Can I be in your club too?

I was checking out the all-time strikeout list when I wondered which active pitchers have a shot at the 3,000 mark. Obviously Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz are right there, with 2,998 and 2,926, respectively. Mike Mussina has a decent chance, as does Andy Pettitte. But then I saw a name that took me by surprise.

Javier Vasquez? Could have 3,000 career strikeouts? Really?

He gives up a lot of hits, a lot of them for home runs, and has struggled in his two previous American League seasons. He's also a bit wild, having drilled 15 batters last year. But he might be the good kind of wild, the wild that keeps a hitter from determining if the next pitch will be over the plate or in his ear.

Vasquez has never led the league in strikeouts, but he's been healthy and he's been consistent. Twice he's topped the 200 strikeout mark, and from 2000 to 2006 he's averaged 193 a year. This season he's already at 157. Those aren't overwhelming numbers, but extrapolate those numbers over a twenty year career and you've got something.

In ten big league seasons Vasquez has 1,759 strikeouts. He also just turned 31. If he's able to stick around for seven more seasons, and if he stays as healthy as he's been up to this point, then he's got a good shot at the 3,000 mark. That may not guarantee him a spot in the Hall of Fame (see also Bert Blyleven), but it's a prestigious accomplishment nonetheless.

Take your base... AGAIN.

Francisco Rodriguez's windup and delivery is so exuberant that I feel bad when he doesn't get the call on a close pitch. It's like wasted effort.


Baltimore, still needing something to celebrate besides being at the butt-end of a 30 to 3 loss Wednesday, can high-five Kevin Millar for extending his consecutive games on base safely streak to 51. But what's the record for CGOBS? In 2003 Barry Bonds reached base safely in 58 consecutive games, tying the NL record with Duke Snyder's 1954 effort, and that's fortunate because it means somebody has already done all the research for me.

Ted Williams in 1949 reached base safely 84 times-- amazingly done in 155 games. That's for a single season... I don't know if those numbers carried over to 1950 or if he was finishing up what he started in 1948. Either way, for that particular season Williams safely reached first base (and often beyond) in over half the games he played in.

While Williams finished the season batting .343 with 43 home runs and 159 RBIs, Millar is only batting .264 with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs. While it might be unfair to compare a Ted Williams MVP season with any given statistical Millar year, it is interesting to note how skeletal Millar's hitting has been even though he's on base all the time. Since the All-Star Break, Millar is hitting only .242 with a SLG% of .409. Credit the 13 of those 36 games he's gone hitless, but still scored a BB or HBP. In fact since his streak started in June his batting average has actually fallen from .249.

To be especially mean with our comparisons, during the 44 games in which Barry Bonds' reached base safely after the All-Star Break he batted .393, had a SLG% of .838, and went hitless only 11 times.

So of those who've had substantial CGOBS streaks (Williams with 84, Joe DiMaggio with 74 in 1941, Snider with 58 in 1954, Bonds with 58), three of them won MVPs in their respective streak seasons. Only the Duke missed the award, but his offensive numbers were nearly identical to MVP winner Willie Mays.

I'm not entirely convinced that Kevin Millar has a shot at the MVP award this season (understatement used for comedic effect), but he is keeping some good company.

Also, Kevin, Gene Simmons doesn't think you're wearing enough eye black.

Field Box $10.00

The wife was digging through my wallet yesterday (I'm still not sure what she expected to find in there... Pepsi coupons?) and pulled out a ticket stub from my very first Major League game. I had been to tons of OKC 89ers (now called the Red Hawks) minor league games in the 80s, but Weatherford, OK, is offensively far from any big-league ballparks, and I had to wait until 1991 to catch my first Biggie in Kansas City.

Aisle 140
Box J
Seat 2
APR. 12, 1991
FRI., 7:35 PM

Royals Vs. Yankees

I have the worst memory ever, and there are only three things I distinctly recall:

1) Don Mattingly at first base. He was my favorite player then and I made it a point to find him. Unfortunately we were so far down the right-field line that I needed binoculars to see him manning first base.
2) Lee Guetterman on the mound. I knew he was tall (his stupid 1990 Topps baseball card appeared in every other pack I opened, and due to overexposure or osmosis or whatever I eventually memorized all of his statistics), but his height was even more appreciable when he stood on the mound towering above all of his teammates.
3) So many people ran on the field that night. For a long time afterwards I thought this was what fans normally did at Major League baseball games. Security took care of most of the drunken fools, but one guy who was sitting immediately in front of me hopped the fence, ran across the entire outfield, and lept back into the left-field line seats. Although I'm sure he was apprehended on the other side, I had never seen anybody before or since clear the entire field without getting caught.

Thanks to baseball-reference.com, the greatest website in the history of time, I've now got the long-forgotten details of that particular game.

Things to note:
- This was back when the Royals were better than the Yankees. New York finished 1991 with a record of 71-91, while Kansas City topped the .500 mark with a 82-80 record. It's amazing what can happen in sixteen years.
- Starting pitchers were Storm Davis for KC and Chuck Cary for NY. I have absolutely no recollection of Chuck Cary whatsoever, either in baseball card form or in SEEING HIM WITH MY EYEBALLS form. He allowed 8 runs in 3 1/3 innings, which probably explains how he's so forgettable.
- Batting first and second for the Yankees... Steve Sax and Don Mattingly. Next year both would appear on the best Simpsons episode ever.
- Batting clean-up for the Yankees... Kevin Maas! He hit the only triple of his big-league career in this game.
- Batting fifth for the Yankees... Hensley "Bam-Bam" Meulens! This line-up is absolutely amazing in an over-hyped sort of way.

As for the Royals:
- George Brett. I don't know how I managed to forget about George Brett, but he was playing first base this game.
- Danny Tartabull dang near hit for the cycle. He went 3 for 5 with a single, double, and a triple.
- "Now pinch hitting for Kevin Seitzer-- Bill Pecota"
- Kirk Gibson, in his 17 years of baseball, played one season for KC. Guess who the DH was?

Royals won, 9 to 5. Not a terribly remarkable game, and I bet 90% of the people there couldn't recall the game today (and even I am just barely able to), but it was a special one for me and I'll hang on to this stub for as long as I can. At least until somebody steals my wallet.

Last Week in Baseball, or, All That Stuff I Missed

I've been gone. Algonquin Park, located somewhere in Ontario, is a beautiful place to camp and canoe and get bit in the face by mosquitos. It ain't no RV park, either, so I've been removed from computers and TVs and even radios for the past week. I come back to find the Cardinals opting not to suck anymore, Rick Ankiel is once again a Major Leaguer (and a dang good one at that), and there's a wild card race a-happenin'.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on whose side you're on) I caught B.Bonds' 756th homer just before I left. ...Caught it on TV. I didn't actually catch the baseball itself. If I had caught the baseball I'd be buying up Caribbean islands by now.

I returned just in time to read about Jose Offerman going ape over in the Atlantic League. I wouldn't have known that Offerman was still in organized baseball if I hadn't of re-stumbled across him while doing research for the All-Pena team a couple weeks ago. Anyway, I might be able to condone a bench-clearing brawl (the NASCAR equivalent of the guilty delight a big crash brings), but not if swinging bats are involved. If batters are allowed to charge the mound with bats in tow then pitchers should be allowed to carry guns.
HERE, by the way, is a fantastic collection of pictures of the incident. No video exists because nobody in their right mind would tape a Long Island Ducks game, but scroll through the photographs quickly and it sorta looks like it's in motion. Happily nobody was seriously brained.

And Scooter died. Phil Rizzuto was old and led a very full life, but it's still sad to have him leave us. I wish my best memory of him was something other than that holy cow knocking him over on Phil Rizzuto Day in 1985. They showed the incident at least once every season on TWIB.

Is that everything? Or at least everything of note?
What will NEXT week bring?

The All-Mickey Team

All sports have their share of athletes named Jeff or John or Joe, but only in baseball can you find an abundance of Mickeys. There is something inherently basebally about the name Mickey, and it's got a long rich history of Major League use. Admittedly, Mickey was usually a nickname -- in fact, only three Major Leaguers have ever been Mickey by birth (Mantle, Tettleton, and Callaway) -- but who ever called Mickey Rivers "John"? Interestingly, Mickey Mantle was named after Mickey Cochrane, whose birth name was actually Gordon. Imagine a Hall of Fame plaque for Gordon Mantle.

Anyway, if an ideal team of Mickeys were to take the field, this is what it would look like.

Catcher: Mickey Cochrane - A two-time MVP, Cochrane hit two home runs for the Athletics during the 1930 World Series, aiding their eventual victory. His Hall of Fame career was cut short in 1937 when a pitch thrown by (the ironically named) Bump Hadley struck Cochrane in the head.

First Base: Mickey Vernon - A seven-time all-star, Vernon was also a two-time batting champ and finished his career with 2,495 hits.

Second Base: Mickey Morandini - A decent-hitting second baseman, Morandini is probably best known for turning an unassisted triple play for the Phillies in 1992, tagging Barry Bonds for the third out.

Third Base: Mickey Klutts - As his name might indicate, Klutts wasn't a stellar fielder, and he was too infrequently used in the big leagues for his bat to shine. But in 1976 he was co-MVP of the International League

Shortstop: Mickey Stanley - A gold glove centerfielder for the Tigers, Stanley played half the 1969 season at short, replacing defensive wizard Ray Oyler who had been drafted by the expansion Pilots. In fact, due to the liability of Oyler's bat, Stanley replaced him for much of the 1968 World Series as well.

Left Field: Mickey Rivers - Though in New York he was strictly a center fielder, Rivers played a handful of games in left field for the Angels and Rangers. But it was on the basepaths where he excelled, stealing 70 bases in 1975.

Center Field: Mickey Mantle - Even though he played through painful injuries, Mantle was an astonishing combination of power and speed. He was a 16-time all-star, 3-time MVP, 4-time home run champ, Triple Crown winner, and the 1956 batting champion. He was also the boyhood hero of every lad between New York and Oklahoma.

Right Field: Mickey Tettleton - Good behind the plate, Tettleton split time between catching and playing right field later in his career. Tettleton, like another Mickey on this line up, was a strong switch-hitter and had four 30-homer seasons.

Starting Pitcher 1: Mickey Lolich - The Tigers' all-time strikeout and shutout leader, Lolich won 25 games in 1971 and followed that up with a 22 win, 2.50 ERA season in '72. In the 1968 World Series he went 3-0, struck out 21, and had a 1.65 ERA.

Starting Pitcher 2: Mickey Welch - One of three Mickeys in the Hall of Fame, Welch was a 19th century phenom, winning 307 games in 12 seasons between 1880 and 1891. He sported a 44-11 record in 1885. In 1884 he once struck out the first nine batters he faced in a game.

Closer: Mickey Harris - A former 17-game winner for the Red Sox, Washington manager Bucky Harris (unrelated) moved Mickey Harris to the bullpen when he came to play for the Senators in 1949. He wasn't great, but he did save 15 games in 1950.

Manager: Mickey Cochrane - Not only was he a Hall of Fame catcher, Cochrane was also a successful player/manager for his Detroit Tigers in the 1930s. In 1934 his team won 101 games; in 1935 they were World Series champions.

It's startling how many Mickeys turned out to be catchers. I assume the tremendously popular Cochrane had something do with this, although maybe players of Irish descent were more inclined to saddle up behind the plate for some reason.

Also, I couldn't understand where Cornelius Frances "Neal" Finn got his "Mickey" nickname until I realized that "slipping a Mickey" and a "Mickey Finn" were the same thing.

Interestingly (for me at least) there was a Major League player in the 1970s named Mickey Scott, which happens to be my name as well. I wish he had been a better player (as if we had more than just names in common, as if I were somehow responsible for him), but I guess you don't really want to share your name with somebody too well known. "Michael Bolton," anybody?