The 1987 Minnesota Twins 6/27/19

Hey baseball fans!

As some of you might know, I've grown up in New Jersey for about 95% of my life. Because of this, I've been a New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets fan since I was around 8, so you can imagine how excited I was this past NBA season to see my Nets make the playoffs for the first time in what seemed like forever. Every time I describe the current Nets to other people, I always call them a collection of "cult players," not to say that they all take part in pagan rituals, but rather that following the team is very niche and esoteric, in a way.

The very best example of this phenomenon in baseball right now is the Minnesota Twins, who, thanks to some insane seasons from many not-generally-insane players, have vaulted to the top of the AL Central and are tied for the best record in the American League as of the writing of this post. That being said, however, this isn't the first time that a Twins team has unexpectedly been great. Let's jump back to 1987 to talk about the first team to bring a World Series trophy to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

For starters, the 1987 Twins weren't actually great; they only finished with a record of 85-77, which somehow beat the rest of the AL West. If they were in the AL East, they would've come in a distant fifth. That being said, though, their lineup that year was pretty interesting. Kirby Puckett, the only Hall of Famer in the batting order, collected a league-leading 207 hits to go along with his .332 batting average, 28 home runs, and 99 RBIs; first baseman and lifelong Twin Kent Hrbek contributed 34 homers and 90 RBIs of his own; third baseman Gary Gaetti topped 30 homers and 100 RBIs; and right fielder Tom Brunansky hit 32 bombs and knocked in 85 runs. Besides Puckett, I'm sure that most of you younger folk don't recognize the other three names I just mentioned. On defense, the pitching staff wasn't exceptional, but did feature Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven and All Star Frank Viola, along with should-be Hall-of-Fame closer Jeff Reardon.

But the best explanation for why the Twins were so good in 1987 was their home stadium. The Twins went an astounding 56-25 while playing in the homer-happy, boisterous Metrodome, but only won 29 of 81 contests outside of the Gopher State. After a five-game drubbing of the Tigers in the ALCS, home-field advantage was all the rage in the World Series against the Cardinals. The 1987 World Series was the first seven-game Fall Classic in which the home team won every game. The fact that the Twins had home-field advantage in the series was the only reason that they won, but they won nonetheless, bringing the franchise its first championship since 1924 (the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota and became the Twins in 1961).

Much like the 2018-2019 Nets, the 1987 Twins had absolutely no business being in the playoffs, but unlike the Nets, made the most of their opportunity. The '87 Twins (and the 1991 Twins, for that matter) prove that not every winner in sports needs to be a dynasty. Sometimes, it just helps to have a Cinderella season. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

Explaining the Rays in Montreal 6/21/19

Hey baseball fans!

Some major news just came out yesterday about how the Rays might play some of their regular season games in Montreal. There is no further information about how many games the Rays will play in the province of Quebec or how soon this move could happen, but I'm here, as always, to give a historical breakdown on this huge MLB development.

The Rays have only attracted over 20,000 fans per game in their home stadium, Tropicana Field, for four years in the club's 20-year history. In the year they went to the World Series (2008), they averaged 22,370 fans per game at the Trop. To put that into perspective, the Cardinals haven't dipped below 30,000 fans per game in a season since 1995. In other words, the Rays have a huge attendance problem and have not been able to shake this problem since their inception.

Meanwhile, the Montreal baseball fans that are still left have been yearning for a new team ever since the Expos moved from Canada to our nation's capital and renamed themselves the Washington Nationals. However, it should be noted at this point that the Expos, leading up to their move to D.C. before the 2005 season, had some of the worst attendance numbers anyone could imagine, even worse than Tampa's now.

Nonetheless, the Expos' attendance woes of the 1990s and early 2000s had a lot to do with how the team performed and how the front office dealt with that poor performance. The Nationals, with the help of their excellent teams of the past, have posted pretty good attendance numbers over the last several years, even before the Bryce Harper years. So, the real issue that the Rays face right now is a bad market because they are one of baseball's best teams now and can't seem to bring fans to St. Petersburg. No offense, Rays fans.

The Rays are notably one of the most creatively-managed teams in baseball. Joe Maddon famously popularized fielding shifts, while Kevin Cash has implemented the opener rather successfully. The only reason they have to be so savvy is because they don't have the money to bring in big-name stars. With the analytical attitude that they already possess, the good lineups they put out every day over the last year-and-a-half, and the excited Montreal baseball fans, the Montreal Rays (or Expos 2.0) would be a great idea and, personally, I think they should permanently move to Montreal.

What are your thoughts on this news out of Tampa? Is the Trop really as bad as people make it out to be? Let me know in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

A Milestone for the Hall 6/13/19

Hey baseball fans!

June 12th marks a very important anniversary for a specific event in baseball history, an event that happened 80 years ago yesterday: the opening of the Baseball Hall of Fame!

Yes, you read that correctly. On June 12, 1939, Cooperstown, New York got a lot more popular, as along with the opening of the physical Hall of Fame museum, was the inaugural Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The ceremony featured some of the greatest names in baseball history, like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Cy Young. But what's more interesting about the opening of the Hall of Fame is why and how it opened.

1939 was towards the end of the Great Depression in the United States and two years before the US entered World War II, even though Europe would be engulfed by war just a couple of months after the Hall's dedication. The Great Depression had hit the upstate town of Cooperstown hard and many businesses lost a lot of money due to this financial crisis. That's when local hotel owner Stephen Carlton Clark, a former World War I Lieutenant-Colonel, had the great idea to found (and pay for) what ended up becoming the Baseball Hall of Fame. How did he attract customers to this new New York State landmark, you ask? By relying on the findings of the 1907 Mills Commission report on the history of baseball.

While the origins of baseball continue to be debated today and while their may be many people who had a hand in it, the person who received the credit from Mr. Clark was Abner Doubleday, a Civil War general and former resident of Cooperstown, based on the Mills Commission report's statement that the "first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence obtainable to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, NY in 1839."

The Hall of Fame is a wonderful place that has inspired some of my best blogging. So thank you Mr. Clark for founding it. And a very happy birthday, HoF! Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

The Warrior: Paul O'Neill 6/2/19

Hey baseball fans!

As you should know, I love the New York Yankees, so I've naturally seen a lot of their games on TV. The play-by-play announcer for YES Network, the television home of the Yankees, is Michael Kay, and he is joined by a gaggle of color commentators, all with some connection to the Yankee franchise. But by far, my favorite YES Network color commentator is Paul "The Warrior" O'Neill.

Paul was drafted in the fourth round of the 1981 MLB Draft by his favorite team growing up, the Cincinnati Reds. He became a regular in the Reds lineup in 1988, three years after making his major league debut in 1985. O'Neill was a hitter who got better as he got older, as he made his first All Star Game in 1991, hitting 28 home runs and collecting 91 RBIs. After the 1992 season, O'Neill was traded to the Yankees and that's when he became a household name. From 1993-2001, all with New York, Paul averaged 21 homers and 95 RBIs a season and batted .303 over that span.

O'Neill never batted under .280 with the Yanks until 2001, the last year of his career. He also went six straight years of 90 or more RBIs per season, which took place from 1995-2000. There are two years worth mentioning in particular regarding O'Neill's time in the Bronx. First, in the strike-shortened 1994 season, O'Neill led the American League with a career-high .359 batting average and 83 RBIs in only 103 games, leading him to a fifth-place finish in the MVP voting of that season. But O'Neill's best season came in 1998. In a year in which the Yanks won 114 games, Paul made his fifth and final career All Star Game by batting .317 with 24 homers and 116 RBIs, helping the Yankees to the World Series. Speaking of which, O'Neill didn't put on a huge showing in the World Series (even though he's a five-time champ), except in 2000 against the Mets, when he batted .474 with nine hits in the five-game set.

I have two pieces of information for you before I finish this post. First of all, click here to see Paul O'Neill's coolest career play. Second, did you know that the Warrior is the only hitter in baseball history to be on the winning side of three perfect games? He even made the final out of David Wells' perfecto in 1998. Well, as they say, the more you know... Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

The Padres' No-Hitter Drought 5/22/19

Hey baseball fans!

The San Diego Padres have not thrown a no-hitter in their franchise history. No, it's not that they haven't thrown one since the 21st century or since their first pennant in 1984; they have not thrown a single no-hitter since their inception in 1969. But there are some interesting things to note about this drought that I'd like to point out.

Have they ever come close?
Yes, plenty of times. The Padres have actually thrown 30 one-hitters, including six that were no-hitters entering the eighth inning. But there have also been some other close-but-no-cigar moments. On July 18, 1972, Steve Arlin was one out from a no-hitter against the Phillies, when he gave up back-to-back singles to finish with a two-hitter. On July 9, 2011, the Padres almost had a combined no-hitter, but lost it with an out to go and eventually lost the game, too.

What's the problem?
Well, the Padres are notorious for their droughts. Besides their empty World Series trophy case, the Padres took almost 45 years to record a cycle. Matt Kemp finally broke that stretch in 2015. They also don't have a single Hall of Fame starting pitcher in Cooperstown.

Are they a bad franchise?
Absolutely not. They have one of baseball's most innovative ballparks, they operate like baseball's biggest small market team, and have a killer mascot and uniform set. In addition, with their big signings of Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer, you could see the Friars back in the postseason this year for the first time since 2006.

Pirates pitcher Doc Ellis (pictured below) threw a no-hitter against the Padres while under the influence of hallucinogenics? 
Indubitably.

I should probably mention that this streak of no no-hitters is the longest such active streak in baseball and no other baseball franchise has had to wait this long for their first no-no. Hang in there, Padres fans. We're here for you if you need us. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

The Case for Justin Verlander 5/17/19

Hey baseball fans!

I'm officially done with sophomore year of college! In honor of this, it's time I tackle a subject that has been debated by myself, my friends, and my family for as long as I can remember: pitching Hall of Fame legitimacy. And which pitcher will I be using to demonstrate this legitimacy? Justin Verlander, of course!

Unlike the 3,000 hit cub and the 500 home run club, which are filled with hitters from across baseball's storied timeline, certain pitching clubs have been pretty exclusive for quite some time. The best examples of this is the 400-wins club and the sub-2.00 ERA club, which haven't been touched in almost a century. That being said, however, there are pitchers who have been elected into the Hall of Fame over the past 100 years (surprising, I know) based on other benchmarks. Yes, I could go into the advanced pitching statistics, but you know I love going back to the basics.

Winning 300 games is an automatic Hall of Fame bid, but so is 250 and 200 wins, depending on the era and competition. The same thing goes with an ERA lower than 3.00, 3.5, and even 3.75. It honestly depends on the pitcher, but combining some Hall of Fame pitchers' statistics gets you to Justin Verlander's numbers, including his mid-career slump and his late-career resurgence. For a direct visual of JV's stats, click here.

Roy Halladay's Win Total
Halladay will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame this July and it was no shock that he got the required 75% for induction. He totaled 203 wins during his 16-year career and a winning percentage of .659. The key number there is really "16." Halladay topped 200 career wins in his final season, but Justin Verlander already has 200+ career wins (211 to be exact) and he's only played 15 years. Of course, wins is a very controversial statistic at the moment, but you can't deny the validity that the stat still provides. On top of this, Verlander is likely to climb the wins and quality starts leaderboard even more before he retires.

Mike Mussina's ERA
Mussina was the second pitcher elected into the Hall via the BBWAA this past January, but his election was met with skepticism. A lot of people didn't want him in the Hall because of his 3.68 ERA. The people who did want him in the Hall contended that he faced an extremely tough AL East division throughout his entire career. I admittedly was a part of the former group, but Mussina's in the Hall. Verlander's career ERA is a solid 3.37, which also puts him ahead of Halladay (3.38), who pitched in the same era as Verlander and also faced a tough AL East for a majority of his career. Verlander's divisional opponents haven't been as great as that of Mussina or Halladay, but a 3.37 ERA is objectively good, plain and simple.

Other Accolades
Verlander is a two-time AL wins leader and a seven-time All Star and he was also an MVP! Additionally, he's on his way to 3,000 career strikeouts, which is an achievement that not even 20 pitchers in baseball history have reached. There are also the intangibles. I bet you that guys like Joe Mauer and Paul Konerko, two borderline Hall of Famers, will tell you that Verlander was one of the best pitchers they ever faced.

In conclusion, there is no single benchmark for pitchers, which is why I don't acknowledge a pitching precedent, unlike I do for hitting. Again, you can get into the more new-age stuff to determine precedence, but I consider the situation to be a case-by-case basis, which makes Verlander a Hall of Famer, even if he retired right at this moment. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."

Baseball Team Name Vocabulary 5/1/19

Hey baseball fans!

You may not realize it, but some MLB team names aren't in the average person's vernacular. So, for everyone who falls under this category, this post is for you.

Team Name: Yankees
Meaning: Either someone from the Northeastern United States or a soldier for the Union during the Civil War.

Team Name: Orioles
Meaning: It's an orange and black bird that happens to be Maryland's state bird. This is more of an "I don't know this bird species" situation rather than a specific definition, but still.

Team Name: Mariners
Definition: A sailor. You can remember it by looking at the root of the word, which is "marine."

Team Name: Mets
Definition: "Met" is short for metropolitan, which refers to an urban area.

Team Name: Marlins
Definition: Another "oriole" situation, a marlin is a fish native to the Caribbean. The name comes from a tool used by mariners (yes, I did mean to use that synonym for sailor) called a marlinspike.

Team Name: Diamondbacks
Meaning: It's full name is the Western diamondback rattlesnake, a snake native to Arizona.

Team Name: Padres
Meaning: I saved the most archaic team name for last. The Padres are named for the Spanish Franciscan friars who founded San Diego in 1769. "Padre" is the Spanish word for the priestly title of "father."

Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."