Oddly Named Newspapers - 2/4

Last week, we looked at Alabama through Idaho. This week, it’s Illinois through Montana.

Illinois – The Pantagraph (Bloomington)

“Panta,” prefix, everything, all, the whole. “Graph,” suffix, something written or drawn.

So, I guess this means, basically, all the news that’s fit to print … Illinois style. Actually, that would be central Illinois style – you know, Bloomington, Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Decatur, Quincy …

This paper dates back all the way to 1837. Over the years, it’s been The  Bloomington Observer and McLean County Advocate, The Whig, The Intelligencer & The Daily Pantagraph. It’s a daily, and has a circulation of not quite 17,000.

Featured stories in the latest edition include:

• A local promoted to lieutenant colonel
• “Towanda native earns national junior angus [steer] bronze, silver awards”
• “Winners announced for East Peoria's annual duck race fundraiser”

Bloomington? It’s got a population of not quite 79,000, and is about half way between Chicago & St Louis. It’s home to State Farm and Beer Nuts.

Honorable mention:

• Edwardsville Intelligencer
• Homer Horizon (Homer Glen)

Indiana – The Paper of Montgomery County (Crawfordsville)

Well, it gets right to the point, I’ll give ‘em that. I wonder, though, if they considered something more along the lines of the Montgomery County Press, or Montgomery County Post, or Montgomery County Times, or anything with at least a little more pizzazz.

Their mission statement is along much the same lines:

“The Paper of Montgomery County Indiana is a daily newspaper devoted to promoting the people and events of Montgomery County.”

It’s a daily, though not published on weekends. Interestingly, it has a low, low rating of 1.8 (out of 5) on Google. That’s from only 4 people, though, with the single quote offering up the somewhat cryptic “Stop calling.”

Montgomery County? It’s in the west central part of the state and has a population of 38,000. The county seat is indeed Crawfordsville. The county also includes the towns of New Market, New Richmond, and New Ross, as well as the “other unincorporated places” of Mace, Fiskville, Smartsburg, and Lapland. 

Honorable mention

• Paladium-Item (Richmond)
• Elkhart Truth

Iowa – Thompson Courier and Rake Register 

Courier, I get. Same with Register. But Rake?

Turns out it’s actually the name of a town, with Thompson and Rake being about 5 miles apart as the crow flies (but 15 the crazy way Iowa roads are laid out). They’re both in Winnebago County, dead center on the border with Minnesota.

My only question, though, is what happened to Buffalo Center? I mean, it’s less than 10 miles from either of them, and forms the pivot point to get between the two. Sounds like they’re served by the Winnebago County Tribune though. And that would definitely not fit if added to the masthead.

Thompson’s got abut 500 people, and dates back to 1892. It’s home to the county fair. Rake’s got 185 people, and dates back to 1900. It’s named after some guy, an early settler.

The paper’s a weekly. 

Honorable mention:  Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil

Kansas – Belleville Telescope

Well, it is “an object used to see faraway objects,” so I’m guessing this paper has really good coverage for state, national & international events. 

It’s hard to tell, though, as pretty much everything’s behind a paywall on this one. I do know that it has a circulation of 2,765, and dates back to 1870. 

As for Belleville, it’s dead center on the border with Nebraska, and has about 2,000 people. Wikipedia lists 5 “notable people,” including an MLBer, an NFLer, and an astronaut, none of whom ever I’ve heard of.

Honorable mention: Mulberry Advance

Kentucky – Barren County Progress (Glasgow)

It’s not “Progress” that I’m questioning here. Though a bit unusual, it does make some sense, and is also not too awkward.

It’s the name of the county. Did they think that would attract settlers? Or, alternatively, did they want to scare settlers away, so they could have all the land to themselves?

Turns out that the county was part of the Barrens, prarieland that was barren of trees. Seems the soil was actually very productive. Plus, you didn’t have to go to all the trouble of clearing the land. So, maybe it was that second reason after all.

Barren County is in the south-central section of Kentucky. It dates back to 1798, and today has about 44,500 people. It was settled by the Scots-Irish, which accounts for the county seat being named Glasgow. 

In addition to Glasgow, the county also features communities such as:

• Bear Wallow
• Dry Fork
• Eighty Eight
• Goodnight
• Nobob
• Slick Rock

The newspaper is a weekly, dates back to 1882, and costs 50 cents. 

Louisiana – Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

Picayune: n, adj: “something of little value, importance, or consequence.”

This is probably the paper that got this whole series of blog posts started. I mean, it’s the paper of record for NOLA, dates back to 1837, has a circulation over 80,000, and has received multiple Pulitzer Prizes. In other words, it’s big time – in spite of its seemingly belittling, very odd title.

Whence that title, though? Well, another definition of “picayune” was “a Spanish coin, worth half a real or one sixteenth of a dollar.” That also just so happened to be the original price of the paper, way back in 1837.

The official title of the paper is actually The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate. And that reflects several mergers, with the New Orleans Times-Democrat (1914) and Baton Rouge’s The Advocate (2018). Informally, it’s called the T-P [snicker]. 

Some firsts for the paper include:

• Society column
• Children’s pages
• Woman’s advice column
• Probably don’t need to say anything about the Big Easy.

What the paper famously ran after the Saints lost the Super Bowl

Honorable mention: The Town Talk (Alexandria)

Maine – The Weekly Packet (Blue Hill)

“A small, formatted unit of data sent across a digital network”? Nah. “A small closed container made of paper or plastic, containing a small amount of something”? Probably not. “A small vessel that carries mail, passengers, and goods regularly on a fixed route, especially on rivers or along coasts”? Yup, that’s it!

With the implicit idea being that said packet brought news from afar. Which would all make a ton of sense if this paper dated back to, say, 1837. Instead, we’re talking about 1960 here. Google AI claims that it’s a metaphor “to symbolize a regular delivery of local news, serving as the community's informational ‘mail boat’ arriving each week.”

The weekly claims a circulation of 2,200, and serves the Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Sedgwick & Surry communities. We’re talking one peninsula over from Acadia National Park. So, in other words, pretty darn scenic.

Maryland – The Cecil Whig (Elkton)

Sounds very Regency to me. 

Which, given the paper’s founding date of 1841, is not all that far off the mark. Seems one Palmer Chamberlain Ricketts wanted to boost the Whig party after the election of William Henry Harrison (Tippecanoe and Tyler too, you know), and so set up a printing press in his log cabin. 

Later, Ricketts would be indicted for the murder of rival Amor T Forwood, publisher of the Cecil Democrat. Claiming self-defense, he would, however, be acquitted. 

But who is this Cecil fellow? Well, as it  turns out, Cecil is actually a county, the northeasternmost of all Maryland’s counties. It’s got a population of a little over 100,000, with Elkton (the county seat) having about 15,000 of those.

The paper’s published 2 days a week.

Massachusetts – The Daily Item (Lynn)

Well, let’s hope they have at least a couple. Could be a very short paper if they’re only covering the one thing.

This paper dates back to 1876, is published 6 days a week (no Sunday edition), and costs 2 dollars. It has a circulation of 16,100, and covers the state’s North Shore. You know, Nahant, Saugus, Swampscott, Peabody, Marblehead … basically, the Atlantic coast between Boston and the New Hampshire line.

Honorable mention: Wayland Town Crier

Michigan – Mining Journal (Marquette) / Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton)

Goin’ up to the ol’ UP for these 2. Yup, Yooper journalism at its finest.

If you’re not that familiar with the Upper Peninsula, there is indeed a lot of mining up there, overwhelmingly iron and copper. Logging and tourism are big as well. Not much else going on up there, I’m afraid – though the UP claims 30% of the state’s area, it has only 3% of its population.

Houghton is on the Keweenaw Peninsula, sort of a peninsula within a peninsula. It has a population of almost 8,400, and is considered the capital of Copper Country. The Daily Mining Gazette is indeed a daily, dates back to 1858, and has a circulation of 4,500.

You may have actually heard of Marquette. It’s the largest city on the UP (pop. 20,600), and is considered something of its capital. It’s right on Lake Superior, and is primarily known for shipping out iron ore. The Mining Journal is another daily, dates back to 1841, and has a circulation of 9,400 (11,100 for the weekend edition).

Minnesota – Red Wing Republican Eagle

There’s a little to unpack here. First, Red Wing is actually the name of a city. The rest of it is from the merger of 2 papers, the Daily Republican and the Daily Eagle. The 1st paper dates all the way back to 1857. The RWRE (not typing that again) comes out twice a week, and has a circulation of not quite 2,900 on Wednesdays and more than 20,000 on Saturdays.

As for the city, it has a population of 16,500, dates back to the 1850s, sits on the Mississippi River, and is officially part of the Minneapolis-St Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area. It’s named after a series of chiefs of the Dakota tribe. “Notable people” include 32 folks I’ve never heard of, including:

• Tams Bixby
• Torjus Hemmesveit
• Trapper Schoepp
• Phyllis Yes

Mississippi – Picayune Item

Combining the best features of the NOLA & Lynn MA papers …

Actually, in this case, Picayune just so happens to be the name of a town. It’s located in the very southernmost part of the state, and has almost 12,000 people, Hard to believe, but the town was actually named after the paper (see above), way back in the early 1880s. Wikipedia lists 24 “notable people” I’ve never heard of. They’re mostly athletes, with a few politicians thrown in for good measure, as well as a serial kiler.

The paper is a weekly, and dates back to 1904. It features hardhitting news articles such as:

• “Lt. Sean Talley achieves state certification”
• “SPCA secures $25,000 Grant to expand spay and neuter services”
• “Jacob Hoover takes home 3rd place in 4-H National Shooting Competition”
• “Kitten Rescued from Tree”

Okay, I made that last one up.

Honorable mention:  Enterprise-Tocsin (Indianola)

Missouri – Unterrified Democrat (Linn)

I think we have a winner!

It’s a long story, but it all dates back to the Reconstruction era, right after the Civil War. I guess there were some terrified Democrats at the time (at least in their own minds, if nothing else). Well, one Democrat supporter, Lebbeus Zevely, took it upon himself to stand up to the Yankees and Carpetbaggers and start his own newspaper. The paper stayed in the Zevely family for just over 100 years, with them finally selling out in 1969. It’s a weekly, and has a circulation of 2,500. 

Linn is the seat of Osage County, almost smack dab in the center of the state. The town dates back to 1844, and currently has a population of 1,350. It’s part of the Jefferson City Metropolitan Area. The county has more than its share of interestingly named “unincorporated communities,” including:

• Aud
• Loose Creek
• Folk
• Crook
• Frankenstein

Honorable mention: New Evening Whirl (St Louis)

Montana – Powder River Examiner (Broadus)

Slim pickins in this state of just over 1 million people. I always thought the Powder River sounded kinda funny though. Add that to Broadus, and we’ve got a real winner.

The town is not actually on the Powder River, but it is the seat of Powder River County. And, yes, the river does run through said county. We’re talking the southeasternmost corner of the state.

Broadus dates back only to 1900, and currently has a population of 450. It’s the site of an Indian Wars battle, as well as a productive gas and oil field.

The paper, a weekly, dates back to 1918. Previous incarnations were the Broadus Independent, the Olive Branch, and the Powder River County Examiner.

Oddly Named Newspapers 1/4

There sure are a lotta newspapers out there, even today. Most are named basic things like Times, Post, Press, etc. Some, though, kind of make you wonder how the heck they came up with that.

In this post, I’m listing the most crazily named newspaper in every state. Since there are a lotta states, I’m breaking this into 4 posts.

I did need a few rules though:

• The paper has to have its own Wikipedia page. This is to eliminate any penny savers or questionable publications.
• No specialty papers (foreign-language, alternative, business, religious …)
• The paper has to be current, and not “defunct” … unless I was really desperate (I’ll let you know).

Alabama – Advertiser-Gleam (Guntersville)

Advertiser, I get. Gleam, not so much. Supposedly, the paper was named for the for the “gleam sunlight made on the town's Guntersville Lake.” 

Guntersville? It’s in the northeast part of the state and has a population of around 8,500. The lake? It’s man-made, Alabama’s largest, and goes for 75 miles along the Tennessee River.

The paper? It’s a weekly, dates back to 1941, and has a circulation of 10,250. Sounds like it has a pretty unique, rather personal & casual style, which extends even to the obituaries.

Alaska – The Nome Nugget

Points for the alliteration. What I really like, though, is the “nugget.” It’s just a fun thing to say. Nugget. Go ahead, try it. Nugget, nugget, nugget.

The “nugget,” of course, comes from the area’s history of gold mining. During the gold rush, Nome had a population of 10,000, making it the largest city in the state. Today, it only has 3,700. It’s in the northwest part of the state.

The Nugget dates back to 1899, and is the oldest paper in Alaska. A weekly, it costs 50 cents. It’s the paper of record for pretty much all of the northwestern part of the state.

Arizona – The Kingman Daily Miner

The occasional miner is okay. But every day? I mean, honestly …

Kingman is indeed in mining country, with nearby mines producing copper, molybdenum & turquoise. It’s in the northwest part of the state, right along old Route 66. It currently has a population of 35,000. 

The paper is indeed a daily as well. It’s got a circulation of 3,900, and features such wonderful, small-town stories as:

• A local takes 3rd place in a statewide firefighter pullup challenge
• A nearby college open a cosmetology program
• The mayor visits an elementary school

Arkansas – Times of Northeast Benton County 

Well, that’s pretty specific.

Turns out that corner is home to the booming metropolis of Pea Ridge, population 6.500. Benton County? It just so happens to be the very most northwestern-most county in Arkansas. The area’s main claim to fame is a pretty big Civil War battle.

The newspaper (I ain’t typing that again!) is a weekly with a circulation of 1,400. It dates back to 1913, but is not the oldest paper to have been published in the city. That honor goes to the wonderfully name Pea Ridge Pod.

The Times covers Pea Ridge (of course) but also the communities of Bridgewater, Gateway, Avoca, Garfield, Mountain, Lost Bridge, Little Flock, and Jacket.

California – Carmel Pine Cone (Carmel-by-the-Sea)

Let me tell ya, Carmel is one swanky place. I been there!

The town of 3,200 is right along a beautiful part of the Pacific coast, between Monterrey and Big Sur. It started out as an artist’s colony and is today famous for celebrities and pricey shops. Notable residents include Jack London, Upton Sinclair, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Doris Day, Brad Pitt, and Clint Eastwood (who was actually mayor).

The paper dates back to 1915. It comes out weekly, and is free.

Colorado – Golden Transcript

Is this like the golden ticket, from Willy Wonka?

Well, the city is called Golden, so I guess anything they came up with would sound a little odd. Golden Inquirer, anyone? Golden Sun? How about Golden Gazette?

Interestingly, Golden was actually named after some guy. You probably know it from Coors beer. It’s just north of Denver, and has a little more than 30,000 people.

The Transcript, a weekly, dates back to 1866, and is the 2nd-oldest paper in the state. It has never missed an edition.

Honorable mention:  Daily Camera (Boulder)

Connecticut – The Day (New London) / The Hour (Norwalk)

No word on The Minute, The Week, or The Month, I’m afraid.

The Day is indeed a daily. It dates back to 1881, and currently has a circulation of 15,500. They’ve won quite a few awards.

New London has a population not quite twice The Day’s circulation, at a little over 30,000. It’s on Long Island Sound, in the eastern part of the state, and is home to the Coast Guard Academy.

The Hour is not an hourly, but another daily. It dates back to 1871, and was originally called the Evening Hour, before switching to the Norwalk Hour and then to its current title. It too has a circulation of around 15,000. 

Norwalk is also on the Sound, but to the far western part of the state. It’s 3 times as big as New London, with a population of 91,000. Probably because of its proximity to NYC, it’s home to a number of corporations, including Xerox, Priceline.com, and Pepperidge Farm.

Delaware – Delaware Straight-Out Truth Teller (Wilmington)

I hate to do this to you, but this our first defunct paper. It is no more! It has ceased to be! It’s expired and gone to meet its maker! It’s a stiff! Bereft of life! It rests in peace!

It is a great name though. And seeing as Delaware’s a small state, and has only 5 other papers that would qualify, this’ll have to do.

This one’s pretty interesting. The paper actually existed for only a single year, 1872. Seems it was started solely for that year’s presidential election, and was basically a mouthpiece for the Straight-Out Democratic Party’s candidate Charles O’Connor. Its motto was "O'Conor & Adams; Honesty, Patriotism and Statesmanship.”

Florida – Boca Beacon (Boca Grande)

Alliteration for the win!

The only question is what Boca they might be referring to. I mean, there’s Boca Raton and Boca Chica, right? I’ve actually never heard of Boca Grande.

It is for real though. Sounds like it’s little more than a community on Gasparilla Island, however, on the Gulf coast and near Ft Myers. It has a population of 1,700, and does not allow cars (golf carts only). It sounds quite toney, with residents including the Bushes, the DuPonts, and Audrey Hepburn. 

The paper dates back to only 1980, has a circulation of 4,000, and comes out every week. 

Georgia – The Dahlonega Nugget

Again with the nuggets.

Now, you may not know that Dahlonega is in fact another gold rush town (if you’e ever even actually heard of it, that is). This town of 7,500 in the most northern part of Georgia (i.e., up in the mountains) was the site of the 2nd gold rush in the US, way back in 1829. “Dahlonega” is actually Cherokee for “gold.”

The Nugget is a weekly, with a circulation of 6,400, and dates back to 1890. Sounds like they’ve had quite a few characters running the paper over the years.

Hawaii – Ko Hoku o Ka Pakipika (Honolulu)

Another defunct one, I’m afraid. There are only 7 papers currently published in the islands, though, all with boring names like the News, or the Herald, or the Advertiser, so this’ll have to do.

Ko Hoku o Ka Pakipika (thank you, cut and paste) was active for only 3 years, between 1861 and 1863. It was the first native paper, and was in the Hawaiian language. The name means “Star of the Pacific” in Hawaiian.

Probably don’t need to say much about Honolulu. It’s served today by The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, which has a circulation of 75,000 or so.

Idaho – Owhyee Avalanche (Homedale)

An avalanche of news? An avalanche of savings? An avalanche of bird cage liners? 

This one’s a weekly, has a circulation of 1,900, and dates back to 1865. It was, in fact, the 1st real paper in the state. It’s stopped and started, and moved around Owhyee County, ever since its inception. Previous incarnations include the Leader, the Chronicle, the Tidal Wave, and the Nugget (again!).

Homedale (and Owhyee County) are in the southwest corner of the state. The town’s got a population of 3,900 and includes such notable citizens as Ted Trueblood and Niles Fulwyler. 

Next week, Illinois through Montana.

All-Anderson All-Star Team

Well, there are certainly enough of us. Anderson is the 15th most popular name in the US, accounting for not quite 1 million people.

Same thing with MLB alumni. Would you believe almost 23,000 have played in the bigs over the years?

Put the two together, and you’re sure to put together a pretty decent ball team. Right? Right?

NOTE: The main criterion here is WAR. I have, though, given some attention to other stats. Saves, for example, works pretty well for relievers.

Catcher – Ferrell (-0.1)

Unfortunately, we’re going to have start things off with a guy with a negative WAR. Guess us Andersons just don’t take to the tools of ignorance.

Ferrell, known as “Andy,” was up for only 2 years. Interestingly, there were 7 years between those 2 appearances. 

The first was in 1946, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He got not quite 200 ABs (199, to be exact), hit 256, but only managed 2 HRs & 14 RBIs. He was a league leader though – in passed balls, unfortunately. On the real plus side, he did catch a no-hitter.

His 2nd stint in the bigs was in 1953, with the Cards. He did hit 286, but with only 2 runs produced (1 RBI & 1 run).

Before MLB, Ferrell was an all-conference tackle with the Univ. of Kansas.

1st Baseman – John (28.3)

This guy’s got the 2nd best WAR here. If you’ve never heard of him, it’s probably because he played way back around the turn of the 20th Century (1894-1908, to be precise). 

Over those 14 years, he played with 6 teams, batting 290, with 1843 hits, 871 runs, 978 RBIs & 338 steals. He was a league leader no less than 3 times – in triples, steals & slugging percentage. He’s got 1 comparable player, Jimmy Collins, who’s actually in the Hall of Fame.

Interestingly, John’s our only foreign-born player, coming from Norway. After hanging up his spikes, he managed in the minors & was a policeman.

2nd Baseman – Marlon (7.2)

Marlon’s our first recent player, retiring in 2009. In fact, I think he might have been on 1 of my fantasy teams.

Over 12 years, he too played for 6 teams. Overall, he finished at 265, with 63 HRs, 371 RBIS, 392 runs & 71 steals. He was in 2 postseasons, making it to the World Series with the Cards. Looks like we’ve got another league leader here – in errors, unfortunately. Hmm, am I detecting a theme here?

Outside of the bigs, Marlon was an All American & conference player of the year at the Univ. of South Alabama. Post-retirement, he’s been a minor-league hitting coach & Phillies announcer.

Shortstop – Tim (15.4)

Another contemporary player, Tim retired only last year. His 10-year career started in 2016, taking him to the White Sox, Marlins & Angels (poor guy). He was a 2-time All Star with Chicago. He also led the AL in runs in the strike-shortened 2020 season, and in average in the full season before that.

Career-wise, Tim finished with 98 homers, 350 RBIs, 552 runs, 122 steals & a 270 average. Surprisingly, he got into 2 postseasons, both with the White Sox. Though he batted 485 over those 2 stints, the Pale Hose could not advance in either.

3rd Baseman – Brian (9.9)

Another recent player, Brian retired after the 2024 season. Overall, he was up for 8 years and played for 3 teams (though 6 of those years were with Miami). He finished with 66 HRs, 273 RBIs & 287 runs, with a 251 average. He was a league leader twice – once in assists, and once in errors (again!). 

Brian played college ball at the Univ. of Arkansas. The Razorbacks got to the College World Series in 2012 while he was there.

He’s another “Andy.” Hard to believe, but there are actually 3 Brian Andersons out there (see below for another), as well one Bryan Anderson. 

I think this is the right guy

Outfielder 1 – Brady (35)

I guess Brady’s our big star. He’s got the best WAR overall, plus 3 All Star appearances to boot.

Oddly, though he does have 4 league leader totals, they’re in the rather obscure categories of HBP (3 times) and plate appearances (once). He was also pretty good in the field, leading the league in fielding percentage 3 times.

Over his 15-year-career (14 of those years with Baltimore), he totalled a very respectable 210 HRs, 761 RBIs, 1062 runs & 100 steals. Comparable players include the likes of Lloyd Moseby, Rick Monday & Jason Heyward.

Now, about that one year... In 1996, Brady hit 50 homers and knocked in 110 runs. That’s, respectively, twice his 2nd best total and 30 more than he had ever plated before. Was he juicing? Hard to say.

Before MLB, he was a UC-Irvine Anteater. Currently, he’s the batting coach for the Angels. Brady’s also dabbled in acting, with appearances in the TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the movie The Absent.

Juice? Could be.

Outfielder 2 – Garret (25.7)

Another 3-time All Star, Garret played for 17 years, all but 2 of those with the Angels. He was also a 2-time Silver Slugger Award winner, finishing his career with a very nice 293 average. He also tallied 287 homers, 1365 RBIs & 1084 runs. 

Garret led the AL twice in doubles. A decent fielder, he led the league in assists, putout & double plays, all once. His comparable players include 1 Hall of Famer, Dave Parker.

Sadly, Garrett passed away just this year, at the too-young age of 50.

Outfielder 3 – Mike (4.4)

Who? Yeah, we’re dragging the bottom of the barrel for this one (sorry, Mike). You’d think there’d be a 3rd outfielder with a little better numbers.

Mike was up for 9 years, with 3 different teams. His totals are pretty meh – 246 average, 28 homers, 134 RBIs & 159 runs. Sounds like he wasn’t too bad in the field, leading the league once in range factor.

He was actually drafted #6 and made the Phils at age 20. Unfortunately, things never really panned out for him

Mike’s the brother of Kent Anderson, who played 2 years with the Angels.

Starting Pitcher 1 – Tyler (16.5)

Another recent player, Tyler hung up his spikes just last year. In his 10-year career, he played with 6 different teams.

Overall, he went 62-72, with a 4.30 ERA & a 1.296 WHIP. He also notched 1045 K’s in 1259 innings. Finally, he was a 2-time All Star, both as an Angel. 

Tyler was a 1-time league leader. Too bad it was in HRs allowed (sigh).

He managed to get into 3 postseasons, posting a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings. Unfortunately, he seems to have been the victim of poor run support, going 0-3 overall.

Tyler had a pretty good college career, for the Oregon Ducks. He was All Conference, a 2nd team All American, and set a Duck record for K’s.

Starting Pitcher 2 – Brett (10.9)

Brett’s career is not too different from Tyler’s. Brett was up for 13 years, playing for 6 teams, and retiring in 2021. Like Tyler, he finished under 500 (67-74), had an ERA over 4.00 (4.07, to be exact), and was in 0-3 in 3 postseasons. 

His WHIP was a little higher (1.334), his strikeouts less (772), and his postseason ERA much, much higher (6.75). He led his league only in a few fielding categories – assists, double plays & errors (again!).

Though his father was the head coach at Oklahoma State (and he signed a letter of intent there), he signed with the D-Backs in the 2nd round, skipping college entirely.

Starting Pitcher 3 – Brian (10)

Our other Brian … This one, though, was known, not as “Andy,” but by the much more interesting nickname of “Antic.”

Like our other starters, this one finished under 500 (just barely, though, at 82-83) & with an ERA over 4.00 (4.74). He also had a fairly comparable WHIP of 1.345, as well as a total of 723 strikeouts. 

Brian was up for 13 years, starting in 1993, & played for 4 teams. He was a 1-time league leader, in BB per 9 inning (1.00, on the dot).

Like a couple of our other starters, Brian was in the postseason for 3 years, He did pretty well though, going 2-1 with a 2.43 ERA & 0.978 WHIP. His teams did good too, with him getting in 2 World Series.

Brian played college ball at Wright State. Currenty, he’s a TV analyst for the Rays. He’s also been a coach for them, as well as working in the front office.

He was on air for Cleveland as well

Starting Pitcher 4 – Chase (7.2)

Wow, our first starter with a winning record! Barely. Chase finished 1 game over 500, going 59-58.

He was up for 11 years, but with an amazing 9 teams. Overall, he sported a 4.41 ERA but also a decent 1.299 WHIP. Chase notched 923 K’s in 1107 innings. He switched to relief in his final years, getting 4 saves. 

And, yes, he was a league leader. Unfortunately, it was in home runs allowed. Again!

Chase played college ball at North Central Texas & Oklahoma. He was a reliever for the latter, striking out 60 batters in 51 innings.

You’ve got to check out his Wikipedia entry. It’s an incredible 16 pages long & includes 86 footnotes. It includes gems such as:

“His parents, Michelle and Robert Anderson, divorced when their son was 12 years old. Anderson went to live with his father, helping with the family lawn care and firewood businesses. In their free time, Anderson and his father would play catch in their backyard, which sparked Anderson's love for baseball. Anderson also wanted to play gridiron football, but his mother was afraid that he would suffer an injury that would hinder his baseball career.”

And

“Anderson is a Baptist. He became a Christian through the influence of his grandmother, Annette Anderson, with whom he attended both Baptist and United Methodist churches. He attends The Village Church in Dallas.”

I’m thinking it might have been written by Michelle.

Relief Pitcher 1 – Matt (-0.6)

Our only other player with a negative WAR. He did, though, post 26 career saves, first among this group. Matt had a good record (15-7), but his ERA (5.19) and WHIP (1.582) are probably what account for that woeful WAR.

He was up for 7 years, all but 1 with the Tigers. He was their closer for 1 year, in 2001, where he got 22 of his 26 saves. 

Matt was actually the #1 pick in the 1997 draft, out of Rice, where he was a 1st team All American. He also started his professional career with a bang, notching a 0.66 ERA & 0.927 WHIP in 2 minor league stops before being called up to the bigs. In Detroit, he posted a 3.27 ERA & astruck out 44 in 44 innings.

He then hurt his arm – ostensibly in a bullpen session, but possibly in an octopus-throwing contest with the Detroit Red Wings (I don’t know – it’s some hockey thing apparently). His fastball went from over 100 to under 90, and he was never the same again.

Relief Pitcher 2 – Bob (3.8)

Bob’s the reliever that leads in WAR. He also notched a decent 13 saves. Bob played from 1957 to 1963, with all but the last year with the Cubs. He led the league twice, once in double plays & once in errors (again!).

Bob was also a spot starter, as well as starting regularly for the Cubs for 2 years. Overall, he finished his career with a 36-46 record, with a 4.26 ERA, 1.400 WHIP & 502 K’s.

Bob was a big boy, at 6’4” and 210 lbs. He played 1 year of college ball at Michigan before going pro. Post baseball, he tried his hand at golf, sales, youth coaching & owning a health food store.

Relief Pitcher 3 – Nick (3.4)

Nick’s our only current player, playing with AAA Las Vegas, where he’s sporting a handsome 2.16 ERA & 0.840 WHIP. 

Over 6 major league seasons, he’s got a decent 14-7 record, 3.43 ERA & 1.110 WHIP. He’s also got 10 saves and an impressive 212 K’s in 173 innings. He’s played for 5 different teams in those 6 years.

He played college ball at St Cloud State (MN) & Mayville State (ND). His nickname is “Ando.”

Relief Pitcher 4 – Bud (2.1)

Bud was up for only 2 years, 1982 & 1983, both with Cleveland. In those 2 years, he posted a pretty average 3.68 ERA & 1.409 WHIP, combined with a pretty terrible 4-10 record. 

Bud was a 3rd rounder, out of Rutgers, where he also played football. His real name is Karl. Just not a whole lotta information on Bud, I’m afraid.

Manager – Sparky Anderson

Our one and only Hall of Famer. And he certainly didn’t earn that in the field. Sparky was actually the starting 2nd baseman for the 1959 Phillies. Unfortunately, though he led the league in games played, he also hit 213 with no homers. And that was his only year in the bigs.

It’s managing that got him to Cooperstown. He won over 2,000 games (2194, to be exact), as well as 5 pennants & 3 World Series. Those last 3 were with Cincinnati & Detroit, making him 1 of only 3 managers to have won World Series in both leagues.

Sparky was Manager of the Year twice. Though he was manager for Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine, those Manager of the Year honors came with the Tigers. He is, in fact, the all-time wins leader with Detroit.

After retiring from managing, Sparky was a broadcaster for CBS & the Angels. By the way, his real name was George.

MVP Vs. Cy Young Award

To me, it always seemed that the MVP was more for batters and the Cy Young for pitchers. There have, of course, been some years where the MVP was won by a pitcher, which means that the same guy won both awards. What would it have looked like, though, if the MVP was just for batters and the Cy Young just for pitchers? 

This post looks at those years when a pitcher won the MVP as well as the Cy Young. My main goal is to see who that MVP batter might have been. I’ll do that in a pretty straightforward way – just see what batter came in 2nd in MVP voting. I’ll also, though, take a good look at WAR & other stats as well.

Note that some of those batters were actually superior to some of those pitchers. In other cases, though, the pitcher really did deserve both awards. I’ll start with the years where the pitcher really was superior, then move to those where that was decidedly less so.

1968 AL – Bob Gibson (11.9 WAR)

• MVP #2 – Pete Rose (5.5)
• Batting WAR leader – Roberto Clemente (8.2)

It was the Year of the Pitcher, so this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Gibson did, indeed, win 22 games, finish with a 710 winning percentage, and lead the league in Ks (268), WHIP (0.853), and ERA (1.12). That last number is, in fact, a record for the modern era. 

Now, Clemente didn’t lead the league in anything that year other than WAR. In fact, he batted under 300, had less than 20 HRs, and didn’t even make the All Star team. Players with gaudier numbers (but lower WARs) included:

• Pete Rose, who led the league in average & hits
• Willie McCovey, who led the league in HRs & RBIs, came in 3rd in MVP voting & also in WAR (7.0)

All 3 have 1 other MVP award.

2014 NL – Clayton Kershaw (8.2 WAR)

• MVP #2 – Giancarlo Stanton 
• Batting WAR leader – Giancarlo Stanton & Anthony Rendon (6.5)

Kershaw’s season was actually somewhat comparable to Gibson’s. Kershaw led the league in winning percentage (875, on a 21-3 record), ERA (1.77) & WHIP (0.857). 

Stanton led the league in homers, with 37, got over 100 RBIs, but did not crack 300 (288). Anthony Rendon led the league in runs (111), but actually did not receive any MVP votes. 

Right on their tails, at 6.4, were Andrew McCutchen & Jonathan Lucroy. They came in, respectively, 3rd and 4th in MVP voting.

Stanton has 1 other MVP, as does McCutchen.

1971 AL – Vida Blue (9.0 WAR)

• MVP #2 – Sal Bando (6.4)
• Batting WAR leader – Graig Nettles (7.5)
• Pitching WAR leader – Wilbur Wood (11.8)

Blue had an incredible season. He lead the league in ERA (1.82), got over 300 Ks (301) & finished with a 24-8 record. 

Hard to believe, though, that he was actually behind Wood in WAR. Wood also won 20 (22, to be exact) & had a sub-200 ERA (1.91). Interestingly, a 3rd guy, Mickey Lolich, led the league in wins (25) & Ks (308). Lolich & Wood came in 2nd & 3rd, respectively, in voting for the Cy Young.

It was a weird year offensively as well. First, Nettles wasn’t first in anything, and came in a very low 28th in MVP voting. Ditto with Sal Bando, at least on that 1st part. League leaders included Bill Melton (33 HRs, 5.7 WAR), Harmon Killebrew (119 RBIS, 2.8 WAR) & Tony Oliva (337 BA, 3.7 WAR).

Killebrew’s the only 1 of these guys to have an MVP.

1986 AL – Roger Clemens (8.8 WAR)

• MVP #2 – Don Mattingly (7.2)
• Batting WAR leader – Wade Boggs (8.1)
• Pitching WAR leader – Teddy Higuera (9.4)

Clemens had an excellent season as well. He led the league in wins (24), winning percentage (857), ERA (2.48) & WHIP (0.969). Interestingly, though, he came in 2nd in WAR, to Higuera, who actually didn’t lead the league in anything (not totally sure what that was all about). 

Mattingly was the league leader in hits (238), OPS (967) & total bases (388). Boggs led the AL with an incredible BA of 357 and OBP of 453. 

Mattingly’s the only guy other than Clemens with an MVP.

2011 AL – Justin Verlander (8.2 WAR)

• MVP #2 – Jacoby Ellsbury 
• Batting WAR leader – Jacoby Ellsbury & Jose Bautista (8.3)

Surprisingly, Verlander’s our 1st triple crown winner. Indeed, he led the league in wins (24), ERA (2.40) & strikeouts (250), while also doing the same for winning percentage (838) & WHIP (0.920).

Ellsbury led the league in total bases (364) & plate appearances (732), but also got over 30 homers & 100 RBIs, hitting over 300 as well. League leaders in more standard stats were all over the place – Jose Bautistia with HRs (43), Curtis Granderson with RBIs (119. 6.1 WAR) & Miguel Cabrera with BA (344, 7.6 WAR). Those 3 came in, respectively, 3rd, 4th & 5th in MVP voting.

Cabrera’s the only one of this group with another MVP, winning it twice.

1956 NL – Don Newcombe (5.3 WAR)

• MVP #2 – Sal Maglie (4.9)
• Batting WAR leader – Duke Snider & Willie Mays (7.6)
• Pitching WAR leader – Johnny Antonelli (6.4)

This one is so weird. First, Newcombe does deserve plenty of credit for leading the league in wins (an incredible 27), winning percentage (794) & WHIP (0.989). At the same time, though, 5 pitchers outranked him in WAR – Antonelli, Bob Friend (5.6), Warren Spahn (5.5), Sal Maglie & Ron Kline (4.9). None of the 5, however, were league leaders in anything (except for Kline, who tied for the lead in losses and wild pitches!).

On the offensive side, Hank Aaron came in 3rd in MVP voting. He also led the league in hits (200), BA (328) & TBs (340). Snider led the NL in homers (43) & OPS (997), but only came in 10th in MVP voting. Mays led the league in SBs (40), socked 36 homers, but came in 17th in MVP voting.

Both Mays & Aaron have other MVPs – Mays with 2 & Aaron with 1.

1981 AL – Rollie Fingers (4.2 WAR)

• MVP #2 – Rickey Henderson (6.7)
• Batting WAR leader – Rickey Henderson & Dwight Evans (6.7)
• Pitching WAR leader – Bert Blyleven (5.6)

Well, it was a shortened season. Maybe that explains some of the craziness.

Fingers did lead the league in saves (28), but that was about it. Now, they only played 2/3 of a season that year, so maybe the thinking was that Fingers would have set a new saves record if the season had been a full one. Indeed, he would have finished with 42, topping John Hiller’s record of 38. 

That said, 3 guys had better WARs – Blyleven, Steve McCarty (4.5) & Dave Stieb (4.4). McCarty was the only league leader, though, in wins (14) & ERA (2.33).

Offensively, Henderson led the AL in runs (89), hits (135) & steals (56), all while batting 319. Evans led in homers (22) & OPS (937), and came in 3rd in MVP voting.

Henderson has 1 other MVP award.

1968 AL – Denny McLain (7.4 WAR)

• MVP #2 – Bill Freehan (6.9)
• Batting WAR leader – Carl Yastrzemski (10.5)
• Pitching WAR leader – Luis Tiant (8.5)

Well, it’s hard to argue with 30+ wins. McLain also led the league in winning percentage (838), IPs (336!) & complete games (28!!). Tiant, though, led in ERA (1.60) and also won 21. Though he finished 5th in MVP voting, he got no votes for Cy Young (McLain got ‘em all). 

Freehan didn’t lead the league in anything other than HBP. He did come in 3rd in WAR though.

Yaz led the AL in BA (301 – the only guy over 300) & OPS (922). He came in 9th in MVP voting however. He has 1 other MVP. 

1992 AL – Dennis Eckersley (2.9 WAR)

• MVP #2 & batting WAR leader – Kirby Puckett (7.1)
• Pitching WAR leader – Roger Clemens (8.7)

Huh? Is this an error? How in the world did this happen? 

Well, Eckersley did have 51 saves. That, however, was no new record (Bobby Thigpen had 57 in 1990). Also, would you believe there were 25 pitchers ahead of Eck relative to WAR (including 3 other relievers)? 

In addition to WAR, Clemens led AL pitchers in ERA (2.41) & WHIP (1.074). He came in 14th in MVP voting & 3rd in Cy Young.

Offensively, Puckett led the league only in hits (210), though he also batted a fine 329 & had over 100 RBIs (110, to be exact). Frank Thomas was pretty close behind him, at 7.0 WAR & leading the AL in OPS (975). 

The rest of the league leaders were all over the place:

• HRs – Juan Gonzalez, 43 (2.9 WAR)
• RBIs – Cecil Fielder, 124 (2.8 WAR)
• Average – Edgar Martinez, 343 (6.5 WAR)

Clemens already had 1 MVP, with Thomas & Gonzalez both having 2.