Dutch gets his due

The easy part is making the jokes.

A favorite is the one that was the most obvious, like how Darren Daulton must be pleased that he was elected into the Phillies’ Wall of Fame now instead of a couple years down the road. Considering that the ex-catcher has claimed that certain folks will “ascend” into space at the conclusion of the Mayan calendar on Dec. 21, 2012 at precisely 11:11 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, it’s good that Daulton got his due now.

His post-baseball life has also been rife with tabloid fodder, too. There have been DUI charges, he’s had his license suspended, been arrested for domestic abuse, and he spent two months in jail for contempt of court after refusing to abide by the terms of a legal agreement related to the divorce from his second wife.

And to think, he was thisclose to becoming the Phillies’ manager instead of Larry Bowa. Imagine how those teams could have turned out.

These days, though, Daulton appears to be past all of that. Reasonably fit for a 48-year old man who spent most of his adult life strapped into catcher’s gear and had nearly a dozen different knee surgeries, Daulton mane of hair that fell out of his batting helmet is beginning to thin out. To compensate, he has a neat beard outlining his jaw line and a tan that would put George Hamilton to shame.

His skin is like rich, luxurious Corinthian leather.

“I’ve been driving with the top down,” Daulton said about his deep, sun-enhanced hue.

There was plenty of talk about the past with Daulton on Tuesday afternoon at the Bank where he was officially welcomed into the club’s Wall of Fame. The ceremony in which a plaque bearing his likeness will be tacked to the wall in Ashburn Alley will take place on Aug. 6.

Chalk up Daulton’s election as one where intangibles like leadership and hard work trumped all.

“I never saw anyone work harder during a rehab,” team general partner David Montgomery recalled about the winter of 1986 and 1987 when Daulton worked out at the Vet in an attempt to return from one of those knee surgeries.

Essentially, that was the essence of Daulton… he always had to work and it never looked easy. Though he went to the All-Star Game three times and was the fourth catcher to lead the National League in RBIs during the 1992 season, effort was paramount. Injuries robbed him of some good years and certainly some bad choices were made along the way, but when it all came together it was pretty sweet.

Look at that 1993 season where Daulton was the straw that stirred the drink. That season where the Phillies won the NL East and got to the World Series to face the Blue Jays, Daulton finished seventh in the MVP voting despite the fact that a teammate finished second in the voting and he batted just .257 with 24 homers.

The number that slips through the cracks is that Daulton caught 146 games that season. Yeah, no wonder he was always having surgery. Daulton caught 141 games in 1992, too, which eventually led to him not being able to catch at all after the 1995 season.

“There was one thing I could always eliminate, and that was if I worked my tail off I wouldn't have to look back if I didn't make it and second-guess myself,” Daulton said. “After hurting my knee early in my career, that was a moment I had to make a decision on whether I was going to play major-league baseball or not. The things I felt I had control of I tried to accomplish that.”

Control when it came to baseball was the one thing Daulton had. However, like everything else that didn’t come easy, either. As Daulton explains, it took a slight by his manager and another soul-searching decision for him to take over the role he became most known for.

“I remember (manager Jim Fregosi) pinch-hitting for me in the ninth inning in Pittsburgh with Ricky Jordan [in 1991] and I got a little peeved,” Daulton said. “I went in and said ‘Fregos, I thought I was your everyday catcher,’ and he said, ‘Dutch, until you can prove to me you can hit left-handed pitching in the big-leagues, I'm going to pinch-hit for you late in the game.’ He said, ‘You've been here the longest, they’ve turned the club over — Schmitty is no longer here, Lefty’s gone, so you’re the guy who needs to step up and be the leader of the ballclub.’

“From that point on, I decided that’s my job, and he kind of reiterated we need a leader and I was obviously the guy running the show behind the plate, so that was probably the first night it dawned on me, if I was going to remain here, I was going to have to be the club leader ... and also learn to hit left-handed pitching.”

Daulton never really hit lefties all that well during his career (just .233), though by the end of his career there was no discernment in the statistics against either handed pitcher. Moreover, though he was no longer the catcher, Daulton was the leader the Florida Marlins needed when they made the mad dash to the World Series victory in 1997.

Simply put, prior to the current run by the franchise, Daulton may have been one of the most important players to ever wear the team’s uniform. For the time and the place there were not too many players who had an impact like Dutch. Of course, importance of a player belies simple things such as numbers on a page and in that regard Daulton is both simple and complex.

Kind of like the man himself.

Why the Wall not?

The Phillies just wrapped up the online fan portion of the voting for the team’s Wall of Fame, which is almost like instituting a voting with applause system. With that in mind, it’s too late for anyone to cast a vote for the Phillies Wall of Fame, but not for me to explain why most of you probably voted poorly.

That is if you didn’t vote for Jim Konstanty.

Look, when one thinks of the greatest players in franchise history Konstanty’s name isn’t too high on the list. In fact, Konstanty doesn’t show up on too many of the team’s all-time leaders lists and after seven largely mediocre seasons, he was released by the Phillies and signed by the Yankees and only saved more than nine games in a season twice.

But I have this foolish notion that players should be rewarded for historically great seasons. For instance, the 1961 season should be enough to send Roger Maris to Cooperstown. It’s probably not a popular sentiment, but at the very least they ought to come up with a special wing of the Hall of Fame for anomalies like Maris in ’61 or Don Mattingly from 1984 to 1986.

Dialing that down, Jim Konstanty very well might have been the most important player on the 1950 National League champions and he gets a vote simply for that one year. During that year, as a relief pitcher, Konstanty appeared in a then Major League-record 74 games and was National League's MVP. When the Phillies got to their first World Series since 1915, Konstanty took the ball and started Game 1for his first start in approximately four seasons.

Ultimately Konstanty only won 51 games and saved 54 in 6½ seasons for the Phillies, but he was one of the pioneers in the game as a true relief specialist, yet was also versatile and strong enough to pile up more than a 100 innings.

Don't tell me the Phillies wouldn't like to have a relief pitcher to toss 70 or so innings this season.

Oh, but that wasn’t the best part about Konstanty in 1950. With pitching ace Robin Roberts spent from pitching 10 innings in the National League clincher in Brooklyn on the final day of the season, the Phillies needed a pitcher to step up in Game 1 of the World Series at Shibe Park.

You know, why not throw a guy out there who hadn’t started a game in nearly five years out there in the biggest game of the year? And why not expect him to allow just one run and four hits through eight innings?

Imagine if Charlie Manuel sent Brad Lidge to the mound for Game 1 of the World Series. All we see is the box score and the stats from the 1950 season without the context. At least that’s the way I always looked at it until Robin Roberts talked about the 1950 World Series before the start of the 2009 series. Of all the Phillies’ legends and Hall of Famers, Roberts is the least crazy. He also has a sharp memory and tells fantastic stories along with the uncanny ability to throw 300 innings for six seasons in a row while getting complete games in more than half of his starts for 19 seasons.

So when Robin Roberts talks about pitching, it’s a good idea to shut up and listen.

 “The Konstanty thing was a miracle,” Roberts said about the league’s top reliever making his starting debut in Game 1 of the 1950 World Series. “(Manager) Eddie Sawyer gave him the ball and he went out there like he was doing it his whole life. … That really was a miracle. If he would have won that would have been something they talked about forever, but because he lost people kind of forgot about it.”

It’s funny how that works, huh? Maybe if Konstanty had won that Game 1 he very well might have been enshrined on that brick wall in Ashburn Alley already.

So, yes, Konstanty would get a vote from me. So too would Darren Daulton and Gene Mauch.

I don't think I have to get too into why Daulton should be enshrined. Simply, he may have been one of the most important players—for his time—the franchise ever had. Importance of a player, of course, belies simple things such as numbers on a stat page and in that regard Daulton is both simple and complex. He led the league in both RBIs and knee operations... then moved to the outfield after two decades of squatting.

Better yet, he was the straw that stirred the drink in '93. Go ahead... ask anybody.

Mauch, on the other hand, was regarded as one of the best baseball minds as well as the most star-crossed, perhaps ever. He has managed more seasons without reaching the World Series than anyone else in the history of the game. Worse, Mauch had come so excruciatingly close to getting there so many times only to fall through a trap door.

There was 1964, which people around here remember, but then in 1982 he guided the California Angels to 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series only to drop the final three games to the Milwaukee Brewers. That was the first time such a dubious feat  had ever happened.

In 1986, Mauch's Angels were one pitch away from beating the Boston Red Sox in five games of the best-of-seven ALCS and marching on to face the Mets in the World Series before Donnie Moore served up the famous home run to Dave Henderson. The Red Sox went on to win Game 5 and then games 6 and 7 to further extend Mauch's curse.

Yet for the Phillies, Mauch turned a laughingstock into a contender by winning 646 games in a little more than eight seasons. From 1962 to 1967, Mauch's Phillies finished .500 or better in every season, which was a rarity for the franchise.

After 26 seasons as a big-league manager and 1,902 wins, Mauch’s longest tenure was spent in Philadelphia. No one managed more games or won more games for the Phillies than Mauch and, bygolly, that ought to count for a plaque on a wall at Citizens Bank Park.

The best and the worst

For a team that has won exactly one World Series title since its inception in 1883 and just one playoff appearance after 1983 (none since 1993), it’s a wonder that the Phillies haven’t run out of players to induct into their Wall of Fame. Yet year after year the Phillies keep sending out lists of players for us to vote on.

This year the 15 players on the ballot are:

Pitchers: Larry Christenson, Jim Konstanty, Ron Reed, Dick Ruthven, Rick Wise
Catcher: Darren Daulton
Infielders: John Kruk, Fred Luderus, Juan Samuel, Pinky Whitney
Outfielders: Lenny Dykstra, Von Hayes
Manager: Gene Mauch
Coaches: Mike Ryan, John Vukovich

The criterion for consideration, according to the Phillies, is:

Phillies players with five or more years of service are eligible. Managers and coaches need four or more years of service.

In addition to a player’s statistical record, consideration is given to longevity, ability, contributions to the Phillies and baseball, character and special achievements.

Out of the 15 eligible, I cast my vote(s) for Jim Konstanty, Darren Daulton and Gene Mauch. Too many more and there won’t be anyone left on the ballot for next year.

Konstanty gets the vote for one season. In 1950, as a relief pitcher, Konstanty appeared in a then Major League record 74 games and was National League’s MVP that season. When the Phillies got to their first World Series since 1915, Konstanty took the ball and started Game 1for his first start in approximately four seasons.

Ultimately Konstanty only won 51 games and saved 54 in 6½ seasons for the Phillies, but he was one of the pioneers in that he was a true relief specialist, who was versatile and strong enough to pile up more than a 100 innings.

Don’t tell me the Phillies wouldn’t like to have a relief pitcher to toss 50 or so innings this season.

I don’t think I have to get too into why Daulton should be enshrined. Simply, he may have been one of the most important players the franchise ever had. Importance of a player, of course, belies simple things such as numbers on a page and in that regard Daulton is both simple and complex. He led the league in both RBIs and knee operations… then moved to the outfield after two decades of squatting.

Better yet, he was the straw that stirred the drink in ’93. Ask anybody.

Mauch, on the other hand, was regarded as one of the best baseball minds as well as the most star-crossed. He’s has managed more seasons without reaching the World Series than anyone else. Worse, Mauch has come so excruciatingly close to getting there only to fall through a trap door.

There was 1964, which people around here remember, but then in 1982 he guided the California Angels to 2-0 lead in the best of five series only to drop the final three games to the Milwaukee Brewers. That was the first time that had ever happened.

In 1986, Mauch’s Angels were one pitch away from beating the Boston Red Sox in five games of the best-of-seven ALCS before Donnie Moore served up the famous home run to Dave Henderson. The Red Sox went on to win Game 5 and then games 6 and 7 to further extend Mauch’s curse.

Yet for the Phillies, Mauch turned a laughingstock into a contender by winning 646 games in a little more than eight seasons. From 1962 to 1967, Mauch’s Phillies finished .500 or better in every season, which was a rarity for the franchise.

We're the worst!
According to U.S. News and World Report my neighbor James Buchanan is still the worst president in the history of our union. But then again history is always evolving and an endless cycle and I’m sure that maybe in another two years or so, “Old Buck” as he was known, could be bumped up a notch.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

Buchanan served from 1857 to 1861 and was in office when the first shots of the Civil War were fired. A contradictory figure, Buchanan was known as a southern sympathizer, yet would buy slaves and bring them back to Lancaster to free them.

Some of Buchanan’s “highlights” in office include:

Refused to challenge the constitutionality of slavery and supported compromises that allowed it to spread into U.S. territories.

Encouraged the Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court in his Inaugural Address, which became one of the major factors that led to the Civil War.

Though he claimed secession was illegal, he claimed going to war to stop it was also illegal.

Watched silently as the southern states formed the Confederacy.

When Preston Brooks, a congressman from South Carolina, stabbed Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the United States Senate, Buchanan did nothing.

Buchanan did a bunch of good things, too. Namely, he turned the union over to Abraham Lincoln and his name was on an excellent elementary school for which I am an alumnus.

Buchanan’s stately mansion “Wheatland” is open for tours year round, and if you a presidential history buff it’s worth the visit. And if you come by let me know… I’ll give directions and the “insiders” tour of the ‘hood.

More: The 10 worst presidents