A definite Pirates feel to today's Birthday Team.

C: Art Watson
1B/Manager: Lloyd McClendon
2B: Roy Hughes
3B: George Pinkney
SS: Rey Ordonez
LF: Jermaine Allensworth
CF: Max Carey
RF: Elmer Flick

SP: Silver King
SP: Schoolboy Rowe
SP: General Crowder
SP: Harry McIntire
SP: Jim McAndrew
RP: Don Mossi
RP: Donn Pall

Not that one: Frank Baker

If Chase wasn't the last lefty to play 2b for more than an inning or so in a blowout, who was?

Today also marks 5,000 days since the Rockies score in all nine innings in a game, something no club had done in decades. And no, the game was NOT in Colorado. No bonus points will be given for successfully guessing the team that gave up all those runs.

The last lefty to get a fielding chance at second base was...drum roll, please...Sam McDowell. Yes, that Sam McDowell. Story here.

Gonzalo Marquez, who was really a first baseman, got two "starts" at second base (but no actual appearances in the field) in 1973 when Dick Williams was on his "actual second basemen aren't allowed to hit in away games" jag. And, of course, Don Mattingly made a cameo at second in the Pine Tar Game.

I don't have a PI subscription, but the batting game finder would probably shed more light on this. I know George Sisler made two starts at second base in 1917.

Thanks Dan.

[4]
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/newsstand/discussion/don_mattingly_hall_of_fame_qa

See my post 37. 

From 1916 to 2012, Throws LH, Played: 2B, sorted by most recent date

                                                                   
Rk            Player          Date  Tm Opp   Rslt PA BOP PosSummary
1      Don Mattingly    1983-07-24 NYY KCR L  4-5  2   7   PH 2B 1B
2    Gonzalo Marquez    1973-05-05 OAK CLE L  5-6  1   2         2B
3    Gonzalo Marquez    1973-05-04 OAK CLE W 11-4  1   2         2B
4       Sam McDowell    1970-07-06 CLE WSA W  6-4  3   9       2B P
5       George Crowe    1958-06-14 CIN CHC L  3-4  4   4      2B 1B
6      Lefty Stewart    1933-07-11 WSH CHW L  3-9  0   3         2B
7      Jim Bottomley    1924-08-29 STL CHC W 12-5  5   4      2B 1B
8          Edd Roush    1920-10-03 CIN STL L  3-6  5   4      2B CF
9      George Sisler    1917-05-29 SLB CHW L  2-4  4   3         2B
10     George Sisler    1917-05-27 SLB BOS T  1-1  5   3      2B 1B
11     George Sisler    1917-05-23 SLB BOS L  2-8  4   3         2B
12         Hal Chase 1916-09-09(1) CIN STL W  6-3  5   4         2B
13         Hal Chase 1916-09-09(2) CIN STL L  0-1  4   4         2B
14         Hal Chase    1916-09-05 CIN CHC W  3-2  5   4         2B
15         Hal Chase 1916-09-04(1) CIN CHC L  0-3  3   4         2B
16         Hal Chase 1916-09-04(2) CIN CHC W 10-8  5   4         2B
17         Hal Chase    1916-09-03 CIN PIT W  7-6  4   4         2B
18         Hal Chase 1916-09-02(1) CIN PIT L  3-4  4   4         2B
19         Hal Chase 1916-09-02(2) CIN PIT W  7-2  5   4         2B
20         Hal Chase    1916-09-01 CIN PIT W  6-3  5   4         2B
21         Hal Chase    1916-08-30 CIN NYG L  5-6  6   4         2B
22         Hal Chase    1916-08-29 CIN NYG L  2-3  4   4         2B
23         Hal Chase    1916-08-28 CIN NYG W  5-2  4   4         2B
24         Hal Chase 1916-08-03(1) CIN BSN W  3-1  4   4      2B 1B
25         Hal Chase 1916-07-31(2) CIN BRO L  0-4  4   4         2B
26         Hal Chase    1916-07-21 CIN PHI L  4-6  5   4      2B 1B
27         Hal Chase 1916-07-20(2) CIN PHI W  5-3  4   4      2B LF

Mattingly's appearance at second base was in the 9th inning of the restarted pine tar game. My recollection is that basically the Yankees thought the whole thing was a travesty and were making a statement.

I would like to submit an expansion team to the Birthday League, of all the players named "Emil". There is an amazing profusion of players with this seemingly odd name as either their first or middle name, originally mostly Germanic but now found lurking between the first name and surname of such players as Kim Batiste, Brandon Phillips and John Jaha. You can probably even do it without including any "Emilio"s.

C Emil Gross
1B Ed Kranepool
2B Brandon Phillips
SS Emil Verban
3B Kim Batiste
LF Emil "Irish" Meusel
CF Oscar Emil "Happy" Felsch
RF Emil Brown
SP Emil "Dutch" Leonard
SP Joe Bowman
SP Emil Yde
SP Emil "Dutch" Levsen
RP Roy Emil Frederick "Snipe" Hansen
RP Emil Kush
RP Emil Bildilli
RP Emil Planeta (yes, Emil Planeta)
RP Charlie "The Swedish Wonder" Hallstrom (and what a wonder he was, just look at those stats)
Bench
C Tex Erwin
IF Emil Batch
IF Andy Woehr
PH John Jaha
PR/OF Emil "Lefty" Mailho

Manager Emil "Judge" Fuchs

Sportswriter Emile ("J'Accuse") Zola

Today also marks 5,000 days since the Rockies score in all nine innings in a game, something no club had done in decades.

Is that 13 runs the low number for a team that scored in all nine innings? I would expect at least one inning with 4-5 runs to push the total up a bit on a day when the team was swinging that well.

Today also marks 5,000 days since the Rockies score in all nine innings in a game, something no club had done in decades.

I remember seeing (on TV) the Cardinals do that. I'm going to say on a Sunday afternoon game against the Cubs late in the season, mid-'60s. Beckert and Kessinger were just breaking in as the Cubs' middle infield, and one of them (forget which) dropped a popup late in the game to allow the Cardinals to achieve the feat. Now off to bbref to see how much of this is correct.

EDIT: And the answer is some of this is true, some is not. The Cardinals scored in all 9 innings at Chicago in a 15-2 win on Sept. 13, 1964. Kessinger played in the game, but Beckert did not. The second baseman who made an error that allowed the Cardinals to score a run in the ninth was Ron Campbell. But bbref pbp says the error was on a ground ball. I'm going to research that one a little, because my memory is a dropped popup near second. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN196409130.shtml

Apparently, the hyperlink for #12 won't work on an edit and has to be submitted in a subsequent comment. box score and pbp

I would like to submit an expansion team to the Birthday League, of all the players named "Emil". There is an amazing profusion of players with this seemingly odd name as either their first or middle name, originally mostly Germanic but now found lurking between the first name and surname of such players as Kim Batiste, Brandon Phillips and John Jaha.

And they should all wear uniform number 109.

Birthday League Update:

Top of the standings:

January 14          41  28  .594 ---- 
January 15          42  29  .592 ----        
January 28          40  28  .588  0.5
January 5           41  30  .577  1.0 
January 23          38  29  .567  2.0

News and notes:
* After a 38-23 start to the season, January 23 has lost six in a row to fall into fifth place.
* First-place January 14 has lost two in a row, immediately after an nine-game win streak.
* Jeff Suppan (January 2) has 12 of his team's 33 wins. That win total leads the league, despite Suppan being second in runs allowed, sixth in hits allowed, third in HR allowed, and posting a 4.63 ERA.
* Bill White (January 28) now leads the league in batting (.357), SLG (.618), and RC/27 (10.2).
* Mark Littell (January 17) over the past ten days: 16 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 14 K.
* Charlie Bishop (January 1) over the past ten days: 6 IP, 14 H, 6 BB, 15 ER, 2 HR
* Max Carey (January 11) watch: 71 games played, 67 stolen bases
* Royce Clayton (January 2) is hitting .484 against LHP.
* Tim Stoddard (January 24) is now 0-10 with 11 saves and a 4.10 ERA. He leads the league in games finished (28) and is in the top ten in saves and save percentage.
* The league's Least Valuable Player is almost certainly Jack Neagle (January 2), who has allowed 111 baserunners and 45 runs in 44 innings pitched.

Stats, standings, leaders, and box scores here.

January 28 is flying high for now, but watch out because Emil Yde is going to defect to the Emil franchise in the Name League.

9 George Sisler 1917-05-29 SLB CHW L 2-4 4 3 2B
10 George Sisler 1917-05-27 SLB BOS T 1-1 5 3 2B 1B
11 George Sisler 1917-05-23 SLB BOS L 2-8 4 3 2B

I remember someone (Scott Simkus?) speculating that Sisler actually played right handed when he played 2nd base.

Jeff Suppan (January 2) has 12 of his team's 33 wins. That win total leads the league, despite Suppan being second in runs allowed, sixth in hits allowed, third in HR allowed, and posting a 4.63 ERA.

I smell a long and surprising run at the January HoF.