The Debut of the DH</h1> <article> <h1>The Debut of the DH</h1> <p>Brendan Macgranachan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:17:11 +0000</p> <p></p> <p align="left"></p> <p><font size="3"></p> <p align="left">Starting in the 1973 season, the American League implemented the designated hitter rule, which allowed a player to hit for another player, which is almost always the pitcher. Here is a look at how the first designated hitters did for their respective American League clubs during opening day of the ‘73 season.</p> <p align="left"><strong>April 6th – Boston Red Sox 15, New York Yankees 5 at Fenway Park<br /> </strong>NYY DH: Ron Blomberg (1-for-3, RBI, BB; batted sixth)<br /> BOS DH: Orlando Cepeda (0-for-6, 2 K; batted fifth) </p> <p align="left">When Blomberg stepped up to the plate in the top of the first inning, he became the first player in baseball history to pick up a plate appearance as a designated hitter. He drew a bases loaded walk off Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant, which scored the first run of the contest. He also picked up a single in the third inning off Tiant. Future Hall-of-Famer Orlando Cepeda did not have one of his better days at the plate, going 0-for-6 with two strikeouts. The 35-year old Cepeda would rebound after his tough opening day, posting a stat line of .289-20-86 in 142 games as Boston’s full time DH.</p> <p align="left">Meanwhile, in the game, Carlton Fisk went 3-for-4 with 6 RBIs to power the Red Sox over the Yankees by a score of 15-5. Carl Yastrzemski and Doug Griffin each drove in two runs for the home side, who chased New York starting pitcher Mel Stottlemyre in the third inning. In total, Boston ended up outhitting the Yankees, 20-8.</p> <p align="left"><strong>April 6th – Baltimore Orioles 10, Milwaukee Brewers 0 at Memorial Stadium</strong><br /> MIL DH: Ollie Brown (0-for-3; batted sixth)<br /> BAL DH: Terry Crowley (2-for-4, R; batted eighth) </p> <p align="left">Crowley, currently the hitting coach for the Orioles, picked up singles in the sixth and seventh innings off Milwaukee reliever Bill Champion. He also scored Baltimore’s eighth run of the game in the sixth when he scored on a Merv Rettenmund single. Brown was shut down in all three of his at-bats against O’s starter Dave McNally. Brown was only one of the six Brewer batters to go hitless against McNally as the Baltimore ace allowed only three hits in his complete-game shutout of Milwaukee. Orioles’ left fielder Don Baylor went 4-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs while Brooks Robinson drove in another 4 runs.</p> <p align="left"><strong>April 6th – California Angels 3, Kansas City Royals 2 at Anaheim Stadium</strong><br /> KCR DH: Ed Kirkpatrick (0-for-3, BB; batted sixth)<br /> CAL DH: Tommy McCraw (1-for-4, K; batted fifth) </p> <p align="left">The Angels’ Tommy McCraw collected the only hit between the two DHs in the contest, a single to leadoff the fourth inning. Kirkpatrick walked in his first appearance in the second but failed to reach base in his next three at-bats. On a side note, California manager Bobby Winkles removed the DH from his lineup in the ninth inning when he placed McCraw in left field, where he stood as he watched Nolan Ryan go three up and three down as the Angels hung on for a 3-2 victory. The Angels controlled the contest throughout, grabbing a 3-0 lead early and it stayed that way until the eighth, when the Royals brought two runners across the plate to tighten the contest. However, with one final chance in the ninth, Kansas City couldn’t put a runner on base.</p> <p align="left"><strong>April 6th – Minnesota Twins 8, Oakland Athletics 3 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum<br /> </strong>MIN DH: Tony Oliva (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBIs, BB; batted fourth)<br /> OAK DH: Bill North (2-for-5, batted leadoff) </p> <p align="left">Tony Oliva became the first designated hitter to hit a home run when he smacked a two-run, two-out dinger off A’s starter Catfish Hunter to give the Twins a quick 3-0 lead. Oliva also drove in Rod Carew with a single in the fourth, allowing him to finish with a strong opening day at the plate. Oakland DH Billy North had a pair of singles off Minnesota starter Bert Blyleven, who went the distance in the victory. The Twins knocked Hunter out in the third after gaining a 5-0 lead and they never looked back on route to a 8-3 win. Twins’ leadoff man Larry Hisle went 4-for-5 with a home run to jump start the offense.</p> <p align="left"><strong>April 7th – Cleveland Indians 2, Detroit Tigers 1 at Cleveland Stadium</strong><br /> DET DH: Gates Brown (0-for-4, K, batted third)<br /> CLE DH: John Ellis (0-for-4, K, batted fourth) </p> <p align="left">Detroit and Cleveland did not get any production from the designated hitter spot in their debuts with the new lineup rule. To be fair, neither team got a whole lot of offense out of any spot in their lineup, due to pitching performances by the Tigers’ Mickey Lolich and the Indians’ Gaylord Perry, who allowed only four hits apiece. The only runs in the contest came off long balls, with Chris Chambliss giving Cleveland a 2-0 lead in the first and Mickey Stanley giving the Tigers their only run with a solo swat in the eighth.</p> <p align="left"><strong>April 7th – Chicago White Sox 3, Texas Rangers 1 at Arlington Stadium<br /> </strong>CWS DH: Mike Andrews (1-for-3, 2B, BB, batted sixth)<br /> TEX DH: Rico Carty (1-for-4, batted fourth) </p> <p align="left">The two DHs each had one hit in the contest; Andrews doubled in the fifth and Carty singled in the ninth. Chicago starter Wilbur Wood had an exceptional game, going the distance while giving up only four Texas hits, two of which came in the last inning. Nursing a 3-1 lead with two outs in the ninth and runners on the corner, Wood strike out the Rangers’ Jeff Burroughs to end the game and to give the White Sox a 3-1 victory.</p> <p align="left"><strong>OTHER AMERICAN LEAGUE TEAMS DESIGNATED HITTERS DEBUTS:<br /> </strong>April 6th, 1977 – Seattle Mariners: Doug Collins (0-for-4, K, batted leadoff)<br /> April 7th, 1977 – Toronto Blue Jays: Otto Velez (2-for-4, R, BB, K, batted fourth)<br /> March 31st, 1998 – Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Paul Sorrento (1-for-5, K, batted sixth)</p> <p></font></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=3yiXwbF1Npk:JzSXQ_yCuKs:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=3yiXwbF1Npk:JzSXQ_yCuKs:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Joe Klein Has Not Missed Out on Much in Majors Or as Executive Director of Atlantic League</h1> <p>Bob Wirz — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:36:58 +0000</p> <p>One of the nice things about this time of year in the Independent Baseball-writing business is we sometimes can sit back without the daily buzz of games and think about some of the factors—and the people—that make this business go.</p> <p>I have written from time to time about some of the league commissioners and certain owners when something special was happening, perhaps giving credit if someone had stepped in and saved a franchise or maybe even a full league or earned a certain honor.</p> <p><strong>Joe Klein</strong> gets mentioned every so often since he essentially oversees the day to day operation of the <strong>Atlantic League</strong>, especially when it comes to players. But I am not certain if I have ever really profiled Joe in the seven years of this column.</p> <p>I remember <strong>Frank Boulton</strong>, who founded the Atlantic League, once saying in praising his executive director: “Joe has had Sunday dinner with everybody in baseball”. I do not recall the exact context of our conversation, but Boulton, who also is in an ownership role with the <strong>Long Island (NY) Ducks</strong>, the <strong>Bridgeport (CT) Bluefish</strong>, and the <strong>Camden (NJ) Riversharks</strong>, was emphasizing the reason Klein could be so effective was that he had a relationship with so many people in the game. After all, he was general manager at one time of the <strong>Tigers</strong>, <strong>Rangers</strong> and <strong>Indians</strong> and twice held key positions with the <strong>Royals</strong>.</p> <p>On more than one occasion recently when I have found an intriguing story Klein has been involved in some manner.</p> <p>There is the case of southpaw <strong>Scott Aldred</strong> entering the <strong>Greater Flint (MI) Area Sports Hall of Fame</strong>. Aldred was a more than ordinary major league pitcher in that he had nine years of service. He finally gave up pitching when his surgically-repaired elbow acted up once again when he was with <strong>Somerset, NJ</strong> of the Atlantic League in 2004.</p> <p>In a story about the Flint induction, it was mentioned that <strong>Detroit</strong> gave Aldred a second opportunity with that organization, which led to him hurling the Tigers’ home opener in 1996. Detroit’s GM at the time was Joe Klein. “I liked his dedication,” The Flint Journal quoted Klein.</p> <p>A couple of weeks back I was researching for the column I wrote about <strong>Pat Ahearne</strong>, another former Atlantic and <strong>Northern League</strong> hurler. Klein had an involvement when Ahearne got his only major league pitching opportunity because it was for the Tigers.</p> <p>I probably could find one hundred and one similar stories where Joe was involved.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center" align="center"><strong><u>Many a Player Can Thank Joe Klein</u></strong></p> <p>Joe Klein frequently becomes the go-between when a player believes his career chances are better if he plays in the Atlantic League while waiting for a new organizational opportunity or if major league brass is looking for a player to fill a spot in Triple-A and be on deck for major league insurance.</p> <p>We can point to at least 51 players who have taken this route since the Atlantic League was started in 1998 and eventually returned to the big time. Almost always, Klein has played a role.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center" align="center"><strong>* * * *<br /> STILL LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL INDEPENDENT BASEBALL COVERAGE? VISIT OUR BLOG,</strong> <a href="http://www.IndyBaseballChatter.com">www.IndyBaseballChatter.com</a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center" align="center"><strong>* * * *</strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center" align="center"><strong><u>Madera Carries Huge Bat in Mexico</u></strong></p> <p>A bevy of Independent players are tearing up some of the traditional winter leagues in hitting so far this season.</p> <p>Hottest of all is <strong>Sandy Madera</strong>, who sits atop the <strong>Mexican Pacific League </strong>in batting (.472), hits (57), home runs (11), on-base percentage (.514) and slugging percentage (.744). Like other sluggers who have peaked at the Triple-A level, the 29-year-old Madera is primarily a first baseman and DH these days. <strong>Boston</strong> released him early in ’09, and he went to the <strong>Atlantic League</strong>, hitting .375 with 12 homers and 62 RBI in only 70 games for <strong>Newark, NJ</strong>. He previously played Indy baseball for the <strong>New Jersey Jackals (Little Falls)</strong> of the <strong>Can-Am League</strong>. Another former Jackals slugger, first baseman <strong>John Lindsey</strong>, is hitting .347 in Mexico and onetime <strong>Frontier League</strong> <strong>(Chillicothe, OH)</strong> 1B-3B <strong>Mike Cervenak</strong> is one point higher. All three are free agents this winter season.</p> <p>Third baseman <strong>Cesar Suarez (Lancaster, PA</strong>, Atlantic League) is hitting .370 in the <strong>Venezuelan Winter League</strong> with <strong>American Association</strong> outfielders <strong>Selwyn Langaigne (Shreveport, LA)</strong> at .357 and <strong>Francisco Leandro (Pensacola, FL)</strong> at .341. Langaigne also has logged time at <strong>Rio Grande Valley, TX</strong>, <strong>Jackson, MS</strong> and <strong>Alexandria, LA</strong> while Leandro has played for New Jersey.</p> <p><em>(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes on Independent Baseball. Fans may subscribe at <a href="http://www.WirzandAssociates.com" target="_blank">www.WirzandAssociates.com</a>, enjoy his blog, <a href="http://www.IndyBaseballChatter.com" target="_blank">www.IndyBaseballChatter.com</a>, or comment to <a href="mailto:RWirz@aol.com"><span style="color: windowtext"><font color="#b22222">RWirz@aol.com.</font></span></a> The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)</em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=qO9CFoSw5K4:aSSRVHhoUgE:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=qO9CFoSw5K4:aSSRVHhoUgE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>More Thoughts On The Cy Young</h1> <p>Daniel Shoptaw — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:10:09 +0000</p> <p>If you’ve not seen them, <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/jeffgordon/story/3BAC56E8B2FF88D386257673006D2443?OpenDocument">my selections</a> for the Cardinal Bloggers Awards are below. The votes are coming in from across the blogosphere and we should have some results maybe this weekend.I briefly <a href="http://www.cardinal70.com/stlouiscardinals/cy-not-in-the-cards.php">touched on it yesterday</a>, but I want to talk a little more about the <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/45FA85B8577E2A4A8625767400143400?OpenDocument">aftermath of the Cy Young voting</a>. Apologies if there is some more than usual rambling, but there are some half-formed thoughts in my head that I want to try to get out and see if they make any sense.</p> <p>As expected, there <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/bryanburwell/story/3C87D5BC1B0134E8862576740017024D?OpenDocument">are some</a> <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/jeffgordon/story/3BAC56E8B2FF88D386257673006D2443?OpenDocument">irate people</a> in Cardinal Nation that one or the other of the two pitchers did not win the award. Some of the arguments or thoughts expressed, though, have some merit.</p> <p>Obviously, I’m not hear to argue that advanced statistical measures shouldn’t be used to make these selections. These things enhance our knowledge of the game and allow us not to be deceived by our eyes completely or to be terribly biased one way or another. Sabermetrics is here to stay and it’s a good thing.</p> <p>That said, there’s got to be some room for not only the traditional stats but also for the circumstances and qualitative factors that surround the game. Wins aren’t the be-all and end-all, obviously, especially when you recognize in what situations some pitchers get a win. ERA can be deceptive. However, if a guy has a lot of wins and a good ERA, that needs to be factored in. He helped his team win, for the most part. That has to have some sort of cache.</p> <p>The sabermetricians have their own biases. For example, the biggest knock on Chris Carpenter was the fact he missed a few games. <a href="http://perfectknight.blogspot.com/2009/11/lincecum-wins-cy-young-some-appalled.html">Like Mike says</a>, though, when did IP become the standard? Carpenter was as dominant, if not more so, in slightly fewer innings. There could be an argument that he was more worthy due to that, with the thought that with the same amount of innings, he’d have much better counting stats. However, in a close race like this, I can see that being a slight mark against him.</p> <p>I know that Keith Law and Will Carroll have gotten a lot of grief, even after they’ve <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/tipsheet/tipsheet/2009/11/vorp-fip-war-propel-lincecum-to-cy-young/">explained their votes</a>. For the most part, they don’t deserve the barrage. However, sabermetricians (and I know this is a broad generalization, so I apologize to those that it doesn’t fit) tend to want to be the smartest guy in the room and will brook little empathy for those that don’t fit the profile. From the look of his ballot, Law just took the top three in WAR and went on with his day, not worrying about anything that wasn’t in the numbers there on the paper.</p> <p>Now, I don’t know a lot about WAR and VORP and FIP, though I have a general sense of them. They are effective tools, I won’t deny that. I’m sure <a href="http://www.fungoes.net/">Pip</a> will correct me, but with WAR, couldn’t a pitcher have a dominant first half of the season, get hurt in August, and still lead the league in that? I don’t think it’s a cumulative-type stat, though I easily could be mistaken. Assuming that’s correct, though, if Lincecum had been hurt and not pitched in September but still was the leader in WAR and FIP, does he still get the award? Even though the Giants really needed him down the stretch as they tried to make the playoffs?</p> <p>If the sabermetrician says, “That’s possible, but it wouldn’t have happened. They wouldn’t have given it to him in that situation,” then when do external factors come into play? That seemed to be to be the one chink in Lincecum’s argument. When the Giants were pushing the Rockies, coming within a couple of games of the wild card spot, they really needed him. Yet in the second half, he went 1-3 with a 3.60 ERA. Still good, but it was the absolute worst time for him to slump. Wainwright went 3-1 with a 3.18 and a crazy 40/7 K/BB ratio, including throwing 130 pitches in the divisional clincher. If only Kyle McClellan <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/C5A97F6646EB5FDA8625767400165EFA?OpenDocument">could have held #20</a> for him…..</p> <p>(Interesting stat I just found looking through ESPN’s sabermetric rankings. Carpenter had a .256 average on balls in play. Lincecum, .276. Wainwright? .290. Not sure if that means anything, though it would seem to me that Wainwright’s numbers were less reliant on luck than maybe the other two, but just by a hair.)</p> <p>Pip makes an interesting argument that now <a href="http://www.fungoes.net/?p=2269">strikeouts are more important to voters than wins</a>. It’s true that strikeouts give a better read on a pitcher, he has more control over that than wins or some other things. But what about the teams like St. Louis that are philosophically focused on getting the ground ball? Should they be punished for basically doing their job?</p> <p>Again, I’m not saying Lincecum is a bad choice. By a lot of accounts, he was the best pitcher in the NL. I’m not really complaining about anything, but I do think that there’s got to be some sort of blend between strictly numbers and strictly scouting and traditional measures. There’s good in both of them. I just wish they’d figured this out years ago, so maybe Ozzie Smith <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/1987_National_League_Most_Valuable_Player_Award">would have won in ‘87</a>.</p> <p>I guess the argument comes from how you perceive the Cy. We’ve had this argument with the MVP for years, but is the Cy for the overall best statistical pitcher or the pitcher that helped his team the most? Usually those are one and the same, but not so much this year. Which is probably why we’re going to be talking about this for a while.</p> <p><em>Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,” where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. You can find more of his work<a href="http://www.cardinal70.com/" target="_blank"> here</a></em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=F5FsmJkAq9c:1pzWJqsg-Y8:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=F5FsmJkAq9c:1pzWJqsg-Y8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Cy Not In The Cards</h1> <p>Daniel Shoptaw — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:22:12 +0000</p> <p>(OK, I’m sure that’ll be a headline used by just about everyone. Nobody’s ever said I was creative.)</p> <p><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4671110">The news is out</a>, and Tim Lincecum won another Cy Young, beating out Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. It was a ridiculously tight race, with Lincecum beating Carp by 6 points and Waino by 10, with Wainwright getting the most first place selections.</p> <p>It was a race that any of them could have won. If the Cardinals don’t blow the lead in Wainwright’s last game and he gets to 20, would that have made a difference? All it might have taken was to sway one or two voters. We’ll never know.</p> <p>Derrick Goold was kind enough to <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/bird-land/bird-land/2009/11/how-i-voted-for-the-2009-cy-young-award/">let people in on his vote</a>. Like Bernie’s article this morning, it lays out a strong argument. No matter who won this race, the other two were not going to be robbed.</p> <p>Which is even more surprising that the BBWAA went with Lincecum, to some degree. I’ve thought that, with younger sportswriters and more open minds, the writers were coming to the point where they were making less egregious errors. (Then they gave Chris Coghlan the ROY, so I wasn’t so sure.) This is the kind of race that, in years past, would have gone to Wainwright because he had the most wins. Not so much today. While some of the uberstatmeisters might have torn their garments if a Cardinal had one, claiming Lincecum was decisively better, most recognized the closeness of the race.</p> <p>What I’m trying to get at is, more than Zack Greinke’s selection in the AL, the fact that Tim Lincecum won the NL award is an indication the BBWAA is changing as an organization. As Cardinal fans, we wish they could have changed a year later.</p> <p><em>Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,” where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. You can find more of his work<a href="http://www.cardinal70.com/" target="_blank"> here</a></em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=2RTtM5KLrl4:9fI12BsweB0:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=2RTtM5KLrl4:9fI12BsweB0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>The Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic: Game Three</h1> <p>Mike Lynch — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:16:38 +0000</p> <p><em>In<a href="http://seamheads.com/blog/2009/11/05/the-ultimate-seven-game-fall-classic-game-one/"> part one</a> of my </em>Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic <em>series, I featured <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN198810150.shtml">Game One of the 1988 World Series</a> between the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Dodgers. <a href="http://seamheads.com/blog/2009/11/11/the-ultimate-seven-game-fall-classic-game-two/">Part two</a> featured an epic 14-inning battle between the Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Robins in Game Two of the 1916 Fall Classic. For Game Three, I’m staying in the Deadball Era and featuring a game and Series that’s remembered as much for what happened off the field as on, and because a rookie southpaw came to his city’s rescue and became a cult hero when he pitched his team to victory and avoided what could have been an embarrassing sweep at the hands of an underdog.</em></p> <p><strong>October 3, 1919—Cincinnati Reds at Chicago White Sox</strong>: By the end of the 1919 season, the White Sox were regarded as one of the best teams in American League history. Long-time baseball executive Ed Barrow insisted they were the best, ranking the 1919 White Sox ahead of the 1927 Yankees. Sportswriter Fred Lieb called them, “one of the most compact ever put together.” Twenty-five years after the 1919 season ended, sportswriters still considered them one of the top two teams of all time, placing them second to the ’27 Yankees.</p> <p>The Reds, on the other hand, were in their first World Series. American League teams had won eight of the previous nine World Series, including a 4-2 victory by the White Sox over the New York Giants just two years prior. Needless to say, the Reds were not expected to be able to break the A.L.’s monopoly on the title.</p> <p>Rumors that the White Sox were going to throw the World Series to the Reds began to surface even before Sox ace Eddie Cicotte plunked Reds second baseman Morrie Rath with his second offering to lead off the bottom of the first inning of the first game. The strategically placed pitch allegedly served as a signal to gamblers that key members of the White Sox team had agreed to throw the Series. (<em>Cicotte told reporters after the game that hitting Rath “unnerved” him, that the play had a “strange effect” on him, and that he “felt so badly” about hitting Rath that he “lost all control” in the fourth inning. Cicotte later admitted that he intended to walk Rath, but accidentally hit him instead, and that, “It hurt my conscience and I realized I was doing wrong.”</em>)</p> <p>The Reds pounded Cicotte in Game One for six runs on seven hits and two walks in only 3 2/3 innings. They scored three more runs off Roy Wilkinson and Grover Lowdermilk to easily take the first contest, 9-1, behind the fantastic hurling of Dutch Ruether, who allowed only one unearned run on six hits in nine innings. Ruether also proved to be Cincinnati’s hitting star, rapping out three hits, including two triples, and knocking in a team-high three runs. At the time, the eight-run margin of victory was the largest ever in the first game of a World Series, and the loss marked an omen of bad things to come for Chicago—only three times in the first 16 World Series had a team lost the first game, then gone on to win the series (1903, 1911, and 1915).</p> <p>Things got worse for Chicago when Game Two starter, Lefty Williams, melted down in the fourth inning when he issued three walks and surrendered two hits in a three-run inning that effectively put the game on ice. Williams, who finished fourth in the A.L. in walks per nine innings pitched during the regular season at 1.76, handed out six free passes in eight innings of work en route to a 4-2 loss that put the Pale Hose in a two-game hole going into Game Three. Four of the six men Williams walked came around to score.</p> <p>The plot to throw the 1919 World Series is convoluted and difficult to follow, especially because there are multiple accounts of how the whole thing went down. According to Cicotte, the plot was first hatched on a train during a White Sox road trip. The story goes that some White Sox players began discussing a rumored plot by Cubs players to throw the 1918 World Series for $10,000. One of the White Sox players half-jokingly suggested they should do the same if they made it to the Series, and the idea took hold. The players began to meet one or two at a time and agreed to throw the World Series to the Reds if they could get their price.</p> <p>Cicotte met with former major leaguer “Sleepy Bill” Burns at the Ansonia Hotel in New York three weeks before the end of the season and told Burns that “something good was coming up” and that if the Sox made it to the World Series, Cicotte would contact Burns and fill him in on the details. Burns was a former pitcher who had toiled in relative mediocrity for five seasons, winning 30 games and losing 52 for five different teams from 1908 to 1912. Two of those teams were the White Sox, whom he pitched for in parts of 1909 and 1910, and the Reds, whom he pitched for in parts of 1910 and 1911. After retiring from baseball, Burns went into the oil business selling leases.</p> <p>A few days after their first meeting, Cicotte met Burns again at the Ansonia. White Sox first baseman Chick Gandil was present at the second meeting, as was Billy Maharg, a low-life ex-fighter from Philadelphia who was Burns’ friend and bodyguard. Cicotte told Burns that six White Sox players—Cicotte, Gandil, Swede Risberg, Fred McMullin, Lefty Williams, and Happy Felsch—were willing to throw the Series for $100,000.</p> <p>Burns left for Montreal and Maharg headed home to Philadelphia, where he explained the plot to a gambler friend of his, who told Maharg that the only man who could finance anything that large was Arnold Rothstein, a New York gambler who was worth a fortune and was always looking to make more. Burns eventually returned from Canada and met Maharg in Philadelphia, and they made an appointment to meet with Rothstein at the Aqueduct race track on Long Island. When Burns and Maharg approached Rothstein at the track, the gambler paid them little attention and suggested they leave him to his racing and that he might get back to them. He agreed to meet Burns and Maharg at the Astor Hotel later that evening. When Burns and Maharg finally revealed the plot to Rothstein, he rebuffed them and told them “he would not handle it.”</p> <p>Less than a week later, Burns bumped into Hal Chase and showed him a letter from one of the White Sox conspirators that claimed that Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver had agreed to the fix and that eight players were now involved in the plot. Chase, a notorious gambler and game-fixer, had been suspended by the Giants for allegedly fixing games during the 1919 season. In fact, he had a long list of infractions dating back to 1910 and probably beyond, and would serve as the perfect ally in the plot to throw the Series. Burns and Chase met again at the Ansonia a few days later and discussed the plot with Abe Attell, a former boxer and Featherweight champion, who claimed to be representing Rothstein, and David Zelcer, described by Maharg as “Rothstein’s First Lieutenant.”</p> <p>Attell told Burns and Chase that Rothstein had finally agreed to finance the fix. Burns set up a meeting with the players that took place at the Sinton Hotel in Cincinnati a day before Game One of the Series. Seven of the eight White Sox conspirators were present for the meeting (Jackson was not), which took place in Gandil and Risberg’s room. Burns told the players that Rothstein had agreed to finance the fix, then introduced them to Attell. After hours of negotiations a deal was finally struck—the players would be paid $20,000 before the first game, then $20,000 after each loss, the money to be divided between the eight players and Burns.</p> <p>Whether Rothstein was involved or not has never been proven. Attell showed Burns a telegram at one point during the Series that Burns called into question because it looked like a fake. When he tried to verify its validity with the telegraph office, he was told that no record of the telegram existed. Although he was alleged to have pocketed $350,000 betting on the Series, Rothstein denied any involvement. Supposedly Rothstein felt the plot was too risky.</p> <p>But Attell was certain that the plan had merit, so he took a gamble himself and told Burns later on that Rothstein had changed his mind and was willing to front the fix. Rothstein learned of Attell’s Machiavellian behavior, but not before Joseph “Sport” Sullivan had discussed the fix with the powerful gambler and had allegedly convinced him that it would be in his best interests to get involved. Rothstein allegedly offered the players $40,000 to ensure the fix was actually on. The remaining $40,000 was to be paid at the conclusion of the series, assuming the White Sox lost.</p> <p>Historian Harold Seymour claimed that affidavits found in Rothstein’s files after his death prove that he did, in fact, pay out $80,000 to finance the fix. A.L. president Ban Johnson thought Rothstein was guilty of financing the conspiracy as well.</p> <p>But, as I said, the plot was so convoluted, it’s impossible to know who financed the plot, how many conspirators were involved, and who approached whom about what. One version of the story has Gandil contacting Sullivan at Boson’s Buckminster Hotel three weeks before the Series and telling him, “I think we can put it in the bag for you.” It’s also been speculated that Gandil contacted Attell first.</p> <p>There were so many gamblers and gambling syndicates involved from so many different cities—Des Moines, St. Louis, Boston, Chicago, Montreal, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Providence, to name a handful—it’s impossible to accurately recount the exact details of the plot.</p> <p>Prior to the start of the Series, Cicotte demanded $10,000. “I was the first one that spoke about the money end of it,” Cicotte later admitted. “There was so much double-crossing stuff, if I went in the Series [‘to throw ball games’] I wanted the money put in my hand.” Cicotte left his hotel room to visit with Red Faber and Shano Collins, and when he returned at 11:30, he found $10,000 under his pillow. He didn’t know where it came from or who put it there. It didn’t matter. The fix was on.</p> <p>But according to some sources, White Sox skipper Kid Gleason interrupted a meeting the conspirators were holding in Cicotte’s room after Game One and threatened the players. Apparently they reached an agreement, as each player shook Gleason’s hand while leaving the room. Whether the fix was off at that point is debatable. After the 9-1 drubbing, Bill Burns and Billy Maharg went looking for Abe Attell to collect the $20,000 the players had been promised for losing Game One. Attell told Burns and Maharg he didn’t have the money because it was “out on bets.” When Gandil learned that no money was forthcoming he was livid and accused Attell of not “living up to his agreement.” Attell told Burns he’d get the money to him in the morning before Game Two. He was lying.</p> <p>Prior to Game Two, betting odds shifted. Where the White Sox had been favored at 5 to 6 prior to the opening game, the Reds were now favored at 7 to 10. Burns was supposed to have received the money owed him and the players from Attell that morning, and was supposed to signal the players that all was “going smoothly.” But no money exchanged hands and no signal was given. Burns didn’t even attend the game.</p> <p>Just as they did after the first game, Burns and Maharg went looking for Attell and the money he owed the players—now $40,000. The pugilist finally paid up, but gave the men only $10,000, complaining that everybody knew about the fix, which made it difficult to profit from their wagers. He also told Burns “another [gambling] ring is in on it,” which partially accounted for the shortage, and insisted the players would have to wait until the end of the Series to get the rest of their money.</p> <p>He then had the audacity to ask the players to win Game Three so the gamblers could get better odds. Ironically, of all the games they were most likely to throw, the third tilt was the one. The players insisted there was no way they’d win for rookie pitcher Dickie Kerr, whom they called a “Busher.” They would try to lose that one too.</p> <p>The Series shifted to Chicago. Kerr, who was starting in the absence of an injured and ill Red Faber, faced nine-year veteran right-hander Ray Fisher, a spitballer who was in his first year with the Reds after spending eight years with the Yankees. Cicotte allegedly asked Gleason if he could pitch on only a day’s rest and Gleason almost acquiesced, but tabbed Kerr instead. And most thought that 19-game winner and shine ball artist Hod Eller would get the start for Cincinnati, but Moran went with Fisher.</p> <p>“The legend is that Moran had selected Fisher to pitch to-day because he used to play in the American League before Colonel Ruppert, with a cruel impulse, sold him down the river to Cincinnati,” wrote W.O. McGeehan in the <em>New York Tribune</em>. “Consequently Fisher was supposed to know all about the lights and shadows and odors of Comiskey Park. He was the only acclimated pitcher that they had.”</p> <p>Reporters figured that all the Reds had to do was take one of the three games in Chicago, then return to Cincinnati to put the series away. But the <em>Boston Globe</em> reminded readers that the White Sox had once come from a three-games-to-none deficit to defeat the Cubs in a postseason exhibition series in 1912, and that Boston had come from a three-games-to-one deficit to defeat Pittsburgh in the 1903 Fall Classic.</p> <p>Many believed the Reds had been lucky, including both managers, and if they continued to get all the breaks, they’d sweep the White Sox in five games in the best-of-nine series. Betting odds shifted again and favored the Reds at 9 to 5.</p> <p>James Cruisinberry reported in the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> after Game Two that the White Sox players were “fighting mad” and only the closest of friends were safe approaching any of the players as they boarded a train back to Chicago. “I’m glad they are too, because it will make them fight tomorrow” Gleason told Crusinberry. “This team isn’t beaten at all.”</p> <p>Harvey Woodruff, also of the <em>Tribune,</em> wrote, “We are two down with seven to go. The situation has driven all the advance confidence or over-confidence out of both [White Sox] players and their followers. Only an optimistic detective could find a White Sox smile anywhere in this city tonight…Defeat for the Sox tomorrow will reduce chances of ultimate success, almost to a minimum, while victory will mean much at this time. It is the crisis of the series up to this point.”</p> <p>The morning of the game, Attell asked Burns to phone Gandil and ask him what the players planned to do. Gandil reiterated that they planned to lose; he told Burns things were “going the same way.” Reds manager Pat Moran expected his team to sweep the Series after beating the White Sox’s two best pitchers in the first two contests.</p> <p>But the diminutive Kerr was no pushover. The 25-year-old rookie southpaw went 13-7 with a 2.88 ERA, bouncing back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. He completed 10 of his 17 starts and finished second in the A.L. in games finished with 20. Kerr’s performance was somewhat of a surprise to Damon Runyon, who once described the pitcher as, “Not much taller than a walking stick…the tiniest of the baseball brood. Won’t weigh 90 lbs soaking wet…Too small for a pitcher, especially for a left-handed pitcher. Too small for too much of anything, except, perhaps, a watch charm…” But only a month into his first big league season, he had impressed the local writers. “He has pitched good baseball in spots…” trumpeted the <em>Chicago Tribune </em>in mid-May. “As a batsman and base runner and in fielding his position he is one of the best and wisest recruits that has come into fast company in years.”</p> <p>Kerr’s opponent, Ray Fisher, missed the entire 1918 season after he was drafted into the army during World War I, then enjoyed his second best season in 1919, going 14-5 with a 2.17 ERA that ranked eighth in the N.L., and five shutouts. It wasn’t until the ‘19 season that Fisher finally bumped his career record over .500 to 90-83. From 1910-1917, he was only 76-78, but that was due mostly to the fact that he’d pitched for some bad teams. In fact, his career ERA of 2.91 was eighth best in the American League during that period and he ranked in the top 20 in all of baseball after the 1919 campaign.</p> <p>According to James O’Leary of the <em>Boston Globe</em>, when the White Sox took the field for pregame warm-ups, the Chicago fans let them know how displeased they were with the the team’s efforts in Games One and Two. “When the Cincinnati players appeared on the field, they were cordially received, but when the White Sox came out about 10 minutes later, there was a silence that might well be regarded as the most potent eloquence.” But according to Harvey Woodruff, when the White Sox took the field for the top of the first inning, they received a warm welcome from their fans. “While there were large patches of vacant seats in the unreserved bleacher and pavilion sections, it was probably caused by the fact fans thought there was no use going to the park,” wrote Woodruff. “When the Sox appeared on the field there was a roar of applause that showed Sox rooters are no more quitters than their team…It undoubtedly nerved and braced the already determined Gleasons.”</p> <p>New York city appeared to be more enthusiastic than Chicago, as thousands of fans crowded into Times Square, most of them cheering for the White Sox. “Not even on Election Night and New Year’s Eve has humanity more completely filled the main corner of Gotham’s busiest triangle,” reported the <em>New York Times</em>. “As far back as the NEW YORK TIMES scoreboard was even faintly visible, men and women stood closely packed together from the moment that Dicky [<em>sic</em>] Kerr pitched the first ball to Morris Rath until the finishing touches had been applied…”</p> <p>Kerr was masterful in the first, effectively mixing his pitches and retiring the side in order on a groundout to Risberg by second baseman Morrie Rath, a flyout to Felsch in center field by first baseman Jake Daubert, and a strikeout of third baseman Heinie Groh on four pitches, the last of which was a low offering on the outside corner that Groh waived at and missed. The little lefty needed only 12 pitches to erase the Reds. Fisher was almost as good and even more efficient, using only nine tosses to get out of the bottom of the first. Right fielder Nemo Leibold led off with a line shot to right that Greasy Neale snared off his shoe tops for the first out. “The slippery one scooted in for the ball as it was within about an inch of the ground,” McGeehan wrote later. “One paw intercepted it and Neale rolled over and over, but he held the ball.” Eddie Collins bounced an easy grounder back to the mound for out number two, and Buck Weaver lofted a pop up to Daubert to retire the side.</p> <p>Kerr allowed his first hit of the day with one out in the second on a Pat Duncan Texas League blooper to right center, but retired Edd Roush, Larry Kopf, and Neale on groundouts, two to Risberg and one to Collins. Risberg could have turned an inning-ending double play, but failed to handle the ball cleanly enough to force Duncan at second and had to settle for the sure out at first. Regardless, Kerr used only nine pitches and seemed to have Reds batters baffled from the start. “He seemed to understand that his job was to put more stuff on the ball than the Reds had on their bats,” wrote Grantland Rice, “and with this estimable purpose in view he cut away all waste motion and began to stand the Reds upon their closely cropped heads.”</p> <p>Fisher wasn’t up to the task in the second and the White Sox broke through for two runs on two hits and an error. “The climax, which happened all too prematurely, came as the wind from the stock yards laden with life-giving balsam to the White Sox wafted over the diamond.” wrote McGeehan. “It tickled the nostrils of Joe Jackson, the first of the Sox to bat in the second inning.” Shoeless Joe led off the inning with a two-strike single to left, then advanced all the way to third when Fisher fielded Felsch’s sacrifice bunt and threw it into center field trying to get Jackson at second. Felsch also advanced an extra base and the White Sox had runners at second and third with no outs.</p> <p>“It so happened that just before cracking one at Felsch,” Rice wrote, “Fisher had anointed the ball with a saliva dressing and as a certain soothsayer of renown once remarked, ‘The evil that men do lives after them.’ He must have nabbed the ball upon the slippery sector, for with an easy double play in sight, he pegged the ball far and high above Rath’s quivering reach…”</p> <p>Ironically, Chick Gandil, the man who insisted the players involved in the gambling conspiracy would never win for a “busher,” plated the first two runs of the game with a single to right, then advanced to second on Neale’s throw to the plate, which might have nabbed Felsch had catcher Bill Rariden played it properly. “Instead of placing himself on the line, in a position to block Felsch, which he could have easily done and still made the play with the certainty of getting his man,” wrote O’Leary, “he caught the ball on a high bound about a yard in front of the plate and ‘Hap’ just ran straight for the plate and was past before Bill could intercept him.”</p> <p>Risberg walked to put runners at first and second. “By this time there was considerable anxiety evident in the Reds’ dugout,” wrote McGeehan. “Heinie Groh walked over to Fisher for a consultation and the visitors from Rhineland began to raise entreaties that Fisher be removed.”</p> <p>Whatever Groh said to Fisher worked. The pitcher made a play on Ray Schalk’s bunt that saved him from further embarrassment. “Fisher was plainly rattled,” wrote J.V. Fitz Gerald in the <em>Washington Post</em>, “but he recovered his composure quickly enough to foil the Sox. Schalk, trying to sacrifice, sent a bunt toward third. Groh was covering the bag and Fisher had to go after the ball. He did, and picking it up on the run threw to Groh, just in time to force Gandil.”</p> <p>Hugh Fullerton claimed that Gandil loafed on the play in an effort to kill the White Sox’s rally, and the movie <em>Eight Men Out</em> depicted Gandil (played by Michael Rooker) taking his sweet time getting to third base. “Gandil, coming up from second, had the play beaten by a block,” wrote Fullerton, “but he stood up and seemed to be conversing with Kid Gleason (coaching at third base), when Fisher suddenly grabbed the ball and flashed it to Groh.” Christy Mathewson credited Fisher with making a great play, but admitted that Gandil might have helped the Reds by not sliding into the bag. No other writer that I could find blamed Gandil for poor or suspicious base running, all crediting Fisher with a heads up play.</p> <p>With Risberg at second and Schalk on first, Fisher coaxed a grounder by Kerr back to the box, and the Reds hurler threw again to Groh for the force out. Then Groh speared Leibold’s grounder and threw him out at first to end the inning. “…and what had begun to look like the utter demoralization of the Cincinnati team stopped abruptly,” waxed McGeehan.</p> <p>Kerr took the hill for the third inning and kept the ball down in the zone, but too far down for home plate umpire Ernie Quigley to call a strike on Reds catcher Bill Rariden. Kerr went to 3-0 on Rariden before firing two strikes, then getting the Cincinnati backstop to ground to Weaver at third for the first out. Fisher tried to atone for his error by singling to third, but it was hardly an impressive belt. He topped a grounder toward third that Weaver backed away from in hopes that it would roll foul, but in his enthusiasm, Kerr raced over to field the ball and fell on top of it in fair territory. Kerr quickly recovered, though, and got Rath on a pop up to short and Daubert on a grounder to Collins at second. Collins flipped to Risberg to force Fisher and retire the side.</p> <p>The White Sox looked to add to their lead in the bottom of the third when Collins smoked a single just past the outstretched glove of Kopf at short, and Weaver followed with a hit-and-run bloop single to a spot vacated by Kopf when the Reds shortstop went to second to cover the bag on Collins’ steal attempt. Cincinnati was able to keep Collins at second and Weaver at first, however, which proved to be the White Sox’s undoing. After Weaver’s hit, Moran ordered Eller and “closer” Dolf Luque to start warming up.</p> <p>Jackson, who was by far the team’s best hitter that year and one of the best in the history of the league, stepped to the plate with a chance to stake Kerr to a bigger lead, but Gleason employed a Deadball Era play and had his slugger lay down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up 90 feet. The play wasn’t foreign to Jackson or any of the White Sox for that matter; they had sacrificed a league-leading 224 times and the shoeless one had done so 17 times that year. Jackson wasn’t able to get the ball down, however, instead popping it up over Fisher’s head for what looked like a hit. But Daubert raced in from first and snagged the weak fly before it hit the ground. One batter later, Fisher’s defense saved him again when Groh stopped Felsch’s smash to third, picked it up and threw to Rath, who relayed to Daubert for a nifty inning-ending double play.</p> <p>Thus began the fourth. “In the fourth inning the Chicagoans were breathing their own odorous air in short anxious gasps,” wrote McGeehan. “In the first two games it was the fourth that proved the fatal inning for the White Sox. Cicotte was batted from the box in the fourth of the first game. Williams went wild in the fourth of the second game.” White Sox fans held their collective breath when Kerr walked Groh to lead off the frame. “…the apprehension could be scented,” McGeehan continued. “The fate of the Sox, their chances of a reasonable hold on first money in the series, lay in Dick Kerr, the left-handed Texan.”</p> <p>Roush slapped a grounder past Kerr’s glove, but Risberg raced in, grabbed it, and nipped Roush at first with a strong throw. Groh advanced to second on the play, but was retired when Duncan lined out to Risberg, who flipped the ball to Collins to complete the double play. “The fateful fourth started again with a walk,” wrote the <em>Chicago Tribune</em>. “Both other times it had started a walkover. But the third fourth was a safe, sane, glorious fourth.”</p> <p>The White Sox shortstop played a key role in the bottom of the inning as well when he tripled to right with one out, a shot described by the <em>New York Times</em> as a “seething drive to right…sliced over to the foul line” that gave Greasy Neale fits. Neale tried to make a one-handed stop, but misplayed the ball and it got past him. When he recovered, he still had time to nail Risberg at third, but made a poor throw that Groh couldn’t handle.</p> <p>“Risberg hit a long one to right field and Greasy Neale became depressed and befogged by the local ozone,” quipped McGeehan. “The ball rolled by the greasy one for a three-bagger.” Rice called the triple a “fluke,” Mathewson called it “scratchy,” and O’Leary insisted it would have gone for only two bases had Neale played it properly. But none of the Sox or their fans complained when Risberg came home on Schalk’s successful squeeze bunt, which eluded Fisher and went for a single. Rariden gunned down Schalk on a steal attempt for the second out of the inning, and Kerr grounded out to Kopf at short to end the threat.</p> <p>With a three-run lead in the top of the fifth, Kerr surrendered his first solid hit of the game, a hard grounder by Kopf that sped past Collins’ glove and into right field. That would be the highlight of the Reds’ afternoon. Neale grounded to Gandil, who fired the ball to Risberg for the force at second; Rariden grounded to Collins, who threw to first for the out, Neale advancing to second on the play; Fisher grounded to Weaver at third, who tossed across to Gandil to end the inning.</p> <p>Fisher had no trouble in the bottom of the fifth, retiring Leibold, Collins, and Weaver on three ground balls, the last two easy tappers back to the mound that Fisher handled himself. In the top of the sixth, Gandil made a nifty catch of Risberg’s wide throw to retire Rath, Daubert lofted a routine fly to Jackson, and Weaver fielded Groh’s grounder and tossed him out at first. Still 3-0 in favor of Chicago, the contest got heated in the bottom of the sixth and had cooler heads not prevailed, things could have gotten ugly.</p> <p>It appeared that the bad blood began during Jackson’s at-bat to lead off the bottom of the sixth, but the truth is things had been chippy between the clubs from the start. Jimmy Smith, a 24-year-old little-used utility infielder had been riding veteran second baseman and future Hall of Famer Eddie Collins from the Reds’ bench since Game One, and Collins had had just about enough of Smith’s chatter. But he held his tongue and kept his composure.</p> <p>But Jackson and Fisher took it to the next level in the sixth. When Jackson took a lusty cut at Fisher’s first offering, missed, and fell down, Fisher took offense that an enemy batter would swing so healthily at one of his offerings, and buzzed Jackson’s head with his next pitch. Jackson retaliated by drag bunting down the first base line, knowing that Fisher would have to field the ball and putting him in Jackson’s direct path to first base. “The ball rolled foul, probably as Jackson intended it should,” O’Leary surmised, “and when Ray came over to the base line, Joe gave him a shove and a few remarks were passed.”</p> <p>When the at-bat commenced, Shoeless Joe dropped a “short lob” over Kopf’s head and into left field for a hit. Then Bill Rariden took matters into his own hands. Jackson took off for second and Rariden gunned him down for the first out of the inning. Felsch walked and tried to steal second, but was also erased by Rariden’s right wing. Fisher caught Gandil looking at strike three to end the inning. In terms of baseball, the action in the seventh inning was nondescript: Kerr retired Roush, Duncan, and Kopf in order on a pop up to first, a strikeout, and a fly ball to right; Fisher was equally effective retiring Risberg, Schalk, and Kerr on two grounders to Groh and one to Rath.</p> <p>But tempers finally boiled over and to no one’s surprise Jimmy Smith was right in the middle of the fracas. According to the <em>New York Times</em>, Collins went after Smith and the two had to be separated by umpire Billy Evans. “Smith is the official goat-getter of the Reds,” wrote the <em>Times</em>. “His business in life is to tarry on the base lines and tell the opposition what awful ball players they are.” In the top of the eighth, Kerr set down the Reds in order again, getting Neale, Rariden, and pinch hitter Sherry Magee on a strikeout, groundout to second, and flyout to right.</p> <p>In the bottom of the inning, Smith, who was now coaching at third, sarcastically asked Felsch when he was planning on getting a hit. Felsch was Chicago’s third best hitter behind Jackson and Collins, but he’d yet to hit safely in almost three full World Series contests. Felsch responded by asking Smith what bush league he expected to be in next year. “This so enraged Jimmy that it required the entire force of umpires and all the Cincinnati club to get Smith back to the bench,” wrote Christy Mathewson. According to Matty, the crowd enjoyed the scrappy play of both teams, and he was relieved that the “I beg your pardon for touching you so hard” style of play seen in the first two games had fallen by the wayside.</p> <p>Dolf Luque, “The Pride of Havana,” took over pitching duties for the Reds in the bottom of the eighth. Luque was Cuban, and despite baseball’s unofficial color line, was able to break into the majors because of his light skin. “In race-conscious North America, at a time when dark-skinned Latinos had trouble breaking into baseball, Luque’s light skin was to his advantage,” wrote Jill Barnes. “A newspaper story of the period describes him as ‘looking more Italian than a full-blooded Cuban.’” Though he wasn’t the only Cuban player in the game in 1919, he was clearly the best. In his first full season that year, he went 10-3 with a 2.63 ERA in nine starts and 21 relief appearances. Eventually he would become an effective starter, who would lead the league in wins, ERA, and shutouts, and win 194 games in 20 seasons.</p> <p>Luque began the bottom of the eighth with a strikeout of Nemo Leibold, and when Groh began taunting Leibold from third base, the White Sox right fielder charged down the third base line still carrying his bat. Fortunately Gleason, who was coaching at third, intercepted Leibold before he could reach the target of his ire. Collins then grounded to Daubert, who flipped to Luque for the out, and Weaver grounded out to Rath to end the frame. Kerr only needed three more outs for the victory and he got them easily, getting Rath to ground out to Collins, striking out Daubert, and coaxing a game-ending grounder to Weaver, who threw out Groh at first to complete the win.</p> <p>With the victory, the White Sox were back in the Series and Kerr received plaudits all around. “All that Kerr had was keen speed, a cracking curve and control that carried both where he wanted to plant them,” waxed Grantland Rice. “The big feature of his first championship was the rare coolness that he showed at every turn and the unending grip that he kept upon his nervous system until the last Red faded out.”</p> <p>“As inning after inning passed by with the midget Kerr keeping the bags practically clear of runners, and not a Redleg coming within even hailing distance of the plate, the twirling marvels of the past faded into insignificance…,” wrote the <em>New York Times</em>. James O’Leary was less poetic than most. “Kerr stopped the Red sluggers with a suddenness that made their teeth rattle,” he wrote.</p> <p>Indeed, through nine innings of work, Kerr allowed only three singles, walked a batter, and struck out four, and faced only 30 batters, retiring the last 15 straight.</p> <p>When “Sleepy Bill” Burns approached the players before Game Four with $20,000 of David Zelcer’s money—Zelcer told Burns to bet the money on the Reds and if the Sox lost, he could pay them their money—Gandil told Burns the fix was off and they won Game Three because they felt they’d been double-crossed (in fact, Gandil drove in two of Chicago’s three runs). From then on, Gandil insisted, the White Sox would be playing to win. Someone forgot to tell the Reds. They fell to Kerr again in Game 6, but took the best-of-nine series in eight games.</p> <p><strong>Honorable Mention</strong>:</p> <p><strong>October 22, 1991—Minnesota Twins at Atlanta Braves</strong>: With the Twins holding a 2-0 lead in games, the Braves’ backs are against the wall going into Game Three. Both teams had written remarkable stories during the regular season, the Twins rising from last place in the American League West division in 1990 to a pennant in ‘91, the Braves rising from last place in the National League West division in 1990 to a pennant.</p> <p>The Twins had not only been to the World Series only four years before, but they had beaten the St. Louis Cardinals to become champions for the first time since 1924 when the franchise was still in Washington. The Braves hadn’t been to the Fall Classic since 1958 when the team was still in Milwaukee. Now they’re in a dogfight that will go all seven games.</p> <p>Minnesota goes with 23-year-old 20-game winner Scott Erickson, possessor of a hard, sinking fastball, who paced the junior circuit in wins and winning percentage while posting a very good 3.18 ERA. Atlanta counters with 21-year-old southpaw Steve Avery, who went 18-8 in 35 regular season starts with a 3.38 ERA, then threw 16 1/3 shutout innings at the Pittsburgh Pirates in two NLCS starts.</p> <p>The Twins waste no time getting to Avery, scoring a run in the top of the first on a Dan Gladden triple on a routine fly ball that’s misplayed by Ron Gant and David Justice, and a Chuck Knoblauch sacrifice fly. Erickson shuts down the Braves in the bottom of the first and Avery does the same to the Twins in the top of the second. The Braves tie the game in the bottom of the second on a walk and two singles, the second by Rafael Belliard that plates Greg Olson to knot the score at 1-1. Avery and Erickson trade goose eggs in the third, with the Brave lefty fanning four of his last six, then Avery sets down the Twins in order again in the top of the fourth.</p> <p>The Braves break the tie in the bottom of the inning on a Dave Justice lead-off homer, but Erickson strands Sid Bream at second when he coaxes three straight groundouts to end the inning. Avery again sets the Twins down in order in the top of the fifth and when Greg Gagne grounds out to short to end the inning, he becomes the hurler’s 15th straight victim. The Braves extend their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Lonnie Smith follows an Avery strikeout with a solo blast to left. A walk, a wild pitch, an error by Knoblauch, and two more free passes by reliever David West brings Atlanta’s fourth run home before Terry Leach finally gets out of the inning by fanning Mark Lemke.</p> <p>With Avery cruising along at a magnificent pace it looks like the Braves will break into the win column and pull to within one game of Minnesota. Junior Ortiz and pinch hitter Gene Larkin start the top of the sixth with consecutive singles, but Avery works out of the jam with two deep fly balls and a pop up. Steve Bedrosian, the Twins’ fourth pitcher of the game, sets the Braves down in order, and then the Twins’ comeback begins when Kirby Puckett leads off the top of the seventh with a solo homer to left to cut the score to 4-2. Avery retires the next three batters, as does Bedrosian, and the game goes to the top of the eighth with Atlanta still up by two.</p> <p>Avery throws to one batter in the eighth and gets Brian Harper to ground to Terry Pendleton at third, but the two-time Gold Glover boots it for an error (<em>Pendleton would win his third Gold Glove a year later</em>). Braves manager Bobby Cox summons 32-year-old right-handed reliever Alejandro Pena into the game. Pena has been perfect in 11 save opportunities since being acquired from the Mets in late August, but he’s rudely greeted by Twins pinch hitter Chili Davis, who drives a two-run homer into the left field seats to tie the score at 4-4. Minnesota puts two more men on base, but Pena whiffs Puckett and Shane Mack to end the inning. Carl Willis comes in and shuts the Braves down in the bottom of the eighth, then Pena puts a runner on second, courtesy of a single and a wild pitch, before slamming the door with a strikeout of pinch hitter Randy Bush.</p> <p>Atlanta mounts a minor rally in the bottom of the ninth when Belliard walks to lead off the frame, then advances to second on a Jeff Treadway sacrifice, but Willis works out of the jam to send the game into extra innings. The Twins get a man to second in the 10th against Mike Stanton, thanks to a lead-off single by Gladden and a Knoblauch groundout, but two strikeouts get Stanton and the Braves out of the inning. Mark Guthrie escapes a two-out, runners at first and second jam in the bottom of the 10th when Jeff Blauser lines out to Lemke at second and the game remains knotted at 4-4 going into the 11th.</p> <p>Stanton and Guthrie trade three-up/three-downs in the 11th, setting up a wild 12th. Cox calls on 21-year-old rookie Mark Wohlers to get his team to the bottom of the 12th with the game still tied, and Wohlers appears up to the task when he retires Bush on a short fly ball to center, surrenders a single to Gladden, and coaxes Knoblauch to bounce what should have been an inning-ending double play to Lemke. But Lemke misplays the ball for an error, and Gladden advances all the way to third, ending Wohlers’ day. Southpaw Kent Mercker comes in to face lefty-swinging slugger Kent Hrbek and strikes him out, though Knoblauch steals second during the at-bat.</p> <p>Jim Clancy, Atlanta’s sixth pitcher of the ball game, comes in and intentionally walks Puckett to load the bases, then retires pinch hitter and pitcher Rick Aguilera on a hard line drive to center to send the game to the bottom of the 12th. It’s the first time a pitcher is used as a pinch hitter in a World Series game since Don Drysdale turned the trick for the Dodgers in 1965.</p> <p>Aguilera stays in the game and retires Ron Gant on a fly ball to center, allows a single to Justice, then gets Brian Hunter on a pop up to short. With Olson at the plate, Justice steals second, then Olson walks to put runners at first and second with two outs. The Braves finally win 5-4 when Lemke singles in Justice, who scores just ahead of Gladden’s throw.</p> <p>The Twins use 23 players in the game, including seven pitchers, while the Braves use 19 players, including six pitchers. “Twins manager Tom Kelly used everybody except tonight’s starter, tomorrow night’s starter and Jim Kaat, who was in the CBS booth,” jokes Dan Shaughnessy of the <em>Boston Globe</em>.</p> <p><strong>Other Notables</strong>:</p> <p><strong>October 17, 1911—Philadelphia Athletics at New York Giants</strong>: Philadelphia’s Jack Coombs and New York’s Christy Mathewson engage in an 11-inning nail-biter, in which both teams manage only one run apiece in 10 innings before deciding the contest in the 11th. Mathewson has a four-hit shutout through eight innings and needs only three more outs for the victory, but Frank Baker spoils things when he homers to right with one out to tie the game. It’s Baker’s second homer in as many days and earns him the nickname “Home Run.”</p> <p>Neither team scores in the 10th but they combine for three runs in the 11th. Eddie Collins and Baker single off Mathewson with one out in the top of the 11th and advance to third and second, respectively, on Buck Herzog’s throwing error. Collins scores on an error by Art Fletcher, the Giants’ fifth miscue of the game, and Baker scores on a Harry Davis single to give the A’s a 3-1 lead. Coombs allows an unearned run in the bottom of the 11th on a Herzog double, a groundout, and a two-out error by Collins, but Beals Becker is thrown out on a steal attempt by Jack Lapp and the A’s hold on for a 3-2 victory. Coombs allows only three hits in 11 innings, and Lapp throws out all four would-be base stealers.</p> <p><strong>October 5, 1945—Chicago Cubs at Detroit Tigers</strong>: 36-year-old 11-year veteran hurler Claude Passeau faces only 28 Tigers in a 3-0 victory, in which he allows only one hit and a walk. Rudy York singles to left in the second inning for Detroit’s only hit and Bob Smith earns Detroit’s lone walk in the bottom of the sixth, but is quickly erased on a double play. Passeau retires the last 11 batters he faces and 21 of the last 22. He also drives in one of the Cubs’ three runs with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly.</p> <p><strong>October 7, 1949—New York Yankees at Brooklyn Dodgers</strong>: Dodgers starter Ralph Branca goes into the top of the ninth inning having allowed only one run on two hits through eight, but surrenders three runs to the Yankees, all of which come with two outs, with a little help from reliever Jack Banta, who allows a run-scoring single to Joe Coleman that’s charged to Branca and gives the Yankees a 4-1 lead. Yankees reliever Joe Page, who entered the game in the fourth for starter Tommy Byrne, allows only one hit in his first five innings of work and retires 12 of the first 13 batters he faces, but Luis Olmo and Roy Campanella smack solo homers in the bottom of the ninth before Page whiffs pinch hitter Bruce Edwards to preserve New York’s 4-3 win.</p> <p><strong>October 5, 1963—New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers</strong>: Yankees hurler and future best-selling author Jim Bouton surrenders a first inning run to the Dodgers on a walk, wild pitch, and Tommy Davis single, but neither team scores for the rest of the game. Don Drysdale tosses nine shutout innings, allowing only three singles and a walk, while striking out nine for the win. Bouton goes seven and allows only four hits before Hal Reniff comes in and throws a hitless eighth in the 1-0 loss.</p> <p><strong>October 14, 1975—Boston Red Sox at Cincinnati Reds</strong>: In a game marred by a late controversial call, the Red Sox fall to the Reds in 10 innings when Joe Morgan’s one-out single plates Cesar Geronimo with the winning run in a 6-5 victory. The Red Sox tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the ninth thanks to a Dwight Evans two-run homer off closer Rawly Eastwick.</p> <p>Cincinnati puts the lead-off batter on board in the bottom of the 10th and Reds skipper Sparky Anderson calls on little-used 26-year-old outfielder Ed Armbrister to pinch hit for Eastwick. Armbrister lays down a bunt, then steps in front of Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, who’s trying to field the ball and throw to second for the force. Fisk’s throw sails into center field, putting runners at second and third with no outs, and causing storms of protest by Fisk and Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson, both of whom insist Armbrister interfered with Fisk and should be called out, and the runner should be sent back to first. Home plate umpire Larry Barnett disagrees, and Morgan singles home the winning run two batters later.</p> <p><strong>October 17, 1989—Oakland A’s at San Francisco Giants</strong>: This game is known more for what happened off the field than on. While the A’s and Giants are preparing for Game Three of the 1989 Fall Classic, the San Francisco Bay area is rocked by the Loma Prieta earthquake, which measures at approximately 7.0 on the richter scale, and kills 63 people while injuring more than 3,700. Petrified players gather their families on the field as soon as Candlestick Park stops shaking. The force of the quake is so pronounced that the pilot of the Goodyear blimp, which had been flying over the stadium, swears he felt it from above. The game is postponed for 10 days and played on October 27, which the A’s win 13-7 on their way to a four-game sweep.</p> <p><strong>October 21, 1997—Florida Marlins at Cleveland Indians</strong>: After scoring seven runs apiece through the first eight innings, the Marlins and Indians combine to score 11 in the ninth inning of Florida’s 14-11 victory. The Marlins break the 7-7 tie in the top of the ninth with seven runs on four hits, three walks, two errors, and a wild pitch off three Cleveland pitchers. The Indians mount a comeback in the bottom of the ninth with four runs of their own on three hits, two walks, and a sacrifice fly off Marlins closer Robb Nen before Nen gets Omar Vizquel on a groundout to end the game.</p> <p><strong>October 25, 2005—Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros</strong>: The White Sox plate five runs in the top of the fifth to take a 5-4 lead, then don’t score again until the top of the 14th; The Astros score in the bottom of the eighth to tie the score at 5-5, then don’t score for the rest of the game. The Sox take a 7-5 lead in the top of the 14th when rookie right-hander Ezequiel Astacio, Houston’s seventh pitcher of the game, allows a homer to Geoff Blum and a bases loaded walk to Chris Widger. The Astros put two men on in the bottom of the 14th on a walk and a Juan Uribe error, but Mark Buehrle relieves Damaso Marte, becoming Chicago’s ninth pitcher of the game, and gets Adam Everett to pop out to end the marathon. The teams combine to use 43 players, including 17 pitchers.</p> <p><em>On Deck—The Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic: Game Four</em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=wLWIxVBzID0:bYpHBvB49h0:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=wLWIxVBzID0:bYpHBvB49h0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Not Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay</h1> <p>Daniel Shoptaw — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:05:23 +0000</p> <p>News continues to be a slow and very small trickle at this time of year, so I was a little surprised to see an interesting story on the <em>Post-Dispatch</em> website this morning. According to John Mozeliak, <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/F62199F086CFB09186257672000E1E2F?OpenDocument">Jason Bay is not a priority</a>.</p> <p>It’s quite a change from the interest the organization had in Bay just a few years ago and, honestly, it’s what most of us expected them to look at if Matt Holliday didn’t return. Bay is the second-biggest bat on the market and, with the focus on giving Albert Pujols somebody to hit with, you’d think he’d be more in the crosshairs of the club.</p> <p>Apparently, besides the fact that he’s gotten older since the time they really wanted him and there’s been a change in leadership since then, they are a little leery about his defensive work. As <a href="http://twitter.com/Erik_Manning/statuses/5827349628">Erik Manning pointed out</a>, though, if they don’t like Bay due to defense, how in the world could they possibly be considering trading for Adam Dunn, as the article points out later on? I’m pretty sure Bay would outpoint Dunn on that scale handily.</p> <p>Does that mean that they might go in the other direction for protecting Pujols, putting runners on ahead of him? The more that I heard about Chone Figgins, the more it is intriguing to put him at third base. However, I do still want to see what David Freese can do as well, so there’s an issue. I’m not sure Figgins works as well as an outfielder, though I know he can play out there.</p> <p>Mozeliak indicated that the Cards might go the pitching route to use some of those Holliday funds if he doesn’t come here, though John Lackey doesn’t seem to be on the list. I’m a pitching guy. I love pitching. I stockpile aces on my rotisserie teams, even though all the experts say not to. (Of course, I also very rarely win my rotisserie leagues, but that’s beside the point.) I was the one pushing for a Roy Halladay trade back in June, drooling over a Chris Carpenter-Roy Halladay-Adam Wainwright top of the rotation.</p> <p>That said, without Lackey, I’m not sure what pitcher out there really puts the Cardinals into a much better position. Lackey and Randy Wolf are the only Type A pitchers out there (and I’m sure they are hesitant to lose the draft picks that come with signing a Type A) and the <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/12/2010-mlb-free-a.html">rest of the squad</a> isn’t that inspiring either. No one you want to make the face of the offseason, at least. There are some interesting names–Rich Harden is one, though of course you might only get him for half a season due to his injury history–but no one that you can say definitely makes the team better.</p> <p>It’s possible a trade could happen, of course, but I’m not sure they can put together a package to get a top-notch starter. They have trade chips, sure, but to the level that would ease fans after losing Holliday? I don’t know about that. Be interesting to see what direction they go in. Of course, they could just wind up resigning Holliday, but you get the feeling they aren’t real confident in that.</p> <p>Want to talk more Cardinals today? Joe Strauss is <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/discussions/sports/joe-strauss-live/LD111309942/all">having his weekly chat</a>, of course, but tonight the <a href="http://www.pitchershiteighth.com/">Pitchers Hit Eighth</a> guys host the <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ucb-host/2009/11/19/united-cardinal-bloggers-radio-hour">UCB Radio Hour</a>. So give them a call and talk some ball!</p> <p><em>Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,” where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. You can find more of his work<a href="http://www.cardinal70.com/" target="_blank"> here</a></em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=7k44cFy-0ic:n5rW3WkOZ40:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=7k44cFy-0ic:n5rW3WkOZ40:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Milwaukee’s First All-Black Baseball Team and its Star Napoleon Broady</h1> <p>Dennis Pajot — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:44:00 +0000</p> <p>I imagine we have all done it. Found a tantalizing tidbit on a subject and decided to research it further. It sounds so exciting and newsworthy. Just find what there is to be found and put it into an article. Heck, maybe even a short book. There will be so much of interest. The big problem will be what to use and what to discard. The research starts for real. And then……almost nothing on the subject everywhere you look. You have to word spin just to get to the middle of page two.</p> <p>While not quite as bad as that, my project on Milwaukee’s first Black baseball organizer and star player–Napoleon Broady and his Milwaukee Reds–yielded some information, but left what I suspect is a lot of baseball unreported and probably lost to time. </p> <p>The Reds (originally named Red Stockings) were first organized in May 1890, consisting of “the culinary and bell hopping department of the Plankinton House”<strong>*</strong>, a large hotel on West Wisconsin Avenue at North 2nd Street. All the athletes looking for spots were “colored.” The players chosen for the squad were:</p> <p>Billy Johnson — 1b<br /> Ben Underwood–2b<br /> Napoleon Broady-3b<br /> Spencer Butler-ss<br /> Bill Lyons-rf<br /> F.J. Chapman-cf<br /> Bud Demly-lf<br /> Randall Philips-c<br /> Burt Hutchinson-p</p> <p>The players held a meeting on May 7 and decided they were prepared to meet any amateur club in the city. “In order that no suspicions of partiality in umpiring should be raised”, the Reds decided to employ a man from another hotel as their umpire–”Jake”, the Kirby House [on East Mason and North Water Streets] supernumerary. Challenges were to be addressed to James Blaine, superintendent of the bootblacking department of the Kirby House.</p> <p>[<strong>*</strong> = The report the players consisted of “the culinary and bell hopping department of the Plankinton House” can be questioned. As will be seen below, Napoleon Broady worked at the Kirby house. Strangely, challenges were to be sent to James Blaine, who was a superintendent at the Kirby House. Others, Hutchinson and Phillips for example, never appear in City of Milwaukee directories I checked in the early to mid-1890s.]</p> <p>The Plankinton House Reds first game was played a few days after their meeting. At Athletic Park, 7th and Chambers, home of the Western Association Brewers, the Reds beat the Lime Kiln Club—the only other Black baseball team organized in the city—by a score of 4 to 2. I could find no further information on the Lime Kilns before or after this game.</p> <p>The Reds next game was on Sunday, June 8, again at Athletic Park. This game was against the Milwaukee Blues, a white team. It was reported the Reds had not had enough practice to get in “good trim” but would make things interesting for the Blues. The Reds and Blues both must have made the game interesting, the Reds winning 25 to 21. I could find no reports of any other games the Reds were to play during 1890.</p> <p>Again in 1891 nothing could be found about the Milwaukee Reds baseball team. However, it was reported the following year the team won a number of victories in 1891, principally out of the state.</p> <p>In 1892 the team emerged again. On June 2 the <em>Milwaukee Journal</em> announced the Plankinton House Nine had been organized as follows:</p> <p>Nap Broady-captain and 3b<br /> Eliott-1b<br /> Harrison-2b<br /> Ellis-ss<br /> Demley-rf<br /> Chapman-cf<br /> Payn-p<br /> Johnson-c<br /> Sunday-lf</p> <p>It was stated all communications should be addressed to Napoleon Broady, Kirby House.</p> <p>The first game I could find in 1892 played by the Milwaukee Reds was against South Milwaukee on June 25. In that southern suburb of Milwaukee’s park, the Reds lost 4 to 2, in what was said to be a “close and exciting struggle.” The teams met again a week later at Athletic Park, the South Milwaukees beating the Reds badly, 25 to 5.</p> <p>In July the first game involving two teams of all-Black players was scheduled for Athletic Park. The Reds were to take on the Boston Dips, captained by Randall Phillips. Although sounding as if they were from the Massachusetts city, the Dips were from Milwaukee. It was reported a bitter rivalry existed between the teams, and the <em>Milwaukee Sentinel </em>stated “a wad of money as big as a pillow will be wagered before the game comes off.” As can be seen above, pitcher Phillips was on the 1890 Reds with Broady, as was the Dips’ catcher, Burt Hutchinson. Both these players had played for the famous Gordons of Chicago. However, all the players of both nines could “play ball in dead earnest.”</p> <p>I could only find the two games between the Reds and the South Milwaukee club mentioned above having been played by either the Reds or Dips in 1892. How many unreported games were played I can not guess, as the July 24 <em>Sentinel</em> stated “both clubs are fully uniformed and have been playing winning ball this season.” However, in the same article the <em>Sentinel</em> reported this season the Reds had played only a few games, the best being the first of the South Milwaukee contests.</p> <p>A few days before the game betting was said to be even on the teams, and demand for tickets for high. It was reported this game was the only topic of conversation in sporting circles. This might not be an exaggeration, as only a few weeks before the Milwaukee entry in the Western League had dropped from the league and the Western League disbanded very shortly after that. Tickets were put on sale at the Plankinton House drug store, Phil Lederer’s cigar store on Wisconsin Avenue, Rudolph Giljohan’s tavern on North Water Street, and the baseball headquarters. Anticipating a large crowd, arrangements were made to insure ample streetcar accommodations to and from the park. The day before the game Frank Brady, of the Southern Texas League, was agreed upon as umpire.</p> <p><a href="http://seamheads.com/blog/2009/11/18/milwaukees-first-all-black-baseball-team-and-its-star-napoleon-broady/mj-7-22-92-adjpeg-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-1757" title="mj-7-22-92-ad.jpeg"></a><br /> <em> Milwaukee Journal </em>July 22, 1892</p> <p>At 1:30 p.m. Broady’s Reds left the Plankinton House on 2nd and Wisconsin Avenue in full uniform in carriages. Randall’s Dips left at the same time from North Third Street, between West Wells and Grand Avenue. Both teams paraded through downtown streets on the way to the ball park at 7th and Chambers, a distance of about 3 miles.</p> <p>Napoleon Broady was reported to be 28 years old in a November 1895 newspaper article, making him born ca. 1867. In the 1880 U.S. census I found a Napoleon Broady, born 1868 in Ohio. At the time of the census he was living in Miami, Ohio. If this is the same person, I could not find when he came to Milwaukee, when/if he left Milwaukee, or when he died.</p> <p>A Napoleon Brody [sic] is first listed in the City of Milwaukee directories in 1890 as a porter at the Kirby House. Napoleon Brody is listed as this also in 1891 and 1892. In 1893 his name is spelled Brodie, but he is still listed as a porter at the Kirby House, possibly living there. His name is spelled Brodie again in the 1894 directory, but he is now listed as a bellboy–no hotel stated– and a home residence of 416 State is given. In 1895 Brodie’s occupation is given as waiter, with a residence of 413 Cedar. In the 1896 directory the name is again Napoleon Brody, and he is again a porter (again no hotel stated), living at 417 State. He is listed in the City of Milwaukee directory in 1897, again as a porter, living at 710 Wells. Starting in 1898 the name is almost always spelled Broady [the exception being 1904, when it is again spelled Brody.] In the next 19 years Napoleon is listed as a boot-black, porter, laundry man and bartender in the directories, living at a variety of near west side addresses. In the 1912 and 1913 directories he is listed as the owner of a saloon at 405 Cedar [West Kilbourn Avenue].</p> <p>As can be seen Napoleon’s last name was spelled three different ways in city directories and local newspapers: Broady, Brody or Brodie.</p> <p><a href="http://seamheads.com/blog/2009/11/18/milwaukees-first-all-black-baseball-team-and-its-star-napoleon-broady/brody-7-24jpeg-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-1758" title="brody-7-24.jpeg"></a><br /> <em> Milwaukee Sentinel</em> July 24, 1892</p> <p>Outside of baseball I first came across Napoleon Broady in local newspapers in May 1890 when he was used, unwittingly, in an attempted land scheme by some out of state men. [The <em>Milwaukee Sentinel</em> gives his name as Napoleon Brody, while he is referred to as James Broady in the <em>Milwaukee Journal</em>, adding another variant to the name). In January 1893 Broady was again in the newspaper, being involved in a shooting of a chambermaid at the Kirby House. The <em>Sentinel </em>identified him as Napoleon Broady, but the <em>Journal</em> gave his name as Alexander Broady, to add another name to the growing list. Napoleon was released from custody, as the shooting was determined to be accidental.</p> <p>Little could be found on Napoleon Broady the baseball player. The July 24, 1892, <em>Sentinel </em>reported he had played baseball for the last ten years, “and at one time was a member of an amateur club of white players which defeated everything in and about Milwaukee.” [I do not remember coming across his name in my earlier research on Milwaukee’s amateur clubs of this period, and a quick check of the few box scores and accounts I have with player’s names of the major amateur clubs in the city, did not show his name. Perhaps further research, or that lucky find, will discover what team he played for, and when.] Broady’s baseball coaching style appears to have been vocal and colorful. The <em>Sentinel</em> commented: “when he gets out on the line he just ‘conversations’ his men around the bases and razzleates the pitcher.” The newspaper said he would be at his best for this game against the Dips.</p> <p>The game on July 24, 1892, itself was an exciting, close game, played in front of 1,500 to 2,000 people, who sat “in a sweltering sun.” The <em>Sentinel </em>reported there were many “pretty plays” by members of both teams. Unfortunately, the game was called after seven innings, so that there would be plenty of time for the other contests. The Dips won by a score of 9 to 8.</p> <p>Unfortunately, the newspaper coverage gave more attention to the non-baseball activities than the game itself. In respect to people I respect, I will not get into this aspect of the afternoon. One shorter paragraph was given to the game. But we can be thankful for the box score.</p> <p><a href="http://seamheads.com/blog/2009/11/18/milwaukees-first-all-black-baseball-team-and-its-star-napoleon-broady/ms-7-25-boxjpeg-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-1759" title="ms-7-25-box.jpeg"></a><br /> <em>Milwaukee Sentinel</em> July 25, 1892</p> <p>I found no further games played by the Milwaukee Reds or the Boston Dips in 1892.</p> <p>On July 10, 1893, the Reds played the Dips at Milwaukee’s National Park (South 27th Street and West National Avenue), the Reds winning 8 to 7. The Reds captain stated he was accepting any challenges, and they should be addressed to “Napoleon Brody, second porter, Kirby House.” Again, I could find no other game by either team played in 1893.</p> <p>In 1894 the Reds, “whose members have in past years covered themselves with glory on the diamond field” where looking to again field a team. Milwaukee had a club in the minor Western League, but the team was in last place with a 10 and 25 record on June 20. On this day Broady talked to a <em>Milwaukee Sentinel</em> reporter. Napoleon told the reporter the Reds were in the “pink of condition” and were itching for a game. They decided to issue a challenge, and not to the all-Black teams of the area, but to Charlie Cushman’s Milwaukee Brewers. Saying the Brewers had been easier to beat than “makin’ a natural in a crap game,” the Red’s Captain said his team would play them for any amount of money. The <em>Milwaukee Journal </em>reported: “The Reds have the reputation of being an unusually strong team, capable of putting up a rattling game, so that it is somewhat surprising that Capt. Broady should stoop to meet the has-beens on the diamond.” Cushman and his Brewers were in Sioux City, Iowa, at the time, and Cushman was asked about the challenge. He said he would have to communicate with the board of directors about a game with the Reds, and “if a game is arranged, I have the utmost confidence as to the outcome.” A game never came about.</p> <p>The Milwaukee Reds did play at least one game in 1894. It was announced in the <em>Sentinel</em> as part of the events at the Turf Club picnic to be held at National Park on August 8, the Reds would play the Turf Club team. However, the <em>Evening Wisconsin </em>had earlier reported the Reds would play the Boston Dips on this day “for the colored championship of the state.” Whatever teams played on August 8, I could find no results of any game.</p> <p>Although Napoleon Broady’s name would appear in the newspapers a few times in the following years, I could find not a connection with him and baseball again. The last mention of him in the newspapers was on June 19, 1916, when it was reported Napoleon Brodie, was fined $25 and costs for being the “alleged keeper of a disorderly house.” The last City of Milwaukee directory Napoleon Broady (by any spelling of the name) appeared in was the 1916 directory.</p> <p>At least for now I have lost the trail of Napoleon Broady in 1916. But hopefully more will be found on one of the first in Milwaukee’s tradition of local Black athletes and coaches.</p> <p>Sources:</p> <p>1880 United States Census</p> <p>City of Milwaukee Directories 1890 to 1916</p> <p><em>Milwaukee Sentinel </em>May 8, 22, June 5, 8, 1890; June 26, 30, July 3, 17, 20, 23, 24, 25, 1892; January 16, July 11, 1893; June 21, August 5, 1894</p> <p><em>Milwaukee Journal</em> May 8, 21, June 5, 1890; June 2, July 16, 23, 25, 1892; January 16, 1893; June 21, 1894; November 11, 1895; June 19, 1916</p> <p><em>Evening Wisconsin</em> May 12, June 9, 1890; July 25, 1892; July 11, 1894</p> <p><em>Milwaukee Daily News</em> July 25, 1892</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=DYNTHx5yFYE:wbki0j42LZY:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=DYNTHx5yFYE:wbki0j42LZY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Bring Back the Nickname</h1> <p>Matt Aber — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:40:19 +0000</p> <p>Who was the best center fielder in New York in the 50’s? Willie, Mickey or Ed? How about the time George promised the sick boy he would hit a home run for him? Then George went out and did it. Winning the Denton Young Award all of a sudden doesn’t sound as glamorous. I would love to see baseball and those that follow it somehow bring the nickname back for the players in the game.</p> <p>Now when you go back and say did you like Willie, Mickey or the Duke and tell the story of the promise that the Babe made to an ill child, or capturing a Cy Young Award, the importance of the nickname to the history of baseball becomes even more evident.</p> <p>Reggie Jackson hits five homers in a World Series and is dubbed Mr. October. Chase Utley does it and he is called….well Chase Utley. You can’t tell me that a player like Prince Fielder can’t be given a great nickname. Just look at one of his homers where he swings from his heels and annihilates the ball and the name alone, Prince Fielder, is just begging for something to be attached to it. It seems wrong to let a clutch player who could be an all-time great at his position and another who squares up the ball with such vicious force, to not be honored like so many legends of the game once were.</p> <p>The single season RBI record is held by Hack Wilson at 191. Now if you are a pitcher what is going to get in your head more the night before a game; knowing the next day you were going to be facing a player named Hack or Lewis (his real first name)? It is tough not to argue that the Cardinals “Gas House Gang” team of 1934 would surely not be as memorable if they were around today. On that team you had Dizzy and Daffy Dean, Ripper Collins, Ducky Medwick, Pepper Martin, Spud Davis and Leo “The Lip” Durocher. Just classic names, right? Of course today you would have read about Jay and Paul Dean, Jim Collins, Joe Medwick, John Martin, and Virgil Davis. That turns into a forgettable roster of names all of a sudden. It is interesting how a simple moniker can help immortalize a player or team and help them to live on in our memories well beyond their playing days.</p> <p>Has the fun gone out of baseball? Is it because newspapers are slowly disappearing, and along with that, the once crucial baseball reporter for the paper? Back when major cities had multiple daily papers I would assume the writers drew upon their creative side to paint a picture of the game and the players who played it. Now with the internet and outlets such as ESPN you can get up-to-the-minute play-by-play if you wish, or a quick recap on your computer the next day. Because so many of us are in a rush, it is as if the details are fed to the fan as quickly and simply as possible so as not to waste time. With that the game has lost some of its romance to me.</p> <p>I am a 36-year-old baseball curmudgeon who dreams about a time when field dimensions were bigger than my back yard, players didn’t wear their uniforms like pajamas (is it me or does CC Sabathia look like he is wearing a pinstriped Snuggie with his uni being so baggy?) so you could see their stirrups, and if a playoff game ended in a little over three hours you wouldn’t marvel at how quickly it was played.</p> <p>If nicknames are going to make a comeback some rules or guidelines have to be established. What we don’t want is it to turn merely into a marketing free-for-all where nicknames will be chosen based on the higher Q Score that it gets a player.</p> <p>The first rule of getting a solid nickname is that it has to be given to you and you can’t give it to yourself. This would be a challenge because players today can’t possibly have the same camaraderie they once did to earn the names. Spacious chartered flights have taken the place of long train rides and cramped planes where you were forced to spend time and get to know one another. Add to that cell phones, the BlackBerry, iPods and laptops and you can fly across the country with someone and not find time for them. The good names are derived from a person’s actions, looks or tendencies so the stronger that bond is between the players the more likely a teammate will toss something out there that has a chance to stick.</p> <p>The second rule is you can’t use anything given to you by ESPN’s Chris Berman. Along with his tired act that gets trotted out every now and again, no one in my opinion has hurt the art of the nickname more. Berman has taken it upon himself to bang a round peg through a square hole in making sure that almost every player has something given to them no matter how mindless or ridiculous. Here is the best example in my opinion; you take Albert Pujols, who when it is all said and done could be one of the game’s all time great hitters, and Berman sticks him with Albert “Winnie the” Pujols. It is cute and funny, if it is coming from my four-year-old. I am curious to know if the soldiers at Guantanamo Bay would choose waterboarding or forcing a prisoner to listen to Berman’s call of the entire Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game if they had a choice between the two interrogation tactics.</p> <p>The third rule is if you have been caught doing steroids, or it is pretty much known that you have done them, you don’t get one. So that means good-bye to: Slammin’ Sammy, Big Mac, the Bash Brothers, Big Papi, and the Rocket. The game needs neither your services nor tainted accomplishments that have been at the expense of the true greats that define baseball. The only exception that is allowed is if the name exposes you for what you did, therefore a ruling would be A-Rod “no” but A-Roid a definite “yes.”</p> <p>There are some decent names floating around the league today. I like that they call Tim Lincecum “The Freak” because of his diminutive stature and the fact that he has such a nasty arsenal of pitches. Another is the much talked about hired gun in waiting Roy “Doc” Halladay for the Blue Jays (as of this moment). I blame Val Kilmer in Tombstone as Doc Holliday for being biased towards this one. Calling Vlad Guerrero “Vlad the Impaler” is spot on for someone who wears no batting gloves and has never met a pitch he didn’t like regardless of location.</p> <p>I see potential still for all the stars of today. There are Utley and Fielder who were mentioned earlier along with players like Ryan Zimmerman, Evan Longoria, Andre Ethier, Ryan Howard, Joe Mauer and Hanley Ramirez to name a few. The Washington Nationals have possibly the hardest thrower in the game in 2009 #1 pick Stephen Strasburg since “The Big Train” Walter Johnson pitched in the same city ages ago. Somehow you have to link those two flame throwers together, it is almost wrong not to.</p> <p>My personal favorite is Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx who was known as “Double X” and “The Beast.” Unless you are a woman playing sports, being called “The Beast” has to be one of the most complimentary things to be referred to as in the field of athletics. Just think if they called softball star Jenny Finch “The Beast,” bite your tongue. Even his other name of “Double X” is strong. Some players can’t even get one intimidating name and Foxx has two, and he backed both up soundly; hitting over 500 career homers, winning 2 world titles, three MVP Awards and nearly winning back-to-back Triple Crowns. Foxx missed leading the league only in batting by a margin of .003 points in 1932 (.364-58-169) and finally turned the trick in ’33 (.356-48-163).</p> <p>Don’t take for granted the names that baseball history has given to us. What kind of a past on the diamond would have been passed on without players known simply as Shoeless Joe, Yogi, Three Finger, Lefty, The Say Hey Kid, Joltin’ Joe, Charlie Hustle, Hammerin’ Hank, Mr. Cub, The Georgia Peach, The Heater from Van Meter, Schmidty, Pee Wee, The Iron Horse and of course the Babe. It would be a disservice to what was once a great game to not leave tomorrow’s legends with something as unique and identifiable as the ones who came before them.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=OfNON6jvGeY:kHVBByTEXG0:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=OfNON6jvGeY:kHVBByTEXG0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>La marca de un pitcher (The presence of a pitcher)</h1> <p>Alfonso L. Tusa C. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:00:52 +0000</p> <p> El domingo 15 de noviembre de 2009 aprecié por fin el documental “The lost son of Havana” (El hijo perdido de La Habana) auspiciado por ESPN para recrear la vida del lanzador cubano Luis Tiant hijo. Sencillamente escalofriantes las escenas del reencuentro con su país y con su familia. Las imágenes por si solas delinean un paisaje abrumador que exprimen lágrimas contenidas por mucho tiempo. Tiant salió de Cuba en mayo de 1961, su padre le aconsejó no regresar porque habían suspendido el béisbol profesional en la isla, y sólo pudo regresar en 2007. “Demasiado tiempo”, lamentó el beisbolista entre abrazos y comentarios entrecortados.</p> <p>El documental entrevera el desarrollo de la carrera de Tiant en el béisbol organizado estadounidense desde que debutó en la Gran Carpa en 1964 con los Indios de Cleveland y dominó a los Yanquis con blanqueo de 4 hits en su casa, algo inédito en 60 años. Su incandescente temporada de 1968 cuando lideró la Liga Americana con 1.60 de efectividad mientras dejaba marca de 21-9, 19 juegos completos, 9 blanqueos, 4 de ellos seguidos.</p> <p>El hombre de bigote fumanchú, camina por las veredas, recuerda los lugares donde jugaba pelota de niño, saluda y conversa con amigos en medio de miradas que traspasan la ausencia de 46 años.</p> <p>Luego de confrontar problemas con el brazo de lanzar que lo hicieron salir de Cleveland y Minnesota, empezó una progresiva recuperación con los Medias Rojas, a partir de 1971 empezó un cambio en su mecánica de pitcheo debido a la lesión que había sufrido en el brazo. De pitcher de poder pasó a ser lanzador de envíos quebrados y cambios de velocidad. Se enseñó a lanzar como lo hacia su padre, El Tiante..</p> <p>Uno de los amigos refiere un episodio de cuando Tiant hijo entrenaba en una calle de La Habana. El padre llegó, lo observó, le tocó el brazo. “Vas a ser un buen pitcher. Pero no tan bueno como yo”. El hijo se pasó la mano por la visera. “Oh, si. Yo voy a ser mejor que usted”.</p> <p>Aunque Tiant considera su debut ante Whitey Ford y los Yanquis en 1964 como su mejor día en el béisbol, su momento cumbre llegó en 1975, cuando a pesar de no tener sus mejores números, llevó a los Medias Rojas a la Serie Mundial. Meses atrás el senador McGovern entre otros puntos que llevó para discutir en La Habana entregó a Fidel Castro una carta escrita por el comisionado de béisbol en nombre de Tiant. Castro accedió a que los padres de Tiant no sólo lo fueran a visitar a Boston sino que se quedaran todo el tiempo que quisieran, un acto sin precedentes. Antes de un juego de la temporada regular los Medias Rojas le pidieron a Tiant que querían que su padre hiciera el lanzamiento inicial antes del juego que abriría su hijo. Fue una escena digna de la película “El campo de los sueños” con Fenway Park hirviendo de vítores mientras Tiant Sr. se quitaba el saco para desarrollar su wind-up hacia las mascota de Carlton Fisk. Tiant blanqueó a la Gran maquinaria roja en el primer juego de la serie, pero su gran noche como lo dice Peter Gammons en una de las entrevistas del documental, fue la del cuarto juego, cuando sin contar con lo mejor de su repertorio, fue capaz de mantener una ventaja de 5-4 en los últimos 5 episodios del juego, en el quinto y noveno capítulos embasó dos corredores, a punta de voluntad y disposición se llevó la victoria con 173 lanzamientos en la casa de los Rojos. Como lo dijo Gammons: “Aquella noche fue la de la voluntad de un hombre contra la grandeza de un equipo, y por esa vez pudo más la voluntad”.</p> <p>Para mí fue inevitable recordar el no-hitter que lanzara Tiant en el estadio Universitario de Caracas con los Tiburones de La Guaira ante los Leones del Caracas. El 14 de noviembre de 1971 Tiant venció 3-0. Antes de salir a lanzar el último episodio el pitcher se volteó hacia la tribuna caraquista y se pasó el dedo por el cuello.</p> <p>Tiant se despide de sus familiares con los ojos inflamados de lágrimas y una frase recurrente: “Pudo haber sido de otra forma. No tenía porque pasar tanto tiempo sin verlos, sin compartir con ustedes”.</p> <p>Ya de regreso hacia el aeropuerto se detiene a fumar un habano en una plaza. Un hombre lo reconoce y empieza a preguntarle a los jóvenes quién ha sido el pitcher cubano que ha ganado más juegos en Grandes Ligas. Los muchachos dicen Livan Hernández, El Duque, José Contreras. El hombre chasquea la lengua y ladea la cabeza, ah, ah. Luis Tiant señores, Luis Tiant es el pitcher cubano con más victorias en grandes ligas. Todavía resonaban en el televisor los gritos de : “Louie, Louie” con que Fenway Park aupaba las actuaciones del pitcher cubano.</p> <p><strong>English Translation</strong></p> <p>On Sunday November 15th, 2009, I finally watched the documental film “The lost son of Havana” sponsored by ESPN to recreate the life of the Cuban pitcher Luis Tiant Jr. Those were really thrilling scenes when Tiant could be again at his country and meet again his relatives and friends. The images alone show an impressing landscape that squeeze tears retained by so much time. Tiant left Cuba on May, 1961. His father advised him not to come back because professional baseball was forbidden in the island. He only could get back in 2007. “Too much time”, regretted the ballplayer among hugs and cut comments.</p> <p>The documental mixes Tiant’s baseball career in the USA organized baseball since his debut in the Big Show in 1964 with the Cleveland Indians. He hurled a 4-hitter shutout against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Something that hasn’t happened in the last 60 years. His brilliant season of 1968 when he led the American League in ERA with 1.60, he left a record of 21-9, 19 complete games, 9 shutouts, 4 in a row.</p> <p>Tha man with the Fu Manchú mustache walks on the sideways, remembers the places where he used to play as a child, greets and talks with friends in the middle of sights that go beyond Tiant’s absence.</p> <p>After confronting some troubles with his throwing arm that made him left Cleveland and Minnesota, he started a progressive recovering with the Boston Red Sox. Since the 1971 season he began a change in his pitching mechanics because of the injury he had suffered in his arm. From being a powering pitcher he became a breaking balls and offspeed hurler. He taught himself to throw as his father, El Tiante.</p> <p>One of the friends tells an episode from the times when Tiant trained in a street of Havana. The father came, watched him pitching, touched his arm. “You’re going to be a good pitcher. But not as good as me”. The son touched the tip of his cap. “Oh yes. I’m going to be better than you”.</p> <p>Although Tiant considers his debut before Whitey Ford and the Yankees in 1964 as his best day in baseball, his greatest moment arrived in 1975, when despite not having his best stats, he led the Red Sox to the World Series. Months before, senator McGovern among other topics in his agenda, gave Fidel Castro a letter written by the baseball commissioner representing Luis Tiant. Castro accepted that Tiant parents not only went to visit their son in Boston but to stay there all the time they wanted. Before a game of the regular season against the California Angels, the Red Sox asked Tiant for his father to throw the first ball of the contest the son was going to start. It was a scene proper of the movie “Field of dreams” Fenway Park boiled in a great ovation as the old man took off his suit coat to develop his wind-up to Carlton Fisk’s mitt. Tiant hurled a shutout against the big red machine in the first game of the series. But his great night as said by Peter Gammons in one of the documental interviews, came in the fourth game, without his best deliveries he was able to keep the score 5-4 in the last five frames of the constest, he had two men on base in the fifth and ninth innings. With a lot of willingness and a great attitude Tiant took the win after making 173 deliveries to the plate. Gammons said: “That was the night of the willingness of a man against the greatness of a team, for once the willingness took the win”.</p> <p>That game made me to remember the no-hitter Tiant hurled against the Caracas Lions in the Venezuelan Winter League. It was on November 14th, 1971. Tiant took the mound for the La Guaira Sharks in a Sunday morning and finished beating them 3-0. No hit no run. Before the last inning Tiant moved back to stands and passed his index finger through his throat in response to the Caracas Lions fans.</p> <p>Tiant says good bye to his relatives with his eyes full of tears and a revolving statement: “It could, it should have been different. It was very hard for me to wait so long to see you again, to share my life with you again”.</p> <p>Going back to the airport, Tiant stops by a square in downtown to smoke a cigar. A man recognizes him and starts to ask to the young guys who has been the Cuban pitcher that has won more games in MLB. The guys say Livan Hernández, El Duque, José Contreras. The man moves his head. Luis Tiant gentlemen. Luis Tiant is the Cuban pitcher wit more wins in MLB. The Fenway Park chants of “Louie, Louie” still sound in the tv set through the documental film.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=FZWriwesDpo:n1LTXsHow0Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=FZWriwesDpo:n1LTXsHow0Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Fantography: A Photographic Baseball Diary Through the Eyes of The Fans</h1> <p>Todd Civin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:19:28 +0000</p> <p> <dl> <dt></dt> </dl> <p>As I chatted with Andy Strasberg about his new baseball related venture called Fantography™, I couldn’t help but hum Rod Stewart’s 1971 anthem, “Every Picture Tells a Story”.</p> <p>In actuality, however, my musical recap of Strasberg’s photographic venture may be best summarized as Paul Simon’s<em> Kodachrome</em> mixed with a few verses of <em>Take Me Out to The Ball Game</em>.</p> <p>Fantography™ is Strasberg’s recently unveiled undertaking, whose goal it is to harvest centuries of baseball photographs and the wonderful stories that go along with them. These are the photographs, taken not by professional photographers, but by the fans, themselves.</p> <p>Strasberg sees Fantography™ as the offspring of his five decade love affair with the sport of baseball, a love affair that is not unique to him, but is shared by fans throughout the globe. The project will allow fans to upload their personal baseball memories onto the Fantography™ website to be stored forever and shared with other fans of the game.</p> <p>“It’s more than just a box score,” explains Strasberg, the former VP of Marketing for the San Diego Padres. “It’s the love affair between a fan and the game of baseball as seen through the lens of a camera.”</p> <p>Strasberg’s vision is to rescue these personal photographs along with the stories and memories that accompanied them from the shoe boxes, attics and scrap books of fans before they are lost, damaged or destroyed.</p> <p>“Some of the world’s best photos are in shoe-boxes all over the world. Photos taken years ago. When that person passes, their belongings are not meaningful to others and are usually disposed of.”</p> <p>Strasberg added that since the advent of digital cameras most fan photographers do not print out their photographs, but either keep them on their camera or download them to their personal computers, never to be seen by the masses.</p> <p>“When their computers crash, they are more concerned about saving their documents than they are about rescuing photographs and they too become lost.”</p> <dl> <dt></dt> </dl> <p>“This is why we are hoping to harvest baseball snapshots taken by fans over the last 100 years,” explains Strasberg. “Photos that capture a poignant personal moment in professional baseball, be it major league, minor league or Negro Leagues. The snapshot could be of a player, a ballpark or a mascot.”</p> <p>Strasberg traces the genesis of Fantography™ back to Cooperstown in 1958. “I have a picture that my Dad took of me on the steps of the Baseball Hall of Fame when I was ten years old. It is absolutely the first photograph of my relationship with baseball.”</p> <p>Strasberg, a native of the Bronx, began bringing his camera to games at a very young age, while forming a well documented friendship with Yankee Slugger, Roger Maris. Through this friendship, Strasberg earned Maris’ affection, who often referred to Andy as his “most faithful fan.”</p> <p>“I have this incredible picture of me and Roger Maris. The picture is framed perfectly with Yankee Stadium as the backdrop looking towards home plate.”</p> <p>When Strasberg went to college, he took a photography class taught by noted American photographer, Arthur Leipzig, perhaps best known for his photo essays on New York life in the 1940’s and 50’s.</p> <p>“Even though my dream and my desire was to do something in the game of baseball, it was Arthur Leipzig who got me to focus at looking at the world through a lens like I had never done before. Because of that and my connection to baseball, I have a lot of pictures that explain to the viewer how much I love the game of baseball.”</p> <p>One of Strasberg’s personal favorites is a picture of Hank Aaron taken by a ten-year-old boy as he’s walking out of Milwaukee County Stadium. “It’s out of focus because it’s taken through the eyes of a ten year old who may be only four feet high, but you can tell how important it was to this child. That’s what Fantography™ is all about.”</p> <dl> <dt></dt> </dl> <p>The long range goal of Fantography™ is to collect enough snapshots and stories to create a coffee table size book encompassing 500-700 photographs to preserve for eternity the professional baseball experience of the fan from their perspective.</p> <p>He sees Fantography™ as a photographic version of the Chicken Soup series.</p> <p>“They are the personal photos and stories, for those people, but other people truly love to hear them. This will truly be an American story, with the focus on our National Pastime” he explains.</p> <p>Strasberg reiterates that photos should be taken by fans who are not professional photographers and are not game action photos.</p> <p>To participate in this baseball experience go to <a href="http://www.fantography.net/" title="Fantography">www.fantography.net</a> and upload your photos. Each person submitting a photo should include a caption that describes the date, people in the photo and the story behind the photo.</p> <p><em>Todd Civin is a freelance writer who writes for <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/" title="Bleacher Report">Bleacher Report</a>, <a href="../" title="Sports Then and Now">Sports, Then and Now</a>, and <a href="http://seamheads.com/" title="Seamheads">Seamheads</a>. He is also a supporter of, </em><a href="http://agloveoftheirown.com/" title="A Glove of Their Own">A Glove of Their Own</a><em>, the award-winning children’s story that teaches paying it forward through baseball. The Joe Niekro Foundation is the most recent non-profit organization to join the A Glove of Their Own team and will earn $3.00 from each sale of the book purchased using the donor code <strong>JNF636 Joe Niekro Foundation</strong>. </em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=Z2-W6vwG0s8:1JjKS4sYNJk:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=Z2-W6vwG0s8:1JjKS4sYNJk:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>What Happened To Those Who Debuted In Majors In 2008?</h1> <p>Bob Wirz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:14:54 +0000</p> <p>Anyone who follows my offerings in this space and in my more extensive subscription-only <a href="http://www.indybaseballchatter.com/"><em>Independent Baseball Insider</em></a> knows how much I believe in tracking players from the Independent leagues who make it all the way to the majors. It is even more enjoyable if the players started their career in an Indy league.</p> <p>I have been wanting for some time to follow up about those who debuted in the big time in 2008 when a whopping 12 players made it for the first time (half of them had come all the way up from an Independent beginning) but were not in the majors for even a brief time (except for spring training) this past season.</p> <p>Five players fall into this category: Mike Cervenak, Justin Christian, Scott Patterson and Charlie Zink were in the group who played their very first pro game in an Independent league while Jason Perry had re-cycled from affiliated to Independent and back to affiliated. In fact, he had only trained with an Indy team early in 2008 when Atlanta signed him before he played a regular-season game.</p> <p>PERRY: The outfielder was in camp with Lancaster, PA of the Atlantic League when Atlanta purchased his contract early in ‘08. He was in the major leagues for a few days in mid-season, collecting a single, triple and one RBI in 17 at-bats covering four games. Perry found himself actually playing nine games for Lancaster this season, but Tampa Bay lured the 29-year-old away as minor league insurance. Most of his time was at Double-A Montgomery (5-15-.204).</p> <p>CERVENAK: Mike, now 33, had another stellar Triple-A season, hitting .305-9-77 at Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia’s top club. Cervenak got into 10 major league games in ‘08 (2-for-13), but also got the thrill of staying with the Phillies (although not active) during their magical postseason run. He played in the Frontier League (Chillicothe, OH) in 1999-2000.</p> <p>CHRISTIAN: Speed and defense allowed the centerfielder to appear in 24 games with the parent Yankees (10-for-40, six RBI, seven steals) one year ago. But he was in Triple-A for Baltimore this season, stealing 26 bases in 88 games and hitting .270 for Norfolk. His pro journey started with two seasons (’03-04) with River City, the Frontier League team in O’Fallon, MO.</p> <p>PATTERSON: Started with four plus seasons in Indy baseball (Gateway, Sauget, IL of the Frontier League and Lancaster), and once he moved from starting to relieving climbed rapidly through the Yankees’ system. He was in one game with the Bombers and three more with San Diego one year ago (0-0, 1.93), but did not make it out of spring training this time around. His season was split between Portland, OR (San Diego) and Oakland’s top club, Sacramento, but his razor-sharp control was not a good as in the past.</p> <p>ZINK: His Independent time was spent at Yuma, AZ when that city was in the Western League. (It is in the Golden League now.) He now has logged eight years in the Boston system. A knuckleball pitcher, he got to make one start for the Red Sox in ‘08 (a bumpy outing, at that) and was back at Triple-A Pawtucket, RI this season, sliding to 6-15, 5.59, mostly as a starter. One other contribution to the Red Sox is that he has given some of their up-and-comers the opportunity to catch the knuckler and be more prepared for the veteran Tim Wakefield when they reach Fenway Park.</p> <p>I will bet all five have some great memories of their time in the major leagues, short though it may have been to this point.</p> <p><em>(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes on Independent Baseball. Fans may subscribe at <a href="http://www.wirzandassociates.com/" target="_blank">www.WirzandAssociates.com</a>, enjoy his blog, <a href="http://www.indybaseballchatter.com/" target="_blank">www.IndyBaseballChatter.com</a>, or comment to <a href="mailto:RWirz@aol.com"><span style="color: windowtext"><font color="#b22222">RWirz@aol.com.</font></span></a> The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)</em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=Qf1w8yTY4u4:_MVN5rF82f4:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=Qf1w8yTY4u4:_MVN5rF82f4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Still Marking Time</h1> <p>Daniel Shoptaw — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:20:21 +0000</p> <p>The dead period continues, as a few rumors might trickle out during this period before the official start to free agency but not much else. Just a slow time for a baseball fan.</p> <p>There’s not even much Cardinal-related on <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/">MLB Trade Rumors</a>, though I do note that <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/cafardo-on-cabrera-penny-upton.html">one GM states</a> Matt Holliday won’t get Mark Teixeira money. I don’t think anyone really believes that he will, not even Scott Boras. That won’t keep Boras from talking him up, of course, like a good agent should. That just doesn’t mean that <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/berniemiklasz/story/64CA130DAD68CFD68625766C001482A1?OpenDocument">anyone has to listen</a>.</p> <p>One good thing about this organization is that, on the whole, they are a smart group. I don’t think you’d see them bidding against themselves, a la Tom Hicks. I don’t think you’ll see them wait it out too long, either. They realize that the players traded are a sunk cost, they are gone no matter. While it helps the deal if they are able to resign him, that has to be looked at in a vaccum, and if the deal is getting too big or it is going to impact their talks with Albert Pujols, they are smart enough to go with Plan B, C, or D.</p> <p>Boras also believes that the Cardinals’ hire of Mark McGwire is completely related to keeping Matt Holliday and he wants no part of any talk of non-monetary benefits. He’s noted that Holliday worked with Mac this offseason and had to ditch some of his training this year after the slow start. That much I knew. What Derrick Goold <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/bird-land/bird-land/2009/11/kick-back-mcgwire-holliday-hitting-tale-warped-for-spin/">points out at his blog</a> is that a lot of Holliday’s success came after McGwire told him to keep the leg kick back in ‘07. So their relationship is better than you might first think.</p> <p>Enough about Holliday. We know there won’t be any news on him for a while, especially since the free agent market doesn’t officially open until Friday. I don’t expect you’ll see him sign anywhere until mid-December at the earliest.</p> <p>It’s baseball award season the next couple of weeks. Of course, the newly-formed <a href="http://www.baseballbloggersalliance.com/">Baseball Bloggers Alliance</a> has already done their voting, so it’ll be interesting to see how their selections compare to the writers. The Rookie of the Year voting comes out today, and while the Cardinals official site likes to play up <a href="http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091115&content_id=7670768&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl">Colby Rasmus as a darkhorse</a>, it’s not going to happen. The problem with the ROY voting is that you only get three names and there were a good four or five that most people will write down before Rasmus. Hopefully he gets some voets (he was shut out in the BBA), but I don’t think he’ll be adding that to his award shelf.</p> <p>What more Cardinal fans are looking forward to is the release of the Cy Young voting. The odds are that a Cardinal will take home the title, since two of the top three choices wear the birds on the bat. The BBA went with Tim Lincecum, but Matthew Leach on the UCB Radio Hour said he thought Adam Wainwright would get the hardware.</p> <p>In a neat twist (and it’s always great to see the though processes of a player), the <em>Post-Dispatch</em> got <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/764270DF0515C0FE8625766E0019786E?OpenDocument">Wainwright to write about why he thought Chris Carpenter would win</a> and then <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/85F904FD5315DC588625766E00197852?OpenDocument">Carp to talk about Waino</a>. I love the subtle point that Waino makes that won’t be picked up by the writers, most likely. Carp was the one that helped Wainwright make his adjustments this year, the adjustments that put him in the Cy conversation. So when you take into accout Carp’s numbers plus his value to the team, it’s a strong argument.</p> <p>Don’t know how often I’ll update, though of course if any big news comes down you can count on me rambling on. The Cardinal Blogger Awards voting is going on now. Two ballots already in, more promised. Mine will be up Friday and the final awards will be announced soon after. Enjoy your week!</p> <p><em>Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,” where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. You can find more of his work<a href="http://www.cardinal70.com/" target="_blank"> here</a></em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=06TE4eBMou8:9qXfTFobSI8:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=06TE4eBMou8:9qXfTFobSI8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Rambling On About My Glory Days: A Higher Calling</h1> <p>Jack Perconte — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:05:17 +0000</p> <p>Things were looking up for me and the 1982 Cleveland Indians, literally. I had been traded in the off season from the Dodgers with a great opportunity to be the starting second baseman. After a good spring training I earned the starting spot and was prepared for the season, or so I thought. My horrible season that followed is a story for another day. Let me tell you why things were looking up. First of all, we had an awesome pitching staff with the likes of Bert Blyleven (soon to be Hall of Famer, I hope), Rick Sutcliffe (former National League rookie of the year), Len Barker (of perfect game fame) and other formidable pitchers like Lary Sorensen, John Denny, Ed Whitson, Rick Waits and Dan Spillner. Very impressive indeed, but let me tell you why things were looking up. Here is how it went down; I mean up.</p> <p>During one of our first games that season, while playing the Kansas City Royals at home in “beautiful,” old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Jerry Martin of the Royals hit a titanic shot completely out of the stadium, just foul. The following day during batting practice, a voice from the heavens could be heard, “Lary, Lary, Lary.” Was this the voice of God? I wondered. Looking everywhere, I noticed someone on our team pointing up towards the left field stands, where upon Bert Blyleven (not God) was standing on top of the left field roof. Believe me, it is way up there and how he got on the roof in the first place is not known. Bert proceeds to yell when all were looking, “Lary, this is where that ball landed,” obviously referring to the ball hit by Jerry Martin the previous day.</p> <p>Unfortunately, that is one of the only highlights to the season, at least for me, as the 1982 Cleveland Indians ball team did not jell for whatever reasons. Of course, if there is ever a Hall of Fame for pranksters, Bert Blyleven should be a unanimous pick for that hall also. Such is the life, where pranks and joking around are constant and necessary.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=qSaoalcm8rs:LxPZglvf4-g:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=qSaoalcm8rs:LxPZglvf4-g:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>The Road to 10,000 Wins</h1> <p>Brendan Macgranachan — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:23:06 +0000</p> <p><br /> With 10,344 regular season wins, the New York/San Francisco Giants franchise has collected more wins than any other baseball team in Major League history. It is not hard to see how the club reached that mark, suiting up legends such as John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Mel Ott, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. Here is how the team reached the plateau, a thousand wins at a time:</p> <p><strong>Win #1,000 – May 8, 1897 against the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (9-5 win)<br /> </strong>Two costly errors by Brooklyn pitcher ‘Roaring Bill’ Kennedy early in the contest led to four Giants runs as New York beat their crosstown rivals by a score of 9-5. The Giants recorded a safe hit in every inning of the contest, 15 in total, and they were led by shortstop George Davis who went 5-for-5. Pitching ace Amos Rusie pitched all nine innings, giving up five earned runs on nine hits to record the victory.</p> <p><strong>Win #2,000 – August 9, 1909 against the St. Louis Cardinals (4-3 win)<br /> </strong>New York second baseman Larry Doyle broke a tie by smacking an RBI triple in the tenth inning, scoring the eventual game-winning run as the Giants won their third consecutive game in St. Louis. Doyle finished the day with three hits while Cy Seymour and Bill O’Hara had a pair each. Doc Crandall picked up the win on the mound, pitching two-plus innings in relief of starter Bugs Raymond.</p> <p><strong>Win #3,000 – September 8, 1920 against the Boston Braves (5-1 win)<br /> </strong>In Boston, the Giants won both ends of a doubleheader to give them wins #2999 and #3000. In the second game, a three-run fourth inning highlighted a 5-1 victory for John McGraw’s team. Centerfielder Lee King led the way on offense, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Doyle also drove in two runs for the Giants. Slim Sallee picked up the win on the mound in his first appearance as a Giant after he was claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds just four days earlier. The two wins brought New York within 1 ½ games of the National League lead but they would fade down the stretch and finish seven games behind pennant-winning Brooklyn.</p> <p><strong>Win #4,000 – May 18, 1932 against the Cincinnati Reds (9-3 win)<br /> </strong>The Giants were struggling early on in the 1932 season and entered this game in Cincinnati with a 9-14 record. Things didn’t look good early as the Reds jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning but the Giants would recover in the seventh. Led by a three-run homer by Bill Terry, the Giants put up seven runs in the inning on their way to a 9-3 victory. Despite the shaky start, Hal Schumacher recorded the victory, going six innings while Clarence Mitchell was credited with the save by pitching spotless ball in the final three innings.</p> <p><strong>Win #5,000 – June 19, 1944 against the Brooklyn Dodgers (10-2 win)<br /> </strong>Brooklyn’s defense faltered throughout the contest, leading the way for five unearned runs as the Giants beat the Dodgers 10-2 at Ebbets Field. Six of the Giants runs came in the second inning which featured punishing hits from both Gus Mancuso and Joe Medwick. Harry Feldman pitched a complete game as he picked up the win on the mound for the Giants.</p> <p><strong>Win #6,000 – April 21<sup>,</sup> 1957 against the Philadelphia Phillies (2-1 win)<br /> </strong>The Giants picked up their 6,000<sup>th</sup> win in franchise history during their fourth game of the 1957 season, their final year in New York before moving to San Francisco. Willie Mays scored the game-winning run on a Hank Sauer walk-off single in the ninth to give the Giants a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The only runs in the contest to that point came in the second on solo homers by the Phils’ Ted Kluszewski and Sauer. All-star hurler Johnny Antonelli went the distance to collect the victory despite giving up nine hits and six walks. The Phillies’ Robin Roberts also threw a complete game in the losing cause.</p> <p><strong>Win #7,000 – July 18, 1968 against the St. Louis Cardinals (3-0 win)<br /> </strong>Juan Marichal came out on top in a pitching duel against the Cards’ Steve Carlton as the Giants blanked the first-place Cardinals 3-0 in St. Louis. Marichal surrendered only four hits in a complete game effort and also added an RBI as he improved his overall record to an impressive 17-4. Hal Lanier and Jesus Alou also drove in runs while third baseman Jim Davenport went 4-for-5.</p> <p><strong>Win #8,000 – October 2, 1980 against the Los Angeles Dodgers (3-2 win)<br /> </strong>Darrell Evans hit a two-run single in the eighth to push the Giants over the Dodgers in a tight contest. The Dodgers’ Steve Garvey put the Giants in a hole early on when he hit a two-run shot off of starter Vida Blue to give Los Angeles a quick advantage. Blue hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to cut the lead in half before Evans drove in the tying and winning runs in the eighth. Greg Minton got the victory on the hill in relief of Blue while Al Holland collected his seventh save of the season.</p> <p><strong>Win #9,000 – July 30, 1993 against the Colorado Rockies (10-4 win)<br /> </strong>San Francisco put up 16 hits and scored runs in seven different innings off of five opposing pitchers as they thumped the expansion Colorado Rockies by a score of 10-4. Off-season acquisition Barry Bonds hit two home runs and catcher Kirt Manwaring had three RBIs to lead the Giants’ charge offensively in front of a crowd of 70,000+ at Mile High Stadium. Greg Brummett was the winning pitcher, improving his record to 2-3.</p> <p><strong>Win #10,000 – July 14, 2005 against the Los Angeles Dodgers (4-3 win)<br /> </strong>The Giants reached five digits in franchise wins by hanging on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 4-3 at Dodger Stadium. Omar Vizquel broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh by hitting a three-run homer off of LA reliever D.J. Houlton. The Dodgers battled back and scored two runs in the same inning but that would be all they could muster. Jason Schmidt pitched six innings to record the win, improving his mark to 7-5. Ray Durham had two of the Giants’ seven hits in the contest.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=YVLhXZb52UA:42JaOAm3oa4:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=YVLhXZb52UA:42JaOAm3oa4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Cardinal Baseball Talk</h1> <p>Daniel Shoptaw — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:55:26 +0000</p> <p>We had a good conversation last night with Matthew Leach, Cardinal beat writer for MLB.com, on the <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/UCB-Host/2009/11/12/United-Cardinal-Bloggers-Radio-Hour">United Cardinal Bloggers Radio Hour</a>. The major topics were hashed out and Matthew brought some interesting thoughts into the mix.</p> <p>For example, he thinks the odds of Matt Holliday returning to the Cards are less than 50/50, though not infinitesimal. He did bemoan the creeping compulsion by fans to start blaming Holliday for being one of those greedy guys who is just looking out for the top dollar.</p> <p>As Matthew pointed out, it could be the last time Holliday gets to take top dollar. For some guys, they want to grab that once, at least. It’s hard to say that we wouldn’t do the same, though you’d like to think other considerations would come into play. They may, we don’t know, but we shouldn’t begrudge a guy for doing something most of us would probably do as well.</p> <p>From the team’s point of view, though, they aren’t likely to just wait around for Holliday, and it sounds like there is a possibility they’d go shore up the pitching if they thought there was a bargain there. So while they may not sign John Lackey, I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t at least keep in touch with his agent. Having him slide in behind Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright would be a pretty interesting rotation.</p> <p>On Mark McGwire, there doesn’t seem to be any more definitive news. While the team could do a press conference tomorrow if they wanted to, they seem to be content to use the “don’t overshadow the awards” cover to let them figure out just what they want to do about it. My cynical side would expect a Tuesday before Thanksgiving presser, so that the holidays would lessen the impact (who is really paying attention to things when there’s a table full of food to be taken care of?) but when even <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=4645508&sportCat=mlb">ESPN is talking about it</a> already, waiting can’t be all that good of a thing.</p> <p>We are only about a week away from having to protect players from the Rule V draft, and so there was some discussion about that. Especially where Bryan Anderson comes into play. Dustin pointed out that catchers don’t usually get taken since it means a team would have to either carry three catchers or use an unproven minor leaguer as their backup, so strategically he may get left off and the Cards take the risk.</p> <p>Another name that was questionable was Francisco Samuel. Matthew thought the odds were that he’d be protected, since bullpen arms are easier to keep on a roster if someone takes him via Rule V, as we saw with Luis Peradomo last year.</p> <p>We may only see Holliday get offered arbitration, as the club has been pretty skittish about giving it out in the past. I’d really hate to see Mark DeRosa and Joel Pineiro leave without getting something for them, though. If <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/eight-teams-inquire-on-mark-derosa.html">this report is true</a>, I think you can safely offer DeRosa, because he’s going to get a deal somewhere.</p> <p>(Off topic, but while looking for that link, I saw <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/olney-on-ausmus-carroll-prior-penny.html">another blog post at MLBTR</a> that said Mark Prior was throwing from flat ground. I was surprised that he was only 29. Talk about low risk/high reward. I’ve advocated for him before and I’d love to see St. Louis give him a minor league contract, see if he has anything left.)</p> <p>Always enjoy having Matthew on the show. Toss him a question and stand back, because you are going to get a lot of thought and information on the topic.</p> <p>In other news, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina were the Gold Glove winners from the Cardinals this year. No Albert Pujols, which was a little disappointing, though he did have more errors than usual this year. It could have been, as well, that the voters weren’t sure if the played first base or second base, based on where he positions himself sometimes! Wainwright was a little surprising to me, since I don’t remember him being anything spectacular from the mound, at least in the fielding department. Pineiro I might have believed, though Waino’s never been bad in that regard.</p> <p>A new Cardinal blog, in the style of an Onion-like parody, has come along. So give a check out of <a href="http://fredbirdfollys.wordpress.com/">Fredbird Follys</a> when you have the time!</p> <p><em>Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,” where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. You can find more of his work<a href="http://www.cardinal70.com/" target="_blank"> here</a></em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=XqzE92Grico:gicsXFhY4WM:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=XqzE92Grico:gicsXFhY4WM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>The Rest of The Story About The Joe Niekro Foundation and the AZ Fall Leagues</h1> <p>Todd Civin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:50:38 +0000</p> <p><a href="http://seamheads.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/niekro-foundation-pregame-ceremonies-300x200.jpg" title="niekro-foundation-pregame-ceremonies-300×200.jpg"></a>“And that’s the rest of the story” was, of course, the famous phrase uttered countless times by the late, great, Paul Harvey.</p> <p>For those readers too young or too sheltered to remember the immortal radio legend, Harvey gave listeners the endings to stories that were newsworthy one day and faded away from our memories the next. Harvey would present to listeners the happy or ironic outcome of a story long since forgotten.</p> <p>I often think about how many times readers, watchers, or listeners become enthralled by the beginning and middle of a story and are never given the opportunity to hear the “and they lived happily ever after” piece.</p> <p>So in hopes of righting a journalistic wrong, I’ve tracked down my favorite knuckleballer’s favorite little girl to see how Natalie Niekro and The Joe Niekro Foundation made out at the expense of the whiffers from the Arizona Fall League.</p> <p>In my story, “<a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/272967-the-joe-niekro-foundation-throws-their-pitch-to-az-fall-league-fans" title="Joe Niekro Story">The Joe Niekro Foundation Throws Its Pitch to Arizona Fall League Fans</a>,”<em> </em> Natalie told of her planned event with the AZ Fall League to celebrate her late father’s birthday while raising funds and awareness of the wonderful foundation.</p> <p>The week-long event coincided with the third anniversary of Niekro’s passing from a brain aneurysm in 2006. Natalie and the rest of the Niekro family, including her brother Lance, a knuckleballer in the Atlanta Braves system, and her uncle Phil, the Hall of Fame knuckleballer and brother of Joe.</p> <p>With the support of longtime baseball executive Roland Hemond and Steve Cobb, the executive director of the Arizona Fall League, along with several generous sponsors, over $26,000 was raised for the Foundation during the week-long event as donations of $36 per strikeout were made for any pitcher wearing the uniform of one of Joe’s former teams (Chicago Cubs, SD Padres, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, NY Yankees, and Minnesota Twins).</p> <p>“It was incredible,” explained Natalie, who shared the results with me via e-mail while fighting a bout with the flu. “$11,088 was raised just through the $36 per sponsor per strikeout, but then each team also committed to donate their team’s total in strikeouts, raising an additional $2,772.</p> <p>“Then my husband and I matched the overall total, so collectively we raised over $26, 000.”</p> <p>According to its Web site, “<a href="http://joeniekrofoundation.org" title="The Joe Niekro Foundation">The Joe Niekro Foundation</a> is committed to aiding in the research and treatment of aneurysm patients and families. Our goal is to raise awareness about aneurysm factors, causes, treatments and research. All funds are used to educate the public about brain aneurysms, to support patients and families, and to develop awareness programs and educational materials for hospitals, clinics, and other institutions worldwide.”</p> <p>Natalie expressed tremendous gratitude to the four sponsors of the event, Coulter Motor Company, Ms. Patrice Schuttler, Pure Fitness, and Mr. Matthew Tarini, CFP, with the Wells Fargo Financial Network, LLC, each of whom donated $36 per whiff for an actual total of $144 per punchout.</p> <p>In addition to the much-appreciated payday, Natalie was especially overwhelmed with the wonderful fan response and support of the event.</p> <p>“It went exceptionally well,” she said. “(The fans) were very receptive, and throughout the week I had people contact me stating they were at the game and wanted to share their story of a loved one they had lost to an aneurysm.”</p> <p>During the festivities, Natalie experienced several highlights that will long be entrenched into her memory of the first time event.</p> <p>“The week was definitely a hard one in that it marked the three-year date of Dad’s passing,” explained Natalie, who raised over $400,000 for the Foundation at the Inaugural Knuckle-ball last July. “Also, Nov. 7, the culmination of Brain Aneurysm Awareness Week and the date I addressed the crowd at the Rising Stars Game, would have been my father’s 65th birthday.</p> <p>“And, what a gift I was able to give him—a check for over $26,000, all going to a cause that will prevent others from experiencing what he did.”</p> <p>Natalie was equally impressed by the support of the players throughout the event.</p> <p>“I was definitely amazed and quite humbled at the support from the teams, even the players were getting behind it. They were tweeting about it and talking it up on their Facebook pages,” she said.</p> <p>Natalie concluded our follow-up discussion by sharing her future goals and plans for the foundation: “I see it as an opportunity to do this on a national level with all seven of these teams during the regular season—that is my goal and something I am already working on.”</p> <p>And that’s the rest of the story!</p> <p><em>Todd Civin is a freelance writer who writes for <a href="http://bleacherreport.com" title="Bleacher Report">Bleacher Report</a>, <a href="http://sportsthenandnow.com/" title="Sports Then and Now">Sports, Then and Now</a>, and <a href="http://seamheads.com/" title="Seamheads">Seamheads</a>. He is also a supporter of, </em><a href="http://agloveoftheirown.com/" title="A Glove of Their Own">A Glove of Their Own</a><em>, the award-winning children’s story that teaches paying it forward through baseball. The Joe Niekro Foundation is the most recent non-profit organization to join the A Glove of Their Own team and will earn $3.00 from each sale of the book purchased using the donor code <strong>JNF636 Joe Niekro Foundation</strong>. </em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=i3eglrdwh6g:pnX5kxR3-48:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=i3eglrdwh6g:pnX5kxR3-48:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>The Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic: Game Two</h1> <p>Mike Lynch — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:36:44 +0000</p> <p><em>In<a href="http://seamheads.com/blog/2009/11/05/the-ultimate-seven-game-fall-classic-game-one/"> part one</a> of my </em>Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic <em>series, I featured <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN198810150.shtml">Game One of the 1988 World Series</a> between the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Dodgers. This time around, I’m traveling back to the Deadball Era when pitchers still dominated the game and runs were hard to come by. It wasn’t until the “Roaring Twenties” that teams consistently scored more than four runs a game and sometimes averaged as many as five, thanks in large part to a new era ushered in by sluggers like Babe Ruth. So, it’s a bit ironic that the man who dominated the twenties from the batter’s box is celebrated in part two of this series for his mound heroics.</em></p> <p><strong>October 9, 1916—Brooklyn Robins at Boston Red Sox</strong>: Heading into the 1916 World Series, the Boston Red Sox were one of the two premier teams in the brief history of the American League. They boasted the league’s best overall record since beginning play in 1901; copped five pennants and three championships in 16 years (and may have had another title had the New York Giants not refused to play them in 1904); and were the defending world champions after easily defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1915 Fall Classic. If they could defeat Brooklyn, they’d have their fourth championship and would supplant the Philadelphia Athletics as the A.L.’s top team.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Robins, nee Dodgers, had copped their first N.L. pennant of the modern era on the strength of a 94-60 record, and led their respective league in wins for the first time since 1900. The Dodgers had averaged only 67 wins a year since 1901 and finished in the second division 12 times in 14 seasons before finishing third in 1915 and copping their first flag a year later.</p> <p>It wasn’t surprising then that most figured Boston would win with relative ease. On paper, though, the Dodgers were much more formidable than they were getting credit for. They averaged 3.75 runs per game on offense, good for third in the N.L. and .30 runs better than league average; allowed 2.99 runs per game, second best in the N.L.; sported the league’s best ERA at 2.12, which was almost half-a-run better than average; and boasted the league’s most efficient defense.</p> <p>The Red Sox, on the other hand, had only the sixth best offense in the A.L., scoring 3.51 runs per game, which was .17 runs worse than league average; allowed a league-best 3.08 runs per game; sported the second best ERA in the junior circuit at 2.48, about a third of a run better than average; and boasted the league’s best defense, in both efficiency and fielding percentage.</p> <p>After dealing Tris Speaker to the Indians in the offseason, Boston had few real stars on offense. Third baseman Larry Gardner batted .308 with a team-leading 62 RBIs; right fielder Harry Hooper paced the team with 75 runs, 27 steals, and 11 triples; center fielder Tilly Walker smacked 29 doubles, 11 triples, and three homers, tying for first place in all three categories. Only two other players, Del Gainer and Babe Ruth, hit as many as three home runs, and the team hit only 14 round-trippers all year.</p> <p>The Dodgers boasted more power and speed than Boston, hitting twice as many homers as the Sox and stealing 58 more bases. Most of Brooklyn’s production came from their corner outfielders, left fielder Zack Wheat, who batted .312 with nine homers and 73 RBIs, and paced the team in just about every offensive category, and right fielder Casey Stengel, who belted eight homers and drove in 53 runs. First baseman Jake Daubert batted a team-high .316 and stole 21 bases; and second baseman George Cutshaw led the team with 27 steals.</p> <p>Most experts gave the Red Sox an edge in pitching. Twenty-one-year-old southpaw Babe Ruth was the ace of the Red Sox staff after going 23-12 with a 1.75 ERA and nine shutouts, and leading the American League in the latter two categories. He also finished third in wins, winning percentage, innings, and strikeouts. Another southpaw, 24-year-old Dutch Leonard, went 18-12 with a 2.36 ERA and was only two years removed from his record-setting 0.96 earned run average in 1914. Submariner Carl Mays also won 18 games and posted a 2.39 ERA while bouncing around between the rotation and bullpen. Ernie Shore went 16-10 with a 2.63 ERA, and Rube Foster was 14-7 with a 3.06.</p> <p>The Dodgers had a strong staff of their own that boasted better depth than Boston’s mound corps. Right-hander Jeff Pfeffer went 25-11 with a 1.92 ERA and finished among the top five in wins, winning percentage, complete games, innings, and ERA. He also paced the senior circuit in hit batsmen with 17. Larry Cheney, a spitball artist, went 18-12 with a 1.92 ERA and finished second in the N.L. in strikeouts with 166, only one behind league leader Grover Cleveland Alexander. Southpaw Sherry Smith won 14 games and boasted a 2.34 ERA; lefty Rube Marquard won only 13 games, but posted a 1.58 ERA, second in the league only to Alexander; 33-year-old veteran Jack Coombs went 13-8 with a 2.66 ERA; and Wheezer Dell posted a 2.26 ERA in 32 appearances, half of which came as a starter.</p> <p>Still, most experts were higher on Boston’s staff. “I think [Red Sox manager] Bill Carrigan has one of the finest pitching staffs ever carried in the big leagues,” wrote Giants manager John McGraw, “and there is no more competent handler of the talent…Carrigan will win the series on his pitchers if he wins at all.” Tim Murnane of the <em>Boston Globe</em> agreed. “Looking over the Red Sox pitchers…and knowing they will have a good rest and be on edge, I like them much better than the men who will be called on to oppose them after the strenuous work of this week. I look for Shore, Leonard and Ruth to show real class in the series starting next Saturday.”</p> <p>Hugh Fullerton was also convinced of Boston’s mound superiority. “In pitchers, the Red Sox pile up a huge majority in the figures,” he wrote, “and the dope shows clearly how they win and keep on winning…They outclass their National League rivals by a tremendous percentage.” A few days later, Fullerton came up with a formula that gave Boston the edge in every position except first base where Daubert was superior to Dick Hoblitzel. Not surprisingly the biggest edge was in pitching.</p> <p>Christy Mathewson called the Red Sox a “money club” because they always came through when the chips were down and said of the pitching, “I appreciate the fact that Boston possesses the greatest wealth of pitching talent that ever went into a World’s Series, perhaps Carrigan has five stars, any one of whom is likely to pitch shutout ball any time he starts.” But Matty held out hope for Brooklyn too. “Brooklyn is a better club than most people are willing to concede. Like the Red Sox, Robinson’s men have always risen to occasions this season. I cannot see why the National League fans should despair.”</p> <p>Grantland Rice named Boston “overwhelming favorites,” declaring “Once keyed up [Ruth, Leonard, and Shore] will be almost unhittable…the Brooklyn staff doesn’t stand up to that trio by a number of spans.” He predicted the Sox would win in six games.</p> <p>Even the Pacific Coast League weighed in, its owners, managers, and former major league players unanimously picking the Red Sox. Oddsmakers also had Boston favored to win the Series, with odds shifting daily. Some had them at 5 to 3 and 7 to 5; others had them at 10 to 7 or 10 to 6.</p> <p>When the Red Sox held a 6-1 lead over Brooklyn going into the top of the ninth in Game 1 at Braves Field in Boston, it looked like the experts were right. Shore had allowed only two runs, one of which was unearned, on seven hits and a walk, while striking out five in eight innings. Marquard had lasted seven innings, allowing five runs, three earned, on seven hits and four walks, while fanning six. Pfeffer relieved in the eighth and surrendered an unearned run on a hit and two walks. Shore went into the ninth to close the door on Boston’s victory, but ran into trouble and allowed four runs before Mays entered the game with two outs and the bases loaded and worked out of the jam to preserve the 6-5 win. A sensational play by shortstop Everett Scott, who went far to his right to stop Daubert’s hard grounder, then threw him out at first by an eyelash saved the game.</p> <p>The Dodgers outhit the Red Sox, 10-8, but only two of them went for extra-bases, triples by Chief Meyers and Wheat, while Boston pounded out five extra-base hits, three doubles and two triples, all off Marquard. Brooklyn also committed four errors to Boston’s one. The loss didn’t diminish the Dodgers’ confidence, however. “Every one of the breaks were in favor of Boston,” declared Brooklyn manager Wilbert Robinson. “I am sure that if we can only get anything like an equal share of the fortunes of the game we will win beyond a shadow of a doubt…One game don’t make a series, and we have more games coming. We certainly will win the championship!”</p> <p>To a man, the Dodgers thought the Red Sox were lucky to win the first game. Carrigan disagreed and insisted the Series was over. “Judged simply by the showing today, I should say that the flag was as good as won.” Bookies shifted the odds again, making the Red Sox 2 to 1 favorites to win the Series. Tensions ran high and one altercation after Game 1 ended in tragedy when Max Hubert became enraged at a postal carrier named William Sickles during a debate about the World Series while the two drank at a Brooklyn saloon. Hubert punched Sickles in the jaw, knocking him to the floor, and fracturing his skull when his head hit the ground. Twenty minutes later Sickles was dead.</p> <p>A second altercation occurred in the lobby of the Brunswick Hotel in Boston where Dodgers owner Charles Ebbets accosted Red Sox owner Joe Lannin and read him the riot act for the way his family, friends, and wives of his players were treated. Apparently the Brooklyn party was seated in the grandstand’s second to last row and some were stuck behind posts and had an obstructed view of the field. “Don’t expect to receive any courtesy from us,” Ebbets raged. “You will get just what you gave us. The idea of you sticking our party away back in the rear of that stand! I’ll see to it that you won’t get any better…our party was stuck in behind posts. There are plenty of posts in Ebbets Field.” Lannin tried to apologize but just infuriated Ebbets further, so the Red Sox magnate simply shrugged his shoulders and walked away.</p> <p>After playing Game 1 on Saturday, there was no game on Sunday, and the Series commenced on Monday at Braves Field. Lannin had rented the stadium for the World Series for $1,000 a day because it had a larger capacity than Fenway Park and could accommodate more fans. Typically the National Commission would flip a coin to decide where the first game of the World Series would be played, but Lannin appealed to the Commission and suggested that starting the Series in Boston on Saturday and playing Game 2 on Monday would give the Dodgers more time to sell tickets to their fans for the first game at Ebbets Field on October 10.</p> <p>That suggestion made a lot of sense to the Commission; the Dodgers had waged a heated battle with the Phillies that came down to the wire and neither team knew which was going to the World Series until the season’s final days, and therefore hadn’t bothered selling World Series tickets. The Commission agreed to begin the Series in Boston and the move to Braves Field paid off when 36,117 fans came to see Game 1, and 47,373 patrons packed the grounds for Game 2.</p> <p>Prior to the game, there was much confusion about who would start for the Dodgers, leaving prognosticators with no choice but to speculate and guess at the outcome. Ruth was scheduled to pitch for Boston, but newspapers listed Cheney, Smith, or Coombs as Brooklyn’s expected hurler. Fullerton thought it would be a mistake to throw Cheney against batters who were used to facing spitballs on a regular basis. “[Robinson] plans to shoot Cheney at the Red Sox tomorrow, which is much the same as shooting him at sunrise,” the writer joked.</p> <p>Rice thought Coombs was the correct choice because of his World Series experience, having won three games against the Cubs in 1910, then beating the Giants in 1911, allowing only 13 earned runs in 47 combined innings. “Jack knows the highway by long travelling and many journeys and all the errors in the game will not be enough to shatter his nerve or break his spirit,” wrote Rice. “And nothing but great pitching will ever stop Babe Ruth in this second carnival, for the Babe is loaded to the gunwale with the stuff that very few can hit.”</p> <p>After watching from the sidelines in 1915 as Shore, Foster, and Leonard took care of the Phillies single-handedly, needing no assistance from the bullpen while racking up five complete games, Ruth would be making his first World Series start. It would be a memorable one.</p> <p>After all the speculation and guessing, Robinson tabbed Smith to take the hill for Brooklyn. Smith began his career with two cups of coffee with the Pirates in 1911-1912 before joining the Dodgers in 1915, and going 28-18 with a 2.45 ERA in 43 starts and 22 relief appearances in his first two seasons. He featured a curve, fastball, changeup, and knuckler, and was said to have the best pickoff move of his time. “You know they say of some pitchers that they can look over at first base and if the runner happens to be tapping his foot on the bag, the pitcher will get him between taps,” wrote former umpire Jocko Conlan in 1967. “They used to say about Sherry Smith that if the base runner was only thinking about taking a lead Sherry would throw over and get him between thoughts.”</p> <p>But Hugh Fullerton was less than impressed with Robinson’s selection, calling Smith “a joke” and a “second-rate pitcher in a third-rate league.” And Charles Van Loan called the Dodgers lefty “just one of the Smiths of the Smith family, a cousin of the Smiths and related to the other Smiths.” Other writers figured that Robinson went with Smith because his fastball would be hard to pick up in the dark and rain-filled skies above Boston.</p> <p>The Dodgers struck first and they wasted little time putting a run on the board. Jimmy Johnston led off with a fly out to center and Daubert grounded out to third, but center fielder Hi Myers belted a Ruth offering between Tilly Walker and Harry Hooper that rolled all the way to the center field fence, allowing Myers to circle the bases with an inside-the-park home run. “Ruth started out like a winner, disposing of the first two men,” wrote Murnane. “Then came Myers with a line drive between right and center. Hooper dove madly at the bounding ball, but failed to touch it. Walker was tearing across the field, backing up, and as he tried to get the ball coming back from the short center fence he stumbled. Recovering the ball, he sent it to [Hal] Janvrin, who pegged it home just too late to kill off a home run.”</p> <p>“Myers alone found the one system to foil this foe,” wrote Grantland Rice, “and this was to launch a line drive beyond any human or inhuman reach—a drive that no man could stop who was not accompanied by a taxicab or a 60-foot net.” Ring Lardner also had a comical take on Myers’ home run. “I don’t know why they call him Hi because the ball he hit never went more than three feet above terra and firma and everything.”</p> <p>Smith retired the side in order with no trouble in the bottom of the first, then Ruth returned the favor on the top of the second. Duffy Lewis earned Boston’s first hit of the game with a one-out single to center in the bottom of the second, but was forced at second on a Gardner groundout to third. Gardner was picked off first by Smith, but umpire Ernie Quigley allegedly missed it and called Gardner safe. Catcher Otto Miller picked Gardner off soon after to end the frame. “When Miller propelled the sphere down to Daubert, Quigley was on the alert and Larry was out so that everybody could notice it,” wrote Edward Martin of the <em>Boston Globe</em>.</p> <p>Boston’s defense saved Ruth in the top of the third when shortstop Everett Scott made a nice play on a Miller grounder for the first out, and Hooper, Walker and Scott followed with a brilliant play, in which Hooper retrieved Smith’s long drive to right and threw to Walker, who relayed the ball to Scott covering third. Smith had an easy double but attempted to stretch the hit into a triple and was tagged out by Scott. Johnston followed with a single to center that would have surely plated Smith with Brooklyn’s second run, then was gunned down at second by catcher Pinch Thomas on a steal attempt to end the inning.</p> <p>The Red Sox tied the score in the bottom of the third when Scott tripled, then came home on Ruth’s one-out grounder to Cutshaw at second. The Brooklyn infield had been drawn in to cut the run off at the plate, but Cutshaw bobbled Ruth’s grounder and had no choice but to retire him at first while Scott scored the tying run. Cutshaw also misplayed Hooper’s grounder for an error, but Smith retired Janvrin to end the threat.</p> <p>After that, both hurlers settled down and went to work. Ruth walked Daubert to lead off the fourth, which forced Carrigan to begin warming up Foster, but Scott, Janvrin, and Hoblitzel turned a nifty 6-4-3 double play, and Ruth coaxed Wheat to ground back to the box to end the inning. “After Ruth started the fourth inning by passing Daubert, Foster was seen warming up, but his exercises ceased very quickly, as ‘Scotty,’ ‘Janny’ and ‘Hobby’ put over a double play that was a screech,” wrote Martin. “Myers rammed the leather down toward left field, but Scott got in the way of it and shot it to Janvrin, who eased it over to first, sending both Capt. Jake and Home Run Hi back to the dugout.”</p> <p>The Dodgers turned a double play of their own in the bottom of the fourth and Martin was just as impressed. “The Robins put over a double play themselves in the fourth, and it was very slick and appreciated by the fans and fannies,” he wrote. “Smith and Capt. Jake had disposed of ‘Tillie’ [<em>sic</em>] when Smith slipped the first of four free tickets to Dr. Hoblitzel. ‘Duffy’ Lewis drove a scorcher to Mowrey, and Mike, Cutshaw and Daubert got the dentist as well as the California classic.”</p> <p>Ruth surrendered a two-out single to shortstop Ivy Olson in the top of the fifth, but Miller flied out to Hooper to end the inning. Then the bottom of the fifth got a little hairy. With two outs, Thomas slammed a shot to left off Smith and took off around the bases. As he rounded second, he was tripped by Olson, who was charged with interference, and was given third base by Quigley. Olson began to argue with Quigley, then turned his attention to Red Sox player-coach Heinie Wagner, who had a few choice words for Olson. The men were separated by home plate umpire and former Red Sox World Series hero Bill Dineen and order was restored. “…it looked like one of them would kill the other and make a good story,” wrote Lardner, “but no such luck and when I say that I don’t mean that either one of them deserves to die because they are both nice fellows…”</p> <p>Thomas was stranded on third when Ruth whiffed on three straight pitches. “Thomas might just as well have been out on the Franklin Park golf course as on third base, as Ruth failed to hit,” wrote Martin.</p> <p>In the top of the sixth, Ruth walked Johnston with one out, and he was thrown out at second base by Thomas for the second time in the game on an apparent botched hit-and-run with Daubert at the plate. Daubert grounded to third to end the inning. Then Myers made his presence felt a second time when he snared Hooper’s low liner with a shoestring catch, and somersaulted to his feet with the ball in his glove. Those who saw it swore that had Myers missed, the ball would have rolled forever and Hooper would have had an easy home run. Charles Ebbets was particularly impressed witht he play of his center fielder. “I wish to state that I have seen many wonderful catches made in baseball, but none more wonderful than his capture of Hooper’s fly in the sixth.” Janvrin and Walker were retired easily and the game went into the seventh still tied at 1-1 and neither team giving an inch.</p> <p>Ruth retired the Dodgers in order in the top of the seventh, but not without a second round of arguing, as Myers was called out on a close play at first, prompting half of Brooklyn’s dugout to spill onto the field in protest. “The game went on, as Quigley absolutely refused to change a decision on a Monday afternoon between 3 and 4, and it was 3:17 when this play happened,” joked Martin. Smith walked Hoblitzel to start the bottom of the seventh, but retired the next three men in order and the game remained knotted.</p> <p>Brooklyn threatened to break the tie in the top of the eighth when Mowrey singled to left to lead off the frame, then advanced to second on an Olson sacrifice bunt to the catcher. Miller singled to center to move Mowrey to third, where he stayed despite a poor throw from Tilly Walker. “Walker’s throw was bad, and Mowrey could have easily scored,” wrote Stanley T. Milliken in the <em>Washington Post</em>. “This was the time to have taken the chance.” Miller moved up to second on the throw to put runners on second and third. Then Ruth turned to his horseshoes and four-leaf clovers, as Martin put it, and coaxed Smith to ground to Scott, who fired to Thomas at home. Mowrey was caught in a rundown and finally retired by Ruth, who put the tag on him. Johnston grounded back to the mound and was thrown out at first to end Brooklyn’s strongest threat since the first.</p> <p>If Smith was disappointed by his team’s failure to score in the previous half-inning, he didn’t show it, retiring the Sox in order again in the bottom of the eighth. Ruth did the same to the Dodgers, setting up a chance for the Red Sox to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. Janvrin gave the hometown throng something to cheer about when he doubled to lead off the inning, but Carrigan made a surprising move when he sent light-hitting, lefty swinging Jimmy Walsh to the plate instead of the right-handed Walker. Walsh laid down a bunt and the Dodgers had a chance to retire Janvrin at third, but Mowrey couldn’t handle the throw and everyone was safe. “Jimmy Walsh came up instead of [Walker] and bunted one straight at Smith and Smith threw it to Mowrey and Janvrin ought to have been out as far as from here to Amsterdam,” explained Lardner, “but Mowrey dropped the ball.”</p> <p>With runners on first and third and no outs, it looked like the Red Sox would go up two games to none in the Series, but Myers came to the fore once again and made a spectacular play, snaring Hoblitzel’s fly ball, then throwing a perfect strike to the plate to nab Janvrin by two feet. Walsh took second on the throw, but Lewis was intentionally walked and Gardner popped up to Miller to end the inning and send the game into extra frames.</p> <p>Ruth sandwiched three groundouts around a two-out walk to Olson and handed the game back over to his teammates, who almost scored the winning run again in the bottom of the 10th but fell short for the second straight stanza. Everett Scott opened with a single to lead off the bottom of the inning, and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Thomas. Ruth could have won his own game, but fanned for the second straight time. “This guy Ruth with Boston is a sucker ever to pitch a ball. He is a natural hitter, especially against southpaws, and should be in there every day,” American League players had told Christy Mathewson. But Mathewson was unimpressed. “He didn’t look like much of a hitter to me…”</p> <p>With Scott at second and two outs, Hooper topped a slow dribbler to third, hit, according to Lardner, “as hard as last summers ice cream.” Mowrey came in and fielded it cleanly, but knew he had no chance to throw out the runner at first, so he bluffed a throw, then spun and fired the ball to Olson, who had followed Scott to third. Scott rounded the bag too far and upon seeing Mowrey throw the ball in his direction, tried to scramble back to the bag, but slipped and fell, allowing Olson to apply the tag for the third out. “They probably will erect statues to Sherrod Smith and Ruth…and forget all about Mike Mowrey,” wrote Fullerton, “but it was Mike who made the best and the smartest play of the game.”</p> <p>Ruth came out strong and retired the side in order in the 11th, fanning Daubert to end the inning, then Smith sandwiched two popups and a groundout around a two-out walk to Hoblitzel, the third free pass Smith issued to “Hobby” in the contest. After the base on balls, Robinson complained to the umpires that the band’s constant playing of the song “Tessie” was distracting his players and making it impossible for them to hear his instructions. “Tessie” was adopted by the Royal Rooters, a gang of loyal fans who had rooted for the Red Sox since their inception in 1901, that included among them Michael “Nuf Ced” McGreevy, owner of Boston’s Third Base Saloon, and politician John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, John F. Kennedy’s grandfather. During previous Series, the Rooters sang “Tessie” incessantly, aggitating Red Sox opponents. Ebbets warned that if the practice didn’t stop, the Royal Rooters would be banned from Ebbets Field for subsequent games.</p> <p>Ruth continued to dominate the Dodgers, retiring the side in order in the 12th with a strikeout of Myers, a pop fly by Wheat, and a groundout to short by Cutshaw. Through 12 innings, Ruth had allowed only six hits and three walks, while fanning three, and hadn’t allowed a hit since the eighth. Smith issued a one-out walk to Scott in the bottom of the inning, the hurler’s fifth free pass of the game, but neither Thomas or Ruth could bring him home, the latter grounding out weakly to the pitcher. In five trips to the plate, the Bambino managed to get only one ball past the infield, but also had the team’s only RBI.</p> <p>Brooklyn managed to get a runner to second base in the 13th when Gardner made a throwing error on Mowrey’s grounder to third, and he was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Olson. But Otto Miller popped out to Pinch Thomas and Duffy Lewis made a sensational catch on a drive by Smith to end the inning. “Here Lewis saved the day,” wrote Martin. “He came in pell mell, rushing over toward left center and plucking from his shoe-tops a smash by Sherrod Smith, which was on its way to the fence in center. This was just about one of the niftiest little things seen at the home of big things.” Phillies manager Pat Moran agreed, calling Lewis’ catch “one of the greatest I’ve ever seen in such an important moment.”</p> <p>Smith continued to match Ruth pitch for pitch and set the Sox down in order in the bottom of the 13th, retiring Hooper on an easy grounder back to the box, and Janvrin and Walsh on lazy pop ups to Mowrey. But the Boston southpaw was getting stronger with each extra frame and set the Dodgers down in order again, getting two groundouts to Scott and a fly out to Walsh in center. By the time the Red Sox went to bat in the bottom of the 14th darkness began to set in. The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> described the setting best. “Thus it came about that, with gray shadows creeping down over the stands to the field, the Boston players made their last stand at the plate.”</p> <p>Hoblitzel drew his fourth walk of the game to lead off the inning. “In the fourteenth there came one of the undopeable events that go to make baseball,” wrote Fullerton. “Hoblitzel has been carried on the Boston team for years because he can hit. It is tradition that he cannot hit left-handed pitching. Yet Smith, a smart left-hander, passed Hobby…for the fourth time in the game.” Lewis laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved Hoblitzel to second, then Carrigan made two moves that resulted in the game-winning tally, sending in Del Gainer to hit for Gardner, then, with one strike on the batter, putting in Mike McNally to pinch run for Hoblitzel.</p> <p>“The smash came in the 14th inning, when Carrigan won by generalship,” wrote Van Loan. “He guessed from the approaching storm and the darkening skies that the umps would call it a draw at the end of the inning. When Hoblitzel had drawn his fourth pass and reached second on a sacrifice, he sent McNally, his fastest man, to run for Hobby and called Gainor [<em>sic</em>] to bat for Gardner.”</p> <p>“When they put Mike on second they practically announced publicly they are going to win the ball game,” wrote Martin. “Out of the second hassock the Minooka speed king was all set to bring in the big run.” With a 1-1 count on him, Gainer slashed Smith’s third offering just past the outstretched glove of Mowrey and into left field. “‘Ducky’ slammed one and Minooka Mike was off like a flash,” Martin continued. “The hit went out to Zacharia, but McNally had rounded third and was tearing for the counting station before Zack let his throw go. Minooka Mike beat it, scoring the run that won the old ball game…”</p> <p>“It wasn’t a bad throw by any means,” wrote Milliken, “but McNally was just across in time. A slower man, like Hobby, would never have scored on the blow. Thus was brought to a close probably the greatest game ever staged in the history of either the American or National Leagues.” Fullerton called it “the greatest world’s series game ever played, before perhaps the greatest crowd that ever saw one.” The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> called it “a struggle that surpassed in situations any ever evolved in the fertile mind of a baseball fiction writer.” Mathewson called the affair “the best battle I ever saw in a World’s Series.” American League president Ban Johnson hailed it as “the best game I have ever seen in a post-season series.”</p> <p>Grantland Rice was especially poetic in his description of the game, giving most of the credit to Boston’s glove men. “For 14 innings the Brooklyn attack, led by Hi Myers, stormed and hammered Boston’s inpregnable defense in a vain effort to cut a way through to the Promised Land. But for 14 innings this Boston defense formed a long, wide wall of steel and stone back of Babe Ruth…It was a wall of human flesh that shifted and swerved to meet every point of Brooklyn’s blind, but game, aggressive attack.”</p> <p>Although Ruth allowed only six hits, one earned run, and three walks, while fanning four in 14 innings, most writers applauded Smith for pitching a better game than his opponent, crediting Boston’s defense for the victory. But Ruth didn’t seem to care. After the game, he embraced Carrigan in a hug and roared, “I told you I could take care of those National League sons of bitches!”</p> <p>The Red Sox would go on to win the 1916 World Series in five games.</p> <p><strong>Honorable Mention</strong>:</p> <p><strong>October 20, 2002—San Francisco Giants at Anaheim Angels</strong>: The Angels, in their first World Series in franchise history, face off against the Giants, in their third World Series since moving from New York to San Francisco, and find themselves down one game to none after losing in Game 1, 4-3. They jump all over Giants starter Russ Ortiz, sending 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the first, scoring five runs on six hits and a delayed double steal. After a perfect first, Angels hurler Kevin Appier surrenders four runs in the top of the second on a three-run homer by Reggie Sanders, followed by a solo shot by David Bell.</p> <p>The Angels get two more in the bottom of the second on Tim Salmon’s two-run homer to push their lead to 7-4, but Jeff Kent pulls the Giants to within two when he leads off the top of the third with a homer of his own. When Appier walks Barry Bonds, he’s replaced by John Lackey, who gets out of the inning without further damage. Ortiz doesn’t make it to the third and is replaced by Chad Zerbe, who shuts the Angels down for the next two innings. Lackey gets through the fourth without surrendering any runs, but in the fifth, the Giants plate four more against him and Ben Weber on five hits and a walk and take a 9-7 lead.</p> <p>The Angels make it 9-8 on two singles and a Scott Spiezio sac fly in the bottom of the fifth, then tie the game at 9-9 in the bottom of the sixth on a Garrett Anderson RBI single off Aaron Fultz, San Francisco’s fourth pitcher of the game. Finally a pitcher enters the game who can actually retire a batter—20-year-old rookie sensation Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez takes the mound in the top of the sixth and fans two of three batters, then repeats the trick in the top of the seventh. Meanwhile Felix Rodriguez, the Giants’ fifth pitcher of the contest, keeps the Angels at bay until the bottom of the eighth when Salmon connects for his second homer of the game, a two-run shot that gives the Angels an 11-9 lead.</p> <p>Angels closer Troy Percival enters the game to slam the door on the Giants, something he’d done 40 times in the regular season and four times in the postseason, and he coaxes two easy fly balls out of Rich Aurilia and Kent to put Anaheim one out away from tying the Series at one game apiece. But Bonds blasts an epic nearly 500-foot home run into the right field stands—cameras catch Salmon mouthing the words, “That’s the farthest ball I’ve ever seen hit”—to pull the Giants to within one at 11-10 before Percival retires Benito Santiago on a pop fly to second to end the game.</p> <p>Francisco Rodriguez, dubbed El Nino de Octubre (The October Baby), throws three hitless innings and earns the win, becoming the youngest pitcher ever to win a Series game. Interestingly, the six Giants pitchers face 40 batters without recording a strikeout.</p> <p><strong>Other Notables</strong>:</p> <p><strong>October 10, 1906—Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox</strong>: Cubs hurler Ed Reulbach walks six, but throws six hitless innings before surrendering a seventh-inning single to Jiggs Donahue en route to a complete game one-hitter in the Cubs’ 7-1 victory.</p> <p><strong>October 9, 1912—New York Giants at Boston Red Sox</strong>: Christy Mathewson goes 11 innings and allows six runs, all of them unearned thanks to five Giants errors. The Giants score a run in the top of the 10th to take a 6-5 lead, but Tris Speaker ties the game in the bottom of the inning, rounding the bases after a shot to deep center field and scoring when catcher Art Wilson drops the throw. The game ends in a 6-6 tie when it’s called due to darkness.</p> <p><strong>October 4, 1934—St. Louis Cardinals at Detroit Tigers</strong>: Tigers hurler Schoolboy Rowe allows only seven hits and strikes out seven in 12 innings and finally earns the win when Goose Goslin singles in Charlie Gehringer in the bottom of the 12th to give Detroit a 3-2 victory. Bill Walker takes the loss despite allowing only one hit in three innings of relief work. Unfortunately for Walker, the hit turns out to be the game winner.</p> <p><strong>October 5, 1967—St. Louis Cardinals at Boston Red Sox</strong>: Red Sox ace and eventual Cy Young winner Jim Lonborg faces only 29 batters and doesn’t allow a hit until Julian Javier doubles with two outs in the top of the eighth. He retires the next four batters and finishes with a complete game one-hitter in Boston’s 5-0 victory. American League MVP and triple crown winner Carl Yastrzemski drives in four of the five runs with two homers, including a three-run shot in the seventh.</p> <p><strong>October 22, 2000—New York Mets at New York Yankees</strong>: Fireworks begin almost immediately when in the first inning Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens “fields” the barrel of Mike Piazza’s sawed off bat and angrily fires the hunk of wood at Piazza for no apparent reason, prompting both benches to empty. Despite the bizarre incident, no one is ejected and Clemens goes on to throw eight masterful innings, in which he allows only two hits and strikes out nine before he’s relieved by Jeff Nelson, followed by closer Mariano Rivera. The two relievers allow five runs in the top of the ninth, two on a Mike Piazza homer and the other three on a Jay Payton circuit clout, before Rivera strikes out Kurt Abbot on three pitches to preserve the 6-5 win. Clemens later explains that he thought he was fielding the ball and not part of Piazza’s bat, which no one actually believes.</p> <p><strong>October 23, 2005—Houston Astros at Chicago White Sox</strong>: After five lead changes and four ties, including a two spot by the Astros in the top of the ninth that ties the game at 6-6, an unlikely hero emerges in the form of White Sox leadoff hitter Scott Podsednik, who belts a one-out walk-off solo homer off Houston closer Brad Lidge to put the game on ice by a score of 7-6. Podsednik, who had set a career high in home runs in 2004 with 12, goes 568 regular season plate appearances without a homer in 2005 before hitting his first of the season in the ALDS against the Red Sox. His round-tripper off Lidge is only his second four-bagger in his last 142 games dating back to 2004.</p> <p><em>On Deck—The Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic: Game Three</em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=LC1gY2As9JI:_6VSxaifmFI:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=LC1gY2As9JI:_6VSxaifmFI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>A Mike Rizzo Team We Could Remember</h1> <p>Ted Leavengood — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:17:09 +0000</p> <p><em>The Washington Nationals ended the 2009 season much as they began it, the worst team in baseball. Yet here in DC dogged faith abounds in new GM Mike Rizzo. After signing Stephen Strasburg and becoming GM, he has <a href="http://natsfarm.com/category/management/">put together much of the personnel </a>to build the organization. But what of the major league team in the 2010 season? It’s his team now. Will he have a budget to field a respectable team in 2010?</em></p> <p>The question of financial commitment confronts many of the GMs meeting this week. Which ones really have the backing to build a competitor? With revenue sharing teams can spend much less and field a marginally competitive team while ownership walks off with a tidy profit. They can keep trotting out the same old promise every off-season. ”Success is just around the corner.” But every April the same-old, same-old trots out to their positions on opening day.</p> <p>Jim Bowden belonged in that group, but does Mike Rizzo? The Nationals spent big money on Stephen Strasburg, but is he really the promise of something new? Fans are anxious for the day he takes the mound in Washington. We have seen too many seasons when the only talent to push Ryan Zimmerman at Nationals Park was the Pope or “Opera in the Outfield.” </p> <p>The Nationals carry over a payroll of around $40 million in commitments. They dropped $20 million from what it took to produce the worst team in baseball. For a paltry $35 million increase–a total payroll of less than $80 million–Mike Rizzo can put a competitive team on the field in DC, one that will overshadow the three sopranos.</p> <p>When Mike Rizzo travels next month to Indianapolis for baseball’s 2009 winter meetings, he will be completely in charge. He will have a budget for filling the large and gaping holes in the Nationals roster, but will it be enough?</p> <p>The team needs a quality starter, dependable closer, a middle infielder and a right fielder who plays good defense and can hit. <a href="http://masnsports.com/2009/11/could-nats-help-rich-get-riche.html#comments">Everyone in Washington believes </a>there will be pitching help and someone new in the middle infield. But the team was so bad in 2009 it is doubtful a competitive team can be built that easily. A longer shopping list is a must. Fans don’t expect an NL East Champion, but when you are as bad as the Nationals getting to .500 is a big step forward.</p> <p>I would have four names at the top of my list if I were going to Indianapolis with Rizzo. I would want Marco Scutaro to be my shortstop, Jason Marquis to head my rotation, Raphael Soriano to close and Rick Ankiel in right field. There is nothing magical about those four names. They are just the best examples available that meet the crying needs of a team too painful to watch often in 2009.</p> <p>After more than forty years of hapless baseball by the old Senators and three recent ones, the fans of Washington, DC deserve more than excuses and shell games? Excuses would have us believe Elijah Dukes will put in a full season or play with focus for the time that he is healthy. Shell games project Mike Macdougal as the 2010 closer despite his inability to put together more than partial seasons in that role heretofore.</p> <p>I don’t mean to demean either player. Each has talent and could play an important role, but Washington baseball fans endured four seasons of listening to Jim Bowden put Rosy Scenario’s name in half the roster slots. If Mike Rizzo is to retain his credibility, he needs to stop the charade.</p> <p>He has one type-A free agent he can sign and it should be a middle infielder. He needs three strong players to fill in behind him. Giving Rizzo a budget to fill the holes, to field a reasonably competitive team would send a great signal to DC fans. The era of Bowden and false promises would be at an end. No more snake charming feats of magic that vanish before the kids are out of school.</p> <p>Mike Rizzo needs the latitude to build a real baseball team, not just one that turns a profit for the Lerners and Stan Kasten. It needs to be a team that remains competitive through the long hot months of July and August. And if the ghosts of the Senators are truly to be exorcised, Rizzo’s team has to last through Redskins training camp. That would be baseball history, something not seen in more than forty years. It would be a Mike Rizzo team locals would remember.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=CqBUWh6Z4mM:md9jOWEjwz4:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=CqBUWh6Z4mM:md9jOWEjwz4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Is it over yet?</h1> <p>Shelly Riley — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:35:58 +0000</p> <p>Unlike my last few entries that required me to do some semblance of thought and planning, this one is going to be a shoot from the hip kinda entry. Sorry, my brain hurts a little. Perhaps it has something to do with the lack of baseball in my world this time of year. Or maybe it has something to do with my most hated team winning the World Series (UGH! - still reeling and cringing) Yes folks, end of season lack of baseball depression has wrapped it’s cold dead hands around my world and is holding on tight. I have dreams of steamed hot dogs at the CoPa. I miss seeing the big stone kitties watching over my park. I miss the long walk down the ramp from the 3rd level. I miss my boys! Oh my boys of summer where have you gone? Oh yeah, home to warmer climates than Detroit MI. I have the flu, (not the H1N1 variety) I have a serious case of the “I miss baseball” flu. There is only one cure for this problem… unfortunately it is months away… its called spring training.</p> <p>Is it here yet? nope, not yet…</p> <p>To pass the time until the annual spring gathering graces my world again, I have decided to bide my time with more writing. I have actually joined the NaNoWriMo movement (that’s short for National Novel Writing Month). Yes folks, I am writing a novel. A 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Rest assured it will be a baseball themed novel, but I can also assure you that it will not be good. So after that long interlude, the point I’m trying to make is that if you don’t hear from me on this site till November, I apologize, but I promise you, I will be back.</p> <p>Being that my book is about baseball and it is fiction, I’m looking to fill word counts here - I’m running dry on plot lines! I need more baseball related things to reach that 50,000 words - sub plots so to speak. HELP!!! Here’s the gist… 12 yr old girl loves baseball, grandparents don’t, parents are no longer walking amongst us, takes place in rural (VERY rural) Iowa on a family farm, girl keeps getting into trouble for sneaking out to play baseball with her friends… if you have any ideas as to where I can take this please - I’m open to any and all suggestions… If I use them and someday get this thing published, I’ll give you a shout out in the dedication and liner notes. Besides, the off season is a little cold as far as baseball action to write about. Sure the Hot Stove is going to be heating up very soon, free agency, trades and one of my personal favorites the Caribbean Winter Leagues, but other than that, there is not much to write about. If it wasn’t for the MLB network and their endless reruns of Prime 9 and Inside Studio 42 with Bob Costas, I would be in complete and total baseball depravity right now.</p> <p>Is it here yet? are we even close? AAAGGGGHHHH… slowly going crazy…</p> <p>So here is the call to all baseball lovers - 1) What do you do to get your baseball fix during the off season? and 2) All ideas and suggestions for the coming of age, baseball loving little girl in middle America fiction novel are GREATLY appreciated. Just leave me a little comment here and I’ll be sure to read it.</p> <p>So I shall see you all in December, when the novel is complete (or somewhat complete) and my off season flu has turned into a coma inducing illness where I feel the need to do nothing but watch old games I have taped and endless viewings of “For Love of the Game”, “A League of Their Own” and “Pride of the Yankees” over and over and over and over….</p> <p>I need help, Isn’t there a therapy group for people like me? Guess not…</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=96USqblMMAk:W3ToEm0K4Io:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=96USqblMMAk:W3ToEm0K4Io:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>The Beginning of Everything</h1> <p>Daniel Shoptaw — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:39:29 +0000</p> <p>The general managers get together starting today in Chicago. While this is a preview of the big “winter meetings” that will be held next month in Indianapolis, there’s not expected to be much of a ripple made in the offseason pond from this gathering. Joe Strauss sets the scene not only for these meetings, but for the whole offseason <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/C2EB9945792A056986257669000FC6EC?OpenDocument">in his article today</a>.</p> <p>The Cardinals are going to have a lot of news and rumors float around them this offseason, with Matt Holliday being the focal point. Strauss says that the Cards were looking at $17 million a year for Holliday, but that won’t likely be in the ballpark if Scott Boras is able to get his Teixeria-like money for him.</p> <p>You know, I knew that the Cards were going to have to shell out a ton of money for Holliday, but seeing figures like $17 million put down on virtual paper is an eye-opener. I honestly can’t see how St. Louis could afford Holliday, an extention for Albert Pujols (which would have to be more than what Holliday receives), and continue to maintain the payroll that includes Chris Carpenter and Kyle Lohse. The Cardinals are going to hit the end of their resources pretty quickly in that regard.</p> <p>Unfortunately, they are kinda painted into a corner. If they don’t get Holliday, they probably are in on Jason Bay, but he’s not necessarily going to be that much cheaper. (Though I have always been somewhat of a Bay fan and would like to see him in St. Louis.) If they don’t get either guy, they don’t necessarily have the bullets in the farm system to make a deal to get another outfielder, so they might go with what they have.</p> <p>Of course, the other option is to load up on pitching and hope that Pujols, Colby Rasmus, Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina can put up enough runs to win some low-scoring games. To that end, John Lackey is on the market and would make for a heck of a rotation with Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, but I can’t see the Cardinals going that route.</p> <p>Should be interesting to see what trickles out of these meetings, whether some groundwork is set for bigger deals down the road. Due to John Mozeliak being there, I’d not expect anything McGwire-related until the end of the week or beginning of next. I’m still not completely sure they won’t have it the week of Thanksgiving to try to keep a lower profile.</p> <p>Completely off topic, the accountant in me <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/12483237/man-says-he-found-financial-documents-in-yanks-parade-confetti/rss">finds this mildly humorous</a>.</p> <p>Wednesday night’s UCB Radio Hour this week will have MLB.com writer Matthew Leach on the program. Be sure to tune in!</p> <p><em>Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,” where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. You can find more of his work<a href="http://www.cardinal70.com/" target="_blank"> here</a></em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=NyCNzQHpSr0:I9VuHIxvGZM:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=NyCNzQHpSr0:I9VuHIxvGZM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>“POD ’10” – When a Cardinal Is Not Red</h1> <p>Kurt Hunzeker — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:29 +0000</p> <p><em>The very definition of “fantasy baseball” continues…</em></p> <p class="captionright4"></p> <p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br /> <strong>Columbia’s “Baby ’Birds” show its true colors</strong></p> <p>COLUMBIA, Mo. (November 9, 2009) – The Midwest League’s Columbia Cardinals today unveiled its full brand identity portfolio, including all on-field apparel and a commemorative inaugural season logo for 2010.</p> <p>The “Baby ’Birds” logos and trademarks are similar to those of the St. Louis Cardinals and its other, higher-level affiliates in Memphis, Springfield (Mo.) and Palm Beach (Fla.), but with some noticeable differences.</p> <p>To help highlight Columbia’s position in the affiliate hierarchy – and to visually describe the experience level of its players – the C-Cards’ logos depict the tan and red tip-feathered “transitional” or “immature” male cardinals that have not grown into its cardinal red plumage featured prominently in its parent club’s logo package.</p> <p>“As the third member of Cardinal Nation within Missouri’s boundaries, we wanted to maintain the overall look of the Cardinal brand while also creating an identity that is uniquely ours,” said General Manager Kurt Hunzeker. “The full complement of trademarks also celebrates the Cardinals’ historical following throughout Mid-Missouri and updates classic logo favorites fans continue to love today.”</p> <p>Two transitional male cardinals make up the famed “Birds on the Bat” graphic in the primary logo, with “Columbia” hanging onto the bat in the same customized script font used in St. Louis and Springfield. All of the team’s on-field jerseys – including the home “whites,” road “grays” and alternate red with blue piping tops – will feature the primary logo across the chest.</p> <p>Each of the C-Cards’ on-field caps will be produced by New Era Cap and resemble the same look of St. Louis’ official caps: an interlocking script “C” and transitional male cardinal on a single bat emblazon the all-red home and all-navy lids. The team’s moisture-wicking batting practice cap is navy with a red button and bill and the transitional male cardinal standing tall atop the yellow bat.</p> <p class="captionright4"></p> <p>The team’s inaugural season logo, a modified take on St. Louis’ circular logo from the ‘70s and ‘80s, includes a ribbon denoting the team’s first year and striped to reflect the Cardinals’ unique sock pattern. This embroidered patch will be on the left sleeve of all on-field apparel and the logo itself will be featured extensively throughout 2010.</p> <p>Hunzeker said the team will continue to roll out new merchandise in the weeks leading up to the holiday season, with items available at Taylor Stadium, Brady Commons on the University of Missouri campus and at the C-Cards’ offices on Broadway in downtown Columbia.</p> <p><em>Again, I want to clearly state that none of the above is true, factual or even remotely going to happen. This is purely a “what if”/hypothetical case study of what the birth of a new Minor League Baseball team could be like leading up to Opening Day 2010.</em></p> <table align="left" border="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td align="center" valign="bottom"></td> <td align="center"></td> <td align="center" valign="bottom"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"></td> <td align="center" valign="bottom"></td> <td align="center"></td> </tr> </table> <table align="center" border="0" width="670"> <tr> <td align="center" width="230"></td> <td align="center" width="230"></td> <td align="center" width="230"></td> </tr> </table><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=Wv9XcCE9cHI:1LR-EYAXjw4:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=Wv9XcCE9cHI:1LR-EYAXjw4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Rambling On About My Glory Days: From Mariano to A-Rod; World Series Thoughts</h1> <p>Jack Perconte — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:34:36 +0000</p> <p>It is always sad to see the season end. I love watching the playoffs/World Series and wish they continued all winter. I would not mind if they shortened the regular season and had an extended playoff system, either. Otherwise, here are some random thoughts about this year’s World Series.</p> <p>Major league hitters, “Pay attention.” Earlier this year I wrote an article on how to hit White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle and it must have worked because he was not as effective post article, after his perfect game. With that in mind, I have figured out how to hit Mariano Rivera. He may be a phenomenon that we have never seen because he basically throws one pitch and everyone, including TV viewers, knows what and where he is going to throw it. Of course, hitters can keep their same approach and wait around hoping he makes a mistake. However, they have been waiting for that to happen for 15 years and it hasn’t happened yet. Because we have never seen this, it is time for hitters to hit in a way that has never been seen. He obviously only has one pitch, the cut fastball. Other pitchers throw one, but what is amazing is that he rarely leaves it in the middle of the plate. He is always on the corners with it or misses off the plate with it.</p> <p>Choking up on the bat will help because it is almost impossible to get the fat part of the bat on his constant inside pitches, especially to left handed hitters. The other solution is to “jump back” (towards the on-deck circle) four or five inches right when he is about to release the ball. This will make that inside cutter actually right down the middle where it is much more hittable. Of course, hitters can decide occasionally not to jump back so if he decides to pitch on the outside part of the plate the hitter is still in good position. Now it turns into a huge guessing game for Mariano and his catcher so the advantage swings back to hitters. Without that inside pitch boring in on the hitter’s hands, they have a much better chance. If nothing else, this method will save major league teams thousands of dollars on bats because Mariano will not be breaking them at his usual rate.</p> <p>I believe the reason Derek Jeter rises to every postseason occasion is that he becomes more aggressive at the plate in the postseason. Other players tend to retreat in their approach but Jeter appears to be more aggressive than his in-season approach and this pays off for him. Maybe he has figured out that it is not worth leaving it up to the umpires to put him in a hole.</p> <p>In defense of umpires, I believe they may be forced to call pitches two or three inches off the plate because pitchers are constantly nibbling at the corners. The games would probably still be going on if they only called strikes. Maybe it is time to go to a 19-inch plate to even out the modern day hitting advantage of small ball parks and physically stronger hitters.</p> <p>The best story may have been observing the apparent growth of A-Rod from individual to team player. Many stars are coddled form the time they are young, always told how great they are, and in a game where individual numbers are everything. So, it is not a mystery why some stars never learn the value of team. Ultimately, teams win and this maturation of a star was great to see. I hope parents of young players noticed this change and pointed it out to their kids.</p> <p>I also hope coaches of young ball players noticed how many change-ups were thrown. They seemed more prominent than the breaking ball for many playoff pitchers. That is a great lesson for young players and coaches who insist on throwing curve balls at a young age.</p> <p>I can’t wait for next season.</p> <p><em>Former major leaguer Jack Perconte is the author of </em>The Making of a Hitter <em>(<a href="http://www.themakingofahitter.com/" target="_blank">www.themakingofahitter.com</a>) and has a baseball instruction blog that can be found at <a href="http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball" target="_blank">http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball</a>. He has recently published his second book </em>Raising an Athlete - How to Instill Confidence, Build Skills and Inspire a Love of Sport<em> and has an additional blog at <a href="http://www.positiveparentinginsports.com/" target="_blank">http://www.positiveparentinginsports.com</a> </em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=kEzeobrdEUo:qy5ummiGIQQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=kEzeobrdEUo:qy5ummiGIQQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>The Battle of New York</h1> <p>Brendan Macgranachan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:08:33 +0000</p> <p><em>In the early-1920s, the American League’s New York Yankees and the National League’s New York Giants competed against each other in three consecutive World Series. Here is a look at the first championship battle between the two clubs that took place in 1921.<br /> </em></p> <p>New York City normally has five boroughs but in the days leading up to the 1921 World Series, there were only two; one for Giants fans and another for the Yankee supporters. For only the second time in World Series history, two teams from the same city would wage battle for baseball supremacy. Everyone across the entire state was picking sides in what was said to be the dream of every New York baseball fan since the Yankees entered the American League in 1903. Even Governor Nathan L. Miller made a prediction, selecting the Giants. Baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was not so decisive, instead confident that the series would take nine games to decide.</p> <p>Fresh off capturing their ninth National League pennant in franchise history, the Giants (94-59) looked primed to end their World Series drought, as they had not brought home the championship in four previous tries. Statistically, the team had the best run-producing offense in the National League and were led by two future Hall-of-Famers. First baseman George Kelly led the league with 23 home runs and also drove in a team-high 122 runs while third baseman Frankie Frisch led the team with a .341 average while also driving in 100 runs. Left-hander Art Nehf (20-10, 2.63) and right-hander Jesse Barnes (15-9, 3.10), both 28 years old, were the team’s workhorses on the mound.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the Yankees (98- 55) won their first ever American League pennant with the best overall record in baseball and packed even more punch on offense than the Giants, averaging an incredible 6.2 runs per game (tops in the majors). Of course, the man most responsible for the outburst on offense was Babe Ruth. For the third straight season, Ruth broke his own single-season home run mark, this time with 59. He also had a career high in RBIs with 171. Outfielder Bob Meusel (.318-24-136) had a good year behind the Bambino while pitcher Carl Mays dazzled on the mound. Mays led the league in wins (27), innings (337), and saves (7); doing his part to get the Yankees into the postseason.</p> <p>The entire best-of-nine series would be played at Polo Grounds, which was home to both the Giants and Yankees. The umpire crew would consist of Cy Rigler and Earnest Quigley of the NL and George Moriarty and Ollie Chill of the AL. A crowd of over 30,000 fans attended game one at Polo Grounds and watched as Yankees lead-off man Elmer Miller hit a single off Giants starter Phil Douglas to start the game. After Roger Peckinpaugh advanced Miller to second on a sacrifice bunt, Ruth stepped up to the plate and swatted a blazing single up the middle to score Miller for the first run of the contest.</p> <p>It turned out that was all the Yankees would need. Mike McNally added an insurance run by stealing home in the fifth, just narrowly sliding under the mitt of Giants’ catcher Frank Snyder, and Meusel drove in another run as the Yankees won the first game 3-0 behind the masterful pitching of their starter, Carl Mays. Mays went the distance, allowing only five hits and shutting down the high-powered Giants attack. Despite recording the loss, Douglas pitched well enough to keep his club in it, going eight innings, allowing five hits while striking out six. Frisch was the only Giant to do anything at the plate, going 4-4.</p> <p>Another pitching duel occurred in Game 2 between the Yankees’ Waite Hoyt and the Giants’ Art Nehf. Again, the Yankees struck first blood with a run in the fourth and like the previous game, that run would be all they would need. Hoyt pitched a complete game, two-hitter and also drove in a run as the Yanks blanked the Giants 3-0 to take a commanding lead in the series. Nehf pitched well in the losing cause, tossing eight innings while surrendering only three hits, but he walked seven batters.</p> <p>No one foresaw the Giants losing the first two games of the series. They had not played well at all over the first two games but perhaps the most worrisome fact for Giants fans was that it appeared the Yankees were out-thinking and playing better fundamental baseball than their ball club, two traits that had become staples for John McGraw-managed teams. However, McGraw himself was keeping cool, at least in the public eye, telling the media that the series had not yet been won.</p> <p>Yankees skipper Miller Huggins sent out pitcher Bob Shawkey to jam a dagger into the Giants while McGraw countered with 18-game winner Fred Toney, but neither starter lasted very long. The Yankees again would strike first blood and this time, in a big way with a four-run third inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Ruth. Toney could not get through the inning and had to be replaced by Barnes. However, the Giants would tie the score up in their half of the inning. After loading the bases, Shawkey issued back-to-back run scoring walks before Huggins replaced him with Jack Quinn. Quinn did a good job to pitch out of the jam but the Yankee lead had disappeared and it was now a 4-4 game.</p> <p>Quinn and Barnes pitched well out of the bullpen and neither side could scratch across a run until the seventh, when the Giants exploded. Back-to-back hits by Irish Meusel and Johnny Rawlings made the score 8-4 Giants and at that time, Quinn was replaced by Rip Collins, who had to be relieved by Tom Rogers later in the inning. The Giants chalked up eight runs in the inning on route to a 13-5 victory to put themselves back in the series. Ross Youngs led the way with a four RBI day while Meusel and Rawlings drove in three apiece for a Giants offense that had 20 hits off four different Yankee hurlers.</p> <p>The news had gotten worse for Yankee fans when it was reported that Babe Ruth might be out of the lineup in Game 4 with an arm infection. While stealing third earlier in the series, Ruth bruised his arm and Huggins was forced to replace him late in Game 3 when it appeared an infection had developed on the slugger’s right arm. It was soon being reported that Ruth would miss the remainder of the series.</p> <p>Rain pushed Game 4 back a day but when it resumed, Ruth trotted out to his position in left field. The Bambino also brought the crowd to its feet when he crushed a home run into the right field bleachers in the ninth inning. However, the solo homer could only cut the Giants lead to two runs and McGraw’s men were back in the series after a 4-2 victory. The Yankees took a 1-0 lead into the eighth but after the Giants tied it up, George Burns hit a two-run double off Carl Mays to put the game away for the Giants. Both Mays and Giants starter Phil Douglas threw complete games, with Douglas striking out eight Yankee batters.</p> <p>The World Series had now come down to a five game series but John McGraw’s squad had clear momentum after crushing the Yankees in Game 3 and beating their pitching ace in Game 4. The fifth game was a rematch between Nehf and Hoyt, the Game 2 starters. Ruth remained in the Yankees lineup, despite having his right arm bandaged heavily and a charleyhorse that he suffered in the previous game. With the score 1-1 in the fourth, Ruth kick started a rally with a rare bunt single. He would score the eventual game-winning run during the next at-bat, as he limped home on a double from Bob Meusel. The Yankees added one more run that inning to make the score 3-1 and that would be the final as the New York Yankees regained the series lead.</p> <p>Team doctors delivered a fatal blow to Huggins in the morning before Game 6: Ruth would be done for the series. His forearm was going to require minor surgery to heal the infection and doctors demanded he be held out of the lineup or else Ruth would run the risk of suffering permanent damage. Huggins was forced to shuffle his lineup: leadoff man Elmer Miller would slide down to Ruth’s #3 spot while Chick Fewster would take over for Ruth in left field and bat leadoff.</p> <p>Life without Ruth seemed to start well enough for the Yankees in Game 6. They chased Toney early again, this time in the first inning, and started the game off with a 3-0 lead. But then the Giants returned the favor in the second when they tied the score up on the strength of home runs by Irish Meusel and Frank Snyder. The fireworks also forced Huggins to replace Shawkey with Harry Harper. The American Leaguers retook the lead in the same inning when Fewster, Ruth’s replacement, smashed a two-run shot off of Barnes. The seesaw match continued in the fourth when the Giants capitalized on a Yankee error to post four runs on the board. The Giants added one more run later on and would end up winning the contest 8-5.</p> <p>Douglas and Mays would face each other for a third time in the series, this time in an all important Game 7. Both pitchers shut down the opposing offenses well and through six innings, the score was knotted up at one. In the seventh however, Mays’ defense let him down and it would cost the Yankees the game. After recording two quick outs in the frame, Rawlings chopped a ball towards Yankee second baseman Aaron Ward and for the second time in the game, the usually slick-fielding Ward fumbled the grounder, allowing Rawlings to reach. The next batter, Snyder, hit the first offering he saw from Mays into deep centerfield. Rawlings would score on the double and that would be the final run of the contest and the Giants were now one game away from becoming World Champions after winning the contest, 2-1.</p> <p>The Giants got off to a quick start in Game 8, scoring a two-out run when a ground ball rolled through Roger Peckinpaugh’s legs. Then, the rest of the afternoon belonged to the brilliant pitching of Art Nehf and Waite Hoyt. The only trouble the offenses created in the first eight innings of the contest was the Yankees in the fourth, when they loaded the bases but squandered the opportunity when Schang flied out to centerfield to keep the score 1-0 Giants.</p> <p>The Yankees had one more chance in the ninth. Huggins opted to send up Babe Ruth, his injured slugger who had missed the last two contests, to bat for Wally Pipp and the Bambino got a rousing ovation from every fan in the ballpark. Ruth appeared to be in mighty pain with every swing and eventually, he grounded out to first. After Ward drew a walk to get the tying-run, Huggins put on the hit-and-run with Home Run Baker at the plate. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Ward took off and Baker rocketed a shot that was headed for right field. The second baseman Rawlings got a good jump on the ball, fully extended out for the baseball and somehow threw out Baker from his knees.</p> <p>Ward, thinking the ball got through the infield, raced around second base and headed for third. After getting Baker out, first baseman George Kelly rifled the ball across the diamond to third base. The ball pulled Frankie Frisch a few steps off the bag and when he caught the ball, both he and Ward dove headfirst; Frisch into Ward and Ward into the bag. When the dust cleared, third base umpire Earnest Quigley raised his right hand to signal the last of the Yankee chances and for the end of the series. The New York Giants captured their first World Series since 1905 by defeating the New York Yankees 5 games to 3.</p> <p>The next year, the Giants made it back-to-back championships with a 4-0 series sweep (with a tie in Game 2) over the crosstown Yankees. When the teams met for a third consecutive time in 1923, it was the Yankees who came out victorious, a 4-2 series victory in the club’s first year at Yankee Stadium.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=SCBmMTO35KI:ZKdqK81kG68:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=SCBmMTO35KI:ZKdqK81kG68:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Influx of Indy Hurlers in Arizona Fall League Will Keep Baseball Fans Happy After World Series</h1> <p>Bob Wirz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:30 +0000</p> <p>If anyone is thinking that with the <strong>World Series</strong> behind us and most free agency chatter not really in the news 24/7 yet there might be a break from baseball. Never fear, baseball-holics. In fact, there are a plethora of interesting developments for Independent Baseball fans emerging already in the fall and winter leagues.</p> <p>It is very impressive to see that at least five Indy pitchers, four of them with <strong>American Association</strong> roots, are in the prestigious <strong>Arizona Fall League</strong>, which only gets higher profile players since each major league organization is limited to sending six players.</p> <p>The presence of <strong>Aaron Crow</strong>, T<strong>anner Scheppers</strong> and former <strong>Northern Leaguer Travis Schlichting</strong> is not so surprising because they already carry a certain status within their organizations, but when one goes looking for the hidden nugget among players getting attention <strong>Scot Drucker</strong> and <strong>Paul Phillips</strong> show up and give the American Association more cachet.</p> <p>They are those mid-20s athletes Independent leagues are giving an opportunity to after initial stumbles early in their career in major league organizations. Drucker and Phillips both spent a good chunk of 2008 in the American Association, Drucker at <strong>Grand Prairie, TX</strong> and Phillips at <strong>Pensacola, FL</strong>, and now find themselves in a position to fight for a major league job.</p> <p>Drucker, once a decent prospect in <strong>Oakland’s</strong> farm system before injuries slowed him, turned in a commendable 8-3, 4.78 season for <strong>Detroit’s</strong> Triple-A <strong>Toledo</strong> club this summer to win the Arizona Fall League audition. “There is little doubt Drucker has the stuff to pitch at the big league level, either in the back of a rotation or out of the bullpen, it’s just a matter of timing a hot streak with an opportunity to crack the roster,” praised <strong>Mark Anderson</strong> of Scout.com. The onetime <strong>Tennessee</strong> right-hander has split two decisions and posted a 4.09 earned run average for four AFL starts, where innings are pretty regulated.</p> <p>Phillips started in the <strong>Toronto</strong> organization, but landed with <strong>Tampa Bay</strong> after signing out of Pensacola’s bullpen. Also a righty, he pitched at the Class A, AA and AAA levels in ’09, and has worked in seven AFL games in relief (0-1, 6.14) as he strives to impress Rays brass.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center" align="center"><strong><u>Nasty McFilthy Scheppers</u></strong></p> <p><strong>Tanner Scheppers</strong>, a highly-regarded <strong>Texas</strong> prospect who prepped with <strong>St. Paul, MN</strong> in the <strong>American Association</strong> before signing, is being called Nasty McFilthy because of his 95-98-mile per hour delivery and what ESPN.com baseball analyst <strong>Keith Law</strong> described as “a vicious curveball with (a) hard, late two-plane break.” Scheppers has allowed only five hits and two walks while striking out nine in the same number of innings in the <strong>Arizona Fall League</strong>.</p> <p><strong>Aaron Cro</strong>w (0-1, 7.36 in two AFL starts) is on <strong>Kansas City’s</strong> 40-man roster only months after starting out with <strong>Fort Worth, TX</strong> prior to the draft. <strong> Travis Schlichting</strong> (1-0, 2.70 with 10 strikeouts in 10 innings in Arizona) got his pro career on track as a reliever with <strong>Kansas City, KS</strong> of the <strong>Northern League</strong> in 2007, and progressed so rapidly he made the <strong>Los Angeles Dodgers’</strong> 40-man last winter and even worked in two games for the parent club this summer before spending considerable time on the disabled list with back spasms.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center" align="center"><strong>* * * *<br /> STILL LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL INDEPENDENT BASEBALL COVERAGE? VISIT OUR BLOG, </strong><a href="http://www.IndyBaseballChatter.com">www.IndyBaseballChatter.com</a><strong><br /> * * * *</strong> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center" align="center"><strong><u>Teams Search Far and Wide for Key Sponsors</u></strong></p> <p>With the world of sponsorships still a big, big challenge for sports teams, those who reach out and find new support, especially in non-traditional areas, are to be applauded.</p> <p>The <strong>York (PA) Revolution</strong> of the <strong>Atlantic League</strong> seems to have had success, signing the <strong>York County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals</strong> as their season-long presenting sponsor. New logos have been created for mutual use, and the program will run two ways with the ballclub raising money and awareness for the SPCA, and the chapter bringing attention to the team. “It’s energizing to partner with an organization as passionate as they (SPCA) are,” Revolution General Manager <strong>Matt O’Brien</strong> said.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the <strong>Northern League’s</strong> new <strong>Lake County Fielders</strong> (<strong>Zion, IL</strong>) have reached agreement with three diverse companies, <strong>Lake Forest Hospital</strong>, <strong>Grand Appliance & TV</strong> and <strong>The Ray and Raymond Autogroup</strong> to be their Founding Partners at what Fielders President <strong>Rich Ehrenreich</strong> describes as an “unprecedented level”. Incidentally, groundbreaking for Lake County’s new stadium was scheduled for this very day (Thursday).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center" align="center"><strong><u>One Never Knows</u></strong></p> <p>How is this for an eye-opening reminder of how times change?</p> <p><strong>Alex Rodriguez’s</strong> flirtation with the all-time postseason RBI record brought this to light. While A-Rod came up one run batted in short of the record of 19 while helping the <strong>New York Yankees</strong> win the <strong>World Series</strong>, one of the three record-holders was actually trying to make a comeback in the <strong>Golden League</strong> this summer.</p> <p><strong>Sandy Alomar, Jr.</strong>, collected his 19 ribbies for <strong>Cleveland</strong> in 1997. <strong>Scott Spiezio</strong> tied the mark while playing for the <strong>Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim</strong> in 2002, and <strong>David Ortiz </strong>matched it for <strong>Boston</strong> two years later. It was Spiezio who was working on a comeback with the <strong>Orange County (CA) Flyers</strong> this season.</p> <p><em>(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes on Independent Baseball. Fans may subscribe at <a href="http://www.WirzandAssociates.com" target="_blank">www.WirzandAssociates.com</a>, enjoy his blog, <a href="http://www.IndyBaseballChatter.com" target="_blank">www.IndyBaseballChatter.com</a>, or comment to <a href="mailto:RWirz@aol.com"><span style="color: windowtext"><font color="#b22222">RWirz@aol.com.</font></span></a> The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)</em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=kdr5Oht7BKo:3bZ7HGZxcCg:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=kdr5Oht7BKo:3bZ7HGZxcCg:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>The Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic: Game One</h1> <p>Mike Lynch — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:30:30 +0000</p> <p>With all due respect to the Philadelphia Phillies and grudging respect to the New York Yankees, the 2009 World Series hasn’t exactly been one for the ages.</p> <p>Don’t get me wrong, I commend both teams for their efforts, but the ‘09 Fall Classic had me scouring my copy of <em>Total Baseball</em> and navigating through <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com">baseball-reference.com</a> for the most competitive, intriguing, historic games in World Series history in an effort to come up with something more intriguing or exciting than what I just watched.</p> <p>I had no predetermined criteria going into this; I simply looked at the line scores, box scores, pitching matchups, and play-by-play accounts, then read brief descriptions of each game, looking for anything of interest. This list includes late or extra-inning come-from-behind victories, pitchers’ duels, back-and-forth slugfests with multiple lead changes, and historic moments. And it’s not composed of the seven most interesting or exciting games in World Series history, it’s composed of the most interesting and exciting Game Ones, Game Twos, Game Threes, and so on and so forth. There are no right or wrong answers here, only my own personal preferences.</p> <p>Each article will focus on one game at a time, from Game 1 to Game 7, and will feature my favorite one from each, followed by honorable mentions.</p> <p>Here is my favorite Game One:</p> <p><strong>October 15, 1988—Oakland A’s at Los Angeles Dodgers</strong>: The A’s, led by Bash Brothers Jose Canseco (.307/42/124 and 40 steals) and Mark McGwire (32 HR and 99 RBIs), 21-game winner Dave Stewart, and closer Dennis Eckersley, who led the league with 45 saves, cruised to a 104-58 record and made a mockery of the A.L. West, finishing 13 games ahead of the second-place Minnesota Twins. Then they pounded the Red Sox in the ALCS to earn their first World Series berth since 1974.</p> <p>The Dodgers were a less dominating, albeit still impressive, 94-67 and they needed seven games to dispatch the heavily favored N.L. East champion New York Mets in the NLCS to earn their second World Series berth of the decade. Offensively, the Dodgers weren’t nearly the equal of the A’s, boasting no .300 hitters or 100-RBI men, and only three players with 10 or more homers—Kirk Gibson, who led the team with 25, Mike Marshall, who belted 20, and John Shelby, who smacked 10. Like the A’s, the Dodgers boasted only one 20-game winner, Orel Hershiser, who went 23-8 with a 2.26 ERA, but had two other starters, Tim Leary and Tim Belcher, who sported ERAs under 3.00, both coming in at 2.91. And the Dodgers’ bullpen featured a closing tandem of Jay Howell and Alejandro Pena, who combined for 33 saves and a 1.98 ERA in almost 160 innings.</p> <p>As a team, the Dodgers scored 628 runs and averaged 3.9 per game; the A’s scored 798 runs and averaged almost five runs a game, giving them a clear advantage on offense. The entire Dodgers team hit only 99 four-baggers; Canseco, McGwire, and center fielder Dave Henderson (24) hit 98 by themselves, and the A’s belted 156 as a team.</p> <p>The pitching seemed to favor the Dodgers, who ranked second in the N.L. in ERA at 2.96 and runs allowed per game at 3.4, while the A’s, who also finished second in ERA and runs per game, weren’t as impressive at 3.44 and 3.8, respectively. But a closer look shows the A’s had a slight advantage in pitching as well, allowing .53 runs/game less than league average vs. the Dodgers’ mark of .52, and posting an ERA that was .54 runs better than average vs. the Dodgers’ mark of .49.</p> <p>The A’s were heavy favorites going into the Series and few thought the Dodgers could win. Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog insisted the Dodgers weren’t even the best team in the National League; Twins manager Tom Kelly predicted an A’s victory; and the A’s themselves, especially Canseco, were confident that they could dispatch L.A. in five games. “We’re on a roll; we’re enthused; and we’ve got lots of confidence,” the slugger told reporter Michael Martinez. Thomas Boswell of the <em>Washington Post</em> agreed. “They’re better. They’re hotter. They’re more rested. Their aim—a world title—has always been higher than the Dodgers’, who’ve been playing for respect, more than rings, all season.” Boswell predicted the A’s would win in five.</p> <p>Writer Phil Elderkin called the matchup a battle of the “resourceful Dodgers” vs. “Oakland’s power company” and wondered if the old adage about good pitching beating good hitting would apply. “Canseco, who hit three homers in the playoffs, is so strong that often he doesn’t even have to make good contact to ride the ball out of the park. Jose’s forearms are so massive that one could probably tattoo all of the Los Angeles freeway system on them.”</p> <p>Then Elderkin wrote something that proved prescient: “Barring the unexpected, this is a series that pits Oakland’s power, pitching, and defense against the Dodgers’ pitching, timely hitting, and hard-to-explain ability to overcome seemingly impossible odds.”</p> <p>The odds became even more “seemingly impossible” when Kirk Gibson, the beat up and battered star of the Dodgers, was unable to take batting practice the day before Game 1 due to a sore left hamstring and a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Gibson was the statistical and spiritual leader of the club, setting the tone early in the season when he went ballistic on the first day of spring training when pitcher Jesse Orosco smeared eye black on Gibson’s cap as a practical joke. It was mostly because of his leadership that Gibson was eventually named N.L. MVP despite posting numbers that were inferior to players like Daryl Strawberry of the Mets and Will Clark of the Giants.</p> <p>Gibson and Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda insisted that if there was any way Gibson could play, he would. “If he’s breathing, I think he’ll be playing,” said Lasorda. But the day of the game, Lasorda couldn’t pencil Gibson’s name into the starting lineup, breathing or not. “He can’t do it; he just can’t do it,” Lasorda told reporters. “I was hoping in the next two hours he would get well. It’s tough to lose him right now.”</p> <p>Instead of Gibson in left field, Lasorda went with his star’s polar opposite, the affable and fun-loving Mickey Hatcher, a 10-year veteran with a .282 career batting average, but only 36 homers in more than 3,000 career at-bats. Hatcher hit .293 in 1988 with only one home run in 191 at-bats, but Lasorda penciled Hatcher into the three hole, the same spot occupied by Canseco, the first 40-40 man in baseball history and that year’s runaway winner of the A.L. MVP award.</p> <p>Lasorda was also hamstrung in the pitching department after going with Hershiser in Game 7 of the NLCS. Not wanting to run his ace out there on only two days rest, Lasorda went with rookie Tim Belcher, who went 12-6 in 27 regular season starts, then beat the Mets twice in the playoffs. A’s manager Tony LaRussa had no such problem, as his ace, Dave Stewart, last threw in Game 4 of the ALCS on October 9 and was well rested.</p> <p>Belcher struggled early, loading the bases in the top of the first when he surrendered a single to Dave Henderson, hit Canseco with a pitch, and walked McGwire, but he coaxed catcher Terry Steinbach to fly out to Shelby in center field to end the inning without allowing a run. Stewart wasn’t sharp either; he hit Steve Sax in the middle of the back with his first pitch of the game, prompting home plate umpire Doug Harvey to issue warnings to both benches, then with Hatcher at the plate and one out, he balked Sax to second.</p> <p>Hatcher made Lasorda look like a genius when he deposited a Stewart offering into the left field seats for a two-run homer and gave the home crowd a show by running around the bases like his hair was on fire. In fact, he almost caught up to Sax, who couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Hatcher cross the plate right behind him. “Talk about surprise,” Sax said after the game. “I crossed the plate, turned around and there he was. I thought, ‘Where did he come from?”"</p> <p>“It was as if he thought they would suddenly change their minds and take it back,” said Dodgers third base coach Joey Amalfitano. “I should have slowed down and enjoyed it,” Hatcher admitted later. “But I don’t have a home run trot. I don’t have any experience at it.”</p> <p>Stewart got out of the inning without further damage and looked to his powerful teammates to come to his rescue. They didn’t disappoint. Glenn Hubbard singled, Walt Weiss struck out, and Stewart and Carney Lansford walked to load the bases. It clearly wasn’t Belcher’s day; he’d faced 10 batters and six had reached base via hit, walk, or hit by pitch. Pitching coach Ron Perranoski made a trip to the mound after the free pass to Stewart, then Lasorda had Tim Leary start warming up in the bullpen when Belcher fell behind Lansford. When Belcher fell behind Dave Henderson, southpaw Ricky Horton began warming up as well.</p> <p>The rookie recovered briefly and fanned Henderson, but he still had to face Canseco with the bases juiced and two outs. Belcher fell behind again, throwing a ball to Canseco on his first pitch. Then he threw one more to Canseco’s liking and the behemoth slugger lined a 400-foot shot over the center field fence for a grand slam to give Oakland a 4-2 lead. “There was no hang time,” wrote Larry Whiteside of the <em>Boston Globe</em>. “This was a rocket that only a man of amazing strength could hit.”</p> <p>“I still can’t believe how fast the ball got out of the park,” Lasorda said after the game. “He’s got an awesome swing. He just hit a line drive, and it was gone. After seeing him tonight, I can see how he hit 40 home runs.” Awesome swing or not, the homer proved to be Canseco’s only hit of the Series in 22 plate appearances.</p> <p>Belcher walked Dave Parker, drawing the ire of the home town faithful, then retired McGwire on a fielder’s choice grounder to short to end the inning, but Lasorda had seen enough and yanked the rookie from the game, pinch hitting Danny Heep in the bottom of the second. Stewart had little trouble with the Dodgers in the last of the second, surrendering a two-out single to Alfredo Griffin, before retiring Heep on a grounder to short.</p> <p>Tim Leary entered the game for the Dodgers in the top of the third and ran into immediate trouble when Steinbach hit a smash that third baseman Jeff Hamilton knocked down but couldn’t handle, then advanced to second on a basehit to left by Glenn Hubbard. But Leary worked out of the jam by retiring Walt Weiss on a fly ball to left, striking out Stewart, and coaxing Carney Lansford to ground out to short. Except for a two-out walk to Hatcher, Stewart handled the Dodgers again in the third and led 4-2 going into the fourth.</p> <p>Dave Henderson led off the fourth with a ground rule double into the right field corner, but thwarted the rally with poor baserunning when he got caught off second base on a Canseco grounder to Griffin at short. Henderson was tagged out during a brief rundown and the A’s had a man on first with one down and Parker at the plate. Keeping with the bad baserunning theme, Parker plunked a short grounder to the right side that was fielded by Leary, who drilled Parker in the right shoulder with his throw to first. Canseco advanced all the way to third and Parker went to second on the errant throw, but Harvey called Parker out for running out of the baseline, which brought Tony LaRussa out of the dugout for a futile argument.</p> <p>Canseco was sent back to first but wasn’t there long, stealing second base with McGwire at the plate. The move backfired when Lasorda ordered an intentional walk to McGwire and Leary fanned Steinbach to end the inning. Stewart and Leary traded three-up/three-downs in the bottom of the fourth and top of the fifth, respectively, but when Griffin walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth, Lasorda yanked Leary in favor of pinch hitter Tracy Woodson. But Stewart sandwiched two groundouts and a flyout around a wild pitch and the Dodgers stranded yet another runner on base.</p> <p>Lasorda went to his pen again in the sixth and brought righty Brian Holton into the game. The 28-year-old was in his fourth season, including a cup of coffee in 1985, and enjoyed a career year, going 7-3 with a save and a microscopic 1.70 ERA in 45 appearances. Holton was murder on right-handed batters, holding them to a .204 average and surrendering only eight extra-base hits in 159 plate appearances, and only Reds closer John Franco had a lower ERA among National League relievers. Holton wasted no time neutralizing Oakland’s power, retiring Lansford, Canseco, and Henderson on a lineout to center and two groundouts to the left side.</p> <p>The Dodgers finally parlayed runners into a run in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of consecutive singles by Mike Marshall, John Shelby, and Mike Scioscia, which cut the score to 4-3 in favor of the A’s, but Stewart survived without further damage when Jeff Hamilton grounded into an inning-ending 5-3 double play. Both teams reached base again in the seventh, but both stranded runners at second and the A’s clung to their slim 4-3 lead.</p> <p>Lasorda summoned Alejandro Pena into the game to start the eighth. Pena was in his eighth year in the league, all with the Dodgers, and bounced around between the bullpen and the rotation, before enjoying two successful years as a starter in 1983, when he finished fifth in the N.L. with a 2.75 ERA, and 1984, when he led the league with a mark of 2.48. He underwent rotator cuff surgery in 1985, pitched mostly out of the bullpen in ‘86-’87, and became a full-time reliever in 1988, posting a 1.91 ERA in 60 appearances and recording a then career-high 12 saves.</p> <p>Pena had no trouble with the A’s, retiring Weiss, Stewart, and Lansford in order; Stewart returned the favor in the bottom of the frame, striking out Hatcher, popping up Marshall, and getting Shelby to fly out to Canseco in right. Pena accepted the challenge and fanned Henderson and Canseco to start off the top of the ninth, surrendered a single to Stan Javier, who had pinch run for Parker earlier in the game, then retired McGwire on a foul fly to right, setting up one of the most exciting finishes in baseball history.</p> <p>With the A’s clinging to a one-run lead, LaRussa went to his bullpen and summoned closer Dennis Eckersley into the game. Stewart was in command and had thrown only 98 pitches, but Eckersley had established himself as the best closer in the junior circuit, pacing all A.L. relievers in saves, baserunners/9 IP, hits/9 IP, and K/BB ratio, and finished among the top four in K/9 IP and ERA. He had 45 saves on the year, a 2.35 ERA, and 70 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings, but what was most impressive is that he walked only 11 batters all year, and two of those were intentional. He was also equally effective against righties and lefties, holding the former to a .197 average and two homers in 148 plate appearances, and the latter to a .198 average and three homers in 131 plate appearances.</p> <p>“…most of the crowd had watched their beloved Dodgers looking feeble against the Athletics for eight innings,” wrote Whiteside. “Dave Stewart had scattered six hits, and with The Eck on deck, this was like money in the bank.”</p> <p>Eckersley was coming off a masterful performance, in which he saved all four A’s victories over the Red Sox in the ALCS, allowing only one hit in six innings, while fanning five, and was named MVP of the series. He showed the Dodgers how valuable he was to the A’s when he retired Scioscia and Hamilton on five pitches, popping Scioscia up to Weiss and whiffing Hamilton on three straight offerings. With Griffin due up and Los Angeles down to their last out, Lasorda called on lefty swinger Mike Davis to pinch hit.</p> <p>Davis had been drafted by the A’s out of San Diego’s Hoover High School in the third round of the 1977 amateur draft and reached the majors in 1980 at only 21 years old. He played sparingly until 1983 when he became the A’s starting right fielder and backed up Dwayne Murphy on occasion in center. He blossomed in 1985, hitting .287 with 24 home runs, 82 RBIs, and 24 steals, and averaged 22 homers, 70 RBIs, and 23 steals from ‘85-’87 before signing with the Dodgers as a free agent prior to the ‘88 season. Davis struggled mightily in his first season in L.A., batting only .196 with two homers and 17 RBIs in 108 games, and he wasn’t much better against righties, hitting only .203, although with both homers and 10 of his 17 ribbies.</p> <p>With the quick-working Eckersley on the mound, Lasorda told Davis to disrupt his timing by stepping out of the box. Then Lasorda deked the A’s by having right-handed hitting utility infielder Dave Anderson swing a bat in the on-deck circle. Anderson was a .232 career hitter with 12 home runs in almost 1,500 career at-bats, and Lasorda figured that when Eckersley saw Anderson getting ready to hit, he’d pitch around Davis to get to the light-hitting righty.</p> <p>Davis fouled off Eckersley’s first offering, then did as instructed, frequently stepping out of the box and throwing off Eckersley’s timing. “The guy’s hitting a buck ninety—what the hell’s he doing calling time?” the closer asked later. Then Eck threw four straight balls and walked him. “I wasn’t pitching around him,” Eckersley insisted. “Not at all. I was going right at him. Everything was away. It just went ball-ball-ball.”</p> <p>He had faced 302 batters in the regular season, ALCS, and World Series to that point and had walked only 11 of them. Davis was the 12th and it would come back to haunt Eckersley and the A’s. “[Davis] kept stepping out,” Eckersley said after the game. “It upset my concentration. I like to work quickly.”</p> <p>Meanwhile, unbeknown to most, Kirk Gibson had sent word to Lasorda that he wanted to play and began limbering up in the clubhouse at the start of the inning. With two strikes on Hamilton, Jack Buck announced “Gibson is in the dugout fondling a bat; we might see him before this game is over.” But when Davis came on to pinch hit for Griffin and Anderson took his spot in the on-deck circle, it looked like Gibson would remain firmly planted on the Dodgers’ bench. Once Davis reached base, though, Anderson gave way to Gibson, who received a thunderous ovation from the crowd as he limped his way to the plate.</p> <p>“It was a cheer of hope, but not one born of reality,” wrote the <em>Houston Chronicle’s</em> Fran Blinebury. “Not if you looked at the cold hard facts and didn’t believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy.”</p> <p>No one in the stadium was more shocked than Buck, who insisted it would be impossible for Gibson to hit. But the slugger had been pacing back and forth between the clubhouse and the trainer’s room, icing his knee, which had already been injected with cortisone, and taking swings in the batting cage, and he was ready.</p> <p>Eckersley came right after Gibson with a fastball, which the slugger fouled off, then hobbled out of the box. The closer would later explain that due to Gibson’s condition, he wanted to go with nothing but fastballs away to try to coax him to hit a weak fly ball to left. With the crowd on its feet imploring their hero to perform a miracle, Gibson stepped back into the box and awaited Eck’s next offering. The pitcher alternated between throwing to first to keep Davis close and throwing to the plate, and when he came home, Gibson fouled that off too and the count went to 0-2. “When I got two strikes against me, I tried to buckle down, even though my knee was hurting,” Gibson would later explain. “I just wanted to make contact.”</p> <p>A couple more tosses to first preceded Eckersley’s next pitch, which Gibson hit weakly down the first base line, then feebly limped towards first before the ball rolled foul. “Gibson can hardly run at all,” Buck announced. “They were such bad swings, you could feel Gibson’s pain from the upper deck,” wrote Jayson Stark of the <em>Philadelphia Inquirer</em>. “You watched him limp around between pitches, flexing his sore knee. You wondered what he was even doing out there.”</p> <p>Eckersley’s next pitch was a ball, but the game almost ended when catcher Ron Hassey, who’d entered the game in the bottom of the ninth for defensive purposes, threw a bullet to first that almost caught Davis before he scrambled back safely to the bag.</p> <p>On Eckersley’s next pitch, Davis took off for second, but Gibson fouled it away. Then Eck came back with a high fastball that Gibson took for ball two. Eckersley threw over to first one more time, then came to the plate. Gibson took the pitch for ball three and Davis took second base without a throw. Now, with a runner in scoring position, Gibson slightly adjusted his approach. “Mike’s stolen base was huge because all I had to think about was shortening my swing and trying to get a hit to score him,” Gibson explained.</p> <p>With first base open, LaRussa chose to pitch to Gibson rather than have Eckersley walk him and face the on-deck batter, Steve Sax. “I knew they had a tough hitter in the on-deck circle,” LaRussa said. “And I figured the best thing to do was have Dennis go right at [Gibson].” Whether LaRussa knew it or not, Sax had been money with runners in scoring position that year, batting .350, and was especially dangerous with two outs, batting .419 with a .520 on-base percentage. Besides, the A’s skipper wasn’t about to put the winning run on base.</p> <p>After feeding Gibson a steady diet of fastballs, Hassey called for a slider. “We had been throwing him all those fastballs, and I felt like we could freeze him with the breaking ball,” the catcher later explained. Eckersley wanted to keep throwing smoke, but didn’t shake off his catcher and decided to throw the nastiest slider he could. But it got too much of the plate.</p> <p>Here’s Jack Buck’s call:</p> <p style="margin: 10px auto; display: block; text-align: center"></p> <p id="1_3efa1bc0_c9c3_11de_bba7_0015c5f4d4ea_anchor" style="font-size: 8px; color: black; text-decoration: none; display: block; text-align: center"><a href="http://www.entertonement.com/clips/kysprpbklw--Jack-Buck-calls-Kirk-Gibson's-Home-RunBaseball-Los-Angeles-Dodgers-World-Series-Kirk-Gibson-" style="font-size: 8px; color: black" target="_blank">Jack Buck calls Kirk Gibson’s Home Run sound bite</a> <a href="http://www.entertonement.com/collections/539/Baseball?ht_link=1_3efa1bc0_c9c3_11de_bba7_0015c5f4d4ea" style="font-size: 8px; color: black" target="_blank">Baseball sound bites</a></p> <p></p> <p>“But, we have a big 3-2 pitch coming here from Eckersley. Gibson swings, and a fly ball to deep right field! This is gonna be a home run! Unbelievable! A home run for Gibson! And the Dodgers have won the game, 5 to 4; I don’t believe what I just saw! I don’t believe what I just saw! Is this really happening, Bill? One of the most remarkable finishes to any World Series Game…a one-handed home run by Kirk Gibson! And the Dodgers have won it…five to four; and I’m stunned, Bill. I have seen a lot of dramatic finishes in a lot of sports, but this one might top almost every other one.”</p> <p>“Gibson, with one blow, restored the magic usually reserved for such things as Disneyland and Alice in Wonderland,” wrote Whiteside. “Who would have thought that a man, hobbled by injuries and unable to run, would be able to come through in the clutch against Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley.”</p> <p>“It was a great moment,” Gibson said after the game. “And I felt fortunate to be there and be a part of it. This was a classic.”</p> <p>Indeed it was.</p> <p><strong>Honorable Mentions</strong>:</p> <p><strong>October 4, 1924—New York Giants at Washington Senators</strong>: Washington hurler Walter Johnson, arguably the greatest pitcher of all time, leads his upstart Senators to their first World Series in franchise history to face the powerful John McGraw-led Giants, who have won 10 N.L. pennants and three World Series titles since 1904, and four pennants and two championships in the previous five years.</p> <p>The 36-year-old Johnson, at that time an 18-year veteran, goes 23-7 with a 2.72 ERA during the regular season, and wins the pitching equivalent of the triple crown, leading the junior circuit in wins, Era, and strikeouts, as well as winning percentage, starts, and shutouts. The Giants counter with 31-year-old southpaw Art Nehf, who goes 14-4 with a 3.62 ERA and leads the National League in nothing, although he finishes third in winning percentage and K/9 IP.</p> <p>Johnson fans six Giants through four innings and allows only four hits, but two of them are homers, a solo shot by George “Highpockets” Kelly in the second, and a solo blast by Bill Terry in the fourth, both of which land in temporary seats built in front of the left field bleachers to accomodate the overflow crowd. Nehf allows only one hit and walks three through five, but keeps the Senators off the board. Washington finally scores in the sixth on a double and two groundouts to pull to within 2-1, then both pitchers buckle down. Johnson surrenders six more hits and three walks and fans three from the fifth to the ninth, but keeps the Giants scoreless, thanks in part to a perfect throw from right fielder Sam Rice to catcher Muddy Ruel to cut down Hack Wilson at the plate to end the top of the ninth.</p> <p>Nehf also goes unscathed until the bottom of the ninth, when the Senators tie the score at 2-2 on a one-out single by Ossie Bluege and an RBI double to left by Roger Peckinpaugh. Both teams put runners on base in the 10th, but fail to score, and neither gets a man on in the 11th. The Giants take control in the top of the 12th when two walks and a single load the bases with no outs. Frankie Frisch grounds out to Bucky Harris at second, who fires a strike to Ruel to cut down the go-ahead run, but Ross Youngs follows with a run-scoring single, and Kelly belts a sac fly to left to give the Giants a 4-2 lead.</p> <p>The Senators score an unearned run in the bottom of the 12th to cut the score to 4-3 and it looks like they’re going to tie or win the game when Rice slaps a hit to center field to put runners at first and third with only one out and cleanup hitter Goose Goslin coming to the plate. But Rice sees center fielder Billy Southworth bobble the ball and decides to try for second, where he’s gunned down for the second out of the inning. Goslin grounds out to second to end the game.</p> <p>Both pitchers go the distance and Johnson ties Ed Walsh’s record for strikeouts in a World Series game by fanning 12 (Walsh accomplished his feat in only nine innings, however).</p> <p><strong>October 21, 2000—New York Mets at New York Yankees</strong>: In a battle of southpaws, 16-game winner Al Leiter of the Mets goes up against 19-game winner Andy Pettitte of the Yankees for Big Apple bragging rights. Both hurlers are up to the task; Pettitte throws six scoreless innings, allowing five hits, hitting a batter, and striking out four, and breaths a sigh of relief when Mets runner Timo Perez fails to hustle on a Todd Zeile double to left and is thrown out at the plate by a relay throw from Derek Jeter to Jorge Posada.</p> <p>Perez, thinking Zeile’s hit is going out of the park, jogs towards second base and loses valuable time and distance before turning on the speed and trying to score, but the damage is already done and he’s nailed for the final out of the inning. It’s one of many baserunning gaffes the Mets make in this game. Meanwhile Leiter is virtually unhittable through five, allowing only two safeties and a walk, while striking out five, but the Yankees finally reach him for a two spot in the bottom of the sixth, courtesy of a single, a walk, and a two-run double off the bat of David Justice.</p> <p>The Mets take the lead in the top of the seventh, though, on a bases loaded single by Bubba Trammell that knocks in two runs, and an RBI single by Edgardo Alfonzo off relief pitcher Jeff Nelson to make the score 3-2. Neither team scores again until the bottom of the ninth when Mets closer Armando Benitez loads the bases with one out, then surrenders a sacrifice fly to Chuck Knoblauch to tie the game at 3-3. Benitez fans Jeter to end the threat and the game goes into extra innings.</p> <p>Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tames the Mets in the top of the 10th, then Dennis Cook and Glendon Rusch walk a tight rope in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases again, but a shallow fly to left and a double play grounder get the Mets out of the inning. Mike Stanton shuts the Mets down in the top of the 11th, then Rusch gets into trouble again, surrendering a one-out single and walk, then throws a wild pitch that puts Yankees on second and third before Turk Wendell comes to the rescue and gets Glenallen Hill to fly out to right.</p> <p>Stanton handles the Mets again in the top of the 12th, fanning Perez and Alfonzo to end the inning, but Wendell can’t do the same in the bottom of the 12th. Tino Martinez singles with one out, and Posada doubles to put runners at second and third. Paul O’Neill is intentionally walked to load the bases, and Wendell coaxes Luis Sojo into a popup that catcher Todd Pratt corrals for the second out. But Jose Vizcaino wins the game for the Yanks with a liner to left that plates Martinez for a 4-3 victory.</p> <p>The game takes 4 hours and 51 minutes to play, making it the longest game (by time) in World Series history until it’s supplanted by Game 3 of the 2005 World Series, which takes 5 hours and 41 minutes to play.</p> <p><strong>Other Notables</strong>:</p> <p><strong>October 8, 1912—Boston Red Sox at New York Giants</strong>: Red Sox fireballer Joe Wood fans 11 Giants and Boston scores three runs in the top of the seventh to overcome a 3-1 deficit and win 4-3.</p> <p><strong>October 10, 1923—New York Giants at New York Yankees</strong>: Giants outfielder Casey Stengel hits an inside the park home run in the top of the ninth, breaking a 4-4 tie and leading the Giants to a 5-4 win. Neither starter throws more than 2 1/3 innings, but relievers Rosy Ryan of the Giants and Joe Bush of the Yankees combine for 13 2/3 innings of two-run ball, both allowing one run apiece.</p> <p><strong>October 8, 1929—Philadelphia Athletics at Chicago Cubs</strong>: Athletics manager Connie Mack shocks the baseball world when he tabs 35-year-old nearly washed up Howard Ehmke as his Game 1 starter over his aces Lefty Grove and George Earnshaw. Ehmke, a former 20-game winner with a career record of 166-165 going into the game, has made only eight starts and three relief appearances all year, but is 7-2 with a 3.29 ERA. Still, he faces a powerful Cubs team that batted .303 as a team and scored just shy of 1,000 runs.</p> <p>But his unorthodox delivery and lack of a decent fastball throws the Cubs hitters off and he keeps them scoreless until the bottom of the ninth, when they finally tally a run. He caps off his brilliant performance by striking out Chick Tolson to finish with a then-record 13 whiffs in the 3-1 victory, his last win in a major league uniform.</p> <p><strong>October 5, 1949—Brooklyn Dodgers at New York Yankees</strong>: 17-game winners Allie Reynolds and Don Newcombe lock horns for eight-and-a-half scoreless innings before Tommy Henrich leads off the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer to right for a thrilling 1-0 victory for the Yankees. Reynolds allows only two hits and strikes out nine for the complete game victory; Newcombe surrenders five hits, walks none, and fans 11 in the loss.</p> <p><strong>September 29, 1954—Cleveland Indians at New York Giants</strong>: Indians slugger Vic Wertz goes 4-for-5 with a double, a triple, and two RBIs, but is robbed of a hit in the top of the eighth when Giants center fielder Willie Mays races back on a deep drive and makes a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch about 420 feet from home plate. The catch and subsequent pitching by Marv Grissom keeps Cleveland from breaking open a 2-2 game and the contest ends up going extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Bob Lemon walks Mays and Hank Thompson, then surrenders a game-winning three-run homer to pinch hitter Dusty Rhodes.</p> <p><strong>October 2, 1968—Detroit Tigers at St. Louis Cardinals</strong>: Cardinals ace Bob Gibson continues his magical season by striking out a World Series record 17 Tigers en route to a complete-game, five-hit shutout, which the Cards win 4-0.</p> <p><strong>October 11, 1977—Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Yankees</strong>: The Yankees cling to a 3-2 lead going into the top of the ninth, but closer Sparky Lyle surrenders a game-tying single to Lee Lacy in relief of Don Gullett, and the game goes into extra innings. Lyle atones for his blown save by shutting down the Dodgers for the next three innings, allowing no hits or walks and striking out two. Rick Rhoden, a starter and 16-game winner during the regular season, enters the game in the bottom of the 12th and promptly loses it, giving up a double to Willie Randolph, a walk to Thurman Munson, and a game-winning single to Paul Blair in the Yankees’ 4-3 win.</p> <p><em>On Deck—The Ultimate Seven-Game Fall Classic: Game Two</em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=8CneoaswO5E:UgEhdjZ3jiQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=8CneoaswO5E:UgEhdjZ3jiQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Twigs For the Stove</h1> <p>Daniel Shoptaw — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:33:22 +0000</p> <p>First off, congratulations to the Yankees. I’m not a Yankee hater, due to their tradition mainly. I’m not big on the fact that they spent so much and won, but when you look at how often they spent a ton and lost, you can see that’s not completely the reasoning. Besides, it’s been nine years. While that’s not that long for a lot of teams, it does mean that there’s been plenty of other winners this decade. Interesting that both old Yankee Stadium and the new place were christened with championships. Of course, only one other team has done that, and we remember it well.</p> <p>There have been just a few small items that were Cardinal related in the news lately. First, the Blue Jays <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/blue-jays-claim-hoffpauir-from-cardinals.html">claimed Jarrett Hoffpauir</a> off waivers. Hoffpauir continues the interesting “former Cardinal” theme the Jays have had recently. (After they got Scott Rolen and David Eckstein, a friend of mine who has family there stated there were shirts proclaiming the “St. Toronto Blue Cardinals.”) Hoffpauir’s window effectively closed when Skip Schumaker made an effective transition to second. Factor in Julio Lugo being around all year and Hoffpauir wasn’t going to sniff playing time. He’d slipped in the prospect rankings anyway, but if he gets a chance in Toronto he might be a servicable backup.</p> <p>The Pirates are interested in <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/pirates-talk-iwamura-ankiel-wilson.html">talking to Rick Ankiel</a>. We all know that Rick is going to go somewhere else after this season; it’s almost guaranteed. A situation like Pittsburgh would actually be a good place for him. He could work on being a hitter, probably put up some solid numbers in that park, and not have to worry about carrying a team or being a piece toward a post-season puzzle. With him, Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones in the outfield, Pittsburgh would have a pretty interesting offense.</p> <p>Not unexpectedly, the Cardinals <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/cardinals-release-brad-thompson.html">released Brad Thompson yesterday</a>. I’ve noted many times how Thompson’s effectiveness had declined pretty much every year. If he can’t get the sinker over and get the ground balls, he gets lit up. With the bullpen being pretty defined already, there wasn’t much of a spot for him anyway, and since he was going to be eligible for arbitration, it’s best to get it out of the way now. Thompson did have highlights as a Cardinal and he’ll always be remembered, but it was time to part ways.</p> <p>Finally, Joe Strauss indicated that there have been <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/cardinals-boras-discuss-holliday-deal.html">discussions between the Cardinals and Scott Boras</a>. It sounds like it was more of a presentation of an initial offer rather than real in-depth negotiations for the rights to Matt Holliday, but it’s a start.</p> <p>With the World Series over, things should start heating up soon. Mark McGwire will probably talk next week, if I was to guess. I know that they’d held off making him available to the press until the Series was done. Probably early next week, maybe the week after. (The cynical would guess the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to minimize some of the talk, but I doubt that’ll happen–or it’d work.)</p> <p>15 days from now, the free agents have to file. I think we’d all be shocked if the Cards were able to keep Holliday before that time, but it’s something to keep an eye on. I know they want to use this exclusive window as much as they possibly can. The winter meetings will be held Dec. 7-10 in Indianapolis, so there will probably be a lot of talk leading up to that.</p> <p>The offseason is here! Let’s see what the Cardinals do with it!</p> <p><em>Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,” where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. You can find more of his work<a href="http://www.cardinal70.com/" target="_blank"> here</a></em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=t3iGpU0JgKs:48jJZ5csx5o:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=t3iGpU0JgKs:48jJZ5csx5o:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Baseball Steeped in Autumn in the Bronx</h1> <p>Alfonso L. Tusa C. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:04:25 +0000</p> <p>Las finales de los torneos deportivos, guardan grandes alforjas de tensión y emociones ante la inminencia de título campeonil. La Serie Mundial de las Grandes Ligas, casi siempre está revestida de esas escenas de suspenso como la atrapada de Willie Mays en el primer juegoi de la serie de 1954, la atrapada de Sandy Amorós en el séptimo partido del Clásico de 1955, el jonrón de Billy Mazeroski en el séptimo juego de la serie de 1960, la línea de Willie McCovey que se incrustó en el guante de Bobby Richardson para terminar la serie de 1962, las dos atrapadas del centerfielder Tommie Agee en el tercer juego del Clásico de 1969, la cátedra de fildeo de Brooks Robinson en la antesala de los Orioles en 1970, el coraje de Roberto Clemente en 1971, el jonrón infartante de Carlton Fisk en el sexto juego de la serie de 1975, el duelo de pitcheo entre John Smoltz y Jack Morris para decidir la serie de 1991 a favor de los Mellizos ante los Bravos, el hit de bate quebrado con que Luis González derrotó a Mariano Rivera y los Yanquis en el séptimo juego del clásico de 2001. Son momentos que paralizan el tiempo por segundos y todo lo que se respira es césped, resina de pino, guantes, pelotas raspadas, gorras sudadas, cuando por momentos se quita la mirada del televisor, se puede ver el estadio en pleno sobre las paredes o el techo de la casa y cuando vamos a la cocina pareciera que corriéramos hacia el montículo, o de primera a segunda.</p> <p>Eso más o menos fue lo que experimenté en el juego de anoche, 02 de noviembre de 2009, el quinto de esta serie de 2009, cuando los Yanquis trataban de rematar a los Filis. Cliff Lee a pesar de no estar en su mejor noche, contuvo a los mulos en 5 carreras y Chase Utley descargó dos toletazos allende las cercas para llevar la serie de vuelta al Bronx y abrir un capítulo de interrogantes de cara al sexto juego.</p> <p>La primera es ¿podrá Andy Pettite responder al reto de lanzar con tres días de descanso? Es la primera vez que lo intenta este año. El manager Joe Girardi tomó una decisión discutible al designar a A.J. Burnett con sólo 3 días de descanso para lanzar el quinto juego, dependiendo del resultado de la serie, Girardi pudiera ser muy criticado por los analistas del juego. Ningún campeón ha ganado la serie con tres abridores desde 1991 cuando ganaron los Mellizos de Minnesota, entonces sólo se jugaban dos rondas de play offs. Por otro lado ¿Será capaz Pedro Martínez de silenciar a la explosiva alineación de los Yanquis? Hace rato que no puede quitarse de encima los cánticos de los aficionados del Bronx que dicen : “I’m still your Papi”. ¿Hará olvidar Brett Gardner a Melky Cabrera en el jardín central de los neoyorkinos? Pareciera que cuenta con los argumentos para hacerlo. ¿Explotará finalmente la garrocha de Ryan Howard? De hacerlo la serie va a llegar al máximo de su intensidad. ¿Podrá Chase Utley dejar atras a Reggie Jackson como el mayor jonronero en una Serie Mundial? Tiene la inspiración. ¿Contarán los Filis con las agallas necesarias para ganar dos juegos en Yankee Stadium donde los mulos sólo encajaron dos derrotas seguidas una sola vez desde mediados de junio?</p> <p>Todo esto hará que cuando encendamos el televisor para ver el sexto juego sólo respiremos una mezcla de arcilla con grama, de guantes con pelotas, de intensidad con pundonor, de emociones y gritos de las tribunas.</p> <p><strong>English Translation</strong></p> <p>The finals of the sports contests, hide great bags of tension and emotions before the imminence of the championship title. The World Series of Major League Baseball, almost always is coated with many of these suspense scenes like Willie Mays’ catch in the first game of the 1954 series, Sandy Amorós catch in the seventh game of the 1955 Classic, Billy Mazeroski’s homerun in the seventh game of the 1960 series, Willie McCovey’s line drive that almost took off Bobby Richardson’s glove to end the 1962 series, those two fantastic catches by Tommie Agee in the third game of the 1969 Classic, the fielding clinic dictated by Brooks Robinson in the hot corner of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1970 series, Roberto Clemente’s courage in the 1971 classic, the cardiac dinger of Carlton Fisk in the sixth game of the 1975 series, the pitching duel between John Smoltz and Jack Morris to define the 1991 classic, the cracked bat hit by Luis González before Mariano Rivera to give Arizona the 2001 series. Those are moments that stop the time for seconds and everything breathed is grass, pine tar, gloves, etched baseballs, sweat caps. When you move your eyes from the TV set for a while, you can watch the whole game on the walls or the ceiling and when you go to the kitchen it seems like if you were running to the mound, or from first to second base.</p> <p>That’s in some way what I experienced in last night’s game, November 2nd, 2009. The fifth of the World Series. When the Yankees tried to win it all. But the Phillies with Cliff Lee, in spite of not having his best command, who could kept the Yanks in five runs. And Chase Utley hit two home runs to send the series back to the Bronx and open a whole chapter of questions in front of the sixth game.</p> <p>The first one is: Will Andy Pettite be able of having a good performance with only three days of rest? It’s the first time he’ll try to do it this year. The manager Joe Girardi took a hard decision by designing A.J. Burnett to pitch the fifth game with only three days of rest. Depending on the result of the series Girardi could be reprobated by the game’s analysts. Since 1991, when the Minnesota Twins got the championship, no team has won the series with just three starters, by those days there were only two play offs rounds. In the other hand: Will Pedro Martínez have the stamina to silence the explosive bats of the New York Yankees? He still can’t stop the shouts and banners in Yankee Stadium that say: “I’m still your Papi”. Will Brett Gardner susbstitute Melky Cabrera in such a superb way? It seems that he has the tools to do it. Will Ryan Howard finally make explode his bat? If he can do it the series will reach the top of its intensity. Will Chase Utley leave behind Reggie Jackson as the home run leader of a single World Series? He has the inspiration. Will the Phillies have enough guts to win two games at Yankee Stadium, where the Yanks have only lost two consecutive games just once since mid June?</p> <p>All of this will make us to breath a mix of clay with grass, gloves with baseballs, great plays and hustle, emotions and shouts from the stands, once we turn on the TV set.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=dcgBjKiONuE:MpzApDohyew:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=dcgBjKiONuE:MpzApDohyew:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>“POD ’10” – ’Birds of a Feather Flock Together</h1> <p>Kurt Hunzeker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:00:30 +0000</p> <p><em>This is now the very definition of “fantasy baseball.” In case any new onlookers sees this for the first time, I want to clearly state that none of the following is true, factual or even remotely going to happen. This is purely a “what if”/hypothetical case study of what the birth of a new Minor League Baseball team could be like leading up to Opening Day 2010….</em></p> <p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br /> <strong>Cardinals fortify Minor League operations closer to St. Louis; buys and moves Class A team to Columbia, Mo.</strong></p> <p>COLUMBIA, Mo. (November 3, 2009) – The St. Louis Cardinals today announced the purchase and relocation of the Class A Midwest League Beloit Snappers to Columbia (Mo.) for the 2010 season. The franchise will be called the “Columbia Cardinals” and play at Taylor Stadium.</p> <p>In addition, the St. Louis Cardinals transferred its Player Development Contract (PDC) with the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for the PDC with the new Columbia franchise. St. Louis’ PDC with Columbia now runs indefinitely due to its ownership of the affiliate.</p> <p>“As we continue to maximize efficiencies within our baseball operations department, we look for opportunities to bring affiliates closer to St. Louis,” said Bill DeWitt III, President of the St. Louis Cardinals. “By placing our Midwest League team in Columbia, we consolidate our on-field operations while also providing a new outlet for Cardinal fans in mid-Missouri to enjoy our brand of baseball when they cannot make it to games at Busch Stadium.”</p> <p>The Columbia Cardinals join other full-season, St. Louis affiliates within a 4.5-hour drive from Busch Stadium: Class AAA Memphis Redbirds and Class AA Springfield (Mo.) Cardinals. The Palm Beach Cardinals, St. Louis’ Class A-Advanced affiliate in the Florida State League, plays at St. Louis’ Spring Training complex in Jupiter, Fla.</p> <p>To lead the “Baby ’Birds” – as some within the organization have already begun to dub the new team, Columbia hired University of Missouri alum Kurt Hunzeker as its first General Manager. Hunzeker previously served as a consultant for a previous attempt to bring affiliated baseball to Columbia in 2005.</p> <p>“I have always maintained that Columbia is an ideal Minor League Baseball market for numerous reasons,” Hunzeker said. “The smartest affiliation is obviously with St. Louis, considering the fact that Mid-Missouri is deep in the heart of ‘Cardinal Nation.’”</p> <p>As the closest affiliate to St. Louis, Columbia should also benefit from having big-league rehab assignments come through Taylor Stadium in 2010. St. Louis has shown a penchant to send big leaguers to Springfield more than Memphis in recent years for rehab assignments due to proximity.</p> <p>With the relocation to Columbia, the Midwest League expands its boundaries again after extending further eastward and to the south with the addition of the Lake County (Eastlake, Ohio) Captains and Bowling Green (Ky.) Hot Rods, respectively. The Captains and Hot Rods will transition from the South Atlantic League beginning in 2010.</p> <p>Hunzeker announced that the Columbia Cardinals will unveil its full brand identity package and unveil a first-of-its-kind partnership in sports later this week.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=vYGV2IB-VDk:_KNXyc95QB0:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=vYGV2IB-VDk:_KNXyc95QB0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>“POD ’10” – Expanding Opportunities</h1> <p>Kurt Hunzeker — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:18:28 +0000</p> <p>While Major League Baseball teams are consolidating their Minor League affiliates and bringing them closer to the big-league markets (what I like to call “Project Come Home”), Minor League Baseball continues to expand its opportunities to tap into new markets and revenue streams (“Project Expand Horizons” sounds right).</p> <p>And in 2010, these two, competing operational considerations continue to gain momentum.</p> <p>One of the greatest challenges for this fictional franchise birth was the existence of the Player Development Contracts (PDC). My targeted team-to-move, the Beloit Snappers, recently signed an extension for its PDC with the Minnesota Twins through 2012, and the deal makes sense for both Beloit (the closest MLB team to Beloit not named Milwaukee) and the Twins (a relatively close affiliate to the Twin Cities).</p> <p>But “trading teams” and “trading PDCs” just don’t happen in MiLB. As I was trying to find a solution to this last remaining puzzle piece for my fictional case study – and I have been stuck on this since Opening Day 2009 – a beautiful story came across the wire last Thursday:</p> <p>“Pirates, Reds to swap affiliates”</p> <p>With the news that the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds traded their High Class A affiliates (Lynching and Sarasota, with the ex-Reds relocating to Bradenton), the door blocking my idea came flying off its hinges. Everything I thought I could do with this hypothetical idea – but couldn’t lacking a precedent – became an instant possibility. And trading affiliations within the same League should be easier to gain approval and execute than what the Pirates and Reds have to do with Sarasota/Bradenton (Florida State League) and Lynchburg (Carolina League).</p> <p>Two other aspects of this affiliate-switch hammers home my theoretical takeover of Beloit: 1) Pittsburgh is purchasing the now-Bradenton franchise and will own the team outright, and 2) the former Sarasota franchise ranked amongst the lowest of all MiLB teams in attendance in 2009.</p> <p>The Pirates are jumping on the “Project Come Home” bandwagon by bringing an affiliate to its Spring Training home in Bradenton.</p> <p>Pirates President Frank Coonelly outlined all of the benefits having a team in Bradenton will provide: “If completed, the move will allow us to take even greater advantage of McKechnie Field and our new Pirate City facilities. In addition to the benefits to our Minor League players and our development staff, the move of our High-A team to Bradenton would allow us to have rehabbing Major League players begin their return to work in Bradenton, where we have our rehab coordinator and rehab facilities.”</p> <p>And it is not like anyone in Sarasota is going to miss the Reds. The team ranked dead last (176 of 176) in all of Minor League Baseball in average attendance with a grand total of 527 per game; so the bar is not set very high for Bradenton in 2010.</p> <p>Beloit actually increased its average attendance in 2009 – up 2% to 1,264 per game. Unfortunately, that still ranks as second-to-last in the Midwest League (Burlington) and 154th in all of MiLB. What also doesn’t help Beloit’s cause is its estimated population is just a bit more than 37,000, or about four times more than what the attendance-leading Columbus Clippers averaged per game last year.</p> <p>On the opposite but still-parallel path, the Midwest League will expand its territory in 2010 into eastern Ohio and Kentucky with the addition of the Lake County Captains and Bowling Green Hot Rods.</p> <p>Prior to this expansion, the longest bus trip between markets was 8 hours and 28 minutes between Midland (MI) and both Burlington (IA) and Cedar Rapids (IA). The addition of Bowling Green (KY – the southernmost market) and Eastlake (OH – the new eastern edge of the League) extends those drive times across the league. The Appleton (WI) to Bowling Green shuttle is 9 hours and 47 minutes.</p> <p>With the remaining roadblocks now rendered obsolete, it is time to liquidate the Snappers’ remaining merchandise and pack the moving vans for a 6-hour, 44-minute drive south to a new home in the middle of a Nation….</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=FoSlrB_Rn_w:s8s3eJ7cYDY:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=FoSlrB_Rn_w:s8s3eJ7cYDY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>All-Time Infields: 2009 Yankees and Phillies Are in the Discussion</h1> <p>Tom Stone — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:36:30 +0000</p> <p>The 2009 baseball championship is underway, Yankees vs. Phillies. A few weeks ago the sports editor for my city’s local paper, Bob Matthews of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, <a href="http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090927/SPORTS0101/909270343/1007/SPORTS/Buffalo+Bills+better+off+at+QB+than+many+others">noted how strong the Yankees infield is this year </a>(defined as 1B, 2B, 3B, and SS — not including catcher). But now with the Phillies as their opponent, it is interesting to note that they too have a strong infield foursome. Here are the numbers from this year for these eight players:</p> <p><strong>Yankees 2009:<br /> </strong>1B: Mark Teixeira (.292, 39 HR, 122 RBI, .383 OBP)<br /> 2B: Robinson Cano (.320, 25 HR, 85 RBI, 48 D)<br /> SS: Derek Jeter (.334, 18 HR, 66 RBI, .406 OBP, 30 SB)<br /> 3B: Alex Rodriguez (.286, 30 HR, 100 RBI, .402 OBP, 14 SB)</p> <p>Rodriguez had a down year by his standards, but of course he has very high average numbers. And if you define infield as including catcher, than the Yankees this year have the ever-steady Jorge Posada who hit .285, 22 HR, 81 RBI.</p> <p><strong>Phillies 2009:<br /> </strong>1B: Ryan Howard (.279, 45 HR, 141 RBI, 37 D)<br /> 2B: Chase Utley (.282, 31 HR, 93 RBI, .397 OBP, 23 SB)<br /> SS: Jimmy Rollins (.250, 21 HR, 77 RBI, 31 SB)<br /> 3B: Pedro Feliz (.266, 12 HR, 82 RBI)</p> <p>Clearly not the equal of the Yankees, but still quite good overall. Rollins had a very slow start, and only returned to form late in the year. And both he and Feliz have pathetically low OBP (.296 and .308 respectively). And finally if you throw catcher into the mix, the Phillies don’t matchup well with the Yankees, since Ruiz (.255, 9 HR, 43 RBI) is no equal of Posada.</p> <p>Matthews’ column mentioned several other famous infields, so I thought I’d provide his commentary, and chime in with some of my own in each case.</p> <p>“<strong>1913 Philadelphia Athletics</strong> — 1B Stuffy McInnis, 2B Eddie Collins, SS Jack Barry, 3B Home Run Baker. They were called “The Million-Dollar Infield” because manager Connie Mack said he wouldn’t sell them for $1 million. Now he couldn’t get a decent spare infielder for $1 million.”</p> <p>For some reason he declined to give the stats for this foursome, perhaps assuming most readers wouldn’t be impressed with the deadball era numbers. Here they are:<br /> 1B: Stuffy McInnis (.324, 4 HR, 90 RBI, 16 SB)<br /> 2B: Eddie Collins (.345, 3 HR, 73 RBI, 55 SB, .441 OBP)<br /> SS: Jack Barry (.275, 3 HR, 85 RBI, 15 SB)<br /> 3B: Home Run Baker (.337, 12 HR, 117 RBI, 34 SB, .413 OBP)</p> <p>One interesting thing to note about this group is their young ages that season: 22, 26, 26, and 27 respectively.</p> <p>“<strong>1927 New York Giants</strong> — 1B Bill Terry (.326, 20 HRs, 121 RBI), 2B Rogers Hornsby (.361, 26 HRs, 125 RBI), SS Travis Jackson (.318, 14 HRs, 98 RBI), 3B Fred Lindstrom (.306, 7 HRs, 58 RBI). They’re all Hall of Famers, though Jackson and Lindstrom were controversial selections.”</p> <p>Obviously Terry and Hornsby were the big mashers in this group, kinda like Howard and Utley for this year’s Phillies infield.</p> <p>“<strong>1934 Detroit Tigers</strong> — 1B Hank Greenberg (.339, 26 HRs, 139 RBI), 2B Charlie Gehringer (.356, 11 HRs, 127 RBI), SS Billy Rogell (.296, 3 HRs, 100 RBI), 3B Marv Owen (.317, 8 HRs, 96 RBI).”</p> <p>Interestingly, once again the stronger half is the 1B/2B side, where again we have two major hall-of-famers in Greenberg and Gehringer. And a few more numbers from this statistics-inflated era: Greenberg hit 63 doubles this year and Gehringer hit 50; the OBPs for these four were .404, .450, .374, and .385 respectively. Oh, and they had two other Hall-of-Famers in their lineup that year: catcher Mickey Cochrane (.320, 2 HR, 76 RBI) and outfielder Goose Goslin (.305, 13 HR, 100 RBI).</p> <p>“<strong>1976 Cincinnati Reds</strong> — 1B Tony Perez (.260, 19 HRs, 91 RBI), 2B Joe Morgan (.320, 27 HRs, 111 RBI, 60 stolen bases), SS Dave Concepcion (.281, 9 HRs, 69 RBI), 3B Pete Rose (.323, 10 HRs, 63 RBI). If you could use the best season of each of the four players, they’d be No. 1. But this was their best season collectively with Rose at third base. Perez and Morgan are Hall of Famers. Rose has Hall of Fame numbers. Many people believe Concepcion has been shortchanged by the voters. He was an excellent fielder and a tough clutch hitter.”</p> <p>And yes, they had Johnny Bench as their fifth infielder behind the plate, but he had poor numbers in 1976 hitting .234 with 16 HR and 74 RBI. And I’m not one who thinks that Concepcion has been shortchanged by HOF voters: a fine career with 9 all-star selections and 5 gold-gloves, but he is not a Hall-of-Famer.</p> <p>“<strong>2004 Texas Rangers</strong> — 1B Mark Teixiera (.281, 38 HRs, 112 RBI), 2B Alfonso Soriano (.280, 28 HRs, 91 RBI), SS Michael Young (.313, 22 HRs, 99 RBI), 3B Hank Blalock (.276, 32 HRs, 110 RBI). Underrated. Could be No.2 or No. 3.”</p> <p>Here we see Mr. Teixiera again.</p> <p>Now I’ll toss a few more into the mix for your consideration:</p> <p><strong>1906 Cubs:<br /> </strong>1B: Frank Chance (.319, 57 SB, .419 OBP)<br /> 2B: Johnny Evers (.255, 49 SB)<br /> SS: Joe Tinker (.233, 30 SB)<br /> 3B: Harry Steinfeldt (.327, 29 SB, .395 OBP)</p> <p>This being the dead-ball era, the HR numbers were low and everyone stole lots of bases. Two of these four had high BA and OBP, but obviously the fame of the defense from “Tinker to Evers to Chance” is what gets them mentioned in discussions of all-time infields.</p> <p><strong>1951 Dodgers:</strong><br /> 1B: Gil Hodges (.268, 40 HR, 103 RBI, 118 R, .374 OBP)<br /> 2B: Jackie Robinson (.338, 19 HR, 88 RBI, 106 R, 25 SB, .429 OBP)<br /> SS: Pee Wee Reese (.286, 10 HR, 84 RBI, 20 SB)<br /> 3B: Billy Cox (.279, 9 HR, 51 RBI)</p> <p>This foursome was together for a number of years, from 1948 - 52, with Jim Gilliam coming into the picture for 1953-54. You could argue their infield was better in any of those years, but I’ve chosen 1951 as what I think is one of the better statistical combinations in this span.</p> <p><strong>1970 Orioles:<br /> </strong>1B: Boog Powell (.297, 35 HR, 114 RBI, .412 OBP)<br /> 2B: Davey Johnson (.281, 10 HR, 53 RBI)<br /> SS: Mark Belanger (.218, 12 SB)<br /> 3B: Brooks Robinson (.276, 18 HR, 94 RBI)</p> <p>This infield was together for several years, from 1968 - 1972, with Bobby Grich replacing Johnson in 1973. Brooks and Belanger were particularly strong fielders. Take your pick between 1969 and 1970 as to which was the better offensive foursome. Belanger was generally a very weak hitter, though he hit .287 in 1969 (Brooks had an off-year hitting only .234 that season).</p> <p><strong>1979 Dodgers:<br /> </strong>1B: Steve Garvey (.315, 28 HR, 110 RBI)<br /> 2B: Davey Lopes (.265, 28 HR, 73 RBI, 109 R, 44 SB)<br /> SS: Bill Russell (.271, 7 HR, 56 RBI)<br /> 3B: Ron Cey (.281, 28 HR, 81 RBI)</p> <p>This infield foursome was together for a very long time, 1974 - 1981. One could argue which was their best overall season offensively: 1977, 1979, or others. Russell was generally the weakest offensive player of the crew, lacking both the power of Garvey and Cey and the speed of Lopes (whose 28 HR in 1979 were an abberation — he only topped 11 in two other seasons his entire career, with 17 in 1978 and 17 in 1983).</p> <p><strong>1982 Brewers:</strong><br /> 1B: Cecil Cooper (.313, 32 HR, 121 RBI)<br /> 2B: Jim Gantner (.295, 4 HR, 43 RBI)<br /> SS: Robin Yount (.331, 29 HR, 114 RBI, 129 R, 46 D)<br /> 3B: Paul Molitor (.302, 19 HR, 71 RBI, 136 R, 41 SB)</p> <p>The 1982 World Series team clearly had a great infield. Gantner was the weakest hitter of this group, though he came through in this season with a .295 average.</p> <p><strong>2000 Indians:<br /> </strong>1B: Jim Thome (.269, 37 HR, 106 RBI, 106 R, .398 OBP)<br /> 2B: Robert Alomar (.310, 19 HR, 89 RBI, 111 R, 39 SB)<br /> SS: Omar Vizquel (.287, 7 HR, 66 RBI, 101 R, 22 SB)<br /> 3B: Travis Fryman (.321, 22 HR, 106 RBI, 38 D, .392 OBP)</p> <p>Thome and Alomar had more impressive numbers in some of the other years. But this was arguably the best all-around offensive year for this foursome. And their collective defense was outstanding.</p> <p><strong>1999 Mets:<br /> </strong>1B John Olerud (.298, 19 HR, 96 RBI, 107 R, .427 OBP)<br /> 2B Edgardo Alfonzo (.304, 27 HR, 108 RBI, 123 R, .385 OBP)<br /> SS: Rey Ordonez (.258, 1 HR, 60 RBI)<br /> 3B: Robin Ventura (.301, 32 HR, 120 RBI)</p> <p>Ordonez was a light hitter. But amazingly, only 27 errors in 1999… for all of them combined!</p> <p>So which is the best infield-four of all time… I’m not entirely sure. The Yankees of 2009 are great, but so were the others listed above. Thoughts?</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=tSWCR7Cvth4:IJigACe6pa8:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=tSWCR7Cvth4:IJigACe6pa8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Rambling On About My Glory Days: Welcome to Professional Baseball Moment</h1> <p>Jack Perconte — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:02:26 +0000</p> <p> You may recall my previous post about being drafted and the joy my family and I felt when I was chosen in the 16th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. To celebrate Dodger Blue, I went out and spent my whole bonus on a shiny, metallic “Green” Buick Century? Upon signing, the Dodger brass told me that I was being sent to Lodi, California (Dodger high A team) because they needed a second baseman. Being on cloud nine, I was sure there was nothing that could dampen my enthusiasm for getting the opportunity to follow my lifelong dream. However, my first day in professional baseball proved very enlightening and a great effort towards dimming that enthusiasm. Here is how it went down.</p> <p>What is all that ringing noise and people shouting in the Reno, Nevada airport, I wondered on my first stop in pro ball? “Cool,” I thought of the slot machines which I had never seen before. This could only mean good luck in my estimation. I arrived at the road ball park where the Lodi Dodgers were playing, only to see my new team get demolished something like 22 – 4. My first acquaintance was the team trainer, who informed me that I was now the 5th second baseman on the team. Maybe, luck wasn’t on my side after all.</p> <p>Having arrived too late to dress for the game, it wasn’t until after the game when I received my indoctrination to professional baseball. It definitely was an eye opener and put some fear into me. Our manager, obviously disgusted with the game and my new team’s play, broke into an expletive filled tirade that would have made any managers’ highlight reel proud. Having grown up in catholic schools and having attended college in the heart of the Bible belt in Murray Kentucky, coach packaged more four letter words together than I had heard or said my whole life. Even though I was shaking in my shoes, I marveled at his linguistic abilities and realized I was no longer in college.</p> <p>He threatened that changes would be made if things didn’t improve. I became enlightened to the fact that baseball is now a business, where things were taken serious and people’s livelihood depended on performance, and success. Changes did come and quickly, which was fortunate for me. The following day two of the team’s players who shared time at second base were released, one was sent back to lower A ball and one was relegated to a utility role. I was now the starting second baseman with the opportunity I had always dreamed of having. When I look back at my professional career, I believe that was the best introduction to pro ball I could have had because I gained the understanding that it was either produce or “get lost,” because there is always someone else willing and ready to take your job away.</p> <p><em>Former major leaguer Jack Perconte is the author of </em>The Making of a Hitter <em>(<a href="http://www.themakingofahitter.com/" target="_blank">www.themakingofahitter.com</a>) and has a baseball instruction blog that can be found at <a href="http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball" target="_blank">http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball</a>. He has recently published his second book </em>Raising an Athlete - How to Instill Confidence, Build Skills and Inspire a Love of Sport<em> and has an additional blog at <a href="http://www.positiveparentinginsports.com/" target="_blank">http://www.positiveparentinginsports.com</a> </em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=-G88OsdU4Ws:Fp921h4qJ98:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=-G88OsdU4Ws:Fp921h4qJ98:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Cincuenta y nueve años después (Fifty nine years later)?</h1> <p>Alfonso L. Tusa C. — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:46:32 +0000</p> <p>Ha pasado más de medio siglo desde aquella temporada de los “Whiz kids” y su dramático pase a la Serie Mundial de 1950 al ganar el banderín de la Liga Nacional con un triunfo en el último juego de la temporada. El estelar Robin Roberts hizo tres aperturas en cinco días incluida la del triunfo decisivo, por eso no pudo abrir el primer juego.</p> <p>Los expertos pronosticaban que los mulos de Manhattan ganarían la serie en cinco juegos porque tenían un gran equipo y sobre todo buen pitcheo en los brazos de Vic Rashi, Allie Reynolds, Ed Lopat, Tom Ferrick, Whitey Ford. Eran los Yankees de Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Johnny Mize, Billy Martin, Yogi Berra.</p> <p>Los Filis contaban con Richie Ashburn, un catcher convertido en jardinero porque cada vez que salía un rolling al cuadro llegaba a hacer la asistencia detrás de primera antes que el corredor, Del Ennis, Bill Nicholson, Dick Sisler, Mike Goliat y los lanzadores Robin Roberts, Jim Konstanty, Ken Heintzelman, Russ Meyer, Bob Miller.</p> <p>Este 2009 los Filis llegan a la Serie Mundial luego de ganar la División Este de la Liga Nacional. Vencieron a los Rockies de Colorado (3-1) en la serie divisional. Y luego dejaron en el camino a los Dodgers de Los Ángeles (4-1). Esta es la novena de Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Raul Ibáñez, Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz. Cliff Lee, Pedro Martínez, Cole Hamels, A.J Happ, Jaime Moyer, Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin.</p> <p>Los Yanquis trazaron su ruta a través del banderín del Este de la Liga Americana, una barrida ante los Mellizos de Minnesota en la serie divisional, y luego dejaron encunetados a los Angelinos de Anaheim (4-2) en la serie de campeonato. Alex Rodríguez es la respuesta a Howard, Derek Jeter la de Jimmy Rollins, Johnny Damon puede equipararse a Victorino; además de Mark Teixeira, Robinson Canó, Jorge Posada e Hideki Matsui. El cuerpo de lanzadores está encabezado por CC Sabbathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettite, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Dámaso Marte, Alfredo Aceves, Mariano Rivera.</p> <p>El primer juego de la serie de 1950 lo ganaron los Yanquis 1-0, con trabajo completo de Rashi ante Konstanty relevado por Meyer en el noveno. Los Mulos repitieron con victoria 2-1 en el segundo. Fue un duelo entre Reynolds y Roberts que decidió DiMaggio con vuelacercas en el décimo episodio. Ferrick le dio el tercer lauro a los Yanquis 3-2, en relevo de Lopat quién salió en el noveno; Meyer salió derrotado en relevo de Konstanty y Heintzelman. Los Yanquis completaron la barrida con victoria 5-2 ejecutada por Whitey Ford ante Bob Millar.</p> <p>Aún cuando los “Whiz kids” venían de un gran momento al ganar el banderín de la Liga Nacional, su cuerpo de lanzadores llegó extenuado al Clásico de 1950. Cincuenta y nueve años más tarde los cuáqueros llegan con varios días de descanso a la Serie Mundial en medio de una confrontación muy pareja en todos los terrenos. ¿Llegó la hora de vengar a los “Whiz kids”? ¿Ganarán los Yanquis otra Serie Mundial?</p> <p><strong>English Translation</strong></p> <p>It’s been more than half a century since that season of the “Whiz Kids” and their dramatic advance to the 1950 World Series, after winning the National League pennant with a victory in the last day of the season. The pitching star Robin Roberts made three starts in five days including that of the clinching win. That’s why he couldn’t start the first game of the series.</p> <p>The experts predicted that the Yanks would win the series in five games because they had a great team and most of all an outstanding pitching staff with Vic Rashi, Allie Reynolds, Ed Lopat, Tom Ferrick, Whitey Ford. Those were the Yankees of Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Johnny Mize, Billy Martin, Yogi Berra.</p> <p>The Phillies had Richie Ashburn, a catcher shifted to outfielder because each time there was a grounder to the infield he always arrived behind first base before the runner, Del Ennis, Bill Nicholson, Dick Sisler, Mike Goliat, and the hurlers Robin Roberts, Jim Konstanty, Ken Heintzelman, Russ Meyer, Bob Miller.</p> <p>In 2009 the Phillies arrive to the World Series after winning the National League East Division. Afterwards they beat the Colorado Rockies (3-1) in the NLDS. Then they stopped the Los Angeles Dodgers (4-1) in the NLCS. This is the team of Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Raul Ibáñez, Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz. Cliff Lee, Pedro Martínez, Cole Hamels, A.J Happ, Jaime Moyer, Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin.</p> <p>The Yankees traced their way through the conquest of the American League East Division pennant, a swept of the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS, then they defeated the Anaheim Angels (4-2) in the ALCS. Alex Rodríguez is the answer to Howard, Derek Jeter the one for Jimmy Rollins, Johnny Damon can keep the pace of Victorino. Besides they have Mark Teixeira, Robinson Canó, Jorge Posada e Hideki Matsui. The pitching staff is led by CC Sabbathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettite, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Dámaso Marte, Alfredo Aceves, Mariano Rivera.</p> <p>The Yanks won the first game of the 1950 World Series 1-0, Rashi got the win in a complete game before Konstanty who was relieved by Meyer in the ninth inning. The Manhattan Mules won the second contest 2-1. It was a pitching duel between Reynolds and Roberts decided by DiMaggio with a dinger in the tenth frame. Ferrick gave the third victory to the Yankees 3-2, he relieved Lopat in the ninth inning. Meyer got the loss in relieve of Konstanty and Heintzelman. The Yankees completed the swept with a 5-2 win executed by Whitey Ford before Bob Miller.</p> <p>Although the “Whiz kids” came from a great momentum after winning the National League pennant, their pitching staff arrived exhausted to the 1950 Classic. Fifty nine years later the Phillies arrive with some resting days to the World Series in the middle of a very tight confrontation in all the fields. Is it the time for avenging the Whiz kids? Will the Yankees win another World Series Champioship?</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=bwGb_g_xWTE:QPfYG6Z91XQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=bwGb_g_xWTE:QPfYG6Z91XQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Continuing Reaction</h1> <p>Daniel Shoptaw — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:24:19 +0000</p> <p>The ripples from Monday’s press conference are still rolling around Cardinal Nation. Without Mark McGwire there to answer questions, the reverberations may continue for quite some time.</p> <p>The latest two questions in the UCB Roundtable dealt with McGwire. Bernie Mikalsz and Brian Burwell both write about the subject, with similar viewpoints. Everywhere you look, people are weighing in on the McGwire story.</p> <p>I’ve made my position pretty clear on this, I think. I know there are people that are up in arms about it, that are cancelling season tickets and venting their outrage. I just can’t be one of those people, partly because it’s not my nature, but partly because I’m still waiting to see what McGwire has to say.</p> <p>I seriously can’t believe the Cardinals would bring him on or that he’d come out of seclusion only to repeat the “talk about the past” line. They have to know that isn’t going to fly, I would think, and it’s going to cause more trouble than it’s worth.</p> <p>Honestly, I’d put odds around 50/50 that McGwire doesn’t actually make it to spring training as the hitting coach. I could see where he would find out he’d misread the scrutiny, bitten off more than he wanted to chew, and bow out. Until we hear from him, there’s really no way of telling what is going to happen.</p> <p>I will say that Hal McRae was very graceful about losing his job. Not that you expect anything less, of course, but there was no reason that he had to speak about being let go. I did think it was time for him to move on, but hopefully he catches on somewhere else.</p> <p>The players apparently are very fond of Cardinal pitchers. Chris Carpenter was named the Players’ Choice Comeback Player of the Year and, I heard this morning driving into work, Adam Wainwright was named their Outstanding Pitcher in the NL. (Not to be confused with the Cy Young. I found that out with the BBA!) Carpenter was a no brainer, of course, but I was glad to see Wainwright got the nod over Carp and Tim Lincecum. I don’t think that’s how the actual Cy Young voting will go (and it wasn’t how the Baseball Bloggers Alliance voted either), but it’s nice to see him get some recognition.</p> <p>Wednesday night means UCB Radio Hour. Tonight, it’s just scheduled for a half hour and will start later, at 10:00 CST. We’ll probably talk McGwire and maybe some from our interview with Bill DeWitt III. (If you’ve not heard that interview, you can find it here.) Hope you can join us!</p> <p><em>Daniel Shoptaw is the founder of “C70 At The Bat,” where he regularly writes about his beloved St. Louis Cardinals. You can find more of his work<a href="http://www.cardinal70.com/" target="_blank"> here</a></em></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=H-Rw25g6CDY:5IoCEasv5gA:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=H-Rw25g6CDY:5IoCEasv5gA:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Chalmer “Bill” Cissell: The $123,000 Lemon</h1> <p>Mike Lynch — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:03:36 +0000</p> <p><em>Twenty-four-year-old shortstop Chalmer “Bill” Cissell was so highly regarded by scout Danny Long in 1927 that he convinced White Sox owner Charles Comiskey to send what was estimated to be a record sum of $123,000 in cash and players (outfielder Ike Boone and pitcher Bert Cole) to the Pacific Coast League’s Portland Beavers for Cissell. Long considered Cissell one of the finest prospects he’d ever seen, but after four disappointing seasons, it proved to be a terrible deal, one of many the White Sox made in the wake of the Black Sox scandal.</em></p> <p>Chalmer William Cissell was born in Perryville, Missouri on January 3, 1904 and came from a long line of ballplayers. “Down where I came from there never was a Cissell who couldn’t and didn’t play baseball,” he once said. “There were nine Cissells on Perryville’s team in 1902.” Cissell followed in their footsteps and began playing third base for the Perryville team when he was 14, then played high school and semi-pro ball before quitting school and enlisting with the Second Cavalry at Fort Riley, Kansas in 1922.</p> <p>While at Fort Riley, Cissell showed off his horsemanship by winning 18 silver cups and 53 medals atop “Chance,” a horse he named after former Cubs first baseman and manager Frank Chance. He was also allowed to play ball with the Junction City semi-pro team every Sunday, making $25 a week, more than twice his salary as an army corporal.</p> <p>Cissell reenlisted in 1925 with the Fourteenth Cavalry at Fort Des Moines in Iowa and was playing for the army team in an exhibition game when he was discovered by the Des Moines Demons of the Class A Western League. The Demons bought Cissell’s release from the army for $85, then signed the youngster to a contract.</p> <p>“I made up my mind that I was going to be a major league ball player during the World Series of 1925 while I was on a cavalry hike from Des Moines to Omaha,” Cissell later recounted to sportswriter Edward Burns. “It rained all along the trip and if you’ve ever ridden a horse cross-country in the rain 30 miles a day for five days you’ll agree with me that it’s no such life as that of a major league ball player. As much as I loved horses I decided on that hike that the cavalry was not to offer me my career.”</p> <p>But before Cissell could make it to the majors, he was going to have to perform at the minor league level, and he was finding it difficult to get on the field. In 1926, new Demons manager John “Shano” Collins was so impressed with the youngster’s abilities that he admitted to stashing Cissell on the bench whenever scouts were around for fear that he’d lose him to the draft. Instead, Collins was hoping to sell his new prodigy to the highest bidder.</p> <p>Because of this strategy, Cissell appeared in only 78 games, but he made the most of it, batting .345 and slugging .469 in 226 at-bats. He was named second team all-league by the Western League’s skippers before being sold to Portland of the Class AA Pacific Coast League for a reported $13,000 and two unnamed players. It was alleged to have been the highest price ever paid by one minor league team to another.</p> <p>He arrived in Portland in time to appear in 22 games and batted .259, slugged .318, and fielded at a .952 clip. Then he broke out in 1927 and became one of the two best hitting shortstops in the Pacific Coast League, batting .323 with 225 hits, 112 runs scored, and 18 steals. He ranked ninth in hits and was among the top 20 in total bases with 284. Few were surprised. The <em>Salt Lake Tribune</em> reported in mid-March that Beavers owner Tom Turner expected Cissell to “start many brush fires” in the P.C.L. that season, and manager Ernie Johnson, a former major league shortstop, told reporters that he was impressed with Cissell’s makeup.</p> <p>“Cissell has had but four months of professional experience and Johnson believes the kid is doing well, considering all things,” wrote Eddie Murphy in the <em>Oakland Tribune</em>. “The Beaver boss likes him because he never gets excited. If he makes a boot he settles right down and may come up with a sensational play on the next hit ball. All that Johnson asks for is the fans to give his young shortstop a fair chance to make good.”</p> <p>He made a lot of boots that year, committing 76 errors in 182 games for a .924 fielding percentage, but sportswriter John B. Foster chalked that up to effort. “His error column was big, but a wise manager will take a player who tries in preference to one who ambles after none but the easy ones.” In fact, his hustle, impressive range, and wiry 160-pound frame earned him the nickname “Spider.”</p> <p>In mid-July, Cissell began to be touted as a big league prospect, along with Mission Bells shortstop Gordon Slade and second baseman Neal “Mickey” Finn, and Oakland Oaks shortstop Lyn Lary and second baseman Jimmie Reese. In early August, it was rumored that Cissell was to be sold to Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics in the fall, and the rumors continued into late August, when it was reported that Mack had told several scouts that he was going to acquire Cissell prior to the 1928 season.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Lary and Reese were being courted by the Yankees, White Sox, Cubs, and Tigers, and were being shopped as a package worth as much as $150,000, or either could be had individually for $100,000. In mid-August, the Cubs offered $75,000 and a handful of players for Lary and first baseman Jack Fenton, but Oakland balked. In early September, it was reported that Lary had been acquired by the White Sox for $100,000, Ike Boone and Elmer Jacobs. Then in mid-September, the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> reported that the Yankees had paid the $150,000 asking price for both Lary and Reese, but the Oaks’ owners refused to confirm or deny the reports.</p> <p>Finally in early November, the White Sox tired of pursuing Lary and acquired Cissell from Portland for what was valued at $123,000. Portland received $75,000 in cash and two players—slugging outfielder Ike Boone and veteran southpaw Bert Cole—who were valued at $5,000 and $35,000, respectively. The remaining $8,000 was to come from two players to be named later, both to be valued at no less than $4,000 apiece.</p> <p>The deal was a record at the time, surpassing the $100,000 the White Sox sent the San Francisco Seals for third baseman Willie Kamm in 1922. It wasn’t long before Foster dubbed Cissell, the “$100,000 Beauty” and speculated that if the shortstop lived up to his billing, the White Sox could offer up shortstops Roger Peckinpaugh and Bill Hunnefield and second baseman Aaron Ward in trades. He also wrote that Tom Turner believed that Cissell “would hit as hard in the American League as Paul Waner has batted in the National League.”</p> <p>The pressure on Cissell was enormous. In fact, he would later admit, “The ballyhoo I got when Portland sold me for that sum was the greatest burden any player ever carried to the majors.” Cissell was also facing off-the-field pressures and burdens; only two days after the deal between Portland and Chicago was finalized, the new White Sox shortstop found himself on the wrong side of a woman scorned, 20-year-old Valley Junction, Iowa telephone operator Bernice Ryner, who filed charges of seduction against Cissell with Polk County Sheriff Park A. Findley. Cissell was indicted, but was nowhere to be found. A nationwide search failed to uncover his whereabouts until he was discovered and arrested in St. Louis on November 9.</p> <p>According to Ryner, she and Cissell met on New Year’s Eve 1926 and dated steadily before he departed for Portland’s training camp two months later. Cissell had promised to marry her and she began making preparations to join him in Portland, but he failed to send her train fare. Then he promised to come to Des Moines in August, but failed to appear. The bride-to-be was understandably upset; not only did Cissell’s promise of marriage appear to be hollow, but she was also carrying his baby. It wasn’t until she gave birth to their son, Chalmer Jr., that she decided to file charges.</p> <p>Cissell had two choices: face felony charges of seduction or marry Ryner and have the charges automatically dismissed. He chose the latter and tied the knot in Valley Junction on November 15. “We always wanted to get married,” Cissell told the clerk who issued his marriage license. Bill and Bernice were together for the rest of their lives and had two more children, Charlene and Gary.</p> <p>Heading into the 1928 season, much was expected of the Pacific Coast League star. Foster predicted he’d hit .300 in the majors, while other sportswriters lauded his talents, calling him a “flashy shortstop with plenty of speed” who “performs equally as well with the bat,” and referring to him as “sparkling.”</p> <p>Former White Sox infielder Frank Isbell was equally high on Cissell. “They will have a hard time preventing that boy becoming the best shortstop in the big leagues,” he said. “They will have a hard time stopping this boy because he knows something about taking care of himself in any kind of a contest, and if they will just let him go he’ll very quickly show them some new things about playing shortstop.”</p> <p>But the highest praise came from Turner who insisted that Cissell was “as great at shortstop as Hans Wagner, as great on the bases as Ty Cobb, and as great at the bat as Rogers Hornsby.”</p> <p>Apparently White Sox manager Ray Schalk bought the hyperbole and started singing Cissell’s praises even before the team’s train headed for Shreveport, Louisiana for spring training. “He’s my idea of just the right physical type for a shortstop and his mental attitude indicates he is not going to fade out on the brilliant record which caused the White Sox to pay a record price for him,” Schalk told reporters. According to Ed Burns, the team felt that Cissell’s time in the army gave him an advantage over other rookies because he was unlikely to become unnerved under pressure.</p> <p>Shortly after the White Sox arrived in Shreveport, they made headlines again when it was reported that the team had insured Cissell for $100,000. The <em>Baltimore Sun</em> reported that terms of the policy were not disclosed, but Burns claimed with tongue in cheek that the policy covered “the rigors of death, fire, and theft, seven year locusts, pernicious fallen arches, and chronic hives.” Burns also reported that trainer William Buckner wanted to trim five pounds from Cissell’s frame, which he jokingly valued at $768.75 a pound, and that if Buckner succeeded “$3,843.75 of shortstop will disappear, which goes to show how careless some people are with money.”</p> <p>Some were unimpressed, however. Alan J. Gould wrote only three weeks into spring training that Cissell “has not yet measured up to his $123,000 price tag”; Burns reported in late March that the infielder had been “beset with the jumps” and wasn’t earning his salt; Werner Laufer called Cissell a disappointment and wondered if he’d be able to handle big league pitching; and Norman E. Brown lauded Cissell’s great glove, but called him “just another out at bat.” It was even rumored that Sox management was considering sending him back to the Pacific Coast League.</p> <p>It wasn’t until White Sox coach and future Hall of Fame pitcher Ed Walsh noticed weaknesses in Cissell’s swing and worked with him that the youngster started to show everyone why he was so highly touted, going 5-for-9 with a triple, two doubles, and two singles late in camp.</p> <p>“Spring training seems to be a complete zero with me,” Cissell later explained to Tigers manager George Moriarty. “I try everything, but I don’t seem able to do the right thing. I looked like an amateur and I knew it, but I also knew it wouldn’t last long. My first spring with Portland was just as bad. The harder I tried the worse I looked in fielding and at bat. This spring I figured that the smoother major league diamonds would be a big help when the season began, and this proved to be the case. I think a ballplayer who is in a slump should keep on thinking that his best days are ahead. This thought will pull him out.”</p> <p>Despite Cissell’s early spring struggles, Moriarty remained high on him. “Chicago has seen such great shortfielders as George Davis, Buck Weaver and Swede Risberg perform at the White Sox park, and Cissell is sure to measure up to his brilliant predecessors.” And John Foster compared him to former Giants second baseman Larry Doyle, calling him a “replica” of Doyle, but with a better glove.</p> <p>“He is loose, fast, throws without effort and with no lost motion,” Foster observed. “He knows where second base is, and why it is—a thing that’s fine for any shortstop to know. In practice he can get to second and shove the ball along for a double play as well as any infielder in action today. There is no reason in evidence why he should not be able to do the same thing in the regular season.”</p> <p>But Foster didn’t stop there, also likening Cissell’s personality to Doyle’s. “At this writing Cissell is as sound as a dollar and bubbling over with a splendid disposition, which makes one think of Larry Doyle, one of the happiest and best natured players who graced the national game with his sunshine and goodwill to men.” It was this disposition that earned Doyle the nickname “Laughing Larry,” and the same disposition that earned Cissell his second sobriquet, “Smiling Bill.”</p> <p>Umpire Hap O’Connor thought Lary would be the better player, but gave Cissell high marks as well. “He can hit into right field on the old hit-and-run play with the best of them,” O’Connor told writer Damon Runyan. “He has a true throwing arm, and is an expert at tagging runners coming into second base. He knows that ‘dipsy-do’ toss to the second-sacker, too. He looks as good as any shortstop I know going to his right.”</p> <p>Sportswriter Stoney McLinn called Cissell a “worthy guardian of short field” and reported that “veteran observers insist he will be even better than [Swede] Risberg was at his best.”</p> <p>Once the regular season began, Cissell wasted no time proving that he could hit big league pitching, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run against Cleveland’s George Uhle on Opening Day, but committing two errors in the 8-2 loss. He went 2-for-4 and scored the team’s only run in their second game, a 2-1 loss to the Indians, then went 1-for-3 with a double and a run in a six-inning, rain-shortened 1-1 tie. After only three games, Ray Schalk was convinced Cissell was the real deal. “The kid’s a comer and worth the money,” said the White Sox skipper.</p> <p>Cissell went 0-for-5 in his next two games against the St. Louis Browns, then embarked on a 14-game hitting streak, during which he went 20-for-55 (.364), and found himself hitting .366 on May 1. His hitting streak was snapped on May 2, but he went 3-for-5 against the Yankees on May 4 and earned a promotion from seventh in the batting order to the leadoff spot. He was hitting .363 with a .378 OBA at the time and was getting a little cocky, telling reporters that the majors were easier than the minors. “I’ve faced tougher pitchers than these in the big leagues many a time.”</p> <p>But he spoke too soon. He batted first or second for 12 games before moving back to seventh in the order and by the end of May, his average had plummeted exactly 100 points to .263. Opposing pitchers found his weakness and began feeding him a steady diet of high fastballs. His slump continued through June and his average dropped to .248 before he rebounded in July and boosted it to .272. That’s where it stood on August 16 when he broke his finger in two places while attempting to catch an errant throw from first baseman Bud Clancy. He was expected to miss the rest of the season, but returned in mid-September and batted only .167 the rest of the way to finish his first big league season at .260.</p> <p>Despite being one of the weaker hitting shortstops in the American League and finishing in the middle of the pack defensively, Cissell earned MVP votes and finished 15th in the balloting, tied with four other players, including Detroit slugger Harry Heilmann. Among White Sox, only third baseman Willie Kamm, who finished fifth, and pitcher Tommy Thomas, who tied Cissell at 15th, were considered as valuable.</p> <p>The White Sox wisely ignored the voters and encouraged manager Lena Blackburne to work with Cissell on both his fielding and hitting. Blackburne, who replaced Schalk 74 games into the 1928 season, wasn’t much of a hitter or fielder himself during his eight-year career, but he knew enough about both that he felt he could turn Cissell into one of the game’s best shortstops.</p> <p>“The youngster’s greatest fielding drawback seems to be his tendency to fight the ball,” wrote Bert Demby. “He covers plenty of ground but pushes his hands into the ball instead of allowing the ball to hit his glove while his hands are on a backward motion, which would put him into position to throw immediately.” Blackburne insisted that Cissell had simply never been taught how to field properly. He also promised to change his hitting style. “The White Sox manager thinks Cissell can be made into a mighty tough ‘chop hitter’ to face,” wrote Demby. “Cissell can time them at the plate and he should develop into a good ‘puncher’ of short hits.”</p> <p>Blackburne was confident that his pupil would improve in both areas. “Just watch and see the difference,” he said. “Cissell is going to be one of the greatest baseball players yet. He is a natural.”</p> <p>Despite spending his time during the offseason playing basketball, Cissell had gained weight, something sportswriter Irving Vaughan thought might benefit the shortstop. “In his first season…Cissell didn’t exactly come to the expectations aroused by his $75,000 and four players purchase price, but the impression prevails that he is still on the upgrade,” wrote Vaughan. “He hasn’t had as much experience as the average youngster coming up to the majors and the hullabaloo about his purchase undoubtedly dazzled him a bit.”</p> <p>Cissell agreed but was optimistic about the 1929 season. “I tried too hard last summer to make good,” he explained during spring training, “and I didn’t have as much confidence then as I have now. But I feel set now and, while I’m not bragging, I should be better than in 1928.” One of the reasons for Cissell’s confidence was the arrival of second baseman Johnny Kerr, who was stellar for the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, batting .301 with 16 homers, and fielding at a .977 clip. “You know I played with five different second basemen last summer and that is one reason I didn’t go any better than I did,” Cissell alibied. “It looks like Johnny Kerr will be at second regularly this summer, and he’s good…with Kerr on second, we ought to make as many double plays this year as any keystone pair.”</p> <p>But only two days after making the above statement, Cissell was benched for his poor play, losing playing time to Bill Hunnefield. “Either Cissell is severely handicapped by a minor leg injury or his baseball this spring is mediocre,” wrote the <em>Chicago Tribune</em>. “Mr. Blackburne hopes Cissell is a good shortstop, but there has been nothing to encourage him thus far.” Soon after, the <em>Hartford Courant</em> reported that Cissell was still plagued by his stiff-armed fielding style and errant throws, especially on double plays; that his hitting was being affected by his fielding lapses; and that Hunnefield may be called on to spell Cissell at short.</p> <p>The same day the <em>Courant’s</em> report came out, the White Sox were in Ennis, Texas, enjoying a post game barbecue thrown by the locals, when Blackburne spotted Cissell, who was clearly inebriated. “He didn’t look right,” Blackburne explained a few days later. “There was to be a dance for the gang that evening but when I saw our shortstop I decided the dance was off…I asked Cissell for an explanation and he told me he was a bit upset because things hadn’t been breaking right for him during the training trip.”</p> <p>The next night, Blackburne had to deal with another of his players, first baseman and team captain<a href="http://seamheads.com/blog/2009/05/18/punch-drunk-the-art-shires-story/"> Art Shires</a>, who drunkenly wandered past the manager at 12:30 in the morning without recognizing him, made his way to the hotel courtyard and began howling at the moon. The next morning Blackburne stripped Shires of his captaincy. A few days later he called a team meeting. “I didn’t try to conceal from the others that both Shires and Cissell had taken something stronger than pink lemonade,” Blackburne told Irving Vaughan. “I finished by remarking that the next man caught coming in after midnight would be plastered with a fine and that goes whether the tardy arrival comes in wet or dry.”</p> <p>Shires and Cissell charged that Blackburne was “incompetent and tyrannical” and reports out of Dallas, where the White Sox trained, had half the team on the verge of a rebellion. Charles Comiskey sent Shires back to his home in Italy, Texas, where he was ordered to get into playing shape at his own expense.</p> <p>Cissell apologized and was reinstated to good standing, but his drinking would continue to be a problem for the rest of his career. “The White Sox paid a good chunk of gold for him as a rookie in 1928 and he should have been a great star, but he drank,” wrote legendary reporter Red Smith years later. “He looked like a guy who couldn’t miss. He could do anything on the infield and there never was a rougher clutch hitter and there wasn’t anything in the world that could frighten him a little bit…Cissell had it, all right. He had everything except the ability to take care of himself.”</p> <p>A week before the regular season started, George Kirksey reported that Cissell might begin the 1929 campaign on the bench “as a result of his disregard for training rules” and that Hunnefield or George Redfern would take his place, but he was in his familiar position on Opening Day, playing shortstop and batting seventh against the Browns. In fact, Cissell would go on to lead the team in games played (152), at-bats (618), runs (83), hits (173), and stolen bases (25), falling only two swipes short of the league’s stolen base crown, and came within one three-bagger of pacing the team in triples.</p> <p>He wasn’t spectacular at the plate—no other batter in baseball made more outs than Cissell’s 481 and he sported the sixth worst OPS among A.L. qualifiers—but he was fairly steady and consistent and the White Sox knew what they could expect from him. His average climbed to a season-high .311 on May 18 before settling into more familiar territory, and from June 1 until the end of the season, it never dropped lower than .261 nor climbed higher than .281. He finished the season at .280, a 20-point improvement over his previous mark, and boosted his slugging percentage 57 points, from .330 to .387.</p> <p>In the field, he displayed even better range than in 1928, leading all A.L. shorstops in that category, but his glove remained merely average at .937. Still, Cissell led the league in putouts, tied Joe Cronin for the league lead in assists, and finished third in double plays. And his arm received high marks from <em>New York Times</em> senior sports columnist John Kieran, who rated Cissell’s wing number one among A.L. shortstops. “Chalmers [<em>sic</em>] Cissell of the White Sox can go behind third base and still throw out fast runners at the first station, which is the real test.”</p> <p>The White Sox apparently remained unimpressed, however. Blackburne was fired after leading the team through a tumultuous season that included two fist fights with Shires and a seventh-place finish on the back of a then franchise-worst 59-93 record. With four games remaining in the 1929 season, Comiskey announced that he’d hired former Tiger shortstop Donie Bush to lead the team in 1930. Cissell had once been described as a larger version of the diminutive Bush, but the new White Sox skipper had his eye on two new shortstop recruits, Irv Jeffries and Ernie Smith, and was planning on moving Cissell to second base to replace Kerr, who fielded well and had the league’s best range, but boasted an anemic bat.</p> <p>Jeffries batted .305 with 10 home runs for the Dallas Steers of the Class A Texas League while playing third base, but he began his professional career as a shortstop. Smith, a 30-year-old, eight-year minor league veteran, was named MVP of the Southern Association after batting .309 and slugging .462 for Birmingham, while finishing first in putouts, and second in assists, fielding percentage, and range.</p> <p>In February 1930, Cissell opened up to Henry P. Edwards about a handful of issues, including his hitting. “It is not the pitching that bothers me,” Cissell explained to Edwards, “as much as it is the fielding of the opposition in the big league. I am meeting the ball just as well as in the minors but they play for a batter more, shifting around, sometimes on each pitched ball. Consequently, you do not find as many alleys through which you can drive the ball safely.” Later in the article, Edwards concluded that Cissell’s move to second base was all but guaranteed, considering the Sox had Hunnefield, Jeffries, and Smith battling for the shortstop position.</p> <p>Less than two weeks later, Ed Burns reported that Bush had made Cissell’s switch to second base official and that it looked like Jeffries would be the team’s new shortstop. Burns was critical of Cissell, calling him “more or less of a bust,” that he had lost his aggressiveness during the previous season, and that the “naturally happy and spirited youngster” had become “something of a crab,” which affected his performance. “His game fell off accordingly and there were times when the money invested in him probably was all that staved off his banishment.”</p> <p>According to reports, Bush was “tickled pink” to have Cissell at second base. “Cissell is a natural second baseman, and will be a star unless I miss my guess,” Bush told reporters in late March. And Jeffries was making a favorable impression on the new skipper and was reported to have the edge over Hunnefield and Smith, but when the season finally started for the White Sox after two straight rainouts, Smith was leading off and playing short.</p> <p>Cissell came out of the gates like a man possessed, starting the season with a 12-game hitting streak, during which he batted a league-leading .431 and scored 13 times. His streak was snapped by the Yankees on May 4, but he fashioned another 10-game streak immediately after and was batting .388 after going 2-for-3 in the first game of a doubleheader against Cleveland. But that proved to be his high-water mark of the season, as he batted only .246 the rest of the way to finish at .270. And Bush’s proclamation that Cissell would be a star at second base was far from accurate. Cissell made more errors than any other A.L. second sacker, had the worst fielding percentage, and finished second-to-last in assists, double plays, and putouts.</p> <p>After only one season at second base, speculation was that Bush would move Cissell to third in 1931. Willie Kamm had anchored the hot corner since 1923 and became the best fielding third baseman of the era, but he was disciplined in 1930 for a lack of hustle and rumors had Cissell moving to third base to take the former captain’s spot. “One thing Bush may attempt before considering the return of Kamm is placing Bill Cissell on third base,” suggested the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> in August 1930. “Spider Bill had faults at short that Bush figured could be eliminated by playing the peppery youth at second. But at second Cissell continues to flash in dazzling style one moment and blow the next. Third base might be the spot to which he is naturally adapted.”</p> <p>Kamm was put on the trading block and was rumored to be heading to Cleveland for Indians infielder and former batting champion Lew Fonseca, but Comiskey denied a deal was in the works. That left Kamm at third and Cissell fighting Greg Mulleavy and Luke Appling for second and short. Mulleavy played shortstop in 1930 and was a disaster, but was still on the team heading into spring training. Appling batted .326 and slugged .508 for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association, then hit .308 in a cup of coffee with the White Sox and, though his fielding left much to be desired, he had the inside track on the shortstop position.</p> <p>Cissell arrived at camp weighing 182 pounds, prompting Irving Vaughan to call him “Fat Man Cissell” and “Hack” in his <em>Chicago Tribune</em> column of February 27. Vaughan also reported that Cissell worked out at second base. Mulleavy was eventually shipped to Toledo, and Appling was all but assured the starting shortstop job when it was reported in late March that Bush predicted he’d “blossom into a real sensation.” As the season drew closer, Bush settled on an infield that featured Bennie Tate behind the dish, Cissell at second, Kamm at third, and Appling at shortstop. The only hole he had yet to fill was at first base, but that problem was soon solved when the Sox purchased Lu Blue from the Browns for $15,000.</p> <p>Less than two weeks before Opening Day, Dixon Stewart wrote an article in which he attributed Cissell’s second and third chances to his huge purchase price. “Just how long would have been the major league career of Cissell had he come from the minors at a cost of, say, $10,000 is speculative,” wrote Stewart. “Better ball players than Cissell have come to the majors for less money. But baseball magnates are human and they find it difficult to face the necessity of sending a heavily priced ball player back to the minors. And so, Cissell’s ace in the hole would seem to be that price tag, whereas he was the object of pity when he first joined the Sox.”</p> <p>The 1931 season proved to be a difficult one for Cissell. He began the season at second base and batted fifth, but unlike in his previous seasons, he didn’t get off to a red hot start. He drove in 14 runs in his first 12 games and earned a brief promotion to the cleanup spot, but he promptly went 1-for-22 with no RBIs in his next five games and was dropped to sixth in the order when he average fell from .286 to .207. When Appling’s average dropped to .188 on May 14, Cissell was moved over to shortstop and Johnny Kerr was given his old starting job back at second base.</p> <p>Three days later, Kamm was dealt to the Indians for Fonseca who took over second base for three weeks before moving to the outfield, while Irv Jeffries was given Kamm’s old spot at third. During all of this calamity, Cissell’s average continued to drop and he was at .186 on May 20, prompting Claire Burcky to write, “Cissell has practically dropped out of sight.”</p> <p>So it was a bit odd that on May 28 with Cissell batting .209 and slugging .275, another writer waxed poetic about the White Sox infielder, claiming he “has come back in big style,” was “winning game after game for the White Sox with long hits in the pinches and has turned in some of the choicest fielding to be seen around the American League.” At the time the article hit newsstands, Cissell had seven extra-base hits and 18 RBIs in 37 games, and only two of those long hits and four of those runs batted in had come since May 1.</p> <p>Cissell’s batting average hovered around .200 for more than half the season before he boosted it to .220 on July 18. Then on July 27, during a road trip to New York, Cissell found himself in the news again when he lost a race to 56-year-old tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, who ran 75 yards backwards and defeated two of his three opponents. The race occurred at Yankee Stadium between games of a doubleheader and pitted Robinson against Ben Chapman and Dusty Cooke of the Yankees and Cissell, all of whom had to run 100 yards, but facing forward. Chapman passed Robinson with only a few yards to spare and won the race, but the dancer beat Cooke and Cissell, and finished second.</p> <p>Once August began, Cissell’s bat heated up, but only in comparison to his previous effort. He batted .258 and slugged .348, but was only able to nudge his average to a season-high .223 on August 17. It fell again to .220 after his next game, then his season almost ended prematurely when he tore ligaments in his knee while covering second base on August 20. But he was somehow able to return for the last three games of the season, going 3-for-14 to finish at .220. He wasn’t great in the field either, but he was above average in both fielding percentage and range for the first time in his career.</p> <p>Bush resigned in October and Fonseca was named to manage the team, making him the fourth different major league manager Cissell had played for in five years. Fonseca was planning on keeping Cissell at shortstop, but announced he was going to overhaul the infielder’s batting. “Fonseca is going about the job from the ground up,” reported the <em>New York Times</em>, “altering his stance, stride, swing, and timing, and expects the young infielder to hit .300 or better.”</p> <p>Fonseca’s work appeared to pay off when Cissell began the 1932 campaign with seven hits and four RBIs in his first five games, and was batting .350 on April 16, but he fell into a funk, went 2-for-19, and saw his average plummet to .231 on April 23. He went 2-for 4 with a double, a homer, a walk, an RBI, and three runs scored on April 24 against Detroit and bumped his average to .256, but little did he know that that would be his last game with the White Sox.</p> <p>After his stellar performace against the Tigers, Cissell was traded (along with pitcher Jim Moore) to the Indians for second baseman Johnny Hodapp and outfielder Bob Seeds. White Sox secretary Harry Grabiner explained that the Sox needed more punch in their offense, which Hodapp, a career .319 hitter going into the 1932 season, was expected to deliver. But Hodapp was batting only .125 at the time of the trade, prompting the Indians to ship him to Chicago for Cissell, a player they’d coveted for a few years and one they hoped would strengthen their weakness at second base.</p> <p>At least one writer thought Cleveland was taken to the cleaners by the White Sox. “For two years the Tribe has been hot after [Cissell] and now that they have him—well, what of it? Granted the Tribe needs a shortstop and needs one badly. But whether Cissell will help them any is something I doubt very much. Cissell has been a complete bust ever since he hit the big time.”</p> <p>William Braucher somewhat agreed. “Cissell has failed to live up to his $123,000 reputation, though he has been a very good utility infielder,” he wrote. But he also thought the acquisitions of Kamm in 1931 and Cissell in 1932 made the left side of Cleveland’s infield one of the best in the league. But the Indians had other plans and moved Johnny Burnett over to shortstop and put Cissell at second.</p> <p>The move paid off and Cissell became a different player with Cleveland. He batted .287 and slugged .457 in May, then batted .297 in June, and knocked in 31 runs in his first 47 games with the Indians. His momentum carried over into July and his numbers really took off from that point forward. He had a six-game hitting streak to close out June, then extended it another seven games before going hitless. He immediately embarked on an eight-game hitting streak, giving him hits in 21 of his previous 22 games, and raised his average to .320 on the season.</p> <p>The Yankees were running away with the league, boasting a nine-and-a-half game lead in mid-July, but the Indians were hanging tough in second place and Cissell was earning praise for his performance. “In the Cleveland camp much credit is given to Chalmer Cissell for keeping the Indians going in their recent drive,” wrote John Kieran. “When the trade was made with the White Sox some of the Indians thought they were losing more in Hodapp and Bob Seeds than they were getting in return. But ask them now and the boys will vote for Cissell under the unit rule.”</p> <p>Gayle Talbot wrote that Cissell was beginning to resemble the player he was supposed to be when he first entered the league and that he was getting hits “where they count” for the Indians. Another writer insisted Cissell was finally justifying his price tag and had become one of the most valuable players in the American League.</p> <p>“Cissell took over the job at second base where the Indians had been weak for several years. Not only did his hitting average soar…but he inspired the whole team with his fighting qualities. Day by day, the realization became more apparent that Cissell, the player who had been hooted and booed in Chicago, was becoming the idol of the Cleveland fans. Always scrapping, always trying, never letting slip a chance to help his team.”</p> <p>He batted .338 in July and .328 in August before finishing with a flourish and batting .340 in September, capped off by a modest season-ending seven-game hitting streak. He batted .320 for Cleveland and finished the season with a .315 average. The Indians fell to fourth place, but Cissell continued to receive plaudits. Braucher credited him with being “the life of the [Indians] club,” and named Cissell the starting second baseman on his all-star team, alongside future Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, Lefty Grove, Chuck Klein, and Lloyd Waner.</p> <p>Few writers were as impressed as Braucher, naming Cissell on only 10 of 191 ballots on a poll conducted by <em>The Sporting News</em>, and awarding Tony Lazzeri of the Yankees the second base berth on their 1932 All-Star team. Cissell finished fifth behind Lazzeri, Charlie Gehringer, Billy Herman and Tony Cucinello. He did slightly better in MVP voting, finishing 11th in the league, but was fourth among second basemen, behind Lazzeri and Gehringer in the American League and Herman in the National.</p> <p>In 1933, Cissell showed up for spring training overweight again, then was warned by the <em>Hartford Courant</em> of a second base jinx that had plagued Cleveland since 1926, when Fred Spurgeon had a solid year followed by a collapse in 1927, then Carl Lind pulled the same trick in 1928 and ‘29. “Cleveland has had a succession of sensational keystoners who went sour,” the paper reminded readers. Indians manager Roger Peckinpaugh apparently didn’t believe in jinxes, however, and penciled Cissell into the cleanup spot on Opening Day.</p> <p>Cissell got off to a slow start, hitting only .235 a little more than a week into the season, but he was doing his job as a cleanup hitter, slugging .412 and driving in five runs in his first eight games. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. Hitting .232 with a .241 on-base percentage and a .354 slugging average on May 16, Cissell was moved up to third in the order for three games before moving up to second on May 25, despite a still anemic .250 OBP. He responded well, boosting his OBP to .286 on June 8, but was still batting only .236 with only 14 RBIs.</p> <p>Peckinpaugh was fired on June 9 after the Indians went 26-25 in their first 51 games and dropped from first place on May 11 to fifth place less than a month later. Bibb Falk managed the team for one game before Walter Johnson, the Indians’ new skipper, arrived from his Maryland farmhouse. Johnson left Cissell at second base and in the two hole for most of the rest of the month and, though he continued to struggle, Cissell finished fifth among A.L. second basemen in fan balloting for the league’s first official All-Star game to be played at Comiskey Park.</p> <p>Finally on June 30, Johnson replaced Cissell with Odell Hale, a 24-year-old backup third baseman with only 10 games of experience at second. Although he was a below average glove man at second, Hale responded well, leading the league in range and finishing the season as Cleveland’s second best hitter.</p> <p>Cissell, on the other hand, began to find it difficult to get on the field, serving as a pinch runner and hitter, splitting time with Bill Knickerbocker and Johnny Burnett at shortstop, and spelling Hale at second base on occasion. He hit .256 the rest of the way to finish at .230, and enjoyed a “power” surge in August when he smacked three of his six home runs, all coming in a six-game span in the middle of the month. But his season ended on September 15 when he underwent an appendectomy at New York Post Graduate Hospital a day after the Indians arrived in New York to play the Yankees.</p> <p>Less than a month after his surgery, Cissell was dealt to the Boston Red Sox for southpaw hurler Lloyd “Gimpy” Brown, a soon-to-be 29-year-old seven-year veteran who had gone 9-17 with a 4.63 ERA for the Browns and Red Sox in 1933, and was 67-69 in his career, albeit with a respectable 4.08 ERA in 251 games. According to reports, Cissell had impressed Red Sox general manager Eddie Collins and was slated to play second base, replacing player-manager Marty McManus who had been released on October 2.</p> <p>Then, to erase any doubt that Cissell was Collins’ man, the Boston GM sold Johnny Hodapp to the St. Louis Cardinals less than three weeks after the deal. It was the second time in his career that Cissell replaced Hodapp in a team’s lineup. But things got murky when, on December 12, the Red Sox acquired second baseman Max Bishop and pitchers Lefty Grove and Rube Walberg from the Athletics. Cissell was seemingly out of the running for the second base job when Red Sox skipper Bucky Harris announced in February that Bishop was his keystone man and that Cissell would be battling Billy Werber and Bucky Walters for shortstop and third base.</p> <p>Bishop, Werber and Walters were in the starting lineup on Opening Day, but Cissell eventually worked his way in and ended up getting a majority of the playing time at second. He showed good range, but his glovework left much to be desired and he was the Red Sox’s worst hitter, batting .267 and slugging only .346. Only three other A.L. hitters had an OPS lower than Cissell’s .661.</p> <p>Cissell spent only one year with the Red Sox before he was shipped back to Portland on February 1, 1935 for pitcher Jack Wilson and an option on outfielder Nino Bongiovanni. The infielder had come full circle; after seven years in the big leagues, he was back with the team that had sold him for the record sum that scribes wouldn’t let him forget. He enjoyed a very good year with Portland, batting .316 and rapping out 204 hits, successfully piloting the team for most of the season after skipper Buddy Ryan resigned on May 31, and earning a spot on Bob Ray’s P.C.L. All-Star team. But his heart was still in the big leagues.</p> <p>“Managing a minor league club is okay,” Cissell told Ray, “but there’s only one place to play ball and that’s in the majors. I still think there are four or five years of major league ball left in my system, and if I don’t land back in the big show next season I’ll be mighty disappointed.”</p> <p>In fact, Cissell refused to play for Portland again in 1936 and was told to make a deal for himself. He ended up being shipped to the Baltimore Orioles of the International League for first baseman Bill Sweeney. Meanwhile the Beavers hired none other than Max Bishop to follow in Cissell’s managerial footsteps, but Bishop was fired early in the season and replaced by Sweeney.</p> <p>The Orioles were happy to have the veteran infielder, especially Baltimore general manager Jack Ogden. “Ogden is sold on Cissell,” wrote Jesse A. Linthicum of the <em>Baltimore Sun</em>. “He believes that Bill will make a big hit in the International League. He is peppery, and eager to play here.” Few expected him to be there long, though. “The big leagues booted one when they let Cissell go back to the minors,” insisted catcher Bill Cronin, one of Cissell’s former teammates with the Beavers. “Look for him to go up again, for he’s the best infielder we had in our league.”</p> <p>Before the 1936 regular season could get under way, yet another writer reminded his readers about the record price the White Sox paid for Cissell back in 1927. “There was Bill Cissell out there playing shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon, and it was not difficult to recall him as the most expensive piece of baseball bric-a-brac who ever came into the big leagues,” wrote Shirley Povich in the <em>Washington Post</em>. “The late Charles A. Comiskey paid $126,000 [<em>sic</em>] for Cissell when he was a star in the Coast League seven years ago and the guy never did justify that kind of a price.”</p> <p>Perhaps not, but once the season got under way he thrilled fans in Baltimore with his stellar play at second base, including Linthicum who named Cissell the team’s most valuable player in mid-June. Cissell fractured his index finger again in July, but kept playing and was batting .348 with 12 homers and a league-leading 118 hits after 83 games. The injury got worse, though, and he was forced to miss some time in late July and early August. His absence from the lineup appeared to solidify his status as the Orioles’s MVP when the team underperformed without him, and he was, in fact, awarded a trophy as the team’s most valuable player towards the end of the season. Cissell finished the year at .349 with career highs in homers (15) and slugging (.523), and was second in the league in range factor.</p> <p>“No one will doubt the wisdom of the selection,” wrote Linthicum. “Cissell has been the spark plug of the infield. He has been a steadying influence to young Red Hoffner at shortstop. In fact, the deal bringing Cissell to this city probably was the best of many engineered by Jack Ogden. Cissell’s value to the club was emphasized when an injury forced him to the sidelines. The Birds did not look the same. Cissell is the ideal type of player. He fights himself out of slumps instead of sulking. There are not enough of that type of player in the game.”</p> <p>Cissell’s performance was rewarded when Connie Mack acquired him in the Rule 5 draft on September 29 (When Mack was asked why he’d take a chance on a player known for his appetite for alcohol, Mack replied, “I understand he only drinks at night now.”) It had been 10 years since Mack first expressed a desire to add the then young up-and-coming Pacific Coast League star to his A’s squad. But Cissell was now in his early thirties and merely a middling journeyman infielder, hoping for a second chance to stick in the big leagues.</p> <p>“Cissell turned in a first-rate job with the Birds this season and earned his chance under the big top again,” wrote C.M. Gibbs. “There is no question but that the former White Sox star can still measure up to major standards.”</p> <p>Cissell capped off his 1936 season by placing second in International League MVP balloting behind Buffalo Bisons outfielder Frank “Beauty” McGowan.</p> <p>He carried that momentum over into 1937 and got off to a fast start as the Athletics’ starting second baseman, going 3-for-5 with a double, a run, and an RBI in Philadelphia’s 4-3 Opening Day win over the Washington Senators. By May 15, he was batting .333 and just missed ranking among the top 10 hitters in the American League. But by the end of the month, his average had slipped to .278, and by June 6, it was down to .265. His glove had also been subpar, committing eight errors in 33 games, and though he had the best range in the league, Mack had seen enough and sent Cissell back to Baltimore on June 11.</p> <p>Despite not living up to expectations in Philadelphia, Cissell made quite an impression. Mack called him “one of the smartest players in baseball,” and Red Smith wrote a touching farewell letter to Cissell in the <em>Philadelphia Record. </em></p> <blockquote><p>Dear Bill—They just don’t ever come back, do they fella? It was just a month ago that we sat together with a couple of dishes of beer between us and you said quietly: “I’ll bat about .330 this year, and drive in maybe 120 runs.”</p> <p>You weren’t bragging. You believed in yourself. So did I. So did all of us up here in the press coop watching and marveling at the comeback you were making.</p> <p>We watched you swinging that stick in the clutch, batting in the runs that kept the Athletics’ May winning streak alive. We watched you on second base playing the hitters, making your head spare those 32-year-old legs…</p> <p>Well, you made a grand try, Bill. For a while we all thought you had the Indian sign on that sunuvagun with the sickle, as Gabby Street used to call the gentleman who soon or late calls the third one on all of us.</p> <p>Well, I’m getting maudlin, Bill, which is something you wouldn’t go for. I just want to thank you for the thrills you gave us a month ago. I’m going out now to lift one to your luck.</p></blockquote> <p>Not all of the A’s were upset to see Cissell go, however. When asked about the team’s nine-game losing streak to end the month of May, dropping the team from 15-9 to 15-18, an unnamed player said, “See that spot out there between first and second base? Well that’s where we lost 10 games in one month. Poor Bill Cissell, our second baseman, couldn’t go to his left and young Chubby Dean, our first baseman, couldn’t go to his right. Between the two of ‘em, they left a hole that you could move the dugout through. Anything hit toward right centerfield on the ground was a hit. It was pitiful.”</p> <p>Cissell was a welcome sight back in Baltimore, but he struggled mightily in his first month with the team, batting only .222. He eventually recovered, though, and batted .319 for the rest of the season to finish at a respectable .296 on the year. At 33, Cissell appeared to be losing a step, and the Orioles had a hole to fill at third base after incumbent third sacker “Smokey Joe” Martin was drafted by the White Sox in the 1937 Rule 5 draft, so Cissell was moved to third in 1938.</p> <p>Despite his admiration for Cissell, Linthicum called the move “a gamble.” But Gibbs insisted it was the right call, that too many hits that Bill would have swallowed up in 1935 and ‘36 had gotten past him in 1937, and that Cissell was demonstrating in camp that he was a capable third baseman. Before he could prove it, however, an X-ray discovered a chipped bone in the index finger that he’d fractured twice before in his career. He played through the injury and got off to a slow start, batting .250 in his first 14 games.</p> <p>He also found himself in some off-the-field trouble early in the season when his wife called the police and had him cited for disturbing the peace, resulting in a fine of $11.45. Orioles manager Buck Crouse insisted that he wouldn’t fine Cissell for the infraction because his trouble was “at his home and I haven’t anything to do with a player’s home life,” but C.M. Gibbs reported that Cissell was fined $50 and suspended indefinitely. The Orioles left for Rochester without Cissell and pitcher Bill Perrin, who had also been fined and suspended for getting into a fistfight in front of the city jail, but Jack Ogden wired Cissell the next day and ordered him on a plane to Rochester to rejoin the team.</p> <p>Two weeks later, Cissell was in the news again when his son, Bill Jr., filed a lawsuit against John Pymer and the City Baking Company seeking damages of $25,000 for injuries he received when he was struck by Pymer’s automobile on March 9. Bill Sr. and his wife also filed suit for $2,500 for medical expenses and the loss of their son’s services.</p> <p>But Cissell’s off-field issues didn’t end there. On May 28, it was reported that Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ordered that Cissell be placed on the ineligible list after Cissell failed to respond to letters from Landis asking about a financial deal the player had with some one in Florida. When Cissell insisted Landis’ letters had never reached him, the commissioner relented and allowed Cissell to keep playing.</p> <p>Once he was able to concentrate on playing baseball, he rebounded and posted a solid .293 average and a .401 slugging percentage in 382 at-bats before he was purchased by the New York Giants on August 1 for $20,000 and Blondy Ryan, who was optioned to Baltimore to fill the vacancy left by Cissell. Back in the big leagues, he struggled at the plate, batting .268 with an anemic .297 on-base percentage, but he enjoyed his best season in the field, posting a career-best .977 fielding percentage at second base and a 6.48 range factor that would have easily led the league had he qualified.</p> <p>Unfortunately, his 38-game cup of coffee with the Giants would be his last taste of the majors. On December 6, New York sold the soon-to-be 35-year-old infielder to the Hollywood Stars of the P.C.L. where he’d spend the next two seasons playing second base.</p> <p>Of course, before the 1939 season could get under way, Cissell had to be reminded once again of the $123,000 Charles Comiskey spent to acquire him from Portland. “Unhappily, the $123,000 was thrown to the wind mainly because Cissell was a care free youngster who didn’t make use of his natural ability,” wrote Irving Vaughan in the <em>Chicago Tribune</em>. Then Bob Considine piled on. “[Bill Cissell] cost the White Sox about $100,000 and started out well, but he cut years off his playing life and shaved his general effectiveness by taking abysmal care of himself,” he wrote in the <em>Washington Post</em>.</p> <p>Almost a year to the day that Commissioner Landis threatened to place Cissell on the ineligible list, he found himself facing banishment again in June 1939 when P.C.L. president Wilbur C. “Two Gun” Tuttle got wind of deragatory comments Cissell made about him to an <em>Oakland Tribune</em> newspaper reporter named Art Cohn. While sitting in Jack Fenton’s Oakland tavern, no doubt enjoying a drink or two, Cissell told Cohn that “Tuttle doesn’t know anything about baseball,” and that former major league umpire George Hildebrand would make a better league president than Tuttle.</p> <p>He also criticized the P.C.L. rule permitting the use of using “too many rookies,” and stated that the International League and American Association were stronger circuits than the Pacific Coast League. And he criticized Commissioner Landis for “gypping” him out of $5,000 when he attempted to procure a chunk of the $123,000 purchase price the White Sox doled out for him in 1927. Cissell’s contract showed that he was entitled to the money, but when Landis asked to see the original document and Cissell was able to provide only a copy, the commissioner told him he couldn’t help him. “The judge demanded to see the original or nothing,” Cissell complained.</p> <p>After conferring with Judge W.G. Bramham, president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the minor leagues’ governing body, Tuttle meted out swift justice and suspended Cissell indefinitely without giving the ballplayer a chance to defend himself. The speed and severity of the punishment should have surprised no one; Tuttle was the son of a frontier sheriff and writer of Wild West fiction that featured men like Hashknife Hartley and Sleepy Stevens “riding the fiction range…and shooting off the bad guys…” Apparently, Tuttle viewed Cissell as one of the bad guys. Bramham was even more adamant about punishing Cissell and threatened lifetime suspension “if the remarks attributed to him could not be proved erroneous.”</p> <p>The adjudicators performed an immediate about face, however, and lifted the suspension only two hours into the penalty after receiving a phone call from Stars vice president Bob Cobb. Bramham ordered Tuttle to investigate the matter and determine if Cissell was quoted correctly before deciding on an appropriate penalty. Cissell didn’t deny the allegations, but insisted he didn’t realize he’d been talking to a reporter at the time. “I don’t know Cohn or any other newspaperman,” Cissell swore. “I discussed certain baseball rules last week in an Oakland tavern owned by Jack Fenton but did not talk to any sports writer. I wouldn’t know Cohn if I met him right now.”</p> <p>Cohn stood firm, however. “I am sorry Cissell is in a jam, but he knew he was talking to a newspaperman. His remarks were correctly reported and there were two others present who could verify them.”</p> <p><em>Los Angeles Times</em> columnist Bob Ray came to Cissell’s aid, though he admitted that Cissell was wrong for “rapping the game that has given him his living,” and “popping off against his ‘meal ticket’” in public, and felt a verbal dressing down and an apology were in order. In Cissell’s defense, though, Ray reported that Cohn had a “reputation for having a vivid imagination,” that “he isn’t happy unless he’s embarrassing or irritating somebody,” and that he doubted Cissell had directed his remarks to Cohn, but that the reporter had overheard them. He also took Bramham to task and accused him of being a dictator who was threatening a punishment that was much too severe for the crime.</p> <p>Whether or not Cissell had been talking directly to Cohn or not, the player had a habit of criticizing the P.C.L. in the newspapers, so perhaps Tuttle can be excused for finally taking action. In 1935, Cissell told Bob Ray that there were too many teams in California, especially in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and that two of them should be moved to Vancouver and Tacoma, “but I don’t suppose any of the owners will pay any attention to it,” he said. “That’s the trouble with the owners out here, practically all of them lack the ability to look ahead and they’re afraid to attempt something new.”</p> <p>In the end, Bramham and Tuttle agreed that a lifetime ban was too harsh a penalty. Instead of suspending Cissell, they fined him $200 and placed him on a season-long probation with a warning that future critical remarks by Cissell that found their way into newspapers would result in “severe suspension.” Tuttle explained that he refrained from suspending Cissell because he had no desire to penalize the Hollywood Stars for one man’s actions.</p> <p>But six weeks later, the Stars suspended Cissell themselves for breaking training and though they wouldn’t specify why, rumor was that he’d fallen off the wagon on a trip from Seattle to Portland. Cissell returned to Hollywood’s lineup on July 25 and helped the Stars defeat Oakland with three hits in the 4-0 win. He was able to stay out of trouble the rest of the way, but finished with subpar numbers, batting .269 and slugging only .359 on the year. And though he was no longer one of the league’s better second baseman, his fielding was right in line with his career averages. Still, he was voted the team’s MVP by the Hollywood fans.</p> <p>Cissell spent October playing for Joe Pirrone’s All-Stars in the California Winter League, competing with and against players like Bob Feller, Lou “The Mad Russian” Novikoff, Ernie Orsatti, Babe Herman, then 19-year-old minor league hot shot Jerry Priddy, and Negro league stars such as Mule Suttles, “Wild Bill” Wright, and Lloyd Bassett. He was also mentioned among a list of candidates to take over the managerial reins of the Hollywood Stars in 1940, but lost the job to Bill Sweeney who succeeded Red Killefer.</p> <p>At 36 years old, Cissell entered spring training of 1940 as the second oldest member of the Stars, behind only fellow California Winter Leaguer and new teammate Babe Herman, who was 37. He had to compete early on with Joe Hoover and Don Johnson for his second base job, but beat them both out with Hoover moving back to shortstop and Johnson to Tulsa of the Texas League. Cissell also turned over a new leaf in his personal life, vowing to cut down on hard liquor in favor of the occasional beer or two.</p> <p>Like clockwork the annual mention of the $123,000 purchase price hit newsstands on April 23 when the <em>L.A. Times</em> reported that no deal had included as much money before or since. But the article was a positive one. “Whatever Cissell’s faults may have been in the past,” it read, “one of them never was lack of hustling. Cissell has played the game hard at all times with only one object in view—winning. Bill may be no spring chicken any more, but he’s hustling as much as any player on the Hollywood club.”</p> <p>Cissell got off to a fast start in 1940 and stayed fairly consistent throughout the season, at least at the plate. He batted .327 through his first 37 games and had one stretch where he rapped out 23 hits in 12 games, including two homers, three doubles, and a triple. He couldn’t maintain his torrid pace, but was hitting .305 at the end of July and might have finished the season over .300 had he not been badly spiked in late August. Despite a heavily bandaged foot, Cissell refused to come out of the lineup and his average dropped about 20 points, but he finished the year at a solid .289. His glovework began to slip, however, and he finished last among P.C.L. second basemen in fielding percentage and range.</p> <p>Cissell spent another offseason playing in the California Winter League before preparing for his 17th and final season of professional baseball. Heading into the 1941 season, the writing was on the wall almost immediately for the aging keystone man when the Stars purchased 28-year-old second baseman Ham Schulte from the Philadelphia Phillies. Schulte was almost 10 years younger than Cissell and had paced the National League in fielding percentage (.980) in 1940, committing only 12 errors in 119 games. Prior to that, he led the International League in fielding in 1938 and finished second in 1939.</p> <p>The move proved to be a good one for the Stars. Schulte was a much better player at that point in his career than Cissell was in his, posting a .970 fielding percentage and batting .280. In June, the Stars needed to make room for new pitching coach Johnny Bassler, so they released Cissell, who had been serving as a part-time coach and utility player. He was picked up by the San Francisco Seals two days later but didn’t see much playing time and ended the 1941 season with a .247 average, only one extra-base hit in 40 games, and four errors in 61 chances. At 37 years old, “Spider Bill” Cissell’s professional career was over.</p> <p>In 1942, Cissell played semi-pro ball in California, first with the North America Aviation club, then with the Calship Mariners. From that point on, Cissell popped in and out of the news on occasion. In April 1944, Arch Ward reported in the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> that Cissell was cutting beef for the Iowa Packing Company in Marshalltown, Iowa. Other reports had him working for the railroad. Less than two months later, the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> reported that Cissell had signed with Minneapolis, but there’s no evidence that he ever played for them. It was also around that time that Cissell’s wife, Bernice, died.</p> <p>In 1947, Cissell entertained the idea of playing in the Mexican League, but he was offered a job by Dave Leahy, Comiskey Park’s chief electrician, which he accepted. Besides working as an electrician at the stadium where he made his major league debut, Cissell also played semi-pro ball on Sundays for $25 a game. “He’s worth the dough they pay him, even though he’s getting on in years,” Leahy insisted.</p> <p>Cissell’s last hurrah as a ballplayer came in 1948 when he participated in an Old-Timers’ game at Wrigley Field that also featured Rogers Hornsby, Freddy Lindstrom, Jim Thorpe, and 78-year-old John Hollison, who played for Cap Anson’s Chicago Colts in 1892. Cissell drove in the first run of the game, but the National League won, 5-4, when Bob O’Farrell’s single knocked in Ed Cronin with the winning run.</p> <p>From there, Cissell’s life spiraled out of control. In December, he was stricken with what appeared to be Buerger’s disease (incorrectly reported by some as Berger’s disease), an inflammation and clotting of veins and arteries in the hands and feet, which made it impossible for him to walk without excruciating pain. He had also fallen on hard times and was living in a tiny one-room apartment in Chicago with his 13-year-old son Gary, who was supporting both of them with his $7-a-week grocery store job. In addition to the disease, he was malnourished, resulting in a 60 lb. weight loss, and had hardening of the arteries.</p> <p>“When my wife died I went to hell for a while,” Cissell told Robert Cromie of the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> in January 1949. “In fact, I never did come all the way back. I used to drink too much, altho I haven’t had any since Thanksgiving. But if I can just get back on my feet again I’ll be all right. If a man can’t make a livin’ in this town he can’t make it anywhere. But I’m just skin and bones now, must be down to 100 pounds.”</p> <p>When White Sox vice president Charles Comiskey II and general manager Frank Lane learned of Cissell’s plight, they rushed to his aid, called an ambulance and had him taken to Mercy Hospital, and also arranged for Gary to live with a neighboring family so he could continue going to school (Bill Jr. had reenlisted in the Navy and Charlene was living with friends in Des Moines). Win Clark, secretary of the Association of Professional Baseball Players, issued an emergency check to Cissell to help him get by. “Bill’s case is pathetic,” Clark said. “While he dropped out of the association when his playing days ended…Bill faithfully paid his dues for the 15 years he was active and we are going to help him all we can.” Soon contributions from fans began to be sent as well.</p> <p>After his first day in the hospital, Cissell’s prognosis looked promising. Dr. John P. Waitkus leaned away from Buerger’s disease and towards polyneuritis-multiple inflammation along the nerves, with some hardening of the arteries. “We still have to get him in good enough shape so that we can run vascular tests, but I don’t think we’ll find anything too serious,” said Waitkus. Cissell’s condition improved in early February—thanks to treatment and a strict diet, the inflammation subsided and was affecting only one foot from the ankle down, and Cissell had already gained 15 pounds.</p> <p>“I’m feeling a little better,” Bill told reporters from his hospital bed. “I’ve had some rough days but I’m sure the worst is over.” Lane reported that doctors expected Cissell to be up and around in a few days and when he was able to work, the White Sox had a job waiting for both him and Gary.</p> <p>During Cissell’s recovery, Milton Richman took Organized Baseball to task for not doing more to help former ballplayers after their careers are over. “Baseball wasn’t responsible for the poor circumstances of all these ex-players but the game might have provided more help,” he wrote. “Some of these men, in fact, ruined themselves but baseball might have taken a more charitable view of their difficulties.” Richman cited the cases of Danny Gardella, former Giant and Cardinal, who was living in a dilapidated building in Yonkers, New York with his wife and 16-month-old son while trying to make ends meet as a hospital orderly, and former slugger Hack Wilson, who died penniless at age 48 only three months earlier.</p> <p>Things were looking bright for Cissell as February turned to March. He had fully recovered from the nerve inflammation in his legs and feet and was almost ready to be discharged from the hospital. But he suffered a heart attack on March 5 and was listed in critical condition. Almost a week later Waitkus announced that Cissell was not responding to treatment and was getting weaker. He died the next day, March 15, at the age of 45.</p> <p>Cissell was survived by his three children, his mother, Mrs. Ida French, and two sisters, Mrs. P.F. Sudbeck and Mrs. Alma Miller. He’s buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in his home town of Perryville, Missouri.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=Tsb8WplA9Dc:QpqHFqs-3vo:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=Tsb8WplA9Dc:QpqHFqs-3vo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>When a World Series Becomes a Defining Moment For a City</h1> <p>Matt Aber — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:30:17 +0000</p> <p>Through much of my childhood, and probably further in to my adult life than I would like to admit, I followed pro wrestling. One of my favorite wrestlers was the bad guy and heavy weight champ Ric Flair. Flair would hold up his championship belt and yell, “To be the man, you have to beat the man” and for the Philadelphia Phillies this is their shot at taking down the biggest name in sports.</p> <p>The Phils are reigning World Series champs but let us be honest; when you face the Yanks on the biggest stage in the game you are the challenger regardless of your recent accomplishments. The Yankees’ 26 titles is the most in any of the four major sports besting the Canadiens’ 23 Stanley Cups, the Celtics’ 17 titles and the Steelers’ 6 Super Bowl wins. “Greatest franchise in sports” is the title that those who wear the pinstripes have earned. But in this time of clichés and political correctness when it comes time to answering the media’s questions those with the Phillies have given answers from the heart which is somewhat refreshing. As soon as the Phils put the final nail in the Dodgers’ coffin both Ruben Amaro Jr. their GM and their manager Charlie Manuel basically said they wanted to play the Yanks because they were the best team in baseball.</p> <p>You never just play the Bombers, though, in a World Series. The opposing team plays the icons of the game in Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle along with the historic moments that the Yanks have given baseball in the WS like Babe’s called shot in 1932, Larsen’s perfect game in ‘56 and Jackson’s three home runs on three swings in ’77. Even when the Yankees lose a World Series doesn’t it seem like it always takes some type of Divine Intervention in a Game 7 to beat them? Bill Mazeroski’s home run in ‘60 and Luis Gonzalez’s broken bat hit off of Mariano Rivera in 2001 as exhibits A and B.</p> <p>A short drive from New York City, though, is a city that knows that if they want to be respected beyond baseball they want, no make that need, to beat the Yankees. Last year the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays, and though it is great to earn that ring, it would have been nice to have had a shot at the Red Sox. In sports it is often more fun to beat a team whose name carries a little more cache like the BoSox as compared to who truly was a better team like the Rays.</p> <p>Living just outside of Philly I can tell you that this was a championship starved city. No major sports team had won a title in 25 years and it was in 1980 the last time a WS was won here. People were so stoked that fans were flying to Tampa last year and buying tickets down there for the WS because paying for the trip and tickets was cheaper than getting scalped tickets in Philadelphia.</p> <p>Either way, now that the title is here the fans are feeling it and want a shot at the bully. The Yanks are the biggest and the best and beating them in a series could lead to a word seldom heard in Philly sports – dynasty. The town would have a baseball team with back-to-back titles with a team from The Big Apple as a notch on its belt and would be set up nicely for a …gulp….third possible title with the core of the team coming back in 2010.</p> <p>You pick up any local paper here and you read about the complex the city has for being second rate in all things to NY and how before Philadelphia was taunted as NY’s “sixth borough.” Nothing makes people here happier than to beat up on the Mets and demoralize them, but that is getting tiresome now. Two late season collapses and a Mets season destroyed by injury have the Philly Phaithful thirsting for new blood. The Yanks are Gotham’s heart and soul and I can tell you the fans want nothing more than to use that city as a stepping stone to being called something special in sports.</p> <p>This will be the Yankees’ 40th World Series appearance and they’re seeking title number twenty seven. On the flip side Philadelphia was established in 1883 as the Quakers and became the Phillies in 1890, this will be their seventh WS appearance and looking for title number three. The team is also the only one in professional sports where the organization has over 10,000 losses. Starting to see now where that insecurity from the “City of Brotherly Love” is coming from? The Phillies team today represents a new source of pride for the city when it comes to sports and the foreign territory of miracle wins and impossible endings actually going the home team’s way.</p> <p>For Philadelphia, the excitement for November 1st is basically Christmas morning, hitting the lottery and having a date with Megan Fox all rolled into one. At 1 o’clock the Eagles play the NY Giants at Lincoln Financial Field and then literally across the street that night the Phils will be hosting Game 4 of the WS against yet another NY team. Are you kidding me? You can’t tell me the Man Upstairs isn’t a sports fan. This is one of those days where calling in The National Guard seems like a reasonable option.</p> <p>Essentially you are bringing together the football and baseball fans of Philly and NY to watch the most violent team sport in one rivalry and then turning around a few hours later and matching two more teams in a championship game. Toss in some animosity between the cities, a dash of jealousy by Philly fans, a hint of arrogance from NY ones and a healthy dose of tailgating (code word for alcohol) for everyone and this has all the makings of an epic day on the field and in the stands.</p> <p>It will be interesting to see how some of the Yankees respond to the Philly fans. They have a huge advantage merely because they are the team everyone wants to see, so playing in front of sold out crowds is nothing noteworthy to them. But I question if they will have played in front of a larger or angrier crowd than they will get on the road here. Fenway, you say? Possibly, but the Sox and Yanks play so often each year it is tough for a crowd to get up for every game, I will argue.</p> <p>Players like Jeter feed off of the hostility, you don’t get called “The Captain” because you wilt under pressure. I do question, though, thin skinned players with rabbit ears for the crowd like A-Rod. In the NLCS the Philly fans were relentless on Manny Ramirez with the chants of “cheater” and “you used steroids.” You just know the fans will be all over A-Rod and his past, and will surely dial it up a notch, so the question becomes whether he can block it out or does he press too hard and turn back into the choking A-Rod. If he truly loves Kate Hudson he will not bring her with him on the road - that would be like tossing chum into a shark tank. I picture Kate Hudson succumbing to the crowd’s jeers, crying, and then being pelted by rally towels with the chants of “wipe your tears – wipe your tears.”</p> <p>In the end, it will be a series that a fan with a true appreciation of the game will enjoy. Each team pretty much has a lineup that is loaded from top to bottom with guys who can flat out mash. Not to mention that they will be playing in the two ballparks that saw the most home runs this year, so some of the games could be slugfests. On the other hand, though, hurlers like Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia can shut down any lineup on a given night with the stuff they bring to the table.</p> <p>Both have some of the biggest stars in the game. The Yankees trot out sure fire Hall of Famers in Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera along with possibly A-Rod (will his steroids admission keep him out?) They also have teammates trying to build their resumes and make their mark in Bomber’s lore like Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. The Phillies sport possibly the best second baseman in the game with Chase Utley, and at first base with Ryan Howard. Though still in the early part of their careers, I think if the two can avoid injury and continue to produce like they have then Cooperstown could be calling them both when all is said and done. Just like their opponents, the Phils have players like Jimmy Rollins and 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels as complimentary players who can take over a game.</p> <p>I can’t see this series being a cake walk for either squad because they both appear to be so evenly matched. The Yanks are great and you can see why they won over 100 games this year. The Phils want to repeat and know what a Series win over NY would mean to Philadelphia. My prediction: The Yankees will win title number 27….but not this year. Put me down for the Phillies in 7 games of what I hope will be one for the ages.</p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=PXbBgEZYlnM:Ugm5pgjXdlM:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/seamheads?a=PXbBgEZYlnM:Ugm5pgjXdlM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"></img></a> </div> </article> </main></body></html>