Quid Pro Quo – Minor League DL & More Travel

Q – If a player is on the 40 man roster, in the minors and is injured, does he get put on the Major League 60 Day DL while accruing service time?  The rationale I think would be that if you gain the benefit of having the player temporarily off the 40 Man roster, you should be getting a penalty for using that benefit – i.e. the Service time.
- Pete

A – Good question. A player who is on option cannot be placed on the Major League 60 Day DL. However some teams in the past have recalled an injured player in order to place him on the 60 Day. This most often happens when a team is in a position to make the playoffs and is trying to create roster flexibility for the postseason. (The K-Rod Rule) Obviously the trade-off is providing service time and Major League salary to the injured player.

Q – I am curious how much research teams do on individual umpires? Do scouts provide reports on their strike zones, or particular pitches (e.g. slider low and away) that they are likely to expand the zone on? Also, do teams keep any statistics on individual umpires? If so, what kind? Thanks.
- Mike

A – For years, coaches and players had their own scouting report on umpires. It was pretty basic, the ump called the wide strike, the high strike, tight zone, short-fuse etc. With the increase in data now available through video scouting – I think a few teams are beginning to run umpire reports to some extent. In my experience of talking to coaches who run advance meetings, there was mild interest in the data but I got the feeling they weren’t keen on providing too much info to the players. There is so much data available, it’s important to keep some players for information overload. Some coaches and players want to keep the game simple – others want as much info as possible.

Q – Did you ever notice if any of the players separated into cliques on the bus or on the plane? Was it usually the same guys who hung out together?
- Ian

A – Cliques may be a strong word. However there are always various groups within a team. As you can imagine, if you throw 25 guys in a room with different backgrounds, there will be various groups and sub-groups of friends. Pitchers typically hang with other pitchers and bullpen guys may be more social with their fellow relievers. Makes sense really, they spend a lot of time together prior to the game, during the game…why not postgame as well?

The other sub-groups are most often created by nationality/background. Spanish speaking players tend to gravitate to each other for obvious reasons – specifically more comfortable with the language but can also be related to things like preference in food and music.

Q – I would like to know what happen once the players are settled in the hotel. Do they travel to the stadium on their own or there’s a bus waiting for the team. I saw Pete Rose while playing with the Phillies taking the Montreal Metro to the stadium.
- Danny R

A – Danny has been wanting an answer to this one for awhile. The teams will always provide bus service to the ballpark and returning to the hotel. Whether or not the bus is actually used, depends a lot on the city and the timing of the schedule. Players go to the park at various times for workouts, rehab, treatment, card playing, boredom, hunger or extra work. So most players will find their own way to the park by walking, taxis or subway. The bus returning to the hotel is used by the majority of players.