Morning Rundown: Paul Skenes makes final start, Mike Burrows debut, John Dreker has new book
Skenes pitches for last time, Burrows makes debut, new book by John Dreker on Amazon
Paul Skenes put a cap on perhaps the best pitching rookie season in the history of the game, tossing two shutout innings and striking out three batters—the three being Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Jazz Chisholm Jr.
It was a historic rookie season for Skenes, which will all but likely lead to the Rookie of the Year. The 22-year-old Skenes was the starter at the All-Star game and finished the season 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA, with 170 strikeouts in 133 innings pitched.
Skenes set the Pirates’ single-season rookie strikeout record earlier this month and has done his best to put it in position to make it difficult for anyone after him to come close.
This is all while not making his major league debut until May 11.
While there was no way he’d factor into the decision, the offense ensured plenty of runs on the board. Their home run barrage in Yankees Stadium continued, as they launched five more over the fence on Saturday.
Yasmani Grandal, Nick Gonzales, Billy Cook, Jared Triolo, and Nick Yorke hit home runs as they beat the Yankees 9-4.
They now have an opportunity to close the season on a strong note with a sweep on the road. A sweep would also give them one more win than a year ago.
After missing most of last season due to Tommy John, Mike Burrows worked his way back and made his major league debut on Saturday, also picking up the win.
Burrows allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks while striking out two. He retired the first four batters he faced and struck out Aaron Judge in the fourth.
He struggled in the sixth, with David Bednar replacing him. One runner scored on an error by Nick Gonzales, which was the unearned run.
Of his 68 pitches, 37 of them were fastballs. He primarily threw the fastball and change-up. He topped out at 96.2 mph, averaging 94.5 mph.
John Dreker has a new book out! It’s available on Amazon currently. As we have done with his previous ones, John sent me this on it:
I tend to move towards the obscure when studying baseball history. You can already get well-written books on Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Honus Wagner, the 1960 Pirates and much more from Pirates history. I like going for something different. Those untold stories that get lost to time.
My first solo book was titled The 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys: The Worst Team in Pittsburgh Pirates History. The Pirates are wrapping up their 143rd season in franchise history today. There's no doubt which of those teams was the worst. However, the story of how that team was put together and what they went through was fascinating to me. There were so many odds things that went on that year with the team. Once I really started digging into the club, I realized it would make a great subject for a book.
The next book I did was mostly for me, my family and my hometown. I believe more people from Kearny, New Jersey bought my biography on Dots Miller than actual baseball fans. That's partially due to my great marketing strategy of covering an obscure player from over 100 years ago and talking about it on the large Facebook group of people who reminisce about their time in Kearny. That being said, Miller really shouldn't be an obscure player. He was at one time called the most valuable player in baseball by Hall of Fame manager John McGraw, who had a great respect for Miller, even though they were opponents during his entire career.
I followed that up with a deep dive into obscure for Unlucky 13: They Wore a Pirate Uniform. It's 13 short stories about players who were with the Pirates during the regular season, but for one reason or another, they never got into a game. The range of stories goes from Hall of Famer Red Faber, down to a guy who never played a game of pro ball.
That brings me to Moment in the Sun: One-Game Players for the Pittsburgh Pirates. You would think that I had a plan set out to release back-to-back books of guys who played zero games, followed by one for guys who played one game, but it only worked out that way. I have a fifth solo book in the works for early next year that got pushed back once I realized how much fun it was researching and writing Unlucky 13. I then decided to try the same idea for one-game players, but with a little twist.
The previous book had guys who did everything from make the Hall of Fame, down to doing nothing in pro ball. All of the guys in this new book played one big league game. That game came as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's basically 20 short stories of guys who have their own Moonlight Graham story to tell. A few of the players actually spent less time on a big league field than Graham. The timeline of the players covered ranges from the 19th century to the recent wild story of John Bormann's only game. I tell how they made it to the Pirates, then detail their only game, followed by explaining why they never made it back to the majors. Some of those explanations made a lot more sense than others.
There were 54 players total who I could have used for this book. I ended up going through that list and picking out the 20 stories that interest me the most from that group. It's possible that I could do a second part to this book down the line, but I can guarantee that the next book won't be about players who played two games for the Pirates. Those players aren't obscure enough.
Pittsburgh Pirates option RHP Jared Jones to FCL Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates recalled RHP Mike Burrows from Indianapolis Indians
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Top Exit Velocity
Nick Gonzales - 110.2 mph - Home Run
Billy Cook - 108.6 mph - Home Run
Nick Yorke - 106.4 mph - Lineout
Joshua Palacios - 104 mph - Flyout
Yasmani Grandal - 103.9 mph - Home Run
Top Pitch Velocity
Paul Skenes - 100.8 mph
Paul Skenes - 100.7 mph
Paul Skenes - 100.7 mph
Aroldis Chapman - 100.6 mph
Paul Skenes - 100.3 mph
Most Whiffs
David Bednar - 6
Mike Burrows - 4
Paul Skenes - 2
Jalen Beeks - 2
I guess I don't mind sharing a headline with Paul Skenes and Mike Burrows. Thanks to Anthony (and crew) for allowing me to plug my latest book just in time to help you forget about this long season. Thanks to anyone who will purchase it today, or perhaps even share the article, which we be good for both the site and the book. Tip of the hat to Wilbur Miller, who provided the photo of John Bormann, which is inside the book and on the back cover.
A well-reported article on the Ke’Bryan Hayes situation, with extensive quotes from Hayes, Nunnally, and Cherington: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2024/09/29/kebryan-hayes-ben-cherington-derek-shelton-andy-haines-ben-cherington/stories/202409270071
Nunnally continues to be in touch with the players who came through Altoona, including Hayes, with the knowledge and support of the Pirates. But the key takeaway is that Hayes’ back continues to be messed up and surgery would make it worse. Hard to be hopeful that he will ever be a productive player again.