Minnie Minoso died on Sunday at the age of 89. The Cuban-born third baseman and outfielder broke the color barrier for the Chicago White Sox in 1951, en route on to an All-Star career with the ChiSox and Indians.
More on Minoso after the jump.
Baseball mourns the passing over the weekend of Ernie Banks, a week shy of his 84th birthday. The career Cub was famous for never playing a post-season game, but more famous for his Hall of Fame career that began in 1950 with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League. Banks then entered military service, though he somehow found time to “moonlight” with the Harlem Globetrotters! After his discharge, Banks skipped the minors and went straight to the show, debuting in September 1953 as the Cubs’ first black player. That debut was also auspicious for multi-hit games in two of Banks’ first three contests, including his first home run off Gerry Staley of the Cardinals. A week later, Banks would again victimize Staley who had been enjoying an 18-win All-Star campaign. The St. Louis right-hander would soon have company among the many NL hurlers to be burned by Chicago’s young slugger.
After the jump, more on the career of Ernie Banks.
Matt Cain, ace of the Giants’ world championship teams in 2010 and 2012, saw his performance fall off sharply in 2013 and was a non-factor in 2014, pitching ineffectively through the first half of a season that was cut short by a wonky elbow. After surgery, Cain is said to be feeling fine and raring to go for 2015.
But, is there a reasonable expectation that Cain can regain the elite form he displayed prior to 2013? I’ll look at that question after the jump.
Defensive metrics, while still controversial, have come a long way from the raw fielding percentages and error counts that once were all that was commonly available. In Part 1, this post presents a view of team defensive statistics from 2014, using two of the advanced defensive metrics in use today. Part 2 will focus on individual players, identifying the best and worst fielders at each position.
More after the jump.
With Derek Jeter’s retirement, the 2015 season will begin without an active 3000 Hit man. But, that should change soon, likely with an unusual confluence of such hitters.
More after the jump.
The Giants have operated continuously since their NL debut as the New York Gothams in 1883. The Giant nickname was adopted two seasons later and was preserved after the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958.
The Giants are the sixth of the original NL clubs in our Mount Rushmore series. Your task is to choose the four players who best represent this franchise. Have fun!
Two of this year’s HOF picks figure in this quiz, as does an active pitcher who, perhaps surprisingly, is still looking for a place to play next season.
What seasonal pitching accomplishment has been recorded by only these live ball era pitchers?
| Rk | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Roger Clemens |
| 2 | Lefty Grove |
| 3 | Randy Johnson |
| 4 | Sandy Koufax |
| 5 | Curt Schilling |
| 6 | Max Scherzer |
| 7 | Pedro Martinez |
| 8 | Don Newcombe |
| 9 | Sal Maglie |
| 10 | Spud Chandler |
| 11 | Red Ruffing |
Congratulations to Richard Chester, Joseph and mosc who teamed up to identify that only these pitchers have consecutive 200 IP seasons since 1920 with a .750 winning percentage and a 125 ERA+. Red Ruffing may be the most surprising name on the list given that he also had consecutive seasons with 30 decisions and a winning percentage under .300 (the only pitcher with two such campaigns, consecutive or otherwise). More after the jump.
For a quick holiday diversion, consider what distinguishes these players from among all others who played their entire careers since 1901.
| Rk | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ethan Allen |
| 2 | Fernando Tatis |
| 3 | Tom Downey |
| 4 | Sherry Robertson |
| 5 | Lynn Jones |
| 6 | Hack Miller |
| 7 | Foster Castleman |
| 8 | Joe Pittman |
| 9 | Eddie Zimmerman |
Congratulations to John Autin! He correctly solved this New Year’s puzzle by identifying these players as non-pitchers born on New Year’s Day (early) who compiled more strikeouts than walks (eager) over their careers. To limit the list, those careers must have been of at least 100 games since 1901.
The final week of the year is usually pretty quiet on the baseball transaction front. But there have been some significant deals that transpired in the final days of the year.
As the hours tick by to the end of 2014, here are a few notes on the more memorable baseball transactions that occurred in the final week of the year. Happy New Year to everyone!
The Mount Rushmore election for the Atlanta Braves closed yesterday (Dec 17th) with Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn and Chipper Jones taking the top 3 spots. But, Eddie Mathews and Greg Maddux finished tied for the fourth and final Mount Rushmore spot.
This run-off election will decide the fourth player on the Braves’ Mount Rushmore. To participate, please cast one vote for either candidate. The election closes at midnight (24:00) Pacific time on Mon, Dec 22nd.