Experienced Pilots Wait For Next Chances
PLUS: WHY ARE NO BALLPARKS NAMED FOR PLAYERS?
Reader Reacts: Season Starts Too Early
“I don’t know how you would get the 162-game, four-round playoff in, but there shouldn’t be baseball in March. My guess is you would have to schedule one doubleheader a month so as not to push the World Series further into November, but that’s not happening. The season starts about a week too early.”
— Brian Greenberg, Long Island, NY
Pregame Pepper
In his first game with the Braves, Dom Smith did something Hank Aaron did only once in his 23-year career: hit a walk-off grand-slam . . .
Smith’s game-winning shot a week ago today marked the first time any player hit a walk-off slam in his first game with a new team . . .
Not known for his power, the lefty-hitting Atlanta DH has averaged just 15 homers per 162 games over his 10-year career . . .
Carlos Estévez, victim of Smith’s Truist Park blast, had an ERA of 162.00 after Atlanta’s 6-2 win, which featured six earned runs against the Kaycee closer in two-thirds of an innings pitched . . .
Estévez, whose velocity is down significantly, had led the majors with 42 saves for the Royals last season . . .
Ozzie Albies hit Atlanta’s first home run of the season even though his only pre-season homer didn't even come in spring training; it was the walk-off home run he hit for Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic . . .
Washington’s Joey Wiemer became the first player in Nationals/Expos history to reach base in each of his first eight plate appearances, tying him with Jeremy Hazelbaker (D-backs) and Steve Henderson (Mariners) for most consecutive plate appearances reaching base to start a career since at least 1961 . . .
He homered, tripled, singled and drew a walk in the Nationals’ 6-3 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Sunday after going 3-for-3 with a home run Opening Day.
Leading Off
Hiring Recycled Manager May Remedy Struggling Team
By Dan Schlossberg
With nine managers starting this season in new places, it shouldn’t be long before some of them bite the dust.
There’s an old adage in baseball warning that managers are hired to be fired.
There are also plenty of experienced managers awaiting their next opportunity.
Consider some of these as possible recycled pilots: Bud Black, Joe Girardi, Fredi Gonzalez, Joe Maddon, Don Mattingly, Bob Melvin, Willie Randolph, Mike Shildt, and Buck Showalter for starters. Dusty Baker, Joe Torre, Tony La Russa and Jack McKeon are still kicking but not itching to return to the dugout.
All of the others, however, have something to prove. Showalter, for example, was Manager of the Year four times but never won a divisional title. Maddon, a three-time Manager of the Year, won a world championship as a manager.
Mattingly, the last manager of the Dodgers before Dave Roberts, never won a World Series ring as a player or pilot but finally reached the World Series as Toronto bench coach last summer (he’s still looking for that elusive world championship ring). He’s now bench coach for the Phillies, where his son Preston is general manager.
The outspoken Girardi won three divisional titles, a pennant, and a World Series — all with the Yankees — after winning his only Manager of the Year award with then-Florida Marlins in 2006. At 61, he’s still young enough to return to somebody’s dugout.
Melvin, like Girardi a former big-league catcher, was a three-time Manager of the Year, winning the trophy in both leagues while piloting five different teams. At 64, he’s just a phone call away from running a ballclub again.
Randolph made his reputation playing second base for the Yankees, then stayed in town to spend more than three seasons managing the Mets. He even took the denizens of Flushing to the final round — the NLCS — in 2006 after taking the contentious National League East crown.
Shildt’s teams won at least 90 games in four of his six seasons but he gave up his last job in San Diego in response to negative and painful fan mail. At 57, he’s the youngest of the potential recycled pilots profiled in this column.
The bilingual Gonzalez, a Havana native who’s bounced around as a manager and coach, also has relative youth on his side at 62. His Braves teams won at least 94 games in two different seasons.
Teams usually wait until mid-season to evaluate managers and players with an eye toward making changes. But when they do, they could do worse than hire an experienced former pilot from this list.
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ covers baseball for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, Memories & Dreams, and numerous other outlets. He’ll be giving a power point presentation on the latest of his 43 books at the Baseball Hall of Fame at 1:00 on July 2. Dan’s email address is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
Ballpark Names: None Named After Player
By Dan Schlossberg
With the possible exception of Connie Mack Stadium, which was named for an owner and manager who had a brief cameo as a catcher, no big-league ballpark has ever been named for a player.
The Braves gave strong consideration to re-naming Olympic Stadium after Hank Aaron but then decided to honor long-time owner Ted Turner, who kept the franchise in the city and eventually restored it to contending status.
The Yankees could have named their ballpark Babe Ruth Field and the Giants could have called theirs Willie Mays Stadium. But team owners have been honored all over the place.
Ebbets Field, Busch Stadium, Wrigley Field, Turner Field, Comiskey Park, Kauffman Stadium, and so many more were named for team owners.
But even with the wave of new construction that followed World War 2, most ballparks have been named for geographical locale — see Fenway Park — or corporations willing to shell out for naming rights.
The New York Mets moved from Shea Stadium — named for baseball innovator Bill Shea, who brought National League baseball back to New York — to CitiField, named for CitiBank. At least the name sounds logical, as it is a City Field, just as Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark, though named for an insurance company, is just what its name describes.
Parks are often named for teams — Yankee Stadium, Angel Stadium, Nationals Park, even Oriole Park at Camden Yards — but corporate fingers often grasp onto those handles too.
Just last week, a Japanese apparel firm secured naming rights to the home of the world champions, now called Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.
If it’s not the worst name in baseball, it’s definitely in contention. But it would be hard to beat Rate Field, formerly Guaranteed Rate Field and U.S. Cellular Field. Only its team, the Chicago White Sox, is worse than its name.
Thanks to corporate greed, we’re also stuck with Oracle Park (Giants), loanDepot Park (Marlins), T-Mobile Park (Mariners), Daikin Park (Astros), Globe Life Field (Rangers), Citizens Bank Park (Phillies), and Progressive Field (Guardians), where the bad ballpark name matches the bad team nickname.
I’ve always wondered why it was Braves Field and Nationals Park but Dodger Stadium and Yankee Stadium — with the “S” of the nickname lost in the translation.
And I’ve also wondered why multiple minor-league and collegiate ballparks are named for major-league stars when not a single one in the majors has followed suit.
Examples, you ask? How about Christy Mathewson Stadium at Bucknell, Tony Gwynn Stadium at San Diego State, Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, IL, Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, MD, and Jackie Robinson Stadiums in Los Angeles and Daytona Beach?
There’s even a Lou Gehrig Stadium in Yokohama, Japan and a Stan Musial Stadium in Kutno, Poland. And let’s not overlook the late, great Al Lopez Field in Tampa and Huggins-Stengel Field in nearby St. Pete.
Gene Autry had a ballfield named after him too: the singing cowboy and first owner of the Los Angeles Angels inspired admirers to name the team’s Mesa, AZ complex in his owner. Gene Autry Park stands there proudly today.
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ covers baseball for forbes.com, Sports Collectors Digest, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Memories & Dreams, and many other outlets. His e.mail is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Extra Innings
“I thought my at-bats were terrible too.”
— New Mets third baseman Bo Bichette, booed after starting 1-for-14 (.071)
Fellow third baseman Munetaka Murakami, who once hit 56 homers in Japan, connected three times in his first three U.S. games, making the White Sox look like visionaries for signing him . . .
Speaking of signings, Seattle gave shortstop Colt Emerson an eight-year contract even though he has yet to play in the major leagues . . .
Another shortstop is about to: Pittsburgh’s Konnor Griffin, the consensus top prospect in baseball, will make his debut tonight at age 19 . . .
Sandy Alcantara seems to have found his Cy Young form again in Florida . . .
And the lowly-regarded Marlins won five of their first six and ended the first week on top of the National League East, a division they have never won . . .
Both of their world championships were the result of wild-card wins.
Know Your Editors
Here’s the Pitch is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [biggentleben@hotmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.
Dan Schlossberg always has good stuff. He is a pleasure to read.
Before Pete Alonso set the rookie record with 53 homers in 2019, there was a competition at first base for the Mets between Alonso and Dom Smith. Smith was and still is a much better fielder than Pete but could not take enough advantage of the chances he had with the Mets. A player this Met fan still roots for!