Tag Archives: Nick Markakis

October 13, 2020

Fast for an Old Man

Nick Markakis of the Braves is on first in the top of the fifth inning after a one-out walk. Cristian Pache then lines a double down the leftfield line, and Markakis turns on the jets. He comes all the way around to score to give the Braves a 3-0 lead over the Dodgers. That is Pache’s second MLB hit. He played two games in the regular season, and appeared in all seven post-season games, although this is his first start in the playoffs.

Ronald Acuna, Jr. follows with a walk to chase Tony Gonsolin from the game.

Update: Pedro Baez comes in to pitch and Freddie Freeman drives in his third run of the game with a single through the shifted shortstop position. The Braves lead 4-0.

Update: A walk and a sacrifice fly bring in two more runs. Cody Bellinger made a fantastic catch on the bases load fly ball to prevent a bases clearing hit. The Braves lead 6-0 in the middle of the fifth inning.

July 14, 2020

Brave Puig

Yasiel Puig signed with the Atlanta Braves:

The agreement comes after Braves outfielder Nick Markakis decided to opt out of the 2020 season earlier this month.
A major league All-Star in 2014, the 29-year-old Puig batted .267 in 149 games last season with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians. He hit .297 with the Indians after being acquired on July 30 and gave the Indians an infusion of power and energy, helping their ultimately fruitless surge to catch the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central Division crown.
ESPN.com

Offensively, Puig gives the Braves more power at the expense of a lower OBP. Puig, however, posted six fWAR over the last three seasons, Markakis just 3.6 fWAR.

July 27, 2019

Markakis Nicked

The Braves placed Nick Markakis on the illjured list with a broken wrist:

The Atlanta Braves placed right fielder Nick Markakis and infielder Dansby Swanson on the 10-day injured list before Saturday night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Markakis suffered a broken left wrist when he was hit by a pitch Friday night. Manager Brian Snitker said Markakis won’t need surgery and could return in six to eight weeks.

Markakis is batting .284 with nine homers and 53 RBIs. He hadn’t missed a game since 2017 and has played at least 155 in each of his five seasons in Atlanta.

FoxSports.com

Markakis did an excellent job of getting on base, with a .358 OBP. He wasn’t hitting for much power, but his lack of outs helped give the rest of the lineup more plate appearances. With Swanson, the Braves lose some power, but it appears he won’t be out long.

June 11, 2019

Shooting the Archer

Consecutive home run week continues with the Braves going back-to-back twice in the bottom of the second against Chris Archer. Josh Donaldson and Nick Markakis started the inning with shots, then after an out, Brian McCann and Ozzie Albies went deep. The Braves lead the Pirates 4-2. Archer’s home runs allowed total for the season climbs to 15.

April 28, 2019

Beat the Streak Picks

For the past two years Baseball Musings tried to help with playing Beat the Streak. The Day by Day Database keeps track of hit streak of at least five games. In addition, two programs produce top ten lists of players with a high probability of a hit. If you find this useful, please support Baseball Musings with a donation.

Here are the top picks my programs produced for use in Beat the Streak. This post mostly explains the ideas behind the calculations. In addition, this post shows tests on the Neural Network (NN). This post discusses an NN that includes the ballpark. I updated the models, and the results of those tests are here.

First, the Log5 Method picks:

0.297 — Nick Markakis batting against Tyler Anderson.
0.296 — Whit Merrifield batting against Matt Harvey.
0.296 — Javier Baez batting against Luke Weaver.
0.293 — Freddie Freeman batting against Tyler Anderson.
0.288 — Michael Brantley batting against Carlos Carrasco.
0.283 — Andrelton Simmons batting against Homer Bailey.
0.282 — Ronald Acuna batting against Tyler Anderson.
0.281 — David Peralta batting against Jose Quintana.
0.281 — Raul Mondesi batting against Matt Harvey.
0.281 — Jorge Alfaro batting against Zach Eflin.
0.281 — Starlin Castro batting against Zach Eflin.

Markakis owns a .341 BA so far this season, but he is drawing a good number of walks. Players like that usually don’t make the top of the list, but Tyler Anderson allowed 22 hits in 12 innings so far this season.

Here are the neural network picks:

0.296, 0.720 — Javier Baez batting against Luke Weaver.
0.296, 0.715 — Whit Merrifield batting against Matt Harvey.
0.288, 0.709 — Michael Brantley batting against Carlos Carrasco.
0.281, 0.708 — David Peralta batting against Jose Quintana.
0.283, 0.706 — Andrelton Simmons batting against Homer Bailey.
0.274, 0.705 — Jean Segura batting against Pablo Lopez.
0.293, 0.704 — Freddie Freeman batting against Tyler Anderson.
0.297, 0.704 — Nick Markakis batting against Tyler Anderson.
0.280, 0.703 — Anthony Rendon batting against Joey Lucchesi.
0.271, 0.700 — Christian Yelich batting against Steven Matz.

Markakis makes this list, but further down. Baez, with a high BA and fewer walks fits the NN model better. Baez and Merrifield are tied the the consensus first pick.

I do not guarantee results. Your best pick is going to have about a 25% chance of not getting a hit. Good luck!

November 4, 2018

Valuing Markakis

The Braves did not make Nick Markakis a qualifying offer of $17.9 million dollars, meaning they won’t get compensation when Markakis signs with another club. That’s despite him producing 2.6 fWAR in 2018.

Markakis is a great example of properly valuing a player. The Braves signed him for $44 million before the 2015 season. According to FanGraphs, he produced about $46 million in value. While a lot of that came in his final season with the Braves, the timing was right for Atlanta as their rebuilding process reached maturity this past season, and that burst of offense by Markakis helped push the team to the top of the NL East.

If you take his last three seasons in aggregate, however, Markakis produced 4.3 fWAR, or 1.4 per season, given his age, the Braves should expect about 1.2 WAR in 2019. The qualifying offer represents a bit over two WAR, so saying no is the right thing to do. It’s quite possible that Markakis doesn’t come close to two WAR again. Musings Marcels predicts a slash line of .274/.348/.408 in 2019 for him. He’s no longer a middle of the order hitter. I think he would be useful in the AL as a DH/OF who batted ninth on a good team. He would serve as a secondary lead-off man, and the lowered playing time would keep him from wearing out as the season progressed.

August 21, 2018

Beat the Streak Picks

Here are the top picks my programs produced for use in Beat the Streak. This post mostly explains the ideas behind the calculations. In addition, this post shows tests on the Neural Network (NN). This post discusses an NN that includes the ballpark. I updated the models, and the results of those tests are here.

For 2018, I am just going to publish the Log5 hit averages and the NN probabilities with parks factored in. I am keeping track of the results here. I added a graph that gives a visual representation of the probability and success each day.

I have been asked to expand the list to the top 25 players for an econometric project.

First, the Log5 Method picks:

0.332 — J.D. Martinez batting against Shane Bieber.
0.328 — Freddie Freeman batting against Ivan Nova.
0.327 — Mookie Betts batting against Shane Bieber.
0.323 — Nick Markakis batting against Ivan Nova.
0.317 — Elvis Andrus batting against Brett Anderson.
0.317 — Albert Almora batting against Jordan Zimmermann.
0.313 — Corey Dickerson batting against Kevin Gausman.
0.310 — Javier Baez batting against Jordan Zimmermann.
0.310 — Ozzie Albies batting against Ivan Nova.
0.308 — Adrian Beltre batting against Brett Anderson.
0.308 — Charlie Culberson batting against Ivan Nova.
0.305 — Yulieski Gurriel batting against Mike Leake.
0.305 — Austin Jackson batting against Chris Stratton.
0.304 — Ronald Acuna batting against Ivan Nova.
0.301 — Christian Yelich batting against Sal Romano.
0.298 — Eduardo Nunez batting against Shane Bieber.
0.296 — Johan Camargo batting against Ivan Nova.
0.296 — Andrew Benintendi batting against Shane Bieber.
0.295 — Lorenzo Cain batting against Sal Romano.
0.294 — Adam Jones batting against Sam Gaviglio.
0.294 — Nomar Mazara batting against Brett Anderson.
0.291 — Ender Inciarte batting against Ivan Nova.
0.291 — Steve Pearce batting against Shane Bieber.
0.291 — Xander Bogaerts batting against Shane Bieber.
0.290 — Starling Marte batting against Kevin Gausman.

If you like doubling down with two hitters from the same team, taking Betts and Martinez from Boston or Freeman and Markakis from Atlanta might work for you. Freeman is just 1 for 6 against Nova, but Markakis has a long history against the Pirates starter and is 14 for 42, .333.

Here is how the NN with Park ranks the players:

0.332, 0.748 — J.D. Martinez batting against Shane Bieber.
0.328, 0.738 — Freddie Freeman batting against Ivan Nova.
0.327, 0.737 — Mookie Betts batting against Shane Bieber.
0.317, 0.736 — Albert Almora batting against Jordan Zimmermann.
0.285, 0.730 — Daniel Murphy batting against Vincent Velasquez.
0.313, 0.729 — Corey Dickerson batting against Kevin Gausman.
0.317, 0.728 — Elvis Andrus batting against Brett Anderson.
0.323, 0.728 — Nick Markakis batting against Ivan Nova.
0.310, 0.723 — Javier Baez batting against Jordan Zimmermann.
0.305, 0.721 — Yulieski Gurriel batting against Mike Leake.
0.286, 0.716 — Wilson Ramos batting against Tanner Roark.
0.308, 0.716 — Adrian Beltre batting against Brett Anderson.
0.310, 0.715 — Ozzie Albies batting against Ivan Nova.
0.301, 0.715 — Christian Yelich batting against Sal Romano.
0.289, 0.714 — Nolan Arenado batting against Robert Erlin.
0.305, 0.713 — Austin Jackson batting against Chris Stratton.
0.298, 0.711 — Eduardo Nunez batting against Shane Bieber.
0.295, 0.711 — Lorenzo Cain batting against Sal Romano.
0.294, 0.710 — Adam Jones batting against Sam Gaviglio.
0.279, 0.709 — Miguel Andujar batting against Pablo Lopez.
0.281, 0.709 — DJ LeMahieu batting against Robert Erlin.
0.308, 0.707 — Charlie Culberson batting against Ivan Nova.
0.276, 0.707 — Scooter Gennett batting against Junior Guerra.
0.278, 0.706 — Michael Brantley batting against Nathan Eovaldi.
0.279, 0.706 — Charlie Blackmon batting against Robert Erlin.

It looks like a day to pick the sluggers, as Martinez and Freeman are the unanimous 1-2 picks.

Remember, your best pick will fail about 25% of the time. Good luck!

August 2, 2018

Beat the Streak Picks

Here are the top picks my programs produced for use in Beat the Streak. This post mostly explains the ideas behind the calculations. In addition, this post shows tests on the Neural Network (NN). This post discusses an NN that includes the ballpark. I updated the models, and the results of those tests are here.

For 2018, I am just going to publish the Log5 hit averages and the NN probabilities with parks factored in. I am keeping track of the results here. I added a graph that gives a visual representation of the probability and success each day.

I have been asked to expand the list to the top 25 players for an econometric project.

First, the Log5 Method picks:

0.333 — Freddie Freeman batting against Jason Vargas.
0.330 — Nick Markakis batting against Jason Vargas.
0.322 — Ozzie Albies batting against Jason Vargas.
0.311 — J.T. Realmuto batting against Nick Pivetta.
0.310 — Charlie Culberson batting against Jason Vargas.
0.306 — Jean Segura batting against Jaime Garcia.
0.302 — Starlin Castro batting against Nick Pivetta.
0.300 — Daniel Murphy batting against Tyler Mahle.
0.300 — Ender Inciarte batting against Jason Vargas.
0.294 — Kurt Suzuki batting against Jason Vargas.
0.293 — Albert Almora batting against Robert Erlin.
0.292 — Miguel Andujar batting against Brian Johnson.
0.292 — Ronald Acuna batting against Jason Vargas.
0.291 — Dee Gordon batting against Jaime Garcia.
0.290 — Johan Camargo batting against Jason Vargas.
0.287 — Adam C Eaton batting against Tyler Mahle.
0.286 — Javier Baez batting against Robert Erlin.
0.286 — Brian Anderson batting against Nick Pivetta.
0.286 — J.D. Martinez batting against CC Sabathia.
0.285 — Adam Jones batting against Yovani Gallardo.
0.283 — Anthony Rendon batting against Tyler Mahle.
0.283 — Mookie Betts batting against CC Sabathia.
0.282 — Adrian Beltre batting against Andrew Cashner.
0.282 — Jesse Biddle batting against Jason Vargas.
0.280 — Elvis Andrus batting against Andrew Cashner.
0.280 — Juan Soto batting against Tyler Mahle.
0.280 — Jose Martinez batting against Antonio Senzatela.

Jason Vargas comes into the game against the Braves with an 8.36 ERA. He’s allowed a .330 BA and a .591 slugging percentage. He’s only averaging 4 1/3 innings a start, so the Braves hitters won’t get too many plate appearance against him.

Here is how the NN with Park ranks the players:

0.306, 0.738 — Jean Segura batting against Jaime Garcia.
0.333, 0.731 — Freddie Freeman batting against Jason Vargas.
0.300, 0.730 — Daniel Murphy batting against Tyler Mahle.
0.311, 0.727 — J.T. Realmuto batting against Nick Pivetta.
0.330, 0.723 — Nick Markakis batting against Jason Vargas.
0.293, 0.722 — Albert Almora batting against Robert Erlin.
0.322, 0.719 — Ozzie Albies batting against Jason Vargas.
0.291, 0.718 — Dee Gordon batting against Jaime Garcia.
0.286, 0.718 — J.D. Martinez batting against CC Sabathia.
0.302, 0.717 — Starlin Castro batting against Nick Pivetta.
0.283, 0.710 — Mookie Betts batting against CC Sabathia.
0.292, 0.709 — Miguel Andujar batting against Brian Johnson.
0.286, 0.708 — Javier Baez batting against Robert Erlin.
0.273, 0.705 — Charlie Blackmon batting against Miles Mikolas.
0.285, 0.705 — Adam Jones batting against Yovani Gallardo.
0.282, 0.702 — Adrian Beltre batting against Andrew Cashner.
0.280, 0.702 — Jose Martinez batting against Antonio Senzatela.
0.280, 0.702 — Elvis Andrus batting against Andrew Cashner.
0.273, 0.699 — Nolan Arenado batting against Miles Mikolas.
0.265, 0.698 — Matt M Duffy batting against Andrew Heaney.
0.267, 0.697 — Avisail Garcia batting against Brad Keller.
0.278, 0.697 — Yadier Molina batting against Antonio Senzatela.
0.300, 0.697 — Ender Inciarte batting against Jason Vargas.
0.287, 0.697 — Adam C Eaton batting against Tyler Mahle.
0.269, 0.695 — Gerardo Parra batting against Miles Mikolas.
0.310, 0.695 — Charlie Culberson batting against Jason Vargas.

Jean Segura pops to the top, but the Blue Jays have not officially announced a starter for the game. Freeman is the consensus first pick, Markakis the second choice.

Remember, your best pick will fail about 25% of the time. Good luck!

June 26, 2018

Beat the Streak Picks

Here are the top picks my programs produced for use in Beat the Streak. This post mostly explains the ideas behind the calculations. In addition, this post shows tests on the Neural Network (NN). This post discusses an NN that includes the ballpark. I updated the models, and the results of those tests are here.

For 2018, I am just going to publish the Log5 hit averages and the NN probabilities with parks factored in. I am keeping track of the results here. I added a graph that gives a visual representation of the probability and success each day.

I have been asked to expand the list to the top 25 players for an econometric project.

First, the Log5 Method picks:

0.341 — Jean Segura batting against Kevin Gausman.
0.327 — Nick Markakis batting against Matt Harvey.
0.322 — Freddie Freeman batting against Matt Harvey.
0.312 — Dee Gordon batting against Kevin Gausman.
0.308 — Jose Altuve batting against Ryan Borucki.
0.302 — J.D. Martinez batting against John Lamb.
0.300 — Ozzie Albies batting against Matt Harvey.
0.299 — Jon Jay batting against Elieser Hernandez.
0.299 — Kurt Suzuki batting against Matt Harvey.
0.298 — Albert Almora batting against Ross Stripling.
0.297 — Gerardo Parra batting against Derek Holland.
0.294 — Mookie Betts batting against John Lamb.
0.293 — Brandon Crawford batting against Chad Bettis.
0.292 — Ender Inciarte batting against Matt Harvey.
0.291 — Buster Posey batting against Chad Bettis.
0.291 — Scooter Gennett batting against Anibal Sanchez.
0.290 — Nolan Arenado batting against Derek Holland.
0.288 — Yulieski Gurriel batting against Ryan Borucki.
0.287 — Benjamin Gamel batting against Kevin Gausman.
0.286 — Corey Dickerson batting against Steven Matz.
0.286 — Ryon Healy batting against Kevin Gausman.
0.286 — Nick Castellanos batting against Frankie Montas.
0.285 — Asdrubal Cabrera batting against Chad Kuhl.
0.284 — David Peralta batting against Elieser Hernandez.
0.284 — J.T. Realmuto batting against Zachary Godley.
0.284 — Charlie Blackmon batting against Derek Holland.

Another day against the Orioles, another day at the top of the Log5 list for Jean Segura. Yesterday was his first day back from an arm infection. He did not get a hit but drew two walks.

Here is how the NN with Park ranks the players:

0.341, 0.761 — Jean Segura batting against Kevin Gausman.
0.308, 0.753 — Jose Altuve batting against Ryan Borucki.
0.291, 0.731 — Scooter Gennett batting against Anibal Sanchez.
0.327, 0.730 — Nick Markakis batting against Matt Harvey.
0.302, 0.730 — J.D. Martinez batting against John Lamb.
0.322, 0.730 — Freddie Freeman batting against Matt Harvey.
0.312, 0.728 — Dee Gordon batting against Kevin Gausman.
0.298, 0.727 — Albert Almora batting against Ross Stripling.
0.297, 0.724 — Gerardo Parra batting against Derek Holland.
0.288, 0.721 — Yulieski Gurriel batting against Ryan Borucki.
0.294, 0.714 — Mookie Betts batting against John Lamb.
0.290, 0.714 — Nolan Arenado batting against Derek Holland.
0.284, 0.713 — Charlie Blackmon batting against Derek Holland.
0.273, 0.712 — Eddie Rosario batting against Reynaldo Lopez.
0.299, 0.709 — Jon Jay batting against Elieser Hernandez.
0.282, 0.709 — DJ LeMahieu batting against Derek Holland.
0.286, 0.707 — Nick Castellanos batting against Frankie Montas.
0.291, 0.707 — Buster Posey batting against Chad Bettis.
0.284, 0.705 — J.T. Realmuto batting against Zachary Godley.
0.286, 0.704 — Corey Dickerson batting against Steven Matz.
0.262, 0.702 — Michael Brantley batting against Carlos Martinez.
0.300, 0.701 — Ozzie Albies batting against Matt Harvey.
0.293, 0.699 — Brandon Crawford batting against Chad Bettis.
0.292, 0.699 — Ender Inciarte batting against Matt Harvey.
0.299, 0.699 — Kurt Suzuki batting against Matt Harvey.

Segura stands as the unanimous first choice, with Nick Markakis the consensus second choice. Poor Ryan Borucki has to make his MLB debut against the Astros in Houston.

Remember, your best pick will fail about 25% of the time. Good luck!

June 4, 2018

Beat the Streak Picks

Update: I did not realize that Ronald Torreyes was demoted to the minors. I also did not realize that with the split double header, the second game does not lock until 7 PM. I also should have mentioned that Freddie Freeman owns a 16-game hit streak, the longest in the majors at the moment.

————————

Here are the top picks my programs produced for use in Beat the Streak. This post mostly explains the ideas behind the calculations. In addition, this post shows tests on the Neural Network (NN). This post discusses an NN that includes the ballpark. I updated the models, and the results of those tests are here.

For 2018, I am just going to publish the Log5 hit averages and the NN probabilities with parks factored in. I am keeping track of the results here. I added a graph that gives a visual representation of the probability and success each day.

I have been asked to expand the list to the top 25 players for an econometric project.

First, the Log5 Method picks:

0.314 — Freddie Freeman batting against Clayton Richard.
0.312 — Nick Markakis batting against Clayton Richard.
0.304 — Ronald Torreyes batting against Michael Fiers.
0.302 — Andrelton Simmons batting against Daniel Duffy.
0.298 — Miguel Andujar batting against Michael Fiers.
0.287 — Brandon Crawford batting against Zachary Godley.
0.286 — Gleyber Torres batting against Michael Fiers.
0.285 — Buster Posey batting against Zachary Godley.
0.281 — Ozzie Albies batting against Clayton Richard.
0.281 — Ender Inciarte batting against Clayton Richard.
0.279 — Austin Romine batting against Michael Fiers.
0.274 — Nick Castellanos batting against Domingo German.
0.274 — Kurt Suzuki batting against Clayton Richard.
0.271 — Gorkys Hernandez batting against Zachary Godley.
0.270 — Jon Jay batting against Nicholas Tropeano.
0.267 — Didi Gregorius batting against Michael Fiers.
0.267 — Brandon Drury batting against Michael Fiers.
0.267 — Ronald Torreyes batting against Drew VerHagen.
0.265 — Dansby Swanson batting against Clayton Richard.
0.265 — Aaron Judge batting against Michael Fiers.
0.264 — Tyler Flowers batting against Clayton Richard.
0.264 — Mike Trout batting against Daniel Duffy.
0.264 — Preston Tucker batting against Clayton Richard.
0.262 — Joe Panik batting against Zachary Godley.
0.261 — Ryan Flaherty batting against Clayton Richard.
0.261 — Jesse Thomas Biddle batting against Clayton Richard.
0.261 — David Peralta batting against Derek Holland.

There are only five games today, which makes for slim pickings. On top of that, the Yankees and Tigers play a double header, so if you pick someone in those games you’ll lock in your pick at one PM without knowing the 7 PM lineup.

Here is how the NN with Park ranks the players:

0.314, 0.729 — Freddie Freeman batting against Clayton Richard.
0.304, 0.722 — Ronald Torreyes batting against Michael Fiers.
0.312, 0.720 — Nick Markakis batting against Clayton Richard.
0.302, 0.719 — Andrelton Simmons batting against Daniel Duffy.
0.274, 0.714 — Nick Castellanos batting against Domingo German.
0.285, 0.705 — Buster Posey batting against Zachary Godley.
0.267, 0.703 — Ronald Torreyes batting against Drew VerHagen.
0.251, 0.701 — Nick Castellanos batting against Luis Severino.
0.298, 0.697 — Miguel Andujar batting against Michael Fiers.
0.287, 0.696 — Brandon Crawford batting against Zachary Godley.
0.270, 0.694 — Jon Jay batting against Nicholas Tropeano.
0.281, 0.694 — Ender Inciarte batting against Clayton Richard.
0.281, 0.685 — Ozzie Albies batting against Clayton Richard.
0.286, 0.681 — Gleyber Torres batting against Michael Fiers.
0.259, 0.681 — Whit Merrifield batting against Nicholas Tropeano.
0.260, 0.678 — Miguel Andujar batting against Drew VerHagen.
0.261, 0.677 — David Peralta batting against Derek Holland.
0.243, 0.676 — Eric Hosmer batting against Julio Teheran.
0.274, 0.676 — Kurt Suzuki batting against Clayton Richard.
0.271, 0.675 — Gorkys Hernandez batting against Zachary Godley.
0.267, 0.672 — Didi Gregorius batting against Michael Fiers.
0.279, 0.671 — Austin Romine batting against Michael Fiers.
0.264, 0.669 — Mike Trout batting against Daniel Duffy.
0.262, 0.668 — Joe Panik batting against Zachary Godley.
0.264, 0.662 — Tyler Flowers batting against Clayton Richard.
0.252, 0.662 — Austin Jackson batting against Zachary Godley.

Freeman is 4 for 9 career against Richard with only one strikeout. Nick Markakis, the consensus second pick, is 3 for 8 with one K and a sacrifice fly.

Remember, your best pick will fail about 25% of the time. Good luck!

July 20, 2015

Markakis on the Board

Nick Markakis came into the day with the most plate appearances without a home run in the majors. He broke that homerless drought Monday night with a two-run shot in the first inning. The Braves lead the Dodgers 7-4 in the seventh inning.

Angel Pagan claims the top spot from Markakis. He leads off for the Giants at 10 PM EDT.

June 30, 2015

You Can’t Spell Deep without Dee

Dee Gordon hit his first home run of the season tonight as the Marlins lead the Giants 3-2 in the top of the third innings. He came into play today leading the majors in most plate appearances without a home run, one more than Nick Markakis. We’ll see how long Nick keeps the lead, as Angel Pagan is somewhat behind him.

Update: Appropriately, it was an inside-the-park home run. 🙂

December 3, 2014

Tomahawk Markakis

It looks like Nick Markakis is headed for the Braves. Orioles fans may not be happy.

Markakis has reportedly agreed to a four-year deal worth $44 million with Atlanta. So much for reports he might have had a deal for four years and $48 million from the Orioles.

This will be a gut punch for some fans. Fans that get attached to players for the right reasons and appreciate what they do for the team and in the community. Fans that have backed Markakis for a long time.

Nick’s career peaked very early, and as he’ll play 2015 as a 31-year-old, his best years are behind him.

What bothers me is why the Braves, who are supposedly rebuilding, would want Markakis rather than a much younger Jason Heyward. I understand that Heyward was going to be a free agent, but better to sign him to a six year deal and have a good player to build around (Heyward is just entering his peak) than a player who will likely be a drag on the team during his tenure. The Braves and Phillies are certainly making it easier for the Marlins and Mets to challenge the Nationals in the NL East next season.

September 25, 2014

Raining on Jeter’s Parade

While the Yankees fans were doing Derek Jeter‘s name during the role call, Nick Markakis homers to give Baltimore a 1-0 lead. He crossed in front of Jeter as Derek was waving to the crowd for the last time.

Alejandro De Aza follows with a home run as well as Hiroki Kurdoa puts himself in an early 2-0 hole.

August 3, 2014

Don’t Show Up Late

Nick Markakis homered leading off the bottom of the first inning for the Orioles, and that was the only run of the game as Chris Tillman and the Orioles pen strike out nine Mariners and allow just four hits. Nick ended up missing the cycle by a triple, collecting 1/3 of the hits in the game.

Of course, if Markakis hits the ball in the bottom of the ninth, he would have gotten a lot more fanfare, but given how well Hisashi Iwakuma pitched for Seattle, getting to him early was important.

May 11, 2013

Not Loving Pink

4 Replies

Pink bats for Mother’s Day generated some controversy:

All of the official pink bats are supplied by Louisville Slugger, but not all players use Louisville Slugger bats. Among those who had planned to use bats made by another manufacturer are Baltimore Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis and Minnesota Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe. Both players’ mothers are breast cancer survivors, and both players use bats made by MaxBat.

Markakis’ had custom-made black bats with pink logos delivered to him this week, according to The Baltimore Sun. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes Plouffe received a shipment of the same bats. But MLB will not allow those bats to be used Sunday because of its exclusive agreement with Louisville Slugger.

I appreciate MLB supporting breast cancer charities, but in general I don’t care for all the symbolism. I’m very much like Cosmo Kramer in this regard.

How about MLB donates a large amount of money for every home run hit and strikeout recorded on Mother’s Day? The we don’t need to worry about all the marketing gimmicks that are going on the in background.

September 9, 2012

Injury Update

Mark Teixeira‘s injured calf will keep him on the bench for at least four games, and he may be lost for the season. Nick Markakis broke his thumb and may require surgery. The biggest beneficiary of Saturday night’s game may be the Rays, who may be able to gain on depleted Yankees and Orioles lineups.

September 8, 2012

Markakis Done?

2 Replies

Nick Markakis was hit on the hand in the bottom of the fifth by CC Sabathia. Markakis immediately left the game, and the broadcast just showed him standing the Orioles dugout with what appeared to be a cast on his hand. If this is a break, Nick is likely done for the season. Nick gave the Orioles an excellent lead-off hitter, and will be difficult to replace.

The Orioles lead the Yankees 5-2 in the top of the eighth.

May 31, 2012

The Orioles Take a Hit

Nick Markakis broke his hamate bone.

Markakis initially injured his wrist in his last at bat Tuesday against the Blue Jays. X-Rays that night came back negative, but he was scheduled to see a hand specialist today for a second opinion. Surgery will likely be scheduled for Friday.

He’ll miss up to a month of action, plus these types of injuries require some time for the player to get his swing back.

Nick was hitting for power this year, slugging .452 with a .256 batting average. The last couple of seasons he was more of a singles hitter. It’s a tough time to lose him.

April 22, 2012

Markakis Three, Angels Two

Nick Markakis drove in all three Orioles runs as they down the Angels 3-2. With the bases loaded and two out in the eighth, Markakis singled to drive in two, giving the Orioles a 2-1 lead after Wei-Yin Chen allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings. The Orioles pen gave a run back in the bottom of the inning, and the game went into extra frames. With two out in the tenth and a man on third, Nick beat out an infield single to drive home the winning run.

Nick hasn’t hit that well this season, his 2 for 5 raising his averages to .242/.324/.403. He has hit in five straight games, however, so he may be starting to come around.

April 6, 2012

Nicking the Twins

Nick Markakis goes deep against the Twins in the first inning. His two run shot gives the Orioles a 2-0 lead going to the top of the second. He hit just two home runs in April last season.

July 16, 2011

Power Coming Back

Nick Markakis hit two doubles and a home run as the Orioles squeaked by the Indians 6-5. Baltimore scored three in the bottom of the eighth to take a 6-2 lead, but the Indians made it close with three in the top of the ninth. Nick doubled and scored the first run in that inning.

The three extra-base hits raises his slugging percentage to .395 on the season. However, so far Nick has slugged better every month after starting the season with a .286 mark in April. He slugged .357 in May, .459 in June, and after tonight he’s at .491 in July. The Orioles need him to stay at that level the rest of the season.

April 2, 2011

Nick of Time

The Orioles/Rays game ends in dramatic fashion. Down 3-1, two on and two out, Ben Zobrist launches a shot to rightfield. Nick Markakis goes back and makes a leaping catch at the wall to rob Ben of an extra-base hit and end the game with a 3-1 Baltimore victory. It was a perfect example of why this is a game of inches.

February 19, 2011

Shorter Flies

At Baseball Analytics, I look at Nick Markakis’s diminishing fly ball distance.

December 30, 2010

The Markakis Path

Beyond the Boxscore looks at the disappointing career path of Nick Markakis.

I wonder how much this has to do with the Orioles poor showing as an organization. Nick is pulling in a nice salary. I suppose it’s frustrating to play with little talent around you. He finished strong, so we’ll see how he responds to a full year of Buck Showalter managing.

September 13, 2010

Nick of Time

Nick Markakis was the big hitter for the Orioles tonight as he collected three hits and scored twice, including the winning run in the bottom of the 11th. He led off the 11th with a single, then came around to score on a Luke Scott single for the 4-3 win over Toronto. Nick hasn’t hit for a lot of power this season, but his .291 BA and .367 OBP are both good. The Orioles go to 24-15 since Buck Showalter took over.

Starter Brian Matusz left after one inning when he took a line drive off his arm.

May 18, 2010

Still Little Support

Zack Greinke out-pitched Kevin Millwood Tuesday night, giving up two runs in seven innings agianst Kevin’s three runs over eight innings. The Royals pen, however, allowed two more and the Royals fell 4-3 to Baltimore. Greinke’s record remains at 1-4 despite a 2.72 ERA.

Both runs off Zack came on solo home runs, as he’s now allowed seven on the season. He allowed 11 all last year.

Nick Markakis delivered the game winning hit, a bases loaded single in the tenth. Despite Markakis having a good year at the plate, it was only his 13th RBI in 40 games. That says something about the team getting on base in front of him.