Don Mattingly had 2,153 hits, 222 residence runs, a .361 wOBA, a 124 wRC+, and 40.7 WAR. Statistically, the New York Yankees legend is just like a Minnesota Twins legend who just a few months in the past was voted into the Corridor of Fame by the Golden Days Committee. Tony Oliva had 1,917 hits, 220 residence runs, a .365 wOBA, a 129 wRC+, and 40.7 WAR.
After which there’s Brian Giles, who obtained nary a vote in his lone yr on the BBWAA poll, and fairly presumably won’t ever seem on an era-committee poll. Perennially flying below the radar whereas taking part in in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and San Diego, the underrated slugger had 1,897 hits, 287 residence runs, a .388 wOBA, a 136 wRC+, and 54.8 WAR.
What about peak, you is likely to be questioning? Giles was higher there, too.
Mattingly had a six-year peak earlier than again accidents started eroding his expertise. Over that stretch, he logged a .388 wOBA, a 143 wRC+, and 31.7 WAR. In the meantime, Oliva and Giles had seven-year peaks that produced these numbers:
Oliva: 1,455 hits, 177 residence runs, .379 wOBA, 139 wRC+, 39.5 WAR.
Giles: 1,150 hits, 207 residence runs, .411 wOBA, 150 wRC+, 40.9 WAR.
Listed here are the trio’s finest single-season wRC+ numbers:
Mattingly: 160, 153, 151, 142.
Oliva: 154, 148, 144, 139.
Giles: 174, 154, 153, 147.
And finest single-season WAR totals:
Mattingly: 7.2, 6.1, 6.1, 5.3.
Oliva: 6.3, 6.2, 5.8, 5.1.
Giles: 6.9, 6.7, 6.3, 5.9.
Was Brian Giles a greater hitter than Don Mattingly and/or Tony Oliva, and perhaps even a greater general participant? I’m not saying that he was, however the numbers are positively eyebrow-raising. If nothing else, Giles is likely to be one of the best participant ever to seem on a Corridor of Fame poll and never obtain a single vote.
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Dontrelle Willis went 4 for 7 in opposition to Tomo Ohka.
Nick Johnson went 6 for 8 in opposition to Barry Zito.
Brian Giles went 10 for 13 in opposition to Antonio Alfonseca.
Sixto Lezcano went 10 for 15 in opposition to Roger Erickson.
Bill Terry went 29 for 55 in opposition to Grover Cleveland Alexander.
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The Yankees’ saying that they are going to be retiring Paul O’Neill’s #21 acquired me desirous about a participant who’s arguably the most-underrated in franchise historical past. That may be Charlie Keller, whose quantity hasn’t been retired by the membership that, with O’Neill’s addition, could have so-honored a complete of 23 gamers.
Let’s evaluate the 2:
O’Neill had a 125 wRC+ and 26.7 WAR in his 9 seasons with the Yankees. Keller had a 155 wRC+ and 32.2 WAR in his first 5 seasons with the Yankees, then missed all however 44 video games of the subsequent two years resulting from WWII. Keller then proceeded to place up a 159 wRC+ and 6.6 WAR in 1946, his remaining season as a full-time participant.
All advised, Keller had 44.9 WAR as a Yankee, this whereas taking part in in 1,066 video games to O’Neill’s 1,254 video games. Keller performed on 4 World Sequence groups — three of which took residence titles — slashing .306/.367/.611 with 5 residence runs. O’Neill performed on 5 World Sequence groups (with New York) — 4 of which took residence titles — slashing .261/.370/.370 with no residence runs. Keller was a five-time All-Star with the Yankees, O’Neill a four-time All-Star.
Paul O’Neill had profession with the Yankees. Charlie “King Kong” Keller had a much better profession with the Yankees than did Paul O’Neill.
As for Keller’s #9, which he wore all through his glory years, the Yankees’ having already retired that quantity in honor of Roger Maris shouldn’t be an impediment. The staff retired #8 in honor of each Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey.
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A quiz:
The identical participant holds the Cleveland Guardians franchise information for whole bases, runs scored, and RBIs. Who’s it?
The reply will be discovered under.
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NEWS NOTES
The Seattle Mariners have employed Dave Cameron as a guide. The erstwhile FanGraphs managing editor and author labored within the San Diego Padres entrance workplace from January 2018-November 2021.
Josh Herzenberg has joined the San Francisco Giants as Assistant Director of Participant Improvement. The previous FanGraphs contributor spent the previous two years with KBO’s Lotte Giants, most not too long ago as Director of Analysis & Improvement and Worldwide Scouting.
Jim Thome has been named president of the Main League Baseball Gamers Alumni Affiliation. Thome replaces Brooks Robinson.
Seven new members of the Delaware Sports activities Corridor of Fame shall be honored on June 15 at Frawley Stadium previous to a Wilmington Blue Rocks sport. The inductees embrace Brett Oberholtzer, a southpaw for 3 MLB groups from 2013-2016, and Derrik Gibson, who performed seven of his 11 minor league seasons within the Crimson Sox system.
Per Baseball America’s Josh Norris, a Rule 5 Draft is predicted to happen every week after a brand new CBA is in place.
Julio Cruz, a second baseman who performed for the Seattle Mariners and the Chicago White Sox from 1977-1986, died earlier this week at age 67. Chosen by Seattle within the 1976 enlargement draft out of the California Angels group, the Brooklyn-born Cruz swiped 40 or extra bases in six of his 10 big-league seasons.
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The reply to the quiz is Corridor of Fame outfielder Earl Averill, who performed for Cleveland from 1929-1939.
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Numerous broadcasters shall be entering into new jobs within the minor leagues this coming season. Listed here are just a few of the strikes (because of Lansing’s Jesse Goldberg-Strassler for the information):
Thomas Breach will the brand new voice of the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Excessive-A Minnesota Twins). Breach, who has spent three seasons calling video games for the summer time collegiate league’s Waterloo Bucks, shall be incomes his grasp’s diploma in Sports activities Administration from St. Cloud State College this spring.
Erik Bremer will name video games for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Double-A Miami Marlins). Bremer spent the previous two seasons with the Fredericksburg Nationals, following stints with the Biloxi Shuckers and the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.
Lyle Goldstein shall be becoming a member of the Dayton Dragons (Excessive-A Cincinnati Reds) broadcast staff this season. Goldstein is a current graduate of Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Larry Larson would be the radio voice of the Beloit Sky Carp (Excessive-A Miami Marlins). A senior at Bradley College, Larson is finding out broadcasting on the Charley Steiner College of Sports activities Communication.
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As talked about in Friday’s interview with Corbin Carroll, the highest prospect within the Arizona Diamondbacks system incessantly watched video games with one of many group’s advance scouts whereas rehabbing an harm final season. Left on the cutting-room ground from our dialog was a scouting report that Carroll offered, per my request, on one other highly-regarded D-Backs prospect.
“I performed with Alek Thomas on the alt-site,” Carroll mentioned of the 21-year-old outfielder. “Actually good bat-to-ball expertise. Can drive the ball out of the park to any subject. In all probability performs above his velocity in centerfield. He’s a 60 runner, however he tracks some balls right down to the place you’re like, ‘Wow, how did he get to that?’”
Any negatives, or particular areas the place Thomas wants to enhance?
“He’s certainly one of my finest pals, so I can solely say the positives,” Carroll replied with fun. “I can’t give away any of his weaknesses. Proper?”
There wouldn’t be many to say. Thomas ranks proper behind Carroll on our Diamondbacks Top Prospects list, and is No. 23 on our recently-released Top 100. Carroll is No. 14 on the latter of these lists.
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He had a small pattern to select from — his skilled expertise consists of simply 32 video games — however Colton Cowser’s response to a query nonetheless struck me as notable. I requested the No. 4-rated prospect within the Baltimore Orioles system which of the pitchers he confronted final summer time stood out probably the most, and he named a 22-year-old right-hander who has encountered shoulder and efficiency points alike.
“Jackson Rutledge had some fairly good things,” Cowser mentioned of the Washington Nationals’ 2019 first-rounder. “He type of made me surprise, as a result of it was like, ‘I’m seeing it, however I’m not hitting it.’ That sort of state of affairs.”
I discussed to Cowser that Rutledge wasn’t in any respect sharp the one time I noticed him final yr. His command had been missing.
“That was one of many speculations,” responded the younger outfielder. “It was certainly one of his first begins coming off an harm — I consider that’s what it was — and we weren’t actually certain how his command was going to be. However he was fairly dialed in. When he’s on, he’s on.”
Rutledge had a 7.68 ERA over 36-and-a-third innings final yr between two A-Ball ranges and a short stint in rookie-ball. He walked 20 and fanned 41.
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Friday’s episode of FanGraphs Audio included a dialog with Thom Henninger, the writer of The Pride of Minnesota: The Twins in the Turbulent 1960s, a ebook I quoted from here simply final week. Among the many many issues I requested Henninger about was Rod Carew’s having stolen residence seven instances one season.
“That was Billy Martin for you,” Henninger mentioned on the podcast. “All of it befell in 1969, the one yr Martin managed the Twins. He was very a lot a running-game type of man. Frank Quilici, who managed the Twins later and was a participant on that staff, and in addition stole residence that season, mentioned Billy Martin would pull the weirdest stunts to create runs, they usually normally concerned working. That yr, Quilici, Carew, and Cesar Tovar all stole residence. Tovar and Carew stole residence in the identical inning one sport, and that specific day, Carew additionally stole three bases in an inning, which tied a Main League file. That was type of how issues went that yr.
“Even Harmon Killebrew stole eight bases that summer time,” Henninger went on to say. “He was normally on the again finish of the steals — double steals and triple steals; there have been just a few triple steals — and in some unspecified time in the future Harmon expressed an curiosity in being the entrance man on a steal. Certain sufficient, Martin despatched him a time or two, and I consider Killebrew had two or three of these steals on his personal, which is much more outstanding.”
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
At Yahoo Sports activities, Ian Kennedy wrote about the 1934 Chatham Colored All-Stars, a historic all-Black staff that continues to be snubbed by the Canadian Baseball Corridor of Fame.
At Pittsburgh Quarterly, Pete Peterson wrote about Vic Harris, who led the Homestead Grays to eight Negro League championships and is the winningest supervisor in baseball historical past.
George Altman’s profession included stints in MLB, the Negro Leagues, and the Japanese Pacific League. Anthony Castrovince wrote about the 88-year-old former outfielder for MLB.com.
Ought to Andre Dawson’s 2010 election to the Corridor of Fame have opened the doorways for Dwight Evans and Reggie Smith? Louis Addeo-Weiss delved into the query at Fish Stripes.
Lookout Touchdown’s Kate Preusser looked into why MLB house owners are threatening the league’s life to avoid wasting their luxurious tax.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
Dante Bichette had 40 residence runs and 22 walks in 1995. Adam Dunn had 40 residence runs and 122 walks in 2008.
Charlie Maxwell hit 5 extra-inning residence runs for the Detroit Tigers in 1960, a big-league-record. The Tigers received three of the 5 video games.
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Babe Adams received three video games within the 1909 World Sequence, the final of them a Recreation 7 shutout that clinched the franchise’s first-ever title. Sixteen years later, in 1925, Adams pitched a scoreless inning in his lone look because the Pirates captured their second-ever World Sequence title.
Shoeless Joe Jackson had a .375/.394/.563 slash line within the 1919 “Black Sox” World Sequence. His 12 hits had been probably the most for any participant, and he hit that Sequence’s solely spherical tripper.
The 1919 World Sequence was received by the Cincinnati Reds, who completed the common season with a file of 96-44. The membership’s .686 profitable proportion is tops in modern-era franchise historical past.
Dizzy Nutter had 11 massive league hits, all of them with the Boston Braves in September 1919, and all of them in both the primary or second sport of a doubleheader. Born Everett Clarence Nutter, in Roseville, Ohio, the left-handed-hitting outfielder is believed to be the primary “Dizzy” in MLB historical past.
MLB historical past consists of three gamers born in Ukraine: Bill Cristall (Cleveland Blues, 1901), Rueben Ewing (St. Louis Cardinals, 1921), and Izzy Goldstein (Detroit Tigers, 1932).
Jack Quinn jumped from the Boston Braves to the Federal League’s Baltimore Terrapins on at present’s date in 1914. One in every of two Slovakia-born gamers in MLB historical past — Elmer Valo is the opposite — Quinn received 247 video games over 23 big-league seasons and pitched his final sport with the Cincinnati Reds in 1933, six days after his fiftieth birthday.
Gamers born on at present’s date embrace Will Koenigsmark, who appeared in a single sport for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1919 and did not retire any of the three batters he confronted. The Waterloo, Iowa native was charged with two earned runs, making him certainly one of 22 gamers in MLB historical past with an infinite ERA.
Additionally born on at present’s date was Hilton Smith, a pitcher/outfielder who was elected to the Corridor of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2001. The Giddings, Texas native performed from 1932-1948, primarily with the Negro American League’s Kansas Metropolis Monarchs.
