Dante Bichette - Outfielder
California Angels 1988-1990
Milwaukee Brewers 1991-1992
Colorado Rockies 1993-1999
Cincinnati Reds 2000
Boston Red Sox 2000-2001
Awards
1995 NL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 4 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1998)
League Leader
1994: Games, At Bats
1995: SLG%, Homeruns, Hits, Total Bases, RBI, Runs Created
1998: Hits
Career Ranks
None of note
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 19 (112) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 81 (284) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 30.5 (275) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 82.0 (203) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in the HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Garret Anderson, Moises Alou, Shawn Green, Ted Kluszewski, Tony Oliva, Fred Lynn, George Hendrick, Tim Salmon, George Bell, Greg Luzinksi
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1988: 1/0.3
1989: 2/1.2
1990: 7/3.1
1991: 7/3.8
1992: 8/3.8
1993: 19/6.3
1994: 13/5.8
1995: 23/5.8
1996: 20/4.1
1997: 15/4.0
1998: 17/6.2
1999: 15/3.0
2000: 14/3.9
2001: 7/2.3
Career Win Shares: 168
Career WARP3: 53.7
Would he get my vote?
No. Bichette's numbers were heavily inflated by playing in Colorado and even if you took his counting stats at face value he still is no where close to a HOF. He's a good example of similarity scores not always being very reliable because they don't adjust to the era a player played in. Of his Top 10 similar batters only Garret Anderson has a lower career OPS+, who just happens to be his most similar batter, and Bichette was no where near is good as the likes of Tony Oliva and Fred Lynn.
Bret Saberhagen - Starting Pitcher
Kansas City Royals 1984-1991
New York Mets 1992-1995
Colorado Rockies 1995
Boston Red Sox 1997-1999, 2001
Awards
1985 AL Cy Young
1985 Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year
1985 World Series MVP
1989 AL Cy Young
1989 Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year
1989 AL Gold Glove - P
All-Star Selections: 3 (1987, 1990, 1994)
League Leader
1985: WHIP, BB/9, K/BB Ratio
1989: Wins, ERA, Win %, WHIP, Innings, Complete Games, K/BB Ratio, ERA+
1994: BB/9, K/BB Ratio
Career Ranks
WHIP: 47th
BB/9: 35th
K: 97th
K/BB: 10th
ERA+: 56th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 20 (88) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 124 (139) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 32.0 (123) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 70.5 (158) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in the HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: John Candelaria, Ron Guidry, Ed Lopat, Jimmy Key, Ed Morris, Scott Sanderson, Doug Drabek, Bill Gullickson, Dave McNally, Rick Rhoden
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacment Level (WARP3)
1984: 10/4.1
1985: 24/10.2
1986: 8/4.4
1987: 23/10.1
1988: 15/6.6
1989: 28/11.7
1990: 7/5.0
1991: 16/7.6
1992: 5/2.5
1993: 9/4.5
1994: 16/8.7
1995: 8/3.3
1997: 0/0.1
1998: 12/5.5
1999: 12/6.3
2001: 0/0.2
Career Win Shares: 193
Career WARP3: 90.7
Would he get my vote?
No. At age 25 he had already had two Cy Young's and a World Series MVP but three straight years where he through over 250 innings took it's toll on his arm as he would only throw enough innings three more times in his career to qualify for the ERA title. Certainly a great "What If?" case if he could have stayed healthy. When he was healthy he pitched like a HOF but didn't pitch enough to warrant consideration.
Could it finally be, someone who I'd actually vote for on my imaginary ballot?
Rich "Goose" Gossage - Closer
Chicago White Sox 1972-1976
Pittsburgh Pirates 1977
New York Yankees 1978-1983, 1989
San Diego Padres 1984-1987
Chicago Cubs 1988
San Francisco Giants 1989
Texas Rangers 1991
Oakland Athletics 1992-1993
Seattle Mariners 1994
8th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
2000: 33.27%
2001: 44.27%
2002: 43.01%
2003: 42.14%
2004: 40.74%
2005: 55.23%
2006: 64.61%
Awards
1978 AL Rolaids Relief Award
All-Star Selections: 9 (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985)
League Leader
1975: Saves
1978: Saves
1980: Saves
Career Ranks
Saves: 17th
Games: 10th
K/9: 40th
ERA+: 55th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 9 (248) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 41 (580) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 19.0 (312) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 126.0 (61) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 2 (Rollie Fingers, Hoyt Wilhelm)
Other Similar Pitchers: Lindy McDaniel, Stu Miller, Gene Garber, Kent Tekulve, Tug McGraw, Sparky Lyle, Roy Face, Mike Marshall
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1972: 3/0.2
1973: 0/-0.5
1974: 4/1.9
1975: 23/10.5
1976: 10/4.7
1977: 26/10.5
1978: 20/7.8
1979: 11/4.0
1980: 18/6.2
1981: 12/5.9
1982: 17/7.4
1983: 16/7.1
1984: 15/5.1
1985: 15/4.4
1986: 5/1.5
1987: 7/3.3
1988: 4/1.3
1989: 5/1.4
1991: 3/1.8
1992: 2/1.1
1993: 3/1.8
1994: 4/2.0
Career Win Shares: 223
Career WARP3: 89.5
Would he get my vote?
...No. Like I said in the Lee Smith entry I just have a hard time viewing someone who spent their career primarily as a reliever as being a true Hall of Famer. I absolutely agree that Gossage is much more deserving of enshrinement than that of Bruce Sutter. What's funny is that if Gossage had retired at 35 like Sutter did he probably would already be in the HOF as his greatness as a closer would have been remembered better by the short attention span of the writers. Gossage retired nine years after his last good season as a closer after bouncing around several teams as a moderately effective, situational reliever and he gets unfairly penalized for it. I will not argue with anyone who says Gossage deserves to get in and I will have no problem if he ever gets in, which I think will happen eventually after the big jump in support he's received the last couple of years. But on my imaginary ballot I just can't put him down.
Eric Davis - Outfielder
Cincinnati Reds 1984-1991, 1996
Los Angeles Dodgers 1992-1993
Detroit Tigers 1993-1994
Baltimore Orioles 1997-1998
St. Louis Cardinals 1999-2000
San Francisco Giants 2001
Awards
1987 NL Gold Glove - OF
1988 NL Gold Glove - OF
1989 NL Gold Glove - OF
All-Star Selections: 2 (1987, 1989)
League Leader
None of note
Career Ranks
AB/HR: 83rd
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 61 (398) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 26.8 (395) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 27.5 (603) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Larry Doby)
Other Similar Batters: Kirk Gibson, Jeromy Burnitz, Darryl Strawberry, Raul Mondesi, Roger Maris, Bill Nicholson, Reggie Sanders, Danny Tartabull, Ray Lankford
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1984: 7/2.2
1985: 5/1.6
1986: 25/7.1
1987: 30/11.2
1988: 27/7.7
1989: 26/7.5
1990: 17/5.8
1991: 8/3.2
1992: 6/1.2
1993: 12/5.8
1994: 1/0.4
1996: 22/6.8
1997: 6/1.4
1998: 18/6.9
1999: 5/1.0
2000: 8/2.1
2001: 0/0.1
Career Win Shares: 224
Career WARP3: 72.0
Would he get my vote?
No. Yet another player on this year's ballot who's career was wrecked by injuries. From 1986 to 1989 he posted OPS+ of 143, 155, 139, and 154 respecitvely while playing Gold Glove defense in center and being a force on the base paths. Even during these years when he was at the top of his game he had nagging injuries and he never played more than 135 games in a season at any point in his career.
Ken Caminiti - Third Baseman
Houston Astros 1987-1994, 1999-2000
San Diego Padres 1995-1998
Texas Rangers 2001
Atlanta Braves 2001
Awards
1995 NL Gold Glove - 3B
1996 NL MVP
1996 NL Gold Glove - 3B
1997 NL Gold Glove - 3B
All-Star Selections: 3 (1994, 1996, 1997)
League Leader
None of note
Career Ranks
None of note
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 28 (802) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 24.8 (488) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 38.0 (462) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Travis Fryman, Doug DeCinces, Larry Parrish, Bret Boone, Richie Hebner, Bobby Thompson, Ben Ogilvie, Johnny Callison, Bobby Murcer, Gus Bell
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1987: 3/1.1
1988: 1/-0.2
1989: 25/7.9
1990: 11/3.8
1991: 17/7.1
1992: 21/7.4
1993: 14/4.9
1994: 16/7.6
1995: 24/9.8
1996: 38/12.9
1997: 26/9.5
1998: 20/4.1
1999: 10/3.5
2000: 9/2.7
2001: 4/1.1
Career Win Shares: 242
Career WARP3: 83.1
Would he get my vote?
No. Even if Caminiti had never used steroids and hadn't become a cocaine addict and died, he still is no where close to being a HOF where bringing up those issues would be relevant to his candidacy. Had a good peak although his 1996 season where he won the MVP stands out as a fluke and his career counting numbers are underwhelming.
Now that the college football season is over I finally had a Saturday morning to sit down and watch Game 6 of the 1975 World Series in one sitting and now eventually will be able to finish off all three World Series box sets. For the remaining games I'll do an entry for Game 6 & 7 of the '79 Series and then an entry for both Game 7's of the '75 & '86 Series.
On a side note while I was doing my post-Christmas shopping with some gift cards I received I found another box set of classic games at Best Buy that was put out by A&E Home Video, who did the World Series sets, but this one was not baseball related. I bought College Football's Greatest Games: University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish Collector's Edition. Ya I'm not proud of myself but it was on sale and I haven't seen a set like this before for college football before so I had to pick it up. Not all of the games are true classics as a few are blowouts that were important to Notre Dame but no one else but there a couple of games on the set I think I'll do future write ups for. Anyways moving on to Game 6...
1975 World Series Game 6 - Red Sox 7, Reds 6 12 innings (boxscore and play account)
-This game was delayed three days due to rain which allowed the Red Sox to start Luis Tiant who had been dominate in Games 1 & 4. They flash a graphic at the beginning of the game of Tiant's previous five starts at Fenway: 5-0, 45 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 20 H, 8 BB, 33 SO, 0.20 ERA. Red Sox had to feel confident after Fred Lynn spotted Tiant a 3-0 lead with a homerun in the first.
-The video quality has been spotty for this and the 1979 set but is very good for this game which is no surprise as I'm sure over the years people have made sure to keep the original footage of this game in good condition.
-Red Sox have a couple opportunities to blow this game open with bases loaded in the 3rd inning and 2nd & 3rd with one out in 4th inning but fail to score.
-Tiant shows his first signs of vulnerability in the series in the 5th when he walks light hitting Ed Armbrister, who was pinch hitting for the pitcher, which will help lead to the Reds first runs of the game. In this innings is the famous play when Lynn slams into the wall trying to catch a Ken Griffey flyball and appears to have been seriously hurt but stays in the game. Griffey ended up with a two-run triple.
-The game starts to reach it's classic level in the bottom of the 8th with the Reds up 6-3 and four outs away from the championship, when with two on Bernie Carbo hits his second pinch hit homerun of the series to tie it up off Reds' relief ace Rawly Eastwick.
-Red Sox nearly win it in the 9th as they loaded the bases with no one out but on a shallow flyball to left hit by Lynn, Don Zimmer sends Denny Doyle from 3rd and he is gunned down by George Foster at the plate for the double play.
-Some almost controversy in the top of the 11th as Pete Rose fakes his way into a HBP. Carlton Fisk argues but to no avail and replays show the pitch did not hit Rose. This would be erased when Dwight Evans makes a sensational catch to potentially rob Joe Morgan of a homerun (might have hit the wall if he doesn't get it) and doubles Griffey off of first to end the inning.
-Of course we know what happens in the 12th. It is still bizarre watching games like this and seeing fans among Fisks' teammates as they mob him at homeplate as we were still several years away from when MLB started to crackdown on fans running on to the field.
-This was one quite the hearbreaker for the Reds for blowing the three run lead in the 8th, Evans robbing Morgan in the 11th, and the Fisk walk off this could have been a crippling defeat for a franchise that hadn't won the World Series since 1940 and suffered a tough World Series loss three years earlier against the A's. But as we know it didn't turn out so bad for them.
I was trying to figure something out to relate to the NFL Playoffs for a blog entry. I originally thought about looking back at random playoff games from the past that may have been forgotten but doing research on the internet for football is a hell of lot harder than baseball. But as I was watching the divisional playoffs and the Bears were on the ropes against the Seahawks I was wondering when was the last time both #1 seeds lost in the divisional playoffs? The Bears of course won but the AFC #1 seeded Chargers lost but I did find out the last time it happened was the 1979 playoffs when the Cowboys and, you guessed it, the Chargers both lost as #1 seeds in the divisonal round.
So for a random, useless fact list I figured I'd take a look at how each #1 seed has faired in the playoffs. Now I only look at the playoffs since 1978 when the Wild Card round was added as the NFL has the same basic playoff structure (except for the '82 strike year) since then with the only major change being when they expanded the field from 10 to 12 teams in 1990. Good news for the Bears this Sunday is that only four times since '78 have both #1's seeds not reached the Super Bowl, the last being 1997 (Chiefs/49ers). On the flip side both #1 seeds haven't advanced to the Super Bowl since 1993 (Bills/Cowboys), which incidently enough was the last season before the salary cap. Not sure if that is a coincidence or not.
1978
AFC: Steelers
-Won Super Bowl
NFC: Rams
-Lost NFC Championship
1979
AFC: Chargers
-Lost Divisional playoff
NFC: Cowboys
-Lost Divisional playoff
1980
AFC: Chargers
-Lost AFC Championship
NFC: Falcons
-Lost Divisional playoff
1981
AFC: Bengals
-Lost Super Bowl
NFC: 49ers
-Won Super Bowl
1982
AFC: Raiders
-Lost in Second Round
NFC: Redskins
-Won Super Bowl
1983
AFC: Raiders
-Won Super Bowl
NFC: Redskins
-Lost Super Bowl
1984
AFC: Dolphins
-Lost Super Bowl
NFC: 49ers
-Won Super Bowl
1985
AFC: Raiders
-Lost Divisional playoff
NFC: Bears
-Won Super Bowl
1986
AFC: Browns
-Lost AFC Championship
NFC: Giants
-Won Super Bowl
1987
AFC: Broncos
-Lost Super Bowl
NFC: 49ers
-Lost Divisional playoffs
1988
AFC: Bengals
-Lost Super Bowl
NFC: Bears
-Lost NFC Championship
1989
AFC: Broncos
-Lost Super Bowl
NFC: 49ers
-Won Super Bowl
1990
AFC: Bills
-Lost Super Bowl
NFC: 49ers
-Lost NFC Championship
1991
AFC: Bills
-Lost Super Bowl
NFC: Redskins
-Won Super Bowl
1992
AFC: Steelers
-Lost Divisional playoff
NFC: 49ers
-Lost NFC Championship
1993
AFC: Bills
-Lost Super Bowl
NFC: Cowboys
-Won Super Bowl
1994
AFC: Steelers
-Lost AFC Championship
NFC: 49ers
-Won Super Bowl
1995
AFC: Chiefs
-Lost Divisional playoff
NFC: Cowboys
-Won Super Bowl
1996
AFC: Broncos
-Lost Divisional playoff
NFC: Packers
-Won Super Bowl
1997
AFC: Chiefs
-Lost Divisional playoff
NFC: 49ers
-Lost NFC Championship
1998
AFC: Broncos
-Won Super Bowl
NFC: Vikings
-Lost NFC Championship
1999
AFC: Jaguars
-Lost AFC Championship
NFC: Rams
-Won Super Bowl
2000
AFC: Titans
-Lost Divisional playoff
NFC: Giants
-Lost Super Bowl
2001
AFC: Steelers
-Lost AFC Championship
NFC: Rams
-Lost Super Bowl
2002
AFC: Raiders
-Lost Super Bowl
NFC: Eagles
-Lost NFC Championship
2003
AFC: Patriots
-Won Super Bowl
NFC: Eagles
-Lost NFC Championship
2004
AFC: Steelers
-Lost AFC Championship
NFC: Eagles
-Lost Super Bowl
2005
AFC: Colts
-Lost Divisional playoff
NFC: Seahawks
-Lost Super Bowl
2006
AFC: Chargers
-Lost Divisional playoff
NFC: Bears
-???
1979 World Series Game 6 - Pirates 4, Orioles 0 (boxscore and play account)
-This game was played on a Tuesday just two days after the Colts played a game and the football yard marks a very visible. Once again it's a very good thing that multi-purpose stadiums are almost gone.
-Howard Cosell spends time early in the game whining about some unamed Baltimore columnist whining about ABC's habbit of showing the players wives on a regular basis, which it did get completely out of hand in a few of the games. Maybe not quite as annoying as FOX cutting to close ups of fans between almost every pitch in the playoffs now.
-In every game they've played brief interview clips of players with Cosell and there's a kind of interesting one here of Rick Dempsey talking shit about Bill Madlock.
-Several promos done for ABC's college football line up that Saturday, featuring USC/Notre Dame and Texas/Arkansas. #4 USC would crush #9 Notre Dame 42-23 and #10 Arkansas would upset #2 Texas 17-14.
-In case you only thought today's announcers had hard ons for scrappy, short, white middle infielders like David Eckstein, Cosell and Keith Jackson constantly fawn over Phil Garner here. Cosell constantly calls him "The Little Pepper Pot" which as far as I can tell never caught as a nickname for Garner but "Scrap Iron" did. Garner did have a great series though and through this game was probably the favorite for the series MVP before Stargell's huge Game 7.
-The scoreless tie is broken in the 7th inning when with Omar Moreno on first and going on the pitch, Tim Foli chops one up the middle. Kiko Garcia makes a terrible decision by waiting right at the bag at second for the ball to get to him instead of cutting it off to get the easy out out first, thinking he can get a double play which would have been impossible with Moreno going on the pitch. The ball ends up going through Garcia's legs and Rich Dauer backing him up can't get Foli at first. It's scored a hit. Dave Parker then follows with a hard hit ball at Dauer but he misjudges the ball of the bat and commits to far to his left and can't recover to get in front it thus allowing it to get through for a base hit. There was a lot of bad fielding in this series although some of it had to do with the terrible shape of the Memorial Stadium turf.
-Relief aces/closers were overused during this era but it was kind of cool to see Kent Tekulve come in here and shutdown the Orioles for three straight innings.
1979 World Series Game 7 - Pirates 4, Orioles 1 (boxscore and play account)
-Jimmy Carter was at the game. Ya I know you care.
-Coming into this game the road team had won 12 of the last 15 Game 7's in the World Series. The Pirates win here is the last time this has happened as the home team is 8-0 since.
-Cosell thinks advancing the runner should be an official stat. Hey he was light years ahead of Buster Olney for coming up with completely meaningless statistics.
-By far the most tense, exciting moment of the series comes in the bottom of the 8th. Trailing 2-1, the Orioles 2nd & 3rd with two out and Chuck Tanner had Tekulve intentionally walk Ken Singleton to load the bases to pitch to Eddie Murray who was 0 for his last 20. Murray hit one hard to right and Parker would stumble going back for the ball and for the briefest of moments it looks like it would go over his head but he recovers to make the catch. That would have ranked up their with the Buckner play if Parker had fallen down and potentially cost the Pirates the series.
-The top of the 9th lasts forever as at one point Earl Weaver makes four straight pitching changes as the Pirates had a staggered left/right line-up. It backfires as Mike Flanangan gives up an RBI single to Omar Moreno, Doug Stanhouse gives up a single to Tim Foli, Tippy Martinez plunks Dave Parker to load the bases, and on his first pitch Dennis Martinez hits Bill Robinson on the hand to force in the Pirates' final run.
-When Flanangan makes his rare relief apperance it is mentioned that his wife had an emergency apedectomy that morning. Cosell takes this time to take about how hot she is. One of the few times in the series Cosell made me smile.
-Tekulve pitches a pefect 9th and even though it was in the visiting park the fans still run on the field. Steve Nicosia is seen beating down who I'm assuming was an upset Baltimore fan with his catcher's mask in the melee.
Bonus Clips
-Nothing terribly interesting here except they have the original footage of the final three outs of the Pirates sweep of the Reds in the NLCS.
-They include all of ABC's postgame coverage in the clips and President Carter was involved in the trophy presentation. Chuck Tanner is as giddy as a school girl to be talking to him while it appeared to me that Willie Stargell wasn't sure who he was.
Here's just a list of the extras.
1. Bruce Kison: Origin of "We Are Family"
2. Bill Robinson: "The Family"
3. Don Robinson: Characters on the Pirates
4. Tim Foli: Pirates Had Roles
5. Dave Parker's Outfield Assist, 1979 All-Star Game (just a TWiB recap)
6. NLCS Clincher: Last Inning and Celebration (original footage)
7. Don Robinson: Rookie in the World Series
8. Willie Stargell: Compares 1971 and 1979 Pirates
9. Willie Stargell: Pirates Put Aside Differences
10. Tim Foli: On Willie Stargell
11. Willie Stargell: Chuck Tanner Fights Through Tragedy
12. Tom Boswell: Willie Stargell, Pirates Leader
13. Bill Robinson: Stargell's Homerun
14. Earl Weaver: Dissapointment of 1979
15. Last Out and Celebration
16. World Series Trophy Presentation
17. World Series MVP Trophy Presentation to Willie Stargell
18. Bill Robinson: City of Champions and Closeness of Club
19. Pirates Championship Rally
Hey it's the one year anniversary of my blog...um, yay? I've been putting off several ideas such as a list of the Top 100 players of my "baseball lifetime" (1986-present) and also the Top 50 Oakland A's of all-time, shrunk from 100 since realizing that the list would be populated with guys who played two years or less with them. So I figured I'd do my biggest staple of my blog over the past year and that was the Award Redos. I originally was going to do the 1991 A.L. MVP but then rememebered, I already did it. But in that entry after I gave Frank Thomas both the 1991 and 1992 awards I wondered if the Big Hurt should have won four straight MVPs? So now to find out if his first real MVP should have been his 3rd overall.
There was zero controversy for the 1993 A.L. MVP as Thomas won it unanimously. Typically when a player wins an MVP unanimously he probably was at the very least a deserving winner and certainly it was no exception here. Although he didn't lead the league in any major category he was in the Top 10 in Average, Runs, OBP, SLG, Homeruns, RBI, Walks, and Total Bases while helping the White Sox to their first division crown in 10 years. Since there was no real race there was no other players considered serious contenders. The defending champion Blue Jays were loaded with stars with Paul Molitor and John Olerud finished 2nd and 3rd in the voting repsectively while Robert Alomar finished 6th. Homerun champ Juan Gonzalez and Ken Griffey Jr., who had his first big homerun year with 45, rounded out the Top 5.
Actual Results
1) Frank Thomas 2) Paul Molitor 3) John Olerud 4) Juan Gonzalez 5) Ken Griffey Jr 6) Roberto Alomar 7) Albert Belle 8) Rafael Palmeiro 9) Jack McDowell 10) Carlos Baerga 11) Jimmy Key 12) Joe Carter 13t) Jimmy Key 13t) Jeff Montgomery 15) Kenny Lofton 16t) Chris Hoiles 16t) Tony Phillips 18) Mo Vaughn 19t) Don Mattingly 19t) Cal Ripken 21) Alex Fernandez 22t) Greg Gagne 22t) Duane Ward 24t) Kevin Appier 24t) Cecil Fielder 24t) Randy Johnson
#10
.289/.432/.474, 101 RC, 147 OPS+, .343 EQA, 56.7 VORP, 25 Win Shares
#9
.310/.416/.585, 100 RC, 163 OPS+, .340 EQA, 60.4 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#8
178 ERA+, 2.30 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 82.7 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#7
.332/.402/.509, 131 RC, 142 OPS+, .325 EQA, 69.9 VORP, 29 Win Shares
#6
.326/.408/.492, 118 RC, 140 OPS+, .323 EQA, 75.3 VORP, 30 Win Shares
#5
.295/.371/.554, 123 RC, 150 OPS+, .327 EQA, 59.2 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#4
.310/.368/.632, 120 RC, 169 OPS+, .339 EQA, 67.8 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#3
.309/.408/.617, 146 RC, 172 OPS+, .343 EQA, 86.4 VORP, 29 Win Shares
#2
.317/.426/.607, 144 RC, 177 OPS+, .356 EQA, 79.0 VORP, 32 Win Shares
#1
.363/.473/.599, 156 RC, 185 OPS+, .372 EQA, 92.2 VORP, 37 Win Shares
THAT'S WHAT YOU GET YOUR TRAITOR!!!
Olerud had flirted with .400 for a little while as he was hitting .402 on August 1st but he tailed off after that and with the Blue Jays being loaded he couldn't garner a first place vote. He was better than Thomas across the board and was the easy pick here for me. If he could kept his chase for .400 a little longer he might have given Thomas a run for the MVP but maybe the writers thought he looked too much like a retarded kid running out to the field with his helmet on.
A.L. West Finals: (12) 1988 Minnesota Twins vs. (6) 1983 Chicago White Sox
Game 1: Twins 6, White Sox 5
Tim Laudner hit a grand slam in the 6th off LaMarr Hoyt. White Sox had the tying and winning runs on in the 9th but Jeff Reardon held them off.
Game 2: Twins 15, White Sox 4
Every Twins starter scored at least one run as they crushed Floyd Bannister and the White Sox bullpen. Dan Gladden led the way going 3 for 5 with a homerun.
Game 3: White Sox 3, Twins 2
Richard Dotson allowed just one earned run in 7 2/3 innings as the Sox steal a win back in the Metrodome.
Game 4: Twins 7, White Sox 5
Twins escaped to take a 3-1 series lead as the Sox nearly made a miraculous comeback from being down 7-0 in the 9th.
Game 5: Twins 5, White Sox 4 10 innings
Twins wrap up the series on a walk off….ground out. With John Moses on 3rd, Gladden hit a chopper to Scott Fletcher and he was unable to throw Moses out at the plate. Kirby Puckett was 3 for 4 with a homerun.
Twins win series 4 games to 1
A.L. West All-Region Team
C: Tim Laudner, '88 Twins
1B: Kent Hrbek, '88 Twins
2B: Tom Herr, '88 Twins
3B: Gary Gaetti, '88 Twins
SS: Dick Schofield, '86 Angels
LF: Dan Gladden, '88 Twins
CF: Rudy Law, '83 White Sox
RF: Harold Baines, '83 White Sox
SP: Frank Viola, '88 Twins
RP: Jeff Reardon, '88 Twins
Region MVP: Gary Gaetti, .365/.402/.667, 96 AB, 20 R, 35 H, 4 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 23 RBI
A.L. East Finals: (13) 1987 Toronto Blue Jays vs. (6) 1980 New York Yankees
Game 1: Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2
An Eric Sodherholm rbi single in the bottom of the 8th broke up a 2-2 tie.
Game 2: Blue Jays 3, Yankees 2
Lloyd Moseby hit a two out, rbi double in the top of the 9th for the winning run. Jim Clancy got the complete game victory.
Game 3: Blue Jays 6, Yankees 2
Jesse Barfield was 2 for 3 with a homerun and Dave Stieb allowed just one earned run on four hits in seven innings. The ’80 Yankees now trail in a series for the first time in the tournament.
Game 4: Blue Jays 3, Yankees 2 11 innings
Willie Randolph booted a groundball with two out in the 11th and then Ron Davis uncorked a wild pitch to score George Bell from third for the winning run.
Game 5: Yankees 7, Blue Jays 6 10 innings
Randolph drew a bases loaded walk from Jeff Musselman in the 10th to force in the eventual winning run and the keep the Yankees alive.
Game 6: Yankees 3, Blue Jays 1
Gaylord Perry and Goose Gossage hold the Jays to five hits to help force a Game 7.
Game 7: Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2
Davis pitched three scoreless innings in relief and Reggie Jackson hit his 12th homerun of the tournament as the Yankees complete the series comeback and now put three teams from 1980 into the Final Four.
Yankees win series 4 games to 3
A.L. East All-Region Team
C: Rick Cerone, '80 Yankees
1B: Don Mattingly, '85 Yankees
2B: Willie Randolph, '80 Yankees
3B: Graig Nettles, '80 Yankees
SS: Tony Fernandez, '87 Blue Jays
LF: George Bell, '87 Blue Jays
CF: Lloyd Moseby, '87 Blue Jays
RF: Reggie Jackson, '80 Yankees
SP: Tommy John, '80 Yankees
RP: Goose Gossage, '80 Yankees
Region MVP: Reggie Jackson, .350/.441/.825, 80 AB, 20 R, 28 H, 2 2B, 12 HR, 19 RBI, 13 BB
So there you have it, three teams from 1980 into the Final Four. The '80 Yankees aren't a huge shock as they won 103 games that year but laid an egg in the ALCS. Didn't see the other three teams getting in though.
Final Four: A.L. Finals
'88 Twins vs. '80 Yankees
Up Next: Final Four: League Finals
I've been lazy with this blog for a few months now so no surprise I'm only getting around to second Draftback before the draft. Decided might as well do one from 10 years ago with the 1997 Draft and it is interesting to look at because one first rounder is in jail and another is dead. Can't beat that combo.
1. St. Louis - Orlando Pace, T, Ohio State
Not always glamerous to pick a lineman with the first pick overall but hard to argue with the Rams choice here. Selected to seven Pro Bowls.
2. Oakland - Darrell Russell, DT, USC
Lived up to the hype his first few years in the league but drug problems would derail his career among various other issues. Out of the league by 2004 and out of this life by 2005 when he was killed in a car accident.
3. Seattle - Shawn Springs, CB, Ohio State
Very good corner all be it a bit inconsistent at times during his career.
4. Baltimore - Peter Boulware, LB, Florida State
Would win Defensive Rookie of the Year and was selected to three Pro Bowls.
5. Detroit - Bryant Westbrook, CB, Texas
Not a total bust but pretty close to one considering he was a Top 5 pick.
6. Seattle - Walter Jones, T, Florida State
A complete bitch when it comes to contracts but he gets the job done. Six Pro Bowl selections.
7. N.Y. Giants - Ike Hilliard, WR, Florida
Okay receiver but when you take a receiver this high you'd hope they'd have at least one 1000 yard season and Hilliard has had none.
8. N.Y. Jets - James Farrior, LB, Virginia
The Jets had the #1 pick but they traded down. Farrior was considered a bit of a dissapointment while with the Jets but excelled with the Steelers.
9. Arizona - Tom Knight, CB, Iowa
It's the Cardinals, so really what did you expect? Three interceptions in his career.
10. New Orleans - Chris Naeole, G, Colorado
Big risk taking a guard this high but Naeole has been a solid player.
11. Atlanta - Michael Booker, CB, Nebraska
Not very good at all.
12. Tampa Bay - Warrick Dunn, RB, Florida State
Has a chance to pass the 10,000 yard mark in rushing this year and one of the true good guys in the NFL.
13. Kansas City - Tony Gonzalez, TE, California
Likley on his way to the Hall of Fame but he went to Cal so fuck him.
14. Cincinnati - Reinard Wilson, DE, Florida State
Well I guess on the plus side Wilson wasn't horrible like most Bengals' 90's first round picks but still not anything to get excited about.
15. Miami - Yatil Green, WR, Miami
Tore his ACL on literally the first day of training camp and never fully recovered. Only played one season in 1999.
16. Tampa Bay - Reidel Anthony, WR, Florida
I thought he'd be awesome. I was wrong.
17. Washington - Kenard Lang, DE, Miami
Average at best.
18. Tennessee - Kenny Holmes, DE, Miami
Another unspectacular Miami end.
19. Indianapolis - Tarik Glenn, T, California
Has developed into a very good tackle and selected to the last three Pro Bowls. But another Cal product, bleh.
20. Minnesota - Dwayne Rudd, LB, Alabama
A complete beast at Alabama...not so much in the NFL. Best known for his helmet tossing incident in 2002 that cost the Browns a game.
21. Jacksonville - Renaldo Wynn, DE, Notre Dame
Mediocre.
22. Dallas - David LaFleur, TE, LSU
LaSucked.
23. Buffalo - Antowain Smith, RB, Houston
Decent although he has to be one of the worst backs ever to have two 1,000 yard seasons.
24. Pittsburgh - Chad Scott, CB, Maryland
Has been a solid DB.
25. Philadelphia - Jon Harris, DE, Virginia
Two years. Two sacks. Bust.
26. San Francisco - Jim Druckenmiller, QB, Virginia Tech
Jesus tap dancing Christ, I had blocked this pick out of my memory. Horrible. Seriously do not know what the fuck they were thinking here especially with Jake Plummer on the board who seemed like a pefect fit for the 49ers offense at the time.
27. Carolina - Rae Carruth, WR, Colorado
Yessss it's everyone's favorite hiring a guy to kill your pregnent girlfriend and get found hiding in the trunk of your car wide receiver. Complete disphit.
28. Denver - Trevor Pryce, DE, Clemson
The string of mediocre ends, um, ends here. Four time Pro Bowl selection.
29. New England - Chris Canty, CB, Kansas State
Lasted four years and no one really noticed.
30. Green Bay - Ross Verba, G, Iowa
I just like the Deadspin entry on him.
Other Players of Note
34. Baltimore - Jamie Sharper, LB, Virginia
36. N.Y. Giants - Tiki Barber, RB, Virginia
42. Arizona - Jake Plummer, QB, Arizona State
43. Cincinnati - Corey Dillon, RB, Washington
44. Miami - Sam Madison, CB, Louisville
52. Buffalo - Marcellus Wiley, DE, Columbia
60. Green Bay - Darren Sharper, S, William & Mary
65. Dallas - Dexter Coakley, LB, Appalachian State
66. Tampa Bay - Ronde Barber, CB, Virginia
69. Chicago - Bob Sapp, G, Washington
71. Philadelphia - Duce Staley, RB, South Carolina
73. Miami - Jason Taylor, DE, Akron
91. Pittsburgh - Mike Vrabel, LB, Ohio State
98. Tennessee - Derrick Mason, WR, Michigan State
108. Chicago - Marcus Robinson, WR, South Carolina
229. N.Y. Jets - Jason Ferguson, DT, Georgia
With Baseball-Reference.com now adding an extensive amateur draft database I thought for a quicky entry it might be mildly interesting to take a look back at who were the best picks for each round by the A's since the draft started in 1965. I originally thought of going through every round but settled on the first 20 rounds as you get later into the draft you have some rounds where they have zero players ever making it to the Majors.
1. Reggie Jackson, OF, Arizona State, 1966
Hard to go wrong with Reggie or Mark McGwire (1984). The year before taking Reggie #2 overall they had the #1 pick overall in the first ever draft taking Rick Monday. Other A's first round picks include Chet Lemon (1976), Walt Weiss (1988), Eric Chavez (1996), Mark Mulder (1998), Barry Zito (1999), and Nick Swisher (2002).
2. Jason Giambi, 3B, Long Beach State, 1992
Next best pick was Vida Blue in 1967. After those two you get Kevin Tapani (1986) and then drop to Mark Bellhorn (1995) and Mike Gallego (1981).
3. Mike Davis, OF, Hoover High School, 1979
Almost no success at all in this round for the A's as the only other player with an extended career in the Majors was Floyd Bannister in 1973 but he didn't sign.
4. Rickey Henderson, P, Technical High School, 1976
Yup RICKEY~ was a pitcher but obviously he went on to other things. Curt Young is the next best pick from this round but who cares when you have RICKEY~?
5. Mickey Tettleton, C, Oklahoma State, 1981
Tettleton did nothing for the A's but he's the easy pick here. Only middle reliever Dave Hamilton (1966) really contributed anything of signifcance for the A's form this round.
6. Sal Bando, 3B, Arizona State, 1965
The captain of the 70's championship teams is the pick here. They drafted Jim Sundberg (1969) and Alvin Davis (1981) in the 6th round but neither signed. Tim Hudson also drafted here in 1997.
7. Matt Keough, 3B, Corona del Mar High School, 1973
Slim pickings in the 7th, Keough became a pitcher for the A's with one good year in 1980. Todd Burns and Dan Johnson are the only other players to do anything with the A's.
8. Eric Byrnes, OF, UCLA, 1998
Glenn Abbott (1969) and Craig Paquette (1989) the only other "legit" Major Leaguers.
9. Terry Steinbach, 3B, Minnesota, 1983
A's regular catcher for a decade is an easy choice here. Another long time starter Wayne Gross was picked in 1973.
10. Lance Blankenship, 3B, California, 1986
Nothing of note here so I'll go with the only professional athlete I ever had a brief conversation with. Probably because I was one of about five people on line at a autograph signing appearance at a grocery store in 1990 but as a 12 year old kid it was pretty cool.
11. Greg Caderet, P, Grand Valley State, 1983
They drafted Eric Soderholm, third baseman with some pop who played with the Twins and White Sox, in 1967 but he didn't sign and Caderet is the only player from this round that had more than a cup of coffee in the Majors.
12. Chris Michalak, P, Notre Dame, 1993
Fewer than 200 innings in the Majors, and none with the A's, but there was literally no one better.
13. Rod Beck, P, Grant High School, 1986
A's traded him to the Giants for some nobody in a minor league deal in 1988.
14. Ron Coomer, 3B, Taft Junior College, 1987
Former "All-Star" was released by the A's in 1990. No A's 14th Round pick made it the Majors before him.
15. Jose Canseco, 3B, Carol City High School, 1982
Besides this piece of shit the A's also drafted defensive wizard Dwayne Murphy (1973) and fat power hitter Bob Horner (1975) although he didn't sign.
16. Doug Johns, P, Virginia, 1990
Only three 16th round picks made it the Majors and this is the best.
17. Rich Harden, P, Central Arizona College, 2000
Hall of Fame stuff but looks like the A.L. Mark Prior right about now. David Newhan (1995) the only other the Major Leaguer from this round.
18. Darren Lewis, OF, California, 1988
Just one of two 18th round picks from this franchise to make it the Majors but at least he did have an extended career and was a superb defensive center fielder.
19. Rick Lysander, P, Cal State-Los Angeles, 1974
See why I stopped at 20 rounds?
20. Gene Tenace, SS, Valley High School, 1965
Getting a guy who played 15 years in the Majors with .388 OBP is pretty good value here I'd say. Also picked Scott Brosius in 1987 in the 20th.
The Vikings continue their surprise run to the top of the NFL standings and wrap up the NFC Central division title by eviscerating the Lions 42-14. The NFC playoff picture is pretty clear with the Vikings, Giants, and 49ers leading the divisions and the Eagles and Redskins as wild cards with the only final playoff spot up for grabs between the Rams, Saints, Bears, and Cowboys. Over in the AFC it is a little more muddy. The Raiders still have a nice cushion in the AFC West even after being stunned by the Bengals this week who were without Boomer Esiason. Bills sort of avenged their shocking defeat at the hands of the Patriots in Week 10 by eeking out a three point win. In the AFC Central the Oilers looked to be close to running away with the division a couple of weeks ago but divisional losses later and they find themselves tied with the Steelers at 7-5. The Dolphins are a near lock for a wild card while the Chiefs, Chargers, and Browns are fighting for the final two spots along with the whoever doesn't win the AFC Central.
Week 13 Scores
New Orleans 23, Atlanta 9
NO: 6-6, ATL: 2-10
-Falcons: 12 yards rushing
Pittsburgh 28, Houston 20
PIT: 7-5, HOU: 7-5
-Louis Lipps: 6 rec, 111 yards
N.Y. Giants 30, Tampa Bay 27 OT
NYG: 10-2, TB: 4-8
-Ottis Anderson: 108 yards rushing
San Diego 31, N.Y. Jets 0
SD: 7-5, JET: 3-9
-Marion Butts: 178 yards rushing
Cincinnati 14, L.A. Raiders 9
CIN: 5-7, RAI: 9-3
-James Brooks: 106 yards rushing
Philadelphia 28, Phoenix 10
PHI: 8-4, PHX: 2-11
-Randall Cunnigham: 246 yards passing
Denver 38, Seattle 28
DEN: 5-7, SEA: 5-7
-Mark Jackson: 5 rec, 136 yards
Green Bay 28, Indianapolis 27
GB: 4-8, IND: 4-8
-Ed West: 5 rec, 120 yards
Washington 23, Cowboys 7
WAS: 8-4, DAL: 5-7
-Ernest Byner: 111 yards rushing
Buffalo 27, New England 24
BUF: 10-2, NE: 3-9
-Thurman Thomas: 199 yards rushing
Miami 20, Chicago 14
MIA: 9-3, CHI: 5-7
-Sammie Smith: 77 yards rushing
Minnesota 42, Detroit 14
MIN: 11-2, DET: 2-10
-Wade Wilson: 183 yards passing
Kansas City 30, Cleveland 10
KC: 7-5, CLE: 6-6
-Barry Word: 137 total yards
San Francisco 35, L.A. Rams 34
SF: 9-3, RAM: 6-6
-Jerry Rice: 6 rec, 169 yards
Leaders thru Week 13
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Phil Simms, 201.8
2. Dan Marino, 177.8
3. Randall Cunningham, 174.9
Yards
1. Warren Moon, 3018
2. Joe Montana, 2910
3. Jim Everett, 2783
Touchdowns
1. Montana, 31
2t. Marino, 29
2t. Everett, 29
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 59
2. Andre Rison, 41
3. Anthony Miller, 40
Yards
1. Rice, 1524
2. Sterling Sharpe, 1044
3. Rison, 1022
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 17
2. Miller, 12
3. James Lofton, 11
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Thurman Thomas, 1143
2. Neal Anderson, 1101
3. Christian Okoye, 1029
Touchdowns
1. Tom Rathman, 14
2t. Many tied with 12
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1. Kevin Ross, 9
2t. Many tied with 8
Sacks
1. Lawrence Taylor, 18
2t. Bruce Smith, 15
2t. Derrick Thomas, 15
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger, 16
Punting Avg: Rohn Stark, 51.3
Punt Return Avg: Henry Ellard, 12.2
Kick Return Avg: David Meggett, 20.6
It's been over a month since my last MVP Watch and to my surprise not much has changed, although I do have a new #1 in each league. Chase Utley hasn't played since breaking his hand on July 26th so he lost the #1 spot by default but he's still hanging on in the Top 5 for the moment. David Wright has been red hot since the break and has made the biggest jump. To no surprise at Albert Pujols is making a serious MVP run yet again. What is amazing about the current N.L. MVP race is that the two best players in the N.L. right now play for a team that is nine games under .500, that being of Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins. Neither has any shot at winning the real award but they are a cut above the competition at the moment.
And finally...Eric Byrnes still leads in the N.L. in Win Shares! I continue to be baffled by this unless he really has become a great defensive outfielder rather than the "one great diving play, misplay the next five" outfielder he was with the A's but I find this hard to believe. Win Shares is the only reason I'm bothering to keep him in the Top 10.
10. Eric Byrnes, Diamondbacks
.301/.367/.494, 82 RC, 117 OPS+, .289 EQA, 35.6 VORP, 24.7 Win Shares
9. Barry Bonds, Giants
.280/.495/.589, 79 RC, 183 OPS+, .367 EQA, 51.3 VORP, 18.2 Win Shares
8. Matt Holliday, Rockies
.338/.399/.581, 88 RC, 146 OPS+, .314 EQA, 50.9 VORP, 19.9 Win Shares
7. Prince Fielder, Brewers
.284/.380/.609, 89 RC, 154 OPS+, .319 EQA, 49.7 VORP, 20.9 Win Shares
6. Jose Reyes, Mets
.304/.377/.453, 92 RC, 121 OPS+, .295 EQA, 48.2 VOPR, 22.6 Win Shares
5. Chase Utley, Phillies
.336/.414/.581, 84 RC, 154 OPS+, .327 EQA, 55.0 VORP, 21.0 Win Shares
4. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
.317/.419/.550, 89 RC, 154 OPS+, .327 EQA, 49.9 VORP, 24.0 Win Shares
3. David Wright, Mets
.310/.398/.521, 95 RC, 144 OPS+, .319 EQA, 51.6 VORP, 23.6 Win Shares
2. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
.343/.395/.578, 102 RC, 157 OPS+, .325 EQA, 71.1 VORP, 22.9 Win Shares
1. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins
.334/.414/.616, 106 RC, 171 OPS+, .340 EQA, 65.5 VORP, 24.4 Win Shares
In the A.L. it has gone to sort of being a four player race to a definitive two player race. Magglio Ordonez still hasn't fallen off a cliff which makes me think we're close to someone starting a steroid rumor about him. Speaking of steroid rumors, A-Rod grabs the top spot this time around but it is pretty much a toss up at this point. Ichiro Suzuki and Vladimir Guerrero hung tough through the first half and are still solidily in Top 5 but they have fallen off the Maggs/A-Rod pace. The rest of the Top 10 is a mess and you could jumble it several different ways without getting an argument out of me.
10. David Ortiz, Red Sox
.311/.424/.543, 86 RC, 152 OPS+, .315 EQA, 49.6 VORP, 17.2 Win Shares
9. Jorge Posada, Yankees
.334/.416/.531, 75 RC, 154 OPS+, .316 EQA, 52.6 VORP, 17.4 Win Shares
8. Curtis Granderson, Tigers
.293/.351/.543, 84 RC, 134 OPS+, .295 EQA, 43.5 VORP, 19.7 Win Shares
7. Grady Sizemore, Indians
.278/.382/.465, 93 RC, 126 OPS+, .291 EQA, 39.1 VORP, 22.9 Win Shares
6. Brian Roberts, Orioles
.313/.397/.461, 89 RC, 128 OPS+, .302 EQA, 48.6 VORP, 20.7 Win Shares
5. Victor Martinez, Indians
.301/.374/.505, 81 RC, 133 OPS+, .295 EQA, 42.2 VORP, 22.9 Win Shares
4. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels
.319/.404/.531, 95 RC, 151 OPS+, .311 EQA, 46.0 VORP, 24.3 Win Shares
3. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
.347/.396/.431, 99 RC, 125 OPS+, .299 EQA, 49.6 VORP, 25.8 Win Shares
2. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers
.356/.430/.595, 114 RC, 169 OPS+, .337 EQA, 65.3 VORP, 26.8 Win Shares
1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
.305/.412/.630, 117 RC, 177 OPS+, .334 EQA, 68.0 VORP, 26.1 Win Shares
What We Learned Last Night: The only team capable of beating USC in the Coliseum is Stanford. Hey they got the last two wins there.
Everything continues to be completely fucked up this year. We're now down to ten BCS conference undefeated teams and only three of them would anyone have expected to be at this point. Again I always give the benefit of the doubt to those teams so all of them are in my Top 10, even UConn. Also decided not to rank any two loss teams for this week, although that will go out the door next week. Sure you could argue Florida but they lost Auburn, who lost to Mississippi State and all three of those teams have two loses. I can't really justify ranking Mississippi State above Florida but how can you rank Florida above Auburn if they lost them at home?
The only one loss teams that I don't have ranked are Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Tech has played just about the weakest schedule of any BCS conference team to this point and lost to a bad Oklahoma State team. I did a double take when I noticed A&M was 5-1 as they've looked like complete shit against any team with a pulse but they pulled out close wins over Fresno State and Oklahoma State to keep their season from turning into a disaster. Those two happen to play each other next week so whoever wins I'll finally rank them.
But really none of this means anything, so don't bother reading it.
1. LSU
2. Ohio State
3. California
4. South Florida
5. Boston College
6. Missouri
7. Cincinnati
8. Arizona State
9. Kansas
10. Connecticut
11. South Carolina
12. Oregon
13. Oklahoma
14. West Virginia
15. Kentucky
16. USC
17. Illinois
18. Virginia Tech
19. Wisconsin
20. Florida State
21. Indiana
22. Hawaii
23. Boise State
24. Wyoming
25. Virginia
I'm not into making projections a month into the season, basically so I won't look stupid, and I like to wait until the final week of the season to make projections. Now these are purely based on every higher ranked team winning their game next week and obviously that won't happen but it makes it easier to make projections that way. Note Navy, Southern Miss, and Memphis have already accepted invites to bowls.
BCS: Missouri vs. West Virginia
Orange: Virginia Tech vs. Georgia
Fiesta: Kansas vs. Arizona State
Sugar: LSU vs. Hawaii
Rose: Ohio State vs. USC
Capital One: Florida vs. Illinois
Cotton: Kansas vs. Arkansas
Holiday: Oregon vs. Texas
Chick-fil-A: Boston College vs. Auburn
Gator: Oklahoma vs. Clemson
Outback: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
Sun: South Florida vs. California
Alamo: Penn State vs. Texas A&M
Champs Sports: Virginia vs. Michigan
Music City: Mississippi State vs. Florida State
Insight: Texas Tech vs. Indiana
Meineke Car Care: Cincinnati vs. Wake Forest
Las Vegas: BYU vs. Oregon State
Liberty: UCF vs. Alabama
Independence: Kentucky vs. Colorado
Emerald: UCLA vs. Maryland
Motor City: Central Michigan vs. Michigan State
Humanitarian: Boise State vs. Georgia Tech
GMAC: Bowling Green vs. Tulsa
Texas: Houston vs. New Mexico
International: Rutgers vs. Ball State
Poinsettia: Navy vs. Utah
Armed Forces: Air Force vs. Purdue
PapaJohns.com: Connecticut vs. Southern Miss
Hawaii: Fresno State vs. East Carolina
New Orleans: Troy vs. Memphis
New Mexico: TCU vs. Louisiana Tech
Chuck Knoblauch - Second Baseman
Minnesota Twins 1991-1997
New York Yankees 1998-2001
Kansas City Royals 2002
Awards
1991 A.L. Rookie of the Year
1995 A.L. Silver Slugger - 2B
1997 A.L. Gold Glove - 2B
1997 A.L. Silver Slugger - 2B
All-Star Selections: 4 (1992, 1994, 1996, 1997)
League Leader
1994: Doubles
1996: Triples
Career Ranks
SB: 63rd
Best Performance
July 30, 1999 - New York at Boston
Went 5 for 6 with a double, homerun, and 4 RBI against the Red Sox.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 3 (503) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 67 (360) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 33.8 (209) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 66.5 (275) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Lou Boudreau)
Other Similar Batters: Eric Young, Jason Kendall, Edgar Renteria, Mark Grudzielanek, Larry Doyle, Alvin Dark, Dave Lopes, Pete Runnels, Delino DeShields
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1991: 20/5.8
1992: 23/7.8
1993: 16/4.5
1994: 20/6.3
1995: 27/9.9
1996: 32/11.1
1997: 23/7.6
1998: 22/8.5
1999: 25/7.1
2000: 10/2.5
2001: 11/3.0
2002: 2/0.0
Career Win Shares: 230
Career WARP3: 74.2
My Stupid Opinion
Very good player during the 90's but by age 32 he was already washed up. Had a very good knowledge of the strikezone as the majority of his years he had more walks than strikeouts. His Gold Glove in 1997 was largely undeserved as he was above average at his best and then became very poor a couple of years later when he developed a mental block when it came throwing to first base. Having that happen to you while you are playing for the Yankees just magnified the problem and his offensive numbers would begin their downward spiral the following year.
AFC Divisional Playoff: Miami Dolphins vs. Los Angeles Raiders
Scoring Summary
LA: Allen 1 Run
Mia: Stoyanovich 20 FG
LA: Jaeger 58 FG
LA: Jackson 75 Run
Mia: Clayton 59 Pass from Marino
Mia: Stoyanovich 45 FG
Mia: Duper 28 Pass from Marino
LA: Horton 23 Pass from Beurlein
After squandering a couple of first half scoring opportunities the Dolphins appeared they would be on their way to another second half comeback playoff win but Steve Beurlein came off the bench for an injured Jay Schroeder to lead a 4th quarter touchdown drive for the win. The key sequence in the game came late in the first half when Mike Hardin intercepted a Dan Marino pass in the endzone and would be followed a few plays later by a 75 yard touchdown run by Bo Jackson to give the Raiders a 17-3 halftime lead.
NFC Divisional Playoff: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings
Scoring Summary
PHI: Sherman 14 Run
MIN: Fenney 1 Run
PHI: Ruzek 50 FG
MIN: Carter 21 Pass from Wilson
MIN: Fenney 28 Pass from Wilson
PHI: Barnett 38 Pass from Cunningham
MIN: Carter 56 Pass from Wilson
Wade Wilson threw three second half touchdowns, two to Anthony Carter, as the Vikings continue their surprisingly strong season with a trip the NFC Championship Game. After killing the Redskins with both his arm and legs in the Wild Card round, QB Eagles was unable to break any big runs in this one.
AFC Divisional Playoff: Houston Oilers vs. Buffalo Bills
Scoring Summary
Scoreless First Quarter
Hou: Givens 54 Pass from Moon
Hou: Hill 27 Pass from Moon
Buf: Mueller 1 Run
Hou: Givens 57 Pass from Moon
Buff: Reed 14 Pass from Kelly
Hou: Hill 31 Pass from Moon
Buf: Thomas 64 Pass from Kelly
The Houston Oilers go into Buffalo in a playoff game and don’t blow a big lead! Warren Moon was unstoppable with four touchdown passes as he leads the Oilers to their first AFC Championship Game appearance in 12 years. Thurman Thomas had over 200 yards in total offense in the losing effort.
NFC Divisional Playoff: Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers
Scoring Summary
LA: Ellard 47 Pass from Everett
SF: Craig 4 Run
LA: Warner 6 Run
SF: Rice 4 Pass from Montana
LA: Warner 4 Run
LA: Ellard 15 Pass from Everett
SF: Rice 55 Pass from Montana
SF: Craig 4 Run
LA: Gary 4 Run
SF: Rice 12 Pass from Montana
SF: Taylor 65 Pass from Montana
In a classic shootout, the 49ers outlast in their divisional rival Rams in overtime 41-35. This game featured some “great” Tecmo computer logic in overtime as after the Rams won the coin toss the 49ers decided to catch the Rams off guard I suppose by going for an onside kick. It backfired and the Rams returned it to the 49ers 35. Then rather than try to move the ball closer the Rams elected to attempt a 52 yard field to win it but Mike Lansford’s kick hit the left upright. Joe Montana would hit a wide open John Taylor on the next play for the winning touchdown.
AFC Championship: Houston Oilers vs. Los Angeles Raiders
Scoring Summary
HOU: White 4 Run
LA: Allen 7 Run
HOU: Dishman 12 Interception
LA: Jackson 46 Run
HOU: White 1 Run
LA: Horton 29 Pass from Schroeder
HOU: Hill 57 Pass from Moon
Chris Dishman had two huge interceptions as the Oilers advance to their first ever Super Bowl. With the game tied, on the last play of the first half and backed up on their own 9, the Raiders inexplicably chose to pass instead of running out the clock and Jay Schroeder threw a pick six to Dishman to give the Oilers the lead going into the half. Then on the Raiders final possession in the 4th quarter, Dishman picked off Schroeder again on a 3rd and Goal to go to seal the game.
NFC Championship: Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers
Scoring Summary
SF: Craig 17 Run (Kick blocked)
Scoreless 2nd Quarter
SF: Cofer 52 FG
Min: Reveiz 56 FG
Scoreless 4th Quarter
Pierce Holt had seven sacks in a defensive struggle as the 49ers win their third NFC Championship in four years. The Vikings had absolutely nothing going on offense amassing a pitiful 46 yards in total offense. This negated a superb effort by the Vikings defense that held the 49ers’ juggernaut of an offense to single digits.
Can you believe that it will be 10 years since the McGwire/Sosa homerun chase and 10 years since the Yankees tore through the American League on their way to an 114 win season? I really have nothing to add to that and I am just posting one of my random lists, this time around every team's Opening Day/Night starter from the '98 season. I went to every A's Opening Night game from 1995-2002 and in '98 it was actually a fairly momentous occasion as they were playing the Red Sox in Pedro Martinez's first ever start for them. Pedro dominated as expected but glancing at the boxscore I forgot it was also Dennis Eckersley's first appearance in Oakland since 1995 as he played his final year with the Sox. On to the list...
Angels: Chuck Finley
Astros: Shane Reynolds
Athletics: Tom Candiotti
Blue Jays: Roger Clemens
Braves: Greg Maddux
Brewers: Cal Eldred
Cardinals: Todd Stottlemyre
Cubs: Kevin Tapani
Devil Rays: Wilson Alvarez
Diamondbacks: Andy Benes
Dodgers: Ramon Martinez
Expos: Carlos Perez
Giants: Shawn Estes
Indians: Charles Nagy
Mariners: Randy Johnson
Marlins: Livan Hernandez
Mets: Bobby Jones
Orioles: Mike Mussina
Padres: Kevin Brown
Phillies: Curt Schilling
Pirates: Francisco Cordova
Rangers: John Burkett
Reds: Mike Remlinger
Red Sox: Pedro Martinez
Rockies: Daryl Kile
Royals: Tim Belcher
Tigers: Justin Thompson
Twins: Bob Tewksbury
White Sox: Jamie Navarro
Yankees: Andy Pettitte
If you haven't checked out Pro-Football-Reference.com lately you should as it isn't the completely useless site it used to be. This is a site that until recently didn't even have QB Ratings but now it has all kinds of neat features such as a searchable draft database. With the help of this I decided to do a quicky project for the blog by putting together an All-Time NFL Draft.
Now this isn't some all-time fantasy draft I'm doing but rather I'm selecting who in my opinion were the best players ever at each selection of the draft (i.e. Who is the best #1 pick of all-time?). To keep my sanity I'm only doing this since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger and I stopped at 30 picks although I might do another entry for more picks. Along with who I picked as the best player at each selection I also listed three "honorable mention" picks at each selection just to give you an idea of how many good players (or very average players for that matter with some of them) were taken at each selection. I originally thought of doing it based on who were truly the best draft picks for the team that originally drafted each player but that was going to be way too time consuming so I took the easy way out and just picked purely based on the player's career, regardless of where they had their most success.
1. Baltimore Colts (traded to Denver) - John Elway, QB, Stanford 1983
Honorable Mention: Eric Campbell (1978), Bruce Smith (1985), Peyton Manning (1998)
2. N.Y. Giants – Lawrence Taylor, LB, North Carolina 1981
Honorable Mention: Tony Dorsett (1977), Eric Dickerson (1983), Marshall Faulk (1994)
3. Detroit – Barry Sanders, RB, Oklahoma State 1989
Honorable Mention: Anthony Munoz (1980), Cortez Kennedy (1990), Chris Samuels (2000)
4. Chicago – Walter Payton, RB, Jackson State 1975
Honorable Mention: John Hannah (1973), Dan Hampton (1979), Jonathan Ogden (1996)
5. Atlanta – Deion Sanders, CB, Florida State 1989
Honorable Mention: Mike Haynes (1976), Junior Seau (1990), LaDanian Tomlinson (2001)
6. L.A. Raiders – Tim Brown, WR, Notre Dame 1988
Honorable Mention: James Lofton (1978), Walter Jones (1997), Torry Holt (1999)
7. Washington – Champ Bailey, CB, Georgia 1999
Honorable Mention: Phil Simms (1979), Sterling Sharpe (1988), Troy Vincent (1992)
8. San Francisco – Ronnie Lott, DB, USC 1981
Honorable Mention: Mike Munchak (1982), Willie Roaf (1993), Roy Williams (2002)
9. Houston Oilers – Bruce Matthews, G, USC 1983
Honorable Mention: Terry McDaniel (1988), Richmond Webb (1990), Brian Urlacher (2000)
10. Pittsburgh – Rod Woodson, DB, Purdue 1987
Honorable Mention: Marcus Allen (1982), Jerome Bettis (1993), Willie Anderson (1996)
11. Dallas – Michael Irvin, WR, Miami 1988
Honorable Mention: Dennis Harrah (1975), Wilber Marshall (1984), Dwight Freeney (2002)
12. Tampa Bay – Warren Sapp, DT, Miami 1995
Honorable Mention: Clay Matthews (1978), Jim Lachey (1985), Warrick Dunn (1997)
13. Kansas City – Tony Gonzalez, TE, California 1997
Honorable Mention: Franco Harris (1972), Mike Kenn (1978), Kellen Winslow (1979)
14. Buffalo – Jim Kelly, QB, Miami 1983
Honorable Mention: Randy Gradishar (1974), John Jefferson (1978), Ruben Brown (1995)
15. Denver – Dennis Smith, S, USC 1981
Honorable Mention: Isaac Curtis (1973), John L Williams (1986), Anthony Miller (1988)
16. San Francisco – Jerry Rice, WR, Mississippi Valley State 1985
Honorable Mention: Raymond Clayborn (1977), Luis Sharpe (1982), Troy Polamalu (2003)
17. Dallas – Emmitt Smith, RB, Florida 1990
Honorable Mention: Louis Wright (1975), Damien Woody (1999), Steve Hutchinson (2001)
18. Washington – Art Monk, WR, Syracuse 1980
Honorable Mention: Willie Gault (1983), Alfred Williams (1991), Eddie Kennison (1996)
19. Indianapolis – Marvin Harrison, WR, Syracuse 1996
Honorable Mention: Joey Browner (1983), Randall McDaniel (1988), Casey Hampton (2001)
20. L.A. Rams – Jack Youngblood, DE, Florida 1971
Honorable Mention: Mike Quick (1982), Will Wolford (1986), Steve Atwater (1989)
21. Minnesota – Randy Moss, WR, Marshall 1998
Honorable Mention: Lynn Swan (1974), John Alt (1984), Jerry Gray (1985)
22. Indianapolis – Andre Rison, WR, Michigan State 1988
Honorable Mention: Jack Reynolds (1970), Hanford Dixon (1981), Harris Barton (1987)
23. Cleveland – Ozzie Newsome, TE, Alabama 1978
Honorable Mention: Ray Guy (1973), Bruce Armstrong (1987), Ty Law (1995)
24. Baltimore Ravens – Ed Reed, S, Miami 2002
Honorable Mention: Raymond Chester (1970), James Brooks (1981), Eric Moulds (1996)
25. San Francisco – Ted Washington, DT, Louisville 1991
Honorable Mention: Stanley Morgan (1977), Bobby Butler (1981), Chris Hovan (2000)
26. Baltimore Ravens – Ray Lewis, LB, Miami 1996
Honorable Mention: Joe DeLamielleure (1973), Kent Hill (1979), Alan Faneca (1998)
27. Miami – Dan Marino, QB, Pittsburgh 1983
Honorable Mention: Reggie McKenzie (1972), Neal Anderson (1986), Larry Johnson (2003)
28. Tampa Bay – Derrick Brooks, LB, Florida State 1995
Honorable Mention: Guy Morris (1973), Darrell Green (1983), Trevor Pryce (1997)
29. Dallas (traded to L.A. Raiders) – Steve Wisniewski, G, Penn State 1989
Honorable Mention: Tommy Casanova (1972), Joe Cribbs (1980), Chris Spielman (1988)
30. Philadelphia – Eric Allen, CB, Arizona State 1988
Honorable Mention: Greg Pruitt (1973), Louie Kelcher (1975), Patrick Kerney (1999)
My blog is still not dead...getting closer though. But I remembered the NBA Draft was this week so I can get another Draftback entry in. With the NBA Draft I take different approach as I rank the players using the basketball version of Win Shares. I don't know how reliable the statistic is, and I don't quite agree with all the rankings, but at least it's an objective way to compare these player's careers at this point.
1997 NBA Draft per Career Win Shares
1. Tim Duncan, San Antonio - 399 Career Win Shares (1st Pick)
2. Chauncey Billups, Boston - 252 (3rd)
3. Tracy McGrady, Toronto - 246 (9th)
4. Antonio Daniels, Vancouver - 131 (4th)
5. Derek Anderson, Cleveland - 120 (13th)
6. Keith Van Horn, Philadelphia (traded to New Jersey) - 115 (2nd)
7t. Tim Thomas, New Jersey (traded to Philadelphia) - 94 (7th)
7t. Bobby Jackson, Seattle (traded to Denver) - 94 (23rd)
9. Tony Battie, Denver - 91 (5th)
10t. Kelvin Cato, Dallas (traded to Portland) - 83 (15th)
10t. Brevin Knight, Cleveland - 83 (16th)
12. Austin Croshere, Indiana - 81 (12th)
13. Stephen Jackson, Phoenix - 79 (42nd)
14. Scott Pollard, Detroit - 78 (19th)
15. Alvin Williams, Portland - 61 (48th)
16t. Adonal Foyle, Golden State - 60 (8th)
16t. Anthony Johnson, Sacramento - 60 (39th)
18. Danny Fortson, Milwaukee (traded to Denver) - 57 (10th)
19. Mark Blount, Seattle - 56 (54th)
20. Jacque Vaughn, Utah - 51 (27th)
21. Marc Jackson, Golden State - 38 (37th)
22t. Maurice Taylor, L.A. Clippers - 37 (14th)
22t. Anthony Parker, New Jersey (traded to Philadelphia) - 37 (21st)
24. Ron Mercer, Boston - 33 (6th)
25. Cedric Henderson, Cleveland - 21 (44th)
26. Chris Crawford, Atlanta - 19 (50th)
27. Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Sacramento - 17 (11th)
28. Predrag Drobnjak, Washington - 15 (48th)
29. John Thomas, New York - 9 (25th)
30t. Chris Anstey, Portland (traded to Dallas) - 7 (19th)
30t. Charles Smith, Miami - 7 (26th)
32. Ed Gray, Atlanta - 3 (22nd)
33t. Rodrick Rhodes, Houston - 2 (24th)
33t. Keith Booth, Chicago - 2 (28th)
33t. Charles O'Bannon, Detroit - 2 (31st)
33t. Jerald Honeycutt, Milwaukee - 2 (38th)
33t. DeJuan Wheat, L.A. Lakers - 2 (51st)
38t. Johnny Taylor, Orlando - 1 (17th)
38t. Marko Milic, Philadelphia - 1 (33rd)
38t. Bubba Wells, Dallas - 1 (34th)
38t. Kebu Stewart, Philadelphia (35th)
38t. Jason Lawson, Denver - 1 (41st)
38t. Eric Washington, Orlando - 1 (46th)
The Zero Club
Paul Grant, Minnesota (20th)
James Cotton, Denver (32nd)
James Collins, Philadelphia (36th)
God Shammgod, Washington (45th)
Never Played in the NBA
Serge Zwikker, Houston (29th)
Mark Sanford, Miami (30th)
Eddie Elisma, Seattle (40th)
Gordon Malone, Minnesota (43rd)
Alain Digbeu, Atlanta (49th)
C.J. Bruton, Vancouver (52nd)
Paul Rogers, L.A. Lakers (53rd)
Ben Pepper, Boston (55th)
Nate Erdmann, Utah (56th)
Roberto Duenas, Chicago (57th)
Most Win Shares with Team they were Drafted by
1. Tim Duncan, 399
2. Austin Croshere, 74
3. Keith Van Horn, 60 (draft day trade)
4. Adonal Foyle, 56
5. Brevin Knight, 37
6. Tracy McGrady, 36
7. Cedric Henderson, 21
8. Derek Anderson, 20
9. Chris Crawford, 19
10. Ron Mercer, 15
Continuing with more of the worst. Now there are positions in baseball where clubs are very willing to sacrifice defense for offense, middle infielders being most common. If you have an excellent defensive shortstop or second baseman you can often overlook their offensive shortcomings. First base is not one of those positions. Sure a great defensive first baseman is nice to have but if they can't hit, it's not wise to keep them in the line up everyday if you have a better hitting alternative who isn't at least a complete butcher in the field.
The worst hitting season for a first baseman since 1901 was by Ivy Griffin in 1920 who posted a blistering hitting line of .238/.281/.274 for an OPS+ of 47 in 505 plate appearances, which means he'd qualify under the modern rules for the batting title. Now Griffin played on a horrific Philadelphia A's team that lost 106 games. On the other hand the man who posted the worst hitting season for a first baseman since 1957 played on a team who made it to the World Series and you might have heard of him too, no offense to Mr. Griffin. Actually there was a tie for first/worst so the tiebreak was who had more plate appearances.
Top 25 Worst Offensive First Baseman Seasons since 1957 (per OPS+)
1. Pete Rose, 1983 - Philadelphia Phillies 69 OPS+ (.245/.316/.286)
2. Pete Runnels, 1957 - Washington Senators 69
3. Enos Cabell, 1981 - San Francisco Giants 72
4t. Kevin Young, 1993 - Pittsburgh Pirates 73
4t. Whitey Lockman, 1957 - New York Giants 73
6. Darin Erstad, 1999 - Anaheim Angels 74
7. Dave Stapleton, 1983 - Boston Red Sox 76
8t. Mike Squires, 1981 - Chicago White Sox 78
8t. Tony Taylor, 1967 - Philadelphia Phillies 78
8t. Lee Thomas, 1963 - Los Angeles Angels 78
11t. Kevin Young, 2001 - Pittsburgh Pirates 80
11t. Dale Murphy, 1978 - Atlanta Braves 80
13t. Ron Coomer, 2000 - Minnesota Twins 81
13t. J.T. Snow, 1996 - California Angels 81
13t. David Segui, 1994 - New York Mets 81
16. Bill Buckner, 1973 - Los Angeles Dodgers 82
17t. Cecil Cooper, 1986 - Milwaukee Brewers 83
17t. Vic Power, 1957 - Kansas City A's 83
19t. Ken Harvey, 2003 - Kansas City Royals 84
19t. Keith Moreland, 1988 - San Diego Padres 84
19t. Willie Montanez, 1979 - New York Mets/Texas Rangers 84
19t. Rusty Staub, 1963 - Houston Colt .45's 84
19t. Vic Power, 1961 - Cleveland Indians 84
24t. Pete O'Brien, 1983 - Texas Rangers 85
24t. Frank Thomas, 1960 - Chicago Cubs 85
Out of the way quickly, the worst offensive single season by a third baseman was Art Scharein in 1933 who nearly matched the year with an OPS+ of 34. But we're only concerned with the last 50 years and that mark was set just last season! Why didn't ESPN cover this?
Top 25 (or so) Worst Offensive Third Baseman Seasons since 1957 (per OPS+)
1. Nick Punto, 2007 - Minnesota Twins 52 OPS+ (.210/.291/.271)
2. Scott Brosius, 1997 - Oakland A's 53
3. Brooks Robinson, 1975 - Baltimore Orioles 58
4t. Damion Easley, 1994 - California Angels 59
4t. Clete Boyer, 1964 - New York Yankees 59
6t. Jose Hernandez, 2003 - Colorado Rockies/Chicago Cubs/Pittsburgh Pirates 60
6t. Vinny Castilla, 2002 - Atlanta Braves 60
6t. Aurelio Rodriguez, 1974 - Detroit Tigers 60
9t. Terry Pendleton, 1986 - St. Louis Cardinals 62
9t. Bubba Phillips, 1963 - Detroit Tigers 62
11. Aurelio Rodriguez, 1973 - Detroit Tigers 63
12. Terry Pendleton, 1985 - St. Louis Cardinals 66
13t. Tim Wallach, 1993 - Los Angeles Dodgers 67
13t. Aurelio Rodriguez, 1969 - California Angels 67
13t. Don Wert, 1968 - Detroit Tigers 67
16t. Terry Pendleton, 1996 - Florida Marlins/Atlanta Braves 68
16t. Hubie Brooks, 1983 - New York Mets 68
16t. John Kennedy, 1964 - Washington Senators 68
19t. Tim Hulett, 1986 - Chicago White Sox 69
19t. Manny Castillo, 1982 - Seattle Mariners 69
19t. Brooks Robinson, 1958 - Baltimore Orioles 69
22t. Jeff Cirillo, 2002 - Seattle Mariners 70
22t. Cal Ripken, 2001 - Baltimore Orioles 70
22t. Scott Brosius, 2000 - New York Yankees 70
25t. Geoff Blum, 2001 - Montreal Expos 71
25t. Ken Caminiti, 1990 - Houston Astros 71
25t. Aurelio Rodriguez, 1976 - Detroit Tigers 71
