Infield: Shortstop Rick Burleson (1974-87) was sort of like a force of nature, a 165-pound ball of fire known as the Rooster (or, in Boston, as the Roostah). He was a fantastic defensive shortstop, maybe the best in baseball for a few years, and a player so intense that teammates were almost afraid to let up on the field lest they incur his wrath. He arrived around the same time as Rice, Lynn and Evans, helping to transform the Red Sox into a top-notch team. He was never more than an adequate hitter - .270 with a few walks, a few doubles - but he was defensive glue and a team leader. Arm injuries largely derailed his career in his 30s. First baseman Russell Branyan (1998- ) is sort of the opposite of Burleson, a big strapping guy who blasts home runs in great bunches but doesn't do much else. He hit more than 200 in the minors, and he may well top that number in the bigs, too. He's a .230 hitter who doesn't run well or field well, but the home runs are a definite plus. Third baseman Ray Boone (1948-60) is the patriarch of a great baseball family, father of Bob, granddad of Bret and Aaron, and he was probably the best player of the whole bloodline. He batted .275 with more walks than strikeouts, would hit 20 homers per year and topped 100 RBI twice. Second baseman Ross Barnes (1871-81) was without question a great player, as hard as that is to define in the 1870s. He was constantly leading the league in batting average, slugging and on-base, hits, runs, doubles, you name it. He frequently batted .400, but the rules at the time rather favored the hitter. One in particular that Barnes took advantage of - if the ball landed in fair territory, it was a fair ball, no matter where it rolled. He perfected a technique of bunting the ball fair with enough spin to make it skitter far enough into foul territory that it was impossible to throw him out. So he was a good player, but how to compare him to great players of future generations is hard to determine. It was a different game.
Outfield: It's too soon to try and predict what left fielder Ryan Braun (2007- ) is going to do in his career. He is just now hitting his prime, and he has been outstanding since the moment he arrived on the scene. He's a .300 hitter with power and improving strike zone judgment. The guy might hit 500 home runs. Or he might not. But for now, he's a hell of a good hitter. If you want an example of why you can't assume what course a young player's career will take, look to center fielder Rocco Baldelli (2003-10), who arrived at age 21 as a top-flight defensive center fielder, a fleet baserunner and a line-drive hitter with gap power. But then it all went crazy. He missed the entire 2005 season with a torn ACL and Tommy John Surgery, but when he made it back in June 2006, he looked as good as ever, and he batted .300 for the season. But in 2007, he injured a hamstring and then he kept reaggravating it during the rehab process, and he lost most of the 2007 and '08 seasons to an accumulation of injuries that ultimately led to a diagnosis of some sort of mitochondrial disorder or something called channelopathy. We don't really know what that means medically, but we know what it means athletically - he is highly susceptible to injuries, muscle strains and fatigue, and he basically can't play on back-to-back days. He stuck around for a few years and contributed as a role player, but his chance at stardom essentially evaporated before he turned 25. Right fielder Ray Blades (1922-32) spent a decade as a very efficient role player for the Cardinals, batting .300 with gap power and with more walks than strikeouts. He was a good bunter and he got hit by pitches. His career on-base percentage was .395, and he was on four pennant-winning teams and two World Series champions.
Catcher: Roger Bresnahan (1897-1915) is credited with inventing shin guards, which made him extremely durable and changed the nature of the catching position. He was famous for catching Christy Mathewson and was known as one of the most intense, fiery players of his era. He was the first catcher inducted into the Hall of Fame. A .279 hitter who drew walks, banged doubles, stole bases and played like a house afire. A very fine player.
Rotation: Ray Brown was a Negro League star in the generation immediately before the color line came down. He was a key pitcher for the Homestead Grays during that team's heyday. Brown was known for his spectacular curveball, and he was a good enough hitter to play the outfield occasionally when he wasn't on the mound. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Rube Benton (1910-25) was a solid lefty who won 150 games. He was a drinker and a gambler, and he was implicated in the aftermath of the Black Sox scandal and at one point was ruled ineligible to play. He admitted to betting on games but denied any involvement in the Black Sox scandal or any suggestion of thrown games. He was ultimately reinstated and finished his career, but there was always a cloud of suspicion over him. Ray Benge (1925-38) was a durable pitcher for teams that were generally pretty bad, leading to a career record of 101-130. Ralph Branca (1944-56) was a good pitcher for the "Boys of Summer" Brooklyn Dodgers, most famous of course for giving up Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World." Branca pitched for very good teams, alongside great teammates, and had a career record of 88-68, but he left Brooklyn (via waivers) in the middle of the 1953 season, thus missing the big payoff to the Dodgers' great success story. Ron Bryant (1967-75) was a non-descript lefty who out of nowhere in mid-career went 14-7 in 1972 and then 24-12 in 1973 for the Giants. During spring training the next season, he injured himself when he fell off a slide at the hotel swimming pool (no, we're not making that up), requiring 25 stitches and a stint on the disabled list. He went from 24-12 and a 3.53 ERA in 1972 to a 3-15 record and a 5.61 ERA in '73, which probably made him wish he had stayed off that slide. In 1975 he got the holy crap kicked out of him in a few games for St. Louis, and that was the end of his career.
Outfield: It's too soon to try and predict what left fielder Ryan Braun (2007- ) is going to do in his career. He is just now hitting his prime, and he has been outstanding since the moment he arrived on the scene. He's a .300 hitter with power and improving strike zone judgment. The guy might hit 500 home runs. Or he might not. But for now, he's a hell of a good hitter. If you want an example of why you can't assume what course a young player's career will take, look to center fielder Rocco Baldelli (2003-10), who arrived at age 21 as a top-flight defensive center fielder, a fleet baserunner and a line-drive hitter with gap power. But then it all went crazy. He missed the entire 2005 season with a torn ACL and Tommy John Surgery, but when he made it back in June 2006, he looked as good as ever, and he batted .300 for the season. But in 2007, he injured a hamstring and then he kept reaggravating it during the rehab process, and he lost most of the 2007 and '08 seasons to an accumulation of injuries that ultimately led to a diagnosis of some sort of mitochondrial disorder or something called channelopathy. We don't really know what that means medically, but we know what it means athletically - he is highly susceptible to injuries, muscle strains and fatigue, and he basically can't play on back-to-back days. He stuck around for a few years and contributed as a role player, but his chance at stardom essentially evaporated before he turned 25. Right fielder Ray Blades (1922-32) spent a decade as a very efficient role player for the Cardinals, batting .300 with gap power and with more walks than strikeouts. He was a good bunter and he got hit by pitches. His career on-base percentage was .395, and he was on four pennant-winning teams and two World Series champions.
Catcher: Roger Bresnahan (1897-1915) is credited with inventing shin guards, which made him extremely durable and changed the nature of the catching position. He was famous for catching Christy Mathewson and was known as one of the most intense, fiery players of his era. He was the first catcher inducted into the Hall of Fame. A .279 hitter who drew walks, banged doubles, stole bases and played like a house afire. A very fine player.
Rotation: Ray Brown was a Negro League star in the generation immediately before the color line came down. He was a key pitcher for the Homestead Grays during that team's heyday. Brown was known for his spectacular curveball, and he was a good enough hitter to play the outfield occasionally when he wasn't on the mound. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Rube Benton (1910-25) was a solid lefty who won 150 games. He was a drinker and a gambler, and he was implicated in the aftermath of the Black Sox scandal and at one point was ruled ineligible to play. He admitted to betting on games but denied any involvement in the Black Sox scandal or any suggestion of thrown games. He was ultimately reinstated and finished his career, but there was always a cloud of suspicion over him. Ray Benge (1925-38) was a durable pitcher for teams that were generally pretty bad, leading to a career record of 101-130. Ralph Branca (1944-56) was a good pitcher for the "Boys of Summer" Brooklyn Dodgers, most famous of course for giving up Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World." Branca pitched for very good teams, alongside great teammates, and had a career record of 88-68, but he left Brooklyn (via waivers) in the middle of the 1953 season, thus missing the big payoff to the Dodgers' great success story. Ron Bryant (1967-75) was a non-descript lefty who out of nowhere in mid-career went 14-7 in 1972 and then 24-12 in 1973 for the Giants. During spring training the next season, he injured himself when he fell off a slide at the hotel swimming pool (no, we're not making that up), requiring 25 stitches and a stint on the disabled list. He went from 24-12 and a 3.53 ERA in 1972 to a 3-15 record and a 5.61 ERA in '73, which probably made him wish he had stayed off that slide. In 1975 he got the holy crap kicked out of him in a few games for St. Louis, and that was the end of his career.
Bullpen: Rod Beck (1991-2004) was a big, burly guy with a good fastball and fine control but a propensity for the gopher ball. He was a durable closer who saved 286 games. Ricky Bottalico (1994-2005) was groomed by the Phillies as a closer, then came up and had a couple of decent years in that role. He was never a great closer, but he wasn't bad, and he had some decent seasons in middle relief as well. Ray Burris (1973-87) won 108 games but can't quite crack this rotation. He's just as good as Ron Bryant and Ray Benge really, but for now he gets bumped to the bullpen and a swingman role. Rocky Biddle (2000-04) spent a couple of years as the Expos' closer. He wasn't very good in that role, but they stuck with him until his ERA was getting close to 7.00. Rigo Beltran (1997-2004) was a lefty setup guy who pitched for four teams. Rafael Betancourt (2003- ) has been a quietly effective reliever for Cleveland, and he even got people out in Colorado after he was traded to the Rockies in the middle of the 2009 season. Rube Bressler (1914-32) came up as a pitcher, had some decent years and some rough years, and when the lively ball arrived, he moved to the outfield and became a .300 hitter. He'll work out of the bullpen and also see some time in the outfield on this team.
Bench: In addition to Bressler, Randy Bush (1982-93) is a backup outfielder here. He was a functional player on two Minnesota Twins championship teams. Rich Becker (1993-2000) came along after Bush, filling the Twins' need for an outfielder with the initials R.B. Infielder Rafael Belliard (1982-98) was about as bad a hitter as a guy can be and still sustain a career. He was (obviously) a fine defensive shortstop who played in four World Series with the Braves. Backup catcher Rod Barajas (1999- ) hits some home runs but doesn't do much else. First baseman Rico Brogna (1992-2001) wasn't terrible, but he wasn't nearly as good as he was expected to be. One night in the Norfolk Tides press box, the radio station's trivia question was which player once hit home runs for four different teams in the same season. The answer, of course, is Dave Kingman. But the first caller hopefully suggested "Rico Brogna?" It struck everyone as so utterly ludicrous that it became a running joke: No matter what the trivia question was, whether it pertained to Cy Young Award winners or World Series heroes from the 1920s or anything else, someone would chime in "Rico Brogna?" You've got to love inside jokes.
Manager: Ray Blades is player-manager. He won more than 900 games as a minor-league manager and in 1939 he managed the Cardinals to 92 wins.
Bench: In addition to Bressler, Randy Bush (1982-93) is a backup outfielder here. He was a functional player on two Minnesota Twins championship teams. Rich Becker (1993-2000) came along after Bush, filling the Twins' need for an outfielder with the initials R.B. Infielder Rafael Belliard (1982-98) was about as bad a hitter as a guy can be and still sustain a career. He was (obviously) a fine defensive shortstop who played in four World Series with the Braves. Backup catcher Rod Barajas (1999- ) hits some home runs but doesn't do much else. First baseman Rico Brogna (1992-2001) wasn't terrible, but he wasn't nearly as good as he was expected to be. One night in the Norfolk Tides press box, the radio station's trivia question was which player once hit home runs for four different teams in the same season. The answer, of course, is Dave Kingman. But the first caller hopefully suggested "Rico Brogna?" It struck everyone as so utterly ludicrous that it became a running joke: No matter what the trivia question was, whether it pertained to Cy Young Award winners or World Series heroes from the 1920s or anything else, someone would chime in "Rico Brogna?" You've got to love inside jokes.
Manager: Ray Blades is player-manager. He won more than 900 games as a minor-league manager and in 1939 he managed the Cardinals to 92 wins.
No comments:
Post a Comment