11 Days Until Spring Training: Buck Showalter

When Buck Showalter was growing up in the 1960's in small town called Century on the panhandle of Florida, Little League games drew a crowd. The town had a beautiful, well-lit baseball field, so on countless summer nights hundreds of townspeople would gather to watch the kids play. Considering Buck's childhood home bordered on the field, perhaps it isn't much of a surprise that he took a liking to the game at a very young age. It also helped that, in addition to being the principal of the local high school, his father was also coach of its baseball team.

Buck took his smooth and level left handed swing to college at Mississippi State and was named an All-American in 1977. He batted .459 that year, splitting his time on defense between first base and the outfield. Despite having little to no power, he was drafted by the Yankees in the 5th round that year and assigned to A-ball in Fort Lauderdale.

As his college pedigree predicted, Showalter had the ability to hit for average and that skill carried him steadily through the Yankees' minor league ranks. Buck slapped his way to a .324 average at AA Nashville and led the Southern League in hits during the 1980 season which earned him a call up to AAA in 1981.

Unfortunately, Buck hit the wall in Columbus. He spent all of '82 back in Nashville, led the Southern League in hits for the second time and earned himself one final shot at AAA in 1983 where he struggled against superior pitching once again. Even if he had figured out International League pitching, Showalter's path to the Bronx would have been blocked by Don Mattingly.

He was briefly converted to a pitcher himself in an effort to salvage his playing career but it seemed as though Buck's life in baseball wasn't meant to take place on the field.

Having always displayed a natural baseball acumen, Showalter moving right into coaching after his playing career was over. He started off with the Yankees' New York Penn League team in Oneonta in 1985 and led the squad to a 106-41 record in his two years at the helm. That earned him a promotion to Fort Lauderdale where he presided over two consecutive winning squads.

His continuted success earned him a promotion to the Albany Colonie Yankees (AA) in 1989. It was that season in Albany that really jump-started his managerial career. His team went 97-46, he won Baseball America's Minor League Manager of the Year and was given the position of third base coach for the Yanks in 1990. Showalter replaced Stump Merrill as manager of the Big League club in 1992.

After going 76-86 in '92, Showalter guided the Yankees to a second place finish in 1993 with 88 wins. When the strike stopped the 1994 season, their winning percentage was even better (.619) and they were on pace to win over 100 games. Showalter was named AL Manager of the Year but they would have to wait a bit longer to break the Yanks' long playoff drought.

In the strike-shorted 1995 season, Showalter led the Yankees to their first postseason in 13 years. Although they lost to the Mariners in 5 games, it was clear that the organization was healthier that it had ever been. They had plenty of young talent on the team with much more waiting in the wings in the minors. However, this wasn't enough for George Steinbrenner. The Boss demanded that he fire two of his coaches after losing to the Mariners, but Showalter refused. Instead, he got the axe himself.

It didn't take long for Buck to land on his feet. He was quickly snatched up by the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks two years before they were scheduled to play a game. He was active in the construction of their roster and eventually served as their first manager. He led them to a 100 win season in 1999 and left after an 85 win campaign in 2000, just before the D-Backs unseated the Yanks in the 2001 World Series.

His last managerial tenure came in Texas from 2003-2006. He was 10 games under .500 during that stretch and was eventually replaced by Ron Washington. Since then, he has served as a senior advisor for the Indians and an analyst for ESPN.

Much of Showalter's success was attributable to a strong work ethic which, along with he stern demeanor, he was said to have inherited from his father. He worked so much that according to legend, he found himself inside a grocery store for the first time in 5 years during the 1994 strike.

Due to some unfortunate timing, Showalter never really got the credit he deserved for the role he played in turning the Yankees around. Had Steinbrenner not demanded that he unload two coaches after leading the team to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, Buck could very easily have been at the helm of the late 90's dynasty. He ducked out of Arizona just a bit too early as well.

Showalter has begun to make appearances at Old Timer's Day and was included in the video montage during the last game at the Old Yankee Stadium. Perhaps Buck will never receive the adulation that many contributors to the Yankees dynasty do, but fans who watched the team closely during the early 90's or understand the club's history know how much he meant to the franchise.

21 Days Until Spring Training: Spud Chandler

(Relax, Joe is going to do one on good ol' Paulie O'Neill later)

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if you're reading this blog, you probably weren't alive to see Spud Chandler pitch. His last appearance was on October 2nd, 1947, so you would have to be at least 69 to stake a reasonable claim to remembering him as a Yankee, even during his last season. Neither of my parents were alive at that point, but praise be to the bounty of these here interwebs, I can hop on Baseball-Reference and Wikipedia and write him a mini-biography like I'm his agent or something.

Chandler grew up in Jaw-juh, and was a three sport athlete at UGA, playing halfback for the football team, pitching for the baseball team and running track.

If I told you Mr. Chandler had a ten year career, you'd probably guess he started when he around 23-26 and retired at about 33-36. Oddly, he was born in 1907, but didn't make his debut until 1937, in his age 29 season after spending five years in the Yankee farm system. Lots of guys make their major league debuts at 29, not many of them have 10 year careers. He started only 12 games in '37, but threw six CGs, including two shutouts.

The following season, he threw 172 innings to a better than a league average ERA, but had a microscopic 36 strikeouts. At age 31, he was relegated to only 11 relief appearances and looked as if he was headed out of the league. In 1940, he was re-installed into the rotation and for the next three seasons complied successively more innings, more strikeouts and a lower ERA, setting the table for his 1943 season.

Granted WWII inflated the stats of the bona fide Major Leaguers that were still around, but Spud Chandler's 1943 season was still pretty damn incredible. The marginal pitcher I just described to you, at age 35, busted out with 253 innings of a 1.64ERA and a .992 WHIP, gave up only two home runs all season and went 20-4. He received 246 out of a possible 336 points in the MVP vote and pulled off the rare feat of winning the award as a pitcher. He pitched two complete games in that World Series, including a CG shutout in the clinching Game 5.

In 1944, after starting only one game, Spurgeon F. Chandler was enlisted in the Army. He returned towards the end of the 1945 season but appeared in only 4 games.

At age 38, Spud had another truly great year. He set a career high in IP (257.3), strikeouts (138), and shutouts (6) and had a 2.10 ERA with a 1.12WHIP. Spud made the All-Star team and even got a few points in the MVP voting again. Starting only 16 games in his final season (1947), he still pitched to an ERA a full run lower than league average (2.46).

Chandler was a part of three World Series winning Yankee teams (1941, 1943, 1947) and was named to four All-Star teams. He had one of the odder career trajectories and had one of the finer seasons ever as a Yankees pitcher. Yankee history is somewhat lacking in the pitching department but Spud is one of the more interesting characters of the bunch, even if he wasn't one of the greatest.

Number of Days Until Spring Training: Buck Showalter (#11)

Fittingly, Buck Showalter got overshadowed today.

If the Super Bowl wasn't yesterday, this piece would have been written last night, and Buck would have had the 6:00AM slot. His career as Yankee Manager was similarly overshadowed and under appreciated.

Buck was born to be a baseball man. He has a very baseballey-sounding name. When he was growing up in Century, Florida, Little League games were the most popular summertime activity. Every night there was a game, a couple hundred residents would gather under the lights to take in the action. Buck didn't have to travel very far to catch the games, because his backyard butted up against scoreboard of the field. His father was the Principal of the local high school and coach of the baseball team, in case you were wondering where Buck got his stern demeanor.

Unfortunately, Showalter wasn't born to be a baseball player. He spent seven years in the Yankee organization and had relatively good minor league numbers, but never played a game on the big stage because he was blocked by Don Mattingly. William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter got his nickname for the state of undress he used to walk around the locker room in.

After his playing career, Buck went on to manage in the Yankees system, starting with Oneonta, moving to Fort Lauderdale, and ending up with the Albany Colonie Yankees in 1989, who went (97-46) and won him the Baseball America's Minor League Manager of the Year. He was promoted to the Yankees major league coaching staff in 1990 and replaced Stump Merrill as Manager in 1992.

After going (76-86) in '92, Showalter guided the Yankees to a second place finish in 1993 with 88 wins. When the strike stopped the 1994 season, their winning percentage was even better (.619) and they were on pace to win over 100 games. The Yanks made the playoffs in 1995 for the first time since 1981 by earning a Wild Card berth.

His personal clashes with George Steinbrenner ultimately led to him leaving the team before the 1996 season. After losing to the Mariners in the '95 ALDS Steinbrenner wanted Buck to fire two of his coaches, and when he refused, Buck got the axe himself. After having set the table for St. Joe and the late 90's dominance, he moved on to the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks. He led them to a 100 win season in 1999 and left after 2000, just before the D-Backs unseated the Yanks in the 2001 World Series.

I was at a game earlier this year and they had Buck pull the Metlife countdown lever. There was a smattering of applause, but not real love for him. I was pretty surprised. Yankee fans pride themselves on their appreciation for the team's history, and to some extent, the indifferent reception to Buck's appearance that night makes me question that.

Number of Days Until Spring Training: Several Individuals I'm Guessing You've Never Heard Of (#14)

To figure out who we are going to do for what number, for this countdown, we use YankeeNumbers.com. To switch it up a bit, I looked through the 88 players who donned the number 14 for the Yanks over the history of the franchise, and plucked out a few random guys with odd or old-timey sounding names and Baseball-Referenced them. The results are shown below.

• Rugger Ardizoia -One of only six Italian natives to ever play in the Major leagues, he pitched in exactly one game for two innings on April 30th, 1947. He gave up two runs in a 15-5 loss.
  


• Harry Bright - A true journeyman, Bright spent time on 14 different minor league teams in 5 different Major League organizations. He played every infield and outfield position along with catcher. As a Yankee, Harry had the honor of being struck out by Sandy Koufax in the 1963 World Series for a record 15th K in a WS game. Bright hung up his cleats in 1965 and went on to become a minor league manager and scout.
  


• Monk Dubiel - Brother Dubiel made his major league debut with the Yankees at age of 26 in 1944. He threw 232 innings at a slightly better than league average ERA and went 13-13, which was easily the best season of his career. Each proceeding year he threw fewer and fewer innings until 1952, when he threw only 2/3 of an inning for the Cubs and was out of the league.
  


• Lonny Frey - Linus Reinhard Frey, to be exact. Lonny actually spent 14 seasons in the majors and was a pretty solid offensive force for a second baseman. He was a Yankee for only 24 games at the end of 1947 and 1 game in 1948, during which he had a .410 on-base, but only a .250 slugging percentage.
  


• Bump Hadley - Spent five years in Pinstripes (1936-1940), and collected World Series rings in each of his first four. He had a winning recordas a starting pitcher in each season as a Yankee, but never pitched more than 178 innings although he averaged 252 over his four seasons prior to coming to the Bronx. Next time someone complains about innings limits and pitch counts, mention Bump Hadley. They won't have any idea who you're talking about unless they are an 80 year-old die hard baseball fan with an incredible memory, but do it anyway.
  


• Hank Johnson - Johnson made the big leagues at age 19 and was both a starter and releiver for the Yanks from 1925-1932. He defected to the Red Sox the following year and made stops in Philadelphia and Cincinatti before his career was cut short by chronic bursitis.
  


• George Pipgras - After brief stints in the Majors in 1923 & '24, Pipgras's official rookie campaign came on the legendary 1927 Yankees. The following year he threw 300 1/3 innings and led the AL in wins. He also won Game 2 of the World Series in '28, helping the Yankees sweep the St. Louis Cardinals for their second title in a row. He game up through the Red Sox organization and finished his career with them as well. After his playing career, in additon to being a Major League umpire, he spent time as a scout for the Sawx as well.
  


• Butch Wensloff - After throwing 223 1/3 innings to a 2.54 ERA in 1943 Wensloff was employed in a war-plant and served in the Army for three years. When he returned to the Majors again until 1947, he threw 51 regular season innings and tossed two scoreless frames in the World Series.

And last but not least...

• Cuddles Marshall - Wondering why a grown man would want to be referred to as "Cuddles"? Well, his real name was Clarence Westly Marshall. C-Money tied the record for the best single-season ERA by a relief pitcher in 1948. He threw one inning, gave up three walks, but did not surrender a run. His Yankee career lasted three years, and in 132 1/3 innings, his ERA was 5.17.

Aren't you happy you got through this entire post?

[silence]

No one?

[silence]

Fuck... I should have done Lou Pinella.

Number of Days Until Spring Training: #21 (Spud Chandler)

[Ed. Note: This is the first of two #21 posts today. Later, Joe will weigh in on Paul O'Neil.]


I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if you're reading this blog, you probably weren't alive to see Spud Chandler pitch. His last appearance was on October 2nd, 1947, so you would have to be at least 68 to stake a reasonable claim to remembering him as a Yankee, even during his last season. Neither of my parents were alive at that point, but praise be to the bounty of these here interwebs, I can hop on Baseball-Reference and Wikipedia and write him a mini-biography like I'm his agent or something.

Chandler grew up in Jaw-Juh, and was a three sport athlete at UGA, playing halfback for the football team, pitching for the baseball team and running some track.

If I told you Mr. Chandler had a ten year career, you'd probably guess he started when he around 23-26 and retired at about 33-36. Oddly, he was born in 1907, but didn't make his debut until 1937, in his age 29 season after spending five years in the Yankee farm system. Lots of guys make their major league debuts at 29, not many of them have 10 year careers. He started only 12 games in '37, but threw six CGs, including two shutouts.

The following season, he threw 172 innings to a better than a league average ERA, but had a microscopic 36 strikeouts. At age 31, he was relegated to only 11 relief appearances and looked as if he was headed out of the league. In 1940, he was re-installed into the rotation and for the next three seasons complied successively more innings, more strikeouts and a lower ERA, setting the table for his 1943 season.

I'm not that familiar with the effect that WWII had on most major leaguers' stats, but I've got to assume that Spud Chandler's '43 season was still pretty damn incredible. The marginal pitcher I just described to you, at age 35, busted out with 253 innings of a 1.64ERA and a .992WHIP, gave up only two home runs all season and went (20-4). He received 246 out of a possible 336 points in the MVP vote and pulled off the rare feat of winning the award as a pitcher. He pitched two complete games in that World Series, including a CG shutout in the clinching Game 5.

Take a close look at ol' Spud's face.
That's some good old fashioned gentlemanly hatred.

In 1944, after starting only one game, Spurgeon F. Chandler was enlisted in the Army. He returned towards the end of the 1945 season but appeared in only 4 games.

At age 38, Spud had another truly great year. He set a career high in IP (257.3), strikeouts (138), and shutouts (6!) and had a 2.10ERA with a 1.12WHIP. Spud made the All-Star team and even got a few points in the MVP voting. Starting only 16 games in his final season (1947), he still pitched to an ERA a full run lower than league average (2.46).

Chandler was a part of three World Series winning Yankee teams (1941, 1943, 1947) and was named to four All-Star teams. He had one of the odder career trajectories and had one of the finer seasons ever as a Yankees pitcher.

[P.S. To all this people who hate stats (I'm looking at you Jon Heyman and Murray Chass), first of all, I hope you trip over your walker. Second of all, without stats this post would not have been possible. I'm sure you crotchety old fucks love a good history lesson and if we didn't record and analyze stats we couldn't look back at things and put them in perspective. Maybe you resent the fact that I was still 37 years from being born when Spud threw his last pitch and Murray Chass was already on his second marriage, but seriously, there are plenty of places to project your impending death. Leave stats alone.]

[Ed. note: There are some serious fucking inconsistencies between Spud Chandler's Wikipedia page and his B-R page. Obviously I went with B-R on every single one, but does anyone know how to go about fixing such things? I will do it when I get some spare time.]