Let’s Remember a Guy!

[dslaw]

As a Reds fan I loved Redus when he came up. Centerpiece for the new Big Red Machine!! Until reality hit and he became a guy good enough to play in the majors but nothing special. The Reds did get John Denny for him in a trade. Denny was once included in a trade for Bobby Bonds who is the father of Barry Bonds who has the most HRs in MLB history*. So Redus must have been really good.

[revo]

Today's Guy

Mitchell Page
Imagine playing fantasy baseball in 1977 -- even before Judge Jude's time! -- and taking a flyer on Mitchell Page, a rookie who made the A's out of spring training having never played in the majors before, in your draft or auction, and getting the following:

.307/.405/.521
21 HR
75 RBI
85 R
42 SB

Mitchell Page was Mike Trout before there was a Mike Trout!

Page was involved of two of the biggest heists of the decade. First, he was traded to the A's, along with fellow prospects Tony Armas, Doug Bair and Rick Langford and two veteran pitchers (Doc Medich & Dave Giusti) for Phil Garner, who was seeking a big payday in those early days of free agency, and a washed up Tommy Helms. What.....the......F.......

And second, Page didn't even win the AL Rookie of the Year Award! He finished 2nd to Eddie Murray, in what has to be considered a crime today, as he finished with a 6.1 WAR to Murray's 3.3.

Page had a similar season in 1978, but with some expected regression (mainly in SBs, as he dropped to 23), before injuries ruined a promising career that concluded in 1984 (although he did not get more than 100 ABs in any season after 1980).

Page became an MLB coach upon retirement and he died in 2011 at age 59.

BTW, I love all those baseball cards with the Rookie trophy!

That's today's guy, Mitchell Page!

[revo]

Today's Guy

Tippy Martinez
I have to admit, until just a few minutes ago, I thought Tippy & Dennis Martinez were brothers. Or cousins. They're not! No relation. In my recollection, Tippy was always an Oriole, but in fact he was included in an under-appreciated 1976 deal with the Yanks:

June 15, 1976: Traded by the New York Yankees with Rick Dempsey, Rudy May, Scott McGregor and Dave Pagan to the Baltimore Orioles for Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman and Grant Jackson.

That's a total landslide for the Birds. Martinez became the O's late inning reliever for the next 11 seasons; McGregor became a 13-year rotation fixture; Dempsey became their starting catcher for the next 11 years; and May won 29 games over just 1 1/2 seasons for them. The key piece of the deal for the Yanks, Ken Holtzman, was a massive bust as a Yank (he struck out a minuscule 2.8 K/9 over his 2-season Yankee career) and the rest were inconsequential.

Tippy had a 14-year career, mainly with Baltimore, and his best season was 1983, when he was the closer for their Championship team and posted a 2.35 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 21 Saves & 9 Wins.

That's today's guy, Tippy Martinez!

[Sharky]

Fun. I vaguely remember Tippy. I’m only 42 though, so will have to dip into the early 80s guys for me. Random requests:

John “Candyman” Candelario - played softball with his niece years later
Frank “Sweet Music” Viola - just loved the nickname
Any Washington (UL, Claudell, etc. Were they related?)
Pedro Guerrero — this guy killed my Mets again and again
John Tudor, Tommie Herr — See Pedro

[cleo]

Not sure if you are taking requests, but Billie Joe Robidoux (loved to say that guys name) and Terry (fat tub of goo) Forster would be good ones.

Also if you ever get to include Keith Comstock, be sure to include his 1989 Las Vegas Stars baseball card. Best Card EVER!!!

[revo]

Fun. I vaguely remember Tippy. I’m only 42 though, so will have to dip into the early 80s guys for me. Random requests:

John “Candyman” Candelario - played softball with his niece years later
Frank “Sweet Music” Viola - just loved the nickname
Any Washington (UL, Claudell, etc. Were they related?)
Pedro Guerrero — this guy killed my Mets again and again
John Tudor, Tommie Herr — See Pedro

My favorite player transitioned from Steve Garvey to Pedro Guerrero to Kirk Gibson to Eric Davis. All from my beloved Dodgers. Garvey still rates first, but Pedro was the heart and soul of my teen years. Of course, Pedro was traded for Tudor as well. He was close to death a couple of years ago, I was heartbroken. Glad he recovered.

[onejayhawk]

With all this Dodger talk, why has no one mentioned

[rhd]

Today's Guy

Tippy Martinez
I have to admit, until just a few minutes ago, I thought Tippy & Dennis Martinez were brothers. Or cousins. They're not! No relation. In my recollection, Tippy was always an Oriole, but in fact he was included in an under-appreciated 1976 deal with the Yanks:

June 15, 1976: Traded by the New York Yankees with Rick Dempsey, Rudy May, Scott McGregor and Dave Pagan to the Baltimore Orioles for Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman and Grant Jackson.

That's a total landslide for the Birds. Martinez became the O's late inning reliever for the next 11 seasons; McGregor became a 13-year rotation fixture; Dempsey became their starting catcher for the next 11 years; and May won 29 games over just 1 1/2 seasons for them. The key piece of the deal for the Yanks, Ken Holtzman, was a massive bust as a Yank (he struck out a minuscule 2.8 K/9 over his 2-season Yankee career) and the rest were inconsequential.

Tippy had a 14-year career, mainly with Baltimore, and his best season was 1983, when he was the closer for their Championship team and posted a 2.35 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 21 Saves & 9 Wins.

That's today's guy, Tippy Martinez!

As a lifelong O's fan, I have fond memories of Tippy. One game sticks out in my mind that I dont recall ever happening before or since. In an extra-inning game in Toronto, he picked off 3 straight runners on 1B to save a game. I think he either walked or hit each batter that he faced in the inning and then picked off each one. Dont remember the year but either late '70s or early '80s.

BTW, I always knew he wasnt related to Dennis, as Dennis is from Nicaragua and Tippy is from Colorado.

[pitbull]

Tippy got 3 outs in 1 inning by picking off 3 runners on 1st. That's quite an achievement.

[revo]

Today's Guy

Kris Benson

Kris Benson was the 1st overall pick in the 1996 Draft, and while he did have a 9-year MLB career spanning from 1999-2010, he was very disappointing and was largely overshadowed by his wife, former stripper and America's Most Wanted contestant Anna.

Benson proved to be an early peaker, where in college he dominated at Clemson and was a member of the 1996 US Olympic Team -- the last US Olympic baseball team made up of amateurs -- which was closely followed by his two best MLB seasons: his rookie year of 1999 and follow-up year in 2000. But then TJ surgery KO'd him for the 2001 season and he was never the same. In yet another deal where the Mets got hosed, on July 30, 2004 the Pirates traded them Benson and all his baggage for Ty Wigginton and minor leaguer Jose Bautista (yes, that Jose Bautista).

After two years of the team being thoroughly embarrassed by his wife in the media, and thinking he was more trouble than he was worth, the Mets shipped him to the Orioles in 2006 for closer Jorge Julio (who himself was shipped away by the Mets just a month into the season for Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez) and pitcher John Maine, who proved to be a better pitcher than Benson ever was in the majors.

Benson missed the entire 2007 and 2008 seasons with arm injuries, and sputtered through the '09 and '10 seasons before hanging them up.

Benson went on to finally divorce his wife in 2012.

That's today's guy, Kris Benson!

[Ken]

After two years of the team being thoroughly embarrassed by his wife in the media, and thinking he was more trouble than he was worth, the Mets shipped him to the Orioles in 2006 for closer Jorge Julio

If you are going to associate today's guy with a picture, I just feel like a picture of Anna Benson would have been more topical. You know, just for research purposes.

[revo]

If you are going to associate today's guy with a picture, I just feel like a picture of Anna Benson would have been more topical. You know, just for research purposes.

Fixed.

[dslaw]

If I remember correctly the O's were out of catchers so Len Sakata was behind the plate. Everyone knew the steals were coming and the Jays were going to win until Tippy put a stop to it. Won't get him in the HOF but awesome story.

[revo]

Today's Guy

Jeffrey Leonard
Whether you call him "Hac Man" or "One Flap Down," love him or hate him, the mercurial Leonard is one of forgotten stars of the 1980s. He began his career as a Dodger, but was traded to the Astros in 1978 for catcher Joe Ferguson. Leonard is known as a power/speed guy, but in his rookie year of 1979, he had 411 ABs with zero HRs. He didn't have a good 1980 season either, hitting .213/.274/.333, and argued with Astros manager Bill Virdon who benched him frequently, and was finally traded to the Giants two weeks into the 1981 season for a washed-up Mike Ivie (ouch).

Leonard blossomed immediately with SF, hitting .307/.371/.535 in 37 games over the rest of the '81 season. He had an injury plagued 1982 season, and finally busted out in 1983 with a 21 HR, 26 SB campaign, solidifying himself as the Giants main offensive weapon and team captain. He was caught up in the "Pittsburgh Drug Trials" during the 1985-1986 seasons, and was initially suspended for the entire 1986 season before commissioner Peter Ueberroth commuted his sentence to probation with a fine of 10% of his salary.

Around 1986, he changed how he wanted to be called from "Jeff Leonard" to "Jeffrey Leonard," saying he thought "Jeffrey" was more fitting a captain. And although he was captain of his team, he frequently berated young teammates, leading to scuffles over the years with Dan Gladden and Will Clark, and he may have created the biggest scorn for himself during the 1987 NLCS against St. Louis, whose fans derisively yelled "Jeffff-reeeeyyyyy" and booed him. He launched 4 HRs during the series and unveiled his "One Flap Down" on his slow HR trots that riled up the Cards and their fans, and despite losing, was named the series MVP, the last player on a losing club to have done so.

His run in SF ended when he was traded to the Brewers for Earnest Riles in 1988, and then signed with the Mariners as a free agent before ending it with KC in 1991.

That's today's guy, Jeffrey Leonard!



Leonard's "One Flap Down" HR trot during the 1987 NLCS:

[B-Fly]

I've always loved players who were good at triggering road-fan hatred, like a good wrestling heel. Leonard was a great one.