Diamonds For Women

[dodgerblue6]

The long, short, and combined of it all...MLB.com has reported these firsts among players' names, all new arrivals in the majors this year:

"Chin-Lung Hu, a September call-up for the Los Angeles Dodgers, created a major league first when he entered a September 1 game in the seventh inning as a fielding replacement. Hu became the first player in the bigs with a two-letter surname. There have been 186 big leaguers with three-letter surnames.

Earlier this season, Jarrod Saltalamacchia [then with Atlanta, now with Texas] set a new major league record for longest surname with his 14-letter last name."

"...(Mariners) pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith became the first player with a hyphenated name to appear in a major league game when he came on in relief on June 22 [vs. Cincinnati]. Australian native Rowland-Smith entered the game in the top of the sixth and struck out Ken Griffey Jr. to end the inning."
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[Harpo]

[dodgerblue6]

I wonder if VanLandingham's name really has a space. According to the following report, it doesn't.

Things you didn't know they kept stats on (from MLB.com's "Beyond the Box Score"):

"Lettermen"

The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays had their own version of a spelling bee on August 10 when Ranger first baseman Jarrold Saltalamacchia faced off against Devil Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine.

The 25-letter matchup was the second-longest combination of batter and pitcher surnames since 1957. The longest batter-pitcher combo during that span was the 26-letter matchup between Todd Hollandsworth and William VanLandingham which first occurred in 1995.

Earlier this season, while playing for the Atlanta Braves, Saltalamacchia batted against Chad Billingsley and Mark Hendrickson of the Los Angeles Dodgers, creating two more 25-letter combos. The 10 longest batter-pitcher match-ups since 1957 were:

Year, Batter (Team), Pitcher (Team), Total Letters

1995, Todd Hollandsworth (Dodgers), William VanLandingham (Giants), 26
1995, Mark Grudzielanek (Dodgers), William VanLandingham (Giants), 25
1996, Jason Isringhausen (Mets), William VanLandingham (Giants), 25
1996, Todd Hollandsworth (Dodgers), Todd Christiansen (Pirates), 25
2001, Todd Hollandsworth (Rockies), Gene Stechschulte (Cardinals), 25
2002, Mark Grudzielanek (Dodgers), Tim Spooneybarger (Braves), 25
2006, Todd Hollandsworth (Indians), Jason Isringhausen (Cardinals), 25
2007, Jarrold Saltalamacchia (Braves), Chad Billingsley (Dodgers), 25
2007, Jarrold Saltalamacchia (Braves), Mark Hendrickson (Dodgers), 25
2007, Jarrold Saltalamacchia (Rangers), Andy Sonnanstine (Devil Rays), 25
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[dodgerblue6]

Name Game, Part II--Duplicates

I mentioned this briefly a couple of weeks ago when discussing Chris Carter in the Hot Stove thread. I made note that there are two Chris Carters that both ended up with the Diamondbacks' organization and that both are first basemen. One is now in the Red Sox farm system. Oddly enough, both are from northern California too.

So I started thinking back to how many of those "same name" players I've known of, and strangely many of them are from my part of the country. One of the first to come to mind, from San Diego County, is a popular player named Dave Roberts.

Now, if you ever want to drive yourself crazy, google "Dave Roberts" on any baseball-related stat-driven site, and see what you come up with. The current Dave Roberts, a San Francisco Giant, is a speedy outfielder who's been well-liked with several teams, including his hometown Padres, for his style of play.

Strangely, though, all three Dave Roberts that I'm aware of in MLB history have, at some point in their careers, played for San Diego in that team's 40-year existence. When I was growing up, I remember two of those Dave Roberts--one being the catcher who played with four teams over an 11-year career (David Arthur Roberts), including the 1972-1978 Padres; the other being the pitcher of the same name (David Wayne Roberts), who was in S.D. from 1969-1971, the first three seasons of his 13-year career.

Then, more recently, came David Ray Roberts, the outfielder, out of Vista, CA.

Here's some other trivia about "duplicate name" players, and it is certainly not all-inclusive. Perhaps some of you can think of others.

Chad Austin Tracy is an infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks, but there's another up-and-coming Chad Tracy in the Texas Rangers' farm system. I know this because he's the son of former Dodgers manager Jim Tracy and was drafted out of Pepperdine University two years ago.

Things get even stranger if you've been following players who came out of SoCal high schools over the years who ended up playing major league ball. For example, Billy Beane, Oakland GM and former major league player, is not the Billy Bean who played for the Dodgers and Padres. That extra "e" can sure change a lot, including one's sexual identity (Bean without the "e" was the first openly gay player in MLB). Of course, the other is known as the architect of "Moneyball." The two Billys are only two years apart in age. Beane played 148 games over six seasons for four MLB teams after graduating from Mt. Carmel High in San Diego (1980). Bean played in 272 games over six seasons, out of Santa Ana High and Loyola Marymount University.

There were two Brian Giles who played in the majors, and both grew up in San Diego County. This particular name is near and dear to my heart, because Brian Jeffrey Giles, who played for four major league teams from 1981 through 1990 (including the 1986 White Sox, Chisoxgal!) was a high school classmate of mine, Class of '78. He got his start with the Mets, playing mostly infield. But, he was out of major league baseball before current Padre outfielder Brian Stephen Giles began his career in Cleveland in 1995, having graduated from Granite Hills High in El Cajon.

The Dodgers had two Mike Marshalls playing for them at different times. One was a pitcher, 1974 Cy Young award winner Michael Allen Marshall; the other a first baseman/OFer, Michael Grant Marshall, who played in L.A. from 1981-1989.

And of course there are two Chris Youngs who both play for National League West teams, pitcher Christopher Ryan Young for San Diego and speedy young sensation Christopher Brandon Young for Arizona.

I'm sure there are plenty of other examples, but these were the only ones that came to me off the top of my head. All because of the two Chris Carters I thought about when posting in the "Hot Stove" thread.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[chisoxgal]

Wow! I don't even remember the Brian Giles from the 1986 WS.

[chisoxgal]

Okay, this would have kept me awake all night. No wonder his name didn't ring a bell. He only played nine games and had only eleven AB's.


http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=gilesbr01

[dodgerblue6]

LOL, hey, I didn't say he was significant! Now you know why the other Brian Giles is better known!

And that was 22 years ago, too.

_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[crzblue]

Chisoxgal,
So how are you passing the offseason?

Gooffy, How about you?

Francine, Where are you?

I get a kick when Linda calls me and asks "Crzblue! Where are you?". lol.

[GoofyMsFan]

[dodgerblue6]

[chisoxgal]

[chisoxgal]

[dodgerblue6]

We've got a few.

Of course, my favorite is the Boones, but we've got others, too.

http://www.diamondsforwomen.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=299

Family ties:

http://www.diamondsforwomen.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=475&start=0

"Brothers with arms":

http://www.diamondsforwomen.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=352&start=0

I enjoyed reading back on the original posts from the "Family Ties" thread. That was crazy, with the Dodgers/Angels brothers in the Freeway Series that year!
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[dodgerblue6]

Haven't posted in this one for some time now, but what with a recent call-up for the Diamondbacks, it's about time I did.

Billy Buckner is Arizona's young right-handed pitcher, obtained via trade in the offseason from the Royals' organization. He is no relation to the retired outfielder/first baseman of the same name who played for the Dodgers, Cubs and Red Sox, and shouldered the burden of the RS "curse" from 1986 through 2004.

I think the D'backs must be one of the leading teams of players with duplicate names of other players!
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[dodgerblue6]

Ladies, remember a certain pitcher from AFL games last autumn? Well, he's being called up.

From chicagocubs.com:

[dodgerblue6]

From ESPN Stats and Info, about last Friday's Astros-Rays game:

[dodgerblue6]

Once upon a time there was a pitcher named Adam Eaton, a guy most here will remember, who faded into obscurity after a ten-year career, mostly with the Padres.

Now in your AFL 2011 game programs is Adam Eaton, outfielder for the Surprise Rafters (Diamondbacks property).

And, how ominous. Just scrolling down through this thread over the years, I wrote in 2008:

[dodgerblue6]

It should be noted there are now two Brad Mills to keep tabs on--one is the manager for the Astros, the other the recently-acquired pitcher for the Angels, who formerly played for U of A.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[dodgerblue6]

Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton will now officially be known by his real name--Giancarlo.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[forloveofthegame]

Never knew that about him! He does seem like a good kid.
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

[GilHodgesFan]

I like his real name
_________________
"If you had a son it would be a great thing for him to grow up to be just like Gil Hodges" -Pee Wee Reese (Brooklyn Dodgers)

[dodgerblue6]

Gotta love Vin's comments about Rockies reliever Josh Outman: "He has a great name for a pitcher."
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[GilHodgesFan]

_________________
"If you had a son it would be a great thing for him to grow up to be just like Gil Hodges" -Pee Wee Reese (Brooklyn Dodgers)

[dodgerblue6]

Seeing as I haven't posted in this thread for awhile, thought I'd mention these:

-Two Bryan Prices with Ohio teams--one, manager of the Reds, the other, rookie RHP for the Indians;

-Something I learned during a Dodgers-Marlins game: the Marlins have two men named Dan Jennings in their organization; one, of course, is the GM, and the other is their LHP by the same name. Vin was quick to point out that there is "no relation."

-Chris Davis and Khris Davis; the former an All-Star first baseman for the Orioles, the latter an outfielder with the Brewers (former CSUF player).

Also...with the Dodgers' call-up of Erisbel Arruebarruena, there is now a 14-letter name on the team again.


Last, the Rangers have called up infield prospect Rougned Odor. What will they say if he fails..."this prospect stinks"?

Maybe they could give him a dab of Bartolo Colón.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[forloveofthegame]

Those are some good ones!
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

[dodgerblue6]

Man, I hope the Dodgers aren't starting to panic over the weekend series.

But if there was a team meant to Panik, it's the Jints, who called up their infielder of that same name--Joe Panik. He even contributed to the team's win over the Phillies a couple of days ago.

Uh-oh...

Also, on an unrelated note, both Chris Davis (Orioles) and Khris Davis (Brewers) homered on August 7. Does Vegas set odds on things like that?
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[dodgerblue6]

Although it was announced before Grapefruit League play began, then-Braves, now-Padres outfielder formerly known as B.J. Upton has begun using his birth name of Melvin Upton Jr. this year.

Ironically, the linked article, which was published on MLB.com in February, mentions the difficulty that the Braves have had in arranging a trade.
_________________
"The Dodgers have always occupied an enormous place in the history of the game. If the Yankees are the most successful team in baseball history, the Dodgers are the most essential. Their legacy is unique."

-Baseball Hall of Fame

[forloveofthegame]

Yes, that was ironic - but anyway, I was not sure if you noticed this, Linda - my Padres have 4 Wil(l)s playing for them this year - Middlebooks, Nieves, Venable and Myers. And where there is a Wil(l), there is a Way! Keep the faith!
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg

[dodgerblue6]

[forloveofthegame]

Lol
_________________
"Baseball is an allegorical play about America, a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self-esteem." - Saul Steinberg