This Day in Baseball History: April 30th, 1990

Still, Mets fans wouldn't be happy when the Mets didn't re-sign him instead of trade him in 1992.

On April 30, 1990:

David Cone argues in two runs.


In the bottom fourth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves, David Cone let things get out of hand, just not in the usual way. He struck out Jim Presley to begin the inning, and everything was going along smoothly for Cone, who was trying to bounce-back from a two-run third. Dale Murphy came up a laced a single to center, and then, he took second while Ernie Whitt batted. Whitt would go on to take a walk, putting men on first and second anyway. The next batter was Andres Thomas, and he hit a deep flyball to left-center, but Mark Carreon tracked it down for out number two. Then, the unthinkable happened.

Mark Lemke, the Braves second baseman, came up. On the 1-2 pitch, Lemke rolled over the pitch and hit it to the second baseman. Because the first baseman had come to get the ball as well, Cone had to cover first. The umpire called Lemke safe, but Cone disagreed. Actually, he really disagreed. Instead of paying attention to anything else, Cone began to argue with first base umpire Charlie Williams. While he argued, Murphy and Whitt came around to score without a throw. Even as everyone yelled for Cone to pay attention, he ignored them, continuing to argue with the umpire.

Cone was not ejected, and he pitched another inning and gave up another run. After the game, the umpire stated, "I told him that another runner just scored while you argued with me." Why Cone didn't turn around is a mystery. Cone responded to the question with the pathetic excuse that he "snapped emotionally". I don't know how that happens. You're playing the worst team in baseball, have two outs anyway, and have not allowed that third run of the game to score.

Cone, a 27-year old veteran, went on to have a pretty good season. He went 14-10 with a 3.23 ERA and a league-leading 233 strikeouts.


Trivia Time
How many Cy Young Awards did David Cone win?

Yesterday's Answer --> Mickey Mantle with an astounding 42 runs (Yogi Berra is second with 41)

This Day in Baseball History: April 29th, 1930

Hack Wilson drove in 191 runs (or was it 190?) in 1930. Bizarre year.

On April 29, 1930:

123 players cross home plate in one day.


Holy crap. Remember, there are only 16 teams at this point, and only 14 played (it seems the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals were rained out). That means there were 7 games played. For those non-math majors out there, 123/7 = 17.57 runs per game. Here are the scores:

Cleveland 6, St. Louis Browns 4
CHI White Sox 8, Detroit 6
Philadelphia A's 9, Boston Red Sox 5
Washington 11, NY Yankees 8

Brooklyn 19, NY Giants 15 (ding, ding, we have a winner -- geez)
Philadelphia Philles 8, Boston Braves 2
Pittsburgh 13, CHI Cubs 9

If you were a pitcher, you hopefully took a sick day.

The most runs scored in one game by one team is the Chicago Colts (now Cubs) against the Louisville Colonels (how'd I know they'd be involved) with 36 on June 29, 1897. The Rangers set the modern-era record with 30 against the Orioles on August 22, 2007. The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies have the most runs scored in one game between the two teams when they battled 26-23 (Cubbies win) on August 25, 1922.

6 players have scored 6 runs in a game, but Mel Ott is the only one to do it twice. Billy Hamilton holds the season record with 196 in 1894 with the Phillies, but Babe Ruth holds the modern record with 177 in 1921.

Just some fun trivia for you.


Trivia Time
Who holds the World Series record in runs scored and with how many?

Yesterday's Answer --> False, but they did go 14-15 in August.

This Day in Baseball History: April 28th, 1988

I can't even imagine the frustration they experienced. That's a lot of futility. Even the Nationals have lucked into a few victories here and there.

On April 28, 1988:

The Baltimore Orioles lose for the 21st consecutive game.


The Baltimore Orioles didn't just lose for the 21st consecutive game. They lost the 21st consecutive game to open the season. That's a pretty impressive feat. Actually, it's the longest losing streak to start a season. Though that streak is impressive, the Philadelphia Phillies were the most impressive (or I guess gruesome) when they lost 23 straight from July 26 to August 20 in 1961.

Coming into the 1988 season, the Orioles weren't exactly expecting great things. They had just lost 95 games the previous season, including losing 42 of their last 56, but they spent the off-season ridding themselves of anything that reminded them of that season. Only 11 players remained from the previous season. Even with a set of new players, there was no guarantee. The team did have Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Fred Lynn, but there wasn't too much to get excited about.

The season started off pretty ominously as the Milwaukee Brewers waltzed in and blitzed the Orioles 12-0 in front of 50,000+ fans and the governor of Maryland. Five more losses into the campaign, and manager Cal Ripken, Sr., was gone. He lasted a grand total of six games before Frank Robinson was brought in to fix the team. It didn't work. The next two games, they took a 6-1 and 9-3 loss before their first big chance of the streak. Two screwed up sac bunts, three errors, and a couple balks left the Orioles short, 4-3, to the Kansas City Royals. A storm came in the next night, making the conditions cold and horrible, and to match, the Orioles suffered another close loss, 3-2, this time to the Cleveland Indians. 10-0.

The 11th game was even tougher to take. The Orioles took the Indians to the 11th before dropping the game 1-0. Two days later, the Orioles tied the 1904 Washington Senators and 1920 Detroit Tigers with 13 straight losses to open the season, and one night later, the Orioles put them in the rear-view mirror. One night later, the Orioles lost their 15th straight, a franchise record. Blow outs poured more depression on the Orioles and fans. Before the 19th game, President Ronald Reagan called the team to offer some encouragement, and maybe I'm wrong, but that had to make things more difficult. They got close in game 20, but they fell 4-3.

Game 21 started well. Murray drove in the game's first run in the first. Kent Hrbek got things going, though, with his fourth homer of the season, making it 2-1 in the fourth. A double in the bottom of the sixth made it 4-1, and things were looking grim again. But in the next half inning, the Orioles made a move. Four walks were issued, and the bases were loaded with one out and the game at 4-2. Fittingly, a strikeout and a line drive to left ended the inning. Deflated, six of the next seven got out, ending the game. Although they didn't know it, their luck would change the next game.

Actually it didn't really change much. The Orioles went on to lose 107 games. Cal Ripken, Jr., and Eddie Murray were bright spots, but nothing could help a team last in the AL in runs scored and ERA. Their longest winning streak? Four.

For every agonizing defeat of the streak, go here.


Trivia Time
True or False? The Orioles had a winning month in 1988.

Yesterday's Answer --> Johnny VanderMeer in 1938 with the Cincinnati Reds

Stolen Bases

It was pretty cool.

After watching Jacoby Ellsbury steal home, I stood up and clapped along with the fans at Fenway, but it was more because they were then ahead of the dreaded Yankees than Ellsbury actually stealing home. I've seen replays of stealing home, but I've never seen it live (on TV or in person). I thought it was cool. A couple things about it before I get to the actual post. One, did anyone else laugh at the awkward trip/slide of Ellsbury? People have kind of bypassed that, but he looked like he thought he was going to get in standing before realizing he had to dive. In the meantime, he just kind of tripped into home. Two, why did the announcers (I think it was Miller) keep blaming Posada? He needs to be paying attention to the pitch and not Ellsbury in the off chance he might steal home. And how was he supposed to come out to get the pitch? Drew did back up, but Drew could have easily thrown a lazy swing to hit Posada for catcher's interference. Posada couldn't do anything else. Sorry, but that was all Pettite. You just don't expect someone to steal home these days. Anyway, on to the post.

Stolen bases have been around since the beginning of the game, but they weren't exactly in the form they are now. The first modern stolen base was in 1865 by Eddie Cuthbert, but that wasn't the only way to get a stolen base. In those days, a stolen base was simply added to the "total bases" category (not its own) and could be credited when one took the extra base on a hit. Say you are on first and the batter hits it into right. When you take third on the single, it counts as a steal because you only had to move one base. It wasn't until 1877 that stolen bases even received any statistical recognition. In 1887, the stolen base finally received its own column in the box score. The modern stolen base rules were finally implemented in 1898.

From the beginning of the game to Babe Ruth, stealing bases was an essential strategy that was perfected by guys like Ty Cobb, Max Carey, and Honus Wagner. When Babe Ruth came-a-callin', the game changed into a power sport focused on the home run. The stolen base wouldn't really reappear until the late 1950's when rules favoring pitchers began to force teams to find any way possible to score. Before that, Dom DiMaggio was famous for leading the AL in 1950 with 15 stolen bases. Luis Aparicio and Maury Wills took the lead in the 1960's, and Lou Brock took over in the following decade. Stolen base king Rickey Henderson came in during the 1980's, and Vince Coleman was his heir to the throne. Then came the 1990's and the massive spikes in home runs, making the stolen base seemingly unnecessary. Lately after the steroid scandal, many wonder if the stolen base will make a comeback, and while I think it will to an extent, I don't see it becoming a baseball-wide strategy, especially with sabermetrics essentially discrediting it.

As for career leaders in the category, we know Rickey Henderson is the leader, smashing the competition by almost 500 steals. Kenny Lofton is technically the active leader with 622, and oddly enough, Barry Bonds is second at 514. While they are still "active", the actual active leader is Juan Pierre at 430. I imagine Carl Crawford (308) and Jose Reyes (294) will blow past him eventually, though Pierre did nab 40 last season (really?).

As for the almighty steal of home, Ty Cobb holds the record with 54. Max Carey holds the NL record with 33. 11 players have stolen home twice in one game, but unbelievably, neither Cobb nor Carey ever did it. No active player even has 10, and Paul Molitor is the most recent to have 10. Why? Well, a few places have speculated that there are two main reasons. The first is the turn away from steals all together, and the second is that modern pitchers don't really go to the windup very often with a man on third. They used to almost as a rule (allowing more steals of home), but you rarely see it anymore. Personally, I don't think I'd do it with Ellsbury on third, but that's just hindsight.

But what about a rarer feat -- stealing all the bases in one go? Ty Cobb did it a major-league record 4 times, and Honus Wagner did it an NL-record 3 times. Eric Young on June 30, 1996 was the last to do such a thing.

Fun fact: Rickey Henderson is not the single-season leader with 130 stolen bases ... technically. Hugh Nichol stole 138 in 1887, but those were not all strict steals in the sense that we know them today. Remember the pre-1898 rules.

This Day in Baseball History: April 27th, 1983 and 1988

Some remember him a bit more for this famous incident.

On April 27, 1983 and 1988:

Nolan Ryan broke Walter Johnson's strikeout record, and five years later, he narrowly missed out on his eighth no-hitter.


In 1983, Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton were approaching Walter Johnson's strikeout record. Johnson's impressive total of 3,509 strikeouts was about to be eclipsed by one of the two pitchers. Johnson had accomplished his feat in an era where strikeouts were not common, but he also pitched more innings, giving him more opportunities. Regardless, toward the end of the 1982 season, Ryan and Carlton were switching places on the all-time list with each passing start. Neither were spring chickens, but Ryan (36) was two years younger than Carlton (38) and figured to pitch longer. Little did anyone know, Ryan would go on to pitch 10 more seasons while Carlton only threw 5 more.

On April 27, 1983, Ryan won the race. In a game against the Expos, Ryan would take down Brad Mills for his 3,510th strikeout. Carlton sat at 3,480, 30 behind. Neither pitcher would go on to win the Cy Young that season, but both pitched fairly well. Ryan went 14-9 with a 2.98 ERA, and Carlton went 15-16 with a 3.11 ERA. Pitching in 8 more games, Carlton won the strikeout title with 274 K's, and Ryan finished with 183. Of course, Ryan went on to strikeout 2,204 more hitters to end his career as the only man with more than 5,000 strikeouts with 5,704. Randy Johnson, at 4810, is the closest. Ryan retired at the age of 46, and Johnson is now 45.

Five years later, Ryan had already broken the record for most no-hitters with 5, beating Sandy Koufax's record, but he wasn't done. On April 27, 1988, he went into the top of the ninth inning with a no-hitter on the line. He had already walked four, so he was not in line for a perfect game. Greg Gross hit a ball to second, but the second baseman booted it for an error. Juan Samuel came up and sat back down as Ryan's ninth strikeout victim. Then walked up Mike Schmidt. Schmidt had walked twice already and flied out, but he would come through with a nice single to center to end the no-hit bid. A Lance Parrish double would bring in two unearned runs, and the Phillies came back to win the game in the 10th. Ryan would go on to record two more no-hitters, but he was within two outs (would have been one if not for the error) of an eighth.

Sometimes, it's just hard to fathom how dominating he was and for how long.


Trivia Time
Who is the only player to throw no-hitters in consecutive starts?

Yesterday's Answer --> Aaron won 10-9

Rounding the Bases

The Catcher is back, and you're gonna be in trouble. Hey ya, hey ya, The Catcher is back.

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past week. With two weeks remaining, school has me by the balls. I have had several tests and papers due over the past couple of weeks. This week looks a little better. Political Science and Spanish will throw some work my way, but I should at least get some "This Day ..." posts up. Actually, I'm mad at myself for not getting them up over the past week, but after doing all the other stuff, you just don't feel like it sometimes. Regardless, this week should be better and finals week will actually be great considering I have my A's pretty much sewn up. On to some baseball.

- Minnesota gets Joe Mauer back on Tuesday. Considering the Twins are only a half-game back, the other teams didn't do enough to pull ahead and the Twins didn't do enough to kill themselves at 9-9. Look for the Twins to stay mediocre for a week while Mauer gets back into it, but they'll take off after this.

- Another reason to like the Twins going forward -- Francisco Liriano can't be this bad all season. At 7.06, his ERA is horrible, but his 4.95 FIP shows he hasn't been that bad. His 50% LOB% is really low, and I imagine that will go up significantly. His .313 BABIP is also a little high. What might worry some is that his walks have gone up to 3.79, but I imagine his control and command have been his main issue. Once he gets that back, he will be just fine, making the Twins harder to beat.

- Kevin Youkilis is having a quietly spectacular season at .444/.551/.794 with 5 HR and 13 RBI with 20 runs. However, Victor Martinez just isn't getting his due. A .405/.468/.676 line isn't as good as Youk's, but the Indians have to love the comebacks being made by Martinez and Travis Hafner, whose .298/.388/.586 line is promising. Now, can they keep it up, and can the Indians pitch (29th in ERA)?

- We love Aaron Hill's defense, but it's been a topsy-turvy season so far for Hill. He's hitting .376/.407/.624 (career .289/.342/.419), but his defense has slipped (-.8 UZR). Just goes to show you how early in the season it is. For every one and every team, don't freak out or get too excited.

- The Mets starting rotation sucks after Johan Santana. Santana has a slick 0.70 ERA in almost 26 innings. After that, you have to muliply his ERA by 10 to get to the next-best starter. Pelfrey sits at 6.32, Hernandez is at 7.31, Maine has a 7.47, and Ollie rounds out the rotation with a 7.80 ERA. They've taken advantage of being at home with a combined 3.25 ERA, but they've been devastated on the road with a 5.47 ERA. Overall, they're 15th with a 4.39 ERA. How? A nice 2.87 ERA from their relievers. Brian Stokes (0.00 ERA in 8.1 IP), Bobby Parnell (1.86 ERA in 9.2 IP), Francisco Rodriguez (2.70 in 6.2), and JJ Putz (3.00 in 9) have been the stalwarts saving the day and keeping the Mets at a respectable 8-9.

- Telling? The Red Sox are 9-2 at home but 2-4 on the road. Even more telling? The Giants are 6-2 at home but 2-6 on the road.

- The Dodgers are cooking at 13-5, and they're +42 run differential is impressive. As for the guys ridiculing me for taking Chad Billingsley in the fantasy draft -- eat it (4-0, 2.05 ERA, and 26 K in 26 IP). Of course, that means Billingsley will get hurt next week and the Dodgers will lose 90. But geez, they're doing the damage aren't they? Then again, they've played the NL West and Houston.

- We can now say Kosuke Fukudome is a quick starter. So far, he's .345/.458/.603 with 3 HR and 6 2B. Last season, he was .305/.416/.421 by the end of April. Of course, he faltered after the break. Let's see how this season goes.

- Most dominating closer? Jonathan Broxton gets my vote. 8 games, 9.1 IP, 6/6 in saves, and 15 K's all while allowing a whole three baserunners (2 hits and a walk). Yeesh. If not for a Mark Reynolds triple and Augie Ojeda sacrifice fly, he'd look even better (note: that appearance was in a 11-2 blowout of Arizona; maybe he just wasn't focusing).

- Honorable Mentions for above are Heath Bell and Ryan Franklin. Both have perfect 0.00 ERA's. They've both only given up 3 hits and 2 walks in about 8 IP. Both have 8 K's. Bell has 7 saves with Franklin having 5 saves and a hold. Kind of eery really.

Sunday Frivolities

The One-Game Wonder. At least he wasn't a one-hit wonder.

After writing last week's post, I realized that John Paciorek had a really good game, but he never received another chance, which seemed odd. Here's the story.

Born on February 11, 1945, John Paciorek is the older brother of two other major league players, Tom and Jim. Both of his brothers spent more time in the majors than John, with Tom spending a considerable amount of time longer, but young John was the first.

Coming into the last game of the 1963 season, John Paciorek would get his chance. Two days earlier, the Houston Colt .45s had used an all-rookie lineup, but he wasn't in it. Actually, he probably didn't deserve to be in the lineup when he was. Paciorek was only 18, and he hadn't performed well in the minors. In 78 games at A-level Modesto, he hit .219 with a .401 SLG with 94 strikeouts in 274 at-bats. With 9 home runs as well, he was the "Three True Outcome" player. Still, he was really young, but he parlayed a strong Spring Training performance into a debut.

The Colts were staggering in 1963. By September 29, they were 65-96 and 34 games back. This is part of the reason that manage Harry Craft could use an all-rookie line-up a couple days earlier. On September 29th, Paciorek would make his debut against the New York Mets, who were actually much worse than the Colts at 51-110 at 48 games back.

Paciorek laced a single down the third base line, drove a ball past the shortstop, and bounced a single deep into the 5-6 hole for another single. Even better, he mixed in two walks in front of the 4,000 fan crowd who cheered him on. In his five plate appearances, he scored four times and drove in three runs in helping his team win. He had a 1.000 BA and OBP and a 2.000 OPS for the day. In Major League history there are 79 career 1.000 hitters. 69 are 1-for-1. 9 are 2-for-2. Only one is 3-for-3, and he is John Paciorek.

The next day, the headline read that Paciorek "was here to stay", but that turned out to be a false prophecy. During the 1963 season, Paciorek had suffered a back injury supposedly due to his dedication. The 18-year old figured to overcome the injury and played through it. However, even after a few months off, the injury didn't heal. His next Spring Training was not near the impressive one he had the year before, and he was sent down to Class-A Durham. Disappointed, Paciorek struggled with his bat and his back, and by midseason, he had back surgery and would spend the next 10 months in a back brace.

Paciorek made a comeback attempt in 1966, but he continued to struggle. He seemed to right the ship in 1968 with a .268 average and 20 HR. However, during the following season, he suffered a shoulder injury, and he retired from baseball at the ripe young age of 24. It is believed the shoulder had as much to do with his retirement as his back, which really hadn't healed all the way.

This Day in Baseball History: April 26th, 1959

Update: Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes hit his 450th homer in Japan last night. How coincidental.

The "Flamingo". He started his swing like this. It's not just a Paul O'Neill leg kick.

On April 26, 1959:

Yomiuri Giant Sadaharu Oh hits his first home run.


Most of us don't really pay attention to Japanese baseball, and most of us have no idea when it started or any other trivia nugget. The only things we know are Kosuke Fukudome, Hideo Nomo, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and maybe, just maybe, Sadaharu Oh. He is the Babe Ruth of Japanese baseball. Oh is a legend in the international baseball community, but because he played in Japan, most people generally don't know who he is. Therefore, I figured I would take the time to talk about him.

Signed in 1959 by the Yomiuri Giants, Oh was originally a pitcher, but he wasn't really good enough to stick in the big leagues. The team moved him to first base and began working on his hitting. In his first three seasons, he wasn't very good, but he was improving every season. With his distinctive "Flamingo" kick that resembled Mel Ott (though he had no idea who Mel Ott was), Oh became the greatest home run hitter in baseball history. Oh would go on to win 15 home run championships and 13 in a row. In total, he hit an amazing 868 home runs in his 22-year career.

But Oh was more than just a home run hitter. He won two Triple Crowns. He was a lifetime .301 hitter with a .446 OBP. Oh won 9 MVP Awards and made 18 All-Star Games. How valuable was he to his team? The Giants won 11 championships while he was there.

One of the biggest records that Oh set was his single-season record of 55 home runs in 140 games in 1964, but that record has led to hostility toward Oh than praise. Several players have come close to breaking his record, but each time, the player had to face Oh's (while he was manager) team at the end. Randy Bass had 54 home runs in 1985 coming into the last game, and Oh's pitchers intentionally walked him all four times. Karl Rhodes tied the record in 2001, but when he played Oh's team late in the year, they walked him every time. A year later, Alex Cabrera hit 55, and he was walked during a final series. Oh always maintained that he never ordered the intentional (or "unintentional") passes, but there has been a lot of skepticism. The pitchers and catchers of the teams often said they just didn't want a foreigner to break Oh's record.


Trivia Time
Hank Aaron and Sadaharu Oh competed in a home run derby to decide who was the best home run hitter in 1974. Who won?

Yesterday's Answer --> Pitcher Rene Arocha in 1991 (interesting article)

Braves-Reds Pictures

Just a couple from the day.

Yeah, Chipper! He was pulled in the seventh or eighth (I stopped keeping score -- sorry) with the eight-run lead. Good decision. I suggested taking him out after the home run in the second. Considering his two strikeouts after the first two hits, it was a better idea than the Reds fan in front of me thought it was.

Kenshin Kawakami. He was throwing with Rafael Soriano. Soriano launched one over his head and acted as if Kawakami was the one who screwed up. Hilarious.

My view from my seats. Not bad.

The strength and conditioning coach. He was the opposite of agile. Great, look out Chipper.

Mike Gonzalez but no whirling dirvish.

The sluggers at the cage. They actually put on quite a show. We went out to left, but we didn't catch any balls.

A Beatdown, the Shyster, and a Nasty Sunburn

There he is. Does this make us more than "internet friends", or do we have to hold hands first?

I live near Cincinnati (Louisville) and go to school near Cincinnati (Lexington), but I'm not a Reds fan. Hence, I rarely go to Cincinnati to watch a game. However, my family and I usually go up for a game or two when the Braves come to town, and that was the case today. My brother and sister-in-law found a 50% discount on seats, and they asked if I wanted to go. I said sure, but I didn't really get back to them. Therefore, I had to get on later than them and get tickets in the next section over, and because the Reds website is dumb, you can't pick your seat. Anyway, I went to the game.

And boy am I glad I did -- for several reasons. The first is the beatdown the Braves gave the Reds. The final score was 10-2, and it started early for the Braves against Bronson Arroyo (in the three games I have seen in Great American Ballpark, he has pitched all of them). In the first, Kelly Johnson walked (a bad omen), Yunel Escobar doubled (bringing in Johnson), and Chipper Jones singled (bringing in Escobar) to make the score 2-0. Going into the bottom half, Derek Lowe made quick work of the Reds, but he hit Joey Votto. Normally, this isn't too big of a deal, but the umpire jumps out and warns both benches. Friday night, benches cleared in a beanfest, but I didn't realize that at the time (I wasn't home to watch the game).

A half inning later, David Ross singled, Derek Lowe walked (yet another bad omen -- Arroyo only walked two but they were bad walks), Johnson hit into a fielder's choice to erase Lowe, Escobar singled in a run, and Chipper finished it off with a bomb to right-center to make it 6-0. Lowe gave couple back in the bottom of the inning when Alex Gonzalez hit a 2-run shot, but I'm still not sure how that happened considering he seemingly flipped his bat at it and got it out. Oh well, that's all they got. Lowe settled in, and besides a slightly chaotic fifth in which Arroyo tried to sacrifice Hannigan to third but ended up on second when Ross got greedy and threw to third which caused a rundown which the Braves poorly executed leaving both men on, he was really good going 7 innings. Escobar would add a nice home run in the sixth.

Also worth mentioning is the ejection of Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Dusty Baker. On a borderline third strike pitch, Hairston said the magic word and was ejected. It must have been a special one because it only took about three seconds before he was sent to the showers. Baker came out to argue, was thrown out after he used a special word, and decided to increase his intensity for the pleasure of the fans. After refusing to leave the dugout, he finally did and the patiently-waiting Joey Votto finally got to hit. Fun times.

Besides that, I got to meet the Shyster himself, Craig Calcaterra. He had mentioned on Friday that he was going to the game Saturday, so I shot him an email telling him I would be there as well. So we met up around the sixth/seventh inning and chatted for a minute before the stupid usher told us we were in the way and had to move. While walking back to my seat, my brother and sister-in-law were in my section looking for me, and it seemed as though they wanted to go. So the Shyster and I said good-bye, but my brother and sister-in-law were just coming to make sure I was okay. I was making fine friends with the Braves couple next to me and the Reds fans in front, but oh well. Anyway, I hope to make it up to Cleveland for an Indians game (I've never been to Jacobs/Progressive Field) later this summer, so maybe we shall meet again.

Now, I just have a nice sunburn from coming out of hibernation and into the sun for five hours.

Things worth noting:
- I'm more positive towards GAB than before, but I'm not really a fan of it.

- Who in their right mind pays $7.50 for a beer, much less a Bud Select? I guess I could justify it if it was something good, but Bud Select? The genius in front of me bought three. Maybe it's just that I'm not much of a beer fan, but seriously, $7.50? At GAB?

- There was a bunch of trash on the field during the game (several plastic bags). It's not the grounds crew's fault. It's the fans. If you bring it in, take care of it. Don't let it get on the playing field.

- There was a nice little video tribute between innings to the 1990 Reds and Jose Rijo for pitching in two of the games, including his retiring of 20 straight. I thought it odd considering the recent scandal, but after thinking about it, I'm glad they did. The 1990 World Series was about much more than Rijo, and even if it wasn't, Rijo should be commemorated for a fine pitching performance and career, regardless of what he's done since. In a similar situation and for the same team, Rose, as a player, should be celebrated even if he wasn't the best off the field.

- Francoeur broke two bats and a third almost took out Lowe. Jason is fuming somewhere in New York.

- Garrett Anderson (don't really care) and Brian McCann (crap) went on the DL today. As for Anderson, he's not really worth keeping around, though Matt Diaz really isn't the answer either considering his poor (at best) defense. As for Brian, I guess it's good that David Ross is rolling right now. It's not a good thing that Kotchman is the clean-up hitter.

- If you bring a glove to the game and are over the age of (let's say) 12, you should catch the damn ball. Five (FIVE!) missed home run balls during BP while wearing gloves. If you miss it with your bare hand, that's fine, but if you have a glove, god help you. Also, if you're going for the ball, go for it. Some lady got herself underneath it only to run away at the last second. Luckily, someone else got the ball.

- Would have liked to see Bobby get tossed but didn't. I've seen the wobble and toss happen once in person. Craig mentioned it as well when we talked because there was that play where Arroyo bunted and hell broke loose that Bobby could have argued. As Craig said, it was the perfect day for Bobby to get tossed -- hottest day in like 8 months, large lead, and something to %^^&* about, but he restrained himself. Damn.

This Day in Baseball History: April 25th, 2000

It was later revealed that he was coached to say this.

On April 25, 2000:

Several ball players go on a one-day strike.


Usually, strikes in baseball surround player salaries, conditions, and bonuses, but this one was a little different. Five months earlier, a little boy arrived on the shore of the United States and preoccupied the country for the next year. That boy was Elian Gonzalez. He, his mother, and 10 others left Cuba in an aluminum boat, headed for Miami, but along the way, the motor broke and left the boat helpless. As the occupants attempted to rid the boat of water, Elian was placed in an inner tube for his safety. After watching for a while, the young boy went out (maybe passed out) from exhaustion. When he woke up, he would never see any of those people ever again.

Elian somehow arrived in Miami, and they gave him to his uncle. However, his father back in Cuba wanted him back and said he was not aware that his family was planning to leave. After that, the entire world became involved. What was the United States going to do? On one hand, there's a semi-policy that the United States will harbor any Cuban who makes it to shore, but on the other hand, this isn't really kosher according to international law. Most seemed to think the boy should be returned to his father, but the Cuban-American community and Miami didn't think so and refused to help the federal authorities. In response, several Major League Baseball players went on strike in support of the boy staying in the US.

Alex Fernandez was born in Miami, Florida but was of Cuban-American descent. Vladimir Nuñez was born in Havana, Cuba. Jose Canseco was born in Havan, Cuba as well, and he and his family left when he was an infant. Michael Tejera was also from Havana. Mike Lowell is actually from San Juan, Puerto Rico, but his father was a Cuban exile living in Puerto Rico. Rey Ordoñez, also from Havana, became the second player to defect from Cuba in 1993 after being a successful palyer for the Industriales. Cookie Rojas was the only coach of the group, but he was also from Havana. All of them sat out of the game that night, and none were punished. Fernandez, Nuñez, Tejera, and Lowell were Florida Marlins and obviosuly close to the situation. Ordoñez and Rojas were with the Mets. Canseco was with the Devil Rays.

As we know, Elian eventually went back to Cuba.


Trivia Time
Who was the first player to defect from Cuba and what position did he play?

Answer from April 20 --> Gee Walker in 1937

This Day in Baseball History: April 20th, 1912

Will they ever tear it down or just seriously remodel it? And, is it just me or does the left field line look a little weird?

On April 20, 1912:

The Boston Red Sox open Fenway Park with a 7-6 victory over the New York Highlanders.


The Boston Pilgrims were an original member of the American League, and for the first decade of their existence, they played their games at the Huntington Avenue Grounds. In 1904, the team was sold, and three years later, the team's nickname was changed to the Red Sox. But that wasn't the only thing to change. The new owners didn't like leasing the stadium, so they decided to build their own stadium, which could hold a larger audience. Even then, the stadium was not (is not) all that big, and during big games such as the 1915 World Series, they played their games in Braves Field.

Fenway Park is named such for possibly two reasons. One, the park is located in an area of Boston called Fenway, but there's a much more self-promoting reason. The new owners, the Taylor's, owned Fenway Realty Company, and the name could bring in an unprecedented about of public recognition in much the same way that businesses have vied for naming rights for current stadiums. After getting everything squared away, there was only one thing left to do -- play baseball.

But the gods had other ideas. On April 9, 1912, the Red Sox played the first game in Fenway Park against Harvard University in a final exhibition game before the season started the next day. Well, rain decided to fall in bunches, and the scheduled games on April 10th and 11th were rained out. Finally, the sun shone enough on the 12th to get things started. In an 11-inning game, the Red Sox pulled out the opener 7-6 over the New York Highlanders, who would later become the Yankees. I think they were okay waiting if it meant beating the Yankees.


Trivia Time
Who is the only major-leaguer to hit for the cycle on Opening Day, which also occurred on April 20th?

April 14th's Answer --> Steve Stone became Harry Caray's partner in 1983 and would be so for the next 15 years.

Rounding the Bases

Just not right, and it's a shame it takes the death of a professional athlete to bring attention to a serious problem. Even worse, we probably won't really do anything about it anyway.

You might have noticed that I didn't post much over the past four or five days, and I'm sorry about that. It was just one of those weeks, probably the most up-and-down in my life (that's probably an exaggeration). The story behind it is simply ridiculous and unbelievable, and I would laugh about it if it wasn't so painful. Anyway, it was a fairly chaotic week that didn't leave me with enough time or motivation to write, but we're back with a new Sunday lineup. You've seen the traditional, daily "This Day in Baseball" and the new "Sunday Frivolities" post that should be a lot of fun. The last new addition is this "Rounding the Bases" post, which is a dedication to my prior blog about modern baseball. I like writing about baseball history, but I've decided to take a post each week to run through some thoughts on what's happening in today's game.

- How ridiculous is Zach Greinke? Through three starts, he's gone 20 IP with 26 K and 5 BB with a whopping 0.00 ERA. Going back and including his last two starts of 2008, he's gone 34 IP with 37 K, 8 BB, and no runs. Too bad he pitches in Kansas City where people forget about him. Damn.

- You know it's a different year for Jeff Francoeur when ... he gets two triples in a game and doesn't deserve either one. For the first one, Kearns misplayed a ball around the fence, and on the second, he lost it in the sun with the ball plopping down right behind him. Frenchy got to third both times. Then today, he hits one off the end of his bat, breaks the bat, and the ball falls in for a 2-run single. He's looked a lot better this season, but he looked good to start last season as well. We'll see.

- Jason Barlett has a 1.121 OPS with 2 HR and 3 2B. Luis Castillo has been solid. What?!?

- The top 10 teams in ERA are (in order): Pittsburgh, Seattle, Kansas City, Florida, LA Dodgers, NY Mets, San Diego Padres, Oakland, St. Louis, and CHI Sox. Tampa Bay is 16th, Boston is 18th, San Francisco is 22nd, NY Yankees are 28th, and Philadelphia is last. I love baseball.

- The leading position player Rookie of the Year candidates are Elvis Andrus and Jordan Schafer. Andrus has a .973 OPS even though he's a defense-first shortstop. Either Arlington is that good of a park or this is just 30 at-bats. Let's go with both. The only semi-legitimate contenders in the NL are Schafer and Colby Rasmus, but both have been lacking at best so far.

- The leading pitchers for Rookie of the Year are Ricky Romero and Kenshin Kawakami. The legitimate guys are in the AL with Romero, Trevor Cahill, and Brett Anderson. Romero gets the edge because of his ERA (2.57) and control (2 BB) against Cahill who has a nice ERA (2.60) but is terrible with his control (13 BB). I imagine Cahill might regress just a bit once those walks come back to haunt him. Kawakami is one of few guys in the NL, but his 5.25 ERA isn't something to be too happy about.

- Armando Galarraga (my big pick to seriously regress) is, well, not regressing (13.1 IP, 0.68 ERA, 13 K, and 3 BB). Otherwise, the Tigers are 4-7 and not so respectable.

- Josh pointed this out the other day, but the Diamondbacks have been seriously unkind to Dan Haren. That's just not fair.

- I'm not sure how much more can go wrong for the Angels. Geez.

- The Braves went from top of the world (5-1) to not so much (losing 5 straight). Not sure what to make of this, but if the relievers don't throw strikes, I'm going to break something or have a heart attack or have a heart attack after slamming my laptop against the pavement and using my new signed Chipper Jones bat to crush it into pieces before realizing that was a bad idea and I might have been overreacting. Jordan Schafer could also use a lesson in two-strike hitting. Hey kid, quit swinging for the fences with two strikes. Singles, buddy, singles. Then, steal second, third, and home. At least, you play great defense. Gosh, can you run.

Sunday Frivolities

The King of the One-Day Wonders

In a post over a wezen-ball, Lar mentioned something about someone doing a post every once-in-a-while about this section on Baseball-Reference called "Frivolities". He then suggested I do it, and because I love random information, I will do a post on something from it every Sunday as part of a new Sunday lineup around here (stay tuned for the next post). I hadn't heard of this part of the site before, but there are lots of good stuff. Should be fun. Today, we go with the "Cups of Coffee" guys, those who only played one game in the majors, for our source of trivia, and we'll run through some fun facts.

Hitters
Those with home runs in that first game
- Zero, but I guess a home run might get you another game or two.

Most RBI's
- 3 by John Paciorek, Tony Ordenana, Louis Graff, Aubrey Epps

Most hits
- 4 (of 5) by Ray Jansen

Most runs
- 4 by John Paciorek (come back next week for a story about this man)

Most strikeouts
- 4 (in 4 at-bats) by George Goetz, but he was a pitcher
- 3 by Joe Campbell, Budd (???), Nate Berkenstock, and Harry Dooms who were all outfielders

Most triples
- 2 by Ed Irvin who went 2 for 3

Pitchers
Most wins
- 1 (obviously) by 29 of the 511

Most saves
- 1 (obviously) by 10 of the 511 but only John Slagle and Harry Hedgpeth didn't give up runs but Slagle made it interesting giving up 3 hits and a walk while Hedgpeth only gave up a hit

Most innings pitched
- 12 (did you think it was only 9?) by Monty Swartz who gave up 17 hits and 6 earned runs

Most complete games
- 1 (obviously) by 78 of the 511 with Len Gilmore on October 1st, 1944 being the last

Most hits
- 26 by Allan Travers in 8 IP

Most runs
- 24 by Travers and McDoolan (???) in what must have been "Save our bullpen" days
- 20 by Lewis (???) in 3 IP also deserves mention

Most earned runs
- 20 by Lewis (???) in what must have been horrifying to watch

Most walks
- 10 by Chris Haughey, Smith (???- you've got to be kidding), and Al Krumm

Most strikeouts
- 12 by George Knight who gave up 6 runs (2 earned) in a complete-game victory

No complete game shut-outs were thrown, but Clay Fauver threw a complete game without giving up an earned run (4 unearned). Kid Keenan gave up 9 unearned runs in 8 IP without giving up any earned runs.


Fun stuff, thanks Lar.

This Day in Baseball History: April 19th, 1938

99 or 100?

On April 19, 1938:

Brooklyn Dodger Ernie Koy and Philadelphia Phillie Emmett Mueller hit their first major-league home runs in their first at-bats in the same inning of the same game.


Jordan Schafer became the 99th player in major-league history to hit a home run in his first major-league at-bat on April 5th, and he would add another two days later. Actually, according to Baseball-Almanac, he was the 100th player with 58 in the NL and 42 in the AL, but two of the players to hit those home runs were before the merger. Which brings up an interesting question -- why does the NL have so many more players who have done that and how did it not happen in the AL prior to 1921? I guess the other interesting question is why people have been saying he was the 99th instead of the 100th. That would be a terrible way to find out you were the 100th, but it wasn't once it happened. Why isn't someone keeping track? Priorities people.

Anyway, back to Ernie Koy and Emmett Mueller. It was both players' first game (they could have been a defensive sub at some point prior). In the first inning, Ernie Koy stepped up to the plate and smashed one out at the Baker Bowl. Not to be outdone, Emmett Mueller added his own home run in the bottom of the inning. The Dodgers would go on to win the contest 12-5. As for the rest of the season, neither team was any good as they finished at the bottom of the NL. Koy had the far better year offensively, but he was an outfielder compared to Mueller being at second. Still, Koy had a 122 OPS+ to Mueller's 84. Mueller played with the Phillies for a couple more seasons but was done by 1942. Koy lasted a year longer as he bounced around to four different teams before ending up, oddly enough, on the Phillies in 1942.

Okay, so how historic is this moment? First, they are the only players to hit a home run in their first at-bat in the same game. No other time in the 133 years of Major League Baseball history has this happened. Second, they are the only ones to even do it on the same day. Third, they did it in the same inning. Fourth, they did it on Opening Day. Think of the odds that this would happen. I guess the first inning and Opening Day make sense, but a lot of rookies make their debuts later in the season (especially September), not April on Opening Day. Cool.

Negro Leagues: Early Troubles and the Golden Age

Now, it's an organization, but for how long?

On May 2, 1920, Rube Foster's Negro National League began with the Indianapolis ABC's beating his Chicago American Giants 4-2 in the first game ever. The idea was such a good one that a group of teams in the South created the Negro Southern League as well in 1920, and they would join Foster's league the following season. However, a bitter feud was boiling between Foster and fellow owner Nat Strong. Strong created a second league, the Eastern Colored League in 1922 to counter Foster's, and the Negro National League began losing teams. In 1924, the two sides finally came to an agreement, and they decided to have Negro League World Series. After a gas leak nearly killed Foster, his behavior became erratic and harmful, leading him to be sent to an asylum in 1926. Without him in the picture, the owners were happier, but the leagues were beginning to decline. The Eastern League would have to close down in 1927, but the American Negro League replaced it with almost the same teams. Unfortunately, finances weren't any better, and the league folded after one season. The Negro National League would succumb to the pressures of the Great Depression and went out of business in 1931.

When one door closes, another one opens and new men take center stage. Cumberland Posey took over the Homestead Grays, and after the Negro National League failed, he tried to start a new league, but it failed after one season. A year later, Gus Greenlee bought the Pittsburgh Crawfords, and Satchel Paige made his debut. In 1933, Greenlee created a new Negro National League. The teams involved included some old and some new faces: Pittsburgh Crawfords, Columbus Blue Birds, Indianapolis ABC's, Baltimore Black Sox, Brooklyn Royal Giants, Cole's American Giants (formerly the Chicago American Giants), and the Nashville Elite Giants. One of the most innovative things coming from this was the East-West Game, which was the counter to the All-Star Game, but it allowed the fans to choose the participants instead of the sportswriters as was the case in the major leagues.

The league continued fairly well for a few years, but World War II brought its really profitable years. Just as it happened during World War I, the demographics shifted again during the second war. As more men went off to fight, more blacks came from the South to take their places in factories in the North. With a larger fanbase, the league made more money. Although the Negro National League lost some players to the war effort, the league remained fairly recognizable while the white leagues were losing quite a few of their stars. The Negro National League was even starting to compete with the American and National Leagues. Along with this success came tough questions. African-Americans had shown themselves in the battlefield, the factories, and the ball field, so why were they still second-class (at best) citizens?

Unfortunately, integration, in baseball terms, would have its costs. On one hand, integration meant that African-American players would finally get the credit they deserve. On the other hand, one successful player would mean many more would follow. Therefore, the best players would leave and the stars would be gone. Without those stars, attendance was sure to drop. That meant one thing -- the end.

This Day in Baseball History: April 14th, 1925

Isn't he cute?

On April 14, 1925:

WGN broadcasts its first game.


On May 19, 1922, Thorne Donnelly and Elliot Jenkins started a radio station called WDAP. Almost a year later, the Zenith Radio Company started a competing company called WJAZ. Ten months after that, the Tribune Company took over WJAZ, but they took the call sign WGN to match their slogan of "World's Greatest Newspaper". But the call sign was not official or on the license. Two months later, the Tribune Company and the Zenith Radio Company decided to part ways, with the Tribune Company taking the WDAP license and the Zenith Radio Company switching to WEBH. I don't understand any of this, but a month later, the Tribune Company finally licensed the call letters WGN. However, on the rolls, it was "W-G-N" and became the only radio station to use hyphens.

WGN became an instant success with new and creative programming. It was the first to broadcast the Indianapolis 500. It gave a live broadcast of the Scopes Monkey Trial. Finally, it began broadcasting Cubs games in 1925. In that first game, the Cubs and Grover Alexander took down the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2 on Opening Day.

Later in 1948, WGN the TV station began its relationship with the Cubs. The station had a relationship with every Chicago team except the Chicago Bears. The relationship between WGN and the Chicago Cubs grew in 1981 when the Tribune Company bought the Chicago Cubs. In the same year, Harry Caray took over for Jack Brickhouse, who had done numerous Cubs and White Sox games. Caray had been a broadcaster for the White Sox before being lured to the Dark (I mean North) Side. The White Sox had ended their relationship with WGN in 1981, but they came back in 1990 when Jerry Reinsdorf took advantage of owning two teams and signed a deal with WGN to broadcast White Sox and Chicago Bulls games.


Trivia Time
When did Steve Stone become Caray's broadcast partner?

Yesterday's Answer --> Pete Rose (4,256), Ty Cobb (4,189) and Hank Aaron (3,771)

Negro Leagues: The Beginning

Possibly the first professional African-American player -- Moses "Fleetwood" Walker.

In honor of Jackie Robinson, this will be "Jackie Robinson Week" here. You might have noticed that I haven't included any Negro League posts, but I figured this would be a good time to start. There should be some interesting posts for the next week, and we'll start with the beginning of the Negro Leagues.

From the end of the Civil War to the late 1800's, whites and blacks often played on the same amateur teams. Though they weren't quite "integrated", a number of African-Americans played on teams with whites. In 1867, the National Base Ball Players Association banned African-Americans, but blacks still found their way on to numerous minor-league teams. John "Bud" Fowler is the actual first known professional baseball player to break the color barrier when he played in Massachusetts in 1878, and six years later, he moved to Stillwater, Minnesota. Joining Fowler in the Northwestern League (remember, the United States wasn't that developed at that point and the Mid-West was the West to those citizens), Moses Walker, George Stovey, and Frank Grant also played in white minor leagues.

But those leagues weren't the only ones with teams. As those four worked in the Mid-West, around 200 other teams were all-black and playing against each other. Black baseball began to move throughout the Mid-West and even the South. In the East, the Homestead Grays, Cuban Giants, Cuban Stars, and the Brooklyn Royal Giants were the main teams. In the Mid-West, the Chicago Giants, St. Louis Giants, Indianapolis ABC's, and Kansas City Monarchs began to rival their northeastern rivals. Even the South, with the Nashville Standard Giants and Birmingham Black Barons, began to have legitimate foundations for teams.

After World War I, black baseball was a major pastime for urban neighborhoods. This move coincided with the emergence of a very important, though arrogant, man -- Rube Foster. Frank Leland had started the movement for a black major leagues, it was Foster who made it possible. Foster was originally a very talented pitcher early in the century, but he would take control of the Leland Giants (Frank Leland's team) in 1907, and he forced Leland to step aside and relinquish all roster and bookkeeping controls. Owner of the now Chicago American Giants, Foster used his prominence to organize the Negro National League in 1920. Foster took advantage of the demographic shift caused by World War I. Blacks began moving en masse to the North to take available factory jobs, and with a larger fanbase, the time was ripe.

Eight teams composed the first Negro National League: the Cuban Stars, Chicago American Giants, Kansas City Monarchs, Chicago Giants, Dayton Marcos, Detroit Stars, Indianapolis ABC's, and St. Louis Giants (Giants was apparently a very popular name). Of course, Foster had to have control. He became league president, forced teams to buy his equipment, and took 5% of all gate receipts of every team. But he was the man who made this league possible, and for now, things were looking promising for black baseball.

This Day in Baseball History: April 13th, 1963 and 1984

He looks so young ... and less criminal.

On April 13, 1963 and 1984:

Pete Rose collects his first and 4,000th career hits.


The Cincinnati Reds signed Pete Rose to an amateur contract during the 1960 season, and as soon as he came to the team, he made an impact. In the minor leagues, he was known for a great bat but poor glove. In 1961 and 1962, he would hit over .330, but he would also commit over 20 errors in each season. However, his bat was enough to be noticed, and after a spring injury to Don Blasingame, Rose got his first chance with the big club in 1963. Impressing the team and manager Whitey Ford enough (Whitey called him "Charlie Hustle" after he ran after being walked -- no one knows if it was in jest or not, but Rose liked it and kept it), he started the season with the team.

But his career didn't start too kindly. The all-time hits leader would go 0 for his first 11. Then on April 13, 1963, he tripled off of Pittsburgh pitcher Bob Friend. He added 8 more triples and 169 more hits on his way to the National League Player of the Year Award. Possibly feeling a sense of accomplishment or just trudging through the dreaded "sophomore slump", Rose faltered the next season and would be benched by the end. Getting back on track, Rose had his first 200 hit and .300 average season in 1965.

Twenty years later, Rose began having issues. His average dropped to .245 in 1983, and people wondered if he had it anymore. Then playing for the Phillies, the Phillies no longer wanted him as a starter, and Rose refused to accept a minor role on a team. The Montreal Expos stepped in and gave him a contract. On April 13th (this time in 1984), Rose collected his 4,000th hit off Phillie Jerry Koosman, but this time, it was only a double. He would be traded back to the Reds later that season.

Trivia Time (I might start doing this every day; we'll see)
Who are the only two players with 4,000 career hits, and who is next on the list?


Things should be back to normal. I needed a break for a little bit, and then, I went home for Easter. I didn't get anything (including homework) done. But there's some good stuff lined up for the rest of the week. Hint: There's something historically significant coming up.

This Day in Baseball History: April 10th, 1969

I don't understand why they do this, but here's the sign they put up commemorating the shot.

On April 10, 1969:

Tommie Agee hits the longest home run in Shea Stadium history.


After starring at Grambling State University, Tommie Agee was signed by the Cleveland Indians, and he would make his debut a year later in 1962 at the age of 19. Over the next three seasons, he would make a few appearances in the majors, but he never really stuck. During the 1964 off-season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox, who gave him just a few at-bats in the 1965 season. Showing just how little time he had actually spent in the majors over the past four seasons, Agee was still a rookie coming into the 1966 season, but this would be the season for Agee.

He went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in 1966 with 98 R, 27 2B, 22 HR, 86 RBI, and 44 SB all while winning a Gold Glove for his performance in center. Agee looked to be the next big thing. As the rules continued to make things easier for pitchers, batters, obviously had more problems, and Agee was no exception. Regressing badly to a .234/.302/.371 line, Agee still had an OPS+ of 105, which shows just how badly everyone else did, but the White Sox traded him to the New York Mets the following off-season. Just when things couldn't get worse, they did. Agee regressed to a 69 OPS+ in 1968.

Then, it was the season of the Miracle Mets in 1969, and Agee was a big reason. The season started off that way, as Agee hit the farthest home run in Shea Stadium history, a blast that got into the upper deck in left. His luck continued over the next season as his numbers (except stolen bases) returned to 1966 levels as he helped the 1969 Mets win 100 games and take the World Series, a season after they lost 89 games. Agee would remain a solid player the next two seasons, but by the age of 30, he was never heard from again.


Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days. Sometimes you need a break to yell at the PS3 for not letting Kelly Johnson run home on Chipper's double and somehow screwing the other runners up enough to get a double play that killed the inning. Grrrr.

This Day in Baseball History: April 8th, 1963

Nope. Not at all.

On April 8, 1963:

The Detroit Tigers claim Denny McLain off from waivers from the Chicago White Sox.


Originally signed by the Chicago White Sox, Denny McLain would break into the majors in 1963 as a 19-year old pitcher against, you guessed it, the Chicago White Sox. In his first start, he held the White Sox to one run, and he even added his only home run of his professional career to win the game. McLain wouldn't pitch much more that season, and he only made a handful of appearances in 1964. In 1965, however, McLain took over as a full member of the Detroit Tiger rotation.

As soon as he got his chance, McLain took advantage. He was excellent in his first full season, going 16-6 with a 2.61 ERA in 220 IP. Over the next two seasons, he would slip, his ERA+ dropping from 134 to just below 90 in both seasons. Regardless, he won 20 and 17 games, respectively. His greatest year would come in the "Year of the Pitcher" in 1968 when he won 31 games with a 1.96 ERA, as he took advantage of the rule changes. McLain followed that with another great campaign, winning 24 games with a 2.80 ERA in 1969. But after that season, McLain rapidly declined and was gone after 1972 at the age of 28.

The story behind his decension is interesting but sad. Entering the 1970 season, McLain had two major problems -- an arm injury and gambling. The former would greatly reduce his effectiveness when he pitched, and his ERA didn't go below 4.28. The latter would do much more damage to his career and reputation. Having learned how to bet on horses from an early manager, McLain and a Pepsi rep (he loved Pepsi and endorsed the product) began a bookmaking business, acting as silent partners. Sports Illustrated, however, figured out what was going on and reported on it. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, in response, suspended McLain for the first three months of the 1970 season. When he was about to come off suspension, Kuhn suspended him again because McLain had a firearm while under probation. Unable to handle his antics any longer, Detroit traded him to the Washington Senators for the 1971 season, but he and manager Ted Williams instantly began arguing. Having more arm trouble, McLain bounced around in his final year and was finally released by the Atlanta Braves during Spring Training in 1973. McLain had gone from wins leader to losses leader in two years (the only one to have done such) to out of baseball entirely before his prime.

Going Back to the NL Rookie of the Year Race in 1995

Could he really have been better than Chipper?

1995 was a landmark year in my baseball development. I just began playing coach-pitch. I just began playing third base. I just began really paying attention. I just began to be a fan of the Atlanta Braves. Let's put this together, and it's not difficult to imagine that Chipper was my favorite player. Oddly enough, he played his first full season in the majors that season. Looking back, David Justice was close to being my favorite player, but there was something about Chipper. It didn't hurt that Justice left to go play for the Indians the following season, but Chipper has been my favorite player since 1995. Regardless, when it came down to who should win the Rookie of the Year Award, I had a clear bias.

I was furious about it. That's the first time I remember really getting upset about something in sports, and I considered it a serious injustice that Hideo Nomo should beat Chipper Jones. At that point, I shouldn't have been too upset considering the Braves just won the World Series, but I was focused on the travesty that had just occurred. From then on, Hideo Nomo and I had a bitter quarrel. There are few guys I actively cheered against, but he was numero uno for a long time. When he failed, I cheered. When he succeeded, I wailed. To me, his victory was completely farcical. Chipper, the guy who helped his team win the World Series, should have won. Or should he have?

I don't know why I started thinking about this earlier. There's literally no reason possible for it. Usually, my mind wonders, but usually, I can understand how I made the connections to arrive at my current thought. Not this time, though. I started thinking about the things Chipper doesn't have in his career, and the first thing that came to mind was his Rookie of the Year Award. You only get one chance at that. MVP's and Gold Gloves can be won any season, but Rookie of the Year Awards are once-in-a-lifetime. "God, he should have won," I thought.

Now, in recent years, my thinking has made a transformation. Context has become important. Looking at things objectively has become important. Being rational, not emotional, has taken first place. Therefore, I decided to bite the bullet and look at the stats and figure out just who deserved it. So, begrudingly, let's take a look.

Hideo Nomo was drafted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes after a stellar 1988 Olympic campaign. Nomo quickly paid dividends by winning 18 games and striking out 287 hitters in 235 IP in 1990. Over the next three seasons, he won 17 or 18 games each time, but his fifth season saw an injury limit his wins to eight. In the 1994 off-season, he and the Buffaloes had a contract dispute. Nomo wanted a long-term contract and to use an agent, but the Buffaloes were having no part of it. Ticked, Nomo used a loophole in which a retired player could go anywhere, and he retired. In February 1995, he signed with the Dodgers. After a month in the minors, Nomo made his debut on May 2nd.

Chipper Jones was the number one draft pick in the 1990 Rule 4 Draft. Three years later, Chipper was ready. He debuted as the youngest player in the majors when he came up late in 1993. Coming into the 1994 season, he was slated to be the starting left fielder as Ron Gant injured his knee in a motorcycle accident in the off-season. Before he could take that spot, he tore his ACL, missing the entire 1994 season. Going into 1995, he was now the expected third baseman as Terry Pendleton left for free-agency. From Day 1, Chipper was the third baseman.

Over the next six months, this is how each performed:

Chipper Jones
.265/.353/.450, 22 2B, 23 HR, 86 RBI, 87 R, 108 OPS+, 2.30 WPA

Hideo Nomo
13-6, 2.54 ERA, 191.1 IP, 236 K, 1.056 WHIP, 150 ERA+, 3.58 WPA

I never compared the stats before. I guess I never wanted to. It's hard to think that your favorite player didn't deserve what he barely missed out on. I think OPS+ and WPA show just how much more valuable Nomo was than Chipper. Chipper had the likes of Fred McGriff, David Justice, and Ryan Klesko to take the pressure off of him. Nomo had Ramon Martinez and Ishmael Valdez, but he was unquestionably the best of the group. Then, you have to consider the circumstances. Chipper relaxed while his team brought a 14.5 game lead into September. Nomo went 3-1 in the midst of a pennant race in which the lead was never more than one game.

With Japanese players (such as Ichiro), the biggest question becomes is do they really deserve the award. They played professional baseball in Japan and are usually older than the others trying for the award who spent their seasons in the minors. Should they get it? Yes. Going from the NPB to the MLB is a huge transition. The balls are different. The playing styles are different. The language and culture are different (if you don't think it makes a difference, I would beg to differ). Nomo went through a big change to come here and pitch, even if he was 26. If you'd be willing to give a 30-year old American the award, I don't see the problem in giving the award to a Japanese player who just came over. Coming over and succeeding is quite an accomplishment.

So as much as I hate to say it, I owe Nomo an apology. He deserved the 1995 Rookie of the Year Award. But Chipper's still the better overall player!!!

Opening Day Trivia Answers

It was a rough day for aces yesterday.

Okay, so we're back with the answers. If you didn't see yesterday's questions, go to that post first, and then come back for the answers. No peeking. Cheaters. Anyway, as promised, here are the answers.

1) Who holds the Braves record for most consecutive Opening Day starts and with how many?
(Chipper Jones started his 14th on Sunday)

2) Who was the first President of the United States of America to throw out a first pitch?
(William Howard Taft in 1910 -- you got this if you paid attention the other day)

3) In 1974, on which swing did Hank Aaron hit his 714th home run?
(on his first swing of the day)

4) Who threw a remarkable 9 shutouts on Opening Day?
(Walter Johnson)

5) Who was the first person to hit 3 HR on Opening Day? The last?
(George Bell in 1988 and Dmitri Young in 2005)

6) The longest game on Opening Day lasted how many innings?
(15 - Tigers vs. Indians 1960)

7) Only no-hitter on Opening Day belongs to whom?
(Bob Feller 1940)

8) In 7 Opening Day starts, what was Greg Maddux's record?
(6-0 -- tried to trick you there)

9) Who holds the record for most wins without a loss on Opening Day?
(Jimmy Key with 7)

10) Two players have hit 8 HR on Opening Day. Who are they?
(Frank Robinson and Ken Griffey Jr. -- but Griffey hit number nine last night)

11) What President threw out the first pitch by throwing one in each hand?
(Harry Truman in 1950)

12) Ted Williams sucked on Opening Day. True or False?
(False as he hit .449 with 3 HR and 14 RBI -- did you really think he did?)

13) Who has the most Opening Day starts in history and how many did he pitch?
(Tom Seaver with 16)

14) How many different pitchers will the Red Sox have used on Opening Day after today?
(59 - trick question as it would have been 60 if they played yesterday)

15) Who won last night (Sunday)?
(Braves)

This Day in Baseball History: April 7th, 1925

I still can't figure out why no one wanted a guy with 63 HR in one season.

On April 7, 1925:

Joe Hauser's knee cap spontaneously shatters.


Joe Hauser was a first baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics in the mid-to-late 1920's. His major-league career, however, was undistinguished. Hauser debuted in 1923 as a rookie, and he hit .323/.378/.481, which was good enough for a 120 OPS+. Over the next two seasons, Houser was catching on and ripping the ball. His home run totals went from 9 to 17 to 27. His OPS+ stayed in the 120's. In 1924, he came in fifth in the MVP voting. Hauser was becoming a legitimate baseball player.

Until 1925. A year removed from an excellent season, Hauser's career was looking up. Then on April 7, his life changed. His knee cap suddenly, and for no apparent reason, shattered. Hauser would miss the entire 1925 season and most of the 1926 season. When he came back, he was not the same hitter. Hauser was sent down to the minors the following season to rebuild his swing. In 1928, he seemed to find his swing again, but it vanished again a year later. Although he dealt with numerous injuries, Houser blamed Ty Cobb, his manager, for trying to tweak his swing. Unable to get comfortable, he was sent down to the minors where he played for the Baltimore Orioles.

That's where Hauser's real legend comes. Joe Hauser was a legit hitter and dominated minor-league pitching. When he came to the Orioles in 1930, he crushed the league's pitching to the tune of a record 63 home runs and an outstanding .718 SLG. Still, Hauser didn't receive a call from a major-league team. Hauser regressed slightly the next season, only hitting 31 HR. He went to Minneapolis the next season and hit 49 HR, and just to top it all off, he added a new record 69 HR the following season in 1933. Incredibly, Hauser did not make another major-league team. He would continue to smash home runs for the next three seasons before giving up at age 37. He would try again from 1940 to 1942, but he never made it back.

Opening Day Trivia

Clue for 15 -- not the Phillies.

Okay, so let's have some fun. I have a few questions about Opening Day, and it's your job to answer them. Tomorrow, I'll put up the answers in parentheses next to the question.

1) Who holds the Braves record for most consecutive Opening Day starts and with how many?

2) Who was the first President of the United States of America to throw out a first pitch?

3) In 1974, on which swing did Hank Aaron hit his 714th home run?

4) Who threw a remarkable 9 shutouts on Opening Day?

5) Who was the first person to hit 3 HR on Opening Day? The last?

6) The longest game on Opening Day lasted how many innings?

7) Only no-hitter on Opening Day belongs to whom?

8) In 7 Opening Day starts, what was Greg Maddux's record?

9) Who holds the record for most wins without a loss on Opening Day?

10) Two players have hit 8 HR on Opening Day. Who are they?

11) What President threw out the first pitch by throwing one in each hand?

12) Ted Williams sucked on Opening Day. True or False?

13) Who has the most Opening Day starts in history and how many did he pitch?

14) How many different pitchers will the Red Sox have used on Opening Day after today?

15) Who won last night?