The Baseball Buffet for 11/19/2025

Issue #459

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! ⚾

Leading off is the news from yesterday about qualifying offer decisions. As a reminder, this is a a one-year contract worth the average of the top 125 salaries, or $22.025 million this offseason. To be eligible for the qualifying offer, a free agent must have spent the entire 2025 season with one team and have never received a QO previously. This time around, 13 players were given qualifying offers. We learned yesterday, that the following players have accepted:

• NYY OF Trent Grisham

• DET 2B Gleyber Torres

• MIL SP Brandon Woodruff

• CHC SP Shota Imanaga

So that takes those four guys off the table as potential free agents. The following nine players declined their qualifying offers, so they are now free agents—no big surprises here, really:

• PHI DH Kyle Schwarber

• CHC OF Kyle Tucker

• PHI SP Ranger Suárez

• HOU SP Framber Valdez

• TOR SS Bo Bichette

• SDP SP Dylan Cease

• NYM RP Edwin Díaz

• AZ SP Zac Gallen

• SDP RP Michael King

Other transactions

There were a LOT of other roster moves yesterday, as it was also the deadline to finalize 40-man rosters for all 30 teams. Eligible players who were not added to their respective organization's roster by 6pm yesterday can be selected by another organization in the Rule 5 Draft, which is set for Wednesday, Dec. 10, in Orlando, Florida. So it was an important deadline for teams looking to protect various prospects in their farm systems.

Here is yesterday’s full MLB transactions list, and you can use the drop-down menu at the top to filter by team to see just your favorite team’s roster moves (otherwise the list is several pages long!). Also, for some overall highlights, see the MLB article Which prospects got spots before the 40-man roster deadline passed?

As teams configured their 40-man rosters, there were also some trades. Most involved lesser-known names (all are listed at the above full MLB transactions list link), but there was one trade worth noting:

• The Orioles acquired OF Taylor Ward (soon to be 32 years old) from the Angels for RHP Grayson Rodriguez (26 years old). Ward is a right-handed batter and will help even out the Orioles lefty-heavy lineup. He had a career-high 36 HR and 103 RBI last year, though saw his batting average dip to a career low .228 and strikeouts climb to a career-high 175. Rodriguez is a former first-round (11th overall) draft pick, who did pretty well in 23 starts (4.35 ERA) in 2023 and 20 starts (3.86 ERA) in 2024. He missed all of 2025 with multiple injuries and a surgery.

Today’s Trivia Question

Today is Joey Gallo’s birthday (see below). At .194, Gallo has had by far the lowest career batting average of any slugger with 200+ HR. Can you name either of the two players with the next lowest career batting averages amongst those with 200+ career HR? (Their averages were .220 and .225, respectively.)

Trivia answers are at the bottom of each newsletter.

On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history. Unless otherwise noted, the descriptions are from baseball-reference.com.

📅 On November 19…

• 1962: The Cardinals trade for former MVP SS Dick Groat. “The St. Louis Cardinals send newly-acquired pitcher Don Cardwell, along with shortstop Julio Gotay, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for SS Dick Groat and P Diomedes Olivo. Groat, the National League MVP in 1960, will be an All-Star for the next two seasons and will become a force in the Cardinals World Championship in 1964.”

• 1975: Joe Morgan wins his first of two MVP awards. “By the most overwhelming margin up to that time, with more than double the points of runner-up Greg Luzinski, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Joe Morgan is named National League Most Valuable Player. Morgan batted .327 with 67 stolen bases and a league-leading 132 walks.”

• 1979: The Astros sign Nolan Ryan for a record-setting contract. “The Houston Astros sign free agent pitcher Nolan Ryan. The former California Angels ace and future Hall of Fame member signs a four-year deal worth $4.5 million, making him the highest-paid player in major league history. Ryan also becomes the first player to earn a $1 million annual salary.”

• 1986: Mike Schmidt wins his third MVP Award. “Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt wins the National League Most Valuable Player Award, joining Stan Musial and Roy Campanella as the only three-time NL award winners. Schmidt led the NL with 37 home runs and 119 RBI.”

• 1990: Barry Bonds wins his first MVP Award. “Barry Bonds of the Pittsburgh Pirates wins the National League MVP Award, easily outdistancing teammate and runner-up Bobby Bonilla. Bonds hit .301 with 23 home runs, 114 RBI, and 52 stolen bases.”

• 1996: The White Sox sign Albert Belle for a record-setting contract. “One of Major League Baseball's most controversial owners, Jerry Reinsdorf, and its most controversial player, Albert Belle, join forces with the Chicago White Sox. Belle signs a record five-year, $55 million deal that makes him the first player to surpass the $10 million per year mark. Reinsdorf, seen as the instigator in the owners' vote against the collective bargaining agreement, draws the ire of owners in both leagues who feel he sold them out.”

• 2001: Barry Bonds wins his fourth MVP Award. “San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds is named National League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America with 30 of 32 first-place votes. Bonds, who hit .328 with an all-time record 73 home runs and 137 RBI, wins the award for an unprecedented fourth time. Previously, he was awarded as a Pittsburgh Pirates member in 1990 and 1992 and with the Giants in 1993. Three-time MVP Award winners include Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial and Mike Schmidt, all of them Hall of Famers.”

• 2009: Tim Lincecum wins his second consecutive NL Cy Young Award… barely. “Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants wins his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award in one of the closest races in the award's history. Lincecum gets 100 points in the voting, Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals 94 and Carpenter's teammate Adam Wainwright collects the most first-place votes but finishes third with 90 points.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Roy Campanella (1921)

• Hall of Famer

• 18-year major league career, spanning from 1937-1957, starting in the Negro Leagues as a teenager and then playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers for 10 seasons

• In the Negro National League, according to the data available at baseball-reference.com, led league with a .388 average in 1944, and then led the league in doubles, RBI, and runs in 1945.

• Played in the Dodgers' minor league system in 1946-1947, and was called up early in 1948.

• All-star three times in the NNL, and eight times in the NL

• Won three MVP Awards, in 1951 after hitting .325 with 33 HR and 108 RBI, in 1953 after hitting .312 with 41 HR and an NL-leading 142 RBI, and in 1955 after hitting .318 with 32 HR and 107 RBI

• Was a good defensive catcher, with a strong arm leading the NL in CS % six times

• Career was tragically cut short by a car accident in January, 1958, that left him paralyzed.

• Overall had 260 HR, 1,019 RBI, a .283/.363/.496 slash line, and a 125 OPS+

Ryan Howard (1979)

• 13-year major league career, spanning from 2004-2016, all as a 1B with the Phillies

• Won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2005 after batting .288 with 22 HR and 63 RBI in only 88 games

• Won the NL MVP Award the next year after batting .313 with a .425 OBP, and leading the NL with 58 HR and 149 RBI

• Three-time All-Star, led the NL again in HR with 48 in 2008, and the led the NL with 146 RBI in 2008 and 141 RBI in 2009

• Had 30+ HR six times, 100+ RBI six times, and 100+ runs three times

• Overall had 382 HR, 1,194 RBI, a .258/.343/.515 slash line, and a 125 OPS+

Bob Boone (1947)

• 19-year major league career, spanning from 1972-1990, mostly with the Phillies and Angels

• Four-time All-Star

• A defense-first catcher, he took home seven Gold Glove Awards

• Had only a little power, hitting 9-12 HR six times

• Overall had 105 HR, 826 RBI, and a .254 average

Roosevelt Davis (1904)

• 20-year major league pitching career in the Negro Leagues, spanning from 1924-1945, playing for 13 different clubs

• According to the data available at baseball-reference.com, he led his league in wins with a 16-6 record in 1925

• Overall had a 96-62 (.608) record, a 4.07 ERA, and a 109 ERA+

Everett Scott (1892)

• 13-year major league career, spanning from 1914-1926, mostly for the Red Sox and Yankees

• A leading defensive SS of his era, he led the AL in SS fielding percentage eight years in a row

• A very light hitter, he only had 20 HR in 6,386 plate appearances, and had a .249 average and .281 OBP

• Appeared in 1,307 consecutive games, a record that was of course later broken by Lou Gehrig

Joey Gallo (1993)

• 10-year major league, spanning from 2015-2024, spending seven seasons with the Texas Rangers, but also seeing action for the Yankees, Twins, Nationals and Dodgers

• Perhaps the most extreme example of a "three true outcomes" hitter, meaning HR, walks, and strikeouts. He hit 35+ HR three times, led the AL in walks in 2021, but also had 150+ strikeouts five times, including leading the AL with 213 K in 2021.

• Was a good defensive OF, taking home two Gold Glove Awards

• Overall had 208 HR, a .194/.319/.456 slash line, and a 106 OPS+

• In March of 2025, Gallo announced he was retiring as a hitter and was going to try and reinvent his career as a pitcher (a position he played with success in his youth)

Currently active players who were born on November 19 include HOU Framber Valdez and NYM Francisco Alvarez.

Baseball Quote of the Day

One of the new features I’m starting up during the offseason is a baseball-related quote of the day. These will include quotes by players or managers that are insightful or funny, and interesting quotes from others about the game itself. I’ll try to mix it up over time.

Today I’ll go with a quote from one of the Birthday Boys above:

“You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you, too.” - Roy Campanella

⚾ I hope you enjoyed the newsletter today! ⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The answers to today’s question are Rob Deer and Gorman Thomas. Here is the “top-10” list for lowest career batting averages amongst hitters with 200+ career HR:

• .194 - Joey Gallo (208 HR)

• .220 - Rob Deer (230)

• .225 - Gorman Thomas (268)

• .229 - Max Muncy (214)

• .231 - Kyle Schwarber (340)

• .232 - Carlos Peña (286)

• .233 - Chris Davis (295)

• .234 - Todd Hundley (202)

• .236 - Dave Kingman (442)

• .236 - Mark Reynolds (298)

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.

• Top five starting pitchers in Braves history, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 11/19/2025

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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