Some Guys Work Harder

Whispers from greatness

“Some guys try harder than others. Some guys work harder than others.”

It’s a simple assertion, but one of the few introspective moments in “One of a Kind,” the Greg Maddux documentary we recently examined. Maddux need not say anything else. The four Cy Young Awards and 18 Gold Gloves in the backdrop do all the talking.

During Spring Training of 2007, I’d drag myself out of bed every so often for an early morning workout. I wanted to get in and out of the Padres weight room before players showed up. Some mornings, members of the strength and conditioning staff would be present. Every so often, I’d be alone. One morning, around 6:15, I was making my way from one piece of equipment to another when I noticed I had company.

The room was quiet: no music from the speakers and all televisions were off. I’m not even sure that the lights were on.

By the leg press, there was someone in a grey Padres cotton t-shirt and baggy gym shorts. I took a lap around the room in an attempt to identify him. There was a hefty amount of weight on the machine.

That’s when I saw firsthand that, indeed, some guys work harder than others.

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Joey Wasn’t Angry Anymore

Joey Votto was a guest on Starkville, the podcast hosted by Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville, in September, shortly after calling it quits. Votto was a great player over 17 seasons with the Reds. He won the NL MVP in 2010 and retired a six-time All-Star. Even so, he’s probably underappreciated. (As Stark points out, Votto is in a group with Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb as the only players to lead their league in on-base percentage seven times in their career.)

His thoughts on the game, on his journey — especially on his final season in Triple-A Buffalo with the Blue Jays — reveal the kind of depth, insights, and vulnerability that we rarely get in baseball. Votto tears up the book of baseball clichés and speaks from the heart.

Equally refreshing, Stark and Glanville let Votto go. He speaks for nearly 10 minutes without interruption at one point. I have to believe that the hosts realized in the moment that this was lightning in a bottle. Votto delivers a few soliloquies throughout the podcast, each worth our attention and respect.

He shares the story of his final professional game, and we get to hear his secrets. The breakdown of his physical and mental approach during his final at-bats is nothing I’d heard before. The day-to-day rhythm of the game rarely allows for such reflection.

Votto admits he knew he was done after checking his swing on a fastball down the middle — “like literally right down the middle” — in what proved to be his final game. “The games are the litmus test,” he tells the hosts. “The game provides the reality.”

I hope MLB is already planning a Joey Votto documentary.

There’s so much wisdom and empathy in his approach; I’m in awe of his ability to be honest with himself and share it with the world. There are simply too many gems to share them all. In the end, he concludes that he lost the fire: “I wasn’t as angry as I should be.”

I promise you this podcast is worth your time. I think it will reframe the way we watch the game this season, especially how we appreciate the very best players on the field.

Let me know how you like it.

Oh, My Arm! It’s Broken!

Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

After reminiscing about the 2011 season with Daniel Hudson last month, I took another look at the leaders in innings pitched from that season.

Hudson and Ian Kennedy each threw 222 innings. Joe Saunders tossed 212. Those three pitchers accounted for 45% of the D-backs outs recorded that season.

That same year, the Phillies rolled out Roy Halladay (233.2 IP), Cliff Lee (232.2 IP), and Cole Hamels (216 IP), and that threesome ate up 46% of the team’s innings.

Let’s go back to LA, where Cole just had his ulnar collateral ligament reconstructed.

The innings leaders for last year’s Dodgers — the World Champion Dodgers — were Gavin Stone (140.1 IP), Tyler Glasnow (134 IP), and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (90 IP).

They accounted for only 25% of innings pitched by the Dodgers pitching staff. Stone underwent shoulder surgery in October and will miss all of 2025. No matter, the Dodgers have fortified their rotation as only they can.

With a depleted rotation in the Bronx, it will be interesting to watch how the Yankees piece together 27 outs each night. The Orioles, now facing uncertainty over the health of Grayson Rodriguez, may also need to find a new path compiling innings. Plenty of teams will face rotation uncertainty this season. Will that spawn a new path? The Dodgers have already shared one alternate route.

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