Issue #553
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! ⚾
Besides the ongoing Spring Training camps ramp up, there was some news of note yesterday, such as Tony Clark abruptly resigning as Executive Director of the MLBPA (see Mark Feinsand article), and the Twins seemingly losing SP Pablo Lopez for the year due to the need for Tommy John surgery (see Matthew Leach article).
Remaining Free Agents
I didn’t see any trades or free agent signings to summarize from yesterday. So instead I figured it was time to review who is left as free agents at this point. Unless I missed a deal or a Spring Training invite, I think these position players are still available:
C - Christian Vázquez
C - Elias Díaz
C - Mitch Garver
C - Tom Murphy
C - Jacob Stallings
1B - Rhys Hoskins… had 12 HR in 90 games last year, after 26 HR and 82 RBI in 2024
1B - Justin Turner
1B - Donovan Solano
1B - Dominic Smith… can still hit, with a .284 average last year
1B - Rowdy Tellez… a fan favorite, and had 17 HR last year
1B - Wilmer Flores… he had 16 HR and 71 RBI last year
2B - Jose Iglesias
2B - Ramón Urías
2B - Thairo Estrada
SS - Tim Anderson
3B - Luis Urías
3B - Jon Berti
OF - Jesse Winker
OF - Michael Conforto
OF - Tommy Pham
OF - Travis Jankowski
OF - Alex Verdugo
OF - Manuel Margot
OF - Max Kepler… only batted .216, but had 18 HR and 52 RBI in 127 games last year
OF - Starling Marte… 37 years old, but hit .270 with 9 HR and 7 SB in 98 games last year
OF - Randal Grichuk
OF - Jason Heyward
OF - Hunter Renfroe
DH - Andrew McCutchen
I’ll cover the remaining free agent pitchers tomorrow!
Today’s Trivia Question
One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Manny Mota. By the end of his 20-year career in the early 1980s, he had set a new MLB record for the most pinch hits with 149, surpassing the old mark held by Smoky Burgess with 145. Can you name the two players who have since surpassed Mota with the most career pinch hits?
Countdown to Spring Training!
Continuing with this fun series… Spring Training games are now just 2 days away, so here are some top players who had uniform #2 for extended periods of time (and the teams they wore it with). The following list is an extended version of what I shared in December when I was counting down the last couple of weeks until the end of the year.
SS Derek Jeter - Yankees (1995-2014)
2B Charlie Gehringer - Tigers (1932-42)
2B Nellie Fox - White Sox (1953-63), Colt .45s/Astros (1964-65)
2B Red Schoendienst - Cardinals (1946-56, 61-63)
SS Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies (2007-15), Blue Jays (2015-17)
3B Alex Bregman - Astros (2016-24), Red Sox (2025)
SS Xander Bogaerts - Red Sox (2014-22), Padres (2023-25)
SS Hanley Ramirez - Marlins (2006-12)
3B Red Rolfe - Yankees (1931, 34-42)
SS/2B Granny Hamner - Phillies (1949-59)
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 February 18…
1944: A very young Joe Nuxhall signs with the Reds. “Fifteen-year-old Joe Nuxhall signs a contract with the Cincinnati Reds just one day after playing in a high school basketball game. The Reds had been scouting his 34-year-old father.”
1998: Harry Caray dies at age 84. “Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray dies four days after collapsing at a Valentine's Day supper. Caray, age 84, was known, among other things, for leading the fans in a rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th-inning stretch at Wrigley Field. He previously broadcast the games of the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox in a career that spanned half a century.”
1999: The Yankees trade for Roger Clemens. “The Yankees put an end to trade rumors by acquiring Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitchers David Wells and Graeme Lloyd and IF Homer Bush.”
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Row 1: Joe Gordon, John Mayberry, Álex Ríos
Row 2: Manny Mota, John Valentin, Kevin Tapani
Joe Gordon (1915-1978)
Hall of Famer
11-year major league career, spanning from 1938-1950 (missing 1944-1945 for military service), all with the Yankees and Indians
Nine-time All-Star, and was AL MVP in 1942 after batting .322 with 18 HR, 103 RBI, and 12 SB
Had 20+ HR seven times, 100+ RBI four times, and 100+ runs twice
Was a good defensive 2B and frequently was among the leaders in various fielding statistics
Overall had 253 HR, 975 RBI, a .268/.357/.466 slash line, and a 120 OPS+
Was later a major league manager in parts of six seasons for the Indians, Tigers, Athletics, and Royals
John Mayberry (1949)
First-round draft pick (6th overall) in 1967 by the Astros
15-year major league career, spanning from 1968-1982, mostly as a 1B for the Astros, Royals, and Blue Jays
Two-time All-Star, and came in second in the AL MVP vote in 1975 after batting .291 with 34 HR, 106 RBI, and a league-leading 119 walks
Hit 20+ HR eight times and had 100+ RBI three times
Overall had 255 HR, 879 RBI, a .253/.360/.439 slash line, and a 123 OPS+
Álex Ríos (1981)
First-round draft pick (19th overall) in 1999 by the Blue Jays
12-year major league career, spanning from 2004-2015, mostly as an OF with the Blue Jays, White Sox, and Rangers
Two-time All-Star
Had 20+ HR three times, and 20+ SB five times including a high of 42 SB in 2013
Overall had 169 HR, 253 SB, a .277/.321/.434 slash line, and an even 100 OPS+
Manny Mota (1938)
20-year major league career, spanning from 1962-1982, mostly with the Pirates and Dodgers
Was a high-average hitter who frequently hit over .300, but never played over 125 games in a season so was not eligible for batting titles.
Didn't have much power, with only 31 HR in 4,227 career plate appearances
Played all three OF positions, but was frequently used as a pinch hitter, and for his career set a new record for all-time pinch hits
Overall had a .304/.355/.389 slash line and a 112 OPS+
After retiring, Mota served as a coach for the Dodgers from 1980-2013
John Valentin (1967)
11-year major league career, spanning from 1992-2002, mostly with the Red Sox
Hit 20+ twice, including in 1995 when he hit .298 with 27 HR, 102 RBI, 108 runs, and 20 SB
Led the AL with 47 doubles in 1997
Began as a SS but then later shifted to 3B
Overall had 124 HR, a .279/.360/.454 slash line, and a 109 OPS+
Kevin Tapani (1964)
13-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1989-2001, mostly with the Twins and Cubs
Posted a 16-9 record with a 2.99 ERA in 1991 for the Twins, then later had a 19-9 record, though with a high 4.85 ERA, in 1998 for the Cubs
Overall had a 143-125 (.534) record, a 4.35 ERA, and a 101 ERA+
Currently active players who were born on February 18 include HOU Isaac Paredes, BAL Ryan Mountcastle, BAL Jordan Westburg, WAS Jake Irvin, TBR Ryan Vilade, MIA Cade Gibson, COL Seth Halvorsen, and Nick Maton (free agent).
New Baseball Books!
The following are some books that are newly published in February, 2026:
Ron Shandler's 2026 Baseball Forecaster: And Encyclopedia of Fanalytics
by Brent Hershey, Brandon Kruse, Ray Murphy, and Ron Shandler
Triumph Books
February 3, 2026
272 pages
Diamond Classics II: The Best Baseball Books Since 1989
by Mike Shannon
McFarland
February 13, 2026
306 pages
Baseball Magic and Mayhem in St. Louis: The 1926 Cardinals, World Series Champions
by Kevin J. Abing
McFarland
February 4, 2026
218 pages
Heyday of Willie, Duke, and Mickey, The: New York City Baseball's Golden Age amid Integration
by Robert C. Cottrell
Bloomsbury Academic
February 5, 2026
344 pages
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today’s Birthday Boys (see above) is former player and coach, Manny Mota, so here are three quotes from him:
"When I stood up there as a pinch hitter, I honestly believed I was the best hitter in the game. That's the only attitude to have."
"Preparation, optimism and confidence in your abilities will lead you to success in the field."
"The level of your athletic success is in direct proportion to your level of mental toughness."
Today’s Trivia Answer
Lenny Harris (1988-2005) has the all-time MLB record with 212 pinch hits, while Mark Sweeney (1995-2008) is second with 175.
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.
Tony Clark resigns as executive director of MLBPA, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 2/17/2026
How 10 teams can defy their playoff odds in '26, by Jared Greenspan at MLB, 2/17/2026
A key player for each of the 20 World Baseball Classic teams, by Michael Clair at MLB, 2/17/2026
Will an epic title drought end in '26? These clubs are most likely to do it, by Will Leitch, 2/17/2026
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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