Cal Ripken Jr. and The 1987 Baltimore Orioles in Polaroids-Part 1

Cal Ripken Jr. Fuji Photo Night 1987

These Polaroids were taken on Fuji Photo Night at Memorial Stadium during the latter part of the 1987 season.  Despite being only four years removed from their 1983 World Series championship, by 1987, the proud Baltimore Orioles franchise had fallen on some very hard times.  Baltimore's '83 championship season was followed by a subpar 5th place finish in 1984 and a slow start in 1985 which cost World Series winning manager Joe Altobelli his job.  In his place, Baltimore brought Earl Weaver, the franchise's winningest manager, back from retirement. Initially, the move appeared to work with Weaver keeping the '86 Orioles on pace with the division leading Red Sox, sitting only two and a half games behind, in second place, with a 59-47 record on August 5.  However, from that point forward, the team collapsed--going 14-42--and finished last for the first time since the franchise had moved to Baltimore, which sent Weaver back into retirement--this time for good.  In Weaver's place the franchise promoted long-time 3rd base coach, Cal Ripken Sr. to manage the struggling ball club.   

Unfortunately, the '87 O's averaged only 22.3 wins per Ripken

Probably the most memorable thing about the 1987 Orioles is that it marked the first, and thus far only, time in major league history a father, Cal Ripken Sr., managed two sons, Cal Jr. and Billy, on one team.  Unfortunately, not even a trio of Ripkens could save the declining franchise from another horrid season as the O's record fell to 67-95.  They were only saved from another season in the cellar by the Cleveland Indians and their ridiculously bad pitching staff.  The following season proved to be even worse for Baltimore, with the team losing their first six games to start the season, leading to the dismissal of Ripken Sr.  Cal Sr.'s replacement, Frank Robinson, failed to reverse the losing trend and the club lost fifteen more games in a row, setting a major league record with 21 straight losses to open the season.  Not surprisingly, the Orioles finished last with an abysmal 54-107 record.

Cal Ripken Jr.

Cal Ripken Jr.

You would be hard pressed to find a player who meant more to a franchise than Cal Ripken Jr.  For twenty plus years, Ripken patrolled one half of the left side of Baltimore's infield.  During that time Ripken saw the franchise through its final days at Memorial Stadium and into its move to beautiful Camden Yards.  Cal played for several managers including Weaver, Altobelli, Cal Sr., Robinson, Johnny Oates, and Davey Johnson.  He won two MVP trophies, one during Baltimore's 1983 championship season and the other in 1991 as one of the few bright spots on a team that lost 95 games.  Ripken also played under three different ownership regimes: the controversial but successful Edward Bennett Williams, the short, tumultuous reign of Eli Jacobs, and the initially successful, but otherwise frustrating tenure of the enigmatic Peter Angelos. Through all this Ripken played day in, day out, through injuries, through both good times and bad.  In all Ripken would play 3,001 games in an Orioles uniform--with 2,632 coming consecutively.

By the 1987 season, Earl Weaver and Jim Palmer had retired and Eddie Murray was falling out of favor with both the front office and the fans, so Ripken was beginning to evolve from the hometown fan favorite to the face of the franchise.  At this time Ripken was in the middle of a ten year stretch, from 1982 to 1991, during which he hit 21 or more home runs each season but 1987 was definitely an off-year for Ripken. While Cal's 27 home runs and 98 RBIs may have looked good on the back of his baseball card, even a casual fan would notice his drop in batting average to a career low of .252, a particularly poor total when you consider 1987 was an extreme "hitter's year."

Since Ripken's 2001 retirement, the Baltimore franchise has lacked direction and lost a large portion of its fan base.  Even with a losing record, the Orioles were able to draw more than 3 million fans per year to Camden Yards during the last few years of Ripken's career and ranked in the top four of AL teams in attendance.  However, since his retirement, Baltimore has lacked drawing power and now places in the bottom half of AL teams in attendance, barely drawing half of the attendance they did during Ripken's final years.  Many factors have contributed to this attendance drop:  14 straight losing seasons, the inability to contend in the AL East against rich, perennial playoff contenders New York and Boston, a front office which flip flops between youth movements and the signing of free agents, several Oriole players including Rafael Palmeiro, Miguel Tejeda, and Brian Roberts being linked to performance enhancing drugs, having to share the DC/Baltimore area with the Washington Nationals, as well as owner Peter Angelos' seeming indifference to Baltimore's loyal fan base.

Billy Ripken

      
Billy Ripken

In July of '87, second baseman Billy Ripken joined brother Cal to form one of the league's most impressive keystone combinations.  Ripken burst onto the scene with a .307 batting average and .363 on base percentage but fell back to Earth the following season with both his average and OBP dropping by more than one-hundred points.  Ripken rebounded a bit in 1989 but probably had his best overall season in 1990 when he hit .291.  After being released by the Orioles following the 1992 season, Ripken struggled to stay in the majors and spent time with Texas and Cleveland before returning to the club in 1996. Known as a "good-field, no-hit" player, Ripken mostly played second base during his career but also saw time at short, third, and first.     

Fred Lynn

After Joe Altobelli and the Orioles followed up their 1983 World Series triumph with a disappointing 5th place finish in 1984, the Baltimore front office wasted little time making moves that they felt would upgrade the on the field performance and spur the club back to another AL East title.  Within the space of a week in December, the franchise signed relief pitcher Don Aase and outfielders Lee Lacy and Fred Lynn to free agent contracts.  The biggest move of the three was the signing of Lynn, a former Rookie of the Year and MVP winner, to a 5-year 6.8 million dollar contract.

Fred Lynn

If Lynn had any "buyer beware" tag on him it was his reputation for getting injured and not doing everything he could to stay in the line up.  Unfortunately for the Orioles, Lynn lived up to his "oft-injured" reputation and missed ample time in each of his first three seasons with the team, only playing between 111 to 124 games during those years.  In 1987, Lynn hit 23 home runs--the exact same number he hit in each of his first two seasons with Baltimore and his final year with the California Angels.  The following season, Lynn once again missed several games with injury and not surprisingly was traded from the slumping Orioles in late August to the Tigers for three minor leaguers, one of which was catcher Chris Hoiles.  The trade worked out well for Baltimore as Hoiles would become the team's starting catcher for most of the '90's and hit 151 home runs in 10 seasons with the club.

Lynn started his career in Boston sharing the outfield with Jim Rice and Dwight Evans and won both the Rookie of the Year and MVP in his first full year.  He also won four Gold Gloves in centerfield and made the All-Star team each year from 1975 to 1983. When his 17-year career ended after the 1990 season, Lynn had 306 home runs in just under 2,000 games played--totals that could have been much higher if not for all the missed games.  Injuries had really taken their toll on what could have been a Hall of Fame career for Lynn who only managed to play more than 140 games in a season four times.

Alan Wiggins

Sadly, Wiggins' career was over within weeks of this picture being taken

Prior to the 1985 season, Baltimore's front office took a big chance when it devoted a large chunk of its payroll to signing the talented, but oft-injured Fred Lynn to a multi-million dollar contract.  Then, on June 27--with the club languishing in 5th place, just barely playing .500 ball--the front office took an even bigger chance when it traded for the Padres' troubled leadoff hitter Alan Wiggins.  At his best, Wiggins was among the top leadoff hitters of his time, scoring 106 runs and stealing 70 bases the previous season for the pennant winning Padres.  However, at his worst, the speedster could be undependable both on and off the field, as well as a disruptive presence in the clubhouse.

At the time of the trade, Wiggins had been on the sidelines since late April when the San Diego front office had refused to let him rejoin the team after the speedster went AWOL during a road game series in Los Angeles and entered a drug rehabilitation center for the second time in three years due to cocaine addiction. The Padres had stood by Wiggins after a 1982 arrest for cocaine possession and even signed him to 4-year extension after his excellent 1984 season but they decided they had seen enough once Wiggins' troubles returned. Not only did Baltimore send two minor leaguers to San Diego but they also took on most of Wiggins' 2.5 million dollar contract which ran through 1988.    

In Wiggins, the Orioles saw a long term replacement for both Rich Dauer at second base and Al Bumbry at leadoff.  Wiggins was quickly able to shake off the rust and batted a respectable .285 after the trade. Unfortunately, Wiggins struggled the following year, seeing a dip in batting average to .251, managing only four extra base hits in 270 plate appearances, and was even at one point demoted to Rochester, Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate.  The 1987 season proved even more tumultuous with Wiggins first losing his second base position to rookie Billy Ripken in July, worsened when he got into a heated argument with teammate Jim Dwyer and manager Cal Ripken Sr. in early August, and finally ended with another drug related suspension at the end of August.  Statistically, 1987 was Wiggins' worst season with the speedster hitting a career low .232 in what wound up being his final year in the majors.  Tragically, Wiggins died from AIDS in January 1991, just a few weeks shy of his 33rd birthday.

----by John Tuberty

Polaroids taken by Jack Tuberty

Ripken Baseball Family Card is from 1988 Donruss set

Sources Baseball Reference, Google News Archive
and, Los Angeles Times

Jeff Bagwell, Fred McGriff, The Hall of Fame, and 400 Home Runs

Prior to the Steroid Era, 500 home runs was considered the milestone a slugger could reach to ensure that one day he would be immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  From 1936 to 2003, all 15 eligible sluggers who hit 500 or more home runs were voted into the Hall of Fame.  In addition, from 1939 to 2001, nine sluggers who finished their careers with 407 to 493 home runs appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot, seven of those nine were elected to the Hall of Fame, with five--Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Willie Stargell, Carl Yastrzemski, and Dave Winfield--gaining election in their first year on the ballot and the other two--Billy Williams and Duke Snider--being voted in on their sixth and eleventh ballot, respectively.  It was clear that a slugger who reached the 400 home run milestone had almost as good a chance of being elected to the Hall of Fame as a slugger who reached 500.  However, like everything else, the Steroid Era has complicated Hall of Fame voting.  Since 2002, six sluggers who hit between 431 to 493 home runs have appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot but only two of those six, Andre Dawson and Cal Ripken Jr., have been voted in.  Two others, Jose Canseco and Juan Gonzalez, fell off the ballot after failing to collect 5% of the vote, while Jeff Bagwell and Fred McGriff remain on the ballot but are currently on the outside looking in.

Jeff Bagwell 1992 Topps

An impressive mix of power and speed with a dependable glove, Jeff Bagwell was arguably the best all around first baseman in the game during his career.  Although a shoulder injury brought a premature end to his 15-year career, his 449 career home runs, 1,529 RBIs, .297 career batting average, .408 career OBP, 202 stolen bases, and eye-popping 149 adjusted OPS+, make Bagwell stand out when compared to many 400 and 500 home run hitting Hall of Famers.  Since his career lacked first ballot Hall of Famer milestone stats, such as 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, it was not surprising when Bagwell failed to be elected in on his first ballot in 2011.  What was surprising was just how far Bagwell fell short of election, managing only 41.7% of the vote, and how many voters chose not to vote for him based on suspicions of PED use.  Luckily for "Bags," on the latest ballot his vote totals saw a promising increase to 56%, as many voters had a change of heart and decided to give the former Astros slugger the benefit of the doubt while some voters remain suspicious of his career achievements and continue to withhold their vote.  With his vote total well over fifty percent, Bagwell appears to be on the path to eventually be elected despite an onrush of strong Hall of Fame candidates set to join the ballot in the next five years.  However, the major threat to Bagwell's Hall of Fame candidacy is not the prospect of a crowded ballot but whether or not the slugger can attain the remaining 19% needed for election from the 44% of the voters who have chosen not to vote for him thus far.

Fred McGriff 1991 Topps

One of the most puzzling things about the recent Hall of Fame voting is the lack of support shown for "Crime Dog" Fred McGriff.  After dropping from 21.5% in his first year on the ballot to 17.9% last year, McGriff saw a modest rise to 23.9% on this year's weak ballot.  Like Bagwell, McGriff fell short of first ballot milestones but finished his career just shy of the 500 home run threshold with 493 and backed that up with 2,490 hits, 1,550 RBIs, a .284 career batting average, .377 career OBP, and a 134 adjusted OPS+.  It seems hard to believe Hall of Fame voters would continue to overlook a slugger with such an impressive statistical resume who has never been connected to PEDs.  After all, McGriff had been one of baseball's most dominant players during the first half of his career, averaging 35 HR, 95 RBI, .288 BA, .390 OBP, and a 155 adjusted OPS+ from 1988 to 1994.  During that seven year stretch, "Crime Dog" finished in the top four in home runs in his respective league, in addition to leading the AL in home runs in 1989 and the NL in 1992.  In the following years, McGriff's accomplishments took a backseat to his PED using peers' chasing of home run records.  And while the lanky slugger was no longer considered the dominant player he once had been, he was still very productive, averaging 27 HR, 99 RBI, .288 BA, .371 OBP, and a 122 adjusted OPS+ from 1995 to 2002.  Unfortunately for McGriff, both the dominant first half of his career as well as the respectable second half of his career have been overshadowed by the PED using sluggers of the Steroid Era.

Thus far, only four sluggers who hit over 400 home runs have failed to be voted into the Hall of Fame.  The first slugger to earn this dubious distinction was Dave Kingman.  Kingman was known for his towering home runs and finished his career with 442 of them but struggled to hit his weight, rarely walked, frequently struck out, was a well below average fielder, and made few friends in the press corp.  Kingman appeared on the ballot in 1992, but failed to make it past the first ballot, drawing only 0.7% of the vote.

Three years later, Darrell Evans appeared on the ballot.  Evans, in contrast to Kingman, was a more complete player who walked more than he struck out, spent much of his career playing 3rd base reasonably well, and led the AL with 40 home runs at age 38.  Evans appeared on the ballot in 1995, but voters must have paid more attention to his pedestrian .248 career batting average than his 414 home runs and .361 career OBP as, like Kingman, Evans was "one and done" on the Hall of Fame ballot after gaining only 1.7% of the vote.

Hall of Fame voting changed forever in 2007 when the controversial "Bash Brothers" Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire appeared on the ballot.  Long suspected of steroid use, Canseco did more than admit it--he wrote a book about it in which he implicated several players including former teammates McGwire, Juan Gonzalez, and Rafael Palmeiro in steroid use.  Not surprisingly, Canseco and his 462 home runs would be bounced off the ballot after picking up only 1.1% of the vote.  Even without the steroid baggage, Canseco may have struggled to get elected.  Despite winning the 1988 AL MVP and becoming the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in one season, injuries took their toll on Canseco who only played in 1887 games, nearly half of which came as a DH.  Furthermore, he averaged more than a strikeout per game and retired with just a .266 career batting average.

Four years later controversial, two-time MVP, Juan Gonzalez made his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot.  In addition to being implicated as a steroid user by Canseco, Gonzalez's reputation already had taken a hit back in 2001 when Gonzalez and his trainer, Angel Presinal, were connected to an unmarked bag that contained steroids and needles.  After an underwhelming 5.2% debut on the ballot, Gonzalez managed only 4.0% in year two and "Juan Gone" and his 434 career home runs became just the fourth slugger with 400 home runs to fall off the Hall of Fame ballot.  Like Canseco, even without the steroid allegations the injury-prone Gonzalez may have been a tough sell to Hall of Fame voters due to his inability to stay on the field, his below average .343 career OBP, and his well below average defense.

Fred McGriff 1992 Topps

Kingman, Evans, Canseco, and Gonzalez though impressive home run hitters were each lacking in one or more statistical category which swayed Hall of Fame voters from casting a vote for them.  Conversely, Bagwell and McGriff's careers don't have any one statistical deficiency that would normally disqualify them from Hall of Fame voters.  Unlike Kingman, Evans, and Canseco, Bagwell and McGriff sported good career batting averages.  Bagwell and McGriff also took their fair share of walks, in contrast to Kingman and Gonzalez.  A model of consistency, McGriff didn't even spend a day on the disabled list during his 19-year career until his next to the last season and is third all-time in games played at first base, trailing only Eddie Murray and Jake Beckley, both Hall of Famers.  Bagwell's 2,150 game, 15-year career was short by Hall of Fame standards but, unlike Canseco and Gonzalez, he was durable until a shoulder injury brought an end to his career.  In fact, Bagwell played in 150 or more games in ten different seasons, more than Canseco and Gonzalez combined, and in six of those ten seasons played 160 or more games.

Jeff Bagwell 1995 Fleer Pro Vision

It is true that neither Bagwell nor McGriff are "inner circle," indisputable Hall of Famers like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, or Hank Aaron, but in the current body of the Hall of Fame there is plenty of room for each of these 400 home run hitting sluggers.  In previous eras, hitting 400 home runs, except in the rare cases of Kingman and Evans, earned a slugger a bronze plaque and Hall of Fame immortality.  Regardless of steroids and other PEDs, Bagwell and McGriff both played in a hitter's era that featured smaller, more home run friendly ballparks and faced pitching staffs more diluted by expansion.  Yet, even if he had played in a less hitter friendly era, it is likely that despite his abbreviated career, Bagwell's overall excellence would have stood out enough for him to be voted in by the writers with years to spare and McGriff likely would have easily eclipsed 400 home runs, been given more credit for his two pre-Steroid Era home run titles, and also been granted Hall of Fame passage.  However, unless Bagwell is able to overcome the suspicions that surround his career achievements and McGriff is able to step out of the long shadow cast by the sluggers of the Steroid Era, these two sluggers are in danger of joining Kingman, Evans, Canseco, and Gonzalez as the next two 400 home run hitters to fail to be voted into the Hall of Fame by the writers.

----By John Tuberty

Related article:  Fred McGriff, The Hall of Fame and The High Road In The Steroid Era

Sources:  http://www.baseball-reference.com/

Hall of Fame Voters: Don't Overlook Fred McGriff and Tim Raines

In the 2011 Baseball Hall of Fame vote four candidates--Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, Barry Larkin, and Jack Morris--each accumulated 50% or more of the vote with Alomar (90%) and Blyleven (79.7%) tallying the required 75% for election and Larkin (62.1%) and Morris (53.5%) coming next closest.  In 2011, the average Hall of Fame voter cast about six votes per ballot, so with the election of Alomar and Blyleven, many voters may look down the ballot and reconsider some holdovers they have previously overlooked.  Two holdovers who definitely deserve a second look are "Crime Dog" Fred McGriff and Tim "Rock" Raines.

A home run slugging first baseman, McGriff will be making his third appearance on the ballot.  After a disappointing 21.5% debut on the 2010 ballot, "Crime Dog's" vote total saw a surprising drop to 17.9% in his second year.  Those vote totals are especially low considering McGriff's career had the qualities most Hall of Fame voters look for:

Excellence--hit 31 to 37 home runs each year from 1988 to 1994 and was in the top 4 in his respective league, leading the AL in 1989 and NL in 1992.  Was a key figure in one of the most memorable Division races when he helped the 1993 Atlanta Braves go 51-17 and come from nine games back to overtake the San Francisco Giants for the NL West Division title after acquiring him from the San Diego Padres in late July.

Milestones--493 home runs and 2,490 hits, just shy of 500 and 2,500, totals he would have most certainly eclipsed had it not been for the 1994 baseball strike.  McGriff also drove in 1,550 runs in his career and had an excellent 134 career adjusted OPS+.

Consistency--hit 19 or more home runs each year from 1987-2002 including 30 or more ten times during that stretch.  Though no longer a perennial MVP candidate following the 1994 season, McGriff was still a very productive player averaging 27 HR, 99 RBI, .288 BA, .371 OBP, and a 121 adjusted OPS+ from 1995-2002.

Longevity/Durability--appeared in 2239 games at first base, third all-time behind Hall of Famers Eddie Murray and Jake Beckley, thus preventing his team from having to use a replacement-level bench player in his place.  In addition, the 2003 season was the only year he spent time on the disabled list.  

McGriff's career started in 1986, the same year as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Rafael Palmeiro.  Prior to the 1994 baseball strike, McGriff was the most ubiquitous home run hitter of the four.  However, following the strike, Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro all saw big jumps in their home run totals with their amount of at bats per home run decreasing by almost half for the balance of their careers after the strike.  McGriff, by contrast, saw a natural decline and occasional rebound in his home run totals:

McGriff’s Home Run Totals vs. his peers                              

                        86-94              95-on              Career total               

McGriff            262                 231 (95-04)           493                         

Bonds             259                 503 (95-07)           762                

McGwire         238                 345 (95-01)           583 

Fred McGriff 1989 Score

Palmeiro        155                  414 (95-05)           569

McGriff’s AB per HR vs. his peers

                        86-94              95-on              Career total

McGriff            15.2                20.7 (95-04)            17.8

Bonds             17.4                10.6 (95-07)            12.9

McGwire         14.0                  8.2 (95-01)            10.6

Palmeiro         27.8                14.9 (95-05)            18.4

--Table originally used in article:  Fred McGriff, The Hall of Fame and The High Road In The Steroid Era

As we all know, Bonds, McGwire, and Palmeiro have all faced PED allegations which have doomed or at the very least complicated their Hall of Fame candidacies.  Conversely, McGriff's reputation has remained intact but due to playing the second half of his career in what has become known as the Steroid Era his impressive career accomplishments are being overlooked by the Hall of Fame voters.

The NL's premier leadoff hitter and base stealer of the 1980's, Tim "Rock" Raines was always a little overshadowed by AL contemporary Rickey Henderson, who is generally regarded as the greatest leadoff hitter and base stealer of all-time.  Raines debuted with just 24.3% of the vote on the 2008 Hall of Fame ballot.  Like McGriff, Raines saw a surprising drop to 22.6% in his second year on the ballot, the same year Henderson breezed into the Hall of Fame with 94.8% of the vote.  Perhaps with Henderson's induction, some Hall of Fame voters took another glance at Raines' Hall of Fame credentials as the speedster's vote totals jumped in 2010 and 2011 to 30.4% and 37.5%, respectively.  Also like McGriff, Raines' career includes qualities that should make "Rock" a viable candidate for election:

Excellence--finished career with 808 stolen bases, good for 5th most all-time.  His 84.7 stolen base percentage is better than Hall of Fame base stealers Henderson (80.8) and Lou Brock (75.3).  Additionally, he stole 70 or more bases six years in a row, from 1981 to 1986, and was the NL league leader each year from 1981 to 1984.  Also, Raines wasn't just a base stealer, he was a good overall hitter who led the league in other categories such as runs scored, doubles, batting average, and on base percentage.  "Rock" finished his career with a 123 adjusted OPS+--a very high total for a leadoff hitter, along with a .294 career BA and .385 career OBP.

Milestones--lost time to both the 1981 and 1994 baseball strikes but still finished with 808 stolen bases and 2,605 hits.

Consistency--never had a batting average lower than .266 or an OBP lower than .350 while he a was a full-time player.

Longevity/Durability--played over 20 years and won two World Series rings late in his career as a valuable role player for the Yankees.  Had his 1999 season cut short when he was stricken with lupus but battled back from the life-threatening disease and returned to the majors for the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

Raines may fall a little short when compared to Hall of Fame base stealing contemporary Rickey Henderson but appears to be a logical Hall of Fame choice when compared to Hall of Famer Lou Brock:

Tim Raines 1987 Topps

Raines and Brock have similar career batting averages of .294 and .293, respectively, as well as comparable slugging percentages of .425 and .410, however, Raines' .385 career OBP greatly exceeds Brock's .343 career mark.  While it is true that Brock did play the bulk of his career during a pitcher's era, only in Brock's best OBP season, .385 in 1971, did the Cardinals speedster even match Raines' career OBP.  Moreover, Raines' 123 adjusted OPS+ and 64.6 WAR outshine Brock's respective career totals of 109 and 39.1.  Raines and Brock both spent most of their careers as left fielders and while neither player was considered Gold Glove caliber, Raines' .987 career fielding percentage far exceeds Brock's .959 mark.

--Excerpt from The Best Players Not In the Hall of Fame By Position-Part 2:  Tim Raines and Dwight Evans Highlight The Outfield

Sources:  www.baseball-reference.com