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March 18, 2006

Unknown Pleasures -- The Hitters, #6-#10

Third in a series on Rangers who provided unexpected help with their bats for a season. Hitters 16-20 are here, 11-15 here.

10. Willie Montanez, first baseman, 1979

Span
Plate Apps.
Average
On-Base
Slugging
Runs
Homers
RBI
OPS+
Season (9th) 154 .319 .357 .528
645
139
802
137
Career (13 yrs) 6407 .275 .327 .402
19
8
24
101

Willie Montanez, baseball nomad. Montanez was part of the Curt Flood trade of 1970 and the four-team, eleven-player whirlwind in 1977. On six other occasions he switched teams during the season. Montanez belted thirty homers as a rookie in 1971 but never hit more than twenty afterward. Like Bill Stein (see #6 below), he plied his trade for numerous basement dwellers including the ’71-’73 Phillies, the ’76-’77 Braves, and the ’78 Mets.

On August 12, 1979, Texas acquired Montanez for minor-league pitcher Ed Lynch and backup 1B Mike Jorgenson. The Mets were 48-66, and perhaps all those years of losing had worn him down; he was batting a tired .234/.277/.317 as the everyday first baseman. After the trade, Montanez found himself at the fringe of a division race and playing meaningful baseball in mid-August. The Rangers had a record of 60-56, 5.5 games out of first.

Well… the Rangers immediately lost thirteen of fifteen to fall to 62-69. Montanez, however, batted .319/.357/.528, splitting time between first and DH, and played a large role in the Rangers winning 21 of their last 31 to finish above .500. Montanez didn’t get another chance with Texas, which sent him to the lowly Padres for Gaylord Perry.

9. Alan Bannister, second baseman, 1984

Span
Plate Apps.
Average
On-Base
Slugging
Runs
Homers
RBI
OPS+
Season (9th) 135 .295 .407 .384
20
2
9
119
Career (13 yrs) 3373 .270 .334 .355
430
19
288
90

Philadelphia chose Bannister with the #1 overall pick of the 1973 draft. As a shortstop with Arizona State, Bannister drove in an NCAA-record ninety runs in 1972. Philly had Dave Cash at second and Larry Bowa at short, so he spent most of his limited time there as an outfielder. The White Sox gave him the shortstop job in 1977 and he committed forty errors with a Fielding Rate of 80, meaning he surrendered twenty more runs per 100 games than an average shortstop. (By comparison, Alfonso Soriano had a rate of 84 in 2005.) Since his contact and on-base skills were only average and he didn’t hit for enough power in the Majors to play first or an outfield corner, he spent most of his career as a utility player, albeit an active one.

Texas acquired Bannister in May of 1984 for Mike Richardt. Unlike many of the players on this list who temporarily succeeded by swinging at everything, Bannister prospered by keeping the bat on his shoulder. He drew a walk every 6.4 plate appearance en route to a .407 OBP and stung lefties at a rate of .333/.432/.475. For the only time in his twelve-year career, he finished with an OPS+ above 100. Alas, he also played some of the worst second base ever, but this article is about hitting. Bannister spent one more season in Texas before retiring.

8. Bill Sudakis, utility guy, 1973

Span
Plate Apps.
Average
On-Base
Slugging
Runs
Homers
RBI
OPS+
Season (9th) 263 .255 .320 .494
32
15
43
131
Career (13 yrs) 1751 .234 .311 .393
177
59
214
101

Sudakis entered the Majors as a Dodger started at third regularly in 1969. LA converted him to catcher in 1970, and he split time behind the plate and at third while batting a dandy .264/.352/.461. In 1971 he caught almost exclusively, but a broken finger wrecked his season, and the Mets claimed him off waivers near the end of Spring Training in 1972. The Mets gave him only 56 plate appearances. Just 26 years old, his career rapidly approached nothingness.

The Rangers procured Sudakis in late March of 1973 for Bill McNulty. The Mets would squirrel their way into the World Series that year and the Rangers were terrible, but at least in Texas Sudakis had a role. He bounded among first, third, catcher, DH, and the outfield and smacked a career-best fifteen homers in limited action. Sudakis had a Rob Deer-like skill set; at the All Star break he had a line of .179/.248/.389. During the second half he batted a heroic .307/.370/.564 when the team routinely drew fewer than 3,000 fans. Texas sold his contract to the Yankees after the season.

7. Bob Brower, outfielder, 1987

Span
Plate Apps.
Average
On-Base
Slugging
Runs
Homers
RBI
OPS+
Season (9th) 349 .261 .338 .452
63
14
46
108
Career (13 yrs) 667 .242 .322 .376
104
17
60
90

I honestly don’t remember much about Bob Brower, but I don’t recall him being much of a prospect. He signed with Texas as an undrafted 22-year-old from Duke University. He never batted above .287 or slugged over .439 past A-ball. Except for a tablespoon of coffee at the end of the ’86 season, he spent the entirety of his Year 25 and Year 26 seasons in AAA. He did show enough potential that Texas granted him fourth-outfielder status for the ’87 season as a replacement for the older and more expensive Gary Ward.

Brower took advantage. He started 81 games and hit well overall including a line of .302/.392/.444 with runners in scoring position. He appeared to have established himself as a worthy fourth outfielder who could play regularly in center if needed.

It didn’t last. Brower started 1988 on the disabled list and lost everything but his plate discipline. He batted .224/.316/.274 in 115 fewer plate appearances, and Texas traded him to the Yankees for shortstop Bob Meacham, who never took the field for Texas. Brower didn’t hit any better in pinstripes, and New York optioned him to Columbus at the end of May. At age 29, Brower was done as a Major Leaguer.

6. Bill Stein, utility guy, 1981

Span
Plate Apps.
Average
On-Base
Slugging
Runs
Homers
RBI
OPS+
Season (10th) 126 .330 .360 .435
21
2
22
134
Career (14 yrs) 3067 .267 .313 .370
268
44
311
91

Bill Stein had a pretty grey career, though I doubt he’s complaining. He played for only one winning team in fourteen years, and from 1976-1985 his team finished last or next-to-last every season but one. He spent 1976 with a terrible White Sox squad and subbed at third base on that infamous August 8th afternoon when the team donned short pants. He then slogged through four years with the expansion Mariners. Finally, he spent five years with the Rangers including their worst four-year stretch in franchise history (’82-’85). His teams had a winning percentage of .432, equivalent to a record of 70-92 every year. Bleak.

Stein had a career line of .262/.311/.370 when he joined Texas in 1981. He didn’t draw many walks or hit for much power. Hitting singles was his primary talent. Defensively, he could play first, second and third (and elsewhere in an emergency), but Texas already had Pat Putnam, Bump Wills and Buddy Bell established at those positions. Stein wouldn’t play very often for Texas.

Logically, he responded by setting the American League record for consecutive pinch hits:

Apr 14: Singled for Mario Mendoza in the 7th.
May 9 (1): Doubled for Mendoza in the 9th, later scored.
May 9 (2): Singled for Mark Wagner in the 9th, later scored.
May 17: Singled for Mendoza in the 9th.
May 20: Singled for Wagner in the 9th.
May 23: Singled for Pat Putnam in the 9th, drove in Leon Roberts, later scored tying run.
May 25: Singled for Roberts in the 9th, drove in Buddy Bell for winning run.

Stein had a line of .540/.550/.641 after his record-setting performance: 21-for-39 with four doubles and a walk. He didn’t hit well after setting the record (.220/.270/.329) and couldn’t parlay his success into regular playing time. Still, the Rangers finished 57-48 for the only winning season in Stein’s career, and despite the strike, I’d bet he enjoyed himself.

Posted by Lucas at March 18, 2006 06:33 PM