Binghamton Triplets? What's in a Name?
ALSO: NEW TOPPS SET MAKES CARD COLLECTING MORE CHALLENGING
IBWAA members love to write about baseball. So much so, we've decided to create our own newsletter about it! Subscribe to Here's the Pitch to expand your love of baseball, discover new voices, and support independent writing. Original content six days a week, straight to your inbox and straight from the hearts of baseball fans.
Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Max Scherzer makes his first start of the season for Texas today, June 23 . . .
The only three Braves remaining from 2017 — Brian Snitker’s first full season as manager — are Ozzie Albies, Max Fried, and A.J. Minter . . .
The Braves are the first team to lose a defending MVP and a 20-game winner in the season immediately following those achievements . . .
Kudos to the Chicago White Sox, who just ended the longest losing streak (14 games) in club history . . .
Kudos also to Ranger Suarez, who beat the Rangers in Philadelphia on May 21 . . .
San Diego reliever Jeremiah Estrada fanned a record 13 men in a row . . .
In his first month with the Padres, Luis (Line-Drive) Arraez had four-hit games . . .
Hall of Fame pitchers with less than 40 strikeouts in a season: Catfish Hunter (34), Jim Palmer (35), Jim Kaat (37) . . .
The American League’s Rookie of the Year Award should go to Cleveland manager Steven Vogt, whose 40-20 start topped anything achieved by former Cleveland pilot Terry Francona, a three-time AL Manager of the Year . . .
Baltimore shortstop Gunnar Henderson is on pace to hit 51 home runs, a new mark for a lead-off man (Brady Anderson had 50 in 1996 but only 35 while batting first) . . .
The 1979 Oakland A’s drew 306,763 fans, averaging 3,787 fans per game.
Before Houston’s Jeremy Pena did it on April 28, 2023, no player had ever homered in both of the first two games played against his World Series opponent.
Leading Off
Fun With The Binghamton Triplets
By Paul Semendinger
A few weeks ago, I created a list of the best players in baseball who played for both the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. I joked that I might have to next look at the Binghamton Triplets...
Well, that joke stuck in my mind, and it became something I had to do.
The Binghamton Triplets were a minor-league team in New York state that played in various leagues and at various levels from 1923 to 1968. The Triplets, at various times, were associated with the New York Yankees, the Milwaukee Braves, and the Kansas City A's.
They got their nickname because they represented three cities: Binghamton, Johnson City, and Endicott.
I was able to create an all-time All-Star team of former Triplets. (For the bullpen, I had to convert some pitchers who were typically starters.)
Here they are:
C - Thurman Munson - 7-time All-Star, 1970 A.L. Rookie of the Year, 1976 A.L. Most Valuable Player
1B - Bill "Moose" Skowron - 8-time All-Star, played in 8 World Series
2B - Bobby Richardson - 8-time All-Star, Played in 7 World Series (1960 W.S. Most Valuable Player), 5 Gold Gloves
SS - Bert Campaneris - 6- time All-Star, played in 3 World Series
3B - Clete Boyer - played in 5 World Series, Gold Glove winner
LF - Andy Pafko - 5-time All-Star, played in 5 World Series
CF - Bill Virdon - 1955 N.L. Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove Winner, played in 1 World Series
RF - Tommy Holmes - 2-time All-Star, played in 2 World Series, lifetime .302 batting average
DH - Deron Johnson - led N.L. in RBI's in 1965, played in 1 World Series
SP - Whitey Ford - member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
SP- Lefty Gomez - member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
SP- Spud Chandler - 1943 A.L. Most Valuable Player
SP - Vic Raschi - pitched in 6 World Series, 4-time All-Star
SP - Freddie Fitzsimmons - pitched in 3 World Series, led the N.L. in Winning Percentage 2-times
RP - Ralph Terry - Pitched in 5 World Series (1962 World Series MVP), 2-time All-Star
RP - Bob Grim - 1954 A.L. Rookie of the Year
RP - Al Downing - Pitched in 4 World Series, 1-time All-Star
MGR - Tony LaRussa - member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Coaches - Ralph Houk, Cito Gaston, John McNamara
I am happy there was no professional baseball team called the Quadruplets.
[Editor’s Note: There is a minor-league team based called the Quad Cities River Bandits, a High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals in the Midwest League who play home games at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa, one of the Quad Cities.]
Paul Semendinger who runs the site Start Spreading the News has been published numerous times. From Compton To The Bronx, which he wrote with Roy White and The Least Among Them focus on baseball. Paul's novel, Scattering the Ashes, is being made into an audio book!
Cleaning Up
Topps Hits Home Run With Gorgeous Series 2
By Dan Schlossberg
Collecting baseball cards used to be easy. Topps charged a nickel a pack and kids eagerly spent parts of their allowances on what sometimes turned into cardboard gold.
Things are considerably more complicated — and more expensive — these days. But things are also more fun, with so many more varieties and selections of cards.
This year’s Topps Series 2, a 350-card set just released to retail and hobby stores, sells for $84.99 a box.
That’s a lot more than five cents but the 350-card set contains rookie cards, league leaders, team cards, and a variety of inserts — including new ones on Women in Baseball and Signature Tunes, dual-signed cards pairing the players with the artists who perform their walk-up songs.
Topps Series 2 looks like Topps Series 1, with neon borders in team colors, a black smoke gradient, and team names in the upper right-hand corner.
Hobby boxes contain 20 packs.
Autographed cards, always prized by collectors, appear in the style of 1989 Topps and 1989 Topps All-Stars featuring signatures of legendary stars.
The 1989 Topps design is also used in the hobby-exclusive commemorative relics, including Silver Slugger winners and the City Connect swatch collection, featuring game-used relics from city connect jerseys.
Other inserts include Heavy Lumber, Social Media Follow Back Redemption cards, and Home Field Advantage/Legendary Advantage highlighting current and former stars. Platinum Performers and Sketch Cards are also part of 2024 Topps Series 2.
First Pitch, brought back by popular demand, includes George W. Bush, who owned the Texas Rangers before he became president, and soccer star Mallory Swanson, wife of Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson. Victor Wembanyama and Myke Towers also have cards.
Other non-baseball personalities who surprisingly appear in the 2024 Topps Series 2 are Daddy Yankee, who supplies the walk-up music for new Yankees star Juan Soto, and Travis Scott, who does the same for Houston slugger Kyle Tucker.
Women in Baseball, new this year, includes Jessica Mendoza, Alyssa Nakken, Ronnie Gajownik, and Veronica Alvarez.
The new Topps Baseball Series 2 also includes Golden Mirror short prints of all 350 basecards. Inserts include City to City, Around the Horn, Covering the Field, Fantasy Favorites, Significant Statistics, and 1989 Topps baseball and All-Star cards.
Golden Mirror cards, some of which are autographed, have gold foil backs.
Full details of the latest Topps baseball set may be found at www.Topps.com. Soto is the cover athlete of 2024 Topps Baseball Series 2, with his picture appearing on the outside of every box and pack.
Topps entered the baseball card business in 1951 to promote its bubble gum. The late Sy Berger, who spent a lifetime with the company, is widely considered the godfather of baseball cards.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ writes baseball for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, MLB Report, Here’s The Pitch, Memories & Dreams, and other outlets. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: Ballparks From The Black Leagues
Six structures that once served Negro Leagues teams still stand, with Rickwood Field in Birmingham the oldest in continuous use (c. 1910) . . .
One of them, Cleveland’s League Park, also served as home of the American League’s Cleveland Indians before Municipal Stadium was opened . . .
It was opened in 1895, demolished in 1951, but restored and reopened in 2014 . . .
Another Negro Leagues ballpark, J.P. Small Memorial Stadium in Jacksonville, was home base for Hank Aaron in 1953, the year he and Felix Mantilla integrated the all-white Sally League . . .
A statue of Hall of Famer Buck O’Neil, who attended Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, stands in the entry plaza at the corner of 7th Street West and Myrtle Avenue North . . .
Restored Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, NJ has proximity to the Great Falls National Historical Park, home of waters that once powered local silk mills.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.