Matt Bush - #1 Overall Pick To FELON To MLB Reliever... EPIC BUST Or MLB REDEMPTION Story??

In October of 2015, Matt Bush – a former first overall pick in the Major League Baseball Draft, was released from prison. At that point in time, he was considered to be one of if not the biggest and most disappointing draft bust in the history of the game. A string of poor decisions, alcohol abuse and severe anger issues destroyed his once promising career and he never made it above Double-A. But Matt Bush, against all odds, returned to professional baseball and as recently as the 2023 season, nearly 20 years after he was taken first overall, Bush was still continuing his career, with appearances in both Triple-A and the big leagues. Today, we’ll look back at the life and career of Matt Bush and answer the question – should he still be considered one of the biggest busts of all time – or should he be more associated with an incredible redemption story and unlikely success? This might be hard for many people to accept after hearing about some of his horrible crimes, but it’s an incredible story nonetheless.

Matt Bush was born on February 8th, 1986 in San Diego, California. Growing up, he played a variety of sports including baseball and soccer. Bush was a natural athlete and developed an extreme talent for baseball, learning to pitch and hit at a high level. He was a stand-out player at Mission Bay High School, where he pitched and played shortstop. He was a 5-tool player who had a particularly strong arm and played near flawless defense. He also hit .450 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. As a pitcher, he was lights out with a .74 ERA. Bush could hit mid-90’s regularly and had a deadly curveball. As the 2004 MLB Draft approached, he was one of the hottest names available, although he had committed to San Diego State.

His hometown team that he grew up following happened to have the first overall pick in 2004. There were other more seasoned players available, such as college players Justin Verlander, Jared Weaver and Stephen Drew. However, Drew and Weaver were represented by Scott Boras, and the Padres feared the demanded bonus would be too high. Verlander was one of the best college arms available and his bonus was expected to be north of $5 million. So, the Padres decided to save money and go for Bush, who signed for a $3.15 million bonus, saving the Padres a couple million dollars, but ultimately costing them much more than that in the long run.

Bush was drafted as a shortstop, the highest drafted since Alex Rodriguez. He was set to begin his professional career in Rookie Ball with the Arizona League Padres. But just one week after the draft, before he could even take the field, Bush was arrested in Peoria, Arizona for getting into a bar fight and allegedly biting a bouncer who was trying to escort him out of the establishment. Prosecutors decided not to file felony charges but Bush was suspended by the Padres. After returning, he was able to play in 29 rookie league games, but hit just .192 with zero home runs. In 2005 for the Single-A Fort Wayne Wizards, he continued to struggle, hitting .221 with 2 home runs in 453 at bats. He had a slugging percentage of just .276. In 2006, a broken ankle limited him to just 22 games.

At this point in time, it looked like Matt Bush was a clear bust – he had been arrested off the field and was not producing on the field. But, he still had an incredible arm and the Padres decided to try him out as a pitcher. In 2007, through 7 appearances, he dazzled, striking out 16 batters in 7 2/3rds inning with a 1.17 ERA, walking just 2. Unfortunately, he tore a ligament in his pitching arm and needed Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for all of 2008. It was during his recovery time when Bush got into another altercation off the field. Bush was accused of a drunk assault involving players of a High School Lacrosse team. A witness said that Bush threw a golf club, picked up and threw one of the players and hit the other, yelling “I’m Matt Fucking Bush!” He then drove his Mercedes over a curb, driving away from the campus. Articles were coming out calling him the worst #1 overall pick of all time. The Padres gave up on him and traded him to the Blue Jays for “future considerations.”

The Blue Jays put him on an immediate “zero tolerance” policy. He was sent to Dunedin, Florida, the home of the Blue Jays Spring Training facility and rookie league team. Just like with the Padres, before he even threw a pitch for the Jays organization, he found trouble off the field. At a party, some one drew markings on his face as a joke as he was passed out drunk. After awakening, he blamed a 23-year old woman and went into a rage, throwing a baseball just passed her head then banging on her car window and she tried to get away. The Blue Jays found out about the incident and immediately released him for “failing to comply with the team guidelines that were set out for him.” He missed the entire 2009 season, making it two full seasons he had not appeared in a professional baseball game.

Somehow, he got another opportunity in 2010 as the Tampa Bay Rays signed him to a Minor League Deal. He appeared in just 10 games in 2010 in Rookie League and High A, but still had a powerful arm, leading to 20 strikeouts in 13 innings. In 2011, finally completely healthy, he pitched in 26 games for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits and averaged 13.8 strikeouts per 9 innings. He had some control issues, leading to a 4.83 ERA but the Rays saw enough to add him to the 40-man roster and planned to send him to Triple-A to begin the 2012 season. He would be given every opportunity to make his big league debut in 2012. That’s when his worst off-the-field incident occurred, effectively ending his professional baseball career.

During 2012 Spring Training, Matt Bush got behind the wheel of a Dodge Durango he borrowed from teammate, Brandon Guyer. Bush, driving with a suspended license, went on a drinking binge that led him to hit a pole in Sarasota. He kept driving anyway and sidewiped a car in Venice. He left the scene of that accident and headed back towards Port Charlotte. He was kicked out of an adult dance club for trying to climb up onto the stage. By this point he was completely wasted. Bush left the club in the Durango and was on a collision course with 72-year old Tony Tufano, who was riding his Harley Davidson after spending the day babysitting his granddaughter. According to a witness, Bush hit the motorcycle, knocking Tufano off, then just kept driving, running over his head with the back wheel. Tufano ended up in intensive care with life-threatening injuries. Without the helmet, he would have been killed instantly.

Tony Tufano

Matt Bush fled the scene and later claimed he thought he had run over the bike, not the man’s head. Tufano, who was a marathon runner, broke 10 of his 12 ribs on the right side and fractured 8 vertebrae. His right lung collapsed and his brain was bleeding. Somehow, he survived the crash. If he hadn’t, Matt Bush might still be in prison today. As it was, Bush was arrested on multiple DUI-related felonies and held in Charlotte County Jail on $440,000 bail. He was sentenced on a plea deal to 3 ½ years in prison with no probation afterwards. The Tufano family also sued Bush and Brandon Guyer $5 million. It was settled out of court for $200,000. It appeared that the professional baseball career of Matt Bush was over and he would now be known as the biggest first overall draft bust in the history of the game.

That is, until his name popped up again 3 years later in baseball news. He had apparently been released from prison and gotten a job at Golden Corral. It was there, in the Golden Corral parking lot in Jacksonville, Florida, where Matt Bush held a showcase for scouts of the Texas Rangers. His arm was still incredibly lively, but would the Rangers be willing to take a flyer on Bush after everything that had happened? Incredibly, the answer was yes and on December 18th, 2015, the Rangers signed him to a minor league deal. The Rangers GM Jon Daniels said, “Unlike some who have been accused of different crimes, or have had stuff happen in the past, Matt is not running or hiding from this. He has been extremely accountable, extremely remorseful.” Even Tufano showed support for Bush, saying he was happy to see Bush was getting back into baseball.

He was sent to Double-A Frisco and accompanied by his father who would supervise Bush and try to make sure he stayed out of trouble. In 12 appearances, he impressed, striking out 18 batters in 17 innings with a 2.65 ERA. The Rangers saw enough and called him up to the big leagues and about 12 years after being drafted first overall, Matt Bush made his big league debut, retiring the heart of the Blue Jays lineup to finish the game. A couple days later, there was a major fight in the Rangers Blue Jays game, but Matt Bush was not involved – it was the famous Roughned Odor vs Jose Bautista fight that led to a bench clearing brawl. Bush made 58 appearances for the 2016 Texas Rangers and went 7-2 with a 2.48 ERA and one save. He stayed out of trouble off the field and continued to pitch well out of the bullpen for Texas in 2017, striking out 58 batters in 52.1 innings, this time picking up 10 saves. Over the next few years, he struggled with injury issues and had to have a second Tommy John surgery, but Bush stayed out of trouble and pitched well enough to keep a roster spot, although he did have to pitch in Triple-A at times.

In 2022, he was having a great season with a 2.95 ERA through 40 appearances, striking out 11 batters per 9 when he was traded to the Brewers, where had a 4.3 ERA. In 2023, the Brewers released him after a rough start to the year and he returned to the Rangers organization, assigned to the Triple-A Round Rock Express. In 9 games there, he had a 2.13 ERA with 16 strikeouts and 2 saves. Bush had successfully quit his drinking habit and had no off-the-field issues since his release from prison, although his anger issues might not be completely resolved.

On September 30th, 2023, the Rangers selected Bush’s contract and added him to the MLB Roster. He became a free agent after the season. As of now, Matt Bush has appeared in 217 big league games and has 227 strikeouts in 211 innings. For some one drafted nearly 20 years ago, the fact that he’s still active and contributing as an MLB pitcher makes it hard to call him a complete bust, unless of course you’re a Padres fan. Similar to Josh Hamilton, there’s no telling what kind of career Bush could have had if he had not had off-the-field issues, but all the signs indicate he could’ve been an elite relief pitcher had he not spent 3 years locked up, not to mention all the time missed due to suspensions. The good news is after serving his time, Bush has quit drinking and from all appearances, is nothing like the young knucklehead who yelled “I’m Matt Fucking Bush!” and drove away from the scene of a horrible accident in which a man was almost killed. So, for me, although the bust label certainly fits as a #1 overall pick with just a 1.7 career WAR, I look at Matt Bush more of a redemption story than a bust. That’s why I decided to leave him off of my upcoming Top 15 Busts of the 2000’s video – after all, he’s not even retired yet. From the entire 2004 First Round, only Bush and Justin Verlander remain active. That’s a pretty good accomplishment for some one whose career was considered completely over 10 years ago.

The Top 10 JAPANESE MLB Players OF ALL TIME

Although baseball is known as America’s National Pasttime, it has also gained massive popularity in other countries, including Japan, where baseball is the most popular spectator sport. It was introduced to the country back in the 1870’s by educator Horace Wilson, who was hired by the Japanese government to assist in the modernization of the Japanese Education System. He thought the students could use more physical exercise and taught them the sport of baseball. They loved it and by the 1920’s, professional baseball was established in Japan. When America sent some of their superstars like Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig to Japan to play in an exhibition game against the Japanese All-Star Team, the sport took off to the heights and eventually, the Nippon Professional Baseball League was formed, which continues to produce amazing players today – players that are so talented, that Major League Baseball teams often tap into that talent by bringing players to the west to play in the big leagues. Just this season, Masataka Yoshida was one of the best rookies in the game, hitting .286 with 15 homers for Boston. The first Japanese player to ever don a big league uniform was Masanori Murakami, who made his debut in 1964 for the San Francisco Giants. Murakami did not have overpowering stuff but kept hitters off-balance by returning the next pitch almost immediately after receiving the ball back from the catcher. In two big league seasons, he went 5–1 with 9 saves and a respectable 3.43 ERA in 54 appearances. So far, at least 67 players have come over from Japan to play in the Major Leagues and while not all are great, some went on to have extremely successful big league careers and at least a couple are destined for a future in Cooperstown. Today, we’ll be ranking the Top 10 Japanese players – who were also Japanese born and raised - to ever play Major League Baseball.

10. Kenta Maeda

To start off today’s list, we have an active player who could definitely end up much higher when all is said and done. Kenta Maeda was one of the best pitchers in Japan back in 2010 when he went 15-8 with a 2.21 ERA, becoming the youngest pitcher in Japanese Baseball history to win the pitching Triple Crown. He took home the Sawamura Award as the league’s best pitcher that season then won it again in 2015. In January of 2016, Maeda signed an 8-year $25 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and made his big league debut on April 6th, 2016, throwing 6 shutout innings and picking up the win. Not only that, he also went deep, hitting a home run in his second big league at bat. He ended up going 16-11 that season with a 3.48 ERA, finishing 3rd in the Rookie of the Year voting. He was a solid arm for LA for 4 years, going 47-35 before being traded to the Twins, where he dominated in the Covid-shorted 2020 season, going 6-1 with a 2.7 ERA and 10.8 strikeout per 9 ratio, finishing 2nd in the Cy Young Voting. Since then, some injury issues and Tommy John surgery have slowed him down but Maeda has had an impressive 7-year big league career and should be a valuable free agent during the upcoming off-season.

9. Hisashi Iwakuma

Starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma started his pro career in 2000 with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. By 2002, he was a regular in the starting rotation and had his breakout year in 2003, going 15-10 with a 3.45 ERA, leading the league with 11 complete games. In 2004, he broke a record by starting the season with 12 straight wins. He started the NPB All Star Game and represented Japan in the 2004 Athens Olympics. He had his best season in Japan in 2008 when he went 21-4 with a 1.87 ERA, grabbing the attention of several MLB teams, including the Seattle Mariners, who signed him prior to the 2012 season. He started his debut MLB season as a reliever but was quickly added to the rotation and in 2013, he went 14-6 with a 2.66 ERA, He made the All Star team and finished 3rd in the Cy Young Voting. He continued to be a solid rotation arm for the next 3 seasons and in 2015 became the second Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the big leagues. In 2017, a shoulder injury limited him to just 6 starts and he returned to Japan the following season. His overall numbers are still impressive – a 63-39 record with a 3.42 ERA.

8. Masahiro Tanaka

Tanaka was Japanese High School phenom in the mid-2000s, striking out a national High School record of 423 batters. He made his professional debut in 2007 with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and tied a record for the fastest NPB pitcher to reach 100 career strikeouts based on innings pitched. On the season, he struck out 9.5 batters per 9 innings and threw 4 complete games including a shutout. By 2013, he was the best pitcher in Japan and had an utterly dominant season, going 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA. He was heavily scouted by MLB teams and several were in the running to land Tanaka during the 2013-14 offseason. The lucky team ended up being the New York Yankees, who signed Tanaka to a 7-year $155 million deal. He made the All Star Team in his first big league season and went 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA, throwing a complete game shutout against the crosstown rival Mets. He continued to be a solid arm in the rotation, often serving as the team’s ace. Although he had some injury issues and was never as dominant as he was in Japan, Tanaka ended up going 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA. He was also largely dominant in the postseason, although the Yankees never won a championship during his time in New York. He returned to Japan after the 2020 season, but had a great 7-year MLB career as New York Yankee.

7. Hiroki Kuroda

Kuroda’s pro career goes back to 1996 when he joined to Hiroshima Toyo Carp as a 2nd round draft pick. His status with the team improved with each year until he became the Opening Day Starter in 2003. In 2006, he went 13-6 with a 1.85 ERA and showed interest in pitching for an MLB team. He stayed with the Carp for 2007 but after the season announced his intention to move to the states and he signed a 3-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He threw 7 strong in his first start against the Padres, allowing just 1 run and picking up the win. From there, he became a model of consistency, never completely dominating but consistently giving the Dodgers quality starts. He was named the Opening Day starter in 2009 but battled injuries throughout the year including a line drive off the side of his head. In free agency, he signed with the Yankees and went 16-11 with a 3.32 ERA and 2 shutouts in 2012. In 2013, he led the league with a 2.63 ERA at the All-Star break but was snubbed for the All Star Team. He was a pitcher who, through his career, even while in Japan, was known for getting poor run support. Largely for this

reason, his final MLB record was 79-79 but he had a solid 3.45 ERA and never had a season with an ERA above 3.76. He was one of the most consistent MLB starters in the game throughout his 7-year big league career.

6. Koji Uehara

Coming in at #6 is Koji Uehara, one of the greatest strike throwers in the history of MLB. He was originally drafted by the Yomiuri Giants in 1998 and won 15 consecutive games in his 1999, breaking a rookie record. In 2002, he got his first chance to face Major Leaguers in the Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series and struck out Barry Bonds three straight times. He showed interest in coming to pitch in America and in January of 2009, at the age of 34, Uehara signed a 2-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles. He threw 5 strong in his debut, picking up a win against the Rangers. He only started 12 games that season, going 2-4 with a 4.05 ERA but then moved to the bullpen in 2010 and had a great season with a 2.86 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 44 inning, walking a mere 5 batters. He became a premiere bullpen arm, dominating with the O’s in 2011, leading to a trade to the Rangers, who went on to win the AL Championship. In 2012, he had a 1.75 ERA and walked just 3 batters in 36 innings. His stuff was so dominant, the Boston Red Sox signed him to be their closer and in 2013, he was downright filthy with a 1.09 ERA, 101 strikeouts, 21 saves and a ridiculous 9 walks. He received MVP and Cy Young Votes. Uehara went on to win the ALCS MVP and closed out the final game of the World Series. His career 7.33 Strikeout per walk ratio is the best in Major League history for a pitcher with at least 100 innings pitched. In 2018, he returned to Japan, but his 9-year run in the big leagues was incredibly impressive and Uehara’s career MLB numbers include a 2.66 ERA, 572 strikeouts and just 78 walks.

5. Hideo Nomo

Moving into the top 5, we have the famous Hideo Nomo, who became the first Japanese-born player to play in the Majors since Murakami in 1965. His famous tornado delivery baffled hitters both in Japan and the United States. He pitched in the NPB for just 5 years for the Buffaloes, throwing 13 shutouts and completing most of his games, becoming a superstar in Japan. A contract dispute with the club led to Nomo’s retirement from the NPB and he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers to play Major League Baseball. I remember watching his debut game live against the San Francisco Giants on May 2nd, 1995 when Nomo threw 5 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit. That game is memorable as it went 15 innings, with no runs being scored until the top of the 15th when the Dodgers scored 3 runs, but the Giants, with 2 outs and nobody on, made an improbable comeback win. Despite the Giants victory, Nomo was incredibly impressive and went on to lead the league with 236 strikeouts. He made the All Star Team and took home Rookie of the Year honors. Nomo became an instant sensation, leading to Nomomania, similar to Fernandomania of the early 80’s. In 1996, he shocked the baseball world by throwing a no-hitter at hitter-friendly Coors Field in Denver and to this day, he is the only pitcher to ever accomplish the feat. Unfortunately, Nomo had his struggles and was traded to the Mets then released in 1998 after a rough season. Then, with the Red Sox on April 4th, 2001, he suddenly found his stuff, throwing another no-hitter in his first start with Boston. It was the first no-no in the history of Camden Yards and the earliest on the calendar ever thrown. He returned to the Dodgers in 2002 and went 16-6 with a 3.39 ERA. In 2003, he had his last good season, with 16-13 record and 3.09 ERA. After that, injuries and under performance led to the end of his career after short stints with the Rays and Royals. While Nomo had an up-and-down career, he was a pioneer is coming over to the states and inspiring several other players on this list to do the same. He also had a great MLB career, with a 123-109 record and 4.24 ERA. He was elected to the Japanese Hall of Fame in 2014.

4. Hideki Matsui

In a list dominated by pitchers, we finally have a position player and it’s Hideki Matsui, AKA Godzilla, who from 1993 to 2002 was one of the biggest baseball superstars in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants. He hit at least 34 home runs per season for 7 straight years, maxing out at 50 in 2002. He was also an incredibly patient and natural hitter and his OPS was usually near if not over 1.000. The 9-time All Star and 3-time Central League MVP was heavily scouted by MLB teams. In 2001, he turned down what would’ve been a record $64 million contract from Yomiuri, and instead signed with the New York Yankees after the 2002 season. It was a 3 year, $21 million deal. He was an instant success, playing in every single game, hitting .287 with 106 RBIs, making the All-Star team and finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting, a controversial decision as most believed Matsui was the clear best rookie. He became the first Japanese player to hit a World Series home run, although the Yankees lost to the Marlins. In 2004, he was even better, crushing 31 homers and driving in 108. From 2003 to 2005, he was an iron man, missing zero games. In November of ‘05, he signed a 4-year $52 million extension. He hit 28 bombs in 2009, helping the Yankees make the playoffs and then completely tore it up in the Fall Classic, going 8 for 13 with 3 bombs, taking home World Series MVP honors. He joined Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as the only players to hit over .500 in the World Series while also hitting 3 home runs. He signed with the Angels for 2010 and crushed 21 bombs with a .274 average and .361 on-base-percentage. He finished his career with the A’s in 2011 and Rays in 2012 before signing a one-day contract to retire as a New York Yankee. He was elected to the Japanese Hall of Fame in 2018 and when combining both his Japanese and MLB careers, he is one of the greats of all time.

3. Yu Darvish

In the early 2000’s, Yu Darvish was already getting attention from MLB teams while he was still pitching in High School. He signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters and started his pro career in 2005. He quickly became a star in the league and from 2007 to 2011 – 5 straight seasons – he never finished a season with an ERA under 1.88. After the 2011 seasons, MLB teams had a limited time to send in their offers for the star pitcher and the Texas Rangers made an offer that couldn’t be refused. Darvish ended up signing for $60 million to play in Texas. He had a stellar rookie season, going 16-9 with a 3.9 ERA, making the All Star Team and finishing 3rd for the Rookie of the Year. In 2013, Darvish led the league with 277 strikeouts and finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting, becoming an absolute MLB superstar. He made 3 straight All Star teams but missed 2015 due to Tommy John Surgery. In 2017, the Rangers traded Darvish to the Dodgers, where he pitched well in the NLDS and NLCS, but struggled greatly in the World Series, when the Dodgers lost to the Astros. This was remembered when the Astros Sign Stealing scandal became public in 2019, but Darvish refused to blame the Astros for his poor performance. Darvish went on to pitch for the Cubs where he struggled with injuries until 2020, when he 8-3 in the COVID-shortened season with a 2.01 ERA, leading the league in wins and finishing 2nd for the Cy Young. He signed with the Padres for 2021 and has been a solid piece of their rotation eversince, In 2023, he surpassed Hideo Nomo to become MLB’s Japanese-born leader all-time in strikeouts. Darvish is signed with the Padres through 2029 but it will be a tall task to ever surpass the next two legends.

2. Shohei Ohtani

Another active player and the best and most popular superstar in the game today, comes in at #2 and it’s Shohei Ohtani. He was identified early in his baseball career as an elite two-way player who could end up being a professional hitter or pitcher or perhaps both. He was already hitting 99 MPH on the radar gun in High School and got the attention of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who became his top choice to play for when entering the pros. Instead, he stayed in Japan to play for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters after the Dodgers were hesitant to let him pitch and hit at a high level. By 2015, he was one of the best pitchers in the league although his offense hadn’t yet reached its potential. He hit just .202 with 5 homers, but then in 2016, his bat exploded with 22 bombs and a .322 batting average. He continued to pitch at an elite level as well and by 2017 was ready to make the move to MLB. He signed a deal with the Los Angeles Angels, who intended to let him try to be a two-way player. In his rookie year of 2018, he hit .285 with 22 bombs and also started 10 games as pitcher, striking out 63 batters in 51.2 innings with a 3.31 ERA. He won the Rookie of the Year Award, but couldn’t pitch the following season due to Tommy John Surgery. He still helped his team with the bat and by 2021, was fully healthy and had a tremendous season, crushing 46 bombs while also going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA, taking home the MVP and becoming a bonafide MLB superstar. In 2022, his pitching went to a new level as he started a career high 28 games and went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and also smashed 34 bombs. He was doing things no other MLB player had ever done and then in 2023, led the league in 43 homers, a .412 on-base percentage, 1.066 OPS while going 10-5 with a 3.34 ERA, and is basically a lock for second MVP Award. By the time his career is over, he may take the crown as the greatest Japanese-born MLB player ever – and could even enter into the conversation as the greatest of all time, as the only other player to hit or pitch at such a level was the legendary Babe Ruth.

1. Ichiro Suzuki

But for now, with Ohtani only having played 6 years of Major League Baseball, the #1 slot has to go to none other than Ichiro Suzuki, who played an incredible 19 years in the Major Leagues despite not making his big league debut until the age of 27. Counting his career in Japan, he played 28 professional seasons. Ichiro made his professional debut in 1992 for the Orix Bluewave but didn’t have his breakout season until 1994 when he hit .385 – a Pacific League Record - with 29 stolen bases, becoming an instant superstar. He had an unorthodox swing called the pendulum, in which he shifts his weight forward while swinging the bat. During his career in Japan, he won 7 straight batting titles and 3 straight MVPs. His manager suggested that he put the name “Ichiro” on the back of his jersey instead of the family name “Suzuki,” which is one of the most common last names in Japan. This led to him being referred to simply as “Ichiro,” and this custom followed him to the United States when Ichiro signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2001. He was the first Japanese-born position player in the big leagues. Whether he could make the transition or not was answered immediately as Ichiro led the league with a .350 batting average, 242 hits, and 52 stolen bases, easily taking home both the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards, joining Fred Lynn as the only two MLB players to win both awards in the same year. He helped lead the Mariners to tie an MLB record with 116 wins on the season then hit .600 in the ALDS. He became the hands-down best hitter in baseball, accumulating over 200 hits for 10 consecutive seasons. He also broke the single season hit record with 262 in 2004. He made 10 straight All Star Teams and also played near flawless defense, winning 10 Gold Gloves. He didn’t slow down until his late 30’s and in 2012, the M’s traded him to the Yankees, where he got a hit in his first 12 games, tying a Yankee record. He hit .322 for New York, leading to a fresh 2-year contract. He went on to play 3 seasons for the Miami Marlins before returning to the Mariners to finish out an incredible career. Ichiro will easily be elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2025, becoming the first Japanese-born player in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The only question is whether or not it will be unanimous.

TOP 15 CONTROVERSIAL MLB Postseason Moments!!

Welcome another Humm Baby countdown and today we’re in the middle of October – MLB Playoff time – and what better time to talk about some of the craziest and most controversial moments in MLB Playoff history. Everything is amplified in October and players are more focused and determined than at any other point in the year. So, it’s no surprise that sometimes there will be wild and controversial plays that might involve a player going full bush league to help their team win by any means necessary, an umpire completely blowing a call or a fan getting a little too involved. This list is composed of individual postseason plays that were wildy controversial, not controversies that emobodied the entire playoff or World Series – just individual plays. So, without further ado, let’s talk about 15 of the most controversial playoff moments in MLB history.

15. Trea Turner Called Out

The Washington Nationals were facing elimination in Game 6 of the 2019 World Series, but had a one-run lead with a runner on 1st and Trea Turner at the plate. Turner hit a slow dribbler back to the mound, and hustled down the line to try to beat the throw. That’s when things went nuts.

The throw took Yuli Gurriel’s glove towards the baseline and Turner inadvertently knocked it and the ball away. He was called out for runner’s interference, much to the dismay of Nationals manager Dave Martinez, who wanted to protest the call, but because it was a judgment call, a protest was denied. Luckily for the Nats, Anthony Rendon homered later in the inning, but that didn’t stop Martinez from continuing to argue and cuss at the umpires until they finally threw him out of the game. The Nats ended up winning the game and World Series anyway, which is why this one comes in at the bottom.

14. Obstruction

Only one MLB postseason game has ever ended on an obstruction call and it happened in Game 3 of the 2013 World Series between the Cardinals and Red Sox. The series was tied at 1 game apiece and Game 3 was taking place at Busch Stadium. It was the bottom of the 9th inning and the winning run was just 90 feet away for St. Louis with 1 out. That’s when all hell broke loose.

Even though no Cardinals player ever touched home plate, third base umpire Jim Joyce determined that obstruction had taken place at third by third baseman Will Middlebrooks, who inadvertently impeded Allen Craig from running home as Craig tripped over the body of Middlebrooks as he took off from third towards home plate. Replay shows that by the rulebook, Jim Joyce was correct in this call, but that didn’t make the Red Sox feel any better about it. What did make them feel better about it was winning the World Series a few days later despite the loss Game 3 loss.

13. The “Phantom Tag”

The 1999 ALCS was extra intense as it was between the rival New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The Yankees were up 3-2 with one out in the 8th, but the Red Sox had Jose Offerman on first place and John Valentin at the plate. Valentin grounded the ball to Chuck Knoblauch, who reached out to tag Offerman then throw to first for the double play. Problem is, he never got close to actually touching Offerman.

Any potential Red Sox rally was eliminated by this terrible call by the second base umpire Tim Tschida and the Yankees went on to win the game, taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, which they won the following night. The Yankees went on to win the 1999 World Series against the Atlanta Braves.

12. Fan Interference Against Altuve

In top of the 1st inning of Game 4 of the 2018 ALCS, the Red Sox, who had a 2-1 lead in the series, jumped out to 2-0 lead over the Astros. But then, Jose Altuve stepped up to the plate with a runner on and crushed an opposite field shot over the right field wall. Mookie Betts tried to make the leaping catch, but couldn’t do it – possibly due to some fans also trying to make the catch. Joe West decided that they interfered with the play and called Altuve out.

This call became extremely controversial as the fans don’t appear to reach out into the field of play – rather Betts is reaching into the stands to try to make the play. Per the rulebook, if a player’s glove reaches over the fence and into the stands, provided the fans are not reaching out into the field of play, there is no interference. The fans are obviously eager to catch the baseball but they appear to be waiting for the ball to come to them and not reaching out, at least not into the field of play. Either way, the call by Joe West stood and the home run that was wasn’t. Altuve was called out and the Astros did not score in the inning. They ended up losing the game that night by 2 runs – the same amount of runs that would’ve scored on the Altuve drive. The Red Sox wrapped up the series the following night and went on to the win the World Series.

11. The Utley Slide

In the bottom of the 7th inning of Game 2 of the 2015 NLDS, the New York Mets had a 2-1 lead but the Dodgers were threatening with two men on including Chase Utley at first. Howie Kendrick hit what looked to be a potential double play ball when Chase Utley, coming in hot from first, had other ideas.

Utley took out Ruben Tejada with a slide you would only see in the playoffs these days, when desperation is at its maximum. Tejada sustained a broken leg in the play, which Mets fans saw as dirty and clear interference. Unfortunately for them, the umpires disagreed and the run that scored on the play counted, tying the game. The Dodgers went on to score 3 more runs and won the game 5-2. They ended up winning the series 3 games to 2.

10. The “Renfroe Assist”

It was Game 3 of the 2021 ALDS and the Rays and Red Sox were deadlocked in the 13th inning at Fenway Park. Yandy Diaz was at first base when Kevin Kiermaier crushed a ball that looked like it might go out. Instead, it went off the wall – for what should have been an easy RBI base hit giving the Rays the lead as Diaz was running on the pitch. Instead, the ball went off outfielder Hunter Renfroe and over the fence, making it a dead ball. But shouldn’t the run still score since the outfielder caused the ball to go over the wall? Let’s take a look at the play.

The umpires ruled that Diaz had to return to third base and Kiermaier was given an automatic double. After the internet did its research thanks in large part to Jeff Passan, it was determined that the umps got the call right since Renfroe never had possession of the ball and did not mean for it to go over the wall. The rules state that if the ball accidentally ricochets off an outfielder, the hitter and any runners on base are awarded just two bases. So, since Diaz was on first when the ball was hit, he can only advance as far as third base. Rays fans were irate and Kiermaier called the play a “backbreaker.” The Red Sox went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th on a Christian Vasquez walk-off homer, taking a 2-1 lead in the series. They won Game 4 as well to advance to the ALCS.

9. The 2012 Infield Fly Rule

During the win-or-go-home 2012 Wild Card Game, the Cardinals were up 6-3 but the Braves were fighting back. With one out in the 8th, the tying run, Andrelton Simmons, stepped up for Atlanta and hit a pop up to short left that fell in for a hit just short of left-fielder Matt Holliday – that is, until the umpire decided inexplicably to call Andrelton out due to the “infield fly rule.”

The Braves and their fans flipped out and the game was delayed 19 minutes as arguments ensued and trash was thrown on the field. The infield fly rule should only be called on a pop up that an infielder can reasonably and routinely catch so that said infielder won’t let the ball drop, allowing an easy double play since the runners had to hold up. This did not look like such a play – but umpire Sam Holbrook, who is no stranger to controversy – made the infield fly rule call and the Braves failed to score in the inning. St. Louis won the game 6-3 and the Braves went home.

8. Ball-In-The-Hand

For this one, we go back over 50 years to the 1970 World Series. It was Game 1 between the Reds and Orioles. The game was tied at 3 in the top of the 7th with the Reds threatening. Bernie Carbo was at third base and Ty Cline hit a weak chopper in front of the plate. Carbo broke for the plate.

Orioles catcher Elrod Hendricks definitely tagged Carbo with his glove before he touched home. The problem was he was holding the baseball in his other hand, not with the hand he tagged him with. Per the rulebook, that should not be an out, but umpire Ken Burkhart made the safe call. MLB replay would not exist for another 40 years or so – so there was nothing the Reds could do. That run was the game winner for the Orioles and and they went on to win the series, becoming 1970 champs.

7. Pierzynski Reaches First

Coming up next is a horrific umpire blunder during Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS. The White Sox and Angels were tied in the 9th inning in Chicago when A.J. Pierzynski swung and missed at strike 3 to end to the inning. Replay shows that the catcher made a clean albeit low catch to secure the strikeout, but after A.J. started to walk towards the dugout, he suddenly took off for first base as the Angles jogged off the field.

Incredibly, home-plate umpire Doug Eddings declared Pierzynski safe at first. Pablo Ozuna pinch ran and stole second then was driven in by Joe Crede to give the White Sox a walk-off win, tying the series. The Angels never recovered and went on to lose the next three games in Anaheim. The White Sox went all the way, winning the 2005 World Series.

6. The Hip-Check

The Dodgers were looking good in the 1978 World Series with a 2-1 lead in the series and 3-1 lead in Game 4. The Yankees were threatening, however, with 2 men on and Lou Piniella at the plate. He hit what looked to be a double-play ball to Bill Russell at shortstop. The out was recorded at second, but before the ball could get to first, Reggie Jackson’s hip got in the way.

Arguments continue to this day over whether or not Jackson intentionally deflected the ball, but the ruling at the time was that it was accidental and the Yankees rally was allowed to continue and Munson scored on the play, making it 3-1. They went on to tie the game then win it in extra innings. The Yankees kept the momentum going with a 12-2 win in Game 5 and a 7-2 win in Game 6 to take the Series.

5. A-Rod’s Glove Swat

It was Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series with the Red Sox needing a win to force a Game 7. They had a 4-2 lead in the 8th with one out and Derek Jeter on first base. Up stepped Alex Rodriguez with a chance to tie the game. Instead, here’s what happened.

A-Rod appeared to actually swat the ball right out of pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s glove. This doesn’t feel fair at all, but is it actually against the rules? Well, per section 6.,1 of the MLB Umpire Manual, “While contact may occur between a fielder and runner during a tag attempts, a runner is not allowed to use his hands or arms to commit an obviously malicious or unsportsmanlike act.”

After Red Sox manager Terry Francona argued the call, the 6 umpires got together and changed the call from safe to out. The Yankee fans flipped out and began to throw trash on to the field, but most agree the call turned out correct as replay shows A-Rod intentionally slapping Arroyo’s hand to free the ball. The Red Sox went on to win the game, the series and then the World Series.

It wasn’t the only bush league moment of A-Rod’s career – in 2007 in a game against the Blue Jays, he yelled “I Got It” as a baserunner to cause a pop up to fall. Needless to say the Jays were not amused.

4. Hrbek Takes Down Gant

It was Game 2 of one of the greatest World Series in the history of the Game as the Twins and Braves, two last place teams from 1990 went toe to toe in the 1991 Fall Classic. The Twins were up 2-1 in the 3rd when Ron Gant picked up a two-out base hit, sending Lonnie Smith to third. After Gant rounded first and the ball briefly got away, pitcher Kevin Tapani tried to throw him out as he retreated back to first base. Gant was back in time until first baseman Kent Hrbek decided to remove him from the base and tag him out.

Power-hitter Dave Justice would’ve been up with two men on but instead, the inning was over as the umpire ruled Gant out, saying his momentum pulled him off the bag.

The Braves ended up losing the game in 3-2 and the Twins eventually won the 1991 World Series in 7 games, still their most recent World Series Championship although they’re in a battle right now with the Astros in the ALDS.

3. The Maier Play

It was the bottom of the 8th inning of Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS and the Orioles were looking to take a 1-0 lead in the series, leading 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th. That’s when Derek Jeter hit a deep fly ball to right-field. Tony Tarasco was squaring up to make the catch on the warning track when the unbelievable happened.

A 12-year old kid named Jeffrey Maier stuck his glove over the wall to catch the ball and take it right out of Tarasco’s glove. Tarasco immediately argued the play, but it was called a home run and this occurred before instant replay so nothing could be done about it. The right-field umpire Rich Garcia had a great view but somehow completely missed this play and the Yankees ended up winning the game on a home run by Bernie Williams. They went on to win the A.L Championship and 1996 World Series. The Orioles tried to protest to call after the game but were denied as it was considered a “judgement call.”

2. Dekinger Blows the Call

It was 1-0 Cardinals in the 9th inning of Game 6 of the ‘85 World Series. The Royals had Jorge Orta at the plate trying to reach base and get something going. He succeeded with a slow groundball, although after checking out the replay, he should not have.

Don Dekinger, an excellent MLB umpire for nearly 30 years, blew the call and Orta was determined safe even though Todd Worrell clearly beat him to the bag. The Cardinals were unable to move past the mistake and get out of the inning. The Royals rallied to score twice, winning 2-1 and then crushed the Cardinals in Game 7 11-0 with Dekinger calling balls and strikes. The Cardinals were obsessed all night with the strike zone and the manager Whitey Herzog and pitcher Joaquin Andujar were ejected. The momentum in the Series clearly shifted after the blown call and the Royals won it all in ‘85.

1. The Bartman Incident

No list of postseason controversies would be complete without the Bartman incident. This play goes back to October 14th, 2003 during a critical Game 6 of the NLCS between the Cubs and Marlins. The Cubs were up 3-0 in the 8th with a 3-2 lead in the series when Luis Castillo of the Marlins hit a high pop-up towards the stands down the left field line. Mosies Alou thought he might have a play.

Because Alou dived into the stands, no fan interference was called, but Alou made sure to throw a temper tantrum in front of the massive crowd of 39,577 fans to make sure every one knew he thought he could’ve caught it if not for a fan trying to make the play – just like every fan in the vicinity was trying to make the play. His reaction, in my opinion, set the stage for the immediate meltdown of the Chicago Cubs. Pitcher Mark Prior threw a wild pitch, shortstop Alex Gonzalez booted a potential double play ground ball, and the Marlins bats woke up as the Cubs allowed 8 runs to score.

Cubs fans at first were a bit patient with Bartman who meant no harm as they had a 3-0 lead, but once the game got away, they turned on Bartman, who had to be escorted out of the stadium for his safety. He needed police protection at his home after his name and information was published online. No one was rooting harder for the Cubs in Game 7 than Bartman, but unfortunately they couldn’t win it for him. The Marlins won the game and went on to win the World Series.

TOP 10 FAMOUS Celebrities Who PLAYED PRO BASEBALL - #1 Is A HUGE HOLLYWOOD ACTOR!!

Over the history of the game, there have been thousands of different minor league baseball teams each full of players with a dream of someday making it to the Major Leagues. The vast majority of those players, even though they already beat the odds to make it to the pros, will never make it to The Show. After their minor league careers, most go on to work a normal job or go back to school to finish their degree. Some stay near the game and get into coaching, scouting, or even umpiring. And of course, some stay in the entertainment or sports industry and find success, becoming hugely famous. Most of their fans have no idea that they were once pro baseball players. In today’s video, we’ll be looking at 10 former professional baseball players who went on to become huge celebrities, only not as a baseball player. The only players eligible for this list had to play pro baseball before they were famous. So, we’re not talking about Garth Brooks, Billy Crystal or Tom Selleck getting a celebrity Spring Training appearance. Nor an already famous athlete deciding to switch to baseball like Michael Jordan or Tim Tebow. Also, players who became famous playing baseball who went on to have acting careers like Wes Parker and Nick Swisher don’t count. Today’s video is composed of celebrities who were unknown when they played in the minors and then went on to become famous through a different path. I’ll rank them based on how famous they became after their baseball careers.

#10 Scott Patterson – Actor

Most famous for his roles as Luke in Gilmore Girls and Peter Strahm in the Saw Franchise, Scott Patterson was once a pitcher at Rutgers who was drafted in the 1st Round of the 1980 MLB Secondary Draft by the Atlanta Braves. In 1981, he showed incredible talent, going 14-8 with a 3.23 ERA between Single and Double A. At one point, he won 13 consecutive games and had won two Minor League Player of the Month Awards. He was traded to the Yankees to start the 1983 season and pitched well enough to be added to the 40-man roster, but he was never promoted to the big leagues. At one point, the Rangers took him in the Rule 5 Draft but he was sent back to the Yankees before the end of Spring Training. In 1985, he went 12-4 with a 2.36 ERA, but the Yankees never called him up. He retired after 1986 season, having made four minor league All Star Teams. Patterson took up acting and used his baseball talent to help land a role in Little Big League, in which he portrayed pitcher Scott McGrevey. From there, he picked up guest roles in Seinfeld, Will & Grace, 90210, and many other TV Shows in addition to his many movie roles.

#9 Shaq Thompson – Football Player

A former football and baseball High School star is current Carolina Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson. Thompson attended Grant Union High in Sacramento, California and was named Delta Valley League MVP for his performance on the gridiron. But he also a standout baseball player and was drafted in the 18th Round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He signed to play for the Red Sox organization for a $100,000 bonus and was assigned to the Rookie Ball Gulf Coast League Red Sox, where he found out very quickly that baseball was not the sport for him. Thompson went an incredible 0 for 39 with 37 strikeouts in 13 games, leading to his immediate and permanent retirement from the game. However, it was not the end of his professional sports career as Thompson enrolled at the University of Washington, where he was named a first team All-American and considered one of the best defensive players in College Football. The Panthers selected him in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft and quickly signed him to a four year, $8.8 million contract with $7.7 million guaranteed. He has been a starter for Carolina ever since, although he’s likely to miss all of 2023 due to to a fractured fibula.

#8 Bert Convy – Game Show Host

Remembered as the host of Game Shows such as Super Password and Win, Lose or Draw, Bert Convy was part of the entertainment industry for 35 years. He was also a respected actor who had guest roles in Perry Mason, Hawaii Five-O and The Mary Tyler Moore Show among many others. Before he hit it big in Hollywood, however, Bert Convy was a stand-out athlete there as a student at North Hollywood High School. At just 17 years, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies to enter their Minor League System as an outfielder. In 1952 for the Salina Blue Jays in Kansas and the Miami Eagles in Oklahoma, he hit .225 with 3 doubles, 2 triples and 11 RBIs. It wasn’t great, but it sure beats Shaq Thompson’s performance. Still, the Phillies released him and Convy went on to attend the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. He began his entertainment career as a singer with 1950’s vocal-band The Cheers before landing several roles in television shows, leading to his appearances on various game shows such as What’s My Line and Match Game. Soon, he became the host of multiple game shows, eventually forming a production company with Bert Reynolds during the 80’s, which helped launch Win, Lose, or Draw, which Convy hosted for the first two seasons. He also stared in several movies and even directed one – the 1986 comedy Weekend Warriors.

#7 Mario Cuomo – Politician

Mario Cuomo on the far left

Remembered as the long-time governor of New York City and front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president in 1988 and 1992, Mario Cuomo, in a prior life, was also an excellent baseball player at both St. John’s Preparatory School and St. John’s University in New York. The former outfielder was so good, in fact, that the Pittsburgh Pirates offered him a $2,000 bonus in 1952 to play for their organization. He bonus helped him to purchase an engagement ring for his wife. Through his first 81 games with the Brunswick Pirates, Cuomo showed serious potential, hitting .244 with an outstanding on-base percentage of .383. He had driven in 26 runs with a professional home run on his resume when a pitch struck him on the head. These were the days before helmets and Cuomo was seriously injured, spending 6 days in the hospital. He decided to retire from the game, returning to St. John’s for his degree. He then attended Law School and became a full-time lawyer before being named New York Secretary of State in 1974 by the governor-elect Hugh Carey. Cuomo became the 52nd Governor of New York in 1983 and held the office through 1994. Cuomo remained a baseball fan throughout his entire life.

#6 Chuck Connors - Actor

Chuck Connors

Coming in at #6 is an actor who has stared in well over 50 films throughout a long and successful acting career – Chuck Connors, who not only played in the minors before his acting career took off, but he is the only person on this list to have actually made it to the big leagues. And to take it a step further, he also made it to the NBA. The man who lived not one, not two but three wild and unlikely dreams, was born in Brookyln in 1921 and grew up a huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan. He ended up as a star baseball and basketball player in High School and accepted a scholarship to play both at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. The Brooklyn Dodgers offered him a contract after two years and Connors couldn’t resist the opportunity. Unfortunately, he played in only 11 games in the minors in 1940 before being released. After missing the 1941 season, he signed with the Yankees for the 1942 season and hit .264 with 5 home runs, showing serious promise until his career was interrupted by World War II. Following the War, Connors tried to enter pro basketball – and succeeded, joining the Rochester Royals, now known as the Sacramento Kings. He was part of their one and only championship run in 1946, before joining the newly formed Boston Celtics. He also resumed his baseball career and found himself back with the Dodgers organization and this time, he played well year after year, making it to Triple-A in 1949. He hit .319 with 20 home runs and 108 RBIs, earning a call-up to the Show, where he was allowed just one at bat. He continued to rake in the minors but did not earn another opportunity in the bigs until 1951, when he hit .239 with 2 homers for the Chicago Cubs. Connors retired after the 1952 season and pursued a career in acting. He was quickly signed by MGM to star as a police captain in a film called Pat and Mike. From there, his career took off quickly and Connors has stared in several classics including Old Yeller, The Big Country, Move Over Darling, and Airplane II. He perhaps most famously played the lead role of Lucas McCain for 5 seasons on the hit show The Rifleman.

#5 Charley Pride – Country Music Star

With 52 Top-10 Hits on the Billboard Hot Country Chart and a Grammy for “Best Country Vocal Performance”, Charley Pride is without a doubt one of the most famous celebrities to have played minor league ball. Before he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000, Pride had a dream of becoming a Major League baseball player. In 1953, he signed a contract with the New York Yankees as a pitcher and entered into their minor league system to play for the Boise Yankees in the Class C Pioneer League. Unfortunately, an injury caused him to lose some zip on his fastball and he ended up getting demoted to the Yankees Class D team in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. After being released from the Yankees organization, Pride went on to play in the Negro Leagues with the Louisville Clippers, but was traded, along with another teammate, to the Birmingham Black Barons in exchange for the Black Barons Team Bus. That’s right, Pride was traded for a bus. In 1956, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, but continued his baseball career after his service time, entering into the Reds organization in 1960, where had a 3.86 ERA in 3 appearances for the Missoula Timberjacks. Even during his baseball career, Pride was known as a great singer and recorded a few songs here and there. But when he made the full-time switch to music, his career took off and with the recommendation of Chet Atkins, Pride signed with RCA Records, releasing his first single “The Snakes Crawl At Night” in 1966. His third single, “Just Between You & Me,” reached #9 on the Hot Country Songs Chart and from there, the rest is history.

#4 Russell Wilson – Football Player

Another multi-sport athlete, Russell Wilson was an all-region, all-district and all-state football player at Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia. He went on to play at North Carolina State, where he became the starting quarterback, showing immense talent. He also hit .306 for the baseball team with 9 steals and 3 homers. His talent for baseball was solid but his professional future seemed to be with football. Still, the Rockies drafted him in 4th Round of the 2010 Draft. They believed his athletic ability and work-ethic could get him to the big leagues and Wilson agreed. He hit .230 with 2 homers in 30 games for the Tri-City Dust Devils. But he wasn’t giving up his football career – Wilson wanted to play both at a high level. He continued to play football at NC State, and led the ACC in passing yards per game and total offensive yards per game in 2010. In early 2011, much to the disappointment of his football coaches, he announced he would be attending Spring Training to continue his professional baseball career. In 61 games, he hit just .228 with 3 homers although he showed a strong knowledge of the strike zone, working 35 walks. Wilson decided to retire from baseball and transferred to Wisconsin, where he led the Badgers to a Big Ten Championship before being drafted into the NFL by the Seattle Seahawks. He became a star NFL quarterback, leading his team to a Superbowl Championship and making 9 Pro Bowls and counting. He was traded to the Denver Broncos in 2022 and after the season signed a five-year, $245 million extension.

#3 John Elway – Football Player

One of the most famous names in professional football – the Hall of Famer and Broncos legend John Elway – began his pro sports career as a baseball player. He was initially drafted out of High School by the Kansas City Royals in the 18th Round, but decided to attend Stanford, where he played both football and baseball. He was a fantastic quarterback for The Cardinal, but the team never made a Bowl Game during his time there, although they appeared to have clinched one in 1982 when Elway drove his team down the field with seconds on the clock, setting up his kicker for what appeared to be the winning field goal. Unfortunately, there was still 4 seconds left and Cal somehow, with no time left, were able to miraculously avoid tackles while lateraling and pitching the ball all over as they scored the winning touchdown in one of the most controversial and insane plays in college football history. Elway was then selected in the 2nd Round of 1981 MLB Draft, ahead of future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. He signed for $150,000 to enter into the minors and played in 42 games for the Low A Oneonta Yankees. Elway showed amazing promise, hitting .318 with 4 homers and 25 RBIs, striking out just 25 times in 185 plate appearances. Yankees scout Gary Hughes said that if he had stuck with baseball, “the sky was the limit.. he would’ve been off the charts.” Then, in 1983, he was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 1st Round of the NFL Draft. Elway made clear he did not want to play in Baltimore and demanded a trade or he would continue his baseball career full-time. The Colts eventually obliged, trading him to Denver, where Elway would play his entire 16-year NFL Career, winning two Superbowls and an NFL MVP in 1987.

#2 The Macho-Man Randy Savage – Pro Wrestler

Randy Poffo - AKA “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Even casual wrestling fans have heard of the great Macho-Man Randy Savage and his trademark flying elbow. Little do most wresting fans know, however, Randy Savage was once Randy Poffo, an 18-year old baseball player who signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a catcher out of High School in 1971. Poffo was converted to an outfielder and hit well in rookie ball, with a .286 average and .420 on-base-percentage. In 1973 with the Class A Orangeburg Cardinals, he hit .250 with a couple homers but knew how to work walks and limit strikeouts. He would’ve likely been a more serious prospect in the analytical age. As it was, he ended up in the Reds organization for his final season, 1974, when he hit just .232 over 131 games with Tampa. He did hit 9 home runs with 66 RBIs and a .304 on-base percentage, showing true talent for the game of baseball, although not enough to make him believe he could reach the big leagues. Randy Poffo had already started his wrestling career during the offseason of 1973 and now, he could focus on it full-time under the character, “The Spider,” similar to Spider-Man. Later, he used his real name but was told that the name “Poffo” didn’t fit some one like himself who wrestled like a savage. So, he changed it to Randy Savage and after becoming popular in some smaller leagues, Vince McMahon signed him to wrestle in the WWF in 1985. The fans loved him even when he was supposed to be a heel – AKA a bad guy – and with Miss Elizabeth as his manager and significant other, Randy Savage became one of the most famous and popular wrestlers of all time.

#1 Kurt Russell – Actor

Coming in at #1 on today’s list is the world-famous actor Kurt Russell, who was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1951. His family relocated to Southern California when he was a child, which gave him some early opportunities in Hollywood. He appeared in several Disney movies during the late 60’s and early 70’s such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Charley and the Angels and Superdad. But, he was also a fantastic baseball player both in Little League and High School. His father, Bing, had also played pro baseball in the late 40’s and Kurt Russell, signed by the California Angels out of High School, would get the opportunity to do the same. The switch-hitting second baseman hit .285 in Low-A for the Bend Rainbows in 1971. The in ‘72 he hit .325 for the Walla Walla Islanders. He went on a tear in 6 games at the Double-A level in 1972, going 9 for 16 with a home run. It looked like he might be on a track to the big leagues when he tore his rotator cuff during a double-play attempt when the incoming runner slid in hard and late. He tried to come back, but could no longer throw properly and his baseball career was over. Now, as an adult, he returned to acting and as it turned out, he was a star-in-the-making. He was nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the TV film Elvis and started to snag major roles in various films. He provided the voice as the adult Copper in The Fox and the Hound and stared in too many movies to list, but some include Big Trouble In Little China, The Thing, Backdraft, Tombstone, Captain Ron and Overboard. He also landed the lead role as “Snake” in Escape From New York and the sequel Escape From L.A. and has been a huge Hollywood star for 6 decades and counting.

Top 10 STUPIDEST & SISSIEST "Unwritten Rules" of Major League Baseball

If you’re the type that gets your feelings hurt very easily and tends to get overly angry or sad when losing at sports, and you need your opponents to go easy you, you might want to consider a career as a Major League Baseball player, where there are actual unwritten rules to make sure that you never get your feelings hurt, and in today’s video we’ll be counting down the Top 10 Sissiest Unwritten Rules of Major League Baseball, created only to make sure that feelings are kept unhurt, because 20-40 year old men can be very emotional. They’re like children actually - you have to be very careful not to hurt the other teams feelings, otherwise, do you know what happens? They throw a baseball at you as hard as they can. Yes, if you break one of these rules, they’ll go ahead and throw a hard object at you at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. Then, you must retaliate and throw a baseball back at them. Then, everybody runs on the field and fights each other. So, without further ado, let’s go ahead and jump right into some of the most ridiculous and sissy unwritten rules in Major League Baseball.

#10 No Crying in Baseball

I had to start with the most ironic and hypocritical rule of all – there’s no crying in baseball. Well, literally anyway – you’re not supposed to actually shed tears, but you can certainly cry. And players do all the time, in fact, that’s what this whole video is about. They cry over the other team scoring too many runs, cry over hitters admiring a home run or flipping their bat, they even cry over bunts during multiple situations. Imagine getting mad because your opponent bunts. Anyway, let’s continue the list.

#9 Don’t Rub The Area you Were Hit-by-a-Pitch

Okay, this is another one makes the list because of the pure hypocrisy. Let me get this straight, if you get hit by a 99 MPH fastball and touch or rub the area to get a bit of relief from the pain, you’re a sissy and seen as weak… but if you score 6 or 7 runs and then keep trying to score more by stealing or bunting to extend the lead – you are a big meanie and it hurts our feelings!! I’ll tell you this, if I get hit by a pitch and it hurts and want to rub it a little, I’m rubbing it. That’s a lot less weak than getting mad over my opponent trying too hard because I have no confidence and feel like the game’s already over.

#8 No Stepping on the Pitcher’s Mound
I can kind of understand this one and how if would be annoying for pitchers to have all the players just running over the mound in between innings. So, it comes in as one the least sissiest unwritten rules. Still, if a player ever does cut across the mound while jogging to and from the dugout, a pitcher might completely over-react to another human being having the nerve to step on their mound. Here’s Dallas Braden after Alex Rodriguez took a short cut back to the dugout, crossing over the mound while jogging back the dugout after being throw out during a double play.

#7 Don’t Admire a Home Run

I’m putting this one at #7 because there can be times a player can go a little too far – I do think just standing there and watching it without moving is a bit much – like, you can run now - but in general if a hitter wants to enjoy the moment, celebrate a little, even pimp the homer a little, so what? The score is the score regardless – celebrating doesn’t change that and pitchers are allowed to celebrate, pump their fists, scream in happiness after a big strikeout – so why can’t a hitter do the same after a big home run? Because it’s an unwritten rule, so you better get moving or the pitcher might have something to say. In the case of the legendary Madison Bumgarner, the unwritten rules are even more strict – don’t you dare swing too hard.

#6 No Swinging 3-0 With a Big Lead

Wait, what? Yes, if your team is leading big in a Major League Baseball game and you have a 3-0 count, even if you don’t get a take sign, you’re supposed to take the pitch. Because if you hit a home run, you might hurt some feelings and your own manager might call you out. This happened to Yermin Mercedes when he homered on a 3-0 pitch while his team had a comfortable lead. Tony La Russa was so upset, he said if it were up to him, he’d send up three relief pitchers to hit and make easy outs for the other team. But, does this rule apply to pitchers too? So, if a team has a big lead, do they have to throw a nice slow pitch right down the middle during an 0-2 count or do you still try to strike the hitter out? I’ve never heard of a pitching having to give a hitter an easy pitch, so it doesn’t apply to pitchers, just hitters.

Oh, and if you’re supposed to take it easy on a position player pitching – why? There are plenty of relief pitchers in the bullpen, especially nowadays with the runner on 2nd rule preventing long extra inning games. So, your team chose to give up and put in a position player and then the hitter is supposed to just get out on purpose and not do their best when this is their job, and their job performance is available for every one to see in the form of statistics which could effect their job status or next contract? I don’t think so, every hitter should do their best every at bat regardless of the count or who is pitching.

#5 Don’t Steal a Base when Leading By Too Many Runs

Not quite as stupid as the one after this, but if a runner at first base tries to steal second while leading by 6 or 7 runs or more, it is actually considered breaking the unwritten rules. You can’t try to get in scoring position to add some extra insurance, because apparently the other team has already given up and considers themselves helpless – they could never possibly catch up even though such comebacks have happened before and will happen again. So, I would think that by continuing to push and try to score, it shows respect for the opposing team and their capability to catch up. By not trying, it says – hey, ya’ll are so bad, we don’t even need to steal or try anymore – ya’ll have no chance anyway. Apparently, that’s less disrespectful than actually giving it your all and never counting your opponent out.

#4 Don’t Bunt When Leading by Too Many Runs

This one is even stupider – if you bunt for a hit while leading by too many runs, the other team gets upset. You’re scared of a bunt now? Ok, we’ll just swing away and hit more home runs. A bunt is not a guaranteed hit, and if you can’t defend it properly, that’s your problem. Just throw out the batter, or don’t – it’s not like they can keep bunting over and over. Why would a team be offended by a bunt? The hitter is simply doing their job and trying to get on base and yes, run up the score, to minimize the chance of blowing the lead. If you don’t like it, get some people out – your’e a major league baseball team with Major league pitchers, right? But even if you don’t steal or bunt, even scoring more runs and increasing your lead and be considered “Disrespectful.” You actually have to start taking more pitches, taking short leads, play station to station baseball, don’t try to score on a single from second – just go to third and stay there. Because, after all, there’s no need to score more – the other team sucks anyway and will never catch up. They even agree with that – which is why they’ll get mad if you run up the score too much.

#3 Don't swing at the first pitch if the last two hitters hit home runs.

Why? Because the hitter might actually hit a third home run? And what seems to be the problem?? If you can’t avoid allowing a home run to three straight batters, you might want to think about a career change. Here’s the deal – every hitter in the lineup has a contract that’s going to end, a career they want to continue, and a baseball card full of stats on the back. Every team is in a playoff hunt, at least for a large portion of the season, and trying to win as many games as possible. Every hitter has to take the approach that most helps them and their team, end of story. If two hitters just went deep, I’m going to be up there looking for something to hit and if comes on the first pitch, so be it.

#2 You Offend Us – We Throw a Baseball At You

I know this one will be an unpopular opinion, but Imagine if this happened in another sport. In the NBA, if you get upset you throw the basketball at the opposing player as hard as you can – it’s just a part of the game. In golf, Tiger Woods feels disrespected because Phil Mickelson showed too much flare during a swing – so he throws the golf ball at him as hard as he can, giving him a nice bruise. People would think he went insane. In baseball, it’s completely normal – if offended, you simply hit the batter on purpose, and most fans from what I can tell think this is a precious part of the game. In my opinion, it’s ridiculous and dangerous as if the pitcher misses his target, which they’re known to do, a serious injury could occur. Even if they do hit their target, they are intentionally physically harming another batter with a hard object – you know, in legal terms, something known as “assault” and technically, since at least one player, Ray Chapman, has died from getting hit by a pitch in the past, it could be considered “assault with a deadly weapon.” And it just makes the other team retaliate and do the same thing. Pitchers have been known to throw at batter who simply have done their job well. If a hitter smashes a couple homers, especially if he shows any emotion or doesn’t run out of the box immediately, he’s at risk of getting hit by a pitch – even if it takes years like in the case of Hunter Strickland and Bryce Harper. In that case, a huge brawl ensued when Strickland hit Harper more than 2 years after Harper hit a couple playoff bombs against him and the Giants’ Michael Morse ended up with a career-ending concussion in the dust up. Earlier this season, Ian Happ of the Cubs accidentally hit Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras with his backswing – he immediately apologized and the former teammates hugged. It was an obvious accident but that didn’t stop Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas from intentionally beaning him then getting pissed when he got tossed. Of course you got tossed – you obviously just intentionally hit a guy. Yeah, you not only give the opposing team a free baserunner but you risk ejection and you invite one of your own players to get hit by a pitch, leading to a possible brawl and serious injuries. But hey, it’s just part of the game.

#1 Don’t Bunt to Break up a No-Hitter

My #1 sissiest rule of all makes the least sense to me, because you actually have to try not to hurt the other team’s feelings while you’re the one getting your ass kicked. So, let me get this straight. If I’m an MLB hitter and my team is getting annihilated by a pitcher whose stuff is working like never before, I’m not allowed to get creative and try to bunt my way on to get something going and try to eventually score a run – because God-Forbid I actually do my job and get on base to break up the no-hitter. First of all, if bunting for a hit were so much easier than swinging for one, everybody would be bunting all the time. Second of all, this is Major League Baseball, teams are trying to get into the playoffs, and you have to find a way to win the game – I don’t care if the pitcher has a perfect game going in the 9th inning, if the game is still close, I want my team to try whatever they can to get a runner on base and try to win the game, because after all, you play to win the game.

And that does it for my Top 10 sissiest rules – some of them I understand to some extent, but I thought I’d have some fun with week’s countdown and talk about these ridiculous unwritten rules, many of which really are absolutely pathetic. Let me know what you think, however – I’m sure this will be an unpopular list and many will defend the great unwritten rules of the game – but these are just some of my thoughts, put yours down below.

Top 15 Managers in MLB HISTORY...

Welcome to another Humm Baby Baseball countdown and today we’ll be countdown my top 15 Managers in MLB History. This is a very tough ranking as it’s not always clear who is most responsible for great teams – is Miller Huggins the reason the ‘27 Yankees were so good? Or maybe it had a little something to do with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig among other great players. Well, for that example, the Yankees struggled before Huggins and then struggled again after – even with Ruth and Gerhig still in the lineup. While managers can only be great if they have great ballplayers to work with, a poor manager will still lose more games than they win even with great players. Knowing how to manage a bunch of MLB players with huge personalities and egos as well as keeping a team motivated through a long grueling MLB season are as important as knowing when to pinch hit, when to make a pitching change and what order to put the lineup in. The best managers are the ones who can stick around for decades, keep the team chemistry positive, help lead their teams to multiple championships and simply bring out the best in their players. Some one who is not a natural leader probably won’t last long at being an MLB Manager. So, here we go with my Top 15 MLB managers of all time – considering their win-loss record, championships, longevity as well as what their players had to say about them. Before we get into the Top 15, here are 5 honorable mentions..

Honorable Mentions

Terry Francona

He is currently approaching 2,000 career wins as the manager of the Cleveland Guardians and has proven himself to be one of the greatest manager of all time. Tito had an average at best start to his managerial career with the Phillies but got a second opportunity with the Red Sox in 2004 and led the team to a World Series ring, breaking the Curse of the Bambino . He led the team to a 2nd World Series title in 2007 and finished his Red Sox managerial career with a 744-552 record before heading to Cleveland where he has won 4 division titles and one pennant along with three manager of the year awards.

Earl Weaver

Weaver is 6th all time with a .583 winning percentage as manager of the Baltimore Orioles for 17 seasons. He didn’t quite reach 1,500 wins much less 2,000 which is why he didn’t make the main list but Weaver was an early version of the modern day manager – he believed in pitching, defense and the three-run home run. He wasn’t as focused on small ball and his strategy paid off as Weaver led the Orioles to 4 American League pennants and a World Series Championship in 1984. And he was notorious for his epic rants and meltdowns when the umpiring was not on point.

Lou Piniella

With over 1,800 wins, Piniella definitely deserves a mention. He is a two-time manager of the year award winner and led the Mariners to a franchise record 116 win season in 2001. Sweet Lou was hired as manager of the Reds in 1990 and took them to the World Series, where they swept the A’s. He managed of 21 seasons all told with 7 playoff appearances, managing the M’s, Reds, Yankees, Devil Rays and Cubs.

Jim Leyland

Another name I just couldn’t find room for in the Top 15, Leyland is one of the few managers to win a pennant in both the N.L and A.L. - and he was the skipper for the Marlins when they won their first World Series in 1997. He led the powerful early 90’s Pirates teams to 3 straight N.L. East titles although they couldn’t get past the NLCS. He repeated that with Detroit, winning 3 straight A.L. Central titles but failed to win it all, although his Tigers did reach the World Series in 2012, but were swept by the Giants. Overall, Leyland was a tough but fair manager who won over 1,700 games along with 3 manager of the year awards.

Bill McKechnie

A former deadball era player, Bill McKenchie was one of the early great managers of the game and would’ve been close to #1 on this list 100 years ago. Known as “Deacon” for his quiet & unassuming demeanor and regular participation in the church choir, McKechnie became the first manager to win a World Series with two separate teams – the Reds and the Pirates. He is 16th all time in Wins and also led his teams to 4 pennants. He was the manager of the Boston Braves in 1935 when Babe Ruth played his final season, a terrible season all around as Ruth lasted only a month before retiring and the Braves lost 115 games. Overall, McKechnie still had a great managerial career with a .524 winning percentage.

Now, let’s get into the Top 15.

15. Bucky Harris

Bucky Harris

At the young age of 27, Bucky Harris was hired by the Senators to be a player-manager and he led the team to a World Series Championship. He picked up the nickname “The Boy Wonder.” Harris went on to manage 29 seasons, the 4th most in MLB history, wining 2,158 games along with three pennants and two World Series. He won the second title with the Yankees in 1947. He was one of the earliest managers to deploy relief pitchers on a regular basis, not expecting every starter to pitch all nine innings. He was also a great player’s manager, which likely stemmed from managing guys older than he was at the start of his managerial career. “If you can’t play for Bucky, you don’t belong in the major leagues,” said Joe DiMaggio. His won-loss percentage was just .493 and he was fired multiple times, which is normal for most long-time managers. Still, Bucky Harris had a managerial career that got him into the Hall of Fame.

14. Tommy Lasorda

Tommy Lasorda

With 1,599 wins, Tommy Lasorda didn’t quite reach 2,000 but no one can deny he is an absolute legend. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers for 20 years from 1976 to 1996, with an amazing ability to get the most of his young talent. During his tenure, nine Dodger rookies won the Rookie of the Year Award. Lasorda’s managerial career started off with back-to-back NL Championships in ‘77 and ‘78. He had a career .526 win/loss percentage, four pennants and two World Series rings – one in 1981 and the other in 1988. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame a year after his retirement and in 2000 he managed the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team to a gold medal. He is in the Top 5 All-Time MLB Managers for the longest tenure with the same team – 21 years as the Dodgers manager and then went on to become Vice President of the team. All told, as a player, manager and front office executive, Lasorda spent over 70 years as a part of the Dodgers organization. According to Orel Hershiser,when playing under Lasorda “Every day was do or die. There was no small day in Tommy Lasorda’s life.”

13. Leo Durocher

One of the most larger-than-life characters in baseball history, Leo Durocher won over 2,000 games as manager of the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs and Astros. His fiery personality and banter with the umps, front office and MLB Executives led to his nickname – “The Lip.” However, despite the controversies, he knew how to manage and in 1941, he led the Dodgers to their first pennant in 21 years. Later, he left to manage the rival Giants and led them to an almost impossible 13 ½ game comeback in late 1951, leading to the famous Bobby Thomson Shot Heard ‘Round The World. Later, his Giants swept the Indians in the ‘54 World Series. He retired with the second most wins in National League managerial history. Based on the amount of years he managed, only one World Series title is a little low, but with overall winning percentage of .540 and over 2,000 wins, Durocher is definitely one of the best managers in MLB history.

Dusty Baker

12. Dusty Baker

Coming in at #11 is the great Dusty Baker, who beats out Durocher after winning his first World Series title in 2022 with the Houston Astros. Baker now has 2,149 wins - 8th all time – and also has a .540 winning percentage. He has won the Manager of the Year award three times including his debut managerial season in 1993 when he led the San Francisco Giants to 103 wins, but due to the lack of a Wild Card that year, the Giants missed out on the playoffs because the Atlanta Braves won 104. From 2008 to 2013, he managed the Reds and they made their first 3 postseason appearances since 1995. In fact, Baker took every team he managed to the postseason at least once – the Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals and Astros. The players he manages have only positive things to say about Baker, who will go down as one of the greatest managers ever.

Bruce Bochy

11. Bruce Bochy

Even before leading the San Francisco Giants to three World Series Rings in 5 years, Bruce Bochy was a great manager for the Padres, leading them to four division titles in 12 years, many of which he had to manage a very young team in a rebuilding process. He won over 900 games with the Padres then over 900 with the Giants, becoming the only manager to win at least 900 games with two separate teams. During the 2010, 2012 and 2014 seasons, he led the Giants to a World Series ring each run despite being underdogs in every single playoff series. This even-year streak ended in 2016 when the Giants lost to the Cubs in the NLDS. Bochy eventually retired but then returned in 2023 to manage the Texas Rangers and, as of this recording, he has led the team to a 59-42 record to lead the American League West. Bochy has 2,062 wins and counting and has improved his career win-loss percentage to .499, still just short of .500, which is the only reason he comes in this low. Based on his performance in Texas, however, he could be moving up very quickly.

Casey Stengel with some of his players

10. Casey Stengel

Coming in at #10 is the legendary Casey Stengel, who led the Yankees to the World Series 10 times in 12 years, although obviously guys like Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford may have had a little something to do with it as well. Before he took over the Yankees, Stengel managed the Brookyln Dodgers and Boston Braves, never finishing above 5th place and at the end of his career, he managed a terrible New York Mets expansion team, losing over 100 games each year. Neverthless, his time with the Yankees can’t be ignored and he led several powerhouse Yankee teams to the Fall Classic, winning an unprecedented five consecutive World Championships. In total he led the Yankees to 7 World Titles and 10 A.L. Pennants. Unfortunately, when not managing those stacked Yankee teams, he has a .397 winning percentage, which is why he comes in a little lower than you might have expected. Incredibly, his years with the Yankees still bump his overall percentage up to .508 and when combined with his colorful personality and legendary quotes, Stengel still belongs in the Top 10.

Miller Huggins

9. Miller Huggins

Huggins began his managerial career during the final four years of his playing career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was credited with helping fix a young Rogers Hornsby’s batting stance. In 1918, he took over a struggling New York Yankees team and helped turn them into champions, leading them to three World Series rings. He was a master at the fundamentals and drilled these principals into the minds of his players. He was also instrumental in several trades and transactions that helped build the Yankee juggernauts of the 1920’s, even though many of his trades were unpopular at the time. He was a great motivator and knew how to handle big personalities. “He was the only man who knew how to keep me in line,” said Babe Ruth. He took the Yankees to the World Series in 1926, ‘27 and ‘28, winning it all in ‘27 and ‘28. He passed away before the end of the season in 1929. Even with Ruth, Gerhig, Tony Lazzeri and other greats, the Yanks finished in 3rd place in 1930. Even though he won just 1,413 games due to his death at just 51 years old, Huggins had a career .555 winning percentage with 6 pennants and 3 world titles.

8. Connie Mack

Imagine a manger from the 1960’s still managing today. That would equal 7 decades of managing Major League Baseball – something only one man has ever done. Connie Mack started out his managerial career in the 1890’s and his final season was 1950, totaling 7 separate decades. He managed for a total of 53 years, including 50 with the Philadelphia Athletics. Because of the sheer number of games he managed, Mack easily comes in at #1 all-time in wins with 3,731. The downside is he’s also #1 in loses with 3,948. Still, Mack is an all-time legend, famous for wearing his trademark business suit standing tall in the A’s dugout for 50 years. He led them through 2 dynasties which included 9 pennants and 5 World Series titles. He was also manager through a few rough patches which might have resulted in a firing had he not been a partial owner of the team. At one point, the A’s had 10 consecutive losing seasons. As a manger, he was easy-going but did demand his players follow a code of conduct, making sure his players composed themselves as professionals on and off the field and demanded that they judge others as an individuals and never on the basis of race or religion. He managed until the age of 87. Overall, Connie Mack is very hard to rank because he has a losing record but he did win his share of games and championships and is certainly #1 as far as longevity.

Joe Torre

7. Joe Torre
After an 18-year playing career that included an MVP and 252 home runs, Joe Torre went on to manage five different teams for nearly 30 years, winning a 5th best all time 2,326 games. His first managerial stint did not go too well with the Mets and after five losing seasons from ‘77 to ‘81, he was fired. Things went better in Atlanta in 1982 when he took the Braves to the playoffs for the first time since 1969. Unfortunately, after finishing in 2nd in ‘83 then 3rd in ‘84, he was fired, moving to the broadcast booth for a few years until the Cardinals hired him as manager in 1990. He never made the playoffs and was fired midway through the ‘95 seasons. It was at this point that the Yankees made the surprising choice to hire him to the dismay of most Yankee fans. He had never won a playoff game in 14 years as manager. As it turned out, he hit his stride in New York and won the Manager of the Year Award in 1996, kicking off a Yankee Dynasty that included 12 consecutive postseason berths and 4 World Series Championships in 5 years. He led the Yankees to 6 pennants in 8 years and 10 AL East Championships in 12 years. He finished his managerial career with the Dodgers, winning the N.L. West in 2 out of 3 seasons. Although it’s true he didn’t become a winning manager until he had a stacked roster, he did a great job of handling the big personalities along with the high pressure media and fans of New York.

“He’s a great manager,” said former Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius. “There is more to it than who to pitch and play. It’s managing people, the press… and Joe does that all great. Players follow the tone set by the manager, and Joe is the calming influence of this team.”

Despite his early struggles with the Mets, Braves and Cards, he finished his career with a .538 winning percentage.

Walter Alston

6. Walter Alston

He might be the only Hall of Famer who struck out in his only career MLB at bat. That’s because, of course, Walter Alston was inducted for his managing career with the The Dodgers, who had never won a World Series Championship until Alston came on board. Once the quiet and unknown Alston took over the team in 1954, improvements were immediate and in 1955, the Dodgers won it all. They returned to the Fall Classic in 1956, losing in 7 games to the Yankees. Year after year, the Dodgers brought him back on a one-year contract and he ended managing the team for 23 seasons, in both Brookyln and Los Angeles. He led the Dodgers to seven pennants and their first four World Series titles – the majority of their seven overall rings. Even after the retirement of Sandy Koufax in 1966, the Dodgers stayed competitive, wining at least 85 games in each of Alston’s final 8 seasons as manager, leaving the franchise is great shape for his replacement Tommy Lasorda. He won over 2,000 games and had an excellent .558 winning percentage. Alston had an easy-going and calm demeanor, never yelling at or embarrassing his players.

"Walt treats his players like men," said former Dodgers outfielder Dixie Walker. "If he feels a player isn't doing his best he doesn't fine him or cuss him out or sit down and talk with him. He just won't play him anymore."

The strategy seemed to pay off for Walter Alston, who was instrumental in making the Dodgers a top quality franchise they continue to be known as today.

Bobby Cox with the Blue Jays

5. Bobby Cox

Bobby Cox is one of just four MLB managers with over 2,500 wins and he was at the helm for the Atlanta Braves teams of the 90’s and 2000’s, leading them to 14 consecutive division titles. Unfortunately, they won just 1 World Series in 1995, which is why he doesn’t come in even higher. He started out as a manager in the Yankees minor league system before the Braves hired him in 1978. He made some improvements to the poor Braves teams of the late 70’s and early 80’s but was eventually fired before moving on the manage the Blue Jays, who had just finished dead last in 1981. He turned the team around, improving year after year until finishing in 1st place in 1985. He returned to the Braves as General Manager in 1986 but when no manager could get the job done on the field, he hired himself as manager in 1990 and took another last place team to the playoffs in 1991, this time all the way to the World Series, where the Braves lost in extra innings in Game 7 to the Twins in one of the greatest Fall Classics of all time. Known as a players manager, Cox treated his players with respect while instilling a winning attitude.

“He was the single greatest influence on me as a player, in terms of teaching the game, respecting the game, carrying yourself the right way on and off the field,” said former Braves pitcher Tom Glavine.

Cox also has a big league record 158 ejections, creating entertainment for the crowd while defending his players.

Sparky Andreson with the Reds

4. Sparky Anderson

Sparky Anderson managed for 26 consecutive seasons, first with the Reds from 1970 to ‘78 and then from 1979 to 1995 with the Detroit Tigers, compiling an impressive .545 winning percentage and 2,194 total wins. Before starting his managerial career in Cincinnati, the Reds were a good team, winning around 85 to 90 wins per season until Sparky arrived and immediately propelled them to a franchise record 102 wins in his first season. The Big Red Machine made the playoffs in 4 of his first 5 seasons there and won it all in ‘75 and ‘76. They re-broke that franchise record of 102 wins with 106 in 1975. In fact The Reds, who’ve been around since 1869, have won over 100 games in a season just 3 times – all 3 with Sparky as manager. He is hands down the best manager in Reds history, but was mysteriously fired after the 1978 season in which the Reds won 92 games and finished in 2nd place, just 2 ½ games out of 1st. The Tigers immediately began negotiating a deal to hire Anderson despite having already hired a new manager, Less Moss. They fired Moss 1/3rd into his first season after a deal was struck with Sparky, not for under performance but simply because they had gotten Sparky. The Tigers quickly improved as a team and won it all in 1984, which is still their most recent World Series championship. Sparky Anderson posted a winning record in 19 of his first 20 seasons as manager and other than managing some horrible 1990’s Tigers teams, his resume is absolutely stellar.

"He was great at handling great players. He knew the guys to slap and he knew the guys to kiss,' said Bill Gullickson, former Tigers pitcher.

Anderson retired after the 1995 season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

Tony La Russa as manager of the Oakland A’s

3. Tony La Russa

La Russa has managed an MLB team in 6 separate decades and is second all-time in wins behind Connie Mack with 2,902 wins. He won over 50% of his games with every team he’s managed – the White Sox, A’s and Cardinals and has a career .536 winning percentage with a 70-58 postseason record. He started out as a minor league manager in the White Sox system before landing the job at the big league level in 1979. From there, the White Sox slowly improved, eventually winning 99 games in 1983, winning the A.L. West. He then headed to Oakland in 1987 to try to improve another struggling team who had finished with a losing record for 7 straight years. He got them to .500 in ‘87 then a World Series in 1988. In ‘89, they won it all, sweeping the Giants in the Battle of the Bay World Series. The A’s won 3 straight A.L. Championships under La Russa, who later managed several great Cardinals teams, leading them to two World Championships – one in 2006 and another in 2011. The Cards finished in 1st place under La Russa 7 times and made the postseason 9 times. He later came out of retirement in 2021, returning to the White Sox, who finished in 1st place in the A.L. Central. Unfortunately, his last tenure with the Sox didn’t go completely smoothly and there were some controversial moments for La Russa, such as calling out his own player for hitting a home run in garbage time with a 3-0 count and a decision to intentionally walk a batter with a 1-2 count. He retired permanently following the 2022 season with 6 pennants, 3 World Series rings and despite the controversies towards the end, is one of the greatest managers in the history of the A’s, Cardinals and MLB in general.

John McGraw

2. John McGraw.

I wanted to go with the great Giants manager John Mcgraw at #1, but he fell just barely short. McGraw managed in 5 different decades and 2 different centuries, beginning his managerial career in 1899 as a 26-year old player-manager of the 19th century Baltimore Orioles franchise. He was one of the most aggressive managers of all time, with one goal in mind – winning at all costs. He loved to steal, hit and run and put the pressure on the opponent. His leadership skills were immediately evident with the Orioles and one year with the Cardinals and after his move to the Giants in 1901, he became one of the greatest managers in the game, turning the Giants into an absolute powerhouse, winning 106 games in 1904, winning the pennant but not playing the World Series because McGraw and the Giants ownership believed the A.L. to be an inferior league. After winning 105 games in 1905, McGraw and the Giants played this time against the Philadelphia Athletics, winning it 4 games to 1. He led the Giants to 3 straight pennants from 1911 to 1913, back-to-back World Series titles in ‘21 and ‘22 and a total of 10 pennants and 3 World Series Championships. McGraw is third all-time with 2,763 wins but his winning percentage of .586 is higher than both and better than any manager with over 2,500 wins. His leadership skills are undeniable and McGraw is in contention as a the greatest manager ever.

Joe McCarthy with Lou Gehrig

1. Joe McCarthy

However, I had to go with Joe McCarthy at #1. Although he comes in 9th all time with 2,125 wins, no manager could claim a better winning percentage - an incredible .615. In fact, Joe McCarthy never had a losing season in his 26-year managerial career. "Never a day went by when you didn't learn something from Joe McCarthy,” said Yankee great Joe DiMaggio. He started out as the manager of the Cubs and took them to the World Series in 1929. William Wrigley Sr., in one of the worst moves of his professional life, fired McCarthy partway through 1930, blaming him for losing the ‘29 series. In 1931, McCarthy was hired by the Yankees, who had only won 3 World Series titles despite getting Babe Ruth in 1920. Under McCarthy, the Yanks went on an absolutely incredible tear, winning eight A.L. pennants and seven World Series rings in 12 years, including four straight appearances in the Fall Classic. He used a low-key approach, rarely arguing with umpires and staying in the dugout for most of the game, even when making a pitching change. He wore no number on his jersey, but had the heart of a teacher, knew how to develop talent and how to handle big personalities like Babe Ruth, who was not a huge fan of McCarthy since the Bambino wanted to be manager. McCarthy won the Manager of the Year award the first year of its existence and went on to win two more. He finished his career managing the Red Sox to 96 wins in 1948 and 1949 before resigning midway through the 1950 season. Overall, he was a winner everywhere he went and based on the resume, the fact that he never had a losing season and has the best winning percentage with over 2,100 wins, I had to put McCarthy at #1.

Ranking ALL 28 MLB City-Connect Uniforms WORST to BEST Including PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Welcome back to the Humm Baby Baseball Channel and today we’ll be ranking all 28 of the City Connect Uniforms that have been unveiled so far from worst to best.

Wost: The Los Angeles Dodgers (Original Design)

I can hear it now – bro, that’s just cuz you’re a Giants fan. Absolutely. But, seriously, the all blue look just doesn’t do it for me; they look like pajamas on first glance. Also, the text on the cap is too much putting the entire team name on there, it doesn’t even say LA for Los Angeles. It’s cool that the front of the jersey says Los Dodgers, but overall, there’s not much unique about it – you can barely notice the spray paint effect on the sleeves and I get they didn’t wanna stray too far the classic Dodger look. Los Angeles is a city with so much going on; it’s crazy they couldn’t do a little more with their City Connects – I genuinely think these city connects are the worst to come out so far.

#28 The Detroit Tigers

At first glance, I just thought this one looked pretty ugly and reminded me of some of the wacky minor league uniforms during random promotions where they wear a wild looking uniform for one game then auction them off autographed for fans to buy. Of course, they were going to go with a motor city theme, but the tire tracks are a bit much. There’s only dark blue and black, and it could’ve used some hot orange somewhere to make it pop a little more. It just looks cringe to me as a jersey, but many of these city connects don’t have the best jerseys but the cap makes up for it. In this case, this cap literally just says “Detroit” in the most plain font available. I can’t even imagine how this got approved. I can literally make the same cap in 10 seconds on Photoshop Elements.

#27 The Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles decided to go super-simplistic with their City Connect Design and the first thing I thought of when I saw this was the old 19th century jerseys that had nothing but the city name across the chest. The Orioles City Connects do have a colorful mosaic design on the inside – you know, the part that you can’t see. There are lots of abstract explanations to explain all the meaning behind this design, but ultimately, it’s just too plain. I like the attempt to go old school style, but that’s for Turn-Back-the-Clocks games – the City Connect should represent what is exciting and vibrant about the city. I don’t hate the uniforms in isolation but as a City Connect Jersey, it falls short.

#26 The Chicago Cubs

These uniforms are somewhat similar to the Dodgers in the all blue look, but the overall look pops a little better with the navy blue and light blue contrast. It works much better than the Dodgers look. Wrigleyville across the chest is cool and the logo that symbolizes the north, south and main branches of the Chicago River. There’s representation for all the neighborhoods of the city and overall it’s a cool look but like the Orioles, a little too simple although they did more than the O’s. The cap has a simple C with a star in the middle and looks pretty cool as well. Overall, though, I don’t love these unis and they come in at #18.

#25 The St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a very traditional team that almost didn’t even participate in the City Connect Program. Ultimately, they decided to go for it – sort of. The only real issue with this uniform is it looks like a Spring Training uniform. They stuck with the same color scheme and traditional looking logo with the birds perched on the bat, except now it says “The Lou,” a nickname for St. Louis and in the U.K… the bathroom. They did, for the first time, use red as the primary color. The STL is nothing special although it’s a decent logo for the cap. The Cardinals decided to keep things simple, and that’s okay, but for a City Connect, I’d prefer something a little more bold.

#24 The Kansas City Royals

These ones have a similar color scheme to the Cubs, dark blue against light blue – but I like the white trim and white pants to go with it better than the all blue look. The navy blue represents several teams from the past in KC – the Athletics, Moncarchs and Blue Sox among others. And the KC logo is a cool design and the number styling is a reference to the city’s art deco architecture but overall it does come across as fairly simple and plain. Obviously, that can be a good thing; you don’t want to do too much but overall, this one is so-so, just better than the Cubs.

#23 The Los Angeles Dodgers (2024 Design)

Coming up next is the Dodgers new and much improved City-Connects, which are still nothing spectacular but for me an obvious improvement. They maintain the tradition Dodger colors and feel, but use a font that pays homage to the Dodgers original stadium after the move to the west coast, L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The cap is miles better with the interlocking D and LA logos together as one, instead of putting “Los Dodgers” which looked like too many letters to be on the front of a cap. I like the number being a different shade of blue and overall, these look nice, but they’re also nothing mindblowing. But The Dodgers did well to keep it simple while improving the previous design.

#22 New York Mets

Coming in at #22 is the New York Mets, another new reveal this season, and this one took me aback a bit because it looked more like a Yankees uniform than a Mets one. Also, the amount of gray looks a little plain at first sight. However, there are some purple accents representing the 7 line that runs to City Field. I definitely expected the jerseys to say “Queens” instead of “NYC.” After checking them out in a game, though, I have to say overall these look pretty cool. There are lots of features to connect to all of New York City. The pattern of the stripes is cool and I really love the cap with the Queensboro Bridge. Maybe they could’ve used more purple or something to make them pop a little more, but they are definitely not terrible.

#21 The Los Angeles Angels

Next up is the Los Angeles Angels, who went with a surf themed look for their City Connects, which at least represents something about the city. I like the surf-style font across the front but overall, they didn’t take any huge risks. The colors are similar to their normal colors and really, it’s just Angels uniforms with a surf-style feel. The number in the diamond looks cool along with the stripes on the sleeve but overall, despite the overall clean look, nothing really pops too much so this uniform comes in at #21.

#20 Cleveland Guardians

Next up is the Cleveland Guardians, who stuck with the same color scheme for the most part. The “CLE” on the front looks pretty cool with the home plate style lettering that is also used on the name on the back. There are several little details that add an interesting touch, but don’t really effect the overall look except the sandstone pattern, which is nice. The socks have the Guardian Statues but are only visible for players who show their socks, which is not the majority. The cap looks like a normal Cleveland Guardians cap to a non-Guardians fan. If I saw it in their team store, I wouldn’t know it was anything special. Overall, this is a solid look, but it’s also too similar to their regular uniform, although it’s different enough and better than a Spring Training uniform.

#19 The Pittsburgh Pirates

So the newest City Connect uniform comes in a little low, but I really do like the look – because I like the Pirates normal uniforms. This one seems like a cool alternate uniform you might see in Spring Training. It also reminds me of the Salt Lake Bees Triple-A team. However, there is a little more to it than meets the eye; there’s a Three Rivers logo to symbolize the intersection of the three rivers – and a checkered pattern that looks pretty cool although it’s subtle. The font of the PGH across the front looks cool and is patterned after the circular grates in the pillars of the Robert Clemente Bridge. It also has a look representative of the Steel City overall. It’s not a huge departure from their normal colors and look, but overall looks pretty clean.

#18 The Milwaukee Brewers

Moving to #18, we have the Milwaukee Brewers who took a light blue look inspired by the flag of Milwaukee, the summer skies of Milwaukee along with its grilling culture and Lake Michigan.  The colors are basically the same as their normal uniform but I look like the look. The cap has the airport designation and the jersey says Brew Crew, the team’s nickname which is pretty cool although I still think every city connect should say the city name somewhere other than the cap or a nickname of the city, not the team. Overall, it’s a clean look but nothing incredibly awesome in my opinion so it comes in fairly low but not near the very bottom.

#17 The Seattle Mariners

At #17 I have the Mariners, whose City Connects seem to be getting pretty solid reception but for me, I don’t find them absolutely spectacular although they definitely look pretty cool. I don’t know the black pants completely work with the blue and yellow – the overall combo looks alright. The jersey took inspiration from or, more accurately, is the same jersey as the old Seattle Pilots with the lowercase Seattle on the front. This is cool but I didn’t think the idea of the City Connect was just to wear throwback jerseys. The trident is a cool Mariners look but again – a logo we already know. So, although this overall look is sweet; I don’t rank it too high as a City Connect because there wasn’t much original or new about it but again, it’s not a bad look overall.

#16 Minnesota Twins

This one definitely gets credit for taking a big swing, but I can’t say it’s a home run. It’s not a strikeout either, though, as it does look somewhat cool with the ripple waves and tribute to the state of Minnesota and its 10,000 lakes, which it blatantly says on the side of the cap. I think the waves could’ve been a little more subtle though. I like the yellow trim and MN logo looks pretty cool as well. The logo on the front of the cap looks pretty sick and the bottom of the brim has a depth map of Lake Minnetonka, a nice touch as well. What hurts it for me most is the blue pants; I would’ve preferred just plain white pants. Overall, this one is pretty slick though.

#15 The Washington Nationals

Coming up next is another City Connect that got a lot of praise – that of the Washington Nationals, whose City Connect uniforms focus on the cherry blossom trees of D.C. and overall look pretty good I must admit. The District of Columbia flag is on the sleeve and socks and I like the WSH graphic across the chest. I am a little surprised they didn’t go for more of a patriotic look being in the national’s capital, but they do that more so with their normal uniforms so it also makes sense that they would focus more on the city itself rather than the nation. I just think overall they look a little plain with so much gray and not much color other than the cherry blossoms, so that’s why it doesn’t get ranked a little higher but I do like them.

#14 The San Francisco Giants

I admit I was not a huge fan of these city connects at first and in fact, I still have some problems with them, but the Giants have jumped all the way up to #11 because I have grown to love seeing these jerseys. Yes, they have grown on me some and I genuinely like the orange and white no black look now, but more importantly, as a Giants fan, they seem to play great baseball in these babies and won 8 of their first 9 games in the City Connects and are currently 22-7 in them. So, it’s no surprise they’ve grown on me – they really do pop and look fantastic; they took a big risk going away from the orange and black while not going too deep into left field by bringing in a new color like green or purple or something which would have been a disaster. The fact that there’s no SF or San Francisco anywhere is weird and we get the Gatorade G instead. The fog effect is cool but there’s so much iconic about San Francisco that wasn’t incorporated so overall they were a disappointment but they’ve definitely grown on me for multiple reasons.

#13 The Atlanta Braves

Next up is the Atlanta Braves City Connects, which only get ranked this high because I love the look of the 1970’s Atlanta Braves uniforms, invoking images of Hank Aaron smashing his 715th career home run, becoming MLB’s Home Run King. The problem, of course, is that they already wear an alternate uniform that looks like this, so the City Connects definitely played it safe. It’s just an alternate style to the already alternate uniform. Still, I like how it says “The A” instead of just “A” on the front and the uniform of course pops and looks awesome, it’s just nothing entirely new. I lived in Georgia back in 2001 and 2002, when the Braves played at Turner Field and loved visiting Atlanta, with the amazing street art, the shops on Peachtree Street, and so many parks and forests around the city. I love Hammerin’ Hank and the look of these but it’s weird the Braves didn’t do much more to represent the City of Atlanta in their City Connects. I fully expected them to have a Peach color and have all sorts of references to the city, but that’s not what we got.

#12 The Boston Red Sox

Speaking of a major departure from the classic uniforms, the Boston Red Sox get the award for the biggest guts of any team by going all out in their City Connect design, becoming the first MLB team to wear a uniform with the main colors being a yellow and blue – with no red at all. Traditionalists mostly hated this uniform and I don’t absolutely love it but I gotta respect the decision to really go for it. I love the addition of the Boston Marathon bib on the sleeve, the stenciled Boston logo on the front, the contrast of the yellow, white and blue, and the bright look that no one could possibly miss. Even the casual sports fan who doesn’t watch much baseball would immediately notice these if the game was on and ask – what team is that?? They’d be shocked to find out it’s the Boston Red Sox.

#11 The Houston Astros

As a space buff myself, I love the direction the Astros took going full Space City other than the full astronaut suit which might have impeded their ability to play baseball. The sleeves have a pattern reminiscent of star charts and the font on the front is just like that of NASA, except it says SPACE CITY. The cap has an awesome logo inspired by NASA Mission Control and the Astros have the best all blue look even though I still don’t love the blue pants but here, it works much better than it does for the Dodgers or Cubs. The Astros City Connects are really awesome overall in my opinion, even though the fan reception was understandably mixed, but again, I love studying space exploration and for a short time in my childhood, I wanted to be an astronaut but sort of changed my mind after being traumatized watching the Challenger disaster live on TV.

#10 Philadelphia Phillies

Just cracking the top 10 for me is probably one of the most controversial City Connects, because the Phillies definitely went bold and different, which I have to give props for. The question is, do they work? The caps are definitely awesome and most fans seem to agree with that. As for the jerseys, I think they look incredible with the bright blue fading to black and yellow accents. The colors represent the city’s flag, and I also love the font that is similar to early historical documents from the early capital of the U.S. From the waist up, I think these look amazing, but I’m not sure about the black pants with the yellow stripe. Overall, these are pretty awesome in my opinion although Phillies fans don’t seem to love them so much from what I can tell.

#9 The Texas Rangers

One of the newer City Connects unveiled on April 21st, the day Texas won its independence from Mexico, this uniform pays homage to old baseball teams in Dallas and Fort Worth while also celebrating the bringing of Major League Baseball to Arlington. The 4-21 date is shown on the uniform, but overall, these have gotten not the best reception but I personally think they look pretty freaking awesome. I thought they were black, white and red, but it turns out the dark color is actually midnight blue, which a friend pointed out to me. Still, these are unique, I like the spur style TX, the rope braid along the pants, which are dark to contrast the light jersey - the opposite of the norm but works good here in my opinion, but again, the fans seem to hate them, so I think I’m in the minority. I liked them enough to buy the City Connect Corey Seager bobblehead and I’m hoping to buy the rest of the collection later on. I would definitely wear the cap too as frequent visitor to the state of Texas, where my family used to live before the move to California, so overall I’m a fan of these and they come in at #9.

#8 The San Diego Padres

Up next is a look I expected from the Miami Marlins, but the Marlins did them one better – literally because they’ll be next in the ranking. But as for the Padres, they probably went as radical as any team besides maybe the Red Sox with these wild uniforms that I have to admit are pretty kick-ass, highlighting the beautiful pink-and-yellow sunsets of San Diego while paying respect to the local culture of Tijuana and Baja California along with the artwork of San Diego. The color scheme does bring reminders of the old Taco Bell, the Miami Heat alternate uniform and Miami Vice, which again is why I sort of expected these for the Marlins, but these colors also fit the local culture of San Diego, and it turned out I liked the Marlins uniforms even more, but these are still really cool and the Pads come in at #8.

#7 Tampa Bay Rays

Next is another 2024 new release, the Tampa Bay Rays City Connects, which are almost everything I would’ve hoped for, especially the neon glow-in-the-dark style green highlights. The faded in the sun style texture is awesome and I love the Tampa Bay font with the flames on the front, although it does seem a little thin with its borders and since its main color is about the same color as the rest of the jersey, it doesn’t pop all that much. The number on the back has the same issue, although I might need to see them in person to know for sure. I usually don’t like colored pants, but the dark style actually looks pretty good in this case. The cap is also absolutely sick and I might order one for myself. Overall, these are fantastic, and my second favorite of the new 2024 releases.

#6 The Miami Marlins

Paying homage to the Cuban Sugar Kings – a former Reds Triple A affiliate that played in Cuba - which makes sense due to the large Cuban population of Miami – these uniforms straight up pop. The Marlins went with a bright-red pinstriped look with a light blue cap. I love the color scheme here and the vivid look overall. Social Media seemed to love these and I can’t disagree – the colors really fit the city of Miami, while keeping some of the colors of the team but changing which is the most prominent. The number pops out in white with the blue trim and these are super cool unis overall and they just make the Top 5.

#5 Toronto Blue Jays

Which leads us to my actual favorite new release, the Toronto Blue Jays City Connects, which use the all black look with red and blue highlights. With the red long sleeve shirt underneath, these things absolutely pop and look really impressive to me, reminding me of a lively lit-up city at midnight. It has a vibrant feel with the Toronto skyline across the front in blue over black just beneath the Toronto logo in red. It reflects the blue of Lake Ontario as well. The cap is fire as well, and this overall look really blew me away and I’m surprised its not getting the best reception from some of the comments I’ve seen. The black pants works in this one to complete the overall look and with the red belt and undershirt, this look is absolutely amazing. The only complaint might be that the name of the back can be hard to read at a distance and the red on Toronto could be a little more vivid to help it pop a little more, but overall I love these City Connects.

#4 The Colorado Rockies

Coming in all the way up at #4 is another hot take because I’ve seen a lot of negative reactions to the City Connects of the Colorado Rockies but I gotta be honest – I really like these uniforms even though some criticize them as looking like college or High School unis, the point of the City Connect isn’t to look like your regular everyday professional uniform – they’re supposed to be extra creative, unique and maybe a little crazy while representing the city – or in this case, the state - the team plays in. The classic green color represents the pine trees and mountains of the state with some white snow on the top of course and the colors also match the state license plate. They also went bold with their look like the Red Sox and Padres, which is appreciated. The hat and circle logo are also pretty cool with some red representing the soil and gold for the sunshine. I don’t know how I feel about the green pants but I like how it is the same color as the mountains on the jersey making them look tall and epic so overall these are pretty awesome to me and they come in very high at #4

#3 The Arizona Diamondbacks

Coming in at #3 is a City Connect that is relatively simple but somehow really works for me. A tribute to the Sonoran Desert and local Hispanic population, the Arizona Diamondbacks goldish sand colored City Connects are still one of my favorites. This one doesn’t say Phoenix or Arizona but it does have the Arizona flag on the sleeve and says Serpientes, Spanish for Snakes with the snake S along with the standard Arizona logo on the cap but over the sand color it looks really nice. The touch of the red number completes the look. When players like Zack Galen add a little more such as this snakeskin belt, I like it even more. Overall, this desert look just looks fantastic and is very representative of the state of Arizona so it gets ranked very high at #3.

#2 The Chicago White Sox

My original #1 on my first ranking was the White Sox and I still really love these City Connects although now they land at the #2 spot. I love the choice to say Southside with the Gothic font, a tribute to the architecture of Chicago. The fans seemed to love them and they sold out quickly. The uniform finds a way make a big departure from the classic uniform while being creative and different yet still maintaining the classic colors of the team. They were the first team to go away from the white pants and for them, unlike some others, that strategy completely paid off and the all black look with pinstripes looks phenomenal. Even the Nike swoosh looks cool on these because it pops with the white and gray trim. Overall, these are simply fire and I love the White Sox City Connect uniforms.

#1 The Cincinnati Reds

But coming in at #1 is the City Connect uniforms of the Cincinnati Reds – a surprising pick probably but I’ve always loved the combination of red and black, especially with black is the dominant color and that’s exactly what these uniforms bring – an all black look with red highlights and the classic C logo but revamped to represent the continuing growth and change in the city of Cincinnati. The uniform also has a patch with the city's motto "Juncta Juvant," which is Latin for "Strength in Unity," and includes a buckeye leaf as a reference to the state of Ohio. Other than that, there aren’t a ton of references to Cincinnati but I’ve never been there and not sure what Cincinnati is famous for other than producing Steven Spielberg which is greatly appreciated. So, I guess that’s a valid criticism but I think this look so awesome and there is just enough references to Cincinnati and Ohio that I still put it at #1 as my favorite City Connect Uniform.

Why The EEPHUS Pitch Is So Effective! - The HISTORY Of This Tantalizing & Ultra SLOW Pitch!!

The rainbow pitch – moon ball – parachute – skyscraper - but most famously known as the Eephus Pitch – it is a rare but effective pitch that can catch even the greatest MLB hitters off guard and make them look completely foolish. If you’ve ever played slowpitch softball, you’ve faced a similar pitch and likely weren’t overly challenged by its high arc and extremely low velocity. However, when accustomed to triple-digit blazing fastballs, 90 mile per hour changeups and devastating sliders, an unexpected 35 mile per hour blooping rainbow can be quite challenging – and even if a hitter does hit it well, they have to provide all the power.

Rip Sewell

The pitch was first popularized by Rip Sewell, who played mostly for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 30’s and 40’s. Earlier in his career, Sewell had a wide variety of pitches he threw ¾ armslot including a sinker and sharp slider, most effective against lefties. After a hunting accident in 1941, Sewell had to alter his pitching motion. He was forced to pitch straight overhand. While working on this new motion, he began experimenting with a new pitch – a tantalizing high arcing slow ball that rises as high as 20 feet and descents over the plate on a downward slant. Sewell unveiled it during an exhibition game against Detroit Tigers hitter Dick Wakefield. According to Sewell, Wakfield “started to swing, he stopped, he started again, he stopped, and then he swung and missed it by a mile. I thought every one was going to fall off the bench; they were laughing so hard.” Sewell knew he had a found a new weapon.

Sewell had great control of the pitch but umpires had trouble with it. Umpire Lee Ballanfant said

“Now that damned blooper pitch Rip Sewell used to throw was the hardest thing to judge. You’re supposed to call the ball as it comes over the plate, but what do you do if it comes straight down? He just pushed it up there; wasn’t hard enough to break a pane of glass. It was the damnedest thing you ever saw; I missed a lot of calls. It sure looked big coming up there, and sometimes they’d pop it up because their timing was off.”

The most impressive thing about the way Sewell threw the pitch is that he used the same motion as if he were throwing his fastball. He put three fingers on the ball instead of four and let it come off his fingertips with an extremely massive amount of backspin. Sewell’s teammate Maurice Van Robays came up with the name “Eephus pitch,” and it stuck.

Although Sewell is credited with popularizing the pitch, an earlier pitcher who was known to use it was Bill Phillips, a Reds pitcher whose repertoire included the blooper ball from 1890 to 1903. Another pitcher, Bobo Newsom, one of only 29 players to play Major League Baseball during four different decades, began experimenting with the pitch and starting to throw it in games around 1945, although he mostly threw it to entertain himself and the fans. Sewell, on the other hand, used it frequently – sometimes up to 20 times during a single start.

His most famous use of the pitch came during the 1946 All Star Game. At the plate was perhaps the greatest hitter of all time, Ted Williams. Williams challenged Sewell to throw in the Eeephus pitch. Sewell obliged and Williams fouled it off. Even knowing it was coming, the best he could do – at least on the first one – is foul it off. However, Sewell motioned to Williams that he would give him one more shot at the pitch. On the second Eephus of the at bat – something Sewell would not normally do but this was an exhibition game – Ted Williams smoked one over the right field wall for a home run. It was the only home run Sewell ever game up using the Eephus Pitch.

From the 1940’s onward, the Eephus pitch became part of baseball lingo and although extremely rare, it’s always exciting to see how a hitter will handle the pitch. In the 1970’s, pitcher Steve Hamilton, a side-arming relief pitcher started to throw an occasional Eephus, which got dubbed the “Folly Floater.” In a 1970 game, he threw one to Tony Horton of the Cleveland Indians and the pitch was fouled off. Horton dared Hamilton to give him one more and Hamilton agreed. Horton still couldn’t do much with it, popping it up. He crawled back to the dugout in shame.

However, it is a pitch that must be used rarely – and it’s probably best, especially if a power hitter is at the plate, not to use it in the most critical situations. That brings us to the Bill “Spaceman” Lee, who pitched in the big leagues from 1969 to 1982 and is still pitching today at 76 years old for the famous Savannah Bananas. He had always been a finesse pitcher who induced soft contact and groundballs, but after a shoulder injury during a Red Sox-Yankees brawl in 1976, he had to rely on the slow stuff even more. He developed an Eephus pitch that had various nicknames including “Spaceball” and “Leephus” pitch. Lee was pitching during a game that can’t get more critical – Game 7 of the World Series. It was 1975 and the Red Sox had a 3-0 lead over the Reds with a runner on and Tony Perez at the plate. Lee threw his famous moon ball and it was absolutely blasted over the green monster to put the Reds within a run. Later, the Reds scored two more runs and won the game 4-3.

Another pitcher from the 70’s and early 80s, Dave LaRoche, who mostly threw a fastball and slider, would mix in a high blooper Eephus that became as La Lob. He usually found success with it but there were plenty of exceptions. It is definitely a pitch that flirts with disaster. During the 1980’s, Pascual Perez, who pitched mostly for the Braves and Expos, was known to throw an Eeephus pitch once or twice per game. It almost always caught batters by surprise, but on July 19th, 1988, Astros slugger Glenn Davis may have had the pitch in the back of his mind. When Pascual threw it to him, Davis double-clutched and blasted it out of the ballpark.

Dave LaRoche

A more recent pitcher who had his own version of the Eephus pitch was Orlando Hernandez, known as “El Duque,” who pitched from 1998 to 2007, for the Yankees, White Sox, D-Backs and Mets. He started to throw the pitch at around 50 MPH in 2002, though he had trouble getting the strike call. On August 26th, he tried the pitch against the powerful Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod took it for a ball. Then, Hernandez made a huge mistake by attempting to throw it again. Rodriguez was expecting it, waited on it and obliterated it for a tape-measure home run.

There have also been incidental incidents where the Eephus pitch was accidentally thrown. The Big Unit Randy Johnson, the hard-throwing Hall of Fame lefty, would be the last pitcher you would expect to unleash an Eephus pitch. But in July of 2008, facing San Francisco Giants outfielder Fred Lewis, Johnson was distracted by a loud horn that went off in McCovey Cove just as he was preparing to release the pitch. The result was a beautiful, high arcing Eephus pitch that dropped in for a strike.

Many knuckleballers like R.A. Dickey would inadvertently throw an occasional Eephus when their knuckler doesn’t move and dance around like its supposed to.

Bill “Spaceman” Lee

In even more recent years, seeing some version of an Eephus pitch is becoming somewhat common due to the more frequent use of position players coming in to pitch during the late innings of blowout games. The position players are likely instructed to avoid injury by not throwing too hard, not doing anything fancy and just getting the ball over the plate. The result is some of the most entertaining Eephus pitches in history, such this one by Brock Holt which was clocked at 31.1 miles per hour, the slowest pitch ever officially recorded in the pitch-tracking era. It does seem, from a fan’s perspective without digging into the advanced stats, that position players who are lobbing in slow pitches have more success than would be expected and usually complete innings without too much damage. This tells me again that hitters have trouble quickly adapting to extremely slow pitches.

Even now however, it’s not only position players who use the Eephus. Other active pitchers known to have thrown the pitch include Fernando Abad, Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, and even Clayton Kershaw.

Another occasional Eephus thrower is Zack Greinke. During a 2023 Spring Training game, Zack Greinke threw an Eephus pitch when he and his catcher were having trouble communicating pitch selection because of technical issues with the pitchcom system. Instead of letting time run out, Greinke threw an Eephus pitch, which ended up being a ball anyway. The Eephus pitch is always fun to see and you never know when one is coming. And despite a few massive bombs off it, it can be very effective. It also sets up a followup fastball which in theory would be very tough to hit due to the extreme difference in velocity.

According to sabermetrician James LeDoux, whose study on the success of the Eephus pitch I will link in the description,

batters make contact with this pitch about as often as every other pitch, making contact with the eephus just 0.33 percentage points more often than an average pitch. The quality of this contact, however, tends to be lower. Despite making contact with this slightly more often, for example, it becomes a hit almost 11% less often. Despite its slow speed, the Eeephus pitch manages to hold its own.

https://jamesrledoux.com/projects/eephus/

The study does seem to debunk the theory that fastballs thrown after an Eephus are more effective than a typical fastball. This, in my mind, would be due to the fact that an Eeephus pitch is so incredibly slow that it has no effect on a hitter’s frame of reference in terms of velocity. Nevertheless, the pitch itself has been thrown occasionally since the 1940’s and is the only pitch where the baseball fan who is watching has time to gasp, process that an Eephus pitch was thrown, wonder what is going to happen, enjoying the suspense, all as the ball makes its long journey into the sky then down towards the plate.