Posts belonging to Category Players

Justin Verlander revived a decades-old dugout tradition Sunday afternoon by giving teammate Don Kelly the ‘ol “hot foot.”

Perhaps Verlander just felt the need to bring Kelly down to earth after the career .236 hitter (.628 OPS) was spotlighted by the New York Times as the only active major leaguer to have played innings at each defensive position around the diamond.

The hot foot has been in pranksters’ repertoires since at least the 1980s. The Mets blog Hot Foot credits former Miracle Mets Roger McDowell and Howard Johnson with originating the trick.

Here’s an explanation of their technique in this clip from “1986: A Year to Remember.”

That's me - amazed in the summer of 2006 that I had just netted the autograph of my all-time favorite backup catcher: Vance Wilson.

Backup Catcher Edition

What has Vance Wilson been up to in his post playing days?

Vance Wilson now manages the Kane County Cougars.

Even for baseball fans of the hardest core,  that’s a seldom-asked question. Why would anyone ask about the former Met and Tiger catcher, forever a backup, who never played in more than 96 games in any of his eight years as a player?

But I had to smile today when I discovered that Wilson has stayed in baseball, now as manager of the Kane County Cougars (Low-A, Kansas City Royals).  (Though I was disappointed in myself for failing to realize I was in his midst at a Cougars game in May.) Because for reasons I still don’t completely understand, Wilson was my all-time favorite player.

Maybe it was because he was the true unsung hero on his teams. Not just a under-appreciated catcher, but an unheralded backup catcher. He could come into games late and produce results – a hard-to-do task after a full day sitting on the bench.

Though his sporadic playing time rarely allowed him to get into a rhythm, he had a solid .250 career batting average, and he threw out a whopping 40 percent of would-be base-stealers. That’s awesome.

But even better, the guy I inexplicably called “Vance the Pants,” provided me with one of my all-time favorite baseball memories.

On a sunny summer day before a Tigers-White Sox game in 2006, Wilson was signing autographs down the left field line. I ventured down a few rows at Comerica Park to see if Wilson would sign the Paul Konerko foul ball I had gloved during batting practice.

There wasn’t much of a crowd around Wilson, so the task was easy. I handed him the ball and, emboldened by what seemed like a once in a lifetime chance to chat, said: “Vance, this is going to sound really weird, but you’re my favorite player.”

“Kid, you’ve got problems,” Wilson said, handing me back a newly-inked baseball that had just become a prized possession.

Top 2: Matt Downs struck out swinging against Matt Garza

Top 4: Downs struck out swinging against Garza

Top 6: Downs struck out swinging against Garza

Top 8: Downs struck out swinging against Jeff Samardzija

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Downs, who made the most of increased playing time in June, is now three for his last 25 and hitting .120 in July.  If his golden sombrero indicated one thing, it’s that Downs hasn’t quite figured out how to barrel-up a quality slider.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 74

Top 1: Evan Longoria called out on strikes against Felipe Paulino

Top 3: Longoria singled to left against Paulino

Top 5: Longoria stuck out swinging against Paulino

Top 6: Longoria called out on strikes against Blake Wood

Top 8: Longoria struck out swinging against Louis Coleman

Final Line: 1-for-5, RBI, 4 K, 7 LOB

Notes: Although the game went well for the Rays—5-0 win—the same can’t be said for Longo.  Now hitting .242 on the season, Longoria fanned in four of his five at-bats on Sunday, and left seven runners on base in the process.  He also committed a throwing error, but luckily it didn’t spoil Alex Cobb’s gem.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 73

It’s Friday.  And this season, Friday has been a day highlighted by the MLB debuts of baseball’s best and most exciting prospects.  On June 10 it was Mike Moustakas.  A week later it was Dustin Ackley.  On July 8 we celebrated Mike Trout’s arrival.

And today, July 22, 2011, The Golden Sombrero once again celebrates the debut of another top-notch prospect: Jason Kipnis.  Kipnis announced his arrival yesterday on Twitter:

This debut carries a bit more significance than the others, surprisingly, as Kipnis and I have a long history on the field.

A year younger than me, Kipnis and I both played in the same high school conference outside of Chicago.  While I manned shortstop for Deerfield High School, Kipnis was my counterpart for rival Glenbrook North.  In 2004 we were both named All-Conference shortstops in the Central Suburban North.

These days I’m writing, scouting and coaching baseball while Kipnis is, well, playing in the Major Leagues.  In the end, I’m going to say that he came out on top..barely.

Anyway, prior to his call up, The Golden Sombrero’s No. 26 prospect was slashing .281/.363/.849 with 15 doubles, nine triples, 12 home runs and 54 RBI for Triple-A Columbus.  He also swiped 12 bases and coaxed 43 walks compared to 71 strikeouts.

With Orlando Cabrera struggling for the Tribe, it seems as though Kipnis will almost exclusively play second base, although he does have plenty of experience in the outfield.

Here are some videos of Kipnis in action:

Welcome to The Show, dude.