This MLB Slugger Was Ahead Of His Time

[@jr637-1]

"Daniel Murphy became a contact god in 2015 and 2016 but he was by no means a natural second baseman." Oh trust me Olive, as a Royals fan, I remember.

[@BrianRMeo]

As a Mets fan it would of been fine if his bat stayed hot like it was in the NLCS lol

[@cesarlpz91]

Murphy killed the Dodgers. Him and Beltran would put fear in me when the dodgers would play them. Especially in October.

[@alexbenton6306]

Fellow royals fan here. Wonderful memories 🥰

[@Killahb1036]

I remember how cocky my teacher was because she was a mets fan. It was hilarious watching that series and trolling her

[@paulkeith38]

You have no idea how much this means to pirates fans. Need a vid on Garrett jones next

[@threatassessment606]

Who?

[@HutchIsOnYT]

This is so weird. I was literally telling my dad how Pedro would’ve had a much different career with us if he were 10 years younger. He was born for the DH. Unfortunately it was too late when he got to BAL. However, now that I remember, he had some sick plays at 3rd. His cannon was sometimes horribly inaccurate, but when he was on, he was on defensively.

[@demonkingbadger6689]

Pirates should have at least tried him in RF a bit, i doubt it would have worked, but, better than 3B/1b

[@russs7574]

Horribly inaccurate? When Pedro was at 3B, the Pirates should have handed out batting helmets to the people in the first base boxes.

[@brendanables7367]

His flashback card in the Show 17 was OP as fuck. I remember hitting 500 ft bombs with him at Coors

[@craigborth8047]

Classic

[@ecidadeII]

No joke: I’m currently playing as a Pirates franchise in The Show 17. I love this game!

[@andrewbloom7694]

He absolutely had the power to do it, I believe his career longest (non-coors) HR was significantly longer than some of the guys who hit 500+ in the derby. I

[@joeyolberding]

Pedro Alvarez used to be one of my favorite players, even tho I'm a Reds fan. Glad you're making videos about some of these more obscure, but still very noteworthy players!

[@jeremyhart3184]

Loved the video, Jolly, he brings me nostalgia for those Pirates Wild Card teams that only Cutch tops. Didn't realized how many walks he took either, and glad he's still involved with the game.

[@1cryogen]

Watching Cutch turn on the afterburners to go for a triple was a thing of beauty.

[@1cryogen]

I remember Alvarez being decent in the field, sometimes making outstanding plays. Then one day he lost his arm and started airmailing throws over first base. This never improved. When he hit the ball solid it was beautiful. Towering shots. I remember listening to a game on the radio his rookie year, Pedro won a late summer game with a home run in the bottom of the ninth. Steve Blass almost broke into tears. We'd been so bad for so long and here was a glimmer of hope. Neil Walker also came up that year if I'm not mistaken, and Cutch was at his best. Alvarez could never consistently hit left handed pitching, particularly breaking stuff. I think this got into his head and he often just looked hopeless up there, defeated before the at bat even started. Every time the Pirates tried to slot him into the cleanup spot, he slumped. This might sound strange, but I often thought that it looked like he didn't actually enjoy playing baseball. I never thought he was dogging it or wasn't trying, just that he wasn't having fun.

[@jemiller226]

Pedro's woes on defense were Steve Sax level of yips. He was "okay" when he first got to Pittsburgh but something broke in his head and everything fell apart for him after that.

[@russs7574]

No, Justin, it was worse than that. Pedro contracted a third baseman's case of "Steve Blass Disease." What's funny is that when he came up, he had a great arm. He made some fantastic throws. His problem early on was he couldn't field worth a f***. I mean (and this will only resonate with people of a certain age), he made Richie Hebner look like Brooks Robinson. Then he worked on his fielding during one off season, and that next year, he was getting to, and fielding balls all over the place, but his accuracy deserted him. It's doubly sad because I had occasion to meet Pedro a couple times, and he seemed like a really good guy.

[@jemiller226]

@@russs7574 Yep, I've got nothing against him at all. I just wish I got to root for him longer since he definitely had a bat for the ages.

[@dawg6556]

another masterpiece by mr. jack. bow down to the jolly olive, mortals

[@collinkelly2420]

Good to see the Big Bull getting some love. Yeah, he was frequently frustrating to watch at 3rd, but his bat was so fun

[@risboturbide9396]

Thank you! I was glad he had one last stint in the Majors, with Baltimore. Great video!

[@isitsustainable820]

Great analysis.

[@theguyman21]

Was my favorite player at one point. Incredible power he had.

[@whoishec7615]

He’s a uptown legend and has a huge huge heart 💪🏽🙏🏽

[@shills2634]

As a Pirates fan, I really miss Pedro and wish we could’ve seen a longer career for him. Also, one of the coolest/funniest things about him was some years he played insanely better in day games as opposed to night, so much so many of us fans in Pittsburgh nicknamed him “Daydro”. It was mostly from that 2012 year, but his 2015 was pretty drastic too. 2012 Night: 385 PA, 12 HR .221/.294/.376, .670 OPS 2012 Day: 201 PA, 18 HR, .288/.363/.644, 1.007 OPS 2015 Night: 356 PA, 14 HR .225/.292/.400, .692 OPS 2015 Day: 135 PA, 13 HR, .291/.384/.658, 1.043 OPS Ironically, his best year in 2013 was flipped, although the difference between day/night was far less steep. Same for 2014. But across his career, he had a .738 OPS in night games, and a .799 OPS in day games. Definitely one of the weirder phenomenons I’ve ever seen for that type of split. I also think he might have fared better just from playing in this era just because those 2012-15 years were like mini dead ball years, or at least with how the NL played those years.He led the NL in 2013 with 36 HR, tied with Golschmidt, and was at the top in the other years when NL leaders barely eclipsed 40 HR, if at all. Definitely think him getting full DH reps with todays baseball would have led to some crazy 40+ HR seasons from Pedro. And hell, with so many doubleheaders from the lockout he’d probably be pushing the HR record with how many day games he’d be playing in. Anyways, great video as always, and glad to see some of the Pirates from my favorite teams get some props.

[@alexyerkey3141]

Pedro had an absolute cannon at third but accuracy was always a problem. But I was a huge fan of his during those good pirates years

[@CharmCityGamer]

Ah Pedro. Enjoyed his brief Orioles run! Thanks Jolly!

[@SchroederN8]

You should do a story on Jeff Francour. Big hype, started off unworldly, flamed out, but still had a long career.

[@Elnenefumakripy]

He was a great defensive player had a cannon for an arm

[@justinalley3399]

Jeff Francour was never the same after he went too the mets Jerry Manuel who was manager at the time made play with a partially torn labrum which ruined his career

[@damiansamuels367]

Love the stuff on these early 2000s/early 2010/s players lol brings back so many Memories watching baseball

[@JDSPORTS1234]

I remember this dude when I went to a 2013 NLDS game cards won but dude was a BEAST

[@cartierhendrix]

One of the first shirts I ever got was a Perdo Alvarez shirt. Loved the dude

[@ecidadeII]

Hey JO: thanks for making some Pirates content! This Pittsburgher is always proud of our franchise!!

[@ThankYouBroSports]

Love these videos cause they recognize greatness that was never truly appreciated. Great stuff!

[@bobbylew81]

This was a video I didn't even know I needed, thank you.

[@GroovyBabyYeah]

I remember when my Orioles signed him. Was hoping we would get lucky with another slugger

[@grant5122]

if you look at the current day pirates, daniel vogelbach puts up very similar numbers to pedros. high strikeout and walks and huge power and they are able to get value out of him because of the DH

[@thedark1owns]

Ah, one of my favorite players from the Pirates few golden years. Breaking balls were his nemesis, but he would wreck fastballs. I still don't regret getting his jersey.

[@blackandyellow87]

As a pirates fan all I remember was holding my breath at every hit down the 3rd base line. Alverez would just air mail the ball into the stands

[@CC-rb1yf]

I sat near the opposing team's dugout at PNC park with Pedro playing first and he had at least one error but he bobbled the ball at least 3 other times such as when catching the ball from fielder or getting the grounder- still got outs but closer than it should've been. And once pitcher had to make great catch from his poor throw and once a ball got past him that a better fielder would've got. Getting walks helped make up for Ks but yea just being a DH would've been good

[@mikejanacone8328]

As a Big Pittsburgh pirate fan Well the video I probably told you this in the past you should do a Brian Giles video how criminally underrated was During his prime of the late 90s to Late 2000s he was arguably one of the top 10 players in the game He should be a Hall of Famer the reason why he not He got a late start to his career in Cleveland had his ultimate prime in Pittsburgh during The 20 year losing stretch and got traded to one of the worst hitters Ball parks in San Diego to finish out his career

[@joshuapatrick682]

Howie Kendrick is another one who was not a good infielder but could reliably hit the ball.

[@allbrosdjay]

Howie kendrick was an average infielder. he wasn't great, but he wasn't bad.

[@jsebby2284]

Great video. He was always disrespected too much by Pirates fans

[@wwpjd28]

As a Vandy guy myself, I was a big fan of Pedro. His skill set would've fit in so much better with the league's trends even if he started 5 years later. And if he was coming up today, I think he pretty easily could've been a top 5 DH. Crazy looking at his Statcast numbers and seeing how far ahead of the league he was in hard hit, barrel and EV numbers. He would've had a much longer and more productive career. Still got 100 bombs in the Show, a pretty impressive accomplishment. But definitely could've been better appreciated in the current era of the game with all the peripherals we value highly now.

[@TheTEN24]

Interesting video, I think you’re right his style of hitter was a bit before it was “in style”

[@jrod2725]

That’s my guy!! Inwood,nyc Dyckman

[@zachsalvatore5175]

EL TORO!!!! Loved this dude!!!

[@TheRandalHandle]

Can you do a breakdown video of players with huge gaps between OBP and BA? I've always found it interesting

[@jessehammer123]

Isn’t that basically just guys who walk a lot?

[@TheRandalHandle]

@@jessehammer123 Yes and no. If a guy can't hit well, as shown by a low BA, why are they drawing walks? Just throw strikes and get them out because apparently they have trouble hitting. There are other parts to the numbers too, like BABIP and hard hit rate.

[@gdoug5997]

Do a story on Allen Craig

[@Precomo97]

Please Jolly

[@gdoug5997]

@@Precomo97 it’d be really cool if he could he has a interesting story

[@Precomo97]

@@gdoug5997 agreed! Go Cardinals 😊

[@kam99_]

Mott Hall represent, he went to my middle school in harlem!

[@BaseballisEverything]

As a Pirates fan watching Pedro Alvarez field was just depressing!

[@shadowlazers]

Not only the designated hitter but Pedro with a benefited from no stacking the infield

[@ddsmagic2806]

Pedro Alvarez was my favorite back then

[@joshuashoup4261]

There's an important fact about Pedro that is easily missed that helps explain his woes imo. When the Pirates originally drafted Pedro, Scott Boras wanted a whopping 7 million from the Pirates. The negotiations were brutal, although Pedro ended up signing 45 minutes AFTER the deadline to sign. As a compromise/punishment, Pedro's control clock started then, before he was even in the majors. Needless to say, this now heavily incentivized the Pirates to rush him through the minors and get that value out of his contract. I really wonder if a more properly developed Pedro Alvarez does better in the majors. This was also the start of a long rift between the Pirates and Boras. Huntington really refused any Boras players for awhile.

[@1cryogen]

If he had developed into the superstar we hoped for, Pittsburgh wouldn't have re-signed him anyway. This was rarely mentioned, but everyone in sports media knew it was the truth.

[@joshuashoup4261]

@@1cryogen why does that matter

[@1cryogen]

@@joshuashoup4261 It really doesn't, you're right. I was just remembering what it was like dealing with a Boras client back in the day.

[@mannythedaddy]

I played in VanCourtlandt wit PA.

[@jimc.goodfellas]

Man he was fun to watch in his heyday

[@jaeomega]

I remember as a kid our dad's used to take us to the park together to play

[@andy7376]

I miss him

[@thisisjohnboarman]

the guy was streaky.

[@ItsNiiko]

Jolly 😎

[@gabemendoza1052]

What I remember about El Toro is this: He couldn't hit for average, at all. It was all or nothing with him at the plate.

[@DublinSeafoodInc]

great video

[@AdamFerrari64]

He reminds me of Yordan Alvarez the way he swings and has power…

[@claytontrieble2210]

el toro was a big part of out wildcard runs

[@Nyyanks28]

Do one on Jack Cust similar player lots of homers, most strike outs in a season at one point

[@chengliu872]

If Alvarez was such a great hitter, why didn't an AL team pick him up?

[@dogpd3]

Because the analytics of the exit velocity and launch angle were fairly new when he quit baseball

[@jackgreco2864]

This guy was so fun to watch he hit bombs

[@bakerking5351]

The Bull. Pedro one of my favorite Pirates ever

[@shadowlazers]

It was frustrating as a pirate's fan watching the infield shift that ruined Pedro as much as anything and also he was really really really really really really really really really really really really really bad against left-handed pitching

[@LIKEandLOL]

How does he get all this footage? I sometimes try to watch full games off of youtube but there aren't many depending on the year your looking for.

[@chriscampbell3417]

As a Cardinals fan. I dreaded this guy! It seemed like he was always punching the Cardinals. I remember sitting back like “Stop pitching too him”. 🤣

[@1cryogen]

Bah, you had Carpenter. .260 lifetime but was unstoppable against the Pirates. Put him on first, 4 pitches later he's on third. He killed us for years....

[@YoureNotReet]

Joey Gallo has Pedro’s poster on his bedroom wall

[@yoboymeatloaf39]

I miss that Pirate team lol

[@kelvinhenriquez1019]

Adam Dunn was a beast during his years. Imagine if he was playing now

[@reggieledeux8591]

How did this video never once say the word “yips”, either way, I greatly enjoyed it

[@adamlauer1096]

I love me some Pedro

[@youngsatch]

Now I need a story on Buster Posey

[@davidkurvach3993]

He is the person who changed my opinion of the DH. To date, he is the only bucco to lead the national league in home runs in my lifetime. And I’m almost fifty.

[@grantwheeler5034]

Was Stargell alive in your lifetime

[@1cryogen]

​@@grantwheeler5034 You're not wrong, but if you're "almost 50" you were in kindergarten or younger for Stargell's best years.

[@davidkurvach3993]

@@grantwheeler5034 Stargell led in 1971 and 1973 but retired a few months before I was born. I also remember Barry Binds and Fred McGriff going head to head for the NL home run title in 1992 with McGriff edging out Bonds by one. Unless Brian Giles was in the picture (I know he wasn’t in 2001), 1992 was the closest to a home run title in my lifetime until Pedro came along.

[@davidkurvach3993]

@@1cryogen I was born in late 1982 just after Stargell retired. Only time I saw him in the field at Three Rivers was as a coach with the Atlanta Braves.

[@sowhat184]

Is it incorrect to use IL when it was the DL at the time?

[@TXS81]

as a rockies fan even the mention of mark renyolds, daniel murphy, and ian desmond pains me

[@sah4128]

YOU BIG BULL!!!

[@Shaneo206]

I think orioles should of used him as a dh and wasted that signing as a pirates fan most of us think would of been great at dh

[@con__nor__]

never seen someone so hated and loved at the same time by a fan base 😂

[@russs7574]

Marc-Andre Fleury was the same way. Even though he was the best goalie in Pens history not named Tom Barrasso, there were so many people in town that loathed him.

[@1cryogen]

I think hated is the wrong word. The media talked him up like he was the second coming of Mike Schmidt and Pittsburgh was starved for a real cleanup hitter. Pedro showed glimpses of greatness but left us waiting for the breakthrough that never came. I hate Bob Nutting, but I was disappointed in Alvarez. But there's no hate there. I was always rooting for him. Had Alvarez turned into a true superstar, Bargain Bob Nutting wouldn't have written the check anyway, so maybe it's all for the best.

[@l.rongardner2150]

Mike "I Can No Longer Hit High Heat" Trout must be now be striking out at a greater than 30% rate. I watch Angels' highlights every night, and it's painful to watch his K's piling up at a near astronomical rate.

[@Allienator]

Chris Cook too

[@kristennoll4475]

kinda like what Jose miranda did in his first few years

[@ong9855]

pedro walked so yordan could run

[@SgtHolton]

Look, I know you want to talk him up cause Pedro Alvarez was a fun player for fun teams, but I think you're arguing from a false premise here. What makes all the hitters (except Perez) better than Alvarez is that all those hitters got on base at least 35% of the time. It's also just strange to posit that striking out a lot is a good thing, everybody knows it's not. At best it's value-neutral because it's just another kind of out, but it's still an out, and outs where you never give yourself a chance to get a hit are marginally worse.

[@sturg1dj]

yeah, this. I feel like I am losing my mind sometimes with some of his videos. Alvarez had a .310 OBP. And its not like he played in a bygone era. Wait until he finds out about Adam Dunn, Mark Reynolds, or even Rob Deer.

[@sturg1dj]

In what world did he draw plenty of walks? he had a career .310 OBP. He had a 5 WAR in 9 seasons. Maybe go back a few more years and look at someone like Rob Deer?

[@PaulieWalnuts1776]

Loved this guy. If he stayed in the league he could’ve easily hit 400 career HRs. It was also frustrating at times to watch him whiff and commit errors but now that’s considered worthy of being MVP

[@veno2029]

Pedro Alvarez W

[@austintomlinson7863]

I feel like this video was also an (acceptably subtle) argument affirming MLB's decision to have a Universal DH, and I would like to address this aspect. I personally feel like the Universal DH was a mistake, sacrificing enjoyment of the game (for patrons and players) for efficiency. The non-universal DH allowed the excitement of when the pitcher DOES come in the clutch, it created a tangable difference between the leagues, and it still created a home for the pitchers that won't hit and the hitters that can't field. I don't feel like Alverez's carrer is an acceptable case-study in favor of the DH either, as it isn't a tragedy the UDH wasn't implemented yet, it was a tragedy no American League team saw his potential in the DH role enough to trade for him. I think it's a tragedy that, in the wake of Ohtani, as we see teams experiment with the Two-Way Player, we dump pitchers hitting.

[@demonkingbadger6689]

Ohtani alone isnt worth keeping pitchers hitting, especially given they gave him a specific exception.

[@austintomlinson7863]

@@demonkingbadger6689 I am talking about the players, such as Brendan McKay, who, because of Ohtani, were given a more viable opportunity to try to become a two-way player. Although Ohtani is currently the most interesting benifactor of the lack of National League DH, I was--again--mostly refering to all the Two-Way experiments Ohtani caused.

[@demonkingbadger6689]

@@austintomlinson7863 just that the players who can actually do that for any length of time turn up once a century. Even Babe Ruth only did both for a couple years.

[@austintomlinson7863]

@@demonkingbadger6689 I'm was just saying (with the last statement) that it's unfortunate that the time in which most clubs started making a concerted effort to develop Two-Way players coincided with the removal of the rule (non-DH baseball) that takes the most advantage of their abilities. This is really not the part of the argument I want to focus on...

[@KazeShikamaru]

Need to still know how to play defense still. Look at Tim Anderson we could make the same argument for him. You can't hide everyone at DH.

[@Morozi2]

I mean If he went to the red sox he could’ve been a DH so he jinxed him self with a higher pick

[@odieonekaraoke]

He was God Awful defensively at 3rd but this video has me at a crossroads especially with the way they are using Vogelbach as DH. How many more games would they had won if El Toro was DH? Hugely less errors and it would have probably been mentally better for him at the plate. The one thing that pissed me off more than anything is cheapass Nutting not ponying up the money to get El Toro another legitimate offensive power bat. I just think of all those solo shots he hit because it seem like no one was ever hardly on base in front of him

[@ezraquinnjames5295]

ZOLTAN!!

[@chezgod3166]

Here within 5 minutes club?

[@Parlimant_Strifey]

if he makes it 10 years older, he'd have no MLB career at all. I rather he be playing MLB in his prime.

[@azcardguy7825]

How does manscaped help with my bushes?

[@randynunez2666]

So, can we expect a Pedro Alvarez comeback? No.

[@ezrarichardson6235]

Save your designated hitting for your silly AL baseball *eye roll*

[@DRay210]

El Toro

[@rogertayloRRR]

Womder what hes doingnow

[@Scheboygan8767]

Pitchers hitting is stupid, position players don’t practice pitching. So why should pitchers practice hitting. It’s dumb glad it’s gone

[@jdtyler7]

"production of high homerun, high striekout totals is more appreciated"... Uhhh, I'd say more tolerated. I still don't think that's what any managers and GMs want theri players to be, they just are more accepting if that's the case. I would also argue that most fans, or at least the fans that live in my town and talk about baseball, don't appreciate this type of player at all. More of an eye roll response.

[@Muss67]

Was never a fan of Pedro, DH or not dude had zero plate vision. The amount of time that dude struck out swinging in the dirt was a joke. When one of, if not the worst, franchises in baseball doesn’t want you that’s saying something.

[@joshuashoup4261]

The Pirates were definitely not the worst franchise when they still had Pedro around.

[@M98-j9k]

He's just another what if from a garbage organization

[@peterharris6409]

Jolly dude you immediately say Reynolds wasn’t exactly a good third baseman and you have a clip playing showing him make a bad throw from First. Dude. That’s just lazy. It would’ve taken the same effort to just have the clip play and back up what you’re talking about. Dude I’m chill love ya but dude. That’s editing 101