MLB is not that easy - For some players it’s all downhill

[Peter_Spaeth]

pat Listach. Hideo Nomo if you don't count pre-MLB.

[chalupacollects]

How about Dale Alexander? 1929 rookie season 25HR, 137 RBI, .343 Avg. Never equaled those numbers again. Career lasted until 1933 though. Did hit .367 one year and another at .372 but never equaled the HR and RBI numbers again..

[howard38]

Originally Posted by chalupacollects

How about Dale Alexander? 1929 rookie season 25HR, 137 RBI, .343 Avg. Never equaled those numbers again. Career lasted until 1933 though. Did hit .367 one year and another at .372 but never equaled the HR and RBI numbers again..

.367 & .372 was the same season when he played for two teams. He batted .372 for the Red Sox & .367 overall. His career was derailed when he was burned while being treated by a team trainer.

[AGuinness]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

pat Listach.

This was my answer and I was checking the thread to see if anyone else got it. Good call, Peter!

[frankbmd]

Threads like this can wander a bit. They also garner input from a broad variety of members and are generally well received. I suspect I am not alone in being amazed at what I can actually learn after following baseball for over 66 years.

1. I have never encountered the first name of Vean before.

2. When I noticed that Vean came in 10th in the 1911 MVP voting, I had to look into it. From 1911-1914 the first ever MVP voting was carried out annually for each league. This was sponsored by Chalmers, a new well known automobile company in Detroit and was duly called the Chalmers Award. There were a total of eight winners before the award was discontinued in 1915. Chalmers first filed for bankruptcy in 1917 and ceased all production by 1923. I don't believe I ever knew that Chalmers was responsible for the first MVP Award appropriately won by Cobb in the first year.

3. What stats are today's players going to be evaluated by in 100 years? If you were able to tell Vean that his WAR in 1911 was 8.0, I'm sure his reply would have been a big "HUH".

What was Babe Ruth's predominant Launch Angle and was his Exit Velocity up to snuff?

4. If we casually apply modern WAR to prewar players, other questions come to mind.

Would the Spartans have been more successful in the Peloponnesian Wars, if they had been using drones instead of Hoplites to destroy the olive fields in Attica?

Would the Athenians have been more successful with access to Urgent Care to avoid the devastating effects of the plague that contributed to their early losses?

You'll never know, nor will I.

[brob28]

I believe Ron Kittle would fit your criteria Frank, promising rookie year ('83) and a long slide thereafter.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by brob28

I believe Ron Kittle would fit your criteria Frank, promising rookie year ('83) and a long slide thereafter.

Negative. Cup of coffee.

[Bram99]

Since we are on the Net54, let's look at a player from 1954. Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher.

Not much of a first season - only 2 games. But both games started he pitched a full 9, won two complete games. Had 27 strikeouts in 2 games. 2-0. 2 complete games 13.5 SO/9. ERA 0.00.

First game allowed 3 singles and struck out 15.

Hurt his arm next season during spring training. Went 8-6, pitched in 2 games in 1955 WS and was done.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Negative. Cup of coffee.

Yup, there are a bunch of them. The problem I alluded to is determining the difference between one cup and two cups, which of course is further complicated by the varying volume of the cups.

[sando69]

hi frank-
I fear we have ALL been haunted, at one time or another, in regards to (at least in baseball terms), the volume of OUR cups!
great post!

[brob28]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Negative. Cup of coffee.

9 years would be one big cup of coffee. - My bad, somehow I missed that disqualifier.

[SAllen2556]

The Bird reminded me of Dave Rozema. He was supposed to be the Bird II. In 1977 he went 15-7 with 16 complete games, pitched 218 innings and won rookie pitcher of the year and was 8th in Cy Young voting. Pitched through the '86 season but never topped his rookie year.