Question: Given what he’s done in year one and off the field, do you think Pete Alonso ranks among the best signings in team history? Or where do you think it ranks? From: Mark Brodinsky
Answer: Mark, that’s an interesting question. For the first year, it’s been an outstanding signing. The best comparison to it was the Orioles’ signing Nelson Cruz to a one-year contract in 2014, a move that paid off handsomely when he hit 40 home runs and had 108 RBIs. Cruz signed with Seattle the next season.
The hope is that Alonso, who has four years remaining on his 5-year, $155 million contract, continues to play this well, and then there will be no question about it.
Question: What do you think of Pete Alonso as League MVP — not of just the Orioles but of the entire league? How many games would the Orioles have lost without him? I put it at 10 to 15, and he almost personally dragged the entire team into the postseason. I think he did more for the O’s than probably any other player did for their respective team. From: Ron Wolf
Answer: Ron, I think Alonso has done a great job this year, and I’m sure he’ll get more than a few down-ballot MVP votes, but I don’t think he deserves to be the American League’s Most Valuable Player.
Houston’s Yordan Alvarez is considered the leading contender, and without him, the Astros wouldn’t have contended for the AL West. His overall numbers were better than Alonso’s.
Kansas City’s Bobby Witt will also be deserving of consideration. He was excellent offensively and defensively.
I saw two respected writers’ mock ballots and didn’t see Alonso rated in the top 5. He’s never finished higher than seventh in National League MVP voting, and perhaps he’ll do better than this year.
Question: Is there a reason that was offered for why Trevor Rogers was pulled after four innings and Brandon Young after five innings? Especially with Rogers, keeping him from being the winning pitcher seems pretty insensitive (maybe even petty). Young was pulled after five, but without the lead and giving up only a couple of hits and denying a quality start opportunity also seems not right.
Also puzzling is why Rece Hinds was in the lineup over Heston Kjerstad? Hinds doesn’t appear to do anything better than Kjerstad. From: Phil Cooke
Answer: Phil, I generally avoid answering questions about individual games, but since it’s the end of the season, I’ll make an exception.
I was also wondering why Rogers was pulled one inning short of a win, but during meaningless games, managers often pull pitchers early. I would have liked to have seen him go through five, especially with a sizable lead.
Another consideration was that perhaps the Orioles wanted to reward Albert Suárez for his willingness to repeatedly re-sign with the team, making his a bit of an unsung hero.
By allowing Suárez to throw four innings and get the win, it helped showcase him to other teams who could offer him a contract for next season. Of course, he might be back with the Orioles, but I think the win was more important to him than it would have been to Rogers.
Young threw well, but again, it’s a case of a manager trying to limit innings for a last start, especially when Young threw more innings this season than he’s ever thrown.
As for Hinds over Kjerstad, I can’t defend not playing Kjerstad. It’s obvious that he’ll be moving on and hopefully he’ll get a legitimate shot elsewhere since he didn’t get one this month.
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: [email protected]. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.