JUDGE AND BELLINGER COULD BE BASEBALL’S ALL-TIME ROOKIE 1-2 POWER PUNCH
Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger both hit home runs Tuesday night.
Judge leads the American League with 24 HRs. Bellinger leads the National League with 22 HRs. On Tuesday night, he became the first rookie to hit 10 HRs over a 10-game span.
Judge looks like a lock to be the AL Rookie of the Year. Bellinger – who spent the first three weeks of his season in the minors -- is the frontrunner for NL Rookie of the year.
Why stop there. Only two players in MLB history were selected MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season: Fred Lynn (Red Sox) in 1975 and Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle) in 2001.
Judge and Bellinger both could enter that exclusive company this season. I like their chances, partly because their teams figure to be battling for pennants all season but mostly because of their amazing production. Juiced-up baseballs help but not as much as awesome size and power (Judge) and a beautiful swing (Bellinger).
Judge is 25 and bats left-handed. Bellinger is 21 and bats left-handed.
Judge is 6-foot-7 and weighs around 280. Bellinger is a comparative pipsqueak at 6-4 and 2120.
Both were selected in the 2013 baseball entry draft out of California State University. The Yankees chose Judge in the first round (No. 32 overall). The Dodgers chose Bellinger in the fourth round out of Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz.
Judge spent potions of three seasons in the minors. In 348 games, he batted .278 with 56 HRs, 215 RBI, 189 walks and 373 strikeouts. Bellinger spent portions of five seasons in the minors. In 361 games, he batted .271 with 65 HRs, 253 RBI, 167 walks and 352 strikeouts.
These two guys are a joy to watch. This is a great time to be a subscriber to the MLB Network. You can watch them play every game.
Judge and Bellinger figure to make this summer’s Home Run Derby a can’t-miss TV event. They also could help produce massive TV ratings for a Yankees vs. Dodgers Fall Classic.
This possible rookie confrontation would be a true fall classic.
IS WILLIAM CARRIER HEADED TO THE VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS?
The 30 picks by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights will be announced Wednesday night as part of the NHL awards show.
Each established team will lose one unprotected player to Las Vegas.
Buffalo is expected to lose 22-year-old left winger William Carrier. The speculation is that Sabres general manager Jason Botterill included Carrier on the unprotected list in return for Vegas GM George McPhee’s promise not to select goalie Linus Ullmark.
Carrier is 6-foot-2, strong and a good skater. But he didn’t display much of a scoring touch with the Rochester Americans in the past three AHL seasons (he had lots of company. In 127 games, he had 23 goals and 33 assists for 56 points. He also had 92 penalty minutes and a very good +14 plus-minus rating (goals scored at even strength when he was on the ice) on a less than stellar team.
In 41 games with the Sabres last season, he had 5 goals and 3 assists.
Botterrill would prefer to lose a veteran player with a bloated contract but that is not likely to happen.
McDAVID FAVORED TO TOP CROSBY FOR HIS FIRST HART TROPHY
It looks like Sidney Crosby will have to settle for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The NHL Awards Show will be Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (8 p.m., NBCSN). The major individual awards will be announced and 20-year-old Connor McDavid (Edmonton) is the favorite to top Crosby (Pittsburgh) for the Hart Trophy (NHL Most Valuable Player).
Crosby has won the Hart Trophy twice. McDavid is likely to win the Hart at least that many times and probably more.
Here are the Bovada odds on the major awards:
Hart Trophy (MVP) – Connor McDavid (Edmonton) 2-to-13 (bet $13 to win $2)...Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) 4-to-1...Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus) 11-to-1
Norris Trophy (top defenseman) – Brent Burns (San Jose) 1-to-5 (bet $5 to win $1)...Erik Karlsson (Ottawa) 5-to-2...Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay) 25-to-1
Vezina Trophy (top goalie) – Sergi Bobrovsky (Columbus) 1-to-4 (bet $4 to win $1)...Braden Holtby (Washington) 11-to-5...Carey Price (Montreal) 22-to-1
Calder Trophy (best rookie) – Auston Matthews (Toronto) 1-to-20 (bet $20 to win $1)...Patrik Laine (Winnipeg) 11-to-2...Zach Werenski (Columbus) 18-to-1
Jack Adams Award (best head coach) – Mike Babcock (Toronto) 5-to-7 (bet $7 to win $5) – John Tortorella (Columbus) 9-to-4...Todd McLellan (Edmonton) 11-to-4.
HAVE ARMS, WILL TRAVEL
Seventeen pitchers (including Hector Santiago and Phil Hughes in scheduled rehab stints) have appeared in games for both the Minnesota Twins and the Rochester Red Wings this season – and the season is less than half over. That’s incredible.
Here’s the list (in alphabetical order): Jose Berrios...Buddy Boshers...Alan Busenitz...Kyle Gibson...Justin Haley...Chris Heston...Phil Hughes...Adalberto Mejia..Ryan Pressley....Drew Rucinski...Hector Santiago...Nick Tepesch...Michael Tonkin...Nik Turley...Jason Wheeler...Adam Wilk...Alex Wimmers.
JOHN DAVILA JR. STILL THE KING OF JOCKEYS AT FINGER LAKES
John Davila Jr. is 52 years old and appears to be on the way to padding his record 13 jockey titles at Finger Lakes Race Track.
Davila had seven rides Tuesday and emerged with four wins and two thirds.
His line for the 2017 season at Finger Lakes: 124 starts...42 wins...21 seconds...20 thirds.
He has campaigned at Finger Lakes since 1983 and has been one of Greater Rochester’s least-appreciated pro athletes for many years.
A ROUGH MONTH FOR JASON WHEELER
On May 23, 6-foot-6, 255-pound left-handed pitcher Jason Wheeler made his 47th career start for the Rochester Red Wings and he never looked better. In seven innings, he allowed five hits in seven shutout innings, with 0 walks and 9 strikeouts.
That effort helped Wheeler earn his first taste of the majors of his six-year pro career. He was promoted to the Minnesota Twins. In two games, he had a 9.00 ERA and allowed 6 hits and 4 walks, with 0 strikeouts. He was dropped from Minnesota’s 40-man roster and sold to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In three appearances with Oklahoma City, Wheeler allowed 16 hits and 10 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. He was dropped from the Dodgers’ 40-man roster Tuesday and designated for assignment.
Might the Twins bring him back? He was a solid starter for the Red Wings in 2016 (11-6, 3.53 ERA) and 2017 (4-1, 4.50 ERA).
SHORT SHOTS
The NBA Orlando Magic will wear Disney logo on their jerseys this season. A Fantasyland theme would be appropriate considering the team’s title hopes.
MajorLeagueBaseball.com Weekly Team Power Rankings Top 10: 1-Colorado...2-Washington...3-Houston...4-Dodgers...5-Boston...6-Yankees...7-Arizona...8-Cleveland...9-Milwaukee...10-Cubs.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Wednesday, June 21 – Carlos Martinez (26)...Thaddeus Young (29)...Garrett Jones (36)...Richard Jefferson (37)...Jochen Hecht (40)...Darryl Shannon (49)...Derrick Coleman (50)....former Amerk Paul Brydges (52)...Tom Chambers (58)...Rick Sutcliffe (61)...Bob Bourne (63)...Duane Thomas (70). Prince William (35), Chris Pratt (38) and Juliette Lewis (44) are invited to the birthday party.
Thursday, June 22 –Quinton Coples (27)... Zoran Draigic (28)...Omri Casspi (29)...Danny Green (30)...Ian Kinsler (35)...Champ Bailey (39)...Kurt Warner (46)...Darrell Armstrong (49)...Clyde Drexler (55)...former Amerk Dean Turner (59). Cyndi Lauper (64), Meryl Streep (68) and Kris Kristofferson (81) are invited to0 the birthday party.