MLB History: The All Valentine’s Day team
By David Hill
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.