Issue #469
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! ⚾
We had one significant signing yesterday, as sources are saying 31-year old reliever Ryan Helsley is signing a 2-year, $28 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles. As I noted recently, Helsley was one of the top relievers on the free agent market—though not one without some question marks.
Helsley was drafted in the fifth round by the Cardinals in 2015 and made his debut in the majors in 2019. By 2022 he was the team’s closer, and was an All-Star that year with 19 saves and a tidy 1.25 ERA over 64.2 IP. He was again an All-Star in 2024 when he led the NL with 49 saves to go with a 2.04 ERA over 66.1 IP.
However, in 2025 he had very mixed results, beginning fairly well with the Cardinals with 21 saves and a 3.00 ERA over 36 IP. He was traded at the deadline from St. Louis to the New York Mets, and there he struggled in a setup role posting an unattractive 7.20 ERA over 20 innings. His strikeout rate remained solid, only dipping from 10.3 to 9.9 per nine innings. But he gave up significantly more walks and hits (including HR) per inning in New York than he had for the Cardinals.
The Orioles are counting on that just being a blip, as for that kind of money they clearly are assuming Helsley can be their closer, at least in 2026 while Félix Bautista is out. The 30-year old Bautista was outstanding in 2023, with 33 saves and 1.48 ERA. He missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery, but then came back strong in a partial 2025 season with 19 saves and a 2.60 ERA over 34.2 IP—only to go down again and needed shoulder surgery in August. He will be out for much of 2026 rehabilitating once again, hence the need to acquire someone like Helsley if the Orioles hope to be competitive.
This is the second major move by Baltimore early in this offseason, as they also traded young pitcher Grayson Rodriguez for slugging OF Taylor Ward of the Angels. They’ve also already acquired OF Leody Taveras and reacquired RP Andrew Kittredge too.
Today’s Trivia Question
One of today’s Birthday Boys listed below, Shane Victorino, is arguably the greatest major league position player who was born in Hawaii. What about pitchers born in Hawaii? Can you name the two pitchers born in Hawaii who were once Mets’ rotation teammates? They have the second and third most games started for pitchers born in Hawaii. Can you also name the pitcher born in Hawaii with the most games started in the majors?
2026 Team Wall Calendars!
Its that time of year… I know wall or desk calendars aren’t for everyone, but as a kid in the 1980s it was a tradition in my house to get a new calendar for the new year. And most years, my theme was baseball.
Turner Sports produces attractive 12×12” Team Wall Calendars. I think they produce them for all 30 MLB teams, but I could only find some teams available at Amazon. Looks like Calendars.com has a broader selection, but here are the ones I found at Amazon:
Again, those are the teams I could find at Amazon so far. Other teams seem to be available at Calendars.com.
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 30…
1948: Lou Boudreau wins the AL MVP Award. “Player-manager Lou Boudreau is selected the AL MVP. Boudreau had almost been traded to the Browns earlier in the year, but protests by fans kept Lou in Cleveland. After the World Series win, owner Bill Veeck commented, ‘Sometimes the best trades are the ones you never make.’”
1972: Many trades made in one day. “Twelve transactions, involving 36 players, take place. Among those sent to new clubs are OF Larry Hisle (to the Twins), 2B Dave Johnson (Braves), OF Del Unser (Phils), Oscar Gamble (Indians), Cesar Tovar (Phils) and OF Hal McRae and P Wayne Simpson (Royals).”
2000: The Yankees sign Mike Mussina. “The Yankees sign Orioles free agent P Mike Mussina to a six-year contract worth $88.5 million. Mussina says a deciding factor was a call from Joe Torre.”
2000: The Mariners sign Ichiro. “Ichiro Suzuki inks a three-year, $14 million deal with the Seattle Mariners; he will be named MVP next year, his first in the US.”
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Bo Jackson (1962)
An elite athlete who was drafted three times for baseball (Yankees in 1982, Angels in 1985, Royals in 1986) and then twice for football (Buccaneers in 1986, Raiders in 1987).
8-year major league baseball career, spanning from 1986-1994, five years with the Royals, two with the White Sox, and one with the Angels
Had a combination of power and speed, with 20+ HR four times and 20+ SB twice, including 32 HR, 105 RBI, and 26 SB in his one All-Star season in 1989
Was aggressive at the plate and so struck out a lot, with four seasons with 120+ strikeouts, including leading the AL with 172 K in 1989
A hip injury in 1991 ended his football career and caused him to miss the entire 1992 MLB season. But then he returned and won The Sporting News AL Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1993.
Had a strong arm in the OF, leading the AL in assists in LF twice
Overall had 141 HR, 82 SB, a .250/.309/.474 slash line, and a 112 OPS+
Firpo Marberry (1898-1976)
14-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1923-1936, mostly with the Senators and Tigers
Was a mixed starter and reliever, winning between 15-19 games five times, but in hindsight also led the AL in saves six times (the save statistic didn't exist at that time).
Born Frederick Marberry, he was given the nickname "Firpo" because his appearance and demeanor reminded some observers of the scowl of boxer Luis Firpo
Overall had a 148-88 (.627) record, 99 saves, a 3.63 ERA, and a 116 ERA+
Shane Victorino (1980)
12-year major league career, spanning from 2003-1015, mostly with the Phillies and Red Sox
Was a good defensive OF (mostly CF), earning four Gold Glove Awards
Had modest power, with 15+ HR three times, and leading the NL in triples with 13 in 2009 and 16 in 2011, his two All-Star campaigns
Had 25+ SB five times, including a high of 39 SB in 2012
Overall had 108 HR, 231 SB, a .275/.340/.425 slash line, and a 102 OPS+
Ray Durham (1971)
14-year major league career, spanning from 1995-2008, mostly as a 2B with the White Sox and Giants
Had some power, with 15+ HR in six seasons, and a high of 26 HR and 93 RBI in 2006
Was a solid run scorer with 100+ runs in six consecutive seasons, including a high of 126 runs in 1998, one of his two All-Star campaigns
Had 20+ SB in seven consecutive seasons
Overall had 192 HR, 273 SB, 1,249 runs, a .277/.352/.436 slash line, and a 104 OPS+
Matt Lawton (1971)
12-year major league career, spanning from 1995-2006, mostly with the Twins and Indians, but with some time spent with five other clubs
Had some power with 15+ HR in four seasons, and a high of 21 HR in 1998
Had 20+ SB four times, including a high of 29 SB in 2001
Two-time All-Star
Overall had 138 HR, 165 HR, a .267/.368/.417 slash line, and a 105 OPS+
Currently active players who were born on November 30 include WAS Daylen Lile and Chase Anderson (free agent).
Check out the second annual Here’s the Pitch, edited by Dan Schlossberg, from the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. The book is published by ACTA Sports, which previously was the publisher of the annual Bill James Handbook around this time each year. (ACTA is also the publisher of my first baseball book from 2019, which is of course always mentioned at the end of each edition of this newsletter.)
This year, Here’s the Pitch 2026 has a foreword by Jayson Stark, an introduction by edited Dan Schlossberg, and then 26 articles by a range of IBWAA authors. Topics vary greatly, from walk-up music and fungoes; women in baseball; Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Pete Rose, and Babe Ruth; some looks ahead to 2026; and much more… check it out!
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 three quotes from a Birthday Boy, the great Bo Jackson:
"Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there."
"I’ll never worry about not being successful. I’ll just take it one day at a time, one season at a time. And play as hard as I can."
"If my mother put on a helmet and shoulder pads and a uniform that wasn’t the same as the one I was wearing, I’d run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother."
Today’s Trivia Answer
Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez, teammates on the Mets in the 1980s, were both born in Hawaii. But the most games started for a pitcher born in Hawaii belongs to knuckle-baller Charlie Hough. According to his bio at the SABR BioProject: “Charles Oliver Hough was born on January 5, 1948, at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Dick Hough, played third base in the minor leagues in 1933 and was later held in a Japanese prisoner of war camp for 3½ years during World War II after being captured during the fall of the Philippine Islands in May 1942. After the war he worked as a linotype operator.” Young Charlie Hough admittedly wasn’t in Hawaii for long, as he grew up in Rhode Island and then Florida, where he went to High School.
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.
What are the chances these top free agents will stay put?, by MLB writers, 11/29/2025
Potential trade candidates from every club, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 11/28/2025
Will we ever see this major hitting milestone again?, by Theo DeRosa at MLB, 11/28/2025
See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent good reads!
How did you like this edition of Now Taking the Field?
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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