It's May 1, also known as "May Day" ... and as an erstwhile Bauxite
pointed out recently, we haven't had a new Hall of Names entry in quite
some time -- in fact, it's been a month, dating back to the All-Muppet team
on April 1. So some kind of May Day squad -- well, you might expect a
Lee May/Willie Mays/John Mayberry/Mayo Smith team to emerge as a
favorite, but you know what?
... ... as we see what kind of team we can assemble from the 39 men (so far) who have played major league ball having been born on May 1.
They May Not Win Much
** indicates Hall of Famer (none)
* indicates All-Star (none!)
Manager: Nobody born on May 1 has (yet) managed in the big leagues
Lineup
C Charlie O'Brien (.221 in 800 games over 15 years)
1B Phil Hiatt (.216, parts of 1993-2001; mostly 3B/OF)
2B Jose Lind (.254, 1987-95)
SS Bill White (.244, 1884-88)
3B Felix Torres (.254, 27 homers, 1962-64 LAA)
LF Von Joshua (.273, 1969-80)
CF Al Zarilla (.276, 61 homers, 1943-53)
RF Rich Butler (.223/7/22, 1997-99)
DH Billy Kelly (C hit .290, 1910-13)
Bench
C Bob Allietta (.178, 1975 CAL)
IF Rudy Meoli (.212, parts of 1971-79)
IF Johnny Berardino (.249, 1939-52, mostly 2B/SS)
OF Stan Palys (.237, 1953-56)
OF Bill Dunlap (.414, 1929 BSN; .069 in 1930)
Rotation
RHSP Heinie Meine (66-50, 1922, '29-34)
LHSP Frank Foreman (23-21 in 1889; 96-93 career)
RHSP George McQuillan (23-17 in 1908; 85-89 career)
LHSP Brandon Claussen (16-27 through 2006)
RHSP Armando Reynoso (68-62, 1991-2002)
Bullpen
CL-RH Roy Lee Jackson (28-34, 34 saves, 1977-86)
LHRP Ray Searage (11-13, 11 saves, parts of 1981-90)
RHRP Paul Carter (20-26, 1914-20)
LHRP Stephen Randolph (10-6 through '07 so far)
LHRP Rich Troedson (8-10, 1973-74 SDP)
AMONG THE FINAL CUTS
SS Fausto Cruz (.191, 1994-96)
IF Steve Lubratich (.209, 1981, '83 CAL)
3B Fritz Knothe (.220, 1932-33)
RHSP Allan Ramirez (4-4, 3.47, 1983 BAL)
RHSP Bob Harris (30-52, 1938-42)
This is one of the first birthday teams without a Hall of Famer -- it is the very first to not even have a single All-Star appearance on its roster somewhere! But I guess when the final roster decision comes down to Steve Lubratich and Fausto Cruz vs. Rudy Meoli, that should tell you something about your team, hey? At least the putative ace of this team's rotation, RHSP Heinie Meine, has one of the great names in the history of the game ...
So ... see any ways this team can -- er, rather, ways this team "May" be better?
It's been done, as a sidebar to the 2005 All-May team, Meet The May Bee-Knots. So instead, we will focus on assembling the 13th of what will be 366 teams some day ...
... ... as we see what kind of team we can assemble from the 39 men (so far) who have played major league ball having been born on May 1.
They May Not Win Much
** indicates Hall of Famer (none)
* indicates All-Star (none!)
Manager: Nobody born on May 1 has (yet) managed in the big leagues
Lineup
C Charlie O'Brien (.221 in 800 games over 15 years)
1B Phil Hiatt (.216, parts of 1993-2001; mostly 3B/OF)
2B Jose Lind (.254, 1987-95)
SS Bill White (.244, 1884-88)
3B Felix Torres (.254, 27 homers, 1962-64 LAA)
LF Von Joshua (.273, 1969-80)
CF Al Zarilla (.276, 61 homers, 1943-53)
RF Rich Butler (.223/7/22, 1997-99)
DH Billy Kelly (C hit .290, 1910-13)
Bench
C Bob Allietta (.178, 1975 CAL)
IF Rudy Meoli (.212, parts of 1971-79)
IF Johnny Berardino (.249, 1939-52, mostly 2B/SS)
OF Stan Palys (.237, 1953-56)
OF Bill Dunlap (.414, 1929 BSN; .069 in 1930)
Rotation
RHSP Heinie Meine (66-50, 1922, '29-34)
LHSP Frank Foreman (23-21 in 1889; 96-93 career)
RHSP George McQuillan (23-17 in 1908; 85-89 career)
LHSP Brandon Claussen (16-27 through 2006)
RHSP Armando Reynoso (68-62, 1991-2002)
Bullpen
CL-RH Roy Lee Jackson (28-34, 34 saves, 1977-86)
LHRP Ray Searage (11-13, 11 saves, parts of 1981-90)
RHRP Paul Carter (20-26, 1914-20)
LHRP Stephen Randolph (10-6 through '07 so far)
LHRP Rich Troedson (8-10, 1973-74 SDP)
AMONG THE FINAL CUTS
SS Fausto Cruz (.191, 1994-96)
IF Steve Lubratich (.209, 1981, '83 CAL)
3B Fritz Knothe (.220, 1932-33)
RHSP Allan Ramirez (4-4, 3.47, 1983 BAL)
RHSP Bob Harris (30-52, 1938-42)
This is one of the first birthday teams without a Hall of Famer -- it is the very first to not even have a single All-Star appearance on its roster somewhere! But I guess when the final roster decision comes down to Steve Lubratich and Fausto Cruz vs. Rudy Meoli, that should tell you something about your team, hey? At least the putative ace of this team's rotation, RHSP Heinie Meine, has one of the great names in the history of the game ...
So ... see any ways this team can -- er, rather, ways this team "May" be better?
