It is a cruel, cruel game

Last night in Houston, Yu Darvish stood on the doorstep of baseball history. The Texas Rangers $56 million dollar man was one out away from tossing the 24th perfect game in baseball history.

In his first start of the 2013 season, Yu had breezed through 8 2/3 innings striking out 14 batters. His pitch count was barely over 100 pitches and there was no chance the Rangers were going to take him out. He simply had to collect that 27th out, against the worst hitter in the worst lineup in the majors.

If he was a player on any other franchise, Marwin Gonzalez would be toiling in the minors rather than serving as the backup shortstop for the Houston Astros. The man has a career .662 OPS in the minors. Prior to last night, in 80 MLB games, Marwin had reached base only 28% of the time in his 219 career plate appearances. He has a -0.1 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) -- which technically qualifies him a shade below a "replacement player". I have nothing against Marwin Gonzalez, but he really has no business sitting in a major league clubhouse wearing a big league uniform.

Unless you play for the Mets, I will always root for the pitcher once a no-hitter reaches the ninth inning. The accomplishment is just that special. However, something changed last night for me. From the moment I received the breaking news update on my phone, I was openly cheering against Yu Darvish and this sham of a perfect game. Maybe it is because we had all gorged ourselves on too many no-no's last season... maybe it was the ridiculous number of Rangers fans that had made the trip down IH45 to Minute Maid Park for the second game of the season. Perhaps it is my belief that tossing a perfect game against the Houston Astros is the major league baseball equivalent of beating up a special needs kid (I'm looking at you Matt Cain).

No matter the reason, I was yearning to see any of these "Walking Dead" Astros to break this thing up. As the bottom of 9th inning was starting, I tweeted a prediction that Jason Castro would be the man to do it, but he grounded out to the shortstop. I couldn't bring myself to publicly predict that Carlos Corporan could do anything as he quickly grounded out to second. With two out, as Marwin Gonzalez walked up to the plate I resigned myself to the fact that this was going to happen.

Then Gonzalez quickly reminded me why there is no other game like baseball. Instead of working the count, he aggressively swung at the first pitch -- smacking his 49th career major league hit through Darvish's legs and safely into center field. In one moment Marwin restored my sense of fairness and joined David Freese on the "it really is a cruel, cruel game" list as compiled by Texas Rangers fans.

1974 All Star Project: AL Bench

Continuing on with this project... here are the non-starting position players from the 1974 American League All Star Squad.

	Sal Bando. As you expect from a dynasty, the Oakland A's are well represented on the AL squad. Bando was the captain of the three time world champions. 1974 would be the final of his 4 career All Star selections. He was injured and did not play in the game.
	Dave Chalk. A former first round draft pick, 1974 was Dave Chalk's first full season in the majors. Looking at his stats, I have no idea how or why he made the AL All Star roster in both 1974 & 1975. In 1976 he became the last major leaguer to play a full season (at least 500 PA) and hit 0 home runs and steal 0 bases. He played third in the bottom of the eight and struck out in the top of ninth inning.
	Bobby Grich. This was Bobby's second of six total All Star game appearances. He also won four gold gloves at second of the Orioles. He replaced Rod Carew in the bottom of the third and delivered one of the four AL hits.
	George Hendrick. A member of Dick William's 1972 World Champion Oakland A's... Hendrick was appearing in his first of four career All Star games. He replaced Bobby Murcer in centerfield in the bottom of the fifth inning and singled to lead off the sixth inning.
	Ed Herrmann. 1974 was the only All Star game Ed Herrmann was ever selected for. He did not play.
	Al Kaline. Appearing in the final of his 18 career All Star games, Kaline would collect his 3000th hit and retire from the big leagues at the end of the season. He pinch hit for Gaylord Perry in the top of the fourth inning and fouled out to the catcher.
	John Mayberry. A member of both the 1973 and 1974 AL All Star teams. In 1973 he led the American League in on-base-percentage. He grounded out to first base as a pinch hitter.
	Don Money. This was the first midsummer classic appearance for Money. He would make the game three more times in the 1970s, starting at second base in the 1978 game in San Diego. He did not play.
	Darrell Porter. Like his teammate Don Money, this was the first All Star appearance for Porter. Like Money he would make three other games in his 17 year career. Also, like Money, he did not play.
	Frank Robinson. Frank made 14 different All Star rosters in the Hall of Fame career. 1974 would be his last as a player. He grounded into a fielders choice as a sixth inning pinch hitter.
	Cookie Rojas. Appearing in his fifth and final All Star game of his 16 year career. He holds the distinction as the first player born outside the United States to hit a home run for the AL in an All-Star Game in 1972. He did not play.
	Joe Rudi. A popular member to the powerful A's team, Rudi made three career All Star games, starting in the AL outfield in 1975. He replaced Jeff Burroughs in left and went hitless in two at bats.
	Jim Sundberg. This was the first of three All Star games for the six time gold glove winner. For some reason, not counting the injured Carlton Fisk, manager Dick Williams selected four different catchers for his '74 AL roster and only played one of them. Sundberg wasn't it. He did not play.
	Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz appeared in 19 different All Star games over the span of three different decades. He won the MVP of the game in 1970. In 1974 he replaced Dick Allen at first in the bottom of third inning. He collected a walk in the bottom of the eighth.

1974 All Star Project: AL Starters

In 1974 the All Star Game was played in Pittsburgh. Even though the 1974 Topps set is my favorite set of all time, I've always hated the fact Topps combined the starters for each position on a single card. I've been working on this project for a while, but decided to hold off and roll it out around All Star time. In honor of my favorite baseball card set and the last All Star game featuring Dick Allen, here is my vision of what the 1974 Topps American League All Star cards should have looked like (in batting lineup order):

	2B: Rod Carew. The 1974 All Star Game was the eighth of what would be eighteen career all star appearances for this future Hall of Famer. In the decade of the 1970s, Carew appeared in all ten games, voted as as a starter eight times. In the 1974 game he walked in the third inning, stole second base and went to third on a rare Johnny Bench throwing error, He scored the AL's second run when Dick Allen lashed a single to left.
	SS: Bert Campaneris. One of six Oakland Athletics on the AL squad, Campy was making his second of what would be three straight starts at shortstop. Former manager Dick Williams allowed him to play all nine innings of the game, striking out twice and going hitless in four at bats.
	RF: Reggie Jackson. Like Carew, Reggie was a regular member of AL All Star teams in the 1970s. He made nine of ten games, missing out on only the 1976 team, his single season as a Baltimore Oriole. Reggie played all nine innings of the '74 game collecting a walk and striking out twice.
	1B: Dick Allen. 1974 was the last of seven career All Star games for Allen. He made the AL team in each of his three seasons with the White Sox. In Pittsburgh, he became one of only two AL starters to get a hit when singled and drove in the final of the American League's two runs.
	CF: Bobby Murcer. Starting as the AL starting center fielder for the fourth straight season, Murcer never quite lived up the the billing as Mickey Mantle's replacement. He went hitless in two at bats before being replaced in the fifth inning.
	LF: Jeff Burroughs. Playing in his first All Star game in the middle of his career year, Burroughs would be named the American League MVP following the '74 season, when he batted .301 with 25 home runs and a league-leading and career-high 118 RBIs. He walked in both of his plate appearances.
	3B: Brooks Robinson. Appearing in the final of his 18 career All Star games, Brooks was winding down his Hall of Fame career but still won a gold glove in both 1974 & 1975. He played seven innings and went hitless.
	C: Thurman Munson. Starting in place of the injured Carlton Fisk, Munson was appearing in the third of what would be seven career All Star games. In the game, he collected the first of what would be only fours hits for his team when doubled in the third inning. He scored on Bench's error.
	P: Gaylord Perry. Although he made five All Star teams, 1974 was the only start in Gaylord Perry's Hall of Fame career. He would finish the season with 21 wins for the Indians. He pitched three innings for Dick Williams squad, surrendering one run and striking out four.
	Carlton Fisk. Pudge was elected as the AL Starting catcher but missed the game because of knee injury he suffered in June 1974 after colliding with Indians outfielder Leron Lee. Fisk would make ten other All Star games over the span of 3 different decades.

On this day... Mendoza's last stand

May 22, 1982. Kansas City. Facing Royals closer Dan Quisenberry in the top of the 12th inning, Texas Rangers pinch hitter Mario Mendoza lays down a bunt, reaching first base on a fielders choice. He later scores the winning run. It will be the last big league appearance before the Rangers release him June 7th. Mendoza finished his big league career had a lifetime average of .215. He managed to play nine seasons thanks to his superb defensive abilities. Bill James describes him as a "truly remarkable fielder."

Later enshrined in the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame, Mendoza has been immortalized in US baseball culture. It all started with former Mariner teammate, Tom Paciorek, who first referred to the now infamous Mendoza Line. This "line" sits at a batting average of .200. In his only season with 300 or more at-bats (with 1979 Seattle Mariners) Mendoza hit .198 as Seattle's everyday shortstop.

From a July 2007 issue of Sports Illustrated

As Mendoza remembers it, Paciorek coined the Mendoza Line in the late '70s. Paciorek has always shifted credit to first baseman Bruce Bochte but doesn't dispute spreading word of the Mendoza Line to Royals third baseman George Brett. "At the beginning of the 1980 season Brett was struggling and made a comment about being around the Mendoza Line," Mario says. "Once Brett made that remark, [ SportsCenter impresario] Chris Berman picked it up." And once he did, it hurtled with escape velocity into the culture at large.

1982 Topps Dick Allen - Rangers

Throwing everyone a curve ball today, using the 1982 design and a rare image from the spring of 1982 DA was a hitting instructor for the Texas Rangers

Pete Broberg meets... Dick Allen

Thanks to reader JFK19142 for bringing up this:

Somewhere you have to find and post the Dick Allen / Pete Broberg at bat as told by Toby Harrah

Thanks to the miracle of the internet, I found this 2009 Baseball Prospectus interview with Toby Harrah:

What I remember about Pete Broberg is that we were playing a game at Comiskey Park, and Richie Allen was hitting. Broberg was wild a lot inside, and he threw a ball that looked like it was going to hit Richie Allen in the head. At the time, I think he liked to be called Dick. It was, "Don't call me Richie, call me Dick." But anyway, it looked that ball was going to hit him right in the head, but somehow Dick Allen got out of the way of that ball. His helmet went straight up and his head went straight down, and the ball went between his helmet and his head. Dick got up, and he has his glasses on, and he didn't do anything. He acted like nothing happened, really. The next pitch Broberg threw, he hit the ball to dead center field in the upper deck like there was nothing to it. He just went around the bases and back into the dugout, and I said to myself, "There goes a man right there." It was amazing.

The story has to be from the 8th inning of the game played on September 24, 1972. It was his final HR of that 1972 MVP season and the only time in his career DA took Broberg deep.

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.

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Ted Williams / Senators

Yesterday was Ted Williams birthday. There are only a handful of players in baseball history that can compare to "Teddy Ballgame".

He played the vast majority his entire 21-year big league career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox. Of the 2152 games he played during his career (1984 games in left and 169 in right), only once did he play a non-outfield position. On August 24th, 1940 he pitched the final two innings of 12-1 loss to the Tigers.

His best year as a player was 1941, when he hit .406 with 37 HR, 120 RBI, and 135 runs scored. It is the last time a big league player hit .400 and Ted Williams did not win the MVP award that year, losing to Joe DiMaggio and his 56 game hitting streak.

Twice during his career (World War II and Korea) he left baseball in service to the country as a Marine Corps pilot. He lost almost five peak years out of the heart of a great baseball career, significantly limiting what his career totals could have been. In the end, Williams was a 19-time all star, two-time American League MVP winner, he led the league in batting six times, and won the Triple Crown twice. He finished with a career batting average of .344, with 521 home runs (at the time ranked #3). His career batting average is the highest of any player who played his entire career in the live-ball era following 1920. He was a first ballot inductee into the Hall of Fame in 1966.

After he retired, Ted Williams was quoted as saying "You couldn't pay me enough to manage". Rumor has it he twice turned down offers to manage the Boston Red Sox. However, a few weeks before 1969 spring training was scheduled to start the lowly Washington Senators announced the hiring of Ted Williams as their latest manager. Many thought the move as a desperate attempt by the Senators to gain local attention away from the Redskins hiring Vince Lombardi. Whatever the motivation, it certainly increased local curiosity and was a breath of fresh air for the morbid franchise.

Often called the "greatest hitter who ever lived" Williams' fanatic approach to hitting helped improve the Senators offense considerably. The power was supplied by slugger Frank Howard's 48 home runs and the team batting average jumped from .224 in 1968 to .251 in 1969. His leadership inspired the second iteration of the Senators to the only winning season during its 10-year stay in Washington. For this remarkable turnaround, Williams was voted American League Manager of the Year. This is the only baseball award that Ted Williams had ever won and his rival Joe DiMaggio had not.

He spent the next three seasons (two in Washington and one in Texas) trying to capitalize on that first year success, but the ball-clubs did not respond. In 1972, after losing 100 games and recording the worst record in baseball the Rangers (their inaugural season in Texas) let him go at the end of the season.

When he announced his departure he said "I am going fishing."

Throwing back to nowhere

Getting caught up after the holiday weekend = DAHOF blog-post explosion.

I took my son and his friend to the Texas Rangers/Baltimore Orioles game yesterday. Before the game, as you would expect in Texas on the Fourth of July, It was hot. Really hot. The most comfortable place in and around the stadium was the large air conditioned merchandise store located beyond the center field concourse. Because I spend most of my time at this ballpark in the photo wells making pictures, I had not been inside this team store in several years. It was fun just being a fan and looking at all the branded gear the Rangers sell. I was a little surprised when I saw all the 2010 post season swag being sold at 75% off.

But then I saw this:

At first, I shrugged it off, having seen every major league team sell "Cooperstown Collection" jerseys featuring their all-time superstar players. Then it came to me... Nolan Ryan never actually wore that uniform design during the time he played for the Texas Rangers. Nolan pitched in Arlington from 1989 through 1993 and thanks to the Baseball Hall of Fame: Dressed to the Nines database, here are the uniforms he wore:

How sad... the Rangers uniform design he wore when he pitched his sixth and seventh no-hitters is available at Mitchell & Ness but it looks nothing like the only "throwback' uniform I could find in the store with his name on the back. This powder-blue/full-button-down uniform design matches the road jersey worn in 1981 and 1982 by Ranger greats like Jim Sundberg and Buddy Bell. It looks great, but Nolan never wore it.

I guess the harsh reality is the Texas Rangers merchandisers and most Rangers fans don't know or want to acknowledge is their beloved Nolan Ryan was wearing an orange tequila sunrise outfit in Houston in 1981 and 1982.

To be honest, despite living in the state and shooting the club a couple of times each year, I am neutral about the whole Rangers franchise. I recognize the quality roster and realize they are the defending American League Champs. I believe Josh Hamilton is a once in a decade type talent and love watching him do his thing. I also have over a decade of experience of enjoying my local minor league team owned by Nolan Ryan, so I greatly respect his abilities as a baseball owner and executive. However, from a merchandise and marketing perspective, vast improvements can be made in Arlington.

In my opinion, there is no reason to sell an expensive jersey under the "throwback" banner that never actually existed to fans that obviously don't know the difference. I am sure would be interest in powder blue Ranger throwbacks with Wills #1, Sundberg #10, Bell #25, or Jenkins #31 on the backs. I know if they offered the Mario Mendoza #41 jersey mocked up below, I would have a tough time walking out of the store without buying one.

EDIT: Proving once again the world wide web is the most important invention in my lifetime, almost immediately after posting this, I discovered I can, in fact, get a customized Mario Mendoza old-school Trident era Seattle Mariners jersey. I think I just found the #1 item on my present wish list for Christmas in December. God Bless America.