Author: Teddy Ballgame

Tolan Caught Not Stealing

robbie-tolan Robbie Tolan, son of former major league outfielder Bobby Tolan, was shot by police outside his on December 31st at 2:00 AM. Robbie and his cousin had just arrived home from a late night run to Jack-in-the-Box fast food restaurant (another reason not to eat at Jack-in-the-Box) when an unidentified man with a flashlight approached them. Turns out he was a police officer, who suspected Tolan of stealing an SUV (it was his SUV, not stolen), told Tolan & his cousin to stop, ordered them on the ground, at gunpoint. At this juncture Tolan’s mother came out of their house to see what all the commotion was about, an officer pushed her against the wall. When Robbie raised up to see what was happening to his mother, an officer shot him, the bullet piercing his lung, and lodging in his liver. The incident happened in Belleaire, a prominent, mostly white suburb of Houston. The officer involved in the shooting is white, this is a case of racial profiling, at its worst. Tolan remains hospitalized in alot of pain.

Robbie Tolan, 23 years old, was with the Washington Nationals organization in 2007 (rookie league & Class A) where he batted .207 with one home run, as a reserve outfielder. He was released after spring training 2008, and played with the Bay Area Toros of the independent Continental Baseball League. While Tolan is expected to recover, his baseball career is over.

Let’s Play the Game of Baseball

milton_bradley Old Faithful hasn’t erupted as regularly as Bradley, which explains why Chicago is his seventh organization in nine seasons, following stays with Montreal (where he was suspended for spitting gum at an umpire); Cleveland (where he battled with Manager Eric Wedge); the Dodgers (where he threw a water bottle at fans, was investigated for domestic violence three times and was arrested for disorderly conduct); Oakland; San Diego (where he tore a knee while being restrained from charging an umpire); and Texas he tried to confront a TV announcer who had some unflattering things to say about him. In fairness to Bradley, though, it hasn’t always been his fault. In Los Angeles, for example, a fan threw the water bottle first, and no charges were filed in any of the domestic violence calls. And in the incident when he was with the Padres, it was umpire Mike Winters who was suspended for baiting Bradley.

The Cubs got him for his bat, not to win a Miss Congeniality award. Bradley achieved career high in batting average .321, homers 22, RBIs 77, runs scored 78, and walks 80, in only 126 games with the Rangers last year. Chicago felt their lineup needed better representation from the leftside of the plate, hence the Bradley signing. I’m wondering how he’ll react when the rightfield bleacher bums come down on him for his bonehead defense, he only played 20 games in the outfield last year in Texas, making 3 errors & picking up 3 assists, he played in 126 games, 97 as a designated hitter, something not featured in the National League.

I don’t really see where the Cubs picked up that much in Bradley & Miles over DeRosa & Fukudome. I know it might’ve cost a little more, but they would have been much better off picking up Bobby Abreu to play rightfield, a better all around player than Bradley, without all the baggage, who shows up to play everyday. Abreu has driven in 100 runs, seven different times, and has scored 100 runs, eight times, and two other seasons he just missed the century mark with 99 & 98. But, it’s not my money, and who knows? Look what happened when the White Sox brought in malcontent Carl Everett, but just because a guy’s a goofball, doesn’t make him a clubhouse leader.

HOF ’09: Dan Plesac

PHILLLIES BLUE JAYS

Dan Plesac was a three time All Star, 87, 88, & 89. Plesac recorded his most saves (33) and his lowest ERA (2.35) in 1989. Most of Dan’s success came in his early years with the Milwaukee Brewers, 124 of his 158 saves were recorded in first five years. The highest number of saves after that was 11 in 1996 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 6’5″ lefthanded relief pitcher pitched 18 years in the major leagues, 1,064 games, with a 3.64 ERA. Upon his retirement Dan Plesac became a Chicago Cubs broadcaster, now he’s working for the MLB Network. I have to ask the obvious question, “Why is he even on the ballot?”

  Hall of Fame
 

Hall of Very Good

Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.  

HOF ’09: Jesse Orosco

orosco

Jesse Orosco pitched in more games than any pitcher, ever, 1,252, over 24 years. He was an All Star in 1983 & 1984 with the New York Mets. He posted a 1.47 ERA, with a 13-7 record, & 17 saves in 1983, then followed that up the next year with 31 saves, a 10-6 mark, and a 2.59 ERA. 1984 was the only year Jesse was the number one closer on his team. As a lefthanded reliever he was able to stick around forever in the major leagues by becoming a lefty specialist.

He is one of the reasons, fathers, today, place a baseball in the left hand of their infant’s sons. The best way to make it to the big leagues and stay there, is as a lefthanded pitcher.

All this said about Jesse Orosco, I have to ask, “Why is this guy even on the ballot?”

  Hall of Fame
 

Hall of Very Good

Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.  

DeRosa Shipped to Tribe

mark-derosa The Chicago Cubs sent popular secondbaseman plus, Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for three minor league pitchers. DeRosa played 149 games each of the last two years on the Northside of Chicago, 90+ games at 2B, also filling in the OF & 3B, and hitting .293 & .285, with OBPs of .371 & .376, last year he hit 21 homers, and scored 103 times. While Mark was dealt to the Indians, Aaron Miles was signed to take his place at 2B. Six homers was Miles’ alltime high in Colorado in 2004 when he scored his career high of 75 in runs, his highest average was last year .317 with the Cardinals, but even then his OBP was only .355. It’s hard to believe little, 5’8″, Aaron Miles will help Cub fans forget Mark DeRosa.

So what did Chicago get for the versatile DeRosa? Jeff Stevens is a 6’2″ righthanded reliever out of Loyola Marymount, who struckout 111 batters in just under 60 innings pitched, and this 25 year old looks ready for the bigs. Chris Archer is a 6’2″ 20 year old righty out of North Carolina, who pitched in Class A, posting a 4.29 ERA, with 106 Ks in 115′ innings pitched. John Gaub is out of the University of Minnesota (2004-06), the 6’2″ (the Cubs must like 6’2″ pitchers) 23 year old lefty struckout 100 batters in 64 innings in Class A in 2008. Retooling the Cubbies bullpen may payoff big time down the line, maybe even next year with Stevens.

It’s interesting this deal doesn’t seem to be about money. What do you think about this trade? Did the Cubs get enough? Will Miles be a quality replacement for DeRosa?

HOF ’09: Don Mattingly

mattingly

“Honestly, at one time I thought Babe Ruth was a cartoon character. I really did, I mean I wasn’t born until 1961 and I grew up in Indiana.”

Don Mattingly

Donnie Baseball, a nickname bestowed on him by the late Kirby Puckett, was arguably the best firstbaseman in the American League from 1984-87. In 1985 he was named AL MVP, driving in 145 runs, with 211 basehits, including 48 doubles & 35 HRs, winning the first of nine consecutive Gold Gloves. His average soared to .352 in 1986, with an amazing 238 hits, & 53 doubles, 113 RBIs. In 1984, Don was no slouch in his first full year in the bigs, batting .343, with 207 hits, and 110 runs batted in. Despite injuring his back during the 1987 season, Mattingly managed to put up some pretty good numbers, .327, 30 HRs, & 115 RBIs. Over the next two years he wasn’t the same, only 88 RBIs in 1988, bouncing back with 113 ribbies in 1989, batting .311 & .303 respectively, however his homers dropped to 18 & 23. The next year was the beginning of the end, only five homers, with a very average .256 batting average.

Turns out Don Mattingly’s injured back was the result of horseplay between himself and teammate Bob Shirley. A friend, in the know, said Bob Shirley brought drugs to the San Diego Padres during the 80s, now here’s another reason to dislike him. Without a doubt, Mattingly was on the fast track to Cooperstown, until the Shirley incident. He still managed a .307 batting average over 14 years, with 1,099 RBIs, 2,153 hits, and 222 home runs.

Although Mattingly never played in a World Series game during his fourteen year career with the Yanks, he’s one of the most popular Bronx Bombers ever. The Yankees lost the 1981 World Series, the year before Don Mattingly made his debut, in his first 13 years in pinstripes New York did not make it to postseason play. In 1994 the Yankees had the best record in the American League, but a players strike cut short the season and meant no postseason play. On the final day of his final regular season (1995) New York won the Wild Card, Mattingly batted .417 with 6 RBIs, but Seattle beat the Yankees in 11 innings of the decisive game five.

Despite his enormous popularity, his .300 batting average, and his HOF first four years of his career, I have to ask, “Why is this guy even on the ballot?”

 

  Hall of Fame
 

Hall of Very Good

Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.  

Ultimate Act of Sportsmanship

tucholsky I was watching ESPN last night when a story came on which caught my eye. The story was talking about a women’s college softball game played between Western Oregon University and Central Washington University. 5’2″ Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run in high school or college ball, but on this day she got hold of one, and drove it over the fence. In her excitement she missed firstbase, when she went back to touch it, something popped, it was her ACL.

While she lay on the ground in agony, her coach contemplated what to do, if a pinch runner was inserted, she would be credited with a single. She’d be ruled out if her teammates assisted her in any way. But then, miraculously, her opponents did an amazing thing. They asked the umpires if they could carry her around the bases. The umps told them, there was no rule against that. So two players from the opposing team carried Tucholsky around the bases, tapping her foot down on each base, as they rounded the bases. They’d said, she earned it.

This is much more than, who won the game? That fact will soon be forgotten, but this act of true sportsmanship will live on.

MLB SNARES TWO IN DRUG NET

You might have thought the drug problem in baseball is behind us, but it’s good to see the powers that be are still on the job, catching those who violate the rules, and making them pay. The latest two villains are Damian Tavares & Ambiorix Suero, both will receive 50 game suspensions for taking performance enhancers.

Taveras is a catcher in the Yankees minor league system, who played in the Rookie Dominican Summer League, where the then 19 year old, batted .229, with one home run, in 166 at bats. In 2007 he batted .207, with one homer, in 193 at bats, in the same league. So you can see the progress he’s making and the impact taking steroids has had on his career. Stanozolol is the steroid in his system.

In 2005 Rafael Palmeiro was suspended 10 days after Stanozolol was found in his system, this came months after he testified before the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on steroid usage in baseball, and he denied using steroids.

Barry Bonds has been accused of using Stanozolol in the book, Game of Shadows. Strength coach, Brian McNamee alleged Roger Clemens was injected with Stanozolol during the 1998 baseball season.

Ambiorix Suero was found to have Boldenone in his system, it can stay in one’s system for 1 1/2 years after taking it. The 17 year old pitcher, from the Baltimore Orioles organization, appeared in six games in the Rookie Dominican Summer League in 2008, where he posted a 9.53 ERA, with eleven walks in 5 2/3 innings of work, imagine if he hadn’t taken roids.

Now I’m not saying take down the walls and let everyone take whatever they want to tack, nor am I suggesting steroid use doesn’t help athletes achieve better results. I am just not naive enough to believe, marginally talented Hispanic minor leaguers are the only ones guilty of steroid use. It seems as though the law is being disproportionately applied.

HOF ’09: Rickey Henderson

rickey-henderson

“If my uniform doesn’t get dirty, I haven’t done anything in the baseball game.”

Rickey Henderson

In 2003 Rickey signed on with the Independent League Newark Bears, the LA Dodgers signed Henderson after the All Star break. Amazingly at the age of 44 in 30 games in Los Angeles, he hit two homers, batted .208, while stealing three bases without being caught. This guy reminds me of a player, who’d play the game for nothing, he loved it that much, definitely a throwback.

There are all kinds of stories of Rickey speaking in the third person and an account him seeing John Olerud playing firstbase with a batting helmet on, “Hey, Rickey used to have a teammate with the Mets who played first with a helmet.” Olerud then informed Rickey that they were teammates with the Mets, but that story is false. Here is a quote from Henderson that shows how much he loved to play, one month after the Oakland A’s offered to sign him up for one day in September, 2007, so Rickey could retire an Oakland A, Rickey said, “One day? I don’t want one day. I want to play again, man. I don’t want nobody’s spot… I just want to see if I deserve to be out there. If I don’t, just get rid of me, release me. And if I belong, you don’t have to pay me but the minimum — and I’ll donate every penny of that to some charity. So, how’s that hurtin’ anybody?… Don’t say goodbye for me… When I want that one day they want to give me so bad, I’ll let you know.”

Rickey Henderson was born on Christmas Day 1958 in Chicago, but moved to Oakland when his father left when Rickey was only two. His father died when Henderson was just twelve years of age. Rickey’s mother remarried and the family took on her new husband’s surname of Henderson. He was a natural lefthander, but learned to bat from the right side because he thought that was the way you were supposed to hit. Rickey married his high school sweetheart Pamela, together they have three children, Angela, Alexis, & Adriann.

He finished his career with more stolen bases (1,406) and more runs scored (2,295) than anybody in the history of the game. In a game in 1977 he stole seven bases, tying a major league record. Some say, I’d have to agree, he was the greatest leadoff man in the history of the game, certainly of his era. He had 3,055 hits & 2,190 walks, 510 doubles, and three homers shy of 300, with a lifetime batting average of .279, and an incredible .401 OBP. Three times within his first five years he stole over 100 bases, a record 130 in 1982, only two other ballplayers in the modern era stole 100 bases in a year, each only once.

Henderson started with the A’s, was traded to the NY Yankees in time to score 146 times in 1985, he’d return to play for Oakland three more times. In 13 seasons he scored over 100 runs. Despite the wear and tear running had on his body, he played an unbelievable 25 years in the major leagues. Even though he wasn’t a power hitter, he could go yard, as evidenced by his career high in home runs of 28 in both 1986 & 1990. Seven times he walked over 100 times, five more years with more than 90 bases on balls, in 1989 he walked a career high 126 times. Along with a keen eye, Henderson perfected a crouched batting style, which gave him a very small strike zone.

He was on two World Championship teams, 1989 Oakland & 1993 Toronto, ironically both times he was traded midseason. Ten times he was an All Star, three times he won Silver Slugger Awards, once he won a Gold Glove, in 1990 he was the American League MVP, and in 1999 at the age of 40 he was named NL Comeback Player of the Year. He hit a record high 81 leadoff home runs.

Here’s proof as to how great of a ballplayer Rickey Henderson was, statistician Bill James was quoted as saying, “If you could split him in two, you’d have two Hall of Famers.”

Hall of Fame
 

Hall of Very Good
  Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.

RIP: Dock Ellis

dockellis

Just received an e-mail from Captain Will, it said…

“One of my favorites. I used to love to watch him pitch

When he was with Yanks, one preseason the Yanks were struggling and a reporter asked Dock, “Why are the Yanks struggling?” Dock replied, “Well it is by design, the more we lose, the more George flies down here, and the more George flies, the better the odds are of a plane crash.”

In 1970 Dock overcame eight walks in the first game of a doubleheader against the Padres to throw a no-hitter, several years later, he admitted he was high on LSD when he accomplished the feat. He was 19-9 with the Buccos in 1971 when the Pirates won the World Series. On July 13, 1971, Reggie Jackson blasted what almost certainly is the longest home run ever hit in an All-Star game, and one of the longest of all time. Jackson’s home run came at Tiger Stadium in Detroit off the NL pitcher, Dock Ellis. After the 1975 season Ellis was traded to the Yankees along with Willie Randolph & Ken Brett, in exchange for Doc Medich.

In 1986 the Yankees hired him to offer guidance to their minor leaguers on drug & alcohol abuse. Ellis kept up his campaign against addiction for the rest of his life, and frequently joined former teammates to support them on their charity work.

Dock Ellis always spoke his mind, he was one of a kind, he will be missed.