Issue #563

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! ⚾

I didn’t see any significant transactions, so here are yesterday’s Spring Training game highlights that caught my eye (here is a link to all of the games from yesterday):

  • NYM SP Nolan McLean did very well with 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

  • SDP 3B Manny Machado went 2-3 with a walk and 2 HR, including one grand slam

  • CIN SP Chase Burns struck 5 in 2.1 IP, while allowing 2 hits including a HR

  • BAL RF Tyler O’Neill went 3-3 with a HR

  • HOU SP Tatsuya Imai made his debut, with 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

  • BOS ace SP Garrett Crochet pitched 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, and their closer Aroldis Chapman struck out 3 in 1 IP, allowing 1 hit

  • Both SP struggled some in the MIN vs. PIT game, as MIN SP Simeon Woods Richardson had 2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, and PIT José Urquidy had 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

  • PHI 1B Bryce Harper went 1-1 with a walk and his first HR of the spring

  • NYY CF prospect Spencer Jones went 1-1 with his second HR of the spring. NYY 2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 1-3 with a HR, and NYY 1B Paul Goldschmidt was 2-3 with his second spring HR.

  • TOR SP Kevin Gausman had 3 K in 1 IP, while allowing 1 H and 1 BB

  • COL 1B Charlie Condon went 2-2 with a walk and his second HR of the spring, while another COL 1B, TJ Rumfeld, came in and went 1-1 with a walk and his third HR of the spring

  • SFG SP Hayden Birdsong, who is competing for a rotation spot, struggled for a second time this spring (1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)

  • TEX SP Cal Quantrill did poorly with 2.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

  • LAD C Will Smith went 2-3 with a HR and a double as he tunes up for the WBC, and SP Tyler Glasnow did well with 4 K in 2 IP, while allowing 1 H and 1 ER

  • TEX SP Kumar Rocker struggled with 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

  • CHC SP Matthew Boyd did well with 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

  • Two young Royals players did well, as RF Jac Caglianone went 2-4 with a double, 2 runs, and 3 RBI, and C Carter Jensen went 3-3 with a HR and 3 RBI

  • SEA C Cal Raleigh went 2-3 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI, SEA CF Julio Rodríguez went 1-2 with a double and 2 walks, and SEA SS prospect Colt Emerson was 2-3 with a triple


Today’s Trivia Question

One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Johnny Pesky. He had three seasons with 200+ hits for the Red Sox. Can you name the two Red Sox players who had more than three seasons with 200+ hits each?


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 27…

  • 1948: Herb Pennock and Pie Traynor are elected to the Hall of Fame. “Newly elected to the Hall of Fame are Herb Pennock and Pie Traynor. Needing 91 votes for selection, Pennock, who died a month before, gets 94 votes, and Traynor 93. Just missing are Al Simmons, Charlie Gehringer and Bill Terry.”

  • 1973: Dick Allen signs a big contract. “Chicago White Sox first baseman Dick Allen signs a three-year deal worth $250,000 per season, the richest contract in major league history. Allen won the American League MVP Award in 1972 after leading the league in home runs, runs batted in, and slugging percentage.”

  • 1989: Future star MLB 1B John Olerud has brain surgery. “Washington State University first baseman John Olerud undergoes brain surgery for the removal of an aneurysm. The left-handed first baseman had collapsed on January 11th after a workout. As a result of the aneurysm, he will wear a helmet at all times while on the playing field. Olerud will go on to enjoy a successful 17-season major league career with the Blue Jays, Mets, Mariners, Yankees and Red Sox, winning a batting title in 1993 and two All-Star berths.”

  • 2011: Duke Snider dies at age 84. “‘The "Duke of Flatbush’, Hall of Famer Duke Snider dies in Escondido, CA at age 84. Snider was a power-hitting centerfielder for the great Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the 1950s and is immortalized in Terry Cashman's song ‘Talkin' Baseball (Willie, Mickey and the Duke)’.”


🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Row 1: Hilton Smith, Johnny Pesky, Matt Stairs
Row 2: Yovani Gallardo, Aníbal Sánchez, Denard Span

Hilton Smith (1907-1983)

  • Hall of Famer

  • 13-year major league pitching career in the Negro Leagues, spanning from 1932-1948, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs

  • All-Star in six seasons

  • According to the data available at baseball-reference.com, he won the pitching triple crown in 1938 leading the Negro American League with 88 K (in 112.2 IP), a 1.92 ERA, and in wins with a 9-2 record

  • That was one of four times he led his league in strikeouts

  • Also did well in the postseason, with a 6-0 record, a 1.49 ERA, and 45 K in 48.1 IP across four seasons

  • Overall had a 70-38 (.648) record, a 2.92 ERA, and a 141 ERA+

Johnny Pesky (1919-2012)

  • 10-year major league career, spanning from 1942-1954 (missing 1943-45 for military service), playing mostly for the Red Sox and Tigers

  • Played a mix of SS, 3B, and 2B

  • Hit .320+ and led the AL in hits in each of his first three seasons (1942, 1946, and 1947)

  • Was an All-Star in 1946 and ended the season with a career high 43 doubles and .335 average

  • Scored 100+ runs six times, with a high of 124 runs in 1948

  • Didn't have much power, with 17 HR in 5,516 career plate appearances, but was difficult to strike out and was a good bunter

  • Overall had 867 runs, a .307/.394/.386 slash line, and a 107 OPS+

  • After retiring he was a long-time coach, and also was manager of the Red Sox in 1963 and 1964. He also spent time over the years as a broadcaster for both TV and radio.

Matt Stairs (1968)

  • 19-year major league career, spanning from 1992-2011, playing as an OF and DH for 12 different teams

  • Hit 20+ HR six times, including a high of 38 HR in 1999 for the Athletics

  • Overall had 265 HR, 899 RBI, a .262/.356/.477 slash line, and a 117 OPS+

Yovani Gallardo (1986)

  • 12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2007-2018, spending his first eight seasons with the Brewers and the rest spread across four other clubs

  • Won between 12-17 games six times, and had 200+ K four times

  • Was an All-Star in 2010 finishing the year with a 14-7 record and a 3.84 ERA

  • Overall had a 121-101 (.545) record, a 4.06 ERA, and a 101 ERA+

Aníbal Sánchez (1984)

  • 16-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2006-2022, mostly with the Marlins, Tigers, and Nationals

  • Won between 10-14 games five times, including in 2013 when he had a 14-8 record, 202 K, and an AL-leading 2.57 ERA

  • Overall had a 116-119 record, a 4.06 ERA, and a 103 ERA+

Denard Span (1984)

  • First-round draft pick (20th overall) in 2002 by the Twins

  • 11-year major league career, spanning from 2008-2018, mostly as a CF with the Twins, Nationals, and Giants

  • Led the AL with 10 triples in 2009, the NL with 11 triples in 2013, and the NL with 184 hits in 2014

  • Had 20+ SB four times, with a high of 31 SB in 2014

  • Overall had 185 SB, a .281/.347/.398 slash line, and a 103 OPS+

Currently active players who were born on February 27 include CHW Colson Montgomery, CLE Gabriel Arias, SDP Adrián Morejón, LAD Jack Dreyer, and DET Corey Julks.


Baseball Quote of the Day

One of today’s Birthday Boys (see above) is Johnny Pesky. Here are two good quotes from him:

"When you win you eat better, sleep better and your beer tastes better."

"Baseball can build you up to the sky one day and the next day you have to climb a stepladder to look up at a snake."

⚾ I hope you enjoyed the newsletter today! ⚾


Today’s Trivia Answer

Wade Boggs and Jim Rice. Boggs had 200+ hits seven times, while Jim Rice did it four times. Ted Williams, although a .344 career hitter, never had more than 194 hits in a season, in part because he walked so frequently (leading the AL in walks eight times). And Carl Yastrzemski won three batting titles, but never had more than 191 hits in a season (he led the AL twice in hits, with modest totals of 183 and 189).


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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