SnakeBytes 6/24: The Tigers Come To Town

Another Thursday off day for the Diamondbacks before the Tigers come to visit. As far as I can tell, this will be Detroit’s first visit since 2017, which is an uncomfortably long time ago, now that I’m thinking about it

But enough about the passage of time. Thursday was an off-day for the Diamondbacks, so not a ton of news, especially from the local media that was much more interested in reporting on the Suns doing not much of anything during the NBA draft. So we’ll jump right into the national news

(MLB.com) MVP polling has 2 new leaders

I almost didn’t include this, simply because the conversation surrounding Goldy has gotten so stale on this site, mostly due to him not actually being on the team in so many years. But I’m happy for him, I really am. He spent so much time on mid to bad teams here in the desert, which always overshadowed his accomplishments. Now he’s on a good team, in a good baseball town, and is finally starting to get that recognition he deserves, and not a moment too late for his HoF resume.

(MLBTR) Cole Hamels Targeting 2023 Comeback

I have to admire the tenacity of someone who is willing to put themselves through the rehab and conditioning needed to make an attempt at a MLB comeback at 39 years old. It’s a level of dedication that I just simply don’t have. On the other hand, please don’t let Mike Hazen hear about this.

(Yahoo! Sports) Oneil Cruz is the first 6-foot-7 shortstop you’ve ever seen. He might not be the last

You see, Cruz is 6-foot-7, and he plays shortstop. And he’s not a novelty act or a fringe player with a cool quirk. Until Tuesday, when Pittsburgh finally ended its particularly obnoxious campaign of service time manipulation, he was one of the most exciting players left in the minor leagues. Coming into the season, Baseball Prospectus ranked him the No. 12 prospect in the sport.

In his first game of 2022 (he made a one-game MLB debut at the end of 2021), Cruz threw the ball harder than any MLB infielder so far this season, ran faster than any Pirate has this season and hit the ball harder than any Pirate has this season.

(Yahoo! Sports) College baseball intent on increasing Black players, coaches

“Of the 279 Division I teams not from historically Black colleges and universities, only 4% of players, 1% of the head coaches and 1% of assistant coaches were Black in 2021, according to the most recent NCAA research. While coaching staffs have remained mostly white with rare exception, the number of Black players at non-HBCU Division I schools went from 236 in 2012 to 434 in 2021.”