10 Worst All-Star Batting Averages of Hall of Fame Players

There’s an age old debate about how certain MLB position players fair against top notch starting pitching. Who owned who? Some players have made a Hall of Fame career off of beating up on the third, fourth, and fifth guys in a pitching rotation. Even worse, some guys beat up on bullpen pitchers and get called great for doing so. How many times have you heard “so and so” has a great batting average from the seventh inning on? This has been translated into clutch hitting instead of hitting against a relief pitcher that didn’t make the teams starting rotation.

The 82^nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game played on July 12^th showed that not all All-Stars are All-Stars when playing against the best of the best. Here’s a list of great position players that did not fair well when playing against their All-Star contemporaries.

Hank Aaron

Hammerin’ Hank had a career .194 all-star batting average in 67 at-bats. Over the course of 17 years Mr. Aaron was selected to the All-Star Game 25 times. From 1959 to 1962 MLB had two all-star games in each season; funds raised from the second all-star game went towards the player’s pension fund. The former homerun king only had two dingers in those 67 at-bats.

Ozzie Smith

The Wizard of Oz was better known for his glove than his bat, which is a good thing considering his all-star batting average of .148. Ozzie had 15 selections 27 at bats and 4 hits. Let’s hope his all-star fielding average was better. Mr. Smith went to Cooperstown in 2002.

Paul Molitor

Paul Molitor’s 21 year career and career .306 batting average didn’t translate to all-star success. In seven invites to the all-star game, “Molly” had a career .125 batting average in the mid-season classic. The 2004 Hall of Fame inductee only had 1 hit in 8 at bats.

Ryne Sandberg

The career Chicago Cubs second baseman and current AAA manager for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate, Cubs had an all-star career batting average of .115 in 10 all-star selections. Ryno had 3 hits in 26 at bats. Sandberg was admitted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Don Mattingly

Maybe it’s a prerequisite to being a head skipper for the Dodgers? Or maybe the greats just have bad games, either way add Mattingly to the list. Don Mattingly was selected to 6 all-star games and batted .111. An average of .111 for Mattingly translates to 1 hit in 9 at bats. 

Joe Torre

The 1971 NL MVP and NL batting champion (.363) and head skipper of the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers wouldn’t be the best person to give all-star batting tips. In 9 all-star selections Torre batted .095, that’s 2 hits in 21 at bats. Ouch!

Eddie Murray

“Steady Eddie” was an 8 time all-star and a 2003 Hall of Fame selection. His 11 plate appearances yielded only 1 hit giving him a .091 all-star batting average. That must be a bitter pill for a player with 3,255 career hits.

It’s a Family Thing

Neither Brett nor Aaron, will ever be in the Hall of Fame, but the Boone name is baseball royalty and neither can give the other one a hard time around the dinner table over their all-star success… because neither one had any. The Boone Brothers combined for 4 all-star appearances (Brett 3), 5 at bats (Brett 4), and zero hits. 

Eddie Matthews

Regarded as one of the best third basemen to ever play the game, this 1978 Hall of Famer has the second worst all-star career in MLB history. In 12 all-star games Matthews had 4 hits in 25 Abs for a .080 average.

Craig Biggio

Mr. Biggio is not in the Hall yet, but the 3,060 career hits he had while playing for the Houston Astros will make him a shoe-in. In 7 all-star selections, 15 ABs, Biggio had one hit giving him a .067 average.

Like reading numbers? Here's some more for you.

 Notable Bad Averages of Other Great Players

Roger Maris .105

Pee Wee Reese .118

Barry Larkin .111

Edgar Martinez .167

Barry Bonds .194

The Best of the Best

Frank Thomas .800

Ken Griffey Jr. .440

Derek Jeter .435

Steve Garvey .393

Will Clark .385

Dave Winfield .361

Johnny Bench .357

Jackie Robinson .333

Babe Ruth .333

Roberto Clemente .323

Wade Boggs .321

Willie Mays .307

Ernie Banks .303

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Super Regional Updates

Four Super Regionals began action on Friday. Super Regional play is a best of three format.

#1 Florida beat #3 Mississippi State 11-1 in the Gainesville Super Regional

#1 Arizona State beat #1 Texas 3-1 in the Austin Super Regional

#1 Vanderbilt beat #1 Oregon State 11-1 in the Nashville Super Regional

#1 North Carolina beat #2 Stanford 5-2 in the Chapel Hill Super Regional

The remaining four Super Regional sites will begin action today. Today’s Super Regional matchups include:

#1 Virginia vs. #3 UC Irvine in the Charlottesville Super Regional

#3 California vs. #3 Dallas Baptist in the Santa Clara Super Regional

#1 Florida State vs. #1 Texas A&M in the Tallahassee Super Regional

#1 South Carolina vs. #2 Connecticut in the Columbia Super Regional

Saturday Update

#3 Mississippi State avenged Friday’s loss to the Florida Gators by winning 4-3.

Quick Notes of Interest

The current regional format used in the NCAA baseball tournament began in 1999

This is Mississippi State’s first Super Regional since 2007 and their 4^th overall

Florida made it to Omaha in 2010

Florida sophomore Mike Zunino is a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award

The last time Texas and ASU met was in the 2009 College World Series, Texas won both games

Texas leads the all-time series vs. ASU 27-19

Stanford is making their first Super Regional appearance since 2008, their 8^th appearance.

Stanford has advanced to the College World Series in 6 of their previous 7 Super Regional bids

North Carolina has not appeared in a Super Regional since 2009

OSU’s last Super Regional was in 2007; OSU won back to back titles in 2006 & 2007

The Cavalier’s have advanced to a Super Regional in three straight years

This is UC Irvine’s second appearance in a Super Regional (2008)

The Cavalier’s hold a 2-0 series lead over the Anteaters

This is the first Super Regional for Cal and Dallas Baptist

Florida State has advanced to the Super Regional round in 4 consecutive years

Texas A&M’s last Super Regional was in 2008

This is Connecticut’s second post season berth in the NCAA tournament and their first Super Regional

The Gamecocks have advanced to their second straight Super Regional. They are looking to be the first repeat College World Series winners since Oregon State in 2006 & 2007

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Arkansas Players in the 2011 MLB Draft

Here’s an update of players with Arkansas ties that were drafted in the 2011 Major League Draft.

#13 OF   Brandon Nimmo, Arkansas Signee, NY Mets, R1

#44 P      Michael Fulmer, Arkansas Signee, NY Mets. R1

#67 P      Dillion Howard, Arkansas Signee (Searcy High School), Cleveland Indians, R2

#76 C      James McCann, University of Arkansas, Detroit Tigers, R2

#179 1B  Greg Bird, Arkansas Signee, NY Yankees, R5

# 327 CF Kentrel Hill, Arkansas Baptist, SF Giants, R10

#385 SS   Joe Serrano, Arkansas Signee, Cincinnati Reds, R12

#505 OF  Connor Costello, Arkansas Signee, Cincinnati Reds R16

#531 OF  Collin Kuhn, University of Arkansas, Detroit Tigers R17

# 546 P    Andy Ferguson, Arkansas State, Kansas City Royals, R18

#575 P     Dustin Ward, UCA, Baltimore Orioles, R19

#628 IF    Brian Anderson, Arkansas Signee, Minnesota Twins, R20

#667 P     Travis Henke, UALR, Washington Nationals, R22

#707 P     Trent Daniel, University of Arkansas, Detroit Tigers, R23

#720 CF   Matt Johnson, Arkansas Tech, Tampa Bay Rays, R23

#815 P     Chris Oliver, Arkansas Signee (Shiloh Christian) B. Orioles, R27

#861 OF   Kyle Robinson, University of Arkansas, Chicago White Sox, R28

#917 P      Greg Milhorn, Arkansas Signee (Arkansas High School), Detroit Tigers, R30

#940 OF   Jarrod McKinney, University of Arkansas, Houston Astros, R31

#1020 P    Daniel Bream, Southern Arkansas University, Tampa Bay Rays, R33

#1170 C    Brandon Choate, Southern Arkansas University, Tampa Bay Rays, R42

#1275 3B  Jason Nappi, Harding University, Anaheim Angels, R43

#1298 P    Geoffrey Davenport, University of Arkansas, Cleveland Indians, R43

#1337 RF  Chretien Matz, Univ. of Arkansas Pine Bluff, Detroit Tigers, R44

The Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays spent a lot of time in Arkansas during the spring evaluation period. Between the two teams they drafted 8 players with Arkansas ties. 

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Quick Sporting News

Time heals all wounds and helps us forget the past. This unfortunately holds true for Alex Rodriguez and the steroid scandal he was involved in during the 2009 baseball season. The New York Yankees slugging third baseman conveniently blamed his cousin, Yuri Sucart, for purchasing, transporting, and injecting him with steroids during the 2003 Major League Baseball season. Part of the deal that A-Rod struck with MLB included Sucart being banned from all MLB related activities. Well guess who was hanging around the Yankees team hotel in San Francisco during the Yankees vs. A’s series this past weekend? Sucart was spotted multiple times over the weekend. Let the rumor mill begin.

Only thing missing from this story in San Francisco is Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco and a bathroom stall.

Attention: Fantasy Football Players

HogManInLA received word from Yahoo Fantasy Sports on Wednesday that they are opening registration for their 2011-2012 NFL Fantasy Football Leagues. No information on why registration was opened so soon, especially for a season that no one knows when it will begin.

In a protest that will be oblivious to the NFL, NFL owners, and NFL players, some Yahoo fantasy players are holding their drafts in July for a season that may not happen just so everyone can get together, drink some beers, and talk smack. An anonymous Yahoo Fantasy Football player’s source said, “Our wives are oblivious to the fact the NFL lockout is occurring. We intend to have a draft in July and hopefully another one a couple of weeks before the season starts, if and when that happens. We intend to tell our wives, if caught, that the NFL shook up the rosters and with a new start time we will have to draft all of our teams all over again.”

The Yahoo Fantasy Football Players Union said, “Any fantasy player that crosses the fantasy line during the NFL lockout will be considered a scab and not recognized by Yahoo Fantasy Sports Players Union if they win their season with a team drafted during the lockout.”

Tough words by Yahoo Players Union and a hard decision coming up for Yahoo Fantasy players.

Arkansas Razorback were hosed a couple of times this week.

After winning the SEC West, posting a 38-20 record, having a RPI ranking of 14, being ranked in the top 25 all season, and recording the second largest home team attendance per game average in all of college baseball, the Razorbacks will not get to host a regional this year. They will start regional play Friday at Packard Stadium in Tempe, Arizona as a 2 seed, making their 24^th appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Razorback’s will open NCAA Division 1 play against #3 seeded Charlotte (42-14; not ranked), the Atlantic 10 Conference champions, Friday at 5:00 p.m. EST.

The Razorbacks will start sophomore left-hander Randall Fant (3-4, 3.96) against Charlotte saving their top pitcher, DJ Baxendale (9-2, 1.57), for their second game, hopefully, against #11 Arizona State. Charlotte’s pitching staff posted the fourth best ERA in college baseball, 2.43, during the 2011 season. New Mexico, 20-39, is the 4^th seeded team in the Tempe Regional. New Mexico won 4 straight games in the Mountain West Conference Championship tournament to earn a NCAA berth.

Super Regional Sites

The only way the Razorbacks will be able play at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas again this season is if they win their regional and University of Texas loses their regional. UT is the higher seed amongst all 8 teams between the Tempe and Austin Regional in the field of 64. Razorback fans rooting against the Longhorns will not be a problem. The former Southwest Conference foes have a long standing rivalry. Texas appears to have a pretty easy bracket in their regional. Texas State (40-21) is the #2 seed, Kent State (43-15) is the #3 seed, and Princeton (22-23) is the #4 seed.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock (24-32) won the Sun Belt Conference tournament as an 8 seed to earn a NCAA berth. They drew the 4^th seed in the Oregon State (38-17)/Corvallis Regional at Goss Stadium. Creighton (44-14) is the #2 seed and University of Georgia (31-20) is the #3 seed in this regional.

UCLA (33-22) earned a regional hosted at Jackie Robinson Stadium, their 5^th in the last 6 years, by winning their first outright PAC 10 conference title since 1986. They drew a tough bracket with #2 seeded Fresno State (40-14), #3 seeded UC Irvine (39-16), and #4 University of San Francisco (31-23). UCLA’s pitching staff has been dominating again this year, posting a team ERA of 2.30. They are led by junior right-hander Trevor Bauer.

SEC releases early season TV football schedule

The SEC released their early TV football schedule and the preseason top 25 Arkansas Razorbacks only have one confirmed game listed… other than the predetermined SEC Championship game which they will be playing in on December 3^rd in Atlanta, Georgia (wink!). The Hogs only game currently picked up by a major network is their day after Thanksgiving battle against LSU to be aired on CBS after a one-year hiatus.

The lack of Razorback games being picked up early can be viewed two ways. 1) The programming people at the major networks are idiots, or 2) The networks want to wait to see how the Razorbacks begin their season so their games will be nationally televised during peak times on the bigger networks. CBS has first dibs on SEC games, then ESPN and their string of stations get to pick from there. 

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