Infield: First baseman Luis Rosado (1977-80) was actually a catcher who spent some time at first base. In fact, eight of his nine defensive games in the majors were at first base. He didn’t really have a big-league career – a .179 batting average in 28 at-bats – but as a minor-league catcher he spent several years here in Norfolk and wasn’t half-bad. Second baseman Luis Rivas (2000-08) was a starter in the majors at age 21, and on a good team no less (the Twins). He wasn't all that great, and he never made a lot of progress. Decent average and good speed, but he didn't get on base much and didn't have any power. Shortstop Luis Rivera (1986-98) was an even weaker hitter than Luis Rivas – and, similarly, he came up young, never hit much, and hung around a long while. Third baseman Lew Riggs (1934-46) is thinking of changing his name to Luis as a show of infield solidarity. He’s the best hitter of the bunch, which isn’t saying much. His big-league career ended when he went off to war, but after he returned from his military service he went back to the minors, batted .300 for a few years, and hung around until he was 40.
Outfield: Leon Roberts (1974-84) bounced around six teams but is best known as one of the better players in the early years of the expansion Seattle Mariners – a .300 hitter who drew a few walks and hit a few home runs. He was really a corner outfielder and he had no speed, but he did get stretched to play some center, and that’s where he will likely start for the L.R. team. Right fielder Lance Richbourg (1921-32) played on the AL champion Senators in 1924 and the NL champion Cubs in ’32, though he did not appear in either World Series. In between he had a decent run with the Boston Braves, batting .308 for his career. Left fielder Lee Riley (1944), father of NBA coaching legend Pat Riley, played just four games in the majors, but he played 22 years in the minors, batting .314 with 248 home runs.
Outfield: Leon Roberts (1974-84) bounced around six teams but is best known as one of the better players in the early years of the expansion Seattle Mariners – a .300 hitter who drew a few walks and hit a few home runs. He was really a corner outfielder and he had no speed, but he did get stretched to play some center, and that’s where he will likely start for the L.R. team. Right fielder Lance Richbourg (1921-32) played on the AL champion Senators in 1924 and the NL champion Cubs in ’32, though he did not appear in either World Series. In between he had a decent run with the Boston Braves, batting .308 for his career. Left fielder Lee Riley (1944), father of NBA coaching legend Pat Riley, played just four games in the majors, but he played 22 years in the minors, batting .314 with 248 home runs.
Catcher: Lew “Old Dog” Ritter (1902-08) was a part-time catcher for some not-very-good Brooklyn Superbas teams. About the only thing noteworthy in his career is that between 1904-05, he stole 33 bases, which is a lot for a catcher in just 575 plate appearances.
Rotation: Lew Richie (1906-13) won 74 games, mostly for the Phillies and the Cubs. His nickname was “Lurid Lew,” and it’s probably best that we don’t know the story behind that one. He was a good pitcher, and in 1912 he went 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA at age 28 – and then he just fell off the map. He got rocked in 1913, went briefly back to the minors and was out of pro ball at age 30. There’s probably a story there, but we don’t know it. Lee Richmond (1879-86) threw baseball’s first recorded perfect game. He was a 19th-century workhorse who won 30 games once and lost 30 twice. He was a decent hitter who also played some outfield. An Ivy League man (Brown, to be specific), he eventually left baseball and became Dean of Men at the University of Toledo. Laurie Reis (1877-78) was the actress who played the uber-perky social director on “Love Boat.” No, wait. That’s not right. Laurie Reis was a guy who pitched eight games for the Cubs as a teen in the late 1870s. At age 18, he made four starts, completed all of them, gave up just eight runs for a 3-1 record. One year later, he made four starts, completed all of them, but gave up 34 runs for a 1-3 record. Apparently the hitters had figured him out. Either that, or he had been replaced by the actress who played the social director on “Love Boat.” Left-hander Leslie Rohr (1967-69) went 2-3 in a brief career for the Mets. He was on the Amazin’ gang in 1969, but he got hammered in his only relief appearance and, needless to say, was not used in the postseason. He was out of baseball by his mid-20s. Lee Rogers (1938) spent one year in the majors, splitting his time between Boston and Brooklyn and not pitching especially well at either spot. Make whatever you want out of the fact that our rotation includes Laurie, Leslie and two Lees.
Bullpen: Lance Rautzhan (1977-79) had a brief career that included two NL pennants with the Dodgers. He had a good year in 1978 (a 2.93 ERA in 43 appearances) and he had seven career saves. On this team, that’s what we call a closer. Leo Rosales (2008-10) had a winning record (5-2) despite a career ERA over 5.00. Laddie Renfroe (1991) pitched in four games for the Cubs and had a career ERA of 13.50, but if we’re going to have a Leslie, a Laurie and two Lees in the rotation, it might be a good idea to have a Laddie in the pen. Luis Rivera (2000) was a 6-foot-3 beanpole who came up as a hot 22-year-old prospect, pitched well in a half-dozen games for the Braves and the Orioles (1.23 career ERA) and then disappeared. He made no appearances in the majors or minors from 2001-04, then resurfaced in 2005 in the Mexican League, where he has been getting clobbered ever since. Lefty Russell (1910-12) was a very bad pitcher who went back to the minors in his early 20s and found out that he wasn’t a very good first baseman either. Larry Rothschild (1981-82) pitched very briefly for the Tigers, but he’ll have his hands full managing this squad.
Bench: Lenny Randle (1971-82) is a supersub who will probably get 400 or more at-bats on this team at second, third and in the outfield. He was your basic .260 hitter with no power, stole a good number of bases but at a very poor percentage. He is perhaps best known for his dispute with Texas Rangers manager Frank Lucchesi that began with Randle complaining about playing time and Lucchesi calling him a punk, and ended with Randle beating the holy crap out of Lucchesi during pre-game practice. He also once laid flat on his belly inside the third-base line and attempted to blow a bunted ball into foul territory, prompting baseball to revise its rulebook to cover players who alter the path of a ball without actually touching it. Larry Raines (1957-58) had a fine career in the Negro Leagues, in Japan and in the minors but only played for one full season and a few games of another with the Cleveland Indians. Along with Randle, he could very well be taking playing time away from someone named Luis in the infield. Lee “Bee Bee” Richard (1971-76) was a light-hitting infielder used extensively as a pinch-runner until teams realized that a guy who got thrown out in half of his stolen base attempts probably wasn’t a good pinch-runner. Liu Rodriguez (1999) and Luis Rodriguez (2005- ), no apparent relation, are two other guys competing for work in the crowded infield. Some of these infielders might have to try their hand in the outfield. Len Rice (1944-45) was a backup catcher during World War II.
Manager: Larry Rothschild managed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a little more than three years in their hapless days, which should be appropriate preparation for this task – a team with almost no offense, very little pitching, a bench full of light-hitting utility infielders and a pinch-runner who can’t steal bases. Lenny Randle might be doing Rothschild a favor if he takes another swing at his manager.
Rotation: Lew Richie (1906-13) won 74 games, mostly for the Phillies and the Cubs. His nickname was “Lurid Lew,” and it’s probably best that we don’t know the story behind that one. He was a good pitcher, and in 1912 he went 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA at age 28 – and then he just fell off the map. He got rocked in 1913, went briefly back to the minors and was out of pro ball at age 30. There’s probably a story there, but we don’t know it. Lee Richmond (1879-86) threw baseball’s first recorded perfect game. He was a 19th-century workhorse who won 30 games once and lost 30 twice. He was a decent hitter who also played some outfield. An Ivy League man (Brown, to be specific), he eventually left baseball and became Dean of Men at the University of Toledo. Laurie Reis (1877-78) was the actress who played the uber-perky social director on “Love Boat.” No, wait. That’s not right. Laurie Reis was a guy who pitched eight games for the Cubs as a teen in the late 1870s. At age 18, he made four starts, completed all of them, gave up just eight runs for a 3-1 record. One year later, he made four starts, completed all of them, but gave up 34 runs for a 1-3 record. Apparently the hitters had figured him out. Either that, or he had been replaced by the actress who played the social director on “Love Boat.” Left-hander Leslie Rohr (1967-69) went 2-3 in a brief career for the Mets. He was on the Amazin’ gang in 1969, but he got hammered in his only relief appearance and, needless to say, was not used in the postseason. He was out of baseball by his mid-20s. Lee Rogers (1938) spent one year in the majors, splitting his time between Boston and Brooklyn and not pitching especially well at either spot. Make whatever you want out of the fact that our rotation includes Laurie, Leslie and two Lees.
Bullpen: Lance Rautzhan (1977-79) had a brief career that included two NL pennants with the Dodgers. He had a good year in 1978 (a 2.93 ERA in 43 appearances) and he had seven career saves. On this team, that’s what we call a closer. Leo Rosales (2008-10) had a winning record (5-2) despite a career ERA over 5.00. Laddie Renfroe (1991) pitched in four games for the Cubs and had a career ERA of 13.50, but if we’re going to have a Leslie, a Laurie and two Lees in the rotation, it might be a good idea to have a Laddie in the pen. Luis Rivera (2000) was a 6-foot-3 beanpole who came up as a hot 22-year-old prospect, pitched well in a half-dozen games for the Braves and the Orioles (1.23 career ERA) and then disappeared. He made no appearances in the majors or minors from 2001-04, then resurfaced in 2005 in the Mexican League, where he has been getting clobbered ever since. Lefty Russell (1910-12) was a very bad pitcher who went back to the minors in his early 20s and found out that he wasn’t a very good first baseman either. Larry Rothschild (1981-82) pitched very briefly for the Tigers, but he’ll have his hands full managing this squad.
Bench: Lenny Randle (1971-82) is a supersub who will probably get 400 or more at-bats on this team at second, third and in the outfield. He was your basic .260 hitter with no power, stole a good number of bases but at a very poor percentage. He is perhaps best known for his dispute with Texas Rangers manager Frank Lucchesi that began with Randle complaining about playing time and Lucchesi calling him a punk, and ended with Randle beating the holy crap out of Lucchesi during pre-game practice. He also once laid flat on his belly inside the third-base line and attempted to blow a bunted ball into foul territory, prompting baseball to revise its rulebook to cover players who alter the path of a ball without actually touching it. Larry Raines (1957-58) had a fine career in the Negro Leagues, in Japan and in the minors but only played for one full season and a few games of another with the Cleveland Indians. Along with Randle, he could very well be taking playing time away from someone named Luis in the infield. Lee “Bee Bee” Richard (1971-76) was a light-hitting infielder used extensively as a pinch-runner until teams realized that a guy who got thrown out in half of his stolen base attempts probably wasn’t a good pinch-runner. Liu Rodriguez (1999) and Luis Rodriguez (2005- ), no apparent relation, are two other guys competing for work in the crowded infield. Some of these infielders might have to try their hand in the outfield. Len Rice (1944-45) was a backup catcher during World War II.
Manager: Larry Rothschild managed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a little more than three years in their hapless days, which should be appropriate preparation for this task – a team with almost no offense, very little pitching, a bench full of light-hitting utility infielders and a pinch-runner who can’t steal bases. Lenny Randle might be doing Rothschild a favor if he takes another swing at his manager.
No comments:
Post a Comment