Total Baseball (1994 Edition)/Total_Baseball_1994_Edition_Creative_Multimedia_1994.iso/dp/0002/00021.txt

Text File | 1994-01-04 | 63KB | 966 lines

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$Title{The 100 Greatest Players:  Aaron-Cronin}
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$Author{
Gershman, Michael}
$Subject{100 Greatest Players hundred best infielders outfielders first second
third base left right center field shortstop shortstops pitcher pitchers
catcher catchers}
$Log{
Aaron, Hank*0003501.scf
Alexander, Grover Cleveland "Pete"*0003701.scf
Anson, Cap*0004601.scf
Aparicio, Luis*0004701.scf
Appling, Luke*0004801.scf
Ashburn, Richie*0004901.scf
Baker, Frank*0005401.scf
Banks, Ernie*0005701.scf
Bench, Johnny*0006901.scf
Berra, Yogi*0007401.scf
Boggs, Wade*0008201.scf
Brett, George*0009501.scf
Brock, Lou*0009801.scf
Brouthers, Dan*0010001.scf
Campanella, Roy (catching)*0011101.scf
Carlton, Steve*0011701.scf
Carter, Gary*0011901.scf
Charleston, Oscar*0013101.scf
Clemens, Roger*0013701.scf
Clemente, Roberto*0013801.scf
Cobb, Ty*0014101.scf
Cochrane, Mickey*0014201.scf
Collins, Eddie*0014401.scf
Cronin, Joe*0015601.scf}

Total Baseball:  The Players


The 100 Greatest Players:  Aaron-Cronin

Michael Gershman


HANK AARON
     Right Field. Born Feb. 5, 1934 Mobile, Ala. Holds major league record
for most lifetime home runs (755). NL MVP 1957. Even though he led the NL in
hits and batting average in 1956, Henry Louis Aaron, Jr. was pictured
backward--batting lefthanded--on his 1957 baseball card.
     That was fitting symbolism for the man who did everything quietly, except
break Babe Ruth's record for career home runs. Hank Aaron integrated the
Sally League, set records for career RBIs (2,297) and total bases (6,856), won
two batting titles and four RBI crowns, and hit .300 or better in fourteen
seasons--all very quietly.
     No one exclaimed over his fielding, either, although Aaron played
errorless defense in fourteen World Series games, won three Gold Gloves, led
the league's outfielders three times in double plays, and twice in fielding
runs. According to the Total Baseball Ranking, he was baseball's leading
player from 1961 to 1990 and fifth overall, behind only Babe Ruth, Napoleon
Lajoie, Ty Cobb, and Ted Williams.
     Aaron hit crosshanded in Mobile, Alabama, and with the Indianapolis
Clowns of the Negro AL. After the Braves bought his contract, he hit .326 in
the Northern League and .362 to lead the Sally League. When Bobby Thomson
broke his ankle in spring training in 1954, Aaron became a major league
regular at age twenty.
     Three years later, with characteristically little fanfare, he was named
the NL's MVP as the Braves won the pennant, and he hit .393 in the World
Series, including 3 home runs to lead all batters. Always rising to the
occasion, Aaron hit home runs in two of the twenty-four All-Star Games in
which he played, homered in all three playoff games in 1969, and amassed a
lifetime World Series average of .364.
     Number 44 attracted attention only with his home runs, hitting 44 in four
different seasons; he won three National League home run crowns and tied for a
fourth. In 1973 he hit 40 home runs in just 392 at bats. He broke Ruth's
record the following year with a rocket off Al Downing in Atlanta, and
finished his career with a record 755.
     Although many fans discovered Aaron after most of his career was over,
his colleagues knew how special he was. Stan Musial jumped onto the field to
congratulate him when he joined the 3,000 hit club, and Mickey Mantle said of
him, "Aaron was to my time what Joe DiMaggio was to the era when he played."
     He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982.

GROVER CLEVELAND ALEXANDER
     Pitcher. Born Feb. 26, 1887 St. Paul, Neb. Died Nov. 4, 1950 St. Paul,
Neb. Holds NL records for lifetime shutouts (90) and lifetime complete games
(436). Grover Cleveland Alexander got his big break when he was traded for a
vote.
     Charles Carr, owner of the American Association's Indianapolis team, had
invested in a company that manufactured baseballs. Anxious to have his ball
used in the New York State League, he told the owner of the Syracuse team, "If
you'll vote for my ball, I'll give you a good pitcher for nothing."
     The pitcher, Alexander, suffered from double vision at the time but
recovered enough to win 29 games for Syracuse--13 of them shutouts. Drafted
by the Phillies, he no-hit the Athletics in a five-inning exhibition game and
won 28 games in 1911 to set the rookie record. He won 19, 22, and 27 his next
three years to set the stage for the most successful three-year run enjoyed by
any pitcher.
     In 1915 he won 31 games (12 shutouts and a record 4 one- hitters) and
outdid himself a year later by winning 33 games, 16 of them shutouts. In 1917
he won 30, two of them complete games in a Labor Day doubleheader against the
Dodgers. If there were a "Triple Crown" for pitchers, as many have suggested,
Alexander would have won it twice, leading the league in most wins,
strikeouts, and lowest ERA for 1916 and 1920. The second time occurred after
he returned from military duty deaf in one ear and suffering from epilepsy.
     Occasional neurological fits and an eventually crippling fondness for
liquor didn't ruin his pitching. He led the league in ERA twice after his
trade to the Chicago Cubs, for whom he won 27 games in 1920. Waived to the
Cardinals six years later, he pitched the 15-1 underdogs to complete game
victories in the second and sixth games and recorded the most dramatic "save"
in Series history, striking out Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded in the
seventh inning of the seventh game.
     Alex averaged 19.6 wins for nineteen years, pitched 90 lifetime shutouts
(second only to Walter Johnson's 110), and won 373 games to tie Christy
Mathewson as the NL lifetime leader. Even more impressive, he recorded the
bulk of them at hitter-friendly parks--Philadelphia's Baker Bowl with its
290-foot right field fence and Wrigley Field. He joined the other immortals
in Cooperstown in 1938.

ADRIAN "CAP" ANSON
     First Baseman. Born Apr. 11, 1852 Marshalltown, Ia. Died Apr. 14, 1922
Chicago. Holds NL record for most seasons batting .300 or more (18). Most
seasons of big-league play, 27 (5 NA, 22 NL). Adrian Constantine "Cap" Anson
was the first man to reach 3,000 hits, the first manager to rotate pitchers,
and the first player to draw the color line against blacks in baseball.
     A hard-driving disciplinarian, Anson was perhaps the most influential
player in the nineteenth century. He played in the first professional league,
the National Association, from its inception in 1871 and hit .331 in the NL
twenty-five years later. Using a split grip, he hit .300 or better in
twenty-five seasons, won two batting titles and eight RBI crowns, averaging an
RBI every five at-bats over the course of his career.
     Anson spent a year at Notre Dame, turned pro with the NA Rockford Forest
Citys, played third base for the Philadelphia Athletics for four years, and
joined Chicago when White Stockings owner William Hulbert formed the NL.
Anson became the White Sox captain in 1878 and switched to first base
exclusively when he took over as manager in 1879.
     He managed Chicago to pennants from 1880 to 1882, 1884, and 1885,
rotating his pitchers and using signals to his hitters and fielders. He has a
claim to originating platooning and initiated preseason training. He also was
fined regularly by umpires and league officials, earning the nickname "Baby"
(for crybaby) before cleaning up his act to earn the nickname "Cap" (for
captain). He used bed checks to keep tabs on his charges but also got them
first-class hotel rooms and personally marched them onto the field single file
before every game.
     In 1883, Anson refused to play in an exhibition game at Toledo because
the home team had a black catcher, Moses Fleetwood Walker. Although Anson
backed down when threatened with forfeiture of the gate, he used his position
and popularity to ban black pitcher George Stovey in 1887 when John Montgomery
Ward tried to sign him to the Giants; no one tried to upset this "gentleman's
agreement" until 1947.
     Despite this black mark on his character, Anson later mellowed and
eventually became known as "Pop" Anson. When he was fired in 1897, Chicago
briefly became known as the Orphans, because they'd lost their Pop. Anson
managed the Giants for just twenty-five days, turned down $50,000 donated by
Chicago fans, opened a billiard saloon, tried to organize a rival major
league--the abortive American Association of 1899, entered vaudeville (doing
skits written by Ring Lardner), and served a term as city clerk in Chicago.
     He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.

LUIS APARICIO
     Shortstop. Born Apr. 29, 1934 Maracaibo, Venezuela. Holds major league
records for most games at shortstop (2,581), assists (8,016), and double plays
(1,553). Hank Greenberg had a choice of Venezuelan shortstops in the 1950s
and guessed wrong. The Indians' general manager didn't think Luis Aparicio
was worth a $10,000 bonus and traded instead for his countryman, Alfonso
"Chico" Carrasquel. Carrasquel's career ended in 1959, the same year Aparicio
led the "Go-Go Sox" to a pennant, the first for Chicago since the scandal year
of 1919.
     While Maury Wills is generally given credit with reinventing the stolen
base in 1962, Aparicio had made pilferage pay six years earlier. In his
rookie year, Aparicio led the league in stolen bases with 21, handled more
chances than any AL shortstop, and was named Rookie of the Year. Aparicio led
the league in stolen bases his first nine years in the AL (1956-1964), once
stole 26 consecutive bases, and was successful on 79 percent of his base
stealing attempts.
     In truth, Aparicio was not a prototypical leadoff man, sporting an on
base average of only .313. Part of his success was due to the bat-handling
ability of second baseman and second-place hitter Nelson Fox. Looie hollered
like Fox, spat tobacco juice like Fox, and named his son for Fox. When Fox
won the MVP award in 1959, the year the Sox won the pennant, Aparicio was
right behind him in second place.
     Fox and Aparicio won more fielding titles together than any other double
play combination, and no shortstop ever led his league in the major defensive
categories as often as Looie. He won nine Gold Gloves, was selected to the
Sporting News All-Star team five times, and the All-Star fielding team ten
times. Aparicio attributed his success to using a heavier glove in infield
practice to make his own feel lighter during the game.
     In January 1963, the White Sox broke up the double play combination,
trading Looie to the Orioles. Aparicio provided some of the leadership that
enabled the Orioles to win the 1966 pennant and sweep the World Series. He
began a second hitch with the White Sox in 1968, hit better than .300 for the
only time in his career in 1970 (.313), and finished up playing three years
for the Red Sox, giving him eighteen consecutive seasons in which he played
100 or more games. Aparicio was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.

LUKE APPLING
     Shortstop. Born Apr. 2, 1907 High Point, N.C. Died Jan. 3, 1991
Cumming, Ga. Won two batting titles, including a record for shortstops of
.388 in 1936. They called him Old Aches and Pains, Fumblefoot, and Old
Tanglehoof. But by the time he had retired, Luke Appling had hit .300 or
better nine straight years and sixteen times in all; had set a major league
record by leading the AL in assists seven seasons in a row, and had played
more games at shortstop than any ALr.
     The hypochondriacal Appling would complain to White Sox manager Jimmy
Dykes, saying "Honest, Jimmy, I'm dying."  In actuality, over his long career
Appling only broke a finger in 1930 and a leg in 1938. "Old Aches and Pains"
was hung on him when he roomed with Chicago's trainer. The roomies would get
to Comiskey Park early, and Appling would catch forty winks on the rubbing
table; inquiring mates were told he was getting "special treatment for a
muscle pull."
     Lucius Benjamin Appling was healthy enough to consider pro football after
playing fullback at Oglethorpe College, but joined the Atlanta Crackers
instead. After hitting .326 in 104 games, he was told that the Cubs had
bought his contract; however, Bill Veeck, Sr., had second thoughts, and
Appling wound up with the Chicago White Sox instead.
     Veeck must have felt relieved when the rookie started 1931 0-for-28 and
averaged an error every other day; manager Lew Fonseca tried to trade him to
no avail. He told Appling, "You're going to play 154 games if you hit .154
and field .154." By 1933, Luke was leading the AL in errors for the first of a
record five times, but he also tied Billy Rogell for the lead in total chances
and hit .322.
     In 1936 he went 4-for-4 the final day of the season to become the first
AL shortstop to win a batting title. He won his second in 1943 (.328) before
going into the service. By 1949 he had become, at 42, the oldest regular
shortstop in baseball history. He eclipsed Rabbit Maranville's record of
2,154 games at short, and retired with a career batting average of .310.
     Appling won pennants managing Memphis (Southern Association) and
Indianapolis (American Association) and managed the Kansas City A's in 1967.
Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964, he made an appearance in the Cracker Jack
All-Star Game in 1984, homering at age 75 against Warren Spahn.

RICHIE ASHBURN
     Center Field. Born Mar. 19, 1927 Tilden, Neb. Holds major league
records for most years with 400 or more putouts (9) and 500 or more putouts
(4). When Richie Ashburn reported to spring training in 1948, all he had to
do to win the center field job for the Phillies was beat out the man who had
won the previous year's batting championship by 46 points--Harry "The Hat"
Walker.
     But Walker fouled a pitch off his foot one morning and was out of the
lineup through May. By then, Ashburn was hitting .346 and had unseated him as
the Phils' center fielder. The only rookie voted to the 1948 All-Star team,
Ashburn had a pair of singles and a stolen base. Even though he broke a
finger in August, no injury could spoil a year in which he had a 23-game
hitting streak, led the league with 32 stolen bases, hit .333, and was named
Rookie of the Year.
     Some skeptics pointed out that, "He's not hitting .333; he's hitting .133
and running .200."  But in a fifteen-year career, Ashburn hit .300 or better
nine times, won two batting titles, got on base about 40 percent of the time,
and posted a .308 career average, topping Pete Rose, Willie Mays, and Hank
Aaron, among others. As an outfielder he set records by recording 500 or more
putouts in four different seasons and 400 or more putouts in nine different
seasons. He tied Max Carey's major league records by leading the league in
that department nine times; he accepted the most chances nine times; he ranks
fifth behind Carey, Willie Mays, Tris Speaker, and Ty Cobb in both career
putouts and total chances.
     "Whitey" Ashburn won batting titles in 1955 (.338) and 1958 (.350), but
his greatest moment as a Phillie came in the field. On the last day of the
1950 season, the Dodgers, trailing Philadelphia by a game, played them at
Ebbets Field. With the score tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the ninth inning,
Brooklyn's Cal Abrams tried to score from second on Duke Snider's single;
Ashburn cut him down by twenty feet, setting the stage for Dick Sisler's
tenth-inning homer and clinching the Phils' first flag in thirty-five years.
     Traded to the Cubs in 1961, Ashburn became one of the original Mets in
1962 and the expansion team's first All-Star, the fifth time he'd been named
to an All-Star squad. Since retiring as a player, Ashburn has become the
Phillies' longest-running broadcaster.

FRANK "HOME RUN" BAKER
     Third Baseman. Born Mar. 13, 1886 Trappe, Md. Died Jun. 28, 1963
Trappe, Md. By the end of the 1910 season, Frank Baker had hit just six home
runs in 1,133 at bats. Up to that point, he was more noted as a base stealer
than a power hitter, having stolen 20 or more bases every year and having led
the league in triples in 1909 with 19.
     Then Baker hit 11 homers in 1911 to lead the league for the first of four
straight years and helped Connie Mack's Athletics to their second straight
pennant. In the World Series, the Giants' Christy Mathewson won the opener,
2-1. Game Two was tied 1-1 in the sixth; New York's Rube Marquard had retired
thirteen batters in a row; but, after Eddie Collins doubled, Baker pulled an
inside pitch over the short right field wall at the Polo Grounds to give the
A's a 3-1 win. The next day, Mathewson's ghost writer, John Wheeler,
second-guessed Marquard and advised that "Baker should be pitched outside."
Later that day, in Game Three, Mathewson retired Baker on two harmless
grounders and a fly ball. When Baker came to bat for the fourth time, with
the Giants ahead 1-0 with one out in the ninth, Mathewson got two strikes, but
then Baker pulled an outside pitch into the right field seats; the A's won,
3-1 in 11 innings, and Frank Baker suddenly became "Home Run" Baker.
     Baker batted cleanup, behind Eddie Collins, and sportswriters suggested
that Collins' antics on the basepaths made Baker a better hitter. Collins
laughed. "When it came to hitting," he said, "Baker needed help like Carnegie
needed money."  A .300 hitter in six different seasons, he led the league in
RBIs twice and might have done even more damage if he hadn't missed two whole
seasons.
     When the A's were swept in the 1914 Series, Mack decided to punish his
players with stiff pay cuts; Baker sat out the season instead and was sold to
the Yankees. He also didn't play in 1920, the year his wife died, but helped
New York win pennants in 1921 and 1922 as a spot player.
     In 1961 sportswriter Joe Williams asked Baker how many homers he would
hit today. He replied, "I'd say 50 anyway. The year I hit 12, I also hit the
right field fence at Shibe Park 38 times; all of those would have been home
runs with the lively ball."

ERNIE "MR. CUB" BANKS
     Shortstop/First Baseman. Born Jan. 31, 1931 Dallas, Tex. NL MVP 1958,
1959. Holds major league shortstop record for home runs in a season (47). To
the victors go the spoils--and most of the MVP Awards. Yet, once in baseball
history, the shortstop of a club tied for fifth was named MVP two straight
years. In 1958 Ernie Banks led the league in home runs (47), RBIs (129), and
slugging percentage (.614), and played in every game. A year later, Banks led
the league again with 143 ribbies. He hit 20 or more homers in thirteen
seasons, hit .300 or better three times, and drove in 100 or more runs eight
times. He led the league's shortstops in fielding three times and, after
moving to first base in 1962, led all first basemen in putouts five times.
     Banks never played minor league ball, jumping directly from the Kansas
City Monarchs of the Negro AL to the Chicago Cubs. He hit .314 in ten games
in 1953, took over as the Cubs' starting shortstop the following year, and had
his first great season in 1955, knocking in 117 runs and hitting 44 homers, a
record for shortstops; five of them came with the bases loaded, then a record
(since broken by Don Mattingly).
     By 1957 he was one of the most feared power hitters in the league. The
late umpire Tom Gorman once recalled that, "in 1957 Banks was knocked down
four times by four different pitchers--Don Drysdale, Bob Purkey, Bob Friend,
and Jack Sanford. And each time he was knocked down, Banks hit their next
pitch out of the park."
     He led the league in RBIs in 1959 and homers again in 1960 (41). Only
Eddie Mathews' 46th homer in a 1959 playoff game kept Banks, who had 45, from
a share of three consecutive home run titles. He hit more home runs than any
shortstop in the history of the game (293) and wound up with 512 for his
career. Prior to his retirement in 1971, he was voted the Greatest Cub Player
of All Time.
     After becoming a minor league instructor for the Cubs, Banks belied his
goody-two-shoes image by saying things like, "I like my players to be married
and in debt. That's the way you motivate them."  But Cub fans will always
remember him as the ballplayer who said, "What a great day for baseball.
Let's play two!"

JAMES "COOL PAPA" BELL
     Infielder/Outfielder. Negro Leagues 1922-46; St. Louis Stars, Pittsburgh
Crawfords, Detroit Wolves, Kansas City Monarchs, Chicago American Giants,
Memphis Red Sox, Homestead Grays. Born May 17, 1903 Starkville, Miss. Died
March 7, 1991 St. Louis, Mo. Cool Papa Bell may have been the headiest and
fastest baserunner of his time, and, maybe, all time.
     He is credited with stealing 175 bases in 1933 and is said to have once
rounded the bases in 12 seconds. (The official record is 13.3 seconds, set by
Evar Swanson of the Reds in 1931.)  Bell scored from first on a sacrifice in a
1940s exhibition against major leaguers. Satchel Paige bunted him over to
second, then seeing third uncovered, Bell took off; catcher Roy Partee gave
chase, but Bell eluded him and slid home safely; he was forty-five at the
time.
     Originally righthanded, Bell taught himself to switch hit and is credited
with hitting .437 for Torreon of the Mexican League in 1940. Over an 89-game
season, he led the league in runs (119), hits (167), triples (15), home runs
(12) and RBIs (79). According to incomplete records, he hit .407 in 1944 and
.402 in 1946.
     Bill Veeck said, "Defensively, he was the equal of Tris Speaker, Joe
DiMaggio or Willie Mays."  Pro basketball pioneer and baseball scout Eddie
Gottlieb said, "If he had played in the major leagues, he would have reminded
the fans of Willie Keeler as a hitter and Ty Cobb as a baserunner--and he
might have exceeded both."  Born in Starkville, Mississippi, James Bell played
semipro ball with four of his brothers on the Compton Hill Cubs in St. Louis,
breaking in originally as a lefthanded pitcher. After a particularly strong
game in 1922, the St. Louis Stars signed him for $90 a month and switched him
to the outfield to take advantage of his speed every day. Named Cool Papa for
his unflappability, he performed up to par in his few appearances against
major league opposition. In 1929 he and other black stars barnstormed against
a team headed by Hall of Famers Charlie Gehringer, Al Simmons, and Heinie
Manush and won six games out of eight. When his playing days were over, Bell
had a hand in the development of Ernie Banks and others. Banks credits Bell
with taking him from the Texas sandlots to Kansas City, and both Lou Brock and
Maury Wills give Bell credit for helping them steal bases. He was elected to
the Hall of Fame in 1974.

JOHNNY BENCH
     Catcher. Born Dec. 7, 1947 Oklahoma City. NL MVP 1970, 1972. Ted
Williams has signed many autographs but none as prescient as one penned in
spring training in 1965:  "To Johnny Bench, a sure Hall of Famer."
     Bench was named to the NL All-Star team fourteen times, played in every
game from 1968 to 1975, and hit .409 with 3 home runs. He set a major league
record for home runs by a catcher (327 plus 62 playing elsewhere), won two
home run crowns, led the league in RBIs three times, and was chosen MVP twice.
     While Bench is remembered most for his offense, he may have had his
greatest impact behind the bat. He was the first receiver to use a protective
helmet in the field, popularized catching onehanded, kept his throwing hand
behind his back to protect it from foul tips, and said his father "taught me
to throw 254 feet--twice the distance to second base--from a crouch."
     Not known for keeping his counsel, Bench once said flatly, "I can throw
out any runner alive," and brashly predicted that he would be the first
catcher to be named Rookie of the Year. He did just that in 1968, caught 154
games, a rookie record, and won the first of ten straight Gold Gloves. Bench
hit 45 homers and was chosen MVP for the first time in 1970, the year Bob
Hunter, a Los Angeles sportswriter, first called Cincinnati "the Big Red
Machine."
     That year, the Reds ran into Brooks Robinson and, the second time Bench
was named MVP, in 1972, the Big Red Machine was derailed by the Oakland A's
Mustache Gang. When the Reds and Yanks squared off in 1976, the press played
up the confrontation between Bench and the Yankees' catcher and captain,
Thurman Munson.
     Bench caught Mickey Rivers stealing in Game One, New York's only
attempted theft in the Series, got two hits in each of the first three games,
and hit two home runs in Game Four to lead the Reds to their first World
Series sweep. Munson hit .529 with 2 RBIs; Bench hit .533 and knocked in 6
runs. Munson gave Bench his due, "The man deserves all the credit in the
world."
     Bench made Williams' prediction come true in 1989, the first year he was
eligible. He is currently a broadcaster with CBS radio nationally and WLWT in
Cincinnati.

LAWRENCE "YOGI" BERRA
     Catcher. Born May 12, 1925 St. Louis. AL MVP, 1951, 1954, 1955. Branch
Rickey didn't make many mistakes, but blowing Yogi Berra for all of $250 was a
real beaut.
     In 1942 Rickey was the Cardinals' general manager and offered Berra $250
to sign, refusing to pay him the same $500 offered to his friend, Joe
Garagiola. Berra turned down the $250 and, a year later, the Yankees signed
him for the very same $500; not very long thereafter, they turned down a
$50,000 offer from Giant manager Mel Ott, who had seen Berra play for the
International League Newark Bears.
     Berra eventually became a fifteen-time All-Star, a three-time MVP, and a
Hall of Famer. He also holds numerous World Series records including games by
a catcher (63), hits (71), and times on the winning team (10). Though lightly
regarded as a manager, he was the first big league skipper to win pennants in
both leagues in nearly forty years.
     Born in "the Hill" section of St. Louis, Berra got his nickname when
childhood friends watching a movie noted Berra's resemblance to a Hindu
practicing yoga. Following stints in the navy and the minors, Yogi became a
Yankee and shared catching duties with Aaron Robinson and Sherman Lollar until
the Dodgers ran him ragged in the 1947 World Series. After being tutored by
Bill Dickey, however, he became a standout catcher and accepted 950 errorless
chances from July 28, 1957 to May 10, 1959.
     Berra led AL catchers in putouts eight times, assists and fielding three
times each, and handled the Yankee pitching staff masterfully. Although he
never led the league in home runs or RBIs, Berra, a notorious bad-ball hitter,
was a constant threat offensively, particularly with men on base; he was named
MVP in 1951, repeated in 1954 and 1955, and retired with a .285 lifetime
average.
     Named to manage the Yankees in 1964, he won the pennant but lost both a
seven-game Series and his job, both to Johnny Keane. He joined the Mets as a
coach and became the manager in 1973, taking them from fifth place to the
pennant, ultimately losing the Series again in seven games, to the A's. He
returned to the Yankees as coach and manager, was elected to the Hall of Fame
in 1972 and ended his career as a coach with the Astros.

WADE BOGGS
     Third Baseman. Born June 15, 1958 Omaha, Neb. Won four straight AL
batting titles, 1985-1988, five straight on base percentage titles, 1985-1989.
Despite hitting a paltry .259 in 1992, Wade Boggs' lifetime average is still
a robust .335, which places him nineteenth on the all-time list.
     Boggs scored 100 or more runs seven straight times, led the AL in batting
five times, and notched 200 or more hits in seven straight seasons, a modern
record. Named to the All-Star team in 1985, he has been a starter every year
from 1986 to 1993.
     The son of a retired Marine, Boggs grew up an all-state kicker in Tampa,
Florida, signed with the Red Sox in 1976, and was playing for Elmira of the
NY-Penn League shortly after graduating from high school. In 1980 he lost the
International League batting title on the last day of the season but won it
the next year on the last day of the season. Boggs became a regular in 1982
when Carney Lansford was injured. He booted the first two ground balls hit to
him in the majors but hit .349, splitting his time between first base and
third.
     In 1983 he made 27 errors but led the majors in hitting (.361) and
on-base percentage (.449). A year later, he topped all AL third basemen in
errors but also had the most chances, double plays, assists, putouts, and
fielding runs. In 1985 he hit .368 to win the first of four straight batting
titles, reached base safely 340 times, and had 240 hits, the most since Babe
Herman's 241 in 1930. He batted .357 to help the Red Sox win the pennant in
1986 and has hit .311 in three playoffs and World Series.
     The "Chicken Man," so named by Jim Rice for his love of fowl, lives a
disciplined life, getting up at the same time, going to the ballpark at the
same time, eating chicken daily, and doing the same things the same way as
often as possible. He fields exactly 150 grounders in practice, steps into
the batting cage at 5:17 and, after private time in the clubhouse bouncing a
baseball off a wall, hits the field at precisely 7:17 for wind sprints.
     Boggs says his eyesight is his greatest asset. He told Newsweek, "I can
observe the spin on a breaking ball. If it happens to be a fastball, I can
still hit it to left. And if the pitch happens to be off-speed enough,
believe it or not, I'll pull it."

GEORGE BRETT
     Third Baseman. May 15, 1953 Glen Dale, W. Va. In 1980 had highest
batting average since Ted Williams' .406 of 1941. George Brett joined the
exclusive 3,000-hit club on September 30, 1992. He was already the only
player to win batting titles in three different decades, a thirteen-time
All-Star, and the last modern player to make a serious run at hitting .400.
     The younger brother of pitcher Ken Brett, he led the league in hits and
triples in 1975, repeated in both categories in 1976, and added his first
batting title that year, hitting .333 to edge Rod Carew and teammate Hal
McRae, later his manager. From 1976 to 1978 the Royals lost three straight
playoffs to the Yankees despite Brett's three-run homer in 1976 and his three
consecutive homers off Catfish Hunter in 1978.
     Just before the All-Star break in 1980 Brett was hitting .337 when he
strained ankle ligaments trying to steal a base; however, he got hot in July
and even hotter in August, going 4-for-4 on the 17th to reach the magic figure
of .400. With two weeks left, he slumped but finished strong (10-for-19),
ending the season at .390; he also led the league in slugging (.664) and, to
absolutely no one's surprise, was named MVP.
     That year, the Royals broke the playoff jinx against the Yankees as Brett
homered in Game One and hit an upper deck home run off Goose Gossage to win
Game Three. Although the Phils beat KC in a six-game Series, Brett homered
and went 9-for-24 in the Series. The Royals finally won a championship in
1985 as Brett starred offensively and defensively; he went 4-for-5 in Game
Seven, robbed the Cardinals of five potential hits and went 10-for-27, scoring
five runs.
     On July 24, 1983, Brett made history in a different way. With New York
leading Kansas City 4-3 in the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium, he homered with
two out and a man on to put the Royals in front, 5-4. Yankee manager Billy
Martin contended that Brett should be declared out and the runs shouldn't
count, because his bat had pine tar more than 18 inches from the knob to the
barrel; the umpires agreed, awarding the win to the Yankees. The Royals
protested, however, and AL president Lee MacPhail ended the Great Pine Tar
Incident by overruling his own umpires and declaring a resumption of play at a
later date.
     Brett won his third batting title in 1990.

LOU BROCK
     Left Field. Born Jun. 18, 1939 ElDorado, Ark. Holds major league record
for most consecutive years 50 or more stolen bases (12). In 1978 the NL
announced that its annual stolen base leader would receive the Lou Brock
Award, making Brock the first active player to have an award named after him.
The greatest base stealer baseball had produced to that time, Lou went on to
break Ty Cobb's "modern" career record of 891 with 938 (Billy Hamilton had 912
in 1888-1901) although the record was eventually eclipsed, in turn, by Rickey
Henderson.
     Brock ensured that he'd get numerous chances to run by joining the
exclusive 3,000-hit club (3,023) and finishing a nineteen-year career with
seven .300 seasons and a lifetime batting average of .293. In 1968 he led the
league in doubles, triples, and steals, the first NL player to accomplish that
feat since Honus Wagner did it in 1908.
     Lou could run, hit, and even hit with power occasionally; in 1967 he led
the Cardinals in extra-base hits and knocked in 76 runs as a leadoff man. As
a youngster with the Chicago Cubs, Brock even blasted a home run into the
center field stands at the Polo Grounds, a startling feat that had been
accomplished only once before, by certified slugger Joe Adcock.
     After being traded from the Cubs to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio in
June 1964, he hit .348 and scored 81 runs in 103 games; during the stretch
run, when the Phillies folded, he hit .461 to help the Cardinals win their
first pennant in eighteen years. Although he hit .300, 1964 would prove to be
his poorest offensive Series. In 1967 he batted .414 with 12 hits, stole a
record 7 bases, and went 4-for-4 in Game One. A year later, he stole 7 bases
again and improved to .464 with 13 hits, tying Bobby Richardson's record; his
14 steals is a World Series career record, tying Eddie Collins.
     In 1966 he broke Maury Wills' stranglehold on the stolen base
championship with 74 thefts. That was the first of four straight
base-stealing crowns, and, after Bobby Tolan interrupted his string in 1970,
Lou won four more in a row. In 1974 he smashed Maury Wills' season mark of
104 stolen bases, ending with 118, and was named Man of the Year by the
Sporting News. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.

DENNIS "BIG DAN" BROUTHERS
     First Baseman. Born May 8, 1858 Sylvan Lake, N.Y. Died Aug. 3, 1932
East Orange, N.J. Highest slugging average of any player to perform before
900; led NL in slugging six years in a row (1881-1886).
     Big Dan Brouthers holds the highest lifetime average of any first baseman
(.342), batting .300 or better for fourteen straight years. He played on
champions in three leagues, won five batting titles, and topped the NL in
slugging six straight times.
     Although he hit just 106 homers, the lefthanded Brouthers (rhymes with
"soothers") was "the Babe Ruth of his era."  John McGraw, his Oriole teammate,
said, "When I first went with Baltimore there were little flags stuck on the
fences of the different parks to show where Brouthers had driven balls out."
     Brouthers got his baseball baptism with the semipro Wappingers Falls
Actives. The Troy Haymakers brought him to the big leagues but, after he made
34 errors in 39 games in 1879, returned him to the minors. In 1881 Big Dan
shuffled off to Buffalo, where he led the NL in homers (8) and topped all
batsmen in 1882 (.368) and 1883 (.374).
     Brouthers, James "Deacon" White, Hardy "Old True Blue" Richardson, and
Jack Rowe constituted Buffalo's "Big Four."  Although they failed to bring
Buffalo a pennant, the quartet--sold as a unit to the Wolverines after the
1885 season--brought Detroit its first flag in 1887. Brouthers led the league
in runs, doubles, and on-base percentage.
     When the Wolverines disbanded a year later, Brouthers was awarded to the
Boston Beaneaters, with whom he won his third batting title (.373) in 1889.
The next year, he jumped to the Boston Reds, a Players League team; when it,
too, disbanded, he joined a team of the same name that captured the American
Association pennant and won the batting title again in 1891 (.350). Big Dan
"revolved" (changed teams) and became a Brooklyn Superba, copped his fifth
batting crown in 1892 (.335), and was traded to the Orioles with Willie
Keeler. Brouthers had his last great year in 1894, hitting .347 and providing
128 RBIs to lead Baltimore to its first pennant.
     After brief stops in Louisville and Philadelphia he continued his
slugging exploits in the minors, winning the batting title of the Class D
Hudson River League in 1904 at the age of 46, capping that incredible year
with a two-game return to the big leagues for McGraw's Giants. He served as a
press box attendant at the Polo Grounds until he died in 1932. He was elected
to the Hall of Fame in 1945.

MORDECAI "THREE FINGER" BROWN
     Pitcher. Born Oct. 19, 1876 Nyesville, Ind. Died Feb. 14, 1948 Terre
Haute, Ind. ERA of 1.06 in 1906 stands as NL best since 1880. Mordecai
Brown's colorful nickname often obscures what a great pitcher he was.
     He ranks third behind Ed Walsh and Addie Joss in lifetime ERA (2.06) and
trails only Walsh, Joss, and Christy Mathewson in allowing the fewest runners
per nine innings (9.80). Ty Cobb said of Brown's breaking ball, "It was the
most devastating pitch I ever faced. Christy Mathewson's fadeaway was good,
but it was nothing like that curve Three-Fingered Brown threw at you."
     Brown was seven when he put the index finger of his right hand into his
uncle's corn shredder; it was amputated just above the knuckle. A few weeks
later he broke his third and fourth fingers while chasing a hog; they healed
into a gnarled, unnatural shape. Despite his handicap, Brown became a semipro
infielder. One day, the team's star pitcher broke his arm and Brown took
over; in five innings, he struck out fourteen, using a curve ball that broke
unusually because of the shape of his hand.
     "Miner" Brown (so named because he was a coal miner before he became a
ballplayer) joined the Cardinals, going 9-13 in his rookie season. Cubs'
manager Frank Chance saw great potential and traded for the man he called "the
greatest fielding pitcher the game ever had."  Brown won 15 games in 1904, 18
in 1905, and 26 in 1906, posting a 1.04 ERA.
     In 1908 Brown won 29 games against 9 losses, threw four consecutive
shutouts, and helped Chicago catch the slumping Giants by winning both ends of
a September doubleheader. The next day, Fred Merkle's baserunning boner
turned a Giant victory in a tie, ultimately necessitating a playoff game.
When the first three Giants hit safely and the next two walked, Brown took
over from Jack Pfiester without warming up. He shut the Giants out the rest
of the way and the Cubs won the game, 4-2, and the pennant.
     In 1909 he led the league in wins (27), complete games (32), and saves
(7) but wrenched a ligament in his right leg. He remained effective in 1910,
but the glory years were behind him. Traded to the Reds in 1913, he won only
5 games. Following a stretch managing the St. Louis Federals, he rejoined the
Cubs, and he and Mathewson pitched their finales against each other, Mathewson
winning the atypically inept contest 10-7.
     The great pitchers thus concluded their personal rivalry with Mathewson
winning thirteen times against Brown's eleven. Matty was an original inductee
into the Hall of Fame in 1936; Brown had to wait an additional thirteen years.

ROY CAMPANELLA
     Catcher. Born Nov. 19, 1921 Philadelphia, Pa. Died Jun. 23, 1993 Woodland
Hills, Ca. NL MVP 1951, 1953, 1955. Baseball's all-time record crowd wasn't
attracted by a red-hot playoff or a World Series game. Instead, 93,103 fans
filled the Los Angeles Coliseum on May 7, 1959, to honor Roy Campanella, whose
baseball career had ended the previous year when the car he was driving
skidded into a telephone pole, leaving him paralyzed.
     A decade after that unique tribute, Campanella received baseball's
ultimate honor and was inducted into the Hall of Fame despite a major league
career that had lasted a mere ten years. Then again, Campy was named MVP in
three of the nine full seasons in which he played; 1951, 1953, and 1955 to
rank with Stan Musial and Mike Schmidt as the only three-time MVPs in the
National League.
     An outstanding handler of pitchers, Campanella caught three no-hitters,
led the league in putouts six times, caught 100 or more games a year his last
nine years in the majors, and nailed two of every three runners that tried to
steal on him. Although his batting average oscillated wildly (.312 to .207 to
.318 to .219 between 1953 and 1956), he was more consistent at the power game,
averaging 27 homers between 1949 and 1956.
     He joined the Negro NL's Baltimore Elite Giants right out of high school
and eventually made $3,000 a month as a full-fledged star, being named to
All-Star teams in 1941, 1944, and 1945. After that season he became
Brooklyn's second black signee, taking $185 a month to play with Nashua in the
New England League; by 1949 he was the Dodgers' regular catcher.
     In 1951 he hit .325 with 33 homers and 108 RBIs but pulled a leg muscle
in the final regular season game, missing the last two games of the playoff.
Monte Irvin says, "If Campanella hadn't injured himself in Philadelphia, he
might have settled Ralph Branca down after one high strike to Bobby Thomson."
     After a modest 1952 season, Campy hit 41 homers in 1953 (40 as a catcher
to set the major league record), batted .312, and led the league with 142
RBIs. In 1955 he hit .318 with 32 homers and 107 RBIs and was named to The
Sporting News All-Star Team for the fourth time. He hit two home runs as
Brooklyn won its only World Series.

STEVE CARLTON
     Pitcher. Born Dec. 22, 1944 Miami, Fla. NL Cy Young Award 1972, 1977,
1980, 1982. Steve Carlton never won the hearts and minds of baseball writers,
but he led the NL in innings pitched and strikeouts five times each, won 329
games, and captured four Cy Young Awards.
     He trained by using isometrics, kung fu, and twisting his hands in
three-foot deep buckets of rice. The powerful lefty made 30 or more starts in
16 seasons. "I've never paced myself," he said, "I've always thrown everything
as hard as I can for as long as I can."
     Offered $4,000 by the Pirates as a junior college freshman, Carlton was
signed by Cards' scout Howie Pollet for $5,000. On a Cards trip to Japan in
1968, he began developing the slider that became his "out" pitch. He fanned
19 Mets in a September 1969 game to set an NL record, finished the season
17-11, and won 20 games in 1971.
     Instead of the big raise he expected, Carlton got traded to the Phillies
and responded with a historic season. Lefty won 27 games for the last place
Phils, notching an all-time record 45 percent of the team's wins. A Triple
Crown pitcher, he also led in ERA (1.97) and strikeouts (310), won his first
Cy Young Award, and negotiated a salary of $167,000, then a record for
pitchers.
     The bounces didn't go his way the next year and he became a 20-game
loser. He bounced back to win 59 games as the Phils won division titles in
1976, 1977, and 1978. In 1980, Carlton was 24-9 in the regular season,
captured his third Cy Young Award, and beat the Royals twice in the World
Series to give the Phillies their only world championship.
     Three years after his last Cy Young Award (1982), Carlton went on the DL
for the first time and was released by the Phils a year later. He pitched
briefly for the Giants, White Sox, Indians, and Twins before retiring in 1988
as the NL leader in career strikeouts (4,000) and the leading lefty in the
majors (4,136).

GARY CARTER
     Catcher. Born Apr. 8, 1954 Culver City, Cal. All-Star Game MVP 1981,
1984. In an earlier edition of Total Baseball, Bob Carroll wrote of Gary
Carter, "The guy is friendly, open, cooperative, thoughtful, enthusiastic and
has never been involved in a scandal. What's he hiding?"
     Carter's gee-whiz personality has led observers to discount his
achievements; however, he has clearly been the National League's leading
catcher since Johnny Bench. A three-time Gold Glover, Carter led the league
five times in assists and six straight years in games and putouts.
Offensively, he drove in more than a hundred runs four times and hit 20 or
more homers nine times.
     Carter passed on more than a hundred football scholarship offers to sign
with the Expos and was shocked to discover that they saw him not as a
shortstop but as a catcher. In the beginning, Carter says, "I was the worst
catcher you ever saw--a real joke." (One of his minor league managers charged
him a quarter for every ball he dropped and often collected three or four
dollars a game.)
     He caught and played first and the outfield until the Expos traded Barry
Foote in 1977. In 1978 he set a major league record by allowing just a single
passed ball in 157 games. By 1981, "Kid" was the All-Star starter and homered
off Ken Forsch and Ron Davis to be named MVP, joining Al Rosen, Arky Vaughan,
Willie McCovey, and Ted Williams as the only men to homer twice in an All-Star
Game. That fall, Carter hit .421 against the Phils in the divisional playoff
and .438 against the Dodgers in the NLCS.
     In the 1984 All-Star Game Carter homered off Dave Stieb to break a 1-1
tie and win his second All-Star MVP award. That season, despite knee problems
which required postseason surgery, he tied Mike Schmidt for the RBI crown
(106) and hit 27 homers. Traded to the Mets, he hit 24 homers to help the
Mets win the pennant in 1986, drove in 3 runs in both Games Three and Four of
the World Series, and singled to ignite the come-from-behind rally that won
Game Six. After being released by the Mets in 1989, he played a year each
with the Giants, Dodgers, and Expos.
     In 1993 he became part of the original broadcasting crew for the
expansion Marlins.

OSCAR CHARLESTON
     Center Fielder. Born Oct. 14, 1896 Indianapolis, Ind. Died Oct. 5, 1954
Philadelphia, Pa. Batted .434 in the Negro National League of 1921. Oscar
Charleston is generally regarded as the greatest of all Negro League players.
     It diminishes Negro Leaguers to equate them with white players as the
"black" this or that; however, Charleston's preeminence is such that he is
known equally as "the black Tris Speaker" for his fielding, "the black Ty
Cobb" for his baserunning, and "the black Babe Ruth" for his hitting. John
McGraw said that he was simply the best, adding, "If only I could calcimine
him."
     He started out as batboy for the Indianapolis ABCs in his home town,
joined the army at age fifteen, and was stationed in the Philippines with the
all-black 24th Infantry. Even at that age, he was skilled enough to play in
the otherwise all-white Manila League. He also ran track and was timed at the
220-yard dash in 23 seconds flat, giving rise to his nickname, "the Hoosier
Comet."
     He started professional play with the Indianapolis ABC's in 1915 and
later moved on to the Chicago American Giants and St. Louis Giants. In a
five-game series between Charleston's St. Louis Giants and the white St. Louis
Cardinals, he is reported to have hit four home runs in one game, two of them
off Hall of Famer Jesse "Pop" Haines.
     Charleston became player-manager of the Eastern Colored League Harrisburg
Giants from 1922 to 1925 and moved to Philadelphia, where he became friends
with catcher Biz Mackey and third baseman Judy Johnson. After stints with the
Hilldales and the Homestead Grays, Johnson and Charleston moved to Pittsburgh
when Gus Greenlee persuaded Charleston to manage and play for the Crawfords.
Charleston hit .363, second only to Josh Gibson, and led the team to a 99-36
record, with the help of fellow Hall of Famers Gibson, Johnson, and Satchel
Paige.
     When the Crawfords moved to Toledo and Indianapolis, Charleston stayed
with them through 1940, moving on to the Philadelphia Stars in 1941. After
the war, Charleston was signed to Branch Rickey's Brooklyn Brown Dodgers,
where he had a hand in corralling both Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella. He
joined them in the Hall of Fame in 1976.

ROGER CLEMENS
     Pitcher. Born Aug. 4, 1962 Dayton, Oh. AL Cy Young Award 1986, 1987,
1991.
     In 1987 Roger Clemens became the third pitcher, along with Sandy Koufax
and Jim Palmer, to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards outright (Denny McLain won
the award in 1968 and tied for it in 1969). He picked up his third Cy Young
in 1991. Nicknamed "Rocket," or "Rocket Man," after an Elton John song,
Clemens burst on the scene the night of April 29, 1986, when he struck out 20
Mariners. That broke the nine-inning record previously held by Tom Seaver,
Steve Carlton, and Clemens' idol, Nolan Ryan.
     Clemens was destined for stardom. Offered $1,500 by the Twins, Clemens
instead entered San Jacinto Junior College, then turned down a $20,000 bonus
offered by the Mets and transferred to the University of Texas. (There he
joined Bruce Ruffin, Calvin Schiraldi, and Greg Swindell.)  After beating
Alabama, 4-3, in the finals in 1983, Rocket became the Red Sox first pick in
the June draft, signing for $121,000.
     Called up the following May, Clemens was 9-4 in August when he strained a
tendon in his right forearm and missed the rest of the season. He suffered a
second arm injury in 1985 and required arthroscopic surgery in the rotator
cuff of his right shoulder; yet eight months later he was striking out 20
Mariners on his way to winning his first 14 decisions. Starting for the
American League in the All-Star Game, he retired nine straight batters to be
named MVP. Clemens finished the 1986 season 24-4 to lead Boston to a division
title and was the unanimous winner of the Cy Young Award. Pitching with the
flu on three days' rest, Clemens beat the Angels, 8-1, to clinch the pennant.
He left two World Series games ahead, 6-3 (after 4-1/3 innings in Game Two)
and 3-2 after 7 innings of the ill-fated Game Six.
     In 1990 Clemens put together a 21-6 season but missed most of September
because of a shoulder injury. The Sox won their division and Clemens left
Game One of the playoffs after six shutout innings and got no decision. He
gave up three runs in Game Four and was ejected after arguing with plate
umpire Terry Cooney. In 1991 and 1992 Clemens won 18 games and remained the
game's best active pitcher. Whether a dip in 1993 to 11-14 signals the
beginning of a long-term decline remains to be seen.

ROBERTO CLEMENTE
     Right Field. Born Aug. 18, 1934 Carolina, P.R. Died Dec. 31, 1972 San
Juan, P.R. NL MVP, 1966. When Roberto Clemente graduated from high school in
Puerto Rico, he received not only the best wishes of his friends and family
but also blessings in person from scouts for ten different big league teams.
     He had played for Santurce in the Puerto Rican Winter League while still
a student and had quickly attracted bird dogs with his hitting, fielding, and
throwing ability. Although the Milwaukee Braves offered him a $30,000 signing
bonus, he kept an earlier commitment to the Dodgers and signed for $10,000.
     However, he never played for Brooklyn or Los Angeles. A rule then in
effect required that any player signing for more than $4,000 be put on the big
league roster after a year in the minors; otherwise, he could be signed by any
other club for $4,000. Although the Dodgers tried to hide Clemente on their
Montreal roster by not playing him, he was claimed by the Pirates on November
22, 1954, for $4,000.
     It was the Bucs' best investment since Honus Wagner. Clemente batted
over .300 in thirteen seasons, won four NL batting crowns, finished with an
even 3,000 hits, and ended an eighteen-year career with a lifetime average of
.317. The NL MVP in 1966, he was also selected for the All-Star game twelve
times.
     A textbook right fielder, Clemente won twelve straight Gold Gloves. In
1958 he threw out 22 runners to win the first of a NL record five assists
titles. A World Series star, he led the Bucs to championships in 1960 and
1971 and hit safely in every World Series game in which he played. In 1971 he
homered in the sixth and seventh games, hit .414 with 12 hits, fielded
flawlessly, and was chosen the Series MVP.
     Throughout his career Clemente was plagued by back injuries, the result
of an arthritic spine caused by an automobile accident. He died in an
airplane crash on New Year's Eve, 1972, carrying food and medical supplies to
earthquake-stricken Nicaragua.
     The customary five-year waiting period was waived, and in 1973 he became
the first Hispanic member of the Hall of Fame. Later he became the second
baseball player, after Jackie Robinson, to be pictured on a U.S. postage
stamp.

TY COBB
     Center Field. Born Dec. 18, 1886 Narrows, Ga. Died July 17, 1961
Atlanta. Holds major league record for lifetime batting average (.366), most
years leading league in batting (12) and hits (8). When Ty Cobb was 18, his
mother shot his father fatally at her bedroom window; some say she mistook him
for a burglar, others that he suspected her of infidelity.
     Either way, the tragedy probably spurred Cobb to become the fiercest
competitor in baseball as well as the game's greatest hitter. Since 1947, only
Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Rod Carew, George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs,
and Andres Galarraga have, in single seasons, outhit Cobb's career average of
.366. Virtually overlooked is his feat of leading the league in RBIs four out
of five years and bettering 100 seven times, mostly in the dead-ball era.
     One of the original five players elected to the Hall of Fame (he got
seven more votes than Babe Ruth), Cobb is the only ALr to hit .400 or better
in three different seasons. The Georgia Peach hit .300 or better every year
from 1906 to 1928 and won the AL batting championship every year from 1907 to
1915 and from 1917 to 1919. (He slumped to .371 in 1916, when Tris Speaker
hit .386.)  Revisionist historians have deprived him of the batting titles in
1910 and 1914, but Cobb went to his grave with twelve batting championships.
     While serving as player-manager of the Tigers in the mid-1920s Cobb
benched himself when he was hitting .392. At the time, the Tigers had an
all-.400 hitting outfield--Heinie Manush (.402), Fats Fothergill (.406), and
Harry Heilmann (.410)--and Cobb didn't want to tamper with such statistics.
     Although Pete Rose eclipsed Cobb's record for career hits, and Maury
Wills, Lou Brock, and Rickey Henderson have broken most of his baserunning
records, Cobb remains the career leader in steals of home (35); he also stole
second, third, and home in the same inning three different times. While it
cannot be documented statistically, his aggressive style produced balks,
throwing errors, and lapses of concentration that counted as runs.
     Cobb was shrewd as well as belligerent. He started the practice of
swinging several bats in the on-deck circle so that one would feel light when
it came time to hit. Similarly, he hunted in lead-weighted boots in the
winter, practiced in them all spring, and switched to paper-thin shoes once
the season started. (That same shrewdness led him to buy Coca-Cola at $1.18 a
share and build a considerable fortune.)
     Although Detroit won three straight pennants from 1907 to 1909, Cobb was
never part of a world championship team and, as a manager, he never brought
the Bengals home higher than second.

GORDON "MICKEY" COCHRANE
     Catcher. Born Apr. 6, 1903 Bridgewater, Mass. Died Jun. 28, 1962 Lake
Forest, Ill. AL MVP 1928, 1934. Mickey Cochrane was a franchise
player--literally. In 1924, Cochrane had hit .333 for Portland in the Pacific
Coast League and carried a stiff $50,000 price tag. When Connie Mack found
the whole club could be had for $200,000, he bought the franchise, sold the
other players at a profit, and got Cochrane at a bargain price.
     "Black Mike" hit .331, .357 and .349 from 1929 to 1931 to lead the A's to
three pennants. A lifetime .320 hitter, he hit .300 or better nine times in
his career. After he was sold to the Tigers in 1934 as a player-manager, he
led them to a pennant in 1934 and a world championship in 1935.
     Cochrane hit .400 in the 1929 Series, but Commissioner Landis threatened
to suspend him for his brutal bench jockeying. Chastened, Cochrane greeted
the Cubs with, "Hello, sweethearts!  We're gonna serve tea this afternoon."
After the A's won Game Five to secure the championship, Landis congratulated
every Athletic except Cochrane. Just before he left, the Judge said to
Mickey, "Hello, sweetheart. I came in after my tea. Will you pour?"
     Mack sold Cochrane to the Tigers after the 1933 season. Just as he had
sparked the A's, Black Mike led a fifth place team to the pennant his first
year. As the season wore on, the exhausted Cochrane played but spent the
night in a nearby hospital. The Gashouse Gang won the 1934 classic in seven
games. Next year it was Cochrane's turn. He scored the run that clinched the
World Series and later said, "It was my greatest day in baseball."
     There would not be too many others. In a game against the Yankees in May
1937, Cochrane homered off Bump Hadley. On his next trip to the plate he took
a fastball to his right temple and collapsed in a heap. He was unconscious
for ten days but finally pulled through; he never played again. Elected to
the Hall of Fame in 1947, he went on to serve as general manager of the A's
under Mack and became a Tiger VP in 1961.

EDDIE "COCKY" COLLINS
     Second Baseman. Born May 2, 1887 Millerton, N.Y. Died Mar. 25, 1951
Boston, Mass. Holds major league record for most years leading league in
fielding (9). AL MVP 1914. Eddie Collins may have been "Cocky," but as a
member of four world championship teams he'd earned the right to be confident
about his abilities. He hit an even .333 lifetime and batted .300 or better
every year from 1909 to 1916 and the period 1919-1928.
     Had Ty Cobb not been so dominant while Collins was playing, he might have
enjoyed even greater recognition. As it was, Cocky hit .369, .365, and .360
without ever winning a batting title. He did lead the league in stolen bases
four times, winding up with 744 career steals, behind only Cobb and Billy
Hamilton during his lifetime.
     Defensively he played more games (2,650) and had more putouts (6,526),
assists (7,630) and total chances (14,591) than any other second baseman.
Collins won nine fielding titles and, with the exception of 1918 when he
missed 57 games because of injuries, he led the league in one or another
fielding category every year from 1909 to 1922.
     In 1906, he made his debut under the name Sullivan until it was revealed
that Sullivan was, in reality, Columbia University's junior quarterback and
star infielder Eddie Collins. He was allowed to continue as at Columbia as
nonplaying captain and joined the A's after graduation.
     Collins quickly became the keystone of the A's infield. When shortstop
Jack Barry, third baseman Frank "Home Run" Baker and first baseman John
"Stuffy" McInnis joined the A's, the quartet became known as the "$100,000
infield" because Mack "wouldn't take that sum for all of them."  The A's
proceeded to roll to pennants in 1910, 1911, 1913, and 1914.
     Sold to the White Sox in 1915 after winning the Chalmers Award as MVP in
1914, he hit .409 in the 1917 Series and scored the deciding run by slipping
out of a rundown between third and home to beat the Giants' third baseman to
the unprotected plate. Dispirited by some of his teammates' play in the Black
Sox World Series of 1919, Collins batted only .226 but still stole a base to
give him 14 career World Series thefts.
     Inevitably, he became a manager, piloting the White Sox in 1925 and 1926
before returning to the Athletics as a pinch hitter--and leading the league in
that department with a .353 average. He served as a highly placed Red Sox
executive from 1932 until his death in 1951. Collins was elected to the Hall
of Fame in 1939.

JOE CRONIN
     Shortstop. Born Oct. 12, 1906 San Francisco, Cal. Died Sept. 7, 1984.
AL MVP 1930. Joe Cronin had 11 .300-plus seasons, hit .301 lifetime, won the
Washington Senators' last pennant as a player-manager and, as a nonplaying
manager, led the Red Sox to their only pennant in the 1940s.
     Cronin grew up in San Francisco and signed with the Pirates but cooled
his heels in the minors because the Bucs already had the league's leading
shortstop in Glenn Wright. After Cronin signed with the Kansas City Blues,
Joe Engel bought his contract for the Senators.
     He finished 1928 in the big leagues, bettered .300 and 100 RBIs from 1930
to 1933, and also led the league in triples in 1932 (18) and in doubles in
1933 (45). Moreover, Cronin was the league's best shortstop in that time
span, three times leading in putouts, assists, and double plays. Senators'
owner Clark Griffith made him the manager at age twenty-six to replace Walter
Johnson. Hailed as the Boy Manager, Cronin won the pennant in his first
season, though the Senators lost the Series in five games to the Giants.
     The Nats nosedived to seventh in 1934, and the high point of Cronin's
season was marrying Griffith's adopted daughter, Mildred Robinson. While the
two honeymooned, Red Sox boss Tom Yawkey angled to buy Cronin. When he
offered a record $225,000 and shortstop Lyn Lary, the Boy Manager gave the
go-ahead; in one move, Griffith had gotten rid of his shortstop, his manager
and his son-in-law.
     In 1938 Cronin hit a career high .325 and also led the league in doubles;
however, the Sox finished second in four out of the five years between 1938
and 1942. Cronin stepped aside as shortstop in favor of Johnny Pesky, and
prospered as a part-time player and pinch hitter, leading the league in 1943
with 18 hits in 42 at-bats, a .426 average. On one occasion he pinch hit home
runs in both halves of a doubleheader. Ironically, the year he removed
himself from the roster, 1946, the Red Sox won their first pennant since 1918,
only to lose a seven-game Series to the Cardinals.
     Cronin moved to the front office in 1948 and served as Boston's general
manager until 1959 when he became AL president. He was named to the Hall of
Fame in 1956.