Infield: Home Run Baker (1908-22) hit more triples (103) than home runs (96) in his career, so modern fans may not understand why he was nicknamed “Home Run.” It helps to know that in the Dead Ball Era, he led the AL in home runs three times (with 11, 10 and 12 home runs), and that he earned the nickname during the 1911 World Series when he hit key home runs off of Christy Mathewson and Rube Marquard to lead the Philadelphia A’s to the championship. He was one of the major stars on Connie Mack’s first great teams in Philadelphia, the man at the hot corner of the famed $100,000 Infield. He later played with the Yankees, and he batted .363 in 25 World Series games. He belongs on the short list of the greatest third basemen of all time. Shortstop Hubie Brooks (1980-94) presented a quandary in real life, in that he was a pretty good hitter for a shortstop but not really a good enough defender to handle that position – but when you moved him to third base or the outfield, he didn’t look like such a good hitter. In the Realm of Initials, his role is simpler. We’ll live with his defense at shortstop because that’s where he fits in, and because there isn’t really an adequate alternative. He was generally good for a .270 average and 15-20 home runs. First baseman Hank Blalock (2002-10) and second baseman Homer Bush (1997-2004) could have had truly significant careers until the injuries set in. Blalock looked like a rising star when he drove in 110 runs for the Rangers at age 23 (and hit the ninth-inning home run that won the 2003 All-Star Game), but things went steadily downhill from that point – slumps, a rare affliction that required surgery to remove a rib, and injuries to his hamstring, shoulder and other body parts. He was finished before he turned 30, with 153 home runs. Bush was even unluckier. A spectacular athlete – he still holds high school football records in Illinois, and he turned down scholarship offers to be a major college wide receiver – he batted .378 in 82 at-bats during a couple of brief call-ups to the Yankees. He went to Toronto as one of the key players in the trade that brought Roger Clemens to New York, and he batted .320 with 32 steals in his first season with the Blue Jays. That’s the approximate time that the hip injuries set in. They got worse and worse until they finally forced him to retire. He played in his first Yankees Old-Timers Game at age 34.
Outfield: Right fielder Harold Baines (1980-2001) had a pretty remarkable career. He was the top pick in the 1977 draft and a major-league regular at age 21. He played for 22 years, collecting 2,866 hits and 1,628 RBI. For what it’s worth, those two stats are the highest totals for any player eligible for the Hall of Fame who has not been elected to Cooperstown. This is not to suggest that Harold Baines was a Hall of Famer, just to note that he had one hell of a career. He never became especially famous, for a variety of reasons. He was a quiet guy who didn’t feel the need to publicize himself, and he was the type of uncannily consistent player who often goes underapprciated. Knee injuries early in his career relegated him to full-time designated hitter duties, and he spent the second half of his career moving around the American League. It is still impressive to look at his numbers at baseballreference.com. He never hit 30 home runs, but he was in double-digits for 18 consecutive seasons between 1980-97. In 1998 he hit only nine home runs (though he batted .300), but bounced back to go .312-25-103 in 1999 at age 40, and then hit 11 home runs in 2000. So if he had hit one more home run in 1998, he would have had double-digit home run totals for 21 consecutive years. He drove in 100 runs for the White Sox in 1982 and ’85, and then didn’t do it again until 2000 – breaking Willie Horton’s record for the longest gap between 100-RBI seasons. He was a hard-working professional who didn’t became famous but who was tremendously appreciated by those who watched him play. Left fielder Hank Bauer (1948-61) won nine AL pennants and seven World Series championships. That kind of stuff happens when you share the Yankee Stadium pasture with the likes of DiMaggio and Mantle. Bauer was the type of dependable, no-nonsense second-tier star who the Yankees always seem to have in the outfield of their dynasties (a Paul O’Neill type). He sandwiched a fine playing career in between military service (decorated Marine who earned two Bronze stars for his service in Okinawa during World War II) and a good run as a manager (incluidng a World Series title with the Orioles). Center fielder Harry “Deerfoot” Bay (1901-08) was a diminutive guy, listed at 5-8 and 138 pounds, who led the American League in stolen bases twice. His career was short, just a few years as a regular, but his speed will come in handy between two corner outfielders who were solid but not fleet.
Catcher: Henry Blanco (1997- ) is a well-traveled catcher who has never hit enough to nail down a fulltime job, but whose defense and throwing arm are good enough to keep him in regular work.
Rotation: Harry “The Cat” Brecheen (1940-53) was a very fine lefty for the Musial-era Cardinals. For his career, he went 133-92 with a 2.92 ERA, and in three World Series with St. Louis he went 4-1 with an 0.83 ERA (including three wins in the 1946 World Series against Boston). Hank Borowy (1942-51) was a pretty decent pitcher whose best years came against the diluted World War II competition. He won 108 games, mostly for the Cubs and Yankees. Pitching for the Cubs in 1945, he had the rare distinction of having four decisions in a single World Series – he started and won Game 1, started and lost Game 5, worked the last four innings of relief to win Game 6, then started Game 7 and got hammered to take the loss. Handsome Henry Boyle (1884-89) was a 19th-century workhorse who led the NL in ERA in 1886 and was generally pretty good, but he pitched for bad teams and lost 20 games a year. Hugh Bedient (1912-15) shone brightly and briefly. When he was 19 years old he drew attention by striking out 42 batters in a semipro game that went 23 innings. As a 22-year-old Red Sox rookie, he went 20-9 and outdueled Christy Mathewson for a 2-1 victory in Game 5 of the World Series. In 1915 he jumped to the upstart Federal League and pitched well, but then he was done. Hal Brown (1951-64) went 85-92 in his career – that breaks down to 62-48 with the Orioles and 23-44 with four other teams, dragged down by a couple of years with the expansion Houston Colt .45s.
Bullpen: Closer Heath Bell (2004- ) served a two-year apprenticeship as Trevor Hoffman’s set-up man in San Diego, then assumed the closer role in 2009 and led the NL with 42 saves. He strikes out more than a batter per inning, with a K-BB ratio of better than 3-to-1. Hi Bell (1924-34) once led the NL in saves, too. In 1930, with a total of eight. He was a good reliever, won two pennants with the Cardinals and one with the Giants. As a rookie starter in 1924, he accomplished the rare feat of pitching complete game victories in both ends of a doubleheader – on July 19, 1924, he threw a 2-hitter and a 4-hitter against the Boston Braves, giving up one run in each game. He won two games that day but finished the season with a 3-8 record. Hank Behrman (1946-49) had a nondescript career in the years following World War II. Huck Betts (1920-35) pitched six years for the Phillies, went to the minors for another six years (winning 105 games), then came back and pitched four years for the Boston Braves. He finished with a record of 61-68. Homer Blankenship (1922-28) had a brief career (13 games) in the majors, some of which was spent as a teammate of his brother Ted. Hiram Bithorn (1942-47) was the first Puerto Rican to play in the majors, and the main stadium in San Juan is named in his honor. He was a pretty effective pitcher for the Cubs whose career was interrupted by military service. He died at age 35 under strange circumstances in Mexico – shot in the belly by a policeman, reportedly in a dispute over an automotive sale, with the misfortune of being almost 100 miles from the nearest hospital. The police officer tried to say Bithorn was a communist but later was convicted of murder in the case. Heinie Berger (1907-10) was a relatively effective spitball specialist in Cleveland for a few years.
Bench: Handome Harry Bemis (1902-10) was a catcher for Lajoie’s Cleveland teams during the deadball era, and he was a good enough hitter that he will press Henry Blanco for the starting job behind the plate. Herman Bronkie (1910-22) was a minor-league infielder who would occasionally spend time in the majors, playing 122 big-league games spread over seven seasons. Hugh Bradley (1910-15) was a reserve outfielder who sang baritone in the Boston Red Sox’s team barbershop quartet. Harry Blake (1894-99) was a 19th-century outfielder with Cleveland. Hiram Bocachica (2000- ) is a reserve outfielder who has had plenty of opportunities but has never hit much. Hasn't played in the majors since '07, but still knocking around the Mexican League.
Manager: Hugo Bezdek managed the Pirates for three seasons with moderate success. He will be assisted by Howie Bedell, who managed our hometown Peninsula Pilots to a Single-A Carolina League title in 1971. (Bedell’s brief major-league playing career is noteworthy for the fact that his only RBI in 1968 came on the sac fly that ended Don Drysdale’s streak of scoreless innings.) It is assumed that Hank Bauer will have some input into strategic decisions as well.
Outfield: Right fielder Harold Baines (1980-2001) had a pretty remarkable career. He was the top pick in the 1977 draft and a major-league regular at age 21. He played for 22 years, collecting 2,866 hits and 1,628 RBI. For what it’s worth, those two stats are the highest totals for any player eligible for the Hall of Fame who has not been elected to Cooperstown. This is not to suggest that Harold Baines was a Hall of Famer, just to note that he had one hell of a career. He never became especially famous, for a variety of reasons. He was a quiet guy who didn’t feel the need to publicize himself, and he was the type of uncannily consistent player who often goes underapprciated. Knee injuries early in his career relegated him to full-time designated hitter duties, and he spent the second half of his career moving around the American League. It is still impressive to look at his numbers at baseballreference.com. He never hit 30 home runs, but he was in double-digits for 18 consecutive seasons between 1980-97. In 1998 he hit only nine home runs (though he batted .300), but bounced back to go .312-25-103 in 1999 at age 40, and then hit 11 home runs in 2000. So if he had hit one more home run in 1998, he would have had double-digit home run totals for 21 consecutive years. He drove in 100 runs for the White Sox in 1982 and ’85, and then didn’t do it again until 2000 – breaking Willie Horton’s record for the longest gap between 100-RBI seasons. He was a hard-working professional who didn’t became famous but who was tremendously appreciated by those who watched him play. Left fielder Hank Bauer (1948-61) won nine AL pennants and seven World Series championships. That kind of stuff happens when you share the Yankee Stadium pasture with the likes of DiMaggio and Mantle. Bauer was the type of dependable, no-nonsense second-tier star who the Yankees always seem to have in the outfield of their dynasties (a Paul O’Neill type). He sandwiched a fine playing career in between military service (decorated Marine who earned two Bronze stars for his service in Okinawa during World War II) and a good run as a manager (incluidng a World Series title with the Orioles). Center fielder Harry “Deerfoot” Bay (1901-08) was a diminutive guy, listed at 5-8 and 138 pounds, who led the American League in stolen bases twice. His career was short, just a few years as a regular, but his speed will come in handy between two corner outfielders who were solid but not fleet.
Catcher: Henry Blanco (1997- ) is a well-traveled catcher who has never hit enough to nail down a fulltime job, but whose defense and throwing arm are good enough to keep him in regular work.
Rotation: Harry “The Cat” Brecheen (1940-53) was a very fine lefty for the Musial-era Cardinals. For his career, he went 133-92 with a 2.92 ERA, and in three World Series with St. Louis he went 4-1 with an 0.83 ERA (including three wins in the 1946 World Series against Boston). Hank Borowy (1942-51) was a pretty decent pitcher whose best years came against the diluted World War II competition. He won 108 games, mostly for the Cubs and Yankees. Pitching for the Cubs in 1945, he had the rare distinction of having four decisions in a single World Series – he started and won Game 1, started and lost Game 5, worked the last four innings of relief to win Game 6, then started Game 7 and got hammered to take the loss. Handsome Henry Boyle (1884-89) was a 19th-century workhorse who led the NL in ERA in 1886 and was generally pretty good, but he pitched for bad teams and lost 20 games a year. Hugh Bedient (1912-15) shone brightly and briefly. When he was 19 years old he drew attention by striking out 42 batters in a semipro game that went 23 innings. As a 22-year-old Red Sox rookie, he went 20-9 and outdueled Christy Mathewson for a 2-1 victory in Game 5 of the World Series. In 1915 he jumped to the upstart Federal League and pitched well, but then he was done. Hal Brown (1951-64) went 85-92 in his career – that breaks down to 62-48 with the Orioles and 23-44 with four other teams, dragged down by a couple of years with the expansion Houston Colt .45s.
Bullpen: Closer Heath Bell (2004- ) served a two-year apprenticeship as Trevor Hoffman’s set-up man in San Diego, then assumed the closer role in 2009 and led the NL with 42 saves. He strikes out more than a batter per inning, with a K-BB ratio of better than 3-to-1. Hi Bell (1924-34) once led the NL in saves, too. In 1930, with a total of eight. He was a good reliever, won two pennants with the Cardinals and one with the Giants. As a rookie starter in 1924, he accomplished the rare feat of pitching complete game victories in both ends of a doubleheader – on July 19, 1924, he threw a 2-hitter and a 4-hitter against the Boston Braves, giving up one run in each game. He won two games that day but finished the season with a 3-8 record. Hank Behrman (1946-49) had a nondescript career in the years following World War II. Huck Betts (1920-35) pitched six years for the Phillies, went to the minors for another six years (winning 105 games), then came back and pitched four years for the Boston Braves. He finished with a record of 61-68. Homer Blankenship (1922-28) had a brief career (13 games) in the majors, some of which was spent as a teammate of his brother Ted. Hiram Bithorn (1942-47) was the first Puerto Rican to play in the majors, and the main stadium in San Juan is named in his honor. He was a pretty effective pitcher for the Cubs whose career was interrupted by military service. He died at age 35 under strange circumstances in Mexico – shot in the belly by a policeman, reportedly in a dispute over an automotive sale, with the misfortune of being almost 100 miles from the nearest hospital. The police officer tried to say Bithorn was a communist but later was convicted of murder in the case. Heinie Berger (1907-10) was a relatively effective spitball specialist in Cleveland for a few years.
Bench: Handome Harry Bemis (1902-10) was a catcher for Lajoie’s Cleveland teams during the deadball era, and he was a good enough hitter that he will press Henry Blanco for the starting job behind the plate. Herman Bronkie (1910-22) was a minor-league infielder who would occasionally spend time in the majors, playing 122 big-league games spread over seven seasons. Hugh Bradley (1910-15) was a reserve outfielder who sang baritone in the Boston Red Sox’s team barbershop quartet. Harry Blake (1894-99) was a 19th-century outfielder with Cleveland. Hiram Bocachica (2000- ) is a reserve outfielder who has had plenty of opportunities but has never hit much. Hasn't played in the majors since '07, but still knocking around the Mexican League.
Manager: Hugo Bezdek managed the Pirates for three seasons with moderate success. He will be assisted by Howie Bedell, who managed our hometown Peninsula Pilots to a Single-A Carolina League title in 1971. (Bedell’s brief major-league playing career is noteworthy for the fact that his only RBI in 1968 came on the sac fly that ended Don Drysdale’s streak of scoreless innings.) It is assumed that Hank Bauer will have some input into strategic decisions as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment