Ferris Fain

    It's a shame that hardly anyone remembers Ferris Fain anymore. He was a truly incredible first baseman with an extraordinary batting eye, but his career lasted only nine seasons due to various injuries. While his career was too short to merit Hall of Fame consideration, Fain was a truly remarkable player who ought not to be forgotten. 

    Ferris Fain started his professional career with the San Francisco Seals in 1939, playing twelve games under manager Lefty O'Doul. He played with the Seals until 1942, when he enlisted in the service during World War II. When he returned in 1946, Fain batted .301 and led the PCL with 112 RBI's, resulting in his promotion to the Majors in 1947. 

    As a 26-year-old rookie for the Philadelphia Athletics, Fain batted .291 and drew 95 walks, giving him an on-base percentage of .414. He drew 113 walks in 1948 and had 100 or more walks in five different seasons, including two with over 130. Fain also won Batting Titles in 1952 and 1953, contributing to a lifetime OBP of .424, which is the 15th highest mark of all time (minimum 3,000 plate appearances). 

    In addition to his on-base skills, Fain developed a reputation as a brilliant defensive first baseman, particularly on bunt plays. An extremely aggressive fielder, Fain would often field bunts on the third base side of the field and throw out the lead runner, leaving his opponents in disbelief. Onlookers swore he was the best first baseman they had ever seen, and the statistics back him up. In 1949, despite playing a 154-game season, Fain turned 194 double plays, the most of any first baseman in history, topping the previous record by 31. The very next year, Fain turned 192 twin-killings, to this day the second most in history and ten more than the third-place finisher. If Gold Gloves existed back then, Fain would have been a perennial winner. 
    Unfortunately, knee troubles took their toll on Fain, and he was limited to 65 games in 1954. However, he still managed to make his fifth consecutive all-star team, combining with White Sox teammates Nellie Fox, Chico Carrasquel, and George Kell to form the first starting all-star infield from one team. Fain finished the season batting .302 and played one last season in 1955, drawing 94 walks in 114 games between the Tigers and the Indians. 

    Ferris Fain was a great player whose abilities on both offense and defense were simply magnificent. If his career were longer, he would have been a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate. Nonetheless, Fain made his mark on baseball history and ought to be remembered today. 

Lucky Hall of Famer Number 66 - Bowie Kuhn

Bowie Kuhn was the Commissioner of Baseball from 1969 through 1984 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2007. As I wrote in December of 2022, most commissioners do not deserve a spot in the Hall, but Kuhn was especially dubious. 

    During his time as commissioner, baseball underwent a period of great turmoil. The first-ever player strike occurred in 1972 and the umpires struck in 1979. In 1981, the season was torn apart by the worst player strike in history to that point. Over Kuhn's 16 seasons as commissioner, MLB was faced by no less than eight work stoppages of varying significance. 

    Other than the changes to the reserve clause during his tenure, on which I have no comment, Kuhn's most controversial decision as commissioner was to ban Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle from baseball due to their employment at casinos. However, neither Mays nor Mantle promoted sports betting, much less betting on baseball, but worked as greeters and autograph signers. While Kuhn meant to disassociate from any kind of gambling "in the best interests of the game," banning two of the most famous players in history wasn't exactly in the game's best interest. The bans were lifted almost immediately by Kuhn's successor Peter Ueberroth in 1985. 

One last note: Kuhn's Hall of Fame plaque mentions that he tripled MLB attendance. As a matter of fact, even with the expansion of the league, attendance did not come close to tripling between 1968 and 1985. 

My opinion: Bowie Kuhn is not a Hall of Famer. 

Amazing Baseball Quote #15

"All the fat guys watch me and say to their wives, 'See, there's a fat guy doing okay. Bring me another beer.'" - Mickey Lolich 

Lolich opened a donut shop in the Detroit area in 1977. 

Yogi-isms

Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra was an all-time great player, winning three MVP Awards and ten World Series rings with the Yankees. He was also well-known for a little bit of an odd personality, which led to some utterly hilarious quotes. Here are my ten favorite "Yogi-isms." 

"All pitchers are either liars or crybabies." 

"Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded." 

"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise they won't come to yours." 

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." 

"Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets." 

"It was impossible to get a conversation going - everybody was talking too much." 

"The future ain't what it used to be." 

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." 

"Ninety percent of baseball is half mental." 

"I never said most of the things I said." 

There are many more priceless quotes I could have picked from, but these are my top ten. Anyone else have any favorites? 

Lucky Hall of Famer Number 65 - Dave Parker

My first official backtrack in article form on this blog, I previously advocated for Dave Parker in 2021, prior to his election in 2024. Since then, I have become more of a small-Hall guy, and after reevaluating his career, I have changed my mind about his case. He was a very good player, but short of the Hall's standards. 

    A seven-time all-star, two-time Batting Champion, and 1978 NL MVP, Parker was an imposing figure on the diamond, standing 6'5" and weighing a robust 230 pounds. He hit over 20 home runs in nine different seasons and drove in as many as 125 runs in 1985. All told, Parker hit 339 home runs and collected 2,712 hits while batting .290 over a 19-year career. 

    Despite beefy counting statistics and a few great individual seasons, Parker wasn't consistently one of the game's greatest players. While he was certainly one of the best for a five-year stretch in the late 1970's, he was merely average for the rest of his career, except for two strong seasons in 1985 and 1986. His .290 / .339 / .471 slash line was good, but a little weak for a Hall of Fame rightfielder who didn't reach 500 home runs or 3,000 hits. And despite winning three Gold Gloves, he was a mediocre fielder, leading his league in errors seven times. He also played 484 games as a DH, which allowed him to play past age 40 and compile his counting statistics while providing little value to his club. 

My opinion: Dave Parker is probably not a Hall of Famer. 

Amazing Baseball Quote #14

"The doctors X-rayed my head and found nothing." - Dizzy Dean 

Already known as Dizzy before the quote, Jay Hanna Dean was a colorful and very quotable character in his day. Pinch running in Game 4 of the 1934 World Series, Dean was struck on the head by a thrown ball, and he made this candid quote to reporters when describing the incident. 

One of the best pitchers in the game in the 1930's, Dean later became a famous broadcaster. 

Lucky Hall of Famer Number 64 - Tom Yawkey

Tom Yawkey was the owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1933 until his death in 1976. He also served as the AL Vice President from 1956 through 1973. Yawkey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980, but I don't exactly understand why. 

    While Yawkey was a longtime executive in baseball, he didn't bring much success to the game. His Hall of Fame plaque mentions that his team was the first to travel by plane, but that was about the extent of Yawkey's impact. In his 44 seasons with the Red Sox, they only won three pennants and no World Series, so he couldn't have been elected for his club's success. He seems to only be in the Hall for having a long career, not for any particularly important accomplishments. In my opinion, a long career is not enough to merit induction on its own. 

    Despite being in the Hall of Fame, Yawkey's name has often been mentioned with distaste. The Red Sox were the last existing MLB team to integrate, not fielding their first black player until 1959. Whatever the reason may be, the ensuing controversy didn't exactly help Yawkey's image, and it doesn't make me more inclined to support his already weak Hall of Fame case. 

My opinion: Tom Yawkey is not a Hall of Famer.