As part of an ongoing project, One More Dying Quail will be profiling the 182 current members of the Bizarro Hall of Fame, an organization that currently exists only in my mind. It was created in the wake of Major League Baseball's infamous Steroid Era as a way of honoring those players whose careers were perfectly mediocre: the only requirement is that a candidate be listed on the official Baseball Hall of Fame ballot and receive zero votes.

Class of 1987

Jerry Grote - Grote spent sixteen seasons in the major leagues, playing on teams that made four World Series appearances in the ten seasons between 1969 and 1978. He was a National League All-Star with the Mets in 1968 and 1974. He left baseball for two years following the 1978 season, returning in 1981 to appear in 24 games for Kansas City and Los Angeles.

Steve Stone - Three things you should know about Steve Stone, the baseball player: one, his 25-7 record in 1980 won him the American League Cy Young Award and accounted for nearly a quarter of his 107 career wins; two, he was the third best Jewish pitcher in major league history behind Sandy Koufax and Ken Holtzman; and three, he surrendered the only homerun Duane Kuiper hit in nearly 3,400 career at-bats (off-topic: did you know Kuiper was drafted six times, including twice in the second round?)

(Coming soon: the Bizarro Hall of Fame Class of 1986.)

(All Hall of Fame voting results were obtained from the official web site of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Statistical information included in postings for the Bizarro Hall of Fame was, unless otherwise noted, originally compiled by Baseball-Reference.com.)

As part of an ongoing project, One More Dying Quail will be profiling the 182 current members of the Bizarro Hall of Fame, an organization that currently exists only in my mind. It was created in the wake of Major League Baseball's infamous Steroid Era as a way of honoring those players whose careers were perfectly mediocre: the only requirement is that a candidate be listed on the official Baseball Hall of Fame ballot and receive zero votes.

(This ran a little long, so begin reading at your own risk. Thankfully, the next four classes are more manageable.)

Class of 1988

Stan Bahnsen - Bahnsen won the American League Rookie of the Year award as the second-best pitcher for a fifth place Yankees team in 1968, finishing the year 17-12 with a 2.05 ERA. He later won 39 games between the 1972 and 1973 seasons, a number that would have been more impressive had it not been coupled with 37 losses in the same time frame. Near the end of his career, he was a part of the same Montreal bullpen as Woodie Fryman (Bizarro '89).

Ross Grimsley - A second-generation major league pitcher (his father, Ross Sr., appeared in seven games for the 1951 White Sox), Grimsley was yet another Bizarro Hall of Famer who played for the Montreal Expos of the late 1970s. He won twenty games for Les Expos in 1978, completing 19 of his 36 starts and striking out an impressive 84 in 263 innings.

Larry Hisle - Two years after finishing fourth in the 1969 Rookie of the Year voting, Hisle posted a .493 OPS and was traded three times in a thirteen month span. The third deal sent him to Minnesota, where he enjoyed a five-year stretch of double-digit homeruns that culminated in a 28/119/.302 season in 1977. He left for Milwaukee as a free agent after the season and immediately paid dividends, hitting 34 homeruns, driving in 115 runs and finishing third in the AL MVP voting.

Grant Jackson - After a two-season experiment that saw him start 58 games for Philadelphia, Jackson worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen for the final twelve years of his career. His value in that role was undeniable: twice he went undefeated for a playoff-bound team (8-0, 9 saves, 1.90 ERA for the 1973 Orioles; 6-0, 1.69 for the 1976 Yankees) and performed admirably in the postseason, but finally got his ring in 1979 as one of Pittsburgh's top bullpen options (8-5, 14 saves, 2.96).

Randy Jones - The San Diego Padres lost 180 games during the 1975 and 1976 seasons, but fans of the team were not completely deprived. Young outfielder Dave Winfield was only a year or two away from busting out (and bolting for New York) and displaying the form that earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame, while Randy Jones was a trusted option to take the hill every fourth day. As of right now, Jones is the only Bizarro Hall of Famer with more than one twenty win season to his credit; he reached that total twice, finishing second in the National League Cy Young award voting in 1975 (20-12, 2.24) and winning in 1976 (22-14, 2.74).

John Mayberry - Strange but true fact: two of the Kansas City Royals three best hitters did not make the American League All-Star team in 1975. The lucky guy who got to make the trip to Milwaukee was future BHOFer and Royals manager Hal McRae, who carried a .310 batting average into the break. Staying home were a 22-year-old kid named George Brett (the next year, Brett won the batting title, played in the All-Star game and finished second for MVP) and a 6'3", 220 lb. first baseman named John Mayberry. In fairness, while two-time All-Star Mayberry enjoyed the best year of his career (34 homeruns, 106 RBI, .291 BA), he didn't really take off until July, slugging twelve homeruns in the month en route to a second place finish in the MVP voting. He later hit 20+ homers in three straight seasons for Toronto, including 30 in 1980, before finishing up with the Yankees in 1982.

Lynn McGlothen - McGlothen showed promise as a 24-year-old pitcher with the 1974 St. Louis Cardinals, finishing 16-12 with a 2.69 ERA, but he had trouble duplicating that modest success later in his career. He was killed in a fire in 1984.

Doc Medich - If my name was George Frances, I'd want a nickname like Doc too. After appearing in one game in 1972 and exiting after zero innings and two runs with an infinite ERA, Medich rebounded to win 14 games and challenge for the Rookie of the Year award (won by Al Bumbry) the following season. In 1974, he won 19 games for the Yankees. Due to a strange combination of free agency, waivers and contract purchases, he played for five teams from 1976 to 1978.

John Milner - "The Hammer", whose cousin Eddie played in the majors for nine seasons, was a career .249 hitter. In ten World Series games, however, he managed a .306 mark (11-for-36; only one of the hits was for extra bases).

Willie Montanez - I honestly don't know where to start with Montanez. He played for nine teams in fourteen seasons. He was traded eight times, including once for Garry Maddox, straight up; once as part of a mammoth four team, eleven player deal that included John Milner, Bert Blyleven, Jon Matlack, Al Oliver, and Tom Grieve; again for Milner, this time straight up; once for Gaylord Perry and two other players; and, most famously, he was one of two players shipped from St. Louis to Philadelphia in 1970 when Curt Flood refused to report to the Phillies. Yeesh. If you want to know about his stats (which includes a second place finish for 1971 Rookie of the Year with 30 homeruns, then never again enjoying a single season that was nearly as good), just click the link.

Joe Rudi - Rudi was a three-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glover and two-time MVP runner-up. A key member of Oakland's three consecutive World Series victories in the early 1970s, he hit an even .300 with two homeruns in those Fall Classics.

Jim Spencer - A career .250 hitter, Spencer owned fellow BHOFers Doyle Alexander and Stan Bahnsen, hitting .448 and .350 against them, respectively. His grandfather, Ben Spencer, played for the Washington Senators in 1913.

Del Unser - A light-hitting outfielder, Unser lost out on the 1968 AL ROY award to Stan Bahnsen. The son of former major leaguer Al Unser, he hit .455 and picked up a World Series ring in limited postseason action for the 1980 Phillies.

Rick Wise - One of the more interesting characters with which I crossed paths during my brief stay in professional baseball, "Owl Man" won 188 games in eighteen seasons before traveling the minor leagues as a pitching coach. His major league career is best remembered for four things: in 1971, he became the first (and only) pitcher to pitch a no-hitter and hit two homeruns in the same game; in 1972, he was traded, straight up, for Hall of Famer Steve Carlton; in 1975, he was the winning pitcher when Carlton Fisk hit his famous homerun off of Fenway Park's left field foul pole; and in 1978, he was involved in the deal that brought Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley to Boston. That's a career. Also, if he happens to read this (which I'm not sure will happen, because I don't think he knows how to use the Internet): Hi Rick (Nashua Pride, 2003 Media Relations - come on, you remember me).

(Coming soon: the Bizarro Hall of Fame Class of 1987.)

(All Hall of Fame voting results were obtained from the official web site of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Statistical information included in postings for the Bizarro Hall of Fame was, unless otherwise noted, originally compiled by Baseball-Reference.com.)

As part of an ongoing project, One More Dying Quail will be profiling the 182 current members of the Bizarro Hall of Fame, an organization that currently exists only in my mind. It was created in the wake of Major League Baseball's infamous Steroid Era as a way of honoring those players whose careers were perfectly mediocre: the only requirement is that a candidate be listed on the official Baseball Hall of Fame ballot and receive zero votes.

Class of 1989

Jim Barr - Barr had a fairly unremarkable career with the San Francisco Giants and California Angels, but owns a fairly remarkable record: on August 23, 1972, he retired the final twenty-one batters he faced; six days later, he set down the first twenty. The forty-one consecutive outs remains a major league record. Another interesting fact: Barr was drafted six times between 1966 and 1970.

Terry Crowley - Many current observers lament the fact that the Hall of Fame's standards have sunk so low that players such as Scott Brosius are now included on the ballot. They are obviously unaware of Terry Crowley, a man whose main claims to fame were serving as the first designated hitter in Baltimore Orioles history and being a really good pinch-hitter. He has spent the last eight years as the Orioles hitting coach.

Joe Ferguson - Luke Walker was almost a part of baseball history, but Joe Ferguson turned him into a mere footnote. In the second game of a July 18, 1971 doubleheader, the Pirates' Walker took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The bid ended quickly when the first batter, Ferguson, hit his first major league homerun. Two years later, Ferguson enjoyed his best season, hitting 25 homers and driving in 88 runs.

Woodie Fryman - Am I insane in thinking that Woodie Fryman is Travis Fryman's father? There seems to be no proof of it anywhere on the Internets. Anyway, Woodie spent most of his career as a journeyman pitcher for six organizations. He made two All-Star appearances as a starter in 1968 and 1976, but enjoyed his greatest success in a relief role with the Montreal Expos from 1979-82. In 1981, Fryman helped Les Expos to the playoffs with seven saves and a 1.88 ERA.

Cesar Geronimo - Geronimo was not a great offensive player (his career-best OPS was .796) but he hit well in the post-season, with .280 and .308 averages in Cincinnati's back-to-back wins over Boston in 1975 and New York in 1976. His true value in that time, however, was as one of the National League's best defensive outfielders, with four consecutive Gold Gloves awards in the mid-seventies.

Dave Goltz - If the name doesn't sound familiar (and it didn't to me), it's probably because Goltz toiled for some mediocre Minnesota teams in the 1970s. He still won fourteen or more games every season from 1975-79 (and lost ten or more from 1974-80), including a 20-11 mark in 1977 that earned him a sixth place finish in the voting for the National League Cy Young award.

Jon Matlack - For some reason, I expected Matlack's numbers to be better; sorry to say, but there might have been some weird confusion with Jerry Koosman. Matlack was a good pitcher, however, winning fifteen games and the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1972. He averaged fifteen wins a year 1972-76, but slumped to 7-15 in 1977 and was shipped off to Texas after the season. His first season resulted in fifteen wins for the second place Rangers, but it was his last good season. Also (and there's really no reason to mention this, other than it made me laugh), his middle name is Trumpdour.

Rudy May - Aside from leading the American League with a 2.46 ERA in 1980, the highlight of Rudy May's career has to be the June 1976 trade that sent him from the New York Yankees to the Baltimore Orioles. Sure, it meant he missed out on the Bronx Bombers back-to-back championships in 1977 and 1978, but it's cool because the deal also included Bizarro Hall of Famers Scott McGregor and Doyle Alexander.

Bake McBride - An interesting little factoid: of the eight players who took home the National League Rookie of the Year award from 1972-1979 (there was a tie in 1976), five were Bizarro Hall of Famers. McBride, a 37th round draft pick by the Cardinals in 1970, was the third in that stretch, hitting .309 and stealing thirty bases for St. Louis in 1974. His most amazing feature, however, was his hair; while not quite up to the high level set by Oscar Gamble, McBride's mane was a legendary feature in it's own right.

Bill Robinson - Robinson made his major league debut with the Atlanta Braves at the age of 23 and spent his next two seasons with the Yankees, but a .171 average landed the 26 year old back in the minor leagues for two full seasons. He reemerged with the Phillies in 1972 and hit 25 homeruns the following season. After being traded to Pittsburgh at the start of 1975, Robinson became an offensive threat, hitting twenty-plus homeruns three times.

Richie Zisk - When Bill Veeck bought the Chicago White Sox in 1976, he walked right into the birth of free agency. Knowing he couldn't compete financially for the best players, he chose instead to go after guys who were questions marks and sign them for reasonable prices. Zisk was one of those players, and he paid off big-time, enjoying the best season of his career (30 homeruns, 101 RBI, .290 batting average and the first of two All-Star appearances) before bolting to Texas for a ten year, $2.3 million deal.

(Coming soon: the Bizarro Hall of Fame Class of 1988.)

(All Hall of Fame voting results were obtained from the official web site of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Statistical information included in postings for the Bizarro Hall of Fame was, unless otherwise noted, originally compiled by Baseball-Reference.com.)

Sixty years ago this coming Sunday, Jack Robinson stepped onto a baseball field and into the history books. A fiery competitor and talented all-around athlete, he had been chosen by Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey as the ideal player to implement what is sometimes called "The Great Experiment": the crossing of baseball's "color line", a barrier that had prevented African-American players from competing in the major leagues since the late 1800s.

Following his April 15th debut, Robinson did exactly as Rickey had hoped, winning the Rookie of the Year award, leading the Dodgers into the World Series and keeping his cool in the face of tremendous hatred from teammates, opposing players and fans alike. It was the start of a ten-year career that would ultimately be capped by a long-awaited World Series victory for Brooklyn in 1955 and induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Robinson's contributions to the game of baseball and the civil rights movement led Major League Baseball to honor him in 1997 by retiring his number 42 throughout the league. It was an unprecedented move that brought Robinson, who died in 1972, back to the forefront and presented his story to an entirely new generation of baseball fans.

Because players who wore number 42 at the time of its retirement were allowed to continue doing so until the end of their own playing days, New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera still provides a reminder of Robinson's legacy every time he takes the mound. On April 15, 2007, however, he won't be the only one. On that day, with every team in baseball paying some sort of homage to Jack's legacy, any player on any team will have the option of pulling on number 42.

The idea was originally conceived by Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. and embraced by commissioner Bud Selig. Griffey wasn't yet three years old when Robinson died, but has nevertheless studied and learned the lessons imparted by his predecessor's life:

"What I think: If he didn't achieve or didn't overcome the racial tension, would I be wearing this uniform? Or, when was the next opportunity that an African-American would get a chance to put on another major league uniform if he didn't achieve what he did?"

Griffey's grasp of those who came before him and the way they affected his own career are admirable, but they highlight a regrettable omission that is often made when discussing the issue of race in baseball: the contributions of Lawrence Eugene Doby.

Where Jack Robinson is always celebrated, Larry Doby is often forgotten. The first African-American to play in the American League, he was originally signed by innovative Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck in early July 1947 and made his major league debut on July 5. His first season was difficult (.156 batting average in 32 at-bats, mostly as a pinch-hitter and second baseman), but he shifted to the outfield in 1948 and became a key player on the Indians championship team that year and its pennant winner in 1954.

Unlike Robinson, who was a 28-year-old veteran of the United States military and the Negro Leagues by the time he made his major league debut, Doby was only 23 when he joined the Indians, a kid thrown into a hellish situation. Like Robinson, however, he had played in the Negro Leagues (four years with the Newark Eagles), was an excellent ballplayer, and was greeted with distrust and outright hate by many people, including some of his new teammates. Robinson was no stranger to racism - he was court-martialed in 1944 after refusing to move to the back of a military bus; he was eventually acquitted of the charges - but Doby was less used to such behavior:

"I'd never faced any circumstances like that. Teammates were lined up and some would greet you and some wouldn't. You could deal with it, but it was hard."

It is nearly impossible to imagine the similar situations faced by Robinson and Doby - young men who kept their composure despite facing more than most of us can fathom - but for some reason, the latter man's story has never been fully appreciated by Major League Baseball or its fans. Robinson's number 42 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972 and all of baseball in 1997; Doby's number 14 wasn't retired by the Indians until 1994. Robinson was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1962, his first year of eligibility; Doby also made it to Cooperstown, but he had to wait until 1998, and then only after the writers had finished considering his case and passed him on to the Veteran's Committee.

Ken Griffey Jr.'s plan to honor Jack Robinson by wearing his number 42 is a great idea, one that every major leaguer should consider sharing next week. But it would also be a great idea if somebody on the Cleveland Indians - maybe C.C. Sabathia, who recently lamented the lack of young black players in the game - asked team management for permission to don number 14.

Because while Jack Robinson was great and deserves all the accolades he has received, the career of Larry Doby is worthy of recognition as well.

Doby was AL's first African-American player (ESPN)
Jackie Robinson Statistics (Baseball-Reference.com)
Larry Doby Statistics (Baseball-Reference.com)
Retired Uniform Numbers in the American League (Baseball-Almanac.com)
Lack of black players a 'crisis,' Indians ace says (MSNBC.com)
The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson (American Heritage)

Colin Cowherd is not a very nice person.

Earlier today, he used his vast ESPN Radio audience to stage an unwarranted attack on The Big Lead, shutting the site down for most of the day. I'm hesitant to attempt an explanation of the entire story, so if you're curious to know exactly what happened, head over to Deadspin - they'll fill you in.

After reading about the incident this afternoon, I tried to wrap my mind around why Cowherd would bother with something like this. An attempt to put bloggers "in their place", perhaps? A not-so-subtle message to the "underground", primarily Deadspin, that ESPN is still the biggest fish in the pond, capable of crushing virtually any outlet that dares step out of line? Something to do on a Thursday morning? Damned if I can figure it out, although a combination of those three points would not surprise me in the least.

Regardless of the reasoning, however, Cowherd has a couple of potential problems on his hands. One, it has been suggested that his exhortation to the masses to shut down The Big Lead might have been a teensy weensy bit illegal, and two, he appears to have awakened Deadspin. The blogosphere isn't perfect, but one thing I like about it is that it's like a family. If a bully comes along and does something to hurt the little brother, then big brother reserves the right to kick the shit out of the bully. I don't know what would happen if circumstances actually pitted Deadspin against ESPN, but I'd like to think that Will and HIS audience can come up with something.

Until that point, however, Colin Cowherd will have to contend with the relatively minor onslaught of the proverbial cousins such as the blogs listed below. We might not have the influence of Deadspin or The FanHouse, but we reserve the right to voice our displeasure with this bothersome act. Besides, most of us have been linked on The Big Lead at some time or another, so it seems only right to lend support when they need it.

(Be forewarned, however: Cowherd said something about making this a regular feature; I think he went back and forth between once a week and once a day. So if you look tomorrow and have 1,000,000 hits and your site is groaning like it just ate some bad Chinese, congratulations - you're one of the chosen ones).

(One last thing I'd like to note: while looking around, I saw mentions of a few things that could probably be considered illegal in most states. In my mind, it's okay to talk about Cowherd as a radio host, but leave his family, friends, and household pets out of it. It only makes us, the bloggers, look like bad guys.)

The following blogs are among those who have contributed support to The Big Lead thus far:

This Hurts Us More Than It Hurts You, Colin (Deadspin)

Cowherd: Nous Accusons! (Every Day Should Be Saturday)

Colin Cowherd Has Listeners? (AOL FanHouse)

Colin Cowherd Can Eat A Fat D-K (Kissing Suzy Kolber)

What To Do With Sports Radio Douches? (With Leather)

Colin Cowherd Is A Jackass (Our Book of Scrap)

Colin Cowherd is an angry man (The Buried Lead)

Not only is this wrong, it's likely illegal (The Postmen)

Colin Cowherd: Proof positive that the worldwide leader is the root of all evil (The Wayne Fontes Experience)

Colin Cowherd Has No Soul (Sportable)

The Words of a Madman (The Feed)

Cowherd The Bot-Herder (Super Dee Duper)

ESPN Willfully Destroys Sports Blogger/Competition (Her Loyal Sons)

Spring football news will have to wait (The House Of Heat)

Cowherd crosses a line (Sports Media Watch)

Colin Cowherd public enemy #1 (Savante's String)

Colin Cowherd is a Sad Little Boy (Yelling Louder)

On open discourse: Colin Cowherd (Pacifist Viking)