Hot Stove League Standings thru Monday, May 19, 2014

With about 25% of the season in the bag, it is amazing how similar the overall spread of points is from year to year.  At this point in 2013, the top team was the Redbirds with 3620 points, followed by the Tigers with 3420 and the Tribe with 3365.  The Senators trailed the pack with 2765 points.  The eventual champs, the Lincoln Chiefs, were in fifth place with 3227 points, almost 400 points out.   

TOP 20 Hitters thru Monday, May 19, 2014

Breakdown of Top 20 hitters by team:

Chiefs 4; Wahoos 3; Bears 2; Monarchs 2; Redbirds 2; Skipjacks 1; Tribe 1; Cubs 1; Senators 1; Bombers 1; Blues 1; Bums 1; Tigers 0.   

With 4 of the top 12 hitters, the Chiefs may be a team to watch if any of their pitchers get hot.  For now, Chiefs’ pitchers are MIA from the list of Top 20 pitchers below.

Who can come the closest to guessing the day when Tulo goes on the DL (for the first time) this year?

TOP 20 Pitchers thru Monday, May 19, 2014

Breakdown of Top 20 pitchers by team:

Wahoos 4; Monarchs 3; Senators 3; Tigers 2; Tribe 2; Bums 2; Cubs 1; Redbirds 1; Bombers 1; Blues 1; Chiefs 0; Skipjacks 0; Bears 0.

Although the Wahoos have the most pitchers on this list with 4, they are the bottom 4 with points ranging from 192 to 197.  It will be interesting to compare their points at the end of the year and see how close they are.  Ted, over/unders on these four?

Johnny Cueto is on pace for 1200 points, and is ahead of Clayton Kershaw’s pace last year (300 to 289).  Chuck may be wondering when Clayton is going to start earning that huge salary (74 points to date).

TOP 3 PLAYERS BY POSITION

BILL JAMES HISTORICAL

BASEBALL ABSTRACT EXCERPTS

            Jack Doyle AKA Dirty Jack Doyle and Dashing Jack Doyle.  Early in his career, when he was a catcher, he was once reprimanded by the National League for sticking pebbles in the batter’s shoes while they were hitting.  When the batter leaned forward on his toes, Doyle would drop a pebble in the back of his shoe.  The batter wouldn’t even feel it at the time, but then later, when he was trying to run, he would discover that there was a rock in his shoe.

. . .

            You all know that the tradition of the President throwing out the first ball to open the baseball season dates to April 14, 1910, when William Howard Taft threw out the first ball for the Senators.  A little known fact about that game, however, is that his Vice President and his Secretary of State, Charles Bennett, attended the game with him.  Frank “Home Run” Baker ripped a line drive into the President’s box, hitting Bennett in the head.  He was not seriously hurt, but everybody was sure shook up for a minute or two.

. . .

            In his second season as the Senator’s shortstop (1909) George McBride made a bunch of errors early in the season, and the fans began to get on him something awful.  McBride was a .220 hitter, so he couldn’t afford a bad-glove reputation, and it appeared that he was about to be booed out of the league.  Then one day, between innings, a drunk ran onto the field.  Players at that time left their gloves on the field while they batted, and this inebriated gentleman picked up McBride’s glove, dashed to the shortstop’s position, put on the glove, spit in the pocket, and began to demonstrate for McBride’s benefit how shortstop was supposed to be played.

            Well, the cops ran out and seized the drunk and, this being 1909, commenced to beat some sense into him, in full view of the public.  But the funny thing was, it broke the mood, and ended the fielding slump.  McBride retrieved his glove, nodded to the drunk as he was led away, and went about his business.  The crowd, which had been riding McBride unmercifully, laughed about the incident, and cheered when McBride fielded cleanly two ground balls in the inning.  McBride went on to lead the American League shortstops in fielding that year, and would play shortstop in Washington for the next decade.

. . .

            One time Richie Ashburn hit a line drive into the stands, striking a young woman in the side of the face and knocking her unconscious.  The stadium gasped, Ashburn stepped out of the box and watched in alarm as medics rushed to her side.  In a few minutes the woman revived, the stretcher came, and the ballgame resumed.  And Ashburn hit another line drive foul, and struck the poor woman again as she was being carried out of the stadium.

ALBUMS

 

            Now that I have regained empty nest status, I set up a home office in one of the bedrooms.  Next to my desk is a turntable, and I dragged all of my old albums from the 1970s up there, and have enjoyed getting reacquainted with my favorites from that era.  This wouldn’t necessarily be my list of all-time best albums, but they are all great listens with no bad songs, and I never hear this kind of stuff on the radio:

I’m looking forward to the League Trip to Chicago and Milwaukee.  Good luck to all for the remainder of the season.