1976 ASG +40: Bake McBride 1975 Topps #174 rCup

The Phillies are on a hot streak as the head out to St Louis to face the always tough Cardinals.

It is hard to imagine but in 1976 the Cardinals only had one All-Star Representative. 

That representative was Bake McBride.

1975 Topps #174 Bake McBride 

It was the only time that McBride made the All-Star team, unfortunately He was dealing with a knee injury and didn't get to play. 

Only Cardinal doesn't even get into the game, Twitter would be ablaze if this happened today.

aWARds - 1974 RoY
As you can see Bake McBride picked up a Rookie Cup in 1975T, He did even better than that as he was also named Rookie of the Year. McBride beat out his Future 1980 World Series Teammate Greg Gross for the award. From an aWARds perspective Gross (+4.7 WAR) would have been a slightly better pick then McBride (+4.3).

Their traditional stats are comparable with McBride putting up a a slash line of .309/.369/.394 while Gross posted .314/.393/.377. The light hitting Gross drove in 36 runs without a dinger, while McBride plated 56 on a Half Dozen Home Runs. McBride also stole 30 bags, significantly better than Gross' twelve.

The only other NL player to get a vote for 1974 Rookie of the Year was Bill Madlock who probalby had a better career than either McBride or Gross.

Flip

1975 Topps #174 Bake McBride (b-side)


When his 1975T Card was issued Bake McBride had 30 career steals, yet a Topps writer felt compelled to compare him to Lou Brock. 

Sources and Links
1976 ASG +40 

1975 Topps Rookie Cup Index
aWARds
Baseball-Ref
Chicago Tribune 1976 0707

Opening Day...Night!

MLB Opening Day/Night is happening in Kansas City this evening. To mark the occasion we are publishing the second posting in our series on the 1976 All-Star Game. Who better to Rep the Royals than Hall of Famer George Brett

1982 Topps/Kmart 20th Anniversary #34 George Brett

Brett made his first All-Star team in 1976, the first of xx times he would receive the honor. During the ’76 contest he went 0-2 with a walk. The BB came off NL Starter Randy Jones, one of the outs was a Fly Out v fellow HoF Tom Seaver.

aWARds – 1976 MVP
There is an argument that George Brett should have won the MVP award in 1976. He finished 2nd in the voting to Yankees Catcher Thurman Munson. Brett Clearly won the WAR +7.5 to Munson’s +5.3, Both were on division winners, although the Yankees won 7 more games than the Royals (while playing three fewer games). For folks that are only interested in oWAR Brett wins that battle as well – His +7.1 number led the AL while Munson clocked in at +5.3. Munson’s most compelling argument is that he was the captain of the first Yankees squad to make the post season since the Mantle Years.

As far as traditional stats are concerned…
Brett led the AL in Batting Average, Hits and Total Bases during the 1976 season while Munson's big offensive grey number was finishing 2nd on the circuit in RBI to the Orioles Lee May. Munson was as always among the top 5 catchers in several defensive categories.

It should be noted that Yankees Third Baseman Graig Nettles all AL batters in WAR with a nice +8.0 number (finished 16th in the MVP voting) but the overall League leader was Rookie Phenom Mark Fidrych (+9.6) who ended up 11th in the MVP and 2nd in the Cy Young balloting behind Jim Palmer (+6.6) - The Bird did take home the Rookie of the Year Award.

1980 AL MVP George Brett

 

1982 Topps/Kmart 20th Anniversary #34 George Brett (b-side)

Brett eventually did get an MVP award in 1980. In addition to leading the league with a .390 BA, tops since Ted Williams .406 in 1941 he also put up superlatives in the SABRmetric stats +9.4 WAR and +8.5 oWAR numbers led all AL players. 

The Kmart Retro card is a reprint of the Brett's 1980 Topps #450 card.

Sources and Links
1976 All-Star Team
George Brett HoF index
aWARds Index
Baseball-ref
Baseball Card Database

2016 HoF Ballot: Alan Trammell & aWARds 1987 MVP

In a couple of days the Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the members of the 2016 class. One of the most debated of the candidates is Detroit Tigers Alum Alan Trammell.

1980 Topps Alan Trammell

It is my opinion that Trammell's performance during the final week of the 1987 regular season should have put him in the Hall.

Well in reality his overall career accomplishments should be good enough but more on that later now back to 1987.

The 1987 AL MVP award went to Toronto Blue Jays Left Fielder George Bell. Here I present an argument that today with the emphasis on advanced metrics (notably WAR) the Award would go to Alan Trammell.  

The difference between Bell and Trammell in 1987 was 12 points, which is less than a single first place ballot (14 pts are awarded for a 1st). Both players had very good years. Bell's standout numbers were his league leading 134 RBIs and 369 Total Bases. His 47 Homers were second only to Rookie of the Year Mark McGwire, whom we covered for 2016 HoF Candidates recently. Trammel batted .343 (3rd AL), with a .402 OBP (5th) .953 OPS (6th) and 329 TBs (4th). All good numbers and when coupled with the demand of playing a middle infield position I submit that they are comparable to Bell's.

Voters didn't have the advantage of consulting WAR numbers in 1987, but we do now. The results are not even close. Trammell wins easily 8.2 - 5.0. Baseball-ref has stated that a differences of 1 or 2 wins is not "definitive" - the +3.2 advantage of Trammell beyond this +2.0 margin.

My third argument for Trammel's 1987 MVP award is The Tigers won the AL East while George Bell's Blue Jays finished 2nd. Furthermore Alan Trammell was critical to Detroit overtaking Toronto during the final week of the Season. Following play on September 26th the Blue Jays held a +3.5 Game lead on the Tigers. Detroit had 8 games to play, Toronto 7.

For the balance of the season the Tigers went 6-2 while the Blue Jays failed to win a game.

During the stretch Alan Trammell batted .313/.405/.500 with a Homer, 3 RBI and 4 Runs Scored while George Bell went .111/.250/.111 with no XBH and 1 RBI.

There it is - nearly comparable traditional numbers, WAR numbers that favor Trammell as well as a convincing edge in team accomplishment.

It should be noted that Alan Trammell finished 3rd in AL WAR in 1987. The two players who finished above him were Roger Clemens (+9.4) and Wade Boggs (+8.3) both of the Boston Red Sox  who finished 20 games back of the Tigers. Trammell did pace Boggs in oWAR +8.2 to +7.6

Phungo HoF Verdict - HOF
The missed MVP award may not even matter if one guides their HoF vote via WAR. For his career Alan Trammell had a +70.4 WAR this ranks 11th all time among Shortstops, just below Derek Jeter (+71.8) There are 21 HoF Shortstops with an average WAR of 66.7. Trammell has a +62.4 oWAR ranking 81st among ALL position players. Notables that rank below Trammell include Ernie Banks (+61.8), Eddie Murray (+61.2), and Ryne Sandberg (+59.5).

In additon Alan Trammell checked the Box on a World Championship in 1984 when he was named as the Series MVP.

If he had the Regular Season MVP on his shelf I believe that his Hall of Fame candidacy would not even be in doubt. It is a shame that we didn't have advanced metrics in WAR in 1987, but the BBWAA has the opportunity to right that wrong this week.

Sources and Links
Alan Trammell HOF Index
2016 HoF Candidates
Baseball Hall of Fame
Baseball-ref

aWARds Series Index

This is an Index to our various postings dedicated to WAR and MLB aWARds.

1974 Topps Mike Schmidt

1966 MVP AL - Frank Robinson/Earl Wilson Snub
1974 MVP NL - Steve Garvey or Mike Schmidt
1974 ROY NL - Greg Gross vs Bake McBride
    1974 ROY NL - Bake McBride vs Greg Gross
1980 MVP AL - Thurman Munson vs George Brett
1987 MVP AL - Alan Trammell vs George Bell
2008 MVP AL - Nick Markakis receives ZERO MVP votes
2014 CYA NL - Cole Hamels Snubbed

HoF 80th Birthday Frank Robinson

August 31st marks the 80th birthday for Frank Robinson.

1967 Topps #100 Frank Robinson

This is the first Topps Card to feature Robinson wearing an Orioles Cap. He was issued an O's card in 1966 but it was in the classic Topps 1960s era Hatless style of traded players and it is quite clear that the future Hall of Famer is wearing Reds colors.

On December 9th 1965 the Reds traded the 1956 Rookie of the Year and 1961 NL MVP to the Orioles for a Young Milt Pappas and a couple of other prospects.

The ensuing season the 30 Year Old Frank Robinson went on to win the AL Triple Crown, The AL MVP Award and a World Series Ring (including Series MVP honors)

1967 Topps
The photo from the 1967T card above likely captures Robinson sometime during that epic 1966 season.

Topps awarded Robinson the First Hero Card in the 1967 set (#100) - he also appears on a Special #1 card in the set. It was the 2nd time that Frank Robinson drew a Hero Number, he was on card #400 in 1963.

Flip

1967 Topps #100 Frank Robinson (b-side)

The back of Frank Robinson's 1967T card covers a lot of the info we have above, Triple Crown -Toon, World Series MVP -Toon and Rookie of the Year text. Had to bum out Reds fans of the era to see Cincinnati listed there 10 times followed by the MVP year with a different squad. 

1966 Triple Crown WAR and MVP
The Triple Crown resulted in a unanimous AL MVP award for Robinson. Had SABRmetrics been available at the time I doubt that there would have been the debate that occurred when Miguel Cabrera pulled off the trifecta in 2012 but was pushed by Mike Trout. In addition to leading Junior Circuit Hitters in HR, RBI and Batting Average Robinson also led the group in oWAR.

It should however be noted that Pitcher Earl Wilson led all AL Players in WAR for the 1966 season, he finished 14th in the MVP voting. In an Award Voting Quirk Wilson did not receive a single Cy Young award vote that season. At the time there was only one CY award shared by the two leagues - and voters cast the first place vote only. Wilson had the misfortune of having his great season while Sandy Koufax was having a better season. 1966 was the last time that MLB handed out only one Cy Young award.

Frank Robinson HoF Index
1959 Topps #435 (HoF Profile & price guide including 1957 rc)
1961 Topps #25 (Reds Heavy Artillery w/ Vada Pinson and Gus Bell)
1999 Hillshire Farms Home Run Heroes (autograph)
2005 Topps Update Nationals Inaugural Game #NI-TEAM (Memorial) 
2010 Topps CYMTO Insert (1957 rc reprint)

1988 Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross, 13 minutes discusses issues with segregation & baseball.

Sources and Links
Baseball Hall of Fame
Baseball-ref

Little League World Series: Go Red Land PA!

Every Year I catch a few innings of the Little League World Series, On Saturday I will be looking on with added interest as a team from near where I was raised is involved in the US bracket championship - Red Land PA.

1981 Topps #459 Greg Gross

I have no idea if he was part of their little league but Greg Gross is an Alum of Red Land High School. He was also a member of the 1980 World Champion Phillies.

I remember Gross primarily as a no-pop pinch-hitter and fourth outfielder, but he was good enough at both those skills to stick in the Majors for 14 years including ten in Philadelphia.

Flip

1981 Topps #459 Greg Gross (b-side)

There are a number of things I like about the back of the 1981T Greg Gross card. First off the Bio info points out that he was born in the same county I spent my formative years, latter cards would ID his hometown as places I have enjoyed as an adult.

Secondly I like the informative cartoons especially the latter one that mentions Gross' contributions during the 1980 NLCS. The 1974 Rookie of The Year award mentioned in the first -toon went to another player that was on the 1980 World Champs, Bake McBride. Gross had the Higher WAR of the two (4.7 - 4.3) However McBride won the oWAR battle (4.0 - 3.1) likely due to his HR (6-0) and Stolen Base Advantages (30-12)

Sources and Links
(h/t @JeffBristol for reminding me Greg Gross was from Red Land HS)

PennLive
Baseball-ref 
Topps Card DB