Rumors for December, 2010
Top 30 most memorable baseball moments: #9-7
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Moment 9: Oakland’s Rickey Henderson steals third base in a game against the Yankees in Oakland on May 1, 1991, for career stolen base 939, eclipsing Lou Brock’s previous record.
Henderson made his major league debut with Oakland on June 24, 1979, getting two hits in four at bats, along with a stolen base. He batted .274 with 33 stolen bases in 89 games. In 1980, Henderson became the 3rd modern-era player to steal 100 bases in a season.
On August 22, 1989, he became Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th strikeout victim, but Henderson took an odd delight in the occurrence, saying, “If you haven’t been struck out by Nolan Ryan, you’re nobody.” A year later, Henderson finished second in the league in batting average with a mark of .325, losing out to the Kansas City Royals’ George Brett on the final day of the season. Henderson had a remarkably consistent season, with his batting average falling below .320 for only one game, the third of the year.
On May 1, 1991, Henderson broke one of baseball’s most noted records when he stole the 939th base of his career, one more than Lou Brock’s total compiled from 1963 to 1979, mainly with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Moment 8: Nolan Ryan pitches his seventh career no-hitter, extending his Major League record. The Rangers defeated the Blue Jays 3-0 in Arlington on May 1, 1991.
During a Major League record 27-year baseball career, Ryan pitched in 1966 and from 1968–1993 for four different teams: the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers.
Ryan is the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. Despite the seven no-hitters, he never threw a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award.
In 1990, Ryan threw his sixth no-hitter (on June 11 against the Athletics), and earned his 300th win (on July 31 against the Milwaukee Brewers). On May 1, 1991, Henderson broke Brock’s career stolen base record by stealing his 939th career base. However, Henderson’s achievement was somewhat overshadowed because Ryan, at age 44, set a record that same night by throwing the seventh no-hitter of his career, striking out Roberto Alomar of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final out. Coincidentally, Ryan’s second baseman in his first two no-hitters had been Alomar’s father, Sandy Alomar Sr.
Moment 7: Jack Morris pitches 10 shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves and leads the Minnesota Twins to a victory in Game 7 of the World Series on Oct. 27, 1991.
Morris played in 18 Major League seasons between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers, and won 254 games throughout his career.
In 1991, Morris signed a one-year contract with his hometown Minnesota Twins. He enjoyed another great season, posting 18 wins as Minnesota faced the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. Morris started for the Twins three times, with his final outing being Game 7. In a postseason performance for the ages, the 36-year-old hurler, known throughout his career as a clutch “big game” pitcher, lived up to his billing by throwing 10 innings of shutout baseball against the Braves as the Twins won the World title on a 10th inning single by Gene Larkin that scored Dan Gladden. Morris was named the World Series MVP for his fantastic performance and joined fellow pitcher Sandy Koufax as the only players to win the Babe Ruth Award twice. He holds the record for most wins by a Twin in a single postseason, with 4 acquired in 1991.
Top 30 most memorable baseball moments: #12-10
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Moment 12: Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds became the new Major League Baseball’s career hits leader on September, 11, 1985.
Rose made his major league debut on April 8, 1963 (Opening Day) against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He got his first Major League hit on April 13, and hit .273 for the year and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
Rose had his best offensive season in 1969, setting a career high in batting (.348) and tying his career-best 16 homers. As the Reds’ leadoff man, he was the team’s catalyst, rapping 218 hits, walking 88 times and pacing the league in runs with 120. He hit 33 doubles, 11 triples, He drove in 82 runs, slugged .512 (a career best), had a .432 OBP (also a career best). Rose and Roberto Clemente were tied for the batting title going into the final game, Rose bunted for a base hit in his last at-bat of the season to beat out Clemente (.345).
On September 11, 1985, Rose broke Ty Cobb’s all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, a single to left-center field off San Diego Padres pitcher Eric Show.
Moment 11: The New York Mets come back from a 3-2 series deficit to win Game 6 and 7 against the Boston Red Sox and clinch the 1986 World Series.
In the bottom of the tenth inning of game 6 (October, 25, 1986), the Red Sox were one out away from the series victory. The scoreboard in right-center field actually had flashed, briefly, “Congratulations, Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Champions.”
Down to their final out, the Mets would go on to stage a historic comeback. After being down to a final strike, Gary Carter singled to left field. Then Kevin Mitchell singled to center field and Carter advanced to second.
Mitchell was followed by Ray Knight, who also was down to a final strike. On an 0–2 pitch from Calvin Schiraldi, Knight hit the next pitch into center field for a single that scored Carter and advanced Mitchell to third base, bringing the score to 5–4 and leaving the tying run in third base.
Red Sox manager John McNamara, with left fielder Mookie Wilson coming to the plate, removed Schiraldi in favor of Bob Stanley. On the seventh pitch of the at bat, Stanley’s pitch was too far inside and slipped past catcher Rich Gedman for a wild pitch, sending Wilson to the ground and allowing Mitchell to score from third base with the tying run. Knight moved up to second base.
On the tenth pitch of the at-bat, Wilson hit a slow ground ball up the first base line that appeared to be an easy play for Boston first baseman Bill Buckner. As the speedy Wilson busted out of the box, the ball snuck between the legs of Buckner. The ball slipped under his glove, and rolled slowly into right field. Knight grabbed his helmet as he jumped on home plate to win the game in an iconic image of one of the most famous comebacks in World Series history.
In the seventh game the Mets easily defeated the Red Sox 8 to 5 and Jesse Orosco provided one of the most memorable images of that World Series, which would become an iconic image to the Mets and their fans: he threw his glove way up in the air after a strikeout for the final out, and immediately dropped to his knees while catcher Gary Carter ran out to the mound to embrace him.
Moment 10: Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit homer off Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley with two outs in the bottom of the ninth gives Los Angeles a 5-4 win in Game 1 of the World Series, October 15, 1988.
Early in his career, Gibson was proclaimed by manager Tigers’ Sparky Anderson as the next Mickey Mantle. Later, Anderson apologized and said that probably put too much pressure on a young and inexperienced Gibson. Nevertheless, Gibson was considered a versatile power/speed player in the 1980s who was able to hit home runs as well as steal bases.[4] He finished in the top 10 in home runs 3 times in his career and ranked in the top 10 in stolen bases 4 times.
Gibson is perhaps best known for his one and only plate appearance in the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics. With a stomach virus and injuries to both legs sustained during the League Championship Series, Gibson was not expected to play at all. In Game 1, on October 15, 1988 at Dodger Stadium, with the Dodgers trailing by a score of 4–3, Mike Davis on first, and two out in the ninth inning, manager Tommy Lasorda inserted Gibson as a pinch hitter. He limped up to the plate to face Oakland’s future Hall of Fame closer Eckersley. Gibson quickly got behind in the count, 0–2, and with an awkward, almost casual swing, Gibson used pure upper-body strength to smack a 3–2 backdoor slider over the right-field fence. He hobbled around the bases and pumped his fist as his jubilant teammates stormed the field. The Dodgers won the game, 5–4, and would go on to win the World Series, 4–1.
Rangers, Yankees and Indians interested in Bartolo Colon
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The Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians have expressed interest in former American League Cy Young award winner, Bartolo Colon, according to the Dominican Republic newspaper, El Dia (via T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com).
“I’ll go with the one that signs me,” the 37-year-old Colon said.
Earlier this month, the Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reported that Indians’ manager Manny Acta watched the right-hander pitch in the Dominican.
“He is throwing the ball well down there, we are looking for an experienced starter…so we feel that it is worth checking him out,” Acta said via email.
In Colon’s last year of Major League service in 2009, he was 3-6 with a 4.19 ERA over 12 starts with the Chicago White Sox.
Top 30 most memorable baseball moments: #15-13
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Moment 15: Hank Aaron of Atlanta breaks Babe Ruth’s career record of 714 home runs on April 8, 1974.
On April 13, 1954, Aaron made his major league debut and was hitless in five at-bats against the Cincinnati Reds. Two days later Aaron collected his first major league hit, a single off Cardinals’ pitcher Vic Raschi. Aaron hit his first major league home run on April 23, also off Raschi. He then changed his number to 44, which would turn out to look like a “lucky number” for the slugger. Aaron would hit 44 home runs in four different seasons, and he would hit his record-breaking 715th career home run off Dodgers pitcher Al Downing, who coincidentally also wore number 44.
As the 1974 season began, Aaron’s pursuit of the record caused a small controversy. The Braves opened the season on the road in Cincinnati with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Braves management wanted him to break the record in Atlanta, and were therefore going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that he had to play two games in the first series. He played two out of three, tying Babe Ruth’s record in his very first at bat off Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, but did not hit another home run in the series.
The team returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game. In the fourth inning, Aaron hit career home run number 715 off Downing. Although Dodgers outfielder Bill Buckner nearly went over the outfield wall trying to catch it, the ball landed in the Braves’ bullpen, where relief pitcher Tom House caught it.
Moment 14: Carlton Fisk of the Red Sox led off the bottom of the 12th with a home run off the left-field foul pole at Fenway Park in Game 6 of the World Series on Oct. 21, 1975.
During a 24-year baseball career, Fisk played for both the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971-1980) and Chicago White Sox (1981-1993). He was the first player to be unanimously voted American League Rookie of the Year (1972).
The defining moment of Fisk’s illustrious career came in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series at Fenway Park. He hit Cincinnati Reds pitcher Pat Darcy’s second pitch down the left field line that appeared to be heading into foul territory. The enduring image of Fisk jumping and waving the ball fair as he made his way to first base is considered by many to be one of baseball’s greatest moments. The ball struck the foul pole, giving the Red Sox a 7–6 win and forcing a seventh and deciding game of the fall classic.
The image of him waving the ball fair changed the way baseball was televised. During this time, cameramen covering baseball were instructed to follow the flight of the ball. In a 1999 interview, NBC cameraman Lou Gerard admitted that the classic shot was not due to his own skills as a cameraman, but because he had been distracted by a nearby rat.
Moment 13: Reggie Jackson hits three home runs in three consecutive at-bats during Game 6 of the World Series on Oct. 18, 1977.
Jackson debuted in the major leagues with the A’s on June 9, 1967, a 6-0 A’s victory over the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland. Following that season, the Athletics moved to Oakland. Jackson hit 47 home runs in 1969.
During the World Series against the Dodgers, Thurman Munson was interviewed, and suggested that Jackson, because of his past post-season performances, might be the better interview subject. “Go ask Mister October”, he said, giving Jackson a nickname that would stick. Jackson’s crowning achievement came with his three-home-run performance in World Series-clinching Game 6, each on the first pitch, off three different Dodger pitchers.
David Aardsma to have surgery – can he still be traded?
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The Seattle Mariners have been trying to trade closer David Aardsma, according to rumors this month. However, the team announced via it’s Twitter account, that the closer will have surgery next week to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. So how will that affect Aardsma’s future with the Mariners or with any team?
Financially and contractually, the pitcher is okay. Aardsma made $2.75 million in 2010, and stands to make a significant raise in 2010 from arbitration. The right-hander will also be eligible for salary arbitration next winter before he becomes a free agent after the 2012 season.
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times adds that Aardsma can resume throwing in four weeks, and he’s expected to be ready by Opening Day. This could mean that Aardsma could be available to teams in need of bullpen help, such as the Colorado Rockies.
Aardsma, 30, was 0-6 with a 3.44 ERA and 31 saves in 2010 with the M’s. He achieved a career high of 38 saves with Seattle with a 2.52 ERA in 2009.
Rafael Soriano could have a hard time finding a new team
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Closer Rafael Soriano is a free-agent now, and with the superb season he had in 2010 (45 saves in 48 attempts) you would think he could find a new team and a big contract right away. That’s not the case this year with Soriano. Teams who can afford an expensive closer like the Yankees or Red Sox have that spot already filled, and teams who lack a closer don’t have the money to spend on Soriano.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday says that Soriano could be become a very expensive setup man and that the Yankees should consider that option if Andy Pettitte decides to retire.
Apparently, the Yankees have checked in on Soriano according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, but sources close to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports say that the Yankees are not pursuing the right handed pitcher.
The Rays though, would like to see Soriano signing with Colorado, St. Louis, San Diego, Texas, Cincinnati, Atlanta, San Francisco, Minnesota or Philadelphia. Because none of them plays in the AL East, and none has its first-round draft pick protected (as is the case for teams finishing in the bottom 15). So these clubs would give their first-round pick to Tampa Bay as compensation for losing Type A free agent Soriano.
Top 30 most memorable baseball moments: #18-16
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Moment 18: Roger Maris of the Yankees hits 61 home runs to break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record in 1961.
During a 12-year baseball career, Maris played from 1957-1968 for four different teams, appearing in seven World Series and winning three of them.
In 1961, Yankee home runs began to come at a record pace. One famous photograph lined up six 1961 Yankee players, including Mickey Mantle, Maris, Yogi Berra, and Bill Skowron, under the nickname “Murderers Row,” because they hit a combined 165 home runs that year. As mid-season approached, it seemed quite possible that either Maris or Mantle, or perhaps both, would break Ruth’s 34-year-old home run record.
As 1961 progressed, the Yanks were now “Mickey Mantle’s team” and Maris was ostracized as the “outsider,” and “not a true Yankee.” The press seemed to root for Mantle and to belittle Maris. Mantle was felled by a hip infection late in the season, leaving Maris as the only player with a chance to break the record.
On top of his lack of popular press coverage, Maris’ chase for 61 hit another roadblock totally out of his control. Along with adding two teams to the league, Major League Baseball had added eight games to the schedule. In the middle of the season, baseball commissioner Ford Frick announced that unless Ruth’s record was broken in the first 154 games of the season, the new record would be shown in the record books as having been set in 162 games while the previous record set in 154 games would also be shown. It is an urban legend that an asterisk would be used to distinguish the new record.
Moment 17: Satchel Paige became the first Negro League player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
Paige was a right-handed pitcher and was the oldest rookie to play Major League Baseball at the age of 42. He played with the St. Louis Browns until age 47, and represented them in the Major League All-Star Game in 1952 and 1953.
In the wake of Ted Williams‘ 1966 Hall of Fame induction speech urging induction of Negro Leaguers, and on the recommendation of the Baseball Writers Association of America, Bowie Kuhn empowered a ten-man committee to sift through hundreds of names and nominate the first group of four Negro League players to go to the Hall of Fame. Because Paige pitched in Greensboro in 1966, he would not have been eligible for enshrinement until 1971, as players have to be out of professional baseball for at least five years before they can be elected. All of the men on the committee agreed that Paige had to be the first Negro League player to get elected, so this gave Kuhn plenty of time to create some sort of Negro League branch in the Hall of Fame. On February 9, 1971, Kuhn announced that Paige would be the first member of the Negro wing of the Hall of Fame.
Moment 16: Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates doubles off the Mets’ Jon Matlack in the final game of the season (Sept. 30, 1972) for his 3,000th career hit.
Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pirates (1955-72). He was awarded the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1966. During the course of his career, Clemente was selected to participate in the league’s All Star Game on twelve occasions. He won twelve Gold Glove Awards and led the league in batting average in four different seasons.
Struggling with injuries, Clemente only managed to appear in 102 games in 1972, but he still hit .312 for his final .300 season. On September 30, in a game at Three Rivers Stadium, he hit a double off Matlack of the New York Mets for his 3,000th hit. It was the last at-bat of his career during a regular season, though he did play in the 1972 NLCS playoffs against the Cincinnati Reds. In the playoffs, he batted .235 as he went 4 for 17. His last game ever was at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium in the fifth game of the playoff series.
On 1972 Clemente decided to go to Nicaragua and help the victims of the December 23 earthquake. The airplane he chartered for a New Year’s Eve flight crashed into the ocean off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico immediately after takeoff on December 31, 1972. A few days after the crash, the body of the pilot and part of the fuselage of the plane were found. An empty flight case apparently belonging to Clemente was the only personal item recovered from the plane. Clemente’s teammate and close friend Manny Sanguillen was the only member of the Pirates not to attend Clemente’s memorial service. The catcher chose instead to dive into the waters where Clemente’s plane had crashed in an effort to find his teammate. Clemente’s body was never recovered.
Top 30 most memorable baseball moments: #21-19
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Moment 21: Willie Mays makes “The Catch” in deep center field during Game 1 of the World Series on Sept. 29, 1954.
Mays won two MVP awards and tied a record with 24 appearances in the All-Star Game. He ended his career with 660 home runs, third at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-time. He had a .274 average, 68 RBI and 20 homers (in 121 games) in his first MLB season, and won the 1951 Rookie of the Year Award.
On September 29, 1954, during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Indians at the Polo Grounds in New York, Mays made a memorable defensive play called “The Catch”.
With runners on first and second, Cleveland’s Vic Wertz crushed Don Liddle’s pitch approximately 420 feet to deep center field. In many stadiums the hit would have been a home run and given the Indians a 5-2 lead. However, this was the spacious Polo Grounds, and Mays, who was playing in shallow center field, made an on-the-run over-the-shoulder catch on the warning track to make the out. Having caught the ball, he immediately spun and threw the ball, losing his hat in characteristic style. The runner on second base, might have been able to score the go-ahead run had he tagged at the moment the ball was caught; but as it was, he ran when the ball was hit, and then had to scramble back to retag and only got as far as third base. The Indians didn’t scored a run that inning.
Moment 20: Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in World Series history in Game 5 on Oct. 8, 1956.
As a member of the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1959, Larsen was used by manager Casey Stengel as a backup starter and occasional reliever. He went 45–24 during his five seasons in New York, making 90 starts in 128 appearances.
Larsen’s most notable accomplishment was pitching the only perfect game in the history of the World Series; it is one of only 20 perfect games in MLB history. He was pitching for the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 8, 1956. His perfect game remained the only no-hitter of any type ever pitched in postseason play until Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds on October 6, 2010, in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
Moment 19: Pittsburgh’s Bill Mazeroski leads off the bottom of the ninth of the 1960’s World Series Game 7 with a home run, breaking a 9-9 tie and giving the Pirates the World Series title over the Yankees.
Mazeroski was noted for his defensive prowess and earned eight Gold Gloves Award. He had a career .983 fielding percentage, led the National League in assists nine times, and holds the major league career record for double plays by a second baseman.
In the 1960 World Series, Mazeroski won the title for Pittsburgh in Game 7 with a game-winning home run off New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Yankees had rallied with two runs to tie the game, 9-9, in the top of the inning, setting up Mazeroski’s heroics. A 14-year-old fan named Any Jerpe retrieved the ball outside the ground and had it signed by Mazeroski, but it was later lost when used in a game.
Joe Beimel has received a few offers – willing to wait
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According to free agent relief pitcher, Joe Beimel, he said that he has received a few offers.
“I’ve got quite a few teams interested right now, got a few offers,” Beimel said in a radio interview on MLB Network. “I’m willing to be patient like I have in the past.”
The 33-year-old Beimel mentioned in October that he would like to return to Colorado. “The Rockies are my first choice. I definitely want to be back,” Beimel said at the time.
Colorado is still looking for relief pitching, and they may start to engage in talks with pitchers after the new year. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding said earlier this month that the Rockies have shown interest in David Aardsma and Grant Balfour, but the latter is a Type-A free agent who was offered arbitration by his former team, the Rays. The Rockies aren’t willing to give up a first-round pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.
Beimel was 1-2 with a 3.40 ERA in 71 relief appearances for the Rockies in 2010.
Are the Rangers driving up Adrian Beltre’s price?
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Are the Texas Rangers driving up the price of Adrian Beltre so that their division rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, overpay for the infielder? T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com opines that the Rangers may be pulling a tactic that the Boston Red Sox have used on the New York Yankees.
Yesterday, we heard that the Angels are the front-runners for Beltre. Beltre’s agent, Scott Boras, is supposedly asking for at least a five-year, $85 million contract for his client. The Angels reportedly made an “incredible offer” to Beltre already, but if that wasn’t sufficient, then a scare tactic by the Rangers may force Los Angeles to dig deeper into their pockets.
If the Rangers sign Beltre, what will happen with incumbent Michael Young? Will the team finally go through with a trade for their third baseman? There were rumors during the week of the Winter Meetings that the Rangers wanted to move him. The Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals were a few candidates to land Young.
