Results tagged ‘ Ryne Sandberg ’
A little Kittle history
By Craig Muder
Ron Kittle spent 10 big league seasons as a prolific power hitter, and even today – at 53 years old – that power is still evident in a firm grip and muscular shoulders.
But as Kittle toured the Hall of Fame on Wednesday, the former outfielder with the White Sox, Yankees, Indians and Orioles was more focused on the game off the field than anything he did on the baseball diamond.
Kittle, who hit 176 big league homers from 1982-91, was in Cooperstown on business when he stopped by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for his first behind-the-scenes visit. Kittle had been to the home of baseball previously, including a 1988 trip as a member of the Cleveland Indians for the Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field.
“There was no score, and I came up to pinch hit late in the game,” Kittle said. “I told (Cubs catcher) Jody Davis that I was going to hit a home run to end this thing, and I did. But Ryne Sandberg came up in the bottom of the ninth and homered – On a check swing! – to tie the game.”
The game was called after nine innings with the score tied at 1, leaving both Kittle and Sandberg with a memorable moment. But it was not Kittle’s first brush with a Hall of Famer. Passing by a photo of Sandy Koufax in the Hall’s archive on Wednesday, Kittle recounted his days as a Dodgers’ minor leaguer.
“I came into the Dodgers’ organization with Mike Scioscia as a catcher,” said Kittle, who was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1977. “Down in Spring Training, they had strings across the batter’s box to teach pitchers control, and this guy got on the mound and started throwing to me and putting it right where he wanted. After he finished, someone said: ‘Don’t you know who that was? That was Sandy Koufax.’ I’ll never forget that.”
On Wednesday, Kittle took home more memories after learning about the Hall of Fame’s commitment to preserve baseball history.
“I love hearing stories about things that go on behind the scenes,” Kittle said. “And to see all this is incredible.”
Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Election Morning
By Craig Muder
They appeared as if by magic, strolling down the hotel corridor one-by-one on an overcast Florida morning.
At dawn Sunday, it was just another meeting room. But by mid-morning, it had turned into a who’s who of Hall of Famers, executives and media members.
The Expansion Era Committee was ready to convene.
We’ll know the results at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, when the voting results are revealed. Eight players, three executives and one manager were considered by the Committee – and any candidates receiving 75 percent of the vote will be enshrined in Cooperstown as part of the Class of 2011.
For those candidates, the next few hours will undoubtedly be filled with anticipation.
Last year at this time in Indianapolis, Whitey Herzog was being considered by a Hall of Fame committee. This year in Orlando, Herzog is a member of the Expansion Committee – entering the meeting room relaxed and confident after his inspiring Induction Speech this summer.
“Being enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame,” said Herzog on July 25 in Cooperstown, “is like going to heaven before you die.”
Johnny Bench was the first of the Committee members to arrive on Sunday, and was quickly followed by ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian and Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. Kurkjian later found Committee member Frank Robinson and greeted him with a handshake before the two entered the conference room.
Altogether, the 16-member Committee of Bob Elliott, Bill Giles, David Glass, Andy MacPhail, Eddie Murray, Ross Newhan, Tony Perez, Jerry Reinsdorf, Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith, Tom Verducci, Bench, Herzog, Kurkjian, Palmer and Robinson faced a challenging morning as they considered 12 worthy candidates. But these are men accustomed to facing – and meeting – challenges.
After the meeting, the Committee members went their separate ways. In a flash, their job was done. And yet the results will live on forever – as history was made Sunday, whatever the voting outcome.
For now, we – the fans, the baseball world and the candidates – wait.
Tomorrow, we’ll know. For unlike the Presidential election 10 years ago, this Florida ballot promises to produce a clear-cut result.
Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Hall Monitor: The Final Tallies Are In
By Trevor Hayes
We’ve had a champion for several weeks now, but with last week’s announcement of the final major BBWAA Awards, the 2010 season is complete. Now it’s time to look back a little and then move on to 2011. During the next few weeks, we should see a flurry of free agent activity, starting with the Winter Meetings, which begin this weekend in Orlando.
Less can be more: Last week, Josh Hamilton handily won the AL MVP Award. Hobbled by broken ribs and playing in 133 games, he’s only the second position player over the last 30 years to play in that few games (with the exception of strike-shortened seasons) and be named league MVP. 
In fact, he’s only the fifth player to ever earn the Award after playing 133 or fewer during a full 162 game season. The others are the Giants’ Barry Bonds in 2003, the Royals’ George Brett in 1980, the Pirates’ Willie Stargell in 1979 and the Yankees’ Mickey Mantle in 1962. Like Hamilton, Brett and Mantle both suffered injuries that held them out for long periods of time, while Bonds and Stargell were slowed by age.
Twice as nice: With Awards Season coming to a close, the AL champion Rangers now boast the hardware to back-up the run to their first-ever World Series appearance. Josh Hamilton’s MVP Award and Neftali Feliz’s Rookie of the Year Award, make them the 13th pair of teammates to sweep both Awards in a year – not including 1975 and 2001 when Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki won both Awards, respectively.
Of the 13 pairs, Hamilton and Feliz join eight others in reaching the World Series. The others were Jackie Robinson and Don Newcombe (1949 Dodgers), Yogi Berra and Gil McDougald (1951 Yankees), Roy Campanella and Jim Gilliam (1953 Dodgers), Mickey Mantle and Tony Kubek (1957 Yankees), Mantle and Tom Tresh (1962 Yankees), Joe Morgan and Pat Zachry (1975 Reds), Willie McGee and Vince Coleman (1985 Cardinals) and Jose Canseco and Walt Weiss (1988 A’s).
It should also be noted that Lynn’s 1975 Red Sox made the World Series and Suzuki’s 2001 Mariners finished the regular season with the best record in baseball, but lost in the ALCS.
Joey joins Reds’ best: Ten different Cincinnati Reds have been honored with the National League’s MVP Award. Joey Votto became the 10th last week after he denied Albert Pujols his fourth Award, which would have put the Cardinal slugger into rarified air as only the second player to collect more than three MVPs.
Votto’s honor links his name with Reds MVPs like Hall of Famers like Johnny Bench (1970, 1972), Joe Morgan (1975-76), Frank Robinson (1961) and Ernie Lombardi (1938).
Vlad and Texas heaping it on: It’s not a major award, but some major names have been attached to it. This year’s recipient of the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award, Vladimir Guerrero, gave the Rangers yet another piece of hardware last Wednesday to celebrate 2010.
Renamed after Edgar Martinez in 2004, the list of former winners extends beyond the longtime Mariners legend. Among the Hall of Famers to take home the honor are inaugural winner Orlando Cepeda (1973), Jim Rice (1977), Dave Winfield (1992) and Paul Molitor (1993, 1996).
150 Million Dollar Man: Troy Tulowitzki will be staying in Colorado for the next 10 years and that’s just fine with the slugging shortstop. Not only did he sign a deal this week that will pay him an average of $15 million a year until 2020, but he’s now got a shot to be like his idol, Hall of Famer and Oriole legend Cal Ripken Jr., and stay with one team for his entire career. Of the 292 Hall of Famers, 47 spent their entire playing career with one team. Aside from Ripken, the only other shortstops in that group were the White Sox’s Luke Appling, the Cubs’ Ernie Banks, the New York Giants’ Travis Jackson, the Yankees’ Phil Rizzuto, the Pirates’ Honus Wagner and the Brewers’ Robin Yount.
Hall of Famers around town: Bob Costas brings three more Hall of Fame names to his show tonight on MLB Network. Big Red Machine cogs Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez, will be Studio 42 tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
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n other Reds news, the team’s annual winter celebration, Redsfest, will feature tributes to Sparky Anderson. More than 60 current and former Reds players will be on hand tonight and tomorrow at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati.
Tomorrow, Tigers legend Al Kaline will be at the Comerica Park Retail Shop. The Hall of Famer will be promoting and signing copies of his book “SIX: A Salute to Al Kaline.”
And as the Winter Meetinsg convene this weekend, several Hall of Famers will be in Orlando to participate in the Expansion Era Committee’s Hall of Fame Induction voting. The 16-person committee will vote on Sunday and includes Bench, Whitey Herzog, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, Perez, Frank Robinson, Ryne Sandberg and Ozzie Smith. Results will be announced on Monday at baseballhall.org.
Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Hall Monitor: Hot Stove Around the Corner
By Trevor Hayes
Not much is left of 2010 and even less remains of the baseball season. With the Rookies of the Year, Cy Youngs and Manager of the Year Awards doled out this week, two awards remain – the League MVPs. The remnants of the season that was haven’t stopped a flurry of action building toward 2011.
Classic impact: Monday saw a pair of new-bloods honored with the Rookie of the Year Awards. And for the third time in history, both players helped lead their club to the World Series. The Giants’ Buster Posey and Rangers’ Neftali Feliz were the first pair since 
Fernando Valenzuela and Dave Righetti in 1981 for the Yankees and Dodgers. The first pair was Gil McDougald and Hall of Famer Willie Mays in 1951 for the Yankees and Giants, respectively.
Seven is Three’s Company: Your National League Cy Young Award winner, author of two no-hitters – one a perfect game and the other the second ever thrown in the postseason – is Roy Halladay. The Doc’s second Cy Young shows he is among the game’s elite, but he remains five behind the all-time lead in that category. His team however, just became one of only three teams with at least seven Cy Young Awards. Hallday is joined in Phillies history by Hall of Famer Steve Carlton (four), Steve Bedrosian and John Denny (one each).
Interestingly enough, the other two clubs with seven are also NL teams. The Braves racked up seven with Greg Maddux (three), Tom Glavine (two), Hall of Famer Warren Spahn and John Smoltz (one each). And the Dodgers out-rank all major league teams with nine Cy Young Award winners: Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax (three) and Don Drysdale (one), along with Eric Gagne, Orel Hershiser, Mike Marshall, Don Newcombe and Fernando Valenzuela (one each).
Nine years is a heck of a start: Minnesota’s Ron Gardenhire won his first Manager of the Year Award, and Twins fans think it’s about time. Gardy had previously finished second in voting five times. His teams have won 90 games five times and he is the first manger in history to win six division titles in his first nine years. With 803 career wins, only five managers had more wins in their first nine seasons than Gardenhire. All five now call Cooperstown home: Sparky Anderson (863), Al Lopez (836), Joe McCarthy (828), Earl Weaver (812) and Frank Chance (810). Current Angels manager Mike Scioscia, also had exactly 803 wins through his first nine seasons.
Hot Stove action: While the heat really turns up around the Winter Meetings, a least one big trade has already gone down. All-Star utility man Omar Infante is taking his talents to South Beach while slugging second baseman Dan Uggla shifts to Atlanta. Losing an All-Star who can play almost any position on the field is big, but the Braves may have picked up a steal. Uggla owns the third-best batting average of anyone at Turner Field since it opened in 1997 at .354. Only Albert Pujols and Barry Bonds have hit better.
But batting average aside, Uggla’s best skill is his power. He’s the first second baseman to produce four 30-home run seasons, let alone consecutively. And among the first five years of any middle infielder’s career, Uggla’s 154 home runs are tops. Three MVP-wining Hall of Famers round out the top five, with 500-home run club member Ernie Banks second (136), Joe Gordon third (125) and Cal Ripken Jr. fifth (108). Nomar Garciaparra is fourth with 117.
King Felix’s Mariners vs. Lefty’s Phils: Announced Thursday was the American League Cy Young winner, Seattle’s Felix Hernandez. The honor continues a trend of moving away from wins in the voting. In fact, the AL wins leader has won only five of the last nine Cy Young Awards.
With the lowest win total for a Cy Young winner ever, King Felix and his team set a new precedent. Previously, Steve Carlton’s 1972 Phillies were the worst team to boast a Cy Young winner. While the Hall of Fame lefty lead the league with an incredible 27 wins, his Phillies won 59 games – a .378 win percentage. This season, run support torpedoed Hernandez, who went 13-12, while Seattle posted a winning percentage of .377.
Catching up with the Hall of Famers: Drafted in 1978 and debuting in 1981 with the Phillies, Ryne Sandberg is returning to Philadelphia. After four seasons managing in the Cubs’ farm system, the 2010 Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year was hired to manage the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate. Starting next season, Ryno will head the Lehigh Valley IronPigs as he continues his quest to pilot a big league club.
Stan Musial made news this week as the Cardinals legend was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. The St. Louis faithful campaigned all season to get Stan the Man the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Also, two more Hall of Famers grace Studio 42 with Bob Costas tonight. Legendary hitters Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew will drop by to talk baseball and the art of hitting with the veteran broadcaster at 8 p.m. ET on MLB Network.
Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Hall Monitor: Middle infielders, whiffs and luminaries
By Trevor Hayes
The regular season has just two weeks left. That means contenders are fighting for holds on playoffs spots and the game’s stars are grabbing hold of history.
Torrid Tulo: In two of the last three seasons, the Rockies have pasted together historic September runs and are in the middle of trying to sneak into the playoffs again in 2010. Those successes were in part thanks to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. This year is no different. Over his last 14 games, Tulo has 11 home runs and 27 RBIs, including a pair of jacks and seven RBI during a 9-6 win over the Padres on Wednesday which brought Colorado 2-and-a-half back from both the division and Wild Card leads.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Tulowitzki is the second player with more than 10 homers and 25 RBIs during a 14 game stretch in September or October. During his MVP season in 1940, Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg had 12 homers and 31 RBIs in the waning month of the season. During his spree, the Rockies shortstop tied another Hall of Fame name for a nugget of September history. Ralph Kiner hit 11 home runs through the his 15 games of September, 1949 – the same number Tulo has during his first 14.
Southland Southpaws: This week, Clayton Kershaw became the first Dodger lefty to reach 200 strikeouts in a season since 1986. That year Fernando Valenzuela fanned 242 for his third straight 200-K season. Only one other southpaw has at least 200 K’s in a season since the team moved to Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax racked up six 200-plus seasons, three of which were over 300 including 1965, in which he set a then-Major League record with 382. Just one other 200-strikeout season exists in franchise history by a lefty. Nap Rucker had 201 for the 1909 Brooklyn Superbas.
Cub closers: Carlos Marmol ended Monday’s Cubs-Cards contest with his 120th strikeout of the season. He’s the first reliever to produce a season at that level since 2004, when four players topped the mark. Marmol also became just the second Cub to rack up that many strikeouts in relief, joining Bruce Sutter, who had 129 in 1977. Interestingly enough the only other Hall of Famer to top 120 without starting a game also played for the Cubs. Goose Gossage had three seasons with at least 120 strikeouts including one with the Cubs neighbors to the South – the White Sox in 1975.
Uggla stands alone: Fourteen second basemen, including three Hall of Famers, have belted 30 home runs in a single season. But Marlins two-bagger Dan Uggla became the first Monday to hit 30 or more in four total seasons. In addition, he’s done it in four consecutive seasons – further besting the previous record of two straight. Prior to Uggla’s record-setting power at the keystone sack, Alfonso Soriano, Chase Utley and Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby were the only hitters with three 30-homer seasons. Four men have compiled two such seasons, including Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg and Joe Gordon.
Hall of Famer watch: Whitey Herzog will be at Busch Stadium tonight. Fresh off his number retirement ceremony last month and Hall of Fame Induction in July, the newest Hall of Fame manager will spend some time with fans in his adopted hometown, St. Louis, before his beloved Cardinals open their series against the Padres.
The Giants will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with their annual Fiesta Gigantes event. Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda and Rock & Roll Legend Carlos Santana are offering a special event before the Brewers-Giants matchup Saturday with proceeds benefiting Santana’s Milagro Foundation.
Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
All-Stars headed to Cooperstown
By Bill Francis
Prior to Sunday afternoon’s All-Star Futures Game of minor league talent, Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg, a coach for the World Team, was looking forward to his trip to Central New York in two weeks to welcome an old teammate to the game’s most exclusive fraternity.
Currently the Triple-A manager of the Iowa Cubs, Sandberg talked in the visiting team clubhouse of Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., prior to the U.S. Team’s 9-1 win over the World Team.
“I’m looking forward to coming to Cooperstown. Andre Dawson’s election was well overdue,” said Sandberg of his Cubs teammate from 1987-92. “I’m looking forward to seeing him take his spot there.”
The last time Sandberg saw Dawson was during this past spring training.
“I was just touching base, seeing how busy he had been. He’d been very busy doing things,” Sandberg said. “That’s always part of that first year. But he’s loving every minute of it, so I think that’s the key thing.
“And he’s looking forward to that day. So I’ll be there pulling for him. And I’ll be right there sitting behind him.”
Sandberg used part of his induction speech in 2005 to plead Dawson’s case for enshrinement.
“So that makes it somewhat gratifying to see a fellow teammate go in,” Sandberg said. “A guy that is very deserving, worked hard, maybe a little bit overshadowed through the steroid era, and now he’s right where he should be.”
Sandberg then talked about the kind of teammate that Dawson was.
“Just his work ethic. He was team-first, he played the game hard all the time, gave it his best, and at times he really overdid what he had to do to be able to play,” he said. “He was the first one at the ballpark working on his body and working on his knees to be able to play a game. And he was the last one to leave.
“And with that being said, he was in the lineup every single day, never complained about anything, played hard, never took anything for granted, and really played the game the right way, even with two sore knees. I was very impressed with that and just the Hall of Fame quality of play that he’d bring year to year. Very impressive.”
Sandberg was also eyewitness to Dawson’s historic 1987 season with the Cubs, leading the National League with 49 home runs and 137 RBI en route to capturing the senior circuit’s MVP Award while playing outfield for a last-place team.
“That was one of the most impressive seasons I watched first-hand like that,” Sandberg said.
As for Sandberg, he has attended every Induction Ceremony since his induction and has no plans to end the streak any time soon.
“I haven’t missed one yet. I’ll try not to miss one as long as I can help it,” he said. “It’s a big thrill every time and it’s great to see the new guys go in and reflect back what that felt like. It was just like yesterday. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that feeling of the year going in 2005.”
And so far, the team’s he has been managing have been more than accommodating when the last Sunday of July rolls around.
“The organizations have been all for that. They’re very understanding about that. Not only that, they tell me to go. Sometimes it’s hard to leave the team, but it’s a good getaway and it’s for the right reasons and I’m looking forward to it once again this year.”
Bill Francis is a library associate for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Hall Monitor: Vlad laps the majors
By Trevor Hayes
Last week, on a ball way out of the strike zone where only he could make an opponent pay, the Rangers’ Vladimir Guerrero sent one of his signature bad-ball home runs over the fence. This particular home run came against his former mates in Anaheim, the Angels – the 30th team he’s homered against. And that round-tripper put him into a small group, as only 32 players have hit a home run against all 30 teams.
But only one of the 203 Hall of Famers who played in the major leagues – Eddie Murray – homered against every active team during his era.
Retiring in 1997, Murray never had a chance to hit against Arizona and Tampa Bay, but he amassed home runs against 28 opponents. Murray’s march through the majors consisted of 504 home runs during 21 seasons. He played 13 years with the Orioles, four with the Dodgers, three with the Indians, two with the Mets and one with the Angels. The Twins were his most victimized team, as Murray hit 44 home runs against Minnesota – with Detroit following at 38 home runs yielded. Despite his long stint in Baltimore, he still clouted six against them. His least victimized teams were Colorado (one home run), Florida (three home runs) and a three-way tie between Philadelphia, Montreal and the Mets (four home runs).
Because the last round of expansion came so recently, few Hall of Famers have even had the chance to complete Guerrero’s feat of homering against 30 teams. Among current Hall of Famers, only Rickey Henderson, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr., Wade Boggs, Dennis Eckersley and Paul Molitor played in 1998 or beyond.
Of them, Eckersley, a pitcher, had three career home runs, Ripken and Gwynn spent their entire careers with one team – making it impossible to hit home runs against the Orioles and Padres, respectively.
Molitor and Boggs played exclusively in the American League, giving them from 1997 on to take advantage of Interleague play. Molitor played just one season with all 30 clubs, homering against 16 total teams – with one each against the Cubs and Astros and none in 11 games against Tampa Bay. Boggs retired in 1999, playing for Tampa in its first two seasons of existence while collecting just one home run against an NL club – the Expos.
Henderson homered against 27 teams during 25 seasons with 11 teams. The speedster missed out on the Diamondbacks, Braves and Astros.
Other than Henderson, Gwynn, Ripken, Boggs, Eckersley and Molitor, Murray and Ryne Sandberg are the only Hall of Famers to participate in Interleague games – which means in order to accomplish the feat, inductees prior to them must have played for a minimum of four teams (two in each league).
In all, there are 59 Hall of Famers who played with four or more teams. Of them, 35 hit 16 or more home runs in their career – the minimum number of home runs needed to hit one against each team in the modern pre-expansion era. Of those 35, just seven played for two franchises in the AL and two in the NL: Frank Robinson, Jimmie Foxx, Murray, Orlando Cepeda, Al Simmons, Enos Slaughter and Heinie Manush.
Robinson and Slaughter came the closest, falling one team shy of homering against all clubs of their era – leaving Murray, for now, in a class by himself.
Trevor Hayes is editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
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