I’ve decided to pull the content from my Crazy Nines blog over here, in the hopes that it will force me to update that section more often than I have. (These posts are a couple of years old.) If you have any suggestions for future fantasy teams, you know the email: bunting at tomatonation dot com.

Enjoy!

*****

Starting Position Players
C Mickey “Black Mike” Cochrane
I’ve never heard Cochrane called “Black Mike” before; evidently the name comes from his notorious “competitiveness and temper” (which I’d never heard of either, but it seems a post-loss Cochrane was just about the least fun you’ve ever had with your clothes on).The nickname isn’t commonly used for him now, but the team needs a catcher, and you can’t argue with the Hall of Fame. …Well, you can, all day and through the night, but in this case, we won’t.

Cochrane — whose given name was “Gordon” — lent the name “Mickey” to not one but two future diamond stars: Mickey Owen, whose manager in St. Louis dubbed him “Mickey” because he shared a brawling style with Cochrane (and possibly because Owen’s parents had unkindly christened him “Arnold”); and Mickey Mantle, whose father admired Cochrane.This is sort of a mixed result, legacy-wise, as Owen is one of the more infamous World Series goats in the game’s history, but hey, even Ted Williams didn’t bat .500.

1B Bill White
Five-time All-Star White isn’t in the Hall of Fame, although he could be — his batting stats relative to his era are impressive — but he might get into Cooperstown based on his service to the game in other areas, which maybe better known today than his play. After broadcasting Yankee games for over 15 years, White went on to the presidency of the National League from 1989-94.

I sense that White is not well-liked. I dimly recall some shit getting talked about him back in the day, and his departure from the NL presidency could track with that, I guess, but I just don’t remember.

2B Frank White
Played his entire career with the Royals, back when they didn’t lose 100 games a season; impressive with the glove, not harmful with the bat. He’s one of those guys that I totally missed, rooting for an NL team on the East Coast, but whose adherents sometimes say he should go into the Hall of Fame. I believe Rob Neyer has debunked that.

SS Alvin Dark
Better known as a manager now (he helmed the ’74 Athletics, among others), but he did have a respectable career as an infielder prior to that, making the All-Star team a few times and leading the league in doubles once. He’d missed two years due to the war, not coming to the majors ’til age 26, which may have cost him a HoF bid.

It seems he went bythe nickname “Blackie,” too, which is interesting given that, per Bill James, Dark “was widely suspected of being racist.” He’s perhaps not the best clubhouse influence, then (James also notes that Dark is a Jesus-y type, and keen to win converts), but: see Cochrane. We need a shortstop.

3B BurgessWhitehead
I’d prefer to see Whitehead as a backup second baseman, but as you’ve probably begun to gather, fully qualified infielders are thin on the ground on this team. I initially had Tris Speaker listed as hot-corner starter, but he’s a CF; I’d confused him with Pie Traynor, AGAIN, and could anyone tell me why I do that every damn time.

Anyway: Whitehead missed time during WWII, and might have had better stats if he hadn’t been gone for several years; prior to that, he’d made the All-Star team a couple of times, and was a part of the Gashouse Gang. And his middle name is “Urquhart,” which has nothing to do with anything except that it’s fun to say.

OF Rondell White
Rondeeeeelllllll, ma belle! Rondell seemed like a prospect eternally on the verge; it never quite took off for him like it should have. After leaving Montreal, he bounced from team to team, and did make the All-Star team in ’03, but didn’t live up to his initial promise despite a few good slugging seasons.

He’s now married to the daughter of (as of this writing; knock bullpen wood) Mets manager Jerry Manuel. [“Not sure if they’re still married, but as of May 2010, Manuel is still managing the Mets. Probably because, if they fire him, nobody else will agree to do it. Heh.” — SDB]

OF Roy White
Reliable bat for the Yankees for 15 years; great at the plate during the postseason. Played for the late-seventies champions although his best years were past by then (he’s also one of the men driven in by the infamous “Bucky Effing Dent” home run).

OF Tris “The Grey Eagle” Speaker
Speaking of Fenway, Speaker hit the first home run in the park in 1912. I never in my life heard him called “The Grey Eagle,” but at least he has both his arms. (…You’ll see.)

Bench:
Devon White
Multiple Gold-Glove winner, some pop in the bat. Played on three World Series teams (Jays and Marlins).

Pete Gray
Gray, who lost an arm in a childhood accident, played one season (well, part of one) for the St. Louis Browns in 1945, and is frequently pointed to (…as it were) as evidence of the drop in quality throughout baseball during the war. With all-time greats like Ted Williams and Rizzuto in the service, teams had to turn to lesser talents; Gray did just fine (and the Browns finished above .500, which is a rarity in and of itself), but when the “real” players got home, Gray’s time in the show ended.

It’s hard to know how to think about Gray. On the one hand (…sorry), it’s not like the Browns’ GM found the guy working in, whatever, a hat store and had him come down to the park for a tryout. Gray had been playing for semi-pro teams for years by the time he got the call, and he lost the arm as a kid; he knew, as Jim Abbott also knew, how to compensate. So, you know, you have to give it up for the guy; baseball is hard enough to play as it is, never mind if you have to rig up a system to transfer your glove from your only hand and so on and so forth.

On the other hand (…sorry again), it was wartime baseball, and it comes off gimmicky to me — well, not gimmicky, I guess. Cynical, maybe. Gray didn’t get a shot until ’45, and didn’t get a shot after ’45, either. I mean, it’s the Browns, one of the more hapless franchises in the game’s history, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that they really were that desperate for help in the outfield.

Pitching Staff:

Whitey Ford
A Hall of Fame after-hours hell-raiser as well as pitcher, sometimes accused of throwing scuffers and spitters, but let’s face it: if your guy off the bench close and late is Pete Gray, the starters need to keep you in the game however they can.

Don “Black & Decker” Sutton
Also a Hall of Famer; also frequently accused of doctoring the baseball (thus the nickname; he’s kind of a long shot for this team, but that moniker is too good to pass up). Extra credit for stealing Mike Brady’s man-perm in the early seventies.

Jack “Blackjack” McDowell
Much feared in the ’90s, McDowell doesn’t seem as imposing now. I for one am more impressed with the fact that he flipped off the Yankee Stadium faithful and survived the hail of batteries and beer cups that must have resulted than I am with his pitching, or his off-the-field friendship with Eddie Vedder.

Bud Black
I remember this guy as much more fearsome than his stats now indicate; he anchored the mid-’80s KC rotation, I think? But before I looked it up, I remembered him as an ace, because I remembered his name. He’s managing the San Diego Padres at the moment, but by the time you read this, he may be working on his stamp collection. [“Nope, still getting it done in ’10.” — SDB] [“And ’13. Hmm.” — SDB]

Manager: Whitey Herzog
Six first-place finishes across both leagues, one Series title with the ’82 Cardinals, doesn’t take no mess. I sometimes wonder, when I have the Mets game on and Keith Hernandez is going on about his diet, if Herzog is listening, and what he thinks. Herzog is a little too folksy and into The Cult Of Stengel for my particular tastes (something about the “Ol’ Perfesser” nickname irritates me beyond all reason — see also: cutesy misspellings in the names of kids’ stores; “Kuntry Krafts”), but he repeatedly demanded trades of popular players and repeatedly saw those decisions justified.

Coach: Sol White
A player-manager and executive in the Negro Leagues who guided the Philadelphia Giants to a championship.

Share!