The Baseball Zealot

Second coming of Mr Cub?

The Southern (IL) reports on a trade in the Frontier League whose name seems to hearken back to older Cub days (emphasis mine):

When Southern Illinois Miners’ manager Mike Pinto traded for the Gateway Grizzlies’ Stephen Holdren last July, he called it one of the biggest trades in Frontier League history.

Pinto said the deal he finalized Monday, sending Holdren to the River City Rascals in exchange for power-hitting first baseman Ernie Banks, is even bigger.

Apparently, Banks, a former Marlins draft pick, is more than just a namesake to the former Cub. This minor league firstbaseman really can hit, too. Last year he hit .353 for the River City Rascals, good for 3rd in the Frontier League. He also placed 5th with 24 homeruns (in just 77 games no less).

Banks will be looking at a new team this coming year in the independent league based in the Midwest. The Southern Illinois Miners are based in Carbondale, Illinois

How many played SS and catcher in the same season?

My buddy John and I got talking the other day about players who double at two positions that require radically different skillsets. Craig Biggio, for example, was a rarity in that he played catcher AND secondbase, two positions you rarely see paired together. And played them well. Not to mention that he played centerfield as well.

What I wanted to see was how many players in modern day baseball had played at catcher AND shortstop within the same year. My chosen limit was at least 10 games at both positions. Between the the years 1901 and 2009, only seven players fit that description.

Using Baseball Reference’s Play Index, here is the list of players I came up with:

Player	G	Year	Tm	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	Pos
Marty Martinez	113	1968	ATL	356	34	82	5	3	0	12	29	28	6	.230	.291	.261	6542
Bobby Bragan	109	1942	PHI	335	17	73	12	2	2	15	20	21	0	.218	.264	.284	*62/45
Bobby Bragan	94	1944	BRO	266	26	71	8	4	0	17	13	14	2	.267	.304	.327	*62/54
Sport McAllister	78	1903	DET	265	31	69	8	2	0	22	10	0	5	.260	.297	.306	*62/953
Dave Roberts	101	1980	TEX	235	27	56	4	0	10	30	13	38	0	.238	.280	.383	562/943
Mike Sandlock	80	1945	BRO	195	21	55	14	2	2	17	18	19	2	.282	.346	.405	*26/45
Ron Slocum	60	1970	SDP	71	8	10	2	2	1	11	8	24	0	.141	.238	.268	265/4

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/4/2010.

(The games played were Martinez SS-54 C-14, ‘42 Bragan SS-78 C-22, ‘44 Bragan SS-51 C-35, McAllister SS-46 C-18, Roberts SS-33 C-22, Sandlock SS-22 C-47, Slocum SS-17 C-19).

All seven (well six, as Bobby Bragan is listed twice) seem to be the uber-utility types playing at least four different positions in their particular season. It’s no surprise that none were fantastic hitters (though Roberts did hit 10 HR) but I’m sure their managers found their versatility useful.

I guess the most unusual was Bragan himself who not only did it twice but managed to put in over 20 games at catcher each year in addition to his normal shortstop.

KO on the Hall vote

The Hall of Fame musings of MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann make for an interesting read whether or not you agree with his politics.

I can agree for the most part with his conclusions though I think he comes off a little sanctimonious when it comes to McGwire:

Hall of Fame? For what? For pretending to Congress that nothing happened before that steroid hearing? Fine. You got your wish. Nothing happened. Your lifetime numbers are 0-0-.000. And by the way, why is it ok for him to just waltz back in as batting coach of the Cardinals? Would we let Bonds come back in? This is unacceptable, and it gives credence to the very disturbing claim that race is at play when it comes to the punishment of steroid cheats. Mark McGwire is a steroid cheater.

Otherwise, I can’t argue too much with someone who would be willing to put Dawson AND Lee Smith in had he a vote.

Hall of Fame election tidbits

The baseball bloggers of the SB Nation affiliates held their own Hall of Fame balloting and the results are in. If they were in charge, only one player would get in and that player was a bit of a surprise… Bert Blyleven.

Don’t get me wrong… I’ve been a Blyleven supporter for years. I just would have expected more support for Alomar or Larkin. My guess is that there was a bit of the “not getting in the first year” element factoring in.

There’s a shared document which has a list of 50 or so (and growing) BBWAA writers and their publicly announced Hall of Fame ballots.

It’s a small sample size of course but I’m heartened to see a good portion of votes going to Andre Dawson (at this moment out of 53 listed, 41 are supporting his induction).

Maybe it’s me but it seems like there’s a bigger push for Edgar Martinez among a few for the Hall.

More support for Dawson from Hal Bodley, senior correspondent for mlb.com who goes on to say that he thinks that this will be (or maybe more accurately “should be”) the year for Dawson and Blyleven. His ballot: Dawson, Blyleven, Alomar and Jack Morris.

and it wouldn’t be Hall of Fame ballot time unless a writer wasn’t defending his ballot, right. Only it seems now they’re doing earlier and earlier before the official announcement.

Fireworks spark Encarnacion injury

Sounds like Blue Jay Edwin Encarnacion suffered a facial injury in a fireworks accident over the New Year’s holiday down in the D.R.

Encarnacion suffered first- and second-degree burns in the forehead and the right side of his face when a rocket firecracker hit him in the jaw and exploded near his mouth while celebrating with family in his home of La Romana.

Every off season, it seems there is one freak accident that affects a major league ballplayer. 1999 Moises Alou, anyone? In Encarnacion’s case it doesn’t seem too serious, though.

Hopefully, it won’t mess with his pretty face. Other than that, it doesn’t sound like it will affect his baseball playing abilities and he won’t require surgery. The 27 year old will be back as new by spring training.

Wildcat Lacrosse team edges ‘05 White Sox for “Team of the Decade” in online poll

Some things are apparently more important than baseball. Like college lacrosse.

In a “Team of the Decade” online poll hosted by the Chicago Tribune, the Northwestern women’s lacrosse team soundly defeated the 2005 World Series winner Chicago White Sox.

For those who don’t follow the sport (no, I don’t either), the Wildcat lacrosse team has won five of the last national Division I titles. I guess they are that good.

They won with 57 percent of the vote in the poll compared to the White Sox’ 36 percent. Rumor has it there was a little “ballot-stuffing” by fans of the lacrosse team.

"Our fans wanted it bad, I guess," (lacrosse Coach) Amonte Hiller said with a laugh.

It’s tempting to take a jab at the Sox for losing out to a bunch of girls but a) those “girls” worked hard and really deserved it b) the 2003 Cubs barely got 1% in the poll and most importantly, c) it just a stupid poll.

Ron Santo re-ups with WGN

I’ll admit it. Ron Santo isn’t my favorite broadcaster to listen to. But like Harry Caray in his later years, I can forgive that. For all I can tell, Ron Santo is probably as genuine as you’re going to get in a business full of cynicism and insincerity.

Which is why I’m happy he signed a three-year extension with WGN Radio to do the color commentary with Pat Hughes (thanks, Pat).

Like Harry, no one seems to love the game or the Cubs more (and dare I say it, the enthusiasm doesn’t appear to be an act like so many in the broadcasting biz):

"I love what I do, and it keeps me alive, as far as I’m concerned," Santo said from his Arizona home. "When I go in [to negotiate], I could say I’m looking for a two-year [deal] and they’ll say, ‘Why don’t you take a three-year contract?’"

I’m normally not so sentimental in such matters but in Santo’s case, I’ll make an exception. He deserves more (*cough* Hall of Fame *cough*) but I’m happy for the news.

Alaskan Baseball gaining favor?

Bus Leagues Baseball has a nice piece on the Alaska Baseball League. They interview Jesse Jack who covers the ABL on his site, 49th State Hardball.

Maybe it’s me but I’m getting the sense that the ABL is gaining in popularity among colleges to send their ballplayers in the summer. Even our University of Illinois firstbaseman Matt Dittman, who was playing for the Lake Erie Monarchs last year, faced the Alaska Goldpanners as part of the 104th Midnight Sun Game in Fairbanks. The Libertyville Review had a feature on his trip.

And no, it doesn’t get THAT cold in the summer there. We’re talking about Fairbanks here:

From the interview:

A “hot” day up here is in the neighborhood of 70-80 degrees, which is comfortable for almost everyone. The colder days can be a little chilly; down into the 50-degree range. In fact, at least one team has installed heaters in their grandstand! But it’s very rarely too cold or too hot to take in a ball game…

We could use that kind of weather here at UI games.

Gerald Laird: Did the Suns play that bad?

An odd story coming out of Phoenix… mlb.com reports that Detroit catcher Gerald Laird was arrested along with his brother Brandon who is a minor leaguer for the Yankees. The pending charge for Gerald is assault after trying to interfere with another arrest after a Suns-Celtics game.

"While [security guards] were trying to arrest the suspect for disorderly conduct, the [Laird brothers] interfered and assaulted the security guards," Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill told the AP.

One, I’d like to hear Laird’s side of the story and two, why couldn’t he hit like this during the 2009 season (ok, that was a cheap shot).

2009 MiLBY awards announced

Roll out the red carpet. It’s time for the 2009 MiLBY Awards which awarded to the best performances in the minor leagues this year.

You can find the complete coverage of the MiLBYs on mlb.com

A couple awards of note:

Dan Hudson who pitched for the White Sox organization (and actually made it to the bigs for a quick cup of coffee late in the year) won the award for best overall pitcher. He did so thanks to a 2.32 ERA and a 14-5. Want a more impressive stat? He struck out 166 and walked only 34 for a 4.88 K/BB ratio.

David Cales is someone who I’m looking forward to seeing in a Cub uniform. For Single-A Daytona, he had a 0.78 ERA in 37 games which got him the Best Reliever in Class A Advanced. It may not be too long before we see him… he’s already made it to AA Tennessee.

Speaking of Daytona, Catcher Robinson Chirinos who also plays for them, won the MiLBY award for Best Single Game Performance at the Class A Advanced level. On May 31, the Venezuelan native hit two grand slams to help the Daytona Cubs to a 11-3 victory over Sarasota. That’s the second time that’s happened in the Florida State League history.

The Best Team award went to Padre Class A affiliate Fort Wayne Tin Caps. They won over 100 games (a 101-48 record to be precise) which in the minors, is pretty dang rare. By the way, their manager? Former Cubs speedster Doug Dascenzo.

The Best Hitter award will be announced sometime today.