Sons of Greatness

It hard not to notice celebrity scandals. They are all over the place no matter your interest level.  But what about the children of superstars?  They didn't ask to be famous, yet it is thrust upon them.  For goodness sakes there are people who can recite the names of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's kids. 

While baseball player's children don't get their pictures splashed across tabloids it must be difficult growing up with a famous dad.  I recently noticed the troubled lives the sons of some name Hall of Famers have endured.  Sure they have all the benefits of the rich and famous; private schools, wealth, etc...  But that only takes you so far. 

With a famous last name people expect you to be great no matter if you are an athlete or not.  Some make it and are successful but even they sometimes have a dark cloud around them.  Take Ty Cobb Jr. for instance.  The second of the five Cobb children was born in 1910 months after his father and the Tigers had lost the third of three straight World Series.  He grew up in his father's shadow and seemed well aware of his high profile.  Although Jr. liked baseball he was quite shy and avoided it to dodge further comparisons to father.  He played tennis and had the biggest tennis pro of the day, Bill Tilden, as his personal coach.  Ty Jr. headed off to Princeton but quickly flunked out of school.  He turned things around and enrolled at Yale and became captain of the Princeton tennis team. 

Ty Jr, on the right, looked like his dad but was quiet and shy.

Ty Cobb Jr. graduated with a medical degree and became a well respected physician in his home state of Georgia.  Unfortunately his father would outlive him as Dr. Tyrus Cobb Jr. passed away in 1952 after battling brain cancer.

Then there is the sad tale of Joe DiMaggio Jr.  The son of the Yankee Clipper and actress Dorothy Arnold was born 10/23/41.  He stayed away from the diamond, preferring football to baseball.  He played high school football and although his dad was retired, he never made time to watch him play.  Young Joe enrolled at Yale University but quickly dropped out and moved back to California.  Joe was a lot closer to his step-mom Marilyn Monroe than his father and kept in contact with her even after they split.  In fact Joe was one of the last people to have talked to the movie star on the phone the night she died.


Joe and Joe Jr.

After an fulfilling an enlistment in Marines, Joe worked a variety of jobs but never really stuck with anything.  His life was marred by anger, alcohol, and drug problems.  A car accident in 1976 led to part of his brain being removed which seemed to amplify his anger issues.  Dad bought him a new truck cab but he soon totaled it and worked odd jobs most of the 1980s.  Sometimes homeless, he spent several long stretches estranged from his dad.  He continued to struggle with drugs and had a few run-ins with police and died in 1999 at age 57 five months after his father passed.
 
Mickey E. Mantle was the Mick's firstborn and is often referred to as Mickey Mantle Jr. although they don't share the same middle name.  He seems to have led a well adjusted life and even played some baseball but had just a sliver if his dad's baseball talent.  Mickey Jr. was a staple at his dad's fantasy camps but his pro career consisted of four hits and 26 strikeouts in 57 at bats in A-ball in 1978.  Sadly Mantle Jr. passed away in 1999, just 47 years old from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.



Mick Jr.  mickeymantle.com

The Commerce Comet had three other sons: Billy, Danny, and David.  Billy was named after Mick's drinking buddy Billy Martin, and died at a drug and alcohol rehab center at age 36 in 1994.  Billy had battled lymphoma and heart problems as well as substance abuse.  Danny and David have had their share of struggles and health scares but are still around managing the licensing of the Mantle name.
 



While Cobb, DiMaggio, and Mantle all named their firstborn son after themselves, Ted Williams did not.  John-Henry Williams was Teddy Ballgame's only son but they did not have a close relationship.  John graduated from college and founded a short-lived trading card company named after his dad.

With shady motives and Ted's health declining, John played ball for the Gulf Coast Red Sox in rookie ball in 2002.  At 33 John was more publicity than prospect and broke two ribs chasing a foul ball and went hitless in six at bats. 

Ted passed away in July, 2002 and John had his dad's body infamously placed in cryonic suspension.  Somehow he produced an suspicious yet valid contract that stated the he, Ted, and his sister Claudia were to remain in a deep freeze after they passed away in the hopes they could be brought back to life in the future.  Meanwhile John kept playing ball and found a spot in the independent Southeastern League in 2003 hitting a meager .149 with stints for Selma and Baton Rouge.  John-Henry's time to join his father in the freezer was sooner than he anticipated as he passed away from leukemia in 2004 at just 35.

So that is the brief tale of four of the all time best ball players firstborn sons.  While the younger Cobb and Mantle stayed out of trouble their lives were cut short by disease.  DiMaggio Jr. lived the longest of these four but probably had the most troubled life.  And John-Henry.... what a buffoon!

Sure I may have cherry picked some of the sad tales from among baseball's greats but it seems the sons of greatness often experience tragedy in life, death, or both.


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Ducky, Doc, Kid, and the 1901 Tigers

1901 was the maiden year of the American League and the Detroit franchise had graduated from the Western League and was one of eight teams in the circuit.  With a roster filled with the likes of Ducky, Doc, and Kid they had a lineup that sounded more like Snow White's dwarfs.  In reality they were National League defectors, castoffs, and eager ballers Detroit brought with them from the Western League.

According to the Tigers history page on mlb.com the season started in grand fashion:

On April 24, 1901, the Tigers prepared to take to the field for their first official American League game. A standing room only crowd was anticipated at Bennett Park, but unpredictable weather postponed the opening by a day.
On that historic afternoon, April 25, 1901, in front of 10,000 fans, the Tigers entered the ninth inning trailing Milwaukee, 13-4. A series of hits and miscues followed, moving the score to 13-12 with two runners on. With two out, Tiger Frank "Pop" Dillon faced reliever Bert Husting, and the lefthanded hitter rapped a two-run double to complete a 14-13 comeback win.

That's a tremendous way to start a season and team history but what always got my attention about the Tigers first team was the awesome nicknames on the team.  Here is a breakdown of the roster:

Frank "Pop" Dillon 1B: Tabbed "Pop" due to his premature graying hair, he hit the game winning two run double in the opener which was his fourth two-bagger of the game.  He batted .288, and although at 6'1" was the biggest positional player in the lineup, hit just one home run.  That's understandable since most of the circuit jobs in those days were inside the park numbers.  He became a well known manager in the Pacific Coast League.
   

Daniel "Davey" Crockett" 1B: Apparently dubbed Davey after the frontiersman of the previous century, he filled in for Dillon for a month, played 28 games and was released.  In those day teams typically carried a very light bench with a backup catcher and a utility player.  Crockett would play in the minors until 1912 but never played in the majors again.

William "Kid" Gleason 2B:  The switch-hitting Gleason led the team with 12 triples and at age 34 was actually the elder statesman on the team.  Players of the era who were smallish (Gleason was 5'7", 155lbs) and showed a lot of youthful energy were often named Kid.  As a pitcher he won 138 games until shifting to the infield in 1895.  Long before it was popular, Gleason worked out at a gym in the off season to stay in shape which allowed him to play into his 40's.  Despite his lengthy playing career he is probably best known as the skipper on the 1919 Black Sox.  Later Connie Mack's right-hand man in Philadelphia, he remained a popular figure in the game, and was mourned by over 5,000 at his funeral in 1933.

Norman "Kid" Elberfeld SS:  Elberfeld was the same size as Gleason but eight years his junior. This Kid was a wild, brawling, umpire baiting firecracker and gave the Tigers a double play Kid-duo.  He was known for disinfecting his spike wounded shins with whiskey.  The longer crown of "Tabasco Kid" aptly described his hot temper but he had talent too.  He hit .308 and led the team with 76 RBI and 3.7 WAR.  In 14 years of major league action he piled up 30.4 WAR and, no doubt aided by his personality, was hit 165 times by pitches.  In 1936, Elberfeld took a turn at bat as a 61 year-old for the Fulton Eagles, the D-League team he managed.

James "Doc" Casey 3B:  Casey was called "Doc" on the basis of his medical schooling at the University of Maryland.  Casey batted .283, scored 105 runs, and played good defense at the hot corner.  He played six more years in the majors and continued in the minors as a player-manager until leaving the game in 1912 to become a dentist and pharmacist.



Shaw

Buelow

Frederick "Fritz" Buelow C:  Buelow was born in Germany and like most catchers of the era didn't hit much, batting .224 while playing in 70 games. He had a strong arm throwing out 50.4% of runners attempting to steal which was good for second in the league.  He rarely overthrew the bag as he led the AL in fielding percentage for backstops with a .967 mark.  Fritz played until 1907 and retired with a sub-.200 batting average.

Al "Shoddy" Shaw C:  Born in England, Shaw and Buelow gave the Tigers a pair of European born catchers.  Although he didn't have the same defensive prowess as Buelow, "Shoddy" was a take on his last name and not pertaining to his defense.  He was released April and brought back in June and played in 55 games batting .269.



Holmes

James "Ducky" Holmes LF: I'm not sure how Holmes got his nickname but at 5'6", 170 lbs he was squatty and perhaps waddled a bit when he walked.  While that is pure conjecture on my part what is known is that he was could run well stealing 160 bases after his 30th birthday, a time when most players were slowing down.  He led the Tigers with 28 doubles and four home runs but is best known for an incident that occurred a few years earlier in the National League.  He was suspended for an anti-Jewish slur toward New York Giants owner Andrew Freeman when his visiting Orioles played at the Polo Grounds in 1898.  Known as a well traveled troublemaker, he played ten years in the majors batting .281 with 234 stolen bases.

Barrett

James "Jimmy" Barrett CF:  Detroit's first star player, Barrett had blazing speed, a rifle arm, a solid bat and patience to boot.  He put up a .298/.385./378 stat line and led the team with 110 runs.  His 76 base on balls were 25 more than his closest teammate.  In 1905 he would suffer a serious knee injury from which he never really recovered.  The injury opened the door for a young centerfielder named Ty Cobb who replaced him in CF.  Barrett played from 1899 to 1908 but earned 16 of his 17.8 WAR from 1900-'04.

Nance

William "Doc" "Kid" Nance RF:  Nance was a young sensation in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas where he was known as the Kid but he was known in Detroit as Doc.  The 24 year-old batted .280 and led the AL with 24 sacrifice hits.  His season was highlighted by a six-for-six game on July 13. Although a regular rightfielder for Detroit, he never played in the majors after 1901.  One flaw in his game may have been lack of foot speed as he was the only regular with less than 10 steals.

McAllister

Lewis "Sport" McAllister Utility: A fine athlete at 5'11" and 180 lbs he had good size, switch-hit, and could do little bit of everything.  McAllister suffered as a member of the famously terrible Cleveland Spiders of 1899 before he came to Detroit.  In 1900 he even umpired a Western League game when the scheduled arbiter was held out in fear for his safety. Sometimes Detroit's only reserve available, Sport backed up at catcher and played everywhere but second base and pitcher.  He got into 90 games and batted .301 in his super sub role.  McAllister was out of the majors by 1903 but played in the minors until 1915, his age 40 season.

Miller

Roscoe "Roxy" Miller P: The ace and workhorse of the Tigers staff, Miller completed all but one of his 36 starts and logged 332 innings.  He won 23 games with a 2.95 ERA (130 ERA+) and posted 6.7 WAR, good for 5th in the league.  The 6'2" hurler was the tallest player on the team and apparently a ground ball specialist as the Tigers recorded 21 infield assists in a Labor Day contest . He kept the ball out of the gaps and allowed just one home run on the year.  Miller jumped to the National League in the middle of  '02 to join John McGraw's Giants put pitched poorly for his new team and finished the year with a sup-par ERA and a 7-20 record.  By 1905 he was out of the majors and he passed away in 1913 at age 36 from unknown causes.

Ed Siever P:  The southpaw was more of a power pitcher than Miller and led the team with 85 strikeouts in 288 innings.  Seemingly more aggressive in his pitching, he allowed nine homers on the year.  He won 18 games on the strength of a 3.24 ERA that was ninth in the circuit and led the league with a 1.91 mark in '02.  He was sold to the Browns in '03 but was brought back in '06.  He was the only player from this inaugural squad to reach the World Series with the pennant winning editions at the end of the decade.  In '08 Siever was released and blamed brash young star Ty Cobb for running him out of town.  While that may true, Siever had a 69 ERA+ at the time so it was likely his own fault.

Cronin

 John "Jack" Cronin P:  At 200 lbs the six-foot Cronin was the heaviest Tiger and their number three pitcher.  His performance was league average and he allowed 261 hits in 219 innings and won 13 games.  He was out of the majors a few years later but was a successful minor league hurler winning 95 games for Providence from '05 to '09.


Yeager

Joseph "Little Joe" Yeager P:  The slender pitcher was also a backup shortstop playing 12 games there as well as 26 games on the bump.  The '01 campaign was by far his best as a hurler as he won 12 games with a 2.61 ERA (147 ERA+) in 199 innings.  At the plate he had a pair of homers with a .296 average.  By '03 he was finished as a pitcher but played until '08 as a utility infielder.





Frisk

Emil Frisk P: Like Yeager, Frisk would transform into a position player later in his career. Frisk was a spare pitcher and worked 74 innings in 11 games and showed his batting talent with a .313 average.  He would never pitch in the majors again but was a regular outfielder for the Browns in 1905.  Somewhat of a minor league legend, he was dubbed the "Wagner of the Minors" amassing over 2,000 hits mainly for teams on the west coast.

Frank "Yip" Owen P:  Nicknamed for his home town Ypsilanti, Michigan, Owen was a rookie who would have the best career of these Tiger pitchers.  He pitched 56 frames with less than stellar results for the Bengals but later found great success for the White Sox.  From '04 - '06 he won 64 games with a 2.12 ERA for the ChiSox, but like a lot of players was out the league a few years later.

Ed High P: Besides Siever, the only other lefty to pitch for Detroit.  He debuted on July 4 and filled in for a month logging 18 innings which turned out to be the full extent of his major league career.

Stallings

George Stallings managed the fairly balanced team which scored 742 runs good for fifth in the eight team league.  The pitching was a little stronger and was third with 696 runs allowed.  Detroit finished in third place with a 74-61 record behind Chicago and Boston.

Roster turnover was high the next few years as the National and American Leagues continued to squabble over player rights. The Tigers would slide to 52-83 in '02 and would not return to respectability until 1905.

The last living member of this motley crew was Sport McAllister who passed away in 1962 at 87 years of age. 

 



George Kell, Laryngitis, and Major League Ball in Las Vegas

As the 1996 season was set to begin the Oakland Coliseum was still being renovated, forcing the Athletics to play their first six home games at their triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas at Cashman Field.  I came across this video clip of the Detroit Tigers broadcast from April 7 when the Tigers wrapped up a four game series against the A's in the strange setting.

The energetic Jim Price opens things up with a standard pre-amble.  At the 0:35 mark, long time play by play man George Kell starts the intro and sounds like something out of a science fiction movie with his familiar Arkansas drawl deeply effected by laryngitis.  Kell's color man Al Kaline gives Kell the business and seems concerned whether he's up to task.  Kaline, a splendid rightfielder, but just a decent color man reads the lineups and goofs on Jason Giambi's surname, calling him "Yambi". 

Growing up as a Tiger fan, I was fortunate to have Hall of Famer Ernie Harwell and the baritone Paul Carey calling games on the radio.  On TV it was Kell and Kaline who were dubbed as a HOF duo (more on that later).  Jim Price later joined them as a third wheel.  Why stubborn ol' George didn't hand the mic off to Price, I don't know.  Kell sure sounds like his voice needs a break and Price, while not a strong play-by-play man, was certainly capable.  I don't recall watching this game so I don't know if Kell stayed on air long enough to call Geronimo Berroa's two-run walk off home run or not.

The Tigers were a terrible team in '96 going 53-109 and at one point were 13-46.  Sparky Anderson had managed his last game the year prior and the team was run by new skipper Buddy Bell.  Alan Trammell was in his last year and Cecil Fielder would be dealt to the Yankees before the year was over.  Led by Bobby Higginson and Travis Fryman the Tigers could put runs on the board but were terrible on the mound.  Felipe Lira and Omar Olivares were the only two pitchers to start more than 17 games as nominal ace Justin Thompson missed most of the year.  The team ERA was 6.38.  Yes six-thirty-eight.

Oakland still had Mark McGwire and Terry Steinbach cranking out homers but they too had pitching woes with a 5.20 ERA and finished 78-84.  It appears Giambi is the last active player from this game.

Back to the Tigers broadcast tandem of Kell and Kaline.  Kell had a certain warmth that made it seem like you were talking baseball with your friendly neighbor.  He had a habit of getting over excited on fly balls that fell well short of the fence and into the mitts of awaiting outfielders.  One time I recall his voice escalating on a pop-up that was caught by the second baseman in short rightfield.  I doubt Kell was trying to be dramatic. I think he just had bad eyes. 

He was also prone to overstating a player's talent, making comments that some average opposing player was one of the best in all of baseball.  Well I suppose on a global scale all players in MLB are the best but...you get my point.  No one was buying Pat Kelly or Vance Law as an All-Star.  Don't get me wrong Kell was a joy to listen to.

Kaline always came through with solid analysis and was big on fundamentals.  Kaline was often mangling guys names which was comical and sometimes frustrating.  Jim Price was on board late toward the Kell-Kaline run and brought a third voice to the booth.  Price still does color commentary on Tigers radio and while he doesn't carry the pedigree of Kell or Kaline on the field or in the booth he's become a friendly familiar voice.

Kell and Kaline were tabbed as the Hall of Fame team and Kaline is certainly deserving.  Kell batted .306 in a 15 year career amassing over 2,000 hits.  He was a ten time AL All-Star and famously edged Ted Williams for the batting crown in 1949.  Kell was elected by the Veterans Committee in 1983 after he never cracked 40% in the writers vote when he was eligible.  His 34.5 career WAR is often cited as one of the Hall's weakest selections.  Maybe it was a lack of third basemen in the Hall that helped his cause.

George Kell was a very good player, a fine broadcaster, and memories of him calling Tigers games will last forever.  After starting in radio in the 60's and then moving on to TV in the 70's the '96 season would be Kell's last behind the microphone.  Kell passed away in 2009 at the age of 86.