It's January, perhaps the worst month for baseball fans -- the Hot Stove filled with only dying embers, the thwack of ball into mitt when pitchers and catchers report still an interminably long way off. But how has January been for producing big league ballplayers? Well. not as bad as the name of this team -- in honour of the time of year described above, bot the talent level, meet the "January Blahs" -- might make you think.
Frankly, thanks to the blahs, these Blahs are not as carefully researched or contsructed as some other teams have been:
All-February ||All-June ||All-July ||
All-August ||All-September ||All-October ||
All-November ||All-December
That's where you come in. Speak up, Bauxites!
As always, we start the search for players with a garnet birthstone begins in Cooperstown -- and the 13 (or 14 if you count the announcer's wing) men born in January who have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
This team is going to be okay at first base, even if Jackie Robinson and Ernie Banks move back to their original positions across the keystone from each other. We still have Willie McCovey, Johnny Mize and Hank Greenberg around to cover the bag on pegs from Jackie and Ernie -- and third baseman Jimmy Collins, too.
Also around to compete for playing time in the infield is SS/2B George Wright, one of the great early superstars, while the outfield features a couple of "They're in the Hall?" names, in Elmer Flick and Max Carey. We don't have a catcher, unless you want to pull Bob Uecker from behind the microphone ... his striding to the plate music could be Sesame Street's "One of These Things is Not Like the Others."
The pitching staff gets a nice start in Cooperstown, with all-time strikeout king Nolan Ryan, the aptly-named Early "300" Wynn, 342-game-winner Tim Keefe and the irascible Dizzy Dean, who could always join Uecker in the booth for the most confusing half inning of broadcasting ever.
On the management side, AL founder and president Ban Johnson, as is pioneer manager Harry Wright, George's brother, who strung together a 1225-885 mark and led his team to the pennant six times. Ted Turner is no Hall of Famer, but he is on the big league role call for his one-game stint as manager, and he can play owner and bankroll this team.
George can assemble an awesome College of Coaches, if he so chooses, from January-born managers like Jerry Narron, Johnny Oates, Tom Trebelhorn, Jimmy "that's with two M's, not the guy you're thinking of" Williams, Charlie Manuel, Herman Franks, Alvin Dark, Davey Johnson (those last two would probably make a fine double-play combination on a team that didn't feature Banks and Robinson) and Bill Rigney.
Sidebar: January's All-in-the-Family Notes
We've already met the Wright Brothers -- no, not those Wright brothers, but there are more than a few other MLB family connections borne of January as well; here are just a few:
Fathers: Fred Kendall, Ruben Amaro Sr., Dick Schofield Sr. (also an uncle), Sammy Hairston
Sons: Lance Niekro (also a nephew) and, thanks to Hollywood, Casey Candaele.
Brothers: Steve Sax, Adrian Garrett, Tony Conigliaro, Jason Giambi, Borthers: Steve Sax, Adrian Garrett, Tony Conigliaro, Jason Giambi, and both Denny AND Brian Doyle.
Back to building the team ...
Even with that nice Hall-driven start, we have plenty of spots to fill on the pitching staff, and plenty of candidates to fill them:
In the bullpen, is your right-handed closer current dominator Eric Gagne, legendary dominator Bruce Sutter, or Jeff Montgomery, who actually ended up with more saves than Sutter? You want a lefty set-up guy? Pick from former Nasty Boy Norm Charlton, Gary Lavelle, Greg Swindell and maybe even Jeff Fassero. Your righty setup guy may be another Nasty Boy, Rob Dibble, K-Rod himself, Frankie Rodriguez, or perhaps one of the closers mentioned above.
Now, in filling out the rotation, you might have to start with Tony Mullane, who threw together five consecutive 30-win seasons in the 19th century for a bunch of midwest teams like Louisville, Toledo and, yes, Cincinnati; legend has it that Mullane was the inspiration for the first Ladies' Day because of his good looks -- he was even nicknamed "The Apollo of the Box." Also from the right side come David Cone, Jack McDowell, La Marr Hoyt and Charlie Hough, while the left side offers Danny Jackson, Randy Jones, Mike Caldwell, Dontrelle Willis and Don Gullett.
Gullett, along with fellow January arrival Vern Ruhle, might just make a terrific pitching coach for this squad. And an observation: with Jones, Caldwell, Hoyt and Jackson, among others, January appears to be the month for "Cy Young winners and runners up who pretty much flamed out quickly after that."
Sidebar: January's Jays
Take a stroll down memory lane with some Garnet Blue Jays, while wondering if Vancouver's Jeff Francis will end up being the best Canadian-born January product; Jay-nuary babies included Ted Lilly, Chris Michalak, Frank Menechino, Otis Nixon, Rance Mulliniks, Tony Solaita. Brad Fullmer, Ken Huckaby and Bob File. Who's missing?
Around the horn, then ...
Not much help behind the plate, as Darren Daulton might be the best of the bunch, with former All-Stars Walker Cooper and Earl Battey in reserve; another Phillie, Mike Lieberthal, is also around.
Not like we'll need a first baseman, so, go home Jason Giambi. But Bobby Grich is an interesting name to consider at 2B, with other infielders of note being Bill Madlock, Jim Gantner, Alfonso Soriano, the Dark/Johnson combo mentioned above, and maybe someday, Bobby Crosby.
Whether or not Jimmy Collins actually belongs in the Hall of Fame is a matter for debate another day -- he's going to lose his starting spot to an active player named Albert Pujols.
This may end up the weakest outfield any month has had, with the two quasi-Hall guys above challenged by Kevin Mitchell, Brady Anderson, Mike Cameron, Brian Giles, Magglio Ordonez and perhaps Ron Kittle. The latter is better suited to DH, but we have a guy naned Edgar Martinez ready to fill that role.
Final Sidebar: January Names
Here are some of the actual names we stumbled across in researching -- okay, "throwing together -- this All-January team: Diomedes Olivo, Huck Geary, Prince Oana, Ivey Shiver, Foster Castleman, Ethan Allen, Bumpus Jones, Francis Abercrombie, Da Rond Stovall, Virgil Stallcup, Frenchy Bordagaray, Pete Turgeon, Barney "When Two 1960's SitComs Collide" Gilligan, Blondy Ryan, Klondike Smith, Zaza Harvey, Ike Eichrodt, "Not Terry" Mul Holland, Buck Crouse, By Speece, Sun Daly, Bunky Stewart, Harry Budson "Bud" Weiser (no kidding!), Pat Rockett, Harley Payne, Daniel Boone, Wily Mo Pena, Speed "Oxymoron" Walker, King Lear (Oh that Phil "Regan" were a January son!), Kaiser Wilhelm, Mother Watson, Chief Yellowhorse and La Schelle Tarver.
The All-January Team
Your 25-man roster, then ...
MGR George Wright
Bench Coaches Davey Johnson, Bill Rigney
C Darren Daulton
1B Hank Greenberg
2B Jackie Robinson
SS Ernie Banks
3B Albert Pujols
LF Willie McCovey
CF Mike Cameron
RF Brian Giles
DH Johnny Mize
Bench:
C Earl Battey
IF BobbY Grich
IF George Wright
OF Elmer Flick
OF Max Carey
PH Edgar Martinez
Rotation: (RLRLX)
RHSP Nolan Ryan
LHSP Randy Jones
RHSP Early Wynn
LHSP Danny Jackson
RHSP Dizzy Dean
Bullpen:
CL Bruce Sutter (R)
SET-R Eric Gagne
SET-L Norm Charlton
LOOGY Don Gullett
LONG Tim Keefe
Fire away, Boxers.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050130113505999