Issue #492

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! ⚾

Another day, another couple of notable offseason transactions. First up, a trade between the Mets and Athletics:

Athletics get IF/OF Jeff McNeil, plus cash
Mets get minor league RHP Yordan Rodriguez (turns 18 in January)

I’m not surprised that the Mets have dealt 33-year old Jeff McNeil. He is versatile in the field, playing mostly 2B over his eight seasons with the Mets, but can also play 3B and all three OF positions. But his offensive production isn’t what it used to be, like in his two All-Star seasons of 2019 when he hit .318 with 23 HR and 75 RBI, and 2022 when he showed less power with only 9 HR but led the NL with the .326 average. No, the past two years he’s provided 12 HR in each season with batting averages of .238 and .243.

He wasn’t going to be playing 2B much in 2026 since the Mets acquired Marcus Semien from the Rangers for OF Brandon Nimmo. McNeil likely would have gotten time in LF and/or CF, but I sense the Mets aren’t done making changes this offseason. For the A’s, McNeil should be a welcome veteran presence on a fairly young team, and will immediately be the front-runner to be the everyday 2B. Even if 26-year old Zack Gelof comes back strong after an injury-plagued and poor-performance 2025 season, McNeil will likely get ABs from various spots on the field.

There was also one free agent signing of note yesterday;

  • SEA signs OF Rob Refsnyder. According to an article by Daniel Kramer at MLB, the Mariners are signing outfielder Rob Refsnyder to a 1-year deal for $6.25 million. He will turn 35 in late March, and has played in the majors for parts of 10 seasons and spread across six clubs, including the last four seasons with the Red Sox. I say “parts of 10 seasons” because Refsnyder has never played more than 93 games in a year because he has usually been a platoon player. He can play all three OF spots, but is most well known for his hitting LHP really well. Here are his splits from 2025 for instance:

    vs. LHP: .302/.399/.560 slash line in 138 PA
    vs. RHP: .212/.268/.348 slash line in 71 PA

    While that was more extreme than some seasons he’s had, his career splits are similar:

    vs. LHP: .281/.383/.443 slash line in 791 PA
    vs. RHP: .229/.301/.332 slash line in 759 PA

    So in short, expect to see Refsnyder in the lineup, whether at RF, LF, 1B, or DH, against just about all left-handed starters that the Mariners face.

Today’s Trivia Question

One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Hanley Ramírez. As noted, he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2006, after batting .292 with 51 SB (and also scoring 119 runs with 46 doubles and 17 HR). During the expansion era (1961 and onward), only four other players have had 50+ SB and a .290+ batting average in their rookie seasons. How many of them can you name?

Counting Down the Days to 2026

A temporary new feature here at the Baseball Buffet… players by uniform number!

We are 9 days away from turning the page on the year. Lots of players have worn the #9 for a year or two, here or there. But here are some of the most prominent to do so for extended periods:

  • OF Ted Williams - Red Sox (1939-60)

  • OF Reggie Jackson - Athletics (1968-75)

  • 3B Graig Nettles - Yankees (1973-83), Padres (84-86)

  • 1B John Olerud - Blue Jays (1989-96)

  • 1B/3B/C Joe Torre - Cardinals (1969-74), Mets (1975-77)

  • OF Enos Slaughter - Cardinals (1938-53)

  • OF Minnie Miñoso - White Sox (1951-57, 60-61, 64, 76, 80)

  • 3B Matt Williams - Giants (1989-96), Indians (97), Diamondbacks (1998-2003)

  • OF Roger Maris - Yankees (1960-66), Cardinals (1967-68)

  • 2B Bill Mazeroski - Pirates (1956-72)

  • 1B Joe Adcock - Braves (1953-62)


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 December 23…

  • 1953: Gilliam is named NL Rookie of the Year. “Junior Gilliam of the Brooklyn Dodgers is named National League Rookie of the Year. Gilliam, who led the National League with 17 triples, beats out Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix.”

  • 1975: The Seitz decision is announced. “Arbitrator Peter Seitz declares Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally free agents. Both pitchers sat out the option years of their contracts in the hopes they would become free to sign with any team. Messersmith will sign with the Dodgers, while McNally, who announced his retirement in June, will not return. Seitz's decision will lead to an agreement with the owners whereby all players will become eligible for free agency after six seasons.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Jerry Koosman (1942)

  • 19-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1967-1985, with 12 years for the Mets, with the rest spread across the Twins, White Sox, and Phillies

  • Was an All-Star during his rookie season in 1968 when he had a 19-12 record, 178 strikeouts, and 2.08 ERA. Was an All-Star again in 1969 with a 17-9 record, 180 K, and 2.28 ERA, and won two games in helping the Miracle Mets win the World Series that year.

  • Posted a 21-10 record and 2.69 ERA in 1976 with the Mets, and then a 20-13 record and 3.38 ERA in 1979 for the Twins.

  • Overall had a 222-209 record, 2,556 strikeouts, a 3.36 ERA, and a 110 ERA+

Sam Leever (1871-1953)

  • 13-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1898-1910, entirely with the Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Pitched a heavy workload as a rookie in 1899, going 21-23 with a 3.18 ERA over 379 innings, completing 35 of his 39 starts, but also pitching 12 games in relief

  • Had a 25-7 record and NL-leading 2.06 ERA in 1903

  • Overall had an impressive 194-100 (.660) record, a 2.47 ERA, and a 123 ERA+

Victor Martinez (1978)

  • 16-year major league career, spanning from 2002-2018, mostly with the Indians and Tigers

  • Began as primarily a catcher, but then started playing more 1B and ultimately was a DH

  • Five-time All-Star

  • Hit 20+ HR seven times and had 100+ RBI four times

  • Also hit for a high batting average, with a .330 mark in 2011 and a .335 average in 2014

  • Overall had 246 HR, 1,178 RBI, a .295/.360/.455 slash line, and a 118 OPS+

Hanley Ramirez (1983)

  • 15-year major league career, spanning from 2005-2019, mostly with the Marlins, Dodgers, and Red Sox

  • Was NL Rookie of the Year in 2006 after batting .292 with 17 HR, 51 SB, and 119 runs

  • Three-time All-Star, including in 2008 when he had 33 HR, 35 SB, and an NL-leading 125 runs, and in 2009 when he led the NL with a .342 average

  • Had 20+ HR eight times, and 20+ SB seven times

  • Played mostly SS early in his career, then shifted to mostly OF, 1B, and DH in his later seasons

  • Was a generally good postseason performer, with a .380 average (27-71) in 20 games

  • Overall had 271 HR, 281 SB, a .289/.360/.486 slash line, and a 124 OPS+

Brad Lidge (1976)

  • First-round draft pick (17th overall) in 1998 by the Astros

  • 11-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2002-2012, mostly with the Astros and Phillies

  • Had a dominating 2004 season with 29 saves, a 1.90 ERA, and 157 K in 94.2 relief innings

  • Had 25+ saves six times, with highs of 42 saves in 2005 and 41 saves in 2008, his two All-Star seasons

  • Was a generally good postseason performer, with a 2.18 ERA, 18 saves, and 62 K in 45.1 IP

  • Overall had 225 saves, 799 K in 603.1 IP, a 3.54 ERA, and a 122 ERA+

Currently active players who were born on December 23 include Mitch Haniger (free agent) and Dany Jiménez (free agent).

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 few quotes from Steve Carlton, one of yesterday’s Birthday Boys:

"You've gotta find a way to get out of your own way, so you can progress in life."

"Everything I was, physically and mentally, that's what I put on that field."

"To get the feel of how the slider should roll off of your index finger, use this grip and practice at half speed and roughly half the distance to the mound."

⚾ I hope you enjoyed the newsletter today! ⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

As noted, Hanley Ramírez had 51 SB and a .292 average in his rookie season in 2006. The only other players since 1961 (expansion era) to have 50+ SB and a .290+ average during their rookie seasons have been:

  • 2001 - Ichiro Suzuki - 56 SB, .350 average

  • 1992 - Pat Listach - 54 SB, .290 average

  • 1981 - Tim Raines - 71 SB, .304 average (yes, he had 71 SB during the strike-shortened season!)

  • 1977 - Gene Richards - 56 SB, .290 average

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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