A casket made out of toothpicks: RIP, UL Washington

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Some of those all-glove, no-hit shortstops of the day evolved into decent hitters, like Ozzie Smith.

Ozzie put together one of the great lines of all-time in 1987: .303-0 HRs-75 RBIs-43 SBs-89 BBs-36 Ks-.392 OBP-.383 SLG. Most RBIS w/o a HR since 1940 (Luke Appling). Only one other player since 1900 has had 0 HRs, at least 75 RBIs and a higher OBP than SLG (Bobby Wallace of the 1907 Browns). Also was worth 2.4 in defensive WAR. Solid player!

 

[ChrisLong]

Back in the day, the story on UL Washington was that when he was conceived, the first thing his father saw was a label on the cord of a lamp next to the couch.

 

[Tighthead]

Better hitter than I remembered. Thought for sure when I looked him up on B-R that he'd have a negative WAR, like so many middle infielders of my youth, but he actually does just fine.

There's so many middle infielders who were regulars back then that would never get a whiff of the bigs today. Even those renowned for their "glove work" wouldn't make the cut as there were no advanced range stats back then to show how truly effective they really were. Modern stats expose a lot of those dudes.

Doug Flynn in Montreal. No homers in 1200 or so at bats over 3+ seasons, didn't steal bases. Had one gold glove from gears ago and I now suspect his range was poor.

I found a discussion on Reddit with him having a -6.9 bWar which is apparently poor.

 

[YMCA B-Baller]

Doug Flynn in Montreal. No homers in 1200 or so at bats over 3+ seasons, didn't steal bases. Had one gold glove from gears ago and I now suspect his range was poor.

I found a discussion on Reddit with him having a -6.9 bWar which is apparently poor.

Yeah. He's a good shout. Even before he was in Montreal and playing for the Mets.

Quick look at the advanced stats does suggest Flynn is a classic good fielding percentage vs. questionable range guy. To be fair, fielding percentage at second base is probably about as close as you can get to being even with range as part of the job description. His Gold Glove year (1980) was the one time his range stats were above average.

He was also an affable guy who was also probably considered a good clubhouse type which never hurts. Probably not an accident he started with the Reds and finished with the Tigers. Sparky Anderson managing both clubs.

 

[Songbird]

Some of those all-glove, no-hit shortstops of the day evolved into decent hitters, like Ozzie Smith.

I'd rather not think about it lol.

Right before this they showed a graphic that Ozzie had never hit a left handed homer. forking Niedenfuer.

 

[da man]

I'd rather not think about it lol.

Right before this they showed a graphic that Ozzie had never hit a left handed homer. forking Niedenfuer.

NEEEEEEDEN-FUERRRRRRRR?

DEAD!

 

[micropolitan guy]

I'd rather not think about it lol.

Right before this they showed a graphic that Ozzie had never hit a left handed homer. forking Niedenfuer.

Go crazy!

 

[Octave]

The toothpick-ed bandit was the second-most famous native of Stringtown, Okla. ... behind Reba McEntire. May he rest in peace.