Mack, Grove and Foxx are ghosts trapped between worlds

Baseball loves to honor their ghosts.

The legends of Yankees past hover over the Bronx, even after they crossed the street.
Ted Williams’ legend is honored inside and out of Fenway.
Roberto Clemente … Gil Hodges… Ty Cobb… all are honored in their old cities.

Even some players who never played in their team’s new homes are honored by their transplanted franchise.

Fan bases that never knew Jackie Robinson, Christy Mathewson and Warren Spahn honored them all.

Most players are the team’s legends. Others are hometown favorites. But most of the all time greats are saluted in one-way shape or another.

Which makes the fate of Connie Mack, Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx so much stranger.

Each of them was a legend and one of the dominating forces in the game during their time.

Connie Mack?

This was a man who managed the Athletics to pennants in four different decades. A brilliant hands off manager, he stressed intelligence and fundamentals. He was a wonderful contrast to the volatile John McGraw and the New York Giants, whom Mack’s Athletics played 3 times in the World Series and beat them twice.

He went from the teams of Rube Waddell and Eddie Plank in the 1900s… to the $100,000 infield of Eddie Collins, Home Run Baker, Jack Barry and Stuffy McInnis in the 1910s… and finally the greatest Philadelphia team of all in the late 1920s and early 1930s with Mickey Cochrane and Al Simmons… and of course Grove and Foxx.

Lefty Grove?

He was the best pitcher of his era… a time of big bats and big home run totals. He arrived after the deadball era and once the previous generation of superstar pitchers (like Grover Cleveland Alexander and Walter Johnson) had ended their careers.

Five times he lead the league in ERA as a member of the Athletics.
In his first seven seasons in the bigs, he led the league in strike outs every year.
He won 31 games in 1931 and won 20 or more for the Athletics six times.

He even led the league in saves one year.

And while Grove didn’t know it, he had the best ERA+ five times and the best WHIP three times while in Philadelphia.

And he was the 1931 American League MVP.

Jimmie Foxx?

The Beast became the premiere power source in baseball once Babe Ruth’s career started to wind down. He would hit 58 homers in 1932, missing Ruth’s mark by just two. He was a Triple Crown winner, won back to back MVPs for Philadelphia and drove in 115 or more runs each of his full seasons.

Don’t like stats like that?
He had the highest OPS three times for the A’s. Two times had the best WAR. Three times had the best run created, Adjusted OPS, Offensive Win Percentage and Adjusted Batting Runs. I am still figuring out what all of that means… but I get the sense it is impressive.

Most importantly of all, both Grove and Foxx both led Mack’s Athletics to three straight pennants and the 1929 and 1930 World Series titles.

Mack was one of the great managers in the game’s history.
Grove is an All Time legendary pitcher and Foxx one of the most feared sluggers.

Where are their numbers retired?
Where are their statues?

Not to disrespect anyone… but Harold Baines, Ron Guidry, Johnny Pesky and Randy Jones all have their numbers retired and they all are loved by their teams and fans. But none of them had the impact on their era the way that Mack, Grove and Foxx did.

But the A’s seem to only honor those who played for Oakland. And seeing they haven’t seen fit to honor Dave Stewart, an Oakland NATIVE who led the A’s to the promise land, the chances of them retiring the numbers of Philadelphia players are slim to none.

And the Phillies have their own history to honor. Besides, they are the team that DIDN’T leave Philadelphia!

Enough passing the buck. Someone should retire their numbers or erect a statue in their honor.

If the A’s ever get a new ballpark, have a concourse where the great Philadelphia Athletics are given their due and Mack, Grove and Foxx are honored.

Perhaps have it outside Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia… some sort of memorial that is separate from the Phillies and yet still honoring the city’s past.

Remember Mack used to have the biggest honor you could have in Philadelphia.
They named their stadium after him.

But these days, he’d have to change his name to a bank or an orange juice company to have another park Christened in his honor.

#1 on the Oakland A's

Flipping through pictures in Yahoo Sports tonight I stumbled across this one.

A's second baseman Aki Iwamura signing autographs in an empty Oakland Colliseum (I have no clue what its official name is any more.)

Do you know what struck me as odd? That #1 was available to a player who was cut by the Pirates earlier this year.

Iwamura didn't have a year good enough to stick around on the worst team in the game, wound up with the A's and asked "What number is available?" and the equipment manager said "How about 1?"

I can't be the only one who thinks that is strange.

The A's have had a couple of stretches where they had some great players.
And you would think that #1 would have been claimed by a Hall of Famer along the way.

The team started wearing numbers, according to Baseball Almanac (and why would they lie to me?) in 1931... when they went to their third straight World Series under Connie Mack.

Mr. Mack never wore a uniform nor had a number.

That team had 5 future Hall of Famers...

Mickey Cochrane (#2), Jimmie Foxx (#3), Lefty Grove (#10), Waite Hoyt (#28) and Al Simmons (#7).

None of those numbers are retired for those players as only Oakland players had their numbers retired.

And evidently no number 1.

By the time the A's had their great teams of the 1970s, Dick Green wore #1.

On a team with future Hall of Famers like Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers and superstars like Joe Rudi, Vida Blue and Sal Bando it was Green who had #1.




You would think #1 would have been an easy fit for Rickey Henderson when he broke in with the 1979 A's.

He was the lead off hitter and clearly a spark plug in the #1 hole.

Plus nobody was wearing #1 in 1979 for Oakland.

Instead he took #35. And when he returned to the A's in 1989, he was #24 (which is now retired... and #1 is up for grabs.)




Billy Martin brought "Billy Ball", intensity, an unexpected 1981 Division Title and the #1 on the back of a classic baseball figure in Oakland.

Billy probably should have stuck around Oakland and relaxed and molded the team after himself. His son said he never saw his dad healthier nor happier than as the manager of the A's... but he lusted after the Bronx and by 1983 he was in the Bronx.

By the end of 1983 he was fired... then rehired in 1985... then fired at the end of the year... then rehired in 1988... then fired again... and died in 1989 as the Oakland A's were the World Champs.

During the great A's run of the LaRussa days, no player wore #1.

During the Money Ball Division Titles of the 2000s, no player wore #1.

It wasn't until Nomar Garciaparra that #1 was dusted off for a player (as far as I can see, no player wore #1 since Don Hopkins donned it in 1975 until Nomar in 2009.)

Eric Patterson and now Iwamura have worn it since.
It clearly isn't being honored for a great player.

And it clearly isn't being reserved for a star.

Iwamura is going to probably be sent packing after the year... #1 will be available... again.

It would be nice to see that on the back of a better player (or ANY player when you consider the 34 year gap between #1's.)