Baseball Across the States (Edition VI)
by Larry Little, Express Director of Communications
ALL-STATE TEAMS
32. Colorado / Idaho / Montana / Wyoming
Total Major Leaguers: 144 (85 / 26 / 21 / 12)
Total Hall of Famers: 2 (1 / 1 / 0 / 0)
Total All-Star Game Appearances: 55 (24 / 25 / 3 / 3)
Several interesting things were discovered in the process of compiling these teams. One of which was the fact that Idaho (26 all-time Major Leaguers) and Virginia (268 all-time Major Leaguers) have produced the same number of Hall of Famers - one.
Harmen Killebrew carries the banner flag for this region. The Payette, Idaho, native clubbed 573 career home runs, which ranked fifth in baseball history upon his retirement in 1975 behind only Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Frank Robinson. Killebrew still ranks 11th on the all-time list. He was the most prolific right-handed home run hitter in American League history until his total was eclipsed by Alex Rodriguez.
The face of the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins organization from the late 1950s through the early 1970s, Killebrew led the league in homers six times, including each year from 1962 to 1964. He led the league in RBI three times and walks four times. The 13-time all-star first appeared in the Majors as a 17-year-old in 1954; he was the league’s youngest player at the time. He shared the American League lead in home runs (42) in his first full season (1959).
Killebrew finished in the top 10 in MVP balloting seven times, winning the award in 1969 when - one year removed from a subpar 1968 season during which he sustained a season-ending hamstring injury while stretching for a ball in the All-Star Game at the Astrodome. Despite not being fully recovered from the injury, Killebrew put together arguably his best season in 1969, hitting .276 with 49 home runs, 140 RBI and 145 walks; he led the AL in home runs and RBI in the same season for the second time in his career.
After spending the 1975 season with the Kansas City Royals, Killebrew retired with 22 seasons of Major League service. He was elected to the Hall of Fame on his fourth year of eligibility in 1983, entering the hall along with Luis Aparicio and Don Drysdale. There has been much speculation that the batter in the Major League Baseball logo is a likeness of Killebrew, but this has never been substantiated and MLB maintains that it was not patterned after any specific player.
Outside of Killebrew, though, this region’s lineup is ... well ... very pedestrian. In fact, it arguably is the weakest lineup of our 37 teams outside of the Maine / New Hampshire / Vermont region (perhaps Killebrew, like Carlton Fisk, would demand a trade).
However, this region ranks ahead of the states/regions below it due to its pitching staff; a legitimate argument could be made that the staff warrants the region to be ranked even higher on the list than No. 32. The region has produced a relative wealth of arms ... so much so that all seven players who were considered for the team but did not make the cut were pitchers, including Corpus Christi Hooks President Ken Schrom (Grangeville, Idaho).
This region is the first to feature five solid starters, including future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay. Of the 11 pitchers on staff, 10 appeared in at least one All-Star Game. Hall of Famer Rich “Goose” Gossage leads the way with nine appearances. He ranks 18th on the career saves list and had at least one save in 20 of his 22 Major League seasons.
Known as a reliever, Gossage is often over-looked for his versatility. One season after leading the American League with 26 saves, he started 29 games for the hapless Chicago White Sox (64-97) in 1976. While he mustered only a 9-17 record, his ERA was a respectable 3.94. Most amazing about his 1976 season was that he completed more than half his starts, tossing 15 complete games in 29 outings.
No one born in Idaho or Wyoming has ever managed a Major League game. In fact, only six people from the entire region have managed a game, only one of which managed more than three seasons (John Gibbons managed five).
Manager: John Gibbons (Great Falls, Mont.)
Coaches: Greg Riddoch (Greeley, Colo.), Chuck Cottier (Delta, Colo.)
STARTING LINEUP (TENURE); BIRTHPLACE (AS)
SS - Roy Hartzell (1906-1916); Golden, Colo. (n/a)
1290 G, .252, 12 HR, 397 RBI, 503 R, 1146 H, 112 2B, 55 3B, 182 SB
2B - Mike Lansing (1993-2001); Rawlins, Wyo. (0)
110 G, .271, 84 HR, 440 RBI, 554 R, 1124 H, 254 2B, 17 3B, 119 SB
LF - Johnny Frederick (1929-1934); Denver, Colo. (n/a)
805 G, .308, 85 HR, 377 RBI, 498 R, 954 H, 200 2B, 35 3B, 23 SB
1B - *Harmon Killebrew (1954-1975); Payette, Idaho (13)
2435 G, .256, 573 HR, 1584 RBI, 1283 R, 2086 H, 290 2B, 24 3B, 19 SB
DH - John Lowenstein (1970-1985); Wolf Point, Mont. (0)
1368 G, .253, 116 HR, 441 RBI, 510 R, 881 H, 137 2B, 18 3B, 128 SB
CF - Mike Devereaux (1987-1998); Casper, Wyo. (0)
1086 G, .254, 105 HR, 480 RBI, 491 R, 949 H, 170 2B, 33 3B, 105 SB
3B - Vance Law (1980-1991); Boise, Idaho (1)
1212 G, .256, 71 HR, 442 RBI, 453 R, 972 H, 193 2B, 26 3B, 34 SB
RF - Johnny Lindell (1941-1954); Greeley, Colo. (1)
854 G, .273, 72 HR, 404 RBI, 401 R, 762 H, 124 2B, 48 3B, 17 SB
C - John Stearns (1974-1984); Denver, Col. (4)
810 G, .260, 46 HR, 312 RBI, 334 R, 696 H, 152 2B, 10 3B, 91 SB
BENCH (TENURE); BIRTHPLACE (AS)
C - John Buck (2004-present); Kemmerer, Wyo. (1)
702 G, .243, 90 HR, 325 RBI, 271 R, 565 H, 129 2B, 7 3B, 4 SB
1B - Ed Bouchee (1956-1962); Livingston, Mont. (0)
670 G, .265, 61 HR, 209 RBI, 298 R, 583 H, 114 2B, 21 3B, 5 SB
OF - Chase Headley (2007-present); Fountain, Colo. (0)
416 G, .264, 32 HR, 160 RBI, 174 R, 396 H, 80 2B, 7 3B, 31 SB
OF - Buster Adams (1939-1947); Trinidad, Colo. (0)
576 G, .266, 50 HR, 249 RBI, 282 R, 532 H, 96 2B, 12 3B, n/a SB
OF - Jimmy Welsh (1925-1930); Denver, Colo. (n/a)
715 G, .290, 35 HR, 288 RBI, 387 R, 778 H, 127 2B, 47 3B, 37 SB
PITCHING STAFF (TENURE); BIRTHPLACE (AS)
SP - Roy Halladay (1998-present); Denver, Colo. (7)
169-86, 3.32 ERA, 346 G, 320 GS, 58 CG, 19 SH, 1 SV, 2297.1 IP, 1714 K
SP - Jason Schmidt (1995-2009); Lewiston, Idaho (3)
130-96, 3.96 ERA, 323 G, 314 GS, 20 CG, 9 SH, 0 SV, 1996.1 IP, 1758 K
SP - Dave McNally (1962-1975); Billings, Mont. (3)
184-119, 3.24 ERA, 424 G, 396 GS, 120 CG, 33 SH, 2 SV, 2730.0 IP, 1512 K
SP - Larry Jackson (1955-1968); Nampa, Idaho (5)
194-183, 3.40 ERA, 558 G, 429 GS, 149 CG, 37 SH, 20 SV, 3262.2 IP, 1709 K
SP - Tom Browning (1984-1995); Casper, Wyo. (1)
129-90, 3.94 ERA, 203 G, 300 GS, 31 CG, 12 SH, 0 SV, 1921.0 IP, 1000 K
P - Vern Law (1950-1967); Meridian, Idaho (2)
162-147, 3.77 ERA, 483 G, 364 GS, 119 CG, 28 SH, 13 SV, 2672.0 IP, 1092 K
P - Dick Ellsworth (1958-1971); Lusk, Wyo. (1)
115-137, 3.72 ERA, 407 G, 310 GS, 87 CG, 9 SH, 5 SV, 2155.2 IP, 1140 K
P - Dan Spillner (1974-1985); Casper, Wyo. (0)
75-89, 4.21 ERA, 556 G, 123 GS, 19 CG, 3 SH, 50 SV, 1492.2 IP, 878 K
RP - Dave LaRoche (1970-1983); Colorado Springs, Colo. (2)
65-58, 3.53 ERA, 647 G, 15 GS, 1 CG, 0 SH, 126 SV, 1049.1 IP, 819 K
RP - Tippy Martinez (1974-1988); La Junta, Colo. (1)
55-42, 3.45 ERA, 546 G, 2 GS, 0 CG, 0 SH, 115 SV, 834.0 IP, 632 K
CP - *Rich “Goose” Gossage (1972-1994); Colorado Springs, Colo. (9)
124-107, 3.01 ERA, 1002 G, 37 GS, 16 CG, 0 SH, 310 SV, 1809.1 IP, 1502 K
Others Considered: P David Aardsma (Denver, Colo.), P Scott Elarton (Lamar, Colo.), P Luke Hochevar (Denver, Colo.), P Brian Lawrence (Fort Collins, Colo.), P Brian Matusz (Grand Junction, Colo.), P Gene Packard (Colorado Springs, Colo.), P Ken Schrom (Grangeville, Idaho)
* - Hall of Famer
AS - All-Star Game appearances (first All-Star Game was in 1933)
34. Mississippi
35. Alaska / Hawai`i / Oregon
36. Kansas
37. Maine / New Hampshire / Vermont