Requiescat In Pace, Orlando Cepeda

In Memoriam

Orlando Cepeda (1937-2024)

Hall of Famer, 1967 NL MVP, 1958 NL ROY, 11x All-Star, 1967 World Series champion, Inaugural DH of the Year award winner in 1973, 1961 NL HR champion, 2x NL RBI leader, First Puerto Rican player to start an All-Star Game. The Baby Bull. 

Orlando Cepeda passed away on Friday at the age of 86. 

Image and tribute courtesy of baseball-reference.com

Requiescat In Pace, Willie Mays

In Memoriam

Willie Mays (1931-2024)

2x MVP, Rookie of the Year, and 24x All-Star. 660 Home Runs and 12 Gold Gloves. The Greatest Center Fielder of All-Time. The Catch. 

Willie Mays passed away on Tuesday at the age of 93. 

Image and tribute courtesy of baseball-reference.com

Why Does Catcher's Interference Count Against OBP?

Catcher's interference occurs when a batter hits the catcher's mitt during a swing, allowing him to go to first base. The rule was introduced in the 19th century after batters complained that Connie Mack would mess up their swings by swatting the bat with his glove. 

    If a batter reaches by catcher's interference, it is counted as reaching on an error, counting against his OBP. While I understand the mentality of calling it an error, I don't agree with punishing the hitter in any way. As in the case of a hit by pitch, the whole point is that the batter didn't get a chance to hit, and is awarded a free pass as a result. Unlike a hit by pitch, which raises a player's on base percentage, catcher's interference actually lowers it, even though the batter reached base (and certainly didn't fail to do so through any fault of his own). 

    This all raises another interesting question: when evaluating defensive players, what should be scored as errors? As it is, fielding errors, throwing errors, and catcher's interference all lower fielding percentage, but other mistakes such as wild pitches, passed balls, and balks (not to mention walks and hit batsmen) do not, but are isolated. I personally would like to see catcher's interference isolated, and continued to be scored as errors, but I see no need for them to do anything to a batter's OBP since neither he nor the pitcher won their battle. While one can argue that there is value in wearing an incoming pitch instead of getting out of the way, nobody would argue the same about catcher's interference. I'd probably also like to see wild pitches, passed balls, and balks scored as errors because the defensive team gave away free bases through its own fault. What do you think? 

Requiescat In Pace, Whitey Herzog

In Memoriam

Whitey Herzog (1931-2024)

Hall of Fame manager. Led St. Louis to 3 National League Pennants in 11 seasons. 1982 World Series Champion. 1985 NL Manager of the Year. Led Kansas City to 3 straight division titles.

Eternal rest grant to him, Oh Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 

Image and tribute courtesy of baseball-reference.com

Should Intentional Walks Be Earned Runs?

I can see both sides of the issue: on the one hand, if a pitcher gets himself into a pinch and needs to walk someone, wouldn't that be on him? On the other hand, the batter didn't really "earn" the walk - it was freely given to him (almost certainly by the manager, not the pitcher himself). Additionally, if you need to pull the pitcher right before the due batter is up who you want to walk, who would you want to walk him? Certainly each pitcher would not want to be the one to hand out the free pass for fear of it hurting his statistics. 

    What do you think? Should intentional walks be earned runs? 

Pete Reiser

    Pistol Pete Reiser was a key part of two Brooklyn pennant winners in the 1940's, but could have been so much more if he hadn't attacked walls with his head. In the days before warning tracks and padded outfield fences, Reiser constantly crashed into the solid concrete walls in Ebbets Field, which became the first ballpark to pad them in 1948. Although injuries prevented him from a Hall of Fame career, he was still able to accomplish quite a lot on the diamond. 

    Pete Reiser debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940, batting .293 in 58 games. He had a breakout season in 1941, leading the NL in seven batting categories and the Dodgers to the pennant en route to a second place finish in the MVP Award voting (behind teammate Dolph Camilli). In 1942, Reiser missed 30 games with injuries, but still batted .310 and led the NL in stolen bases, making his second consecutive all-star team and finishing sixth in the MVP voting. He missed the next three seasons to military service with the Army during World War II, but was still able to find his way onto a diamond. In fact, Reiser injured himself playing ball in the Army, forcing him to learn to throw with both arms. According to Brooklyn manager Leo Durocher, he could throw harder than Willie Mays with each arm. When he returned to Brooklyn in 1946, Reiser picked up where he left off, batting .277 with a Major League best 34 stolen bases and finishing ninth in the MVP voting. In 1947, Reiser hit .309 with a .418 OBP in the regular season, leading the Dodgers to another pennant. Although the peaking Reiser was only 28 years old in 1947, it would be his last year as a regular, as various injuries took their toll on him. He played his last year in 1952 as a backup outfielder and pinch runner for the Cleveland Indians. 

    After his playing days, Reiser managed for several years in the minors, earning The Sporting News Minor League Manager of the Year award in 1959. He later coached for the Dodgers, Cubs, and Angels, winning his long-awaited World Series ring in 1963. 

    If not for his constant injuries, Reiser could be in the Hall of Fame today. In his four years as a regular, he slashed .312 / .390 / .473 (139 OPS+), capturing a batting title in 1941. Pistol Pete was also extremely fast, stealing home seven times in 1946. Alas, injuries did him in; Reiser left the field with a fractured skull on one occasion, temporary paralysis on another, and was carried away on a stretcher a record eleven times. Although he couldn't always stay on the field, Pete Reiser was a consistent winner, a fan favorite, and a wonderful talent who should not be forgotten. 

Lucky Hall Of Famer Number 55 - Edgar Martinez (And A Word On Designated Hitters In The Hall Of Fame)

Edgar Martinez, one of the most hotly debated Hall of Fame candidates in recent years, made it to Cooperstown in 2019, earning 85.4% of the vote on his final BBWAA ballot. Primarily a designated hitter, he was a seven time all-star and two time batting champion. Shortly after his retirement, the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, which he won five times, was renamed the Edgar Martinez Award. Despite all the accolades and awards he earned, I have some doubts about his Hall of Fame case. Let's look at them in detail. 

    Career long Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez made his MLB debut in 1987, hitting .372 in 13 games. He was up and down for the next several years, finally securing the Mariners' third base job in 1990 at age 27. Martinez hit his stride in 1992, leading the AL in batting (.343) and doubles (46) en route to a Silver Slugger, the only one of his career at third base. However, his 1993 season was derailed due to injuries (.237 average in 42 games), and he only played 89 games in 1994. At this point in his career, it seemed like there would be almost no chance for him to make the Hall of Fame, except for one thing - the designated hitter. 

    Now I personally am no fan of the DH, a "position" likely introduced to artificially extend the careers of aging stars. It is unnatural (baseball was designed for each fielder to bat, which is the reason why there are nine guys in a lineup) and, quite simply, never should have existed. While this opinion falls far into the minority, especially among modern fans and Hall of Fame voters, there are two other things to consider when evaluating designated hitters: (1), not playing defense severely cuts into a player's value; and (2), it is very easy to focus on hitting without the responsibility of fielding a defensive position. To the second point, Martinez hit well as a third baseman (.302 / .391 / .459, 2.7 HR%), but he really took off as a DH (.314 / .428 / .532, 4.8 HR%). As a third baseman, he never would have made the Hall of Fame. Thanks to the designated hitter, and to the designated hitter only, Martinez is in the Hall of Fame today. Since the DH didn't even exist prior to 1973, and then only in the AL until 2022, Martinez's selection to the Hall is really an accident of place and time. 

    What about the other Hall of Famers who played a significant portion of their careers from the DH slot? What do I think about Paul Molitor, Harold Baines, Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, and David Ortiz for the Hall of Fame? 

    I have already written about Baines, one of the Hall's worst selections. 

    Molitor played 1,174 games at DH and 1,490 in the field, spread out over multiple key positions (including 792 at third base, 400 at second base, and 57 at shortstop). Unlike the others, Molitor was a fine defender at each position. Additionally, he played 976 of those 1,174 games at DH from his age-34 season onward, and his production was not extravagantly boosted (.299 / .361 / .437 before age 34; .316 / .380 / .462 afterward). In all, Molitor collected 3,319 hits and 1,782 runs scored. He's a Hall of Famer. 

    Thomas played 971 games at first base across his career and 1,310 as a DH. Although he was a below average defensive first baseman, he actually hit far better when playing defense than as a designated hitter (.337 / .453 / .625 at first base; .275 / .394 / .505 as DH). In all, Thomas hit 521 home runs. He's a Hall of Famer. 

    Thome played 1,106 games at first base, 492 at third base, and 818 as a DH across his career. Most of his starts at DH came in his age-35 season onward, and by then he'd already established himself as a likely future Hall of Famer. With 612 home runs and a .276 / .402 / .554 slash line, it's hard to say no to Thome. 

    Ortiz is a tough one. He played more games at DH than anyone else (2,027; as opposed to 273 games on defense), and was greatly aided by spending his entire career in Fenway Park. His basic batting numbers are there, and he passed the 500 homer milestone in his next to last season, but half of Ortiz's game was simply nonexistent. He almost never played defense, and when he did, he was awful. Given his postseason exploits, outstanding final season, and impact on baseball in Boston, I'm fine with him in Cooperstown, but he is not an ideal Hall of Famer. 

Name             %Def*  AVG / OBP / SLG             R        H         HR    RBI    SB 

Paul Molitor     .559   .306 / .369 / .448        1,782  3,319   234   1,307  504 

Harold Baines  .390   .289 / .356 / .465        1,299  2,866    384    1,628  34 

Edgar Martinez .275   .312 / .418 / .515       1,219  2,247    309    1,261  49 

Frank Thomas   .430  .301 / .419 / .555        1,494  2,468    521    1,704  32 

Jim Thome        .650  .276 / .402 / .554        1,583  2,328    612    1,699  19 

David Ortiz       .111   .286 / .380 / .552        1,419  2,472    541    1,768  17 

*percent of career plate appearances taken while playing a defensive position 

My opinion: A designated hitter needs to be GREAT, or convince me that he could have been a Hall of Famer without relying on the DH, before he gets my vote for the Hall of Fame.