Results tagged ‘ this day in MLB history ’
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.
This Day In MLB History…
December 27, 2001: The Mets continue to stay busy this off season acquiring first baseman Mo Vaughn for 13-year veteran right hander Kevin Appier (11-10, 3.57) and cash. The 1995 American League MVP will join Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeno, and Shawn Estes as newest members of the Shea Squad.
After losing the 2000 World Series to the Yankees in five games and having a lack luster 2001 season, the Mets and GM Steve Phillips decided to bring in a lot of fire power to make the 40th season in Mets franchise history a memorable one…and boy, did they ever. The front office was incredibly unhappy with the performance of the club, which finished in third place with a 82-80 record. New York was able to acquire some pretty big names in the winter of 2001, with the hopes of giving Mike Piazza some protection and extra firepower to return to the post season. The newly acquired opening day starters included Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeno, Mo Vaughn, and Jeromy Burnitz.
Instead of returning to the postseason, the Mets were a huge disappointment, finishing last in the National League East, with a 75-86 record and led to the dismissal of Bobby Valentine. I would have to say that Mo Vaughn is by far the most disappointing pick up out of this group of under achievers. With the Boston Red Sox and Anaheim Angels, he was a force to be reckoned with at the plate. He was an important cog in the middle of both line ups, driving in 100 runs six times, hitting over 30 home runs six times, and hitting over .300 five times in the first ten years of his MLB career. Before he was traded to the Mets, Vaughn accumulate two more 30 home run, 100 RBI seasons with the Angels. So, it looked as if Steve Phillips hit the jackpot with someone to hit behind Piazza. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Vaughn’s two years with the Mets filled with lofty expectations upon his arrival, and since he didn’t meet those expectations, he was run out of town, and out of Major League Baseball. He struggled in 2002 with a .259 average, 26 home runs, and 72 RBI, but came back in 2003 and did even worse, hitting .190 with 3 home runs, and 15 RBI, appearing in his final game on May 2nd of that year. Vaughn’s weight was also a big topic of conversation, continually coming into Spring Training over-weight and out of shape, which immediately put him in the dog house.
These poor moves by Steve Phillips were so unproductive and hand cuffed the organization so much that it took the Mets four more years to field another play off worthy team in 2006. Then, the cycle has unfortunately repeated itself after that one successful year. I remember when the Mets made the move to acquire Mo Vaughn and how excited I was because he had been so successful in his ten year prior. I can safely say that the 2002 Mets season was one of the most disappointing I have ever watched- and as a Mets fan, there have unfortunately been plenty of season to choose from. Here’s to hoping New York fans don’t have to see a deal like this happen again for a very long time.
This Day In MLB History…
December 7th, 1939: The Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams from San Diego of the Pacific Coast League, but he will not report to Boston until 1939.
When Theodore Samuel Williams made his Major League debut on April 20th, 1939, he began his journey to becoming the best hitter to ever play the game. If there is one player that I wish I could watch play the game, it would be Ted Williams. His theory on hitting completely revolutionized the game at that time. He came from the school of thought that a hitter’s top hand is in control of the bat, leading a player to be a pull hitter, which is what Williams was. My favorite part is that defenses played him to pull the ball, yet he pulled it anyway and had a .344 lifetime batting average, good for eighth best on the all-time list.
One of the most amazing things about Ted Williams is the fact that he put up insane numbers during his 21 year career (all with the Red Sox), he lost four years during the prime of his career (1942-1946) to service in the military for World War II and lost 1952 and 1953 to serve in the Korean War. With that in mind, here are his career statistics:
.344 batting average, 521 home runs, 1839 RBI, 1798 runs, 2654 hits
Imagine if he had six more full seasons to accumulate stats! While Williams wasn’t able to win a World Series with Boston, he did plenty of other things. He was named to 19 All-Star games, won two MVPs, six batting titles, two Triple Crowns, and was the last player to hit .400 back in 1941. After being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966, he was named to Major League Baseball’s All Century Team and got his #9 retired by the Red Sox.
He even shared his thoughts and theories on hitting with the public in his book, The Science of Hitting. One Major Leaguer that took Williams’ advice to heart was Tony Gwynn, another first ballot Hall of Famer that wrote a book of his own called The Art of Hitting. I have read that book on many occasions and definitely recommend it for anyone who would like to see the mechanics of a baseball swing broken down into numerous parts.
It is clear to see how much of an impact Ted Williams had on the game of baseball back in the 40s and 50s, and even into today. What is a shame is that he is not still around to share his knowledge with us.
