Gonna try something different with this year’s Future’s Game story and kind of live blog throughout the afternoon. I know it’s not a live blog because we’re not live, and the game happened yesterday, but I don’t know what else to call it.
This year’s coverage of the event began with a highlight package of young stars flashing in the game over the years, beginning with Alfonso Soriano in 1999. What a time that was.
The first player they talked about in this year’s game was Sebastian Walcott, which makes sense. Pretty easy to build a clip-show from his feats.
Then they moved onto Leo De Vries, who got traded in one of my leagues this week along with Ryan Waldschmidt for a four-piece return of Shane Baz, Masyn Winn, Dylan Lee and a third-round pick. Gimme the prospects’ side of that one.
The Tigers have three guys in the AL starting lineup: Max Clark, Josue Briceno and Kevin McGonigle. It’s nice to see something good and fun happening for the people of Detroit.
Everyone involved in this broadcast should get a talking-to for planning their interview with Marquis Grissom to sync up perfectly with the PA system getting the crowd psyched up for the first pitch. Couldn’t hear a thing he said, but they kept asking him questions anyway. Where is the producer? MLB is just so bad at so many things it gets under my skin sometimes. Also, Marquis Grissom just met these players. What’s he gonna say?
He’s still talking, by the way. Should’ve just brought him into the booth and let someone else manage. Not a single brain cell to share in the production truck. I’m tempted to see how much I can type before they fix the audio. Can’t really hear the booth either because, I guess, they’ve still got the line open to Grissom?
Oh yeah, he’s still on. Just asked him if he wanted to step in the box. That’s the good stuff. Now Mayo’s asking if Max Clark has the green light on first base, as if Grissom is managing the game right now and not in the middle of this conversation about whether he wants to hit today.
Cut to commercial, we’re watching Mike Trout and hearing how “the right pick on draft night can change the franchise,” which, okay, sure. Perhaps the people in MLB’s marketing team are not familiar with how things have gone for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the Mike Trout era.
Oh man they’re gonna spend the bottom half of the first talking to Chipper Jones in the other dugout because of course they are. The audio is slightly better, which helps. Impressive double from JJ Wetherholt to get things going. First-pitch swinging from Konnor Griffin: groundout. LHP Parker Messick is starting for the American League. Got a truly awful call to strikeout Owen Caissie or we might’ve had a pretty big first inning. Oh wait, they’re using the ABS system, so Caissie’s on first base. What the what now? Okay, I guess they use it in the minors. It’s only the most important games we have to leave in the eyeballs of crouching oldsters.
We are talking now about Chipper Jones wearing rubber cleats to help his back while golfing. You know, standard prospect stuff.
Zyhir Hope swings incredibly hard. Seems totally out of control. Threw the bat a country mile on a whiff then missed the two-strike pitch by the same distance.
I’m watching Big Inning on a second screen during the commercial break. Another feature of incredible planning by the league. Let’s do this showcase game while just about every team in the league is playing.
Also, why not do the interviews later when the stadium is quieter? Or not at all, would be my preference. Is the thinking that people tune in to see the interviews, so you have to lead off with those? Is there thinking at all?
In a preview, I said Jonah Tong could have a bit of a glow up in the game, and he looks as expected. Harry Ford didn’t stand a chance. Challenged a pitch because Tong is a weird look, but Ford was wrong and quickly down 0-2 count before waving over a dynamite curveball. Josue Briceno and Sebastian Walcott both made contact, but it was a 1,2,3 inning.
Brewers SS Jesus Made is hitting right-handed against Jurrangelo Cijntje throwing right-handed, so that made me double-take. Cijntje struck out Made on a pretty curveball then switched to lefty to retire Dodgers OF Josue De Paula. That’s fun. Probably more of an exhibition gimmick than a strategy he’ll employ as a pro, but who knows. Some fresh powder on this one.
Cool insight from Yonder Alonso in the third inning about today being the first time these guys can be seen as a professional by a bunch of their family members. Kind of an officially made it moment.
Bottom of the third, interview with Sebastian Walcott. Going okay. Better than interviewing a manager who barely knows the players but still worse than just watching the game and talking about it. Instead we’re watching Walcott walk around while the game happens elsewhere. Blue Jays RHP Trey Yesavage left after getting one out. I hope he’s okay. It’s hard to believe this is still a seven-inning game. Given how long they’re letting Angels RHP George Klassen warm up, I’m worried about Yesavage.
Ruh roh. Subs are coming in. Production team better hustle. They just said Enrique Bradfield Jr. was Harry Ford. Those two are pretty easy to tell apart.
Or, we could go back to Marquis Grissom while his son is pitching and avoid discussing the events on the field. Mission accomplished. Josue Briceno lifted a double high off the wall, and nobody said anything about it. Good thing this ain’t radio.
Melissa Lockard says we’re going to a double-microphone situation. Jonathan Mayo wants Sebastian Walcott to announce his at bat while he’s in the batter’s box. This is new, and Walcott is silent, which makes sense . . . because he’s the only person in the conversation actually doing something, and it’s an incredibly difficult something to do. Marquis Grissom is talking, kind of, and that’s the only audio, but he’s talking to his fellow coach, Jerry Manuel, and not into the microphone, so nobody can make out the words. Grissom appears to have forgotten he’s part of the broadcast, which is fine. His kid is pitching during the Futures Game he’s trying to manage, and nobody is talking, and nobody in the truck cares. It’s fine. Nobody’s watching, anyway.
Dodgers OF Josue De Paula just woke me up with a loud three-run bomb deep to right-center. Oh hey! Also a victorious F-bomb the microphone caught more clearly as De Paula crossed the plate than anything anyone has said all day. Nice. Best twenty seconds of the broadcast.
While Sox LHP Noah Schultz was on the wrong end of that one, by the way. Not a fun year for him. JJ Wetherholt had no problem with him but lined out to center. Time for a pitching change while I watch a Caitlin Clark commercial. Also AJ Minter for Turtlebox, which I gather is a bluetooth speaker.
Lookout, back in the game and Santa’s in town: Alimber Santa, a stout Astros righty with high-90’s heat who just broke Konnor Griffin’s hand with a wild fastball. No gifts for Pittsburgh in this game. We don’t know if his hand is broken. That’s just what I wrote when I watched the pitch hit him. Also that’s what I think probably happened.
Rockies OF Charlie Condon is 0-for-3 after freezing on a curveball from Santa. Pizza time.
Good stuff, they finally announced a substitution. Two of ‘em. Diamondbacks OF Slade Caldwell and Mets OF Carson Benge. Best of luck to you gentlemen.
Yonder with a little more good work, telling the story of Giants RHP Trent Harris with an assist from Mayo, who says Harris signed for $10,000 after going undrafted out of college in 2023. Now he’s in the Future’s Game. It really is a good lesson. Fight the good fight, dear reader. Don’t give up without the ole undrafted-out-of-college try.
There’s way too many commercials. It’s on MLB Network and most of the ads are for MLB Network. Why carve out this much ad space in your own show? I know how long it takes between innings, and it’s not this long. I kind of get it if you’re on WGN or whatever surviving on ad money from all over, but this one is just for the heads. Whatever. I need to go for a walk or something. Royals LHP Frank Mozzicato is in now. He has more walks than strikeouts through 30.2 Double-A innings alongside a 7.34 ERA. He just threw one over Carson Benge’s head but cruised through the inning, to my relative surprise. Jesus Made did take him about 390 feet to dead center, but that’s not enough.
Good audio coming back for top the sixth: De Paula apologizing to his mom for the post-homer cussing clip. Alex Clemmey is facing Lazaro Montes. Lotta left-on-left matchups today. Montes with a pretty easy walk followed by Enrique Bradfield Jr. grounding into a double play followed by a pitching change and more commercials. It’s a little like the NFL before the punk and kickoff change. Third down. Timeout. Commercial. Failed conversion. Punt. Commercial. Long touchdown. Commercial. Kickoff. Commercial. Good times.
This feels weird as the thought circles my brain, but I think Braves LHP Hayden Harris just earned a promotion to the big leagues with that inning. Truly, he earned it with a 0.82 ERA in 32.1 innings across two levels, but he’s only pitched 9.2 of those innings at Triple-A, but that’s a decent sample for a reliever. Few weeks, anyway.
Oh man, Alfredo Duno just spiked himself on a swing against Rays RHP Brody Hopkins. He looks huge on the pro-level camera rigs. No offense to the Low-A broadcasts, but they kind of failed to capture the full extent of his largeness. He looks fine, otherwise.
At this point, my wife came knocking. My time was up. I watched six innings in about two and a half hours. Maybe the game shouldn’t go nine innings. Then again, mid-inning pitching changes were a huge part of the time-suck. Fathers of little kids struggle to just set aside 25 minutes per inning on a Saturday afternoon.
Thanks for reading!
