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Bill Gilbert: Most Productive in 2016 MLB

December 20, 2016

Contributor analyst Bill Gilbert presents his work on the most productive MLB hitters of 2016.

Contributor analyst Bill Gilbert presents his conclusions on the most productive MLB hitters of 2016. Thanks for the effort, Bill!

Who Were the Most Productive Offensive Players in 2016?

By Bill Gilbert

Numerous methods have been devised to measure offensive performance. The most common are batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average. Since none of these averages provides a complete picture by itself, a more comprehensive measure of offensive performance is useful. Such a measure would include the following elements:

The ability to get on base.
The ability to hit with power.
The ability to add value through baserunning.

The first two elements are measured by on-base percentage and slugging average. A measure of offensive performance, which encompasses both as well as baserunning achievements, is Bases per Plate Appearance (BPA). This measure accounts for the net bases accumulated by a player per plate appearance. It is calculated as follows:

BPA = (TB + BB + HB + SB – CS – GIDP) / (AB + BB + HB + SF)

Where: BPA = Bases per Plate Appearance

TB = Total Bases

BB = Bases on Balls

HB = Hit by Pitch

SB = Stolen Bases

CS = Caught Stealing

GIDP = Grounded into Double Plays

AB = At Bats

SF = Sacrifice Flies

The numerator accounts for all of the bases accumulated by a player, reduced by the number of times he is caught stealing or erases another runner by grounding into a double play. The denominator accounts for the plate appearances when the player is trying to generate bases for himself. Sacrifice hits are not included as plate appearances, since they represent the successful execution of the batter’s attempts to advance another runner.

Major league BPA for the past fifteen years is shown below along with the number of players with BPA over .550 and .600:

Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

BPA .457 .461 .468 .456 .470 .463 .458 .461 .446 .442 .447 .440 .426 .440 .456

.550 39 42 33 34 46 34 41 42 19 25 12 14 9 20 23

.600 17 15 18 13 14 15 11 16 7 7 5 3 4 6 7

Offensive production peaked in 2000 before declining in the early years of this century. BPA declined significantly from .481 in 2000 to .426 in 2014 before significant upticks in 2015 and 2016.

In the 1990s, there were 14 individual .700 BPA seasons. In the eight year period from 2000 to 2007, there were 18. The highest BPA in the 1990s was recorded by Mark McGwire in 1998 (.799). Barry Bonds shattered that with .907 in 2001, the highest figure ever recorded, topping Babe Ruth’s best two years (1920 and 1921). Bonds followed that with .869 in 2002, .818 in 2003 and .882 in 2004. There have not been any hitters with a BPA of .700 since 2007. The last player to make it was Alex Rodriguez (.702) in 2007. Surprisingly, Albert Pujols has not had a .700 BPA in his sixteen seasons. His highest was .696 in 2009.

The .700 BPA seasons in 2000-2015 are listed below:

Player Team Year BPA

Barry Bonds San Francisco 2001 .907

Barry Bonds San Francisco 2004 .882

Barry Bonds San Francisco 2002 .869

Barry Bonds San Francisco 2003 .818

Sammy Sosa Chicago Cubs 2001 .758

Barry Bonds San Francisco 2000 .745

Jim Thome Cleveland 2002 .728

Manny Ramirez Cleveland 2000 .726

Todd Helton Colorado 2000 .720

Luis Gonzalez Arizona 2001 .713

Todd Helton Colorado 2001 .709

Carlos Delgado Toronto 2000 .707

Larry Walker Colorado 2001 .707

Jason Giambi Oakland 2000 .706

Travis Hafner Cleveland 2006 .703

Alex Rodriguez NY Yankees 2007 .702

Jason Giambi Oakland 2001 .700

Ryan Howard Philadelphia 2006 .700

The yearly leaders since 1992 are as follows:

1992 Bonds .734 1993 Bonds .740 1994 Bagwell .768

1995 Belle .692 1996 McGwire .765 1997 Walker .770

1998 McGwire .799 1999 McGwire .735 2000 Bonds .745

2001 Bonds .907 2002 Bonds .869 2003 Bonds .818

2004 Bonds .882 2005 D. Lee .699 2006 Hafner .703

2007 A. Rodriguez .702 2008 Pujols .685 2009 Pujols .696

2010 Bautista .671 2011 Bautista .681 2012 Trout .665

2013 C. Davis .670 2014 Trout .623 2015 Harper .694

2016 Trout .681

The benchmark for an outstanding individual season is .600. Following is a list of the seven players with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title and with a BPA of .600 in 2016. The list is topped by Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels with a BPA of .681, the third time he has finished in front. He has had a BPA over .600 in all five years that he has played a full season.

Bases per Plate Appearance (BPA) of .600+ in 2016

————————————————-

No. of 2016 2015 .600+

Player BPA BPA LG Seasons Comments

Mike Trout .656 .623 A 5 Does it every year.
David Ortiz .631 .533 A 6 Led MLB in OPS (on-base plus slugging).
Freddie Freeman .616 .530 N 1 Big power improvement in 2016.
Daniel Murphy .612 .450 N 1 2015 post season was not a fluke.
Kris Bryant .611 .555 A 1 Does it all for Cubs.
Josh Donaldson .609 .594 A 1 Slightly better than 2015 MVP season.
Joey Votto .606 .633 N 4 Led NL in OBP.

Near misses were Charlie Blackmon with .597 and Brian Dozier at .594.

Four other players had a BPA over .600 in 2015 but failed to reach it in 2016.

No2016 2015 .600+

Player BPA BPA LG Seasons Comments

1 Bryce Harper .533 .694 N 1 Production fell way off.

2 Paul Goldschmidt .587 .638 N 1 Consistent with career BPA of .589.

3. Chris Davis .528 .607 A 2 Led MLB in strikeouts and batted .221.

4. Nelson Cruz .577 .600 A 1 Third straight year with 40+ HR.

Two active players have a BPA of .600 for their careers:

2016 Career Player Age BPA BPA Comments

————- — —- —- —————————

Mike Trout 24 .656 .638 Leader by far.

Alex Rodriguez 39 .383 .600 End of the line.

Another list of interest is of players with a BPA of over .600 in 2016 who did not have enough plate appearances (PA) to qualify for the batting title.

Player Age BPA PA Comments

————— — —- — ————————–

Gary Sanchez 23 .672 229 Higher BPA than Trout

Trea Turner 23 .664 324 Also higher than Trout

Trevor Story 23 .603 415 Season cut short by injury. Looking at the other end of the spectrum, seven players who earned enough playing time to qualify for the batting title had a BPA less than .400 in 2016. Last year, sixteen players were on this list and in 2014, there were twenty five.

Player BPA Team Comments

——————– — ———- —————–

Kevin Pillar .399 Blue Jays Compensates with strong defense.

Yonder Alonso .395 A’s Too low for a first baseman.

Yunel Escobar .392 Angels Fifth time on this list.

Jason Heyward .382 Cubs Cubs committed 184M for this?

Alcides Escobar .372 Royals Career BPA of .386.

Jose Iglesias .364 Tigers Career BPA of .382.

Adeiny Hechavarria .336 Marlins Has never had a .400 BPA season.

Four players had a batting average over .300, an on-base average over .400, a slugging percentage over .500 and bases per plate appearance over .600 in 2016.

Player BAVG OBA SLG BPA OPS

Mike Trout .315 .441 .550 .656 .991

David Ortiz .315 .401 .620 .631 1.021

Freddie Freeman .302 .400 .569 .612 .969

Joey Votto .326 .434 .550 .606 .984

Trout is the only one with these numbers for his career.

Mike Trout–Career .306 .405 .557 .638 .984

While Trout did not lead MLB in batting or slugging average, he led in most other measures including OBP, BPA, Total Average (Bases per Out) and WAR (Wins above Replacement). He was clearly the best offensive and all-around player in the Major Leagues in 2016, even though he played for a losing team.

Bill Gilbert

12/19/16

Source of statistics used in this report is the ”Lee Sinins 2017 Complete Baseball Encyclopedia”.

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Best Physician of 2016: Dr. May Bee Di Suun

December 19, 2016

“If swimming good for figure, explain whale to me.”
~ Dr. May Bee Di Suun
Pappasito’s Banquet
Houston, Texas
December 18, 2016

Thanks to a referral from Dr. Edward Szymczak of Binge Horizons HealthCare Options, Houston now has a new primary care physician available to local members of this new economy health care advantage program in the metro area. Here’s how Dr. May Bee Di Suun answered health questions last night from those who attended his “Welcome to Houston” banquet at Pappasito’s on the Katy Freeway @ Sam Houston Parkway:

Q: Doctor, I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Heart only good for so many beats, and that it… Don’t waste on exercise. Everything wear out eventually. Speeding up heart not make you live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster. Want to live longer? Take nap.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: Oh no. Wine made from fruit. Brandy distilled wine, that mean they take water out of fruity bit so you get even more of goodness that way. Beer also made of grain. Bottom up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have body and you have fat, your ratio one to one. If you have two body, your ratio two to one.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can’t think of single one, sorry. My philosophy: No pain…good!

Q: Aren’t fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU NOT LISTENING! Food fried in vegetable oil. How getting more vegetable be bad?

Q : Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Oh no! When you exercise muscle, it get bigger. You should only be doing sit-up if you want bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: You crazy?!? HEL-LO-O!! Cocoa bean! Another vegetable! It best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming good for figure, explain whale to me.

Q: Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! ‘Round’ is shape!

Well… I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways – Chardonnay in one hand – chocolate in the other – body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO-HOO! WHAT A RIDE!!”

AND…..

For those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all of those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans…

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION:Eat and drink what you like.Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

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Authorship Note: We don’t know the name of the originator of the above featured questions, answers, and doctor photo. Otherwise, we would gladly have extended proper credit to the funny mind that came up with this refreshing smile-maker. All we did was give the doctor a name and place his exposure to these questions in an organizational and familiar Houston setting.The Q&A heart of this little play was sent to me today by Ed Szymczak, one of my fellow classmates from the St. Thomas High School Class of 1956. – Thanks forever, Eddie!

Get in the Christmas spirit! Stop pigging out on broccoli!

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:Primary Care Physician of 2016: Dr. May Bee Di Suun
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A Detailed List of Babe Ruth’s 714 Career HR

December 19, 2016

Babe Ruth's 700th Home Run A 2-run shot off Tommy Bridges in the top of the 3rd in a game against the Tigers at Detroit. Final Score: NY 4 - DET 2.

Babe Ruth’s 700th Home Run.
A 2-run shot off Tommy Bridges in the top of the 3rd in a game against the Tigers at Detroit, July 13, 1934.
Final Score: New York 4 – Detroit 2.

A Detailed List of Babe Ruth’s 714 Career HR

Baseball Reference.com and Baseball Almanac.com are both baseball data reference sites that many of us who love, live, write, read, and breathe the history of the game would hate to live without. They do so much of the work for us in our needs for research and writing. They don’t simply gather information. They each present their material in flexible, usable ways. And they keep up those data files that change multiply each day of the regular season. No longer is it necessary to be totally on the static, time-limited data of MacMillan’s hard copy encyclopedia and then do all the updating manually by your own time-eating system.

Thank goodness for the digital age.

Let’s say you want to write an article or pursue another book on baseball’s favorite hero-player subject, Babe Ruth, and his career home run journey. The following link should give you everything you need to help decide what else you need to research before you are ready to outline and write your piece. The expansiveness of the available data by year, career, by game box score, by the pitchers involved in 714 instances, and so much more – are all right there for us to use, miss, or dismiss.:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/event_hr.cgi?id=ruthba01

Much of the credit for Baseball Reference.com’s vivid presentation of the Ruth career home run data is systemically connected to much earlier pioneer research and the ability of SABR to convert that earlier work into the SABR Home Run Encyclopedia. Here’s how that relationship is described near the bottom of that very page you have just linked:

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About the SABR Home Run Encyclopedia

Much of the data on Baseball-Reference.com’s Home Run Logs comes from the Tattersall/McConnell Home Run Log, a database of all homers hit in the major leagues since 1876. This project was begun in the 1940’s by John C. Tattersall and was continued after Tattersall’s death in 1981 by Bob McConnell, one of SABR’s original 16 members. David Vincent, another SABR member, has since assumed the leadership of the project. Baseball-Reference.com has licensed this remarkable database from the Society for American Baseball Research. All credit for the data therein goes to the intrepid researchers who digitized this data from archival sources.

For years from 1913 to 2016, RetroSheet play-by-play data has been used whenever the home run occurred in a game for which we have complete play-by-play data.

There are a handful of cases where the home run logs totals do not agree with the totals on our player pages. We are working to reconcile all of those differences, but believe that in all cases the Home Run Encyclopedia is correct.

~ Baseball Reference.com notation on page linked above.

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Have fun with the Babe Ruth Career Home Run page. And please share with us the questions or observations this data brings to your own minds. We find it almost impossible to go there and not see something that piques our curiosity in a way it never had previously. This time I’m looking at Babe Ruth’s home runs by inning and wondering – What made the 1st inning Babe’s favorite time to go long? He hit 133 homers in the first, but did not achieve triple digit figures in any other stanza, and only once did he hit as many as 94 in the same inning, when he notched those in the 3rd. Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that the 1st inning was the only time in any game that #3 hitter deluxe Babe Ruth was sure to come up. That explanatory guess is supported by the fact that, batting 3rd, he rarely came up to bat in the 2nd inning, where his total for that frame was only 21 over the course of his career.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

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Douglas McCurdy and the Silver Dart (1909)

December 18, 2016

Douglas McCurdy in the Silver Dart
1st Canadian To Fly
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
January 9, 1909

Coincidental – or maybe not so accidental, if you believe in the laws governing serendipity and the butterfly effect – I received a couple of e-mails from yesterday from friend Darrell Pittman – and they came in sort of time-sandwiched around the deluge of puns I also received from friend Mike McCroskey on the same 24-hour ago Saturday afternoon. Since Darrell and Mike may not remember each other, even though they probably played in one Houston Babies game together a few years ago, I never assumed that these two strangers on a friendship train conspired in any way to coordinate the three e-mail sends that seemed to fit together like a sandwich yesterday – at least, in my mind.

Darrell’s two e-mails were about two 19th century McCurdys that he discovered in a biography of Alexander Graham Bell that he is currently reading:

Arthur McCurdy. In 1885, Arthur McCurdy lived in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, where he served as editor of the local newspaper, the Cape Breton Island Reporter. One day, Arthur was talking to his brother, Lucien McCurdy, at the family store when the newfangled expensive telephone he was using started giving him problems. A stranger noted Arthur’s distress through the newspaper office window and came in to ask, “Are you having trouble hearing your caller?” Arthur affirmed that he was – and he gladly welcomed the stranger’s offer of help. The good neighbor very quickly took the receiver apart and put it back together after making some unspecified adjustments. Arthur was elated. The phone now worked. “To whom do I owe my thanks?” Arthur must have asked. – “My name is Alexander Graham Bell,” the man answered. – Yes. The inventor of the telephone just happened to be there when McCurdy needed him. – To make a long story short, the two hit it off well. McCurdy went to work for Bell and spent the rest of his life looking after the best interests of his good friend and employer, Alexander Graham Bell. – I know of no blood connection between my McCurdy family and those of Arthur’s lineage, but it is interesting to note that my grandfather, William O. McCurdy, was the owner, publisher, and editor of The Beeville Bee in South Texas during the same time period and forward (1886-1913). As for the connection of this anecdote to St. Michael’s Pun Master Humor pile, we only have this single Q&A offering: Question: Why wouldn’t my Grandfather McCurdy, a total stranger, also have called Alexander Graham Bell for help with his phone too – once he finally got one? Answer: Does the name “Quasimodo” ring a Bell?
Douglas McCurdy. Douglas McCurdy was the son of Arthur McCurdy, and he was swept up in the development of mechanically powered manned air flight from its earliest days. On January 9, 1909, Arthur McCurdy became the first Canadian to achieve manned flight in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. He flew the Silver Dart, the first aeroplane to use a water-cooled engine too. He cranked up and took off into the wind down a nearby frozen lake as the whole town joyfully gathered in trotting pursuit of the craft as the Silver Dart soared to a height of 30 feet at a speed of 40 MPH for a distance of one mile. – Way to go, Douglas McCurdy! And it may never have happened at all, had your father not needed help 24 years earlier with his telephone and then found it in the sudden presence of Alexander Graham Bell himself. It was Bell’s money and influence that made the research and development of the Silver Dart that lifted you later into aviation history. – It’s nice to know that you were the first to light up Canada with all “The Wright Stuff.” –

Nuf sed. Have a nice Sunday, everybody. And stay warm.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

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St. Michael the Pun Master

December 18, 2016

St. Michael
The Pun Master

In cool relief to our painful digestion of how UH got bombed, 34-10, by San Diego State today in the Elvis Impersonators Bowl, it is our choice here at The Eagle to lead off this collection of ten puns that good friend and local humorist Mike McCroskey emailed here this afternoon in the likely good faith that they might make me smile – which they did. I’m not sure if Mike knew that they would be most welcome today, of all days, but they were just the tonic I needed in the wake of a dull thud finish to the Cougars’ 2016 college football season. UH QB Darrell Ward just had a terrible last game in his UH career. With 4 interceptions, and one that went for a killer pick six, this wonderful young man simply had the worst possible day at the worst possible time. Of course, poor blocking by the UH O-line and the inability of UH to run well against the SDS defense made it a team failure, not one that all falls on the QB. As my dad always liked to say: “Losing as the better, favored team is something that happens when a lack of preparation and focus runs into a team that is hungry for an opportunity.” You were right again, Dad.

In honor of Mike McCroskey’s thoughtfulness, we choose to lead off with a new pun of our own, based upon what has happened to UH football on the field since the departure of Tom Herman as our head coach and his replacement by Major Applewhite. It’s all Tom’s fault – and I would personally like to express that precise perception to Tom Herman in these exact words: “The loss in Vegas today occurred because you yielded ground control to Major, Tom!”

That being said, here are ten wonderful puns contributed to this column by Mike McCroskey. – Enjoy. Endure. Or ignore. – The choice is yours.

Ten Bottles of Magic Elixir from Professor McCroskey’s Pun Collection

King Ozymandias of Assyria was running low on cash after years of war with the Hittites. His last great possession was the Star of the Euphrates, the most valuable diamond in the ancient world. Desperate, he went to Croesus, the pawnbroker, to ask for a loan. Croesus said, “I’ll give you 100,000 dinars for it”. “But I paid a million dinars for it,” the King protested. “Don’t you know who I am? I am the king!” Croesus replied, “When you wish to pawn a Star, makes no difference who you are.”

Evidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid bowlers. Unfortunately, all the Swiss league records were destroyed in a fire, … and so we’ll never know for whom the Tells bowled.

A man rushed into a busy doctor’s office and shouted, “Doctor! I think I’m shrinking!” The doctor calmly responded, “Now, settle down. You’ll just have to be a little patient.”

A marine biologist developed a race of genetically engineered dolphins that could live forever if they were fed a steady diet of seagulls. One day, his supply of the birds ran out so he had to go out and trap some more. On the way back, he spied two lions asleep on the road. Afraid to wake them, he gingerly stepped over them. Immediately, he was arrested and charged with … transporting gulls across sedate lions for immortal porpoises.

Back in the 1800’s the Tate’s Watch Company of Massachusetts wanted to produce other products, and since they already made the cases for watches, they used them to produce compasses. The new compasses were so bad that people often ended up in Canada or Mexico, rather than California. This, of course, is the origin of the expression ,… “He who has a Tate’s is lost!”

A thief broke into the local police station and stole all the toilets and urinals, leaving no clues. A spokesperson was quoted as saying, “We have absolutely nothing to go on.”

An Indian chief was feeling very sick, so he summoned the medicine man. After a brief examination, the medicine man took out a long, thin strip of elk rawhide and gave it to the chief, telling him to bite off, chew, and swallow one inch of the leather every day. After a month, the medicine man returned to see how the chief was feeling. The chief shrugged and said, “The thong is ended, but the malady lingers on.”

A famous Viking explorer returned home from a voyage and found his name missing from the town register. His wife insisted on complaining to the local civic official who apologized profusely saying, “I must have taken Leif off my census.”

There were three Indian squaws. One slept on a deerskin, one slept on an elk skin, and the third slept on a hippopotamus skin. All three became pregnant. The first two each had a baby boy. The one who slept on the hippopotamus skin had twin boys. This just goes to prove that … the squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons of the squaws of the other two hides.

A skeptical anthropologist was cataloging South American folk remedies with the assistance of a tribal Brujo who indicated that the leaves of a particular fern were a sure cure for any case of constipation. When the anthropologist expressed his doubts, the Brujo looked him in the eye and said, “Let me tell you, with fronds like these, you don’t need enemas.“

Have a nice weekend, everybody! And try to remember too. – On those days when you too are having trouble digesting and eliminating something inedible – whether it be something material or esoteric in base – “May the Force be with you!”

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

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Ice Baseball Began in Brooklyn

December 17, 2016

An Ice Ball Game in Brooklyn
Circa 1861

By the time the Civil War started in 1861, the people of Brooklyn, New York were busy coming up with a way to combine two of their favorite athletic crazes: ice skating and base ball. By making use of the same frozen fields and city lots in the middle of Brooklyn’s hard winters, a few daring sport innovators decided to put the two sports together. And so, if ever so briefly, the sport of “Ice Baseball” was born.

The linked article here does a nice job of briefly describing how the sport came to be, how it evolved, or devolved, if you prefer – and how the slippery nature of the sport resulted in one base ball rule that some might have preferred to keep for use in the regular game of base ball. Ice Ball Rule Adaptation on the safe/out phase of base skaters in situations of attempted steals and force plays: heading for 2nd and 3rd bases, skaters were granted the same grace that runners to 1st base enjoyed in regular base ball. They were permitted to skate past the base and return safely without being tagged out.

Ice Ball seems to have suffered a short life due to (1) its novelty wearing off; (2) the risk of injury; (3) the limitations it placed upon the normal joys of free ice skating; (4) the negative criticism of base ball purists who saw Ice Ball as a mockery; and (5) the simple fact that it could not compare with the full joy of the game that base ball was becoming on the unfrozen grounds of spring and summer.

Like ice cream and hot dogs, ice skating and baseball are both enjoyed more when served separately under optimal conditions which differ for each – but never better on the same plate, mixed together.

Here’s the short-read history look, which also includes other visuals besides the one we borrowed for banner on this column:

The Lost Sport of Ice Baseball That Originated in Brooklyn

Have a great weekend, everybody! – As much as we are trying to scale back at home on all things that make Christmas more work than it ever should be, nobody’s perfect. And getting out on the road is crazy. Just getting out to run some errands today was liking embarking upon a canoe trip down the river of no return. Fortunately for me, that idea turned into another of my frequent journeys into hyperbole. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here tonight to record these thoughts.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

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The All Time Victoria Crossroads All Stars

December 15, 2016

The all-time Crossroads baseball team, front row, from left: Curt Walker, Ross Youngs, Jim Busby, Ron Gant, Rocky Bridges and Mike Macha; back row, from left: Oscar “Ox” Eckhardt, Marv Gudat, coach Wayne Graham, Dale Murray, Doug Drabek, Eddie Taubensee and Nolan Ryan.

Sometimes baseball Internet surfing on Google Bay allows us to catch waves that we didn’t see coming. Tonight was on one of those nights for the Pecan Park Eagle sweet board.

We learned that someone at the Victoria Advocate had put together what they described as their (Victoria, TX) Crossroads Baseball Club back in 2012, even publishing their roster picks based upon birthplace crossroad proximity of a few former 20th century big leaguers to Victoria, Texas. We know we could helped them augment that roster with a few they missed, but this was their fun, not ours. The featured artistic rendering is a nice piece of work in itself and we think you may enjoy reading of their selections from the August 26, 2012 edition of the Victoria Advocate.com version of their publication.

With full credit to the Victoria Advocate, what follows here is a summary of the story you may read by accessing the following link:

https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2012/aug/26/reader_all_crossroads_0825_186199/

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THE BEST OF THE BEST: The all-time Crossroads baseball team

The Crossroads has produced its fair share of baseball players over the years, several have gone on to play in college, a few from there to the minor leagues. But only a select few have gone on to make a name for themselves at the professional level. They have gone on to be superstars, Hall of Famers, career major leaguers, staff aces and more. They have also been short-lived players getting a small cup of coffee at the pro level, journeymen who donned no fewer than five uniforms in long career and minor league stars in the league’s early years who could never quite make it in the pros. We have sorted through the players born in this area, and determined the best there ever was from the Crossroads at each position.

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NOLAN RYAN . PITCHER

BORN IN REFUGIO, JANUARY 31, 1947

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DOUG DRABEK . PITCHER

BORN IN VICTORIA ON JULY 25, 1962

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DALE MURRAY . PITCHER

BORN IN CUERO, FEBRUARY 2, 1950

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EDDIE TAUBENSEE . C

BORN IN BEEVILLE, OCTOBER 31, 1968

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MARV GUDAT . 1B

BORN IN GOLIAD, AUGUST 27, 1903 (DIED IN 1954)

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ROCKY BRIDGES . 2B/SS

BORN IN REFUGIO, AUGUST 7, 1927

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RON GANT . 2B/OF

BORN IN VICTORIA, MARCH 2, 1965

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MIKE MACHA . 3B

BORN IN VICTORIA, FEBRUARY 17, 1954

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JIM BUSBY . OF

BORN IN KENEDY, JANUARY 8, 1927 (DIED IN 199

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ROSS YOUNGS . OF

BORN IN SHINER, APRIL 10, 1897 (DIED IN 1927)

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CURT WALKER . OF

BORN IN BEEVILLE, JULY 3, 1986 (DIED IN 1955)

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OX ECKHARDT . UTIL.

BORN IN YORKTOWN, December 23, 1901 (DIED IN 1951)

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WAYNE GRAHAM . MGR

BORN IN YOAKUM, APRIL 6, 1936

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The Rest of the Story …

Read the full article at the link identified above for the Victoria Advocate.com subject column, dated August 26, 2012.

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The Pecan Park Eagle appreciates the opportunity to spread the news of this work to a broader population of readers who may care about another of the ways in which we honor baseball excellence in the State of Texas.

Thank you very much, “JH” of the Victoria Advocate.com. Your creation of the Victoria Crossroads All Star Baseball Team is most appreciated,

Sincerely,

The Pecan Park Eagle

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:The All Time Victoria Crossroads All Stars
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Population Article Spurs Baseball Questions

December 13, 2016

Back in 1950, Houston didn't have quite 600,000 people, but he thought that was pretty good for what the Chamber of Commerce hailed us as "the fat growing city in the south."

Back in 1950, Houston didn’t have quite 600,000 people, but we thought we were doing pretty good when the Chamber of Commerce hailed us as “the fastest growing city in the south.”After all, “bigger was better” – right?

A fascinating local history anecdote on Houston hitting the one million mark in estimated population back in July 1954 caught our attention at Chron.com this morning. Check out “Feels Like a Million” by Chronicle staff writer Elmer Bertelsen. It’s worth the quick read:

http://www.chron.com/local/history/major-stories-events/article/Houston-Feels-Like-a-Million-10792335.php#photo-12035422

The subject stimulated me to take a look at where Houston stood in 1950 relative to most of the other big population bases cities in 1950 in comparison to where the city stands now on the July 2016 estimated order for our 20 top population municipalities. These stats, of course, do not take a detailed look of the population densities that around each, but id does provide us with a pretty unsurprising confirmation of the fact that USA population continues to shift away from New York and the other early power big cites in northeast to the more hospitable and much easier to reach cities in the south, southwest, and far west. It shouldn’t be long now before #4 Houston catches and surpasses #3 Chicago on the list. And who knows? Houston could even grow into the largest city in the USA sometime between now and 2116.

There have to be much more scholarly thoughts on how probable that Houston as #1 possibility actually is. All I know is, most of us now living will never see it. And for the sake of those who will be, especially including our as-of-yet unborn children and grandchildren, let’s hope we can get a working handle on a mass transit plan that people will actually use in preference to the one-person-per-car congested route we still take on wider and wider “freeways”.

The two graphs that follow show Table A: The Top 20 Cities by Population in 1950 and Table B: The Top 20 Cities By Estimated population Through July 2016.

Table A: The Top 20 Cities by Population in 1950

RANK	CITY OF	POPULATION 1950
1	NEW YORK	7,891,957
2	CHICAGO	3,620,962
3	PHILADELPHIA	2,071,605
4	LOS ANGELES	1,970,358
5	DETROIT	1,849,568
6	BALTIMORE	949,708
7	CLEVELAND	914,808
8	ST. LOUIS	856,796
9	WASHINGTON, DC	802,178
10	BOSTON	801,444
11	SAN FRANCISCO	775,357
12	PITTSBURGH	676,806
13	MILWAUKEE	637,392
14	HOUSTON	596,163
15	BUFFALO	580,132
16	NEW ORLEANS	570,445
17	MINNEAPOLIS	521,718
18	CINCINNATI	503,998
19	SEATTLE	467,591
20	KANSAS CITY	456,622

Interesting to Note. In 1950, there were 16 MLB clubs. But only 12 of the the 20 biggest cities hosted a major league club. New York which includes Brooklyn, hosted 3 clubs. Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and St. Louis hosted 2 clubs each; and Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Cleveland, Detroit, and Cincinnati each hosted a single club. 9 of the above cities from 1920 that had no MLB club representation; these included Baltimore, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Houston, Buffalo, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Kansas City. Of those 9. only two cities – Buffalo and New Orleans – would remain out of the big leagues through 2016.

Table B: The Top 20 Cities By Estimated Population Through July 2016

RANK	CITY OF	EST. POP. 2016
1	NEW YORK	8,491,079
2	LOS ANGELES	3,928,864
3	CHICAGO	2,722,389
4	HOUSTON	2,239,558
5	PHILADELPHIA	1,560,297
6	PHOENIX	1,537,058
7	SAN ANTONIO	1,436,697
8	SAN DIEGO	1,381,069
9	DALLAS	1,281,047
10	SAN JOSE CA	1,015,785
11	AUSTIN	912,791
12	JACKSONVILLE FL	853,382
13	SAN FRANCISCO	852,469
14	INDIANAPOLIS	848,788
15	COLUMBUS OH	835,957
16	FORT WORTH	812,238
17	CHARLOTTE NC	809,958
18	DETROIT	680,250
19	EL PASO TX	679,036
20	SEATTLE	668,342

Table B Notes: In 2016, 12 of America’s most populous cities are home by city or county, or by contiguous county proximity to 17 of the current 30 MLB clubs. The Texas Rangers make Arlington, TX their home, but their larger fan bases cover them to the immediate east and West By Dallas and Fort Worth. The San Francisco Bay Area includes San Francisco and Oakland, but these franchises also are located very close to San Jose CA too. And remember too – one of the MLB franchises that does not appear here is the Canadian entry, the Toronto Blue Jays.

The shifts in population density are compelling evidence that nothing stays the same. The Question that turns here with great curiosity is more centered on what goes into the best decision-making about establishing or relocating a franchise to a new site besides population. In this changing world, does MLB thinking still give the most weight to the city with the largest population density. And do some baseball people still assume that a large population center is their best bet? Or did they ever think.

Common sense seems to say that a new owner would need to s good handle on positive answers to these questions before he moved his business anywhere:

How do we know there any baseball fans where we hope locate? Will they be able to afford MLB games on some kind of regular basis? Will getting to the games be feasible – or will problems with public transit, traffic, and parking just keep people away? Will fans actually attend games, or will they prefer to stay home and watch them on HD television? What does our research tell us we will need to do make the MLB brand appealing to the fans in this area – and let’s just assume that they will expect us to win – and go right after the best ongoing profile we need to build on what the fans want from us to the extent that they actually bond to the fortunes and fates of our club?

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We would love to hear your take on what these numbers mean to each of you.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags:Population Article Spurs Baseball Questions
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Our MLB Crayon All Star Team Starters

December 13, 2016

Our Pecan Park Eagle Crayon MLB All Stars
Additions and Improvements Are Both Welcomed

Our MLB Crayon All Stars

Box of 11 Players

And 1 Manager

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LH Starting Pitcher ~ Vida Blue

RH Starting Pitcher ~ Joe Black

Relief Pitcher – Chief Yellowhorse

Catcher ~ Charlie Silvera

First Base ~ Bill White

Second Base ~ Pete Rose

Third Base ~ Bobby Brown

Shortstop ~ Andres Blanco

Left Field ~ Pete Gray

Center Field ~ Mike Golden

Right Field ~ Shawn Green

Manager ~ Dallas Green

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Unfortunately, we are not ethically able to include a misspelled catcher’s name, one written carelessly somewhere in the memory of some ancient now forgotten text as “Craig Beigeo”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags:Our MLB Crayon All Star Starting Players
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Baseball Reliquary Inductee Ballot News

December 12, 2016

the-baseball-reliquary

This note reached The Pecan Park Eagle today from Terry Cannon, Executive Director of the Baseball Reliquary in Los Angeles County, California:

Friends & Reliquarians:

The Board of Directors of the Baseball Reliquary is pleased to announce its list of fifty eligible candidates for the 2017 election of the Shrine of the Eternals. Newcomers to the 2017 ballot include Babe Dahlgren, Mo’ne Davis, Leo Durocher, Oscar Gamble, Sam Nahem, Manuel “Shorty” Perez, Manny Ramirez, Vin Scully, John Thorn, and Bob Uecker.

Complete details can be viewed on the Baseball Reliquary Web site at:

http://www.baseballreliquary.org/2016/12/candidates-2017-election-shrine-eternals/

Please advise if we can provide any further information.

Sincerely,
Terry Cannon
Executive Director
The Baseball Reliquary
http://www.baseballreliquary.org

e-mail: terymar@earthlink.net
phone: (626) 791-7647

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If you are further interested in this more arcane attempt to honor people who have contributed to the fascinating history of baseball in ways that go beyond statistical accomplishments alone, check out the website for further information on the nominees for admission in 2017 – or get in touch with Terry Cannon on how you may get more involved in the Baseball Reliquary and their efforts to identify and honor those people who are deserving of the game’s appreciation on a very special plane of respect in a Hall of their own.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

Tags:Baseball Reliquary Inductee Ballot News
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