Issue #477
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! ⚾
The Winter Meetings are now underway, but day one yesterday didn’t produce very many definitive results.
There was one move, however, as the Arizona Diamondbacks have apparently signed RHP Michael Soroka to a one year deal for $7.5 million. Soroka mostly pitched for the Nationals last year, before being traded to the Cubs at the trade deadline. Overall he had a 4.52 ERA with 95 K over 89.2 IP, coming from 17 starts and five relief appearances.
Soroka was the first-round draft pick (28th overall) of the Braves back in 2015, and was an All-Star in 2019, coming in second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 13-4 record and 2.68 ERA. But then a torn achilles injury led him to miss all of the 2021 season, and then only pitch six games in the minors in 2022. He then had mixed results in both the minors and majors in 2023 and 2024.
So it has been a long road back for Soroka, but obviously the D-Backs are hoping he can be a part of their rotation in 2026. They traded Merrill Kelly at last year’s trade deadline, and now Zac Gallen is a free agent, so they definitely needed to get some more SP during this offseason. They have Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Ryne Nelson, and now Soroka as their front four—with ace Corbin Burnes likely not returning from rehab until the second half of the season.
Today’s Trivia Question
As noted yesterday, Jeff Kent was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by their 16-person Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. The often stated reason in favor of his candidacy is that he had the most HR of any 2B (351 of his 377 HR came while playing 2B). Can you name the players who had the most HR while playing at each of the other positions (C, 1B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, and DH)?
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 9…
1941: Bob Feller is the first MLB player to enlist after Pearl Harbor. “Although having a 3-C draft deferment due to being the sole support of his family, Bob Feller, last year's American League-leading pitcher with 27 victories for the Indians, becomes the first major leaguer to enlist after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The 23-year-old navy recruit has already won 107 major league games.”
1965: The Orioles acquire an “old” Frank Robinson. “OF Frank Robinson is traded from Cincinnati to the Orioles for pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun and OF Dick Simpson. The Reds' Bill DeWitt defends the trade by labeling Robinson "an old 30," a concept that Robinson will quickly prove wrong.”
1980: The Cardinals trade for Bruce Sutter. “The Cubs trade reliever Bruce Sutter, the 1979 National League Cy Young Award winner, to the Cardinals for 3B Ken Reitz, OF-1B Leon Durham, and a player to be named.”
1981: The Indians acquire pitcher Rick Sutcliffe. “The Dodgers trade 1979 Rookie of the Year Rick Sutcliffe, unhappy with his exile to the Dodger bullpen, and infielder Jack Perconte, to the Indians for OF Jorge Orta. Orta will hit just .217 for the Dodgers next season, while Sutcliffe will lead the American League in ERA.”
1982: The Yankees sign Steve Kemp for five years… and give up a young Fred McGriff. “In what will turn out to be a pair of unwise deals, the Yankees sign free agent OF Steve Kemp to a five-year contract, and trade OF Dave Collins, pitcher Mike Morgan, and minor leaguer Fred McGriff to the Blue Jays for P Dale Murray and minor leaguer Tom Dodd.”
1992: The Braves sign Greg Maddux. “The Braves sign free agent Cy Young Award and Gold Glove winner Greg Maddux to a five-year contract, and then trade pitchers Charlie Leibrandt and Pat Gomez to the Rangers in exchange for 3B Jose Oliva. Leibrandt (15-7) saw his star fall in Atlanta when he gave up 11th-inning extra base hits in the 1991 World Series and 1992 World Series. Maddux, who turned down a $28.5 million contract extension in mid-season with the Cubs, signs for $28 million, $6 million less than the Yankees offered.”
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Joe Kelley (1871-1943)
Hall of Famer
17-year major league career, spanning from 1891-1908, mostly with Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Brooklyn in the NL
High-average hitter including a .393 mark in 1894 and .360+ averages from 1895-1897
Had 100+ runs six times, 100+ RBI five times, and 15+ triples six times
Had 30+ SB six times, including leading the NL with 87 SB in 1896
Was a player/manager for the Reds from 1902-1905, and for the Boston Doves in 1908
Overall had 1,421 runs, 194 triples, 1,194 RBI, 443 SB, a .317/.402/.451 slash line, and a 133 OPS+
Cy Seymour (1872-1919)
16-year major league career, spanning from 1896-1913, mostly with the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds
Began his career primarily as a pitcher from 1896-1900 with the Giants. He led the NL in strikeouts in both 1897 and 1898, but also led the league in walks those two seasons and in 1899 also. Had a 25-19 record and 3.18 ERA in 1898, and overall had a 61-56 record, a 3.73 ERA, and a 102 ERA+ over 1,038 career innings.
Throwing a screwball led to injuries, and he switched to playing the OF full-time when he joined the Baltimore Orioles for the 1901 season (he had sometimes played OF with the Giants when not pitching).
Had 20+ SB six times and hit over .300 six times, including in 1905 when he had by far his best season with 21 SB, 95 runs, and led the NL with a .377 average, 121 RBI, 21 triples, and 40 doubles
Overall had 222 SB, a .303/.347/.405 slash line, and a 118 OPS+
Juan Samuel (1960)
16-year major league career, spanning from 1983-1998, starting with seven seasons for the Phillies and the remainder spread across six different clubs
Three-time All-Star
Primarily played 2B, with some time at 1B and OF
Was second in the NL Rookie of the Year Award vote in 1984 after hitting .272 with 15 HR, 105 runs, 72 SB, and a league-leading 19 triples
Had 30+ SB seven times and 100+ runs three times
Had modest power with 15+ HR four times, including a high of 28 HR in 1987, when he also had an NL-leading 15 triples and a career-high 37 doubles
Struck out a lot with 120+ K eight times, including leading the league each year from 1984-1987
Overall had 161 HR, 396 SB, a .259/.315/.420 slash line, and a 101 OPS+
Tony Batista (1973)
11-year major league career, spanning from 1996-2007, mostly playing 3B and SS for seven different clubs
Two-time All-Star, including in 2000 for the Blue Jays when he finished the year with 41 HR, 114 RBI, and 96 runs
Had 25+ HR six times
Overall had 221 HR and a career .251 average, but with only a .299 OBP his OPS+ was only 93
Darold Knowles (1941)
16-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1965-1980, mostly with the Senators and Athletics, but with some time spent with five other clubs
Was a relief pitcher with 10+ saves in six seasons, including in 1969 when he had 13 saves and a 2.24 ERA as an All-Star, and then in 1970 when he posted a career-high of 27 saves with a 2.04 ERA
Had an impressive 1.37 ERA along with 11 saves in 1972 for the Oakland Athletics
Played an important role for the A's World Series run in the early 1970s, including pitching in all seven games of the 1973 series, with a 0.00 ERA in 6.1 IP.
Overall had 143 saves, with a 3.12 ERA, and a 113 ERA+
Currently active players who were born on December 9 include TOR Louis Varland, Hunter Harvey (free agent), COL Braxton Fulford, and ATH Geoff Hartlieb.
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 is a good one from a Hall of Famer about attitude:
"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but how we react to what happens, not by what life brings us but the attitude we bring to life." – Wade Boggs
Today’s Trivia Answer
Here are the all-time leaders for HR hit while playing each of these nine positions:
C - 396, Mike Piazza
1B - 566, Mark McGwire
2B - 351, Jeff Kent
3B - 509, Mike Schmidt
SS - 345, Cal Ripken
LF - 725, Barry Bonds
CF - 635, Willie Mays
RF - 538, Sammy Sosa
DH - 485, David Ortiz
Joe Posnanski, in his write-up commenting on the election of Jeff Kent, shared the list of players who hit the most career HR according to the position where they played the most:
C: Mike Piazza, 427
1B: Albert Pujols, 703
2B: Jeff Kent, 377
3B: Mike Schmidt, 548
SS: Alex Rodriguez, 696
LF: Barry Bonds, 762
CF: Willie Mays, 660
RF: Henry Aaron, 755
DH: David Ortiz, 541
As Posnanski notes, this puts the point about Kent in better perspective. Yes, he has more HR than any other primary 2B, but it is the most modest total and by quite a lot if you discount catcher (and Kent’s total is even 50 less Piazza’s too!). So yes, most HR by a primary 2B, but that isn’t quite saying the same thing as Schmidt having the most HR (548) by a primary 3B or Mays having the most HR (660) by a primary CF.
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.
Making Sense of the Hall of Fame Vote (Or At Least Trying To), by Joe Posnanski at JoeBlogs, 12/8/2025
Pearl Harbor Delays Los Angeles Baseball, by Benjamin Chase at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 12/8/2025
Even On A Team Full Of Stars, You Never Know Who Might Become the Main Character, by Dan Freedman at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 12/9/2025
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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