Baseball – Danny Litwhiler, Warren Spahn, Matt Moore, Frank Duncan

Danny Litwhiler (b. 1916) played for the Phillies, Cardinals, Braves and Reds in an 11-year career.  In 1942, as a Phillie, he made the All Star team.  That year he became the first player to go the entire season without making an error. He later became a legendary collegiate baseball coach at Florida State and Michigan State, and coached such future stars as Steve Garvey and Kirk Gibson. http://fairandunbalancedblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/baseball-losses-in-2011.html  

Warren Spahn was a wonderful pitcher. The winningest left-hander in history, his 363 victories place him sixth on the all-time list. His career earned run average was 3.09 over 5,243 innings. I am amazed that Spahn is omitted from some of the recent listings of the greatest pitchers of all time as ranked by current baseball writers/historians. Leaving him out is puzzling, to say the least, based solely on his numbers. But when some of the pitchers included have substantially fewer wins and higher ERAs, it’s downright absurd. What are these people thinking? http://seamheads.com/2012/02/19/the-glory-days-the-old-left-hander/

Matt Moore, Rays, LHP, 22 (age) - Moore is the odds-on favorite to win the award in the American League. An eighth-round draft pick by the Rays in 2007, he went 12-3 across two levels in 2011 with a 1.92 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 210 K/46 BB over 155 innings. He tossed a no-hitter on June 16, and would have lead the minors in total strikeouts for the third straight year if not for his September call-up. Over his five minor league seasons, he had a 2.64 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a whopping 12.7 K/9 over 497.1 innings. He continued his dominance during his stint with the Rays, striking out 15 batters, to only three walks, over 9.1 innings, including 11 Yankees over five innings on September 22. Moore is a 6’-2”, 205 lb lefty who throws serious heat. His fastball tops out at 98 mph and sits comfortably in the mid-90s with ease. His curveball is filthy, and his change-up is still getting better. He has outstanding mound presence and brings another ace mentality to an always loaded Rays rotation. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/top-20-al-rookie-of-the-year-candidates-for-2012/17652/

The birth of Frank Duncan in 1901 is celebrated on this date. He was an African-American baseball player and manager in the Negro Leagues.  Duncan was born and raised in Kansas City. He played on semi-pro teams in St. Joseph, Missouri, and Chicago before he was traded to the Monarchs in 1921. One of the top catchers in the Negro Baseball Leagues, Frank Duncan spent most of his playing career with the Kansas City Monarchs. He was their first-string catcher during the Monarchs' glory years of the 1920s, when the team won three consecutive league championships. Duncan was behind the plate when Kansas City beat the Hilldale Club of Philadelphia in the first Negro World Series. He was also their playing manager for most of the 1940s, when the Monarchs were, once again, one of the premier teams in black baseball. Although his hitting was modest, he was an outstanding defensive catcher, who excelled at throwing out base runners and handling pitchers. Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith, and Bullet Joe Rogan were just a few of the great pitchers he caught during his long, 28-year career. He also ran the bases well and earned the reputation as a tough, hard-sliding player. http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/frank-duncan-baseball-original