Issue #519

The goal with The Baseball Buffet series is to provide the best daily dose of relevant baseball info in a smart-brevity format (mostly short bullets, getting to the point, with quick analysis/insights.) Think of it like what baseball fans of a certain age would look forward to in their morning newspaper’s sports section each day!

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

Very light on offseason MLB news yesterday, as I didn’t see any new trades or free agent signings.

One announcement of note was the retirement of reliever Ryan Pressly. According to an article by Brian McTaggart at MLB, 13-year veteran Ryan Pressly, most recently with the Cubs in 2025, has announced his retirement. Drafted by the Red Sox in the 11th round in 2007, he was later taken by the Twins in the Rule 5 Draft in 2012. He pitched for Minnesota for six years, then with the Astros for about as many seasons as well.

A two-time All-Star, Pressly became a closer late in his career with 26 saves and a 2.25 ERA in 2021, 33 saves in 2022, and 31 saves in 2023. Overall he retires with 117 saves, 721 K in 691.1 IP and 667 appearances, a 3.33 ERA, and a 126 ERA+. He also pitched a lot in the postseason for the Astros from 2018-2024, with a 2.78 ERA, 14 saves, and 60 K in 45.1 IP.

Reader Survey - Favorite Baseball Movies

With a light news day, I figured I’d run a quick reader survey. I plan to start sprinkling in video clips from baseball movies now and then in The Baseball Buffet, so I’d like to know both which are readers’ all-time favorite baseball movies—but also which ones you’ve enjoyed that are perhaps a bit less well known. Thanks in advance for taking a minute and doing this two-question survey to give me your perspective.

Today’s Trivia Question

Albert Pujols' birthday was on Friday, January 16th. He is one of only five players to have had three seasons with 50+ doubles. Hall of Famer Tris Speaker did it the most with five such seasons. Fellow Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Paul Waner, like Pujols, did it three times each. Which other player also had 50+ doubles three times? (Hint: he played his entire major league career in the 21st century.)

Countdown to Spring Training!

Continuing with this fun series… Spring Training games are now just 33 days away, so here are some top players who had uniform #33 for extended periods of time (and the teams they wore it with):

  • 1B Eddie Murray - Orioles (1977-88, 96), Dodgers (1989-91, 97), and three other clubs

  • OF Larry Walker - Expos (1989-94), Rockies (1995-2004), Cardinals (2004-05)

  • SP Luis Tiant - Indians (1964-69), Twins (197), Angels (1982)

  • SP Lew Burdette - Braves (1951-63), Cardinals (1963-64), Cubs (1964-65)

  • SP David Wells - Yankees (1997-98, 2002-03), Blue Jays (1999-2000), and three other clubs

  • OF Jose Canseco - Athletics (1985-92, 97) and five other clubs

  • SP James Shields - Rays (2007-12), Royals (2013-14), Padres (2015-16), White Sox (2017-18)

  • 1B Justin Morneau - Twins (2006-13), Rockies (2014-15)

  • C Jason Varitek - Red Sox (1999-2011)

  • SP Mike Scott - Astros (1983-91)

On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history. All quoted descriptions are from baseball-reference.com.

📅 On January 18…

  • 1938: Grover Cleveland Alexander is elected to the Hall of Fame. “Pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander is elected to the Hall of Fame, as the only player to get the required 75 percent of the Baseball Writers Association of America votes. In a 20-season major league career, Alexander posted a 373-208 record with 2,198 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA, including 30 or more wins in three seasons.”

  • 1947: The Pirates acquire slugger Hank Greenberg. “The Detroit Tigers sell All-Star first baseman Hank Greenberg to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1946, Greenberg led the American League with 44 home runs and 127 RBI, but will slump to 25 home runs and 74 RBI with the Pirates and will retire after the season.”

  • 1950: Bob Feller asks for… less money. “Ace pitcher Bob Feller tells the Cleveland Indians that he should receive a cut in pay after a subpar 15-14 season in 1949. The Indians agree to the suggestion, cutting the future Hall of Famer's pay by $20,000. Feller will receive a salary of $45,000 this year.”

  • 1969: The Senators hire the great Ted Williams as manager. “The last-place Washington Senators name former Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams as their new manager. Williams signs a five-year contract worth a reported salary of $75,000 per season. Under his leadership, the "new" Senators will finish with a record of 86-76, the best mark in the franchise's history in Washington.”

  • 1973: The Red Sox sign veteran Orlando Cepeda. “The Boston Red Sox sign veteran slugger Orlando Cepeda to be their first designated hitter. The Red Sox become the first team to sign a player specifically for the role of DH, a new rule that will go into effect this season.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Row 1: Curt Flood, Max Fried, Brady Anderson
Row 2: Scott McGregor, Mike Lieberthal, Carl Morton

Curt Flood (1938-1997)

  • 15-year major league career, spanning from 1956-1971, almost all with the Cardinals

  • Three-time All-Star, and an outstanding defensive CF who won seven Gold Glove Awards

  • Hit over .300 in five full seasons, including a .335 average in 1967, and led the NL with 211 hits in 1964.

  • Didn't have much power, with 10-12 HR four times. Had a career-high of 17 SB in 1963, the same year he had a career-high of 112 runs.

  • Overall had a .293/.342/.389 slash line and an even 100 OPS+

  • As described at Wikipedia, "Flood became one of the pivotal figures in the sport's labor history when he refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause and sought free agency."

See also this 5-minute video clip from “Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns”, hosted at the YouTube channel for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum:

Max Fried (1994)

  • First-round draft pick (7th overall) in 2012 by the Padres. Was traded while still in the minors with three other players to the Braves in a deal for star Justin Upton.

  • So far has pitched nine years in the majors, mostly for the Braves until he signed with the Yankees as a free agent for the 2025 season

  • Three-time All-Star, and is a good fielding pitching with four Gold Glove Awards

  • Had a 2.86 ERA in 2025 and led the AL in wins with a 19-5 record

  • So far has a career 92-41 (.692) record, a 3.03 ERA, and a 141 ERA+

Brady Anderson (1964)

  • 15-year major league career, spanning from 1988-2002, mostly with the Orioles

  • Three-time All-Star who played a mix of LF and CF

  • Had 20+ SB seven times, including a high of 53 SB in 1992, and scored 100+ runs four times

  • Had 20+ HR three times, and in 1996 busted out for a career-high 50 HR

  • Had a knack for getting hit by pitch, leading the AL in HBP three times

  • Overall had 210 HR, 315 SB, 1,062 runs, a .256/.362/.425 slash line, and a 109 OPS+

Scott McGregor (1954)

  • First-round draft pick (14th overall) in 1972 by the Yankees, but was traded in June of 1976 as part of a big 5-for-5 player deal with the Orioles

  • 13-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1976-1988, all with the Orioles

  • Had a 20-8 record with a 3.32 ERA in 1980, and then was an All-Star in the strike-shortened 1981 season with a 13-5 record and 3.26 ERA

  • Went 18-7 with a 3.18 ERA in 1983, and then was critical in the postseason in helping the Orioles win the World Series, with a 1.14 ERA across 23.2 IP in three starts

  • Had 13+ wins in eight consecutive seasons, but only managed 100+ strikeouts once as he generally relied on changing speeds to be effective

  • Overall had a 138-108 (.561) record and a 3.99 ERA

Mike Lieberthal (1972)

  • First-round draft pick (3rd overall) in 1990 by the Phillies

  • 14-year major league career, spanning from 1994-2007, mostly as a catcher for the Phillies

  • Two-time All-Star, including in 1999 when he had career highs with 31 HR, 96 RBI, and 84 runs

  • Also took home an NL Gold Glove Award in 1999

  • Overall had 150 HR, a .274/.337/.446 slash line, and a 101 OPS+

Carl Morton (1944-1983)

  • 8-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1969-1976, with the Expos and Braves

  • Was NL Rookie of the Year in 1970 after posting a 18-11 record, a 3.60 ERA, and 10 complete games

  • Won 15+ games four times

  • Overall had a 87-92 record, a 3.73 ERA, and a 102 ERA+

  • At only 39 years old, as described at Wikipedia "Morton died on April 12, 1983, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, of a heart attack after jogging."

Baseball Quote of the Day

Here are some good quotes from one of today's Birthday Boys, Curt Flood, largely in reference to his historic legal battle with major league baseball:

"Dear Mr. Kuhn, After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several States."

"I lost money, coaching jobs, a shot at the Hall of Fame. But when you weigh that against all the things that are really and truly important, things that are deep inside you, then I think I've succeeded."

"Everybody thinks of baseball as a sacred cow. When you have the nerve to challenge it, people look down their noses at you. There are a lot of things wrong with a lot of industries... baseball is one of them."

"Baseball was socially relevant, and so was my rebellion against it."

"My guys, my colleagues didn't stand up with me. And I can't make any excuse for them. Had we shown any amount of solidarity, if the superstars had stood up and said 'We're with Curt Flood,' if the superstars had walked into the courtroom in New York and made their presence known, I think that the owners would have gotten the message very clearly and given me a chance to win that case."

"People try to make a Greek tragedy of my life, and they can't do it. I'm too happy."

⚾ I hope you enjoyed the newsletter today! ⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

2B Brian Roberts had 50 doubles in 2004, 51 doubles in 2008, and 56 doubles in 2009, all with the Orioles.

Good Reads

Here I am providing one or more links to baseball articles I’ve enjoyed recently, whether by writers at MLB.com or elsewhere.

See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent good reads!

Did you know? I wrote a 600+ page book with the same title as this newsletter/blog? Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports. It is available at Amazon and most other major booksellers.

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