Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
The lifeless winter meetings came to an end, the Veterans Committee weighed in, and the city of Cincinnati lost an icon. Here’s a view on those three topics from cold and snowy Cooperstown.
Now that the pursuits of Johan Santana and Dan Haren seem to have concluded, it’s time for the Yankees to concentrate their efforts on other postseason goals. (By the way, the winter meetings have become such a dud that baseball needs to bring back a trading deadline for the final day of the meetings; that way, someone will feel compelled to make a deal.) Principally, the Yankees need to fortify their bullpen, bolster their right-handed hitting, and possibly consider acquiring an innings-eating veteran for the back of the rotation.
Toward that first goal, I love the Yankees’ acquisition of Jonathan "Don’t Call Me Jessica" Albaladejo from the Nationals. In picking up Albaladejo for Tyler Clippard, who needs another pitch to succeed at the major league level, Brian Cashman pulled off a veritable steal. Albaladejo pitched lights out for the Nats during the final month of the season, overpowering hitters with a mid-90s fastball and surprisingly good control. There’s only one question about Albaladejo—his weight. Listed at 250 pounds (and he might weigh closer to 260), he needs to keep himself from enrolling in the Wilbur Wood Reform School for Eating. In the short term, Albaladejo could become the new Charlie Kerfeld. Let’s just hope he can avoid the boxes of Jell-0 and the arm problems that short-circuited Kerfeld’s career.
While they have a full cache of eligible right-handed relievers, the Yankees are badly lacking in bullpen southpaws. Ron Villone won’t be re-signed, Sean Henn is not the answer, and Kei Igawa looks like a long man at best. The Yankees have approached the Pirates about Damaso Marte (their first choice) or John Grabow (the backup plan). I could see the Yankees giving up a B-level prospect for the soon-to-be-33-year-old Marte, who struck out 51 batters in 45 innings last season. Last season, there was talk of the Yankees sending Kevin Thompson to the Pirates for Marte, but Thompson is now on the Pirates’ roster as a backup outfielder. So how about Chase Wright or Jeff Marquez for the veteran lefty?
In terms of right-handed hitting, I’ve heard very little talk about the Yankees pursuing another veteran bat. That would be a mistake, given how feeble the Yankees looked against quality left-handers last year. Even with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada back in the fold, the Yankees could use a strong right-handed platoon player. Shelley Duncan might be the answer, but he struggled toward the tail end of 2007. Then there’s Mark Loretta, but he’s only valuable in terms of on-base percentage, with no power whatsoever. How about Kevin Millar, who hit 17 home runs and drew 76 walks? If he’s willing to accept a role as a platoon first baseman-DH and emergency outfielder, he might be a suitable alternative.
Finally, there’s the issue of starting pitching. With Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy in the projected rotation, the Yankees can’t expect any of the young right-handers to log 200 innings. If you subtract one of the "Big Three" and replace him with Mike Mussina, you’re basically dealing with a six-inning pitcher. Here’s where a durable veteran could come in handy. On the free agent front, there’s Jon "Big Daddy" Lieber, who happens to be a close friend of Joe Girardi. And on the trade block, there’s talk of the Giants’ Noah Lowry (along with Jonathan Sanchez) coming over as part of a deal for Hideki Matsui. Though not a workhorse, Lowry has averaged 173 innings over the last three seasons. He’s also a left-hander, always a nice commodity at Yankee Stadium…
The Hall of Fame is taking a major public relations hit in the aftermath of Monday’s news that the Veterans Committee had elected Bowie Kuhn but somehow had bypassed Marvin Miller yet again. Like him or not (and I haven’t always cared for Miller’s arrogant personality), Miller registered a huge impact on baseball’s financial landscape throughout the 1970s and early eighties. Without Miller, arbitration and free agency would not have come into play as quickly as they did, and perhaps not at all. Today’s game is financially healthy, probably better than ever—and Miller deserves some indirect credit for that, too. Hall of Famer? How can you have a Hall of Fame without a pioneer of Miller’s stature? There’s no question that Miller should be chosen. But with only two former players on the committee (Monte Irvin and Harmon Killebrew), Miller’s fate was sealed before a formal vote even took place.
As for Kuhn, I have to confess that I liked him on a personal level. Having talked to him informally on several occasions and having interviewed him as part of a live program at the Hall of Fame, Kuhn struck me as personable, thoughtful, and well intended. It’s also an exaggeration to call him the worst Hall of Fame selection of all-time, not when you have players like Rick Ferrell and Ray Schalk and executives like Morgan Bulkeley and Tom Yawkey occupying places in Cooperstown. (Perhaps the election of Kuhn at the same time that Miller was rejected serves to underscore the situation, making the anti-Kuhn lobby that much more incensed.) Still, Kuhn suffered too many losses at the hands of Miller and mishandled too many other situations, such as his effort to censor Jim Bouton’s Ball Four and his failure to attend Hank Aaron’s record-breaking home run. In light of those shortcomings, I would not have voted for Kuhn.
In contrast, the other four selections by the two separate Veterans Committees were on the money. Barney Dreyfuss oversaw a number of successful Pirates teams in the early 1900s while also playing a large role in implementing the first World Series. Walter O’Malley, though still reviled in the borough of Brooklyn, was arguably the game’s most influential owner from the late 1950s through the late 1970s. Managers Billy Southworth and Dick Williams were both criminally underrated, Williams because of his prickly personality and Southworth because most of his success came during the World War II era. Each man won four pennants and two World Championships; given their overall winning percentages, those are Hall of Fame markers.
So with four out of five correct, along with two bad omissions in Miller and Doug Harvey, the Veterans Committee did some passable work, certainly an improvement over the blank ballots of recent years. The Hall of Fame now needs to balance the composition of the Veterans Committee, which is too heavily slanted toward management and against the union. Ultimately, the committee charged with the directive of electing executives should feature a balance between retired players, former or current executives, and members of the media. Four apiece from each category would be ideal. That way, Miller would have a fighting chance…
I met Joe Nuxhall, who died last month at the age of 79, just one time. It happened several years ago in spring training, which I used to attend as part of my duties at the Hall of Fame. On a sunny March morning, I sat down to interview Nuxhall and Marty Brennaman at the Reds’ spring site in Sarasota. Both men could not have been nicer, absolute gentlemen, both on and off camera. I talked with Brennaman about his love of the defunct ABA (American Basketball Association) and with Nuxhall about baseball in general. Based on our short conversation, I learned at least a little bit why Nuxhall was so beloved in Cincinnati.
Nationally, Nuxhall was best known for being the youngest major leaguer of the 20th century, pitching in a game in 1944 at the age of 15. Yet, there was much more to his story. We tend to forget that after Nuxhall struggled so badly in his wartime debut, he returned to high school and then continued a long baseball apprenticeship in the minor leagues before making it back to the Reds, seven years after his debut, in 1951. Nuxhall would last 16 seasons in the major leagues, establishing himself as a very good left-handed pitcher in the mid-1950s. A two-time All-Star, Nuxhall led the National League in shutouts in 1955. Except for brief stints with the Kansas City A’s and Los Angeles Angels, Nuxhall remained with Cincinnati through the 1966 season, when he retired with 135 wins and over 1,300 strikeouts. The following spring, he returned to the Reds as a broadcaster, continuing what would become a 63-year association with the franchise.
Given such longevity, along with his easy-going personality and generous nature, it’s not hard to see why Nuxhall became one of the city’s most cherished icons.
Bruce Markusen writes "Cooperstown Confidential" for MLB.com. He can be reached via e-mail at bmark@telenet.net.
"Jeff Marquez for the veteran lefty"
Marquez for Marte? If the Yankees were hesitant to include him in the Santana deal, they'd better not trade him for Marte.
I like the Millar idea, if, the Yankees are confident in or committed to Duncan.
"He's not home right now. We sort of broke in"
As long as trading Matsui in order to free up money to go trade Hughes for Santana isn't the plan (Keep Phil!) then I'm OK with it.
http://tinyurl.com/2y6amc
and cashman has discussed signing latroy hawkins to a one year deal worth between $3M and $3.5M.
http://tinyurl.com/2l3kqd
Matsui .855 OPS. Abreu .814 OPS.
Cash just gave Abreu $16mil for 2008, so I don't think he's going to give Matsui away for nothing.
Or at least I hope not.
"Don't Call Me Jessica" Albaladejo. That's rich.
I'd do either of the Marte trades you presented in a heartbeat. Not knowing much about Marquez I'm hesitant to say I'd give both him and Wright for Marte, but I might.
A hard-throwing lefty, one that the club knows well, might well be worth a pair of B prospects.
20 I wouldn't trade Wright AND Marquez. I'd rather keep Marques, actually. Marte is 33, no? Maybe Desalvo & White would get it done.
http://tinyurl.com/2r3rk6
I would not give up Marquez, because we haven't seen what he can do yet, or Wright, who is the only lefty starter of note in the system. I would gladly give up DeSalvo or Karstens, because their ceilings are pretty clear. But isn't Pittsburgh swimming in young pitchers? Why would they need more?
I mean I'd do something like Matsui and Cox and Melancon, right? Matsui and Kennedy?
Un-do the Marte mistake, Cash! Dude can still chuck it.
Cain worries me. He's been worked pretty hard by the Giants. I know he went over 120 pitches a few times the last two years, with a max of 132 in one start in 2006. That is horrible for a 21 year old.
Whatever you think of BP's pitcher abuse points, he's been 7th and 8th the last two years in terms of stress (points/number of pitches thrown). Maybe he can deal with that kind of workload. I'm not sure I'd want to chance it.
21 Lowry, while not fit to pitch against AL lineups, had an ERA+ of 113 last year (95 in '06 and 113 in '05) and is 27 years old. Some NL club would definitely be interested. Cashman would need to determine just how interested before dealing for him, though.
I have this awful feeling that if the team gets Lowry and can't fleece some other team in a trade, they'll decide to trot him out there in hopes that he becomes [Not Noah Lowry] and we can trick someone into taking him.
It doesn't get into a lot of detail, but its a start. I'm still sure who qualifies for the AA and A reserve lists though, but it seems to not include guys who were on the AAA reserve lists.
Rule V segments:
Major League – All eligible players may be selected for a price of 50K. If the selected player doesn't remain on the 25-man, he must be offered back to the original team.
AAA – Players on the AAA roster (38 man max) are removed from the pool, and only players on AA rosters who are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft can be selected for a price of $12K. There are no roster requirements.
AA - Players on the AA roster (37 man max) are removed from the pool, and only players on A rosters (35 man max)who are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft can be selected for a price of $4K. There are no roster requirements.
If you trade away pitching and thereby let your opponents score an extra forty runs next year, but you add a hitter who adds forty runs next year, haven't you broken even? What difference does it make whether you are already a good run-producing team or not? (And conversely for a good hitting team that 'needs pitching'.)
One possibility: if your team and system is loaded with pitching, you can replace the guy you trade away with a guy who's almost as good. Whereas the good hitter you get might be a whole lot better than the guy he replaces. If this is the explanation, why don't people just say that??
I guess I just don't view Matsui as being that valuable. He's going to be 34, is owed 26 million over the next 2 years (not awful, but not great), and is an .850 ops DH (or bad defensive LFer)
Of course, Matsui most likely won't waive his NTC anyway, so none this of matters.
Some weaknesses I understand a little better than others. Most teams are chasing middle relief. But how many years have we been hearing that the Angels need a "bat to protect Vlad" - and they sign two cfs two years in a row that do not qualify as protection for Vlad.
Or the Padres and their need for a hitter.
As for Matsui and the Giants, hopefully Cashman can utilize the fact that the Giants supposedly called him about Matsui and add something else of value to get Lincecum or Cain.
Also, I have read Matsui would waive his NTC - and though I have not spoken to either, I think both Matsui and Giambi (not that anyone wants him at this point) would waive their NTC for the opportunity to be more full time players.
Supposedly the Padres have made an offer to Fukudome, but I wonder if the Yanks do trade Matsui if they would go after Fukudome for the full replacement of Matsui.
I think Pavano hasn't been dealt because other teams were offering crap AND the Yanks would have to pick up salary. If that was the case, what's the point of moving him?
And unless Ohlendorf becomes something, we got a no hit shortstop and a pair of middle relievers.
And I would have gladly paid for Carl Pavano to hurt another team. If we hadn't waited a year and a half for him to "improve his value" we could have gotten something of value by accident. Now we'll get nothing.
As for Wright, I think addition by subtraction makes that deal a good one too. Had he stayed, the Yankees might have been tempted to give him a start.
what do people think about if matsui is moved how that would impact deals involving melky?
that is, if matsui is moved does that preclude melky from being moved?
Valid point on Wright. I wanted him gone as well.
As for Farns, as bad as he is, he wasn't the worst reliever on the team. Keep in mind that the Yankee bullpen employed the likes of Colter Bean, Jim Brower and Sean Henn. I'd love to ship Farns anywhere now that Girardi is more likely to use a younger arm, but Torre was going to gravitate toward the veterans anway, so that either meant someone would be overused or a guy like Brower would have had an expanded role.
54 And thus, I would gladly approach the Giants with a Lincecum and ______ for Matsui, IPK, Farns, and Wright deal.
And I don't think you can use raw stats to evaluate Farnsworth's utter uselessness. His entrenchment as the setup man (and I don't think that will leave with Torre) and the Farnsworth Rules need to be considered.
50 As long as Rowand is available they would probably still be willing to deal Melky. I'm not personally wild about paying Rowand a bundle, but I think the front office likes him.
He also used to play for the Giants in Japan, so maybe he would think it is cool to play for the American version.
I would kick in my entire porn collection to give to Matsui if the Yankees could get Lincecum for him.
"Excuse me, Mr. Tellem, I have a "standuptriple" on line 1. He says it's urgent: something about Hideki Matsui, Tera Patrick, and extremely high levels of perversion detected in San Francisco."
Tellem: Put him through immediately.
I might actually be more concerned about the jump in HRs last season. Looking at his minor league numbers, it seems like he could get away with the walks because he kept the ball in the park. Gave up the long ball at a disturbing rate last season.
Alan Horne, RHP
Dellin Betances, RHP
Andrew Brackman, RHP
Edwar Ramirez, RHP
Humberto Sanchez, RHP
Jeff Marquez, RHP
Ross Ohlendorf, RHP
Is Horne the only one we haven't seen yet who might pitch for us in 2009?
I don't think Sanchez is ready until mid-season at beat.
From what little I know, these guys are all talented and could be effective and the MLB level. Should anyone be removed from that list? Should anyone else be added to that list?
Daniel McCutchen maybe? How does he rate?
How about Patterson, who is on the 40 man roster?
Mark Melancon? (which team is he on?)
Wright, While, DeSalveo, Karstens, Rasner, Anthony Claggett, Kevin Whelan, Steven Jackson, et al.
As someone above said, we have a boatload of decent pitchers. Are any of these guys trading chips? There must be some teams looking for cheap RPs. Are 3 or 4 of these guys worth a decent MLB RP? A righty bat?
I'm surprised to see that Millar (over the last 3 years) is .060 BETTER against RHP and has TWICE as many HRs against RHP. I like the guy but a .782 OPS should be easy to find and is not much production from 1B/DH.
http://tinyurl.com/2wn7c9
He seemed like a genuinely great guy, and wish nothing but the very best for him and his family. Here's hoping he learns to lay off those big breaking curveballs somewhere else.
Did you catch the snide cheapshot against the Yankees in the photo caption?
"Featuring Yankee-esque bunting, the Newport Square, one of the six Tampa, Fla., area apartment complexes owned by Alex Rodriguez."
No other team uses red, white,and blue bunting? I'm certain I've seen it draped around good olde Fenway, where clean, affordable housing is such a priority.
Total hatchet job. Nice to see things don't change...
I think the D-Backs took a risk on RJ, given his creaky back. That may be the reason the Yanks didn't get more for him. So far, at the very least, the Yanks got two useful arms for someone who did not want to be here.
They got younger, cheaper, and potentially better. Can't find too much fault with that.
I see nothing wrong with that statement.
(i kid.)
I have no problem with the Times digging into A-Rod's affairs, but there's not even smoke here while they're trying to suggest fire. Hatchet job, right down to the photo caption as I see it.
would the Sox-friendly Times write: "Fenway Park is decked out in Yankee-esque bunting for the playoffs"
No, it would not.
That article was ridiculous. I was especially impressed with the argument that Rodriguez (or his brother-in-law) is a lousy landlord, therefore he doesn't care about winning a championship. QED, right?
85 No, because it doesn't make any sense. Would they use the term "Fenway-esque" referring to bunting? Had they preceded "Yankee-esque" with "tacky" or "cheap," then I could see having a problem with it.
From what I remember, there wasn't much offered for Pavano (not even a "slop swap"), and the Yanks would've had to pick up his salary. If you're going to do that, may as well keep him in the hopes that he'll turn it around.
I'll never understand the "may as well keep him" line of thinking. They should have known after 2005 what kind of man they were dealing with when he sat out half a year with an undefined mystery ailment. If my options are pay him to be a pain in the ass and hurt my team or pay him to be someone else's pain in the ass and hurt their team, I pick door number 2.
Also, why is it that when Derek Jeter contributes $2M to his foundation it's magnanimous, but when Rodriguez gives $3.9M to a scholarship fund, it's a "vanity check?" Because the practice field is named after him? So what?
WRT Farnsworth & Pavano, there's also the option that you keep them, and try to get something out of them... There's the chance that Farnsworth may harness that 100mph fastball, there's hope that Pavano may be productive. As bad as the pitching has been since 2004, they can't afford to give one away.
95 The NYT isn't the only media outlet that has portrayed Rodriguez as a money hungry ballplayer.
As for the comparision with Jeter, they were comparing how they treated their respective charities.
Why Krazy Kyle isn't gone yet still perplexes me.
89 Here here! JL is also doing a terrific job.
And if we're going to keep useless lumps because they could be productive, Why evaluate players at all? Any one can be productive. We should just ignore everyone's history and stats and throw darts at a board.
a) Kyle Farnsworth is still on the team.
b) Carl Pavano is still causing this team headaches.
Not a criticism. Right on Miller. No cred for the Hall without him. Yes, a little rough on the edges. I can relate to that. Met him at the same SABR conference that I met Nuxie at. How lucky for me.
Bowie's career underscored by what he did in his post Commish law firm life. Also, not enough written about how he became Commish.
Need some comments on the A-Rod-SlumLord article in NYT. No (read as insufficient) contributions or distributions (read as pathetic) to his charity! Named the field after himself. Should be dead first. High late fees for the poor who barely have enough to pay the rent. He coudda been a hero. Has a layer of PR people guarding him. Where is Warren, or betta yet, the hated Howie. Is a reservation at Peter Luger's all that is important?
Matsui is one of my favorite Yankees, but I think I'd have to pull the trigger if the Giants are offering Lowry and Sanchez. That's two young left-handers (one who is at least a No. 4 starter and the other a reliever with high upside), added to a staff that is way too right-handed, for a 34-year-old player coming off knee surgery.
The Yankees aren't getting Lincecum or Cain for Matsui. Lowry is about as good a veteran pitcher as they're going to receive for him. Now perhaps you'd interpret that as meaning the Yankees should hold onto Matsui. That's fine, too. He's more of a sure thing than Giambi, who would be getting the bulk of the DH at-bats in his absence.
http://tinyurl.com/22h93k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxwcun4C7B8
The Reds will be wearing a Nuxhall patch on their uniforms next season:
http://tinyurl.com/yuskv7
In 4 years with the Yankees, Girardi had 20 SBs and a SB% of 63!!
And for those that think Giambi is a 'baseclogger', as a Yankee, his SB% is 60!
Glad I got that off my chest.
William....oh William.... WILLIAM!
Please check out:
http://www.toursdirectory.com/baseball/Batting.asp
For a cool listing, select:
Team: NL - NY1
League: NL
Qualify: Qualified
Start Year: ALL
and CHECK the 'AVG' Box.
Scroll Down and check 'Shorty Fuller' and 'Mel Ott'
I can be reached at Yahoo mail at: singledddd etc
I'm ready for the official 'Bronx Banter HOF Qualifying' formula.
We will sell it the the writers and donate the money to Hank and Hal, to go towards Santana's salary (IF they don't give up Phil!)
And somehow she's getting hired on to SI...
Does he love his money? No doubt. So do a lot of people, and a lot of ballplayers.
This article was worse than most, because Roberts didn't just say he was a money-grubbing ballplayer. It's the way she pulls together a few irrelevant facts from here and there to "prove" that he doesn't care about winning. Malarkey.
I understood that the Jeter-Rodriguez comparison had specifically to do with how they treat their own foundations. So what? Why does that make Jeter's contribution good but Rodriguez's bad?
100 That's not quite what it said - but it's easy to misread, because it's a vague, confusing and essentially meaningless insinuation. The contribution to U. Miami was in 2002. "The site is near a splendid oceanside estate in Coral Gables that property records show Rodriguez purchased for $12 million in 2004. The manse's value is down — like everything with an address in South Florida." What's the connection? Oh yeah - there is none.
But I don't doubt that he wants to win and be a champion. Its foolish to think otherwise, IMO.
Dunno if I buy that, but I think this credit crisis thing is going to catch a lot of people you wouldn't expect. Like A-Rod's friend Warren Buffet likes to say, when the tide goes out, you find out who's been swimming naked.
Somehow I suspect that would still have allowed him to weather the real estate crisis.
ARods contract is too long, but those last 2 years are for posterity sake. If he stays healthy, he should be worth close to his $27.5 for a while.
I wonder if Trump owns any 'slum' or 'lower class' housing. Or if other millionaires do. Like with Bonds, I love when writers pull one person out of a huge barrel and shine the spotlight on them. It is just so fair and balanced.
Not much of a ballplayer. Hall of Fame name.
That's why Colter Bean was DFA'd, after only being called up once. Ditto Sardinha - he has options left.
Of course, they could open up a roster spot or two via trade.
Stoicism on the mound? Has he ever even seen him pitch?
And did he really become an "integral" part of the clubhouse? More to the point, did Olney spend enough time there to know?
3) And when trying to 'equate stats' in different eras. Just a made up example:
Babe. (1925) OPS = 1.000
Bonds (2000) OPS = 1.000
When adjusting, Babe's OPS+ is WAY higher then Bonds, because the league average was much lower in 1925. Relative to his peers, Babe was WAY better. But if his peers were crappier pitchers and fielders then in 2000 (and all White to boot), Babe's OPS of 1.000 was much easier to get then Bonds' OPS of 1.000 (assuming that Bonds faced better pitching and fielding).
Of course, this doesn't account for ballparks and other factors, but still.... IMHO, comparing leagues in different eras can be misleading because it 'assumes' that the players of each era are equally talented.
I can not find where EQA has any adjustments relative to league or park, but is adjusted by team wins! Team WINS! So if Tony Womack plays on the Yanks, and they have a team .600 WPCT, Tony's EQA is increased by 8.5%. Does this make sense?
Conversely, if Miggy Cabrera's team has a .400 WPCT, his EQA is DECREASED by 8%
So Tony(EQA)= .240, adjusted = .260
Cabrera(EQA)= .350, adjusted = .323
Difference....... .110 .............. = .063
Is this a VALID adjustment what-so-ever????
While I do respect these sabermetric stats, there does appear to be many problems, ESPECIALLY if different stats are taken from MLB vs BR vs BP (or anyone else that has their hands in the stats soup).
MLB REALLY needs to standardize the sabermetric stats, so we at least have a single system where the stats are relative to themselves.
And PARK FACTOR is all screwed up.
Unless there are PHYSICAL changes to a park, shouldn't the PF be static? Why should batting in the Stadium be different in 2006 then in 2000?
IMHO, Park Factor be calculated on some formula involving 1) amount of foul territory, 2) depth of outfield walls, 3) Vision factors (domes, sun, etc) 4) AstroTurf
5)?? (can you think of anything else?)
In 1940, the Stadium had a 96 PF.
In 1945, the Stadium had a 105 PF.
Make any sense to you?
Not be me. Due to the random nature of baseball, more runs just happened to be scored in 1945.
That's a 9% difference. That's a LOT of difference when calculating + stats (or ANY stat that uses PF)
In 1949, the PF was 100. In 2001, the PF was 100.
Make sense? Do you know how much bigger ther park was in 1949?
Anyone think there may have been fewer HRs and more doubles turned into flyouts in 1949?
To me, PF is totally BOGUS in the way it is calcualted. A park has a certain geometry that either hurts or helps (or is 'neutral') hitters. That 'factor' should NOT change unless the geometry is changed.
Of course, my issues are ONLY with Stats that are 'adjusted'. But these are just the Stats we rely on more... aren't they?
It's like a HR hitter, if a guy slugs 50, 50, 50, 50, 35, and 50 HRs, the HR stat is not screwed up just because one year doesn't seem to "fit." So too, in most seasons Yankee Stadium has played as a pitchers park, but not every season.
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