Infield: Third baseman Doug DeCinces (1973-87) had the unenviable task of replacing the beloved Brooks Robinson at the hot corner in Baltimore. Truth is, DeCinces was the same basic model as Robinson – a slow right-handed hitter with mid-range power and a terrific glove. He never became the legend that Brooks was, and he never made the Hall of Fame, but DeCinces was an awfully good player. He never won a Gold Glove,but he could have won several, and he finished with 237 home runs and 879 RBI. He moved to the Angels in mid-career and finished third in the MVP voting in 1982 when he batted .301 with 30 home runs. First baseman Dan Driessen (1973-87) came up the same year as DeCinces, retired the same year as DeCinces (as teammates with the Cardinals), and also replaced a popular Hall of Famer – in this case, Tony Perez at first base for the Big Red Machine. Driessen was a .267 career hitter who drew a lot of walks, ran reasonably well and hit 153 career home runs. Second baseman Denny Doyle (1970-77) was a light-hitting glove man who had his best season when he batted .310 for the pennant-winning 1975 Red Sox. (The Doyle boys do well in the limelight – his brother Brian, who couldn’t bat his way out of a wet paper sack, batted .438 for the Yankees in the 1978 World Series.) Shortstop David Doster (1996-99) was a utility infielder who had a good career in the minors, with 352 doubles and 129 home runs, but never got a foothold in the majors. He was primarily a second baseman but will be stretched to fill shortstop here.
Outfield: Center fielder Dominic DiMaggio (1940-53) was a terrific ballplayer who was always destined to be remembered as Joe’s Little Brother. A small, bespectacled man, he batted leadoff for the Red Sox in the heart of the Ted Williams Era, and he scored 100 runs six times. He was a .300 hitter who drew lots of walks, hit plenty of doubles and ran reasonably well, and he also played a very fine center field. He played in seven all-star games and was highly respected during his career but was overshadowed by his brother, who won three MVPs, nine World Series championships and a place in Paul Simon’s song lyrics. Left fielder David DeJesus (2003- ) is still in mid-career but he's struggling through a rough 2011 season in Oakland. Still young enough to bounce back. Right fielder Don Demeter (1956-67) hit 163 home runs in a career that covered five teams. He was another good defender, completing a Double-D outfield that will run down a lot of fly balls.
Catcher: Darren Daulton (1983-97) was a really good ballplayer – a .245 hitter who drew lots of walks, hit with power and ran well for a catcher – until knee injuries took their toll. He, Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk were the leaders of the hard-partying faction of the 1992 pennant-winning Phillies teams, and he finished his career by batting .389 in the 1997 World Series for the Marlins. Daulton is also an outspoken believer in a variety of conspiracies and numerological theories and claims to have traveled through time. He told Sports Illustrated that his first “out-of-body experience” came at age 35 when he hit a double against the Cubs and realized, as he ran the bases, that “it wasn’t me who swung that bat.” These beliefs appear to be sincere and not a by-product of his drinking. (He has been involved in several bad accidents that resulted in DUI charges, including one in 2001 when he claimed that he crashed not because he was intoxicated, but because he had been run off the road by a mysterious vehicle as some sort of retribution for “a business deal pertaining to the FBI and the White House.”) Anyways, the man could hit.
Rotation: Dizzy Dean (1930-47) is one of the most colorful characters in baseball history, an Arkansas hick with the gift of gab, and we think it would be a royal hoot to hear him explain Darren Daulton’s theories of the universe. One of the leaders of the Cardinals’ famous Gas House Gang, Dean won 30 games in 1934 (last NL pitcher to win 30) and then 28 in 1935. He was still in his mid-20s when he took a line drive off his foot in the 1937 All-Star Game, breaking his toe. Confident as always, he tried to come back too soon, altered his motion to compensate for the pain in his foot, and ended up injuring his arm. He finished with a career record of 150-83, compiled almost entirely before his 28th birthday. He later became a broadcaster, engaging some listeners and enraging others with his down-home butcherin’ of the language. (When one critic asked him, “Don’t you know the king’s English?” Dean famously replied, “Sure I know it – so’s the queen!”) In 1947, he came out of the broadcast booth to pitch one last game for the St. Louis Browns, working four shutout innings. Don Drysdale (1956-69) was sort of the opposite of Dizzy Dean – a ruggedly handsome and articulate California man who teamed with Koufax to anchor the rotations of the great Dodgers teams of the 1960s. He won 209 games, led the league in strikeouts three times and scared the hell out of batters with his reputed fondness for headhunting. He had a reputation as a great “big game pitcher,” but that was largely shot to hell when research by Bill James showed that in his entire career, Drysdale never once beat a key opponent in the stretch drive of a pennant race. A tough, intimidating competitor who once pitched 58 straight shutout innings and had 49 career shutouts, and as an added bonus he had 29 career home runs. Between Diz and Drysdale, two workhorses, the front end of the rotation is rock solid. Doug Drabek (1986-98) was nowhere near as colorful as Dean or as intimidating as Drysdale, but he did manage to win 155 games and a Cy Young Award, and he was another durable pitcher who basically never missed a start. Dick Donovan (1950-65) led the AL in winning percentage for the White Sox in 1957, led the AL in ERA for the Senators in 1961 and won 20 for the Indians in 1962. He won 122 games in his career. Swingman Danny Darwin (1978-98) led the NL in ERA in 1990, and he won 171 games in his career. Never a star, but always solid.
Outfield: Center fielder Dominic DiMaggio (1940-53) was a terrific ballplayer who was always destined to be remembered as Joe’s Little Brother. A small, bespectacled man, he batted leadoff for the Red Sox in the heart of the Ted Williams Era, and he scored 100 runs six times. He was a .300 hitter who drew lots of walks, hit plenty of doubles and ran reasonably well, and he also played a very fine center field. He played in seven all-star games and was highly respected during his career but was overshadowed by his brother, who won three MVPs, nine World Series championships and a place in Paul Simon’s song lyrics. Left fielder David DeJesus (2003- ) is still in mid-career but he's struggling through a rough 2011 season in Oakland. Still young enough to bounce back. Right fielder Don Demeter (1956-67) hit 163 home runs in a career that covered five teams. He was another good defender, completing a Double-D outfield that will run down a lot of fly balls.
Catcher: Darren Daulton (1983-97) was a really good ballplayer – a .245 hitter who drew lots of walks, hit with power and ran well for a catcher – until knee injuries took their toll. He, Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk were the leaders of the hard-partying faction of the 1992 pennant-winning Phillies teams, and he finished his career by batting .389 in the 1997 World Series for the Marlins. Daulton is also an outspoken believer in a variety of conspiracies and numerological theories and claims to have traveled through time. He told Sports Illustrated that his first “out-of-body experience” came at age 35 when he hit a double against the Cubs and realized, as he ran the bases, that “it wasn’t me who swung that bat.” These beliefs appear to be sincere and not a by-product of his drinking. (He has been involved in several bad accidents that resulted in DUI charges, including one in 2001 when he claimed that he crashed not because he was intoxicated, but because he had been run off the road by a mysterious vehicle as some sort of retribution for “a business deal pertaining to the FBI and the White House.”) Anyways, the man could hit.
Rotation: Dizzy Dean (1930-47) is one of the most colorful characters in baseball history, an Arkansas hick with the gift of gab, and we think it would be a royal hoot to hear him explain Darren Daulton’s theories of the universe. One of the leaders of the Cardinals’ famous Gas House Gang, Dean won 30 games in 1934 (last NL pitcher to win 30) and then 28 in 1935. He was still in his mid-20s when he took a line drive off his foot in the 1937 All-Star Game, breaking his toe. Confident as always, he tried to come back too soon, altered his motion to compensate for the pain in his foot, and ended up injuring his arm. He finished with a career record of 150-83, compiled almost entirely before his 28th birthday. He later became a broadcaster, engaging some listeners and enraging others with his down-home butcherin’ of the language. (When one critic asked him, “Don’t you know the king’s English?” Dean famously replied, “Sure I know it – so’s the queen!”) In 1947, he came out of the broadcast booth to pitch one last game for the St. Louis Browns, working four shutout innings. Don Drysdale (1956-69) was sort of the opposite of Dizzy Dean – a ruggedly handsome and articulate California man who teamed with Koufax to anchor the rotations of the great Dodgers teams of the 1960s. He won 209 games, led the league in strikeouts three times and scared the hell out of batters with his reputed fondness for headhunting. He had a reputation as a great “big game pitcher,” but that was largely shot to hell when research by Bill James showed that in his entire career, Drysdale never once beat a key opponent in the stretch drive of a pennant race. A tough, intimidating competitor who once pitched 58 straight shutout innings and had 49 career shutouts, and as an added bonus he had 29 career home runs. Between Diz and Drysdale, two workhorses, the front end of the rotation is rock solid. Doug Drabek (1986-98) was nowhere near as colorful as Dean or as intimidating as Drysdale, but he did manage to win 155 games and a Cy Young Award, and he was another durable pitcher who basically never missed a start. Dick Donovan (1950-65) led the AL in winning percentage for the White Sox in 1957, led the AL in ERA for the Senators in 1961 and won 20 for the Indians in 1962. He won 122 games in his career. Swingman Danny Darwin (1978-98) led the NL in ERA in 1990, and he won 171 games in his career. Never a star, but always solid.
Bullpen: Dick Drago (1969-81) came up as a starter, finished as a reliever, and will serve as the Double-D closer (though he and Darwin could swap roles just as easily). He won 108 games and saved 58, spending most of his career in Kansas City and Boston. During one start in 1971, he achieved an odd accomplishment by facing just 13 batters and getting credited with a complete game. (If you do the math and use some logic, you can figure out how that happened, and how that is the absolute lowest number of batters a pitcher could face and still be credited with a complete game.) Dauntless Dave Danforth (1911-25), a lefty swingman, won 71 games in his career, and when saves were retroactively figured, he led the AL with 9 saves in 1917. Dave Dravecky (1982-89) was a pretty good lefty swingman who won 64 games for the Padres and Giants, but he is best remembered for (a.) being a member of the John Birch Society faction of the Padres’ pitching staff, (b.) coming back after having a cancerous tumor removed from his throwing arm, and (c.) snapping his arm in half in mid-pitch in the second start of his comeback in 1987. He rebroke the arm later that year during the Giants’ celebration when they won the NL West title. The arm was eventually amputated. Dixie Davis (1912-26) is yet another swingman, so clearly the pitching staff will not hurt for innings. Davis won 75 games for the St. Louis Browns. Darren Dreifort (1994-2004) was an all-world prospect who had a very mediocre career with the Dodgers. In 1999, he went 13-13 with a 4.79 ERA – raising his career record to 27-36 – and the Dodgers responded by giving him a five-year, $57 million contract that they quickly regretted. Finished his career at 48-60. Dave Davenport (1914-19) was a 6-foot-6, 200-pound righty who won 22 games in the Federal League in 1915. Lefty swingman Doug Davis (1999- ) made a good run at 100 victories but appears to have run aground at 92. He's in his mid-30s and has gotten hammered the past two years, so he might be done.
Bench: Backup catcher Dick Dietz (1966-73) was a righty slugger who will give Darren Daulton a day off against tough left-handers or when he suspects the FBI is in the house. Dietz was only a regular for two years with the Giants, but in one of them he went .300-22-107, with 109 walks. (During Don Drysdale’s record-breaking scoreless inning streak, he once drilled Dietz with the bases loaded, but the umpire rule that Dietz had made no effort to get out of the way – Drysdale then retired Dietz and continued the shutout streak.) Outfielders David Dellucci (1997-2009) and Doug Dascenzo (1988-96) spent most of their careers as role players. Dim Dom Dallesandro (1937-47) was a diminutive outfielder for the Cubs who will jockey with Dellucci and Dascenzo for playing time. Utility infielder Daniel Descalso (2010- ) was a key role player during the St. Louis Cardinals' run to the 2011 World Series championship. It remains to be seen if he will move into a starting role at any point, but he will get plenty of work on this team after the middle infielders come out of the game for pinch-hitters.
Manager: Dave Duncan, Tony LaRussa’s longtime pitching coach in Oakland and St. Louis, will move into the big office on this team. One of the few pitching coaches who was not a pitcher himself, Duncan got squeezed out in the battle for the backup catcher job on this roster. Famous for his work with reclamation projects, he will enjoy the challenge of trying to get something out of Darren Dreifort.
Bench: Backup catcher Dick Dietz (1966-73) was a righty slugger who will give Darren Daulton a day off against tough left-handers or when he suspects the FBI is in the house. Dietz was only a regular for two years with the Giants, but in one of them he went .300-22-107, with 109 walks. (During Don Drysdale’s record-breaking scoreless inning streak, he once drilled Dietz with the bases loaded, but the umpire rule that Dietz had made no effort to get out of the way – Drysdale then retired Dietz and continued the shutout streak.) Outfielders David Dellucci (1997-2009) and Doug Dascenzo (1988-96) spent most of their careers as role players. Dim Dom Dallesandro (1937-47) was a diminutive outfielder for the Cubs who will jockey with Dellucci and Dascenzo for playing time. Utility infielder Daniel Descalso (2010- ) was a key role player during the St. Louis Cardinals' run to the 2011 World Series championship. It remains to be seen if he will move into a starting role at any point, but he will get plenty of work on this team after the middle infielders come out of the game for pinch-hitters.
Manager: Dave Duncan, Tony LaRussa’s longtime pitching coach in Oakland and St. Louis, will move into the big office on this team. One of the few pitching coaches who was not a pitcher himself, Duncan got squeezed out in the battle for the backup catcher job on this roster. Famous for his work with reclamation projects, he will enjoy the challenge of trying to get something out of Darren Dreifort.
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