January 24, 2021
Mitch Keller has only thrown 69-and-a-third big-league innings, and he’s already had a remarkable career. The baseball gods are a big reason why. In his 2019 rookie season, the now-24-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander had a 7.13 ERA to go with a 3.19 FIP, and this past season he had a 2.91 ERA to go with a 6.75 FIP.
Hello, BABIP.
In an almost-inexplicable quirk of fate, Keller followed up a .475 BABIP the highest one-season mark in MLB history with a .104 BABIP in 2020. No pitcher who threw 20-or-more innings in last year’s pandemic-truncated campaign had a smaller percentage of balls put in play against him fall safely to the turf. This happened with an average exit velocity of 88.5 mph, which was higher than the 87.6 he’d allowed in 2019.
Royals Rumblings - News for January 22, 2021
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Not Royals news but definitely Kansas City baseball news.
Remember how the T-Bones stopped paying their bills and went bankrupt? They got bought up and now they’re partnering with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to become. the Kansas City Monarchs (story: Bill Ladson at MLB.com)
The club was looking for a name change for several months and worked with longtime fans, brand agencies and league officials to help come up with a new name. Monarchs quickly emerged as the favorite and most inspiring option. The NLBM and Brandmeyer’s MaxFun Entertainment, LLC, have signed a long-term licensing agreement that will allow for use of the Monarchs name.
Kansas City T-Bones renamed Monarchs in move to honor Negro League team
KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Kansas City T-Bones of the independent American Association are being renamed the Kansas City Monarchs after the team that played in the Negro Leagues.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum signed a licensing agreement with Mark Brandmeyer s MaxFun Entertainment, owner of the minor league team.
The original Monarchs were founded in 1920 and won the first Negro League World Series in 1924. The team played in the Negro National League from 1920 to 1931 and the Negro American League from 1937 to 1961, with independent stints from 1932 to 1936 and 1962 to 1965.
Kansas City T-Bones are now the Monarchs missourinet.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from missourinet.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“This exciting partnership celebrates Kansas City’s rich baseball heritage and becomes an important extension of the work we’re doing to educate the public about the history of the Negro Leagues,” Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Bob Kendrick said in a statement Thursday.
“We are thrilled that the proud legacy of the great Kansas City Monarchs will take the field again and look forward to sharing our story through a myriad of opportunities made possible through this historic alliance.”
A museum satellite exhibit is planned to travel with the team, which intends to establish a Monarchs youth academy for baseball and softball.