Long list today, so let's get to it:
Reds:
Edwin Encarnacion (29) -I kept waitng for the light to go on with this guy, but it never did...
Jeff Montgomery (50) -We traded him for Van Snider. I don't want to talk about it...
Doug Capilla (60) -Started 22 games for the 1977 edition of the BRM.
Ross Grimsley (62) -Flaky lefthander; his nickname of "Crazy Eyes" was apropos. How times have changed: despite winning 20 one year, 18 another year, and making the all-star team once, he never made more than $290,000 a year.
Fred Whitfield (74) -Mostly an Indian, he spent 1969 as a backup 1b (hitting .149) on a Reds team that already included Tony Perez and Lee May. As I've written before, I remember seeing him smoking a cigarette in the dugout at Crosley. What else did he have to do?
Others:
Alfonso Soriano (35) -He's been so bad for so long now that it's hard to remember that he used to be really good. It will be interesting to see what the Epstein regime does with him. He and his wife have six kids, all of whose names start with "A".
Tony Conigliaro -Youngest home run champ in AL history. Major league batting helmets have mandatory ear flaps as a result of his tragic injury.
Alvin Dark (90) -Oldest living person to have managed a pennant-winning team; good player, too. He was a southerner, and there were rumblings that his attitude on race relations wasn't too modern, but Willie Mays, who played for him, always defended him.
Ted Beard -White Sox outfielder who just passed away a week ago at age 90. A resident of Indianapolis, where he had a number of good years for the AAA Indians.
Johnny Mize -"The Big Cat"; a HOF power-hitting 1B who also had a career .397 OBP. Holds a record for most three-homer games with six, including two in the same season.
