Issue #474

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! ⚾

Yesterday felt like a quiet before the storm. There were a handful of transactions, which you can see at MLB’s website here. I think these were mostly teams adjusting their 40-man roster, including making some waiver claims and the like, ahead of the important Winter Meetings next week. No doubt we’ll see a lot more trades and free agent signings very soon!

For today’s opener, I thought I’d share two more outcomes of the reader survey I conducted at the end of the regular season this year. Back on November 29 I shared the results of two questions, which were essentially how many days a week do you read The Baseball Buffet, and which sections do you read most consistently?

But in the survey I also asked two open-answer questions. One was asking for your thoughts on new features I could consider adding, and it generated lots of good ideas—a few of which I plan to do during this offseason (as I recently added the Quotes section), and others I’d like to do down the road, when I can commit more time. Here are just a few of the ideas I’m considering (some of which would not be daily features, but perhaps once a week or otherwise periodic):

  • Movie clips of great scenes from baseball movies

  • Explanations of baseball stats

  • History/origins of baseball jargon

  • More consistently cover MLB debuts of players

  • Highlight vintage baseball poems, cartoons, art, etc.

  • Top play video clips of dazzling defense

  • Current hottest players / hottest teams (and coldest too)

  • Stat of the Day

  • Highlights of top minor leaguers

  • Highlights of current team-level stats

  • Some coverage of the more advanced stats, maybe rotating like I do the league leaders

  • Preview of starting pitcher K totals to watch (like I do the HR, Hits, and players who might struggle)

There were more, but that gives you a sense of the additional baseball goodness that I could one day include in The Baseball Buffet.

The other open-answer question was asking for testimonial-style quotes that I could potentially use in my marketing to continue to grow readership of The Baseball Buffet. (I also regularly receive positive comments/quotes in the daily poll at the bottom of each newsletter edition—I do read those, and they are much appreciated!)

The comments/quotes from reader survey were quite varied, but the most common themes focused on key elements I very much care about:

  • the consistent, broad-ranging “buffet” aspect of this newsletter;

  • the smart-brevity format (lots of sections, headers, bullets, etc.) that I do my best to use;

  • the combination of current game recaps/previews with several historical content segments;

  • and the value provided being similar to what newspapers or the old print Sporting News used to do.

Again, I appreciated every reader’s comment/testimonial, but here is just a sampling of what was shared in the end-of-season reader survey:

  • “I have shared your email with several baseball fans, including an 11 year old baseball obsessed grandson. All are very impressed!” - @kfred

  • “A welcome daily baseball newsletter with sections you can read -- or skip. Wonderful looks back at the history and records that mean so much to baseball. This is a treaure.” - @dkkramer

  • “Baseball buffet touches every base, every day! Truly an amazing and current must read. Do not miss any plate appearances! Play ball!!!” - @mutigerfan

  • “As a shut-in who no longer receives a daily newspaper and who often doesn’t have the energy to watch an entire game on tv, I appreciate the level of detail that you offer.” - @lsshwartz

  • “Thanks for doing what my newspaper doesn’t do anymore. You are my main source for baseball info.” - @taylor

  • “I look forward to the Baseball Buffet each morning. I like that it is to the point of last night’s games as well as a preview of upcoming games. If you love baseball and want up to date baseball info, this is for you. It is far superior than looking up several different sites for the same information.” - @JonB

  • “In one email, you learn at least 5 different things you would not have known.” - @StephenT

  • “I am not sure how I found this newsletter, but it is now part of my everyday reading. Great updates and I love the history and the trivia.” - @JimmyD

  • “The Baseball Buffet takes me back to the days of searching the box scores in the daily newspapers and collecting baseball cards as a kid.” - @BillB

  • “The Baseball Buffet is a smorgasbord of great stuff. I love the easily-read format, with timely information, and a few nuggets every day that I may not know. I love the buffet and look forward to seeing it in my inbox every day.” - @RayR

  • “Since I truly love baseball, The Baseball Buffet is a vitamin-b12 shot - giving me what I need to know, what I ought to know, and what I might have missed (Baseball History). I write e-books on MLB history...so this site is a must read.” - @BrianA

  • “The Baseball Buffet offers a healthy diet for baseball’s picky eaters and gluttons alike.” - @DWF

  • “Baseball Buffet is the equivalent of having fresh venison blackstrap wrapped in bacon and marinated over night! BETTER THAN GOOD AND INCREDIBLY SATISFYING!” - @PaulM

Ha! Thanks again everyone… there is more baseball goodness to come!

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted below, one of the Birthday Boys for today is Kevin Appier. He pitched 1,843.2 innings for the Kansas City Royals, which ranks 4th all-time for that franchise. Can you name the three pitchers who threw more innings for the Royals?

Holiday gift idea… Baseball Socks!

I usually find colored socks pretty boring. So when I have to wear them, I like to wear baseball-themed ones. If you have baseball fans in your life to buy holiday gifts for… perhaps a set of socks would be a good fit? This is a set of 8 with vibrant colors, baseball imagery, and even baseball messages on the bottom… see them at Amazon!


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 December 6…

  • 1976: The Brewers acquire Cecil Cooper. “The Red Sox trade 1B Cecil Cooper to the Brewers for 1B George Scott and OF Bernie Carbo. This ranks as one of the Brew Crew's best-ever trades.”

  • 1979: The Royals trade for Willie Aikens. “In one of their better trades‚ the Royals acquire 1B Willie Aikens and IF Rance Mulliniks from the Angels for OF Al Cowens‚ SS Todd Cruz‚ and P Craig Eaton. Aikens will have four solid years in Kansas City‚ including two two-homer games in the 1980 World Series.”

  • 1984: The White Sox trade a former Cy Young Award winner and get a future Rookie of the Year. “The White Sox trade 1983 AL Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt and two minor leaguers to the Padres for pitcher Tim Lollar, utility man Luis Salazar, and minor leaguers Ozzie Guillen and Bill Long. Guillen will win the American League Rookie of the Year Award next season.”

  • 1989: The Mets and Reds exchange relievers. “The Mets trade reliever Randy Myers to the Reds for fellow closer John Franco. Also in the deal, the Mets get Don Brown and Cincinnati Kip Gross.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Tony Lazzeri (1903-1946)

  • Hall of Famer

  • 14-year major league career, spanning from 1926-1939, mostly as a 2B with the Yankees

  • Had modest power, with nine seasons of between 13-18 HR each. But nonetheless was a strong run producer, with seven seasons with 100+ RBI.

  • Had some speed on the bases, with 15-22 SB five times

  • Batted .332 in 1928 and then a career-high .354 in 1929

  • Received down-ballot MVP votes in seven seasons

  • Overall had 178 HR, 148 SB, 1,194 RBI, a .292/.380/.467 slash line, and a 121 OPS+

  • Lazzeri had epilepsy, and died at the young age of 42. According to Wikipedia, he died after a fall, but it is unclear whether that was caused by a heart attack or a seizure.

Stan Hack (1909-1979)

  • 16-year major league career, spanning from 1932-1947, as a 3B for the Chicago Cubs

  • A high-average hitter, he frequently batted over .300 and scored 100+ runs seven times

  • Four-time All-Star, he received down-ballot MVP consideration eight times

  • He didn't have much power, never hitting more than 8 HR in a season and with 57 career HR in 8,509 PA

  • Led the NL in SB twice, but with modest totals of 16 SB in 1938 and 17 SB in 1939. He also led the league in caught stealing those two seasons, and five consecutive seasons overall. So his career success rate wasn't very good (165 SB, 155 CS).

  • Overall had 1,239 runs, a .301/.394./397 slash line, and a 119 OPS+

  • Was manager of the Cubs from 1954-1956, but they had losing seasons each year

Larry Bowa (1945)

  • 16-year major league career, spanning from 1970-1985, mostly with the Phillies and Cubs

  • Five-time All-Star, in part based on his strong defense as a SS, including winning two Gold Glove Awards.

  • He ran well on the bases, with 20+ SB in nine seasons and a high of 39 SB in 1974

  • He led the NL with 13 triples in 1972, but had very little power with only 15 HR in 9,109 PA

  • Overall had 318 SB and a .260 average, but only a .300 OBP

  • After retiring as a player, he was a manager for six years in the majors, including the Padres (1987-1988) and the Phillies (2001-2004)

Kevin Appier (1967)

  • First-round draft pick (9th overall) in 1987 by the Royals

  • 16-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1989-2004, mostly with the Royals but with some time spent with three other clubs

  • Went 15-8 with a 2.46 ERA in 1992, then went 18-8 with an AL-leading 2.56 ERA

  • Was an All-Star in 1995 with a 15-10 record, 3.89 ERA, and 185 strikeouts, then had a career high 207 K in 1996

  • Overall had a 169-137 (.552) record, a 3.74 ERA, and a 121 ERA+

Steve Bedrosian (1957)

  • 14-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1981-1995, mostly with the Braves and Phillies

  • He was most often a reliever, but in 1985 was a starter for the Braves posting a 3.83 ERA and even 100 ERA+, but had a 7-15 losing record.

  • He returned to relief work the following season, and in 1987 was an All-Star and took home the NL Cy Young Award for the Phillies with a 2.83 ERA and league-leading 40 saves

  • Overall had 184 saves, a 3.38 ERA, and a 115 ERA+

José Contreras (1971)

  • Started out by pitching ten seasons in his native Cuba and was very effective there from 1996-2002

  • 11-year major league career, spanning from 2003-2013, mostly with the Yankees, White Sox, and Phillies

  • Was a key member of the 2005 Chicago White Sox World Series Champions, going 15-7 with a 3.61 ERA. He then started four games in the postseason, with a 3.09 ERA over 32 innings

  • He was then an All-Star in 2006, ending the season with a 13-9 record and 4.27 ERA over 30 starts.

  • Overall had a 78-67 record, a 4.57 ERA, and an even 100 ERA+

A currently active player who was born on December 6 is SFG Justin Dean.

New Baseball Books!

The following are some new titles that were published in November / December, 2025.

Here's the Pitch 2026
edited by Dan Schlossberg, with foreword by Jayson Stark
Publisher: ‎ACTA Publications
204 pages
November 15, 2025

Baseball's Most Outrageous Promotions: From Wedlock and Headlock Day to Disco Demolition Night
by Joseph Natalicchio
Publisher: ‎McFarland
254 pages
December 3, 2025

Black Baseball's Heyday: Capturing an Era in Art and Words
by Denny Dressman
Publisher: McFarland
189 pages
December 3, 2025

Baseball Legends
by Scott Reeves
Publisher: Sona Books
144 pages
December 2, 2025


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.

Yesterday I had a quote from Johnny Bench, so here is one from another all-time great catcher:

"Load up your mind with pictures capturing your preferred tomorrow. Put the remembrances of the past in a place where they won’t block your view." – Gary Carter

⚾ I hope you enjoyed the newsletter today! ⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Here is the all-time innings pitched leaderboard for the Kansas City Royals:

  • 2,554.2 - Paul Splittorff

  • 2,218.2 - Mark Gubicza

  • 2,187.0 - Dennis Leonard

  • 1,843.2 - Kevin Appier

  • 1,701.1 - Larry Gura

  • 1,660.1 - Bret Saberhagen

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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