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Nine Big Factors in a New MLB GM Job Offer

February 3, 2016

Baseball Season Thoughts on a Winter Day

As a baseball fan student of the subject, it has occurred to me that certain factors are key to the decision any general manager candidate may need to consider before accepting a job with any major league club.

If you are such a candidate, consider accepting the General Manager job, if:

The club is already on the way to getting younger, not older, at the time you will start.
The minor league system talent pool you will inherit is not completely dry.
Ownership wants you to develop a club that can win it all; not to merely do enough to make the fans only think the club is trying to win, while you really are trying only hard enough to help the club afford a lower cost team that wins enough to keep the gate healthy.
Ownership of the club (most of the time) will let you run the ship and stay out of the way.
Think long and hard about taking a job with a late George Steinbrenner prototype owner, unless you don’t mind being fired and rehired routinely anytime “the boss” is in a bad mood – and you clearly understand going into the job that eventually you will be fired for “cause” and gone for good.
A reputation for winning is strong with the interviewing club; be wary of jobs with clubs that haven’t won a World Series since 1908.
Your team salary budget is big enough to acquire or sign a few star players.
You are free to hire a field manager who will not try to do your job or resent you for taking a lot of credit for any success the team enjoys on the field.
The big bucks you get for doing your job well are big enough to float your life style requirements.

But that’s not all. – The Pecan Park Eagle would love for the rest of you to submit your own recommendations by comment below on what you think a GM candidate should consider on his or her way to a new MLB GM job.

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Tags:MLB GM Notes to Job Candidates
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1930: Year of the Liveliest Baseball

February 2, 2016

1931: The Rabbit is Pulled from the Baseball Habit
Victoria Advocate
February 22, 1931
Cartoon Found By
Darrell Pittman

1930 is remembered by most of the game’s historians as the year of the liveliest baseball ever used in the big leagues. It came and went, however, without anyone in baseball officially taking responsibility for its coming and going after one season, and without it ever being an event that simply happened suddenly and then disappeared completely in 1931. The evidence of power baseball history tells us that it came over time in the fifteen years or so that preceded 1930, and that it never truly disappeared from the game to this day in 2016.

Had powerball disappeared totally after 1930, it is unlikely that Hall of Fame managers like Earl Weaver would ever have succeeded on his path to greatness with his implicit, but clear advice to table-setter hitters: “Get on base. Don’t steal. Wait for one of the big fellows to hit a home run.”

Of course, the 1968 “Year of the Pitcher”, starring Hall of Fame great Bob Gibson, did serve strongly as a pause button on power hitting – enough to bring about change in the lowered height of the pitching mound as an aid to batters in 1969, but power wasn’t going away, even if all the pitchers showed up as clones of Gibson that year. Crushed extra base hits and home runs were the fodder that put fannies in the seats of big league parks – and not the, 1-0, 1968 All Star Game model that MLB rolled out in Houston in the Astrodome.

Back up. How bad was the offensive balance in 1930? We could be here all night. Or you could. By simply following the road map provided at this link, you will be able to see and read for yourself what it was like. For me, the always remembered fact that the last place National League team, the Philadelphia Phillies, put up a .315 team batting average in 1930 – and still finished in the cellar with 102 losses – always has served as my anchor to the identity of that bombastic, but crazy-results season.

http://www.thisgreatgame.com/1930-baseball-history.html

To the best of our knowledge, the big leaguers of 1930 had no HGH assistance or anything else from the biochemical future to aid them in their everyday bombings.

~ Hurry up, 2016 Baseball Season! Some of us are running out of windows to look out of in our wait for you!

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Play Ball!

Tags:1930: The Liveliest Baseball Year
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A Baseball Ed Hock and a Vintage Ball Ad Hoc

January 31, 2016

Ed Hock, 3B-OF Houston Buffs 1927-1933

ED HOCK – A BASEBALL MAN

Former Houston Buffs third baseman (1927-33) Ed Hock (5’10”, 165 lbs.) played long enough earlier in the big leagues (Cardinals, 1920) and (Reds, 1923-24) to go 1 for 10 with only a measly single to show for his bat at the highest level of a limited opportunity. On the minor league level, however, Hock would rack up 3,424 hits in a 22-year career (1921-42) that found him anchoring 3rd base for both the 1928 and 1931 Texas League Champion Houston Buffs in both 1928 and 1931, the latter year teaming with future Cardinal greats Dizzy Dean and Joe Medwick. Ironically, Houston’s lesser publicized as talented 1928 Buffs, the first residents of the new Buff Stadium, would also win Houston’s first Dixie Series Championship, whereas, the neophyte “Gas House Gang” core of the 1931 Buffs would fail to do so.

We didn’t have much time this weekend because of an all weekend, 19-classroom hour continuing education seminar that is connected to my “day job” at The Daily Planet. It has temporarily depleted most of the Eagle’s time and energy, but we hope you enjoy these two links submitted over the weekend by our real-time good friend and regular Pecan Park Eagle contributor, the always amazing Darrell Pittman.

Darrell Pittman
“The Texas Bulldog of Baseball Research”

The first link provides us with a wonderful now fifty-two year old perspective on Ed Hock from the May 29, 1964 Victoria (TX) Advocate, a tale which also covers an unassisted triple play that Ed Hock had performed 27 years earlier than the article in 1927:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gM1NAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3koDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6439%2C3436188

The other link is to the Baseball reference site page on Ed Hock. This one also contains the only photo we have of the man, the one we are using here:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=hock–001edw

There is another aspect to Ed Hock that cries out for deeper coverage at another time. – Baseball Reference shows Hock as a rare “left-handed” 3rd baseman-outfielder. – How did that happen? – And how well could that have worked for quick throws to 1st base on bunt plays? – Either “B-R” has made a rare reporting error here (which is doubtful) or there’s a great story on this angle out there that is just waiting to be told in greater detail and more loudly. – If you know anything about this aspect, please leave a comment or reference to anything you’ve read elsewhere on this subject.

Thanks again, Darrell! ~ And have a great Sunday evening, everybody!

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AD HOC ~ A VINTAGE BALL SCRIMMAGE

COPUS_IMG_6083

The Vintage Base Ball seed is growing in the Greater Houston Area. Yesterday in Katy, Texas the veteran Houston Babies, managed by Bob Dorrill; the newbie Barker Red Sox, managed by Bob Copus; the newbie Motor City Strikers, managed by Bob Blair; and the veteran Katy Combine, managed by Dave and/or Tom (C’mon, Man! What about Bob Flores? Don’t you have a Bob Flores in the family?) Flores all got together with some to a gob of their players to hold a hold stove league scrimmage at Katy City Park yesterday, January 30, 2016, on one of the most beautiful days we’ve had in this town for months.

The Pecan Park Eagle couldn’t be there to both report and join in the fun this time due to the CEU seminar, but we know our boys pretty well as all out games. We know they made the most of the joy they found on green grass under blue skies on a perfect weather day.

Who are these guys?

Only two team uniforms are discernible in the photo and my eyes are too challenged to name everyone in the photo. Bob Copus is the only Red Sox player I know, but I do think he’s the tall and slim fellow in the front row (4th guy from the right. just after the 3 guys in “H” shirts.) And those three guys on the front row with the “H” on their jerseys are, from the far right end, moving in, ~ Phil Holland, Bob Stevens, and the ever friendly and always lovable Babies mentor, Bob Dorrill.

Am I right?As your eyes move left from the guy I’m thinking is Bob Copus, I do see a guy wearing a New York Knights jersey in the front row. Must be Roy Hobbs. I wasn’t sure if he was even still above ground, but I guess so. After all. Pictures don’t lie, do they? And I’m betting my Adobe hat for sure that this one doesn’t!

The gang was also supposed to have a small group of observers from Sealy, Texas driving over to observe and maybe even join in the scrimmage. Not sure how that worked out, but we hope they made it. Our whole “Gang of Four” Houston area clubs is planning on playing at the Sealy, Texas Spring Festival this coming April and we are hoping they will be able to get up and running with us in the tourney with a team of their own.

If you have any interest in playing vintage base ball by 1860s rules (with no gloves), or if you would like to sponsor or put together your own team in the fastest growing new/old sport in our part of Southeast Texas, we encourage you to reach out to Bob Dorrill to talk over your options for getting started.

If there is sufficient interest and growth in and around Houston, our plans include organizing our administrative body as “The Texas Vintage Base Ball Union” and making league play a possibility in the near future. We already play one pre-game contest every year at the home of the Sugar Land Skeeters, Constellation Field in Sugar Land.

Come join us.Vintage Base Ball is the greatest fun will have had with baseball since the sandlot days of your childhood.

Here’s the e-mail address for Bob Dorrill, again, you contact for more information.

bdorrill@aol.com

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Tags:ED HOCK
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No Neck Williams Passes on Jan. 23, 2016

January 29, 2016

Walt “No Neck” Williams

Walt “No Neck” Williams, the stubby looking little outfielder from Brownwood, Texas who signed as a 20-year old free agent with the Houston Colt .45s in 1963 has died. According to his wife, Ester, Williams passed away of a heart attack on Saturday, January 23, 2016, at age 72 in Abilene.

Williams broke into the majors on April 21, 1964 with the Colt .45s as a late inning defensive replacement for Jim Beauchamp in a 10-5 home loss at Colt Stadium to the Cincinnati Reds. He had no plate appearances that day and he would have to wait another three years for his first MLB hit after going 0 for 9 in 10 games for the ’64 Houston club. That first hit would come for the Chicago White Sox (1967-72). After 6 seasons with the Pale Hose, 1 year with the Cleveland Indians (1973), and 2 final seasons with the New York Yankees (1974-75).

Walt Williams finished his MLB career with a BA of .270 and 33 HR. His best season was 1969, when he hit .304 in 135 games for the White Sox. He never hit for power or had enough speed to steal many bases, but he was a steady player and good enough to last ten seasons in the big leagues – and that’s far better than most aspiring baseball players ever achieve.

In an article by Bobbie Dittmeier of MLB.com explains how Williams got his “No Neck” nickname: “The nickname ‘No Neck’ was hung on the muscular 5-foot-6 Walt Williams because of his physical appearance. A typhus injection he received in his neck when he was very young, following a flood in Brownwood, caused his neck to shrink.”

Hard to fathom? Here’s a link to the source article, which also contains a short summary of Williams’ after life in baseball following his release from the Yankees as a player in January 1976:

http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/162981092/walt-no-neck-williams-dies

Rest in Peace, Walt Williams! Your passing at age 72 is another sad reminder of how time flies, but your early fans in Houston still remember you. It’s kind of hard to forget a guy who both owns and looks like he deserves the nickname of “No Neck.” Also, if you get a chance to play again in whatever realm of afterlife existence you now find yourself, get a hit for Houston. You owe us one.

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Tags:RIP, Walt "No Neck" WIlliams
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Bill Gilbert: 2015 MLB Offense

January 28, 2016

SABR Analyst and Pecan Park Eagle Contributor Bill Gilbert Reports on the 2015 MLB Offensive Production Leaders. ~ Thank you, Bill for the hard work.

Who Were the Most Productive Offensive Players in 2015?

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 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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

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

.600 26 17 15 18 13 14 15 11 16 7 7 5 3 4 9

Offensive production peaked in 2000 before declining in the early years of this century. BPA declined significantly through 2014 before an uptick in 2015.

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 fifteen 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

The benchmark for an outstanding individual season is .600. Following is a list of the only six players with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title and with a BPA of .600 in 2015. The list is topped by Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals with a BPA of .694, the highest since Albert Pujols recorded a .696 in 2009.

Bases per Plate Appearance (BPA) of .600+ in 2015

————————————————-

No. of 2014 2015 .600+

Player BPA BPA LG Seasons Comments

Bryce Harper .464 .694 N 1 Breakout season.
Paul Goldschmidt .594 .638 N 1 Does everything well.
Mike Trout .623 .636 A 4 Over .600 in each of his 4 full seasons.
Joey Votto .496 .633 N 3 On-Base Average of .459 in 2015.
Chris Davis .477 .607 A 2 Led majors in HR with 47.
Nelson Cruz .537 .600 A 1 Strong hitting year in a pitcher’s park.

If you are looking for AL MVP Josh Donaldson, he finished 7^th with .594.

Three other players had a BPA over .600 in 2014 but failed to qualify in 2015.

No. of 2014 2015 .600+

Player BPA BPA LG Seasons Comments

1 Giancarlo Stanton .614 .635 N 1 Failed to qualify due to injury.

2 Andrew McCutchen .613 .569 N 1 Bad start led to lower season numbers.

3.Jose Abreu .600 .518 A 1 Didn’t quite measure up to rookie year.

Three active players have a BPA over .600 for their careers:

2015 Career

Player Age BPA BPA Comments

————- — —- —- —————————

Mike Trout 23 .636 .634 Quick rise to the top.

Alex Rodriguez 39 .534 .605 Strong recovery in 2015.

Albert Pujols 35 .502 .603 Power OK but averages declining.

Another list of interest is of players with a BPA of over .600 in 2015 who did not have enough plate appearances (PA) to qualify for the batting title.

Player Age BPA PA Comments

————— — —- — —————————

Mikey Mahtook 25 .658 115 Strong finish after Tampa Bay call-up.

Giancarlo Stanton 29 .643 375 Season cut short by injury.

Franklin Gutierrez32 .624 189 Productive when healthy.

Corey Seager 21 .619 113 Dodgers top prospect.

Curt Casali 26 .607 113 Good power from TB backup catcher.

Looking at the other end of the spectrum, sixteen players who earned enough playing time to qualify for the batting title had a BPA less than .400 in 2015. Last year, twenty five players were on this list.

Player BPA Team

—————– — —————

122 Jace Peterson .395 Braves

123 Chase Headley .394 Yankees

124 Jimmy Rollins .393 Dodgers

125 Avisail Garcia .388 White Sox

126 Pablo Sandoval .377 Red Sox

127 Freddy Galvis .374 Phillies

128 Alexei Ramirez .374 White Sox

129 Starlin Castro .369 Cubs

130 Jean Segura .365 Brewers

131 Erick Aybar .361 Angels

132 Angel Pagan .361 Giants

133 Chris Owings .360 Diamondbacks

134 Andrelton Simmons .359 Braves

135 Yadier Molina .357 Cardinals

136 Alcides Escobar .355 Royals

137 Wilson Ramos .347 Nationals

Four players compiled a batting average over .300, an on-base average over .400, a slugging percentage over .500 and bases per plate appearance over .600 in 2015.

Player BAVG OBA SLG BPA OPS

Bryce Harper .330 .460 .649 .694 1.109

Paul Goldschmidt .321 .435 .570 .638 1.005

Joey Votto .314 .459 .541 .633 1.000

Another means of measuring offensive performance is Bases per Out, also called Total Average. The top 10 players on both lists for 2015 are shown below.

Bases per Plate

Appearance – Bases per Out

1 Bryce Harper .694 Nationals – 1 Bryce Harper 1.274 Nationals

2 Paul Goldschmidt .638 Diamondbacks – 2 Joey Votto 1.162 Reds

3 Mike Trout .636 Angels – 3 Paul Goldschmidt 1.131 Diamondbacks

4 Joey Votto .633 Reds – 4 Mike Trout 1.057 Angels

5 Chris Davis .607 Orioles – 5 Miguel Cabrera 1.016 Tigers

6 Nelson Cruz .600 Mariners – 6 Josh Donaldson .967 Blue Jays

7 Josh Donaldson .594 Blue Jays – 7 Jose Batista .963 Blue Jays

8 Jose Bautista .590 Blue Jays – 8 Edwin Encarnacion .957 Blue Jays

9 Edwin Encarnacion .588 Blue Jays – 9 Anthony Rizzo .957 Cubs

10 Anthony Rizzo .585 Cubs – 10 Chris Davis .956 Orioles

The lists are quite similar with nine players appearing on both lists. Harper is on top of both lists by a sizable margin and the same four players are on the top of both lists but in a different order. Votto and Cabrera rank higher on the Total Average list because they have high batting averages and draw a lot of walks while Davis and Cruz get much of their production from extra base hits but they make more outs.

Bill Gilbert

1/27/16

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baseball-bat-baseball

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Come On, Opening Day!

January 27, 2016

Sunny spring skies – bring ’em bright on,

Won’t be long now – til old winter’s gone,

No more dumb staring – out the stupid-wish window,

Or wasting more time – on an ancient Nintendo.

Baseball the game – will be back in H-town,

Generating each smile – and killing each frown,

With Carlos Correa – and Altuve too,

Our future looks bright – as the skies turn to blue.

So grab up your tickets – and crank up the car,

If you spring forty bucks – your park won’t be far,

But don’t leave today – or you’ll feel like a dunce,

‘Cause the season won’t start – for another two months.

Just hang in there, ‘Stros fans – our day will soon come,

And this year feels special – no settling for crumbs,

Rangers and Royals – the rest of you too,

Better watch out – we’re gunning for you!

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Come On, Opening Day!

2016 – the Year of the Houston Astros – is finally here!

In 2016 – let’s finally end the wait that began in 1962!

_____________________

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Rest in Triumphant Joy, Marie “Red” Mahoney

January 25, 2016

Red Mahoney had time to sign autographs for fans after the “women in baseball” panel discussion at the 44th Annual National SABR Convention in Houston.
Summer of 2014

The Game of Baseball, the City of Houston, and the State of Texas has surrendered one of its most precious citizens and, most importantly, America is now forced to say goodbye to one of the pioneer ground-breakers for women in competitive sports .

Emily Marie “Red” Mahoney passed away on Saturday, January 23, 2016 in Houston at 91, following a long period of several months in declining health. Until that time, “Red”Mahoney, one of the surviving former ground-breakers in the post World War II Women’s League ( the female baseball union that became so popular to contemporary movie audiences in “A League of Their Own” with Tom Hanks, had been an active participant in the Houston-based Larry Dierker Chapter of SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research.

Among numerous other honors, Red Mahoney was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. She also served importantly as a resource person on the history of women in baseball for our Houston SABR 2014 publication, “Houston Baseball: The Early Years, 1861-1961.”

For a more extensive history of her public accomplishments, please check out her current biography on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Mahoney

I first met Red Mahoney ten years ago during my term as Board President of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame.

Marie “Red” Mahoney was a delightful person to be around. She was a person of great integrity and humble grounded bearings. I think she saw herself as an everyday person who never felt the need to hide behind a public celebrity face, even though she had done some extraordinary things, but that doesn’t mean she was unaware or dismissive of her athletic abilities. I once asked Red, who was cute as a bug in her youth too, if she ever came close to getting married. “Not really,” she smiled. “I think the ones I might have cared to date were afraid that I might be too much competition for them on the baseball diamond. Back in the day, a lot of men used to only want women who ‘knew their place’, so to speak.”

We are grateful that you took your talents and life choices where your passions for baseball, softball, and golf were major to your heart’s desires and abilities. No old school guy was going to put you in the kitchen and leave you there. You never allowed it to happen. As a result, the world, especially the world of baseball, is all the richer for it.

We shall miss you, Red Mahoney, but we shall treasure our memories and the love-for-the-game-and-life presence that you brought into our lives forever.

Red’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2016, in the Heights. Stay tuned and check the newspapers for further details.

___________________

Tags:Marie "Red" Mahoney died on 1/23/2016.
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The Immortality of Joy

January 24, 2016

In the Big Inning – If God had not wanted us to experience the joy of eternity on earth, He would not have given us baseball.

The other night, during the Hot Stove League Banquet in Sugar Land, fellow SABR member Jim Kruez asked the discussion panel for recollections of their biggest memories in baseball. The answers came roaring back as graphic tales of the joy that flows from winning something dramatic and worthwhile. Sugar Land Skeeters manager Gary Gaetti, for example, recalled the conclusion of Game Seven in the 1987 World Series and the celebration that followed immediately with his Minnesota Twins teammates as they mobbed each other and rolled around in a pile on the infield in the moments that came upon them as the aftermath of their home victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Sensory memories of smiling faces, hugs, caps and gloves flying through the air, the quick sightings of teammates running toward you as you lay in the pile with your left cheek pressed firmly to the ground, the roar of the crowd, celebratory teammate yells, a quick instance of replay in the mind of how the last out was made ~ all of these things were implied in the few actual words that remained as Gaetti’s report the other night.

Gaetti’s sensory impressions had been augmented over time with thoughts about what that moment meant. It meant that Gary Gaetti and the 1987 Twins had attained what all big league teams pursue, but only the few attain. They had lived to experience the joy of the moment that is the soulfully unforgettable reward that belongs only to the winners of the World Series.

That moment of joy is nothing less than a personal experience with the attainment of humanity’s universal wish – to know sweet joy forever in a place called Heaven,Valhalla, eternity, or the peaceful garden of our own back yards.

And baseball, perhaps more strongly than any other sport, has laid out for its crusaders a path to joyful victory that is more loaded with pot holes and road dangers than any other. It helps to have talent, but often that ultimate success depends more on the chemistry of how well the parts fit together as a winning team over the grueling path of a 162-game season. Then there’s the luck of how the ball bounces and the presence or absence of key injuries to irreplaceable personnel. And then there’s the occasional improbability that the 1914 Braves, the 1951 Giants, or the 1969 Mets will come along and destroy the teams that “should have” won with a bag of one-season magic that produces its own special brand of joy in the moment that the entire baseball world remembers forever.

Bobby Thomson of the 1951 New York Giants, of course, is the poster boy for that truth. His three-run homer for a 5-4 playoff win over the Brooklyn Dodgers in the bottom of the 9th of the final playoff game for the 1951 National League pennant is remembered today, of course, as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World!”

As for the losing 1951 Dodgers and the tortured soul of Ralph Blanca, the man who served up the historic home run to Thomson that afternoon at the Polo Grounds, their Brooklyn baseball culture already understood from other arguably not-quite-so-painful years that “wait until next year” was the next usual step.

One step up from the agony of “wait until next year” found its voice in the Broadway musical and later 1955 movie we recall today as “Damn Yankees.” The show featured the longstanding frustrations of the Washington Senators, but the creators may just as well have been depicting the even more success-arid record of the St. Louis Browns – or even the “near miss” losers of 1951 and other seasons, the Brooklyn Dodgers:

“You gotta’ have hope! ~ Mustn’t sit around and mope!

Nothing’s half as bad as it may appear! ~ Wait’ll next year!

And hope!”

~ excerpt from the “Damn Yankees” (1955) musical and song, “Heart”.

Joy in the moment is really joy forever. It never leaves us, but we may abandon it, as we often do its identical twin, love, by erroneously devoting our energies through the human ego to matters that really don’t matter ~ or by blaming life for our disappointments.

Never abandon the sweetness of joy ~ and always remember – even when joy seems far away – it is still both attainable and recoverable – even if it means we have to rearrange our travel itineraries. In that plan, dear friends – “we gotta have hope!”

Thank you, Gary Gaetti, for your reminder!

____________________

EVERY DAY’S A JOYFUL DAY IN BASE BALL HEAVEN!

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Eileen Hohlt’s Acceptance Speech for Her Father

January 23, 2016

: Two of Larry Miggins’ 12 children, Eileen Holt and brother John Miggins, proudly accepted the Bob Dorrill Award in their father’s good name. Eileen delivered an eloquent acceptance speech.

Eileen Hohlt and brother John Miggins accepted the 2016 first Bob Dorrill Award for Exceptional Contributions to Baseball in behalf of their father, Larry Miggins, at the January 21, 2016 Hot Stove Banquet sponsored by the Sugar Land Skeeters and SABR two nights ago.

And as I wrote yesterday, Eileen’s eloquent speech in honor of her father far out-distanced my human ability to recreate its heart path in summary form over limited space. It was a thing that belonged to and came from the Miggins daughter herself.

And here it is ~ just as we promised ~ whole and packed full of the heart that only a Miggins could bring to this table:

____________________

Eileen Hohlt’s acceptance of SABR award for Larry Miggins (Dad). 1.21.2016

[Those who know Dad can put 15 minutes back on the clock because I don’t have the stories or the jokes to tell that he does.]

Thank you, Ira, for that heartwarming recount of my father’s career. He is so honored to be recognized in the same company as Hall of Famer Monte Irvin whom he respected and admired.

We think of this award as mutual – because Baseball has made a lifetime contribution to Larry Miggins.

Baseball brought my Dad to Houston in 1949 and he has been here ever since, embracing this city as if he was always meant to be here.

Through Baseball, he met our mother, Kathleen. He was in Chicago, playing against the Cubs, (a day game, of course), and that evening went to an Irish party where he met Mom who was working in Chicago with the Irish Consulate. They have been married 62 years, raised 12 children, and baseball has been a big part of all our lives.

Dad had some paid coaching jobs, well before his own children took the field.

Each one of my 8 brothers played baseball, often coached by Dad (those were the unpaid jobs). They played with zeal and passion and an understanding of the game that only comes from having a Dad like ours.

Many grandsons also play the game. I remember Dad encouraging my son, John Hohlt, who pitched in Little League through high school. (In fact, John played for Bob Zlotnik’s West U Little League teams). Dad would bring a silver dollar in his pocket to reward John if he got the win. Ever competitive, there was no reward for “participation,” a “good effort,” a no decision, or even a save. It had to be a win.

Baseball opened doors for Dad – the University of St. Thomas allowed him to take classes by mail so he could get his college degree back in the ‘50s.

When Dad’s playing doors were over, he got a great job as chief of federal probation and parole through Judge Hannay, who was a big fan of the Houston Buffs.

Dad has rubbed shoulders with many baseball greats, dating back to 1943 when Honus Wagner watched him play at the University of Pittsburgh and tried to recruit him for the Pirates.

Dad got to play in the Oldtimers’ games when the Astrodome first opened in 1965. As children, it was thrilling to see our Dad on the field in the Astrodome.

Baseball has given Dad many friends throughout his lifetime, some of whom are here tonight, especially Bill McCurdy, his biggest fan, and Bob Dorrill.

Baseball has given him lots of stories. What is it about baseball players and stories? It’s likely a function of all the time a player spends with his team, building camaraderie.

This summer, right after his 90^th birthday, he and about family members went to a Sunday afternoon Astros game. It was a fitting way to end an entire weekend of celebration.

To watch a baseball game with our Dad is to see things you might have missed, like, where the shortstop is playing, whether it’s time for a bunt, if the batter managed to hit the sweet spot, and Dad’s inimitable “Get him outta there” when the pitcher stays in one pitch too long.

From his 90-year perspective, Dad would want to tell the young men and women here tonight:

Cultivate and respect your baseball and softball network – the coaches, the fans, your teammates, your opponents. You will see them again in your lifetime and they can vouch for your work ethic, integrity, and discipline.
Get your degree. If you are not lucky enough to stay in baseball all your life, use baseball as a steppingstone to your next endeavor.
Pass along your love of the game.
Never lose your competitive spirit.
Thank God for all your blessings.

The entire Miggins family is humbled and honored by this Award and thanks SABR.

____________________

Larry-Miggins-Age-90

Larry Miggins Today. Those of you young people who even now “get” and act upon the advice of Larry Miggins as it has been so clearly laid out for you here and now by his daughter, Eileen Hohlt, also have another benefit to harvest later in life. I’m 99% sure that Larry will agree:

The sooner you put Larry Miggins’s advice into action, the easier it will be in your later years to look back on the things you did and didn’t do in your life with greater humility, wisdom, peace, gratitude, and acceptance.

____________________

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Bob Dorrill Award Goes to Larry Miggins

January 22, 2016

The first annual 2016 Bob Dorrill Distinguished Service to Baseball Award last night went to the most deserving candidate our SABR group could possibly consider. By unanimous vote at our December meeting, and in sworn secrecy by all from early disclosure to our choice of his selection, the attending members of our Larry Dierker Chapter of SABR in Houston gave the nod at the 2016 Sugar Land Skeeters Hot Stove League Banquet to fellow SABR member and former Houston Buff and St. Louis Cardinal Larry Miggins. Larry’s absence from the meeting that night due to his late 2015 fall and leg injury made it possible for us keep that confidence until Chapter President Bob Dorrill disclosed our pick to him by phone last week.

The always bright, always funny, and always modest Mr. Miggins expressed his gratitude to Bob Dorrill over the phone, but he also noted that he was “flabbergasted” to have been our choice. When Bob told me of Larry’s reaction, it was not a surprise. Modesty rules this good man and great friend in all matters. The man who once took his first collegiate coaching directly from Honus Wagner at the University of Pittsburgh, the man who played third base for Newark in Jackie Robinson’s first 1946 game across the color line with Montreal, the man who hit his first major league home run for the Cardinals in Brooklyn in 1952 while his old New York high school classmate, Vin Scully, fulfilled a 10-year old prophecy that this moment would one day occur for the two of them, this man who was a key figure in the success of the 1951 Houston Buffs’ drive for a Texas League pennant, this man who went back to school for two college degrees and a post-baseball career as the chief federal probation and parole official in Houston, this man who raised 12 wonderful children with his even more Irish wife, Kathleen, this man who coached and even wrote a book on the secrets of power-hitting, this man who started my life as a childhood hero, but later became one of my dearest late-in-life friends, this man of over 90 years well lived, this man of God who has given himself to the Houston community in so many generous ways, this man, Lawrence Edward Miggins, “himself”, turned out to be the only answer we could find to the question: “Who most deserves this first preciously given Bob Dorrill Award?”

Two of Larry Miggins' 12 children, Eileen Holt and brother John Miggins, proudly accepted the Bob Dorrill Award in their father's good name. Eileen delivered an eloquent acceptance speech.

Two of Larry Miggins’ 12 children, Eileen Hohlt and brother John Miggins, both proudly accepted the Bob Dorrill Award in their father’s good name. Eileen spoke eloquently in her dad’s behalf.

Still recovering from his leg injury, Larry wasn’t able to attend the banquet, but two of his adult children, daughter Eileen Hohlt and son John Miggins were present to accept the presentation from Ira Liebman of the Skeeters, with Eileen speaking for her father with all of the genetic Miggins eloquence at her disposal. I wish time and space made it practical for my recap here, but I would prefer to get my hands on a copy of her full remarks and present them to you separately as a column unto themselves in the very near future. With help of Ira Liebman, I feel sure that we will find a way to get that goal accomplished.

We don’t have the attendance figures, but the Insperity Room at Constellation Field was filled to overflowing.

The Panel Discussion. The banquet also provided a lively hot stove baseball discussion panel chaired by Brett Dolan of the Sugar Land Skeeters. Members of the panel included Allyson Footer of MLB.com, Manager Gary Gaetti of the Sugar Land Skeeters, former MLB player/manager/coach Jackie Moore, current player Chad Huffman, and UH Associate Head Coach for women’s softball, Kristen Vesley. – One memorable quote will have to suffice due to time and space: “When I got my first big league hit for Detroit, it came as a base hit that I got as a result of missing a take sign on a 3-2 count. As a result, my first big league hit came with a $25 fine for not following my manager’s orders.”

The Ray Knoblauch Coaching Award went to Tom McPherson.

The Marie Red Mahoney Significant Achievement Award also was made, but the name was announced at the banquet and I forgot to take notes. If any of readers know the name and school or other affiliation of the winner, please let me know and I edit this little matter of unfinished business here. Also, if anyone knows the coaching connection for Tom McPherson above, please let me know that too and we will also amplify the identity of the winner in that category.

The banquet also presented their 2016 Pre-Season Boys’ Baseball and Girls’ Softball Teams. Mighty important too. Those young people are the face and form of baseball’s future!

Jim Kreuz (center) is one of the most dedicated SABR biographers in our chapter. He and his kindred spirits made a nice show of support for the banquet and, to no one’s surprise, Jim personally asked the panel some of the best questions they fielded.

Thank you, Ira Liebman and the Sugar Land Skeeters! Thank you SABR! And, last, but not least, Thanks You, Banquet Sponsors, for making the fourth Sugar Land version of an ancient Houston winter baseball banquet aspect of our local baseball culture come to life again. As far as we are concerned, what you guys are doing is invaluable.

Carve this in marble somewhere:

“Those who give of themselves to the game of baseball are the same people, players and fans, who make it worth our passionate support!”

____________________

Larry Miggins

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