Back East – to West Virginia

If you’ve read through all of these posts, thanks very much. You may recall that we’re doing this in the order that the states were admitted to the union (as in the states’ quarters series). We’re up to the 1860s.

West Virginia of course became independent from Virginia during the Civil War. It was the only state to secede from a Confederate state.

When I was putting together the groups for our competition, coming up next month, it was kind of a challenge to keep the teams together in terms of rivalries, while not putting too many strong teams in one group. I did put West Virginia back with Virginia, with D.C. and Ohio also in there. More about that when we’re ready to play.

Its statehood roughly coincides with the era where base ball was starting to catch on as the national pastime. It’s a pretty good team for having just 114 players.

George Brett was born in Glen Dale, up in that tip part of the state. Again, the family moved west and ended up in California. (Apparently the family moved a lot because older brother and fellow big leaguer Ken was born in Brooklyn.)

He was not touted as a future superstar, though he was drafted in the second round, and eventually made it to Kansas City in 1973. He batted .282 in his first full year in ’74, and then he really took off. He won his first batting title in ’76 when the Royals won their first division title. In 1980, he made his famous run at .400, coming within just a few days at the end of the season of the mark before settling for .390. He was the easy selection for the MVP and his home run off Goose Gossage in the ALCS lifted the Royals to the World Series for the first time.

In 1985, he had perhaps his greatest year. He won a Gold Glove for the only time in his career. He hit .335 with 30 homers and 112 RBI, the Royals won the AL West and took their long-awaited World Series title. He won another batting title in 1990 and ended up as one of four players with 3,000 hits, 300 homers and a .300 career average. The others were Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Stan Musial.

More than that, though, Brett was a highly respected player. As a White Sox fan in the 1970s, the Royals were disliked because they were the top team in the West in the second half of the decade. But no one I knew then, or have met since, disliked George Brett. The phrase “he plays the game like it was meant to be played” is overused these days, but George Brett did just that. And he had fun doing it.

That’s a lot on one player compared to most posts but hey, everyone liked the guy. The rest of the team is interesting, too. World Series hero Bill Mazeroski and old-time outfielder Jesse Burkett are the only other Hall of Famers, but there are top 19th Century shortstop Jack Glasscock, famed non-athlete and TV talking head John Kruk, Reds outfielder and legendary football coach Greasy Neale, and another World Series hero, pitcher Lew Burdette.

Charlie Manuel, who loves to teach hitting, didn’t make the team as a player, but he’s about the easiest choice for manager of any state. Only Glasscock among the other five options for manager was even at .500. Manuel is as of this writing 114 games over .500, and has won four division titles, two pennants and (so far) one World Series. He may get to add to that in the next 48 hours. His teams almost always play better in the second half of the season. “Cholly” for some reason isn’t mentioned among the game’s top managers even though the record says he belongs. We might say the same about West Virginia’s team.

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS

2B Sam Barkley
RH Sheriff Blake
3B George Brett
UT Larry Brown
RH Lew Burdette
OF Jesse Burkett
RH Max Butcher
OF Mel Clark
LH Wilbur Cooper
RH Wayland Dean
RH Earl Francis
3B Gene Freese
SS Jack Glasscock
1B Joe Hague
SS Toby Harrah
OF Lee King
1B John Kruk
2B Bill Mazeroski
RH Jock Menefee
RH Win Mercer
OF Greasy Neale
2B Dick Padden
RH Rick Reed
CA Andy Seminick
LH Chuck Stobbs
OF Farmer Weaver
UT John Wockenfuss
CA Steve Yeager

Next: Back out West and more mountains.

Opening Day

It’s the beginning of this baseball blog, and also the beginning of a new baseball season. I’ve followed the game for a long time and I’m planning on sharing my thoughts on it here.

Opening Day of course is all about renewal and new hope. And this decade has delivered a lot on that hope.

Since the Yankees won their third straight World Series in 2000, we have had seven champion teams in eight seasons. And all seven of those teams were teams that either had not won the Series often (or at all), or had waited a long time to win it.

The Diamondbacks (’01) and Angels (’02) were first-time winners. The Marlins (’03) won six years earlier, but it was only their second Series win–granted, excellent for their first 11 years.

The end of the 86-year wait for the Red Sox (’04, ’07) of course has been well documented. The White Sox (’05) waited even longer, 88 years, and also qualified as a rare winner with just their third Series title overall. So did the Phillies (’08), who took 28 years to win their second.

Even the Cardinals (’06) went 24 years between titles. And even the losers of the Series (Astros, Rockies, Rays) included some first-time participants.

So with the ’00s coming to an end, and what will we call these years when it’s over … who looks like the best bet to add to this list?

* Cubs. Every argument about long waits for a championship begins–and often ends–with the Cubs. They marked a century of no titles last year. They are coming off consecutive postseason appearances and had the best record in the National League last season. So if there were ever a set-up for a win, this is it.

However, there are some warning signs. They were swept in the playoffs for the second straight year.
There are very high expectations this year, and therefore even more pressure on a team that clearly felt the heat in the postseason. Key players (Harden, Bradley) have extensive injury histories. Others (Zambrano, Soriano, Lee) have battled some ailments in recent years and are getting up there in age.

This seems like a “now or never” kind of team. It could be the year at long last, but it could just as easily be a major letdown with a mediocre season.

* Indians. Their 60-year title drought is often overlooked, but it is the third longest in sports. Only the Cubs and NFL Cardinals (who almost ended theirs two months ago) have waited longer. Cleveland has been agonizingly close, such as 1997 when they were two outs away from the win, and in 2007 when they were up 3-1 on the Red Sox in the ALCS, only to watch Boston run the table.

Without too much pressure this time, and a year to recover from the postseason hangover, the Indians could do it this year. Their lineup looks very solid and they have stabilized the bullpen. Their division is very winnable. They have to get past the Twins and White Sox but they did it two years ago. In the postseason, as we have seen, anything can happen.

* Giants. I’m only including them because they have had a 54-year wait. I don’t see them passing the Dodgers this year, but it is a promising team with a good young pitching staff.

* The field. Now that the Rays have played in the WS, there are very few teams that have not at least been that far. The Mariners, Nationals and Rangers are the only three. None of them seem ready to win this season, nor do the Pirates, who at 30 years have the longest drought of the non-expansion teams not mentioned above.

Probably the best bet at this time is the Dodgers. It’s hard to believe that they’ve been out of the World Series for 21 years, but they qualify under the criteria listed above. With a full season of Manny, and a strong young pitching staff, they seem to be equipped to end that drought. It would give Joe Torre bookend titles for the decade of the 2000s. They tasted some playoff success last year and may be ready to take that next step.