Infield: First baseman Lee Stevens (1990-2002) played off and on at first base for the Angels for three years. In 1993 he was traded to Montreal, released by the Expos during spring training, signed by the Blue Jays, sent to the minors for the year, then re-signed with the Angels as a free agent before deciding a month later to go play in Japan. He presumably went through a lot of "change of address" notes in 1993. After two years with the Kintetsu Buffalo, he returned to the U.S. in 1996, went back to the minors and won the MVP award in the American Association. He spent the next five seasons hitting 20-25 home runs per year for the Rangers and the Expos. He hit 144 home runs in the majors and 146 in the minors, so when you add in however many he hit in two years in Japan, you've got to assume it's more than 300 professional jacks. Shortstop Luis Sojo (1990-2003) was a light-hitting utility infielder who bounced around the American League for a few years and was wise enough to stay in New York for a few years, long enough to be part of four pennant winners and three World Series champions. Third baseman Lin Storti (1930-33) was a .227 hitter with the Browns who had a bit of gap power but not enough to make him anything close to a productive hitter. (When you look at that .227 average, understand that the league average at the time was close to .300.) Second baseman Lou Stringer (1941-50) had a long, productive career in the minors, but most of his major-league service time came during World War II, and even then he was a part-time player at best.
Outfield: Center fielder Lou Sockalexis (1897-99) is a legend, almost to the point of becoming a mythological figure. The statistical line shows him with a grand total of 395 career plate apperances and a .313 batting average, which is good but hardly noteworthy for his era. But by all accounts he was a remarkable athlete - fast and strong and graceful - and everyone who saw him play came away not just impressed but almost awestruck. He was an American Indian, apparently the first ever to play in the majors, and while he was playing for the National League's Cleveland Spiders, reporters began to refer to the team as the Cleveland Indians in his honor. Years later, when the AL's Cleveland Naps decided to change their name (since Lajoie had left the team on less than friendly terms), they adopted the name Indians, though it is not clear to what extent this was a reference to Sockalexis. His career was short, in part because of injury but mostly because of self-destructive alcoholism. He reportedly stopped drinking, but he died at age 42 of heart failure, and you've got to think that the fire water played a role. Left fielder Lonnie Smith (1978-94) was a fine leadoff hitter but such a bad defensive outfielder that he was known as "Skates" for his habit of falling down while chasing fly balls. He could have also been called "Oops" for the number of times he dropped balls in mid-throw. But he was a good hitter (.371 career on-base percentage), a terrific baserunner (370 steals), and a popular, hustling ballplayer. He won World Series titles with the Phillies, Cardinals and Royals, and two more pennants with Atlanta. Right field shapes up as a platoon featuring Larry Sheets (1984-93), a lefty hitter with some power, and Leroy Stanton (1970-78), a righty who also had some pop. Stanton is best known as one of the guys who the Mets tossed in along with a young Nolan Ryan in order to complete the trade for Jim Fregosi.
Catcher: Louis Santop was a major star in the Negro Leagues. Certainly not as good as Josh Gibson, but a big strong slugger just the same - 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, which must have made him look like Andre the Giant during the teens and '20s.
Rotation: Lefty Stewart (1921-35) was a pretty solid lefty who won 101 games, mostly for the St. Louis Browns. Lary Sorensen (1977-88) gave up a lot of hits but very few walks and almost no strikeoutss. He had a couple of good years in his early 20s, but very predictably the league caught up to him and starting hitting him harder. He finished his career 93-103. Lil Stoner (1922-31) sounds like a junkie dwarf from Dogpatch, but he was actually a right-handed pitcher whose real name was Ulysses Simpson Grant Stoner. In his better years, he was close to league average in ERA. Lou Sleater (1950-58) is a lefty who walked more batters than he struck out, which is never a good thing. Lev Shreve (1887-90) went 11-24 at age 19 and was out of professional baseball before he turned 21. Whatever career path he pursued, he was probably better at it than he was at pitching.
Bullpen: Closer Lee Smith (1980-97) held the career record for saves (478) until Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera blew past it. He was a 6-foot-6 fireballer who will eventually make it to the Hall of Fame. Luis Sanchez (1981-85) was a pretty solid reliever for the Angels for a few years. Larry Sherry (1958-68) pitched mostly for the Dodgers and was a decent enough reliever. In 1959, he pitched in four World Series games against the White Sox, winning two of them and posting an 0.71 ERA. Len Swormstedt (1901-06) was a career minor-leaguer, but he actually pitched quite well when he got his chances in the majors, as a 2.22 ERA in 65 career innings will attest. Lee Stine (1934-38) won 113 games in the minors and three in the majors, pitching briefly for the 1938 Yankees before they went on to win the World Series. He went into the Navy during World War II at age 29 and never got back into pro baseball after he returned. Les Sweetland (1927-31) had some pretty bad seasons, and in 1928 he led the National League in hit batsmen despite pitching only 135 innings and despite the fact that he never hit that many batters in the rest of his career, so he must have been in a really pissy mood that season. Lefty Schegg (1912) went 0-0 in two games for the Senators at age 22, and no records exist for his minor-league career, if he had one. He was born Gilbert Eugene Price. We can understand why they called him Lefty, but not why they called him Schegg.
Bench: Luke Scott (2205- ), a lefty with some power, will figure into that right field platoon with Stanton and Sheets, and of course, one of them will likely be a defensive replacement for Lonnie Smith in left. Catcher Luke Sewell (1921-42) played a long time, also managed, and is probably most famous as the brother of the Hall of Fame shortstop who never struck out. Len Schulte (1944-46) was probably just as good as Lin Storti, so he could see some playing time at third base. His real name was Schultehenrich, but like a lot of people of German descent in the 1930s and '40s, he changed his name. Louis I. Say (1873-84) was a diminutive shortstop with a fun name ("Louis? I say!"). He is supposedly the inventor of the hidden ball trick, back in 1879, and we're guessing that when the startled baserunner was tagged out, he shouted, "Loius! I say!"
Manager: Larry Shepard, who managed Roberto Clemente's Pirates in between the two World Series appearances, gets the nod. Luke Sewell will help out.
Outfield: Center fielder Lou Sockalexis (1897-99) is a legend, almost to the point of becoming a mythological figure. The statistical line shows him with a grand total of 395 career plate apperances and a .313 batting average, which is good but hardly noteworthy for his era. But by all accounts he was a remarkable athlete - fast and strong and graceful - and everyone who saw him play came away not just impressed but almost awestruck. He was an American Indian, apparently the first ever to play in the majors, and while he was playing for the National League's Cleveland Spiders, reporters began to refer to the team as the Cleveland Indians in his honor. Years later, when the AL's Cleveland Naps decided to change their name (since Lajoie had left the team on less than friendly terms), they adopted the name Indians, though it is not clear to what extent this was a reference to Sockalexis. His career was short, in part because of injury but mostly because of self-destructive alcoholism. He reportedly stopped drinking, but he died at age 42 of heart failure, and you've got to think that the fire water played a role. Left fielder Lonnie Smith (1978-94) was a fine leadoff hitter but such a bad defensive outfielder that he was known as "Skates" for his habit of falling down while chasing fly balls. He could have also been called "Oops" for the number of times he dropped balls in mid-throw. But he was a good hitter (.371 career on-base percentage), a terrific baserunner (370 steals), and a popular, hustling ballplayer. He won World Series titles with the Phillies, Cardinals and Royals, and two more pennants with Atlanta. Right field shapes up as a platoon featuring Larry Sheets (1984-93), a lefty hitter with some power, and Leroy Stanton (1970-78), a righty who also had some pop. Stanton is best known as one of the guys who the Mets tossed in along with a young Nolan Ryan in order to complete the trade for Jim Fregosi.
Catcher: Louis Santop was a major star in the Negro Leagues. Certainly not as good as Josh Gibson, but a big strong slugger just the same - 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, which must have made him look like Andre the Giant during the teens and '20s.
Rotation: Lefty Stewart (1921-35) was a pretty solid lefty who won 101 games, mostly for the St. Louis Browns. Lary Sorensen (1977-88) gave up a lot of hits but very few walks and almost no strikeoutss. He had a couple of good years in his early 20s, but very predictably the league caught up to him and starting hitting him harder. He finished his career 93-103. Lil Stoner (1922-31) sounds like a junkie dwarf from Dogpatch, but he was actually a right-handed pitcher whose real name was Ulysses Simpson Grant Stoner. In his better years, he was close to league average in ERA. Lou Sleater (1950-58) is a lefty who walked more batters than he struck out, which is never a good thing. Lev Shreve (1887-90) went 11-24 at age 19 and was out of professional baseball before he turned 21. Whatever career path he pursued, he was probably better at it than he was at pitching.
Bullpen: Closer Lee Smith (1980-97) held the career record for saves (478) until Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera blew past it. He was a 6-foot-6 fireballer who will eventually make it to the Hall of Fame. Luis Sanchez (1981-85) was a pretty solid reliever for the Angels for a few years. Larry Sherry (1958-68) pitched mostly for the Dodgers and was a decent enough reliever. In 1959, he pitched in four World Series games against the White Sox, winning two of them and posting an 0.71 ERA. Len Swormstedt (1901-06) was a career minor-leaguer, but he actually pitched quite well when he got his chances in the majors, as a 2.22 ERA in 65 career innings will attest. Lee Stine (1934-38) won 113 games in the minors and three in the majors, pitching briefly for the 1938 Yankees before they went on to win the World Series. He went into the Navy during World War II at age 29 and never got back into pro baseball after he returned. Les Sweetland (1927-31) had some pretty bad seasons, and in 1928 he led the National League in hit batsmen despite pitching only 135 innings and despite the fact that he never hit that many batters in the rest of his career, so he must have been in a really pissy mood that season. Lefty Schegg (1912) went 0-0 in two games for the Senators at age 22, and no records exist for his minor-league career, if he had one. He was born Gilbert Eugene Price. We can understand why they called him Lefty, but not why they called him Schegg.
Bench: Luke Scott (2205- ), a lefty with some power, will figure into that right field platoon with Stanton and Sheets, and of course, one of them will likely be a defensive replacement for Lonnie Smith in left. Catcher Luke Sewell (1921-42) played a long time, also managed, and is probably most famous as the brother of the Hall of Fame shortstop who never struck out. Len Schulte (1944-46) was probably just as good as Lin Storti, so he could see some playing time at third base. His real name was Schultehenrich, but like a lot of people of German descent in the 1930s and '40s, he changed his name. Louis I. Say (1873-84) was a diminutive shortstop with a fun name ("Louis? I say!"). He is supposedly the inventor of the hidden ball trick, back in 1879, and we're guessing that when the startled baserunner was tagged out, he shouted, "Loius! I say!"
Manager: Larry Shepard, who managed Roberto Clemente's Pirates in between the two World Series appearances, gets the nod. Luke Sewell will help out.
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