Mariners Moose Tracks, 11/13/20: José Abreu, Freddie Freeman, and Ryan Tepera

Good morning folks! It’s Friday, and as always we’ve got a fresh set of links for you.

In Mariners news...

• Mike Blowers shared his personal memories of working with Dave Niehaus in an interview with Corey Brock at The Athletic. ($)
• Ryan Divish caught up with Sam Carlson, who has fell off the prospect radar after missing several seasons due to injury.
• The latest episode of Vibin’ With JROD features someone M’s fans haven’t gotten a chance to know very well yet: Emerson Hancock.

• On the latest episode of his podcast, The Hyphen spoke to Mariners pitching coach Pete Woodworth to discuss his philosophy on coaching.

Around the league...

• White Sox slugger José Abreu captured the American League MVP Award. Importantly, Kyle Lewis received one lone 10th place vote.
• It was a season for first baseman, as Freddie Freeman of the Braves earned the National League MVP Award.
• Ryan Tepera, a decent middle reliever for the Cubs, earned an MVP vote by complete accident.
• If the Mets could sign him to remove themselves from the J.T. Realmuto sweepstakes, that would be phenomenal.

• Jared Diamond at The Wall Street Journal diagnoses the lack of Black MLB managers to start at the lack of Black MLB catchers.
• The entire structure of the minor leagues is transforming, as MiLB players might not even be asked to pay clubhouse dues anymore. J.J. Cooper at Baseball America has the report.
• The Angels have their new general manager, signing Perry Minasian away from the Braves.
• With the Rule 5 Draft deadline approaching, it’s time to familiarize ourselves with the players who could be vulnerable to selection in the December event.
• Craig Edwards at Fangraphs previews the free agent market for Marcus Semien.