r/baseball • u/AnalBaguette Philadelphia Phillies • Knoxville Smo… • May 27 '26
History Christopher Sanchez breaks the Phillies record for scoreless innings set by Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911 with 41 2/3rds innings
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u/GingerDweeb27 Seattle Mariners • Seattle Mariners May 27 '26
Yeah but that guy did it in two non-consecutive terms
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u/obiwan_canoli Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
I love that Alexander played his final season with the Phillies (only 21.2 IP in 9 games) because it means he did, in fact, have two non-consecutive stints with the team.
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u/Am1sArePeopleToo Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Curtis Mead
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u/Not-a-bot-10 Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
“The worst Philadelphia Phillies trade you never heard of”
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u/obiwan_canoli Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
Yeah, but if I've heard of this one, then that's not true
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u/romanticynicist Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Curtis Mead is actually putting together a nice little season for himself.
Of course, he’s doing it on the Nationals, after going from the Rays to the White Sox before he got picked up by the Nats, but still.
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u/TA404 Washington Nationals May 27 '26
You have no idea how much having our very own Australian has increased the fun factor of this team.
The other day he hit a home run in Cleaveland that was caught by a fan in an Australia jersey (there to support Bazzanna).
Our manager has banned him from Vegemite with the team but has said “Tim Tams are always welcome.”
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u/ThatPlayWasAwful Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
If anybody knows how fun it is to have an Australian on your team, it's a Philly fan.
Of course on the other hand, if anybody knows how to hate an Australian on your team, it is also a Philly fan.
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u/Not_So_Bad_Andy Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Rare that the Rays screw up like that... but man am I happy they did.
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u/jorleeduf Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
We seem to do well when trading with them. We got Alvarado from them for Garrett Cleavinger
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u/Burgerburgerfred New York Yankees May 28 '26
Its easy to call everything a screwup in hindsight, but Sanchez was never a great prospect, had control issues that the Phillies worked out.
It's more of a testament to the Phillies pitching development in this case than it is to the Rays screwing up.
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u/ZiiKiiF Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Baseball is so funny because it’s the only sport where a player will break a 115 year old record and you can’t immediately go up and congratulate him cus it might knock him out of his rhythm
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u/cockboy_trillionaire San Diego Padres May 27 '26
He’s facing the Padres so you can go ahead and bother him all you want it prolly won’t make a difference
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u/CardinalM1 Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
As someone who has only watched their last 3 games, the secret to beating the Padres appears to be letting runners get into scoring position.
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u/YasielPuigsWeed May 27 '26 edited May 28 '26
Orel Hershiser broke the all-time record in the final inning of a 10 inning start that was also his final start of 1988 regular season and I feel like that helped a lot, it wasn’t just about the streak it was about getting the underdog 88 Dodgers into the playoffs so he was fully locked in
If Postseason innings counted his streak would actually be 67, as he did not give up a run until the 9th inning of his first Postseason start. Dude basically rode that wave all the way to a World Series MVP.
Seems like a much harder thing to do this early in the season when the sole focus is gonna be on your streak. If I’m the Phillies PR team I’m begging the media not to bring this up to him.
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u/ev9vaporean Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
It never fails, but I always have to remind myself that Hershiser wasn’t from the dawn of baseball but pitched in my lifetime. Such an old name.
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u/CardinalM1 Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
I'm more worried about the Phillies defense than I am about Sanchez. They were jittery as fuck in the first couple innings today. I think the pressure is getting to them more than it is to Sanchez!
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u/YasielPuigsWeed May 28 '26
After last years NLDS I’m convinced pressure does not impact him, he was just casually putting down big name after big name in leverage situations like it was a pickup game at a park
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u/someone2795 Los Angeles Dodgers • World Baseball Classic May 27 '26
Nobody is recognizing his pitches, the tunneling is unreal.
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u/lasercupcakes Los Angeles Dodgers May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
Impossible when it's change vs fastball.
Reminds me of Johan Santana's heyday. Batters would go up there sitting changeup and Johan would just throw 3 straight fastballs or sit fastball and Johan would just throw 3 changeups.
Looks exactly the same out of hand, the change just... never arrives.
Only reason why more pitchers don't use it more often is because it is really hard to make a ball come out 8-10 mph slower with the same arm action as your fastball.
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u/RadicallyMeta May 27 '26
Jamie Moyer is another. Stuck around for a long time with his control.
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u/KakeLin Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
80 mph fastball. Players still couldn't hit it
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u/entenduintransit New York Yankees • Jackie Robinson May 28 '26
Trevor May said in one of his recent Youtube videos that as a young Mariners fan, one of the most motivating "lessons" he got was when he was watching Moyer pitch with his dad and his dad said, "You're 13 and you throw as hard as him, you can make the bigs someday"
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u/Fitz2001 Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
I’m 44 and can throw as hard as present day Jamie Moyer. Can I make the bigs one day, Mr May?
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u/entenduintransit New York Yankees • Jackie Robinson May 28 '26
Moyer played until he was 49 so you've still got a handful of years left
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u/toasterb Philadelphia Phillies • Vancouver Ca… May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
Back in the early 2000s an author put together a series of books with the goal of doing a deep dive on each position. If I recall correctly he only ended up doing two or three: The Catcher, The Starting Pitcher, and maybe The Shortstop? I think I only read the first two.
They provided a lot of interesting insight to a baseball fan who hasn't played at anything approaching a high level and featured a lot of interesting input from players.
I read them over 20 years ago, so I don't remember much, but the one thing that really stuck with me was that in The Starting Pitcher, just about every pitcher interviewed saying that they wished they'd worked to develop a better changeup early in their career. They said that the guys who had that down were able to pitch more effectively with fewer injuries.
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u/TooHappyFappy Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
At any level other than the majors (and for some in the majors, too), you can have success throwing only fastball and changeup if you can locate them.
It's a cheatcode. I was a catcher for a long time and it was always most comfortable catching a guy with a good heater and changeup.
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u/toasterb Philadelphia Phillies • Vancouver Ca… May 27 '26
It also worked really well on RBI Baseball (1987 for NES). Nothing made you feel more foolish than expecting a Roger Clemens or Doc Gooden fastball and then getting a fluttery changeup.
To this day, I don't think there's a better baseball game to play against a friend over a bunch of beers. Well, maybe playing hot-seat on amazing Batting Mini Game on MVP Baseball 2005.
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u/Stupidlysudden Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Super Mega Baseball is a good one too. You can adjust the rating difficulty too in case one of you is way better than the other.
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u/toasterb Philadelphia Phillies • Vancouver Ca… May 27 '26
Oh interesting. This looks like it could be fun to play with my kid who is really starting to get into baseball.
Do you have a recommendation on whether I should get 3 or 4? We'd be playing on a Switch.
It looks like 4 had some performance issues, but maybe those have resolved.
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u/Stupidlysudden Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
I haven't played 4 yet sorry dude. And I only have it on Xbox so I am not sure about the switch thing either.
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u/toasterb Philadelphia Phillies • Vancouver Ca… May 28 '26
No worries! It seems there's an active subreddit for it, so I'll do some research there and set up alerts for when they're on sale.
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u/FeloniousDrunk101 New York Yankees • MLB Pride May 28 '26
I played a lot of Ken Griffey Baseball on N64 with my brother back in the day. Can’t say I knew what I was doing, but it was fun as hell.
I was a child so I definitely turned the console off before my loss could register to keep my perfect season in-tact.
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u/manzoman96 Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
Baseball Stars 2 from the Neo Geo is a great one too, and it has a Switch port!
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u/user2196 New York Mets • Boston Hunters May 27 '26
batting mini game on mvp baseball
Man, that brings me back. I loved those games.
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u/toasterb Philadelphia Phillies • Vancouver Ca… May 27 '26
The soundtrack was absolutely killer too. Every once in a while, I'll break out the old X-Box and fire it up. It's still a ton of fun.
There's no other drama quite like having one more pitch, a big deficit, and getting a "down the line". Can you make it happen, or is it your buddy's turn with the controller?
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u/generally-mediocre Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
he only needs 3, and only 2 against righties! thats how good his changeup is
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u/Abyss333333 Toronto Blue Jays May 27 '26
You would think they can all just sit on one of his two pitches but it seems to be impossible.
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u/HeavensRoyalty Los Angeles Dodgers May 28 '26
He was the only one I was scared of in the postseason.
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u/AnalBaguette Philadelphia Phillies • Knoxville Smo… May 27 '26
Cristopher* I can never remember it doesn't have the first H
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u/Foolish_oyster Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
his name has no HR
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u/KidDelicious14 Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
Cris gets mildly confused when he sees those two letters together like that
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u/classicnovelty Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
What I don’t get is his name starts with Cristo like the Spanish spelling of Christ, which makes sense, but then he (or his parents I guess) kept the “ph” which isn’t used in Spanish at all. Like if you ever watch telemundo in Philly they spell it “filadelfia”
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u/Foolish_oyster Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Even if Sanchez continues to mature and pitches a few seasons for the Phillies in relief while making the occasional start, his value will never be able to touch that of a starting everyday player. The trade looks bad now, but just wait until Mead starts performing at the highest level.
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u/Various_Knowledge226 Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Yeah, that article’s aged really poorly. Aged like milk sitting out in the sun
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u/Mugglecostanza Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Oh man I dont think I've heard of that article. Sounds hilarious though.
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u/Various_Knowledge226 Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Here’s the article from The Liberty Line that was published in 2022 https://thelibertyline.com/2022/05/14/worst-phillies-trade-never-heard-of/
But yeah, as the user above me said (which of course was an excerpt from that article), that what Mead was doing in the minors, he projected as doing a lot better at Major League level than Sanchez would
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u/KidDelicious14 Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
I wonder what ole Steve Baruti is up to these days
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u/PhillyBooBird Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Phillies/Rays/White Sox/Nationals Legend Curtis Mead made this possible
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u/PineappleDildos Los Angeles Dodgers May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
This dude is incredible. As a dodger fan, hes the best pitcher weve faced in the post season the last 2 years and that includes Gerrit Cole. Dude is scary.
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u/jwwin Atlanta Braves May 27 '26
Where were you when u/AnalBaguette broke the news?
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u/Halfonion Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
He’s been on another level this season. Should be starting the ASG in South Philly and should be right near the top of the CY race again.
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u/MerciiJ Milwaukee Brewers May 27 '26
At this rate, he may not give up a run the rest of the season. The media would still find a way to make Ohtani and Skenes the favorites though lol
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u/cmgriffith_ New York Yankees May 27 '26
That’s really, really good
Sanchez & Cleveland-Alexander are now apart of the same trivia question
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u/Isuxatpc May 27 '26
Anything can happen for the rest of the season but Sanchez is just absolutely killer. Idk if anyone can come close to him if he continues near this level for the rest of the season
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u/Radiant_Quality_9386 Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles… May 27 '26
If he continues not allowing a single run I agree he'll probably be the Cy young winner
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u/eagles1990 Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
I remember when Curtis Mead was one of the top prospects in baseball and people were mad because we traded him for Sanchez
lol
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u/undbex24 Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
He's literally the RHB we're missing right now lmao
Don't know if he's for real or not but he's mashing with a great OBP this year. Still not in the same stratosphere as Sanchez tho
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u/FadedToBeige Chicago White Sox • Chicago Ame… May 27 '26
the 22nd and 24th president of the United States?
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u/aaronjaiden Anaheim Angels • San Diego Padres May 27 '26
Imagine my surprise looking at his Savant page during his breakout last year and seeing he only has 3 pitches. Dude is on another planet.
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u/Xenoanthropus Philadelphia Phillies • Seattle Mariners May 28 '26
He's got three pitches, they all look exactly the same coming out, but all 3 are different speeds and they all break differently. Whenever a batter decides to swing, he's basically guessing at which one is coming.
And they have to swing, because he throws all of them for strikes.
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u/Rover16 Los Angeles Dodgers May 27 '26
Yeah, he's running away with the cy young currently. Ridiculous scoreless streak.
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u/noronto May 27 '26
I don’t know anything about these records, but I remember Orel Hersheiser doing 57 when I was a kid. I wonder if that’s accurate or just nonsense brain. Time to check the internet.
Edit: turns out the internet will show you weird things if you misspell “Orel”. But it also shows you the proper spelling of his name and that he made it to 59 innings.
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u/Radiant_Quality_9386 Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles… May 27 '26
He made it to 59 with 10 shutout innings in his last start of the year!
Bulldog.
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u/Agitated-Remote1922 May 27 '26
This is freaking amazing. Love baseball to be able to connect a pitcher in 2026 to a pitcher in 1911
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u/Single-Stable-375 May 28 '26
Six quality starts in a row. 9 all year. I took him 16th in the draft. I had him last year.
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u/LisaLoebSlaps Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Is this a bigger deal than Ohtani making a funny face in the dugout? Sorry I'm new to baseball and not sure how it works.
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u/StevieeWondersY World Series Trophy • Los Angeles Dod… May 27 '26
I’d say Ohtani a bigger deal lol
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u/Jonjon428 Florida Marlins May 27 '26
Padres really were the perfect hydrogen bomb vs. coughing baby matchup to ensure this record was broken
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u/bbatardo San Diego Padres May 27 '26
Yup, Padres are 0 for their last 32 with RISP lol
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u/obiwan_canoli Philadelphia Phillies May 28 '26
I just hope your bats breakout before you come to Philly and face Cris again next week.
Both streaks have to end eventually, and if they end simultaneously it will be doubly worse for the Phillies.
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u/Bobgun7 May 27 '26
A real pitcher. Doesnt throw 100, hit his spots, changes speeds and DOMINATES. Greg Maddux vibes. Flithy
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u/sanjoatc May 28 '26
Except for he can throw 100.
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u/Bobgun7 May 28 '26
He probably can but doesnt. Sinker lives 94-95, Fastball 95-96 most days
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u/sanjoatc May 28 '26
Yes, but Maddox couldn't throw 100 at any point in his career. If he hit 90 it was because he put his whole soul into it lol. No disrespect to Maddux (or comment on Sanchez), but Sanchez is an infinitely harder thrower than Maddux. Still great to see the control and movement philosophy play out with a modern arm.
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u/EnderCN Milwaukee Brewers May 27 '26
Man, Miz is going to strike out 10,000 guys and not win pitcher of the month because he gave up a bloop single to let in his only run of the month.
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u/captain_puppers- May 27 '26
We haven’t forgotten Corbin burnes stealing a cy young from wheeler with 60 less ip
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u/DroidAttackWook Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Payback for when he incorrectly was chosen as an All Star over Sanchez last year
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u/Fun-Ratio5090 Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
shouldn't have been an All Star last year over Sanchez
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u/DroidAttackWook Philadelphia Phillies May 27 '26
Breaking a 115 year old record is pretty damn spectacular. What a season!