AMA: I just found a 1989 Street & Smith's Baseball Preview (1 Viewer)

[Eephus]

I was cleaning out an box in my office and found this. Ask me anything except why I kept it for 25 years.

 

[Annyong]

Who were the rookies to watch?

 

[Eephus]

Pitchers:

Tom Gordon

Mike Harkey - "a can't miss right hander"

Cris Carpenter - close but missed by one letter

Pete Harnisch

Randy Johnson

Dave West

Rick Raether -

C: Sandy Alomar

1B: Ricky Jordan

2B: Mike Woodard

SS: Gary Sheffied

3B: Craig Worthington - hit .244 at AAA

OF: Steve Finley, Cameron Drew, Jerald Clark

Honorable mention: "he is a long shot perhaps, but Canadian native Larry Walker cannot be discounted as a future member of the Expos"

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

What were the top highlights of the first 20 years of League Championship Series play?

 

[Eephus]

1986 Mets vs. Astros is the first one listed but that may be because the article was written by Ivy McLemore of the Houston Post.

There's a Strat-O-Matic Baseball ad on page 53. Their toll free number 800-645-3455 remains unchanged 26 years later.

Yes, these new varieties of baseball games sound exciting with their wild graphics, play by play announcers and theatrical readouts. But within a short period of time, you may be bored with them. Why? They do not capture the "heart and soul" of each major leaguer, the most important feature of a statistical baseball came. Because of this, you don't feel involved. The games seem to play themselves. They become boring. Don't give up hope!

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Pitchers:

Tom Gordon

Mike Harkey - "a can't miss right hander"

Cris Carpenter - close but missed by one letter

Pete Harnisch

Randy Johnson

Dave West

Rick Raether -

C: Sandy Alomar

1B: Ricky Jordan

2B: Mike Woodard

SS: Gary Sheffied

3B: Craig Worthington - hit .244 at AAA

OF: Steve Finley, Cameron Drew, Jerald Clark

Honorable mention: "he is a long shot perhaps, but Canadian native Larry Walker cannot be discounted as a future member of the Expos"

Oh I remember Cris "that's 'h' as in 'hidden' " Carpenter. He was a Cardinals first-round pick. They had big plans for him. Brought him up to the Show in a hurry. Didn't quite work.

Cris Carpenter and Vince Coleman are believed to be the last pair of MLB teammates who were also Division I punters in college.

David "Dave" West was the centerpiece of the prospect haul the Twins got from the Mets when they traded Frank Viola. Oddly, the other two pitchers they received in the deal - Kevin Tapani and Rick Aguilera - played much bigger roles in the Twins' 1991 title run. West was in the bullpen for the 1991 postseason, made a couple of appearances, but didn't get anybody out. He got hung with the dreaded "INFINITE" postseason ERA that season.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

1986 Mets vs. Astros is the first one listed but that may be because the article was written by Ivy McLemore of the Houston Post.

There's a Strat-O-Matic Baseball ad on page 53. Their toll free number 800-645-3455 remains unchanged 26 years later.

Yes, these new varieties of baseball games sound exciting with their wild graphics, play by play announcers and theatrical readouts. But within a short period of time, you may be bored with them. Why? They do not capture the "heart and soul" of each major leaguer, the most important feature of a statistical baseball came. Because of this, you don't feel involved. The games seem to play themselves. They become boring. Don't give up hope!

The text from that ad is pretty much the same tone of their marketing e-mails today.

 

[Eephus]

1986 Mets vs. Astros is the first one listed but that may be because the article was written by Ivy McLemore of the Houston Post.

There's a Strat-O-Matic Baseball ad on page 53. Their toll free number 800-645-3455 remains unchanged 26 years later.

Yes, these new varieties of baseball games sound exciting with their wild graphics, play by play announcers and theatrical readouts. But within a short period of time, you may be bored with them. Why? They do not capture the "heart and soul" of each major leaguer, the most important feature of a statistical baseball came. Because of this, you don't feel involved. The games seem to play themselves. They become boring. Don't give up hope!

The text from that ad is pretty much the same tone of their marketing e-mails today.

I'm surprised they've moved on from snail mail. One of the downsides of our move from the Mission to Haight St. in the mid-90s was falling off S-O-M's mailing list.

 

[Eephus]

MLB Starter jackets are $79.95 plus $3.95 postage from Manny's Baseball Land (formerly opposite Yankee Stadium)

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Who did they have winning the divisions and the Series?

Did they predict MVPs, Cy Youngs, etc.?

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

The Cubs have a couple of young prospects in Mark Grace and Rafael Palmeiro. They will never trade one of them for an unreliable closer, right?

 

[Eephus]

Predicted divisional winners:

Mets - finished 6 GB the Cubs, who S&S picked for 5th

Reds - went 75-87

Brewers - finished .500

Athletics - not exactly out on a limb there.

They were one year too early on Cincinnati.

If Rose doesn't win this year, Marge Schott the cherubic Cincinnati owner might have Pete move in with Schottzie

Cherubic apparently meant something entirely different in 1989

 

[Eephus]

Palmeiro converts from the outfield to succeed first baseman Pete O'Brien, traded with McDowell and Jerry Browne for Franco. A contact hitter, Palmeiro must improve his run production for the Rangers to contend. He only had 8 homers and 53 runs batted in for the Cubs with no game-winning RBIs.

Given a chance to play every day with Brock out, Brewers first baseman Joey Meyer hit enough eye-opening homers for the fans to get excited. Carrying as much tonnage as Minnesota's Kent Hrbek, Meyer finished with .265 and 45 RBI in 103 games. He strikes out a lot (five times in one game), but his power should help take the pressure off Rob Deer, who tied Texas's Pete Incavglia last year with 153 strikeouts.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Good thing Palmeiro started taking Vitamin B12 injections. He never would have been more than a contact hitter otherwise.

ETA: and Rob Deer's Strat-O-Matic cards were works of art. Entire columns of just HRs and Ks.

 

[Eephus]

The Yankees' top prospect is a young third baseman from Curacao. They call him Bam Bam. Hensley Meulens, the no. 1 prospect in the Eastern League despite a .245 average, has plenty of Bam in his bat. He hit 13 homers in 278 at-bats in AA, then a half dozen in 209 ABs at Columbus where he batted .230. He fanned 157 times during 1988, so yes, there are some holes in his swing.

Outfielder Sam Sosa batted only .229 at Charlotte but led the FSL in triples (12) and topped the organization in steals (42)

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Any talk of expansion/stadium moves?

 

[Northern Voice]

WSIS, Tony Fernandez or Roberto Alomar?

 

[Eephus]

This is awesome

 

[Eephus]

WSIS, Tony Fernandez or Roberto Alomar?

Alomar is oddly overlooked

Randy Ready, Garry Templeton, Tim Flannery and Roberto Alomar (Sandy's brother) give the Padres adequate middle infield maneuverability

 

[Eephus]

Any talk of expansion/stadium moves?

Nada. Camden Yards was four years out and the Marlins/Rockies franchises weren't awarded until 1991

 

[Hov34]

Any cigarette ads? Beer/liqueur?

 

[Eephus]

AL Cy Young pick Jeff Robinson went 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA for a Tigers team that lost 103 games

NL pick Bruce Hurst had a very nice year for the Padres finishing second in pitcher WAR with 6.7 rWAR. He got zero CYA votes because Mark Davis saved 44 games for the same club.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

This is awesome

I feel like I need to create a couple aliases to properly Like this.

 

[Eephus]

Any cigarette ads? Beer/liqueur?

Back cover ad for Kool Milds

Join the Winston Sports Connection and get your free official Super Bowl XXIII sports bag. For sports information 24 hours a day, updated every 5 minutes, call the Winston Sport Connection Hotline 1-900-300-1313. (75 cents per call)

Ad for some Norwegian beer called Ringnes Export - "We never act against nature"

Jack and Jill went up the hill

to fetch a pail of water

Jack fell down and broke his Crown Royal

and now Jill is dating some guy from LA

 

[Eephus]

The trademark for Manny's Baseball Land (formerly opposite Yankee Stadium) expired in 2009

 

[Eephus]

I did not know that Billy Bean and Billy Beane were minor league teammates for Toledo

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

The guy who took Vance Law over Mike Schmidt probably won his league in 1989.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Ricky Jordan, holy ####. #### that guy.

I know that the timeline doesn't make sense, but I think that I have always thought that Cris Carpenter and Chris Carpenter were the same person. Or at the very least, I was unsure.

 

[Eephus]

I distinctly remember finishing second in my league in 1989. We led the standings all summer but the wheels fell off in the last two weeks. In pre-Internet days of manual statkeeping, our rules were set up to penalize owners for making changes. I think it was $4 or $5 to activate a player from reserves. I left some injured players active and paid the price in the last scoring period.

 

[Eephus]

Ricky Jordan, holy ####. #### that guy.

I know that the timeline doesn't make sense, but I think that I have always thought that Cris Carpenter and Chris Carpenter were the same person. Or at the very least, I was unsure.

Matt Carpenter is their son

ETA: the Phillies brought up Wes Chamberlain about the same time as Jordan. Chamberlain looked the part of a major league ballplayer but was never better than mediocre--kind of like a right handed Domonic Brown.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Yeah, there were definitely some high hopes for Chamberlain. He was better than Brown, though. Brown is far less than mediocre. Aside from that one half of a season, he has been a downright disaster.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I'm also about to file a lawsuit against anyone named Chris, Cris, Kris, Khris or Criss Carpenter for excessive pain and suffering caused to me as a result of game 5 of the 2011 NLDS.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

I'm also about to file a lawsuit against anyone named Chris, Cris, Kris, Khris or Criss Carpenter for excessive pain and suffering caused to me as a result of game 5 of the 2011 NLDS.

Between that game and the 2008 Regional Final, I feel like I need to send you an Edible Arrangement or something.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

AL Cy Young pick Jeff Robinson went 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA for a Tigers team that lost 103 games

NL pick Bruce Hurst had a very nice year for the Padres finishing second in pitcher WAR with 6.7 rWAR. He got zero CYA votes because Mark Davis saved 44 games for the same club.

My first visit to Candlestick Park featured a horrific start by Mark Davis. The Astros hit back-to-back-to-back homers.This was the era of The Crab. He came out after the 5th inning to "New York, New York", dancing and moonwalking around the infield. Fans tossed copious amounts of cans, bottles, and other trash products at him.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Tom Gordon's curveball was FILTHY. That Deuce looked like a Wiffle Ball.

 

[Capella]

Did Street and Smith's get to a 70th year?

 

[Good Posting Judge]

AL Cy Young pick Jeff Robinson went 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA for a Tigers team that lost 103 games

NL pick Bruce Hurst had a very nice year for the Padres finishing second in pitcher WAR with 6.7 rWAR. He got zero CYA votes because Mark Davis saved 44 games for the same club.

My first visit to Candlestick Park featured a horrific start by Mark Davis. The Astros hit back-to-back-to-back homers.This was the era of The Crab. He came out after the 5th inning to "New York, New York", dancing and moonwalking around the infield. Fans tossed copious amounts of cans, bottles, and other trash products at him.

Best part of that franchise imo.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

AL Cy Young pick Jeff Robinson went 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA for a Tigers team that lost 103 games

NL pick Bruce Hurst had a very nice year for the Padres finishing second in pitcher WAR with 6.7 rWAR. He got zero CYA votes because Mark Davis saved 44 games for the same club.

My first visit to Candlestick Park featured a horrific start by Mark Davis. The Astros hit back-to-back-to-back homers.This was the era of The Crab. He came out after the 5th inning to "New York, New York", dancing and moonwalking around the infield. Fans tossed copious amounts of cans, bottles, and other trash products at him.

Best part of that franchise imo.

It was a low-tide moment for the Giants. Our group of three walked up to the ticket window about 45 minutes before first pitch and got three seats in the first row just past third base. Announced attendance was 8xxx, no way was the park that full.Did get to see a rookie named Dan Gladden throw himself against the center field wall to make a catch, so that was cool.

 

[PIK95]

Ricky Jordan, holy ####. #### that guy.

I know that the timeline doesn't make sense, but I think that I have always thought that Cris Carpenter and Chris Carpenter were the same person. Or at the very least, I was unsure.

I have a semi funny Ricky Jordan story. When he was in AAA playing at Pawtucket (probably around 88?) I went to a game with my cousin and friends. I was proba bly 13-14 and my cousin from Pawtucket was 16. During the later innings he said he was going to take a walk and do something silly. He said "When Ricky Jordan comes to the plate look out towards the outfield wall." We all figured he was going to chuck some rocks or shoot some fireworks at one of the outfielders (as we were known to do). As soon as Ricky came up, my cousin appeared on the top of the left field wall. He then proceeded to climb up to the top of the catwalk on the Marlboro man sign as the crowd roared. He quickly chucked some rocks at the outfielder(tradition), shot the bird at the crowd, and quickly shimmied down a pole as the man tried to find him. He actually had to exit the Stadium to do all that and he never did get caught. He even returned to his seat with us shortly after. We still talk about Ricky Jordan night whenever we all get together even now. Gregg Jefferies day was another story.....

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

I like the blurb about Sam Sosa as a potential speed guy at the top of the lineup if he can fix his BA/OBP.

The Rangers fans in my family HATED the Baines trade when it happened. It's most famous for trading away Sammy Sosa, but they also gave up Wilson Alvarez in the deal. Scooter Fletcher for Fred Manrique at SS was a wash talent-wise, but Scooter was a fan favorite. Adding Baines at DH also forced Pete Incaviglia to play LF if they wanted him in the lineup, which wasn't good for anybody other than editors of blooper reels.

At the time, the Rangers felt Sosa was expendable because they had Ruben Sierra, Cecil Espy, and Incaviglia in the outfield with Juan Gonzalez ready to join the show. They also liked Dean Palmer a lot and weren't sure if he would be able to play infield in the majors.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I love time machine finds, and old mags can be the best. Found an old Popular Science the other day.

http://www.popsci.com/archive-viewer?id=lwAAAAAAMBAJ&pg=null&query=1978

 

[oso diablo]

are Canseco's eyes closed in that cover photo (to go along with the headline of "40-40 vision")?

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Canseco's still playing semi-pro ball in the Bay Area. Actually true.

 

[Koya]

1986 Mets vs. Astros is the first one listed but that may be because the article was written by Ivy McLemore of the Houston Post.

There's a Strat-O-Matic Baseball ad on page 53. Their toll free number 800-645-3455 remains unchanged 26 years later.

Yes, these new varieties of baseball games sound exciting with their wild graphics, play by play announcers and theatrical readouts. But within a short period of time, you may be bored with them. Why? They do not capture the "heart and soul" of each major leaguer, the most important feature of a statistical baseball came. Because of this, you don't feel involved. The games seem to play themselves. They become boring. Don't give up hope!

Strat-O-Matic is based in my hometown.

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Dan Patrick and Gary Miller have spoken of bringing Strat-O-Matic cards and charts to Braves games in the late 1980s during their early days at CNN, and rolling a few innings when the action on the field was less than compelling.

Patrick's "GONE!" home run call got its start during those S-O-M games against Miller: "Andre Dawson batting... Roll is a 3-6... <checks Column 3 of Dawson's card... 6-HOMERUN>... GONE!"

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Canseco's still playing semi-pro ball in the Bay Area. Actually true.

Please, please let this really be true.

He just loves the game.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I'm also about to file a lawsuit against anyone named Chris, Cris, Kris, Khris or Criss Carpenter for excessive pain and suffering caused to me as a result of game 5 of the 2011 NLDS.

Between that game and the 2008 Regional Final, I feel like I need to send you an Edible Arrangement or something.

maybe some general karma for Carlton trade and 1980 (not that I experienced either).