Rogers Hornsby | Eddie Collins | Joe Morgan | Jackie Robinson | Roberto Alomar |
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Rogers
Hornsby He started his career as a weak-hitting minor league
player, but when he added weight and muscle, the slugger in him emerged. Few
took hitting as seriously as Hornsby. He refused to read newspapers
(unless it was to see his batting average) or watch movies, believing
those activities would damage his eyes. Playing for the St.
Louis Cardinals for most of his career, he led the Redbirds to victory
in the 1926 World Series over Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees. But
this proved to be his last full season in St. Louis, due to a personality
that was anything but warm. As a player and manager, he demeaned
players who committed errors or pitchers who were hit hard during a
game. |
Such a personality and his
demand for a large salary increase made him expendable. He was traded
to the New York Giants, then the Boston Braves and the Chicago Cubs– all
in three years. It seems his ill-temper got the best of him, nowhere
better exemplified than when Hornsby ended an argument with an umpire
by flattening him with a punch. After the game, a reporter asked
Rogers why he hit the umpire. “Well, I wasn’t making
any progress trying to talk to him.” |
Eddie
Collins |
“They called [Eddie] Collins ‘Cocky,’ not because he was arrogant, but because he was filled with confidence based on sheer ability.” - Jack Kavanaugh |
Cocky | |
Eddie Collins played in an era of
fundamental baseball as opposed to the power ball of Babe Ruth, Hank
Aaron or Barry Bonds. He was a slick fielding second baseman who
holds career records for assists and putouts at his position. Yet
he was an offensive weapon as well, with a career batting average of
.333 and a base stealer of legendary proportions. Born in New York state in 1887, Collins was a rarity in baseball – he attended college at Columbia University. When he first arrived in the majors, he played under an assumed name because he was also Columbia’s starting quarterback on the gridiron. In just a few years, he led Connie Mack’s Athletics to four of five American League pennants. Were it not for Ty Cobb, he would have been the game’s premier base stealer. He played on four world championship teams, batting .328 with 42 hits and 14 stolen bases in 34 Fall Classic games – each among the all-time leaders. He played in six World Series contests, four with the Philadelphia Athletics and two with the Chicago White Sox. |
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He was a member of the “Black Sox” in 1919 where several teammates took bribes from gambling lords to throw the World Series. Collins was never implicated in the scandal that rocked America’s pastime. In fact, Collins watched in disbelief as teammate after teammate failed to execute simple plays, lobbed pitches or struck out. Eddie Collins finished his career a 25 year player, the American League record for longevity, and his total of 3,315 hits is tenth all-time. |
“A good base stealer should make the whole
infield jumpy. Whether
you steal or not, you’re changing the rhythm of the game.”- Joe
Morgan |
Joe Morgan He was the greatest second baseman of his generation, and at only 5’7”, 160 pounds, terrorized opponents through a unique combination of power and speed. Joe Morgan’s career began with the Houston Colt .45s (later renamed the Astros) in 1963, playing in spacious parks that were unfriendly to hitters. In 1972, he was part of a multi-player trade that landed him in Cincinnati with the Reds, where he was the perfect fit for a team on the rise. Morgan was the catalyst for the Big Red Machine that went on to win three pennants and two World Series. His teammates included All Stars like Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, and Dave Concepion, but it was Morgan who regularly led the league in walks and was among the league leaders in stolen bases and runs sparking the Reds. He won consecutive MVP awards in 1975 and 1976, the latter based on a .330 average, 113 runs scored, 114 walks, 111 RBIs, 27 homers and his fourth consecutive Gold Glove. |
He bounced around with the Astros, Giants, Phillies and Athletics in the last five years of his career. He was a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 1990 and named to the Major League Baseball’s All Century Team. Baseball historian Bill James ranks Morgan as the greatest second baseman of all time, based on James’ complex analysis of career statistics. Joe Morgan is now a regular on ESPN’s national broadcasting team for Major League Baseball. |
Jackie Robinson
Dodger general manager and president Branch Rickey was never one to do things by the book. He was determined to integrate baseball. After scouting many Negro League players, he settled on the all-around athlete from UCLA, Jackie Robinson, signing him in 1945. After a brief period in the minors, Rickey called up the gifted Robinson. That spring Robinson suffered racial slurs from fans, opposing players
and even a few teammates. Robinson never took the bait; he knew
if he responded it would set integration back many years. Instead
he became all the more determined to excel, showing all of America that
it was no longer only a white man’s game. Fellow Dodger
Pee Wee Reese had seen the pressure on and hatred directed at Jackie. In
a game in Cincinnati (one of the southernmost teams at the time), the
heckling and death threats were at their most intense. Reese, a
Southerner, walked over to Robinson on the field, put his arm around
him as friends would do and talked to him for a moment. Reese had
made a statement to the fans and America – Robinson was a teammate. Robinson
later said, “That meant so much, so much.” |
“Give me five players like [Jackie] Robinson and a pitcher and
I’ll beat any nine-man team in baseball.” |
Robinson went on to win
Rookie of the Year, an MVP award in 1949, and he appeared in six World
Series. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1962, but the greatest
tribute of all came in 1997, the 50th anniversary of his courageous entry
into the game, when every team in baseball retired his number – 42. Whenever
you see players of color in any sport, think of Jackie Robinson. Was Robinson bitter over what he had to go through so that others could play professional sports? In his own words, he said, “The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.” |
“I’ve been watching baseball for 60 years
and he is the best I’ve ever seen.” |
Roberto Alomar
He helped the Toronto Blue Jays to two straight World Series titles,
played in the post season seven times, and won ten Gold Gloves.
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He was born
to play ball: his father was a major leaguer and his brother, Sandy Alomar,
was a big league catcher. He was a
switch hitter who averaged .300 and stole 30 or more bases eight times. His
best seasons were with the Cleveland Indians when he hit over .300, clubbed
more than 20 homers, drove in over 100 runs and stole 30 or more bases. Maybe the best assessment was by the great slugger Orlando Cepeda. According to Cepeda, “I’ve seen a lot of second basemen in my time. My father played in the Negro Leagues … where I saw Cool Papa Bell. I played with Julian Javier, Felix Milan, and Cookie Rojas. I played against Bill Mazeroski and Joe Morgan. In All-Star games, I saw Rod Carew. As good as they were, none were as good as Roberto Alomar. I’ve been watching baseball for 60 years and he’s the best I’ve ever seen.” |
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