Philly the Kid wrote:I think Dajafi is Alan Trammel.

smitty wrote:I went with Al Kaline for DAJAFI. I was rooting around on the interweb and found some study that had Kaline amongst the smartest baseball players since 1954.

On opening night of his first season, Kroc seized the public-address microphone in the eighth inning of a 9-2 loss to Houston and announced, “I have never seen such stupid ballplaying in my life.”

The crowd of more than 40,000, which obviously agreed, roared. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was less amused. He suggested Kroc apologize for being right.

Kuhn later was to fine the Padre owner $10,000 for admitting that he might be interested in signing such players as Goose Gossage and Graig Nettles, should they become free agents. Ironically, in this championship season, both Gossage and Nettles finally became Padres .

“Baseball has brought me nothing but aggravation,” Kroc said at the time of the fine. “It can go to hell. The fun in it is all gone for me.”

After the 1980 season, Steinbrenner made headlines by signing Dave Winfield to a 10-year, $23 million contract, making Winfield baseball's highest-paid player. In 1985, Steinbrenner derided Winfield's poor performance in a key September series against the Toronto Blue Jays:

Where is Reggie Jackson? We need a Mr. October or a Mr. September. Winfield is Mr. May. My big guys are not coming through. The guys who are supposed to carry the team are not carrying the team. They aren't producing. If I don't get big performances out of Winfield, Griffey and Baylor, we can't win.
—Steinbrenner to New York Times sportswriter Murray Chass.

This criticism eventually became somewhat of an anachronism, as many believed Steinbrenner made the statement following the 1981 World Series.[17] Part of that comment later led Ken Griffey Jr. to list the Yankees as one team he would never play for.

On July 30, 1990, Steinbrenner was banned permanently from day-to-day management (but not ownership) of the Yankees by MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent for paying a gambler named Howie Spira $40,000 to dig up "dirt" on Winfield. Winfield had sued the Yankees for failing to contribute $300,000 to his foundation, a guaranteed stipulation in his contract.[18] (Vincent originally proposed a 2-year suspension, but Steinbrenner wanted it worded as an "agreement" rather than a "suspension" to protect his relationship with the U.S. Olympic Committee; in exchange for that concession, Vincent made the "agreement" permanent.) After considerable negotiation with Vincent's office, Robert E. Nederlander, one of Steinbrenner's theatre partners and a limited partner in the Yankees organization, became the managing general partner.[19]

In 2001, Winfield cited the Steinbrenner animosity as a factor in his decision to enter the Hall of Fame as a representative of his first team, the San Diego Padres, rather than the team that brought him national recognition, the Yankees

smitty wrote:Monkeyboy is:

Duke Snider.

Sticking with the Duke theme. Snider is kinda forgotten as he was a CFer in NYC at the same time as Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle (and Whitey in Philly of course). But during the 50s, Snider was mentioned in the same breath as Mays and Mantle and Brooklynites would have contended that their Duke was the best CFer in baseball.

He had some awesome years in the mid-50s and he hit more homers in that decade than anyone. Some downgrade his achievements because he played his home games in friendly Ebbets Field but his road OPS is .880 and I'll take that from a CFer any day.

He was a 5-tool guy. A fine CFer with a good arm. Hit for average and power with plenty of walks.

jamiethekiller wrote:Smitty, you left me off as Uegeth(sp) Urbina

smitty wrote:

jamiethekiller wrote:Smitty, you left me off as Uegeth(sp) Urbina

Fixed.

Didn't I? wrote:Kinda wish we had an obvious John Rocker.

meatball wrote:smitty, this is a blatant plea to do me

meatball wrote:Smitty is the best poster.