62 thoughts on “2020 WGOM Draft: Round 24”

  1. I’m going to channel my inner Gardy and pick a third catcher, just because I can. Though his playing career was short he left an indelible mark on baseball. I am shocked that he is still available at this late point in the draft.

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  2. I'm going for a little more pop off the bench, but mainly he's there to make sure Cap Anson doesn't say or do anything f#¢%in stupid.

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    2. He was a monster for a few seasons. Back-to-back ISOs of .357 and .374 in 1994 and 1995!

      But, man, what a butcher in the field. A danger to himself and others.

  4. I might as keep filling my team out with cheating cheaters. Plus, I think this is some pretty great value for that last utility spot:

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    1. FYI, you could add another utility next round of you wanted. Other than 2 catchers there were no rules really

  5. This may be the only guy in pinstripes I actually liked a little. He just was always fun to watch pitch, and most of his prime wasn't televised.

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  6. Well, I certainly don't need another outfielder and I don't know when he'll play, but he's one of my favorite players ever and I just want him around. Other than Bobby Bonds, he's got the best Power/Speed combo of all players remaining. He's the 16th most efficient base stealer of all timer. His peak was absurd. I also remember losing my shit when he hit a World Series homer against the A's.

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  8. Looking at my roster, I could use a guy with really good baserunning instincts to serve as a pinch-running specialist. Since I’m going with a position player, I should probably make it an infielder — though I would’ve been tempted to pick the guy Beau snagged this round if he were still available.

    My pick is third all-time in stolen base percentage among players with at least 500 steals, succeeding in 83.01% of his attempts. He had a reasonable amount of pop — 232 doubles, 155 homers — and came close to walking (833) more than he struck out (852). He wasn’t great on defense (-27 Fielding Runs), but provides a little positional flexibility. In his playing days he often wore an elite mustache along with a cool ‘do. Moreover, he got started late; he was a 28 year old rookie after spending five seasons in the minors, the last two looking like mostly a finished product as a hitter. He’s also a baseball lifer, well-regarded for his coaching at first base.

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    1. Nice pick.

      When I was a kid I thought he was terrible because he was terrible in RBI Baseball due to a poor sample with the Astros as a 41 year old

    2. I did very much like the early/mid-1970s Dodgers when I was a kid (although the Big Red Machine was my NL team). Lopes, Russell, Penguin, Garvey (before I knew more about him), Yeager/Ferguson, etc.

      Nice pick.

  9. continuing to fill out my bullpen. This guy had a rather unimpressive career record (174-170), but was a five-time All-Star. He was also a workhorse, leading the league in complete games three times; and a high strike-out guy (6 top-5 K/9 seasons, including leading the league once). He was equally adept at getting out lefties and righties, so he adds tremendous depth to my 'pen as a spot starter and long reliever on the odd chance that any of my starters has an off day. He had a nice peak (38.2 WAR7, twice leading the league in WAR for pitchers, including once leading the league in overall WAR). He also happened to be a decent hitter for a pitcher (slashing 302/341/326 in 1959 and 268/311/371 in 1962). Oh, and he also broke the Big Train's 1910 club record for most Ks in a single game! And he adds to my Twins' cred. He was ALSO the scout who signed Jose Canseco for the A's.

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    2. I'm willing to wager you missed an opportunity for a good math/dad joke in this write-up. Since you are a math-dad, I'm a little disappointed.

  10. You guys have some stacked lineups. I'm going to need a pitcher who can come into a game in the middle of the game and strike out guys like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, and Charlie Gehringer -- maybe all in a row. Trouble is, I'm not sure that such a pitcher exists.....wait, I'm being told that such a pitcher DOES exist, and that he struck out all of those titans of the game when he was 17??

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    Wish he would've taken Connie Mack up on his offer...

    1. Fantastic pick. He was the rotation-mate of my pick last round, so I got to read a bit about him.

      Like many professional players, his career was interrupted by WWII. Unlike every American star player who served in the war, he never made it back. He went down with his troop ship, which was steaming toward Borneo, when it was torpedoed by an American submarine in December 1944. Over 2000 perished, so the damage to the ship must have been catastrophic. He was 27 years old.

      The alternate universe in which he pitches for the Philadelphia Athletics is an interesting one to contemplate.

      1. also, Algonad, it means you've had plenty time to shame me since my missed dad joke opportunity. Which I still have not seen. 🙁

  13. Gah, I'm pretty sure I checked this draft yesterday- or whatever day the 8th was...

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    I don't think he's taken- searching the draft doc on my phone he doesn't show up. Long career, defensive flexibility in the outfield, lefty- good utility player at the bottom of the roster.
    Doesn't hurt that he's from North Dakota and was a punter in college- never know when that might come in useful!

    1. You can't overstate the value of that college football player toughness!

      3-time Fielding Grammy winner at three different positions (LF, CF, 1b), 2-time All-Star, and had one 8.3 rWAR and one 6.3 rWAR season to his credit. Hilariously (to me, anyway), that 6.3 rWAR season was one in which he had only a 702 OPS (86 OPS+), but he chalked up 4.2 dWAR.

  15. I guess I can pick now instead of tomorrow.

    I looked over my roster and realized I didn't have a great fit as a primary DH. Considering what's happening right now everywhere, he seems like a really good fit.

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      1. last sentence of that piece (the whole thing is a good read on Delgado) is a nice, albeit less important than his other activism, coda:

        It is worth noting that Delgado honored his parents and their guidance in one final way. After his retirement, he entered college at the University of Sacred Heart in Puerto Rico, at the age of 45.

  17. Has the stench of steroid suspicion on him, but it's hard to pass up a power-hitting switch-hitter with a career 144 OPS+. I think definitely a guy that was underrated for his career.

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    1. I almost pulled the lever on him several rounds ago. I have a very right-handed roster.

      1. I looked at him for several rounds. A .406 OBP & .243 ISO from a switch-hitter who played all three outfield positions & first base is hard to ignore. But then I started reading more about his post-playing life and, well, Carlton was a mistake I didn’t feel like repeating.

        2. Plus, he hit the homer in Game Two of 2010 after striking out because Showtime was calling balls and strikes.

  18. I was initially planning on taking another reliever here, but then I realized my bench was missing something: speed. This guy led the league in steals in each of his first six season, and was the only player to ever steal 100 bases in three consecutive years. Strategy changes have clearly played a part in this, but he was the last player to reach 100 steals in a season. And, he had a career stolen base percentage of 80.95%, just a tick above Rickey. He might be a bit of a "firecracker" in the clubhouse, but he sure could run.

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    2. I think so many parks going away from artificial turf has also reduced stolen bases.

      1. Also, if your speed can't get on base.

        Vince's career OBP was 324. That's what scared me off several rounds ago.

        Which, of course, is robust compared to Billy Hamilton's 297. ☹️

        1. I figure late innings I've got Manny B. Manny to get on base, then pinch run with Vince.

  19. I've got 23 players and no Twins! What is wrong with me? It's a draft for fun and I'm not drafting Twins? In my defense, you all were drafting them too early!

    Here's a guy that only played for the Twins for a few years but was a native Minnesotan!

    104th JAWS for a starting pitcher. I'll use him as my 5th/6th starter and a lefty middle reliever.

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  20. So the spreadsheet has both Mike and Free with Tom Glavine in Round 8... Can I claim him too?

  21. Looking for speed off the bench, I've come across a player I looked at a few rounds ago who I am genuinely surprised hasn't been taken. He's got 63.3 career WAR, had a .455 OBP, is ranked as the 14th best CF by JAWS, so he can be a defensive sub, and he's 3rd all time in stolen bases. Yes, he played during that era in baseball that we really can't judge, but I'm going to suppose that his 914 stolen bases would be worth a pinch running appearance or two.

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    1. If you're looking for a pinch-runner the other Billy Hamilton is probably a tiny bit faster!

      1. I thought about it. He probably is, but he lacks some of the other credentials this one brings. Old Billy has more than double the OPS+.

        1. I almost took one of the Billy Hamiltons this round, too. And I'd definitely say Old Billy is the way to go between them.

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