Baseball thread No. 7: Somebody slip the pinstripers a Mickey

He should have certainly had to wait to get in the HOF for such despicable comments.

 

Because all the guys who played in the 80s hopped up on cocaine were so much more of a role model. And what's with calling out Derek Jeter? The guy's never been nicked for roids, never killed anybody and never shot himself in the leg.

 

On Friday, Jacoby Ellsbury tied the Red Sox's single-season franchise record with his 54th stolen base -- Tommy Harper stole 54 bases for Boston back in 1973.

That struck me as a low "leading" total for a franchise that's been around for more than a century, so I sorted them by total. Turns out only the Rangers have fewer SBs for a "franchise leader."

Here's the list:

Franchise leaders, single-season steals

1. Reds: Hugh Nicol (1887), 138 -- modern: Bob Bescher (1911), 81
2. A's: Rickey Henderson (1980), 130
3. Cardinals: Arlie Latham (1887), 129 -- modern: Lou Brock (1974), 118
4. Phillies: Billy Hamilton (1891), 111 -- modern: Juan Samuel (1984), 72
5. Giants: John Ward (1887), 111 -- modern: George Burns (1914), 62
6. Dodgers: Maury Wills (1962), 104
7. Nationals: Ron LeFlore (1980), 97
8. Tigers: Ty Cobb (1915), 96
8. Pirates: Omar Moreno (1980), 96
10. Yankees: Rickey Henderson (1988), 93
11. Twins: Clyde Milan (1912), 88
12. Braves: King Kelly (1887), 84 -- modern: Otis Nixon (1991), 72
12. Cubs: Bill Lange (1896), 84 -- modern: Frank Chance (1903), 67
14. Royals: Willie Wilson (1979), 83
15. Mets: Jose Reyes (2007), 78
16. White Sox: Rudy Law (1983), 77
17. Indians: Kenny Lofton (1996), 75
18. Brewers: Tommy Harper (1969), 73
19. Diamondbacks: Tony Womack (1999), 72
20. Angels: Mickey Rivers (1975), 70
20. Padres: Alan Wiggins (1984), 70
22. Rockies: Willy Taveras (2008), 68
23. Marlins: Juan Pierre (2003), 65
23. Astros: Gerald Young (1988), 65
25. Mariners: Harold Reynolds (1987), 60
25. Blue Jays: Dave Collins (1984), 60
27. Rays: Carl Crawford (2004), 59
28. Orioles: Luis Aparicio (1964), 57
29. Red Sox: Tommy Harper (1973), 54
30. Rangers: Bump Wills (1978), 52

("Modern" being defined as 1901-present, although perhaps 1894-present would be more accurate for this category, since that's when the mound was moved back to 60'-6".)

 

No surprise. Until this year, the Rangers were the last bastion of old-school AL station-to-station baseball.

 

Nice work, Buck. Crawford seems like a lock to raise his total, and it looks like Bourn's got a chance for Young's Astros record.

 

Jeter absolutely refused to get off his lawn.

 

God don't make 'em better than that.

 

Now Rice is saying he was misquoted. :

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AjmB0j2lwxB9A6__rPQ9vvs5nYcB?slug=ge-rice082109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

Loved how Edes finished the story: "Misquoted?" Jeter said. "How was he misquoted?"

Even if Rice didn't say those things about Jeter, he still told a bunch of kids at the Little League World Series how much better the game was when he played, before dreadlocks, baggy pants and bloated salaries.

OK, grandpa.

 

A day late, but yesterday was the anniversary of ...

1887: Phillies’ pitcher Dan Casey struck out in the 9th inning of a game against the New York Giants. The event inspired Ernest L. Thayer to write the classic poem "Casey at the Bat."

 

well worth the acknowledgment. thanks, X-man.

 

Where did you get that, Xan?

"Casey at the Bat" -- which is wholly fictitious, anyway -- is generally assumed to have been inspired by a game in or involving a team from Stockton, Calif.

Besides, the Dennis/Dan Casey claim has been debunked since the 1930s: http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dennis_Casey