Hot Stove: 2/9

History of Baseball: 1909
World Series Champions: Pittsburgh Pirates (110-42, .724 WPCT).
Baseball lost another of its great early players in 1909, as 325 game winner John Clarkson died on February 4th.  On April 12th, the Philadelphia Athletics opened up a grand new stadium called Shibe Park.  It would host games until 1970, but it got off to a bumpy start.  Doc Powers, an A's outfielder, crashed into the wall chasing a fly ball in the very first game.  He suffered severe internal injuries and died two weeks later, becoming the first player in major league history to die from injuries sustained on the field.  In the National League, the Cubs continued to reign supreme, but battled the Pirates all season long.  In the end, Chicago finished 104-49, but it wasn't enough to take a fourth straight NL pennant, as the Pirates finished 6.5 games up at 110-42.  The AL race whittled down to the Tigers and Athletics, but Detroit ended up with its third straight AL pennant by finishing 98-54.  Philadelphia went 95-58, 3.5 games back.  The Washington Senators (42-110) and Boston Doves (45-108) both lost 100 games.  Pittsburgh and Detroit met in the World Series, with the game's two great hitters, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner, squaring off.  It was the seed for a long rivalry between the two.  The Series went to Game 7, where Wagner's Pirates won 8-0 to give the Tigers a third straight World Series loss.  While Cobb lost the World Series, he had nothing to be ashamed of for his regular season.  He won the major league Triple Crown, leading all of baseball in home runs (9), RBI (107), and average (.377).  Additionally, he stood atop the majors in hits (216), stolen bases (76), on-base percentage (.431), slugging percentage (.517), and OPS (.947).  He also led the AL in runs scored (116).  Honus Wagner led the NL in average (.347) and RBI (100), as well as the majors in doubles (39).  5'9" Athletics second baseman Eddie Collins, a future Hall of Famer, had his own breakout season, batting .347.  On the mound, the Giants' Christy Mathewson continued his legendary pitching career, going 25-6 with a 1.14 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP, leading all of baseball in the latter two.  Chicago's Mordecai Brown was just as good, going 27-9 with a 1.31 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP.  Detroit's George Mullin led all of baseball in wins, finishing 29-8 with a 2.22 ERA.  Browns' Cubs teammate Orval Overall put up his third straight season with a sub 2.00 ERA, finishing 20-11 with a 1.42 ERA.  It would be his final dominant season, as he would make just 21 starts in 1910 then not appear in another game until 1913 before retiring.  Red Sox reliever Frank Arellanes set a new record with eight saves, though the save was not recorded at the time.  

News
The Naranjeros de Hermosillo of Mexico won the Caribbean Series for the second straight season.
Former Tigers pitcher Joel Zumaya announced his retirement after countless injuries to his right arm.  He is 29 and pitched for five seasons.
13 year major leaguer Dan Wheeler announced his retirement at the age of 34.
Former Rockies outfielder Ryan Spilborghs retired after seven major league seasons.  He is 34.
The Perth Heat, led by former Twin Luke Hughes, won the Australian Baseball League championship.

Joel Zumaya will always be remembered for what could have been.  One of the best fast-balling relievers in baseball, injuries knocked him out of baseball after just a few seasons.  His fastball consistently reached 100 miles per hour and he was nearly un-hittable.  Of Mexican descent, he grew up in Chula Vista, California, between San Diego and the Mexican border.  The Tigers drafted him in the 11th round in 2002, and he was in the majors in 2006.  The 21 year old could not have had a better rookie season, going 6-3 with a 1.94 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 62 appearances.  He led all of baseball with 233 pitches of at least 100 MPH (according to the Bill James Handbook), topping out at 104.8 MPH on August 7th, the fastest pitch ever recorded (until Aroldis Chapman came around).  After the season, he suffered the first in a long line of injuries.  This one was a wrist injury due to playing Guitar Hero.  On Guitar Hero II, there is a credit stating "No pitchers were harmed in the making of this game.  Except for Joel Zumaya.  He had it coming".  Zumaya pitched in 28 games during the 2007 season, but it was interrupted due to a ruptured tendon in his hand.  He was 2-3 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.  Zumaya then injured his shoulder in the 2007-2008 offseason when a 50 pound box fell on it.  He returned for the final part of the season, going 0-2 with a 3.47 ERA in 21 appearances.  He spent time on and off the DL in 2009, and went 3-3 with a 4.94 ERA in 29 appearances.  He seemed healthy for the 2010 season, and was 2-1 with a 2.58 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP through 31 appearances before June 28th.  In that game, he instantaneously blew out his elbow in one pitch, and collapsed to the ground.  He had managed to break his arm during the pitch, and would not pitch again due to recurring setbacks in his rehab.  For his career, he went 13-12 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP in 171 appearances.  

Dan Wheeler was one of baseball's regular relievers for a long time.  He pitched in nearly 600 games for six different teams.  After growing up in Warwick, Rhode Island, he attended Central Arizona Junior College.  The Devil Rays took him in the 34th round, 1024th overall, and he began his minor league career as a starter.  He made his debut in 1999 at the age of 21, and went 0-4 with a 5.87 ERA in six starts.  He was brought back up again in 2000, but struggled again, going 1-1 with a 5.48 ERA in eleven games (one start).  The Devil Rays brought him up again in 2001, but again he struggled, finishing 1-0 with an 8.66 ERA in 13 appearances.  They released him after the season, and the Braves picked him up.  He spent the entire season at AAA Richmond before being released for a second time.  The Mets signed him for the 2003 season, and gave him a chance to pitch in the majors.  He made a career high 35 appearances and went 1-3 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP for his first successful season.  The Mets traded him to the Astros during the 2004 season, and he combined to go 3-1 with a 4.29 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP in 46 appearances (one start).   Houston gave him a chance to pitch in the playoffs, and he responded with eight shutout innings over five appearances.  He spent the entire 2005 season with the Astros and had a breakout season.  The 27 year old went 2-3 with a 2.21 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 71 appearances, then pitched in eight postseason games.  He got the final out of the NLCS to send the Astros to their first World Series.  Wheeler was just as good in 2006, going 3-5 with a 2.52 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and nine saves in 75 appearances.  After his huge success from 2005 and 2006, he took a step backwards in 2007 by finishing 1-9 with a 5.30 ERA and eleven saves in 70 appearances for the Astros and his original team, the Devil Rays.  He did bounce back in 2008 by going 5-6 with a 3.12 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP to help the Rays to their first winning season, saving 13 games.  In 2009, Wheeler forgot how to walk people, and finished 4-5 with a 3.28 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP in 69 appearances.  The low WHIP was due to the fact that he walked just nine batters in 57.2 innings.  He pitched for the Rays again in 2010, and was solid again by going 2-4 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP in 64 appearances.  He signed with his hometown Red Sox in 2011, where he proceeded to post a 4.38 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 47 appearances.  Wheeler signed on with the Indians for the 2012 season, but he struggled in 12 appearances, posting an 8.76 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP.  He would not appear in the majors again, though he did spend some time with the Royals AAA affiliate in Omaha in 2013.  For his career, he finished 25-43 with a 3.98 ERA, a respectable 1.22 WHIP, and 43 saves in 589 games (nine starts).

Free Agent Signings
Mariners agreed to terms with Fernando Rodney (5-4, 3.38 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 37 SV, 2014 age: 37) on a two year, $14 million deal ($7 million per season).
Nationals agreed to terms with Luis Ayala (2-1, 3.27 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 2014 age: 36) on a minor league deal.
Dodgers signed Paul Maholm (10-11, 4.41 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 2014 age: 31-32) to a one year, $1.5 million deal.  
Oriole signed Alex Gonzalez (1 HR, 8 RBI, .177 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 37) to a minor league deal.
Reds signed Bryan Anderson (0 HR, 2 RBI, .056 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 27) to a minor league deal.

The Mariners made a splash by grabbing the final remaining healthy, big name reliever off the free agent list.  Fernando Rodney, who is the single season ERA record holder (min 70 innings), will take over as closer on a team that badly needs back end stability.  After closer Tom Wilhelmsen lost his job in August, the Mariners went by a closer by committee approach, using Danny Farquhar, Oliver Perez, and Yoervis Medina to get ninth inning outs.  The Mariners are a team that plans to contend, so having Rodney as a stable closer is huge.  The Dominican native, who is famous for wearing his cap slightly turned to the side, has a long history as an up and down reliever.  He spent time on and off as the Tigers closer from 2002-2009, topping out with 37 saves in 2009.  The season that really defined his career was 2012, when after posting five straight seasons of ERA's at 4.24 or higher, he set the single season ERA record.  Making 76 appearances, he went 2-2 with a 0.60 ERA, a 0.78 WHIP, and 48 saves, winning both AL Comeback Player of the Year and DHL Delivery Man of the Year.  Last year, he took a step back, finishing 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA and 37 saves in 68 appearances.  For his career, he is 29-44 with a 3.70 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP, and 172 saves in 563 appearances over twelve years.

The Nationals added a low risk, high reward option in Luis Ayala.  It took only a minor league deal to bring him to Washington, meaning there is very little financial risk with Ayala.  The Mexico native is a dynamic, above average reliever.  He actually spent time with the Expos from 2003-2004 and with the Nationals from 2005-2008, and was very good.  His best season as an Expo may have been his rookie 2003, when he was 10-3 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in 65 appearances.  He also had a 2.69 ERA in 81 appearances in 2004.  2011, which he spent with the Yankees, was his best year of his recent career, as he was 2-2 with a 2.09 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP in 52 appearances.  He does allow a opposing hitters to hit for a high average (.275 for his career), but he rarely walks batters.  He's issued only 139 walks over 554.1 innings over his career.  In total, he is 38-47 with a 3.34 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and 19 saves in 534 appearances for the Expos/Nationals (2003-2008), Mets (2008), Twins (2009), Marlins (2009), Yankees (2011), Orioles (2012-2013), and Braves (2013).

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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 Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
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