Infield: Shortstop Lyn Lary (1929-40) came up with the Ruth-Gehrig-Dickey Yankees and spent the first five years of his career there but somehow never appeared in a World Series. The Yankees won only pennant from 1929-33, and Lary did not appear in the team’s four-game sweep of the 1932 World Series. He left New York in 1934 and became a journeyman. As a leadoff man with a good batting eye, Lary had three seasons (with three different teams) of more than 700 plate appearances, and in each of those he scored 100 or more runs. Lary could be a bit confused at shortstop, as he will be positioned between second baseman Luis Manuel Lopez (1993-2005) and third baseman Luis Lopez with no middle name (2001-04). Luis Manuel Lopez, in a long career as a utility man and role player, did little to distinguish himself. He was a .250 hitter with no power, a poor batting eye, and no speed, and defensively he was no great shakes. Luis Lopez with no middle initial, on the other hand, was the same basic type of player but did not hang around nearly as long. First baseman Lou Limmer (1951-54) was a prodigious minor-league slugger who never got a foothold in the majors. In two stints with the Philadelphia A’s, he was always stuck behind a better player (Ferris Fain, Vic Power, Don Bollweg), but he did manage two trivia distinctions. On May 2, 1951, in a game against Detroit, Limmer became the first Jewish batter to hit a home run off of a Jewish pitcher (Saul Rogovin) who was throwing to a Jewish catcher (Joe Ginsberg). You can probably win some bar bets with that little tidbit. A bit more prominent: In September 1954, Limmer had the last hit and the last home run for the A’s before the franchise moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City.
Outfield: Lee Lacy (1972-87), who came up as a second baseman and spent most of his career as a corner outfielder, will be stretched to play center. He had a fascinating career – a role player and platoon guy in his 20s who gradually moved into a full-time role and finally began to get 500 plate appearances a year in his late 30s. He was a good line drive hitter, and after stealing just 36 bases in his first 10 seasons, he stole 40 in one year at age 34 and finished with 185 steals in his career. He had trouble cracking the lineup of the pennant-winning Dodgers in the 1970s, developed into a .300 hitter with the Pirates in the ‘80s and finished up in the Earl Weaver system in Baltimore. Left fielder Leron Lee (1969-76) had a mediocre career as a part-time player for four major-league teams but later distinguished himself as the first American player to become a star in Japan. Lee spent 11 years with the Chibbe Orions, hit 283 home runs and set a Japanese record for career batting average (.320). Before Lee’s arrival, Americans playing in Japan were almost exclusively washed-up veterans; Lee’s ability on the field and his approach to the game changed the way Japanese baseball fans and officials looked at American players, helping to change the ugly stereotype established by guys like Joe Pepitone. Negro League batting champion Lester Lockett will start in right field. He used a very long bat to hit sharp line drives, and according to one story (probably apochryphal, but who knows?), he hit an infield pop-up that went so high into a thick fog that he circled the bases before the infielders could figure out where it was going to land and track it down.
Catcher: Lou Legett (1929-35), affectionately known as “Doc,” was a decent enough minor-league hitter but a complete washout in the majors. He spent most of his career backing up Hall of Famer Rick Ferrell, but he’ll be the starter here.
Rotation: Lefty Leifield (1905-20) won 15-20 games per year for the Pirates between 1906-11. He finished his career at 124-97 with an ERA of 2.47, which is a good ERA but not quite as spectacular as it seems, since it was compiled in the depths of the Dead Ball Era. Understand that when Leifield posted a 1.87 ERA in 1906, that ranked him fifth in the National League. That said, he was a fine pitcher, and he also won 115 games in the minors – 42 before his major-league career and 73 after he was for the most part done in the bigs. Luis Leal (1980-85) was a dependable middle-of-the-rotation guy for the Blue Jays during the team’s climb from post-expansion doldrums to respectability. Toronto lost 95 games in his first season and won 99 in his last season. Along the way, Leal won 51 games and was generally pretty decent. Les Lancaster (1987-93) spent most of his career in the bullpen but will be pressed into starting duty here. He was capable of good seasons (1.36 ERA in 72 innings in 1988) and bad ones (6.33 ERA in 86 innings in 1992), but we’ll hope for the best. Larry Luebbers (1993-2000) was a 6-foot-6 stringbean who had a brief and unexceptional career for the Reds and the Cardinals. Larry Landreth (1976-77) showed some promise but won just one game for Montreal in the majors.
Bullpen: Closer Lerrin Lagrow (1970-80) saved 54 games in his career and had some good seasons along the way. He is perhaps best known for an incident early in the 1972 ALCS , when he drilled Oakland’s Bert Campaneris on the ankle and then had to duck his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame into a ball on the mound to avoid the bat that Campaneris flung at his head. Lou Lucier (1943-45) was a career minor-leaguer who pitched a bit for the Red Sox and Phillies during World War II. Louis LeRoy (1905-10) pitched briefly for the Yankees and the Red Sox. His nickname was “Chief,” which probably means he had some American Indian blood. Lynn Lovenguth (1955-57) won almost 200 games in the minors but went 0-2 in the majors. Lyman Linde (1947-48) was sort of Lovenguth Lite – he won just short of 100 games in the minors and went 0-0 in the bigs. Lance Lynn (2011- ) is a promising young prospect with the Cardinals, and that's enough to earn him a spot in this bullpen. The pen’s only lefty, Larry Loughlin (1967), is not to be confused with actress Lori Laughlin of “Full House” fame, though they would appear to have roughly the same odds of getting a major-league batter out.
Bench: Larry Lintz (1973-78) was a very fast middle infielder who, as they say, couldn’t steal first base. Playing part time (113 games, 388 plate appearances) for Montreal in 1974 he stole 50 bases in 57 attempts, but teams simply couldn’t live with his weak bat. He spent two years in Oakland as one of Charlie Finley’s “designated runners.” Backup catcher Luis Antonio Lopez (1990-91) will create a lot of confusion with Luis Manuel Lopez and Luis Lopez with no middle name. In fact, the team’s PR department is working up a funny ad campaign that will feature the three Lopezes dancing to “Louie Louie.” Infielder Lyle Luttrell (1956-57) was a sub-.200 hitter for the Senators. First baseman Luke Lutenberg (1894) was 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, a veritable giant in his day, but he batted like a 98-pound weakling. Larry Littleton (1981) was a good minor-league hitter, but he went 0-for-23 for the Indians in his only big-league experience.
Manager: Les Lancaster will be the player-manager (or, rather, pitcher-manager), utilizing the experience he has gotten from managing independent league teams in recent years.
Outfield: Lee Lacy (1972-87), who came up as a second baseman and spent most of his career as a corner outfielder, will be stretched to play center. He had a fascinating career – a role player and platoon guy in his 20s who gradually moved into a full-time role and finally began to get 500 plate appearances a year in his late 30s. He was a good line drive hitter, and after stealing just 36 bases in his first 10 seasons, he stole 40 in one year at age 34 and finished with 185 steals in his career. He had trouble cracking the lineup of the pennant-winning Dodgers in the 1970s, developed into a .300 hitter with the Pirates in the ‘80s and finished up in the Earl Weaver system in Baltimore. Left fielder Leron Lee (1969-76) had a mediocre career as a part-time player for four major-league teams but later distinguished himself as the first American player to become a star in Japan. Lee spent 11 years with the Chibbe Orions, hit 283 home runs and set a Japanese record for career batting average (.320). Before Lee’s arrival, Americans playing in Japan were almost exclusively washed-up veterans; Lee’s ability on the field and his approach to the game changed the way Japanese baseball fans and officials looked at American players, helping to change the ugly stereotype established by guys like Joe Pepitone. Negro League batting champion Lester Lockett will start in right field. He used a very long bat to hit sharp line drives, and according to one story (probably apochryphal, but who knows?), he hit an infield pop-up that went so high into a thick fog that he circled the bases before the infielders could figure out where it was going to land and track it down.
Catcher: Lou Legett (1929-35), affectionately known as “Doc,” was a decent enough minor-league hitter but a complete washout in the majors. He spent most of his career backing up Hall of Famer Rick Ferrell, but he’ll be the starter here.
Rotation: Lefty Leifield (1905-20) won 15-20 games per year for the Pirates between 1906-11. He finished his career at 124-97 with an ERA of 2.47, which is a good ERA but not quite as spectacular as it seems, since it was compiled in the depths of the Dead Ball Era. Understand that when Leifield posted a 1.87 ERA in 1906, that ranked him fifth in the National League. That said, he was a fine pitcher, and he also won 115 games in the minors – 42 before his major-league career and 73 after he was for the most part done in the bigs. Luis Leal (1980-85) was a dependable middle-of-the-rotation guy for the Blue Jays during the team’s climb from post-expansion doldrums to respectability. Toronto lost 95 games in his first season and won 99 in his last season. Along the way, Leal won 51 games and was generally pretty decent. Les Lancaster (1987-93) spent most of his career in the bullpen but will be pressed into starting duty here. He was capable of good seasons (1.36 ERA in 72 innings in 1988) and bad ones (6.33 ERA in 86 innings in 1992), but we’ll hope for the best. Larry Luebbers (1993-2000) was a 6-foot-6 stringbean who had a brief and unexceptional career for the Reds and the Cardinals. Larry Landreth (1976-77) showed some promise but won just one game for Montreal in the majors.
Bullpen: Closer Lerrin Lagrow (1970-80) saved 54 games in his career and had some good seasons along the way. He is perhaps best known for an incident early in the 1972 ALCS , when he drilled Oakland’s Bert Campaneris on the ankle and then had to duck his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame into a ball on the mound to avoid the bat that Campaneris flung at his head. Lou Lucier (1943-45) was a career minor-leaguer who pitched a bit for the Red Sox and Phillies during World War II. Louis LeRoy (1905-10) pitched briefly for the Yankees and the Red Sox. His nickname was “Chief,” which probably means he had some American Indian blood. Lynn Lovenguth (1955-57) won almost 200 games in the minors but went 0-2 in the majors. Lyman Linde (1947-48) was sort of Lovenguth Lite – he won just short of 100 games in the minors and went 0-0 in the bigs. Lance Lynn (2011- ) is a promising young prospect with the Cardinals, and that's enough to earn him a spot in this bullpen. The pen’s only lefty, Larry Loughlin (1967), is not to be confused with actress Lori Laughlin of “Full House” fame, though they would appear to have roughly the same odds of getting a major-league batter out.
Bench: Larry Lintz (1973-78) was a very fast middle infielder who, as they say, couldn’t steal first base. Playing part time (113 games, 388 plate appearances) for Montreal in 1974 he stole 50 bases in 57 attempts, but teams simply couldn’t live with his weak bat. He spent two years in Oakland as one of Charlie Finley’s “designated runners.” Backup catcher Luis Antonio Lopez (1990-91) will create a lot of confusion with Luis Manuel Lopez and Luis Lopez with no middle name. In fact, the team’s PR department is working up a funny ad campaign that will feature the three Lopezes dancing to “Louie Louie.” Infielder Lyle Luttrell (1956-57) was a sub-.200 hitter for the Senators. First baseman Luke Lutenberg (1894) was 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, a veritable giant in his day, but he batted like a 98-pound weakling. Larry Littleton (1981) was a good minor-league hitter, but he went 0-for-23 for the Indians in his only big-league experience.
Manager: Les Lancaster will be the player-manager (or, rather, pitcher-manager), utilizing the experience he has gotten from managing independent league teams in recent years.
No comments:
Post a Comment