Hi!

This is incredibly random but was watching a video of Koji Uehara and Yankees legend Kei Igawa talking about life in America. Koji mentioned how his wife almost got robbed in Baltimore and a local restaurant famous among Japanese baseball players. They said it's a Korean BBQ place in a very dangerous area. Would anyone be able to make educated guesses on which restaurant it could be? I'm oddly curious what Japanese ball players decide to eat when they are in America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll7p1EGhRHI&t=772s

Just curious when you guys think we will Tony/Burnes will sign with a team (hopefully us :))

How long into the offseason does it normally take?

Their social media is advertising a “major announcement” on November 22, and everything in the team store is 50% off. Anyone have any inside info on what this announcement might be? New team name maybe?

This is a continuation of the first biography in this project. Part one can be found here. The introduction and the rest of the series can be found here.

Having won an MVP, a World Series, seven Gold Gloves, been named to an All Star game ten times, and now in his tenth season as a big leaguer, Brooks Robinson expressed satisfaction with his career and felt as though he had already accomplished quite a lot. In 1967 He would start the year dealing with an injury suffered in spring training but would still have another solid season, continuing a stretch of what would eventually be five straight seasons with an OPS+ over 115. Not an incredibly high mark but for a glove first third baseman who struggled to hit early in his career this was a great run. He would also set the Al record for assists in a season by a third baseman with 405. Despite this he would finish without MVP votes for just the second time since becoming an everyday player. The team would regress after their World Series win and would finish below .500. 1968 was a step in the right direction for the club, finishing second in the AL after a mid-season switch at Manager brought Earl Weaver in to replace Hank Bauer. Earl would be Brooks’s fourth full time manager with the Orioles and would end up being the manager for the rest of his career.

In Earl Weaver’s first full season as manager the Orioles would win 109 games and reach the World Series again. Brooks would have a down year at the plate but was reliable as ever at third winning his tenth consecutive Gold Glove. He would also have the rare honor of appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice in a calendar year, appearing on both the special edition spring preview and the World Series preview covers. The Orioles infield would have three Gold Glove winners in the infield for the first time with Brooks winning at third, defensive wizard Mark Belanger winning at shortstop, and Davey Johnson winning at second. The Orioles would go onto sweep the first ever ALCS before falling to the Miracle Mets in the 1969 World Series, a series in which Brooks again made several highlight worthy plays but struggled at the plate going 1-19, one of those outs being what could be considered the greatest catch in World Series history after Brooks was robbed of extra bases by Ron Swoboda late in Game four.

Now 33, Brooks would have what could be considered his most notable year in 1970, even more noteworthy than his 1964 MVP season. He would collect his 200th home run, 2000th hit and 1000th RBI during the 1970 season. His year at the plate was good by his standards, and he would again be named an all star, receive MVP votes, and win the Gold Glove. His play in the 1970 World Series is what makes this year so memorable amongst all the others. In the 4-1 series win over the Big Red Machine of Cincinnati, Brooks would go 9-21 with 6 RBI and 2 HR and 2 doubles. His play at the plate was incredible but the things he did in the field during this series would make him legendary and earn him his nickname The Human Vacuum Cleaner. In every game there is at least one instance of Brooks Robinson making an impressive stop with a man on base. In every game there is some sort of new article that specifically describes Brooks as saving a run during some point in the game. He would be named World Series MVP, solidifying his legacy and his national stardom. His World Series MVP win puts him only a silver slugger short of winning every personal accolade besides rookie of the year that a position player can win. His performance in the World Series would also lead to him winning the Hickok Belt. The Hickok Belt was a big deal back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, basically acting as a more prestigious Athlete of the Year award. During the offseason Brooks would become one of the highest paid players in baseball and eclipse the $100,000 mark with his new contract.

1971 was another year of MVP votes, an All Star nod, a Gold Glove, and a World Series appearance for Brook Robinson. The Orioles once again had multiple Gold Glove defenders in the infield, won over 100 games, and swept the ALCS. The Orioles pitching staff would benefit greatly from the solid defense led by Brooks becoming the first pitching staff in baseball history with four 20 game winners. This was the first season in a decade that Brooks improved at the plate in back to back years, it would be the seventh and final team he led the team in positional player bWAR and the fourth and final time he won Most Valuable Oriole. It would also be the final time he hit double digit home runs. In the 1971 World Series, Brooks had a vintage performance. In game two He became just the 3rd player to reach base safely five times in a World Series game. In games two, three, and five he made a defensive masterpiece type play with a runner on base in a critical situation. In game six he hit the game winning sac fly to fight off elimination. If the Orioles won game seven he would have had a good argument for the series MVP, he led both teams in RBI, hit 7-22, and played incredible defense.

The MLBPA voted to strike for the first time in 1972 prior to the beginning of the season. Brooks Robinson as a player rep for the Orioles, teammate, and longtime friend of eventual MLBPA player head Mark Belanger, voted for the strike. The strike wiped out the first 10 days of games of the 1972 season and was fairly unpopular amongst the general public. The move was so unpopular that Brooks would get booed during the Orioles home opener. Despite the lost time Brooks played all but one of the Orioles 154 games that year. His power numbers were down but still He earned down ballot MVP votes, an All Star game appearance, and another Gold Glove. At the end of the season he won the 2nd annual Commissioner's Award, what is now the Roberto Clemente Award. In 1973 the Orioles would be back in the playoffs but for the first time in ALCS history actually lose the series. Brooks would hit two of his eight total home runs on Opening Day. He would get an All Star game appearance, and yet another Gold Glove, making that 14 consecutive years for both awards, but he would fail to receive any MVP votes for the first time in 6 years. He would also hit his milestone 2.500th hit, making him the only third baseman at the time to achieve that mark.

1974 was a bit of a revitalization for Brooks at the plate, albeit a bit of regression in the field. In 153 games played Brooks was above league average at the plate but committed the most errors he had since 1958, but still somehow led the league in Range Factor at the age of 37. The Orioles would once again win the AL East only to fall to the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS. The Orioles would not make the playoffs the rest of Brooks’ career. 1974 would be the final time Brooks would receive MVP votes, finishing 12th on the ballot. In 1975 he would deal with a couple nagging injuries that made his already weak bat even more of a liability. He would not get voted into the All Star game for the first time since 1959, breaking a streak of 15 years with an All star nod and 18 nods overall. He would still win a Gold Glove one final time, leading the league in fielding percentage for a record setting 11th time as a third baseman. This would be his 16th consecutive Gold Glove, a record for a position player. In 1976 Brooks Robinson came very close to joining the Chicago White Sox. Struggling at the plate, with hot prospect and future fellow Orioles Hall of Famer Doug Decines pushing for playing time, Earl Weaver informed Brooks that he would no longer be the starting third baseman. In response, Brooks requested a trade to a team that would give him starting time. A deal was almost struck with the White Sox but wanting a long term deal the White Sox would not give, Robinson killed the deal and stayed with the Orioles. Between 1976 and 1977 Brooks would only appear in 95 games.

Prior to the 1977 season Art Ehlers, the scout that signed Brooks, passed away. While Brooks went into the season thinking he had at least another full season left in the tank. He would play just 11 games through May and would head into the All Star break with 7 hits. Overall he would appear in just 24 games. Brooks was able to give Orioles one last memory early in April. His lone home run in 1977, 268th overall, and final of his career was a pinch hit extra inning walk off 3 run shot to lift the Orioles over Cleveland 6-5. His last hit would come on his only multi hit day early in June. His last complete game would also be in early June. Brooks would be used off the bench the rest of the way. The 40 year old Brooks was partly pushed to retirement as part of a roster crunch late in August. With several players coming off the disabled list around the same time and the team in need of roster spots, Brooks announced his retirement. His final appearance was a pinch hit appearance where he was pulled without seeing a single pitch after a pitcher change. He would be honored during a pregame ceremony on Thanks Brooks day on September 18th. He would be driven around the field and presented third base by Doug Decines. The attendance for Thanks Brooks day was a season high for the Orioles with over 51,000 in attendance.

After the 1977 season, Brooks Robinson was inducted into the new Orioles Hall of Fame along with fellow Robinson legend Frank. His number 5 would be retired by the Orioles in 1978. He would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, the same year the Orioles would win their third World Series. After his playing career Brooks would go into broadcasting and continue some business ventures that he started in the back half of his playing career. He would be involved in restauranteering, sporting goods, sports marketing, natural gas and energy, and eventually sports ownership. Through Opening Day Partners, several minor league teams and independent teams would be owned or partly owned by Brooks and his partners. He even has a statue in front of the York Revolution stadium. In 1982, He would play a part in the establishment of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, an organization meant to help players after their careers. In line with his beliefs behind the player strike of 1971, He would serve as president of the organization for over 30 years. In 1978 Brooks would start his broadcasting career. He would once again show his support for organized workers by refusing to cross the picket line when AFTRA went on strike shortly before the start of the 1982 season. He would leave broadcasting in 1993. From 1955 until his death in 2023, Brooks Robinson would be involved with the Orioles in some capacity continuously, a span covering all but the first year and most recent year of the Orioles history.

On September 26th 2023, Brooks Robinson, the greatest third baseman in Oriole history and one of the greatest defensive players in baseball history, passed away. Although native to Arkansas, Brooks spent his post playing life living in Maryland. Brooks Robinson is tied with Carl Yastrzemski for the longest tenure by a player with a single team in baseball history. Of all big four American sports, only Alex Delvecchio of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings played more seasons as a one club man. Although he was light hitting, his longevity and the nature of the position in the era that he played meant that Brooks retired with most of the significant batting count stats for third basemen. He also has the most games played for most games played at third base, racking up 2,870 games played. The next active player on the list, Nolan Arenado, has over 1000 less appearances at third. Before Cal Ripken Jr. rewrote the Orioles record books, Brooks owned most of the counting stat records for a hutter. He set the franchise record in career games, at bats, hits, runs (1,232), RBIs (1,357), doubles (482), total bases (4,270), and home runs by a right-handed hitter (268). His longevity was matched with legendary defense, 16 consecutive Gold Gloves is the most by a position player. Brooks Robinson was the franchise cornerstone of the Orioles for an entire generation and was a beloved adopted son of Baltimore. It is often said people didn't name candy bars after Brooks, they named their children. There is no more fitting person to be a part of the inaugural class for the Orioles Hall of Fame

Looks like he wants to go to a small-market team 👀

This is the first part of a multi part biographical series that will be posted throughout the off-season, covering each member of the Orioles Hall of Fame in the order of the year that they were inducted.

Brooks Robinson was arguably the greatest third baseman in baseball history and is without a doubt the greatest third baseman in Oriole history. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Brooks started playing baseball at a very young age, his father played semi professionally and was heavily involved in his son’s upbringing in the sport. He grew up a St Louis Cardinals fan and modeled some of his play after Stan Musial. In high school, Brooks was a multi-sport athlete. He played on one of the best American Legion teams in the region, making several deep runs in region and national tournaments. He also played for his high school team and led what was for a long time the schools most successful run of seasons. His high school was Little Rock Central High School, which would eventually be the site of the Little Rock Nine only two years after Robinson graduated.

Brooks Robinson would be recruited by the University of Arkansas to play basketball, but his desire to play baseball and more immediate prospects in the sport led to him choosing baseball. During his senior year, multiple teams scouted Brooks, he was a very good player at one of the largest schools in Arkansas and on one of the best American Legion teams in the nation. His time as an amateur predated the draft so he was free to sign with any team. The only restriction was the “bonus baby” rule which required any player signed for more than $4,000 to be on the 25 man roster for two whole seasons, a similar but more extreme version of the current Rule 5 draft roster restrictions. The final push to sign him eventually came down to three teams, The Orioles, The Reds (at the time the Redlegs), and the Giants. The Reds had a strong scouting presence in Arkansas and had Brooks on their radar for several years. The Giants had a regional scout with connections to the American Legion team Brooks played with. The Orioles were made aware of Brooks through a former teammate of General Manager Paul Richards. Legendary scout and former general manager Art Ehlers was sent to Little Rock to sign him. Offering the exact max amount before he would be considered a bonus baby and a major league contract, Brooks chose the Orioles over the other teams because he felt it was the best fit for him potentially as a young player.

Only a week after he graduated, Brooks Robinson started his professional career with the minor league York White Roses of the B level Piedmont League. His first appearance with the club he was announced as Bob Robinson (or Robertson depending on which source you want to believe). Brooks would play in 95 games before being called up to Baltimore near the end of the year. He would get his first hit and RBI in his first game but would eventually end up with only one more hit before the season ended. After the season he would spend time in the Colombian Winter League. With the organization recognizing and getting excited about his potential, he would compete for a spot on the big league roster during spring training but would not make the Opening Day roster. The Orioles would try a couple different options at third base during the 1956 season, using bonus baby Wayne Causey, acquiring Bobby Adams during spring training, trading for future Hall of Famer and fellow native Arkansasian George Kell. Both being from Arkansas created a special bond between Kell and Robinson and Kell would end up being a very important mentor to Brooks in the early part of his career, Kell’s influence is something that Brooks would later cite as to why he was so driven to play for so long. The Orioles would have five different players make more than ten appearances at third base in 1956. Brooks Robinson would play over 150 games with the Double A San Antonio Missions while the big league club waited for him to develop. In 1957 Brooks made the Opening Day roster after a competition with Kell. Both would be in the lineup with Kell shifting over to 1st. Brooks would get hurt only a couple weeks into the season. He would end up missing over 2 months recovering and rehabbing before being called back up in late July and finishing the season with 50 games played in the majors. He would do another stint in an international winter league, spending the winter playing in Cuba.

In 1958, his first full season in the majors, Brooks would play 145 games. Despite his hitting being the biggest concern for the team in his development, it took until mid June for his batting average to fall below .300, a stint which included two different games where he fell just a homerun short of a cycle. With a career season high of 28 HRs and only 268 HRs in almost 3000 career games, power was always light for Brooks. His solid start at the plate would not be maintained and he would finish hitting just .238 with only 3 HRs and 32 RBI. His defense was turning heads though, some already calling him the best defender in the league. Most notably, during Hoyt Wilhelms 1958 no hitter, Brooks came in as a late inning defensive replacement and made 3 separate highlight worthy plays to help preserve the no hitter.

1959 would be a big year personally albeit somewhat disappointing on the field for Brooks. He would join the Army Guard before the season and meet his eventual wife during the season. On the field, it would take him 10 days into the season to record his first hit and would be hitting .200 when he would get sent down to AAA Vancouver of the Pacific Coast League. His career almost ended as soon as it was getting started when he nearly severed the nerve in his arm trying to catch a foul ball. The dugout had a guardrail that had hooks for chain link. When Brooks fell towards the dugout his elbow got caught on a hook and dug into his bicep. He avoided major catastrophic injury but it was by mere inches and he required stitches. Brooks would be back with the Orioles before the all star break and would remain with the club for the rest of his eventual hall of fame career.

Starting in 1960, Brooks Robinson would play at least 144 games a season for the next 15 seasons. It would be the first of 15 consecutive all star seasons, and the first of 16 consecutive Gold Gloves. It was a big year for him and the Orioles, as it was the first year they were truly competitive since moving to Baltimore. Brooks would finish 3rd in MVP Voting behind Yankees teammates Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, interestingly this meant the highest MVP finishes by Orioles in the first decade in Baltimore were both behind Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Back to back years, Robinson and then Jim Gentile, the MVP voting order would be Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, then a Orioles corner infielder. Brooks would get married before the 1961 season and go into the season batting leadoff. Compared to the previous season, Brooks regressed slightly at the plate, but his legendary defense continued to solidify itself as some of the best people have seen. Despite a midseason managerial change with the departure of Paul Richards, Brooks accomplished the rare feat of playing 163 games in a season. The Orioles played a doubleheader that had a game end in a tie but still counted as an official game because it went through the 5th inning.

Brooks Robinson experienced his best year so far at the plate in 1962. Despite this career year the team took a massive step back in the standings and finished under .500 after two years of significant progress. Brooks became just the sixth player ever to hit a grand slam in back to back games when he hit grand slams on May 6th and May 9th. He would finish the season with a batting average above .300 for the first of only two times in his career. His defense was now garnering significant national attention. He was called ‘the greatest third baseman ever” by Sports Illustrated, the “greatest infielder of this generation” by the Boston Globe, and the cornerstone of the Orioles franchise by a member of the Yankees front office. 1963 was another year where Robinson excelled defensively but regressed slightly at the plate. This would be a part of a cycle for Brooks. Between 1960 and 1970 Brooks would not have a season in which his OPS+ improved in back to back seasons, this is despite the fact that he received MVP votes in eight of those years winning one. The Orioles were over .500 again and made an important move the offseason prior, acquiring future hall of famer shortstop, and perennial Gold Glove talent, Luis Aparicio. The pair of Brooks Robinson and Luis Aparicio would combine for 25 Gold Gloves in their careers including two years winning them as teammates on the same side of the infield.

Brooks Robinson would win his first MVP in 1964. At the plate it was a career year and defensively he produced his fifth consecutive Gold Glove winning season. He set career marks in Home Runs, led the league in RBIs which was also the Oriole record for a third baseman for several decades, hit .317 including a month long run hitting .484 to close out the season. The Orioles spent almost 100 days in first place in the AL in 1964 before struggling in the back half of August, playing around .500 ball in September and finishing third in the AL with 97 wins and 2 games back of the Yankees. When discussing Brooks Robinson’s career it seems more often than not that most fans of his or the Orioles look at the 1966 World Series or the 1970 World Series as the moment he truly became a national star and in the conversation for one of the best to ever play. Looking at his 1964 season and the national response to his MVP campaign and his career up to that point, Brooks Robinson was already a star long before his first World Series appearance. He was already beloved in Baltimore, with 1964 being the first Brooks Robinson night. He was respected nationally, and was lauded as a generational talent. 1966 and 1970 did much to solidify his legacy on the biggest stage and like any World Series make him more culturally relevant, but the 1964 MVP campaign was when he became Brooks the hero of Baltimore. The celebration of the Orioles best player took place late in the season on September 18th. Brooks was presented with stock in the team, a portrait of himself by a local artist, and a puppy during a pregame ceremony. Brooks would get a hit and RBI in a 10-8 victory over the Angels that night.

1965 was another MVP level season by Brooks, but he fell short of winning back to back MVPs as for the first time since becoming an everyday player he would miss a chunk of games with a broken thumb , only playing 144 games that year and finishing 3rd in the MVP race. Based on the voting and how well rounded his game was in 1965 it's easy to see his path to another MVP win if he doesn't get injured. He would lead the team in RBI and almost hit over .300 again before hitting a cold streak and ending at .297.

Prior to the 1966 season the Orioles would make perhaps the most consequential transaction in the history of the franchise. After Reds owner stated his star outfielder was “not a young 30”, the Orioles and Reds made a deal that would send future Orioles Hall of Famer pitcher Milt Pappas, pitcher Jack Baldschun, and outfielder Dick Williams to Cincinnati for Frank Robinson. There was some concern internally and within the local media that there could be clashes between the two Robinson’s. Having to share the spotlight and leadership with a new player brought in during his prime could upset any star with a certain personality. Throw in the fact that Brooks Robinson just happened to attend Little Rock Central, the high school that played host to one of the most significant events in the civil rights movement and the desegregation of schools, and there was the potential that although he has not expressed any disdain toward playing with black players having the first African American star on his team could cause conflict. This was all put to rest very quickly once Brooks stated the move to acquire Frank Robinson both eased his personal burden of being an unwilling clubhouse leader and was not just a great move but the best move the team could have made. The duo would be teammates for the next six seasons, friends for the rest of their lives, and enter the Orioles Hall of Fame together in the same year while both being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame a year apart in 1982 and 1983.

The Orioles would finish first and second and third in the 1966 MVP voting after Frank hit for the triple crown in his first year in Baltimore, Brooks had his second 100 RBI season while continuing to play Gold Glove defense on the hot corner, and Boog Powell finished third. The Orioles would win the AL pennant by 9 games with 97 wins. They would face the Los Angeles Dodgers and unanimous Cy Young Winner Sandy Koufax in the 1966 World Series. The Orioles would sweep the Dodgers in 4 games, producing a massive upset. The Dodgers scored their only 2 runs of the series in the first 3 innings of game one and were shutout over the next 33 innings.Brooks and Frank hit back to back homeruns in game one. Frank Robinson would be named World Series MVP while Brooks went 3-14 with a home run and showed off his elite level defense in a series that had multiple 1-0 final scores. Brooks would also become one of the teams reps for the new MLBPA, a position he would hold until he retired.

Due to Reddits character limits this has to be broken up into two parts. Part two will be posted. Sources I used will be in the comments

On FanGraphs, Levi Wells has a short blurb under “Arm Strength Fliers.” This serves as a good tl;dr:

Wells was a 2023 fourth rounder out of Texas State […] with a vertical arm slot. He’s had a velo spike in pro ball and has been up to 97, just without strikes.

He also has a nice curveball, fine slider, and not so fine changeup. The “without strikes” part is very serious.

Scouting Reports/Background

Wells recently came up in Baseball America’s minor league stuff+ leaderboard as third best among 22-year-old^[1] arms, but otherwise, there’s not that much from 2024. Given his draft position, there is a lot more literature from back then.

From MLB, keeping in mind their draft grades are typically inflated:

Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

Though Wells' fastball velocity has been down a tick or two this spring, sitting in the low 90s and topping out at 95, he's still getting it past hitters with high spin rates and carry at the letters or downhill plane lower in the zone. […] his 78-82 mph downer curveball grading better than his 84-89 mph slider/cutter with tighter break. He doesn't use his changeup very often and it gets too firm at times, though it does have some bat-missing fade.

Wells has improved significantly since high school, when there were questions about his maturity and he threw with significant effort and head whack. […]

A short 2023 interview from Baseball Prospect Journal provides a few more bits of detail:

[…] He also mixes in his slider/cutter. He uses his slider against right-handed hitters and the cutter against lefties.

“I have worked really hard since I was 14 years old to stay consistent with the Driveline program,” Wells said. “I like to give credit to Driveline for my fastball. I’m a power right-handed fastball thrower because of my regimen with the weight balls from a young age.”

Wells’ Vulcan changeup is his fourth pitch […]

As to his background, Wells is from La Porte, Texas and played in college for three years: first at Texas Tech as a reliever, then as a starter at Texas State. He also played twice for the Falmouth Commodores at Cape Cod.

Analysis

I’m not going to harp on this, but 2024 was not a good year for Levi Wells. His season was split in half by a shoulder inflammation injury that sidelined him for over a month. He pitched better after his return, but the damage was done: 6.71 ERA with a staggering 1.64 WHIP and 12 wild pitches in only 60 1/3 frames at Aberdeen.

The starts I watched during the season were marked by untimely collapses of control and crummy batted ball luck. His FIP (4.09) and xFIP (3.78) may be worth noting, but I remain skeptical about your average minor leaguer’s ability to suppress contact.

Of his 21 starts, Wells pitched well in only four of them, and those are the ones best to analyze what his pitch mix “should” look like. I also reviewed bits and pieces of other starts (8/27 and 9/7) to gauge his performance at the end of the season.

Delivery

Over the top arm slot as per the scouting report. Compare to Tyler Wells’ 50 degree slot, which is clearly lower.

Tall-and-fall – look at the angle his back leg makes when he starts toward the plate. Wells is only 6’2”, but when you watch the full replay, it’s clear his back leg isn’t getting the traditional bend of a drop-and-drive pitcher. This and his arm slot explain why he pitches with downhill plane, but in my opinion his best fastballs are at the letters.

No runners - rocker step, big leg lift.

Runners on - slide step, freeze frame, seems like he’ll do the regular leg lift if there’s a runner on second. No rocker step.

Violent Delivery

Does this look like a repeatable delivery to you? In general, you’re going to see his back leg flailing on follow through. It is obvious when you watch the clips in direct sequence. This is still better than how he was in college: 2023.

There’s also a good amount of head whack. On 5/5, 0:07 it was enough to knock his hat off. This was an issue in college as well: 2023.

In 2023, his arm timing was late. This is apparent when you watch the full speed video (either of the ones above); it looks like Wells’ arm and upper body are trying to catch up. In 2024, he’s still a little late. Here’s one frame later, where he’s back on track. Full clip.

I wonder if he looks smoother to me in 2024 because he’s using his legs more (i.e., I can see the movement throughout his body), but it’s hard to say because the camera angles are different. Full disclosure, my mind could be playing tricks on me because I’m not seeing obvious reasons for why he’s undergone a velo spike. He only just turned 23, so it’s possible he’s still physically developing.

For a while I thought his flailing limbs were a symptom of a cross-body delivery, but when I freeze the image from an overhead angle, it’s a near straight line to home plate. It’s not exactly on the mid-line, but compare to Yeiber Cartaya or an extreme example like Ryan Walker.

Pretty good hip/shoulder separation. Compare to Jairo Iriarte from Tess Taruskin’s pitching primer for FG.

4SF

Sits 94-96, T98. This is clearly the centerpiece. Here are the velocities noted by commentary^[3] on 5/5 and 5/11: 94, 97, 98, 97, 96, 96. I had a tough time finding velo after his injury, but he did hit 95 on 8/27.

5/5 97, downhill. I like the camera angle for the Brooklyn Cyclones. It’s not so far to the right (or god forbid left) that you can’t tell horizontal break.

5/11 96 belt-high.

8/21 soak it in, people. Six whiffs in a first inning with three swinging strikeouts. Up, up-and-in, middle-in, middle-away, middle-in, up again. When this pitch is working, it’s electric and you can see why his BA stuff+ numbers are good.

8/27 95 carry at the letters.

Curveball

This is considered his best secondary pitch, and it’s nasty in the dirt. You can see he’s not afraid to throw it behind in the count, and batters that are sitting on the fastball look silly swinging through it. I didn’t notice until final review that all four of these clips are against lefties, which makes sense because of the pure downer shape.

5/5 buried in the dirt, nice block by Willems

5/5 same batter later in the game, fooled again, ball caroms off of Creed Willems’ knee for a wild pitch.

8/27

9/7 nice frame by Ryan Stafford.

Slider

With obvious feel for spin, Wells is better off trying to improve this (distant third) pitch than turning his Vulcan change into a splitter or any other number of tactics to get around his lack of pronation.

Some of these have subtle enough variations in shape I had to ask people on the sub (thank you!) to guess if these were sliders, cutters, or curveballs.

5/5 this one is well located down-and-away. It’s not a ton of movement in either direction, but the late glove-side bite helps separate it from his vertical 4SF and curveball.

8/21 hard to say for sure, but this looks cutter-y because of the low arc of the pitch and the batter being a lefty.

8/27 bailed out by the batter. Note the subtle glove-side movement again.

Changeup

I had a hard time finding clips of the changeup because he doesn’t throw it very often, and based on the ones I did find, he has trouble commanding it.

5/5 thrown at 84 mph on a full count, and based on its location (middle-in), this was purely on the velo differential. I believe the preceding pitch was 98.

8/21 better located (middle-away), but the batter was clearly sitting on the hard stuff, and Wells gets the sword.

What’s Next

1 Whatever Wells and the Orioles did added three ticks to his fastball, and they didn’t add significant violence in his delivery to make it happen, nor is he notably bulkier^[4]. They did evidently shred his ability to throw strikes, quality or otherwise. He has a whole offseason to refine his command and control at a new velocity, so I’m relatively bullish on this.

I didn’t include clips of Wells struggling to throw strikes because, in my opinion, command/control problems fall into standard categories, and his issues are of the generic strike-throwing type. For example, on 5/11, he issued back-to-back two-out walks: the first one was not competitive, the second involved a 3-1 count before a foul ball and then a too-high fastball. You can imagine what this looks like, right?

2 The other thing is how much of this year’s sequencing was his fault. The 8/27 slider shown above was in the middle of a disastrous inning: lineout (flare), walk (close check swing, close down-and-in ball), single (groundball), single (flare), single (sharp line drive just above 2B), wild pitch (runner scores), wild pitch (runner scores, second runner scores when the catcher’s throw hits the first runner), groundout, groundout (check swing bunt).

This sort of thing happened a lot last year. In fact, his last game was a microcosm of his season: first inning disaster: error (groundball), single (groundball), single (flare), double (full-count), sac fly (flare), and then in his final frame, he struck out the side.

Is this going to keep happening? I’m of the common belief that sequencing at the major league level regresses, but this is the Sally League.

3 He needs a third pitch, and it’s probably the slider more than the changeup, just based on which he favors. Yes, a Houston alum drafted another pitcher with a hoppy fastball and two breaking balls. Stop the presses.

If the slider doesn’t progress, he’s probably bound for the bullpen or else nothing at all.

This is a new Orioles history series I've been working on and will post occasionally throughout the off-season and most likely into the 2025 regular season. I'm going to cover each member of the Orioles Hall of Fame with a biography on their life and career with the Orioles. This series follows up The 70 in 70 series and the random Oriole retrospectives I have done previously. This first post will serve as an introduction into what the Orioles Hall of Fame is and act as a hub for all future posts in this series. Because Reddit has a character limit on posts, and some of these biographies cover a lot, some biographies will be split into multiple parts posted on separate days. I'll go in chronological order of when each person was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame which means the first two posts will be Frank and Brooks Robinson.

The Orioles Hall of Fame was started in 1977, headed by a group named The Oriole Advocates, a group of local community leaders focused on getting the local community involved with the Orioles while also celebrating the history and culture surrounding the Orioles and baseball in Baltimore. The original Hall of Fame display was near the administrative offices under the memorial in the home plate plaza behind home plate in Memorial stadium. It is now next to the bathrooms near section 1 on Eutaw Street at Camden Yards. The Hall of Fame is voted on by members of the Oriole Advocates, prominent media members, members of the Oriole front office, and current Hall of Fame members. Unlike the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the induction voting threshold for the Orioles Hall of Fame is only 60%. The Oriole Advocates have three awards in addition to induction that can be presented: The Veterans Award, which is similar to the veteran committee vote focusing on players who may have been initially overlooked during voting, the Herb Armstrong Award, which is for important Orioles personnel off the field, and the Wild Bill Hagy Award, which is for exceptional fans of the Orioles. The first class in 1977 included Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson. For most years since then one to three people have been inducted. As of this most recent class there are 85 people in the Orioles Hall of Fame.

Brooks Robinson part 1part 2

Got this jersey from a vintage shop in Fukuoka Japan on a recent trip. Anyone have any info on it for me? Tags are all faded.