Results tagged ‘ this day in MLB history ’
This Day In MLB History…
February 8th, 1956: At the age of 93, Connie Mack dies in Philadelphia. The ‘Tall Tactician’ is the major league’s all-time winningest (3731 victories) and losingest (3948 defeats) manager.
Even though his picture makes him look more like a businessman than one of the most legendary managers in baseball history, Connie Mack was the definition of baseball at the beginning of the 20th century. What most people know is that he did also play professional baseball for ten years before he decided to end his playing career and start managing. After a short stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1894-1896, he took the reins of the start up Philadelphia Athletics organization for the team’s first 50 seasons in existence, from 1901-1950.
Anyone who has the most wins and the most losses in history is bound to have quite an interesting career. In addition to both of those records, no other skipper in Major League Baseball has managed more games than Mack (7,755). The all-time top-ten list for most managerial wins are follows:
1. Connie Mack: 3,731
2. John McGraw: 2,763
3. Tony LaRussa: 2,728
4. Bobby Cox: 2,504
5. Joe Torre: 2,326
6. Sparky Anderson: 2,194
7. Bucky Harris: 2,158
8. Joe McCarthy: 2,125
9. Walter Alston: 2,040
10. Leo Durocher: 2,008
Even though no manager spent more time heading a baseball team than Mack, the fact that no other manager is even within 1,000 wins of his total is quite impressive. He led the Athletics to nine American League pennants (second highest amount in league history) and won five World Series titles; he was the first manager to win more than three championships and was also the first to win consecutive World Series titles on separate occasions. From 1901-1935, Mack was part owner of the Athletics and become the full owner from 1936-1954. When I first saw Connie Mack’s managerial record and noticed that he was under .500 for his career, it was suspicious to me and made me wonder exactly what could have led to that happening.
After a little research, I found my answer; even though he won nine pennants and 5 championships, his teams also ended up in last place 17 different times. Why? Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same; due to financial constraints and struggles, Mack was forced to continually tear down his successful teams and rebuild from the bottom up. If you ask me, I think that grows the legend of Connie Mack quite a bit. It’s hard enough to find the right players and build a team to win one championship, let alone enjoy a sustained run at excellence. However, he had to do that time and time again, and was able to be successful. I’m sure being at least part owner throughout his entire tenure as manager made it easier for him to have patience with the rebuilding process.
Either way, this is a sad day in baseball history, yet a great day because we have the opportunity to celebrate a person and a manager that we will never be able to experience in our lifetimes. After Terry Francona ended his tenure as Red Sox manager, analysts said that his time was up in Boston; he was only there for eight years! Multiply those eight years by seven and you have the approximate time Connie Mack was in charge of the Philadelphia A’s. I would love to see a manager stay around for that long today, but with the media and fans putting on a full court press from every way possible, there is no way any man would want to stay in charge for that long. Baseball today is fantastic, but this is just another reason why the game was more pure back in its earlier days; we didn’t have to worry about what story the media was going to write up about any happenings; the game was just a game. Simpler times.
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This Day In MLB History…
January 27, 1944: Lou Perini, Guido Rugo, and Joe Maney gain control of the Braves and relieve manager Casey Stengel of his duties.
Man, talk about a monumental mistake. However, at the time that Casey Stengel was fired by the Braves, he was nothing more than a so-so manager. In his first nine seasons as a skipper, he won 581 games with the Dodgers and Braves organization, but never placed higher than fifth, obviously not leading to any post-season baseball. Once he was let go by the Braves, he didn’t lead a team for another six years- until the Yankees gave him a chance in 1949.
The Bronx Bombers did have some successful seasons after Joe McCarthy made his exit in 1946, but in that three year span, they had three different men manage the team. They needed someone to be a stabilizing factor, someone who could bring sustained success to an already prestigious organization.
This Day In MLB History…
January 20th, 1947: Negro League standout Josh Gibson, sometimes referred to as the ‘black Babe Ruth’, dies of a stroke at the of 35. The future Hall of Fame catcher will put to rest in an unmarked grave in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately, one of the best players to ever put spikes on died before the he was able to play in the Major Leagues because of the “gentlemen’s agreement” that banned non-white players from participating in the MLB. Why is Josh Gibson a significant figure in baseball history? He is important since he is probably the best player to never play Major League Baseball.
Gibson suffered a stroke and died in the same year that Jackie Robinson defied all odds and broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Unlike the MLB, the Negro Leagues felt that it was more profitable for the players to only play a few league games and having the opportunity to make extra money by barnstorming around the country, so their statistics are a little skewed, along with the fact that they didn’t compile complete statistics for games or seasons.
However, the few statistics that were kept during these barnstorming seasons were pretty impressive for Josh Gibson. For example, in 1933, Gibson played in 137 games and hit 55 home runs and compiled a .467 average. The next year, he hit 69 home runs. According to the Hall of Fame, Gibson has a .359 career batting average and approximately 800 home runs in his 17-year career; he also is rumored to have won nine home run titles and four batting titles as a player.
What was most impressive to me was a home run he hit at Yankee Stadium…he hit a ball so far that it was two feet from the top of the wall that circled the bleachers in center field, which is approximately 580 feet.
It’s unfortunate that we’ll never know exactly what Gibson did during his storied career because the Negro Leagues didn’t put together complete statistics or game summaries. Baseball is a game about numbers and statistics, and when we aren’t able to see some to evaluate a player, it puts us in a weird place. Either way, Josh Gibson was a legend during his time, and his legend will live on for many years to come.
This Day In MLB History…
January 10th, 1928: The Giants trade Rogers Hornsby to the Boston Braves for Shanty Hogan and Jimmy Welsh. It’s the Rajah’s third team in three years.
Why exactly is this trade monumental? Mostly because I find it hard to believe that any team would want to trade one of the best second basemen in the history of the game, especially when he is still in the prime of his career. In 1927 for the Giants, Hornsby hit .361, slugged 25 home runs, and had 125 RBI.
Apparently, that wasn’t a good enough stat line and New York traded Hornsby within the National League to the Boston Braves. He then proceeded to hit at a .387 clip, hit 21 homers, and 94 RBI. In his 23 year MLB career, Rogers Hornsby played for five different teams. I find it odd that he switched teams that many times during his professional career. In today’s game, we see players switch teams every year due to free agency, but it didn’t always used to be like that.
Before the 1970s, the reserve clause allowed an organization to hold onto a player for as long as they wish. Due to this, it was common for a player to spend his entire career with only one or two teams. That’s why I think it’s so weird that a career .358 hitter with 301 home runs, 1,584 RBI, and almost 3,000 hits would move around to so many teams during a time when players didn’t move around after they were established.
This fact alone makes me wonder what type of player Hornsby was in the clubhouse. I haven’t read anything bad about his character, but with him moving around to so many teams, there must have been some sort of personality conflict, either with Hornsby and his fellow players, his coaching staff, or the front office; especially with Boston and New York since he only spent one year with each organization.
On the other hand, the star second baseman could have have been too expensive for either the Giants or Braves to hold onto because he was at the peak of his game. There are obviously a number of things that caused Rogers Hornsby to play for five teams during a time in which it was unprecedented. He has always been a personal favorite of mine, and one of a few Major Leaguers that I wish I had the chance to watch in person.
This Day In MLB History…
January 3nd, 1920: The secret deal made on December 26 to sell Babe Ruth to New York for $125,000 (twice the amount ever paid previously for a player) is announced publicly. Harry Frazee, the cash-strapped owner of the Red Sox, also secures a $300,000 loan from the Yankees as part of the deal.
There isn’t one person that loves America’s Game that doesn’t think this is a huge part of baseball history; without Babe Ruth being dealt to the New York Yankees, nothing would have been the same. Ruth had a dynamic, 22-year career spending five seasons with the Red Sox before being dealt to the Bronx Bombers and spending 14 years there. It’s common knowledge that the Sultan of Swat was sold to the Yankees by Harry Frazee because he really needed the money, but it’s probably safe to assume that the normal baseball fan doesn’t know how successful Ruth was with Boston, especially on the mound.
While pitching for the Red Sox, Ruth appeared in 158 games (starting 143 of them), and compiled an 89-46 record with a 2.19 ERA, 105 complete games, 1190.1 innings pitched, 483 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.142. In his limited time at the plate with the Sox (1110 at-bats), he hit .308, hit 49 home runs, 230 RBI, .413 onbase%, and .568 slug%. While doing all of that, he helped the Boston Red Sox become the royalty of Major League Baseball, winning three World Series before he was sold by Frazee.
What surprised me the most about this transaction was not the $125,000 New York paid for Ruth, but the additional $300,000 loan secured by the Red Sox owner. I mean, this guy must have really been hurting for money! It’s also amazing that the Yankees had that much money to spend on one player; as if spending twice as much on one player wasn’t enough, they threw in that loan as well to make sure Ruth would be their property. Frazee definitely made a good business deal, being able to take care of his financial issues with this transaction, but many Red Sox fans were distraught that he would give up one of Boston’s best players to get back in the black on his balance sheet. It’s also safe to assume that Red Sox fans grew more distraught year after year until they returned to the pinnacle of the game in 2004, a measly 86 years after their last championship.
Ruth’s time with the New York Yankees needs no explanation; anyone familiar with baseball knows exactly how important he was not only to New York, but to the game as a whole. He helped transform baseball into what the game is today. To briefly sum up how good Babe Ruth was during his career, he currently ranks in the top-10 in ten different offensive categories, which include: slugging %, OPS, OPS+, on base %, RBI, home runs, walks, runs, total bases, and batting average.
I’d say that’s a decent career.
