The Chalk Talk with Dan and the Dawg

Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins acknowledges the crowd after his record breaking home run. This past Sunday, Phillies rookie wunderkind Rhys Hoskins hit his record breaking eleventh home run in just eighteen career games. It was the young slugger's fifth straight game with a home run and it served as an insurance run in the Phillies' eventual 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Since his promotion to the major league club, Hoskins has hit posted a .297 batting average, 11 home runs, and 24 RBI. In the history of major league baseball, no player has reached eleven home runs in a shorter amount of time. While Aaron Judge may have been the talk of baseball prior to the All-Star break, it is hard to argue that there is a bigger story in all of baseball over the past few weeks than Rhys Hoskins. In breaking down Hoskins' performance, a few particular stats leap out that lend me to believe that he will not be a flash in the pan. Obviously, power is a big part of Hoskins'...

Custom jerseys featuring player nicknames will be worn throughout the weekend. Starting today and running throughout the weekend, major league ball players will be wearing alternate uniforms seemingly inspired by those worn by little leaguers all across the county. In addition to the vibrant new designs, the jerseys won't bear the player's surnames on their backs, but rather individual nicknames, a proverbial tip of the cap to their adoring fans. While it may be a year too late for fans at Fenway Park to witness the heroics of "Big Papi" (David Ortiz), fans in Baltimore can expect to witness to the defensive wizardry of "Mr. Miami" (third baseman Manny Machado) while fans in New York can rise up for rookie phenom Aaron Judge, whose jersey will sport the fitting nickname "All Rise". As exciting as the event will be for fans, players are also probably ecstatic at the prospect of breaking out custom made batting gloves, cleats, bats, wristbands, ...

Gio Gonzalez owns a 12-5 record with a 2.39 ERA for the 2017 season. On August 20th, Washington Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez notched his twelfth win of the year in the Nationals 4-1 victory over the San Diego Padres. While the overall stat line was fairly typical for the left handed starter this season: 6.1 innings pitched, 1 run allowed (unearned), 8 strikeouts vs. 1 walk, 121 total pitches (74 for strikes), Sunday's game marked the twenty-first outing of the season in which Gio had pitched at least six innings. It's a feat that Gonzalez only managed to accomplish eighteen times a year ago. Indeed, the lefty starter is in the midst of one of his best seasons to date as he currently owns a 12-5 record with a 2.39 ERA which ranks third in all of baseball. Gio's accomplishments thus far in the 2017 season are especially surprising given his performance during the 2016 season and an off-season in which many National's fans were clamoring for the front office to trad...

This is part one of what I hope to make a weekly series which I would like to call "A Flash in the Pan." The focus will be on major league pitchers and position players who burst onto the scene and left a lasting impression before fading into obscurity almost as quickly as they appeared. The focus of this week's article will be on former Detroit relief pitcher Joel Zumaya. The setting was Game 2 of the 2006 American League Divisional Series between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees. After a wild top half of the seventh inning that saw Tiger's center fielder Curtis Granderson smack a go-ahead RBI triple into the left-center gap, Detroit manager Jim Leyland faced the unenviable position of deciding how to best attack the heart of the vaunted Yankees lineup. The 2006 Yankees were truly a nightmare to face for opposing pitchers with their combination of power, speed, and discipline (they finished ranked fifth in home runs, third in stolen bases, and third i...