Delaware Baseball

Where have you gone, Randy Bush?

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:45:00 +0000

Ian Snell hit a double last night for his first hit of the season. This was the first time since 1981 that the season reached the month of May without a native Delawarean getting a base hit in the major leagues.

A little where are they now

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Delaware Baseball is definitely a niche website. Until I become insanely clever and come up with a means to attract tons of traffic, I accept and appreciate that I have a limited audience. As such, I especially welcome comments and e-mails from people who enjoy the site and try to respond as best I can given life, the universe and everything.

Had a comment on the last post inquiring about whatever happened to a pair of former St. Mark's High School players, Mark Romanczuk and Tom Cochran. Romanczuk was a high profile player who pitched for the U.S. National Team. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the fifth round back in 2002 but opted instead to go to Stanford. The Arizona Diamondbacks took him in the fourth round in 2005 and he began his professional career.

Romanczuk's career was brief, however. He pitched 13 games for Missoula in the Pioneer League. The 2006 season was lost to injury and rehabilitation as Romanczuk had a irritated nerve removed in his elbow. He returned in 2007 and pitched effectively in relief for South Bend in the Class A Midwest League. This past March, however, the Diamondbacks decided that Romanczuk was no longer part of their plans and he was released. At this time, I have no other information.

Tom Cochran was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 18th round of the 2003 draft. He spent two seasons with Lowell in the New York Penn League. In 2005, it looked as if Cochran might be headed to pitch for the hometown Wilmington Blue Rocks but he instead was released. Undeterred, Cochran auditioned for Ohio Valley of the independent Frontier League. He will begin his fourth season in the league this May with the Worcester Tornadoes. He has pitched well in his previous three seasons, striking out over 300 batters in sixty starts.

The other player the commenter asked about, Trucela, I am not familiar with. Sorry.

Good vibrations

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:32:00 +0000

Welcome to another exciting season of baseball, especially Delaware baseball!!!

I haven't posted on the blog in a while but felt like I should do so based on a feeling and some research. As Ian Snell took Jeff Francoeur of the Braves to a 3-2 count after striking him out in the second inning, I got to thinking "Ian owns Francoeur. I bet if he gets him here that Francoeur will be his top strikeout victim in his career."

Now I loves me some Delaware baseball, but I don't go perusing the batter/pitcher matchups to know this stuff. It was just a vibe. Francoeur drew ball four and I started researching the issue. Turns out I was close. Francoeur is tied for second on Snell's all-time K victim list with six. Adam Dunn, Brad Ausmus and Ryan Howard all have been set down on strikes a half dozen times by Snell. Snell's favorite target has been Craig Biggio. Snell struck Biggio out 9 times in 25 at bats. I don't know if this played a part in Biggio retiring after last season but it probably should have.

Snell has a way to go before he can match the strikeout dominance that Chris Short showed over Lou Brock. Brock, despite hitting .298 against Short only drew two walks in 114 plate appearances against Short and struck out a total of 28 times.

Snell got the start on opening day. I talked about this a couple of years ago. Snell is the first native Delawarean since Chris Short to pitch the opener for his team.

Caught Stealing Home

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:05:00 +0000

Kevin Mench was caught stealing home last night. This was the eleventh time a native Delawarean has been caught stealing home since 1960. Meaningless, I know, but what the hey.

Mench, July 26, 2007 vs. Reds
Delino DeShields, July 28, 2002 vs. Cardinals
Chris Widger, May 10, 1999 vs. Diamondbacks
John Mabry, August 7, 1996 vs. Padres
Mabry, April 18, 1996 vs. Pirates
Mabry, June 29, 1995 vs. Cubs
DeShields, May 11, 1991 vs. Padres
Randy Bush, April 19, 1983 vs. Mariners
Dave May, August 25, 1972 (Game 1) vs. Red Sox
May, September 8, 1970 vs. Twins
May, August 22, 1969 vs. Athletics

By contrast, there have been only five successful steals of home by native Delawareans during that time. DeShields had one of them, Dave May the other four. That does make Delawareans a little more successful than your typical major leaguer. Since 1960, steals of home were successful about 27% of the time. Delawareans have a 31% success rate.

Ian Snell, damn fine pitcher

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 13:47:00 +0000

Ian Snell threw his first complete game in the major leagues, defeating the Texas Rangers 8-1. In addition to it being Snell's first complete game, the game was notable in that it was the first time a native Delawarean had defeated the Texas Rangers.

As it stands, there are still three teams who have not lost to a pitcher born in the First State. The Devil Rays, Marlins and Royals have all managed to avoid a loss. Not too surprising given the lack of wins during the expansion era.

With Bert Cunningham and Sadie McMahon, Delawarean pitchers compiled almost half of their victories before 1900 (343 of 708). What follows is the distribution of wins by decade:

1900-09: 44
1910-19: 0
1920-29: 22
1930-39: 47
1940-49: 4
1950-59: 0
1960-69: 138
1970-79: 28
1980-89: 47
1990-99: 0
2000-07: 35

Delawareans won a grand total of 27 games from the time Ian Snell was born in 1981 until he was drafted in 2000. Despite only pitching one full season (and three partial) in the major leagues, Snell has won 21 games by himself. There's not much question that Snell is on his way to becoming one of the best pitchers to come from Delaware.

The draft

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 12:29:00 +0000

This year, more so than other years (at least as far as this website is concerned) I was really looking forward to Major League Baseball's amateur free agent draft. 2007 has not been exactly a banner year for native Delawareans in the major leagues. Wayne Franklin joined Cliff Brumbaugh overseas. Chris Widger was not signed by anybody. John Mabry was released. Kevin Mench has spent more time on the bench in Milwaukee than the starting lineup. Only Ian Snell has been performing well in the majors this season, establishing himself as one of the better pitchers in the National League and getting a good start on being one of the best ever to hail from the First State.

The opportunity to get some fresh Delawarean blood in the minor league system and then hopefully the majors is exciting for me. I'd hate to think that in five years the only current updates to this site will be Snell's one or two starts a week. In terms of quantity, if not quality, the 2007 draft holds some promise compared to previous years.

The 2005 draft consisted of Delawareans John Dischert and Shane Erb. The highly touted Mark Romanczuk, commonly attributed to Delaware but actually a native of Pennsylvania, was also taken. Dischert opted to attend the University of Maryland where he pitched in 2006. He missed the entire 2007 season due to injury. Erb we will return to in a minute.

The 2006 draft was more sparse, with Robert Bryson being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers out of William Penn High School. Bryson was a draft and follow and went to Seminole Community College in Florida. The Brewers signed him days before this year's draft and he will begin his professional career with the Helena Brewers in the near future.

2007 saw four Delawareans tabbed in the draft. The above mentioned Shane Erb was one, being selected by the Washington Nationals in the 38th round. Erb has been attending baseball factory Hillsborough Community College after playing his high school ball at Father Judge High School in Lewes.

Brett Oberholtzer was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 47th round. Oberholtzer has already made his plans clear in that he intends to follow former high school teammate Bryson's path and go to Seminole.

The other two Delawareans to be drafted are Blue Hens. Pitchers William Harris and Charles Kerfoot were taken by the Phillies (25th round) and the Oakland Athletics (30th round), respectively. The pair were part of a record five University of Delaware Blue Hens to be drafted this year.

Suddenly Delaware has become a developer of pitchers which, given that the last native Delawarean to pitch in 150 games was Renie Martin, is potentially exciting for those of us who follow the baseball careers of those born in Delaware.

Updates!

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 03:09:00 +0000

With spring bringing a rebirth (only to be tempered by a hard freeze), I've been trying to rejuvenate the website a bit and getting more of the player pages transitioned to the new format (if one can call the old format a format). Like the arrival of spring, I have been stymied a bit gathering all the pertinent information. So you may still see some missing information or ill-colored player pages which have not yet been converted. They will, hopefully soon.

What you should see:

- 2007 statistics on the main page. The main page will continue to follow the historic schedule of being updated Saturday nights/Sunday mornings until traffic on the site and/or exciting achievements by native Delawareans makes more frequent updates necessary and desirable.

- Updated player pages. I have worked on so many of them, I'm not sure who all has been updated. The Crouch family, Delino DeShields, Dave May, Kevin Mench, Pedro Swann, Chris Widger and maybe Gino Minutelli and Renie Martin have been converted to the new style.

- Updated content. For everybody in the new format I am trying to update all statistics, especially fielding, as much as possible. I am also trying to get best game information and transaction information down as well. Minor league fielding statistics are now broken down by position.

From time to time I do get e-mails from people, usually about non-native Delawarean players with Delaware connections. I am hoping to include more on these players and the native Delawareans in this space.

If there are other things you would like to see, please feel free to leave comments or drop me an e-mail. Also, if you might be interested in purchasing delawarebaseball.com merchandise of some sorts, please let me know as well. I have a native Delawarean project in mind that will require funding when I am ready so once I get around to merchandising, the proceeds will benefit that project.

Guess that covers it for now. Enjoy the season!

Pitching Records through 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 21:02:00 +0000

The Pitching Records page has been updated to reflect the 2006 performances of Ian Snell and Wayne Franklin. Franklin's totals increased but he did not move up the ranks in any categories.

Snell had the eight best single season strikeout total by a native Delawarean, pushing one of Chris Short's seasons from the list. He now has the ninth highest career totals in strikeouts (passing Bill Hawke and knocking off Chris Welsh. Snell also knocked off Franklin to become tenth in career victories.

Bringing major league baseball to Delaware

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:34:00 +0000

http://delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060926/NEWS/60926003

This is actually one of the original techniques the D.C. ownership wanted to use to bring the Expos there but the Montreal-Atlanta chartered trains are few and far between.

Batting order

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 01:07:00 +0000

After Kevin Mench's home run the other night out of the cleanup hole, I got to wondering about all native Delawareans and where they hit their home runs in the batting order. Below is the list from most frequent spot in the order to least, with the number and the leader at that spot:

6th: 123 (Mench 38)
3rd: 84 (Dave May 42)
7th: 79 (Chris Widger 22))
5th: 71 (Randy Bush 23)
2nd: 59 (Bush 19)
1st: 58 (Delino DeShields 40)
8th: 36 (Widger 12)
9th: 35 (Bert Cunningham 9)
4th: 17 (May 8)

Dave May is the only Delawarean to have hit a home run in every spot in the batting order. Mabry has never hit one batting fourth. Mench has never hit one batting third. Bush never had a home run from the eighth slot. Interestingly, Delawarean pitchers have hit seventeen home runs from the ninth position in the batting order, the same number as the rest have hit batting cleanup.

I'm only human

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 21:43:00 +0000

For some reason, I had been under the impression that Wayne Franklin had struck out ten batters in a game in recent years. As a result, I let Ian Snell's doing so on June 10th slip by. Lo and behold, I look and Franklin's high is nine. The last Delawarean pitcher to strike out ten batters in a game was Chris Short back on May 19, 1970. Snell also struck out another ten on August 1st. You have to go back to Short's 1968 season to find the last native Delawarean to do it more than once in a season.

To think, seven native Delawarean ballplayers were born since the last pitcher before Snell struck out ten.

Sorry, Ian. I'll try to be a little more aware. As it is I am impressed with not only your pitching but with your three games as a pinch runner. There's a lot to be following.

Three most memorable trades

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 12:06:00 +0000

As promised, the three most memorable trades involving native Delawareans:

#3 Many people think that today's baseball marketplace, with the huge disparity among the large-market teams with money and the small-market teams without, is a relatively modern occurrence. Not so. The Philadelphia Phillies, under the charge of Gerald Nugent, found themselves continuously short of money during Nugent's reign. Nugent readily sold off players to keep the team afloat, most notably Chuck Klein. The Phillies best season during Nugent's reign was the 1935 team that went 64-89. The last five seasons that Nugent was president of the team resulted in 100 or more losses, with the final version, managed by native Delawarean Hans Lobert finishing the 1942 season 42-109.

One of the players dealt during this time brought a native Delawarean to the Phillies. Kirby Higbe, who led the Phillies in innings pitched in 1940 was sent to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Vito Tamulis, Mike Livingston, Bill Crouch and the all-important cash sum of $100,000.

Tamulis pitched in six games for the Phillies before being sent back to the Dodgers for Lee Grissom who pitched the remainder of the 1941 season and then was finished in the major leagues. Crouch threw in twenty games for the Phillies and then was released. He concluded his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. Livingston stayed with the Phillies the longest, playing almost three seasons and then being traded to the Cubs for Bill Lee. Although Nugent was no longer president, the financial difficulties continued for the Phillies and Lee was sold to the Boston Braves for cash.

Higbe, on the other hand, went 22-9 in his first season with Brooklyn, leading them to the National League pennant. He won 48 more games for them and then was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

#2 The Dave May for Hank Aaron trade is one of two involving native Delawareans and Hall of Famers. The other included three Hall of Famers, cash, the Louisiana Purchase and the kitchen sink. Or at least it seemed that way. On December 8, 1899, the Louisville Colonels of the National League traded native Delawarean Bert Cunningham, future Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Rube Waddell, Mike Kelley, Tom Messitt, Deacon Phillippe, Tacks Latimer, Tommy Leach, Claude Ritchey, Jack Wadsworth and Chief Zimmer to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Hall-of-Famer-to-be "Happy" Jack Chesbro, Art Madison, Paddy Fox, John O'Brien and $25,000.

In reality, this was not exactly a "trade". Barney Dreyfuss was owner of the Colonels. The Colonels were to be dissolved by the National League and Dreyfuss managed to trade his buyout offer from the league into part-ownership of the Pirates whereby he arranged the movement of most of the team to the Pirates. Once the Colonels were dissolved, Dreyfuss finagled back to the Pirates the players he had sent to the Colonels.

#1 You would think that a trade that involves the acquisition of the finest hitter a state has ever produced would be cause for celebration. However, ask a Los Angeles Dodgers fan their opinion of the trade that brought Delino DeShields to the team from the Montral Expos and you will likely receive a less than positive response. At the time, the skinny pitcher the Dodgers sent to Montreal was most noted for being the younger brother of twenty game winner Ramon Martinez. In time, however, Ramon would be overshadowed by little brother Pedro, winner of three Cy Young awards. Adding insult to injury, after three lackluster years with the Dodgers, DeShields went to the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent where he posted the best two seasons of his career.

There you have it, the most memorable trades involving Delawareans. Time will tell if the Kevin Mench trade will crack the top half dozen.

History is made

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:05:00 +0000

For the first time in baseball history, two native Delawareans batted cleanup on the same day. Kevin Mench batted fourth for the Brewers in their game against the Colorado Rockies. Mench went 0 for 4 with a strikeout as the Rockies edged the Brewers 4-2.

John Mabry fared better in his role as the cleanup hitter. Despite the Cubs losing to the Diamondbacks 15-4, Mabry hit a pair of singles in four at bats, striking out once.

Mench's homer the other night came in the #4 spot of the batting order. This was the first home run a Delawarean had hit batting cleanup since Randy Bush smacked a pair in the Minnesota Twins 19-3 thrashing of the Texas Rangers on May 20, 1989. Bush set the native Delawarean record for runs batted in in a game that day with eight.

OK, I lied

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:40:00 +0000

I'm not going to put the three most memorable trades involving Delawareans today. I'll do that on Wednesday. Kevin Mench homered in his second game as a Milwaukee Brewer. He becomes the seventh Delawarean to homer in more than one league joining Bert Cunningham, Delino DeShields, John Mabry, Dave May, Costen Shockley, and Chris Widger.

The home run totals by Delawareans in each league:

American Association:
Sadie McMahon 3
Bert Cunningham 2

American League:
Randy Bush 96
Dave May 81
Kevin Mench 80
John Mabry 24
Delino DeShields 19
Chris Widger 7
Ken Szotkiewicz 3
Costen Shockley 2
Pedro Swann 1
Happy Townsend 1

National League:
John Mabry 69
Delino DeShields 61
Chris Widger 48
Hans Lobert 32
Dave May 15
Bert Cunningham 7
Pete Cassidy 3
Bill Hawke 2
Cliff Brumbaugh 1
Kevin Mench 1
Costen Shockley 1
Augie Walsh 1
Chris Welsh 1

Let's make a deal

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 20:37:00 +0000

Kevin Mench was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers with three other Texas Rangers in exchange for Carlos Lee and a minor leaguer. I thought with the trade deadline being here that I would take a look at the six most memorable trades involving native Delawareans.

#6 Bill Johnson and Dick Ruthven for Willie Hernandez. The Phillies dealt Johnson and Ruthven to the Chicago Cubs in May of 1983 to improve their bullpen. Hernandez pitched well, helping the Phillies claim the National League pennant. The Phillies dealt Hernandez and Dave Bergman to the Detroit Tigers at season's end for Glenn Wilson and John Wockenfuss. Hernandez helped lead the Tigers to a World Championship, winning the Cy Young and MVP awards.

#5 John Mabry was a pinch-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002. Jeremy Giambi was a slugging leftfielder for the Oakland Athletics. The A's and the Phils swapped players straight up in a trade that at the time was considered the worst that A's general manager Billy Beane had ever made. Needing to shake up a losing A's team, Beane dealt Giambi and ended up getting one of the best seasons Mabry ever put together. The A's won the American League West and the trade helped establish the perception of Beane as a genius, a perception enhanced by the publication of Michael Lewis' book Moneyball. Lost in the hype, however, was the fact that Giambi actually had a better season for the Phillies.

#4 At the conclusion of the 1974 season, during which Hank Aaron homered to pass Babe Ruth as the all-time home run leader, the Atlanta Braves dealt Aaron to the Milwaukee Brewers for Dave May and a minor leaguer. Aaron would finish up his career in Milwaukee, where he began his career twenty years previously.

Tomorrow, the top three trades.

Drought ending

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 13:18:00 +0000

Last night Kevin Mench and John Mabry both homered in their respective games. For Mench, it was his first home run since June 11th and only his second since May 9th. Mabry had not homered since the second game of the season although since Mabry is used primarily as a pinch hitter, he has had far less opportunity.

The evening marked the ninth time in baseball history that two Delawareans had homered on the same day. The others:

May 20, 2005: Mabry and Mench
September 25, 2004: Mabry and Mench
August 20, 2004: Mabry and Mench
August 8, 1999: Delino DeShields and Chris Widger
May 22, 1999: DeShields and Widger
May 2, 1999: DeShields and Widger
August 15, 1997: DeShields and Widger
June 3, 1997: DeShields and Mabry (same game)

Facts and figures

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 13:48:00 +0000

Ian Snell won his fifth consecutive decision as well as his fifth straight start when he defeated the San Francisco Giants, 2-0, yesterday. The last Delawarean to win five consecutive decisions is Renie Martin who did so for the Kansas City Royals between April 20 and May 22 in 1980. Chris Short won eight consecutive decisions between August 3 and September 13 in 1968.

Snell does appear to have the mark for consecutive starts won although I expect Sadie McMahon might have done so, especially in 1894. Snell's achievement is more remarkable considering the difficulties the Pittsburgh Pirates have had in winning this season.

The major league baseball draft was held earlier in the week and four players with Delaware connections were drafted. Two University of Delaware players, Todd Davison and Matt Gaphardt, were drafted in the 19th round by the Baltimore Orioles and the 21st round by the Seattle Mariners, respectively. This was the sixth straight season a University of Delaware player was drafted. Both players, however, are natives of other states.

Rob Bryson was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 31st round. He played for William Penn High School this past season. Caravel Academy's Chad Jenkins was taken in the 44th round by the Washington Nationals.

Lastly, Pedro Swann, who once shared an outfield with the University of Delaware's Brian Lesher when he played for the Toronto Blue Jays, now is playing next to another player in the outfield with Delaware connections. Dwight Maness, a New Castle native and a graduate of William Penn High School, is Swann's teammate with the Camden Riversharks. Like Swann, Maness has had a lengthy and successful professional baseball career.

Maness was originally drafted in the third round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992. He spent four seasons in the Dodgers organization before being traded to the New York Mets with Scott Hunter for Brett Butler. He played with the Mets, reaching AAA Norfolk, until 1998 when he was dealt again. This time he was sent to the Boston Red Sox for Todd Carey. Maness finished out the 1998 season with AA Trenton but was released at the end of the season. Maness played with Somerset of the Atlantic League in 1999 and then was signed by the Seattle Mariners who assigned him to AA New Haven. In 2000, Maness helped lead the New Haven Ravens to an Eastern League championship. Since 2001, he has played with the Camden Riversharks.

Delaware baseball news

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Wed, 31 May 2006 15:47:00 +0000

Dallas Green was selected to the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame yesterday. He joins Chris Short as the only native Delawareans to be so honored. One former Phillie is selected each year to join the Wall of Fame. There are currently 27 Phillies and 25 former Athletics players enshrined. Short was elected in 1992.

Caravel Academy defeated William Penn High School to win the Delaware State championship.

Dave Williams, former Delaware Technical Community College player, was traded to the New York Mets.

Memorial Day

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Mon, 29 May 2006 11:48:00 +0000

I know Memorial Day is supposed to be to honor those who died in wars but many people also use the time to remember others who have passed on. Below is a list of ballplayers who are known to be buried in Delaware:

Harry Anderson, Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery, Wilmington
Frank Bennett, Gracelawn Memorial Park, New Castle
Huck Betts, Millsboro Cemetery, Millsboro
Bill Bruton, Gracelawn Memorial Park, New Castle
Al Burris, Hollywood Cemetery, Harrington
Pete Cassidy, Cathedral Cemetery, Wilmington
Ed Cihocki, All Saints Cemetery, Newark
Brandy Davis, New Street Cemetery, Newark
Bill Day, Cathedral Cemetery, Wilmington
Chick Hartley, Cathedral Cemetery, Wilmington
Bill Hawke, Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery, Wilmington
Bill Higgins, Silverbrook Cemetery, Wilmington
Harry Hoch, Townsend Cemetery, Townsend
Broadway Jones, Millsboro Cemetery, Millsboro
Flip Lafferty, Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery, Wilmington
Len Lovett, Head of Christiana Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Newark
Bill McGowan, Cathedral Cemetery, Wilmington
Sadie McMahon, St. Joseph-on-the-Brandywine Church Cemetery, Wilmington
Leo Meyer, Silverbrook Cemetery, Wilmington
Joseph Myers, Cathedral Cemetery, Wilmington
John Newell, Cathedral Cemetery, Wilmington
Chris Short, Union Cemetery, Georgetown
Barney Slaughter, Glenwood Cemetery, Smyrna
Happy Townsend, Townsend Cemetery, Townsend
Vic Willis, St. John Cemetery, Newark
George Winter, Riverview Cemetery, Wilmington

Sticktoittiveness

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sun, 28 May 2006 14:29:00 +0000

This past week John Mabry passed Randy Bush for fourth all-time among native Delawareans in games played. Mabry is the fifth Delawarean to play in 1200 major league games. So of the 48 native Delawareans to play major league baseball, 10.4% have played in 1200 games or more, the highest percentage of any state. Florida is the only other state to have ten percent of its players play in over 1200 games.

On top of that, Delaware is also the birthplace of Charlie Marshall, who played in 1000 minor league games, and Pedro Swann, who last week played in his 1600th career professional game.

In addition, Delaware has produced three pitchers to start 300 games. That is twelve percent of the pitchers from Delaware who have played in the major leagues. So while Delaware has not been home to a large number of baseball players, it has been for several players who have enjoyed lengthy careers.

Some other Delawareans

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Tue, 16 May 2006 11:15:00 +0000

I watched the Phillies-Reds game last week and was pleased to see a pitching duel between pitchers with Delaware connections as well as a battery with First State ties.

The pitchers for both teams were Jon Lieber for the Phillies, a former Wilmington Blue Rock (1993), and Dave Williams for Cincinnati. Williams is a graduate of Delaware Technical Community College. Another former member of the Blue Rocks (1995), Sal Fasano, was Lieber's catcher.

Fasano has caught all but one of Lieber's starts for the Phillies, a decision possibly made because too many people got confused when Mike Lieberthal was catching; "Lieberthal signals for Lieber's pitch. Lieber throws...curveball, Lieberthal blocks Lieber's pitch in the dirt. Lieberthal, I mean Lieber, has been wild this past inning and Lieber, uh, Lieberthal has really been busy back there".

Make it six

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 00:34:00 +0000

Kevin Mench added his fifth conseutive homer yesterday and then a grand slam today against the Oakland Athletics to make it six straight. The five straight set a native Delawarean record, the six straight a Texas Rangers record. The major league record is 8, held by Don Mattingly, Dale Long and Ken Griffey, Jr.

Mench and the Rangers travel to Cleveland tomorrow to take on the Indians. Mench has one career home run at Jacobs Field, a two-run blst off of Scott Elarton last July.

Exciting stuff.

Four in a row

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 11:29:00 +0000

Last night, Kevin Mench hit a solo home run off of Oakland's Joe Blanton in a 3-2 loss to the Athletics. This was the fourth consecutive game that Mench has homered, tying the mark set by Dave May from August 4 through August 8, 1971 (May did not play on August 6th). The A's were also victims during this run. May hit his first, a three run-homer off of Joe Dobson, on the 4th. Solo shots then came off A's' Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter on the 5th, and the Royals' ken Wright and Dick Drago on the 7th and 8th, respectively.

Mench prefaced his Oakland homer with a trio off of Tampa Bay Devil Ray pitchers. Mench's streak started with his grand slam off of Seth McClung then followed it with a three-run homer off of Edwin Jackson and a two-run surrendered by Casey Fossum.

It's the shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 18:18:00 +0000

Story

No word on whether Kevin Mench is going to be a Nike spokesperson as a result. Be like Kev.

A grand slam homer, that ain't no jive

noreply@blogger.com (Mad Guru) — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 13:41:00 +0000

Last night Kevin Mench hit a grand slam home run against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. This was the fourteenth grand slam hit by a native Delawarean in major league history. Chronologically, with the number of career grand slams in parentheses, they are listed below:

Kevin Mench (2), April 21, 2006
Kevin Mench (1), June 11, 2005
John Mabry (1), May 20, 2005
Chris Widger (1), August 27, 1998
Delino DeShields (1), June 21, 1995
Randy Bush (2), May 12, 1985
Randy Bush (1), July 28, 1984
Dave May (3), June 17, 1975
Dave May (2), September 9, 1973
Dave May (1), April 26, 1973
Costen Shockley (1), May 4, 1965
Bert Cunningham (2), September 4, 1999
Bert Cunningham (1), August 2, 1899
Pete Cassidy (1), April 28, 1899 (Inside-the-park)