Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday …Manny Mota

Mota made his Major League debut on April 16, 1962 for the now San Francisco Giants against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he hit a flyball to centerfield in his first at-bat. His first hit was an RBI single off Jim Brosnan of the Cincinnati Reds on April 21, 1962. He had 13 hits in 74 at-bats for a .176

Smallthoughts: Rant of the Week…Jung-ho Kang

Usually a rant will be about a player’s performance on the field or a decision by a coach, manager or an executive that adversely affects a team, but this is about a players behavior off the field. According to a published report: Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jung-ho Kang has reportedly been arrested for fleeing the scene of a

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday…Moises Alou

  played for 17 seasons in the National League. In 1,942 career games, Alou had a batting average of .303 with 2,134 hits, 421 doubles, 332 home runs, and 1,287 runs batted in. His father Felipe, who managed Moises with the Expos from 1992 to 1996 and the Giants from 2005 to 2006, as well

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday…Matty Alou

spent fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the San Francisco Giants (1960–1965), Pittsburgh Pirates (1966–1970), St. Louis Cardinals (1971–1972, 1973), Oakland Athletics (1972), New York Yankees (1973) and San Diego Padres (1974). He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Taiheiyo Club Lions from 1974 through 1976.[2]He was the middle of

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday …Manny Sanguillen

Often overlooked when talking about great catchers from the 1970’s Sanguillén was one of the best catchers in Major League baseball in the early 1970s.While he didn’t possess Bench’s power hitting ability, Sanguillen hit for a higher batting average.He was an integral member of the Pirates teams that won three consecutive National League Eastern Division

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday …Rennie Stennett

In an 11-season career, Stennett was a .274 batter, with 41 home runs and 432 RBIs in 1,237 games. Stennett was a good contact hitter with occasional power, and an aggressive and smart runner on the basepaths. As a fielder, he had sure hands and a strong and accurate arm for balls up the middle

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday…Omar Moreno

Moreno made his first appearance with the Pirates in September 1975, and became the team’s starting center fielder in 1977. He had great speed and led the National League in stolen bases in 1978 and 1979. In 1980, he set the Pirates’ single-season record for stolen bases with 96. Although he had no stolen bases

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday…John Candelaria

Anyone want to take a guess where John Candelaria is from? That’s right …Brooklyn , New York. He was a hard throwing left handed pitcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1975–1993. He was nicknamed the

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday …Bill Madlock

Another player who doesn’t get mentioned enough as a great hitter. He wasn’t blessed with speed but could hit 300 from his bed yet never got the recognition that he fully deserved. A lifetime 305 hitter Madlock was a right-handed hitter who won four National League batting titles. His record of four batting titles as

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday…Al Oliver

Al Oliver was probably one of the least recognized great hitters during his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates , Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos among other teams. I never understood why. Maybe because he didn’t hit 30 homeruns like Willie Stargell but he hit over 300 11 times in his career and had a career batting