The right-handed Kesler had a stellar career with Lamar Community College. As a sophomore in 2007 he had 103 strikeouts in 88 innings, with a 0.82 ERA and school record 10 complete games. From there he moved on to the University of New Mexico, where he continued pitching well when not hampered by injuries.  He had Tommy John surgery in 2008, which robbed him of major chunks of that season and 2009. He returned from his rehab and impressed scouts enough that he was selected by the Mariners in the 18^th round of the 2010 MLB Draft.

Ever since starting his professional career Kesler has been nothing short of sensational, pitching exclusively out of the bullpen. Relying on a fastball in the low 90′s and still developing his secondary pitches, Kesler has pitched at three different levels in two years, finishing 2011 in High-A. In 55 total games during those two seasons he has accumulated a 9-5 record and 2.21 ERA, with 16 saves. He also has 81 strikeouts in 89.1 innings. More information on his statistics is available at http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=kesler001wil.

A baseball prospect could not ask for a better start to a career than what Kesler has produced. Not only has he moved rapidly through the minors, but he has performed well at each level and not tailed off as his competition has become more advanced. If he can keep up the same pace for one more year in the minors he will put himself in an excellent position to compete for a roster spot in Seattle. With the team’s bullpen having undergone a cycle of changes over of the past several seasons, there should be a great opportunity for a promising pitcher like Kesler.

Kesler is getting ready to head out to spring training, but before leaving he took the time to answer a few of my questions. He is also on Twitter, where he frequently interacts with his followers and gives a good idea of what the life of a professional ball player is like. He is a must-watch prospect for Seattle and baseball fans, so take a few moments to get to know him better.

 Willy Kesler Interview:

 Who were your favorite team and player growing up and why?: When I was growing up my favorite team was the Colorado Rockies and I liked Andres Galarraga. Now my favorite player is Nolan Ryan. I grew up in Denver, so they were the home town team. I’m not sure why I liked Galarraga. I just always cheered for him. I like Nolan Ryan because I want to be the same type of pitcher that he was.

Can you talk a little bit about your 2008 season at New Mexico where you had an appendectomy and Tommy John? How difficult was that to overcome?: I started the season off great. The third weekend, I hurt my arm, but the following weekend I still pitched. Then the fifth week of the season I had my appendectomy. In May I had my Tommy John. It was tough because everything that could go wrong that year did for me health-wise. Luckily I have a very close family and I was able to get over that big speed bump in my life.

Can you run through what your draft experience was like?: The draft experience was pretty awesome. I saw my name go across the tracker, then my phone started going off a lot. I’ve never experienced
anything like that before.

Since being drafted, how much contact do you typically have with staff from Seattle?: During spring training you tend to see the staff more often. During the season it’s harder with all of the different teams in the middle of their seasons.

What pitches do you throw, and which one is your strongest and which one needs the most work?: I throw a four-seam, two-seam, 12 to 6 curveball, and a circle change. Cleaning up my mechanics will help with cleaning up all of the pitches. I still need to continue working on my changeup. It’s a type of pitch that can always get better.

What coaches, managers, or instructors have been most instrumental to your professional career thus far?: To the day my baseball career  is done I will always seek help from my little league coaches Steve Curry and Terry Smith. They have helped me get to where I am, so I’m not going to stop asking them now. Within pro ball, Rich Dorman has helped me the most. I have the changeup that I do because he has worked with me on it the most.

How difficult is it to maintain the life of a minor league player (financial, fatigue, relationships, etc…)?: It’s pretty tough all around, but I can’t complain too much being I get to wake up and play baseball every day. The goal is to be in Seattle, and then most of the hard times won’t be so hard.

Andrew Martin is the founder of “The Baseball Historian” blog where he posts his thoughts about baseball on a regular basis. He can be reached at historianandrew@gmail.com. You can also reach him on Twitter at @historianandrew.

My idea was that time and a focus on sabermetrics and efforts to determine who should be in the Hall of Fame have left many uniquely interesting and/or appealing retired/deceased baseball people by the wayside. Last year’s responses included a generous article on Joe Cambria by Seamheads editor Ted Leavengood. With spring training just about upon us, I’m bringing up the topic again and asking Seamheads for help in bringing to light some old baseball people who are worth remembering.

If you have someone in mind, just put his name in the comments. I’m only asking for a name, but if you want to write a few sentences talking about your favorite obscure baseball figure (it can be a woman of course), that would be fine. My choice is Lena Blackburne, longtime baseball figure in every capacity from ballplayer to independent entrepreneur, and the man who got the White Sox’s first two hits at the original Comiskey Park.

Me sobresaltaba cada vez que el transistor de mis hermanos tronaba en un rincón del cuarto. “Ahí está otra vez Ray Fosse corriendo a hablar con su lanzador. Ahora antes de agacharse da señas para ubicar a los jardineros”. Más adelante en los juegos, cuando el marcador estaba más apretado se aparecía con un batazo que cepillaba la grama más recóndita de los jardines y llenaba las bases de adrenalina.

En el play off semifinal ante los Tigres de Aragua y en la serie final ante los Tiburones deLa Guairarecuerdo como Fosse dirigió y logró establecer una comunicación sólida con el cuerpo de lanzadores y con el resto de sus compañeros para cementar una defensiva que llegó a merecer el remoquete de “la muralla de oro”. Cada vez que un corredor salía a  robar una base, el disparo de Fosse llegaba certero y en un porcentaje apreciable realizaba el out en segunda, tercera o primera base. Cada vez que salía un rodado al cuadro sin corredor en la antesala, Fosse corría a hacer la asistencia en primera base como si el peto, las rodilleras fuesen de seda, y después regresaba con toda su rapidez a ubicarse detrás del plato.  Cuando terminaban los innings venía quitándose los aperos al trote. El manager Patato Pascual le decía: “Hold your horses Ray”.

Uno de los dos momentos indelebles que guardo de Fosse pertenece al juego decisivo dela Seriedel Caribe de 1970 escenificada en el estadio Universitario de Caracas. Magallanes por Venezuela y Ponce por Puerto Rico llegaron igualados en el marcador al inning nueve. En la parte de arriba de aquel episodio, con corredores en tercera y primera y un out, el manager Jim Fregosi ordenó el “squeeze play” al bateador Sandy Alomar padre. Dámaso Blanco jugaba algo adelantado en tercera base y empezó a adelantarse a medida que el pitcher Aurelio Monteagudo seguía las señas del catcher Ray Fosse. Cuando salió el toque, Dámaso arrancó en paralelo con el corredor Jorge Roque, agarró la pelota con la punta de los dedos de la mano derecha y en el impulso se la pasó a Fosse. Delio Amado León desbordó su modulación, “¡Fosse recibe la pelota y se planta como una pared ante el empuje de Roque y que clase de out señores!” Aquella jugada resultó esencial para la victoria magallanera que se concretaría dos innings más tarde.

Más adelante en 1970 llegó el juego de estrellas de mitad de temporada. La intensidad del enfrentamiento me mantuvo despierto hasta el cierre del episodio duodécimo. Después de dos outs, Pete Rose, Billy Grabarkewitz y Jim Hickman sencillearon. Rose pasó por tercera como una flecha y siguió hacia el plato. Fosse estaba adelantado y recibió la pelota fuera de la línea de carrera de Rose. Miré con tristeza y rabia como Pete Rose se encimaba sobre  Fosse con una furia tal que lo hizo dar una vuelta de carnero sobre su cuerpo. Siempre había admirado el empuje y la entrega de Rose en el campo, pero esa vez me fui a la cama con la idea muy clara de que Rose pudo anotar la carrera sin siquiera rozar a Fosse. Ni siquiera tenía la justificación del que corre hacia segunda base porque este se le encima al segunda base o campocorto para evitar el dobleplay. Aquí hablamos de un catcher que tuvo que salir del home a buscar el disparo.

Aquella noche pasé como dos horas con aquel arrollamiento en la mente. Quería llegarme hasta el Riverfront Stadium para reclamarle a Pete Rose porque había entrado de esa forma al home. Si era posible estaba dispuesto a liarme a puñetazos con él.  Y después de enterarme de las consecuencias sucesivas que tuvo aquella jugada, más deseé encontrarme cara a cara con Rose para reclamarle. Fosse siguió jugando casi el resto de la temporada con una fractura en la clavícula que le detectaron al final de la campaña. Por supuesto nunca volvió a ser el mismo catcher, ni en la segunda mitad de la temporada de 1970, ni en el resto de su carrera. Por si fuera poco cuando le preguntaron a Rose porque había arrollado a Fosse, respondió que no hubiera podido mirar a su padre a la cara de haber  evitado el choque con Fosse. Por supuesto que eso molestó a Fosse. Cuando lo leí estrujé el periódico.

Alfonso L. Tusa C.

English translation

At the middle of the 1969-70 season of the Venezuelan winter league, or maybe before, a new catcher appeared in the Magallanes Navigators line up that little by little made everybody forget about Walter Hriniak’s great performance during the previous season. This time Hriniak had some troubles with the league’s pitching. The new backstop began to adapt with Orlando Peña, Dick Baney, Danny Morris, Jay Ritchie, and Gregorio Machado among others.

I got excited each time my brothers’ transistor radio sounded in a corner of the bedroom. “There it’s again Ray Fosse running to talk to his pitcher. Now before bending down he gives some signs for positioning the outfielders.” Later in the games, when the score got tighter, Fosse came with a big shot to the farthest grass in the outfield and cleaned the bases with adrenaline.

In the semifinal play off before the Aragua Tigers and in the final series before theLa GuairaSharksI remember how Fosse called the games and established a great communication with all the pitchers and the whole team to cement a defense that got the nickname of “the golden wall”. Each time a runner attempted to steal a base, Fosse’s shot arrived accurate, so many times he made the out at second, third or first base. Every time there was a grounder to the infield, no runner in third base, Fosse ran to make the assist behind first base as if the catcher’s equipment was as light as silk, afterwards he got back to home plate with the same speed. After the end of each inning he came to the dugout taking off the catching implements while jogging. The skipper Patato Pascual told him: “”Hold your horses Ray.”

One of  the most unforgettable moments I have about Fosse belongs to the crucial game of the 1970 Caribbean Series played in the Universitario stadium ofCaracas. Magallanes forVenezuelaandPonceforPuerto Ricoarrived tied in the score to the ninth inning. In the top of that inning, with runners at third and first and one out, the manager Jim Fregosi ordered Sandy Alomar Sr. to execute the squeeze play. Dámaso Blanco played on the infield grass and began to advance to home plate while the pitcher Aurelio Monteagudo watched Ray Fosse’s signs. When Alomar hit the bunt, Damaso ran in parallel with the third base runner, Jorge Roque, took the ball in the tip of his right hand fingers and passed it to Fosse. The teller Delio Amado León said: “¡Fosse gets the ball and stands as a wall before Roque’s impulse. ¡What kind of a play, boys!” That play was essential in the Magallanes win that was accomplished two frames later.

Later in 1970 came the All Star Game at the middle of  MLB season. The intensity of the contest kept me awake until the bottom of the twelfth inning. After two outs, Pete Rose, Billy Grabarkewitz and Jim Hickman hit singles. Rose passed by third base as an arrow and continued to home plate. Fosse stood some steps ahead from the plate and got the ball out of Rose’s running line. I watched with sadness how Rose went into Fosse with such aggressiveness that made him give a roll over himself. I had always admired Rose’s intensity to play baseball. But that time I went to bed thinking that Rose could score the run without even touching Fosse. He didn’t have the excuse of the runner who approaches second base and goes over the short stop o the second baseman to break the double play. Here we talk about a catcher who had to leave home plate to get the ball.

That night I remained almost an hour with that collision in my mind. I wanted to be at Riverfront Stadium to argue with Pete Rose about why had he come to home plate that way. I was even ready to fight with him. When I knew about the physical consequences that play left in Fosse, I whished much more to meet Rose face to face to complain for that All Star incident. Fosse kept playing for the rest of that 1970 season. At the end the physicians found a fracture in his shoulder. Of course Fosse was never the same catcher, nor in the rest of the season, nor in the rest of his career. To add salt to the injury, when Rose was asked about why had he clashed against Fosse, he answered that he couldn’t have seen his father’s face if he had avoided the clash with Fosse. Of course that bothered Fosse. When I read it I wrinkled the paper.

Alfonso L. Tusa C.

Alfonso’s work has been featured in Venezuel’s daily newspaper, El Nacional and in the magazine Gente en Ambiente, and he has collaborated on several articles for newspapers, including the daily paper Tal Cual. He has also written four books and biographies for SABR’s BioProject.

The right-handed Pelzer enjoyed a stellar career at the University of South Carolina, starting and relieving with equal success and consistently being one of the best hurlers in the SEC. He was already a hot commodity following his junior year in 2007, and after being drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 9^th round of that year’s draft, he decided to sign and start his professional career. He made steady progress through the San Diego system as a starter, but near the 2010 trade deadline, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles with cash considerations for shortstop Miguel Tejada. The fact that Baltimore was willing to trade one of its last established veteran players for Pelzer shows how much regard they have for the pitcher.

Since joining the Baltimore organization, Pelzer has been transitioning back to relieving and made it as high as Triple-A in 2011. So far in his minor league career, Pelzer has a 32-31 record in 126 games, with a 3.89 ERA. He has also struck out 422 batters in 472 innings, while relinquishing an impressively low 32 home runs. More information about his statistics is available at http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=pelzer001wyn.

The scouting report on Pelzer is that he has major league stuff, highlighted by a low 90′s fastball. Consistency in his delivery and command are the last challenges he has been addressing, as he continues to progress through the minors. Heading into 2012 there is little reason why he won’t make his major league debut at some point during the season. There’s not much left for him to prove in the minors, and the rebuilding Orioles are likely to have many holes on their pitching staff to fill, with prospects like Pelzer eager to show what they can do.

Keep an eye out for Pelzer in Baltimore in 2012. He is a great follow on Twitter and was gracious enough to recently answer some of my questions. #Wynning!

Wynn Pelzer Interview:

Who was your favorite team and player growing up and why?: My favorite team growing up was the Atlanta Braves. I got into little league about the same time Andruw Jones made his debut, so I liked his game.

Can you run through what your draft experience was like; did you think you would go lower or higher than the 9th round?: My draft experience was a little frustrating because the previous year I threw really well and positioned myself to get drafted a little higher. My junior year wasn’t as good as I wanted and I had major knee surgery after I was drafted.
How did playing college ball at South Carolina prepare you for life as a professional player?: Playing at the REAL USC was good because the level of competition was really high. A lot of the guys I was playing against were going to play pro ball at some point, and it made me a better player. Matt LaPorta with aluminum in his hands was a testy situation.
What are contract negotiations like after being drafted?: I think they’re a standard case of a player’s perceived value versus how much the team thinks he’s worth. My negotiations were unorthodox because I was injured and somewhat of an enigma. So it was stressful, but in the end everyone on both sides want to get a deal done. You just can’t show your hand.

What pitches do you throw, and which one is your strongest and which one needs the most work?: I’m a sinker/slider/change-up guy; mostly sinker/slider. When I need a swing and miss, I lean on my slider. When I need a double play ball I’m living with my sinker. I’m comfortable with both of them, but I need to tighten up my command. It’s my biggest obstacle at this point in my career.

Are you most comfortable starting or relieving?: I’m comfortable doing both. My command makes it harder on me as a starter, but as long as I have a defined role I can adapt and prepare accordingly

What is the best baseball park/stadium you have ever played in?: The best stadium is The Diamond in Lake Elsinore. Any and everything that goes into a good baseball environment is top notch. I’d do it again for free.

Are you expecting 2012 to be the year you make your major league debut?: I expect to get better as a pitcher and put myself in a position where I can contribute to the big club. All I can control is my preparation and performance. But if the Lord is willing, I’ll be blessed with the opportunity.

Andrew Martin is the founder of “The Baseball Historian” blog where he posts his thoughts about baseball on a regular basis. He can be reached at historianandrew@gmail.com. You can also reach him on Twitter at @historianandrew.

Dave Cameron on FanGraphs Audio recently estimated the value of Edwin Jackson to Washington as an additional 2-3 wins in 2012.  Perhaps as early as this coming fall, that seemingly insignificant sum is likely to be the difference in being a playoff team or sitting home.  Cameron averaged out which teams would have qualified for a second wild card slot for the last ten years and arrived at a figure of an 88 wins in each league.

Looking over the 2011 NL standings shows that the Atlanta Braves would have qualified for the second wild card slot with 89 wins.

The question facing the Nationals this April can be framed thusly: ‘Can the return of Stephen Strasburg and Adam LaRoche, and the addition of Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson translate into the 88-to-91 wins that will be necessary to propel the Nationals into the playoffs for the first time in their history?’

The Nationals are not the only team doing these calculations. The off-season moves by perennial Washington nemesis, the Miami Marlins, make the NL East one of the strongest divisions in baseball.  But this season it is possible that three teams in the NL East could advance to the playoffs.  Three teams might make the grade from among Washington,  Atlanta, Miami and Philly for the 2012 post-season.

In 2011 both St. Louis and Milwaukee made the playoffs from the NL Central. St. Louis must fill in for Albert Pujols in 2012 and Milwaukee for Prince Fielder.  That division will be made weaker by their departure as well as the uncertain status of Ryan Braun.  In the NL West last yearArizona won with only 86 wins and no one there looks appreciably improved.  The strengthened NL East compares extremely well.

Do the Nationals need Peter Bourjos in center to reach the baseball nirvana of post-season play in 2012?  Perhaps not. With the improved offensive production that could flow from a healthy LaRoche and Zimmerman, and what could be the best pitching staff in the NL, the Nationals can reasonably expect to win 88 or more games.  Will it be enough?

I don’t believe in crystal balls, but my drive to Viera in a few short weeks will be the most hopeful one yet and Bud Selig could make it sweeter still.

Only Mark McGwire and Juan Gonzalez received fewer votes than they did last year.  McGwire’s vote total has declined in each of the last three years and Gonzalez, a two-time AL MVP, did not receive the 5% required to stay on the ballot. Bernie Williams (9.6%) was the only newcomer to receive enough votes to remain on the ballot.

573 writers participated in the voting this year, down from 591 in 2011.  Participants voted for an average of 5.1 players in 2012, down from 6.0 last year.

Larkin received, by far, the largest increase in votes but several other candidates also received big increases.  Jack Morris, with only 2 more years on the ballot, made a strong move with an increase of 72 votes to 66.7 %.  He appears to be taking a similar track as Bert Blyleven two years ago.  However, his career ERA of 3.90 apparently remains an issue with some voters and he will need to garner about 50 more votes to gain election.  Jeff Bagwell posted a 79 vote increase to 56% in only his second year on the ballot. He appears to be on track for election, possibly with his 15-year teammate, Craig Biggio in 2013.

Lee Smith, the all-time leader in saves when he retired was the 4^th player to receive over 50% of the votes with 50.6%, an increase of 27 votes.  Tim Raines is finally gaining some traction with 48.7%, an increase of 61 votes from last year.  Alan Trammell made an even bigger move, picking up 70 votes to 36.8% but he is in his 11^th year and is running out of time.  Edgar Martinez is at 36.5% and will probably have trouble convincing enough voters that a designated hitter deserves election.

The remaining holdover candidates do not have enough support to be serious candidates for elections in the next few years. Fred McGriff picked up 33 more votes this year but suffers from a comparison with other outstanding first basemen.  Larry Walker put up great numbers but some voters discount his performance because of the Coors Field effect.  Mark McGwire continues to slip and his disappointing showing may be a harbinger of what can be expected when Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens appear on the ballot next year.  Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy had very high peaks but their careers were not long enough to put up numbers that would gain support from enough voters.

Rafael Palmeiro has the same problem as McGwire.  Bernie Williams’s initial appearance on the ballot gained only 9.6% of the votes which probably reflects that many voters don’t consider him a first ballot Hall-of-Famer.  Juan Gonzalez lasted only 2 years on the ballot before dropping off with only 4.0% this year.

The other 12 members of the incoming class didn’t come close to the 5.0% required to remain on the ballot.  This should change next year when the ballot will include the names of Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, Biggio, Mike Piazza and Curt Schilling.

And his dad was quite a hitter. So good that in 1959, he had the highest batting average in the major leagues. But he did not win the American League batting title.

John Patsy Francona compiled a lifetime batting average of .272 and hit 125 home runs in 15 big league seasons, playing with nine teams. The left-handed hitter signed with the St. Louis Browns in 1952, and when he returned from two years of military service, they had become the Baltimore Orioles.

He had 500 plate appearances, batting .258 for the Birds in 1956, saw less playing time the next year and then was traded to the White Sox who dealt him to the Tigers. Detroit sent Francona to Cleveland just before the 1959 season began.

It began inauspiciously for Francona. Entering June, he had only 13 at-bats, all as a pinch-hitter. He got his first start June 2 against the Washington Senators, going 2 for 4 in Game No. 44 for the Indians. After he went hitless the next day, he was back on the bench.

But two games later, Francona belted a pinch homer off New York’s Bob Turley, and the following day he played first base and batted third. He hit a three-run homer to help the Indians beat the Yankees, 7-5.

From that point, Tito remained in the lineup most of the remainder of the season. He mostly played center field, moving to first base when Vic Power played somewhere else in the infield or was hurt. Cleveland manager Joe Gordon alternated Francona between the third and fourth spots in the batting order.

Francona batted .375 in June with six home runs. Two of the round-trippers came in a 4-for-4 game against the Orioles. He put together an 11-game hitting streak that carried from the end of the month into July.

After going hitless, Francona then hit safely in 17 straight games, giving him hits in 28 of 29 games. In July, he batted .433 and knocked in 21 runs. He had four hits three times during the month, going 45 for 104. In August, he smacked seven homers and again had 21 RBI.

In one five-game stretch, he had 13 hits in 20 at-bats (.650) and drove in 12 runs. Included was a 7-for-8 doubleheader, capped by a three-run ninth-inning homer that won the second game.

Francona was batting .402 as late as Aug. 10, clouted a pair of home runs in a game five days later and a week after that, hit another ninth-inning game-winning homer. On Sept. 7, he was at .391 before going 11 for 56 to close the season while hampered by a sore hamstring.

Francona got at least one hit in 75 of the 96 games he started and had 43 multi-hit games. He hit 20 home runs and had 79 RBI, a .414 on-base percentage and a .566 slugging percentage. He struck out just 42 times in 443 plate appearances.

A player required 477 plate appearances to qualify for a batting title. That left Francona 34 short, which is why his final 1959 batting average of .363 did not crown him the AL champ. Detroit’s Harvey Kuenn won the title with a .353 mark.

And, remember, Francona did not start a single game the first two months of the season.

He followed up with two more fine years in Cleveland’s lineup, batting .292 with 17 homers, a league-leading 36 doubles and 79 RBI in 1960 and .301 with 16 homers and 85 RBI in ’61. Both of those seasons, he had over 600 plate appearances.

Tito Francona had 1,395 hits and 656 RBI in 1,719 games. He never played in a post-season game.

Baseball Reference.com currently lists the standings from last year with payroll rather than wins. At first glance it is clear that the aggregate wealth the Yankees and Phillies brought to bear on the season purchased the most wins in the two leagues in 2011. Both teams outspent everyone else and the results seem predictable. But the long and winding road of the 162-game season led them not to a championship, but to first-round elimination. So what does money buy?

There is another correlation that is rarely mentioned. Money follows not only certain markets, but it also reflects the age of established, big-money names. So the Yankees put together a team of established stars, but the mean age of their starting lineup was 31.7. The Phillies, determined to keep their winning club together, spent almost as much money but were even older with an average age of 32.4

With the playoffs raging last October, Phil Van Horn and Mark Patrick opined on Seamheads Friday that the Yankees and Phillies were too old to play through the incredible grind of the season and still have anything left for the post-season. Their wisdom was belied by the relatively older Cardinals when they bested the youthful Rangers behind Lance Berkman, Pujols and Freese. But their maxim held for much of the playoffs and emphasizes the point that money buys established, older stars who tend to be at the back end of their prime playing years (28-32) or worse.

So how much of a shift of real power is there towards the AL? The heart of the Angels lineup will be Albert Pujols–32, Vernon Wells–33 and Tori Hunter–36. The rest of the team is young  and their star-studded rotation is in its prime. They are more like the Cardinals than the Yankees. Place them next to the Texas Rangers who are as young and talented as anyone for the past two seasons, and you have an AL West that has to be seen as one of the strongest divisions in the game.

What does the NL have to compare with THAT? For one thing the NL can claim the two most recent World Championships–just saying. And the AL was represented in the Championship for the past two years not by its wealthiest team, but by its youngest and hungriest–the Texas Rangers.

The formula that Texas is following is most closely being emulated by the Cincinnati Reds. With Jay Bruce, Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips, the Reds have a lineup that reminds one of Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler. And Matt Latos, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake and Aroldis Chapman are as young and talented a group as anything in the AL, reminiscent certainly of Lincecum, Cain and the Giants group that gelled in 2010.

And then the NL has the Miami Marlins who brought in Mark Buerhle to go with Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez; Jose Reyes to go with Mike Stanton.  The Nationals are the consummate young and hungry team who will have Stephen Strasburg back to go with Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann.

What escapes notice so often is the team nature of baseball. Putting together the most expensive group of veteran talent makes good copy and good teams, but it does not win championships consistently. What the Texas Rangers had for the past two seasons was the most talented nine players on the diamond at the close of the season, the team that most wanted to win and still had the legs to do so in October.

Payroll is just one yardstick for weighing talent. There is no denying the correlation between payroll and winning percentage. But there is another measure that is gaining currency–so to speak.  Youth, talent and desire come together is ways that often age, wisdom and complacency do not.

The 1926 baseball season ended in embarrassing fashion for Ruth. He made the final out of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, by getting thrown out attempting to steal second base with his team down one run in the 9^th inning of Game 7. It was a stunning ending, but Ruth did not have much time to sulk over his misfortune. In October, shortly after his base running blunder, he embarked on a vaudeville tour that began in Minneapolis and would end three months later in California.

Ruth was a surprisingly competent show business performer, and was so famous that he was guaranteed to pack theatres wherever he went. A New York Times review went so far as to state, “Ruth has good stage presence, a winning smile, and he gets away with the singing part…” (One person who didn’t appreciate Ruth’s acumen on the stage was his teammate, Mark Koenig, who called the show, “boring as hell.”) His popularity allowed him to make $8,333 per week during the full run of the show; an immense salary at the time.

Ruth’s variety show consisted of some skits, singing, talking baseball to the crowd, giving playing tips, and finished by bringing children to the stage for some impromptu demonstrations. At the conclusion, each child who participated was given a new baseball autographed by Ruth as a souvenir.

In January, 1927, Ruth arrived in Long Beach, California for his final three performances. Spring training was going to be start soon and he was likely weary from having been going non-stop since the end of the last season. Ruth’s final shows were booked at the State Theatre, where he expected things to wind down quietly, but that turned out to be far from what actually happened.

Prior to the January 22nd show, Ruth was backstage getting dressed when Roy Reid, the manager of the State Theatre, appeared and informed him that a warrant had been sworn out in San Diego for his arrest because he had not obtained work permits to have the children come up on stage during the shows he had performed there. The child labor law violation charges were filed by Stanley M. Gue, the Deputy State Labor Commissioner, seeking to make his political bones by taking on an American icon.  Gue alleged that Annette deKirby was used in Ruth’s show without the proper work permits from his office. It was likely not a coincidence that deKirby had already dabbled in acting, appearing in the “Our Gang” series, and her parents were probably seeking a little additional publicity for their daughter.

Ruth was shocked at his arrest. He later said, “They forget how much I’ve done for kids. I’ve done nothing that would harm them. I’ve only tried to give them a little bit of sunshine.” Despite the ludicrous nature of the charges, Gue was determined to make him an example and answer the charges. Ruth was escorted to the police station, still dressed in his stage uniform. He quickly posted $500 bail, and a court date was set for February 11^th in San Diego.

Ruth’s “trial” turned out to be just a matter of procedure. Judge Claude L. Chambers quickly saw the lack of merit in the case and issued a six page verdict acquitting Ruth of all charges. The judge declared that deKirby was at the theatre, with her parents acting as chaperones, and her appearance on stage did not constitute employment. She had never been hired by Ruth and the signed baseball she received was a gift and not wages.

Despite the verdict, Gue was not done with Ruth. On February 26, 1927 a new warrant for his arrest was issued. It was based on a new complaint from a different section of the law, alleging that by having children come up on the stage during his show, Ruth was employing children “after the hour of ten p.m.” The new complaint was filed on the behalf of Ernestine Fuller, another child who had attended one of Ruth’s California shows.

Having already left California, Ruth mailed in another $500 bail after the second arrest. He did not return for the initial hearing and had his lawyer stand in for him. It was erroneously reported that because he didn’t appear in court that a warrant was issued for his arrest and his bail was forfeited. In actuality, Ruth, whose patience must have been sorely tested by the charges, did everything by the book and was quickly absolved of wrong doing. The presiding judge once again dismissed the charges and lectured the zealous Gue for requiring work permits for children “to step up onto a stage to get a free baseball.” The whole matter was a farce and Ruth was likely only targeted for his star power, so Gue could publicize his policies and how he executed his office.

Fortunately, the legal trouble didn’t impact Ruth’s upcoming season or his friendliness to fans. In 1927 Ruth set the single season home run record with 60, won the World Series, and was the star of a team widely considered to be the best of all time. He also continued his reputation of being one of the most accessible players in baseball, chatting with fans and signing many autographs, especially for kids. Nearly a century later, Ruth’s autograph is still one of the most coveted in the collecting world. If an aggressive state politician had his way, it all may have turned out very differently.

Andrew Martin is the founder of “The Baseball Historian” blog where he posts his thoughts about baseball on a regular basis. He can be reached at historianandrew@gmail.com. You can also reach him on Twitter at @historianandrew.

As Yogi Berra might say, this question is so easy it’s hard to answer. It seems to me, however, that the answer is twofold. First, baseball is a restorative. Ballparks are really time machines, and when we enter them, we are whisked back to childhood. Every little ritual now recalls the day we were baptized into the game. For me, it was simply the thrill of seeing the stadium come into view.

A couple of years ago, a friend drove me down 33rd Street in Baltimore and past the site where Memorial Stadium once stood. The white houses, always so visible beyond center field were still there, and for a moment I honestly thought that something was wrong with me, for I could not see the stadium. I kept looking. What the man saw, the boy refused to believe. To this day, a part of me still thinks that I just looked wrong, and that if I go back again, Memorial Stadium will be there, where it’s supposed to be. I’m never going back.

Maybe the ritual for you was getting the tickets or that proverbial first glimpse of the greenest of grasses as you left the concourse and came up into the stands to find your seats. Maybe it was the anticipatory hum of the crowd or that 150-year-old announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, here are your starting lineups.” Maybe it was peanuts, popcorn, and hot dogs.

Oh, sure, we may be at an age that prevents us from having that hot dog with onions lest we wake up at 2 o’clock in the morning fumbling in the bathroom for the Zantac, but that’s no matter. Nothing can restore the body, but the game restores the child in us. Last season, I planned to meet someone at a baseball game whom I had never met before. This gentleman is a college mathematics professor, and he assured me that once I got to the first-base side, I would know him. I entered the park and started down toward the first-base dugout when I spied a man wearing the team hat, shirt, and jacket. He also had his glove with him. I knew him all right. I knew him before I met him, and it illustrates the second reason that baseball has such a powerful hold on us.

From childhood to adulthood, we all long to belong. Baseball can create that sense of community, even if it’s just for an inning or two. Our team is trailing by a run in the 9th, but we’ve got the bases loaded with only one out. The ballpark comes to life, and you look around and you realize that that guy way up there in the middle of the upper deck down the right field line, the guy who’s waving a pennant as if he’s carrying the colors into the face of the enemy, is thinking and feeling and hoping for exactly the same thing that you are. And when a single brings home the tie run standing up, and the winning run barely eludes the catcher’s tag in a swirling dust cloud at home plate, you are suddenly hugging strangers. The park empties, and everyone’s smile lights the way back to our respective cars. We wave to the people waving out their windows and blowing their horns. For an inning or an evening or sometimes, if we’re lucky, for a whole season, we are one.

That’s why baseball. I’m sure that other folks have their own restoratives; at least I guess they do. I hope they do things that bring them a sense of belonging. As for me, well, now that February is here, I feel younger already.

Born Alfredo Cruz Rico, he was signed as an outfielder out of Arizona in 1964 by the Baltimore Orioles. The smallish right-handed Rico was just 19, when he began his professional career. He debuted with the Fox Cities Foxes of Appleton, Wisconsin in the Midwest league, and had an impressive season. In 117 games, he hit .310 with 16 doubles, 11 triples, 7 home runs, and 88 RBI. Perhaps most impressive was his 66 walks, which contributed to his .410 OBP.

Over the next several years, Rico continued to progress through the Baltimore system, but as he moved up, his production fell. He made it as high as Double-A, playing there in 1966-1968, but hit only one home run in those three seasons combined.

Rico finally got a change of scenery when he was taken by the expansion Kansas City Royals in the Rule V draft in December, 1968. It turned out that the move reinvigorated his career and put him on a fast track to the majors.

Rico rebounded to hit .286 with 10 home runs and 84 RBI with Double-A Omaha in 1969. His performance was enough to earn him a September call-up by the hapless Royals, who were on their way to a 93 loss season. Rico got into a total of 12 games with the Royals. He had 6 hits and 2 RBI in 26 official at bats, and drew a surprising 9 walks.

Unfortunately, one of the areas of strength for the Royals was their young outfield, which included Lou Piniella, Amos Otis, and Pat Kelly. He returned to the minors in 1970, and was dealt to the Cardinals in June of that year. Over the next several seasons he played in the minor league systems of the Cardinals, Twins, and Pirates, but never made it back to the majors.

Rico retired following the 1973 season. He accumulated 1,150 minor league hits, good for a .282 batting average. More information about his career statistics is available at http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=rico–001alf.  Rico recently responded to a few questions about his career in baseball, which he still remembers fondly.

Fred Rico Questionnaire:

If you could do anything about your career differently, what would that be?: I should have signed out of high school!

What was the strangest thing you ever saw on a baseball diamond?: Bases loaded, winning run at third base; one out. Routine fly ball to left field. The throw accidently hit the runner and he in turn kicked the ball to the catcher for the out.

Who was your favorite coach or manager?: Jack McKeon, who is the coach of the Florida Marlins.

Who was the most underrated player you ever played with or against?: Dave Parker. He should be in the Hall of Fame (my roommate in 1973- Pittsburgh).

Andrew Martin is the founder of “The Baseball Historian” blog where he posts his thoughts about baseball on a regular basis. He can be reached at historianandrew@gmail.com. You can also reach him on Twitter at @historianandrew.

Monte started as an 18-year-old kid, signing with Abe Manley to play with the Newark Eagles. By the time he was 22, he was one of the best players in the Negro Leagues, leading the Negro National League in batting in 1941. He was one of the pioneers in breaking the color barrier of Major League Baseball with the New York Giants.  So much history for one man to see.

Q. You mentioned to me that Washington, DC was one of your favorite places to play when you were with the Newark Eagles, could you share some of your memories from those years.

Monte Irvin. Yes, Washington was one of my favorite places to play. Number one you had great fans in Washington. We had some great games against the Homestead Grays. The team had moved there from Pennsylvania because they could draw better there. The Grays had a great team, some of the finest like Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Roy Partlow and their pitching star, Ray Brown. He was a great right-handed pitcher and a star of the Homestead Grays.

We always knew it was going to be a battle when we played the Grays. There weren’t many players better than Josh Gibson. One season he hit more home runs in Griffith Stadium than the rest of the entire American League. So he was a great home run hitter.

We had some tough games with the Grays. Course we didn’t have any great love for one another when we were playing. We fought hard on the field, but after it was over we went out together and had a few beers. Washington had such great places to go after the game, good-looking women. We would stay at the Dunbar Hotel that was a great location, lots of big names stayed there. But there were clubs–I forget their names, it was such a long time ago. I think one of the places was called Facen’s where we used to hang out with Ray Brown. We could go to the Howard Theatre, which was known for hosting all of the big bands of the time. There were places like that to see some of the best entertainers of the day, Billie Holliday might be singing or Ella Fitzgerald, or someone like that.

Q. You were signed by Abe Manley when you were only 18, but by the time you were 22 you were an established star in the Negro League, one of the best players in the league. What are some of your memories of getting started as a professional ball player at such a young age?

Monte Irvin. Well, when I signed I was in school, at Lincoln University and I had to play under an assumed name, Jimmy Nelson, so I could continue to play at Lincoln. I made $150 dollars a month back then. It was a lot of money because that was the Depression. Doesn’t sound like much now but it went a long way. But yes I had some good seasons with the Eagles. We had some fine teams back then. We had Leon Day on the mound. There weren’t many better than him and we had Willie Wells at shortstop.

Q. You were an All-Star in the Negro Leagues in 1941 and after the war as well. Many people fail to appreciate how big an event the East-West Game—the Negro League All Star Game in Chicago—was. Could you share some of your memories of it.

Monte Irvin. Yes, the East-West Game at Comiskey Stadium drew better than the Major League All-Star Game some years. I know one year we had 52,000 fans for the game and it was a bigger crowd than what they had that same year for the Major League game. It was quite a spectacle, folks got dressed up and there were celebrities there, people like Joe Lewis, Lena Horne, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and Count Basie. It was a huge event. Back then baseball was king, there wasn’t anything else like it. People don’t appreciate that any more.

Q. Bob Luke in his book on Effa Manley, makes the point that Negro League Baseball played an important role in the black community during its day. He suggested that other than the black church, there may not have been a more important institution in the community at the time. Do you agree with that assessment?

Monte Irvin. Oh, absolutely. The fans could look out at the games and see good-looking athletes, men of great ability playing the Great American Pastime. Sure it was important. The fans went to the ball games on the weekends, on a Saturday and a Sunday afternoon, and they could get away from all the racism and segregation that they put up with for the other five days of the week.  They could forget all of that and just watch a ball game and forget those other things. Watching those ball players perform gave them hope, gave them hope that someday things would change. They would go to those ball games and come away with a good feeling. Not just in DC, but in all the places we used to play, Indianapolis, Chicago, Atlanta.  We used to train in Savannah, Georgia. You ever hear of a place called Ogeechee Road? We used to train out there. But Negro League baseball had a great impact. It gave people hope.

And it was good for black businesses. It gave people money to spend in the neighborhood too.

Q. You played in the All-Star Game for the National League in 1952 as well, did you not?

Monte Irvin. No, no, I never played in that game. I played in the Negro League All-Star Games in 1941, 1946, 1947 and 1948, but in 1952, I broke my ankle in April. I was named to the team because of the season I had in 1951, but I did not even dress for the 1952 game, I just sat in the dugout in street clothes. It was a great honor, but nothing like playing in the games all those other years.

Q. You played in Mexico in 1942 and were the MVP of the Mexican League that year. What was life like in Mexico and what are some of your memories from that year?

Monte Irvin. I went down to Mexico for the money initially. I was paid $700 a month down there and I had a maid for my apartment. I had been making $150 a month playing for the Newark Eagles. I wanted to get married and start a family and so I needed more money. Abe and Effa Manley could not do that, so I left to play in Mexico. Lots of black ball players did.

What was more important than the money was the way you were treated. It was the first time in my life that I ever felt free. There was no discrimination in Mexico. You could walk down the street like anyone else. There were some Texans that would come down there sometimes and try to treat you like back home, but the Mexicans would have none of it. It was a special place for me.

Q. You played a good bit in Puerto Rico during the winters as well, did you not. Roberto Clemente saw you play and you became his idol when he was growing up, is that correct?

Monte Irvin. Clemente saw me when I could still throw. When I was playing in Puerto Rico, I was young and still in my prime. He told me he wanted to play like me. He was known for that great arm. I told him that if he wanted to throw like me, all he had to do was practice.

When I was playing my best ball, I lost some time to the war. I went in in March of 1943. I was stationed initially at Fort Eustis, which was close to Washington, DC. We could get a pass and go into town and watch a game. I remember going into Griffith Stadium while I was stationed there and seeing the Kansas City Monarchs play the Homestead Grays. I think we went in three times and every time we went to see a game.

Q. You were there when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record in Atlanta. Was that a special moment for you?

Monte Irvin. No, not really. I mean it was great to see him break the record and I was glad to be there for that. But I was representing the Commissioner’s Office at the time. I worked for Bowie Kuhn and he asked me to go to the game for him and I had to go. But Bowie Kuhn should have been there for that game. I don’t care what kind of speaking engagement he had, he should have been there for the event and I could not really appreciate it knowing that I was there instead of the Commissioner.

Q. Monte, I want to thank you for talking to me, it has been quite an honor for me and I appreciate the kind words about life here in Washington, DC back during the hey day of the Negro Leagues.

Monte Irvin. Well, I know you’ve got a good team there for the coming season. I hope you get back some of those guys who missed last season. If some of those players perform up to their capabilities, I think you will have a pretty good team there this year. I think your team will really be a surprise to a lot of people.

I want to thank Bob Luke, author of Effa Manley, the Most Famous Woman in Baseball, for providing the contact with Monte Irvin and Don Conway who assisted as well.  But most of all, my thanks to Monte Irvin, who is one of the most extraordinary men with whom I have had the pleasure to discuss the game. 

In Chapter 1 of Baseball in Crisis, I analyzed the FCIs of four U.S. professional sports leagues and more specifically, of MLB teams from the mid-1990s to 2006. To expand that analysis across five recent baseball seasons, this essay discusses the FCIs of MLB and reveals how teams ranked among each other in the American League (AL) and National League (NL). To accomplish these tasks, I prepared two tables and furthermore reviewed other data like the characteristics of MLB ballparks and teams’ attendances at their home games. The following are results of my research of this topic.[1]

As reflected in Table 1, there were eight elements in MLB’s FCIs from the 2007 to 2010 seasons. Then in 2011, TMR deleted two child tickets from its index and replaced them with two additional adult tickets. Give that change in types of tickets, the average cost for a four-person family of fans to attend a big league game increased from $176 in 2007 to $197 in 2011, or by 12 percent.

An adult ticket to a game, whose average cost equaled $22.77 in 2007, was approximately $26.91 four years later. In addition to purchasing tickets, the costs of four items in MLB’s FCIs

Table 1
MLB Fan Cost Indexes, 2007-2011

Note: Costs of items in the index are league averages rounded in U.S. dollars. For the Toronto Blue Jays’ costs, TMR used exchange rates in respective seasons to convert Canadian dollars into U.S. dollars. In parentheses is the average number of items purchased by a family of four at a typical MLB game. Rather than include two (2) child tickets in the 2011 Fan Cost Index, TMR put the prices of four (4) adult tickets. NA means Not Applicable.

Source: For MLB seasons, see “Team Marketing Research” reports at www.teammarketing.com.

increased while the price of two caps remained the same at $28 and two programs were $1 less in 2011 than in 2007. In percentage changes, the most significant increase in costs was the price of hot dogs followed by beers, parking, and soft drinks. In short, a household with two children paid an average of $21 more to attend a MLB game in 2011 than they did in 2007.

Each baseball team’s FCIs for five seasons are available in Table 2. What does the table indicate about the amounts and trends in their indexes? First, because the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox usually had two of the highest FCIs across the seasons, it cost more money for fans to attend an AL than NL game in 2008-2011. Within these leagues, the AL Los Angeles Angels and NL Pittsburgh Pirates ranked among the lowest in costs each season while playing at their home ballparks.

Second, from 2007 to 2011, the Yankees at $115, Chicago Cubs at $86, and Minnesota

Table 2
MLB Teams Fan Cost Indexes, 2007-2011

Note: Fan cost indexes are in U.S. dollars. AL is American League. NL is National League. In 2008, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays changed its name to Tampa Bay Rays. The three AL and NL teams with the highest fan cost indexes in these seasons appear in bold print.

Source: For each team’s costs, see these amounts in reports on www.teammarketing.com.

Twins Sox at $55 had the largest increases in amounts of their FCIs. This happened, in part, because new ballparks opened in New York City and downtown Minneapolis plus prices of most items in the Cubs’ index substantially increased for fans at Chicago’s Wrigley Field especially in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Alternatively, three AL and four NL clubs had smaller FCIs in 2011 than 2007 and that group included decreases of $42 for the San Diego Padres at Petco Park and $34 for the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. These changes occurred primarily after the 2008 season when the U.S. economy was in a recession and housing prices and other real estate values plummeted in the San Diego and Phoenix metropolitan areas.

Third, when they opened regular seasons in new or renovated ballparks, MLB teams raised their ticket prices at home games and that increased the cost indexes for fans who attended them. Besides the Yankees in 2009 and Twins in 2010, new ballparks opened for the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in 2008 and one year later for the New York Mets at Citi Field while the Kansas City Royals performed at home in the renovated Kauffman Stadium. Since these facilities exist because of taxpayer money, the public owns them as investments and their construction costs or renovations ranged from $250 million in Kansas City to $1.1 billion in New York City.[2]

Fourth, some teams’ FCIs were relatively stable with small changes during seasons listed in Table 2. These included, for example, the AL Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners and NL Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins. That is, their average ticket prices changed marginally or not at all from one MLB season to another for fans at home games while the prices of beers and other items in their FCIs gradually increased but by minor amounts due to inflation.

Fifth, based on information from my sources, MLB’s FCI increased in the 2008, 2009, and 2011 seasons. Nonetheless, other than a decline from 2.8 million in the 2007 season to 2.6 million in 2008, the league’s average attendance was approximately 2.4 million in seasons 2009, 2010, and 2011. These results suggest that, ceteris paribus, the change in MLB’s FCI from one season to another did not reduce sports fans’ demand to purchase tickets and attend professional baseball games of their home team.[3]

Sixth, while MLB’s FCI increased by $21 or 12 percent from 2007 to 2011, the NFL’s  changed by $60 or 16 percent and the NHL’s by $44 or 15 percent (the NBA’s FCI for the 2011-12 season is not available in the literature). In addition, the differences in FCI amounts between MLB and the NFL increased from $191 in 2007 to $230 in 2011, and from $100 to $129 in the NHL. Consequently, families spent considerably less on average to attend regular-season games in professional baseball than those in football and ice hockey.

In sum, this essay denotes that since 2007, MLB games have become more expensive but also a “bargain” for spectators as compared to games of teams in two other elite U.S. sports leagues. Economically, rather than spend more than $300 at a home game of the Red Sox, Yankees and Cubs, baseball fans in Boston, New York, and Chicago might decide to drink water and not beers or soft drinks, eat popcorn or pretzels and not hot dogs, buy one and not two caps, and borrow a program from someone at the ballpark.

Armando Marsans

Cincinnati ha tenido en su rotación de abridores a un lanzador con algún ascendiente cubano en los últimos años, el derecho de Cayo Hueso Bronson Arroyo, que no habla español, sin embargo, sin revisar fuentes, creo que el último serpentinero antillano en actuar allí fue Osvaldo Fernández, que no pudo impresionar como debió porque, igual que casi todos los pitchers que se quedaron durante la década pasada, llegó algo viejo y con molestias en su brazo, en las piernas, o en la espalda como para ser exitoso a través de un calendario tan extenso y exigente, por lo tanto extenuante, como el de las Grandes Ligas.

Pero con Chapman pudiera ser diferente, porque es joven y, aunque necesita seriedad y responsabilidad ante el nuevo reto, lo demás lo tiene, que son las facultades atractivas del superprospecto. Pudiera darse el caso de que se esté en presencia de uno de los mejores pitchers cubanos de todos lo tiempos si logra imponerse.

¡Los Rojos de Cincinnati! de gran importancia en la historia de la pelota cubana, porque en ese club debutaron Armando Marsans y Rafael Almeida, los primeros en actuar en las Grandes Ligas del siglo pasado, en 1911,

Con ese club se convirtió Marsans en el primer hispano en batear sobre .300, .317 en 1912 y también en el primero en lograr puntuación de MVP cuando terminó en el # 18.

Por eso se le decían El Querido Cinci en Cuba y porque allí se hizo la leyenda de Adolfo Luque y fue en esa ciudad que un cronista americano le apodó El Habana Perfecto.

Por el Cinci pasaron muchos cubanos como Raúl Sánchez, Orlando Peña, Leonardo Cárdenas, Chico Ruiz, Daniel Morejon, Rogelio Borrego Alvarez, Tony Haitiano González, Mike Cuéllar, Tani Pérez o Camilo Pacual en 1969.

Allí trabajó como coach Regino Otero y a esa Organización contribuyó Willy Calviño con su sapiencia de scout.

Fue al Cincinnati que se afiliaron los Cubans Sugar Kings, desde su debut en la Liga Internacional en 1954, hasta que fueron trasladados a Jersey City en julio de 1960.

Aroldis Chapman no está en un club que apeste ni rechazable por poco competitivo, sencillamente, llegó al primer conjunto que le abrió los brazos al jugador cubano y en el cual se cumplieron varias hazañas de peloteros de la Mayor de Las Antillas en las Grandes Ligas, llegó a su casa.

Con el multimillonario contrato que tiene en el bolsillo, el Cincinnatti le dio la bola en el juego más importante de cualquier cubano en los últimos años, el de rescatar para su país el momento estelar, casi olvidado, desde el montículo de la vieja, venerada y tradicional franquicia que tanto hizo por nuestro beisbol.

English Translation

Cincinnati has taken into its rotation of openers in a pitcher with some Cuban ascendancy in recent years, the righthander Bronson Arroyo, who does not speak Spanish, however, without review sources, believe that the last Antillean in action was Osvaldo Fernandez, who could not impress as he had because, like almost all pitchers who stayed during the past decades something old and with discomfort in his arm, leg or back to be successful through a very extensive and demanding schedule, thus exhausting, as the Big Leagues.

But Chapman might be different, because he is young, and although need serious and responsible manner the new challenge, else is personal, which are the attractive power of the big prospect. It could be the case that is in the presence of one of the best Cuban pitchers of all the times if he can imposed.

The Cincinnati Reds! of great importance in the history of the cuban baseball, because in that club debuted Armando Marsans and Rafael Almeida, the first to act in the major leagues of the last century, in 1911,

With this club Marsans has become the first Hispanic to hit over. 300, with .317 in 1912 and also the first to achieve rating of MVP when he finished 18.

Why said you the dear Cinci in Cuba and because there became a legend of Adolfo Luque and was in that city that an American chronicler nicknamed him the Habana Perfect.

By the Cinci spent many Cubans as Raúl Sanchez, Orlando Peña, Leonardo Cardenas, Chico Ruiz, Daniel Morejon, Rogelio Alvarez Borrego, Tony Haitian Gonzalez, Mike Cuellar, Tani Perez or Camilo Pacual in 1969.

There worked as a coach Regino Otero and that organization contributed their wisdom of scout Willy Calviño.

It was to the Cincinnati joined the Cubans Sugar Kings, since his debut in the International League in 1954, until they were moved to Jersey City in July 1960.

Aroldis Chapman isn in a better club for him, simply came to the first set that opened their arms to the Cuban player and which met several feats of dung of the Cubans in the major leagues, came to his house.

With the multimillion-dollar contract in his pocket, the Cincinnati gave him the ball in the most important game of any Cuban in recent years, the rescue for his country, almost forgotten, from the mound of the old, venerated and traditional franchise that did so much like anyone for our baseball.

I collected baseball cards extensively between 1984-1991, and purchased older packs (1981-83) whenever I earned some extra cash.

Features

The standard Fleer baseball card set from 1981-1990 consisted of 660 cards. The ’84 set is organized by teams, based on their position in the standings from the previous season. This method presents a great advantage for building complete sets of Fleer cards, when compared to the random ordering of their competitors’ sets.

Fleer also produced their first “Update” set (similar to the “Topps Traded” sets) in ’84, which proved to be a huge hit, due to the inclusion of the rookie cards for Roger Clemens and Kirby Puckett. The Dwight Gooden and Bret Saberhagen rookie cards also contributed to the initial success of the update set.

Oddballs and Oddities

Glenn Hubbard (# 182) must have been auditioning for a future coaching job with the Diamondbacks. The card depicts Hubbard carrying a python on his shoulders.

Jay Johnstone (# 495) dons a Budweiser “umbrella” hat.

Did You Know?

Fleer included interesting facts about some of the players on the bottom section of the card backs.

Chili Davis – “Nicknamed ‘Chili’ when a young boy because neighborhood friends thought hair looked like it had been cut with a chili bowl on his head.”

Doug Flynn – “Is a Country and Western singer and has appeared professionally with the Coal Miners, the backup band for Loretta Lynn.”

Dave LaPoint – “Is a collector of baseball cards.”

Lee Mazzilli – “Was ambidextrous in amateur baseball, but has thrown only right-handed since signing professionally in 1974.”

Randy Moffitt – “Sister is tennis star, Billie Jean King.”

Claudell Washington – “Has 3-homer games in both leagues, only others to do this were Babe Ruth and Johnny Mize.”

Errors

There are no significant “error” cards in the 1984 Fleer baseball set.

Rookie Cards

Don Mattingly, Juan Samuel, Kevin McReynolds, and Tony Fernandez highlight the list of players making their cardboard debuts in the ’84 Fleer set.

Price Guide (Then and Now)

In the inaugural volume of the “Beckett Baseball Card Monthly Price Guide” (November 1984), the 1984 Fleer Baseball complete set listed for $14. Individual cards listing for at least one dollar included Don Mattingly (# 131, $2), Juan Samuel (# 47, $2), Darryl Strawberry (# 599, $1.75), and Kevin McReynolds (# 307, $1.50). The Mattingly card currently sells in the $20 range.

Derek Bain is a devoted husband and father of three wonderful children. In his “spare” time, he is working on a baseball book, along with a role-playing video game for Tuatara Software.

References and Resources

http://www.beckett.com/search/ – term=1984 fleer baseball

http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides

http://www.baseballerrors.com/

McClung debuted in the major leagues with Tampa in 2003. He pitched between the bullpen and the rotation, racking up a 4-1 record in 12 games (5 starts) with a 5.35 ERA. Since that time he has pitched five additional seasons at the big league level, 2005-2009, with Tampa and the Milwaukee Brewers. He has posted a 26-34 record during that time, with a 5.46 ERA in 177 games (51 starts). The best game of his career came on May 10, 2003, against the Detroit Tigers. He held them to just 1 run over 7 innings, while striking out a career high 9 batters. More information about his career statistics is available at http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mccluse01.shtml.

McClung was out of baseball in 2010, but mounted a comeback this past year, pitching for the Texas Rangers Triple-A team in Round Rock. He never got summoned to Arlington, but he has not given up on his career. He recently signed with the Brewers for 2012 on a minor league deal and will compete for a roster spot during spring training.

Even with the time and sacrifices required of a professional baseball player, McClung has found time for other pursuits. Always passionate about basketball, he became involved in coaching. From 2005-2007 he was an assistant coach with the University of Tampa women’s basketball team. He also accepted the position of head coach for the Pinellas Park High School girl’s basketball team prior to the 2010-2011 season. When he took over the team they hadn’t had a winning season since 1996 and suffered from low levels of interest. McClung has steadily rebuilt the program; after going 0-25 his first year, the team has already won 5 games in 2011-2012. It is clear that both McClung and the Pinellas Park girl’s basketball program have futures with the sport.

McClung has also begun coaching baseball. He founded Big Red Baseball (http://bigredbball.com/), whose slogan is “Better Prices than our competitors, experience beyond them.” He provides pitching and team lessons to aspiring baseball players.

Given all of his interests, it’s not surprising that McClung is very connected with his fans. In addition to being very active on Twitter he recently did an interview with me. You have to check out what he had to say about his experiences in baseball.

Seth McClung Interview:

Who were your favorite team and player growing up and why?: I lived in two places growing up, Ronceverte West Virginia and Cramerton, North Carolina. I didn’t really have a favorite team growing up; I just liked baseball. I knew the Yankees were good and the Braves were on TBS every night, so those two teams were the two that I paid more attention to than the rest.

What coach or manager has been most influential on you so far?: Lou Pinella, I would have to say. He was loud, mean, to the point, and most of all, honest. If you sucked he told you that you sucked. I can handle the old school approach. Some managers I have played for never came out and told you what you needed to hear, only what you wanted to hear. One manager I had never took responsibility for anything. He was always quick to pass off his mistakes on some stat or just plain blaming the player. Lou though didn’t care what people thought about him, inside the game or out. He just wanted to win. I respect that.

Can you run through what your draft experience was like with Tampa in 1999?: Well, for me it wasn’t good. I was drafted in the fifth round, however I was projected as high as the first or supplemental round. The Braves scout told me they had their first pick in the second round and they were going to grab me. The scout then said he did not expect me to be on the board though. I had heard this from many clubs, so my expectations were high.

I was contacted by the Pirates in the third round and they asked if I would take $150,000. I told them no. I was contacted by the Marlins in the fourth round and they asked If I would take $400,000, and I said $700,000. I was then drafted by the Devil Rays in the fifth round. I did not receive word of this until 8:00 p.m. that night. I thought I had slipped to the second day of the draft and I was devastated. Once I found out I was drafted my immaturity took over and the chip on my shoulder that I have played most of my career with was created.

What has been your favorite highlight from your career so far?: I guess pitching in the NLDS with the Brewers. A lot of things leading up to that point are highlights. 2008 was a great year for me. I will always remember it fondly.

How have you been told when you have been called up, sent down, or released?: Yeah, called up and sent down so many times its hard to remember them all. Being sent down is hard. It is never fun, you just feel worthless when that happens. Being called up no matter when, how, or why is always an explosion of joy. You reach your dream and you have this great rush of happiness. Being released you feel anger. Every time I have been let go you want to just be a force of destruction and anger on your way out of the office, but you must remain composed and handle it well. You never know who you will need in the future.

How does the experience of being a major league player compare to how you envisioned it as a kid?: Well, I always envisioned myself being the best of all time and winning many championships. I have fallen far from those lofty expectations. I do still see myself being a major league baseball player; I just have realistic expectations of myself. I just want to continue to compete and make a great living to take care of my family.

If you could do anything differently about your baseball career, what would that be?: I would have spent more time perfecting my craft as opposed to just throwing hard. I have been clocked as high as 103 (Toronto) but I never really knew where it was going. I would have also liked to have played for a different organization coming out of high school. Nothing against the Devil Rays; I was blessed to play for them and be in the big leagues at 22 years old, but had I been in a organization that had pitching, I would have been forced to learn more. I would have had to be better to get and stay in the bigs. This I feel would have helped me in the long run.

What are your baseball plans for 2012?: I want to compete and help a team win a championship in the big leagues. I also want to do a book about this year and fighting my way back. I fancy myself a bit of a photographer, and I hope to take some pictures and do a book from a unique prospective.

Andrew Martin is the founder of “The Baseball Historian” blog where he posts his thoughts about baseball on a regular basis. He can be reached at historianandrew@gmail.com. You can also reach him on Twitter at @historianandrew.

De Resortes desconozco su afición por el deporte de las cuatro bases, sólo que fue inevitable recordar las escenas de “El beisbolista fenómeno”, película de mediados del siglo veinte donde mientras encarnaba a un mendigo recibió un pelotazo mientras dormía detrás de un estadio y empezó a escuchar voces de un pelotero difunto. La manera como estira los brazos y entabla conversación con el fantasma hace pensar en que al menos algo de pasión debía sentir Resortes por el juego.

Como actor principal en las películas siempre les preguntaba a los potenciales miembros del reparto actoral si eran capaces de actuar y de jugar béisbol. Cuando llegó a tenerla Keaton ProductionCompany, esta también era un equipo de béisbol listo para jugar en cualquier parte. Por eso cuando ocurría cualquier imprevisto en las grabaciones, Keaton anunciaba oficialmente que se iban a jugar béisbol. Cuando se resolvía el imprevisto y debían reanudar la grabación era difícil traer de vuelta al elenco al set.

Resortes agarró la pelota que lo golpeó y la lanzó de vuelta al estadio y golpeó al dueño del equipo. De inmediato ordenaron buscar al autor del lanzamiento. Al llevar a Resortes al estadio le pidieron que hiciera unos envíos y decidieron contratarlo para jugar enla LigaMexicanade Béisbol Profesional. Entonces empezó un diálogo con el pelotero fallecido. Acordaron que el pelotero jugaría a través de Resortes para alcanzar el campeonato que nunca logró en vida. Empezó a realizar unos lanzamientos que dejaban paralizados a los bateadores. Pronto se convirtió en la estrella del equipo y de la liga. En la película hacen sonar una guaracha que decía más o menos así: “Bola de humo… Bola de humo… Pone la bola mamita, como ninguno..” En la pantalla desplegaban imágenes de Resortes en el montículo enfrentando a los bateadores más peligrosos.

Keaton también filmó dos películas relacionadas con el béisbol. “College”, donde ofrece una explicación humorística de los fundamentos del juego y “The Cameraman”, aquí hace una pantomima del sueño de cada aficionado al béisbol de montarse en un montículo o entrar en el cajón de bateo de un estadio de Grandes Ligas.

En el momento cumbre de la película Resortes se enoja con el fantasma porque este le reclama su afición por el alcohol. Su ascenso al estrellato se derrumba y cuando está casi ido pide una última oportunidad que coincide con el juego por el campeonato. Empieza a rogar y a llamar al fantasma y hasta promete que dejará la bebida. Entonces reaparece el fantasma y juntos empiezan a dominar a los contrarios hasta ganar el campeonato.

Keaton escribió en su autobiografía que cada septiembre apuraba la filmación de su película de otoño para poder asistir ala SerieMundialen octubre.

La pasión con que Resortes hacía en wind up y las encendidas conversaciones de béisbol que sostenía con el fantasma demuestran que sentía alguna simpatía por el juego.

Alfonso L. Tusa C.

English translation

Both were great comedians. One at the beginning of the twentieth century, during the mute movies era. The other in the famous golden age of the mexican cinema. Their qualities on the stage meant plenty of laughter for the spectators. Beyond this, we could talk about a relative common point between them that I proved some days ago while reading the SABR bulletin. In the issue titled Endless Seasons, edited by Jean Hastings Ardell and Andy McCue, Rob Edelman wrote the article: Buster Keaton, Baseball Player. I got very surprised that the athleticism Keaton  achieved from his early baseball practices allowed him to survive the physical exigencies in his father’s vaudeville act. He should resist all the pushings and pullings his father made on him to increase the comicity in the act.

I don’t know anything about Resortes’ interest for baseball. I just recalled some scenes from “El beisbolista fenómeno”, a film from the 1950′s where a vagabond gets hit by a baseball while he slept under a tree behind the stadium. He started to listen the voices of a passed away ballplayer. The way he moved his arms and kept the dialogue with the ghost shows at least some of the passion Resortes should feel for the game.

As the main actor in the film, Keaton always asked the potential members of the cast if they were able of acting and playing baseball. When he owned the Keaton Production Company, it also was a baseball team ready to play anywhere. That’s why anytime the filming had to be stopped for any reason, Keaton announced officially they were going to play baseball. When the trouble got solved and they should resume the filming it was very difficult to bring the actors back to the set.

Resortes took the ball that hit him and threw it back to the stadium hitting the owner of the team. They ordered to find the author of the shooting. After catching him they asked Resortes to make some deliveries and decided to sign him for playing in the Mexican Baseball  League. Then it began a dialogue between Resortes and the passed away ballplayer. They agreed that the ghost would play through Resortes to reach the championship he never got in his life as a ballplayer. Resortes began to throw some deliveries that paralyzed the hitters. Soon he became the star of the team. In the film they play a guaracha music that goes like this: “Bola de humo… Bola de humo… Pone la bola mamita, como ninguno..” On the screen appeared images of Resortes on the mound facing the most dangerous hitters.

Keaton also made two films related to baseball. “College”, where he offers a comic explanation about the game’s fundamentals and “The Cameraman”, here he performs a pantomime about the dream each baseball fan has for climbing a mound or entering the batter box in a Major League Baseball park.

In the crucial moment of the movie, Resortes gets mad with the ghost because of his love for alcohol. His stardom disappears. When he’s almost done, he asks for a last chance in the game for the championship. Resortes begins to beg and call the ghost and promises he’ll quit drinking alcohol. Then the ghost reappears and together they begin to get the hitters out until winning the championship.

Keaton wrote in his autobiography that every September he rushed the filming of his autumn movie in order to attend the World Series in October.

Resortes’ passion for performing the wind up and the burning baseball talks he had with the ghost, show that he felt some love for the game.

Alfonso L. Tusa C.

Alfonso’s work has been featured in Venezuel’s daily newspaper, El Nacional and in the magazine Gente en Ambiente, and he has collaborated on several articles for newspapers, including the daily paper Tal Cual. He has also written four books and biographies for SABR’s BioProject.

Until free agency came along, we watched for trades and waited for the blockbuster variety. Of course, those deals still pump life into baseball’s winter – the rumors alone provide plenty of drama – but now there are also signings and those rumors as well.

Nobody liked trades more than Frank Lane. A major league general manager for parts of four decades, he reportedly made more than 400 trades. In seven years with the Chicago White Sox, he pulled off 241 deals.

Trader Frank swapped players like they were baseball cards. He even traded his manager once, sending Joe Gordon from Cleveland for Detroit skipper Jimmy Dykes. Some of his trades were very unpopular. Like the one he made two days before the Indians’ 1960 season opener.

Lane sent Cleveland slugger Rocky Colavito to the Tigers for Harvey Kuenn, who had won the American League batting title (.353) the previous season. Colavito had shared the home run crown (42) with Harmon Killebrew.

Colavito, always a fan favorite with the Indians, slammed 80 homers in his first two years in Detroit. Kuenn batted .308 in 1960 with Cleveland, then was traded to the Giants.

Bill DeWitt earned a What Was He Thinking plaque for unloading Frank Robinson. The 1956 National League Rookie of the Year and two-time MVP (only player to win it in both leagues) was only 30 years old at the time of the deal, but DeWitt called him “an old 30.”

The Cincinnati general manager sent Robinson to Baltimore for pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson in December of 1965. Coming off a season in which he batted .292 with 33 home runs and 113 RBI for the Reds, Robinson won the triple crown in his first year with the Orioles.

Robinson hit .316 with 49 home runs, driving in 122 in an MVP season for Baltimore, which went on to win the 1966 World Series. Pappas went 30-29 in two and half seasons with Cincinnati. Baldschun was 1-5 in relief for the Reds in barely more than a season. Simpson batted .246 with five homers and 20 RBI in two years with Cincinnati.

An equally remembered 60s “steal” was the St. Louis Cardinals’ acquisition of Lou Brock. It stands out because it sparked the Cardinals to the 1964 National League pennant and World Series championship.

On June 15, 1964, St. Louis GM Bing Devine traded pitcher Ernie Broglio, 39-year-old lefty Bobby Shantz and outfielder Doug Clemens to the Cubs for the speedy Brock along with pitchers Paul Toth and Jack Spring. Broglio had won 21 games in 1960 and 18 in ’63, but was off to a slow start in 1964.

Brock was hitting .251 with two home runs at the time of the deal. He caught fire with the Cardinals, batting .348 in 103 games with 12 homers, 33 stolen bases and 81 runs scored. He was inserted into the leadoff spot for St. Louis and became a catalyst for the club’s offense over a Hall of Fame career.

Broglio won seven games in two and a half seasons for the Cubs before retiring from baseball. The contributions of the other four players in the trade were totally forgettable.

Ironically, Devine, who was later called “a mastermind” for pulling off the trade, was fired by Cardinals owner Gussie Busch two months after the deal was made.

We often hear that sometimes the best trade is one not made. Such was the case for both the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees in 1959.

Following that season, Pittsburgh GM Joe L. Brown was searching for some power. He talked with Kansas City, and a trade was proposed that would have sent shortstop Dick Groat, center fielder Bill Virdon, catcher Hank Foiles and starting pitcher Ron Kline to the A’s for outfielder Roger Maris, shortstop Joe DeMaestri and catcher Hal Smith.

At the last minute, with the trade about to be finalized, Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh told Brown not to make the deal. In December, Maris was shipped from Kansas City to New York.

He and Groat both won MVP awards the next season. Maris clouted 39 home runs and had 112 RBI in his first year with the Yankees. Groat led the National League with a .325 batting average and anchored a fine Pittsburgh infield as the Pirates defeated New York in the memorable 1960 World Series.

Mr. John McDonough.

Mr. McDonough is an outstanding man. Growing up, I referred to him as the marketing guru. He was hired in 1983 by the Chicago Cubs and by 1985 he had launched the first ever Cubs Convention- it was the first fan fest of any kind in professional sports. When Harry Caray died in 1998 it was McDonough who started having guest conductors come to Wrigley. Today, its a huge fan favorite as celebrities sing the stretch while paying homage to the late Caray.

In 2007, I had the pleasure of meeting McDonough. I was at Skyharbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona and I was on standby waiting for a flight back to Chicago after games 1 and 2 of the NLDS (Cubs @ Dbacks). We had been at the airport for about 6 hours with little-to-no chance of getting a seat on any upcoming flights, and in the corner of my eye I spotted McDonough walking past us. I woke up my friend and pointed (not very subtly) and he confirmed my suspicion – it was him! With absolutely nothing else to do at the airport, we interrupted our waiting-game and we approached McDonough to introduce ourselves – mind you, we were still unshowered and wearing our cubs attire from the game the night before, while being majorly hungover (Cubs fault – we did shots to all their miscues).

Like any good prospect, Mueller steadily progressed through the minors, peaking with an 18-11 record and 2.81 ERA in 1940 for the Beaumont Exporters in the Texas League. He was one of the rare players who wore glasses while playing; something he felt improved his ability to control his pitches. It also likely served as a form of intimidation for batters who always hate stepping in against pitchers who may not be able to see where they are throwing very well.

Mueller went to Beaumont the following year, slipping to 6-16, but his 2.36 ERA indicated he pitched much better than his record. His steadiness earned him a late season call-up to Detroit, where he debuted on August 15, 1941. He got into four games before the end of the season; all mop-up jobs, and pitched well enough to indicate he had a future with the Tigers.

Mueller began 1942 with Beaumont, and was pitching very well again, when he decided to enlist in the army like many players of the time because of WWII. He spent the rest of 1942 and all of 1943 and 1944 in the service. He continued to play ball while enlisted, which undoubtedly helped keep him in shape. However, when he was given a physical to be shipped overseas, a hernia was discovered and he was medically discharged in late 1944.

The Tigers thought enough of Mueller’s abilities that they made him part of the major league roster for the 1945 season. He worked in the back of their rotation, helping occasionally out of the bullpen, and was generally effective in both roles. His first major league win was a doozy; a 2-hit shutout of the New York Yankees.

Mueller’s best work came in a historic tie against the Philadelphia Athletics. On July 21^st, he went the first 19.2 innings of a 24 inning tie. When he came out with two down in the 20^th inning, he had only relinquished 1 unearned run and 13 hits, while facing a staggering 74 batters. He later estimated that he threw 370 pitches in the herculean effort.  When Tigers manager Steve O’Neill came out to pull him for a reliever, Mueller reportedly said, “Gee, Steve, the game isn’t over, is it?” No major league pitcher has ever thrown as many innings in one game since.

The game was called for darkness, even though the stadium had lights. League rules at the time prohibited the use of lights during day games. Since the contest had started so much earlier in the afternoon, it was still bound by day game rules.

Mueller ended 1945 by going 6-8 with a 3.68 ERA in 26 games. His versatility was integral to the success of the team, which went 88-65 and beat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. Mueller pitched the final two innings of a Game 1 loss, and other than allowing a walk, was perfect in his outing. It turned out to be his last major league game.

Mueller made the 1946 Tigers out of spring training, but moments before the first game of the season, he was summoned from the dugout to the GM’s office. To Mueller’s shock, he was informed of his immediate demotion to the minors. He pitched in the minors for the Tigers and Yankees through 1948, but because of injury he never regained the success he had enjoyed previously. He won 77 career games in the minors. In the majors he was 6-8 with a 3.78 ERA in 30 games. More information about his career statistics is available at http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/muellle01.shtml.

Many years after he retired from baseball, Mueller is still remembered for his contributions to the game. He is a classic example of a player who had the talent, but was unable to find a niche to allow him to enjoy prolonged success. Such is the game of baseball.

Les Mueller Questionnaire:

What types of pitches did you throw?: Fastball, curveball, changeup. Both side-arm and overhand.

What was your favorite city to play in?: St. Louis was. My home in Belleville, IL was only 10 miles away.

What was your favorite moment as a ball player?: The 1945 win over the Cubs; a World Series win and ring.

What did you think of Pete Gray?: He was very good for his handicap. *Editor’s note- Mueller gave up Gray’s first major league hit.

Who did you hit your only Major League home run off?: Haynes (Joe Haynes) of the White Sox.

Do you still follow professional baseball? If so, what do you think of the game today?: Yes, will always be a great game.

Andrew Martin is the founder of “The Baseball Historian” blog where he posts his thoughts about baseball on a regular basis. He can be reached at historianandrew@gmail.com. You can also reach him on Twitter at @historianandrew.

Martin Dihigo (right) and Roy Campanella

Si el cubano Martín Dihigo hubiera podido jugar en Grandes Ligas, ¿Estuviera en Cooperstown?

Este tipo de aseveración no solo es controversial, sino comprometedora de la capacidad de justicia de quienes vemos cualquier asunto relativo al beisbol, más allá que una respuesta tan fácil como “por supuesto que sí”.

Al circuito sepia del beisbol americano lo clasifican como “liga”, a pesar de que no cumple con el 40  % de los requisitos requeridos como asociación para constituirse en tal.

Comenzando por la organización, incluso por la clase profesional administrativa y por la deportiva, los torneos de los negros americanos, más de algún blanco, no admiten que se le consideren como “ligas” al estilo del Beisbol Organizado.

Hecho para complacer a un público muy diferente al blanco, que respondía al entretenimiento de circo en igual medida que a lo deportivo mayoritariamente, pues la actividad lindante con la payasería ocupaba un buen espacio en los intereses de sus fanáticos; de tal forma que, su más importante atracción de taquilla, era capaz de quebrar la seriedad del juego con frecuencia y ordenarle a todo el infield y el outfield del Kansas City Monarchs que se sentaran, mientras le pitcheaba a buenos bateadores y hablo de Satchel Paige. Solo en 1945 lo ensayó dos veces.

Si algo tuvo en cuenta Branch Rickey para elegir a Jackie Robinson como el jugador apropiado para romper el Muro Racial, fue su responsabilidad y su seriedad, de tal forma que se conoce como el único jugador que se negaba a complacer a Paige, provocando que el público le abucheara como respuesta a la desobediencia asumida ante quien, se atreven a decir algunos, es “el mejor pitcher de todos los tiempos”.

Así eran las llamadas “ligas” negras, repletas de actos poco serios ante el juego, pero hechas al gusto de un tipo especial de fanático acorde con reglas a la medida de las circunstancias.

Como contribución a ese ambiente se utilizaba la versatilidad de Martín Dihigo, quien era enviado a cubrir una posición sin necesidad ni porque el regular se lesionara, solo para que el público lo viera jugarla.

Según la mayoría de quienes vieron jugar a Dihigo, el cubano era un pelotero de cinco herramientas; sin embargo, coinciden en que su mejor desempeño era como pitcher.

Por el uso indiscriminado como suplente a propósito, a Martín no lo selecciona nadie como miembro de ningún All Star del beisbol sepia, mientras que Cristóbal Torriente, otro cubano de clase extraordinaria, aparece como regular en varios, entre ellos, el de Wendell Smith, para el Pittsburg Courier, a principios de la década de los cincuenta.

Si Martín Dihigo hubiera podido jugar en el Beisbol Organizado desde que comenzó, el acceso al Salón de la Fama se le hubiera hecho más difícil, porque no hubiera podido demostrar su “versatilidad” como hizo en el beisbol sepia.

En Grandes Ligas se juega una posición como regular y el suplente espera en el banco por la oportunidad que, a veces, solo son un par de innings finales; si el pitcher es un buen bateador, lo debe demostrar durante las veces que le toque batear en el encuentro; hoy ni así en el Joven Circuito por el bateador designado.

(From left) Martin Dihigo, Alejandro Oms and Lazaro Salazar

Cuando la época de Dihigo, un pitcher que bateara salía de emergente a veces, como sucedía con Wess Ferrell, considerado no solo el mejor bateador como pitcher de todos los tiempos, sino que, cuando se retiró a mediados de los cuarentas, logró batear sobre .400 en Triple A.

Sin dudas, Dihigo hubiera sido pitcher en Grandes Ligas, pero necesitaba de la clase sostenida y de los números de Dizzie Dean, Carl Hubbell o Lefty Grove para ser seleccionado a Cooperstown.

Hay algo que no se puede dejar de analizar a la hora de considerar lo que ayudó a varios negros en sus propósitos de entrar al Salón de la Fama: se creó un comité de atención solo a ellos y, después que desapareció, el escrutinio continúa a través del Comité de Veteranos.

¿Hubieran merecido la elección a Cooperstown todos los negros que están? Nadie puede asegurarlo, porque las Grandes Ligas eran de calendario más largo que las del beisbol negro y, sin discusión, además de organizadas, atendidas y mejoradas anualmente, más fuertes en lo deportivo.

Varias cosas hay seguras: si nunca se hubiera producido la segregación en el beisbol, tampoco hubieran existido las “ligas” negras, comprobable una vez que abandonaron en estampida, a partir de 1947, no solo esos circuitos, sino al mexicano.

Con respecto a Dihigo se pone en igual duda que al resto de peloteros negros su triunfo absoluto en carácter de estrella en Grandes Ligas, así como que nunca hubiera disfrutado de lo que tanto contribuyó a su leyenda: la versatilidad…

Como que las Mayores tienen calendario de verano, se debe creer que Dihigo no hubiera pisado nunca un  terreno como jugador ni en México ni en Venezuela ni en Dominicana…porque tampoco hubiera abandonado la Liga Invernal Cubana por algún circuito de temporada en otro país; entonces ese aditamento, que refuerza su leyenda como “inquilino de cuatro Salones de la Fama”, salvo el cubano, tampoco hubiera formado parte del caudal de fantasías hechas a la exagerada medida del Inmortal. Eso, que nadie lo dude.

English Translation

If the Cuban Martín Dihigo would have been able to play in major league baseball was in Cooperstown?

This type of assertion not only is controversial, but compromising the capacity of justice from those who see any matter with regard to baseball, beyond an as easy as certainly not response.

The sepia circuit of American baseball classified it as league, despite the fact that it does not comply with the any requirements needed to become such as Association.

Starting by the organization, even the administrative professional class and the sports, tournaments of american blacks, more than any white, do not admit deemed you as leagues organized baseball-style.

Done to accommodate very different target audiences, it responded to circus in equal measure that entertainment sports mostly because bordering with the slapstick activity occupied a good space in the interests of fans, so that its biggest box office attraction, was able to break the seriousness of the game often and order him to the infield and the outfield of the Kansas City Monarchs they lay, while pitch good batters and speak of Satchel Paige.

If something was considered Branch Rickey to elect Jackie Robinson as the appropriate player to break the Racial wall, was his responsibility and his seriousness, that is known as the only player that he refused to accommodate Paige, causing the public to boo him in response to disobedience assumed who dare to say someone is the best pitcher of all time.

So they were called leagues black, filled with little serious acts before the game, but made the taste of a special kind of fanatic with rules fited to the circumstances.

As contribution to that environment was used the versatility of Martín Dihigo, who was sent to cover a position without the need or because the regular is injured, only so that the public saw him play.

According to the majority of those who saw playing Dihigo, the Cuban was a baseball player for five tools, however, they agree that his best performance was as a pitcher.

By the indiscriminate use as an alternate purpose, Martín not so select anyone as a member of any negro baseball all-star, while Cristóbal Torriente, another Cuban’s extraordinary class, appears as a regular in several, among them, the Wendell Smith for Pittsburgh Courier at the beginning of the fifties.

Though Martín Dihigo would have been able to play in organized baseball since the beginning, access to the Hall of Fame had you been done more difficult, because it had not able to prove his versatility as he did in black baseball.

In major league baseball is played as regular position and utility expected in the dugout for the opportunity that, at times, are only a couple of final innings, if the pitcher is a good batter, must show it during the times that him batting, not possible today in the American League by the designated hitter.

As the time of Dihigo, a pitcher as a pinch hitter, as it was the case with Wess Ferrell, considered not only the best batter as a pitcher of all time, but that, when he retired in the middle of the forties, he bat over.400 in Triple-A.

Without a doubt, Dihigo had pitch in major league baseball, but needed the sustained class and numbers of Dizzy Dean, Carl Hubbell or Lefty Grove to be inducted into Cooperstown.

There is something that can not be analyzed when considering which helped many blacks in its purposes of entering the Hall of Fame, a single care Committee was created to them, and after that he disappeared, the election continues through the Veterans Committee.

They had all blacks who are deserved election to Cooperstown? Nobody can ensure it, because the major leagues were longer than the black baseball calendar, without discussion, as well as organized, serviced and upgraded annually, better at the field.

Several things there are safe, had never occurred the segregation in baseball, they had not existed the black, verifiable once they left Stampede, 1947, not only these circuits, but the Mexican League.

With regard to Dihigo gets equal doubts that the rest of black dung its absolute triumph in character of star in major league baseball, and that he had never enjoyed both contributed to his legend, the versatility…

That the Major Leagues have summer calendar, must believe that Dihigo not had trampled never a field as a player in Mexico or Venezuela or Dominican… because neither had abandoned the Cuban Winter League by some circuit season in another country, then this attachment, which reinforces his legend as a tenant of four Halls of Fame except the Cuban, had not formed part of the flow of fantasies fitted to the exaggerated the Immortal legend. That no doubt.

Para esta primera edición, la junta directiva de la Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional seleccionó a quien sin duda fue la revelación en la posición en el presente campeonato, además de ser designado por “unanimidad técnica” Novato del Año: Héctor Sánchez.

Manuel Malpica Nace en Valencia (Edo. Carabobo) el 20.1.1909.
Muere en Caracas el 6.6.1970.

Conocido con el apodo de El Pollo, fue el manager del equipo de béisbol amateur que le dio a Venezuela el título de campeón en la Serie Mundial de 1941 en Cuba. Fueron sus padres Miguel Eloy Malpica y Laura Martínez. En 1926, comenzó a jugar béisbol en el conjunto Latinos de Valencia, en el que destacó como catcher, siendo contratado en 1929, junto con el pitcher carabobeño Balbino Inojosa para integrar las filas del equipo caraqueño Magallanes. En este mismo año, tras culminar el bachillerato, se traslada a Caracas para incorporarse al glorioso Magallanes, divisa que en 1929 derrota en una serie de 3 encuentros al equipo Royal Criollos, iniciándose a partir de allí una de las más enconadas rivalidades entre equipos de béisbol venezolano. Tiempo después esta rivalidad se extendió luego entre Magallanes y Caracas, sustituto este último del Cervecería Caracas, que a su vez había reemplazado al Royal Criollos.

Paralelo a sus estudios de medicina en la Universidad Central de Venezuela, Malpica continuó su actuación en el béisbol de primera división. En tal sentido, entre 1930 y 1941, jugó con los equipos Magallanes (1930-1931), Concordia (1932-1934), Royal Criollos (1935), Senadores (1936) y Venezuela (1937-1941), logrando destacar en los roles de jugador y manager. Desde 1939 se desempeñó en esta última labor con el conjunto Venezuela, divisa con la cual logró conquistar el campeonato nacional de 1941, por lo que fue designado manager de la selección de Venezuela que participó en la IV Serie Mundial de Béisbol Amateur que se disputó en La Habana, entre septiembre y octubre de 1941. Aunque el combinado nacional no figuraba como favorito en el certamen, llegó a la final de la serie empatado con el conjunto cubano, por lo que tuvo que realizar un encuentro decisivo, el cual ganó para darle el primer campeonato mundial a Venezuela. A su regreso a Venezuela, los miembros del equipo de béisbol de 1941 fueron recibidos como héroes nacionales. En 1942, Malpica volvió a ser el manager de Venezuela en la V Serie Mundial disputada en la capital cubana. Sin embargo, en esta ocasión no contaron con la misma suerte, arribando en el tercer lugar. En ese mismo año, obtuvo su título de médico, tras lo cual se dedicó la medicina deportiva, siendo el galeno de los equipos de béisbol profesional y aficionado. En 1944, instaló un consultorio en la parroquia caraqueña Sucre, donde prestó servicios comunitarios por más de 20 años. En 1971, fue incorporado al Salón de la Fama del Deporte Venezolano.

English Translation

In this season of professional baseball in Venezuela agreed to create a prize for the best receiver of the season. League board the prize to distinguish CHICKEN MALPICA MANUEL receiver Zafra.El highlight of the MANUEL Award “CHICKEN” MALPICA pays tribute to one of the largest recipients of our country which was also the manager of the champion Venezuela the world in 1941, and excellent medical professional.

For this first edition, the board of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League selected who was without doubt the revelation in the position in this championship, as well as being nominated for “technical unanimously” Rookie of the Year: Hector Sanchez.

Malpica Manuel was born in Valencia (Carabobo Edo.) on 20.1.1909.
He died in Caracas on 6.6.1970.

Known by the nickname El Pollo, was the manager of amateur baseball team that gave Venezuela the title World Series champion in 1941 in Cuba. His parents were Michael and Laura Malpica Eloy Martinez. In 1926, he began playing baseball in the Latino group Valencia, in which he excelled as a catcher, and was hired in 1929, along with pitcher Balbino Carabobo Inojosa to integrate the ranks of Magellan Caracas team. In the same year, after completing high school, he moved to Caracas to join the glorious Magellan currency in 1929 defeat in a series of 3 Royal Criollos team meetings, starting from there one of the most bitter rivalries between teams Venezuelan baseball. Later this was later extended rivalry between Magallanes and Caracas, substitute the latter’s Brewery Caracas, which in turn had replaced the Royal Creoles.

Parallel to his studies of medicine at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, Malpica continued his performance in Major League Baseball. In this regard, between 1930 and 1941, teams played with Magellan (1930-1931), Concordia (1932-1934), Royal Creole (1935), Senators (1936) and Venezuela (1937-1941), thus highlighting the roles player and manager. Since 1939 he served in the latter work with all Venezuela, currency with which managed to win the national championship in 1941, for which he was appointed manager of the selection of Venezuela who participated in the IV World Series Amateur which was played in Havana, September and October 1941. Although the national team is not the favorite in the contest, came to the end of the series all tied with Cuba, so he had to make a decisive encounter, which won for him the first world championship in Venezuela. On his return to Venezuela, members of the 1941 baseball team were welcomed as national heroes. In 1942, Malpica again the manager of Venezuela in the V World Series played in the Cuban capital. However, on this occasion did not have the same fate, arriving in third place. That same year, he earned his medical degree, after which he devoted sports medicine, being the team physician for professional and amateur baseball. In 1944, installed a parish office in Caracas Sucre, where he served community service for over 20 years. In 1971, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame Sports Venezuela.

One of baseball’s great urban legends is that Perry, a Hall of Fame pitcher from 1962 to 1983, once said a man would walk on the moon before he hit a home run.  Or perhaps the legend is that Alvin Dark, Perry’s manager with the San Francisco Giants, is the one who made that disparaging but humorous remark about Perry’s lack of knack to hit the longball.

The confusion and dispute over who said it or if anyone actually said it at all are so well known that the Internet investigators at Snopes have even sniffed it out and can’t find the answer.  What makes the dispute relevant is the second big fact of the story, which is indisputable.  Perry hit his first career home run on July 20, 1969 the day that Neil Armstrong took “one small step for man” on the moon.

By 1969 Perry was already an All-Star pitcher who was well on his way to amassing his eventual 314 career wins and two Cy Young awards.  At the plate he fared far worse, including hitting an embarrassing .054 in 1964 and, from 1962 to 1968, drove in a total of only 13 runs with no dingers.  But on Sunday, July 20 of 1969 Perry stepped up to the plate against Claude Osteen of the Dodgers in the bottom of the third inning at Candlestick Park and slugged a solo shot to the moon.  Perry’s home run helped the Giants claw back from a 3-0 deficit and San Fran went on to win, 7-3, and Perry got the victory.  At the same time that Perry was circling the bases Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were hanging out on the moon.  Did one inspire the other?

Perry would go on to hit exactly one home run every season from ’69 to 1972 which was the last year anyone went to the moon.  By 1973 Perry was in the American League, which adopted the designated hitter that same year so Perry didn’t even swing the bat again until 1978 when he returned to the National League and then hit another home run in 1979.  Mr. Perry’s sixth and final career home run came when he was with the Atlanta Braves in 1981, the year of the first space shuttle mission.

There has never been an astronaut named Gaylord, nor has there ever been a star sailor named Perry.  Just last November a Japanese astronaut, Satoshi Furukawa, was very bored on the International Space Station and was videotaped playing baseball all by himself.  The first baseball game for Astronaut High School in Titusville, Florida is February 7.

Baseball is best when played outdoors on a summer night.  You find your seat when the sun is still shining and then, by the third inning or so, it’s almost dark and you look beyond the ballpark lights and the moon is a distant, peaceful glow.  You sip your Coke and soak up the sights and sounds of the American pastime and wonder what other games are being played on what other planets.  And that’s exactly when someone spills a beer on you and your starter gives up a three-run double.

Sigh deeply and look at the moon.  Don’t give up.

Since the late 1990′s to early 2000′s, Forbes has published different types of financial information regarding the decisions, operations, and seasons of MLB and its member franchises. Editions of the magazine, for example, report actual or estimated amounts in millions for specific things like the gate receipts and debt-to-value ratios of each MLB team and averages for the league. Indeed, there are chapters in my baseball books that discuss the effects and implication of this data for the sport and its future.[1]

To inform readers and especially baseball fans about what is important and how to evaluate and measure the sport’s business, I created Table 1. It reflects, in total, how 30 teams performed financially as a group during five recent MLB seasons. Specifically for this essay, I selected four criteria that appeared in various articles published online in Forbes because they best reveal what occurred financially during and across these seasons in the business of baseball. The following is my interpretation of amounts in the table for MLB and results for a number of teams in the American and National Leagues (respectively, AL and NL).

Operating Income (OI). For various economic and sport-specific reasons, the total OI in MLB

Table 1 Financial Data
Teams Average Amounts, Five MLB Seasons

Note: Operating Income is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Player Expenses include benefits and bonuses. Revenue is net of stadium revenues used for debt payments. Value of teams based on their current stadium deal (unless new stadium is pending) without deduction for debt (other than stadium debt). Amounts are team averages in millions. Currently, financial data is not available for MLB’s 2011 season.

Source: See “The Business of Baseball” for different MLB seasons at Forbes.com.

Increased from a negative $39 million in the 2002 season to $132 million in 2004. As the U.S. economy recovered from a recession and the nation’s stock markets improved during this period, the majority of teams charged customers more for ticket prices to their home games although their annual attendances were stable at approximately 2.4 million per season. In 2002, 13 or 43 percent of the league’s franchises experienced operating losses.  Two years later, however, only the OI’s of the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim exceeded $19 million.

From the 2004 to 2006 season, MLB’s OI increased by $364 million or 275 percent but then remained relatively constant each season through 2010 (OI’s not available yet for 2011).

Despite a recession and volatile credit, housing and stock markets, baseball clubs continued to receive income from such operations as home games played at their new or renovated ballparks, money from contracts with television networks, fees from partnerships and sponsorships, revenue sharing, and other sources.

Accordingly, teams with the largest amounts of OI in seasons were, for example, the Baltimore Orioles at $34 million in 2004, Florida Marlins at $43 million each in 2006 and 2008, and the San Diego Padres at $37 million in 2010. In contrast to those amounts, payments for player’s salaries and other operating costs caused large negative OI’s for franchises like the Yankees in the 2004 and 2006 seasons, and Detroit Tigers in 2008 and 2010.

Player Expenses (PE’s): From the 2002 to the 2004 season inclusive, the league’s average PE’s increased by $119 million or 5 percent. Then in two, four, and six seasons after 2004, respectively, it increased on average per team by 10 percent, 17 percent, and less than 1 percent. In fact, during each of these three MLB seasons, PE’s of the Yankees ranked first and Boston Red Sox second while clubs with the smallest amounts were the Marlins at $31 million in 2006 and $45 million in 2008, and Padres at $51 million in 2010.

For various reasons, some NL and AL teams with relatively high (low) PE’s had under-performed (over-performed) in their regular season. Given an average winning percentage of .500, two underperforming teams each season were the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays in 2002, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners in 2004, San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles in 2006, Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers in 2008, and the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2010.

Alternatively, there were NL and AL teams with relatively low PE’s that won more than 81 games of their regular seasons. These included, for example, the Montreal Expos and Oakland Athletics in 2002, Florida Marlins and Minnesota Twins in 2004, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics in 2006, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays in 2008, and Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers in 2010. Thus, other factors besides amounts invested in their players had influenced these 20 over-performing and under-performing teams.

Revenue: Table 1 contains the average revenue of MLB franchises for five seasons. These amounts increased by 17 percent from 2002 to 2004, 19 percent from 2004 to 2006, 13 percent from 2006 to 2008, and 5 percent from 2008 to 2010. The Yankees’ revenue ranked first each season followed by the Chicago Cubs, Red Sox, or Mets who placed second or third. Because they played their home games in ballparks within inferior or small baseball markets, or simply performed below .500, such clubs as the Expos in 2002, Twins in 2004, and Marlins in 2006, 2008, and 2010 each finished 30th in revenue.

Besides their market population and winning percentage, baseball franchises earned above or below the league’s average revenue, in part because of average attendances (AATT’s) and average ticket prices (ATP’s) at their home games. Indeed, the AATT’s and ATP’s of the Red Sox, Cubs, Mets, and Yankees exceeded the MLB average in each season of Table 1. For clubs with low revenue, their AATT’s and/or ATP’s ranked at or near the bottom of the league each season. Among this group were the Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (renamed Tampa Bay Rays in 2008).

Except for below average performances of the Cubs in 2002, 2006 and 2010, and Mets in 2002, 2004 and 2010, the Red Sox and Yankees had winning seasons while the Rays finished above .500 in 2010 as did the Marlins in 2004 and 2008. The Royals and Pirates, however, won fewer than 81 games in each of these seasons. In short, the former group of teams earns considerably more revenue in their seasons than the latter group, which they spend to pay PE’s and other franchise expenses.

Value: Since this data reflects baseball’s business, the most important piece of financial information for current owners of MLB teams is the estimated worth or sales price of their respective franchise. Based on the average value of 30 teams during specific seasons, these amounts had increased by approximately 12 percent from 2002 to 2004, 29 percent from 2004 to 2006, 11 percent from 2006 to 2008, and 8 percent from 2008 to 2010. While the Yankees ranked first each season, the Red Sox, Mets, and Dodgers placed second, third, or fourth.

For one season or another, the least valued MLB franchises included the Athletics, Devil Rays (or Rays), Royals, and Twins in the AL and Marlins, Pirates, and former Expos in the NL. Furthermore, these clubs ranked below average financially in amounts of OI, PE’s, and Revenue. Although some of them occasionally won a division title and the Marlins a World Series since 2002, this group fails as enterprises from a business perspective given the financial data in Table 1.

To conclude, I encourage readers of this essay to study the business of baseball available in the literature. As a result, any differences between the performances, popularity, and economic success of MLB franchises will become more apparent and especially for die-hard sports fans that live in cities with big league teams and root for them to win games and championships.

OOTP 13: We Hit it Out of the Park With Our Best Baseball Sim Yet! Reserve Your Copy Now For Just $34.99 and You Could Win an iPod Touch!

When Baseball Prospectus gave OOTP 12 an A- rating, they said the game “is as close to the front office experience you can get without having to actually wear a suit and tie.” Now you can get even closer with OOTP 13, which is available for pre-order at the special price of $34.99 until February 15th. Everyone who pre-orders will get the game 3 days before the official release date, which is scheduled for early April.

Click to Pre-Order OOTP 13 for PC Windows and Mac OS X

But that’s not all: One lucky pre-order customer will win a 32GB iPod Touch, and three others will receive $100 gift cards through their choice of iTunes or Amazon. (The iPod touch winner can also opt for a $250 iTunes or Amazon gift card. Pre-orders must be received by 2/15/12 to be eligible.)*

So, in a nutshell:

• Pre-order until February 15th and you save $5, possibly win one of four great prizes and get the game 3 days prior to the official release!
• Starting February 16th the price becomes the regular $39.99, but you still get the game 3 days early if you pre-order.
• OOTP 13 is scheduled for an early April release!

Here are the new and revamped features you can expect to find. As in past years, more surprise features will likely be added as we get closer to Opening Day. Stay tuned!

2012 Major League Rosters

You’ll love our latest roster set, which features not only up-to-date Opening Day rosters for all major league teams but also thousands of individually-rated players for all minor leagues. Can Yu Darvish propel Texas to the top of their division, or will Albert Pujols give Los Angeles the pop they need to win that race in the AL West?

And that’s not all. We’re also current with the rule changes introduced by the new major league labor agreement, including:

• New rules for free agency, draft pick compensation, salary arbitration, and the amateur (Rule 4) draft
• Houston’s move to the AL West at the beginning of the 2013 season, with the corresponding schedule adjustment
• A second wild card team in each major league, starting with the 2013 playoffs

Real-Time Simulation Mode

Here’s a great way to feel like a big league general manager: turn on the new Real-Time Simulation Mode. While you browse stats, plan roster moves, look for available free agents, and so forth, OOTP simulates the current day in the background at the speed you choose, complete with a scores and highlights ticker at the bottom of the screen.

The league scores screen lets you follow all the games in progress, so if something exciting is happening, you can jump in and watch or take the reins of your team (or any team, if you’re in commissioner mode). The game’s stats update in real-time too, so if one of your pitchers just threw a no-hitter, you’ll see that reflected in his profile, and the news screen will highlight his accomplishment. League standings and statistical leader rankings also automatically update as games conclude.

After the day’s games finish, you can advance to the next day, or you can tell OOTP to play out all the contests in real-time for a preset number of days.

Interactive Storylines

OOTP 13 takes the storylines introduced by OOTP 12 to the next level with a layer of interactivity that brings you even closer to the general manager’s office.

Here’s an example: Your team is mired in a bad slump, and your star player takes his grievances to the media. Do you fine him to set an example, with the possibility he could become even more upset and see his morale decline? Do you ignore the incident and risk losing the respect of other team members? Do you take the drastic step of labeling the player a cancer and releasing him or arranging a hasty trade?

The decisions you make influence the way storylines develop. No two are ever alike, and they have wide-ranging effects on injuries, fan interest, team chemistry, player morale, player ratings, player potential, owner attitudes, and much more.

This system is optional, so you can turn it off if you want. We imagine there are many big league managers who would love to do that in real life.

League Associations and Expanded Playoff Modes

The game now supports associations with multiple leagues. Associated leagues may share certain rules, free agents, and/or draft pools. Once all seasons are completed in the associated leagues, the winners may meet in extra playoffs, determining the ultimate champion of your OOTP game.

League playoffs in OOTP 13 also offer more custom options, including, for example, first-round byes. Now you can run your league playoffs any way you want.

Redesigned Interface

We have completely overhauled OOTP’s interface, creating the best-looking and easiest to use OOTP experience to date.

OOTP 13 introduces a number of new or completely recoded screens, including:

• A redesigned manager home screen with a new task manager that keeps track of when you last visited certain sections of the game and alerts you to tasks that need your attention.
• A new in-game screen that merges the widget screen with the broadcast screen and automatically utilizes the available screen space in an optimal way.
• Completely new team and league home screens.
• A new minor league system overview screen as part of the team screen.
• A redesigned player profile screen.
• A new global home screen that lists the most important information about each league in your currently loaded game.
• A new league association screen.
• An improved league schedule screen that adds a section which lists the next 7 days of action.
• An improved league standings screen.
• A new centralized online league screen.
• Improved league setup screens.

On top of the new and redesigned screens, we have changed the way HTML reports behave inside the game. In OOTP 13, these reports and pages look like normal game screens and links to teams or players act like normal game buttons, eliminating possible confusion.

The menu system has also been improved, providing a cleaner look at the available options presented by a menu. Among many more small but useful changes, we have moved the toolbar to the right of the screen so it can be hidden or shown with a single click of a button.

Improved Online League Play

Creating, commissioning, and playing an online league is easier than ever before in OOTP 13.

This year we streamlined the OOTP Online League functionality, as well as the entire online league experience in general. We added one central place for online league features – it displays all available options and actions for commissioners and managers alike.

Core Engine Improvements

Each year we improve or expand the game’s core functionality, and this year is no exception.

OOTP 13 features the following improvements:

• Recoded trade AI engine, resulting in the most competitive computer GM ever in OOTP
• Improved pitcher creation & development. OOTP 13 creates fewer pure relievers for the draft. More pitchers are generated with the potential to become starters. Not all pitchers will capitalize on their potential, though; failure to develop an off-speed pitch or build stamina may necessitate a move to the pen.
• Improved roster AI in general
• Improved in-game AI
• Improved play-by-play and league news
• Improved simulation speed
• Improved historical simulation accuracy
• Improved ballpark import/export, including background pictures and proper ball coordinates
• Import / Export for drafts in online leagues

We hope that you are as excited about OOTP 13 as we are. We are confident that this year’s version will be our best one yet, and once again sets the standard for baseball gaming on the PC / Mac / Linux!

The OOTP Developments Team

Click to Pre-Order OOTP 13 for PC Windows and Mac OS X

Click to Pre-Order OOTP 13 for Linux

If I’m lucky, it will turn out that only the real world is going to hell and not baseball as well. Maybe it’s the sense of economic chaos in the air, the emergence of class warfare. Maybe it’s that American politics has turned into a spectacle rivaling professional wrestling in its emphasis on theatrical bluster and chest-thumping. The “good guys” seem weak and at times traitorous, and the “bad guys” have become more brazenly despicable. A decade ago we witnessed the all-time “foreign object” tossed into the fray: “weapons of mass destruction.” Once that fraud was uncovered, however, our individual and collective self-interest trumped wisdom, and now the clowns in the ring have stopped even pretending that they care about the rest of us. They only care about outbragging, outfinancing, and outslandering each other, forcing all of us not-so-innocent bystanders to accept that the whole show is rigged. The good guys and the bad guys are all working for the same company; this is what we get for letting the CEO of Halliburton run the country for eight years.

The previous paragraph was not entirely a non sequitur. What looms on the baseball horizon is the result of letting an owner run the game for the last 20 years. Lest we forget, Allan Selig was an owner for nearly a quarter-century before usurping the role of commissioner, and even then it took him awhile to sever his ownership ties with the Milwaukee Brewers. Naturally the owners are so happy with the way he has run things that they’re about to let him keep the job at least until he passes his 80th birthday. As one wag noted recently, he seems intent on staying “until Meryl Streep plays him in the movies.”

One of the first things Selig did once he assumed power was to make ownership’s most serious attempt to bust the union of players, choosing to cancel the last two months of the 1994 season rather than strike a reasonable deal. As a result, baseball fans had no major league games to enjoy from mid-August 1994, to late April 1995, and we had no playoffs or World Series in 1994. We had nothing to look forward to, and many fans deserted Major League Baseball. I could understand why, though I remained steadfast because of my lifelong addiction to watching games in person, on television, or in my mind’s eye as I listened on radio.

How did Selig address the problem of getting fans to put their asses back in the seats of major league ballparks? He surreptitiously facilitated the staging of a home-run chase in 1998 which did bring a lot of fans back into the fold. Although the smoking gun may never be produced, it is naive to think that Selig and the other people running baseball in the 1990s had no clue that players beefed up on steroids in order to hit more home runs. Mark McGwire’s bloated biceps were the closest thing this country has seen to “weapons of mass destruction” in the last 15 years. Like the used car salesman he used to be, Selig put a shiny coat of paint on his prized lemon, made a quick sale, and hoped that when the engine dropped onto the highway someday, he wouldn’t get sued.

When the engine finally clunked onto the pavement–when the rampant use of steroids was exposed–Selig stuck his head firmly in the sand and said, “Really? I had no idea.” Rather than do something about it, he stonewalled the public, and it took a congressional investigation and the Mitchell report to force Selig and the Players’ Association to institute sanctions against steroid use. The union had gone to bed with Bud once MLB’s financial pie got so big that there was more than enough for everybody; that is, after decades of regarding players and owners as “good guys” and “bad guys,” of being able to take sides, both parties–like politicians–are clearly partners in the same conglomerate, engaged jointly in fleecing the public. Stan Musial was the property of the St. Louis Cardinals, a well-paid indentured servant, but Albert Pujols is his own subsidiary.

Almost as soon as Selig and the union introduced procedures guaranteeing that the manufacturers of performance-enhancing substances would be able to stay a step or two ahead of enforcement, he declared that the problem had been solved. Of course it hasn’t been solved. Ask Manny Ramirez if it has been solved. Ask Ryan Braun of Selig’s beloved Brewers. Ask the minor leaguers who are still getting caught using prohibited substances because they can’t imagine any other way to reach the majors. Ask all the players up and down baseball’s evolutionary scale who are investigating the potency and undetectability of the latest designer drugs. Selig’s public assurances that the steroid mess has been cleaned up rings as hollow as politicans pretending to enact meaningful campaign financing reform. If there is one lesson we’re learning this winter, it is that the people who have the most money and power are primarily concerned with doing whatever it takes to keep that money and power.

Do you think commissioner Selig’s priority the last two decades has been anything other than putting money in the pockets of the cronies who pay him millions of dollars a year to look after their interests? Why do you think he has pushed so hard for an extra playoff team (possibly this year), leading to an extra playoff tier, leading to more revenue for the television networks that make the big profits and salaries possible? No wonder he wants the steroid mess to go away, and stalls as long as he can before doing as little as possible to fend off the posse of truth.

I believe (though it might be wishful thinking) that Selig’s legacy will be the black eye of the steroid-bloated faces of a generation of tainted stars and derailed prospects. My wife just asked me what was the “last straw” that made me start writing about the discontent that has been festering in my baseball soul this winter, and I told her it was that in the wake of Barry Larkin getting elected to the Hall of Fame, all that people seem to want to talk about is the impending nightmare of the big-name steroid users appearing on upcoming Hall of Fame ballots. Nobody seems to care about Larkin, a terrific all-around shortstop who won an MVP Award and would have won more than his three Gold Glove Awards if the voters hadn’t insisted on voting for Ozzie Smith in perpetuity.

You don’t need me to rehash every other baseball writer’s anguish over the impossible task of separating the users from the non-users. The voters have made a clear statement by giving scant support to McGwire, lukewarm support to Rafael Palmeiro and his 3,020 hits, and not even enough support to two-time MVP Juan Gonzalez to keep him and his 1,404 hits on the ballot. Next year, with Bondsclemenssosa added to the ballot at once, it will be that much easier for voters to make their point more emphatically by rejecting all of them. Of course, some writers will vote for them, as some have voted for McGwire and Palmeiro. The result might well be that nobody gets elected. If Bondsclemenssosa siphon off 30-40 percent of the vote, and if returning candidates get their fair share (but not enough for Jack Morris or Jeff Bagwell to get over the 75 percent hump), will there be enough votes left for guys like Craig Biggio and Mike Piazza to get elected?

I don’t know. Nobody knows, and that’s the point. For the first time in Hall of Fame history, voters will not simply be evaluating the numbers. It won’t be “how many” of this or that stat, but “how much” those stats owe to drug-enhanced capabilities. It is likely that we will never know who did what, when they did it, or even (specifically) how their numbers were affected. We had steroid-bulked pitchers throwing faster pitches to bloated batters who hit baseballs further partly because their increased velocity on the way in caused a greater force at impact leading to greater distances on the way out. Where was the advantage? The answer to that question is the factor that George Mitchell emphasized in his report but that Selig and his co-conspirators (starting with former union head Donald Fehr) managed to sweep under the carpet: the advantage was gained by all users when facing opponents who refrained from using.

Selig’s tacit approval of PEDs (first because there was no “rule” against them, later because catching some people allowed him to pretend that future players would be deterred from using them) has tainted the game so substantially that it may take decades to sort it out and overcome it. Like the most corrupt politicians who pass legislature to benefit their friends, he has enhanced the financial position of MLB so that even its humblest entrepreneurs–useless middle relievers–are millionaires. Good for them. They have achieved the American dream. But they have done so by ruining the illusion for the rest of us. Even if we fans boycott the ballparks, as many did in the mid-90s, even if we resist the temptation to load up on the jersey, caps, and other ephemera produced by teams who change their logos or colors every few years to create a fresh market, we are still corrupted by watching the game televised by networks to whom baseball moguls sold out long ago. Bowie Kuhn, another stooge-turned-commissioner, started the ball rolling on that travesty when he eliminated day games from post-season baseball. Forty years later, we still hear the annual hue-and-cry about night games starting later and ending so late that young fans can no longer grow up with the thrill of championship pursuits. Nobody in charge will be reversing that trend soon, or even making the fan-friendly gesture of moving back the starting time just for World Series games to a more reasonable 6:30 or 7:00 PM. Why not? Because their bosses at the Fox Network believe that there is no time other than prime time. It’s almost enough to make one yearn for the days of Kenesaw M. Landis, baseball’s hanging judge.

How do I really feel about it? You get the idea. This winter, the commissioner who brought us divisional play and the wild card unveiled his latest brainstorm–a concept previously used only in rec-league slow-pitch softball: the 15-team league. Using economic coercion, he forced the new owner of the Houston Astros to accept a move to the American League; no move, no purchase. If he was so intent on moving a team, why didn’t he do the logical thing, which would have been to take the Milwaukee Brewers, who switched from the American to the National League back in 1998 in order to avoid two 15-team leagues, and put them back where they originated? The answer to that one is easy: because Bud Selig wanted a National League team in Milwaukee ever since 1966, when the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta. Selig was the leader of a corps of Milwaukee businessmen who launched a legal and economic campaign to restore National League baseball to his hometown. They shanghaied the Seattle Pilots in 1970 to create the Brewers, and it took another 28 years to maneuver them over the Senior Circuit, but he did it, by golly. There’s no going back on that one. So here you go, Houston, but don’t forget to find a designated hitter.

The main effect of two 15-team leagues is that interleague play will be continuous, since you can’t have a team from each league sitting out the weekend. I’ll admit that on this issue I’ll keep an open mind on this one. I loathe the idea of interleague baseball, but the games themselves, taken one at a time, are not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the most exciting games I’ve ever been to at Fenway Park were Mets games; I just watched one on “Mets Classics,” the so-called “Omir-acle” home run game. Games are games, and in the middle of May it doesn’t matter what uniforms they’re wearing. Just give me a good ballgame to enjoy.

But the idea of a pennant race coming down to a final-weekend series between teams from opposite leagues stinks. It’s an invitation to scandal. A lot of people were up in arms because the Yankees didn’t go all-out in the last game of the season, trotting out eleven pitchers until they lost to Tampa Bay, conveniently keeping the rival Red Sox out of the playoffs. What do you think will happen when the Yankees get to play some National League team the last day of the season that has a chance to keep the Mets out of the playoffs? Or vice versa? Or the Cubs have a chance to screw the White Sox out of the post-season? Or vice versa? Pick your team’s rival and give them the direct means to cost you the chance to make your kids or grandkids go to bed during the fourth inning of that key World Series showdown. All together now: invitation to scandal.

So those are some of the churnings that are drowning out the usual winter daydreams of what wonders lie ahead in the next major league season. Adding to the discontent is the probability that it will not be made glorious summer by the sons of (New) York who run the Mets. They have abdicated, abandoning the team’s fans by letting the most exciting player in franchise history walk away without a fight. This is the second-most despicable exit in Mets history, topped only by M. Donald Grant letting Dick Young persuade him to jettison “The Franchise,” Tom Seaver, in 1977, not quite halfway through his Hall of Fame career. On that occasion I had some solace because Seaver was traded to my favorite team, the Reds. I had no qualms about turning my back on the Mets for seven years, and it was made easier because for most of that self-imposed exile I lived nowhere near New York. But after spending the past decade watching most of the team’s games on television–including 1,000 or so performances by Jose Reyes–I’m having a hard time telling myself, “Oh boy, I can’t wait to watch and see if the Mets’ medical staff trashed Ike Davis’ foot so badly that it falls off during his home run trot!”

Go Reds! (I guess.)

Best known for its iconic “Green Monster” left field wall, Fenway is much more than it’s most identifiable feature. Not surprisingly, there is a fascinating history of the park and its surrounding area that until recently remained largely uncovered.

Author and historian, Glenn Stout has remedied the lack of detail about the history of Fenway with his most recent book, Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season, and Fenway’s Remarkable First Year. He traces the construction of the park and first year of existence (which resulted in a Red Sox World Series victory) in painstaking detail. From the tense relationships between Catholic and Protestant players on the 1912 Red Sox, to overflow crowds watching games on the field, literally feet from the foul lines, Stout has made a great story out of history.

Fenway 1912 is a must-read for any baseball fan because of the new ways it allows the reader to view one of baseball’s most beloved ballparks. You can find out more about this book at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fenway-1912-glenn-stout/1100273516 or by going to most mainstream bookstores.

I recently had a chance to ask Stout some questions about how he came to write Fenway 1912 and what he was able to take away personally from the experience. His answers are a great lead-in to the book, so make sure to check out both because you won’t be disappointed.

How did you decide to write about the history of Fenway Park and the 1912 Red Sox season?: Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always had a thing for ballparks – I used to draw diagrams of them all the time. I moved to Boston in 1981 after college because I wanted to be in a city with an old ballpark.  When I began free-lancing in the mid-1980s, I was soon lucky enough to get an assignment to write the official 75^th anniversary history of Fenway for the yearbook. I did a decent job – better than anyone else has ever done with the history of the park, but even then I realized that there were still basic questions without answers – what architectural style was used, how the park was built, who built it, why was it built the way it was built – almost everything. Most previous Fenway histories had just told a thumbnail history of the team, not really a history of the park.

I sort of thought someone would eventually answer those questions – I answered a few in a bit more depth in Red Sox Century – but no one else ever took it farther. So with the anniversary approaching, it was a natural. I wanted to answer those basic questions and see how Fenway Park revealed itself over the course of its first season, to see if the essential character of the park was present from the beginning.

With all the intricate detail in this book, the scope of research must have been enormous. How do you go about tackling such a huge project?: I basically approached it like I knew nothing about the park. I tried not to accept any preconceived notions. My experience in researching baseball history is that very often people accept as common knowledge things that simply are not true. I don’t, and that’s how I exposed all the fallacies surrounding the spurious “Curse of the Bambino,” for instance. Common knowledge usually contains a great deal of errors and half truths

I try to start from scratch. I use previously published work only as a basic road map, at best, and try to use more primary resources. In this case, that’s primarily newspapers – not just the Globe, but the half dozen or so papers published in Boston at the time, plus those from other cities, and magazines like Sporting Life, The Sporting News, Baseball Magazine, engineering magazines, city directories, census records, etc. Over time, you begin to build a body of knowledge, and learn to balance various accounts of the same events. But even that is often not enough. Here’s one example: I had read elsewhere – and then written myself -that the architectural style of Fenway park was known as “Tapestry.” Well, I did some architectural research and upon examination, there is no such style. I found out that “Tapestry” was simply the brand name of the kind of brick used in the park. By researching that style of brick, I discovered it was often used in Arts and Crafts buildings, which was a relatively new style of architecture at the time. I then consulted with some architectural historians, explained what I found and shared some research. They told me that while it would be incorrect to say that Fenway is an “Arts and Crafts” building per se, it does exhibit Arts and Crafts influences.

What was the most surprising thing you personally learned while you were working on this project?: I hardly know where to start – the book utterly re-writes the early history of the park. But I think more people will really be surprised to learn that the park that opened in April of 1912 had already been drastically changed by October, for the World’s Series. Over 11,000 additional seats were built in September while the Red Sox were on a road trip. Those additional seats enclosed the park with seats for the first time gave the field its now familiar footprint. Fenway is not the shape it is because it was “squeezed” in between streets. It was like Kansas around the park when it was built and the plot of land was more than sufficient for the way the game was played in the Dead Ball Era. Over time, however, the game got bigger, and the park grew inward, from the borders of the property. That basic footprint stems from the rushed construction of those stands that September. Subsequent construction simply preserved that pattern. Had anyone wished for Fenway to have been more symmetrical and less quirky, it could have easily been built that way. And here’s an interesting tidbit – those new seats built for the World Series included seats on “Duffy’s Cliff” in left field, which decreased the distance to the temporary short fence that was built in front of the cliff. So during the World Series there was a ground rule that turned any ball hit into the stands on the cliff – or off the wall – into a double. That also meant that any ball hit over the left field wall would also have been a double. It didn’t happen, but could have.

Which impacts the other’s identity more; the Red Sox or Fenway Park?: It’s awfully hard to separate the two. But my experience in writing this book, and now that it has been published, in going around New England and speaking with literally thousands of people about Fenway, has underscored something I already sensed; there are a great many Red Sox fans, but there are even more fans of Fenway Park. That’s why people don’t say ‘We’re going to see the Red Sox. They say “We’re going to Fenway.’

Andrew Martin is the founder of “The Baseball Historian” blog where he posts his thoughts about baseball on a regular basis. He can be reached at historianandrew@gmail.com. You can also reach him on Twitter at @historianandrew.

“It (minor league pitching coach) was absolutely what I’ve been wanting for a long time,” Sagara said from his home in Honolulu.  He had “thought it out”, planned for this type of opportunity, even though it meant giving up a chance to build a roster in Maui (North American League) that might be 50 per cent Hawaiians.  He also was giving up his part-time scouting job with the Atlanta Braves.

Independent Baseball “gave me an avenue to try to make a career (in the game)”, the 38-year-old added.  “I’ve been on cloud nine.  It is the beginning of a dream come true.”

While Hawaiian natives have been successful in the major leagues for years, Sagara was a rarity for any form of advanced baseball play, a 5-foot-7 pitcher.  He managed to pitch for four years at Division I University of Hawaii-Hilo, including something like an 8-2 record on a team that was 14-31 in his final season.  He flirted with Independent opportunities in both the Western and Texas-Louisiana Leagues, and actually got in a few innings for Greg Tagert’s Evansville (IN) Otters in the Frontier League in 1999.  That was the end of the playing dream.

Sagara’s fortunes began changing when Tagert, whose own resume has produced consistent contending teams, not the least of which is his current team in Gary, IN (American Association), invited him to become pitching coach for Dubois County (Huntingburg, IN) in the Frontier League in 2001.

With the exception of 2006 when he devoted his time to being an associate scout for the New York Mets, Sagara has racked up 10 seasons as a pitching coach, with six years of divisional titles and league championships in the Northern League (Gary) in ’05 and the Frontier League (Windy City, Crestwood, IL) in ’07.  The last two divisional crowns came the last two seasons under Cory Snyder at Maui (its last year in the Golden League) in 2010 and for Rick Forney at Winnipeg (American Association) last summer.

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FOR ADDITIONAL INDEPENDENT BASEBALL COVERAGE

www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com ADDED TO www.IndyBaseballChatter.com

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College Leagues Grabbing Struggling Franchises

One fact is more obvious than ever for struggling Independent teams.  College leagues, where player salaries and costly workman’s comp are not issues for operators, are more than willing to offer a less expensive option.  Both Shreveport-Bossier, LA (American Association) and Pittsfield, MA (Can-Am League) have gone the collegiate route for 2012 with Brockton, MA (Can-Am) likely to follow although the city council has put off a decision until early March.

In all of these situations, established Independent operators will be involved in running the new teams, which will play only about half the number of games as in the Indy leagues.

It is apparent to this typist this is not the last of these moves in years to come.

Standout Mound Performances in Winter Playoffs

Philadelphia spring training invitee Raul Valdes (New Jersey Jackals and Nashua, NH, Can-Am League) led a trio of outstanding pitching performances by former Independent players in winter league playoffs this week.  The southpaw hurled a complete-game five-hitter (one run) in the Dominican Republic.

Austin Bibens-Dirkx (Victoria, Golden League), signed recently by Washington, allowed only one hit in seven shutout innings in Venezuela and Mike Loree (Long Island, NY, and Newark, NJ,  Atlantic League) surrendered only one run in five innings to even the Puerto Rican League championship series.  Loree is in the Pittsburgh farm system.

(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes year round on Independent Baseball.  Fans may subscribe for 2012 at www.WirzandAssociates.com, enjoy his blogs, www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com and www.IndyBaseballChatter.com, or comment to RWirz@aol.com.  The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)

In the mind of the baseball everyman, or at least those committed to the NL East, the question is: “Does Fielder make the Nationals instantly into contenders?”

On the most superficial level Prince Fielder will add win shares to the Nationals lineup as few players could do in the NL. Equally important he will have significant positive spill over effects to others in the lineup that are relatively easy to calculate.

Prince Fielder was the fourth most valuable offensive force in the National League in 2011.  His Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 5.9 was exceeded only by Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun and Jose Reyes.  His impressive six-year average slash line from Baseball Reference is .282/.390/.540–an average of 37 home runs and 103 RBI.

It is easy to calculate the aggregate WAR for each of the NL East teams for 2012 as they stand now.  With the Miami Marlins adding Jose Reyes to a starting lineup that already featured Mike Stanton–behind only Matt Kemp as one of the most dangerous hitters in the league–the Marlins become the most potent offense in the NL East, besting even Philadelphia.

If the Nationals can add Fielder he will help immensely, but a remake will need to be multi-dimensional.  In 2010, when the Nationals lineup featured both Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman at its heart, the team managed only 4.04 runs per game compared to a league average of 4.33. They were the third worst team in scoring runs in the NL.

Yet in 2011, by subtracting Dunn and adding Jayson Werth, Danny Expinosa, Michael Morse and Wilson Ramos for full seasons, the Nationals raised their relative clout in the NL to closer to league average.  They managed only 3.88 runs per game but the league average dropped to  4.13.  All of those young hitters will be back and a little stronger.  Adding a hitter like Fielder will only help them. Another intangible is the pressure Fielder could take off Jayson Werth. A bounce back season for him would be a big addition.

One of the easiest comparisons for Washington fans will be between Adam Dunn and Prince Fielder. Both are prodigious sluggers and liabilities in the field. As MASN commentator Phil Wood argued on the Outta the Parkway Show several weeks ago, Fielder’s bat will do more than Dunn’s did because he strikes out less and makes better contact generally.  The difference can be seen in Dunn’s less impressive WAR for 2010 of 3.6 and Fielder’s much better lifetime batting average.

Regardless what happens to Werth and the younger Nationals hitters, the safest predictable side effect of adding Fielder to the lineup will accrue to Ryan Zimmerman. With Adam Dunn hitting behind the Z-man in 2009 and 2010, Zimmerman’s WAR of 5.2 was one of the best in the league. Last season, without that protection, it sank to a more pedestrian 2.3.  Raising Zimmerman back to his historic highs of 2009-2010 would add significant additional pop for the Nationals. IF Fielder can raise the offensive profiles of both Werth and Zimmerman, he can raise the teams aggregate WAR to within striking distance of the Phillies.

There is a down side. Fielder would be a defensive liability on a team that has prided itself on fielding. Most fielding metrics place Fielder in the bottom of the NL and his 15 errors in 2011 led the league for first basemen. He will have two fine defensive infielders to work with in Ryan Zimmerman and Danny Espinosa. Like Dunn, he is a large target to throw to at first base, but he will need to return to defensive performance levels like 2009 when he committed only four errors.

Assessing Fielder’s impact is a complex equation but one of the most difficult considerations is how good the other teams really are.  In 2011 the Philadelphia offense slipped markedly as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins all had off-years. Is it the impact of age, too much time at the top, or a combination of the two?

Even if the Phillies can shrug off any complacency that may have slipped into their demeanor, they are not the same team as the one that scored 5.06 runs per game in 2009 to lead the National League.  They have been slipping every year. The aging trend cannot be reversed and the Philadelphia lineup will not return to its peak production when all is said and done in 2012.

If the trend line for the City of Brotherly Love is down, its opposite can be found in Miami. Jose Reyes should rebound in new environs and Mike Stanton is poised to have the kind of season that Matt Kemp had in 2011.  In slugging terms alone, Miami should take over as the beast of the East with Philadelphia and Washington somewhere just behind.

The NL East race will not be resolved solely on the basis of power. The Phillies still have the best pitching staff in the NL East and while neither Halladay, nor Lee is any younger, they have to be considered the best duo in the NL. Miami added Mark Buerhle and Heath Bell to one of the worst pitching staffs in the NL. Can they transform the Marlins staff? Ozzie Guillen has brought in Carlos Zambrano and the back end of the Florida rotation has real question marks, of which Zambrano is just one. Still the Marlins pitching should be good enough for the team to contend.

The Nationals added Gio Gonzalez to what was one of the better pitching units in the NL. The bullpen was the strength of the team and that will remain the case going forward. The Nationals finished strong in 2011 behind Stephen Strasburg who had six starts in September, 2011. Projecting roughly 170 innings for Strasburg and adding Gonzalez will make the Nationals rotation extremely formidable.

Regardless how it all shakes out, if the Nationals sign Prince Fielder, the influx of talent into the NL East will make it one of the best divisions in the game in 2012. The rise of the Nationals and Marlins will make the division one of the hardest to predict. The biggest losers are most obviously the Mets. The Braves have not done enough to bolster themselves to keep pace and could be looking up at the rest.

So, back to the original question. Does the addition of Prince Fielder make the Nationals into contenders? Yes it does, but not as a singular move. Only when evaluated as part of an emerging whole does Fielder make the difference. By placing Fielder into a young and developing lineup the impact is huge. Couple it with what could be the one of the best pitching staffs in the NL, and Washington is going to push both Philadelphia and Miami for the NL East title.

For a team that lost over 100 games in 2008-2009. that is about as good as it gets. If Prince Fielder is what pushes them over the top, he will be as popular a figure in DC as… Well, truth be told, Washington fans cannot remember back that far. But if Mike Rizzo and Mark Lerner can make it happen, it will be fun trying.

Bithorn was born in 1916 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He grew up playing baseball and was signed by the New York Yankees in 1936. Some initially thought that Bithorn was black, but his mother was Danish and his father was Puerto Rican, enabling him to avoid baseball’s segregation.

Bithorn played in the Yankees’ minor league system for several years with good success, even having 17 wins and a 1.94 ERA in 1937. However, there was little room for him to advance because of all the top talent possessed by the best team in baseball. He eventually wound up in the New York Giants’ system before getting his big break in the autumn of 1941.

On September 30, 1941, Bithorn was taken by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft. The Cubs were coming off a sixth place finish that year and were in dire need of pitching, as evidenced by 42 year old Charlie Root having held down one of their rotation spots for much of the season.

Bithorn made the 1942 Cubs and contributed 171.2 innings that season. His 9-14 record was made a little better by his 3.68 ERA. He really blossomed the following year, going 18-12, with a 2.60 ERA and a National League leading 7 shutouts. Despite his success, he was not a strikeout pitcher, notching just 86 in 249.2 innings, but he also gave up only 8 home runs.

Even though World War II was underway when Bithorn debuted with the Cubs, he was initially able to stay out of the service because of his role in supporting his mother and his sister’s education. His exemption ended in 1944 and he enlisted in the Navy, missing the next two baseball seasons as a result.

When Bithorn returned to the Cubs in 1946, he was not the same pitcher, and injuries hastened the end of his major league career in 1947. In 105 career major league games, Bithorn had a 34-31 record and 3.16 ERA. He bounced around the minors and abroad for a few years, but was unable to make it back to the big leagues.

It was in the midst of his efforts to get back to the major leagues that Bithorn met his untimely death in 1951. He was shot by police officer Ambrosio Castillo Cano in front of a bus station in Almante, Mexico, on December 27, 1951, while attempting a comeback in the Mexican Winter League. Cano tried to explain his actions by stating, “I was afraid he was going to kill me. Without warning or provocation, he suddenly struck me in the face with his suitcase and started to leap upon me as I lay in the street.” Bithorn lingered into the next day, but ultimately died from the gunshot wound he had received to his stomach.

The circumstances surrounding death were immediately suspicious. District Attorney Jesus Govea announced Bithorn had been arrested after he was discovered trying to sell a 1947 Buick for $350 without the proper documentation. Police said Bithorn was shot when he attacked officers who were escorting him back to Mexico City, where he had promised he would produce papers for the car.

The story was made even more bizarre when Cano and other witness claimed that after he was shot, Bithorn gasped “I am a member of a communist cell on an important mission.” Waldemar Bithorn, Hi’s brother, denied the pitcher was a communist and roundly disputed all aspects of the story.

Mexican police tried to keep the blame on Bithorn’s death focused on the pitcher himself. Cano and other witnesses claimed that as Bithorn lay dying, he admitted he was the one at fault, whispering, “I have only myself to blame for getting shot.”

Fidel Garza, Commandant of Police, announced, “It is very mysterious. He had $2,000 in American currency in his pocket when he was picked up. He could not have been selling the car because he was out of money. Why was the car without license plates? Why did he have no papers? And what was the Communist connection?”

Interestingly, the news of the shooting was not reported until New Years Day, 1952, leading many contemporary sources to cite that as the day Bithorn was actually killed. Because of Bithorn’s status as a relatively well-known athlete, a perfunctory evaluation was made on the shooting. District Attorney Govea announced on January 2^nd that Cano had acted properly. He said that the officer was still being investigated, “but the belief is that he only defended himself from his aggressor.”

Bithorn’s family refused to let the matter rest. His sister went to Mexico in light of the shooting looking for answers, stating, “The accident looks very suspicious.” Ultimately, her suspicions proved to be right and Cano was charged with homicide on January 7, 1952, after an investigation had been ordered by state governor. The case went before Judge Ismael Benavides, who automatically held Cano over for trial.

Details about what actually transpired are sketchy at best. Evidently, some sort of argument transpired between Bithorn and Cano, and after the baseball player was shot, a story was concocted to shift the blame. The claims of selling the car and ties to communism represented broad generalisms about Americans, and do not appear to have any truth in them.

Showing the lack of American press coverage on the investigation and trial of Bithorn’s murderer, many modern sources claim that his death went unsolved. However, an article appeared in the October 3, 1952 issue of the New York Times, reporting that Cano was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 8 years in prison. The article failed to mention if the trial determined what motive, if any, instigated the slaying.

Since that time, Bithorn has slipped even further from the memory and consciousness of American baseball, although he is still revered in his native Puerto Rico. Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda considers Bithorn to be one of his heroes. “He was the first person from Puerto Rico to make it to the major leagues. He did so much for the island.”

Even current players like Javier Vazquez were inspired by the trail blazing Bithorn. Vazquez explained “Being a ballplayer, we all knew about him and what he meant to Puerto Rico. He was the first, and that’s history right there. But a lot of people, I don’t think they know who he was.”

As the ultimate tribute, Hiram Bithorn Stadium was built for, and eponymously dedicated to him in San Juan Puerto Rico in 1962. It is still the largest stadium on the island and hosts many important baseball games every year.

His life cut short by a bizarre murder, Bithorn is not well known today in the United States, but continues to inspire generations of baseball players in his native Puerto Rico. He may not have experienced great success during his playing career, but the number of players whose lives he subsequently touched far outweighs the contributions most make to the game, and qualifies him as a baseball legend.

Andrew Martin is the founder of “The Baseball Historian” blog where he posts his thoughts about baseball on a regular basis. He can be reached at historianandrew@gmail.com. You can also reach him on Twitter at @historianandrew.