Issue #475
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 was another relatively quiet baseball news day, as the Winter Meetings are looming this upcoming week. There was however one trade of note:
Mariners get LHP Jose A. Ferrer
Nationals get C Harry Ford, RHP Isaac Lyon
Ferrer turns 26 in early March and has been a reliever for the Nationals for the past three years. Overall the lefty has a 4.36 ERA with 121 K in 142.1 IP, and his numbers last year were similar with a 4.48 ERA and 71 K in 76.1 IP over 72 appearances with 11 saves. He should be an important part of Seattle’s bullpen, which includes lefty Gabe Speier but then features righties like Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash, Eduard Bazardo, and Carlos Vargas.
To get Ferrer, Seattle had to give up their #4 prospect, catcher Harry Ford. He will turn 23 years old in February, and was Seattle’s number-one draft pick (12th overall) in 2021. Since then he has been climbing up through the minors, with a solid AAA performance at Tacoma in 2025 where he hit .283 with an impressive .408 OBP, to go with 16 HR and 74 RBI in 97 games. He was 1-6 in a brief call-up with the Mariners, but most importantly is blocked as a catcher by some guy named Cal Raleigh. (With Mitch Garver now a free agent, Seattle will need to figure out their back-up catcher plans for 2026.)
With the Nationals he appears to at least be less blocked, as catcher Keibert Ruiz is signed through at least 2030 but suffered concussions last year and so Ford should be able to compete with him during spring training. They also have Riley Adams as a backup backstop, so Ford could start the season at AAA if necessary. James Wood will likely see a lot of at-bats as the DH, as they have a lot of outfielders in Daylen Lile, Jacob Young, Dylan Crews, and Robert Hassell III. So at-bats at DH for Ford could be rare, but at the very least this move gives the Nationals an interesting, developing bat at C/DH.
Just FYI, pitcher Isaac Lyon, the third name in this deal, was the Mariners’ 10th round draft pick out in 2025, but didn’t get off to a great start with a 7.30 ERA over four starts (15 K in 12.1 IP) at Class-A ball.
Today’s Trivia Question
As noted below, one of today's Birthday Boys is Eric Chávez. He won six Gold Glove Awards at 3B and had 20+ HR in seven consecutive seasons, with 260 total HR in his career. And yet, oddly, he was never selected as an All-Star. Since the expansion era began in 1961, which player has had the most HR without ever being selected as an All-Star?
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
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 7…
1876: The NL holds its first annual meeting. “The first annual meeting of the National League is held. The New York Mutuals and the Philadelphia Athletics are expelled because the two teams declined to play their final games in the west during the just-completed season. Also, William Hulbert is elected to succeed Morgan Bulkeley as president.”
1937: Five pioneers are named Hall of Famers. “Five of baseball's pioneers are added to the Hall of Fame by the Centennial Commission: Connie Mack‚ John McGraw‚ Morgan G. Bulkeley‚ Ban Johnson‚ and George Wright.”
1937: The Red Sox acquire Ted Williams. “The Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams from San Diego (Pacific Coast League)‚ but he will not report to Boston until 1939.”
1939: Lou Gehrig is named a Hall of Famer. “Lou Gehrig‚ age 36‚ is unanimously elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame in a special vote. The five-year waiting period is waived for the "Iron Horse" in light of his incurable disease.”
1984: The Mets acquire HoJo. “In a straight trade‚ the Mets send P Walt Terrell to the Detroit Tigers for 3B Howard Johnson. Hojo will start for eight years in New York. Terrell will have six seasons in Detroit‚ interrupted by stays with four other teams.”
1988: The Ryan Express isn’t done yet. “The Rangers sign free-agent pitcher Nolan Ryan to a one-year contract.”
1995: Big day for Tino Martinez. “The Yankees obtain 1B Tino Martinez‚ P Jeff Nelson‚ and minor league P Jim Mecir from the Mariners in exchange for P Sterling Hitchcock and 3B Russ Davis. In a memorable day‚ Martinez signs a five-year‚ $20.25 million contract‚ and his wife gives birth to their third child.” And per the below, it was his birthday too!
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Johnny Bench (1947)
Hall of Famer
17-year major league career, spanning from 1967-1983, all with the Cincinnati Reds
NL Rookie of the Year in 1968 after batting .275 with 15 HR, 40 doubles, and 82 RBI
NL MVP in 1970 after leading the league with 45 HR and 148 RBI. NL MVP again in 1972 after leading the league with 40 HR and 125 RBI.
14-time All-Star, and won 10 Gold Glove Awards as a catcher
Had 25+ HR eight times and 100+ RBI six times
World Series MVP in 1976 after going 8-15 with 2 HR in the Reds’ four-game sweep of the Yankees
Overall had 389 HR, 1,376 RBI, a .267/.342/.476 slash line, and a 126 OPS+
Pete Alonso (1994)
So far has had a 7-year major league career, all with the Mets, but is currently a free agent
NL Rookie of the Year in 2019 after leading the NL with 53 HR to go with 120 RBI and a .260/.358/.583 slash line
Has had six seasons with 30+ HR
Led NL with 131 RBI in 2022 and led the NL with 41 doubles in 2025
Five-time All-Star
So far has had 264 HR, a .253/.314/.516 slash line, and a 135 OPS+
Eric Chávez (1977)
First-round draft pick (10th overall) in 1996 by the Athletics
17-year major league career, spanning from 1998-2014, mostly with the Oakland A's
Outstanding defensive 3B who won six consecutive Gold Glove Awards
Had 20+ HR in seven consecutive seasons, and had 100+ RBI four times
One of the best players of the modern era to oddly never be named an All-Star
Overall had 260 HR, a .268/.342/.475 slash line, and a 115 OPS+
Tino Martinez (1967)
First-round draft pick (14th overall) in 1988 by the Seattle Mariners
16-year major league career, spanning from 1990-2005, mostly as a 1B for the Mariners and Yankees
Two-time All-Star, including in 1997 when he came in second in the AL MVP vote after hitting 44 HR with 141 RBI and a .296 average
Had 25+ HR six times and 100+ RBI six times
Overall had 339 HR, 1,271 RBI, a .271/.344/.471 slash line, and a 112 OPS+
Shane Mack (1963)
First-round draft pick (11th overall) in 1984 by the Padres
9-year major league career spanning from 1987-1998 with his best seasons for the Minnesota Twins
Played all three OF positions
Had modest power with 15+ HR three times, and some speed on the bases with a high of 26 SB in 1992
Played two years in Japan in 1995 and 1996 before returning to MLB in 1997 with the Red Sox
Overall had a .299/.364/.456 slash line and a 121 OPS+
Yasiel Puig (1990)
7-year major league career, spanning from 2013-2019, mostly with the Dodgers
Finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year vote in 2013 after batting .319 with 19 HR and 11 SB in 104 games
Was an All-Star in 2014 and then later had 20+ HR three times and also had 15+ SB in those three seasons
Was known for his strong throwing arm in RF
Overall had 132 HR, a .277/.348/.475 slash line, and a 122 OPS+
Has continued to play in the Mexican league through 2025 while also having several legal troubles (see Wikipedia)
Dick Donovan (1927-1997)
15-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1950-1965, mostly with the White Sox and Indians
All-Star in three seasons
Came in second in the Cy Young Award vote in 1957 after posting a 16-6 record with a 2.77 ERA for the White Sox
Led the AL with a 2.40 ERA for the Senators in 1961
Posted a 20-10 record and 3.59 ERA in 1962 for the Indians
Overall had a 122-99 (.552) record, a 3.67 ERA, and a 104 ERA+
Kyle Hendricks (1989)
12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2014-2025, mostly with the Chicago Cubs
Posted a 16-8 record and led the NL with a 2.13 ERA in 2016
Was critical to the Cubs’ World Series Championship that year, with a 0.85 ERA and 19 K over 21.2 IP over four starts in the NLCS and World Series
Overall had a 105-91 record, a 3.79 ERA, and a 110 ERA+
Alex Johnson (1942-2015)
13-year major league career, spanning from 1964-1976, playing mostly LF for eight different clubs
Hit a career-high 17 HR and 88 RBI in 1969 with a .315 average for the Reds
Then was an All-Star in 1970 for the Angels, and led the AL with a .329 average to go with 14 HR, 86 RBI, 17 SB, and 202 hits
Overall had 78 HR, 113 SB, a .288/.326/.392 slash line, and a 105 OPS+
In addition to Pete Alonso, other currently active players who was born on December 7 include CIN Spencer Steer, CIN Sal Stewart, and SFG Grant McCray.
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.
Here are three good ones from great pitchers from the 1960s-80s:
"You’ve gotta find a way to get out of your own way, so you can progress in life." – Steve Carlton
"Luck is the by-product of busting your fanny." – Don Sutton
"Winning isn't everything. Wanting to is." – Catfish Hunter
Today’s Trivia Answer
Tim Salmon, who played his entire 14-year career with the Angels, had 299 career HR, including 30+ HR five times, but was never selected as an All-Star. Here are the top-10 career HR totals for players since 1961 who were never selected as All-Stars:
299 - Tim Salmon
298 - Mark Reynolds
292 - Pat Burrell
284 - Eric Karros
265 - Matt Stairs
260 - Eric Chávez
255 - Kirk Gibson
255 - Adam LaRoche
253 - Todd Zeile
249 - José Valentin
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.
The most difficult type of player to find this offseason is ..., by Mike Petriello at MLB, 12/5/2025
Each team's biggest need entering the Winter Meetings, by MLB writers, 12/6/2025
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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