Best Story In MLB: Arizona's Rise

When discussing what the best stories in baseball are this year, a lot of things come to mind.  People say the Pirates, because they have been bad for so long and were in contention at the All Star break.  Others point to Jim Thome hitting his 600th home run.  Still others look at the Indians amazing season and point to that.  I am here to tell you why the Arizona Diamondbacks should be the unanimous choice for story of the year.

Unlike the Pirates and Indians, the Diamondbacks are actually in first place right now.  The 2010 Dbax went 65-97, to finish in last in the NL Central and second to last in the entire NL.  They had bad pitching, their 4.81 team ERA was the second worst in the NL.  Their offense was very average last year, scoring just 12 more runs than the average for the NL.  They just couldn't out hit their bad pitching.

This year has been the story of a rebirth, a complete turnaround.  They have already won four more games than they did last year, and currently sport a 69-56 record.  They have a 2.5 game lead over the reigning World Series champion San Francisco Giants.  How have they managed such a turnaround?

They are basically winning with just "improvement" at both pitching and hitting.  Their team ERA at this point is drastically lower at 4.03, but that is still high for the NL.  They moved up the list a few spots at runs scored, a decent amount higher than the league average mark.  Their team batting average is a meager .248, below the NL average.  However, in a weird coincidence, only one team(Milwaukee) above the league average in this category is actually in first place.  I guess it's not how well you hit but how well you hit when it counts?

Arizona is doing their run scoring via the long ball.  They have the second most home runs in the NL right now at 139.  They are third in RBI and third in slugging.  This team can mash the ball, but getting the little hits that piece together big innings have eluded them.

Justin Upton is someone you can point to whose numbers are drastically higher this year.  Last year he was .273/17/69 with a .799 OPS.  This year he has found his swing with .300/25/77 with a .924 OPS.  Everyone expected this from him last year, but he's certainly delivering this year.  Chris Young is a player who you can look at as having down numbers compared to last year: .257/27/91 compared to .234/17/57 this year.

The pitching is much different than last year, and not what you would expect to be better.  Last year they had Edwin Jackson and Dan Haren, and this year they have retooled their pitching staff top to bottom.  Their rotation features a drastically improved Ian Kennedy and Joe Saunders, as well as a solid Daniel Hudson in his second year with the team.  The biggest addition to this year's rotation is rookie Josh Collimenter, who given them a lot of good innings this year at 7-7 with a 3.47 ERA.

Ian Kennedy has really stepped it up this year.  Cast off by the Yankees, he has really made the most of his time in Arizona.  He definitely has ace stuff, going 15-4 with a 3.22 ERA and 100 more K than BB.  Kennedy has a 1.13 WHIP, with 24 hits fewer than innings pitched, but a slightly high walk total.  He's given up a sort of high number of home runs at 18, but that's ok because he's battling and throwing strikes.  Ian will most likely give his team 200 innings this year barring any injuries, and could make an important Game 1 start if the DBax make the post season.

In the bullpen, they went with something completely different.  After signing free agent JJ Putz and throwing him in the closer role he had been accustomed to in Seattle, he has locked in that role.  Putz has 30 saves with a 2.84 ERA and 1.015 WHIP.  He's been one of the best closers in MLB this year.  The rest of the bullpen has pitched much better than last year's pen, allowing the DBax to retain leads or remain close in games so that they have a chance to win late.

It is that very thing that has probably propelled the Diamondbacks to the top of the NL West this year.  Arizona leads all of MLB this year with 35 come from behind wins.  Their most recent was a victory over the Phillies, in which they scored runs in the 9th inning to take the lead and JJ Putz hammered down the save.  The Phillies had been 66-1 when leading after 8 innings this year.

This is a scrappy team with a lot of power and much better pitching than last year.  They are gritty and can win the late games that good teams find ways to win.  They are a rag tag bunch of players who lots of other teams didn't want(Juan Miranda, Kelly Johnson, Russell Branyan, Willy Mo Peña, Xavier Nady, Daniel Hudson, Armando Galarraga, Ian Kennedy, Joe Saunders, Zack Duke, Aaron Heilman).  These guys want to win and this is clearly one of those stories where a bunch of castoffs come together to win as a team.  Sure, Dan Haren could have really helped this team, but they have done just fine without him.

Arizona should be the top story in baseball, but because their games usually last beyond midnight for people on the East Coast, most people have not seen them play this year.  I don't think this team is going to go away, they have persevered all season long.  Nobody in the NL West seems to want to jump up and grab the lead away from them, certainly the Giants have been faltering in that department.  This team is a really interesting story and should continue to produce through the end of the season.

Jim Thome IS A HOF, Period!

On 8-15-2011, Jim Thome hit his 599th and 600th home runs.  I expected to see a media frenzy giving him his due respect, and for the most part they did.  Then, the dialogue shifted to the question of whether or not he was a hall of famer.  I am pretty well shocked by the assertion that this guy is not a hall of famer.

There are actually quite a few people who doubt he's got HOF statistics.  These people aren't even mentioning any kind of "steroid-era" excuses to not put him in, but are actually trying to point to his statistics as the reason he won't get in.  So let me get this straight, he hit 600 home runs clean with a .961 OPS and a .403 career OBP and he's not a HOF?

One statistic that people keep pointing to is the fact that Thome is second all time in career strikeouts with 2,453.  They say that a guy who strikes out this much is not a hall of famer, to which I reply "You're insane!"  Lots of guys on the top strikeout list are in the hall of fame including Reggie Jackson(2,597, 1st), Willie Stargell(1,936, 6th), Mike Schmidt(1,883, 9th), Tony Perez(1,867, 11th), and rounding out the top 30 are Lou Brock, Mickey Mantle, Harmon Killebrew, Rickey Henderson and Dave Winfield.  A few guys in the top 30 not currently in the HOF(Biggio, Griffey, Bagwell, Jeter) should eventually be in the HOF IMO.

So with strikeouts as a "keep-out" statistic busted, let's move on to these people's second attack.  I have read multiple times now that a DH should NEVER be allowed into the HOF.  I will answer this question two ways.  First of all, Jim Thome has played a lot more 1B in his career than DH.  He's had almost 1600 more plate appearances as a first baseman in his career.  He hit 310 of his 600 HR as a 1B.  He also played 3rd base for 1958 plate appearances.  He hit 93 of his home runs as a 3B.  That's 403 of 600 HR as a position player, or 67% of his career HR.

Secondly, who cares if he DH'd?  DH is a legal position in a Major League batting order.  To say that a player should not be allowed into the HOF because they played one legal position instead of another is preposterous.  I believe great hitters who play DH should be allowed into the HOF.  I hear this argument against Frank Thomas and Edgar Martinez, but both of those guys should be in the HOF and even so, both of those guys played positions in their career.  To me, this argument is like saying that even though you scored the most points in NFL history, you don't get into Canton because you did it as a kicker and not a QB/RB/WR/TE.  There are kickers in Canton, and there should be DH in Cooperstown.

There is no legitimate argument against Jim Thome unless you think he was a steroid user, but he has never officially been linked or even suggested as having been one by anyone.  Jim Thome is in on his statistics and his character.  It's true that being a "good guy" isn't enough to be a HOF, but it should put him over the top.  It is the people you encountered in your baseball career in the media who ultimately put you in the HOF, and if those people like you, your chances are that much better.

If you needed even more statistical proof that Thome is one of the greatest to ever play the game, look at his RBI total.  He is currently 27th all time in RBI, but look at the HOFers he's ahead of: DiMaggio, Banks, Brett, Lajoie, Schmidt, Dawson, Hornsby, Killebrew, McCovey, Kaline, Mantle, Matthews, Rice, Billy Williams, etc etc.  Also, look at his walk total.  Thome is 8th in career walks, ahead of most of the guys I just named, and every player (except Bonds) that is ahead of him is in the HOF.

Jim Thome is 20th in career slugging(.5577), 23rd in career runs created(1952), and 23rd in career XBH(1066).  He is 5th in career AB/HR(13.61).  He also has a pretty respectable .320 BABIP.  He holds the White Sox' record for home runs in a season by a left handed batter with 42.  He holds the Indians' record for home runs in a season with 52 in 2002.  He also holds the Indians' team record for home runs with 334.

Now come awards, which we all know are completely subjective.  Why was he only an all star 5 times?  Why did he never win a MVP?  Why was he only a one time silver slugger?  Because he played clean during the steroid era.  His numbers would have landed him at least one MVP had most of the other top sluggers not been using steroids.

In 2002, I feel Thome may have gotten the shaft, since overall he put up the best season.  ARod admitted he used substances in Texas, so if we eliminate his numbers, which aren't that much better than Thome's in a lot of categories, you get Thome as having had the best season.

Thome lead the AL that year in BB(122), Slugging(.677), OPS(1.122) and OPS+(197).  He was second in HR(52) and was in the top five in RBI(118) and scored 101 runs.  He did all of this in only 480 at bats.  Most of the other guys had over 550 at bats and didn't put up bigger numbers except ARod.  Only ARod(8.2) had a higher WAR than Thome's 8.1.  So looking at his numbers in his best years, if MLB had been clean, he would have definitely stood out like he should have.

For me, there is no legitimate argument whether or not Jim Thome is a hall of fame player.  The only real question I can see on this issue is whether or not he is a first ballot hall of famer.  I say yes, but only if Frank Thomas gets in on his first ballot.  What uniform will he wear?  Well I think it is fairly obvious that he played for the Indians the longest by far, so it would only be fitting for him to go in as a Cleveland Indian.

Andrews Field: A Replete History

The site for Andrews Field, comprising four city blocks, lies between south Fifth and Seventh Streets, and South B and D Streets. The property, included with other properties, was ceded to the city of Fort Smith by a Congressional Act dated May 13,1884, and reads in part, "... and the same, is hereby granted to the city of Fort Smith, to be held in trust by said City for the use and benefit of the free public schools of the single school district of Fort Smith, and to be applied to the benefit of all children of school age without distinction of race."

In 1919, John M. Andrews, Sr., President of the Public Schools Athletic Association, began a fund-raising campaign to build a park on the site granted in 1884. He and the Noon Civics Club raised enough money to construct a $25,000 grandstand and baseball diamond. They sold planks for a dollar a piece to build the board fence around the park.[1]

In 1920, the Twins became an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Andrews Field opened for the 1921 season, as home of the Fort Smith Twins. It replaced their original park, Stadium Park, which was located on 9th and Carnall, the current location of the Sebastian County Jail. It would remain the home of Fort Smith minor league baseball teams for the remainder of Fort Smith's minor league tenure.

In 1921, the Twins won the second half title but lost the league championship series 4 games to 3 to Chickasaw. In 1922 and 1923, they finished just above last place. Then in 1924, they rebounded with a 97-63 record good for second place.

In 1925, they finished with the best record in the league but did not win either half's title and failed to win the league championship. In 1926, they finished 1 game back of the league champion to again finish 2nd. In 1927, Fort Smith finally broke through and won the league title with an 81-51 record. In 1928, Fort Smith ceased to be a farm club for the Cardinals and subsequently became a farm club for the Detroit Tigers. 

That year, in what was a mirror image of the 1925 season, they won the most games in the league but did not claim either half's title again and failed to win the league title. In 1929, Fort Smith won the second half title but there was no league championship series played. From 1930-1932 the Fort Smith Twins had losing seasons all three years and the team packed up and moved to Muskogee.

On April 8, 1937, some 6,500 fans, a new local record, packed the stands to watch the 1936 National League champions, the New York Giants, in a contest with the outstanding Cleveland Indians of the American League. Bob "Rapid Robert" Feller was 18 years old at the time and pitched three innings for the Indians under the management of Steve O'Neill. Giants' manager was Bill Terry. Pitcher was "Prince Hal" Schumacher, and catcher was Gus Mancuso. Mancuso had caught for the Fort Smith Twins in the Western Association in 1924. Roy Weatherly, outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, had played with the Twins in 1930 when they had been in the Detroit Tiger system. 

The late Johnnie Porter, sports editor for the Southwest Times Record, predicted in his column that it was doubtful if even the major leaguers would hit any homers over the fence. "Every board in the fence," he wrote, "is 360 feet, 5 inches from home plate, a fair poke in any league." But Hal Trosky and Earl Averill, both of the Cleveland Indians, did just that. However, Mel Harder, another great Cleveland pitcher, came on in the fourth but was tagged with a dozen hits, nine Giants' runs, and the loss of the game. 

Trosky and Averill made the only two runs for the Indians, and the score was 9-2. Mel Ott, home run king for the Giants, was up to bat four times but could get only one single against Feller and Harder. The gate for this game was almost $4,000, which translated into today's dollars with an inflation calculator, is about $61,200. Grady Secrest relates that the enthusiasm of the Fort Smith fans was so great that the Giants placed a farm club here the following year (1938).[2]

They were called the Fort Smith Giants and were affiliated with, of course, the New York Giants. In their first season, they made the league's post season but lost to Ponca City. That year, 87,578 fans attended games in the park(1,251 people per game), an attendance record in the Western Association. In 1939, they won the league title with an 83-50 record. In 1940, they made the league championship series but lost to St. Joseph.

Also in 1940, Dizzy Dean pitched a game for the Chicago Cubs against the St. Louis Browns in April, 1940. Approximately 3,500 fans turned out for the game, and it was also a memorable event for the field.[3]

In 1941, they failed to make the playoffs. In 1942, they won the second half title and the league title over Topeka 4 games to 3. From 1943-1945 the league play was suspended due to World War II.

In 1946, the Fort Smith Giants made the league title but lost to Hutchinson 4 games to 2. In 1947 they finished 2nd from last, and in 1948 and 1949 they finished 2nd from the top. Also in 1949, the Leavenworth Braves had the worst winning percentage in the history of the league with a record of 25-112. In 1950, Fort Smith moved to Enid Oklahoma.

Fort Smith didn't wait long to start up a new team. In 1951 the Fort Smith Indians took the field and finished dead last as an affiliate for the Cleveland Indians. They finished last in 1952 also. In 1953, they changed their team name to the Fort Smith-Van Buren Twins and dropped their Cleveland Indians affiliation. The new name meant nothing in the standings, as for the third year in a row, they finished dead last. Apparently someone was tired of losing money on a last place team and Fort Smith folded after the 1953 season.

Andrews Field has also hosted exhibition games between Major League Clubs during the "barnstorming" days. One such game was the New York Giants against the Cleveland Indians. In 1956, Andrews Field hosted a very special Negro League game. It included many players who had broken through to the Majors by then, some of whom were well on their way to all-time MLB greatness status. This game brought the likes of Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Joe Black, Monte Irvin, and Al Smith to Fort Smith. During Fort Smith's time as a New York Giants affiliate, they had many guests of the ball club including Baseball Hall Of Fame Pitcher Carl Hubbell, who threw out the first pitch at one of their home games in 1940.

The Fort Smith Twins and Giants played all of their home games at Andrews Field just off Wheeler Avenue, except on Sundays when they had to play games in nearby Oklahoma to avoid blue law violations. Andrews Field is unfortunately being demolished to make room for the National Cemetery to expand it's grounds. Between the Twins and Giants, they picked up 6 league championships and 10 total first or second half league pennants. At some point after 1953, there was another minor league team in Fort Smith known as the Fort Smith Red Sox.

Under the direction of Jimmy Vaughn and Charles Elkins, a massive clean-up and reconstruction got under way for the renovation of the park in the early 1970's. After $30,000 and a very large number of volunteers, the park was again dedicated for use — this time for the Sebastian County Softball League. Vaughn's wife, Claudia, was then and still is the District Commissioner of the Amateur Softball Association of Arkansas. The date was May 18, 1975.[4]

It hosted many softball and baseball games from 1975 into the 2000's.  It served as the home for the Northside Lady Bears Softball team for many years.  In Spring of 2010, Andrews Field was torn down to make way for expansion of the Fort Smith National Cemetery.  It stood for 89 years.

Many greats in baseball history, and some Hall of Fame members played or visited the grounds of Andrews Field for special events. Some of these include: Carl Hubbell, Branch Rickey, Rogers Hornsby, Pepper Martin, Jo Jo White, Gerome (Dizzy) Dean and his brother Paul (Daffy) Dean, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Bob Feller, Mickey Mantle, and Joe Garagiola.

One player who has a special place in Fort Smith history who played for the Fort Smith Giants and later the NY Giants was Pitcher Harry Feldman. According to Baseball-Reference, his statistics are as follows: For Fort Smith, he played 2 seasons, 1938 and 1939. In 1938, he split time between Blytheville & Fort Smith. He was 32-16 over 2 seasons. He posted a 3.99 ERA in 1938, while his 1939 ERA is unknown. Over the 1 1/2 seasons he spent with Fort Smith he pitched 373 innings, including 276 innings in 1939. 

He later moved on to Double-A New Jersey and was called up to the Major League Giants in 1941. He played from 1941 to 1946 and compiled the following career statistics: 35-35 record, 3.80 ERA, 22 complete games including 6 shutouts, and 254 strikeouts. As a batter he hit .172 with 2 home runs and 20 RBI.

Harry was one of the players who jumped from MLB to the outlaw Mexican League. MLB decided that any players who left MLB for the Mexican League would be banned from MLB for life. This was to prevent many of MLB's greatest stars, who could actually make more money in the Mexican League, from leaving MLB. He was later re-instated to MLB, and finished his career in the minor leagues, playing for PCL San Francisco in 1949 and 1950. Harry lived the rest of his life after baseball in Fort Smith until his death in 1962, and is buried at Rose Lawn Park Cemetery in Fort Smith. Here is his page on Find-A-Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8782705

[1][2][3][4] Information obtained from a PDF report: Andrews Field by Sarah Fitzjarrald
http://www.uafortsmith.edu/attach/Library/JFSHSVol8/08-02_Andrews_Field.pdf