I am currently running weekly baseball polls on Twitter/X. Back
in 2023, I ran a handful of polls during the first half of the year. Here are the results of these polls:
My
initial poll tackled a frustrating eight-year period from 2001 to 2008
in which the New York Yankees acquired several top players but were
unable to capture a World Series championship. My first poll asked: Which
of these four Yankees players who were acquired between 2001 to 2008
and never won a championship with the club do you remember most fondly
or feel most embodied what it meant to play for the Yankees?
Options: Bobby Abreu, Gary Sheffield, Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi
Mussina dominated this poll, garnering nearly three-quarters of the vote. Signed by New York as a free agent following a decade as a frontline starter with the Baltimore Orioles, Mussina spent eight seasons toeing the rubber for the Bronx Bombers. Coincidentally, his eight-year stint in the Big Apple fully encompassed the 2001 to 2008 timeframe of my poll. Over that stretch, he went 123-72 for the club, posting a 3.88 ERA which translated to a solid ERA+ of 114.
I
was not surprised by this result as Mussina was one of my favorite
Yankees from this era. I remember closely following his pursuit to
reach the 20-win plateau during the final season of his career in 2008.
The following day, I ran the opposite version of the poll, this time asking: Which
of these four Yankees players who were acquired between 2001 to 2008
and never won a championship with the club do you remember least fondly or feel least embodied what it meant to play for the Yankees?
Options: Kevin Brown, José Contreras, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright
This poll drew nearly double the votes of the prior day’s poll, which I guess goes to show you that people are more interested in voting about something they don’t like than something they do. Pavano dubiously topped the poll, accruing exactly half of the tallies, followed by Brown not far behind at 36.8%. Acquired via free agency, Pavano pitched for New York from 2005 to 2008, missing ample time with injuries—including the entire 2006 season. During his four years with the Bombers, Pavano made just 26 starts, going 9-8 with an ERA of 5.00. Perhaps most frustrating for Yankees fans was the fact that Pavano had been part of the young Florida Marlins club that had upset New York in the 2003 World Series. The Yankees made the playoffs during each of Pavano’s initial three seasons with the team, yet he did not take the mound in any of those postseasons.
I found it fitting Mussina
won the most fondly remembered version of the poll and Pavano sowed up
the least fondly remembered one, as Mussina once publicly questioned the
oft-injured Pavano’s work ethic prior to the 2007 campaign when the
pair were teammates. I figured Pavano and Brown would secure the top
two spots but thought that the memory of Brown imploding during Game 7
of the 2004 ALCS would earn him the dishonor of finishing first in this
poll.
Over the years, I have
written several articles about overlooked Hall of Fame candidates so my
next poll tackled that subject, asking: Of these four legendary Pittsburgh Pirates, who do you think most belongs in the Hall of Fame?
Options: Bill Madlock, Al Oliver, Dave Parker, Danny Murtaugh
This poll generated a ton of responses and votes, highlighting the passion of the beleaguered Bucs fan base. Parker’s support dwarfed the other three with “Cobra” amassing 74.6% of the tallies. Parker spent just over half of his 19-year career with the Pirates, winning the 1978 NL MVP, before playing a crucial role in the club’s Fall Classic triumph over the Orioles during the following season. Parker’s time in the Steel City also saw him earn four All-Star selections and three Gold Gloves for his defense in right field.
I was
not surprised that Parker won the poll, as he was my pick as well, but I
was stunned he prevailed so easily. I have Parker and Oliver pretty
close in terms of Hall of Fame worthiness so I thought the results would
reflect how I view their careers but instead Parker completed checked
out on Oliver with “Scoop” finishing a distant runner-up at 11.3%.
My
final two polls of 2023 centered on baseball jerseys. The first poll
focused on the Texas Rangers who had some great looking jerseys during
the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. My poll asked: Which of these four Rangers jerseys is your favorite?
Options: 1976-1982, 1983, 1984-1985, 1986-1993 with examples below
The 1976-82 handily won the poll earning more than double the votes of the other three options. I like all these jerseys but my personal favorite is actually the last-place finishing option that was only used during the 1983 season. One of the Rangers players I most associate with the 1976-1982 look is the aforementioned Al Oliver who wore the jersey after being acquired via trade from the Pirates following the 1977 campaign. Oliver played with Texas for four seasons, hitting between .309 and .324 over that stretch.
The second of my two jersey polls concentrated on the 1970s and 1980s uniforms for the Chicago White Sox. My poll asked: Which of these four White Sox jerseys is your favorite?
Options: 1971-1975, 1976-1981, 1982-1986, 1987-1989 with examples below
Just like with the Rangers jersey poll, the oldest of the four options led the way, perhaps proving that nostalgia is a strong factor in the voting. However, in contrast to the Rangers poll, there was a decent battle with Chicago’s 1982-1986 jerseys putting up a decent fight and keeping the 1971-1975 jerseys from running away with the poll. The 1971-1975 jersey is a bit before my time. I believe most people fondly associate this look with slugger Dick Allen who came to the Windy City in 1972 after being acquired via trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his first season with the Pale Hose, Allen led the club to an unlikely runner-up finish to the powerhouse Oakland Athletics in the AL West division race as he topped the junior circuit with 37 home runs and 113 RBI. At the conclusion of the campaign, Allen garnered 21 of 24 first-place votes to easily capture the AL MVP.
My
personal favorite of the four choices is Chicago’s 1982-1986 jerseys. I
actually disliked these jerseys at the time because I was a fan of
the Orioles during the 1980s and considered the White Sox to be one of
the “bad guy teams” as they had lost to Baltimore in the 1983 ALCS.
However, the jersey grew on me over the years as I gained more respect
for Carlton Fisk, Harold Baines, Greg Luzinski, and other players from
the “Winning Ugly” 1983 club.
----by John Tuberty
Follow me on Twitter/X @BloggerTubbs
Stat
links to main players mentioned: Bobby Abreu, Gary Sheffield, Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Kevin Brown, José Contreras, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Bill Madlock, Al Oliver, Dave Parker, Dick Allen, Carlton Fisk,
Harold Baines, Greg Luzinski, Danny Murtaugh
Sources:
All statistics are drawn from Baseball Reference and Stathead
Cards:
Mike Mussina 2003 Upper Deck Classic Portraits, Carl Pavano 2006 Upper
Deck, Dave Parker 1977 Topps, Al Oliver 1980 Topps, Dick Allen 1975
Topps
Additional Articles by John Tuberty
