Total Baseball (1994 Edition)/Total_Baseball_1994_Edition_Creative_Multimedia_1994.iso/dp/0002/00024.txt

Text File | 1994-02-14 | 52KB | 816 lines

$Unique_ID{BAS00024}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{The 100 Greatest Players:  Sandberg-Yount}
$Subtitle{}
$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{
Sandberg, Ryne*0051201.scf
Schmidt, Mike*0051601.scf
Simmons, Al*0053001.scf
Sisler, George*0053401.scf
Smith, Ozzie*0053901.scf
Snider, Duke*0054101.scf
Spahn, Warren*0054201.scf
Speaker, Tris*0054401.scf
Stargell, Willie*0054901.scf
Thompson, Sam*0056901.scf
Traynor, Harold "Pie"*0057601.scf
Vaughan, Arky*0058701.scf
Wagner, Honus*0059601.scf
Walsh, Ed*0060201.scf
Wilhelm, Hoyt*0062101.scf
Williams, Ted*0062501.scf
Winfield, Dave*0063001.scf
Young, Cy*0064101.scf
Yount, Robin*0064301.scf}

Total Baseball:  The Players


The 100 Greatest Players:  Sandberg-Yount

Michael Gershman


RYNE SANDBERG
     Second Baseman. Born Sept. 18, 1959 Spokane, Wash. NL MVP 1984.
     The Cubs weren't looked upon as a contender in 1984, but Ryne Sandberg
changed that in a nationally televised game against the Cardinals. In both
the ninth and tenth innings, Sandberg homered against Bruce Sutter to tie the
game and went 5-for-6 with seven RBIs in a game the Cubs won, 12-11. Cards
manager Whitey Herzog said, "One day I thought he was one of the best players
in the NL. The next day I think he's one of the best players I've ever seen."
     Sandberg attracted a lot of attention for his defense in 1990, by which
time he'd gone nearly a year without making an error. The streak started on
June 21, 1989, and ended on May 17, 1990; by that time, Sandberg had played in
123 consecutive games and accepted 582 chances without making an error, both
records for all infielders except first basemen. Even more incredible,
Sandberg has put together streaks of 30 or more errorless games fifteen times.
     He grew up in Spokane, where he was the quarterback on Parade magazine's
high school All-America team. Drafted by the Phillies, he played at Wichita,
Spartanburg, and Reading and spent winter ball learning all the infield
positions, because the Phillies saw him as a utility man. Dealt to Chicago as
a throw-in in a swap of shortstops Larry Bowa and Ivan DeJesus, Sandberg made
the team as a third baseman, moving to second in 1983 when the Cubs signed Ron
Cey.
     Second baseman Sandberg became the first player to change positions and
win a Gold Glove; he has since won eight more. In 1984 Jim Frey signed on as
the manager and convinced Sandberg that he could become a power hitter by
turning on 2-0 or 3-1 pitches. "Coaches and managers had always told me to
hit the ball on the ground. He told me to swing for power and gave me
confidence."  Not coincidentally, the Cubs caught fire as a team, took the
Eastern Division, and narrowly missed winning the pennant; Sandberg was named
MVP.
     After the 1991 season, Sandberg signed a contract which paid him $7.1
million a year. In 1992, he hit .304, his fourth .300-plus season, hit 26
homers for the second straight year, and remained the all-time leader in
fielding average among major league second basemen (.990).

RON SANTO
     Third Baseman. Born Feb. 25, 1940 Seattle, Wash. Holds major league
record for most times leading the league in total chances (nine), third
baseman.
     Ron Santo was the NL's best third baseman in the 1960s, the senior
circuit's version of Brooks Robinson.
     Although he won fewer Gold Gloves than Robinson, he set a major league
record by leading third basemen in total chances the most times (nine) and
shares NL records for leading the most times in putouts and assists (7) and
double plays (6).
     With 342 career homers, he was also a disciplined batter who led the
league in walks four times and twice in on-base percentage.
     The durable Santo missed just 23 games in a ten-year period and played
from 1961 to 1971 without injury. Bill James has plumped for Santo as a Hall
of Famer, as have the editors of Total Baseball; James ranks him as the
seventy-first best player of all time, ahead of contemporaries Roberto
Clemente and Billy Williams.
     When Santo started out at San Antonio, he had such a wild arm, according
to pitcher Jim Brosnan, that the GM "was going to sell first base box seats at
a premium since fans who sat there were pretty sure to get a ball."  Santo
benefited from the coaching of Grady Hatton and was a polished third sacker by
the time he reached Chicago. In his Cub debut he also knocked in five runs in
a doubleheader.
     If Billy Williams played in the shadow of Ernie Banks, Santo was even
more invisible. Using the Total Player Rating, Santo was the best player in
the NL in both 1966 and 1967 by a wide margin, yet finished thirteenth and
fourth respectively in MVP voting. When the Cubbies came close to winning the
division, in 1969, Santo led the league in runs produced (191) and drove in a
career-high 123 runs.
     Santo was also a success in business. He owned a printing company,
started a baseball school, and got the rights to sell Pro's Pizza at Wrigley
Field. (Every cover had a round baseball card of a Cub hero.)  When the Cubs
had a Day for him, he revealed that he had been diabetic since age eighteen;
Santo buttons were sold, and all proceeds went to the Diabetes Association.
     On December 11, 1973, he became the first ten-year veteran to veto a
trade to another team, the Angels. (Given the timing, wits called this
contract provision the "Santo clause.")  Santo instead moved to the South Side
and played second base with the White Sox, retiring after an unsatisfying 1974
season. He joined the Cub broadcast team in 1990.

MIKE SCHMIDT
     Third Baseman. Born Sept. 27, 1949 Dayton, Oh. Holds major league
record for most home runs by a third baseman (509 of his total 548).
     Philadelphia's famous boobirds even booed baseball's greatest third
baseman in 1978. They held Mike Schmidt's light hitting accountable for
playoff losses to the Reds in 1976 and the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978.
     When the Phillies beat Houston to face Kansas City in the 1980 World
Series, Schmidt turned the boos to cheers. He:

  -  scored two runs in Game One;
  -  doubled in the winning run in Game Two;
  -  homered in a losing cause in Game Three;
  -  hit a two-run homer and singled to start a rally in the ninth inning of
     Game Five;
  -  singled in the first two runs in Game Six to win the championship.

     Schmidt hit .381 and was named MVP of the Series to match the MVP award
he'd won in the regular season, the first of three he earned. Over eighteen
seasons, Schmidt homered more often than any other third baseman (509), hit 30
or more homers thirteen times, started seven All-Star Games, and won ten Gold
Gloves, nine of them consecutively.
     The shortstop on The Sporting News College All-America team for 1971 and
the Pacific Coast League's All-Star second baseman the next year, he became
the Phils' regular third baseman in 1973. He had a disastrous year, striking
out 136 times in 367 at bats and hitting .196, the lowest average compiled
that season by any major league regular.
     One year later he led the NL in homers (36) for the first of three
consecutive seasons and batted in 116 runs. He told Sport that winter ball in
Puerto Rico had made the difference. "I found a swing that made things happen
. . . I was standing at the plate nice and relaxed and that sucker went off my
bat a mile."
     On April 17, 1976, he became the tenth major leaguer to hit four home
runs in a game, as the Phillies beat the Cubs, 18-16. That same year he set a
record for assists in a 162-game season (404) and topped the NL six more times
to tie Ron Santo's record, as well as tying him in leading the league in
double plays with six.
     In the strike-shortened 1981 season, he led the majors in homers (31),
RBIs (91), slugging (.644), and total bases (228) to earn his second
consecutive MVP award. Fans named him the greatest Phillies player ever in
1983. Three years later, he led the league in homers (37) and RBIs (119) and
became the only three-time NL MVP besides Stan Musial and Roy Campanella. He
retired in 1989.

TOM SEAVER
Pitcher. Born Nov. 17, 1944 Fresno, Cal. Holds major league record for most
consecutive years with 200 or more strikeouts (9). NL Cy Young Award 1969,
1973, 1975.  Tom Seaver almost single-handedly turned the Mets from
laughing-stock to champion.
     In their first four years, the Mets had a winning percentage of .294;
four years later, thanks to Seaver, they won 100 games, swept the Braves in
the playoffs, and stunned the Orioles in five games to become world champions.
A decade after he last pitched for them, Seaver remains the Mets' team leader
in wins (198), shutouts (44), and strikeouts (2,541). He won 311 games in all
and three Cy Young Awards, and struck out a record 200 batters in nine
straight seasons (1968-76).
     He almost began his career as a Brave, signing a contract with Atlanta
that violated baseball's college rule, according to Commissioner William
Eckert. Three clubs wanted to sign him--the Indians, Phillies, and Mets. On
April 3, 1966, Eckert picked the Mets' name out of a hat, and the Mets signed
Seaver to a $50,000 bonus and assigned him to Jacksonville.
     Sixteen months later he made his first of eight All-Star Game appearances
and capped the season by by being named National League Rookie of the Year.
Seaver won 16 games each of his first two years and, in 1969, he was 25-7 to
lead the Mets to the World Series. In the Mets' five-game defeat of the
Baltimore Orioles, he won Game 4, 2-1 in ten innings.
     On April 22, 1970, Seaver was presented with his first Cy Young Award at
Shea Stadium and celebrated by setting the record for consecutive strikeouts
in one game, fanning the last 10 Padres to reach a game total of 19. Seaver
won 20 games or more in 1971, 1972, 1975, and 1977, when he was unexpectedly
traded to the Reds.
     He no-hit the Cardinals in 1978, and went 14-2 in 1981, his best won-lost
percentage; however, injuries made 1982 his worst--a 5-13 record and a 5.50
ERA --and he improved only slightly upon his return to the Mets in 1983. After
joining the White Sox, Tom turned Terrific again, and, at 39, wound up leading
the Sox in wins (15) and shutouts (4), never missing a turn in the rotation.
In 1985 he was even better, winning 16 games, among them his 300th.
     He retired after the 1986 season with 61 career shutouts (seventh on the
all-time list); was fourth in career strikeouts; and compiled a sterling 2.85
ERA. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1992.

AL SIMMONS
     Left Field. Born May 22, 1902 Milwaukee, Wis. Died May 26, 1956
Milwaukee, Wis. AL MVP 1929.
     Striding toward third base, leaving the impression that he hit with his
"foot in the bucket" (a venerable baseball term for a frightened batter, going
back to the days when a water bucket sat at the end of the players' bench)
didn't bother Al Simmons. He bettered .300 for eleven straight years, won
back-to-back batting titles, hit .329 in nineteen World Series games, and .334
lifetime. Though unheralded for his defense, Simmons led the league in
fielding twice. Joe Cronin said, "There never was a better left fielder in
hustling to the foul line to turn a double into a single."
     Born Aloysius Szymanski in Milwaukee in 1902, he turned pro with the
Milwaukee Brewers in 1922, taking the name Simmons from a newspaper ad. Sold
to the A's, Simmons worried that Connie Mack would change his stance, but Mack
told him, "You can hold the bat in your teeth, provided you hit safely and
often."  Simmons hit .387 as a sophomore and led the league in hits (253),
still a record for righthanded batsmen.
     In 1929, he helped the A's to a pennant with 34 homers and a
league-leading 157 RBIs and was named MVP. He drove in four runs in Game Two
of the Series with a single and a homer, homered to start the famous ten-run
rally in Game Four, and singled and doubled in Game Seven, scoring the
Series-winning run on Bing Miller's double. If anything, Simmons improved in
1930, leading the league in runs (152) and hitting (.381), and homering in
Games One and Six as the A's won their second straight championship.
     Simmons held out in 1931, and, on Opening Day, Mack announced he would
not play for the A's. Taking a cab to Shibe Park, Mack reached into his
pocket to pay; the driver declined, saying, "If you can't afford Simmons, you
can't afford me either."  Hours later, Simmons signed a three-year contract
and homered on the first pitch thrown to him.
     In 1931, the Duke of Milwaukee hit .390 to lead the league for the second
straight year and homered twice in the World Series, but he never again
reached such heights. He said later, "When I finally decided I had it made, I
was never again the ballplayer I was when I was hungry."  Simmons went on to
play with six other teams before finishing his career in a third tour of duty
with the A's. He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1953.

GEORGE SISLER
     First Baseman. Born Mar. 24, 1893 Manchester, Oh. Died Mar. 26, 1973
St. Louis, Mo. Holds major league record for hits in a season (257); AL MVP
1922.
     George Sisler had the defensive ability, foot speed, and batting prowess
to equal any first baseman. Originally a pitcher, Sisler was clearly more
valuable as an everyday player. He led the league's first basemen in assists
a record seven times, stole home nineteen times, and compiled a .340 career
average.
     In 1920 he played every inning of every game, had 140 assists, started 13
first-to-short-to-first double plays, stole 42 bases, batted .407, banged out
19 homers, and established what may be an unbeatable major league record with
257 hits. Two years later he led the league in hits, runs, doubles, and
average, batting .420. Although Sisler earned the first League Award (MVP),
the Yanks won the pennant by a single game, a sad end to a great season;
Sisler never came close to another chance to play in a World Series.
     Born in Manchester, Ohio, Sisler was an all-around athlete and signed
with Akron of the Ohio-Penn League, although he received no money and never
played for Akron. (He reported but was told the team didn't have a uniform
small enough.)  Instead, he starred for Branch Rickey at the University of
Michigan. Rickey became a Browns scout in 1912, moved up to manager a year
later, and signed Sisler when he graduated in 1915 with a degree in mechanical
engineering.
     The Pirates, who had purchased the Akron contract from Columbus, also
claimed Sisler, and the case was brought before the three-man National
Commission, a predecessor of the commissioner's office. The NL and AL
presidents voted along party lines, but Reds president Garry Herrmann broke
ranks, and Sisler became a Brown.
     As great as he was, Sisler might have been even better had he not
contracted poisonous sinusitis and missed the entire 1923 season. Although he
had three more 200-plus-hit seasons thereafter, he said, "I didn't consider
that real good hitting."  He once told Baseball magazine that his ambition was
to "hang up a higher average than Ty Cobb's," and, indeed, Sisler's .41979
average in 1922 did edge the .41962 Cobb had in 1911. In fact, Cobb called
him "the nearest thing to a perfect ballplayer."
     Sisler was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939, and in the 1940s and
1950s tutored two other Hall of Famers--Duke Snider and Roberto Clemente.

OZZIE SMITH
     Shortstop. Born Dec. 26, 1954 Mobile, Ala. Holds NL record for most
Gold Gloves (13).
     Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post once wrote of Ozzie Smith, "Instead
of '1' his number should be '8,' but turned sideways because the
possibilities he brings to his position are almost infinite."
     Already the NL's career leader in Gold Gloves and arguably baseball's
best-fielding shortstop of all time, Smith has also made himself into an
above-average hitter and high-average base-stealer. But what makes him a
lock for the Hall of Fame when he hangs up his glove is . . . his glove.
Through the 1992 season, he had saved his teams 237  runs beyond what an
average shortstop would have done, a mark unequaled at the position in this
century.
     "The Wizard of Oz" attended Locke High School in Los Angeles with Eddie
Murray, and the Padres picked him in the fourth round of the 1977 free agent
draft. After winning two Gold Gloves for San Diego and setting a record for
assists in 1980 (621), Smith was traded to the Cardinals. Two years later,
the Cardinals won their first championship in fifteen years as Smith led the
league's shortstops in fielding for the first of a record seven times. (He
also whacked two home runs, doubling his four-year output in San Diego.)
     Learning to fit his talents to Busch Stadium, the switch-hitting Smith
improved his batting average to .276 by 1985, when the Cardinals won their
division again. Smith blossomed in the playoffs against the Dodgers, batting
.435. With the score tied, 2-2, in Game Five, he homered in the bottom of the
ninth to give the Cardinals a 3-2 edge in games. (To date, it is his only
lefthanded major league home run.)
     In 1987, for the fifth time in Smith's six years in St. Louis, the
Cardinals led the league in team fielding. They won another pennant but lost
a seven-game Series to the Royals. That year, the Wizard of Ahs finally
reached the .300 mark (.303), won the accustomed Gold Glove, and finished
second to Andre Dawson in MVP voting.
     In 1991 he set a record for NL shortstops, committing just 8 errors in
150 games, and won his thirteenth consecutive Gold Glove in 1992 to break a
tie with Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. By the end of the 1992 season he
had also amassed 564 stolen bases.

EDWIN "DUKE" SNIDER
     Center Field. Born Sept. 19, 1926 Los Angeles, Cal. Hit 40 or more home
runs in five consecutive seasons (1952-56).
     When New York had Willie (Mays), Mickey (Mantle), and the Duke (Snider),
Snider always got third billing. Yet he hit more home runs in the 1950s than
Mays, Mantle, or any other major leaguer (326) and tied Ralph Kiner's NL
record of hitting 40 or more homers in five straight seasons. Kiner said of
his fielding, "I'd say Duke covers more ground, wastes less motion, and is
more consistent than anyone since DiMaggio."
     Snider chose the Dodgers because of his admiration for Pete Reiser and
Pee Wee Reese. General manager Branch Rickey put him in the batting cage
three hours every day with Hall of Famer George Sisler--but not to hit.
Snider recalls, "I was just supposed to call every pitch, ball or strike. It
was amazing how wrong I was at the beginning. But I learned."
     The Duke became a regular in 1949, hitting .292 with 23 homers, and
clinched the pennant on the last day of the season by driving in the winning
run. His World Series debut was a disaster (a .143 average and 8 strikeouts),
but he redeemed himself in the 1952 World Series with ten hits, four of them
home runs to tie the mark then shared by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
     In 1955 Snider led the league in RBIs (136), led for a third time in runs
scored (126), hit .309, and had 42 homers. He hit four more homers in the
1955 Series as Brooklyn won its only World Series and became the only man to
hit four dingers in a Series twice. After the season, he was named Player of
the Year by The Sporting News.
     He led the league in home runs (43) in 1956, the only time he did so.
The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles for the 1958 season, depriving the Duke of
the cozy dimensions of Ebbets Field. He still had enough muscle to send out
23 homers and propel Los Angeles to the world championship, in which he
homered again. That was Snider's last Series; he still holds the NL record
for career World Series homers (11) and RBIs (26).
     After two seasons as a Met and, even more incongruously, as a Giant, he
retired with a lifetime batting average of .295 and 407 homers. He managed
several Dodger farm teams, scouted for the Dodgers and Padres, and broadcast
games for those two teams as well as the Expos. He was elected to the Hall of
Fame in 1980.

WARREN SPAHN
     Pitcher. Born Apr. 23, 1921 Buffalo, N.Y. Holds major league record for
most games won by lefthanded pitcher (363).
     Stan Musial once said, "I don't think Spahn will ever get into the Hall
of Fame. He'll never stop pitching."
     Musial's point was well taken. Warren Spahn pitched long enough to be a
Brave under Casey Stengel in 1942 and a Met under Stengel again in 1965. In
between, he became the winningest lefthander in major league history, emerging
victorious in 363 games. He put 15,741 batters out of their misery, won 20
games or more in thirteen seasons, and had a lifetime ERA of 3.09.
     Not regarded as a strikeout artist, he nonetheless recorded 2,583 whiffs
in his career and led the NL four straight years, from 1949 to 1952. He led
the league in wins five times outright, had the most shutouts four times, and
compiled the lowest ERA three times. He also started more double plays than
any other major league pitcher (82) and also leads all NL pitchers in hitting
home runs (35).
     Brought up to the Boston Braves in 1942, he was sent back down when
Stengel ordered him to throw at Pee Wee Reese and he refused. He enlisted in
the Army, suffered shrapnel wounds in a battle along the Rhine, and was
awarded the Purple Heart. He made his mark in 1947 by posting a 21-10 record,
leading the league in ERA (2.33) and innings pitched (289-2/3).
     In 1948 the Braves won the pennant, fueled by the hopes for "Spahn and
Sain and two days of rain."  The franchise moved to Milwaukee in 1953. That
year Spahn pitched in his third of seven All-Star Games and got the win. When
the Braves won pennants in 1957 and 1958, he led the league in wins both
years. He was given the Cy Young Award in 1957 (when there was only one award
for both leagues) and won two games in the 1958 Series, shutting out the Yanks
in Game 4.
     When the 1960 season started Spahn had won 267 major league games without
pitching a no-hitter. He remedied this oversight on September 15, striking
out 15 Phillies to win his 20th game of the season. Five days after his
fortieth birthday, in 1961, Spahn pitched his second no-hitter.
     After a losing season in 1964 (his first) and brief stays with the Mets
and Giants in 1965, he coached in Mexico City and Japan. In line with
Musial's prediction, Spahn interrupted his retirement to pitch in the Mexican
League, thus delaying the onset of the mandatory five-year inactive period
before induction into the Hall of Fame. Finally, however, Spahn left the
mound for good and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.

TRIS SPEAKER
     Center Fielder. Born Apr. 4, 1888 Hubbard City, Tex. Died Dec. 8, 1958
Lake Whitney, Tex. Holds major league records for assists (450) and double
plays (135) by an outfielder.
     Like a wide receiver anticipating the throw of the quarterback, Tris
Speaker revolutionized center fielding by moving before the pitch.
     He acquired the knack as a Red Sox rookie, fielding fungos hit by Cy
Young and trying to figure out which way the ball would go. He says, "In a
few days I knew just by the way he swung whether the ball would go to my right
or left. Then I began to study the batter during a game; when he started his
swing, I knew if he would hit to my left or right and I was on my way."
     Getting a head start allowed him to play shallow. The "Gray Eagle"
participated in a record four unassisted double plays and set a record for
outfielders with 448 career assists. He led AL outfielders seven times in
putouts, five times in double plays (some of them 4-8-3 or 6-8-3), three times
in assists, and twice in fielding. Just as much a threat offensively, Speaker
hit .345 during a twenty-two-year career, had eighteen .300-plus seasons, and
compiled 3,514 hits.
     Two of baseball's shrewdest operators didn't sign him:  Pirate boss
Barney Dreyfuss because "he smoked cigarettes"; and Giant manager John McGraw
because "I had all the outfielders I needed."  Speaker paid his way to the Red
Sox training camp in Little Rock, Arkansas. Boston optioned Speaker and
bartered him to Little Rock in lieu of their $400 rental fee. Several months
later, he was burning up the league and became the Red Sox starting center
fielder in 1909.
     A star by 1912, Speaker tied Home Run Baker for most home runs (10) that
year, led the league in doubles (53), hit .383, and won the Chalmers Award (a
forerunner of the MVP award), and hit .340 as the Red Sox beat the Giants in
the World Series. In 1916 Speaker, newly arrived in Cleveland, won the
batting title (.386) from Ty Cobb, interrupting what would have been an
uninterrupted string of 13 titles, and also led the league in doubles (41),
hits (211), and slugging percentage (.503).
     He took over as manager of the Indians during the 1919 season; a year
later he steered them to a pennant and a World Series win over the Dodgers.
Speaker was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1937 and returned to the Tribe as a
coach during the Bill Veeck era.

WILVER "WILLIE" STARGELL
     Left Field. Born Mar. 6, 1941 Earlsboro, Okla. NL co-MVP 1979. Wilver
Stargell was the Pittsburgh Pirates' Gold Star Father in 1979.
     When a teammate distinguished himself with a clutch hit, heads-up move on
the basepaths, or fielding gem, "Pops" Stargell marked the occasion with a
gold star ceremony. Soon ballplayers earning $300,000 a year were putting out
a little bit extra to get a gold "Stargell Star" and by the end of the season,
the Pirates had the whole country singing "We Are Family," earning enough gold
stars to become World Champions.
     At thirty-nine, two years after his career had apparently ended, Stargell
set a record for most MVP awards in a season. He was named MVP of both the
playoffs and the World Series, divided regular season MVP honors with Keith
Hernandez, and shared Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year award with
Steeler Terry Bradshaw.
     Many of his 475 career home runs were titanic. Only eighteen balls were
hit out of Forbes Field in sixty-one years (beginning with Babe Ruth's epic
blast on May 25, 1935); Stargell hit seven of them. Only one player hit a
ball completely out of Dodger Stadium--Stargell, who did it twice.
     Stargell's 1977 season was plagued with injuries, but Pops hit 28 homers
and drove in 97 runs in 1978 to earn Comeback Player of the Year. After the
gold stars came out during spring training in 1979, Stargell hit 32 homers and
the Pirates won the division, finishing two games ahead of Montreal.
     In the playoffs against Cincinnati, he broke an 11-inning 2-2 tie with a
three-run homer and homered again in Game Three as Pittsburgh swept the Big
Red Machine. In the World Series against against Baltimore, Stargell homered
as the Orioles won the opener and went 3-for-5 with a homer in Game Four;
however, Baltimore came up with six  runs in the eighth inning to win, 9-6,
and open up a 3-1 lead in games.
     With the Pirates trailing, 1-0, in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game
5, Stargell hit a sacrifice fly to even the score and later singled to start a
three-run inning. The Pirates won, 7-1. After John Candelaria and Kent
Tekulve shut Baltimore out in Game Six to bring the Buccos even, Stargell put
on a batting show in the finale, going 4-for-5 with a two-run homer. Overall,
he set a Series record with seven extra-base hits. He became a Hall of Famer
in 1988.

SAM THOMPSON
     Right Field. Born Mar. 5, 1860 Danville, Ind. Died Nov. 7, 1922
Detroit, Mich.
     Sam Thompson was the power hitter par excellence of the nineteenth
century and set a record for lifetime home runs that wasn't broken until Babe
Ruth came along. Also possessed of a legendary throwing arm, "Big Sam"
Thompson was still so highly regarded that he played eight games alongside
rookie Ty Cobb in the Tiger outfield in 1906--at age 46.
     The fifth of eleven children, Thompson started his big league career
late. He played on the Danville team and worked in his father's carpentry
business. When a scout offered to pay him the magnificent sum of $2.50 per
game, Thompson joined Evansville of the Northwest League and hit .391 before
the league folded. He signed with Indianapolis and, at age twenty-five,
joined the NL Detroit Wolverines. When Gene Moriarty crashed into an outfield
wall, Thompson took over and got 11 hits in his first 26 at bats. Moriarty
never played another game for Detroit.
     Thompson was an innovator in the outfield, too. Possessed of a rifle
arm, he is said to have originated the one-hop throw to the plate, trying to
catch a runner from third. He was so successful at this technique that in
1886 he led the league's outfielders in double plays (11) for the first of two
times. In 1887, "Big Sam" (6'2", 207) had an awesome season at the bat,
leading the league in hits (203), triples (23), batting (.372), and slugging
(.571). He drove in an astounding 1.31 runs per game. This was a record that
only he would ever surpass, with 1.42 in 1894 and 1.39 in 1895; for
comparison, Hack Wilson, when he drove in 190 in 1930, had a mark of 1.23.
     A sore arm sidelined him for most of 1888, and he was unceremoniously
sold to the Philadelphia Quakers (Phillies). In 1889 Thompson rebounded with
20 home runs to lead the league, picked up another hit crown in 1890 (172),
and in 1891 managed to accumulate 32 assists. In 1894 he led the league in
fielding (.977) and hit .407 as part of an all-.400-hitting outfield, along
with Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, and Tuck Turner. His last great offensive
year was 1895, when Big Sam led the league in homers (18), RBIs (165), and
slugging (.654).
     He still holds the major league record for ratio of RBIs to games played
(.923, nipping Lou Gehrig) and was named to the Hall of Fame in 1974.

HAROLD "PIE" TRAYNOR
     Third Baseman. Born Nov. 11, 1899 Framingham, Mass. Died Mar. 16, 1972
Pittsburgh, Pa. Holds NL record for lifetime putouts by third baseman
(2,288).
     Pie Traynor was the first third baseman whom the baseball writers voted
into the Hall of Fame. (The Veterans' Committee previously selected Jimmy
Collins.)
     Traynor was also named the major leagues' outstanding third baseman by
The Sporting News seven times and finished in the top ten in MVP voting six
times between 1925 and 1933. While some analysts downplay his offensive
accomplishments today, Hall of Famers of his era--Mickey Cochrane, Bill
Dickey, Charlie Gehringer, Rogers Hornsby, and Carl Hubbell--named him to
their All-Time All-Star teams.
     Traynor hit .320 lifetime with ten seasons above .300, knocked in 100 or
more runs seven times, and never struck out more than 28 times in seventeen
seasons. In the field, he led in assists three times, double plays four
straight years, led in putouts seven times (a record tied by Puddin' Head
Jones and Ron Santo), and set the NL record for career putouts (2,289).
     As a child Traynor yearned to play for the Somerville, Massachusetts,
parish team coached by Father Nangle; instead, he chased balls. Taken to the
grocery store as a reward, he would invariably say, "I'll take pie, Father,"
the source of his nickname. He was originally a shortstop, but after Traynor
made 12 errors in his 17-game trial in 1920, the Pirates acquired Rabbit
Maranville. Traynor's fielding improved when he moved to third base, and he
began to hit with more power when Rogers Hornsby switched him to a
forty-two-ounce bat.
     The Pirates won the pennant in 1925. Traynor singled and homered against
Walter Johnson in his first two World Series at bats and hit .346 as the
Pirates won in seven. The Pie Man's bases-loaded single on the last day of
the 1927 season gave the Pirates another pennant, but the Bucs were swept by
the Yankees of Ruth and Gehrig.
     Traynor hit .356 in 1929 and had his best batting average, .366, in 1930,
but his career was essentially ended in 1934 when catcher Jimmy Wilson fell
across his right arm and broke it. Pie took over as player-manager and just
missed leading Pittsburgh to a pennant in 1938, when the Cubs' Gabby Hartnett
hit his "Homer in the Gloamin'."
     In retirement, Traynor ran a sporting goods store with Honus Wagner,
coached at Duquesne, and was active as a sportscaster in Pittsburgh for
thirty-three years. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1948.

ARKY VAUGHAN
     Shortstop. Born Mar. 9, 1912 Clifty, Ark. Died Aug. 30, 1952
Eagleville, Cal. His .385 average of 1935 is not only the NL record for
shortstops in this century but also a mark unequaled in the league since.
     Arky Vaughan was, according to his Total Player Rating, the NL's leading
player four times in seven years, from 1934 to 1940.
     Using a unique flat-footed stance, Vaughan hit well over .300 ten
straight years, twelve times in all, and set an all-time record for the
league's shortstops by hitting .385 in 1935. Although it has become chic to
deride Vaughan's fielding, he led the league three times each in putouts and
assists (and, yes, errors) when such slick-fielding shortstops as Billy
Jurges, Dick Bartell, and Eddie Miller were in their prime.
     Born in Clifty, Arkansas (hence his nickname), Joseph Floyd Vaughan grew
up in California and was a football star at Fullerton High School. (Fellow
student Richard M. Nixon picked Vaughan for his All-Time All-Stars.)  Signed
by the Pirates, he led the league in errors his first two years but improved
with help from his roommate, coach Honus Wagner, and from Pie Traynor.
     Vaughan was named to the All-Star team for the first of seven times in
1934 and became the first man to homer twice in the midsummer classic, in
1941. His lifetime All-Star Game average was .364.
     Traded to the Dodgers after the 1941 season, Vaughan became embroiled in
a dispute between pitcher Bobo Newsom and catcher Bobby Bragan in 1943.
Manager Leo Durocher suspended Newsom, and Vaughan led a successful "strike,"
after which Durocher backed down. Despite leading the league in runs scored
for the third time, Vaughan was fed up with the controversy and retired.
     When Durocher was suspended in 1947, Vaughan came back and hit .325 to
help the Dodgers win a pennant. Jackie Robinson said, "He went out of his way
to be nice to me when I was a rookie. I needed it."  After a sub-par 1948, he
played briefly for the San Francisco Seals and retired.
     On August 30, 1952, while fishing in Lost Lake, his companion tipped the
boat over; Vaughan tried to rescue him but both went under and drowned. He
was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985. Among Hall of Fame shortstops, only
Honus Wagner (.329) has a higher lifetime batting average than Vaughan (.318).

JOHN PETER "HONUS" WAGNER
     Shortstop. Born Feb. 24, 1874 Carnegie, Pa. Died Dec. 6, 1955 Carnegie,
Pa. Holds NL records for most years leading league in batting (eight) and
most consecutive years hitting .300 or better (seventeen).
     Honus Wagner and Babe Ruth finished in a tie behind Ty Cobb when the
first players were voted into the Hall of Fame in 1936. The fan of today may
look at the stats of these men and wonder why Wagner stands alongside the
other two. Yet Bill Deane, in his "Awards and Honors" piece in this volume,
credits Wagner with six "hypothetical" MVP awards during his career--for the
years 1901-1903, 1907, and 1909, years in which no award was given. Only Ruth
dominated a league for so long a time.
     John Peter Wagner became "Johannes" and, later, "Honus" or "Hans," just
as Wagner's nationality, German (a "Deutschman") became "Dutchman," hence
Wagner's nickname, "the Flying Dutchman."  Bowlegged, he "looked like a hoop
rolling down the baselines" but reached the majors with Louisville. When the
city was dropped from the league, owner Barney Dreyfuss bought Pittsburgh and
took Wagner with him.
     In 1900 Wagner won his first of eight batting titles, an NL record. He
was stationed all over the diamond until Frederick "Bones" Ely, the regular
shortstop, begged off. Wagner made three errors in an inning, then got lucky.
With men on first and second, he gave the signal for a pickoff play and dashed
toward second; the pitcher delivered to the plate instead, resulting in a
one-hopper that Wagner turned into a double play. Wagner called it "the best
play I ever made."
     The Dutchman led the Pirates to pennants in 1901, 1902, 1903, and 1909,
when he outplayed Cobb, and his batting average didn't fall below .300 until
1914. Wagner led the league five times in RBIs and stolen bases, six times in
slugging, and seven times in doubles. When he retired as a player in 1917, he
led the NL in hits, runs, singles, doubles, and triples.
     After coaching at Carnegie Tech and owning a sporting goods store with
Pie Traynor, Wagner fell on hard times. Early in 1933, Fred Lieb wrote a
column about Wagner's plight, and new Pirate owner Bill Benswanger made him a
coach. Honus boosted attendance and was given "Days," even in opposing
cities.
     In Larry Ritter's The Glory of Their Times, Paul Waner remembered, "He
must have been sixty. . . [He'd] get out there every once in a while [and
take infield practice] . . . a hush would come over the whole ballpark, and
every player on both teams would stand there, like a bunch of little
kids . . . I'll never forget it."

ED WALSH
     Pitcher. Born May 14, 1881 Plains, Pa. Died May 26, 1959 Pompano Beach,
Fla. Holds major league record for lowest lifetime ERA (1.82).
     Ty Cobb said of Ed Walsh, "When this big moose had his stuff, he was just
unbeatable, that's all."
     The big spitballer (6'1", 193) won 40 games one year, led the league in
saves five times, and is baseball's all-time leader in career ERA (1.82). He
also set several fielding records for pitchers and was the first AL pitcher to
steal home twice. Walsh, who also helped design Comiskey Park, pleased the
crowds by fungoing balls into the stands and was not entirely unaware of his
talents. Sportswriter Charlie Dryden said of him, "He's the only man I ever
saw who could strut standing still."  He is thought by many students of the
game and literature to have been Ring Lardner's model for Jack Keefe, the
cocksure narrator of You Know Me, Al.
     Walsh joined the White Sox soon after Elmer Stricklett taught him how to
throw the spitball in 1904. Exhibiting the endurance which marked his career,
he pitched two complete game wins against the Red Sox on September 6, 1905,
and led the league in 1906 with 10 shutouts in the regular season. He also
won two World Series games, striking out 12 Cubs in Game Three, a record which
stood until 1929, and taking Game Five even though the "Hitless Wonders" made
five errors behind him.
     In 1907 lack of offense hurt Walsh, who was shut out eight times but
still posted a 24-18 record and set major league season records for assists
and chances by a pitcher.
     He had a nearly perfect year in 1908, leading the league in wins (40),
shutouts (11), starts, complete games, strikeouts, and saves and set a
post-1900 record for innings pitched (464) which still stands.
     Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and Cleveland were neck-and-neck all season
long, and Walsh pitched seven times in the last nine games. He won a
doubleheader against Boston September 29 but lost his best-pitched game of the
season on October 2; Walsh struck out 15 in eight innings only to lose 1-0 to
Addie Joss' perfect game.
     Bedeviled by a lack of offense again in 1910, Walsh became the only
pitcher to lead the league in ERA (1.27) and lose 20 games. His team hit 7
homers all season long, batted .211, and made 314 errors.
     After winning 27 games in both 1911 and 1912, he suffered arm trouble and
retired in 1917. Walsh was named to the Hall of Fame in 1946.

HOYT WILHELM
     Pitcher. Born Jul. 26, 1923 Huntersville, N.C. Holds major league
record for games pitched (1,070) and most games won as a relief pitcher (124).
     Hoyt Wilhelm, the first relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame, threw
36,000 knuckleballs (his estimate) to get there.
     Pitching in twenty-one seasons, Wilhelm delivered those dipsy-doodles as
an NL reliever, AL starter, and AL reliever. All told, he pitched in more
games than any player in history (1,070), won the most in relief, (123) and
finished the most (651).
     After languishing in the minors, Wilhelm stuck with the Giants as a
twenty-nine-year-old rookie and made a sensational debut in 1952, going 15-3
with 11 saves. He led the league in won-lost percentage (.833) and ERA (2.43)
to become the first rookie ever to top his league in those two categories and
the only rookie ever to win an ERA crown.
     In 1955, Wilhelm was 4-1 but hadn't posted a single save in 59
appearances. He was traded to St. Louis, sold to Cleveland, and was picked up
on waivers by Baltimore, mostly because Oriole manager Paul Richards had
caught knuckleballer Dutch Leonard; after he lost three starts, Knuckles knew
his days as an Oriole were numbered.
     With his career hanging by a thread, Wilhelm got one last chance on
September 20, 1958, against the Yankees. He pitched a no-hitter, winning 1-0
on Gus Triandos' homer. In 1959 he won his first nine starts and went on to
lead the league in ERA (2.19), thus becoming the only pitcher to turn the
trick in both circuits.
     Traded to the White Sox, Wilhelm began his third career, posting a 2.64
ERA and a career-high 21 saves in 1963 and outdoing himself in 1964 with 27
saves, 12 wins and an ultra-stingy 1.99 ERA; his ERA didn't rise above 2.00
for four more seasons as he compiled 98 saves and 41 wins with the White Sox.
     In the expansion draft of 1969 he was picked by the new Kansas City
Royals, traded to the Angels, and passed along to the Braves, helping them
take their division by winning 2 games and saving 4 in 8 appearances. After
stints with the Cubs and Dodgers, he was released five days short of his 49th
birthday. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.

TED WILLIAMS
     Left Field. Born Aug. 30, 1918 San Diego. AL MVP 1946, 1949. Highest
on base percentage of all time (.483), second only to Babe Ruth in slugging
percentage and production.
     He'll never be remembered for his fielding, throwing, running, or
leadership, but by any measure Ted Williams is the greatest hitter of his era
and perhaps of all time.
     Despite missing five seasons to military service, the "Splendid Splinter"
holds the records for most consecutive years leading the league in runs scored
(five) and walks (six) and for career on-base percentage (.483). He also won
four home run crowns, six batting titles, led the AL in slugging nine times,
and finished with a career batting average of .344 and 521 home runs. At the
close of the 1950s The Sporting News named him Player of the Decade.
     Williams broke in with the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League
in 1936. In 1938 he won the Triple Crown at Minneapolis and became the Red
Sox regular right fielder in 1939, moving to left later on. He set the rookie
record for RBIs (145) to lead the AL. In 1941 his two-out, three-run homer
off Claude Passeau won the All-Star Game and he concluded the year with a .406
batting average. He could have safeguarded his .400 average on the final day
by sitting out, but instead he chose to play both ends of a doubleheader,
going 6-for-8. He became the last player to top the magic number of .400, and
the only one since 1930.
     After winning the Triple Crown in 1942, the "Thumper" played for Uncle
Sam from 1943 to 1945. He returned to star in the 1946 All-Star Game, hitting
2 homers and 2 singles, led the league in runs scored and slugging percentage,
helped the Red Sox win the pennant, and was named MVP. He won his second
Triple Crown in 1947. In 1949 he led the league in homers (43) and RBIs
(159), hit .343, and was named MVP for a second time.
     At thirty-four, he flew thirty-nine combat missions for the Marines in
Korea and returned late in 1953 to hit .407 with 13 homers in 37 games. He
had one of his greatest seasons at age thirty-nine in 1957, hitting .388 to
become the oldest player ever to lead the league in hitting. To prove it was
no fluke, he led the league again in hitting in 1958 at age 40, hitting .328,
and ended his career at 42, hitting .316 with 29 home runs, including one in
his last at-bat. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1966.

WINFIELD, DAVE
     Right Field. Born Oct. 3, 1951 St. Paul, Minn. Oldest player to drive
in 100 or more runs, 1992.
     Dave Winfield was given a second chance and made the most of it.
     Bedeviled by the memory of a 1-for-22 batting slump in the 1981 World
Series with the Yankees (and George Steinbrenner's subsequent characterization
of him as "Mr. May," for his inability to produce in October), Winfield came
to bat in the eleventh inning of Game Six in the 1992 Fall Classic as a member
of the Toronto Blue Jays. With the score tied, 2-2, and two out, Winfield
doubled down the left field line to give the Jays a 4-2 lead, and they hung on
to win their first world championship.
     It was sweet vindication for a man who had won seven Gold Gloves (two
with the Padres, five with the Yankees), was an All-Star every year from 1977
to 1988, started All-Star Games in 1979, 1981, and every year from 1983 to
1988, and batted .361 in the twelve games.
     Known as "Daddy Longlegs," the six-foot six-inch Winfield was a pitcher
at the University of Minnesota, finished his senior year 13-1 and hit .400,
and was the MVP of the College World Series. Drafted by the NBA's Atlanta
Hawks, the ABA's Utah Stars, and the NFL's Minnesota Vikings--even though he
had not played college football--Winfield was also selected by the Padres on
June 5, 1973. Like Sandy Koufax and Al Kaline, Winfield had no minor league
experience, and made his major league debut two weeks later.
     In 1980, after leading the NL in RBIs (118), he signed a ten-year free
agent contract with the Yankees; however, misinterpreting a cost-of-living
clause led Steinbrenner to owe Winfield an extra $7 million and started a
simmering feud which resulted in the Yankee owner paying a convicted felon,
Howard Spira, for allegedly damaging information about Winfield. The damage
instead was done to Steinbrenner, who was banished from baseball by
Commissioner Fay Vincent.
     Despite his problems with Steinbrenner, Winfield knocked in 100 runs or
more from 1982 to 1986, the first Yankee to turn the trick in five consecutive
seasons since Joe DiMaggio. In 1984, Winfield consciously shortened his
stroke in an attempt to win a batting title and came close, hitting .340 to
finish three points behind Don Mattingly. He underwent back surgery and
missed the 1989 season; he joined the Angels for 1990. With the Angels, drove
in 72 runs in 112 games and won the Comeback Player of the Year Award. At the
end of the 1993 season, Winfield had 453 career home runs to lead all active
players and rank eighteenth behind Stan Musial and Willie Stargell on the
all-time list.

DENTON TRUE "CY" YOUNG
     Pitcher. Born Mar. 29, 1867 Gilmore, Oh. Died Nov. 4, 1955
Newcomerstown, Oh. Holds major league records for wins (511), starts (815),
and complete games (749).
     Had the honor been presented during his career, baseball's winningest
pitcher might have had a shot at winning half a dozen Cy Young Awards.
     He won at least 30 games in five seasons and, although he won a mere 26
in 1904, Young put together a string of 44 consecutive scoreless innings--23
of them hitless as well. He started with two hitless innings on April 25
against the A's, six on April 30 against Washington, and nine in the first
post-1900 perfect game ever pitched, on May 5 against the A's. The streak
ended on May 11 after he'd pitched six more hitless innings against the
Tigers. (He did shut them out for fifteen innings.)
     Pitching at a time when complete games were the rule, Young finished what
he'd started 749 times. He'd take twelve warmup tosses and be ready to go. He
pitched more than 400 innings in a season five times, more than 300 eleven
other times, and said, "I never had a sore arm, and I pitched every third day.
Once I pitched every other day for eighteen days."
     Denton True Young was an instant sensation at Canton of the Tri-State
League and got the name Cyclone (later shortened to Cy) after his pregame
pitches splintered the fence that served as an outfield barrier.
     Young threw a three-hitter in his big-league debut in 1890 and pitched
both ends of a doubleheader that October, winning 5-1 and 7-3. In 1891, his
first full season, he won 27 for the Cleveland Spiders, the first of nine
straight seasons in which he won 20 games or more.
     In 1903 Cy pitched the first of his three no-hitters and also won two
games for the Boston Pilgrims (Red Sox) in the first World Series between the
American and National leagues. He rebounded from losing seasons in 1905 and
1906 to win 21 games in 1907 and, at age forty-one, pitched his third
no-hitter in 1908.
     He retired with the most career victories (511), losses (316), innings
pitched (7,354), and complete games (749) in history. In 1937 he was voted
into the Hall of Fame.

ROBIN YOUNT
     Infielder/Outfielder. Born Sept. 16, 1955 Danville, Ill. AL MVP 1982,
1989; joined 3,000-hit club in 1992.
     Unlike the slowing veteran who moves from the outfield to first base,
Robin Yount made a different move with different results. Seven years after
being chosen MVP at one demanding defensive position, shortstop, Yount was
selected as MVP again at another demanding position--center field.
     Since 1974 Yount has been consistency itself, hitting in the high .280s
(and over .300 six times) and played playing 150 or more games eight times.
He has won fielding titles at both positions, led the league in doubles,
triples, and runs created twice each, and reached the 3,000 hit mark in 1992.
     A high school All-American in Woodland Hills, California, Yount was the
Brewers' number one pick in 1973 and the third player picked overall, behind
David Clyde and John Stearns (and just ahead of Dave Winfield). He hit .285
at Newark, New York, in the New York-Penn League and went to spring training
with the Brewers in 1974. When Brewers manager Del Crandall saw Yount play,
he won the starting job; by the age of twenty-two, Yount had already qualified
for his big league pension by playing for four years. During spring training
in 1978, he left the Brewers briefly to become a pro golfer, returned a few
months later, and has been with the Brewers ever since. In 1981, he led the
league in fielding (.985) and fielding runs (28) and batted .316 in the
divisional playoff series.
     In 1982 Yount was the starting shortstop in the All-Star Game and had a
career year; he became the first shortstop to lead the league in slugging and
total bases and also topped his colleagues in hits, doubles, production, and
Total Player Rating. He batted .414 with 6 RBIs in the World Series, although
the Brewers lost to the Cardinals, and was named MVP in the off-season.
     An All-Star starter again in 1983, Yount suffered back problems so severe
that he was briefly shifted to DH. He moved to the outfield in 1985 and led
the league's outfielders in fielding (.997), making just one error. On
September 9, 1992, he joined baseball's exclusive 3,000-hit club by singling
against Cleveland's Jose Mesa in Milwaukee. He finished the 1993 season
with 3,142 hits.