Come on in here… meet the great Ty Cobb

The title was said in the entertaining movie Cobb by Tommy Lee Jones who played Ty Cobb. The lines he had in that movie were gold but were they true?

I just read a book about Cobb by Charles Leerhsen and he actually investigated the stories and rumors about Cobb. Al Stump was the ghostwriter that spent a few days (though he claimed months) with Cobb and wrote a damning piece about him after he died for True magazine. The movie was based on that piece from Stump.

Stump stated many things that were not true and have been proven false. He also sold a lot of Cobb’s items that he stole from Cobb’s estate. He forged Cobb’s signature and made a good profit off of it later on when baseball memorabilia began to take off. The book shows Cobb more as a flawed human being…not a racist monster that Stump created. Stump made him into a cartoon character.

Was Ty Cobb an angel? Certainly not…he dwelled on the negative, he could be cantankerous and had a quick temper when he was young. He also had a sense of humor, he was a family man, and helped a lot of people through charities and personal friends in need…and yes white and black. In other words…he was a human being.

Robert Shelton, the director of Cobb, admitted that he and Stump made up some scenes…like Ty trying to rape the cigarette girl. It was a piece of character assassination.

One thing that happened that Stump didn’t write about was the batboy for the Tigers. He was young and Ty Cobb made sure he had food, and shelter on the road, and generally looked after him when the other ballplayers didn’t.. He kept up with him when he got older…this young batboy was black.

I found this written by a reviewer…. Unfortunately for the Cobb family, Stump’s sensationalized characterization of Cobb was continuously repeated by writers, filmmakers and a rubber necking public who have been intrigued and entertained by the casting of a maniacal, dirty player who hated blacks and murdered people.

After saying all of this…would Ty Cobb be an easy guy to get along with? Probably not but his screaming out racist slurs and trying to rape cigarette girls is pushing it a bit far. I’ll be the first to admit that the movie is very entertaining and a fun watch but too many people took it as the gospel. Also, the Baseball documentary by Ken Burns also has some wrong info on Ty Cobb. If you are looking for a good baseball book… try out Cobb by Charles Leerhsen.

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Baseball Hall of Fame Possibilities.

I wanted to do a short baseball post today since it’s been forever since I did this. 

I was talking with Dave the other day through email and I was telling him that my favorite player when I was a kid was Ron Cey. Everyone talks about Steve Garvey from those days but numbers alone…Ron Cey’s numbers were better than Garvey’s in a lot of ways. The thing that people miss also is how good Reggie Smith was in his career. To me, Reggie Smith deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He is eligible again in 2025. 

It got me looking at some more from that era on different teams and comparing them with some Hall of Famers. I’ll go with Reggie Smith and Dwight Evans. Evans played with Rice and Reggie Smith in Boston. 

I’ve picked four pitchers as well. Pay attention to Jim Kaat and Tommy John. Basically, almost a wash between the two but John holds a slight advantage. You would think the surgery would have pushed John’s Hall of Fame candidacy up even more. 

I want everyone to know that I’m not picking on Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, Catfish Hunter, or Jim Kaat. I’m glad they are in so I don’t have a problem with them being in…they were great players. I’m saying that other players from that era need to be looked at. The bold players are in the Hall Of Fame. Luis Tiant definitely would get my vote along with Tommy John. Evans and Smith, I would strongly consider. 

…

Player	WAR	HITS	HR	BA	SLG	OBP	OPS	G
Reggie Smith	64.5	2020	314	.287	.489	.366	.855	1987
Jim Rice	47.7	2452	382	.298	.502	.352	.854	2089
Dwight Evans	67.2	2446	385	.272	.470	.370	.840	2446
Andre Dawson	64.8	2774	438	.279	.482	.323	.806	2627

Pitcher	WAR	W	L	G	IP	SO	ERA	WHIP
Luis Tiant	66.1	229	172	573	3486.1	2416	3.30	1.199
Catfish Hunter	40.9	224	166	500	3449.1	2012	3.26	1.134
Tommy John	61.6	288	231	760	4710.1	2245	3.34	1.283
Jim Kaat	50.5	283	237	898	4530.1	2461	3.45	1.259

Vin Scully ___1927-2022

I had to take a break from my blog break to post this. I grew up a Dodger fan and will always be one. This man was a big reason.  Scully wasn’t a homer…he called the game with class and style. It’s hard to listen to announcers who openly root for their team because of him. He announced games from the Jackie Robinson era to Clayton Kershaw for a total of 67 summers. Even most Giant fans I know admire the man.

I hated hearing that Vin passed away…some of my childhood went with him. For me, he was as good as it gets as a baseball announcer and from what I know…an even better person.

The Dodgers were playing the Giants when the news broke…The Giants played a tribute on their video board after the final out at Oracle Park

Vin Scully: “I just want to be remembered as a good man, an honest man, and one who lived up to his own beliefs”

Clayton Kershaw: “He was the best there ever was, just when you think about the Dodgers, there’s a lot of history here and a lot of people that have come through. It’s just a storied franchise all the way around. But it almost starts with Vin, honestly.

“Just such a special man. I’m grateful and thankful I got to know him as well as I did.”

Dave Roberts: “There’s not a better storyteller, and I think everyone considers him family, he was in our living rooms for many generations. He lived a fantastic life, a legacy that will live on forever.”

Steve Garvey: “Every great city has sounds to it. Los Angeles has had one clear sound and that’s been the voice of Vin Scully.”

Kirk Gibson: My 2nd favorited vin quote “in case you’re wondering….Will Clarke is due up……………………………….7th ……this inning” Rip Vin….the best

Ken Rosenthal: ‘Vin was the most beloved person in baseball’

Howie Rose: The greatest baseball broadcaster who ever lived, Vin Scully, has passed away. It was an honor just to know him. He demonstrated that language still matters and forged an intimate bond with his listeners that the rest of us can only strive to achieve. The Renoir of broadcasters.

Hunter Pence: Vin Scully was more than a broadcaster, he is a baseball legend. My heart goes out to the Scully family, the Dodgers organization, and all the fans who loved him.

Ozzie Smith: I grew up on the voice and the poetic sounds of Vin Scully. He made listening to Baseball fun and educational. Simply the best !!

Ken Stabler…the coolest quarterback ever.

This is usually a baseball blog only but I’m breaking the rules today. When I watched the Superbowl I thought of my favorite quarterback of all time. His personality and skills were one of a kind. When I first started to blog I posted most of this post but no one read it beacuse I had no readers…so just remembering The Snake.

To make it kinda baseball related… Stabler was wanted by the Yankees

No cooler athlete ever walked the earth than Ken Stabler. He was the rock star in sports…he was more of a rock star than rock stars. Passing the ball left-handed with deadly accuracy along with the cool nickname… “The Snake”. The way he carried himself with the salt and pepper hair coming out of the back of his helmet while sporting a beard. Always looking like he was having the best time of his life.

He didn’t just exist he lived…and he lived with style. Never saw him panic on a football field.  His teammates said he would never call someone out for not blocking or missing someone to get him sacked. John Madden has said that the more pressure Ken was under the calmer he got.

He did what he wanted to do how he wanted to do it. Yes, there are a lot of bar room stories of Ken Stabler like reading the playbook by the jukebox light. He and his teammates made training camp fun… If that is a possible thing. John Madden had the good sense to let men be men and off they went. The rest of the Raiders all respected Stabler and followed him…they had his back and he had their back.

The Snake should be remembered not just for his cool personality… He was a great quarterback and should have been in the Hall of Fame long before he got in… I heard one commentator say that he would rather have Tom Brady etc… nope not me… I would rather have Stabler because for most of his career he played without the Blount rule and still succeeded.

Plus Stabler was just damn tough…

Some of the most well-known games in history he was in the middle of… the Holy Roller, The Sea of Hands, The Ghost to the Post, and unfortunately the Immaculate Reception game which went the Steeler’s way but it may be the most memorable game ever.

The 1970’s team was full of outcasts, free thinkers and characters…also amazing football players. I recommend this book about the 1970’s Raiders called Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden’s Oakland Raiders.

Easy read and great stories. Makes you want to youtube and find all of the games you can find of that era’s Raiders.

The NFL would not know what to do with him today. He had a personality…that goes against the game now.

Sadly Mr. Stabler passed in 2015…He is a man I wished I would have had the honor to meet.

New book about Stabler called Snake: The Legendary Life of Ken Stabler

Ken’s autobiography called “Snake” that was published in 1986.

50 Year Dream Team

This is a response to Dave’s post. I’m going to copy the agenda he went by.

https://mlblogsoneflewoverthejaysnest.wordpress.com/2021/12/28/50-year-dream-team/

Many times I’ve started to think, “who are the greatest players that have been around since I became aware of baseball? Who are the best at each position?” So this week I decided to expand on the idea a little, compile an All All-star Team …and add a twist.

“I decided arbitrarily to pick the past 50 years (which isn’t far outside of the range of when I’ve been a fan, although the early years primarily just by having a few baseball cards and seeing an inning or two on TV as a small child.) So we’re looking at 1972 through the 2021 seasons. I decided to make a 26 player roster, using a player at their peak. But, to make it more interesting, the team has only one player per franchise. So, for instance, from my Blue Jays, if I wanted Carlos Delgado’s massive 2000 season, with his 57 doubles and .664 slugging percentage, out the window goes Jose Bautista’s 2010 with its 54 homers. Or Roy Halladay’s Cy Young season. And so on. Oh, and finally, a player can be there only once… we can’t say have Randy Johnson for Seattle and Randy Johnson with Arizona. With that in mind, here’s the mindboggling 50-year team I came up with, with a few season highlights and their Baseball Reference WAR listed.”

This was hard. I did replace some of Dave’s but I agree totally with his list also…who wouldn’t want either one of these teams? Joe Morgan was HARD to leave off but I had Johnny Bench from the Reds already. I wanted to include Robin Yount so I could not have Rollie Fingers 1981 season.

I will have to say…the pitching staff is almost unbeatable.

Catcher :

Johnny Bench, 1972, Cincinnati.. 147 games, 87 runs, 6 SB, .279 avg, MVP, Gold Glove (GG) 8.6 WAR

Ivan Rodriguez, 1999, Texas. 144 games, 116 runs, 25 SB, .332 avg, MVP, Gold Glove (GG) 6.4 WAR

First Base

Albert Pujols, 2009, St Louis. .327, 47HR, 135RBI,  1.101 OPS, MVP, 9.7 WAR

Miguel Cabrera, 2012, Detroit. .330,44HR, 139RBI, triple crown, .999OPS, MVP, 7.1 WAR

Second Base:

Rod Carew, 1977, Minnesota. .388, 128 runs, 239H, 16 triple,100RBI, MVP, 9.7 WAR

feff Kent, 2000, San Fran. .334, 114 runs, 196H, .424 OBP, 7 triple,125RBI, MVP, 7.2 WAR

Shortstop:

Robin Yount, 1982, Milwaukee .331, 29/102, 210H, .989 OPS 10.5 WAR GG MVP

Third Base:

George Brett, 1980, Kansas City. .390, 24/114, .664 Slg., MVP, 9.4 WAR MVP

Outfield:

Mike Trout, 2018, LA Angels. .312,.460OBP, 122BB, 39HR, 1.088OPS, 9.9 WAR

Ken Griffey Jr, 1997, Seattle. 125 runs, 56/147, .646 Slg., GG, MVP, 9.1 WAR

Tony Gwynn, 1994 short-season, San Diego. .394, 165H in 110games, 1.022OPS, 4.2 WAR

Manny Ramírez, 1999, Cleveland .333, 44/165, 96BB, 2 SB, 7.3WAR

Larry Walker, 1997, Colorado. .366, 49HR, 208H, 33SB, 1.172OPS, GG, MVP, 9.8 WAR

Des. Hitter:

Frank Thomas, 1994sh.sea., C White Sox. 106R in 113games, 38HR, .729slg, MVP, 6.4 WAR

Starting Pitcher:

Steve Carlton, 1972, Philadelphia. 27-10, 1.97, 30CG, 8 Shutouts, 310K, Cy, 12.1 WAR

Greg Maddux, 1995, Atlanta. 19-2, 1.63ERA, 10cg, 181K,23bb, GG, Cy Young 9.7 WAR

Pedro Martinez, 2000, Boston. 18-6, 1.74, 4shutouts, 284K, Cy, 11.7 WAR

Tom Seaver, 1973, NY Mets. 19-10, 2.08, 251K in 290IP 3 shutouts, Cy, 10.6 WAR

Clayton Kershaw 2014, Los Angeles. 21-6, 1.77 era, 6cg, 239K, Cy and MVP 7.7WAR

Roger Clemens, 1997, Toronto. 21-7, 2.05, 9cg, 292K, Cy 11.9WAR

Randy Johnson, 2002, Arizona. 24-5, 2.32, 4shutouts, 334K, Cy, 10.7 WAR

Max Scherzer, 2016, Washington. 20-7, 2.96, 284K, Cy, 6.2 WAR

Relief Pitcher:

Bruce Sutter, 1979, C Cubs. 37 saves, 6-6, 2.22, 110K in 62G, 4.9 WAR

Mariano Rivera, 2004, NY Yankees. 74G, 78.2IP, 4W, Cy, 4.2WAR

Dennis Eckersley, 1992, Oakland. 51Sv, 7-1, 1.91, 93K:11bb, 2.9 WAR

Kent Tekulve, 1978, Pittsburgh. 91G, 8W, 31Sv, 135IP, 2.33. 3.4WAR

….

Walter Johnson

I just read Walter Johnson: Baseball’s Big Train by his grandson Henry W. Thomas. I recommend this book to any baseball fan. The game back then has more similarities than I ever thought to the modern game.

There was a joke about the Washington Senators at one time.  “Washington: First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League.”

They had some bad teams and Walter Johnson was the lone bright spot for a long time. If he would have played for a good team in his prime…He may have have won over 500 games. As it was…his record was 417-279 with an ERA of 2.17…imagine that…losing 279 games with a 2.17 ERA. He pitched in 64…1-0 games, winning 38 and losing 26 which that stat alone is amazing. He had a career 110 shutouts and pitch 5,914.1 innings.

He finally made the World Series in 1924 and won the deciding game. The next year the Senators/Nationals made it again…despite Walter winning 2 games…they lost the series to the Pirates.

He had a blazing fastball…the fastest pitcher of his time. The players that batted against him say he had more velocity of anyone else. There were others who were fast…Smokin’ Joe Wood, Rube Wadell, and others. How fast could he pitch? That has been debated…a munitions laboratory tried to measure his pitch in 1917. They didn’t have a radar gun of course…that was 30 years in the future.

Walter had just pitched a complete game, had 3000 innings on his arm, pitching off flat ground, and in street clothes…they measured it the best they could. What they came up with was 91.36. The 91.63 mph was not clocked out of his hand, but when it passed through the device he threw it in. Fastballs can lose 3-4 mph by the time they get to the plate. Most radar readings today measure ball speed out of the pitcher’s hand and not when it crosses the plate.

So going by that…when he debuted 10 years earlier in 1907 he could have very well been around a 100. We will never know for sure and its all speculation.

Regardless…not only was he a great pitcher…he was just as good of a human being. He would often be cheered in opposing parks because of respect for the man. Johnson died in December 10, 1946 of a brain tumor.

On a side note I found this on modern radar techniques.

• Pitch F/X captures the velocity at either 50 or 55 feet from home plate (sources differ as to the exact spot and it may have changed over time), so not out of the hand but slightly afterwards to get a consistent viewpoint irrespective of the pitcher (whose height’s vary and whose release points are all slightly different in terms of distance from home).
• Stat Cast captures the fastest measurement of the ball at any point from the point it leaves the pitcher’s hand to the moment it crosses the plate.

A bit of trivia from Wiki that I didn’t know about the Senators. The team was officially named the “Senators” during 1901–1904, the Nationals during 1905–1955 and the Senators again during 1956–1960, but nonetheless was commonly referred to as the Senators throughout its history.

….

Rube Waddell

I’ve been listening to an audio book that Hanspostcard recommended and it’s bringing back a lot of memories of my childhood. The book is The Glory of their Times.  When I was a kid I bought any book on baseball or the Beatles I could find…I had a keen interest in old baseball players like Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, and more. My first baseball book was on Christy Mathewson.

Rube could bring it. His career record was 193-143 with a 2.16 ERA. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1946. He pitched from 1897 to 1910 with the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Orphans, Philadelphia Athletics, and the St. Louis Browns. Waddell still holds the AL single-season strikeout record by a left-handed pitcher. Not as easy to strike out batters at that time because of all of the slap hitters…way before the homerun was popular.

Rube Waddell held a special place in my heart for being so…uh different. He was a childlike man who opposing teams would often buy toys or shiny objects to distract him while he was pitching…he wouldn’t bear down on them if he was happy.

The hardest part was getting him to the park. He would miss starts while playing marbles with kids, fishing, hunting, drinking,  or chasing fire engines. It’s been said that he had to be restrained when he heard a fire bell.  After a win he sometimes would do cartwheels on the mound.

In the off season he took to wrestling alligators. It’s also said he would lose track of how many times he was married and of punching a lion in the face at a show and it bit his left hand.

He was one of baseball’s first gate attractions because you never knew what he would do.

What I didn’t understand as a kid was there was sadness behind the wacky things Waddell did. His was  nicknamed Waddell the sousepaw, a reference to his drinking habit and him being left handed.  Many have speculated that Waddell was clinically disabled or at the very least affected by a personality disorder.

In Kentucky 1912 he was helping people in a flood and caught pneumonia. He then helped in a second flood in the same location and caught pneumonia again.  That same year, while in Minneapolis, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He died in 1914.

He didn’t have 300 wins for a milestone but he did have 4 seasons of over 20 wins and two more with 19. He also topped 300 strikeouts twice and 200 strikeouts 5 times.

The 8 1/2 Year Infield

On June 13, 1973 exactly 48 years ago today…The Dodgers’ infield of Steve Garvey (first base), Davey Lopes (second base), Ron Cey (third base) and Bill Russell (shortstop) played together for the first time in a 16-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The quartet would set a major league record for longevity by playing 8 1/2 years in the same infield.

Growing up I didn’t have to wonder who would be playing where. My personal opinion is this record will not be broken…free agency, trades, and money have changed the game.

None of the four players are in the Hall of Fame. Garvey is the closest one to the Hall but all were very good players. The weakest would be Russell but in the seventies shortstops were not lighting up the scoreboard.

Those four players played in 4 World Series together and won  1…that one in 1981 against the Yankees. I do think if they would have won 2 World Series…they would be remembered more. 1981 was their last year together. Lopes was traded that offseason, Garvey left after the 1982 season to a record breaking contract with the Padres and Ron Cey was stupidly traded to the Cubs before the 1983 season. Garvey would make it to his 5th  World Series in 1984 with the Padres.

Bill Russell retired with the Dodgers in 1986 and became a coach in 1987. He became manager in 1997.

Garvey was an All Star 10 times,  Cey 6, Lopes 4, and Russell 3 times.

They will always be my favorite infield of all time… I would take them now in their prime if I could and place them on the 2021 Dodgers.

 

 

 

A Salute to Clayton

This year it’s different  being a Dodger fan.  I see more Dodger blogs, merchandise, games, and chatter about them. If they don’t win this year that is alright…it was nice seeing that win back in October.

Between 2004 the Dodgers were owned by Frank and Jamie McCourt…better known to Dodger fans as McBroke. The last three years of their reign were heart breaking for Dodger fans. Fans stopped going to the games while Frank and Jamie were going through a divorce. Finally the Commissioner …Selig finally intervened and stopped the non-sense of them both draining the Dodgers dry and attempting to under sell their Fox TV contract by getting quick money…but Selig is NOT without blame in this. Although McCourt was denied for buying the Red Sox…he was approved buying the Dodgers from Fox with a loan from…you guessed it…Fox.

While all of this was going on, Clayton Kershaw kept fans watching the Dodgers. He was maybe the best pitcher in MLB between 2011 and 2014. His stats were 72-26 with a 2.11 ERA with 3 Cy Young Awards and a second place finish to R.A. Dickey. He would have had more wins but most years the bullpen was awful…and that bullpen would cause some of those post season failures. He would be on the ropes in the 8th inning but he would be kept in because the bullpen was not to be trusted. That didn’t cause all of his troubles but it added to them greatly.

On April 11, 2021 he won his 177th career game against 77 loses. He is 100 games over at this point in his career and he looks like he has plenty in the tank at this point. It’s not just his great pitching either…more importantly from all accounts he is a nice decent human being. Fans of other teams who hate the Dodgers seem to like Clayton Kershaw. I saw Giants fans happy to see him win…only him though…and that’s the way it should be. Vin Scully was the other person associated with the Dodgers who was loved by rival teams.

Clayton is great for the game of baseball and the Dodgers. I’ve tried not to take him for granted because players like him don’t come along often. Clayton is only 33 years old and my hope is he remains a Dodger until he is ready to hang them up. If he quit today he should be Hall of Fame bound.

In past off seasons Kershaw and his wife Ellen go to Africa and help build and rebuild villages and give relief to poverty stricken areas. They formed a charity called Kershaw’s Challenge.

2021 MLB Predictions

My friends Hanspostcard and Dave did this in the past few days. I’ve never been good at this but I’ll give it a shot. This will be my first attempt and we will see what happens. I read over Fangraphs, pecota, and just the eye test.

I think the Braves could surprise some and  win the NL. I also think the Yankees have a lot question marks and unless everything goes perfect I don’t see them making the World Series. Although I’m a Dodger fan I honestly think they are the most balanced and stacked team in the MLB this year…of course that only means they will probably lose.

I think the White Sox will gel this year and make some noise.

National League

West

• Dodgers
• Padres
• Giants
• Diamondbacks
• Rockies

East

• Braves
• Mets
• Nationals
• Phillies
• Marlins

Central

• Brewers
• Cubs
• Cardinals
• Reds
• Pirates

Wildcards

Padres – Mets

NL Champion

Dodgers over the Braves

American League

West

• Astros
• A’s
• Angels
• Mariners
• Rangers

East

• Yankees
• Blue Jays
• Rays
• Red Sox
• Orioles

Central

• White Sox
• Twins
• Indians
• Royals
• Tigers

Wildcards

Twins and Blue Jays

AL Champion

White Sox  over the Yankees

World Series

Dodgers over White Sox

Tommy Lasorda (1927-2021)

https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-01-08/dodgers-legendary-manager-tom-lasorda-dies-at-age-93-heart-attack

When I was 10 years old I started to follow the Dodgers for the first time in my life. It was 1977 and Tommy was the manager and they had one of their greatest teams with a great core.

That is still MY team. When I think of the Dodgers that is what comes back to me…not Piazza, Kirk Gibson, or even Kershaw…but that seventies and early eighties team with Lasorda as manager. His name went with the Dodgers… he was with them since the 50s…and so was Vin Scully. Those two will forever be Dodgers. I would love to catch a Dodger-Giants game on tv in Candlestick park and watch the Giant fans boo Lasorda as he changed pitchers…he loved the attention.

In September of 1976 the quiet and understated Walter Alston stepped down and the loud and boisterous Lasorda became the manager. Lasorda was a brawler…he loved to fight but O’Malley told him he would have to calm down especially when he was manager. Tommy never really calmed down a lot…but the fist fights did. He managed them from 1976-1996.

I disagreed with many of his managing decisions but he did win 2 World Championships…My favorite being 1981 by beating those Reggie Jackson Yankees. They had lost to them in 1977 and 1978…and of course the other championship in 1988 with the Kirk Gibson homerun.

My favorite Lasorda moment? After Dave Kingman hit three homeruns against the Dodgers…a reporter asked him his opinion of Kingman’s performance.

….

The Dodgers Win

I’ve been waiting 32 years for this through the Piazza, Karros, Sheffield, Martin, Green, Kemp, Ethier, Pederson, Seager, Bellinger, Mookie, and the Clayton Kershaw years.

I was 21 years old when I last had this feeling…and I’ve missed it.

…

New Rules for 2020 for MLB

There have been some new rules in MLB this year. I don’t argue much because of the situation. I don’t see a problem with funky rules this year because of the sixty game regular season. I’m happy they are playing because it gives us some normality…a little we can all hold on to.

The rules were set for just this year because of what is going on but I know that Manfred sometimes wants to change for the sake of change…I guess to leave his mark… The rules are italicized in bold below and my responses are below each one. I’m sure some of you will disagree with me and that is fine…who ever reads this is probably passionate about the game…all opinions are welcomed.

Now to the rules…

1: Universal DH (No need for the official wording in this) – Ok all of you American League fans… I know that most of you like it and that is fine. I like it also…for the American League. Personally I don’t want to see this go past this year for the NL. I don’t understand why it’s so bad for the leagues to be different. I like the leagues different…at one time they had two sets of umpires…one for the AL and one for the NL… The reasons for and against doesn’t change but I have a feeling Manfred will try to pass this one. This one I don’t want to see change. I like ball parks all different and the leagues different…it separates baseball from the rigid normality of the other major sports…It’s ok to be different MLB.

2: Wet Rag- Pitchers will be permitted to carry a small wet rag in their back pocket to be used for moisture in lieu of licking their fingers. Pitchers will not be able to access the rag while on the rubber, and they must clearly wipe the fingers of their pitching hand dry before touching the ball or the rubber. Water is the only substance that will be allowed on the rag.

I don’t see a reason why this shouldn’t be in place for ever more. I want the pitchers that have 90 mph fastballs to have decent control. Yes I know someone will try to cheat the system… hey it’s baseball…but I don’t see this as a big problem.

3: Runner on second to begin extra innings
During the regular season, every half-inning after the ninth will begin with a runner on second base. If that runner scores, the pitcher won’t be charged with an earned run.

The runner placed on second base at the start of each half-inning will be the player in the batting order immediately preceding that half-inning’s leadoff hitter, or a pinch-runner. However, if the player in the batting order immediately preceding that half-inning’s leadoff hitter is the pitcher, the runner placed on second base may be the player preceding the pitcher in the batting order. This rule will not be in place for the postseason.

Over the past five years, 8.26% of all regular-season games have gone to extra innings. There were 208 extra-innings games in the 2019 regular season, counting for 8.56% of all games.

I thought this was a joke when I saw this rule… even for only this year.  I’ll quote Clayton Kershaw…”No, it’s not great, it’s Mickey Mouse garbage that belongs in the minor leagues and ONLY the minor leagues.” Is this really worth it for only 8.56% of the games? It’s not baseball and there should not be a valid reason to keep this. This reminds me of wiffle ball we played while we were younger…what’s next MLB? Ghost runners?

They say baseball is too long…have you ever watched a NFL game? They also can last 3 hours or more. Try watching the NBA in the last 2 mintues…you can raise a family in the time it takes them to finish it. This is the rule I disagree with the most…

4: Suspended games
If weather forces a game to be cut short before it is official, it will be continued at a later date rather than started from scratch.

I don’t mind this one at all… it makes sense to me. The famous game that comes to my mind is the George Brett pine tar game…they started that game when it ended…of course weather had nothing to do with that one.

5: Position players pitching
There will be no restrictions on position players pitching in 2020.

A rule change installed this past offseason would have required teams to designate every player on the active roster as either a pitcher or a position player, and position players would have been unable to pitch unless it was extra innings, their team was ahead or trailing by more than six runs, or they had qualified for the “two-way” designation. That rule won’t be in place during the 2020 season.

I think this should stand. If the player is alright with pitching under emergencies why not let him? If he is ok with it I don’t see a problem. Personally I like seeing some position player pitch…some like Russell Martin did really well. Yes they could get hurt but the player either says yes or no.

Ok this is just my two cents but the recent intentional walk rule. Why make it automatic and the batter go to first? I have seen pitchers make wild throws and games were decided because of it. I have seen pitchers fool the batter into thinking it was an intentional walk and strike them on a 3-2 count…and batters lean over and hit the ball…and who can forget the A’s fooling Johnny Bench with a fake intentional walk in the World Series?  This one doesn’t have anything to do with this year but I wanted to get it in.

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Your Favorite Teams Worst Trades

I can speak about the Dodgers because I lived it… What are the worst trades your favorite team made? If you want…comment below…I would love to see them.

1…1993 Pedro Martinez The number one bad trade – 3 words… Delino for Pedro. No Dodger fan will forget/forgive this trade that involved Delino DeShields from the Expos going to the Dodgers for Pedro Martinez. If free-agent second baseman Jody Reed agrees to a multiyear contract and returns to Los Angeles, this doesn’t happen. It’s not like they didn’t know Pedro was good… in 1993 he appeared in 65 games (two starts) and went 10–5 with a 2.61 ERA, including 119 strikeouts and 57 walks in 107 innings…then Fred Clair traded him…because of his size Lasorda didn’t think he would hold up and he would be a bullpen guy. Then GM Fred Claire takes responsibility for this though.

2… 1998 Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile to the Florida Marlins for Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, and Gary Sheffield. Yes, they did some quality back with Sheffield more than anyone else…but Piazza was the face of the franchise and a future Hall of Famer. 

3…1998 Paul Konerko traded for Jeff Shaw – This was stupid. Yes, the Dodgers needed a closer that part is true and they had Eric Karros at first but he didn’t have anywhere near the career Konerko had with the White Sox. Paul was given 54 games to show what he had with the Dodgers. When he had all of that time to hit…he was traded. Tommy Lasorda was made GM for a very short time…I’m thankful it was short…and he did this. To be fair Shaw was a successful closer but he was not worth the price. 

4…1983 Ron Cey to the Chicago Cubs for prospects Vance Lovelace and Dan Cataline. This trade made NO sense. Living by Branch Rickey’s logic…better to get rid of someone one year too early than a year too late…great advice but Cey wasn’t near being done. Cey would end up knocking 84 home runs for the Cubs in the next 4 years. Al Campanis really messed up with this one. Third base would be a wasteland for the Dodgers for years and years after Cey left. Adrian Beltre did great briefly but then…they didn’t resign him. Justin Turner is the first good regular third baseman the Dodgers have had since Cey was traded in1982.

5…1982 Rick Sutcliffe traded to the Cleveland Indians for Jack Fimple, Jorge Orta and Larry White. All because Sutcliffe rearranged Lasorda’s office. This was in 1981 and he just won the Rookie of the Year in 1979.

Honorable Mention…I will lump 3 trades together… Juan Guzman traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Toronto Blue Jays for Mike Sharperson a utility player… Sid Fernandez with Ross Jones to the New York Mets for Bob Bailor and Carlos Diaz…and John Franco to the Cincinnati Reds for Rafael Landestoy. Three very good pitchers for not much at all.

 

 

 

Fernandomania

In the summer of 1981, I was a 14-year-old 3rd baseman and pitcher for the immortal  “Tucker’s Big Star”13-14 age group baseball team. A grocery store sponsored baseball team that featured orange uniforms with white pinstripe…yea they were hideous.

Although I grew up in Tennessee we all knew Fernando Venezuela. He was huge in the baseball world and his popularity was growing with the masses that summer. He was a 20-year-old Mexican pitcher for the Dodgers. Being a Dodger fan I was rooting for him. The 1981 MLB baseball season was played in two parts. An MLB strike started on June 12 and play wasn’t resumed until August 19th.

It was a split season and playoffs had an extra round. It was my favorite Dodger team and they finally beat the Yankees with the help of Fernando. Fernando came out of nowhere. He was born in Navojoa Mexico and discovered by a scout named Mike Brito. He came close to being signed by the New York Yankees but the Dodgers signed him for 120,000 dollars.

Pitcher Bobby Castillo taught him how to throw the Screwball. A pitch that wasn’t common in the Major Leagues. He started the 1981 season 8–0 with five shutouts and an ERA of 0.50. He ended up with a 13-7 record with a 2.84 ERA that year.

Like the Bird Mark Fidrych a few years before he was a huge draw in every park he pitched in. Unlike the Bird, he enjoyed a 17-year career. He won game 3 in the 1981 World Series. He didn’t have his control or best stuff but he hung on to win. He pitched a ridiculous 146 pitches in the complete-game victory.

Fernando had a good career which probably could have been better if not for overuse. Fernando was worked like the town pump.