Infield: Third baseman Mark Reynolds (2007- ) is a pretty fascinating player. The career record for strikeouts is Reggie Jackson’s 2,597. Reynolds has a long way to go, but he’s gaining ground like Usain Bolt at a middle school track meet. In 2008, he became the first hitter ever to strike out 200 times in a season (204). The following year, he blew past that mark and struck out 223 times, and then cut back to just 211 in 2010. Reynolds is a good enough hitter that he’s going to stay in the lineup. He hit 44 home runs in 2009 and drove in 102. He’s a much better player, and a more interesting one, than anybody else in this infield. Second baseman Morrie Rath (1909-20) scored 104 runs (and drove in just 19) as the leadoff batter for the White Sox in 1912. He went back to the Pacific Coast League in mid-career but came back to the majors after hitting .341 at Seattle in 1917, and he was on the Cincinnati team that beat his former team in the corrupted 1919 World Series. In fact, he was the leadoff batter who Cicotte drilled at the start of Game 1 to signal to the gamblers that the fix was on. Shortstop Mike Ramsey (1978-85) was a useful backup infielder on for the Cardinals and played in more than 100 games for the 1982 world champions, but as a starting middle infielder, he’s not much to look at. First baseman Mickey Rocco (1943-46) was a career minor leaguer, and a pretty good one. He batted .303 and hit 226 home runs over the course of almost 2,000 minor-league games. During World War II, he held down first base for the Cleveland Indians and batted .258 with a little bit of pop.
Outfield: Left fielder Manny Ramirez (1993-2011) and center fielder Mickey Rivers (1970-84) were two of the most colorful players of their generations. Ramirez has the added bonus of being one of the best hitters of all time. He had a shot to become the fourth player ever with 2,000 career RBI, but that got short-circuited when he decided to retire rather than face the consequences of a second failed test for PEDs. He’s introduced the phrase “Manny Being Manny” into the lexicon. It’s what you say when he slips behind the Green Monster during a pitching change to tinkle. Or when, after making a great catch at the wall, he impulsively high-fives a fan in the bleachers before throwing back in to the infield to complete the double play. He does things that no one else does, and while we wouldn’t want everyone to act like this, we sure are glad that we’ve got one Manny. Mickey Rivers was colorful in different ways. He spoke in a manner that often bore little resemblance to the English language, and you never knew if he was going to be on time for pregame warm-ups if there was a horse track nearby. He used to drive Reggie Jackson nuts. Reggie once suggested that a man of his intelligence shouldn’t even be speaking to a guy like Mickey Rivers. “I have an IQ of 160,” Reggie said. “Out of what, a thousand?” Rivers replied. Another time, Reggie quite loudly, in front of reporters, suggested that Rivers should learn to read and write. Rivers replied that Reggie should “stop readin’ and writin’ and start hittin’!” Rivers was one of the fastest players of the 1970s. He played in three World Series with the Yankees, winning two of them, and he finished his career with a .295 batting average. Compared to ManRam in left and Mick the Quick in center, right fielder Merv Rettenmund (1968-80) is a fairly dull guy. All he did was play ball. He was a prototypical Earl Weaver player who hit the ball hard and would take a walk (career on-base of .381). He played on great championship teams in Baltimore and Cincinnati.
Catcher: Muddy Ruel (1915-34) was a good catcher who scored the winning run in the Washington Senators’ only World Series championship. He was a tremendously respected gentleman who also had a law degree – not many lawyers go by “Muddy” – and after his retirement worked in the commissioner’s office.
Rotation: Marius Ugo Russo (1939-46) was one of the lesser lights on the great Yankees’ teams of the early 1940s, but he was a pretty good pitcher for a couple of years, and he had complete-game victories in both the 1941 and 1943 World Series. Mark Redman (1999-2008) was a decent lefty who played for eight teams in 10 years and could win a dozen games in a good season. Marc Rzepczysnki (2009- ) is a 24-year-old who showed some promise in 11 starts for Toronto this year. And the MR rotation needs all the promise it can find. Mike Regan (1917-19) is not to be confused with the unctuous talk show host and presidential offspring. He won 11 games for Cincinnati in 1917 but didn’t last long. He’s the only righty in the rotation. Matt Riley (1999-2005) could never find the strike zone.
Bullpen: We’re guessing Mariano Rivera (1995-2009) can handle the closing duties here. Greatest relief pitcher of all time. Even better in the postseason. He’s only got the one pitch, but he’s still unhittable in his 40s. The setup guys are righty Mel Rojas (1990-99), who saved 126 games in his career, and lefty Mike Remlinger (1991-2006), who was a workhorse and a fine pitcher. Mike Ryba (1935-46) won 52 games for the Cardinals and the Red Sox. Mark Ross (1982-90) basically had six cups of coffee with three different teams, but he actually didn’t pitch half bad. Matt Roney (2003-06) went 1-9 for Detroit at age 23, then made it back a few years later in Oakland to push his career record to 1-10. Mike Roesler (1989-90) didn’t do too bad in a couple of brief call-ups.
Bench: Mike Redmond (1998- ) is the backup catcher, a role he played with the Marlins and the Twins for more than a decade. Mike Richardt (1980-84) was a weak-hitting infielder, and so was Mario Ramirez (1980-85). Mel Roach (1953-62) could play infield or outfield. What he couldn’t do was hit major-league pitching. Mike Rogodzinski (1973-75) was primarily a pinch-hitter for the Phillies, and when they did put him in the outfield, he tended to make errors. But his last name was a lot of fun to say real fast. Try it.
Manager: Muddy Ruel, who tried his hand with the Browns for one season, is the manager here. He gets a lot of help from long-time Phillies bench coach Mike Ryan as well as pitching guru Mike Roark, who is going to be teaching the pitchers to throw a splitter.
Mickey Rivers’ philosophy on life: “Ain’t no sense worrying. If you have no control over something, ain’t no sense worrying about it. You have no control over it anyway. And if you do have control, why worry? So either way, there ain’t no sense worrying.”
Outfield: Left fielder Manny Ramirez (1993-2011) and center fielder Mickey Rivers (1970-84) were two of the most colorful players of their generations. Ramirez has the added bonus of being one of the best hitters of all time. He had a shot to become the fourth player ever with 2,000 career RBI, but that got short-circuited when he decided to retire rather than face the consequences of a second failed test for PEDs. He’s introduced the phrase “Manny Being Manny” into the lexicon. It’s what you say when he slips behind the Green Monster during a pitching change to tinkle. Or when, after making a great catch at the wall, he impulsively high-fives a fan in the bleachers before throwing back in to the infield to complete the double play. He does things that no one else does, and while we wouldn’t want everyone to act like this, we sure are glad that we’ve got one Manny. Mickey Rivers was colorful in different ways. He spoke in a manner that often bore little resemblance to the English language, and you never knew if he was going to be on time for pregame warm-ups if there was a horse track nearby. He used to drive Reggie Jackson nuts. Reggie once suggested that a man of his intelligence shouldn’t even be speaking to a guy like Mickey Rivers. “I have an IQ of 160,” Reggie said. “Out of what, a thousand?” Rivers replied. Another time, Reggie quite loudly, in front of reporters, suggested that Rivers should learn to read and write. Rivers replied that Reggie should “stop readin’ and writin’ and start hittin’!” Rivers was one of the fastest players of the 1970s. He played in three World Series with the Yankees, winning two of them, and he finished his career with a .295 batting average. Compared to ManRam in left and Mick the Quick in center, right fielder Merv Rettenmund (1968-80) is a fairly dull guy. All he did was play ball. He was a prototypical Earl Weaver player who hit the ball hard and would take a walk (career on-base of .381). He played on great championship teams in Baltimore and Cincinnati.
Catcher: Muddy Ruel (1915-34) was a good catcher who scored the winning run in the Washington Senators’ only World Series championship. He was a tremendously respected gentleman who also had a law degree – not many lawyers go by “Muddy” – and after his retirement worked in the commissioner’s office.
Rotation: Marius Ugo Russo (1939-46) was one of the lesser lights on the great Yankees’ teams of the early 1940s, but he was a pretty good pitcher for a couple of years, and he had complete-game victories in both the 1941 and 1943 World Series. Mark Redman (1999-2008) was a decent lefty who played for eight teams in 10 years and could win a dozen games in a good season. Marc Rzepczysnki (2009- ) is a 24-year-old who showed some promise in 11 starts for Toronto this year. And the MR rotation needs all the promise it can find. Mike Regan (1917-19) is not to be confused with the unctuous talk show host and presidential offspring. He won 11 games for Cincinnati in 1917 but didn’t last long. He’s the only righty in the rotation. Matt Riley (1999-2005) could never find the strike zone.
Bullpen: We’re guessing Mariano Rivera (1995-2009) can handle the closing duties here. Greatest relief pitcher of all time. Even better in the postseason. He’s only got the one pitch, but he’s still unhittable in his 40s. The setup guys are righty Mel Rojas (1990-99), who saved 126 games in his career, and lefty Mike Remlinger (1991-2006), who was a workhorse and a fine pitcher. Mike Ryba (1935-46) won 52 games for the Cardinals and the Red Sox. Mark Ross (1982-90) basically had six cups of coffee with three different teams, but he actually didn’t pitch half bad. Matt Roney (2003-06) went 1-9 for Detroit at age 23, then made it back a few years later in Oakland to push his career record to 1-10. Mike Roesler (1989-90) didn’t do too bad in a couple of brief call-ups.
Bench: Mike Redmond (1998- ) is the backup catcher, a role he played with the Marlins and the Twins for more than a decade. Mike Richardt (1980-84) was a weak-hitting infielder, and so was Mario Ramirez (1980-85). Mel Roach (1953-62) could play infield or outfield. What he couldn’t do was hit major-league pitching. Mike Rogodzinski (1973-75) was primarily a pinch-hitter for the Phillies, and when they did put him in the outfield, he tended to make errors. But his last name was a lot of fun to say real fast. Try it.
Manager: Muddy Ruel, who tried his hand with the Browns for one season, is the manager here. He gets a lot of help from long-time Phillies bench coach Mike Ryan as well as pitching guru Mike Roark, who is going to be teaching the pitchers to throw a splitter.
Mickey Rivers’ philosophy on life: “Ain’t no sense worrying. If you have no control over something, ain’t no sense worrying about it. You have no control over it anyway. And if you do have control, why worry? So either way, there ain’t no sense worrying.”
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