Do the O's even name a MVO this year?

[LookitsPuck]

15 hours ago, Frobby said:

Tough question - what was worse, Chris Davis’ season, or the Orioles’ season?    They’re related, of course.   

Orioles season and it's not even close. At least a historically awful Davis can be managed. But the fact that this club (probably) couldn't do much better than the better AAA clubs out there says everything.

[spiritof66]

On 9/15/2018 at 2:48 PM, DrungoHazewood said:

The 1899 Cleveland Spiders had one pitcher who finished with positive rWAR: Harry Lochhead.  Who was actually their starting shortstop.  He pitched one game of mopup relief where he allowed two unearned runs in 3 and 2/3rds innings, good for 0.1 rWAR.  The 14 other pitchers who appeared in the Spiders' uniform in '99 were all below replacement.

The team's MVP was a virtual dead heat between catcher/utilty guy Ossee Schrecongost, who was transferred in mid-season to their sister team in St. Louis because he was playing well, and 38-year-old backup catcher Chief Zimmer (.342 in 20 games).  Both notched 1.0 rWAR.

Thanks, Drungo. There's an odd tale behind the Spiders' WAR leaders.

The notorious 1899 Cleveland Spiders created all kinds of worsts in Major-League baseball worsts. The Spiders' owners also owned the St. Louis Perfectos (formerly the Browns, but with a change to bright red socks and lettering, which would lead to another name that lasted quite a bit longer). The Perfectos had fallen on hard times, finishing dead last in the twelve-team NL in 1898. The owners traded or just transferred most of Cleveland's good players (including Cy Young) to St. Louis before the 1899 season.

The denuded Spiders finished with a 20-134 record, for a .130 percentage that is the worst in major league history. Teams wouldn't travel to Cleveland because their share of the gate would be so small, and the Spiders had to play most of their games on the road (42 home games, 112 away). After the 1899 season, the National League contracted to eight teams by eliminating Cleveland, two smaller cities (Louisville and Washington) and Baltimore, then the sixth largest city in the country, from the major leagues. 

The Spiders' two WAR leaders, Chief Zimmer and Ossee Schrecongost were both long-time major league catchers. Zimmer (who, unlike most other ballplayers nicknamed  "Chief," was not a Native American) was one of the nineteenth century's leading receivers, known for both his defense and hitting, his durability, his intelligence (he was the first president of a newly formed players' union in 1900), and his long-time role as Cy Young's battery mate with Cleveland in the '90s.  Schrecongost ("Schreck" in the boxscores) became a cog in Connie Mack's strong Philadelphia Athletics teams in the early days of the American League, playing on two pennant-winners and having the dubious distinction of catching Rube Waddell on three different teams. 

I thought it odd that the Spiders, with so little talent, had two very good players at a key position. So I looked a little further, and it got a lot odder.

In 1898, the Spiders' main catcher was Lou Criger.  Zimmer was limited to 20 games by an arm injury, and the Spiders used several backups to share the duties with Criger, including Schrecongost. (At that time, backup catchers got a lot of playing time. Main catchers weren't expected to catch every day; Zimmer had set the record for games caught in a season, 125, earlier in the decade.) Before the 1899 season, Criger was among the Cleveland regulars sent to St. Louis, opening up the position for Zimmer's return. But neither of Cleveland's WAR leaders, was the Spiders' "regular" catcher in 1899. The most games (66) and innings were caught by a journeyman named Joe Sugden. 

Here's what happened. As a veteran star player, the 38-year-old Zimmer was, like Criger, ticketed for St. Louis before the 1899 season started, but he talked the owners into letting him stay in Cleveland. Perhaps out of appreciation, he started the season on a hitting tear for the Spiders, with a .342/.407/.887 line and a couple of HRs in 20 games. Too good for Cleveland, apparently, and St. Louis already had a strong catcher. So the Spiders shipped the Chief to the Louisville Colonels over his protest. Zimmer tied for the Spiders' highest WAR even though he played in just 20 games; that has to be another Spiders-related record.

Schrecongost was sent to the Perfectos before the season, serving as a backup before being returned to Cleveland after the Chief departed. Schrecongast was the Spiders' main catcher for a couple of months, with Sugden the backup. Schreck, in his first year with Cleveland at age 24, also hit very well, sporting a .313 average in 43 games (39 at catcher) and compiling the 1.0 WAR that tied him with Zimmer. That was good enough to be useful in St. Louis, apparently, so Cleveland shipped Ossee back to the Perfectos, where he backed up Criger at catcher and first baseman Patsy Tabeau. 

And what of the guy left behind to do most of the catching for a .130 team, Joe Sugden? He was no Criger or Zimmer or Schreckongost, and that may explain why he finished the season with Cleveland. His WAR for the 1899 season was .7 -- good enough for third on the Spiders, behind Zimmer and Schreckongost, his predecessors behind the plate. 

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

How inanimate carbon rod?

 

[atomic]

Thinking about this more I would give the award to Adam Jones.  He leads the club in Total Bases.  He has been here all year and only Mancini has played more games. 

[Going Underground]

I was talking to a guy i know from the Orioles and he said make the fans the MVO this year. Having to endure a horrible season and honor the fans who stuck with this team, Never will happen and I think the writers have already voted.