Sunday Night Baseball: Jim Abbott - 1990 Topps #675

The Angels are in the Big Apple facing the New Yankees. For tonight's SNB posting we take a look at an a player who spent the bulk of his career with the then California Angels and had some big moments with the Yankees.

 1990 Topps #675 Jim Abbott

Folks likely remember Jim Abbott as a pitcher with one hand. I hope that we don't forget that he was a fine pitcher regardless of his hand count and had several career highlights.

Abbott was the 8th overall pick of the Angels in the 1988 draft. That same summer he won a Gold Medal as a member of the US Olympic Squad - it appears 1988 was a demonstration year for Baseeball.

The Left-Handed Pitcher, Batter, and Fielder made his Angels debut in 1989, winning 12 games and finished 5th in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Orioles closer Gregg Olson. Olson also won that award over the Mariners Ken Griffey Jr.

At age 23 in 1991 Abbot had his best season, He won 18 games (4th AL) with a 2.89 ERA (4th) for the Angels. His work earned him a 3rd place finish in the '91 Cy Young Voting - If you are inclined to dismiss Roger Clemens for PED Reasons, Jim Abbot won the WAR title that season with a +7.6 (Clemens = +7.9)

In December of 1992 Abbott was traded to the New York Yankees. Ten months later On September 4th 1993, Abbott No-Hit the Cleveland Indians - The lineup he faced that day included Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Carlos Baerga (.317 at the time), and a young Jim Thome batting 8th.      

Jim Abbott has remained in the game as a Spring Training instructor for the Angels. Abbot has worked with The Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and he has also developed a career as a motivational speaker.

Abbott's twitter handle is @jabbottue31  - it is a worthwhile follow.

1990 Topps
The Jim Abbot #675 Card is not his rookie card. Abbott shows up in both 1989T and he leads off 1988 Topps as card #1 and is part of the Team USA/Olympic subset. Regardless the 1990T card is significant for a couple of reasons. It has the rookie cup which  - an opportunity each player only gets once. Additionally The photo shows Abbott holding his glove up with his right forearm. It is a nice nod to Abbott overcoming tough odds to excel as a top tier athlete.   


Sources
Jim Abbott
Baseball-ref
Cardboard Connection
Topps baseball card database
twitter

1964 Phillies @ 50: Dick Allen (RC) 1964 Topps #243

Last week we may committed a bit of a fuax pas by marking a Mets 50th anniversary and overlooking a significant Phillies Anniversary

1964 Topps #243 Richie Allen & John Herrnstien (RC)

50 years ago last Thursday Dick Allen, then known as Richie, Hit his first career Home Run as the Phillies defeated the Cubs 10-8. The Homer was hit at Wrigley Field off of southpaw Dick Ellsworth.

The 18 run slugfest that day featured 8 Home Runs between the two teams, including 4 from 3 different Hall of Famers (Billy Willaims (2), Ron Santo, and Lou Brock). Phillies pitcher Art Mahaffey also hit his last of 3 career Homers that day.

1964T Rookie Card
We have featured both Allen and Herrnstein in our 1964 Phillies retrospective previosuly. I have been meaning to post this card to bring the two players together since posting each of them separately as part of the Phungo cross feature on 1965T/2014 Topps Heritage. Herrnstein was originally posted here on February 17, A week later we put together this posting on Dick Allen. 

   
Sources
1964 Phillies Series 
Dick Allen Player Collection Index
baseball-ref

Sunday Night Baseball:Bobby Doerr: 2003 Topps Tribute All-Stars #21

Bobby Doerr turned 96 a few weeks ago earlier this month and hasn't played a major league game since 1951. He was inducted into the hall of fame 28 years ago and I am guessing he is the oldest lving Hall of Famer. 

2003 Topps Tribute #21 Bobby Doerr

I think Doerr would fall into the borderline Hall of Fame category, He was on the ballot in various forms for close to two decades prior to falling off in 1971. Eventually he was inducted by the veteran's committee in 1986. His career Highlights include batting a slick .409 with a Home Run in his only World Series (1946) and being part of 9 all-star teams. In 1944 Doerr led he league in slugging, He was also s standout fielder who led the league in Defensive WAR in 1946.  He was never an MVP but the Sporting News named Doerr Player of the Year in 1944.

Bobby Doerr Retired #1

The Red Sox have a pretty basic policy regarding retired numbers. The player must have played for the team for a decade and be a member of the Hall of Fame.

Seven players fit this criteria and Bobby Doerr is among them.  Here is Doerr's number presented between Joe Cronin(#4) and Carl Yastzemski (#8)

2003 Topps Tribute All-Stars

I am a fan of these Chrome style Topps Tribute cards. The 50 Card set is made up almost exclusively of Hall of Fame players. A handful of the cards come as autograph variations - Doerr does not. Doerr, however is included in the Relic set.


Sources
Baseball-ref
Boston Red Sox 
Baseball Hall of Fame
Bob Lemke's Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards 

Ulimate Frisbee - Rochester Dragons @ Philadelphia Phoenix

The 2014 home opener for the AUDL Philadelphia Phoenix did not go as well as the team had hoped. The Rochester Dragons won a tough battle 13-10 on a gusty day at Phoenixville High School. (Click Any Pix to enlarge)

2014 04 19 AUDL Rochester Dragons @ Philadelphia Phoenix at Phoenixville High School (click on pix to enlarge)


I hadn't been to an AUDL game since their opening season two years ago. It would good to see that they still put on a good show, playing on good fields with solid facilities.  The game was well played and officiated, although there was a fair amount of away from the disc contact. This is an issue that professional ultimate is dealing with in both the AUDL and MLU camps.

23 goals is a relatively low total for professional ultimate. I enjoyed the game being played at the lower score - each goal and turnover definitely meant more then they have in higher scoring games. The day was pretty windy at points, making goals scored upwind all the more precious and the difference in the close contest.

The Phoenix trailed by 2-3 goals from the 2nd quarter till the start of the final frame when they fought back to tie the score at 9. At that point the Dragons took over scoring 3 of the last four points.

Snapshots

 Coach Steve Leinert working his first game at the helm of the Philadelphia Phoenix

I am not to familiar with the roster of the Phoenix but do to the fine coif, I believe this is Chris Schulze going after the disc

According to the Philadelphia roster this is Schuyler Redding on an in cut

Open receiver for the Phoenix

There were a few just misses for the Phoenix as well. Had a few of these tough passes been converted the tight game may have had a different outcome.

Rochester Dragons Defense
This is a pretty good shot of the Dragons defending their goal. There are five Phoenix in the shot and none of them are open.

 

Dragons on Offense

Rochester executing an offensive zone pass. I think this one was just completed in front of a diving Phoenix defender.

Contested Goals

 

I don't recall the outcome of either of these goal line tips, but with the wind a lot of discs hung in the air, especially going toward the Left (northwest) end of the field where the gusts were originating. 

Fan friendly

The game wasn't the end of the entertainment for the fans. There was a egg hunt for the kids, and a Bunny Hop competition with the winners awarded a PADA membership. 

Vittles
Local artisan chefs from  Waffatopia were on hand with samples of their decadent Waffles. Team Phungo picked up on of the Bacon Syrup variety, it made for a sweet and savory start to our Sunday and paired well with a morning cup of coffee.

AUDL
Just one quick comment on the AUDL - Hey Dragons, how about getting some bios and headshots on your website.

Reading the Competition: 1993 Donruss #743 Andy Ashby

Tonight with the Phillies playing in Colorado we present Rockies/Phillies cross team card

1993 Donruss #743 Andy Ashby 

Andy Ashby debuted with the Phillies in 1991, but only pitched in 18 games for the club before being taken by the Rockies with the 25^th pick (The team’s 13^th selection) of the 1992 Expansion Draft. The draft built the team that the Rockies used for their inaugural 1993 season. 

Unfortunately Denver’s thin air gave Ashby incredible problems. He only lasted have a season with the Rockies before being traded to San Diego. With the Rockies Ashby was 0-4 and posted an 8.50 ERA. Interestingly Baseball-ref mentions that during that period Ashby had an FIP of 4.91. FIP or Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) measures the ERA of a pitcher assuming average defensive play behind him.   

San Diego proved to a much better environment for Ashby. Most of Ashby's career highlights occurred with the Padres, he was a member of two of their playoff squads including the 1998 NL Champions and represented the team as an all-star twice. 

Ashby had a 2nd stint with the Phillies in 2000 which had about the same results as his 1993 Rockies campaign.  Ashby pitched through 2004 finishing his career 2 wins shy of 100 with 98.

Post Career  

According to a 2013 interview Ashby is now based out of Scranton PA where he spent parts of two seasons with the Phillies AAA affiliated, the Red Barons. He is an avid outdoorsman and listed Tony Gwynn, Bruce Ruffin, Kevin Brown, Brad Ausmus, Bruce Bochy, and Randy Jones among his fishing buddies.

The article also mentions his mentors included Phillies Ruffin, Terry Mulholland and Dale Murphy. Brown and Trevor Hoffman are cited as influential teammates from his Padres years.     

Sources

Baseball-ref

Mike Long Outdoors

Shea Stadium Opening 1964 04 17 - 50 Years Ago Today

Team Phungo isn't going to make a habit of Mets milestones, but I thought today we would put together a quick posting regarding the 50th anniversary of Shea Stadium

  

1964 04 17 Shea Stadium Opening Day Tix and Program

The Mets musuem/HoF whichis located in the new Citifield had some neat items including the above 1964 Opening ticket.  You can click on the photo to enlarge it, A field level box that day went for $3.50. 

 

Reading the Competition: Andrelton Simmons 2014 Phungo #64

When I originally conceived of a feature on Andrelton Simmons I was going to run out a parallel with Ozzie Smith. Both are guys I view as Defense first Shortstops – Smith Developed hitting production later in his career, a path I thought Simmons may hop on.
 

2014 Phungo #64 Andrelton Simmons

Looking inside the numbers I found a more interesting and more contemporary comp in another Shortstop the Phillies will see this week Troy Tulowitzki.

Agewise Simmons career arc started a year behind Tulo’s but both had good first full seasons. Last year Simmons (at age 23) hit 17 HR with 59 RBI which is pretty good however his slash line of .248/.296/.396 (86 ops+) was less impressive. Tulo’s first full (2007 at age 22) yielded 24 HR 99 RBI and a .291/.359/.479 (109 OPS+) which earned him a 2nd place finish in the Rookie of the Year balloting,

A year later Tulowitzki regressed to .263/.332/.401 (85 ops+) with only 8 homers, which is pretty close to what Simmons put up in 2013.  

The stat that drew these two players together for me was Defensive WAR, both players led their respective seasons (Simmons 2013, Tulo 2007) in Defensive WAR, both did it as Shortstops and both did it at a young age in their first full seasons. That Defensive WAR crown is for all positions, not just shortstops – The traditional analysis back up the SABRmetrics as well - in 2013 Simmons led all NL Shortstops in Assists and Putouts, six years prior Tulowitzki did the same.

At this early juncture of the 2014 season both Tulowitzki and Simmons are hitting well, Tulo is NL leader in Defensive WAR. If the two stay healthy they could be an interesting young player and veteran SS pair to follow for the next couple of seasons. 
 
Phungo Cards
I am not sure when I became aware of the Natural sign at the Phillies Ballpark. I know I thought it would be cool to capture the right player with the sign as a backdrop. Fortunately Andrelton Simmons had a great season and took pre-game fielding in the right spot for me. I was very happy to get the shot and was happy to put it on a Phungo Card. 

For 2014 we have added "Hardware" notes on a few cards. For any of the Major Awards I could track down and World Series winners I have added some sort of emblem on the card. Andrelton has "NL GG SS 2013" for NL Gold Glove Shortstop in 2013. It is a nice addition that I plan to bring forward for future sets.
 
Sources
Baseball-ref