Welcome to the second edition of ‘Outside the Hashes.’
November is the season of giving thanks and before I get started, I’d like to thank a few people who have helped me get to where I am today. First, I’d like to thank Chris Bullock, who was my editor when I wrote for the school newspaper at Sacramento State. Chris put my name out to the Ball Out Staff and was able to get me on board as things just got rolling for the site.
Next, I’d like to thank my editors here at the Ball Out for continuing to believe in my work and giving me this great platform to express my opinions and grow as a writer.
Lastly, I’d like to thank every professor, mentor, editor, counselor and colleague that has presented me with opportunities to do what I love. Since I was a child, I have dreamed about working in the sports industry and while I may not be where I envision myself yet, I know I am on the right path thanks to the guidance of many others.
Now let’s begin…
1.) The Roast of Nathan Peterman
On Monday, Nov. 12th, the Buffalo Bills finally parted ways with the interception-prone Nathan Peterman. After Matt Barkley’s solid performance versus the New York Jets, it was only a matter of time before the Bills would cut ties with their second-year quarterback.
Peterman may go down as one of the worst NFL quarterbacks of all time. Yes, his name is amongst guys like JaMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, Scott Tolzien and Heath Shuler. Here are a couple of eye-opening stats to prove his place amongst the worst of all-time.
Peterman had such a low passer rating, that after he had a zero touchdown three-interception performance against the Chicago Bears this year, his pass rating went up from 20.8 to 30.7.
Peterman’s career passer rating of 36.2 is so bad that he could have spiked the ball on every single one of his pass attempts and finished with a higher rating (39.6).
Aaron Rodgers could throw 1,240 interceptions on consecutive pass attempts and still would have a better touchdown to interception ratio than Peterman.
Peterman’s 11 interceptions before his 100th career pass attempt set a NFL record for most in a player’s first 100 pass attempts.
Peterman has thrown three career pick-sixes, which matches his career touchdown total.
Peterman’s career interception rate of 9.2% is good for highest of all time in the NFL for a player with a 100 or more pass attempts.
Last but not least, Peterman was so bad that Bills fans actually started a GoFundMe account to get him to retire. Don’t believe me? Check it out:
Safe to say, Peterman’s quarterback play was so bad, he may singlehandedly help Colin Kaepernick win his collusion case against the NFL.
2.) It’s Sho-Time!
On Tuesday, Nov. 13th, it was announced that the Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani had won the American League Rookie of the Year award. He earned 25 out of 30 first place votes edging out third baseman Miguel Andujar of the New York Yankees.
However, despite being the MLB’s first two-way player since Babe Ruth in 1919, Ohtani winning the ROY award caused a bit of a stir amongst baseball fans on Twitter. Since he signed with the Angels last off-season, many sports media outlets already proclaimed him as baseball’s next big thing. While the claim was a bit premature, Ohtani did bring a new excitement level that had not been seen before, especially in a small market such as Anaheim.
By the numbers, Ohtani went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched while posting an average of .285 at the plate. He hit 22 home runs, 21 doubles and posted a slugging percentage of .564, which would have ranked fourth in the AL if he had a few more at-bats to qualify. Ohtani was plugged into the Angels middle of the lineup in the latter half of the season and delivered, driving in 61 RBIs. He flashed some speed on the base paths swiping 10 bags during the year and was second on the team with an OPS of .925.
What caused Ohtani’s low at-bats numbers was a month-long stint on the disabled list as well as taking the day before, the day of and the day after a pitching start off from the starting lineup. Andujar, on the other hand, finished with 247 more at-bats than Ohtani did in 2018 and his numbers at the plate were terrific. However, defensively his -25 defensive runs saved ranked amongst the worst at his position and certainly hurt his case for ROY.
Let’s set the record straight, no one should be saying Ohtani is an all-time great or is one of baseball’s best players just yet. The Japanese sensation struggled against some of the better talents in the league and it may be a while before we see him pitch again due to his Tommy John Surgery. But, he is a must-watch caliber player. No one in almost 100 years has been able to do what he accomplished this season, pitching and hitting at the game’s highest level.
It’s time for baseball fans to stop criticizing what Ohtani cannot do, and rather admire what he can do.
3.) Trouble in Paradise?
It has been a wacky week in sports and no team is safe, including the Golden State Warriors. The reigning NBA champions are still without their star point guard Steph Curry due to injury and faced the Los Angeles Clippers on November 12th.
The Warriors struggled for three quarters but found themselves in a tie game with just a few seconds left on the clock. After a Lou Williams miss, Warriors forward Draymond Green grabbed the rebound and quickly ran up the floor. With under three seconds left in the game, Green lost his dribble and was not able to get a shot off before the buzzer. His teammate Kevin Durant was not too pleased with the play as you can see him clapping for the ball right after the rebound.
Turns out, there was a little intent from Green to purposely not pass the ball to Durant. The two had a heated altercation during the break before overtime, and it carried on over into the locker room after the game. Green was apparently frustrated about Durant’s plans in the upcoming free agency period and said something in the locker room that got himself suspended for the team’s following game.
Green is a very passionate player, but the fact he was so upset about the upcoming free agency in November has to make you think a little.
What was said by Durant? Did he confirm he plans to walk away this off-season? Is he not committed to the Warriors? Does Durant not like the players or coach Steve Kerr?
While there is still a lot of unknown about the situation, it does make for better television. Think about it, the Warriors entering this season were going to cakewalk their way to the NBA Finals and win their third straight, their fourth in five years. Now they still may go on to win the NBA Finals, but things get a whole lot more interesting off the court.
How does the Durant-Green relationship go from here? Demarcus Cousins will be back from injury later this season, how does his personality fit in? Is coach Kerr capable of keeping the situation under control?
From all the fans of the NBA, thank you KD and Draymond for making things a little bit more interesting this season.
4.) We Say Goodbye to a Legend
Here at the Ball Out, we cover a variety of different things outside sports including a lot in the entertainment industry. Well, the entertainment world lost one of its’ great visionaries on Monday in Stan Lee.
Lee is credited with creating some of Marvel’s most popular characters such as the “Iron Man,” “Hulk,” and “Spider-Man” and bringing them to life in the form of comic books during the 1960’s. Lee helped changed the way comic books were read and has prolonged their popularity through the 21st century. Not only that, he helped get his Marvel characters onto the big screen creating one of the most popular movie franchises in history.
It goes without saying, thank you Stan Lee for all that you did for pop culture and may you rest in paradise.
I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, thank you for reading.
