Relief pitchers out the wazoo on today's Birthday Team.

C: Paul Ratliff
1B: Erubiel Durazo
2B: Bill Regan
3B: Kurt Bevacqua
SS: Chico Carrasquel
LF: Wily Mo Pena
CF: Sam Jethroe
RF: Charlie Spikes

SP: Red Donahue
SP: Frank Sullivan
SP: Randy Gumpert
SP: Don Nottebart
SP: Bobby Burke
RP: Mark Wohlers
RP: Juan Rincon
RP: Alan Embree

Manager: Joey Amalfitano

Not that one: King Lear
Wide receiver: Jeff Samardzija
Left-handed catcher: Benny Distefano
Could be the name of a crappy superhero: Speed Walker

The all bust corner OF team.

The lease on the High Top grounds of the American League is about to expire and the new stadium and field at Kingsbridge will not be ready for another year.

I assume that must be Gaelic Park

The Kingsbridge stadium was to be built at the Marble Hill stop on the #1 subway, at the southern tip of the Bronx. The stadium was to be at 225th and Broadway, with home plate in that corner and the field extending eastward from Broadway. The field required the closing of 226th and 227th Streets.

The location was on reclaimed swamp land after a major creek (Spuyten Duyvil Creek) had been diverted to create a navigable waterway between the Hudson River and the upper reaches of the Harlem River. As of January 1914, the fill and grading had been completed, and the plan was to build a single-tiered 30,000 seat stadium. The lack of a double-decked grandstand appears to have been desirable, and available only because of the large amount of land in the footprint. The grandstand was to extend "for some distance" along the foul lines, with bleachers built extending on both sides beyond the grandstand.

A New York Times story (Jan. 12, 1914) said, "The area . . . will be the largest in the major leagues, The outfield fences will be so far from the home plate that it will be impossible to bat the ball out of the park. The three outfields are so deep that a home run can be made in each of them. The distance from the home plate to the centre [sic] field fence will be more than 300 yards." That's essentially double the distance from home to center in the Polo Grounds!

The creation of the Federal League appears to have caused the cessation of building by September 1914. During the 1913 season, the National League had passed a rule that NL and AL teams would not be permitted to use the same ball park (as was occurring in NYC and Boston). But a Sept. 20, 1914, NY Times story, which reports on the abandonment of the project, says, "The coming of the Federal League, however, has brought organized baseball men in closer alliance, and it is stated that instead of building any more new parks the two leagues will get together wherever is is advisable."

Gaelic Park is farther north, just to the west of the southern end of Van Cortlandt Park. And Gaelic Park would have had to be about double its current footprint to hold a baseball stadium.

the Marble Hill stop on the #1 subway

That's in the little enclave on the mainland that is part of the borough of Manhattan, right? (Because it was naturally part of Manhattan Island, due to the draining and rerouting of the waterways you mention.)

Baker Field, across the river (now) in Manhattan proper, was built in 1922: good neighborhood for stadiums, I reckon. I never realized a ballpark had been planned for Marble Hill. The old Highlanders park was where the hospital complex is now, at 165th and Broadway.

Birthday League Update:

January 5           76  54  .585 ----  
January 28          74  55  .574  1.5  
January 14          75  57  .568  2.0  
January 11          73  57  .562  3.0        
January 17          72  57  .558  3.5

News and Notes:
* January 23 has lost nine games in a row. They were 69-53 before the skid.
* Hank Greenberg (January 1) leads the league in SLG (.617), OBP (.435), RC/27 (10.7).
* Willie McCovey (January 10) leads the league in HR (29) and BB (96).
* Chili Davis (January 17) leads the league in AVG (.343), hits (169), RBI (106), and total bases (275).
* Paul Ratliff (January 23) has struck out 174 times in 462 at bats over 123 games.
* Speedster watch: Otis Nixon (January 9) has 113 stolen bases in 132 games. Max Carey (January 11) has 107 SB in 130 games.
* Ken Cloude (January 9) leads the league with 18 losses, 146 runs allowed, and 140 earned runs allowed.
* Bill Doak (January 28) leads the league in ERA by a third of a run. Doak's ERA stands at 2.05, while Silver King is second at 2.41.
* David Cone (January 2) leads the league with 199 strikeouts and 15 wild pitches.
* Hot over the last ten days: Jacob Cruz (January 28) 10-for-20, 6 RBI. Steve Balboni (January 16) .310 AVG, 4 HR. Jeff Juden (January 19) 2 GS, 18 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 1 Win. Troy Brohawn (January 14) 13 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 Save.
* Cold over the last ten days: Kevin Mench (January 7) 3-for-25, 0 BB, 0 RBI. Russ Swan (January 3) 5 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 2 Losses. Randy Jones (January 12) 5 IP, 18 H, 9 ER, 2 Losses.

Stats, standings, box scores, and leaderboards here.

The all bust corner OF team.

It's unfair to call Spikes a bust. He was on his way to a pretty good career when he was hit in the eye with a pitch while playing winter ball after the 1974 season. Like Tony Conigliaro's, his career never recovered.

-- MWE

Scott Hairston is a Cub - 2/6.

It's unfair to call Spikes a bust. He was on his way to a pretty good career when he was hit in the eye with a pitch while playing winter ball after the 1974 season. Like Tony Conigliaro's, his career never recovered.

Players' memories are funny. Spikes is quoted about his time in Japan, one year with Chunichi in 1981, in Joseph Wancho's SABR biography (the quote if from another published article):

"I did OK in Japan,” he recalled. “I think I hit 12 or 13 home runs, but it was tough to stay focused. I had trouble communicating."

Nowadays, of course, we have access to the records, and can see how he actually did. Spikes hit a total of one home run, and in 26 games put up a line of .122/.173/.204.

Speed Walker:

Almost Live FTW! Starring the current Executive Director of the Planetary Society!

Edit: Speed Walker