Bill James AL 1920-1929 All Decade Team

[Old Sweater]

Third Team, Right Fielder, Bob Meusel





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Meusel

Robert William "Bob" Meusel (July 19, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American baseball left and right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eleven seasons from 1920 through 1930, all but the last for the New York Yankees. He was best known as a member of the Yankees' championship teams of the 1920s, nicknamed the "Murderers' Row", during which time the team won its first six American League (AL) pennants and first three World Series titles.

Meusel, noted for his strong outfield throwing arm, batted fifth behind Baseball Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.[1] In 1925, he became the second Yankee, after Ruth, to lead the AL in the following offensive categories: home runs (33), runs batted in (138) and extra base hits (79). Nicknamed "Long Bob" because of his 6-foot (1.8 m), 3 inch (1.91 m) stature, Meusel batted .313 or better in seven of his first eight seasons, finishing with a .309 career average; his 1,005 RBI during the 1920s were the fourth most by any major leaguer, and trailed only Harry Heilmann's total of 1,131 among AL right-handed hitters. Meusel ended his career in 1930 with the Cincinnati Reds. He hit for the cycle three times, and was the second of three major leaguers to accomplish this feat as many as three times during a career.

His older brother, Emil "Irish" Meusel, was a star outfielder in the National League (NL) during the same period, primarily for the New York Giants.

Early life

Meusel was born in San Jose, California, the youngest of Charlie and Mary Meusel's six children.[2] At an early age he moved to Los Angeles, where he attended Los Angeles High School. Meusel started his career with the Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League in 1917. He joined the US Navy during World War I and played for the Navy baseball team.[3] He went back to the Tigers for the 1919 season, batting .330. He also played third base in the minors.[4]

On December 14, 1921 Meusel married Edith Cowan, with whom he had one daughter.

Professional career

Meusel's contract was purchased by the New York Yankees in early 1920.[5] After a productive spring training, Meusel replaced future Hall of Famer Frank Baker at third base.[6] He played his first game on April 14, 1920. In his rookie season, Meusel had a .328 batting average with 11 home runs and 83 runs batted in over 119 games. He finished fourth in the league in doubles with 41 while sharing time with Duffy Lewis in left field.[7]

In the 1921 season, Meusel started in 149 out of 154 games, primarily playing right field. He batted .318, finishing second in the league in home runs with 24 and third in the league with 136 runs batted in.[7][8] He hit for the cycle in a win against the league in home runs with 24 and third in the league with 136 runs batted in.[7][8] He hit for the cycle in a win against the Washington Senators on May 7. In the second game of a September 5 doubleheader, he tied a major league record for outfielders (previously accomplished by nine others) by recording four assists. He broke a club record and tied Jack Tobin of the St. Louis Browns for the league lead in outfield assists with 28; he was considered to be one of the league's best all-around players.[9] Meusel's brother, Irish, was acquired by the New York Giants from the Philadelphia Phillies mid-season, and helped lead the Giants to the pennant. The two brothers played against each other in the 1921 World Series where the Giants faced their tenants (the Yankees played their home games in the Polo Grounds, the ball park owned by the Giants). Bob Meusel stole home in Game 3 of the Series.[1] He doubled in Babe Ruth for the winning run in Game 5 for a one-game lead, but the Yankees lost the next three games and the Series (the last best-of-nine in World Series history).[8] His batting average in those eight games was a mere .200.[7]

At the same time, Meusel, Bill Piercy, and Ruth signed up to play in a barnstorming tour. It was a violation of baseball rules at the time, and Meusel and Ruth had previously been warned about playing with the tour. As punishment, Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended them for the first five weeks of the 1922 season and fined them their World Series cash share of $3,362 ($44,054 today) each.[10] That season Meusel only played in 121 games, hitting .319 with 16 home runs and 84 runs batted in[7] as he gradually shifted to left field to allow Ruth to instead play right field. Meusel occasionally played right field in Yankees games away from home to protect Ruth from the sun, as the sun affected Ruth's skill as an outfielder.[11] Despite the games he missed, he again led the AL in assists with 24. He hit for the cycle for the second time of his career in a win against the Detroit Tigers on July 21. The Yankees managed to win the American League pennant for the second year in a row, but they were again beaten by the Giants, this time in five games. Meusel had the highest batting average of the Yankees at the end of the Series with .300

Before the 1924 season started, Meusel's close friend Tony Boeckel, shortstop for the Boston Braves, was killed when the car in which he was riding flipped over in San Diego. Meusel was a passenger in the vehicle but escaped unhurt.[14] That year Meusel hit .320 with 12 home runs and 120 runs batted in, playing in 143 games. In a game against the Tigers on June 13, Meusel was involved in one of the most notorious brawls in baseball history. With the Yankees leading 10–6 in the top of the ninth inning, Ty Cobb, the star and manager of the Tigers, gave pitcher Bert Cole the signal to hit Meusel with a pitch. Ruth saw the signal and warned Meusel, who was hit in the back and rushed to fight Cole. Both teams rushed onto the field to brawl, and Cobb and Ruth started fighting as well.[15] Over a thousand fans also rushed onto the field, and a riot erupted. The police managed to control the brawl and arrested several fans. The umpire of the game, Billy Evans, pushed Meusel and Ruth out of Navin Field to safety.[16] American League President Ban Johnson punished Meusel and Cole by fining them and issuing a ten-day suspension.[17]

Meusel had a breakout year in 1925. He led the American League in home runs (33), runs batted in (138), games played (156) and extra base hits (79). Despite this, he finished merely tied for 18th position overall for the AL's Most Valuable Player award, far behind winner (and former Yankee) Roger Peckinpaugh of the Washington Senators. The Yankees had their worst season of the decade, finishing seventh in the league with a 69–85 record. In the following 1926 season, Meusel only played in 108 games, batting .315 with 12 home runs and 81 runs batted in.[7] In the 1926 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Meusel dropped a key fly ball with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth inning of Game 7, allowing the Cardinals to tie the game 1-1; the next batter singled to drive in two more runs.[18] Meusel had chance to redeem himself later in the game, but made infield outs in both the fifth and seventh innings, each time with two men on base. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with New York trailing 3-2, Cardinals starting pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander retired the first two batters and then walked Ruth. Meusel was up to bat when Ruth tried to steal second base, and catcher Bob O'Farrell threw him out, ending both the game and the Series; Meusel only hit .238.[19]

Meusel was a key member of the 1927 New York Yankees team, which many consider to be one of the greatest baseball teams ever. That season Meusel played in 135 games, hitting .337 with 8 home runs and 103 runs batted in, and finished second in the league with 24 stolen bases;[7] on May 16 he stole second, third and home in one game. In the 1927 World Series, Meusel batted only .118 and broke the record for the most strikeouts in a four-game series with seven,[20] but the Yankees swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in four games. In 1928 Meusel played in 131 games, hitting .297 with 11 home runs and 111 runs batted in.[7] He hit for the cycle a record-tying third time on July 26 against the Tigers.[21] The Yankees reached the World Series for the third year in a row, playing the Cardinals in a rematch from two years previously. In Game 1 of the Series, Meusel hit the only home run in his World Series career as the Yankees won the game and went on to sweep the series 4–0.[22]

Prior to the start of the 1930 season, the Yankees sold Meusel to the Cincinnati Reds, and he played in 110 games, hitting .289 with 10 home runs and 69 runs batted in.[7] The Reds released Meusel after the season, and he went on to the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association where he played the 1931 season, hitting .283.[23] He went back to the Pacific Coast League in 1932, where he played 64 games with the Hollywood Stars, batting .329 with four home runs before retiring.[24]

Meusel's major league career ended with 368 doubles, 94 triples, 156 home runs, a .497 slugging percentage, 1,067 runs batted in, 826 runs scored and 140 stolen bases. Most of his various Yankee career records for right-handed hitters were broken by Tony Lazzeri in the mid-1930s; Joe DiMaggio broke his marks for batting average, slugging average and doubles in the late 1940s.



^ Bob Meusel with his brother, outfielder Emil "Irish" Meusel.

Retirement and death

After retiring from baseball, Meusel worked as a security guard at a US Navy base for 15 years.[2] He was in attendance when his former teammate Lou Gehrig made his famous 'Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth' speech on July 4, 1939.[25] He also appeared in the 1942 film The Pride of the Yankees, as well as the 1948 film The Babe Ruth Story, as himself in a cameo role on both occasions.

Meusel died of natural causes at his home in Downey, California in 1977, and was buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier.

Legacy

Meusel received the most recognition for being a member of the "Murderers' Row" teams of the mid-1920s, which included Ruth, Gehrig, second baseman Tony Lazzeri and center fielder Earle Combs. He shares the record for the most times hitting for the cycle with three, tying the mark set by Long John Reilly in 1890; Babe Herman later tied the mark in 1933. Meusel had one of the strongest arms of the era; in his obituary, The New York Times called his throwing arm "deadly accurate".[1] Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel, who played on the 1921 through 1923 Giants teams, said that he had never seen a better thrower.[1]

Harvey Frommer described Meusel as a heavy drinker and womanizer who did not get along with his teammates. His manager Miller Huggins called him "indifferent".[26] He was quiet and reserved, rarely giving newspaper interviews until his career was winding down.[27] He was also known for his lazy attitude, such as refusing to run out ground balls, which many said kept him from achieving greatness.[28] Regularly among the league leaders in strikeouts, his 24 career strikeouts in the World Series were a record for right-handed hitters until Yankees Hank Bauer and Gil McDougald surpassed it in 1958.

Meusel was considered for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame by its Veterans Committee in 1982, but the committee instead selected former commissioner Happy Chandler and former Giants shortstop Travis Jackson in its balloting.

Career statistics
AVG .309
HR 156
RBI 1068
Teams

New York Yankees (1920–1929)
Cincinnati Reds (1930)

Career highlights and awards

Led AL in home runs in 1925 with 33
Led AL in RBIs in 1925 with 138

[Old Sweater]

Third Team, Pitcher, Sad Sam Jones





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sad_Sam_Jones

Samuel Pond "Sad Sam" Jones (July 26, 1892 - July 6, 1966) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in the American League with the Cleveland Indians (1914–15), Boston Red Sox (1916–21), New York Yankees (1922–26), St. Louis Browns (1927), Washington Senators (1928–31) and Chicago White Sox (1932–35). A native of Woodsfield, Ohio, Jones batted and threw right-handed. His sharp-breaking curveball also earned him the nickname "Horsewhips Sam".

Career

In a 22-year career, Jones compiled a 229-217 record with 1223 strikeouts and a 3.84 ERA in 3,883 innings pitched. Jones signed his first professional contract in 1913, with a minor league team in Zanesville, Ohio. He made his major league debut with the Indians in 1914. Before the 1916 season, he was sent to Boston in the same trade that brought Tris Speaker to Cleveland.

In 1918, Jones joined the Red Sox starting rotation, ending with a 16-5 mark, a career-best 2.25 ERA, and a league-best .762 winning percentage. His most productive season came in 1921, when he posted career-highs in wins (23), strikeouts (98) and innings (298.2), and led the league in shutouts (5). But his most remembered season may have been 1923 as the Yankees' ace staff. In that season, Jones pitched a no-hitter game against the Philadelphia Athletics (September 4), and finished 21-8 with a 3.63 ERA, leading his team to their first World Series title. He was 2-1 against the New York Giants, and his crucial relief work in the final game of the Series clinched the championship for the Yankees. Like most pitchers of his time, Jones relieved as well as started, and his eight saves in 1922 led the league's relief pitchers.

Jones lost a league-high 21 games in 1925. He pitched for the Browns a year later, and was waived to Washington in 1927. With the Senators, Jones regained his form, leading his team's staff with a 17-7 record. He enjoyed his last good season in 1930, ending with a 15-7 mark. After four years of service for the White Sox, Jones retired in 1935 as the oldest active player at the time (42). His 22 consecutive seasons pitching in one league is a major league record shared with Herb Pennock, Early Wynn, Red Ruffing and Steve Carlton.

Sad Sam Jones died in Barnesville, Ohio, at the age of 73.

Quotation

Bill McGeehan of the New York Herald-Tribune dubbed him Sad Sam because, to him, Jones looked downcast on the field. Jones told Lawrence Ritter that the reason he looked downcast was because, "I would always wear my cap down real low over my eyes. And the sportswriters were more used to fellows like Waite Hoyt, who'd always wear their caps way up so they wouldn't miss any pretty girls". - Ed Walton, at Baseball Library

Career statistics
Win-loss record 229-217
Earned run average 3.84
Strikeouts 1223
Teams

Cleveland Indians (1914-1915)
Boston Red Sox (1916-1921)
New York Yankees (1922-1926)
St. Louis Browns (1927)
Washington Senators (1928-1931)
Chicago White Sox (1932-1935)

Career highlights and awards

World Series champion: 1916, 1918, 1923
American league pennant: 1922, 1926
2 20-win seasons

[Old Sweater]

Third Team, Pitcher, Jack Quinn





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Quinn_%28baseball%29

John Picus "Jack" Quinn, born Joannes (Jan) Pajkos (July 1, 1883 – April 17, 1946), was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Quinn pitched for eight teams in three major leagues (the American, Federal, and National) and made his final appearance at the age of 50.[1]

Born in Štefurov, Slovakia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), Quinn emigrated to America as an infant with his parents Michael Pajkos and Maria Dzjiacsko, arriving in New York on June 18, 1884. His mother died near Hazleton, Pennsylvania shortly after the family's arrival in the US, and Quinn's father moved the family to Buck Mountain, near Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. In 1887 Quinn's father remarried, to Anastasia ("Noska") Tzar.

Quinn spent his early years working as a swimmer and blacksmith, while playing recreational ball for mining teams. He got his start as a professional in an unusual way. While watching a semi-pro game in Connellsville, the 14-year-old Quinn threw a foul ball back from the stands to the catcher, hitting his mitt right in the middle. The visiting manager, from the nearby town of Dunbar, was impressed by the throw, and he offered Quinn a contract.

Quinn went on to spend 23 seasons in the major leagues with eight different teams. He won 247 games and lost 218 games, also collecting 57 saves. Quinn debuted on April 15, 1909 and he played until he was 50 years old; his final game was on July 7, 1933. Quinn's professional longevity enabled him to achieve several age-related milestones. He is the oldest ML player to win a game, to lead his league in a major category (saves, in 1932), and to start games in the World Series (with the Philadelphia Athletics, in 1929) and on Opening Day (with the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1931).[2] He was the oldest to hit a home run in the majors, at age 46, until 47-year-old Julio Franco did so in 2006. He was the oldest person to ever play for the Cincinnati Reds, and at the time of his retirement, the eight teams for which he had played also constituted a record, which has since been broken. He was also the last major leaguer who had played in the 1900s decade to formally retire (not counting Charley O'Leary, who in 1934 made a comeback stint). Quinn is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date who have appeared in a Major League game in four decades. Finally, he remains the oldest player to play regularly, having pitched 87 1/3 innings in 1932 at age 48 and 49, and 15 innings in 1933 at age 49 and 50. (Franco and Phil Niekro were also regular players at age 48, but were one and five months younger respectively during their seasons at that age.)

During his career, Quinn played alongside 31 different members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and collected two World Series rings in three tries. He was also one of the last pitchers in baseball permitted to throw the spitball, grandfathered in along with sixteen others reliant on the pitch when it was banned in 1920. He frequently used his spitball after he was grandfathered in, in addition to his fastball, curve, and changeup.

Quinn died in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, at the age of 62.

Career statistics
Win-loss record 247-218
Earned run average 3.29
Strikeouts 1329
Saves 57
Teams

New York Highlanders/Yankees (1909-1912, 1919-1921)
Boston Braves (1913)
Baltimore Terrapins (1914-1915)
Chicago White Sox (1918)
Boston Red Sox (1922-1925)
Philadelphia Athletics (1925-1930)
Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers (1931-1932)
Cincinnati Reds (1933)

Career highlights and awards

World Series champion: 1929, 1930
American League pennant: 1921

[Old Sweater]

Third Team, Pitcher, Stan Coveleski





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Coveleski

Stanley Anthony Coveleski (born Stanislaus Kowalewski) (July 13, 1889 – March 20, 1984) was a Major League Baseball player during the 1910s and 1920s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.

Coveleski, a starting pitcher, was known for throwing the spitball; and he was one of the 17 pitchers permitted to continue throwing the pitch when it was outlawed in 1920.[1] His older brother, Harry Coveleski, also gained notability as a professional baseball player.

Early years

Coveleski was born as the youngest of five ball-playing brothers in the coal-mining community of Shamokin, Pennsylvania.[3] Like many of his peers, he began work as a "breaker boy" at a local colliery at the tender age of 12.[3] In return for 72 hours of labor per week, the young Coveleski received $3.75, or about five cents an hour.[4] "There was nothing strange in those days about a twelve-year-old Polish kid working in the mines for 72 hours a week at a nickel an hour", he later recalled. "What was strange is that I ever got out of there".[4] Coveleski was rarely able to play baseball as a child, given that he almost never saw the sunlight.[3]

Nevertheless, he worked on his pitching skills during the evenings, when he would "put a tin can on a log, or tie it to a tree, and stand maybe 40 or 50 feet away and throw stones at it".[5] When he was 18 years old, Coveleski's abilities caught the attention of the local semi-professional ball club, which invited him to pitch for them.[5] "When it came to throwing a baseball, why it was easy to pitch", Coveleski recalled. "After all, the plate's a lot bigger than a tin can to throw at".[5] His baseball career in Shamokin was short-lived, however. After five games with the local ball club, Coveleski relocated to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Baseball career

Coveleski signed his first professional contract in 1909 with the minor league Lancaster Red Roses, a club affiliated with the Tri-State League.[6] He later recalled that his trip to Lancaster was "the first time I ever rode on a train," and he added that he "was too shy to eat in the hotel with the rest of the team".[7] Despite his soft-spoken demeanor and relative lack of experience, Coveleski excelled during his three seasons in Lancaster, earning a record of 53 wins and 38 losses in 109 appearances.[7] He eventually moved on to the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League, where he pitched a remarkable 64 games in one season.[7]

Coveleski made his major league debut in 1912, with the Philadelphia Athletics, pitching in five games that season. He didn't remain with the team long, however. At the time of his debut, the Philadelphia club retained several talented pitchers, including Eddie Plank, Chief Bender, and Jack Coombs.[1] "Don't know if I could have beat them out for a spot in the rotation", Coveleski later admitted. "[Connie] Mack didn't think so and let me go". The pitcher added, "I know he was sorry afterwards".[1] In 1916, Coveleski returned to the major leagues as a member of the Cleveland Indians and enjoyed a string of very successful seasons. He won over 20 games each season from 1918 until 1921 and was the star of the 1920 World Series, in which he pitched three complete game victories.[1] In 2002, baseball historian William C. Kashatus wrote that Coveleski's "incredible ERA of .67 still stands as a World Series record".[1] Kashatus observed that, despite Coveleski's enormous success in Cleveland, he "really didn't like playing there".[1] Asked about his experiences there, Coveleski refused to get into details and merely stated: "The best thing that happened to me there was pitching to Steve O'Neill. He caught me for nine years in Cleveland and knew me so well he didn't even need to give me a sign".[1]

In 1925, after nine years pitching for Cleveland, Coveleski was traded to the Washington Senators.[1] This followed a lackluster 1924 season in which he posted a 4.04 ERA.[citation needed] During his first season in Washington, Coveleski rebounded, working up a 20–5 record and ending with "a league-leading 2.84 ERA".[1] That same year, he made his second World Series appearance, though he performed less impressively, losing two games to Pittsburgh.[1] Coveleski pitched for Washington during the 1926 season and part of the 1927 season, but his performance declined due to "a chronically sore arm".[8] He retired after the 1928 season with the New York Yankees. In his final season, he posted a 5–1 record in 12 appearances and helped the Yankees to another pennant.[8]

In a 14-year career, Coveleski was 216–142, with a 2.89 ERA in 450 games, 385 of them starts.[8] Two-hundred-and twenty-four of those he completed, and 38 for shutouts. He struck out 981 in 3082 innings pitched. He was 3–2 in World Series games started (1920 and 1925). Both Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb called Coveleski one of the toughest pitchers either faced.[citation needed] His control was legendary, and it was not unusual for him to pitch a complete game having thrown 95 pitches or less. Baseball statistician Bill James ranked Coveleski 24th among the greatest right-handed pitchers of all time in career value.

Retirement

In 1929, after leaving major league baseball, Coveleski relocated to South Bend, Indiana, where he opened a service station.[9] There, he became a popular member of the community, providing free pitching lessons to local youth in a field behind his garage.[9] His health declined in later years, and he was eventually admitted to a local nursing home, where he died in March 1984.

Legacy

In addition to Coveleski's 1969 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame,[8] in 1976 he was also inducted into the National Polish-American Hall of Fame. He is one of the top 100 winning pitchers of all time. In 1984, the minor league baseball stadium in South Bend, Indiana, was named in his honor.[9] A New York Times obituary noted that Coveleski won 20 games in five out of 14 seasons.

Career statistics
Win–loss record 215-142
Earned run average 2.89
Strikeouts 981
Teams

Philadelphia Athletics (1912)
Cleveland Indians (1916-1924)
Washington Senators (1925-1927)
New York Yankees (1928)

Career highlights and awards

AL ERA champion: 1923, 1925
AL strikeout champion: 1920
5 20-win seasons
2 sub-2.00 ERA seasons

HOF, 1969, Veterans Committee