Requiescat In Pace, Brooks Robinson

In Memoriam

Brooks Robinson (1937-2023)

Hall of Fame 3B for Orioles from 1955-1977. 1964 AL MVP, 1966 ASG MVP, 1970 WS MVP. 18x All-Star, 16x Gold Glove winner. 2x World Series champion (1966, 1970). The Human Vacuum Cleaner.

Brooks Robinson, one of my favorite players of all time, has passed away at the age of 86.

https://thecooperstownadvocate.blogspot.com/2022/12/requiem-for-heavyweight.html

A New Idea For Negro Leaguers And The Hall Of Fame

    At his Hall of Fame induction in 1960, Ted Williams used the opportunity to speak on behalf of Negro League greats such as Satchel Paige, calling for them to be enshrined in Cooperstown. In 1971, the Hall of Fame honored his request, and have been electing Negro Leaguers ever since. 

    I am of a mixed opinion about Negro Leaguers in the Hall of Fame. On the one hand, one could argue that Negro League ball was basically the Major Leagues for blacks for almost 50 years. The best Negro Leaguers probably could have been big stars in the Majors, and some of them (like Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Minnie Minoso, Jim Gilliam, and Monte Irvin) were. On the other hand, I object to Negro Leaguers in Cooperstown for two reasons. One, Negro Leaguers did not directly compete against Big Leaguers. That said, it's hard to tell how guys like Walter Cannady or Judy Johnson would have done in the real Majors. Two, Negro League statistics were not kept very well. Almost all of them are incomplete, and they are not as reliable as official MLB statistics with professional statkeepers. Martin Dihigo likely played more than 397 games in his NLB career, for example, and it is possible that the statisticians only kept track of his better seasons, and that some of his o-fers are missing from the record, thus bloating his rate stats. It is also quite possible that some Negro League greats are unrecognized on account of incomplete statkeeping. As it is, the Hall has inducted too many Negro League players without enough credibility. 

    That said, I generally wouldn't be comfortable with Negro Leaguers in the Hall of Fame except for certain exceptions, like Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, and others who had good Big League careers, like Minnie Minoso. However, Negro League greats deserve to be remembered. There should be another wing to the Hall of Fame specifically for Negro Leaguers. That way we can meaningfully compare them to each other like the shrine at Cooperstown does with MLB players. 

Wes Ferrell Was Better Than You Realize

    As I wrote in June of 2022, Wes Ferrell was a very good player. A six time 20 game winner in the Majors, he is widely considered the greatest hitting pitcher in pre-Ohtani history, batting .280 in his career with 38 home runs. He continued his hot hitting after his MLB career, mashing .425 with 24 homers and 119 RBI's in 1948 at the age of 40 for the Marion Marauders. However, I recently stumbled upon what may be Ferrell's most impressive accomplishment: 

Opposing batters' slash line: .275 / .342 / .383 

Ferrell's slash line: .280 / .342 / .446 

    Over the course of his Big League career, Ferrell hit better than the rest of the league hit against him! How many other pitchers of 15 seasons can say that? Not many. 

Mike Marshall

    Mike Marshall was one of the most valuable relievers in history. He was effective as a short reliever or a long reliever, depending on the need. Nicknamed Iron Mike, he was always ready to come out of the pen, pitching 90 or more games in three separate seasons. 

    Michael Grant Marshall started his Big League career with the Tigers in 1967, pitching to a 1.98 ERA in 37 appearances. He spent all of 1968 and much of 1969 in the minors trying to become a starter, and made 14 starts for the Seattle Pilots in 1969. Marshall became a full time stopper in 1971, leading the NL with 52 games finished for the Montreal Expos. He had his breakthrough season in 1972, posting a 1.78 ERA in 65 games (116 innings). Proving he was no fluke, Marshall led the Majors with 92 appearances in 1973 and won the Cy Young Award in 1974, turning in 15 wins, 21 saves, and a 2.42 ERA in a Major League record 106 games. He also set the MLB record for relief innings in a season with 208 1/3, a record that will likely never be broken. All those innings seemed to take a toll on his arm, as he was less effective for the next couple seasons, but was back to form in 1978, converting 21 saves and putting up a 2.45 ERA. Marshall was even better in 1979, appearing in 90 games at age 36 and leading his league in saves for the third time in his career. He pitched part of the next two seasons before he hung up his spikes. 

    Mike Marshall is seldom remembered today (and never comes up in Hall of Fame debates) for one simple reason; he pitched before everyone cared about save totals. He collected 188 of them in his 16 year career (the fourth most of all time when he retired), but once you get a few Mariano Riveras and Trevor Hoffmans who triple that number, Marshall looks rather small. However, unlike most closers in the Hall of Fame, Marshall was not just a three out pitcher; he pitched 208 innings one year and 179 in another. He routinely pitched two or three scoreless innings at a time, which holds much more value than nailing down a three run game by recording three outs, where there is very little risk of blowing the lead. The sportswriters of his day recognized his value, voting him to a Cy Young Award in 1974, a second place finish in 1973, fourth in 1972, fifth in 1979, and seventh in 1978. Modern fans should also recognize the impact Mike Marshall had on his teams and on the history books. 

Thanks For 15,000 Views

It's taken me a long time to get here, and I'm glad to hit such a major milestone. Thanks for reading. 

Peek-A-Boo Veach?

    Earlier today I was searching on baseball-reference.com for Bobby Veach. Thinking that typing in Veach would get me to him a fraction of a second sooner than starting with Bobby, I found a player who I just had to research: Peek-A-Boo Veach. Veach played parts of three seasons for four different teams in three leagues (1884 UA, 1887 AA, 1890 NL). In 1884, he pitched and played outfield for the Kansas City Cowboys in the short lived Union Association, batting just .134 but posting a 2.42 ERA in twelve starts. He acquired his nickname that season because he was constantly looking for signs when playing first base, which would become his primary position. Veach's next Major League service time came in 1887, when he went 0-for-3 with a walk in one game for the Louisville Colonels. The bulk of his career was in 1890, when he played 64 games for the Cleveland Spiders and eight for Allegheny City. In those final eight games of his Big League career, Veach hit two of his three career home runs and batted .300. He hung around in the minors until 1897, hanging up his spikes at 35. He later served in the Spanish-American war in 1898.