Astros’ position players: Too many notes

There is a scene early on in the Academy Award winning movie, Amadeus, where Mozart has just finished presenting a new piece of wonderful music to his version of Jim Crane. Emperor Joseph II is the money man who pays the bill for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and kind of like Jim Crane, he believes he knows a lot about music (which he really does not).

In a very famous back and forth, the emperor, whose amateurish musical ear was exhausted by Mozart’s piece leads off with this.

Emperor Joseph II – “My dear young man, don’t take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It’s quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that’s all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.”

Mozart – “Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?”

In many ways the current Astros’ situation with their current set of position players mirrors the Mozart dilemma. There appears to be too many players for the finite set of positions, especially considering their limitations.

Taking a quick look at each position’s depth chart…

Catcher

This is the only position where you need to add a player – either re-signing Caratini or finding another in free agency or trade.

First Base

Walker is the man, unless….the Astros send him and cash somewhere.

Second Base

Shortstop

Third Base

  • Isaac Paredes – Starter?
  • Carlos Correa – Other Starter?
  • Mauricio Dubon – Arb eligible
  • Ramon Urias – Arb eligible
  • Brice Matthews

Designated Hitter

Right Field

Center Field

  • Jake Meyers – Arb eligible
  • Taylor Trammell – Arb eligible
  • Mauricio Dubon – Arb eligible
  • Chas McCormick – Arb eligible
  • Zach Cole

Left Field

  • Yordan Alvarez
  • Jose Altuve
  • Jesus Sanchez – Arb eligible
  • Taylor Trammell – Arb eligible
  • Mauricio Dubon – Arb eligible
  • Zach Dezenzo – injured
  • Zach Cole
  • Chas McCormick – Arb eligible

If you are counting individuals, you have about 20 individuals vying for what is normally 13 position spots on the 26 man roster. Beyond that, you need to figure how you get enough at bats for those 13 players when there are only 9 spots daily on the lineup card. That does not include Brendan Rodgers and Victor Caratini, but does include a second catcher, whoever that may be.

A couple spots would be opened by leaving Brice Matthews, Zach Dezenzo and Zach Cole in the minors to start the season. But certainly, Cole looked like he was ready to help the club now in his strong cameo at the end of 2025. My gut feeling is that Cam Smith will not be sent back to the minors for 2026. If they were going to do it, it would seem like they would have done it sometime during his slump in the second half of 2025.

There are several big questions to address here.

1) Who will the Astros non-tender on the arb eligible list?

There are quite a few candidates for being non-tendered on this list – though it must be remembered that if you non-tender them you are giving them up for nothing.

Potential non-tender candidates

  • Chas McCormick – this one seems a foregone conclusion at this point. I still see him making that brilliant catch in the 2022 WS that helped the Astros take the trophy home.
  • Mauricio Dubon – This is a tough one. As can be seen he is the backup at every position on the field beside catcher and switches seamlessly between infield and outfield game to game or even inning to inning. But is he worth a potential $7 million payout with his .292 OBP and .659 OPS in his 4 years with the Astros?
  • Jesus Sanchez – The more I think about this – the more I believe the Astros will give Sanchez more time. I’m not saying that is the right thing, but they may claim not to judge him on such a small (and putrid) sample. Frankly, his fielding woes were more frightening than his hitting woes.
  • Taylor Trammell – This may end up being an either/or vs. Sanchez. He would likely end up receiving less than a $1 million in arbitration, which might save him.
  • Ramon Urias – Another tough situation as he is a good glove and covers multiple positions. If Dubon stays he may go and vice versa.
  • Jake Meyers – Hard to see the team letting him go without compensation which leads us to….

Would the Astros work through arbitration with any of those players above and then trade them?

Meyers would seem to be a true candidate for this along with Urias.

Would the Astros trade any players with large contracts, even if it includes sending cash along to open up more $$$ for other uses?

One idiot suggested this could include Christian Walker, Jose Altuve and/or Yordan Alvarez.

Astros’ off-season outside-the-box thinking – ALL THINGS ASTROS

How do the Astros handle the “too many notes” when it comes to second and third base and left field?

A lot of this ties back to how to handle a healthy (we hope) Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve – two players who should be the main DH due to fielding drawbacks, but need to be in the lineup if they are on the roster. The Astros pick up of Correa and Urias along with the return of Isaac Paredes from injury turns the infield choices into a logjam.

If Walker remains, the infield could include a shift of Paredes to second base, which turns the infield into 3B – Correa, SS – Pena, 2B – Paredes and 1B – Walker. This of course leaves Altuve out in the cold (possibly). Maybe they can figure a way to rotate Alvarez, Altuve and Paredes through the DH spot, rotating Altuve, Alvarez in LF and Altuve and Paredes at 2B, but it sure seems awkward and raises the question who will miss out. They could also rotate a bit with Paredes and Correa at 3B and Pena and Correa at SS.

Or they could trade Walker and slide Paredes into 1B and Altuve into 2B.

What might the 13 man position player roster look like in 2026?

  1. Christian Walker
  2. Jose Altuve
  3. Jeremy Pena
  4. Carlos Correa
  5. Yainer Diaz
  6. Yordan Alvarez
  7. Isaac Paredes
  8. Cam Smith
  9. Jake Meyers
  10. Jesus Sanchez
  1. Backup Catcher
  2. Mauricio Dubon
  3. Zach Cole

But it could be completely different than that. What does your 13 man look like?

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32 responses to “Astros’ position players: Too many notes”

  1. I was thinking of a movie line, or was it something else, ” I am not amused” or in this case excited, enthused, hopeful, joyous, or any other words that describe our current situation. I could use that word that was prominent in years before, Meh”.

    Crane and company have to make a decision whether to stay the course or change directions. If if ain’t broke don’t try to fix it but on the other hand (in this case), if what you’ve been doing for the last three years doesn’t appear to be working then it’s time o do something different.

    Good games so far in the LCS. I had just about written off Toronto but they came back with a vengeance last night. On thing that to me hat has been noticeably evident in these games. The hitters (as a rule) are not swinging at pitches out of the zone. Maybe our guys should be watching those films and learning to do the same.

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  2. So many decisions by the Astros this winter in building the 13 man position roster are layered. Right now there are just too many different equations. And we’re bound to have a new guy or two show up, presumably another left handed bat.

    I’m looking at Dubon and Urias right now. Frenchie can play so many roles defensively. That’s his value. His lifetime OPS+ of 85 tells us he’s just not a good hitter though. He’s bad. Way too many short at bats. If a theme in 2026 is to make the other team work harder on the mound, we don’t want Dubon in the line up. Urias has an OPS+ of 104 lifetime. And he’s also an excellent infielder. Specifically, second base. And, a strong back up at third. No, we would not have Dubon available to play the outfield, but sometimes you just have to let go.

    The big part of this equation is in moving Walker. He might recover. But can he recover the ability to hit the high fastball? A lot of those 177 K’s also resulted in short at bats. That’s why Paredes makes to most sense to me at first base. I’ve said before, if Dana can get another club to pay 8 to 10 million of the 20, then that’s cash for the GM to work with.

    Correa and Pena are locks in their respective positions unless of course the injury bug shows up. Speaking of injuries, is Paredes supposed to be fully recovered from his hamstring injury without the surgery route?

    Then we have Altuve. He should only play second base when he absolutely has to. And that means he’ll play more second base than is best for the club. That’s reality. We love Jose. But we will curse him more often.

    Correa

    Pena

    Urias/Altuve

    Paredes

    That’s my infield.

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  3. I don’t want to trade Paredes. I don’t think they can trade Walker. I don’t think Urias can hit. Dubon sometimes surprises you by hitting, but cancels all good will out by going up and doing things like swinging at the first pitch and grounding out to 2B to kill a rally when we’re trying to get back into the game. His greatest asset is the ability to play middle infield. So to me the question mark is Brice Matthews. If Correa can play 10-15 games at SS you can risk Matthews being your emergency option there. If he somehow wins a spot out of spring training, great, but I expect to stash him at Sugarland. The problem becomes balancing out Yordan/Altuve/Paredes. If all three are willing to start some games in LF you can potentially get them all AB through the year. After that, however, I’d like to see Cole and Cam both forced to earn a spot on the starting roster in spring training. I’m still trying to trade Jake. I don’t think our MiLB system has much else to give, but do think Dezenzo and Melton can be used in a pinch. You definitely need a CF who can play defense and not just fill a spot though.

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  4. Concerning 2b, I think it’s time for our top rated prospect (Mathews) to be given a chance. He has a higher ceiling than Duban and Aries. Trade or let them both go. Trade Sanchez, I like Cole better.

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  5. I’d be shocked if Yainer Diaz is not our starting catcher next year. He’s frustrating to watch at the plate sometimes. I don’t think hitting coaches can do a whole lot with veteran baseball players. I do think that Yainer can still make adjustments. When he’s hitting his best, he’s taking those balls off the edge of the plate to right field. And if you look back to his spray chart in 2023, he spent more time going in that direction. He’s got power to all fields. In 2025 his BAbip was a modest .277. He’ll hit more in 2026, especially if the line up is stable. And he has given this club a 9 WAR over the past three years. Framing will no longer be as important as it has been. He’s got a strong arm to second base. He needs help holding runnings from the guys on the mound.

    There is not a batch of reasonably priced back up catchers on the market. Victor Caratini is going to get offers that the Astros won’t want to pay. Dana might have so dig up a catcher via trade. Salazar might get more of a shot, but he’s not the answer.

    Diaz

    TBD

    That’s my backstop duo.

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  6. There are things I think I will see – and there are the thing I would like to see. They are not the same.

    I expect Correa at 3B, Pena at SS, and Walker at 1B. Trading Walker might be something they explore, but the cost in the end might end up too much.

    Lets talk about 2B. Jose Altuve had a -19 DRS in half a season at 2B. He also had a -32 DRS in half a season in LF. He was worse for the team in LF. Isaac Paredes was a pretty average 3B. For his career he has been a pretty average 2B. But he hasn’t played 2B since 2023, and then only sparsely. He played more in 2022, but it has never been a primary position for him. He was also listed on the 2022 roster at 210, but he is probably easily 220 today. On the flipside, Ramon Urias has been an outstanding defensive 2B in his career, as well as Duby. Could the Astros non-tender Duby than turn and try and bring him back on a cheaper deal? My guess is no, because they will expect Urias to fill that role to a degree, at least the infield portion of that.

    The wildcard is when Jorge Polanco turns down his 2026 option of 7.5M with Seattle. Do the Astros non tender BOTH Dubon and Urias and set their sights on Polanco? He checks a lot of blocks – a switch hitter that hits better from the left, can bat in the mid-back end of the batting order, plays pretty much league average 2B, lots of boxes.

    I think they bring back Sanchez, because, frankly you aren’t finding better on the market for 6M. No one was happy with his performance down the stretch. I don’t even think he is just even a good baseball player. But he has a track record of at least hanging around league averages in most offensive categories and can run into one ever so often. He fits playing alongside Cam in RF like a glove, well, probably shouldn’t use glove analogies with Sanchez. I also think Meyers will be back maybe 1 more year, as again, the Astros don’t have a clear replacement in house and plays good D with occasional offensive mediocrity.

    Caratini is a lynch pin. Bringing him back is important. I don’t know that they will. Otherwise you are stuck with signing a Austin Barnes/James McCann type for a year, and at that point you better hope for Yainer to stay healthy.

    So many ways to go. Who knows Dana’s thoughts – but I would suggest maybe he could be thinking, if he got his dithers – C-Diaz, 1B-Paredes, 2B-Polanco, SS-Pena, 3B-Correa, LF-Altuve, CF-Meyers, RF-Cam, with Sanchez and Cedric Mullins giving him LH options in CF and RF, Yordan at DH but playing more days in LF as well to protect Altuve, either Dubon or Urias, and one of those 36 year old FA catchers that have experience and can be knabbed for next to nothing.

    None of this is WWSD, but Dana isn’t asking what would Steven do, because I would never have traded for Carlos Correa to begin with.

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    • Polanco sounds like a good idea, a good solution. Here’s where Altuve’s presence makes things so much more challenging though. Where does he get hidden, besides DH, where Yordan should be getting most of his starts?

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      • The team has 3 guys that would be better off being the DH and not in the field, including their starting catcher that might actually meet his promise of being a great hitter if he isn’t focusing on preparing the receiving side of his job.

        If I had a solution, they should hire me. I’m afraid I don’t, and neither does Dana Brown. LF is probably the best place to “hide” him, but the idea that he cost 32 runs more than an average LFer would have done in just half a year out there, that is near category 5 disaster. You put those baserunning woes he has along with this defense and all of a sudden, as much as I hate to say it, it’s a bad contract because he isn’t hitting .340 anymore to make you forget those other issues.

        But I get Altuve’s contract. I think there is value in a career Astro – likely HoFer – representing your club. My wife is such a big Altuve fan that if she read this page and saw what I wrote it might be grounds for a divorce. Somethings are just worth the cost, and Altuve’s representation of the city, being a champion despite having people his whole life telling him he couldn’t, he represents everything that we as fans hope for. And I’ve always supported keeping the guys that might represent your franchise standing in front of a building in Cooperstown giving a speech one day. So we accept the defense, we accept the baserunning blunders, we live for the hot streaks and lament when he goes cold and starts trying to swing his way out of it no matter the pitch and location, but love him.

        But if the Astros are doing this, they have to be smarter elsewhere. Carlos Correa is not going to stand in front of that building in Cooperstown. So why?

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    • Is Jesus Sanchez at $6M going to bring more value to your team than Jacob Melton or Zach Cole at $800k? The 20K in 52 PA for Cole after 129K in 355 PA at Corpus and 17K in 61 PA makes me think it’s going to be a real problem. Melton performed well at Sugarland, but struggled quite a bit following the ankle injury in Houston. Sanchez was barely better at 40K in Houston across 160 PA. That’s right in line with his career numbers so if he bounces back and actually gets on base when he puts the ball in play maybe he’s worth it…but if we’re trying to stay under the cap that sounds like a big gamble.

      When it comes to DRS it’s important to remember that the numbers are theoretical and not actually telling the story of what did happen. Framber Valdez will also be upset if I don’t point out that the alignments dictated by the coaching staff will factor into this. For a guy with Altuve with shrinking range, positioning is even more important than ever. I do think this offseason he needs to be doing some soul searching and figuring out a way to take a lot of extra ground balls rather than sipping drinks on the beach in Cancun with David Ortiz. However, I’m most concerned about his offense. Look at his spray chart. He looks like Christian Walker now. There’s no excuse for him to be pulling so many pitches, but I can’t imagine Espada is going to correct it. There’s no excuse for him to be bunting unless the bases are empty and the third baseman is asleep. If you’re keeping a Dubon or Urias on the roster it should be with the expectation that they’re playing a lot of ninth innings at 2B. I don’t think you can keep both for the same reason I mention on Sanchez above. Saving that $6M allows you to bring up a lot of minor leaguers to fill in for injured players…and based on 2025 we’ll need a lot of them.

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      • Devin, I don’t think anyone has ever accused Altuve of not working to keep himself in the best physical shape possible. Father Time has caught up though. He’s not going to get faster or find range he’s lost. He’s never had a good arm. He’s not going to become a smarter baseball player at 36. Now maybe he can become more disciplined at the plate and help his team that way. I kind of doubt it though. He’ll continue to try and jump on mistakes and yank them into the Crawfords. Jose is Jose. And it’s going to be tough to watch his decline.

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  7. Good morning. Seems the Jays have got the M’s back on their heels all of a sudden. The LA boys are almost boring to watch, as the outcome has pretty much been in place from the start, even with Ohtani not hitting. Dodger Pitching!

    So back to the work at hand. My outfield, or at least what I think my outfield might look like. Right field is simple. We ignore the .154 BA and .549 OPS that Cam Smith provided after the break and send him right back out to right field. That’s a given. Was the 22 year old in peak physical condition exhausted late in the year? Mentally tired? Ok, maybe. I’m concerned that the league simply figured him out. He was a bit better in September, so maybe that’s a good sign. But Cam’s question mark justifies holding on to Sanchez with the assumption that his left-handed bat will find its way back to career norm.

    I’ve already noted too many of Jakes offense stats. But if a 6 foot, 200 pound guy plays half his games in one park and puts up a .538 OPS and hits zero homers, how long can his daily presence be justified? Unless Dana does something for the middle of the outfield, Jake will be in center on Opening Day. But, there’s a chance Zach Cole becomes his platoon mate. And if Zach hits, Jake is not long for this world as an Astro. We already know Zach has a gun, which is really refreshing out there. And he can run and he’ll catch most stuff hit out that way. But will he hit enough to let us forget the strike outs that will be a part of his game?

    So that leaves Yordan, Dezenzo, Altuve, Sanchez and whomever else wants to play left. Joe used far too many line ups last year, but I sure don’t envy his job as it applies to putting Yordan and Jose in places where they’ll help the most and do the least amount of damage at the same time.

    Cam Smith

    Jake Meyers/Zach Cole

    Everyone else

    That’s my outfield!

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  8. Correa

    Pena

    Altuve

    Urias

    Paredes

    Cam Smith

    Jake

    Yordan

    Yainer

    Brice

    Sanchez

    Zach Cole

    Catcher TBD

    That’s the best I can do for now.

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  9. Let me add this – there is no way he can fix it all in one offseason. If I had my way there would be a new 2B, a new 1B, a new LF, a new CF, a new C, and a new RF. I wouldn’t have 2 3B and 3 DH on my roster. But I expect Jake Meyers in CF not because I want that but because he has worse issues than a light hitting CFer that can bat 9th, runs bases well, and plays plus D. He isn’t fixing that with a trade for Luis Robert or signing Cedric Mullins. Melton is not an answer. Is Zach Cole? I doubt it. But I do know you can’t make your primary plan a 25 year old AA success with high strikeout numbers throughout his minor league career. He might end up great, but its all about leveraging the percentage of the chance that he will be good enough.

    They aren’t the decision makers they used to be. Not in the draft, not in international talent acquisition, not in the free agent market, not in trades. The days of finding Gurriel, Brantley, Reddick, to sprinkle around your Springer, Altuve, Correa, Bregmans are over, or pulling off trades for Cole, Verlander, Morton, to solidify Keuchels pitching staff are over. Now it’s duct tape and bubble gumming things.

    These contracts that have been handed out, geeshalova. Zach Greinke came with a 62.5 million dollar poison pill. Because the annual salaries were backloaded they in essence paid 100M to have him for 2 and a half years. Do they not have accountants advising these people? Abreu, Montero, giving Hader the largest contract for a relief pitcher ever, I like Josh, but man you are letting 1 inning every 3rd day eat up 20M when you had an in house option barely arbitration eligible.

    Until Dana Brown shows me differently, I have zero confidence in his decision making. This guy pursued Arenado. He had conversations with Verlanders agent. Reports suggest he has made multiple calls to Chicago about Luis Robert. Even though he got Minnesota to eat some, he will still give Carlos Correa roughly 60M for the next 3 years to be a league average player – WHEN HE ALREADY HAD A 3B who is better! He didn’t sign Abreu, but he did sign Walker.

    I know people think it’s unreasonable to pay 7M for Mauricio Dubon. In a vacuum it might. It doesn’t sound very moneyballish. But think about the alternative first. Are you ready to give Cooper Hummel or Zach Short another go? That’s what happens when you stick to replacing “overpriced” veterans with minimum wage castoffs. I’m sure Ben Gamel is out there if you don’t want to give Sanchez 6M.

    He can’t fix them all.

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    • I’d much rather have a bunch of $10M salaries than $33M for Altuve, $20M (of $33M) for Correa, $26M for Yordan, $21M for Javier, $20M for Walker, $20M for Hader, and $18M for LMJ. The real problem is when you look at 2027 the only one whose number changes is LMJ as this is the last year of his deal. What’s interesting is there is a feeling the league is overpaying right now for defense, but to be honest I can’t recall seeing worse defense across the league since the PED days. To get back on track, we’re at $160M / $244M already for just 7 players. We have to fit 19 players into $84 million and also try to leave room for those injury/ineffectiveness callups I mentioned on another response. Project Paredes as $8M, Pena at $9M, Dubon, Sanchez, Urias, Abreu, and Brown as $6M each ($30M total), and that leaves $37M to pay Jake, our remaining bullpen, a backup C, and at least 2 starting pitchers plus the guys earning close to league minimum. I don’t trust the decision makers to do a good job here. If I hear Luis Robert or Nolan Arenado’s names over the offseason I’m going to puke. I do think what will happen is we’ll trade perhaps our most valuable hitter, Paredes, to another team and probably get $.50 on the dollar because we lack leverage.

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    • I really think Crane tried to find a solution besides Dana when the season ended, but just could not get the guy he wanted. Yeah, injuries really made 2025 a difficult season, but I would have been fine with moving both Dana and Joe.

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  10. When they picked up Correa (in fairness, I think that’s on Crane) to get us into the post season, that sure complicated things going forward.

    Steven, you noted a new RF without elaborating. I’m not convinced Cam is going to work out, but it seems all the eggs remain in that basket.

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  11. You folks are all making a ton of good points in different ways.

    • Z – I think it was an urban legend that Queen Victoria said “We are not amused” when one of her underlings (well that would be everyone in England and half the world) told a bawdy joke. But your real point is that the team has been floating along trying to bandaid a sinking ship – it is time to do something else.
    • daveb – tons of good points – I agree with trying to send Walker packing. I am also wondering if Cam was found out – or did it just take him a couple months to adjust to the adjustments that went his way. You did not include Frenchie Dubon in your final set – I did – but I can see arguments either way.
    • Devin – you did succinctly hit on most of the problem areas – really wonder what they will do when there are so many problems.
    • Larry – I really agree with trying to give the youngsters (Matthews and Cole) a shot to make us younger and cheaper. But we do have to wonder if you go that way – what is Plan B if they just can’t get it together.
    • Steven – I think the most critical thing you said is that this cannot be all addressed in one off-season. That is very unfortunate for Dana Brown and Joe Espada – because if 2026 goes the wrong way they will not have another off-season. The problem I have with judging Dana Brown is ….how many of these hare brained ideas (Arenado, Verlander, Correa) are his? Was Jim Crane as the boss (with whisperings from Bagwell or Biggio or his astrologist) telling Brown to kick the tires on JV, Arenado or telling him to bring in Hader no matter the cost? We don’t know the dynamics. At the deadline did Crane muscle up and say – get me a left handed hitting OF, and Correa and whatever?? Just do something – it is my money and I will cover you.

    The bottom line is this is a critical off-season and unfortunately unlike when Luhnow was here – we cannot expect that Brown and Espada and whoever else in the front office will be keeping a 5 year plan in mind. Like any of us would do in their situation – they will be saying screw the future – get out the really, really big bandaids.

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      • Understood daveb – when I wrote before about non-tendering I was always non-tendering Dubon, but this time I went around and around in my head whether to keep him or not. I kept him, but I certainly understand why you didn’t.

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  12. Under the Carole King heading of “It’s too Late Baby” – I sure wish the Astros had done what I had suggested years ago and gave Yordan a first baseman’s mitt and taught him to use it.

    Positives

    • Would have saved a lot of the pounding on his knees that he would see in the OF.
    • Would have kept them from signing Abreu and Walker to play 1B
    • Would now allow the Astros to use Altuve at DH most of the time – which would have opened 2B for Paredes, etc…

    Negatives

    • Probably would have bruised up his baby soft fingers and hands and sent him to the bench with microscopic breaks in his bones.

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    • Dan I agree with your point about YA at 1st. If I recall correctly, I think a majority on this blog thought that was a good idea but nobody seems to know why it wasn’t a least tried. Being a HOF player does not make you a genius at putting together a winning ball team. Yes, we know whom we’re talking about.

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      • Well if it is Bags – that would be ironic considering he went to the H of F at 1B after starting out elsewhere

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    • They tried him at first off and on throughout his minor league years. He actually had nine starts with Round Rock at first in 2019. I guess he was not real good at it.

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      • Yes, they should have said that the Astros have almost complete uncertainty heading into 2026 and Nate Pearson might be the most uncertain part of it.

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  15. I ask, to no one in particular, why do these opposing teams still pitch to Ohtani. I would throw four fingers up while he is still in the on deck circle.

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    • That’s a fair question Sarge. Hard to justify walking him to lead off the bottom of the first when you’re already down three games in the series. As it turned out, the game pretty much ended in the first when the Dodgers got two more runs and the best hitter in baseball went back to the mound.

      With two outs in the fourth, the bases were empty, but the Brewers were down 3-0. Do you give the Dodgers another baserunner and pitch to Betts? Maybe.

      With one out in the 7th, again the bases were empty. Walk him and pitch to Betts? Maybe.

      Thing is, the Brewers were outclassed. They took the high road and pitched to him likely because there no guys on base. But they sure did not have to throw him anything resembling a strike.

      But again, in the history of modern baseball, it was an unprecedented performance. I wonder if Babe Ruth ever hit three homers in a game he was pitching?

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