Mancini wants to be like Ryan Zimmerman

[DrungoHazewood]

28 minutes ago, Yossarian said:

If he can put up numbers like last year (.291/ 35 HR / 97 RBI), I would think the O's would find a way to keep him around through the rebuild.  I'm a big Mancini fan.  He doesn't draw a lot of attention to himself, but he can hit a baseball.  

I like Mancini, he's a good player.  But he just had a 3-win peak year at age 27 when most players peak, and in a year with juiced baseballs.  It's good they're going year-to-year with him.  

[Frobby]

6 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

That's why people get nostalgic about the pre-free agency days.  There was no discussion of player retention beyond "is he still a positive for the team?"  If yes, then keep him.

But I've long since made peace with the fact that the old setup is both awful for players and never, ever coming back.  While fans loved having Mike Cuellar for eight years on absurdly team-friendly terms, maybe Mike Cuellar would have liked some say in where he played and for how much.  And I don't blame him one bit.

The interests of players and fans are often not aligned.   I think of this all the time in college basketball.    I far preferred it when all the players stayed for 4 years of college.   It made rooting for a team and the players much more fun.   But that was ridiculous to impose on players who were ready for the NBA.    

[DrungoHazewood]

24 minutes ago, Frobby said:

The interests of players and fans are often not aligned.   I think of this all the time in college basketball.    I far preferred it when all the players stayed for 4 years of college.   It made rooting for a team and the players much more fun.   But that was ridiculous to impose on players who were ready for the NBA.    

In the NBA/NFL case it's ridiculous to impose upon the players the requirement to pretend to go to college for a year or two. And in my opinion it's ridiculous to have colleges pretend to educate basketball players and other athletes who are really majoring in a one- or two-year basketball program.

I get why the NBA likes this.  Free minor leagues, and player development risk reduction.  But for colleges, they've strayed far, far from their educational charters by giving free rides to athletes who have no intention of getting a degree unless their athletic careers get derailed.

[ChrisP]

Watch them trade him next week..

[Frobby]

37 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

In the NBA/NFL case it's ridiculous to impose upon the players the requirement to pretend to go to college for a year or two. And in my opinion it's ridiculous to have colleges pretend to educate basketball players and other athletes who are really majoring in a one- or two-year basketball program.

I get why the NBA likes this.  Free minor leagues, and player development risk reduction.  But for colleges, they've strayed far, far from their educational charters by giving free rides to athletes who have no intention of getting a degree unless their athletic careers get derailed.

As a Duke fan, I remember when Coach K refused to hang one of their Final Four banners because two of the seniors didn’t graduate.    Now he’s got like 3-4 players a year going one and done.   I hate it.     I still root for the team but my enjoyment is greatly diminished.    I’m hopeful the NBA will drop the one-year wait requirement soon so that this travesty will be minimized, though not eliminated.   

[wildbillhiccup]

5 hours ago, interloper said:

Lol way to insult everyone on the board. Real classy! Such character on display!

I didn't take it that way. Although I do think there were still probably plenty of self-centered prima donnas in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. It was just much easier to hide it before the advent of social media. 

[tntoriole]

I liked him in the minors, but I went to the game he got his first ML hit, a home run....and this moment just cinched the deal for me.  It may be his alltime Oriole moment with his first hit, no matter how long his career. 

 

 

 

 

[Moose Milligan]

Big fan of his.  I know he's not a great fielder and that's ok.  But I think he's a very solid, professional hitter and a good teammate.  Good character.  Glad to see the Orioles draft and develop a guy like this.

 

[NCRaven]

9 hours ago, Frobby said:

As a Duke fan...

And you seemed like such a decent guy.

[Frobby]

7 hours ago, NCRaven said:

And you seemed like such a decent guy.

At least I actually attended the school, as opposed to just picking a good team to root for.    And they’d actually sucked for years immediately before I arrived (1977).

[bobmc]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

At least I actually attended the school, as opposed to just picking a good team to root for.    And they’d actually sucked for years immediately before I arrived (1977).

Ooooh!  A slap at @Sports Guy?  Just kidding Rob!  

[Frobby]

The more I read about Mancini, the stronger the off-the-field reasons are to keep him.     He loves being here, is willingly taking on a leadership role, seems universally respected and liked by his teammates, and is a cheerleader for what the organization is doing.

And oh yeah, the guy can hit.  

Quote

Trey Mancini provided this endorsement for Elias and Hyde. Both were pretty new to him this time last year.

“It’s amazing what they’ve built in a year,” he said. “You see how many international signings they’ve had this past year. All the infrastructure they’ve built down there. They’ve hired a lot of people. Really gotten the ball rolling from a technology standpoint. I talked to (Ryan) McKenna earlier about what some of the pitchers (at Bowie) had at their disposal, and it all sounded great. So, in a year, they’ve already really accomplished a lot. And there is a ton of talent on the minor league side. Especially, I know Delmarva and Bowie had playoff runs. There are a lot of kids I’m excited to see during spring training.”

Late last year Mancini told us he wants to take on more of a leadership role for the Orioles this year. He said the veterans helped him and now he’s ready to help any player on the roster. And leadership can manifest itself many ways, not just by being vocal.

“You don’t always have to be rah-rah,” he stated. “You can lead by example and do things the right way. That’s what I’ve learned from a lot of guys. They were the same person every day, whether they had a 20-game hitting streak going or they were 0-for-30. They were the same guy and you have to stay even keel. When things are not going well it can be tough to stay positive, but it helps so much if you have a good mindset and stay positive through those times. It helps eliminate a lot of the valleys you might experience.”

O’s third baseman Rio Ruiz talked about the leadership that Mancini can provide.

“I think Trey is the ideal leader,” Ruiz said. “Not only by example and, obviously, the numbers he’s put up throughout his career, but just what he does in that clubhouse. And how tight-knit that clubhouse is because of him. He’s going to be a big part of what this organization does in the future.”

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2020/02/elias-on-hyde-mancini-on-leaderhip-ruiz-on-his-second-half.html

 

 

[Tony-OH]

On 1/17/2020 at 9:42 AM, interloper said:

It's an insult to people's intelligence, and it assumes we have no idea of "how athletes used to be" back then. Which, if the guy got his head out of his nostalgia-clouded bubble and did any research, he'd realize a lot of athletes back then were just as problematic as they can be today, and that there's no evidence to suggest "today's athletes" are worse people. 

No one here is too young to know good character when they see it, or to understand the legacy/traditions of the sport, and to suggest folks wouldn't simply because they are younger is a lazy assumption at best, and insulting at worst. It's also of poor character, which makes his post staggeringly hypocritical. 

Why so combative of late? You are good poster when you stick to baseball. Maybe don't take everything so personal. Personally, I think you took the original post wrong and read it like Frobby read it. Either way, please remember that attacking others is not allowed here at the Hangout. 

[Redskins Rick]

On 1/17/2020 at 9:23 AM, Frobby said:

I guess I’m missing whatever you and Can_of_corn found insulting about this post.    He’s paying a compliment to Mancini and contrasting him with most modern players.   I might not agree fully with that take, but what about it insults everyone on the board?    It’s not directed at other posters at all so far as I can tell, except to say that many posters either don’t remember or are too young to remember that in the past many players had the same attitude as Mancini.     That doesn’t seem to me to be insulting to other posters.

Anyway, back on topic:   I don’t hold it against any player if they don’t prioritize staying with the franchise that drafted and developed them.    After all, it’s not like they had a choice in their selection, and the teams certainly trade or release players without much sentiment all the time.    So, I don’t see it as a character flaw if a player doesn’t prioritize staying.   But nevertheless, it does make me happy to see a guy like Mancini who does.    

It beats reading on TMZ, that he beat the stuffing out of his wife while drunk and partying too much.

I see people just like to find fault, its getting worse.

[interloper]

32 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Why so combative of late? You are good poster when you stick to baseball. Maybe don't take everything so personal. Personally, I think you took the original post wrong and read it like Frobby read it. Either way, please remember that attacking others is not allowed here at the Hangout. 

I went a little harder than I should have on this one, probably, so apologies. I just didn't like the broad "you folks" generalization/assumption in the original post. That feels like an unnecessary shot at... everyone? But I probably took it too personally, admittedly.

I've definitely been combative lately. I have less and less patience for manipulative or disingenuous posts, veiled sarcastic snipes, thoughtless/hurtful posts, etc. I guess I'm just frustrated. I'll try to practice more restraint on this type of thing but some fights are worth fighting. This was probably not one of them.