PRODUCTIVE OUTS

April 28th, 2013

hermitologist

Giancarlo Stanton Is A Pus-Crushing Colossus

This is Giancarlo Stanton’s solo shot off of Travis Wood yesterday.

Seriously. Watch the video and note how tiny the ball looks as it exits the Earth’s atmosphere.

The pitch: A belt-high, 89 mph cutter that cut right into Stanton’s wheelhouse.

The swing: Torque-O-Rama. It’s incredible to watch that much man uncoil and unleash so much power. (I realize how disgusting that previous sentence might seem if it were taken out of context and I kind of apologize for that but not really.) I’m fascinated by Stanton’s swing because it seems so stiff, yet it’s still so incredibly powerful. His body looks like he’s swinging underwater, but his bat speed makes it look like he’s swinging in space.

The velocity off the bat: 116.6 mph (4th fastest this season)

The elevation angle: 30.2º

“True” distance: 440 feet*

*MLB Network had it at 472 feet, which would be the third biggest blast this year — placing it behind Anthony Rizzo’s 475-foot shot on April 18th and Todd Frazier’s mammoth bomb that was rumored to be 480 feet on April 24th (but registered all zeroes on ESPN’s Home Run Tracker).

The verdict: We’ve been waiting nearly a month for this moment, jonesing for a blast (any blast, really) from Stanton. And he delivered in glorious fashion.

Welcome back, you magnificent freak!

April 25th, 2013

hermitologist

Chris Carter Is A Quiet Assassin (Of Baseballs)

This is Chris Carter’s solo shot off of Joe Saunders yesterday.

The pitch: A 3-2, letter-high. 89.7 mph two-seamer.

The swing: Beautifully boring. He’s incredibly quiet at the dish, has no stride, loads by getting up on his front toe, and then … BAM! MAN STRENGTH. It’s freakish. The GIF doesn’t nearly do it justice. Watch this. And listen to the sound of that baseball getting obliterated.

(No, really … watch it. Now. We’ll wait.)

Welcome back. That was amazing, wasn’t it?

Now to the numbers!

The velocity off the bat: 104.4 mph

(We saw tweets saying it might have been 111 mph, and are leaning toward the higher of the two numbers because holy crap.)

The elevation angle: 35.2º

“True” distance: 399 ft

(*That’s a giant pile of horseshit. Maybe the lights above the train tracks that rudely interrupted the ball’s direct flight to Oklahoma City were 399 feet away, but that ball was headed 450+. Easily.)

The verdict: Chris Carter straight up broke ESPN’s Home Run Tracker. Astros Director of Pro Scouting Kevin Goldstein said that the team’s Trackman system had the blast at 460 feet, but added that it also lost track of the trajectory of the ball. ESPN’s tracker just gave up and took some of the afternoon off (as evidenced by it’s data on Todd Frazier’s massive bomb yesterday in Cincinnati).

We salute you and your boring ManStrength™, Chris Carter.

April 22nd, 2013

hermitologist

Mark Trumbo Is A Viking With A Broadsword

This is Mark Trumbo’s walkoff bomb off of Phil Coke yesterday.

The pitch: An 84 mph, cockshot of a 3-1 changeup (the fourth of the AB) from a guy who looks like this.

The swing: Gorgeous. He stays back perfectly on Coke’s cambio and clobbers it. Excellent load, balance and torque. And that extension … whoa, that extension. Just beautiful.

The velocity off the bat: 106.8 mph

The elevation angle: 32.7º

The distance: 425 feet

The verdict: That ball is absolutely crushed, and seeing as Mr. Trumbo is a “Friend of the PRODcast”, we’d like to think that we had something to do with this. That perhaps our offseason conversations somehow loaded him with karma a la Jim Rome and his Jungle guests. But that’s not the case at all. It has everything to do with Mark being a smart, patient and freakishly strong hitter whose timing is totally dialed in right now.

April 14th, 2013

hermitologist

Evan Gattis Is An Ogre With A Battle Axe

This is Evan Gattis’ two-run bomb off of Stephen Strasburg yesterday.

The pitch: An 0-1, eye-high, 97 mph fastball from most peoples’ pick to win the NL Cy Young.

The swing: Explosive. I can’t help but think of Captain Caveman*.

*A far better nickname for Gattis than “El Oso Blanco” or whatever the hell they’re calling him in Atlanta.

The velocity off the bat: 106.1 mph

The elevation angle: 29.1º

The distance: 426 feet

The verdict: Lumberjack beard? Check. No batting gloves? Check. Freakish levels of DadStrength™? Check. Lightning quick hands? Check. Fascinating back story? Check. Plays a position that you have to be an absolute lunatic to play (and genuinely seems to enjoy it)? Check.

We’re in love.

April 5th, 2013

hermitologist

BONUS CONTENT: More Chris Davis Because WHOA

This is Chris Davis’ three-run bomb off of Jeremy Hellickson on April 3rd.

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The pitch: A 3-2, 91 mph fastball ~2-3” off the plate.

The swing: Not as buttery smooth as usual. He loses his front side early, but keeps his hands back, and then …

The velocity off the bat: 108.4 mph

The elevation angle: 23.4º

The distance (horizontally): 422 feet. Oppo. With a sold out front side.

The verdict: Chris Davis has superhuman strength and traps like an ox and the dreamiest eyes and he launches balls a long way to the opposite field even when he guesses wrong and it makes the front of our pants feel funny.

PRODUCTIVE OUTS

Giancarlo Stanton Is A Pus-Crushing Colossus

Chris Carter Is A Quiet Assassin (Of Baseballs)

Mark Trumbo Is A Viking With A Broadsword

Evan Gattis Is An Ogre With A Battle Axe

BONUS CONTENT: More Chris Davis Because WHOA

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