Infield: Two St. Louis Cardinals legends are at work here – one well known everywhere, the other primarily in the Gateway City. First baseman Mark McGwire (1986- 2001) and shortstop Marty Marion (1940-53) had the same career batting average, which was .263. Other than that, they were drastically different. McGwire hit lots of home runs, and they went very high and very far. He made batting practice a “must see.” He also drew 100 walks a year, so he was on base almost 40 percent of the time. A devastating offensive player. He came up with the A’s, and if he had been playing in a different park he might have taken a run at Maris as a rookie. He has acknowledged using steroids during the period when baseball had not yet banned them, and at this point that fact has formed a roadblock between McGwire and the Hall of Fame. Marion was a tall, skinny guy who answered to “Slats.” He hit just 36 home runs in his career – 36 in a season was an off-year for Big Mac – but Marion drew a few walks and hit some doubles. He was an exquisite glove man who played in seven all-star games, and he did something McGwire never did – he won an MVP (1944). Third baseman Melvin Mora (1999- ) had a huge year for the Orioles in 2004 – a .340 average with 95 walks and 68 extra-base hits. That was an anomaly, but he has generally been a good hitter and solid defender for a decade. Second baseman Marty McManus (1920-34) spent his prime years with the St. Louis Browns and the post-Cobb Tigers. He was a decent player who hung around long enough to score 1,000 runs.
Outfield: Center fielder Mickey Mantle (1951-68) will bat third, right in front of Big Mac. They’ll put on one hell of a show. Mantle is on the short list of the greatest hitters of all time, getting on base even more than McGwire (.298 batting average, .421 on-base), and Mantle was known to hit a tape-measure shot or two. He is one of the iconic figures in baseball history - a symbol of the dynastic Yankees, of the "boys will be boys" partying lifestyle, and of the handsome Midwestern boys who made their way into the majors. He is almost as famous for his drinking as for his baseball - Mantle's father, and several uncles, died young and he was convinced that he would, too, so he tried to drink a lifetime's worth of liquor in a relatively short period of time. Turns out the joke was on him - he lived a full life, but dealt with cirrhosis and other liver ailments for years at the end. Left fielder Minnie Minoso (1949-64) will bat in front of both of them. One of the most exciting players of all time, a flat-out hustler who led the league in steals and triples three times each. He’s a .300 hitter who drew walks, drove the ball all over the field (including over the fence) and enjoyed playing the game as much as anyone who ever put on a uniform. Right fielder Mike Mitchell (1907-14) led the NL in triples a couple of times, too. In fact, he had 70 triples in four years playing in Cincinnati’s. This is an outfield with some wheels.
Catcher: Mike Macfarlane (1987-99) never got much attention, but he was a quietly efficient player. He had some power (129 career home runs), used to lead the league in getting hit by pitches, which helped push his on-base percentage up, and was a solid catcher who cut off the running game.
Rotation: Mike Mussina (1991-2008) could have won 300 games and had 3,000 strikeouts if he wanted to. He retired at age 39 after going 20-9 (his first 20-win season) with a 3.37 ERA and 150 strikeouts. Instead, he decided he’d had enough with a spectacular 270-153 record and 2,813 strikeouts and one of the most durable, consistent careers of all time. It will be interesting to see how Mussina is viewed when he becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame. (Lots of people raise a ruckus in touting Jack Morris for the Hall of Fame, but Mussina would seem to be a mile ahead of him.) Through age 27, Mark Mulder (2000-08) was a very fine pitcher with wicked 12-to-6 curveball and an impressive 97-50 won-lost record. Then his elbow gave out and he was quickly finished with 103 wins. Mike Moore (1982-95) started out with the early Mariners teams, which were terrible, and as such he had season records like 9-19, 9-15 and 7-17. For that reason, he has a losing record for his career (161-176), but he was actually a decent pitcher. For good measure, in his last season at age 35, he went 5-15 for Detroit. Not many pitchers have three seasons in which they are 10 games below .500. Mike McCormick (1956-71) played for 16 seasons and retired at age 32. That’s what happens when you’re a bonus baby who arrives in the majors at age 17. McCormick was a lefty who pitched for some good Giants teams and won 134 games, including 22 in 1967. Matt Morris (1997-2008) was a fine pitcher who won 121 games, mostly for the Cardinals. An excellent rotation – an ace who won 270 and could have won more, backed by four guys who won 100-plus apiece. Mulder was very, very good and then burned out, but the other three were durable, consistent , unspectacular starters.
Bullpen: Doctor Mike Marshall (1967-81) was a freak of nature. Three different seasons, he pitched 90 or more games,including a record 106 games in 1974. He wasn’t a sidearmer or a knuckleballer or some lefty who came in and got one out at a time. In ’73 he worked 92 games and pitched 179 innings, and the next year he upped it to 106 games and 208 innings. In those two seasons, he combined for 29 wins, 52 saves and an ERA around 2.50. At age 36, he still worked 142 innings in 90 games. He’s a smart, thoughtful man with a doctorate, who refused to sign autographs not because he was rude but because he didn’t believe that a ballplayer was someone worthy of such idolatry. He still teaches the mechanics of pitching at drmikemarshall.com. His setup men are righty Mike Macdougal (2001-09), who saved 70 games for the Royals and the Nationals, and lefty Mike Myers (1995-2007), who is the antithesis of Dr. Marshall. Myers was the classic one-out specialist. He pitched in 883 games but worked just 542 innings. He had his job, and he did it fairly well. Long men Mike Morgan (1978-2002) and Mike Maroth (2002-07) were decent pitchers who were probably best known for their losses. Morgan played for a dozen teams and won 141 games but finished 45 games below .500. Not many pitchers get to 45 games below .500. Maroth, a lefty, didn’t hang around that long. But in 2003, pitching for a bad Detroit Tigers team, he went 9-21, becoming the first pitcher since Brian Kingman in 1980 to lose 20 in a season. (Kingman actually liked having the distinction and used to try to come up with ways to jinx pitchers who were approaching 20 losses, trying to make them win.) In truth, Morgan was a pretty fair pitcher, and Maroth wasn’t all that terrible. Matt Mantei (1995-2005) was a really good pitcher when he could stay healthy, which wasn’t often. In 322 career innings, he gave up just 249 hits and he struck out 396. A career of 315 games and 93 saves is nothing to sneeze at, but Mantei’s story is as much about what he could have done as it is about what he actually did. Mike Munoz (1989-2000) played the same role as Mike Myers, a lefty who came in to get an out or two.
Bench: The other Mike Marshall (1981-91) was a Dodger, too, but not a doctor. He was a big, strapping outfielder with some power (148 career home runs), who batted .270 despite an atrocious K-BB ratio. Mark McLemore (1986-2004) played second base and outfield and hung around long enough to get 1,600 hits. Mickey Morandini (1990-2000) was a second baseman who had a few decent years and could run a bit. Mike Mowrey (1905-17) was a good third baseman and an average hitter. Milt May (1970-84) was a fine catcher for a long time, and he’ll battle Macfarlane for playing time.
Manager: Mel McGaha was a former NBA player (with the Knicks) who went on to a career managing and coaching in the majors and in college. He’ll be assisted by Marty Marion, who was a player-manager with the Cardinals.
No comments:
Post a Comment