batmagadanleadoff

The October 6, 1979 Sporting News has the original Japan tour rosters. The NL roster is identical to the original roster I posted in the Pillbox thread. TSN reported that the exhibition was to consist of nine games; NL v AL seven times and two MLB v Japan games. Dodgers Lopes and Cey were added to the tour after the original roster was announced but before the seven NL additions were announced. This TSN also reported that Jim Palmer suspects (suspected) that his GM Hank Peters was secretly responsible for Palmer's exclusion from the AL roster. Peters did not respond to any questions.

I think this mustache below matches the one from Japan. Plus that dimpled indentation right above the chin. I'm back in the Schmidt camp.

soupcan wrote: the guy is not big enough to be Schmidt. Good point Soupie. Now I'm on the fence again. Anybody here know a hardcore been a Phillie fan for 30 years (or longer)? That person would know instantly.

Here is the original first edition unrevised NL roster for the 1979 Japanese All Star Tour: Pitchers Jim Bibby - Pirates John Candelaria - Pirates Bob Forsch - Cards Gene Garber - Braves Tug McGraw - Phillies Phil Niekro - Braves Dick Tidrow - Cubs Catchers Gary Carter - Expos Ted Simmons - Cards John Stearns - Mets Infielders Larry Bowa - Phillies Steve Garvey - Dodgers Davey Lopes - Dodgers Bill Madlock - Pirates Pete Rose - Phillies Ozzie Smith - Padres Outfielders Lou Brock - Cardinals Jack Clark - Giants George Foster - Reds Dave Kingman - Cubs Greg Luzinski - Phillies No Mike Schmidt, so far, although there is this M&N throwback jersey from the Japanese tour The League indicated that one additional player will be added to the roster for this nine-game exhibition. Because seven players were eventually added to the original roster, I will assume that some of the later additions were to replace originally named players who could not make the trip to Japan. I will further assume that Bowa was one of those players who could not ultimately make the trip to Japan, based on the later selection of shortstop Craig Reynolds to the roster. Perhaps I am making these assumptions out of some bias to support my idea that the phront-row Phillie is Schmidt. The flaw here, however, is that I have yet to find any reported evidence that Schmidt was named to the NL roster, and am relying entirely on my visual interpretation of the photograph at the top of this thread and that Mitchell & Ness jersey. But Mitchell & Ness wouldn't make a Schmidt Japan '79 jersey if Schmidt never made the trip to Japan, would they?

The pillbox hats worn by the two Mets in this picture aren't like the Mets Bicentennial caps. The '76 caps had three horizontal orange stripes. These Japanese versions have five or six stripes. This isn't necessarily an error in uniform design, without evidence that the Japanese pillbox hats were intended to mirror the Bicentennials. It's no surprise, though, that the Japanese pillbox hats worn by the ML'ers were manufactured specifically for the All-Star Exhibition, as it would be unreasonable to ask the players (or the teams) to produce hats that in most cases, haven't been worn in three years.

I think it's Schmidt and not Bowa. The trick is to put your finger (or thumb) on your computer screen over the Phillie's hair that's sticking out from his cap on the right side of his head. It sticks out too much. With this thumb haircut, he looks more like Schmitty than even Mike Schmidt himself. Plus that choppy-like skin complexion that Schmidt had, especially around his chin (and cheeks). You'll have to stare at the picture up close to get that chin-skin detail. I suggest you press your nose against your computer screen to get a better look at Schmidt's chin. So with your finger covering the right side of his head and your nose right up against your monitor --it's Mike Schmidt. See? Plus the NL already had two shortstops (Ozzie Smith and Craig Reynolds) and wouldn't need a third (Bowa) for a two game exhibition series.

Yep! The old and original Mizuno logo. Know what else I'm seein'? Youngblood's got black stirrups. (I'm just the messenger here)

This picture gets freakier and freakier everytime I look at it. Youngblood's uniform is all wrong! His #1 in "18" has a serif. Stearns has the right style #1 digit - sans serif.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I have an old baseball mag that reports the following late additions to the NL roster for Japan '79: Elias Sosa, reliever (ATL) Joel YOunglbood (NYM) Joe Ferguson, C (LA) Craig Reynolds, SS (HOU) Gary Matthews OF (ATL) I left out Dave Parker and Bert Blyleven, both Pirates. They were also late additions to the roster.

There aren't any Giants in that picture. Maybe Jack Clark was held back. Lavelle was their star reliever that year. I'm not gonna say closer with what that being 1979.

HahnSolo wrote: The NL team needs a second baseman. I nominate Craig Reynolds as the "guy in back who may have on an Astros cap." You win.

I have an old baseball mag that reports the following late additions to the NL roster for Japan '79: Elias Sosa, reliever (ATL) Joel YOunglbood (NYM) Joe Ferguson, C (LA) Craig Reynolds, SS (HOU) Gary Matthews OF (ATL) A few stars were disgruntled because their team owners would not permit them to participate. I don't know who, but judging from that picture, Winfield and Hernandez come to mind immediately.

It must be Schmidt because he did go to Japan in 1979 with the All Stars. Link to Mitchell & Ness Mike Schmidt '79 Japan Tour Jersey. But where's our Keith - the 1979 co-MVP?

I remember that play very well. Needing a HR to complete a cycle late in a game, Reyes blasts a flyball to straightaway CenterField that hits the top of the wall on a fly and bounces straight back to the center fielder uneventfully. The relays all the way back to the catcher were perfect. Barry ("The Flash") Allen couldn't of scored from home on that play. I remember this play well because I thought it was one of the most disgusting, unprofessional things I'd ever seen in a MLB game. Reyes was smirking the whole way back to the dugout as if he were a 10-year old child in a neighborhood pick-up game. That bad play didn't cost the Mets on that day, as they were able to preserve their safe lead. A part of me was hoping for the Mets to blow that game all because of that Reyes out.

Win-Expectancy data for the ninth inning is based on what preceded it. A team entering the last inning will have x chance of winning the game only because of what happened earlier. I'm not so sure that the modern closer faces the best hitters, although I would like to see them used that way, at least on the Mets, anyway. Modern closers pitch the ninth inning on just about every team. There is no higher probability of facing the meat of the order in the ninth inning. I would agree that a closer probably faces a greater number of pinch-hitters, but those ph'ers are usually of lesser quality, otherwise they'd be in the starting lineup. I would also concede that those pinch-hitters usually present a lefty-right platoon that favors the hitter. However, a manager can and often does do the same against a star starting pitcher by tailoring much of the entire lineup in that manner.

AG/DC wrote: I disagree at two levels. Firstly, it is more impressive. Secondly, impressiveness isn't what we're measuring here, but rather value. I used the word "impressive" to mean value. So semantics aside, I'm not so sure that there is more value in pitching an effective 9th inning as opposed to, say, a sixth inning, though I'm open-minded enough to be convinced otherwise. The ninth inning doesn't exist in a vacuum. A team can only position itself to give its' closer a save opportunity based on what it did in the previous eight innings. AG/DC wrote: Look at that ERA of Eckersley's. Reliever's ERA's are highly unreliable. Here's why: the pitcher's slate is wiped clean after he records the inning's third out. As you know, baserunners left on base do not carry over to the next inning. Because relievers frequently enter innings where the defense has already gotten at least one out, sometimes two, a reliever in those situations is allowed to record less than three outs before his slate is wiped clean. By comparison, a starter who walks the first three batters in an inning must either dominate the rest of the inning or be very lucky (probably some of both) to keep his ERA at 0.00 for the inning. This isn't meant to mimimize Eckersley's brilliant 1990 season. But he was a 70 inning pitcher. Clemens was brillianter!

metsguyinmichigan wrote: $48 ????? Yikes. Nothing is immune from the current inflation. Not even baseball caps. Those caps were $38 a few months ago. It's a high-quality cap, though.

Vince Coleman Firecracker wrote: "...relievers, although they pitch much few innings than starters, affect the outcome of many more games than starters. But to what extent? A reliever who closes out the ninth inning effectively participates in three batter-pitcher confrontations. All else being equal, a "closer" who retires the side in the last inning of a game is no more impressive to me than a journeyman mopup-man who does the same in the sixth inning. I wouldn't need to look at leverage statistics because I know intuitively that a reliever, even a great one, who pitches 60 or 70 innings in a season cannot have the same impact of an All Star caliber starter who pitches over 200 innings. A guy with 10 bank accounts, each worth $25K, isn't wealthier than a guy with a single million dollar account unless you're basing wealth on the # of bank accounts.

Try these guys. http://www.ballcap.com/

A couple of bad breaks for the Mets that were somewhat tolerated when they occurred because the game seemed to be safely in Mets hands at the time: The two Endy Chavez base-running blunders; Tatis' two-out line drive with the bases loaded that was speared by a diving/flying Chase Utley.

The way I see it, when you lose a game where you had a three run lead going into the last inning, you blame the pitchers that pitched the 9th inning, if you have to blame any pitchers, at all. This pitching debacle was compounded by the fact that it was the bottom of the Phillie batting order that did the damage.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Here's something weird: Only one American Leaguer in the whole shot. I assume that's Senor Smoke. There is surely an American League shot as well. This tour pitted the NL All Stars against the AL All Stars. (Check out the scoreboard -- top right).

A group of MLB all-stars toured Japan after the 1979 season. Players were paid $10K each. Rod Carew quit the tour after four days because of, allegedly, a broken promise that Carew could make an extra $40-50K from Japanese endorsements.

I don't wanna pile on here, but Ozzie Smith wasn't around in 1976. He's also wearing a one-year style Padre uni (1979 - Weren't all Padre unis in the 1970's one year styles [/joke]?) I'd say that's a 1979 picture based on Ozzie's uniform.

HahnSolo wrote: Is that Ted Williams kneeling behind Garvey in the Padre uniform? It's ex-Met Roger Craig.