The Pitch Clock: Baseball Is a Winter Sport

Thanks for hanging with us. Welcome to The Pitch Clock, our two-part baseball hang that mixes a throwback trivia draft with a fresh interview. Surprise drop, one-episode renewal energy, winter meetings just wrapped, and Adnan Virk is here to sort it all out, but first we’re playing the steals-minus-RBI draft. Pick seven players, total their career stolen bases minus career RBIs, and you want a positive number.

I’m taking first pick and going Lou Brock. Let’s see if I can ride that lead and not do a whole lot the rest of the way.

Early chaos. A couple picks go underwater, then D. Gordon and Dave Roberts steady things, Juan Pierre pops a nice plus, and we’re tied. I swing big on Rickey Henderson and blow the game open with a monster positive.

On to Orlando. Two headline deals: Kyle Schwarber’s massive pact with the Phillies and Pete Alonso heading to the Orioles. Which one matters more right now?

Alonso to Baltimore. They were starving for first-base thump, bottom of the league in homers and RBIs, and he’s a pen-in 40 and 100 who answers the bell every day. There’s even the story about timing a C-section so he didn’t miss a game. The defense has limits, but he picks it well, and he’ll mash at Camden Yards. With David Rubenstein making a first big splash and rumors they’re in on Framber Valdez, it signals they’re serious again.

And the Mets side of it? Big spenders usually, yet they let Alonso walk and saw Edwin Díaz bolt on a three-year, $69 million deal to the Dodgers.

Díaz to L.A. shocked me, especially with the Mets reportedly close on dollars. Sounds like he wanted the Dodgers and bristled at them adding Devin Williams without looping him in. L.A. patched its biggest hole with an elite closer. In Queens, frustration’s real after moving on from fan favorites like Díaz, Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo, and the back pages are howling. I expect them to chase Kyle Tucker hard and add pitching, because an 83–79 team just lost core pieces.

Back to the draft. We hit the Billy Hamilton minefield and accidentally pull the 19th-century legend with silly totals before realizing we needed the modern speedster. Even corrected, it’s a big swing, and the room melts down that there are two Billy Hamiltons.

What didn’t happen at the meetings that surprised you?

No Kyle Tucker deal. The buzz was heavy on Toronto and even a Dodgers-style short, huge AAV contract. I could see something like three years at a massive number. With the Jays already landing Dylan Cease and the Mets now desperate for a headliner, that market could move fast, but I still lean Toronto.

Give me something quieter that you think will matter.

Stephen Matz getting solid money and Kyle Finnegan to the Tigers stood out. If Detroit really dangles Tarik Skubal and he lands with the Dodgers, that’s absolute bedlam, but even without that, Finnegan brings needed veteran stability to a thin rotation.

What’s the next wave you’re tracking before we talk again?

Trades. The Nationals are listening on MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams, with James Wood now looking like the Soto trade prize. Ketel Marte has heat from the Red Sox and Blue Jays. And never discount a Padres thunderbolt from A.J. Preller; Tatis isn’t in play, Machado and Bogaerts are tough to move, so a big Jackson Merrill deal feels plausible. Where there’s smoke with San Diego, there’s usually fire.

We set the table late: I’m around plus-100, you’re around plus-60, then Kenny Lofton bites me with RBIs. You go off-script with a pitcher, get reeled back to Pete Crow-Armstrong, and we crunch the last math.

I basically coast to the win with 21 points. Someone finishes at negative 99, and I’m still laughing that there are two Billy Hamiltons. The rush of finally landing that name felt absurdly good.

That was a roller coaster. Adnan, thanks for the intel, and yes, next time you’re officially our 2026 MLB expert. And seriously… the two Billy Hamiltons revelation might be our greatest studio lesson yet.