Infield: Second baseman Damaso Garcia (1978-89) hit .283 in his career and batted .300 a couple of times. He stole as many as 54 bases in a season and could hit the occasional double. That said, he wouldn’t take a walk (career on-base, .309) and he was no great shakes in the field. Shortstop Dick Groat (1952-67) was a sensational athlete – a college basketball All-American at Duke – who signed with his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates and became a starter without ever playing in the minors. He batted .286 for his career, with no real power or speed, and was a solid fielder. He won the MVP award in 1960 when he won the NL batting title for the World Series champion Pirates, and he was runner-up for the award in 1963 after he was traded to the Cardinals. Third baseman Debs Garms (1932-45) led the NL with a .355 batting average in 1940. It was kind of a phony title, though – a player had to appear in 100 games to qualify, and Garms appeared in 103 (including several as a pinch-hitter as the Pirates worked to get him over the limit), so he had just 385 plate appearances.They changed the rule after his batting title. He also has the distinction of breaking Johnny Vander Meer’s streak of 21 innings without allowing a hit. And, yes, his real name was Debs. His parents named him after the socialist politician Eugene V. Debs. First baseman Doc Gessler (1903-11) was a first baseman and corner outfielder who led the AL in on-base percentage in 1908.
Outfield: Left fielder Dan Gladden (1983-93) was a starter on Minnesota’s championship teams in 1987 and 1991. He was a hustling player who batted .270 and stole 20-30 bases per year, and he had the odd distinction of setting a career high in home runs (13) in his final season. Center fielder Doug Glanville (1996-2004) was another .270 hitter who stole bases. He didn’t walk as much as Gladden, but other than that they were similar offensive players, and Glanville was a fine defensive center fielder. Right fielder Danny Green (1898-1905) had several fine years with the Cubs and the White Sox, a .300 hitter with good speed. He was back in the minors before he turned 30, and his career ended with a serious injury when he was stuck in the head by a pitch in 1910. He died four years later at age 38, apparently from problems stemming from the beaning incident.
Catcher: Dan Graham (1979-81) hit alright for the Orioles in 1980, but the next year he batted .176 and went back to the minors for good. He was out of baseball before he turned 30.
Rotation: Dwight Gooden (1984-2000), like his teammate Darryl Strawberry, had a very fine career that was completely overshadowed by the fact that it should have been much, much better. Gooden won 17 games and led the NL in strikeouts at age 19, winning the Rookie of the Year award. He followed that up by going 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and again leading the league in strikeouts, winning the Cy Young Award at age 20. He was a handsome, genial young star in New York, and at that point, his future seemed limitless. But it didn’t happen. He never won 20 again. He never led the league in anything again. He never won any more awards. He pitched poorly in the 1986 postseason and the missed the Mets championship victory parade while on a cocaine binge. The rest of his career was marked by drug addiction and arm troubles. He had 100 wins before he turned 25, but by the end of his career he was bouncing from team to team trying to catch on with anyone who would have him. His last hurrah was a 1996 no-hitter with the Yankees, but his ERA that year was 5.01. His career record – 194-112, 3.51 ERA and 2,293 strikeouts – is impressive on the surface but disappointing to anyone who saw him in his first few seasons. His life after baseball has been marked by more arrests for drunken driving, drug possession and domestic violence. Lefty Don Gullett (1970-78) was another guy who was a major-league star by age 20 en route to a disappointing career. Unlike Gooden, he never had substance abuse problems, but Gullett had chronic shoulder problems that ended his career at age 27. He was almost always a very fine pitcher when he was healthy enough to pitch – at age 20 he went 16-6 with a 2.65 ERA for the Reds. When the Big Red Machine won back-to-back World Series titles in 1975-76, Gullett went a combined 26-7 but missed considerable time in both seasons. After the 1976 season he signed with the Yankees and went 14-4. He won World Series championships with New York in 1977-78, giving him four in a row, but his career was over following the 1978 season. His career record of 109-50 gave him one of the top 10 winning percentages in baseball history, fourth-best in the 20th century. Dave Goltz (1972-83) led the American League with 20 wins in 1977. He was a good pitcher, but the 20 wins were primarily due to the fact that he made 39 starts and worked 303 innings. Other than that season, his win totals from 1974-79 were 14, 14, 15 and 14. After that he signed a big free agent deal with the Dodgers, hurt his arm and never pitched well again. He holds two strange “records” in major-league baeball – he had three consecutive seasons with a .500 record in more than 20 decisions (10-10, 14-14, 14-14), and he once earned a save while allowing eight runs. Denny Galehouse (1934-49) won 109 games in a long career split among the Browns, Indians and Red Sox, giving this team three starting pitchers between 100-110 career victories (Gullett, Goltz, Galehouse). The team will try to arrange for David Gates to make a novelty recording called “In the Galehouse Now,” which will be played on the P.A. whenever Galehouse takes the mount. Unfortunately, Galehouse is probably most remembered as the surprise
starting (and losing) pitcher for the Red Sox in the one-game playoff between Boston and Cleveland for the 1948 American League pennant. Dan Griner (1912-18) did not win 100 games. He had a career record of 28-55 and led the NL with 22 losses in 1913. He did, however, win 99 in the minors.
Bullpen: Closer Danny Graves (1996-2006), the only player in major-league history who was born in Vietnam, saved 182 games for the Reds, but only had one year when he was truly a top-notch closer (2000, when he had 10 wins, 30 saves and a 2.56 ERA. He saved career-best 41 games and made the all-star game in 2004, but he actually had a 1-6 record and a 3.95 ERA. Dave Giusti (1962-77) won 100 games and saved 145, putting him on the short list (fewer than 20) of pitchers with 100 wins and 100 saves. Giusti was a run-of-the-mill starter for Houston but made a successful conversion to the pen once he arrived in Pittsburgh in 1970. He made three scorless relief appearances in the 1971 World Series. Lefty Don Gross (1955-60) had a 1.95 ERA in 1956. Other than that, his career was pretty routine. Lefty Dave Geisel (1978-85), no relation to Seuss, was a bit player for the Cubs, Blue Jays and Mariners. Lefty Dolly Gray (1909-11) was a starter for the moribund Washington Senators who had a palindromic career record of 15-51. Dallas Green (1960-67) had an undistinguished career as a reliever and is better known for his managing days. Dave Gumpert (1982-87) won three games in five seasons. He showed some promise but was done in by elbow trouble.
Bench: Backup catcher Doug Gwosdz (1981-84) – it’s pronounced Goosh – was a terrible hitter and no great shakes defensively, but he was briefly a subject of fascination in the early days of sabermetrics when someone noticed that in 1981-82, the Padres were 9-1 in games that he started (and 113-149 in games he didn’t start). So statisticians kept an eye on him in 1983 and, lo and behold, the Padres went 10-3 when Gwosdz started (71-78 when he didn’t start). No one was fooled into thinking he was actually a good player, but folks were pretty fascinated by a light-hitting catcher with a 19-4 record in games that he started for a bad team. The Padres were less than fascinated. He started one game in 1984 (a loss) and was out of the majors with a .144 career average. We’re hoping he’ll continue to be a gwosdz-luck charm on this roster.Infielder Dick Green (1963-74) was a light-hitting glove man on the Oakland teams that won three straight World Series titles, and one of the pieces in Charlie Finley’s bizarre “rotating second baseman” ploy in 1972 (in which manager Dick Williams was given several light-hitting second basemen and told to pinch-hit for them every time they came up). Outfielder Dave Gallagher (1987-95) batted .303 as a 27-year-old rookie for the Indians, but he wasn’t really a .300 hitter, which he spent the next several years proving. He wasn’t a bad player, though, and he forged a decent career as a journeyman role player. First baseman Dick Gernert (1952-62) was a .250 hitter with mid-range power for the Boston Red Sox. Don Gutteridge (1936-48) was a utility infielder who spent most of his career in St. Louis with the Cardinals and the Browns.
Manager: Dallas Green will be player-manager. A cantankerous man who described himself as “a screamer, a yeller and a cusser,” he won the 1980 World Series with a Philadelphia team that had three major stars (Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw) and little else. That was his only really good season in a career that also included terms with the Yankees and Mets, but he had a largely successful run in the Chicago Cubs front office. He was a key player in the movement to add lights to Wrigley Field (you can decide for yourself if that was good or bad).
Outfield: Left fielder Dan Gladden (1983-93) was a starter on Minnesota’s championship teams in 1987 and 1991. He was a hustling player who batted .270 and stole 20-30 bases per year, and he had the odd distinction of setting a career high in home runs (13) in his final season. Center fielder Doug Glanville (1996-2004) was another .270 hitter who stole bases. He didn’t walk as much as Gladden, but other than that they were similar offensive players, and Glanville was a fine defensive center fielder. Right fielder Danny Green (1898-1905) had several fine years with the Cubs and the White Sox, a .300 hitter with good speed. He was back in the minors before he turned 30, and his career ended with a serious injury when he was stuck in the head by a pitch in 1910. He died four years later at age 38, apparently from problems stemming from the beaning incident.
Catcher: Dan Graham (1979-81) hit alright for the Orioles in 1980, but the next year he batted .176 and went back to the minors for good. He was out of baseball before he turned 30.
Rotation: Dwight Gooden (1984-2000), like his teammate Darryl Strawberry, had a very fine career that was completely overshadowed by the fact that it should have been much, much better. Gooden won 17 games and led the NL in strikeouts at age 19, winning the Rookie of the Year award. He followed that up by going 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and again leading the league in strikeouts, winning the Cy Young Award at age 20. He was a handsome, genial young star in New York, and at that point, his future seemed limitless. But it didn’t happen. He never won 20 again. He never led the league in anything again. He never won any more awards. He pitched poorly in the 1986 postseason and the missed the Mets championship victory parade while on a cocaine binge. The rest of his career was marked by drug addiction and arm troubles. He had 100 wins before he turned 25, but by the end of his career he was bouncing from team to team trying to catch on with anyone who would have him. His last hurrah was a 1996 no-hitter with the Yankees, but his ERA that year was 5.01. His career record – 194-112, 3.51 ERA and 2,293 strikeouts – is impressive on the surface but disappointing to anyone who saw him in his first few seasons. His life after baseball has been marked by more arrests for drunken driving, drug possession and domestic violence. Lefty Don Gullett (1970-78) was another guy who was a major-league star by age 20 en route to a disappointing career. Unlike Gooden, he never had substance abuse problems, but Gullett had chronic shoulder problems that ended his career at age 27. He was almost always a very fine pitcher when he was healthy enough to pitch – at age 20 he went 16-6 with a 2.65 ERA for the Reds. When the Big Red Machine won back-to-back World Series titles in 1975-76, Gullett went a combined 26-7 but missed considerable time in both seasons. After the 1976 season he signed with the Yankees and went 14-4. He won World Series championships with New York in 1977-78, giving him four in a row, but his career was over following the 1978 season. His career record of 109-50 gave him one of the top 10 winning percentages in baseball history, fourth-best in the 20th century. Dave Goltz (1972-83) led the American League with 20 wins in 1977. He was a good pitcher, but the 20 wins were primarily due to the fact that he made 39 starts and worked 303 innings. Other than that season, his win totals from 1974-79 were 14, 14, 15 and 14. After that he signed a big free agent deal with the Dodgers, hurt his arm and never pitched well again. He holds two strange “records” in major-league baeball – he had three consecutive seasons with a .500 record in more than 20 decisions (10-10, 14-14, 14-14), and he once earned a save while allowing eight runs. Denny Galehouse (1934-49) won 109 games in a long career split among the Browns, Indians and Red Sox, giving this team three starting pitchers between 100-110 career victories (Gullett, Goltz, Galehouse). The team will try to arrange for David Gates to make a novelty recording called “In the Galehouse Now,” which will be played on the P.A. whenever Galehouse takes the mount. Unfortunately, Galehouse is probably most remembered as the surprise
starting (and losing) pitcher for the Red Sox in the one-game playoff between Boston and Cleveland for the 1948 American League pennant. Dan Griner (1912-18) did not win 100 games. He had a career record of 28-55 and led the NL with 22 losses in 1913. He did, however, win 99 in the minors.
Bullpen: Closer Danny Graves (1996-2006), the only player in major-league history who was born in Vietnam, saved 182 games for the Reds, but only had one year when he was truly a top-notch closer (2000, when he had 10 wins, 30 saves and a 2.56 ERA. He saved career-best 41 games and made the all-star game in 2004, but he actually had a 1-6 record and a 3.95 ERA. Dave Giusti (1962-77) won 100 games and saved 145, putting him on the short list (fewer than 20) of pitchers with 100 wins and 100 saves. Giusti was a run-of-the-mill starter for Houston but made a successful conversion to the pen once he arrived in Pittsburgh in 1970. He made three scorless relief appearances in the 1971 World Series. Lefty Don Gross (1955-60) had a 1.95 ERA in 1956. Other than that, his career was pretty routine. Lefty Dave Geisel (1978-85), no relation to Seuss, was a bit player for the Cubs, Blue Jays and Mariners. Lefty Dolly Gray (1909-11) was a starter for the moribund Washington Senators who had a palindromic career record of 15-51. Dallas Green (1960-67) had an undistinguished career as a reliever and is better known for his managing days. Dave Gumpert (1982-87) won three games in five seasons. He showed some promise but was done in by elbow trouble.
Bench: Backup catcher Doug Gwosdz (1981-84) – it’s pronounced Goosh – was a terrible hitter and no great shakes defensively, but he was briefly a subject of fascination in the early days of sabermetrics when someone noticed that in 1981-82, the Padres were 9-1 in games that he started (and 113-149 in games he didn’t start). So statisticians kept an eye on him in 1983 and, lo and behold, the Padres went 10-3 when Gwosdz started (71-78 when he didn’t start). No one was fooled into thinking he was actually a good player, but folks were pretty fascinated by a light-hitting catcher with a 19-4 record in games that he started for a bad team. The Padres were less than fascinated. He started one game in 1984 (a loss) and was out of the majors with a .144 career average. We’re hoping he’ll continue to be a gwosdz-luck charm on this roster.Infielder Dick Green (1963-74) was a light-hitting glove man on the Oakland teams that won three straight World Series titles, and one of the pieces in Charlie Finley’s bizarre “rotating second baseman” ploy in 1972 (in which manager Dick Williams was given several light-hitting second basemen and told to pinch-hit for them every time they came up). Outfielder Dave Gallagher (1987-95) batted .303 as a 27-year-old rookie for the Indians, but he wasn’t really a .300 hitter, which he spent the next several years proving. He wasn’t a bad player, though, and he forged a decent career as a journeyman role player. First baseman Dick Gernert (1952-62) was a .250 hitter with mid-range power for the Boston Red Sox. Don Gutteridge (1936-48) was a utility infielder who spent most of his career in St. Louis with the Cardinals and the Browns.
Manager: Dallas Green will be player-manager. A cantankerous man who described himself as “a screamer, a yeller and a cusser,” he won the 1980 World Series with a Philadelphia team that had three major stars (Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw) and little else. That was his only really good season in a career that also included terms with the Yankees and Mets, but he had a largely successful run in the Chicago Cubs front office. He was a key player in the movement to add lights to Wrigley Field (you can decide for yourself if that was good or bad).
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