Best birthday team we've seen in a while:

C: Gabby Hartnett
1B: Cecil Cooper
2B: Jimmy Williams
3B: David Wright
SS: Augie Ojeda
LF: Harry Stovey
CF: David DeJesus
RF: Aubrey Huff

SP: Jose DeLeon
SP: George Pipgras
SP: James Shields
SP: Bill Laskey
SP: Paul Moskau
RP/RF/1B: Jack Manning

Cool names: Snooks Dowd and Ham Wade
Primate: Mike Emeigh

Happy Birthday to all, but especially to Mike Emeigh. I have not compiled a definitive list of people that I would like to watch a ballgame with, but I've considered it, and if I ever wrote it up I think Emeigh would be on it. Solid Primate. Never met the guy, but think I will enjoy it if it ever happens.

And unless the pitchers are in random order, Shields is my #1 here. Meanwhile Bill Laskey may not have panned out but after looking at his bref page I'd like to read an article about him.

The pitchers are ordered by games started in this case. I don't have a huge problem with Shields as the #1, but my thinking was that DeLeon had a similar ERA+ (102) to Shields (106) and 50% more career innings. Pipgras maybe has less of a case to be ahead of Shields, but he threw more innings, had a not-a-ton-worse ERA+ (99), won 30 more games, and won three WS rings.

I'd probably go Shields-DeLeon-Pipgras if I really sat and thought about it.

As for Laskey, looking at his stats, I remember him being a much better pitcher than that. Seems obvious in retrospect that a guy who didn't strike anyone out, didn't have particularly great control, and gave up home runs wasn't going to have a long career. I did a Google News Archive search for him and found that his last stint in the majors ended with him refusing to report to Colorado Springs and instead choosing to become a free agent. I guess the market for 30-year old lefties with miserable peripherals wasn't very strong in '88. Looks like he went to Spring Training with the BoSox in '89 and the Mets in '90, didn't stick with either organization, and was out of baseball for good after the '91 season.

He's from Toledo and Laskey Road is a fairly major road there - I wonder if he comes from a prominent local family or if it's just a coincidence.

Thanks Snowboy. I'd like to meet everyone here :)

GM and backup C: Branch Rickey.

-- MWE

Today is also 25,000 days since a player revolt against Leo Durocher in Brooklyn.

Aside from that, some of the more notable baseball anniversaries given in the link above include: Seattle signing Carlos Silva, Atlanta trading Kevin Millwood for a back up catcher (anyone remember that thread? It was mini-Giamby-Mabry), Cleveland obtains Omar Vizquel, Pittsburgh trades Jay Buhner to the Yankees, Charles O. Finley buys majority control of the A's, Bill Veeck becomes owner of the Sox (for the first time), Connie Mack gains controlling interest in the A's, St. Louis trades player-manager Rogers Hornsby to New York for Frankie Frisch and another guy, a big Yankee-Red Sox trade includes two long-lasting starting pitcher, the original iron man, a star shortstop and others, and a former all-time home run king is born.

TRIVIA QUESTION:
One of the players listed in post #1 was not only born today, but also died today. Can you guess who it is? (For the answer, you can click on the link above, and just skim through the bold items. There's an item listed saying "____ _____ dies on his 72nd birthday"

(Hint: It's not Mike Emeigh).

David Wright?

How many women have been sole owners of an MLB club? Britton, Marge Schott...Joan Kroc? Anybody?

There have been very few "sole" owners of a major league club; most of the so-called "sole" owners in the past have had partners, albeit usually with very small shares and little or no say in it.

If you're talking primary owners, in addition to the three RMc mentions you need to add Joan Payson and Lorinda deRoulet of the Mets.

-- MWE

TRIVIA QUESTION:

Well, it's got to be either Gabby, Stovey, or Pipgras, as I think every other one is still alive. I'll go with Gabby, since he's by far the best known of the three.

Grace Comiskey (White Sox), Joan Kroc (Padres), Jean Yawkey (Red Sox), Jackie Autry (Angels) and Muriel Kauffman (Royals) all owned ballclubs following their husband's deaths.

EDIT: Jackie Autry was never principal owner.

EDIT PART II: Sue Burns owned the Giants after husband Harmon Burns passed away.

Meanwhile Bill Laskey may not have panned out but after looking at his bref page I'd like to read an article about him.

No kidding. I'd forgotten about him entirely, but it sure looks like he got screwed out of a ROY in 1982 - how often does the top rookie by WAR get zero votes?

Not MLB, but Effa Manley owned the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues. That's Hall of Famer Effa Manley.

Looking at this again, I guess things turned out all right for Laskey.

Royals bring back Yuniesky Betancourt. One year deal.

You're ####### kidding me.

They apparently just sent him out for some aging, I mean seasoning.


I can tell Snowboy that Mike is a great guy to watch a game with.

Rockies have signed Casey Blake. He's a million times better than what they had at third last year, yet I still don't see the point.