Hot Stove: 11/15

A quick note.
I have been selected to represent the United States in a baseball tournament in Spain and am fundraising to help finance my trip.  Please consider purchasing from the websites below, where a portion of all revenue will support my trip.
Here are the fundraising links.
http://fundraiser.equalexchange.coop/?fundraiser=AMER073W Please use this link ONLY.  Using this link ensures proceeds benefit my fundraising.
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heartoftheskyfairtrade.com PLEASE MAKE SURE you type ZSILVERMAN into the box marked "Promo Code"

The History of Baseball: 1879
League Champion: Providence Grays (59-25, .702 WPCT).
A lot happened in the offseason of 1878-1879.  The Indianapolis Blues and Milwaukee Grays are booted from the NL, while the Syracuse Stars, Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland Blues, and Troy Trojans are admitted.  There are now eight National League teams.  New rules are enacted, one of which extends the requirement for a base on balls to nine balls.  Also, a player can no longer strike out on a foul ball.  During the season, history was made.  On June 21st, William White played his only game for the Cleveland Blues, becoming the first African American to play major league baseball, though it is believed that he was half black, as well as the only former slave ever to play in the majors.  On September 26th, the Providence Grays beat the Boston Red Caps, who had won the league in both 1877 and 1878, 7-6, clinching the National League pennant.  It was the first time since 1876 that Boston did not win the pennant.  The Grays finished with a 59-25 record, as the National League played the longest schedule to date.  Each team played at least 70 games, with Providence and Boston playing the most, at 84 each.  The Troy Trojans finished last place in the league, going 19-56.  Statistically, 1879 was an interesting season.  Tommy Bond of Boston became the first, and to this date the only, pitcher ever to win 40 games in three straight seasons.  Over his three year stretch from 1877-1879, he was 123-52 with a 2.04 ERA in 181 starts, 174 of which were complete games.  Cincinnati's Will White (not to be confused by William White, the first African American to play major league baseball), nicknamed "Whoop La", had a season for the ages.  Though just 24 years old, he set three records that still stand today.  His 75 games started set the single season record, one that is now shared with Pud Galvin, who also started 75 games in 1883.  All 75 of those starts were complete games for White, making him alone the single season forever, as no pitcher will ever make 75 starts in a season again, let alone complete all 75.  The last record that White set was for innings pitched.  In those 75 complete games, he managed to throw 680 innings, which is pretty incredible considering that Adam Wainwright led the major leagues in innings with 241.2 in 2013 (he also led with five complete games, one fifteenth of White's 75).  Future Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward, who was 22-13 with a 1.51 ERA in 37 starts for Providence in 1878, took over as the Grays' main pitcher for 1879, going 47-19 with a 2.15 ERA in 70 games (60 starts).  On offense, Paul Hines of Providence took home his second straight batting crown, hitting .357.  Charley Jones of Boston blew away George Hall's single season home run record of five, knocking nine home runs in 83 games for the Red Caps.  

News
Just saying, I correctly predicted seven of the eight major BBWAA awards (missing just NL MVP).
37 year old Mark DeRosa retired after 16 seasons in the major leagues, having played 1241 games and hit exactly 100 home runs.

Mark DeRosa, who will turn 38 in February, has decided to retire from baseball.  He was never a superstar, having only been a regular starter for four of his sixteen seasons.  However, he was always a great player to have in the clubhouse.  His former teammate with the Nationals in 2012, Roger Bernadina, credits DeRosa with helping him break out at the plate.  DeRosa's major league career began back in 1998 with the Braves, when he broke in as a 23 year old shortstop.  It took him a few years to actually get playing time, but in 2001, he got his first real shot.  He didn't disappoint, batting .287 with three home runs in 66 games.  In 2002, he made the team out of spring training, and batted .297 with five home runs in 72 games.  In 2003, the Braves gave him a chance to spend the entire season with the team, and he batted .263 with six home runs in 103 games, mostly as a back-up.  Despite playing in a career high 118 games and beginning the season as the starting third baseman, DeRosa struggled in 2004.  He signed with the Rangers, but aside from a career high eight home runs, his 2005 season was nothing spectacular.  In 2006, however, at the age of 31 and in his ninth season, he broke out.  Playing in 136 games, he hit 13 home runs, drove in 74, batted .296, and even earned himself an AL Player of the Week award in August.  That week, he had hit four home runs, driven in 15, and batted .433 (13-30) in seven games.  On August 9th, he was 4-5 with two home runs and six RBI.  The Cubs rewarded him with a three year deal starting in 2007, which proved to be another good year.  He batted .293 with ten home runs while driving in 72.  In 2008, he had the best season of his career.  Though he was 33 years old and in his eleventh season, he knocked 21 home runs, drove in 87, and batted .285 with six stolen bases, helping the Cubs post the best record in the NL.  After his solid season, he was traded to the Indians, then traded to the Cardinals.  Between Cleveland and St. Louis in 2009, he set a career high with 23 home runs, but batted just .250.  He signed a two year deal with the Giants before the 2010 season, but his career was nearing its end.  He played in just 73 games, hitting one home run and batting .235 over the two seasons in San Francisco.  He moved to Washington for the 2012 season, but batted just .188 in 48 games.  2013, his final season, proved to be his best year since 2009.  He played in 88 games and batted .235 with seven home runs.  In the end, he hit 100 home runs, drove in 494, and batted .268 with 23 stolen bases in 1241 games for the Braves, Rangers, Cubs, Indians, Cardinals, Giants, Nationals, and Blue Jays.

Awards
I will probably highlight those who won awards in another blog.
Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera (44 HR, 137 RBI, .348 AVG, 3 SB) won the AL MVP award with 23 of the 30 first place votes.
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen (21 HR, 84 RBI, .317 AVG, 27 SB) won the NL MVP award with 28 of the 30 first place votes.
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (16-9, 1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP) won the NL Cy Young award, garnering 29 of the 30 first place votes.
Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer (21-3, 2.90 ERA, 0.97 WHIP) won the AL Cy Young award, garnering 28 of the 30 first place votes.
Indians manager Terry Francona won the AL Manager of the Year award, while the Pirates' Clint Hurdle won the award in the NL.

Free Agent Signings
A's signed Nick Punto (2 HR, 21 RBI, .255 AVG, 3 SB, 2014 age: 36) to a one year, $3 million deal.
Phillies signed Shawn Camp (1-1, 7.04 ERA, 1.87 WHIP, 2014 age: 38) to a minor league deal.
Dodgers signed J.C. Boscan (0 HR, 0 RBI, .222 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 34) to a minor league deal.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit TigersIf your team is not included, please email me and I will add them.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman