Who Was Walt Bond April 1, 2018

With the news that 6'7" Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees was playing Centerfield against the Blue Jays this past Saturday, it was reported that Judge would break the record for tallest Centerfielder. The previously tallest player to play CF was Walt Bond (October 19, 1937 - September 14, 1967.). It got me thinking, I can't say that I had ever heard about Walt Bond. What I found out about him was very tragic.

Bond played in the majors from 1960 to 1967. He would play first base and the outfield for the Cleveland Indians from 1960-1962, Houston Colt 45's/Astros from 1964-1965 and the Minnesota Twins in 1967. Bond's best season came in 1964 when he his .254 with 20 Homers and 85 RBIs in 147 games with the Colt 45's. So what happened to Walt Bond?

While serving in the Army, Bond was diagnosed with Leukemia. He would fight Leukemia throughout his baseball career, eventually dying from the illness on September 14, 1967 at the young age of 29.

Its a shame to hear about a ballplayer being taken so young due to illness. At least with Aaron Judge playing in CF this past Saturday, a small measure of light was shed on the short career of Walt Bond. May you continue to Rest in Peace Walt Bond.

For Further Reading:

- Walt Bond's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Walt Bond Dies at the age of 29 from the Morning Record dated September 15, 1967

First Reigning Cy Young Award Winner Traded At The Deadline July 31, 1989

On This Day in Baseball History July 31, 1989: Minnesota Twins ace and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola was traded to the New York Mets for Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, Kevin Tapani, David West and Jack Savage.

While the trading of ace pitchers during the in-season trading period isn't rare, this transaction between the Twins and Mets marked the first time that a reigning Cy Young Winner was traded the following season after winning the award. Since the 1989 trading deadline deal that sent Viola to the Mets, only two reigning Cy Young Award winners have been traded the following season after winning the award.

In 2007, C.C. Sabathia was the American League Cy Young Award winner with the Cleveland Indians. He would be traded to the Milwaukee Brewers during the 2008 season for Rob Bryson , Zach Jackson, Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley where he would go 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA down the stretch helping to catapult the Brewers into the postseason.

In 2008, as with C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee was the American League Cy Young Award winner with the Cleveland Indians and he would be traded by the deadline with Ben Francisco during the 2009 season to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson. Lee would go 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA as the Phillies would lose to the New York Yankees in their bid to repeat as World Series Champions.

As for Frank Viola? His trade to his hometown team didn't prove to be as successful as he would have wanted. Viola went 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA down the stretch for the Mets in 1989. He would finish third in the 1990 NL Cy Young race by posting a 20-12 record with a 2.67 ERA. Though Viola was an All-Star for the Mets the following season, Viola would finish with a disappointing 13-15 record. Viola would become a free agent at the end of the season and sign with the Boston Red Sox for the 1992 season.

The Twins on the other hand would fare better in the deal. Both Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani were pivotal players in the Twins' march to becoming World Series Champions in 1991. Aguilera would save 42 games for Tom Kelly's Twins while Tapani would go 16-9 with a 2.99 ERA.

With the trading deadline looming, I don't think we'll see reigning Cy Young Award winners Corey Kluber or Clayton Kershaw being moved from their respective teams. But as we've seen in recent days, big name pitchers like Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels and David Price can be moved for the right price. Any guesses on who else gets traded by the deadline?

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle


For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Frank Viola's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Rick Aguilera's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Kevin Tapani's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- From Left Field: Only 3 Teams Have Traded A Reigning Cy Young Winner by Jim Mancari from the Mets Merized Online blogpage dated November 15, 2012

Paul Molitor Gets Hit Number 3000 on September 16, 1996

On this day in Baseball History September 16, 1996: Three years to the day when Dave Winfield hit his 3000th hit, Paul Molitor of the Minnesota Twins becomes the first member of the 3000th hit club to do so by hitting a triple in the top of the fifth innings against pitcher Jose Rosado of Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City. In doing so, Molitor became the 21st member of the 3,000 hit club. The boxscore of the September 16, 1996 game between the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals is from The 3,000 Hit Club exhibit of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Here is the 3,000 hit club at the time Molitor joined the club:

1. Unknown Cap Anson
2. 06/09/1914 Honus Wagner
3. 09/27/1914 Nap Lajoie (first game of the doubleheader)
4. 08/19/1921 Ty Cobb (second game of the doubleheader)
5. 05/17/1925 Tris Speaker
6. 06/03/1925 Eddie Collins
7. 06/19/1942 Paul Waner
8. 05/13/1958 Stan Musial
9. 05/17/1970 Hank Aaron (second game of the doubleheader)
10. 07/18/1970 Willie Mays
11. 09/30/1972 Roberto Clemente
12. 09/24/1974 Al Kaline
13. 05/05/1978 Pete Rose
14. 08/13/1979 Lou Brock
15. 09/12/1979 Carl Yastrzemski
16. 08/04/1985 Rod Carew
17. 09/09/1992 Robin Yount
18. 09/30/1992 George Brett
19. 09/16/1993 Dave Winfield
20. 06/30/1995 Eddie Murray

Molitor would finish his career with 3,319 hits and currently sits at number ten on the All-Time hit list. Molitor would retire after the 1998 season and would be inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004 with 85.2% of the vote (431/506 ballots).

Molitor would join long time teammate Robin Yount both on the 3,000 hits club and in the Hall of Fame. Yount joined the 3,000 hit club in 1992 and the Hall of Fame in 1999.

According to pages 128-129 of the book The 50 Most Dynamic Duos in Sports History: Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Hockey (2012) by Robert W. Cohen:

In their 15 years of teammates, Yount and Molitor combined for 4,736 hits and 2,605 runs scored. Those 4,736 hits represent the third-highest total even compiled by two teammates (Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke amassed 5,279 hits for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1987-1915 and Paul and Lloyd Waner tallied 4,994 safeties for that same franchise from 1927-1940). Between them Yount and Molitor appeared in a total of eight All-Star Games as members of the Brewers. They placed in the league's top five in runs scored a total of eight times and finished in the top five in hits a total of 10 times.

Will we ever see a pair of teammates come up virtually at the same time and put up the consistent numbers that Robin Yount and Paul Molitor did for 15 season? Its hard to say with the way free agency and player trades work today. I guess we will have to wait and see if that can happen within the next generation of young players coming up in the league.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:

- Click here to access Paul Molitor's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click here to access Robin Yount's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

Dave Winfield Gets Hit Number 3000 on September 16, 1993

On this day in Baseball History September 16, 1993: Slugger Dave Winfield of the Minnesota Twins strokes a single against Oakland A's closer Dennis Eckersley in the bottom of the ninth inning to join the 3,000 hit club. In doing so, Winfield becomes the 19th member of the 3,000 hit club. According to the online exhibit The 3,000 Hit Club by the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

Winfield, the second member of the 3,000-Hit Club to have never played a day in the minors (Al Kaline was the first), was the first member of the Club to reach the plateau at an indoor stadium.

The boxscore of the September 16, 1993 game between the Oakland A's and Minnesota Twins  is from The 3,000 Hit Club exhibit of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Here is the 3,000 hit club at the time Winfield joined the club:

1. Unknown Cap Anson
2. 06/09/1914 Honus Wagner
3. 09/27/1914 Nap Lajoie (first game of the doubleheader)
4. 08/19/1921 Ty Cobb (second game of the doubleheader)
5. 05/17/1925 Tris Speaker
6. 06/03/1925 Eddie Collins
7. 06/19/1942 Paul Waner
8. 05/13/1958 Stan Musial
9. 05/17/1970 Hank Aaron (second game of the doubleheader)
10. 07/18/1970 Willie Mays
11. 09/30/1972 Roberto Clemente
12. 09/24/1974 Al Kaline
13. 05/05/1978 Pete Rose
14. 08/13/1979 Lou Brock
15. 09/12/1979 Carl Yastrzemski
16. 08/04/1985 Rod Carew
17. 09/09/1992 Robin Yount
18. 09/30/1992 George Brett

Winfield would finish his career with 3,110 hits and retired at the end of the 1995 season. He would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 with 84.5% of the vote (435/515 ballots).

Winfield was one of my favorite Baseball players of all-time and I'm glad he was able to join the greats in the Hall of Fame. In this age of super prospects, I don't think that we'll ever see a player to not play a game in the Minor Leagues before being promoted to the Majors. That might be a safe bet to make. What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,

Baseball Sisco

#baseballsisco

#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:

- Click here to access Dave Winfield's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

Latinos at the 1965 All-Star Game Part I

I was recently looking for pictures online for the Wayback Wednesday and Throwback Thursday albums on the Facebook Baseball page: Baseball Sisco Kid Style and came across the following photo and decided to shed some light on some of the players. 

From Left to Right: Felix Mantilla (Puerto Rico), Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico)
Tony Oliva (Cuba), Cookie Rojas (Cuba), Juan Marichal (Dominican Republic),
Zoilo Versalles (Cuba), Vic Davalillo (Venezuela) and Leo Cárdenas (Cuba)

This photo was taken at the 1965 All-Star Game that was played at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As you can see from the caption there are players representing four Latino markets: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. We all know about the two Hall of Famers in the picture: Roberto Clemente and Juan Marichal. I wanted to focus on the other six players in the photo (going from left to right).

1. Felix Mantilla
The starting second baseman for the American League was Felix Mantilla of the Boston Red Sox. Mantilla was born on July 29, 1934 in Isabella, Puerto Rico. The Boston Braves signed him as a free agent in 1952 and he would make his debut with the Milwaukee Braves on June 21, 1956. Mantilla would play for six seasons with the Braves before being drafted by the New York Mets (from the Milwaukee Braves) as the 12th pick in the 1961 expansion draft. As a member of the original 1962 Mets, Mantilla had one of his best seasons. Mantilla batted .275 with a slash line of .330/.399/.729 with 128 hits in 466 at-bats. He drove in 59 runs with 17 doubles, 4 triples and 11 homeruns. After the 1962 season, Mantilla was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Al Moran, Pumpsie Green and Tracy Stallard.

Mantilla would play a total of three seasons with the Red Sox with the 1964 and 1965 seasons being his most successful. In 1964 Mantilla hit .289 with a slash line of .357/.553/.910. He would put up 123 hits with a career high 20 doubles and 30 homeruns with 1 triple and 64 RBI's. Mantilla would follow that season with a 1965 campaign where he batted .275 with a slash line of .374/.416/.790 with 147 hits in 534 at-bats with 17 doubles, 2 triples, 18 homeruns and a career high of 92 RBI's while making his only All-Star appearance. Mantilla would be traded to the Houston Astros during spring training in 1966 and would be released by the Astros after the 1966 season. He would sign with the Chicago Cubs in 1967 and would be released later on that season after not playing for the Cubs.


2. Tony Oliva
The next player in the picture is one that many feel should be a Hall of Famer. Tony Oliva is a beloved player in the Minneapolis area and by the Twins faithful. Oliva was born on  July 20, 1938 in Pinar del Rio, Cuba and was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1961. Oliva would make his debut on September 9, 1962. Oliva was one of the most prolific hitters in the American League. Oliva led the American League in batting three times (1964, 1965, 1971), hits five times (1964-1966, 1969-1970) and doubles four times (1964, 1967, 1969-1970).


Oliva won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1964 with a .323 batting average and a slash line of .359/.557/.916 with 109 runs scored, a league best 217 hits with 43 doubles, 9 triples and 32 homeruns with 94 RBI's. Oliva was an eight time All-Star from 1964-1971, a Gold Glove winner in 1966 and was in the top ten of the American League MVP race five times. Oliva would retire after 15 seasons with the Minnesota Twins after the 1976 season.

3. Cookie Rojas
The next player is the only Latino in this picture that would manage in the Major Leagues. Octavio Victor (Rivas) Rojas aka Cookie Rojas was born on March 6, 1939 in La Habana, Cuba. Rojas was signed by the Cincinnati Redlegs as an amateur free agent in 1956 and would make his debut on April 10, 1962. After playing briefly for the Redlegs in 1962, Rojas was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jim Owens. Rojas was a very dependable player for the Phillies. Rojas played each outfield position, second, shortstop, third, catcher and even pitched once in his seven seasons in Philadelphia. He would be an All-Star for the Phillies in 1965 when he batted a career best .303 with a slash line of .356/.380/.736 with 158 hits, 25 doubles, 3 triples 3 homeruns and 42 RBI's.

Rojas would be traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in arguably the most important trade in Baseball history. On October 7, 1969 Rojas was traded along with Dick Allen and Jerry Johnson to the St. Louis Cardinals for Byron Browne, Curt Flood, Joe Hoerner and Tim McCarver. Flood would refuse to report to his new team. On April 8, 1970, the St. Louis Cardinals would send Willie Montañez and later Jim Browning (on August 30, 1970) to the Philadelphia Phillies to complete the trade.

If you don't know, in refusing to accept the trade to the Phillies, Flood in effect ended his career by suing Major League Baseball. The result of that lawsuit would be the end of the infamous Reserve Clause and the ushering in of free agency to Major League Baseball. For more information on Curt Flood, I recommend reading the article How Curt Flood Changed Baseball and Killed His Career in the Process by Allen Barra from The Atlantic website dated July 12, 2011. Back to Rojas.

Rojas' stay with the Cardinals would be brief. On June 13, 1970 Rojas was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Kansas City Royals for Fred Rico. It was in Kansas City that Rojas would be the most successful. Rojas would make four consecutive All-Star appearances with the Royals from 1971-1974 averaging a .276 batting average, 138 hits with 23 doubles, 2 triples and 5 homers with 60 RBI's a season during that stretch. Rojas would play his last game for the Royals after the 1977 ALCS loss to the New York Yankees.

Rojas would later go into coaching and would manage the Calfornia Angels for one season, leading the team to a 75-79 record in 1988 before being removed from the head coach position with eight games left in the season. In doing so, Rojas became only the third Cuban-born manager in major-league history after Mike Gonzalez (1938, 1940) and Preston Gomez (1969-1972, 1974-1975, 1980).

For part II, I'm going to focus on the remaining three players in the picture Zoilo Versalles, Vic Davalillo, and Leo Cárdenas.

Until Then Play Ball,
Sisco Kid.

The Amazing Walk Discipline of Bob Tewksbury

My friend Christopher and I were talking about the 1987 Yankees earlier today when he mentioned that former Yankees pitcher Bob Tewksbury walked a total of 20 batters during the 1992 season. I had mentioned that I needed to look at his statistics a bit more closely and I was amazed at how little number of batters he walked over his career. Before I go into his lack of walks, I wanted to go into a little background on Tewksbury.

Tewksbury was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 19th Round of the 1981 Draft. After a number of seasons in the minors, Tewksbury was called up in April of 1986 and made his debut on April 11, 1986. He would pitch during the 1986 and part of the 1987 season for the Yankees before being sent down to the Yankees AAA affiliate Columbus Clippers. His demotion caused Tewksbury to ask for a trade.

His wishes were granted with his being traded on July 13, 1987 with Rich Scheid and Dean Wilkins to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Steve Trout in one of the many lopsided trades the Yankees seemed to fall prey to during the late 1980's. Trout went 0-4 wth a 6.60 ERA in his only season with the Yankees and would himself be traded with Henry Cotto to the Seattle Mariners for Lee Guetterman, Clay Parker and Wade Taylor.

Tewksbury never really seemed to find himself in his season and a half with the Cubs going 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA in only 8 games pitched. He would be granted free agency and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was with the Cardinals that he would show flashes of his limited walk potential.

In six seasons with the Cardinals (968.2 IP), Tewksbury walked a total of 125. That's an average of almost 21 walks in an average of 161 innings pitched. Here are the number of innings and walks during his six years in St. Louis:

Year	IP	BB	BB/9
1989	30.0	10	3.0
1990	145.1	15	0.9
1991	191.0	38	1.8
1992	233.0	20	0.8
1993	213.2	20	0.8
1994	155.2	22	1.3

Tewksbury led the National League in 1992 and 1993 with less than one walk per nine innings pitched. He would still be impressive in the walks department upon joining the Texas Rangers for the 1995 season, the San Diego Padres in 1996 and the Minnesota Twins to close out his career in 1997-1998. Here are his walk totals for those seasons:

Year	IP	BB	BB/9
1995	129.2	20	1.4
1996	206.2	43	1.9
1997	168.2	31	1.7
1998	148.1	20	1.2

Tewksbury's best season was the 1992 season when he made his only All-Star appearance and was third in the National League Cy Young Award voting. Here are his statistics for that season:

Player		W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	W-L%		IP	H	R	ER		BB	K	WHIP
Bob Tewksbury		16	5	2.16	33	32	5	0	.762		233	217	63	56		20	91	1.017

Now I'm not saying that Tewksbury was an elite power pitcher and starter. Far from it, but let's see who, if anyone, came close to that 20 walk range in close to 200 innings during last season. The closest  starter that I've been able to find is Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies who walked 28 batters in 211.0 innings pitched. Kyle Lohse formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals walked 38 in 211.0 innings pitched and Bronson Arroyo of the Cincinnati Reds walked 35 in 202.0 innings pitched. 
It makes you wonder what the Yankees may have looked like if they had kept pitchers like Bob Tewksbury, Doug Drabek, Jose Rijo and Al Leiter instead of trading them for players who did not produce for the team as these young players may have. The Yankees dynasty might have come sooner...or might not have come at all. I leave you to speculate on that.
Sisco Kid


For Further Reading: - Click Here to access Bob Tewksbury's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com - Click Here for the article Cubs Put New Man In Action from the Chicago Tribune website dated July 17, 1987 - Click Here for the article Yanks Trade Trout, Cotto To Mariners from the Sun Sentinel website dated December 23, 1987

Lyman Bostock Jr 1950-1978

Having been born in the early 1970's and buying and trading baseball cards during the late 1970's and 1980's, I am fairly familiar with most players who played during those eras. Every once in a while there are a few that pop up on the radar and I say to myself "Who is that". One particular player keeps popping up and before I can research him, something else comes along and I forget him. I was researching George Brett for a future post and once again this player's name is featured prominently. I'm not going to let him slip away again. This gentleman has a very short but productive career that was tragically ended during the 1978 season in the city of Gary, Indiana. This player's name was Lyman Bostock.

Bostock was the son of former Negro Leaguer Lyman Bostock Sr., and was born in Birmingham, Alabama on 11-22-1950. After living in Gary, Indiana for a few years, his mother moved the family to Los Angeles, California where there were ample job opportunities and for Lyman's teen years the climate was ideal for playing Baseball. 

After graduating High School, Bostock attended San Fernando Valley State College (now known as the California State University, Northridge (CSUN)) and was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1970 amateur draft. Bostock decided to stay in school instead of signing with St. Louis. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1972 amateur draft and played in the Twins' minor league system until he made his major league debut on April 8, 1975.

Bostock spent three seasons with the Minnesota and was known for his defensive prowess in the outfield having made 15 errors. Bostock was also known for being aggressive on the basepaths having hit a total of 26 triples and stealing 30 bases in 46 attempts over that span. 

Bostock was also a part of arguably the most exciting batting race that I know of. On the last day of the 1976 season, four players were vying for the American League batting title: Bostock, teammate Rod Carew, George Brett and his teammate on the Kansas City Royals Hal McRae. Both teams played each other and Brett eventually won the batting title with a .333 batting average (McRae .332, Carew .331, Bostock finished fourth at .323). Bostock was again in the thick of the AL batting race the next year finishing with a .323 batting average coming in second to teammate Rod Carew who had an astounding .388 batting average. From 1975-1978, Bostockhit .318 with 18 HR and 175 RBI. In 1436 at-bats, Bostock had 456 Hits (78 2B/26 3B/18 HR) with 112 walks, 128 strikeouts and 30 stolen bases (in 46 attempts). Bostock's OPS was .812 (.366 OBP%/.446 SLG%). His performance while with the Twins made him a highly sought after free-agent after the 1977 season.

Bostock signed with the then California Angels for five-years $2.5 million dollars which compared to current salaries is paltry but during the 1977 offseason that was a very lucrative deal. Bostock only played the majority of one season with the Angels before being shot and killed while with relatives in Gary, IN on September 23, 1978. His final statistics with the Angels at the time of his death was .296 with 5 HRs and 71 RBI. In 568 at-bats, Bostock had 168 Hits (24 2B/4 3B/5 HR) with 59 walks and only 36 strikeouts and 15 stolen bases (in 27 attempts). His OPS was .741 (.362 OBP%/.379 SLG%).

Not only was the effect of his death felt in Baseball but also in his community since Bostock was very charitable. For example, upon signing his free-agent deal with the Angels, Bostock donated $10,000 to the church of his youth in Birmingham, AL and when he felt he wasn't earning his salary at the beginning of the 1978 season, he decided to donate it to charity. At the time of his death he was 27-years old.

FH

For Further Reading
- Click Here to access Lyman Bostock Jr's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Jeff Pearlman's article Fifth and Jackson from ESPN.com for an in-depth biography on Lyman Bostock.
- Click Here to access Among Twins, Bostock's death most senseless from the Cool of the Evening webpage for an interesting article on Lyman Bostock Jr.
- Click Here to access the Tim Connaughton biography of Lyman Bostock Jr from the The Baseball Biography Project from SABR.org

Santana and Viola: A Comparison

I came up with the idea for this post while writing my post on the 2011 Mets. In looking at the situation concerning Johan Santana, I couldn't help but think of another time in Mets history when they made a trade for another ace of the Minnesota Twins: Frank Viola. 

Viola was a local New York City area product from East Meadow in Nassau County on Long Island and played his college baseball at St. John's University in Jamaica, NY a few miles from Shea Stadium. Viola was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 1981 draft and made the majors in 1982. After having struggled in his first two seasons, Viola hit his stride in 1984. Viola went 18-12 with a 3.21 ERA in 35 games started and 257.2 innings pitched. In 1985 he went 18-14 with a 4.09 ERA in 36 games started and 250.2 innings pitched. In 1986 he went 16-13 with a 4.51 ERA with a league leading 37 starts and 245.2 innings pitched. In the year of the Twins first World Championship of 1987, Viola went 17-10 with a 2.90 ERA in 36 starts and 251.2 innings pitched. In his Cy-Young Award winning season of 1988, Viola went 24-8 with a 2.64 ERA in 35 starts and 255.1 innings pitched. During that stretch (1984-1988), Viola went 93-56 with a 3.46 ERA in 179 starts and 1261 innings pitched. He averaged 36 starts and 252.2 innings pitched per season during these years. Viola was a workhorse of a pitcher for the Twins. 

Santana came up with the Twins in 2000, and after a few seasons of pitching as a starter and a reliever Santana also found his way. In 2003, Santana went 12-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 45 games of which he started 18 with 158.1 innings pitched. As a full-time starter in 2004, Santana went 20-6 with a league best 2.61ERA in 34 games started and 228.0 innings pitched leading to his winning his frat Cy-Young Award. In 2005 he went 16-7 with a 2.87 ERA in 33 games started and 231.1 innings pitched. In 2006, Santana won his second Cy-Young award with a league best 19 wins with 7 losses and a league best 2.77 ERA in 34 starts and 233.2 innings pitched. In 2007 he went 15-13 with a 3.33 ERA in 33 starts with 219.1 innings pitched. From 2003-2007, Santana went a combined 82-35 with a 2.92 ERA with 152 games started (174 total games) and 1070.2 innings pitched. Like Viola, Santana was the workhorse of the staff in his prime years with the Twins. 

Both pitchers were traded to the Mets in multiplayer deals (Viola during the 1989 season and Santana after the 2007 season) and pitched tremendously well in their first full National League seasons. After going 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA in 12 starts to finish the 1989 season, Viola went 20-12 with a 2.67 ERA with a league best 35 starts and a league most 247.2 innings pitched. In Santana's first season with the Mets in 2008 he  went 16-7 with the league best in 2.53 ERA, games started (34) and innings pitched (234.1). The second full seasons were disappointing for both pitchers. Where Viola made the All-Star team with an 11-5 record, he finished the season with a 2-10 record in his last 12 starts and was allowed to sign with the Red Sox for the 1992 season. On the other side of the coin, Santana went a respectable 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA in 25 starts having to undergo season ending arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow. Santana's 2010 campaign was also shortened due to the shoulder injury that is keeping him from playing today.

Though both players are significantly different physically, it seems to me that both of them felt the effects of being workhorse type pitchers during their years in Minnesota. When you're the ace of the staff it's expected and I would imagine that neither pitcher would complain about it. It just seems curious to me that both players seemed to falter after their departure from the land of 10,000 lakes. In Santana's case, he has time on his side to prove it differently. Only time will tell.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Frank Viola's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Johan Santana's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

Why Do Teams Keep Passing on Orlando Cabrera

I've had this conversation numerous times with friends of mine and I finally decided to something. My friend Barry, who is a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, says he wishes Orlando Cabrera would have stayed in Boston post-2004. There is no denying that Cabrera was an important part of the magical 2004 Boston Red Sox team. After coming up with the Montreal Expos in 1997, Cabrera played in Montreal for almost eight seasons, coming to the Red Sox in a pivotal four team trade.

In case there are you who aren't familiar with the trade, the Boston Red Sox sent Nomar Garciaparra and Matt Murton to the Chicago Cubs. The Minnesota Twins sent Doug Mientkiewicz to the Boston Red Sox. The Chicago Cubs sent Francis Beltran, Alex Gonzalez and Brendan Harris to the Montreal Expos. The Chicago Cubs sent Justin Jones (minors) to the Minnesota Twins. The Montreal Expos sent Orlando Cabrera to the Boston Red Sox and into the history books as being a member of the 1st Boston Red Sox team to win a World Series since the 1918 team.

So why was he not resigned? Why did the Red Sox let an important cog to their team sign a three-year deal with league rival the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim? The same can be asked about later teams who either traded Cabrera (to the Chicago White Sox for Jon Garland and to the Minnesota Twins for minor leaguer Tyler Ladendorf) or let him walk in free-agency (Chicago, Minnesota and Cincinnati). It seems to me that a player with a career .274 batting average and since 2001 has played in 160 or more five times and in 150 or more games eight times can be a productive member of any team. So why does he keep moving around.

It seems that the issues comes from management. I found a forum page from the Royal Rooters of the Red Sox Nation page. On this forum page, a few of the comments weigh in on a some points that could have led to the Boston Red Sox passing on signing Cabrera after the 2004 season. Many have to do with his extra-curricular activities. I won't go into some of them since they seem to be somewhat out there and somewhat salacious. Here is the link to the forum page What caused the Sox to walk away from Orlando Cabrera. Now I am not advocating this point of view in any way, shape or form. I'm just passing along what I've found and I'll let you make any judgments.

Maybe it was a case of going after a better shortstop in Edgar Renteria (which as we know had a horrible 2005 in Boston and was traded to the Atlanta Braves after the season). Looking back now, the move proved valuable to the Red Sox since they received two draft picks from the Angels for signing Cabrera which are now in the form of Jed Lowrie and Jacoby Ellsbury. In Chicago, Cabrera had arguments with official scorers, managers and calling out of teammates in radio interviews which I can see rubbing people the wrong way both on the bench and in the front office. But it still doesn't answer the question. Why can't Cabrera stay on from more than a year or two with a single team.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this. Maybe it is just a case of Orlando Cabrera being the kind of player that gets traded to a contender for the playoff push and/or he's a player that gets signed to play shortstop for one year until a prospect is ready to take his position. Will he play out the entire season with the Cleveland Indians or will he be traded mid-season to a contender. Anyone out there have a differing point of view on why this is the situation with Cabrera? Any ideas?

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access What caused the Sox to walk away from Orlando Cabrera from the redsoxnation.net webpage
- Click Here to access Tom Fornelli's article Orlando Cabrera Feels Neglected from MLB.Fanhouse.com's webpage dated May 28, 2008
- Click Here to access Mark Potash's article Orlando Cabrera Isn't The Sox' Problem from the Chicago Herald-American weblog dated September 8, 2008

Baltimore and Minnesota trade players

According to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun the Minnesota Twins and the Baltimore Orioles have made a multi-player trade. The Twins shipped infielders J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris and $500,000 in cash to the Orioles for minor league relievers James Hoey and Brett Jacobson.

In 2010 Hardy hit .268 with 6 HRs and 38 RBI. In 340 at-bats Hardy had 91 hits (19 2B/3 3B/6 HR) with 54 strikeouts and 28 walks. Defensively, Hardy had 11 errors for a fielding percentage of .972. Harris hit .157 with 1 HR and 4 RBI while playing 1B/3B/2B/SS/DH for the Twins.

According to Connolly:
Hoey, a 27-year-old right hander, had a combined 6-0 record with a 3.25 ERA in 42 outings between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He made 35 appearances for the Orioles during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, going 3-5 with an 8.13 ERA. He missed all of 2008 with a right shoulder injury. The Orioles drafted him in the 13th round of 2003. He was put back on the 40-man roster earlier this offseason.

Jacobson, 24, went 8-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 34 relief appearances for Single-A Frederick. He was dealt to the Orioles in August 2009 in the trade that sent Aubrey Huff to the Detroit Tigers.

In terms of what the deal looks like for the Twins along with the anticipated signing of Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minnesota Star-Tribune gives his views on the deal:

1. Nishioka can play: One NL East scout saw Nishioka late in the season and called him another Kaz Matusi, which isn't good. But others think he can play in the majors.

2. Casilla will hold down a spot. It's time for Casilla to prove he can be an every day player. I will say this, Casilla might need a hug sometimes instead of tough love if he makes a mistake in the field.

Injuires to either player puts Matt Tolbert or Trevor Plouffe in the lineup.

The benefits are that the Twins have better speed and a tad more range up the middle. The money they save should help them re-sign Carl Pavano. And they get two hard throwers in Hoey and Jacobson. They also rid themselves of Harris and $1.75 million.

If Hoey and Nishioka perform well,it's a good deal. Hoey needs to throw more strikes

An interesting point-of-view on the Twins side of the trade comes from Jesse of the Twinkietown.com website:

But the money isn't for Hardy. The money is for Brendan Harris; about one third of what he'll be paid in 2011.

Instead, this is a deal about Hardy and the two arms the Twins are receiving in return: Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey. Two career minor leaguers, two power arms, two guys who aren't getting paid more than the Major League minimum. Hoey, who will be the one who plays for the Twins if either of them do, offers a mid to upper-90s fastball as well as a changeup and slider. We talked this morning about his strikeout track record in the minor leagues: it's amazing. It looks like it's Anthony Slama-type amazing, but they're good numbers nevertheless. Jacobson, meanwhile, is projectable but 24 and about to pitch in double-A for the first time.

It's obvious that the Twins didn't like something about Hardy. If I can make it ever more plain: the Twins just didn't value Hardy. As an organization, they were clearly looking at the future and decided that Hardy wasn't going to be in their plans beyond 2011.

I'm not sure my friend Topper from Curve for a Strike blogpage would agree with this assessment. As it is he says on his Facebook page: Nothing really leads me to believe that either Alexi Casilla or Tsuyoshi Nishioka will be better than JJ Hardy this year. I don't think I'm on board with this move...

First things first Nishioki needs to be signed by the Twins. Rumors has it that Nishioki is on his way to the Twin Cities for his physical so the signing is imminent. Whether or not this signing benefits the Twins.

FH

For Further Reading
- Click Here for access to J.J. Hardy's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here for access to Brenden Harris' career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here for James Hoey's career statistics from BaseballCube.com
- Click Here for Brett Jacobson's career statistics from BaseballCube.com

The Minnesota Twins Clinch the AL Central...Again!

With their 6-4 victory against the Cleveland Indians (and the loss of rival Chicago White Sox) the Minnesota Twins are the first team to clinch a playoff spot in the 2010 post-season. With this year's AL Central Title, it marks the sixth title for the Twins in the last nine seasons. In a change from the last two seasons, the Twins were able to clinch early. In 2008 the Twins played and lost the 163rd game of the season against the Chicago White Sox while last year they once again played the 163rd game of the season this time in an extra inning classic against the Detroit Tigers to win the AL Central Title. Not bad for a team that MLB suggested should be contracted along with the Montreal Expos back in 2002. For those of you who don't remember or know what contraction is read Bob Collins' article Selig says Twins' contraction still 'a possibility' from the Minnesota Public Radio website dated March 26, 2002.

The victory also marked another milestone with the 800th career victory in the managerial career of Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. In the nine years under Gardenhire, the Twins have won six division titles, have had five 90-win seasons, and only one season with a losing record. And this guy can't win a Manager of the Year title having finished second five times in nine seasons. The voters for Manager of the Year take note and give the man his due. To see an interesting breakdown of Gardenhire and the Twins teams during his tenure check out the article The Best Twins Team of the Ron Gardenhire Era on the Twinkie Town website.(Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

As my buddy Topper of the Curve For a Strike blogpage likes to remind me, the Twins have been the best team in Baseball in the second half playing to the tune of 44-18. This is especially impressive given the fact that the Twins lost two pivotal players to injury in closer Joe Nathan (to season ending surgery during spring training) and first baseman Justin Morneau (right before the All-Star break due to a concussion and related symptoms). The Twins have also been able to adapt and adjust to a myriad of other injuries to get to the record of 91-60, only a game behind the New York Yankees who lead the league with a 92-59 record. As it stands, the Twins are in the driver's seat for a home field advantage in the first round and are still in the hunt for home field throughout the playoffs. And speaking of a home field advantage.

This is for all the critics who claimed the Twins should have stayed indoors. The Twins had 39,580 fans in attendance on a cool night in Minneapolis. It was the 73rd straight sellout and 74th in 75 games this year. Whether or not the weather will be a factor this October remains to be seen but it should be interesting and exciting to see Target Field lighting up the October sky.

FH

For Further Reading
- Click Here for Kelly Thesier's article Early clinch a change of pace for resilient Twins on MLB.com
- Click Here for Twins Win, Clinch AL Central After White Sox Lose from the NYTimes.com

Joe Mauer Decides to Stay Home

So ESPN news reported today that C Joe Mauer agrees to an eight-year, $184 million contract extension with the Twins. This is the best thing that could of happened to the Twins and to Baseball.

As a Yankees fan I always get grilled (and at times it is valid) about how the Yankees spend tons of money buying up all the best players (which is often unfair). If that was the case no other team would have any superstars, but I digress.

I commend the Twins in showing a dedication to their city, their players and most importantly their fan base. This shows that the Twins are committed to winning with their core duo of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Mauer's extension runs to the year 2018, Morneau signed his six-year, $80 million extension in January of 2008 which puts the duo together until the year 2014. I remember the day I heard that the Twins were passing on drafting the top prospect of the 2001 draft who happened to be pitcher Mark Prior. Instead, the Twins decided to draft local ballplayer, a catcher no less named Joe Mauer from Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul (Note: Prior was drafted at number two with great fanfare by the Chicago Cubs).

The Twins were ridiculed by the media who scoffed at the notion of the Twins not only passing on Prior but doing so by drafting a catcher. Laughs could be heard throughout the baseball world. Prior complied a 42-29 record in 5 season with a 3.51 ERA while Mauer has quietly won 3 batting titles and the 2009 MVP award. One guess on who is laughing now.

Bravo Twins. Now your fans have another reason to celebrate this season along with the new stadium. Pirates' fans must be grumbling why can't their team look out for them as the Twins do for their fans.

For Further Reading:
-Here is the article from ESPN announcing the contract extension for Mauer
- Here is the article from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Minnesota Star Ledger website, Click Here