Lance McAlister

In January, 19-year old Quinn Brown was at a Goodwill store outside Portland. He noticed customers sorting through a pile of clothing, and saw someone toss a Los Angeles Lakers jacket back into the pile. It had the name Chamberlain on it. Brown grabbed it and bought it for $3.07.

He found a Google picture of Chamberlain wearing a similar jacket and compared it to the one he had.

When he posted a photo of the jacket on social media, Sotheby’s Auction House contacted him about consigning the jacket.

Sotheby’s did its a photo verification and determined the jacket was worn by Chamberlain during the 1972 Finals, in which he was named the Finals MVP.

The jacket was auctioned by Sotheby’s yesterday and sold for $89,600

Brown told the Associated Press “I didn’t even think that finding something like this was possible. I got very, very lucky. That was as good as it gets.”

Elly played in his 500th MLB game last night. How would you assess his career to this point?

I'm fascinated by how many fans look at the 24-year old in terms of what he isn't, rather than what he is.

Career: .259 BA, .333 OBP, .454 SLG, .787 OPS. He's better than league average in all categories. BA +15, OPS +14, SLG +51, OPS +65.

He's the second player in MLB history with 75+ HR and 150+ SB through his first 500 career games (Eric Davis).

He's the second Major Leaguer since 1900 with at least 200 extra-base hits and 150 stolen bases through his first four career seasons (Juan Samuel).

He's one of four players, along with César Cedeño, José Reyes, and Roberto Alomar, with at least 200 extra-base hits, 200 walks, 150 stolen bases, and 200 RBI before turning 25.

One year after hitting .262 with a .342 OBP and .619 OPS vs LHP, he's hitting .319, and owns the highest SLG (.660) and second-best OPS (1.047) among qualified ML batters against LHP pitching.

Since moving to the leadoff spot, he's hitting .299 with a .386 OBP.

With 2 outs w/RISP, his OPS is 1.007, 16th best in MLB.

Defensively, he's on pace for 14 errors, 16.8 over a full 162 games. He committed 26 errors last season, and 29 in 2024.

I'll point stuff like this out until I'm blue in the face: Barry Larkin made 29 errors at age 24, Dave Concepcion 30 at age 26, Ozzie Smith 24 at age 25.

Yes, his strikeout rate is up a tick from last season (27.4 from 25.7)

Yes, he makes the occasional head scratcher in the field, and doesn't always get in front of balls.

But even his harshest critics must concede he's one of the most dynamic players in the game. He's a game changer. In Bengals terms, he's a force multiplier.

At 24, he's still just scratching the surface of what he can be.

Warning to the rest of MLB: He's only going to get better.

Let's discuss tonight at 7:06 on 700WLW Sports Talk.

Cincinnati Reds

Nick Krall has seemingly done the impossible. He’s put his fingerprints on every rung of this organizational ladder since Jim Bowden hired him in 2003. His accomplishment? An organization with no identity, no tangible strengths, and a crapload of weaknesses.

He's actually managed to rebuild this organization into a last place team. The Cincinnati Reds are 17.5 games back of the small market Brewers. They are six games back of the 4th place Pirates and Cardinals. They are behind six teams for the 3rd Wild Card.

Since May 1, they have gone 25-43, the worst mark in MLB. That's a 102 loss pace!

How's that philosophical lean into pitching and defense working?
The rotation is 21st in ERA, and his rebuilt bullpen is 25th. Meanwhile, Tom Emanski probably shed tears over the defensive performance last night.

The Reds are 29th in batting average, 23rd in runs per game, 29th in strikeout rate.

He traded for a 3rd baseman that's hitting .143....and still OWES him $29M AFTER this season. An organization that doesn't spend a lot of money, sure as hell does have a President of Baseball Operations that wastes a lot of money.

Where's the help from the farm system? Shortstop Sammy Stafura, traded for Hayes, has a 1.012 OPS at High-A with the Pirates. Top 10 minor league prospect Mike Sirota, traded for Gavin Lux, has a .981 OPS at Double-A for the Dodgers. His 72 game on-base streak ended over the weekend.

Three years ago at the trade deadline, the Reds were in 1st place. They are 21 games UNDER .500 since.

I tweeted this on May 12: "I anxiously await someone, from the front office up, declaring what is happening as 'unacceptable'....and that the fans deserve better."

It's now July 21. I simply don't know how any of the 19 individuals and entities that own the Cincinnati Reds can watch this continue to unfold on Krall's watch.

How is all this possible? How is all this accepted? When does change happen?

I'm still waiting.............