The Hardball Times http://www.hardballtimes.com/main Baseball. Insight. Daily. en hunterm726@gmail.com Copyright 2013 2013-05-23T07:56:11+00:00 Defense and RBI: Opportunity, uncertainty, and the problem with regression http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/defense-and-rbi-opportunity-uncertainty-and-the-problem-with-regression/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/defense-and-rbi-opportunity-uncertainty-and-the-problem-with-regression/
Click the title to read more.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> Matt Hunter 2013-05-23T07:56:11+00:00 And That Happened http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/and-that-happened052213/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/and-that-happened052213/ Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 4: One of four games to require 10 frames last night. This from the AP gamer:
Reliever Matt Reynolds tried to outthink his former teammate, guess what pitch Wilin Rosario would be looking for and throw the opposite. Only, Rosario knew Reynolds was trying to get inside his head, so ...

Long story short, Rosario spent the last few years building up an immunity to iocane powder, thus his game-winning RBI single in the 10th.

Angels 12, Mariners 0: As Matt noted, Trout hit for the cycle. May be the first bit of actual fun the Angels and their fans have had all year. Now, pardon me while I go re-litigate the 2012 MVP race again like the Cabrera people did when he hit three homers the other night. Oh, wait, I won't do that because I'm not a crazy person.

Orioles 3, Yankees 2: This one ended on a Nate McLouth walkoff bomb. Chris Dickerson hit two homers. Those homers were Phil Hughes' only two blemishes, but they were enough to get it to extras.

Pirates 5, Cubs 4: A pinch hit grand slam for Travis Snider in the sixth spoiled Matt Garza's return. Garza pitched well but, unfortunately, the Cubs have a bullpen.

Tigers 5, Indians 1: Max Scherzer was dominant, allowing one earned run in eight innings and at one point retiring 22 straight Tribe hitters. Miguel Cabrera homered again and is now one bomb off triple crown pace.

Braves 5, Twins 4: Evan Gattis hit a tying homer in the ninth and Freddie Freeman singled in Jason Heyward in the 10th. It was Bobby Cox' and Kent Hrbek's birthdays yesterday. Glad one of 'em is sad and one of 'em is happy.

Rays 4, Blues Jays 3: The second straight Alex Cobb start that went 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER. If he made that his thing he'd have a pretty nice career. A late rally for the Jays but it fell just short.

Reds 4, Mets 0: Mike Leake shut the Mets out on three hits over seven innings and the pen handled the other two. The Mets offense is, whoa.

Athletics 1, Rangers 0: Yu Darvish's last start was billed as a pitcher's duel. It wasn't. This one was, but Drew Straily bested him, tossing seven two-hit shutout innings.

Phillies 7, Marlins 3: I guess Ryan Howard's knee is OK. The big guy drove in three on a pair of RBI singles. Delmon Young homered. Most of the Phillies' damage came after Jose Fernandez left after five.

Brewers 5, Dodgers 2: Zack Greinke had a nice run at Miller Park when he was with the Brewers. Not so nice last night as he surrendered five runs on nine hits in four innings. The Dodgers offense all came via Greinke's helping his own cause and a Nick Punto RBI. In other words, the big guns.

White Sox 3, Red Sox 1: Sox win.

Royals 7, Astros 3: Houston took a three-run lead into the top of the seventh and then the Royals put up two-, four- and one-spots in the seventh, eighth and ninth. Is a one-spot a thing? OK, sure it is.

Cardinals 10, Padres 2: Adam Wainwright coulda sucked last night and the Cards still woulda been OK, what with five runs to play with while he was in the game. He didn't suck (7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6K). And the Cards woulda bailed him out with five more late runs anyway.

Giants 4, Nationals 2: The Braves rallied and won in the 10th, the Nats got rallied against and lost in the 10th. Trains heading in different directions this past week, with the Nats now 4.5 back.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> Craig Calcaterra 2013-05-22T10:47:29+00:00 20th anniversary: Blue Jays mascot ejected http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/20th-anniversary-blue-jays-mascot-ejected/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/20th-anniversary-blue-jays-mascot-ejected/
Typically it comes when a player or manager argues with an umpire and says the magic word to earn the old heave-ho. But on May 22, 1993, it wasn’t a manager or player getting ejected. And the ejection didn’t happen due to an argument with the umpire.

Typically the ejection happens after a call that doesn’t go the team’s way. But 20 years ago, strangely enough, that wasn’t the case. This was a very different ejection indeed.

But the most notable part of the ejection was the person being ejected. You see, it wasn’t a person at all, it was a giant foam rubber costume. Specifically, it was BJ Birdy, the mascot for the Toronto Blue Jays.

It was May 22, 1993 when Toronto hosted the Minnesota Twins and it didn’t take long for Birdy to go bye-bye.

In the bottom of the first, Roberto Alomar came to the plate with none on and one out, and he promptly drilled one to left that Minnesota outfielder David McCarty tried to catch. Was it a hit or an out?

The man in the form rubber mask was sure he knew—it was a hit! Of course it was a hit! He knew it was a hit! And that wasn’t all. Birdy also knew that second base umpire Jim McKean blew the call.

Well no self-respecting mascot was going to take that lying down. So Birdy tried rile up the Saturday crowd of 50,510 against the ump. That’ll show him!

Yeah, well, there are a few problems here. First the good news. Birdy was right—the ball was trapped. But he was wrong in thinking the umpire blew the call. In fact, McKean called it “no catch” and Alomar skated into second with a double.

Oh, and Birdy doesn’t really have the authority to show up McKean. You know who does have the authority to show someone up? The umpire, that’s who. For trying to incite the crowd against the umpire—and not even realizing the umpire made the right call (a call that helped the home team), Birdy got the thumb.

Oops.

The rest of the game was pretty generic. Alomar scored a few seconds later on a Paul Molitor single, and Toronto went on to romp, 7-0. But not before the Jays' mascot got ejected for arguing on a call that went his team’s way. Weird. And that weirdness was 20 years ago today.

Aside from that, many other events today celebrate their anniversary or “day-versary” (which is something occurring X-thousand days ago). Here they are, with the better ones in bold if you’d rather just skim.

Day-versaries


1,000 days since Albert Pujols launches his 400th home run. He does that despite receiving three intentional walks in this game.

2,000 days since the Mets trade talented but underachieving prospect Lastings Milledge to the Nationals for Brian Schneider and Ryan Church.

6,000 days since Texas signs free agent John Wetteland.

7,000 days since Roger Wolff dies. He won 20 games for the 1945 Senators.

8,000 days since Mo Vaughn makes his big league debut.

8,000 days since Cleveland trades Tom Candiotti and another player to Toronto for Glenallen Hill, Mark Whiten, a third player, and cash.

9,000 days since Whitey Herzog endures his 1,000th loss as a manager.

9,000 days since Dave Stieb throws the third of five career one-hitters. In fact, this is the second straight start he’s come one out from a no-hitter, only to be denied.

9,000 days since volatile pitcher Joaquin Andujar appears in his last game.

9,000 days since Sandy Alomar Jr. appears in his first big league contest.

9,000 days since President Ronald Reagan does a half-inning of play-by-play for the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

15,000 days since Don Zimmer manages his first game.

20,000 days since all nine starters for the Douglas Cooper Kings hit a home run in their 22-8 victory over the Chichuahua Dorados in the Arizona-Mexico League.

20,000 days since Gary Gaetti is born.

25,000 days since Steve Renko is born.

30,000 days since the White Sox purchase Lu Blue from the Browns for $15,000.

50,000 days since the first triple play in professional baseball happens.

Anniversaries


1875 Pud Galvin, baseball’s first 300-game winner, makes his big league debut—if you consider the National Association a big league.

1883 Billy Sunday, outfielder who will find tremendous success as a preacher after his playing days are over, makes his big league debut.

1888 Ed Delahanty, one of the best hitters of his generation, debuts in the big leagues.

1891 Well, that was unexpected. Hall of Fame pitcher Mickey Welch hits into a walk-off triple play.

1897 There aren’t too many times when a Hall of Fame player is released by a team in the middle of his career, but one of those times happens here, when the Giants do just that to first baseman Jake Beckley. He’s 29 years old when New York overreacts to a slow start. Cincinnati will pick Beckley up, and he’ll play for that franchise effectively for years.

1901 Reds pitcher Noodles Hahn fans 16 Braves batters in one game. That will be the club record for Cincinnati until Jim Maloney tops it in 1963. Hahn is a pitcher with tremendous talent whose arm just isn’t strong enough to hold up long enough.

1902 Al Simmons, Hall of Famer with five straight 200-hit seasons, is born.

1902 Veteran center fielder George Van Haltren snaps a small bone near his right ankle while stealing second base. This effectively ends his career—he’ll play in just 80 more games.

1905 George Zettlein, a top pitcher in baseball’s primordial days, dies at age 60.

1907 Umpire Billy Evans needs a police escort after Tigers manager Hughie Jennings incites a riot over an Evans call in Detroit. The AL will suspend Jennings for this.

1911 Boston hurler Cliff Curtis loses his 23rd consecutive game, a streak dating back to June 13, 1910.

1913 The Giants make one of the worst trades in franchise history. To gain Art Fromme from the Reds, New York gives $20,000 and three players: Red Ames, Josh Devore, and the real prize, Heinie Groh. With the Reds, Groh will develop into a star and a man who arguably deserves a place in Cooperstown. With the Giants, Fromme will win 20 games over two-plus seasons.

1913 The Yankees endure one of their most frustrating losses ever, getting shut out by the Browns with 14 runners stranded on base. Rookie pitcher Dwight Stone plunks three batters, walks seven, and surrenders six hits—but none score.

1914 For the first time all season, the Braves win back-to-back games. Despite this bad start, they’ll win the World Series this year.

1915 AL skipper Lee Fohl manages his first game. He’ll last a decade running the Indians, Browns, and Red Sox.

1919 Star Tigers outfielder Bobby Veach gets his 1,000th hit.

1922 Age be damned, 35-year-old Eddie Collins smacks two triples in one game.

1922 Frank "Home Run" Baker hits his last career home run. He had fewer than 100 career dingers, but that was a lot for his era. Star pitcher Urban Shocker allows it.

1923 Negro League outfielder Cristobal Torriente hits for the cycle at the plate but late in the game is called on as an emergency reliever. He throws two pitches, both of which are wild, and his team loses.

1923 It’s a great 15-inning pitchers duel. Hall of Fame starting pitcher Herb Pennock posts a Game Score of 105 with this line: 15 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 6 K in a 3-1 win. Going the distance in defeat is Mike Cvengros, whose Game Score is only 75 due to 21 base runners and three earned runs. Despite the triple-digit night, this is not Pennock’s best career Game Score.

1926 Yankee phenom Waite Hoyt wins his 100th game, making him 100-74. He’s one of fewer than 20 live ball pitchers to win 150 games before turning 30.

1926 Before today’s game at Wrigley Field, star Cubs pitcher Pete Alexander receives a Lincoln automobile as a gift from Cubs fans. Later in this same home stand, he’ll be cut from the team by rookie manager Joe McCarthy.

1926 The Cardinals have Rogers Hornsby Day in St. Louis, giving their star $1,000 in gold and a medal. He’ll last this season and next with the team, unlike Chicago’s Alexander.

1927 Late-bloomer Dazzy Vance wins his 100th game. He’s 100-58 in his career so far.

1928 Carl Mays, one of the best pitchers not in Cooperstown, wins his 200th game. He’s 200-124 in his career at this point.

1928 White Sox center fielder Johnny Mostil ties a record by fielding 12 balls in a game.

1928 There’s a new all-time strikeout king and his name is Babe Ruth. The Sultan of Swat fans for the 850th time, passing up Jimmy Sheckard as the all-time leader for batters.

1930 The Yankees' big stars come through in today’s double header against the A’s. The main star is, of course, Ruth. Yesterday he smacked three homers in the first game of a double header, and today he smacks another three homers—two in the first game, and the other in the second game. Lou Gehrig belts three homers in the second game. One of those is the seventh of his record 23 grand slams. Gehrig ends the second game with eight RBIs, tying his personal best. The Yankees win the games, 10-1 and 20-13. Hall of Famer Tony Lazzeri gets five hits and scores five runs, both personal bests, in the second game.

1934 Arne Harris, longtime producer of baseball games on WGN, is born.

1934 Star shortstop Joe Cronin gets his 1,000th hit.

1934 Lou Gehrig enjoys his 10th straight game with at least one RBI. It’s the second time he’s done that.

1936 Phillies pitcher Bucky Walters has quite the day, throwing a complete-game shutout and smashing a home run. Philadelphia decimates the Giants, 15-0. New York pitcher Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons surrenders the only grand slam of his 200-win career in this game.

1936 St. Louis Cardinals star Pepper Martin scores a run for a 13th straight game.

1937 The Dodgers announce that pitcher Van Mungo has been fined, suspended for three games, and billed $1,500 in damages for a rampage he went on in a St. Louis hotel room.

1937 Hank Greenberg does the nearly impossible, hitting a ball so far at Fenway Park that it leaves the entire park via center field. It’s called the longest shot ever at Fenway.

1938 Hall of Famer Lloyd Waner gets his 2,000th hit, and it takes him just 1,453 games to do so. That said, he has a very empty batting average and really doesn’t belong in Cooperstown.

1938 Hall of Fame pitcher and all-time White Sox win leader Ted Lyons wins his 200th game, for a career record of 200-185.

1938 The Dodgers announce contracts to install lights in Ebbets Field.

1939 Hall of Fame outfielder Heinie Manush plays in his last game.

1941 It’s a pretty heads-up play by base runner Lonny Frey of the Reds. With the bases loaded, a teammate hits an apparent rally-killing double play grounder. But Frey, thinking fast, lets the ball hit him. He’s out, but he’s the only out and the bases are still loaded. Then Ernie Lombardi launches one into the seats for a grand slam.

1942 Ted Williams enlists in the armed forces, but will stay with Boston until called for active duty.

1943 Tommy John, pitcher and surgery, is born.

1946 Negro League star Josh Gibson hits one of the longest bombs ever hit in Forbes Field: 450 feet over the left-center wall. The estimate possibly understates the distance.

1949 Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe becomes the first NL hurler in 11 years to toss a complete-game shutout in his first start. In that same double header, Ken Raffensberger throws an 83-pitch one-hitter, allowing just an eighth-inning single to Gil Hodges.

1952 Pirates farmhand Bill Bell pitches the first of his three no-hitters on the year. .

1953 Irv Noren of the Yankees hits into a walk-off triple play. Washington wins, 12-4.

1954 Hall of Fame A’s pitcher Chief Bender dies at age 70. All his life he preferred to be called Albert Bender.

1954 In the 28th game of his career, Hank Aaron does something he’ll never do again: fan with the bases loaded to end the game.

1956 Young Pirates star Roberto Clemente plays two innings at third base, the only time he’ll ever appear there.

1956 Hard luck early 20th century pitcher Harry Howell dies at age 79. He went 131-146 in his career despite a 109 ERA+.

1957 Robin Roberts surrenders a walk-off home run to future Pirates manager Chuck Tanner. It happens in the 13th inning—and, yes, this is a complete game for Roberts. It’s one of four walk-offs he allows (and the only one Tanner ever hits).

1959 Don Drysdale has the best game of his career. He pitches 13 innings for a complete-game win and a personal-best Game Score (100) and WPA (0.969). His line: 13 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, and 11 K. LA tops the Giants, 2-1.

1959 Ken Boyer steals three bases in one game. It’s the only time he ever does that.

1961 Indians pitcher Frank Funk has what WPA considers to be the best relief performance of the decade. He enters in the eighth inning and pitches eight full innings of two-hit relief. He gets the win as Cleveland tops Minnesota in 15 innings. His WPA: 1.316.

1962 In one game, Roger Maris receives four intentional walks. That’s four more than he had all last season when he swatted 61 homers.

1963 Mickey Mantle hits one of his signature moonshot homers in Kansas City. It strikes a foot below the roof in the 11th inning of a game.

1965 For the first time in his Hall of Fame career, Nellie Fox fields a position other than second base. He plays third for a few innings for Houston.

1966 Jose Mesa, closer, is born.

1966 Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda enjoys his best game ever according to WPA: 0.788. He goes 3-for-5 with a homer, run, and two RBIs as he leads the Cardinals to a 4-3 win over the Reds.

1968 Don Drysdale pitches the third of his six consecutive shutouts during his 58-scoreless-innings streak.

1968 Willie Stargell knocks out three homers in one game for the second time. He just misses No. 4, a ball that lands at the top of the wall and goes for a double. He’s 5-for-5 on the day, his best in professional baseball.

1971 Hank Aaron receives three intentional walks in one game for the only time in his career. The Mets do it and win the game, 8-7.

1971 Mike McCormick, pitcher, appears in his last game.

1972 Dick Fowler, pitcher, dies at age 51. With the A’s, he led the AL in losses in 1946.

1974 In a Chicago-Texas game, Pat Kelly gets things off to a rousing start with a leadoff inside-the-park homer off Fergie Jenkins.

1975 Lefty Grove, arguably the greatest pitcher of all time, dies at age 75.

1976 Reggie Smith hits three homers in one game. He leads St. Louis to a 7-6 win over Philadelphia and has his all-time best WPA performance of 0.957. It’s also one of just 15 times he ever plays third base.

1977 Oakland trades pitcher Stan Bahnsen to the Expos for Mike Jorgensen.

1978 A bunt single by Rod Carew off Jon Matlack raises his all-time career average to its highest mark: .336482 (1,959 for 5,822).

1979 Seattle pitcher John Montague ties a franchise record with a 7.2-inning relief outing.

1979 The ill-fated shortstop Dickie Thon debuts in the big leagues. He’ll develop into a star until a fastball hits him in the face, derailing his career.

1979 Knuckleballer Joe Niekro wins his 100th game, which also pushes him over .500 for his career, with a 100-99 record.

1980 Ozzie Smith fans three times in one game for the only time in his career.

1982 Longtime reliever Charlie Hough has recently been converted to a starter, and today he shows why that was a good idea. He posts his all-time best Game Score of 89 with this line: 12 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, and 5 K in a complete-game win. That same game is also the last one in which long-time weak-hitting infielder Mario Mendoza (of “Mendoza Line” fame) appears.

1983 Boston’s Bob Stanley throws 10 innings in relief. It’s the last time any reliever has lasted that long in an outing.

1983 The Cubs trade reliever Willie Hernandez to the Phillies for Dick Ruthven. Next year, Hernandez will win the Cy Young Award and MVP for the Tigers.

1984 Al Oliver bops his 500th career double. He’s the 24th person to join that club and the first to do since 1977.

1988 Longtime skipper Chuck Tanner manages his last game.

1988 Pedro Guerrero isn’t happy about getting hit by a pitch by David Cone. He’s so unhappy that he tosses his bat at Cone, earning an ejection and a four-game suspension.

1990 In a marathon game, Cubs star Andre Dawson receives five intentional walks. In that same game, Chicago starting pitcher Mike Bielecki lasts 10 innings. The team hasn’t had a guy go over nine innings since then.

1990 Barry Bonds knocks out the first of 11 grand slams.

1991 Dennis Eckersley will have 710 relief appearances in his career, but today’s is special, because today—for the only time in any relief appearance—he picks off a runner.

1992 Felipe Alou makes his dugout debut as Expos skipper.

1993 John Smoltz surrenders his only home run to an opposing pitcher. Dwight Gooden belts it.

1993 Cardinals minor league Diego Ruiz dies in a car accident.

1994 David Cone one-hits the Angels, allowing just a fifth inning single by Chili Davis.

1995 A Carolina League brawl between Durham and Winston-Salem lasts over a half hour and results in 10 ejections. As it happens, it’s “Strike Out Domestic Violence" night at the ballpark.

1996 Chipper Jones enjoys the first of 40 multi-home run games.

1996 It’s Dwight Gooden Day in New York, but the A’s celebrate in their own manner, hitting five homers off him. Geronimo Berroa hits three homers on his own.

1997 The Red Sox strand 16 base runners in an epically frustrating 8-2 loss to the Yankees.

1997 Revenge! Last week, Hideo Nomo sued the wife of Padres star Tony Gwynn for an unlicensed use of the pitcher’s image in a jigsaw puzzle. (No, I don’t know any more than that.) Today, Gwynn goes 3-for-4 against Nomo.

1997 Jason Giambi hits his first of 14 (and counting) grand slams.

1998 He probably knew better than to buy a house there. Newest Florida Marlin Mike Piazza is now former New York Met Mike Piazza. Not long after the team traded for him while dumping half of its roster on LA, Florida sends the star backstop to the Mets for Preston Wilson and two other players.

1998 Cincinnati belatedly retires No. 20 for Frank Robinson.

1998 Yuck. For the second time in three days, Vladimir Guerrero fans with the bases loaded to end a game.

1999 Oops. Knuckleballer Steve Sparks clearly has some control problems, as he hits three batters in a row.

1999 Mark McGwire becomes just the third person to hit the ball completely out of Dodger Stadium. Willie Stargell and Mike Piazza did it before him—with Stargell doing it twice.

2000 Only 3,913 are on hand in County Stadium to see it, but Milwaukee stages the greatest comeback in franchise history, scoring seven times in the ninth to top Houston, 10-9.

2001 Bruce Bochy manages his 1,000th game. His record: 510-490.

2001 Barry Bonds homers in his sixth consecutive game. Incredibly, even for his standards, it’s the second time this year he’s done that.

2001 The Twins take an early 8-0 lead on the Mariners but have to struggle to win, 12-11. Despite the loss, Seattle will go on to win its next 15 contests, a franchise record.

2002 Minnesota’s Gov. Jesse Ventura approves $330 million in financing for an open-air Twins stadium. This plan requires the team to make a down payment of $120 million.

2002 It sure seems like a big deal at the time, as uber-pitching prospect Mark Prior makes his big league debut with the Cubs.

2002 Rickey Henderson becomes one of the few, the proud, the men who’ve played in 3,000 games.

2002 Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane shocks the stat-head nation by trading sabermetric darling Jeremy Giambi to the Phillies for John Mabry.

2002 Detroit’s Jeff Weaver flirts with a no-hitter, but an eighth-inning double by Cleveland’s Chris Magruder ends his hopes.

2003 56-year-old advertising tycoon Arturo Moreno buys the Angels from Disney for $184 million.

2004 Oakland retires No. 9 for Reggie Jackson.

2004 Star-to-be pitcher Zack Greinke makes his big league debut.

2004 Luis Gonzalez connects for his 2,000th career hit.

2006 Frank Thomas returns to the South Side of Chicago for the first time as a visitor. Now A’s DH, Thomas hits two home runs and one very long single.

2008 Ken Griffey Jr. belts his 200th home run for the Reds, becoming the fourth person ever to hit that many homers for two separate franchises. Jimmie Foxx, Mark McGwire, and Rafael Palmeiro are also in that club.

2009 Michael Cuddyer hits for the cycle.

2010 Matt Stairs ties Todd Zeile’s record by homering with his 11th different club.

2011 Colby Rasmus becomes the fourth person in the last 90 years of Cardinals franchise history to draw five walks in game. He’s the first person to do it for St. Louis since 1974—but it happened twice in 1974.

2012 The White Sox sign what little is left of infielder Orlando Hudson.

2012 Ricky Nolasco of the Marlins posts a win against Colorado, giving him 69 victories for the club. That allows him to pass Dontrelle Willis as the all-time franchise win leader.


Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> Chris Jaffe 2013-05-22T07:09:10+00:00 Currently historic: A plethora of new stuff http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/currently-historic-a-plethora-of-new-stuff/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/currently-historic-a-plethora-of-new-stuff/
Click the title to read more.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> Jason Linden 2013-05-22T07:05:06+00:00 BOB:  Owners’ meeting update http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/bob-owners-meeting-update/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/bob-owners-meeting-update/
Click the title to read more.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> Brian Borawski 2013-05-22T07:01:10+00:00 And That Happened http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/and-that-happened052113/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/and-that-happened052113/ Dodgers 3, Brewers 1: After the last scene of Don Mattingly's managerial life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that at many times along the path of his time in Los Angeles, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints. Clayton Kershaw then whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you. Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you." (9 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5K).

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 1: Patrick Corbin continues to roll on, and this time he added some strikeouts to skew dominant. He allowed one run on three hits, striking out ten.

Marlins 5, Phillies 1: The Marlins have 13 wins this season, four of which have come against Philly. That's gotta make the Phillies angry. Cole Hamels was certainly angry, as he left the clubhouse in something of a huff. Maybe it's because Charlie Manuel pulled him early for a pinch hitter in an effort to get a run? Maybe it was because the Phillies have scored only 20 runs for him all season? Maybe because he saw Alex Sanabia throwing a spitball?

Indians 10, Mariners 8: Two homers for Yan Gomes as the Indians continue to roll. Winners of 18 of 22 and a team that doesn't look like it's going anywhere.

Braves 5, Twins 1: Sometimes I wish Gleeman and I were competitive rah-rah fans so when stuff like our teams meeting happens we could talk trash and all that. But we're not. I suppose if I sent him some "in your face" kind of message after this one he'd respond back with "oh well." Which is way better for the blood pressure, frankly. A three-run homer for Dan Uggla and a nice outing from Julio Teheran.

Reds 4, Mets 3: Jay Bruce hit a tie-breaking homer in the sixth. Arolids Chapman, who blew his previous two saves, locked this one down. Dusty Baker on his closer:
"Got to get back on the horse, right away," manager Dusty Baker said. "Otherwise it festers and grows."

The horse? So confused.

Blue Jays 7, Rays 5: R.A. Dickey is slowly righting the ship, winning his second in a row. You have to right the ship or else it gets all infected and oozes. Or something. Sorry, that Dusty Baker quote is still bugging me.

Yankees 6, Orioles 4: The Orioles are in a flat spin, losers of six straight. People usually say "tailspin" but I liked "Top Gun" a lot when I was a kid and flat spins are far more ominous and scary for me, Goose. With the Yankees down 4-3 in the ninth, Travis Hafner homered off Jim Johnson, who has now blown three straight saves. Vernon Wells and Hafner added RBIs in the 10th to seal the win. Mariano Rivera did not, in contrast, blow the save. Because he is Mariano Rivera.

Athletics 9, Rangers 2: It feels like these two teams have played 15 games against one another in the past couple of weeks. Oh well, too busy to check. Gonna assume that's right. Anyway, Seth Smith homered and scored three runs. Bartolo Colon pitched seven strong innings.

White Sox 6, Reds Sox 4: Sox win.

Padres 4, Cardinals 2: Jason Marquis has won five straight starts. He said after the game that he's "making better pitches." Bud Black said after the game that Marquis is "a guy that continues to make pitches when he needs to."  I guess he's just making pitches, eh?

Astros 6, Royals 5: Matt Dominguez hit a three-run homer. Jason Castro hit a solo shot. Miguel Tejada hit a homer too. It was his first bomb since 2011. Jeremy Guthrie was shelled and has allowed 19 runs and 11 hits in his past two outings. The Royals are now a sub-.500 team.

Giants 8, Nationals 0: Ryan Vogelsong was cruising -- tossing five shutout innings -- until he broke his throwing hand while fouling off a pitch in the bottom of the fifth. Enter the DH people. Meanwhile, after the game Davey Johnson announced that Ryan Mattheus broke his pitching hand punching a locker in frustration Sunday. Jesus, people.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> Craig Calcaterra 2013-05-21T10:50:15+00:00 50th anniversary: Jim Maloney: a star is born http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/50th-anniversary-jim-maloney-a-star-is-born/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/50th-anniversary-jim-maloney-a-star-is-born/
It was May 21, 1963 when Reds pitcher Jim Maloney had his first great game.

Maloney made it to the majors in 1960 barely out of his teens, but at first he was just a background pitcher. From 1960-62, he made just 38 starts and 22 relief appearances, posting a 17-20 record.

But he had talent, and 1963 was his year to prove it. Maloney was already off to a nice start, with a record of 5-1 and a 2.60 ERA prior to this game. But May 21, 1963 would take him to a whole other level.

On this day Maloney and the Reds would be in Milwaukee to take on the Braves, a club on the downswing but still with a formidable lineup. In fact, the Braves would finish third in runs scored, behind big hitters Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. Today they wouldn’t have much success.

In the first, Maloney fanned two batters, including Mathews to end the inning. Then Maloney struck out the side in the second inning. And then he did it again in the third. That was seven straight Ks, a nice achievement nowadays, and fantastic for 1963.

In the fourth, Maloney fanned Lee Maye to run the streak to eight in a row. He needed just one more to go through the entire lineup. Unfortunately for him, that last man left was Hank Aaron, who grounded out. Well, it was a moral victory for Milwaukee, I guess. No matter—Maloney then fanned Mathews to end the inning.

Through four frames, he’d allowed just one hit—and fanned nine. He was on pace for a record-setting performance. The one-game record for a game (not including extra-inning games) was 18 Ks. Maloney was already halfway there, with most of the game left.

Maloney fanned two more in the fifth, giving him 12 strikeouts. He whiffed just one in the sixth, but a baker’s dozen still put him on pace to break the record. In the seventh he fanned two more, including Eddie Mathews again, keeping Maloney stay on pace with 15. The young fireballer looked unstoppable.

However, it takes just one inning to mess it up, and Maloney didn’t strike out anyone in the eighth. In the ninth he finally fanned Hank Aaron, but he walked the other two batters he faced, and with just a 2-0 lead, manager Fred Hutchinson decided to pull him.

Still, Maloney struck out 16 batters, including an amazing eight in a row at one point. A star had been born. He’d go on to win 23 games that year, and two years later post another 20-win season. Twice in 1965 he’d throw nine no-hit innings—but both games went into extra innings. He preserved the no-hitter for a 1-0 win in one of them, but lost the other game 1-0 when someone finally got a hit off of him. Maloney would throw another no-hitter in 1969.

He remained a solid pitcher for the rest of the 1960s, but by 1969 he was wearing out. He fanned just 102 batters in 178 innings. Something was wrong with his arm, and in fact he never won another game, going 0-4 in 1970-71. It’s a shame, because the Reds had their Big Red Machine lineup just starting to take shape, with pennants in 1970 and 1972. If they had had a genuine ace—someone like Maloney—that awesome Reds team could’ve been even better. Born in 1940, he could’ve been around for their 1970s pennants, but life doesn’t always work out like storybooks.

But Maloney did have a storybook day 50 years ago today, the day he fanned eight in a row and flirted with the one-game strikeout record.

Aside from that, many other events today celebrate their anniversary or “day-versary” (which is something that happened X-thousand days ago). Here they are, with the better items in bold if you’d rather just skim.

Day-versaries


1,000 days since a great day for baseball comebacks. The Rockies rally from a 10-1 deficit to defeat the Braves, 11-10. That same day, the Reds blow a 9-1 lead against the Giants, but manage to persevere anyway, topping San Francisco 12-11 in 12 innings.

2,000 days since Tampa signs free agent reliever Troy Percival.

4,000 days since Curt Schilling posts his 10th straight victory, his longest winning streak.

8,000 days since the Angels set an AL record with their 13th consecutive errorless game.

8,000 days since Mickey Tettleton hits the ball out of Tiger Stadium.

8,000 days since the Cardinals have their first eight batters of the game combine for zero at bats. Six walk and the other two hit sacrifice flies.

9,000 days since the Cubs trade All-Star catcher Jody Davis to the Braves.

15,000 days since the first of seven career walk-off home runs hit by Bobby Bonds.

30,000 days since 17-year-old Miss Jackie Mitchell fans Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth at an exhibition game in Chattanooga, Tenn..

Anniversaries


1859 Fred Dunlap, great 19th-century second baseman, is born.

1880 Lip Pike hits a ball over the wall into the river at Albany’s Riverside Park. The right fielder tries to get it in a boat as there is no rule that a ball into the river at the park is an automatic home run.

1883 Eddie Grant, ball player who will die fighting in World War I, is born.

1891 Jim Whitney, star pitcher of 1880, dies at age 33.

1892 Pud Galvin, baseball’s first 300-game winner, loses a tough one. He holds the opposing Cubs hitless until the eighth and surrenders only two safties all game, but that’s all it takes as Chicago triumphs, 1-0, for its 13th consecutive win.

1892 28-year-old outfielder Hub Collins dies of typhoid fever.

1896 Louisville pitcher Mike McDermott pitches a two-hitter in a 2-0, complete-game shutout. In the other 56 innings he pitches this year, he allows 85 hits.

1901 Giants owner Andrew Freeman accuses umpire Billy Nash of incompetence and bars him from the Polo Grounds.

1901 Christy Mathewson allows a run, ending a 39-inning scoreless streak. The run is unearned.

1902 Hall of Fame center fielder Earl Averill is born.

1904 Red Sox shortstop Bill O’Neill commits six errors in a 13-inning game. He muffed three balls in the first inning alone.

1904 200-game winner Jack Powell allows not one, not two, but three inside-the-park home runs in one game versus the White Sox. Frank Isbell, Frank Owen and Fielder Jones hit them.

1907 NL President Harry Pulliam dismisses a protest by Pirate manager Fred Clarke about Giants catcher Roger Bresnahan wearing shin guards.

1909 Mace Brown is born. He’ll be one of the first prominent relief pitchers in NL history.

1911 Connie Mack wins his 1,000th game as manager. He’s the sixth manger in the club, joining Harry Wright, Cap Anson, Frank Selee, Ned Hanlon and Fred Clarke.

1912 AL President Ban Johnson fines each Tiger between $50 and $100 for their one-day strike on behalf of the suspended Ty Cobb. The suspension remains in place.

1919 Giants trade Jim Thorpe, arguably the greatest athlete of all time, to the Braves.

1920 Hughie Jennings manages his 2,000th game in the majors, all with the Tigers.

1923 Formal transfer of T.L. Huston’s interest in Yankee ownership to Jake Ruppert completed for $1.5 million. Ruppert becomes famous as New York’s owner in their first glory stretch.

1925 Mickey Cochrane hits three home runs in one game. He gets three homers total in his other 133 games on the year.

1926 Earl Sheely, White Sox, hits three double and a homer in today’s game. Combined with a trio of doubles in his last three at-bats the previous game, that’s a record seven consecutive at-bats resulting in extra base hits.

1927 Pie Traynor, who hit only 58 home runs in his career, launches his third one in four days.

1930 Babe Ruth hits three home runs in one game. It’s the first time he’s done it in the regular season, but third time overall, as he twice did it in the World Series. He’s the first player to do this three times in all. In his final at-bat of the game, the left-handed Ruth tries to bat righty to gain a platoon advantage over relief pitcher Jack Quinn. After two strikes, he goes back to batting left-handed but fans anyway.

1930 In the same game Ruth homered three times, Max Bishop of the opposing Philadelphia A’s walks five times. It’s the second time in his career he’s done that, something no one else can claim.

1930 The Giants trade pitcher Larry Benton to the Reds for infielder Hughie Critz. Just two years ago, Benton was a star, with a 25-win season in 1928. But he went 11-17 in 1929 and is 1-3 with a 7.80 ERA in early 1930.

1931 One out from the end of the game, Dodgers pitcher Dazzy Vance gets knocked out cold by a line drive. He gets the win when teammates Jack Quinn records the last out.

1932 Tony Lazzeri has a nice doubleheader, going 6-for-7 with a home run, two doubles, and a triple. One of those hits is his 1,000th career base knock.

1934 Giants starting pitcher Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons is struck in the back by a fungo bat while warming up. He’s injured and will miss several starts.

1935 Senators purchase durable starting pitcher Bobo Newsom from the Browns for $40,000.

1935 Willie Kamm, former star third baseman, appears in his last game.

1936 The Cubs trade Chuck Klein back to the Phillies for Curt Davis and Ethan Allen

1937 The Red Sox all-time franchise record hits its nadir, 228 games under .500 (2,600-2,828). They’ll tie this mark two games later, but never be worse than this.

1938 Spud Chandler doesn’t need any teammates, as he combines pitching a complete-game shutout with hitting a home run in New York’s 1-0 win over the White Sox.

1938 Silver King, great 1880s phenom pitcher, dies at age 70.

1939 Buddy Myer joins the 2,000 hit club.

1940 For the second straight day, Jimmie Foxx swats a grand slam.

1941 Bob Feller has his worst day at the plate: 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.

1942 Ted Williams launches his 100th home run.

1943 It's the fastest night game in AL history: CWS 1, WAS 0 in only 89 minutes.

1943 Hal Newhouser endures his longest outing: 13 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 10 K.

1948 New York Giant Les Layton hits a pinch-hit home run in his first big league at-bat. He has just one more home run left in his bat, though, before his 63-game career ends.

1949 Jackie Robinson drives in a career-high six runs despite hitting no home runs. Most guys have at least one homer in their best RBI game. He was 3-for-5 with two doubles and a stolen base. In related news, Robinson’s teammate Pee Wee Reese scores a personal-best five runs in a game.

1950 Joe DiMaggio clubs his 13th and final grand slam.

1952 Minor league phenom Ron Neccai, who fanned 27 in a no-hitter just eight days earlier, fans 24 today.

1952 Brooklyn has record-setting 15 runs in first inning versus Reds en route to a 19-1 win. It could’ve been even worse: only two Brooklyn outs came at the plate in the first; the other was a caught stealing. Cincinnati starter Ewell Blackwell gets the first guy out, but then the next 19 batters in a row reach base. According to the 1980s book, The Baseball Hall of Shame, after leaving the game, Blackwell showered, changed, left the park, and went to the bar—and saw the first inning was still going on. By the time it ended, the guy who relieved Blackwell made it to the bar, as well. That’s a pretty bad inning.

1953 Red Sox catcher Del Wilber hits a pinch-hit home run in third straight pinch-hit opportunity.

1955 The White Sox sign amateur free agent Norm Cash. They’ll later trade him away in the 1959-60 offseason, in which they also dump Don Mincher, Johnny Callison, Earl Battey and John Romano, all of whom will become All-Stars.

1956 The White Sox trade George Kell to the Orioles in a six-player trade.

1957 Jim Bunning has his longest career outing: 13 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 11 K, but it results in a no-decision as his Tigers prevail, 2-1, over the Orioles in 16 innings.

1957 Boston writers reaffirm their decision to ban women from the press box.

1957 Yankees outfielder Hank Bauer is arraigned for his involvement in the Copacabana Incident, a brawl in which he and several other Yankees were involved. Bauer will later be cleared and threatens to sue Edward Jones, a man pressing charges against him.

1959 Major league owners opt against expansion. This position won't last much longer.

1960 Kent Hrbek, Twins slugger, is born

1961 Joe Torre knocks out the first home run of his career.

1962 The Yankees release veteran pitcher Robin Roberts, whom the Orioles sign later the same day. He never actually pitched for the Yankees, but he was theirs from October 1961 until this day.

1966 Harmon Killebrew hits his 300th home run.

1966 Roberto Clemente strikes out four times in one game, the only time he ever does that. He’s 1-for-6. LA 5, PIT 4 (12).

1967 Hall of Fame Yankees hurler Whitey Ford pitches in his last game.

1968 Billy Williams plays in his 695th straight game, setting a record for outfielders.

1968 The A’s cumulative all-time franchise record bottoms out at 763 games under .500 (4,730-5,493). Only the Phillies and Browns/Orioles have ever been lower.

1969 Reggie Jackson hits an inside-the-park home run, the third of four in his career.

1970 The Cardinals’ Steve Carlton fans 16 Phillies, but St. Louis loses 4-3.

1970 Yankee Mel Stottlemyre walks 11 in 8.1 innings vs. the Senators, but New York wins anyway, 2-0.

1971 Hard-throwing but control-impaired Nolan Ryan sets a personal high with three HBP in one game. Those batters must’ve had some mighty sore ribs.

1972 Montreal signs amateur free agent Larry Parrish, who will have a nice little career for himself.

1973 Former NL pitcher Herm Wehmeier dies at age 46.

1975 Reds enter today 20-20, but a win propels them on an 88-34 streak the rest of the season.

1976 When umpires refuse to cross a vendors' picket line at Three Rivers Stadium, an amateur crew works the game.

1976 Dave Winfield hits his first career grand slam.

1977 According to WPA, Rick Sawyer has the best relief stint in Padres history: 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K for a 0.963 WPA. Padres win 11-8 over the Expos in 21 innings. The teams combine for a record nine intentional walks.

1981 Josh Hamilton is born.

1981 It just might be the best college pitchers duel of all-time, as Ron Darling of Yale meets Frank Viola of St. John’s. St. John’s wins, 1-0, in 12 innings after Darling throws a no-hitter through the first 11 frames, with 16 strikeouts. In the 12th, a single, a reached on error, and several stolen bases provide the difference.

1985 The Orioles release longtime role player John Lowenstein.

1985 Montreal releases longtime rotation stalwart Steve Rogers, ending his career.

1985 Ryne Sandberg plays an inning at shortstop. It’ll be the last time he takes the field at any place other than second base.

1985 Speedy young Cardinals outfielder Vince Coleman hits a his first home run—which fittingly enough is an inside the park homer.

1986 Matt Wieters, Orioles catcher, is born.

1986 Braves shortstop Rafael Ramirez hits four doubles.

1987 Indians slugger Cory Snyder swats three home runs in one game.

1988 The Red Sox retire No. 1 for Hall of Fame second baseman Bobby Doerr.

1989 Ken Griffey Jr.’s first inside-the-park homer is career homer No. 6.

1990 Barry Bonds bats leadoff for the last time.

1992 The Angels team bus crashes, injuring several players. The worst hurt, though, is manager Buck Rodgers, who suffers from a damaged knee and rib cage, and most of all had a badly broken elbow, which was broken in multiple places.

1993 Dale Murphy plays in his final game.

1993 Rickey Henderson has a career-best five RBIs when he goes 2-for-4 with a triple and home run in Oakland’s 12-11 win over Chicago.

1995 Mark McGwire’s personal-best hitting streak maxes at 18 games. He’s 23-for-69 with six doubles and nine home runs.

1995 Seattle trades young starting pitcher Shawn Estes to the Giants.

1996 Larry Walker gets a double, triple and two home runs but never does get a single to complete the cycle.

1996 Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 200th home run.

1996 There is a 4.8-magnitude earthquake in third inning of a Giants-Expos game. The game proceeds, as it's just a mild quake, and the Giants win 8-5.

1996 Terry Mulholland, veteran relief pitcher, hits a 407-foot home run. He began the day with the third-worst batting average among anyone with at least 400 at-bats.

1997 Roger Clemens wins his 200th game: 200-111 for his career.

1997 Reliever Keith Foulke makes his big league debut.

1998 Jim Edmonds gets his 100th home run.

1998 Herbert Aaron, father of Hank Aaron, dies at age 89.

1999 The Cubs trade Kyle Lohse to the Twins for Rick Aguilera in a four-player trade.

1999 Young Braves center fielder Andruw Jones steals three bases in one game.

2000 For the second consecutive game, Rickey Henderson bashes a lead-off home run.

2000 Giants starting pitcher Russ Ortiz becomes the first pitcher since Bob Friend in 1954 to get the win despite allowing 10 earned runs.

2000 Major league teams combine for six grand slams on this day, a record.

2001 Barry Bonds clubs his eighth homer in five games, tying a record.

2002 Randy Johnson fans his 3,500th batter.

2002 Tampa pitcher Joe Kennedy throws a complete game, ending a 194-game stretch without one for Tampa.

2003 Geoff Jenkins hits three home runs in a game for the second time in his career.

2004 Alex Rodriguez plays his first game in Texas as a Yankee and, predictably, gets booed.

2005 As New York’s Dae-Sung Koo faces Randy Johnson, Mike Piazza, in the Mets dugout, tells his teammate David Wright that he’ll give $1 million to charity if Koo gets a hit. Koo doubles. Piazza sticks to his word, creating a 20-year plan of $50,000 per year to give to charity.

2005 The Giants unveil a statue of former ace starting pitcher Juan Marichal.

2009 Troy Percival< appears in his final game.

2009 Jeanmar Gomez throws a perfect game for the Akron Aeors against the Trenton Thunder in the Eastern League.

2010 Pitcher Brad Penny tears his lat while hitting a grand slam in the third inning versus St. Louis. He’ll be out for the year.

2010 Astros star pitcher Roy Oswalt says he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause.

2010 The Nationals release Willy Taveras.

2010 Edwin Encarnacion of Toronto hits three home runs in one game.

2011 Los Angeles police make an arrest in the case of the Giants fan beaten so badly after a Dodgers game that he was left with severe brain damage.

2011 It’s announced that Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter has brain tumors. He has less than a year to live.

2012 Houston signs free agent pitcher Armando Galarraga, who famously threw a near-perfect game that culminated in umpire Jim Joyce’s terrible call at first base.

2012 Reds fan Caleb Lloyd snags balls on back-to-back home runs. Neat trick.


Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> Chris Jaffe 2013-05-21T07:19:22+00:00 Profar could be on a Cingrani-esque schedule http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/profar-could-be-on-a-cingrani-esque-schedule/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/profar-could-be-on-a-cingrani-esque-schedule/
Click the title to read more.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> Jeff Moore 2013-05-21T07:09:51+00:00 Is 5/125 the new 5/55? http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/is-5-125-the-new-5-55/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/is-5-125-the-new-5-55/
Click the title to read more.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> Greg Simons 2013-05-21T07:05:49+00:00 THT Awards http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards052113/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards052113/
Click the title to read more.

Read more great baseball stuff at The Hardball Times.]]> ]]> John Barten 2013-05-21T07:03:12+00:00