Infield: First baseman Franklin Stubbs (1984-95) spent most of his career batting in the .220s and .230s, save for one season when he batted .291 in the walk year of his contract in an injury-shortened season. He was basically a .230 hitter with mid-range power. First baseman for the 1988 World Series champion Dodgers. Second baseman Freddy Sanchez (2002- ) won the NL batting title in 2006, batting .344 with 53 doubles for the Pirates. He’s not really that good, but he’s not bad either – a .290 hitter with enough gap power to produce a good number of doubles, but he has no speed, no home run pop and he doesn’t draw enough walks. Third baseman Fred Smith (1913-17) was a weak hitter who came up with Boston at age 21, then jumped to the Federal League for a couple of years before returning to play briefly with the Cardinals. He never showed much as a hitter, even in the minors. Shortstop Frank Shugart (1890-1901) played with six teams in his eight-year career. He was a .267 hitter who banged a lot of triples. His career ended at age 34 when he punched out an umpire during an argument over ball-and-strike calls, leading to his suspension, arrest and eventual blacklisting from major-league baseball.
Outfield: Right fielder Frank “Wildfire” Schulte (1904-18) was the first player to ever have 20 doubles, triples, homers and steals in the same season, a feat that has only been matched a handful of times since he did it for the Cubs in 1911. He was named the top player in the National League that year. Schulte was a key player in Chicago’s dynasty at the start of the 20th century, and in four World Series apperances (totaling 21 games) he batted .321. Center fielder Fred Schulte (1927-37), no apparent relation to Frank, was a .290-.300 hitter for the St. Louis Browns and the Washington Senators, during an era when batting .290-.300 was no big deal. In his one World Series appearance, he batted .333 for the Senators in a losing effort against the Giants in 1933. Fred Snodgrass (1908-16) spent most of his career in center field but moves to left in this lineup. Snodgrass was a good player for the New York Giants – a .275 hitter with speed – but he is most remembered for committing one of the costliest errors in baseball history. In the 1912 World Series, the Giants and Red Sox had each won three games, and because one game had ended in a tie, the series went to an eighth game. The score was 1-1 after nine innings, but the Giants scored a run in the top of the 10th and were three outs away from the championship. But Snodgrass misplayed a popup by the leadoff batter in the bottom of the 10th – forever after known as “Snodgrass’ Muff” – and the error led to a two-run rally that gave Boston the title. Snodgrass played in three World Series with the Giants, all of which the team lost.
Catcher: Frank Snyder (1912-27) was a very functional catcher who started out with the Cardinals and then went on to win four pennants and two World Series titles with the Giants. He was a good defensive catcher with a strong arm, and by mid-career he had developed into a useful hitter as well. A very respected ballplayer in his time. He was born in San Antonio but was at least half-Mexican, leading to the nickname “Pancho.”
Rotation: Frank Smith (1904-15) won 139 games in his career, mostly for the White Sox, for whom he had seasons of 23-10 and 25-17. He was one of the first fulltime spitballers in the majors, and he used the new pitch to great effect, hurling two no-hitters and helping his teammates learn the pitch as well. His nickname was “Piano Mover,” because he worked hauling furniture in the offseason and used to brag that he could lug an upright piano up four flights of stairs with no assistance and no pauses to rest. Frank Sullivan (1953-63) won 97 games in his career, including a league-leading 18 for the Red Sox in 1954. After five largely successful seasons with the Red Sox, he struggled for a couple of seasons and got traded to the Phillies, for who he promptly won three games and lost 18, dragging his career winning percentage below .500. (He was traded even-up for Gene Conley, making Sullivan one of the few 6-foot-6 players in baseball history to be traded for someone even taller.) Lefty Ferdinand Schupp went 21-7 with a 1.95 ERA for the Giants in 1917, leading the NL in winning percentage. One year earlier, he had posted an 0.90 ERA in 140 innings. Those were his only two seasons with an ERA better than the league average, but he finished his career with a 61-39 record. Fred Sanford (1943-51) went 12-21 for the Browns in 1948 on his way to a career record of 37-55. If he had come along in the late 1970s, he would have had a great nickname – say, “The Junkman” – and he would have entered the game to the familiar theme song of “Sanford and Son” on the PA. Frank Shellenback (1918-19) won 315 games in the minors, including a record 295 in the Pacific Coast League. His career in the majors had gotten off to a promising start with the White Sox, but his primary pitch was the spitball, and after that pitch was banned, the White Sox didn’t (or couldn’t) get him listed among the “legal spitballers” who would be grandfathered in to continue throwing the pitch. Thus he went back to the minors, continued to load up his pitches, and dominated PCL hitters for two decades.
Bullpen: Fred Scherman (1969-76) went 11-6 with 20 saves for the Tigers in 1971, but his ERA went up by almost a full run the following year and losing the closer job to Chuck Seelbach and eventually John Hiller. He stuck around and had a respectable career that also included time with the Astros and the Expos. Frank Smith (1950-56) won 35 games and saved 44, mostly for the Reds. He will share closer duties with Scherman. Freddy Schmidt (1944-47) was a relatively effective swingman for three National League teams. Righthander Fernando Salas (2010- ), the pride of Huatabampo, Mexico, had a solid rookie year for the Cardinals at age 25 and became the team's closer in 2011. What he does from here on out is anyone’s guess. Frank Seminara (1992-94), an Ivy Leaguer from Columbia University, spent two years with the Padres and one with the Mets but was out of baseball before he turned 30. Frank Seward (1943-44) was a career minor-leaguer who logged one season and part of another with the Giants during World War II. Frank Snook (1973) pitched respectably in the minors and did alright in his one season with the Padres, but he was finished by his mid-20s.
Bench: Fred “Chicken” Stanley (1969-82) was a light-hitting utility infielder best known as a scrubeenie on the “Bronx Zoo” Yankees of the 1970s. F.P. Santangelo (1995-2001) spent four years at Triple-A before making his way up to Montreal, where he proved to be a valuable role player for a few years – playing regularly by rotating through second base, third base and the outfield. Backup catcher Farmer Steelman (1899-1902) played at the turn of the century and didn’t do much to distinguish himself. Panamanian first baseman Fernando Seguignol (1998-2003) hit 202 home runs at various stops in the minors, Mexico and Japan, but he never got a good foothold in the majors. He hit 17 home runs in 366 major-league at-bats, but he also struck out 114 times (against only 20 walks) and batted .249. Infielder Freddy Spurgeon (1924-27) batted .285 at a time when the league batting average was close to .300.
Manager: Frank Selee, a distinguished gentleman with a bushy mustache, was one of the game’s first great managers, winning 1,004 games and five National League championships between 1890-1905. He was known for his ability to recognize and develop talent, especially pitching and defense, and he managed at least a dozen Hall of Famers. After a successful run in Boston, he became manager of the Chicago Cubs and laid the groundwork for their dynasty early in the 20th Century, setting up the famous Tinker-Evers-Chance double infield. Just as the team was becoming a powerhouse, Selee began to have health problems. He handed the team over to Frank Chance, who won four pennants and two Worlds Series titles in the space of five years. Selee died at age 49 of tuberculosis.
Outfield: Right fielder Frank “Wildfire” Schulte (1904-18) was the first player to ever have 20 doubles, triples, homers and steals in the same season, a feat that has only been matched a handful of times since he did it for the Cubs in 1911. He was named the top player in the National League that year. Schulte was a key player in Chicago’s dynasty at the start of the 20th century, and in four World Series apperances (totaling 21 games) he batted .321. Center fielder Fred Schulte (1927-37), no apparent relation to Frank, was a .290-.300 hitter for the St. Louis Browns and the Washington Senators, during an era when batting .290-.300 was no big deal. In his one World Series appearance, he batted .333 for the Senators in a losing effort against the Giants in 1933. Fred Snodgrass (1908-16) spent most of his career in center field but moves to left in this lineup. Snodgrass was a good player for the New York Giants – a .275 hitter with speed – but he is most remembered for committing one of the costliest errors in baseball history. In the 1912 World Series, the Giants and Red Sox had each won three games, and because one game had ended in a tie, the series went to an eighth game. The score was 1-1 after nine innings, but the Giants scored a run in the top of the 10th and were three outs away from the championship. But Snodgrass misplayed a popup by the leadoff batter in the bottom of the 10th – forever after known as “Snodgrass’ Muff” – and the error led to a two-run rally that gave Boston the title. Snodgrass played in three World Series with the Giants, all of which the team lost.
Catcher: Frank Snyder (1912-27) was a very functional catcher who started out with the Cardinals and then went on to win four pennants and two World Series titles with the Giants. He was a good defensive catcher with a strong arm, and by mid-career he had developed into a useful hitter as well. A very respected ballplayer in his time. He was born in San Antonio but was at least half-Mexican, leading to the nickname “Pancho.”
Rotation: Frank Smith (1904-15) won 139 games in his career, mostly for the White Sox, for whom he had seasons of 23-10 and 25-17. He was one of the first fulltime spitballers in the majors, and he used the new pitch to great effect, hurling two no-hitters and helping his teammates learn the pitch as well. His nickname was “Piano Mover,” because he worked hauling furniture in the offseason and used to brag that he could lug an upright piano up four flights of stairs with no assistance and no pauses to rest. Frank Sullivan (1953-63) won 97 games in his career, including a league-leading 18 for the Red Sox in 1954. After five largely successful seasons with the Red Sox, he struggled for a couple of seasons and got traded to the Phillies, for who he promptly won three games and lost 18, dragging his career winning percentage below .500. (He was traded even-up for Gene Conley, making Sullivan one of the few 6-foot-6 players in baseball history to be traded for someone even taller.) Lefty Ferdinand Schupp went 21-7 with a 1.95 ERA for the Giants in 1917, leading the NL in winning percentage. One year earlier, he had posted an 0.90 ERA in 140 innings. Those were his only two seasons with an ERA better than the league average, but he finished his career with a 61-39 record. Fred Sanford (1943-51) went 12-21 for the Browns in 1948 on his way to a career record of 37-55. If he had come along in the late 1970s, he would have had a great nickname – say, “The Junkman” – and he would have entered the game to the familiar theme song of “Sanford and Son” on the PA. Frank Shellenback (1918-19) won 315 games in the minors, including a record 295 in the Pacific Coast League. His career in the majors had gotten off to a promising start with the White Sox, but his primary pitch was the spitball, and after that pitch was banned, the White Sox didn’t (or couldn’t) get him listed among the “legal spitballers” who would be grandfathered in to continue throwing the pitch. Thus he went back to the minors, continued to load up his pitches, and dominated PCL hitters for two decades.
Bullpen: Fred Scherman (1969-76) went 11-6 with 20 saves for the Tigers in 1971, but his ERA went up by almost a full run the following year and losing the closer job to Chuck Seelbach and eventually John Hiller. He stuck around and had a respectable career that also included time with the Astros and the Expos. Frank Smith (1950-56) won 35 games and saved 44, mostly for the Reds. He will share closer duties with Scherman. Freddy Schmidt (1944-47) was a relatively effective swingman for three National League teams. Righthander Fernando Salas (2010- ), the pride of Huatabampo, Mexico, had a solid rookie year for the Cardinals at age 25 and became the team's closer in 2011. What he does from here on out is anyone’s guess. Frank Seminara (1992-94), an Ivy Leaguer from Columbia University, spent two years with the Padres and one with the Mets but was out of baseball before he turned 30. Frank Seward (1943-44) was a career minor-leaguer who logged one season and part of another with the Giants during World War II. Frank Snook (1973) pitched respectably in the minors and did alright in his one season with the Padres, but he was finished by his mid-20s.
Bench: Fred “Chicken” Stanley (1969-82) was a light-hitting utility infielder best known as a scrubeenie on the “Bronx Zoo” Yankees of the 1970s. F.P. Santangelo (1995-2001) spent four years at Triple-A before making his way up to Montreal, where he proved to be a valuable role player for a few years – playing regularly by rotating through second base, third base and the outfield. Backup catcher Farmer Steelman (1899-1902) played at the turn of the century and didn’t do much to distinguish himself. Panamanian first baseman Fernando Seguignol (1998-2003) hit 202 home runs at various stops in the minors, Mexico and Japan, but he never got a good foothold in the majors. He hit 17 home runs in 366 major-league at-bats, but he also struck out 114 times (against only 20 walks) and batted .249. Infielder Freddy Spurgeon (1924-27) batted .285 at a time when the league batting average was close to .300.
Manager: Frank Selee, a distinguished gentleman with a bushy mustache, was one of the game’s first great managers, winning 1,004 games and five National League championships between 1890-1905. He was known for his ability to recognize and develop talent, especially pitching and defense, and he managed at least a dozen Hall of Famers. After a successful run in Boston, he became manager of the Chicago Cubs and laid the groundwork for their dynasty early in the 20th Century, setting up the famous Tinker-Evers-Chance double infield. Just as the team was becoming a powerhouse, Selee began to have health problems. He handed the team over to Frank Chance, who won four pennants and two Worlds Series titles in the space of five years. Selee died at age 49 of tuberculosis.
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