Baseball is not played like it used to be. There are changes in ways of thinking and among current players, it sometimes shows.
And today, for better or worse, we were treated to the specter of comments from former MLB players.
Roger Clemens, on social media, criticized Mariners pitcher George Kirby. For what? Because the latter criticized his manager for having done it too much throw.
Yesterday, Kirby hit a home run in the seventh that hurt his club. He said in an interview that he believed he should not have returned to the mound. He had 90 shots behind him and he thought that was enough.
Usually, pitchers want the opposite: to throw more.
Clemens, on Twitter, said it was hard to see and in his time, such comments would not have passed the council. He says advanced stats are a poor guide for today’s players.
I’m not saying Clemens is wrong – quite the contrary. After all, let’s say that Kirby’s comment indicates a certain lack of ambition.
What I’m saying is that these are words from another era.
And speaking of comments from another era, let’s just say that David Wells, at the Yankees alumni game today, got people talking.
He notably criticized woke culture, MLB, Nike (he hid the Nike logo on his jersey) and Bud Light. It didn’t look very 2023, let’s say.
He also mentioned that the Yankees players are responsible for the club’s failures in 2023 and not managers like Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman.
In his eyes, regardless of the salary, players who are struggling should be sent to the minors. No more complicated than that.
In either case, it is rare for comments like this to be made in today’s baseball by active players.
And once again: there is some truth in some comments, all the same.
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