Masterpiece Moments Monday: Walter Johnson

"First in war, first in peace, last in the American League" sung the old refrain for the Washington Senators. In reality, that was before "The Big Train", Walter Johnson, arrived on the scene.

He came blazing to the forefront of the American League pitching pantheon on the heels of a fastball that could only be described as wickedly rapid.  He would wind up behind his head and let it fly in an almost complete sidearm motion.

The effect was the same for many batters; there would be a pop as the ball pounded the back of the catcher's mitt or a weak crack as there was yet another feeble groundball or flyball.  Check out the majesty of the pitching motion.

Some contemporaries likened him to a pitching machine.  It looked like an easy motion, just like the ball rolling around a pitching machine, and then the ball would go by you.  The famous story is that one batter decided to go to the dugout after two strikes.  The umpire called him back and the batter responded, "I know, you can have the next one.  It won't do me any good."

When he retired in 1927, after 21 years of nearly unmatched dominance, he stood 2nd all-time in wins (417), 1st all-time in strikeouts (3508 until Ryan and Carlton came along), and 1st all-time in shutouts (110). He had 9 seasons with a WHIP less than 1.  He had two 300 K seasons, when it was rare to achieve 200 Ks in a season, leading the league in Ks 12 times.  He also won three pitching triple crowns during his career.

One of these years was the incomparable 1913.  He was 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA (259 ERA+), 0.78 WHIP, 242 K, and 11 shutouts.  He also allowed a league leading 9 home runs.   And that wasn't even the year where he won 16 straight decisions (1912), which stood until later that year when Smoky Joe Wood tied it, and eventually Rube Marquard broke it.

Though the time was different, the game connects, and great pitching performances live on.  Even now, he can be considered the most dominant pitcher of any era for the length of his career.

Masterpiece Moments Monday: Roger Maris

Presented here is Roger Maris in a moment of true baseball glory, shadowed by his surrounding circumstances and the vagaries of the events of future time. This, of course, is a depiction of the launching of the 61st home run in 1961, breaking Babe Ruth's record.

Picture the home run chases of the '90s. Remember the media fawning over Ken Griffey,Jr, Matt Williams, and any other player that came within shouting distance or on pace to break the record? The record was held from 1961-1998 (37 years), which was longer than Ruth holding the 60 HR record (34 years). But Maris was not Ruth, and his detractors constantly reminded him of it.

Mickey Mantle was the beloved Yankee, who underwent a home run chase of his own that year, finishing with 54 HR. Maris was not comfortable in New York, preferring the Midwestern sensibilities and less harsh demeanor of the Kansas City fans. His taciturn personality was seen as a detremit; he was not bigger than life like Ruth was when he was setting the standard for home runs in a season. His hair fell out as the pressure mounted for him to not pass the Babe.

He tied Ruth in the 158th game of the season and passed him in the 162nd. In a move of utter disrespect for the feat, Commissioner Ford Frick placed an asterisk in the record books next to the number because it had not come in less than 154 games, the previous length of a regular season until 1961. The asterisk then became the symbol of illegitimate records.

Maris never approached the heights of that season, losing his power by the age of 30 due to injuries. Maybe he would have been more satisfied if he knew how much his record meant to baseball fans in later years.

The question is raised then, what record deserves an asterisk? Is there such a thing as an illegitimate record? How long will Maris hold the non-steroid suspicious single season home run record and does it still matter?

Masterpiece Moments Mondays: Ty Cobb

Tyrus Raymond Cobb,the Georgia Peach, pictured here, is bearing down upon a catcher to steal home in 1907. This is before the widespread use of shinguards and other catcher's gear and after a time when Cobb most likely sharpened his spikes before embarking on another grizzled, high-flying journey around the basepaths.

He, of the 4189 career hits and .366 career AVG, was a menace on the base paths, to pitchers, to opposing players, and to fans. He was a hardened man, having gotten word that his mother had killed his father when he was only 18. He thought the whole world was against him, fighting off opponents and teammates alike with fists and harsh words.

Two quotes sum his playing style well. "When I begin playing baseball, baseball was about as gentlemanly as a kick in the crotch." He demonstrated that well everytime he was on the basepaths. "Baseball is something like a war...Baseball is a red-blooded sport for red-blooded men." And he shed as much blood on the field (his own and others') had or since.

By the age of 20, he was already a team and league leader, leading the Tigers to the pennant whilst leading the league in AVG,OPS, RBI, SB, H, and TB. The amazing part, it would be his 2nd lowest AVG over the next 13 years, and it began an era where he led the league in OPS 9 out of 11 years. He was one of the dominant (and polarizing) forces and personalities in baseball during the rough and tumble early 20th century.

He even assaulted a fan in 1912,prompting a suspension, and a players' strike of his team. They weren't loyal to him; it was strictly business. The manager rounded up any able-bodied man he could find, and the Tigers lost one travesty of a game, 24-2. Ban Johnson, the AL President had no choice but to reinstate the team and Cobb with only some token fines as punishment.

He was a cuss and the burning fury of his life consumed him. It seemed he had no love for himself and others. This helped him on the field because between the lines you can treat the other team as more than just worthy adversaries, to Cobb, they were mortal enemies.

This catcher will need a medic after this; the steel spikes have been sharpened to a point, and home will be stolen. Another run scored and enemy earned for Ty Cobb.

Masterpiece Moments Mondays: Sandy Koufax

I loved the 2007 UD Masterpieces set. The images and artwork create an aesthetically pleasing appearance. For me, the best part was the inclusion of old-time players depicting key moments in their careers (besides the generic portrait or action shot). Understanding baseball history and how it has woven itself throughout the game today is one of the characteristics that makes baseball both great and memorable. Let's details the moments depicted on Masterpieces first...and then expand to other sets. If you have any images of cards or cards that depict a historical moment, please submit them in the comments for future consideration.

Presented here is Sandy Koufax, showing off 4 baseballs with zeroes on them, having just pitched his then record 4th no-hitter. Appropriately enough, it was a perfect game hurled on 9/9/65 against the Cubs' Bob Hendley, who threw a one-hitter of his own. But he wasn't perfect; for a five year stretch at the end of his career, Sandy Koufax almost was.

Sandy Koufax once defined pitching as "the art of instilling fear by making a man flinch." This quote somehow seems more appropriate to his Dodgers counterpart Don Drysdale, but Koufax made you afraid because you couldn't even hit the pitch (for the most part) when you knew what was coming. Fastball was elbows out at the windup and the curveball was elbows in...well, batter screw your cleats in tight to the batter's box, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

He wasn't always so feared. He was fast and wild and didn't know where the pitches were going. In 1958 he led the league in wild pitches with 17 and had 131 strikeouts and 105 BB in 158 innings. Even the batters could barely tell where the pitches were going.

He started becoming the legend in 1961, when his K/BB first edged above 2.5. By 1962, he led the league in WHIP (1.03), H/9 (6.5), and K/9 (10.5). In 1963, he won the Cy Young, MVP, World Series MVP because he was that good. He was 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA, 0.875 WHIP, 11 shutouts and 306 strikeouts vs. only 58 BB.

1965, the year of the perfect game, showcased 382 strikeouts and another World Series MVP, pitching the 7th game on only 3 days rest. He also had a 187 ERA+ (87% better than league average) and allowed an absurdly low 5.8 H/9.

Koufax also had character, playing with pain to a point where he could not life his arm nor pitch without significant treatment. The treatment of his elbow is probably the first time when cortisone shot entered the general baseball fan lexicon. He had conviction in the personal sense; he refused to pitch the World Series on the major Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and he had conviction in the professional sense, he held out in tandem with Drysdale prior to the 1966 season (granted for more pay) to challenge the baseball orthodoxy for players to pay what the owners presented to them.

But it is artistry on the mound and his too soon exit from the game he is most remembered for. The sense of his curve snapping down from on high to send another hopeful batter back into the dugout dust; their last image Koufax nonchalantly receiving another ball from the catcher.

And here is his own lasting picture, perfect for a day, memorable in baseball history.

Masterpiece Moments Mondays-Lou Gehrig

I loved the 2007 UD Masterpieces set. The images and artwork create an aesthetically pleasing appearance. For me, the best part was the inclusion of old-time players depicting key moments in their careers (besides the generic portrait or action shot). Understanding baseball history and how it has woven itself throughout the game today is one of the characteristics that makes baseball both great and memorable. Let's details the moments depicted on Masterpieces first...and then expand to other sets. If you have any images of cards or cards that depict a historical moment, please submit them in the comments for future consideration.

Presented here is Lou Gehrig, "The Iron Horse", giving his farewell speech at Yankee Stadium on Lou Gehrig Day, July 4, 1939. This was a mere 2 months after the day when he removed himself from the lineup after 2130 consecutive games played. It was a poignant moment in many ways.

Gehrig was the consummate quiet leader, playing in the shadows first behind the spectacular and flamboyant Babe Ruth and then behind other events and people. He had arguably his best season in 1927 with a 1.240 OPS (221 OPS+; that's 121% better than league average), 47 HR, and led the league with 447 TB and 175 RBI. And yet that was the year that Ruth hit 60 HR. On June 4, 1932, he hit 4 HRs in a game. And yet that was the day that the great John McGraw stole the headlines and retired from managing.

He finished his career with 493 HR, 179 OPS+, a record 23 grand slams, .340 BA, and 1508 BB vs. only 790 K. He also is 5th on the career list with 1995 RBI and 10th on the career list with 1888 R after only playing 14 full seasons. His stats, though, don;t lend any insight to the man.

He was perceived as aloof because he was the antecedent of Ruth. But he was really just quiet, withdrawn, and dedicated to his craft. He was intelligent and family-oriented, graduating from Columbia and having his mother travel with him on road trips. A masterful hitter with powerful, quick reflexes and a smooth, fluid fielder (he had a range factor of 9.64 vs. the league average 1B of 6.64 for his career); his everyday presence provided a calm and his overwhelming talent provided wins for the entirety of his career.

At the beginning of 1939, he had lost a step, unable to even hit batting practice well or field a ground ball without a struggle, he removed himself from the lineup on May 2. He was diagnosed with ALS in June, and Lou Gehrig Day was scheduled for July 4. And here he stands, captured in a moment just before he gives a heartfelt farewell to the organization and the fans.

Later that year, the Hall of Fame elected him to its hallowed halls, and his ubiquitous number 4 was retired by the Yankees, the first such player to be accorded this honor. He died June 2, 1941 from his illness, thereafter known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. All players after him would do well to emulate him in character and approach to the game


For the text of his speech on this day. Click here.