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Let’s get superficial here at Ricochet and talk about looks. This is a tw0-part essay.
Great. Thanks much for this.
Thanks Hoya.
For some reason, I associate Mossi with the Indians, but he had at least two good years with the Tigers, including 1961, when he pitched 240 innings for a second place 101 win team.
I recall Astros manager Cecil Cooper speaking very highly of Hunter Pence’s attitude during his rookie year.
I think one of the reasons he has been as successful as he has is that he is always hustling. I’ve seen him slipping and sliding as he leaves the batter’s box after hitting a ground ball and still be able to beat the throw to first or turn a single into a double..
Sad to hear about Hunter being cut loose. I did not know that because I am not following this “season” (or whatever the hell it is). Hunter is “Charley Hustle without the gambling habit.” Sad to see him go. Another desultory moment in a desultory year.
I don’t know a lot about Pence, but he strikes me as someone who may have coaching/managerial potential. Any speculation about this?
I’m glad to see enthusiasm about our National Pastime.We have to keep our pro sports fandom going, with everything that’s happening right now.
@tigerlily, this is a really interesting post, but beyond that, it’s so well-written. One of the things I’ve always admired about Bill James is that in addition to bringing us all a new way to understand baseball, he can write the heck out of just about anything. In my opinion, he’s the best baseball writer alive. Check the essays in his Baseball Abstracts.
Anyway, this essay reminded me of those – lovely to read divorced from the fact that it’s about my favorite subject (baseball, not ugliness).
Chambliss was a Yankee for a time, so he gets no sympathy in this quarter. That alone justifies some cherry-picking:
Chambliss: 16 seasons; 2 seasons with + .800 OPS; 3 seasons with WAR + 3.0
Pence: 13 seasons; 9 seasons with + .800 OPS; 6 seasons with WAR +3.0.
That’s an excellent question. On the team he showed passion and leadership — two essentials for coaching. How tactical and strategic his knowledge is has never been discussed. Pitchers and catchers have this talked about somewhat routinely in their careers, but position players much less so. But if I were a manager I would certainly want to give Hunter a shot at it if he were interested. And I suspect he is.
Thanks for the kind words repmodad. And I’m a big Bill James fan also. I recall the first time I came across him – it was the 1982 Baseball Abstract (the first one that was commercially published) in, I think, a Waldenbooks (remember those?)- it was the pre-season annual I’d been looking for all my life.
No idea Hoya. But, then again, I’ve always been pretty bad at predicting which players would go on to become managers. For example, I recall being surprised when Ozzie Guillen not only became a manager, but also a fairly successful one, and further back, I thought Joe Morgan would be good manager after his playing career which didn’t happen. The only thing regarding future managers I’d feel safe predicting is that ranks of managers in the future will have an over-representation of catchers, especially backup catchers.
First time I saw Pence was the only game I’ve attended at the Phillies park. Saw him throw from the outfield and thought “how is this guy playing in the majors?”
Yup…An absolutely wicked curveball..
Thanks for the article and bringing back many memories.
Don Mossi pitched for the Tigers when I was a young boy and first becoming aware of baseball.
Even back then, I remember seeing Mossi and thinking “My, that’s unfortunate”.
If you could imagine a turtle throwing a baseball, it would look pretty close to Hunter Pence’s motion.
It worked well enough for him to start for years in the major leagues though.
In later years, Pence looked like he just came out of a police lineup:
Does Don (Stan the Man Unusual) Stanhouse qualify for the winning ugly contest?
Earl Weaver would probably vote “yes”.
Stanhouse could’ve modified his look but had the misfortune to be around in a time of “unusual” looks. Mossi didn’t have that excuse.
Cecil Cooper had a very unconventional batting stance. Heck of a player though. I fear we may never see another unconventional player like Pence anymore. Kids don’t learn the game anymore by going out and playing with their friends. They’re all now coached up at an early age the proper way to throw and hit. Unfortunately this doesn’t give us much variety. I always thought the most charming part of the game was the variety of batting stances and pitching motions. Who didn’t love Louis Tiant.
I remember as a kid being impressed with Kent Tekulve’s “submarine” (side-armed) motion in the ’79 World Series. Also, there was a pitcher for the Dodgers in the mid to late 80s who would look up at the sky during his wind up motion (can’t remember his name). He had a few good seasons before hitters figured him out.
I think you may be thinking of Fernando Valenzuela.
Let’s go in the other direction. Here’s one handsome, steely-eyed dude. Anyone can see he was destined for success.
Yup!
Valenzuela in an LA Dodgers uniform. Remember when it was a cool thing, and fun, to have fans with ethnic pride in a player–as opposed to a source of division.
Jay Johnstone
Outfielder
Author
Whack-job
Thanks EODmom.
The reference to Pence’s odd throwing style reminded me of an oddity on the Washington Senators in the later 1960s. Left field was occupied by the great Frank Howard, 6 ft 8” giant who routinely hit 40-some long home runs a year. But for all that size and hitting power, he did not have much of a throwing arm. Whenever there was a ball in play out there, lanky shortstop Eddie Brinkman (smaller than Howard by 90 pounds and 8 inches) would sprint halfway to the wall, receive the labored short throw from Howard and then fire the ball on a rope to the plate or wherever. That it was the little guy (everybody looked little near Howard) who had the arm was a strange thing to watch.
Perception clashes with expectation every single time I meet a Ricochetti in person.