Knuckle Curve » History

Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot – Who Gets In?

Stephen Kersey — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:50:46 +0000

On Monday, we will find out which players go enough votes to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Although Rickey Henderson is a lock, there is a lot of Hall of Fame worthiness discussions surrounding all the other players. Who do we think will make it into Cooperstown?

Players Who Will Be In The Hall
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Rickey Henderson
Tim Raines

Players Who Won’t Be In The Hall
Harold Baines
Jay Bell
David Cone
Ron Gant
Mark Grace
Tommy John
Don Mattingly
Mark McGwire
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
Jesse Orosco
Dave Parker
Dan Plesac
Jim Rice
Lee Smith
Alan Trammell
Greg Vaughn
Mo Vaughn
Matt Williams

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Phillies World Series Videos and Pictures

Stephen Kersey — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:40:53 +0000

The Phillies did it!

What does it feel like to be a World Series champion? Ask the Philadelphia Phillies, who on Wednesday took home the 2008 World Series title. These Phillies are now the champions of baseball for the year of 2008 and no one can take that away from them.

Ryan Howard has now established himself in history.

You can see Phillies World Series celebration videos here:

Photo: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve

My 68 Tigers – Al Kaline is not a battery and Willie can throw

admin — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:18:15 +0000

By Guest Blogger James Edwards

My age was 12. Baseball ruled. It was 1968 and the Detroit Tigers were going to win it all. Yeah, that is what needs to be told to today’s baseball fan.

Hi, my name is James, sometimes known as the Squibster. Normally you would find me writing for Squibkick or NBAObsessed. You see baseball used to be my favorite sport and now football and basketball have taken baseball’s place. That needs some explaining, so we have to go back in time.

Baseball in 1968 was so different from today. Nobody had computers or the internet. Most of the games were on the radio. Don’t worry, there will be no reference to the good old days, because today is the good old days.

The Squibster was 12 years old and baseball was everything. My occupation upon growing up was to be shortstop for the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers were coming from behind in the late innings and winning game after game. Dennis Dale McClain won 31 games that year and then kind of wore out his arm and rubber arm Mickey Lolich took over in the World Series to win 3 games.

It was so cool to a baseball obsessed youngster in the days before even the VCR or DVR, because our teachers rolled in the TV’s to our class rooms and allowed us to watch a couple World Series games on TV. The games were even played in the day time back then!

Now we need a good story to complete this story; kind of the story within the story, so here goes.
The Tigers were facing one of the all time great teams in the 68 St. Louis Cardinals with Bob Gibson pitching. Hmm, think his ERA was around 2.95 and he had a blazing fastball. Bob struck out 17 batters in the first game, a record at the time. His ERA in the Series was well below 2.00.

In the 60’s it was a pitchers game and bunting and stealing were very important. Hardly anyone hit over .300. Al Kaline was one of the best hitters in the league and only batted .287 that year. (keep in mind this is all from memory, so don’t bet your paycheck on any of these facts.) In fact, only Carl Yaztrzemski hit over .300 that year and he hit .301.

The Tigers had four outfielders, Mickey Stanley, Jim “the Grey Fox” Northrup, Al Kaline, and Willie Horton. The manager, Mayo Smith, decided to move Mickey Stanley to shortstop for the World Series to get one more bat in the lineup. Ray Oyler was the regular shortstop and hit less than .200. That left Al Kaline in right field, Jim Northrup in center and Willie Horton in left field.

Stanley (2 gold gloves), Northrup, and Kaline (9 gold gloves) were all great fielders. Stanley’s fielding percentage used to be the all time high. Willie Horton was an average fielder with an average arm, but he was bulging with muscles back when players were small. Willie Mays was 5′ 11″ as was Mickey Mantle and they were not big. Oh, the Yaz was also 5′ 11″ tall.

Enough prep, lets get to the story. The word got out that Willie Horton would not try to throw anyone out at home from left field on a runner on second when someone hit a single to left. Willie would just throw it to Don Wert at third.

St. Louis had one of the all time base stealers in Lou Brock. He had speed to burn. Brock was so fast that he would go into home standing up from second, because outfielders rarely challenged him with a throw to home.

Lou Brock – the one of the greatest base stealers of all time

So, sure enough, Bill Freehan, the catcher, signaled Don Wert, the third baseman, to let Willie Horton’s throw through to the plate and they caught Lou Brock at the plate standing up for an out. The momentum had changed.

The Tigers were losing the game 3 – 2 at the time and were down 3 -1 in the series. They went on to win the game and the series. Mickey Lolich became the star.

This was more than a World Series. It was a team holding a town together. This was the year of civil rights and riots and marching in the city of Detroit. The Newspapers were on strike and few games were on TV. The Tigers were on the radio all summer and kind of gave the city something else to think about, something to rally around, to believe in.

The Squibster was 12 years old and Detroit was going to win it all. My world was perfect.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Kirk Gibson Homerun – Becoming a Fan

Stephen Kersey — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:12:09 +0000

The bloggers for the b5media sports channel were asked to write a blog entry about a childhood sports memory. For me, when I think of childhood sports memories, there’s really only one that stands out.

I really started following baseball in the 1988 season. Both of my parents are Los Angeles Dodgers fans after growing up in Los Angeles. They’d watch Dodgers games here and there and I’d join them on the coach. I really didn’t understand much at first but I asked a lot of questions, and by the end of the year I had a pretty good understanding of what was happening.

Fast forward to the first game of the World Series between the Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics. The big, strong and powerful A’s were supposed to destroy the pesky Dodgers, who most people said lucked out even making it to the World Series.

(As an interesting side-story, I remember asking my dad about why Jose Canseco always twitches when he’s on the plate. My dad told me it was because he was on steroids. If it was that obvious then, why’d it take so long to unravel that mystery? Then again, that’s probably a memory for a different day.)

With the Dodgers down by a run, I remember thinking it was over when Dennis Eckersley entered the game. They flashed his stats and I had advanced far enough in my baseball knowledge to know that chances were slim that the Dodgers could make a comeback.

With two outs and a runner of first base, I remember Kirk Gibson limping to the batter’s box. He worked the count full. Each swing he took seemed to take years off of his life. Then it happened. The homerun. The Kirk Gibson homerun.

I remember celebrating around the house. I couldn’t believe what I just saw. The Dodgers were the winners of the World Series!!! Or so I thought at the time. My parents then explained that was only the first game of the World Series. Only the first game?

Since that time, I’ve been hooked.

10 minutes of unedited Kirk Gibson homerun video:

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Chicks Dig the… Triple?

Geoff Young — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:29:53 +0000

Well, maybe not, but my latest article at Baseball Digest Daily profiles the 15 big leaguers who have as their only hit a triple. Yep, from John Barthold to Eric Cammack, I’ve got you covered. You’re welcome…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Where Are They Now: Top Prospects of ‘98, #21-30

Geoff Young — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:14:23 +0000

Previously…

J.D. Drew and Ila Borders were playing in the Northern League. Kevin Mench led the NCAA in home runs, while Brian Roberts led in stolen bases. You guessed it, we’re back in 1998 for our latest look at baseball’s best prospects from that year. Sit back, relax, and enjoy…

Darnell McDonald, OF, Baltimore Orioles. McDonald is a very fast man who can’t hit. On the Robinson scale, he is more Kerry than Frank. The Orioles took McDonald with the 26th pick overall in 1997. He had one decent year in the minors, in 2002, when he hit .290/.362/.445 at Double- and Triple-A as a 23-year-old. McDonald saw limited action for Baltimore in 2004 and again for the Minnesota Twins in 2007. His big-league line is .143/.200/.167 in 45 plate appearances. He’s hit .269/.330/.390 over parts of 11 seasons in the minors and he needs just three more stolen bases to reach 200.
Brian Rose, RHP, Boston Red Sox. Rose and Carl Pavano sure generated a lot of buzz back in the day. That’s what happens when you play in the Red Sox organization. Boston picked Rose in the third round of the ‘94 draft. He posted some decent surface numbers in the minors but had trouble putting the ball past hitters even at Double-A. That usually doesn’t translate into big-league success, and Rose was no exception. Over parts of five seasons, he finished with a 15-23 record and a 5.86 ERA (87 ERA+). Rose continued to toil in the minors through 2005, when he went 5-6 with a 6.82 ERA at Triple-A Louisville in the Reds organization.
Ryan Anderson, LHP, Seattle Mariners. In retrospect, perhaps hanging the moniker “Little Unit” on the young hurler wasn’t such a great idea. Not that Anderson’s career would have turned out any better necessarily, but comparing an 18-year-old kid to one of the dominant big-league pitchers of his generation isn’t exactly fair. Either way, Anderson never made it. He had three reasonably successful minor-league seasons, then got hurt, then briefly resurfaced in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, then disappeared. In 75 minor-league starts, Anderson went 20-27 with a 4.05 ERA. He’ll turn 29 in July. Maybe the next time you order a steak, he’ll be the guy who cooks it for you.
Matt Anderson, RHP, Detroit Tigers.. Throwing hard is great, but it’s no substitute for knowing how to pitch. The Tigers drafted Anderson and his triple-digit heater with the first pick overall in 1997. After 30 dominant (0.66 ERA) minor-league appearances, Anderson got the call and gave the Tigers 44 innings of 3.27 ERA (144 ERA+) in ‘98. The 6.34 BB/9 should have been a warning sign. Anderson was roughly league average in 2000, at age 23, and saved 22 games (despite an 88 ERA+) the following year. After a couple of injury-marred seasons, Anderson popped up with the Colorado Rockies in 2005 and worked 10 uninspired innings for them. He spent ‘06 in the Giants organization, posting a 9.26 ERA over 26 appearances at Triple-A Fresno.
Eric Milton, LHP, Minnesota Twins. The New York Yankees selected Milton with the 20th pick overall in 2006, just ahead of right-handers Jake Westbrook and Gil Meche. After just one season in the minors (and only 14 starts above A-ball), Milton headed to Minnesota as part of the package that put Chuck Knoblauch in pinstripes. Milton had a bumpy rookie campaign, but then pitched reasonably well from 1999 to 2002. He missed most of 2003 due to injury and then was traded to Philadelphia after the season. Milton enjoyed one so-so season with the Phillies before moving on to Cincinnati, where he and Reds fans endured one of the worst performances ever by a starting pitcher. He rebounded somewhat in 2006 before spending most of ‘07 on the shelf. Now 32 years old, Milton owns a career 87-84 record with a 5.01 ERA (93 ERA+) over parts of 10 seasons. His most comparable pitchers by age are guys like Jose Lima, Esteban Loiza, James Baldwin, Shawn Estes, Darren Oliver… have you fallen asleep yet? Anyway, Milton also managed to spin a no-hitter back in ‘99. That almost certainly will end up being the highlight of his career.
Russell Branyan, 3B, Cleveland Indians. Branyan probably deserved a better career than he’s had. Unfortunately, he strikes out at a legendary rate, and many decision makers view that particular type of out as worse than other types. The Indians tabbed Branyan with their seventh-round pick in the 1994 draft. In ‘96 he put himself on the prospect map by launching 40 homers in the South Atlantic League. The next year, he pounded 39 more in the Carolina and Eastern Leagues. Branyan got cups of coffee with the big club in ‘98 and ‘99, and split 2000 between Cleveland and Triple-A Buffalo. In 2001, his first full big-league season, Branyan hit .232/.316/.486 (108 OPS+) with 20 home runs in 361 plate appearances. He also fanned 132 times, which really is amazing. In ‘02, he hit 24 more homers with the Indians and Reds, to whom he was traded (for Ben Broussard) in June. Since then, Branyan has never had as many as 300 plate appearances in a season. He has produced, though — specifically homers, walks, and strikeouts (three true outcomes). Over parts of 10 seasons, Branyan owns a .229/.327/.478 (107 OPS+) batting line. He also has struck out in 34.8% of his trips to the plate. The latter number will keep him from ever getting a chance to start, but figures to endow him with a cult following long after his career has ended (Ken Phelps and Rob Deer send their regards).
Bruce Chen, LHP, Atlanta Braves. Chen, who had one of the more fascinating backgrounds of this group, first signed with the Braves in 1993 as a 16-year-old. After three years of Rookie and Short-Season ball, Chen moved up to the South Atlantic League in 1997 and at times dominated. He finished 12-7 with a pedestrian 3.51 ERA but a stellar 11.22 K/9 and 4.14 K/BB. He split the next season between Double- and Triple-A, and even made four starts for Atlanta. Chen split 1999 between Richmond and the big club, and in 2000 he worked out of the Braves bullpen before being traded to Philadelphia in July for Dennis Cook and Turk Wendell. Since then, Chen has bounced around the league, pitching for nine teams in 10 years. He appeared to break through in 2005 with the Orioles, when he went 13-10 with a 3.83 ERA (113 ERA+), but his game fizzled the next season. Chen made five relief appearances for the Texas Rangers in 2007. Now a few months shy of 31, he owns a 35-37 career record and a 4.63 ERA (95 ERA+).
Scott Elarton, RHP, Houston Astros. A lot of smart baseball people I know were really high on Elarton after his strong showing (124 IP, 3.48 ERA, 128 ERA+, 8.78 K/9) as a swingman for Houston in 1999 at age 23. Unfortunately, his career didn’t unfold quite the way they’d envisioned. Elarton, the Astros’ first pick in the 1994 draft (what a terrible year for first-round pitchers: Paul Wilson, C.J. Nitkowski, the late Doug Million, etc.), burst onto the prospect scene in ‘97. His ERA (3.85) wasn’t spectacular at Double- and Triple-A, but he struck out a ton of batters (well, 9.19 per 9 if you want to be technical). He followed that up with another solid season split between New Orleans and the big club. Then, after the fine ‘99 campaign we’ve already mentioned, Elarton spent the entire 2000 season in the Astros’ rotation. The good news is that he won 17 games. The bad news is that his ERA (4.81) was too high, and his strikeouts (6.12 per 9) had plummeted to an alarming degree. Elarton proceeded to battle injuries and a stint in Colorado before moving onto Cleveland and Kansas City, where things haven’t been much better. Over parts of nine seasons, Elarton is 56-60 with a 5.31 ERA (86 ERA+). His list of most comparable pitchers through age 31 is littered with uninspiring names. Actually, Sugar Cain and Phil Collins are cool names; they just weren’t exciting pitchers.
Grant Roberts, RHP, New York Mets.. The Mets tabbed Roberts in the 11th round of the 1995 draft. Two years later, he went 11-3 with a 2.35 ERA and strong peripherals in Low-A ball at age 19. In hindsight, my suspicion is that folks got a little too giddy over that initial success. Roberts saw his ERA balloon into the 4.00s over the next couple seasons, during which he experienced a concurrent drop in strikeouts. After working almost exclusively as a starter in the minors, Roberts shifted to the bullpen with the big club. He found some success in his new role, most notably in 2002, when he posted a 2.20 ERA (181 ERA+) in 34 appearances. Roberts was injured (shoulder) for much of the following two seasons, and last pitched in the majors in 2004. He got into nine games for Double-A Trenton in 2005, but hasn’t been heard from since. Over parts of five seasons, Roberts went 4-4 with a 4.25 ERA (97 ERA+) and 1 save.
Eric Chavez, 3B, Oakland A’s. Like Roberts, Chavez came out of San Diego. Taken with the 10th pick overall in 1996, Chavez passed up a USC scholarship and signed with the A’s. The next year, in an extremely aggressive move, the club sent Chavez to Visalia in the High-A California League. He responded by hitting .271/.320/.444 — not great, but certainly respectable for a teenager in that league. Chavez exploded the following year at Double- and Triple-A, and by the end of 1998 was well on his way to establishing himself as Oakland’s starting third baseman at the ripe old age of 20. Chavez enjoyed productive years from 2001 through 2004, before slipping a bit in his age 27 season. His last two campaigns have been truncated by injuries, and he appears to have settled in at a lower level of production. Now entering his thirties, Chavez owns a career line of .269/.347/.486 (117 OPS+) and has knocked 227 big-league homers. His list of similar players at the same age includes Scott Rolen and Troy Glaus, two other third basemen whose careers stalled a little earlier than anyone could have expected.

As always, thanks for joining me in our look back at the top prospects of ‘98. Our next installment includes a potential future Hall-of-Fame first baseman, a couple decent outfielders, and a guy whose career has taken some unexpected twists and turns. Until then…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Random Wednesday: 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates

Geoff Young — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:06:08 +0000

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Hey, here’s a fun team that doesn’t get a lot of attention. The 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates went 92-70, good enough for third place in an extremely tight National League race. The Dodgers won the pennant, with the Giants back of them by 1 1/2 games. The Bucs, in turn, finished 1 1/2 games behind San Francisco.

Harry “The Hat” Walker managed the Pirates in ‘66, and what an offense he had at his disposal. Future Hall-of-Famers Willie Stargell (.315/.381/.581, 164 OPS+) and Roberto Clemente (.317/.360/.536, 146 OPS+) had monster seasons (Clemente won the MVP award), as did first baseman Donn Clendenon (.299/.358/.520, 141 OPS+). Matty Alou (.342/.373/.421, 121 OPS+) won the batting title, finishing 15 points ahead of brother Felipe. As a team, they led the NL in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, and placed second (to the Braves) in runs scored.

The pitching wasn’t quite as good as the hitting, but then, with that offense, it didn’t need to be. Left-hander Bob Veale (16-12, 3.02 ERA, 118 ERA+) led the charge. The rest of the rotation was nothing special but did feature a couple of promising youngsters in Woodie Fryman and Steve Blass. Nobody in the bullpen dominated, but as a unit, Roy Face, Pete Mikkelsen, Al McBean, and Billy O’Dell offered solid support when needed.

The Pirates spent 60 days in first in ‘66, the last time coming on September 10. Never once during the season were they under .500. They never won more than six games in a row, nor did they ever lose more than four straight. That is some kind of consistency.

Speaking of which, the Pirates went 46-35 both at home and on the road. Their downfall, if you want to call it that, was a 40-37 record after the All-Star break. Getting swept at home by the Giants over the final weekend didn’t help either.

This was a good Pirates team that easily could have won the pennant and might have been a better match for the Baltimore Orioles (who swept the Dodgers in the World Series). What wouldn’t Pittsburgh fans do for such a potent lineup right about now?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Where Are They Now: Top Prospects of ‘98, #31-40

Geoff Young — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:34:01 +0000

Previously…

I think 1998 is right around when I first started to realize how difficult it is to develop a big-league catcher. Five backstops made Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects that year, and none of ‘em did much. Still, this latest batch includes a former home-run champion and a Cy Young Award winner…

Cesar King, C, Texas Rangers. As a Latin-American catcher stuck behind Ivan Rodriguez, King drew the inevitable comparisons. Unfortunately, King couldn’t hit. He never reached the big leagues, and his career minor-league line is .248/.311/.377 in 1665 plate appearances. King last played 12 games for Double-A Chattanooga in the Cincinnati Reds organization in 2002. He was 24 that year and hasn’t been seen since.
Dermal Brown, OF, Kansas City Royals. Brown’s is a familiar story: plenty of tools, not enough skills. He received one shot as a big-league regular. In 2001, at age 23, Brown hit .245/.286/.350 (63 OPS+) before losing his job. For a defensively challenged left fielder, that kind of bat just didn’t cut it — not even with the ‘01 Royals. Brown resurfaces every now and then, most recently for three at-bats with the Oakland A’s in 2007. For his career, he’s batting .233/.280/.333 (57 OPS+) in 874 plate appearances. Brown turns 30 at the end of March, but it wouldn’t surprise me if his stint with the A’s last year was his swan song.
Eli Marrero, C, St. Louis Cardinals. Marrero is the one catcher on our list who actually had a decent career. He’s also the one who had the most to overcome. Marrero first came up the big leagues in 1997 and got into 17 games that year. After a nondescript ‘98 season, he got the bulk of the playing time behind the dish and hit .192/.236/.297 (33 OPS+). That is epic: Since 1961, only 11 players have posted a lower OPS+ while logging 300 or more plate appearances. Marrero then missed much of the 2000 season due to thyroid cancer, only to come back the next year and hit .266/.312/.438 (92 OPS+) in 86 games. He followed that with a .262/.327/.451 campaign — and, oh, by the way, he spent most of his time playing the outfield, including 36 games in center. Marrero has played sparingly since then, most recently in 2006 with the Rockies and Mets. Over parts of 10 seasons, he owns a .243/.303/.411 (84 OPS+) batting line. He also has stolen 56 bases, at a slick 84% success rate.
Mike Caruso, SS, Chicago White Sox. Caruso, along with pitcher Lorenzo Barcelo, was part of the “White Flag” trade of 1997. The next spring, despite zero experience above High-A, Caruso made the big club. Amazingly he hit .306/.331/.390 (89+) despite hacking at nearly everything thrown his way. The same approach didn’t work for Caruso in 1999, and he spent the next two seasons at Triple-A — first with the White Sox affiliate, then with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization. He didn’t hit a lick either place. Caruso got into 12 games for the Royals in 2002, then apparently retired at the ripe old age of 25.
Ryan Minor, 3B, Baltimore Orioles. Minor was sort of Joe Borchard’s predecessor. Like Borchard, Minor excelled in another sport (basketball), had tools that made scouts drool, was always old for his level, and lacked the necessary skills to play baseball in the big leagues. One in a line of “replacements” for Cal Ripken Jr., Minor saw action in parts of four seasons and hit .177/.228/.259 (26 OPS+). Minor last played at Double-A Charlotte (Marlins) in 2004 at age 30, and had more strikeouts than hits. Minor knocked five home runs during his brief career. His victims weren’t exactly household names: Terry Adams, Nelson Figueroa, Dan Perkins, John Snyder, and Ed Yarnall.
Troy Glaus, 3B, Anaheim Angels. Hey, look, a prospect who turned into a star. It happens. The Angels took Glaus with the third pick overall in the 1997 draft. Glaus, who had played some shortstop at UCLA, immediately turned into a full-time third baseman. He also immediately destroyed minor-league pitching, to the tune of .307/.396/.641 in 109 games at Double- and Triple-A. By the end of his first pro season, Glaus was Anaheim’s starting third baseman. He hit 29 homers in his first full season and followed that up by knocking 47 and winning the AL home-run title at age 23. Glaus has continued to produce ever since, albeit not to those early levels. He also has had trouble staying healthy. Even still, over parts of 10 seasons he’s hitting .254/.358/.500 (121 OPS+), with 277 home runs. Two of Glaus’ most similar players through age 30 are in the Hall of Fame (although both Mike Schmidt and Reggie Jackson had a much higher OPS+). Glaus bears stronger resemblance to Matt Williams or the man for whom he was traded this past winter, Scott Rolen.
Rolando Arrojo, RHP, Tampa Bay Devil Rays. One of the Cuban defectors from the mid- to late-’90s (Ariel Prieto, Livan Hernandez), Arrojo featured a funky delivery that kept hitters off balance all throughout his rookie season. He went 14-12 with a 3.56 ERA (133 ERA+) in 1998 and finished second to Oakland outfielder Ben Grieve in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Arrojo slipped considerably each of the next two seasons before rebounding as a reliever for the Red Sox in 2001. After appearing in 29 more games for Boston in 2002, Arrojo pitched nine innings at the Yankees’ Triple-A club in Columbus the following year before calling it quits at age 34 (or thereabouts). Arrojo left the game with a 40-42 record and 4.55 ERA (108 ERA+) in exactly 700 innings.
Roy Halladay, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays. What I remember about Halladay’s early years is that he had week peripheral numbers in the minors and then almost spun a no-hitter in his second big-league start. In his first full season, 1999, Halladay went 8-7 with a 3.92 ERA (126 ERA+), but it screamed fluke. His K/9 was below 5, his K/BB was right around 1, he gave up a lot of hits, and he was prone to serving up the long ball. In short, Halladay looked like a great candidate to collapse, and that’s just what he did the next year — in spectacular fashion. He became the 12th pitcher since 1900 to work at least 60 innings and post an ERA+ below 50 (and the only one whose ERA reached double digits). So in 2001 the Blue Jays kicked Halladay all the way back to High-A and reinvented him. He returned to the big club and pitched very well down the stretch. The next year he won 19 games and made the All-Star team. A year after that he won 22 and took home the Cy Young Award. Halladay has battled injuries since then but he’s been remarkably effective when healthy. Through parts of 10 seasons he’s 111-55 with a 3.63 ERA (128 ERA+). Nice comeback, eh?
Braden Looper, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards selected Looper out of Wichita State with the third pick in the 1995 draft. A closer in college, Looper was shifted to starting duty as a pro, but that experiment soon ended and he returned to the bullpen. After two seasons in the minors, Looper came up to the big club in September 1998, made four appearances, and then got shipped to Florida in a deal for shortstop Edgar Renteria. With the Marlins, Looper embarked on his career as generic middle reliever, although his high draft status probably netted him a few more saves than most guys with his skill set. Looper’s best season came in 2004, when he notched 29 saves with the New York Mets and posted an uncharacteristic 2.70 ERA (158 ERA+) in 83 1/3 innings. Last year, after 572 consecutive relief appearances to start his career, Looper made his first big-league start. He went on to make 30 of them in a performance that is best described as “adequate.” For his career, Looper owns a 46-44 record with a 3.88 ERA (110 ERA+) and 103 saves. He also has proven extremely durable, which is more than can be said for his predecessor as closer at Wichita State, Darren Dreifort.
Ruben Rivera, OF, San Diego Padres. My two enduring (if not endearing) memories of Rivera are the time he launched a ball into the upper deck at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia and the time he entered as a pinch-runner and promptly got picked off first base to end the game on the third-to-first move that never works. I doubt I’ll ever see a more exasperating player in my lifetime. Originally signed by the New York Yankees, Rivera came to San Diego in the Hideki Irabu trade. Rivera spent two seasons as the Padres starting center fielder and displayed an incredible inability to hit a baseball. He later spent time with the Reds, Rangers, and Giants, but didn’t do much with any of those clubs. Actually, he made one of the worst baserunning blunders in history while with the Giants (no video is available, so you’ll have to settle for a description that doesn’t do it justice). Rivera also once allegedly stole a glove from teammate Derek Jeter. Scouts like players who have tools, not players who are tools. Over parts of eight seasons, Rivera, who is the cousin of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, hit .216/.307/.393 (82 OPS+). At last check, Rivera was swinging and missing for the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte in 2006 at age 32.

As always, thanks for joining me in our look back at the top prospects of ‘98. Our next installment includes a very tall pitcher, a very homeriffic pitcher, the ultimate Three True Outcomes hero, and pretty good third baseman who looked like he’d be better than he is. Until then…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Where Are They Now: Top Prospects of ‘98, #41-50

Geoff Young — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:19:52 +0000

Previously…

California bans smoking in bars and restaurants, 19 countries in Europe forbid human cloning, the Unabomber enters a guilty plea — and that’s just in January! You guessed it, we’re looking back at 1998 again. In this installment, we enter the top half of Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects. Sit back, relax, and try not to think about George Michael getting arrested in a park restroom…

Francisco Cordero, RHP, Detroit Tigers. Cordero always had a great arm — when it was healthy, that is. After bursting onto the scene in ‘97 at Western Michigan (54.1 IP, 0.99 ERA, 4.47 K/BB), Cordero appeared in 18 games the next season before blowing out his elbow. He bounced back strong in 1999 and then was traded to the Rangers that November as part of the package that brought Juan Gonzalez to Detroit. Cordero’s first full big-league season didn’t go so well (77.1 IP, 5.35 ERA, 1.02 K/BB), and then he missed most of the following year due to injury. Cordero came back in 2002 and pitched well in the second half. Since then, he’s been one of the more effective relievers in baseball. Cordero, who turns 33 in May, signed a big contract with Cincinnati this past off-season. Over parts of nine seasons, he is 26-27, with a 3.29 ERA (146 ERA+) and 177 saves.
A.J. Hinch, C, Oakland A’s. The A’s selected Hinch out of Stanford in the third round of the 1996 draft. He appeared to be on the fast track when, in his first pro season, he hit .328/.408/.568 in 520 plate appearances between Single- and Triple-A. Hinch claimed the starting job in Oakland the next year and batted .231/.296/.341 (69 OPS+) in 391 plate appearances. That was really his only shot at a regular gig in the big leagues, as he yielded first to veteran Mike Macfarlane and then to fellow prospect Ramon Hernandez. Hinch kicked around for a few more years before retiring in 2005. Over parts of seven seasons, he hit .219/.280/.356 (65 OPS+) in 1075 plate appearances. Among his career highlights: On August 10, 1999, Hinch launched a homer off Roger Clemens. Since his playing days, Hinch has stayed in the game and currently is working in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
Carlos Lee, 3B, Chicago White Sox. It may be difficult to imagine that Lee started out as a third baseman, but he did. He also hit at every level, which made his move off the hot corner more palatable. The questions with Lee were whether he would ever learn to draw a walk and how much power he would develop. His minor-league numbers (.306/.343/.463 in 2338 PA) suggested a good hitter who figured to derive much of his value from batting average. His rookie season with the Sox did nothing to dispel that notion: he hit .293/.312/.463 (with a remarkable 13 BB in 517 PA). After a couple more solid but unspectacular campaigns, Lee broke out in 2002, batting .264/.359/.484 (120 OPS+). Lee more or less has maintained that level ever since. Now with the Houston Astros, Lee owns a career .288/.342/.499 (114 OPS+) line in 5726 plate appearances. His list of comparable players through age 31 includes Hall of Famers Billy Williams and Dave Winfield, as well as contemporaries Paul Konerko, Shawn Green, and Derrek Lee.
Luis Rivera, RHP, Atlanta Braves. Rivera’s minor-league credentials are impressive. For his career, he compiled a 3.47 ERA and fanned 10.51 batters per 9 innings. The trouble is, he worked a total of 280 innings during that time. Rivera made seven big-league appearances for Atlanta and the Baltimore Orioles in 2000, going 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA.
John Patterson, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks. Taken by Montreal with the fifth pick overall, Patterson became one of the “loophole free agents” when the Expos failed to offer him a contract in the time allotted. The Diamondbacks then signed him for $6 million. Although Patterson showed signs in the minors (most notably in ‘98, when he posted a 2.83 ERA at High Desert, a notorious hitters park), he didn’t dominate with any kind of consistency. He made cameos with the big club in 2002 and 2003 before being shipped back to Montreal for journeyman left-hander Randy Choate. In 2005, his first full big-league season, Patterson went 9-7 with a 3.13 ERA (130 ERA+) in 198 1/3 innings. Since then, he’s mostly been hurt. Over parts of six seasons, Patterson is 18-25 with a 4.32 ERA (100 ERA+).
Ricky Ledee, OF, New York Yankees. The Yankees tabbed Ledee in the 16th round of the 1990 draft. He didn’t play until ‘92 and didn’t reach Double-A until ‘95. When he finally got there, Ledee hit a ton and quickly advanced to Triple-A. In 1996, he hit .305/.380/.576 at two stops. A groin injury limited Ledee to 50 games the next year, but George Steinbrenner refused to part with him in the Hideki Irabu deal (the Padres settled for Ruben Rivera instead). In his 1998 Minor League Scouting Notebook, John Sickels compared Ledee to Paul O’Neill. Unfortunately reality had other ideas. Ledee has spent parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues and only once amassed as many as 300 plate appearances in any one of them. For his career, he’s hit .243/.325/.412 in 2307 plate appearances. His biggest claim to fame probably lies in once being traded for David Justice.
Derrek Lee, 1B, Florida Marlins. Lee was taken by the San Diego Padres with the 14th pick overall in the 1993 draft — two picks after the Astros picked Billy Wagner and one before the Blue Jays snagged Chris Carpenter. The Padres wasted no time with Lee, sending him to High-A Rancho Cucamonga the following year at age 18. Not surprisingly, the youngster struggled (.267/.331/.373) and repeated the level in ‘95, with much better results (.301/.363/.494). Lee continued to post big numbers as he moved up the ladder, receiving a brief audition in San Diego toward the end of 1997. He even knocked his first big-league homer in the season’s final contest — a game-winning three-run blast off the Giants’ Corey Bailey in the 11th inning. That December, Lee was traded to Florida, where the Marlins were busy dismantling the team that had just won the World Series. Kevin Brown headed to San Diego, and Lee enjoyed a few productive seasons in Miami before moving onto the Cubs. With Chicago, the rangy first basemen became a serious MVP candidate in 2005 thanks to a .335/.418/.662 performance. In parts of 11 seasons, Lee owns a .281/.367/.502 (124 OPS+) batting line. Among members of his draft class, only Alex Rodriguez, Scott Rolen, Jermaine Dye, and Richie Sexson have hit more homers. Wow, that was quite a draft class (and we’re not even counting Corey Dillon, picked by the Padres in the 34th round).
Alex Gonzalez, SS, Florida Marlins. Not to be confused with a slightly older shortstop of the same name, this Alex Gonzalez bears strong resemblance to — well, the other Alex Gonzalez. The Gonzalez who was a prospect in ‘98 showed some power in the minor leagues but little else. Although he hit 19 homers in Double-A at age 20, his overall line was just .254/.296/.434. After a similarly lackluster campaign at Triple-A, Gonzalez took over for the departed Edgar Renteria and hit .277/.308/.430 (91 OPS+) in 591 plate appearances. Gonzalez suffered through a Punto-esque sophomore season before rebounding somewhat in 2001. After several more interchangeable seasons with the Marlins, Gonzalez spent a year in Boston and played for the Reds in 2007. Over parts of 10 seasons, he owns a .248/.295/.399 (80 OPS+) batting line.
Ben Davis, C, San Diego Padres. Davis was taken with the second pick overall in the 1995 draft — after Darin Erstad and before Jose Cruz Jr. Sent to the California League at age 19, Davis was overmatched, batting .201/.266/.286 at Rancho Cucamonga in ‘96. He repeated High-A the next year and his numbers improved. In 1998, Davis moved up to Double-A Mobile and hit .286/.349/.460. Davis split the following season between Triple-A Las Vegas and San Diego; he hit .244/.307/.361 during his stint with the big club. After shuttling between Vegas and San Diego again in 2000, Davis took over as the Padres everyday catcher in 2001, hitting .239/.337/.357 in 526 plate appearances. That December, Davis was shipped to the Mariners, but his career stalled in Seattle. He never could overtake Dan Wilson as the #1 catcher and eventually was traded to the White Sox in June 2004. Davis hasn’t been seen in the big leagues since that season. He owns a career line of .237/.306/.366 (78 OPS+) in 1698 plate appearances. Davis spent 2007 back at Las Vegas (now a Dodgers affiliate), where he hit .218/.281/.282 in 36 games. Now 31 years old, Davis appears to have missed his opportunity at a big-league career.
Willie Martinez, RHP, Cleveland Indians. Martinez never posted eye-popping numbers in the minors. His best season came in 1997, when at age 19, he went 8-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 137 innings. On June 14, 2000, he made his only big-league appearances, working three innings against the White Sox. He allowed one hit (Jeff Abbott) and recorded one strikeout (Frank Thomas). Martinez’ final season came in 2002, when he got into four games for Double-A Chattanooga in the Reds organization. He was out of baseball by age 24.

As always, thanks for joining me in our look back at the top prospects of ‘98. Our next installment includes a Cy Young Award winner and a home-run champ, among many others. Until then…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Random Wednesday: 1881 Worcester Ruby Legs

Geoff Young — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:48:46 +0000

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Admit it. You’d never heard of the Worcester Ruby Legs. It’s okay, I’d never heard of them either.

The Ruby Legs played three years in the National League, 1880 – 1882. They started out bad and kept getting worse. In 1881, they sported a 32-50 record, good for last place in the NL, 23 games back of the champion Chicago Cubs. (Did I just say “champion Chicago Cubs”? Wow, that was a long time ago.)

Other teams in the NL that year included the Providence Grays, Buffalo Bisons, Detroit Wolverines, Troy Trojans, Boston Red Caps, and Cleveland Blues. As for the Ruby Legs, they were led on offense by first baseman Harry Stovey, and outfielders Buttercup Dickerson and Pete Hotaling.

Talk about a different game. The club used four pitchers all season. Catcher Doc Bushong committed 44 errors. How does a catcher commit 44 errors? Well, like I said, it was a different game. Only 59% of the runs the Ruby Legs allowed in 1881 were earned. That number for MLB in 2007 was 92.5%.

The Ruby Legs actually were in first place as of May 24, when they owned a 10-4 record. They went 22-46 the rest of the way, and carried that momentum into 1882, when they finished 18-66. After the ‘82 season, the club closed up shop with an all-time franchise record of 90-159 (.361). Stovey is the club’s all-time leader in runs (223), hits (290), doubles (59), triples (31), and homers (11).

Post from: Knuckle Curve