March 22, 2006

The Most Important Transaction

Let me begin this week’s column by saying that I’m sorry about this being one of the slimmer editions of “Cooperstown Confidential.” But as I’m apt to say from time to time, I do have an excuse. On Friday, March 10, at 2:38 in the morning, Madeline Jan Markusen was born in Cooperstown’s Bassett Hospital. So you can see how my time has been taken up in recent days.

More importantly, here are Madeline’s key statistics:

*8 pounds, 14 ounces

*12 inches long

*Batting average: 1.000

Madeline’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage are not yet available. But give it time.

The Rumor Mill

Spring training is a hard time to make trades because a) most teams are looking to cut down their rosters rather than adding to them and b) everyone’s looking for pitching, but no one has any pitching—or at least quality pitching—to spare. In spite of these two golden rules of the spring, there are still conversations going on between general managers throughout Arizona and Florida. According to the hottest rumor of the spring, the Cubs are seriously weighing the possibility of trading Todd Walker to the Orioles for Luis Matos (who coincidentally has become expendable because of the acquisition of another Cub, Corey Patterson). It’s hard to believe that Cubs management has grown so disenchanted with Walker’s defensive shortcomings that they would be willing to trade his useful left-handed bat for a backup outfielder. Yet, that’s apparently what they have in mind for Matos, who would likely spell Matt Murton and/or Juan Pierre as part of Chicago’s re-made outfield scheme. As for the Orioles, their interest in Walker speaks volumes about their concerns over Brian Roberts, who is attempting to come back from major elbow surgery. It’s unfortunate that a pennant contender couldn’t find use for Walker as a quality backup infielder at three positions (second base, third base, and first base) and a valuable pinch-hitter in the late innings…

While a Walker-for-Matos deal seems likely, the same can’t be said of the wildest rumor making the rounds this spring—Alfonso Soriano to the Reds and Ken Griffey, Jr. to the Nationals. Although the Reds would be acquiring the younger player (by six full years) and therefore the greater value, this proposed trade makes little sense for either team. The Reds need pitching first and foremost in any deal involving one of their starting outfielders. Furthermore, they would have to sign the high-strung Soriano, a free agent after the season, to a long-term contract, and that might not be easy to do even with new ownership in place. As for the Nationals, they don’t figure to contend for a playoff spot out of the National League East, making the acquisition of an injury-prone, thirty-something outfielder a dubious proposition. And somehow I can’t imagine Griffey being happy with the dimensions of RFK Stadium after he nearly fainted upon first look at Safeco Field several years back with the Mariners…

Beat writers can speculate all they’d like, but the Yankees won’t be trading either Carl Pavano or Jaret Wright anytime during spring training. It’s already been decided that Pavano will start the season on the disabled list, making him undesirable to any suitor that wants to take a close look at his back and right arm. In the meantime, Wright has pitched so brutally this spring that has trade value has gone from zero to minus-60, forcing the Yankees to live with him as a bullpen castoff or convince him to go on the disabled list. Frankly, the Yankees would be better off with Clyde Wright serving as the fifth man in their rotation.

Card Corner--Power Plus

Throughout the season, I’ll be taking in-depth looks at some classic cards from the 1966 Topps set. (Has it been 40 years already?) The ’66 set included a signature item from the Topps collection: the “combination card.”

After a one-year absence, Topps brought back its popular combination cards in 1966, producing five of them in its new set. Each combination card featured two or more players, usually from the same team, under an alliterative headline. One of the 1966 cards, dubbed “Power Plus,” highlighted the exploits of two Philadelphia Phillies outfielders, Johnny Callison and Wes Covington. For those who believed in such things, the card proved to be the kiss of death, ala the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. After hitting 15 home runs in 1965, Covington was traded to the Cubs, flopped in Chicago, and saw his major league career come to a halt by season’s end. In the meantime, Callison’s home run production plummeted from 32 in 1965 to a mere 11 in 1966. Though Callison remained a major leaguer through the 1973 season, he never regained the All-Star form he had shown in 1964 and ’65. So much for Power Plus.

In examining many of his 1960s cards, I’m struck by how much Callison looked like the actor who portrayed the memorably psychotic “Colonel Flagg” on the 1970s hit series, M*A*S*H. Flagg was played brilliantly by character actor Edward Winter. In Callison’s defense, he was far more competent as a baseball player than Flagg was as a CIA operative during the Korean War.

Other than chiseled good looks, Callison did share at least one characteristic with Flagg. Both sustained their fair share of injuries, though I suppose that Callison’s list of ailments wasn’t anything particularly out of the ordinary for a major league ballplayer. In Flagg’s case, the injuries were often self-inflicted. In one episode, he intentionally injured himself by ramming his head into a metal locker. On another occasion, he broke his arm by pinning it under a heavy piece of X-Ray machinery. And in perhaps his most memorable appearance, Flagg asked the members of the medical staff to close their eyes so that he could make a secretive exit from Colonel Potter’s office. Referring to himself as “The Wind” and claiming that he never allowed anyone to see him exit, Flagg promptly jumped through the office window. He made it outside—but at the expense of a major injury. “The Wind,” revealed Hawkeye Pierce, “just broke his leg.”

Pastime Passings

Kirby Puckett (Died on March 6 in Phoenix, Arizona; age 45; massive stroke): One of the most popular players of the 1980s and 1990s, Puckett batted .315 with 207 home runs over a 12-year career, won six Gold Gloves for his defensive play in center field, and helped the Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. Although his career was shortened by glaucoma, forcing him to retire in 1996 at the age of 36, Puckett won election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, making him the third youngest man to gain induction to Cooperstown after Lou Gehrig and Sandy Koufax.

Listed at five feet, eight inches tall and 210 pounds during his playing career, Puckett defied the stereotype of center fielders with slick, lean builds. Puckett also evolved as a hitter, beginning his career as a singles-hitting outfielder before developing into a powerful offensive force under the tutelage of Twins batting coach Tony Oliva. In 1986, just two years after collecting only 17 extra-base hits as a rookie, Puckett emerged as a legitimate star, hitting 31 home runs while raising his batting average to .328. Puckett maintained a similar level of production in 1987, helping the Twins to the American League West crown. After slumping in the AL Championship Series, Puckett batted .357 in the World Series, pushing the Twins to a seven-game win over the St. Louis Cardinals. All the while, Puckett displayed a boyish enthusiasm for the game that made him popular with fans and media alike.

The signature moments of Puckett’s career occurred during the 1991 season. Puckett batted .319, as the Twins completed a remarkable “worst to first” ascension in the AL West. Puckett raised his level of play further in the postseason, batting .429 in the ALCS before hitting two home runs in the World Series against the Atlanta Braves. The highlight of Puckett’s performance came in Game Six, when he made a leaping catch in the outfield before winning the game with a dramatic home run.

Puckett’s fortunes turned sour in 1995, when he was struck in the face by a Dennis Martinez pitch, leaving him with a shattered jaw. The following spring, he lost sight in his right eye and was later diagnosed with glaucoma, forcing him to announce his retirement on July 12. Puckett endured four eye operations, but none of the surgeries corrected his vision.

Commentary: It's hard to believe, but it was only five years ago that I was sitting in a suite at the Waldorf-Astoria watching Puckett, his wife, and his two children basking in the news that he had received just one day earlier—his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Puckett and his family seemed like they were on top of the world, and you might have been tempted to be jealous of Puckett if not for his wonderfully outgoing and positive personality.

Only five years later, it's all gone. Puckett became embroiled in scandal, involving charges that he abused his wife. Not surprisingly, his marriage came to an end. His weight ballooned to as much as 300 pounds, leaving him almost unrecognizable to those who remembered him in his athletic prime. And then earlier this month, he suffered a massive stroke, leaving his body unable to recover. He underwent surgery but passed away only one day later.

On top of the world one day, departed from us five years later. Things change too quickly in this world, sometimes for the worse. Far worse. Rest in peace, Kirby.

Bruce Markusen is the author of the forthcoming book, The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, which is scheduled for release in May by Westholme Publishing. Markusen can be heard periodically on ESPNews’ Hot List with Brian Kenny and every Wednesday morning at 10:00 am on WHAM Radio (1180 AM) in Rochester, New York, discussing the latest issues in baseball.