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Opening Day in baseball brings with it a fresh season of hope, excitement and, of course, wild overreactions.
On the latest episode of “Baseball Bar-B-Cast,” hosts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman dive into a couple of their nuclear overreactions from the first slate of games on Thursday.
1. MacKenzie Gore will win NL Cy Young, Phillies will set strikeout record
In the clash between the Nationals and Phillies on Thursday, Washington starter MacKenzie Gore was nothing short of electric, recording 13 strikeouts in six scoreless innings. Unfortunately for Gore, once he was out of the game, the Phillies quickly took the lead en route to a 7-3 victory.
Gore’s dominant performance Thursday inspired two bold declarations from Shusterman.
“Not only will MacKenzie Gore win the NL Cy Young unanimously, [but] I think the Philadelphia Phillies will strike out more than any team in Major League Baseball history,” he forecast. “They’re on pace for over 3,000 strikeouts after striking out 19 times in the opener.”
The record, in case you’re wondering, is 1,654 strikeouts in a season, set by the 2023 Minnesota Twins.
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2. Adley Rutschman’s MVP season begins
In the Orioles’ emphatic 12-2 victory over the Blue Jays, catcher Adley Rutschman looked every bit the superstar many believe he can be. With two home runs showcasing his explosive power, the Orioles’ catcher might even be sparking some way-too-early MVP chatter.
For Mintz, Rutschman’s performance brought back memories of the catcher’s college days and reminders of why he was so highly touted coming out of Oregon State.
“It was the way that he moved, the power, the force, the zip, the freaking feeling of that guy,” Mintz said, “and my nuclear overreaction is that that dude is freaking back. Adley Rutschman, MVP season, is upon us.”
Could this really be the start of an MVP campaign? Rutschman’s two home runs Thursday certainly offered a promising start.
“It looked right,” Mintz said. “He looked explosive. He looked athletic. There was verve. The ‘it’ was back.”
In baseball, every game provides a new narrative, but the season is a marathon, not a sprint. As we settle in for the long haul of 162 games, only time will tell whether these early overreactions have a ring of truth.
To listen to the full episode and more, tune in to “Baseball-Bar-B-Cast” on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.
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