Monday, January 22, 2007 |
Today's Birthdays
Chone Figgins LAA,ANA b. 1978, played 2002-2005. Outright swindle trades make for great reading, and the one that brought the Angels Chone Figgins is a great example, one that often slips my mind when I think about Bill Stoneman's history trading players. Fringe outfielder Kimera Bartee was what it took to get human missile Figgins into the Angels' fold. The Top 100 Angel is a weird player in that because of his speed, you'd think he would do well in the outfield, but his glove in center has rated above average only one year (2005). He's arguably the best baserunner in the majors, according to Dan Fox in a recent Baseball Prospectus article, adding five runs a year with his base stealing. Save for his super-streaky (and lately, decreasingly effective) bat, he's almost exactly the kind of guy Mike Scioscia adores; recall he scored the tying run in 2002 World Series Game 6.
Jay Hughes BRO b. 1874, played 1899, 1901-1902, d. 1924-06-02
Wayne Kirby LAN b. 1964, played 1996-1997. It says a lot about the mid-90's Dodgers that he got eight at-bats during the 1996 NLCS. The reason he did was a failed outfield prospect named Roger Cedeno. Cedeno in turn was the guy who bumped Billy Ashley out of the lineup. Ashley was a creation of hitter's parks and hitter's leagues, posting 24 homers at Texas League AA San Antonio and 63 over two seasons at AAA Albuquerque. Cedeno, in turn, showed teriffic OBP though not a lot of power; nonetheless, the Dodgers held on to him, perhaps for too long, and eventually, he fell out of favor, too. The Dodgers acquired Kirby off waivers from Cleveland, and hit well in the second half. Ashley and Kirby were both off the Dodger roster after '97, and Cedeno was gone after '98.
Jeff Treadway LAN b. 1963, played 1994-1995
Unsurpring, considering that he never played CF until 2005, and there's only been one year of data since then.
Bill James also claims him the most effective baserunner for 2006 as in his latest Handbook as well.
: 1/22/2007 11:20:00 AM
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