2019 starts in a few hours, so to welcome the new year, here’s an installment of baseball in year 9s. From Roger Connor to Hideki Matsui, baseball has taken a wild ride in year 9s.
1889: Managed by Jim Mutrie, first baseman Roger Connor and the New York Giants topped the National League, a game ahead of the Boston Beaneaters, winning the league championship with an 83-43 record. They shared their city with the American Association Champs, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, led by outfielder Oyster Burns and managed by Bill McGunnigle, who topped their faction of baseball with a staggering 93-44 record. They played each other in a primitive form of the World Series, the Giants winning six games to three. 1899: Finishing eight games above the second-place Beaneaters, another Brooklyn team took home a league title in this ‘99: the Brooklyn Superbas led the National League with a record of 101-47. In May of that season (May 15, 1899), Brooklyn’s Wee Willie Keeler hit an inside-the-park grand slam to win a game over the rival third-place Philadelphia Phillies. 1909: The classic seven-game World Series between the gentleman Honus Wagner’s Pittsburgh Pirates and the dastardly Ty Cobb’s Detroit Tigers took place in this year. Despite losing the series, Cobb made history that year for compiling baseball first Hitter’s Triple Crown since Nap Lajoie of the 1901 Philadelphia Athletics. On July 19, Neal Ball of the Cleveland Naps turned the first unassisted triple play in the history of Major League Baseball. 1919: Scandal struck the 1919 season when after the Cincinnati Reds took home their first World Series trophy in a five to three series win over the Chicago White Sox, it was revealed that the powerful representatives of the American League, now nicknamed the “Black Sox,” had purposefully lost the series to the seemingly inferior National League team. Gangster Arnold Rothstein had bribed players into throwing the series to receive more money than they would have received for winning the series in the first place. Eight players from that Black Sox’ team were banned from baseball for life, the most notable suspension being handed to, as anyone who’s ever seen the 1989 classic baseball movie starring Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, and James Earl Jones, “Field of Dreams” can tell you, Shoeless Joe Jackson. During this year, Rube Foster began plans to form the Negro Leagues. 1929: Despite being named the MLB’s Most Valuable Player, second baseman Rogers Hornsby could not bring his Chicago Cubs to win the World Series Championship they would chase so fervently until the early morning of the November 3, 2016. Instead, the Cubs lost the series in five games to Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, and Lefty Grove’s Philadelphia Athletics, managed by the genius, Connie Mack. This was the final time in the World Series era (1906 and 1922 preceding it) that Boston held last place in both the American and National Leagues, the Red Sox at the bottom of the AL at 58-96, and the Braves at the bottom of the NL at 56-98. In the Negro Leagues, at a staggering 66-14 record, the Kansas City Monarchs won their fourth of 12 Negro National League titles. 1939: In this year, the Reds’ Bucky Walters (the National League Most Valuable Player) became the first National League pitcher since the Brooklyn Robins’ Dazzy Vance in 1924 to win the Pitcher’s Triple Crown. His Reds lost the World Series in four games to the American League MVP, Joe DiMaggio, and the New York Yankees. The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York (incidentally, where I’m writing this edition of this annual article from) inducted its second class, including Cap Anson, Eddie Collins, Charles Comiskey, Candy Cummings, Buck Ewing, Lou Gehrig, Willie Keeler, Charles Radbourn, George Sisler, and Al Spalding. The American League won the MLB All-Star Game 3-1 at Yankee Stadium, the West won the first Negro League All-Star Game 4-2 at Comiskey Park, and the East won the second Negro League All-Star Game 10-2 in New York City. The Monarchs won their sixth Negro National League Pennant and the Baltimore Elite Giants won their first of two Negro American League titles. 1949: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox in the AL and Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the NL won their respective MVP Awards. Robinson lost the World Series to the crosstown rival New York Yankees four games to one in an unexciting World Series exhibition. The Rockford Peaches won their second of three consecutive and third of four total championships to win the All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League, defeating the Grand Rapids Chicks three games to one. The American League won the MLB All-Star Game at Ebbets Field 11-7 and the East won the Negro League All-Star Game 4-0 in Chicago. The Baltimore Elite Giants won their second and final Negro American League title. On June 15, future MLB manager Dusty Baker was born. On July 21, future terrifying closer Al Hrabosky, and a week later future Oakland Ace Vida Blue were born. On September 27, considered maybe the greatest third baseman of all-time, Mike Schmidt was born. 1959: Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers won their first World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers, beating the AL MVP Nellie Fox and the Chicago White Sox four games to two. The Chicago Cubs’ Ernie Banks won the NL MVP. While Bob Allison of the Washington Senators took home the Rookie of the Year Award, future first-ballot Hall of Famer Willie McCovey won the award for the San Francisco Giants. On April 22 of this year, future two-time World Series Champion manager Terry Francona was born. On October 21, future Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer George Bell was born. 1969: A wild year for the entire world, this year involved Woodstock, Neil Armstrong set his foot on the moon, and, possibly the most unlikely of all, the New York Mets won the World Series. Only seven years old, the franchise with Tom Seaver and a young Nolan Ryan secured its first Championship with a “Miracle Mets” victory in five games over the Baltimore Orioles. Willie McCovey, the Rookie of the Year ten years prior, was the MVP of the All-Star Game at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which the NL won 9-3. McCovey also won the NL MVP and Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins won it in the AL. Early in the decade, San Francisco Giants’ pitcher and teammate of McCovey, Gaylord Perry, conjectured that men would never walk on the moon. Being a terrible hitter, he said, “They will put a man on the moon before I hit a home run.” On July 20 of this season, just minutes after Armstrong stamped his foot and the American flag on the lunar surface, Perry knocked a solo blast over the fence in the Giants’ 7-3 win over Los Angeles Dodgers in San Fran at Candlestick Park. 1979: Led by the co-NL MVP Willie Stargell (the other was the St. Louis Cardinals’ Keith Hernandez) the Pittsburgh Pirates won the Fall Classic in seven games over Ken Singleton of the Baltimore Orioles. Stargell also won the World Series MVP Award. The AL MVP was Don Baylor of the California Angels. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Dave Parker won the All-Star Game MVP in the NL’s 7-6 victory at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. 1989: This would be the second of three consecutive American League Championships for the Oakland Athletics, but this would be the only one of these times that they won the World Series, beating the San Francisco Giants in a series sweep. The Series was interrupted by the Loma Prieta Earthquake which collapsed part of the Bay Bridge. This occurred just minutes before Game Three was scheduled to start. The natural disaster temporarily knocked out the television feed and prompted both teams to venture onto the field for safety and the umpires and Major League Baseball decided to postpone the game until ten days later on October 27. A’s pitcher Dave Stewart won the Series MVP. The MVPs were Kevin Mitchell of the Giants in the NL and Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers in the AL. The Kansas City Royals’ Bo Jackson was the MVP of the All-Star Game at Anaheim Stadium, which the AL won 5-3. Jackson and Wade Boggs of the Boston Red Sox led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back home runs off of the Giants’ Rick Reuschel. 1999: The New York Yankees, led by their young stars Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and veteran Roger Clemens, won the World Series in four games over the Atlanta Braves (with their young, new third baseman future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones). The Braves had just won their eighth of 14 consecutive division titles. Jones was the NL MVP and Iván “Pudge” Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers was the AL MVP. The AL won the All-Star Game 4-1 at Fenway Park. Boston Red Sox’ ace Pedro Martinez was the MVP after a historic start, striking out five of the six batters he faced, striking out the first four: Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire, and finishing on Jeff Bagwell. Two of those five, Larkin and Bagwell, would make it into Cooperstown, and the two of the other three would probably be alongside them if their steroid use had never come out (Walker is still on the Hall of Fame ballot). 2009: World Series MVP Hideki Matsui (and Jeter, Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, and Rivera) led his New York Yankees to a four games to two World Series victory over Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Minnesota Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer won the AL MVP Award and the St. Louis Cardinals’ first baseman Albert Pujols won the NL MVP Award. Andrew Bailey of the Oakland Athletics won the AL Rookie of the Year and Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins won the NL Rookie of the Year. The Boston Red Sox’ right-handed starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka led Team Japan to their second World Baseball Classic Championship defeating South Korea 5-3 in ten innings at Dodger Stadium in the Final. 2019: Right around the corner, tomorrow, January 1, 2019, will start a story just as great as the previous 13 decades mentioned in this article. Already looking exciting, 2019 will feature Bryce Harper apart from his Washington Nationals, possibly, and now joining any one of many exciting teams, Paul Goldschmidt with the St. Louis Cardinals instead of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Manny Machado playing for, at this point, anyone, Yasiel Puig leading a brand new Cincinnati Reds roster, and Mookie Betts taking his reigning World Champion Boston Red Sox for another spin. Jesse A. Cook “Baseball In Year 9s: Welcoming 2019” December 31, 2018
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Philadelphia is not the greatest city to live in for sports fans, but the Phillies are about to change that. With the recent success of rookie left fielder and first baseman Rhys Hoskins, hitting 18 home runs in 47 games (he started out on a streak of 11 homers in 18 games), Philadelphia is excited for their chances next season in the 2018 year.
No, Philly won’t come close to reaching the playoffs in this 2017 season, in fact they have a 64-95 record, are 32 games out of first place in the National League East Division, are the second-worst team in the National League, just ahead of the San Francisco Giants, and are the third worst team in all of baseball, ahead of San Fran and the Detroit Tigers. What part of this dictates that they’ll even come at all close to the second Wild Card team? Well, they’ve got some exciting young players. Hoskins, for one, not only has the best bat, the best attitude to how to treat the game as he said in late August, “You’re just trying to win a game to start a series.” That’s what players learn from a young age; that the game is not about one good player, it’s about every player playing the best they can to help their team win, something the Phillies will be doing a lot of starting next year. Shortstop J.P. Crawford and catcher Jorge Alfaro have already been in the Majors for the team, Mickey Moniak is the top outfielder in their farm system and Sixto Sanchez is the rising star who will undoubtedly be the spark this dismal Major League pitching staff needs in their ranks. That’s just a few of the young players who, without a doubt, will be the answers to this Philadelphia baseball dilemma. Crawford made exactly zero errors in his time in the Majors. With the strong batting that the Phillies have, they need that type of player in the outfield. Alfaro is the far better batsman; he batted .304 in the Majors, 13 runs batted in, four home runs and 31 hits. A good-hitting catcher always was a rarity in baseball history and Alfaro has proved himself to be that. Moniak is listed as the number one prospect for the Phillies by MLB.com and advanced two Classes in less than half a season. The Phillies are in desperate need of players who can advance, adapt, learn and improve quickly because if they want to be good again, and soon, they want those guys in the Major Leagues. Lastly, the main problem that has helped destroy the standings of Philly is their pitching staff. By the same list of prospects, Sanchez is ranked as the best pitching prospect in their organization. On the same team as Moniak, the Lakewood BlueClaws, Sanchez went 5-3 in 13 starts, had a 2.41 earned run average, gave up only one home run, had an 0.817 walks and hits per innings pitched average and struck out 64 batters. Jesse A. Cook “Philadelphia Phillies Freedom” September 29, 2017 The last 50 years have given us some great Mid-Summer Classics, but what are the best moments? There are many fantastic instances, but to fit in as many as possible, a few have to be combined.
Don’t be alarmed if your favorite moment is missed: plays like Chipper Jones’ last hit won’t be included because incredible players retire every year, and in Chipper’s case, he got aboard on Ian Kinsler letting a ground ball get by him for a “hit.” If you really feel as if a moment that should’ve been here wasn’t, remember that this is only a review of the last 50 All-Star Games, from the 38th in 1967 in Anaheim to last year’s 87th in San Diego. If you still feel left out, feel free to leave a comment about it and there will either be a response in the comments, or, provided there are enough requests, they will be responded to in another article. 5: Torii Hunter robs Barry Bonds 2002 in Milwaukee In the 7-7 tie, the Minnesota Twins’ Torii Hunter was to take part of the blame for the draw. If it were not for his first inning play, robbing the San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds of a solo shot, the game would have ended in a National League victory. Of course, in the 2013 American League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox David Ortiz and bullpen cop, Steve Horgan, made Hunter’s robbing a home run look like a fevered dream. 4: Randy Johnson vs. John Kruk and Larry Walker 1993 and ‘97 in Baltimore and Cleveland These two count as one because both involved the Seattle Mariners’ Big Unit, Randy Johnson, embarrassing a National League left-handed star. In ‘93, the Philadelphia Phillies’ John Kruk took the stand and after Johnson fired one over his head, Kruk’s one hope was to not get killed at Camden Yards that day. The next few pitches, which led to a strikeout, involved spinning, twirling, and, yes, even some dancing as after he thankfully “swung” at strike three he promptly and joyfully tossed his bat and helmet aside with a major grin spread across his face. It was a similar case with the Colorado Rockies’ Larry Walker in ‘97 when Johnson threw one over his head in Cleveland, only Walker took a different stance… literally. Walker, a lefty, took initiative and went to the right handed batter’s box. Walker only spent one pitch with his helmet backwards on the right side of the plate before going back, but thankfully for him, Johnson walked him. 3: Cal Ripken Jr. Homers In Final ASG 2001 in Seattle Under different circumstances, such an occasion as a hit in a player’s final ASG would not be mentioned, but the Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken Jr. went out in pretty historic fashion. The first pitch from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Chan Ho Park looked good enough, and Ripken sent it into the left field stands. Ripken’s third inning shot stands above Hunter’s home run robbing grab and Randy Johnson making Kruk and Walker look silly at number 3. 2: Pedro Martinez Fans Five And The All-Century Team 1999 in Boston The two great events at historic Fenway Park are combined into one unbelievable moment for this list. The pregame began with Red Sox’ Hall of Famer Ted Williams touring the field that he played on just over 50 years before and shaking the hands of all the all-stars on either team and with the present members of baseball’s “All-Century Team.” It was an incredible sight to see the greatest players in the world congregate around the then greatest living player inside baseball’s greatest ballpark. Sox future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez started the game by doing the seemingly impossible: with the first four batters in the NL lineup being future Hall of Famers (in order) the Cincinnati Reds’ Barry Larkin, the Rockies’ Walker, the Chicago Cubs’ steroid age power hitter, Sammy Sosa, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ steroid age power hitter, Mark McGwire, getting through even a small portion of the lineup without a scratch looked to be a daunting task for Pedro. Pedro amazingly cut down Larkin, caught Walker looking, pushed another K past Sosa, and started off the second by making McGwire look like a Little Leaguer. While the next batter, the Arizona Diamondbacks Matt Williams reached base when the second baseman, the Cleveland Indians’ Roberto Alomar, made an error, Pedro lucked out when Williams was caught stealing second and the next batter, the Houston Astros’ Jeff Bagwell, struck out; an inning-ending double play. 1: Pete Rose Collides With Ray Fosse 1970 in Cincinnati Imagine, if you will, you’re set and ready to receive the throw from the Kansas City Royals’ Amos Otis in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Cincinnati Reds’ Pete Rose barrels around third. You’re the Cleveland Indians’ catcher, and friend of Rose, Ray Fosse, and just as you’re about to put your glove on the ball to get ready to tag Charlie Hustle, he trucks you and steps on home plate as the walk-off, winning run while you topple backwards, doubled-over in pain. The hometown Cincinnati crowd was excited to see their beloved Rose hustle his way to the winning run for the NL over the AL in the 1970 All-Star Game at Riverfront Stadium, but concern quickly arose after seeing Fosse be hurled backwards. Fortunately, he played another nine seasons, so he turned out to be okay, but every baseball fan knows about this historic moment. Rose’s collision with Fosse to win the ‘70 ASG in extra innings is not only the greatest and most famous All-Star Game play from the last 50 years, but perhaps the greatest and most famous All-Star Game play of all-time. There have been many, many incredible plays, events, and moments in MLB ASG history and these are the top five from just the last 50 years; the first 37 All-Star Games aren’t even represented, here. Keeping that fact in mind, if you feel that an important moment was left out, please make yourself heard in the comments! Your feedback will be appreciated. The next Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. Who knows, maybe there will be something from the game twelve days from now to report on net year’s list… Jesse A. Cook “The Five Greatest MLB ASG Moments In The Last 50 Years” July 1, 2017 In the National League, electing a few first basemen to the team will be a tough task. On the one hand, there are many great players like Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, and Ryan Zimmerman, but there are also situations where the 1B might not be especially good, but they’re the best player on a team that will only get one all-star like Wil Myers, Eric Thames, Brandon Belt, or Anthony Rizzo. Granted, with the way Buster Posey’s hitting, Belt won’t need to be the San Francisco Giants’ only all-star, but it is a tough choice to narrow it down to merely a handful of first basemen.
A simple case can be made for each player listed, but they’ll probably only have a few. Taking into account the aspect of the designated hitter, there will probably be two first basemen and two just flat-out good hitters in each lineup. To save us some tears over missed players, let’s assume that all four spots will be filled by first basemen and make our list from there. PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT The Arizona Diamondbacks’ star has a lot to offer and is an easy choice for the starting spot, for his bat has been absolutely unstoppable this season. Batting .323, he’s acquired 65 RBIs, 18 home runs, and an unbelievable 13 steals! Goldy’s been showing off and he needs to be a part of the NL lineup for it. ERIC THAMES Batting a mere .241, all-star hopes do not look good for the Milwaukee Brewers’ first baseman. You could argue that his 20 homers are really something to write home about, but 11 of those blasts were in the first month! Unless a teammate like Travis Shaw or Orlando Arcia misses the cut, I wouldn’t expect Thames to be in Miami, this Mid-Summer Classic. JOEY VOTTO The Cincinnati Reds’ Vottomatic has had a possibly Hall of Fame career and his 2017 season has reflected that, so far. He’s clearly been the best Reds player as he has acquired a .303 batting average, 55 RBIs, and a whopping, fifth in all of baseball, 21 home runs! #19 definitely deserves a spot on the NL team, this July. BRANDON BELT The Giants’ first baseman might have had a shot at the all-star game if it weren’t for the team’s unbelievable catcher, but his stats simply don’t add up to a couple days in Miami, Florida. The lefty has batted a terrible .228, with only 35 RBIs, and 14 home runs. I’m fairly sure Eddie Gaedel might’ve had better numbers, so let’s just keep Belt in San Fran, next month. RYAN ZIMMERMAN In his 266 at-bats, this year, this Washington National has assured us that Bryce Harper won’t be the only Nat heading to the 88th Annual ASG. With 61 RBIs, he’s fourth in baseball, with a batting average of .338, he’s third in baseball, and with 19 home runs, he’s got a shot at the Home Run Derby! There’s no reason why Ryan Zimmerman shouldn’t be in this year’s National League lineup. ANTHONY RIZZO Sure, the Chicago Cubs’ first baseman has been playing well in the last month or so, but we can’t just disregard those two months at the beginning of the season. Batting .326 in the month of June doesn’t justify batting .218 in April and .192 in May, and neither does his 18 homers (six of which were hit in the last month), nor does his 50 RBIs (20 of which were in the last month). Say what you will, but one month of skill is not enough to put a player on the all-star team. WIL MYERS Okay, Myers has struggled a bit this year, but let’s face it: the San Diego Padres need an all-star. Things aren’t pretty for Myers, as he is batting just .262, with 15 homers, and 40 RBIs, but, let me rephrase: the Padres are desperate for even just one all-star. You could argue that Hunter Renfroe could make it, but he’s not doing an better than Myers, and he’s competing with Harper, Cody Bellinger, Scott Schebler, Jay Bruce, and Marcell Ozuna, so it’s safe to say that Myers will make the NL team because, again, let’s try this one more time: San Diego really, really needs an all-star. There’s a plethora of applicants for the position of first baseman in the National League lineup, but there can only be a few who actually make the team. Goldschmidt, Votto, and Zimmerman are by far the best at the job in their respective league, but there’s always a chance for maybe one more in the lineup. The other twelve first basemen in the NL, even if they weren’t listed, still have a shot. Jesse A. Cook “NL First Base Is Close To Call” June 29, 2017 |
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