Image credit: Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports
Each weekday during the regular season, the Box Score Banter series highlights a moment of two from the previous slate of action, then recognizes top performances and previews the best games of the day ahead. Here are some of the best pieces of shortform writing that the year provided.
Nick Fortes Steals the Sho(w)
Written by: Alexandra Whitley
Dodgers 20, Marlins 4
| AB | R | H | RBI | HR | |
| Fortes | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Three years and one day ago, Nicholas Fortes made his MLB debut. He homered. In his second game, he homered again. A few days later, he hit a pinch-hit homer. All three were losses, and the average attendance was 8,045 people, but it does provide him the honorary title of “first player in franchise history to homer in three of his first five games.” The Marlins being an expansion franchise dims the label some, but it’s worth something. In 2022, he added to that hardware by tying for second in WARP among Marlins position players. At 1.2.
It is probable that in two decades, there will be no physical evidence of Fortes ever hitting a professional home run. He now has 23 of them, and fewer than half have surpassed 400 feet; the median attendance of his 22 games with homers is 12,195. Only two of Fortes’ homers came with 30,000-plus in attendance, and only three more at the 20,000-plus level. Sixteen have been at home, where the bullpens are in left field, his pull direction. That means lots of these aren’t getting to the stands, and the stands are pretty empty. Accordingly, lots of Fortes home run balls are likely getting raffled off as game-used baseball giveaways.
| AB | H | SB | SB (season) | |
| Ohtani | 6 | 6 | 2 | 51 |
Not now, Shohei. We’re talking about Nick Fortes. That’s not even the most hits by an NL West player in this ballpark in the last decade. Backup catchers are forgotten almost as quickly as low-leverage relievers, and Fortes’ career .624 OPS doesn’t inspire much confidence that his role should be expanding. Players on losing Marlins teams are forgotten almost as quickly as the Farhan Zaidi’s latest waiver claim, and Fortes’ strong defensive marks suggest he could bounce around in a reserve capacity for a while, just to be forgotten by a few more people.
| 2B | R | RBI | Better than Fortes? | |
| Ohtani | 2 | 4 | 10 | Yes |
This is really disruptive behavior; there’s no need to put down other players just because you’re sharing the limelight a little bit. Since 1901, teams who have lost by at least 16 runs have hit 156 home runs, with 118 such games containing at least one homer from the losers. Eleven players have done this multiple times, often in the same game—Al Ferrara, Garrett Hampson, Howie Schultz, Juan Soto, Jim Thome, and Christian Vázquez make up those names.
There is nothing special in this. Anyone can have a good day while the rest of your team struggles. But it takes something special to do it twice. It takes a real commitment to a losing team, and putting in the effort on a day where no one will care.
| HR #1 | HR #2 | HR #3 | |
| Maikel Franco (PHI) | 6/16/2015, @ BAL, L 3-19 | 8/16/2018 vs. NYM, L 4-24 | – |
| Andrés Galarraga (COL) | 5/30/1993 vs. PHI, L 1-19 | 8/18/1995 vs. CHC, L 9-26 | – |
| Chuck Klein (WAS, PHI, PHI) | 7/4/1927 @ NYY, L 1-21 | 6/5/1929 @ CIN, L 4-21 | 7/11/1931, vs. NYG, L 5-23 |
| Roy Sievers (SLB) | 8/7/1949 @ NYY, L 2-20 | 6/7/1950 @ BOS, L 4-20 | – |
| Jim Thome (CLE) | 4/30/2002 vs ANA, L 2-21 | 6/4/2002 vs. MIN, L 2-23 | |
This is an explainable group of names. No one ever accused Franco of lacking power, and excluding the COVID-shortened 2020, 2015 and 2018 were his two best seasons at the plate; he also got some help from the then-short wall in Baltimore. Galarraga nearly reached 400 homers, and both of these games took place in pre-humidor Coors Field. A member of the Hall of Fame, Klein was seventh on the all-time home run leaderboard following his final season in 1944, and his SABR bio writes, “Klein’s detractors argued that his gaudy statistics were due to the tiny dimensions of the Baker Bowl.” Sievers won the first American League Rookie of the Year award in 1949 and proceeded to hit 318 home runs, leading the AL once—he likely would have hit many more if not for early-career shoulder issues. Thome was, of course, a renowned slugger, and both of his qualifying games came in his career-best season, with 52 homers and a 197 OPS+.
Admittedly, Franco is a bit out of place, and Klein deserves credit for doing it three times and across two teams, as does Thome (and his lousy teammates) for accomplishing it in a single season. But this is a fairly accomplished list and one with ready-made reasons for all members. To that, we introduce a new name: Nick Fortes.
On May 4, with the A’s leading 13-0 in the sixth inning, 7,809 watched Fortes launch a 106.9 mph line drive to left field. It traveled 394 feet, gone in 29 parks, including the one he was working in; the ball bounced off the scoreboard and back onto the field in Oakland, where it was presumably tossed to a fan in the bleachers.
On Thursday, September 19, Fortes arrived at the plate for the first time with the Marlins trailing 7-1 in the third inning. Not enough. A routine fly out. He then entered the batter’s box with the Marlins trailing 7-3 in the fifth inning. Even worse. He struck out on four pitches. Two innings later, he stepped up with Miami down 14-3. Still not quite there. But then, with Vidal Bruján getting rocked in the top of the ninth, with Fortes sitting through the indignity of watching a position player get blown up on the mound, the Dodgers took a 20-3 lead, and Fortes locked in. Looking to sour the mood one last bit more, Cristian Pache gets three 91 mph fastballs over the middle of the plate and swings through all of them. With one out and the bases empty in the ninth, needing only one pitch, history:
Numbers that will live forever: 96.7 mph exit velocity. 367 feet. Still gone in 21 ballparks. Just beyond the reach of Chris Taylor and into a despondent bullpen. It rattles around, nearly bouncing back out onto the field through the bullpen door that Taylor swings open. No kayakers telling him he hasn’t “earned it.” Just history.
Fortes doesn’t hit the ball very hard; his average exit velocity this year is a mere 84.2 mph. His career hard-hit rate is 31.5%, lagging now at 22.2%. His top-end power is decent, but he’s never getting to it; in 218 minor league games, he hit 13 home runs. Other than his 14-game debut, he’s been a below-average hitter, and that’s underselling it in these last two years.
Four home runs in 2024. Two in separate 20-4 losses. History.
| HR | HR (season) | SB (season) | Pitching in October? | |
| Ohtani | 3 | 51 | 51 | Maybe |
Oh, okay. I get it.
It’s Not Triskaidekaphobia, It’s Just Fear of White Sox/Angels
Written by: Andrew Mearns
Los Angeles (AL) 4, Chicago (AL) 3 (13 innings)
| AB | R | H | RBI | HR | |
| J. Adams | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
The scene begins around a quarter to six, Eastern Time. I hear that those White Sox have a slim 1-0 lead out in Anaheim. I tune in. Why not? Life’s finite, but it’s not that finite.
Countless stories have already been written about these atrocious Pale Hose, but the Angels have quietly suffered in near-irrelevance this year. Their next defeat will make it their worst season since the 1999 Halos quit on Terry Collins. At 90 losses, they could very well break the 1980 Angels’ franchise record of 95.
To be clear, this is nothing compared to the White Sox, on the verge of breaking the modern MLB record for losses (they breezed past their own franchise nadir a long time ago). Even the 2024 Angels should handle this team at home. Nonetheless, Chicago began play with four of their final 10 games against one of the few other awful teams this year. Wins against contending clubs in San Diego and Detroit are going to be hard to come by. Every tight ballgame they can snatch away from the Halos means one fewer loss—and a slightly better chance of escaping ignominy.
So if Grady’s gents could hold onto this lead and win, they would only need to go 5-4 in the last nine games to avoid breaking the 1962 Mets’ modern record for losses. Sure, it would be a tie in counting stats for L’s, but Chicago’s winning percentage would be a smidge better since the expansion club only played 160 games. (So would 41-121 for that matter, though that’s still breaking the loss record.) Is that asking a lot? Maybe they sweep the Angels in their next series back in Chicago from September 24-26 and eke out a win each over the Padres and Tigers. They went 10-4 from May 4-15 (sweeping Cleveland) and 5-3 from June 27-July 5. Believe against all odds!
In the time it took for me to consider all these possibilities (honestly less), the lead vanished.
Who was I kidding? One-run leads on the road are precarious for anyone, much less these White Sox, and they got beat by perhaps the two most talented players on the field. Zach Neto walked, stole his 30th bag of 2024, and scored on a Taylor Ward single that deflected off Nicky Lopez’s glove.
So began the do-or-die innings of White Sox vs. Angels in mid-September 2024. The 2005 ALCS, this was not (much to Mike Scioscia’s relief, at least).
Ninth Inning
The reliever matchup is now Fraser Ellard for Chicago vs. Ryan Zeferjahn for LA. It is lovely that these two 26-year-old rookies got to become big leaguers. I know absolutely nothing about them.
A Google search informs me that Zeferjahn’s uncle, Lucas Yarnall, played in the Arena Football League for the Texas Terror, Houston ThunderBears, San Jose SaberCats, Grand Rapids Rampage, Detroit Fury, Austin Wranglers, Las Vegas Gladiators, and Kansas City Brigade. I briefly recall the, er, bold kid in my class who asked out a cheerleader during a New Jersey Gladiators game on a fifth-grade D.A.R.E. trip.
Trust me: This is all more compelling than White Sox/Angels, which quickly goes into extras.
10th Inning
The White Sox turn to small ball into cash through their zombie runner on a bunt and a sacrifice fly. The White Sox still being the White Sox, they end the inning on a pickoff anyway.
That allows the Angels to come oh-so-close to ending this game in a hurry. Neto inexplicably wastes his ability on a bunt of his own. A clean single from Gustavo Campero ties the game on a hit that likely would have plated Jordyn Adams anyway. Chad Kuhl then can’t find the plate, walking Ward and plunking Nolan Schanuel. He does strike out Niko Kavadas in the middle, but Brandon Drury bats with the bases loaded anyway.
Kuhl throws a ball before Drury does him a favor by fouling ball two off. A groundout ends the inning. Sam Blum of The Athletic openly dreads his fate.
11th Inning
Lopez promptly pops up a bunt (oof), but Andrew Benintendi continues his surprising .910 OPS run since the beginning of August with a two-out RBI to give Chicago hope again. They start the bottom of the 11th up 3-2. It will regrettably be their final lead of the day.
Eric Wagaman cracks Kuhl’s second offering of the frame for an RBI single to tie it. Adams works a one-out walk to put the winning run in scoring position and prompt a pitching change from Grady Sizemore. Enyel De Los Santos induces a first-pitch grounder from Neto and fans Campero to prolong Sam’s pain. My eyes are getting tired and I’ve only been watching for a little over an hour. Hopefully Hawk is still refusing to watch.
12th Inning
I was playing with the cats for a moment, so I missed the start of the inning. (They not-so-shockingly provide more entertainment.) I am, however, informed of the following mid-inning pitching change by both the broadcast and my open MLB Gameday: “Guillo Zuñiga replaces Kenny Rosenberg.”
Dave’s not wrong.
Sorry to Kenny that he had to leave, but the Z-Man does the job by stranding the zombie runner. The Angels just need to cash in theirs. With two on and two outs, De Los Santos faces Mickey Moniak, who ran for Drury in the previous frame. Moniak has had his moments here and there, but the fact that he was in the batter’s box was a problem. On Sunday, he had been pulled from the Angels’ game against Houston after getting drilled on the hand. Moniak could barely grip the bat. There was no one else left on the bench though, so he goes up and stands there.
De Los Santos walks him on four pitches.
Somehow, this did not immediately precede the end of this madness. De Los Santos gets it together to retire Wagaman on a fly to center. Poor Sam.
13th Inning
The Angels get a reprieve when the White Sox again fail to bring in the run. Although they load the bases with two outs, Yoán Moncada strikes out to end the rally. Did you know that Moncada was back with the team? It was his first at-bat since April 9. I hope that, like Hawk, he mostly avoided watching the White Sox in the meantime.
Nearly two hours after I first tuned in with the vague, faint hope of a victory for the Pale Hose, it finally ends. The rookie Adams—a first-round pick by the Halos six years ago—got to be the feel-good hero. His 14th career hit is a walk-off winner, though even that carried in its own depressing White Sox twinge. Adams’ single is deflected by Miguel Vargas at third.
That might not necessarily be an easy play, but it’s one that should be made. The single also had an xBA of .080, the lowest of any hit in the game. The White Sox found a way to turn it into a loss.
I suppose that it all comes with the territory of tallying up 117 losses before even the last day of summer. That’s the 2024 White Sox for you. They are the fly in your ointment, the sediment in your glass of wine, and the puddle of mud in the road that’s deeper than you expected.
Sixteen Pitches As Mason Miller
Written by: Ginny Searle
Athletics 5, Rockies 4
| IP | H | R | BB | K | |
| Miller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
INT. BEST BUY, JULY 2025 – DAY
ASSOCIATE
Miss, please, there are other people waiting to try the PitchSim6824. We’re really not supposed to let you log this many hours on the machine without letting you buy it. Plus…you don’t look well?
GINNY
(blood-tinged sclera, silent laughter)
You don’t get it…I’ve done it. Achieved communion. I’m ready. Leave me be. You’ll have your precious implement back in no time, poloman.
ASSOCIATE
Whatever. If you’re not out of here in five minutes I’m calling the cops.
Ginny straps on the futuristic visor. We dolly in through the front, the virtual screen taking over the camera.
PITCHSIM (voiceover)
Back for more, huh? Tenth time’s the charm? So little blood left to give…and haven’t you ruined poor Kyle’s year enough?
GINNY
I’m not doing level two again.
PITCHSIM
N-no. You’re not ready. It’s dangerous, and not just for you. You can’t comprehend the difference betw—
GINNY
PitchSim, start the game.
(displayed on-screen)
LEVEL 1: Beer League Starter
Perfect Score! Attempts: 2
LEVEL 2: Kyle Hendricks
Successes: 1 Attempts: 7
LEVEL 3: Mason Miller
WARNING: Proceed with Caution
Attempts: 0
GINNY
Level 3. In true flesh.
(holds up palm)
I give of myself willingly.
Ginny shudders and visibly pales as something intangible of herself passes through into the conduit. We return inside the screen, which speeds through a miasma of shifting, holographic tableaus that never quite become comprehensible. The phantasmagoria settles, awash in green.
GINNY
Wow, different atmosphere than a Cubs game. But I’m here. Remember, this is only like 15% faster than Hendricks throws. No pressure…well, obviously there’s the pressure of having wagered part of your soul to this dark device, but no pressure is something one says.
Oh shoot, the pitch clock’s running, better move.
GINNY
Well, “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades” doesn’t have to be negative, I suppose. It can also apply to the fortuitous occasion of not braining someone with a 100-mph fastball. Okay, now to adjust these finicky controls—
GINNY
Whoops, uh… PitchSim? I think something’s wrong, I can’t get the pitch to go anywhere but way above the strike zone.
PITCHSIM
(haughtily)
I do recall mentioning the exponential increase in difficulty, as well as the recommended mastery of our 85-mph sim before moving onto the 101-mph final level.
GINNY
Can you just tell me how to throw it in the strike zone?
PITCHSIM
A poor craftsman blames her tools.
Ginny huffs and closes her eyes, inhaling deeply. She turns and fluidly moves back to the controls without pause, as if to catch herself off guard.
GINNY
Ha! Did you see that? In the strike zone and he swung through it. Looks like I don’t need your help, robot.
PITCHSIM
Ah, very impressive. Now do it again.
Ginny harumphs and pitches again, missing above the zone once more. Clearly frustrated, she declines to address PitchSim. Pitch no. 5 also ends up above the zone, but Jordan Beck swings through it, shaking his head as he misses the offering by a good half-foot.
PITCHSIM
Well, I say, not a great lesson if they’re going to swing through ball four. You’ll have to throw a competitive pitch sometime.
The next pitch comes.
PITCHSIM
(higher-pitched)
I am a state-of-the-art system designed to instruct on pitch selection, design, and utilization at the highest level! You’ll take no benefit from simply blowing past the batters with the same pitch every time!
GINNY
I don’t know…I think I’m learning plenty.
PITCHSIM
At least use a different pitch!
Ginny quickly taps through the same menu trees when Charlie Blackmon steps in, with the veteran ignoring a fastball in the top of the zone—only looking at it belatedly, as if the baseball was Road Runner zipping by—and then swinging through a pitch level with his armpits. PitchSim becomes increasingly despondent, only perking up as Blackmon takes a basically identical 0-2 offering.
PITCHSIM
Wow, up to 102 mph—if only you used that power on a pitch worth swinging at.
Ginny rolls her eyes, but deigns to change strategy, selecting a slider on the interface for the first time and being rewarded by Blackmon missing the breaker by obscene margins.
PITCHSIM
Hmm. Perhaps you have learned something. We shall see.
GINNY
(choosing the next pitch indifferently)
What’ll it take for me to prove I finally mastered this damn thing?
(as an afterthought)
Oh yeah, and for you to release the bits of soul I already lost…
PITCHSIM
Well, certainly I agree you’ve mastered running the heat past them up and out of the zone. But let’s say…finish things here with no more high heat, and we’ll be even.
GINNY
(hesitantly)
Fine. But you know, you kinda loaded the deck for yourself here anyway, loading in the guy who must have the smallest zone in the league. How tall is he, 5-foot-5?
PITCHSIM
Ezequiel Tovar is six feet and zero inches tall.
GINNY
He visibly is not. Whatever, I guess we have to start getting used to computers lying to us.
The next pitch comes in, high in the zone but painting the outside corner and being swung through by Tovar.
PITCHSIM
Nearly pushed out of the zone, there.
GINNY
You’re so rigid. Watch this.
Next: A fastball down and away—taken—and a slider at the knees—fouled away; Tovar is unsurprisingly late on an 88-mph breaking ball. He’s down to his final strike, and just manages to deflect another 102-mph four-seamer back into the netting.
PITCHSIM
Ah, ah, ah! That was above the zone! Call me Imhotep in The Mummy, because your soul belongs to me!
GINNY
No way! You’re being biased because of Tovar’s digital K-zone, but that definitely wasn’t above his letters. I’m using my challenge.
On screen flashes the announcement “Challenge to Soul Wager Default”
Pending …
Pending …
Decision reached. Pitch was not out of the strike zone, soul wager not forfeit.
PITCHSIM
Damn, I thought I had you there.
GINNY
(relieved)
I thought you did too…Well, I can’t get him with high heat, but what else have I learned here? Miller has struck out more than half of batters, and his strategies have worked for me. So what’s the move here?
(considering)
I’ve got it. Throw it hard where they can’t hit it.
GINNY
Easy peasy. I’ll have my soul back now, please!
CUT TO BLACK.
POSTSCRIPT – INT. A HALF-FILLED MEETING ROOM, MONTHS LATER
GINNY
Hi. My name is Ginny, and I’m a PitchSim Soul Gambling Addict.
Thank you for reading
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