THE RATASS GAZETTE

Rickey Henderson 1982 Topps #610 RANDOM THOUGHTS ... Awesome card here featuring the great Rickey Henderson on the base-paths, which is fitting because in 1982 he set the Major League record with 130 stolen bases. The previous mark had been 118, set by Lou Brock in 1974. Henderson had put himself on the map with 100 steals in 1980, but in 1982 it all came together. ...  He led the league with 116 bases on balls, helping him to a .398 on-base percentage, which means he was getting on base a ton. And if he got on, he was taking second base in a hurry. And maybe third base, too.  ... Henderson was also caught stealing 42 times in 1982, which seems like a lot (and it is), but when you consider his 75% success rate that season (130 steals in 172 attempts), it's acceptable. ... He was 80% for his career, which is phenomenal. ... Henderson, a Hall of Famer,  led the American League in stolen bases in seven consecutive seasons (1980-1986), and topped the century ma...

Paul Goldschmidt is the best baseball player no one is talking about, so let's talk about him...   Paul Goldschmidt: Hitting Machine. Here's a question for all you fantasy baseball fanatics out there... Who is the top-ranked 1st-baseman* on ESPN's Player Rater right now? Hint: It's not Prince Fielder (he's #6), or  Joey Votto (#11), or Albert Pujols (#26). And it sure as heck isn't Billy Butler -- the 1B I drafted in Round 4 of my 10-team league draft -- who is ranked #33. Yep, you guessed it, the answer is Goldschmidt . Check out these numbers: Player AVG OBP SLG OPS R HR RBI SB Goldschmidt .320 .413 .592 1.005 22 9 30 4 Fielder .302 .428 .569 .997 18 8 32 0 Votto .315 .451 .485 .936 24 4 13 0 Pujols .240 .322 .408 .730 14 5 19 0 Butler .245 .380 .388 .768 11 3 19 0 As ...

Ozzie Smith 1984 Topps #130 RANDOM THOUGHTS ... Here we see Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith hustling down the baseline on his 1984 Topps card. Smith played 124 games in 1984, posting a stat line of .257/.347/.337 (.684 OPS). Yikes, that .337 slugging percentage is hard to look at... but at least he was hustling! He also added 791 cart-wheels, which was right around his career average. And, oh yeah, he was named an All-Star and won a Gold Glove. ... I've always admired the 1984 Topps card design, going as far as to say it's my favorite Topps baseball card design of the 1980's. A bold statement, for sure, but this design is top-notch. You've got the player inset photo, with the player photo exploding out of the top of the frame, which is cool. The vertical team name, with matching team color, is a nice touch as well. Player name and position are presented cleanly in all-caps in the lower-right hand corner of the card. Just a really nice-looking design. Awesome card from ...

Tony Gwynn 1987 Topps #530 RANDOM THOUGHTS... It's fitting that Tony Gwynn is shown here in the batter's box because he was definitely focused on the ball that year. He'd post a major league-leading .370 batting average in 1987, which was the highest number he'd posted in his career to that point. He also stole 56 bases that season! I was surprised to learn that Gwynn stole 319 bases over his 20 year career. ... Gwynn had a great offensive year in '87, adding 13 triples that contributed to an impressive .370/.447/.511 stat line. He also led the league with 218 hits, and those 56 SB were good for 2nd in the NL. His gaudy .958 OPS ranked ahead of NL sluggers such as Mike Schmidt (35 HR's in 1987) and Andre Dawson (a league-leading 49 bombs). Now that's raking it! ... Gwynn hit over .350 in a season a whopping 7 times! I already knew he was great, but now I'm starting to think he was  really  great. Tony Gwynn is the man.

He's old, he's jaded, he's a baseball scout.  He thinks today's players aren't shit compared to Home Run Baker and Three-Finger Brown.  He spews out so many old baseball names you're not sure if they're real or made up.  He mentions obscure nicknames as if they're common knowledge.  And more often than not, he'll start spinning a yarn about some guy he (supposedly) once saw rather than answer your original question.     Since the 2011 season ended, baseball's Hot Stove has been steaming.  The Texas Rangers signed Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish , National League MVP Ryan Braun reportedly tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and sluggers Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder changed teams. So what does our Jaded Old Baseball Scout think about all this?  Let's find out... " Me and Smitty once scouted a kid named Winky "The Mongoose" Munson that could throw 11 pitches. He's what you call Am...

He's old, he's jaded, he's a baseball scout.  He thinks today's players aren't shit compared to Home Run Baker and Three-Finger Brown.  He spews out so many old baseball names you're not sure if they're real or made up.  He mentions obscure nicknames as if they're common knowledge.  And more often than not, he'll start spinning a yarn about some guy he (supposedly) once saw rather than answer your original question.   So who better to ask about Washington Nationals pitching phenom, Stephen Strasburg? < " I don't think he's in the same class as [presumably retired pitcher] Ezekiel Pratt.  The Amish Horse. " On Strasburg's Arm... " Decent arm.  I'd probably even go as far as to call it a good arm.  But I don't think he's in the same class as [presumably retired pitcher] Ezekiel Pratt.  The Amish Horse.  Big Zeke .  Pratt once raised a barn one morning, then went out and pitched both games of a d...