Things Ya Didn't Know (Baseball Division)

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: Roy doesn't make this list of 111 baseball Vietnam vets. That sounded high until I realized that the majority were minor leaguers, including those killed in action.

I wonder how many of those in that list were actually 'in country' as opposed to just Vietnam-era vets.

One name not mentioned is George Hendrick although I remember a story about him calling up Charlie Finley and telling him "I'm in Vietnam, man" - although it's possible that his message was more
like 'they're sending me to Vietnam'.
Whatever the case, a few phone calls later and Hendrick's tour was finished state-side.

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Roy doesn't make this list of 111 baseball Vietnam vets. That sounded high until I realized that the majority were minor leaguers, including those killed in action. I wonder how many of those in that list were actually 'in country' as opposed to just Vietnam-era vets.

Yeah, I tried to clarify that. Unless someone can correct me, I'm pretty sure Wayne Garrett was the latter.

[Edgy MD]

If a guy pinch hits and the team bats around, giving him a second at-bat in the inning, it doesn't count as a pinch-hit at-bat.

Gary called it a "Zombie at-bat," a term I've never heard. It seems to me that the plate appearance has to be credited to him either as a pinch-hitter or as a pitcher.

[Frayed Knot]

One-time teammates -- Ron Darling, Frank Viola, Sid Fernandez, and David Cone -- were all drafted in the first three rounds of the same draft class (1981)
RD = 9th overall by Texas
FV = 37th - Twins
SF = 73rd - Dodgers
DC = 74th - Royals

[Edgy MD]

John Franco went in Round 5 that same year, #125 overall by the Dodgers, 18 picks after the Mets went for Steve Phillips

[seawolf17]

Other teammates Kevin McReynolds (6th) and Daryl Boston (7th) in that draft too.

[Edgy MD]

That's also the draft memorialized in this book, a favorite of Lunchie's, if'n' I recall correct:

[bmfc1]

This must be unusual: 2 days in a row, the winning and losing pitchers of a game had the same name--Thursday, MIA and PHI, Garcia and Garcia; Wednesday, OAK and BAL, Castro and Castro.

[dgwphotography]

Frayed Knot wrote: One-time teammates -- Ron Darling, Frank Viola, Sid Fernandez, and David Cone -- were all drafted in the first three rounds of the same draft class (1981) RD = 9th overall by Texas FV = 37th - Twins SF = 73rd - Dodgers DC = 74th - Royals

Darling and Viola met for the first time at this game. Franco didn't pitch, but was in the bullpen...

[Frayed Knot]

seawolf17 wrote: Other teammates Kevin McReynolds (6th) and Daryl Boston (7th) in that draft too.

And in the midst of all that, the Mets used the 4th overall pick on OF Terry Blocker who went on to have 244 ML ABs, 15 of them with the Mets.

I looked all this up because Ronnie brought up the story a couple nights ago I have never heard, namely that the Mariners, picking first that year, approached Darling with the proposal to use that pick
on him if he pre-agreed to sign for a particular amount. Ron declined and so the M's wound up using the selection on a different college right-handed, Mike Moore out of Oral Roberts, leaving Darling
for the Rangers eight picks later and we all know the rest.
Moore actually went on to have a career fairly similar (even if much more anonymous) to Darling's - accumulating more career WAR (28.5 vs 20.2 acc to BB-Ref) due mostly it seems to Moore virtually
never missing a start for over a ten year stretch and therefore appearing in some 75 mo(o)re games.


In all, five of the first nine picks that year wound up as Mets at some point in their careers, in addition to the later choices mentioned above

1 - Moore
2 - Joe Carter (Cubs)
3 - Dick Schofield (Angels) but later a NYM in 1992
4 - Blocker
5 - Matt Williams (Blue Jays) no, not that one, a pitcher from Rice U who wound up with 10 careers ML games
6 - McReynolds (Padres)
7 - Boston (White Sox)
8 - Bob Meachum (StL - but traded to the Yanquis where he'd play SS for parts of six seasons)
9 - Darling



Other NYM draftees from that year to become Mets at some point in their careers: John Christensen (38th overall), Mark Carreon (185), Lenny Dykstra (315), and Lou Thornton (471st -- although
not before going through several other teams first then coming back to the Mets to end his career in '89-'90 with a total of 13 ABs and a couple of pinch-running appearances)

[Benjamin Grimm]

Baseball Reference doesn't have a picture of Jose Canseco.

When I visit that site each day (more or less) to paste stats and box scores, I play a little game with the twelve faces that appear on the left side of the page. I try to see how many players I can recognize. (Usually I get two, sometimes three, once in a great while four. Today I was able to identify Aaron Haaaraang, Pascual Perez, and, in a Cleveland cap, Asdrubal Cabrera.) Today, one of the faces was a generic image that looked like this:



I figured it was probably somebody very obscure, like Moonlight Graham, but it turned out to be Jose Canseco!

[Frayed Knot]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: When I visit that site each day (more or less) to paste stats and box scores, I play a little game with the twelve faces that appear on the left side of the page. I try to see how many players I can recognize.

I do the same thing!
Not that I then record and track the results or anything, but I think my record may be seven.


oe: just went over there and got five (they change the lineup every couple hours): recognized Lee May, Jon Matlack (some of them are gimmes), Kenny Lofton, Ken Caminiti, and Ellis Burks
Struck out on Wes Parker, Rich Harden, Al Oliver, and a couple of back and white guys including Black Sox manager Kid Gleason (he didn't look a thing like actor John Mahoney).

[Edgy MD]

With the Baseball-Reference thumbnails, today I got Ken Caminiti, Jon Matlack, and Kenny Lofton. I ken my Kens!

As far as "thinks Ya Didn't Know," part of what I do is promote fair trade. How exciting to learn on Monday that David Robinson, Jackie Robinson's surviving son, runs a fair trade coffee cooperative in Tanzania.

[Benjamin Grimm]

From that group, I was only able to recognize Jon Matlack and Al Oliver.

[Edgy MD]

I recognized Oliver, but couldn't place it, and guessed it might have been young Doc Ellis. Oliver spent ten years with the Pirates, but I associate him with the vagabond second half of his career.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I went 3-for-12 today. Like I needed another distraction!

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I figured it was probably somebody very obscure, like Moonlight Graham, but it turned out to be Jose Canseco!

I'm pretty sure Canseco's picture been on my Post Office wall. Why couldn't Baseball-Reference have gotten a copy from the DEA?

Later