1994 Rookie of the Year Countdown – Joey Hamilton

Continuing our Tuesday look at the countdown to the Rookies of the Year in 1994, today we examine former Padres/Blue Jays/Reds pitcher Joey Hamilton.

Hamilton was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 28^th round of the 1988 Major League draft out of Statesboro High School in Statesboro, GA.  Hamilton declined their offer, instead attending Georgia Southern University.  The Eagles have produced a total of 15 major leaguers, including 1985 Cy Young Award runner up John Tudor, and Scott Fletcher.  Hamilton’s decision to attend college paid off when the San Diego Padres drafted him in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1991 Major League draft.  In case you’re wondering, the Yankees had the first pick that year and went with Brien Taylor.  I think we all know how that worked out.  All in all though, it was a very solid first round, with names like Dmitri Young, Shawn Estes, Manny Ramirez, Cliff Floyd, Shawn Green, Aaron Sele and Scott Hatteberg.  And Trinity High School’s own Trever Miller!

Hamilton didn’t sign until late September in 1991, so his first taste of professional ball would come the following season, when he was assigned to A ball Charleston.  There, in seven starts, he went 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA with 35 strikeouts and only four walks.  He gave up 24 runs in 34 2/3 innings, but only 13 of those were earned.  Charleston’s starting shortstop – Manny Cora – had 53 errors that season.   Before the defense could kill his self confidence, he was promoted to A+ ball High Desert.  In nine games – eight starts, he went 4-3 with a 2.74 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 18 walks.  Being an average pitcher in the Padres system obviously says something, so that earned him yet another promotion to AA Wichita.  There, in six starts, he went 3-0 with a 2.86 ERA with 26 strikeouts and 11 walks.

At the start of the 1993 season, Hamilton found himself back in A+ ball, this time at Rancho Cucamonga.  There, in just two starts, he was 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA with six strikeouts and two walks.  He was quickly promoted back to AA Wichita.  This time, in 15 starts, he went 4-9 with a 3.97 ERA with 50 walks and 36 strikeouts.  Still, he would see another promotion that season to AAA Las Vegas.  For his final stop of the 1993 season, he went 3-2 with a 4.40 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 22 walks.

Hamilton would start the 1994 season again at AAA Las Vegas, but would stay there long.  Despite his 3-5 record, he had a 2.73 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 22 walks, and even had a complete game shutout.  The 1994 Padres were not a good team.  They finished with the worst record in the National League at 47-70.  They had three starters that made 20 or more starts – Andy Benes, Andy Ashby, and Scott Sanders.  Those three pitchers combined for a 16-33 record.  More out of a need for help, rather than statistics, Hamilton’s time had come.

Hamilton would make his Major League debut on May 24^th, 1994 against the San Francisco Giants.  He would throw six innings, allowing five hits and three runs, with three strikeouts vs. three walks.  That day, the Padres offense would jump all over Giants’ starter Bryan Hickerson, with Derek Bell getting an RBI single, followed by a three run shot off of the bat of Phil Clark.  Given a 4-0 lead, the only blemish that day was a three-run fourth inning.  Other than that inning, he only allowed one baserunner in the other five innings he pitched.  Trevor Hoffman would come in to seal the deal that day, earning his 11^th career save.  He would make one other start in May, where he would pick up another victory in a 7-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.  Over those two starts, he was 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA, pitching 12 innings and allowing 11 hits and four runs, with eight strikeouts and four walks.

The only place where Hamilton wasn’t spectacular in June was in the wins column.  He would be 3-2 in the month, but his ERA was 1.76 in 46 innings pitched across six starts.  In keeping with the standard he set in the minors, he only allowed two home runs in those 46 innings – a three run shot by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tim Wallach in a Padres 3-2 loss on June 20^th, and a solo home run to the New York Mets’ Rico Brogna in a Padres 3-1 loss ten days later.  Hamilton would also add his first career shutout, with a 6-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on June 25^th.  In addition to the above numbers, he also added 23 strikeouts vs. 13 walks in June.

In July, Hamilton had one bad start in five total that skewed his ERA number, but he still finished with a 3-2 record.  The ERA jumped to 3.62, which wasn’t horrible, but not quite good enough when paired with the Padres offense.  The bad start was on July 10^th, where he allowed seven runs in five innings (including one of Wil Cordero’s four career grand slams) in an 8-2 loss to the Montreal Expos.  He also allowed a home run to Moises Alou, and that was the only game all season where he allowed more than one.  Overall in July, he had 19 strikeouts vs. nine walks.

As the season drew to an end, Hamilton wasn’t quite as sharp in August as he was at the start of the season.  He went 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA, with 11 strikeouts vs. three walks.  His only loss was to the Cubs, where he allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings.  That was the only start, other than the Expos game in July, that wasn’t a quality start for Hamilton on the season.

Overall in the 1994 season, in 16 starts, Hamilton went 9-6 with a 2.98 ERA, with 61 strikeouts vs. 29 walks in 108 2/3 innings.  He only allowed seven home runs.  His WAR was 3.8, which was good for seventh among National League pitchers (Bret Saberhagen was second at 5.5; Greg Maddux was first with 8.5).  In the strike shortened season, only four other pitchers had more than one shutout – Ramon Martinez and Maddux with three, and Doug Drabek and teammate Benes with two.

Nah, not the same dude.

When Hamilton was promoted that season, his first two victories in April came in a run where the Padres went 9-2.  Remove that from their overall record, and you can see what kind of impact Hamilton had.  The 1994 Padres only had four pitchers with a winning record.  They were Hamilton, the other Pedro Martinez (3-2), Jeff Tabaka       (3-1), and Bill Krueger (3-2).  Literally the only thing to watch Padres baseball for that year was Tony Gwynn’s push to hit .400 (he fell just short at .394).

Hamilton would spend four more mainly successful years in San Diego, compiling a record of 46-38 with a 3.94 ERA, three shutouts and 578 strikeouts vs. 314 walks.  He averaged 206 innings and 32 starts per season those four years.  Highlights include his first taste of the postseason in an NLDS loss to the Cardinals in 1996, and his only World Series appearance in a Yankees sweep of the Padres in 1998.  His WAR in 1995 jumped to 4.5, which was again good enough for seventh in the National League.  His ERA in 1995 was sixth in the NL at 3.08.

After a rather pedestrian 1998 season, Hamilton was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Pete Tucci, Carlos Almanzar and Woody Williams on December 12^th.  The Padres got the better end of that deal, as Williams alone went 30-28 with 521 1/3 innings pitched and a 4.35 ERA, with 350 strikeouts vs. 164 walks.  They also turned him into Ray Lankford with a trade with the Cardinals.  Hamilton on the other hand went 14-17 in 253 1/3 innings pitched and a 5.83 ERA, with 153 strikeouts vs. 89 walks.

On August 3^rd, 2001, the Blue Jays cut Hamilton.  Two weeks later, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds.  That did not go well.  In his time with the Reds, he went 5-12 in 152 2/3 innings pitched and a 5.90 ERA, with 102 strikeouts vs. 61 walks.  His last major league game was on June 3^rd, 2003 in a Reds’ 9-2 loss to the Blue Jays.  Reds’ starter John Riedling allowed six runs in two innings.  Hamilton came in, allowing three more runs in three innings, actually seeing his ERA fall to 12.66 from 14.09.  He was then sent to AAA Louisville.  He signed a minor league deal with the Padres for the 2004 season, but after a handful of starts at AAA Portland, he was cut, and his baseball career was over.

For his career, Hamilton was 74-73 with a 4.44 ERA, with 894 strikeouts vs. 493 walks.  He had seven complete games, four shutouts and one lone save, closing the door on a 12 inning, 5-3 Reds victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on September 6^th, 2002.  His fifth place finish in the 1994 Rookie of the Year voting was the only award where he ever finished in the voting.

Next week the Tuesday edition will take a vacation, but it will return in two weeks.  It will be a little painful, as we’ll have to look back at Chris Gomez before we start into some names you’ll actually recognize.

Memorial League Baseball – Major Leaguers Killed in Action

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember those lost in action defending our freedom.  Everyone knows at least a few players who entered into military service during World War II and the Korean War, but there are a handful of major leaguers who were killed in action in those two wars, along with World War I.  Today, we look back at those players.

Alex Burr was a pitcher and center fielder for the New York Yankees in 1914.  In the minor leagues that season, he pitched in seven games with an 0-1 record, and amassed seven at bats without a hit.  He apparently started the 1914 season with the Yankees, as his only major league appearance came on April 21^st in the Yankees’ fourth game of the season, a Yankees 3-2 victory in 10 innings over the Washington Senators.  Burr entered late in the game in center field, and never had an at bat.

In 1917, Burr enlisted in the American Field Service, which was later folded into the US Army Ambulance Service.  He eventually found himself in the US Air Service.  Aviation in those days was still in its infancy, and training, let along combat, was a hazard to one’s health.  Burr’s plane collided with another plane during training over a lake where each pilot was shooting at targets.  Both planes went down in the lake.  Burr’s body didn’t surface for 12 days; the other pilot was never found.  This accident occurred on October 12^th, 1918, only a month before the war ended.  He was originally buried in France, but was later relocated to Rosehill Cemetery in his hometown of Chicago, IL.

Robert "Bun" Troy was a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers in 1912.  Troy's first year of professional baseball was in 1910 when he went 6-8, and then the following year, he went 6-11.  In 1912, his minor league record jumped to 23-14.  This earned him a late season call up to the Tigers, where he started one game, a 6-3 loss to the Washington Senators.  He pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up four runs and nine hits, striking out one and walking three.  He was also 0-2 at the plate with two strikeouts.  The opposing pitcher that day was Walter Johnson.  Ty Cobb hit .409 that season for the Tigers, but that day against Johnson, he was 0-3.  Troy would pitch two more seasons in the minors, going a combined 42-29 before his baseball career was over.  

In 1917, Troy was an Army sergeant in France when he was shot in the chest in the Meuse Argonne campaign.  He died from his wounds several days later on October 7^th, 1918 at a field hospital six miles southeast of Verdun, France.  He was originally buried in France, but was later relocated to Robinson's Run Cemetery in McDonald, PA.  That is where he grew up, but he was originally born in Wurzach, Germany.

The player with the longest major league career that was killed in action was third baseman and shortstop Eddie Grant.  Grant was originally signed by the Cleveland Naps prior to the 1905 season.  In two games that year, he had three hits in eight at bats, with a run scored and five strikeouts.  He was released by Cleveland after the season.  Grant would spend the next season in the minors for the Philadelphia Phillies, where he hit .322.

In four years with the Phillies from 1907-1910, Grant would hit .258 with 50 doubles, 20 triples, two home runs, 155 RBIs and 90 stolen bases, with 119 walks and 238 strikeouts.  He finished second in the league in 1909 with 170 hits.  After the 1910 season, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds.  In 2 1/2 seasons with the Reds, he would hit .227 with 19 doubles, eight triples, three home runs, 82 RBIs and 46 stolen bases, with 80 walks and 84 strikeouts.  In mid-1913, he was purchased by the New York Giants, when he would make his only post season appearance, a four games to one loss to the Philadelphia Athletics.  Overall with the Giants, he hit .247 with 10 doubles, two triples, 40 RBIs and 17 stolen bases, with 34 walks and 43 strikeouts.  His last game was on October 6^th, 1915.

Grant was the first major leaguer to enlist in World War I, joining the US Army.  After attaining the rank of Captain, he and his division were sent to France, and saw some limited combat before also being part of the Meuse Argonne campaign.  Grant was killed by a direct mortar hit while calling out for stretchers to carry off some of his wounded lieutenants on October 5^th, 1918, making him the first major leaguer killed in World War 1.  He was originally buried nearby, but was later relocated to the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Romagne, France.  He was later honored with a plaque at the Polo Grounds, and he still has a highway named after him in the Bronx.

Elmer Gedeon was a center fielder for the Washington Senators in 1939.  That season in the minors, he hit .253 before a late season call up.  He made his major league debut on September 18^th, 1939 in a victory over the Tigers.  Overall, in five games, he went 3-15 with a run and RBI, with two walks and five strikeouts.  He would return to the minors for the 1940 season, hitting .271.

Gedeon was drafted into the Army before the 1941 season.  He was later assigned to the Army Air Corps, and earned his pilot wings and position of Second Lieutenant by May of 1942.  That month, the B-52 bomber he was flying near Raleigh, NC crashed in a swamp.  Despite burns to his face, hands, legs and back, and three broken ribs, he returned to fiery wreckage and rescued a fellow crew member that had a broken back and broke both legs.  Gedeon's
recovery took twelve weeks, where he lost 50 pounds and required skin grafts.  He was awarded the Soldier's Medal for heroism and bravery.

In February 1944, Gedeon was assigned to RAF Boreham, United Kingdom.  On April 20^th, his B-26 was shot down near Saint-Omer, France as his squadron attacked a V-1 buzz bomb factory under construction.  He was originally declared missing in action, but his grave was located in May 1945 near Saint-Pol, France.  His remains were relocated to Arlington National Cemetery.

Harry O'Neill was a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1939.  He appeared in one major league game on July 23^rd of that year, entering the game as a defensive replacement in a 16-3 loss to the Tigers.  He didn't get an at bat that game.  He would be in the minor leagues in 1940 where he hit .238.  After that, he was out of professional baseball, but being an all around athlete, he played semi pro basketball and football between then and when he enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 1942.

O'Neill attended the Marine Officers' Training School in Virginia, graduating as a Second Lieutenant.  He was assigned to Camp Pendleton in California.  In January 1944, he was promoted to First Lieutenant, and on January 13^th, his division headed to the Pacific Theater.  On June 16^th, he suffered a shrapnel wound in an assault on Saipan.  He recovered for six days on a hospital ship before returning to combat in an assault on Tinian.

On February 19^th, 1945, O'Neill's division landed on Iwo Jima.  After an Allied aerial assault on March 5^th, his division attacked the next day, encountering heavy resistance with small arms and mortar fire throughout the day.  O'Neill was killed that day by sniper fire, one of 92 officers in the 4th Marine Division to lose their lives on Iwo Jima.  He was originally buried on Iwo Jima, but was later relocated in Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, PA, just outside of his hometown of Philadelphia.

Finally, that brings us to the only major leaguer killed in action in the Korean War.  Robert Neighbors was a shortstop for the St. Louis Browns in 1939.  From 1936 to the time he was called up, he hit .285 in the minors.  He would make his major league debut on September 16^th, 1939 in a 4-0 loss to the Senators.  In seven games with the Browns, he would hit .182 with a home run, and RBI and a strikeout.  He would return to the minors for the next two seasons, hitting .269.

Neighbors also had a brother
that was killed in WWII.

In March 1942, he enlisted in the US Army Air Forces, and he served in both Italy and the Pacific Theater in World War II.  After the war, Neighbors decided to stay in the military rather than return to baseball.  He and his crew were stationed in Korea in August 1952, when Neighbors volunteered for a bombing run after the original pilot fell ill on August 8^th.  The mission hit its first target, but encountered unexpected enemy fire on the way to the second target.  The crew radioed in that they had been hit and were bailing out, but their exact location was unknown.

Neighbors was originally listed as missing in action, but that status was changed to killed in action when he wasn't part of prisoners repatriated in a prisoner exchange at the conclusion of hostilities.

As we enjoy the long weekend, let's remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, including the players above.

1994 Rookie of the Year Countdown – Brian Anderson

Continuing our Tuesday look at the countdown to the Rookies of the Year in 1994, today we examine former Angels/Indians/Diamondbacks/Royals pitcher Brian Anderson.

Anderson was drafted in the first round (third overall pick behind Alex Rodriguez and Darren Dreifort) in the 1993 major league draft by the California Angels out

of Wright State University in Dayton, OH.  The Raiders have produced a total of four major leaguers, the most well-known being Carlos Pena.

After the draft, Anderson was assigned to AA Midland, where in two games, he went 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 2/3 innings, giving up 16 hits (including two home runs), four earned runs, and nine strikeouts with no walks.  Obviously, the 21 year old Anderson was ready to promote to AAA Vancouver.  There, also in two games, he was 0-1 with a 12.38 ERA in eight innings, giving up 13 hits (including two more home runs), 11 earned runs, and two strikeouts with six walks.  Sounds ready for the majors to me!

I'm no Roberto Alomar.

Anderson made his major league debut on September 10^th, 1993, in an Angels 10-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.  Usually you can find SOMETHING interesting that happened in a game, but this one, not so much.  The Blue Jays did score six in the bottom of the third, but on four singles, a double, and a walk.  Joe Carter hit a two run shot in the bottom of the sixth.  Oh, this was the game where Jim Edmonds got his first career hit, a pinch-hit double.

Other than that, you saw the Angels’ Phil Leftwich last only three innings, giving up all six runs to the Blue Jays in the third.  Tim Salmon and J.T. Snow for the Angels, and Rickey Henderson and John Olerud for the Blue Jays all went hitless on the day.  And then there was Anderson, who finished off the day for Angels, tossing two innings where he would give up two hits and a run with two strikeouts.  Both of those strikeouts came from pinch hitters Domingo Cedeno (pinch hitting for Roberto Alomar) and Willie Canate (pinch hitting for Joe Carter).  I hope Anderson sent Cito Gaston at least a thank you card.

Overall, in four appearances in September 1993, Anderson would not have a decision, throwing 11 1/3 innings, allowing 11 hits, five runs, and striking out four while walking two.

Anderson would start the 1994 season on the roster as the fifth starter in the Angels rotation, which included Chuck Finley, Mark Langston, Phil Leftwich and Joe Magrane.  In Anderson’s first start of the season, he pitched into the ninth inning in a 4-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.  He got Kevin Seitzer to ground out in the top of the ninth before he allowed a Turner Ward single and Tom Brunansky double.  Joe Grahe came in to get the save, earning Anderson his first career victory.

Duuuude... I just,
like, SAVED you.

Anderson’s next start, again against the Blue Jays, was a fun one.  He went six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) while striking out four and walking two.  He left the Angels with a 6-3 lead.  The Angels’ Scott Lewis came in and threw a perfect seventh inning, but ran into trouble after an error in the eighth.  Lewis allowed three runs to score, but only one earned.  He, Bob Patterson and Mike Butcher allowed a total of five runs to score, so it was now 8-6 Blue Jays.  The Angels couldn’t answer in the bottom of the eighth.

It was the best of times; it
was the worst of times, eh?

Butcher would trot out to start the top of the ninth, but after allowing singles to Devon White and Roberto Alomar, followed by a two run single by Paul Molitor, he was relieved by Bill Sampen.  Sampen would get Joe Carter to fly out before allowing a John Olerud single, followed by a three run shot by Carlos Delgado.  Another five spot by the Blue Jays made it 13-6.  This is when everyone at Anaheim Stadium left, except for a handful of people who had nothing else better to do, and the travelling Toronto fans eager to watch the end of such a great comeback victory.  Until the Angels put up SEVEN RUNS in the bottom of the ninth to tie it.  Ultimately, the Angels Craig Lefferts got the win, and the Blue Jays Scott Brow got the loss when Damion Easley singled in Tim Salmon in the bottom of the 10^th inning, giving the Angels the 14-13 victory.  Anyway, back to Anderson.

Anderson had two more quality starts in April, earning victories and going eight or more innings in both.  Overall in four April starts, he went 3-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 31 innings, giving up 10 runs (nine earned) while striking out 14 and walking nine.

May would not be so kind to Anderson.  It appears as if he caught the injury bug, as in two starts, he went 0-1 with a 22.09 ERA in 3 1/3 innings, allowing nine runs while striking out two and walking one.  He wouldn’t pitch in the majors for another month.  He did get a couple of rehab starts at A+ Lake Elsinore, where he went 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings, giving up four runs while striking out nine and not walking a batter.

He returned to the Angels on June 7^th, and only lasted 2 2/3 innings, giving up four earned runs while striking out one and walking four in an Angels 8-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins.  His next two starts were good, earning wins and going seven or more innings in both.  His record on June 17^th was 5-1, which was pretty much the high water mark of the season.  We’ll get to this a little later.  Overall in June, in five starts he went 2-2 with a 7.11 ERA in 25 1/3 innings, giving up 20 runs and striking out 11 while also walking 11.

I’m not sure Anderson was ever quite right in 1994 after his injury.  In his last start in June, and first start in July, he only combined for 3 2/3 innings, and he gave up 10 runs (nine earned).  Overall for July, he went 2-2 with a 5.93 ERA in 27 1/3 innings, giving up 20 runs (18 earned) while striking out 13 and walking six.

Anderson looked pretty good in his two starts in early August to end the season.  In those two starts, he didn’t have a decision, but he had an ERA of 1.88 in 14 1/3 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) while striking out seven and walking none.

For the season, Anderson went 7-5 with a 5.22 ERA in 101 2/3 innings, giving up 63 runs (59 earned) while striking out 47 and walking 27.  Rookie of the Year voters must have remembered the first half of his season.

Anderson made 18 starts in 1994.  In his first nine starts, he was 5-1, and the Angels went 7-2.  He received 7.33 runs a game in run support, which was slightly better than the 6.44 runs per game that the Angels allowed.  In his other nine starts, he was 2-4, and the angels went 2-7.  He only received 5.00 runs per game in run support, and the Angels allowed 8.57 runs per game.  Actually, to break it down even more, the Angels scored 13 and 14 runs respectively in Anderson’s two second half victories.  In the other seven losses, they only scored 2.57 runs per game – never more than three in any one game.

In 1995, his last season with the Angels, he would go 6-8, with 17 starts covering close to 100 innings.  His home runs allowed jumped from 13 the previous year to 24, in roughly the same number of innings. 

Before the 1996 season, Anderson was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Jason Grimsley and Pep Harris.  In his two years in Cleveland, he went 7-3 in 17 spot starts as he shuffled back and forth between Cleveland and AAA Buffalo.  Still, the Indians left him unprotected, and the Diamondbacks picked him as the second pick in the expansion draft.

In five seasons with the Diamondbacks, he went 41-42 across 160 appearances (129 starts) with 410 strikeouts and 153 walks.  He also gave up 143 home runs, including a league leading 39 in 1998.  After the 2002 season, Anderson was released, and shortly thereafter, he was signed by the Indians.

In 2003, Anderson’s second time around with the Indians wasn’t as smooth.  He went 9-10 in 24 starts, despite a 3.71 ERA.  On August 25^th, he was traded with a player to be named later to the Kansas City Royals for Trey Dyson, Kieran Mattison and cash.  In Kansas City, he had a bit of a renaissance, going 5-1 with a 3.99 ERA in seven starts.

He would resign with the Royals for two more years, but in between the start of the 2004 season and early May 2005, he went 7-14 with a 5.81 ERA in 32 starts.  His last major league game was on May 8^th, 2005, when he threw a two inning start in a Royals 10-8 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Overall for his career, Anderson was 82-83 with a 4.74 ERA, striking out 723 while walking 337.  He had 12 complete games with four shutouts and one save.  He went to the World Series twice, losing with the Indians to the Marlins in 1997, and winning with the Diamondbacks over the Yankees in 2001.  He hit one career home run.  On August 4^th, 1999, he took the Giants’ Mark Gardner deep in the second inning of a Diamondbacks 8-4 victory.  Gardner was in relief of Giants’ STARTER Joe Nathan, who only lasted one inning after giving up five runs in the bottom of the first.

Now what do we do?

Anderson never lived up to his draft pick, but there’s nothing wrong with being a decent back-end-of-the-starting-rotation starter.  I mean, the Astros have four or five of those every year!

Next week’s look back at the 1994 Rookie of the Year voting focuses on former Padres/Blue Jays/Reds pitcher Joey Hamilton.

George Brett, Bath Salts, and the day Don Mattingly Played Second Base

Today is the George Brett’s 61^st birthday!  Today, we’re going to mainly examine his early career, right up to the day he unfortunately got high on bath salts, hit a home run, and damn near killed Tim McClelland.

Brett was drafted in the second round (29^th overall) of the 1971 draft by the Kansas City Royals out of El Segundo High School, in El Segundo, CA, one spot ahead of fellow Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.  Comically, both of those guys were drafted as shortstops.  They would not stick at shortstop.

Upon his signing, the Royals assigned Brett to rookie ball Billings, where he was more than likely always cold, he hit .291 with eight doubles, five triples, five home runs and 44 RBIs, with 32 walks and 38 strikeouts.  Those are pretty solid numbers for an 18 year old.  However, at a fielding rate of .890, there was certainly progress to be made.

In 1972, Brett was promoted to a more pleasant climate in A ball San Jose, where he would again produce solid if not spectacular numbers, hitting .274 with 13 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs and 68 RBIs, with 53 walks and 53 strikeouts.  Playing mostly third base now, he improved his fielding percentage to .913, but he still made 30 errors at third base.

The Royals saw it fit to promote him all the way to AAA Omaha for the 1973 season.  At age 20, he was nearly five years younger than league average, but he would hit .284 with 16 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 64 RBIs, with 48 walks and 45 strikeouts.  Now playing full time at third base, his fielding percentage improved again to .923.

The Royals would promote him to the big club on August 2^nd, where he would start at third base, going 1-4 with a strikeout in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.  He got his first major league hit in the fifth inning that day off White Sox’ starter Stan Bahnsen.  His short stint with the Royals were certainly not a sign of things to come, as he only hit .125 with two doubles and five strikeouts across 40 at bats in 13 games.

Brett would start out the 1974 season again at AAA Omaha.  There, in 16 games, he would hit .266 with two doubles, two home runs and 14 RBIs, with six walks and ONE strikeout.  ONE strikeout in 70 plate appearances.  The 21 year old Brett would never return to the minors.  Brett would get his first career home run on May 8^th of that year, off of Texas Rangers’ starter Fergie Jenkins.  Brett’s major league line for that season was .282 with 21 doubles, five triples, two home runs and 47 RBIs, with 21 walks and 38 strikeouts.  His batting average wouldn’t go lower than that for another 17 years.  His efforts earned him a third place finish in the AL Rookie of the Year voting behind the Rangers’ Mike Hargrove and the White Sox’ Bucky Dent.

Brett’s first full season in the big leagues in 1975 was exceptional, and even more so when you break it down.  At the end of April, he was only hitting .250 with four extra base hits – three doubles and a triple – and eight RBIs.  From that point on, he hit .315 with 55 extra base hits and 82 RBIs.  He hit .358 in the final month of the season!  Overall, he hit .308 in a league leading 634 at bats, with a league leading 195 hits, 35 doubles, a league tying 13 triples, 11 home runs and 90 RBIs, with 46 walks and 49 strikeouts.  He even had 13 stolen bases, although he was also caught 10 times.  He would finish a distant 11^th in the AL MVP voting, which was won by Rookie of the Year Fred Lynn.

Even though 1975 was impressive, Brett would get even better for the 1976 season.  He would lead the league with a .333 batting average, again leading the league with 645 at bats, and again, he led the league in hits with a career high 215.  To go with those numbers, he had 34 doubles, a league leading 14 triples, seven home runs and 67 RBIs, with 49 walks and 36 strikeouts.  He also added another 21 stolen bases.  He finished second in the AL MVP race to Thurman Munson, and he started his 13 year streak of All Star appearances.

Brett missed about 20 games during the 1977 season, and about 30 the next season, but he still put up good numbers.  He hit a combined .304 with 77 doubles (including a league leading 45 in ’78), 21 triples, 31 home runs and 150 RBIs, with 94 walks and 59 strikeouts.  He made the All Star squad both years, and finished 13^th in the MVP voting in ’77, and 19^th in the MVP voting in ’78.

In 1979, he played a full season again, and showed flashes of being a Hall of Fame player.  On five separate occasions, he missed hitting for the cycle by one hit (needing three home runs and two doubles in those games).  Then there was the day that he DID hit for the cycle; the day after I was born, May 28^th.  In that game, a Royals 16 inning, 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, he went 5-7 with a double, a triple, TWO home runs and a walk, and had four RBIs and three runs scored.  Deciding it was seriously time to go home, Brett led off the bottom of the 16^th with his second home run of the day off of Orioles’ reliver Sammy Stewart.

Then, on July 22^nd, Brett had THREE home runs in a 7-6 victory over the Rangers.  Don’t forget the two games where he had two triples on June 20^th and August 20^th.  Overall for the 1979 season, he hit .329 with a league leading 212 hits, 42 doubles, a league leading 20 triples, 23 home runs and 107 RBIs, with 51 walks and 36 strikeouts.  Again an All Star, he would finish third in the AL MVP voting behind Don Baylor and Ken Singleton.  Tired of getting votes but not winning, Brett decided to do something about it.

Uh...

In 1980, Brett missed a month of the season from June 11^th to July 9^th.  He also missed a handful of games in early May and mid-September.  Still, as of September 19^th, he was still hitting an even .400.  When he was healthy, he was carrying the Royals into the playoffs, and eventually, the World Series, where they would lose to Schmidt’s Phillies.  That season, Brett hit a league leading .390 with 33 doubles, nine triples, 24 home runs and career high 118 RBIs, with 58 walks and 22 strikeouts.  He also led the league in OBP at .454, SLG at .664, and OPS at 1.118.  Along with the All Star appearance, he finally won the AL MVP besting Reggie Jackson, and he won a Silver Slugger award.

Brett came back to earth somewhat in 1981 and 1982, where he hit a combined .306 with 59 doubles, 16 triples, 27 home runs and 125 RBIs, with 98 walks and 74 strikeouts.  He finished 27^th in the AL MVP voting in ’81, and 20^th in the voting in ’82.  This leads us to the 1983 season…

In 1983, Brett exploded out of the gate.  In 16 games, he hit .460 with 12 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 20 RBIs, with nine walks and five strikeouts.  On April 20^th, in an 8-7 win over the Detroit Tigers, he went 4-5 with THREE home runs (including the go ahead two run shot off of Howard Bailey in the top of the ninth) with SEVEN RBIs.  He cooled off in May, “only” hitting .299, then in June, he missed about 20 games but hit .321.

Let’s just fast forward to July 24^th of that year.  Coming into that day, Brett was hitting .352 with 25 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs and 62 RBIs.  You wouldn’t think that Brett would do something like take bath salts, but that’s pretty much the only way you can explain this:

Note the ump attempting to give Brett the crossface chicken wing.

The Royals were down 4-3 when Brett stepped to the plate with two outs in the top of the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium.  Thank goodness U.L. Washington singled off of Dale Murray, or we wouldn’t have experienced any of this madness.  Billy Martin made the call to the pen to bring in Goose Gossage.  Brett promptly took Gossage deep.  After rounding the bases, Martin had the umps check his bat for pine tar.  When McClelland called him out, which would end the game, he seeming almost paid with his life.

Guidry, with his normal post-game routine of
spare ribs and coffee while icing his arm.

Ultimately, the Royals protested, and the home run was upheld.  The game would be completed almost a month later on August 18^th, and if you didn’t know what happened, you would see some weird things on the interwebs.  Like, why would all of these changes happen just because Brett hit a home run?  Don Mattingly is now playing second base?!  RON GUIDRY IS IN CENTER FIELD.  Fortunately for both of them, George Frazier struck out Hal McRae, sparing both of them at most injury, and at least, a spot on the blooper reel.

Brett was either still mad about the whole thing, or was feeling the side effects of the bath salts, for the final two months of the season, only hitting .247 after August 1^st.  For 1983 and 1984 combined, he hit .298 with 59 doubles, five triples, 38 home runs and 162 RBIs, with 95 walks and 76 strikeouts.

HE'S ON BATH SALTS AGAIN!!!  Oh, wait.

In 1985, Brett would lead the Royals to a World Series victory of the St. Louis Cardinals in the I-70 series.  His .335 batting average and 112 RBIs were the second highest totals of his career, and his 103 walks were the only time he walked more than 100 times in a season.  Additionally, he hit 38 doubles, five triples, and a career high 30 home runs, only striking out 49 times.  He finished second in the AL MVP voting to Don Mattingly, and he won his first Gold Glove and second Silver Slugger award.

The last eight years of Brett’s career were still very solid, as he closed his career hitting .288 with 265 doubles, 29 triples, 124 RBIs and 618 RBIs, with 481 walks and 464 strikeouts.  His .329 average in 1990 led the AL, making him the only player to ever win a batting title in three different decades.  He finished 12^th in the AL MVP voting in 1988, and seventh in the voting in 1990.

In his Hall of Fame career, Brett hit .305 with 3154 hits (16^th all time), 665 doubles (6^th all time), 137 triples, 317 home runs and 1596 RBIs (34^th all time), with 1096 walks and 908 strikeouts, adding 201 stolen bases.  Also, his defense improved greatly over the years, as his career fielding percentage was .970.  His career WAR of 88.4 is 30^th all time.  Of his 1096 walks, 229 of them were intentional, good for seventh all time.

While today we have some very good third basemen playing, it’s hard to imagine David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman or Evan Longoria ever being remotely as good as Brett was.  Had Scott Rolen managed to stay healthy, he may have been able to get close.

So today, we wish George Brett a Happy Birthday, and remember kids, don’t do bath salts.

1994 Rookie of the Year Countdown – William VanLandingham

Continuing our Tuesday look at the countdown to the Rookies of the Year in 1994, today we examine former Giants pitcher William VanLandingham.

VanLandingham was drafted in the fifth round of the 1991 major league draft by the San Francisco Giants out of the University of Kentucky.  The Wildcats have produced 31 major leaguers, including Brandon Webb, Joe Blanton, Jim Leyritz, and many more you’ve never heard of.  The fifth round of the 1991 draft produced eight total players who saw time in the majors, most notably Nomar Garciaparra, who would decline the Brewers offer and go to college, and least notably outfielder DaRond Stovall, who was drafted by my Cardinals.

After his signing in 1991, VanLandingham was assigned to A- ball Everett, where he was very average.  Unfortunately, players who are average in A- ball don’t have much of a future.  At Everett, he would go 8-4 with a 4.09 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 79 walks.  He also threw 25 wild pitches in 77 innings.

1992 saw VanLandingham split time between A ball Clinton and A+ ball San Jose.  Unfortunately, he was not average at either stop.  He combined to go 1-7 with a 5.64 ERA with 77 strikeouts and 42 walks.  But he did cut his wild pitches down to only 10 in 75 innings, so that was something, and at this point, in 152 minor league innings, he had only allowed two home runs.

VanLandingham spent the majority of the 1993 season again at A+ ball San Jose.  While he did go 14-8, and had 173 strikeouts in 170 1/3 innings, he also allowed 175 hits and 87 walks, which translated to a WHIP of 1.555.  His ERA was 5.18.  This was apparently good enough to get a promotion for one start to AAA Phoenix, where he would get a loss, giving up six runs (five earned) and eight hits while striking out two.

In 1994, VanLandingham would start the season at AA Shreveport, where in eight games, he would go 4-3 with a 2.81 ERA and 45 strikeouts vs. only 11 walks.  This earned him a promotion back to AAA Phoenix, where in five games, he would go 1-1 with a 2.48 ERA and 29 strikeouts vs. 14 walks.  The Giants determined that he was ready for the show.

I don't think you're
doing it right, Steve.

VanLandingham made his major league debut on May 21^st, 1994 in a relief appearance against the Chicago Cubs.  The Cubs lit up Giants’ starter Bryan Hickerson for eight runs in 1 1/3 innings (although one of those runs VanLandingham let score as an inherited runner).  He would hold down the fort, giving up only one run in 3 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and four walks with four strikeouts.  The Giants would pull within 9-7 by the middle of the fifth inning, but the Cubs would add on three more runs, and the Giants’ three runs in the top of the ninth fell short as the Cubs won 12-10 behind Steve Buechele’s four RBIs and Sammy Sosa’s two solo home runs.  Overall with that appearance and a couple of starts, he went 1-0 with a 2.40 ERA and nine strikeouts vs. 10 walks.

June would see VanLandingham continue to provide stability to the Giants’ rotation.  In five starts, he would go 2-1 with a 4.56 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 14 walks.  Even with the increased ERA, opponents only hit .230 off of him that month.

In July, VanLandingham would make five more starts and a relief appearance, going 4-0 with a 2.83 ERA with 30 strikeouts vs. 14 walks.  He never gave up more than four runs in any start.  In the only start where he didn’t get a victory, he only gave up one run in seven innings, and in his two inning relief appearance, he got a perfect six up, six down.

With the player’s strike impending, VanLandingham only would get two starts in August, going 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA with three strikeouts and five walks.  This closed the book on the very short season for VanLandingham.

Overall, on his way to the seventh place finish in the 1994 Rookie of the Year voting, VanLandingham went 8-2 with a 3.54 ERA.  In 84 innings, he gave up 70 hits (four of which were home runs), and he had 56 strikeouts vs. 43 walks.  The win/loss record was probably enough to get votes, especially when in comparison to the other members of the 1994 Giants rotation.  The Giants finished 55-60 that year.  VanLandingham was actually tied for second on the team in victories with 8-7 Bill Swift, both runners up to 10-8 Mark Portugal.

VanLandingham would pitch three more seasons with the Giants, compiling a 27-26 record with a 4.54 ERA with 300 strikeouts vs. 220 walks.  His last major league game was against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 27^th, 1997, where he would earn a loss, giving up three runs in five innings.  The last inning he threw was typical VanLandingham – ground out, fly out, walk, stolen base allowed, wild pitch, strikeout looking.

VanLandingham would sign with the Anaheim Angels for the 1998 season, but never made it back to the majors after going 0-6 with an 11.23 ERA and 12 strikeouts vs. 44 walks for AAA Vancouver.  One major league record VanLandingham held was longest last name.  That record has since been broken by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Next week’s look at the 1994 Rookie of the Year voting will focus on former Angels / Indians / Diamondbacks / Royals hurler Brian Anderson.

Happy Mother Watson Day!

In the annals of baseball history, there has never been a player named “Mother”.  While that might not be a shock to anyone, there WAS a player back in the late 19^th century that had “Mother” as a nickname.  His name was Walter L. “Mother” Watson.

Watson was born on January 27^th, 1865 in Middleport, OH, a small town on the Ohio River in the southeastern corner of the state.  Watson stood at 5’ 9”, and was 145 lbs. by the time he made it to the majors on May 19^th, 1887.  He would only pitch in one other major league game eight days later.

In those two games for the Cincinnati RedStockings, Watson would have a record of 0-1 with 14 innings pitched and one complete game, allowing 22 hits, 18 runs (only nine of which were earned), six walks and one strikeout.  His ERA was 5.79 and his WHIP was 2.000.  At the plate, he garnered 10 plate appearances with eight at bats, getting a hit and scoring a run, while also walking one and being hit by a pitch.  In the field, he had two errors in three chances, good for a .333 fielding percentage.

The following year, he would play for the minor league Zanesville Kickapoos.  If you can believe it, there aren’t any statistics available for him.  Or the team.  Or the league.  That was the last year he would play professional baseball.

Watson died on November 23, 1898 of a gunshot wound at the age of 33 in his hometown.  Being the day before Thanksgiving, the only thing I can reasonably assume is that it was in a possible turkey hunting accident.  Actually, he was shot in Gardner’s Saloon by Louis Schreiner, who would flee the country and become the subject of an international manhunt.  After all, he did murder a Mother.