Barry Bonds: Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera ‘the best’ ... but not better than me

Seems as if The Barry Bonds Family Foundation has welcomed a new member.

“I don’t try to compare me to anybody,’’ Bonds said. “I was the best on the field. I did more things than he did. My game was different than his game. So comparing him, to me, there’s no comparison.

“He doesn’t have my MVPs. He doesn’t have my numbers. Well, not yet, anyways.

“But does he have that ability? Yes, he does.

“Does he have that gift? Yes, he does.’‘

...“Winning a Triple Crown is amazing to me,’’ Bonds said. “I tried to win a Triple Crown, and couldn’t do it. I tried to do it, I really did, but I had guys like Tony Gwynn in the way.

“So it’s amazing to see him do it once. But to see him do it again, wow, that would really throw me off the charts.

“I couldn’t do it once, and then to see him to do it twice, now that would be shocking.

“Absolutely shocking.’‘

...“You guys can analyze it all you want,’’ Bonds says, “but his hands aren’t quicker than anybody else, or anything else like that. He’s just smarter than anybody else. He knows what he has to do, and can recognize pitches better than anyone.

“People don’t realize he’s the same person he was last year, and the year before that, but he’s got that experience now. It’s hard to explain, but what he does is minimize what a lot of people pile up on themselves. He puts it in a compartment, and utilizes it to the best of ability.

“Without giving you too much information about hitting, that’s what he does.

“It’s no different than Tiger [Woods] on the golf course. Or Michael Jordan on the basketball court. Or Muhammad Ali in the ring. They have that gift too. Ken Griffey Jr. had it better than anybody, but injuries got to him. Same with Alex Rodriguez.

“There are other athletes that have it too, but where they go with it, that’s up to them..

“I wasn’t the best at that part, but I was the best on the field.

“Cabrera is doing it all, as well as anybody I’ve ever seen.’‘

Rare Feat Not Done Since Pete Rose

There have been 188,593 pitches thrown thus far this Major League season.

When you break that down, it works out to 292 pitches per game, 32.69 per inning, 3.85 per plate appearance.

If you miss one here or there, even while in attendance, you are anything but alone. The sport generally allows us to take our time settling into our seats or casually conversing with our nearby neighbors or strolling the concourse in search of food. The pace and plot of the game are such that, while any pitch can conceivably change the course of a given game, the vast majority of them are cast into the void, and many of us like to assume—even if we’re wrong—that we have a pretty good radar for the “big moments” when the pitches have more prominence. You know, full counts and late innings and such.

Every now and again, however, comes a lesson that hammers home the value of a single pitch at any point. And boy, did we get one such lesson this weekend.

It happened Saturday night in Miami. First pitch of the game, the Marlins’ Tom Koehler throws a 94-mph fastball over the inside part of the plate and a little up in the zone for the D-backs’ Gerardo Parra, who swings and connects, sending the ball hurtling into the Marlins bullpen.

One pitch, 1-0. And that’s the way it would remain for the rest of the 236 total pitches thrown.

Parra would explain later that he heeded the advice of D-backs hitting coach Don Baylor, who had told him, “Just swing first pitch,” increasingly rare advice in a patient era in which hitters are actually taking more first pitches than ever. It’s not that Baylor had noticed specific tendencies in the Koehler videos and scouting reports (this was, after all, only his third Major League start), but he saw value in sending the hot-hitting Parra to the plate with an aggressive mindset.

“The pitcher wants to get ahead and you can make them pay,” Baylor said. “Not all the time, but there are certain times where the guy has to think about it or maybe their scouts have to think about it.”

Think about this: What Parra did was 50 years in the making.

Since I didn’t see this before ...

Williams: Discover one of baseball’s forgotten streaks

Over the first 12 days of September, Langford went the distance against the Yankees, Orioles and Royals. Langford, who wore No. 22, had thrown 22 consecutive complete games.

Finally, on Sept. 17, in a game at Arlington, Texas, A’s manager Billy Martin marched to the mound after Langford had pitched 8⅔ innings and signaled for lefty reliever Bob Lacey to come on. Lacey induced a groundout from Buddy Bell to save Langford’s 17th victory.

“I remember him standing there like it was yesterday, and he came to get me,” says Langford, 61, now the rehab pitching coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. “He didn’t ask me this time, ‘How are you?’ or ‘You can do it’ or whatever. His comment was, God bless him, ‘I think it’s time now.’ Those were his words. I said, ‘Yes it is.’

If he said, “What took you so long?” that would have been funnier…

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-20-2013

New York Tribune, May 20, 1913:

[Heinie] Zimmerman is said to have been incensed by [Cubs owner Charles] Murphy’s statement…that Zimmerman would be able to play when he could get his hat on with a shoehorn, charging Heinie with having a swelled head.

This afternoon Zimmerman told [Johnny] Evers that he would not play, as he was ill. They then had a redhot argument, in which Zimmerman declared that he was tired of carrying the entire Chicago team on his shoulders…Evers informed Zimmerman that he would either play this afternoon or be suspended without pay.

“I’m angry that you think my ego is out of control! And I’m sick of carrying this team by myself!”

Zimmerman’s ‘illness’ miraculously vanished and he played that day, but he went out of his way to get ejected early in the game.

Weiner: The Supreme Court Judge and the Curt Flood Case reenactment

Shades of Hairspray!...“It was a time of tradition, a time of values, and a time…to shake things up.”

For a journalist, chance encounters at a restaurant or a hair salon can become a major opportunity for advancing a story and in some instances the journalist is in the right place at the right time because he was with his wife. I had a very chance encounter with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Saturday afternoon in lower Manhattan because my wife happened to have an appointment at a hair salon and the Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor needed a trim. That lead to a nice chat as I said to the Justice Sotomayor, the last time we were together in this neighborhood was in the early spring 1995 not far from the hair salon when she “saved” baseball. And I never did get a chance to talk to you afterwards about your decision.

There was a break the ice laugh and then she said she was going to be part of a reenactment of the Curt Flood Supreme Court case in Washington on Thursday (May 23) and I should go.

...On Thursday, Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor will play a role in the Curt Flood trial reenactment. She isn’t saying who she is playing. The result will not change. Curt Flood will lose, Arthur Goldberg will still present a bad oral argument and that is forever frozen in history. But Judge Sotomayor does plan to remind the participants she is a Yankees fan. She roots for the uniform not necessary the players.

She has a central part in baseball labor history. But she cannot change the Flood decision of 1972. It doesn’t matter much now to today’s players. The game that the 1922 Supreme Court described, which never was as baseball was an interstate business in 1922 despite what the Court ruled, is long gone. But on Thursday, at least for a select number of people, the Flood case will come alive for a brief few moments.

Hochman: Dallas Green still tells it like it is

New Green book looks to be a diamond Dallas page turner.

It is a good, lively book and it mirrors Green’s good, lively 6 decades in the game. He rips only three people, Bobby Valentine, Art Mahaffey and Gene Mauch.

“Valentine is a phony and that’s what I call him in the book,” Green grumbles, choosing to skip details of the possible backstabbing while Dallas managed the Mets.

He reveals that in the minors Mahaffey cared only about his numbers. “He didn’t root for other guys to win, because he thought they might take his job,” Green said. “I told him, if he was good enough, he’d have a job.”

And Mauch, manager of that 1964 team that lost 10 in a row down the stretch?

“Gene, God bless him, hated pitchers,” Green said softly. “Especially young pitchers. Hey, he traded away Ferguson Jenkins because he didn’t like him.

“In ‘64, he went with Bunning and Short because they were veterans. Like Spahn and Sain and pray for rain. Bunning and Short and hold the fort. Except . . . the fort didn’t hold.

...He sees the ranks of Moneyballers increasing, guys who depend on computer readouts of obscure statistics. He’s not happy about it.

“Based on the success Oakland had, low payroll, staying in the hunt,” he said, “there are four or five guys who have gone on from there to be general managers. They may not be total Moneyball guys, but they lean on it an awful lot.

“Numbers cannot ever tell you, as a scout or an executive, head and heart. And that’s what makes the difference between a player and a great player.”

Holmes: Where does Miguel Cabrera rank among Tiger greats?

Bah! No mention of Em Lindbeck...he was an on-base machine (.000/.500/.000)!

However, and I know this will irk the legion of Kaline fans out there, Cabrera is a better hitter than #6. He has more power, he pulls the ball better, he goes to the opposite field better, and he is a better RBI man than Al was. It’s not a knock on Kaline, because Cabrera is one of the best hitters to ever play the game. He has a career .320 batting average and his slugging marks are among the best of the last 25 years. Kaline had 3-4 seasons that were really good, but he was always getting hurt for three or four or five weeks a season, which kept his numbers down a bit. Cabrera has missed a grand total of 18 games in his six seasons as a Tiger. He’s in the lineup every day mashing.

The Tigers have several other Hall of Fame greats who starred in their lineup: Charlie Gehringer, Sam Crawford, Harry Heilmann, and George Kell among them. But Cabrera has already established himself as a better offensive player than those fellas. Which is why it’s a dead-certain lock that Miguel will have his mug on a plaque in Cooperstown some day.

There’s one more player I’d put ahead of Cabby as of now, and he’s the former Tiger who is most similar to the current Detroit star. Hank Greenberg was a powerful slugger who played first base, hit mammoth home runs, and drive in runs like it was a bodily function. What matches him well with Cabrera is the fact that Hank also hit for a high average. Baseball history has been filled with sluggers who could smack home runs and drive in runs. But the ability to do that and also hit for a high average is rare. Very rare. That’s why there have been so few Triple Crown winners. That’s why the list of guys who have even won an unnatural Triple Crown (led the league in HR, RBI, batting at any time in their career) is short too.

Given his fantastic season so far and his stellar career numbers to this point, Miguel Cabrera is already one of the four greatest Tigers to ever wear the uniform. Give him another 5-6 seasons and he’ll move up that list.

PressBox: Boog Powell: Meat Of The Order

Eeeww, grotle. Now I’m touch and go on pulling out the Blüd Sausage EP.

Ever since Powell entered the major leagues in 1961, Orioles fans have known him as an affable giant, whose Popeye-esque muscles and robust 6-foot-4 frame stood in stark contrast with his easy smile and kind-hearted demeanor. For 14 years, Powell readily accommodated the Baltimore aficionados, signing autographs by day, swatting homers by night. So beloved was Powell that even after he went to Cleveland in 1975, toward the end of his career, he didn’t leave Orioles fans’ hearts.

No, he didn’t have Hall of Fame numbers like Brooks Robinson’s, Frank Robinson’s or Jim Palmer’s, but Powell was an icon, as much for his 339 home runs and steady play at first base as for his unbridled joy on the diamond.

About 18 years after Powell left the Orioles as a player, he returned as a restaurateur by opening Boog’s in conjunction with the christening of Camden Yards. Save for a few select occasions and a stint with colon cancer in 1997—he spent part of his recovery period concocting new hot-sauce recipes—Powell’s been there ever since. He’s a living, breathing, tangible legend who’ll strike up a conversation with random passersby and listen intently to stories he’s heard 200 times before.

Although he often loses track, Powell estimated that he signs anywhere from 300 to 500 autographs during the 45 minutes or so leading up to game time. With the barbecue stand humming in the background, he perches himself on a high stool with a Miller Lite umbrella and welcomes folks in like a grandfather at Christmas.

“It took me a while to get used to being with the fans every day,” Powell said, “but I’ve come to the realization that my mission is more or less to make them feel good about being there. I especially enjoy the young people, and I’ve got young people coming now that have pictures they took with me 20 years ago. Thing is, they’re not little kids anymore—they’re adults. They say, ‘God I remember going to see you when I was 5 years old, and you were so much fun and it was cool that you did that for me.’ So I think I give people a good impression, sort of lift them up.”

...But considering how much Powell has given to Baltimore, sometimes it seems as if he gets lost among the other Orioles greats. There is no statue of Powell in Orioles Legends Park, which houses statues of the ballclub’s six Hall of Famers; he doesn’t have a television presence, à la former Baltimore catcher Rick Dempsey; and he isn’t one to give speeches during special anniversary days.

Babcock: Can The 2013 Cubs Channel The Turnaround Artists Of 1967?

Could always ask…Rich Nye the Quantum Chronophysics Guy.

Indeed, scanning the 2013 roster, only an optimist of Ernie Banksian dimensions would find four future Hall-of-Famers. I only count two position players who have even made the All-Star team as Cubs: Starlin Castro (2011, 2012), Alfonso Soriano (2007, 2008). Castro is still a work in progress and The Fonz can only hope for lasting recognition if his outfield hop turns into a Gangnam style YouTube sensation.

Getting more granular, here’s what the 2013 Cubs, position by position, would need to hit if they were to equal their ’67 counterparts, who rallied so heartily.

1B: Anthony Rizzo, BA: 276; HR: 23; RBI: 95 (Banks’s record)
2B: Darwin Barney, .280; 5; 40 (Beckert)
SS: Starlin Castro, .231; 0; 42 (Kessinger)
3B: Luis Valbuena, .300; 31; 98 (Santo)
RF: Nate Schierholtz, .218; 5; 33 (Ted Savage, part time, replacing Browne)
CF: David DeJesus, .268; 17; 70 (Phillips)
LF: Alfonso Soriano, .278; 28; 84 (Williams)
C: Welington Castillo, .267; 14; 60 (Hundley)

If you could make your pact with the devil, would you take those numbers right now? I would (a shame about the demise of Castro, but Javier Baez is on deck). Do you believe the 2013 team will come close those results? If so, I’d like to talk to you about a great deal on a slightly pre-driven relief pitcher named Carlos Marmol.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-17-2013

Toledo News-Bee, May 17, 1913:

One of the weirdest triple plays ever seen in the American league was staged in the seventh inning of the Nap-Athletic contest Friday at Cleveland. Johnson [sic] opened with a single and took third on Chapman’s double. Olson then drew a single off Barry’s chest. Johnson was sent home by his coacher, Steen, who saw Chapman racing for third. Johnson was run down. Chappie started back to second and found Olson there. Barry tagged Olson and Chapman. Olson was retired, but Chappie again dashed for third and was easily nailed. In this manner a single was developed into a triple play.

Cue Yakity Sax.

Granillo: Comic Book Guy is living a lie

“In The Simpsons, why in the world is Comic Book Guy’s store called “The Android’s Dungeon and Baseball Card Shop”? This is a travesty that needs to be called out!”

Meanwhile, back at the shop, does CBG even sell baseball cards? There was that one time Milhouse tried to buy a copy of the 1973 Carl Yastrzemski card, when he had the big sideburns. To his credit, Comic Book Guy knew exactly which card he wanted and exactly its price. However, in the 20-plus years since then, there hasn’t been a single other baseball-related item sold. There have been ALF pogs and Steve Allen pogs, jazz albums, barbershop albums, Mary Worth telephones, Radioactive Man comic books, Biclops comic books, Poochie merchandise, video games like Bonestorm and Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge, Itchy & Scratchy animation cels, James Bond autographs, McBain posters, bootleg movies, a little boy’s soul ... but no baseball cards. The store has been visited by the likes of Stan Lee, Hi & Lois, and even special-effects guru Tom Savini. Why not Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens or Babe Ruth IV? What about the Capitol City Goofball?

It’s in his free time that we see what Comic Book Guy really loves. As you might imagine, comic-book and science-fiction conventions play a big role. He once won the Ultimate Belt at a Star Trek convention and nearly married Edna Krabapple at Springfield’s Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con. His internet life is just as predictable. Comic Book Guy runs many online forums (including “Ain’t I Fat News”), is a usenet obsessive, and was once married to a woman in an online role-playing game. He dresses in superhero costumes, attends flea markets, watches Doctor Who, and opines about any piece of pop culture that crosses his path. The only thing missing from these outside pursuits? Baseball. On that famous day when Hall of Famer Whitey Ford was pelted with pretzels, not even the allure of free food was enough to bring our anti-hero to the ballpark. A few years later, Homer Simpson staged a hunger strike to protest the Isotopes’ upcoming move to Albuquerque. Duff Stadium was filled that night with Springfield citizens from all walks of life, from retiree Jasper to billionaire Mr. Burns. And where was Comic Book Guy? Who knows.

It’s time to end the charade, Jeffrey Albertson. There’s a reason we call you “Comic Book Guy” and not “Comic Book and Baseball Card Guy.” Stop living a lie. The Android’s Dungeon is no baseball-card shop and its proprietor is no baseball fan. You know it, I know it, the people of Springfield know it ... and now the world knows it.

Let’s do something about this. Jiminy Jillickers!

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-16-2013

Pittsburgh Gazette Times, May 16, 1913:

[Clarence Irwin], who was signed by Manager Connie Mack of the Philadelphia American League club, and who was to report for duty on May 26, was instantly killed today by tripping and falling in front of a Philadelphia and Reading Railroad locomotive near Cresson, Pa. He was employed as a brakeman and was in the act of turning a switch.

Man. The guy was so close to fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Generation K: Baseball’s strikeout trend is growing at record pace

DGAFism spreading across the land…

There are many factors. More teams and more overall games mean more strikeouts. There also are more power arms, more starters who can touch 94 mph, more relievers who finish games throwing 98.

Some are more subtle. Without question, the influence of Sabermetrics has played a role, much to Harold Reynolds’ chagrin. The new math – analyzing baseball using the game’s statistics – has produced a new crop of hitters who are conditioned to take pitches, knowing a walk helps the almighty OPS (on-base plus slugging), whereas moving a runner into scoring position doesn’t.

Reynolds said when he played, the goal was always to “knock (the starting pitcher) out and get to the bullpen.” Now, it’s a patient, slow waltz to the 100-pitch mark, which sparks a knee-jerk pitching change, and the easiest way to get there is to work the count.

The flip side to taking all of those strikes, rather than hitting the first or second one, is batters find themselves with two strikes far more often. And more two-strike counts lead to more strikeouts.

It’s a never ending cycle that leads to and from the dugout.

“Nobody cares,” Reynolds said in a phone interview. “Nobody is telling them it is not OK to strike out. This generation has bought into ‘an out’s an out.’ No it’s not. You get no benefit out of a strikeout. It used to be put the ball in play, force the defense to do something.”

Reynolds joked that Dave Kingman, maligned in his day, would be revered in this era.

“When he played, ‘Holy smokes, he strikes out 100 times! He’s got great power, but he strikes out too much.’”

Al Lopez house to be moved to new address in Ybor

Here’s a tentative schedule of the move:

• 8-10 p.m.: Moving Al Lopez house toward Nuccio Parkway, where it will wait for the 909 E 12th Ave. house to meet it at 13th Street and Nuccio Parkwaykwy.

• 10-midnight: Moving 909 toward Al Lopez house.

• Midnight-4 a.m.: Moving both houses down Nuccio Parkway, toward 21st Street, then Palm Avenue to 19th Street.

• 4 a.m.: Placing the houses into position at 2003 and 2005 N 19th St.

• 11 a.m: Celebratory toast at Ybor City Museum State Park (Ken Hagan, Mary Alvarez, and Al Lopez Jr. are among those confirmed).

FanGraphs: Q&A: Dennis Martinez, El Presidente Legacy

Pontoon points out ~ “Dennis Martinez ERA+106/4000 IP ~ Jack Morris ERA+105/3800 IP”.

On his legacy: “I think maybe I am [underappreciated]. I don’t feel I got the credit I deserved, maybe because of where I came from. I was a Spanish-speaking kid from Nicaragua who didn‘t understand the language real well, and I got a reputation in the Orioles organization as a hot-headed pitcher who didn’t want to go along with the system. The reason was that I fought for my rights. I fought for what I believed. I had to battle with that, but God made me the way I am. I rely on myself a lot. Everything I got, I had to work hard for.

“And then, I played for the Montreal Expos, a Canadian team. Playing for a low-market-city team, people don’t hear about you too much. The team wasn’t like the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox, or the Dodgers, who get exposure all over all the world. I was hiding somewhere in Montreal. But I felt comfortable — I felt good — to play for that country and that city. I liked to pitch there. I didn’t mind anything else, I just wanted to pitch good for those people.

“Later, I broke Juan Marichal’s record for most wins by a Latin American pitcher. I am proud of that. I am also thankful.”

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-15-2013

Washington Times, May 15, 1913:

Walter Smokeball Johnson is today holder of a new world’s record for holding the foe scoreless in successive innings…When Derrill Pratt pounded a single to right, scoring Gus Williams, who had already doubled to left, the onward march of the fireball flinger was at an end. He had traveled down fifty-six complete innings without allowing the enemy a run, and it will be some time before this record is bettered.

Don Drysdale’s record-breaking streak started 55 years to the day after Johnson’s streak ended.

Jason Repko loses fire, walks away from baseball

The Repko is gone
but he’s not forgotten
This is the story
of a 71 OPS+ (rotten)

Jason Repko lost something in the offseason. He knew it. He felt it.

An outfielder for 14 seasons in professional baseball, including seven seasons spent in the majors, he lost the desire to be on the field every single day.

But he still wanted to feel that way. That’s the thing. He wanted to feel that fire again. So even when no organization offered him an invitation to spring training, he felt like he needed to try the Atlantic League. A friend, Brett Tomko, phoned in the offseason, and they played together for York. Repko thought that would help.

Give it some time, he kept telling himself.

Almost a month into the season, Repko knew he had a decision to make.

“I came here hoping to get that feeling back in my heart ... but I had a hard time getting that desire to be here every day,” Repko said Monday, a day after retiring from playing baseball.

...He batted .253 in 24 games and didn’t miss a single one. Even after telling Mason he would retire, he showed up for optional batting practice. He made a sliding catch in the outfield. He threw out a runner at home. He shook his head on strike calls that he believed didn’t go over the plate. And this was all in the last week of his career. The majors weren’t calling him back. Still, he had to go all out.

Before he came to York, he explained why he crashed into walls instead of letting up and allowing the ball to drop—even though he knew catching the ball might mean he would be injured. He had to put everything he had into baseball. He was the answer to that old rock-and-roll refrain, it’s better to burn out than fade away. When that desire was gone, he felt like he too had to leave.

Rush Limbaugh: A Great Trip Back to the Ballpark in Kansas City

Damn pinkos everywhere!

By the way, it was Mother’s Day. I have to mention, it was Mother’s Day of course yesterday and it was Mother’s Day at the ballpark, and the players were all wearing pink something or other, pink shoes or pink sleeves. There was one guy with a pink bat.

I’m talking about this and George (Brett) said, “Have you seen the official ball for today?”

I said, “No.”

So he went and grabbed one.

The official Rawlings game ball yesterday was printed with pink ink.

So, anyway, it was a great weekend. It was a great time.

Thanks to Susan Mullen.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-14-2013

Toledo News-Bee, May 14, 1913:

ST. LOUIS, May 14.—(Special.)—During a ball game here a fly ball dropped within a few feet of a cow. Bossie beat the fielder to the sphere and gulped it down. The runner romped home.

I’ve (fairly hurriedly) scanned the current rulebook and don’t see any applicable rule that would make the ball dead if a cow eats it. Everything I’ve seen either refers to people or inanimate objects coming into contact with the ball. I think that makes this the right call.

Is there a rule I’m missing?

Finkel: Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris And Jim Gentile: The Story Of Baseball’s Forgotten 1961 Sensation

As we used to say…“Do not go Gentile into that good night.”

Then there’s 1961, perhaps the most iconic year in baseball history, when two of the best players on the most recognized sports team in the country chased down the most sought after record held by the most popular man ever to play the game. Surely, this would be the number one season to steer clear of.

How can you compete with Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris while they’re in a dog fight for Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record in Yankee Stadium for an entire summer?

In short, you can’t.

...“We had about the same home runs mid-summer,” Gentile says. “Then, all of a sudden, they were closing in on 40 and I was only closing in on 30.”

Lost in all of the attention was the fact that Gentile had a higher batting average and more RBIs than Mantle and he went RBI for RBI with Maris the whole year.*

Still, nothing could compete with the buzz created by two Yankees chasing the immortal Babe Ruth and his home run record.

When the dust settled, and Maris finished with 61 home runs to Mickey’s 54, they were locks to finish one-two in MVP voting, leaving Gentile as the owner of one of the best seasons ever to not win the award. Gentile even finished with a higher slugging percentage and on-base percentage than Maris, who came out on top. Such is the price you pay when you do battle with the giants of the game.

Fifty years later, when Gentile is asked if he’d change anything about that season, he laughs and says, “I would have liked to have done it in ‘62!”

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 5-13-2013

Notes about two youngsters who eventually made their way to Cooperstown:

Pittsburgh Press, May 13, 1913:

Bostonians now are calling little Maranville “the Rabbit.” Also they are rising to proclaim that he is one of the very few men in the game who really can “place” a hit, which overcomes his inability to smash the ball quite as hard as some of his larger contemporaries.

Milwaukee Sentinel, May 13, 1913, Page 6:

In Pitcher George Sisler Ann Arbor college claims to have a Ty Cobb and a left-handed Ed Walsh. Sisler is the best pitcher on the college nine, and he is a great fielder and batter.

People often forget what a good pitcher Sisler was. He put up a 126 ERA+ in 111 career MLB innings.

Schoenfield: Ten awesome things about Miguel Cabrera

7. OK, where does Cabrera rank among all-time right-handed batters?

Right now he’s playing his age-30 season. He has 327 home runs, which ranks 11th—more than Willie Mays had through age 30 but fewer than Andruw Jones or Juan Gonzalez. He’s fifth in RBIs, behind only Jimmie Foxx, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Hank Aaron, and is a good bet to pass Aaron and maybe Pujols (70 behind).

8. Those are old-school stats. What about some of your fancy sabermetric stuff?

OK, let’s look at OPS+ from Baseball-Reference.com—a player’s on-base plus slugging percentage, but adjusted for park and era. Cabrera doesn’t fare quite as well there, with an OPS+ of 152, 16th-best since 1901, and behind Frank Thomas, Pujols, Jeff Bagwell, Ramirez and Mike Piazza, among more recent players (although better than A-Rod). Remember, the early part of Cabrera’s career still came in the high-scoring period, which really didn’t end until about 2008, when offensive numbers started dropping.

Using the wRC+ stat from FanGraphs, Cabrera ranks 19th among right-handed batters since 1901.

This makes Cabrera elite, but not necessarily a more valuable hitter than others we’ve seen in the past two decades. He can’t match the on-base percentage that Thomas (.443) or Pujols (.426) posted through age 30, for example. (Cabrera is at .396). Even compared to Ramirez, Miggy’s career-best slugging percentages have been .622 and .606 while Manny had seasons of .697, .663, .647 and .609 through age 30, plus three more above .600 after turning 30.

Thanks to Jed.

Posnanski: Warren Spahn and the Brooklyn Dodgers

I thought this was sorta common knowledge…

Brilliant Reader Wendell has wandered through some baseball numbers and comes up with what seems a fascinating question, at least if you’re kind of a crazy baseball history buff.

From 1954-1957, Warren Spahn started 136 games—fourth-most in baseball. He pitched 1,081 innings—second only to Robin Roberts. He won 79 games, more than any pitcher over that time. Well, that was Warren Spahn, right? Hall of Famer. A workhorse. A constant force. He was a guy you could count on to take the ball and give you nine … Spahn led the league in complete games nine times in his career. I mean we’re talking about the guy at the heart of the Spahn and Sain and pray for rain poem.

OK, so, are you ready for the shocker?

Here is how Spahn’s starts break down by opponent from 1954-57:

Pirates: 28

Cardinals: 25

Redlegs: 25

Giants: 23

Phillies: 21

Cubs: 13

Dodgers: 2

Yeah. That’s right. Two. He made two starts against the Brooklyn Dodgers in four years. It’s even more striking when you break it down by inning:

Pirates: 215 2/3

Cardinals: 215 2/3

Redlegs: 198 1/3

Giants: 189 1/3

Phillies: 163

Cubs: 95 2/3

Dodgers: 3 2/3

Um … Spahn pitched just 3 2/3 innings against the Dodgers? Over four years? We’re talking Warren Spahn here? One of the most durable and workmanlike pitchers in baseball history?

WSJ: Robinso Cano: 1,501 Hits Down, 1,499 to Go

Not to dump water on this…but he’s tied with Tim McCarver.

Jeter has long been known for his ability to rack up 200-hit seasons, the hallmark of any 3,000-hit campaign. Cano, with only two 200-hit seasons, and perhaps because of his status as an elite power hitter, has often been left out of the discussion of players who could reach 3,000.

But Cano isn’t far off Jeter’s pace. Jeter notched his 1,500th hit at age 29, in his ninth season. Cano hit the mark at age 30, also in his ninth year. It took Jeter 70 fewer games, but Cano’s 3,000-hit prospects are undeniably strong.

The top three active players in hits are all Yankees—Jeter (3,304), Alex Rodriguez (2,901), and Ichiro Suzuki (2,634), They are followed by graybeards Todd Helton and Miguel Tejada, pushing 40 and with less than 2,500 each, and several others who won’t make it to 3,000.

With more than 2,000 hits, in the under-35 category, are Albert Pujols, 33, (2,276) and Adrian Beltre, 34 (2,259). Then there is the incomparable Miguel Cabrera with 1,810 hits at age 30.

Lurking just behind is Cano.

The only other players in Cano’s class are injured Toronto speedster Jose Reyes at 1,499, and his ex-teammate, Mets captain David Wright, at 1,457, both in their age-30 seasons.

Catellier: Baseball HOF Discussion: Gil Hodges, Los Angeles Dodgers

Plus he’d wait on line for an Ebinger’s black-out cake just like the rest of us!

Is former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers great Gil Hodges the best eligible position player not in the Hall of Fame? No, Barry Bonds is…or maybe Jeff Bagwell. But five years ago, the answer very well may have been “yes”.

Without all this newfangled steroid nonsense clouding the picture, Hodges’ case depicts perhaps the most lopsided argument in history regarding a player’s Hall of Fame merit. It seems that the lone split in the debate occurs between the people that actually make the Hall of Fame decision and everyone else in the baseball world. When Jim Rice was elected on his 15th and final ballot, Hodges reclaimed the stigmatic title of ownership of the most cumulative HOF votes over time without being inducted. The former all-star averaged over 57 percent in the voting totals during his final ten seasons on the ballot, eclipsing 60 percent three times. Within the Veterans Committee process, Hodges has come as close as one vote shy of making it to the Hall. Though he’s come within an arm’s length of Cooperstown many times, it’s extremely difficult (if not impossible) to single out the exact reason for this legend’s continued failure to actually reach it. Let’s look at the history.

Hodges was the first baseman and team leader for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s. During that decade, only his teammate Duke Snider (a Hall of Famer) was able to rack up more home runs and RBI. His OPS during the 50s was a solid 0.884 which ranked him 12th overall. All 11 players ahead of him in that category are in the Hall of Fame. If that’s not enough, a very telling comparison comes at the first base position, where frankly, Hodges’ superior numbers make it no comparison at all. Looking at all of the first basemen in the decade, Hodges ranks first in virtually every major offensive category. He led the pack in hits (1,491), runs scored (890), home runs (310), runs batted in (1,001), and OPS (0.884). No other first baseman even comes close.

...But whatever the reason, it’s not enough to justifiably explain the mistakes of both the BBWAA and the Veterans Committee. Hodges is a true Hall of Famer in every sense of the term, and thus far has nothing to show for it.