2,000 Wins

The 2002 World Series provided the baseball world with some great memories.  The Angels defeated the Giants 4 games to 3 in the first ever Series that matched two Wild Card entrants. The teams combined for 21 home runs in the Series, a record that stood for 15 years. Yet, the image that we all remember is during the seventh inning of Game 5.  The Giants’ Kenny Lofton tripled with two runners on base. As the San Francisco baserunners raced to home plate, Darren Baker, the toddler son of Giants’ manager Dusty Baker, ran to get Lofton’s bat.  Fortunately, Giants first baseman J.T. Snow grabbed Darren before there was a collision at home plate.  Baker’s son was saved!

Earlier this month, almost 20 years later, now Astros skipper Dusty Baker recorded his 2,000th managerial win in a 4-0 victory against the Mariners. He became the twelfth manager and first Black manager ever to reach the milestone.  Baker began his managerial career with the Giants in 1993 and helmed the San Francisco dugout for 10 years.  Along the way, he’s also managed the Cubs (2003-2006), Reds (2008-2013), Nationals (2016-2017), and now Astros (2020-2022).  When Dusty took Houston to the playoffs in 2020, he became the first manager ever to lead five different teams to a division title and postseason play. Leading the Astros to the AL pennant last year, he also became just the ninth manager to win pennants in both leagues. Baker though also has the distinction of the manager with the most wins who has never won the World Series.

Baker’s long-time rival in an opposing dugout, Tony LaRussa, has won his fair share of games as well.  Tony is the winningest, active manager, with over 2,800 wins and is second on the all-time list.  LaRussa began his managerial career in 1979 at age 34. He brought a division title to the White Sox in 1983, and then captured three World titles heading the Oakland Athletics (1989) and the St. Louis Cardinals (2006 and 2011).  Tony’s Cardinals faced Baker’s Cubs and Reds in some hotly contested games over the years.  Among LaRussa’s accomplishments, he has been voted the manager of the year four times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. After some time away from the field, Tony returned to the White Sox dugout last season, leading the Southsiders to their first division title in 13 years.

Connie Mack, manager of the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years (1901-1950), is the all-time leader with 3,731 wins, a record that undoubtedly will never be broken.  His number of games managed (7,755) and losses (3,948) also will be atop of the record books long into the future.  Mack’s Athletics won 5 World Series titles during his tenure as manager (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, and 1930).  He entered the Hall of Fame in 1937.  That same year another winning manager, John McGraw of the New York Giants, was inducted into the Hall of Fame.  McGraw managed the Giants for 29 years (1902-1930).  Prior to that, he was the skipper of the then NL Baltimore Orioles for two seasons.  McGraw holds the National League record with 31 seasons managed and is third on the all-time wins list (2,763 wins).

The top 10 of winningest managers has a group of “statesmen”. Walter Alston, known as the “Quiet Man”, managed the Dodgers for 23 seasons.  His accomplishments include 6-time manager of the year, 7 NL pennants, 4 World Series titles, and 2,040 wins (9th all-time). Alston was a true gentleman, believing that every day was a privilege to manage. Accordingly, he signed 23 one-year contracts!  Joe Torre, one of the most respected baseball men ever, is also in this category.  His managerial career included 2,326 wins (5th all-time), six AL pennants, and four world championships with the Yankees.  Torre also served as MLB’s chief baseball officer from 2011 to 2020.

Sparky Anderson, another statesman, has the distinction of being the first skipper to win the World Series in both leagues (Reds in 1975 and 1976; Tigers in 1984).  Sparky was the consummate professional and one of the great “player managers”.  His 2,194 career managerial wins place him 6th on the all-time list.  Anderson did get a little fiery at times, as did a couple others on the 2,000 wins list, Bobby Cox (2,504 wins; 4th on the list) and Leo Durocher (2,008 wins; 9th).  Cox, who managed the Braves for 25 years and the Blue Jays for four other seasons, holds the NL managerial record with 16 postseason appearances.  He also has the all-time record for ejections from the game with 158! Durocher, affectionately known as “Leo the Lip”, had 95 ejections himself in his somewhat stormy career marked by disputes with not only umpires, but also the media.

Dusty Baker knew that the magic number of 2,000 wins would come early this season. What he didn’t know as he walked to home plate to exchange lineup cards in a spring training game in March is who would greet him there.  It was none other than his son Darren, no longer a toddler, but a 23-year old infielder in the Washington Nationals’ minor league system.  Dave Martinez, manager of the Nationals, thought it would be a treat to see Dusty and Darren reunited on the playing field.  Martinez brought Darren into the game as a defensive substitute at second base in the sixth inning of the game.  Darren singled in his first at-bat, and then hit a sacrifice fly to score the winning run for Washington in the eighth.  While this game didn’t count in the record books, Dusty had to be smiling about his son once again. 

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Modern Day Babe Ruth

My favorite page in the morning newspaper is the one that shows the current MLB standings, the pitching matchups for the games to be played that day, and the box scores of games played the day before. I sometimes spend a half hour digesting the information, the box scores in particular. I love to follow how some of my favorite hitters fared or the pitching lines for the top hurlers in the league.  And now every fifth day or so when the Los Angeles Angels are in a box score, a name appears twice, Ohtani!

A week ago in Boston, Shohei Ohtani posted some remarkable numbers as his Angels routed the Red Sox, 8-0.  His pitching line read 7 innings pitched, no runs allowed, 11 strikeouts, and 0 walks.  A pretty good day by any measure, but that’s only half the story.  Batting as the designated hitter, Ohtani was 2 for 4, 1 run scored, and 1 RBI.  The side story of the two hits added a little color to the box score.  His first hit was a 389-foot single that was a foot shy of a home run.  Ohtani followed that with a drive in the eighth inning that hit the Green Monster at Fenway Park, literally knocking his # 17 out of the pitcher’s slot on the scoreboard.  Shohei is clearly the Modern Day Babe Ruth.

Over 100 years ago, a name often appeared twice in a box score, Ruth.  In fact, the box score for the fourth game of the 1918 World Series, also played at Fenway Park, shows a pitching line in Boston’s 3-2 win over the Cubs as follows – Ruth, 8 innings, 2 earned runs, 7 hits, winning pitcher.  Babe Ruth, who most deem the greatest MLB player ever, batted sixth in the Red Sox lineup that day.  He added most of the team’s offense, a 2-RBI triple and a sacrifice bunt.  Although Babe had won 23 games as a pitcher for the Red Sox in each of two seasons, he wanted to be an everyday player and full-time hitter. Indeed, this 1918 game was his last MLB start on the mound; he was sold to the Yankees in the offseason.  100 years later, in 2018, Ruth would receive posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom as baseball’s all-time slugger.

In 1919 Ruth broke the MLB single-season home run record.  It was the beginning of a string of 15 years with the Yankees where he led the New Yorkers to seven AL pennants and four world championships.  There are so many wonderful stories around the legend of Babe Ruth, the most famous being the “Called Shot” in the 1932 World Series.  In the third game, at Wrigley Field, Charlie Root, one of the winningest pitchers in Cubs history, was on the mound as Ruth stepped into the batter’s box in the fifth inning. Ruth took two strikes, and then stepped out of the box, gesturing toward the outfield fence.  He stepped back in and launched a 490 foot home run into temporary seating beyond the centerfield bleachers.  Root would throw only one more pitch in the game, a home run ball to Lou Gehrig, who batted cleanup in the game’s box score.  The Ruth-Gehrig twosome formed the core of the “Murderer’s Row” of Yankee baseball in that era.

The legend of Shohei Ohtani is a work in progress. This is only his fifth year in major league baseball.  From 2013 to 2017 he starred in the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) League as a pitcher/hitter for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.  During his time in the NPB, his fastball was recorded at 102.5 mph, the fastest in Japanese baseball history.  In 2018 he signed with the Angels and easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.  Last year Shohei was named the AL MVP.  In announcing the award, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred called Ohtani’s season “historically significant” and a “major impact on the sport”.  Indeed, this past week Shohei received the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award.

There was another first for Ohtani this week.  In the Angels’ 11-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, he hit his first grand slam as a professional.  Ironically, he had a little help in the win as his teammate, Mike Trout, also homered.  Trout, the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year and a 3-time AL MVP winner, is Ruth’s Gehrig to Ohtani.  The Angels can only hope that they have formed their own “Murderer’s Row” leading to a championship or two in the near future.

Baseball author Stanley Cohen, in his wonderful 1981 book, “The Man in the Crowd”, said this about box scores:  “The box score is the catechism of baseball, ready to surrender its truth to the knowing eye.”  In today’s box scores, Los Angeles Angels pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani will certainly catch your eye.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Club of 33

October 11, 1972.  Looking back at the hundreds of MLB games that I’ve attended, the fifth and deciding game of the National League Championship Series on that day has to be my favorite moment.  This 13-year old kid, sitting in Row 13, Seat 13, in the right centerfield green seats at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium, was anxious as the scoreboard read, Pirates 3, Reds 2 (bottom of the 9th). The Pirates needed just three outs.  Johnny Bench led off for Cincinnati against Dave Giusti, Pittsburgh’s top reliever.  Down in the count 0-2, Bench hit a home run ball right at me, beyond the Pirates’ great rightfielder, Roberto Clemente, and over the wall, tying the game at 3-3. Minutes later, the Reds would win the NL pennant on a wild pitch.

What I didn’t know then was that sadly this would be the very last game that Clemente would ever play. On December 31, 1972, Clemente died in a plane crash on a rescue mission to Nicaragua. On the last day of the regular season in 1972, Clemente had accomplished a milestone that to date only 32 other players in MLB history have reached, 3,000 career hits. Roberto had an illustrious career with four NL batting championships, a career batting average over .300, an NL MVP award (1966), two World Series championships, and a World Series MVP (1971). Today, Clemente stands #33 on the list in this exclusive club. What makes the club exclusive is that there have been about 20,000 MLB players in its 150-year history!

This past month Miguel Cabrera, affectionately known as “Miggy”, joined the club.  Cabrera debuted in 2003 with the then Florida Marlins, leading them to their first world championship.  Like Clemente, he has won four batting championships, but all in the American League.  In 2012, Miggy claimed the MLB Triple Crown (best AL batting average, and most HRs and RBIs), the first player to do so in 45 years.  His career highlights also include 2-time AL MVP (2012 and 2013), 11-time All-Star, and seven Silver Slugger awards.  With his 3,000th hit last month, Cabrera became the third player in MLB history with a career batting average above .300, 500 HRs, and 3,000 hits, joining the elite company of Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.

When the 2022 season began on April 7, it was just a matter of time before Miggy would get #3,000. On April 23, in a game against the Rockies, Cabrera struck gold with a single to right in his first at-bat. His big hit came off Colorado pitcher Antonio Senzatela, who is Venzuelan, just like Miggy. With a second hit later in the game, Cabrera quickly jumped into the #32 spot in the club of 33. He had also become the third player in this century to reach 3,000 hits, along with Ichiro Suzuki and Albert Pujols.

At the top of the Club of 33 is Pete Rose, who finished his career with 4,256 hits.  Rose is one of two switch-hitters who reached the 3,000 mark, the other, Eddie Murray.  Of the 31 other players in the Club of 33, 18 batted right-handed, while 13 hit from the left side of the plate. Ty Cobb, second on the list with 4,189 hits, has the highest career batting average in the club, at .366. Cal Ripken, Jr. has the lowest career batting average, .276.

Cabrera’s single last month is the most common 3,000th  hit.  Stan Musial was the first to reach the mark with an extra base hit, a double, and unusually he did it as a pinch-hitter. Derek Jeter, Wade Boggs, and Alex Rodriguez are the only players to reach 3,000 with a home run.   Craig Biggio made it to 3,000 with a single but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double!  The names of the Club of 33 go on and on . . . Tony Gwynn, George Brett, Carl Yastremski, and Dave Winfield, some of the greatest who have ever played the game.

Welcome to the Club of 33, Miggy!

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Baseball's Glass Ceiling

My daughters enjoyed playing fastpitch softball in their youth.  I managed, coached, and kept score for hundreds of their games.  Fastpitch softball gave me an even greater appreciation of baseball. Softball is fast, has its own, unique strategy, and is certainly full of enthusiasm and emotions.  Aside from the wonderful bonding that my daughters and I enjoyed being together for the practices, games, and softball and baseball road trips, I often felt that softball gave them an important dimension of competitiveness. And now today, we see women adding a new dimension to the game of baseball.

Kim Ng is today’s best example of breaking baseball’s glass ceiling. Ng is currently the general manager of the Miami Marlins and the highest ranking female baseball executive. She started as an intern with the Chicago White Sox, was hired full-time after graduation from the University of Chicago in 1991, and was promoted to Assistant Director of Baseball Operations in 1995. In 1998, the Mets’ general manager Brian Cashman brought her, at age 29, to New York as assistant general manager, the youngest ever to hold that position and just the second woman (Elaine Weddington Steward took a similar position with the Red Sox in 1990). In 2001, Ng joined the Dodgers as vice president and assistant general manager. Over the course of the next 20 years, she interviewed for the GM spot with at least five MLB clubs, landing the Marlins job in 2020. In 2015 Forbes ranked Ng #13 on the list of the most influential minorities in sports (she is Asian-American), and in 2021 Forbes selected her for the inaugural 50 over 50, comprised of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and creators over the age of 50.

Who attempted to pry open the glass before Ng?  Margaret Donahue began the process over a hundred years ago.  In 1919 the Cubs hired her as a stenographer, and then promoted her to corporate secretary in 1926.  Donahue did about everything for the organization.  She came up with the idea of season tickets in 1929, later adopted by the rest of baseball and other professional sports.  In addition to having Cubs tickets available at Wrigley Field’s box office, she introduced tickets for sale at Western Union telegraph offices. Today’s StubHub would have been proud of her ticketing  innovations. Donahue also was a voice in the Cubs front office, working alongside the Wrigleys (owners William, Jr., and then, P.K., in 1932) and club presidents (William and son Bill Veeck). Donahue did it all – executed the players’ payroll, stored the game balls in a cabinet in her office, and ran the ballpark office staff.

The Cubs organization was one of the first to welcome women to the ballpark. Charlie Weeghman (majority owner of the Cubs, 1916-1919) introduced Ladies Day, free admission to the ballpark on Fridays for females 16 and over.  Friday gates became huge at Wrigley Field in the 1920s.  Indeed, in 1929 Wrigley Field had over 200,000 Ladies Day participants.  Marketing to females and their families spread throughout baseball, and Ladies Day promotions became a hallmark at many ballparks well into the 1980s. Crazily, the practice ended with a New York State Human Rights Commission’s ruling of reverse discrimination in Abosh v. New York Yankees. Today, MLB games see almost equal attendance by men and women.

Women on the field originated during World War II with the founding in 1943 of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). P.K. Wrigley of the Cubs started AAGPBL as a way to maintain baseball in the public eye while many male players were away at war. The League was highly successful with over 600 women playing in its 12-year existence. In 1948, AAGPBL games drew over 900,000 fans. In the first season of play, the teams played a hybrid of baseball and softball, using a 12” ball, pitchers throwing underhand from 40 feet, and maintaining basepaths of 65’. The game became more and more like baseball over the 12 years. In the final season, the teams were using a regulation size baseball with overhand pitching and baselines of 85 feet (just short of MLB’s 90’). The League was famously depicted in the 1992 hit movie, “A League of Their Own”.

The significance of women in baseball today is seen in on-field coaching.  In 2018, not one female coached in the MLB and its minor league affiliates.  Today, there are eleven! Just three weeks ago, Alyssa Nakken of the San Francisco Giants made MLB history as the first female coach in a regular season game.  She took over the first base coaching duties in the third inning of a game between the Giants and the Padres.  Nakken began her baseball journey as an intern for the Giants in 2014.  She was promoted to the MLB coaching staff in January, becoming the first full-time female coach in the MLB.  When asked about her recent stint in the first base coaching box, she said:  “I think we’re all inspirations doing everything we do on a day-to-day basis, and I think, yes, this carries a little more weight because of the visibility, obviously there’s a historical nature to it. . . But again, this is my job.”

It's just the job too of other females rising in minor league baseball.  Boston, in particular, has taken some recent swings at baseball’s glass ceiling. In 2021, the Red Sox hired Bianca Smith as a minor league coach. In early January, Katie Krall was hired as a player development coach at Double A Portland, a Red Sox affiliate.  The Yankees followed their rivals with the hiring of Rachel Balkovec. On January 11 she became the first female manager in MLB-affiliated baseball as she took the helm at Low-A Tampa.  Krall said it best on the Zoom call announcing her hiring: “I definitely think that, at a point, we will get to a place where women will just be hired. . . . I guess that would be the ultimate goal: that it doesn’t become newsworthy anymore.”

With the leadership of Kim Ng off the field and the hiring of more leaders like Nakken, Smith, and Balkovec on the field, maybe we are getting closer to breaking baseball’s glass ceiling.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Streaks

Photo credit to Associated Press.

July 27, 1978.  I climbed into my AMC Gremlin dressed in a District 18 Knothole Umpire shirt and unaware that this might be the most intimidating night of my life. I drove the short mile from my home to Haubner Field in Cincinnati ready to umpire a 6:00 p.m. game.  With my balls-strikes-outs indicator in my pocket and home plate umpire mask in hand, I arrived at the park around 5:30 p.m.  There was a buzz in the air; Pete Rose Jr. would be playing in this game. His famous Dad, Pete Rose, was in the midst of a consecutive games with a hit streak that had reached 39 games the night before.  He was gunning to break Joe DiMaggio’s best all-time 56-game streak set in 1941.

In the second inning of this little league game Pete Rose arrived to see his son play. The Reds had a scheduled day off. Word soon got out in the surrounding neighborhoods. By the fourth inning or so, there were hundreds of fans in the park hoping for a chance to get Rose’s autograph. It reminded me of Rocky’s run through the streets of Philadelphia in the first “Rocky” as more and more fans flocked to the park. The visiting team manager asked me if Pete could sit in the dugout so that he could enjoy the game. I nodded my approval. I don’t remember much about the game other than concentrating on every call for the fear I’d blow one. And sometime late in the game I called Pete Rose, Jr. out on a third strike. I never looked over to the dugout after that call, and Pete Rose’s streak would end the next week at 44 games. Perhaps the events were related.

In the first couple weeks of this 2022 season, we witnessed a streak that may not go into the record books but may be very significant.  Steven Kwan, rookie outfielder for the new Cleveland Guardians, went 128 consecutive pitches at the plate without swinging and missing. In 42 of those pitches he swung the bat and either put the ball in play or fouled off the pitch.  In today’s game where way too many at bats result in strikeouts or walks, seeing a new age contact hitter is certainly refreshing.  Guardians manager Terry Franconi has deemed Kwan the prototypical old school #2 hitter in the batting order.  In his rise through the Cleveland minor league system Kwan’s propensity to be a contact hitter has been apparent with a 3.3% swinging strike rate.  He is baseball’s new singles hitter, reminiscent of Pete Rose. Kwan’s style of exciting play might bring more fans to the game.

Many streaks in baseball are indeed for the record books, and a handful of them may never be broken.  No hitter since Rose has even approached the mark set by Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees.  DiMaggio, nicknamed the “Yankee Clipper”, played centerfield for New York for the entirety of his 13-year career.  He was a three-time American League MVP and an All-Star in all thirteen seasons.  DiMaggio led the Yankees to ten AL pennants and nine World Series championships!  In baseball’s centennial year of 1969, he was voted baseball’s greatest living player.  Despite all of the championships and awards, Joe will always be synonymous with one number – 56!  Getting a hit in 56 straight games from May 15 through July 16 in 1941 seems unreachable in today’s game of swing and miss.

Just one world championship, in 1988, brings fame to a Dodgers pitcher, Orel Hershiser. Beginning August 30 of that season, Hershiser pitched a record 59 consecutive, scoreless innings, just surpassing another LA hurler, Don Drysdale, with his 58 2/3 innings in 1968. The Hershiser streak carried the Dodgers into the 1988 playoffs and beyond, as Hershiser captured the World Series and NLCS MVP awards, as well as the Cy Young, the only player to have swept all through three accolades in the same season. He also garnered an NL Gold Glove that year. Throughout his 18 years on the mound Hershiser was famous for taking the ball every fifth day and keeping his team in the game. Although he won just 204 games overall in his career, his tenacity was portrayed in his nickname, “Bulldog”.

No one’s career in baseball will ever compare to the longetivity of another great nickname in the sport, the “Iron Man”, Cal Ripken, Jr.  Ripken played 21 seasons for his beloved Baltimore Orioles, a two-time AL MVP and 19-time All-Star.  Ripken was the first real offensive shortstop the game had seen, compiling 3,184 hits, 431 HRs, and 1,695 RBIs in his career.  When he debuted with the Orioles in 1981, who could fathom his reaching the ultimate number, 2,130, the number of consecutive games played by Yankee great, Lou Gehrig.  But Ripken reached that goal, and surpassed it, playing in 2,632 consecutive games.  It’s also difficult to imagine that 2,632 will ever be reached.  To put it in perspective, Whit Merrifield of the Kansas City Royals holds the current streak at 481 games.

After Steven Kwan’s streak ended with a swing and miss two weeks ago, he told FOX Sports:  “I remember when I was younger, every time I struck out, I would want to cry.  So I think I just told myself, ‘I don’t like to cry, so I just won’t strike out.’”  When I called Pete Rose Jr. out on strikes that summer night in 1978, I don’t recall him crying, but I do remember my own sadness when his Dad’s streak ended the next week.  Streaks in baseball are so memorable, whether for the record books or not.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Sizzlin' Stove

My prized possession as a little boy was my transister radio (or to be more exact, radios).  I went through numerous ones, and many, many, batteries.  You see, that’s how I learned to love major league baseball.  If the Reds game ran past my bedtime, I would put the radio under my pillow to catch every inning I could, and then afterwards, the interview with the star of the game and the scoreboard of other games played.  Often the next morning I would wake up to the quiet buzz of my radio; I had forgotten to turn it off.  For the most part I gave my radios a rest during the baseball offseason.  Sometimes though, I would stay up and listen to the chatter of baseball radio announcers with their thoughts on possible trades and the prospects for my beloved Reds in the next season.

The winter time baseball discussion is affectionately known as the “hot stove league”. The image is of baseball fans gathering around a hot stove during the cold winter and discussing everything about their favorite teams and players. Baseball historians have deemed this practice to be one of the reasons that the game became the country’s national pastime. One might talk and learn about baseball all year round. This past winter the hot stove was put into cold storage as baseball shut its doors beginning December 1. There could be no trades or even talks with player agents until the conflict had been resolved. The 99-day lockout ended abruptly on March 9. With the regular season just four weeks away and many prominent players remaining on the free agent market, the baseball stove not only became hot, but sizzling! Here’s a quick look at the most noteworthy signings.

The 2021 World Series saw Atlanta defeat Houston in a classic series.  I became enamored with the Braves’ first baseman, Freddie Freeman.  I loved watching video of Freddie attending his son’s little league games during the Series, and hearing the story of his greeting every baserunner at first base with a kind “congratulations”.  He’s a pretty good player too – five time NL All-Star; 2018 Gold Glove winner; Silver Slugger award winner from 2019-2021; and the 2020 National League MVP.  His contract though had come to an end, and it was his time to test the financial waters.  On March 18 Freddie signed a 6 year, $162 million contract with the Dodgers, returning to his roots in southern California.  It was indeed the key sizzling stove signing for the National League.  With Freeman in the fold, the Dodgers not only have bragging rights to the most formidable lineup in the NL but clearly become the senior circuit favorite.

The American League also was able to keep one of its superstars, 27-year old Carlos Correa. On March 22 former Astro Correa signed a 3-year contract for $105.3 million with the Minnesota Twins. Correa receives the highest annual salary for an infielder in baseball. In 2012 Correa was the first overall selection in the MLB draft. He burst upon the MLB scene in 2015 as the AL Rookie of the Year. Correa is the ultimate five-tool player, an exceptional fielding shortstop with range and arm strength, a batter that hits for average and power, and a sensational baserunner. Correa is THE player in the game whom I would want to build my team around. Unfortunately for the Twins, his new contract includes opt-out provisions after each of the first two seasons. Whether Correa can help boost Minnesota into the playoffs this season or the next two remains to be seen.

Speaking of signing a 27-year old player at the prime of his career, how about the Cubs’ March 18 announcement of a 5-year, $85 million contract for Japanese star Seiya Suzuki!  Suzuki comes to the MLB after eight seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) starring for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.  Suzuki is a four-time NPB All-Star, 5-time NPB “Best Nine” winner, and three-time winner of an NPB Gold Glove.  In his first 9 games as a Cub, Suzuki has quickly adjusted to the MLB with 4 HRs, 11 RBIs, and a .400 batting average. Suzuki appears to be the cornerstone right fielder for Chicago over the next several seasons.  Among his nicknames, “See Ya” (for his home run hitting prowess) and “Roy” (for his Rookie of the Year candidacy), I’ll take the next “Say Hey Kid”, a high compliment after the Giants’ great, Willie Mays.

There were so many other notable signings during the past offseason – Matt Olson (Braves), Corey Seager and Marcus Semien (Rangers), Max Scherzer (Mets), Robbie Ray (Mariners), Javier Baez (Tigers), Kris Bryant (Rockies), and Trevor Story (Red Sox), just to name a few of the stars. If you’re tuning into a game soon, I suggest you check the team rosters beforehand.  It’s anyone’s guess what this player movement means in terms of changes in the standings come year end.  For now, let’s sit back, watch the games, and reap the benefits of the Sizzlin’ Stove.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Human Rain Delay

Welcome back for the fourth season of the Baseball Bench Coach!  This past offseason was a torturous one, complete with a 99-day lockout, a shortened spring training, and a week delay in the start of the regular season.  I heard a baseball expert muse that the labor negotiations were about as slow as the game of baseball itself.  Ouch!  I don’t know about you, but when the media reported on the progress of the negotiations, the millions of dollars in dispute were just difficult to fathom.  Frankly, the only numbers that I care about are the median age of a baseball fan nowadays (unbelievably, 57 years old!), the average time of a game (a record 3 hours and 11 minutes in 2021), and the average number of pitchers used by each team per game (4.43 last year).  The settlement between management and the players’ union did result in some measures to address these trends.  Let’s take a look.

The pace of the game has long been a problem. It’s no secret why the younger generations turn to other major sports. But how did this happen? I believe the genesis of the problem rests squarely on the shoulders of one person, Mike Hargrove, an MLB player for 12 years (1974-1985) and manager for another 19 seasons (1991-2007). You see, as a hitter he developed a habit of stepping out of the batter’s box between every pitch to adjust his helmet and batting gloves, pull each sleeve on his uniform up, wipe his hand on his uniform pants, and then sometimes do it all over again. He aptly received the nickname of the “Human Rain Delay”. While I am facetiously blaming today’s slow play on him, the trends over the past years are clear – numerous pitchers entering the game, batters working at-bats deep into the counts, and fewer balls put in play, just to name a few.

Financial terms aside, the labor agreement settlement resulted in important changes on the field.  The headliner of course is the adoption of the universal designated hitter.  Since we will no longer have to witness many pitchers struggle at the plate, the upside is that more balls will be put in play and hence more action will take place on the field.  MLB did retain a COVID-driven rule that in extra innings each team will start a runner on second base this year. The rule has effectively done away with marathon games.  Because of the rule, there was only one game played in 2020 and 2021 that went beyond 13 innings.  And I must mention the adoption of the so-called “Shohei Ohtani Rule”, a pitcher who is in the starting lineup as a hitter can remain in the game as a DH after he pitches.  Seeing more of this generation’s version of Babe Ruth can only lead to greater excitement in the game.

The big change is that MLB now allows teams to use PitchCom, an electronic device that transmits signals from catchers to pitchers. Catchers wear a wristband with nine buttons, each button designating a pitch type (fastball, curve, changeup, etc.) and zone location (inside corner, outside corner, off the plate, etc.). The catcher transmits an encrypted signal to the pitcher via a receiver that fits into the band of the pitcher’s baseball cap. The pitcher hears a voice from the receiver telling him what pitch to throw and where to place it. Three additional players on the field may have access to the transmitted signal, in most cases the middle infielders for positioning.

MLB executive Theo Epstein explained the impact of the new device in an interview this past week on “The Athletic”.  Epstein noted:  “We’ve all seen what happens to the flow of the game when runners get on second base.  Things grind to a halt . . . with runners on second trying to figure out the sign sequence and get the pitch and pass it on to the hitter.  The catcher has to come out from behind home plate.  He has to get on the same page with the pitcher about whichever sign systems that they you’re using. . . . And with the PitchCom technology, that would be eliminated from the game.”  Players agree.  Texas shortstop Corey Seager emphasized that the new device makes it easier for defenders to position themselves in places where it is not easy to read the catcher’s signals.

What baseball is doing is forward thinking – embracing new technology, reconsidering established rules of the game, and adapting to the needs of the next generation of fans.  In many of my past blog articles, I’ve taken the traditionalist’s view of not tinkering with the game.  Frankly, baseball has arrived at a crisis point with a continuously aging fan base.  So it was indeed time to make changes, and perhaps soon consider even more changes, like eliminating defensive shifts, or dare I say it, shorter regular seasons.  Maybe at some point it will be all too clear that the game itself is at stake.  Let’s play ball this season and well into the future!

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

League Championship Series

This week is my favorite time of the baseball season.  You see, each day I’ll be tuned into one, and sometimes two, League Championship Series games.  For me it’s a notch above the opening week of the season, the All-Star break festivities, the last seven days of the regular season, and yes, even the World Series.  Just like the Sweet 16 weekend in college basketball or the conference championship games in the NFL, the ALCS and NLCS are all about doing everything you can as a team to get to the ultimate goal, in baseball the World Series.  Let’s take a look at the matchups in both leagues and perhaps throw in a prediction or two.

Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros.  Going into the ALCS, most thought it was going to be a slugfest.  The teams haven’t disappointed in splitting the first two games with 23 combined runs.  Indeed, in the ALDS both the Astros and Red Sox scored 31 total runs in their 4-game series wins over Chicago and Tampa Bay.  That’s an average for each team of just under 8 runs per game.  Boston does it with a combination of some established Red Sox stars (Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and J.D. Martinez) and new additions this season (Kike Hernandez and Alex Verdugo, as well as Kyle Schwarber, a July trade deadline addition).   It’s a formidable top six in the lineup.  Houston in the last several years has maintained one of the great batting orders, which includes Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman, Jose Alvarez, Alex Correa, Yuli Gurriel, and the past month’s sensation, Kyle Tucker.  You know these names because the Astros have been in the last five ALCS matchups.

Both pitching staffs are left with the puzzle of how to get 27 outs against the slugging, opposing lineups.  The Astros’ starting staff is in shambles right now. Their ace, Lance McCullers, second in the AL in ERA this season, is not on the ALCS roster due to forearm stiffness.  Starters Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia made early exits in the first two games of the series, Garcia due to injury.  Dusty Baker’s hopes of getting a quality start in the series may rest on the right shoulder of Zach Greinke, who has been less than consistent this season.  The Red Sox hurlers, with the likes of starters Chris Sale, ace Nathan Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Nick Pivetta, provide a little more stability at the front end of a game.  It may be that the ALCS is decided in the bullpen as both managers tend to turn early in games to a host of top relievers.

The ALCS home sites are two fun, and certainly contrasting, ballparks. Minute Maid Park opened in 2000, complete with a retractable roof for those brutal south Texas summer nights. When the ballpark first opened, it featured Tal’s Hill, a 30 foot incline in centerfield with a flag pole. Perhaps after hearing the many complaints of centerfielders, that crazy quirk was removed after the 2016 season. Playing the outfield in the Houston ballpark continues to be an adventure though, as evidenced by a fair ball hitting the roof and changing course in Game 1. During the late innings you might hear the fans singing “Deep in the Heart of Texas”, a great tradition in Houston. The tune will change tonight at Fenway Park as the nationwide audience will be treated to a little “Sweet Caroline”. Of course, Fenway is MLB’s oldest ballpark, built in 1912. It too has its quirks – “The Triangle” in right centerfield, Pesky’s Pole down the right field line, and the “Green Monster” in left.

It’s impossible to review a Red Sox vs. Astros matchup without addressing the cheating scandals.  This veteran Astros squad will always be known for using technology to steal signs of opposing teams during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and particularly the taint of its 2017 Series win over the Dodgers.  After a lengthy investigation, MLB suspended then general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for the 2020 seasons, but gave immunity to all players involved.  One of the MLB report’s findings was that then bench coach Alex Cora was the mastermind of the 2017 sign stealing.  Cora left Houston to manage Boston on way to the Red Sox 2018 World Series title.  A second MLB investigation, this time into the Red Sox shenanigans, concluded that a Boston replay staffer operated a scheme to decode opponents’ signs during the Red Sox 2018 season. Again, no players were reprimanded.  Because of Cora’s involvement in the Astros’ cheating, he was also suspended for the 2020 season.  Crazily, Boston rehired Cora as manager for the 2021 season.  From a fan perspective, it’s tough to root for either franchise in this ALCS.  I’ll grudgingly take the Red Sox in 7 games.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves.  The 2021 NLCS begins and ends on the mound.  Expect a string of closely played, low scoring affairs as seen in the first two games, both walk off wins by the Braves. LA seemingly has an advantage on the starting end with 20-game winner Julio Urias, ace Max Scherzer, and standout Walker Buehler.  Yet, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went with a “bullpen game” in Game 1, something that your Coach does not favor. The Braves haven’t been to the World Series in more than 20 years when Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz graced the pitching rubber.  Although not quite that threesome, Atlanta’s new trio of starters, Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and Ian Anderson, do form a strong rotation.  In the four-game NLDS win over Milwaukee, they allowed only 4 runs combined. While Fried gave Atlanta another quality start in Game 1 of the NLCS, Anderson was pulled in Game 2 after giving up just two runs in three innings.

Los Angeles’ offensive production centers around leadoff batter and right fielder, Mookie Betts.   Betts is no stranger to playoff action. When Mookie was with Boston in 2018, he won the AL MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and batting title, as his Red Sox won the World Series. Betts had four hits in the Dodgers’ Game 5 clincher over the Giants in the NLDS. The Braves feature last season’s NL MVP, Freddie Freeman. He is a five-time MLB All-Star, a 2018 Gold Glover, and a Silver Slugger winner in 2019 and 2020.  It was his 8th inning home run in Game 4 of the Milwaukee series that catapulted the Braves into their second straight NLCS appearance. Although Freddie is hitless in the first two games of the NLCS, watch him rebound when the teams resume play tomorrow. He is also one of the true gentlemen in the game. Recently, when a reporter asked Freeman why he chats with opposing teams’ players on first base, Freddie responded that everyone who reaches base should be congratulated.

The dugouts are helmed by two of the best managers in the game.  LA’s Roberts, who played for five MLB teams during the course of his 10-year MLB career, was named the Dodgers skipper in 2016 after a coaching stint with the Padres.  He brought the first Dodgers’ world championship since 1988 to LA last season. Brian Snitker of the Braves is the ultimate baseball lifer.  He played catcher and first base in the Atlanta minor league system from 1977 to 1980, never reaching the big leagues.  After his playing career he served as a roving instructor, minor league manager, bullpen coach, and third base coach for the Braves for 33 years before being named the Atlanta skipper in October, 2013.  It promises to be quite a chess match between Roberts and Snitker.

Both teams made critical July trade deadline acquisitions.  The LA headliner is certainly its acquisition of Max Scherzer from the Nationals.  You name the accolade and Mad Max can claim it.  He has won three Cy Young awards (capturing them in both leagues), pitched two no-hitters, and of course led the Nationals to the 2019 world championship. A lesser splash was Atlanta’s July trade for Joc Pederson from the Cubs.  Joc has been a mainstay in the Braves outfield, especially with the season ending injury to Ronald Acuna, Jr.  Pederson is known as “Mr. Joctober” after hitting three home runs for the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series, a huge HR in the 2018 Series, and batting .400 in LA’s World Series winner last season.  In the 2021 NLDS, his 3-run HR lifted the Braves to a Game Three 3-0 win over Milwaukee.  I like Atlanta to take the National League pennant in seven games.

Until next season,

your Baseball Bench Coach

P.S.  Oh, I almost forgot!  Give me those Braves in six games over the Red Sox in the World Series.

Three Bases

Last weekend on a steamy summer afternoon my daughter and I attended a game at Wrigley Field.  It was certainly one of those dog days of summer, as we settled (or maybe slid) into our seats with our baseball caps shielding the sun from our faces and cold drinks in hand.  The game seemed to labor along until the fifth inning when the Cubs (now Giants) Kris Bryant lined a ball into the right centerfield gap dropping at the bottom of the ivy covered wall.  You could see it in Bryant’s stride and hear it in the crowd’s reaction that this had the chance to be a triple.  And it was, a rarity in the game today, and Bryant’s just second one of the season.  For me, a triple has always been the most exciting play in baseball.  Let’s take a look.

Scouring the all-time leaders lists in career and single season triples, it is pretty clear that triples trended in baseball 100 years ago in what was known as the “dead ball era”.  Sam Crawford, whose 19 year MLB career spanned from 1899 to 1917, is the career leader with 309.  The single season leader is Chief Wilson, who hit 36 three-baggers in 1912. Many say both records will never be broken.  In the modern era, we have seen some baseball where triples were a big part of the game, mostly in the 1960s and 1980s when teams tried to manufacture runs.  Today, triples are no longer commonplace for many reasons – modern ballparks tend to have smaller outfields; baseball strategy centers around the big inning with the home run packing the ultimate punch ; and hitters’ dedication to the so-called launch angle. 

In second place on the all-time career triples list is a familiar name, Ty Cobb, with 295. Cobb’s place among the great baseball players of our past is a fascinating one. He holds the highest career batting average ever (.366), most career batting titles (11), and the career record for stealing home (54). During the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot in 1936, Cobb received the most votes (the group also included Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and Honus Wagner). When the Sporting News in 1999 ranked “Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players”, Cobb came in third. And despite all of the records and fame, Cobb has always been seen as the bad apple. His career has been tarnished by allegations of poor character, much of which has been discredited.

Next week, on Wednesday, August 12, the rescheduled “Field of Dreams” game will be played in Dyersville, Iowa, between the White Sox and Yankees.  Ty Cobb will not be among the invitees.  You might recall Shoeless Joe Jackson’s comment in the 1989 movie about Cobb not receiving an invitation to play: “None of us could stand the SOB when he was alive, so we told him to stick it.” While this remark got a lot of laughs, it was actually far from the truth.  Jackson and Cobb were very close friends in real life.  Those in attendance next week will be 8,000 very lucky fans to see the first MLB regular season game ever played in Iowa.  To get a ticket to the game, you must have an Iowa zip code.  And if you can snag a ticket, your walk from the parking lot to the ballpark will be memorable; it’s a pathway through a cornfield!

Not only did Shoeless Joe Jackson take such a pathway in the 1989 movie, but I found him on the top ten list for triples in a season with 26 in 1912.  To put that number (and the Pirates’ Chief Wilson’s all-time 36 that same year) in perspective, Arizona’s Eduardo Escobar (now with the Brewers) led MLB with 10 in 2019.  Shoeless Joe’s numbers in his shortened career are truly outstanding.  His career .356 batting average is the third highest in MLB history.  As for triples, he holds to this day the Indians and White Sox records for triples in a season.  Jackson’s career unfortunately ended in infamy, banned from playing after the 1920 season for his role in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal.

There’s one interesting name missing from the career and season triples lists, Rickey Henderson! Henderson is widely regarded as the best baserunner of all-time. He holds the single season record for stolen bases with 130 in 1982, and in terms of records never to be broken, he garnered 1,406 career steals. As a leadoff hitter, he not only got on base but often hit with power. His 295 career HRs are far more than other speedsters in the leadoff spot (Tim Raines is second with 170). And yet, surprisingly, Henderson just didn’t hit many triples. Many say that Henderson didn’t go for third base after a hit because he could easily steal it. He had a lifetime 82% success rate in stealing third base.

For me baseball in the 1980s meant “Whiteyball”, an exciting style of baseball named after Cardinals manager, Whitey Herzog, with an emphasis on pitching, defense, and baserunning.  Yes, the St. Louis speedy batting order featured Ozzie Smith and Vince Coleman, but when I think of excitement, it’s all about centerfielder Willie McGee.  McGee was the 1985 NL MVP when he led the league in batting average (.353), hits (216), and triples (18).  The Cardinals won the Series in 1982, and lost in 7-game affairs in 1985 and 1987. In one playoff game, McGee lined the ball up an outfield gap and with head down, easily strolled into third base.  What all the baseball world knew, except Willie, is that the relay throw had been mishandled, and McGee could have easily scored.  McGee stayed at third with just another one of his triples. The next day’s sports headline said it best, “Willie McGee, Go Home!”

And then there’s the triple I’ll always regret.  To set the stage, Vada Pinson starred as an MLB centerfielder for 18 seasons, mostly for the Reds.  1967 was a standout year for Pinson, one in which he batted .288, recorded 187 hits, stole 26 bases (4th in the NL), and led the league with 13 triples.  On a summer night that year my Dad took me to Crosley Field to see the Reds play the Cubs.  Chicago led the game, 6-2, going into the bottom of the eighth inning, when my Dad told me “it was time to beat the crowd and go home”.  As we left the ballpark, we heard this huge roar.  I urged my Dad to go back, to no avail.  We soon learned on the car radio that Pinson had hit a triple to cut the lead to 6-4 going into the ninth inning.  I sat quietly in the car listening to the rest of the game which the Reds pulled out, 7-6.  For years, I used that game as my lesson to never leave a game early.

The lesson carried with me until that sultry summer afternoon with my daughter over a week ago.  With the Cubbies losing I became my Dad, urging an early exit after the seventh inning stretch and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” had been sung.  My heart sunk as we later learned that the Cubs had staged a small rally but fell short.  I also need to leave a little early this year on my blog reporting.  I hope to be back at it on a Monday morning very soon with new material and a fresh take on the end of the 2021 season.

Until next time,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Trade Deadline

With just two months remaining in the regular season and the Trade Deadline looming this Friday afternoon, the clock is ticking for all 30 MLB teams. For the contenders, it is a time to assess team needs and land, or maybe the better word is “rent” for players who are pending free agents, the key pitcher or position player to seal playoff hopes or even bring a World Series title.  Every buyer though must beware of the price to pay, since there are sellers, or non-contending teams, trying to steal a top prospect or two in any deal.  The high drama over the next five days is certain to be MLB’s in-season version of its hot stove.

Aware that teams in the bottom of the standings might dump high salaried players to contenders and unfairly impact the overall competition, MLB first instituted a Trade Deadline of June 15.  The Trade deadline was moved to July 31 in 1986. Since this year July 31 falls on a Saturday, this coming Friday, July 30, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, is when the clock stops.  And beginning in 2019, it became a hard stop, since no players may change hands via trade after that date. 

Prior to 2019, a player could be obtained after the July 31 Trade Deadline if he cleared trade waivers.  If players were acquired by August 31, they could play in the postseason with their new clubs.  As of 2019, the August waiver claim market has effectively dried up. The new rule is that if a player is indeed waived, the new team must take on the entire salary of the player’s remaining contract and no other players may be involved.  The last week of July, 2019, was pretty wild. There were 25 trades consummated, including the Astros acquisition of Arizona’s ace pitcher Zach Greinke at the Trade Deadline buzzer.

It’s fun to review some of the past Trade Deadline deals and see how important a player acquisition was to a team’s success. With time you can better assess the winner in the deal – the buyer, the seller, or in some cases, both! Let’s take a look at five Trade Deadline deals that stand out:

BROCK FOR BROGLIO. June 15, 1964, is a crucial day in the storied rivalry between the Cardinals and Cubs. Hall of Famer Lou Brock and pitcher Ernie Broglio were the principal players exchanged in a six player deal at the Trade Deadline. Many thought Chicago got the best of the deal, landing a pitcher like Broglio who had been a success in St. Louis over the past few seasons, for a disappointing young outfielder in Brock. Wow, did their fortunes turn quickly! Brock batted .348 over the next three months and led the Cardinals to the 1964 World Championship, as well as another title in 1967 and a World Series appearance in 1968. Brock was a cornerstone of the Cardinals until his retirement in 1979. Broglio pitched in only two seasons for the Cubs, a 4-7 record, 4.07 ERA, and was out of baseball in 1966.

FLAME THROWER. The Cubs took a huge step forward in their quest for a first World Championship in over a century with the July 25, 2016, acquisition from the Yankees of Aroldis Chapman for four players. Chapman was coming off four consecutive All-Star seasons, and was known for an overpowering fastball (his 105.1 mph speed is still the fastest recorded pitch). When the deal was made, the Cubs had pretty well secured a playoff spot but needed a closer to take them over the top. In the words of then club president Theo Epstein, “if not now, when?” Chapman was an absolute workhorse in the 2016 playoffs with 4 appearances in both the NLDS against the Giants and the NLCS vs. the Dodgers. Chapman helped turned around the Cubs’ 3 games to 1 deficit in the World Series against the Indians by pitching multiple innings in the last 3 games. While Chapman was the key to bringing the Cubs the long awaited title, he indeed was a rental, returning to New York the next season via free agency. And the Yankees did well in the deal too, landing star Gleybar Torres as part of the package. It was a WIN, win!

CC. Those are the initials of lefthanded pitcher Carsten Charles Sabathia, a six-time All-
Star who pitched the first 7 ½ seasons of his career with the Indians. On July 7, 2008, with Cleveland falling out of contention in the AL Central, the Brewers obtained him for four minor league players (the group included Michael Brantley). Over the remaining months of the 2008 season, CC dominated the National League, with an 11-2 record, 7 complete games, 3 shutouts, and a 1.65 ERA. Talk about a workhorse! Sabathia threw an incredible 131 innings in 83 days. The result -- Milwaukee made the NL playoffs for the first time in 26 years. And it was another good deal for both teams, since Michael Brantley starred in the outfield for the Indians during the next 10 seasons. My guess is that the Brew Crew is looking for some CC position player magic this year!

GET ME SOME CLIFF LEE.  Cliff Lee, another Indians’ lefthanded starting pitcher for his first seven seasons, will go down in Trade Deadline drama as being the key acquisition in not only one, but two, deals.  On July 29, 2009, Cleveland traded Lee to the Phillies for four players.  In his first five games with Philadelphia, Cliff went 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA.  The Phillies knew they had stolen some gold, as they rode Lee’s back in the first two rounds of the NL playoffs and into the World Series.  Lee won the only two games Philly could muster over the Yankees in New York’s 4-2 Series win.  Lee had gone 4-0 in the playoffs.  Remarkably, the Phillies traded Lee in the offseason to Seattle.  The very next year, on July 9, 2010, the Rangers obtained Lee in a five-player deal with the Mariners.  Texas steamrolled through the AL playoff rounds behind Lee as he compiled four additional postseason wins.  The Lee luck ran out in the 2010 World Series, as Tim Lincecum of the Giants bested Lee in Games 1 and 5.

Seaver to Cincy.  On June 15, 1977, I was attending a game at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati with friends when it was announced that three-time NL Cy Young winner, Tom Seaver of the Mets, had been traded to the Reds for four players.  It was a celebration in the stands that night as the Reds had finally landed the ace pitcher that had for so long eluded them.  Seaver went 14-3 with the Reds over the remainder of 1977, and in 1978 recorded his only no-hit game of his illustrious career.  Indeed, in six seasons with Cincinnati, Seaver was 75-46, a 3.18 ERA, and had 42 complete games.  Yet, he came to Cincy with the hope of securing another World Championship (the Reds had won in ’75 and ’76) and could not get an aging nucleus to win it all one more time under his leadership.  Seaver did provide Reds fans, like me, with lots of wonderful memories.

Is your favorite MLB team going to be a buyer or a seller over the next five days?  Stay close to your ESPN Trade Tracker this week and enjoy the wild ride. What’s your favorite memory of a Trade Deadline deal?

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Independent Leagues

One of my great pleasures has been taking my daughters on baseball trips, featuring swings through MLB and minor league ballparks in the Midwest.  Our minor league travels included stops in Peoria, Cedar Rapids, Springfield, IL and MO, and Des Moines, among other cities. This past week I took a short car ride to Rosemont, IL, and checked another box on my bucket list.  You see, your Coach had the pleasure of being the guest commentator in the third inning of an American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) independent league game between the Chicago Dogs and the Milwaukee Milkmen.  It was an unbelievably fun night at the ballpark, especially those 20 minutes of broadcasting fame.

First, some background. MLB teams survived last year in the pandemic with the shortened season and full postseason.  Minor league baseball (MiLB) teams though suffered as no games were played.  The plight of MiLB players received much press. During the last offseason, MLB stepped up its game by introducing a new MiLB model that includes player salary increases, modernized facility standards, and reduced travel. Players in the top four levels of MiLB play saw salary increases ranging from 38 to 72% for the 2021 season.  Another key feature is the realignment of Triple-A affiliates closer to their parent MLB clubs.  Five former MiLB teams were announced as founding members of the MLB Draft League, which gave player prospects a chance to show their skills prior to the MLB Draft last week.

Some small towns though lost their teams and searched for affiliation with independent baseball leagues, which are professional baseball organizations that are not operated in conjunction with an MLB team or an MiLB team.  Independent leagues are clearly fan favorites and have been for many years. Indeed, the AAPB was founded seventeen years ago. Last season independent leagues kept their gates open and continue to flourish today.  Because their independence allows teams to be close to MLB teams without their consent, you see many of these leagues huddled around major MLB strongholds, like New York, Chicago, California, and the Mid-Atlantic.  Great baseball is played in these independent league ballparks, as evidenced in my visit to Impact Field in Chicago this past week.

And MLB is starting to recognize that. Four of the independent leagues, Atlantic League, AAPB, Frontier League, and Pioneer League, have now been designated MLB Partner Leagues to collaborate with MLB on initiatives to increase interest in the game. In fact, the Atlantic League has become an experimental league for MLB rule changes. Atlantic League teams will begin the second half of the season with a pitching mound moved back a foot. In the past couple years, the experiments have included robot umps, a three-batter minimum for pitchers, restricting defensive shifts, and reducing mound visits. Sound familiar?

My experiment this past week of course was at the microphone of the Chicago Dogs.  The voice of the Dogs is Sam Brief who graciously hosted me.  I felt at ease during my inning of fame, discussing minor league baseball, Pete Rose, Wrigley Field, and the baseball blog. Sam, a fellow Northwestern alum, will be a voice to be reckoned with in the future.  I see him following in the MLB footsteps of someone like Matt Vasgersian, who now is the Angels’ play by play announcer as well as ESPN’s Sunday night baseball.  Vasgersian got his start as a sportscaster for the Cubs’ Rookie League affiliate in Huntington, West Virginia.  Sam’s passionate and professioal play by play call also reminds me of another Cubs sportscasting connection, Len Kasper.  Kasper is now the radio voice of the White Sox, having served in the television booth for the Cubs for the past 16 seasons.  Kasper first began calling games for the Beloit Snappers. 

The story on the baseball diamond at Impact Field that night was a battle at the top of the North Division of AAPB.  The Milkmen held a 1 ½ game lead going into the contest, having won six games in a row and the first two games of the series with the Dogs. Chicago’s 10-7 win cut Milwaukee’s lead to ½ game and provided much offense for the fans to enjoy.  Dogs’ speedster centerfielder Anfernee Grier ignited the 4-run first with a single to left field and two stolen bases.  The Dogs’ lineup is solid, led by veteran catcher Ryan Lidge and his .360 batting average.  Batting cleanup is first baseman K.C. Hobson, son of Dogs’ manager Butch Hobson.  Butch is a former star third baseman for the Boston Red Sox who went on to manage the Red Sox for three seasons.  The Milkmen feature left fielder, Adam Brett Walker II, the MVP of AAPB last season and a designated “veteran” player on Milwaukee’s roster.

The roster make-up for independent league teams is an interesting story.  By AAPB rules, rosters are limited to a maximum of 5 veteran players (a player with 6 or more years of service) and a minimum of five rookies.  What this means for teams is that they see player turn over year-to-year. Similar to AAA-ball in MiLB it’s a story of players on the rise combined with others on the downside of careers.  One independent league player, Mat Latos of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, was one of my favorite Cincinnati Reds pitchers during his 9-year MLB career.  After his MLB career ended in 2017, Mat joined an independent league team, New Jersey Jackals, and continues to follow his dream.  The Dogs in 2019 also featured a former MLB player, Chicago Cubs’ legendary pitcher (and slugger) Carlos Zambrano.  I recall watching Big Z come out of the bullpen during one of my visits to Impact Field that season.

MLB players who have had stints in the independent leagues include the Diamondbacks’ outfielder David Peralta.  Peralta began his career as a pitcher in the Cardinals organization, but after numerous injuries and shoulder surgeries he resurrected it as an outfielder in independent league Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, Wichita Wingnuts, and Amarillo Sox.  Another success story is Stephen Cardullo, who played two seasons of independent ball for the London Rippers, Florence Freedom, and Rockland Boulders, before playing for the Colorado Rockies.  My favorite one though is current MLB pitcher Rich Hill of the Tampa Bay Rays.   His career began in the Cubs organization in 2002 and included time with the Orioles, Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians, Angels, Yankees, and Nationals, before being released in 2015.  Hill quickly found a spot with the independent league Long Island Ducks and rejuvenated his career.  This past May Hill was named the American League Pitcher of the month by posting a 0.78 ERA.

As I look back at my night at Impact Field this past week, I keep thinking about the Chicago Dogs’ mantra, “Every Day is Fan Appreciation Day”.  With affordable ticket and food prices and between inning activities for the fans, fun is the name of the game.  This fan in turn had a lot to appreciate – the beauty and welcoming feeling of the ballpark (Impact Field was voted Best of Ballparks 2018 in its first year); the quality of play on the diamond; the broadcasting craft of Sam Brief (who calls the game, keeps score, and directs television lead-ins and promotions, all while interviewing a guest in the booth); and the once in a lifetime chance for me to work a baseball game behind the microphone.  Getting a chance, and in many cases a second chance, is what the independent leagues are all about. 

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

All-Star Game

About every summer growing up my family would take a vacation at a small resort in central Tennessee.  My Dad became friends with the owner.  In 1970 we watched the All-Star Game (ASG) in our cottage.  The game was being played in our hometown, Cincinnati, and at our two-week old ballpark, Riverfront Stadium.  Tied 4-4 going into the bottom of the 12th inning, the game ended when the Cubs’ Jim Hickman singled to centerfield and Pete Rose of the Reds came charging down the third base line toward home.  The ball beat Rose to the plate but Pete bulldozed the AL catcher, Ray Fosse of the Indians, who dropped the ball allowing the winning run to score.  The next morning at breakfast the resort owner sat down at our table and remarked that Rose was “one hard-nosed guy”.  None of us knew then that the game-ending play would be one of the more controversial moments in ASG history, an All-Star catcher suffering a career-changing injury in a seemingly meaningless game.

Tomorrow night the American and National Leagues face off at Coors Field in Denver for the 91st All-Star Game.  Due to the pandemic and travel restrictions, last year marked only the second time that the game wasn’t played since the first game in 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.  Travel restrictions during World War II also played a part in cancelling the 1945 game. Two All-Star games were played each season from 1959 to 1962.   Amazingly, the AL holds a slim 45-43-2 advantage in the 90 games played.  All-Star wins have come in streaks.  The American League won 12 of the first 16 encounters.  From 1950 to 1987, the NL ruled with a record of 33-8-1, including 19 of 20 from 1963 to 1982.  The AL has turned the tables since 1988 with a record of 25-6-1, including a 13-game unbeaten streak from 1997 to 2009.

The early years of the Midsummer Classic featured star players playing for the pride of their leagues.  The only other times when AL and NL players would match up against each other before the modern era of interleague play were during spring exhibitions and the World Series.  The AL’s adoption of the designated hitter rule in 1973 threw a wrench into the All-Star Game with its new breed of player, the DH. It wasn’t until 1989 that an official DH role was adopted by MLB into the ASG format, but for several years, until 2010, only in games where the American League was the host team.  Nowadays, the DH has its rightful place in the game since it serves as an easy means to get more pitchers and position players involved. 

In 2002, the All-Star Game, due to the shortage of players available to continue play, was called a tie after 12 innings by Commissioner Bud Selig. The decision caused a great uproar at the Milwaukee ballpark that night and a reckoning in baseball. Were the players and managers still competing for league pride as in the past? In order to give ASG encounters a competitive boost, it was decided shortly thereafter to give the winning league’s representative the home field advantage in the World Series. Thinking that this incentive had run its course, MLB abandoned the practice in 2017.

There have been some classic All-Star Games, but two marathons stand out.  During the last season of old Yankee Stadium, 2008, the NL and AL All-Stars battled it out in New York in a back and forth game that lasted 15 innings.  In the 10th and 11th innings, three AL players were thrown out at the plate attempting to score the winning run.  It was not until the bottom of the 15th inning that the American League was finally able to break through with a 4-3 win, as Twins first baseman Justin Morneau raced home on a sacrifice fly.  It tied the 1967 All-Star Game as the longest one played, another 15 inning, low scoring affair.  The ’67 game was one of my earliest images of watching ASG, probably because Tony Perez of the Reds was the MVP.  He hit the game-winning home run as the NL triumphed 2-1.  The pitching stars shone bright that day, as Don Drysdale of the Dodgers got the win and a young New York Mets pitcher, Tom Seaver, recorded the save.

Following the tradition established in 1934, this year the NL will be managed by Dave Roberts, the World Series champion Dodgers skipper, and the AL will be led by pennant winner Tampa Bays manager Kevin Cash.  One interesting exception to having the pennant-winners manage was in 1965. Gene Mauch of the Phillies and Al Lopez of the White Sox were tagged to manage their league’s All-Stars, since the 1964 World Series managers (Yankees’ Yogi Berra and Cardinals’ Johnny Keane) left their jobs after their pennant-winning seasons.  The player rosters today (34 players on each) are selected in this way:  fan voting for the starters (8 position players and 1 DH for AL); players vote for 16 players (eight pitchers that includes 5 starters and 3 relievers, and one backup player for each position); the managers with input from the MLB Commissioner’s office select 9 players (NL) and 8 (AL); and a final spot goes to 1 player by fan voting out of a final group of five players. Exactly one-half of the participants this year, 34 players, are making their ASG debut, first-timers split evenly between the two squads.  All eyes will be on one player in particular, the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, who captured a slot as a starting pitcher and a DH, the first time ever in MLB history.

Oddly enough, the AL starting lineup this year features three Toronto players, 1B Vlad Guerrero Jr., 2B Marcus Semien, and OF Teoscar Hernandez, despite the fact the Blue Jays are in third place in the AL East and have played all of their games away from Toronto. While you might think there was a little stuffing the internet ballot box taking place, it’s nothing compared to what we’ve seen in the past. In 1957, Cincinnati fans were able to elect 7 Reds players to the NL starting lineup, with the only non-Reds player being Cardinals great Stan Musial. After a quick investigation by the Commissioner’s office concluded that over half of the fan voting came from Cincinnati and pre-marked ballots were used, MLB removed 2 Reds players and gave starting slots to Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. MLB also removed fan voting for starters until 1969 when it was reinstated. More recently, Kansas City Royals fans came out in full force with internet voting in 2015, with all eight of its starting position players leading in voting prior to the release of the final vote tally. MLB stepped in again cancelling 65 million votes deemed to be fraudulent, and the final AL starting roster included just 3 Royals.

The venue for All-Star Games is another interesting topic.  MLB chooses the site based on a variety of factors – whether there is a new or renovated ballpark; how often and when the team has hosted a game; and until recently, what year it is, odd or even.  Historically, AL teams host in odd-numbered years and NL teams in even.  That has changed somewhat in the past decade, given that the NL hosted four straight games from 2015 to 2018 and will host again this year, in Denver, and next year, in Los Angeles.  The original site for this year’s ASG was Truist Park in Atlanta, the latest and greatest of the Braves’ home ballparks during the past 30 years.  On April 2 though, MLB decided to move the 2021 ASG out of Atlanta in response to the backlash in the Atlanta community to new laws restricting voting rights.  Major brands located in Georgia, such as Coca-Cola, Delta and Aflac, were poised to boycott the game.  The game has been moved to Coors Field in Denver.  Earlier this month a federal judge denied an injunction for the game to be moved back to Atlanta.

And then there’s the matter of the uniforms.  The longstanding tradition has been for the players to sport the uniform of their own teams, a display of pride for every fan to know that his or her team is represented in the All-Star Game.  As MLB apparel sales became a big focus over the past several years, game-specific uniforms were made for other ASG events, such as the Home Run Derby.  This year for the first time MLB has revealed new uniforms to be used for the game itself.  The NL players will all wear white jerseys as the home team, and the AL players will be in blue as the road squad. Even before the game has begun, this new approach to ASG jerseys has not been well received by the public.  Get your ASG jerseys now for a mere $400 at your team store; this may be a one-year deal.

The All-Star Game is about the big moment, the game or play to remember.  For me that’s the 1979 All-Star Game in Seattle.  There were 2 outs in the eighth inning with the Angels’ Brian Downing on second base.  The Yankees’ Craig Nettles lined a single to right field, Dave Parker of the Pirates fielded the ball, and Parker threw an absolute rocket to the plate, nailing Downing.  This was just an inning after Parker threw another bullet to third base, retiring a surprised Jim Rice of the Red Sox.  Parker showcased his arm that night, and won the Most Valuable Player award for his defensive efforts.  It’s like it happened just yesterday in mind.  Let’s see what tomorrow night’s showcase of stars brings. Enjoy the game!

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

P.S.  What’s your favorite All-Star Game moment?

Baseball and Tradition

So often I hear people say that watching baseball from home on High Definition television is better than attending a game in person.  For me, I’ll take going to the ballpark any day. There’s always been so much more to it than baseball when I go to the game.  I particularly love the quiet time, a chance to catch up with a friend.  When my Dad took me to Crosley Field in Cincinnati when I was a little boy, he used it as a time to not only teach me about the game but become aware of patriotism.  I learned how to honor America by taking off my baseball cap during the National Anthem, and soon I even learned the words to the song.  Yeah, I was one of those kids who always asked “why”.  Why do we sing the National Anthem?  How come we stand and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning?  Let’s answer why.

The “Star Spangled Banner”, our country’s National Anthem, first was played at a sporting event during the Civil War, in 1862, at a baseball game. The tradition of playing it took off during the 1918 World Series between the Cubs and the Red Sox.  The country was at war, World War I, and in the throes of a pandemic, the Spanish flu.  In a game in Chicago, a military band played the National Anthem during the seventh inning stretch.  Players quickly put their hands over their hearts and fans joined in and sang.  When the Series returned to Boston, the Red Sox owner, Harry Frazee, one-upped the Cubs by having the National Anthem played before the game.  The pregame tradition did not catch on immediately for regular season games since most ballparks didn’t have great sound systems and teams couldn’t afford a band.  It was not until the 1940s when the National Anthem was played before all MLB games.

When the seventh inning stretch began is disputed. Some baseball historians point to the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869 and a letter written by Harry Wright who managed the club. He described the fans’ behavior at the ballpark in this way: “The spectators all arise between halves of the seventh inning, extend their legs and arms and sometimes walk about.” The most popular story around its origin points to Opening Day in 1910 when President William Howard Taft attended a game between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics. A quite burly man, President Taft stood up to stretch in the seventh inning. The fans soon stood as well, feeling obligated to join the President.

During the seventh inning stretch we now rejoice in the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, the official anthem of major league baseball. The song was played for the first time in 1934 at a high school baseball game in Los Angeles, and then during the fourth game of the World Series that year.  There are a couple tweaks to the original song at MLB ballparks, including replacing the words “home team” with the actual name of your home team.  I sometimes catch myself singing “and it’s root, root for the Redlegs”, in memory of my late parents.  That doesn’t play well in Chicago, where fans have reveled in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” since the days of Harry Caray singing to the crowd at Comiskey Park in the 1970s.  Caray brought the tradition to the north side in 1982 as he entertained the fans at Wrigley for the next sixteen years until his passing.  The Cubs have maintained the tradition by having guest singers since then, including my personal favorite, actor and comedian Bill Murray.

Many MLB teams enhance the “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” seventh inning stretch by also playing a fan favorite tune.  In Baltimore’s Camden Yards, the crowd is treated to a rousing rendition of John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”.  Atlanta fans share that experience at their home ballpark.  St. Louis has always celebrated around their home town brew, Budweiser.  When the Cardinals were under ownership by Anheuser-Busch, the crowd would be treated to a little “Here Comes the King” jingle during the seventh inning stretch. Nowadays, the organist plays the tune at the top of the eighth inning.  Indeed, often the MLB ballpark singing extends to the eighth inning.  The Dodgers and the Tigers both like to blast Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin”.  That finally worked last year for Los Angeles but minus the crowd.

The Red Sox fans take singing to a whole different level at Fenway Park with their ballpark anthem, Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”.  The crowd rejoices in the song during the eighth inning.  The tradition started in 1997 when a ballpark attendant in charge of the music had a good friend who just gave birth to a little girl named Caroline.  In 2007, Neil Diamond revealed that the 1969 song was written about New England’s Caroline Kennedy.  Other than that, the lyrics actually have nothing to do with Boston. It’s all about having fun at the old ballpark.

The playing of the National Anthem at sporting events became a focus of attention during the protests of the Vietnam War in the 1960’s.  NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle invoked a policy that players stand in line on the sideline during the anthem with their helmets off and tucked under their arms.  As to MLB, singer Jose Feliciano was invited by Detroit to sing the National Anthem at Tiger Stadium before Game 5 of the 1968 World Series.  His slow, Latin jazz performance on acoustic guitar was highly controversial.  Many deemed the rendition a slight to patriotism. In 2006, Feliciano told an NPR audience that he was quite proud to be the one to open the door for other music artists to express themselves while performing the National Anthem.  During the past few years, of course, we’ve seen players uniting in protest against racial injustice during the National Anthem, most particularly in the NBA and NFL.

Baseball’s most patriotic response to our nation’s troubling times came twenty years ago in the aftermath of 9/11.  Both the Yankees and Mets players and personnel came to Ground Zero and helped in the relief efforts.  Then Yankees manager Joe Torre simply said:  “We’re just baseball players, and this is the game of life.”  I’ll never forget watching on television the first game played in New York after the attacks, a night game between the Mets and Braves at Shea Stadium.  As the American flag was draped across the turf and the National Anthem was played, there was an overwhelming sense of pride that our country would endure this tragedy.  The World Series was played in NYC the next month as the Yankees and Diamondbacks competed for the world championship.  President Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Game 3. 

In my lifetime though the most patriotic act on the playing field took place in a regular season game on April 25, 1976, between the Cubs and Dodgers in Los Angeles.  In the bottom of the fourth inning, two fans ran into the outfield attempting to set fire to an American flag.  Fortunately, their initial attempts to light the matches went awry and Cubs centerfielder Rick Monday sprinted in and snatched the flag from them.  Early last month I attended the Cubs “Reopening Day” at Wrigley Field.  One of my friends had the honor of running on the field with others to unveil an American flag that spanned the entire outfield playing surface. He mused afterward that he didn’t want to be the one who might trip and cause the flag to fall.  In baseball, the American flag always flies proudly.

Until next week,

your Baseball Bench Coach

The One-ders

Probably my favorite movie of all-time is “That Thing You Do!”, a film featuring a fictional 1960s pop band who had a hit song of the same name.  Tom Hanks stars in the movie as the band’s manager; it was also Hanks’ directorial debut.  The band was one of many during the 1960s that had a hit song which rose to the top of the radio charts, but was never heard from again.  One of the funny moments early in the band’s rise was when it was introduced as the “Oh-needers” by someone who didn’t get the pun of its name, the “One-ders” (Wonders).  During the first half of the MLB season, there have been several teams and players whose early success have been surprising.  Are they one-hit wonders or here to stay?

First stop, the AL East.  With the Tampa Bay Rays winning the AL in the shortened season last year, it may be odd to put them in the surprising category. Each offseason it seems that the Rays trade away a star player due to the organization’s salary constraints (this time the Rays dealt its #1 starter, Blake Snell, to the Padres), but somehow they find a way to be at the top of the standings.  Picked as a fourth place finisher in the AL East behind the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays, Tampa Bay is currently in a tight race with Boston.  Last year’s playoff sensation, Randy Arozarena, appears to be more than a one-year wonder as he contributes at the plate (10 HRs and 38 RBIs) and in the field.  Division rival Toronto clearly has more than a one-year wonder in its budding superstar, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.  Vlad’s stardom was of course predicted given his pedigree.  Yet, I’m not sure anyone had him as a Triple Crown candidate this early, a current .339 batting average with 26 HRs and 64 RBIs.

It’s difficult for me to get excited about the AL West.  I just can’t find a way yet to praise or even follow the Astros.  One team though that continues to shine outside the national spotlight is the Oakland A’s.  With a poor start to the season (losing their first six games), Oakland seemed destined for a mediocre 2021.  The A’s turned their season around in June by winning 13 of their first 15 games.  Oakland is right on the heels of Houston, and is doing so with a roster lacking household names.  One player does stand out, third baseman Matt Olson.  Olson has always flashed his glove, winning the AL Gold Glove in his 2018 rookie season and adding another one in 2019.  This year his power and clutch hitting have propelled the A’s, contributing 53 RBIs as one of the major league leaders.  Olson continues to “do that thing he does” without many recognizing his contributions.

The Central is the division I love to follow in the AL.  The surprise team has been the Cleveland Indians.  I thought losing shortstop Francisco Lindor to the Mets in the offseason would be the straw that breaks the Indians’ decades-long success.  Yet, the Cleveland starting pitcher trio of AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber (and his 150 Ks), Zach Plesac, and surprising Aaron Civale (leading the AL with 10 wins), has kept a struggling Indians offense in the race.  With all 3 pitchers on the IL now, the division crown is probably headed to Chicago.  The White Sox lost stud outfielders Eloy Jiminez and Luis Robert to injury early, but were bolstered by the big bat of rookie Yermin Mercedes.  Mercedes won the AL Rookie Player of April Award with a blistering start.  The “Yerminator” struggled in the minor leagues for 10 seasons before getting his big league opportunity.  The White Sox starting rotation of Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Dallas Keuchel, Carlos Rodon, and Dylan Cease is absolutely exceptional.

In the senior circuit, the NL East appears to be the land of mediocrity with only the New York Mets safely above .500 halfway into the season.  While it’s typically difficult for a New York player to go unnoticed, let me throw out the name Dominic Smith.  First baseman Pete Alonso gets most of the print, coming off his 2019 NL Rookie of the Year season, but Smith might be the most important piece to the Mets offense.  Finding a spot in left field last year, he had an OPS of .993, tied for fourth in the NL.  The 2021 version of Smith hasn’t disappointed, posting solid numbers again.  But watch out for the Washington Nationals! Mired in last place for much of the first two months of the season, the Nats have rebounded in June and might be headed for a second half surge like in 2019.

The most surprising team in baseball, without question, is the San Francisco Giants, leading the NL West and the major leagues with an outstanding 50-27 record. Preseason prognisticators all had the Giants trailing the star-studded Dodgers and Padres in the division race. San Francisco has outperformed both of its California counterparts with amazing power (leading the league in HRs behind Belt, Crawford, Yastrzemski, and Posey), team defense, and superior pitching (Gausman, Wood, Cueto, and Desclafani). I love the story of Kevin Gausman, who leads the staff with an 8-1 record and an ERA of 1.49 in 15 starts. Gausman was drafted by the Orioles fourth overall in the 2012 MLB draft but never flourished until this season. Is he a one-season wonder or a Cy Young contender for years to come?

And finally, the NL Central.  This division race is not surprising, but rather as jumbled as the experts thought it may be.  Pitching, and the lack thereof, has been the first half theme.  The Brewers are at the top mainly because of Milwaukee’s starting trio of Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, and Freddy Peralta.  That threesome starts in a crucial series with Chicago early this week.  The Cubs have three standout pitchers of their own, but on the backside of games.  Relievers Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and Craig Kimbrel have dominated the last three innings of Cubs’ wins, posting a 50-innings scoreless streak that just ended.  In many ways it’s the return of the 1990 Reds Nasty Boys.  Cincinnati’s nasty boys in 2021 have been its hitting duo of Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos, posting career batting marks with power to boot.  It’s the Reds’ bullpen that’s been the problem, the worst in MLB.  St. Louis, the preseason favorite after the Arenado acquisition, has been decimated with injuries to its starting pitching and is in fourth place.

The surprise player in the NL Central is Patrick Wisdom, the Cubs rookie third baseman.  Similar to the Kevin Gausman story, Wisdom was drafted in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Cardinals. Wisdom, much like Yermin Mercedes, spent a large majority of his professional career in the minor leagues.  Due to several injuries to Cubs position players, Wisdom got the big league call-up over a month ago and has certainly delivered, an amazing 10 HRs in 82 official at bats so far.  With the surprising first half success stories of Gausman, Mercedes, and Wisdom, I can’t help but think of my favorite baseball movie, “The Rookie”.  Dennis Quaid starred in the portrayal of the real life story of Jim Morris, who debuted in MLB at age 35.  The movie illustrates the fortitude it takes for players to reach their MLB goal, the same kind of perseverance teams need to have in baseball’s grueling 162-game schedule.

Let the second half of the season begin!

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Baseball Nicknames

It’s always fun to look back at some of the great baseball nicknames.  Here is my Top Ten List:

The Iron Horse (Lou Gehrig).  Gehrig played all of his 17 seasons for the New York Yankees.  He won the coveted Triple Crown and was voted the American League MVP on two occasions. His career stats are remarkable -- .340 batting average, 493 HRs, and 1,995 RBIs.  He was nicknamed Iron Horse because of his 2,130 consecutive games played, a record that stood for 56 years.  On June 2, MLB proclaimed it Lou Gehrig Day in baseball from this year forward, a day to remember his Iron Horse streak and his courage in battling ALS.  In his farewell address to the fans at Yankee Stadium in 1939, Gehrig called himself the “luckiest man on the face of the Earth”.  We, as fans, were lucky to have him be part of baseball.

The Babe (George Herman Ruth).  It’s difficult to reflect on the legend of Babe Ruth without thinking about some of his other nicknames – “The Bambino” or “The Sultan of Swat”.  I always put him on a sports pedestal with those whose stats dominate the game at the time they played; hockey’s Wayne Gretsky is another example. The hitting numbers do indeed knock you over – 714 HRs; a slugging percentage of .690; and here’s the kicker, an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.164.  Yet, before he became the game’s most feared slugger, he was baseball’s top lefthanded pitcher with a won-loss record of 94-46 and an ERA of 2.28.  At a time when baseball needed a rebirth coming out of the Dead Ball Era and the 1919 Scandal, the Babe delivered with one of the greatest careers we’ve ever witnessed.

Pee Wee (Harold Peter Henry Reese).  Pee Wee Reese was a Dodger true and blue, starring at shortstop for 19 seasons (1940 to 1958).  This Hall of Famer helped the Dodgers win seven NL championships during his career with steady and consistent play.  His nickname derived from his Kentucky roots where he was a champion marbles player (a “pee wee” is a small marble) and of course his diminutive size.  Reese’s heart though was bigger than anyone’s in the game, as evidenced by his support of teammate Jackie Robinson’s entrance into MLB, especially in Jackie’s difficult early years.

The Big Hurt (Frank Thomas).  Every time Frank Thomas stepped into the batter’s box, you wanted to see the at-bat.  He starred as a first baseman and DH for 19 seasons (1990 to 2008), all but the last three with his beloved White Sox.  He is the only player in MLB history to have seven consecutive seasons with a .300 batting average, 100 RBIs, 100 runs, 100 walks, and 20 HRs.  In 1993 he was named the American League’s MVP.  In Chicago nowadays, he remains an MVP as a television analyst.  When I hear commentators now talking about “exit velocity” measuring the impact of the bat hitting the baseball, I can’t help but think of how much a hurt Frank Thomas put on baseballs.

The Wizard (Ozzie Smith).  Ozzie is the only position player that I’ve come to see play because of his glove, not his bat.  His acrobatic play at shortstop for 19 seasons, mostly with the Cardinals, was flat out unbelievable at times.  Smith won the NL Gold Glove Award at shortstop for 13 consecutive seasons (1980-1992).  The wizardry around the bag on double plays, his backflips while taking the field for special games, and ability to throw from all angles were thrills baseball fans had not previously experienced.  In his most famous at-bat, a home run that ended Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS against the Dodgers, Jack Buck simply said, “Go crazy, folks, go crazy!”  The St. Louis fans had something to go crazy about almost every game he played.

The Bird (Mark Fidrych).   Fidrych pitched in only five seasons for the Detroit Tigers, and was truly a one-year wonder.   In 1976 he led MLB with a 2.34 ERA and won the AL Rookie of the Year Award.  He was nicknamed “The Bird” because many joked that he resembled “Big Bird” on the children’s television program, “Sesame Street”. Fidrych was tall and kind of awkward looking.  In many ways, seeing him on the mound pitching were indeed “funny days” as Fidrych was known for talking to the baseball between pitches.  His career tailed off quickly at the end, but I chuckle every time I think of him.

Chipper (Larry Wayne Jones Jr.). Chipper Jones may have been the top third baseman in the last 30 years. Drafted #1 overall by the Atlanta Braves in 1990, Chipper certainly excelled at the plate in his 19-year MLB career, batting for average and power. And he did it as a switch-hitter! Indeed, he is the only switch hitter in MLB history to bat at least .300 and hit 400 or more HRs. Chipper also played an exceptional third base and was the leader of the Braves playoff teams throughout his career. Some of his achievements include 1999 NL MVP, 2008 MLB batting champion, and 1995 World Series champion. So how did he get the nickname Chipper? He was a “chip off the old block”, his Dad being the coach at his high school in DeLand, Florida.

King Kong (Dave Kingman).  Dave Kingman was a true slugger, hitting 442 career HRs and averaging a home run every 15 at-bats.  His home runs were often monstrous drives, hence his nickname.  His 16-year career spanned several MLB teams, most notably the Mets and the Cubs.  The ball hawkers beyond the left field bleachers at Wrigley Field I’m sure are still talking about some of his long shots onto Waveland Avenue.  With Kingman though, you needed to take the bad with the good.  While he hit a lot of homers, he frequently struck out and maintaind a low batting average and on-base percentage.  In the field, typically left field, let’s just say he struggled at times.  Kingman would have loved today’s launch angle analysis, because he could truly launch them.

Peanuts (Harry Lee Lowrey). My favorite food item at the ballpark is peanuts, so I’ve often wondered about the legendary Peanuts Lowrey. He played in 13 MLB seasons as an outfielder with the Cubs, Reds, Cardinals, and Phillies (1942-1955). Late in his career he became one of baseball’s best pinch hitters, a lost art nowadays in many respects. His nickname was given to him at a very young age by his uncle who described him “no bigger than a peanut”. His small size profited him outside of baseball, as he was a child actor on the “Our Gang” television series. He ended his career with coaching stints for several MLB clubs.

Mad Hungarian (Al Hrabosky).  Hrabosky was one of the first in your face closers in baseball.  He had a 12-year career with the Cardinals and Braves as a reliever (1970-1982).  In 1975 he was named Sporting News’ “Fireman of the Year”, posting a 13-3 record and a 1.67 ERA.  His colorful, sometimes crazy, personality warranted his nickname.  When Hrabosky entered a game in relief, he would first go to the back of the mound with his back to the hitter, slam the baseball in his glove, and march to the pitching rubber.  It was great entertainment, especially when he recorded the final out of the game.  He now serves as a commentator (and still colorful) for Cardinals baseball.

What’s your favorite baseball nickname? 

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Uniform Pride

I’m sure you remember your first baseball or softball uniform.  My team’s name was White Oak V.F.W. Post 9248.  Of course at 6 years old I was too young to understand the significance of our sponsor honoring my Dad and uncles who served in World War II.  I do have some images though of my first uniform – putting something called “stirrups” over my white athletic socks; getting my first number (it was 8); and thinking it was funny how my pants just went halfway down my legs.  I took great pride in wearing that uniform.  From the moment I awakened on Saturday game days until going to bed that night I wore it.  Uniforms have a special place in our hearts and in baseball’s history.

This month we celebrate Gay Pride and the San Francisco Giants gave it special meaning.  Baseball has often been behind the NBA and NFL on issues of social justice and inclusivity.  Yet, on Saturday, June 5, San Francisco players wore hats with Pride colors in their logo and a Pride-colored patch “SF” on their jerseys.  It was the first time an MLB team had provided support on the playing field for LGBTQ fans.  The expression was a reflection of Giants manager Gabe Kapler who has consistently supported social issues – hiring the first woman to serve on a coaching staff; taking a stand on systemic racism; and starting a foundation called Pipeline for Change to help underrepresented groups find jobs in baseball.  Due to the Giants success during the first half of the season and the symbolic nature of these new celebratory uniforms, Kapler gets my early vote as NL manager of the year.

There has been some other uniform pride shown recently in Chicago, “city pride”! On that same Saturday last week the White Sox donned their “City Connect Series” uniforms in a game against the Tigers. “Southside” was displayed across the chest of the jersey. It was a huge success from a marketing standpoint (the jerseys sold out at the official team store within three hours of their release) and with the players. On the North side, this past Tuesday the Cubs city connected as well by releasing their “Wrigleyville” uniforms that they wore at home in Saturday’s game against the Cardinals. The Cubs’ design celebrates 77 neighborhoods in the Chicago area with the jersey script in the shape of Wrigley Field’s Marquee sign. The White Sox and Cubs are two of seven MLB teams who teamed with Nike on rolling out uniforms celebrating the diversity of their communities.

Baseball uniforms have evolved through time, starting with the tradition of wearing white uniforms at home and gray on the road to some non-traditional looks.  Probably the most traditional MLB uniform is that of the pinstripes of the New York Yankees.  The Yanks proudly display their team logo, the interlocking “NY”, on their baseball caps and across the chest of their home whites.  Some bemuse that the Yankees began to wear pinstripes to make Babe Ruth look slimmer, but the fact is that the pinstripes date all the way back to 1912.  New York was the first team in baseball to have numbers on the back of their jerseys, and the initial numbering reflected the batting order (Ruth was #3; and Gehrig wore #4 as the cleanup hitter). The Yankees to this day remain the only team in MLB that does not include the last names of the individual players on the back of their jerseys.  It is all about Yankee team tradition.

The most interesting “non-traditional” uniform in MLB history resides on the south side of Chicago with the 1976 softball-like uniforms of the White Sox.  Then Sox owner Bill Veeck, Jr., was in many ways a revolutionary; he simply liked to test baseball’s status quo.  His bright idea that summer was for his Sox players to wear on occasion “Hollywood shorts”, short pant uniforms that he had seen a minor league team called the Hollywood Stars play in during the 1950s.  It turned into quite a marketing ploy, garnering much media attention and even was thought to have increased attendance at Comiskey Park. Veeck’s theory was that his Sox players needed to play in comfort during the hot summer months.  When media attention and attendance dropped in mid-August, the softball unis were shelved, for good.

It’s always been fascinating to me that, unlike coaching staffs in football and basketball, baseball managers and coaches wear the uniforms of the players. Interestingly, in baseball’s early days the term “manager” referred to the team’s business manager. On the playing field teams only had a “captain” who made game decisions, played a position, and of course wore a uniform. That “captain” became the “manager” around 1900, with the tradition of his wearing a uniform continuing in place. The rebel of course was the winningest manager in MLB history, Connie Mack, who was famous for wearing a suit in the dugout during games. On the other side of the spectrum there’s Atlanta Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox, who not only wore his Braves uniform during games but also sported baseball cleats (hey, you never know!).

Uniforms are often worn today to celebrate special players in baseball history.  On April 15, 2004, baseball proclaimed April 15th to be “Jackie Robinson Day” going forward.  You see, Robinson became the first black MLB player on that day in 1947.  All players, managers, and coaches throughout the game simply wear Jackie’s uniform number, #42, in a show of unity.  Baseball also celebrates Roberto Clemente Day each September 9th, as Pirates players, Puerto Rican players, and now others, don #21 to remember the “Great One”.  This month, baseball honored Hall of Famer and Yankee great, Lou Gehrig, by proclaiming June 2 as the inaugural Lou Gehrig Day in MLB.  June 2 is significant since it was the first day Gehrig was inserted into the lineup in route to his “Iron Horse” consecutive games played streak.  It was also the day that Gehrig tragically passed away at the early age of 37 losing his battle with ALS.

Wearing commemorative patches is also a uniform expression.   Whether the patch is a tribute to playing in the World Series or the All-Star Game, it holds special meaning to players.  One of the good fortunes of playing major league baseball is that you step onto a playing field with the same dimensions as those who have played 50, 100, or 150 years ago.  I’m sure that the Braves and Brewers players this year, no matter their age or tenure with Atlanta or Milwaukee, smile each day as they see No. 44 on the back of their caps or on the right sleeves of their uniforms. Both patches serve as a special remembrance to baseball legend Hank Aaron who passed earlier this year.  Again, tradition!

While you might have a fond memory of the first uniform you wore, maybe the last one you donned leaves you with a little sadness.  My last high school summer league uniform had the script “Pirates” across the chest.  Just like home whites and gray roads, my team had two sets of uniforms due to the number of games we played.  Unfortunately both uniforms featured the team color of black, not the coolest approach to humid Cincinnati summers (and crazily, one of the two uniforms was mostly wool).  I wore that Pirates uniform though with pride, as I did every uniform along the way.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Running the Bases

Photo acknowledgment to Sports Illustrated.

A promotion for Sunday afternoon MLB and minor league games is for the kids to run the bases after the game.  I remember the smiles on my daughters’ faces as they rounded second and headed to third where they would find me waiting for them just beyond the rail along the third base side.  Running the bases was so much fun for them.  We saw that same joy a week ago at Wrigley Field when Javier Baez literally won a game of “tag”, retreating backwards from first base and deking the Pirates and first baseman Will Craig into giving up two runs.  Baez is by far the most adept and creative baserunner in MLB today.  Let’s take a look at some other great ones in baseball’s history.

Recognizing MLB players as exceptional baserunners is in many ways subjective.  We do have some data points though, such as base stealing numbers.  Three outstanding base stealers come to mind.  Maury Wills, who played primarily for the Dodgers over his 14-year career (1959-1972), is known for reviving the stolen base as part of baseball strategy.  In winning the NL MVP award in 1962, he broke Ty Cobb’s single season stolen base record of 96 (set in 1915!) with 104 stolen bases.  Lou Brock, a Hall of Fame St. Louis Cardinal, topped Wills’ single season record with 118 stolen bases of his own in 1974, while also breaking Cobb’s career record by snatching 938 total stolen bases during his 18-year career.  Then there’s Rickey Henderson who obliterated both records.  The Oakland A’s great was nicknamed the “Man of Steal” and his numbers tell why.  In 1982 he set the current single season record of 130.  When Henderson retired in 2003, he had amassed 1,406 career steals, setting a standard that looks to be in the record books for a very long time.

In an article written in 2009 for the “Bleacher Report”, Cliff Eastham offered some additional objective data comparisons in an overview of all-time baserunners. One was career stolen base percentage. Without looking at the numbers, my immediate thought turned to Cobb, Wills, Brock, or Henderson. However, Richie Ashburn, the Phillies’ HOF’er with a 15-year career spanning from 1948 through 1962, is the career leader. Ashburn is said to have been one of the most beloved sports figures in Philadelphia (which is saying something) and has the career numbers to support it -- .308 batting average, 2,574 hits, and an all-time best stolen base percentage of 86%!

Another data piece offered by Eastham is extra bases taken percentage (EBT %), the percentage of times a baserunner advanced more than one base on a single or more than two bases on a double.  Who else but Willie Mays would lead this category with what Eastham calculated to be 63% of the time.  I saw Mays play a handful of times at Crosley Field in Cincinnati when I was a young boy but it was later in his HOF career.  Many baseball fans before me who had the privilege of seeing the “Say Hey Kid” in his heyday see Mays in rare air, putting him alongside Babe Ruth as the greatest player ever.  Mays had 660 HRs, 3,283 hits, .302 batting average, 338 stolen bases (leading the NL for four straight years), 24 All-Star Game appearances, and 12 Gold Gloves as a centerfielder.  And yes, he was one of the greatest baserunners of all time.

Doubles and triples were a big part of Mays’ game, but there’s actually another MLB player who leads in the category of doubles and triples divided by total hits (DT %), Jimmy Rollins, another longtime Phillie.  His DT % was 27 %.  Rollins was Philadelphia’s leadoff hitter for ten years in the early 2000’s, and may be best known for his 38-game hitting streak in 2005-2006.  In 2007, Rollins was the NL MVP.  He led the league four times in triples and is the all-time Phillies career leader in doubles with 479.  If the Phils needed an extra base knock during the Rollins’ era, they looked no further than the leadoff spot.  He could put the ball in play and fly.

One last objective data point suggested by Eastham is run scoring percentage (RS %), the percentage of time a baserunner scores a run.  The MLB leader in this category is Kenny Lofton, an outfielder for 16 seasons (1991-2007) playing for 11 different ballclubs, who posted an RS % of 15 %.  When I think of Lofton, his playing days with the Indians come mostly to mind. He was the single season stolen base leader in the AL on five occasions and the MLB leader in three of those years.  In 1994, he actually broke a Rickey Henderson record of 33 postseason stolen bases.  Lofton was one of those players that, much like Baez today, one step ahead on the basepaths.  Frank White, Kansas City Royals all-time great second baseman, said this:  “Lofton has out-thought a lot of major league players”.

The next two outstanding baserunners simply meet the eye test.  If there would be a category for the tenacity of going from first base to third on a hit to the outfield, Pete Rose of the Reds would be the clear winner.  I will forever have etched in my mind the sight of Rose leading off a Reds game with a single during the Big Red Machine era. He would then slide headfirst into third as a Reds hitter followed with another hit.  Rose certainly had his detractors for running to first base after a walk, but no one ran the bases harder.  The career numbers are all there – MLB hit leader with 4,256 and singles with 3,215; three NL batting titles; and 17 All-Star Game appearances at five separate fielding positions.  During his playing days and post-career, no one was more liked or disliked than Rose.  Give him this, he was a passionate baserunner.

My favorite baserunner of all-time, again the eye test, is Tim Raines, best known for his 13 seasons as a Montreal Expo.  I took every opportunity to see Raines play during his career.  From the time he entered the batter’s box to crossing the plate with a run scored, my eyes were on him and so better have been the opposition’s.  Raines is regarded by baseball experts as one of the best baserunners and leadoff hitters ever.  He compiled 2,605 hits, a .294 batting average, and 808 stolen bases over his career.  Yes, great numbers, but the pressure he put on opposing teams and the excitement he created will be what stands out to me. Raines made watching baseball for me incredibly fun!

You know, baseball is supposed to be fun.  I’ve been going to my grandson’s t-ball games and have enjoyed seeing the last hitter of each inning running all of the bases until he or she reaches home plate.  They love that!  In the Baez baserunning antics last week against Pittsburgh, his teammate, Anthony Rizzo, was seen doubled over laughing while hanging on the dugout railing.  No one had quite seen a play like that before.  Cubs radio announcer Pat Hughes said this about the Baez baserunning play: “I’ve never seen anything close to that.”  We want that in baseball; that’s what makes the game a game.

Who is your favorite baserunner?

Until next week,

your Baseball Bench Coach

No no's

No! No! No!  Say that again. There have been six no-hitters already in the first two months of the season.  Joe Musgrove (Padres), Carlos Rodon (White Sox), John Means (Orioles), Wade Miley (Reds), Spencer Turnbull (Tigers), and Corey Kluber (Yankees) all have entered the record books with the first no-hitter of their careers.  But here’s the crazy part.  The MLB record for a season is seven (in 1990, 1991, 2012, and 2015), so the baseball world is well on its way to adding another chapter to “2021: Year of the Pitcher Revisited”.  There’s been much talk about whether too many No-no’s means ho hum, it’s just a sign of baseball’s problem with the lack of hitting.  I have never witnessed an MLB no-hitter in person, so count me on the side of excited fans looking for more.

Through yesterday’s games there have been 311 “official” no-hitters in MLB’s history, 268 in the so-called modern era that began in 1901.  No-hitters mean simply that, a team has not recorded a hit during the game.  That doesn’t mean they haven’t scored; in 25 of these games the no-hit team has managed to push across a run without a hit.  In five of those, the no-hit team actually won the game.  Like everything in baseball, we’ve seen trends along the way.  While there have been exceptions, you see more no-hitters in eras where the pendulum has swung to pitcher dominance.  There were five no-hitters in 1968, the “Year of  the Pitcher”.  From 2002 to 2006 as we neared the end of the Steroid Era, there were only five no-hitters total.  But no matter what era you pitch one in, it’s a great feat.

Of course a much more amazing feat is to hurl a perfect game. There have been only 23 of these gems in MLB history, 21 in the modern era. To get credit for one, the pitcher’s defensive team must not allow its opponent to reach base by any means, including catcher’s interference, an uncaught third strike, or a hit batsmen. Bottom line, 27 players must come to the plate, and 27 must go down. And for those of you wondering, a misplayed foul ball that the official scorer might deem an error actually would not count against a perfect game being recorded. While I couldn’t find that has happened in a perfect game, I do know that no pitcher has ever thrown more than one perfect game. The closest was Reds’ lefthander Tom Browning. In September 1988 Browning threw baseball’s 12th perfect game, a victory over the Dodgers where he did not run the count to three balls on any hitter. The next July Browning found the magic again, but this time his perfect game was broken up in the bottom of the ninth inning by the Phillies.

In scouring the list of the 311 no-hitters to date, being a big name, All-Star pitcher does not always equate to having thrown a No-no.  Indeed, the first five 2021 no-hit pitchers were not exactly household names – Musgrove, Rodon, Means, Miley, and Turnbull – with only two All-Star appearances among them.  Spencer Turnbull, the Tigers righthander who recorded the fifth one of the year on May 18 against Seattle, was best known before that night for leading the major leagues in losses in 2019 with a less than impressive 3-17 record.  On the next night, however, two-time AL Cy Young Corey Kluber, now with the Yankees, pitched the sixth one of the season, defeating the Rangers.  I certainly need to mention a couple Hall of Fame pitchers on the list of 311.  Nolan Ryan holds the all-time record for number of no-hitters, seven, while Sandy Koufax is in second place with four. 

One of the more interesting paradoxes for a no-hit pitcher is how he follows his standout performance in the following game.  It’s not often a great result.  Of the six 2021 gems on only one occasion did the pitcher win the next game, Carlos Rodon’s April 19th 5-inning outing over Cleveland.  Following Corey Kluber’s no-hitter two weeks ago, he lasted only 3 innings and took the loss this past week against Toronto.  After the game the Yanks announced that Kluber would go on the IL and miss two months with shoulder issues.  The only time that a no-hitter was followed by the same pitcher’s second one was in 1938 by the Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer.  He pitched a June 11, 1938 no-hitter against the Boston Bees.  Four nights later he started for Cincinnati against the Dodgers at Ebbetts Field in the first night game ever played there.  It was certainly lights out for Brooklyn as Vander Meer threw his second straight no-hitter.

The on-field celebration of a no-hitter is always fun to watch unless you’re in the opposing dugout. Crazily, three teams this season, the Rangers, Mariners, and Indians, have been on the wrong side of a no-hitter. It’s the first time in MLB history that three teams have been no-hit twice. Watching the other team celebrate saw tables turn a little over 50 years ago. On April 30, 1969, Cincinnati’s Jim Maloney threw the second no-hitter of his career in a 10-0 win against the Astros. The next night Houston’s Don Wilson also pitched his second career no-hitter in a 4-0 victory over the Reds. It was actually the second time in MLB history that there were no-hitters in consecutive games; the Giants’ Gaylord Perry and the Cardinals’ Ray Washburn did it in 1968.

No-hitters during postseason play are very uncommon, but there have been some memorable exceptions.  In 2010 the Phillies’ Roy Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game ever in a regular season win over the Marlins.  He followed his perfecto with the second postseason no-hitter ever as Philadelphia downed the Reds 4-0 in Game One of the 2010 NLDS.  In the playoff game against Cincinnati Halladay just missed a perfect game, walking one batter.  Halladay is the only pitcher to pitch a perfect game and no-hitter in the same season.  He doesn’t top Don Larsen though.  Larsen will forever be known for the perfect game he threw for the Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series.  The photo of his catcher Yogi Berra jumping into Larsen’s arms as the final out was recorded is certainly etched in baseball’s greatest moments.

There are also quirky rules around no-hitters.  The Reds’ Jim Maloney could be in the books for three no-hitters except his first one was negated by an MLB rule change.  You see, in June 1965 he threw 10 scoreless innings of no-hit ball against the Mets but the lost the game in the eleventh inning on a solo HR.  While it was originally deemed a no-hitter, MLB later omitted no-hit games broken up in extra innings.  Fast forward to our crazy pandemic rules and Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner throwing a no-hitter against Atlanta last month in an official, seven-inning game.  MLB also failed to recognize this one based on a 1991 ruling by Commissioner Fay Vincent that pitchers need to throw at least nine innings for the game to qualify as a no-hitter.  Yet, under the 2020 rule changes if a perfect game goes into extra innings and the runner placed on second scores by virtue of two outs (let’s say a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly), the pitcher could be credited with a loss and a perfect game.  Are you confused yet? 

One of my fond memories of being a softball Dad is when my daughter threw a no-hitter yet a few members of her team had no idea what that meant.  Perhaps, that’s where we are now.  While no-hitters seem to be commonplace (of the 21 complete games pitched in the MLB this year, six have been No-no’s), there’s always an air of excitement about them.  Are they good for the game?  I think so. Anything that adds interest is good for the game. 

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

Welcome Back

It felt so good being back.  As I entered the gate at Wrigley Field this past week, the words of an usher resounded with me, “Welcome to Wrigley Field!” It was the first MLB game I’ve attended since September 2019.  My friends and I were in the left field bleachers for an afternoon game against the Nationals.  I felt like a kid again – the lush green grass, the carefully manicured infield, and the excitement of the fans.  As I looked around taking it all in, it hit me.  There’s a little Wrigley Field in each one of my favorite ballparks.  Let’s take a little tour and I’ll show you what I mean.

Prior to the game, my first stop outside Wrigley was a visit to the statue of Ernie Banks, “Mr. Cub”.  No one embodies the history of the Cubs more than #14 and his motto, “Let’s Play Two!” Three other statues, those of Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and Harry Caray, adorn the outside of this iconic ballpark (built in 1914) and in 2022, a statue of Ferguson Jenkins will be unveiled.  The Cubs statues remind me of a visit a few years ago to PNC Park in Pittsburgh, considered by many the best new ballpark (opened in 2001).  The approach to the PNC gates is a journey through Pirates history – crossing the Roberto Clemente bridge; walking down Mazeroski Way; and viewing the statues of great Bucs players, such as Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner, Willie Stargell, and Bill Mazeroski.  One of the coolest takeaways about the Clemente statue is that its base forms a baseball diamond with dirt from three of the fields he played at during his illustrious career – Santurce Field in Puerto Rico, Forbes Field, and Three Rivers Stadium.

In the left field bleachers at Wrigley I had an up close view of the ivy-covered outfield walls, one of the ballpark’s three landmarks.  This mid-May afternoon the ivy (Japanese Bittersweet and Boston Ivy) was in full bloom.  When Wrigley was being renovated in 1937, Cubs then owner, P.K. Wrigley, took a tour of Midwest ballparks and came upon a minor league park in Indianapolis, Perry Stadium (soon to be renamed Bush Stadium), that had ivy on its outfield walls.  Mr. Wrigley brought the concept back to Chicago and directed his lead supervisor of the renovations, Bill Veeck Jr., to make it come to life.  His crew and he did, in three days!  Nowadays, Indianapolis is home to a standout AAA ballpark, Victory Field, recognized as the “Best Minor League Ballpark in America” by Baseball America and Sports Illustrated.  Victory Field, which was named that after many years of being called the “new” Bush Stadium, is situated in the heart of downtown Indianapolis.  It’s also the home of my favorite in-game promotion, awarding a used car to a lucky fan every half inning during a Brickyard 400 weekend ten years ago.

One thing that really strikes you when visiting Wrigley is how tasteful the advertising is in the ballpark.  In fact, from my seat in the bleachers I could see the only reminder of the Wrigley ownership days, a discreet sign for Orbit gum.  You may know the story, but it’s a fun one.  The Wrigley family, who owned the club from 1922 to 1980, were originally in the soap business yet promoted their products with a little stick of banana flavored gum.  That led to the start of their chewing gum empire and the first corporate naming of a sports venue.  Another ballpark named for family and corporate purposes is 300 miles south, Busch Stadium in St. Louis.  I’ve attended over a hundred games at Busch Stadium, now in its present day version “Busch Stadium III” (most current one opened in 2006).  On a steamy St. Louis summer night, there’s no better place to be than attending a game with a cold beer (perhaps, “Busch” or “Budweiser”) in hand.  The Cardinals have set home attendance records for the last two decades.

My perch in the left field bleachers also gave me a nice view of another Wrigley landmark, the scoreboard in centerfield.  It was also part of the 1937 renovations and is manually operated.  Not only are fans treated to Cubs game information, but a small crew in the scoreboard change the score every half inning of MLB games currently being played.  The image of the scoreboard caused me to remember my only visit to Boston’s Fenway Park over 35 years ago. My friend and I attended a Red Sox vs. Yankees Saturday afternoon game, and I must admit the “Green Monster” in left field was quite impressive.  Interestingly, this highest MLB outfield wall was littered with advertising in its early history and only became the “Green Monster” when it was painted green in 1947.  It too features manually operated scores, but only at its ground level base.

There are a couple Wrigley features that remind me of the MLB ballpark I attended as a young boy, Crosley Field in Cincinnati.  While Wrigley’s outfield is mostly noted for the ivy-covered walls and the “basket” at the top of the wall, it also has two recessed wall areas, or “wells”, located in left and right field, that make it difficult for an outfielder to judge balls hit into those areas.  Crosley’s outfield area had its own quirk, the “terrace” in left field, a 15 degree incline serving as a warning track.  Many visiting outfielders spent hours before games learning how to play the terrace.  I have memories of a Reds outfielder, Alex Johnson, a tremendous hitter, who had a couple misadventures on the terrace.  Legend is that Babe Ruth fell on his face on the terrace playing for the Boston Braves in 1935, his final season.  And of course, the history of night baseball begins and ends in these two ballparks.  Crosley held the first MLB night game on May 24, 1935, while it took Wrigley 53 more years to host its first night game, in August 1988.

As ballparks welcome fans back, there have been necessary precautions taken for everyone’s safety.  On this day Wrigley was still at 25% capacity, but a centerfield bleachers section was 100% capacity for fans who have been fully vaccinated.  Years ago centerfield bleacher fans at Wrigley engaged in a little chicanery, wearing white shirts while the opponents were batting and then putting on dark jackets for a better hitting background when the Cubs were at the plate.  This practice led to MLB requiring a “batter’s eye” (clean background) in ballparks.  A beautiful NL ballpark, Coors Field in Denver, has its own centerfield bleachers of note, the “Rockpile”.  Like Wrigley of old, the Rockpile seats are the cheapest at Coors and are reserved for day of game sales.  One of the more interesting “batter’s eye” features of the Rockpile is that during night games the Rockpile has no lights.

One thing that was missing in my visit to the Wrigley bleachers this past week, the sound of vendors in the stands touting their refreshments.  To be safe, fans were asked to use the MLB app for ordering food or visit the socially distanced concession stands. Cashless payments only! I recall being in these same bleachers back in the late 1970s where $1.00 could get me an Old Style in a Styrofoam cup.  Baseball vendors remind me of another great minor league venue, Dozer Park in Peoria, Illinois, the home of the Midwest League’s Class A Chiefs.  This ballpark with a friendly downtown setting opened in 2002.  Fan involvement is always an essential part of minor league games.  One of my fondest ballpark memories was watching a peanut vendor in Peoria helping one of my daughters perform “YMCA” during a pitching change many years ago.

The Cubs are a tough opponent at Wrigley, and this afternoon was no exception.  After closer Craig Kimbrel recorded the final out in the ninth inning, it was time to celebrate.  The “W” (Win) flag was raised above the centerfield scoreboard while the crowd joined in for several choruses of the victory song “Go Cubs Go!” The W flag has been a longstanding tradition at Wrigley.  Years ago when Cubs fans not attending the games would have to wait for the morning newspaper to get the score, the W flag was a signal throughout the community that the Cubs had won that day.  I have heard stories from several of you who follow this blog how you continue that tradition at your homes today by raising your own W flag.  Baseball parks are all about tradition.

What’s your favorite ballpark?

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

61 Feet, 6 Inches

I grew up pitching Knothole baseball in Cincinnati where the distance to home plate increased five feet every other year.  When I was 12-13 years old, I was pitching from 55 feet.  I remember watching the Little League World Series on ABC’s Wide World of Sports with disdain; the pitchers were only 45 feet from the plate!  Most often I found myself pitching from a flat surface.  I’ll never forget the day when the manager of one of our rival teams pounded in a 4 inch rubber slab in the pitcher’s circle prior to the game. The umpire simply told our team to pitch on the side of it.  I knew I had made it when I turned 14 years old.  I was throwing off a real mound, and the distance to the plate was a big league 60 feet, 6 inches.

Now it seems that MLB may be looking with disdain at the distance of 60 feet, 6 inches, the pitching dimension that has been in place since 1893.  This summer the Atlantic League, an independent minor league affiliated with MLB and the new experimental laboratory for MLB changes, is moving pitcher’s mound back by one foot.   The change is another stab at increasing the pace of play, the thought being that more balls will be put in play.  An “anonymous” MLB official put it this way to the Washington Post:  “We kept coming back to the fact that we can try to change four or five things . . . But we’d probably be negligent if we didn’t at least try the one solution that, while were calling it radical, might in and of itself be the solution.”

MLB’s offensive statistics so far in 2021 illustrate the problem. There have been five seasons where baseball teams have averaged less than 8 hits per game – 1907, 1908, and 1909 (the dead ball era), 1968 (the “Year of the Pitcher”, more later), and this season! Indeed, the current league batting average would qualify as the lowest in MLB history. Teams on average are striking out at a pace of more than one strikeout per inning for the first time in history. And here’s the number that is particularly concerning – in 36.5% of at bats this season the ball has NOT been put in play. At a time when MLB is anxiously awaiting the return of fans to the ballparks, it is failing to give them the game they deserve.

The evolution of the pitcher, pitcher’s mound, and the distance to home plate is fascinating.  In the mid-19th century, the pitcher simply underhanded the ball to the batters from a pitching area 45 feet from home base.  The idea was to have the batters put the ball in play (how novel). Since no balls or strikes were called, the pitchers might throw 300 pitches per game.  Games were often very slow (sound familiar?).  In 1884, pitchers were first permitted to throw overhand.  And finally, in 1893, the pitching distance moved to 60 feet, 6 inches, and the pitcher’s mound was introduced.

From 1893 to 1950 the only limitation on the pitcher’s mound was that it could not be more than 15 inches high.  Groundskeepers often adjusted the height of the mound to provide an advantage to the home team pitchers, or in some cases a disadvantage to the visitors.  For example, it became widely known that the Indians Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller liked to pitch from a “mountaintop” which he could certainly count on in Cleveland.  On the road though he was often faced with a more flattened mound!  In 1950, MLB mandated that each pitching mound had to be exactly 15 inches high.  That mandate, coupled with an expanded strike zone beginning in 1963, made life in the MLB tough for the hitters in the 1960s.

Statistics of the 1968 season, known as the “Year of the Pitcher”, exemplified how much the rules favored the pitcher. Bob Gibson of the Cardinals led the major leagues with a miniscule ERA of 1.12. The Dodgers’ Don Drysdale threw six consecutive shutouts during May and June. Indeed, 339 shutouts were recorded in the regular season out of 1,619 games played. To put those numbers in perspective, MLB had only 26 shutouts in all of 2019, the last full season. While you often hear the expression that the measure of a good hitter is if he achieves a .300 batting average, only Carl Yastrzemski of the Red Sox could meet that standard in 1968, leading the American League with a .301 average. Following the 1968 season, MLB responded by returning to the pre-1963 strike zone and more importantly, lowering the height of the mound from 15 to 10 inches.

The pendulum swung back to the hitters, especially during the Steroid Era from 1990-2005.  While steroids made it to MLB’s banned substance list in 1991, testing for MLB players did not begin until 2003.  The Commissioner’s office took a blind eye to the endless home runs accumulated by Bonds, Canseco, McGwire, Sosa, and many others.  The 1998 season featured a home run chase by McGwire and Sosa of Roger Maris’ season home run record of 61.  As ESPN broke in for seemingly every McGwire and Sosa at-bat during the September stretch run, television ratings soared and the record was shattered by both rival players. While many deemed the 1998 home run chase as saving baseball coming out of the 1994 strike season, others argued that it ruined the game.  I am definitely in the latter camp.

Today’s reality is that the offensive numbers are back to being low, historically low.  There are numerous factors.  Pitching overall has become incredibly talented.  It seems that every pitcher that goes on the IL (injured list) is replaced with someone who can throw as hard (95+ mph). Rosters are dominated by pitchers, usually 13 or 14 roster-eligible players.  With that kind of pitching depth, starting pitchers are expected to throw only five innings and less than 100 pitches.  Just check the total win columns for today’s starting pitchers.  Defensive shifts are now in vogue, and most hitters are not adjusting.  In 2015, only 20% of plate appearances involved shifts, while that number is 40% in 2021.

Is moving the mound back a foot to 61 feet, 6 inches a good idea?  I’m kind of on the fence about it (and clearly not over it). As MLB contemplates changes through history, consultants are said to advise league officials that while “purists” are the ones who like close, low-scoring games, a majority of fans want to see more scoring and more HRs.  Frankly, that’s a false assumption.  I remember each morning during the 1990s driving to work on my commute and listening to the local radio station’s replay of the top ten “blasts” (HRs) broadcasted the night before.  I just despised that.  For me, the better air time would have been spent capturing wonderful defensive plays, triples (remember those), and clutch hits.   You see, a purist, like every baseball fan, wants the ball in play, action on the field.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach