The .125 Leadoff Hitter
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Andy Anderson was a little known shortstop for the St. Louis Browns in 1948 and 1949. He hit leadoff for a week or so. But his story contains so much more than just that.
More info and original newspaper articles here: baseballreplay...
#baseball #mlb #baseballhistory
Excellent story! Years ago, I read "The Victory Season ", a book about 1946 and it was filled with stories like this. It gave me a whole new level of appreciation for Warren Spahn.
love your channel. so much calmer than most baseball youtubers and easier to follow what you're saying
Thanks! Glad to hear you like it!
Excellent post on a real-life hero (even though a certain well-known person who shall go unnamed doesn't like people who "were captured'). Thank you for finding this.
The "Greatest Generation" is almost all gone now. Art Schallock just turned 100. He's one of the few remaining.
Carl Erskine died last week. Eddie Robinson died in 2021. There are others, but the number gets smaller as the years past on by.
You touched on the issue of ability. Anderson surely had the ability to be a long-term major leaguer before World War II robbed him of that. He did hit .276 in limited play in 1948 and he hadn't had many at bats in 1949 before being inserted as the lead-off hitter in the games you mentioned.
But how good might have Anderson have been? Minor league stats, doesn't tell the whole story, but at least gives us a clue.
In 1942, in the Class B level Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League, Anderson hit .302 in 367 PA in 109 games for the Springfield Browns (an affiliate for the St. Louis Browns). He had 19 doubles and 14 homeruns, with an OPS of .809.
Class B leagues were lower in quality than AA (the best of the minors at that time: American Association, International League, Pacific Coast League), A (Eastern League) and A-1 (Southern Association; Texas League).
What does this all say about Anderson? Born on November 13, 1922, he was only 19-years old in his second minor league season out of high school.
One of his teammates, Ray Coleman who was 20, hit .293 with 25 doubles and 8 homeruns in 461 at bats. He'd go on to play 559 games (1729 at bats) in the majors over 5 seasons, hitting .258 for his career.
Over at Evansville, a Red Sox affiliate in the same league, 21-year old George "Catfish" Metkovich, hit .308 in 120 at bats with 3 homeruns. The prior year, also at Evansville, he hit .287 in 449 at bats with 6 homeruns. By any objective measure, the younger Anderson was a much better hitting prospect than the older Metkovich (who was in his fourth minor league season in 1942). Metkovich would be called up by the Red Sox in 1943 and would have 5 straight seasons with 320+ PA (and then other three such seasons in 1949, 1951 and 1952). He would play in over 1,000 major league games and be just shy of 4,000 PAs over a 10 year career (19 if you include the minors). He hit .261 in the majors, with an OPS of .689.
Back to Anderson. If Andy was a better hitter than Metkovich (born Oct. 8, 1920) when he was two years YOUNGER and far less experienced in the minors, then surely it's reasonable to suggest Anderson could have been a more effective hitter and last longer in the majors than Metkovich had it not been for the war.
Yes, players do not necessarily improve at the same rate as the age, but generally if a 19-year old is better than a 21-year old at the same league and same level in the same year, he's likely to be a better prospect.
Over in the "Sally" League (South Atlantic, another class B league) at Macon, 21-year old Andy Pafko hit .300 with 20 doubles, 18 triples and 7 homeruns, with an OPS of .809. (Four of Pafko's teammates his 5+ triples, so perhaps there was some park effect going on there). Pafko would go on to have a 17-year major league career, smacking 213 homeruns, hitting .285 with 1,796 hits and an OPS of .799.
Just a small glimpse of what might have been for Anderson.
Thanks for sharing his story. It shows there are so much more we can get from these games if we want to. Also BTW I really like the recap approach of highlights you have been doing with DMB, I think that works best for that game.
Akil Baddoo of the Detroit Tigers came into today's game batting .117 and got the leadoff nod. I saw that and thought of this video and thought you might like to know!
I appreciate the work and research that went into making this video.
If you can find a copy, "Spartan Seasons" is an entertaining and informative book on wartime baseball in America. Thanks for this very interesting and quite moving video on an unknown figure in baseball history.
Thanks for the recommendation! I was able to find a copy.
That was a great story. Thanks for sharing it. You’re more loyal than me. I would have pinch hit for him.
I’m a lifelong Phillies fan since the 1970’s. Kyle Schwarber can see the Mendoza Line with binoculars. However, management never will persuade me that it’s a reasonable strategy to lead off with the second coming of Dave Kingman in the lineup. I know they won the pennant doing it and came close again last year.
Wow - in a year (1949) that was an offensive juggernaut, what a performance from this guy. The context is heartbreaking and he was a hero. Great story - thanks for sharing! I may need to play an APBA series with him. :)
1949 was not really an offensive juggernaut season. 1950 was an offensive juggernaut season because they changed the definition of the strike zone to benefit the batter .
If he was a player today the Marlins would sign him.
Anderson would fit right in with the 2024 St. Louis Cardinals….Mozailak and Marmol would love him.
An excellent video, well done.
Joe Di played Army Ball during the War and HATED IT. He was pissed he wasn't getting big money AND afraid of a career-ending injury. Jolting Joe still had a few good years left and hated playing for Peanuts.
Cecil Travis was never the same after the war but denied it was a factor
I clicked on this because I though it said "Leadoff Hitler".
I mean, Castro played, right? It could happen...
It would have given us a clear advantage in World War II, of course. Hitler's WAR could never compare with Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, lol
@@baseballreplayjournal I don't see Hitler being a good OBP guy, not a patient hitter at the plate.
*you and me have
andy anderson? nope never heard of 'im. i 'member a donald macdonald from scotland. and arthur macarthur. general macarthur's father. maybe a tommy thompson. never andy anderson. i'll have to remember that one.