30 thoughts on “Half-Baked Hall: 1937-1939”

1. Two no-brainers (I'd say Cochrane is also a clear choice (though this shouldn't overshadow Schang, who I still believe deserves a good, hard look)))).

   Zack Wheat still needs you to vote for him.

2. I got Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig? I take back all of my whining. These are the greatest assignment ever.

   ::narrows eyes:: Unless you're trying to limit my advocacy for marginal players...

   Seriously though, Lou Gehrig is my favorite non-Twin ever (and as of right now, my 3rd favorite player ever)(You can... probably guess the other two). I have his picture hanging on my wall. Now I'm gonna have to watch Pride Of The Yankees again!

   1. sweet. I also love how random.org gave Goose Goslin to Scot

   2. Images of ballplayers that are currently hanging on some wall in my house:

      Joe and Dom DiMaggio
      Babe Ruth
      Walter Johnson
      Jim Thome
      Also both of my kids are on the fridge, but I think I replaced the baseball pics with soccer pics.

      No Goose. I should change that.

3. One of the first position players to wear eyeglasses.

   I wear eyeglasses, so I know who I'm supporting!

   1. Charles James “Chick” Hafey

      Played outfield (mostly left) for 13 years between Saint Louis and Cincinnati, from 1924 to 1937 (but only 15 games in 1935 and missed the ’36 season completely).

      Inducted into the HoF by the Veteran’s Committee in 1971 after peaking at 10.8% of BBWAA votes in 1960.

      Career Batting: .317/.372/.526 with a 133 OPS+

      Best offensive season was 1931 when he led the NL with a .349 BA, was 2nd with a .404 OBP and 3rd in Slugging at .569, good for 3rd with an OPS of .973 (behind Rogers Hornsby and Chuck Klein). Finished 5th in MVP voting that year and was an All Star in 1933.* Signed as a pitcher, but never pitched in the majors because Branch Rickey had something else in mind:

      Rickey watched Hafey launch several balls into a grove of trees deep in left field, and exclaimed, “By Judas Priest – who is that boy?” When told Hafey was a pitcher, Rickey decreed, “You mean he was a pitcher, from now on he is an outfielder.”

      Career WAR of 30.1 (oWAR of 21.3) – best year in terms of WAR/oWAR was 1928 (5.0/4.9) when he hit .337/.386/.604 on 175 hits including 46 2B, 6 3B, 27 HR – knocking in 111 RBI.

      One of the first position players to wear eyeglasses,

      Hafey broke into the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1924, and most accounts say he began using glasses in 1929. That followed about three years of problems with his eyesight that began in 1926. “I always thought that if Hafey had been blessed with normal eyesight and good health, he might have been the best right-handed hitter baseball had ever known,” Rickey said.

      Played in the World Series four times, winning it all in 1926 and 1931 with the St. Louis Cardinals. However, Chick did not bring much offense to the table in any of those series’ – in 23 games, he accumulated 18 hits in 92 PA’s good for a WS cumulative: .205/.222/.284. In the ’31 WS, “Hafey hit just .167 …

      He did not excuse his subpar performance, saying, “In a World Series a fellow naturally wants to do his best. Unconsciously he’s apt to press. Every attempt to improve makes matters worse. That’s the only explanation I can give and I think it’s the correct one.”

      *From BBR - In 1933 the first All-Star Game was played in Chicago as part of the World’s Fair. Players were picked by the managers and fans. Hafey was selected for the National League team and batted cleanup. His single in the second was the first hit in All-Star Game history. The aging Babe Ruth, chosen for the American League team less for his season statistics than for his reputation, highlighted the game with a home run, and with a runner on base in the eighth inning speared Hafey’s line drive that was headed into the stands.

4. Tony Lazzeri:

   He drew MLB attention when he hit .355 with 52 doubles and 60 homeruns in 1925 as a shortstop for Salt Lake City of the Pacific Coast League, but teams were concerned because other players had fizzled out after demolishing pitching in the thin, Utah air. Oh, and he was also epileptic. The Cubs and Reds passed on signing him, but the Yankees did extra due diligence on his health and bought him for $50K. (BTW, I found a person who translated that 1925 season to a MLE of 303/362/569 with 35 doubles and 33 homers in a neutral 1925 MLB park, so definitely fantastic either way). They immediately moved him to second base, and he had an excellent rookie season the next year (he finished third in the AL in homeruns, 29 behind the leader, his teammate, Babe Ruth).

   In Game Seven of the World Series, he came up with the bases loaded and down a run in the seventh when Grover Alexander was summoned from the bullpen allegedly quite drunk (or hungover) and struck him out. Red Smith later wrote, "It was Lazzeri's misfortune that although he was as great a ball player as ever lived the most vivid memory he left in most minds concerned the day he failed." The following year, Lazzeri was a fixture in the 1927 Yankees' Murderers' Row again finishing third in homeruns (only 42 behind teammate Babe Ruth and 29 behind teammate Lou Gehrig).

   He played 10 more seasons with the Yankees, ultimately winning five World Series. His top game occurred on May 24, 1936 when he hit a triple and 3 homeruns driving in an AL-record 11 runs. After 1937, the Yankees released him and he signed with the Cubs as a player-coach. He appeared in the World Series in 1938 with the Cubs against the Yankees. He split a final uneventful year between the Giants and Dodgers. After coaching in 1940, he resumed playing as a player-manager in the minors through 1943.

   He retired with a 121 OPS+ and 50.3 WAR with a slashline of 292/380/467. He probably lost a decent number of homers in his career to LF in Old Yankee Stadium. He was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991. He was never considered to be a particularly great fielder (nor bad either, just cromulent), and for me he's a decent candidate but probably not quite good enough.

5. Rube Waddell

   Waddell was a remarkably dominant strikeout pitcher in an era when batters mostly slapped at the ball to get singles. In his prime, Waddell was the game's premier power pitcher, with 302 strikeouts in 1903, 115 more than the runner-up. According to baseball historian Lee Allen Waddell began the 1903 season "sleeping in a firehouse at Camden, New Jersey, and ended it tending bar in a saloon in Wheeling, West Virginia. In between those events, he won 22 games for the Philadelphia Athletics, toured the nation in a melodrama called The Stain of Guilt, courted, married and became separated from May Wynne Skinner of Lynn, Massachusetts, saved a woman from drowning, accidentally shot a friend through the hand, and was bitten by a lion."

   Waddell’s … huh what’s that you say Beau? Rube Walberg. Right Rube Waddell, pitcher. Oh Walberg. Crap. Why does Novak get all the superstars?

   Rube Walberg

   Rube Walberg was a pitcher from 1923 to 1937 with the Giants, Athletics, and Red Sox. In a 15-season career, Walberg posted a 155–141 record with 1085 strikeouts and a 4.16 ERA in 2644 innings including 15 shutouts and 140 complete games. Kinda a workhorse and pretty consistent, but nothing spectacular. Sorry, not going to look up new fangled stats.

   He also had a 1–1 mark with a 1.93 ERA for the Athletics in five World Series appearances. A good-hitting pitcher, Walberg collected a .220 batting average with four home runs and 84 RBIs.

   Fun Fact – He gave up 17 Home Runs to Babe Ruth, most of any pitcher.

   Fan Fact Two – He’s one of us! Born in Pine City, MN in 1896.

   Quirks or interesting story – In 1903 he was bitten by a Lion. Crap that was Waddell. Unfortunately dude seems pretty normal and uninteresting.

   Cool Name Bro – That first name is always gonna get some cred here.

6. Jesse Haines:

   He was a knuckleballer who joined the minors in 1913 and worked his way up to a one-game Cup of Coffee with the Reds in 1918. He returned to the minors and split 1919 between the Tulsa Oilers and Kansas City Blues going 26-14 combined with a 2.78 ERA in 314 innings. After the season, the Cardinals purchased his contract for $10,000. In his rookie season with the Cardinals in 1920, he threw 310.2 innings going 13-20 with a 103 ERA+.

   He pitched in the next eighteen years with the Cards until he was 43 years old and was a wily veteran swingman mainly used in the bullpen for the Gashouse Gang of the mid-30s. He was a two-time World Series champion going 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA across four World Series. He was the pitcher pulled from Game Seven of the 1926 World Series (because of a blister) when Grover Alexander entered and struck out Tony Lazzeri. Haines also threw a no-hitter on July 17, 1924.

   He retired with a 210-158 record and 109 ERA+ in 3208.2 innings good for a WAR of 35.7. He's the all-time leader in games pitched for the Cardinals and is second in career wins behind Bob Gibson. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1970 by the Veterans Committee during the era when his former-teammate Frankie Frisch made it a mission to put all of his teammates into the Hall. Haines is probably one of the least-qualified pitchers in the Hall.

   1. Why I'll be voting for Jesse "Pop" Haines--his nephew was in the congregation of my former church in North Sioux City. While I was there, the nephew decided to become a Licensed Local Pastor and ended up succeeding me at that church.

      1. That's a much better reason than "he was my teammate forty years ago"

7. Hazen Shirley "Kiki" Cuyler
   Huh, that's quite the name. Evidently he had a stutter, and it sounded like he said "Ki-ki-Cuyler" when he introduced himself. Still an improvement over being called Shirley, I guess.

   An outfielder for his entire 18 year career with the Pirates, Cubs, Reds and Dodgers, he seems to have been serviceable, with a career fielding percentage of .972 and his 1.807 games played in the outfield puts him at 90th overall.

   He led the league in stolen bases four times (1926, '28, '29 and '30), and led the league in HBP twice ('25 and '30).

   He also had a "dispute" with his manager in 1927 (the year after the Pirates won the World Series) that resulted in Cuyler not playing for the second half of the year and the playoffs. The Pirates made the World Series again that year, but lost in four games to the Yankees. Can you imagine the outcry if a team today benched arguably its best player, and came up just short of a championship? And then traded him in-division to the Cubs the next season, to boot?

   Cuyler finished his career with a .321 batting average, 128 home runs, 1065 RBI and 328 stolen bases. That came with a .386 OBP and a .474 SLG, good for an .860 OPS that translates to an OPS+ of 125. Career WAR of 46.7, good for 219th among position players.

   After 20 years of eligibility, he was elected to the Hall by the Veteran's committee in 1968.

   1. My grandpa's aunt was named Ethel. When he was young, he was unable to say it and it always sounded like "Tito", so she the whole family called her Aunt Tito the rest of her life.

   2. Hey, he was a teammate of Pie Traynor!

8. Mickey Cochrane
   He's a catcher and the Half-Baked Hall hates catchers (yes I'm still sore about King Kelly). Good luck, Mickey.

   I'll do more tonight (or maybe tomorrow or maybe next week).

   1. To be fair, the BBWAA hates catchers, too. Mickey was the first one they elected.

9. Rogers "Rajah" Hornsby

   You remember that year Mauer led the league in every slash stat? Hornsby did that six years in a row. He did it seven times overall. He's one of only four players to lead the league in hits AND walks in the same season. Yet his first year on the hall of fame ballot after he stopped playing he got just 17.6% of the vote. Then again, everyone hated him.

   He was a skinny, 5-foot-11, 135-pound infielder when he batted for the first time in the National League on September 1, 1915. He choked up on the bat and he crouched over the plate.

   He batted only .246 in 18 games that season and Manager Miller Huggins of the Cardinals told him at the close of the campaign, “I think, son, that you should be farmed out.”

   The modern farm system was in its infancy in 1915 and Hornsby did not understand Huggins’ statement. He thought the manager meant that he should work on a farm to build up his physique.

   So, he went to work on a farm that winter and built himself up to 165 pounds.

   The first day the new Hornsby went to the plate he hit the first pitch off the center field fence for a triple.

10. Pie Traynor

    What you all really want to know: As a youngster, Harold J. Traynor always used to order pie at a corner store in his neighborhood. The store’s owner dubbed him “Pie Face,” and the name was later shortened to “Pie.”

    Numbers that may mean more to you than they do to me: .320/.362/.435 (You can find more numbers here.)

    As a player: Pie was a very good third baseman. Less so at the end of his career, which brings down his overall stats, but from 1923-1929, he was excellent. He was quick, agile, and he had a very strong arm. The downside of that strong arm is that he could often be wild, and that resulted in a rather high number of errors. Here’s how Billy Herman of the Chicago Cubs put it, "You'd hit a shot at him, a play that he could take his time on, and he'd catch it and throw it right quick, so that if his peg was wild, the first baseman had time to get off the bag, take the throw, and get back on again. It was the only way Traynor could throw; if he took his time, he was really wild.”

    Career highlight: The 1925 World Series against the Washington Senators. During that series, Pie hit .346. In game seven, he hit an RBI triple to tie the game 6-6. He tried to stretch the triple to a home run but was tagged out. Fortunately, in the next inning Kiki Culyer came to bat with the bases loaded and hit a double to give the Pirates the win.

    As a manager: Pie was a player-manager and then after that a manager for the Pirates. He apparently wasn’t particularly good—he was simply too nice of a guy. (Awwwwwww.)

    As a broadcaster: Pie was beloved in Pittsburgh despite the fact that he apparently spoke in a monotone and was nervous, which made for some awkward moments on the air. Later in life, he was a wrestling announcer for a local television program.

    Interesting quirk: He never learned how to drive. He loved to walk, however, and people were always crossing paths with him on the streets of Pittsburgh. He had incredible endurance; Bob Broeg, a St. Louis sportscaster, called Pie “part mountain goat.”

    Hall of Fame induction: Pie received 93 of 121 votes in 1948 to become the first third baseman elected to the Hall by the writers.

    Why you should vote for him: This Pie was definitely more than half-baked.

    1. Now I wish there were more players nicknamed Pie

       1. You and me both.

11. Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin

    Raised on a farm in New Jersey, young Leon was constantly getting in trouble for neglecting his chores. While the cattle he was responsible for were exploring the corn fields, little Leon was off exploring the local baseball fields. It all came to head when Leon's father forbid him to pitch or waste his time playing baseball at all. This prompted the manager of the Dupont Factory team to pay a visit to the Goslin farm and argue that the next game was too important for the younger Goslin to miss, and that the entire nation would be watching. Not sure how that argument worked, but it paved the way for Goose to play that day, and down the road when it may have been true that the entire nation was watching.

    Over the course if 18 seasons in the major leagues, Goose compiled a .316/.387/.500/.887 slash line (128 ops+). As impressive as those numbers are, Goose's overall production was hurt by Griffith Stadium, his home park for 12 of those seasons. Though the splits are incomplete, B-R records only 38 of his career 248 home runs came at Griffith Stadium. In 1926, Goose had 17 home runs total, all coming on the road.

    The nickname is even more unflattering than it sounds - it was earned in part due to the fact that opposing players claimed Goslin looked like a bird flapping his wings when trying to track down a fly ball. Clark Griffith even admitted that Goose was lacking in the defensive category.

    Despite impressive offensive numbers, owner Clark Griffith noted that "good defense was just as important" and Goose "was severely lacking in that department." The Nats' owner considered "poor fielding to be a liability not compensated by a proficient bat." Griffith was particularly irked by the inability of Goslin to properly judge a fly ball hit in his direction. It was not uncommon for the Goose to drop back on a fly barely out of the infield; he habitually would charge in on a ball headed for the fences. Such fielding miscues did not show up as errors in his overall fielding percentage, yet were costly mistakes allowing hitters to get on base. Griffith prophetically commented that "good hitters who were suspect fielders wouldn't do on a championship bound team."

    Despite his initial misgivings, Griffith was more than happy that Goslin's bat was a part of two pennant winning and one world championship team. Still, Goslin's numbers were pretty slam dunk Hall of Fame, but his contemporaries really didn't care for him. Some of that was due to his lack of defensive skills, and some due to his reputation as a clown who did not take the game seriously (it's hard to read about him and not make connections with Manny Ramirez). He was elected by the veteran's committee in 1968.

12. Lou Gehrig

    As mentioned previously, Lou is my favorite non-Twin ever. I absolutely adore both the Iron Man mythos (and for this reason, Ripken is among my favorite players too, though I like him less personally recently...) and the humble acknowledgement of fortune in the face of cruel fate.

    Gehrig played in the shadow of Ruth for much of his career, but one might argue that it was Gehrig, batting behind Ruth, who gave Ruth the cover he needed to be truly Ruthian.
    The stats are absurd, both the totals and the rates and the fun quirky things (most grand slams until A-Rod broke his record).

    Also, there's this fun bit: In 1936, pushed by his wife, Gehrig agreed to hire Babe Ruth's agent, who in turn, pushed him to audition for the role of Tarzan, the Ape Man, after Johnny Weissmuller had vacated the iconic movie role. But Gehrig only got as far as posing for a widely distributed, and embarrassing, photo of himself in a leopard-spotted costume. When Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs spotted the outfit, he telegrammed Gehrig, "I want to congratulate you on being a swell first baseman."

    But the games streak. Oh, the games streak! To set a record that at any point is considered unbreakable is a fantastic thing. To set this record? Wow. Baseball is a marathon, a long slug, so on and so forth. To take a workman approach, to show up and give it your all every day, demonstrates a personal nobility that matches the nobility of the pastime itself. Some, especially in our crowd, are quick to dismiss the enchantment of narrative that baseball delivers - we're imposing a fantasy and structure and purpose on a game that doesn't inherently have them - but I buy into it. I love the curses, and the dynasties, and the heroes, and villains. (Indeed, if you don't love that stuff, I encourage you to read "Take Time For Paradise" by A. Bartlett Giamatti). And in baseball history, I don't know if there is a single hero as noble as Gehrig. A man who stood as one of the greatest, who was dealt cruel blows and took them in stride, who persisted against the world.

    He is baseball's Odysseus.

    1. I don't know if there is a single hero as noble as Gehrig. A man who stood as one of the greatest, who was dealt cruel blows and took them in stride, who persisted against the world.

       I'd like to offer up Jackie Robinson. But yeah, Gehrig is awesome.

       1. Alright, I will give you Jackie.

          (But you'd better give me his bio to write too...)

          The fact that his struggle was against something more evil than fickle fate really ups the hero factor there.

13. Earl Whitehill

    Career WAR: 36.3 (as a pitcher, another 1.1 as a batter).
    Had many wins, but of all the 200 game winners in MLB history, he has the worst career ERA (4.36). He was good at the strikeouts, but played for high-scoring teams which inflated his win total. Kenny Rogers pops up on his similarity score. I don't think Whitehill was the defensive whiz that Rogers was...

    Interesting bit: He beaned Lou Gehrig in the head and knocked him out during the consecutive games streak, but Gehrig is a stud and came back to play the next day. Basically, this guy was the Cyclops to Gehrig's Odysseus.

    Probably not HOF material. He was a compiler in wins and K's, but the complete picture shows how much he was helped by strong offenses. Really, he was a solid mid-rotation pitcher for a long time. A guy you'd love to have on your team, but not the guy you tune in to watch because he's special.

14. "Sunny Jim" Bottomley was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 by the Vet Committee.

    He played first base for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Browns, and holds the all time single game RBI record (12) while playing for the Cardinals. He is also the 2nd Major League player in history to join the 20-20-20 club (Frank Schulte was the first out of 7 total).

    He grew up in Nokomis, Illinois - interestingly two other HOF'ers (Red Ruffing, Ray Schalk) are from that same small town.

    Jim led the league in total bases in 1926 (305) and1928 (362), hits in 1925 (227), games played in 1925 (153), doubles in 1925 (44) and 1926 (40), triples in 1928 (20), homers in 1928 (31), RBIs in 1926 (120) and 1928 (136), and extra base hits in 1926(73) and in 1928 (93), and putouts in 1925 (1466) and in 1927 (1656).

    As a rookie, he batted .371, second in the NL behind Roger Hornsby (.384).

    He also holds the single season record for most unassisted double plays by a first baseman (8).

    He is most similar to Joe Medwick (who is also a HOFer) according to Baseball Reference.

    He also became a sqwuaker, broadcasting Cardinals and Browns games.

    He was called Sunny Jim because of his cheerful disposition (You Gotta Stay Positive).

15. Frankie Frisch is the reason exercises like this one are a necessity.

    Oh, sure, he was an excellent player, accumulating 70+ WAR over 19 seasons, never dipping under 4 rWAR over an 8 season stretch between 1921 and 1928. Certainly, he was decorated (4 four World Series rings, one very-ill deserved MVP in 1931 that was clearly a lifetime achievement award). He was a practical joker and player-manager (and eventual manager-manager who won over 1000 games) and all that jazz. He seems a deserving member of the Hall of Fame.

    But no, the actual reason we care about Frankie Frisch is George Kelly. Dave Bancroft. Jesse Haines.

    These are the players (all former teammates) who he persuasively and tirelessly lobbied to vote into the Hall of Fame once he joined the Veteran's Committee. Whatever your feelings on what the Hall of Fame is, it's fairly obvious that some of Frisch's candidates lowered the bar. He gave us a way to say "well, if High Pockets Kelly is a hall of famer, are we SURE that Justin Morneau isn't?" (my wife would argue that he actually is).

    So, let's raise a toast to Frankie Frisch, without whom the Hall would probably be a more elite place, but certainly less weirdly interesting.

16. Thieving Free's template. (h/t to Free for making an awesome template)

    Heinie Manush
    
    Heinie Manush was a left fielder from 1923 to 1939 with the Senators, Tigers, Browns, Pirates, Dodgers, and Red Sox. In a 17-season career, Manush batted .330/.377/.479. He never won an MVP, but finished in the top 5 four times (though he only finished top 5 in WAR once). He never got much black ink, leading the league in hits and doubles a couple of times.

    His lone world series appearance came with the Senators in 1933. He fared poorly, going 2 for 18 with no extra base hits or RBI.

    Quirks or interesting story – Had a long standing rivalry with Goose Goslin that lasted until Goslin saved him from a burning aviary. The last part of that isn't actually true, but it sounds good.

    Cool Name Bro – heh, heh, heh.... Heinie.

17. Jimmy Dykes

    A cornerstone at any position they wanted him at for the championship Athletics teams of the late 20's and early 30's, Dykes was only the fifth best hitter on his team (Simmons, Cochrane, Bishop, Foxx). For 22 years he never really had a great season but never really had a terrible one. He was just steady as she goes. His best season was easily in 1929 when he had a 139 OPS+ and a 4.1 WAR, then hit the cover off the ball in the World Series to help them trounce the Cubs.

    Two cool stories from his SABR bio that involve his time as a player/manager for the White Sox:

    After Zeke was traded to Washington in 1938, Dykes did not bother to change the signs because Bonura couldn't remember them anyway. Nevertheless, a surprise was in store when the teams did meet that season. After Zeke advanced to third base, he saw Dykes in the dugout swat at a mosquito. Recalling (for once in his career) that a swat meant a steal, Bonura took off for home, knocked the ball away from the catcher, and scored. Considering that he stole only 19 bases in his career, this was quite a shocking event! Bonura explained later, "I saw Dykes give the sign to steal, but forgot I wasn't on his team anymore."

    and

    One of the innovative ideas Jimmy implemented in 1939 involved Ted Lyons, a popular pitcher with the fans who always drew big crowds. Now in his seventeenth season with the Sox, Ted's arm was wearing out as he approached his fortieth birthday. Jimmy's solution was to schedule Ted to pitch once a week, Sundays only, to save his arm and draw fans. It worked, as Ted had one of his better years, leading the league in two categories: lowest opponents' on-base percentage and lowest WHIP-walks plus hits per inning pitched. During the four years that Lyons pitched in his reduced schedule, he won 52 games. In 1942 he led the league in earned run average (2.10) and completed each of his 20 starts!

    Apparently he was an umpire-baiter and was suspended for a while for constantly getting ejected from games. During his last full season as a manager, he was traded by the Tigers to the Indians...for their coach! He didn't will the Indians to the playoffs and was fired part way through the next season. For managing about 25 years, he never lead a team to the playoffs and never had a team higher than third. Still, it seemed he was mostly beloved outside of umpires and commissioners.

18. This is super late, but it seems a lot of people haven't voted yet so here's the gist for Red Lucas:

    http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/57b98b6c

    From the article: "was one of the all-time best control pitchers, walking just 18 in 219.2 innings in 1933; batted .281, with six seasons over .300; and fielded well enough that he filled in 18 times at second, short, third, and left field and two managers tried to make him something other than a pitcher."

    Nickname: "The Nashville Narcissus"

    107 ERA+; 46.1 WAR

    Overall a good but not great pitcher.

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