To: Ty Williams (knuckler_ty49@speedmail.com)
From: Tom Haley (thaley120791@jetmail.ca)
November 30, 2022
Hey Ty,
Thanks for your email the other day. Things have been pretty busy around here lately. I've been enjoying lots of time with Patrick, who is really a lot of fun to play with now that he is a little older.
He loves playing "ball ball," as he calls all sports, and he's always asking me to play. He can throw and catch a Wiffle ball, a small plastic football, and a little plastic basketball, and he can hit a plastic puck with a little hockey stick. He sometimes hits the football with the hockey stick, and he throws with both hands, but it's all good. He's still only 2 1/2, so we have time to work on the fine points.
Trish is even busier than she usually is, because she's getting her lesson plans ready for at least the first three months after Christmas. Her due date is December 26, so the baby SHOULD be born during her vacation...but you can't time these things. She's prepared in case the next member of the Haley family decides to make its appearance sooner.
I know it's getting old, going into the winter without knowing where you'll pitch next year. You'll get a contract offer, though. You had a better year than you did in 2022--you cut a whole run off your ERA, you didn't give up as many homers, your strikeout rate went up--LOTS of good signs. You're defintely a big league pitcher, buddy. There are 30 teams, and one of them is going to realize that.
It looks like I will forever claim the hitting honors between us, since
the National League is putting in the DH for next year. You had your chance this year, but you didn't take advantage of it.
Let me know the minute you hear something good. I'll do the same when the baby arrives--if you're not here for the big day yourself. We're hosting Christmas, for obvious reasons, and if the lil' one arrives on schedule, he/she will have a fantastic welcoming committee.
Later,
Tom
Here's Ty's stat line for 2022:
Code:
TEAM LEVEL G GS W L SV ERA IP H ER HR BB SO WHIP
St. Louis MLB 40 21 8 11 0 4.47 177.0 174 88 21 84 165 1.46
Ty's ERA was almost exactly league-average, and his FIP was 4.44. In other words, what you saw was what you got.
His strikeout rate looks good, and like a lot of knuckleballers, his walk total remains high. He threw eight wild pitches in 2022, after uncorking 10 in 224 innings the year before.
The Cardinals finished 72-90, last in the NL Central by two games.