The Nationals family lost one of its own this week. Davey Lopes, a speedy four-time All-Star who won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1981, died Wednesday at the age of 80 after dealing with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. His last assignment was coaching first base alongside fellow Dodgers stalwart Dusty Baker with the 2016-17 Nationals, who won consecutive division titles. The Nats Lady swarm sends condolences to the Lopes’ family.
The team as a day off from play today and is traveling to Milwaukee for a series with the Brew Crew. Hope the players take the time for reflection and physical and mental recovery. I have been reflecting on what the team means to me.
After a World Series victory followed a 19-31 start in 2019, I was a believer in Davey Martinez’ statement that “bumpy roads lead to beautiful places.” I also loved Paul Toboni’s statement that the Nationals will be the envy of sports so much that I include it at the end of each of my posts this year.
Well, the roads have been quite bumpy to start this season and I think it is pretty safe to say that no MLB club envies us right now. I can be patient, though.
We have 5 players in the top 100 MLB prospects (for you non-math majors, that’s a bit higher than would be expected if the prospects were evenly distributed among the 30 teams). Two are pitchers, Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana, both of whom I have seen throw flames in West Palm. A third is Harry Ford, one of the cutest catchers I have seen in a long time and who will soon (I hope) solve the Ruiz/Millas/Abrams dilemma. The other two are the infield phenoms Eli Willits and Gavin Fien, who are 18 and 19, respectively. We need to be patient but relief (pun intended) is coming.
Also, we need to be patient with the individual development plans of our existing 26-man squad.
Let’s talk about exit velocity, which is getting attention this week in DC as James Wood’s power heats up. The above photo is from last year. Maybe his current, shorter ‘do is helping him hit the ball harder. On Wednesday last week, Wood smacked his sixth career batted ball of at least 116 miles per hour. Bryce Harper and Juan Soto each only had two in a Nationals uniform.
Statcast started tracking exit velocity in 2015 and MLB defines anything with an exit velocity above 95 MPH as a “hard-hit ball.” Both pitch speed and bad speed contribute to exit velocity but how fast you swing the bat matters more. “Squared-up rate” also matters. The highest exit velocities happen when a fast swing meets a pitch squarely on the bat barrel’s center of percussion, transferring energy efficiently.
Training for improved exit velocity typically targets core strength, rotational power, grip strength, and overall explosiveness. Higher exit velocity means the ball travels farther and reaches fielders faster, which leaves less time for defensive plays. Kudos to James Wood for improving his game by focusing on exit velocity.
Saying sayonara to Japan and heading to Indonesia.
Let’s be the envy of sports!
#thenatslady #theswarm
Leave a Reply