Category: November

NOV 27: Winning all the trophies

NOVEMBER 27, 1956 | NEW YORK, NY – When Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe won the Cy Young award on this date in 1956 he became the only player in major league baseball history to win all 3 major post-season awards: Rookie of the Year (1949), Cy Young Award (1956), Most Valuable Player (also in 1956).

Newcombe was among a handful of Black Negro League stars finally invited to the “White” majors after Jackie Robinson broke the “color barrier” in 1947. According to SABR (the Society for American baseball research), Newcombe was the third black pitcher to appear in a major league game after Dan Bankhead and Satchel Paige.

Contributing Sources:
Don Newcombe bio
Dan Bankhead career stats
Satchel Paige career stats 
Jackie Robinson’s Legacy 

NOV 6 in baseball history – 2020 predictions

NOVEMBER 6, 2020 : Where will your team be in the standings when the 2020 season (how ever it’s set up) comes to a close? Lets see what the number crunching geeks (I say that fondly. I’m one of them) responsible for PECOTA – Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm have to say.

But before you get too excited, or depressed, we’ll look at how accurate PECOTA was in 2019.

November 6th – the American League. November 7th – the National League.

2020 PREDICTED FINAL STANDINGS
AL East

  1. Yankees
  2. Rays
  3. Red Sox
  4. Jays
  5. Orioles

In 2019 the Yankees were favored by PECOTA to win the Division, which they did. Then lost to the Astros in the ALCS.

The Rays were favored to finish 3rd, but finished 2nd. They beat A’s in the 2019 wild card game. Lost to Astros in the AL Division Series

AL Central  

  1. Twins
  2. Indians
  3. White Sox
  4. Tigers
  5. Royals

In 2019 PECOTA had the Minnesota Twins finishing in 2nd, playing just .500 baseball. The Twins took the Division with 101 wins. They were beaten by the Yankees in the ALDS.

AL West

  1. Astros
  2. Angels
  3. Athletics
  4. Rangers
  5. Mariners

PECOTA favored the Astros to win the AL West in 2019, which they did. They made it to the World Series, losing to the Washington Nationals.

Now, it’s a whole new season. How will MLB shake out in 2020? That’s why they play the games.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2019.shtml  2019 final standings
https://www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/  PECOTA Predictions for 2020
https://doublegsports.com/pecota-projected-mlb-standings-2019/  DoubleGSports

Nov 8: It’s the Shirts!

NOVEMBER 8, 2007 | ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – The Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ road to the 2008 World Series started on this date in 2007. More than 7,000 fans showed up at Straub Park in St. Petersburg on a Thursday in November to usher in the age of the Rays, no longer named for a sea creature, but for the ever-present bright light in the sky. There were a number of games during the 2007 regular season where the Devil Rays struggled to get 7,000 fans in the seats.

But this was a new day.

According to the St. Petersburg Times 18 Rays players and a couple former players showed off new uniforms with a new logo and a new name. The players, the manager and the fans were impressed. Veteran Devil Ray Carl Crawford told the Times, “It feels like a fresh start.” Manager Joe Maddon (current Chicago Cubs manager) said, “[They] have a classic look to them… you’re always looking for that symbolic moment to really move on to that next area… getting to the playoffs, et cetera.”

Et cetera ended up being the 2008 World Series. The Devil Rays won just 66 games in 2007 and came in last in the American League East. The following year the Rays with a new name and new uniforms won 97, knocked the White Sox and Red Sox out of the playoffs to get to the World Series, which they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 1.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE:
St. Petersburg Times, November 8, 2007

Nov 4: Tale of 2 franchises

NOVEMBER 4, 2016 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – The Chicago Cubs were welcomed home by millions on this date in 2016 after winning their first World Series Championship in 108 years.

How long is 108 years? Well, the last time the Cubs were the last team standing was 1908. The New York Yankees had yet to win their first World Series in 1908. In fact they weren’t even called the Yankees yet. They were known as the Highlanders.

Which shows how dominant the New York Yankees have been over the decades. Also on this date in 2009 the Yankees won their 27th World Series Championship.

Did you know the last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series the Yankees had won none? In fact they weren’t even called the Yankees. They were the New York Highlanders in 1908.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2009_WS.shtml
Cubs post-season results

NOV 3: Holy cow!

NOVEMBER 3, 1968 | ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – Harry Caray came close to packing it in long before he became the colorful play-by-play man for the Chicago Cubs. He was seriously injured when he was struck by a car while trying to cross a St. Louis street on this date in 1968. Caray was the Cardinals play-by-play man at the time. Both his legs were broken, his shoulder was dislocated and he suffered facial lacerations.

While Caray was in serious condition for a time he recuperated in time for the 1969 baseball season. That would be his 25th and final year with the Cardinals. He was abruptly fired after the season, the reasons were never officially disclosed.

Caray did play-by-play for the Oakland A’s before heading to Chicago in 1971 for an almost 3 decades long love affair with Chicago baseball and the city’s night life. He did White Sox games for 11 years – his tradition of singing “Take me out to the ballgame” started at Comiskey Park. He jumped to the Cubs in 1981 where he remained at the mic until his death in 1998.

Contributing sources: 
Chicago Tribune, “Card ‘Voice’ Seriously Hurt by Car,” November 4, 1968
Harry Caray