Baseball Connections

Connecting Shohei Ohtani to Babe Ruth

This one is a natural: Connecting Shohei Ohtani to Babe Ruth

Great names in this one. I hope you enjoy it and share it with others (get them to subscribe, dammit).

• Shohei Ohtani played with Justin Upton for the 2020 Los Angeles Angels

• Justin Upton played with Brian McCann for the 2013 Atlanta Braves

• Brian McCann played with Julio Franco for the 2005 Atlanta Braves

• Julio Franco played with Tug McGraw for the 1982 Philadelphia Phillies

• Tug McGraw played with Yogi Berra for the 1965 New York Mets

• Yogi Berra played with Frankie Crosetti for the 1946 New York Yankees

• Frankie Crosetti played with Babe Ruth for the 1933 New York Yankees

Justin Upton was a four-time All-Star with eight 20+ homer seasons. In 2011, Justin and his brother  B.J. (Melvin) became the first pair of brothers to both hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in the same season.

Brian McCann was a seven-time NL All-Star catcher and the 2010 All-Star Game MVP. He was a six-time Silver Slugger Award Winner and had 10 20+ homer seasons. Did you know his stepbrother is Mark Teixeira?

Julio Franco is a common connector. Perhaps it is because he made his debut on April 23, 1982, and played his last game on September 17, 2007, at the age of 49. There are some fact collectors who are fascinated by the accomplishments of young players. I am amazed at the achievements of older players. Franco was a three-time All-Star. In 1991, he won the AL Batting crown, made his last All-Star appearance, and then retired 16 years later.

If you are wondering Tug McGraw is indeed one of my favorite ballplayers of all time. And, it’s not just because he was born on the same date as Ted Williams, Cliff Lee, and Bill Chuck. Tug was a joy to watch, a joy to talk with, and was taken from us way too soon. Sandy Koufax was 17-2 against the NY Mets. The first Mets’ starting pitcher to beat Sandy was Tug, who described it as his top baseball moment. You gotta believe.

Yogi. There have been other Yogis in the baseball world and throughout history. But nobody thinks of anyone other than Yogi Berra when you mention that name. We just mentioned Sandy, who is also on the list of one-namers, along with the Babe, Mickey, Hank, Willie, and Ted to name a few. There are too many accolades and achievements to mention about Lawrence (his real first name), but you should know that he hit an Opening Day home run four years in a row, between 1955 and 1958. "I knew the record would stand until it was broken."

Frank Crosetti was in a Yankee uniform for 37 seasons as a shortstop and third base coach. He was on 17 World Championship teams, seven as a player and ten as a coach. Crosetti rarely shook hands after a player homered. Although he broke his “rule” for Mickey Mantle’s walkoff homer in the 1964 World Series and Roger Maris’ 60th and 61st homers in 1961. He was the last surviving Yankee in uniform for Babe Ruth's famous "called shot" home run in the 1932 World Series, Crosetti insisted that the Bambino did not point.