This article was originally published as part of Verducci’s View, a weekly baseball newsletter from Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci. Every Monday, Tom empties out his notebook over email and covers MLB’s hottest topics, provides in-depth analysis through both text and video breakdowns, looks forward to what’s worth watching during the week and more. If you want to be featured in his new mailbag, please email [email protected] with any questions about MLB or his decades in the sport.
Even in an analytics age, the Triple Crown, like 20 wins, a .300 batting average and a well-executed hit-and-run play, is still cool. Yordan Alvarez of the Astros is in great position to pull off the 17th Triple Crown in AL/NL history—and only the second with 50 or more home runs, joining Mickey Mantle.
And if you do lean toward modern analytics, take comfort knowing Alvarez could win the Slash Triple Crown (batting, OBP, SLG), which is even rarer. Only eight have won the STC: Carl Yastrzemski (the most recent, in 1967, and the only one in the past 79 years), Ted Williams (twice), Lou Gehrig, Chuck Klein, Rogers Hornsby (twice), Ty Cobb and Nap Lajoie.
What is so remarkable about Alvarez is his incredible balance at the plate. The dude is never caught on his front foot with his barrel through the zone before the pitch enters the smash area. That is why Alvarez is one of the most powerful two-strike hitters we have seen in this generation. The numbers show he remains an elite slugger even when “protecting the plate” with two strikes:
Greatest OPS+ With Two Strikes (Since 1988, min. 190 at-bats)
Player, Year
OPS
SplitOPS+
1. Barry Bonds, 1992
.981
271
2. Victor Martinez, 2014
.927
264
3. Yordan Alvarez, 2026
.912
256
In two-strike counts entering this weekend, Alvarez:
- Swung and missed at only two breaking pitches in the zone.
- Was hitting .291. Only 14 other players are hitting that high overall this season.
- Was slugging .556, a level reached only by Bonds (1992), Todd Helton (2000) and Albert Pujols (2004).
The Padres’ Gamble
Padres manager Craig Stammen is already having to manage his team like they’re in the playoffs. | Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Starting this past weekend in Miami, the Padres have decided to run these remaining games in July like playoff games. On Friday in Miami, manager Craig Stammen pulled his starter after 37 pitches and used five relievers to secure a 4–2 win. It’s the way forward for San Diego: quick hooks, piggyback starters, mid-game matchups and heavy workloads for relievers.
Yes, the urgency is partly a function of the impending trade deadline. San Diego is right on the precipice of buying or selling and it will come down to the Aug. 3 deadline. But Stammen said it’s mostly because of the standings. The Padres are backed up behind five teams for the final wild card spot with the weekend presenting a head-to-head opportunity against one of them, Miami. These become mini-playoff games.
The risk is that the bullpen, a team strength, gets worn. The Padres have the fourth worst rotation in MLB, so they need a stout pen. Playing with the pedal to the floor while facing 26 games in 27 days coming out of the break is a big ask, but one the Padres think they need to make with their playoff aspirations on the line.
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