Argument: The Padres Are The Most Non-Descript Team In Baseball’s History

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Okay, I may be wrong here, and I’ll get to the point in a second, but far as I can tell, here’s what the “All-Time San Diego Padres” team would look like going by WAR, minimum five years with appearances on the team:

Starting Pitchers: Jake Peavy, Andy Ashby, Andy Benes, Randy Jones, Eric Show

Relievers: Trevor Hoffman, Heath Bell, Mark Davis, Scott Linebrink, Craig Lefferts, Luke Gregerson

Catchers: Terry Kennedy, Benito Santiago

First Basemen: Adrian Gonzalez, Nate Colbert, Ryan Klesko (also OF)

Second Basemen: Tim Flannery

Third Basemen: Chase Headley, Phil Nevin

Shortstops: Garry Templeton, Khalil Greene

Outfielders: Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield, Gene Richards, Brian Giles

Tell me, oh reader, does that strike the fear of god into you? The answer: No, not really. I mean, yeah, it’s got two Hall of Famers and another likely one (Hoffman), but it doesn’t look like an “All-Time Team”, but rather a “Probably going to win a Wild Card if there aren’t too many injuries” type of team.

And that’s what leads me to this: The Padres may well be the most non-descript team in Baseball’s history. They aren’t good, they aren’t bad, they just usually seem to be… there, as if they exist only to make sure the schedule is full and that the divisions are even. Sometimes it seems as if they don’t even exist at all outside of box scores and the bottom-ticker of ESPN.

To put it another way: I once took a online quiz where I had to name all 30 MLB teams. The Padres were the last ones I remembered to put in.

And that’s why it is a bit surprising to see the Padres make so many deals this off-season- just yesterday they acquired Justin Upton and Will Middlebrooks, not long after they had acquired Matt Kemp and Wil Myers, leading me to say this:

But why is it in the first place that the Padres seem to far down in the Baseball Zeitgeist?

I have some ideas:

1) Lack of Postseason Success

The Padres have been to two World Series- 1984 and 1998. Both times, they got to play Washington Generals to some of the greatest teams in history, going down to the 1984 Tigers in five games and being swept by the 1998 Yankees. And the road to those World Series aren’t particularly notable outside of San Diego. The 1984 NLCS, for example, is more known for a Leon Durham E3 that set-up a big Padres inning that doomed the Cubs.

2) They traded away Ozzie Smith and Roberto Alomar

Fun fact: If I hadn’t had the “minimum five years” thing for the All-Padres team, the Shortstop would have been a young Ozzie Smith and his double-play partner would be a young Roberto Alomar. Problem for the Padres: they traded both of them away. And it’s not like they were nobodies treading around in the minors when the Padres traded them away- they were both traded coming off of All-Star seasons. One would think the Padres’ history wouldn’t be so nondescript if they had had them for most of their careers.

3) No No-Hitters

The Padres are the only team in baseball without a no-hitter. That means that they lack one of the signature moments that every other MLB team has.

4) They are crowded out

They share the same division as the Giants and Dodgers, who suck up almost all of the attention given to NL West. Not having the history of other “stuck in the division of giants” teams like Baltimore, Pittsburgh, or Cincinnati means that they look even more non-descript by comparison.

…

This is all a shame, really. They have a beautiful stadium and lovely weather, and San Diego has a good baseball culture (amateur, etc.) even if their team doesn’t get much attention outside of the area. Perhaps the Padres’ moves this off-season will finally get the franchise that big moment that we can remember it by.

Off-Topic: On Sony, “The Interview”, and a very poor precedent

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It is rare that I say anything political on this blog, only slightly less rare that I say anything political on my Twitter account. This is not because I am not political, or because I am afraid to ruffle some feathers, but rather because this blog (and to a certain extent my Twitter account) is about baseball. I am actually rather interested in political and global events, but I know full well that that isn’t what you come here for and probably not what you follow me on Twitter for, so I keep it to a minimum. I don’t have a problem with people who do interject their political opinions, but it’s not really my style, and when I do say things on Twitter about politics, it’s usually either something everybody agrees with (tragedies are tragic, etc.) or more to give interesting factoids about things related to what’s going on.

But today, I am going to say something that’s a little bit political: Sony Pictures should be ashamed for pulling The Interview because of the demands of hackers suspected to be from (or at least hired by) North Korea. To be sure, there are far bigger things in the world to be angry over- just this week terrorists in Pakistan massacred innocent children, after all. But this move by Sony strikes at something I hold very dear: freedom of expression. It’s what makes this blog possible. It’s what makes Twitter possible. It’s what makes television, video games, movies, novels, comic books and basically anything else that entertains or informs us possible.

And Sony just let their freedom of expression- and by association the freedom of expression of everyone involved with the making of The Interview– be dictated by exposés and threats from cowards who don’t like the theme of their film.

Let that sink in: because some people didn’t like that The Interview made fun of Kim Jong-Un and was about a (completely fictional) assassination plot against him, the film is now indefinitely cancelled less than two weeks from it’s release. This is an unprecedented occurrence in Cinema. Oh, to be sure, there have been films who have had their release delayed or cancelled here and there before, but only on small scales, such as in certain cities or certain countries. This is a worldwide delay/cancellation.

Sony and the many movie theater chains (who had started cancelling appearances before Sony pulled the plug on the movie in general) may have their reasons (on the off-chance that there *was* actually a North Korean-fueled terrorist attack on a theater showing, the companies would have been in deep legal and insurance troubles since there had technically been a threat), but this is a horrible and dangerous precedent, as it now appears that now all somebody needs to do to stop a movie is make a threat about it. This time it was North Koreans, but next time it could be Iranians, or White Supremacists, or Russians.

Or maybe this is, in fact, a isolated incident. Maybe this is Sony trying to make lemonade out of lemons, delaying the film so that when it does get released it will be an even bigger deal than it initially would have been. After all, early reviews weren’t good anyway, perhaps they think it would be better released on a non-competitive weekend in late January or early February even without the surrounding controversy. Maybe nothing more will come of it and future attempts at bullying by people angry about movies will be met with silence, or at least with the release of the film going on as planned.

Only time will tell, but if this is just the start of future studio cowardice in face of criticism and threats, then it is bad thing indeed.

 

Coming up in the final parts of the year at the “Baseball Continuum”

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I hope you’ve enjoyed the “Best of 2014” features I’ve had in the last few days, they’ll be back later. But coming up as we head into the final weeks of 2014, you can look forward to….

  • One or two last Bizarre Baseball Cultures for the year
  • A year-end Continuum Baseball Rankings update
  • Perhaps another Famous For Something Else
  • More “Wisdom and Links” at Hall of Very Good
  • An Off-Topic article on how much I dislike Sony’s handling of The Interview. That will be today.

So… thank you for coming to the site!

The Best of 2014: First References in “The Sporting News”: Japan

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This was originally published on November 13, 2014.

One of the great perks of SABR membership is access online to The Sporting News’ archives. While it now is dedicated to all sports, for a good chunk of it’s earlier history it was almost entirely focused on baseball (with some boxing, horse-racing and college football thrown in here and there). So, today, I take a look at some early references to things in The Sporting News. In this case, in the spirit of MLB’s current tour of Japan, I’m looking at certain topics related to baseball in Japan.

Baseball in Japan in General

While there were some references to Japan as far back as the 1880s, they either are references to other things or exceedingly brief and vague, like this item from the November 13, 1886 issue that I honestly do not understand whatsoever (although John Thorn has thankfully given some insight as to what Copenhagen was– it was a game played by young children):

Screen Shot 2014-11-13 at 11.28.29 AMThe first real, unequivocal reference to baseball in Japanese baseball in The Sporting News was in 1897, as the December 4 issue had this headline:

Screen Shot 2014-11-13 at 11.38.13 AM

It began like this:

Base ball (sic) has invaded Japan and to such an extent that the Tokio (sic) Athletic Association has written to President James A. Hart of Chicago for rules and suggestions relative to the furthering of the American national game in the land of the Mikado.

The article goes on to say how “last summer” a “lively little gentlemen” name Tora Hiraoka of “Tokio” attended games in Chicago with Hart (who owned the team we now know as the Chicago Cubs at the time) and had told him of how baseball had been introduced to Japan (“displaying two or three crooked fingers as indisputable evidence”) and that he was sure it could be “immensely popular” if “generally introduced”. The rest of the article is on how Hart had received a letter from Japan and how he believes that the Japanese should take to the game because they are “agile and naturally like athletic sports”, also mentioning how maybe they could play a Australian team that had visited America “last season”.

Koshien Stadium

The most famous stadium in Japan and site of the country’s High School Championships, the first reference to Koshien came in the November 8, 1934 edition of Sporting News, when it was mentioned that Babe Ruth’s tour would likely see even greater crowds in Osaka, since that was where “the Koshien Stadium seats 80,000″.

Tokyo/Yomiuri Giants

The “Yankees of Japan” and winners of 22 Japan Series titles, the Yomiuri Giants were first referenced in the January 23, 1936 issue of The Sporting News, where it was reported that they (as the “Tokyo Giants”, their name before their owners at the Yomiuri Group changed it to better advertise themselves) would be coming to America to tour the Pacific Coast, Texas, and the Northwest. The first reference to the Yomiuri Giants under their current name came in 1951. In the November 7 issue, a story on a tour led by Lefty O’Doul and featuring players like Joe DiMaggio and Mel Parnell was printed, and it covered the team’s 6-3 victory over Yomiuri on October 25.

Masanori Murakami

The first Japanese player in MLB history, Murakami was a pitcher who had been sent to the San Francisco Giants as something of a exchange student to play in their minor leagues. However, he pitched so well that the Giants called him up and then refused to send him back to Japan when it was time. The baseball version of a international incident occurred, and it eventually led to the end of Japanese players in North American baseball until Hideo Nomo came over in the 90s.

The first reference to Murakami in The Sporting News was on March 7, 1964, in a story by Bob Stevens on how he and two other Japanese players (Tatsuhiko Tanaka and Hiroshi Takahashi) would be in the Giants’ organization that season. Funnily enough, the story includes a note that neither San Francisco or the Nankai Hawks (their Japanese team) thought any of them would be able to crack a National League roster. Whoops.

Sadaharu Oh

Probably the greatest player in the history of Nippon Pro Baseball and owner of the all-time professional record for HRs (868), the first reference to Oh in The Sporting News came in the Jan. 2, 1965 issue, as writer Jim Sheen looked back on some of the biggest accomplishments in the sports world in 1964:

Screen Shot 2014-11-13 at 12.33.56 PMHideo Nomo

Interestingly, the first mention of Nomo in The Sporting News was a single item in Bob Nightengale’s baseball report on January 30, 1995, where he mentions that he is one of the hottest free-agent pitchers on the market and that the Dodgers, Blue Jays and Mariners were all pursuing him.

Ichiro Suzuki

Finally, the first reference to Ichiro in The Sporting News also was rather matter-of-fact, coming in a preview issue on Valentine’s Day in 2000, where he was mentioned not because he was joining the Mariners (he wouldn’t until 2001), but because his spring training stint in 1999 had given Seattle some experience with the throngs of Japanese press they would receive for their new reliever, Kaz Sasaki.

Screen Shot 2014-11-13 at 12.52.47 PM

Thank you to SABR and their “Paper of Record” database for making this article possible. Also, thank you to @YakyuNightOwl for correcting me on the history of Yomiuri’s name- it was always owned and run by Yomiuri, it’s just that Yomiuri didn’t put their name in the team name until later.

Over at “Hall of Very Good”: Another “Wisdom and Links”!

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Wisdom and Links. Hall of Very Good. Now (well, yesterday). Go. It’s about how they should have more Winter Meetings in places that actually have a winter.

The Best of 2014: Giancarlo Stanton’s $325 Million Dollars in perspective

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This article was originally published on November 15, 2014:

Giancarlo Stanton will, likely, get $325 million dollars in exchange for playing for the Miami Marlins for 13 more years (assuming he doesn’t get traded or opts out).

That, scientifically, is known as a buttload of money. How much money? Let’s go through it…

$500 Million: The value of the Miami Marlins, according to Forbes. Yes, Jeffrey Loria is basically saying that Giancarlo Stanton represents 65% of the value of the team itself.

It is over 20 times Babe Ruth‘s career earnings after inflation.

It is over 1.6 times Ken Griffey Jr.’s career earnings after inflation.

It is over 1.2 times Barry Bonds‘ career earnings after inflation.

$311 Million: The GDP of Sao Tome and Principe, a island nation in the Gulf of Guinea

$785.20: The amount of money every person in the City of Miami would receive if Giancarlo’s next contract was split up equally amongst them.

Giancarlo would be able to buy eight 1962-63 Ferrari 250 GTOs (which sold for $38 million dollars in August) with his proposed new contract’s money.

$294 Million: The cost, adjusted for inflation, of Titanic, the second most expensive (when adjusted for inflation) movie production of all time.

812.5 years: How long the President of United States would have to be in office to make that amount of money ($325 million) from the job.

$292,198,327: Total salary earnings (without inflation) of Shaquille O’Neil over his entire NBA career.

10: The number of NHL franchises, according to Forbes, with a value below $325 million dollars.

All of them: The number of MLS teams, according to Forbes, with a value below $325 million dollars. If he were in a soccer sort of mood, Giancarlo could afford to buy both the most and the third most valuable MLS team at the same time with the money he will earn over his next deal.

The original cost to build Fenway Park was $650,000 dollars, which is $15.9 million dollars when adjusted for inflation. That means that Giancarlo Stanton over the span of his hypothetical new contract would be able to build 20 Fenway Parks circa 1912, and he’d have enough money left to do just under half of a 21st.

$25 Million: How much Giancarlo would make in an average year under his new contract.

$10 Million: GDP of the island country of Niue. It would take Niue two and a half years of it’s entire gross domestic product to pay for one year of Giancarlo Stanton.

I don’t think anyone can imagine how big Mike Trout‘s deal will be if this is anything to go on.

FINALLY UPDATED FOR 2014! Songs of October: A Retrospective (Because Why Not?)- 2014 Edition

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For the far-too-late update on what happened in 2014, go to the bottom of the post after the jump.

In 2013, there was a sensation that spread across the nation: Mups. Their spread was unstoppable, to the point where some like the “Cespedes Family BBQ” and Jesse Spector had begun to engage in a “#Mupwatch”. But some wondered: What was a Mup? Were they some sort of Muppet? Were they dangerous? And why were they being lit on fire?

Well, the answer lay in the commercials that had been playing in the lead-up to and during the post-season, featuring Fall Out Boy’s “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark”. Here is an example of such a commercial. While officially they were saying “Light ’em up”, it sounded, especially during the echoing segments, like they were actually talking about things called “mups”.

And thus continued a long tradition of October songs that have graced our televisions and infected our ears, whether we liked them or not. And, usually, if we DID like them at the start of the postseason, we ended up being sick of them by the end just from hearing them so many times.

And, what’s more, these songs and how they have become memes aren’t from a universal source. Most of them, for example, have been part of TBS’ coverage, but others, including the Fall Out Boy song, have actually been of MLB’s doing. In 2013, for example, TBS was using a different song*, and MLB Network itself also had a different song for the commercials for it’s two games**. Rarely if ever have they been actually about baseball, usually selected more for their choruses or imagery.

*Using Google searches of the lyrics I was able to decipher, I’ve figured out it’s 30 Seconds to Mars’ “Do or Die”.

**Again using Google, I’ve found that the commercials use the chorus from Papa Roach’s “Still Swingin’“.

Still, with that out of the way, here’s a history (after the jump) of the Songs of October:

Continue reading →

Winter Meetings Tweets of the Day (December 11, 2014)

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Throughout the 2014 Winter Meetings, I’ll be showcasing the best tweets. Here are yesterday’s.

Yesterday was the last day of the Winter Meetings. Stuff happened.

For example, Mat Latos was traded to the Marlins, but along the way his wife nearly had a nervous breakdown:

https://twitter.com/DallasLatos/status/543067387395059712

https://twitter.com/DallasLatos/status/543070684373868544

https://twitter.com/DallasLatos/status/543073000929898496

https://twitter.com/DallasLatos/status/543075589360730113

https://twitter.com/DallasLatos/status/543086304645623809

Meanwhile, the many deals on the hot stove left some dazed, confused and at times sarcastically passive-aggressive:

https://twitter.com/clairbearattack/status/543090393403760640

The trade of Yoennis Cespedes, of course, gave those goofballs at the BBQ some material:

But, let us finish with the true meaning of season: Hank the Brewers Dog dressed as Santa.

https://twitter.com/JATayler/status/543084669827575808

Adorable.

Winter Meetings Tweets of the Day (December 10, 2014)

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Throughout the 2014 Winter Meetings, I’ll be showcasing the best tweets. Here are yesterday’s.

 

The Cubs’ many actions have led to many noting that Back To The Future II predicted they would win the 2015 World Series. Leading Jonah Keri to make this observation:

Confusion reigns at times during the Winter Meetings:

The Dodgers made their presence known again, with a Dee Gordon deal with the Marlins. Among those they got back is a rather unfortunately named infielder:

The best quote of the Meetings was given:

The Astros are being optimistic:

And those loveable goofballs at the BBQ hit the nail on the head:

Today is the final day of the Winter Meetings, and it’s already been busy. Come back tomorrow.

Winter Meetings Tweets of the Day (December 9, 2014): Waiting for Lester

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Throughout the 2014 Winter Meetings, I’ll be showcasing the best tweets. Here are yesterday’s.

Yesterday was about waiting for Jon Lester:

…And that’s just other people! I was on the story ALL DAY under the hashtag #HasLesterSignedYet:

But then… this morning:

Yes, Jon Lester is signed! And he’s a Cub!

 

Now maybe something else can happen today since he’s no longer holding up the entire free agent market.