August 7- Milwaukee Brewers

If you can’t tell by the expression on my face in the picture above, my head is getting squeezed by the 7 1/8 Milwaukee Brewers cap barely gripping the top of my skull. Someone (@NotYasielPuig) had pointed out a few months ago that I am one of the most awkward people to ever pose in front of a camera based on the intro photos that I have at the top of each post. I’ll be the first to admit that’s true; however, in most cases there is a reason for these this. Photos are a vital piece to a story, especially when the subject matter is completely non-fictional. Fictional stories don’t necessarily need photos because the entire fantasy of what you’re reading is all based on how your imagination works. When something is based on factual evidence it’s usually a smart move to throw a few pictures in to give the reader a frame of reference. After all, what good would it be for me to talk cap baseball caps when you don’t know what they look like? As far as my facial expressions go, I do my best to prepare the reader for the journey they’re about to embark upon. Sometimes the story is happy, sometimes they’re depressing and sometimes it’s me going on a rant. Other times I try to incorporate something in the background to set the mood, kind of like when I spent late night hours in bed trying to hammer a post out. No matter the case there is always a method to my madness at play, and today is one of those posts where it all comes into play.

I should probably start by saying that, unless you’re a New Era cap collector or a Brewers fan, you might not remember this cap. It’s ok, not very many people in Milwaukee even remember this cap existing, but even crazier is that it’s next to impossible to track down. Much like the Brewers cap I wrote about on April 9^th, it falls under the category of “What the f--- were they thinking?” but not because of the uniforms. To be honest, I actually really like this cap. I just hate the history surrounding it. See, back in 1994 is when it all started when the Brewers introduced these uniforms…

Bring an end to arguably one of the greatest uniform sets and caps in Major League Baseball history. But that’s not all. 1994 was the year that MLB decided to expand their playoff format by adding the Wild Card series to the mix. Some of you are probably thinking, “Now Ben, the Wild Card wasn’t added until 1995.” This is true; however, it was supposed to be used in 1994 but the players strike kind of put a halt on things until the end of April the following year. In order to make the Wild Card system work MLB broke up the original two divisions (East and West) and added a third (Central) to each side, moving the Brewers out of the East and into the Central and in turn giving the West four teams each between the American and National Leagues. Originally this should not have worked out, but luckily the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies were added in 1993 to balance the leagues out. So, everything is perfect, right? Nope! MLB had other plans which entailed even more expansion despite the fact that the strike was still in effect in March of 1995. Back then two new franchises (Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays) were awarded by MLB to begin play in 1998. It was decided to add one new team to each league. At the time, however, MLB did not want to have an odd number of teams per league because they would either have to give teams many more off-days than in the past, or interleague play would have to be extended year-round, or both (14 years later however, another realignment would cause there to be an odd number of teams in each league with year round interleague play). In order for MLB officials to continue the existing schedule, where teams play almost every day and where interleague play is limited to a few days per year, both leagues would need to carry an even number of teams. The decision was made to have one existing club switch leagues. This is the moment when MLB went full-retard. The problem that MLB had put them selves in was as a result of their poor planning when they allowed the Marlins and Rockies into the Majors in an attempt to even everything out. The real problem of their addition of the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays is that they made the mistake of adding one too many teams to the wrong division (Devil Rays to the AL East.) How did this happen? MLB made the mistake of keeping the Detroit Tigers in the AL East when the new divisions were set up in 1994. So now there were going to be 15 teams in each league with the NL having five teams per division while in the AL there was one division with four teams and another with six.

It’s funny to look at all of this now because even a group of third graders could have figured out the problem much faster than the owners and executives were able to. In my opinion (which would have been the correct move) MLB should have moved the Kansas City Royals out of their new place in the AL Central and BACK to the AL West where they have had all of their success including a World Series title in 1985. This move would have given each division five teams apiece and an even 15 teams per league. Yes, I understand that MLB was afraid of an odd number of teams in each league; however, look at what we’re dealing with today and how long it took for everyone to realize that 15 teams per league in even divisions is actually a blessing. More important, the shit that actually went down would have never put a dent in baseball’s legacy: REALIGNMENT.

That’s right; one team had to be moved from one league to another to form a balance, something that had NEVER occurred in MLB history. Teams had obviously moved from state-to-state or city-to-city, but nothing like this. The realignment was widely considered to have great financial benefit to the club moving; however, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, Commissioner (then-Brewers owner) Bud Selig decided another team should have the first chance to switch leagues. The Royals were asked first, but they decided against it. The choice then fell to the Brewers, who, on November 6, 1997, elected to move to the NL Central Division. At the same time, the Tigers agreed to move from the AL East to the AL Central (to replace Milwaukee). The Devil Rays joined the AL East and the Diamondbacks joined the NL West. Had the Brewers elected not to move to the NL, the Minnesota Twins would have been offered the opportunity next. Even reading my own words absolutely blows my mind that this happened. But what does any of this have to do with the cap? Well…

’97: The Brewers got a lot of flack for the uniforms they introduced in 1994 and wore through the end of the 1996 season. So they decided to correct their mistake and come up with something more appealing to the fans. In the offseason the Brewers introduced these uniforms to be worn for the 1997 season.

From then until the end of the 1999 season the Brewers wore this cap for all of their home game and a similar model with a gold “M” (which I can’t find for sale anywhere) for all of their road games. It is still the only time in MLB history that a cap/uniform has been used in multiple leagues. The cap on my head was purchased while the team was still a member of the AL and in my mind the team will always be an AL team. When time came for realignment once again at the end of the 2012 season MLB could have done the smart thing and looked at my original proposal by moving the Royals to the AL West and moving the Brewers back to the AL Central to even things out, but they once again decided that going full-retard was the most fiscally sound option by moving the Houston Astros to the AL West. Because trying to fix the past is just silly and make too many people happy.

These are obviously not new stories. I’ve touched base on a few of these issues before, but they still drive me crazy. How it’s possible for an old man like Selig to take “something he loves” (baseball) and completely blow it off kilter and be satisfied with himself is beyond me. It’s shit like this why I made the conscious decision to have Bernie Brewer added to the AL side of my body. I figured one baseball-loving person had to have some sense.

As to who the girl is, that’s a gem for another post.

#5: If there was ever a player over the last 25 years or so who made a quiet, yet definite impact for the throughout his entire career, it has to be Geoff Jenkins. Jenkins was a three-sport varsity athlete at Cordova High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, but elected to pursue baseball full-time after receiving a scholarship from USC. From 1993-1995 he played ball for the Trojans. In his final season, he batted .399 with 78 RBI and a .748 slugging percentage in 70 games, also scoring 75 runs to tie the school record held by Rich Dauer and Mark McGwire; his 23 home runs and 193 total bases ranked second in school history behind McGwire's 1984 totals of 32 and 216. He led the Trojans to the College World Series, where they reached the championship game; Jenkins was named to the all-CWS team, and also earned team co-MVP honors and was named a consensus All-American. In 1996, the year of the CWS' 50th tournament, Jenkins was named to the all-decade team for the 1990s. He finished his USC career with a .369 batting average, 45 home runs (second only to McGwire's 54), a .652 slugging percentage, 180 runs, and school records for runs batted in (175) and total bases (444). Yah, he was kind of a big deal, but he fell to the Brewers in the ninth round of the 1995 amateur draft and didn’t make his MLB debut until 1998.

 Not pictured- Brett Favre

Jenkins played 10 years with the Brewers at the MLB level and was consistently the team’s best player. Twice he led the team in batting average, the first of which came in 1999 when he hit .313 with 21 home runs and 82 RBI. In 2000, he was the Brewers' team MVP. He led the Brewers in batting average (.303) and home runs (34). His 2002 season was cut short when on June 17 in a game against the Astros he suffered a horrific-looking dislocated ankle when sliding into third base feet first during a game. He was safe on the play. He was selected to the NL All-Star team in 2003 via the MLB's All-Star Final Vote contest where a player is selected from both leagues by fans to join their respective team after the initial roster is announced.

Jenkins hit a bit streak of offensive woes starting in the 2006 season and was eventually replaced in his spot in the outfield for Corey Hart. At the end of the 2007 season Jenkins was not re-signed, thus ending his Brewer career with a .275 average, 221 home runs and 733 RBI. But, his baseball career wasn’t over. On December 20, 2007, he signed a two-year, $13 million deal with a vesting option for 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Jenkins returned to Miller Park in a Phillies uniform on April 23, 2008, to a crowd of just over 30,000. He was welcomed back with a tribute video, highlighting his ten-year career with the Brewers, and the standing ovation that followed. He received a second ovation while leading off the second inning. Philadelphia would go on to lose the game, 5-4. He went 0 for 3, with a walk and a stolen base. In the postseason, his only hit came on a leadoff double in the bottom of the 6th in Game 5 of the World Series. His hit set the tone for the finale of the World Series as the Phillies won the World Series and earned Jenkins his first World Series ring of his 10 year career. The Phillies ultimately released him at the end of Spring Training in 2009 and in July he was signed by the Brewers on a one-day contract so he could officially retire with the team.

#20: Jeromy Burnitz played his collegiate ball at Oklahoma State University and played minor league ball with the Welsh Waves and the Buffalo Bisons. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He first came up with the New York Mets and exhibited both power and speed, but was traded by them to the Cleveland Indians. Burnitz never really cracked the Cleveland lineup and it was only after his trade to Milwaukee in 1996 that he emerged as an everyday player.

From 1996-2001 Burnitz was an absolute stud for the Brewers. In his first full season, 1997, Burnitz hit .281 with 27 home runs, 85 RBI and even stole 20 bases. His efforts gave him a top-30 finish for the AL MVP. The next season he hit a modest .263 but pounded a career-high 38 home runs and a career-high 125 RBI which ultimately improved his stock with a top-20 finish for the NL MVP. Clearly hitting in the NL improved his power game in just one season. In 1999 he made his first All-Star Game and even started in place of the injured Tony Gwynn, thus becoming the first Brewer to start an All-Star Game since Paul Molitor. In the six years he played in Milwaukee he hit .258 with 165 home runs and 525 RBI.

Burnitz played until the end of the 2006 season with the Mets for a second time (2002-2003), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2003), the Rockies (2004), the Chicago Cubs (2005) and then finally with Pittsburgh Pirates (2006).

April 11- Atlanta Braves

Interesting times we live in, especially in the baseball world. Just within the last two weeks we saw the likes of Buster Posey, Justin Verlander and Adam Wainwright all signed to massive contract extensions in an effort to keep them happy and locked up with their respective teams. It’s hard to believe that less than 40 years ago this kind of practice was unheard of. Back in the old days the players had little to no say in contract negotiations, let alone the ability to go before an arbitrator. While the 1994 players strike played a significant role in the depletion of a majority of power for the owners, the real story dates back to December 23, 1975 with the “Seitz decision.”

The Seitz decision was a ruling by arbitrator Peter Seitz on December 23, 1975 which declared that Major League Baseball players became free agents upon playing one year for their team without a contract, effectively nullifying baseball's reserve clause. Since the 1880s, baseball owners had included a paragraph described as the reserve clause in every player contract. The paragraph as written allowed teams to renew a contract for a period of one year following the end of a signed contract. Owners asserted, and players assumed, that this contract language effectively meant that a player could be "reserved," by a ballclub's unilateral contract renewal, year after year in perpetuity by the team that had signed the player. This eliminated all market competition and kept salaries relatively low. MLB appealed the decision to the United States district court for Western Missouri, but Seitz's ruling was upheld on February 3, 1976 by Judge John Watkins Oliver, and later by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Kansas City Royals Baseball Corp. v. Major League Baseball Players Ass'n, 409 F. Supp. 233, 261 (W.D. Mo. 1976) aff'd, 532 F.2d 615 (8th Cir. 1976) After all appeals were exhausted, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association signed a new agreement in 1976 allowing players with six years experience to become free agents. – Wikipedia

I’m no fancy big city attorney, so I felt it was probably best to just cut and paste that little section as to not attempt to look like an egghead, say the wrong jargon and get trolled for the rest of my life. Fair? Cool! Former executive director of the MLB Players Association stepped into the picture back in 1966 after closely following the joint holdout of Los Angeles Dodgers Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, two of the most dominant pitchers of the era and of all-time. Miller negotiated MLBPA's first collective bargaining agreement with the team owners in 1968. That agreement increased the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000, the first increase in two decade. In 1970, Miller was able to get arbitration included in the collective bargaining agreement. Arbitration meant that disputes would be taken to an independent arbitrator to resolve the dispute. Previously disputes were taken to the Commissioner – hired by the owners – who generally ruled in favor of the owners. Miller considered arbitration the greatest achievement of the early years of the baseball union.

In 1974 Miller negotiated successfully with an arbitrator that then Oakland Athletics pitcher Catfish Hunter did not receive annuity payments from owner Charlie O. Finley, thus ensuring that Finley had broken his contract which then allowed Hunter to become a free agent. At the time this was a huge deal. Free agency was still not a real concept at the time due to the reserve clause, but this was a special case. Hunter signed a five-year, $3.5 million contract with the New York Yankees. Players throughout the league couldn’t believe how much money Hunter would be receiving, which ultimately led to a unanimous decision that free agency would be a great idea… on the players’ end that is. Miller needed a test case for free agency and found it with two players on one-year reserve clause contracts: Montreal Expos pitcher Dave McNally and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Andy Messersmith. The deal was that if both players didn’t renegotiate with their respective teams they could file for arbitration and go where they please if they won. Technically; McNally's ’75 season ended early due to injuries and he returned home, intending to retire, but agreeing to players' union director Miller's request that he sign onto the Messersmith grievance in case Messersmith ended up signing a new deal with the Dodgers before the season ended.

"It was less of an economic issue at the time than a fight for the right to have control over your own destiny," Messersmith told The Sporting News, looking back on his decision a decade later. "It was a matter of being tired of going in to negotiate a contract and hearing the owners say, 'OK, here's what you're getting. Tough luck'."

Messersmith and McNally won their case before arbitrator Peter Seitz, who was fired by the owners the day afterward. McNally followed through on his intention to retire but Messersmith signed a three-year, $1 million deal with the Atlanta Braves. Among other things, then-Braves owner Ted Turner suggested the nickname "Channel" for Messersmith and jersey number 17, in order to promote the television station (TBS) that aired Braves games. Major League Baseball quickly nixed the idea.

The Braves cap I decided to write about today bears a lot of historical value. It was used from 1972-1980 as both their home and road cap. By far the most famous moment under this cap actually came three days ago on April 8, 1974 when Hall of Famer Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record of 714.

To be honest, for years I never really put two-and-two together on how close in proximity that date and the one I’m writing about actually are; especially when adding on the fact that the same team is involved. I could argue that Aaron did change history in a batting helmet, but I won't. I guess before I leave you in the dark too much I should just tell you what it is…

4/10/76- I probably should have written about this moment on the actual date it took place; however, I felt that my post of Houston Astros pitcher J.R. Richard was too good and underappreciated of a story to pass up. Besides, I make my own rules. On April 10, 1976 the first “official” free agent signing took place between the Braves and Messersmith. One could argue that the contract Hunter signed in ’75 was the first, but I could easily argue that the parameters for why that went down really don’t apply based on the original contract being terminated due Finley’s violation. Messersmith on the other hand went about things in a proper, legal manner.

Some things that should be pointed out in regard to Messersmith are his accomplishments from 1974-1075 which proved even more that he was getting hosed by the Dodgers before opting for free agency. In ’74 Messersmith won a league-high 20 wins and only lost six games while carrying a 2.59 ERA under his belt. He even hit career-high in strikeouts with 221 and a league-best 1.098 WHIP which gave him a second place finish in the National League Cy Young vote (teammate Mike Marshall won) and a 16^th place finish in the NL MVP vote. Messersmith made his second All-Star Game appearance that year and even won a Gold Glove. In 1975 Messersmith nearly duplicated his results with 19 wins, but 14 losses; however, he led the league in complete games with 19, shutout with seven and 321 2/3 innings pitched. That year he finished in fifth place for the NL Cy Young, 24^th for the NL MVP, made his third All-Star Game appearance and won yet another Gold Glove… all without a contract.

When Messersmith signed on the dotted line the owners felt that this landmark deal would open up the floodgates and possibly bankrupt the teams or end baseball by allowing the players so much power to take of their money. This was obviously not the case. Miller, an economist by trade, knew better than to let one side have more power than the other. He understood that too many free agents could actually drive down player salaries. Miller agreed to limit free agency to players with more than six years of service, knowing that restricting the supply of labor would drive up salaries as owners bid for an annual, finite pool of free agents.

The rest of Messersmith’s career was a bit of a wash. He made his fourth and final All-Star Game appearance in 1976 with the Braves, but struggle living up to the agreements of his contract due to a serious of injuries that started back when he was with the Dodgers. He was sold to the Yankees after the 1977 season, having gone 16-15 in two seasons with the Braves, the second marred by injuries. The Yankees released him after an injury plagued 1978 season and he signed with the Dodgers. Ironically again, when the Dodgers signed him for that final go-round, they gave him the very thing their first refusal drove him toward testing and defeating the old reserve system in the first place: a no-trade clause. But the injuries and stress as the reserve clause's conqueror had taken too much toll; Messersmith pitched in only 11 games for the 1979 Dodgers, going 2-4 with a 4.90 ERA, and retired after the Dodgers released him.

While it may not seem that Messersmith faired well on a personal level due to his ordeal with the origin of free agency, the players who have followed in his footsteps have. Miller and Messersmith were pioneers within the sport, thus proving that the professional game certainly is a business. Today the players hold a little bit more clout than the owners, but as I mentioned above, most of that has to do with the rulings after the players’ strike of ’94 which left the game virtually crippled as far as attendance was concerned. With the new CBA in place, which allowed the 1995 season to get underway, it is highly unlikely that baseball will ever see a strike in my foreseeable lifetime. Thank God for that!

February 1- San Diego Padres

For any baseball fan born before let’s saaaaaayyyy… 1988, clearly 1994 was by far the worst year we can recall. I put the marker at 1988 because who really cares about anything intently before the age of six? I was 11-years-old at the time, and while I wasn’t exactly the most savvy when it came to multi-million dollar negotiations and Collective Bargaining Agreements, I was at least old enough to understand that was happening to my favorite sport really sucked balls (11-year-old Benjamin talking). August 12 not only served as a dark day in my youth in regard to my favorite sport, it also served as a three weeks to go marker for when I had to go back to school. And even though I didn’t know it at the time, exactly one month later my mother would relinquish custody of my brothers and me and give my father full custody rights. Needless to say, it was a really shitty time in my youth (29-year-old Benjamin talking). Now, as an adult, the 1994 season doesn’t upset me as much as it leaves me, and other baseball fans, in a state of confusion and intense discussion. So many unanswered questions: Could the Montreal Expos have really won the World Series? Was Matt Williams going to break the single-season home run record? Would Michael Jordan really make it up to the Majors? But I think the most important and most forgotten question is: Could Tony Gwynn have been the first person to hit .400 on the season since Ted Williams in 1941?

Having been born and raised in the Bay Area my older brothers and I were taught to hate the Southern California teams at a very young age. This of course included the San Diego Padres. I never really bought too much into that as the late 1980s/early 1990s really confused my when I saw highlights of the Padres and San Francisco Giants and thought they were the same team. Go back and look at each team’s road uniforms and you’ll totally understand my previous sentence. But, there was always that one guy who played for the Padres that I just couldn’t have ill will toward; and no, it’s not Benito Santiago.

’94 - .394: (This is the first appearance of stats on my hat posts) Tony Gwynn played 20 brilliant seasons, all of which came as a loyal member of the Padres from 1982-2001. His career stats are .338/135/1138; however, the 3141 career hits (and of course batting average) were a dead lock for the Hall of Fame, but it was the 1994 season that gives me the most issue. Gwynn had missed on 6 of the 116 games that had been played, which put him 65 at-bats behind the season leader Dante Bichette. However, even with those missed games Gwynn still led the League in hits with 165. What’s even more impressive is that Gwynn was on the upswing with his .394 average. In what turned out to be the final six games of the season Gwynn went 12-27 and hit safely in all six. In two of those games Gwynn went 3-5. With only 42 games left in the season, who knows what could have happened? Even more of a cliffhanger, would that have affected the MVP voting that year? Gwynn finished in seventh place as Jeff Bagwell won the award with all 28 first place votes. I don’t blame him; dude pal went .368/39/116, but still!!! .400!? At least Gwynn has 15 All-Star appearance, 5 Gold Gloves and 7 Silver Slugger awards to keep him company. Oh! And that spot in the Hall of Fame.

Maybe next year Bagwell.