Doubles Quiz: 4 players hit 700+ doubles in their career. Here
are some hints. Two of them played for at least 3 seasons in the
60s, the other two ended their careers in 1928. Answers below.
Johnny Mac”s Baseball History…The Cleveland Spiders
Continuing our story from last Wednesday.we were discussing
dual ownership back in baseball”s early days, specifically the
1890s. An example of this practice was the Cleveland and St.
Louis franchises.
The Spiders of Cleveland actually had the better team, the
Browns of St. Louis (soon to be the Perfectos, then back to the
Browns again) had the better stadium and greater population
base, but a pretty poor ball club. In fact, the Browns had finished
dead last in 1898, with a pathetic 39-111 won-lost record, a scant
63 games out of first. The Spiders, despite horrible attendance
and playing 95 road games (as opposed to 54 home games)
finished a respectable 81-68. They played on the road so often
because the owners had hired scab labor for their streetcar
business, prompting a civic (and union) backlash against the
team. By the way, what do you think of when you hear the
Perfectos, a ball club or a cheapish cigar? Thought so. “Hey,
chief, toss me a perfecto.”
The Spiders team was really quite good, led by first baseman /
manager Patsy Tebeau. Patsy was a good hitter and fielder and,
although not fast, was considered a fine baserunner (sort of a
Keith Hernandez with some steals). Complementing Patsy on
offense were Jesse Burkett (.341), Ed McKean (.285 with 94
RBI), Bobby Wallace (.270 with 99 RBI) and utility man Jack
O”Connor. The staff was anchored by 25-game winner Cy
Young (yes, that Cy Young) and 23-game winner Jack Powell
(subject of an earlier Bar Chat .200 game winner, lifetime
losing record).
Not the best out there at the time, but definitely respectable. So
we advance the calendar a year and we find that the hated
Robinson Brothers (the owners of the club) decide to concentrate
their efforts in St. Louis. Goodbye Tebeau, see ya Burkett,
McKean, Wallace and O”Connor…adios Young and Powell. All
gone to the ”99 Perfectos…who, for all this maneuvering, still
managed to finish up 84-67 in 5th place, a record very similar to
the Spiders of ”98. The ”99 Spiders, on the other hand, were left
to field a collection of mutts that would make a ”62 Mets fan
blush.
Here are some of the numbers…let them sink in slowly for the
full effect.
The Spiders leading hitter was Joe (the not so mighty) Quinn, a
34-year-old second baseman who actually hit a fairly respectable
.286 with 72 RBI. He was far and away their best (he was also
the manager for most of the year, replacing Lave Cross, for
which Mr. Cross is eternally grateful). No other regular hit over
.250 save for Tommy Dowd, who hit an empty .278 (he managed
to drive in 35 runs in 605 at-bats). Suter Sullivan, a sub, was the
only other player other than Quinn to drive in over 50 (Sully had
55).sorta makes you wonder why he was a sub, but I guess it
didn”t really matter. Two seldom used players actually didn”t do
bad.38-year-old Chief Zimmer, a good catcher in his prime, hit
.342 in limited duty (73 at-bats) and 24-year-old Ossee
Schreckengost hit .313 in 150 at-bats. I can only assume Quinn
was just too tired most days to write Schreckengost on the line-
up card.
They were dead last in the league for batting average, on-base
percentage (.291 as a team…uugghh), RBI, hits, runs, doubles,
triples, homers, walks drawn, well, you get the picture. And it
would be fair to say that hitting was their strong suit. Look out
below, here are the pitching stats.
Tied for the team lead in wins with 4 (no, that”s not a misprint)
were immortals Jim Hughey and Charlie Knepper. Hughey, who
you must credit with something for completing 32 of his 36
starts, nonetheless logged an otherworldly 4-30 record. Knepper,
a piker who only managed 26 complete games (out of 26 starts)
limped in at 4-22. While their ERAs (5.41 and 5.78,
respectively) might look almost decent by today”s standards,
(hell, it might lead the league if Pedro and Randy were abducted
by aliens), it is worth noting that most teams had ERAs in the
3.25 to 3.75 range. And they were the best the Spiders had to
offer, believe me. Supporting them, so to speak, were a rag tag
collection of wannabe”s and never was”s.
Frank Bates (who later had a motel with brother Norman, I think)
was an amazing 1-18. His stats were almost comical…a 7.24
ERA with 239 hits and 105 walks in just 153 innings
pitched.about 2.25 runners an inning. Crazy Schmit chipped in
with a 2-17 mark and Harry Colliflower (folks, you can”t make
these names up) was a healthy 1-11 with a minuscule 8.17 ERA.
Old Harry pitched only 98 innings, but got the most out of them,
allowing 152 hits and 41 walks.
Fill-in starters Willie Sudhoff, Bill Hill and Kid Carsey were a
combined 7-22, with ERAs near 7…which actually meant they
were pretty good for this bunch. The rest of the bullpen was
useless (tough call there) and as a staff they lead the league in
losses (natch), hits allowed and earned runs while finishing last
in ERA (duh), shut-outs (none, zero, zilch, nada), and saves (see
shut-outs). They were also last in innings pitched, which I can
assume resulted from the fact that the home team they were
playing never had to bat in the bottom of the ninth.
Oh yeah, home games. You see, as bad as the community hated
the ”98 version of the Spiders, they absolutely detested this
bunch (no kidding, Sherlock). It got so bad that the Spiders
spent almost the entire season on the road, basically afraid of
what the home crowd (such as it was) would do to them. The
final tally was 9-33 at home and a sterling 11-101 on the road.
They finished a whisker (84 games) out of first, also a record. So
kids, when your favorite club has a bad game or a bad week or
even a bad season, remember it could be worse. You could have
been a Spiders fan.
Two quick notes on the nicknames. The Chicago Orphans were
originally called the Colts. [Well, they were actually originally
called the White Stockings, then the Colts, then…well, you get
the picture.] Seems that when Cap Anson, their hometown star,
left them in a salary dispute, it was reported that he “orphaned”
the club, hence the moniker. Also, the Spiders later became the
Indians reportedly out of deference to one Lou (Chief)
Sockalexis, an extremely talented outfielder who unfortunately
drank himself out of baseball. He was a pretty good player for a
few years, but was washed up after the ”99 season at age 27.
That was it for Lou, who ended up a street bum and dead by
1913. Sad because he was educated at Notre Dame and Holy
Cross, by the way, although the fans treated him like a Wild
West Show Indian (which may have helped his habit along).
Makes you wonder if the New York Strawberry”s might be in the
offing? Nah.
[Sources: “Bill James Historical Abstract;” “The Great
Encyclopedia of 19th Century Baseball,” by David Nemec;
“The Baseball Almanac;” “The McMillan Baseball
Encyclopedia.”]
1968: Prelude to the Democratic National Convention
What a horrible year. Vietnam was raging and then in
succession, LBJ stunned the nation by announcing he would not
seek another term (3/31), Martin Luther King, Jr. was
assassinated (4/4), Robert Kennedy, killed (6/5), the Soviets
invade Czechoslovakia (8/20). And throw in the mix massive
student protests across the globe, the most serious of which were
probably in Paris (May).
Oh, there were some lighter moments, like the debut of Rowan &
Martin”s “Laugh-In,” an irreverent show featuring Tiny Tim and
a sexy Goldie Hawn strutting about in body paint.
But perhaps the wildest event of this momentous year was the
Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the most violent
one in our nation”s history. Over the next few Bar Chat”s I will
try and put together some highlights…mostly lowlights.
The Democrats were targeted as the party in power overseeing an
unpopular war. And it gave all manner of lowlife”s an
opportunity to create chaos.
Activists like Tom Hayden and SDS veteran Rennie Davis
commenced planning for Chicago way back in January of ”68.
By March, hundreds of young protesters gathered at a YMCA
camp outside Chicago to coordinate how they were going to
make things miserable for LBJ, since it was assumed that he
would be crowned at the convention.
The antiwar strategy was actually split among various factions.
One concentrated on electing either Eugene McCarthy or Bobby
Kennedy as the best means of ending the war in Vietnam.
Another wanted to attack the Democratic liberals on the grounds
that they were supporting the political system that sustained our
involvement in the war. And a third, led by David Dellinger,
sought “to respect the right of individuals and groups within the
antiwar movement to hold opposing views about the candidates
and the electoral process, but not to let those differences stop the
antiwar coalition from carrying out street demonstrations and the
new forms of militant resistance.” [Jules Witcover] Dellinger,
Hayden and Davis proceeded to plan for the convention on this
last track.
Davis proclaimed, “The delegates should be allowed to come to
Chicago so long as they give their support to a policy of ending
racism and the war.” Dellinger said, “We are going to storm the
hearts and minds of the American people.”
At the same time in March, Abbie Hoffman and his Yippie
(Youth International Party) crew gathered in New York for their
first “Yip-in” at Grand Central Station. Over 3,000 dirtballs
packed the terminal while a local radical D.J. observed over the
air: “As H. Rap Brown said, ”Violence is as American as apple
pie and cherry bombs.”” Police broke the demonstration up
without major incident. They wouldn”t be so lucky later in
Chicago.
Also around this time, a group of black separatists met in Detroit
to set up an independent government with a “black declaration of
independence.” Attendees voted to establish a Republic of New
Africa in five southern states. A black militant living in Beijing
by the name of Robert F. Williams was chosen as president.
Bet you don”t remember this (I didn”t)…we”re just getting
started. More on Monday.
[Sources: “The Year the Dream Died,” Jules Witcover;
“The Century,” Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster]
Top 3 songs for the week of 7/26/69: #1 “In The Year 2525”
(Zager & Evans) #2 “Crystal Blue Persuasion” (Tommy James
& The Shondells.perhaps the best ”summer” song of all-time,
next to “Light My Fire.” Just my opinion, I could be wrong).
#3 “Spinning Wheel” (Blood, Sweat & Tears).
Rock ”n Roll”s Biggest TV Moments
[From a recent survey…and I already forget whose it
was…sorry.]
#1 The Beatles” debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” 1964
#2 Elvis Presley”s Comeback Special on NBC, 1968. *If you”ve
never seen the video, get it.
#3 MTV launches with first video, “Video Killed The Radio
Star” by the Buggles, 1981
#4 “Saturday Night Live” premieres, showcasing musical acts,
1975.
#5 “Motown 25″ special featuring Michael Jackson”s first
moonwalk, 1975…and, more importantly to your editor, a great
bit by Marvin Gaye.
.#10 The Who”s use of too much pyrotechnics ends their
performance on the “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” 1967.
Todd Rundgren on Napster
I came across this little diatribe from one of my favorite rock
performers. [Source: Yahoo! Internet Life]
“Napster is the most transparently illegal thing that I”ve ever
seen on the Web. This is a hypocrisy that the Web has fostered,
this idea that everything is free. There”s so much hypocrisy
behind this Napster thing. I think what really drove it was
profound ignorance of the rights of people who write a song or
book or anything else.
“.The problem with Napster is that it unilaterally declares that
all intellectual property has to be given away for free. It makes
no distinction about whether you”re screwing over some
company or whether you”re screwing over some poor guy trying
to survive off his songwriting and playing skills. I want the right
to decide whether to give my stuff away or not.”
Now discuss.
Man”s Best Friend
Dateline Harrisburg, PA: On the morning of July 18, Kathi
Zerance and her five dogs headed to their usual spot along the
Susquehanna River for their exercise. Zerance was in the water
with them when she suddenly suffered a brain aneurysm.
“All of a sudden, I started hearing this loud roar,” said Zerance.
Within seconds, her body went limp. Sam, her 180-pound Saint
Bernard, was nearby. “I told Sam, ”Hold on to mom. She”s in
trouble.””
Zerance wrapped her arms around the dog”s neck and struggled
to keep her head above water. The current was taking them
downstream but the dog managed to scramble onto a rock and
maneuvered so Zerance could not move until she was discovered
in time to rush her to the hospital.
Gosh, I love these kinds of stories. [Source: AP]
7/28/1945
A US Army bomber crashes into the Empire State Building, 13
die. Kong is not charged though the evidence clearly points to
him.
Doubles Quiz Answers: Tris Speaker, 792; Pete Rose, 746; Stan
Musial, 725; Ty Cobb, 724. George Brett is 5th at 665.
*Last fall I labeled Peggy Fleming as America”s “Most Beautiful
Woman of the Century.” She turned 52 on Thursday. Happy
Birthday, Ms. Fleming!
Next Bar Chat, Monday. The ”68 Democratic Convention and
the worst songs of all time. Have your own list ready.
