WHY I THINK ROBB NEN SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK ROBB NEN SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Robb Nen was a flat-out phenomenal relief pitcher. He was the hardest reliever in the league to face for most of his career. Nen’s main pitch was a 92 mph slider with a sharp break that was nicknamed “The Terminator.” He also had a blistering fastball that consistently reached the high 90’s as well as a fearsome splitter. These are the two toughest pitches to face, in my opinion, and they helped Nen to put up fantastic ERA numbers and save totals. Robb Nen started his career with the Rangers in 1993 and ended up splitting the season between them and the Marlins, posting a 2-1 record in 24 games. The Marlins moved him permanently to the bullpen to prevent arm injuries, and he quickly became a star. Nen posted a 2.95 ERA and 15 saves in 1994 and earned 23 saves in 1995. He enjoyed his first sub-2.00 ERA campaign in 1996 and saved 35 games. He won nine games and saved 35 to help the Marlins win the World Series in 1997, but was dealt over to the Giants for the 1998 season. He refused to slow down, and with 40 saves and a miniscule ERA of 1.52, Nen was an all-star in 1998 and again in 1999. He saved 41 ballgames with a career best 1.50 ERA in 2000 and led the National League in saves in 2001. The 2002 season would be Nen’s last, but he was an all-star for the third time and set the MLB record for the most saves in a pitcher’s final season (43), the fruit of his 2.20 ERA. Robb Nen was a very productive relief pitcher who hit the typical Hall of Fame standards among relievers (300 plus saves, sub-3.00 ERA). He enjoyed remarkable success in an era of (steroid-aided) heavy hitting, and was indeed good enough to be enshrined in Cooperstown. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 643 season high: 78 in 1998 

Starts career: 4 season high: 4 in 1993 

Complete Games career: 0 

Shutouts career: 0 

Games Finished career: 549 season high: 71 in 2001 led NL: 54 in 1995, 64 in 1999, 71 in 2001 

Wins career: 45 season high: 9 in 1997 

Losses career: 42 season high: 7 in 1995 and 1998 

Winning Percentage career: .517 season high: .833 in 1996 

ERA career: 2.98 season low: 1.50 in 2000 

WHIP career: 1.213 season low: 0.848 in 2000 

Innings Pitched career: 715 season high: 88 ⅔ in 1998 

Strikeouts career: 793 season high: 110 in 1998 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 10.0 season high: 12.5 in 2000 

Walks career: 260 season high: 46 in 1993 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 3.05 season high: 4.84 in 2000 

Saves career: 314 season high: 45 in 2001 led NL: 45 in 2001 

Fielding Percentage career: .942 season high: 1.000 in 1993, 1995, 1996, 2001, and 2002 

Double Plays career: 8 season high: 2 in 1993 

Putouts career: 44 season high: 9 in 1997 

Assists career: 69 season high: 10 in 1999 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-son of Dick Nen 

-finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting and 12th in the NL MVP Award voting in 2000 

-went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and eleven saves in 20 career postseason games 

-batted .500 in 2002 

-ranks 23rd in career saves and 27th in games finished 

-while we was on the Giants, the ninth inning was renamed the “Nenth” inning

-his 71 games finished in 2001 are the nenth most of all time, his 67 in 1998 rank 36th, and his 66 in 1996 and 2002 rank 49th

What Just Happened With Madison Bumgarner

On April 25, Madison Bumgarner took the mound against the Braves in Atlanta to start the second game of a doubleheader. In 2020, MLB made a lot of foolish rule changes concerning COVID-19, and one of them was that games in a doubleheader would only last seven innings. In 2021, they're letting fans into the stands, they're playing 162 games, and yet they're keeping the seven inning doubleheader rule. That stinks, but it's okay, right? Well, on Sunday, Madison Bumgarner pitched all seven innings, winning 7-0, without allowing a hit. He was credited with a complete game and a shutout, but not with a no-hitter. This doesn't make sense to me, but for whatever reason, the official criteria for a no-hitter is that the game goes at least nine innings. There was nothing that MadBum could do about the length of the game, but the rules trump everyone, so it's fair. This got me to thinking about whether Ernie Shore's perfect game on June 23, 1917 or Harvey Haddix's famous 12 inning game in 1959 were really perfect games. Nobody seems to recognize them as perfect games nowadays, but many baseball insiders (such as myself) believe them to be perfect games. Let's start with Ernie Shore's game. In 1917, Babe Ruth got the start in a game against the Washington Senators and walked the leadoff man, Ray Morgan. The Babe didn't like the umpire's calls, so he acted up and got himself ejected. The new pitcher, Ernie Shore, came in with no outs. Morgan was thrown out stealing and Shore finished the game without allowing a baserunner. This is technically a perfect game and a shutout, but not a complete game. Haddix's game is a little more tricky. He pitched 12 perfect innings against the Braves but lost the game in the 13th on account of an error. This game was credited as a perfect game at the time, but if it ever happens again (and something very much like it did happen with Pedro Martinez) it wouldn't be a perfect game. Since it was credited as a perfect game at the time, I count it but not Martinez's. This same personal ruling was also made by an accomplished baseball author, who just so happens to be a genius, just in case I'm not good enough for you (I won't give his name right now). So, what do you think about each game? Was Bumgarner robbed? Is history wrongly judging two famous games? 

WHY I THINK DWIGHT EVANS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK DWIGHT EVANS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Dwight Evans was a rightfielder and first baseman for the Red Sox and Orioles from 1972 through 1991. He won eight Gold Glove awards in rightfield and hit 385 career home runs. Most people believe that those two distinctions are enough in themselves to warrant induction into the Hall of Fame. While this may or may not be true, Dwight Evans was also one of the best home run / RBI producers of his era and got on base around four thousand times across his career. Dwight Evans started his career in 1972, playing in 18 games late in the season at the age of 20. He hit ten homers in limited action in 1973 and was a regular by 1974, hitting .281. From 1975 through 1977, Evans remained barely better than average and didn’t play every day, so he was a relative unknown until he was first named an all-star in 1978. That season, Evans hit 24 home runs, marking the first of his eleven seasons in which he hit at least 20. He continued to produce, but he wasn’t really a big star until 1981. Evans established himself as one of MLB’s best players that season, leading the AL in five batting departments and finishing third in the MVP Award voting. If the strike hadn’t hit, Evans, in his prime at that point, might have hit 40 home runs and driven in 120 runs, which certainly would have debunked the major argument made against Evans - that he really wasn’t one of baseball’s best players in any given season. All he did in 1982 was crush 32 home runs and put up the highest on base percentage in the entire league. Evans slumped a bit in 1983 but came back in 1984 with a vengeance, batting .295 with 32 homers and 104 RBI’s. Over the next three seasons he averaged 30 homers a year and twice led the AL in walks. During that third year, 1987, Evans batted .305 with 34 home runs and 123 RBI’s, starting a three year streak in which he had over 100 RBI’s in each season. Those were his age 35-37 seasons, mind you. In 1990, Evans showed the first signs of decline, as he batted only .249 in 123 games, but retired on a positive note in 1991 with a .270 mark in 101 games. He tried to play some more with the Baltimore Orioles, but was released before he ever had the chance to play. Dwight Evans was a complete player with all five tools - hitting for average, hitting for power, running, throwing, and fielding - in abundance. He was the best defensive rightfielder of all time (other than Roberto Clemente) and perhaps the top hitter of his era. If he had peaked a few seasons earlier, Evans may have reached both the 500 home run and 3,000 hit milestones. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 2,606 season high: 162 in 1982 and 1984 led AL: 162 in 1982 and 1984 

At Bats career: 8,996 season high: 630 in 1984 

Hits career: 2,446 season high: 186 in 1984 

Doubles career: 483 season high: 37 in 1980, 1982, 1984, and 1987 

Triples career: 73 season high: 8 in 1974 and 1984 

Home Runs career: 385 season high: 34 in 1987 led AL: 22 in 1981 

Runs career: 1,470 season high: 122 in 1982 led AL: 121 in 1984 

Runs Batted In career: 1,384 season high: 123 in 1987 

Stolen Bases career: 78 season high: 8 in 1978 

Walks career: 1,391 season high: 114 in 1985 led AL: 85 in 1981, 114 in 1985, 106 in 1987 

Strikeouts career: 1,697 season high: 125 in 1982 

Batting Average career: .272 season high: .305 in 1987 

On Base Percentage career: .370 season high: .417 in 1987 led AL: .402 in 1982 

Slugging Percentage career: .470 season high: .569 in 1987 

Total Bases career: 4,230 season high: 335 in 1984 led AL: 215 in 1981 

Sacrifice Hits career: 52 season high: 6 in 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1980 

Fielding Percentage career: .986 season high: .995 in 1973 led AL RF: .990 in 1974, .994 in 1976*, .988 in 1979 

Double Plays career: 153 season high: 72 in 1987 led AL RF: 8 in 1975*, 4 in 1976, 7 in 1980* 

Putouts career: 5,450 season high: 753 in 1987 led AL RF: 300 in 1978, 303 in 1979, 344 in 1982, 315 in 1984 

Assists career: 228 season high: 46 in 1987 led AL RF: 15 in 1975, 1976, and 1979 

*led all AL outfielders 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “Dewey” 

-was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated on September 26, 1988 

-won two career Player of the Month awards and five Player of the Week awards 

-was a three time all-star and a two time Silver Slugger 

-also finished fourth in the AL MVP Award voting in 1987, seventh in 1982, ninth in 1988, and 11th in 1984 

-hit for the cycle on June 28, 1984 

-became the first player ever to hit the first pitch of the season for a home run on April 7, 1986 

-batted .300/.397/.580 with three home runs and 14 RBI’s in 14 career World Series games 

-homered in the 1986 ALCS 

-went 3-for-5 with two walks and a run scored in all-star play 

-led the AL twice each in OPS, plate appearances, times on base, and games in the outfield and once in extra-base hits 

-led AL rightfielders in games five times 

-his eight double plays from rightfield in 1975 are the 18th most of all time, and his seven in 1980 rank 42nd

-ranks 41st in career games played, 29th in walks, and 35th in games in the outfield 

-among MLB rightfielders, ranks seventh in career games, 27th in fielding percentage, ninth in double plays, third in putouts, and 16th in assists 

-was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2009

WHY I THINK JOHAN SANTANA SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK JOHAN SANTANA SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Johan Santana was easily one of the greatest pitchers of his time, and he competed against starters like Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux for that honor for most of his career. He dominated batters with a speeding fastball, a great circle changeup, and a devastating slider. Santana went 139-78 lifetime with a 3.20 ERA and 1,988 strikeouts. He won two Cy Young Awards and three ERA titles, led the AL in strikeouts three times, won the pitching Triple Crown in 2006, and even won a perfect fielding title and a Gold Glove award in 2007. Johan Santana started his career with the Twins in 2000, going 2-3. He went 1-0 in 2001 and 8-6 in 2002 before establishing himself as one of the best starters in baseball with a 12-3 record in 2003. Santana went 20-6 in 2004 with a league leading 2.61 ERA and won his first Cy Young Award. He went 16-7 in 2005 and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting, and 19-6 with his second ERA title in 2006 to win the award again. After a 15-13 season Santana was traded to the Mets. He went 16-7 and won his third and final ERA title and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting in 2008. He went 13-9 and 11-9 after that before taking the 2011 season off. He went 6-9 in 2012 and though he signed with the Orioles in 2014 and the Blue Jays in 2015, he never appeared in another MLB game. Johan Santana was an excellent pitcher who stood out in an era that was full of great hitting. His overall play was worthy of a place in Cooperstown. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games Pitched career: 360 season high: 45 in 2003 

Starts career: 284 season high: 34 in 2004, 2006 and 2008 led AL: 34 in 2006 led NL: 34 in  2008 

Complete Games career: 15 season high: 4 in 2010 

Shutouts career: 10 season high: 2 in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012 

Games Finished career: 23 season high: 9 in 2000 

Wins career: 139 season high: 20 in 2004 led AL: 19 in 2006 

Losses career: 78 season high: 13 in 2007 

Winning Percentage career: .641 season high: .769 in 2004 

ERA career: 3.20 season low: 2.53 in 2008 led AL: 2.61 in 2004, 2.77 in 2006 led NL: 2.53 in 2008 

WHIP career: 1.132 season low: 0.921 in 2004 led AL: 0.921 in 2004, 0.971 in 2005, 0.997 in 2006, 1.073 in 2007 

Innings Pitched career: 2,025 ⅔ season high: 234 ⅓ in 2008 led AL: 233 ⅔ in 2006 led NL: 234 ⅓ in 2008 

Strikeouts career: 1,988 season high: 265 in 2004 led AL: 265 in 2004, 238 in 2005, 245 in 2006 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 8.8 season high: 10.5 in 2004 led AL: 10.5 in 2004, 9.2 in 2005, 9.4 in 2006 

Walks career: 567 (13 intentional) season high: 63 in 2008 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 3.51 season high: 5.29 in 2005 

Saves career: 1 season high: 1 in 2002 

Fielding Percentage career: .946 season high: 1.000 in 2007 led AL P: 1.000 in 2007 

Double Plays career: 16 season high: 3 in 2009 

Putouts career: 98 season high: 14 in 2007 

Assists career: 232 season high: 32 in 2006 

DID YOU KNOW?

-nicknamed “No-han” 

-had a .453 career caught stealing percentage at pitcher 

-was a four time all-star 

-won the AL TSN Pitcher of the Year award in both 2004 and 2006 

-struck out 200 or more batters five years in a row 

-his 265 strikeouts in 2004 set the Minnesota Twins season record 

-pitched an 8-0 no-hitter against the Cardinals on June 1, 2012, which was the first no-hitter in New York Mets history 

-finished sixth in the AL MVP voting in seventh in 2006 and 14th in the NL MVP race in 2008 

-was fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2007 and seventh in 2003 

-won eight Pitcher of the Month awards and five Player of the Week awards 

-had the highest salary in the NL from 2010 through 2013 

-led the NL in batters faced (964) in 2008 

-struck out 17 batters in one game on August 19, 2007, setting a Twins team record 

-went 1-3 with a 3.97 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 34 innings in postseason play 

-hit five doubles in 2008 and three in both 2009 and 2010 

-had the most wins without a loss in the second half of a season in 2004 (13) 

-allowed the fewest hits per nine innings in the AL in 2004 (6.2), 2005 (7.0), and 2006 (7.2) 

-struck out David Ortiz for the 1,000th of his career 

-was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2018 

WHY I THINK ELSTON HOWARD SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK ELSTON HOWARD SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Elston Howard was a very important player in baseball history. He was the first black player ever to play for the Yankees and even the inventor of the batting donut. He was also plenty good as a player, winning four World Series rings, an MVP Award, and a fielding title behind the dish. To this day he remains one of the top catchers in MLB history. Elston Howard started his career with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1948 at age 19, batting .260 with 11 RBI's and 14 runs scored in 18 games as a leftfielder. He spent two years in Military Service in 1951 and 1952 before joining the Yankees in 1955. That season, he batted .290 with ten home runs in 97 games. He batted .262 in 98 games in 1956 and .253 in 1957 before establishing himself as perhaps the best catcher in baseball, Yogi Berra or no Yogi Berra. Howard batted .314 with 11 home runs in 1958 and .273 with 18 home runs in 1959, but slumped to .245 in 1960. It must have been a momentary lapse, as he batted an amazing .348 in 1961, which was the third best mark in the Major Leagues. The twelve time all-star then batted .279 in 1962 and hit .287 in 1963. Howard also had 28 home runs and 85 RBI’s in 1963, and his performance both at the plate and behind it won him the AL MVP Award. Howard hit .313 with 15 homers, 84 RBI’s and a second straight Gold Glove award in 1964 (and finished as the third place MVP) but suddenly couldn’t hit very  well anymore. His batting averages dropped down to .233, .256 and .178, and he split time between the Yankees and the Red Sox in 1967. Howard batted .241 in 71 games for the Red Sox in 1968 (the “Year of the Pitcher”) before being released. Despite the slow finish, Elston Howard was overall one of the best catchers in the history of baseball and one who was good enough to be a Hall of Famer, but was overlooked in an era of great home run hitters and pitchers. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 1,623 season high: 150 in 1964 

At Bats career: 5,436 season high: 550 in 1964 

Hits career: 1,490 season high: 172 in 1964 

Doubles career: 223 season high: 27 in 1964 

Triples career: 52 season high: 7 in 1955 

Home Runs career: 168 season high: 28 in 1963 

Runs career: 633 season high: 75 in 1963 

Runs Batted In career: 773 season high: 91 in 1962 

Stolen Bases career: 10 season high: 3 in 1960 

Walks career: 374 season high: 48 in 1964 

Strikeouts career: 786 season high: 73 in 1964 (Howard's strikeout information for his stint in the NAL is unavailable)

Batting Average career: .274 season high: .348 in 1961 

On Base Percentage career: .321 season high: .387 in 1961 

Slugging Percentage career: .427 season high: .549 in 1961 

Total Bases career: 2,321 season high: 257 in 1963 

Sacrifice Hits career: 29 season high: 6 in 1957 

Fielding Percentage career: .991 season high: .998 in 1964 led AL C: .998 in 1964 

Double Plays career: 160 season high: 41 in 1959 

Putouts career: 7,592 season high: 939 in 1964 led AL C: 939 in 1964 

Assists career: 541 season high: 67 in 1964 

Caught Stealing Percentage career: .439 season high: .548 in 1962 (Howard's caught stealing information for his stint in the NAL is unavailable) led AL C: .548 in 1962 

DID YOU KNOW?

-nicknamed “Eightball” 

-tied a record by cracking out two hits in one inning in the 1960 World Series

-homered, doubled, and scored four runs in the NALC in 1948

-homered in five different World Series and batted at least .400 in two of them

-replaced Hall of Famer Yogi Berra as the Yankees' catcher, who in turn replaced fellow Hall of Famer Bill Dickey 

-won the 1958 Babe Ruth Award for the best offensive performance in the postseason 

-retired with the career record for fielding percentage by a catcher 

-finished 17th in the AL MVP voting in both 1958 and 1967 and tenth in 1961 

-was the first black player ever to win the AL MVP Award 

-played on the most World Series losing teams in a career (six, tied with Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese) 

-led the AL in games caught (146) in 1964 

-was the first black coach in AL history (1969) 

-also played 85 games at first base, 246 in leftfield, 42 in rightfield, 175 as a pinch hitter, and two as a pinch runner 

-his number 32 is retired by the Yankees 

-is honored with a plaque in Monument Park

NOTICE VII

My brother has just made a blog called Potpourri World (notdamiensblog.blogspot.com) on my profile. Just so you know, it ain't mine.  

WHY I THINK JOHNNY PESKY SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK JOHNNY PESKY SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Johnny Pesky was a consistent .300 hitting shortstop in an era of pitching who rarely struck out and scored a ton. He only played for ten years in the MLB, but he kept his potent bat in the Red Sox lineup when slugger Vern Stephens came over to the club in 1948. Not wanting to hurt his team, Pesky moved over to third base and continued his fine fielding ways at the hot corner. Johnny Paveskovich started his career with Boston in 1942 and was an instant success, as he batted .331 and led the MLB in hits and sacrifice hits. He decided to go to war in 1943 and didn’t return to baseball until the war was over. In both 1946 and 1947, he led the Majors in hits and carried a career batting average of .330 into 1948, when he switched to third base. He also legally changed his last name from Paveskovich to Pesky in 1947, because he thought of himself as a pesky hitter. He stayed with the Red Sox through 1951, the season when he and Stephens traded positions, and batted well over .300 three more times with them. He was dealt over to the Tigers in the middle of the 1952 season. He was 33 and most thought that he was through. Pesky had one last great season in 1953, batting .292, and played in 69 games for two teams in 1954 before being released first by the Washington Senators and then by the Orioles. Johnny Pesky was a great hitter, a fine fielder, and a team player. He was much better than the other fine AL shortstop of his time, the Yankees’ Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto. If Rizzuto and his .273 average can make the cut, how come Pesky and his .307 can’t? 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,270 season high: 155 in 1947 

At Bats career: 4,745 season high: 638 in 1947 led AL: 621 in 1946, 638 in 1947 

Hits career: 1,455 season high: 208 in 1946 led AL: 205 in 1942, 208 in 1946, 207 in 1947 

Doubles career: 226 season high: 43 in 1946 

Triples career: 50 season high: 9 in 1942 

Home Runs career: 17 season high: 3 in 1948 and 1951 

Runs career: 867 season high: 124 in 1948 

Runs Batted in career: 404 season high: 69 in 1949 

Stolen Bases career: 53 season high: 12 in 1942 and 1947 

Walks career: 662 season high: 104 in 1950 

Strikeouts career: 218 season high: 36 in 1942 

Batting Average career: .307 season high: .335 in 1946 

On Base Percentage career: .394 season high: .437 in 1950 

Slugging Percentage career: .386 season high: .427 in 1946 

Sacrifice Hits career: 83 season high: 22 in 1942 led AL: 22 in 1942 

Total Bases career: 1,832 season high: 265 in 1946 

Fielding Percentage career: .966 season high: .991 in 1953 

Double Plays career: 594 season high: 96 in 1946 led AL 3B: 35 in 1948, 48 in 1949 

Putouts career: 1,987 season high: 320 in 1942 led AL 3B: 184 in 1949 

Assists career: 3,114 season high: 479 in 1946 led AL SS: 465 in 1942 led AL 3B: 333 in 1949 

DID YOU KNOW?

-nicknamed “The Needle”, “Needlenose”, and “Mr. Red Sox”  

-batted lefthanded and threw righthanded 

-was the first AL player to score six runs in a nine inning game 

-set the Red Sox rookie record for hits in 1942 

-finished second in the 1942 AL batting race (.331) to teammate Ted Williams (.356) 

-finished third in the AL MVP Award voting in 1942, fourth in 1946, 18th in 1947, and 26th in 1951 

-made the 1946 AL all-star team 

-his 53 hits in August of 1946 set the Red Sox one-month record, and was later tied by Dom DiMaggio 

-led the AL in plate appearances in 1946 (703) 

-outhit Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Stan Musial in the 1946 World Series and also stole a base 

-led AL third basemen in games in 1949 (148) and led AL shortstops in 1942 (147) 

-set a record by starting his career with three straight 200-hit seasons (since topped by Ichiro Suzuki) 

-went 2-for-4 in his MLB debut 

-led the AL in singles in 1942, 1946, and 1947 

-homered off of Allie Reynolds and Hall of Famer Bob Feller during his career 

-went 147-179 (.451) as the manager of the Red Sox 

-mentored Hall of Famer outfielders Al Kaline and Jim Rice 

-in his honor, the rightfield foul pole in Fenway was officially named “Pesky’s Pole” 

-also played 140 games at second base, 101 as a pinch hitter, and five as a pinch runner 

-was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995, and his number 6 was retired by the club in 2008