The Tall Tactician

By: C.G. Morelli

Connie Mack said a lot of things during his career. Of course, it’s easy to say a lot when your career as manager spans half a century. He once said, “Humanity is the keystone that holds nations and men together. When that collapses, the whole structure crumbles.  This is as true of baseball teams as any other pursuit in life.” This perhaps recalls the image of the Tall Tactician, a man whose impeccable values and fatherly overtones produced much veneration for him from his arrival in Philadelphia in 1900 until his departure in 1950.

When all was said and done, Mack had compiled 3,731 wins with the Athletics, the most for a manager in baseball history, besting John McGraw by over 1,000 wins. His teams won the World Series five times in that span, and the AL title nine times. Ironically, Mack also racked up 3,948 losses during his tenure as the A’s manager. This total is also, far and away, the worst in baseball history. Mack actually finished in last place 17 times while at the helm of the Athletics. So, I guess it’s fitting that the most successful losing manager of all time would also coin the phrase, “You can’t win ‘em all.”

In fact, even with his staggering total of victories and irreplaceable impact on the game, Mack would humbly tell you that he wasn’t the quintessential baseball skipper. For that title, he’d have to tab one of his contemporaries during the early part of the century.  “There has only ever been one manager,” he said, “And his name is John McGraw.”

But, in Philly, he was more than quintessential. He was the Philadelphia Athletics.

Even after a dismal farewell season in ‘50, where his team finished an embarrassing 52-102 to claim last place for the 10^th time in 16 seasons, he was still considered the man.

After all, we’re talking about the first manager in history to win three World Series titles, and the only manager ever to win the series back to back on two separate occasions (1910-11, 1929-30). Last time I checked, people in Philly don’t forget stuff like that too quickly, which is probably why Mack could walk down the narrowest, most remote alleyway in the city and still be recognized as the father of Philadelphia baseball even by the stray cats.

But it was because of this prominence, this ultimate feeling of comfort which Mack exuded upon the fans, that his departure spelled the beginning of the end for the A’s in Philly.

The loveable fan favorite, Jimmy Dykes, took Mack’s role and improved the team to a 6^th place finish the following season. Even so, attendance plummeted drastically and continued to do so for the next few years. Things just weren’t the same without the Grand Old Man of Baseball staking his post on the dugout steps.

“Any minute, any day, some player may break a long standing record,” he said, “That’s one of the fascinations about the game, the unexpected surprises.”

Perhaps Mack’s departure was one of those unexpected surprises the Philadelphia Athletics were never prepared to face. Or maybe it was the fascination for the game that suddenly left the hearts of the fans and the organization once the venerable leader had fled the battlefield.

Whatever the factor, the A’s would never find a way to recover within the confines of their own backyard. They were sent packing to Kansas City in 1954. Mack died two years later, having spent 66 years in baseball as a player and manager.

After a lifetime of service to the game it’s no wonder Mack once said, “No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball.” Somewhere, I’d like to think, Mr. Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy is having a little chat about baseball right now.

The World Series: An American Legacy

By: C.G. Morelli

A game played by “the boys of summer” seems a bit out of place in the chilly days of October.  But, it’s during this autumn month when the Major League Baseball season winds down with one of the most exciting events in all of sports, the World Series. 

Over the course of a few weeks, teams slug it out in the playoffs, trying to earn a spot in our country’s most celebrated championship series.  But it hasn’t been around forever.  Just how did the World Series begin?

The Very First World Series

As far back as the 1880’s, head-to-head grudge matches had taken place between the top teams in various leagues.  Many of these contests featured long series of up to fifteen games and were not taken very seriously by players or spectators.  But in 1903 something special happened. 

For the first time, the well-known National League was feeling a lot of competition from a brand new league, which called itself the American League.  Many fans, who once believed the National League far more talented than the American League, began to wonder what would happen if the best team from each were to square off.  Managers on both sides saw a competition between them as a way to attract more interest in the game, and also to see who was best once and for all. 

At the end of the season, it was agreed that a tournament would be played between the two best teams in each league.  They decided to name it the World Series.

The mighty Pittsburgh Pirates, champions of the National League, took on the American League winners, the Boston Pilgrims in the best-of-nine series.  Everyone expected the Pirates, led by their star shortstop, Honus Wagner, to defeat the Pilgrims easily.  But it quickly became clear that Wagner would not be a factor.  He finished the series with only six hits, while committing six errors in the field.  Instead, a young pitcher from Boston named Bill Dineen stole the show, pitching four shutouts in the series to lead the Pilgrims to a surprising victory. 

When the team returned to Boston, fans swarmed the field at Huntington Avenue Grounds hoping to catch a glimpse of baseball’s first World Champions.  The grudge match between the two leagues created so much interest in the game of baseball that they decided to continue it every year.  The World Series has now been played for more than a century.  

           

Continuing the Tradition

Over the years, the World Series has changed only slightly, in order to make it the most competitive and exciting event it could possibly be.  In 1922, the length of the World Series was shortened to a best-of-seven series, as it remains today.  In 1969, the playoffs were created, giving more teams a chance to compete for a spot in the World Series.  In 1994, the commissioner of baseball added the Wildcard Round to the playoffs.  Many current baseball fans will agree that this feature has made the game even more exciting at the end of the season than it had been in the past.  As a result, the playoffs last a bit longer, pushing the World Series slightly later into the fall.  It is now common for the series to end in November rather than October.

Overall, however, the World Series we enjoy today has not changed much since the time of Honus Wagner and Bill Dineen.   The Fall Classic, as it has come to be known, still pits the best team in the National League against the best the American League has to offer.  It is still the grand stage for some of the greatest athletes in sports, and it still attracts the interest of millions of fans worldwide.  Most importantly, the dream of playing in a World Series some day is still fresh in the minds of many young boys and girls.

Into the Record Books

• On October 10, 1920, Bill Wambsganss of the Cleveland Indians completed the only unassisted triple play in World Series history.

• In game five of the 1956 World Series, Don Larsen of the New York Yankees pitched the only perfect game in series history by not allowing a single runner to reach base in nine innings.

• On October 12, 1982, Paul Molitor of the Milwaukee Brewers became the only player in history to record five hits in a single World Series game.

• Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera, holds the all-time record for recording the final out in four World Series championships.

Three Finger Brown

By: C.G. Morelli

Mordecai Brown was visiting his uncle’s farm in Indiana when he was given the greatest gift he would ever receive. At the time, however, it didn’t seem like much of a gift at all. 

It was the summer of 1884 and Mordecai, only seven years old, was busy playing outside, when something happened that would completely change the course of his life. He stepped too close to a feed machine and accidentally caught his hand on the blade.  Before anything could be done, Mordecai lost most of his index finger and parts of his thumb and middle finger. It seemed like a painful burden he’d have to carry with him forever. It would later transform him into one of the greatest major league pitchers of all time.

From Weakness Comes Strength

By the time he was 20 years old, Brown was busy working in the Indiana coal mines and playing for the company baseball team on weekends. He was known as a hard worker, but only as an average third baseman whose hand gave him trouble both in the field and at the plate. Because of his childhood accident, people saw Brown as handicapped and never gave him much attention for playing the game. That is, until the regular pitcher on his company team suffered a minor injury of his own. Suddenly, Brown found himself staring opportunity right in the face. Before he knew it, he was on the mound gripping the ball tightly between his three fingers. It took him just one pitch to realize the gift he’d been given, and to know that he’d never play third base again.

“That old paw served me pretty well in its time,” Brown once said of his injured hand.  “It gave me a firmer grip on the ball, so I could spin it over the hump. It gave me a greater dip.”

Although Brown lacked a powerful fastball, his three-fingered grip allowed him to throw a variety of curves and breaking pitches that left batters speechless. Many experts credit him with throwing the very first split-finger fastball.

Three Finger Brown

After winning 50 games for his company team over the next two seasons, Brown signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Some of his major league teammates started calling him “Miner” Brown, because of his experiences in the coal mines, but most others referred to him simply as “Three Finger” Brown.

After only one season with St. Louis, Three Finger was traded to the Cubs. It was in Chicago where he shined. Brown became one of the few players in baseball history to pitch simultaneously both as a starter and a reliever, notching 239 wins and 48 saves in his career. He did this while posting a 2.06 ERA, and while winning 20 games six years in a row (1904-1910). Three Finger Brown eventually propelled the Cubs to a World Series Championship with a game six shutout of the Detroit Tigers in 1908.  It was the last time the Cubs won the World Series.

A Hall of Fame Battle

Three Finger Brown is perhaps best known for his legendary battles with another Hall of Fame pitcher of the time. Christy Mathewson, perhaps the most dominating pitcher in history with 373 wins and over 2,500 strikeouts, spent almost his entire career playing for the New York Giants. He was tall and lanky, and seemed to have the ability to shoot bolts of lightning from his gifted right arm. 

From 1905 to 1909, “Matty” and Three Finger faced each other a total of ten times.  Mathewson won the first meeting, out dueling Brown to a 1-0 shutout, but Three Finger went on to win the next nine meetings between the two all-time greats. In 1916, Mordecai Brown faced Christy Mathewson one last time. It was fitting that both men were pitching the final games of their legendary careers. Matty took this one, 10-8.

The Gift of Inspiration

Much of Brown’s impact as a player stems from the amazing feats he was able to accomplish on the mound, but his greatest achievement took place when he was still a young child. It was when he overcame his frightening injury and found a way to use it to benefit not only him, but the great game of baseball as well.

“I haven't space enough to tell of all the grand deeds of Brownie on and off the field,” Hall of Fame teammate Johnny Evers once said.  “(He had) Plenty of nerve, ability and willingness to work at all times and under any conditions…There was never a finer character -- charitable and friendly to his foes and ever willing to help a youngster breaking in."

The Roots of Little League Baseball

By: C.G. Morelli

As long as baseball has existed, American boys and girls have fantasized about stepping up to the plate and hitting the winning home run for their team.  For nearly 70 years, a very familiar organization has been giving youngsters just this opportunity.  That organization, of course, is Little League Baseball.  People as ordinary as your mailman and as widely known as former major league star Gary Sheffield can say they have something in common…they were once Little Leaguers.  But how did Little League Baseball climb its way into the hearts of America’s cities and towns?

Shrinking the Playing Field

If you’re ever driving through Pennsylvania with your parents, you may pass through the town of Williamsport, where in 1938, a baseball enthusiast named Carl Stotz stumbled upon the idea for the country’s first organized youth baseball program.  Stotz had no sons of his own, but his nephews, Jimmy and Major, kept him out practicing on the ball field nearly every night.  He began rounding up kids from his neighborhood to make the practices more interesting.  Over time, he began experimenting with smaller field dimensions and modified equipment that made it easier for younger children to play the game.  What he had invented was a kid’s version of the game of baseball. 

The following year, Stotz reached out for help from the Williamsport community so that he could begin a league.  Many businesses in the area were willing to sponsor his teams, paying a small fee to help buy equipment and uniforms.  With everyone’s help, Stotz was able to form a three-team league.  His intent was to use the league as a place to teach the children the values of character, courage, and loyalty.  He decided to name it

Little League.

As news of the league spread across Pennsylvania, youth baseball programs based on Stotz’s ideas popped up all over the place.  The leagues formed a network they called Little League Baseball.  By 1974, the organization expanded to include not only boy’s baseball, but also softball for young girls, and senior ball for boys and girls in their teens.  By 1990, it expanded again to include a “challenger” division for mentally and physically handicapped children.

There are now over 200,000 Little League baseball teams playing in programs across all 50 states and in more than 80 different countries around the globe. 

Little League’s Grand Event

During World War II, many fathers were called away to serve overseas in the military.  This made it hard to keep youth baseball programs running since there were less people around to volunteer their time.  As a result, Little League Baseball appeared to be dying out.

In 1947, the organization’s board of directors held a meeting they hoped would help save their game. They decided to host a national tournament in Williamsport for all Little League teams to compete in.  Their goal was to crown a national champion. Later renamed the Little League World Series (LLWS), the original event featured 11 teams from across the Northeastern United States. The championship game drew close to 3,000 spectators and when news of it spread across the nation, it brought Little League Baseball with it.  Within a few years, the organization had a program in every state. 

The LLWS continues to be an American tradition. Each year, without fail, the mini-classic gives us a sneak peek of the major league stars of the future.

Major Little Leaguers in the World Series

1971 – Lloyd McClendon, a former major league player and coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit five home runs in five at-bats for his Gary, Indiana team against Taiwan in the LLWS.

1980 – Former slugger Gary Sheffield led his team from Belmont Heights Little League of Tampa, FL to the LLWS title over Chinese Taipei.

1993 – Sean Burroughs, formerly of the Padres and Devil Rays, pitched two no-hitters for his Long Beach, CA team on their way to a second straight LLWS championship

Who Knew??

• The shortest LLWS game ever played took place between Hagerstown, MD and Kankakoo, IL in 1950.  The game lasted only one hour

• President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1959, proclaimed the second week in June to be National Little League Week

• In 2001, a field was built on the South Lawn of the White House, as two Little League tee ball teams played the first-ever organized baseball game on the presidential grounds.

The Unlikely Running of 'El Toro'

By: C.G. Morelli

On an April day in 1981 with unlikely circumstances, an unlikely hero with an unlikely physical stature and an uncertain official birth date rocked into his motion, gazed into the heavens, and uncorked a wicked screwball from his left arm. What he didn’t realize at the time was he had not only begun an improbable career, but he had unleashed a potent epidemic that would start in Southern California and spread across the nation. That condition was known as “Fernandomania” and, if you lived in the early 80’s, it was nearly impossible not to catch it.

Its origination, of course, was Fernando Valenzuela. He was just a 20-year-old rookie at the time, the youngest of twelve children and from a small village called Etchohuaquila in Sonora, Mexico. But he burst onto the scene with the Dodgers after a spirited minor league campaign in 1980 and, of course, by sheer luck.  A pre-game injury to Dodgers’ ace, Jerry Reuss, brought El Toro to the mound as the opening day starter. With 50 thousand screaming fans packed into the Chavez Ravine, Tommy Lasorda simply crossed his fingers and sent the chubby youngster (though many would argue that point) out the to bump to start the season.  The rest is history.

El Toro was nearly unhittable from the start. He rocketed off to eight straight victories (a record for rookie pitchers) and won five of them with complete-game shutouts. His ERA was a minuscule 0.50 and he ran a streak of 28 1/3 scoreless innings in the process. It was one of the greatest performances ever registered by a rookie pitcher, and Valenzuela became a legend and an inspiration to the Hispanic communities of Los Angeles and beyond almost over night.

He would help the Dodgers traverse the strike-shortened season and advance to the 1981 World Series by leading the National League in strikeouts (180), starts (25), innings pitched (192.5), shutouts (8), and complete games (11).  He became the only player to win both the Cy Young Award and ROY Award in the same season. He capped it all off with a complete game victory over the Yankees in Game 3 of the World Series. It contributed to the Dodgers’ first championship in over 15 years.

Valenzuela’s performance that season was memorable. But how do you top something like that? The answer: you don’t. Maybe that’s why El Toro’s popularity waned after the 1981 season. It wasn’t because he stopped performing.

He continued his dominance with the Dodgers from 1981-1990, leading the NL in wins in 1986 (21). He made six All Star appearances.  In the ’86 All Star game, Valenzuela tied a record set in 1934 by Carl Hubbell when he struck out five consecutive batters. He joined an elite club in 1990 when he pitched a no-hitter against the Cards.

Fernando was no slouch at the plate either. He won Silver Slugger awards in 1981 and 1983.  In fact, Valenzuela is still remembered as one of the best hitting pitchers of all time. He has 187 career hits, including 26 doubles, 10 homers, and 84 RBI. The Dodgers even used him as a pinch hitter from time to time, a role in which he racked up a career .368 average.

Of course, these feats all paled in comparison to what El Toro accomplished in his rookie campaign, and he never fully regained that same level of celebrity.

Regardless, Fernando Valenzuela’s legend is cemented forever. He has burned his image into our brains.  It is the picture of a short, pudgy, Mexican hurler, his glove stretched high above him and his eyes somehow wandering to a point even beyond that, whipping a screwball past another baffled batter. And each time the image dances through our minds we remember Fernandomania felt pretty darn good.

'Lord, Baseball is a Worryin' Thing'

By: C.G. Morelli

As a 14 year old boy breaking his back in the Pennsylvania coal mines for just 60 cents a day, Stan Coveleski sure came a long way. The Polish Prince was such a hard worker and worked such long hours that he once said, “I got to thinking the sun only came out on Sundays.”

But the eventual Hall of Famer wouldn’t be spending much more of his life in the dark. By the time he was 17, Stan had taken a page out of the scripts of his five brothers, four of whom were involved in professional baseball at some level.

Coveleski started playing for a local team in Shamokin, PA and he quickly found his calling as a pitcher with pin point control. That the fresh faced kid they called “Covey” was so accurate on the mound was a surprise to no one. After all, he’d spent every morning of his childhood setting up tin cans on a fence post and systematically knocking them down with the fluid toss of a few stray stones.

“The plate’s a lot bigger than a tin can to throw at,” he said, “When it came to throwing a baseball, why, it was easy to pitch.”

The Polish Prince pitched only five games for the little team from Shamokin. That’s all it took for minor league scouts from the Lancaster club of the Tri State League to notice the kid’s talent. And without so much as a moment’s hesitation, Covey signed a contract that would save him from the inside of a pitch black coal mine forever.

After just two and half seasons with the club from Lancaster, Coveleski was scooped up by Connie Mack, who watched the young rookie make his first major league start in a Philadelphia Athletics uniform in 1912. The result? A three-hit shutout and the youngster’s first-ever victory. But success wouldn’t last long for young Stan.

He endured a few up and down seasons in Philadelphia and became more well known as the brother of “Giant Killer” Harry Coveleski (who had beaten the NY Giants three times in one week during the 1908 season to stifle their attempt at a pennant) than for his own performance on the mound. Stanley found himself bouncing from club to club, even back down to the minors in the Pacific Coast League. But he eventually found a home in Cleveland in 1915, and his time in the PCL would prove to be his greatest asset.

It was during his time in the PCL that Covey first witnessed a pitch that would change his career. It was the spit ball. He began developing his ability to control the pitch, and once he had it mastered, there wasn’t a thing he couldn’t make a baseball do once it left his famous right hand.

From 1915-1928, Coveleski and his devastating spitter were utterly dominant on the mound. He won 216 games, struck out 972 batters, and recorded a lifetime 2.89 ERA.

In 1920, Covey registered one of the greatest World Series performances of all time. He led the Indians to a World Championship by pitching in and winning three games. He allowed the Brooklyn Dodgers only two runs in 27 innings of work and posted a 0.67 World Series ERA, a record that still stands today.

Coveleski endured even after Major League Baseball banned the use of the spitball after the 1920 season. He and 16 other established spitball pitchers were grandfathered in as having permission to continue throwing the pitch. This designation was pivotal in Covey’s career, allowing him to continue his dominance for another eight seasons, five of which he recorded 20 wins or more.

Stan Coveleski was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969 by the veteran’s committee. Even after an illustrious career, he never lost sight of the dark mornings he spent tossing stones at tin cans and enjoying the relative simplicity of a coal miner’s life that contrasted starkly with the every day pressures of playing professional baseball.

“It’s tomorrow that counts (in baseball),” he said after retirement, “So you worry all the time. It never ends. Lord, baseball is a worrying thing.”