The Boston Red Sox third baseman, Rafael Devers, is close to accomplishing the almost unheard of feat of hitting sixty doubles in a single season. Despite this unprecedented milestone, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim center fielder, Mike Trout, remains the favorite for the Most Valuable Player award in the American League.
As is, the 22-year old Domican Republic native has 48 doubles with 28 games remaining in the season. That means that he has hit 48 doubles over the span of 134 games. That is not entirely true, however, because he has only played 129 of those 134 games. That means that he doubles once every 2.688 games. Charlie Gehringer, Paul Waner, Hank Greenberg, Joe Medwick, George H. Burns, and Earl Webb are the only players in baseball history to record 60 or more doubles in a season. Gehringer hit 60 doubles for his 1936 Detroit Tigers, Waner hit 62 for the 1932 Pittsburgh Pirates, Greenberg hit 63 for the 1934 Tigers, Medwick hit 64 for the 1936 St. Louis Cardinals, Burns hit 64 for his Cleveland Indians in 1926, and Webb hit 67 for the Red Sox in 1931. Four of those six players are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame (Gehringer, Waner, Greenberg, and Medwick). No one has hit 60 doubles or more in 83 years. Devers, if he continues at his pace of hitting one double every 2.688 games, and he plays every one of those 28 games, should mathematically hit roughly 10.5 more doubles, ending the year with 58.5 doubles. Now, he cannot hit half of a double, so lets round that down to 58 to really put his back against the wall. That, clearly, does not get him to the fevered milestone, but that calculation also does not take into account that he has a hot bat, lately. In the first half of the season, he hit 25 doubles. In the second half, he has recorded 23 doubles (“First Half” meaning “Before the All-Star Game” and “Second Half” meaning “After the All-Star Game”). The first half lasted 91 games, while the second half has thus far lasted 43 games. This means that Devers doubled once every 3.64 games in the first half, but he has doubled once every 1.87 games in the second half. If he continues at his second half rate, he should mathematically double roughly 15 more times. This would lead him to finish the season with roughly 63 doubles. The last player to hit even 50 doubles in a season was José Ramirez with his current team, the Indians, in 2017. He finished third in M.V.P. voting with a league-leading 56 doubles. This leads us to the question: “Why did Ramirez not win first in the M.V.P. voting?” That year, José Altuve of the Houston Astros and then-rookie Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees finished ahead of him in the M.V.P. voting in first and second, respectively. Judge hit 52 home runs, batted .284, produced 154 hits, and drove in 114 runs, and Altuve hit 24 home runs, batted .346, produced 204 hits, and drove in 81 runs. Ramirez only hit 29 home runs, batted .318, produced 186 hits, and drove in 83 runs, making him a roughly inconsequential player in the midst of Altuve and Judge. This season, Trout has hit 43 home runs, batted .293, produced 131 hits, and driven in 100 runs. Devers has astonishingly hit 28 home runs, batted .326, produced a league-leading 174 hits, and driven in 104 runs. Devers has the clear advantage over Trout; despite hitting fewer home runs, he still has driven in more runs. Trout, being a home run hitter, is expected to have a sub-.300 batting average and is hitting accordingly, though .293 is still very good. Devers is exceeding the norm for non-home run hitters. He is not known for his home runs, he is known for his ability to get on base, but despite this, the Boston third baseman will almost assuredly finish with at least 30 home runs this season. Trout is behind Devers in everything vitally important to M.V.P. consideration except for three things:
Homers always make a difference, but considering that Devers will likely end up with decent home run numbers of his own, this is somewhat trivial. W.A.R. is an important statistic because it is designed to determine how valuable a player is to his team or how much the team needs a player to win. While this sounds like the only stat that should even matter, W.A.R. can vary due to how good or bad a player’s team is. Devers’ team’s lineup is padded with the bats of the reigning M.V.P. (Mookie Betts), the only player to win two Silver Slugger Awards in one year (J.D. Martinez), an all-star shortstop (Xander Bogaerts), and a Rookie of the Year contender (Michael Chavis). Trout’s team’s lineup has the reigning Rookie of the Year (Shohei Ohtani), a severely aged formerly great first baseman (Albert Pujols), and a perpetually injured former M.V.P. candidate (Andrelton Simmons). Trout clearly has less to work with and is therefore more valuable to the Angels than Devers is to the Red Sox. This does not mean that Trout is better overall, though. Another disqualifying factor of W.A.R. is that not even statisticians fully understand it and there is no simple way to calculate it. Third of the aforementioned advantages for Trout is that he was an all-star and Devers was not. This is not a death-sentence for Devers’ M.V.P. hopes, though, as there have been 11 M.V.P. Award winners who were not all-stars, including Hall of Fame members Greenberg, Robin Yount, Willie Stargell, and Chipper Jones. All this means is that Devers either had a poor first half or that he went so underappreciated that he was not worthy of a spot on the American League roster. Whichever reason it is that his 16 home runs, .324 batting average, 112 hits, and 62 R.B.I.s in 346 at-bats did not earn him that honor is irrelevant now because his second half has been what makes him an M.V.P. contender. Since the All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio at Progressive Field back on Tuesday, July 9, 2019, Devers has hit 12 home runs, batted .332, produced 62 hits, and driven in 42 runs in 187 at-bats. Pre-All Star Game, he hit a home run once every 21.625 at-bats and drove in a run once every 5.581 at-bats. Second half, that changed to a home run once every 15.583 at-bats and a run batted in once every 14.452 at-bats, two vast improvements. Trout’s first half stats read as 28 home runs, a .301 batting average, 91 hits, and 67 R.B.I.s in 302 at-bats. A home run every 10.786 at-bats and an R.B.I. once every 4.507 at-bats. His second half stats read as 15 home runs, a .276 batting average, 40 hits, and 33 R.B.I.s in 145 at-bats. One home run once every 9.667 at-bats and an R.B.I. once every 4.394 at-bats. Trout has had a more consistent season as far as home runs and R.B.I.s and he hits them more often than Devers. However, while these are important, Devers is not a home run hitter primarily (home run hitters generally drive in more runs). He is specialized in getting on base and has fantastic hit numbers and batting average numbers that have surpassed Trout all year. The fact that he has even relatively close home run and R.B.I. totals and averages to Trout alongside his incredible ability to reach base set him up as a better player than Trout this season. Jesse A. Cook “Devers Approaches 60 Doubles, Trout Remains M.V.P. Favorite” 29 August 2019
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Down to their final out, the Red Sox new utility infielder, Brandon Phillips, drove a long drive into the left field stands of SunTrust Park in Atlanta to lift Boston over the Braves 9-8 in the top of the ninth inning on Wednesday. Atlanta led the BoSox 7-1 heading into the top of the eighth inning, but a six-run rally made what looked like an easy win for first place in the NL East Atlanta turn into another episode of Beantown improbability.
The feel-good story of the season only comes with the mysterious work of the baseball gods. Boston manager, Alex Cora, decided on the drive to the stadium Monday morning to bring the veteran infielder to the major leagues on an almost gut feeling. He said, “Honestly that was the most fun I’ve had all season, just watching the last few innings.” Phillips, who went one for three in that game with three runs scored and two runs batted in, spent four years in Cleveland, 11 years in Cincinnati, three quarters of last season with Atlanta, the end of last season in Anaheim, and the last quarter of this season in Pawtucket with Boston’s Triple-A affiliate Paw Sox. On a six-game win streak the Oakland Athletics pose the biggest threat to the Boston Red Sox in the American League. Oakland began as an afterthought in the AL West with Houston and Seattle barrelling over the rest of the division, but around the All-Star Break they jumped forward into the picture and they made two big moves at and after the deadline that put them ahead of the curve.
A’s general manager, David Frost, said, “We’ve been looking for starters, so we were lucky that Mike (Fiers) was available to us.” A partner to Sean Manaea in the starting rotation easily sets Oakland above Seattle who has little depth at the starter role. Fiers is 1-1 since the All-Star Break with a 1.91 Earned Run Average including a win over Boston. The Mariner’s ace, James Paxton, who is 1-2 since the All-Star Break (including a loss to the Angels where he never finished the first inning) with a 3.80 ERA. The Mariners have also fallen greatly, not only from being second in the West, but from being a Wild Card team. Mike Trout, Andrelton Simmons, Albert Pujols paired with the offseason acquisitions, namely Shohei Ohtani and Chris Young, will put the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim atop the American League in 2018. The lineup is stacked and the division is weak, so the odds fall ever in their favor.
Ohtani had a splendid start in his first Spring Training game, a 6-5 victory over the MIlwaukee Brewers. He struck out two and allowed only one run in 1.1 innings pitched. He most recently had a rocky start against the Tijuana Toros, but he picked himself up easily later on. Angels’ catcher Rene Rivera said, “Once the lights come on, they call 'play ball,' you're going to see a different pitcher. We'll see a lot more velocity, sharper pitches. He's going to be Ohtani. You have to give it time.” Rivera was right, for later in his performance, the Japanese star’s curveballs were dropping into the corners of the strike zone and his fastballs were hitting the upper 90s. Andrelton Simmons is returning from injury, so the LA lineup is all set to go with him, Young, Pujols, and, of course, Trout. All four players had favorable seasons last year and make great parts of the strong lineup. Simmons batted .278, with 14 home runs, 69 RBIs, and a .331 on-base percentage last year. Since he’s not there strictly for offense, those are great stats, especially with his speed because getting on base almost a third of the time means more stolen bases. His defense is also one of the best in the league, for it landed him with his third Gold Glove, eighth place in the MVP voting, the best defensive WAR at 4.2, and the eighth best WAR at 7.1. Pujols is a first ballot Hall of Famer and he hit 23 home runs last year, accompanied by 101 RBIs. Age doesn’t seem to have the effect on him that it has on most other players because he’s still able to clobber the ball out of the park and he will definitely add to his monstrous career 614 longballs. Trout is arguably the greatest baseball player of all-time and last year, which was not even his best season, in only 114 games, he hit 33 home runs, 72 RBIs, a .306 batting average, a .442 on-base percentage, a .629 slugging percentage, 1.071 OPS, the second best offensive WAR at 7.4, and the tenth best overall war at 6.7. He made his sixth all-star appearance and he would’ve started if not for an injury. He also came in fourth for the MVP award only following the World Series Champion, José Altuve, the Rookie of the Year with 53 home runs, Aaron Judge, and the Cleveland Indians’ star, José Ramirez (who all barely edged him out for the award). The Angels’ open their season at home against the Indians on April 2. Stay tuned for the second part of this series of articles about the prowess of underestimated California baseball teams in “California Countdown Part 2: Head Of Family And League.” The San Diego Padres, like the Angels, should definitely be on everyone’s watchlist. Jesse A. Cook “California Countdown Part 1: City Of Angels Soars” March 10, 2018 The month of August is proving fatal to Houston Astros Pennant hopes. Michael Silverman, Boston Herald sportswriter, said, “The prize the team (Boston Red Sox) needs to strive for is best record in the American League. Suddenly, it’s within their reach.” The Red Sox are Houston’s main competitor and until now, they didn’t look like a threat.
Before August, Houston stood atop the American League at 69-36, but after a 10-16 August, they’re at only 79-52. Before August, they’re rivals in the east were at a dwindling 58-51, yet after a masterful month with a 17-8 record, Beantown is a mere four and a half games back at 75-57. Houston players are also faltering: before the All-Star Break, Houston had at least one player in the top five in the following categories: runs scored (R), runs batted in (RBI), hits (H), home runs (HR), on-base percentage (OBP), slugging percentage (SLG), slugging percentage + on-base percentage (OPS), walks (BB), stolen bases (SB) and batting average (AVG). Now, Post-Break, the statistics are showing a faltering Astros’ offense; they have four players in the top ten for caught stealing (CS), no players in the top 20 for RBIs, no players in the top 25 for HRs and no players in the top ten for Rs. Their bright lights since the Break have been, unsurprisingly, second baseman Jose Altuve, and, extremely surprisingly, third baseman Alex Bregman. Both men are leading the team in several categories Post-Break including R, H, HR, RBI, BB, SB and AVG. The other giant threatening Houston is in the Land. The Cleveland Indians are half a game ahead of the Red Sox and are on six game win streak. A team rising above their mere Wild Card status at the end of the previous season, this Indians’ team looks more like the team that took the highly favored Chicago Cubs to extra innings in Game Seven of the same year’s World Series. The Tribe has a mostly new cast this season, but nevertheless, they are succeeding. As the Houston baseball team is in trouble, unfortunately, so is the city, so our thoughts and prayers go out to the hurricane-stricken area. Hurricane Harvey’s statistics are about as atrocious as the team’s, so we, Texans and all Americans hope that both change for the better, soon. Jesse A. Cook “Stars Falling: Astros Are Declining” August 30, 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 Anthony Rizzo has begun leading off for the Chicago Cubs and Joe Maddon’s expert managing has led the Cubs to an insane winning streak. Rizzo, a power hitter who would usually be found in the cleanup spot,the best leadoff hitter in baseball. He’s been hitting home runs like clockwork.
Rizzo, one of the key factors in breaking the 108 year curse, became very accustomed to the role of 4-hitter until, lately when he hit a slump. He was batting under .250 all year, until June when Maddon tried something new. Now, in the last month, he’s been hitting at .356. Here’s a question: why is this working? Well, we are all sort of wondering ‘what the heck?!’ but there is an answer: As a cleanup hitter, you’re generally going to have lower pitches thrown to you because higher pitches are easier to hit farther and cleanup hitters generally hit for power. Leadoff batters aren’t trying to clear the fences with every swing, so pitchers have a better mind to throw the ball higher to force a pop-up. Low pitches to power hitters usually end up as ground balls, but they end up as singles to players who hit for average. So what does this mean for Rizzo? Good question; unable to hit the constant barrage of low pitches, he promptly and quite noticeably slumped to the worst he’s ever been, but when pitchers saw him up first and threw higher, he began to soar. In June, alone he’s hit 5 home runs, 17 RBIs, and 26 hits! The man batted only .218 in April and an atrocious .192 batting average in May. These stats convinced Maddon that the current situation was not working. Not only was Maddon’s strategy working for the cleanup turned leadoff man, but they were working for the leadoff man turned cleanup hitter. Addison Russell has also improved in the last month: in this last month, the shortstop has elevated to absolute all-star status! He’s now batting .302! Granted, he has sat out a few games due to undisclosed reasons, but he could still turn out to be the starting shortstop for the National League in Miami in the coming All-Star Game. Clearly, not only Rizzo has benefitted. In fact, in the last month, the team has been much, much better than usual, for they had a losing record at 21-27. Fortunately for the Wrigley Field Faithful, the defending World Champion Cubbies went 12-9. For those of you wondering, their winning percentage drastically went up. In April and May, they had a .438 winning percentage, however, in June, it was at a fantastic .571! Maddon’s expert managerial skills this year have thus far proved effective. Now, just half a game behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers, Maddon’s North Chicago Squad is on pace for a repeat of their previous, historic, drought-breaking year. What does this say about Mr. Maddon? Simply that his mind is incredible. In his 14 years in baseball management the man has only one American League pennant win, one National League pennant win, and one World Series win, so what makes him great? Just looking at the last month, starting Kyle Schwarber after his being out all season in Game 1 of the 2016 World Series, and inventing the shift against the greatest designated hitter ever, nicknamed the “David Ortiz Shift,” Maddon has a case for most brilliant manager in baseball history. He even out-managed the Cleveland Indians Terry Francona, who turned the 2004 Boston Red Sox into a historic, record and drought breaking, comeback-from-three-down-against-the-Yankees team and the 2016 Indians into the American League champions. The combination of where pitchers throw the ball to certain batters, depending on where they stand in the opponent’s batting order, expert managing, and the flat-out hard work of two players apparently can turn any losing team into an unstoppable monstrosity. The bats of Rizzo and Russell and the mind of Maddon have turned the Cubs back into their former glory. Obviously, October now holds a very possible promise of Banner #4. Jesse A. Cook “Anthony Rizzo Leads Off To Success” June 24, 2017 Becoming the first man in team history to accomplish the amazing feat, the Cincinnati Reds’ second baseman, Scooter Gennett, had a four-home run game last night at home in the 13-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals! He came merely one runner shy of becoming the first player in baseball history to hit for the home run cycle! That would be a solo shot, a two-run blast, a three-run dinger, and a grand slam all in one game.
Scooter led off his day with an RBI single in the bottom of the first which broke the 0-0 tie. Scoring on the play was Billy Hamilton from third. Hamilton, by the way, scored on May 24 to go ahead against the Cleveland Indians in the top of the ninth inning with two outs from first on a Zack Cozart single… I’ll just let that sink in… Now, as great as the speed demon, Hamilton, is, we must return to the topic of the fantastic history the scrawny middle infielder of Cincinnati made last night against the rival Cardinals: the young Gennett, born and raised in Cincinnati, might I add, stepped up again in the bottom of the third against the same pitcher, Adam Wainwright. Around the bases stood Reds’ teammates, Zack Cozart, Joey Votto, and Eugenio Suarez. With one out, Gennett looked to make a large contribution to his team’s 1-0 lead. With the full count, Wainwright dealt suicide to his Cards: Gennett hit a shot over the right field wall for a grand slam. 5-0 Reds was the score, and Gennett had the first of his ten total RBIs. It was now the fourth inning and Gennett had a tough act to follow: not merely repeating his homer of the previous inning, but following Eugenio Suarez’s base loaded-bases clearing triple. Gennett looked in at the new pitcher, John Gant; Gant put Scooter on another full count, but delivered the pitch that would put this game at a double digit lead for Cincy. Gennett swung hard and drove a line drive over the center field wall, which was a long way away; 404 feet. That turned from a 404 foot hit to a 404 error: baseball not found. Gennett, now coasting at 8 RBIs looked forward to the rest of the historic evening. Gant, nervous to face the red-hot Reds’ second baseman, put on his game face to attempt to keep Scooter off of the bases. Gennett stepped up to the plate in the sixth inning with nobody on base and one out with an eager expression. Fittingly standing with a three and one count, otherwise known as a “hitter’s count,” Gennett moved Gant to a gaunt mood with the ensuing 3-1 solo drive to opposite, left field. After Stephen Piscotty finally put his team on the board, hitting a solo homer to left against starter Tim Adleman, John Brebbia took the hill to try to be the man to shut down Gennett and keep him from the history books. Disregarding the fact that the lone Scott Schebler on base would definitely keep him from hitting for the fabled home run cycle, Scooter went up to the plate merely looking for a base hit. Having only hit three bombs all season before the three last night, Gennett had had enough excitement for one night… Or had he? With a count of zero balls and two strikes, Brebbia looked to be leading the young batter away from history. With two away, Brebbia dealt the pitch: “Gennett hits a drive to right! Did he do it? He has!” Scooter hit a line drive over the Great American Ballpark right field wall to complete his four home run night, only becoming the 17th player in baseball history to achieve such a feat. Before last night, the last man to hit four home runs in one game was Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers on May 8, 2012. Now Scooter has joined the names of Mike Schmidt, Willie Mays, and Lou Gehrig. Scooter Gennett made history last night and the Cincinnati Reds have a great shot at the playoffs if players like him can continue to play great. Jesse A. Cook “Scooter Knocks Out 4!” June 7, 2017 Tomorrow starts the 365 day journey that will come to be known as 2017, so to welcome the new year, here’s an article that concerns strictly baseball in years ending with 7:
It was 1887, and the 2 leagues were the National League and the American Association. Atop the National League at 79-45 were the Detroit Wolverines, and atop the American Association at 95-40 were the St. Louis Browns. President Grover Cleveland was serving his first of 2 non-consecutive terms, and he was one of the most baseball-loving presidents in American history. Tip O’Neill of the Browns won the Triple Crown in the AA, while in the NL Sam Thompson of the Wolverines led in batting average and in RBIs and Billy O’Brien of the Washington Nationals led in home runs. By 1897, the AA had disbanded and the top 2 teams in the NL faced off for the Temple Cup, the NL Championship series. The 2 competitors were the 90-40 Baltimore Orioles and the 93-39 Boston Beaneaters. Led by the league leader in home runs, Hugh Duffy, the Beaneaters took the Cup in 5 games. Now we arrive in 1907, so Cubs fans rejoice! At 92-58 and led by star outfielder Ty Cobb, the Detroit Tigers were eager to face the powerful 107-45 Chicago Cubs for the World Series. The Cubs were led by a trio of infielders: Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance. The poem about the 3 may happen to be what put them all in the Hall of Fame, however Baseball’s Sad Lexicon did more to cause anguish to the Cubs’ opponents.: These are the saddest of possible words: “Tinker to Evers to Chance.” Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds, Tinker and Evers and Chance. Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble, Making a Giant hit into a double Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble: “Tinker to Evers to Chance.” The poem describes that if a ball comes anywhere near 1 of these 3 greats, all hopes of getting on base vanished. The smug Tigers thought that they would walk all over Chicago, but the Detroit crowd would be silenced in 5 games. The next year, 1908, would mark the last Cubs World Series victory for 108 until November 2 and 3, 2016. The southside of Chicago would be grinning in 1917, for the 100-54 Chicago White Sox would defeat the 98-56 New York Giants in 6 games. Unfortunately, Chicago would experience not a single World Series title until 2005 when the White Sox won for the first time in 88 years. The next year, in 1918, the Boston Red Sox would win their last World Series until 2004, an 86 year curse. In 1927, the league was dominated by the New York Yankees’ lineup, coined the nickname “Murderer’s Row.” The ‘27 Yanks lineup consisted of 4 future Hall of Famers. Leading off was Hall of Fame center fielder Earle Combs, then shortstop Mark Koenig, followed by Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, in right field (who led the league with 60 home runs, a record that wouldn’t be broken until Roger Maris of the Yankees hit 61 home runs in 1961), and Lou Gehrig, at first base, after them was left fielder Bob Meusel, then Hall of Fame second baseman, Tony Lazzeri, after whom came the third baseman, Joe Dugan, and the catcher, Pat Collins. The 110-44 Bronx Bombers swept the 94-60 Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. The Negro National League, which was in Western America, was won by the 54-28 Chicago American Giants, who swept the 53-41 Birmingham Black Barons. The Eastern Colored League was won by 64-39 Atlantic City Bacharach, who in the first half of the season went by the name of the Giants, then changed to the Bees for the second half. In 1937, American League batting was dominated by the Yankees’ Joe DiMaggio, and the Tigers’ Hank Greenberg. Lefty Gomez of the Yanks won the pitcher’s Triple Crown by leading in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Carl Hubbell led the National League in wins and strikeouts, however Jim Turner beat him in ERA. The 102-52 Yankees beat their crosstown rivals, the 95-57 New York Giants 4 games to 1 for the World Series. In the Negro American League, while the 19-10 Cincinnati Tigers led in winning percentage, the 23-14 Chicago Americans and the 13-8 Kansas City Monarchs were the disputed winners. After some time, the Monarchs were crowned 1937 champions. In the Negro National League, the Homestead Grays took home the title. 1947 would be a revolutionary year for not only sports, but civil rights in the world. That year, for the Brooklyn Dodgers, a young man named Jackie Robinson would take the field at Ebbets Field. Robinson faced a great deal of adversity while playing in the Majors, simply because he was black, but a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates marked a formative moment in his life. In his final year, Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg played for the Pirates, and as a Jewish ballplayer, Greenberg had faced some hatred from fellow ballplayers, as well. Robinson had been knocked to the ground, avoiding a bad throw to first, but when he looked up from the baseline, he saw something he hadn’t seen much of in that year: a helping hand. Hank Greenberg helped him up, something that no one had done for him a long time. The 94-60 Dodgers would later lose the World Series to the 97-57 New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox left fielder, Ted Williams, won the Triple Crown that year, and Robinson won Rookie of the Year. In the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the Grand Rapids Chicks defeated the Muskegon Lassies. In California, the first College World Series was held, and in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the first Little League World Series was held. The New York Cubans beat the Cleveland Buckeyes 4 games to 1 in the Negro League World Series, but Robinson’s playing that year in the MLB would pave the way for baseball to become fully integrated, and the Negro Leagues soon disbanded. The 95-59 Milwaukee Braves beat the 98-56 New York Yankees for the 1957 World Series. 1957 was a rather confusing time for Americans. Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower was president, however the Soviets had recently launched the space probe, Sputnik. The quiz show, Twenty-One, had a scandal on their hands for giving their favored contestants the answers before the show, and the Nishitetsu Lions had beaten the Yomiuri Giants for the Japan Series. In baseball, there were now rising stars like Luis Aparicio, Henry “Hank” Aaron, and Willie Mays. Now Boston Red Sox fans, prepare to cry, for 1967 was the Impossible Dream season for the 92-70 BoSox. They lost in 7 games to the 102-60 St. Louis Cardinals. In 1967, Lyndon Baines Johnson was president, however Richard M. Nixon was running a successful campaign for the 1968 election, and in other news, the Yomiuri Giants had beaten the Hankyu Braves for the Japan Series and the first NFL Super Bowl was held that year, with the Green Bay Packers as the first Super Bowl Champions. By ‘67, baseball’s seasons had extended from 154 games to the modern 162. It was an incredible, unbelievable season for Boston. They were a ragtag team of essentially nobodies, except for Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Conigliaro, and Jim Lonborg, but they made all the way to the World Series only to come 1 game shy of breaking the Curse of The Great Bambino which they had been struck with in 1919 when they traded Babe Ruth, the Great Bambino, himself, to the New York Yankees for $100,000. In that year, Lonborg won the American League Cy Young Award, and Yastrzemski won the American League MVP Award and he became the last player to win the Triple Crown until Miguel Cabrera in 2012 for the Detroit Tigers. In 1977, the Bronx was burning. They’d just lost the World Series in ‘76 to the Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine, which was not unlike the ‘27 Yankees’ Murderer’s Row. The Big Red Machine’s fielders went at catcher, Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, at first base, Hall of Famer Tony Perez, at second base, Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, at third base, all-time leader in hits at 4,256, Pete Rose, at shortstop, Dave Concepcion, in left field, George Foster, in center field, Cesar Geronimo, and last, but least, in right field, Ken Griffey Sr. The team began to disband the late months of ‘76 and early months ‘77 when Perez was sent to the Montreal Expos. However, now we must get back to the Bronx. Fans were excited about the recent acquisition of Reggie Jackson, who in the middle of the intense season, in an interview proclaimed himself “The Straw That Stirs The Drink.” Of course people were scared out there because of the Son of Sam killings. David Berkowitz was later revealed to be the murderer called, Son of Sam, who would go out at night, find women with long hair, and kill them. In the midst of all this, the 100-62 Yankees were in the American League Championship Series against the 102-60 Kansas City Royals. After beating the Royals 3 games to 2, the Bronx would be in the World Series, yet again, to face the 98-64 Los Angeles Dodgers who had beaten the 101-61 Philadelphia Phillies 3 games to 2 in the National League Championship Series. The Yankees won the Championship 4 games to 2. In 1987, pitcher Nolan Ryan had become one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Wade Boggs, Andre Dawson, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, and Tony Gwynn were quickly becoming the stars, and the Minnesota Twins had beaten the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series title. By 1997, the MLB had the 3 divisions in each league that we have today: East, Central, and West. The Divisional Series and Wild Card teams had been introduced. With World Series MVP, Livan Hernandez, the Wild Card Florida Marlins beat the Cleveland Indians for the first of 2 Marlin World Series wins, the second being in 2003. 104 years before, in 1903, the Boston Red Sox had won the first ever World Series, 89 years before, in 1918, they’d won for the last time until 3 years before, when the self-proclaimed “Idiots” won the 2004 World Series, breaking the 86 year Curse of the Great Bambino. Still led by David “Big Papi” Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, Tim Wakefield, Mike Timlin, and Curt Schilling, Boston had a great shot at the ‘07 title. They had also made the crucial recent acquisitions (and having called up to the Majors from the Minor Leagues) of Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima, Mike Lowell, Coco Crisp, J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Rookie of the Year, Dustin Pedroia. Pretty great team, right? At 96-66, tied with the Cleveland Indians for best record in baseball, the BoSox had no trouble sweeping the 90-73 Colorado Rockies for the World Series win. In this coming spring of 2017, the fourth annual World Baseball Classic will be held. One of the top headlines has been Team Israel; they’ve made it past the qualification round and into the actual tournament for the first time. We don’t what deals will be made next year, nor do we know who will win which award, nor do we know who will the World Series. It should be an exciting year, though, and I, for one, can’t wait. The New York Mets and Cleveland Indians will be the first teams to report to Pitchers’ and Catchers’ Training Camps for Spring Training on February 12, 2017. Baseball has taken a fun ride through the ages, and year 7s have been some of the most exciting. It’s been a great last several decades, and on the final day of 2016, let’s hope for some more. Jesse A. Cook “Baseball Ending In Year 7s: Welcoming 2017” December 31, 2016 |
AuthorJesse Cook: High school junior. Does play-by-play for the Sharon Varsity Eagles softball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and football teams. Fanatic of the Boston and Cincinnati teams in the Big Four sports. Designs graphics of athletes, politicians, and musicians at Picsart.com. Archives
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