Articles

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by Rob Neyer Errors. I’ve made a few. I’d like to use the excuse that it’s impossible to write a book without making errors, but I think that’s a cop-out so I’m not going to. Rather, let me instead say that I did make some efforts to eliminate errors from my book, but that I certainly could have done a better job than I did. What’s done is done, and now all I can do is ‘fess up. Below, sorted by team, are the errata that I’ve got, accompanied by the date the correction was posted and the name of the kind soul who alerted me. I’m actually going to make a distinction between the first edition of the book and the second and third editions, as a majority of the errors were corrected in the later editions.

Errors in second and third printings only…

Anaheim Angels Page 12: In the entry for Dave Parker on the All-Bust Team, I mention that Dave Parker was signed at the behest of manager Pat Corrales, when it was actually Doug Rader. Oddly, I got it right in the sidebar, on the very same page. (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Baltimore Orioles Page 27: I identified the scout who signed Dennis Martinez as “Roy Poitevint,” but it was actually Ray Poitevint. (7/18/03; my thanks to Tom Bolger) Page 41: In the Bill Lee entry on the All-Name Team, for some unknown reason I identified infielder John Kennedy as a catcher. (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Pages 42-43: I mention “Charley” Dreyfuss and “Larry” Stahl, when it was actually [Pirates owner] Barney Dreyfuss and [Red Sox manager] Jake Stahl (and in the photo that accompanies the essay, Jeff Tesreau is mis-identified as “Jack”). (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Chicago White Sox Page 48: The book says that Jigger Statz played more games (3,473) than any other professional player, but that’s obviously not true; Pete Rose played 3,562 games in the National League alone. It’s certainly possible that Statz held the record at one time, but he certainly doesn’t any more. (12/8/03; my thanks to John Barcus) Page 54: Bad math. Crazy bad math, where I have Wilbur Wood winning 130 games (!) from 1971 through 1974. Actually, the big left-handed knuckleballer won 90 games over those four seasons (which is still pretty good). (2/2/04; my thanks to Paul Janas) Page 58: No, Sandy Alomar Sr. didn’t play for the White Sox in 2001 and 2002; that was Junior behind the plate. (7/30/03; my thanks to Eric Ware) Cleveland Indians Page 74: No, Carlos Baerga was not a product of the Indians’ farm system (I’ve got him as the second baseman on Cleveland’s Homegrown team). So if anybody’s got a candidate to replace Baerga, feel free to educate me. (9/2/03; my thanks to Ira Treuhaft) Page 76: This isn’t really a correction so much as an addendum. Or something. Anyway, I chose Tony Fernandez as the shortstop on the Tribe’s Used-to-Be-Great team, and wrote, “… did fairly well but made critical error in Game 7 of World Series.” Which is true. But it’s also true that the Indians might not have reached the World Series if not for Tony Fernandez, who accounted for the only run in Game 6 of the ALCS with a solo homer in the 11th inning against Armando Benitez. Which I’d completely forgot. (6/16/03, my thanks to Dennis Ferrara) Houston Astros Page 98: I got the years wrong on Mike Hampton, who pitched for the Astros from 1994 through 1999, not 1994 through 2000 (as I have it). Also, in the first edition I had Hampton’s record with the Astros wrong, which caused me to overrate him. He probably should be No. 3 or 4 on the No. 2 list, at best. (6/26/03; my thanks to Shih-chang Tsao) Kansas City Royals Page 109: Homegrown team, I’ve got Brett being drafted immediately after Schmidt in 1971, but it was the other way around (and oddly enough, in the Phillies chapter I got it right). (2/2/04; my thanks to Stewart Joyce) Milwaukee Brewers Page 123: Molitor’s years as the Brewers’ DH are listed as 1991-1994, but it should be 1991-1992; in 1993, he was playing for the Blue Jays. (9/19/03; my thanks to Mike Nerdahl) Page 128: Brian Harper does belong on the Brewers’ Used-to-be-Great team, but the year should be 1994, not 1991 (when he was still with the Twins). (10/19/03; thanks to Donn Satrom) Philadelphia Phillies Page 174: I’ve got Jim Bunning throwing, in 1964, the first perfect game in National League history. I’m not sure where I got that, because there were two perfect games in 1880. (7/30/03; my thanks to John Shiffert) Page 178: I’ve got Sparky Anderson playing for the Phillies in 1952, when of course it was 1959. (7/30/03; my thanks to John Shiffert) St. Louis Cardinals Page 191: No, Curt Flood didn’t play for the Cardinals from 1958 through 1942. His last season in St. Louis was 1969. (2/2/04; my thanks to Charles Brantley) Page 220: I left second base empty on Seattle’s All-Rookie team, writing, “No Mariners rookie has played anything close to regularly at second base, let alone played well.” Well, I was right but I was wrong. As Nick Webster points out, “How about Rich Amaral? His main position in 1993 was 2B. He hit .290 and . . . stole 19 bases, leading the team. He finished fifth in RoY balloting.” Indeed he did, and Amaral, who played 110 games, does belong in this slot. (2/2/04) Page 220: I’ve got Junior Griffey starting twelve straight openers for the M’s; it was actually eleven. (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Page 221: The 2001 Mariners didn’t break the single-season record for victories; they tied the record held by the 1906 Cubs. (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Toronto Blue Jays Page 237: This isn’t really an “error,” per se, but worth mentioning . . . In Paul Molitor’s entry on the Single Season team, I say that 1993 was his “last great season,” but he also played brilliantly in 1994 (I missed it, because the strike held down Molitor’s counting stats). (9/19/03; my thanks to Mike Nerdahl) Page 239: In the sidebar, I wrote about the plan in 1988 whereby George Bell would move from left field to DH and Sil Campusano would take over in left field. I got the first part right, the second part half-wrong. Campusano was supposed to take over in center field, with Lloyd Moseby moving from center to left. (9/22/03; my thanks to Neate Sager) Page 240: In the All-Bust lineup, I said Tony Batista hit 45 homers in 2000; he actually hit 41. (9/22/03; thanks to Neate Sager again) N.Y./S.F. Giants Page 268: In the sidebar, I’ve got the S.F. Giants reaching two World Series, but that was written before the 2002 Series and then I forgot to make that change before we went to press. This slightly affects what I wrote in the third and fifth paragraphs. (7/16/03; my thanks to somebody whose name I’ve lost) Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins Page 274: Apparently, my list of the greatest seasons in franchise history was drawn up before I decided to run the list in the combined Senators/Twins chapter, and then I forgot to recompute with the inclusion of the Senators. At the very least, the 1924 Senators should bump the 1969 Twins from the No. 5 slot, and the ’24 team probably should be No. 1 or 2 on the list. (7/16/03; my thanks to Jim Sidebottom) Appendix Page 313: Somehow I forgot to list DH’s for the Red Sox in 1973 and 1974. In ’73 it should be Orlando Cepeda, and in ’74 it should be Tommy Harper. (7/28/03; my thanks to Terrence Walsh)

Errors in first, second, and third printings (so far)…

Anaheim Angels Page 12: In the entry for Dave Parker on the All-Bust Team, I mention that Dave Parker was signed at the behest of manager Pat Corrales, when it was actually Doug Rader. Oddly, I got it right in the sidebar, on the very same page. (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Arizona Diamondbacks Page 18: I’ve got Byung-Hyun Kim giving up a walk-off homer in Game 5 of the 2001 World Series, but in reality he gave up a game-tying two-run homer (to Scott Brosius). The Yankees won in the twelfth on Soriano’s RBI single. (6/12/03; my thanks to Dennis Goodman) Atlanta Braves Page 24: In the comment on Bernard Gilkey, I say that in his final season he didn’t see any postseason action with the Braves. But he did. In the 2001 NLCS, Gilkey played in three games, singled once and walked twice, and even started Game 1 against Randy Johnson. (6/12/03; my thanks to Walt Murphy) Baltimore Orioles Page 27: I identified the scout who signed Dennis Martinez as “Roy Poitevint,” but it was actually Ray Poitevint. (7/18/03; my thanks to Tom Bolger) Boston Red Sox Page 35: I wrote — or rather, my collaborator Geoff Reiss wrote — that the Red Sox have won 23 batting titles, and this was true when Geoff wrote it. However, in 2002 Manny Ramirez made it 24. (6/25/03; my thanks to Keith Hovey) Page 41: In the Bill Lee entry on the All-Name Team, for some unknown reason I identified infielder John Kennedy as a catcher. (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Pages 42-43: I mention “Charley” Dreyfuss and “Larry” Stahl, when it was actually [Pirates owner] Barney Dreyfuss and [Red Sox manager] Jake Stahl (and in the photo that accompanies the essay, Jeff Tesreau is mis-identified as “Jack”). (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Chicago White Sox Page 48: The book says that Jigger Statz played more games (3,473) than any other professional player, but that’s obviously not true; Pete Rose played 3,562 games in the National League alone. It’s certainly possible that Statz held the record at one time, but he certainly doesn’t any more. (12/8/03; my thanks to John Barcus) Page 54: Bad math. Crazy bad math, where I have Wilbur Wood winning 130 games (!) from 1971 through 1974. Actually, the big left-handed knuckleballer won 90 games over those four seasons (which is still pretty good). (2/2/04; my thanks to Paul Janas) Page 58: No, Sandy Alomar Sr. didn’t play for the White Sox in 2001 and 2002; that was Junior behind the plate. (7/30/03; my thanks to Eric Ware) Cleveland Indians Page 74: No, Carlos Baerga was not a product of the Indians’ farm system (I’ve got him as the second baseman on Cleveland’s Homegrown team). So if anybody’s got a candidate to replace Baerga, feel free to educate me. (9/2/03; my thanks to Ira Treuhaft) Page 76: This isn’t really a correction so much as an addendum. Or something. Anyway, I chose Tony Fernandez as the shortstop on the Tribe’s Used-to-Be-Great team, and wrote, “… did fairly well but made critical error in Game 7 of World Series.” Which is true. But it’s also true that the Indians might not have reached the World Series if not for Tony Fernandez, who accounted for the only run in Game 6 of the ALCS with a solo homer in the 11th inning against Armando Benitez. Which I’d completely forgot. (6/16/03, my thanks to Dennis Ferrara) Florida Marlins Page 95: I identified the Portland Sea Dogs’ home ballpark as “Haddock Field,” but of course it’s actually “Hadlock Field” (emphasis mine). (6/26/03; my thanks to Robert “Uncle Bob” Knight) Houston Astros Page 98: I listed Mike Hampton’s record with the Astros as 82-62, when it was actually 69-40. I’ve got no idea how this happened, as I used Baseball-Reference.com for all the team stuff, and of course they’ve got the correct numbers there. What’s more troubling is that I’ve got Hampton as the Astros’ No. 1 starter, when he pretty clearly wasn’t. I do still believe that Hampton belongs among the top four, because his ERA+ is the best among Astro starters with more than 700 innings. But was Hampton really better than Nolan Ryan, and J.R. Richard and Don Wilson, all of whom won significantly more games and pitched significantly more innings than Hampton? I’m not at all convinced that he was, and I think Hampton has to drop down at least two or three notches in my rankings. (6/12/03; my thanks to Jim Kubida) Same page, same player, I also got the years wrong. Hampton pitched for the Astros from 1994 through 1999, not 1999 through 2000 (as I had it). (6/26/03; my thanks to Shih-chang Tsao) Kansas City Royals Page 106: I wrote of Dennis Leonard, “From 1975 through ’80 he won 107 games, tops in the American League.” Leonard did win 107 games, but it wasn’t tops; over that same six-season span, Jim Palmer won 112 games. I would have been okay if I’d used 1975 through 1981 as my range, because over that seven-season span Leonard did lead the American League with 120 victories (and I did make this change in later editions). (6/12/03; my thanks to John Autin). Page 109: Homegrown team, I’ve got Brett being drafted immediately after Schmidt in 1971, but it was the other way around (and oddly enough, in the Phillies chapter I got it right). (2/2/04; my thanks to Stewart Joyce) Milwaukee Brewers Page 123: Molitor’s years as the Brewers’ full-time DH are listed as 1991-1994, but it should be 1991-1992; in 1993, he was playing for the Blue Jays. (9/19/03; my thanks to Mike Nerdahl) Page 127: In the sidebar, I surmise that Dave Nilsson might be the only player to play his first All-Star Game in his last season (1999). But as Glenn Harland notes, J.R. Richard also did this, in 1980. (6/13/03; my thanks to Glenn Harland) Page 128: Brian Harper does belong on the Brewers’ Used-to-be-Great team, but the year should be 1994, not 1991 (when he was still with the Twins). (10/19/03; thanks to Donn Satrom) Montreal Expos Page 142: In the Expos’ Homegrown Team, I say that Randy Johnson was drafted out of USC in 1995, when of course it was 1985. (6/13/03; my thanks to Josh Wolff) New York Mets Page 148: I’ve got Lee Mazzilli hitting his 1979 All-Star Game home run off Ron Guidry, but it was actually Jim Kern; Mazzilli did later draw a decisive walk against Guidry in the bottom of the ninth. (6/12/03; my thanks to Andrew McClure) Oakland Athletics Page 166: I’ve got Tim Hudson striking out 11 Twins in his first MLB start, but it was actually 11 Padres. (6/12/03; my thanks to Luis Samayoa) Page 167: Somehow I’ve got Jason Giambi winning MVP Awards in 2000 (which he did) and 2001 (which he didn’t). Must have been wishful thinking. (6/12/03; my thanks to Mark Armour) Philadelphia Phillies Page 174: I’ve got Jim Bunning throwing, in 1964, the first perfect game in National League history. I’m not sure where I got that, because there were two perfect games in 1880. (7/30/03; my thanks to John Shiffert) Page 178: I’ve got Sparky Anderson playing for the Phillies in 1952, when of course it was 1959. (7/30/03; my thanks to John Shiffert) Pittsburgh Pirates Page 187: Did the Pirates beat the Red Sox in the first modern World Series? No, they didn’t; the Sox won. So why did I say the Pirates beat the Red Sox? I haven’t the foggiest idea. (6/12/03; my thanks to Shawn Hanna) St. Louis Cardinals Page 191: No, Curt Flood didn’t play for the Cardinals from 1958 through 1942. His last season in St. Louis was 1969. (2/2/04; my thanks to Charles Brantley) Seattle Mariners Page 215: I described Phil Bradley as “the only Mariners left fielder to make an All-Star team,” so imagine my surprise when I learned that Jeffrey Leonard played in the 1989 All-Star Game. I didn’t notice Leonard because 1) he wasn’t really very good, and 2) I’ve actually got him listed as the Mariners’ DH that year, because he DH’d more than anybody else. But he did play 74 games in left field that season, and — more surprising — he did play in the All-Star Game. (6/12/03; my thanks to Scott Carpenter) Page 220: I left second base empty on Seattle’s All-Rookie team, writing, “No Mariners rookie has played anything close to regularly at second base, let alone played well.” Well, I was right but I was wrong. As Nick Webster points out, “How about Rich Amaral? His main position in 1993 was 2B. He hit .290 and . . . stole 19 bases, leading the team. He finished fifth in RoY balloting.” Indeed he did, and Amaral, who played 110 games, does belong in this slot. (2/2/04) Page 220: I’ve got Junior Griffey starting twelve straight openers for the M’s; it was actually eleven. (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Page 221: The 2001 Mariners didn’t break the single-season record for victories; they tied the record held by the 1906 Cubs. (12/8/03; my thanks to David Shiner) Toronto Blue Jays Page 235: I have Pat Hentgen winning 20 games and the Cy Young Award in 1997, but of course he did those fine things in 1996. (6/22/03; my thanks to Larry Abraham) Page 237: This isn’t really an “error,” per se, but worth mentioning . . . In Paul Molitor’s entry on the Single Season team, I say that 1993 was his “last great season,” but he also played brilliantly in 1994 (I missed it, because the strike held down Molitor’s counting stats). (9/19/03; my thanks to Mike Nerdahl) Page 239: In the sidebar, I wrote about the plan in 1988 whereby George Bell would move from left field to DH and Sil Campusano would take over in left field. I got the first part right, the second part half-wrong. Campusano was supposed to take over in center field, with Lloyd Moseby moving from center to left. (9/22/03; my thanks to Neate Sager) Page 240: In the All-Bust lineup, I said Tony Batista hit 45 homers in 2000; he actually hit 41. (9/22/03; thanks to Neate Sager again) Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers Page 260: For some reason, I labeled Clem Labine — my choice for the greatest reliever in Dodgers history — as a “lefty,” which is a problem because he most assuredly was a “righty.” (6/12/03; my thanks to Wayne Turiansky) N.Y./S.F. Giants Page 268: In the sidebar, I’ve got the S.F. Giants reaching two World Series, but that was written before the 2002 Series and then I forgot to make that change before we went to press. This slightly affects what I wrote in the third and fifth paragraphs. (7/16/03; my thanks to somebody whose name I’ve lost) Page 268: No, the Giants did not finally win a World Series in 1917; that didn’t happen until 1921. (6/12/03) Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins Page 274: I’ve got Frank Viola winning the Cy Young Award in 1987, but he wasn’t even close in ’87. He did win in 1988, thanks to a 24-7 record. (6/12/03) Page 274: This is more serious . . . Apparently, my list of the greatest seasons in franchise history was drawn up before I decided to run the list in the combined Senators/Twins chapter, and then I forgot to recompute with the inclusion of the Senators. At the very least, the 1924 Senators should bump the 1969 Twins from the No. 5 slot, and the ’24 team probably should be No. 1 or 2 on the list. (7/16/03; my thanks to Jim Sidebottom) Appendix Page 313: Somehow I forgot to list DH’s for the Red Sox in 1973 and 1974. In ’73 it should be Orlando Cepeda, and in ’74 it should be Tommy Harper. (7/28/03; my thanks to Terrence Walsh) Page 314: I list Jim Leyland as the Rockies’ manager in 1998, and Buddy Bell in 1999. But I got ahead of myself. Don Baylor was still the manager in 1998, Leyland took over in 1999, and Bell took over in 2000. (6/26/03; my thanks to Brad Carsten)