Results tagged ‘ Troy Tulowitzki ’
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: 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.
Six cycles
By Samantha Carr
Hitting for the cycle is one of the more rare feats in baseball. It has happened only 286 times in the history of the game.
On Monday night, Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki made it 287 when he became the sixth player in 2009 to accomplish the feat.
Tulowitzki had a career-high seven RBIs during his five-hit performance against the Chicago Cubs, putting the Rockies in first place in the National League Wild Card race and cutting the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lead to 5 1/2 games in the NL West.
“It’s definitely more satisfying that I did it in a game that means a lot,” Tulowitzki said.
He joins Orlando Hudson, Ian Kinsler, Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer and Melky Cabrera on the list of players who have hit for the cycle in 2009. They have all donated items from their historic feat to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, with the latest item being Tulowitzki’s batting gloves.
Only five other times in history have there been six cycles in one season. Only twice (1890 and 1933) have more than six cycles been reached.
In 1933, a record eight players hit for the cycle, and five of them were later inducted into the Hall of Fame: Chuck Klein, Arky Vaughan, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx and Earl Averill. Cochrane, who had also hit for the cycle in 1932, Pinky Higgins and Foxx were all teammates on the Philadelphia Athletics and hit for the cycle within a two-week span during the first half of August.
1933 cycles
May 5: Pepper Martin, St. Louis (NL)
May 26: Chuck Klein, Philadelphia (NL)
June 24: Arky Vaughan, Pittsburgh
Aug. 2: Mickey Cochrane, Philadelphia (AL)
Aug. 6: Pinky Higgins, Philadelphia (AL)
Aug. 14: Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia (AL)
Aug. 17: Earl Averill, Cleveland
Sept. 30: Babe Herman, Chicago (NL)
Samantha Carr is the media relations coordinator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
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