Infield: Second baseman Eddie Stanky (1943-53) was a diminutive firebrand known as “The Brat.” He was a .270 hitter, but he drew a huge number of walks – he led the National League three times, including two seasons of more than 140 walks – and the pitchers weren’t working around him because of his power. His batting eye led to a career on-base percentage of .410, and he scored a lot of runs – over 100 twice, and four more times at 90 or above. For his career, he had 996 walks and just 374 strikeouts. He played for five different NL teams in his career, in part because of his feisty personality, but he was a very valuable player and had a good reputation on defense as well. Shortstop Everett Scott (1914-26) gives this team a double play combination of “The Deacon” and “The Brat,” which sounds like the title for a bad sitcom, or maybe a 1970s farce starring Dom Deluise and Robbie Rist. Scott, a slick fielder with an anemic bat, spent most of his career with the Red Sox and Yankees and won four World Series titles. He played in 1,307 consecutive games, a record that was subsequently surpassed by his Yankees teammate Lou Gehrig. Third baseman Ezra Sutton (1871-88) was a fine player in baseball’s early years, a career .294 hitter who led the National League in hits in 1884 at age 34. First baseman Earl Sheely (1921-31) was a good player who batted .300 in his major-league career, mostly with the White Sox, but who also had a long and prosperous career in the minors. Adding them together, he had 3,659 hits in pro baseball, which included 680 doubles and 245 home runs.
Outfield: Among Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter and the two unrelated Elmer Smiths, there’s not a natural center fielder, so the specific positioning among the outfielders is sort of in flux. Slaughter (1938-59) was a legendary hustler, batting .300 and scoring 1,242 runs, mostly for the Cardinals. He was a North Carolina boy, known as “Country,” and his reputation suffered some with future generations because he was frequently identified as one of the ringleaders of an attempted players strike to protest Jackie Robinson breaking the color line. During that 1947 seasons, Slaughter viciously spiked Robinson on a play at first base, though he always insisted that it was not an act of racism but simply a reflection of the style of play that earned him a reputation for dirty play. In effect, Slaughter said he would have spiked any first baseman – black or white – on that particular play. He won two World Series titles with the Cardinals – including his famous “mad dash” from first to home to beat the Red Sox in 1946 – and then won two more in his 40s as one of Casey Stengel’s role players with the Yankees. Elmer John Smith (1914-25) was a fine outfielder for Cleveland, and he hit the first grand slam in World Series history – in Game 5 of the 1920 Series, the same game in which teammate Bill Wambsganss turned the only unassisted triple play in postseason history. Smith was a good hitter with some power but only had one season in which he played more than 130 games. Elmer Ellsworth Smith (1886-1901) started out as a pitcher – he won 34 games and led the American Association in ERA in 1887 – but was converted to the outfield and finished his career with an on-base percentage of .398, one of the top 100 on-base averages of all time. He batted .310, drew a lot of walks, and he averaged 26 doubles and 18 triples per 162 games over the course of his career. He will be called upon, as needed, to work some long relief and maybe even make a spot start or two.
Catcher: Earl “Oil” Smith (1919-30) was a good, smart catcher who batted .300 over the course of a career that was spent largely in platoons. Twice in his career, he was given the opportunity to play more than 100 games, and in those two seasons he batted .313 and .346. He won World Series titles with the Giants and the Pirates and also won a pennant with the Cardinals.
Rotation: Ervin Santana (2005- ) is just now hitting his prime. His record is good – he was 76-55 coming into the 2011 season – but his ERA is no better than league average. He is a solid, durable starter on a good team, and a no-hitter in 2011 doesn't hurt his resume. Eric Show (1981-91) had a similar career with the Padres, with a 101-89 record and an ERA right around league aveage – but his career was a star-crossed mixed bag. He gave up Pete Rose’s hit to break Ty Cobb’s record, and he sat on the mound and pouted during the ensuing ceremony. In 1987, after Andre Dawson hit a home run off of him, Show drilled Dawson in the face with a pitch, prompting several Cubs to charge out of the dugout after Show while Dawson lay in the dirt bloodied. Eventually, Dawson got up and chased Show around the infield as well. Show was an intellectual who often had a hard time relating to less literate teammates; bothered by the large salary he drew as a pro athlete, he would freqently walk to dinner during road trips and pick up a homeless man en route to the restaurant to share dinner with him. Proclaiming that “Ronald Reagan is too far to the left for me,” Show became an outspoken member of the hard-right John Birch Society and recruited a couple of Padres teammates to join him in handing out the group’s literature. He eventually become highly unpopular with teammates, and his use of amphetamines and painkillers ultimately led him to crystal meth and cocaine. Addiction brought his career to a rather sudden end, and he died at age 38 in a rehab clinic. Lefty Eddie Smith (1936-47) was probably a better pitcher than Santana or Show, but he finished his career 40 games below .500 (73-113) because he played for bad teams. Pitching for the White Sox, he was selected for the all-star games in 1941-42, despite going 13-17 and 7-20 in those seasons. He pitched for a decade and never had a winning season, but his career ERA was markedly better than league average. Lefty Ed Siever (1901-08) led the AL with a 1.91 ERA in 1902 but had an 8-11 record for the Tigers. He pitched consistently well for several years but did not get along (or even pretend to get along) with Ty Cobb, and the Tigers released him as soon as his stats started to slip. Ed Stein (18990-98) holds the career record for most victories by a pitcher with the initials E.S. Go figure. He went 109-78. His single-season high was 27 victories, but this was at a time when a pitcher had to be in the mid-30s to lead the league.
Bullpen: Closer Elias Sosa (1972-83) was a solid but unspectacular pitcher during an itinerant career. Three times he posted save totals in the teens, but he never had 20 in a season. He finished his career with 83 saves. Ernie Shore (1912-20) was primarily a starter but gained his niche in baseball lore with the greatest long relief performance in history. On June 23, 1917, Red Sox starting pitcher George Herman “Babe” Ruth walked the Washington Senators’ leadoff batter on four pitches, then got ejected for attempting to attack the home plate umpire. Shore took over on the mound, and the baserunner was summarily thrown out attempting to steal. Shore then retired 26 straight batters, good for a combined no-hitter facing the minimum number of batters. That game remains Shore’s legacy, but he was a good pitcher and a key member of two championship teams, going 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA in the 1915-16 World Series for the Red Sox. Ed Seward (1885-91) was born Edwart Sourhardt but changed his name, perhaps in honor of Lincoln’s secretary of state but more likely becaue he didn’t like the name Sourhardt. Seward was primarily a starter and won 81 games between 1887-89. Ed Sprague Sr. (1968-76) bounced around the majors for a few years and was occasionally effective – but only occasionally. Elmer Singleton (1945-59) won 184 games in the minors (and lost 186), to go along with an 11-17 record in the majors. He washed out of the bigs in his early 30s but returned to pitch for the Cubs in his 40s. Eddie Stack (1910-14), and we assume he was a junkballer because if he had any kind of fastball at all, he surely would have been nicknamed “Smoke.” Everett Stull (1997-2002) had a long career in the minors but only brief cups o’coffee in the majors.
Bench: Ed Sprague Jr. (1991-2001) was a corner infielder who hit 152 home runs but never fully mastered the strike zone. He hit a walk-off home run in Game 2 of the 1992 World Series, winning back the hearts of Toronto Blue Jays fans who had been booing Sprague ever since his wife edged out a Canadian opponent for the Olympic gold medal in synchronized swimming earlier that year. Outfielder-first baseman Ed Swartwood (1881-92) led the American Association in hitting in 1884, and from the looks of things he was a heck of a hitter. He will push Sheely for the starting first base job. Between Swartwood and Sprague, this team will have some serious punch off the bench. Emmett Seery (1884-92) was a contemporary of Swartwood’s, a pint-sized outfielder who bounced around for several years in the early days of the major leagues. Ed Sicking (1916-27) was a light-hitting infielder. Switch-hitter Ebba St. Claire (1951-54) is the backup catcher. Look for the team’s namesake, Esix Snead, to be a September callup. Though he only spent a few weeks in the majors, primarily as a pinch-runner, he made quite an impression on all who saw him play during his minor-league career – stealing 507 bases and playing center field as though his very livelihood depended upon his making sure that no ball ever landed anywhere in the outfield grass.
Manager: Eddie Sawyer had only two winning records in his years at the helm of the Phillies, but he will always be remembered as the manager of the 1950 pennant-winning Whiz Kids. We’re guessing that Eddie Stanky will offer his two cents regarding in-game strategies.
Outfield: Among Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter and the two unrelated Elmer Smiths, there’s not a natural center fielder, so the specific positioning among the outfielders is sort of in flux. Slaughter (1938-59) was a legendary hustler, batting .300 and scoring 1,242 runs, mostly for the Cardinals. He was a North Carolina boy, known as “Country,” and his reputation suffered some with future generations because he was frequently identified as one of the ringleaders of an attempted players strike to protest Jackie Robinson breaking the color line. During that 1947 seasons, Slaughter viciously spiked Robinson on a play at first base, though he always insisted that it was not an act of racism but simply a reflection of the style of play that earned him a reputation for dirty play. In effect, Slaughter said he would have spiked any first baseman – black or white – on that particular play. He won two World Series titles with the Cardinals – including his famous “mad dash” from first to home to beat the Red Sox in 1946 – and then won two more in his 40s as one of Casey Stengel’s role players with the Yankees. Elmer John Smith (1914-25) was a fine outfielder for Cleveland, and he hit the first grand slam in World Series history – in Game 5 of the 1920 Series, the same game in which teammate Bill Wambsganss turned the only unassisted triple play in postseason history. Smith was a good hitter with some power but only had one season in which he played more than 130 games. Elmer Ellsworth Smith (1886-1901) started out as a pitcher – he won 34 games and led the American Association in ERA in 1887 – but was converted to the outfield and finished his career with an on-base percentage of .398, one of the top 100 on-base averages of all time. He batted .310, drew a lot of walks, and he averaged 26 doubles and 18 triples per 162 games over the course of his career. He will be called upon, as needed, to work some long relief and maybe even make a spot start or two.
Catcher: Earl “Oil” Smith (1919-30) was a good, smart catcher who batted .300 over the course of a career that was spent largely in platoons. Twice in his career, he was given the opportunity to play more than 100 games, and in those two seasons he batted .313 and .346. He won World Series titles with the Giants and the Pirates and also won a pennant with the Cardinals.
Rotation: Ervin Santana (2005- ) is just now hitting his prime. His record is good – he was 76-55 coming into the 2011 season – but his ERA is no better than league average. He is a solid, durable starter on a good team, and a no-hitter in 2011 doesn't hurt his resume. Eric Show (1981-91) had a similar career with the Padres, with a 101-89 record and an ERA right around league aveage – but his career was a star-crossed mixed bag. He gave up Pete Rose’s hit to break Ty Cobb’s record, and he sat on the mound and pouted during the ensuing ceremony. In 1987, after Andre Dawson hit a home run off of him, Show drilled Dawson in the face with a pitch, prompting several Cubs to charge out of the dugout after Show while Dawson lay in the dirt bloodied. Eventually, Dawson got up and chased Show around the infield as well. Show was an intellectual who often had a hard time relating to less literate teammates; bothered by the large salary he drew as a pro athlete, he would freqently walk to dinner during road trips and pick up a homeless man en route to the restaurant to share dinner with him. Proclaiming that “Ronald Reagan is too far to the left for me,” Show became an outspoken member of the hard-right John Birch Society and recruited a couple of Padres teammates to join him in handing out the group’s literature. He eventually become highly unpopular with teammates, and his use of amphetamines and painkillers ultimately led him to crystal meth and cocaine. Addiction brought his career to a rather sudden end, and he died at age 38 in a rehab clinic. Lefty Eddie Smith (1936-47) was probably a better pitcher than Santana or Show, but he finished his career 40 games below .500 (73-113) because he played for bad teams. Pitching for the White Sox, he was selected for the all-star games in 1941-42, despite going 13-17 and 7-20 in those seasons. He pitched for a decade and never had a winning season, but his career ERA was markedly better than league average. Lefty Ed Siever (1901-08) led the AL with a 1.91 ERA in 1902 but had an 8-11 record for the Tigers. He pitched consistently well for several years but did not get along (or even pretend to get along) with Ty Cobb, and the Tigers released him as soon as his stats started to slip. Ed Stein (18990-98) holds the career record for most victories by a pitcher with the initials E.S. Go figure. He went 109-78. His single-season high was 27 victories, but this was at a time when a pitcher had to be in the mid-30s to lead the league.
Bullpen: Closer Elias Sosa (1972-83) was a solid but unspectacular pitcher during an itinerant career. Three times he posted save totals in the teens, but he never had 20 in a season. He finished his career with 83 saves. Ernie Shore (1912-20) was primarily a starter but gained his niche in baseball lore with the greatest long relief performance in history. On June 23, 1917, Red Sox starting pitcher George Herman “Babe” Ruth walked the Washington Senators’ leadoff batter on four pitches, then got ejected for attempting to attack the home plate umpire. Shore took over on the mound, and the baserunner was summarily thrown out attempting to steal. Shore then retired 26 straight batters, good for a combined no-hitter facing the minimum number of batters. That game remains Shore’s legacy, but he was a good pitcher and a key member of two championship teams, going 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA in the 1915-16 World Series for the Red Sox. Ed Seward (1885-91) was born Edwart Sourhardt but changed his name, perhaps in honor of Lincoln’s secretary of state but more likely becaue he didn’t like the name Sourhardt. Seward was primarily a starter and won 81 games between 1887-89. Ed Sprague Sr. (1968-76) bounced around the majors for a few years and was occasionally effective – but only occasionally. Elmer Singleton (1945-59) won 184 games in the minors (and lost 186), to go along with an 11-17 record in the majors. He washed out of the bigs in his early 30s but returned to pitch for the Cubs in his 40s. Eddie Stack (1910-14), and we assume he was a junkballer because if he had any kind of fastball at all, he surely would have been nicknamed “Smoke.” Everett Stull (1997-2002) had a long career in the minors but only brief cups o’coffee in the majors.
Bench: Ed Sprague Jr. (1991-2001) was a corner infielder who hit 152 home runs but never fully mastered the strike zone. He hit a walk-off home run in Game 2 of the 1992 World Series, winning back the hearts of Toronto Blue Jays fans who had been booing Sprague ever since his wife edged out a Canadian opponent for the Olympic gold medal in synchronized swimming earlier that year. Outfielder-first baseman Ed Swartwood (1881-92) led the American Association in hitting in 1884, and from the looks of things he was a heck of a hitter. He will push Sheely for the starting first base job. Between Swartwood and Sprague, this team will have some serious punch off the bench. Emmett Seery (1884-92) was a contemporary of Swartwood’s, a pint-sized outfielder who bounced around for several years in the early days of the major leagues. Ed Sicking (1916-27) was a light-hitting infielder. Switch-hitter Ebba St. Claire (1951-54) is the backup catcher. Look for the team’s namesake, Esix Snead, to be a September callup. Though he only spent a few weeks in the majors, primarily as a pinch-runner, he made quite an impression on all who saw him play during his minor-league career – stealing 507 bases and playing center field as though his very livelihood depended upon his making sure that no ball ever landed anywhere in the outfield grass.
Manager: Eddie Sawyer had only two winning records in his years at the helm of the Phillies, but he will always be remembered as the manager of the 1950 pennant-winning Whiz Kids. We’re guessing that Eddie Stanky will offer his two cents regarding in-game strategies.
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