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We’re back to five days a week; let’s get this season started. Today: It’s World Baseball Classic week, Ken tells us about Freddy Peralta’s fit in New York and the rest of the newsletter came from, well, you! I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!
Play Ball: It’s (finally) WBC week
It’s finally (almost) here. On Wednesday, the World Baseball Classic begins, with Chinese Taipei taking on Australia at the Tokyo Dome. Before that, we have two days of exhibition games between national squads and your favorite MLB teams.
That means players like José Caballero of the Yankees will be facing … the Yankees (as a member of team Panama) and Mark Vientos will play against his Mets (with Nicaragua). On the flip side, when Venezuela squares off against the Astros, Jose Altuve will be wearing his Houston gear; he was one of an annoyingly large number of players who couldn’t get insurance coverage to play in the tournament.
And of course, Team Canada will be playing against “Canada’s team” in — where else? — Dunedin, Fla. The Blue Jays will be the home team (which makes sense, if you haven’t fully memory-holed 2020).
We’ll have updates for you right here — from the exhibitions through the championship game on March 17.
More WBC:
Back when they were playing on a 12-U team, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Masyn Winn pitched a combined no-hitter.
The catcher? Paul Skenes.
In January, the U.S. State Department gave assurance that it would be “… facilitating the success of major American and international sporting events, including MLB’s World Baseball Classic.” On Thursday, three members of Team Cuba’s traveling party — including its pitching coach — were
denied entry into the U.S.
Now over to Ken for that check-in on Freddy Peralta.
Ken’s Notebook: Peralta’s fit — and future — in N.Y.
From my latest column:
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — If ever a player seemed destined to sign a contract extension with the Mets, it’s Peralta.
The only potential roadblock: Peralta, entering his age 30 season, said he doesn’t want one of the high-dollar, short-term deals that suddenly are in fashion — and the kind that make Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns most comfortable.
“I would prefer to go long and make sure I’m going to be in the place where I want to finish my career,” Peralta said.
Peralta, his agents at ACES and the Mets will get to the details in due course. When asked by reporters Friday if extension talks have occurred this spring, Peralta grinned and replied, “No comment.” But according to a person familiar with the Mets’ thinking, no serious discussions have taken place.
Not to worry. Peralta has deep ties to Stearns and Mets vice president/special assistant Eduardo Brizuela from their time together with the Brewers. And for Peralta and other players who are natives of the Dominican Republic, both the Mets and Yankees are always natural fits as Dominicans form the largest immigrant population in New York.
When Peralta was 11, his Little League team from the Dominican spent a summer month in New York. Citi Field was the first major-league park he visited. He even threw a no-hitter against a team in the Bronx.
Last Opening Day, when Peralta’s Brewers visited Yankee Stadium, he reserved 40 tickets for friends and family to watch his start. Ask him if he has a lot of relatives in New York, and Peralta responds in the affirmative, saying they are in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, “everywhere.”
“And when I say a lot,” Peralta said, flashing his trademark smile, “it’s a lot.”
Stearns and Brizuela aren’t quite family, but by baseball standards, they’re close to it. Peralta is the only player Stearns has traded for twice, first with the Brewers at the 2015 winter meetings, then with the Mets just over 10 years later.
Matt Arnold, the Brewers’ current president of baseball operations, was the first to inform Peralta of the more recent deal, on Jan. 21 — Peralta and righty Tobias Myers for infielder/outfielder Jett Williams and righty Brandon Sproat. Peralta said when Stearns contacted him, “I could feel his smile in the phone call.”
Stearns said, “I could feel his smile, too.”
Reds third baseman Eugenio Suárez is renowned for his “good vibes only” catchphrase. Peralta is the pitching version of Suárez, beloved by players from all cultures and backgrounds. If ever a player could help bridge whatever rift developed between Mets stars Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor last season, that would be Peralta, too.
Back to you, Levi.
Answers: Your survey results were out of this world
No, really. It’s always interesting to get a check-in with you, the reader. This year, we have a four-parter, based on your answers to the MLB fan survey.
First up, you weighed in on a few broad questions. My favorite part, by far: The suggestions on where MLB should play a regular-season game. Finishing in third place, with 334 write-in votes: The moon. Outstanding work.
Next, your thoughts on the health of the game. You’re more optimistic this year than you were the last time there was a lockout. Boy, it sure would be dumb if owners did that again, huh? On that note …
When discussing the potential for a lockout, a majority of you blame the owners for the labor strife … but a majority of you also voted in favor of a salary cap, which would benefit owners immensely. You contain multitudes, dear reader.
And lastly, you sounded off on the fan experience. No surprises here: Blackouts are still the bane of fandom, made worse when it has become so expensive to attend games in person.
Updates: More (Windup) fan feedback
Looking back at our last edition, I have one correction, and a few additions, thanks to all of you in the comment section.
First, the correction: As a few of you pointed out, 477 + 13 is decidedly not 500 doubles. Paul Goldschmidt would, in fact, need 23 doubles to cross that milestone.
Now the updates:
When I was looking at Starling Marte’s unique position in the sport — he’s the active leader in a few categories in which he doesn’t crack the top 100 all-time — I was only looking at batting categories. David D. tipped me off to another one: outfield assists. Marte is the active leader with 107, good only for a tie for 265th all-time (well behind record-holder Tris Speaker at 449).
And yes, it’s active leader for Marte; he
signed with the Royals on Saturday.
“Surface T.” pointed out that Walter Johnson’s strikeout record wasn’t the only record to be later revised. When Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb’s hit record on Sept. 11, 1985 in San Diego, he was actually breaking his own record. Cobb’s total was found to be erroneously inflated by two, so Rose would have broken the record three days earlier, at Wrigley Field. Cory Ritterbusch at SABR has the
fascinating story of that game, which ended in a tie while then-Reds owner Marge Schott was frantically phoning the stadium, attempting to get Rose to take himself out of the game (she wanted the record to be broken in Cincinnati, to sell more tickets).
And lastly, while I mentioned that eight hitters are nearing 300 home runs this year, “Anonymous U.” brought up a valid point: Goldschmidt isn’t the only hitter approaching 400. Manny Machado is at 369, Aaron Judge at 368, Freddie Freeman at 367 and Bryce Harper at 363. If I had to guess, I’d say Judge gets it in 2026, Goldschmidt might never, and the other three do it … whenever it is that baseball returns in 2027.
Handshakes and High Fives
Jayson Stark has a brilliant one this week, starting with the Blue Jays’ soul-crushing Game 7 loss in the World Series, and asking: Can they crest the summit this year?
Fully healthy again, Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (age 33) says he expects to be back in MVP form.
Orioles minor-leaguer Vance Honeycutt has hit five home runs in 425 minor-league at-bats. This spring, he has three — in three at-bats.
I’m not saying the letter by Max Scherzer’s daughter is the reason he’s back in Toronto, but it’s still adorable.
In 2022, Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins was the NL Cy Young winner. Then came Tommy John surgery. What does his future hold?
The Dodgers may have built a baseball Death Star, but — given the slew of pitching injuries last year — they’re being delicate with their unique rotation.
Taking a break from everyone-on-the-Twins-is-injured news to tell you about three outfield prospects that could be in Minneapolis soon.
Jose Lima was one of baseball’s true characters. He also had a unique perspective on failure, says Jayson Jenks.
When Astros prospects need a spring training haircut, they need look no further than … the team’s No. 2 position-player prospect?
Eno Sarris dug into the numbers to find the breakout pitchers of 2026.
Do you have $12 million and a deep desire to live in Stillwater, Okla.? Matt Holliday’s place — replete with a baseball field, of course — is for sale.
Bruce Froemming, an enduring umpire with decades of colorful confrontations, died last week. He was 86.
Most-clicked in our last newsletter: You were as curious as the rest of us about the Braves’ financial books.
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