Balls and Wheels: November 2020

And so I got to wondering what the best postwar Yankees team was, excluding the 1998 team, that is the 1947-1964 era when the franchise was ubiquitous in the World Series.

The 1960-1964 teams either lost the Series, or won it by a hair, excepting 1961. The Giants seem like a better team in '62.

They lost the Series in 1957, won it in 7 in 58 (why do these two Series seem forgotten by Baseball History?). Lost in 1955 and won in 7 in '56, in each case against the team that had beaten them the year before. In '53 they beat a great Dodgers team, but they probably were not as good as Brooklyn.

What would you say was the best Yankees team of that era? And would any of the 1976-78 teams stand higher than the postwar ones?

Asked by: MidnighttheCat

Answered: 11/26/2020

1953, beyond question. It's hard to explain, but. . people remember the 1953 Dodgers as a fantastic team, which they were; they finished 105-49 and have a lot of great individual stats. But the 1953 Yankees beat them in the World Series, and also, the 1953 Yankees had a better record until late August. The Yankees were 82-38 on August 21; the Dodgers were 81-38, but the Yankees had a far better run/opposition run ratio at that time, 1.54 - 1 for the Yankees, 1.375 -1 for the Yankees. Neither team had a serious challenger. Stengel completely took his foot off the gas at that time, coasted in; Charlie Dressen continued to push until the end, so the Dodgers pulled a few games ahead although the Yankees still had a better run ratio. The 1953 Yankees BACKUP team--guys NOT in the regular lineup--would be C--Gus Triandos or Charlie Silvera, 1B--Johnny Mize on Don Bollweg; 2B--Jerry Coleman, 3B--Andy Carey, SS--Willie Miranda, OF--Bill Renna, Irv Noren, Bob Cerv. Their backup team was at least a .500 team. Bollweg had 155 at bats with an .887 OPS. Catchers, Silvera hit .280 and was a career .282 hitter as Berra's backup; Triandos was a really good catcher when he got a chance to play, in 1957 threw out 42 of 63 baserunners, 2/3. It may be the highest percentage ever for that many chances. Coleman was a terrific player in 1950, went into the military for two years and never got his job back. (Like Ted Williams, Coleman was a World War II pilot who was recalled for service in Korea.) Andy Carey was a Gold Glove quality third baseman and hit .321 with a .900+ OPS in a backup role in 1953. Miranda was a glove wizard, was later a regular for several years. Bill Renna got into 61 games, 121 at bats and hit .314. Irv Noren was a good defensive center fielder who in 1950 had hit .295 with 98 RBI for Washington, had another pretty good year in 1951; the Yankees traded Jackie Jensen to get him. Cerv hit 38 homers one year for Kansas City. That was the team that WASN'T the team; that was the backup team.

At first base, if Joe Collins and Johnny Mize and Dan Bollweg weren't good enough, in Triple-A they had Moose Skowron and Vic Power. Skowron in 1952 hit hit .341 with 31 homers, 38 doubles, 11 triples, 134 RBI in the American Association, but did not get called up, got sent back to the minors for 1953, and had another great year, not quite AS great. Vic Power on the same team hit .349 with 34 doubles, 10 triples, 19 homers, 93 RBI, 215 hits, and the best defensive first baseman of his time. He didn't get called up, either. Skowron had to play the outfield, which probably kept him in the minors an extra year. That team (in the minors) also had Elston Howard, Alex Grammas and Bill Virdon, all of whom were ready to play, just biding their time in the minor leagues. Grammas was 27 by then; he was later a regular for several years in the National League, and I believe won a Gold Glove one year.

19-4, 2.24 ERA in 1941 for Reds

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/riddlel01.shtml

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Friday, November 20, 2020

Al Jackson pinch ran 73 times

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jacksal01.shtml

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

https://www.mlb.com/news/an-interview-with-the-real-jon-dowd

Sporting News player cards

https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll3/search

MLB media guides

http://sabr.org/latest/mlb-team-media-guides-available-online/

Baseball Guide index- even better than Sean Lahman's!

http://bbsas.net/wiki/index.php/Baseball_Guides

Great resource

https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html

Google news newspaper archive

https://news.google.com/newspapers

College baseball

http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/careersearch

Minor League no-hitters

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1deBSHdsKaYa0BObQqY-f12dTaCv6k8vIxjhomWRrlLQ/edit?authkey=CL_3m-cC&authkey=CL_3m-cC&authkey=CL_3m-cC#gid=0

"Competent baseball men agree the Bushwicks could hold their own in any AA circuit and would beat the Phillies regularly. The Bushwicks average 350,000 paid admissions in 80 games, which is more than the Braves, Phillies, or Browns attract at home in 77"

From Santa Ana Register, July 24, 1941, p.8 ad for Bushwicks

https://www.newspapers.com/image/54529398/?terms=bushwicks%20baseball&match=1 1915 Bushwick averages

https://www.newspapers.com/image/54332741/?terms=bushwicks%20baseball&match=1 1914 B. avgs

box score https://www.newspapers.com/image/52654661/?terms=bushwicks%20final%20average&match=1

1908 negro league box scores https://www.newspapers.com/image/53941084/?terms=bushwicks%20baseball%20official%20averages&match=1

1906 rosters- one team same https://www.newspapers.com/image/53879794/?terms=bushwicks%20baseball%20official%20averages&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/53876817/? terms=bushwicks%20baseball%20official%20averages&match=1 various- pretty interesting

https://www.newspapers.com/image/60020300/?terms=bushwicks%20baseball%20official%20averages&match=1 semi pro box scores 2 pictures

https://www.newspapers.com/image/54443448/?terms=bushwicks%20baseball%20official%20averages&match=1

bushwick box score https://www.newspapers.com/image/52617182/?terms=bushwicks%20baseball%20official%20averages&match=1

lots of semi pro box scores- 2 bush wick https://www.newspapers.com/image/59737817/?terms=bushwicks%20baseball%20official%20averages&match=1

good stuff https://www.newspapers.com/image/53867443/?terms=bushwicks%20baseball%20official%20averages&match=1

https://www.billjamesonline.com/a_review/?PublicOnly=y&Year=2017&pg=3

Monday, November 16, 2020

Cricket

https://www.billjamesonline.com/on_wickets_and_overs/?AuthorId=5&Year=2015

HOF Ballot: William Faulkner

https://www.billjamesonline.com/hof_ballot_william_faulkner/?AuthorId=5&Year=2011

Ernest Hemingway on Spring Training

https://www.billjamesonline.com/ernest_hemingway_the_spring_training_stories/?AuthorId=5&Year=2013&pg=1

Davenport translations

http://claydavenport.com/archives/234

Sunday, November 15, 2020

https://www.billjamesonline.com/wit/?Year=2012

Saturday, November 14, 2020

Topps mexican football

https://completist.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/the-tale-of-the-topps-mexicans/

Friday, November 13, 2020

Hideto Asamura one of Japan's top power hitters

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=asamur001hid

Yuki Yanagita is one of Japan's top players.

This year he hit .342 with 29 home runs in just 119 games. He missed most of 2019 with an injury, but in 2018 hit .352 with 36 dingers. For his NPB career he has a .322 batting average with 186 homers in 997 games. He will be 32 next year, so he probably will never play in MLB.

Alfredo Despaigne's career may be nearing end

After hitting 36 homers for Softbank in 2019, he hit just .224 in 25 games for Softbank this year, though he did hit 6 homers. In the Japanese minor league the Western League he hit .450 in 16 games. He'll be 35 next year, has already hit 417 home runs, and may not reach 500.

Wladimir Balientien has first real off season in Japan

Wladimir, after years of success in Japan, hit just .168 with 9 homers in 60 games. He was 35 this year, and if his career is going to continue, he'll have to come back very quickly. He doesn't have many chances left.

Tyler Austin, former Yankee, is now playing in Japan

He last played for the Yankees in 2018. This year, for Yokohama in the Central League, he hit 20 homers in 65 games.

Look for this guy in the MLB in 5 years

Munetaka Murakami hit 36 home runs for Yakult in 2019, though he hit just .231 with 184 strikeouts. He was 19 that year. This year, at 20, he hit 28 home runs in just 120 games, 2nd in the Central League, while lifting his batting average up to .307. He also walked 87 times.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=muraka000mun

Futility

Exhibit #127 in the case for the DH: Shosei Togo, a pitcher in Japan, over his 2 year career has gone 0 for 37 with 21 strike outs and 0 walks.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=togo--000sho

Pinch runners in Japan

Interestingly enough, there is a player in Japan who is primarily a pinch runner. Over 148 NPB games, he has had just 105 plate appearances, while having scored 50 runs and stealing 38 bases against but 9 times caught.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=masuda002dai

There is another player, Koshiro Wada, who, though he has less of a track record, spent this year as a pinch runner. He is just 21.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wada--000kos

Ted Williams

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/ted-williams-autograph-deals-islamorada/

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=219310

Sunday, November 8, 2020

FIP calculator

https://www.omnicalculator.com/sports/fip

Roger Bresnahan

Roger was without question one of the greatest catchers the game has produced and his long years of practical experience could not be duplicated by any youngster, however talented. -Baseball Magazine, Oct. 1913, vol. XI issue 6

It is reported that the mighty Archer has jumped. If so, the task ahead of Bresnahan is stupendous, for, even if Roj tries to catch every day, he is hardly in Archer's class, especially in that dead-ly throw to second. - Baseball Magazine, Feb. 1915, vol. XIV, issue 4

https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll2/id/3092/rec/5

The Heroes of the Bridgeport Wreck (Cardinals)