$Unique_ID{BAS00038}
$Title{Lives of the Players:  S}
$Author{}
$Subject{Sandberg Santo Schalk Schang Schmidt Seaver Sewell Seymour Shocker
Simmons Sisler Slaughter Smith Snider Spahn Spalding Speaker Stargell
Staub Steinbrenner Stengel Stearnes Stovey Sutter Sutton}
$Log{
Ryne Sandberg*0051201.scf
Ray Schalk*0051401.scf
Wally Schang*0051501.scf
Mike Schmidt*0051601.scf
Red Schoendienst*0051701.scf
Tom Seaver*0052201.scf
Joe Sewell*0052301.scf
Al Simmons*0053001.scf
Ted Simmons*0053201.scf
George Sisler*0053401.scf
Ozzie Smith*0053901.scf
Reggie Smith (sliding)*0054001.scf
Duke Snider*0054101.scf
Warren Spahn*0054201.scf
Al Spalding*0054301.scf
Tris Speaker*0054401.scf
Willie Stargell*0054901.scf
Rusty Staub*0055001.scf
Bruce Sutter*0055601.scf
Don Sutton*0055701.scf}

Total Baseball:  The Players


Lives of the Players:  S


Ryne Sandberg
Second Baseman, Phi (N) 1981; Chi (N) 1982-

Sandberg has been the top NL second baseman of the 1980s and may be rated one
of the best ever by the time he's done.  He played third base in 1982, his
first season in Cubland, but since has settled in at second to make it his
own.  He could probably play any field position.  He has an above-average
range and arm, and if he lacks the flash of some more acrobatic
second-sackers, he's a whole lot steadier.  In 1990 he set the second base
records for consecutive games and chances without an error.  He hustles all
the time--not always the easiest thing to do in Chicago where they lose a lot
of 10-2 games.  He's got home run power--40 in 1990--and a steady bat.
     In 1984, when the Cubs won their division (yes, Virginia, there is a
first place!), Sandberg hit .314, with 19 homers and 19 triples!  He led the
league in three-baggers and in runs scored (114).  He was a runaway MVP.


Ron Santo
Third Baseman, Chi (N) 1960-73, Chi (A) 1974

The Brooks Robinson of the NL, Santo gave the Cubs some fine third base play
in the 1960s.  If he wasn't quite the fielder Brooks was, he outhit,
outhomered, and out-RBI'ed Robby.  Santo, Billy Williams, and Ernie Banks
provided a tremendous power trio for Chicago.
     Ron is the fourth highest home run hitter among third basemen, with 342,
behind Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, and Graig Nettles.  He had ten seasons of
90 or more RBIs.  In his best year, 1969, he drove in 129, as the Cubs made
their strongest bid for a flag.
     The pitchers feared him; he led in walks four times.
     In the field Ron was double-play champ five times, putout king six times
straight, and assist leader seven straight.  Among NL third basemen, only
Schmidt rivals him in total chances.


Ray Schalk
Catcher, Chi (A) 1912-28, NY (A) 1929.  Manager, Chi (A) 1927-28

Schalk was small for a catcher (five-nine, 165 pounds), and his nickname
"Cracker" reportedly referred to his view from behind, which was said to
resemble a cracker box.  At any rate he was a cracker jack catcher.  He caught
100 or more games in twelve seasons, including eleven in a row.  He led AL
catchers in fielding eight times.
     In 1920 Schalk caught four 20-game winners (Red Faber, Ed Cicotte, Lefty
Williams, and Dickie Kerr), a feat matched only by Baltimore's Elrod
Hendricks.  Over the years Ray caught four no-hitters (Jim Scott, Joe Benz,
Cicotte, and Charlie Robertson), a feat matched by no one.  The last one was a
perfect game.  Until his death in 1970 Schalk sent telegrams of congratulation
to every no-hit catcher.
     Schalk caught spitters, shine balls, emery balls, and knucklers.  It
earned him a fistful of broken fingers.  Fast enough to steal 30 bases in
1916, a record for catchers, Schalk was the first catcher to back up first and
third bases.  He could make putouts at all four bases and did.
     Ray had a strong arm, and he holds the AL record for career assists by a
catcher.  He had a good record against Cobb especially.
     Offensively he wasn't an asset.  His career batting average was only
.253, and he had no power.  He lived by his glove, wits, durability, and
honesty.  With the White Sox of 1919, that last quality was important, as
eight of Schalk's teammates conspired to lose the World Series that year.
     Schalk was named to the Hall of Fame in 1955.


Wally Schang
Catcher, Phi (A) 1913-17, 1930, Bos (A) 1918-20, NY (A) 1921-25,
StL (A) 1926-29, Det (A) 1931

Wally Schang just had a knack for showing up at the right time.
     In 1913, his rookie year, the Philadelphia A's won the pennant and World
Series.  They followed with another pennant in his sophomore season. Traded to
Boston in 1918, he arrived just in time to enjoy the Red Sox' last world
championship.  Three years later, he was dealt to the Yankees, who had never
finished first.  But Wally's luck held, and they took the flag in his first
three seasons in pinstripes.  They even won the world championship in 1923.
In 1926 he was traded again--to the St. Louis Browns.  Not even Wally and a
world of rabbits' feet could help the Brownies, but he did get himself traded
back to Philadelphia in 1930.  The A's were already world champs from 1929,
but with Schang backing up Mickey Cochrane, they repeated.
     All in all, Schang played on seven pennant winners in his nineteen years,
but it wasn't all serendipity.
     Schang was an excellent defensive catcher with a deadly arm; in a 1920
game he threw out six runners.  He also had a nice sting in his bat.  He is
the first switch-hitter to hit home runs both lefthanded and righthanded in a
single game.  He hit over .300 six times and had a career .284 average.  On
days he wasn't catching, he was sometimes put in the outfield or at third base
to keep his bat in the lineup.


Mike Schmidt
Third Baseman, Phi (N) 1972-89

Schmidt is not only the greatest hitter to play third base--everyone knows
that--he is also arguably the greatest fielder.  His homers are famous; less
well known is his 404 assists in 1974, the most ever by an NL third baseman.
Three years later his 396 assists were the second highest total in NL history.
He won eight Gold Gloves in a row.
     Mike also won eight home run crowns, four RBI titles, and three MVPs.
His home run to at-bat ratio ranks in the top ten all-time, and he is one of
only 14 major leaguers to hit over 500 home runs.
     He paid a high price--nearly one strikeout every four at-bats, or about
three for every home run.  But it was indisputably worth it.  He put the
Phillies into the playoffs six times.
     He was amazingly durable.  Until his season-ending rotator tear in 1988,
he had never been sidelined for an extended period.


Red Schoendienst
Second Baseman, StL (N) 1945-56, 1961-63, NY (N) 1956-57, Mil (N) 1957-60.
Manager, StL (N) 1965-76, 1980, 1989

Schoendienst has spent nearly half a century in a baseball uniform, mostly
that of the St. Louis Cardinals.  He arrived in St. Louis in 1945 as a wartime
leftfielder, leading the NL in stolen bases with 26 as a rookie.  An arm
injury caused his switch to second base the next year, as the Cardinals won
the World Championship.
     A smooth fielder--he led league second basemen in fielding seven
times--Red was chosen to ten All-Star Games.  His best seasons were 1952-54,
when the red-haired, freckle-faced switch-hitter batted .303, .342, and .315.
Redbird fans were shocked when he was traded to the New York Giants in
mid-1956.  Another trade a year later took him to Milwaukee, where he helped
the Braves win two pennants and one world title.
     In 1959, he was stricken with tuberculosis and played only five games,
but he made a remarkable comeback at age thirty-seven in 1960 to win back his
job with the Braves.  Schoendienst put in three final seasons as a reserve
infielder and pinch-hitter with the Cardinals.
     Schoendienst was the Cardinals' manager for a dozen seasons, 1965-76,
winning a World Championship in 1967 and a second pennant in 1968.  A Card
coach since 1979, he's twice served as interim manager.
     In 1989 he was named to the Hall of Fame.


Tom Seaver
Pitcher, NY (N) 1967-77, 1983, Cin (N) 1977-82, Chi (A) 1984-86, Bos (A) 1986

Of all the great pitchers since World War Two, Seaver may have been the best.
He won 311 games, struck out 3,640 batters, compiled a career ERA of 2.86, but
most important he seemed able to win with both good and losing teams.  As
Rookie of the Year in 1967, he was 16-13 with the seventh-place Mets, and he
just kept doing that sort of thing.  In twenty years of pitching, his winning
percentage exceeded his team's in sixteen seasons.
     On the other hand, he could ride a winning team.  He was 25-7 for the
"Amazin' Mets" world champs in 1969, when he won his first Cy Young Award.
The second came for his 19-10 mark and NL-leading ERA with the 1973 pennant
winners.  Two years later he was 22-9 with an ERA of 2.38 and won his third Cy
Young.
     Although he led the NL in strikeouts five times, had ten seasons with
over 200 strikeouts, and still holds the NL record with 19 whiffs in a
nine-inning game, he was never a "thrower."  He exhibited excellent control
and pitch selection from the start.  He just happened to be a heady control
pitcher who also threw a ninety-eight-mile-per-hour fastball throughout most
of his career.  His power came from tremendous lower body strength and a low
pitching motion designed to take full advantage of his leg muscles.  When he
was throwing correctly, his right knee would drag on the ground with each
pitch.
     Tom resembled Christy Mathewson--clean-cut, handsome, intelligent, a
student of pitching, and a devotee of the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Ironically, when all votes are in, it may be a toss-up as to who was the best
righthander a New York NL team ever had.


Frank Selee
Manager, Bos (N) 1890-1901, Chi (N) 1902-05

Selee was the number one dynasty builder of the 1890s.  Only a so-so minor
league outfielder, he turned to managing in the mid-1880s and it was
immediately Eureka time.  He quickly earned a brace of minor league pennants
and a reputation as a judge of talent who could "tell a ball player in his
street clothes."  In 1890 the Boston Beaneaters brought him in from Omaha
along with star pitcher Kid Nichols.  It took Selee only a year to get all the
pieces in place.  His Beaneaters won pennants in 1891-92-93 and then tacked on
two more in 1897-98.  The Baltimore Orioles are the team most modern fans
remember, but Selee's Bostons won more flags.  Among his stars:  Nichols, Hugh
Duffy, Tommy McCarthy, Jimmy Collins, Billy Hamilton, Herman Long, and Bobby
Lowe.
     When he went three years without a pennant, Boston decided the magic was
gone and cut him loose.  Sixth-place Chicago snapped him up quicker than you
could say Tinker to Evers to Chance--to name only three of the players he
discovered and installed as Cub regulars.  Chicago zoomed up in the standings,
reaching second by 1904.  In mid-1905, tuberculosis forced Selee to take an
indefinite leave of absence, which became definite at his death in 1909.
Frank Chance, the "Peerless Leader," won four pennants with the team Selee
built.
     Mild mannered and courteous, Selee never had a team finish lower than
fifth.  Over sixteen years, he won at a .598 clip by identifying talent and
putting it on the field where it belonged.  Among his most successful moves
were to turn catchers Chance and Fred Tenney into first basemen and to shift
third baseman Joe Tinker to shortstop.


Joe Sewell
Shortstop, Cle (A) 1920-30, NY (A) 1931-33

Sewell was rushed into the Cleveland infield when shortstop Ray Chapman was
killed during the 1920 pennant race.  He hit .329 in the stretch to help rally
the club back from the tragedy and win a three-way race.
     Overshadowed by teammates such as Tris Speaker, and later by Ruth and
Gehrig, little Joe quietly made a place among the top shortstops of all time.
A good defensive player, he had a career batting average of .312 and both
scored and batted in over 1,000 runs.
     With his forty-ounce bat, Joe punched the ball where they ain't.  Nine
times he hit over .300, playing in a hitter's dream era.  In 1923 he reached
.353 and knocked in 109 runs.  In 1925 he hit .336, cracked 204 hits, and
batted in 98 runs with only one HR.
     Sewell is famous for not striking out--only 114 times in 7,132 at-bats.
In 1925 he whiffed an incredible four times in 608 at-bats.
     He also ran up a streak of 1,103 consecutive games.
     His brother Luke caught for many years.  The two were teammates on the
Indians.
     Joe was named to the Hall of Fame in 1977.


James "Cy" Seymour
Outfielder, NY (N) 1896-1900, 1906-10, Bal (A) 1901-02, Cin (N) 1902-06,
Bos (N) 1913

Seymour won 25 games for the Giants of 1898.  He was fast but wild as a
starving wolf, leading the league three times in walks.  Meanwhile, his
hitting was improving every year, and when it topped .300 it was suggested
that he do the rest of his throwing from the outfield.
     He was with Cincinnati in 1905, when he had one heckuva year.  He led the
NL in--get this--hits, doubles, triples, RBI, batting average and slugging
average.  But he only finished second with his eight home runs because his
teammate, one Fred Odwell, hit nine.  Mr. Odwell is perhaps the most obscure
and unusual home run champ of all time, having hit exactly one homer before
1905 and never hitting another after that one year when he deprived his fellow
Red of a triple crown.


Urban Shocker
Pitcher, NY (A) 1916-17, 1925-28, StL (A) 1918-24

The spitballer Shocker won 20 four years in a row for the Browns in 1920-1923,
as St. Louis finished fourth, third, second, and fifth.  In 1921 he led the
league in wins, going 27-12 with a third-place club.  In 1922 he led in
strikeouts and went 24-17, almost pitching the Brownies to the pennant over
the Yankees.  Shocker would be remembered much better today if he had spent
his prime years with the Yankees.  His first two seasons (1916-1917) were in
New York, and he was traded back to them in 1925.  That was the year Babe Ruth
got his famous bellyache and the team fell to seventh; Shocker would have been
better off staying with the Browns.  He won 19 and 18 the next two years, as
the Yankees won pennants, but heart disease took his life in 1928 at the age
of thirty-seven.



Al Simmons
Outfielder, Phi (A) 1924-32, 1940-41, 1944, Chi (A) 1933-35, Det (A) 1936,
Was (A) 1937-38, Bos (N) 1939, Cin (A) 1939, Bos (A) 1943

In 1930, when Bucketfoot Al was at his best, Connie Mack said he wished he had
nine players named Simmons.  Actually he didn't even have one; Al's real name
was Alois Szymanski.
     When he first joined the A's in 1924, everybody hooted.  He had a classic
"foot-in-the-bucket" batting stance with his left foot pointing at third base,
just the way kids are taught not to do it from the time they pick up a bat.
Critics said he'd better change or he'd be back in Milwaukee double quick.  He
hit .308 as a rookie, but really convinced them the next year when he went to
.384 and pounded out 253 hits, the second highest total in AL history and the
most ever by a righthanded batter.  After that, when he stood there like he
was going to kill ants on the foul line, the critics just said, "Nice stance,
Mr. Simmons."
     Al hit .392 in 1927, but his top years were the three A's pennant seasons
of 1929-31.  In 1929 he led in RBIs, with 34 homers and a .365 batting
average; The Sporting News named him the AL MVP.  In 1930 he led in batting
with .381, and had 36 homers and 165 RBIs.  Then in 1931 he upped his average
to .390 and led the league again.
     Mack started selling his stars as the Depression hurt him pretty hard.
Simmons was sent to Chicago in 1933, and though he had a few more good years,
the great ones were over.  He finished with 2,927 hits, 307 home runs, 1,827
RBIs, and a .334 batting average.
     In Game Four of the 1929 World Series, he ignited the famous ten-run
seventh inning rally, when the A's came from an 8-0 deficit.  Al led off with
a blast over the roof against the Cubs' Charlie Root.  Before the inning
ended, Simmons had not only singled to set up the ninth run but also scored
number ten himself.
     He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1953.


Ted Simmons
Catcher, StL (N) 1968-80, Mil (A) 1981-85, Atl (N) 1986-88

Simmons was an outstanding hitter for a catcher.  Unfortunately he wasn't an
outstanding catcher for a catcher.  His receiving, pitcher handling, and
throwing were adequate at best.  In 1973 he led NL catchers in assists, but
much of that may reflect the liberties runners were taking.  Ted always seemed
like a first baseman waiting to happen.
     At bat rather than behind it, he was one of the best, hitting over .300
seven times in his sixteen seasons as a regular.  Five times he had 20 or more
homers, and he had eight seasons of 90 or more RBIs.


George Sisler
First Baseman, StL (A) 1915-22, 1924-27, Was (A) 1928, Bos (N) 1928-30.
Manager, StL (A) 1924-26

The original "Gorgeous George," Sisler was the best first baseman who ever
lived until 1923.  He was one of the best players ever--until 1923.
     Consider:  from 1916 to 1919, when the dead ball was still the order of
the day, he hit .338 for the Browns.  There was another hitter in St. Louis at
the time, a fellow named Hornsby.  Sisler outhit him.  Sisler only hit 38 home
runs, but no one was hitting many then.  He did steal 45 bases in 1918 to lead
the AL.  And he also was already regarded as the equal of Hal Chase with a
glove, which would make him the best-fielding honest first baseman up till
then.
     So in 1920 they brought in the lively ball, and everyone's batting
average went up--but nobody's more than Sisler's.  From 1920 through 1922 he
hit .407, .371, and .420.  His hit totals were 257 (the all-time record), 216,
and 246.  He hit 19 homers in 1920, led in stolen bases in 1921 and 1922,
batted in over 100 runs, and scored over 125 each season.  And all the time he
kept fielding up a storm.  Ty Cobb, who handed out compliments as often as he
handed out hundred-dollar bills, said Sisler was "the nearest thing to a
perfect ballplayer."
     And then came 1923.  Sisler missed the whole year with a sinus infection
that caused double vision.  And when he came back in 1924, he was just a very
good ballplayer.  He played seven more years, but he never regained the magic.
     He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.


Enos "Country" Slaughter
Outfielder, StL (N) 1938-42, 1946-53, NY (A) 1954-59, KC (A) 1955-56,
Mil (N) 1959

In ten dramatic seconds in the 1946 World Series, Slaughter dashed all the way
from first base to immortality.  His mad race to score the winning run for the
Cardinals in the final game was the greatest highlight of his career, but it
was certainly not the only highlight.
     He had ten seasons hitting .300 or better, finishing with a career mark
right at an even .300.  He led the NL in RBIs in 1946, and though he wasn't a
big home run hitter (169 in nineteen seasons), he led the league in triples
twice.  He was a fine fielder with a good arm.  He played on two world
championship teams with the Cardinals in 1942 and 1946; then in the 1950s he
helped the Yankees win three pennants.
     And until Pete Rose came along, Slaughter was known as the epitome of
hustle.  When people said "a player like Slaughter," they didn't mean a .300
hitter or a strong-armed outfielder; they meant a smart, aggressive player who
never walked anywhere on a ballfield when he could run and who'd cut your
throat to win a game.
     He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1985.


Osbourne "Ozzie" Smith
Shortstop, SD (N) 1978-81, StL (N) 1982-

The acrobatic Wizard of Oz may be the best defensive shortstop of all time.
"He's changed fielding for shortstops," admits Hall of Fame shortstop Lou
Boudreau.  Smith's famous back flip when he runs to his position at the start
of a game is for show, but it illustrates the kind of defensive plays he can
make.  His range is exceptional, and while his arm is not, his ability to make
accurate, off-balance throws makes up for any lack of strength.  No shortstop
has ever made more assists than Oz in 1980 (621).  He helped take the Cards to
three World Series, in 1982, 1985, and 1987.
     Originally a good field/no hit player, Smith has turned himself into a
valuable offensive performer.  He's become adept at drawing walks, held his
strikeout totals low, and moved his batting average up.  He hit .303 in 1987.
Although he has no home run power, his ability to steal bases somewhat makes
up for that.  When he hit a rare home run in the 1985 LCS, he explained, "I
was trying to hit the top half of the ball and hit the bottom by mistake."
     At a salary of $2 million a year, Ozzie is also changing the old dictum
that singles hitters drive Fords.


Reggie Smith
Outfielder, Bos (A) 1966-73, StL (N) 1974-76, LA (N) 1976-81, SF (N) 1982

Until injuries wore him down, Smith was one of the best all-around players in
baseball.  He was also generally unrecognized as such.  He joined the Red Sox
in 1967, played a mean center field, contributed 15 homers, and helped the
team to the pennant.  He got one vote for Rookie of the Year.
     Over the next six seasons, he hit .300 three times for the Sox and
cracked as many as 30 home runs, yet never finished in the top twenty in MVP
voting.
     Traded to the NL, he got a little more recognition.  With the Cardinals
in 1974, he hit .309 and drove in 100 runs.  In 1977 he led the Dodgers to a
pennant with 32 homers and a .307 batting average.  He was fourth in the MVP
voting, the only time he ever made the top ten.
     Though he may have been overlooked when he played, his career totals mark
him as a star:  314 home runs, 2,020 hits, 1,092 RBIs, and a .287 batting
average.


Edwin "Duke" Snider
Outfielder, Bkn (N) 1947-57, LA (N) 1958-62, NY (N) 1963, SF (N) 1964

"Willie, Mickey, and the Duke" gave New Yorkers the game's three hardest
hitting center fielders from 1951 to 1957.  For the last four of those years
the most consistent home run hitter of the three was Snider.  He hit 40 or
more homers five years in a row, an NL record tied only by Ralph Kiner.  He
was helped by often being the only lefthanded batter in the Dodgers' lineup,
and Ebbets Field's cozy confines didn't hurt.
     Snider was a smooth-fielding center fielder for six Dodger pennant
winners.  He was usually at his best in the World Series.  His lifetime 11
Series home runs and 26 RBIs are the best marks for any National Leaguer.  He
hit four homers in both the 1952 Series and in the 1955 Series, when the
Dodgers finally defeated the Yankees for the world championship.
     The popular, articulate Duke is the all-time Dodger home run leader.  His
career totals are 407 homers, 1,333 RBIs, 1,259 runs scored, and a .295
batting average.
     He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1980.


Warren Spahn
Pitcher, Bos (N) 1942, 1946-52, Mil (N) 1953-64, NY (N) 1965, SF (N) 1965

The winningest lefthander of all time, Spahn won 20 or more games 13 times,
tying Christy Mathewson's NL record.  He needed only 11 more wins to top
Grover Alexander's 373 lifetime victories.  Yet he didn't win his first major
league game until he was twenty-five years old.
     He seemed to get better as he got older.  His good control became great;
his fastball slipped a little, but he added a screwball and slider to his
curve and change-up; and, of course, he got smarter and smarter.  His ability
to place his pitches and vary the speeds kept batters always off-stride.
     He led the NL in strikeouts four straight years (1949-1952), in ERA
twice, and in victories eight times, including five straight (1957-61).  His
63 shutouts are the most by an NL lefty.
     Spahn had his first 20-win season in 1947; then, curiously, he fell to 15
wins in 1948 when the Boston Braves won the pennant.  Nevertheless the Braves'
shallow pitching staff was described as "Spahn, [Johnny] Sain, and pray for
rain."  He was still at the top of his game in 1957-1958, when the Milwaukee
Braves won pennants.  In 1957 he was voted the Cy Young Award.
     In 1960, at the age of thirty-nine, he pitched his first no-hitter. The
next year, five days past his fortieth birthday, he pitched his second.
     Spahn was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.  He would have been
elected earlier, but he found it so hard to hang up the spikes that he kept on
pitching in the minors in 1966-67, delaying the onset of his eligibility for
the Hall.


Al Spalding
Pitcher, Boston (NA) 1871-75, Chi (N) 1876-78.
Manager, Chi (N) 1876-77.  Executive

Spalding might have won 300 if we knew how many he pitched as a teenager in
top independent ball.  His wins are unknown, but they included one as a
seventeen-year-old in 1867 over George Wright's Washingtons, 29-23.
     Al's official record starts when the National Association was founded in
1871.  Playing for Boston, his totals were 20-10, 37-8, 41-15, and 52-18.  In
1875 he posted an amazing 57-5, including 24 in a row, pitching in every game
his team played.  He also hit .300 each of the last four years, as the Bostons
won four straight flags.
     Lured to Chicago with the formation of the National League in 1876,
Spalding helped write the new league's constitution.  He was that first year's
biggest winner at 47-12, as Chicago won the flag.
     Then his arm finally gave out.  He left behind a lifetime W-L percentage
of .789.  Of course it's the record.
     Al opened a sporting goods business and issued the first Spalding
Baseball Guide in 1877.
     In 1882 he took over as president of the champion Chicagos with stars
such as Cap Anson, George Gore, Larry Corcoran, and Fred Goldsmith.
     He led a world tour of teams in 1888 and was instrumental in the NL's
successful war with the Players League in 1890.  He helped plan the Chicago
World's Fair of 1893.  In 1905 he organized a commission to determine where
baseball was born:  Chadwick had said England; Spalding chauvinistically said
America, supporting the Abner Doubleday legend, a claim he repeated in 1911 in
his history of baseball, America's National Game.
     Spalding ran for the U.S.  Senate in 1910 and lost.  He died in 1915, but
his name remained an essential part of the game, on every official NL ball
used until the year 1976.
     He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1939.


Tris Speaker
Outfielder, Bos (A) 1907-15, Cle (A) 1916-26, Was (A) 1927, Phi (A) 1928.
Manager, Cle (A) 1919-26

Speaker revolutionized center field play, taking advantage of the dead ball to
play behind second base almost as a fifth infielder.  He made unassisted
double plays on short flies (the only man to do it in a World Series), was the
pivot man on 4-8-3 plays, and even took pickoff throws from the pitcher.  Yet
he could still go back to get flies over his head.  He is second in lifetime
putouts and total chances in the outfield and first in assists--35 of them as
a rookie in 1909.  He may have been the first outfielder to test the wind by
throwing grass in the air.
     Tris won only one batting title, but he topped .375 six times and had a
lifetime mark of .344.  In 1916 he broke Ty Cobb's streak of five straight
batting crowns.  His 793 doubles are first on the all-time list, and his 223
triples are sixth.  "Spoke's" 3,514 hits knocked in 1,528 runs and he scored
1,881 times.  He almost never struck out.  He stole 433 bases.
     And he did it all after breaking his right arm as a kid in Texas and
learning to throw and hit lefty instead.
     Speaker broke in with the Red Sox in 1909 and soon formed, with Harry
Hooper and Duffy Lewis, perhaps the best defensive outfield ever.  He was MVP
in 1912 as the Sox won pennants that year and in 1915.  Traded to Cleveland in
1916, he became player-manager in 1919 and led the Indians to their first
pennant in 1920.  He hit .388.
     He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1937.


Willie Stargell
Outfielder/First Baseman, Pit (N) 1962-82

The only man to hit a ball clear out of Dodger Stadium, a feat he accomplished
twice, Stargell is also the only man to hit four into the upper deck of Three
Rivers Stadium.  He hit seven over the roof of old Forbes Field (only nine
others have done it even once).
     Forbes was tough on Willie. In one stretch, 1965-1966, he hit only 19
home runs at home, 41 on the road.  His totals took a jump after the Pirates
moved to Three Rivers, though even that is a pitchers' park.  Willie led the
league in homers in 1971 and 1973.
     In 1979 Stargell won three MVPs--in the regular season (tying Keith
Hernandez), the playoffs, and the World Series.
     In the World Series versus the Orioles, Willie came up in the seventh
game with Pittsburgh losing 1-0 in the sixth.  He crashed his third home run
of the Series, to give the Pirates the championship.
     In twenty-one years, he thumped 475 homers, batted in 1,540 runs, and
compiled a .282 batting average.  He paid a high price for his homers,
striking out once every four at-bats.
     Not included in Willie's numbers are "intangibles."  Much of his 1979 MVP
Award was for leadership.  As captain of the Pirates, he led with a
combination of quiet example and symbols.  He passed out "Stargell Star"
decals for outstanding plays and invented (and exemplified) the "We are
family" slogan which tied the team together.
     He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1988.


Daniel "Rusty" Staub
Outfielder/First Baseman, Hou (N) 1963-68, Mon (N) 1969-71, 1979, NY (N)
1972-75, 1981-85, Det (A) 1976-79, Tex (A) 1980

"Le grand orange" (the big redhead), as Montreal fans called him, Staub played
well for some undistinguished teams (the Astros, Expos, Mets, and Tigers),
usually flirting with .300 and 100 RBIs.
     His best year, 1967, he hit .333 in the Hitters' Horror, the Astrodome.
He led the league with 44 doubles.
     Rusty finally found a winner with the Mets in 1973.  He hit only .269
during the season but shone in the World Series, hitting .423.  His five RBIs
won Game 4 6-1.
     After he got too "grand" to play the outfield, he became an outstanding
DH for the Tigers, twice batting in over 100 runs.  Then he finished as a
deadly pinch hitter for the Mets.  In his final season, he became the eleventh
man to register 100 career pinch hits.


Norman "Turkey" Stearnes
Outfielder, Negro leagues, 1921-41:  Montgomery Grey Sox, Detroit Stars,
New York Lincoln Giants, Kansas City Monarchs, Cole's American Giants,
Chicago American Giants, Philadelphia Stars, Detroit Black Sox

Stearnes is the all-time HR champ of the Negro leagues, beating the more
famous Gibson 171-137. (Josh, it is true, had more HR/AB.)  Turkey led or tied
the league seven times from 1923-1932; Josh, six.  He averaged 30 every 550 at
bats.  Stearnes led the league in BA once, with .430 in 1935.  His lifetime
mark was .341.  Against white big leaguers, he hit .313.  His fellow
Detroiter, Hank Greenberg, heard the stories and asked Cool Papa Bell if they
were true.  Bell assured him that they were.
     Turkey weighed only 168 and swung from an odd left-handed stance, choking
up on the bat, with his right toe pointing up.  Yet he smashed some long
blows, including a 450-footer into the upper deck of Comiskey Park.  He played
an excellent center field and was fast enough to lead off, which he often did
with a home run.  In 1935 he and Mule Suttles played together on the western
league champion Chicago American Giants, Stearnes batting lead-off and Suttles
clean-up.
     Stearnes played his best in the postseason, hitting .474 in nine games,
including four HRs.  In the 1929 playoff against St. Louis--and Mule Suttles,
the black leagues' number-two man in homers--Turkey hit .481 with 11 RBIs and
the first homer ever hit over the 450' wall at Hamtramck Stadium.
     "If they don't put him in the Hall of Fame," says Bell, "they shouldn't
put anybody in."


George Steinbrenner
Owner

The Yankees' controversial owner was often more newsworthy than his team. He
took over the team in the early 1970s when the once lordly Yankees had
wallowed in the depths of the AL for nearly a decade. His stated intention
was to return the Yankees to their former glory. He made the moves that
brought four pennants to New York, 1976-1978 and 1981, and the club was
competitive in most years.
     Steinbrenner showed an admirable willingness to spend huge amounts of
money in pursuit of excellence. He signed such free agents as Catfish Hunter,
Reggie Jackson, Goose Gossage, Dave Winfield, and Jack Clark. His employees
were well paid for their efforts.
     On the other hand, his constant switching of managers--nineteen changes
after Steinbrenner bought the team--became a national joke. Billy Martin was
hired and fired five times. His verbal battles with his own players, his
public second-guessing, and his interference in the daily operation of the
team opened him to criticism from those who believed his influence was
counterproductive.
     He brought back to the Yankees many fans who had switched allegiance to
the Mets. At the same time, he sent a large number of former Yankee fans
scurrying to Shea Stadium. Volatile, yet often charming, he was forced by the
commissioner to give up running the Yankees in 1990 for conduct not in the
best interests of baseball. When the suspension was lifted in 1993, he
stayed in the background through the season, getting a great deal
of newspaper ink for not throwing tantrums.



Charles "Casey" Stengel
Outfielder, Bkn (N) 1912-17, Pit (N) 1918-19, Phi (N) 1920-21, NY (N) 1921-23,
Bos (N) 1924-25.  Manager, Bkn (N) 1934-36, Bos (N) 1938-43, NY (N) 1949-60,
NY (N) 1962-65

Stengel won ten pennants in twelve years, hid a bird under his hat, and
doubled up a Senate hearing with the funniest monologue in the history of the
Congressional Record, which, as Will Rogers said, "is goin' some."
     Casey put in fourteen seasons as a useful NL outfielder, compiling a
.284 batting average and a reputation as a prankster.  The bird, for example,
he had captured in the outfield, then let escape when he strode to the plate
and doffed his cap to the fans.
     Stengel embarked on a managerial career in the minors and low majors,
frequently getting a pink slip. ("I say fired," he said, "because there is no
doubt I had to leave.")
     Leading the lowly Dodgers in 1934, he achieved brief fame when Giant
manager Bill Terry sneered, "Is Brooklyn still in the league?"  The insulted
Bums knocked New York out of the pennant.
     With the old Boston Braves, 1938-1943, Casey finished seventh four times
in a row.  When he was hit by a Boston cab and broke his leg, the city voted
the cabbie MVP.
     Case went back to the minors, won a flag at Milwaukee and another at
Oakland in the Pacific Coast League.
     Then fate struck with a surprise call from the Yankees.  In Stengel's
first year, 1949, the club was hit with a record number of injuries.  All
summer he juggled his lineup and platooned players, a strategy that would
become his trademark.  On the last day of the season, the Yankees caught the
Red Sox for the pennant.  They beat the Dodgers in the World Series to begin
an amazing string of five straight world championships, 1949-1953.
     In 1954 he won 103 games--and finished second to Cleveland's 111.  His
Yanks won four pennants in a row (1955-1958) and two more world championships,
missed a year, then won Casey's final pennant in 1960.  His ten pennants and
seven world titles in twelve years is considered by some the greatest
managerial accomplishment of all time.
     The Yankees fired him as too old, but he took on the new challenge of
wet-nursing the perfectly awful Mets through their first four seasons.  Though
the team finished a well-deserved last each year, they did show improvement
each season.
     Casey's warmth, his pixie sense of humor, and his unique, rambling,
ungrammatical, nonstop monologues made him perhaps baseball's most loved
figure since Babe Ruth.
     He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1966.


Harry Stovey
Outfielder/First Baseman, Wor (N) 1880-82, Phi (AA) 1883-89, Bos (P) 1890,
Bos (N) 1891-92, Bal (N) 1892-93, Bkn (N) 1893

Stovey hit .326 for the old Philadelphia AA club in 1884 while leading the
league in triples and runs.  Of course it was an expansion year, with three
leagues and thirty-three teams.
     A husky righthanded hitter, renowned for his gentlemanly conduct, he
topped his league in homers five times, with a high of 19 in 1889.  He retired
in 1893 with 121 career home runs, the record at the time.  It was later
broken by Roger Connor in 1895 and by many more since.
     Despite stealing as many as 97 bases in a season and scoring more than
one run per game over his career, Stovey finished with only a .288 batting
average.  His strengths were his strong arm, power, and speed.  He reportedly
once circled the bases in fourteen seconds.


Bruce Sutter
Pitcher, Chi (N) 1976-80, StL (N) 1981-84, Atl (N) 1985-88

Sutter was one of the most effective relief pitchers in history.  His
split-finger fastball baffled NL hitters and sent other NL pitchers to
learning how to throw it.
     He came to the NL with the Cubs in 1976 and in his second season saved 31
games.  His 6 wins and league-leading 37 saves earned him the Cy Young Award
for 1979.
     Traded to the Cardinals in 1981, he continued to star.  His 36 saves in
1982 helped the team to the world championship in 1982.  In 1984 he had a
career-high 45 saves, to lead the NL for the fifth time.
     He signed with Atlanta as a free agent for 1985, but after a
disappointing season, he underwent elbow surgery.  He pitched in only 16 games
in 1986 and missed all of the 1987 season.
     Sutter pitched with occasional success in 1988 before retiring at the end
of the season.


Don Sutton
Pitcher, LA (N) 1966-80, 1988, Hou (N) 1981-82, Mil (A) 1982-83, Oak (A) 1985,
Cal (A) 1985-87

Sutton won 20 games only once, but he kept plugging away to become one of the
big winners of all time.  He was probably both hurt and helped by the five-day
rotation, which cuts about five starts out of each season but might mean
longer careers:  Sutton pitched for twenty-three seasons.
     Don was 21-10 for the 1976 Dodgers for his only 20-win year, but he had
eleven other seasons with 15 wins or more.  One of his best years was 1980. He
was only 13-5, but he led the NL in ERA.
     Sutton never pitched a no-hitter, but he has five one-hitters, tying the
NL record.
     He was accused of throwing "doctored" pitches, but his long career is
evidence of either his legality or his legerdemain.