Valentine’s Day MLB Style: From Slim Love to Jim Ray Hart

Thanks to its long history, baseball is the perfect sport to commemorate any Holliday, or even Halladay for that matter.

In February, everyone has their mind on Valentine’s Day. Just ask Bobby, Corky, Ellis, Fred, Joe, or John. After all, you don’t have to be Cupid Childs to appreciate a day dedicated to Love. Just about anyone can join in such a celebration, regardless of whether they are Chubby or Slim. You don’t even need to speak English, at least according to Vicente and Sammy, who but for one more vowel would be the epitome of the day’s affection.

Of course, every holiday requires a gift. Some people like to give Flowers, especially Ben, Dickie, Jake, Tyler and Wes. Still others fashion themselves as a Candy Man, particularly those with last names like Cummings, Harris, LaChance, Maldonado, Nelson and Sierra. However, the most generous give Rings. Just ask Royce and Jimmy. Just becareful though. Giving one is the fastest way to become a Groom. That’s what happened to Bob and Buddy.

Unfortunately, some people can’t find it in their Hart to embrace the holiday, but that’s not true of all three Bills, not to mention Bo, Burt, Corey, Hub, James, Jason, Jim Ray, John, Kevin, Mike and Tom. So whether you say Happy Valentine’s Day or Feliz Día del Amor y la Amistad, make sure you do it with a smile on your face, just like Pedro and Neftali.

MLB Valentine’s Day Roster

Player	From	To		Player	From	To
Vicente Amor	1955	1957		James Hart	1885	1889
Sandy Amoros	1952	1960		Jason Hart	2002	2002
Cupid Childs	1888	1901		Jim Ray Hart	1963	1974
Candy Cummings	1872	1877		John Hart	1885	1889
Candy Harris	1967	1967		Kevin Hart	2007	2009
Cand LaChance	1893	1905		Mike Hart	1980	1980
Candy Maldonado	1981	1995		Mike Hart	1984	1987
Candy Nelson	1872	1890		Tom Hart	1891	1891
Candy Sierra	1988	1988		Roy Halladay	1998	2010
Ben Flowers	1951	1956		Bug Holliday	1889	1898
Dickie Flowers	1871	1872		Matt Holliday	2004	2010
Jake Flowers	1923	1934		Slim Love	1913	1920
Tyler Flowers	2009	2010		Jimmy Ring	1917	1928
Wes Flowers	1940	1944		Royce Ring	2005	2010
Bob Groom	1909	1918		Bob Valentine	1876	1876
Buddy Groom	1992	2005		Bobby Valentine	1969	1979
Bill Hart	1886	1901		Corky Valentine	1954	1955
Bill Hart	1943	1945		Ellis Valentine	1975	1985
Billy Hart	1890	1890		Fred Valentine	1959	1968
Bo Hart	2003	2004		Joe Valentine	2003	2005
Burt Hart	1901	1901		John Valentine	1883	1883
Corey Hart	2004	2010		John “Candy Man” Candelaria	1975	1993
Hub Hart	1905	1907		Alfred Lovell “Chubby” Dean	1936	1943

Source: Baseball-reference.com

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Managing Expectations: A (Baseball Card) Pictorial History of Dashed Hopes and Broken Dreams

(In addition to appearing at The Captain’s Blog, this post is also being syndicated at TheYankeeAnalysts).

Although every manager comes to Spring Training with at least a little bit of hope that they’ll be able to lead their team to glory, the landscape of postseason baseball is littered with many of their broken dreams. To illustrate this sad reality, a baseball card collage of the last manager to win a championship with each major league franchise is provided below (except for Ozzie Guillen, 2004 Topps traded set, and Bobby Cox, 1990 Topps, all cards are from the year of the last World Series victory).

If the card of your favorite team’s manager makes you nostalgic for another era, well, needless to say, it’s been awhile since celebrating a World Series title. At least that’s better than not even having a card about which to reminisce. That is unless your favorite team’s manager card is in black and white, which, of course, means you’re a Cubs fan.

Regardless of past history, Spring Training is always a time for new hope. After all, before Bruce Bochy added his picture to the head of the class of reigning champions, the Giants hadn’t won the World Series since 1954.  

Another reason many teams (and their fans) enter Spring Training with new found expectations is because a new managers has been brought on board. Adding star players is always a boon for optimism, but there is something special about having a new sheriff in town that seems to bring hope to an organization.

This year, eight new skippers will be donning their team’s uniform for the first time, while four interim/new managers from 2010 will have the chance to conduct their first training camp. Not surprisingly, nearly all 12 of these new managers will be piloting some of baseball’s longest suffering franchises, at least in terms of how long it has been since last winning a World Series. On average, the 12 new managers will be seeking to erase almost 30 years of championship futility (23 years excluding the Cubs’ 102 year drought). So, optimism will certainly have to be at a premium.

Will one of these new leaders add their baseball card to the roll call of champions? Only time will tell, but at least in February, they all have a chance.

New Managers in 2011

Team	New Manager	Years Since World Series
Arizona Diamondbacks	Kirk Gibson*	9
Atlanta Braves	Fredi Gonzalez	15
Baltimore Orioles	Buck Showalter*	27
Chicago Cubs	Mike Quade*	102
Florida Marlins	Edwin Rodríguez*	7
Kansas City Royals	Ned Yost	25
Los Angeles Dodgers	Don Mattingly	22
Milwaukee Brewers	Ron Roenicke	41
New York Mets	Terry Collins	24
Pittsburgh Pirates	Clint Hurdle	31
Seattle Mariners	Eric Wedge	33
Toronto Blue Jays	John Farrell	17

*Managers hired during the 2010 season.

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