A Return Look at Juan Miranda

Back in October of 2010 in a post called Juan Miranda's Chances in MLB, I looked at whether the Cuban born and Dominican nationalized could succeed in the Majors. With half of the 2011 season done, I've decided to take a look at Miranda's performance for the Arizona Diamondbacks. I have to say, that as optimistic that I was, I might have to agree with various bloggers that Miranda might not be MLB material. 

As of today, Miranda is no longer with the Diamondbacks, having been optioned to AAA Reno Aces of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). Coming out of Spring training Miranda was slated to be the team's regular first baseman. That plan never fully came to fruition since Miranda was platooned with Xavier Nady and Russell Branyan. His production with the bat was also a determining factor in his not becoming the starting first baseman.

Miranda had a solid month of may where he batted .262 with 4 homers and 12 RBI and an OPS of .915 (.377 OBP%/.538 SLG%) and seemed to get into a solid rhythm. But his lack of performance in June was marked by a .151 batting average and an OPS of .494 (.211 OBP%/.283 SLG%). His slide continued into July with a slightly better .176 batting average and an OPS of .594 (.300 OBP%/.294 SLG%). 

At the time of his demotion, Miranda's statistics for the season were: batting average of .213 with 37 hits (8 2B/2 3B/7 HR) with 23 RBI. His OPS was .717 (.315 OBP%/.402 SLG%) with 23 walks and 48 strikeouts. So where does this leave Miranda. 

AAA prospect Brandon Allen, who many believed was the favorite to play  first for the Diamondbacks during Spring Training has been called up and will step into the same platoon that Miranda was in with Nady and Branyan. Barring injury, I can't see Miranda being called up to the big leagues until September. Shame, I thought that the change of scenery and a new opportunity would help him. I guess we need to make the best of said opportunity and for whatever reason, Miranda was not able to.

FH
For Further Reading:
- Click Here for Amit Lal's article Diamondbacks Roster Shuffling - Allen, Enright, and Blum Up, Heilman, Pena, and Miranda Down dated July 19, 2011 from dbacksvenom.com
- Click Here for Amit Lal's article Is it Time for the Diamondbacks to make a change at 1B? dated July 2, 2011 from dbacksvenom.com

Pumpsie Green and July 21, 1959

It was on today's date in 1959 that the Boston Red Sox brought up a switch hitting infield utility player of the name of Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green. Why is the promotion of a switch hitting utility player during 1959 something of importance? With the promotion of Green to the Major Leagues, all 16 teams of Major League Baseball had now been integrated. Starting with the signing of Jackie Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 28, 1945 (and his becoming the first black player to cross the color barrier on April 15, 1947) it took twelve years for all 16 teams to have at least one black player. Now I say black rather than African American since if you look at the list of the first players to integrate the 16 teams, not all of them were African American:

Brooklyn Dodgers – Jackie Robinson (1947)
Cleveland Indians – Larry Doby (1947)
St. Louis Browns – Hank Thompson (1947)
New York Giants – Hank Thompson (1949)
Boston Braves – Sam Jethroe (1950)
Chicago White Sox – Minnie Minoso (1951)
Philadelphia Athletics – Bob Trice (1953)
Chicago Cubs – Ernie Banks (1953)
Pittsburgh Pirates – Curt Roberts (1954)
St. Louis Cardinals – Tom Alston (1954)
Cincinnati Reds – Nino Escalera (1954)
Washington Senators – Carlos Paula (1954)
New York Yankees – Elston Howard (1955)
Philadelphia Phillies – John Kennedy (1957)
Detroit Tigers – Ozzie Virgil (1958)
Boston Red Sox – Pumpsie Green (1959)

Four of them were from Latin America (If you want to know more about these players, you can click here: Black Latino Pioneers from my Latinoball blog page). Back to Green.

Green's first appearance came as a pinch runner against the Chicago White Sox on July 21, 2011. His role would normally be that of a defensive infield replacement and pinch runner for the four years (1959-1962) he played with the Red Sox. Green would play his last season with the New York Mets in 1963.

Green's best season was in 1961 when in 88 games he batted .260 with 57 hits (12 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR) and 27 RBI in 219 at-bats. Green walked 42 times while striking out 32 times and stealing 4 out of 6 bases. 

The promotion of Green in 1959 casts a negative light on the Red Sox not due to Green himself, but that it took so long for the team to integrate. This could have been avoided on two earlier occasions if the airs of racial intolerance had not permeated the Boston Red Sox. The first time was in April of 1945 when under pressure of the removal of their Sunday day permit allowing the team to play Baseball by local City Councilor Isadore Muchnick, the Red Sox held a tryout for three African American players. One was Marvin Williams. The second was Sam Jethroe, and the third was Jackie Robinson.

The other occasion was in 1949 when Red Sox scouts refuse to waste their time waiting for rain to stop falling so they could scout a young black player named Willie Mays. The thought of Willie Mays and Ted Williams patrolling the same outfield is mind boggling. So instead of Boston being the first team to integrate their racial stubbornness caused them to be the last team to integrate. And the rest is history.

For a more in depth look at the racial climate in Boston in relation to the Red Sox I recommend that you check out Howard Bryant's book called Shut Out: A History of Race and Baseball in Boston. 

In a weird twist of fate for Pumpsie Green, following a series of losses to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Green and fellow teammate Gene Conley got off of the team bus while sitting in a traffic jam in the Bronx. They went to a bar to use the restroom and after a few drinks, they exited the bar and noticed the bus was gone. Green rejoined the team the next day. Conley went missing for a total three days spending his time at Toots Shor and at the Waldorf Astoria He would be spotted at Idlewild Airport (now known as JFK International Airport) trying to board a flight for Israel without any passports or luggage of any kind. Why? That question has never been answered.

FH

For Further Reading
- Click Here for Pumpsie Green's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here for the article The Boston Red Sox and Racism dated October 11, 2002 from the NPR.org website
- Click Here to access the article Red Sox Give Jackie Robinson Tryout at Fenway Park in 1945, Two Years Before He Breaks MLB Color Barrier dated June 26, 2011 from NESN.com
- Click Here to access Dan Shaughnessy's article Conley's stories fit to print dated December 15, 2004 from the Boston Globe website

Yogi Berra 414 in 7555

There were a couple of old school baseball fans hanging out at the bar during the Boston Red Sox/Tampa Bay Rays marathon on ESPN last night. I’m not sure how they got into this conversation but I found it too good to ignore. The gentlemen were talking general baseball, reminiscing on the players they watched when they were kids. One of the men said he was 56 years old so for argument sake, he was a kid living in New York City during the 1960’s. After throwing around a bunch of names like Stargell, Clemente, Mantle and Williams they landed on the name of Yogi Berra.

The discussion was based around how many rings Yogi won during his major league career. One man said he had 10, the other said he had 15. The men deferred to me to be the mediator and researcher of the statistics and I was able to do so with my trusty iTouch. In total, Berra had won 13 rings during his time in the Major Leagues. He won 10 as a player and 3 as a coach. Satisfied with the answer I gave them, they moved on to another Yogi Berra statistic that I really couldn’t ignore.

The discussion changed to the fact that one of the men had heard that Yogi Berra had struck out a total of 414 times in his entire career. One of the men had said that he heard it being discussed on some telecast and the announcer who mentioned it said that he saw the statistic and though it was “a misprint”. Again, the men defer to me to be the voice of reason in their discussion and off I go to research whether or not Yogi Berra in fact only had 414 strikeouts for his career.

After checking out the Baseball Statistics app on my iTouch, lo and behold Yogi Berra did indeed have only 414 strikeouts. WOW!!!! To better flesh out how impressive this was I decided to look at all of his stats. Berra played for a total of 19 seasons (1948-1963, 1965) in which he had a career batting average of .285. In 7555 at-bats, Berra had 2150 hits (321 2B, 49 3B, 358 HR) with 1430 RBI. He had a career .830 OPS (.348OBP/.482 SLG) with 704 Walks and the aforementioned 414 strikeouts. That averages out to roughly 22 strikeouts per season. Per season! Now I know this is not a fair comparison but look at Mark Reynolds of the Baltimore Orioles. Reynolds has led the league the last three seasons in strikeouts with combined 638 strikeouts. But has the mentality of making contact changed that much from then to now?

I decided to compare Berra to other Hall of Fame catchers from within the years that he played ad found something interesting. The players I looked at were Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey and Gabby Hartnett. All three players were phenomenal players from behind the plate.



Mickey Cochrane played for 13 seasons (1925-1937) and he compiled a .320 batting average with 1652 hits (333 2B, 64 3B, 119 HR) and 832 RBI in 5169 at-bats. His OPS was .897 (.419 OBP/.478 SLG) with 857 Walks, and 217 strikeouts. His highest of 26 strikeouts came in 1934 and his lowest of 8 came in 1929.

Bill Dickey played for 17 seasons (1928-1943, 1946) and he compiled a .313 batting average with 1969 hits (343 2B, 72 3B, 202 HR) and 1209 RBI in 6300 at-bats. His OPS was .868 (.382 OBP/.486 SLG) with 678 Walks and 289 strikeouts. His highest of 39 strikeouts came in 1939 and his lowest of 11 came in 1935.

Gabby Hartnett played for 20 seasons (1922-1941) and he compiled a .297 batting average with 1912 hits (396 2B, 64 3B, 236 HR) and 1179 RBI in 6432 at-bats. His OPS was .859 (.370 OBP/.489 SLG) with 703 Walks and 697 strikeouts. His highest of 77 strikeouts came in 1925 and his lowest of 19 came in 1937.

Why was it that these players strikeout to at-bat ratios was so miniscule compared to today’s players. Was it better plate discipline? Consider that Berra averaged 22 strikeouts per season with his highest being in 1959 with 38 strikeouts and his lowest being in 1950 with 12. Adding to that is the fact that during the what is known as New York City’s Golden Era of Baseball (1949-1957), Berra placed in the top ten of MVP voting seven times winning the AL MVP award three times and this is on a team with players like Mickey Mantle. Truly amazing.

Is there a simple explanation past that players like Berra, Cochrane, Dickey and Hartnett were extraordinary players and truly Hall of Famers? What do you think. Any sabermetricians want to add to this is? Let me know.

FH

Derek Jeter Joins the 3000 Hit Club

Yesterday I had the pleasure to watch (on TV, not in person) Yankees' Captain Derek Jeter notch his 3000th hit with a homer against Tampa Bay Rays ace David Price. In doing so, Jeter became the 28th member of the exclusive 3000 hit club. He finished his day with a career 5 for 5 day with a homerun and a double with a stolen base. He drove in the winning run with his final hit of the day. To celebrate Jeter's achievement, I wanted to post some interesting points:

- 28th member of the 3000 hit club
- First Yankee to hit all 3000 with the team. EVER!!!
- Second player to hit a homer for his 3000th hit (Wade Boggs in 1999)
- Second player to get five hits the day he hit his 3000th hit (Craig Biggio in 2007)
- 15th Player to hit first 3000 with the same franchise (Rose, Cobb, Aaron, Musial, Anson, Yastrzemski, Mays, Ripken, Brett, Yount, Gwynn, Biggio, Kaline, Clemente)
- 10th Player to play for only one team for their career in the 3000 hit club (Brett (Royals), Roberto Clemente (Pirates), Tony Gwynn (Padres), Al Kaline (Tigers), Stan Musial (Cardinals), Cal Ripken (Orioles), Carl Yastrzemski (Red Sox) and Yount (Brewers))
- 18th player to do so with a .300+ career batting average (.313)
- 5th player to play with the Yankees to be in the 3000 hit club (Waner, Winfield, Boggs, Henderson)
- 14th Right handed hitter (12 left-handers, 2 switch hitters)
- 4th youngest to get 3000th hit at 37 years and 13 days of age (Cobb at 34 years 244 days, Aaron at 36 years 101 days, Yount 36 years 359 days)

Here are some of Derek Jeter's hits milestones:
1st hit 05/30/1995 against Seattle
1000th hit 09/25/2000 against Detroit
2000th hit 05/26/2006 against Kansas City
2722nd hit 09/11/2009 against Baltimore (Top of Yankees Hit list passing Lou Gehrig)
3000th hit 07/09/2011 against Tampa Bay

I can wax poetically on Jeter's achievement but I'll just let the statistics above speak for themselves. Oh, I just have one last thing to say about Derek Jeter: Hall of Famer.

FH

*** Keep in mind that of the 28 players who are in the 3000 hit club, 25 of them have been enshrined in Cooperstown. Biggio becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2012, Jeter obviously is still active and the proverbial black sheep of the 3000 hit club is Rafael Palmiero whose Hall of Fame status is jeopardized by his failure of a steriod test in 2005.

2011 MLB All-Star Game Starters Predictions

The MLB All-Star game is on the horizon and I've decided to make my predictions for the starters. Unlike those who stuff the ballot boxes at the stadium and mass email their favorite choices for the starters, mine is being done objectively and in many cases against team lines. I've always have had an issue with the fans voting entirely for the starters. I know, before you take me to task by stating that the game is for the fans, often the starters are elected because they are popular picks or their teams mount an aggressive campaign to get them voted in. The starters should start on the merit of their performances and not because of who they are. Ok then, I'll get off of my soapbox now. Here are my predictions:

American League:
 C Victor Martinez (Detroit Tigers)
1B Adrian Gonzalez (Boston Red Sox)
2B Robinson Cano (New York Yankees)
3B Adrian Beltre (Texas Rangers)
SS Asdrubal Cabrera (Cleveland Indians)
OF Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays)
OF Curtis Granderson (New York Yankees)
OF Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston Red Sox)
DH David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox)
 P Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers)

National League:
 C Brian McCann (Atlanta Braves)
1B Joey Votto (Cincinnati Reds)
2B Richie Weeks (Milwaukee Brewers)
3B Placido Polanco (Philadelphia Phillies)
SS Jose Reyes (New York Mets)
OF Lance Berkman (St. Louis Cardinals)
OF Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers)
OF Hunter Pence (Houston Astros) 
 P Roy Halladay (Philadelphia Phillies)

Well, there goes. Agree? Disagree?

FH

Jeter, Reyes and the future of Shortstop in NYC

I awoke to see the following comments on my Facebook News Feed written by my friend Eric. The article that Eric is referring to is As Yankees face inevitable change from Derek Jeter at shortstop, time to make way for Jose Reyes by Tim Smith of the New York Daily News. Here is what Eric said:

If this kind of thought of trading for big name players at every position were around in the 90's there would have been no Jeter,Andy, Jorge , Bernie or Mariano. The writer is stuck in the Steinbrenner 80's

Now in defense of Jose Reyes, with the exception of the trade for Rickey Henderson in 1984, the Steinbrenner regime of the 1980's never, ever traded for a player of Jose Reyes' caliber. Guys like Jesse Barfield, Roy Smalley and Ken Phelps (I still shudder when I think of that trade) were more like the kind of players that Steinbrenner traded young talent such as Doug Drabek, Al Leiter and Jay Buhner to acquire. You can roll up all the position players that I mentioned and you still don't equal Jose Reyes.

Reyes is a franchise Shortstop as how Derek Jeter was seen earlier in his career. Now both are different types of players but the meaning to each others' organizations cannot be simply quantified. I found it amazing that Jeter's trip to the disabled list for a calf strain was his first stint on the DL since 2003. Sure, many writers and fans alike like to point out Jeter's diminishing skills, he is a consistent presence in the field and at bat for the Yankees. But is Reyes the person to take pick up the mantle from Jeter?

Do I think the Yankees need to look at the future of the Shortstop position. Absolutely. Granted Jeter is signed for the next three seasons, can he be productive in the field in the next two? I think the Yankees have a player currently on the bench that can step right in and that is Eduardo Nuñez. Based on his minor league statistics, Nuñez is a contact hitter with speed and a very good glove and will turn 24 today. Yankees manager Joe Girardi has stated that while Jeter is on the DL, Nuñez is his starter. So we'll get to see what Nuñez brings to the table. So given that, where does that leave Jose Reyes.

Reyes is in an enviable position. As I stated earlier, he's currently a franchise player in a position that is devoid of franchise players throughout the league. With the exception of Jimmy Rollins of the Philadephia Phillies, Troy Tulowitski of the Colorado Rockies, Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers and Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs are there any other Shortstops that you can think of as being franchise players? Add to the mix that Jose Reyes is ONLY 28, tearing up the league and playing on a team that is currently in financial straits. I believe the only course of action for the New York Mets is to trade Jose Reyes (as well as Carlos Beltran and possibly Francisco Rodriguez) for top prospects to replenish the system.

Consider that the top three prospects for the Mets as per Baseball America are 21-year old pitcher Jennry Mejia, 19-year old shortstop Wilmer Flores and outfielder 20 year old Cesar Puello. Mejia is slated to have Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow and will be lost for a year or more. Flores is currently batting .259 and Puello is batting .230 at Class A+ Florida State League. These players are young and have a long way to go before they reach the majors. Keep in mind that the last Mets' prospect to live up to his potential was Jose Reyes.

The move to trade Reyes would come difficult for the Mets. Reyes is beloved by the Mets faithful and is a dynamic player when healthy. I personally believe that he is a better player than Carl Crawford who Mets owner Fred Wilpon stated that Reyes would not garner the same kind of contract that Crawford signed with the Boston Red Sox (7-year $142 million dollars). Consider that from 2005-2008, Reyes averaged 153 games played with a .287 batting average, 195 hits, 14 homeruns, 32 doubles, 17 triples, 66 RBI, 113 runs scored and 64 stolen bases. Aside from two injury filled seasons (2009-2010), Reyes is back to form with a league leading .346 batting average, a league leading 97 hits, 3 homers, 19 doubles and a league leading 11 triples, 27 RBI, 49 Runs scored and 22 stolen bases. So if Reyes is traded, are the Yankees the best fit.

The Yankees have a plethora of minor league talent in the form of catchers Jesus Montero and Austin Romine and pitchers Manny Banelos, Dellin Betances, Andrew Brackman and current major leaguers Hector Noesi and Ivan Nova. Ideally, the Yankees should continue the approach that GM Brian Cashman has taken and continue to develop the talent, keeping the system stocked and working from within. As alluring as a trade for Reyes would be, I think the Yankees are better off passing on Reyes and continue to groom Nuñez as Jeter's heir apparent. Where I think Reyes should be traded is San Francisco. AT&T park's wide open spaces (Left field: 335 feet, Left-center: 364 feet, Center field: 404 feet, Right-center: 420 feet, Right field: 307 feet) plays into Jose Reyes' strengths and I believe that his energy would help to ease the pain of the loss of Buster Posey. I know that Giants Shortstop prospect Brandon Crawford has played well since his call-up a few weeks ago but a player like Jose Reyes might be able to swing the balance of power in the NL West back in the favor of the World Champions. Another West Coast destination for Reyes might be Anaheim.

Whether or not new Mets minority owner David Einhorn can make a splash by resigning Jose Reyes past this season remains to be seen. I think the Mets are in a win-win situation when it comes to Reyes. Keep him and retain one of the best players in the game today. Trade him and make tremendous strides in rebuilding the team. Only time will tell what will happen.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here for Jose Reyes' career statistics from BaseballReference.com
- Click Here for Derek Jeter's career statistics from BaseballReference.com
- Click Here for Eduardo Nunez's career minor league statistics from TheBaseballCube.com
- Click Here to access the ranking of the Top Ten Prospects in the New York Mets organization by Baseball America
- Click Here to access Tim Smith's article As Yankees face inevitable change from Derek Jeter at shortstop, time to make way for Jose Reyes dated June 15, 2011 from NYDailyNews.com

The 3000-Hit Club Post Derek Jeter

I read an interesting article in today's New York Times written by Neil Payne entitled After Jeter Reaches 3,000 Hits, Who's Likely Next?. In the article, Payne describes who might be the next players to reach the lofty 3,000 hit plateau after Derek Jeter (who is currently at 2,990 hits). The method in which Payne reaches his conclusion is based on Bill James' theory called the Favorite Toy. As per Payne:

the Favorite Toy, a simple means of projecting performance based on a player’s age and most recent career trends.

The formula essentially asks and answers three questions:

1. How far is a player from the milestone in question?
2. How quickly is he approaching the milestone?
3. How much time does he have left to attain the milestone?

So based on the model, the next three players who have the highest probability of reaching 3,000 hits are Alex Rodriguez (2,731), Johnny Damon (2,637) and Albert Pujols (1,969). Time is on the side of these players, especially Pujols. Both Rodriguez and Damon are in their mid to late 30's and I believe will continue to be productive players. Pujols is truly amazing to me since at the age of 31 he is only 31 hits away from 2,000 hits and 78 homeruns from 500. If based on his average of 197 hits per season (his highest of of 212 in 2003 and lowest of 177 in 2006) he's on pace to hit 3,000 hits during the 2017 season. God knows how many homeruns he'll have at that point. Like I said before: truly amazing.

A name that I find surprising that is missing from the top of the list is that of Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. Payne says the following about Ichiro:

Even for a great hitter like Ichiro Suzuki, the trends are pointing down. He ranks 11th among active players, but he is 37, needs 690 hits to reach 3,000 and has fallen off this season

So the man in 37 and is currently having himself an "Un-Ichiro" type season. Keep in mind that even though he currently has 2,310 hits in 11 Major League Baseball season, this is a man that also has 1,285 hits while playing in Japan for the Orix Blue Wave of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. So his total hit figure is 3,595. His track record has proven that he is a consistent hit machine. He has averaged 224 hits a season since his debut in the Majors in 2001 (his highest was 262 in 2004 and his lowest was 206 in 2005) and until he shows me in more than half a year that his skills are in decline, I am going to expect him to live up to his prior production. I'm not saying that age doesn't play a role in the diminishing of skills it does, but I just don't think that metrics of any kind can quantify a man's desire and motivation to achieve personal goals. I think that Ichiro will be the first Japanese ballplayer to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown regardless if he reaches the 3,000 hit plateau but how better to nail down his legacy by getting to 3,000. Whether he gets there playing with the Mariners or not is another story for another day.

I do agree with Payne when he says it might be difficult for Ivan Rodriguez (2,835) and Omar Vizquel (2,823) to reach 3,000. Both players have become utility players and getting over 175 hits to reach 3,000 in that role makes it difficult. The necessary at-bats are just not there. An intriguing player is Vladimir Guerrero.

At 2,494 hits, he will reach the 2,500 hit mark within the next week or two. Based on last year's resurgent season with the Texas Rangers, Guerrero can still be a productive player though he can pretty much only do so in the DH position. I'm not sure if the lack of interest in Guerrero during last season's off-season is a reflection of Guerrero's skills but will the at-bats be there for Guerrero to get the necessary 500 hits to reach 3,000.

As it stand today, the 3,000 hit club only has 27 members. After Jeter makes it 28 within a few weeks and possibly 32 with the potential addition of Damon, Pujols, Suzuki and Rodriguez I think that there will be a period of time where no one will reach 3,000 hits making membership in that club as exclusive as the 300 win club.

Any opinions? Additions and/or subtractions? Let me know.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here for an interactive exhibit on the 3,000 Hit club presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown website