Issue #567
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 notable trades or free agent signings yesterday, so I’ll jump right into the Spring Training game highlights that caught my eye (and here is a link to all of the games from yesterday):
DET SP Framber Valdez made his debut for the Tigers and did well with 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
WSN SP Josiah Gray made his spring debut and struck out 3 in 1.2 IP, allowing 2 H and 1 ER. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since April 4, 2024, but is competing to make the Nationals’ rotation.
BOS SP Johan Oviedo did well with 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
TOR 3B Addison Barger went 1-3 with a grand slam, his first HR of the spring
PIT veteran SP Mike Clevinger, who is competing for a role on the team, did well with 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
HOU ace SP Hunter Brown struck out 3 in 2.2 IP, while allowing 2 BB, 1 H, and 1 ER
CLE CF Angel Martínez went 3-3 with a HR and a double
TEX CF Wyatt Langford went 1-2 with his first HR of the spring
SFG SP Landen Roupp, who is competing for a rotation spot, did well with 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
KCR SP Noah Cameron struggled with 2.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
CIN SP Brady Singer struggled in his spring debut with 2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
CIN 2B Matt McLain was 2-2 with 2 walks and two, 3-run HR; Ke’Bryan Hayes was 2-2 with a walk, a double, 3 runs, and 3 RBI; and DH Sal Stewart was 2-3 with a walk, a HR, a double, and 4 RBI
LAA SP Grayson Rodriguez made his second spring start with 3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, and depth rotation option Jack Kochanowicz did well with 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
CHC SP Jameson Taillon struggled yet again, in this his third spring start, with 2.1 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. He has now allowed 13 H and 13 ER in 6 IP.
SDP SP Michael King struck out 3 in 2.1 IP, but also gave up 5 H, 2 BB, and 4 ER
ATH LF Tyler Soderstrom went 2-4 with a HR and a double
First Prize Winner for March!
One of the benefits for readers who are All Star Subscribers of The Baseball Buffet is the chance to win a monthly drawing for baseball memorabilia from their favorite team. This is new for 2026, and so far I have had three drawings of lucky winners in January (two Royals fans, one Giants fan), and two in February (a Brewers fan, and a Red Sox fan).
For March, the first winner is Charles S. of Williamsport, Maryland. He is an Orioles fan, so as shown in the photo below, here is what he will be getting soon in the mail:
1995 Cal Ripken MicroStars figure (unopened)
1997 Roberto Alomar Starting Lineup figure
Orioles ice-cream sized helmet
Fall 1991 Topps Magazine with Cal Ripken on cover
March 18, 1985 Sports Illustrated with Fred Lynn on cover
1987 Topps/Surf Orioles team booklet
(5) 1984 Fun Foods Buttons
(11) different oversized cards
(9) different 1980s team stickers
(3) Brady Anderson RC cards
(70) all different Cal Ripken cards
(37) all different Mike Mussina cards
(30) all different Eddie Murray cards
(13) all different Ken Singleton cards
(11) all different Fred Lynn cards
(8) all different Jim Palmer cards
… and a few other miscellaneous items!
Orioles memorabilia prize lot!
Today’s Trivia Question
Looking back on the 2025 season, the Dodgers had the highest total home attendance. According to the data at baseball-reference.com they just barely eclipsed the 4-million mark at 4,012,470. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the stadium-challenged Athletics (768,464) and Rays (786,750) were by far the lowest two teams. While far behind the Dodgers, who had the second highest attendance at 3,437,201? (Bonus points if you can name either of the teams that were close behind them in third and fourth place.)
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 March 3…
1953: The Browns will not be moving to Milwaukee. “The Boston Braves, owners of the Milwaukee minor league franchise, block the St. Louis Browns' attempt to shift their franchise to Milwaukee. Lou Perini, the Braves' owner, invokes his territorial privilege, stating he has not been offered enough for the rights. By the time the season starts, it is the Braves who will have made Milwaukee their new home.”
1984: Peter Ueberroth is elected as Commissioner. “Peter Ueberroth, the highly successful chairman of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the upcoming Summer Games, is elected to a five-year term as Commissioner of Baseball. Ueberroth will take office on October 1st, succeeding Bowie Kuhn.”
1987: Ray Dandridge is elected to the Hall of Fame. “Ray Dandridge, an outstanding third baseman from the Negro Leagues, is the only player elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.”
1998: Doby, MacPhail, Rogan, and Davis are elected to the Hall of Fame. “Larry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League, is elected to the Hall of Fame along with former AL President Lee MacPhail. Also chosen by the Veterans Committee are Negro League pitcher Bullet Joe Rogan and turn-of-the-century shortstop Gorgeous George Davis.”
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Willie Keeler, John Montgomery Ward
Willie Keeler (1872-1923)
Hall of Famer
19-year major league career, spanning from 1892-1910, mostly as a RF with Baltimore and Brooklyn in the NL, and the New York Highlanders in the AL
Led the NL with a .424 average in 1897, and with a .385 average in 1898
Also led the NL in hits three times, and had 200+ hits in eight consecutive seasons
Led the NL with 140 runs in 1899, and had career highs of 165 runs in 1894 and 162 runs in 1895
Had 20+ SB eleven times, including career-highs of 67 SB in 1896 and 64 SB in 1897
Had 10+ triples seven times, including a high of 22 triples in 1894, but only had 33 HR in 9,619 career plate appearances
Nicknamed "Wee Willie", he is listed as only having been 5'4" and 140 pounds
Overall had 2,932 hits, 1,719 runs, 145 triples, 495 SB, a .341/.388/.415 slash line, and a 127 OPS+
John Montgomery Ward (1860-1925)
Hall of Famer
17-year major league career, spanning from 1878-1894, mostly with Providence, New York, and Brooklyn in the NL
As a pitcher during his rookie season in 1878 Ward led the NL with a 1.51 ERA over 334 IP. He then posted a 47-19 record with a 2.15 ERA in 1879, and had several more good seasons before arm injuries led him to shift to playing mostly SS and 2B
We don't have stolen bases data for the first half of his career, but from 1886-1894 he had 30+ SB each year, including leading the NL with 111 SB in 1887, and again in 88 SB in 1892
He scored 100+ runs five times, with a career-high of 134 runs in 1890
According to Wikipedia, Ward also "led the formation of the first professional sports players union and a new baseball league, the Players' League."
Overall he had a 164-103 (.614) record as a pitcher with a 2.10 ERA and 119 ERA+, and as a hitter he had 1,410 runs and a .275 batting average
Currently active players who were born on March 3 include KCR Maikel Garcia, KCR Kyle Isbel, SEA Jose A. Ferrar, and BOS Zack Kelly.
New Baseball Books!
The following are some books that are newly published in February, 2026:
Chicago Cubs: The Official 150th Anniversary History
by Major League Baseball
Skybox Press
160 pages
February 24, 2026
Tragedy in Black Baseball: Early Deaths of 136 Negro Leaguers, 1871-1950
by Chris Jensen
McFarland
383 pages
February 26, 2026
Battlefields: The Chicago White Sox and the Great War
by Jim Leeke
Bloomsbury Academic
280 pages
February 19, 2026
Rounding the Bases: The Story of Little League Baseball in Japan
by James J. Orr
University of Hawaii Press
286 pages
February 28, 2026
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today’s Birthday Boys (see above) is old-timer and Hall of Famer Willie Keeler, who is of course famous for saying he would "hit'em where they ain't". But another Birthday Boy today is old-timer and Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward, so here are two good quotes from him:
"Baseball cannot be learned as a trade. It begins with the sport of the schoolboy, and though it may end in the professional, I am sure there is not a single one of these who learned the game with the expectation of making it a business. There have been years in the life of each during which he must have ate and drank and dreamed baseball."
"Baseball grew rapidly in favor; the field was ripe. America needed a live outdoor sport, and this game exactly suited the national temperament. It required all the manly qualities of activity, endurance, pluck, and skill peculiar to cricket, and was immeasurably superior to that game in exciting features."
Today’s Trivia Answer
According to the data at baseball-reference.com, the Padres had the second highest attendance in 2025, followed by the Yankees and Phillies.
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 numbers behind this spring's most impressive performers, by David Adler at MLB, 3/2/2026
Get prepped for each Classic pool with this handy guide, by MLB writers, 3/2/2026
It's National Anthem Day! Now a staple in sports, it all began with baseball, by Manny Randhawa at MLB, 3/2/2026
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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