Mastodawn

@tabletopmania @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @RuthODay @cbtryon @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

#YIAY how Leon Day of the Newark Eagles figured into one of the most controversial #WorldSeries games in #MLB history.

Day was a ringer hired by the 1942 Homestead Grays to defeat the KC Monarchs. League officials threw the win out!

#baseball

#baseball #worldseries

Interesting to note that even though NNL/NAL officials threw out that creative Day victory against the Monarchs, baseballreference.com includes it in Day's stats, leading Day to a brief career with the Homestead Grays:

SPAHN, BRAVES TOP INDIANS

The nominal Boston ace picked up his first win in 7 starts, surviving Joe Gordon homers in the 5th and 7th. Monte Irvin went 2-4, stole a base, scored twice.

#1947League #baseball

BOSB (38-36)7 11 1
CLE (30-46) 4 8 0

https://youtu.be/lGMgc5CL5Yg?si=m7_IAhGVCLMoSGEs

Today's #1947League game brought to you by (who else?) #GratefulDead. That's because it's Commisioner's Choice when I stump the room. :-)

CASEY JONES from the legendary #SunshineDaydream concert of August, 1972. #Oregon

Casey Jones (Live in Veneta, Oregon 8/27/72)

YouTube

#1947League trivia question:

According to this Hall of Famer, today's hero, Monte Irvin, "was like a father to me."

Name the Giant who said this.

One guess only on this one. (It's pretty easy.)

#baseball

@YusufToropov @tabletopmania @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @cbtryon @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

Ruth O’Day Jan 14, 2024

Edited to put the TP through 5, not 6.

Due to the lack of a stadium organist during this interlude, here is an interesting (to me, anyway) article on triple plays.

I had searched for station-to-station-to-station triple plays that were not around the horn. So something like 1-2-5-4 or 3-2-5-4.

There should be an asterisk, IMO, on triple plays due to baserunning errors (see Semien, M. and Bichette, B.)

https://sabr.org/tripleplays/trivia

Yusuf Toropov Jan 15, 2024

@RuthODay @tabletopmania @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @cbtryon @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

In honor of that very cool SABR article, I offer the coolest triple play clip ten minutes of my time could unearth...

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxqoOK272cdx0T0cEYmHPsN98GRDgDBD4V?si=oyOUud5ZwO97kC1Q

✂️ triple play

25 seconds · Clipped by Yusuf Toropov · Original video "Best Triple Plays in MLB History!!" by QOTS

YouTube

Yusuf Toropov Jan 15, 2024

BRAVES ROLL ON

Boston got another quality start from Red Barrett, now 6-2 with an ERA under 2.00. Silvo Garcia keyed the decisive 8th-inning rally. Feller (6-9) took yet another tough loss.

BOSB (39-36)2 6 0
CLE (30-46) 1 70

#1947League

Yusuf Toropov Jan 16, 2024

@tabletopmania @RuthODay @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @cbtryon @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

And here's another cool data graphic....all-time ERA leaders. Fascinating to watch knowing that Koufax had the opposite career trajectory of everyone else. Started out mediocre, got way, way better...

https://youtu.be/vBuAKXSDnWk?si=67-o-Tx-4PsK5d1M

#baseball #1947League

MLB All-Time Starting Pitcher ERA Leaders (1925-2020)

YouTube

Yusuf Toropov Jan 16, 2024

@cbtryon @tabletopmania @RuthODay @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

BROWNS TOP PHILS...AGAIN

Josh Gibson clubbed round-trippers #31 and #32 in his team's 76th game. Ford Smith held the high-flying Phils to 6 hits. St. Louis's 3rd straight win from Philly.

PHI(49-27) 160
STLB(44-32)592

#1947League #baseball

Yusuf Toropov Jan 16, 2024

I don't know the outcome of the (fictional?) event below.

Here's a question I do have the answer to, though. Which of these two men has the higher career OPS, according to the best available stats? One guess, please.

#1947League #baseball #trivia

@YusufToropov @cbtryon @tabletopmania @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

Ruth O’Day Jan 17, 2024

Last year someone posted numbers to match the days remaining. I haven’t seen that yet

Maybe it was for the start of the season.

Well, this is for the start of the spring training season, brought to you by Cesar Cedeño.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/215187688427115301

Cesar Cedeño - Astros | Astros, American league, Baseball players

Apr 17, 2017 - Gambo and T_Wil1 Photopack OOTP Mods - Rosters, Photos, and Quick-Starts

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/boog-powell-of-the-baltimore-orioles-bats-during-an-major-news-photo/167238758

Ruth O’Day Jan 18, 2024

This many days left until Spring Training, brought to you by the 1970 AL MVP, Boog Powell.

From the baseball-reference web site:

“In the South they call little kids who are often getting into mischief buggers, and my dad shortened it to Boog.” - Boog Powell, on his nickname's birth

Getty Images

Getty Images. Find high resolution royalty-free images, editorial stock photos, vector art, video footage clips and stock music licensing at the richest image search photo library online.

https://i0.wp.com/bluejayhunter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/WhiteCatch.jpg?w=400

Ruth O’Day

This many days left (the lowest number in the photo) until Spring Training, brought to you by Devon “Devo” White, centre fielder for the 1992 and 1993 World Champion Toronto Blue Jays, and artiste of the Canadian version of The Catch.

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https://www.mlb.com/video/92-ws-gm-3-white-s-great-catch-c5352947

Ruth O’Day Jan 19, 2024

This one occurred during game 3 of the 1992 WS. Two on, no outs. Justice hits a loud out to the CF wall. Devo’s range enables him to catch the ball, hit the wall, and throw to the cutoff man in time to throw to 1st for the next out.

Roberto Alomar, a guy who might know a thing or two about fielding, said:

“This one was better,” insisted Roberto Alomar. “Mays didn’t hit the wall, but Devo did. He had to catch the ball and hit the wall almost immediately.”

Continuing with the play…
Cutoff man relays to Olerud at 1st for out #2 and then another relay to Gruber to catch Sanders in a rundown thanks to a bad call by the ump.

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92 WS, GM 3: White's great catch | 10/20/1992

10/20/92: In Game 3 of the 1992 World Series, Devon White makes a great leaping catch at the wall and almost turns it into a triple play

MLB.com

https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/t_share/MTc1NDU3NzIwMjQwMDU1NDkw/only-the-perfect-ballplayer-could-make-the-catch.jpg

Ruth O’Day Jan 20, 2024

This many days left until Spring Training, brought to you by IMO the. Greatest. Of. All. Time, Willie Mays.

I was going to post about The Catch, but I have a question for the panel about something else.

In 1951, Bobby Thomson hit his famous “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” off of Ralph Branca. (With the Russ Hodges radio call on WMCA, “The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant!”).

What I didn’t learn until a few months ago was that the on-deck hitter was Willie Mays.

One school of thought is that Mays’ presence forced Branca to pitch to Thomson, rather than pitch around him.

Another school of thought says that Mays was “only a rookie”, so wasn’t a concern to Branca.

Thoughts?

@RuthODay @YusufToropov @cbtryon @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @[email protected]

Nolan Jan 20, 2024

I think Branca knew Willie was dangerous. Perhaps it had an effect. Either way I think he was going to pitch to Bobby.

tcduff Jan 20, 2024

@RuthODay @YusufToropov @cbtryon @tabletopmania @caseyjonesed @sendtherunners @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @[email protected] Mays was already a presence and would win Rookie of the Year, so I doubt Branca preferred to face him rather than Thomson.

Yusuf Toropov Jan 21, 2024

@RuthODay @cbtryon @tabletopmania @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

Is his biography, if I recall correctly, Mays writes about being terrified in the batting circle and hoping that he didn't have to go up against Branca in that situation.

Yusuf Toropov Jan 21, 2024

That aside, I'm guessing Thomson got a decent pitch to hit because of two factors -- a) Branca was exhausted and b) the kid's reputation preceded him

@RuthODay @cbtryon @tabletopmania @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim
@sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

TEDDY BALLGAME DELIVERS

The Splendid Splinter sent the Fenway Faithful home happy in the bottom of the 9th with a walkoff win against the Tigers. Ted drove in Bobby Doerr (2 HR) to beat the Tigers.

#1947League #BASEBALL

DET 461
BOSR 571

https://youtu.be/tdsEKwLdW0I?si=JsEjCMCq0iFzj8lN

In #1947League, a walkoff win means a visit from the Beautiful Shufflers.... and, if we're really lucky, the #Archies.

Sugar Sugar By The Archies {Re-Mix} With Gorgeous Honey Honey Shuffle Dance Girls

YouTube

https://youtu.be/4FEmAVwJ-zA?si=kqcjDDtJJKX2j2xn

Today's #1947League game brought to you by the #GratefulDead, channelling the #RollingStones, channelling #BobbyWomack.

#nowplaying

Grateful Dead - It's All Over Now (San Francisco, CA 12/31/78) [Official Live Video]

YouTube

About whom was Ted Williams speaking when he said this?

"He gives me that double windup, got his hands right in back of his head, turned his wrist...made damn sure I saw it. I said, 'Jesus, curve.' And, whoomp, fastball, strike three."
#1947League

https://www.baseball-almanac.com/images/shot_heard_round_the_world-stamp.jpg

Ruth O’Day Jan 21, 2024

This many days left until Spring Training, brought to you by Bobby Thomson! (I couldn’t ignore the obvious segue)

Born in Scotland, he was known as “The Flying Scot” and “The Staten Island Scot”, because of his childhood years.

His ‘Flying’ moniker might be puzzling at first glance. He had a not-exactly-Hendersonian high of 10 SB in one single season and 5 SB or less in each of the 14 others. But the speed was evidently out in the field and not on the base paths. A baseball card blurb said that “The Braves acquired Bobby last season to add speed to the outfield”.

He was known for his “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” that won the NY Giants the Pennant, which was featured on a US postage stamp.

Nolan Jan 21, 2024

The shot heard round the world is the same day my dad was born. The ‘51 Giants are an annual entry in the Edward John Coyle Jr. Memorial Tournament.

@tabletopmania @YusufToropov @cbtryon @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @sullybaseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

Ruth O’Day Jan 21, 2024

Was he a Giants fan?

Nolan Jan 21, 2024

He just loved baseball. I wouldn’t necessarily say Giants fan but definitely a team he liked. Catcher Wes Westrum didn’t live too far from us in MN here. I remember he visited with us in his house once.

http://www.lineupforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Clayton-Kershaw-no-hitter.png

Ruth O’Day Jan 22, 2024

This many days left until Spring Training, brought to you by Clayton Kershaw.

Gotta respect a WAR of 80, MVP, Cy Young@3, ERA@5, AS@10, WS, Au Glove, PoY, best live-ball era home ERA (2.21) in a career, third fastest to 2000K.

In the off-season Kershaw had shoulder surgery and is a free agent as of this writing. He won’t be ready to pitch until mid-season.

In the meantime he needs to decide if he will re-sign with the Dodgers, who seem to be happy to take him back.

A Dallasite, he may also sign with Texas.

Depending on how the surgery goes, he may also retire.

Alt text: the back of lefty Kershaw with number 22, during a pitch; left foot on the rubber, right foot about to plant on the ground.

mixed feelings -- I want him back with Dodgers, but I know it's going to be more aesthetically pleasing (looking at that amazing career) if he retires now ....

Ruth O’Day Jan 23, 2024

This many days left until Spring Training, brought to you by Roberto Clemente.

Wow. HOF, WS@2, WS MVP, WAR of 95, MVP, Batting Title@4, ERA@5, AS@15, WS, Au Glove@12

Tragically, he died in a plane crash on a flight from Puerto Rico that was delivering relief aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Clemente was in the news after a book about his life, where he mentions the racism that he faced in the U.S., was taken out of FL school libraries as a result of the anti-woke initiative by Participation Trophy winner, Ron Desantis. (The decision was reversed, it must not have polled well with Florida’s Latino demographic.)

Alt text: Clemente at the plate, “Pirates 21” on his uniform, after swnging through a pitch.
https://magazinev2.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/07152003/Clemente.jpg

Yusuf Toropov Jan 23, 2024

Yeah, I can't think of a better 21. :-) Thank you for doing these!

Ruth O’Day Jan 23, 2024

You’re welcome.

I went through the list of 21’s, just to tell myself that I was following the procedure. But all along I knew who the pick would be for this number.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/21/72/94/2172943a2c0d9667e82ff1b49edb397a.png

Ruth O’Day Jan 24, 2024

This many days left until Spring Training, brought to you by Frank Robinson.

Doing it all: HOF, WS@2, WS MVP, WAR of 107(!), MVP@2 (AL & NL), Batting Title, AS@14, AS MVP, 586 HR, Au Glove, Triple Crown, PoY, MoY

10th on the HR list, the only player to MVP in both AL and NL.

The first African-American manager in Major League Baseball, he also won Manager of the Year. In his first game as player-manager for the Cleveland team, Robinson homered.

His accomplishments helped minorities reach executive and management positions in baseball.

Alt text: Frank Robinson in an Orioles home uniform, wearing number 20; about to drop the bat after the follow-through of a swing that appears to have connected for a hit.

Yusuf Toropov Jan 24, 2024

@RuthODay @cbtryon @tabletopmania @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @baseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

Obsessive editor here, forgive me for being overbearing, but I spotted a writing mistake in your last post. :-) Correcting such things = important.

For "appears to have connected for a hit" read "definitely connected for a homer" (based on his gaze) 🙂

@YusufToropov @cbtryon @tabletopmania @caseyjonesed @ted_duffield @sendtherunners @aurelia @AlisonW_RedSox @BigEarl @stlcolorbaseball @cardboardkarl @OhhJim @baseball @APBAreplay @AlexanderRaine7 @mattmaison @Eilistraee @WebScorpion @YakyuNightOwl

Ruth O’Day Jan 24, 2024

Obsessive safety-focussed engineer here, forgive me for going into my Lumbergh voice, but, yeah, I’m going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there.

His gaze displays that the ball was definitely hit high and long but his look of concern/angst tells me that the ball’s trajectory could be tracking to the foul pole.

PS thank you for all the editors who were too kind to not call me out on Roberto Clemente’s “ERA@5”.
: )

https://newarena.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/tonyg.png

This many days left until Spring Training, brought to you by Tony Gwynn.

HOF, WAR of 69.2, Batting Title@8 (tying Honus Wagner’s NL record), AS@15, AS MVP, Au Glove@5, Ag Slugger@7

His 20-year career ended in 2001 with a .338 career BA , the highest since Ted Williams (.344) in 1960.

He attended SD State on a basketball scholarship. Fortunately for us, he followed his parents advice: keep up with baseball as “something to fall back on”.

George Will (bowtie guy) wrote about him in Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball. Gwynn described being happy with a strikeout where he got the swings he wanted for the pitch he was seeing. And unhappy when an errant swing got an HR. IOW be aware when dumb luck smiles on you.

Alt text for the linked image in the previous post:
Side view of Tony Gwynn in the left-handed batter’s box, wearing number 19, following through on a swing. His focus appears to be upward, indicating a fly ball, destination unknown. Not known for power (only five of twenty seasons with double-digit home runs, with a season high of 17) the ball being a home run would be pure speculation.
::looks over at Yusuf::

All I got is: Ted treated the guy with respect. :-) That's enough for me.

https://youtu.be/PH-HVgOF0n0?si=owB-RuSQwCngeIFE

The list of hitters in the 1990s -2000s whom Ted Williams treated as worthy successors in his lineage is a short one. It may consist of a single name. #TonyGwynn #Baseball

Thanks for the share. It’s a pleasure to watch people at the top of their field talking about the nuts and bolts of their craft.

A bit surprised to hear Williams say (3:30 of the video) that pitchers “are not the brightest guys on the field.”

Immediately conjured up images of Nuke LaLoosh. : )

I heard Wade Boggs talk like that in an interview. It's like there's two teams: a) The Team I'm On b) Hitters (distinct from Pitchers)

Reminds me of Wooden when he was coaching at UCLA.

He did not care if you lost the game ... when everyone executed properly. If you *won* the game and you weren't following through on what he'd drilled into you during practice, you'd hear about it

That reminds me: I don’t know the source, but a college coach was asked about his team, “What do you think about their execution?”

The reply, “Not a bad idea!”

https://www.bestsportsphotos.com/sc_images/products/t_50246.jpg

Ruth O’Day Jan 26, 2024

This many days left until Spring Training, brought to you by Gene Tenace.

WAR of 46.3, WS@4, WS MVP, AS

Born Fiore Gino Tennaci,

"If you divide his WAR by his plate appearances, he was more valuable on a per plate appearances basis than Bill Dickey, Roy Campanella, Gary Carter, and Yogi Berra. - from CalltothePen . com

He drew 100 walks six times and led his league in BB in both the AL and the NL. Lifetime BA of .241 but OBP .388

Tenace was 1972 WS MVP: 4HR; two in Game 1 in his first two WS at-bats (a first at the time, later done by Andruw Jones in 1996.

In addition to WS@4 as a player, he WS@2 as the bench coach for
::pauses to check notes::

… oh yes, the Toronto Blue Jays

Alt text: next post

Ruth O’Day Jan 26, 2024

Alt text: Gene Tenace, green A’s uniform, number 18. At 1st base, doing the splits, right foot solid on the bag, left leg on the ground pointing to 3rd, right hand up in the air for balance, gloved left hand also in the air, cleched. Runner’s leg, mostly off camera, 3-or-so feet in the air, indicating he tripped. Umpire about 10 feet away, hands on knees. SWAG interpretation: umpire is determining control of the ball before calling an out.

SWAG = Scientific Wild-Assed Guess

https://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/todd-helton-matt-carpenter.jpg

Ruth O’Day Jan 27, 2024

This many days left until Spring Training, brought to you by Todd Helton. AKA The Toddfather!

HOF, WAR of 61.8, Batting Title, AS@5, Au Glove@3, Ag Slugger@4

First baseman at the U of Tennessee, where he was also a quarterback.

“Good eye” on this guy: BB@100 five times, plus seasons of 98 and 99. Career BA .316, 369HR.

BA .512 in May 2000, the highest calendar month BA by anyone since June 1920 (George Sisler .526 for those of you scoring at home).

Only Helton and Stan Musial had BA >.315, H>2500, 2B>550 and HR>350. (Ted Williams had too few 2B to make the list).

Not exactly a base-stealing threat, in 2013 he pulled the hidden ball trick to stop the other guys from getting one.

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Alt text to follow

https://larrybrownsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/todd-helton-matt-carpenter.jpg

Ruth O’Day Jan 27, 2024

Alt text: Helton in Rox home uniform, side-ish view of a discernible number 17 on the back, right foot on first base, gloved right hand (holding a hidden baseball) at the end of a sweeping tag of the right buttock of Matt Carpenter, who wears a Cardinals away uniform with much dirt, facing towards the camera; showing incredible focus on making an absolutely perfect adjustment to his gloves while standing 14.3 inches past first base, thus resulting in an embarrassing out for his side.

https://media.gettyimages.com/id/517756228/photo/ted-williams-and-ted-lyons-talking-in-passageway.webp?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=yRndO7si4bz9_ByhENi_NCJ6Tafjarq8EBcZMi-uEQ4=

Ruth O’Day Jan 28, 2024

This many days (using the number on the left or two times the number on the right) until Spring Training, brought to you by Ted Lyons.

HOF, AS, ERA Title

He played for the ChiSox when they weren’t very good so 260-230/3.67 isn’t too shabby.

Nicknamed “Sunday Teddy” (they scheduled him on Sundays when more people could come out to the park).

In 21 seasons playing mostly on sub .500 teams, he is the ChiSox leader in W (260), games started (484), and CG (356),

The highest %CG of his era. Closed his own save situations at an 86% success rate. His last 28 career starts were all CG.

“If I had the choice of any pitcher for a clutch game, the guy I'd pick would be Ted Lyons.”
Tris Speaker

1/2 Alt text follows.

https://media.gettyimages.com/id/517756228/photo/ted-williams-and-ted-lyons-talking-in-passageway.webp?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=yRndO7si4bz9_ByhENi_NCJ6Tafjarq8EBcZMi-uEQ4=

Ruth O’Day Jan 28, 2024

Alt text: A baseball stadium tunnel under the stands with the bottom steps of two upward sets of stairs separated by a pillar/column. Two players in uniform inside the tunnel, their backs to the camera, facing each other, stand at the bottom of the right stairway, presumably the stairs lead to the field.

Evidence of one of the first Ted Talks, two players in conversation. The player on the left is Ted Lyons, wearing number 16, with his gloved left hand reaching up to lean against the narrow edge of the pillar. The player in the right is Ted Williams, wearing number 8, leans with his right shoulder against the wall.

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Yusuf Toropov Jan 28, 2024

Ted Talk indeed!

https://dickallen15.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1975-SWING-1-1024x683.jpg

This many days until Spring Training, brought to you by Dick Allen.

WAR 58.7, RoY (and 7th in MVP voting that year), MVP, AS@7

Not known for his fielding, he was one of the most talented hitters of his era, he batted over .300 for much of the 1960’s dead ball decade. His average suffered during the 1968 Year of the Pitcher, but he still hit a career 4th-highest 33HR, including three on the last day of the season (a feat only done one other time that century).

Unfortunately the effect of racism took its toll. During his career, he stood up for himself. After winning RoY in ‘64 he held out for more money. They doubled his salary from 10k to 20k, which angered white fans.

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Alt text follows

News stories were slanted against him. White fans reacted, booing him on the field and pelting him with debris to the point that he would wear a helmet in the field. They also vandalized his house (at one point throwing a rock through his window) and threatened him by phone.

His brother, Hank (they were on the 72 and 73 ChiSox together) said that the racism had beaten him down.

Baseball scout Jack Ogden said, “I scouted 90,000 players in my lifetime and Allen was the greatest I ever saw. It’s too bad he had so many difficulties.”

The numbers of the day weren’t enough to get him into the HOF, but the advent of OPS+ tells a different story.
Among hitters with 7000PA, Allen’s OPS+ of 156 ties him for 12th with Willie Mays.

2/3

Talk about someone who belongs in the HOF...

Yep.

Willie Mays and Mike Schmidt, among other HOFers, are in favour of it.

The same numbers today would get him in. Plus with ::going out on a limb:: less overt racism (less throwing stuff at players), maybe he could focus more on hitting. And maybe become a better fielder.

PS when some people bitch about “woke” and political correctness, they want to return to an era where this all happened to Dick Allen (and much worse to others was accepted)

yeah but let's be frank -- the numbers do not tell the whole story with this guy, and even so, the numbers as they are are good enough to merit election. And all that "on the bubble" stuff feels bogus to me given, you know....

https://www.milb.com/news/allens-final-days-in-minors-marked-by-fear-racism

Allen put up with (and stared down) a lot of crap so that guys today wouldn't have to. Add that to his amazing performance over a long period and ... seems like a slam dunk to me

Allen's final days in Minors marked by fear, racism

It's easy to forget that less than 20 years separated Jackie Robinson's integration of affiliated baseball in 1946 and Dick Allen's Triple-A debut in 1963. Between the time Robinson set foot in Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947 as the first Black man to play in the Majors and Allen's

MiLB.com

#baseball #apba #blackhistory #blackhistorymonth #nlbm
#segregation #jimcrow #racism

First-half standings, #1947league

This is a 154-game season. Started in 2021. So...2027 World Series?

Great races in both divisions.

https://toot.community/@YusufToropov/109415869748017386

Yusuf Toropov (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image 1/x This #thread is for #blackmastodon, #MLB, and #baseball at large: You may have heard that a while back, in a long-overdue move, big-league baseball ruled that all official Black Leagues stats were now recognized as MLB statistics. As a (white) fan of the great players of the Black Leagues, I was excited by this move ... but I felt it was just the beginning. #1947League #apba

toot.community

https://dickallen15.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1975-SWING-1-1024x683.jpg

Alt text:
Dick Allen, wearing a batting helmet and Phillies home uniform number 15 with well-accessorized burgundy belt. In the RH batter’s box, after swinging at a pitch. Left foot, with white, 3 burgundy stripe Adidas, planted forward. Right knee is bent back at a 73-degree angle to the thigh. Right foot, wearing same Adidas, arched and pushing forward on the toe.

Empty catcher’s glove visible at the left leads to one of two conclusions:

a) Allen hit the ball (destination unknown, but possible that the ball needs visa where it lands)
Or
b) the swing missed the ball and the catcher’s glove is still in the set position due to a slow response by the catcher to retrieve the passed ball

This writer selects ‘a’.

https://imaginesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Larry-Doby-MLB-Career.jpeg

Ruth O’Day Jan 30, 2024

This many days until Spring Training, brought to you by Larry Doby.

WAR 56.8, HOF, WS@2, AS@9

A portend of things to come, in 1943 Doby was the first African-American to play hoops in the American Basketball League.

In another portend, he won a World Series with the Newark Eagles in 1946.

In 1947, he broke the AL color line three months after Jackie Robinson broke it in the NL.

In 1948 Doby, along with Satchel Paige, were the first two African-Americans to win a World Series.

His first season with Cleveland was not his best, perhaps adding to the focus on Jackie Robinson, who went on to win RoY.

He turned it around in 1948, hitting .301 with 14HR, starting to show some power.

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Ruth O’Day Jan 30, 2024

In 1954 he made his own Catch. He leapt above the fence to make a backhand catch of what should have been a home run ball. He crashed back down to the ground. The left fielder made the heads-up move to run over to get the ball and throw it back in to hold the runner.

Doby later served as a coach in Montreal (at Jarry Park/Parc Jarry!), Cleveland, and Chicago, where he also became the second African-American manager.

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https://imaginesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Larry-Doby-MLB-Career.jpeg

Ruth O’Day Jan 30, 2024

Alt text: the left half (closer to five eighths, actually) of the image shows a white number 14 on a Cleveland Blue circular background with a red outline, all on a beige-gray background. On the right, the top two thirds shows Larry Doby in a baseball uniform, on a knee, visible from the left shin upward, left arm resting on the left leg, with a gaze out into the distance. The bottom third shows the image of Doby on a US postal service “Forever” stamp. He wears a Cleveland uniform and is in his batting stance, visible from about chest-high upwards. “USA” and “Larry Doby” are printed in the lower-right corner.

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Yusuf Toropov Jan 30, 2024

Great post! Not sure if I've mentioned -- I'm never sure if I'm repeating myself -- but Robinson served as an important mentor to Doby by phone during a shared, surrealistically nightmarish "rookie" MLB season. Jackie was about 5 years older IIRC.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qGZOMMIQOCw/T4JY1Vdr-mI/AAAAAAAAApc/rgqDvccqWjo/s1600/195front.jpeg

Ruth O’Day Jan 31, 2024

This many days until Spring Training, brought to you by Dave Concepcíon.

WAR 40.1, SFBL/LHOF, WS@2, AS@9, AS MVP, Au Glove@5, Ag Slugger@2

Drafted as a pitcher, he was part of the Big Red Machine Cincinnati Reds of the 1970’s as shortstop.

With artificial turf in the 1970’s, he re-defined SS by playing further back, with throws to first that bounced off the turf into the first baseman’s waiting glove.

His hitting improved over time, reaching .300 in two seasons.

In a last-season blowout game he pitched 1.3 innings (2H, 1K, 1HBP, ERA of 0.00), tying him for best career ERA.

Elected to Salón de la Fama del Béisbol Latino ( the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame) in La Romana, D.R. In 2010.

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Yusuf Toropov Jan 26, 2024

GINO!

Yusuf Toropov Jan 26, 2024

Yeah, Tenace was that rarity -- an indispensable offensive player who usually only barely made it above the Mendoza line. A bases on balls machine if there ever was one.