1974 All Star Project: NL Bench

My 1974 All Star Project continues with the National League non-starting position players.

	Lou Brock. Selected to six All Star squads during his 19 year Hall of Fame career, Lou Brock was still a few weeks away from breaking Maury Wills' single-season stolen base record of 104. He ended the season with a new major league single-season record of 118 stolen bases. He entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 5th inning and delivered a single. Appropriately, he stole second base, went to third on a throwing error, and scored on Joe Morgan's RBI sacrafice fly.
	Dave Cash. Originally a Pirate, Cash made the All Star team in all three seasons he played with the Phillies ('74, '75, and '76). In this game, he entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 7th, flying out to center. He replaced Joe Morgan an finished the game at second base.
	Cesar Cedeno. Never living up to the "Next Willie Mays" billing he was given by Leo Durocher... Cedeno made 4 career All Star appearances for the Astros.  He started in centerfield for the 1973 game. In this game, Cesar replaced Hank Aaron in the 4th inning and went hitless in 2 plate appearances.
	Ralph Garr. This was the only All Star game for the 1974 NL Batting Champion. Ralph had 149 hits heading into the All-Star break that year, a record that stands to this day. Garr was the first NL reserve to get into the game when he pinch hit for the starting pitcher Andy Messersmith in the 3rd inning. He stayed in left field through the 7th inning and went 0 for 3.
	Jerry Grote. Making his second and final career All Star appearance, Grote was a favorite of NL manager Yogi Berra. In the game, he replaced starter Johnny Bench to catch the 9th inning. He never came to bat.
	Johnny Grubb. Someone from the San Diego Padres had to make the All Star team in 1974, and Grubb was that man. It would be his only career selection. He popped out to the shortstop in his only at bat.
	Don Kessinger. Playing in his sixth and final career All Star Game, Kessinger was the starting shortstop for the NL four times. He made the most of his one at bat, tripling to the gap in right-center field in the bottom of the 8th inning, driving in Mike Schmidt. He later scored on Fingers wild pitch.
	Tony Perez. Overshadowed by his more popular teammates, Perez made seven All Star games in his career. He won the 1967 All Star MVP when he hit a game winning walk off HR in the 15th inning. He appeared as a pinch hitter in the 6th inning and struck out.
	Mike Schmidt. 1974 was the first of 12 All Star Games for the greatest third baseman in baseball history. He would go on to win his first of 8 NL HR crowns this season. Schmidt replaced Ron Cey in the sixth inning and walked in both of his plate appearances. He scored on Kessinger's triple in the 8th.
	Ted Simmons. Although he was overshadowed by Johnny Bench, made 8 different All Star teams in his 21 year career. He did not play in this game.
	Reggie Smith. In his 17 year big league career, Reggie Smith made 7 All Star Games with three different teams. He started the 1980 game as a member of the Dodgers. This game featured 17 future Hall of Famers, but Reggie Smith was the only player to hit a home run in this game.
	Chris Speier. 1974 was the third straight (and final career) All Star appearance for Chris Speier. He was the lone representative for the Giants. He did not play.

Happy Tony Gwynn Day

Born on this day in 1960, the best player in San Diego Padre history: Tony Gwynn.

Twenty Major League seasons. Fifteen Major League All Star games. Eight National League batting crowns. Seven National League Silver Slugger Awards. Five National League Gold Gloves. Two National League Pennants. One team.

Interesting fact: Tony collected his 2000th and 3000th hits on the same day on the calendar (8/6/1993 and 8/6/1999 respectively). This day happens to be the birthday of his mom, Vendella Gwynn.

Jersey back via BASEBALL BACKS

On this day... Ray Kroc suffers with you

It was April 9th, 1974 The San Diego Padres are losing to the Houston Astros 9-2. In the middle of the 8th inning a frustrated Padres owner Ray Kroc addresses the fans "I suffer with you..." just as a streaker dashes across the field.

"Hey.... get that streaker out of here... throw him in jail..."

Kroc finishes with a flurry, blasting his team "I've never seen such stupid ball playing in my life..."

Inspired or angered by the public blasting, the Padres score 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning, including a Cito Gaston 2 RBI double... but still end up losing 9-5.

DAHOF Top 100 -- #22 Tony Gwynn

In the early 1990's, I was was a young Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, which is located about 45 minutes from San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium. It was during this time I developed the habit of arriving at the ballpark early enough to enjoy batting practice.

If you recall the initial days of the juiced era, big league batting practice often erupted into a powerful display of one deep majestic drive after another. But gawking at Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield launching 500 foot home runs  wasn't the reason I sped down I-5... The real reason I was there was to observe Tony Gwynn take batting practice. It is a rare treat when you realize in the moment you are witnessing someone very special do something better than everyone else on the planet. Watching Tony slash line drive after line drive into left center field hours before the game started was a study in repetitive muscle memory and single minded dedication.

From George Will's 1990 book Men at Work:

Early in the 1989 season Tony Gwynn hit home runs in consecutive games and was even more displeased with his hitting than he generally is. The second home run came after an afternoon spent toiling to remove flaws in the way he had swung the bat in the game in which he hit the first one. He knew the flaws were there. In fact, the home run was evidence that he was not hitting the pitches he wanted to hit in the way he wanted to hit them. So the afternoon before the night when he hit the second home run , he went to work early, several hours before the game.

The previous night he had hit two balls hard. One pleased him, the other distressed him. The pleasing one was an out, the distressing one was a home run. When he hit the ball hard for an out, as he started his stride forward his hands moved in the opposite direction. They came back so he could keep the bat backlog enough to "inside out" the ball to left field, lashing a line drive that was caught by the left fielder. To "inside out" is to sweep the bat through the strike zone at a slight angle, from the back inside portion of the plate toward the outside front portion. When a left handed hitter does that, he has power to the left side of the diamond.

On the home run swing, his hands came forward too soon. That is what he means by being "out in front". He drive the ball to right field. Sure, it went over the fence, but he knows that over the course of the long season, hitting the ball that way is a recipe for the sort of frustration he experienced in 1988. 

DAHOF Top 100 -- #60 Dave Winfield

From Baseballpedia.org

In his senior year in college, Dave Winfield was a wanted man.

In 1973, Winfield, a senior at the University of Minnesota, was selected in four drafts in three different professional sports. Just weeks after being selected as the fourth overall pick in the baseball draft by the San Diego Padres, Winfield was named Most Valuable Player of the College World Series...

...In contrast to today, when drafted players often hold out for astronomical guaranteed contacts or leverage their selection to end up with the team of their choice, Winfield was anxious to make his mark in the pro ranks. After little hassle, he inked a $15,000 deal with the Padres, and negotiated a $50,000 signing bonus, most of which he invested in the stock market. His contract called for him to go directly to the big league club in 1973.

Just weeks after ending his college career, Winfield was in uniform with the Padres, a team known more for their hamburger-chain owner Ray Kroc than for winning. That first season, manager Don Zimmer kept coaches away from Winfield’s swing (they wanted to alter his “hitch” that served as Winfield’s timing mechanism) and sheltered the rookie from tough pitchers.

“They were good at keeping me out against the Tom Seaver’s and Bob Gibson’s,” Winfield recalls. “I watched and listened, and tried to learn as much as I could.”

With competition for playing time fierce on the lowly Padres, and with teammates more concerned with their own jobs than helping along a rookie, Winfield often turned to opposing players for guidance, such as Billy Williams of the Cubs and Dick Allen of the Phillies.

The Matt Stairs Project

When Matt Stairs retired from baseball in August, I posted this in recognition of his contribution to the 2008 Phillies World Series win. As I was looking up his career stats for the post, I realized that he might have the longest display of uniform numbers of any player on BaseballReference.com. All told Stairs played for 12 different teams -- 13 if want to separate the Expos franchise he debuted for from the Nationals that he finished with. According to the fine folks a BR.com, Stairs wore 19 different uniform/number combinations during his career.

Former players Mike Morgan, Ron Villone, Deacon McGuire each played for 12 different teams. Morgan's uni/number combo count finished at 17, Villone got 14, and McGuire retired in 1912, several years before a major league team even issued uniform numbers. The only active player that is even close to Stairs is Miguel Cairo, his 2011 season with the Reds put him up to 14.

I thought it might be fun to create a set of Matt Stairs cards - showing him with every major league team he played for. Rather than drive myself crazy attempting to create new templates for each year, I decided to simply go with a 1968 Topps design. Matt Stairs was born in 1968.

	1992 - 1993: Montreal Expos Stairs makes his big league debut on May 29th, 1992 with the Expos in Cincinnatti. Appropriately he enters his first game as a pinch hitter.
	1995: Boston Red Sox After spending some time in Japan, Stairs is purchased by the Red Sox. He spends all of 1994 in the minors and returns to the big leagues in June. Hits his first ML Home Run off of the Royals Tom 'Flash' Gordon on July 5th, 1995. He gets one AB in the Red Sox 1995 ALDS loss to the Indians.
	1996 - 2000: Oakland A's Signs as a Free Agent with the A's following the 1995 season. It is in Oakland that Stairs establishes himself as a real live professional hitter. It is also the first place he finds regular playing time and he produces 122 HRs & 385 RBIs over his 5 seasons wearing the green and gold.
	2001: Chicago Cubs Following the A's bitter 2001 ALDS loss to the Yankees, Stairs is traded to the Chicago Cubs for a minor league pitcher named Eric Ireland. He spends one season on Chicago's North Side, delivering 85 hits in 128 games.
	2002: Milwaukee Brewers Once again a Free Agent, Matt signs with the Brewers for the 2002 season. Nothing spectacular happened for him while suffering through 106 losses playing for a last place team.
	2003: Pittsburgh Pirates Another season, another team. Now 35 years old, Matt signs with the Pirates as a Free Agent in December 2002. He had the best batting average of his career, hitting .292 in 128 games playing as a first baseman and outfielder. He also tops the 20 HR mark for the 5th time in his career.
	2004 - 2006: Kansas City Royals Matt continues his tour of the Major Leagues when he signs as a free agent with the Royals. He practically puts down roots and stays in KC for two and a half seasons. On June 2nd, 2005 -- against the Yankees he leads off the bottom of the sixth inning and sends a Carl Pavano pitch deep into the night for his 200th career HR.
	2006: Texas Rangers In July of the 2006 season, for the first time in his career, Matt Stairs joins a new team in the middle of the season. The Royals made a deadline deal with Texas, who had hoped Stairs could provide some veteran leadership on their young club. He just played in 26 games and hit only .210 before getting waived in September.
	2006: Detroit Tigers Claimed off the waiver wire by Detroit, Stairs joins his 3rd team of the 2006 season. The Tigers grabbed him in hopes he could help them hold their division lead. He appears in 14 games and the Tigers lost their division lead on the final day of the season, but still clinched the Wild Card. Since he was acquired after August 31st deadline, he was unable to play for the Tigers during the playoffs or World Series.
	2007 - 2008: Toronto Blue Jays After the 2006 season, the 39 year old Stairs once again found himself on the market as a free agent. In December he signed with the Blue Jays, returning to his native Canada. During the season and a half he spent in Toronto he found regular playing time, delivering 21 HRs in 2007 with an impressive .921 OPS. Following his strong 2007 season the Jays gave him a 2 year deal, but it didn't work out as he was released in August.
	2008 - 2009: Philadelphia Phillies Looking to add depth to their bench, the Phillies picked up the suddenly available Stairs in late August of 2008. He appeared in 16 games as the Phils won the NL East. Playing in his first playoffs since 2001, Stairs created a lasting memory with his first career postseason home run in Game 4 of the NLCS. His monster blast allowed the Phillies to take the lead over the Dodgers and win the game. That season he won the only World Series ring of his 16-year career. He returned in 2009 as a hero. On April 12th he hit a game-winning home run against the Rockies. It was the last home run called by Harry Kalas.
	2010: San Diego Padres In January, Stairs agreed to a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres with an invite to spring training hoping to crack their 25-man roster. He made the club out of spring training as a left-handed bat off the bench. On August 21st, Stairs hit his 21st career home run as a pinch hitter, breaking a tie with Cliff Johnson and setting a new Major League record.
	2011: Washington Nationals In December, Stairs signed a non-guaranteed minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. He made the club in spring training and went north with the team. Mostly used as a pinch-hitter, with four appearances at first base, in 65 at-bats he had 10 hits and two RBIs. He was designated for assignment on July 27, 2011 and released on August 1st. Two days later he announced his retirement.

Happy Dave Winfield Day

Happy 60th birthday to one of the three people ever drafted by Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Football League (NFL). Growing up in Minnesota, I would have thought he would have also played hockey?

In total, Dave Winfield was selected by five teams in three different professional sports. The Baltimore Orioles drafted him out of high school, but did not sign him because he went to the University of Minnesota. After college, the San Diego Padres selected him as a pitcher in the first round (4th overall pick) in the 1973 MLB draft. The NBA's Atlanta Hawks selected him in with the 74th pick in the 1973 NBA draft. The ABA's Utah Stars also drafted him that year. And even though he never played college football, the Minnesota Vikings selected Winfield in the 17th round of the 1973 NFL draft.

Parade of Ridiculousness: Ty Cobb sporting the mustard & brown

Last week I stumbled into this fun concept with Babe Ruth in a 1976 Astros uniform.

As promised, I present you with card #2 of this Parade of Ridiculousness set: Ty Cobb in the mono-mustard look of the 1972-73 San Diego Padres.

I am currently in the planning and feasibility stages with the suggestions of Chuck Klein in the 1979 Phillies mono-maroon Saturday Night Specials & Bob Feller in the 1975-77 all red Cleveland Indians "blood clot" threads. Once I get rolling one on of these, it is hard to stop.

Any other suggestions ? Keep them coming.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Willie McCovey / Athletics

This particular FF/SP card has been on my "to do" list for some time. Unfortunately there just wasn't any color images of McCovey in an A's uniform readily available. Luckily I found a couple of nice black and white images and colorized this one.

Willie McCovey originally signed with the New York Giants in 1955. He never got to play in New York because his Giants left Manhattan for San Francisco before he made it to the majors.

Nicknamed "Strech" because of his outstanding defensive abilities at first base, McCovey made a historic debut on July 30th, 1959 against the Phillies and future Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts. He went 4-4 with two triples, he instantly became a fan favorite in San Francisco en route to winning the 1959 Rookie of the Year Award. Imagine that, he played his first major league game on July 30th and ended up winning the Rookie of the Year award?

Fast forward 15 seasons, six all star games, and one MVP award later -- McCovey's Hall of Fame career was starting to wind down. Following the 1973 season, the financially challenged Giants dealt McCovey to the expansion San Diego Padres for a pitching prospect named Mike Caldwell. At the time, McCovey was still a productive player and he immediately became the first recognizable star in the Padres short history. McCovey played most of three seasons in San Diego and hit 52 of his career 521 home runs and two of his NL record 18 grand slams while wearing the brown and gold. Creating a Willie FF/SP card with a Padres uniform would be redundant and I could never hope to match the incredible airbrushing expertise by Topps (cough, cough, cough).

Near the end of the 1976 season the Padres returned Stretch to the Bay Area, selling him to the hated cross-town Oakland Athletics. That strange marriage would not last long as he would only play in 11 games for the A's and was released at the end of the season.

Looking for work for the first time since 1955, McCovey was invited by new Giants ownership to make the team at spring training camp in 1977. He responded with a 28-homer, 86-RBI comeback at the age of 39. He played the final three and half seasons back home in San Francisco and hit his 500th home run in 1978. His final home run (# 521) came on May 3rd, 1980 - it tied him with Ted Williams at #10 on the all time list. He also joined Williams on the list of big leaguers (Ricky Henderson and Omar Vizquel were added later) who had homered in four different decades. He played his last game two months later and retired to make way for a new Giants phenom named Rich Murray during the All Star break of the 1980 season.

In 1986 Willie McCovey became the 16th player elected to Hall of Fame in his 1st year of eligibility.

Happy Rollie Fingers Day

Rollie Fingers turns 65 today. Best known for his signature handlebar mustache (which he first grew to collect a $300 bonus from Charlie Finley) he also had the opportunity to wear some of the best uniform color combinations in MLB history. Happy Birthday Rollie!

Dick Williams 1929-2011

Baseball lost one of it's all-time greats yesterday. Former player and Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams died in Las Vegas from an apparent brain aneurysm. He was 82 years old.

As a player, Dick Williams was good enough to play in over 1000 games in 13 seasons at the major league level. He made three pinch hitting appearances in the 1953 World Series as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1964 he finished his playing career as a member of the Boston Red Sox with a .260 career batting average.

It was as a manager that he became a Hall of Famer. Immediately after retiring as a player, he spent three seasons managing in the Red Sox farm system. In 1967, prior to the start of the season Williams was named the new manager in Boston. The season before taking over the team finished ninth and the franchise had not won a pennant in 21 years. His first season he led the "Impossible Dream" Red Sox to the World Series, where they lost the Cardinals in seven games. Under his command, all-star Carl Yastrzemski was stripped of the title "Captain" because Williams didn't want anyone to question who was in charge. Refreshed and focused after having the heavy yolk of peer leadership removed, Yaz went on to win the last triple crown in baseball history.

In 1972 & 1973 he managed the Oakland A's to the first two of what would be three straight World Championships. These powerful and colorful A's teams included superstars like Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Joe Rudi, Vida Blue, Ken Holtzman, Sal Bando and Bert Campaneris. He shocked his team and the baseball world after he announced he was quitting the Oakland dynasty immediately following the 1973 World Series. The reason: Williams had had enough of owner Charlie Finely and was angry at the embarrassing attempt to remove second baseman Mike Andrews from the roster with a phantom injury after Andrews had made a pair of errors earlier in the series. The A's went on to win a third straight ring under Alvin Dark in 1974.

George Steinbrenner actually named him as the manager of the 1973 Yankees, but it never happened. Feeling jilted after giving Williams his "best wishes", Charlie Finley filed a suit in federal court to prevent Williams from going to New York. His claim was Williams was still under contract with the Athletics. Finley apparently demanded two Yankee prospects in exchange. The Yankees balked and hired Bill Virdon instead. Finley eventually relented and Williams became manager of the Angels in the middle of the 1974 season and stayed in Anaheim for 3 seasons.

Dick Williams went on to manage the Montreal Expos, where he was unexpectedly fired in the middle of 1981 season. That '81 Expos team went on to deliver the only playoff appearance in franchise history. He also managed the San Diego Padres, where he led the Padres to the 1984 National League pennant and a trip to the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. He finished his managerial career with three seasons in Seattle. The 78 wins his 1987 Mariners delivered was the most in the first 14 seasons of the franchise. In 1993, George Steinbrenner was finally able to hire Dick Williams, this time an adviser and scout. He remained with the Yankees for 10 years and undoubtedly had a hand in building the Yankees teams that won three straight World Series titles from 1998-2000.

In his 21 years as a major league manager Williams finished with a .520 winning percentage, four pennants, and two World Series Championships. He is one of two managers in baseball history to lead three different teams to World Series appearances. Dick Williams was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by Veteran's Committee as Manager in 2008. His Hall of Fame plaque shows him wearing an A's cap.

In addition to being a great manager, it is my opinion that Dick Williams was blessed to wear some of the most interesting and memorable (and most colorful) uniforms in baseball history.

Minor stars: Padres

Watching the Phils play the Padres this weekend has made me realize that I have seen (and photographed) many of these San Diego Padres play in the minor leagues with other franchises.

Cameron Maybin with the Tigers

Jorge Cantu with the Rays

Brad Hawpe with the Rockies

Chad Qualls with the Astros

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Fred Lynn / Padres

In 1975 Fred Lynn burst into the big leagues winning the AL Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player award, becoming the first player to ever win both awards in the same season. He also led his Boston Red Sox to the World Series where they lost to the Reds in seven exciting games. Combined with fellow Red Sox rookie Jim Rice, they were called the "gold dust twins".

Unfortunately for Red Sox fans, he couldn't maintain the same level of his rookie season. Lynn still excelled beyond your average major leaguer, winning three more Gold Gloves in 1978-80 and finishing 4th in the 1979 MVP voting and was elected to the All-Star team for nine straight seasons.

Having attended college at USC, Lynn had a strong desire to play in California. The Sox traded him the the Angels after the 1980 season. He performed well on a team that included 4 different MVPs. He was named MVP of the 1982 ALCS, becoming the first player to ever win the award for the losing team. In 1983, he hit the only grand slam in All-Star history and was named MVP in what turned out to be his last All Star game. His four home runs in All-Star games ranks second behind only to Stan Musial. One thing about Fred Lynn, he was incredibly predictable and consistent with his power production. From 1982-1988, his home run totals were 21-22-23-23-23-23-25.

After the 1984 season Lynn became a free agent and signed a fat contract with the Orioles, but never lived up to the very high expectations placed on him. He was traded to the Tigers in a 1988 deadline deal -- and played a single full in a stadium seemingly designed for this left handed swing. But, injuries and time had taken their toll. His once seemingly clear road to Cooperstown was detoured to a dead end.

Lynn wrapped up his career with one season with San Diego in 1990, retiring at the age of 38 with 306 career home runs and 1111 RBIs. He was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002 and College World Series Hall of Fame in 2007. You can check out his own personal web site here.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Rickey Henderson

Rickey Henderson was the best leadoff hitter and base thief in baseball history. His career spanned 25 seasons, most notably with the Oakland Athletics. He has two world series champion rings (1989 with Oakland and 1993 with Toronto), one MVP award (1990 with Oakland) and is the career leader steals and runs scored. He leads the next closest player (Lou Brock) in career stolen bases by an unbelievable 468 steals. He was easily and deservedly elected to the Hall of Fame in his first season of eligibility.


The last couple seasons of Rickey's baseball career were nomadic to say the least. In 2000 he played for the Seattle Mariners, in 2001 he played for the San Diego Padres, in 2001 he played for the Boston Red Sox, and finally in 2002 he played in Los Angeles for the Dodgers. I couldn't pick which one of these uniforms he looked stranger in, so I selected them all.

One of my favorite recent additions to the baseball-reference web site is the inclusion of uniform numbers with each player. I have not done the research, but I am willing to guess Rickey also has the most circled numbers in baseball history.