Issue #557
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! ⚾
Since clubs sometimes play split-squad games during Spring Training, it means we can get more than 15 games in a day. And that is what happened yesterday as there were 16 contests… but before I get to some highlights from those, there was also one free agent signing of note:
Cardinals sign IF Ramón Urías. According to an article by Brian Murphy at MLB, the Cardinals have signed infielder Ramón Urías to a 1-year deal, with a mutual option for 2027.
The 31-year old Urías has played six years in the majors, all with the Orioles until he was traded to the Astros at the deadline last year. He has mostly played 3B (371 games), and indeed won a Gold Glove at 3B in 2022. But he has also seen action at 2B (108), SS (61), and 1B (18).
He had a career-high 16 HR in 2022, and in 2025 batted .241 with 11 HR and 44 RBI in 112 games.
Outlook: As Murphy describes, it seems this signing is insurance for Nolan Gorman at 3B and rookie JJ Wetherholt at 2B. If either does poor at camp or gets injured, Urías is a veteran who could take over, and at the very least will be a capable utility player.
Highlights from Yesterday’s Games
Unlike during the regular season, when I provide highlights/summaries of every game, for Spring Training my plan is to provider lighter highlights. This will be stuff that catches my eye in reviewing the box scores, whether really impressive performances, or important news for key prospects or guys competing for a role like a fifth rotation spot or the like. So with that said, here is a link to all of the games from yesterday, and then here are some highlights:
Yankees beat the Tigers 20-3, with Aaron Judge hitting 2 HR, OF prospect Spencer Jones hitting a HR. Jackson Castillo, Roderick Arias, and Tyler Hardman also each hit a HR.
Tigers SS prospect Kevin McGonigle went 1-2 with a single and a run
Phillies CF prospect Justin Crawford went 2-3 with a double
OF Mike Yastrzemski made his Braves debut and went 2-2 with a HR, a single, and a walk
Nationals C prospect Harry Ford made his debut by leading off and going 1-2 with a single, walk, and 2 RBI
Cardinals IF prospect JJ Wetherholt played 2B and batted fifth, going 0-1 with a walk and a run
Pirates OF Ryan O'Hearn made his debut by batting third and going 1-3 with a 3-run HR... against his old team the Orioles
Astros OF prospect Zach Cole hit leadoff and went 0-1 but had 2 walks and 3 SB
Electric young Reds pitcher Chase Burns, who is fighting for a rotation spot this spring, started today going 2 IP with 2 K, but also 3 walks
The Padres collected 18 hits, with Jose Miranda having another good day, going 3-3 with a double and 4 RBI after his 2-3 game yesterday with a HR and a double. The veteran 1B/3B is a longshot to make the Padres' Opening Day roster as there are a crowd of candidates, but he is off to a good start so far!
Mariners prospect infielder Colt Emerson, went 0-2 with 2 K, after going 0-2 on Friday as well. OF Miles Mastrobuoni went 2-3 a double and a grand slam, after also hitting a double on Friday.
Giants starter Hayden Birdsong really struggled, giving up 5 ER off 3 hits and 2 walks over 0.1 IP
The Dodgers beat up on the Angels 15-2, collecting 16 hits though no homers. Teoscar Hernández went 3-3, Andy Pages was 2-3 with a triple and a double, Hyeseong Kim was 2-3 with 3 RBI, and Ryan Fitzgerald was 2-3 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the 2025 World Series MVP, pitched a scoreless first inning with and overall line of 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
Today’s Trivia Question
One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Sparky Anderson. He ranks seventh all-time in MLB wins by a manager with 2,194. How many of the six ahead of him can you name? (Bonus points the closer you get to naming them in order.)
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 22…
1921: The Reds send a football player for future Hall of Famer Eppa Rixey. “The Cincinnati Reds trade P Jimmy Ring and OF Greasy Neale to the Philadelphia Phillies for lefty Eppa Rixey, who led the National League with 22 losses in 1920. Rixey will continue to pitch his way into the Hall of Fame over the next 13 years. Neale is also a future Hall of Famer - for football. He will play just 22 games in Philly before returning to the Reds.
1938: The Cardinals sign football star Sammy Baugh. “The Cardinals sign Texas Christian University All-American football star and Washington Redskins quarterback Sammy Baugh as a shortstop. He will start off with the Cards in spring training, but be assigned first to Columbus and then Rochester.”
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Row 1: Sparky Anderson, J.J. Putz, Kazuhiro Sasaki
Row 2: Steve Barber, Ryne Duren
Sparky Anderson (1934-2010)
Hall of Famer
Only played one season in the major leagues, as a 2B for the Phillies in 1959. He hit .218 with 0 HR and 6 SB in 152 games.
Was one of the most successful major league managers of all-time, leading the Reds from 1970-78 and the Tigers from 1979-95.
He won four pennants with the Reds, and the World Series in both 1975 and 1976, and then the World Series again with the Tigers in 1984.
Overall he had a 2,194-1,834 (.545) record as a manager.
J.J. Putz (1977)
12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2003-2014, mostly with the Mariners and Diamondbacks
Had 30+ saves four times, including 40 saves with a 1.38 ERA in 2007 for the Mariners (his one All-Star campaign), and 45 saves and a 2.17 ERA in 2011 for the Diamondbacks
Overall had 189 saves, a 3.08 ERA, and a 138 ERA+
Kazuhiro Sasaki (1968)
4-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2000-2003, all for the Mariners
Had 37 saves in 2000, and then was an All-Star in both 2001 and 2002, with 45 saves and 37 saves in those two years
Overall had 129 saves, a 3.14 ERA and a 138 ERA+
Prior to coming to Seattle for his age-32 season he had been a great reliever in his native Japan where he posted 252 saves and a 2.41 ERA over 12 seasons
Steve Barber (1938-2007)
15-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1960-1974, mostly with Orioles, Braves, Angels, and Yankees
Posted a 18-12 record and 3.33 ERA in his second season, then was an All-Star in 1963 with a 20-13 record, a 2.75 ERA, and a career-high 180 strikeouts
Was an All-Star again in 1966 with a 10-5 record and 2.30 ERA, though injuries limited him to 133.1 IP
Overall had a 121-106 (.533) record, a 3.36 ERA, and a 105 ERA+
Ryne Duren (1929-2011)
10-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1954-1965, for the Yankees, Phillies, Angels, and four other clubs
Three-time All-Star
Had his best two seasons for the Yankees in 1958 with a 2.02 ERA and 19 saves, and then in 1959 with a 1.88 ERA and 14 saves
Overall had 55 saves, a 3.83 ERA, and a 98 ERA+
Currently active players who were born on February 22 include BAL Chris Bassitt, COL Germán Márquez, NYY Ben Rice, MIL Caleb Durbin, HOU Cam Smith, PIT Kyle Nicolas, COL Brett Sullivan, BAL José Espada, and Thairo Estrada (free agent).
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today’s Birthday Boys (see above) is Sparky Anderson, a long-time manager who supplied lots of interesting quotes. The following are curated from the nice collection at The Baseball Almanac:
"Those of us lucky enough to be part of the game have a tremendous responsibility — we're charged with giving back to the game all the good things the game has given us."
"Baseball is a simple game. If you have good players and if you keep them in the right frame of mind, then the manager is a success."
"He's (Willie Stargell) such a big strong guy he should love that porch. He's got power enough to hit home runs in any park, including Yellowstone."
"He (Aurelio Rodriguez) probably had as good a pair of hands on him as anybody, and a great arm—the only two arms I've ever seen like that, (Travis) Fryman and him. This guy was a great third baseman."
"I cannot get rid of the hurt from losing, but after the last out of every loss, I must accept that there will be a tomorrow. In fact, it's more than there'll be a tomorrow, it's that I want there to be a tomorrow. That's the big difference, I want tomorrow to come."
"I can't believe they pay us to play baseball - something we did for free as kids."
"I don't want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench."
"I understand people who boo us. It's like going to a Broadway show, you pay for your tickets and expect to be entertained. When you're not, you have a right to complain."
"My idea of managing is giving the ball to Tom Seaver and sitting down and watching him work."
"People who live in the past generally are afraid to compete in the present. I've got my faults, but living in the past is not one of them. There's no future in it."
"Problem with (John) Wockenfuss getting on base is that it takes three doubles to score him."
"The great thing about baseball is when you're done, you'll only tell your grandchildren the good things. If they ask me about 1989, I'll tell them I had amnesia."
"The players make the manager, it's never the other way."
"They say the first World Series is the one you remember most. No, no, no. I guarantee you don't remember that one because the fantasy world you always dreamed about is suddenly real."
Today’s Trivia Answer
Here is the top-7 leaderboard for MLB wins by a manager:
3,731 - Connie Mack
2,884 - Tony LaRussa
2,763 - John McGraw
2,504 - Bobby Cox
2,326 - Joe Torre
2,252 - Bruce Bochy
After Sparky Anderson and his 2,194 wins, the others who have over 2,000 wins are:
2,183 - Dusty Baker
2,158 - Bucky Harris
2,125 - Joe McCarthy
2,040 - Walter Alston
2,033 - Terry Francona
2,008 - Leo Durocher
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.
Tiered fantasy baseball rankings for each position, by Yahoo Sports and MLB, 2/21/2026
Position change? Ichiro takes reps in infield, by Daniel Kremer at MLB, 2/21/2026
Who will close games for Rangers in 2026? Here are 3 options, by Kennedi Landry at MLB, 2/21/2026
My Interview with an MLB Umpire, by Tyler O’Shea at The Underdog Newsletter, 2/22/2026
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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