Monthly Archives: December 2016

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 6

Jocko Conlan (1899)
Tony Lazzeri (1903)
Stan Hack (1909)
Dan Dobbek (1934)
Tony Horton (1944)
Larry Bowa (1945)
Tim Foli (1950)
Chuck Baker (1952)
Gary Ward (1953)
Juan Carlos Oliva (1954)
Steve Bedrosian (1957)
Larry Sheets (1959)
Kevin Campbell (1964)
Kevin Appier (1967)
Jose Contreras (1971)
Chris Basak (1978)
Jason Bulger (1978)

Jocko Conlan played two seasons of major league baseball, but is best known as a National League umpire from 1941-1965.

The younger brother of Tony Oliva, Juan Carlos Oliva was a star pitcher in Cuba and later became a successful pitching coach there.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 6 →

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of December 3-4

GAMES OF DECEMBER 3

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

ANZOATEGUI 10, MAGALLANES 8 IN ANZOATEGUI

Trailing 5-0, Anzoategui scored six time in the bottom of the third, aided by three errors.  They built a 10-5 lead before Magallanes scored some late runs to make the final score look better.  Luis Arraez was 0-for-3 with two walks and an RBI for Magallanes and is batting .348.

LARA 10, LA GUAIRA 2 IN LA GUAIRA

Jesus Montero hit a two-run double in a three-run third that put Lara up 4-0.  La Guaira cut it to 4-2 in the fourth, but a four-run eighth put the game out of reach.  Paulo Orlando was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI for Lara.

ARAGUA 2, MARGARITA 1 IN ARAGUA (10 INNINGS)

Hernan Perez led off the tenth with a triple and scored on a Carlos Tocci single to win it for Aragua.  Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitched five innings for Aragua, giving up one run on three hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

CARACAS 7, ZULIA 5 IN ZULIA

A six-run third gave Caracas all the runs they needed.  Jesus Galindo was 3-for-4 with a home run (his second) for Caracas, driving in three.  Yandy Diaz was 3-for-5 with a run for Caracas.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

AGUILAS 6, ESCOGIDO 2 AT AGUILAS

Francisco Pena's two-run single in the second put Aguilas up 3-1 and they stayed ahead the rest of the game.  Jorge Polanco was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run for Escogido.

LICEY 7, ORIENTE 6 IN LICEY

Licey trailed 6-4 going to the bottom of the ninth, but Juan Francisco tied it with a two-run single and an error allowed the winning run to score.  Marco Hernandez was 3-for-5 with a home run and a double for Licey, scoring three times.

ESTE 14, GIGANTES 6 AT ESTE

A hit batsman, three walks, and two errors contributed to a seven-run third that put Este in the lead to stay.  The two teams made a total of nine errors in the game.  Abraham Almonte was 4-for-6 with a double for Este, scoring three times and driving in one.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

SANTURCE 4, AGUADILLA 2 IN AGUADILLA

Robert Andino's RBI double in the ninth broke a 2-2 tie and Santruce added an insurance run later in the inning.  Reiner Roibal pitched five innings for Santurce, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Hector Olivera was 3-for-3 with a walk for Santurce.

CAGUAS 3, CAROLINA 1 IN CAROLINA

Johnny Monell hit a two-run homer in the top of the first and Caguas stayed ahead 2-0 until the ninth, when each team scored once.   J. J. Fernandez was 0-for-3 for Carolina.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

JALISCO 12, NAVOJOA 2 IN JALISCO

Jalisco scored three in the second and four in the fifth to take control of the game.  Jesus Valdez was 3-for-4 with a home run (his second) for Jalisco, scoring twice and driving in two.  Jose Manuel Rodriguez was 3-for-4 for Jalisco.  Agustin Murillo was 2-for-5 with a home run, his fourth, for Jalisco.

MAZATLAN 10, LOS MOCHIS 3 IN LOS MOCHIS (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Mazatlan scored all ten of their runs in the sixth inning, an inning in which they received six walks.  They did not get a hit in any inning other than the sixth, and got only three of them that inning, so for the game they had ten runs on three hits.

MAZATLAN 7, LOS MOCHIS 2 IN LOS MOCHIS (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)

A four-run fifth put Mazatlan up 5-0.  They had only one hit in the inning, aided by two walks and three errors.  Felipe Gonzalez pitched five innings for Mazatlan, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

MEXICALI 10, HERMOSILLO 6 IN HERMOSILLO

Once again a big inning made the difference, as Mexicali scored seven runs in the fourth.  Several Mexicali hitters had good days:  Chris Roberson was 4-for-5 with a walk and a run; Xorge Carrillo was 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in one, and Luis Juarez was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one.

CULIACAN 3, OBREGON 1 IN OBREGON

Culiacan scored two in the fourth and Oscar Robles doubled home an insurance run in the seventh.  Savador Valdez pitched six innings for Culiacan, giving up one run on five hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

GAMES OF DECEMBER 4

VENEUZELAN LEAGUE

CARACAS 2, ZULIA 1 IN ZULIA

RBI doubles by Henry Alejandro Rodriguez and Felix Perez brought home the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning.  Wilmer Font pitched 5.2 innings for Caracas, giving up one run on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ANZOATEGUI 4, LARA 3 IN ANZOATEGUI

Luis Jimenez hit a two-run homer in the eighth to give Anzoategui a 4-3 lead.  Balbino Fuenmayor was 3-for-4 with a run for Anzoategui.  Jimenez was 2-for-4 and scored twice.

LA GUAIRA 11, MAGALLANES 5 IN LA GUIRA

Back-to-back homers by Heiker Meneses and Hector Sanchez gave La Guaira a 2-1 lead in the third.  They then added four in the fifth and five in the sixth to put the game out of reach.  Emilis Guerrero pitched five innings for La Guaira, giving up one run on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.  Meneses was 3-for-5 with a home run, scoring twice and driving in two.

MARGARITA 8, ARAGUA 7 IN ARAGUA

Aragua led 6-3 after three, but Margarita got two in the fourth and two in the fifth and never trailed again.  Sean Halton was 3-for-4 with a home run (his second) and four RBIs for Margarita.  Elias Diaz was 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a walk for Margarita, scoring twice.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

AGUILAS 4, ORIENTE 0 IN ORIENTE

Joey Terdoslavich hit a two-run double in the third and the Aguilas added two more in the sixth.  Nik Turley started for Oriente, pitching three innings and giving up two runs on six hits and no walks with one strikeout.

LICEY 4, ESTE 3 IN LICEY

Trailing 3-1, Licey scored three in the eighth, with a two-run double by Rymer Liriano bringing home the tying and go-ahead runs.

ESCOGIDO AT GIGANTES

Postponed due to wet grounds.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

CAROLINA 3, CAGUAS 2 IN CAGUAS (10 INNINGS)

J. J. Fernandez homered in the ninth to tie it 2-2 and Rene Garcia tripled and scored on a Enrique Hernandez double to score the go-ahead run in the tenth.  Fernandez was 1-for-4 and the home run was his second.

MAYAGUEZ 1, SANTURCE 0 IN SANTURCE

Jesmuel Valentin homered with two out  in the sixth for the game's only run.  Kennys Vargas was 0-for-3 for Mayaguez.  Dereck Rodriguez pitched two-thirds of an inning for Mayaguez, giving up no runs on one hit and lowering his ERA to 1.04.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

NAVOJOA 11, JALISCO 10 IN JALISCO

Navojoa led 11-3 going to the bottom of the ninth.  A three-run homer and a pair of two-run homers made it 11-10 before the last out was recorded.  Niko Vasquez was 3-for-5 with two runs for Navojoa.  Quincy Latimore was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer (his ninth) and a walk, scoring twice for Navojoa.

LOS MOCHIS 4, MAZATLAN 2 IN LOS MOCHIS

Ramon Urias hit a three-run triple-plus-error to give Los Mochis a 4-2 lead in the fifth.  Luis Niebla struck out eight in six innings for Los Mochis, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks.

MEXICALI 3, HERMOSILLO 1 IN HERMOSILLO (10 INNINGS)

Mexicali scored two in the tenth for the win.  Javier Solano struck out eight in eight innings for Mexicali, giving up one run on four hits and a walk.

OBREGON 2, CULIACAN 1 IN OBREGON

Obregon scored single runs in the fourth and fifth, with the lone Culiacan run coming in the sixth.  Marco Carrillo pitched five innings, giving up one run on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts for Obregon.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

PERTH 5, SYDNEY 1 IN SYDNEY

Perth scored four in the fifth, aided by two hit batsmen, two walks, and two wild pitches.  Daniel Schmidt pitched six innings for Perth, giving up one run on six hits and no walks with three strikeouts.  Luke Hughes was 2-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk, scoring twice for Perth.

ADELAIDE 8, CANBERRA 2 IN CANBERRA

Marcus Greene, Jr. hit a three-run homer in a five-run fifth that put Adelaide ahead 7-0.  Jack O'Laughlin pitched five innings for Adelaide, giving up two unearned runs on six hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Greene, Jr. was 2-for-4 and drove in four runs.

MELBOURNE 6, BRISBANE 5 IN BRISBANE (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Melbourne scored five in the seventh to take the win.  Aaron Whitefield was 1-for-4 with a run and is batting .375 for Brisbane.  Logan Wade was 2-for-3 with a double and a run for Brisbane.

MELBOURNE 7, BRISBANE 3 IN BRISBANE (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)

Jarryd Dale hit a grand slam in a five-run second that lifted Melbourne to the sweep.  Aaron Whitefield was 1-for-4 with a home run and is batting .364 for Brisbane.  Logan Wade was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk for Brisbane.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Sixty-three

MINNESOTA 5, MILWAUKEE 0 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Monday, June 14.

Batting stars:  Randy Bush was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, his third.  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven didn't leave any pitches up in this game throwing a four-hit complete game shutout with two walks and six strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  None, really, but we'll note that Bill Wegman also pitched a complete game, giving up five runs on eleven hits and no walks with four strikeouts.

The game:  Three of the first four Twins batters in the fourth inning singled, with Roy Smalley driving in a run.  Bush then killed the rally with a three-run homer to put the Twins up 4-0.  The Twins added a run in the fifth on Al Newman's RBI single.  The only Brewers threat came in the third, when they had men on first and third with two out.  The threat ended when Milwaukee tried a second-and-home double steal, with Jim Gantner getting thrown out at the plate.

Of note:  Puckett raised his average to .325.  Smalley was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI, making his average .313.

Record:  The Twins were 36-27, in first place by two games over Oakland.

Notes:  Lombardozzi was back in the number two spot for this game...Bush was in right field, with Tom Brunansky out of the lineup...Sal Butera caught, with Tim Laudner out of the lineup.

Player profile:  Right-hander Bill Wegman pitched for Milwaukee for ten seasons (eleven if you count three starts in 1985) and was pretty good in two of them.  He was drafted in the fifth round in 1981, got a September call-up in 1985.  He was a rotation starter from 1986-88, and given his stats one suspects he had a lot of games like this one, where he pitched pretty well except for a big home run or two.  He averaged over two hundred innings in those seasons--his ERA was well over four, but his WHIP was under 1.3, but he gave up 87 home runs.  He was apparently injured much of 1989 and 1990, pitching only 80.2 innings in those two years combined, but when he came back in 1991 he had the best year of his career, going 15-7, 2.84, 1.12 WHIP.  He followed that up in 1992 with a season almost as good:  13-14, 3.20, 1.17 WHIP.  He still gave up home runs, his walk rate went down a little, and his hits per nine innings went down some.  His FIP went down some in those years, but not nearly as much as his ERA.  Unfortunately for him, whatever magic he found in those years was gone in 1993, as he went 4-14, 4.48, 1.40 WHIP.  His next two seasons were no better, and his playing career after that.  At last report, Bill Wegman had become a pastor and was working at a church in the Cincinnati area.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 5

Billy Shindle (1860)
Patsy Tebeau (1864)
Frank Bowerman (1868)
Pink Hawley (1872)
Gus Mancuso (1905)
Bobby Mattick (1915)
Chico Ruiz (1938)
Yoshiharu Wakana (1953)
Gary Roenicke (1954)
Luis Casanova (1956)
Alan Cockrell (1962)
Cliff Floyd (1972)
Felix Rodriguez (1972)
Hanley Frias (1973)

Yoshiharu Wakana was a six-time all-star in Japan, playing from 1974-1991.

Luis Casanova was a star slugger in Cuba, playing from 1978-1994.

We also want to wish a Happy Birthday to CarterHayes’ mother.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 5 →

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Sixty-two

MINNESOTA 6, CHICAGO 3 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Sunday, June 14.

Batting stars:  Tim Laudner was 1-for-4 with a grand slam (his sixth homer), driving in five.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs.  Steve Lombardozzi was 3-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and a run.

Pitching stars:  Joe Niekro pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  Juan Berenguer struck out three in three perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Bryan Clark pitched 4.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Ray Searage struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Ivan Calderon was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.

The game:  Laudner hit a grand slam in a five-run second that put the Twins in the lead to stay.  The White Sox got back in the game with three in the fourth, getting a two-run double from Calderon and an RBI double by Donnie Hill.  The Twins added a run in the fifth.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-4 with a walk and was batting .318.  Roy Smalley was 0-for-3 with two walks and was batting .315.  Chicago starter Jose De Leon lasted only 1.2 innings, surrendering five runs on six hits and two walks with no strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 35-27, in first place, two games ahead of Oakland.

Notes:  Randy Bush was in right field, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup.  Steve Lombardozzi batted leadoff, with Bush second.

Player profile:  We all know that Ken Williams is the general manager of the White Sox, but I don't remember anything about his playing career.  An outfielder, he was drafted by the White Sox in the third round in 1982 and came to the big leagues as a September call-up in 1986.  He started 1987 in AAA but came up to Chicago in mid-May and was their starting center fielder the rest of the season.  He did pretty well for a twenty-three-year-old rookie:  .281/.314/.422 with 11 homers and 21 stolen bases.  The White Sox decided to move him to third base in 1988, playing Dave Gallagher in center.  It did not go well for Williams--he was batting just .165 when he was sent to the minors in late May, and when he came back at the end of June he was a reserve outfielder.  Chicago traded him to Detroit in March of 1989 for Eric King.  He did little for the Tigers in a season and a half and was waived in mid-June of 1990, selected by Toronto.  The Blue Jays waived him in June of 1991 and he was taken by Montreal.  He was a reserve outfielder for them for most of the rest of the season and did okay in that role, batting .271 with an OPS of .711.  He signed with Milwaukee for 1992 but spent the season in AAA.  He did well there, but apparently not well enough to impress anyone, and his playing career ended after that.  He joined the White Sox front office the next season, working his way up to general manager in 2000.  One wonders what might have happened if the White Sox had left him in center field, but things seem to have worked out pretty well for Ken Williams anyway.