. Hunter Strickland

By most accounts, Strickland is actually a sweet feller. Respected by his teammates, nice to the fans, et cetera. But he sure is a dingus on the mound sometimes. There was no reason for him to throw at Bryce Harper, but boys will be boys. And boys are complete jackasses. We just had a bunch of boys over for a holiday party, and we had paver stones flipped over, a pogo stick thrown into a tomato plant, and a chair that ended up on the roof. As the father of two sweet, perfect girls, these kinds of surprises completely foreign to me, and I must reiterate that boys are complete jackasses. Especially these two baseball boys.

Anyway, the fight was funny because Bryce Harper looked extraordinarily silly throwing his helmet into right field, and I can watch it all day.

7. We’ll miss you, intentional walks

I love dumb baseball stuff. Intentional walks gave us the potential for dumb baseball stuff. Now there’s less dumb baseball stuff. You should be offended, too.

This was written before having that feeling of “Wait, what just h ... oh, right, the walk thing” 50 times during the season. It was always annoying, and I’ll never get used to it. But at least we shaved six seconds off every other game.

6. The Oral History of Tom Brady on the Expos

I write a lot of dumb things, but there’s a special spot in my heart for the dumbest. This piece of historical fiction was certainly the dumbest, featuring a one-note joke that Tom Brady would have made the Expos a successful franchise and a baseball institution.

Except I had all sorts of fun writing it and sucking different characters into my story, like a shirtless Pat Burrell and Montreal’s most popular basketball hero, Kevin Durant. It’s dumb, but it’s already written, so you might as well get dumb along with me.

5. Game 2 of the World Series

I was so convinced that this was going to be the wildest baseball game I would see for a decade. People tried to tell me that Game 7 of the 2016 World Series was wilder, but that’s only because of the stakes inherent in a double-elimination game. Otherwise, that was a sloppy mess of a game with a couple of lead changes. A classic, to be sure. But it wasn’t like Game 2.

There was a fire outside of Dodger Stadium and the whole place smelled like ash. I can’t stress that enough, and it certainly added to the scene, especially when some dude jumped into the Astros bullpen. In retrospect, they probably should have let him throw a few pitches, just to gauge the arm speed.

It was a blast to watch and a blast to write, especially considering that it was going to be the wildest baseball game I would watch for at least 72 hours.

4. Game 5 of the World Series

HOME RUNS. They found shrapnel from this game in operating rooms eight miles away. It was a dumb abomination of a baseball game that we’ll be talking about for years. My favorite part might be remembering that it was once a calm, mellow game with Clayton Kershaw in complete control. Or it might be this:

When you hit the HR ball so hard it explodes on impact http://pic.twitter.com/DDDtJANBaw

— That Dude (@cjzer0) October 30, 2017

I think the national audience had to see a replay to pick up on the fact that the ball landed near the pyrotechnic display, but at the ballpark it was an immediate realization, and it was perfect. That game was baseball exploding. Here’s video proof.

3. Here comes the pizza’s 10th anniversary

I wasn’t a huge Here Comes the Pizza guy. I’d seen the video once or twice, but that was about it. Marc Normandin kept bugging me, though. “Hey, you gonna write about the anniversary?” “The anniversary of Here Comes the Pizza is coming up, you have plans?” So I dug into the video a little more.

And I came out of it a convert. Man, what a stupid and delightful moment in time that was captured perfectly by the perfect announcers to have describing it. A lot of stars had to line up for this moment.

There had to be a dude willing to throw his pizza at another human being, for example.

2. The Marlins are so weird, they ruined the thesis of this feature

The history of Miami baseball — before they had Major League Baseball, even — is strange and painful. I used the horribamazing home run sculpture as a metaphor for it, and I was proud of how it turned out.

The thesis was this: Miami baseball is about to stop being strange and painful because new owners are coming, and they’ll realize how stupid it is to put this city through another painful, PR disaster of a rebuild.

Welp.

Still, a lot of the other points hold. Kind of. I mean, if you squint.

1. The Astros were the perfect team for Houston

This feature came after the first two games of the ALDS, when we weren’t sure if the Astros were going to last more than a few days in the postseason. If I had it to do over again, it would have been something that was published after Game 7, but there was no way to know.

In retrospect, there probably should have been a way to know. This team was special, and I loved following them. The Yuli Gurriel dumbassery took a litle sheen off the perfect story, but there’s still a lot to love about the composition and timing of this team. I loved the moment George Springer, the Connecticut-born son of Panamanian and Puerto Rican immigrants, took the field with a gigantic Texas flag before Game 1 of the ALDS, exhorting the crowd and helping them forget about the pain that was all around them. It was incredibly Houston, a mish-mash of circumstances and realities that didn’t have to make sense, but ultimately did.

Houston is a strange, ugly, beautiful town that probably shouldn’t exist. This team was perfect for them.

Bonus: My favorite headlines from 2017

7. 3 questions about the Cubs coach who is dressed as a Juggalo lawyer

6. Pantless ruffian interrupts Giants-Brewers game, gets beans mashed into infield dirt

5. No, that Cubs player wasn’t flipping off the President of the United States

4. Aaron Judge was doubled off first and called out, but then he was safe after video review, but then he was about to be called out on appeal, so he was thrown trying to steal second, look, just take our word for it

3. Michael Jordan was more denim than man in 1993, and these pictures prove it

2. The Oakland A’s Twitter account told Wendy’s that its hamburgers cause diarrhea

1. Jeffrey Loria reportedly has agreement to sell Miami Marlins

Happy New Year, everybody! It probably won’t get better, but at least baseball will be as silly as ever, and we can use it to ignore everything. It’s as good a plan as any.