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The Countdown Continues

Newcomer #9 - Victor Martinez. Martinez initially emerged as the quintessential great-hitting catcher. In his days with Cleveland he put up year after year with outstanding totals in the traditional triple crown statistics, which when combined with a keen batting eye resulted in some of the best OPS numbers you will see for a catcher. As time went on he spent much less time behind the plate, gradually seeing more action at first base before eventually largely becoming a full time designated hitter. When all was said and done, he spent more time as a DH than he did at any defensive position.

Therein lies the rub. With such little defensive value, a player needs to really be an elite hitter for an exceptionally long time to warrant HOF induction. Martinez was outstanding, but he wasn’t quite that. His career numbers do jump out - more than 2000 hits, more than 1000 RBI’s & a career triple slash of .295/.360/.455 that would have looked even more impressive had his production not tumbled in the last 4 years of his career.

Holdover #9 - Andy Pettitte. It was one of the most reliable October traditions. The camera shot of Andy Pettitte, with his low-slung cap, staring intently at the catcher’s signals. Pettitte was one of the centerpieces of the late century Yankees’ dynasty, and as such his career is filled with outstanding postseason performances. But for every clutch outing such as Game 5 in the 1996 World Series, there would be a counterpoint such as Game 1 in that same series in which he was absolutely lit up. As a result, if you look at the postseason section on his Baseball Reference page, it’s filled with series in which he posted astronomical ERAs. When he pitched poorly in the playoffs, he pitched REALLY poorly.

I only focus on that aspect of his career because his postseason heroics are frequently discussed as such a major element of his HOF argument. I’m not shortchanging those credentials by any means, he was never the Yankees’ ace, but more often than not he was given the responsibility of starting Game #2 in any series, and those were crucial starts. More than 250 career victories + 5 World Series rings is impressive, but his career ERA is awfully high even taking into account the fact that he pitched in a high-scoring era. I look at his career, and I see him as more of a Ken Holtzman type than I do a Hall of Fame level pitcher.

Steve’s Book Club

Just finished reading this book, which I highly recommend.

It’s almost as if the book was created in a lab specifically for me. Ostensibly it’s framed as a countdown of baseball’s 50 greatest moments, but just like Joe Posnanski’s earlier book on The Baseball 100, the actual order of the selections is nowhere near as important as the stories that he tells. And Joe P. is a master storyteller. As the book’s title implies, he isn’t interested in the what happened as much as he is in the why this is meaningful to so many fans.

The book also features much more than 50 moments. There are several supplemental chapters that also discuss moments that don’t necessarily merit their own chapters. The content is not limited to Major League Baseball - international ball and works of fiction get their spotlights as well. Significantly, he also acknowledges a truth that is often glossed over. The nature of sports is that there is a winner & a loser. Therefore, what might be an exciting moment for me could easily spur vastly different moments from you. To choose one example, the Mookie Wilson ground ball resonates much differently in New England than it does in New York.

I won’t spoil anything regarding the book’s content, although many of you could easily guess what are many of the moments that Posnanski discusses. Check that, one minor spoiler. The Jackie Robinson chapter discusses Larry Doby just as much as it does Robinson. I’ve often noted that Doby had just as heavy of a task; after all he was the first black man to play in the major leagues in American League cities such as Detroit. Posnanski notes that it was more than that. Robinson joined the Dodgers as a 28 year old man who played a full year in the minor leagues to help ease the transition. Doby was only 23, playing in the Negro Leagues, and suddenly found himself in the harsh American League spotlight a mere 2 days later. That’s an entirely different level of pressure. All in all, it’s an outstanding summary of the reasons why sports means so much to those of us who are sports fans. It’s the fact that at any moment we could see something very special that we will be talking about for years to come. Now, why did he leave out ______?

Moses

Late last week Kevin Durant moved into 10th place on the all-time NBA scoring list. (That’s NBA only, if ABA totals are included he’s currently “only” 13th.) When milestones such as this are reached, it’s always a good idea to use that as an opportunity to appreciate the greats who get passed on the list. For example, when Barry Bonds’s run at the home run record caused so much agita it also helped remind everyone just how great Henry Aaron was.

The man whom Durant knocked out of the top 10? Moses Malone. I’ve always considered it a little unfortunate that he doesn’t get as much love among casual fans as he deserves. His greatest years coincided with the Magic/Bird era, and even though he won 3 MVP awards & was the best player on a dominant team, his name has fallen a bit through the cracks.

There are multiple reasons why. He was a dominant low post scorer/rebounder/defender so his game wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as that of many of his peers. He also wasn’t as media slick; his most famous quote was the “fo fo fo” prediction he made before the 1983 playoffs. And even though he was the top star on that championship 76ers squad, so much of the attention was focused on Julius Erving finally winning an NBA ring. It also didn’t help that he played for so many teams; he’s not as indelibly linked to a single franchise in the way that so many of the game’s legends are.

When the NBA’s 75th anniversary was celebrated last year, The Athletic put together its own 75 greatest list & in their case they actually ranked the players. Malone came in at #18, just above Erving and just below Kevin Garnett. That sounds about right. The guy was an absolute force.

Your Newest #1 Hit

A few years back Billboard amended its rules for chart eligibility on the Hot 100. A song no longer needs to be new to chart; catalog songs can qualify. That revision manifests itself most often this time of year. The upper reaches of the chart in December consist mostly of holiday hits. In one sense, I have an issue with that. In my mind, the charts should reflect who are the current hot artists and songs. But on the other hand this does make it an accurate reflection of what people are listening to - many radio stations go with holiday music 24/7 & loads of people start streaming their seasonal playlists.

Traditionally this is when Mariah Carey makes her return to #1. She still may before the season is over, but this year a different modern standard has become the first Christmas tune to top the chart. The #1 song in the country this week is Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. Because of the seasonal nature of the achievement there are all sorts of asterisks attached, but Lee has now set a few records. She first hit #1 back in 1960, which now gives her the longest span of #1 hits. In a related achievement, she had a second #1 later on in 1960, so she also has the longest length of time between #1s. Also, at the age of 78 she has passed Louis Armstrong as the oldest person to hit #1.

Denny Laine 1944-2023

Sure, inner circle rock legends are important. But the utility players are just as crucial. Case in point, Denny Laine, who passed away yesterday. He was never a star, but he was a solid player in the music scene for well more than a decade.

He first came to prominence as the leader of the Moody Blues in their initial incarnation during the British Invasion, singing lead on their earliest singles. He left the band well before Days Of Future Passed introduced the new musical direction with which they became most famous, so he’s not often thought of as a member of the band. In fact, he wasn’t included on the initial list of inducted band members when the Moodys made the HOF, although that oversight was quickly corrected in time for Laine to participate in the induction ceremony.

It was a few years later when he made his biggest mark. Paul McCartney recruited him to be a member of Wings, and he went on to be the only constant member of the band other than Paul & Linda McCartney. His main duty was to serve as the band’s guitarist, but he served a multitude of roles, filling in on whichever instrument he was needed for. That value was most prevalent on the Band On the Run album, which was recorded in Lagos, Nigeria. Most of the band decided at the last minute not to fly to Africa, leaving it up to Laine & the McCartneys to record everything themselves. It only went on to become Wings’ biggest success, so the joke was on the members who abandoned ship.

At the dawn of the 80’s McCartney jettisoned Wings to concentrate on his solo career, but he & Laine still continued to work together on a sporadic basis. He recorded a few solo albums; nothing really took off. But his role in history is pretty secure. The classic jack of many trades was 79.

We Wait … And Wait.. And Wait

Baseball’s winter meetings end today and there has been little in the way of major transactions as the entire sport awaits Shohei Ohtani’s situation. His agent has made it clear that he wishes the negotiating process to remain secret; he has implied that Ohtani would hold it against teams if they reveal too much. Which is why a lot of people were shocked when Dave Roberts mentioned that Ohtani had a fruitful meeting with the Dodgers. Did he reveal too much, thereby annoying Ohtani?

This is starting to play out like one of those radio contests in which whoever can keep one hand on an automobile for the longest wins the car. Whichever team can hold out the longest without revealing that they’ve actually spoken with Shohei Ohtani gets to sign him. Of course, the funniest possible result would be if he ultimately signs with the Akron Groomsmen and dons Tungsten Arm O’Doyle’s old number.

Closing Laughs

Stuck on what to give everyone on your Christmas list? Why not give someone a subscription to Tending the Herd as a gift? You don’t have to tell the recipient that this is a free newsletter, that can be our little secret. Thanks for reading, and we’ll talk again on Friday.