February 8, 2011
6 days until pitcher and catchers
50 days until Opening Day
Rangers third basemen Michael Young is requesting a trade because he doesn’t want to accept a diminished role in Texas. Normally I wouldn’t sympathize with a guy complaining about being paid $16MM to move out of position (the Rangers are suggesting that Young can DH and spell the regular infielders as needed), but I think Young deserves some extra recognition for the accommodations he’s made for his Rangers. He started with Texas as a second baseman, where he played full time for a few seasons. In 2004 Alfonso Soriano showed up in Texas and Young moved over to shortstop. Soriano was gone in 2006 but then Ian Kinsler came on the scene, so Young stayed at short. In 2009 hot prospect Elvis Andrus came up and bumped Young to third base. This offseason the Rangers have brought in Adrian Beltre to play third base, leaving Young out in the cold.
So here is the trivia question: who is the only player in MLB history to start at least 200 games at each of first, second, third, and shortstop? (hint: his career began sometime since 1990)
Baseball birthday: today is Fritz Peterson’s birthday. Peterson had a few good years on a few miserable Yankees teams in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He is best known for, in 1973, swapping his wife, children, and dogs for the wife, children, and dogs of teammate and close friend Mike Kekich. Peterson’s career took a nosedive soon thereafter.
Around this date: in 1889, construction workers in New York are dismantling the Polo Grounds to do some road construction, leaving the New York Giants homeless for that season. This fact is not really that significant other than giving me an excuse to post a picture of the Polo Grounds.
6 days until pitcher and catchers
50 days until Opening Day
Rangers third basemen Michael Young is requesting a trade because he doesn’t want to accept a diminished role in Texas. Normally I wouldn’t sympathize with a guy complaining about being paid $16MM to move out of position (the Rangers are suggesting that Young can DH and spell the regular infielders as needed), but I think Young deserves some extra recognition for the accommodations he’s made for his Rangers. He started with Texas as a second baseman, where he played full time for a few seasons. In 2004 Alfonso Soriano showed up in Texas and Young moved over to shortstop. Soriano was gone in 2006 but then Ian Kinsler came on the scene, so Young stayed at short. In 2009 hot prospect Elvis Andrus came up and bumped Young to third base. This offseason the Rangers have brought in Adrian Beltre to play third base, leaving Young out in the cold.
So here is the trivia question: who is the only player in MLB history to start at least 200 games at each of first, second, third, and shortstop? (hint: his career began sometime since 1990)
Baseball birthday: today is Fritz Peterson’s birthday. Peterson had a few good years on a few miserable Yankees teams in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He is best known for, in 1973, swapping his wife, children, and dogs for the wife, children, and dogs of teammate and close friend Mike Kekich. Peterson’s career took a nosedive soon thereafter.
Around this date: in 1889, construction workers in New York are dismantling the Polo Grounds to do some road construction, leaving the New York Giants homeless for that season. This fact is not really that significant other than giving me an excuse to post a picture of the Polo Grounds.
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This is actually the Polo Grounds in 1954 – the first pitch of that year’s World Series. Not a bleepin’ Jumbotron in sight. Trivia answer: Mark Loretta played 829 games at second, 405 games at short, 234 games at third, and 214 games at first. Since that wasn’t enough variety, he’s even logged a couple outfield innings and appeared on the mound on two separate occasions. Only seven other players have ever started even 100 games at all those positions. |
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