TOT - Braves Finalize Deal for Neagle

Transaction of Today...August 30, 1996 - To complete an earlier trade on August 28, 1996, Jason Schmidt is named the player to be named later, joining Ron Wright and Corey Painter in going to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Denny Neagle.

The Braves went for it all in an effort to repeat as champions. It didn't really work out as planned, but fortunately for them, it went even worse for the team they traded with.

A year after beating the Cleveland Indians in the '95 Series, Atlanta was once again the elite team in the National League. The Big Three of John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine continued to dominate with Smoltz pitching himself to a Cy Young award. However, the rotation was beginning to show cracks. The 26-year-old Steve Avery was a pending free agent whose rapid decline was only continuing as his strikeout rate plummeted and his effectiveness waned. The Braves had promoted Schmidt into the fifth role, but by mid-July, the team demoted him to Richmond due to a 6.75 ERA. With Schmidt demoted and Avery struggling to stay healthy, the Big Three were joined by Brad Woodall, Mike Bielecki, and Terrell Wade in the rotation - hardly the level of talent Atlanta was happy providing depth to their rotation.

Atlanta grew anxious and anxious teams make moves. On August 28, the Braves finished the legwork on a trade to acquire Denny Neagle from the Pirates. In the trade was catcher/outfielder Corey Painter and first baseman, Ron Wright. There was also a player to be named later and it didn't take too long for that player to have a name. Jason Schmidt.

Let's talk about the bounty the Braves surrendered first with far too many words. Painter was another in the long line of toolsy prep bats the Braves preferred back in the 90's. Picked out of Waxahachie High School just outside of Dallas, the Braves made Painter the #46th overall selection of the '94 draft. It remains the highest selected draft pick out of that high school which has yet to produce a major leaguer. That might be a spoiler alert about Painter's career. Painter had good power and bashed 15 homers before the trade - mostly with Eugene of the Short-Season A Northwest League. He also had plus athleticism, which is why the Braves were giving up on the idea of Painter being a catcher. However, he struck out a ton and that was against pitchers who didn't have developed breaking pitches. After the trade, Painter languished for three years in A-ball. Finally, in 2000, he was pushed up to Double-A, but after 50 PA, the Pirates' patience was exhausted. His career was over at the age of 24.

Ron Wright seemed so much bigger than his listed height of 6'1". Perhaps that's due to his impressive power. A year after picking him in the seventh round of the '94 draft, Wright pushed his way onto the Macon roster and bashed 32 home runs over 594 PA as a 19-year-old in the South Atlantic League. He showed good plate recognition to boot just in case the power wasn't enough to make him an intriguing prospect. Wright hit mammoth home runs, including one measured at 515 feet at the old Luther Williams Park. He moved up to Durham the next year and was a Carolina League All-Star on a packed Bulls ballclub that also featured Andruw Jones. Wright didn't journey from A-ball to the majors like Jones did but did earn a promotion to Double-A at midseason. Over 129 games split fairly evenly between Durham and Greenville, Wright hit 36 home runs. He was a legit prospect and would be ranked as such in the 1997 preseason Baseball America Top 100 when he was named the #48th best prospect in baseball.

However, Wright's prospect status would take some bad turns. He was good in an injury-shortened '97 campaign that earned a promotion to the majors. Unfortunately, he didn't play that September because of a sore wrist and that was the first of a few harsh injuries that would derail the young kid. He played less than 50 games the next two seasons as a back injury required almost immediate surgery to remove a disc. Unfortunately, complications from that surgery would also sideline him as his sciatic nerve had been inadvertently clipped. Even to this day, his right leg continues to feel numb. Wright began to journey through the league, playing for the Reds, Rays, Mariners, Indians, and Tigers organizations. He continued to hit, but his power numbers were never quite as impressive as they were before his trade to the Pirates. While with the Mariners, he did receive a promotion in mid-April to the bigs and started one game at first base. It was one of those games you'd hear about if they made a sequel to Field of Dreams. Kenny Rogers of the Rangers got him looking in the second as he struck out. With the Mariners up 1-0 in the fourth, Wright stepped in after Ruben Sierra had doubled and John Olerud had singled. Wright hit the ball back to the mound and Rogers started a possible double play. However, Sierra decided he'd try to steal a run and came home. Alex Rodriguez, who caught the ball from Rogers, forced Olerud at second before firing home to get Sierra after a brief rundown. While that rundown was happening, Wright was prompted to go to second base. A slow runner even before the back troubles, Wright was dead meat after Sierra was eventually tagged out. If you were scoring at home, it went 1-6-2-5-1-4. A triple play.

Wright's third at-bat came in the sixth. Again, Sierra and Olerud began the inning with hits - both singles. Wright hit the daylights out of the ball, but it was on the ground for a 6-4-3 double play. In the 7th, the Mariners staged a six-run rally to take the lead 7-5. Wright was pinch-hit for. After the game, Bret Boone gave Wright the lineup card - when he still has - and Alex Rodriguez even signed it. Wright was on the roster for one more game with the Mariners, but he didn't play and was demoted to the minors. It was Wright's final day in the majors. He later went to the Idaho State College of Pharmacy for his post-baseball career.

And then, there was Schmidt. Painter was a wild card and Wright was a rising prospect, but Schmidt was the can't miss guy. Capable of throwing a heavy fastball with life along with plus secondary pitches, Schmidt was already one of the game's most promising prospects. While he struggled mightily with the Braves in '96, his quick rise from an '91 8th-rounder to a blue chip prospect was no fluke. He had the stuff to back it up and the Braves liked him a lot. However, they liked winning more and wanted to continue to build to their brand as the Team of the 90's. After the trade, Schmidt would pitch for Pittsburgh from '96 to '01. He was never the guy they had expected him to be, though the Pirates were a mess in the late 90's. The righty was still pretty young at 28 and closing in on free agency in 2001 when the Pirates traded Schmidt to the Giants. In San Francisco, Schmidt would turn his career around and became the ace the Braves foresaw him being when they were developing him in the minors. In five full seasons with the Giants, Schmidt was named to three All-Star teams and was the '03 Cy Young runner-up. He landed a mega deal with the Dodgers after '06 but pitched just 10 times while making over $45M.

Painter, Wright, and Schmidt was the price tag, but was Neagle worth it? You better believe he was. Neagle, who had once been traded for former Pirate standout John Smiley, had joined the rotation in '94 and was an All-Star the year after. He was a workhorse with a good curveball and an excellent changeup. And, perhaps most importantly, he was better than the 1996 version of Avery. He would finish 8th that season in the Cy Young Award voting and was solid for the Braves over four postseason outings - including two starts - in the NLCS and World Series, though he didn't factor in a decision. Neagle's best year with the Braves was 1997. That season, the Big Three+Neagle each had an ERA under 3.03, each started 33 games, and each threw 230+ innings. The '97 Braves didn't have a fifth starter (well, they had four, but none of them stuck) and frankly, they didn't need one. Neagle would pitch twice against the Marlins in the Erik Gregg NLCS. Notably, he threw a shutout in Game 4 with seven strikeouts.

In 1998, Neagle was part of a Braves rotation that had five pitchers win 16 or more games. However, that was a double-edged sword for Neagle, who was the least effective of the five and with Kevin Millwood now an unquestioned member of the staff, Neagle's pricey salary was considered a luxury the Braves could do without. After that season, they packaged Rob Bell (read more) and Michael Tucker with Neagle for Mike Remlinger and the aforementioned Bret Boone. After just a year-and-a-half with the Reds, Neagle was moved to the Yankees where he won a ring after the Subway Series that fall. A free agent after 2000, Negale landed a big money deal with the Rockies. He earned $25M over three years in which his ERA was 5.57. That's good work if you can find it. The Rockies actually owed him at least an additional $19M, but cut the pitcher following allegations of soliciting a prostitute. Citing a morals clause in his contract, the Rockies simply voided the rest of his deal rather than pay him. Neagle, who was married with a four-year old, avoided jail time, but not a divorce.

Neagle tried a comeback in '05 with the Rays, but never pitched for them because of injury. He would later be cited for a DUI and was part of the Mitchell Report as a steroid-user.

Well, this story got negative real quick. Let's circle back.

Twenty years ago, the Braves sent a promising pitcher to the Pirates to finalize a trade for an established lefthander at the height of his career. The deal didn't bring another ring, but Schmidt never helped the Pirates halt the string of losing seasons, either. Ultimately, it was a winner for the Braves.

Still, you have to feel for Wright. One game and you're "responsible" for six outs in three at-bats. Yikes.

TOT - The OTHER Teixeira Deal

Chris J. Nelson (CC SA 3.0), via Wikipedia Commons

Transaction of Today...July 29, 2008 - The Atlanta Braves traded Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Stephen Marek (minors) and Casey Kotchman.

It was the moment that the Braves resigned themselves to admit that their swing-for-the-fence effort the previous July failed. On this day nine years ago, the Braves sent the dynamic first baseman, Mark Teixeira, to the Angels for a pitifully small package of talent considering what they had themselves paid a year before. It would be one of the few and final mistakes for a general manager who tried desperately to squeeze one final contending effort from his squad. John Schuerholz, who will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame tomorrow, overestimated the need for the Atlanta Braves. Fortunately for Atlanta, he was right more times than he was wrong during his 15+ years at the helm.

Let's flash back to 2007 because we simply can't tell this story otherwise. On July 29th, the Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 14-0 behind seven wonderful innings from Tim Hudson, homers by Andruw Jones and Scott Thorman, and a five-RBI day from Chipper Jones. Thorman and Chipper Jones were joined by Edgar Renteria and Kelly Johnson up the middle on the infield. Meanwhile, Andruw Jones was flanked by Jeff Francoeur and a productive platoon of Matt Diaz and Willie Harris in left. Add in Brian McCann behind the plate and the offense was pretty darn good. Well, with the exception of Thorman and Andruw, who again both hit homers that day. The centerfielder from Curacao was coming off a five-year sample where he slashed .266/.352/.524 with nearly 200 homers. This included his 2005 near-MVP season. However, things just never got going for Jones in '07 and he hit an abysmal .222/.311/.413. It would be the beginning of the end for him.

Meanwhile, Thorman was struggling after being handed first base following the trade of Adam LaRoche. He would hit just .216/.258/.394 during the season and worse, Craig Wilson had flamed out after being brought over from the Pirates to help. The Braves first tried to use Jarrod Saltalamacchia, a top prospect at catcher, to help fill in and by mid-July, they acquired the 48-years-young Julio Franco after the latter was cut by the Mets. None of these options were exciting.

Despite the holes at first base and center field, the Braves were 55-51 on the season and 4.5 games out of the division race and just a couple games behind the Dodgers for the NL Wild Card. John Schuerholz thought the Braves had one last run in them with the remaining core from those great Braves' teams that routinely ran away with the division crown. John Smoltz was 40, Chipper was 35, and Andruw was 30. This would be the final summer all three would be with the Braves.

So, Schuerholz pulled the trigger on July 31. With the young McCann in place, the Braves felt Saltalamacchia was blocked and better used as a trade piece. They then packaged Neftali Feliz and Elvis Andrus, a pair of exciting prospects who were a few years away from contributing, with Matt Harrison, a southpaw close to the majors with a middle-of-the-rotation grade. When the Rangers waffled on Harrison's medical reports, Atlanta threw another prospect, Beau Jones, in the deal to smooth things over. Texas also added left-hander Ron Mahay in the deal to help out a Braves bullpen that had lost its best southpaw in Mike Gonzalez to injury.

The Braves also added relievers Octavio Dotel and Royce Ring that day in other trades. The focus was clear. With Teixeira added to an already impressive lineup and a shutdown bullpen that also had Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan, and Bob Wickman, the Braves were betting on being able to outhit the other team and shut them down late. All of this effort was to mask what was the 2007 Braves' true problem - the starting rotation. In Hudson and Smoltz, the Braves had a pair of excellent pitchers who qualified for 51 quality starts between them. The rest of the team managed 30. The rest of the rotation read like a who's who of bad pitchers who have started for the Braves over the last decade - Chuck James, Buddy Carlyle, Kyle Davies, Jo-Jo Reyes, Lance Cormier, Mark Redman, Anthony Lerew, and Jeff Bennett. All of these pitchers had a FIP of 4.78 or better.

The 2007 Braves were the Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain of a new generation. But the Braves saw a way - a very narrow path, I grant you, but a way to the playoffs. However, the dream crashed quickly. During a damp night on August 2, Renteria went deep in the hole after a ball hit by Ty Wigginton and came up lame. The Braves, who had already used their two backup middle infielders in Yunel Escobar and Chris Woodward, were forced to move Chipper Jones to shortstop. Renteria had a sprained ankle. Luckily, the Braves had Escobar, who had been sharing time with Johnson at second. Still, the Braves needed everything to go right for Schuerholz's plan to work and Renteria going down wasn't going to help. Neither did losing Dotel, who pitched just nine times after the deal.

Atlanta pressed on, though. Before the arrival of their new teammates in Atlanta, the Braves blew out the Astros 12-4 on July 31 to improve to five games over .500. Atlanta actually did pretty well down the stretch, but bad luck and an offense that wasn't quite as dynamic as advertised led them to a 28-27 finish (despite the second-best run differential down the stretch in the NL). Schuerholz hung up his GM reigns and passed the responsibility of getting the Braves back to the playoffs to Frank Wren.

Wren completed a deal that first was brought up while Schuerholz was in charge, sending Renteria to Detroit for Jair Jurrjens. He added Josh Anderson, Will Ohman, Omar Infante, and Mark Kotsay as he navigated the little financial freedom he had with the needs of his team. He also approached Scott Boras and Teixeira about a new contract. Boras, notorious for pushing his players to hit the open market, helped to convince Teixeira to pass on the contract. It's not known what that deal may have been, but here's some context - Teixeira had declined a $140M, 8-year deal from the Rangers the previous spring.

Teixeira would continue to hit like Teixeira. Over 103 games to open the 2008 season, Teixeira hit .283/.390/.412 with 20 HR. But the 2008 Braves were hopeless. Francoeur fell on his face, but worse, the pitching staff was again a failure. Smoltz went down early and Hudson went down later that summer. While the rookie Jurrjens was impressive and the Braves unearthed some surprising contributions out of Jorge Campillo, the rest of the staff was just awful. With the bullpen managing to convert just 26 saves, the Braves limped to a 45-50 start at the break. Selling was a real possibility for a team that often was buying at the deadline.

After winning just four games of their first ten coming out of the All-Star Break, the Braves waved the white flag. The Angels came calling with an offer for Teixeira. They had failed to acquire the first baseman the previous summer but were now anxious to finally get their guy. They offered Casey Kotchman, but the Braves balked asking for top pitching prospect Nick Adenhart and a third player in addition to Kotchman. The Angels counted with Kotchman and a Double-A reliever, Stephen Marek, who wasn't one of their best prospects by a mile and waited for the Braves to blink. It was a buyer's market and they knew that. Ultimately, Wren couldn't get enough action from Arizona, Tampa Bay, Boston, or the big pockets of the Yankees and Dodgers, to acquire something better. He accepted the Angels' miserable offer.

Kotchman wasn't a terrible consolation prize, though. He had hit .296/.372/.467 the previous year, his first as a full-timer in the majors. He was also hitting .287/.327/.448 at the time of the trade and at 25 years-old, wasn't far removed from being a top prospect in all of baseball. His numbers with the Braves were never that good, though. He slashed .267/.346/.378 as a first baseman in the National League - which wasn't acceptable. The Braves continued their revolving door at first base by trading Kotchman the next trading deadline for Adam LaRoche, the guy whose original trade opened the door for Thorman, whose poor play prompted the trade for Teixeira in the first place.

Marek made it to Triple-A, but never appeared in the majors. His career was over after 2012.

Meanwhile, Teixeira would help the Angels get to the playoffs, where they would lose to the Red Sox in four games. He then signed for $40 million more than the Rangers had offered two years before when he joined the Yankees for an eight-year, $180M contract. The Angels made out okay, though. They offered Teixeira arbitration after the playoffs and after he signed with the Yankees, the compensation pick turned into the #25th overall pick of the 2009 draft. Which turned into Mike Trout. Which turned into the tears of Braves Country.

The second Teixeira deal is a tough one to swallow - both for the players the Braves surrendered to get him and the package they received. Nine years ago today, the Braves tried to get anything - anything at all - to soften the blow the pending loss of Teixeira would bring. Ultimately, it didn't do that. It just made it more clear how things went the wrong way from the moment Teixeira was acquired.

TOT - Bo Porter Joins the Braves. In 2002.

Transaction of Today...April 26, 2002 - The Atlanta Braves signed Bo Porter as a free agent.

Keith Allison (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr

For ten seasons, outfielder Bo Porter kept hope alive that he could not just earn a trip to the majors, but actually stay in the bigs and carve out a career in the most competitive level of baseball. It would eventually happen, of course. All he needed to do was retire. Before that, though, the current Atlanta assistant also spent time in the Braves system under the management of Brian Snitker and Fredi Gonzalez. He would work with both when he returned over a decade later.

We'll get back to that, but let's look at the road that brought Porter to Atlanta in 2002. From the get-go, he was a longshot. Selected in the 40th round of the 1993 draft, Porter is one of two players that year to make it to the big leagues out of that round. It was the Chicago Cubs that had taken Porter that season and because it's the Cubs and it's not piling on anymore to make fun of them, it's time to point out that of the 83 players Chicago drafted that year, only eight made it to the major. If you're curious, Kevin Orie is probably the best of the group, though Brooks Kieschnick is the most interesting.

Porter signed a few months after the '93 draft, but wouldn't play until the following season. After a productive 66-game run with Peoria, the Cubs were cautiously hopeful that their late-round pick could become a decent enough prospect. Unfortunately, Porter struggled the next two seasons. He showed some good speed - 57 steals over two years - but struck out a lot for an outfielder not displaying much power. One good thing happened in '96, though. He upped his OBP by 57 points despite only improving his batting average from .217 to .231. Porter had figured out that it doesn't matter how you reach base - only that you do.

The next season, 1997, things came together for Porter. He hit .304 that season with a .386 OBP. He also more than doubled his career homerun output with 18 jacks. The Cubs had a legitimate prospect on their hands. He continued to hit the following year and stole a career-high 51 bases. He made it to Triple-A to stay in 1999 and bashed 27 homeruns, a career-high. That season is also notable for Porter because he achieved a dream of getting to the bigs. On May 9th, he K'd against Reds ace reliever Danny Graves in his debut and would spend just four games in the bigs before being shipped back to the minors. There he would stay until getting called back up when rosters expanded that September. As luck would have it, Porter's first hit came nearly four months to the day of his major league debut. This time, he singled off Graves.

All told, Porter went 5-for-26 with a double, two walks, and 13 K's. After the season, the Cubs designated Porter for assignment and hoped to keep him moving into 2000. However, the A's swooped in and picked Porter up in the Rule 5 draft. Though Porter failed to make the A's squad, Oakland still kept Porter via a trade of some sorts and the now 27 year-old spent most of the season in Sacramento - where he again posted solid, though not spectacular numbers. He also logged 17 games in the bigs after rosters expanded and managed a pair of hits in 15 plate appearances. That includes a two-run bomb off Tampa's Tony Fiore.

His time with the A's was short. After being waived in the offseason, Porter took his talents to Texas to join the Rangers. It was in Arlington that he received his longest run in the majors. Over 48 games and 98 PA, Porter slashed .230/.296/.356 with a homer. He made that sole homerun count. It came in the 8th inning against former teammate Mark Mulder and erased a 1-0 deficit to put the Rangers up 3-1. It would be his final homerun in the majors. On August 7, he singled off Detroit's Matt Perisho to salvage a hitless day. It would be his final hit and final plate appearance of his career. He spent the rest of the season in the minors.

In 2002, Porter joined the Colorado Rockies, but failed to make their roster and was ultimately released after playing in just 14 games at their Triple-A affiliate. That brings us to today in 2002 when the Braves signed the outfielder. He spent two games with Greenville under Brian Snitker before heading to Richmond, where he played 108 games with the Fredi Gonzalez-managed squad. Richmond was anchored by Mike Hessman, Damon Hollins, and young Wilson Betemit that season. Porter settled as Hollins' primary backup in center while splitting time in the corners. It was a solid year for Porter as he slashed .296/.374/.434 for Richmond.

Porter loved the organization so much that he re-upped with them after the season. The 2003 Braves had a deep outfielder with All-Stars Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, and Gary Sheffield in the mix. The fourth outfielder job seemed pretty sewn up, too, as Darren Bragg had hit .269/.347/.401 with the Braves the previous year. Porter was a regular in left field for Richmond to open the season, but never got going. In mid-July, the Braves cut the 30 year-old after a .240/.309/.382 slash over 300 PA. He would never play again.

Porter would not stay away from baseball, though. Joining the Marlins organization, he began his second career by becoming an A-ball hitting coach in '05. The following year, he got his first taste of managing and guided the short-season A-ball Jamestown Jammers to a 33-39 record. He headed to the majors in '07 as a third base coach for the Marlins and their new skipper, Fredi Gonzalez.

After two years under Gonzalez, Porter jumped at an opportunity to join the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent just one year there and even interviewed to replace Gonzalez after the latter was fired by the Marlins. Porter next joined the Nationals after the Marlins and Pirates passed on him as their next manager.

Following the 2012 season, Porter left the Nats to become the manager of the Houston Astros as the latter moved to the American League. At just 40, Porter was young, energetic and ready to lead a young Astros team that has lost 107 games the previous season. Unfortunately, nothing Porter could do helped the team avoid even more loses - this time, 111. In his defense, of his regular starters, only DH Carlos Pena was over 27. The pitching was atrocious. Only one starter had an ERA under 4.50 and started at least ten games. Porter returned the next year and while the Astros showed improvement with the maturation of Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh, the offense was still searching to find Jose Altuve some help. The Astros would win four of their final six games in August to improve to 59-79. They were even 19-22 since the All-Star Break, a helluva an improvement. However, the Astros were ready to pull the plug and fired Porter on an off-day. His managerial record in the majors stands at 110-190.

A month later, the Braves hired Porter to join Fredi Gonzalez's coaching staff as a third base coach, along with overseeing the outfield and baserunning aspects of the team. He would remain in that position after Gonzalez was fired and replaced by Snitker. Last offseason, Porter interviewed for the Braves managerial position, but was passed on. He was then moved out of the dugout to be a special assistant to Braves GM John Coppolella.

TOT - Braves Break the Rules to Sign Seaver

Transaction of Today...January 29, 1966 - The Atlanta Braves drafted Tom Seaver in 1966, but pick was voided.

A star at the University of Southern California, Tom Seaver would arrive in the majors in 1967 as the National League Rookie of the Year. Two years later, he would be awarded the Cy Young award in the NL. That fall, Seaver faced the Atlanta Braves in the first Championship Series to decide who would represent the NL in the World Series. He didn't have his best game to open the series and surrendered five runs, but was the winner when the Mets scored five runs off Phil Niekro in the 8th to take a 9-5 lead.

You probably know the story from there. The '69 Mets went on to beat the Braves and then complete their miracle season by defeating the heavily favored Orioles in the World Series. Seaver threw all ten innings in a 2-1 win in Game 4. The Mets were flying high on their success, though it nearly didn't happen. Had it not been for a rather arbitrary rule, if New York had faced the Braves in the '69 NLCS, they would have faced Seaver rather than have him on their side.

Our story begins in 1965 when baseball instituted their first draft. Eight-hundred and sixteen players were selected. In the tenth round, the Los Angeles Dodgers made their pick and with the #193rd overall selection, grabbed Tom Seaver out of the University of Southern California. A sophomore, Seaver felt his value was much higher and declined to sign.

At the time, the draft was split up to allow for for winter graduates and players performing in summer leagues. That brings us to the 1966 January draft. The Atlanta Braves would pick at the end of the first round. Of the first 19 players selected before their selection, only seven would go on to sign. The 20th pick was the righty Tom Seaver.

The Braves immediately tried to lure Seaver away from a junior season at USC and a chance to up his draft stock for the June draft. It was a tough sell, but the Braves offered Seaver $40,000 and less than a month after picking the righty, Atlanta had their man.

Clearly, that was not to be. With the draft so new, some of its more arcane rules were not well-thought-out. One rule was that a player could only sign if his team's season was not under way. USC had began to play exhibitions in preparation for the '66 season.

Baseball commissioner William Eckert was only on the job for three years total so he had just few notable decisions in the job. His lasting impact on the game was to be so unpopular that the owners replaced him with Bowie Kuhn. When the Seaver mess was dropped in his lap, he was given a choice - enforce the rules with a severe punishment or fine the Braves for their mistake. He went with the latter. He voided the contract the Braves had with Seaver (and still fined them).

Seaver was stuck, though. He had signed a professional contract, which made him ineligible to return to USC. He was also going to lose his $40,000 - which prompted him to leave USC in the first place. Eckert came up with a solution - transfer his contract to another team so that Seaver could get his money and not have to wait until next June to get drafted again.

Eckert extended a chance to sign Seaver to every ballclub in baseball - minus the Braves. The only condition was that they had to match the Braves offer. Whatever team did would be in a hat and a winner pulled out. A literal hat. This is how Hall of Fame pitchers see their careers begin.

Three teams agreed to this condition. Philadelphia, Cleveland, and the hapless New York Metropolitans. The Mets were coming off their fourth-consecutive 100-loss season of their four-year run as a franchise. They needed a spark and a lot of luck. They got it when their name was pulled out of the hat.

Fifty-one years ago today, the Braves made a masterstroke. They had selected a future Hall of Famer to pair with Niekro. The potential was in place for a club that could contend for a number of years. Instead, due to a rather ticky-tacky rule, they had lost their man and after losing to Seaver's Mets in '69, they wouldn't make it back to the playoffs for another decade.

TOT - Braves Add Hall of Fame Lefty; Don't Use Him

January 25, 1943 - The Boston Braves purchased Lefty Gomez from the New York Yankees for $10,000.

Public Domain

Vernon Louis Gomez would end his career as one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time. He won all but one of his seven World Series starts (he left his last Series start with a stomach injury after one inning). He twice led the American League in ERA and in both years captured the pitching Triple Crown.

But the end of the 1930's had not been kind to Gomez. The innings had taken its toll on his shoulder and he would throw just 263.2 innings between 1940-1942. His manager, Joe McCarthy, had lost faith in him to such a degree that he didn't use possibly the most dominant World Series starter in the '41 Series and in 1942, the only action he saw in October was as a batting practice pitcher.

By the end of 1942, with the Yankees coming off five-game World Series loss to Cardinals, Lefty Gomez was one of many players for the Yankees who would not return the following year. Many would enlist and serve the military in some fashion in World War II. Others, like Gomez, would get the boot.

Like the addition of Babe Ruth eight years before, the Boston Braves were adding Lefty Gomez's name more so than his arm. The idea of pairing Gomez, who had earned the moniker Goofy, with Braves manager Casey Stengel was sure to be a match made in -isms heaven. There are numerous examples of Gomez's hilarious remarks. After Carl Hubbell struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in an All-Star Game, Bill Dickey singled. That brought up Gomez, who struck out. Gomez's response? “If Bill had struck out, Hubb would have struck out seven of the greatest hitters in history.”

My favorite story about Gomez also involves Lou Gehrig. After Gehrig removed himself from the starting lineup and took the lineup card to home plate before the game, everyone knew it was likely the last time he'd ever play after 2,130 consecutive games. It was a somber and emotional feeling when he returned to the dugout. Finally, Gomez walked over to him and said loudly enough for all to hear, "Hell, Lou, it took fifteen years to get you out of the lineup. Sometimes I’m out in fifteen minutes." It was the kind of levity that Gomez was known for.

He was still that Gomez on this day in 1943, but he was no longer the pitcher who dominated the best the National League had to offer. How Gomez came to the Braves is also a story. The general manager of the braves, Bob Quinn, had a son who dated the cousin of Gomez's wife. Yeah, that's how these things start. With nothing to lose and some of baseball's best lost to the war effort, Quinn gave Gomez a chance to maybe find some magic with Stengel.

None of this was lost on Gomez. He said, "What a nine we had. Stengel as manager and all of us non-draftable because of dependency, injuries, or bad health. We couldn't see, couldn't walk. Casey had been hit by a taxi and, after the accident, he hobbled around the field. Every two weeks this team of lame ballplayers left Braves Park and marched in back of Stengel with his bad wheel next door to the Commonwealth Armory to have an up-to-date army physical to see if we could make the list."

Gomez would take a veteran role with the Braves and guided many of their younger pitchers that year such as Al Javery. That would end up being his downfall, ironically enough. Before he had even appeared in a game, he was released so that the Braves could open a roster slot for a younger pitcher helped by Gomez. The southpaw had spent a month on the bench waiting for his first game as a Brave, but never appeared in one.

His release also came soon after a bit of a disagreement with Stengel. Back in the days of National/American League pride, Stengel wanted to do things like John McGraw did things. Gomez, a lifer in the American League, finally spoke up. "Case, the trouble with this National League of yours is that McGraw’s been dead for ten years and you fellows don’t know it." He was cut less than a week later.

Gomez would appear just once more as a major leaguer - a start with the Washington Senators in which he walked five and struck out nobody in 4.2 innings against the White Sox.

Lefty Gomez was not only one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time, he was one of baseball's best ambassadors. His time with Boston was short and a blip in an otherwise wonderful career, but even without pitching, Gomez's mentorship helped to push the Braves from 7th in ERA (out of 8 teams) to 4th.

TOT - Beaneaters Get One of Baseball's Most Vulgar Characters

Transaction of Today...January 10, 1890 - The Boston Beaneaters purchased Tommy Tucker from the Baltimore Orioles for $3,000.

Born in Massachusetts, Tommy Tucker's numbers don't stand out much outside of ranking third in baseball history with getting hit by a pitch (272 total). Nevertheless, "Foghorn" had a 13-year career in which he left a lasting impression on many people - quite often in a negative way.

Tucker originally appeared with the Baltimore Orioles in the financially challenged American Association. After two underwhelming seasons, Tucker became the first switch-hitter to lead a major league in batting average when he slashed .372/.450/.484 in 1889. When the Orioles left the American Association to join the minor league Atlantic Association, Tucker considered a jump to the upstart Player's League. Ultimately, he allowed the Orioles to sell him to a major league team. The Boston Beaneaters had just lost future Hall of Famer Dan Brouthers to the aforementioned Player's League so they had an opening at first base.

Tucker spent seven-and-a-half years with Boston after joining them 127 years ago today. That included a starring role on the 1891-1893 teams, which all finished first with a combined winning percentage of .660. However, Tucker's story is less about his accomplishments as a hitter and more about Tucker's tendency to rub nearly everyone he met the wrong way.

Aggressive and foul-mouthed, Tucker was never accused of playing the game like a gentleman. On wild pickoff throws, he would simply fall on the runner to keep him from advancing to second base. One time, he had to be taken away from the stadium by police after his manager, Frank Selee, refused to play a clearly drunk Tucker.

In 1894, Tucker would be involved in a memorable and potentially life-threatening game. On May 15, the Baltimore Orioles visited the South End Grounds for an afternoon game with the Beaneaters. The South End Grounds was eight-years-old that season and one of the most extravagant parks in baseball with a pair of twin spires rising from the Grand Pavilion, which covered a double-decked area. Like most stadiums of the time, it was built mostly of wood.

Tucker was seething by the third inning. Earlier in the game, he had been kicked in the jaw while sliding into third base by John McGraw. Tucker was expecting a chance for vengence. It never came. In the third inning, fire under the right-field bleachers was noticed. Wind fed the small fire and it grew. Soon, the entire outfield bleachers were on fire. It then spread to the Pavilion and in less than 45 minutes, the entire stadium was charred.

While no one died, the fire went on to destroy an additional 200 buildings and left nearly 2000 people homeless. Kids were blamed for starting the fire while others felt a lit cigarette in trash led to the blaze. To be honest, it was only a matter of time and fires damaged two other stadiums that summer as it became clear that the wooden stadiums of the past would need to be replaced.

The next season, Tucker was part of a bit of poor gamemenship by Boston. After a 2-1 lead turned into a 12-2 deficit in the 8th, the Boston team tried to delay the 8th inning from completing. Doing so would have reverted the score back to the last completed inning - the 7th. There was a light rain, which Boston hoped would convince the umpire to call the game. That didn't happen and after Philadelphia intentionally got called out by missing a bag, the game was forfeited when Boston refused to continue play. Considered a ringleader for these shenanigans, Tucker was later assaulted by several fans before Philadelphia players and the police saved him. He suffered either a broken cheekbone or a severe bruise during the fight.

Tucker was a fan favorite, but Selee was never much of a supporter. The foul-tempered first baseman's numbers fell in 1895 and he was slowing down as an athlete. Selee was looking for a replacement, but couldn't find one until the Beaneaters moved Fred Tenney from behind-the-plate to first base in 1897. Tucker rarely played for several weeks that season until he was sold to the Senators in early June. He played out the season with the Senators and did well for them, but Washington sold him before the next season.

Tucker would play in the bigs for two more years, but he was a shell of his former self. Three years later, in 1902, he retired for good and returned to his pre-baseball job - working in a paper mill. For 13 years, Tucker played the game his way. He didn't make many friends, but his career .290 batting average is just a sign of how he earned the right to be whatever vulgar player he wanted to be.

TOT - Braves Give Up on Mike Kelly

Transaction of Today...January 9, 1996 - The Atlanta Braves traded Mike Kelly to the Cincinnati Reds for a player to be named later and Chad Fox. The Cincinnati Reds sent Ray King (June 11, 1996) to the Atlanta Braves to complete the trade.

The year 1991 was the sixth straight season the Atlanta Braves had a draft pick in the top six selections. The previous five only gave the Braves one true cornerstone in Chipper Jones. Steve Avery and Kent Mercker would both have their moments, but Derek Lilliquist and Tyler Houston were busts. And with the success the franchise would experience in 1991 and beyond, they wouldn't get another Top 10 selection until 2009.

After the Yankees chose Brien Taylor with the first overall pick, the Braves were on the clock. I can't tell you who was on the Big Board for the Braves at the time, but the first dozen picks were full of college guys who maxed out as complimentary players like Joey Hamilton, Shawn Estes, and Doug Glanville. The top prep position pick was Dmitri Young, who would hit .292 in the majors. It wasn't until pick #13 (Manny Ramirez) that we started to see some guys who went on to play major roles for their teams like Cliff Floyd, Shawn Green, and Aaron Sele.

The Braves rarely took college players. Lilliquist had stopped a streak of five consecutive high school players selected with a first round pick. Just as rare was the opportunity to select someone with Mike Kelly's pedigree. Previously a 24th rounder coming out of high school, Kelly was Baseball America's Player of the Year as a sophomore and hit .373 with 15 homeruns as a junior before he was selected. He later would be named the 1991 Golden Spikes Award winner.  His coach at Arizona State, Jeff Pentland, said that Kelly was "even better than (Reggie) Jackson and (Barry) Bonds at this stage." Both Jackson and Bonds starred at Arizona State.

With David Justice and Ron Gant already on the team, Kelly seemed like a perfect addition. Signed less than two months later, he joined Durham to finish the year, bypassing rookie and low-A ball. He smacked six homers in 35 games for the Bulls. His success was short-lived, however, as he would struggle over the next two years as he climbed from Double-A to Triple-A. He hit for power and stole bases, but struggled to consistently hit the ball and get on base.

Atlanta kept promoting him, though. In 1994, he was one of three players vying for the time in the wake of Gant's motorbike accident and Chipper Jones' preseason ACL injury. However, it quickly became clear than Ryan Klesko was going to take over after hitting six homers in April. Tony Tarasco was also hitting well and with Dave Gallagher also in the mix, Kelly had to stand out to keep his job. He wasn't able to do that, though, and was hitting .185 with four doubles and no walks through his first 15 games before getting shipped to Richmond in early May.

Kelly would get two more callups before the Strike halted the season and did well enough to raise his triple slash to .273/.300/.506 with 10 doubles and 2 HR. His strong finish set him up to reclaim a roster spot heading in 1995. The Braves still had Justice and Klesko. They also added Marquis Grissom and Dwight Smith. But that still left plenty of at-bats for Kelly as Klesko's caddy. He again underwhelmed as he put up a triple-slash of .190/.258/.314 over 97 games. The Braves' disillusion with him help to convince them to acquire Luis Polonia and Mike Devereaux for the stretch run. Kelly would not play in October as the Braves rambled to their only World Title in Atlanta.

Kelly's struggles in 1995 were the final straw for the Braves. Anxious to add pitching depth, they shipped Kelly to the Reds 21 years ago today in exchange for Chad Fox and a player to be named later. Kelly only played 19 games in the majors the following year, but hit .293 with 6 HR off the bench in '97. The expansion Devil Rays became quite enamored with Kelly and traded Dmitri Young, who they had just drafted from the Reds, to get Kelly. Kelly received his largest share of playing time of his career in '98 while playing with former mentor, McGriff. However, he struggled to the tune of .240/.295/.401. After just two games with the Rockies the next year, his major league career was over.

Meanwhile, Chad Fox would eventually have a solid smoke-and-mirrors season for the Braves in '97. A failed starter, the Braves moved him to the pen and reaped the benefits. Oh, he struck out a good amount of hitters, but he also yielded his fair share of long balls (1.3 per nine) and walks (5.3 per nine). John Schuerholz maximized him, though, and traded him for Gerald Williams after the '97 season. In a way, they turned Fox into a guy who represented the low-end of what they expected out of Mike Kelly when they picked him.

The player to be named later became Ray King six months after the trade. King spent a year-and-half in the system before being moved in a low-profile deal to the Cubs. He would later be re-acquired by the Braves for the 2003 season for John Foster and Wes Helms. Remembered more for his weight than his results, King was solid as a LOOGY for the Braves that season before being attached to the Adam Wainwright/J.D. Drew trade after the season.

Drew's only year in Atlanta, 2004, would be Kelly's final year in baseball. 34 years-old, Kelly had been out of baseball for a couple of years before making a comeback in 2003. He hit well for Omaha, Kansas City's Triple-A team, and spent the next year with the Yankees' top farm team in Columbus. He was decent at the plate, but still didn't impress enough to get playing time in the majors over Bubba Crosby and a 37 year-old Kenny Lofton.

Mike Kelly's trade to the Reds twenty-one years ago is a reminder of how drafts are a lot harder than we think. Kelly was as sure as sure things come. Scouts thought he had all the tools and would be the next Arizona State outfielder to become an All-Star. But scouts can be wrong and in this case, they simply were.

TOT - Braves Say Goodbye to Crandall, but Add Alou

Transaction of Today...January 8, 1964 - The San Francisco Giants traded a player to be named later, Felipe Alou, Ed Bailey and Billy Hoeft to the Milwaukee Braves for Del Crandall, Bob Hendley and Bob Shaw. The San Francisco Giants sent Ernie Bowman (January 8, 1964) to the Milwaukee Braves to complete the trade.

Del Crandall is one of the truly underappreciated members of the good Milwaukee Braves teams of the late 50's. A true leader of men, Crandall was one of the most prolific hitting catchers in the game and even more renown for his work behind the plate. After becoming the everyday catcher in 1953, Crandall slashed .259/.320/.435 with 151 homeruns over the next eight years. He was "like a coach on the field," teammate Carl Willey remarked. The Californian was so respected for his defensive capabilities that he started his first game behind the plate four months after his 19th birthday, which made him the youngest starting catcher in history. He would have been named team captain soon after, but two years lost to time in the Army sidelined his career. Nevertheless, it's a true testament to the respect that Crandall demanded that he was named team captain before he had even turned 25.

Crandall, who won four of the first six Gold Gloves for an NL catcher, was beginning to decline with age as he reached his 30's. In 1961, he missed most of the season due to a sore arm. That allowed young Joe Torre to move behind the plate. Crandall would return in 1962 to win his final Gold Glove and go to his eighth All-Star Game, but still split time with Torre.

With a new manager named Bobby Bragan in the fold for 1963, Crandall was relegated to Torre's backup and struggled considerably. With no need for their former team captain and bad feelings between the player and team bubbling over, the Braves traded Crandall to the Giants in the offseason. Though I included this as today's Transaction of Today, the trade was completed on December 3 (mostly), but included a player to be named later. On January 8, 1964, "later" came when the Giants sent Ernie Bowman to the Braves. A light-hitting infielder, Bowman spent two years in the minors before later being traded to the Mets. The other two Braves sent in this trade with Crandall, Hendley and Shaw, both had short careers with the Giants. They were solid in their time with San Francisco and gave the Giants some good depth at pitcher, but the team was still the other best team in the NL. With no divisions to add a playoff slot until 1969, the Giants won between 86 and 95 games for eight consecutive years, but failed to make it back to the playoffs until 1971.

As for Crandall, he only spent one year with the Giants. He backed up Tom Haller behind the plate and shared the bench with another NL slugger nearing retirement - Duke Snider. The Giants sent him to the Pirates before 1965 and he spent a forgettable season behind Jim Pagliaroni. His swan song came in 1966 as he played 50 games for the Cleveland Indians, mostly as a personal catcher for 23 year-old Sam McDowell, who led the league in strikeouts. With his bat all-but-gone and catching more difficult with each passing day, Crandall retired at 36 years-old after 16 years of service.

The Giants really didn't get much from this deal - especially outside of 1964 when they had all three acquired players together for one year. The Braves, on the other hand, received Felipe Alou and would benefit from a post-30's renaissance. Alou had recently come under fire for an interview he conducted with the magazine Sport. In it, he spoke candidly in an article entitled "Latin Ballplayers Need a Bill of Rights." Alou had been penalized for competing in an offseason tournament in the Dominican Republic, something that is now anticipated each year. Alou was angry about the fine and criticized the commissioner of baseball, Ford Frick, and his manager with the Giants, Alvin Dark (click here for an article from a few months back on Dark's time with the Braves).

Whether the fallout from the Sport article caused his trade to the Braves is up for debate, but Alou would have some good years with the Braves. After a troublesome '64 following an offseason knee injury, Alou rebounded in 1965. That year was followed by a Top-5 finish in the MVP race in 1966, the Braves' first year in Atlanta. Alou would hit .327/.361/.533 with a career-best 31 homeruns. The second Dominican to ever play in the majors, Alou again suffered through an injury-riddled '67 before hitting .317 in '68. That in itself was a pretty big accomplishment considering it came in "The Year of the Pitcher." The rest of the league hit .237 that season.

1968 would be the third and final time Alou was named an All-Star. The following season, Alou hit a respectable .282, but only managed 19 extra base hits in 509 PA (.345 SLG). By the end of the season, he was rarely in the lineup as the Braves went to the playoffs as the first winner of the NL West. Alou appeared just once in the first NLCS as he entered with the Braves trailing 7-4 in the deciding Game 3 against the Mets. With Nolan Ryan on the mound and two runners on, Alou lined out to short to end the rally. It was Alou's final postseason game. Six years to the day they originally acquired Alou, the Braves sent him the A's for Jim Nash in the winter of 1969.

In addition to Alou and Bowman, the Braves acquired pitcher Billy Hoeft and catcher Ed Bailey. Hoeft, already 32, played one year with the Braves and appeared 42 times out of the bullpen. He was released after 1964 and played parts of three more seasons before his career was over. Bailey, who was also a solid backstop during the 50's, replaced Crandall as Torre's backup for 1964, but would be traded back to the Giants before camp opened the following year. A few months later, Bailey was packaged in a trade to the Cubs with Bob Hendley, who went to the Giants in the original Crandall/Alou deal.

There were a lot of moving parts in this trade as both teams closed the door on a stalwart who had meant a good deal to their franchises. In the end, the Braves got six seasons out of Alou and a few really fine ones. That's what I call making the most out of a catcher who you already had moved on from.

TOT - Boston Beaneaters Add Herman Long

Transaction of Today...January 5, 1890 - The Boston Beaneaters purchased Herman Long from the Kansas City Cowboys for $5000 to $6000. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)

 Photograph of the Boston Beaneaters infield, 1900. Top: Fred
Tenney (1B), Right: Herman Long (SS), Bottom: Jimmy
Collins (3B) and Left: Bobby Lowe (2B). Boston Public
Library (Public Domain)

For 13 seasons, Herman Long was an essential component on dominant Boston Beaneaters teams. Yet, as accomplished as his career was, what happened after his death may have been even more fascinating. Of the top 15 players who received votes for the first-ever Hall of Fame Veteran's Committee vote in 1936, the only person who wasn't later enshrined was Long - who finished 8th in the vote. Nevertheless, it all started 127 years ago today. Or thereabouts as the major league baseball transaction page wasn't quite that thorough back then.

Born in Chicago, Illinois on April 13, 1866, to German immigrants, Long's road to the majors was typical of his time and took him through a series of local stops in the Western League and Western Association. His first real break came in 1889 when he landed a job with the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association. Just 23, Long hit .275 with a .358 on-base percentage for the Cowboys, whose roster included a future teammate of Long's in Boston named Billy Hamilton.

After just one year with the Cowboys, Long's contract was purchased by the Boston Beaneaters for between $5,000 and $6,000. Whatever the final tally, Long would prove it to be a bargain.

After a tough first year in Boston, Long broke out in 1891, hitting .282 with a .377 on-base percentage and 60 steals. It would be the first of an excellent seven-year run in which Long would post a triple slash (AVG/OBP/SLG) of .306/.365/.428 with 275 steals. His 25.0 WAR (Fangraphs version) was the 17th highest in baseball during that time frame. His amazing individual accomplishments aside, Long was also instrumental to the 1890's Braves, who won five pennants from 1891 to 1898. Only two players were part of the entire run - Long and Hall of Fame right-hander Kid Nichols.

Some refer to the 1897-1900 infield of Fred Tenney at first, Bobby Lowe at second, Jimmy Collins at third, and Long playing shortstop as one of the best infields ever constructed. All four were premier players for their time and Long helped to make everything run. Long would later be known for his errors as he's one of just three players to ever commit a thousand errors and nobody committed more than Long. It's worth mentioning that Long's defense was well thought of at the time. Richard Bak of Detroit Athletic Company pointed out that his 6.4 chances per game is the best of all time among shortstops. By comparison, the incredible Andrelton Simmons currently averages 4.6 chances per game over his career.

Long would also have a connection to one of the greatest players to ever play the game - Honus Wagner. The later arrived in the National League in 1897 and a few years later, Long gave the youngster one of his oversized gloves to help Wagner when he became an everyday starter at shortstop in 1903. Wagner would also inherit one of Long's nicknames - The Flying Dutchman.

Also known simply as German, Long's play began to drop off in 1901 with the then-35 years-old struggling to a .216 average and striking out more than he walked for the first time. After a second disappointing campaign the following season, Long sought to cash in his remaining star power as he jumped from Boston to the upstart American League's New York Highlanders (later changed to the Yankees). His time in New York was short and he was later dealt to the Detroit Tigers, but his career was effectively over. He would continue to play until he was 40, spending time with Toledo, Des Moines, Omaha, and Toronto, but he struggled to hold down a job in any city for long.

With Long's business ventures going belly-up, Long also struggled to provide for his family until contracting tuberculosis a few years after his career officially ended. He passed away in Denver in 1909. Friends paid to bring him to Chicago, where he was buried at Concordia Cemetery, about 45 minutes southwest from Wrigley Field.

Long's name is all over the Braves' franchise record book. He played in the 8th most games, had the fifth most hits, the sixth most doubles, the third most triples, and his 434 steals rank as the top total in franchise history.

Twenty-seven years after his death, the Baseball Hall of Fame opened its doors for the first time and several players were inducted, including Wagner. Long would not receive a vote as part of the regular voting, but finished eighth in the Special Committee's voting. The entire system was needlessly complicated from the get-go. The Special Committee was made up of 78 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America and they were given the task of electing "five pioneers." Baseball-Reference refers to this committee as the Veteran's Committee, though it was more of a special one-time committee that the Hall of Fame hoped would elect a group of players that needed to be enshrined beyond the headliners like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. The hope was in addition to the five megastars that would be enshrined during the first year, another five pioneers would join them. The problem was that there was great confusion among the 78 members as to how many people to vote for, what even constituted a pioneer of the game, and whether choices should be made for every position. Wagner, who was a first-ballot choice, still received 5 points from the committee for some reason. Long received 15.5 votes, or 19.9% of the vote.

Because of the confusion of the first Special Committee ballot, it was treated as a nomination ballot. The top dozen players, who received between 50.6% and 11.5% of the vote, were kept around for a second ballot the following year - including Long. They would only induct one player - John McGraw - in 1937. Over the years, the remaining eleven players from the first ballot were enshrined through the Old Timers Committee and Veterans Committee with the exception of Long. In fact, the next three players who missed the nomination ballot in 1936 would also be elected to the Hall of Fame. That includes Long's partner on the left-side of the infield for the last great run of the 1890's Beaneaters, Jimmy Collins, who finished 13th in the initial ballot, but was selected by the Old Timers Committee in 1945.

Not only was Long never enshrined in Cooperstown, he never again received significant consideration. A year after finishing 8th in the Veterans Committee ballot, he received just one vote each year from 1937 until 1939. After the Hall of Fame only had one election for the next five years (Long was shut out), the original Flying Dutchman received one more vote in 1945 and another in 1946. After that, nothing. One of the best shortstops of the 19th century had been refused entry into the Hall of Fame.

You could point to the errors or the underwhelming hitting stats, but I think Long's biggest problem was that he was a distant memory by the time the Hall of Fame opened. He had been dead for nearly 30 years at that point so many of the sportswriters he had played in front of had long retired. If the Hall of Fame had been opened 15 or 20 years before that, possibly players like Long would have received more consideration from the people who had watched them more. The blog Baseball Past and Present points to Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith as a possible reason Long received so much support in 1936. Griffith held Long in high esteem and was immensely influential during the mid-1930's. Wagner also was a big supporter of Long and likely lobbied hard for him. As the years transpired and more uniformity was gained among Hall of Fame voters, Long's case widdled away.

In the end, Long would be known more for his support during the first year of Hall of Fame voting than his career, which is sad. He played shortstop on five pennant-winning Boston teams and was a key contributor to a dynasty. He swiped 30 or more bases seven times, was durable enough to play in 100 or more games for the first 13 years of his career, and truly was a pioneer for his time.