Left-Center Field Wall | (49.16)
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2022 2:28 pm
Below is a representation of the padded portion of what will be the Stars' new left-center field wall. The details of changes to the dimensions of the Dunn field outfield wall will be the subject of a later team news. The goal here was to present a more visually interesting history of the club, illustrated by star players of past rosters.
The purpose of the wall is to represent players significant to the history of the club. The three Hall of Famers inducted as Stars are represented here: Howell, Dunn, and Glendenning. Middleton, along with Dunn (and yes, Minuso), was a star on the 2014 Cartwright-winning team. I think a strong case for Middleton could be made as a Brewster Hall candidate. For a lot of clubs, a Cartwright Cup wouldn't be that big of a deal, but that's as far as the Suns/Stars have ever gotten in the postseason, and you work with what you have.
Does the wall depict players whose numbers have been retired? Not all of them. Four numbers have been retired by the club (not including #42, I don't know whether it has been retired by the association or not). DeMario Davis did not make the cut. I'm not really sure why his number was retired, given his career statistics. I won't be retiring any player numbers during my tenure as President of Baseball Operations since I'm philosophically disinclined to do so. I prefer 'living' numbers as a tribute to past legends. The wall is meant to emphatically connect the number to the player.
So, does the wall depict members of the team hall of fame? Not all of them. Two current team hall of famers are missing: Mauro Flores and Kevin Minuso. I was on the fence with Minuso. But the more I looked at him, the more he just didn't appear to fit the mold of an outstanding third baseman, which stands to reason, since he spent more time at short than third base over the course of his career. Should his career be reconsidered in light of this? Very good defensively, but offensively not that special. He won gold gloves for his play at third, mostly. And most of his innings at short stop happened later in his career, which is counter-intuitive, where he was nothing special. Good enough for a team hall of fame, but he doesn't make that second cut for me. Flores had a very good career, but I felt that too much of it happened at other clubs for him to be an iconic Star, and the fact that he won it all with another team just stings.
Devon Hyngary and Phil Leftwich aren't currently in the team hall of fame, but will be, so I have some housekeeping to do next season.
Hyngary had a long career (perhaps a couple season too long), spent entirely with Valencia, and is the team all-time leader in most of the compiling stats. He was a four-time all-star, but not a Nebraska winner. Nevertheless, a hall case could be made for him as well. He had a Jim Bunning-like career, though his peaks weren't quite as high and valleys not quite as low. If he had been able to pitch more effectively into this thirties, I think he would have been a slam dunk candidate. He's on the wall because I think the team leader in career wins, WAR, starts, and strikeouts, ought to be.
Leftwich was a five-time all-star and had a heck of a peak season in 1999 (like, 1987 Roger Clemens good), but the Nebraska went to Larry Lasalle that year. Very, very good at keeping the ball in the yard, he was, up until 2003, a rock steady performer. A ruptured tendon in his elbow suffered in '03 cut short his career. No Stars pitcher, before or since, has had a year like Leftwich did in '99. I think that alone makes him wall worthy. We can only speculate what a healthy, late-career Leftwich might have been able to accomplish.
The purpose of the wall is to represent players significant to the history of the club. The three Hall of Famers inducted as Stars are represented here: Howell, Dunn, and Glendenning. Middleton, along with Dunn (and yes, Minuso), was a star on the 2014 Cartwright-winning team. I think a strong case for Middleton could be made as a Brewster Hall candidate. For a lot of clubs, a Cartwright Cup wouldn't be that big of a deal, but that's as far as the Suns/Stars have ever gotten in the postseason, and you work with what you have.
Does the wall depict players whose numbers have been retired? Not all of them. Four numbers have been retired by the club (not including #42, I don't know whether it has been retired by the association or not). DeMario Davis did not make the cut. I'm not really sure why his number was retired, given his career statistics. I won't be retiring any player numbers during my tenure as President of Baseball Operations since I'm philosophically disinclined to do so. I prefer 'living' numbers as a tribute to past legends. The wall is meant to emphatically connect the number to the player.
So, does the wall depict members of the team hall of fame? Not all of them. Two current team hall of famers are missing: Mauro Flores and Kevin Minuso. I was on the fence with Minuso. But the more I looked at him, the more he just didn't appear to fit the mold of an outstanding third baseman, which stands to reason, since he spent more time at short than third base over the course of his career. Should his career be reconsidered in light of this? Very good defensively, but offensively not that special. He won gold gloves for his play at third, mostly. And most of his innings at short stop happened later in his career, which is counter-intuitive, where he was nothing special. Good enough for a team hall of fame, but he doesn't make that second cut for me. Flores had a very good career, but I felt that too much of it happened at other clubs for him to be an iconic Star, and the fact that he won it all with another team just stings.
Devon Hyngary and Phil Leftwich aren't currently in the team hall of fame, but will be, so I have some housekeeping to do next season.
Hyngary had a long career (perhaps a couple season too long), spent entirely with Valencia, and is the team all-time leader in most of the compiling stats. He was a four-time all-star, but not a Nebraska winner. Nevertheless, a hall case could be made for him as well. He had a Jim Bunning-like career, though his peaks weren't quite as high and valleys not quite as low. If he had been able to pitch more effectively into this thirties, I think he would have been a slam dunk candidate. He's on the wall because I think the team leader in career wins, WAR, starts, and strikeouts, ought to be.
Leftwich was a five-time all-star and had a heck of a peak season in 1999 (like, 1987 Roger Clemens good), but the Nebraska went to Larry Lasalle that year. Very, very good at keeping the ball in the yard, he was, up until 2003, a rock steady performer. A ruptured tendon in his elbow suffered in '03 cut short his career. No Stars pitcher, before or since, has had a year like Leftwich did in '99. I think that alone makes him wall worthy. We can only speculate what a healthy, late-career Leftwich might have been able to accomplish.
