(and other players who don't rhyme with 'matters')
Catcher
- Urged Dodgers trainer Bill Buhler to invent the throat protector.
First Base
- First DH in MLB.
Second Base
- Last Oriole to play shortstop before Ripken's streak started.
Third Base
- All-Star at five different positions.
Shortstop
- The Mendoza Line
Left Field
- Got a hit in his 50s.
Center Field
- Cardinals GM: I'm trading you to the Phillies, Curt.
Flood: I'm sorry, sir. But with my limited skills, I can't accept a trade to such a storied franchise. It would be unfair to the best fans in baseball.
Right Field
- the flag incident
Designated Hitter
- Broke the color barrier in the A.L.
Bench
- Played for both the Blue Jays and the Red Sox in the same game.
- High school All-American in baseball, basketball, and football.
- Tigers scouts noticed him while he was playing for a prison team. They helped him get paroled early.
- Invented the high five (with Dusty Baker). First MLB player to come out as gay.
- Professional singer.
- Pinch runner.
Starting Rotation
- Tommy John surgery
- Challenged the reserve clause, thus bringing about free agency.
- wife swapper
- one hand
- Won a World Series and four NBA titles.
Bullpen
- Cy Young Award as a starter and a Rolaid Relief Man Award as a closer.
- Shot by his ex.
- the other wife swapper
- Fought with the Sandinistas in the Nicaraguan Civil War.
Good stuff!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteCool list! Feels wrong not to have Bloomberg at DH, though.
ReplyDeleteWho else can we add?
César Tovar -- First player to play all 9 positions in one game.
Joel Youngblood -- Got hits for two different teams on the same day.
Eddy Alvarez -- One of only 6 people in history to win medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics, and the only Winter Olympian (not just medalist, but even to participate in the Winter Olympics) to play in MLB. I feel like that doesn't get enough attention.
Elmer Valo -- played for 3 different franchises when they changed cities (Philadelphia/KC A's, Brooklyn/LA Dodgers, and Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins).
Dave Winfield -- drafted in 4 leagues in 3 different sports: MLB, NBA, ABA, and NFL.
I could also go with players with famous relatives (e.g. Randy Moffitt, brother of Billie Jean King), but I think that's a whole 'nother list.
I should know better than to do a baseball history post. Readers clearly know more than I do.
DeleteI knew about Winfield. Not sure why I didn't include him.
Ron Leflore, Drew Robinson, and Allan Wiggins were considered but didn't make the cut.
What about Clay Carroll?I believe he was shot to ,by his step son.
ReplyDeleteSee above.
DeleteDavidson, Carroll, Eddie Waitkus, Darryl Hamilton. Start of an all "shot in domestic dispute" team. Fit Steve McNair in there somewhere.
DeleteGreat list. Always enjoy seeing wife swapper in a baseball card blog post :D
ReplyDelete