This is to follow up on Bear’s excellent piece on Pee Wee Reese. That is, Captain Pee Wee Reese. It is written in the present tense as I wrote it back when there were still three MLB team captains on July 12, 2013. So, I am again digging through the archives. I thought it might be appropriate as a number of the official or unofficial duties of the now defunct role of captain are still carried out by team members who fall into a captain like role because of their personalities, work ethic, passion for the game, team first attitudes.
I also expect most Dodger fans realize there is no Dodger captain and there has not been one for quite some time. I was fully aware of the captaincy vacancy with the Dodgers but I was amazed to learn that there have been only five official captains in Dodger history, most of them with a brief tenure – Pee Wee Reese (1949-1958), Duke Snider (1962), Maury Wills (1963-66), Willie Davis (1973), Davey Lopes (1978-79). I expect Duke was a reluctant captain even for one season. However, this gives me one more opportunity to display my most favorite baseball card.
I was even more amazed to find that only three teams presently (2013) have captains – Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, David Wright of the New York Mets, and Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox. Jason Varitek was not replaced as the Red Sox captain upon his retirement in 2011.
National Football League teams have captains as do National Hockey League teams, as well as National Basketball League teams. Why have professional baseball teams given up the position of “captain”? I would guess that as the game has evolved the position does not have the significance it did when Pee Wee Reese was captain or has simply become redundant with managers coming onto the field so often during the course of games. Perhaps the role of team captain is now seen as a distraction for a player working at the most difficult game to play in all of sports. It may also be noted that the captains in the other team sports mentioned above serve official functions which are designated by the league or team. Baseball captains have not and do not serve specific functions although some could be assigned duties such as presenting lineup cards at the beginning of the game.
What is the role of the baseball captain? According to Paul Konerko there is one specific duty that a captain can perform while he is on the field. A team captain can ask the umpire about the interpretation of a rule. For instance, a ruling on an infield fly. If the umpire has used the wrong interpretation, the captain has the right to ask the umpire to consult with the other umpires on the field. The captain also has the right to ask the umpire if he was in the proper position to make the call. The team captain does not have the right to argue or verbally abuse the umpire, but he does have the right to ask questions. It seems to me that is a non-confrontational way to question a ruling on the field without shouting, screaming, and kicking dirt.
Beyond asking about rule interpretations, a baseball captain plays a more subtle role on a team. He in essence becomes the face of the team on and off of the field. He may well not be the best player with the highest batting average or most home runs but the one who best represents the team. Although I am not one to applaud unwritten rules, there may be some unwritten ones for the captain, a set of expectations so to speak. A captain, a highly respected player on the team, may serve as an intermediary for the manager in dealing with player personnel issues. That is, he can help avoid a manager-player confrontation with a quiet conversation with a teammate or even help avoid the necessity of a full team meeting with the manager.
Every team has a heartbeat, a pulse that makes it a living entity and different from every other team. A captain takes the blood pressure of the team, checks the pulse rates, and observes what his teammates are thinking and feeling. The team captain definitely has to understand what his teammates are thinking and feeling and even have some understanding of why they think and feel as they do. He then becomes a representative for his teammates taking their concerns to the coaching staff or manager when the players are unwilling or unable to do do themselves. As with all difficulties early intervention is something a captain can provide to help avoid more serious issues.
Perhaps one of the greatest roles a team captain can play is to help young players – rookies – to adjust to major league baseball and especially to the team. It may be as simple as how to dress for a road game or as complicated as how to deal with the inevitable failure that baseball inflicts on all players, especially those that are young. Perhaps part of his role may be to help young players understand the unwritten rules of the game and the etiquette that infiltrates the game on the field.
A baseball captain has to be a role model for his team. It would be difficult to argue that Derek Jeter, David Wright, and Paul Konerko are not good role models for their teams and for baseball in general. Wright was the last MLB captain retiring in 2018.
Who on the present Dodger roster, in your opinion, would best suit the role of “Dodger Captain” following the examples set by Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Maury Wills, Willie Davis and Davey Lopes? That is, who is the unofficial captain taking the pulse of the team and who is looked upon by the team to take their pulse? I expect there will be one consistent answer to the question so who is the next unofficial captain -in-waiting? There might just be a consistent answer to that one too.
Discussion (77)
Disagree, not disagreeable
A couple good AB’s by Joc after a horrendous one early. The Dodgers really need him to find his swing and do his part in a platoon because Pollock has been terrible against RH pitching. AJ has been good against lefties though.
Why was Buehler taken out of the game? Worry?
This one to be a playoff preview where Dodgers don’t hit.
Some random thoughts. I’m not complaining so don’t get me wrong. I like our offense.
Lux is one of the top three prospects in baseball but yet he hasn’t hit yet. Something that makes you go hhhhmmmm.
Smith has great plate discipline and is hitting the ball hard but it’s not translating into a good batting average. Good OPS though.
And when is Joc going to ever get going.
Buehler’s thru 5 at the the time I write this, with 71 pitch count. How long until Roberts pulls him? I’d like to see him make it thru 7. I think 7 innings is the most a Dodgers pitcher has lasted this season, but don’t hold me to that.
Tonight Arizona pitcher is the same one who set a new MLB record for most games at the start of his career, allowing no more than 3 runs? Or something like that…
Tom Seaver Dies At 75 Years Of Age
Legendary hurler Tom Seaver has passed away, Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reports. He was 75 years of age.
Seaver had recently suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. The Hall of Famer spent time as a broadcaster after wrapping up his playing career and ultimately founded Seaver Family Vineyards.
Over two full decades of excellence at the game’s highest level, Seaver compiled 4,783 innings of 2.86 ERA pitching. He claimed three Cy Young awards and still stands as one of the best pitchers of all time.
Seaver will always be remembered most for his dozen-year run with the Mets, which covered all of his very best seasons. His greatest campaign, perhaps, was a monumental 1971 effort in which he ran up a 1.76 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 over 286 1/3 frames.
In full, Seaver worked to a 2.57 ERA in over three thousand frames in a Mets uniform. The quality continued over a half-dozen campaigns in Cincinnati. Seaver contributed over a thousand innings of 3.18 ERA ball to the Reds before spending one more season with the Mets and then moving on to the White Sox.
Impressive as he was at his peak, the full measure of Seaver’s excellence is revealed in his ongoing effectiveness even at the tail end of his career. Seaver was one of the twenty or so best pitchers in baseball in his age-40 season with the White Sox, when he worked to a 3.17 ERA in 238 2/3 innings. The legend was dealt to the Red Sox in the middle of the ensuing season, which turned out to be his last.
How does Felipe Asuncion sound as the second Blue Jay player?
It is interesting that no starter has the number of innings necessary to qualify on average.
Tonight:
Mookie
Seager
Pollock (CF)
Muncy
CT3 (LF)
Joc (DH)
Smith
Rios (3b)
Lux
Buehler
Mark he would look better if he wore a mask.
Kenley got best NL reliever for August. Maybe he will get a little love around here now.
Surely, we can’t let a curmudgeon like Zac Gallen beat us tonight:
Here’s how September roster rules work in 2020 (I guess everyone already knows this)
The 2020 trade deadline was a hard deadline, meaning no trades can be made in September, even via waivers.
The only way for a team to add a player outside the organization in September is to claim him via outright waivers after he is designated for assignment, kind of like the Reds did two weeks ago with Nick Williams.
That was how the Phillies acquired reliever Jared Hughes last September. Over the last year, they’ve also added relievers Robert Stock, Trevor Kelley, Reggie McClain and Deolis Guerra via waivers.
This is relevant with so many players designated for assignment around the trade deadline. Players such as:
Indians OF Domingo Santana
Braves 1B Matt Adams
Marlins LHP Adam Conley
White Sox INF Ryan Goins
Cubs INF Hernan Perez
Cubs C Josh Phegley
Phillies C Deivy Grullon
Phillies RHP Reggie McClain
Reds RHP Pedro Strop
Mets OF Juan Lagares
To be eligible for the postseason, a player must be on his team’s active roster by 11:59 on Sept. 15.
The regular season ends on Sept. 27. The first round of the playoffs takes place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.
The NL playoff field will seed the division winners 1-3, the second-place teams 4-6 and the teams with the next two best records 7-8.
Hopefully no more blister issue with Buehler. There looks like more clarity in rotation going forward. Wood did great in the pen and will be next guy up if there is an injury with any starter. With Urias great game last night I hope he can build on that next game. I see a little competition going on in the young staff. The guys are pitching great and saying to the others ,” ok see if you can best that one”
So question for the smart folks about Dustin May. I see above that Buehler has 28k in 25ip, so above a k per inning. Dustin May’s K/ip is like 5.9; he has 23k in 35ip. He also throws harder than Buehler. So I’m wondering why his K/ip, which was 8.3 last year, is down to 5.9.
Does he lack a put away pitch? Is he leaving too many pitches over the plate when he has 2 strikes? You’d think with his wiffle ball movement and 99mph fastball, he’d have way more strikeouts.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
DODGERS ACTIVATE RHP WALKER BUEHLER
LHP SCOTT ALEXANDER OPTIONED
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have activated right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler from the 10-day injured list and have optioned left-handed pitcher Scott Alexander.
Buehler, 26, returns after missing six games with a blister on his right hand. The Kentucky native is 1-0 with a 4.32 ERA (12 ER/25.0 IP) and 28 strikeouts in five starts this season. Last season, he set career marks by going 14-4 with a 3.26 ERA (66 ER/182.1 IP) and 215 strikeouts. He has been with the Dodgers for parts of four seasons, going a combined 24-9 with a 3.20 ERA (126 ER/354.0 IP) and 406 strikeouts in 67 games (58 starts). He was originally drafted in the first round (24th overall) of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of Vanderbilt University.
Alexander, 31, has appeared in 13 games for the Dodgers this season, going 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA (4 ER/12.1 IP) and nine strikeouts. He is in his third season with the Dodgers and is 7-3 with a 3.57 ERA (38 ER/95.2 IP) and 74 strikeouts in 114 games. In his six-year MLB career, he is a combined 12-7 with a 3.18 ERA (67 ER/189.2 IP) and 152 strikeouts in 193 games. He was originally acquired by the Dodgers in a three-team deal from the Kansas City Royals on January 4, 2018.
Walker Buehler has been reinstated. Scott Alexander has been optioned to USC.
Apparently, like many concepts in MLB, a team captain is a thing of the past. The manager is the guy who talks with umpires about missed calls. Every team has a player rep that meets with the union and these days that position is far more important to players than anything a captain might do on the field.
Dodgers get 2 PTBNL for Ross Stripling. Let’s look at some Blue Jays prospects
https://www.truebluela.com/2020/9/1/21410319/dodgers-trade-blue-jays-prospects-ross-stripling
No more pitchers!
A captain is because of everything he means and what he has done for his team, regardless of the position in which he plays, so it does not matter if he is a pitcher or a batter. That’s why I put Turner on the list in second place, Betts is still far from being the captain, he barely has a month on the team, he has the tools to be the face of the franchise, but until Kershaw and Turner has retired or gone from the team, not before ….
Apparently Bellinger hurt his lat during batting practice yesterday. So let’s hope it’s a tweak or strain, and not something more serious. But I doubt he plays tonight, and rightfully so.
Good reading article, DC. Thank you. JT would be my choice for a team captain on this team. He seems to have the ear of the players and have observed him many times talking with Doc during the games.
Sometimes you need a player to step up during the season. CT3 and Seager are doing that in my opinion. Urias was very good and I thought Wood was terrific.
I have that Snider card too. Dickerson had 3 homers in last nights game and 6 RBI’s He tied the franchise record for total bases with 16. One of his homers traveled 480 feet. What is weird is that the Giants scored 23, had 27 hits, and still managed to leave 25 men on base.
I just wrote a critique of last night’s game on the other thread, posted it and it disappeared.
Stuff happens.
I’ll regurgitate.
We beat a team that threw in the towel at the deadline and we looked mediocre in doing it. 8 for 31, 3 for 15 WRISP, 24 LOB. Arizona gave up 3 unearned. We should not have needed Jansen. Before this game Urias had thrown 65% strikes on the year. He threw 68% last night. Calhoun should have caught that ball that drove in 2. In my opinion the ball that popped out of Seager’s glove was an error. Orel was right, at the Major League level that play should be made. We need a new shortstop and it won’t happen this year. It would have looked different had Kike’s fly ball left the yard. It didn’t. Lux looks overmatched and lacking confidence. You strike out looking at two center cut fastballs? Inexcusable.
Yeah, we beat the dbacks, but against better teams we might not have won that one. We need to continue to work at being better.
Although he was never captain of the Dodgers, I think Kirk Gibson showed he could have been. When he walked off the field in spring training in 88 he showed the team he meant business and was there to win. Turner would be the only candidate for captain right now in my mind. He has the respect of the whole team, is a on field leader, and a player who is also respected around the league. In a couple of years Mookie would be the choice. After he has some time to adapt fully to LA. He is definitely a leader. I heard a story about when Reese was captain, and I think it is one of the best examples of how someone can impact the team. There was a double header, and it was between games. Billy Cox, the talented 3rd baseman says, I think I am going to sit out the second game. Gotta save myself..none of the players around him said anything. Pee Wee came up to him and said, what are you saving yourself for Billy? And exhibition game in Altoona? Cox played the 2nd game. Goin fishing today guys, be back later….
Good article Harold! I would vote JT and Mookie as co-captains.
Guess which pitcher on the Dodgers has the fewest strikeouts per 9 IP.
Dig this:
#1 – Alex Wood – 13.50 per 9 IP
#2 – Kenley Jansen – 13.20 per 9 IP
#3 – Jake McGee – 12.79 per 9 IP
#4 – Caleb Ferguson – 12.56 per 9 IP
#5 – Striker Buehler – 10.08 per 9 IP
#6 – Clayton Kershaw – 9.90 per 9 IP
#21 and Last – Bazooka Graterol – 4.85 per 9 IP
Thanks for the walk down Memory Lane, Harold and Bear! Keep it up.
I think Hawkeye brought up a good point: Trading Strip was a huge vote of confidence to Julio. He was attacking the zone. I have heard that he hates giving up HR, but it is inevitable when you pound the zone in today’s game. Now, he just has to build on this game. I am not ready to anoint him the #3… yet, but he’s driving down that road. Now he needs to be consistent.
He is 3-0 with a 3.27 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. I believe he will keep lowering both. This is what I have envisioned for 5 years. Patience Grasshoppers!
Julio is about 3 or 4 innings short of qualifying to be among the league leaders, as are May and Gonsolin, but if they were qualified, all 4 starters (except) Striker Buehler are in the Top 15 in the NL in ERA.
Urias goes 6 innings,very nice game, a game he needed.
Kershaw seems to be the de facto leader of the clubhouse, but I’m not as knowledgable as others with the dynamics of the clubhouse. It comes across that way to me, though. I assume, the captain would have to be a position player, though, so that leaves Turner as the best candidate imo. Veteran, key player, delivers, plays the right way. He appears to communicate with a lot of the guys, so I assume he’s well liked. I suppose Betts might be a good candidate in time. That tone setting speech or introduction he made in spring training seems a very captain-like thing to do. I’m curious to hear the answers.
1.- Clayton Kershaw
2.- Justin Turner
3.- No one else from the current team
Yesterday was a day of several beatings, and the team (Dodgers) that I expected would beat the opponent with many runs, only scored 6…