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Clint...now that was level 11 apex Axe-scented bruhiness.
He's Dr. Clint Khoury now.
Psychiatrist?
Chanukah is the celebration of an extraordinary eight-day streak. As the story goes, the Jewish people had only enough oil to light the menorah at the Temple in Jerusalem for one day, but somehow it continued burning for eight days and eight nights. As baseball fans, we can surely relate to such a tale; the numbers 56 and 2,632 are sacred, and DiMaggio and Ripken are practically gods. It sounds so simple, but there really is a miraculous quality to things that last so much longer than we expect them to....From April 30 to May 6, Franco grounded into a double play in six straight games. It was the longest GIDP streak of the season and of his career. But it was a whole lot more than that, too. No other player has even had a five-game GIDP streak since A.J. Pierzynski and Casey McGehee in 2015. Over one million batters have stepped to the plate since then, and those batters have grounded into nearly 25,000 double plays, but Franco’s streak stands alone.To find another six-game GIDP streak, you have to go all the way back to 1998, when White Sox first baseman Greg Norton grounded into a double play in six straight games from September 12 to 20. It should be noted, however, that this streak was interrupted by a game on September 14 in which he walked in his only plate appearance. Technically, this didn’t end the streak, because he didn’t receive a legitimate chance to extend it. Even so, it’s fair to say Norton’s streak wasn’t quite as pure as Franco’s, which took place over six straight Nationals games.Before Norton, the last player with a six-game GIDP streak was Sid Gordon of the New York Giants, who accomplished the feat from July 4 to 11, 1943. However, like Norton, his streak was also interrupted by a game in which he appeared but did not get the chance to bat; he was in the starting lineup on July 10 but was removed in the middle of the first inning after making a costly error at third base. And prior to Gordon? No one. Franco, Norton, and Gordon are the only players (on record) to ground into a double play in six straight games. No hitter has ever done so in seven straight, at least since the mid-1930s. (Partial GIDP data at FanGraphs and Baseball Reference goes back to 1933, and we have access to complete GIDP data from 1939 onwards.)...On top of that, Franco also came ridiculously close to an eight-game GDP streak, which would have been even more appropriate for this Chanukah post. He grounded into a double play in every game from April 30 to May 6 and also grounded into a double play on May 8. Had he done so on May 7, the streak would have reached eight games — and he almost did!
2022 will be "The Meneses Year" the way that 2021 was "The Lane Thomas Year" - choose to remember this seasons by the one guy who had a bizarre one-off breakthrough season, not by the rest.
2019 was Juan Soto year? I guess he splashed a bit in '18.
Howie Kendrick year.
I'd like to see Howie on the Nats coaching staff and eventually become their manager.
And this thread is about mystery and negative nostalgia. I'm nostalgic for the days of overpriced mercenary closers blowing leads. Now there aren't even leads to blow.
