The vintage baby pictures quiz (volume 2)
As you may recall from our first installment, the concept we’re recognizing here is as follows: When presented with a snapshot of a familiar adult from when he or she was in diapers, sometimes we can clearly see the resemblance, and sometimes we can’t. The same is true of prominent major league players, when viewing only their minor league statistics.
Presented below are the complete minor league stats of some big league stars—well, most of them were stars, anyway—from various decades past. Your challenge is to guess who each player is.
The answers are at the bottom of the article. No fair peeking!
Questions
Just who are these two young speed demons?
Player No. 1 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1956 17 North. C 1B-P 75 277 35 77 11 5 2 23 31 56 16 .278 .355 .375 .730 1957 18 Calif. C OF-1B 135 569 165 209 40 20 20 97 79 73 53 .367 .445 .613 1.058 1958 19 P.C.L. AAA OF-1B 124 475 92 163 28 8 11 77 42 53 37 .343 .401 .505 .906 Player No. 2 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1959 19 Three-I B OF 7 30 5 4 0 0 0 1 ? ? 2 .133 ? .133 ? 1959 19 Calif. C OF 117 513 135 187 40 16 15 90 53 66 33 .365 .437 .593 1.030 1960 20 P.C.L. AAA OF 147 624 126 216 43 26 12 75 31 44 30 .346 .384 .556 .941
Here are a couple of infield prospects from the early 1970s who looked as though they could hit a little. Who are they?
Player No. 3 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1970 19 NYP A SS-3B 66 234 44 63 5 1 6 29 32 46 16 .269 .363 .376 .739 1971 20 East. AA S-2-3 112 376 62 88 14 2 10 37 53 77 12 .234 .339 .362 .701 1972 21 East. AA 2B-3B 42 131 29 43 13 3 4 26 17 25 5 .328 .424 .565 .989 1972 21 A.A. AAA 3B-2B 26 61 7 13 3 0 1 9 9 7 1 .213 .310 .311 .621 1973 22 P.C.L. AAA 2-3-O 123 491 119 166 22 7 22 90 56 72 17 .338 .404 .546 .950 Player No. 4 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1971 18 Pion. Rookie SS-3B 68 258 44 75 8 5 5 44 32 38 3 .291 .369 .419 .788 1972 19 Calif. A 3B-SS 117 431 66 118 13 5 10 68 53 53 2 .274 .349 .397 .746 1973 20 A.A. AAA 3B-OF 117 405 66 115 16 4 8 64 48 45 3 .284 .352 .402 .754 1974 21 A.A. AAA 3B 16 64 9 17 2 0 2 14 6 1 1 .266 .329 .391 .719
Here are two southpaws who were obviously stud prospects as teenagers. Both became stars in the majors, but one of vastly more magnitude than the other. For which one would you predict the better career? Bear in mind that the minor league classification “A-1” was equivalent to today’s Double-A.
Pitcher No. 1 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1939 18 Texas A-1 11 27 1 1 26 ? 20 14 4.67 1.70 1939 18 Evngl. D 25 163 14 5 102 ? 54 212 2.37 0.96 1940 19 Texas A-1 32 228 20 7 200 ? 82 169 2.88 1.24 1941 20 Texas A-1 25 194 20 3 142 ? 62 151 1.16 1.05 Pitcher No. 2 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1940 18 Pony D 12 66 5 4 53 ? 24 62 2.73 1.17 1941 19 Three-I B 28 212 19 6 154 ? 90 193 1.83 1.15 1942 20 East. A 33 248 17 12 148 ? 130 141 1.96 1.12
All right, it’s going to get tougher now.
Coming up side-by-side in the same organization, for obvious reasons stardom was universally predicted for this keystone pair. (Class AA in 1939-1940 was the highest minor league level, what we now know as Triple-A.) Yet these two would never play together as regulars in the majors, and while one would go on to the Hall of Fame, the other would experience a largely frustrating baseball career and eventually land in prison. Who are they?
Player No. 5 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1937 17 A-M D 2B 127 456 109 153 25 10 10 83 60 49 23 .336 .433 .500 .933 1938 18 Pied. B 2B-SS 132 498 85 161 36 9 9 73 49 58 12 .323 .381 .486 .867 1939 19 A.A. AA 2B 155 580 110 193 44 15 24 107 45 61 12 .333 .378 .584 .962 1940 20 A.A. AA 2B 154 566 92 173 38 10 16 112 71 73 23 .306 .383 .493 .876 Player No. 6 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1937 18 Bi-St. D SS 67 284 53 88 17 5 5 ? 24 21 6 .310 .364 .458 .821 1938 19 Pied. B SS-3B 112 446 97 150 24 10 9 58 33 34 26 .336 .379 .496 .875 1939 20 A.A. AA SS 135 503 99 159 21 6 5 64 36 27 33 .316 .354 .412 .766 1940 21 A.A. AA SS 148 579 124 201 28 10 10 73 48 33 35 .347 .394 .482 .876
Which of these two fireballing young lefties became the bigger star?
Pitcher No. 3 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1981 18 Pion. Rookie 11 76 5 1 43 1 28 131 1.54 0.93 1982 19 Fla. St. A 12 85 8 1 38 3 38 137 1.91 0.89 1982 19 P.C.L. AAA 13 88 6 5 76 13 52 86 5.42 1.45 1983 20 Texas AA 24 153 13 4 111 11 96 209 2.82 1.35 1984 21 I.L. AAA 17 106 6 5 69 2 63 123 2.56 1.25 1985 22 I.L. AAA 5 35 4 1 17 2 21 42 2.04 1.09 Pitcher No. 4 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1985 20 NYP A 8 27 0 3 29 2 24 21 5.93 1.96 1986 21 Fla. St. A 26 120 8 7 89 3 94 133 3.16 1.53 1987 22 South. AA 25 140 11 8 100 10 128 163 3.73 1.63 1988 23 A.A. AAA 20 113 8 7 85 6 72 111 3.26 1.39 1989 24 A.A. AAA 3 18 1 1 13 0 9 17 2.00 1.22
These three were all righthanded batters, and all center fielders at this stage; all would eventually become corner outfielders. Each would blossom into a home run slugger at the major league level. Who are they?
Player No. 7 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1941 18 East. A OF 141 509 94 142 23 7 11 66 89 86 16 .279 .381 .417 .797 1942 19 East. A OF 141 483 84 124 27 7 14 75 87 70 4 .257 .369 .429 .797 1943 20 I.L. AA OF 43 144 22 34 6 2 2 13 31 25 4 .236 .369 .347 .717 Player No. 8 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1955 20 Pied. B OF 122 446 55 114 15 2 5 49 55 92 17 .256 .333 .332 .665 1956 21 Sally A OF 122 344 47 80 10 6 12 55 46 80 10 .233 .335 .401 .736 1957 22 S.A. AA OF 125 395 56 97 14 11 2 38 59 62 9 .246 .341 .352 .693 1958 23 S.A. AA OF 150 525 84 161 28 9 9 93 80 72 10 .307 .396 .446 .841 Player No. 9 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1968 19 NW A OF 72 253 47 70 9 5 3 30 28 20 3 .277 .364 .387 .751 1969 20 Calif. A OF 121 449 68 144 5 8 14 85 37 59 1 .321 .389 .461 .850 1970 21 P.C.L. AAA OF 114 403 54 124 18 6 8 66 41 57 1 .308 .377 .442 .819
Each of these young righthanders put together an individual season of mind-boggling dominance in the low minors, yet neither was nearly as overwhelming in his other minor league seasons. Remember, Class A-1 was what would soon become AA, and in 1941 class AA was the equivalent of Triple-A in later years. Who are these guys?
Pitcher No. 5 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1938 21 A-F D 38 273 25 6 143 ? 125 418 1.25 0.98 1939 22 Texas A-1 11 63 3 5 57 ? 41 38 3.43 1.56 1939 22 Evngl. D 24 173 13 5 137 ? 73 129 2.60 1.21 1940 23 Texas A-1 33 203 12 11 170 ? 92 142 3.50 1.29 1941 24 I.L. AA 33 204 12 12 164 ? 76 204 3.22 1.18 Pitcher No. 6 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1951 20 Pion. C 22 127 3 11 113 3 113 100 4.25 1.78 1952 21 Calif. C 43 300 28 4 250 ? 144 351 2.85 1.31 1953 22 Texas AA 11 52 3 1 59 8 27 42 5.36 1.65 1953 22 West. A 22 162 10 9 139 4 66 114 2.44 1.27 1954 23 Texas AA 9 22 0 1 20 ? 7 13 5.32 1.23 1954 23 I.L. AAA 30 172 12 6 179 5 70 73 3.19 1.45
These two shortstops were in the same organization, and would compete head-to-head for the big league starting job. One of them would go on to become a major league All-Star, while the other would struggle with his hitting (his best OPS+ in his three seasons as a regular was 93), and never really establish himself. Who are they?
Player No. 10 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1950 18 O-I D SS 70 250 31 60 14 3 2 34 38 50 0 .240 .334 .344 .678 1951 19 West. A SS 149 508 49 117 20 2 5 53 48 76 2 .230 .295 .307 .602 1952 20 West. A SS 155 526 61 134 25 4 5 68 83 91 5 .255 .360 .346 .706 1953 21 (In Military Service) 1954 22 (In Military Service) 1955 23 A.A. AAA SS 145 542 72 136 35 3 19 74 55 106 0 .251 .318 .432 .750 1956 24 A.A. AAA SS 86 294 30 79 18 0 3 36 29 51 0 .269 .330 .361 .691 1957 25 A.A. AAA SS 81 318 48 91 26 4 4 35 15 30 3 .286 .318 .431 .748 Player No. 11 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1954 19 Pony D SS 125 440 92 126 23 4 9 85 94 98 7 .286 .413 .418 .832 1955 20 North. C SS 123 452 133 175 28 7 28 111 84 43 6 .387 .481 .666 1.147 1956 21 Texas AA SS 148 482 84 128 23 1 22 90 98 81 8 .266 .389 .454 .844 1957 22 A.A. AAA SS 52 150 21 33 9 1 2 15 26 27 4 .220 .341 .333 .674 1958 23 P.C.L. AAA SS-3B 122 427 104 151 43 4 31 88 82 71 0 .354 .456 .691 1.147 1959 24 P.C.L. AAA SS-1B 41 146 12 38 3 2 4 16 11 28 0 .260 .314 .390 .705
Both of these lefties won a Cy Young Award. Neither is in the Hall of Fame.
Pitcher No. 7 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1968 18 Mdw. A 24 152 8 11 102 4 80 231 2.49 1.20 1969 19 South. AA 15 104 10 3 80 2 52 112 3.20 1.27 1970 20 A.A. AAA 17 133 12 3 88 8 55 165 2.17 1.08 Pitcher No. 8 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1971 20 Appal. Rookie 7 47 2 2 34 1 27 61 2.11 1.30 1972 21 Fla. St. A 15 66 2 4 53 2 50 61 3.82 1.56 1973 22 Carol. A 20 101 7 6 85 4 70 97 2.86 1.53 1974 23 East. AA 37 77 2 4 80 5 53 79 5.26 1.73 1975 24 I.L. AAA 42 62 6 5 46 0 37 76 2.90 1.34 1976 25 I.L. AAA 22 40 5 1 16 0 13 50 0.68 0.73
Each of these young righthanded musclemen was the all-or-nothing poster boy of his generation. None would succeed as a big league slugging star. Who are they?
Player No. 12 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1941 18 Wis. St. D OF 104 409 92 135 29 5 31 117 40 111 15 .330 .390 .653 1.043 1942 19 Three-I B OF 117 373 91 113 18 3 33 91 ? ? 7 .303 ? .633 ? 1943 20 East. A OF 31 114 14 28 6 0 5 25 18 18 1 .246 .346 .430 .776 Player No. 13 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1958 18 Sally A OF 25 88 13 18 2 2 2 10 13 33 0 .205 .317 .341 .658 1958 18 Carol. B OF 65 244 36 55 13 1 10 29 36 84 5 .225 .336 .410 .746 1959 19 Texas AA OF 13 36 5 8 2 0 0 1 4 15 2 .222 .300 .278 .578 1959 19 North. C OF 120 429 98 128 18 9 35 114 76 119 7 .298 .413 .627 1.040 1960 20 I.L. AAA OF 18 50 4 13 3 1 1 4 6 22 1 .260 .339 .420 .759 1961 21 I.L. AAA OF 10 22 0 2 1 0 0 3 4 10 1 .091 .222 .136 .359 1961 21 S.A. AA OF 121 419 61 104 17 7 20 73 62 149 8 .248 .345 .465 .810 Player No. 14 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1970 19 Fla. St. A 1B-OF 114 373 42 92 20 6 9 64 40 83 2 .247 .318 .405 .722 1971 20 Fla. St. A OF 141 488 105 159 28 6 33 110 90 129 6 .326 .446 .611 1.057 1972 21 I.L. AAA OF 49 171 22 39 5 1 11 37 25 62 0 .228 .345 .462 .807 1972 21 South. AA OF 80 292 54 79 19 4 23 70 34 103 0 .271 .358 .599 .957 1973 22 I.L. AAA OF 144 515 96 127 25 5 39 108 69 197 1 .247 .345 .542 .887 1974 23 I.L. AAA OF-1B 25 90 11 25 9 0 5 16 7 31 0 .278 .361 .544 .905 1975 24 I.L. AAA OF-1B 113 362 51 77 7 5 17 50 54 133 1 .213 .329 .401 .730 1976 25 I.L. AAA OF 78 269 46 61 9 2 19 55 42 92 1 .227 .340 .487 .827 1977 26 I.L. AAA DH 5 12 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 5 0 .250 .250 .500 .750 1977 26 A.A. AAA OF-1B 45 160 21 37 9 1 11 31 21 53 1 .231 .324 .506 .830 Player No. 15 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1988 17 G.C.L. Rookie OF 9 26 3 4 0 0 0 0 1 9 1 .154 .185 .154 .339 1989 18 G.C.L. Rookie OF 48 160 23 38 6 2 1 19 19 42 16 .238 .318 .319 .637 1990 19 Calif. A OF 99 331 48 72 13 1 9 40 25 135 17 .218 .272 .344 .617 1991 20 Fla. St. A OF 61 206 18 52 11 2 7 42 7 69 9 .252 .277 .427 .704 1992 21 Texas AA OF-1B 101 380 60 106 23 1 24 66 16 111 13 .279 .308 .534 .842 1992 21 P.C.L. AAA OF 25 95 11 20 7 0 2 10 6 42 1 .211 .257 .347 .605 1993 22 P.C.L. AAA OF 125 482 88 143 31 4 26 100 35 143 6 .297 .344 .539 .884 1994 23 P.C.L. AAA OF 107 388 93 134 19 4 37 105 53 116 6 .345 .424 .701 1.125
The name of each of these righthanders summons forth an image straight out of Agatha Christie: a monocled aristocrat taking tea and crumpets in the conservatory.
Pitcher No. 9 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1958 19 North. C 17 128 9 5 97 6 48 111 2.35 1.13 1959 20 Texas AA 41 191 10 11 218 20 69 119 4.05 1.50 1960 21 P.C.L. AAA 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 9.00 1.00 1960 21 Texas AA 31 188 9 13 164 12 77 120 2.82 1.28 1961 22 P.C.L. AAA 33 219 16 10 208 13 61 95 2.55 1.23 1962 23 P.C.L. AAA 22 156 10 7 128 11 56 136 2.48 1.18 1963 24 P.C.L. AAA 1 9 1 0 3 0 1 7 1.00 0.44 Pitcher No. 10 Year Age League Class G IP W L H HR BB SO ERA WHIP 1962 18 Fla. St. D 11 65 7 2 34 2 19 69 0.97 0.82 1962 18 I.L. AAA 3 13 1 1 18 2 5 6 5.54 1.77 1963 19 I.L. AAA 4 10 0 1 13 2 3 13 6.30 1.60 1963 19 Fla. St. A 20 140 12 5 110 3 59 135 3.41 1.21 1964 20 South. AA 21 139 10 6 124 5 42 149 3.11 1.19 1964 20 P.C.L. AAA 11 57 5 5 40 6 34 49 3.16 1.30 1965 21 P.C.L. AAA 32 122 8 6 104 13 42 112 2.95 1.20
Coming up in the same organization a generation apart, each of these young shortstops had “can’t miss star” written all over him. Both would soon encounter—no, that’s too much of a hint, I won’t tell you that. Both would eventually—nah, I won’t give you that one either. You’re on your own! Who are these extremely colorful guys?
Player No. 16 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1949 18 E.S. D SS 71 304 56 69 14 3 4 30 40 62 26 .227 .307 .332 .639 1950 19 Pony D SS-3B 123 518 146 163 34 5 23 122 51 70 63 .315 .380 .533 .913 1951 20 East. A SS 137 546 94 149 28 2 9 70 24 74 25 .273 .301 .381 .682 1952 21 S.A. AA SS 153 613 107 190 32 7 17 91 25 111 14 .310 .334 .468 .802 1953 22 A.A. AAA SS 81 320 57 96 14 4 23 63 21 50 12 .300 .349 .584 .933 1954 23 A.A. AAA SS 73 268 54 78 9 6 17 53 28 44 14 .291 .361 .560 .921 Player No. 17 Year Age League Class Pos G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS 1968 18 Pion. Rookie OF-SS 62 224 62 63 14 4 6 26 39 27 20 .281 .408 .460 .868 1969 19 P.C.L. AAA SS-OF 111 402 61 104 19 5 3 35 32 57 34 .259 .318 .353 .671 1970 20 P.C.L. AAA SS-2B 146 621 122 211 39 16 14 80 47 51 29 .340 .391 .522 .913 1971 21 P.C.L. AAA SS 7 30 7 10 2 0 1 2 3 6 3 .333 .382 .500 .882
Answers
Player No. 1: Vada Pinson
Player No. 2: Willie Davis
Yowza, were these two prospects impressive! Pinson immediately became a star in the majors, but never a superstar, and he distinctly faded in his late 20s. Davis spent a long time figuring how to hit consistently in the majors; after the way he’d torn the minors apart, for much of his career there was an aura of disappointment around him. Davis hit 26 triples at the Triple-A level in 1960; that is an utterly astonishing feat.
An odd thing about Pinson is that blazing fast and slightly built as he was, he arrived in pro ball as a first baseman, and it took the Reds organization a year to figure out that maybe that wasn’t the optimal position for him.
Player No. 3: Bill Madlock
Player No. 4: George Brett
Seven big league batting titles between them, but neither bagged one in the minors. Brett, of course, greatly credited Royals batting coach Charlie Lau with helping change his batting approach and making him the line-drive-hitting superstar he became. Yet Madlock’s minors-to-majors stats transformation is more significant: It’s Mad Dog who clearly appears to have changed into a far more contact-oriented, gap-to-gap style hitter at the major league level. Brett, though he eventually showed more power in the majors than he had as a young minor leaguer (not just for home runs, but for doubles and triples too), was a put-the-ball-in-play type from the very start.
By the way, Lau’s book The Art of Hitting .300 is a terrific read. It’s easy to see why Lau was so popular and influential as a coach. In every page he comes across as a great teacher: passionate, intelligent, and sensitive.
Pitcher No. 1: Howie Pollet
Pitcher No. 2: Warren Spahn
Through his age-25 season, Pollet was a two-time major league All-Star, with a big league record of 41-21 and an ERA+ of 165. At the same age, Spahn (who’d spent a larger chunk of World War II in military service than Pollet) was 8-5 with a 110 ERA+. Spahn, of course, would wind up with the staggering total of 363 major league wins, while Pollet would struggle with arm trouble and complete a good-but-not-great 131-116 career.
Player No. 5: Jerry Priddy
Player No. 6: Phil Rizzuto
Priddy, powerful as well as smooth, was by far the more impressive athlete between this pair of Yankee prospects. However, the Yanks already had a pretty doggone impressive young athlete handling second base—Joe Gordon—while Rizzuto’s path to the regular shorstop job was cleared by the decline of the veteran Frank Crosetti. Initially in 1941, Yankees manager Joe McCarthy opted to make room for Priddy by converting Gordon to first base, but he didn’t stick with that plan for very long, instead quickly demoting Priddy to utility infielder.
Priddy wasn’t shy about expressing his displeasure with the arrangement, and consequently was sold to Washington. Spending the rest of his career toiling mostly for second-division American League clubs, Priddy was generally excellent, but he never developed into the major star it appeared he would. Most certainly, he never gained anything close to the fame accorded Rizzuto, the darling of New York fans and media. Priddy, always a tough customer, was convicted of extortion in the 1970s.
Pitcher No. 3: Sid Fernandez
Pitcher No. 4: Randy Johnson
Fernandez seems to be almost forgotten already, but at the time there was understandable expectation that he would become a big star. Few pitchers have ever dominated the minor leagues the way he did at ages 18-22; I was among those who considered the Dodgers insane for having traded Fernandez away, at the age of 20, for a couple of mediocrities. While he didn’t ever achieve tremendous success in the majors, Fernandez was very good, a whole lot better than Carlos Diaz and Bob Bailor.
The Big Unit, on the other hand, was a good prospect, but hardly a great one. His fastball was obviously terrific, but his control was seriously problematic. Johnson’s extreme and steady improvement, in his late 20s and on and on into his 30s, is something no one could have anticipated.
Player No. 7: Ralph Kiner
Player No. 8: Bob Allison
Player No. 9: George Foster
Home run power is a talent that often develops in a hitter’s mid-to-late 20s, but very rarely does it burst forth as dramatically as it would for this trio.
Pitcher No. 5: Virgil Trucks
Pitcher No. 6: Larry Jackson
Low minors or not, a season like those doesn’t just grab your attention, it squeezes it in a vise. Each would become a solid major leaguer, but not a big star.
Player No. 10: Eddie Bressoud
Player No. 11: Andre Rodgers
Clearly, the Giants can be forgiven for seeing Bressoud as little more than utility infielder material, while expecting tremendous things from the former cricket player Rodgers.
Few have ever found the step from minors to majors to be quite as daunting as it was for the Bahamian. Perhaps the Giants were impatient with Rodgers, and didn’t give him as full a shot as a major league regular as he needed to gain confidence, but for whatever reason he would spend his big league career alternating flashes of brilliance with extended periods of erratic struggle. Bressoud, on the other hand, was a late bloomer who surprised everyone with three consecutive top-notch seasons for the Red Sox in his early 30s.
Pitcher No. 7: Vida Blue
Pitcher No. 8: Ron Guidry
Blue simply overwhelmed minor league hitters, in much the same manner as he would overwhelm major league hitters in 1970-71. His career and Dwight Gooden’s share so many similarities.
Guidry, on the other hand, wasn’t an especially impressive prospect. He spent much of his minor league career doing something he never did in the majors: struggling with his control. When he finally made the big leagues to stay at age 25, the realistic upside for Gator was to be a good reliever.
Player No. 12: Pat Seerey
Player No. 13: Dave Nicholson
Player No. 14: Jim Fuller
Player No. 15: Billy Ashley
One of the great beauties of the sport is the precarious risk-reward tradeoff it presents to batters, between simply putting the ball in play and hitting it with real authority. A gifted few, of course, have the ability to do both, but for the vast majority of hitters, maintaining an acceptable balance is a never-ending challenge. Case studies such as these four may serve to illustrate just what a narrow margin of error has been braved by successful high-strikeout sluggers, from Ryan Howard to Mark McGwire to Mike Schmidt to Mickey Mantle, and indeed all the way back to Babe Ruth.
Pitcher No. 9: Gaylord Perry
Pitcher No. 10: Ferguson Jenkins
The long careers of these two big, tall, hard-throwing Hall of Fame righthanders display many points of similarity, and one is that neither was dominant in the minors.
Player No. 16: Don Zimmer
Player No. 17: Bobby Valentine
It was not one, but two horrible, life-threatening beanings that forever thwarted the progress of Zimmer, and for Valentine it was a grotesque leg fracture incurred when leaping against an outfield fence. Maybe it’s just the old fart in me, but I often wonder if many young fans even realize that these high-profile managers/coaches/celebrities were once players at all, let alone extraordinarily talented young players.
Admittedly, squaring the image of the bald, rotund, comical figure of “Popeye” Zimmer with that of an abundantly gifted young athlete isn’t easy.