A feature not a bug

Sabermetrics goes to college:

Sabermetrics: The Dissertation!

(HT: Steve Sailer)

Interesting how sabermetricians differ from journalists when the subject is steroids. Great line: "at least for this crowd, the body is of little consequence."

I wonder, though, wasn’t this baked into sabertmetrics from its birth?

I read once that Bill James started crunching baseball statistics so he could beat his buddies at Strat-o-matic. (It was on the internet so it must be true.)

S-O-M is a great game, but it does reduce the athlete to a card full of statistical probabilities.

I think that Sabermetrics might owe some of its popularity to the rise of ESPN. The WWL fills the air (both radio and TV) with talk by people whose knowledge is a mile wide and an inch deep. Quoting statistics makes these superficial talking heads sound more expert.

Saying “Ryan Howard is really struggling” sounds obvious. Saying, “since the All Star break Howrd’s OPS is only 0.625” sounds like hard science.

So true

The day that baseball died: Happiness was Roberto Clemente, and then he was gone

If you were a kid growing up in Pittsburgh 40 years ago, you probably feel a little different when New Year's Eve rolls around from the rest of the revelers out there. It was on Dec. 31, 1972, that Pirates Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash while delivering relief supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua.

"The most tragic figure ever to wear a Major League uniform"

also had one of the greatest World Series ever. 

Joe Guzzardi has the story.

"Old Pete” Handcuffs the Yankees

"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

Joe Guzzardi thinks Alfred Lord Tennyson best summed up the Pirates 2011 season.

Pondering the Pirates

I have to say, it was fun to watch the Pirates play good baseball in meaningful games in June and early July.

Baseball is fun again in Pittsburgh

Shiver Me Timbers: The Bucs Are in First Place!

When baseball was America's game

Baseball: The game that helped America become America

How good is the Giants's ace?

Will Tim Lincecum Be the 21st Century Bob Gibson? Time Will Tell

Is it something in Pittsburgh's water?

The Pirates added to their record for losing seasons by losing a hundred games this year. Not surprisingly, they just fired their manager. Maybe John Russell was the only thing standing between the Pirates and winning.

Somehow i doubt that. The guy they fired before they hired JR ended up in Colorado and somehow managed to get them into the playoffs last year. Even with an epic September collapse, the Rockies finished with a winning record this season. Pirates fans would die if we finished above .500 and chased a wild card spot into the fall.

Ron Cook suspects that Russell was not entirely blame.


Joe Guzzardi touches on another aspect of the Pirates futility. How come some of the bad players we trade away, turn out to be good players at their new clubs?

Baseball’s Most Fortunate Player: Matt Capps

Remembering a great one

Double the fun: Koufax Delivers the 1966 Pennant to the Dodgers, Then Retires

After the 1966 season ended, Sandy Koufax shocked the baseball world when he announced his retirement. Koufax, only 30, pitched 323 innings and posted a 27-9, 1.79 ERA that season.

Bing Crosby's Secret Pirate Tapes

by The Last Hollywood Star

Great story in the New York Times about a tape made by Pirate owner Bing Crosby of the seventh WS game versus Yankees. Possibly the only favorable story written by the Times about the Pirates in ten years!

In Bing Crosby’s Wine Cellar, Vintage Baseball

On Bill James and steroids

Steve Sailer:

Let me propose a more relevant counterfactual. If Mr. James had been intellectually honest and had spoken out about steroids, as, say, Tom Boswell of the Washington Post did as early as 1988, then Mr. James would not have been hired as a senior executive of the Boston Red Sox in 2003 and capped his career by helping them win their first World Series since Babe Ruth's time in 2004. Why not? Because the Red Sox's two biggest hitters, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, were juicers.

Babe Ruth

by The Last Hollywood Star



On the 62nd anniversary of Ruth's death, Life Magazine releases several previously unpublished photos.

Behind the Pirates's woes

by The Last Hollywood Star


For those of you interested in how the Pirates got where they are, this Sports Illustrated article does a good job of explaining.

Not A Pretty Picture

With their rich heritage and jewel of a ballpark, the Pirates could be a major league treasure. Instead they're an object lesson in how a once-proud club can become the most futile franchise in sports

Opportunity lost

by The Last Hollywood Star



Armando Galarraga, the Detroit Tiger pitcher denied a perfect game last week on a blown call at first base by umpire Jim Joyce, has missed his opportunity for immortality.

I’m not talking about Galarraga’s almost perfect game but rather his decision to remain an active major league pitcher instead of walking away at the peak of his popularity.

At no time in his future will Galarraga ever be as beloved as he was the instant that Joyce called the Cleveland Indians’ Jason Donald safe on an infield single while all of America saw that he was clearly out.

In the minds of baseball fans, his teammates, major league umpiring crews and front office personnel, Galarraga pitched a perfect game, no questions asked.

After the game, Galarraga’s grace in the face of his enormous professional set back won him the admiration of millions.

When Galarraga presented the line up card to Joyce before the next day’s game, the umpire was reduced to tears. Galarraga and Joyce hugged.

Galarraga forgave Joyce’s blunder. Everyone agreed with Galarraga: Joyce is a good man who made a human mistake.

By this time in his story, people who don’t know baseball from bowling had jumped on Galarraga’s band wagon. Moms and Dads, teachers, counselors, ministers all pointed to Galarraga as a paragon of virtue and an example of how to face adversity with grace.

At that moment when all the forces of good merged, Galarraga’s persona peaked.

And, also at that exact moment although he didn’t realize it, Galarraga also faced a choice. Should he retire and be known forever as the pitcher and gentleman who went out on top or continue his baseball career into ultimate obscurity?

Unfortuantely, Galarraga elected to press on.

Then a few days later on June 8, Galarraga went to the mound to face the Chicago White Sox. During five innings, he gave up seven hits and two earned runs.

Perfection ended. Galarraga is now on his way to becoming one of dozens of pitchers who were both perfect and near perfect that, unless you are an advanced fan, you cannot tell me a single thing about.

Among the perfect game pitchers you’ve never heard of are Addie Joss, Charlie Robertson, Len Barker, Mike Witt and Kenny Rogers. An additional ten pitchers had their perfect games spoiled after the twenty-sixth out. Among the names you don’t recognize are Milt Wilcox, Brian Holman and Ron Robinson.

Assuming Galarraga had taken my advice (too late now!),what career path could he have pursued?

Galarraga’s opportunities would have been many including some within baseball. And it’s probable that most of them would generate a higher income than his $400,000 major league.

Maybe the Detroit Tigers could have put Galarraga to work in its community outreach department. As a local hero, Galarraga would be an inspiration to troubled youth living throughout Detroit’s inner city.

Commissioner Bud Selig’s office has a similar community service job that extends throughout baseball’s network of cities. Galarraga, born in Venezuela, would be able to present himself not only as an on the field champion but also as an immigrant success story.

Galarraga could have signed on with General Motors. The auto giant gave Galarraga a 2010 Corvette convertible that advertising executives calculate is worth $8.9 million in media exposure. GM could give $1 million of that to Galarraga to make appearances on its behalf to sell cars worldwide.

How about this? Suppose Galarraga hired the William Morris Agency to book speaking engagements for him. If Bill Clinton made $51 million in 2008 speaking political gibberish on the rubber chicken circuit, surely Galarraga could rake in $5 million talking about the importance of character.

Galarraga’s alternate income possibilities are endless. Since he’s already 28 and not much more than a .500 pitcher, he should have seized the day when he could have.

In a fickle America, Galarraga is already yesterday’s news.

Memorial Day

by The Last Hollywood Star



Memorial Day symbolizes three things: summer’s official beginning, the baseball season’s swing into the heart of its schedule and the long weekend when we honor Americans who sacrificed their lives in our major conflicts.

Those three variable interact meaningfully.

During World War ll baseball, like other professions, lost many of its key personnel to the draft. The Selective Training and Service Act signed by President Roosevelt on September 16, 1940 required that every American male between the ages of 21 and 36 register for 12 months of military service "to ensure the independence and freedom of the United States."

By the end of 1941, the draft had put nearly two million men in uniform.

To research baseball’s relationship with World War II, I relied on two sources that I wholeheartedly recommend to fellow baseball fans and history buffs: Gary Bedingfield’s Baseball in Wartime and Graham Womack’s Baseball Past and Present

I’m moved by the enormous patriotism that inspired so many of the baseball stars who nobly served America. Although only two active major league players were killed during World War II, Elmer Gedeon and Harry O’Neill, many of the best players fought.

According to Bedingfield, more than 500 major league players “swapped flannels for khakis” during World War II, and such well-known stars as Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams served their nation off the diamond.”

Another was Detroit Tiger future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg, drafted on May 7, 1941. "Hammerin' Hank" had played in three World Series and two All-Star games. In 1938, Greenberg hit 58 home runs (just two short of Babe Ruth's 1927 record) and in 1940 was the American League's Most Valuable Player.

Greenberg gave up his $55,000 yearly salary for $21 per month Army pay and reported to Fort Custer, Michigan. He told The Sporting News, "If there's any last message to be given to the public, let it be that I'm going to be a good soldier."

Baseball sacrificed at other levels, too. The military summoned 4,076 from the minor leagues which ranged in classification from “AAA” down to “D” . Players exchanged their uniforms to learn to fly planes, shoot weapons and maneuver tanks. No more than 12 minor leagues survived during the war years compared to 44 circuits that operated in 1940.

Even manufacturers of baseball equipment contributed to the war effort. Hillerich & Bradsby, who produced the famous Louisville Slugger baseball bats, converted their production lines into manufacturing stocks for the M1 carbine rifle.

In one of his blogs, Womack offered this starting line up made up of some of the best World War II veteran players. Included are:

Second Base: New York Yankee Jerry Coleman who saw combat in two wars. Coleman flew 57 missions in World War II and another 63 during the Korean War. In between, he finished third in the 1949 American League Rookie of the Year voting and was an All Star for the Yankees in 1950.

Shortstop: Washington Senator’s Cecil Travis is one of the few players who may have missed the Hall of Fame because of his World War II service. A .314 lifetime hitter, Travis entered the army at 28 following his best season, 1941, when he hit .359 with a league-leading 218 hits. Travis suffered frostbite on his feet during the Battle of the Bulge and played just three more seasons after the war concluded, never again hitting .300.

Outfield: Coleman’s Yankee teammate, Hank Bauer whose war credentials are almost as impressive as his 21-season long big league career. In 32 months of World War II combat, Bauer earned eleven campaign ribbons, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. Bauer debuted in the majors in 1948, was a three-time All Star with the Yankees who hit .277 with 164 home runs.

Outfield: Ted Williams, a flight instructor during World War II, who flew 39 combat missions during the Korean War and might have otherwise hit 700 home runs.

Pitcher: Cleveland Indians Bob Feller refused a World War II non-combat playing assignment but insisted on being sent into battle. Feller got his wish, serving 26 months as chief of an anti-aircraft gun crew on the battleship Alabama.

Although many of today’s major league players are of the age where they could have served in either Iraq or Afghanistan, the all volunteer military spared them.
If you watch baseball this weekend, don’t forget about our many heros who thrilled you on the diamond but also fought for your freedoms.

Aki Iwarmura!

by The Last Hollywood Star


Last year, the Pirates dumped off one of the teams most popular players and all around good guy, Freddie Sanchez, to San Francisco for a questionable prospect, Tim Alderson (6.00 ERA at Altoona) and replaced him at second base with a fat, non-English speaking Japanese who can neither hit (.175) nor field. To rub salt in our wounds, Aki Iwamura is the highest paid player on the team.

Why?

These are the things that when repeated season after season drain faithful fans of all their interest. Given his salary, the Pirates are committed to playing him. But, if he continues significantly below the Mendoza line, Iwamura could become Neil Huntington's Matt Morris.

I've Seen Worse---But Not Lately!

by The Last Hollywood Star

It's not much comfort to me as a lifelong Pirate fan to recall that I have seen worse major league baseball than the current edition of the Buccos.

I lived in Seattle during the Mariners' first years 1977-1986 and the team was more painful to watch. During that ten year period the M's average winning percentage was about .400

The M's had some good players like Leon Roberts and Richie Zisk. In 1982, Hall of Famer Gaylor Perry had a cup of coffee with the Mariners. Perry's stop over was long enough for him to record his 300th career victory. I still have my ticket stub.

Most Mariner players however were rejects with limited skills. A good example is one-time Bucco Mario Mendoza whose batting ineptitude created the term "Mendoza Line," a reference to hitting at least .200

The M's bumbling play drove another Hall of Famer, manager Dick Williams, out of baseball. After managing the team in 1986, 1987 and half a season in 1988, Williams left baseball for good.

A more insurmountable problem for Seattle baseball fans than the Mariners' poor play was the team's venue, the awful Kingdom.

On beautiful Pacific Northwest summer evenings, when the sun didn't set until 10:00 PM, a fan's choice was to enjoy the magnificence of Puget Sound, the view of Mt. Rainer or pay to enter the gloomy, empty Kingdom to watch the M's lose again.

For most of the Mariners' first 18 years, their poor play (they didn't have a winning season until 1991) combined with the Kingdome's design, led to poor attendance. Most games I saw had less than 5,000 people.

At one point the Mariners covered "the Tombs" right-center field seats in the upper decks in to make the stadium feel "less empty". Additionally, the Kingdome's acoustics created problems for stadium announcers who had to deal with significant echo issues.

At least Pirate fans don't have to worry about ambiance when they go to PNC Park. While the Kingdom was the dreariest place I have ever watched baseball (with Three Rivers Stadium not far behind), PNC is at the other end of spectrum. Despite the Pirates' struggles, a game at PNC is always a good way to spend time.

Vern Law: Cy Young Award Winner, 1960

by The Last Hollywood Star


On Thursday, I went to PNC Park to watch the Pirate-Los Angeles Dodger game but also to get Vern Law’s autograph.

Yesterday was one of the regularly scheduled Alumni Autograph Days at PNC. Law, Rich Reuschel and Manny Sanguillen were all there chatting with a long line of fans and signing away.

Law is the last Major Leaguer to pitch 18 innings in a game. One evening way back in 1955 Law, on two days rest, not only pitched the equivalent of two full games against the Milwaukee Braves, he allowed only nine hits while striking out 12. Bob Friend picked up the win in the 19th.

Four days later, Law pitched 13 more innings against the Cincinnati Reds, this time picking up the win. The Reds game brought Law’s four day total to 31 innings or three and a half full games.

When I approached Law, I reminded him of his famous game against the Braves and suggested that 18 innings is more than most pitchers today register in any three consecutive starts. Or, for that matter, any three straight starts by three different pitchers from the same team.

And by the end of the afternoon that was the case with the Pirates.

During the Bucs three game series with the Dodgers, Zach Duke threw five innings; Ross Olendorf, five and Paul Maholm, six.

Combined line for the three days: 16IP, 17H-8ER, 6SO, 5BB, ERA 4.50

Even in this era of watered down standards, that’s sub-par. And if it’s representative of what Pirate pitching will be for the season, it will be a long year.

Remembering the glory days of the Pirates

by The Last Hollywood Star



As the Pittsburgh Pirates embark on the team's 50th Anniversary celebratory season of its historic 1960 World Series triumph over the New York Yankees, fans have good reason to reach back in time to when the Buccos were truly great.

For too many fans, a 17-year sub-.500 Pirate record has blotted out the Bucco's rich history.

Others of a younger generation know nothing of previous Pirate glory days.

The place to begin your review of the early Pirates is a wonderful new book by James Forr and David Proctor, "Pie Traynor: A Baseball Biography"

The book naturally focuses on Traynor and his sixteen-year Hall of Fame playing career from 1920 to 1937 (BA: .320) during which time he was widely considered to be baseball's best third baseman. The honor was officially bestowed on him in 1969 when Traynor was voted as the third baseman on baseball's all-time team.

In most of Traynor's Pirate seasons the team contended for the National League pennant.

An extraordinarily skilled fielder and a great hitter, Traynor once drove in more than 100 runs in five consecutive seasons (1927-1931). The only other third baseman to match that feat is the Atlanta Braves' Chipper Jones. I'll save you the trouble of looking it up. Neither 500 home run sluggers Eddie Matthews nor Mike Schmidt did it.

Forr and Proctor also devote chapters to Traynor's post-playing years as the Pirates manager, an evening sports talk show host and an announcer for the old "Studio Wrestling" program back in the days when wrestling was more or less legitimate.

Traynor was a widely recognized and beloved figure in Pittsburgh. Since he never learned to drive, Traynor walked everywhere and was more than willing to stop and chat with his admiring fans. Unlike many of today's stars, Traynor never turned down a request to appear at a youth group or address a charitable organization.

The book is rich with Pirate history that will fascinate even the most casual fan.

Here are two examples:

-- For years, some baseball analysts claim that when the Pirates met the New York Yankees in the 1927 World Series, the Bucs were so overwhelmed when they watched "Murderer's Row" take batting practice that they knew they would lose and played accordingly.

Traynor debunks that theory completely. According to Traynor, the Pirates took batting practice first and never even watched the Yankees warm up.

Lloyd Waner, Traynor's Hall of Fame teammate, confirms it. According to Waner: "We had our workout first and I...was just leaving the field as they were coming onto the field."

--- In 1938, when Traynor was manager and the team badly needed pitchers and catchers, Chester Washington of the black newspaper the Pittsburgh Courier sent Traynor the following telegram: "KNOW YOUR CLUB NEEDS PLAYERS STOP HAVE ANSWER TO YOUR PRAYERS RIGHT HERE IN PITTSBURGH STOP JOSH GIBSON CATCHER FIRST BASE B. LEONARD AND RAY BROWN PITCHER OF HOMESTEAD GRAYS AND S. PAIGE PITCHER COOL PAPA BELL OF PITTSBURGH CRAWFORDS. ALL AVAILABLE AT REASONABLE FIGURES STOP WOULD MAKE PIRATES FORMIDABLE PENNANT CONTENDERS STOP WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE? STOP WIRE ANSWER"

Years later, that Traynor never answered Washington puzzles many especially since if the Pirates had acquired Gibson, Leonard, Bell and Paige they likely would have run off a string of World Championships.

But in retrospect, the consensus is that Traynor's silence was not motivated by racism but that he acting individually did not have the authority from the Pirates' administration to integrate baseball.

Not quite a decade later, when Traynor was working as a sportscaster, he urged the Pirates to follow the lead of the Brooklyn Dodgers and sign black players.

What I also enjoy about Forr and Proctor's book is the insight into less well known early Buccos who had enormously productive careers.

Have you ever heard of Lee Meadows? In addition to being the first major league player to wear eye glasses, Meadows was the fastest working pitcher ever to take to the mound. In 1919, as a Philadelphia Phillie, Meadows was the 6-1 loser in a 51 minute complete game (!) against the New York Giants. Meadows anchored the Buc's staff from 1924 to 1928 when he won 20 games once and 19 games twice.

Did you ever wonder how Trayner's Hall of Fame teammate Hazen Shirley Cuyler became known as "Kiki"? Some think it was because of his slight speech impediment that often made it difficult for Cuyler to pronounce his name completely on his first attempt.

Others say that Cuyler was such an outstanding outfielder that players would call "Ki, Ki" for any fly ball within his reach.

How about the left-handed Cy Blanton who debuted for the Pirates in 1935 and after two and a half weeks had a 4-0 record with a 0.75 ERA. By the season's end, Blanton was 18-4 and led the league in ERA with 2.58.

Banton's story ends sadly, however. He never matched his early success and after being traded to the Phillies, was released in 1942. In 1945, Blanton died in a mental institution.

"Pie Traynor: A Baseball Biography" is the first comprehensive study of Traynor's career. And the book offers many interesting and amusing anecdotes about the great Pirate teams and players from those wonderful days gone by.

Copies are available from Amazon.com and can also be ordered at http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/ or by calling 1-800-253-2187

A video interlude

by The Last Hollywood Star



Here's Part One of two of a presentation I made to the Forbes Field Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research. It covers (Early Pirates and Hollywood Stars [Pirates AAA club], Clemente in Puerto Rico, Forbes Field---and Jayne Mansfield, Miss Hollywood Stars, 1955!)

Part I