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One of the constants of this season, besides the Angels losing, is manager Joe Maddon heaping praise on David Fletcher, who has played well at three defensive positions in the infield and been an anchor atop the lineup.
“David is a man for all seasons, a mind for all ages,” Maddon said after Friday’s game. “He’s just different.”
One of Fletcher’s three hits was a double in the fifth inning was certainly different, in that he hit a pitch up around his eyes.
Every pitch is the ideal pitch for David Fletcher. pic.twitter.com/OEdImlASl6
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 22, 2020
“Ideally I’d like to not swing at that pitch, but he kind of had me a little rushed up there,” Fletcher explained. “I just saw it and and kind of reacted, and luckily I was able to get the barrel to it.”
Sarah Langs of MLB.com provided some context on how rare that hit was:
4.74 ft off the ground!!!
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 22, 2020
That's tied for the highest pitch off the ground hit for a base hit in MLB this year.
It's also BY FAR the highest pitch Fletcher has hit for a base hit in his career. https://t.co/ziw8xwfaSR
Here was Mike Fiers, who allowed the hit;
Fiers on the Fletcher double on a pitch at his eyes: "I’m not surprised. This guy - I don’t know what he did, what he does in the offseason, but it’s working. The guy puts the barrel on the ball. Very tough out. He’s an all around great baseball player." #Athletics
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) August 22, 2020
Links & notes
- Kyle Glaser at Baseball America covered in great detail all the uncertainty surrounding this year’s trade deadline, now just nine days away.
- Mike Trout was ranked as having the fourth-most trade value in MLB by FanGraphs.
- Here is the MLB standings page, which shows the Angels having the second-worst record in baseball. In case you were wondering, the MLB Draft order is determined by inverse order of previous year’s record, in case you wanted something to track over the next five weeks.
- The entirety of the Mets-Yankees series this weekend was postponed by MLB on Friday to allow for more contact tracing after two positive COVID-19 tests on the Mets.