Circle of Greats 1926 Balloting

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This post is for voting and discussion in the 55th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This round adds to the ballot those players born in 1926. Rules and lists are after the jump.

This week’s new group joins the holdovers from previous rounds to comprise the full set of players eligible to receive your votes this round. As usual, the new group of 1926-born players, in order to join the eligible list, must have played at least 10 seasons in the major leagues or generated at least 20 Wins Above Replacement (“WAR”, as calculated by baseball-reference.com, and for this purpose meaning 20 total WAR for everyday players and 20 pitching WAR for pitchers).

Each submitted ballot, if it is to be counted, must include three and only three eligible players. The one player who appears on the most ballots cast in the round is inducted into the Circle of Greats. Players who fail to win induction but appear on half or more of the ballots that are cast win four added future rounds of ballot eligibility. Players who appear on 25% or more of the ballots cast, but less than 50%, earn two added future rounds of ballot eligibility. Any other player in the top 9 (including ties) in ballot appearances, or who appears on at least 10% of the ballots, wins one additional round of ballot eligibility.

All voting for this round closes at 11:00 PM EDT Friday, April 25, while changes to previously cast ballots are allowed until 11:00 PM EDT Wednesday, April 23.

If you’d like to follow the vote tally, and/or check to make sure I’ve recorded your vote correctly, you can see my ballot-counting spreadsheet for this round here: COG 1926 Round Vote Tally. I’ll be updating the spreadsheet periodically with the latest votes. Initially, there is a row in the spreadsheet for every voter who has cast a ballot in any of the past rounds, but new voters are entirely welcome — new voters will be added to the spreadsheet as their ballots are submitted. Also initially, there is a column for each of the holdover candidates; additional player columns from the new born-in-1926 group will be added to the spreadsheet as votes are cast for them.

Choose your three players from the lists below of eligible players. The 12 current holdovers are listed in order of the number of future rounds (including this one) through which they are assured eligibility, and alphabetically when the future eligibility number is the same. The new group of 1926 birth-year guys are listed below in order of the number of seasons each played in the majors, and alphabetically among players with the same number of seasons played.

Holdovers:
Sandy Koufax (eligibility guaranteed for 10 rounds)
Juan Marichal (eligibility guaranteed for 7 rounds)
John Smoltz (eligibility guaranteed for 4 rounds)
Edgar Martinez (eligibility guaranteed for 3 rounds)
Whitey Ford (eligibility guaranteed for 2 rounds)
Kenny Lofton (eligibility guaranteed for 2 rounds)
Willie McCovey (eligibility guaranteed for 2 rounds)
Richie Ashburn (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Craig Biggio (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Harmon Killebrew (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Eddie Murray (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Ryne Sandberg (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)

Everyday Players (born in 1926, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Duke Snider
Eddie Yost
Roy Sievers
Billy Goodman
Johnny Groth
Whitey Lockman
Eddie Miksis
Joe Ginsberg
Johnny Logan
Cass Michaels
Roy Smalley
Rube Walker
Chico Carrasquel
Alex Grammas
Randy Jackson
Dale Long
George Strickland

Pitchers (born in 1926, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Robin Roberts
Lew Burdette
Clem Labine
Ralph Branca
Carl Erskine
Ray Moore
Bob Miller
Don Newcombe

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David P

10 years ago

Am I missing something? Shouldn’t Duke Snider be on the ballot as well?

Author

birtelcom

9 years ago

Reply to David P

Yikes, he accidentally got dropped when I inserted the list, but he’s back now. Thanks.

Hartvig

9 years ago

Not only was I not aware that Don Newcombe had played baseball in Japan- in 1962, he must have been one of the first former MLB players to do so. And equally amazing was that he did so as an outfielder/first baseman instead of as a pitcher. I know Lefty O’Douls’s connection to Japanese baseball goes back to the 30’s or even earlier and that MLB teams played exhibition games there starting early in the 20th Century but that’s the earliest I’m aware of any former (or future) MLB player actually playing for a Japanese team.

Andy

9 years ago

Robin Roberts, Duke Snider, Juan Marichal

jajacob

9 years ago

Roberts, Smoltz, Lofton

Darien

9 years ago

Roberts, Lofton, and Ryno

Nick Pain

9 years ago

Roberts, Murray, Snider

9 years ago

Robin Roberts, John Smoltz, Edgar Martinez

JEV

9 years ago

Koufax, McCovey, Smoltz

Dr. Doom

9 years ago

Wow. Two new guys, who I have at #1 and #2 on my ballot. I have Ryne Sandberg just a WHISKER behind my #3. I’d love to put him back on my ballot, but I just haven’t had the chance. We’ll see what happens in the rounds to come. To the votes:

Robin Roberts
Duke Snider
Juan Marichal

I notice that Andy has a correct ballot, too. 🙂

Editor

Bryan O'Connor

9 years ago

Most Wins Above Average, excluding negative seasonal totals:

Snider 43.4
Roberts 43.2
Martinez 41.3
Smoltz 40.1
Lofton 39.3
McCovey 38.9
Sandberg 38.8
Biggio 36.3
Ashburn 33.9
Murray 33.7
Killebrew 33.0
Marichal 32.7
Koufax 32.3
Ford 29.3

Snider, Roberts, Martinez

David P

9 years ago

Reply to Bryan O'Connor

Bryan – How did you calculate Snider’s WAA, excluding negative seasons? He has 35.4 total WAA. His negative seasons equal -3.8. So that would give him 39.2, not 43.4. Am I missing something?

Editor

Bryan O'Connor

9 years ago

Reply to David P

With my fat fingers. Thanks for the correction. 39.2 is right. Now I get to go back to the drawing board and try to compare the duke to John Smoltz. It’s hard to argue that teenage military service cost Snider as much as those years in the bullpen cost Smoltz.

Author

birtelcom

9 years ago

Reply to Bryan O'Connor

As I remember, at least some of that bullpen time for Smoltz was a consequence of a belief that his post-injury arm wasn’t ready for a starter’s innings. So I’m not sure it’s quite fair to just assume he could have started during those years but for a discretionary team decision.

Editor

Bryan O'Connor

9 years ago

Reply to birtelcom

That’s absolutely true, Birtelcom. But at some point during those 3 1/2 seasons of dominant relief, the narrative had to have flipped to “we couldn’t survive without the innings Smoltz is giving us in the 9th”, when in reality, they probably could have been better in ’03 and ’04 with an extra 125 innings, even at a slightly higher RA9.

Vote change: Smoltz needs it (and may deserve it) more than Snider.

Roberts, Martinez, Smoltz

David P

9 years ago

Reply to Bryan O'Connor

Okay, glad to know I wasn´t crazy. I only noticed it because 43.4 WAA seemed like a lot for Snider.

PaulE

9 years ago

McCovey Roberts Sandberg

Jeff Harris

9 years ago

Roberts McCovey Martinez

Insert Name Here

9 years ago

Initial vote: 1. Duke Snider (7.0 WAR/162 during 1949-57) 2. Kenny Lofton (6.8 WAR/162 during 1992-99) 3. Sandy Koufax (7.8 WAR/162 during 1961-66) Ranking of other possible contenders: 4. Juan Marichal (7.1 WAR/162 during 1963-69) 5. Ryne Sandberg (6.2 WAR/162 during 1984-92) 6. Craig Biggio (5.8 WAR/162 during 1991-99) 7. Willie McCovey (6.7 WAR/162 during 1963-70) 8. Eddie Murray (5.7 WAR/162 during 1978-86) 9. Harmon Killebrew (5.3 WAR/162 during 1959-70) 10. Robin Roberts (7.0 WAR/162 during 1950-55) 11. Edgar Martínez (6.4 WAR/162 during 1995-2001) 12. John Smoltz (5.8 WAR/162 during 1995-99) 13. Richie Ashburn (5.3 WAR/162 during 1951-60) 14. Johnny… Read more »

Hartvig

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

Do you use the same # of starts per 162 for modern pitchers like Smoltz as you would for say Roberts or doesn’t that factor in at all?

Insert Name Here

9 years ago

Reply to Hartvig

These numbers come from Baseball-Reference, which determines how many starts and relief appearances a pitcher should be assigned in calculating WAR/162. For the pitchers in this round, B-R gives the following during their peaks:

Koufax: 36 G/34 GS/257 IP
Marichal: 35 G/34 GS/277 IP
Roberts: 36 G/33 GS/272 IP
Smoltz: 35 G/35 GS/234 IP

Presumably, the IP numbers for each pitcher’s peak are based on how much they could pitch in each game, and the G/GS numbers are based on how often they were used as starters vs as relievers.

Michael Sullivan

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

to get WAR/162 for pitchers, BR just divides their total games plus games started by 68 to find number of 162 game years. This sets a full season to 34 starts, or 68 relief appearances (or some combination with a start worth 2 relief appearances. That’s what you’d expect from a modern pitcher on a full season, but is less than was expected from an ace pitcher back in 1950. So according to this metric, Roberts essentially pitched some seasons of more than 162 games. I guess it’s fair enough to do this if you’re trying to get some kind… Read more »

Michael Sullivan

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

I’m having trouble understanding why Roberts is so far down your list. Looking just at his war/162, (which I think underrates him, given what a workhorse he was at his peak), it seems like he should fall higher on the list. What factors are you using that pull him down so far? To me he’s a clear standout. I see a peak that is almost as good as Koufax, backed up by total career value that is clearly ahead of everyone else on the ballot. Most of the voters seem to agree with me as he’s being named on 65%… Read more »

bstar

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

Robin Roberts has a five-year stretch of 42.5 WAR from 1950-1954. Here’s a list of the only pitchers since 1901 to have a five-year period that valuable or better:

Walter Johnson
Grover Alexander
Lefty Grove
Ed Walsh
Rube Waddell
Pedro Martinez
Christy Mathewson
Bob Gibson
Randy Johnson
Cy Young

Lawrence Azrin

9 years ago

Reply to bstar

@49/bstar, Robin Roberts seems to be relatively underrated by most mainstream baseball historians. While he’s considered a very solid HOF pick, his name is usually not brought when up when many people discuss the all-time pitching greats. When his name _is_ brought up, the reply is something like “Oh yeah, he was great, too, but not quite on a level with (fill in the blank)” But there he is, surrounded on the career WAR list by Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan and Bob Gibson. His problem is partly one of timing; if Cy Young had died in 1949 instead of 1955,… Read more »

Lawrence Azrin

9 years ago

Reply to Lawrence Azrin

@86;

Sorry, meant to type, “… the award were established in 1950…”. Darn fingers!!!

Also, his reputation for posterity is hurt by not having that one defining moment or season to point to.

Michael Sullivan

9 years ago

Reply to Lawrence Azrin

On the other hand, given what happened to Blyleven, it seems that Robert’s level of value doesn’t anymore automatically make someone a solid HOF pick in the eyes of the voters. The last pitchers voted into the hall by the writers who weren’t easy and obvious COG selections were Eck, Sutton and Palmer (and maybe you don’t consider Glavine an easy/obvious COG but he’s close). I have Roberts ahead of all those, but I don’t have him ahead of Mussina or Schilling. Also, I’m not sure Eck totally counts, because he’s the benefit of the voter’s perverse fascination with relievers… Read more »

Insert Name Here

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

Decent points have been made by all in response to this round’s ranking. It appears that I have some adjustments to consider making. However, since some focus of discussion seems to be on Koufax vs Roberts, given their peaks of identical length and total WAR (and, therefore, identical WAR/season), I would like to point out some other direct comparisons of raw stats: ERA: Koufax 2.19, Roberts 2.93 FIP (fielding-neutral ERA): Koufax 2.16, Roberts 3.24 RA9: Koufax 2.53, Roberts 3.27 ERA+: Koufax 156, Roberts 135 WHIP: Koufax 0.97, Roberts 1.09 WAA: Koufax 30.9, Roberts 27.7 I still argue that Koufax at… Read more »

Author

birtelcom

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

It is indeed always good policy to put your vote changes at the bottom of the thread. But I’m also reading this exchange with great interest, so I won’t likely any updated vote that’s posted here either.

bells

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

To me, WAR/162 is a clean way to look at a position player’s career from a different perspective; that is, outside of actual opening day to playoffs seasons. It brings out hidden values in some players, prompts discussion in others (like someone who was hurt all the time would have a better WAR/162 than someone who wasn’t, but being hurt is a knock on their overall value to some more than others). But I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around how to apply that to pitchers. I mentioned that last round, and I’m still no closer to feeling like… Read more »

Insert Name Here

9 years ago

Reply to bells

Thanks for this statement, bells; I think I will continue using WAR/162 for position players but switch to WAR/season for pitchers to better compare players across eras as COG voting enters increasingly distant eras, when demands for pitchers were higher, as pointed out by Michael Sullivan. I will also be using some metrics that I had passively ignored in the past for comparisons of players with similar peaks, such as ERA+ and FIP (B-R’s new, fielding-neutral ERA) instead of RA9 for comparisons of pitchers and OPS+ for comparisons of batters. A full, new ranking will be posted at the bottom… Read more »

Michael Sullivan

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a perfect rate option for pitchers. On the one hand, I think WAR/162 or WAR/IP underrates the workhorses of old. But WAR/season underrates modern pitchers, and it will become really crazy when you get into the 19th century with starters pitching every game. Look at Tim Keefe’s peak. His WAR/162 is 6.6, but his WAR/season is 10.3. That’s suggesting his peak was better than Koufax’s or Pedro’s, which is silly. WAR/162 is actually a pretty good measure of dominance, and there Keefe looks like many other great, but not most dominant ever, pitchers. OTOH, The… Read more »

Insert Name Here

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

Should we to a time when my new method becomes a problem, I may make some sort of compromise between WAR/season and WAR/162, i.e. use both in some way. We’ll see. I like the change I’ve come up with for now and I think it improves my ranking of players in this round.

Dr. Doom

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

INH, are you suggesting that Koufax deserves credit for performance after he retired? That’s confusing to me. Could you elaborate?

Insert Name Here

9 years ago

Reply to Dr. Doom

Not at all. I think that the circumstances of Koufax’ abrupt retirement make it difficult to compare him against a player who played a full career, such as Roberts. For this reason, comparisons of their peaks are best.

Insert Name Here

9 years ago

Reply to Insert Name Here

I have made some changes to my methods, but my vote does not change, although my new ranking shuffles several players around. I will now use WAR/season as the primary metric for pitchers per concerns brought by Michael Sullivan @35 and @36 and bells @57. I will also consider OPS+ (for batters) and ERA+ and FIP (for pitchers) as part of tie-breaking between peaks (i.e. comparing two peaks that are either identical or where player A’s peak has more WAR/season or WAR/162, but player B’s peak is lengthier), which I had not been doing earlier. Without further ado, my re-ranking:… Read more »

latefortheparty

9 years ago

Robin Roberts
Duke Snider
Kenny Lofton

koma

9 years ago

Sandy Koufax, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio

mosc

9 years ago

Ford, Koufax, Smoltz

Voomo Zanzibar

9 years ago

Only players to lead the league in WAR-for-Pitchers five consecutive years:

Walter Johnson
Robin Roberts

Hub Kid

9 years ago

Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Eddie Murray

Author

birtelcom

9 years ago

Reply to Hub Kid

Over the 11-season period from 1949 through 1959, Roberts started 401 games for the Phillies, and Ashburn was the starting center fielder, if I’ve eyeballed the starting lineups correctly, for all but nine of those games.

In addition to the 1949-1959 period, during 1948, which was the MLB debut season for both Richie and Robin, Ashburn started in center for 13 of Roberts’ 20 starts.

Richard Chester

9 years ago

Reply to birtelcom

birtelcom:I also came up with 9 games.

ATarwerdi96

9 years ago

Robin Roberts, Duke Snider, Edgar Martinez

Abbott

9 years ago

Murray, Biggio, McCovey

bells

9 years ago

Here’s the vote according to my methodology. I take four measures of player value as a gauge of how players compare across advanced metrics that value things slightly differently. Then I give them a cumulative rank with all players on the ballot over 50 WAR, adding their ranking of each measure. Here are the measures: WAR – is it too new to call it ‘classic’? Well, it’s the ‘classic’ way of measuring a player’s value over a player the team could have gotten to replace the player, over that player’s career, to show how ‘good’ that player was. WAA+ –… Read more »

Andy

9 years ago

Roberts
Koufax
Marichal

Dr. Remulak

9 years ago

Biggio, Koufax, Snider.

Bix

9 years ago

Snider, Koufax, Marichal

BryanM

9 years ago

Robin Roberts — easy number one, Duke and Marichal

Michael Sullivan

9 years ago

So far, it looks like Snider, unlike Ashburn, is passing the Lofton comparison, he’s getting more support than anyone on the ballot over the last few votes.

When I do the comparison, I’m less sure, but it does seem like Snider’s peak was a little bit stronger, with similar overall career value, so I think I have to give him the nod, which means I think he’s in, since I’m already satisfied that KL belongs.

Artie Z.

9 years ago

Reply to Michael Sullivan

I would guess the other part of the reason why Snider, to use your phrase, “passes the Lofton comparison,” is because his value is pretty much tied to his bat. We have a pretty good idea about how to value “the bat,” and we’re less confident in how to value “the glove.” I think some are inclined to downgrade Lofton slightly because a large part of Lofton’s value comes from “the glove.” Snider’s Rbat is actually greater than the sum of Lofton’s Rbat, Rbaser, Rfield, Rdp, and Rpos. Now Snider loses some runs from his Rfield but those lost runs… Read more »

bstar

9 years ago

Reply to Artie Z.

Here’s how I understand it: The requirements for a centerfielder were different in Snider’s day compared to Lofton. It was less of a defense-first position back then. As a result, there were probably less “good-field, no-hit” track stars playing centerfield in the ’50s than in Lofton’s time. There was a higher offensive requirement. So maybe there were more “meh-glove, good-bat” guys playing center in the ’50s. It’s likely that the pool of centerfielders in Snider’s day were, as a group, slightly better offensively but a little worse defensively than Lofton’s contemporaries. And by “worse” I don’t mean worse because we’re… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar

9 years ago

I almost want to vote for Eddie Yost.
A guy with a .371 SLG is 11th all-time in walks!

Pretty ugly Rfield number, though.
Give me those walks with average defense and he can bat 7th on my team.

Voomo Zanzibar

9 years ago

When Roy Sievers retired he was 19th all-time in Home Runs.
All HOFers in front of him (plus Gil Hodges).

ATarwerdi96

9 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Actually, Sievers final season was ’65, not ’64 (Sievers had 0 HRs in ’65), by which point Rocky Colavito and Frank Robinson had also passed him, and Joe Adcock moved into a tie with him for 21st all-time.

Point still taken, though.

Voomo Zanzibar

9 years ago

Reply to ATarwerdi96

Ha!
Nice to see there’s someone here to double check even the most minute of minutae.
I only ran the search through ’64.

Artie Z.

9 years ago

Roberts, Snider, Murray

Chris C

9 years ago

Roberts, Biggio, Sandberg

Bill Johnson

9 years ago

Killebrew, McCovey, and Ford.

David P

9 years ago

Roberts, Marichal, Murray.

Francisco

9 years ago

Juan Marichal, Duke Snider, Robin Roberts

Voomo Zanzibar

9 years ago

After Robin Roberts fell apart in 1961, nobody wanted him.
Didn’t go in the expansion draft.
Ended up being sold to the Yankees, which, if that was a waiver deal, means that the Champion Yanx were last in line.

He then sat on the bench and was released without playing a game in pinstripes
(On April 25th or May 21st, depending on your source).

Orioles got him, and he 4.4 WARred the rest of the season.

Interesting that the Orioles released him midway through 1965.
They had plenty of pitching, but Roberts’ stats were solid on the back end.

Richard Chester

9 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

His BR home page lists him as being released by the Yankees on May 21 and also signed by the Orioles on the same day. His game log shows that he pitched for the O’s on the 21st. It is safe to say that he was released by the Yankees prior to May 21. Also his SABR bio indicates that he was negotiating with the Reds after his release. The Reds offered him a position which he turned down because they would not meet his salary demands. He also received an offer to play for the Tokyo Giants but he… Read more »

Mike L

9 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Google News has a copy of the St. Petersburg Times for April 26, 1962, saying Roberts was released by the Yankees (the day before) without having thrown a pitch in the regular season, but having made five appearances for 11 innings in spring training, giving up 8 runs and 15 hits. The Phillies, who were competitive during his early years, finished at .500 only once the last eight years he was there. Their combined record from 58-61 was 239-377. Given that he pitched 2234 innings in seven years, it’s amazing he lasted as long as he did. I haven’t made… Read more »

no statistician but

9 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Roberts twice won the then unofficial “Comeback Player of the Year” award given by the Associated Press—in 1958 for the NL and in 1962 for the AL. He was the first to win this kind of award twice, and only Rick Sutcliffe has also won in both leagues.

donburgh

9 years ago

Reply to no statistician but

Francisco Liriano won CBPotY in 2010 with the Twins and 2013 with the Pirates.

J.R.

9 years ago

Man oh man, if you are a Brooklyn Dodgers fan… Koufax joined by Labine, Branca, Erskine, and Newcombe. Wow. And Duke and Rube on the offensive end…

Koufax, Ford, and Biggio.

Author

birtelcom

9 years ago

Reply to J.R.

During the 10 years Jackie Robinson was with the Dodgers, 1947-56, the team dominated the National League. That seems to be showing up in the lists of COG-eligible players for the birth years that would have produced those teams.

Top NL Regular Season Win-Loss Records, 1947-56
Dodgers .613 945-596
Braves .542 833-705
Giants .533 822-721

Scary Tuna

9 years ago

Roberts, Snider, Killebrew.

Mike HBC

9 years ago

I’m talkin’ Rooooooobiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin, Sandy and the Duke.

Kirk

9 years ago

Roberts, Ford and Killebrew

JamesS

9 years ago

Roberts, Snider, Edgar

9 years ago

Robin Roberts, Sandy Koufax, Richie Ashburn

Editor

Doug

9 years ago

Some tidbits on the newcomers on the ballot. – Eddie Yost, the “Walking Man”, peaked at 151 BBs in 1956, then only the 3rd qualifying season with 25% more walks than hits. There have been only 3 more such seasons since, two by Barry Bonds. – Roy Sievers‘ 146 OPS+ and .535 slugging for 1957-61 (min. 2500 PA) were both second only to Mickey Mantle among AL sluggers. – Billy Goodman and Richie Ashburn both retired after the 1962 season as career .300 hitters (min. 5000 PAs) with OBP and SLG both under .400, the 8th and 9th such players… Read more »

Richard Chester

9 years ago

Reply to Doug

Eddie Miksis scored the winning run on Cookie Lavagetto’s hit which broke up Bill Bevens’ bid for a no-hitter in the 9th inning of the 4th game of the 1947 WS.

Luis Gomez

9 years ago

Edgar, Marichal, Snider.

opal611

9 years ago

For the 1926 election, I’m voting for:
-Ryne Sandberg
-Edgar Martinez
-Craig Biggio

Other top candidates I considered highly (and/or will consider in future rounds):
-Smoltz
-Lofton
-Murray
-McCovey
-Marichal
-Ashburn
-Roberts
-Snider

9 years ago

Roberts, Marichal, Snider

Had to locate my signed Robin Roberts Vermont Mountaineers cap. That signature is fading fast.

oneblankspace

9 years ago

Biggio, Murray, Killebrew for reasons previously stated on older ballots

Voomo Zanzibar

9 years ago

Brisk Bob has got this one.
I’ll throw my votes to the Centerfielders.

Vote:

Richie Ashburn
Kenny Lofton
Duke Snider

Voomo Zanzibar

9 years ago

Oh, and I found a good photograph of Robin Roberts as a Yankee:

oneblankspace

9 years ago

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Almost as interesting as a Google Images search for Brett Butler.

Richard Chester

9 years ago

Reply to oneblankspace

…or for Terry Moore.

Editor

Doug

9 years ago

Some snippets on this year’s pitchers. – Lew Burdette and Don Larsen jointly became the first pitchers to start game 7 of the World Series in consecutive seasons. While Larsen failed to survive the 3rd inning in either contest, Burdette shut out the Yanks in 1957 and was in a tie contest with two outs in the 8th in 1958 before the Yankees exacted their revenge with double-single-single-HR, and championship. – Dodger relief ace Clem Labine started only 3 times in the 1956 season, but got the ball for game 6 of the World Series and tossed a 10-inning shutout… Read more »

Richard Chester

9 years ago

Reply to Doug

Erskine’s game 5 in the 1952 WS was really weird. Through the first 4 innings he gave up 2 BB and a bunt single. In the 5th inning he imploded giving up a BB, 2 singles, a force out, a single, a foulout and finally a 3-run HR to John Mize which tied the score at 5-5. At that point he slammed the door, retiring the next 19 batters and walked away win a 6-5 win. Carl Furillo provided a big assist by robbing Mize of a game-tying HR in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Dr. Doom

9 years ago

Reply to Doug

Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, was transformed into a Super Soldier by a Dr. Erskine. Rogers is from Brooklyn. You think there’s any chance this (fictional) Dr. Erskine is related to Carl? 😉

Aaron

9 years ago

Koufax, Roberts, Edgar

Mike G.

9 years ago

Roberts, Lofton, Sandberg