Kuzul

Imagine this scene…

Somewhere in a  south Boston neighborhood, Little Johnny is walking through the living room with his Nintendo DS in hand when he sees Grampa sitting in Dad’s recliner, half napping, half watching some random news program. The story Grampa is paying no attention to is about the latest YouTube sensation, the homeless Ohio fellow named Ted Williams, the man with the golden pipes.

“Hey, Grampa. Do you know who this Ted Williams is?”

Grampa stirs from the drift into Dreamland.

“Huh? Wha–? Ted Williams?”

The old man sits up, beaming with pride. His grandson actually knows the name Ted Williams!

“Of course I know who he is! He is only the greatest hitter in history. He is the greatest player in Red Sox history. They called him ‘The Splendid Splinter.'”

Grampa continues excitedly, “Ted Williams is the last batter to bat over .400 in a season. He had a career batting average of .344 and hit 521 home runs! He was the greatest ever. Forget the Babe. Ted Williams was the best. The day he died was a sad, sad day.”

Little Johnny’s jaw drops as if it has come unhinged. His eyes are wide and filled with a strange mixture of fear and wonder. He looks from his grandfather to the image of the haggard, homeless man on the TV.

“O-OK, Grampa. Thanks!”

The boy turns and sprints through the house, calling, “Mom! Mom! Where are you?”

He finds her with her head in the washing machine, swapping out another load of laundry.

“For Pete’s sake, son? What is it?”

“It’s Grampa. I think he is losing it, Mom. I think he is going senile or something.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah! He thinks Ted Williams is some dead baseball player!”

Somewhere in the world something like that had to go down. Don’t you think?

The meteoric rise of the bass-voiced deadbeat dad and alcohol/drug-abusing panhandler Ted Williams illustrates just how we Americans can see Hell from the hand-basket we are crammed into. It also marks a definite shift in the way we conceive and pursue the American dream.

In the past, it was believed that, because of the opportunities afforded each of us by the freedoms and resources we enjoy as Americans, anybody could make it if he or she was willing to pay the price of blood, sweat and tears.

Back then, you heard people say things like, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

You had guys like Gale Sayers saying, “I learned that if you want to make it bad enough, no matter how bad it is, you can make it.”

(Some tow-headed kid is smirking. “Gale? A guy named Gale?!)

John Madden was warning anyone who would listen, “The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.”

(Same kid is saying, “Madden! I love Madden 11. Madden 10 sucked, man.)

And the immortal words of the even more immortal Vince Lombardi still echoed in our ears: “The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.”

But that was the olden days, back when we assumed success was the product of things like hard work, solid investment, and good timing.

To Generation xBox, that all sounds like sappy silliness of sentimental old fools. They know better. It’s not about hard work. It’s not about paying your dues.

It’s about making a really kick-ass video and getting it on YouTube. It’s about going viral, dude.

It’s about making it on American Idol. And if you don’t make it there and you feel like a complete failure and you console yourself by eating buckets of ice cream for years and years, then you can get on the Biggest Loser and be an overnight success.

Who wants to be the next Abraham Lincoln when you can be the next William Hung?

How hard must it be for youth football, baseball and basketball coaches to convince their kids that hard work and dedication really do pay off? Every time they pop online, some nobody is making everybody take notice. Some new sideshow has gone viral. Some new name is on everybody’s lips.

Like Ted Williams.

Yeah, that Ted Williams. The one whose sudden fame has already hit a brick wall with his arrest in Los Angeles. While media outlets across the nation line up to hear him talk, his daughter is opening up about dear old dad. Janey is her name. She was hauled down to jail with dad to sort out a disturbance they caused in the Renaissance Hotel.

According to the New York Daily News, this is Janey’s explanation of what happened:

“He said ‘You, you fat [expletive], and when he said that, I just got angry,” she recounted.

She added that her father — a former radio personality — has turned back to the bottle since his new-found fame.

“He’s consumed at least a bottle of Grey Goose a night, at least,” Janey said. “That’s not including the Coronas he orders, that’s not including the Budweisers he orders, that’s not including the other alcohol, the wines. He drinks “heavily.”

It seems that hot-wiring the Successmobile might not always be as good an idea as it seems. Maybe a little self-discipline, hard work, sacrifice and responsible behavior would be nice to mix in there.

Don’t get me wrong: I do understand the irony of a nobody like me having a voice on the Internet, being able to put a story like this out there for people all over the globe to read.

Come to think of it, if every every reader would give this article a FaceBook like and a Twitter tweet, maybe we can make it go viral and I can be the next Ted Williams. Though hitting .400 is out of the question for me.

I never could handle the off-speed pitch.

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Thought we were going to leave you hanging, huh? No such luck—let’s tune in.

Mutt Munson: “Hello everyone, I’m Mutt Munson and I’m here with my great friend and longtime broadcast partner Jock Johnson, and today from Fenway Park we bring you the final game of what has been a thrilling match up so far between loaded contingents from New York and Boston.

And, Jock, this series has been stoked with controversy almost since it’s opening with fans questioning line up calls and in particular the move of Ted Williams to right field, but that seems to have gone on without a hitch. Williams has played error-less ball in right and his bat has been on fire since the outset of the series.” 

Jock Johnson: “Well why not, Mutt, I mean for chrissake Ted had the guts to go and take on the Jerry’s and the Goo … well North Koreans, risking his life in a flying tin can with bullets blazing everywhere so I would think a switch to right for the good of the club wouldn’t be something so far out of his reach.

In fact, I was talking to him a little earlier and he was saying he’d never seen an outfielder cover ground like Tris Speaker in his life and his standard policy so far this series is if he has to move more than fifty feet to his right he just holds up from there and lets the Grey Eagle take it on over.”

Mutt: “And on the offensive side it’s also been the combination of Williams & Speaker along with ol’ Double XX Jimmy Foxx and young shortstop Nomar Garciaparra carrying the day. Garciaparra has really impressed us on both sides of the ball, has shown great range in the field and a huge arm out of the hole … in particular that bang, bang beauty catching Mickey who was really hustling down the line a couple of nights ago in the game that tied this whole thing up for Boston.”

Jock: “Well that’s one of the few times anyone on the Boston staff has been able to handle Mantle. He’s been on base via the wood or walk 14 times in 25 at bats and along with DiMaggio and Ruth has been the catalyst for this devastating Yankee attack … but that’s enough about what’s gone on thus far, Mutt, let’s talk about today’s game and the pitching matchup.

People are saying Casey’s gone crazy and is trying to pull a rabbit out of his hat with clutch lefty Eddie Lopat and Francona has decided to go with his stud righty Curt Schilling bypassing a pretty well rested Lefty Grove.”

Mutt: “Both are tried and true though in numerous post season outings, folks, so hold onto your hats, we’re about to tip off after a quick message to you from our friends at Anheuser Busch.”

Off the air.

Jock: “God damn, I need a cigarette.” 

Mutt: “Yeah, well there’s no smoking up here … try chewing some gum.”

Jock: “I’d rather have a wad.”

Mutt: “Do you see a spitoon anywhere? And no booze either, Jock, we don’t need a repeat of what happened in Detroit. You start with some of that loose talk here and we’ll get pulled right off the air.”

Jock: “What are you my mother? Detroit was three years ago. All I said was I’d kill for a cigarette.”

Producer: “We’re back on in 30 seconds guys, cut the crap. You sound like my grand parents squawking over a game of parchese.”

Both Jock and Mutt turn around and offer a host of explicitives deleted. The first two innings go scoreless and we pick up the call with Red Sox runners on first and third with two away and Manny Ramirez at the plate.

Jock: “You know I tell you, Mutt, I never thought I’d see the day with a ballplayer wearing his hair down to the middle of his back like this kid Ramirez. I don’t know if he’s going for the Hercules effect but it hasn’t worked so far, he hasn’t hit a lick all series.

But Lopat hangs a curve Ramirez rips it down the left field line.

Mutt: There’s the first big hit by Ramirez, Pesky is home in a walk, Doerr rounds into third, the throw by Mantle is into second…he’s out! What a throw by Mickey Mantle from deep in the left field corner. I don’t think Ramirez thought he had a chance and he was kind of loafing off the turn at first and this inning comes to an end in dramatic fashion but it’s the Red Sox who take the early lead on the Yankee’s 1-0. 

And Schilling is dealing, throwing 95 and up, mixing in a sharp slider, the occasional change, and seems to have the Bronx Bombers just where he wants them.

On the other side, Lopat is pitching equally well. Aside from the run in the third he’s successfully worked the corners, changed speeds, and frustrating the left hand likes of William and Speaker entirely and thru seven full innings the Red Sox continue to lead 1-0.

But in the top of the eighth DiMaggio leads off with a double. Ruth skies to deep center, Speaker has a track on it but Joe moves to third on the sac with one away.

That brings Mantle to the plate. All the Yankees need is a fly ball to just about any part of the ballpark and the game will be tied. Schilling quickly runs the count to 0-2. Mantle then drives one down the right field line … just foul.

Schilling then drops an 0-2 change on the outside part of the late for a called strike three, Mantle is left shaking his head, the Red Sox fans explode, but it’s Gehrig coming to the plate and that prompts Francona to head to the mound.

Francona to Schilling: What do you think here? We take a pass on Gehirg?”

Schilling looks over to the on deck circle: “Yogi’s up next. That little fuc*&^er, I could throw it at his head and he’ll still find away to get a base hit. I say we go at he big guy.”

Francona decides it’s poison either way, let’s Schilling pitch to Gehrig but it turns out to be a mistake as Lou takes a 2-1 fastball on the outside part of the plate and promptly lines one off the Green Monster in left. Manny plays it cleanly, but the speedy Gehrig motors into second with a clean two bagger.

The Red Sox fans let out a collective groan, but the dissettlement over the tie score quickly becomes disbelief as Berra proves Schilling a profit by turning a chest high fastball over into right and with Gehrig off with the crack of the bat, he scores easily and the Yankee 1-0 deficit is suddenly a 2-1 lead. 

All of the city of Boston seems to deflate. Francona comes out and is booed heavily; Wood comes on for Schilling and punches out A-Rod but he damage is done. 

It appears as though it may be permanent, too. Lopat gets Williams and Foxx to start the bottom of eighth which brings on Johnny Pesky.

Mutt: Jock this is a tough matchup for the ‘Sox. Lopat is absolutely sailing and he hasn’t been touched by a left hand batter all day.

But Pesky battles Lopat to a 3-2 count, fouls off a couple of pitches while Red Sox fans hold their collective breath.

Mutt: Lopat winds, here’s the pitch. Pesky swings and he drives one to right does this ball have the legs…. 

Jock: I think it does, will it stay fair?

Mutt: Unbelievable, Johnny Pesky…my god I can’t even hear myself, Fenway park has just exploded! Johnny Peskey, Mr. Red Sox has just deposited one inside the aptly names Pesky pole and this game is now all tied up at two apiece. How about that?

And so it remains. Casey pulls Lopat, turns to Gossage who puts away Carlton Fisk and then Wood and Gossage both throwing, distinct, virtually unhittable heat trade zeroes in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh frames.

In the top of the 12th Lyle comes on. He quickly gets pinch hitter Jim Rice on a fly ball to left, strikes out Speaker on a slider that breaks a mile outside which brings Williams to the plate.

Ted promptly slams one into the deep gap in right center. DiMaggio hustles after it but this is the deepest part of Fenway and he amply beats Joe’s throw into third for a stand up triple.  

With Foxx coming up Stengal heads to he mound and calls for Rivera. This time the conversation revolves around walking Foxx, but with the left handed Pesky on deck, just the kind of punch hitter that will occasionally have some success against Rivera.

The Yanks decide to pitch walk Double XX and take another go at Pesky. It’s something of an unconventional move trading a right hand hitter for the left hander Pesky but Rivera and his slider are notoriously tough on south side swingers. 

Still Pesky and the great Rivera battle to a 2-2 count. 

Mutt: So here we are again, anything from Pesky will give the ‘Sox a 3-2 lead. Rivera deals, Pesky swings and oh my god it’s another drive to right. Ruth is moving over …

Jock: This could be outta here…

Mutt: Ruth goes up and into the stands. Does he have it?

A moment’s pause as Mutt waits on the umpires call.

Mutt: Yes, he does. Yes, he does! Oh what a catch by Babe Ruth to save the Yankees from a crushing defeat here in the bottom of the twelfth. Mr. Red Sox Johnny Pesky has been robbed ladies and gentleman, he has been robbed by Yankee right fielder Babe Ruth!  

Papelbon comes on in the top of the 13th. He gets DiMaggio and Ruth both fly to Speaker in center. With Mantle coming to the plate let’s pick up the call.

Mutt: Wow, wow, wow, Jock…two away in the bottom of the twelfth, we’re still tied at two apiece of what’s been an absolutely thrilling affair. The fans seem to be over the disappointment of a few moments ago when Johnny Pesky was absolutely robbed in right, are up on their feet again calling for Papelbon to put Mantle away as well.

The Red Sox closer winds and deals…Mantle takes a mammoth rip, and he dribbles one down the first base side. He’s off and flying, Papelbon rushes the ball…he can’t get to it, he can’t get to it, Mantle is safe at first! He’ s safe at first and the Yankee’s are still alive here in the 13th with Berra coming to the plate!    

Jock: We’ve seen it endlessly over the years, Mutt, this Yankee team will come and get you when you least expect it.

Mutt: Five O’Clock lightning, Jock.  

Jock: And Berra’s as clutch a hitter as you could want coming to the plate now. Papelbon has been throwing smoke and the ‘Sox just got the bad side of it on that Mantle infield dribbler.

Mutt: Mickey really showed off that incredible speed and Berra settles in.

Papelbon puts a blazer on the inside corner of he plate. Strike one. He does the same on the outside part of the plate. Yogi swings and misses strike two. 

Then he puts one well inside, a waste pitch. Berra decides to swing anyway, barely gets a piece and Fisk is unable to hold on. This turns out to be the pivotal pitch at bat. Papelbon then puts a pair of sliders in the dirt the second gets away from Fisk and Mantle hustles into second. 

The Red Sox consider walking Berra, but with two strikes and their ace closer throwing what appear to be unhittable heat they decide to try and finish Yogi off. A decision they will come to regret. 

Mutt: I’m absolutely breathless myself, Jock. This crowd has been up and roaring, imploring the Red Sox nine to finish off heir hated rivals the seventh inning on and the Yanks simply refuse to deal.

It’s still 2-2 here, Mantle takes a short lead off second, Papelbon winds and deals…Berra swings and hits one deep to left, that’s going to make it to the wall. No! It’s going to make it over the wall in left!

Yogi Berra has just planted one over the Green Monster in left and the Yankee’s have taken a 4-2 lead here in the 13th and folks you can here a pin drop here in Fenway as the Bronx Bombers mob team-mate Yogi Berra in the N.Y. dugout. Unbelievable.

A-Rod follows with a double off the wall but Rivera goes down swinging and the deficit holds at two heading into the bottom of the 13th. 

Rivera gets Manny looking on a knee high fastball that just nicks the outside part of the plate to open the bottom of the 13th. Fisk lines a single up the middle, Doerr walks, but Yaz, pinch hitting for Papelbon, flies to shallow left and neither runner is able to advance.

That brings Speaker to the plate and he surprises everyone dragging a bunt down the first base line. There is no play to be made, he is safe at first with the bags juiced.

Nomar comes to the plate and promptly smashes one down the third base line. Nettles in for A-Rod makes an incredible diving stop on the ball but it rolls out of his grasp, Fisk scores, the bases are still juiced with the great Ted Williams coming to the plate.

Mutt: Oh my goodness, gracious, so it comes to this. Two away in the bottom of the 13th, the Yanks holding on to a one run lead with two away Williams at the plate and a seemingly unruffled Mariano Rivera on the mound.

Jock: Mutt, however this goes down we have to say that this match up between these two great ball clubs has not disappointed on any level. This has turned out to be the series of the century and this game has just been something out of this world.

Mutt: Rivera is set, so is Williams…

Ted takes one a little inside for ball one. Hits a liner down the right field line … just foul. Rivera comes inside again, Williams lays off and it’s 2-1.

Mutt: There’s no way Rivera will walk Williams in this situation, he will have to put the ball somewhere inside the strike zone. The crowd is hushed at this point in rapt anticipation, Rivera winds, he deals, Williams swings, and he hits a liner up the middle, here comes DiMaggio …. 

In all fairness we should end it here. Neither side will ever believe their boys would drop this baseball showdown to end all showdowns, but that’s the things about the diamond game…unless Bud Selig is in attendance there ain’t no ties.

Mutt: DiMaggio’s coming, he dives…he’s got it! He’s got it! The great Yankee Clipper makes the catch and the New York Yankee’s have defeated the Boston Red Sox in one of the greatest games these baseball loving eyes have ever seen!

And that’s all she wrote, won’t get into a whole big aftermath here. Just hope you enjoyed it, 

DR

www.thedailymunson.com 

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Field of Dreams: James Earl Jones (Terrence Mann) to Kevin Costner (Ray Kinsella): “Ray, people will come Ray.”

“They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. 

“Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it, for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.

“People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh…people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”

While we are creeping a little closer to pitchers and catchers we’re still in the midst of what’s turning out to be one very ferocious winter. A lot of downtime with snow piling up everywhere, which may leave the mind to wander—contemplate a strong drink, fantasize about the neighbor’s wife and, in a pinch, strong, lingering memories of epic Yankee-Red Sox battles gone by. 

In this case we’ll do you one better—our own little Field of Dreams—and pull together 25-man rosters of All-Time Yankees and All-Time Red Sox and tee them off in a seven-game series that will have you seeing baseball stars.

So without further ado, we begin with the masked men, a group of receivers that have etched their own little corner in Cooperstown’s Hall of Fame.

Begin Slideshow

As the new year comes to a close with the Red Sox being a very early favorite for the American League, let’s take a look back at one of the “greatest” trades that never happened.

The Yankees and the Red Sox rivalry is easily the biggest, and most heated in all of sports.

In the 1950s, Ted Williams, the greatest hitter of all time, was the “face” of the Boston Red Sox.

Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper, was the face of New York and the most popular athlete at that time, as well.

Can you imagine if either of these legends were swapped to each others opposing teams?

Well, it almost happened. Rumor has it that in 1947, Tom Yawkey, Red Sox owner, and Lee MacPhail, the Yankee GM, had agreed to trade Williams to New York in exchange for DiMaggio.

Had this trade been agreed upon, Yankee-Redsox history, no, baseball history would be extremely altered as we know it.

So, what was the reason this trade never went through? Well, for one thing, Tom Yawkey and Lee MacPhail were both known to be drunk at the time the trade was proposed. More importantly, Yawkey wanted more for Williams.

A young left-field prospect by the name of Yogi Berra to be exact.

Lets take a look how the Red Sox lineup would look in 1948 with Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra (Defensively, based off of 1948 Red Sox Lineup)

C Birdie Tebbetts (later would be Yogi Berra)

1B Billy Goodman

2B Bobby Doerr

SS Vern Stephens

3B Johnny Pesky

OF Joe DiMaggio

OF Dom DiMaggio

OF  Yogi Berra (for now)

Seems like a very good lineup, doesn’t it?

Now here’s the predicted Yankees lineup with Ted “Splendid Splinter” Williams:

C Gus Niarhos

1B George McQuinn

2B Snuffy Stirnweiss

SS Phil Rizzuto

3B Billy Johnson

OF Ted Williams

OF Johnny Lindell

OF Tommy Henrich

Now, how many players can you recognize off the bat? Most likely two or three.

Could these have been rough times without the playing time of Berra AND DiMaggio? One would imagine. The Yankees still had younger players like Hank Bauer, who would later go on to start in the 50s.

Although it would have been fun to see how many home runs Williams could have hit in New York, the bats of DiMaggio and Berra would have been greatly missed.

The “Curse of the Bambino” quite possibly could have been broken by a previous Yankees legend as a well as a soon to be legend. Kind of ironic, isn’t it?

Who knows how many more championships the Red Sox could have won, and how many the Yankees could have won?

Yankees fan are very happy this trade did not go down. It may have seemed smart at the time, but in the long run, I think New York would have been the loser.

Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra for Ted Williams

Who is the winner?

You decide.

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As the World Series continues, an east coast team prepares and hopes for future Fall Classics at their stadium: The Boston Red Sox are completing the final stage of renovations to Fenway Park.

New for 2011 will be the right field grandstand seats, an expanded concessions area, a renovated open will call and Gate D concourse. The highlight is the addition of three brand new HD video boards behind center field. Two of boards will be 100 feet wide.

It is the 10th year of a construction project that’s supposed to ensure Fenway Park is the home of the Red Sox for the next 30 to 40 years.

Hopefully ownership isn’t committed to that projection.

No matter the renovations, it’s like a fresh coat of paint on an aging ball park. They should really think about a new home for the Red Sox sooner rather than later.

It’s a subject that was closed when John Henry’s ownership group bought the team in 2002. Previous discussions for a new ballpark barely got further than an artist’s conception. The new ownership quickly said they would not pursue a new stadium, and instead began maximizing Fenway Park.

In 10 years, they will spend $285 million in annual facelifts for Fenway Park. Most of the upgrades were welcomed, although adding seats atop the Green Monster was seen as blasphemous at the time. Now the Monster Seats are the most coveted in the stadium.

Give ownership credit for having the cojones to make an unpopular decision. They should do it again by replacing Fenway Park.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do this. In a city where history is sacred, Fenway Park deserves to celebrated during the centennial season in 2012. It should be a year-long party to honor the legendary ball park. The focus should be on the memories created and stored within the walls. To ensure the attention is in the right place, ownership shouldn’t even suggest a new stadium for now.

But following a decompression period after the final out in 2012, ownership should turn their attention towards a new stadium.

Fenway Park’s capacity of 38,800 is the fourth lowest in Major League Baseball. It is also the lowest capacity of the large market teams.

Because of the lack of seats, the Red Sox had the highest average ticket price in 2010 at $46.46. Not bad, but $12.16 more than second place. A new stadium with more seats would make games more accessible to fans with more bargain priced tickets.

A new stadium would also include the luxury boxes so attractive to owners because they are money makers. For a franchise with the second highest payroll in baseball, Boston would become better equipped to compete with the hated New York Yankees for free agents.

The idea of a new stadium would be met trepidation. The city of Boston wants to preserve their history and there’s plenty of it within Fenway Park.

Babe Ruth started his career with the BoSox. “The Splendid Splinter” Ted Williams is arguably the greatest hitter to ever play the game. Pesky’s Pole. The memorable names scrawled inside the Green Monster. The park is a monument to the icons that played there and the sentimental value is priceless.

Many of these traditions can be retained. Original objects, like the red seat behind right field for a Ted Williams’ home run, can be transferred to the new ballpark. Or the names, like Pesky’s Pole, can be applied to the same parts in the new stadium. And while the Green Monster is irreplaceable, a new Monster with a manual scoreboard would pay homage to Fenway Park’s signature trait.

This wouldn’t be the first time Boston said goodbye to a sports monument. The Boston Garden was the home of 16 NBA Championships with legends like Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Red Auerbach, and Larry Bird made their mark over the years. But the Boston Celtics are still the Boston Celtics after moving next door into the FleetCenter, now known as the TD Garden. The memories will live on in a new home.

Fenway Park can keep getting facelifts like a Hollywood actor, but the Old Ball Park keeps aging. They can keep pouring money into it, but Fenway Park is a money pit that’s approaching obsolescence when compared to today’s stadium.

The 10-year plan to upgrade Fenway Park will be complete in time for the 2011 season. The next plan should be a new ballpark.

Randolph Charlotin writes a New England Patriots blog at www.randolphc.com.

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Currently Albert Pujols and Joey Votto are locked in a battle for the coveted “Triple Crown” of hitters in the National League, while Miguel Cabrerra is chasing it in the American League. The hitters Triple Crown, for those that don’t know, refers to leading the league in home runs, RBI, and average in the same season. It has been 42 years since anyone has won it at all, (Carl Yastremski for Boston) and it’s been 73 years since anyone has done it in the National League (Joe Medwick for the Cardinals). Overall, it’s been won 16 times, 11 of those in the 45 years between 1922 and 1967, with the longest stretch without a winner being 10 years. So I got to thinking, what happened. Why did players stop winning the Triple Crown. Through research and consideration I came up with the following reasons.

Integration

Integration is a big part of the reason. If you don’t count Ted Williams second Triple Crown in 1947, the year that integration technically occurred (but there were only two black players in the Majors) the Triple Crown has only been one three times. In fact, even when Yaz won the last one in 1967 integration hadn’t fully taken hold.

Ironically it was the same year that Boston, the last team to do so, actually fully integrated. Integration impacts the chances of winning the Triple Crown because it expands the player pool. (Incidentally the only African-American player to win the Triple Crown is Frank Robinson.) The impact of integration is easy to demonstrate, 8 winners in the 25 years before is a lot more than the the three winners in the 63 years since. Still, it doesn’t tell the whole story. How come no one has won since 1967? There were three those three winners in 20 years.

Expansion

When Ted Williams won in 1947 there were only eight teams in each League and 615 total players in the Majors. When Yaz won in 1967 there were only ten teams in each league, and a total of 776 players. This year there are 16 teams in the NL, and 14 in the AL, for a total of 1163. The Majors have almost doubled in size since Williams won his Triple Crown, and it has increased by more than 67 percent since Yaz won his.

It’s not just size of the players that have increased, it’s the total number of players. Having more players makes it harder to finish first.

Internationalization

It’s one of those things that doesn’t get as much talk as it should, in that that it makes a lot of sense out of a lot of things. Integration had it’s impact as is considered it’s own “era” of baseball, but while internationalization has had at least the same impact, it’s not really discussed very much. This year 315 players, nearly 28 percent of Major Leaguers, are foreign born players. And it’s not just average players either.

This year’s All-Star game featured nine foreign born players among its 18 starters. Five of the six leaders in the three Triple Crown categories for the two leagues are foreign-born. In fact, both players threatening to win it this year are foreign born. Pujols is from the DR, and Votto is from Canada. 

Integration added about 10 million players to the player pool, roughly the same as the Dominican Republic alone.

In 1967 there were a total of 89 foreign born players. This year there are 315. Even that doesn’t tell the whole story though, because Cuba and Puerto Rico have been delivering MLB  players consistently. In 1957 there were 23 from those two countries. In 1967 there were 44, and in 2010 there are 44. When you take those two countries out of the equation, in 1957 2% of the league was foreign born not from Cuba or PR. In 1967 it was up to about 5%. In 2010 it is over 23%.

That’s a significant number. If you count the two nations who provide the most Major League Players, Dominican Republic (119) and Venezuela (76) you increase the population to draw players from by nearly 40 million. If you count the next two, Japan and Mexico, you basically add a population equivalent to the entire US population. As an aside this also explains the “drop” in African American players. There’s an obvious corresponding drop in American players period, which corresponds inherently with the increase of the percentage of foreign born players. Pardon me for stating the obvious, but it seems to get lost.

Specialization

Babe Ruth had a career batting average of .342, good for 10th all time, an often overlooked fact. He wasn’t just a slugger, he was a pretty darned good hitter too! Several factors, smaller parks, changing pitching mounds and strike zones, perhaps changing balls, steroids etc have all combined to make hitters specialize. For a very long time there just weren’t a lot of players who both hit for a high average and knock a lot of balls out of the park.

In at least the last 30 years+, I can only find four players, A-Rod, Bonds, Manny and Andres Galarraga who have even won a “career Triple Crown” meaning they’ve led the league in all three categories at any point in their career. If Pujols can hold on to his RBI lead he’ll be the fifth , and probably the first to do so without a little “extra help.” Somewhat surprisingly, it’s not just the Triple Crown no one has won.

Since the respective Triple Crown achievement in each league there have been no players to lead in both Home Runs and BA in the same season.

Finally, since integration, no player has hit 400 home runs and had a BA over .330. The closest is Guerrero who has a BA of .320, but has never led the league in any of the Triple Crown categories, indicating he hits both with power and average well, but neither well enough to lead the league. Again Pujols threatens to break that streak with just one more HR. He is an exception though. He’s not a slugger. He’s a very powerful line-drive hitter. In a very real sense, he’s a specialist in the sense that he’s a hitter, not a slugger, he just happens to hit a lot of his line-drives really, really hard.

Pitching

Pitching used to be easier to hit. Since 1920, only 29 starting pitchers with more than 1000 IP have recorded a H/9 innings rate of fewer than 8. Of those 27 have played since the last time a Triple Crown was won. Only three players are in the top 50 all time in batting average. Hitting for average is just harder that it used to be, which is part of the reason you start getting specialization.

Taking all of this into consideration, I think Pujols could break the streak. He’s the type of hitter that can do it because he has both power and average. There’s also the fact that he’s generally done his best hitting in August and September.

This year has certainly been no exception. He’s been hitting well over .400 for the month, and basically a HR every other game and an RBI per game. His OPS for the month is over 1.300. He’s also got the “fitting” thing going for him, which really isn’t a reason, but it would be appropriate somehow if there were a foreign born player who did it. Still, if he (or Votto) does it, because it is so hard to do now, it might be the be the most impressive Triple Crown ever.

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Ken Griffey, Jr. retired earlier this year. He was in the midst of the worst season of his career, failing to hit any of his career 630 home runs in 2010. Still he will go down in history as one of the greatest sluggers the game of baseball has ever seen.

But he left the game with one major accomplishment missing from his resume: a World Series ring.

And he’s not the only great player to retire without winning it all. Here are 10 of the best players ever to play the game of baseball without winning the World Series.

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In a recent column, I set out to provide an Adjusted 400 Home Run Club , with alterations made based on era, missed time, and favorable vs. non-favorable home ballparks.

Humorously, this simply raised more questions about the 500 Home Run Club than it did answer questions about the 400 Home Run Club.

So, maybe we should adjust that club as well.

(Eek, eek. Twitch, twitch.)

Are we about to change the baseball world? Probably not, but let’s give it a try. As with the 400 Home Run Club, we should probably do this by era. 

And remember, McGwire haters, this isn’t about era and it isn’t about steroids. Yet. 

The Pre-1993 Club

The pre-1993 500 Club had the following members: Frank Robinson (586), Harmon Killebrew (573), Reggie Jackson (563), Mike Schmidt (548), Mickey Mantle (536), Jimmie Foxx (534), Willie McCovey and Ted Williams (521), Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews (512), Mel Ott (511), and Eddie Murray (504). 

Starting at the top of the list, we look to Frank Robinson , who finished only 14 home runs from 600. It is hard to put Willie Stargell into the 500 home run club without putting Robinson in the 600 Home Run Club, as Robinson missed many games after the age of 30 during which he easily could have mustered 14 more dingers. But you can’t say he didn’t have a nice long career—he ranks 19th on the career list in plate appearances. 

At the end of the day, he fails the Rocky Colavito Test. For his career Robinson hit 321 dingers at home, and only 265 on the road. He is probably a lot closer to 550 than he is to 600. 

Harmon Killebrew was the elite slugger of the 1960s, and led the lead in dongs six times in his career. He missed 49 games in 1965, 62 games in 1968, and 93 games in 1972. He led the league in home runs in his first full season, at the age of 23, and he played his last full-time season at the age of 35.

In 1957 he hit 29 home runs in the minors and still didn’t stick in the majors until 1959. Scatter a few more games around his career, bring up sooner or leave him in longer, and he gets the 27 home runs he needs to get to 600 easily.

In my opinion, if Reggie Jackson had begun his career in 1950 or in 1990, he would have hit 600 jobs easily and would have gunned for 700. Again, that’s not what this is about. 

Over the course of his career, Reggie had a 280/283 home run split. He was kind of like Stargell in that he didn’t ever play full seasons—only six seasons out of 21 with 150 or more games played. He missed a handful of games to strike in 1972, and missed a lot more due to the strike in 1981.

Could he have managed 37 more home runs over 21 seasons if not for strikes and games missed? I am less willing to say “definitely” than I am with Stargell, because Jackson is not as close to 600 as Stargell is to 500, and Jackson did not miss as many games. With over 11,000 plate appearances, it is hard to say he didn’t have a full career. 

Mike Schmidt finished with 548 home runs. He hit 283 home runs on the road, compared to only 265 at home. He led the league in dongs eight times, including with 31 in the strike year of 1981. But 52 home runs is a lot of home runs to find in a guy’s career, and Schmidt’s appears to have been a full one. 

Mickey Mantle and Jimmie Foxx are both guys whose own ruinous behavior cost them potentially hundreds of games, and both finished about 65 shy of 600. 

Mantle hit 54 home runs in 1961 at the age of 29, but then never played over 143 games again and was out of baseball at 37. If not for his own behavior, he probably would have easily accumulated 65 extra home runs over the next seven years, and probably could have played until the age of 40. 

Foxx tumbled out of baseball even earlier than Mantle, leading the AL with 35 home runs in 1939 (in only 124 games) at the age of 31, and then playing only two more full seasons after that. I expect that Foxx, too, could have managed 65 more home runs if he’d been on the field every day in those years. 

These are two of the greatest sluggers of all time, but I’d be a whole lot more comfortable if either of them had reached 550 or 560 home runs. 10, 20, or even 30 home runs can be chalked up to alcoholism, but 65 is too many. 

At the bottom of the list we find Eddie Murray , trembling in his seat only four home runs over 500. He had the great benefit of playing past 1993, and capturing his 80-plus home runs in the expansion/steroid era. But that’s his prerogative.

He also led the league in home runs during the strike season of 1981, and missed about 50 games in 1994. Furthermore, he hit 262 home runs on the road. He’s fine. 

Mel Ott has 511 home runs and led the NL in home runs six times. He played 22 seasons and had over 11,000 plate appearances, so he gets no credit for being done at the age of 36. Ostensibly, I would give Ott the benefit of the doubt until I saw his splits officially.

Unfortunately for Ott, numerous sources state that he hit 323 home runs at the Polo Grounds. If this is true, it leaves only 188 home runs on the road. Not only does Ott not make the 500 Club without the Polo Grounds, but he is dangerously close to failing the Rocky Colavito Test for the 400 Club. Sorry Mel. 

Ernie Banks , on the other hand, needs no benefit of the doubt. Banks hit 512 career home runs, but only 221 of them on the road. If not for Wrigley Field, he would not have hit 450 home runs. 

Eddie Mathews , on the other hand, hit at least 20 more home runs on the road while playing his career in Milwaukee County Stadium, and was out of baseball at age 36. His spot in the 500 Home Run Club is well earned. 

Can’t take anything from Willie McCovey . He was robbed of home runs by playing time, injury, and arriving late to the league. At the same time, can’t give him 79 home runs to get to 600 for any reason either. 

Which brings us to Ted Williams.  

For the record: 9791 plate appearances, 521 home runs. We only have split data for his last seven years, and during those seven years he hit 22 more home runs on the road than at home (81/103).

So out of the gate, his numbers are already incredible. We’re not dropping him, and he’s probably already up to 550 home runs. 

Williams, of course, went to World War II from 1943 to 1945—three full seasons. In 1941 he had one of the greatest hitting seasons of all time, and he led the league in home runs in each of the two years before he left with 37 and 36, respectively. Upon his return, he hit 38 and 32 in consecutive years. It would be conservative to say he lost 100 home runs to World War II. 

Then Williams got called back to the military in 1952, and missed most of 1952 and 1953 due to the Korean War. His performance in seasons around Korea were less impressive than those around WWII, but he hit 30 home runs in 1951, and then hit 29 in 117 games in 1954. It would be reasonable to say he missed about 50 home runs due to Korea. 

So, let’s add it up: a bump to 550, then 100 for WWII, and 50 more for Korea. Low and behold, he’s a 700 Home Run Clubber! 

Actually, I have a hard time adding 179 home runs even for Ted Williams. But I have no problem at all bumping him up 79 to 600. 

The Post-1993 Club 

The post-1993 500 Club had the following members: Mark McGwire (583), Rafael Palmeiro (569), Alex Rodriguez (594), Jim Thome (570), Manny Ramirez (554), Frank Thomas (521), and Gary Sheffield (509).

This is actually a really easy group to deal with. Right away, you take Mark McGwire and put him in the 600 home run Club. Even with the injuries, if he cared about the club he’d have played the one more year to get there. A case could be made that he is a 700 home run guy, but you only spot a guy so many home runs because of injuries. 

Rafael Palmeiro is a bad person. He lied to Congress, and he got busted. He also hit 311 home runs at home and only 258 on the road. But he is a 500 Club member, nothing more, nothing less. 

Alex Rodriguez is currently approaching 600 jacks, and may one day have over 700. Right now, he is right where he deserves to be.

Jim Thome has a shocking split: 315/255. Still reasonable though. He’s in.

Manny Ramirez currently has 554, with a 281/273 split. He’s got an outside shot at 600.

With 247 road bombs, Gary Sheffield is legit.

Frank Thomas, on the other hand, is a problem.

On the one hand, with 521 home runs he could have gunned for 600 if he’d been healthier from age 32 to age 40.  However, Big Frank managed to hit only 209 home runs on the road during his career.

The Rocky Colavito Test tells us that a player whose road home run total is 19 less than half the number required to be in the Club falls out of the Club. Thomas has 41 fewer home runs than half of 500 on the road.

Even injuries can’t make up for 41 home runs. Sorry Big Frank. 

So, after all of that adjustment, where are we?

600 Home Run Club 

Harmon Killebrew

Ted Williams

Mark McGwire 

500 Home Run Club 

Rafael Palmeiro

Reggie Jackson

Alex Rodriguez

Mike Schmidt 

Jim Thome

Mickey Mantle

Jimmie Foxx

Manny Ramirez

Willie McCovey

Eddie Mathews

Eddie Murray

Gary Sheffield 

400 Home Run Club 

Frank Thomas

Ernie Banks

Mel Ott 

Thoughts?

Asher B. Chancey lives in Philadelphia and is a co-founder of BaseballEvolution.com

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It was one of the most dominant offensive seasons in baseball history, yet it has been virtually forgotten for two reasons.

The New York Yankees won the 1949 American League pennant on the final day of the season by beating the Boston Red Sox, and Ted Williams lost the batting title by 0.0002 of a point to George Kell.

Williams hit .3427 to Kell’s 3429.

If Ted Williams had one more hit or one less at bat, he would have become the first player to win the Triple Crown three times.

Since 1901, only Rogers Hornsby and Williams have won two Triple Crowns, and there have been only 13 Triple Crown winners in all, which makes it more rare than pitching a perfect game.

No player has won the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat in 1967.

Ted Williams led the league in batting most of the 1949 season, but George Kell was closing fast, despite having suffered two major injuries. Kell broke a bone in his right foot, which was followed later in the season by a broken left thumb.

In his last game, with the batting title on the line, Kell faced the Cleveland Indians’ future Hall of Famer Bob Lemon, who was removed after five innings in favor of future Hall of Famer Bob Feller. Kell managed to get a pair of hits in three at bats.

Meanwhile, at Yankee Stadium, Williams was hitless in two official at bats against Vic Raschi. That did it. George Kell was the American League batting champion.

In 1949, Ted Williams dominated the American League. He led the league with 43 home runs, and tied for the lead in RBIs with 159, but there was much more to one of the most of all dominant offensive seasons.

Williams led the league in on base average (.490), in slugging (.650), in plate appearances (730), in runs scored (150), in total bases (368), in doubles (39), and in walks (162). He was voted the American League’s Most Valuable Player.

Babe Ruth’s best season was probably 1921, although it is recognized that he had other seasons that were comparable.

In 1921, Ruth hit .378, to finish third in the batting race, behind Harry Heilmann’s .394 and Ty Cobb’s .389.

Ruth led the league with 59 home runs, 171 RBIs, an incredible .846 slugging average, a .512 on base average, 177 runs scored, 457 total bases, and 145 walks. He also finished tied for fourth in triples with 16. Yes, young Babe Ruth could run.

When Ted Williams led the league with 43 home runs in 1949, the only other player to hit as many as 30 was Vern Stephens, who hit 39. Four players tied for third with 24 each.

When Ruth led the league with 59 home runs in 1921, Bob Meusel and Ken Williams tied for runner up with 24 each.

The fact that Babe Ruth didn’t win the Triple Crown in 1921 merely points out how difficult it is to win.

Few players hit for both a high batting average and a high home run total, especially in the 21st century (with the exception of Mr. Pujols.) A potential Triple Crown winner must be a team that gives him many opportunities to drive in runs.

George Kell is a Hall of Famer, and he deserved to win the 1949 batting title, but wouldn’t it have been amazing if Williams had won three Triple Crowns?

References:

“Kell Batting Victor; Indians Get Third Place. New York Times. 3 October 1949, p. 22.

“Batting Title Goes to Kell of Tigers; He Tops American League on .3429 Average to .3427 by Williams of Red Sox.” New York Times. 23 December 1949, p. 25.

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I think we all know that Babe Ruth was probably the greatest offensive player in the history of baseball. Ted Williams was probably second, and Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, and Lou Gehrig round out my own personal top five. The numbers these guys put up during their careers were astounding, but are sometimes difficult to fully appreciate out of context.

What’s not difficult to appreciate is a truly great season. Last year, Albert Pujols led baseball with 47 homers. Joe Mauer led baseball with a .365 average, and Ryan Howard led baseball with 145 RBI. What if I told you a player had hit over .380, with 40 homers, and 170 RBI, and still missed this list? It happened. That was Chuck Klein in 1930. Of course, that was the year of the hitter. The league average BA was over .300, and he didn’t lead the league in any of the three categories. Someone else was better (and that someone made the list). But even so, Klein hit .386, with 40 and 170, and didn’t make this list. These seasons are really, really good.

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