MLB History: The All Valentine’s Day team
Love is in the air, and everyone is hoping for romance. But let us hold off on that for a moment, as we look at the All Valentine’s Day team.
Ah, Valentine’s Day. It is a day where couples show their affection to one another with gifts and sappy social media posts, even if they were talking about how much they hated the other person just yesterday. It is a day where Hallmark and florists everywhere make a major profit because the best way to show someone that you care is through a gift that will be gone in a week’s time.
While we wait for those gifts and make dinner arrangements, those words are floating through our minds. Flowers. Love. Valentine. And eventually, one remembers those baseball players with those names, creating an All Valentine’s Day team.
So, let us look back from the earliest days of baseball to the present day, putting together a starting nine of players whose names evoke such romantic imagery. After all, it would not be an All Valentine’s Day team, or a Valentine’s Day, without any of these things.
A pair of gifts make the perfect All Valentine’s Day team battery
Catcher: Tyler Flowers
Tyler Flowers may not be the best catcher in the history of the game, but he has been fairly solid over his career. A lifetime .238/.319/.393 hitter, Flowers has 85 homers and 105 doubles, reaching the double digit home run plateau four times.
An 11 year veteran, Flowers has been able to carve out a place in the game due to his stature as one of the premier pitch framers in the game. This has been the case seemingly since his debut, as he has mastered the art of stealing strikes for his pitchers. That skill alone has ensured that Flowers will have a job as long as he wants to continue playing. Or until the robotic strike zone debuts…
Pitcher: Candy Cummings
With a mere six year major league career, four years of which were spent in the National Association, Candy Cummings would seem to be an odd addition to the Hall of Fame. And yet, there he is, immortalized for his contributions to the game.
He was certainly an excellent player during his career, posting a 145-94 record with a 2.42 ERA and a 1.228 WHiP. In his 2149.2 innings, he struck out 259 batters but also issued just 113 walks. His lifetime 0.5 BB/9 is the lowest in major league history and may be a record that is never broken.
However, that is not why Cummings is in the Hall. He is considered to be the first pitcher to master the curve, using it during the days of amateur leagues. While that claim is disputed, as Fred Goldsmith displayed a curve during an exhibition in 1870, it is possible that both pitchers developed the curve independent of one another.
An old school feel around the infield
First base: Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart played only one year in the majors, appearing in 58 games for the Baltimore Orioles in 1901, the inaugural season of the American League. He performed reasonably well, producing a .311/.383/.374 batting line in his 233 plate appearances. However, he was suspended for life after he punched an umpire. That incident did not end his career, as he played in the minors through 1911.
Second base: Cupid Childs
Cupid Childs earned his nickname because of his appearance. Apparently, his 5’8″, 185 pound frame was enough for him to earn nicknames like Cupid, Fats, and Fatty. Despite his cherubic body, Childs was one of the best second basemen in the 1800s, posting a lifetime .306/.416/.389 batting line, hitting 205 doubles, 101 triples, and stealing 269 bases. Not bad for a guy called Fats.
Shortstop: Angel Berroa
For a brief moment, it seemed that Angel Berroa was going to be a star. In 2003, the former top prospect won the AL Rookie of the Year award and appeared to be a building block for the Royals. That season proved to be his best, as his time in the majors ended in 2009. All told, he compiled a .258/.303/.374 batting line, hitting 46 homers and stealing 50 bases.
Third base: Pete Rose
Let’s face it, with a name like Rose, and his resume, Pete Rose was making this team. A 17 time All Star, he won three batting titles, was named the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year, took home the 1973 NL MVP, and was a two time Gold Glove winner. He produced a lifetime .303/.375/.409 batting line, with his 4256 hits the most in major league history. Just don’t bet on his making it into the Hall of Fame during his lifetime.
What would the All Valentine’s Day Team be without a pair of Valentines?
Right field: Ellis Valentine
For a time, Ellis Valentine was one of the better all around outfielders in the game – a respectable power threat and an excellent defender. A lifetime .278/.315/.458 batter, he hit 123 homers, eclipsing 20 homers in a season three times. An All Star in 1977, he also won a Gold Glove in 1978 when he led the league with 25 assists in right.
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Center field: Bobby Valentine
These days, Bobby Valentine is remembered for his days as a manager, and the Groucho Marx glasses he wore as he snuck back into the Mets dugout after being thrown out of a game. He was a major prospect, a minor league star who appeared destined to be a great player in the majors. Unfortunately, that never happened, as he snapped his leg running into a wall, ruining his career. He did spend ten years in the majors, posting a .260/.315/.326 batting line with 59 doubles, but one has to wonder what could have been.
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Left field: Corey Hart
Although Corey Hart played just 29 games in left, we needed to find a way to get his bat in the lineup. A two time All Star, Hart was a key power hitter for the Brewers, hitting 20 or more homers five times before injuries ruined what was a promising career. Overall, he produced a .271/.329/.478 batting line, hitting 162 homers and 221 doubles.