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Episode 30 - 1926 World Series- Hall of Famers Galore
36 Plays1 year ago
The gang breaks down a jam packed World Series between the Murderers Row Yankees and a stacked St. Louis Cardinal team with Rogers Hornsby and Grover Clevland Alexander.
Find out everything you need to know about the Only World Series to end on a runner being caught stealing.
Twitter- https://x.com/TheCOBPodcast
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Transcript
Yankees Panic and World Series Preview
00:00:02
Speaker
Well, as Josh would say, the sky is falling! The sky is falling! The sky is falling! We're all worried about, you know, all of a sudden the sky is falling. What's up, everybody? Welcome to another episode of Championship World Bus with Mac, Zach, and Josh. As mentioned before, the Yankees are on a bit of a slide, but that's all right. We still have Juan Soto and we're going to do really well, although some of us want to trade him for some reason. But it is 1926. The Yankees are in the World Series, but they do not win against the St. Louis Cardinals. um We have a ton of new legends coming up today, including some real all-time great upper echelon guys and then some guys who really should not be remembered the way that they are.
00:00:42
Speaker
So I'm going to turn it over to Josh. um Mr. Sky is falling chicken little to discuss 1926 rather than 2024. Go ahead, Josh. All
Babe Ruth's 1926 World Series Antics
00:00:54
Speaker
I'm saying is that the Yankees pitching was overperforming and you could see that the collapse was inevitable. And now the collapse has happened. If the team is really this bad, team is really this bad, and Soto's not going to be fine, then you should trade him for assets. No, you should not. We should enjoy this season. Just have a Coke and a smile and enjoy the season. I mean, if you want to be a regular season champion, that's great, but that's not the kind of... Right. We're canning this for 20 minutes down the road.
00:01:25
Speaker
Anyway, 1926. St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees. The Cardinals would win the National League by two games, the Yankees win the American League by three games. In game one at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees would send their only 20 game winner that season, Herb Penocton-Mound. Taylor Douthit would lead off the game with a double, and score on a sunny gym bottomly bloop single. Yankees would score a run on a bases loaded fielder's choice ground ball off the bat of Luke Gary's tie of the game. In the bottom of the third, Babe Ruth singles, and Bob Musil bunts him over. But Ruth split his pants sliding into second, prompting the radio announcer to exclaim, Babe is the color of a red brick house.
00:02:08
Speaker
And they ended up sending out the team trainer to sew up Ruth's pants, which the crowd thought was the funniest thing they've ever seen. That's awesome. That is great. ah So the score was still tied at one apiece in the bottom of the sixth when it started raining. Ruth blind a single, passed third baseman, Bob Musil sacrificed Ruth to second. And Garg followed up with a single, scoring Ruth giving the Yankees a lead. Pennock would finish the game in the rain, giving up one run on three hits and striking out four. So game two, so Grover Cleveland Alexander take the mound for the Cardinals. The 39-year-old veteran who they claimed on waivers earlier in the season. Wow. And the Yankees would get to him in the second inning with an RBI single from Tony Lazary that scored Lou Gehrig. And then about it later, Lazary stole home plate thanks to a throwing error by Alexander. The Cardinals would strike back in a third, the two RBI single from Jim Bottomley, and the Cardinals would take the lead in the seventh with a three-run home run from Billy Southworth and then add another home run
00:03:04
Speaker
with an inside the park homer from Tommy Thieve now and take the game six to two time series on the team now you just said every Hall of Famer ever and I was really enjoying that run that was
00:03:18
Speaker
After Game 2, the series shifted back to St. Louis, where the teams took trains down there down to Missouri. The mayor of St. Louis ended up ordering that the workday end early so that the teams could be welcomed in to the to the train station. Cardinals players were treated like champions by the fans and citizens. And ah player manager, Roger horns rogers Hornsby was given a brand new Lincoln sedan priced at $4,000. God, incredible. ah Paid for by the city's top businessmen and each member of the Cardinals team got a new hat and new pair of shoes and an engraved white gold watch. What? They really love their team. I'm jealous. That's sick.
00:03:59
Speaker
So game 3 would feature knuckleballer Jesse Haynes for the Cardinals up against Yankee Southball Dutch Ruther. The first training of the game was rather uneventful before a 30-minute rain delay in the fourth. When a delay was over, the Cardinals brought out the bats. Following a single, a sack bunt, and a walk, a throwing error would bring home the first run of the game. This was quickly followed up by Jesse Haynes. Yes, knuckleball pitcher Jesse Haynes hitting a two-run home run. The Cardinals would add another run in the fifth, thanks to Billy Southworth beating out a throw home on a ground ball. The Yankees would not be able to score any runs if the Cardinals pitching staff get up just five hits and are out to a 4-0 victory.
00:04:36
Speaker
Game 4, so Waitehoy take the matter for the Yankees, his 4th World Series appearance. He got early help from Babe Ruth, who had a solo home run in the 1st inning. The Cardinals, however, would tie the game in the bottom of the inning on a Rodgers-Hornsby RBI single. In the 3rd, the Yankees would get the lead back on Babe Ruth's 2nd home run of the game, and then another run in the 4th inning on a Joe Dugan RBI double. The Cardinals would strike back for 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the 4th, thanks to a Tommy Thieve now double, a pinch hit sack fly from Specs, god i' to say hiss name horriblely
00:05:08
Speaker
tor for sirs to Torpor sirs, I can't even I'm sorry. That one's really hard.
Critical Plays and Key Players in the 1926 World Series
00:05:14
Speaker
it's Okay. i I don't think I can get it either hi And in a Taylor Douthit double ah The Cardinals nearly scored another but Babe Ruth gunned out Douthit trying to score from second on a single Yankees would load the bases in the fifth and knocking four runs to take back the lead while batting around and then it would tack on three more runs to blow the game wide open in the sixth Babe Ruth would hit his third home run of the game Those claim this was the longest home run ever hit in st. Louis. Oh
00:05:41
Speaker
And now this series has also produced one of the most famous anecdotes in sports history and I'm sure you guys have heard this one or or have heard it parody at some point because I swear to God every TV shows parry at this at some point. ah And this involved Babe Ruth and Johnny Sylvester Sylvester was an 11 year old kid from Essex Falls, New Jersey. He was supposed to be he was hospitalized after falling off of a horse. Uh, Sylvester asked his father to get him a baseball autograph by Babe Ruth. Uh, so prior to the world series, the boy's parents sent messages to the Yankees, uh, when they were in St. Louis asking for an autograph ball. Um, and the team ended up getting a package with two balls, one autographed by the entire Cardinals team and the other from some of the Yankees players, including a personal message from Ruth telling him that he was going to hit him a home run.
00:06:28
Speaker
in Game four in which he had three home runs Wow and the newspapers reported that Sylvester's condition had miraculously improved umliev So, yeah, I'm sure I'm sure you guys have heard that yeah parry it at some point but This is where that story started well series, right? Say that again. That'll be the first three home run game I think he did it twice. I Mean that's a pretty impressive feat in an era where guys were not hitting home runs to hit three in a game Yeah. Oh, here we go. Babe Ruth did it twice. Reggie Jackson, Albert Puholtz, and Kung Fu Panda, Pablo Sandoval. Kung Fu Panda, baby. So five times ever, he was the first and second.
00:07:17
Speaker
Series tied, game 5, would feature a rematch of the game 1 starters. The game was quiet until the Cardinals scored the first run of the game in the fourth inning on a less-bell RBI single. In the sixth, Yankees would tie it on a coning RBI single, and in the seventh, the Cardinals would get it back on an O'Farrill RBI single. Yankees would tie the game in the top of the ninth, on a pinch hit RBI single from Ben Paschel. In the 10th, at their intentionally walking guard to load the bases, Tony Lazari would hit a sack fly to give the Yankees a lead. That's all they would need to secure the win. Both Pennock and Sherrill would throw complete games. Pennock would come out on top this time.
00:07:54
Speaker
Game six, so the Cardinals jump out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. Runs coming off, a Jim Bottomley double and a Les Bell single. The Yankees would not answer back until the fourth, where Bob Musil tripled and an RBI ground out from guard would get him on the board. The Cardinals would get that run back in the fifth and then pile five more on in the seventh. The seventh inning was a complete disaster for the Yankees. A throwing error from the catcher set everything up and was capped off by a Les Bell home run. They could just scratch across one run in the bottom of that inning, but that's all they got, and the Cardinals would end up tying a series with a statement 10-2 win in Forza Game 7.
00:08:29
Speaker
Game 7 would feature two future Hall of Famers on the mound, Jesse Haynes and the Cardinals, Wade Hoyt for the Yankees. The Yankees would strike in the bottom of the third inning, Babe Ruth hitting another solo home run. In the top of the fourth, the Cardinals would strike back. After a single, and then an error on a ground ball to the shortstop, a Bloop single would load the bases. Bob O'Farrill would come to the plate and fly one out to left field where Bob Musil would drop the ball. Run-runner would score, the bases remaining loaded, and Tommy Thieve now would get up and hit a two-run single to take a 3-1 lead, all three runs unearned. In the sixth, the Yankees would get one of those runs back on a Hank Severi double. Yankees would load the bases in the seventh inning, and the Carls had to pull Haynes through a blister.
00:09:13
Speaker
and the Cardinals would put in Grover Cleveland Alexander one day off of throwing a complete game and according to popular legend alex Alexander told Hornsby his strategy for getting Laziri he would get a strike and he would throw him an inside fastball Hornsby warned him that was Laziri's favorite pitch Alexander told him Laziri would hit a foul don't worry about it then I'm gonna give him a curveball and strike him out and Hornsby said how am I gonna tell you who had a pitcher to pitcher go do it First two pitches thrown by Alexander Tlaziri was a strike and a ball. On a third pitch, Tlaziri hit a foul ball down the line. Looked really, really close to going to stand for a grand slam, but then a curved foul. And Alexander threw him that curve ball, got him the swing and miss, struck him out, end of the inning. Ending the Yankee throw. Did exactly what he said he was going to do. And the next inning, Alexander would go back out there, get the Yankees out in order. And the ninth inning, still a one-run game. Two outs, no one on. Babe Ruth works a walk.
00:10:11
Speaker
And then he decides he's going to steal second base. And he gets thrown out. And the series is over. The Cardinals
Hall of Fame Debates
00:10:17
Speaker
win. This is the only time a World Series has ever ended on a caught stealing. terror the vabe And Ruth said to reporters that he thought that nobody thought he was going to run. So he could get the second and then if Musil behind them got a hit, he could score.
00:10:36
Speaker
That's just insane. Insane thinking. That's not a horrible, horrible, horrible way to end the World Series. Yeah, that's awful. Wow. The ah the Grover Cleveland Alexander stuff is like reminding me of Mad Bum. I know that's much, much recent, but that's that's crazy stuff too to come and just start a complete game. Go through three innings. Pretty insane. I feel like a a little off topic, but I feel like it's worth mentioning because you know this is now ah important. ah the ah negro leagues had the world series this year. And ah Claude red Grier. Pitched a no hitter in game three. This was the first postseason. ah No hitter or perfect game in major league history. Don Larson did it nearly thirty years later. Wow. So that happened in nineteen twenty six. Oh man. Well tidbit for you. I never knew that. I've done Larson's the longer the only one. Wow. Yeah. You said perfect game.
00:11:35
Speaker
uh... no-hitter no header-hitter okay so he joins Roy Halliday too yes and uh... combined no-hitter but I really wouldn't I would not count that all combined no-hitter okay yeah yeah the one they asked for is dead against the fillies we're cool though oh yeah I thought he meant he threw a combined no-hitter no no and that will bring us into our hall of famers we got a long game today boys we will start with our favorites the umpires Bill Clem, again, is back for another World Series. What a legend. As well as Hank O'Day. What are they talking, by the way? Just asking for a friend. What? When is our last World Series? Do you know off the top of your head? When is whose last World Series? The umpires. Bill Clem's last one? Good question. I'll find that out right now. I'll get back to you on that. Let's see. He worked 18 World Series. Oh, okay. Never mind.
00:12:34
Speaker
So he'll be around the while, yeah. He was active until 1941. So he worked the record 18 World Series, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1912, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 29, 31, 32, 34, and 40. So he'll be around for a while. We got to throw him a party when he retires. Absolutely.
00:12:59
Speaker
Of the 16 major league teams that existed during his career, all but one appeared in the World Series that he officiated. Wow. That's unbelievable. What a stat.
00:13:10
Speaker
That is crazy. He definitely needs to go in the white party. That's why he's in the Hall of Fame. So going into the losing New York Yankees, we welcome back manager Miller Huggins, who ah now had his fourth pennant. He's now one and three in the fall classic, and he's still number 10 between Joe Torre and Bobby Cox. We have Mr. Wait Hoyt, his fourth appearance. He's now one and three. He had a one and one record with a 1.2 ERA, which is weird because he threw 15 innings and gave up eight runs, but only two of them were earned, which was talked about before. Uh, tended to strike out to walk ratio and he's still hanging out in the basement with his buddy, Herb Penick. Herb Penick was in his fourth appearance as well. He is two and two though, cause he was on another team before the Yankees.
00:13:55
Speaker
2-0, 1.23 ERA, 3 earned runs and 22 innings pitched. So, pretty pretty good performance. I can see why he might have gotten some votes at the time, but in retrospect he probably shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. um Going to the polar opposite of the basement. We have Babe Ruth the number one left fielder of all time seventh appearance now um Well, not now has four rings, but still has his four rings. ah He had 300 with a 1.448 OPS We already talked about a three home run game But he did have another home run in the series and five RBI with ah six for 20 throughout the series so maybe the best power performance in a world series to date and
00:14:35
Speaker
that I can think of at least, yeah but definitely up there. um We go from a number one left fielder to a possible number one first baseman. Welcome to Championship War bust, Mr. Lou Gehrig, Hall of Fame class of 1939, and obviously a very special election held when he had ALS. He was a two-time MVP. nine top five MVP finishes. He led the league in batting average once, on base five times, home runs three times, runs batted in three times, career 1,995, runs batted in, 2,700 hits, 493 home runs, and obviously how the legendary streak of games played. So he hit 340 on his career, had a 1.08 OPS and a 113 career war. I'm gonna ask you guys to see a Hall of Famer.
00:15:24
Speaker
obvious when the goats I think you have to be on crack to say no yeah pretty much not only do I have him in but I have is the number one first baseman of all time I think should be yeah I think it's a no brainer me like you have Albert Pujols who competes I could definitely see an argument there but I have him there for now I'm moving forward to a more questionable one. ah orl combs but shareship bus mr Earl Hall of Fame class of 1970 through a veterans committee. He peaked at 16% of the vote with the BBWA. 45.1 career war, finished sixth and eighth in MVP voting.
00:16:11
Speaker
um with a career of 325 batting average, 859 OPS and 125 OPS plus, 1,866 hits in 1,400 games, but only hit 58 home runs in 633 RBI. um I do think his lack of MVP votes are a function of the fact that he was a lifelong Yankee playing with Ruth Garreg and Lizzieri. What do we think? I'm sorry. ah This is Zach's kind of player. Very much so, right? Yeah, it's fine. I'd still go no, though. It doesn't... I don't know. Get out! I don't know. No way. there's no there's There's no shot you're telling me this is a no for you. There's just no way. I don't know. Wait, Mike, did he ever lead the league in hits? Did Earl Combs lead the league in hits? I don't believe so. Yes, once. This year, 1927. Next year, sorry, 1927.
00:17:06
Speaker
Ledlegan hits 231 in 1927, yes. He had 200 hits in three seasons. Ledlegan triples three times. Am I going to sound controversial? I don't know. I feel like I'm going to... I feel like I'm leaning no. E-356 that year and didn't get an m mean and didn't get an MVP vote back. Yeah, that's nuts. I don't know. I'm i'm still leaning no, actually. I don't can't tell you why. Wow. This ah this is an absolute bamboozling to me. I mean, I can tell you why. I mean, this is your guy. I should add 45.1 career war. I apologize. I didn't mention that earlier. Well, there you go. Well, go ahead, Sherman. I'd say yes. You say yes? You had a very short career. What? You had a very short career. Wow. You had a very short career. He's one of the best contact hitters in baseball. It's very obvious.
00:18:02
Speaker
This is ah much different than I expected this to go, but okay. I have him as a no. I have him as the top ah in the basement. I have Gail Murphy as my bottom Hall of Famer, and I have Raul Combs as the top guy out. But i could definite I see where you're going. I mean, it's definitely a borderline case, a tricky one. I mean, he played for all intensive purposes, 11 years, and he has a 325 average. if I mean, listen, if he played even five more years, it it would be no It would be no question. He he would easily soak up more war, he'd easily soak up more hits, and we wouldn't even be having this debate.
00:18:43
Speaker
The last year he played, he had 282. He didn't start playing until he was 25. Yeah. It's valid, I mean, like and he also was a big part of three title teams. Yeah. But I think part of it was just the mystique of being part of Murderer's Row. It's hard for me to get past the MVP finishes and it's hard for me to get past such low career totals. I know we got a late start. Kind of a parallel low key with much less power as Aaron Judge. The 350 hit her in the playoffs. That boosted up. Clearly the the voters back then seemed to prioritize playoff performance a lot more than they do today.
00:19:23
Speaker
cause guys like for pennant get in guys like wait wait get in and guys like girl combs get in when i don't think if they were up now they would have i also i'm kind of with you mac i like the the low cure tone i guess is what's really bugging me but i mean i do see sherm's argument but i don't know i just i just can't i would say no i mean considering your favorite player in the world is andra ben and tendie i can't believe you're saying no to this He's not been in that day. He's been in like a hundred these days. Yeah? And how bad do you want him to be a Yankee? At the time I did want him to be re-signed, but I'm happy I didn't.
00:20:04
Speaker
He ain't got that dog and I'm waiting for a do-go. Oh, how's he doing now? Yeah, there you go. This guy is falling. This guy is falling. This guy is falling.
00:20:16
Speaker
moving forward welcome they play if they play more than two than two playoff games this year i'll be i'll be absolutely shocked well going through other yankees and support staff welcome to championship robust tony lizzieri who josh mentioned a few times prior he is a five-time champion who mainly played with the yankees a late hall of famer he was in the class in 1991 so he got in well after all combs um He was in through a Veterans Committee, but he peaked at 33.2% with the VVWAA. Has two top five MVP finishes, four top 20 MVP finishes, a 292 batting average, 846 OPS, and a 121 OPS plus. 1840 hits in 1740 games, 178 home runs, almost 1200 RBIs, and a 47.6 war. What are our thoughts? See, I want to hear Zach on this one. Oh, jeez.
00:21:08
Speaker
now I don't know why. I like this better because the Five Rings really sells me on it. You know? oh but the But the four wasn't? Jesus Christ. I sound like an idiot today. I don't think you do. I'm still gonna i'm so i'm gonna go yes on this guy. It's like a gut feeling. Josh? Uh, hmm.
00:21:38
Speaker
I'm gonna go with no. Zachy, we are on point today. What are we not, Mikey? I mean, it's tough. I don't know. This one's tough. It is. These are hard. That first grade chemistry, my man. I mean, this one's, this one's. Like I said, a hard day. He played really, he played really, really well in the beginning of his career. You know, he had a really good MVP years and then it kind of just collapsed.
00:22:07
Speaker
but yeah he And he doesn't he doesn't quite have the war He has basically the same war as our Combs that's true I don't disagree with that, but I think combs that it better occur See, I think Lazary had a slightly better career. I have him in. I think part of my reasoning was because, like growing up, when I heard about Murderer's Row, I always heard Ruth Garrett and Lazary. I never heard Earl Combs as much. So I think that might have kind of clouded my judgment a little bit. But I have that rule, once someone's in, I don't take them out.
00:22:39
Speaker
But it for that reason, I get a little more hesitant about putting new people in. um I have him 14th among second baseman, behind Nelly Fox and above Billy Herman. And I think Billy Herman is actually my bottom Hall of Fame second baseman. So in this series, he for lack of a better word, he sucked. um He hit 192 with a 453 OPS, went 5 for 26 with a double. um But a rough series for him moving on to the winning st. Louis Cardinals will start with our return Hold on hold on before it before you go any further here. I gotta ask you. I gotta to ask you a question here now ah So this guy is a Hall of Famer Right, right second baseman, right? Right. you You already know where I'm going with this, right? and know you going with this Yes
00:23:20
Speaker
So how is he a second? How is he a Hall of Famer? And you tell me, Chase, at least not. Please, please. OK, well, for one, he had two top five MVP finishes when Ali didn't have one. um For two, he was a main member of five championship teams when Ali won. The war. Yeah, fine. Not super worried about that. um I just see Lazaria is more synonymous with history and I think it's a different era. So offensive statistics are not going to be as high as they were. in 2024. If you give me- You're not going to win five rings in a row. But if you give me this exact player with these statistics retiring in the year 2017 or 2019, I'm saying no. Yeah. It's a different game.
00:24:03
Speaker
Okay, at least um um I'm glad you have a coherent explanation at least. ah And we'll definitely come back to that, as we, I'm sure we will several times before his all offing journey comes to an end. Moving forward to the winning St. Louis Cardinals, we have manager Billy Southworth. He's in it he's here as a player again. I mentioned him once in the 1924 episode. um He's a Hall of Fame manager, not a player, but he did play very well as a player in this one, so I wanted to acknowledge it. 345 batting average, 10 for 29, with a double or triple a home run and four runs batted in. um I'll save his rating for when we get to him as a manager, because we'll definitely well be talking about him again.
00:24:45
Speaker
Grover Cleveland Alexander's the second appearance last time was 1915 so 11 years later. He's back This is first and only ring 2 and 0 with a 1.33 ERA I have him number 11 as a pitcher level 5 sandwich between Cy Young and Warren spawn Now we start with the newbies. Not going to be a difficult one to start, but they will get... that Actually, the difficult ones are kind of done. I'm not going to lie. You're going to have pretty much layups from here. But, welcome championship robust, Mr. Rogers Hornsby. We're going to start easy because, my lord, he was a bad man.
00:25:19
Speaker
He received 46.5% of the vote in his inaugural year of the Hall of Fame in 1936 when he was still an active player. ah He wound up getting in on his fifth try in 1942, but technically that's when he would have been eligible with today's rules. He wound up receiving 78.1% of the vote by the BWAA. But that's not an accurate reflection of what he was able to do. He won seven batting titles. He led the league in on base nine times, slugging nine times, OPS 11 times, hits four times, doubles twice, home runs twice, and runs batted in four times. A career 358 batting average. Just missed the 3,000 hit club by 70, but he only played 2,259 games.
00:26:00
Speaker
um He had a career 1.010 OPS with 1584 runs batted in two MVPs a runner-up and two triple crowns and oh by the way Josh for you 127 wins above replacement Wow 127 oh my god. I know the Sarah metric nerds are enjoying themselves without one right now I mean, this guy's one of the best players of all time. There's no doubt about that one. Reading off those stats is just unbelievable. I didn't know him on the triple crown three times. Yeah, I wouldn't even call him one of. I have him as the number one second baseman of all time. Yeah. Welcome to the pod, Mr. Hornsby. In this series, he was OK. He had two fifty seven for twenty eight with a double four runs batted in. Now we get to three newbies. None of them are really going to be that hard. Spoiler alert.
00:26:50
Speaker
Welcome to the Chambers River Bus gym, bottomly. Hall of Fame class in 1974. Career 310 batting average, won an MVP, has two top 10 MVP finishes, including the one win. 2,300 hits and 219 home runs. Leggo League and runs batted in twice, home runs once, and hits once. A career 35.8 war. Oh. Is he a Hall of Famer? Oh boy. all the dead air i guess it was harder of than i thought ah it is i guess uh yeah i mean this actually is kind of hard i didn't expect that but uh i am going to go with negatory i'm also going to go no i guess get the one good mvp and bianco no as well wow i i have him at the top
00:27:36
Speaker
of my basement uh at number 22 uh just below Keith Hernandez who ends up level one just i'd rather say top of what his name this above isn't it but in this year's he did play very well he hit 345 with an 8 15 ops 10 for 29 and three doubles you're welcome mr bottomly Uh, Chick Hafey, welcome championship robust. Chick Hafey played 13 years with the Cardinals and Reds, made the Hall of Fame in 1971 as a Veterans Committee selection. He finished top five in MVP voting once, never finished above 12 other than that. He won a batting title in 1931, has a career 317 average, a career 898 OPS, but a career 1466 hits, 164 home runs, and 833 RBI, 31.3 war.
00:28:24
Speaker
Is he a Hall of Famer? Sorry, no. No, like, not even close. Right. I also have him at the top of the basement of left field, number 20, between Minnie Minnioso, who ends level one, and I have Chick Heafy above nobody, because all the other left fielders made the Hall of Fame. ah He hit 185 in the series, the 444 OPS, two doubles and seven strikeouts. Ouch. But welcome, Mr. Heafy. Looking forward to seeing you. Last but not least, we have Jesse Haines. Well, I'll go share with you a robust Jesse Haines. Hall of Fame class of 1970. So one year before Chick Heathy, but also as a Veterans Committee selection, he had a career 210 and 148 record. Now keep in mind the era when I say this, he had a 3.64 ERA, 981 strikeouts, and he finished eighth in MVP voting one time.
00:29:24
Speaker
Career 32.7 war. Is he a Hall of Famer?
00:29:30
Speaker
No. ah Yeah, no. Zach, you all saved the trouble. He's not. I have him at the bottom of the basement, actually. Not just in the basement, but I have him below Rube Markhord in the basement. He's 2 and 0 with a 1.08 ERA in this series So he did play very well five sh strikeouts and nine walks, which is kind of weird, but only two earned runs So kind of inch in what a world does this man make the Hall of Fame? That's how the Veterans Committee was man. That's why like when we talk about like how significant how how heavy and significant and elitist the Hall of Fame is I Look back and I'm like this guy this guy. Yeah, this guy went to games three times in his career. I That was like not a hard thing to do back then. That's why I'm going to be honest with you, Josh. I mean, like relatively speaking, Chase Utley, if we're comparing every person in the Hall of Fame, should be in the Hall of Fame.
Willie Mays Tribute and Greatest Players Discussion
00:30:27
Speaker
so But you still have to vote for him. I still will not vote for him. Here's the thing. Harold Baines, who everyone clowned, is one of the worst selections ever. He's not even the top 25 worst selections ever.
00:30:37
Speaker
I mean, Howard Bain should be clowned. you real I agree. It might be the worst selection of the last 10, 15 years. There's at least 25 guys in the hall that are dumber picks. slow am yeah I get that. It's funny. There's some 800 hits. yeah The 200 wins for this guy really stuck out to me because nobody does that anymore, right? But all the other numbers are just not good. Yeah, but the flip side is everybody did it back then. Right. So that's the tricky part. The 3.64 ERA is an eyesore for that. yeah And strikeouts weren't as big at the time because everyone was hitting for average. So I get that. But the ERA is just tough to swallow. The war is tough to swallow. Yeah. and Just a no.
00:31:23
Speaker
But that wraps up this year Hall of Famer and we can now move into the current events. All right. Before we get into the regular schedule programming, we're going to be very late on this news, obviously, because it takes me a minute to edit and all that. But Willie Mays didn't pass away last week or two weeks ago at this point, the age of 93. I did want to bring this up. It's one of the best center feelers of all time. So I did want to SMAC for the record where he had him on his list and where he compares to everybody else like mantle and all that stuff. So go ahead. So it's actually kind of an interesting debate, and i I didn't prep you guys for this, but I do think it's kind of a good organic one. ah To answer your question, I do have him as in a noble insider fielder of all time, level 5. That did not change with the news. I always had him there. um Just to kind of go through the resume.
00:32:09
Speaker
um 20 all-stars 22 seasons one championship three pennants So we'll be hearing from him actually four pennants, but he lost three of them So we'll be hearing from him a lot in the future two MVPs two runner-ups twelve gold gloves um Led the league in home runs four times stolen pieces four times slugging percentage in OPS five times each a career 302 batting average obviously 660 home runs 3,283 hits, 1900 runs batted in, obviously an incredible career, um was the ultimate five-tool player when he played um from all accounts a classy guy um off the field, will definitely be sorely missed. And the real question is, now that I got the respect stuff out of the way, um the debate seemed to be,
00:32:59
Speaker
when Willie May has passed, who is now the greatest living player in baseball history? oh Does anybody have an answer? I know I put you guys on the spot and I'll absolutely come back to you on it or we can cut this out. No, that's a great question. Please keep in mind, Hank Aaron passed away. Yeah. I want to say about a year ago. Wow. You have Dorothy, you have bonds. I mean, in terms of pitching, Siever and Gibson passed away recently.
00:33:31
Speaker
That's a good question. I was no longer with us. Yeah. I'd probably say either bonds or a rot and you're going to hate me for that, but yeah. I mean, I'm kind of with you on that, but I know Josh ain't going to feel that way. Josh.
00:33:48
Speaker
ah I mean, I would stroll away from a hitter on this one and I would probably put my money on someone like Randy Johnson. Ooh, that's a really good pick. Actually, that's great he Johnson, Roger Clemens. Like those guys are still, those guys are still really good and really alive. Yeah. yeahy Johnson, drugmatics Pedro. Yeah. Right. There's also, there's definitely a lot of pictures in there. I mean, ah with ray Johnson won four. So how young is in a row? Yeah. In the 2000s. That's a good one. not easy it's a real good one percent valid
00:34:24
Speaker
I overlooked that for sure. I mean, the greatest living player didn't change in the last week with all sincere respect to Willie Mays. The
Yankees' Performance Issues and Trade Speculations
00:34:33
Speaker
greatest living player was and still is Barry Lamar Bonds, his godson. Okay. All right. And I think that's actually the feeling that Willie would want to have. Yeah. Yeah, sure. We'll go with that. I won't say anything else. Oh, boy. But I will say his statement Um, actually kind of made me change my tune a little bit with the discussion that we had last week, uh, with, uh, the neighbor league stats being integrated as part of the major league stats. In his final statement released to the public, he mentioned that like how it warmed his heart that those stats now counted. And to me, if that brought a smile to a guy like Willie Mays in his final days, who went through all of the bad things that he went through, the unspeakable things that he went through, I
00:35:21
Speaker
Who am I to say that it's wrong? Right. So I've definitely done a whole 180 on that whole debate because of seeing that statement. Cause clearly if it, you know, at first I was like, who is it really for? If it was for Williams, that's enough. I can get behind that. It's a shame. He wasn't able to make it, um, to that Rickwood game in Alabama. Um, more of a tribute thing for him. That's okay. But yeah. But honestly, it was a very well-timed tribute if you want to look at it that way. Right, yeah. All right, we get into the fun stuff now. I've been waiting a minute to hear Shurm's rant on this, but I'm going to set him up all nice. Oh, i didn't know I didn't know there was a rant coming today. I was hoping for one, but we're just going to talk about the Yankees. the If you really think about it, they've lost a lot of the big series they've had this year. They can win against Baltimore.
00:36:20
Speaker
LA trounced them, Atlanta beat up on them too. And now they're going to lose, they lost to Toronto and Toronto's not even good. And and the Mets, the Mets embarrassed them as well. Um, nobody's hitting except for judge and Soto for Dingo cooled off. Uh, Glaber is playing himself out of the contract. So, so what, ah so what I'm hearing is that a team that made no effort to get better is not better. Made no effort to get better state. They got Soto that they did try to get better. this is a basketball or one guy makes a team don't have his he was terrible they they tried the players are performing they can't do you know if they tried they tried they wouldn't their best picture wouldn't be clark smith this year uh... he'll he's you know the best pictures garick cole this year he's rehabbing mike i don't know if you know this he he's actually rehabbing in the majors because they needed him that bad i'm aware yes but they
00:37:16
Speaker
That's not Cashman or Boone's fault that he got hurt. What do you want him to do? No, I know. The thing is that I can't stand Boone when he goes, I'm not going to sugarcoat it, and then sugarcoats it. Yeah. I'd rather Boone just sit there with the stupid look on his face than he usually has and just go, I don't know. Because that would make fans probably happier than the dumb crap that comes out of his mouth. No, I agree with that. But I mean, right now, we're hitting a bit of a slide. Let's enjoy the ride. And then in October, we can both be upset. and then we can cry then, but why add to the misery? Let's enjoy the good times with Juan Soto. Why are we going we got to stop the trade Soto? Yeah, I mean, might as well enjoy it for the one year he's here. We're not going to, we know damn well he's not getting traded. Yeah. So why are we trying to like not enjoy the time? Cause in 20 years from now, we're going to remember Juan Soto, even if he's only here a year. Enjoy this while it does not happen. or go for
00:38:14
Speaker
If the Yankees don't win this year, and this is the only year that Soto is here, you're gonna look back on it and tell him he's like, hey, remember that one year that Soto was a Yankee? And he'll be like, oh yeah, that did happen. It's not gonna look back on fondly or anything. Well, especially with the season Aaron Judge is having right now, I do think that, you know, if Aaron Judge ends up hitting 60 again... This is the same that happened when Judge wouldn't hit 60. The rest of the team was hot trash and he carried the team on his back.
00:38:45
Speaker
now he has a now he Now at least he has a second guy that can carry a team on his back every couple of games. Problem is, their pitching somehow got worse. If you're the other team at this point, and you just you walk subtle and judge, you don't or you pitch around them, how is that not your plan? Why are you pitching to those guys? Because the rest of the team can't hit at all. Who thought who thought that we'd stand this much? I didn't think so. That was the first thing I was going to say about this is the idea that, I mean, even if you use him as a decoy, he clearly matters. We had 50 armors. Yup. He's playing actually pretty well. It's unbelievable. and Having three hitters do their job instead of, and having now two hitters do their job instead of three makes a big difference. I mean, yeah, Vopey's been all right also this season. I know he's having a bit down now, but he's been all right. Yeah, but he's not going to carry your off. That's already seen a pitch stream.
00:39:40
Speaker
use the setup man. But if he's setting up for nothing, well that's a problem. So we're not trading so I don't want to hear none of it, sure. I understand being frustrated, but trading him for Alec Manoa is not my biggest thrill in life. You're not going to trade him unless you're getting some kind of ridiculous return out of it. Let's be real. What would be a ridiculous return to you? You've got to get a team's one, two, and three prospect and somebody that's already established. Basically the same thing you gave up for him. I'd like Drew Thorpe back. No. He looks good. I'd love to Thorpe back right about now. He looks good. Does he? Yes, and he's a sweet pitcher. He looks better than Cortez, looks better than Rodan. Rodan might be the worst signing I've ever seen. Yeah. Drew Thorpe is 2-0-1 with a 4.43 ERA. That's what we want back. He skipped triple A. listen that's a skip triple a
00:40:37
Speaker
This is his major league numbers. No, I know. I'm saying he skipped triple A. Give him give him a break. Unbelievable. He's 23. Hasn't had his inevitable major injury yet. Yeah, that's what I worry about what guys like schemes to. That's why I didn't. Yeah, I see. Yeah, okay. You can say that Thorpe has a bad ERA. Yeah, he threw one bad game. The other two games, he went five innings. He had one run, six innings, no run, six innings, two runs. He had one bad game. In one bad start, four. and he skip We have Rodan that goes out there and has a one has a bad start every other game. yeah ah um' I'm OK with that.
00:41:15
Speaker
Yeah, he had the one bad one. That's an outlier right now, but we'll see what happened. We saw what happened with you see Rodan's last three starts five runs seven runs eight runs 442 era good, but at this season his first four games he looked elite How much money Rodan is getting paid? How much money Rodan is getting paid? My point is that drew Thorpe is eventually probably going to get figured out the same way the other guys did I So we're gonna trade Juan Soto to for that. If I had a bus,
Playoff Prospects and Fan Aspirations
00:41:48
Speaker
and I could put four Yankees in it, and we drove it out of the state, Rodan would be on that bus. He'd be driving the goddamn bus. I'd have Clay Holmes on that bus. all yeah i still ah i would have actually I would have Aaron Boone strapped down onto the roof of it.
00:42:12
Speaker
yeah hadin't even allowed in it he's strapped on the roof we need DJ gone to a man looks forty and then he could sugarcoat that what happened to DJ he's terrible now he became a Yankee he's not playing in Colorado anymore I mean what do you want to what do you want to call it I don't know he had a few good years here but he's he's terrible he's here yeah he's done i don't know what they trade for what do you guys think and you know who's on the market that they could go out and get i know they need to go on the same school ball but it there's no way they give him up right now and i can't yeah i would trade it's not over for school ball i would not oh man we need to put that out on our twitter poll soon make us look bad
00:43:13
Speaker
Listen, if you can get a picture like that, you gotta, you gotta try. Would you trade Soto and for Vladi and another piece? No. Like, let's say they won't trade for Vladi and Bishet for Soto. I would not trade for Vlad, period. Bishet's not good anymore, either. I think he needs to change his scenery. I wouldn't want him to- You gotta pay me to take- You would have you would have to pay me to take Vlad. I think Bichette's fine. He just needs to get out of there. What about Alonzo? We need a first baseman. Thoughts on Alonzo. Alonzo? You can get Alonzo for a can of Coke and a handha and a ham tan, which will be real. We're going back to Alonzo. That's our pan. All right. Great. Let's bring back Chris Carter out of retirement, too. and Any last thing on the Yankees?
00:43:59
Speaker
just one I was waiting for sure. I think I think I've rented enough and and made a mac cringe hard enough. So enjoy the ride onto to next topic don't Don't cry while it's happening and cry later. I Will though I don't worry it's gonna happen and yeah it i rather smart less time when They get swept out of the wild card we'll be we'll be talking about this again It's like inside out your anger and I'm joy. Spee. All
Mets' Performance and Superstitions
00:44:23
Speaker
right. We'll bring it to the crosstown rivals, the Mets. They were one of the worst teams in baseball. Then since the grimace era, they had the best record in baseball. Uh, since June, I think I'm 12 and two since grimace throughout the first pitch. I don't know what the hell was going on over there. Um, but happy birthday grimace. Happy be birthday grimace. Apparently. Yeah.
00:44:46
Speaker
I don't get it. I mean, you know, teams got teams get hot, teams get cold, and the Mets got hot, and they just latched onto whatever ridiculous gimmick they could find, I guess. i guess so I mean, it was a rally pimp in the beginning of the year. They won, like, five or six games on that kooky-looking dude showed up at games. Now it's now it's the Grimace. I don't know. It's funny, though. It's surely funny.
00:45:16
Speaker
Hey, good for them. They spend enough money on that team. They should start winning some games. They should. Yeah, they deserve it. Is Senga coming back this year? Senga is a question mark. um They're saying after the All-Star break. But they still can't catch a break when it comes to Edwin Diaz. Just spend it. And by the time we get this out, he'll be back along. But still, kind of funny. I mean, if you look at the video and they zoom in on his hand, he's got something on his hand. There's no way fans are butts about it. like yeah How do you even try to turn around and say that that was the umph's fault? You can't. I don't know. I don't think they're blaming it with the umphs. It's that set the Mets are complaining because, you know, they've they've they've been, I think there's been five guys that have it gotten thrown out and the Mets have had three of them. So they're complaining. We're getting targeted. You can't be that stupid if you're him. It looked bad. Like optically, it just looked bad.
00:46:13
Speaker
I don't know. But hey, you know, if the Mets like sticky stuff, you know what they should sign?
All-Star Voting and Episode Conclusion
00:46:19
Speaker
Matt Scherzer. Trevor Bauer. Man, this is like a double A in Mexico. Everyone's... Hey Josh, you you would trade Juan Soto to the Mexican League for Trevor Bauer, wouldn't you?
00:46:37
Speaker
No, but I'd love to sign Trevor Bauer. For League Minimum, I can still get by. Quick thing, last thing I wanted to mention, Mac throughout the All-Star voting, real quick, about the finals, I think, are taking place right now. Yeah, they're going on until Wednesday at noon. Oh, OK. So like two weeks ago at noon for the new basketball team.
00:47:01
Speaker
Yeah. At the time of recording, uh, Aaron judge is the top vote getter and Bryce Harper. the top vote getter but Yeah, they're in, they're in. So now it's a head to head. Yeah. I guess the Phillies really showed up, but like Phillies fans and voters so dude they really did. Cause it's like out one of them honestly don't really, I mean, Bowman's hitting 300 and all that, but it's kind of crazy. Cast the analyst Scott in the final round. Yeah. I don't get it. He has no right to be in that talk at all. Absolutely. Well, like some of these head-to-head matches are funny. We have Adly Brushman versus Salvador Perez. That's kind of fun. It's going to be Adly probably, right? Should be. We have first base, Ryan Mount Castle versus Blatty. Is Blatty even that good this year, though? He's having a good season. I think Castle's had a great season. Vlad started off really trash, but he's turning around.
00:48:00
Speaker
Second base, Altuve Simeon. I hate the guy, but it's gotta be Simeon. I think it's gotta be Altuve. I hate Altuve. I hate both of them. I know, but he's having a great season. I would not vote for him if he was the last man on earth. Third base, Jose Ramirez versus Jordan Westburg. Wow, the Orioles showed up too. Yeah. Jayram, though. I mean, Westburg's also had a really, really good year. I think it has to be Ramirez. Yeah, a good year, man. I think they both should get in the game. I'm sure it's the most fun matchup here by far. Gunnar Henderson versus Bobby Wood Jr. Yeah, that's tough. I think it has to be Gunnar. I know. Let me send Bobby with that. Yeah, it's hard not to vote for Gunnar. I mean, Gunnar's already going to the Derby, so he'll be there regardless. Right.
00:48:46
Speaker
Now, outfield, don't answer too quick because there's four names. Instead of six names, you pick two because judge got in. So they only did four nominees. So it's Juan Soto. It's Steven Kwon. It's Anthony Santander and it's Kyle Tucker. You got to vote for Kwon. Absolutely have to vote for Kwon, right? Yeah, you have to. I did not realize what he was goingnna but he was doing. I think it's Quan and Soto, but Tucker would have been in a legitimate case if he didn't get hurt. He was on page for like 55 home runs. Yeah. I mean, hey, you know what? If Quan gets hurt again, Judge could win the triple crown.
00:49:26
Speaker
yeah
00:49:29
Speaker
And then DH, you have Jordan Alvarez versus Ryan O'Hern. That's going to be and a lopsided one. Yeah, that's absolutely Alvarez. And then the NL, we have William Contreras versus J.T. Romuto, your first Philly. Which should be Contreras. Yeah. yeah do I don't think it's going to, I think they're going to vote for Romuto because the Philly people are clearly showing up. But this one's a fun one. I don't really know where to go with it. I did the vote yesterday and I didn't pick what I expected to pick, but it's second base nationally, Cattell Marte versus Luisa Ryze. Ooh.
00:50:11
Speaker
That's tough. I think I still got to go a rise even though Marthé. That's a really tough one right there. I went Marthé. Yeah. It felt weird though. I can't blame you, but a rise. I still got to go for a rise. He's been great. Third base, your second Philly, Alec Bohm versus Manny Machado. I would also go with Marthé. Marthé is way more deserving than a rise. You're going with Marthé as well. Yeah. Yeah, I go Bohm. He's having a great year. I think he's still back to the 100. Yeah, I think it's got to be Bohm, right? I think so. Josh, you have any say on that one? No, I agree. Bohm, Bohm it is. Short stop, this is an easy one to me, even though it's going to not matter anyway. Mookie Betts versus Trey Turner, I think it has to be Betts, but Betts will be hurt, and Trey Turner will step in anyway. Yeah, sounds about right. um Moving forward to the outfield, so there's six names here. You pick three. Jurex and Profar, Christian Yelich,
00:51:11
Speaker
Teosco Hernandez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Brandon Marsh, and Nick Castellanos. How did they make it? So Castellanos and who? Did you just say Brandon Marsh? Yeah, Marsh is the dude. That's like 260. He's not that good. Philly fans showed up. That's crazy. People stood up, man.
00:51:35
Speaker
That's really sad. I like how that hit Marsh is that Marsh should not be there and I like him, but he's not that good. What is this, John Scott again? I guess, oh, that's what they're going for. I mean, i mean Pro 4 has to be in, right? Yes. Tatis probably has to be in. Yeah, I'd say I'd probably go Tatis in a second. And then I guess it'd be either be Yelich or Hernandez. I'd probably lean Hernandez. Yeah, it's a tough one. But I think we all agree the two filly is full out of this one. Oh, absolutely. yeah Yeah, I mean, neither of them should even be in this vote, and that's pathetic that they are.
00:52:08
Speaker
So DH, we have Shohei Otani and the guy I voted for, Kyle Schwauber. Right. Because of course you did. Marcello Zuna did not make this voting. That's crazy. Yeah. Schwauber was down by 60,000 votes at the administration an update and then came back and beat him. Wow, Philly fans are crazy. Philly fans are bots, dude.
00:52:34
Speaker
Yeah, it has to be on Tanya, obviously. It does. But it'd be fun to see Foreberg get it. It's a test to see how dedicated Philly fans really are. Can they beat a whole country? Oh my god. And who starts for the NL Ranger? Guy D'Ranger Suarez? Or Glassnow? I think it would be... Yeah, it's hard. Um, maybe Zack Wheeler. Maybe Wheeler too. I probably would. I probably go Wheeler for the NL, and I think I'm going Scooble for the AL. Yeah, Scooble's an easy one. Yeah, I mean, Seth Lugo. Oh, God. Yeah, who would have thought? He has a case. I know it was a case, but I still do it with the Scooble. When it's border line but but it's borderline, and this is not the case with the AL, because I don't think either one of those guys fit this, but I think if you if you're close, I give the edge to the guy who kind of has the more star power. And I think in the NL between the last now Suarez and Wheeler, Wheeler would be the pick based on that. So I would go Wheeler. Who's the manager? I'm the backs and Rangers. Yeah, that's right. So nobody relevant. Yeah. I would still go with the glass now.
00:53:56
Speaker
um the virtual time But there's a bunch of these guys that are hurt anyway That's true. So there's gonna be a lot of openings Coming up and not a lot of it's gonna really completely matter anyway, but this comes out on Wednesday So that will be July 3rd which will be about two to three weeks after this is released. So with right we're going by our opinions here, not by who we think the people will vote for. um So don't clown us if we're wrong, but I thought it'd be a little interesting thought exercise through the head to head.
00:54:29
Speaker
And that wraps up our 1926 episode of Championship or a Bus featuring Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, and the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Thank you for listening. Looking forward to seeing those all star results and we will talk to you well after those are out. See you later. yeah