MLB Showdown Obsession

 Things were just getting good in New York, then military service had to ruin the fun. In 1953, Willie Mays was still missing, so the usual battle of NY was just between Mantle and Snider, while Bobby Thomson was filling in for Mays at the Polo Grounds. Thomson filled in admirably in Center for the Giants (he played 3rd Base the previous year) but without Mays, the Giants weren't much of a threat in '53, allowing the Dodgers to reign supreme in the NL. Once again, however, the Yankees were waiting from the AL side. Snider brough the better chart card over Mantle who was dealing with knee troubles, but the World Series is where Mickey busted out and helped the Yankees to their record 5th straight title. Next season, Mays would return from the military, Thomson would be gone and the usual NY trio would be back at it. Elsewhere in baseball, we had Gus Bell. 1953 was a career year for Bell, as he launched 30 homers for the only time in his career, hit .300, drove in over 100 and ma

 Adding to my belief that either Mr Gula or someone influential for the Bot is watching this blog, back last year when I did a Mr May post , I opined on what it would look like if the Bot could isolate certain time frames for a season to make a card with....and such a feature was delivered. So why not celebrate by making an update to Dave Winfield's Mr May status with some May only and postseason only cards to show the duality of his Yankees career more fully. Dave Winfield in May of 1982 was a beast... 1982 in it's entirely left a bit to be desired by Winfield, so you can imagine Steinbrenner's frustrations... The Yankees in 1981 made the World Series but Winfield was a black hole in the lineup as the they failed to overcome LA.

 The Veterans Committee is always a good fallback option for guys who didn't get voted in to the Hall of Fame during the first go around. There are various reasons for missing the cut the first time. Sometimes a player has HoF credentials, but the ballot is so overloaded with talent that sometimes you get overlooked. So just imagine how easy it is to get overlooked when guys like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb are on the same ballot. No offense to Nap Lajoie and Tris Speaker, there's no shame in waiting an extra year to be elected. Cy Young has the ultimate pitching award named after him, but he needed to wait until 1937 to be enshrined forever. Worth noting that all three players enshrined that year represent Cleveland (two Indians and a Spiders player) 1937 is also the year that entry to the HoF can be gained in more ways than just the BBWAA. The Centennial Committee had their say for entries, but obviously didn't focus on players. Managers, executives and pioneers were the focus

 Before Len Barker pitched a perfect game in 1981, everyone else had the luxury of the opposing pitcher needing to bat against them. But by '81, the American League was utilizing the DH, and Barker became the first pitcher to have to go through 27 professional hitters in order to attain immortality. On May 15, 1981, the Toronto Blue Jays were at Cleveland Stadium to face Barker and the Indians. Barker breezed through the Blue Jays hitters, striking out 11 and never once going to ball 3 against anyone. By virtue of the DH rule, Barker became the first perfect game pitcher to not need to come to the plate himself. One of baseballs few highlights in '81 with the shadow of the strike over everything, the perfect game was also the last no-hitter to date in Indians history, currently the longest drought in baseball. Not as bad, obviously, as their 75 year title drought, but it does hold to the theme that the Indians can't catch a break it seems. Despite it's shortened schedul

 Baseball is a hard game, and not many men have had the distinction of saying they've played in the Majors. It's been said that if you took every individual who has ever played in the entire history of the MLB, you would still be unable to fill up even the smallest stadium in the League. So if you ever have the honor of getting to play, even in one game in your career, you should feel very distinct. Except Ron Wright. Ron Wright was a career minor leaguer, except for the one game he was given a shot. In his one game, he had what many would consider to be the most nightmare of stat lines. The day is Sunday, April 14, 2002. It's a pleasant afternoon in Texas as the Mariners are in town to play the Rangers. Ron Wright is getting the start at DH. This lineup he is apart of is loaded with many of the same players who helped win 116 games the season prior. The circumstances couldn't be more ideal for Ron. And yet... Wright's card is very misleading, because he never got a

 1952 was supposed to be the year all 3 NY icons had their proper battle for supremacy, buy military service came calling for Willie Mays. Meanwhile, Mantle took over for a now DiMaggio-less Yankees and Snider was helping lead his Dodgers back to the fall classic after a two year absence. Mays did what he could in the weeks he had before the military, and the XBH potential on his chart is unique, but he needed a full season to fill out the rest of his chart and on-base. All three men have solid homer potential, but Snider and Mantle have the advantage of an 11 on-base, with Mantle getting the slight edge overall with his slightly better XBH and hits in general. Perhaps because Mays was missing (they were in first place when he left, then slowly fell off), the Dodgers were able to reach the World Series and meet the Yankees. Mantle would help prove the difference in the series, homering in Games 6 and 7 to help the Yankees stand atop the baseball world for a 4th straight year. Elsewhere

  HONK! Will the real Goose Gossage please stand up. Even with the correct picture, I don't know what's the bigger April fools: the future Hall of Fame Closer as a Starter, or the White Sox in shorts? We just gonna ignore the year where Jeter got hooked on crack cocaine and was an absolute liability? Or did you believe the conspiracy theory that his "ankle" was injured and that's why the Yankees kept pulling him from the public eye? The real Jeter from that nightmare 2013 season. The most un-Jeter season ever with terrible on-base, defense, speed and chart. This is like Jose Altuve without a buzzer bad. He came back next year to finish his career strong, but it doesn't change the fact that 2013 was a thing. When you're a pitcher named homer and can give up a homer on your own chart, then you're in for a bad time. This blog may not be meant for the most mature of audiences...this is a real man with a real name. Don't judge a book by it's cover,

 The last 100 years of Major League Baseball has been highlighted above all by the success of one team. The New York Yankees have 27 titles starting from 1923. Of the last century of the World Series, they've appeared in almost half and won over a quarter of them. Many of those titles came without several rounds of playoffs to fight through, but that also meant that the only way into the World Series was by being the best in the league, no question; there were no wild cards to fall back on. But as hard as it was to believe, before 1923 the Yankees were seen as a 2nd rate team in their own city. The kings of NY at the time were the New York Giants. They had the titles and prestige that the Highlanders-turned-Yankees could only sit in the shadow of. Not only were the Yankees in the Giant's shadow, they also were playing in the Giant's home, the Polo Grounds. Things changed for the Yankees, as for the rest of baseball. with the acquisition of Babe Ruth. Soon the Yankees were o