1994 and What could have been...

            As a baseball fan, I look back at the 1994 season in embarrassment. The strike season, the real deal, where hardball playing by both sides led to the cancellation of the World Series for the first time. (The 1904 Series wasn't played because Giants Manager John McGraw didn't think of the American League as a worthy opponent, but this was back before there was a baseball commissioner, and TV money, to dictate what happened)

            Historic numbers were being encroached upon, Matt Williams was on pace to hit 60+ homers, Greg Maddux was going for his 3rd straight 20 win season (he finished with 16, and then 19 in a shortened 1995 season and would have easily done it in 5 straight seasons, Tony Gwynn finished with a .394 batting average, the highest since Ted Williams and the magical 1941 season. The Expos (now Nationals) were essentially running away with the NL East crown, and the Yankees the AL East.

            It was when fans began really wondering if there were players using steroids, beyond the suppositions of the Bash Brothers doing so. Albert Belle was accused of using some sort of performance enhancing product on more than one occasion that season.

            It is easy to lay blame on the broken season, owners, players, unions, league officials; they all share equal culpability for the lost season. But ultimately, it leaves a huge black mark on the legacy of then interim commissioner Bud Selig, and has had a ripple that is still being felt today, as there is no baseball in Montreal, still no .400 hitter.           
            Now, another Giant holds the homerun record.

            Expansion happened again in 1993, adding teams in Florida and Colorado, but  1994 introduced expanding the leagues into three logically regional divisions (Atlanta moving from the West to the East), adding a wild card team for the post-season that wasn't to be.

            But, it should be noted, that it was also the LAST work stoppage in Major League Baseball.  Lessons learned? Maybe. Then there was the post-strike issues, possible juiced baseballs, definitely juiced players...so let's just look at what happened on the field, shall we.

            In the NL, as I mentioned earlier, there were some excellent performances, some of them had the possibility of being historic. The NL East leader was the Expos, 6 games ahead of the Braves, who were in the wild card spot. The Reds and Dodgers led the other divisions.

            Future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux was in the midst of a very impressive run, the middle year of a three year run in which he won 55 games in 89 starts, and had a combined ERA of 1.90. In 1994 he was 16-6 1.56, winning the Cy Young and finishing 5th in MVP voting. His 1.56 ERA is the lowest since Dwight Gooden's 1.53 as a twenty year old in 1985.

            Future hall of Famer Tony Gwynn was on a tear, and finished with his career best .394, the best average since Brett's .390 in 1980. He was the bright spot on a dismal Padres team, which had the worst record in the NL at the time of the break.

            Jeff Bagwell also posted some very impressive numbers overall, (39 116 .368) and kept the Astros within a half game of the division leading Reds.

            And then there's Matt Williams. On pace to hit 62 homers, he finished at 43 96 .267. And had the very odd stat line that had just 16 doubles. Batting ahead of Barry Bonds most of the season, it is possible that he would have made a big run at Roger Maris' mark of 61 dingers. Of course, without dealing with the 'dog days' or that massive media crush that would have followed him every step of the way if he was close in September, but we'll never know.

            So, to the stats...and some surprising names:

            Top vs. their Team

1. Marvin Freeman                  COL                2.0755

2. Joey Hamilton                     SD                   1.7849

3. Greg Maddux                     ATL                1.7505

4. Jeff Bagwell                        HOU               1.7235

5. Bret Saberhagen                  NYM               1.7196

6. Gary Sheffield                    LA                   1.7186

7. Barry Bonds                        SF                    1.6701

8. Zane Smith                          PIT                  1.5806

9. Steve Trachsel                     CHC                1.5798

10. Danny Jackson                  CIN                 1.5518

            And then vs. the League:

1. Greg Maddux                     ATL                2.0675

2. Jeff Bagwell                        HOU               1.9659

3. Bret Saberhagen                  NYM               1.7655

4. Ken Hill                              MON               1.7573

5. Joey Hamilton                     SD                   1.6742

6. Doug Drabek                      HOU               1.6682

7. Marvin Freeman                  COL                1.6602

8. Larry Walker                       MON               1.6342

9. Mike Piazza                         LAD                1.6198

10. Danny Jackson                  CIN                 1.6024

            Now, as this blog project is a living breathing document, and I am always tinkering with formulas, I have made an adjustment to the way I figure value. Essentially, I take the numbers for each of the above categories, and average them, giving me yet another number that helps me to ascertain an even better overall gauge of performance. that being said, the top NL performers are as follows, along with their actual stats:

Maddux          16-6     1.56

Freeman          10-2     2.80

Bagwell           39        116      .368

Saberhagen      14-4     2.74

Hamilton         9-6       2.98

Sheffield         27        78        .276

Piazza              24        92        .319

Drabek                        12-6     2.84

Jackson            14-6     3.26

            The Post Season awards were Bagwell as your MVP and Maddux as your Cy Young Award winner

            The American League offense was fueled by Frank Thomas, who was the MVP, Albert Belle and Ken Griffey Jr. The pitching leaders were Cy Young winner David Cone, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens.

            The Yankees were pacing the rest of the league, running at a .619 Winning Percentage, six and a half games over the second place Blue Jays. The Indians and White Sox were neck and neck in the newly formed AL Central, with Chicago holding a one game lead. And in the West, Texas was on top of a weak division, in first place despite being ten games under .500.

            Griffey, with a struggling Seattle team, was on pace to hit 58 homers at the stoppage of play, and with Randy Johnson having a very good season for a very bad team, it's safe to say that Seattle would have made a very strong push in August and September, and could have made the playoffs. But it's easy to say and impossible to prove.

            So for the AL, here's what it looked like, very pitching heavy in the AL, surprisingly

            Top vs. Team

1. Randy Johnson       SEA                2.0637

2. David Cone             KC                  1.7138

3. Roger Clemens        BOS                1.7065

4. Chuck Finley           CAL                1.6679

5. Mike Mussina          BAL                1.6570

6. Bobby Ayala           SEA                1.6401

7. Kenny Rogers         TEX                1.6132

8. Steve Ontiveros      OAK               1.5925

9. Kevin Tapani           MIN                1.5845

10. Jimmy Key            NYY               1.5814

            And vs. League

1. David Cone             KC                  1.8019

2. Mike Mussina          BAL                1.7204

3. Frank Thomas         CHW               1.6627

4. Jimmy Key              NYY               1.6574

5. Albert Belle             CLE                1.6069

6. Randy Johnson       SEA                1.5557

7. Kirby Puckett          MIN                1.5258

8. Steve Howe             NYY               1.4574

9. Ken Griffey             SEA                1.4507

10. Paul O'Neill           NYY               1.4232

           

            And the other number:

Johnson                       13-6     3.19

Cone                            16-5     2.94

Mussina                       16-5     3.06

Key                             17-4     3.27

Thomas                        38        101      .353

Clemens                      9-7       2.85

Puckett                        20        112      .317

Belle                            36        101      .357

Griffey                        40        90        .323

Howe                          3-0       1.80     15 saves

            Post season awards were given to Frank Thomas and David Cone.

            So, while there were historical offensive possibilities, the best player in each league was a pitcher. 

            

This is a phenomenal book about a mediocre ballplayer, but an important one nonetheless...

1972: Tragedy, tumult and pitching...

            !972 was a roller-coaster of a year in the world, both inside and outside of the sports realm. It was the year of the re-election of President Richard Nixon, and the beginning of the unraveling of that presidency, the war in Viet Nam was still ongoing, and airline hijackings were becoming a routine occurrence.

            The Munich Summer Olympic Games in late August dominated the sports news, with American Mark Spitz winning 7 medals in swimming that year, but that was overshadowed by the slaughter of 8 Israeli athletes by Arab terrorists in the Olypmic Village in September.

            In the baseball world, labor strife was  beginning to show itself, resulting in the first ever cancellation of regular season games because of a labor dispute, losing the first week and a half of scheduled games that season, which were never made up. As a result, some teams played less games than other teams. One of the results of this was the Billy Martin led Detroit Tigers winning the AL East title by a half game over the Red Sox, with the Tigers having played 1 more game than Boston. It is safe to say that with an equal amount of games played, the outcome may have been different.

            1972 saw the unexpected, untimely passing of former Dodger great, and current Met manager Gil Hodges, who suffered a massive heart attack at the end of Spring Training. he was replaced by Yogi Berra, who piloted the pitching rich team to a third place finish.

            For the first time in over seventy years there was no professional baseball played in Washington, D.C., as owner Bob Short moved the franchise to the Dallas area, and renamed them the Texas Rangers. Hall of Famer Ted Williams piloted the team to a last place finish. Williams was reportedly miserable in Texas, and resigned at the end of the season.

            Willie Mays' career had quickly fallen into a rapidly declining downward spiral, and had become an expendable player in the Giants' outfield, when long time Giants fan, and New York Mets owner Joan Payson arranged to bring the Say Hey Kid back to New York. Willie was traded to the Mets on May 11th, and made his Mets' debut on the 14th, against those same Giants. Hitting leadoff, and playing fist base, Mays homered in the 5th inning in front of his new hometown crowd at Shea Stadium.

            The season's end saw Pirate's legend Roberto Clemente's run towards three thousand hits, trying to become the 11th player to reach that milestone. On September 28th in Pittsburgh, against my beloved Mets, and lefty Jon Matlack, Clemente doubled to left center for his three thousandth, and last career hit.

            Adding to his legend in the off-season, Clemente chartered a plane in his native Puerto Rico, filled it with emergency relief supplies, and on December 31st, took off for Managua, Nicaragua, which had been decimated by an earthquake earlier in the month which killed upwards of 12,000 people.

            His plane never arrived. It crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all aboard.

            On the playing field, Nolan Ryan debuted with the California Angels, after being traded by the Mets for Jim Fregosi, in what has been widely regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history...Sparky Anderson led the burgeoning Big Red Machine to the NL West crown, again...the A's won their second of five consecutive AL West crowns.

            But there was one phenomenal performance of note...

            Lefty, Steve Carlton of the Phillies, who had been traded from the Cardinals before the season started, went 27-10 with a    1.97 ERA for an absolutely terrible Phillies team. Carlton won 27 games, and the team won just 59 games. He won 46% of the teams wins. And with not a whole lot of offense to back him up, he pitched 8 shutouts and completed 30 games. (He also batted .197 with 1 homer and 8 RBI)

            He endured a 5 game losing streak early in the season, losing 2 of those by 1 run, and 2 others by 2 runs. He also had a stretch of 4 shutouts in 5 games, giving up just 1 run in the non-shutout. So essentially 1 run given up in 45 innings.

            So let's see how that matches up. First, we'll look at the AL, combining the hitters and pitchers... 

AL vs league:

Dick Allen       CHW   1.9162

Carlton Fisk    BOS    1.7373

Bobby Murcer NYY   1.7246

Joe Rudi          OAK   1.6705

John MayberryKC      1.6446

Reggie Smith  BOS    1.6266

Bill Freehan     DET    1.6002

Carlos May      CHA   1.5948

C.Yastrzemski BOS    1.5799

Reggie JacksonOAK  1.5494

AL vs Team   

            Dick Allen       CHI     1.8250

            Gaylord Perry CLE    1.7105

            Bobby Murcer NYY   1.6571

            Nolan Ryan     CAL    1.5527

            Bob Oliver      CAL    1.5429

            Graig Nettles   CLE    1.5394

            Bill Freehan     DET    1.5334

            Jim Palmer       BAL    1.5278

            Joe Rudi          OAK   1.5272

            Ken Berry       CAL    1.5043

            The league award voting were as follows:

            MVP

            Dick Allen

            Joe Rudi

            Sparky Lyle

            Carlton Fisk

            Bobby Murcer

            and the Cy Young:

            Gaylord Perry

            Wilbur Wood

            Mickey Lolich

            Catfish Hunter

            Jim Palmer

            The voters were correct on Dick Allen AND Gaylord Perry for their individual league awards, and would have earned both honors through my system as well. If there was one award to be given as the overall best player in the AL in 1972, it was easily Dick Allen.

            Allen was on with tremendous potential, born ten years too late. He  was born in Wampum, Pennsylvania, and was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960. He spent his first spring training in Florida, where he first encountered segregation in the deep  south.

            In 1963, he was assigned to the Phillies minor league affiliate in Little Rock, and was met with racial hatred like he had never experienced. He was the first African-American player for the team, and the locals apparently arranged protests and parades around his appearance with the team.

            He made the major leagues for good in 1964 with the Phillies, and had one of the best rookie seasons ever. Playing in all 162 games, he amassed 201 hits, with 29 homers, 91 RBI and batted .318. The Phillies that year had an epic end of season collapse, and failed to win the pennant, but Allen ran away with the Rookie of the Year award, with 18 of the 20 votes. He also finished 7th in MVP voting.

            1965 is where he began a love/hate relationship with the Philadelphia fans. Some of that perceived animosity stems from a batting cage horseplay incident involving Frank Thomas. Thomas, a veteran ballplayer and reportedly somewhat of a bully, was eager to share quite a few disparaging remarks, most of them racial in nature, with the young Allen, leading to a pre-game fistfight in which Thomas flung a bat at Allen, hitting his shoulder. The popular Thomas was sold to the Houston Astros a short time later.

            Some of Allen's exploits on the field are legendary in their own right. He cleared the Coke sign at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia with a homerun that went an estimated 529 feet. He hit a line drive so hard, the opposing shortstop jumped to try and reach it, but the ball kept rising. It allegedly only stopped rising when it reached the seats.

            The fans in Philadelphia became merciless. Allen, a sensitive man, had endured threats, racial epithets, and other disgraceful abuse, decided to then hurl things at Allen. Showering him with fruit, ice and even radio batteries. He took to wearing his protective batting helmet while fielding his position, which may have egged on the Phillie faithful.

            Known late in his career for doing things on his own schedule, he partnered with the late, great Chuck Tanner, who was his manager with the White Sox. Tanner essentially let Dick be Dick. If he wanted to show up 20 minutes before a game, that was fine with Tanner...as long as Allen produced. And produce he did. Winning the MVP in 1972, could have easily won the same award in 1969 (as seen in an earlier post of mine).

            The funny thing about Allen and all of the turmoil that was around him, with the exception of the Frank Thomas incident, there were not many other players that had a problem with him. (except maybe opposing pitchers)

            Bob Uecker and Mike Schmidt both have talked in various books about what a great teammate he was.

            So maybe, soon, Cooperstown may call his name, and he would be VERY deserving of that honor.

            Sorry for the digression...

            Let's visit the National League now:

NL vs League

Steve Carlton PHI     1.8168

Johnny Bench CIN     1.7588

Gary Nolan     CIN     1.7524

Don Sutton     LAD    1.7275

Billy Williams CHN   1.6813

Claude Osteen            LAD    1.6267

Bob Gibson     STL     1.6175

Dock Ellis       PIT      1.6167

Jim Wynn        HOU   1.6145

Steve Blass      PIT      1.6135

NL vs Team

            Steve Carlton PHI      2.1566

            Nate Colbert   SD       1.8783

            Bob Gibson     STL     1.6888

            Leron Lee        SD       1.6694

            Ted Simmons STL      1.6442

            Phil Niekro      ATL    1.6240

            Mike Marshall MON   1.6024

            Billy Williams CHN   1.5962

            Johnny Bench CIN     1.5934

            Don Sutton     LAD    1.5358

            And the league award voting was:

            Johnny Bench

            Billy Williams

            Willie Stargell

            Joe Morgan

            Steve Carlton

            And the Cy Young vote:

            Steve Carlton

            Steve Blass

            Fergie Jenkins

            Mike Marshall

            4 pitchers tied at 5th

            Bench had a very good year, no doubt. And I can understand the hesitance of the voters to vote for a player on a last place team for the MVP award. But the fact is, Carlton was by and far the best player in either league and by a long shot. Carlton, notorious for not being 'press-friendly'. But the reality is, that 1972 season by Carlton is easily one of the top 5 performances ever.     

3000

            Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez on getting his 3,000th big league hit in grand fashion. Good job.

            Now, what do we do with this information and the steroid issue?

            Nothing.

            Steroids, or any performing enhancing products have little or no effect on what he has accomplished, namely hitting a round object with a round object, doing so squarely, and being able to 'hit it where they ain't' enough times to amass 3,000 hits (and counting).

            So yes, steroids will help a player bulk up, and may help a player recover a lot quicker from injuries, that art of hitting, purely hitting, as of now cannot be medically altered. (that I know of)

           

            Quit you're griping if you are anti-Alex and relish in the historical fact that he is just the 39th player to accumulate as many hits...

            Well done.

Order for a belated Father's Day present...

1930, and the opulence of offense...

            Someone once said that is hard to look back on past baseball seasons without         commentary on the historical significance of those years. That being said, it should be noted that the first ever night baseball game was played on April 28th in Independence, Kansas, the Twinkie was invented, and Farm Cow Ollie became the first cow to be milked in an airplane. (She may also be the ONLY one)

            Prohibition was in full effect in 1930, and the great depression was gripping the nation. Babe Ruth of the Yankees was paid $80,000. Someone pointed out that the Babe was getting paid more than President Herbert Hoover, and he famously responded, "I had a better year than he did."

            Prosperity was hard to find in America...unless you were a big league hitter.

            With the depression in full swing, it's hard to imagine anyone with more than they needed. But in baseball, that's exactly what seemed to happen. Many look at the 1930 season as the best season for hitters, and it's hard to disagree. The combined leagues' batting average that year was .296, the highest ever in the modern era; averaged 5.55 runs scored per game, again the highest in the modern era; and the pitchers had an ERA of 4.81, worst in the modern era.

            Bill Terry became the last National League hitter to hit over .400. (.401 to be exact). Hack Wilson set the NL home run record with 56 homers, a record that stood for 68 years until Mark McGwire slammed 70. Wilson still holds the major league record for RBI with 191, averaging 1.23 RBI per game.

            No steroids, no performance enhancing drugs. Just an impressive offensive season. Bad pitching? Maybe. But Casey Stengel used to say, "Good pitching stops good hitting, and vice-versa".  Lefty Grove, Carl Hubbell, Ted Lyons and Wes Ferrell were active pitchers that year, as was 43 year old Grover Alexander and 36 year old Burleigh Grimes (the last of the legal spitball pitchers)

            The Cardinals faced the A's in the World Series, with Philadelphia winning in 6 games, behind the slugging of Al Simmons and Jimmie Foxx.  So let's look first at the best offensive performances in both leagues, lowest to best.    

            Beginning in the AL:

            5. Mickey Cochrane    PHA    2.6303

            4. Jimmie Foxx            PHA    2.6895

            3. Babe Ruth               NYY   2.9927

            2. Lou Gehrig              NYY   2.9939

            1. Al Simmons            PHA    3.1829

            And the NL:

            5. Chick Hafey            STL     2.6536

            4. Babe Herman          BKL    2.7003

            3. Kiki Cuyler             CHN   2.7588

            2. Chuck Klein            PHN    2.9795

            1. Hack Wilson           CHN   3.0044

            Simmons and Wilson would be the Offensive Players of the year, easily. Note that while Bill Terry did hit .401, his overall ranking placed him 7th in the NL.

            Value? The players with the highest performance compared to their teams?

            AL:

                       

            5. Earl Webb               BOS    1.3781

            4. Charlie Gehringer    DET    1.4419

            3. Carl Reynolds         CHA   1.4735

            2. Al Simmons            PHA    1.5157

            1. Goose Goslin          STL     1.5970

            NL:

            5. Kiki Cuyler             CHN   1.3567

            4. Harry Heilman        CIN     1.4561

            3. Wally Berger           BOS    1.4736

            2. Hack Wilson           CHN   1.4774

            1. Chuck Klein            PHI     1.5214

            Two things of note. Hack Wilson, while he had a fantastic season, had help, as proved by teammate Kiki Cuyler's top 5 ranking. The same with the Yankees combo of Ruth & Gehrig. Both had monster offensive years, but they were on a team that scored 1096 runs.

            And, if I add the time spent with Washington, Goose Goslin would place 4th on the Most Valuable list. 

Gary's book makes for a great Father's Day gift

Take 20% Off Any One Item With Code BNDAD20! Shop BN.com. Offer valid 6.14 - 6.15.15.

Gary Cierdakowski's latest blog offering, mentioning yours truly...

The Fan Club

            I had the opportunity to attend the Mets Opening Day in 1984, so I went with my buddy Squig. (Not his real name, in case you were wondering) 1984 was to be a fateful year for us.

            I think that school was out for Easter, but I couldn't swear to it. I do know that Ron Darling started the game, and it wasn't a pretty one. the Expos won 10-0, so it was not a good omen for the upcoming season, or so we thought.

            Davey Johnson had just taken the helm of the Mets after spending the previous year managing the Tidewater Tides in the International League, winning 71 games. That spring, he got to witness the phenom that was Dwight Gooden.

            Doc had torn up the Carolina League in 1983, striking out 300 batters in 191 innings, winning 19 games along the way for the Lynchburg Mets.  He was eighteen years old, and he would go on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in 1984, setting several new records along the way.

            I won't go into the description of the subway ride from our homes in Woodhaven to Shea Stadium, but suffice it to say that the subway conductor wasn't going to be forgetting us any time soon. Essentially, on the G train, Squig and I would change seats between each of the stops. It took five or six stops before he noticed what we were doing, and at first confusion led to slight annoyance, then to what I believe was admiration for our perseverance. I think as we got to our stop, Squig may have even tipped him.

          
          We finally got to the stadium, about an hour or so before game time. As we were taking in the sights and festivities around us, we both noticed one of the coaches (we knew this because it was the eighties, and he was wearing a number in the 50's) half limping, half walking towards the bullpen. We reached for our scorecard and looked him up:

51- Vern Hoscheit.

            Squig and I had not heard of him prior to that, (remember kiddos, this was before the Google was available) but there was something almost lyrical about the name. Vern Hoscheit.

            A little while later, as they introduced both teams, when they introduced "Number 51, bullpen coach Vern Hoscheit", both Squig and I screamed out "VERN!!" Nobody else did anything else apart from polite home team applause.

            Like I said, the game itself wasn't anything to be proud of, except for noting that Gary Carter hit a Grand Slam homer in the game. The commute home was interesting enough, inasmuch as when we were getting on the G Train, who should we have as our conductor? Yep. The same one from earlier. And yes, he did remember us.

            A few times that summer, a summer which was turning into a somewhat magical summer for many teams and many reasons, we would hear a reference to Vern on a radio broadcast, or a telecast and each of us would yell "Vern!" no matter where we were at the time we heard it. (Yes, we got a lot of stares)      

            Then, I had an idea.

            Sitting on the stoop in front of my house one evening, I told Squig, "You know, if we started a Vern Hoscheit Fan Club, and made like a banner, and took it to a game, they'd probably show us on TV."

            There was a very long pause as Squig looked at me, I could see the wheels spinning, and he finally said, "You know what, it just might work."

            And the plan was hatched.

            The Mets were on their way to their second 90 win season, with the Gooden show being the must have ticket, combined with the Mets being in playoff contention until the last week of the season, made getting tickets more of a challenge than had been the case in the previous years. But we muddled ahead and picked the last Saturday game of the season, also against the Expos. That was our debut.

           

            By this time, I had my drivers license, so we didn't have to rely on the subways to get us to the game. It also meant we could get to the stadium as early as we wanted. (Too early as it turned out, they wouldn't let us in at 11:00 for a 2:05 game, so we bided our time.         

            We had masks, one Groucho mask and one giant insect mask, both provided by Squig, and both ungodly hot and uncomfortable to wear. I had the banner, or rather, one of my mother's white bed sheets with the words "Vern Hoscheit Fan Club, Vern is God" hand lettered, badly at that, in black spray paint. (Not to pat myself on the back here, but all the words were spelled correctly) We also had navy blue t-shirts with red felt iron-on lettering which said "Vern is God" on the front, and "The Vern Hoscheit Fan Club" in smaller letters on the back. We looked awesome.

            When they finally let us in, we ran up to our seats, which were on the railing in the upper deck, the two seats on the foul side of the foul pole. The Mets were still taking batting practice, and we immediately donned the masks and unfurled the banner and started yelling to get their attention.

            Below us, Ron Darling and Darryl Strawberry were shagging flies in right field when they looked up at us and started laughing. Pointing and laughing, if truth be told. They hollered over to some of the other guys, and then there were a bunch of players pointing and laughing at us. Ron Darling then tossed us a baseball, and pointed towards second base, where the man himself was gathering baseballs in a bucket for the BP pitcher. He saw us and waved at us.

            It was awesome.

            So we settled down to await the start of the game, about an hour or so away, and tried to plot when the best time to walk with the banner was. We both agreed that later in the game was better, not sure why, but it made sense to us. As we were chatting away, Vern started making his way to the bullpen, lumbering towards our spot, so we jumped up again and unfurled the banner again. he waved and smiled back up at us.

            Man, this was more awesome.

            So as we get into the game, fifth or sixth inning, we decide...now is the time. We are going to walk the banner. So our plan was to start in the row in the far right field stands, and walk to the other side, the left field stands. We start, only to be stopped by a stadium guard, who tells us that we can't carry a banner like that while the ball is in play. But there was about to be a pitching change, so we could do it then.

            As Jim Fanning marched to the mound to bring in Randy St. Claire, Squig and I began our march to left field. With one eye on the Diamondvision screen, looking for ourselves, and listening to a chorus of "Who the Hell is that?" we made our way from post to post. Satisfied with the job we had done, we rewarded ourselves with a hot dog and a Coke and returned to our seats to finish watching the game.

            Then, out of nowhere, between innings, the Mets bullpen door opens, and out comes Vern, headed our way again. As we were about to unfurl again, he motions for us to go back into the stands, along the walkway that overlooks the bullpen, and he would meet us there.

            Awesome strikes again.

            We go back there and we have a few words, he asks if we were for real, and where we got the shirts and could we get him one. We asked if he could sign our ball, which he did. And we made a promise to stay in touch, which we most definitely did.

                                    (I still have the ball to this day, picture taken 3/31/2021)

            The game ended, the Mets won, and we were very excited as we drove home. A little bummed that we weren't on TV, but we got a ball, and autograph, and a chance to talk with Vern, if only for a few minutes. Then we got home, and found out something we didn't know. the TV feed that is broadcast is NOT the same feed that is on Diamondvision. We had made it to TV, and it was awe...uh..great!

            But some background information first here. Sometimes, as you follow a particular team, you have certain players that you develop an affinity for. Guys that you want to see do well, get that clutch hit. Not the big stars, but the guy that starts maybe once a week. Maybe rides that pine as a pinch-hitter.

            Conversely, sometimes there may be a player that you can't stand. Sometimes nor reasons that my not be particularly rational. You just hate seeing this guy get up to bat or being called in to pitch in relief. Whatever. For me, Roger Cedeno fell into that category. For Squig, it was Ron Hodges.

            Squig was known to unload a stream of expletives whenever Hodges was put into a game. All hope was lost whenever he saw Hodges by the bat rack. We had been to a nail-biter against these same Expos in early April as well and they had a lead going into the ninth. The Mets pushed across 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game, helped by a crucial pinch-hit walk by that same Ron Hodges. When Wally Backman then doubled batting right handed (a rarity for him) poor Squig was beside himself with joy and anger.

            So, fast forward to our awesome day, and Squig goes back and watches the video tape and sees us. And I was right, not only did they show us, the announcers also poked a little bit of fun at us as well. The bullpen TV plays the TV feed as well, so as they are showing us maneuvering our way through the crowd, the camera cuts to the bullpen, where they know Vern is, and you can see a slight commotion as one of the Mets players pushes Vern out to accept the glory of his newly found fan club.

                                      the Vern Hoscheit Fan Club

            Anyone want to take a guess at what Mets player it was the pushed Vern out?

            Ron Hodges.

            Over the next little bit, with a little bit of detective work, and some lucky breaks, we were able to get in contact with Vern by telephone on a few occasions. (This was when you had to pay extra for long distance). I spent about twenty minutes one evening speaking with his lovely wife.

            Squig and I sent him a Fudgy the Whale ice-cream cake (from Carvel) for his birthday in 1985. (April 1st in case you were interested)

            After the Mets won the World Series in 1986, we called Vern during the off season and he told us that if we made it to spring training, he would buy us dinner one night. So we took him up on it. In fact, that's what he wrote in the Christmas card he sent:

            The Mets were training in St. Petersburg that year, the last before moving to Port St. Lucie. Since it was Spring Break ( a concept Squig and I were unfamiliar with) the nearest hotel we could get was in Clearwater. But that was OK by us. We caught a couple of games. We made arrangements to meet with Vern after an exhibition game against the Cardinals, meeting him in the lobby of the Marriott, where we watched and listened to the legendary Bob Murphy interviewing the legendary Lindsay Nelson.

            Vern took us to a little Italian restaurant and we had a good meal, a great conversation, and enough anecdotes and story for a lifetime. He told us that during the post game team meeting he was trying to rush Davey Johnson along, and Davey jokingly asked if Vern had a date. To which Vern replied, "I'm taking my Fan Club out to dinner"

            (imagine a clubhouse full of snickering at this point)

            To which Davey asks' "Do you have enough money? Do you need a little money?"

            Bill Robinson, the Mets first-base coach said, "No, he don't need any money. There ain't but two of them".

            (imagine even more laughter at this point).

            I was happy to have met Vern and am grateful for the evening he spent with two bozos from Woodhaven.

            Vern shared a few great stories, some of which I will probably share on these postings from time to time. Vern has 4 World Series rings, two from the Oakland A's, and one each from the Mets and the Orioles. He worked with Casey Stengel, was one of Lou Piniella's earliest professional managers, and seemed to have winning ball-clubs on his resume.

            When former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010, the first non-family member that he thanked was Vern, who was his first manager in professional ball. 

          

        In June, 2007, I received this e-mail:

I just wanted to let you know that Vern passed away June 11th, 2007.  Your fan club meant a lot to Vern, it was something he was proud of. 

    Thank You, Billy Ray Hoscheit

        No, Thank You... 


PS Thanks to Squig for the pictures and the video

In Keeping With a Theme...1973

            1973 seemed to be a season where no team wanted to win.

            Okay. that's not true.

            The National League East was the division that had the tightest race, going down to the last day of the season, and then some, before crowning a winner.

            The American League races were pretty tame, with the Orioles and A's winning their respective divisional crowns. The Orioles finding first place for good in early August coasted to an eight game win over the Boston Red Sox; The defending World Champion A's held off the charging young Kansas City Royals by six games, leading the division from August 16th.

            Over in the National League, the Big Red Machine was getting into gear, but were still able to repeat as NL West Champions, hitting first place on Labor Day, and holding off the Dodgers to win by three and a half games.           

            Which brings us to my beloved Mets. On August 30th, they were in last place in the division, but just six and a half games back at that point. They had been as far back as twelve games in July. The "Ya Gotta Believe" team, about which manager Yogi Berra philosophized "It ain't over 'til its over" went on a tear, winning twenty-one of their last thirty to claim the pennant on a rainy afternoon at Wrigley Field, where the Mets and Cubs were scheduled to play a make up doubleheader. (The Mets won the first game negating the need for the second game)

            Led by Tom Seaver in his Cy Young season, the Mets won eighty-two games that year, and thanks to divisional play, made the playoffs and then the World Series. The Mets, who coincidentally were the first ever National League East champions in 1969, would have finished in no better than fourth place if the divisional play had not been instituted.

            Pitching was a bit more prevalent in the National League at the time, which led to the American League's instituting the Designated Hitter rule for the 1973 season. (Hello, Ron Blomberg) The pitcher's that dominated this year pretty much dominated the entirety of the '70s. Jim Palmer, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan all had very good seasons. No really substantial offensive numbers happened this year. Rod Carew won the AL batting title by hitting .350, forty-four points above the next runner-up (George "Boomer" Scott and Tommy Davis both hit .306) No American Leaguer scored more than one hundred runs that year, Reggie Jackson led with ninety-nine. But the A's did have four players that scored eighty-nine or more.

            Nolan Ryan set the record for strikeouts, three hundred eighty-three, while pitching the first two no-hitters of his career. There were eleven pitchers in the AL that won twenty or more games, Wilbur Wood paced the league with twenty-four. But this isn't uncommon. There were quite a few pitchers that were still able to pitch three hundred or more innings.

            The National League did have a better year offensively.

            The "Launching Pad" that was Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium hosted the first ever trio of forty home run teammates (Hank Aaron, Darrell Evans and Davey Johnson. Evans would be the first to hit forty homers in both leagues topping that mark with the Tigers in 1984 as well)

            Willie (not yet "Pops") Stargell collected a .646 Slugging Percentage while hitting forty-four homers and driving in one hundred nineteen runs. In fact, there were seven National Leaguers that scored one hundred runs or more. Two unlikely players, from the same unlikely team, led the NL in On Base Percentage. Ron Fairly was at .422 just behind Expo teammate Ken Singleton's .425.

            None of the NL pitchers logged more than three hundred innings, and Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver led the league with a 2.08 ERA. Only lefty Ron Bryant of the Giants was able to notch twenty wins that season.

            As I mentioned before, the Mets made it to the World Series, beating the Reds on the National League Championship Series three games to two, in a Series that is probably most remembered for the fight between Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose at second base.

            The A's dispatched the Orioles handily in the American League Series three ganes to two, setting up the Mets-A's Series and the last post-season appearance of the great Willie Mays. The "Say Hey Kid' was at the end of his playing days, and was relegated to just a handful of appearances in the post-season. His final season numbers are nothing of note.

            The other thing that seems to have endured in memories from the 1973 World Series involved A's second baseman Dick Green. <>

            In something that I will cover at a later date, I was able to meet and have a few conversations with a baseball lifer named Vern Hoscheit. Among the many jobs that Vern held in baseball was bullpen coach for the Oakland A's during the early 1970's.

            Charley O. Finley purchased the Athletics franchise while they were still in Kansas City. Through many trials and tribulations, he moved the team to Oakland for the 1968 season, prompting U.S. Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri in an appeal to AL President Joe Cronin, to pronounce that "Oakland is the luckiest city since Hiroshima".

            Charley Finley wanted a winning team, and a winning situation, and despite his reputation as a tightwad, could be very generous to his players. But Charley was Charley.

            Vern told me a story of the day in 1971 that the A's won their one-hundreth game of the season, that Charley had placed a one hundred dollar bill in each and every locker after the game. When they won the hundred and first game, there was a one dollar bill in each locker.

            The A's won the World Series in 1972, beating the A's in a classic match-up of pitching, power and strategy, including a phantom intentional walk to Johnny Bench. The A's Championship ring was by all accounts, gorgeous. Standard gold with a kelly green stone, diamond inlaid in the center, in the shape of a baseball diamond, and Charley's famous equation etched on the side S+S=S. (Sweat + Sacrifice = Success)

            At the beginning of the 1973 season, as Finley was distributing the rings, he said something to the effect of 'win this year guys, and I'll make this ring look like a dime store ring'.

                       

            After Dick Green made two errors in the playoffs, he made his third of the post-season in Game 4, Finley essentially tried to 'fire' Green and replace him on the roster with rookie second baseman Manny Trillo. The Mets protested, rightly so, and the A's tried to get Green to admit to a physical ailment. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn got involved, as he often did with Finley and his antics, and decreed that essentially, the roster was set before the series. If Green was injured, that was unfortunate, but Trillo, or any other player could not be added to the post-season roster. 

           

            As the Series played out, and the A's won their second of three consecutive titles, the bitterness that Finley had over the Dick Green situation, combined with several other factors, including manager Dick Williams resigning at the conclusion of the Series, the Yankees signing of Williams, and the maelstrom that created, when World Series Ring time came around, the gaudiness was also gone. The 1973 A's World Series ring, while still impressive, was essentially a generic championship ring.

            He did make up for it in 1974 though.

            So, on to the season's performances.

            In the official AL MVP Voting, the top vote getters were:

            Reggie Jackson           OAK               32HR  117RBI .293AVG     

            Jim Palmer                   BAL                22-9 2.40 ERA

            Amos Otis                   KC                  26        93        .300

            Sal Bando                   OAK               29        98        .287

            Rod Carew                  MIN                6          62        .350

            John Hiller                   DET                10-5     1.44 ERA        38 Saves (new record)      

     

            Since the voters were kind enough to vote for 2 pitchers in the top, I will include them in one list as well. Again, comparing them to the league average performance, the top 10 from the AL in 1973 were:

            Reggie Jackson

            Jim Palmer

            Reggie Smith

            George Scott

            John Hiller

            John Mayberry

            Thurman Munson

            Rod Carew

            Carl Yastrzemski

            Amos Otis

            So as far as the best player in the league, the voters got it right.

            The Cy Young voting was a little different, as Hiller didn't get the same consideration in that voting. Whether it was because no reliever had won the award before or not, he didn't fare that well in the voting. But Jim palmer won the first of his three awards:

            Jim Palmer                   BAL                22-9     2.40

            Nolan Ryan                 CAL                21-16   2.87

            Catfish Hunter              OAK               21-5     3.34

            John Hiller                   DET                10-5     1.44     38 saves

            Wilbur Wood              CHI                 24-20   3.46

            And my numbers were:

            Jim Palmer

            John Hiller

            Bert Blyleven              MIN                20-17   2.52

            Catfish Hunter

            Nolan Ryan

           

           

            The MOST VALUABLE PLAYER, the one that exceeded their team's performances, that were truly VALUABLE for the American League that season were:

            Thurman Munson        NY                  20        74        .301

            Frank Robinson           CAL                30        97        .266

            George Scott               MIL                 24        107      .306

            Reggie Jackson           OAK               32        117      .293

            Bobby Murcer             NY                  22        95        .304

            Munson provided a solid catcher with some sneaky good offensive numbers as a young catcher in 1973. He was still not yet reaching his 'prime', but I think this shows that the offensive numbers had been there for a while, and the team needed to build around him, which it eventually did.

           

            And the Most Valuable pitchers were:

            Jim Bibby                    TEX                9-10     3.24

            Gaylord Perry             CLE                19-19   3.38

            John Hiller                   DET                10-5     1.44     38 saves

            Bert Blyleven              MIN                20-17   2.52

            Jim Colborn                 MIL                 20-12   3.18

           

            Bibby is perplexing here, after coning over from St. Louis, his numbers on the face were not that strong, but when you factor in the 9 wins for a team that only won forty-eight more, they kinda make sense. Remember, these number are measured against his team, and his performance above the team average.

            Over in the National League, their voting results were:

            Pete Rose                    CIN                 5          64        .338

            Willie Stargell             PIT                  44        119      .299

            Bobby Bonds              SF                    39        96        .283     43 SB

            Joe Morgan                 CIN                 26        82        .290     67 SB

            Mike Marshall             MON               14-11   2.66     31 Saves

            Lou Brock                   STL                 7          63        .297     70SB

            Tony Perez                  CIN                 27        101      .314    

           

            And the Cy Young vote:

            Tom Seaver                 NY                  19-10   2.08

            Mike Marshall             MON               14-11   2.66     31 saves

            Ron Bryant                 SF                    24-12   3.53

            Jack Billingham           CIN                 19-10   3.04

            Don Sutton                 LA                   18-10   2.42

            Performance wise, there were a few surprises, but the top performers by my calculations were:

            Willie Stargell             PIT                  44        119      .299

            Tom Seaver                 NY                  19-10   2.08

            Joe Ferguson               LA                   25        88        .263

            Bobby Bonds              SF                    39        96        .283     43SB

            Darrell Evans              ATL                41        104      .281

            Johnny Bench             CIN                 25        104      .253

            Ken Singleton             MON               23        103      .302

            Joe Morgan                 CIN                 26        82        .290     67 SB

           

            So, without further adieu, the MOST VALUABLE players in the NL in 1973:      

            Willie Stargell             PIT                  44        119      .299

            Joe Ferguson               LA                   25        88        .263

            Ken Singleton             MON               23        103      .302

            Nate Colbert               SD                   22        80        .270

            Bob Watson                HOU               16        94        .312

            Stargell was easily to most dominant player in the league, leading in homers and RBI. Remember this was a Pirates team that was reeling from the loss of Roberto Clemente in the off-season. This team was the the beginnings of the "We Are Family" championship team of 1979.

            And in pitching:

            Wayne Twitchell         PHI                 13-9     2.50

            Tom Seaver                 NY                  19-10   2.08

            Bill Greif                     SD                   10-17   3.21

            Ken Brett                    PHI                 13-9     3.44

            Steve Renko                MON               15-11   2.81

           

            Twitchell is one that never really lived up to his promise As you can see from his low ERA, he could really pitch. He was one that bounced around to a few organization, but never really landing anywhere until he got to Philly. 1973 was his best season.

            So there you have it, the 1973 season review, or as I see it forty-two years later.

A Great Father's Day gift idea!