Yes, Pujols is too low but again I was conservative with players who still have several years left in their career.
#40
Jeff Kent, 2B
#39
Will Clark, 1B
#38
Carlos Beltran, CF
#37
Vladimir Guerrero, RF
#36
John Smoltz, SP/RP
#35
Tom Glavine, SP
#34
Alan Trammell, SS
#33
Jim Edmonds, CF
#32
Curt Schilling, SP
#31
Ozzie Smith, SS
#30
Derek Jeter, SS
#29
Lou Whitaker, 2B
#28
Mike Mussina, SP
#27
Albert Pujols, 1B/LF
#26
Jim Thome, 1B/DH/3B
#25
Paul Molitor, DH/3B/2B
#24
Tim Raines, LF
#23
Craig Biggio, 2B
#22
Ryne Sandberg, 2B
#21
Ivan Rodriguez, C
Oh ya I still need to complete this. The Loser League goes out with a whimper which should have been expected.
1988 Atlanta Braves def. 1988 Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 0
Game 1: Braves 5, ORIOLES 3
Game 2: Braves 11, ORIOLES 1
Game 3: BRAVES 5, Orioles 4
Game 4: BRAVES 5, Orioles 4 10 innings
The series ended on a Gerald Perry RBI single off of Tom Neidenfuer (man never count on this guy in the postseason) to complete the sweep and crown the 1988 Baltimore Orioles as the Worst Team of My Lifetime. Congratulations guys!
Mark Grace, First Baseman
Chicago Cubs 1988-2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 2001-2003
Awards
1992 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1993 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1995 NL Gold Glove - 1B
1996 NL Gold Glove - 1B
All-Star Selections: 3 (1993, 1995, 1997)
League Leader
1995: Doubles
Career Ranks
Doubles: 39th
Walks: 79th
Runs Created: 98th
Best Performance
July 7, 1989 - San Diego at Chicago
Goes 4 for 4 with three doubles and a home run.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 3 (507) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 86 (265) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 38.0 (165) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 60.5 (309) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Enos Slaughter)
Other Similar Batters: Keith Hernandez, Mickey Vernon, John Olerud, Hal McRae, Wally Joyner, Bill Buckner, Al Oliver, Joe Judge, Joe Kuhel
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1988: 16/4.3
1989: 25/7.6
1990: 22/6.4
1991: 17/5.4
1992: 25/8.0
1993: 23/7.6
1994: 12/4.3
1995: 23/6.9
1996: 20/5.7
1997: 20/6.8
1998: 27/6.4
1999: 21/5.2
2000: 18/4.8
2001: 16/4.8
2002: 8/2.0
2003: 1/-0.1
Career Win Shares: 294
Career WARP: 86.2
My Stupid Opinion
Grace always hit for a good average (Top 10 in N.L. batting average nine times), get on base at a good rate (Top 10 in OBP seven times), and was a superb defensive first baseman. Problem with him though is that he had very little power and the standards for HOF first basemen are higher than any other position and he just doesn't really have much of a case. Among first basemen who had a minimum of 3000 plate appearances between 1988 and 2003 (when Grace was active), he ranks only 17th in OPS+
In a couple of weeks we have the chance to witness something none of us have seen before (I assume we have no one in their 60's on this board) and that is see the Cardinals as champions of the NFL. This got me to wonder about how many franchises in the four major North American professional sports leagues have never won their league's championship in my lifetime. I also wanted to know who would replace the Cardinals as the most moribund franchise in the NFL (I know you will all be shocked!) and who in the NBA and NHL have the longest run since their last championship.
In total there are 47 teams who have failed to win a single "world" championship in the last 30 years, of course that does not include expansion franchises who have come into existence since. Note I do count championships won in the AFL, ABA, and WHA for those franchises who were grandfathered in to their current leagues. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Phoenix Coyotes (won the last ever Avco Cup in the WHA as the Winnipeg Jets in 1979) are set to join this list after this year. The Seattle Supersonics would have also joined the list if they hadn't had their franchise stolen away.
1. Chicago Cubs - 100 years
1908 World Series Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Have not played in a World Series since 1945 which is a longer drought for playing for a championship than any other franchise has gone without winning a championship (current streak).
2. Arizona Cardinals (Chicago/St. Louis) - 61 years
1947 NFL Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Before this year had won one playoff game since last championship.
3. Cleveland Indians - 60 years
1948 World Series Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Had a 41 year World Series drought between 1954 and 1995.
4. Sacramento Kings (Rochester Royals/Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City) - 57 years
1951 NBA Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Haven't played in a NBA Finals since '51 championship.
5. San Francisco Giants (New York) - 54 years
1954 World Series Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Haven't won a championship since moving to San Francisco in 1958 and hopefully never will.
6. Detroit Lions - 51 years
1957 NFL Champions
Misery Fun Fact: One playoff win since last championship.
7. Atlanta Hawks (St. Louis) - 50 years
1958 NBA Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Last conference/division finals appearance was in 1970.
8. Philadelphia Eagles - 48 years
1960 NFL Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Have now lost four conference championship games this decade.
9t. Chicago Blackhawks - 47 years
1961 Stanley Cup Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Only one playoff appearance in last 11 years, although that will change this year.
9t. Minnesota Vikings - 47 years
Misery Fun Fact: 0-4 in Super Bowls and 0-4 in conference championship games since their last Super Bowl in 1976.
9t. Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers) - 47 Years
1961 AFL Champions
Misery Fun Fact: 1-4 in conference championship games.
9t. Texas Rangers (Washington Senators) - 47 years
Misery Fun Fact: Oldest franchise in the Big Four leagues to never reach the championship round of it's sport. Zero playoff series wins.
13. Houston Astros - 46 years
Misery Fun Fact: Took 43 years win their only NL pennant.
14. San Diego Chargers - 45 years
1963 AFL Champions
Misery Fun Fact: 1-5 in AFL/AFC Championship games since '63.
15. Cleveland Browns - 44 years
1964 NFL Champions
Misery Fun Fact: 0-6 in NFL/AFC Championship games since '64.
16. Buffalo Bills - 43 years
1965 AFL Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Only franchise in the Big Four to lose in the championship round of it's sport in four consecutive years.
17. Atlanta Falcons - 42 years
Misery Fun Fact: Advanced past divisional round of playoffs only twice.
18t. New Orleans Saints - 41 years
Misery Fun Fact: Did not win a playoff game in their first 33 years of existence.
18t. Toronto Maple Leafs - 41 years
1967 Stanley Cup Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Haven't played in a Cup Final since '67 championship.
20t. Cincinnati Bengals - 40 years
Misery Fun Fact: One playoff appearance in last 18 years.
20t. Denver Nuggets - 40 years
Misery Fun Fact: Have yet to reach the NBA Finals since merger in '76-'77.
20t. Los Angeles Kings - 40 years
Misery Fun Fact: Reached Cup Finals only once.
20t. New York Jets - 40 years
Misery Fun Fact: If Brett Favre couldn't bring them a Super Bowl, who can????
20t. St. Louis Blues - 40 years
Misery Fun Fact: Last Cup Finals appearance was in 1970.
25t. Kansas City Chiefs - 39 years
Super Bowl IV Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Have only reached conference championship game once since Super Bowl IV win.
25t. Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots) - 39 years
Misery Fun Fact: Won only two division championships.
25t. Phoenix Suns - 39 years
Misery Fun Fact: Despite a .559 all-time winning pct., only reached NBA Finals twice.
25t. San Diego Padres - 39 years
Misery Fun Fact: 1-8 in World Series games.
25t. Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos) - 39 years
Misery Fun Fact: Only playoff appearance was in the bizarre '81 split season.
30t. Buffalo Sabers - 37 years
Misery Fun Fact: Only two Stanley Cup Finals appearances.
30t. Cleveland Cavaliers - 37 years
Misery Fun Fact: 35 year wait for their only NBA Finals appearance.
30t. Los Angeles Clippers (Buffalo Braves/San Diego) - 37 years
Misery Fun Fact: .364 all-time winning percentage and never reached a conference final.
30t. Milwaukee Bucks - 37 years
1971 NBA Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Advanced past first around of playoffs only once in last 19 years.
30t. Vancouver Canucks - 37 years
Misery Fun Fact: Their two Stanley Cup Finals appearances are the only two years they've reached the conference finals.
35. Boston Bruins - 36 years
1972 Stanley Cup Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Only one playoff series win since 1995.
36t. Indiana Pacers - 35 years
1973 ABA Champions
Misery Fun Fact: 1-5 in Eastern Conference finals series.
36t. Miami Dolphins - 35 years
Super Bowl VIII Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Best all-time winning pct. of any active NFL franchise (.583) but haven't played in a Super Bowl in 24 years.
36t. New York Knicks - 35 years
1973 NBA Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Seven straight losing seasons.
39t. Golden State Warriors - 33 years
1975 NBA Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Haven't reached conference finals in 32 years.
39t. Philadelphia Flyers - 33 years
1975 Stanley Cup Champions
Misery Fun Fact: 0-5 in Stanley Finals series since '75 championship.
39t. Utah Jazz (New Orleans) - 33 years
Misery Fun Fact: Only one losing in last 25 years but only two NBA Finals appearances to show for it.
39t. Washington Capitals - 33 years
Misery Fun Fact: Reached conference finals only once.
43t. New Jersey Nets (New York) - 32 years
1976 ABA Champions
Misery Fun Fact: Only advanced past first round of playoffs six times since NBA merger.
43t. Seattle Seahawks - 32 years
Misery Fun Fact: Just two conference championship game appearances.
45t. Portland Trail Blazers - 31 years
1977 NBA Champions
Misery Fun Fact: 8-17 in first round playoff series since '77 championship.
45t. Seattle Mariners - 31 years
Misery Fun Fact: 14 straight losing seasons at their inception and played in the ALCS only twice.
47. Washington Wizards (Bullets) - 30 years
1978 NBA Champions
Miser Fun Fact: Advanced past first round of playoffs only three time since '78 championship.
It's playoff time for the Loser League and remember it will be loser advances. There's only one Losertober!
1979 Oakland A's def. 1988 Baltimore Orioles 3 games to 0
Game 1: A'S 24, Orioles 4
Game 2: A'S 11, Orioles 3
Game 3: A's 7, ORIOLES 3
That Game 1 score is not a misprint as this series reminds you why Baltimore lost 21 games to start the 1988 season. Baltimore's team ERA for the series was 14.40 as the A's hit .374 as a team. No word yet if Cal Ripken will request to pull himself out of the line up for the next series.
1979 Toronto Blue Jays def. 1982 Minnesota Twins 3 games to 1
Game 1: TWINS 6, Blue Jays 1
Game 2: Blue Jays 3, TWINS 0
Game 3: BLUE JAYS 7, Twins 6
Game 4: BLUE JAYS 5, Twins 4
Do you believe in miracles, eh? The '79 Blue Jays were the only team to top 100 losses in the Loser League and were the runaway favorite to take the title entering the postseason but they shock the world but beating the '82 Twins. The Jays mounted a five run 8th inning comeback in the deciding Game 4 to send the Twins to the Loser Championship Series and many of their players to suicide.
1998 Florida Marlins def. 1981 Chicago Cubs 3 games to 2
Game 1: Marlins 4, CUBS 1
Game 2: CUBS 10, Marlins 6
Game 3: MARLINS 5, Cubs 4 12 innings
Game 4: Cubs 5, MARLINS 1
Game 5: Marlins 6, CUBS 4
Cubs' fans this might be your year! No team was happier that two months of the 1981 season was wiped out by a player's strike than the Cubs and it almost seems cruel to make them keep playing. I don't know if Bartman stole a foul ball from Steve Henderson in the deciding game.
1981 San Diego Padres def. 1988 Atlanta Braves 3 games to 2
Game 1: Braves 4, PADRES 2
Game 2: Braves 6, PADRES 4 11 innings
Game 3: Padres 8, BRAVES 3
Game 4: Padres 4, BRAVES 2
Game 5: PADRES 9, Braves 8 18 innings
Go Braves! After dropping two at home the Padres make a remarkable comeback and in Game 5 defeated the Braves in an 18 inning classic or really 6 hours and 26 minutes of torture if you had watch these two teams play. The game ended on an Ozzie Smith RBI single off rookie Tom Glavine who was forced into the game as a pinch hitter and remained in the game to pitch after the Braves bench and bullpen had been used up. Here's the boxscore:
BOXSCORE: 1988 Atlanta Braves At 1981 San Diego Padres 10/6/2008
Braves AB R H RBI AVG Padres AB R H RBI AVG
R.Gant 3B 7 1 2 1 .480 O.Smith SS 9 2 3 1 .278
D.James LF 9 2 3 2 .304 R.Jones CF 6 0 1 1 .167
G.Perry 1B 7 0 1 1 .167 J.Curtis P 0 0 0 0 ----
D.Murphy RF 7 1 1 2 .238 N-S.Swisher PH 1 0 0 0 .000
O.Virgil C 9 2 4 1 .348 S.Mura P 0 0 0 0 .000
A.Thomas SS 8 1 2 0 .120 P-D.Gwosdz PH 1 0 1 01.000
M.Lemke 2B 3 0 1 0 .357 C.Welsh P 0 0 0 0 .500
A-J.Blauser PH 1 0 1 1 .286 G.Richards LF 9 2 3 0 .261
B-L.Smith PR 0 1 0 0 .250 T.Kennedy C 8 1 4 2 .346
E-J.Royster 2B 5 0 1 0 .200 B.Perkins 1B 6 0 1 1 .125
T.Blocker CF 7 0 1 0 .222 K-J.Moreno 1B 2 1 1 0 .500
R.Mahler P 3 0 0 0 .000 J.Lefebvre RF 7 2 2 0 .188
C-P.Runge PH 0 0 0 0 ---- L.Salazar 3B 7 0 3 2 .476
D-A.Hall PH 0 0 0 0 .167 J.Bonilla 2B 5 0 2 1 .500
G.Jimenez P 0 0 0 0 ---- M-T.Flannery PH,2B 2 0 0 0 .200
F-B.Benedict PH 1 0 0 0 .000 J.Eichelberger P 3 0 0 0 .000
J.Alvarez P 0 0 0 0 ---- D.Boone P 0 0 0 0 ----
H-T.Simmons PH 1 0 0 0 .500 J.Urrea P 1 0 0 0 .000
C.Puleo P 0 0 0 0 ---- T.Lollar P 0 0 0 0 ----
P.Assenmacher P 0 0 0 0 ---- G-B.Evans PH 1 0 1 0 .385
L-J.Acker PH,P 1 0 1 01.000 J.Littlefield P 0 0 0 0 ----
B.Sutter P 0 0 0 0 ---- G.Lucas P 0 0 0 0 ----
O-T.Glavine PH,P 1 0 0 0 .000 I-R.Bass PH 0 0 0 0 .000
J-D.Edwards PH,CF 3 1 2 1 .308
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 70 8 18 8 Totals 71 9 24 9
A-Pinch Hit For Lemke In 8th Inning
B-Pinch Ran For Blauser In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Mahler In 8th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Runge In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Smith In 8th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Jimenez In 9th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Lollar In 11th Inning
H-Pinch Hit For Alvarez In 12th Inning
I-Pinch Hit For Lucas In 13th Inning
J-Pinch Hit For Bass In 13th Inning
K-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Perkins In 15th Inning
L-Pinch Hit For Assenmacher In 15th Inning
M-Pinch Hit For Bonilla In 15th Inning
N-Pinch Hit For Curtis In 15th Inning
O-Pinch Hit For Sutter In 17th Inning
P-Pinch Hit For Mura In 17th Inning
INJURY: Broderick Perkins INJURED (for 0 more games) in 14th inning
Braves.......... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 - 8 18 1
Padres.......... 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 - 9 24 2
Braves (2-3) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
R.Mahler 7 12 5 4 0 3 0 109 3.75
G.Jimenez 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 24 5.68
J.Alvarez 3 1 0 0 2 3 0 48 4.00
C.Puleo 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 5.40
P.Assenmache 1 2/3 1 0 0 2 2 0 38 0.00
J.Acker 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0.00
B.Sutter 1 1/3 3 1 1 2 2 0 31 3.00
T.Glavine LOSS(0-1) 1 2/3 5 3 3 1 0 0 39 5.40
Totals 17 2/3 24 9 8 8 10 0
Padres (3-2) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
J.Eichelberg 7 7 4 4 3 4 1 134 3.75
D.Boone HOLD(2nd) 0 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 0 8 3.86
J.Urrea BS(1st) 1 1/3 2 0 0 2 0 0 30 0.00
T.Lollar 2 1/3 1 0 0 0 3 0 34 0.00
J.Littlefiel 0 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 7.36
G.Lucas 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 20 0.00
J.Curtis 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 25 2.45
S.Mura 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 33 4.91
C.Welsh WIN(1-0) 1 3 2 2 0 0 1 21 6.43
Totals 18 18 8 8 5 12 3
ATTENDANCE- 24,996 DATE- Monday, October 6th 2008 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
T- 6:26
LEFT ON BASE- Braves:17 Padres:19
DOUBLE PLAYS- Braves: 0 Padres: 1
ERRORS- R.Mahler, O.Smith, L.Salazar
DOUBLES- O.Virgil(2nd), O.Smith(1st), R.Jones(3rd), T.Kennedy(3rd),
J.Moreno(1st), J.Bonilla(3rd)
TRIPLES- D.Edwards(1st)
HOME RUNS- D.James(1st), D.Murphy(1st), O.Virgil(1st)
STOLEN BASES- R.Gant-2(5th), D.James(2nd), G.Richards(1st), L.Salazar(1st),
D.Edwards(1st)
CAUGHT STEALING- G.Richards, J.Bonilla
SACRIFICE HITS- R.Gant, L.Salazar
SACRIFICE FLIES- R.Gant, D.Murphy, T.Kennedy, L.Salazar
WALKS- G.Perry-2, D.Murphy, A.Thomas, T.Blocker, O.Smith, R.Jones, B.Perkins,
J.Lefebvre-2, J.Bonilla, T.Flannery, D.Edwards
HIT BY PITCH- A.Hall
STRIKE OUTS- R.Gant-2, D.James, G.Perry, D.Murphy-2, O.Virgil-3, A.Thomas,
T.Blocker, R.Mahler, O.Smith, R.Jones, G.Richards, T.Kennedy,
J.Moreno, J.Lefebvre, L.Salazar, J.Eichelberger-2, D.Edwards
GIDP- T.Blocker
Ron Gant, Left Fielder
Atlanta Braves 1987-1993
Cincinnati Reds 1995
St. Louis Cardinals 1996-1998
Philadelphia Phillies 1999-2000
Anaheim Angels 2000
Colorado Rockies 2001
Oakland Athletics 2001, 2003
San Diego Padres 2002
Awards
1991 NL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 2 (1992, 1995)
League Leader
None
Career Ranks
Home Runs: 96th
Best Performance
July 5, 1990 - New York at Atlanta
Easy pick as he matches he career high in hits (four), home runs (two), RBI (six), and total bases (eleven) in the same game.
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 52 (477) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 26.0 (377) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 41.5 (441) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Reggie Sanders, Jeromy Burnitz, Jimmy Wynn, Andruw Jones, Bobby Bonds, Roy Sievers, Greg Vaughn, Darryl Strawberry, Bobby Thomson, Frank J. Thomas
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1987: 1/0.4
1988: 16/5.3
1989: 1/0.1
1990: 21/7.4
1991: 25/8.6
1992: 17/3.8
1993: 25/6.0
1995: 21/6.1
1996: 18/5.8
1997: 11/3.3
1998: 11/2.5
1999: 16/5.3
2000: 7/3.9
2001: 4/1.4
2002: 12/3.3
2003: 0/-0.4
Career Win Shares: 206
Career WARP3: 62.9
My Stupid Opinion
Had a nice combination of power and speed in his prime but was never among the best players in the game in any particular year. Don't think the dirt bike accident he had in '94 where he broke his leg, costing him the entire season and a contract with the Braves that he just signed a week before (oops!), hurt him too much as he followed that up with of his best seasons in '95. His #1 comp of Reggie Sanders is one of the more apt comparisons I've seen with the Similar Batters tool.
1982 Minnesota Twins def. 1988 Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 2
Game 1: Twins 6, ORIOLES 4 10 innings
Game 2: Twins 3, ORIOLES 2
Game 3: TWINS 7, Orioles 1
Game 4: Orioles 7, TWINS 5
Game 5: Orioles 6, TWINS 2
Game 6: Twins 7, ORIOLES 2
After dropping their first six games of the postseason the '88 Orioles made a spirited comeback but all it meant was that they forced their fans to see another home game. Eddie Murray may be in the Hall of Fame but he takes Least Valuable Player honors in this series he scrapes together only 2 hits in 25 at bats.
1981 Chicago Cubs def. 1988 Atlanta Braves 4 games to 2
Game 1: BRAVES 7, Cubs 4
Game 2: Cubs 7, BRAVES 4
Game 3: Braves 5, CUBS 3 12 innings
Game 4: CUBS 2, Braves 1 10 innings
Game 5: CUBS 4, Braves 3
Game 6: Cubs 3, BRAVES 0
The Cubs once again can't even win the big one as they eliminate themselves from the Loser League setting an all 1988 match-up to crown the worst team of my lifetime. After hitting .480 against the Padres in the previous round, Ron Gant takes the LVP by hitting .115 and committing three errors which reminds you why he was moved to the outfield.
Roy Oswalt is mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore!
Okay first off this is just silly. You're an active player and a very good one at that. A-Rod hasn't cost you a spot in the Majors, hell he's not even a pitcher!
So why did God let these heathens have their performance enhancing drugs? Jesus didn't need steroids to hit a curveball!
Hmm, interesting considering they've never even played in the same league together but they have faced off in three games in interleague play so let's go to the video tape! Or let's go to baseball-reference.
June 8, 2001
Oswalt failed to retire Rodriguez in three plate appearances as he doubled, walked, and doubled. Obviously those doubles would have been infield pop outs without steroids. Oswalt also gave up home runs to Ivan Rodriguez and Rusty Greer and I now demand both have their records removed the books as obviously Oswalt's God given gifts would not surrender home runs to clean players. Oswalt got a no decision but the Astros won, but who cares because A-ROD COULD HAVE COST HIM MONEY!!!
June 28, 2002
In this game Oswalt did get the better of Rodriguez in two of his at bats but in the 4th inning A-Fraud hit a home run off our hero and if I were Roy I would demand that MLB lower his ERA for the 2002 season immediately! But our hero did win the game but hey he could have also lost it which means A-ROD COULD HAVE COST HIM MONEY!!!
June 15, 2008
Rodriguez reached base only once against Oswalt on a walk. But with these new fangled PEDs they keep coming up with who knows they might actually give players telekinesis. I think A-Fraud may have caused Roy's pitches to land out of the strikezone with his mind! Oswalt lost this game and this certainly means that A-ROD COST HIM MONEY!!!
For those scoring at home Roy Oswalt has made $46,950,000 in his career and his current contract will guarantee him another $45 million over the next three seasons. And you know what he deserves it, he's a fantastic pitcher and I'm just having some fun here. He has a right to be pissed that there will be a cloud over all players who played in the last 15 years. But he really comes off like a sanctimonious crybaby in this and does anyone really want to hear a millionaire whine about possibly being cost money? Also if Roger Clemens is ever "proven" to have used PEDs in his career, I hope Roy has the same conviction that he has with A-Rod and demand the Astros be stripped of their 2005 National League Championship.
Now we start to get to the meat of the list and I swear that's not a crack at the next player on the list.
#60
Andruw Jones, CF
#59
Bret Saberhagen, SP
#58
Kenny Lofton, CF
#57
Robin Ventura, 3B
#56
Albert Belle, LF
#55
Kevin Brown, SP
#54
Fred McGriff, 1B
#53
Sammy Sosa, RF
#52
Jorge Posada, C
#51
Jason Giambi, 1B
#50
Lance Berkman, OF/1B
#49
Larry Walker, RF
#48
Kirby Puckett, CF
#47
Brian Giles, OF
#46
Bobby Abreu, RF
#45
Mariano Rivera, RP
#44
Bernie Williams, CF
#43
Scott Rolen, 3B
#42
Edgar Martinez, DH
#41
Rafael Palmeiro, 1B
Quicky entry here. First off I'm currently working on a list of the 100 greatest baseball players of my lifetime. Whether I actually finish it is another story as I've tried to do similar lists like this before and always ended up chucking the whole thing.
Hey it's World Baseball Classic time and for this entry just going to very quickly put together my own Team USA. I did this a for 2006 (LOLZ Dontrelle Willis) so might as well do it for 2009 since I need an excuse for an entry. This time around though I'm going construct a roster based on a more standard baseball roster rather than the extreme reliever heavy WBC rosters. This is totally based if no one was injured and if Alex Rodriguez wasn't a TRAITOR TO OUR COUNTRY!
Starters
C.C. Sabathia
Brandon Webb
Tim Lincecum
Roy Halladay
Relievers
Joe Nathan
Jonathan Papelbon
Brian Fuentes
Brad Lidge
Heath Bell
David Price
C: Joe Mauer
1B: Mark Texeira
2B: Chase Utley
3B: David Wright
SS: Alex Rodriguez
LF: Matt Holliday
CF: Grady Sizemore
RF: Nick Markakis
DH: Chipper Jones
Bench
Brian McCann
Lance Berkman
Dustin Pedroia
Jimmy Rollins
Evan Longoria
Curtis Granderson
See the first entry as to why certain players won't be on the list. And I think I should be commended for my courage in putting a certain someone on this list.
#80
Rat Piece of Shit, DH/RF
#79
Tony Phillips, 2B/LF/3B
#78
Matt Williams, 3B
#77
Mike Cameron, CF
#76
Tim Salmon, RF
#75
Lenny Dykstra, CF
#74
Johnny Damon, CF
#73
Miguel Tejada, SS
#72
Dave Stieb, SP
#71
Don Mattingly, 1B
#70
John Olerud, 1B
#69
Paul O'Neill, RF
#68
Brett Butler, CF
#67
Nomar Garciaparra, SS
#66
Moises Alou, LF
#65
Tony Fernandez, SS
#64
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
#63
Luis Gonzalez, LF
#62
David Cone, SP
#61
Carlos Delgado, 1B
Another day, another OMG BASEBALL IS DEAD story. But I'm here to help the healing begin with a distraction. It's time to decide who was the worst team of my lifetime!
In a desperate need for content for this blog I've decided to run a simulation using Strat-O-Matic to crown the worst team of last 30 years. Each MLB franchise will be represented with their worst team from the last 30 seasons. I'll be using the 2008 MLB schedule as a guideline for the league as no way I'm going to take the time to create my own schedule and Strat's computer generated schedules aren't particularly good. It will be a couple of weeks before I actually begin the simulation as the 2008 rosters won't be shipping for another week and the '08 Nationals are the Montreal/Washington rep.
Now to truly decide who is the worst team of the last 30 years, the standings will be turned upside down. Last place teams in the six divisions and the worst next to last teams in each league will qualify for the playoffs. The playoffs will be just like the current playoff format but loser of each series will be the one who advances.
Start making your predictions now!
AL East
1979 Toronto Blue Jays (53-109)
1988 Baltimore Orioles (54-107)
1990 New York Yankees (67-95)
1992 Boston Red Sox (73-89)
2002 Tampa Bay Devil Rays (55-106)
AL Central
1982 Minnesota Twins (60-102)
1989 Chicago White Sox (69-92)
1991 Cleveland Indians (57-105)
2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119)
2005 Kansas City Royals (56-106)
AL West
1979 Oakland Athletics (54-108)
1980 California Angles (65-95)
1980 Seattle Mariners (59-103)
1985 Texas Rangers (62-99)
NL East
1988 Atlanta Braves (54-106)
1993 New York Mets (59-103)
1998 Florida Marlins (54-108)
2000 Philadelphia Phillies (65-97)
2008 Washington Nationals (59-102)
NL Central
1981 Chicago Cubs (38-65)
1982 Cincinnati Reds (61-101)
1985 Pittsburgh Pirates (57-104)
1991 Houston Astros (65-97)
1995 St. Louis Cardinals (62-81)
2002 Milwaukee Brewers (56-106)
NL West
1981 San Diego Padres (41-69)
1985 San Francisco Giants (62-100)
1992 Los Angeles Dodgers (63-99)
1993 Colorado Rockies (67-95)
1998 Arizona Diamondbacks (65-97)
Mo Vaughn, First Baseman
Boston Red Sox 1991-1998
Anaheim Angels 1999-2001
New York Mets 2002-2003
Awards
1995 AL MVP
1995 AL Silver Slugger - 1B
All-Star Selections: 3 (1995, 1996, 1998)
League Leader
1995: RBI
1996: Runs Created
Career Ranks
Homeruns: 91st
SLG%: 56th
OPS: 59th
Best Performance
September 24, 1996 - Baltimore at Boston
Hits three homeruns against the Orioles, all of them off of David Wells.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 4 (405) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 78 (301) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 29.9 (274) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 86.5 (191) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Paul Konerko, Ted Kluszewski, David Justice, Kent Hrbek, Carlos Lee, Derrek Lee, Hal Trosky, Joe Adcock, David Ortiz, Richie Sexson
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1991: 6/1.3
1992: 7/1.8
1993: 19/6.3
1994: 17/6.8
1995: 24/7.3
1996: 29/8.1
1997: 22/7.4
1998: 25/9.3
1999: 19/4.3
2000: 17/4.9
2002: 15/3.5
2003: 1/0.1
Career Win Shares: 201
Career WARP3: 61.2
My Stupid Opinion
Although his 1995 AL MVP was a complete joke, Vaughn did have a nice little run with the Red Sox. But it was not surprising that a man of his, um, girth did not age well at all. He was already in the middle of perpetual decline when he missed the whole 2001 season due to a ruptured tendon in his left arm. Fun Fact: Vaughn was the highest paid player in baseball during his final active season where he hit .190/.323/.329 in 27 games. Remember kids, it pays to have a good agent.
In recent years the WWE has made a killing on wrestler themed DVD's that feature several full length versions of classic matches. Now not necessarily influenced by the WWE but Major League Baseball has now started releasing DVD box sets of classic World Series featuring full length games from the entire series. This year they've released 1975, 1979, and 1986 World Series on DVD and I'd imagine there will be more of this in the future. Even though I'm not a fan of the Reds, Pirates, or Mets I do plan on buying these sets once the price goes down. Now a couple of years ago the NFL started releasing box sets called the "NFL Super Bowl Collections." This confused some people as they wondered if these were original broadcasts of the NFL games or not. Of course they weren't as they were just the classic half-hour highlight films of the games done by NFL Films that anyone can see on ESPN every January.
Now before they changed their programming a little over a year ago ESPN Classic was paradise for a diehard sports fan who loved watching classic sporting events. You could find original broadcasts of classic MLB, NBA, NHL, college football, college basketball, boxing, and racing on a regular basis. There was one thing always missing though and that was original broadcasts of classic NFL games. This always had struck me as unusual. Given that ESPN has been televising NFL games since 1987 and with their deal with ABC you'd figure at the very least they'd be able to show classic Sunday & Monday Night Football games but no such luck.
I've searched as much as I can but I've never been able to find out why the NFL refuses to allow any broadcast of this archived footage. When the NFL Network started up a few years back I always assumed that they would air classic games on the channel. With 24 hours to fill on a channel that would only interest serious NFL fans you would think they would fill some of that time but showing classic games but they do not. My only theory has been that given the deal with NFL Films it seems that the NFL only wants them to be the sole history teller of their sport. Back in the late 90's they started putting together NFL Films versions of full length historical games such as Super Bowl III and the 1982 NFC Championship game. These were kind of cool when they first aired but they've only done a handful of games and they still don't have the feel of watching an original broadcast game.
I will continue to not understand why the NFL sits on a goldmine they have. These classic games are just sitting there with no one to see them. With MLB now jumping on the DVD bandwagon of selling classic footage you'd hope the NFL will do the same in the future. The sales just for boxed sets of full length Super Bowls would be through the roof especially if they packaged them for particular teams like the 49ers, Cowboys, and Steelers. The NFL certainly has never turned down the chance to make more money and I don't see why they refuse to do so in this case.
Matt Williams, Third Baseman
San Francisco Giants 1987-1996
Cleveland Indians 1997
Arizona Diamondbacks 1998-2003
Awards
1990 NL Silver Slugger - 3B
1991 NL Gold Glove - 3B
1993 NL Gold Golve - 3B
1993 NL Silver Slugger - 3B
1994 NL Gold Glove - 3B
1994 NL Silver Slugger - 3B
1997 AL Gold Glove - 3B
1997 AL Silver Slugger - 3B
All-Star Selections: 5 (1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999)
League Leader
1990: RBI
1994: Home Runs
Career Ranks
Home Runs: 61st
AB/HR: 79th
Best Performance
April 18, 1993 - Atlanta at San Francisco
Goes 4 for 6 with two home runs, including a walk off in the 11th inning.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 8 (272) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 58 (426) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 29.4 (286) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 70.0 (258) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Johnny Bench)
Other Similar Batters: Vinny Castilla, Andruw Jones, George Foster, Rocky Colavito, Ron Cey, Robin Ventura, Frank Howard, Gil Hodges, Jack Clark
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1987: 5/2.1
1988: 2/1.6
1989: 7/3.4
1990: 28/8.3
1991: 22/8.8
1992: 11/4.0
1993: 28/10.0
1994: 18/9.5
1995: 20/6.9
1996: 18/6.1
1997: 18/6.5
1998: 12/5.9
1999: 26/9.1
2000: 7/2.5
2001: 10/3.5
2002: 6/2.0
2003: 3/0.9
Career Win Shares: 241
Career WARP3: 91.2
My Stupid Opinion
Most famous for being "on pace" to tie Roger Maris' then single season record of 61 home runs (OMG STILL NON-STEROID RECORD!!!) in 1994 before the strike killed that opportunity. He was the best third baseman in baseball from 1993-1995, though it was in '95 where he started to have injury problems. Had a lot of power and played a very good third base but also a big time hacker who posted only a .317 career OBP. Overall just not impressive enough to warrant serious consideration for the HOF.
David Cone, Starting Pitcher
Kansas City Royals 1986, 1993-1994
New York Mets 1987-1992, 2003
Toronto Blue Jays 1992, 1995
New York Yankees 1995-2000
Boston Red Sox 2001
Awards
1994 AL Cy Young
All-Star Selections: 5 (1988, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999)
League Leader
1988: W/L Pct.
1990: Strikeouts, K/9, K/BB
1991: Strikeouts, K/9
1992: Shutouts, K/9
1995: Innings
1998: Wins
Career Ranks
Strikeouts: 22nd
Games Started: 99th
W/L Pct: 95th
H/9: 62nd
K/9: 20th
Best Performance
July 18, 1999 - Montreal at New York (A)
Throws only 88 pitches in tossing the 15th perfect game in MLB history.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 19 (101) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 165 (76) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 39.0 (73) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 103.0 (90) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 2 (Dazzy Vance, Bob Lemon)
Other Similar Pitchers: Dwight Gooden, Tommy Bridges, Bob Welch, Orel Hershiser, Dave Stieb, Kevin Brown, Jack Stivetts, Dave McNally
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1986: 0/0.2
1987: 5/1.9
1988: 19/7.2
1989: 11/4.4
1990: 13/6.9
1991: 15/7.0
1992: 18/7.5
1993: 21/9.0
1994: 20/10.8
1995: 19/9.7
1996: 8/3.7
1997: 16/7.7
1998: 17/6.7
1999: 15/6.6
2000: 0/1.0
2001: 8/3.6
2003: 0/0.1
Career Win Shares: 205
Career WARP3: 94.2
My Stupid Opinion
You know there are crazier cases to be made than trumpeting David Cone as a HOF, although I'm not going to do it. The 1994-95 strike very likely cost him a shot at 200 wins as it occurred in the prime of his career and he had 10 to 11 potential starts wiped out in the middle of his Cy Young season of '94. But that being said he was definitely a notch below the elite pitchers of his era. Would be worthy of staying on the ballot but I think he has less than a 50/50 chance of getting the necessary 5% of the vote.
I had been looking for an excuse to do an entry on one of the most bizarre years in baseball history and the A.L. MVP pick in 1981 was controversial so might as well do a redo. 1981 featured the strike to end all strikes, until the 1994 strike trumped it of course. The players went on strike on June 12th that year over free agent compensation and did not comeback until August 9th, losing 712 games in the process.
Now the owners decided to come up with an idea to drum up some interest back in the sport to bring back a jaded fanbase after the strike ended: a split season. The standings as they were for games played before the strike would be considered the first half and then the second half would be the games played after the strike ended. An extra round of playoffs would be added where the division champ of the first half would meet the division champ of the second half. Now if the entire nation didn't say "What are they fucking stupid?" when the announced this, then they should have. My guess is the owners came up with this idea to try to recoup some of the revenue they lost from the strike by getting an extra round of playoffs.
You don't even have to be a baseball fan to see the obvious problems with the idea. First off the season restarted it meant all the division leaders thru June 11th had already clinched a playoff spot: Yankees, A's, Phillies, and Dodgers. These four teams had essentially nothing to play for beyond pride for two months as they already knew they were going to the playoffs. Doesn't really get the competitive juices flowing, you know? Second problem was the nightmare scenerio where teams who had better records overall for the entire season being left out of postseason play due the split season where otherwise they would have been division champions. Hey guess what? It happened.
St. Louis finished with a 59-43 record overall, 2 games better than second half N.L. East champion Montreal and 2 1/2 over first half champ Philadelphia. But it got much worse in the N.L. West. Cincinnati finished 66-42 overall, 4 games better than first half champ Los Angeles and 6 1/2 games better than second half champ Houston. The Reds had the best record in baseball in 1981 and did not go the playoffs. Let me repeat that, the team with the best record in baseball did not qualify for the postaseason. I'm surprised there wasn't riots in the streets of Cincinnati. The madness doesn't stop there as in the A.L. West, Kansas City won the second half title but finished the season 3 games under .500 overall. So we have the best team in baseball not in the playoffs and a team with a losing record in the playoffs. Almost makes you think they would have been better off shutting down the season like they would 13 years later.
Oh ya the A.L. MVP. Rollie Fingers won the award marking the first time a closer had won it. Already gone over this in the 1984 and 1992 redos that closers should not be winning the MVP. He would beat out Rickey Henderson in a very tight race. My only guess is that the resut was due to Fingers being the established, World Series hero while Henderson was only his second full season. It's also pretty rare for players with low homerun totals to win the award as he only hit six homeruns in the short '81 season. His teammate Tony Armas was the only other player to receive a first place vote and finished 4th overall despite being, ironically enough, the 4th best player on his own team that year.
Actual Results
1) Rollie Fingers 2) Rickey Henderson 3) Dwight Evans 4) Tony Armas 5) Eddie Murray 6) Carney Lansford 7) Dave Winfield 8) Cecil Cooper 9) Goose Gossage 10) Tom Paciorek 11) Dwayne Murphy 12) Kirk Gibson 13) Steve McCatty 14) Bobby Grich 15) Jack Morris 16) Al Oliver 17t) Buddy Bell 17th) Robin Yount 19) Bill Almon 20) Jerry Mumphrey 21t) Mike Hargrove 21t) Alan Trammell 23t) Steve Kemp 23t) Greg Luzinski 23t) Dennis Martinez 23t) Ken Singleton 27t) George Brett 27t) Dave Stieb
#10
.336/.389/.439, 68 RC, 133 OPS+, .301 EQA, 32.4 VORP, 18 Win Shares
#9
.294/.360/.464, 66 RC, 138 OPS+, .310 EQA, 34.7 VORP, 16 Win Shares
#8
.259/.348/.493, 62 RC, 146 OPS+, .308 EQA, 29.3 VORP, 20 Win Shares
#7
.326/.379/.509, 78 RC, 151 OPS+, .315 EQA, 39.6 VORP, 17 Win Shares
#6
.294/.360/.534, 73 RC, 156 OPS+, .319 EQA, 40.1 VORP, 21 Win Shares
#5
150 ERA+, 1.49 K/BB, 1.08 WHIP, 51.9 VORP, 18 Win Shares
#4
.304/.378/.543, 72 RC, 164 OPS+, .325 EQA, 49.1 VORP, 21 Win Shares
#3
.320/.363/.495, 75 RC, 151 OPS+, .316 EQA, 42.0 VORP, 22 Win Shares
#2
.319/.408/.437, 76 RC, 150 OPS+, .323 EQA, 45.6 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#1
.296/.415/.522, 90 RC, 163 OPS+, .333 EQA, 47.7 VORP, 26 Win Shares
Damn what kind of self hating A's fans am I to not give the award to RICKEY~? Also I'm taking an award away from a player who has his number retired by the A's. What have I done!?
Anyways as I mentioned in my entry about my first game that Evans has been very under valued over the years. Also have a couple of other good players who have been forgotten in Cecil Cooper and Bobby Grich. Hey and look STEVE McCATTY!!! What you don't remember Steve McCatty? Ya okay '81 was his only good year and he should have won the Cy Young. I guess a similar parallel would be 2003 when Esteban Loaiza blew away any other year he had but couldn't get the Cy Young. I did actually come close to putting Fingers at #10. Oh and that Tom Paciorek card is awesome.
Ohhhhhhh what a finish! Okay not really as all races were decided before the last day of the season. But we did have a surprise as the '03 Tigers, losers of 119 games, will not advance to the postseason as they were beat out by the '88 Orioles for the Loser Card. All the division races went to those who have been "leading" most of the year. Here are your A.L. playoff match-ups.
'88 Orioles vs. '79 A's
'79 Blue Jays vs. '82 Twins
And let's recognize those who were the best of the Loser League on the A.L. side.
C: Jeff Newman, '79 A's
1B: Eddie Murray, '88 Orioles
2B: Bobby Grich, '80 Angels
3B: Carney Lansford, '80 Angels
SS: Cal Ripken, '88 Orioles
LF: Albert Belle, '91 Indians
CF: Roberto Kelly, '90 Yankees
RF: Emil Brown, '05 Royals
SP: Roger Clemens, '92 Red Sox
RP: Mark Clear, '80 Angels
FINAL STANDINGS/LEADERS
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
1990 NYA 93 69 R.Carew LAA .339 E.Murray BAA 40 A.Belle CLA 124
1992 BOA 87 75 E.Brown KCA .337 A.Belle CLA 38 E.Brown KCA 116
2002 TBA 84 78 T.Long KCA .334 K.Maas NYA 36 E.Murray BAA 114
1988 BAA 74 88 R.Kelly NYA .334 K.Hrbek MNA 35 C.Baerga CLA 112
1979 TOA 59 103 K.Hrbek MNA .332 C.Ripken BAA 32 OTHERS TIED W 105
1989 CHA 86 76 WINS SAVES ERA
1991 CLA 82 80 R.Clemens BOA 19 T.Niedenf BAA 36 R.Clemens BOA 2.13
2005 KCA 81 81 F.Tanana LAA 16 E.Yan TBA 29 C.Hough TEA 2.18
2003 DEA 75 87 C.Hough TEA 15 B.Thigpen CHA 28 F.Viola BOA 2.76
1982 MNA 69 93 G.Swindel CLA 15 G.Harris TEA 27 D.Aase LAA 2.89
OTHERS TIED W 14 M.Macdoug KCA 24 F.Bannist SEA 2.95
1980 LAA 100 62
1985 TEA 83 79 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1980 SEA 76 86 K.Witt DEA 12 A.Sanchez DEA 65 R.Clemens BOA 226
1979 OAA 69 93 D.Slaught TEA 9 R.Kelly NYA 63 T.Underwo TOA 201
E.Murray BAA 8 A.Cole CLA 50 F.Bannist SEA 187
M.Lewis CLA 8 O.Guillen CHA 41 D.Darwin BOA 170
OTHERS TIED W 7 OTHERS TIED W 38 G.Swindel CLA 169
The '81 Cubs reversed the curse of the goat! Most of the season it was the '91 Astros and '85 Pirates fighting over the bottom of the N.L. Central but the Cubs blew past them with a clutch September record of 4-21 and ending the season on a 13 game losing streak! Truly remarkable. No surprises in the other races as the '98 Marlins did eventually pass up the '88 Braves for the league's worst record but as expected the Loser Card comes out of the East. Here are your N.L. playoff match-ups.
'88 Braves vs. '81 Padres
'98 Marlins vs. '81 Cubs
Here's the All-NL Loser League team.
C: Craig Biggio, '91 Astros
1B: Eddie Murray, '93 Mets
2B: Jeff Kent, '93 Mets
3B: Scott Rolen, '00 Phillies
SS: Jay Bell, '98 Diamondbacks
LF: Bernard Gilkey, '95 Cardinals
CF: Ray Lankford, '95 Cardinals
RF: Bobby Bonilla, '93 Mets
SP: Mike Krukow, '85 Giants
RF: Gregg Olson, '98 Diamondbacks
FINAL STANDINGS/LEADERS
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
1993 NYN 94 68 A.Galarra CON .379 R.Lankfor SLN 39 S.Rolen PHN 134
2008 WAN 90 72 J.Mabry SLN .359 B.Bonilla NYN 38 R.Lankfor SLN 123
2000 PHN 88 74 C.Biggio HON .336 E.Murray NYN 33 D.Bichett CON 110
1988 ATN 66 96 B.Gilkey SLN .325 S.Rolen PHN 33 E.Karros LAN 108
1998 FLN 63 99 C.Guzman WAN .325 E.Karros LAN 31 OTHERS TIED W 104
1995 SLN 99 63 WINS SAVES ERA
1982 CIN 89 73 M.Krukow SFN 21 M.Dejean MLN 45 M.Krukow SFN 2.07
2002 MLN 85 77 G.Rusch MLN 18 G.Olson ARN 42 R.Reusche PIN 2.48
1991 HON 75 87 M.Soto CIN 17 T.Henke SLN 41 D.Gooden NYN 2.48
1985 PIN 72 90 R.Reusche PIN 17 S.Garrelt SFN 33 R.Person PHN 2.64
1981 CHN 67 95 OTHERS TIED W 16 D.Holmes CON 31 O.Daal ARN 2.75
1985 SFN 96 66 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1992 LAN 88 74 D.James ATN 14 B.Butler LAN 61 M.Soto CIN 278
1998 ARN 85 77 B.Jordan SLN 11 V.Coleman NYN 58 D.Gooden NYN 200
1993 CON 81 81 OTHERS TIED W 9 S.Finley HON 56 B.Sheets MLN 200
1981 SDN 74 88 E.Young MLN 55 P.Harnisc HON 198
E.Young CON 51 B.Berenyi CIN 194
Jay Bell, Shortstop
Cleveland Indians 1986-1988
Pittsburgh Pirates 1989-1996
Kansas City Royals 1997
Arizona Diamondbacks 1998-2002
New York Mets 2003
Awards
1993 NL Gold Glove - SS
1993 NL Silver Slugger - SS
All-Star Selections: 2 (1993, 1999)
League Leader
None
Career Ranks
None of note
Best Performance
July 27, 1991 - Pittsburgh at Houston
Goes 4 for 5 with two home runs, four runs scored, and four rbi.
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 32 (727) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 26.9 (352) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 30.5 (576) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Toby Harrah, Ray Durham, Bobby Grich, Benito Santiago, Devon White, Alan Trammell, Frank White, Edgar Renteria, Alvin Dark, Amos Otis
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1986: 1/0.3
1987: 1/0.3
1988: 2/0.0
1989: 8/2.5
1990: 17/8.1
1991: 22/9.0
1992: 24/8.0
1993: 26/10.6
1994: 19/6.8
1995: 13/4.6
1996: 15/4.0
1997: 21/11.1
1998: 20/7.6
1999: 23/6.9
2000: 19/5.5
2001: 12/3.8
2002: 1/-0.1
2003: 1/-0.2
Career Win Shares: 245
Career WARP3: 88.8
My Stupid Opinion
Certainly not a HOFer but a much better player than the average fan probably remembers. Good hitting shortstop with good defense, at least early in his career, who was very durable as from 1990-2000 he never missed more than 13 games in a season. Fun Fact: Only player in MLB history to ever have 30+ sacrifice hits in a season (39 in 1990 and 30 in 1991) and also have a 30+ home run season (38 in 1999) in their career.
Now finally finishing off these Worst lists with designated hitters. Since the DH has only been around since 1973 these are the worst DH seasons of all-time. Unlike every other position, there is no additional value to be provided by DH beyond what they do with their bat. They aren't even expected to be threats on the basepaths either as most DH's are aging veterans or guys who are so slow they couldn't even handle first base. The top of the list falls into the aging veteran category as he was a great hitting catcher, who you can make a legit argument for him being a Hall of Famer, but he fell of a cliff offensively in this season at age 34 and goes down as the worst DH season by a wide margin. Not surprising there are a few all-time greats on this list who were the twilight of their careers.
Top 25 Worst Designated Hitter Seasons of All-Time (per OPS+)
1. Ted Simmons, 1984 - Milwaukee Brewers 61 OPS+ (.221/.269/.300)
2. Ruben Sierra, 1996 - New York Yankees/Detroit Tigers 75
3t. Alvin Davis, 1991 - Seattle Mariners 76
3t. Tommy Harper, 1974 - Boston Red Sox 76
5. Joe Carter, 1997 - Toronto Blue Jays 77
6t. Scott Hatteberg, 2005 - Oakland A's 81
6t. Dave Parker, 1991 - California Angels/Toronto Blue Jays 81
8t. Larry Sheets, 1988 - Baltimore Orioles 83
8t. Mitchell Page, 1979 - Oakland A's 83
10. Greg Vaughn, 1995 - Milwaukee Brewers 85
11t. Paul Molitor, 1998 - Minnesota Twins 86
11t. Eddie Murray, 1994 - Cleveland Indians 86
13. Eddie Murray, 1996 - Cleveland Indians/Baltimore Orioles 86
14t. Gerald Perry, 1990 - Kansas City Royals 90
14t. Dave Kingman, 1986 - Oakland A's 90
16. Julio Franco, 1997 - Cleveland Indians/Milwaukee Brewers 91
17t. Edgar Martinez, 2004 - Seattle Mariners 92
17t. Rico Carty, 1979 - Toronto Blue Jays 92
17t. Deron Johnson, 1975 - Chicago White Sox/Boston Red Sox 92
20t. Carl Everett, 2005 - Chicago White Sox 94
20t. George Brett, 1993 - Kansas City Royals 94
20t. Andre Thornton, 1985 - Cleveland Indians 94
20t. Reggie Jackson, 1984 - California Angels 94
24t. Carl Yastrzemski, 1981 - Boston Red Sox 95
24t. Hank Aaron, 1975 - Milwaukee Brewers 95
OMG two entries in one day, I'm out of control! This year I decided to track the number of games that each team had televised by MLB's three television partners. The final week's schedule was finalized today so figured I'd actually post the final "standings" for the year. I thought it'd be better to post it on the blog rather than the TWiB form because we don't need another debate of the overexposure of two certain teams from the Northeast and God knows I've instigated a few of those debates.
Note there was only one team in MLB that did not have a single game televised by ESPN, FOX, or TBS. Try to guess before scrolling down to find out who. Really shouldn't surprise anyone.
ESPN (76 Games)
17 Games: Cubs, Red Sox
15: Yankees
11: Phillies
10: Dodgers, Mets
9: Rays
7: Angels, Brewers
6: Cardinals, Tigers, White Sox
5: Twins
4: Astros, Braves, Indians
2: Athletics, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rangers
1: Giants, Nationals, Orioles, Rockies
FOX (66 Games)
10: Phillies
9: Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees
8: Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers
7: Angels, Cubs, Mets
6: Diamondbacks, Twins, White Sox
5: Brewers, Indians
3: Mariners, Padres, Rays, Reds, Rockies
2: Orioles, Royals
1: Athletics, Marlins, Nationals
TBS (26 Games)
8: Red Sox
5: White Sox, Yankees
4: Phillies
3: Blue Jays, Cardinals, Cubs, Marlins
2: Angels, Braves, Dodgers, Mets
1: Athletics, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Indians, Mariners, Orioles, Rays, Reds, Tigers, Twins
Totals
34: Red Sox
29: Yankees
27: Cubs
25: Phillies
20: Dodgers
19: Mets
17: Cardinals, White Sox
16: Angels, Tigers
14: Braves, Twins
13: Brewers, Rays
10: Indians
9: Diamondbacks
5: Blue Jays, Padres
4: Astros, Athletics, Mariners, Marlins, Orioles, Reds, Rockies
2: Nationals, Rangers, Royals
1: Giants
0: Pirates
Not a whole lot of movement in the A.L. as the division "leaders" are still the '79 Blue Jays, '82 Twins, and '79 A's with the '03 Tigers holding down the Loser Card spot. Only in the Loser League could Emil Brown lead the league in RBI.
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
1990 NYA 63 46 A.Huff TBA .362 A.Belle CLA 30 E.Brown KCA 87
2002 TBA 56 52 E.Brown KCA .343 E.Murray BAA 26 A.Belle CLA 83
1992 BOA 56 53 R.Kelly NYA .342 A.Huff TBA 24 A.Huff TBA 82
1988 BAA 49 60 R.Carew LAA .342 K.Hrbek MNA 22 J.Barfiel NYA 80
1979 TOA 37 71 T.Long KCA .329 K.Maas NYA 22 B.Grich LAA 77
1989 CHA 59 49 WINS SAVES ERA
2005 KCA 60 50 F.Tanana LAA 14 T.Niedenf BAA 24 C.Hough TEA 1.70
1991 CLA 51 57 C.Hough TEA 13 G.Harris TEA 19 R.Clemens BOA 2.39
2003 DEA 46 63 R.Clemens BOA 12 B.Thigpen CHA 19 G.Swindel CLA 2.96
1982 MNA 41 67 F.Martine LAA 11 E.Yan TBA 19 F.Martine LAA 2.99
T.Sturtze TBA 11 M.Macdoug KCA 19 R.Langfor OAA 3.04
1980 LAA 71 37
1985 TEA 56 53 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1980 SEA 51 57 R.Kelly NYA 19 R.Kelly NYA 41 R.Clemens BOA 160
1979 OAA 47 60 C.Fisk CHA 16 A.Sanchez DEA 41 F.Bannist SEA 135
D.Young DEA 12 A.Cole CLA 32 T.Underwo TOA 133
S.Sax NYA 9 S.Sax NYA 31 D.Darwin BOA 117
A.Sanchez DEA 9 J.Cruz SEA 29 C.Hough TEA 116
YESTERDAY'S GAMES TODAY'S SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS
DEA 5 at CLA 1 OAA-McCatty(5-7, 3.44) at BOA-Viola(9-9, 3.17)
CHA 10 at MNA 0 CHA-Hibbard(6-7, 4.15) at KCA-Greinke(7-7, 6.17)
LAA 5 at NYA 6 CLA-King(7-9, 4.71) at MNA-William(6-9, 6.13)
SEA 3 at TEA 4 LAA-Martine(11-0, 2.99) at NYA-Cary(3-7, 3.80)
BAA-Ballard(6-6, 3.95) at SEA-Abbott(8-8, 3.45)
DEA-Maroth(10-7, 5.32) at TBA-Sturtze(11-4, 4.28)
TOA-Underwo(9-12, 4.28) at TEA-Hough(13-5, 1.70)
YESTERDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCES
BATTER TM OPP AB R H RB BB Ks HR SB
B.Bochte SEA TEA 4 1 3 2 0 0 1 0
D.Gallagher CHA MNA 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0
B.Grich LAA NYA 4 1 1 2 1 2 1 0
C.Fisk CHA MNA 5 1 3 4 0 1 0 0
C.Monroe DEA CLA 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 0
PITCHER TM OPP INN H R ER BB Ks HR WLS
E.King CHA MNA 9.0 7 0 0 2 4 0 W
E.Plunk NYA LAA 4.0 1 0 0 3 7 0
D.Righetti NYA LAA 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 W
M.Sarmiento SEA TEA 2.0 1 0 0 1 3 0
D.Schmidt TEA SEA 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 S
WHO'S HOT - BEST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
T.Armas OAA .281 32 9 10 3 4 A.Sisco KCA 5 1 0 0 5 0 000
B.Grieve TBA .343 35 12 11 6 3 G.Harris TEA 5 0 0 3 8 0 101
C.Fisk CHA .459 37 17 14 3 2 R.Clemens BOA 18 10 1 5 16 0 200
S.Cox TBA .429 21 9 6 4 1 G.Cadaret NYA 15 5 1 6 12 0 201
R.Johnson MNA .318 22 7 4 4 2 J.Kennedy TBA 17 10 1 1 9 0 110
WHO'S NOT - WORST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
C.Wilkerson TEA .114 35 4 2 1 0 R.Hernandez KCA 9 14 14 6 3 6 020
J.Browne CLA .120 25 3 2 1 0 B.Havens MNA 12 25 16 2 8 2 020
G.Wright TEA .167 30 5 0 3 0 J.Tibbs BAA 6 11 9 5 6 0 020
O.Guillen CHA .212 33 7 1 1 0 D.Carrasco KCA 7 10 8 6 2 2 020
E.Williams CHA .182 22 4 0 3 0 P.Huffman TOA 6 16 10 5 5 0 110
INJURY REPORT
D.Murphy, Oakland - 9 more games
M.Edwards, Oakland - 3 more games
B.Campaneris, California - 6 more games
J.Cruz, Seattle - 6 more games
J.Anderson, Seattle - 5 more games
M.Tettleton, Baltimore - 5 more games
S.Lyons, Chicago (AL) - 3 more games
T.Hall, Tampa Bay - 3 more games
C.Pena, Detroit - 2 more games
B.Higginson, Detroit - 11 more games
E.Kingsale, Detroit - 4 more games
In the N.L. the only change was the '98 Marlins finally wrestled away the bottom of the N.L. East away from the '88 Braves although still both are very much on their way to postseason. The '81 Padres are only five games under .500 yet have now built a six and a half game "lead" in the West over the '93 Rockies but if you are under .500 in this league you really do suck.
TEAM WON LOST BATTING AVERAGE HOME RUNS RUNS BATTED IN
2000 PHN 62 46 A.Galarra CON .386 R.Lankfor SLN 34 S.Rolen PHN 100
1993 NYN 60 49 J.Mabry SLN .367 S.Rolen PHN 26 R.Lankfor SLN 95
2008 WAN 57 51 C.Biggio HON .343 B.Bonilla NYN 25 D.Bichett CON 81
1988 ATN 42 66 B.Gilkey SLN .341 E.Karros LAN 24 C.Cedeno CIN 75
1998 FLN 42 68 B.Butler LAN .340 E.Murray NYN 23 E.Karros LAN 75
1995 SLN 61 50 WINS SAVES ERA
2002 MLN 59 50 B.Sheets MLN 13 G.Olson ARN 30 M.Krukow SFN 1.65
1982 CIN 57 53 R.Reusche PIN 12 M.Dejean MLN 30 D.Bird CHN 2.45
1981 CHN 53 56 M.Krukow SFN 12 T.Henke SLN 25 J.Jones HON 2.50
1991 HON 50 57 K.Gross LAN 12 D.Holmes CON 23 D.Gooden NYN 2.51
1985 PIN 49 60 OTHERS TIED W 11 G.Lucas SDN 22 R.Person PHN 2.53
1985 SFN 65 42 CUR HIT STREAK STOLEN BASES STRIKEOUTS
1998 ARN 59 49 J.Ray PIN 14 E.Young MLN 42 M.Soto CIN 174
1992 LAN 59 49 J.Clark CON 13 V.Coleman NYN 41 P.Harnisc HON 151
1993 CON 59 51 L.Mazzill PIN 11 B.Butler LAN 40 B.Sheets MLN 149
1981 SDN 52 57 K.Caminit HON 11 A.Sanchez MLN 37 B.Berenyi CIN 129
E.Murray NYN 11 S.Finley HON 35 D.Gooden NYN 129
YESTERDAY'S GAMES TODAY'S SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS
CHN 5 at MLN 6 PIN-Rhoden(6-11, 5.53) at CHN-Bird(8-5, 2.45)
SLN 9 at ATN 0 MLN-Rusch(11-9, 4.30) at ATN-Smith(9-5, 2.72)
CON 5 at FLN 4 CON-Harris(10-8, 4.75) at FLN-Meadows(5-10, 5.17)
ARN 5 at LAN 4 NYN-Gooden(7-5, 2.51) at HON-Harnisc(10-8, 3.12)
PHN 1 at WAN 9 ARN-Anderso(9-7, 3.25) at LAN-Ojeda(4-6, 4.05)
PHN-Wolf(11-5, 3.58) at SLN-Osborne(5-3, 3.54)
SFN-Krukow(12-3, 1.65) at SDN-Eichelb(5-11, 4.98)
CIN-Soto(11-9, 3.37) at WAN-Bergman(8-4, 3.82)
YESTERDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCES
BATTER TM OPP AB R H RB BB Ks HR SB
J.Flores WAN PHN 3 2 2 4 1 0 1 0
T.Blackwell CHN MLN 3 2 1 3 1 1 1 0
D.White ARN LAN 4 2 2 1 0 0 1 0
T.Lee ARN LAN 4 1 1 3 0 1 1 0
G.Zaun FLN CON 3 1 1 2 0 1 1 0
PITCHER TM OPP INN H R ER BB Ks HR WLS
T.Redding WAN PHN 9.0 2 1 1 0 4 0 W
D.Holmes CON FLN 3.0 1 0 0 1 5 0 S
A.Watson SLN ATN 8.2 6 0 0 1 1 0 W
C.Puleo ATN SLN 2.0 0 0 0 1 3 0
A.Benes ARN LAN 5.0 2 2 2 1 2 1 W
WHO'S HOT - BEST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
R.Lankford SLN .325 40 13 15 6 5 C.Politte PHN 9 2 0 2 14 0 000
T.Blackwell CHN .286 21 6 5 6 2 M.Mantei FLN 8 1 0 2 5 0 003
D.Driessen CIN .323 31 10 11 4 3 J.Parrett SLN 5 3 0 0 6 0 000
C.Cedeno CIN .364 33 12 12 2 3 D.Tidrow CHN 9 5 0 1 8 0 101
P.Householder CIN .310 29 9 8 4 3 J.Gott SFN 18 8 1 7 9 0 200
WHO'S NOT - WORST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
J.Orsulak NYN .156 32 5 1 1 0 K.Coffman ATN 8 7 9 12 5 1 020
K.Reitz CHN .208 24 5 0 1 0 M.Portugal HON 8 19 12 6 7 2 110
M.Trillo SFN .233 30 7 0 1 0 J.Deshaies HON 5 7 7 9 1 0 010
K.Jordan PHN .130 23 3 1 2 0 J.Smoltz ATN 10 14 10 3 5 2 020
J.Leonard SFN .171 35 6 3 1 0 O.Daal PHN 10 14 11 5 9 1 020
INJURY REPORT
T.Fernandez, New York (NL) - 2 more games
T.Pagnozzi, St. Louis - 4 more games
G.Pena, St. Louis - 2 more games
M.Redmond, Florida - 5 more games
D.Lee, Florida - 1 more games
A.Boone, Washington - 2 more games
C.Guzman, Washington - 1 more games
The boxscore of the month for July again features the '82 Twins getting lit up and it was appropriately on the 4th of July this time in a 16-3 drubbing at the hands of the '91 Indians. Starting pitcher John Pacella's line: 5 2/3 IP, 13 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 7 BB, 3 SO. On top of that he was left out there for 142 pitches! He must have fucked Twins manager Billy Gardner's wife or something to be made to suffer like that. Albert Belle hit three home runs for the Tribe.
BOXSCORE: 1991 Cleveland Indians At 1982 Minnesota Twins 7/4/2008
Indians AB R H RBI AVG Twins AB R H RBI AVG
A.Cole CF 6 1 1 1 .268 M.Hatcher RF 5 1 2 2 .220
J.Browne 2B 5 3 3 2 .243 D.Engle LF 4 0 0 0 .288
C.Baerga 3B 6 3 4 3 .307 K.Hrbek 1B 4 0 3 0 .353
A.Belle LF 5 4 3 6 .326 T.Brunansky CF 4 0 0 0 .300
M.Whiten RF 4 1 0 0 .274 G.Gaetti 3B 3 0 1 0 .210
C.James DH 6 1 3 2 .257 J.Vega DH 4 0 0 0 .283
M.Aldrete 1B 4 0 2 0 .242 T.Laudner C 4 1 1 0 .265
J.Skinner C 4 2 1 1 .249 R.Washington SS 4 1 2 1 .308
F.Fermin SS 5 1 3 1 .282 J.Castino 2B 4 0 0 0 .275
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 45 16 20 16 Totals 36 3 9 3
Indians......... 2 0 2 2 1 6 2 1 0 - 16 20 0
Twins........... 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 - 3 9 0
Indians (39-48) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
G.Swindell WIN(7-5) 9 9 3 3 1 7 1 144 2.75
Totals 9 9 3 3 1 7 1
Twins (33-53) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
J.Pacella LOSS(1-2) 5 1/3 13 13 13 7 3 3 142 7.16
P.Redfern 1 3 2 2 0 0 1 19 4.69
P.Boris 2 2/3 4 1 1 0 0 0 54 4.54
Totals 9 20 16 16 7 3 4
ATTENDANCE- 11,478 DATE- Friday, July 4th 2008 TIME- Night
T- 3:25
LEFT ON BASE- Indians: 9 Twins: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Indians: 0 Twins: 1
DOUBLES- A.Cole(8th), J.Skinner(15th), K.Hrbek(19th), T.Laudner(23rd)
HOME RUNS- C.Baerga(11th), A.Belle-3(27th), M.Hatcher(2nd)
STOLEN BASES- J.Browne(2nd)
WALKS- J.Browne, A.Belle, M.Whiten-2, M.Aldrete-2, J.Skinner, G.Gaetti
STRIKE OUTS- J.Browne, A.Belle, M.Whiten, K.Hrbek, G.Gaetti, T.Laudner-2,
R.Washington-2, J.Castino
GIDP- A.Cole
Vern asked for it so here it is. All the attention goes to the quarterbacks in the draft but there are some pretty impressive players at other positions that came out of this draft. This draft did live up to the hype.
1. Baltimore - John Elway, QB, Stanford
Right FBI Agent: Don't worry Mrs. Simpson we've helped hundreds of people in danger. We'll give you a new name, a new job, new identity.
Homer: (Raising hand) Oooh, I want to be John Elway! (Homer starts day dreaming about being John Elway. The ball is snapped to Homer and he dives over the pile into the endzone.)
Announcer: Elway takes the snap and runs it in for a touchdown! Thanks to Elway's Patanent last second magic the final score of Super Bowl XXX is Denver 7, San Francisco 56.
Homer:(Back to reality) Woo Hoo!
2. L.A. Rams - Eric Dickerson, RB, SMU
Probably due to his numerous contract holdouts Dickerson gets left out a lot now when talking about the greatest running back of all-time but he deserves consideration. How about that the #1 and #2 picks lived up to the hype? Doesn't happen very often.
3. Seattle - Curt Warner, RB, Penn State
A Penn State running back who wasn't a bust, strange. Had two 1400+ yards seasons.
4. Denver - Chris Hinton, T, Northwestern
Obviously didn't stay in Denver as he was traded to Baltimore in the Elway trade. Seven time Pro Bowl selection.
5. San Diego - Billy Ray Smith, LB, Arkansas
Took us to the 5th pick to find a non-Pro Bowl player but Smith was decent. Now an awful analyst on FSN's college football show that no one watches.
6. Chicago - Jimbo Covert, T, Pittsburgh
Certainly sounded like an offensive lineman. Two Pro Bowl selections.
7. Kansas City - Todd Blackledge, QB, Penn State
First true bust of the draft and it's fitting he was the one true bust of the famous quarterback class.
8. Philadelphia - Michael Haddix, RB, Mississippi State
Now we're getting some busts. Career high in rushing yards was 311.
9. Houston - Bruce Matthews, G, USC
Simply one of the greatest offensive lineman ever. Selected to 14 Pro Bowls.
10. N.Y. Giants - Terry Kinard, S, Clemson
Decent, 31 career interceptions.
11. Green Bay - Tim Lewis, CB, Pittsburgh
Had 12 interceptions in his first two years but a neck injury forced him into early retirement in 1986.
12. Buffalo - Tony Hunter, TE, Notre Dame
Only lasted four years.
13. Detroit - James Jones, RB, Florida
Hung around for a while but never cracked 1000 yards and only 3.6 career ypc.
14. Buffalo - Jim Kelly, QB, Miami
Didn't join the Bills until 1986 as he spent three years in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.
15. New England - Tony Eason, QB, Illinois
You'll get differing opinions on whether Eason was a bust or not though he had a couple of good years but flamed out pretty quick.
16. Atlanta - Mike Pitts, DE, Alabama
Played 12 years despite not being all that good.
17. St. Louis - Leonard Smith, DB, McNeese State
Lasted nine seasons.
18. Chicago - Willie Gault, WR, Tennessee
Never really broke out as a star but was a big time deep threat.
19. Minnesota - Joey Browner, S, USC
37 career interceptions, six Pro Bowls.
20. San Diego - Gary Anderson, RB, Arkansas
Solid all-purpose back who had almost as many receiving yards as rushing.
21. Pittsburgh - Gabriel Rivera, DT, Texas Tech
Paralyzed in an accident while driving drunk during his rookie year. Take a bow loser.
22. San Diego - Gill Byrd, CB, San Jose State
Holds franchise record for interceptions with 42.
23. Dallas - Jim Jeffcoat, DE, Arizona State
Never a star but lasted 15 seasons and had 102 career sacks.
24. N.Y. Jets - Ken O'Brien, QB, UC Davis
I don't believe in '83 the draft had an audience yet but it would have been pretty fun to have seen Jets' fans react to them drafting a QB from UC Davis. Selected to two Pro Bowls.
25. Cincinnati - Dave Rimington, C, Nebraska
Unspectacular seven year career.
26. L.A. Raiders - Don Mosebar, T, USC
Played every o-line position in his 12 year career.
27. Miami - Dan Marino, QB, Pittsburgh
Who?
28. Washington - Darrell Green, CB, Texas A&I
Another all-time great to close out the first round.
Other Players of Note
32. L.A. Rams - Henry Ellard, WR, Fresno State
37. N.Y. Giants - Leonard Marshall, DT, LSU
39. Buffalo - Darryl Talley, LB, West Virginia
49. San Francisco - Roger Craig, RB, Nebraska
61. Kansas City - Albert Lewis, CB, Grambling
64. Chicago - Dave Duerson, S, Notre Dame
84. Washington - Charles Mann, DE, Nevada
110. L.A. Raiders - Greg Townsend, DE, TCU
167. Miami - Reggie Roby, P, Iowa
203. Chicago - Richard Dent, DE, Tennessee State
223. Miami - Mark Clayton, WR, Louisville
276. Cincinnati - Tim Krumrie, DT, Wisconsin
289. San Francisco - Jesse Sapolu, C, Hawaii
310. Denver - Karl Mecklenburg, LB, Minnesota
334. Miami - Anthony Carter, WR, Michigan
