ALPHA-STARS

ALPHA-STARS

Now why is there a photo of Pete Reiser at the top of this article? Well, Children, because he is an obscure and almost forgotten example of that rarest of baseball animals...the ALPHA-STAR.

Yes, it's just a cute name I made up for my own entertainment, but here is what I mean:

Over the history of baseball there have been many DOMINANT players who could control the game with one or more talents. Ace pitchers like Johnson, Grove and Koufax and their latter-day counterparts Scherzer and Bumgarner are easily identifiable.

An ALPHA-STAR is a player that controls the game not with one or two talents, but with all FIVE of the particular talents of baseball...the ultimate 5-TOOL PLAYER. The 5-tools are commonly defined as:

1.HITTING

2.HITTING WITH POWER

3.RUNNING

4.FIELDING

5.THROWING

*(I would argue that there are actually at least 8 identifiable talents that affect the game, with the addition of DURABILITY (like Gehrig and Ripken...players whose value increases by their ability to stay on the field), BASEBALL INTELLIGENCE (players like Joe Morgan and Greg Maddux who can out-think opponents) and LEADERSHIP (players who possess that intangible quality of inspiring and supporting their teammates. They can be quiet leaders by example like Stan Musial, inspirational guys like Willie Stargell and Dutch Daulton,or fiery guys like Rose, Johnny Evers and Frankie Frisch. They can even be “clowns” like Luis Tiant, Rabbit Maranville, Yogi Berra and, recently, Hunter Pence. Whatever the ephemeral qualities that define “leadership”, it's pretty obvious that it can have a positive effect on winning or losing a ballgame.

Anyway, this is probably the subject for a later discussion. Right now, let's just talk about the traditional 5 tools)

So, my definition of an ALPHA-STAR is a player who is, at any given time, the outstanding player on the field AT ALL FIVE TALENTS. This would be a player who is at least top ten and preferably top five year in and year out in most offensive hitting categories, in fielding his position, in the throwing game (pitchers have a special caveat which I go into below) and in the running game (mostly stolen bases but the other positive aspects of speed as well).

Let's give some examples that most people easily recognize. WILLIE MAYS, MICKEY MANTLE and DUKE SNIDER. All three of these superstars won batting titles ( Snider actually only contended) and home run titles. They were considered to be great center fielders. They all had great arms...Mays and Snider had all-time great arms. They could run. Mays led the league in steals a few times. Mantle and Snider didn't steal much because of team philosophy but they were two of the fastest men in baseball in their primes.

Willie, Mickey and the Duke were super athletes and ALPHA-STARS...Ted Williams and Stan Musial weren't. Williams and Musial were both better pure hitters than any of the WMDs. Williams probably had more power than Willie and Duke, but not more than Mick. Neither Ted or Stan could field with the center field boys and neither could throw that well. Stan ran pretty good but was not much of a stolen base threat. Ted ran like a drunken donkey.

Okay, you get my definition now?

Well, if you look at the history of baseball, there are very, very few players who dominated in every category.

The first was probably Ed Delahanty, who played most of his career in the 1890's for the Phillies. He hit over .400 3 times and led in slugging and doubles 5 times each and homers twice. He led in steals once with a high of 58 and could field several positions well with a cannon arm, but is not generally remembered for being a defensive genius like say, Tris Speaker, who came along later.

Tris played center field and set the standard for that position until Joe Dimaggio came up to challenge his primacy as the UR-CENTER FIELDER of all time. (Mays probably knocked Joe off the perch.) Speaker was team leader of both the Red Sox of the 1910's and the Cleveland Indians of the teens and 20's. He led the league in hitting (when Cobb took a year off from winning it) and was a power hitter for doubles and triples in that pre-homer era. Tris stole 30-50 bases every year.

Cobb, by the way, would not match my definition as an ALPHA-STAR, although he certainly dominated baseball with his incredible superiority as a hitter, base stealer and intimidator. The chink in Ty's armor was throwing. Contemporaries said that “he threw like a washer woman”.

Other Alphas of the early era were second baseman Nap Lajoie and star-crossed Shoeless Joe Jackson.

But the most identifiable Alpha of the day, and one of the most identifiable of all time, was Pittsburgh shortstop Honus Wagner.

Honus was the best hitter of his league...8 batting crowns. He was the best power hitter (even though in the dead ball, fields-with-no-fences era nobody hit many homers), leading in slugging 6 times, doubles in 7 and triples in 3. He was the stolen base champion 5 times with a high of 61.

Honus was the best fielding shortstop of the league and played many other positions occasionally. According to his contemporaries, he would have been the best at almost every other position as well.

Honus also had a famous, powerful arm. When his team was in a situation where a sacrifice fly could beat them, they often put Honus in the outfield because nobody could run on his arm. Honus Wagner was the best of his league IN EVERY 5 TOOL CATEGORY.

A little later on you can add Negro league stars Oscar Charleston and Martin Dihigo (power, speed, played every position including pitcher where he was a 200 game winner over his career)to the list. Josh Gibson is iffy in the running game but awfully strong in the other four tools with extra credit for being a catcher. Shortstop John Henry Lloyd (Ruth called him the greatest player he ever saw) and Turkey Stearns (lead off man-speed and cleanup hitter-power) are probables.

There are probably more of these stars, but stats are a little obscure.

Joe Dimaggio is a definite. Best of his era defensively and top two (with Williams) as a hitter and power hitter. Unlike Ted, Joe could run and run well. He didn't steal because that wasn't the Yankee game.

Jackie Robinson was an Alpha in every way except as a power hitter. (Jackie had a lot of those “extra” tools I spoke about earlier)

In our modern era you can make a case for Hank Aaron who could steal you 20 bases a season and play an exceptional right field.

Frank Robinson won a batting title, a couple of homer titles and stole at about the same rate as Aaron. Frank was also a strong, but not Mays-like, defensive player.

Except for his arm and his questionable ethics, Barry Bonds has to be on the list. He stole over 30 bases 9 times. Barry's arm was not Alpha caliber, however.

A-Rod likewise...undeniable as a hitter, fast, good defense but not an A-arm and certainly an ethical nightmare and distorted-by-drugs talent level.

Ken Griffey Jr. ran pretty well, was the best center fielder around and hit for power as well as almost anybody. He didn't hit that well for average, especially for his era.

Larry Walker led the league in hitting, homers, defense and throwing arm. He stole about 15 bases a season but he was famous for his base running skill. I'd say he sneaks in as an Alpha.

Reggie Jackson could never hit for average. He could steal during the first half of his career and played good D with a strong arm for the first half also, but then his skills deteriorated until he was more of a DH type.

Bo Jackson was a possible but he could never hit for average.

Jose Canseco made 40-40 (steals and homers in the same season) famous but his defense was a joke. Also never hit for average.

Who have we got playing in the Big Leagues now that could join the exclusive club?

You've got to keep an eye on Trout and Harper who are looking real good. It's probably too early to start bandying Carlos Correa's name about, but what a beginning!

I only count 2 dominant tools for Giancarlo Stanton....power and arm. (But those two are off the charts dominant). Cespedes could be one if he wanted to run more and could hit for higher averages. Miggy Cabrera doesn't have speed or defense.(But what a hitter!)

Paul Goldschmidt is in the top ten in steals 16 in the first half of 2015), and if he can do that and still be top five in hitting and homers while playing great D at first, he might be the next Alpha.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. Why don't you guys enlighten me?

I mentioned that pitchers were a special category because one tool...namely throwing arm...could dominate the whole game without any of their other tools even being necessary. But most pitchers can't be Alphas by my definition because of this one-tool-only dominance.

Except for one.

Yep, you got it. It's The Babe.

According to Total Baseball, Babe Ruth was deserving of the ex post facto Cy Young Award for the American League in 1916, beating out Walter Johnson in his prime. That means that Babe Ruth had the dominant arm in his league AT PITCHER! And then went on to dominate as the all-time power hitter. He was also a top notch defensive outfielder and had surprising speed for such a big man. (He is in the top all time in steals of home). Ruth won one batting title and hit a high average of .393!

But nobody in MLB baseball history could lay claim to being the best pitcher and the best hitter in his league in one career. Only the Babe.

As usual, you have to invent a special category for the Bambino...THE ALL-TIME ALPHA-STAR.

And now to mysterious Pete Reiser: here's the sad story in a Wikipedia nutshell. (He also led the league in steals twice, which the article doesn't mention.) A Hall of Famer who might have been. An ALPHA-STAR who came crashing down before his time.

I hope at least Dodger fans will remember him. He could have been the greatest Dodger of them all.

PETE REISER

(*quoted from Wikipedia)
“In 1941, his first season as a regular starter, Reiser helped the Dodgers take home the pennant. He was a sensation that year, winning the National League batting title while leading the league in doubles, triples, runs scored, and slugging percentage. He was also named a starter to the All-Star team and placed second in MVP balloting.



On July 19 of the following year, Reiser crashed face-first into the outfield wall in St. Louis, trying to catch what turned out to be a game winning inside-the-park home run by Enos Slaughter of the rival Cardinals in the bottom of the 11th inning. The loss cut the Dodgers' lead over the Cardinals to six games.



Despite missing just four games with the resulting concussion, he batted only .244 over his final 48 games that season, dropping his batting average from .350 to .310 on the season overall. The Dodgers ended up losing the pennant by two games to the Cardinals, who won 20 of their last 23 games and eventually the World Series.



Reiser gave great effort on every play in the field, and was therefore very injury-prone. He fractured his skull running into an outfield wall on one occasion (but still made the throw back to the infield), was temporarily paralyzed on another, and was taken off the field on a stretcher a record 11 times.



Leo Durocher, who was Reiser's first major league manager, reflected many years later that in terms of talent, skill, and potential, there was only one other player comparable to Reiser. Willie Mays. Durocher also said that "Pete had more power than Willie—left-handed and right-handed both. He had everything but luck."



Reiser, a switch hitter who sometimes restricted himself to batting left-handed because of injury, served in the United States Army during World War II, playing baseball for Army teams. While serving, he was injured again and had to learn to throw with both arms. Durocher said, "And he could throw at least as good as Willie [Mays] right-handed and left-handed."



When Reiser returned to the majors in 1946, he was still suffering from a shoulder injury from playing Army baseball. He later said: "It wasn't as serious as the head injuries but it did more to end my career. The shoulder kept popping out of place, more bone chips developed, and there was constant pain in the arm and shoulder."



He was never the same hitter that he was early in his career. However, he still retained his speed and stole home plate a record seven times in 1946.”



My only comment on this article is that it's a shame that Leo Durocher didn't recognize the problem and move Reiser to an infield position so he wouldn't keep hurting himself. (Reiser did play some third.)



Look for my next post during the All-Star break. And enjoy the second half of the season.



Meanwhile here is a going away funny baseball story for you.



Marco



The Dodger bullpen of the mid-sixties had a tradition that the night before any of Sandy Koufax's starts was boys night out for the relief staff. That's because for about 5 years Sandy pitched a complete game pretty much every time out and the bullpen boys knew they'd get a day off. So they weren't afraid to tie one on the night before a Koufax start.
Well one game, Sandy is having one of those days. For some reason the opposition is hitting him and the bullpen boys are sitting there very quiet and very hungover.
Manager Walter Alston goes out to the mound with catcher John Roseboro to confer with his Ace.
“What have you got left, Sandy?” says Alston.
Koufax replies “Not much, but whatever I got it's still more than you've got out in the bullpen today.”
“Know what you mean.” says Walter and just walks back to the dugout.