Anytime I can weave the Red Sox, Comic Books, Tom Brady, and Entourage into a discussion I will do it. Every. Single. Time.
New ep of #The300sPodcast is a GO! We just witnessed maybe the best Home Run Derby in 20 years, we’re handing out mid-term grades for the #RedSox, #The300sTop3: Comic Book Movies, and did Tom Brady lift the #TB12 Method from #Entourage? https://t.co/WdohbuRzqN
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) July 19, 2018
Aaaand we’re back. Episode 008 of The 300s Podcast is hot off the presses and we’re diving into the Celtics offseason, grading Danny Ainge’s recent moves and the Paul George situation. We also debut The 300s Ballpark Reviews with the Miami Marlins, how Aaron Judge has put the fear of god into Red Sox fans, the dominance of Chris Sale and we ask what is wrong with David Price? LETS GET IT.
Yankees rookie Aaron Judge put on a goddamn show last night to win the Home Run Derby and it’s time for Red Sox fans to start being afraid. It’s hard to have missed what Judge has been doing this season unless you’re literally refusing to watch baseball until the leaves turn. The Yankees rookie hit 30 home runs in the first half, which already broke Joe DiMaggio’s rookie team record. And he’s well on his way to besting Mark McGwire’s MLB record of 49 home runs as a rookie.
Mac was obviously on the juice for a long time, but Judge is a genetic freak. The guy is bigger than Gronk for christ’s sake. He’s 6/7″ 282 lbs so its not like he’s just peeling the skin off his chicken. He’s built to smash things.
But its hard to really get the fear of god in you just by reading boxscores. Its only when you see that goddamn horse hitting 519 ft home runs do you realize that as a Red Sox fan we are fucked. This guy is going to be hitting moonshots onto the Pike for the next decade. So settle in guys, this guy is going to be the next great Red Sox killer. And the worst part is, Judge hasn’t really done anything yet to earn my ire. As much as I want to, I don’t hate him. Yet. He’s gonna need to legitimately kill a Red Sox fan sitting on the Monster for me to get some hate flowing.
Not exactly unexpected, Chris Sale has been lights out this year. It’s rare that someone comes exactly as advertised and performs even better than expected (i.e. not David Price). Some guys can’t hack it in a market like Boston. Other guys *thrive* and Chris Sale definitely falls into the latter.
Among pitchers in the American League, Sale is top-3 in WAR, ERA, Wins, WHIP, IP & leads all AL pitchers in K’s by more than 30. Sale has 178 K’s, which is THIRTY strikeouts more than the guy in second. It would have been a slight against god to not give Sale the start.
Lets take a step back though and really examine Chris Sale’s dominance on the mound this year. He’s the most electric Red Sox starter since Pedro. He’s the first guy I will run home to sit down and watch since Curt Schilling in 04. Beckett was dominant for a stretch, Lester was great, Buchholz was infuriatingly amazing and terrible at the same time. But none touch Sale.
Can we also point out that Chris Sale is on pace for 356 K’s this year, which would be the most K’s in a single season since Randy Johnson had 372 in 2001. The Big Unit also won the Cy Young that year (the 2nd of his 3 in a row).
To put that into perspective, here’s the list of pitchers that have had 300 K’s in a season over the past 20 years:
Four guys in 20 years. Thats it. Pretty good company to have. Now it’ll be hard to ever top Pedro striking out 5 guys in 2 innings in the 1999 All-Star game at Fenway, but goddamnit Chris Sale will try.
The 300s 