This article was originally published on CrescentCitySports.com on February 6.

Diminutive outfielder Lloyd Davenport, who was born in New Orleans in 1911, began his professional baseball career with the New Orleans Black Stars in 1934. He went on to have a productive career in the Negro Leagues (now considered the major leagues) until 1945. He was a six-time participant in the East-West All-Star Game, which showcased the best players from the Negro Leagues.

The 5-foot-6, 155-pounder was known for his elite speed, both on the bases and in the outfield. He was strong for his size and was reported to have the ability to hit the ball anywhere he wanted. His nickname was “Ducky,” because of his distinctive stride.

Davenport was the center fielder for the 1938 Memphis Red Sox that won the Negro American League championship. He batted .325.

With the lure of a higher salary, he played in Mexico in 1940 and batted .356 with Tampico.

In 1942 he played for three teams and posted a combined slash line of .333/.431/.465. He led the Negro American League in on-base percentage and walks.

He appeared in the Negro American League World Series again in 1943 with the Chicago American Giants, losing to Birmingham.

After helping the Cleveland Buckeyes to a first-half drive toward the pennant in 1945, Davenport returned to Mexico, where he finished the season with a .352 batting average in 30 games with Nuevo Laredo. He played three more seasons in Mexico in an independent league.

His final season in professional baseball was a short stint in 1953 at age 41, with Class D Danville, a Chicago White Sox affiliate.

Davenport was inducted into the first Hall of Fame class of the Crescent City Old Timers Baseball Association in 1970. He frequently participated as an instructor at youth clinics in the city. He died in New Orleans in 1985.

This article was originally published on Crescent City Sports on January 31.

Ridgewood Prep senior pitcher Brady Benoit had yet to lose a game during district play before the Eagles advanced to the Louisiana high school baseball playoffs in 1995. Then, in a quarterfinal playoff game against Ascension Catholic on May 6, he gave up only one hit and struck out 26 batters in a 13-inning marathon. Despite his performance, Ridgewood ended up losing the game, and Benoit took his only loss of the season.

In a recent interview with Benoit, he said the game was not his best performance, even though he retired 26 batters on strikeouts. He said, “I was effectively wild that day since I also walked 13 batters and hit a couple of batters. A bunt single was the only hit I gave up.” He added, “I could throw pretty hard, so opposing batters were not comfortable digging in at the plate.”

Ascension, the two-time defending state champion, scored twice in the second inning on a squeeze-play and a bases-loaded walk. Ridgewood put up single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to even the score. The Eagles threatened in the bottom of the ninth but failed to score on a fine defensive play by Ascension’s shortstop who threw out an Eagles’ baserunner at home plate.

Ascension thwarted another Ridgewood scoring opportunity in the 11th. Their left fielder threw out an Eagles runner attempting to score from second base on a single.

In the 13th inning, with the game over four hours old, Ascension went ahead on Ridgewood’s misplay of a squeeze bunt attempt and won, 3-2.

Benoit estimates he probably threw between 230 and 250 pitches that day. He admits he was a bit fatigued toward the end of the game, but says his adrenalin was pumping and he stayed focused on “just getting the next batter out.”

He recalled, “Around the ninth inning, I saw someone warming up in the bullpen and wondered what was going on.” His coach Steve Stropolo started walking out to the mound. Stropolo, who currently coaches at Haynes Academy, remembers that Benoit stopped him at the base line and told him, “I’m not coming out of this game. I’ll come out when the other team’s pitcher is taken out.” Stropolo says it was a testament to Benoit’s grit and character as a competitor.

Benoit still believes an under-appreciated fact in that game was his catcher Kenny Goodlett, current Jesuit High School head coach, caught all 13 innings.

Stropolo told the Times-Picayune after the game, “We had opportunities the whole game to win and couldn’t make the play. They didn’t get a ball out of the infield against Brady, but they made the plays when they had to. We needed to make one, and we didn’t.”

The coach reflects on the game now, “There was no such thing as pitch counts back then, so I let Brady go the entire game. It was a heartbreaking loss for him, considering what he had accomplished.”

Benoit’s strikeout rate for the playoff game was not unusual for him. In district play, he averaged over two strikeouts per inning. He was named his district’s most outstanding player for the second time, while also garnering All-State honors. Besides his pitching success, he was a good-hitting third baseman.

When asked what his best pitching performance was, if not the 26-striketout game, Benoit cited his first-ever no-hitter, in American Legion play later that summer. He recalled striking out 15 (and walking only three) in a nine-inning contest in the Second District East Tournament. Remarkably, he pitched a back-to-back no-hitter in his next Legion outing in the Southeast Louisiana Tournament.

Benoit went on to play four seasons with University of New Orleans. He made appearances in both starter and reliever roles during his career.

He is currently in his third season as head coach for Mandeville High School. He has also held head coaching jobs with Ridgewood Prep, St. Martin’s Episcopal, Northshore High School, and Fort Worth Country Day in Texas. He has been an assistant coach at Rummel, De La Salle, and Delgado Community College.

There has been a lot of internet chatter about whether the high-flying Los Angeles Dodgers are good for the game, after they completed another blockbuster financial deal to acquire free-agent slugger Kyle Tucker. This transaction comes after the 2025 World Series champion had previously unloaded the Brinks truck to get Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and others over the past few years.

Of course, if you ask Dodgers fans, they believe what their team is doing in assembling a superstar roster is the best thing that has happened to a franchise since the New York Yankees paid handsomely to acquire Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox in 1920.

But what about the rest of the baseball community? What do they think?

The most common theme among other fans and baseball pundits is that “the rich get richer.”  he Dodgers are the “Yankees of the 1970s and 1980s,” when controversial owner George Steinbrenner was practically buying every all-star free agent that came on the market. Rightfully, there is a concern that competitive imbalance is occurring across both leagues.

Furthermore, the Dodgers’ contract with Ohtani and now the Tucker deal highlight a bigger concern for the long-term financial health of baseball.

There is a growing gap in the salaries between the superstars like Ohtani and Tucker and the rest of the players. Major League Baseball Players’ Association is worried that mid-tier veterans are being squeezed out with declining length of contracts and lower AAVs (Average Annual Values). Younger players who excel are often underpaid prior to their being eligible for salary arbitration and free agency.

The owners are concerned that spending is out of control. They are pushing for hard salary caps (whereas the current Competitive Balance Tax is essentially a soft cap), while MLBPA wants a payroll floor and a higher CBT threshold.

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement ends in December 2026. Unless there is some type of meeting of the minds between the owners and MLBPA before then, these current labor tensions could come to a head with an owner work stoppage or a player strike for the 2027 season.

The Dodgers are seen as the “bad guys,” but the reality is they are operating within MLB’s current policies and rules. They are using financial engineering strategies, like signing bonuses and deferred salaries, to lessen the impact of the payroll luxury tax. Yet they still paid over $160M in luxury tax for 2025. That is more than the entire payroll of several of the smaller-market teams. (The Yankees, Phillies, and Mets, also exceed the CBT amount, but not nearly to the same extent as the Dodgers.)

Dodgers president Andrew Friedman was general manager for the Tampa Bay Rays where he built winning teams without a huge salary budget. Baseball analysts used to wonder then, “Just imagine what Friedman could do with a larger budget.” Well, he is showing that with the Dodgers who seemingly have an unlimited bank account. Under Friedman, the Dodgers have won three world championships in the last six years.

The Dodgers are willing to shell out the big bucks to win their third consecutive World Series. They want to capitalize on the existing roster that can win again next year, not two or three years from now. Adding Tucker and top relief pitcher Edwin Diaz helps ensure they get there.

This article was originally published on CrescentCitySport,com on January 17, 2026.

Former Tulane athlete Vince Manalla could be called the “Jim Thorpe of the Green Wave,” as he made his name in the program’s sports history by lettering in football, baseball, and track and field. 

Thorpe was one of the most celebrated athletes of the first half of the 20th century, as he excelled in three sports covering college and professional football, track and field in college and the Olympics, and major league baseball.

In reality, Manalla was no Jim Thorpe, yet he stood out among athletes of his era for competing in three sports at a high level. Most athletes would be thrilled to compete in just one college sport. Manalla was unique then. And when you consider today’s sports environment, with athletes specializing in only one sport, Manalla is truly an anomaly.

Manalla prepped at Chalmette High School, where he played those three sports.

He was a multi-threat force in football, as the Owls’ quarterback, punter. and place-kicker. In his senior season in 1978, he led the team to a surprising 9-2 record in the Catholic League, when he was named the All-Metro Most Valuable Offensive Player. In one of the classic games in Chalmette prep history, Manalla nearly brought the Owls to a playoff victory against powerhouse St. Augustine, after incurring a 20-0 deficit. His two-point conversion attempt near the end of the game was stopped, leaving his team short, 20-18. Another game for which he is remembered was kicking a then New Orleans high school record 53-yard field goal to defeat Brother Martin, 10-9. He was named the Sugar Bowl’s High School Player of the Year in football.

Manalla also competed in baseball and track and field with the Owls. He was an all-district athlete in javelin competition. Yet he says baseball was his favorite sport. He credits his Chalmette playground coach Newton Blanchard with nurturing his interest in the game. Manalla was a starter for three high-school seasons as an outfielder. Manalla recalled, “I drew interest from the Philadelphia Phillies, but I decided to forgo an uncertain professional career. I already had a commitment after my junior season from Northwestern Louisiana University to play football.” He added, “Plus, the Phillies weren’t willing to match the value of a college scholarship with their signing bonus offer.”

With urging from family and friends, Manalla decided to stay in New Orleans. He accepted a football scholarship offer from Tulane, who was interested in his versatility as a quarterback and kicker.

He did not play in his freshman year in 1979, since senior Roch Hontas handled the quarterback duties, junior Frank Wills was the punter, and senior Eddie Murray did the place-kicking. However, Manalla says it turned out to be a valuable season anyway. Under the tutelage of Murray, who eventually became a 19-year place-kicker in the NFL, Manalla says he learned what he considered the most important aspect of place-kicking—on the mental side, being able to zone out everything.

In his sophomore season in 1980, Manalla won both starting jobs as punter and place-kicker. Soccer-style place-kicking had become predominant by then, but he was a straight-on kicker who kicked bare-footed. He put the teachings from Murray to effective use in two dramatic games. He kicked a 29-yarder on the last play of the game to defeat Ole Miss, 26-24. A month later, he kicked a 22-yard field goal with no time left in the game to defeat Kentucky, 24-22. Manalla punted 66 times for a 37.7-yard average. Tulane received a berth in the Hall of Fame Bowl, where they lost to Arkansas.

Manalla lettered for the Green Wave baseball team in the spring of 1981, when he mostly appeared as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement.

Early in his junior gridiron season, he nearly had a repeat performance from the year before against Ole Miss. With time expiring at the end of the game, he had an opportunity to defeat the Rebels with a field goal. Manalla recalls his holder had trouble placing the ball, and his 47-yard attempt was blocked to preserve the Ole Miss victory, 19-18.

The team’s most impressive victory came against LSU, in a 48-7 blowout before a packed house in the Louisiana Superdome. He still laughs about a play late in the game with a Green Wave win already well in hand. He lined up for a field goal attempt, to the dismay of the LSU coaches and players. However, the holder Mike McKay instead snared the snapped ball and hit Manalla with a 32-yard pass that he took to the one-yard line.

Spring 1982 was a busy time for Manalla. In addition to football drills and the baseball season, he decided to join the Green Wave track and field team. Drawing on his high school experience, Manalla ended up winning the Metro Conference championship in the javelin.

Sophomore sidewinder Tony Wood took over the place kicker job in Manalla’s senior season in 1982. Manalla said, “Tony had really developed into a great kicker by that time, and I ended up being his holder.” Manalla turned in his best season as a punter and earned post-season honors as first-team All-Louisiana, first team All-South Independent, and honorable mention All-American. Tulane posted a losing record but claimed its third victory over LSU during Manalla’s tenure. His overall average for punting during his three seasons was 39.4 yards.

Manalla lettered in baseball again as a utility player and retained his title as Metro Conference champion in the javelin in the spring 1983.

He briefly punted for the New Orleans Breakers entry in the United States Football League (USFL) during the 1984 spring regular season. He later played quarterback in a semi-pro league with the local Knights team.

Reflecting on his career, Manalla said, “I was helped by many people during my time, especially in high school. And I give a lot of credit to my teammates for my success. Any award or recognition I received should include them.” He had high praise for the Chalmette coaching staff while he was there, which included Bill Chimento, Rick Gaille and Mike April (both of whom had also coached him at Tulane), Tony Piazza, Mike Presley, Randy Muse, and Jean Faust.

Manalla’s wide-ranging athletic career was recognized with his induction into the St. Bernard Sports Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame. The Manalla family sports legacy continued when daughter Lindsey competed in volleyball at Spring Hill College and University of South Alabama, and son Jorden played baseball at University of New Orleans.

 

Part of this article was previously published on CrescentCitySports.com.

Former Newman High School pitching star Jeremy Bleich was recently hired as Assistant General Manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks. His responsibilities will include overseeing the club’s pitching development infrastructure and assisting in pitching-related player acquisitions.

The 38-year-old Bleich previously worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates for six seasons in a variety of pitching development roles, the most recent as director of pitching. One of his primary responsibilities was working with Pirates pitching prospects, including Paul Skenes, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2025.

One of the main reasons Bleich was of interest to the Diamondbacks was his contribution to the Pirates’ pitching staff performance in 2025. Despite the team’s last-place finish in the NL Central Division, they ranked third overall in the National League in ERA (3.76), fifth in Adjusted ERA (114), and third in WHIP (1.216).

On the other hand, the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff was one of the weakest in the league in 2025. They were 12th in ERA (4.49), 10th in ERA+ (97), and 11th in WHIP (1.318).

The Pirates have had recent success in developing pitching prospects beyond Skenes. According to Baseball America’s Top 10 prospects in the Pirates system, five of them are pitchers.

Bleich will report to Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen. According to AZCentral, Hazen wants to get the team’s pitching in line with its position player development and sees Bleich as a key player who can help accomplish it.

“We just haven’t been happy with the way the overall pitching infrastructure has gone,” Hazen said. “The results, certainly, at the major league level speak to that. I want to be realistic about the things we’ve done and haven’t done as well and that’s one of those areas where I feel like we haven’t done as good of a job in.”

Bleich was twice an All-State performer at Newman. He was named the Metro Player of the Year in 2005, after posting a 7-1 record and 0.56 ERA. The left-hander was named a first-team high school All-American by Collegiate Baseball.

He played collegiately at Stanford University and was drafted in the first round (44th overall pick) of the 2008 MLB June Draft by the New York Yankees.

Bleich pitched 11 seasons in the minors with seven different organizations. He made his major league debut with the Oakland Athletics in 2018. He began his career with the Pirates organization after his last professional season as a player in 2019.

 

This year I’ll be starting my 14th year of The Tenth Inning blog. I began it after I had written my Family Ties book about baseball’s relatives. I guess I figured at the time the book qualified me to write a weekly column. In fact, I was a real novice, a “rookie” in baseball terminology. I had no expectation then that I’d still be writing about the world’s best sport this long.

I can truly say I haven’t missed a week in putting out an article. That means I’ve written a total of over 675 pieces during the 13 years. I’ve tried to provide a mixture of baseball content -- current and historical, local and national, college and professional, opinion and fact, the good and the bad, and even a few personal stories and memories.

In an era of journalism when anybody can write anything and get it published, I fit right in when I started out. I had no formal education or employment in journalism when I initiated the blog. My previous writing experience consisted of writing technical documentation and email memoranda as part of my job in information technology. My only strength was I could write complete sentences using standard English.

As I mentioned, Family Ties was my introduction to formal writing. But the product was more like a bland reference book with facts and trivia about baseball than an enticing story about the history of the game. With The Tenth Inning blog, I had to change my focus to telling a story or writing an opinion piece.

The Tenth Inning website and the Family Ties book eventually became the springboard for expanding my writing endeavors. I had discovered I was pretty good at doing the research needed to write about the variety of topics in which I was interested.

The best thing that happened to me was starting to do research and writing as a SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) member. For the first time, I had real editors who reviewed and critiqued my work. That experience gave me the (on-the-job) training I never had before. I’ve managed to author over 80 biographies and game stories that SABR has published (sabr.org/authors/richard-cuicchi).

I’ve been able to apply my SABR learnings and experience to improve my own blog and other writings.

Over time, I expanded the reach of my work beyond The Tenth Inning. One of my main outlets is now CrescentCitySports.com, where I write about New Orleans baseball history. My baseball contributions fill a niche for the website that is more focused on current New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana football and basketball at the high school, college and professional levels.

I’ve also been a contributing writer for Start Spreading the News, a New York Yankees-themed website, where my articles often have a New Orleans or Louisiana connection with the Yankees. Furthermore, as a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA), I have contributed to their Here’s the Pitch daily newsletter on a variety of topics.

I usually reprint my articles for these other outlets on The Tenth Inning blog, since my regular followers don’t typically follow those other sites, too.

The Tenth Inning blog and the additional writing keep me busy at a point in my life when I need to focus on staying active mentally (as well as physically). I’ll keep plugging away and hopefully continue to provide interest and education for my audiences.

Stay tuned each Monday morning.

This article was previously published by the IBWAA “Here’s the Pitch” newsletter on December 29 2025.

NFL superstar quarterback Tom Brady was an 18th-round pick out of high school by the Montreal Expos in 1995. He obviously chose the right profession in football, eventually acquiring NFL G.O.A.T. status by most football pundits. Yet other high school quarterback phenoms such as Joe Mauer, Matt Holliday, and Adam Dunn chose baseball even though they had first committed to colleges to play football. They likewise made good choices since they each had substantial major-league careers, including multiple All-Star seasons. (Mauer was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.)

Throughout baseball history, there have been collegiate quarterbacks who picked baseball to continue their athletic careers. Most of them were high school elites in both sports, playing in eras when multi-sport athletes were common. For some, their results in professional baseball were mixed, causing them to return to football in the NFL after their stints on the baseball diamond.

Here is a review of former major-league baseball players with noteworthy backgrounds as college quarterbacks.

Paul Giel started out as a quarterback in a single-wing offense at the University of Minnesota in 1951 but was later shifted to a halfback whose arsenal included passing. He was one of the nation’s top players in 1952 and 1953. He was a two-time Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy Award in both years. Giel entertained the prospect of signing with the George Halas’s Chicago Bears but ultimately decided on baseball. As a two-time All-American pitcher for the Gophers, he signed with the New York Giants out of college as a “bonus baby. He pitched in the majors with four teams for 102 games in 1954-55 and 1958-61 (interrupted by military service). He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.

After a storied career in both high school football and baseball in New England, Harry Agannis set 15 school records as quarterback for Boston University during 1949 and 1951-52 (interrupted by military service during the Korean War). The left-hander, who also played defensive back and punter, was a first-team All-Eastern Conference selection in 1951 and 1952 and a first-team All-American in 1951. Despite being drafted in the first round by the Cleveland Browns, he spurned a pro football career to play baseball for the Boston Red Sox. During his second season with the Red Sox in 1952, his promising career came to a tragic end, when he died from a pulmonary embolism after being hospitalized with pneumonia. Agganis was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

Tom Yewcic quarterbacked Michigan State University to a national football championship in 1952 and Rose Bowl victory over UCLA in 1954. An All-American catcher, he helped the Spartans reach the College World Series in 1954, when he was named the tournament MVP. He first chose baseball for his pro career but managed only one major-league appearance with the Detroit Tigers during his five seasons. He returned to football with the New England Patriots from 1961-1966 as a punter and part-time quarterback.

Jake Gibbs was a football and baseball All-American at Ole Miss. He quarterbacked the Rebels to a national championship in 1960 and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. As a third baseman, Gibbs helped Ole Miss to SEC championships in baseball in 1959 and 1960. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns (NFL) and Houston Oilers (AFL) in 1961 but instead signed with the New York Yankees. The Yankees switched Gibbs to catcher with the intention of succeeding Elston Howard, but he ultimately lost out in a battle with Thurman Munson as the regular catcher. In ten seasons with the Yankees (the first four in limited appearances), he batted .233 with 28 home runs and 146 RBIs. Gibbs was elected the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

Mike Miley was a two-sport all-state performer as a quarterback and shortstop from the New Orleans area. He was drafted out of high school by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round of the 1971 MLB Draft. Yet he signed with LSU to play both sports. He helped LSU to an Orange Bowl appearance in 1974 and was an All-SEC shortstop. Miley was a first-round draft pick again (10th overall) by the California Angels in 1974. He played parts of two seasons with the Angels in 1975 and 1976. He was killed in a car accident in January 1977 at age 23.

Phil Bradley was three-time Big Eight Conference Offensive Player of the Year (1977-1980) as the quarterback for the University of Missouri. He led his teams to three bowl appearances. He was an All-Conference and All-American outfielder selection in 1981. A third-round selection of the Seattle Mariners in 1981, he made his major-league debut in 1983. He went on to play eight major-league seasons, compiling a record of .286, 78 home runs, and 376 RBIs. The right-handed hitter was an American League All-Star in 1985.

Rick Leach was the starting quarterback for the University of Michigan for four seasons (1976-1979), leading the Wolverines to three Big Ten Conference championships. He was the Big Ten MVP and first-team All-American in 1978, finishing third in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was the Big Ten batting champion as a junior, earning All-American honors. The outfielder/first baseman had bypassed pro baseball after being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1975 and 1978. After his first-round selection (13^th overall pick) by the Detroit Tigers in 1979, he turned professional and went on to a 10-year career in utility/designated hitter roles with four teams.

Todd Helton was a second-round pick out of high school by the San Diego Pades in the 1992 MLB Draft. However, the Knoxville native chose to attend the University of Tennessee to play both football and baseball. He ended up serving as backup quarterback to future NFLers Heath Schuler and Peyton Manning, in 1993 and 1994. In baseball with the Volunteers, he was a two-time All-American, SEC Player of the Year, and Dick Howser Trophy winner. He was the 1995 first-round pick (8th overall selection) of the Colorado Rockies, where he went on to a 17-year Hall of Fame career.

Drew Henson was drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees in 1998 and started his professional baseball career that year. He also enrolled at the University of Michigan to play football and served as the backup quarterback to Tom Brady for two years before becoming a full-time starter in 2000. He continued to play baseball after Michigan, finally reaching the big-leagues in 2002 with the Yankees for a “cup of coffee” as a third baseman. He ended his baseball career in 2003 and then signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2004, when he appeared in seven games. He also played two games for the Detroit Lions in 2008.

There have been other NFL quarterbacks who had baseball on their sports resume, although not at the major-league level.

Jay Schroeder was a first-round pick as a high school catcher, by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1979. He signed for the 1980 season, while also appearing in nine games as quarterback for UCLA that Fall. He played four seasons in the Blue Jays minor-league system without advancing past A-ball. Despite his limited playing time in college football, he was still a sought-after prospect in the NFL, selected in the third round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He went on to a 10-year NFL career with four teams.

NFL Hall of Famer John Elway played in the Yankees’ minor-league system in 1982 as an outfielder while still playing quarterback at Stanford. He played 16 seasons in the NFL, earning two Super Bowl rings with Denver.

Chris Weinke was a first baseman/third baseman in the Toronto Blue Jays minor-league organization from 1991 to 1996, before enrolling at Florida State University to play quarterback. At age 28, he was the Heisman Trophy Award winner in 2000 and went on to play in the NFL from 2001 to 2007.

Nine-time NFL All-Pro quarterback Russell Wilson played in the Colorado Rockies system (2010 and 2011) as a second baseman while playing quarterback at North Carolina State and Wisconsin. He played 14 seasons in the NFL and earned a Super Bowl ring with Seattle in 2013.

With the current trend of amateur athletes specializing in only one sport, it is unlikely we will see situations any time soon where there are two-sport players in college. Perhaps current NFL quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Patrick Mahomes, both of whom were drafted by major-league teams, will be the last of them.

 

In past years, the maximum of ten votes for candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot were not enough to recognize all the game’s best players. The sportswriters who make up the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) often had difficult choices as numerous superstars filled the ballots, especially during the period when the candidates were eligible to stay on the ballot for 15 years. (That has changed to 10 years now.)

This year’s ballot is a challenge, but for a different reason. There are no absolute shoo-ins, like a Derek Jeter or a Mariano Rivera. Some would even argue there aren’t any players on the ballot that warrant election. The two best players on the ballot have a PED cloud hanging over their heads. The top two carryovers from last year aren’t names that immediately come to mind as Hall of Famers. Even the new crop of eligible players on this year’s ballot wasn’t exactly the game’s top headliners when they played.

The ballot creates a dilemma for the voting sportswriters. On the one hand, do they still go ahead and cast their full ten votes for players they believe are the ten best available players? Or maybe stretch their personal criteria to elect at least one deserving player? Or do they make a statement by withholding all their votes, a situation that would be awfully extreme.

Ever since I have been writing this blog, I have cast a “mythical” Hall of Fame ballot. It counts for nothing, but it’s fun to put myself in the shoes of an official BBWAA voter.

I’m of the opinion that if you previously voted for a player, you stick with him until he’s either elected or falls off the ballot after the standard 10 years. There’s no wishy-washy voting from year-to-year.

I have voted for Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez in the past, despite the veil of PEDs. They were simply great hitters, and I’m voting for them again (although their actual chances of ever being elected by the BBWAA are practically nil, based on Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds being previously shut out from the Hall).

I voted for Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones last year, and I’m voting for them again. They were the top two vote-getters last year by the BBWAA, receiving 70.3% and 66.2%, respectively.

With Beltran, if you exclude his first three seasons and last two seasons of his 20-year major-league service, he was consistently well above average in term of OPS+ (averaging 125). It’s true, he wasn’t a league leader in offensive categories, yet he received MVP votes in seven seasons. He was a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and three-time Gold Glove Award winner as an outfielder.

A ten-time Gold Glove Award winner, Jones was one of the best defensive centerfielders ever. During his peak, 1997 to 2007, he rarely missed a game. His slash line (.254/.337/.486) wasn’t all that impressive, but he managed to hit 434 home runs and 1,289 RBIs. He was a huge contributor to the Braves’ winning the NL East Division from 1997 to 2005.

That’s it for my votes this year—just four players. None of the 12 newcomers on the ballot are Hall-worthy. Not even close. The 2027 ballot is projected to have slim pickings again, regarding first-time players on the ballot. Buster Posey and Jon Lester will rank well above the rest of the pack.

The ability to watch network television broadcasts of the baseball games did not occur until after World War II, and most baseball fans were not able to watch live games until television sets became commonplace in households in the 1950s. Yet a technology called Playograph was a method for baseball fans in the 1920s to remotely watch games like the World Series.

So, how did these fans watch games?

Playograph consisted of a large electro-mechanical board installed on a building’s exterior wall. Operators were fed near-real-time information about baseball games via a telegraph operator who was attending the actual games. The board displayed a simulated baseball diamond with bases, fielders, runners, pitcher, and batter. The traditional inning-by-inning scoreboard and team lineups and box scores were also displayed on the board. It was large enough to be easily seen from a distance.

Playograph operators updated the board on a pitch-by-pitch basis, recording balls and strikes, hits, outs, and runs. An image of a baseball on the Playograph travelled to the part of the field to simulate where the ball was hit. The ball could even depict what type of pitch was thrown, and fielding plays such as pickoffs and catchers throwing out baserunners trying to steal could be illustrated. A Times-Picayune newspaper advertisement for Playograph stated, “the technique of the game will not be lost even to the minute detail.”

If one is familiar with Major League Baseball’s current Gameday app, Playograph was the great-grandfather of the modern technology.

New Orleans was one of the metropolitan cities that deployed Playograph in 1925. This was at a time when even radio broadcasts of baseball games were not always available, so this was the only way fans could follow games on the actual days they were played, without being at the ballpark.

The Times-Picayune implemented the Playograph system in front of its building on Lafayette Square in downtown New Orleans. The newspaper advertised the dates and times of the 1925 World Series games between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators, calling for fans to congregate around the game board to watch the reproduction of the game.

Times-Picayune sports editor William Keefe said that the Playograph was an overall success for the World Series. But it was not without a few problems. He wrote, “Our keen desire to ‘playograph’ the story of the games almost as soon as the plays were made led to several little kinks which could not be helped. The great majority of kinks, we are proud to say, were due to no fault of the board or its operators, but to the telegraphed account of the plays.”

In addition to the World Series in 1926, Playograph was used in New Orleans for the Dixie Series, which was played annually between the champions of the Texas League and the Southern Association. The hometown New Orleans Pelicans were pitted against the Dallas Steers that year. On another occasion, the Times-Picayune used two Playograph boards (including one configured for football) simultaneously to reproduce a World Series game between the Cardinals and Yankees and a football game between Tulane and Georgia Tech. Live scores of other football games with local interest were communicated over a megaphone. An advertisement for the sporting event encouraged attendees to pack a lunch. In retrospect, the event was akin to watching games at a sports bar, albeit an outdoor one.

Playograph was used for a five-game regular-season series played in Birmingham in 1927 between the Pelicans and rival Birmingham Barons. The Times-Picayune’s Keefe travelled to the games and was responsible for telegraphing the play-by-play details back to New Orleans. The World Series and college football games were reproduced again.

As radio broadcasts of major-league games became regular toward the end of the 1920s, Playograph was no longer a useful medium for following games real-time. Although the Playograph technology now seems archaic with the respect to how it was designed and operated, the concept for conveying details of the games, without actual video, remains viable today. In addition to MLB’s Gameday, smartphone apps use a similar approach with graphical representations of live amateur baseball and softball games.

Some of my blog audience that has followed me during the past 13 years know that one of my special interests in baseball research has been identifying relatives (fathers, sons, bothers, cousins, nephews, uncles, etc.) in the major and minor leagues.

It was announced last week that Joe Buck was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as the Ford C. Frick Award winner for excellence in broadcasting. His election triggered my recollection that his father Jack Buck was also a Hall of Famer as a broadcaster. The father-son duo is one of only two currently in the Hall. The other is Larry (father) and Lee MacPhail (son), who were owners and executives in major-league baseball from the 1930s to 1980s. To date, no father-son combination has played their way into the Hall.

Joe was the lead baseball play-by-play voice for FOX Sports from 1996 to 2021. He called 21 World Series and 21 All-Star Games. Jack was the long-time announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he was famous for teaming up with Harry Caray in the 1950s and 1960s. Two of Jack’s signature calls involved Ozzie Smith’s walk-off run in the 1985 NLCS (“Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!”) and Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit, game-winning home run in the 1988 World Series (“I can’t believe what I just saw!”)

The Buck family is not the only one to flourish behind the baseball mike.

The Caray family is another noteworthy set of family broadcasters, headed by legendary Harry Carry, noted for leading the 7^th-inning stretch song at Wrigley Field. The family features four generations that have called games, including Harry’s son Skip, grandsons Chip and Josh, and great-grandsons Chris and Stephan. Skip was a fixture for the Atlanta Braves for over 30 years. Chip followed his father with the Braves and is now with the Cardinals. Chip’s twin sons Stephan and Chris previously worked together as broadcasters in the minors. Chris is currently the TV play-by-play announcer for the Athletics. Skip’s son Josh has been a broadcaster for minor-league and college teams. Harry, Skip, and Chip made history by working together in the broadcast booth on May 13, 1991, during a Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves game at Wrigley Field.

Harry Kalas, with his deep, iconic voice, was the lead broadcaster for the Phillies from 1971-2009. His well-known home run call was “Outta here!” Here is his final out call with Phillies in their 2008 World Series championship. Harry’s son Todd was formerly a play-by-play broadcaster for the Mets, Phillies, Rays and just finished his ninth season with the Astros.  

Dave Flemming has been the play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants since 2003. Here’s Flemming’s call when the Giants won the World Series in 2010. His brother Will has worked for the Red Sox since 2019 as Joe Castiglione’s radio partner on WEEI.

Hank Greenwald was the radio voice of the Giants from 1979-1986 and 1989-1996. His son Doug was a broadcaster in the minors and independent leagues from 1997 to 2024 and occasionally filled in for the Giants.

In Los Angeles, Spanish broadcasts are must for the Dodgers’ huge Latino following. Jaime Jarrin joined their Spanish language broadcast team in 1959 and went on to work for 64 seasons. From 1962 to 1984, he did not miss a single game. Here is one of his home run calls. Jaime’s son Jorge joined his father in the Dodgers’ broadcast booth from 2012 to 2019.

Brothers Duane and Glenn Kuiper worked across the San Francisco Bay Area as broadcasters for the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s. Duane has been a fixture for the Giants for over 40 years. Here is a video of some of his greatest calls. Glenn was the play-by-play announcer for the A’s from 2006 to 2023.

Former major-league pitching star Don Sutton went into broadcasting following his Hall of Fame Career. He did radio and TV announcing for the Atlanta Braves from 1989-2006 and 2009-2018, interrupted by a two-year stint with the Washington Nationals. His son Daron worked alongside him in Atlanta for three years before moving on to work for the Angels, Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers.

Father and son combo Dan and Ben Schulman worked the 2025 World Series broadcasts for the Toronto Blue Jays, with Dan on TV and Ben as his counterpart on radio broadcasts.

Tom McCarthy of the Cleveland Guardians has some of the most dramatic home calls among the current major-league broadcasters. Here's a collection of his rousing calls. Tom has been with Cleveland since 1990. His son Patrick has filled in as a Guardians broadcaster and is currently working for the New York Mets.

On Sunday, the Hall of Fame revealed the results of the Contemporary Era Committee’s voting for eight candidates. Jeff Kent was the only player to receive the required 75% of the votes. Kent, who played from 1992 to 2008 for six different teams, was the best offensive second baseman in the game’s history. He hit the most home runs (351) and had the most 100 RBI seasons (8) of any second baseman. He was a career .290 hitter and NL MVP in 2000.

On a ballot loaded with players having impressive careers, Kent’s election as the sole player being elected was a bit surprising. Other candidates included Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Dale Murphy, Don Mattingly, Fernando Valenzuela, Carlos Delgado, and Gary Sheffield.

So, what messages were sent by the results of the committee members’ voting?

Kent was not a big WAR (Wins Above Replacement) player, recording only 55.4 over 17 seasons. With the emphasis on SABRmetrics by the writers, which was likely a big reason he never received more than 50% of the BBWAA votes during the 10 years he was on the ballot following retirement. Apparently, the Contemporary Era Committee didn’t have that same emphasis on analytics. Kent received 14 votes.

Obviously, the Contemporary Era Committee agreed with the Baseball Writers of America Association, who vote on the eligible players each year, that players suspected of PED use clearly failed the “integrity of the game” test during their careers. Clemens, Bonds, and Sheffield received less than five votes. This is significant since the new rules of voting say any candidate receiving 5 or fewer votes will be ineligible for the next three-year cycle, and repeated failures at that threshold mean permanent removal. If there was any thought the committee would take a “soft on crime” attitude with Bonds and Clemens, it didn’t happen.

Player “sentimental” votes did not factor into the voting for Mattingly, Murphy (each with only 6 votes) and Valenzuela (less than 5 votes). Each of these players had relatively short peak periods of performance (including MVP or Cy Young Award seasons) during their careers, a factor that previously kept them from being elected by the BBWAA. But they were considered fan favorites and “high character” players, which could have boded well for them in the voting. But it did not happen.

Delgado’s receiving 9 votes was a surprise, especially compared to Mattingly and Murphy. Although Delgado received MVP consideration several times during his career, he rarely led his league in any offensive category. His career WAR was only 44.4 in 17 seasons. He appeared in only one postseason, with the Mets in 2006. His 451 home runs and 1,512 RBIs were likely the biggest factor for his higher number of votes, evidence that the committee favored “accumulated” statistics over advanced analytics.

The diversity of the 16 members of the committee (including current Hall of Fame players, executives/front office, sportswriters, and historians) is a good thing. Achieving consensus among them effectively raises the bar for election, which was evident in this year’s results.

This week I’m reaching back into my blog archive to remember Dave “Boo” Ferriss, a native of Shaw, Mississippi (my hometown) who had an extensive career in baseball as a major-league player and pitching coach and a college head coach. Ferriss’s birthday is coming up this week on December 5. I wrote the below piece after he died nine years ago at age 94.

 

Remembrances of the Man Named “Boo”

TheTenthInning.com Blog

Posted:  November 27, 2016

 

For the most part, my past blog posts have dealt with subjects of baseball history or one of the latest current events in the major leagues.  Every once in a while, I’ve addressed a topic of a personal nature, and this week is one of those times.

Dave “Boo” Ferriss died at age 94 on November 24.  I was very fortunate to have known him, as countless others can also claim.

First, some background on Boo.  His nickname originated from his effort as a toddler to get his older brother’s attention.  His attempt to say “brother” came out as “Boo,” and he forever became attached with the name.

Boo was a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox from 1945 to 1951.  His first two seasons with the Red Sox were historic, as he won a total of 46 games and helped lead them to a World Series appearance in 1946.  In 1947 he hurt his arm, which effectively ended his playing career.  After unsuccessfully trying to regain his pitching form, he became the pitching coach for the Red Sox from 1955 to 1959.  Despite his shortened career, he was named to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002.

Following his professional career as a player and coach, Boo stayed in baseball as the head coach for then Division II Delta State University, where his teams won 629 games over 26 seasons.  He had a legendary career there, too, as his teams won numerous conference championships, often defeated Division I opponents throughout the Southeast, and went to a couple of Division II College World Series.  He produced countless players that went on to play professional baseball or became coaches themselves.

Growing up in the same little Mississippi Delta town of Shaw where Boo was born, I first became aware of him when he came to talk to my Little League team.  He had just completed his time as the pitching coach for the Red Sox.  One can imagine the impression he made on a wide-eyed eight-year-old, someone who had played with the likes of Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, and Dom DiMaggio.

My other early recollections and encounters with Boo were mostly by coincidence.  He signed my high school team’s star pitcher to an athletic scholarship at Mississippi State University, where Boo briefly worked as an assistant athletic director.  My mother called on Boo to write a letter of recommendation for my acceptance into Mississippi State.  When I coached a 13-14-year-old baseball team from my hometown during a summer league, he stopped by our practice field one day to offer some pitching tips to our best pitcher, who would later become an All-American pitcher for Boo at Delta State.

It wasn’t until almost 25 years later that I began to fully understand the impact Boo had in his few years of major league baseball and his coaching success at Delta State.  By this time, my interest in baseball history had significantly grown, and I re-introduced myself to him by corresponding with him about his accomplishments in baseball.  Boo faithfully responded to each of my inquiries, and in turn he would often send me copies of news clippings about his past Delta State teams and former players and his participation in his post-career appearances with the Boston Red Sox organization.  Periodically, I would send him lists of new baseball books, magazines, and newspaper articles that referenced his career.  At one point, Boo told me, “I think you know more about my career than I do myself.”

As time went on, I was the recipient of his friendship in ways other than through baseball.  I would get calls from Boo asking how my family had fared during hurricanes that affected or threatened the New Orleans area where I lived.  He sent letters of condolence when my parents passed away.  He and his wife, Miriam, would graciously welcome me for visits when I went back to the Mississippi Delta area.  Once on a Sunday afternoon, he took my family on a personally-narrated tour of the Boo Ferriss Museum on the Delta State campus.  But this was how he treated everyone, always demonstrating personal care and interest.

When I was writing my book, Family Ties, about baseball’s relatives, Boo offered words of encouragement to this first-time author.  After I had finally completed it, I enlisted his help with the publicity aspects of the book publishing.  In his endorsement, his comments included “…it’s (Family Ties) a jewel.  He’s a walking encyclopedia of baseball.”  That really boosted my confidence to continue my baseball research and writing.

One of my special research interests was, in fact, Boo’s career with the Red Sox.  I have written several articles about Boo that related current major league events to similar events and accomplishments from his career seventy years ago.  Furthermore, I had collected over one hundred original press and wire photos of Boo from his playing days in the 1940s, and I wound up making copies of them and assimilating them into a “scrapbook” covering his Red Sox career.  When I presented it to Boo last year, he commented that there were some photos in it that he had never seen.  And he added in his usual humble manner, “It’s time now for you to start writing about someone else.”

I didn’t exactly heed his advice, when earlier this year I researched and wrote game accounts of Boo’s first eight major league games, all of which he won and which also included 22 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings to start his career.

What I learned about Boo in my research efforts was how much of a national sensation he had been at the start of his career.  Having been discharged from the Army Air Corps in February 1945 due to problems from asthma, he had literally come out of nowhere to play for the Red Sox in 1945.  His prior professional experience consisted of only 130 innings of minor league ball in 1942.  At first, many baseball pundits thought his fantastic start in 1945 was a fluke, since the rosters of the major league teams had been depleted of its regular players due to World War II.  But he proved his detractors to be wrong when he won 21 games that year and then 25 the next season, when all the regular players had returned from military service.  Boo’s popularity soared, as he appeared in advertisements for Gillette, Wheaties, Chesterfield, Hood’s Ice Cream, Tip-Top Bread, and others.  Collier’s, LIFE Magazine, Baseball Digest, and The Sporting News were magazines of the day that featured stories about his early success.

Despite all this notoriety, one would never learn this from Boo himself.  He tended to downplay his significance in major league history.  He often referred to his star teammates (Williams, Pesky, Doerr, and DiMaggio) as “the big guys,” never putting himself in the same category as them, probably because his career was cut short in relation to their respective long, productive careers.  But make no mistake, he was as impactful as any player in the major leagues in 1945 and 1946.

Boo is widely known for the lasting relationships he built with his players at Delta State.  I’ve had the opportunity to run across several of them in my baseball research activities.  Without exception, they all related how much they admired the man and the influence he made on their lives, long after their playing days had ended.  I can attest to his being one of the most genuine persons and consummate gentlemen there ever was.

Boo’s going to be missed by a lot of people.  Me included.

Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber finished second to superstar Shohei Ohtani in the National League MVP voting this year. On the strength of his league-leading 56 home runs and 132 RBIs and leading the Phillies to their second straight division title, he would have captured his first MVP Award if not for Ohtani. Instead, the Japanese two-way player was the unanimous first-place vote-getter.

Schwarber is entering free agency this winter, after finishing his fourth year of his Phillies contract. He’s no spring chicken, at age 32 this season. Yet a team that needs a dependable slugger to fill out their starting lineup would do well to consider Schwarber.

Although he was not a prototypical leadoff batter, Schwarber was put in that role by the Phillies for most of 2022 through 2024. But he was really a slugger posing as a leadoff hitter, a role traditionally filled by players who can get on base with a single or a walk and steal a base to get into scoring position for a follow-up batter. Schwarber was no Rickey Henderson. He was more likely to hit a home run or strike out. His only saving grace was that he walked a lot, too.

In 2025, the lumbering left-handed hitter was moved to the No. 2 spot in the Phillies lineup and his production increased even more. Throughout Schwarber’s four years, the Phillies had the luxury of putting him at or near the top of the batting order. Bryce Harper and others filled middle-of-the-order spots.

So, whether a team is looking for a productive leadoff hitter, a No. 2 hole hitter, or a cleanup guy, Schwarber could fill any of those, and the team would get an MVP-caliber player. It is not certain the Phillies are out of consideration for being one of those teams. The main question will be how long of a contract Schwarber is seeking. If he is content with another four-year term, I think the Phillies will compete hard to retain him. If he is looking for a contract to take him to age 40, then that would likely eliminate some of the contenders for his services, including the Phillies.

I think the other teams that can use Schwarber’s bat include San Francisco, Texas, Boston, and the Chicago Cubs, Schwarber’s first major-league club.

He would be a solid replacement for Cubs all-star Kyle Tucker, who is likely taking his services elsewhere as a free agent. Schwarber remains a hero within Cubs Nation. He missed all but two games of the regular season in 2016 due to injury. However, he returned for the World Series to help the Cubs win their first world championship since 1908. Schwarber was the World Series MVP.

De La Salle High School’s baseball program during 1958 to 1964 could easily be considered a “dynasty” in the New Orleans area. The teams, led by legendary prep coach John Altobello, won four state championships and finished as runner-up once during the six-year period. These were among six championship seasons achieved in Cavalier diamond history.

Altobello’s teams defeated Shreveport Byrd in 1958, Warren Easton in 1959, and Baton Rouge Istrouma in 1962 and 1964. Gerry Burrage was head coach in the Cavaliers’ defeat of Chalmette in 1977, while Joe Hines led the school’s win over Jesuit in 1988.

Those who remember Altobello’s teams say they were defined by top-notch athletes, depth in pitching, and a “small ball” approach to offense.

Altobello’s son, John Jr., recalls his father was a magnet for talent, getting players from around the city. He says, “My father was good at developing his players. He was also a strategist, teaching his players to do things like bunting, stealing bases, and advancing baserunners to get a runner across the plate.” Altobello Jr. remembers accompanying his father on local scouting trips to learn the tendencies of his opposing teams.

Burrage, who counts Altobello as one of his mentors, says players were aware of his reputation for winning and wanted to be on his teams. “He was planning his rosters a couple of years in advance.”

Roster continuity was a key factor in De La Salle’s successful 1958, 1959 and 1960 seasons.

Allan Montreuil, who became a locally renowned baseball phenom at an early age, was a freshman shortstop on the 1958 team. His three-run home run in the state finals against Byrd helped clinch the Cavaliers’ first state crown. Montreuil, Wayne Pietri, and John Morreale Sr. were named to the States-Item All-Prep team. Remarkably, the 14-year-old Montreuil was named the city’s most outstanding player, as he led with a .444 batting average.

De La Salle repeated as state champion in 1959, first breaking Istrouma’s string of 22 consecutive wins and then defeating Warren Easton, 8-4, in the finals. Montreuil, Morreale, and Pietri returned, while pitcher Pete Vollenweider and utility player Lloyd Fourroux emerged as key players. Vollenweider went 9-0 for the Cavaliers, with all his victories coming in relief. All five of the players were selections for the Times-Picayune All-State team. Merrill Vitter joined them on the Times-Picayune All-Prep team.

The 1960 De La Salle squad fell short of winning its third consecutive state title, although the team consisted of returning all-staters Montreuil, Pietri, Fourroux (who was also All-Prep MVP as pitcher), and Vitter, as well as All-Prep players Joe Rosolino, Frank Melito, and Bobby Neider. Istrouma won two of three games in the finals to claim the state title. It is noteworthy that Montreuil, Pietri, Fourroux, and Melito went on to play professional baseball.

Altobello’s charges rebounded in 1962 to claim their third state title, again facing rival Istrouma in the championship round. After suffering a loss in the first game of the series, pitcher Elton Redmondet held them to two runs in the final game, while Altobello used his bunt-and-run strategy, along with eight stolen bases, to put across six runs. Redmondet was selected to the Times-Picayune All-Prep team that also included Cavaliers Richie Schmidt, Keith Graffagnini, Francis Quigley, and John Anderson. Other key players included Joe Trosclair, Ronnie Scott, and Glenn Montreuil, younger brother of Al. Redmondet was named the city’s MVP on the States-Item All-Prep team.

The 1964 season was a rollercoaster ride for the Cavaliers, as they swept the first round of district play, but then won only one of six contests in the second half including four consecutive losses. A frustrated Altobello said at the time, “I don’t think any team I’ve ever coached other than this one dropped four straight.”

Strikeout artist Gerry Schoen and George Ditta carried the pitching load, with sophomore Ronnie White serving in a relief role. Schoen, an all-state selection in 1963, recorded two no-hitters in 1964. After defeating St. Aloysius for the district title, the Cavaliers advanced to the state tournament again and ended up facing familiar foe Istrouma in the finals. De La Salle won the title game, 2-1, for its fourth championship in six years. Altobello said at the time, “I’ve won a few games in my lifetime but few as satisfying as this one.”

John Arthurs was a junior first baseman on the 1964 team. He recalls that pitching and sound defense were keys to the Cavaliers’ success. He echoes the belief that Altobello was the supreme strategist, incorporating tactics like suicide squeeze bunts into their offense. He remembers the baseball championship was a measure of revenge against Istrouma, who defeated De Las Salle for the state basketball title earlier that year. Arthurs said, “It was a fun team to be on. Plus, many of the same players went on to play for Altobello in American Legion ball later that summer, when we advanced to the Little World Series.”

Besides Schoen, other States-Item All-Prep team members from De La Salle included George Baracco, Ronnie Scott, Tiger Brupbacher, and Terry Hebert. Schoen and Baracco were named to the All-State team by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

It was 13 years before De La Salle returned to statewide prominence. Gerry Burrage, who took over the program in 1974, resorted to good pitching and defense again. He recalls, “In Frank Wills and Bruce O’Krepki, we had two of the best pitchers in the district in 1977. They were both stoppers who got a lot of strikeouts.” Burrage adds, “We were great defensively, especially at second base with Larry Piglia. Dave Moreau was clutch for us at the plate. He got something like seven game-winning hits that season, accounting for roughly a third of our wins.”

One of the highlights of the Cavaliers’ season was playing the first round of the state playoffs in the first-ever high school baseball contest in the Louisiana Superdome. De La Salle faced West Jefferson in the first game of a doubleheader. O’Krepki delivered an 11-strikeout complete game in the Cavalier’s 3-1 victory. Chalmette defeated Bonnabel, 4-2, in the second game.

The Cavaliers ended up defeating district rival Chalmette five times during the season—three times during first and second round play, once for the district title, and then in the state tournament finals to capture the school’s fifth state title.

Piglia, Wills, and Moreau were named to the Times-Picayune All-Metro team, while Burrage captured Coach of the Year honors. Wills was selected for the Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-State team, with Piglia receiving honorable mention. Burrage says he was proud of the fact that ten of his players were members of the school’s National Honor Society.

De La Salle experienced an 11-year drought before their next state title. Joe Hines, who had been an assistant coach for Burrage in 1977, was the Cavaliers’ head coach in 1988. He was also familiar with Altobello’s legacy, having played on his American Legion team in 1968.

Hines says his team was underestimated by their opponents going into the season. But after eight or nine games, he thought the team had the potential to do something special. After district play, only one game separated the number of wins by De La Salle and Jesuit.

De La Salle defeated Jesuit for the district title. In the state playoffs, they won three games in two days, beating Jesuit, 5-3, behind the pitching of Duke Herbert to capture the school’s sixth state championship.

Hines says his Cavaliers were not the strongest team offensively, but had the benefit of two outstanding pitchers, Herbert and Sam Musso. Outfielder Ray Ferrand provided offensive punch, while the infield was strong up the middle with shortstop Darin Duhon and second baseman John Morreale Jr. (son of John Morreale Sr. from the 1958 and 1958 championship teams).

Herbert and Ferrand were selected for the Times-Picayune All-Metro team, while Hines was named Coach of the Year. The Louisiana Sports Writers Association voted All-State honors for Herbert and Ferrand and awarded Coach of the Year honors to Hines.

At the time, Hines reflected on his team’s accomplishment. “There have been so many years when we worked for nothing but respectability. This year we thought we had a shot, but once things started to snowball, it turned into a miracle year.”

 

The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first back-to-back World Series champions since the New York Yankees pulled off three consecutive titles in 1998-2000. Winning two consecutive championships is one of the toughest accomplishments for a team in any sport, not just baseball. So, what is the likelihood the Dodgers can do it again in 2026?

There have been only four instances in major-league history where franchises won three or more consecutive world championships. Besides those Yankees featuring the famous “Core Four” (Jeter, Posada, Rivera, and Pettitte), there were also the Yankees in 1936-1939 and 1949-1953, and the Oakland A’s in 1972-1974. (As a side note, baseball historians often overlook those A’s teams that featured Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Sal Bando, Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, and Rollie Fingers.)

What the Dodgers have in their favor is a solid core of outstanding players who are all under contract next season. Losing three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw to retirement after this season will have virtually no impact for 2026, because of the rest of the impressive talent on the team.

Of course, the team will be led again by the incomparable Shohei Ohtani, who along with shortstop Mookie Betts and first baseman Freddie Freeman have six MVP titles among them. (I am including Ohtani’s yet-to-be announced fourth title for his historic pitching and hitting performances in 2025.) Other mainstays on the team include veterans Will Smith, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman. They are largely unsung compared to the trio of MVP’s, but they usually find a way to help win games.

The team returns a starting pitching rotation comprised of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and Ohtani, who saw action in the second half of the 2025 season. All of them are top-of-the-line starters who can pitch deep into games.

If there is a weakness on the team, it is in the bullpen. Closer Tanner Scott and veteran relievers Kirby Yates and Blake Treinen were largely ineffective and unable to be relied on in the recent post-season. Sasaki may be shifted to the bullpen next year, a role in which he was an impactful contributor during the playoffs.

The Dodgers’ needs for 2026 will likely include bolstering the bullpen and replacing utility players Kike Hernandez and Miguel Rojas, both of whom opted for free agency after this season. The Dodgers will likely look internally to find another full-time outfielder, since Michael Conforto, whom the Dodgers had acquired on a one-year deal for 2025, was a total failure.

Yet history shows that practically every season can be a crapshoot. Injuries and slumps can ruin a season, regardless of the talent level on the roster. In fact, the Dodgers experienced both of these circumstances in 2025. At one point during the season, the team had 16 players (10 pitchers and 6 position players) on the injured list. The team’s offense went dormant in July (10-14 record) and August (barely over .500). Their slump enabled the San Diego Padres to reduce the deficit for the division lead by six games during that period.

But the Dodgers were able to recover with help from their farm system, a few minor player acquisitions, and the return of key injured players toward the end of the season. Although they have extensive financial resources, they did not play that card at the trade deadline at the end of July.

The Dodgers currently have the highest odds to win the 2026 World Series, with betting lines around +370. Many fans believe that teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, and Phillies, who have the highest payrolls in baseball, should expect to win it all. But that isn’t often the case. For example, just look at the disappointing New York Mets, who outspent the Dodgers in payroll in 2025. The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2009. Heck, it was only because of late-game heroics that the Dodgers barely eked out the championship over the Blue Jays. The Series could have easily gone the other way.

Yes, it appears the Dodgers are positioned to win again in 2026. On paper, that is. They still must play the games.

The San Francisco Giants took a bold step in hiring University of Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello as their manager. It was bold because he is making the jump to the majors from the college coaching ranks, without any prior experience as a professional player, coach, or manager. The move by the Giants is analogous to a prestigious hospital naming a newly graduated medical student as its chief surgeon.

Vitello is not just any college head coach though. The 47-year-old brought the Tennessee baseball program to prominence during his term from 2017 to 2025 in the highly competitive Southeastern Conference. His team was national champion in 2024, the first college team to win 60 games in a season. The Vols also had two other College World Series appearances during his term. He has a reputation as an elite recruiter, fiery leader, and developer of major-league talent, sending 52 players to the big leagues.

Vitello was hired by Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey, a former Giants All-Star catcher and three-time World Series champion and currently a part-owner of the Giants. Posey was a bold hire himself by the Giants after the 2024 season. He did not have any prior front-office management experience at any level.

Vitello replaces Bob Melvin, a 22-year major-league manager who had spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons at the helm of the Giants. Melvin’s team had third and fourth-place finishes in the tough National League West Division. Posey inherited the highly experienced Melvin as the Giants’ manager, so it is understandable he wants to pick his own person to lead the team. Plus, Melvin had never produced a playoff team in his lengthy career.

Despite Vitello’s prior collegiate accomplishments, his experience won’t automatically translate to the big leagues. Some of his areas of strengths at the college level won’t be overseen directly by him, such as player recruitment/acquisition and player development. Other parts of major-league organizations are responsible for these functions. Unlike at the college level, Vitello won’t be solely in charge of setting the team’s lineup and establishing his day-to-day game strategy. Giants front-office personnel, largely relying on baseball analytics, will have a hand in those decisions, too.

Posey’s hiring of Vitello obviously signals that he wants to change the direction of the Giants organization. The big question is whether he could have done that with a more experienced person--someone who has a prior record of success leading a team at the major-league or minor-league level and someone who has familiarity working in an environment requiring front-office collaboration. Vitello must be considered a risky hire in that sense.

On a more positive note, Vitello’s job as a major-college head coach required him to interact regularly with the media. Often, that part of a big-league manager’s job is as critical as the decisions he makes from the dugout. His leadership skills can’t be underestimated either. That will become important when the team is mired in a lengthy losing streak or when he is dealing with a grumbling clubhouse.

Of course, Vitello will have the benefit of an experienced coaching staff who will give him input on the various aspects of handling the managerial job. Having an experienced bench coach, who has previously been a major-league manager, will go a long way to easing Vitello’s transition. Part of his learning curve will be quickly developing trustful relationships with his coaching staff.

There have been other major-league managers whose first assignments came without prior experience as a field manager or head coach at a professional level. One of the more recent noteworthy instances is New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who just completed his eighth season. He went directly from a TV analyst’s desk to the dugout. Mike Matheny and David Ross were other past managers without experience. Recent Angels hire Kurt Suzuki will become another in the 2026 season. One of the major differences between these four guys and Vitello is that they at least had substantial careers as major-league players. They were familiar with clubhouse dynamics and the grind of a 162-game schedule. Vitello only played at the collegiate level, and as a head coach he only had to endure college schedules that were half that.

Besides the issues with his lack of his experience, Vitello’s biggest challenge could be the questionable talent level on the Giants roster. The current team is largely built around journeymen players, except for infielders Matt Chapman and Willy Adames and pitcher Logan Webb. In recent years, the Giants have missed out on attracting one of the top free agents (Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and Bryce Harper) who would have been the cornerstone of a budding team. Posey and his GM Zack Minasian will have their work cut out for them to improve the roster for 2026.

Former Arizona State head coach Bobby Winkles was in a somewhat similar situation as Vitello. He was hired by the California Angels as its manager in 1973, but he had served as coach for the Angels the year before. He led the Sun Devils to national college championships in 1965, 1967, and 1969, but did not have much success as manager (.462 winning percentage) in four seasons in the big leagues with the Angels and Oakland A’s.

In talking with one of my baseball buddies who follows the Giants religiously, his take on Vitello’s hiring was, “I would have been satisfied with a newcomer like Ron Wotus (who’s widely respected for his baseball knowledge within the Giants organization).” He mentioned previous cases, like Aaron Boone, where new managers without experience were fairly successful. My friend added, “But let’s give Vitello a chance and see what he can do.”

Yeah, Vitello’s hiring is risky, but he should get a chance to prove himself. Baseball is not brain surgery.

We have all attended class reunions or athletic team reunions, where the memories shared among classmates or teammates were somewhat exaggerated with the passage of time. That was not the case for the 1975 Babe Ruth World Series champions from Jefferson Parish East Bank Recreation Department that gathered on Friday night to celebrate their 50th anniversary. That’s because all the stories and recollections of the former teammates were true. No exaggerations were necessary.

Former legendary Times-Picayune sportswriter Ron Brocato called the championship squad “the finest assortment of baseball players ever combined to form an East Bank All-Star team.” The collection of talented 14-15-year-olds from various East Jefferson playgrounds came together in quick fashion to win every level of tournament competition, ending with the World Series title in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

The team, led by head coach Jim Robarts and assistants Keith Stanton and Don Murphy, lost only one game during their championship run. They defeated local NORD-Lakeshore for the Louisiana state title, East Texas in the Regionals finals, and Huntsville, Alabama in the World Series.

Robarts, became better known as a high school head basketball coach for 39 years and a member of the LHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame. Yet shortstop O.J. Valeton, who went on to play collegiately, says his former coach taught him a lot about baseball. Several of the players recalled Robarts being noted for holding his favorite training drill called “chase the rabbit,” where players were required to run the bases and a player wasn’t allowed to stop running until he passed a teammate.

Stanton remembers, “That team had impressive talent. They came together really well. There were never any arguments among the players about who was in the lineup.” Guy Hubert echoed Stanton, “We got along together. There wasn’t just one player carrying the team. It was a total team effort.”

Most of the players had practically grown up together on the baseball diamond. They had previously known each other at earlier ages as teammates or opponents. Steve Golden believed that situation allowed the team to jell right away and the camaraderie carried them throughout the tournaments.

The JPRD East Bank team had advanced to the Babe Ruth regionals in 1974 but lost out. There weren’t any carryovers onto the 1975 roster. All the team members were 15 years old, except the “youngster,” 14-year-old outfielder Reggie Reginelli. One of the keys to the 1975 team’s success was the strong pitching of starters Hubert, Billy Kampen, and Chris Stropolo, all of whom had pitched as freshman at the high school or American Legion levels.

There was agreement among several of the players that the most satisfying wins came against NORD-Lakeshore in the state tourney. First baseman Donnie Rice recalled the Lakeshore all-stars had a history of Babe Ruth championships under legendary coach Firmin Simms. Rice said it was a huge accomplishment to defeat the talented Lakeshore team twice in the tournament held at Airline Park in Metairie. Hubert was named the tournament MVP.

In the Regionals in Paragould, Arkansas, JPRD scored 61 runs in their five wins in six games. After losing to East Texas in an early round, JPRD ended up defeating them twice to win the tournament. Stropolo threw a two-hitter in the final game. Rice led all players in the tournament with 16 hits.

In the World Series semi-final, Golden relieved Kampen in the second inning and contained Jefferson City, Missouri, to seal a 9-4 win and a berth in the championship round. Amazingly, Golden had recently recovered from a ruptured appendix suffered in June. Hubert capped the series by tossing a one-hitter against Huntsville in the finals.

But the talent of this team didn’t stop at the Babe Ruth level. The entire roster went on to play high school and American Legion ball. Eight of the players competed in baseball at the collegiate level. Hubert and Stropolo briefly played professionally. Reginelli, Rice, and Nolan Franz became football teammates at Tulane. (Franz looks as though he could still suit up.) Billy North became a high school football coach for 30 years, including 23 as head coach.

The players attending the reunion paid tribute to their deceased members of the team: coaches Robarts and Murphy and players Billy Kampen, Lenny Frazier, and Tip Murphy. Family and friends of Robarts and Kampen were in attendance.

Here is a rundown of the complete roster, with their later sports careers.

Danny Brown – Crescent City High School

Miguel Callejas – East Jefferson High School, UNO baseball

Louis “Tookie” Delaune – East Jefferson High School

Nolan Franz – East Jefferson High School, Tulane football, USFL Breakers, Green Bay Packers

Lenny Frazier – Bonnabel High School, ULL baseball

Steve Golden – Rummel High School, Southeastern Louisiana baseball

Guy Hubert – East Jefferson High School, Delgado CC baseball, Detroit Tigers minor leagues

Billy Kampen – Rummel High School, Tulane baseball, drafted by Seattle Mariners

Tip Murphy – Rummel High School

Billy North – Brother Martin High School, 30 years as high school football coach, including 23 as head coach at John Ehret High School

Reggie Reginelli – Newman High School, Tulane baseball and football

Donnie Rice – Rummel High School, Tulane football

Tom Rizzo – East Jefferson High School

Chris Stropolo – John Curtis High School, Cincinnati Reds minor leagues

O.J. Valeton – Rummel High School, Northeast Louisiana baseball

There has been a substantial amount of debate about who will win the American League Most Valuable Player Award. The two sides involve previous two-time MVP winner Aaron Judge and Seattle’s sensational home run-hitting catcher Cal Raleigh.

Raleigh would seem to be the sentimental favorite as he captured fans’ attention throughout the season. He was one of the exceptional stories of the 2025 season. Even though he had averaged 30 home runs in his previous three seasons, he was a relative unknown as a power hitter. Fans really started to take notice when he accumulated 33 home runs by the end of June. He won the Home Run Derby contest at the All-Star break. He became somewhat of a popular cult figure with his nickname “Big Dumper.”

Raleigh’s main case for winning the award is his historical home run record for a catcher. In the process, he outslugged Judge this year, 60 to 53.

• Seattle single-season franchise home run record, surpassing Mariners icon Ken Griffey Jr.
• Most home runs by a catcher, surpassing Salvador Perez
• Most home runs by a switch-hitter, surpassing Mickey Mantle
• Only the seventh player to hit 60 or more home runs, joining Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Aaron Judge.

 

Raleigh gets additional consideration for his defensive capabilities as a catcher, one of the more demanding positions on the field. He won the Platinum Glove Award last year, emblematic of his fielding skill. Some analysts think he will repeat again in 2025.

Unlike Raleigh, Judge was no stranger to putting up huge offensive numbers. 2025 was his fourth season with 50 or more home runs. He set the American League record for homers in 2022 with 62, surpassing the long-time record held by Roger Maris. He is no stranger to winning the MVP award either. He collected the award in 2022 and 2024, while finishing second in 2017 and fourth in 2021.

But that is all in the past. So, here is a comparison of 2025 offensive stats.

Judge: .331/.457/.688 BA/OBP/SLG; 1.144 OPS; 215 OPS+; 9.7 WAR; 53 HR; 114 RBI; 137 R

Raleigh: .247/.359/.589 BA/OBP/SLG; .948 OPS; 169 OPS+; 7.3 WAR; 60 HR; 125 RBI; 110 R

Judge led Raleigh in every offensive category except Home Runs (HR) and Runs Batted In (RBI). More significantly though, he led the American League in every other of these categories. At one point, it appeared Judge might capture the coveted Triple Crown, but that didn’t pan out. Judge had a terrible August (.241 average, 6 home runs, 12 RBIs), which put an end to the Triple Crown conversation.

Another key derived statistic in which Judge outpaced Raleigh is Weighted Runs Created (an estimate of the total runs a player contributes to his team). Judge led Raleigh, 199 to 160, where the league average is 100.

Both players had similar impacts in games in which they hit home runs:

·       The Yankees had a .792 winning percentage, while the Mariners had a .789 winning percentage.

·       21 of Judge’s home runs were go-ahead shots and 3 were walk-offs. 22 of Raleigh’s home runs gave Seattle the lead.

A case can be made that both contenders were instrumental in their teams reaching the playoffs. It is a subjective argument to say one of them was more important to their respective team than the other. Yet Raleigh sometimes gets the edge for helping the Mariners win their first division title since 2021, and he plays arguably the most difficult position in the field.

In eras before advanced baseball analytics became prominent, given the same situation, Raleigh would likely win the award. The award’s voters would give him credit for the novelty of his home run feats and the excitement he generated in the sport.

But putting sentiment and popularity aside, Judge should be the clear winner. His overall numbers make his argument.

In either case, the winner would help cement their significance in baseball history.

If Raleigh wins, he will become the first catcher to win the award since Buster Posey in 2012. In the last 50 years, the only other catchers to claim MVP honors were Joe Mauer, Ivan Rodriguez, Thurman Munson, and Johnny Bench.

If Judge prevails, he will become one of only 12 players to win the award three or more times, including Stan Musial, Shohei Ohtani, Jimmie Foxx, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Mike Schmidt, and Joe DiMaggio.

Stay tuned, the winner will be announced on November 13.

 

It confounds me that major-league teams can make the playoffs with only two starting pitchers they can count on. That was the case in the deciding game of the Wild Card Series between the Yankees and Red Sox.

The Yankees started rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler who has appeared in only 14 games in his career, while the Red Sox started rookie left-hander Connelly Early, who had pitched in only four games in his big-league career. The Yankees’ No. 1 and No. 2 starters, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon, had already pitched the first two games of the series.

Schlittler drew the starting assignment over more experienced starting pitchers Luis Gil, Will Warren, and Ryan Yarbrough. Warren had even led the American League with 33 starts. It doesn’t say much for the confidence manager Aaron Boone had in those other starters when the deciding game was on the line.

Schlittler ended up saving the Yankees’ bacon. He turned in one of the most impressive playoff pitching performances in recent history, allowing the Yanks to advance to the Division Series. He shut the Red Sox down, giving up only five hits and issuing no walks in eight innings, while striking out 12. According to USA Today, he touched 98-100 mph on 64 of his 107 pitches. It was a masterful performance for the 24-year-old.

Many teams rely on a solid bullpen to offset the situations where the starters struggle early in games. But that hasn’t been the case with the Yankees recently. Although they added three relievers at the trade deadline at the end of August to boost their pen, the newcomers haven’t performed as expected. That was evident in Saturday’s ALDS game between the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. Starter Luis Gil didn’t get out of the third inning before being relieved. Three of the five relievers that followed Gil gave up eight runs in the final three innings, in what turned out to be a 10-1 blowout win by the Blue Jays.

Yet the Yankees are not alone in this situation. The quality of starting rotations for many teams falls off dramatically after their first two or three starters. As noted, it was obvious with the Red Sox, too. Of the remaining six teams that played in the Wild Card Series, only five starting pitchers (out of 16 starters in eight games) went five or more innings. That’s pitiful.

I won’t be surprised to see the same situation in the remaining playoff games. As has happened in previous years, some teams will use a “bullpenning” approach, where they plan to use their bullpen after the first inning because the manager doesn’t have a lot of confidence in their No. 3 or No. 4 starters.

Finally, unrelated to the playoffs, I worry about further degradation of the quality of overall starting pitching once MLB expands with two more teams down the road.

Like a lot of kids in the 1950s and 1960s, Steve Lane began collecting baseball cards at an early age. In his case, it was as a 6-year-old in Brooklyn, New York. At first, he wanted to keep only the cards of New York Yankees players from the boxes of nickel-pack cards his grandfather bought for him.

As he got older, his interests eventually led to focusing on the Yankees’ iconic star Mickey Mantle, and he went far beyond collecting baseball cards. Now, over sixty years later, Lane has amassed the most comprehensive collection of Mantle memorabilia that traces the legendary player’s entire life.

Lane’s extensive collection encompasses baseballs, photos, bats, gloves, and jerseys, many of which are game-used and autographed by Mantle. He possesses magazines, yearbooks, and original newspaper headlines, all of which feature the legendary player. His baseball card collection eventually evolved into a complete run of Mantle’s Bowman and Topps baseball cards from 1951 to 1968, which are among the most desirable cards in the hobby today. Lane’s favorite Mantle card is his highly-coveted 1952 Topps card.

He says, “I have been lucky to be in the right place at the right time with regard to acquiring some of my most unusual items.”

One such example occurred when Yankee Stadium was renovated in the mid-1970s. The law firm for which Lane was employed was the attorney for the company performing the demolition inside the stadium. Lane was told he could take artifacts from the stadium that would have otherwise been thrown away. This is how he managed to acquire the original architectural blueprints for the original Yankee Stadium which opened in 1923. He also snared one of the original stadium chair seats. He reflects now, “Many items were just there for the taking. Looking back, I wish I had gotten more.”

Lane added, “I was acquiring Mantle memorabilia before it really became popular. I had hobby acquaintances who would call me whenever they came across a unique piece.”

One of his rarest items is a game-used baseball that features what is believed to be Mantle’s first-ever sports autograph. When Mantle was playing in his first professional season as a 17-year-old with Independence in the Class D Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League in 1949, he signed the ball one of his teammates, pitcher Bob Mallon, had saved to commemorate his first pitching win.

Lane’s collection dates back even earlier in Mantle’s life. He has acquired school-days photos of Mantle, including class pictures and athletic team photos. Not surprisingly, Mantle also played football and basketball for his hometown Commerce High School in Oklahoma.

When asked what his favorite collectible is, Lane says, “I attended an old-timers baseball game in the Louisiana Superdome in 1984. I had a friend in the city who arranged for me to get Hank Aaron’s signature. The ball I brought already contained Mantle’s and Willie Mays’s autographs which I acquired while attending a fantasy camp. There was one more autograph I really wanted on that ball—Joe DiMaggio’s. He didn’t play in the game but hung out with the other old-timers. After the game, my friend and I went to the area in the Superdome where DiMaggio was supposed to be. We asked one of the stadium attendants if DiMaggio had already left. He said, ‘I don’t know.’ So, we waited and waited, but DiMaggio never came out. By this time there was no one else left in the Superdome. It was about 11:00 pm. DiMaggio finally emerged and was very cordial in signing my ball.” Lane says the ball is special because he obtained all four autographs himself.

Lane ‘s favorite type of collectible is anything that belonged to Mantle. He acquired Mantle’s Rawlings baseball glove used in the 1963 season. Lane treasures a photo of current Yankee slugger Aaron Judge holding that glove.

Lane recalls Mantle’s popularity being off the chart during his playing career. He was involved in advertising for all sorts of products and businesses--board games, bubblegum machines, pencil sets, cigarettes, baseball equipment, restaurants, and more. Lane’s collection includes artifacts from many of those endeavors. He says, “Of course, there was no social media in Mantle’s days, yet he seemed to be omnipresent. If he were playing today, he would arguably be more popular than Judge, Ohtani, and other major-league stars.”

Realizing the significance and rarity of items in his collection, Lane has loaned unique items to the museum at Yankee Stadium. He is proud to see his name, on a plaque prominently displayed in the museum, among other noteworthy contributors such as Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Mickey Mantle’s sons David and Dan.

Lane, a retired attorney, wanted to share his collection with other hobbyists and fans of the game, so he authored a classy-looking book during the COVID period. It contains photos and background stories of his most cherished items. The book is titled Mickey Mantle: A Life in Memorabilia, The Steven Lane Collection.

Now 70 years old, Lane has lived in New Orleans since 1977. He admits he still has an eye for new additions to his collection. At the same time, he has recognized it was time to also downsize, so he has begun offering parts of his collection for sale through auction houses, including the 1949 autographed baseball.

This story was first published by Cresent City Sports on September 25, 2025.

It has been said one of the hardest things to do in professional sports is to hit a baseball. So, imagine a player who has only one arm and what his chances are of being successful in baseball. That was Pete Gray in the early 1940s.

Gray was six years old when his right arm was caught in the spokes of the wheel of a moving produce truck on which he was trying to hitch a ride by jumping on the running board. His right arm was mangled and had to be amputated near his shoulder.

Undeterred by his handicap, he began playing baseball as a youngster. He eventually gained enough confidence to hone his skills in various semi-pro leagues, making several unsuccessful attempts to attract the attention of professional teams. According to Gray’s biography on SABR.org , a scout from a club in the Canadian-American League ultimately signed Gray, without telling his boss Gray had only one arm.

Following a successful debut season in the low minors in Canada in 1942, in which he batted .381 in 42 games, 28-year-old Gray signed with the Memphis Chicks in 1943. The New Orleans Pelicans were one of the Chicks’ opponents in the Southern Association. The teams squared off in New Orleans for the first time in a doubleheader on June 27, 1943.

By this time, Gray had already attracted national attention for his unique play. He batted from the left side of the plate, swinging with only his left arm. He played in the outfield where he used his speed to run down balls and quickly flipped off his glove to make throws.

Gray became a novel gate attraction at ballparks around the Southern Association. Fans flocked to games to see this player who was like no other in the history of professional baseball. Gray astonished fans by batting over .300 early in the season.

Before the games at Pelican Stadium on June 27, the Pelicans held an athletic contest for the players from both teams, comprised of a sprint race, accuracy throws from the outfield, accuracy throws from catchers, and a bunt-and-run event. Gray won the bunt-and-run contest and finished second in the 75-yard sprint. He drew numerous rounds of applause from the largest Pelicans crowd of the season that included 5,469 paid patrons and 1,244 guest servicemen.

The Pelicans came from behind to win the first game of the doubleheader, 7-4. Batting second in the Chicks’ lineup, Gray went hitless but made six putouts from his centerfield position. Pelicans pitcher Jesse Danna, a former Jesuit High School product, picked up his sixth consecutive victory for his 13th of the season.

In the second game, Gray hit a game-tying single in the seventh inning, causing the hometown crowd to forget its loyalty and roar cheers and applause for him. The Pelicans ended up winning the game in the bottom of the ninth, 3-2.

Part of the baseball community contended that Gray got his opportunity to play professionally only because of the player shortage during World War II. Yet States-Item columnist Fred Digby maintained that “Gray isn’t a product of the war.” He wrote, “Gray isn’t hitting over .300 because the pitchers are showing any sympathy. There’s plenty of sentiment in baseball, but any hit Gray that gets is one that he makes, and by the hardest.” Digby added, “Any pitcher who takes things easy with Gray is likely to find himself in a hole and with a defeat charged to him.”

Gray ended up batting .289 for the 1943 season. He recorded 42 RBIs and remarkably struck out only 11 times in 489 plate appearances.

He was even better in 1944. His batting average improved to .333 with 35 extra-base hits, including 5 home runs (three of which went over fences). He drove in 60 runs and stole 68 bases.

The St. Louis Browns bought his contract from Memphis for the 1945 season. He appeared in 77 games for the Browns, but his prior hitting performance didn’t translate to the majors. He batted only .218 and drove in only 13 runs for the third-place Browns.

With veteran major leaguers returning from military service for the 1946 season, Gray found himself back in the minors. He remained there through the 1949 season, when he retired.

Gray’s story is one of the most remarkable in baseball history. Memories of his 1945 season re-surfaced when one-handed pitcher Jim Abbott made his major-league debut in 1989.

This story was first published by Crescent City Sports on September 18, 2025.

I’ve been delinquent in maintaining my Family Ties database with the latest updates. I just finished the updates for the 2024 season last week, and it will be a few more weeks before I begin the 2025 season.

In any case, I’m happy to say baseball’s relatives were still prevalent in professional baseball in 2024. Here’s a rundown of some key stats from my database of baseball relatives:

 

• 661 active players with relatives in the major or minor leagues. Included in this number are:

 

o   24 players selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, with 22 of the relatives having played in the majors.

o   36 players with relatives made their MLB debuts

o   34 players with relatives made their minor-league debuts

• With approximately 7,000 players in major-league and minor-league baseball, that translates to nearly 10% of them having a relative in professional baseball.

 

 

• 715 active non-players (managers, coaches, scouts, instructors, front office, broadcasters, etc.) with relatives in the major or minor leagues

 

 

• With approximately 9,000 non-players employed by the 30 major-league teams, nearly 8% of them have a relative in professional baseball

 

Here are some totals (all seasons) from the database:

• Over 9,300 players and non-players

 

• Over 13,500 baseball relationships

 

• Over 1,800 relationships with players in other sports/levels (e.g., pro football, pro basketball, collegiate baseball)

 

Below are selected interesting factoids from the 2024 crop of relatives.

There have been only five three-generation major-league families in baseball history. Two active minor-leaguers provide the opportunity for more: Trei Cruz (son of Jose Cruz Jr. and grandson of Jose Cruz Sr.) and Jaydn Fielder (son of Prince Fielder and grandson of Cecil Fielder).

If current minor-leaguer Luke Bell were to reach the majors, his family would become the first to have four generations of big leaguers. (Luke is the son of Bret Boone, the grandson of Bob Boone, and the great-grandson of Ray Boone.)

There have been 20 combinations of three major-league brothers in major-league history. The most recent were Bengie, Jose, and Yadier Molina. Several families provide opportunities for additional combinations. Current minor leaguers Nick McLain and Sean McLain are the brothers of current major leaguer Matt McLain. Current minor leaguer Myles Nabor is the brother of major- leaguers Bo and Josh Naylor. Current minor leaguer Bryan Acuna is the brother of major-leaguers Ronald and Luisangel Acuna.

The Acuna brothers have five cousins who have played in the majors: Jose Campos, Alcides Escobar, Edwin Escobar, Kelvim Escobar, and Maikel Garcia. They have two cousins currently in the minors: Yorvin Pantoja and YoJackson Laya.

Bobby Witt Jr., the son of former major-leaguer Bobby Witt Sr., has three brothers-in-law who are major leaguers: Zach Neal, James Russell, and Cody Thomas.

Brothers Al and Mark Leiter Sr., former major leaguers, each have a son currently in the majors: Jack is the son of Al, and Mark Jr. is the son of Mark. It’s the first time in history major-league brothers have each had major-league sons.

The Family Ties lists for 2024 can be found at https://baseballrelatives.wordpress.com/family-ties-2024-season/.

 

Here are the pitching and hitting statistics for many of the 2025 major-league and minor-league players who prepped or played collegiately in the New Orleans area and Southeast Louisiana. All stats are cumulative for the season, through Sunday, August 31.

Below are selected player highlights for August, followed by all the players’ detailed stats.

Who’s Hot

Aaron Nola (LSU) returned from the injured list in mid-August and recorded two winning decisions for Philadelphia. Click here to see his strikeout on August 28, when he passed Cole Hamels for third-place all-time in Phillies strikeouts.

Pittsburgh’s ace Paul Skenes (LSU) picked up three wins in August, while continuing to lead the National League with a 2.05 ERA. He is second in the league in strikeouts (189). Click here for a video of his six strikeouts against Boston on August 29.

Cam Sanders (LSU) made his major-league debut with Pittsburgh on August 5 against San Francisco. Click here for a video of his first inning pitched. Click here for a video of Sanders’s parents’ reaction to his debut.

Jacob Berry (LSU) slashed .303/.376/.408 for Triple-A Jacksonville during the month of August to help keep them in contention for the East Division lead in the International League.

Carson Roccaforte (Louisiana Lafayette) slashed .305/.387/.467 with three home runs and 17 RBIs for Double-A Northwest Arkansas in the month of August.

Pitcher Griffin Herring (LSU) was involved in the trade that sent Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon to the New York Yankees. Herring now ranks as the No. 5 prospect in the Colorado Rockies system.  In six games with his new team in August, he posted a 2.16 ERA and 39 strikeouts.

J.P. France (Shaw HS, Tulane, Miss, State) recorded two wins in relief for Triple-A Sugar Land, after returning from the injured list.

 

On the Mend

Ty Floyd (LSU) – Reds (On Full-Season Injured List)

Ian Gibaut (Tulane) –Reds (On 60-Day Injured List)

Luke Holman (LSU) – Reds (On Full-Season Injured List)

Brady Marget (Tulane) – Rays (On Full-Season Injured List)

Wade Miley (Loranger HS, Southeastern) – Reds (On 60-Day Injured List)

Eric Reyzelman (LSU) – Yankees (On 7-Day Injured List)

Chase Solesky (Tulane) – Nationals (On 7-Day Injured List)

Chandler Welch (Tulane) – Brewers (On 60-Day Injured List)

 

MLB Player Stats

Spencer Arrighetti (Louisiana Lafayette) 2 G, 1-5 W-L, 5.35 ERA, 35.1 IP, 31 SO, 0 SV, 77 ERA+

Alex Bregman—Red Sox (LSU) 92 G, .287 BA, .372 OBP, 16 HR, 53 RBI, 1 SB, 139 OPS+

Dylan Crews – MLB: Nationals (LSU) 61 G, .202 BA, .280 OBP, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 14 SB, 75 OPS+; MiLB:  13 G, .244 BA, .311 OBP, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB

Hunter Feduccia—Rays (LSU) MLB: 21 G, .109 BA, .236 OBP, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 18 OPS+; MiLB: 79 G, .290 BA, .399 OBP, 9 HR, 52 RBI, 2 SB

Jake Fraley—Braves (LSU) 71 G, .249 BA, .342 OBP, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 4 SB, 101 OPS+

Kevin Gausman—Blue Jays (LSU) 27 G, 8-10 W-L, 3.75 ERA, 160.2 IP, 157 SO, 114 ERA+

Cole Henry--Nationals (LSU) 41 G, 1-1 W-L, 3.97 ERA, 47.2 IP, 48 SO, 1  SV, 106 ERA+

Jaden Hill—Rockies (LSU) MLB: 17 G, 1-0 W-L, 3.86 ERA, 16.1 IP, 16 SO, 0 SV, 129 ERA+; MiLB: 17 G, 2-2 W-L, 3.48 ERA, 20.2 IP, 31 SO, 1 SV

Jacob Latz—Rangers (LSU) MLB: 27 G, 1-0 W-L, 3.13 ERA, 63.1 IP, 61 SO, 1 SV; 119 ERA+; MiLB: 9 G, 0-2 W-L, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 22 SO, 0 SV

DJ LeMahieu—Yankees (LSU) MLB: 45 G, .266 BA, .338 OBP, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB, 89 OPS+; MiLB: 9 G, .444 BA, .500 OBP, 1 HR, 4 RBI 0 SB (Released July 10)

Aaron Nola—Phillies (Catholic HS, LSU) MLB: 12 G, 3-7 W-L, 6.47 ERA, 64.0 IP, 66 SO, 0 SV, 69 ERA+; MiLB: 3 G, 0-1 W-L, 2.19 ERA, 12.1 IP, 17 SO, 0 SV

Austin Nola—Rockies (Catholic HS, LSU) MLB: 14 G, .184 BA, .225 OBP, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 17 OPS+;       MiLB: 29 G, .330 BA, .397 OBP, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 0 SB

Jake Rogers—Tigers (Tulane) MLB: 40 G, .200 BA, .295 OBP, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB, 81 OPS+; MiLB: 4 G, .333 BA, .444 OBP, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB

Josh Smith—Rangers (Catholic HS, LSU) 124 G, .257 BA, .337 OBP, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 9 SB, 109 OPS+

Grant Taylor--White Sox (LSU) MLB: 27 G, 0-4 W-L, 6.28 ERA, 28.2 IP, 39 SO, 4 SV, 68 ERA+; MiLB: 15 G, 0-1 W-L, 1.01 ERA, 26.2 IP, 37 SO, 0 SV

Will Warren—Yankees (Southeastern) 28 G, 8-6 W-L, 4.30 ERA, 136.0 IP, 149 SO, 0 SV, 94 ERA+

 

Triple-A Player Stats

Drew Avans–-Brewers (Southeastern) MLB: 8 G, .118 BA, .111 OBP, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB, -36 OPS+; MiLB: 100 G, .289 BA, .372 OBP, 8 HR, 58 RBI, 40 SB

Jacob Berry – Marlins (LSU) 109 G, .258 BA, .351 OBP, 8 HR, 50 RBI, 25 SB

Hayden Cantrelle—Cubs (Louisiana Lafayette) 90 G, .234 BA, .361 OBP, 3 HR, 34 RBI, 26 SB

J.P. France—Astros (Shaw HS, Tulane, Miss. State) MiLB: 8 G, 2-2 W-L, 7.66 ERA, 22.1 IP, 20 SO, 0 SV

Paul Gervase – Dodgers (LSU) MLB: 6 G, 0-0 W-L, 4.32 ERA, 8.1 IP, 8 SO, 0 SV, 104 ERA+; MiLB: 28 G, 4-3 W-L, 2.87 ERA, 53.1 IP, 75 SO, 5 SV

Ian Gibaut—Reds (Tulane) MLB: 25 G, 0-1 W-L, 4.62 ERA, 25.1 IP, 15 SO, 0 SV, 98 ERA+; MiLB: 6 G, 1-0 W-L, 5.2 IP, 5 SO, 0 SV (On-60 Day Injured List)

Keagan Gillies—Orioles (Brother Martin HS, Tulane) 37 G, 4-2 W-L, 3.13 ERA, 46.0 IP, 43 SO, 8 SV

Hudson Haskin—Orioles (Tulane) 55 G, .185 BA, .294 OBP, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 4 SB

Kody Hoese—Dodgers (Tulane) 91 G, .262 BA, .356 OBP, 6 HR, 45 RBI, 1 SB

Tre Morgan—Rays (Brother Martin HS, LSU) 76 G, .259 BA, .388 OBP, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 8 SB

Eric Orze—Rays (UNO) MLB:  31 G, 1-1 W-L, 2.72 ERA, 39.2 IP, 38 SO, 3 SV, 153 ERA+; MiLB:  20 G, 3-0 W-L, 2.31 ERA, 23.1 IP, 29 SO, 2 SV

Tanner Rainey—Tigers (St. Paul’s HS, Southeastern) MLB: 11 G, 0-1 W-L, 10.57 ERA, 7.2 IP, 9 SO, 0 SV, 42 ERA+; MiLB: 30 G, 1-0 W-L, 2.65 ERA, 34.0 IP, 42 SO, 4 SV

Eric Reyzelman—Yankees (LSU) 34 G, 1-2 W-L, 4.29 ERA, 42.0 IP, 45 SO, 1 SV (On 7-Day Injured List)

Cam Sanders – Pirates (E. D. White HS, LSU) MLB: 5 G, 0-0 W-L, 9.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 4 SO, 0 SV, 50 ERA+; MiLB: 38 G, 4-2 W-L, 2.25 ERA, 48.0 IP, 59 SO, 13 SV

Jacob Waguespack—Phillies (Dutchtown HS, Ole Miss) 19 G, 2-0 W-L, 1.14 ERA, 23.2 IP, 22 SO, 0 SV

 

Double-A Player Stats

Nate Ackenhausen—Royals (LSU) 31 G, 2-1 W-L, 3.61 ERA, 42.1 IP, 48 SO, 0 SV

Ricky Castro—Twins (Tulane) 26 G, 3-3 W-L, 5.00 ERA, 90.0 IP, 84 SO, 2 SV

Cade Doughty – Blue Jays (LSU) 101 G, .239 BA, .291 OBP, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 7 SB

Gage Jump—A’s (LSU) 24 G, 9-6 W-L, 2.78 ERA, 103.2 IP, 123 SO, 0 SV

Wade Miley—Reds (Loranger HS, Southeastern) MLB: 3 G, 1-0 W-L, 6.75 ERA, 12.0 IP, 7 SO, 0 SV, 70 ERA+; MiLB:  8 G, 1-3 W-L, 8.57 ERA, 21.0 IP, 17 SO, 0 SV (On 60-Day Injured List)

Blake Money—Orioles (LSU) 23 G, 5-7 W-L, 4.30 ERA, 104.2 IP, 137 SO, 1 SV

Carson Roccaforte—Royals (Louisiana Lafayette) 116 G, .262 BA, .375 OBP, 17 HR, 65 RBI, 41 SB

Tommy White—A’s (LSU) 91 G, .271 BA, .331 OBP, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 3 SB

 

High-A Player Stats

Edgar Alvarez—Cubs (Nicholls State) 100 G, .254 BA, .341 OBP, 8 HR, 40 RBI, 8 SB

Zach Arnold—Phillies (LSU) 87 G, .201 BA, .263 OBP, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 6 SB

Teo Banks—Nationals (Tulane) 60 G, .142 BA, .213 OBP, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 5 SB

Dylan Carmouche—Giants (Southern Univ. Lab, Tulane) 19 G, 7-1 W-L, 3.36 ERA, 80.1 IP, 75 SO, 1 SV

Javen Coleman—Blue Jays (LSU) 36 G, 2-1 W-L, 3.12 ERA, 52.0 IP, 79 SO, 6 SV

Riley Cooper—Orioles (LSU) 24 G, 0-5 W-L, 5.54 ERA, 39.0 IP, 36 SO, 1 SV

Kyle DeBarge—Twins (Louisiana Lafayette) 115 G, .243 BA, .350 OBP, 7 HR, 64 RBI, 63 SB

Gavin Dugas—Nationals (Houma Christian, LSU) 88 G, .180 BA, .296 OBP, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 4 SB

Garrett Edwards--Rays (LSU) 22 G, 5-5 W-L, 2.78 ERA, 107.0 IP, 102 SO, 0 SV

Haden Erbe—Tigers (UNO) 35 G, 3-1 W-L, 3.46 ERA, 39.0 IP, 40 SO, 0 SV

Griffin Herring—Rockies (LSU) 22 G, 8-3 W-L, 1.81 ERA, 114.1 IP, 141 SO, 0 SV

Kenya Huggins—A’s (St. Augustine) 23 G, 2-3 W-L, 3.67 ERA, 76.0 IP, 70 SO, 0 SV

Brayden Jobert—Cardinals (Northshore HS, Delgado CC, LSU) 88 G, .210 BA, .326 OBP, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 8 SB

Jared Jones—Pirates (LSU) 13 G, .157 BA, .300 OBP., 4 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB

Andrew Landry—Yankees (Southeastern) 22 G, 6-8 W-L, 4.58 ERA, 106.0 IP, 97 SO, 0 SV

Christian Little—Mariners (LSU) 16 G, 1-5 W-L, 3.92 ERA, 66.2 IP, 72 SO, 0 SV

Jordan Thompson—Dodgers (LSU) 100 G, .210 BA, .286 OBP, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 10 SB

Colin Tuft—Orioles (Tulane) 72 G, .210 BA, .371 OBP, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 24 SB

Fidel Ulloa—Rockies (LSU) 40 G, 6-3 W-L, 1.48 ERA, 54.2 IP, 72 SO, 7 SV

 

Low-A Player Stats

Nathan Blasick—Rockies (UNO) 42 G, 5-3 W-L, 3.66 ERA, 51.2 IP, 64 SO, 19 SV

Ty Floyd—Reds (LSU) 8 G, 0-1 W-L, 3.25 ERA, 27.2 IP, 31 SO, 0 SV (On Full-Season Injured List)

Luke Holman—Reds (LSU) 2 G, 0-0 W-L, 1.00 ERA, 9 IP, 10 SO, 0 SV (On Full-Season Injured List)

Ethan Fry—Astros (LSU) 22 G, .284 BA, .406 OBP, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 6 SB

Justin Loer—Rockies (LSU) 38 G, 6-2 W-L, 4.79 ERA, 73.1 IP, 62 SO, 2 SV

Brady Marget—Rays (Tulane) 7 G, .231 BA, .375 OBP, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB (On Full-Season Injured List)

Tayler Montiel—Diamondbacks (Tulane) 3 G, 0-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 6 SO, 0 SV

Connor Rasmussen—Royals (Tulane) 7 G, .160 BA, .250 OBP, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB

Chase Solesky—Nationals (Tulane) 21 G, 5-5 W-L, 5.24 ERA, 92.2 IP, 79 SO, 0 SV (On 7-Day Injured List)

Chandler Welch—Brewers (Tulane) 12 G, 0-5 W-L, 5.87 ERA, 53.2 IP, 39 SO, 0 SV (On 60-Day Injured List)

Kade Woods—Braves (LSU) 5 G, 0-0 W-L, 3.38 ERA, 10.2 IP, 11 SO, 2 SV

 

Independent League Player Stats

Luis Aviles—(Tulane) 5 G, .143 BA, .294 OBP, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB

Donovan Benoit–(Tulane) IND: 8 G, 1-2 W-L, 8.18 ERA, 11.0 IP, 15 SO, 0 SV; MiLB: 19 G, 3-1 W-L, 4.41 ERA, 51.0 IP, 52 SO, 0 SV

Brendan Cellucci—(Tulane) IND: 12 G, 1-0 W-L, 0.00 ERA, 12.1 IP, 23 SO, 7 SV; MiLB: 18 G, 2-1 W-L, 7.28 ERA, 29.2 IP, 35 SO, 1 SV

 

Gio DiGiacomo--(LSU) 106 G, .270 BA, .374 OBP, 12 HR, 60 RBI, 31 SB

Saul Garza—(LSU) 38 G, .257 BA, .377 OBP, 8 HR, 22 RBI, 0 SB

Josh Green—(Southeastern) 35 G, 2-5 W-L, 4.78 ERA, 37.2 IP, 30 SO, 13 SV

Gaige Howard—(UNO) 90 G, .321 BA, .448 OBP, 10 HR, 57 RBI, 11 SB

Pearce Howard—(UNO) 95 G, .275 BA, .327 OBP, 10 HR, 43 RBI, 5 SB

Christian Ibarra--(LSU) 60 G, .261 BA, .352 OBP, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 2 SB

Aaron McKeithan--(Tulane) IND: 7 G, .346 BA, .370 OBP, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB; MiLB: 41 G, .175 BA, .299 OBP, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB

Todd Peterson—(LSU) IND: 20 G, 2-2 W-L, 5.75 ERA, 20.1 IP, 15 SO, 4 SV; MiLB: 23 G, 1-2 W-L, 7.33, ERA, 27.0 IP, 22 SO, 0 SV

Shawn Semple—(UNO) 20 G, 6-6 W-L, 3.75 ERA, 120.0 IP, 93 SO, 0 SV

 

Japanese League Player Stats

Kyle Keller–-Yomiuri (Jesuit, Southeastern) 41 G, 1-1 W-L, 2.38 ERA, 41.2 IP, 48 SO, 0 SV

 

Croatian Baseball League Player Stats

Parker Serio—BK Nada Split (Jesuit, Nicholls State, Spring Hill) 18 G, .333 BA, .500 OBP, 5 HR, 21 RBI

 

Korean Baseball League Player Stats

Andrew Stevenson—KT Wiz (St. Thomas More HS, LSU) KBO: 21 G, .292 BA, .339 OBP, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 2 SB; MiLB: 58 G, .294 BA, .366 OBP, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 18 SB; IND: 5 G, .333 BA, .381 OBP, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber hit four home runs in a game against Atlanta on August 28. His amazing performance is only the 21st time it has happened in major-league history.

Considering that over 230,000 games have been played in MLB since 1876, the feat is one of the rarest in all of baseball. A further example of its relative infrequency is highlighted by the fact that major-league hitters have hit three homers in a game over 600 times in baseball history, including four times by Schwarber.

Schwarber joined the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz and Arizona Diamondback Eugenio Suarez who also turned in the same performance earlier this season. This is the first time three hitters accomplished it in a single season. In two other seasons, 2002 and 2017, two hitters have each homered four times in a game.

The trio joins the legendary sluggers in the select “Four-Homer Club,” including Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, and Mike Schmidt.

Schwarber is a legitimate slugger, too. He currently leads the National League with 49 home runs and has accumulated 333 so far in his 11-year career. Per Baseball-Reference, his 162-game average is 43 homers, putting him in the same company with contemporaries Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.

Suarez is no slouch either. He gets less notoriety than Schwarber, yet he has belted 318 in his 12-year career. He currently has 42 homers this year while playing for both Arizona and Seattle.

A’s first baseman Kurtz is a newcomer to the majors. In his debut season this year, he is the youngest player to ever record four homers in a game. At age 22, hopefully with a lengthy career ahead of him, could he become the first player to accomplish it twice?

With the emphasis on home runs in today’s game, we probably shouldn’t be surprised that we will see this happen more frequently.

In Schwarber’s game against the Braves, he had the right setting in place to hit a record-breaking fifth homer, when he faced Vidal Brujan in the eighth inning. Brujan is the Braves’ regular shortstop who was pressed into service by manager Brian Snitker to do mop-up duty as a relief pitcher in the Phillies’ 18-4 blowout. Schwarber got a 57-mph pitch from Brujan; but, perhaps too anxiously, Schwarber swung and popped out to the shortstop.

Here is a video of Schwarber’s four homes and his unsuccessful attempt at a fifth.

MLB Gameday: Braves 4, Phillies 19 Final Score (08/28/2025)

At the Little League World Series last week, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred teased the baseball community with the prospect of expanding the number of franchises from 30 to 32. It is an idea MLB has been kicking around for several years. I personally believe it has gone beyond the “kicking around” stage and has already found legs among the baseball gods. It is more of a question of “when,” not “if.”

So, what does that mean for the future of the game, once called “America’s pastime?”

Let’s get real about this. Major League Baseball and its owners have one primary goal in mind with expansion: increased revenue. They are worried about their long-term financial viability. Overall MLB attendance in 2025 (72.5 million) is estimated to be the same as in 2015, while overall payroll has risen to $5.5B from $3.9B in 2015. The game is not growing. Costs are rising. MLB sees the addition of two more teams as a path to boosting profits by increasing broadcast sales (currently the largest source of revenue), ticket and concessions sales, merchandise sales, and multimedia expansion.

However, a by-product of increased profitability from two additional teams will likely be further decline in the talent quality of players who make up the rosters.

Several of the existing teams are already struggling to maintain a roster of experienced players. Teams like the Colorado Rockies, Oakland A’s, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Nationals have lineups barely better than some Triple-A teams. They are filled with young players, who need more seasoning, and older castoffs from other teams. Part of the reason for their situation is that these teams do not make the investments required to acquire the better, more experienced players in the league. Furthermore, the boost they get from revenue sharing from the top-spending franchises is not re-invested in their roster; it’s put in the bank.

Another factor that seems to be growing relative to the quality of roster makeup is the number of injuries being experienced now, particularly among pitchers. Their replacements are often prospects who have been rushed to the big leagues.

The proposed addition of two more major-league teams will further exacerbate the overall quality of players. With the 25% reduction in the number of minor-league teams a few years ago, there are fewer prospects being developed as future major-league candidates. Where will the new teams get quality players?

Aside from the main issue of profitability, the introduction of two more teams could potentially change the landscape for how teams are organized, how the playoffs are structured, the number of games each team plays, and how historical baseball records will be viewed.

One of beauties of baseball is that the game is rooted in traditions. Yet expansion will challenge those traditions.

There is speculation that the American and National League groupings will fall by the wayside if the divisional structure is eliminated and teams are organized along geographical dimensions. That occurred with the NBA in 2004 when the teams lost their divisional structure and were organized into two large conferences.

MLB’s grueling 162-game schedule has been under scrutiny for years as being much too long. The players would obviously like fewer games, but the owners see that as an erosion of revenue/profits, especially if player salaries are not adjusted (downward) accordingly.

The revenue from an expanded playoff system could partially offset the loss of revenue resulting from fewer regular season games, but then we would likely wind up seeing more teams eligible for postseason play. Currently, 12 of the 30 MLB teams make the playoffs. That would probably increase to 14. (In the NFL, 14 of 30 teams participate, while the NBA has 16 of 32 teams in the playoffs.) Increasing the number of teams in the playoffs means that more mediocre teams get in.

Baseball traditionalists abhor the idea of expansion, especially if reorganization of the divisions/leagues and schedule changes are involved. It would distort the comparison of the present-day records of teams and players with statistics and records that date back to 1900, when the Modern Era of baseball began. Plus, traditionalists already complain about the relatively mediocre quality of today’s play compared to yesteryear. They would see it as getting worse.

It’s no secret MLB desires to expand the game internationally to increase its fan base. Nearly 30% of the current players are now Latino. A team in Mexico City could satisfy that itch, while remaining geographically viable with the rest of the teams. Montreal, which had its franchise moved by MLB to Washington D.C. in 2005 due to financial reasons, wants back in, with the lure of a new stadium. U. S. cities. mentioned as potential expansion locations include Portland, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, and Nashville.

The last MLB expansion occurred in 1998 when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays were added. Some observers believe that fact alone (i.e., the leagues have been stable for over 25 years and have become stagnant) is enough to warrant future expansion.

At the end of the day, the almighty dollar will win out over any concerns for quality and tradition, as well as where the expansion teams will be located.

My son Lee and I made our annual baseball trip this past weekend to knock two of the remaining seven (out of 30) major-league stadiums off our bucket list. We saw two games at the Colorado Rockies’ Coors Field in Denver on Saturday and Sunday, and we will complete this year’s trip with a game on Monday at Phoenix’s Chase Field.

The game on Saturday was highly anticipated since the Rockies were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates. That meant we were going to get an opportunity to see major-league sensation Paul Skenes pitch for the Pirates. In only his second year out of LSU, Skenes is currently one of the top pitchers in the game. He made history in July by becoming the first pitcher to start an All-Star Game in his first two seasons. He’s one of the leading contenders for the NL Cy Young Award, despite having a losing record for the Pirates.

Skenes’ appearance was not only anticipated by us, but also by many LSU fans who showed up wearing purple and gold and created a lot of pre-game “Skenes buzz” in the stadium. It seemed like there were as many LSU fans there as hometown Rockies fans. (Colorado is the worst team in the majors this year, so it’s somewhat understandable why they don’t typically turn out in large numbers.)

Even though Skenes held the Rockies hitless for the first three innings, he was throwing a lot of pitches, often missing his spots. The big right-hander gave up his first hit in the fourth, and the Pirates held a 4-0 lead after five innings. Those runs came on two home runs by second baseman Liover Peguero, on a solo in the first inning and a three-run dinger in the fifth inning. Peguero was a recent callup by the Pirates in mid-July, but he didn’t come with power-hitter credentials.

But then Skenes and the Pirates ran into trouble in the sixth inning. He gave up a three-run homer to Jordan Beck and left runners on base when he was taken out of the game. Those runs were the first he had given up in 18 innings. The Rockies ended up scoring six runs in that inning, with four charged to Skenes. It wasn’t one of his better games, even though he still managed to strike out eight batters. We could feel the mood of the LSU fans change significantly after Skenes was lifted for a reliever.

The Rockies added another run in the seventh for a 7-4 lead, and then the game was interrupted by a heavy rain. We decided to stick it out and stay for the rest of the game. It turned out to be a good choice since we got to see Peguero hit his third homer of the game on another solo shot in the ninth. It was the first time we had ever seen that happen in all our baseball trips. It was a career-day for Peguero, who was the least likely Pirates player to pull it off. With a final score of 8-4, the Rockies won only their 30th game of the year against 80 losses.

If there was any consolation for LSU fans, they got to see two other former Tigers play for the Rockies. Austin Nola was the starting catcher who hit an RBI double, while Jaden Hill entered the game as a reliever for a scoreless sixth inning.

So that leaves only five more of the current 30 major-league stadiums for me to visit, including Seattle, Cincinnati, New York CitiField, Atlanta, and Oakland. Since Oakland Coliseum was closed after the 2024 season, with the A’s now playing temporarily in Sacramento until they move to their new stadium in Las Vegas, Lee and I might have to make them last. (By the way, I’ve been to 13 major-league stadiums that are no longer in use.) It’s been a nice run and I hope to finish.

Until Friday night, many baseball fans outside of the Athletics fan base or perhaps Wake Forest University’s baseball program didn’t know who Nick Kurtz was.

The left-handed slugger achieved baseball immortality by accomplishing one of the most storied feats in history. He hit four home runs in a game against the Houston Astros, becoming only the 20th major leaguer to do so. At age 22, the left-handed-hitting first baseman is also the youngest player and the first rookie to do it.

A three-time All-American at Wake Forest, Kurtz was selected by the Athletics in the first round of the 2024 MLB amateur draft. He was the fourth overall pick in the draft.

What makes his accomplishment even more amazing is that he had played in only 33 minor-league games (12 in 2024 and 21 this year) before making his major-league debut on April 23.

And Kurtz doesn’t appear to be a “flash in the pan” either. He’s currently slashing .309/.378/.683, with 23 home runs and 59 RBIs for the last-place Athletics. He’s making a strong case for being American League Rookie of the Year.

In addition to his four dingers, Kurtz also hit a single and a double in the A’s 15-3 blowout against the Astros. His day at the plate accounted for 19 total bases, which tied a major-league record with Shawn Green, who did it in 2002.

If the A’s hold true to their past dealings with their prospects who rise to stardom, Kurtz will be playing for another team when he becomes eligible for salary arbitration.  The A’s currently rank 28th (out of 30 teams) in total payroll and aren’t likely to change their ranking anytime soon.

After high school shortstop phenom Jackson Holliday was the first overall draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in July 2022, I wrote a blog piece about the team having drafted 12 amateur shortstops and signed two international shortstops between 2015 and 2023. I questioned then what the heck the O’s were going to do with all these infielders. After all, there is only one shortstop position in the lineup.

I’m sure the Orioles front office’s rationale in selecting these players was to acquire the best infield athletes. There is a long-standing belief that a player adept at playing shortstop has the athleticism and skills to play practically anywhere on the diamond. This goes back to the days of Mickey Mantle, Tom Tresh, and Bobby Murcer, New York Yankees outfielders who started their pro careers as shortstops. Years later, Hall of Famer Robin Yount reinforced this belief when he transitioned from shortstop to centerfield for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Plus, the Orioles’ brass figured they had the option to use some of their excess prospects in trades to acquire other needed positions.

So, what has happened to all the “horses” the Orioles had in their stable? Where are they now?

Except for Holliday, Ryan Mountcastle (1st round draft pick on 2015), Gunnar Henderson (2nd round draft pick in 2019), Jordan Westburg (1st round draft pick in 2020), Coby Mayo (4th round draft pick in 2020), and Jorge Mateo (acquired from San Diego in 2021), the rest of the Orioles’ shortstop corps is no longer in their plans. They are still floundering in the minors, were traded, or have quit the game altogether.

Holliday made his major-league debut last year as a 20-year-old, after being named Minor League Player of the Year in 2023. He didn’t live up to his billing as a budding superstar in his 60 games with the Orioles. The most significant discovery of Holliday’s play was that he wouldn’t displace Gunnar Henderson from the shortstop position. That’s because Henderson was the AL Rookie of the Year and a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2023 and finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2024. Holliday has been the primary second baseman in 2025, and his production is starting to match his potential.

Henderson had supplanted Mateo as the starting shortstop in 2023. Mateo has remained with the Orioles in a super-utility role. He has played in five different infield and outfield positions this season, as well as appearances as a pinch-hitter and designated hitter.

Westburg made his major-league debut in 2023. He, too, was unable to unseat Henderson at shortstop and instead has been primarily used as a third baseman and second baseman. He solidified his Orioles’ roster spot with an All-Star selection last season.

Mayo has split his playing time between the big-league Orioles and the minors in 2024 and 2025. He is being used primarily as a third baseman and first baseman.

Mountcastle, the elder player among the bunch of shortstop prospects, became the Orioles’ starting first baseman in 2021 and only recently has shared playing time with Mayo.

Cesar Prieto, an international signee in 2022, is now in the St. Louis Cardinals minor-league organization. In 2024, the Orioles traded Connor Norby (2nd round draft pick in 2021) to the Miami Marlins and Joey Ortiz (4th round draft pick in 2019) to the Milwaukee Brewers. Ortiz was involved in the deal that brought pitching ace Corbin Burnes to the Orioles, but the other trades didn’t yield permanent roster players for the Orioles.

Cadyn Grenier (1st round draft pick in 2018) reached Triple-A with the Orioles and Collin Burns (6th round draft pick in 2021) played at the Double-A level, but both were unable to progress further and are out of baseball.

Shortstop Anthony Servideo (3rd round pick in 2020) and Jalen Vasquez (18th round pick in 2023) are currently playing at the Double-A level in the Orioles organization. Neither player has a sure future with the Orioles. Kollin Ritchie (19th round pick out of high school in 2023) chose to play in college instead of signing up as a professional.

The Orioles’ shortstop draft selections produced the team’s entire current infield. In that regard, they were successful. But the remainder of their picks didn’t provide the value the team hoped for.

In retrospect, it appears the Orioles should have used some of those higher-round draft picks to acquire much-needed pitching. Baltimore is currently mired in fifth place in the AL East, 11½ games behind the Yankees. Measured by Runs Allowed Per Game and ERA+, the Orioles have the second-worst pitching staff in the American League.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred took Pete Rose’s name off baseball’s lifetime ban list last week with the announcement of a new policy that “permanent ineligibility ends with the passing of the disciplined individual.” The move raised all types of positions, for and against, regarding his eligibility for election for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

After reading the opinions in news stories and social media, I put them into five groupings.

 The Purists

This group believes Rose’s death doesn’t change the fact he broke MLB’s Rule 21, which states “any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible.” They will never support Rose’s election to the Hall of Fame because he admitted to betting on baseball games. No exception should be made.

The Sentimentalists

This group never believed Rose should have been given a lifetime ban by Commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989. They believe Rose was one of the all-time greats of the game, and the Hall of Fame is incomplete without Rose’s bronze plaque. They argue that Rose never bet on his own team to lose.

The Disheartened

Former Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman recently told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he thought Pete Rose’s family should reject any consideration for Pete to be voted into the Hall of Fame. Brennaman’s position, which represented many others, was that MLB waited too long to reinstate Rose, coming five months after his death. They are dismayed he was not alive to see his eligibility for the Hall restored. Rose had applied for reinstatement multiple times over the years, the last coming in 2022.

The Critics

Manfred reportedly met with President Trump in April, where one of the topics was the removal of Rose from baseball’s permanent eligibility list. Trump had been an advocate of this position since his first presidential term. At one point he said he would issue a pardon for Rose, as though he had direct power over the game. There was a huge backlash on social media from people who were critical of Trump for trying to insert himself into the process. Many those critics actually didn’t care what happened to Rose. Manfred became the target of criticism for seemingly bending to Trump’s influence.

The Skeptics

The earliest Rose would be eligible for voting into the Hall is 2027, when the Classic Baseball Era Committee (formerly known as the Veteran’s Committee) meets to consider candidates who played before 1980. The committee consists of 16 members representing Hall of Fame players, baseball executives, and veteran media members. Some argue that committee members may still harbor feelings that Rose will not be a shoo-in for election because he doesn’t meet the “character” requirement for election. For many years after his ban, Rose denied that he ever bet on baseball. He also served a five-month sentence in 1990 for tax evasion.

Where do I stand on Pete?

Personally, I fall into “The Sentimentalist” category. Call me a “softie” for overlooking his gambling. But his style of play and results on the field made an enormous impact on the game in his era that shouldn’t be downplayed or snubbed. He is worthy of a bronze plaque.

I met Pete Rose in 2013 while in Las Vegas. He frequented one of the casinos where he sold his autograph for $75. Since he had been a frequent topic in my Family Ties book about baseball’s relatives (Pete Jr. was also a major leaguer), I figured he would trade his autograph for a copy of my book. Well, it didn’t work out that way. I paid him to autograph a copy of my book, but I got to shake his hand and take a photograph with the “Hit King.”

Two of the more recognizable names in recent baseball history are Ken Griffey Jr. and Cal Ripken Jr.  Griffey’s father, Ken Griffey, played in the majors for 19 seasons, while Ripken’s father, Cal Ripken, was a long-time major and minor-league coach and manager for the Baltimore Orioles organization. The sons were among the first major leaguers to popularize wearing “Jr.” as part of their last names printed on the backs of their jerseys.

Perhaps Griffey and Ripken wanted to differentiate themselves from their fathers who were still active in the game when they first debuted in the majors. Ripken Jr. played for the Orioles when his father was the manager in 1987. Griffey Jr. and his father made history by becoming the first father-son duo to play in the same game together in 1990. But it was likely they also wanted baseball fans to know they were the sons of prominent baseball figures.

In today’s game, there are over a dozen major leaguers who wear “Jr.” as part of their name on their jersey. Some of them, like their dads, are good ballplayers. Several of the players’ fathers played collegiately. In any case, it is indicative there is a growing number of sons following in their baseball footsteps.

Here is a rundown of the current “juniors” in the majors.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is currently in his seventh season with the Toronto Blue Jays. His father was a Hall of Famer, having played from 1996 to 2011. Young Guerrero may be on his way to Cooperstown, too, with four All-Star seasons, a Gold Glove and two Silver Slugger Awards already. He finished second in the AL MVP voting in 2021. He recently signed the largest (non-free agent) contract extension in baseball history.

Bobby Witt Jr. is currently in his fourth major-league season with the Kansas City Royals. The first overall pick of the 2019 MLB Draft has not disappointed his team. The All-Star shortstop was the runner-up to Aaron Judge in 2024 in the AL MVP voting. Witt’s father was a major-league pitcher from 1986 to 2001.

Fernando Tatis Jr. is in his sixth season with the San Diego Padres. He has been voted among the Top 4 for the MVP Award twice and has a Gold Glove and two Silver Sluggers to his credit. He started out as a shortstop and but moved to the outfield after missing the 2022 season to an injury and PED violation. His father was an 11-year major-leaguer during 1997 and 2010.

Ronald Acuna Jr.’s father spent eight seasons in the minors from 1999 to 2006 but never reached the majors. Ronald Jr. is in his eighth season with the Atlanta Braves. The outfielder is the 2018 National Rookie of the Year, a four-time All-Star, and the 2023 MVP Award winner. He has yet to play in 2025, due to a torn ACL in his left knee incurred in May last season. Ronald’s 23-year-old brother Luisangel currently plays for the New York Mets.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is an outfielder currently in his eighth major-league season, the last three with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Formerly a teammate of Guerrero Jr. at Toronto, Gurriel Jr. was a NL All-Star in 2023. His father was a star player in Cuba. His older brother Gurriel is in his 10th major-league season, currently with the Padres.

Lance McCullers Jr. is starting his eighth major-league season with the Houston Astros, after missing the last two seasons due to arm injuries. He was an All-Star in 2017 and finished seventh in the Cy Young Award voting in 2021. His father was a major-league pitcher for seven seasons during 1985 and 1992.

Luis Garcia Jr. is in his sixth season with the Washington Nationals. The infielder had his best season in 2024, when he hit 18 home runs and drove in 70. His father appeared in only eight major-league games in 1999 with the Detroit Tigers.

Mark Leiter Jr. has pitched for four teams in his six major-league seasons. He is currently a reliever for the New York Yankees. His father was a major league pitcher for eleven seasons during 1990 and 2001. His uncle Al Leiter pitched for 19 years, while his cousin Jack currently pitches for the Texas Rangers.

The next group of current major-league players wear “Jr.” or “II” on their jerseys, but their fathers never played professionally. They include Michael Harris II (Braves), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Yankees), Louis Robert Jr. (White Sox), Lamonte Wade Jr. (Giants), Nacho Alvarez Jr. (Braves), Carl Edwards Jr. (Padres), and DeShawn Keirsey Jr. (Twins).

In addition to Griffey and Ripken, you might recall other former big-league players whose jersey names displayed “Jr.” including Jackie Bradley Jr., Tim Raines Jr., Ruben Amaro Jr., Eric Young Jr., Pete Rose Jr., and Dwight Smith Jr.

 

The New York Yankees took a risk in signing free agent Paul Goldschmidt over the winter. The 37-year first baseman had struggled at the plate in his last two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, although the year before that, in 2022, he had been the National League’s Most Valuable Player.

The Yankees had hopes that Goldschmidt, along with newly acquired Cody Bellinger, would replace the power production of Juan Soto, who left the Yankees for the Mets after last season.

But that hasn’t happened on Goldschmidt’s part.

In his first 26 games through Saturday, he’s hit only one home run and seven doubles among his 36 total hits. His slugging percentage is only .465, when his career average prior to this season was .510. This is also reflected in his declining exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and barrel-rate this season compared to 2024. However, his batting average (.364) ranks second in the league (behind Aaron Judge), while his on-base percentage (.413) ranks fifth.

We might recall that aging or injured pitchers have had to re-invent their approach after they had lost a lot of zip on their fastball. They had to use more finesse in their pitch selection to get batters out.

So, is Goldschmidt re-inventing himself as a batter?

Yankees manager Aaron Boone has used him as the leadoff batter in 10 of their 26 games. His hits have come in bunches. He had five games in which he got three hits and seven games with two hits. He has appeared in only seven games without a hit. He’s helping the Yankees win (first place in the AL East) in a different way than expected.

MLB.com’s Will Leitch observed, “He is becoming a singles hitter. It’s strange seeing Goldschmidt hit like Tony Gwynn.”

Aaron Judge and Goldschmidt rank 1st and 2nd in MLB in batting average. According to a recent MLB Network posting on X, it’s the first time in franchise history the Yankees have had two hitters lead the league in average at least 23 games into the season.

Despite Goldschmidt’s lack of home runs, the Yankees still lead the AL in home runs. Thus, there’s really no pressure at the moment on Goldschmidt to make any adjustments to his hitting approach.

What’s Goldschmidt’s take on his unusual start of the season? “I just try to hit the ball and just kind of let it do what it’s going to do,” Goldschmidt told the New York Post.

Yes, the season’s only about three weeks old, but we have already learned some things about how the season will shape up. And as happens every spring, there are still a number of questions at this point about which teams and players will rise to the occasion to get to the playoffs.

The Toronto Blue Jays have lost out on acquiring some of the game’s biggest superstars, the latest being Shohei Ohtani after he declare free agency after the 2023 season. They took no chances of losing their best player Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who becomes eligible for free agency after the 2025 season. They made a contract extension deal with Guerrero, which was the most money ever paid to a non-free agent—a total of $500 million, which included record-breaking $350 million bonus.

The torpedo bats used by several players caused a bit of a stir during the first week of the season. Did they really contribute to the flurry of home runs at the start of the season? Some challenged the legality of the uniquely-shaped bat, but MLB came out early and confirmed there was nothing illegal about the bats.

PEDs just do not seem to go away. Jurickson Profar is the latest major leaguer to be suspended 80 days for using illegal drugs. The Braves had acquired Profar to offset the loss of Ronald Acuna Jr., who was projected to be on the injured list until May or June. Well, that plan did not work out.

Speaking of the Braves, are they as bad as their record indicates? Through Saturday, they had a 4-10 record. (Actually, their current record is not the worst in their history. In 1988, the team started out 0-10.) Acuna is key to the Braves’ rebound, but he is a month away from returning.

Will the Astros’ Jose Altuve last the entire season in left field? In the front office’s effort to open the second base position for other candidates, he agreed to move to the left field position. (Remember former Astro Craig Biggio making the move from second base to center field?) However, Altuve’s fielding is somewhat of an experiment in the outfield. Yet knowing his make-up and passion for winning, he will work hard to make the necessary adjustments in the twilight of his career. In my opinion, he has already earned a bronze plaque in Cooperstown.

Is Kyle Tucker going to be the next big free-agent signee? I suspect that is one of the reasons the Astros did not try to hang on to him—they were not willing to shell out the dollars he would command after this season. Tucker has started the season with a bang with his new team (Cubs). Early results indicate he may be on his way to having his best season. Some observers believe he will ultimately find his way to the Yankees. I do not think so unless the Bronx Bombers shed Cody Bellinger after this season.

Is the Dodgers’ newest Japanese player Roki Sasaki over-rated? The Dodgers unloaded the Brinks armored truck to acquire the highly regarded pitcher and have lofty expectations for his contributions in the starting rotation. He has had a so-so start, but with his workload being carefully managed by the Dodgers’ front office (only 13.2 innings in four starts so far), the verdict is still out. Shohei Ohtani is getting his arm in shape to return to the mound. The Dodgers will be the first to feature three Japanese pitchers in its starting rotation, with Sasaki, Ohtani, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. (Just think about how much money the Dodgers are shelling out for these three?)

It is great to see Mike Trout returning to form after spending most of the last two seasons on the injured list. (And he has played over one hundred games in only one of the five previous seasons.) Now in his 15th major-league season at age 33, it is fun for the fans to see him having fun again with the Angels.

 

Except for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West Division, there are not any other sure-fire winners predicted for the other division titles in 2025. The lack of overwhelming favorites in the other five divisions will make for an interesting season.

Professional sports leagues aspire to have competitive balance among the teams. Major League Baseball appears to be getting closer to achieving it. Sure, there are outliers like Colorado, Sacramento (previously Oakland), Miami, Washington, and the Chicago White Sox on the low end, who would require a miracle to make the playoffs. But it is not entirely out of the question the rest of other teams, with some luck, could make a valiant run for a playoff berth.

Here are my predictions for the division winners.

AL East

I would have picked the Yankees to win the AL East a month ago, but now I won’t, with their recent injury bug, most notably biting their ace Gerrit Cole. They helped themselves in the offseason by acquiring Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt to help offset the loss of Juan Soto and adding Devin Williams in the pen. I think the race for the division title is now wide open. However, adequate pitching will be the determining factor for who winds up on top. Despite most analysts projecting Boston to finish last, I am going out on a limb to pick them as the division champ. I like their addition of Alex Bregman, Garret Crochet and Walker Buehler. The Orioles will finish as runner-up.

AL Central

It seems like this division is always a tossup. Remarkably, they sent three teams to the playoffs last season—Guardians, Tigers, and Royals. (I can’t ever remember that happening in this division.) I am fairly sure there will be one team that won’t end up on top, the White Sox, who did their best imitation of the awful 1962 New York Mets last year. I’m going with the Minnesota Twins. They are the only team in the division projected to score more runs than they allow. The Royals, behind projected MVP Bobby Witt Jr., will be the runner-up.

AL West

The Houston Astros’ front office has done a really good job of dismantling what some would call a dynasty franchise (eight straight seasons as a playoff team, four World Series appearances, two world championships). Seattle appears to have the best pitching staff, while Texas has the best offense. I’m giving the Rangers the edge for the division title. Historically, the Mariners can ‘t seem to put it together for an entire season, and they will finish in second place again.

NL East

Atlanta had an off year in 2024, the first time in seven years they had not won their division. The Braves were plagued by injuries to several key players throughout the season. I think they will bounce back to win the division but will face stiff competition from both Philadelphia and New York. The Mets went all-in this year by adding Juan Soto and re-signing free agent Pete Alonso. But their pitching still lags behind their offense. The Phillies have a veteran lineup that will push the Braves until the last week of the season but end up in second place.

NL Central

Second-year manager Craig Counsell will finally get the Chicago Cubs back to the playoffs, with the other teams vying for second place. I am projecting the Cincinnati Reds to have a resurgence under new manager Terry Francona, edging out the Brewers for second place. St. Louis seems to have lost its way to being a contender, while Pittsburgh cannot contend with just Paul Skenes.

NL West

The Los Angeles Dodgers return a power-packed offense and a pitching staff which added two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Japanese newcomer Roki Sasaki. The Dodgers plan to return Shohei Ohtani to the pitching rotation, but I do not think he’ll be needed on the mound. The Dodgers will be the only team in the majors to win 100 or more games. San Diego and Arizona will field very good teams that could take first-place honors in other divisions. The only way one of them will win the West is if the injury bug bites the Dodgers.

Wrap-up

The Dodgers and Rangers will win their respective league’s pennants, with the Dodgers repeating as World Series champs. Their huge investments in players will pay off again.

 

Since the days of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in the 1970s, the team has maintained a policy prohibiting its players from having facial hair other than well-groomed mustaches. Requiring clean-shaven players was part of the Yankee brand, just like their pinstriped uniforms. Now, fifty years later, the current Steinbrenner ownership has finally ditched the policy.

Yankees brass hasn’t revealed exactly what changed their minds about the long-standing rule. But one could guess that in today’s competitive environment, the team doesn’t want to preclude a player they want to sign in free agency from turning them down just because of the archaic policy. The Yankees were the only team to have such a requirement. One example of this actually happening a few years ago involved relief pitcher Brian Wilson, whose trademark was his thick black beard. He reportedly turned down a lucrative free agent offer from the Yankees because he rejected the idea of having to shave off his iconic beard.

However, there have been players who previously wore beards succumbed to the Yankee tradition. Johnny Damon, who signed as a free agent with the Yankees after the 2005 season, was one of the more noteworthy examples. Damon wore a shaggy beard to go along with a shaggy head of hair while playing for the Boston Red Sox. In fact, his nickname was “Caveman” because of his looks. He figured the $13M per year the Yankees were paying him was too good to pass up, just to keep a moppy head.

The cavalier Nick Swisher, who played for the Yankees during 2009-2012, is another player who made the same decision as Damon—he got with the Yankees’ program after having worn a beard with his former teams. However, that didn’t deter him from keeping his swashbuckling character.

Going back in time, if the Yankees’ grooming policy hadn’t been in effect, it’s almost a sure thing Thurman Munson would have worn a beard, despite having to wear his catcher’s mask. The menacing backstop wore a big mustache and frequently had stubble on his face from not shaving daily. It was part of his persona as a “rough and tumble” player, and a full beard would have only enhanced it. I imagine Don Mattingly might have worn a beard, too, albeit a well-groomed one. He was often castigated by Yankees management for allowing his hair length to get a bit long.

Current Yankee ace Garrit Cole is a more recent example of toeing the line with the Yankees grooming policy. He had previously worn a beard with Pittsburgh and Houston. It’s a fairly good bet he’ll likely resort to his old “look” by Opening Day.

The Yankees’ new relief pitcher Devin Williams acquired over the winter, previously wore a beard with Milwaukee. He had already shaved his beard in preparation for Yankee spring training camp last week. Now, he’ll have a chance to go back to his former look.

Current Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh could play Michael J. Fox’s role in the 1985 movie Teen Wolf. Marsh looks like he hasn’t had a haircut or shave since high school. It’s doubtful he would ever play for the Yankees, but the Yankees’ new policy could open the door for his superstar teammate Bryce Harper, who sports a beard, to eventually call Yankee Stadium home.

I was flipping through old baseball cards the other day and saw a 1974 Thurman Munson card. With the recent announcement of the 2025 Hall of Fame class, it got me wondering why the New York Yankees’ legendary catcher didn’t have a bronze plaque in Cooperstown.

Munson’s career was cut short when he died on August12, 1979, in a private airplane crash in which he was the pilot. The tragic event devastated the baseball community because of his popularity and respect as a ballplayer, even among Yankee-haters.

He was 32 years old when he died, in his 11th major-league season. Perhaps the baseball writers who vote for the Hall of Fame candidates didn’t think he had put in enough time to warrant election. But consider that Hall of Fame pitchers Dizzy Dean and Sandy Koufax both played in the majors for 12 seasons, including some partial seasons. So, there was already a precedent for short-tenured players who were highly impactful in their eras.

Munson began his major-league career with the Yankees in August 1969 and played only 26 games, yet he convinced the Yankees’ front office to give him the starting job the next season. All he did that next year was capture the AL Rookie of the Year Award, including votes for MVP.

In 1971 he garnered All-Star honors for his first of seven years. He earned a reputation as a tough, rugged catcher. He matched Yankees manager Billy Martin’s ferocity as a competitor. Munson developed into a Gold Glove player, capturing the award in three consecutive seasons during 1973 and 1975.

The Yankees returned to prominence when they won the AL pennant in 1976, their first since 1964. At the heart of the team was Munson. He was the AL MVP, batting .302 with 17 home runs and 105 RBIs. However, the Yankees were swept by Cincinnati’s dynasty “Big Red Machine” in the World Series.

The Yankees acquired slugger Reggie Jackson for the 1977 season, when they became AL champs again. They defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, repeating as World Series champ over the Dodgers again in 1978. While Jackson was the self-proclaimed “straw that stirs the drink” for the Yankees, Munson provided the “glue” on the contentious team that famously became referred to as the “Bronx Zoo.” He was the team’s leader, evidenced by being named the first Yankee team captain since Lou Gehrig.

Yankee world championship teams have traditionally been staffed with great catchers. They have included Wally Schang, Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, and Elston Howard. Munson extended the catcher position’s impact on the Yankees’ dynasty teams. Those five catchers played key roles in 20 of the Yankees’ 23 World Series championships, as of 1978.

Munson’s highest percentage (15.5%) of Hall of Fame votes came in his first year of eligibility in 1981. In his last year on the ballot for consideration by the baseball writers in 1995, he received only 6.5% of the votes. Since then, he’s been passed over by the Veterans’ Committee on four occasions.

It’s true Munson’s career numbers for the “counting” stats don’t come close to most of the other players in the Hall who enjoyed more lengthy careers. His slash line was .292/.346/.410, with 113 home runs and 701 RBIs. Munson’s catcher contemporaries elected to the Hall of Fame include Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, and Gary Carter. I’m not saying Munson was entirely comparable to any of those three.

But Munson had a 46.1 WAR (Wins Above Replacement), which is more than recent Hall of Famers Dave Parker and Harold Baines, who played significantly more years than Munson. He arguably had more impact with the Yankees than recent Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer had with the Twins.

Munson could legitimately have put in 3-5 more productive years that would have enhanced his career statistics. He could have made a difference in the Yankee’s quest for another World Series title in 1981, when the Dodgers beat them. But that’s purely conjecture, and the Hall of Fame voters, whether the baseball writers or veterans committees, rightfully don’t consider “what could have been.”

Munson is revered by the Yankees organization who retired Munson’s No. 15 and dedicated a plaque to him in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. Yankee fans who saw Munson play feel like he also belongs in the Hall of Fame, if nothing else, from a sentimental standpoint.

In the final analysis though, if there was a “Hall of Very Good,” he’d belong in it, but not the Hall of Fame.

 

The results of the voting for the 2025 inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame won’t be announced until January 21, but it seems a certainty that relief pitcher Billy Wagner will finally be elected in his final year of eligibility. He came within a few votes last year to receive the required 75%. Why has it taken so long for a legitimate candidate like Wagner? Are relief pitchers being overlooked in deference to starting pitchers? Are relief pitchers undervalued in the game?

Billy Wagner pitched in the majors from 1995 to 2010, primarily for the Houston Astros (nine seasons). His career numbers were superb. He finished with a 2.31 ERA, 0.998 WHIP and 422 saves in 853 appearances. He averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. His ERA+ was 187. He finished fourth and sixth in voting for the Cy Young Award. He was a seven-time All-Star.

What is it about his record that hasn’t qualified him for a bronze plaque in Cooperstown, from the first year he was eligible? There must have been reasons.

Perhaps he didn’t have a classic mustache like Rollie Fingers or Goose Gossage? Perhaps he didn’t have an iconic walk-in song (Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”) from the bullpen like Mariano Rivera, or the menacing stare on the mound like Lee Smith, a six-foot-five, 220-pound beast. (Of course, I’m being facetious.)

Somehow, Wagner slipped under the radar for notoriety during his career. Hall of Fame relief pitchers like Rivera, Fingers, Gossage, Dennis Eckersley, and Bruce Sutter developed popular personas in addition to being superior closers on the field. If Wagner had been more newsworthy or outspoken, would he have gotten more attention for the Hall sooner? If he had opportunities to pitch more during the postseason, would he have garnered more recognition?

I think Wagner, like many other proficient relievers, has suffered from a stigma that most of the baseball writers (who are the official voters on the Hall candidates) haven’t valued relief pitchers’ contributions and impact on the game, except for the most elite ones. The analogy for position players would be comparable to the writers passing up their votes for superstars not named Ruth, Gehrig, Mays or Mantle.

Hoyt Wilhelm was the first relief pitcher to be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985. He was followed by Fingers (1992), Eckersley (2004), Bruce Sutter (2006), Gossage (2008), Trevor Hoffman (2018), Rivera (2019) and Smith (2019). That’s only eight out of a total of 274 players from the various eras and positions who are currently in the Hall.

And what about reliever Francisco Rodriguez who’s also on the ballot this year for the third time? His stats aren’t that far behind Wagner’s—2.86 ERA and 437 saves in 948 appearances. He averaged 10.5 strikeouts per game and boasted a 148 ERA+. Of the current Hall of Fame relievers, only Rivera’s and Hoffman’s numbers exceed Rodriguez’s. Yet he received only 7.8% of the required 75% minimum votes in his second year of eligibility.

Dan Quisenberry and John Franco are past relievers who deserved more consideration, but they never made it past their first year of eligibility, receiving less than 5% of the votes. Then there’s Roy Face, Sparky Lyle, Jeff Reardon, Troy Percival, John Wetteland, Joe Nathan, Jonathan Papelbon, and a few others who were top relievers during their respective eras. Were all of these all-stars victims of the lack of appreciation for the reliever role?

From 1976 to 2012, there was an annual post-season award for the top reliever in each league, called “Fireman of the Year.” The winners were heralded as the best relief pitchers in the game. But that award is no longer available and possibly contributes to the lack of recognition relief pitchers currently get.

If Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman are the standard for relievers to get into the Hall, there won’t be many new inductees either.

With the current strategies for using relievers in games, it’s plausible there will even be less consideration in the future for relief specialists to get into the Hall. The number of saves by relief pitchers used to be one of the key metrics for relievers. But the “closer” role has been watered down somewhat, as many managers resort to multiple pitchers in the final inning depending on game situations. Except for Cleveland Guardians All-Star reliever Emmanual Clase, no one has recorded more than 40 saves in a season since 2018.

And now with most relievers focused on throwing into the high 90s, they’re going to flame out before they put in a substantial number of seasons to be considered for Hall election. The exception is 36-year-old, 15-year veteran Aroldis Chapman, who still consistently hits 100 mph, including a 105-mph pitch last season.

Looking ahead a few years, there’s a reasonable chance veterans Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel will get the call for induction. But after that, don’t bet on others.

For about 10 years now I’ve filled out a mythical ballot for electing players to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s a fun exercise to rationalize why a player belongs or not. In some years there are more Hall-worthy players than the ballot can hold. This year there aren’t enough worthy players to fill all ten spots on my ballot. So, there’s a temptation to lower the standards for election, just so I can write in candidates for all ten.

The Veterans Committee (also known as the Classic Baseball Era Committee) did a disservice to the baseball community earlier this month by electing Dave Parker for 2025 induction. I’m happy for Parker that he got in, but the committee lowered the bar for election. Parker ‘s stats indicate he was a “very good, but not a great” player. He never garnered more than 25% in the 15 years he was eligible for election by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). This year was his fourth year for consideration by the Veterans. Perhaps Parker was a sentimental pick by the voters because he currently has Parkinson’s disease.

Last year I cast nine votes for Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield, Todd Helton, Billy Wagner, Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones, Omar Vizquel, and Adrian Beltre.

Of that group, Helton and Beltre were inducted by the BBWAA. I totally missed on Joe Mauer, who surprised me as a first-ballot electee. Sheffield fell off the ballot after not receiving the minimum required 75% of votes in his 10th and final year.

I’m sticking with Wagner, Rodriguez, Ramirez, Jones and Beltran, who are still eligible this year, but I’ve changed my mind about Vizquel.

Yeah, I know I’m still one of the holdouts that Rodriguez and Ramirez belong in the Hall, despite their admitted association with PEDs. Only a third of the BBWAA writers agreed with me in 2024. I just think you can’t overlook their offensive prowess over their entire careers. (I felt the same way about Barry Bonds who fell off the ballot in 2022 after falling short of receiving the required 75%.)

Wagner came within 1.2% of reaching the magic number last year. He’ll get over the hump this year (his last for eligibility). He didn’t accumulate the number of career saves as previous Hall of Fame relief pitchers Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, but his career 2.31 ERA, 0.998 WHIP, and 187 ERA+ are Hall-worthy. And by the way, his 422 career saves ranked him in eighth place on the all-time saves list, ahead of HOF relievers Rich Gossage, Dennis Eckersley, and Rollie Fingers.

Two outfielders I voted for last year and am including again in this year’s selection are Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones. Beltran was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1999 and went to collect nine All-Star appearances with the Mets, Cardinals, and Yankees. His WAR is 70.1, and he received MVP votes in seven seasons. He was a valuable post-season contributor, with a slash line of .307/.412/.609, 16 HRs and 42 RBI. My selection of Andrew Jones is primarily influenced by his defensive excellence. Jones was a Gold Glove centerfielder for 10 straight seasons with the Braves. But he wasn’t a liability for his teams on the offensive side, as he hit 434 career HRs and 1,289 RBIs.

With regard to Vizquel, I’ve come to accept he was more of a one-dimensional player with 11 Gold Gloves at shortstop. It’s true he collected over 2,800 career hits, but it took him 24 seasons to do it. His career OPS+ was a meagre 80. That’s 20% below the average player. He’s comparable to existing Hall of Fame defensive wizard, light-hitting second baseman Bill Mazeroski, whom I believe doesn’t really belong either.

From the new class of candidates, there are only two players who have Hall of Fame credentials. I’m casting my vote for Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia.

Suzuki became an iconic player at the turn of the century. He accomplished the rare feat of being named Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in 2001. For ten consecutive seasons, he collected 200 or more hits per season. Neither Pete Rose nor Ty Cobb accomplished that. Combined with his hits as a Japanese professional, he amassed 4,367 total hits during his 28-year career. He was a perennial Gold Glover during his first ten seasons, and he was in the Top 5 in stolen bases during that same period.

Suzuki stayed in the majors too long, as his last seven years (age 39 to 45) diminished his career stats. He finished with a 107 OPS+, which is not particularly indicative of a Hall of Famer. In any case, he’ll likely be a first-ballot selection. He’ll be the first Japanese player elected to the Hall. What other major leaguer has worn his first name (and not his last name) on the back of his jersey!

I was initially on the fence regarding Sabathia’s belonging in the Hall. I debated whether he is in the category of “very good, but not great” pitchers. He’s comparable to Hall of Famers Bert Blyleven, Mike Mussina, and Jack Morris. He’s the best starting pitcher among this year’s eligible class.

From 2007 to 2011 Sabathia was a Top 5 vote-getter for the Cy Young Award for five seasons, capturing the honors in 2007. He struggled with alcoholism during the last few years of his career, which affected his performance. But with 251 career wins, he still ranks among the best.

The other players I considered were Chase Utley (a carryover from last year) and Dustion Pedroia and Troy Tulowitzki (newcomers to this year’s class).

Utley (Phillies) and Pedroia (Red Sox) were players of similar capability and impact. Both were gritty second basemen, who were key players in their respective teams’ rise to prominence. If I were starting a new team, I’d want either one of these players in my starting lineup. Yet their years of excellence were too few to warrant election to the Hall.

From 2007 through 2014, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s performance put him on track to become a Hall of Famer, based on his bat and his glove, but he flamed out too early, due to injuries, to warrant election.

That makes only seven players on my ballot this year. There’s an impulse to keep Vizquel on my ballot or to add outfielder Bobby Abreu, closer Francisco Rodriguez, and long-time Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte. But I wouldn’t be able to defend them in future years when other “true” Hall of Famers come up for eligibility. Plus, the Hall of Fame needs to avoid another Dave Parker.

As an aspiring young baseball player in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, one of my heroes was Rocky Colavito. He was a well-respected slugger, playing primarily for the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers. The handsome outfielder was a favorite of both of those teams.

How could you not like his name, Rocky Colavito? His given name, of Italian descent, was Rocco Domenico Colavito. Being an Italian-American myself, I naturally gravitated toward his career. Yeah, I was familiar with the most famous Italian ballplayer ever, Joe DiMaggio. But “Joltin’ Joe” had already retired by the time I was growing up and there were no opportunities for me to root for him.

A product of the Bronx (where DiMaggio was his favorite player), Colavito signed a contract as a 17-year-old in 1951 with the Cleveland Indians. He demonstrated a pattern for hitting home runs in bunches from the start of his career. From 1953 to 1955 including two seasons at Triple-A, he collected 96 home runs and 341 RBIs.

He got a brief September callup with the Indians in 1955, and eventually became a regular in 1956, when he was runner-up for American League Rookie of the Year, with 21 home runs and 65 RBIs.

After his 1959 season in which he hit 42 home runs, The Sporting News predicted he would be the most likely player to break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record.

In one of the blockbuster trades in the early 1960s, he was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn in 1960. Both had just come off All-Star seasons with their respective teams.  Colavito led the league in home runs (42) in 1959, while Kuenn led the AL in batting average (.353).

Unfortunately, Colavito never played for a pennant-winning team. And much of his career overlapped with Hall of Fame outfielders Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, and Roberto Clemente. So, he didn’t get nearly as much ink as he deserved because of these other stars.

Between 1956 and 1966, Colavito hit the fifth-most home runs in all of baseball, behind  Mays, Aaron, Mantle, and Robinson. He was fourth-most in RBIs behind the same group of players minus Mantle.

I won’t go so far as to claim he was a Hall of Famer. But consider that he outpaced recently-elected Dave Parker in WAR (44.9 to 40.1) and OPS+ (132 to 121). He also compares favorably with Hall of Famer Harold Baines who had a 38.8 WAR and 121 OPS+. He finished with 374 home runs and 1,159 RBIs.

He was in the top five in assists for outfielders in 10 seasons. To put his fielding prowess into perspective, he was in the same company as contemporary outfielders Roger Maris and Roberto Clemente for having a rocket-arm.

He put that arm to good use in a rare appearance as a relief pitcher with the New York Yankees during his last season in 1968. He pitched 2 2/3 innings to claim a win.

I can still recall the image of Rocky’s first baseball card, a 1957 Topps. He’s in an Indians uniform pictured as though he was warming up on the sideline before a game. He hadn’t yet become known as Rocky, as his first name Rocco was printed on the front of his card.

RIP, Rocky.

It used to be that a kid could buy a pack of baseball cards for a nickel. And the bonus was getting a piece of stale bubblegum. Nowadays collecting baseball cards is no longer a casual childhood activity, as adult collectors have taken the hobby to a new level. Vintage baseball cards are considered art by some investors. Even current-day limited edition cards are commanding big dollars, certainly not the kind of money kids can afford.

One of the recent situations demonstrating how crazy the baseball card market has evolved involved a Topps card of Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching phenom. The card manufacturer recently made only one of his cards (marked as a “1 of 1”) with his autograph and a debut patch. The card was randomly included in a pack of other cards. It has created a buying frenzy, as the card is expected to go for six figures. The Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team offered to acquire this one-of-a-kind card from the person lucky enough to get the card for two season tickets to Pirates games for thirty (30) years, plus other items such as signed items by Skenes.

The Ty Cobb T206 cigarette card has been the Holy Grail of baseball cards for years. Because of its age (1909-1911) and rarity (only 22 known to currently exist), the card has commanded some of the highest dollars in the baseball collecting world. In 2022, one of the Cobb cards sold for $7.2 million.

A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card in pristine condition was sold later in 2022 for $12.6 million, the highest ever paid for a single baseball card. The person who sold the card purchased the same card in 1990 for $50,000.

Nowadays, the cards don’t have to be really old to be of value. In November of this year, a limited edition Shohei Ohtani rookie card (2018 Bowman Chrome Rookie Autographs Orange Refractor) sold for $533,140.

Only the richest investors, some of whom are not even baseball enthusiasts, can afford these types of cards.

The nature of card collecting has changed dramatically from what many of us remember. For the most part now the trading card business excludes young collectors.

You can hardly find a retail brick-and-mortar store where you can buy the current year’s baseball cards. Many sales are being transacted over the internet now. eBay has become one of the main sources for purchases and sales.

Baseball card hobby shops used to populate nearly every neighborhood, where a kid could buy and sell cards with a familiar shop owner. Now there are only a handful of shops in an entire metropolitan area.

Topps, now owned by global mega-sports platform Fanatics, dominates the trading card manufacturing. The heyday of cards made by Fleer, Donruss, and Upper Deck cards in the ‘80s and ‘90s is barely a memory now.

Many collectors are getting their most valuable cards graded by independent, third-party services, a process in itself that can be expensive. Vintage cards (now considered those produced before around 1970) are typically purchased as graded cards, because of the higher prices they can command once they are later sold.

A large part of the Topps trading card business now involves cards printed “on demand.”  Individual cards are put on sale for a limited time, such as one day or one week, and then Topps prints only the number of these cards purchased on-line during that time period. Therefore, the cards have a limited print run, which can vary per card. The purchase prices usually range from $5 to $12 for each card, depending on the quantity purchased. Topps also incents buyers to purchase large quantities of these cards by randomly including limited edition and autographed cards in purchases. These specialty cards can then be turned around for nice profits soon after purchase.

As NFTs (non-fungible tokens) became popular with the implementation of blockchain technology, Major League Baseball and Topps made baseball cards available as NFTs. The way this works involves buyers purchasing a digital version of a baseball card (not a cardboard one) that is maintained by MLB or Topps. Collectors can view, buy and sell the digital cards through an on-line marketplace. There are limited editions of the digital cards, which ultimately become a factor in the prices for buying and selling them. When MLB initially implemented NFTs several years ago, the limited edition Shohei Ohtani digital images bought for less than $20 then commanded a price of $15,000 for potential buyers.

Cards from the 1950s are on fire right now. A quick search on eBay produced the following items for some of the decade’s best players. The prices for these cards go up exponentially for cards whose condition is graded 8 or higher.

• 1952 Topps Jackie Robinson with a PSA Grade 1 (the lowest grade) is available for $4,995.

 

• 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax, ungraded in excellent condition, is available for $1,899

 

• 1957 Topps Mickey Mantle with a SCG Grade 5 is available for $1,200

 

• 1954 Topps Willie Mays with a PSA Grade 5 is available for $1,000.

Perhaps the best buying option for kids today is to purchase a factory-sealed box of 700 different Topps cards for about $65. One problem is that these boxes only become available near the end of the baseball season. The collector won’t get the “rush” from opening individual pack of cards, hoping to get an Ohtani or a Aaron Judge card. And he won’t get the opportunity to receive limited edition cards. But if he’s in the hobby just to enjoy the different card images, and not to make money from them, it’s not a bad alternative.

 

This article was originally published on TheTenthInning.com website in 2014. It's now relevant again as Tommy John is being considered by the Classic Baseball Era Committee for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in December 2024.

I imagine everybody these days, including non-baseball fans, knows what Tommy John surgery is.  But do they know who Tommy John, the baseball player, was?

Tommy John had a 26-year pitching career in Major League Baseball, but it was only because of an orthopedist named Dr. Frank Jobe that he was able to accomplish this.  In 1974, at age 31, John tore an elbow ligament in his left arm while pitching in a game for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Dr. Jobe, who had attended the game, performed the landmark surgery to replace the torn ligament with a tendon from John’s right wrist. John agreed to Jobe’s recommendation for this uncertain, yet innovative, procedure, because his baseball career would have otherwise ended.

As a result of his surgery, John was able to extend himself in what could be considered a second major league career.  His first, consisting of twelve seasons prior to the surgery, was just an average one.

John began his professional career with the Cleveland Indians organization in 1961 as an 18-year-old from Indiana.  He quickly progressed to the big leagues, earning a permanent spot on the Indians’ roster in May 1964.  Over the next ten seasons, he recorded double-digit wins in all but one of the seasons, as he played with the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.  However, in five of those seasons, he also posted double-digit losses, including 17 and 16 defeats in back-to-back seasons.  His 124-106 won-loss record was indicative of being an average, but durable, hurler at that point in his career.  He did have one selection to the All-Star Game in 1968.

Then in 1974, John was off to one of his best seasons (13-3 record, 2.59 ERA), when he suffered the fateful injury on July 17 while pitching for the Dodgers against the Montreal Expos.  In his autobiography, TJ: My Twenty-Six Years In Baseball, John recalled that he threw a couple of wild pitches in the third inning and heard what sounded like a “collision coming from inside his elbow.”

John waited three weeks before trying to pitch again.  In a batting practice session, John couldn’t throw, confirming he had torn elbow ligaments.  Despite Dr. Jobe’s estimated odds of 100-1 for his return to the mound, John underwent the surgery anyway in September.  In addition to the transplant, John had muscle and nerve damage repaired during the surgery.  In December, he underwent a second operation   to re-route the nerve because his left hand had gone numb.

John sat out the entire 1975 season rehabilitating from the surgery.  In spring training camp with the Dodgers in 1976, he was given little chance for a comeback at age 33.  However, he finished with a 10-10 record and 3.09 ERA in remarkable 207 innings pitched.  His surprising performance was acknowledged by The Sporting News, who named him the Comeback Player of the Year.  Thus, his second career was underway.

With his “miracle” arm, John’s best seasons were ahead of him.  In 1977, John won 14 of his last 17 decisions to post a 20-7 record and 2.78 ERA for the season.   He finished second to Steve Carlton in the Cy Young Award voting.  The Dodgers won the National League pennant but lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series.

The Dodgers repeated at National League champs 1978.  John was part of a starting rotation that had four pitchers with fifteen or more victories.  He compiled a 17-10 record and was selected for his second All-Star Game.  This time the Dodgers defeated the Yankees for the World Series championship, with John getting two post-season victories.

The 36-year-old John signed with the rival Yankees as a free agent during the offseason.  He rewarded them with a 21-9 record and 2.96 ERA in 1979, while again finishing second in the Cy Young Award balloting.  He won a career-high 22 games in 1980 when the Yankees captured the American League East Division title.

In the strike-shortened season in 1981, John posted a 9-8 record as the Yankees returned to the World Series again, only to lose to his former Dodger teammates.

When most pitchers his age had already called it quits, John went on to pitch eight more seasons in the big leagues.  After his surgery in 1974, he compiled 164 victories in 14 seasons.  He was one of the oldest full-time pitchers in baseball history at age 46, only surpassed later by Nolan Ryan and Jamie Moyer.

Despite his 288 career victories (26^th best of all time), John didn’t get serious consideration for the Baseball Hall of Fame, gaining 31.7% of the vote in his final year on the ballot, well below the minimum requirement.  Unfortunately, he was among those players that Hall voters considered “accumulators”, those who compiled impressive statistics largely due to their longevity in the game. 

On a side note, if there was a medical wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, certainly Dr. Jobe would be an inductee, because of his impact on the game.

The ground-breaking surgery has been performed thousands of times since John’s, prolonging the careers of many athletes after him.  Recent major league pitchers who have benefitted from Tommy John surgery include star players such as Tim Hudson, Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan, Stephen Strasburg, Brian Wilson and Matt Harvey.   There have already been fifteen pitchers this season who have suffered elbow injuries which will require Tommy John surgery.   If Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax had the opportunity for such a surgery, his fabulous career may not have ended at age 31.

Dr. Jobe did not specifically name the surgery after Tommy John.  Instead, John’s name became frequently used over the years to symbolize the procedure, whose technical medical description is “ulnar collateral ligament construction while using the palmaris longus tendon.” With a complex description like that, you can understand why it became popular for people to just call it “Tommy John surgery.”   Sort of reminds us of another legendary ballplayer, Lou Gehrig, whose name is frequently associated with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) disease.

 

Contributed by Richard Cuicchi

TheTenthInning.com, 04/21/2014

By now you probably have already read several stories about the career of Dick Allen, who died on December 7 at age 78. So, bear with me as I reminisce about the player who was initially called Richie by Philadelphia Phillies publicists when he made his major-league debut in 1963. Ten years later he declared to the media he wanted to be called Dick, since it was the name he grew up with.

Allen played in 10 games in his debut season, and then played his first full season in 1964. He was an immediate success individually and almost got the Philadelphia Phillies to their first pennant since 1950. Allen had an impressive slash line of .318/.382/.557, as he led the National League in runs (125), triples (13), and total bases (352). He was voted the Rookie of the Year, garnering 18 of 20 first-place votes.

Allen went on to one of the best major-league careers during his prime years (1964 to 1974), matching up well with some of the all-time greats. He made seven all-star teams during that timeframe and captured the American League MVP Award in 1972. During his 15-year career, he averaged .292, hit 351 home runs, and drove in 1,119 runs.

Yet he never really got the recognition as those other superstars. He was viewed as a malcontent, frequently at odds with team management. He broke team rules, such as showing up late for games and missing flights. Some days he decided he didn’t want to take batting practice. Furthermore, he was not a favorite of the press in Philadelphia, as he frequently denied interviews.

When he got into professional baseball his early twenties, he had to deal with racial issues that existed around the nation. Baseball had been integrated since 1947, but there were still lingering problems with bigotry within the game. Allen spoke up when others shied away from the issues. His openness contributed to the negative perception that often surrounded him.

However, the fans loved Allen. They loved the way he hit home runs with his 41-ounce bat, often in extra-inning games, although it was joked the fans were sometimes disappointed when he hit homers--because the ball couldn’t be found since he hit them so far.

When Allen became eligible in the Hall of Fame voting in 1983, he received a meager 3.7 % of the votes. The highest percentage of votes he obtained during his 14 years on the ballot (18.9%) was far lower than the required minimum of 75%. Since he had not accumulated 3,000 hits, hit 400 home runs, or averaged .300 or better, common benchmarks for election at that time, he never got serious consideration by the baseball writers. Furthermore, many of them remembered the disgruntled perception that plagued Allen during his playing days.

Yet with modern analytics now being utilized in the criteria for election to the Hall, there has been renewed interest in Allen by the Golden Era Committee (formerly known as the Veterans Committee). This blue-ribbon group of veteran players, managers and executives re-considers the careers of former players from past decades for election to the Hall. Allen missed by one vote for election by this committee six year ago. He was scheduled to come up again this year, but the committee deferred its voting until next year.

There are strong sentiments by today’s baseball analysts that Allen deserves to be voted in, based on his on-field performance and disregarding prior negative perceptions of his persona. The Athletic’s Jayson Stark produced the following analysis (for years 1964-1974) that shows Allen in good company with current Hall of Famers when considering several of the non-accumulation stats. The facts are pretty revealing when he is compared to peers of his era.

Best OPS: Hank Aaron (.941), Dick Allen (.920), Willie McCovey (.937).

Best Slugging Percentage: Hank Aaron (.561). Dick Allen (.554), and Willie Stargell (.541).

Best OPS+: Dick Allen (165), Willie McCovey (164), Hank Aaron (.159), Frank Robinson (159).

Assuming Allen gets the nod to enter the Hall next year, it will be a huge tragedy that it occurred after he passed. It is reminiscent of Ron Santo’s posthumous election in 2012.

 

Contributed by Richard Cuicchi

TheTenthInning.com, 12/13/2020

The World Series final game is barely a week old, and the Hot Stove Season is already heating up. One of the most intriguing topics is where superstar outfielder Juan Soto will land for the 2025 season.

The New York Yankees acquired Soto last December as a one-year rental. He had one year left on his contract with his former club, San Diego Padres, which the Yankees assumed in a trade. He just turned 26 years old a few days ago. He is already in the prime of his career, having already finished seven major-league seasons. It was clear that Soto would enter the free-agent market after this season, with the prospect of owning the bank with his new contract.

But the question is which team will have to empty its coffers to get Soto.

The Yankees seem like the natural answer.

Soto helped them get to the World Series, something they hadn’t done in 15 years. Could they have done it without Soto? Perhaps, but not likely. Soto had the second-best season of his career, if you go by OPS+ (178). He was second in the league only behind teammate Aaron Judge, the likely AL MVP, who was the runaway leader with 223 OPS+. The next-highest Yankee in OPS+ was Giancarlo Stanton (115), who played only 114 games. Soto was fourth in the league in Offensive WAR (7.9).

The Yankees’ chances of repeating as AL champs next year are significantly higher with Soto in the lineup again with Judge. But will the Yankees, already with one of the highest payrolls in baseball, shell out the dough to keep Soto? They also have a decision to make about their star pitcher Gerrit Cole, who just informed the Yankees he plans to opt out of his contract.

I think Soto’s asking price will begin with a “5” or “6”, as in $500-600 million over 10 years. Shohei Ohtani got an unthinkable $700 million for 10 years, but Soto’s price won’t go that high, unless he gets a longer deal.

The Yankees will make a respectable offer to Soto, but not likely in his asking range. Any other player would jump at their offer. But you see, Soto will have another viable alternative--that other team in New York.

The New York Mets, under relatively new owner Steven Cohen, currently has a high payroll, too. But his pockets are deeper than the Yankees’ Steinbrenners. He’s anxious to bring the Mets back into relevance every year, despite being in the same division as Atlanta and Philadelphia. Baseball analyst/writer Joel Sheehan wrote this week,” Flags, even very expensive ones, fly forever.”

The Mets showed in the second half of this season they are a team on the verge of being a pennant contender again. Soto could be the one guy who can get them several pennants.

He would be the “top dog” in CitiField. He won’t have to play in the shadow of Judge, the Yankee captain who is a fan-favorite in the Bronx. He’d still have all the attention a big market can offer. I’m guessing that’s something that appeals to him.

For all these reasons, I’m putting my money on Soto to find himself in a Mets pinstripe uniform instead of the Yankee pinstripes.

The media buzz all season long in major-league baseball has centered around Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. The Japanese superstar practically dominated the season with his unprecedented 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. He is Babe Ruth and Rickey Henderson wrapped up in one player. Ohtani will soon collect his third MVP Award in just his seventh major-league season. Only 30 years old, he’s already cemented his place in baseball history as one of the best ever.

In 1981 there was another foreign-born player who took the baseball world by storm. Just 20 years old in his first full season, Mexican-born pitcher Fernando Valenzuela captured the nation’s attention with his spectacular start of the season. Had there been the same type of social media prevalence back then as there is now, he would have topped all the trend charts.

Baseball fans are recalling Valenzuela’s career, since he died on October 22, just a few days short of his 64th birthday.

 “FernandoMania” had it’s beginning on Opening Day for the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 9, when lefty Valenzuela shut out the Houston Astros in his first major-league start.

He proceeded to win an additional seven consecutive complete games, giving up only four earned runs and striking out 68 in his eight outings. His 0.50 ERA was off the charts. No pitcher had won their first eight major-league games as a rookie since Dave “Boo” Ferriss accomplished it for the Boston Red Sox in 1945.

Valenzuela’s unique pitching delivery featured a glance skyward before he hurled the ball toward home plate. It was as though he was appealing to the heavens to help put “something extra” on his patented screwball.

At 5’ 11” and 180 pounds Valenzuela didn’t have the svelte physique of Ohtani. But that was part of his lovability by the fans. He was an everyday guy like them, who just happened to pitch like a maniac. The crowds at Dodger Stadium included large contingents of Latinos, who nicknamed him “El Toro.”

Valenzuela finally showed he was human when lost his ninth start. He was a big reason the Dodgers were contending for first place in their division.

But then a players’ strike interrupted the season for two months, beginning on June 11, with the Dodgers leading the Cincinnati Reds by half a game.

Play resumed on August 10. Valenzuela continued his mastery, as he won his next four decisions to make his record 13-4, with a 2.36 ERA. The Dodgers battled the Reds again down the stretch. But Valenzuela hit a rough stretch when he lost three games, and the Reds finished the season four games ahead of the Dodgers.

Valenzuela ended the season with a 13-7 record and 2.48 ERA. He led the National League in complete games (11), shutouts (8), innings pitched (192.1) and strikeouts (180). He was named the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award winner, the only time that a pitcher has accomplished both in the same season.

He was instrumental in the Dodgers post-season run in 1981 that ended in a World Series championship. He recorded victories over Houston in the Division Series, Montreal in the League Championship Series, and the Yankees in the World Series.

Valenzuela went on to post double-digit wins in eight of the nine next seasons for the Dodgers. He ended up playing 17 seasons, compiling a 173-153 record, 3.54 ERA, and 2,074 strikeouts. He finished second, third and fifth in Cy Young Award voting over the next five seasons.

During his 23-year major-league career, former Jesuit High School star Rusty Staub played in only one World Series, but he made the most of his appearance in the Fall Classic with the New York Mets in 1973.

Staub was in his 11th major-league season and his second with the Mets in 1973. He had previously played six seasons with the Houston Astros, beginning as a 19-year-old in 1963. He followed that stint with three seasons for the Montreal Expos, where he acquired the French nickname “Le Grand Orange,” as a popular redhead.

Montreal traded the 28-year-old left-handed hitter to the Mets before the 1972 season, in a deal that sent Ken Singleton, Tim Foli, and Mike Jorgensen to the Expos.

The Mets prevailed in one of the tightest races in baseball history, as they captured the East Division title in 1973, winning only 82 games. Only five wins separated them from the fifth-place Chicago Cubs.

Offensively, the Mets were one of the worst teams in the National League. Their team OPS+ was 83, tied for the lowest in the league with the Cubs. Yet Staub turned in a credible season when he slashed .279/.361/.421. He led the team in doubles (36), RBIs (76), total bases (246), and OPS (.361).

On the other hand, the Mets pitching staff was second-best in the NL, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers in runs allowed per game. Their starting rotation was manned by Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Jon Matlack, while closer Tug McGraw led the bullpen.

The Mets upset the Cincinnati Reds, who were in their heyday as the “Big Red Machine,” in the League Championship Series. Staub contributed the only three home runs by the Mets. He missed the decisive Game Five due to a shoulder contusion he suffered in the previous game, when he ran into the outfield wall making a catch.

The Mets faced another juggernaut in the World Series. The Oakland A’s, led offensively by slugger Reggie Jackson, had captured their second consecutive American League pennant. The A’s featured their own stellar pitching staff, consisting of Ken Holtzman, Vida Blue, and Catfish Hunter, each of whom had won 20 games during the regular season.

Staub had always dreamed of playing in the Fall Classic. He said, “When you’ve been in the bigs for 11 years, you’re always hoping that one day you’ll play in the World Series.”

Staub ended up making the most of his opportunity. Still stinging from the shoulder injury, he missed Game One of the World Series. However, deciding to play in his painful condition, he became the Mets’ hitting star in the rest of the series, recording 11 hits, while batting .423 with a home run and six RBIs.

In Game Four, he went 4-for-4, including the home run, as the Mets evened the series at two games apiece. Staub said after the game, “To have a night like I had is unbelievably satisfying, especially under the circumstances [playing with a sore shoulder].” Even with his condition, A’s manager Dick Williams still feared Staub. He said, “I’m still afraid of him. I know Rusty Staub. He’s a competitor. He doesn’t have to pull the ball to hurt you, he can go to the opposite field.”

The A’s ended up winning the last two games of the seven-game series to claim their second straight World Series. The Mets lost the final game, 5-2, with Staub collecting two of the Mets’ eight hits.

Staub still holds the Mets’ record for most hits in a World Series.

The closest he came to getting another chance to play in the World Series came in his final major-league season in 1985. Then 41-years-old, Staub had returned to the Mets as their primary pinch-hitter, after having played for Texas, Detroit, and Montreal, a second time. The Mets came within a game of overtaking the first-place St. Louis Cardinals in early October, before losing three of their last four games.

Staub finished his career with 2,716 hits, 292 home runs, and 1,466 RBIs. He had a career OPS+ of 124.

 

Another former Jesuit prep star had a memorable post-season series in 1989. Playing for the San Francisco Giants, Will Clark single-handedly defeated the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. He collected 13 hits, including three doubles, a triple, and two home runs (one of which was a grand slam) in five games.

Yankees vs. Dodgers. They haven’t played against each other in the World Series since 1981, when the Dodgers won in six games. Fernando Valenzuela became the toast of Tinseltown. That seems like ages ago.

Yankees vs. Mets. It was called the Subway Series in 2000, when the two teams met in the World Series. The Yankees won their third consecutive world championship. Remember the Clemens vs. Piazza incident?

Yeah, I know, it’s premature to call the Yankees the 2024 American League champion, but what if they were to defeat Cleveland in the ALCS to return as a pennant-winner for the first time since 2009? It would end one of their longest droughts without appearing in a World Series. But we’d have a chance to see the revival of an old rivalry.

Let’s take a look at some of the history between these franchises.

The Yankees and Dodgers played against each other in the World Series 11 times, the first dating back to 1941, when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. In their sixth meeting in 1955, the Dodgers finally overcame the Yankees, behind the pitching of Johnny Podres, Clem Labine and Roger Craig. Sandy Amoros made the legendary catch of Yogi Berra’s hit to left field.

In the Dodgers’ first World Series as the Los Angeles team in 1963, they swept the Yankees in four game. This time it was Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Podres man-handling Yankees batters, limiting them to only a .171 batting average and two home runs.

The Yankees defeated the Dodgers in back-to-back years in 1977-78. The Yankees’ lineup that included Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Lou Piniella, Roy White, Ron Guidry, Catfish Hunter, and Sparky Lyle, were too much for Los Angeles. Reggie Jackson’s three home runs in 1978 Game 6 marked one of the most historic hitting performances in World Series history.

FernandoMania hit the majors in 1981, when rookie Fernando Valenzuela dazzled fans with his unique windup and ended up winning the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award honors in the National League. He won Game 3 of the World Series which spurred the Dodgers’ turnaround defeat of the Yankees in six games.

The Mets and Yankees have met only once in the World Series, in 2000. It was only the Mets’ fourth World Series appearance. The Yankees defeated the Mets in five games, with each of the games ending in very close scores. There was no love lost between the two teams, highlighted by pitcher Roger Clemens throwing part of a shattered bat in the direction of batter Mike Piazza as he ran to first base.

Wouldn’t you want to see the Yankees play one of these two teams to renew an old rivalry?

So, all you Yankee-haters, go ahead and root for the Evil Empire to win the pennant this year. Is that asking too much?

With Pete Rose's death last week I thought I'd bring back a piece I wrote 11 years ago.

 

 

(Originally posted on TheTenthInning.com, July 22, 2013)

August 1st will mark the 35th anniversary of Pete Rose’s attempt to break the National League consecutive-game hitting streak held by Wee Willie Keeler.  Keeler’s record was 44 games, set in 1897, which is twelve shy of Joe DiMaggio’s 1941 all-time major-league record of 56.  I was fortunate to be able to attend Rose’s game against the Atlanta Braves on August 1, 1978, one in which he had the opportunity to break Keeler’s record.  I have had the good fortune to attend about 60 or so major-league games in my lifetime, and this was the most historically significant game I attended.

Of course, I had been tracking Rose’s pursuit of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, which started on June 14.  I happened to be attending a training class related to my work in Atlanta the week starting July 31.  It was one of those courses that involved 10-hour class days and had a very rigid schedule.  However, there was no way I was going to miss this game!

So, when Rose tied Keeler’s record of 44 games on July 31, I informed (note I didn’t say “requested”) my training instructor the next morning I would be leaving class early in order to see the game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.  I was lucky the instructor was also a baseball fan; hence, he was supportive of my quest and actually detailed out the public transportation bus route for me.  However, he cautioned me there would only be a few buses that would be returning to downtown Atlanta after the game, and I should be especially mindful of the time so as not to miss them.

I arrived at the ballpark in time to see the last of the batting practice swings by the Cincinnati Reds.  Recall that in 1978 some of the remnants of the Big Red Machine teams were still around -- Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, in addition to Rose.  It was quite a thrill to see these guys who were already immortals in my eyes.  I saw Rose spend time with a youngster in a wheelchair down on the field before the game, and I remember thinking, “what a great guy Pete must be.”

I was one of 31,159 fans in attendance at the game, a nice crowd on a weekday.  There was an air of “something special’s going to happen tonight,” in an anticipation of Rose breaking Keeler’s record.

Rose led off the game with a walk for the Reds against Braves starter Larry McWilliams and scored the first of three runs for the Reds in the first inning.  Okay, it wasn’t a hit, but it wasn’t a bad start.

Rose came up again in the top of the second and hit a line drive back through middle, only for McWilliams to snare it just as the ball appeared to have already passed him.  A few inches to the left or right, or a slower reflex by McWilliams, would have resulted in a single to centerfield and new National League record-holder.  Dang it!

Rose grounded out to the shortstop in the 5th inning and then lined into a double play, third to first, in the 7th inning.  Things were now looking pretty grim for his breaking the record.

By the end of the 7th inning, the game was out of hand for the Reds.  Dale Murphy and Bob Horner of the Braves had each hit home runs in the 5th, as did Barry Bonnell in the 7th.  The Braves scored five more runs in the bottom of the 8th to further secure the victory.  However, the game was running long on time, and I began to worry that I might miss the last bus back to my hotel.

Rose was scheduled to bat again in the top of the ninth, so I rationalized I couldn’t leave the game then.  My strategy became one of leaving my regular seat to search for the stadium exit closest to the bus stop outside the stadium and then watch the final inning in a seat near that exit.  In that way, after Rose batted, I could minimize the amount of time it took to catch the last bus.  Thus, before the top of the 9th inning, I found that exit, with the help of a stadium attendant, and wound up being the only person sitting in centerfield, since most everyone else, except some Rose fans, had pretty much gone home in the blowout game.

Rose was due up in the third spot in the top of the 9th inning.  I was thinking the odds were good that he would finally get the historic hit to keep his streak alive.  Furthermore, there was no additional pressure on the Braves to close out the Reds in a hitless fashion, after banging out 21 hits and 16 runs themselves.  Braves’ relief pitcher, Gene Garber, had already pitched the 7th and 8th innings.  Surely, he had tired somewhat.

Well, Garber had other thoughts about the 9th inning.  Apparently he wanted to finish the game quickly, but not for the same reason as me.  He wound up striking out Junior Kennedy and Vic Correll for the first two outs.  As Rose came up to bat, I was struggling to see well from my centerfield viewpoint.  Regardless, I just wanted him to get that hit.  Garber turned out to be a bulldog on the mound that night and also struck out Rose for the final out of the game.  Thus, the consecutive-game hitting streak had ended, with Rose still tied with Keeler.

I did wind up catching the bus back to my hotel on time.  But it wasn’t any consolation though, as I was truly disappointed in not seeing an historic baseball moment in person.

In 2012, I got an opportunity to meet Pete Rose in person in Las Vegas.  I had understood he spent a lot of days there, signing autographs at a store in a huge shopping mall.  I brought him a complimentary copy of the book I had recently authored, Family Ties:  A Comprehensive Collection of Facts and Trivia About Baseball’s Relatives, since he and his son, Pete Jr., are prominently mentioned in the book.  Despite my gift of the book, he still made me pay $75 for his autograph, and he generally appeared unappreciative of the book.  When I happened to mention that I had been at the game in which he snapped his hitting streak, he was not too interested in discussing the game or the streak.  Consequently, his aloofness affected my opinion of him as a person.

However, I have to acknowledge Rose was indeed the “Hit King,” except for that 0-for-5 night in 1978.

With the end of the regular baseball season, I began to reflect on how the campaign went—the surprises, the disappointments, the winners, the losers, the expectations met and unmet.

Let’s start with a review of a few low points in the season.

The Chicago White Sox were the epitome of futility. They broke the New York Mets’ record for number of losses in a season, which was established in the Mets’ first season 62 years ago. Just four years ago, the White Sox won the AL Central Division.

The Oakland A’s played their final game in the Oakland Coliseum. After owner John Fisher failed to secure local funding for a new stadium from the city of Oakland, he decided to abandon the fans of the Bay Area and relocate the team to Sacramento. The A’s will play there for three years until a stadium can be built in Las Vegas, where the A’s ultimately plan to call home. The A’s had been in Oakland since 1968. I feel sorry for those fans.

Extensive player injuries were a common theme for many clubs.

 

• ·    Atlanta Braves’ players were the poster children for a season riddled with injuries. They lost their best offensive player Ronald Acuna Jr. (last year’s NL MVP) at the end of May, and their best pitcher Spencer Strider (fourth-place finish for Cy Young Award in 2023) missed the entire season. Two other key players, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies, also missed considerable time.

 

 

• ·    After featuring one of the best starting pitcher staffs last year, the Astros’ pitching corps was decimated by injuries this season. They lost Cristian Javier, JP France, Jose Urquidy, and Justin Verlander (for a good part of the season). Lance McCullers Jr. missed his second straight season with a tendon injury.

 

 

• ·    The Los Angeles Dodgers shored up its pitching staff last winter with the addition of Tyler Glasnow and highly sought after Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, only to have them with limited availability during the season. On top of that, former mainstays Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw spent significant time on the injured list. Relative newcomers to the starting staff, Gavin Stone and Bobby Miller, ended the season on the injured list.

 

 

• ·    Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber pitched only two games before being lost for the season due to an elbow injury.

 

New Orleans native Ron Washington suffered a long season in his first year as manager of the Los Angeles Angels. Angels fans were hoping Washington could bring some of the magic he had experienced as manager of the Texas Rangers. But the Halos finished dead last in the AL West Division. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise since the Angels lost Japanese megastar Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers and Mike Trout missed all but 29 games due to injury.

After capturing their first World Series championship last year, the Texas Rangers returned to their former status as a sub-.500 team. Manager Bruce Bochy wasn’t able to overcome having the second-worst pitching staff in the AL. Former Cy Young Award winners Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom barely played all season.

 

However, the injury woes experienced by numerous teams didn’t put a damper on the entire season. We saw some of the best individual performances in recent history and a few surprising team finishes.

Shohei Ohtani broke all kinds of records in his first season with the Dodgers. He is the first player in 50-50 club for home runs and stolen bases. He delivered the most extra-base hits since 2001. He surpassed Ichiro for the most stolen bases by a Japanese player. He holds the Dodgers record for most home runs in a season. In what many believe is the greatest hitting performance in a single game, Ohtani went 6-for-6, hit three home runs, and stole two bases.

In the American League, the season’s best story included New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. He had another Ruthian season, putting up 58 home runs, averaging one for every 10 at-bats. He led the AL in seven other key offensive metrics which contributed to his 11.7 Offensive WAR.

When the Yankees landed Juan Soto over the winter, they expected the kind of season he ended up delivering. He hit a career-high 41 home runs and led the AL in runs scored. He and Judge were reminiscent of the legendary Yankees combos Ruth/Gehrig and Mantle/Maris.

Pittsburgh Pirates flamethrower Paul Skenes was everything we thought he would be. His 1.96 ERA is the second-lowest for a rookie with at least 20 starts since 1913. He finished with 170 strikeouts and only 32 walks. In games Skenes started, the Pirates had a 15-8 record. He’s one of the top two contenders for NL Rookie of the Year, along with Jackson Merrill. With the way Skenes pushes 99-100 mph on practically every pitch, let’s just hope he doesn’t flame out.

Jarren Duran quietly emerged as an offensive force with the Boston Red Sox. The outfielder led the American League in doubles and triples, to go along with 34 stolen bases. He reminds me of former Red Sox outfielders Johnny Damon and Jacob Ellsbury. But if Duran follows their history, he will eventually wind up as a Yankee.

Stolen bases returned as a major offensive threat, perhaps because of the larger base sizes. I guess the Moneyball strategy that de-emphasized stealing has been thrown out the window. Remember when all-time stolen base leader Rickey Henderson could get a rally going by just drawing a walk and then stealing second? Now we have Cincinnati Reds speedster Elly De La Cruz revving up crowds with his legs (when he doesn’t strike out—he leads the NL with 216 punchouts).

How about those Guardians, Tigers, and Royals? When was the last time the AL Central Division had three teams in the playoffs? How about NEVER! Was it because the division’s teams got better, or did other teams in the league get worse? It was not too long ago that we used to ridicule the AL Central as the worst in baseball.

 

The Cleveland Guardians are currently leading the AL Central Division by three games over the Kansas City Royals, as of games on Saturday. Based on winning percentage, they have the second-best record in the American League, trailing only the New York Yankees by .007 percentage points. But when you look at individual and team statistics, you wonder how they can be in this position.

The Guardians, under first-time manager Stephen Vogt, have led their division every day but four throughout the season. That’s pretty impressive, although many baseball analysts in past years would argue the Guardians play in the worst division in baseball. The cellar-dwelling Chicago White Sox, with only 34 wins to date, are often cited as being emblematic of the lack of competitiveness in the division.

When you look underneath the wins and losses, you scratch your head trying to figure out why they have the second-best record.

Offensively, the Guardians are barely above league average in Runs Scored Per Game (4.47). Division opponents Minnesota and Kansas City Royals are ahead of them.

They are below league average in Batting Average, On-Base Percentage, and On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage. Again, the Twins and Royals are ahead of them in all three measures.

When considering OPS+ (Weighted On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage), the Guardians are sixth (out of 15) from the bottom. Their OPS+ puts them just as close to the pathetic White Sox as they are to the league-leading Yankees.

Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, David Fry, and Stephen Kwan are carrying the team offensively. All four were selected to the American League All-Star team this year. The Guardians are a young team, with a lot of inexperience. Ramirez is the elder statesman at age 31.

So, with their middle-of-the-pack offense, you turn your thoughts to their pitching staff as the main reason for having the second-best record in the AL.

Well, that’s partially true.

The Guardians’ Runs Allowed Per Game is impressive, with the second-lowest (3.96) in the American League, behind Seattle.

However, the Guardians starting pitching is last in the American League in Wins Above Average (WAA), actually pretty bad with a -4.9. (By comparison, the division-rival Royals lead the league with 8.8 WAA.) Only second-year player Tanner Bibee gives them a chance among the starters. They miss their ace, Shane Bieber, who pitched only two games in April before his season ended in the with an elbow injury.

But looking at WAA for just their relief pitchers, they are the main factor why the Guardians are leading the division. The Guardians relievers lead the league with 6.9 WAA. The next closest team is Tampa with a 2.8 WAA. This translates to the Guardians’ winning most of their games if they hold a lead in the late innings, even if by a small margin.

Closer Emmanuel Clase leads the Guardians’ bullpen staff. He’s having one of the best seasons for relievers in recent history. He currently owns a 0.667 ERA in 67 appearances, while compiling league-leading 44 saves. He has a 0.668 WHIP and has yielded only five earned runs in 67.1 innings.

Middle relievers Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and Tim Herris have ERAs below 2.07. The entire relief corps has been credited with only 10 of the Guardians’ 64 losses.

The Guardians are a pretty safe bet to make the playoffs. How does their team makeup position them for a playoff run?

If the Guardians can maintain a lead into the sixth inning, their bullpen has a good chance of holding the lead, especially when they get into the ninth inning when Clase takes over. But don’t expect much from their starters, which could lead to an overworked bullpen over the course of the playoffs.

There’s no shortage of superstar position players in the majors this season. With performances from veteran players like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, as well as relative newcomers such as Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, and Darren Juran, there are plenty of talented players to follow and root for.

Yet there hasn’t much opportunity to cheer for once-megastar Mike Trout, whose season has been impacted by the injury bug again.

When he was in his prime, I loved watching Trout play, to see how he would beat opposing teams with his bat and his glove. He was the subject of frequent ESPN Top 10 plays. There was a period when he was capturing AL MVP hardware, or finishing as runner-up, practically every year. It seemed like he was reaching major offensive milestones every season. I always viewed him as the “new Mickey Mantle.”  He was the face of major league baseball.

The main difference between Trout and Mantle didn’t involve any aspect of their physical abilities—it was the fact that Trout didn’t have the surrounding cast of Angels teammates that Mantle had with the Yankees. The Angels have had only one playoff team among only four winning teams during Trout’s 14-year tenure. (It reminds me of Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, who played 19 years with some pretty awful Chicago Cubs teams and never appeared in a post-season game.)

But the Angels’ losing ways didn’t affect his own play. When he was healthy, he could single-handedly beat teams with his bat, his glove, and his legs.

However, Trout’s had only one season when he played over 100 games due to a variety of injuries since 2020. He’s been only a shell of the player he had once been. Ohtani came onto the scene in Anaheim in 2018 and took over for Trout as one of the best players in the league, combing hitting and pitching skills. (Ohtani sandwiched a fourth-place finish for the Cy Young Award with two MVP Award seasons, something previously unheard of.)

Despite Trout being 32 years old, I had hoped 2024 would be the beginning of a rejuvenation period, where he would leave behind the injury-filled period and get back on track to his former productive years. Since Ohtani had moved on to the Dodgers, I was ready for Trout to take center stage again with the Angels.

Instead, Trout has played only 29 games this year, with all of them coming at the start of the season. A torn meniscus sustained on April 29 sent him to the surgical table, and he followed with a lengthy rehabilitation period.

He had a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on July 23 but left the game early with a sore knee. He ended up tearing his meniscus a second time, which put him back on the injured list for the rest of the season.

Trout could retire right now at age 33 and still get his bronze plaque in Cooperstown. Just his eight seasons between 2012 and 2019 were that impactful to warrant election. The best analogy would be Sandy Koufax, who had six of the most dominating seasons in history for a pitcher. He retired at age 30 because of a permanent arm injury and was still a first-ballot Hall electee.

Baseball is all too often unkind to many of its players, unfortunately including some of the game’s best. Hopefully, Trout will eventually make a successful full-season comeback and return to his greatness. In the meantime, I have no problem pulling for Judge and Soto to finally bring the Yankees their 28th World Championship.

When the Baltimore Orioles finished last in the AL East Division in 2017, winning 75 games, fans didn’t know then it could get a lot worse. But it did. They finished last during the next four years, too, winning only 47, 54, 25 (Covid-shortened season), and 52 games. The Orioles’ front office had decided to rebuild the roster which contributed to their futility during those losing seasons. It was hard for the fans to be patient.

But unlike other franchises who have been in similar situations, the Orioles haven’t stayed mired in their losing ways. Beginning in 2018, the Orioles emphasized talent evaluation and player development during the ensuing lean years and are now reaping the benefits. General Manager Mike Elias gets credit for leading the Orioles’ productive efforts.

Actually, the turnaround began in 2022 when the Orioles broke .500 for the first time since 2016. Last season they achieved 101 wins (their first 100-win season since 1980) and earned a first-place finish in the division.

They’re one of the best teams in the AL again this year. The number of young quality players on the roster doesn’t seem fair to the rest of the league, although Orioles management certainly didn’t feel that way. In fact, if not for some current injuries, they likely wouldn’t have a spot for all of them. Because of their depth in position players, a few of them were traded this season to address the need for additional pitching down the stretch. It’s a great problem to have for the front office.

In the discussion below about specific Orioles players, I am referencing their draft year and draft round to emphasize the Orioles’ success in the selection of players. They have quickly risen to major-league status and are now key contributors.

Three of the Orioles’ young studs made the AL All-Star team this year, along with eight-year veteran Anthony Santander. Adley Rutschmann (2019, 1st) quickly established himself as one of the best catches in all of baseball. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2019, 2nd) was the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year and is making a strong bid for MVP honors this season. Jordan Westburg (2020, 1st), in his second year with the Orioles, has been a valuable player at multiple infield positions.

Last year’s Minor League Player of the Year Jackson Holliday (2022, 1st) made his major-league debut in early April, but was returned to Triple-A Norfolk when he struggled at the plate. When Westburg went on the injured list, Holliday was recalled to play second base and has demonstrated the power everyone expected (5 home runs in 14 games). Drafted as a shortstop, he will play second base in deference to Henderson.

Colton Cowser (2021, 1st) took over left field duties at the beginning of the year, while Heston Kjerstad (2020, 1st) became an everyday player splitting time between outfield and DH in July.  They are competing for playing time with Santander and veteran outfielder Cedric Mullins (2015, 13^th) who became a regular in 2021. After hitting 23 home runs in the minors, third baseman Coby Mayo (2020, 4th) made his major-league debut at the beginning of August.

The Orioles haven’t focused on pitching as much as position players, but Grayson Rodriguez (2018, 1st) has become a mainstay in the starting rotation in only his second major-league season, with 13 wins under his belt. If there is a weakness in the current roster, it is pitching depth.

Baltimore is in the enviable position to deal some of their prospects should they need to close gaps in the roster. For example, to address a lack of healthy pitching depth this season, the Orioles dealt several of its surplus youngsters near the trade deadline. Austin Hays (2016, 3rd) was sent to the Phillies for relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez. Outfielder Kyle Stowers (2019, 2nd) and infielder Connor Norby (2021, 2nd) were traded to the Marlins for starter Trevor Rogers.

The Orioles have followed the blueprint the Houston Astros utilized during 2011 to 2014, when they overhauled their roster with young, highly productive prospects. Since 2017, the Astros have played in four World Series, winning in 2017 and 2022.

That’s what the Orioles are poised to do over the next few years.