Infield: First baseman Hal Morris (1988-2000) was a consistent run producer for the Reds in the 1990s. He was a career .304 hitter who made good contact and had some line-drive pop but not much actual power. Third baseman Hank Majeski (1939-55) was also a consistent but unspectacular player – sure-handed at the hot corner, never struck out, good for some doubles and the occasional home run. He bounced around the American League for more than a decade, and in his best season he batted .312 for the A’s in 1948 with 120 RBI. Other than that season, his career high in RBI was 72. Third baseman Heinie Mueller (1938-41) was a decent-at-best player for the Phillies, but he never made it back to the majors after he returned from World War II in his early 30s. Shortstop Harvey McClellan (1919-24) was a weak-hitting infielder for the White Sox. Actually, weak-hitting doesn’t really do justice to his weaknesses at the plate. He was nicknamed “Little Mac” a few decades before McDonald’s introduced the big one.
Outfield: Awfully good outfield here, with one qualifier – positioning is going to be an issue, as none of the three is a natural center fielder, to put it mildly. As a youngster, Hal McRae (1968-87) had good speed and was projected as a center fielder, but a badly broken leg ended all of that. He spent a few years playing corner outfield part time on the teams that formed the basis for the Big Red Machine, and then in 1973 he was traded to Kansas City and became the first great designated hitter. He batted .300 regularly, bashed doubles all over the place and ran the bases so aggressively that they had to make rule changes to keep him from putting opposing infielders in the hospital. He was a hustling, fiery player who was one of the key figures on the Kansas City Royals teams that dominate the AL West for a decade. Heine Manush (1923-39) played during a time (and place) of very high offensive totals, and he took advantage. His career batting average was .330, and he led the American League in batting once, and hits and doubles twice apiece. He broke in with Detroit as a kid battling for time in the great outfield that included Cobb, Heilmann and Veach. He spent most of his career with the Tigers and the Senators, but he spent time with four other teams. Hideki Matsui (2003- ) went from being a legend in Japan to being a fixture in New York. As a rookie with the Yomiuri Giants, he was so highly touted that he was assigned the number 55, which represents Sadaharu Oh’s single-season home run record. He was also given the nickname “Godzilla” – at first it was an unkind refence to his acne problem (which must have been pretty bad), but soon it was transformed into a tribute to his physique and his strength. After nine years with Yomiuri, including three MVP awards and three league championships, he made international headlines when he signed with the New York Yankees. He became a regular 100-RBI guy and a respected slugger in the Yankees’ star-studded lienup. In 56 postseason games, he has hit .312 and slugged .541, winning the World Series MVP Award in 2009. Thee very fine outfielders here – but what to do with them? If McRae’s injury had happened in mid-career, like with Andre Dawson’s knees, we could pencil him in at center field and let it go. But it didn’t, and as a result none of the three has any real claims to center field. Matsui played a fair number of games there, both in Japan and in his early days with the Yankees, so he’ll start out there, but he’s not going to win any Gold Gloves. With Manush in left and McRae in right, the pitching staff is going to want to keep the ball low.
Catcher: Harry McCurdy (1922-34) was a decent enough hitter for a long time, though he never got much beyond part-time status. Playing with four teams, he was a .280 hitter with enough gap power to hit a lot of doubles.
Rotation: Harry McIntire (1905-13) spent the bulk of his career with some really terrible Brooklyn Superbas teams, for which he went 46-98 despite pitching just a little bit worse than league average. In 1910 he benefited greatly from a trade to the outstanding Chicago Cubs teams, for whom he pitched about the same but posted a record of 25-18 in three seasons. Handsome Hugh McQuillan (1918-27) also benefited from a trade in mid-career – going from the Boston Braves to the New York Giants in 1922, leading to three straight pennants. He finished with a career record of 88-94. Heine Meine (1922-34) goes on the list, along with guys such as Johnny Dickshot and Dick Pole, of ballplayers whose names would make Beavis & Butthead snicker. After one game with his hometown St. Louis Browns in 1922, he spent several years as a minor-league Meine before resurfacing with the Pirates at age 33. He went on to go 66-50 for Pittsbugh, leading the NL with 19 victories in 1931. Harry McCormick (1879-83) went 18-33 for Syracuse in 1879, partly because he didn’t pitch very well, but also partly because his team was last in the league in runs per game. Over the course of his career, he wasn’t half bad. Hugh Mulcahy (1935-47) pitched for some absolutely dreadful Philadelphia Phillies teams, and from 1937-40 he went 40-78. During this period, he received one of the great nicknames in baseball history. Because so many box scores included the line “Losing pitcher-Mulcahy,” the poor guy became known as Hugh “Losing Pitcher” Mulcahy. He had a career record of 45-89, even though his ERA was only a little bit worse than league average.
Bullpen: Hal McKain (1927-32) will start out as the closer, but his grasp is tenuous in this highly flammable bullpen. He had a career record of 18-23 with six saves and a 4.93 ERA, mostly for the White Sox. Hector Mercado (2000-03) was a lefty who went 5-4 with one save during a short career with the Reds and Phillies. Heath Murray (1997-2002) might wrest the “Losing Pitcher” nickname away from Hugh Mulcahy (or at the very least become known as Heath “Blown Save” Murray), based on his 2-15 career record. He earned that record with a 6.41 ERA and almost 17 baserunners per nine innings. Herb Moford (1955-62) won 143 games in the minors. In the majors he was 5-13 with a 5.03 ERA and finally hung it up after the idignity of pitching for the expansion Mets. He was a teammate of Jim Bunning’s and later, after retiring to his Kentucky tobacco farm, worked on some of Bunning’s political campaigns. Hank McDonald (1931-33) had the good fortune of coming up with the powerhouse Philadelphia A’s and the bad fortune of then getting traded to the awful St. Louis Browns. Herb McQuaid (1923-26) had a short career that ended with the ’26 Yankees, but he did not appear in the legendary World Series that ended with Grover Cleveland Alexander and the Cardinals beating the Bombers. Hal Manders (1941-46) was a cousin (and youth baseball teammate) of Bob Feller. He was a promising young pitcher who served a long apprenticeship in the Cardinals’ farm system and then had some success in the majors before World War II interrupted. When he came back from the war, he didn’t last long.
Bench: Hi Myers (1909-25) was a fleet center fielder who is going to get plenty of time as a defensive replacement on this team. He was a decent hitter, too, leading the NL in triples twice and in slugging and RBI in 1919 while playing for Brooklyn. Outfielder Herbie Moran (1908-15) was a 5-foot-5 speedster who played for the Miracle Braves of 1914. Herschel Martin (1937-45) is another outfielder, one who had almost 2,300 hits in the minors for a .317 average. In the majors, he batted .285 as a part-time player for the Yankees and Phillies. Utility infielder Hal Marnie (1940-42) couldn’t hit, but he is the only player in major-league history whose name is also the title of a Hitchcock film. (If you include nicknames, Steve “Psycho” Lyons and Bob "Rope" Boyd qualify, and I'm all in favor of trying to popularize such nicknames as Royce "Topaz" Ring, Aaron "Lifeboat" Laffey or Kevin "Frenzy" Frandsen. It's probably too late for Richie "Family Plot" Hebner.). Backup catcher Henry Mercedes (1992-97) went four for five as a rookie with the A’s, but everyone was pretty sure he wasn’t really an .800 hitter. They were right. He was a .247 hitter with no power.
Manager: Hal McRae's managerial career is intriguing. He was a very respected player in Kansas City, and as the sun began to set on the glory days of the George Brett Era, McRae was hired as manager to turn the team back into a winner. He did that, with three winning records in four seasons and a combined mark of 286-277. But his intense manner rubbed some people the wrong way – players, bosses, media members, etc. – and he was fired after taking the Royals to a 64-51 record in the strike season of 1994. Since then, in almost two decades, the Royals have gone through a series of managers and had just one winning season. McRae spent a couple of futile years in Tampa Bay and has worked as a hitting coach, but there are those in K.C. who wonder what might have happened if the Royals had kept McRae in the dugout.
Outfield: Awfully good outfield here, with one qualifier – positioning is going to be an issue, as none of the three is a natural center fielder, to put it mildly. As a youngster, Hal McRae (1968-87) had good speed and was projected as a center fielder, but a badly broken leg ended all of that. He spent a few years playing corner outfield part time on the teams that formed the basis for the Big Red Machine, and then in 1973 he was traded to Kansas City and became the first great designated hitter. He batted .300 regularly, bashed doubles all over the place and ran the bases so aggressively that they had to make rule changes to keep him from putting opposing infielders in the hospital. He was a hustling, fiery player who was one of the key figures on the Kansas City Royals teams that dominate the AL West for a decade. Heine Manush (1923-39) played during a time (and place) of very high offensive totals, and he took advantage. His career batting average was .330, and he led the American League in batting once, and hits and doubles twice apiece. He broke in with Detroit as a kid battling for time in the great outfield that included Cobb, Heilmann and Veach. He spent most of his career with the Tigers and the Senators, but he spent time with four other teams. Hideki Matsui (2003- ) went from being a legend in Japan to being a fixture in New York. As a rookie with the Yomiuri Giants, he was so highly touted that he was assigned the number 55, which represents Sadaharu Oh’s single-season home run record. He was also given the nickname “Godzilla” – at first it was an unkind refence to his acne problem (which must have been pretty bad), but soon it was transformed into a tribute to his physique and his strength. After nine years with Yomiuri, including three MVP awards and three league championships, he made international headlines when he signed with the New York Yankees. He became a regular 100-RBI guy and a respected slugger in the Yankees’ star-studded lienup. In 56 postseason games, he has hit .312 and slugged .541, winning the World Series MVP Award in 2009. Thee very fine outfielders here – but what to do with them? If McRae’s injury had happened in mid-career, like with Andre Dawson’s knees, we could pencil him in at center field and let it go. But it didn’t, and as a result none of the three has any real claims to center field. Matsui played a fair number of games there, both in Japan and in his early days with the Yankees, so he’ll start out there, but he’s not going to win any Gold Gloves. With Manush in left and McRae in right, the pitching staff is going to want to keep the ball low.
Catcher: Harry McCurdy (1922-34) was a decent enough hitter for a long time, though he never got much beyond part-time status. Playing with four teams, he was a .280 hitter with enough gap power to hit a lot of doubles.
Rotation: Harry McIntire (1905-13) spent the bulk of his career with some really terrible Brooklyn Superbas teams, for which he went 46-98 despite pitching just a little bit worse than league average. In 1910 he benefited greatly from a trade to the outstanding Chicago Cubs teams, for whom he pitched about the same but posted a record of 25-18 in three seasons. Handsome Hugh McQuillan (1918-27) also benefited from a trade in mid-career – going from the Boston Braves to the New York Giants in 1922, leading to three straight pennants. He finished with a career record of 88-94. Heine Meine (1922-34) goes on the list, along with guys such as Johnny Dickshot and Dick Pole, of ballplayers whose names would make Beavis & Butthead snicker. After one game with his hometown St. Louis Browns in 1922, he spent several years as a minor-league Meine before resurfacing with the Pirates at age 33. He went on to go 66-50 for Pittsbugh, leading the NL with 19 victories in 1931. Harry McCormick (1879-83) went 18-33 for Syracuse in 1879, partly because he didn’t pitch very well, but also partly because his team was last in the league in runs per game. Over the course of his career, he wasn’t half bad. Hugh Mulcahy (1935-47) pitched for some absolutely dreadful Philadelphia Phillies teams, and from 1937-40 he went 40-78. During this period, he received one of the great nicknames in baseball history. Because so many box scores included the line “Losing pitcher-Mulcahy,” the poor guy became known as Hugh “Losing Pitcher” Mulcahy. He had a career record of 45-89, even though his ERA was only a little bit worse than league average.
Bullpen: Hal McKain (1927-32) will start out as the closer, but his grasp is tenuous in this highly flammable bullpen. He had a career record of 18-23 with six saves and a 4.93 ERA, mostly for the White Sox. Hector Mercado (2000-03) was a lefty who went 5-4 with one save during a short career with the Reds and Phillies. Heath Murray (1997-2002) might wrest the “Losing Pitcher” nickname away from Hugh Mulcahy (or at the very least become known as Heath “Blown Save” Murray), based on his 2-15 career record. He earned that record with a 6.41 ERA and almost 17 baserunners per nine innings. Herb Moford (1955-62) won 143 games in the minors. In the majors he was 5-13 with a 5.03 ERA and finally hung it up after the idignity of pitching for the expansion Mets. He was a teammate of Jim Bunning’s and later, after retiring to his Kentucky tobacco farm, worked on some of Bunning’s political campaigns. Hank McDonald (1931-33) had the good fortune of coming up with the powerhouse Philadelphia A’s and the bad fortune of then getting traded to the awful St. Louis Browns. Herb McQuaid (1923-26) had a short career that ended with the ’26 Yankees, but he did not appear in the legendary World Series that ended with Grover Cleveland Alexander and the Cardinals beating the Bombers. Hal Manders (1941-46) was a cousin (and youth baseball teammate) of Bob Feller. He was a promising young pitcher who served a long apprenticeship in the Cardinals’ farm system and then had some success in the majors before World War II interrupted. When he came back from the war, he didn’t last long.
Bench: Hi Myers (1909-25) was a fleet center fielder who is going to get plenty of time as a defensive replacement on this team. He was a decent hitter, too, leading the NL in triples twice and in slugging and RBI in 1919 while playing for Brooklyn. Outfielder Herbie Moran (1908-15) was a 5-foot-5 speedster who played for the Miracle Braves of 1914. Herschel Martin (1937-45) is another outfielder, one who had almost 2,300 hits in the minors for a .317 average. In the majors, he batted .285 as a part-time player for the Yankees and Phillies. Utility infielder Hal Marnie (1940-42) couldn’t hit, but he is the only player in major-league history whose name is also the title of a Hitchcock film. (If you include nicknames, Steve “Psycho” Lyons and Bob "Rope" Boyd qualify, and I'm all in favor of trying to popularize such nicknames as Royce "Topaz" Ring, Aaron "Lifeboat" Laffey or Kevin "Frenzy" Frandsen. It's probably too late for Richie "Family Plot" Hebner.). Backup catcher Henry Mercedes (1992-97) went four for five as a rookie with the A’s, but everyone was pretty sure he wasn’t really an .800 hitter. They were right. He was a .247 hitter with no power.
Manager: Hal McRae's managerial career is intriguing. He was a very respected player in Kansas City, and as the sun began to set on the glory days of the George Brett Era, McRae was hired as manager to turn the team back into a winner. He did that, with three winning records in four seasons and a combined mark of 286-277. But his intense manner rubbed some people the wrong way – players, bosses, media members, etc. – and he was fired after taking the Royals to a 64-51 record in the strike season of 1994. Since then, in almost two decades, the Royals have gone through a series of managers and had just one winning season. McRae spent a couple of futile years in Tampa Bay and has worked as a hitting coach, but there are those in K.C. who wonder what might have happened if the Royals had kept McRae in the dugout.
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