BVSA Sports Show: Episode 25

BVSA Sports Show: Episode 25

Hello everyone and welcome to the Bobby Valentine Sports Show. I’m your host Frank Ramppen, and we’re going to do another solo episode this week. So this week, we got a couple of things to talk about, a lot of things to talk about, actually, a very eventful week in the world of baseball. We’re going to talk about the All-Star break, talk about the Home Run Derby, talk about the All-Star Game, those surprise events that happened, those surprise winners of maybe one of those things, the MVP of the All-Star game, that’s for sure. We’re going to talk about the MLB updates at the halfway point as this is the All-Star break going into the second half of the season. We’ll talk about a bunch of those different division matchups going into the second half, and then I’ll make a prediction for each division at the end of this episode. So stay tuned for that one.

So we’ll start off with our past week recap, and well, the first thing we’ll talk about is the All-Star break. The first thing that happened on this All-Star break, obviously, was Monday night was the Home Run Derby, and the winner of the Home Run Derby, if anyone hadn’t seen, was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. So great job to Vladi. Actually, his dad, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., won the Home Run Derby in 2007, making it the first time ever that a father-son duo has won the Home Run Derby. So pretty cool stuff there. We’ll get more into that later. We’ll talk about the Home Run Derby. We’ve got a whole All-Star segment. And then the All-Star Game MVP is Elias Diaz of the Colorado Rockies. The first time a Colorado Rockie has ever won MVP of the All-Star Game and the fourth most long-shot player of all the players listed as All-Stars to win MVP going into the game. So pretty crazy stuff, pretty unexpected stuff. And the National League came home with the win, obviously, on the Elias Diaz two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning. This was the first win by the National League in the All-Star Game since 2012. So nine years in a row, it was the second longest streak by any team in All-Star Game history by the AL, nine years in a row. So the first time they won since 2012. And a couple of things that were going on in 2012: that was the first year that Bryce Harper and Mike Trout made All-Star appearances. So think about that. They were both, I think, 19 years old when that happened. They’re both going into their 30s years old now. Mike Trout, to dad. So that’s pretty crazy to think about. That’s how long it’s been since the National League has even won the All-Star Game. So pretty cool. We’ll get more into that later.

So we have the first combined no-hitter in Detroit Tigers history that happened the other day. So the Tigers and their storied franchise, they’ve had nine no-hitters in their history, and this is the first time that’s ever been combined. So that’s pretty crazy to think about that the Tigers have had nine in total, but this is the first time that the starting pitcher didn’t go the distance. So that shows you how baseball’s changed over the years. Probably it’s been a while since the last actually Spencer Turnbull threw one a couple of years ago. So good stuff there for the Tigers. Matt Manning started that game off with six and two-thirds innings without a hit before he was taken out with two outs in the seventh inning. Jason Foley stepped in to get the final out of the seventh, followed that with a hitless eighth as well. And then Alex Lang, the Detroit Tigers closer, came in, and he was forced to face the top of the order. So that top of the order of the Toronto Blue Jays is not so easy, like we talked about before. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is in that top three. He had to face him, last Home Run Derby winner. Bo Bichette led off, so that’s another All-Star right there. And those two guys hit around Brandon Belt, so another solid hitter. So he faced Bo Bichette, got him, Brandon Belt, and then had to face the Home Run Derby champion, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., got him to ground out to third to complete the first-ever combined no-hitter in Detroit Tigers history. So pretty cool stuff there, great stuff for Matt Manning, Jason Foley, and Alex Lang, as it’s been a pretty tough season for the Tigers overall. But I mean, who knows? They’re only five games out of the hunt in the Central, and the AL Central is completely up for grabs, so anything can happen there, and that could kickstart them to go in the right direction.

Another headline we have here in our past week recap is, of course, Elly De La Cruz, because he just again does the unthinkable whenever he steps on a baseball field. He’s truly becoming a must-watch talent every single night. It’s getting to be ridiculous. So they were playing a huge series against the Brewers that I touched on last week, last week’s episode, starting Friday, they played a three-game set. They actually ended up losing the set two games out of three. But on Saturday, with the game tied 5-5 late in the game, I believe it was the seventh inning, Elly De La Cruz had it was in an 0-2 count, and he ripped an RBI single into left field to score TJ Friedl from third base. So then he’s on first after he just drove in the go-ahead run late in the game. What does he do two pitches later? Takes off without a very, very close play. He was in there. He’s the fastest man, quote-unquote, in the world, so he steals second base two pitches into the next at-bat. What does he do next pitch? Gets an unbelievably huge jump, takes off for third, right? Takes off for third. There’s not even a throw made to third. He’s just there standing up. He’s got no chance. So the catcher, William Contreras, looks at him. I’m pulling up the video right here. We’re gonna have it for you too. So he takes off for second. This throw from Willy Contreras is pretty good, one-hop throw on the bag. Elly De La Cruz is in there safely, no chance, not a chance. So after that, he’s like, “All right, I’m gonna just chill out here for a sec, fix my hair, do a couple of this.” William Contreras is like, “Oh, geez, what am I doing now? Oh, boy.” De La Cruz brushes off the pants, get himself ready, and what does he do now? The next pitch, he gets an absolutely ridiculous jump. And he would have beaten Brian Anderson to the bag anyway because they were shifted slightly. But Brian Anderson didn’t even try to go to third base. He beat him to the bag, and William Contreras didn’t even have a chance to make a throw. Ridiculous stuff, and Elly De La Cruz just decides to round third, fix his helmet a little bit, fix his hair, do a little bit of this, put his helmet back on, and he sees William Contreras flip the ball back to the pitcher, and he sees the pitcher kind of just turn around, not really paying attention to him. He sneaks off a little bit more, a little bit more, and then he just breaks for the plate. And the pitcher turns around, he’s got no chance, throws it wild home. Eli De La Cruz slides in safely. So he just drove in the go-ahead run, stole second and third, and home in two pitches. People don’t do that. The things that he does, nobody does them. He’s an absolute freak of nature. Nobody does the things that he does. He’s an absolute freak of nature. So we’ll get more into the Reds, we’ll get more into Elly De La Cruz, but what a ridiculous highlight from the 21-year-old. Like, what a ridiculous… And he became the second player in the expansion era to steal three bases in one plate appearance, and he was the youngest player ever to do that. So what he’s doing is just ridiculous.

Moving on to the last couple of segments of the past week recap. The first one will be the AL Player of the Week. This past week, Logan Gilbert was the AL Player of the Week. He made two starts. In both starts, he got the win, was 2-0. He pitched 16 innings in those two games, a 0.56 ERA with 13 strikeouts and no walks. So, wow, crazy week there for Logan Gilbert. And on the 4th of July, he had his first career complete game, CG. So, nice job there. And then we’ll move on to the NL Player of the Week was Manny Machado. In the six games this week, Manny Machado hit .478 with four bombs, 13 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.599, basically 1600 OPS throughout the week. So, what a ridiculous line there for both Logan Gilbert and Manny Machado. Great job for both of them to win their respective leagues Player of the Week.

For more on this past All-Star Weekend and some updates on the MLB standings click the video below!