I loved Ellie. Sad what the Janks did to him. Played with dignity in Boston. Died young. Good point about how the light early years saved his career. Remember him playing the OF.

William, I think The Mick is referring to the Yankees' decision not to give Howard the managerial job in the mid-1970s, despite the fact that many players wanted him to be promoted. Howard was very well liked and respected by Yankees players and deserved a chance at managing.

I thought he might have been referring to the trade, but I've read at least one account of the Yankees sending Howard to Boston as being a reward (a chance to compete in one more pennant race), not a punishment.

1 4 5 I was thinking it was more that Howard didn't get the chance to play fulltime when he was clearly ready for it - just like Jorge. He signed in 1950, but didn't debut until 1955, and didn't top 350 MLB PAs until 1957. Maybe he doesn't have the same career if he got started in 1952 or '53. But isn't it something of accepted fact that the Yankees could have, and should have, integrated sooner?

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Howard died of a heart ailment at age 51 in New York City and was interred at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey. Broadcaster Red Barber reacted by saying, "The Yankees lost more class on the weekend than George Steinbrenner could buy in 10 years."
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It's unclear to me exactly what Barber was referring to but according to wikipedia, George Washington Memorial Park was established in 1939 as a "whites only" cemetery.

Did Barber object to Howard being laid to rest here? What did the Yankees do to "lose class?" Anybody know what this was about?

8 Yeah, I guess. I don't know. Its hard to make any judgments without knowing more about those mid-50s teams than b-r.com can tell me. I think we should stop speculating and just wait for The Mick to tell us what he meant. =)

Red Barber was a segregationist and a racist in his early days but became a staunch supporter of civil rights and I believe lived with a good deal of guilt about the beliefs he held in his younger and uninformed days. There is a good deal written about his support of Jackie Robinson for example and how he managed to see the light once he got to know him. He talked about it some in his days at NPR with Bob Edwards. Edwards wrote a pretty good book on Barber that is worth the read.

The reference wasn't to anything the Yankees did. He was simply saying that the Yankees had lost the class that Howard brought to the organization.

Here's his lede: "The Yankees' organization lost more class on the weekend than George Steinbrenner could buy in 10 years. Elston Howard, former catcher, outfielder, first baseman, coach and lately administrative assistant to Steinbrenner, died in Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center."

And his closing paragraphs: "Whether he ever could have been manager for George Steinbrenner is something else again. It has yet to be shown that anyone can manage a team for Steinbrenner for more than a short time. Yet it is conceivable that some of Elston Howard's class might have rubbed off on the owner of the Yankees.

"That possibility makes his death a greater loss than ever. He was a loyal friend, a polished professional in his job, a cool judge of whisky and a man of simple honesty. The world will be poorer without him, the Yankees immeasurably poorer."

Smith could write.

13 Amen brother, lets hope.

Posada was incredibly lucky in 2007. Perhaps it goes without saying that when any player puts up numbers that are both historic and out of character with the rest of his career, he had a bit of luck on his side. It was more than a bit, though; when Posada put the ball into play he batted around .390, far higher than his career norms.

Ok, I'm sorry, this is where statistician-types exasperate me.

Did you all watch the same Jorgie all year that I did? The one who actually changed his swing, went with the pitch and used the middle of the field?

The man changed his approach to batting (apparent to anyone with eyes to see) and that's somehow about luck?

Luck was maybe staying healthy, but in a high average on balls put into play? Why doesn't that mean that a higher percentage of those balls were well-struck than in previous years?

Of the Yanks, he said that at the time there was only one guy among his group who was a Yankee fan, and the others would tease this guy because of the fact that the Yanks didn't have any black players.

However, his clever retort: "Well, the Yanks don't NEED 'em like you do."

It was almost certainly luck because his BABIP was 71 points over his career rate. I did watch Jorge all year, and I didn't see any change in his approach at the plate. Jorge himself, when asked, said he was doing the same things he'd always done (I'll see if I can find the quote). Even he knew that there was luck involved.

That doesn't mean there was no skill. There is tremendous skill at work (career .319 BABIP for a slow-footed catcher? Phenomenal. Great OBP. Power...).

I think there has been work done on correlations between line drive rate and BABIP, showing that not all high BABIP is lucky. But .390? Come on now.

I understand he didn't watch day in and day out, but that's kind of my point--a pile of numbers is no substitute for watching baseball, day in, day out.

Jorgie shortened his fucking swing, why is that not even worthy of comment?

Of course, the writer tries to claim it's not luck. But look at what Jorge himself said.

"I'll tell you the truth—I don't know why it's been such a good year," he said, smiling, as he dressed in front of his locker for Monday's game against Toronto. "At the plate, I haven't been even a little bit different."

"I think I've been a little lucky this year, no question,"

But if he gives anything like his 2004-06 numbers for 3 years anyone who knows the game surely has to be happy.

I'm intrigued by the luck analysis, the .390 on balls in play etc. ... I suppose I'd have expected that over a season it levels more smoothly, that luck is a month or two (along with streaks, which CAN be luck).

Opera-lover, it would be awfully nice if you're right, that it was simply confidence, new swing (walk year?). If it happens again everyone here will cheer like mad, but it isn't just sabr-geeks who attach value to career norms and the rarity of mid-30s redefinitions.

But let's say I'm absolutely wrong about that, that it's my word against yours--why isn't that the conversation?

Why can't someone like Neyer talk about a guy's swing, his mechanics, his approach?

Of course the difference was phenomenal, but my point is, luck only explains so much, and by no means the most interesting part of why his season was so strong.

It's especially ironic that stathead types try to quantify and measure everything, but then, when push comes to shove, they throw up their hands and invoke luck rather than talking about baseball?

Kind of amusing, no?

As for Neyer... probably because Neyer isn't particularly qualified to discuss a hitter's mechanics (neither are we, of course, but we don't get paid to post on the Banter). He could, however, solicit quotes from scouts and include their comments in his articles.

anyway, thanks for the Barber insights, wsporter.

[26 - 27] For what it's worth, weeping, I take more from your analysis of Posada than Neyer's.

Hah! You know I'm fanatical about cartoons, whether age-appropriate or not, but this recent exchange reminded me of Banter in it's purest form:

Spongebob: (jumps at Patrick 3 times) C'mon Patrick, let's do something fun.

Patrick: Oh, you want to run some statistics or observe phenomenon and render hypothesis of sand phenomenon?

Spongebob: I was thinking more like jumping rope, 1-legged races, or duck-duck-hermit crab. (jumps into a hermit-crab shell)

Patrick: Doesn't feel like fun.

Spongebob: How about some jokes? (Patrick sighs) What's the difference between a guitar and a jellyfish?

Patrick: You can't strum a jellyfish.

Spongebob: Yes! (laughs. Patrick grabs a jellyfish and strums its tentacles)

Patrick: Oh my, look at the time. I really must be going. (walks off)

That's about right I imagine >;)

He has had his number retired for sure and his family are honored guests at the stadium, but he should be thought about on a level just below 42.

The Yankees under Weiss passed on Vic Power, among others, because they had swagger. I believe that Ellie's gentlemanly qualities were taken advantage of and that he toiled as a utility man under Casey because of his color, not his talent.

At some point, either in 1956 or 1955, Ellie went into the hospital for some sort of nervous disorder. Never got the story about who put pressure on him in the dugout. Hank Bauer and Yogi were supposedly big supporters, but someone, maybe just Casey and Weiss, made his skin erupt.
Houk finally let him play and that is when he became an all-star. Yanks promised him he could finish his career in pinstripes. I remember that he was devastated when they traded him to the Sox. They may have claimed they were giving him one last chance to win another ring, but then why did he almost retire rather than gleefully going?

The manager thing really still miffs me the most. He was named on the short lists. The Yankees, as well as many other teams, could have broken the color line by making him the skipper. The team loved him. The fans loved him. White ownership didn't.

Finally, the embarassment at the time of his untimely death, one hastened by the racism he faced, comes from some financial finagling by ownership that may have effected the family's ability to cover his medical bills. I am, as Casey would say, looking it up.

I don't know. I doubt it. Unless swing-shortening really does tend to improve hitting, I am reluctant (to say the least) to attribute Posada's improvement to a new swing.

Only speaking for myself, of course.

Speaking for myself, I'm not a professional hitting coach, but I have been coached in how to swing a baseball bat, both in little league and through listening to professionals on training videos, starting when I was young and that show--"The Baseball Bunch," was it?--came on weekly and major leaguers taught kids fundamentals.

I do have some idea of how to hit a baseball, as should anyone who watches baseball with any kind of attention.

Just because we disagree about Jorgie's swing, both of us having watched him day in, day out, doesn't mean we're therefore not fit to discuss it.