DO NOT BLAME DAVE STIEB

My daily baseball calendar gave me another fantastic piece of information today.  This time, it revolves around Dave Stieb, the most Canadian person ever from Santa Ana, California.

Stieb was drafted in the fifth round of the 1978 Major League draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, out of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  The Salukis have produced a total of 29 players, including Stieb, Steve Finley, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Ray Fosse.

In 19 minor league games at the end of the 1978 season and first half of 1979, in 19 games, Stieb had two shutouts over seven complete games, going 12-2 with a 2.95 ERA and 66 strikeouts vs. 43 walks.  The Blue Jays decided he was ready for the big show.

Stieb made his Major League debut on June 19^th, 1979, in a 6-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.  He allowed all six runs (five earned) while giving up six hits and two walks and striking out five.  Things weren’t going too bad until he gave up back to back home runs in the bottom of the sixth to Doug DeCinces and Lee May.  He had a decent first year, going 8-8 with a 4.31 ERA and 52 strikeouts vs. 48 walks.  He had a total of seven complete games out of 18 games started that year, with one shutout.

Stieb would make the AL All Star team the next two seasons, when he combined to go 23-25 with a 3.48 ERA and 197 strikeouts vs. 144 walks.  He started 57 of the 59 games in which he pitched, throwing 25 complete games with six shutouts.  He even finished 27^th in the AL MVP voting in 1981.  He earned AL Pitcher of the Month in April of 1980 when he went 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA and 15 strikeouts vs. 14 walks.  That month, he had three complete games and a shutout, only allowing four runs in 33 innings.

The next four seasons saw three All Star appearances, and also three seasons where he received votes for the AL Cy Young award.  Overall, he was 64-47 with a 2.91 ERA and 693 strikeouts vs. 352 walks.  Of his 145 starts, he completed 52 of them, with 13 shutouts.  He averaged 275 innings per season over those four seasons, totaling 1098 1/3 innings.  In those innings, he gave up 915 hits, but with his walk rate under three per nine innings, his WHIP was 1.154.  Stieb would again win AL Pitcher of the Month in May of ’83 (5-1; 1.73 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 22 walks; three complete games and two shutouts) and May of ’85 (4-1; 1.69 ERA, 34 strikeouts and 16 walks, one complete game).

1986 and 1987 were somewhat down years for Stieb.  For those two seasons, he was 20-21 with a 4.43 ERA and 242 strikeouts vs. 174 walks.  In 390 innings, he gave up 403 hits, and with his walks per nine innings hitting exactly four, his WHIP shot up to 1.479.  He only had four complete games with two shutouts over those two seasons, also notching his first career save on July 23^rd, 1986.

Then came 1988.  There was nothing particularly remarkable about Stieb’s numbers that season.  Overall, he went 16-8 with a 3.04 ERA and 147 strikeouts vs. 79 walks.  Pretty decent numbers, and they even earned him an All Star bid.  He had eight complete games and four shutouts.  Long gone were the days of almost touching 300 innings; after throwing 265 in 1985, the highest total he would have was 208 2/3 in 1990.  He was an inning and a third short of that in ’88.

The reason we’re talking about 1988 is because the Blue Jays, for the most part, were not a good team in 1988.  At the end of May, they were seven games under .500.  Entering August, they were only three games under .500, but 11 ½ games back of the Boston Red Sox.  They didn’t show much improvement that month; August 31^st, they sat at 65-68, still 10 ½ games out of first place.

That's $29.84 American.

That’s when I imagine that Stieb, in his Santa Ana, CA accent (whatever that sounds like), called out his ragtag bunch of Canadians, set a fire under their bellies and DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT.  He said “WE CAN WIN THIS THING, HEY?”  They then explained that it isn’t “hey”, it’s “eh”.  It sounds like “hey”, but without the H at the beginning.  He asked why they never corrected him in his nine plus seasons there.  They explained that he wasn’t ever a leader really, but now that he was stepping up, they felt it necessary to say something.  He appreciated their honesty, and wrote them all a check for $37C.

From September 1^st on, the Blue Jays went 22-7, finishing the season 87-75.  They narrowly missed the playoffs, finishing two games back of Boston, but it was a team that Canada could be proud of (Les Expos finished 81-81, but 20 games back of the New York Mets).

Wilkerson had a career .000
batting average on a 3-0
count, but an OBP of .966.

One probably wondered whether Stieb was going to make it at all that September, though.  In his first start on September 2^nd against the Texas Rangers, he only lasted one inning, giving up four runs – all earned – on a hit and a walk.  Huh?  Well, the first inning started off just fine, with Stieb only allowing a single and stolen base to Oddibe McDowell.  In the second inning, the wheels came off.  He walked the first three batters on 16 pitches, and after throwing three balls to Curt Wilkerson, he was replaced in mid-count by John Cerutti.  Cerutti promptly threw ball four to Wilkerson, allowing Geno Petralli to score.  After allowing an RBI single to Jim Sundberg, Cerutti retired McDowell and then allowed a three run triple to Scott Fletcher.  The Jays would come back to tie the game with home runs from George Bell and Fred McGriff, along with an RBI single by Tony Fernandez.  The Rangers would tie it at six all in the top of the ninth, when Sundberg would hit a solo home run off of Tom Henke, but Bell hit a walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the frame, scoring Fernandez and giving the Jays the 7-6 victory.

54 career home runs
in 17 seasons.

Cerutti was unable to help out Stieb in his next appearance.  After Stieb threw seven innings of three run ball (two earned) against the Detroit Tigers where he struck out six and walked two, Cerutti gave up a two out double in the bottom of the ninth to Chet Lemon.  After intentionally walking the VERY DANGEROUS pinch hitter Dave Bergman, Alan Trammell pinched hit for Tom Brookens, and singled home Lemon.  Through his first two September starts, Stieb didn’t have a decision, and his ERA was 6.75.

Stieb’s next start was also against the Tigers, and this time, he owned them.  His only blemish on the day came in the top of the third, when Jim Walewander hit a leadoff double, and after a balk put him on third, Bergman knocked him in on a groundout to Kelly Gruber.  After allowing leadoff singles to Luis Salazar and Fred Lynn to start the eighth, Tony Castillo came in and promptly got Mike Heath to hit into a double play, followed by a groundout by Ray Knight.  The Blue Jays won 9-1, with Jesse Barfield putting the nail in the coffin, hitting his third and final career grand slam in the bottom of the seventh off of Paul Gibson.  Stieb went 7+ innings, only allowing six hits and two walks while striking out four.  The run that he allowed in the fourth inning would be the last one he would allow over his next 35 innings pitched.

Stieb’s next start on September 18^th was against the Cleveland Indians.  Through the first three innings, it was a true battle between Stieb and the Tribe’s rookie Rod Nichols, as the only runner allowed was a Stieb walk to Cory Snyder, who was erased by a double play off of the bat of Dave Clark.  In the top of the fourth, the Indians loaded the bases with no outs, but Stieb was able to work his way out of that.  In a snapshot of how the game has changed in the last 26 years, even with loading the bases and then getting three outs, Stieb only threw a total of 17 pitches that inning.  He only threw six pitches in the eighth inning!  On his way to the complete game shutout, he scattered four hits and two walks while striking out four.  Nichols also pitched a complete game, giving up four runs.  Combined, the pitchers threw 218 pitches, and the game took 2:10 to complete.

Stieb would get the Indians again in his next start six days later in Cleveland.  Matched up against Nichols again, this was an epic duel.  The Blue Jays nearly took the lead in the top of the second inning, when they strung together three hits with two outs, but Barfield was thrown out at home by left fielder Mel Hall.  Entering the ninth inning, Nichols had given up seven hits and three walks across 121 pitches.  Stieb had given up ZERO hits and two walks across 106 pitches.

In the top of the ninth, McGriff would lead off the inning with a single.  Rance Mulliniks would bunt him to second, and after a Rick Leach single got him to third, Rob Ducey took seven pitches to knock him in on a sacrifice fly to center field.  Manuel Lee would strike out to end the inning with the Blue Jays leading 1-0.

Franco played one week in
2014 for the Ft. Worth Cats.

In the bottom of the frame, no hitter in tact, Stieb struck out Andy Allanson to lead off the inning.  Willie Upshaw then pinch hit for Paul Zuvella, grounding out to second base.  Julio Franco was the Tribe’s last hope.  Franco watched the first pitch for a ball, and watched the next two pitches, both called strikes.  After fouling off the next three pitches, then taking another ball, he singled on a ground ball to center field, breaking up the no hitter with two outs in the ninth.  Clark then flew out to center field, ending the game.  Stieb threw a total of 127 pitches, allowing just the one hit and two walks with eight strikeouts.  Nichols was the hard-luck loser that day, allowing nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts across 137 pitches.  This game took slightly longer, going 2:31 in front of a crowd of 8157 in Cleveland Stadium.

Stieb’s final start of the 1988 season came on September 30^th in Toronto, in the Blue Jays’ 160 game of the season.  They entered the day 4 ½ games back after beating the Red Sox 1-0 the day before on a masterful performance by Jimmy Key, where he only allowed two singles and one walk, needing only 99 pitches in the complete game shutout.

The Blue Jays got an early lead after Tony Fernandez tripled on the first pitch he saw that day from the Orioles’ Jeff Ballard.  The next batter was Kelly Gruber, who singled Fernandez home.  On the pitching side of things, Stieb was perfect through the first three innings, only needing 31 pitches to get through the O’s lineup the first time around.  In the top of the fourth, Stieb would hit Joe Orsulak with his second pitch of the inning, but he was erased one pitch later when Pete Stanicek grounded into a double play.

Through five innings, Stieb had still not allowed a hit, and the only runner he had allowed was Orsulak after 48 pitches.  In the bottom of the fifth, the Blue Jays put together a two out rally, with singles by Nelson Liriano and Ducey, preceded an RBI single by Fernandez and a two run triple by Gruber.  No damage was done by the Orioles in the sixth.  Stanicek’s one out walk in the seventh was erased by a Cal Ripken Jr. lineout double play a batter later.  After seven innings, Stieb had still only faced the minimum number of hitters and had not allowed a hit, and he was at 80 pitches.

The eighth inning was more of the same from Stieb, only needing eight pitches to dispatch Eddie Murray, Terry Kennedy and Larry Sheets.  The Blue Jays went down quietly in the bottom half of the inning, setting up Stieb’s second chance at history in a week’s time.

Blue Jays’ fans hardly had time to get out of their seats in the top of the ninth, with Brady Andersongrounding out to first after two pitches, and pinch hitter Jeff Stone grounding out to Stieb on the first pitch he saw.  With two outs, Jim Traber, pinch hitting for Craig Worthington, was the only man standing between Stieb and the history books.  On a 2-2 count, Traber connected for career hit 137, a bloop single just inside the right field line, ending Stieb’s bid for the no hitter.  Two pitches later, Orsulak grounded out to third base, completing his third shutout in a row.  Stieb only needed 90 pitches that day.  On the other side, Ballard had a complete game as well, only needing 99 pitches.  Other than the first and fifth innings, he only allowed one other hit that day.  The game only took 1:52 to complete.

Stieb had quite a finish to the 1988 season.  Along with the two one hitters in his last two starts, he also had one on May 31^st, but this one was not quite as dramatic, as the only hit of the day was a one out single by B.J. Surhoff in a 9-0 victory over the Brewers.

After a pretty good 1989 season, Stieb would eventually get his no hitter, throwing it in the Year of the No Hitter, 1990.  On September 2^nd, he would no-hit the Indians in Cleveland.  1990 was the last year Stieb would be an effective pitcher, when he went 18-6 with a 2.93 ERA and 125 strikeouts vs. 64 walks.  He was an All Star, and finished 5^th in the AL Cy Young Award voting, and 25^th in the AL MVP voting.

In Stieb’s last two years in Toronto, he would only pitch in 30 games, going 8-9 with a 4.33 ERA and 74 strikeouts vs. 66 walks.  After the 1992 season, he signed with the Chicago White Sox, but after going 1-3 with a 6.04 ERA and 27 strikeouts vs. 17 walks, he was released on May 23^rd, 1993.  He signed with the Kansas City Royals on June 14^th, but he was released six weeks later after going 3-3 with a 6.42 ERA and 18 strikeouts vs. 12 walks at AAA Omaha (but he did have a complete game shutout there).

For some reason, Stieb decided to play, and the Blue Jays decided to sign him, in 1998, after being out of baseball for four years.  Starting the season 20 years removed from his first stint at Dunedin, and later returning to Syracuse after a 19 year absence, he combined to go 7-4 with a 2.78 ERA and 66 strikeouts vs. 22 walks in 81 innings across 12 games, all starts.  He even threw two complete games!

The 1998 Blue Jays were good on the offensive side of the ball.  Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green and Jose Canseco all hit 35+ home runs.  Green contributed 35 stolen bases, and Shannon Stewart added 51 more.  Then we look at the pitching.  Roger Clemens went 20-6 on his way to the Cy Young Award.  All other pitchers combined to go 68-68.  The other starters were mainly pre-Dave Duncan Chris Carter and Woody Williams, and decline phase Pat Hentgen and Juan Guzman (Guzman’s peak lasted three years; his decline phase lasted seven).

Stieb had aged quite a bit
by the time '98 rolled around.

When Stieb made his season debut on June 18^th, the Blue Jays were 34-37.  I guess at that point, they really had nothing to lose by calling him up, since they were already 17 ½ games back.  Entering the game with a 13-6 lead over the Orioles, he danced around three hits without giving up a run.  Almost a month later, on July 15^th, he would get his first start of the season, a 5-2 loss to the White Sox, giving up four runs in six innings.  He would get his second career save on August 19^th, in a 16-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.  Ten days later, he would get his final career victory in his second start of the season, a 14-7 victory over the Minnesota Twins, then six days later, he would get his third and final career save in a 12-1 win over the Red Sox.  Finally, in his last start of the season, he couldn’t summon the magic of 10 years earlier, losing to the Indians 7-5.  Overall that season, he went 1-2 with a 4.83 ERA and two saves, with 27 strikeouts vs. 17 walks.

For his career, Stieb went 176-137 with a 3.44 ERA and three saves, with 1669 strikeouts vs. 1034 walks.  His 140 wins in the 1980’s trailed only Jack Morris’ 162 during that decade.  Nearly always leading or among the leaders in hit batsmen, his career total of 129 ranks 37^th of all time.  The BBWAA concluded he was not a Hall of Famer, with him only garnering 1.4% of the vote in his first and only appearance in 2004.  Still, his 57.0 career WAR ranks him 69^th all time for a pitcher.  Always a good defender, he only made 22 errors in 787 chances, good for a career fielding percentage of .972.  He didn’t have enough games pitched to qualify, but if he had, that would rank him tied for 67^th best fielding percentage for a pitcher all time.

Fun fact – Stieb never had a hit in his two career at bats, but he did score two runs.  In 1981 and 1986, he scored a run as a pinch runner.  His first career at bat came on August 28^th, 1980 as a pinch hitter/LEFT FIELDER in a 15 inning, 7-5 loss to the California Angels, where he flew out to center field in the bottom of the 15^th inning.  His final career at bat came nearly 18 years later, grounding out to Tom Glavine in a 10-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on June 28^th, 1998.

Even though Stieb was never officially on a World Series winner (he last pitched on August 8^th, 1992), they did award him a ring after the 1992 season.  He has the only no hitter in Blue Jays history.  He still is the all time leader for the Blue Jays in wins, ERA, games started, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched and strikeouts.  And probably one hitters lost with two outs in the ninth inning.

Tiger Tuesday – Bobby Higginson

Don’t worry people, this won’t be our weekly feature!  But since I haven’t had the time to really think about what to do on an ongoing basis, the first thing to pop into my head today was Tiger Tuesday.  Ok, so maybe I’m going crazy.  After settling on that idea, the first Tiger that came into my head was Al Kaline.  But he’s already been mentioned in one of my blogs.  Plus, that’s a little earlier than where this blog is supposed to focus.  The second Tiger to pop into my head was Bobby Higginson.  With this, I accomplished two things:  I nailed the epitome of who/what this blog is supposed to focus on, and I also confirmed that I was in fact going crazy.  The Detroit Tigers have played baseball for 120 years, and the second Tiger player to pop into my head is Bobby Higginson.  But what’s done is done, so let’s take a look at Robert Leigh Higginson.

Mike Cameron trucks some fool.

Higginson was originally drafted in the 18^th round of the 1991 Major League Draft by his hometown Philadelphia Phillies, out of Temple University.  The Owls have produced 15 total major leaguers, but only six since 1960, and Higginson is by far the best.  Although only three other players from the 18^th round in 1991 made the majors, those four players combined for 94.3 WAR.  Along with Higginson, there was Ron Mahay, Kirk Rueter and Mike Cameron.  Higginson declined to sign with the Phillies and instead returned to Temple.  The following year, he was taken in the 12^th round by the Tigers.  Five other players from that round made the majors, but other than Higginson, the only other one of note was Doug Mientkiewicz.

The contact will take
care of itself.  Or not.

Upon signing with the Tigers, Higginson was assigned to A- Niagara Falls.  There, he had a pretty decent season, hitting .293 with 17 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 37 RBIs and 12 stolen bases, with 33 walks and 47 strikeouts.  He only made two errors in 67 games in the outfield, good for a .983 fielding percentage, and had five outfield assists.  His on base percentage was .383, a good deal higher than team home run leader Keith Kimsey, who hit 12 home runs, walked nine times, and struck out 106 times.  You have to admire someone that committed to sticking with their process.

In 1993, Higginson would start the season at A+ Lakeland.  In 61 games, he hit .300 with 11 doubles, seven triples, three home runs, 25 RBIs and eight stolen bases, with 40 walks and 31 strikeouts.  He made two errors in the outfield, good for a fielding percentage of .979, and he added seven outfield assists.  All of this earned him a promotion to AA London, where he hit .308 with 15 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 35 RBIs and three stolen bases, with 19 walks and 37 strikeouts.  He only made two errors there as well, good for a fielding percentage of .982, and he added 11 outfield assists.

Higginson would spend his entire 1994 season at AAA Toledo.  For the Mudhens, he hit .275 with 28 doubles, three triples, 23 home runs, 67 RBIs and 16 stolen bases, with 46 walks and 99 strikeouts.  With the increase in strikeouts came the increase in power.  In the outfield, he committed eight errors for a .973 fielding percentage, and he added 10 outfield assists.

The Tigers deemed Higginson ready for the big leagues for the 1995 season.  He would make his Major League debut on April 26^th, pinch hitting for Danny Bautista in a 5-4 win over the California Angels.  He would strike out against Bob Patterson in his first at bat in the sixth, and then pop out to short in the eighth, three batters after Cecil Fielder hit career home run number 220, a two run shot that proved to be the game winner.  Higginson wouldn’t get his first hit until four days later, an RBI single in a 10-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.  On May 2^nd and 3^rd, he hit his first two career home runs.  On August 20^th, he had his first career two-home run game.  Overall for the 1995 season, he hit .224 with 17 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs, 43 RBIs and six stolen bases, with 62 walks and 107 strikeouts.  In the outfield, he only made four errors for a .983 fielding percentage, and he added 13 outfield assists.

It’s too bad that Higginson exhausted his Rookie of the Year eligibility in 1995, because he very well could have won the award in 1996.  In the third game of the season, he went 4-6 with a three run home run off of the Oakland Athletics former can’t-miss prospect Todd Van Poppel.  In a 10-9 Tigers victory, he added three runs, including what proved to be the game winner, scoring on Melvin Nieves’ sacrifice fly in the top of the 15^th inning.  That was also the first of three straight games in which he hit a home run.  He would add another four hit day on April 24^th, a game which the Tigers lost 24-11 to the Minnesota Vikings Twins.  In that game, Paul Molitor had a career high five runs scored, and he tied a career high with five RBIs.

Higginson was hitting .303 on April 25^th, but in the 12 games after that, his average dropped all the way to .252.  He was placed on the DL, and wouldn’t return until June 7^th.  He came back with a seven game hit streak, and only went hitless in three of 21 games in June, where he hit .394 with seven home runs.  Two of those home runs came on June 20^th, and three days later, he started another streak of three consecutive games where he hit a home run.  In July, he hit three home runs in his first five games, and in the last four games that month, he hit a ridiculous .688 (11 for 16).

Higginson had a decent August that season, and then in September, he only went hitless in five of 23 games, hitting .352 to end the season.  His average hit a season high two days before the end of the season, which is something many people can’t say.  Overall for 1995, he hit .320 (.342 after the DL stint) with 35 doubles, 26 home runs, 81 RBIs and six stolen bases, with 65 walks and 66 strikeouts.  His rediscovered patience at the plate helped him set a career highs in on base percentage (.404) and OPS (.982).  He committed nine errors in the outfield for a .963.  I assumed that at least some of those errors had to do with a less-than-optimum Higginson earlier in the season, and my suspicions were correct.  In 29 games played before the injury, he had five errors.  In 94 games after he came back, he had four errors.  Overall for the season, he also added nine outfield assists.

Halladay reacts to Higginson's
hit just before he realized how
it was going to go. 

Higginson’s numbers remained pretty consistent for the next two seasons, as he hit a combined .291 with 67 doubles, nine triples, 52 home runs, 186 RBIs and 15 stolen bases, with 133 walks and 186 strikeouts.  In the outfield, he only had 18 errors for a .977 fielding percentage, and he added 38 outfield assists.  Highlights include his first four career grand slams and his first three-home run game where he added seven RBIs in a 14-0 beat down of the New York Mets on 6/30/97.  He would add a home run the following day, tying a major league record with home runs in four consecutive at bats.  On 9/27/98, he hit a pinch hit home run with two outs in the ninth inning in a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.  The significance?  Up to that point, the Tigers did not have a hit in what was Roy Halladay’s second career appearance.

Higginson was never quite right in 1999, only playing in 13 games after July 23^rd.  For the season, he only hit .239 with 18 doubles, 12 home runs, 46 RBIs and four stolen bases, with 64 walks and 66 strikeouts.  He only made three errors in the outfield for a .983 fielding percentage, but he only added two outfield assists.  He would bounce back strong the following season, hitting .300 with 44 doubles, four triples, 30 home runs, 102 RBIs and 15 stolen bases, with 74 walks and 99 strikeouts.  He made seven errors in the outfield for a .979 fielding percentage, and he added 19 outfield assists.  He was AL Player of the Week for the weeks of June 18^th (.545 with five home runs and 12 RBIs) and October 1^st (.500 with three home runs and 10 RBIs).

Over the next two years, Higginson continued to be a fairly consistent player.  He hit a combined .279 with 52 doubles, nine triples, 27 home runs, 134 RBIs and 32 stolen bases, with 121 walks and 110 strikeouts.  In the outfield, he committed 15 errors for a .973 fielding percentage, adding 25 outfield assists.  He was again AL Player of the week for July 15^th, 2001 (.500 with two home runs and seven RBIs; short All Star week).

The next two seasons were the decline phase for Higginson.  In the 2003 and 2004 seasons, he combined to hit .240 with 37 doubles, six triples, 26 home runs, 116 RBIs and 13 stolen bases, with 129 walks and 157 strikeouts.  He was still solid in the outfield, committing 11 errors for a .978 fielding percentage, and he added 17 outfield assists.  He would earn his final AL Player of the Week award for the week of August 22^nd, 2004 (.556 with four home runs and 12 RBIs, including two-two home run games).

2005 was the end of the road for Higginson.  He only played in 10 games, with his last coming on May 5^th.  His last career hit came on April 7^th, an RBI single off of Shawn Camp in a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.  He still managed to play seven errorless games that season, and even earned his last outfield assist on April 20^th, nailing Jermaine Dye at second base in a 9-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

To me, it seemed like Higginson was on the Tigers forever, but it was actually only 11 seasons, if you include his very brief 2005.  For his career, he hit .272 with 270 doubles, 33 triples, 187 home runs, 709 RBIs and 91 stolen bases, with 649 walks and 796 strikeouts.  His overall fielding percentage was .977, with 64 errors in 1274 games in the outfield, adding 124 assists.  That outfield assist total is actually good for 205^th all time, one behind Jose Cruz, Bug Holliday, Willard Marshall and Bobby Murcer, and one ahead of Rocky Colavito, Torii Hunter, Mark Kotsay and Duke Snider.  While he never led the league in any offensive category, he did lead the AL in outfield assists in 1995, 1997, 2000, and 2004, and finished second in 1998 and 2002.

While he certainly isn’t a Hall of Fame caliber player, and voters agreed, not casting a single vote for him in 2011, he is the type of player built for a team Hall of Fame.  It appears the Tigers are pretty stingy with that though, as they only have elected 22 members for a team that has played for 120 years.  Maybe one day, they’ll open the doors for Higginson.  And Alan Trammell.  And Lou Whitaker.

Quick Hits - Happy Birthday Roberto Clemente

My nifty daily baseball calendar says that today is Roberto Clemente’s birthday.  A quick check of the internets says that is the case!  And not only his birthday, this would have been his 80^th birthday.  While I could go on and on about Roberto Clemente, and may do so in the future, I wanted to focus on his 1968 season.  Why?  I’m glad you asked!

Clemente was a fifteen-time All Star.  He made both All Star games in 1960 – 1962, when they had two All Star games, then he made it each year 1963 – 1967.  After a hiatus in the 1968 midsummer classic, he then made the squad 1969 – 1972.  I found it hard to believe that anyone would have been better than Clemente in 1968, at least two different players, if you include bench players.  Before we take a look at his absence in ’68, let’s take a look at who DID make the team.

Clemente was solely a right fielder for the Pirates in 1968.  The starter for the NL All Stars that year in right field was Hank Aaron.  OK, that’s fine.  As of the All Star break in 1968, Aaron sat at 499 career home runs at the age of 34.  However, if you look at his stats that season, you might ask if he really deserved to be the starter.  The day before the All Star break, he was hitting a season low .231, although he did have 12 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs, 45 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.  He also had only made one error in 81 games in right field.  I would say that Aaron was probably a deserving pick, but his numbers were just soft enough that you could have a discussion over whether he should have been a starter.

Mays scoring the winning run in the '68 All Star Game.

Given the fact that Clemente had only played in 16 games in center field in the 1960’s, we won’t even consider the fact that he could have played there, although the standards in the modern All Star game are surely a great deal looser than they were back then if you look at some of the guys they run out there now in center.  But if you really want to know who the starting center fielder was, it was Willie Mays, and even at the age of 37, he hit leadoff for the NL squad.  As of the All Star Break in ’68, Mays was hitting .271 with eight doubles, five triples, 12 home runs, 39 RBIs and five stolen bases.  He already had 569 career home runs at the time, and at that point in the season, he had only committed three errors in center field.  Mays was actually a replacement; more on that in a little while.

Let’s look at left field.  The St. Louis Cardinals’ Curt Flood was the starter.  Really?  Sure, he had some good seasons, and ’68 was the last of his three All Star games, but was he better than Clemente?  As of the All Star break, he was hitting .316 with eight doubles, three triples, five home runs, 37 RBIs and eight stolen bases.  Those numbers are solid for sure, but it seems like Clemente could put up the same numbers without really trying.  Flood played every game in center field for the Cardinals, and up to that point, he had only made five errors there.

Let’s look at the non-starter/backup outfielders for the 1968 NL All Stars – Felipe Alou, Matty Alou, Pete Rose and Billy Williams.

Felipe Alou tied for the lead in the National League in hits in 1968.  Through the All Star break, he was hitting .307 with 16 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 27 RBIs and six stolen bases.  Playing solely as a center fielder for the Atlanta Braves, he had only committed four errors to that point in the season.

Felipe’s brother Matty would finish with the sixth most hits in the National League in 1968, playing alongside Clemente in Pittsburgh.  At the All Star break, Matty Alou was hitting .344 with 14 doubles, a triple, 23 RBIs and eight stolen bases.  Playing all of his games in center field in ’68, he had not made a single error though that point in the season.

Pete Rose was the player Felipe Alou was tied with for the NL hits leader in 1968.  Through the All Star break, he was hitting .329 with 22 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 31 RBIs, with two stolen bases.  Actually elected as a starter, he missed three weeks , including the All Star game, with a broken thumb, having not played a game between July 6^th and July 27^th.  He played all but a handful of games in right field for the Cincinnati Reds, and had only committed three errors to that point.  Willie Mays was his replacement for the game.

Billy Williams led the NL in total bases in 1968.  Through the All Star break, he was hitting .274 with 17 doubles, six triples, eight home runs, 40 RBIs and three stolen bases.  Spending about three quarters of his time in left field, where he only had committed one error to that point in the season – although he had also committed two in right field, and he would commit six more in left field after the All Star break.

Now that we know everyone else’s statistics, let’s look at how Clemente was doing that season.

As of the All Star break in 1968, Clemente was only batting .245 with eight doubles, seven triples, 10 home runs, 30 RBIs and two stolen bases.  Being snubbed a position in the All Star game seemingly lit a fire under him, as for the rest of the season, he hit .347 with 10 doubles, five triples, eight home runs and 27 RBIs.  Playing solely in right field, up to that point, he had only committed four errors in the outfield.  He would only commit two more the rest of the season.

I’m guessing that they could have found a place for Clemente in 1968 if they really wanted to.  Hank Aaron was the starting center fielder for the NL All Stars in 1967, despite only playing 11 games in center field for the Braves that year.  As it stands, Mays turned out to be the offensive hero of the 1968 contest, getting a leadoff single in the first inning, advancing to second on a throwing error on a pickoff move by Luis Tiant, advancing to third on a wild pitch on ball four to Curt Flood, and scoring when Willie McCovey grounded into a double play.  That was the only run of the game for either team, as both sides combined for eight hits and six walks with 20 strikeouts under the lights in the futuristic Houston Astrodome.

1968 also happened to be the only year in a 13 year period where he didn’t finish in the top 20 in the NL MVP voting.  He did, however, win a Gold Glove award that year, which was in the middle of a string of 12 consecutive awards for him.  Clemente was a true class act, and he died helping others at a much-too-young age 38 on New Years Eve, 1972.  I hope today, on his birthday, he squares on up on the diamond in the sky.

Making it Count – The Stories of Paul Gillespie and John Miller

Wilhelm was also in charge
of pigeon control.

In baseball history, there have been 113 instances of a player that has hit a home run in his first at bat.  Notable names on this list include Earl Averill, Gary Gaetti, Jay Bell, Mike Napoli, and Jermaine Dye.  Will Clark famously did it off of Nolan Ryan.  Hoyt Wilhelm also did it in his first at bat, in his third career game off of the Boston Braves’ Dick Hoover on April 23^rd, 1952.  In that game, Wilhelm would also GIVE UP his first career home run to Eddie Mathews – Mathews second career home run.  Wilhelm would go on to pitch another 1067 career games, amassing 492 more at bats over 21 seasons, without hitting another home run.

I sure hope that Tasby fellow doesn't
ground into a double play.

On the other side of the coin, there have been 47 instances of a player that has hit a home run in his LAST at bat.  Notable names on this list include Ray Lankford, Todd Zeile, Jim Edmonds, Adam Kennedy (not really notable, but wanted to continue the Cardinals theme), Mickey Cochrane, and Albert Belle.  Oh, don’t forget about Ted Williams.  Williams shot was in the bottom of the eighth, pulling the Red Sox within a run of the Orioles on September 28^th, 1960.  Williams almost had to bat again though.  In the ninth inning, the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out, still down by a run.  Red Sox center fielder Willie Tasby grounded to Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson, who threw over to second baseman Marv Breeding for the out.  However, Breeding made a throwing error, which allowed pinch runner Tom Brewer to also score.  The Red Sox won 5-4 with Williams in the on deck circle.

For 13 of the 47 players who hit a home run in their last at bat, it was their only career home run.  One of these players was relief pitcher Gregg Olson, who only had four career at bats in 14 seasons.  His other three at bats were strikeouts, which gives me a great excuse to plug one of my recent blogs about Dave Kingman.

This is the seventh picture that came
up when I Googled Esteban Yan.

Yes, all of this is very cool.  But there’s got to be a point, right?  Today, I wanted to see if there were ever any instances where a player did both – hit a home run in their first career at bat, and their last career at bat.  And in fact, there are TWO instances of that.  While there isn’t an instance where a player has hit a home run in their only career at bat, a handful of relief pitchers came close.  Esteban Yan did it for the Rays in 2000.  Four years later, he would single in his only other career at bat.  Cardinals reliever Mark Worrell only had two career at bats.  His shot on June 5^th, 2008 was of the three run variety, so he had more career RBIs than at bats.  That’s efficient.

The first player to do this is former Chicago Cubs catcher Paul Gillespie.  He first entered professional baseball in the Brooklyn Dodgers system, appearing in 200+ games for Brownsville, Lake Charles, Grand Rapids and Elmira between 1938 and 1940.  He appeared at four different levels in the Cleveland Indians system in 1941, overall hitting .252 with four triples and six home runs at Salina, Gadsden, Oklahoma City and Knoxville.  In 1942, he started in the New York Giants system, but was traded in the middle of that season to the Cubs.  Some stats are incomplete, but for what stats are available, he seemed to hit right in line with his career numbers, sitting at .258 in stints at Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Ott and Foxx in front of chicken wire.

The Cubs called him up at the end of the 1942 season.  He made his debut on September 11^th, in a 4-3 loss to the New York Giants.  In his first career at bat in the second inning, he hit a solo home run, giving the Cubs the early lead.  He would also have an RBI single later in the game.  Unfortunately, Cubs’ starter Hi Bithorn would walk pinch hitter Hank Lieber in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the bases loaded, giving the Giants the win.  Bithorn would give up 12 hits and 10 walks that day with only one strikeout in 8 2/3 innings.  In case you were wondering, the Giants’ Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx combined to go 2-6 with a run, an RBI, and four of those walks that day.

Gillespie would only play in four more games, getting 13 more at bats in the 1942 season.  He would also hit another home run in his second career game.  He finished those five games hitting .250 with two home runs and four RBIs, with a walk and two strikeouts.

Gillespie wouldn’t return to the majors until September 13^th, 1944, presumably due to military service.  In nine games in 1944, he hit .269 with a double, a home run and two RBIs, with three walks and three strikeouts.

1945 would be Gillespie’s finest – and last – year in the majors.  He spent the entire season with the Cubs, playing in 75 games, although through the end of June, he only had five starts, and he was only hitting .206.  After July 1^st, he was a different player.  In 50 games – 35 of them starts – he hit .310 with three home runs and 20 RBIs.  Two of those home runs, and six of those RBIs, came in a 20-6 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 15^th.  He hit a grand slam off of Dodgers’ starter Art Herring in the first inning, and added a two run shot in the top of the fourth off of reliever Clyde King.  He would add a single off of King in the top of the sixth before being removed after seven innings, finishing the day 3-3 with three runs, six RBIs and a walk.

On September 29^th, in his last official at bat, in a 5-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gillespie hit a home run off of Pirates starter Rip Sewell.  He would enter late in the game the next day, as the Cubs decided the best thing to do would be to play their backup catcher in right field, but he didn’t get a plate appearance.  The Cubs won 5-3, and finished in first place at 98-56.  Overall for the 1945 season, he hit .288 with six doubles, three home runs and 25 RBIs, with 18 walks and nine strikeouts.

In the World Series, Gillespie would only get six hitless at bats in three games, as the Detroit Tigers beat the Cubs in seven games.  In what was surely one cold World Series, the first three games were played in Detroit, and the last four were played in Chicago.  The Cubs came back to Wrigley with a 2-1 lead, but after winning Game 6 in 12 innings, they decided the best pitcher for the deciding Game 7 was the guy who won Game 6 after throwing the last four innings in relief.  That went about as well as you would think it would, with Hank Borowy giving up three runs without retiring a batter, as the Tigers scored a total of five runs in the first and won 9-3.

Gillespie would play in exactly 200 minor league games over the following four years, and after only 12 games with A ball Macon in 1949, he was done.  For his career, he hit .283 with seven doubles, six home runs and 31 RBIs, with 22 walks and 14 strikeouts.  He passed away on August 11^th, 1970 at the age of 49.

While Gillespie was by no means a star, he was awfully greedy, hitting FOUR home runs in between his first and last career home runs/at bats.  We’re going to look at the one guy who came in, flipped the bat in his first at bat, and dropped the microphone after his last, with NOTHING in between.

John Miller was signed by the New York Yankees in 1962, and through his first three stops at Harlan, Fort Lauderdale and Greensboro, he hit .269 with 28 doubles, 12 triples and 12 home runs.  Again at Greensboro in 1964, he hit .276 with 21 doubles, four triples and 24 home runs.  This earned him a promotion to AA Columbus in 1965, where his numbers dropped a bit to .262 with 15 doubles, four triples and 10 home runs.

He would start out 1966 back at Columbus, where in 93 games, Miller hit .312 with 19 doubles and 16 home runs.  This earned him a callup to AAA Toledo, where he only hit .206 with four home runs in 20 games.  With the Yankees going nowhere, they decided to give him a shot.  He made his Major League debut on September 11^th, hitting a home run in his first career at bat off of Red Sox’ starter Lee Strange in the top of the second in a Yankees 4-2 victory.  Miller would literally do nothing else the rest of the season.  In six games, he hit .087 with a home run, two RBIs and nine strikeouts.

Before the 1967 season, he was traded with Jack Cullen to the Los Angeles Dodgers for John Kennedy.  He was originally assigned to the minor league Dodgers of the Arizona Instructional League, but after hitting .300 with six doubles, two triples, two home runs and 24 RBIs, he was called up to AAA Spokane.  There, he hit .254 with 11 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 32 RBIs.

Miller would spend the entire 1968 season back in Spokane, playing the bulk of his time at third base, but also being used in the outfield and at first base.  For the season, he hit .287 with 25 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 70 RBIs.

1969 would see Miller return to the majors.  It looks like he started the season with the Dodgers, but the most games he played in any given month was six in the month of June.  It looks like he may have been sent back down to Spokane for 18 games in early August.  He made good use of his time there, hitting .452 with six doubles, one triple, two home runs and 13 RBIs.  His eight walks vs. just two strikeouts pushed his on base percentage to .507.

While in the majors that season, he only played in 26 games, with only five starts.  He only had more than one at bat in eight of those games.  On September 23^rd, Miller, pinch hitting for pitcher Al McBean, hit a solo home run off of Jim Merritt in a 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Four days later, he was announced as a pinch hitter for pitcher Jim Brewer in the bottom of the 11^th with two on and the game tied at one apiece, to face Giants pitcher Ron Bryant.  Bryant was then relieved by Don McMahon.  Len Gabrielson then pinch hit for Miller.  Gabrielson would go on to single to center field, scoring Manny Mota and giving the Dodgers the 2-1 victory.

For the season, Miller hit .211 with one double, one home run and one RBI, with two walks and nine strikeouts.  In 20 career games in the field across 116 2/3 innings, he never made a single error.  He would never play in another professional game, in the United States anyway.  He went on to play in Japan for three seasons, all with the Chunichi Dragons.  In those three seasons, he would hit a combined .245 with 43 doubles, nine triples, 79 home runs and 222 RBIs.

Gillespie, and certainly Miller, made the brief time they had in the majors count.  Well, the beginning and the end of their time in the majors, anyway.

1994 Rookie of the Year Countdown – Raul Mondesi

Continuing our Tuesday look at the countdown to the Rookies of the Year in 1994, today we examine former Dodgers and others outfielder Raul Mondesi.

Mondesi was signed as an amateur free agent in 1988 by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Liceo Manual Maria Valencia High School in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.  He is the only major leaguer that LMMVHS has ever produced.  Which actually makes me question whether it exists at all.  But that’s for a different blog to examine!

After his signing, he must have stayed behind in the Dominican Republic to finish his studies at “LMMVHS”, because he didn’t make an appearance in the minors for another two years.  In 1990, at rookie ball Great Falls, he hit .303 with 10 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 31 RBIs and 30 stolen bases, with 11 walks and 30 strikeouts.  This was in only 44 games.  He also only made on error in the outfield, good for a .986 fielding percentage.  Teaming up with Pedro Martinez and a host of other people you’ve never heard of, Great Falls finished the season with the best record in the Pioneer League at 48-20.

His numbers there led to a top 20 prospect ranking before the 1991 season, sitting at number 14.  Mondesi shot through the Dodgers’ system that year.  He started in A+ ball Bakersfield, where in 28 games, he hit .283 with seven doubles, two triples, three home runs, 13 RBIs and nine stolen bases, with five walks and 21 strikeouts.  This earned him a promotion to AA San Antonio, where in 53 games, he would hit .272 with 11 doubles, five triples, five home runs, 26 RBIs and eight stolen bases, with eight walks and 47 strikeouts.

On base percentage be damned (.307), he was then promoted to AAA Albuquerque for two games, where he went 3-9 with a triple, stolen base and a strikeout.  Over the course of the season, he made eight errors, equaling a .951 fielding percentage.  This included one error in his only chance at Albuquerque.  His fielding percentage there was .000.  That’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.

Entering the 1992 season, he fell only slightly to the 21^st highest ranked prospect in the game, but it appears he was hurt for the greater part of the season.  He debuted that year back down at AA San Antonio, where in 18 games, he hit .265 with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, 14 RBIs and three stolen bases, with one walk and 24 strikeouts.  His on base percentage dropped all the way to .264.  I’m assuming that he was playing injured, and then came back later in the season back at AAA Albuquerque.  There in 35 games, he hit .312 with four doubles, seven triples, four home runs, 15 RBIs and two stolen bases, with nine walks and 35 strikeouts.  He again made eight errors that season, which equaled a .944 fielding percentage.

Going into 1993, he fell all the way to the 82^nd ranked prospect.  Mondesi would start 1993 again in Albuquerque, still a full four years younger than league average.  For the season, he would hit .280 with 22 doubles, seven triples, 12 home runs, 65 RBIs and 13 stolen bases, with 18 walks and 85 strikeouts.  In the outfield, he made 10 errors, and his fielding percentage sat at .957.

The face of excitement.

In late July, Dodgers third baseman Tim Wallach went on the disabled list which opened up an opportunity for Mondesi.  How’s that?  SUPER UTILITY MAN Cory Snyder, who manned mostly right field for the Dodgers that season, was deployed at third, making room for Mondesi.  He would make his Major League debut on July 19^th, in 7-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.  Entering the game in the bottom of the seventh as a pinch hitter for Henry Rodriguez, he would single in his first career at bat off of David West.  Brett Butler then walked, then Jose Offerman bunted both of them over.  Snyder then popped out to center field.  Eric Karros walked, and then Mike Piazza, having tripled and homered earlier in the game, flew out to right field to end the threat.

Through Wallach’s DL stay, which lasted until August 6^th, Mondesi was used sparingly.  Up to then, he hit .172 with one home run, two RBIs and five strikeouts.  The home run, the first of his career, was in a 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on July 31^st.  Putting the finishing touches on a five run inning allowed by the Cubs’ Bob Scanlan, Pedro Martinez entered in the bottom of the 13^th to finish the job.

Natal always wore his shin
guards, ALWAYS.  And
he still does to this day.

When Mondesi came back up on September 1^st, he showed flashes of the player he was to become.  He hit his first career triple the next day, and two days later, he had his first game with two stolen bases, victimizing Robb Nen and Rob Natal by stealing both second and third base in the ninth inning of a 9-4 victory over the Florida Marlins.  In total after September 1^st, he hit .351 with three doubles, a triple, three home runs, eight RBIs and three stolen bases, with four walks and 11 strikeouts.  Combined with his earlier stats, this equaled a .291 batting average with three doubles, a triple, four home runs, 10 RBIs and four stolen bases, with four walks and 16 strikeouts.  In 40 games in the outfield, he made three errors for a .951 fielding percentage.

Prior to the 1994 season, Mondesi jumped up to the 51^st ranked prospect in all of baseball, but he would soon lose the prospect status as the would play the entire 1994 season in the majors.  In his first four games that April, he would be hitless, but in the remaining 18 games, he hit .342.  This included three three-hit games, and one four hit performance on April 17^th, a game in which he would fall a double short of the cycle.   Overall for the month, he hit .292 with five doubles, two triples, two home runs, 14 RBIs and two stolen bases, with ONE walk and 13 strikeouts.  His refusal to walk led to an on base percentage of .297.

Mondesi’s average would continue to climb in May.  He hit safely in 24 of 28 games, including a 14 game hitting streak where he hit .434.  Overall for the month, he hit .336 with 11 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 18 RBIs and five stolen bases, with four walks (one intentional) and 24 strikeouts.  His home run on May 11^th proved to be the only run of the game, as Pedro Astacio outdueled 11^th place Rookie of the Year finisher Shane Reynolds that day.

Mondesi finished the month of May with a six game hit streak, which eventually reached 14 games by the time it ended on June 10^th.  For the first six games of June, he hit a ridiculous .480 – 12 for 25.  He hit safely in 21 of 26 games that June, including 10 multi-hit games.  His average hit a season high .336 on June 8^th.  Overall for the month, he hit .330 with three doubles, six home runs, 11 RBIs and two stolen bases, with two walks (one intentional) and 20 strikeouts.

In July, Mondesi started to show a little more patience at the plate.  That did not work out well for him.  Overall for the month, he hit .255 with six doubles, two home runs, nine RBIs and one stolen base, with six walks (one intentional) and 17 strikeouts.  He did hit a walkoff home run off in the 10^th inning off of John Wetteland in a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Expos on July 5^th, but that was about all in the highlight department for that month.

As the season drew to an end, Mondesi picked it back up a little.  In 10 August games, he hit .324 with two doubles, three triples, one home run, four RBIs and one stolen base, with three walks (two intentional) and four strikeouts.  Two of those triples came exactly 20 years ago today in a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

On his way to the NL Rookie of the Year honors for 1994, Mondesi hit .306 with 27 doubles, eight triples, 16 home runs, 56 RBIs and 11 stolen bases, with 16 walks (five intentional) and 78 strikeouts.  His eight triples were good for third in the NL, one behind Darren Lewis and teammate Brett Butler.  In 112 games, he made eight errors in the outfield, good for a .965 fielding percentage.  He also had 16 assists, which was good for best in the national league across all three outfield positions.  Mondesi was the middle of five straight Rookies of the Year for the Dodgers, with Eric Karros winning in ’92, Mike Piazza winning in ’93, Hideo Nomo winning in ’95, and Todd Hollandsworth winning in ’96.

Karros, Piazza, Mondesi, Nomo and Hollandsworth

Mondesi’s numbers would dip slightly in 1995, but he would make the All Star team and win a Gold Glove award.  Overall, he hit .285 with 23 doubles, six triples, 26 home runs, 88 RBIs and 27 stolen bases, with 33 walks and 96 strikeouts.  After posting similar numbers the following season, in 1997, he would hit .310 with 42 doubles, five triples, 30 home runs, 87 RBIs and 32 stolen bases, with 44 walks and 105 strikeouts.  This would lead to a 15^th place finish in the NL MVP voting, and he would also win his second and final Gold Glove Award.

Over his final two seasons in Los Angeles, Mondesi would hit a combined .266 with 55 doubles, 10 triples, 63 home runs, 189 RBIs and 52 stolen bases, with 101 walks and 246 strikeouts.  After the 1999 season, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays with Pedro Borbon for Jorge Nunez and Shawn Green.  The Dodgers would get five seasons from Green of 150+ games, with 162 home runs and 509 RBIs.  The Blue Jays would get two and a half seasons from Mondesi, where he would hit .251 with 64 doubles, seven triples, 66 home runs, 196 RBIs and 61 stolen bases, with 136 walks and 258 strikeouts.

You know, just in
case that Posada
fellow didn't work out.

On July 1^st, 2002, Mondesi was traded from the Blue Jays to the New York Yankees for Scott Wiggins.  In two half-seasons for the Yankees, Mondesi hit .250 with 41 doubles, three triples, 27 home runs, 92 RBIs and 23 stolen bases, with 66 walks and 112 strikeouts.  On July 29^th, 2003, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Jon-Mark Sprowl, David Dellucci and Bret Prinz.  In two months with the Diamondbacks, he hit .302 with eight doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 22 RBIs and five stolen bases, with 18 walks and 31 strikeouts.

Just a little late there boss.

He would sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2004 season.  There, in 26 games, he hit .283 with eight doubles, two home runs and 14 RBIs, with 11 walks and 27 strikeouts.  He left the team in mid-May for personal reasons involving a legal dispute in the Dominican Republic (possibly involving his “high school diploma”?).  After being released on May 21^st, he signed with the Anaheim Angels nine days later.  With the Angels, in just eight games, he hit .118 with a double, a home run and an RBI, with two walks and four strikeouts.  He was released on August 4^th after not showing up for rehab therapy after a stint on the DL with a torn quadriceps.

For 2005, he signed with the Atlanta Braves.  There, in 41 games, he hit .211 with seven doubles, one triple, four home runs and 17 RBIs, with 12 walks and 35 strikeouts.  His last career hit was on May 24^th, off of Tom Glavine in a 4-0 win over the New York Mets.  Seven days later, he was released by the Braves, ending his professional career.

For his career, Mondesi hit .273 with 319 doubles, 49 triples, 271 home runs, 860 RBIs and 229 stolen bases, with 475 walks (50 intentional) and 1130 strikeouts.  His career on base percentage was .331, which was pretty respectable since he only walked once every 13 ½ at bats or so.  He went to the post season three times, but his teams only won one game in 10 tries in three division series.  In 1502 career outfield games, he had 76 errors with a .976 fielding percentage.  He added 112 outfield assists, even acquiring one in his brief stay with Anaheim.

I don't speak Spanish, but I'm pretty sure it says,
"Raul Mondesi - Mayor - Definitely a high school graduate!"

Mondesi is currently living back in the Domincan Republic, where he has entered a life in politics.  In 2010, he was elected mayor of San Cristobal, and is currently serving a six year term.  Rumor is that he is going to build a high school.

Well, that wraps up our look back at the Rookie of the Year voting for 1994!  I hope you all learned something about some players that time has forgotten, and maybe even something about players you remember quite well.  Be on the lookout for a new series starting next week, probably each Wednesday.  Now I just have to figure out what it’s going to be.