Infield: Shortstop Enzo Hernandez (1971-78) is famous for driving in 12 runs in 618 plate appearances for the San Diego Padres in 1971. Now, part of that is explained by the fact that he was batting leadoff. That’s right, a 22-year-old rookie, batting .222 and with an on-base percentage below .300, hit leadoff for most of the season. If you look at the Padres' roster that year, he was probably as good as anyone else they could have batted leadoff, but still, he was pretty awful. Those numbers are representative of his career productivity (in both the minors and the majors), and yet he spent the great bulk of his career batting either leadoff or second. This is reflective of the idea, long-established but especially widespread in the 1970s, that light-hitting middle infielders (especially speedy little Latinos) had some sort of magical “bat control” that made them effective leadoff batters even if it was abundantly clear that they couldn’t hit. People assumed he was a good-field, no-hit shortstop, but the truth is, he wasn’t all that good in the field either. Third baseman Eric Hinske (2002- ) won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2002, batting .279 with 24 home runs for Toronto. He never really built on that, but he didn’t regress all that much either, and he has fashioned a solid career as a platoon guy and role player. He’s approaching 150 career home runs and he’s barely in his mid-30s. First baseman Eric Hosmer (2011- ) is a star on the rise. The Royals took him with the third pick in the 2008 draft. He bashed his way through the minors and became the starter in Kansas City at age 21. We'll see where he goes from here. Second baseman Edson Hemingway (1914-18) played in a grand total of 43 major-league games and batted .227.
Outfield: Elston Howard (1955-68) was a catcher but spent a fair amount of time in the outfield, both as a youngster in the Negro Leagues and for his first several years in the majors, because someone was blocking his path to the starting job behind the plate. So it’s approprate that he’s moved to left field on this team – he’s the best E.H. catcher of the bunch, but the fact remains that this “initial team” has three viable catchers and a weak outfield. Howard, the first black player in the history of the Yankees, was a second-line star at the end of the team’s great dynasty, gradually taking over the catching job from Yogi Berra. He was a good hitter (.274 with 167 career home runs), the AL’s MVP in 1963, and a member of 10 pennant winners and four World Series champions. After finishing his playing career with the Red Sox, he helped develop and market the newfangled batting doughnut that players use to warm-up in the on-deck circle. Right fielder Ed “Don’t Call Me Noodles” Hahn (1905-10) played in the deadball era and batted .237, which wasn’t really all that bad in the context of his time. He won a World Series title as the leadoff batter for the 1906 White Sox. Center fielder Emmet Heidrick (1898-1908) was nicknamed “Snags,” so he must have been a good fielder, and he banged out 10-15 triples a year, so he clearly had some wheels. He was a .300 hitter who jumped from the St. Louis Cardinals to the St. Louis Browns in 1902.
Catcher: Ed Herrmann (1967-78) and Elrod Hendricks (1968-79) were both lefty hitters, so they can’t really platoon per se, but they will share duties behind home plate. Hendricks was famous for his ability to “handle pitchers” and was a fine role player for Earl Weaver’s great Orioles teams that were built on pitching and defense. Herrmann spent most of his career with the White Sox. He could hit 10-12 home runs in a good season and had 80 in his career. They were two of the slowest baserunners of the 1970s. Hendricks had both of his insteps crushed when his feet were run over by a car as a child, but Herrmann had no such excuse and was just plain naturally slow. They will occasionally entertain fans by competing in a footrace around the bases (with announcer Ernie Harwell calling the race over the P.A.).
Rotation: Erik Hanson (1988-98) had a wicked curveball. He was a good pitcher who never quite became the star that people expected him to be. He had some very good seasons – 18 wins and 211 strikeouts for a bad Mariners team in 1990, 15-5 and a spot in the All-Star Game for the Red Sox in 1995 – and overall he had a solid career, winning 89 games with a 4.15 ERA and a good strikeout-to-walk ratio. Folks kept expecting him to emerge as an ace starter, but instead he settled in as a solid, dependable middle-of-the-rotation guy. Lefty Earl Hamilton (1911-24) won 115 games, mostly for the St. Louis Browns and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a solid, durable pitcher over the course of a long career. Egyptian Healy (1885-92) was born John J. Healy, but because his hometown was Cairo, Ill., they called him “Egyptian.” That’s what passed for clever in 19th-century baseball. He had a career record of 78-136, highlighted by a 12-29 record at age 20 with Indianapolis in 1887. Ed Halicki (1974-80) was a 6-foot-7 righty who pitched, appropriately, for the Giants. He threw a no-hitter in 1975 and won 16 games in 1977. Ed Holley (1928-34) had a career record of 25-40, mostly for the Phillies.
Bullpen: Earl Harrist (1945-53) will start the season as closer on this team despite a 12-28 career record and a 4.34 ERA. The itinerant righty did have 10 saves in his career. Ed Heusser (1935-48), a.k.a. “The Wild Elk of the Wasatch,” is probably the best reliever on the team, and he will probably take over the closer role from Harrist, but well, it’s hard to hand the closer job to a guy you call “Wild Elk.” On the other hand, Heusser was a swingman who had 56 wins and 18 saves in his career, and in 1944 he led the NL with a 2.38 ERA. Ed Head (1940-46) won 27 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and if we ever put together a team of players with rhyming names, he’ll be on that one, too (along with Don Hahn and Mark Clark, as well as honorary announcer Harry Caray). Ed Hobaugh (1961-63) pitched a couple of years for the Washington Senators. Ed Hanyzewski (1942-46) won a dozen games for the Cubs during World War II. Eric Hillman (1992-94) was a good pitcher at Triple-A and had some good years in Japan, but in the majors he had a 4-14 record and a 4.85 ERA. The 6-foot-10 Hillman will room with Ed Halicki on the road, and they can complain to each other about the short beds and low shower heads in the team hotels. Ernie Herbert (1913-15) spent most of his career in the minors but did win two games in the Federal League.
Bench: One of the starting catchers, Herrmann and Hendricks, will always be avaiable in case they are needed to pinch-hit or (ha ha) pinch-run. Infielder Ed Holly (1906-15) wasn’t much of a hitter. He’ll room with Ed Holley on the road, so that if anyone asks, “What room is Ed Holley in?” the road secretary won’t have to say “Which one?” Infielder Ed Hallinan (1911-12) batted .211 and fielded below .900. First baseman Emil Huhn (1915-17) batted .300 in a long minor-league career but never did much in the majors. Outfielder Ed Householder (1903) had a fine minor-league career but played in just a dozen games in the majors.
Manager: Eddie Haas had a long affiliation with the Atlanta Braves as a coach and minor-league manager. He managed the team in 1985 but was fired before the season ended.
Outfield: Elston Howard (1955-68) was a catcher but spent a fair amount of time in the outfield, both as a youngster in the Negro Leagues and for his first several years in the majors, because someone was blocking his path to the starting job behind the plate. So it’s approprate that he’s moved to left field on this team – he’s the best E.H. catcher of the bunch, but the fact remains that this “initial team” has three viable catchers and a weak outfield. Howard, the first black player in the history of the Yankees, was a second-line star at the end of the team’s great dynasty, gradually taking over the catching job from Yogi Berra. He was a good hitter (.274 with 167 career home runs), the AL’s MVP in 1963, and a member of 10 pennant winners and four World Series champions. After finishing his playing career with the Red Sox, he helped develop and market the newfangled batting doughnut that players use to warm-up in the on-deck circle. Right fielder Ed “Don’t Call Me Noodles” Hahn (1905-10) played in the deadball era and batted .237, which wasn’t really all that bad in the context of his time. He won a World Series title as the leadoff batter for the 1906 White Sox. Center fielder Emmet Heidrick (1898-1908) was nicknamed “Snags,” so he must have been a good fielder, and he banged out 10-15 triples a year, so he clearly had some wheels. He was a .300 hitter who jumped from the St. Louis Cardinals to the St. Louis Browns in 1902.
Catcher: Ed Herrmann (1967-78) and Elrod Hendricks (1968-79) were both lefty hitters, so they can’t really platoon per se, but they will share duties behind home plate. Hendricks was famous for his ability to “handle pitchers” and was a fine role player for Earl Weaver’s great Orioles teams that were built on pitching and defense. Herrmann spent most of his career with the White Sox. He could hit 10-12 home runs in a good season and had 80 in his career. They were two of the slowest baserunners of the 1970s. Hendricks had both of his insteps crushed when his feet were run over by a car as a child, but Herrmann had no such excuse and was just plain naturally slow. They will occasionally entertain fans by competing in a footrace around the bases (with announcer Ernie Harwell calling the race over the P.A.).
Rotation: Erik Hanson (1988-98) had a wicked curveball. He was a good pitcher who never quite became the star that people expected him to be. He had some very good seasons – 18 wins and 211 strikeouts for a bad Mariners team in 1990, 15-5 and a spot in the All-Star Game for the Red Sox in 1995 – and overall he had a solid career, winning 89 games with a 4.15 ERA and a good strikeout-to-walk ratio. Folks kept expecting him to emerge as an ace starter, but instead he settled in as a solid, dependable middle-of-the-rotation guy. Lefty Earl Hamilton (1911-24) won 115 games, mostly for the St. Louis Browns and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a solid, durable pitcher over the course of a long career. Egyptian Healy (1885-92) was born John J. Healy, but because his hometown was Cairo, Ill., they called him “Egyptian.” That’s what passed for clever in 19th-century baseball. He had a career record of 78-136, highlighted by a 12-29 record at age 20 with Indianapolis in 1887. Ed Halicki (1974-80) was a 6-foot-7 righty who pitched, appropriately, for the Giants. He threw a no-hitter in 1975 and won 16 games in 1977. Ed Holley (1928-34) had a career record of 25-40, mostly for the Phillies.
Bullpen: Earl Harrist (1945-53) will start the season as closer on this team despite a 12-28 career record and a 4.34 ERA. The itinerant righty did have 10 saves in his career. Ed Heusser (1935-48), a.k.a. “The Wild Elk of the Wasatch,” is probably the best reliever on the team, and he will probably take over the closer role from Harrist, but well, it’s hard to hand the closer job to a guy you call “Wild Elk.” On the other hand, Heusser was a swingman who had 56 wins and 18 saves in his career, and in 1944 he led the NL with a 2.38 ERA. Ed Head (1940-46) won 27 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and if we ever put together a team of players with rhyming names, he’ll be on that one, too (along with Don Hahn and Mark Clark, as well as honorary announcer Harry Caray). Ed Hobaugh (1961-63) pitched a couple of years for the Washington Senators. Ed Hanyzewski (1942-46) won a dozen games for the Cubs during World War II. Eric Hillman (1992-94) was a good pitcher at Triple-A and had some good years in Japan, but in the majors he had a 4-14 record and a 4.85 ERA. The 6-foot-10 Hillman will room with Ed Halicki on the road, and they can complain to each other about the short beds and low shower heads in the team hotels. Ernie Herbert (1913-15) spent most of his career in the minors but did win two games in the Federal League.
Bench: One of the starting catchers, Herrmann and Hendricks, will always be avaiable in case they are needed to pinch-hit or (ha ha) pinch-run. Infielder Ed Holly (1906-15) wasn’t much of a hitter. He’ll room with Ed Holley on the road, so that if anyone asks, “What room is Ed Holley in?” the road secretary won’t have to say “Which one?” Infielder Ed Hallinan (1911-12) batted .211 and fielded below .900. First baseman Emil Huhn (1915-17) batted .300 in a long minor-league career but never did much in the majors. Outfielder Ed Householder (1903) had a fine minor-league career but played in just a dozen games in the majors.
Manager: Eddie Haas had a long affiliation with the Atlanta Braves as a coach and minor-league manager. He managed the team in 1985 but was fired before the season ended.
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