Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball Clubs, Volumes 1 & 2 Edited by Steven A. Riess Greenwood Press Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball Clubs ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Major League Baseball Clubs VOLUME I | THE NATIONAL LEAGUE Edited by Steven A. Riess Greenwood Press Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball clubs / edited by Steven A. Riess. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–313–32991–5 (set : alk. paper) – ISBN 0–313–32992–3 (v. I : alk. paper). – ISBN 0–313–32993–1 (v. II : alk. paper). 1. Baseball teams—United States—History—Encyclopedias. 2. Major League Baseball (Organization)—History—Encyclopedias. I. Riess, Steven A. GV875.A1E52 2006 796.357'640973—dc22 2006015368 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2006 by Steven A. Riess All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006015368 ISBN: 0–313–32991–5 (set) 0–313–32992–3 (vol. I) 0–313–32993–1 (vol. II) First published in 2006 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Introduction: A Brief History of Major League Baseball Teams ix Steven A. Riess THE NATIONAL LEAGUE, VOLUME I 1. Arizona Diamondbacks 3 Laura A. Purcell and John H. Jordan 2. Atlanta Braves 13 David Stevens 3. Chicago Cubs 55 John E. Findling 4. Cincinnati Reds 99 Edward J. Rielly 5. Colorado Rockies 143 Thomas L. Altherr 6. Florida Marlins 153 Kevin B. Witherspoon 7. Houston Astros 163 Benjamin D. Lisle 8. Los Angeles Dodgers 181 Steven P. Gietschier 9. Milwaukee Brewers 225 John McCarthy and Christopher Miller 10. New York Mets 239 Maureen Smith 11. Philadelphia Phillies 257 John P. Rossi 12. Pittsburgh Pirates 299 Richard Peterson 13. San Diego Padres 339 Sarah Trembanis 14. San Francisco Giants 355 Andrew Goldblatt 15. St. Louis Cardinals 401 Jon David Cash 16. Washington Nationals 447 Michel Vigneault THE AMERICAN LEAGUE, VOLUME II 17. Baltimore Orioles 465 William A. Borst 18. Boston Red Sox 499 Robert K. Barney and David E. Barney 19. Chicago White Sox 535 Richard C. Lindberg 20. Cleveland Indians 571 Philip C. Suchma 21. Detroit Tigers 605 Steven A. Riess 22. Kansas City Royals 639 Myles Schrag 23. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 655 Joel S. Franks vi Contents 24. Minnesota Twins 671 Kristin M. Anderson and Christopher W. Kimball 25. New York Yankees 705 Steven A. Riess 26. Oakland Athletics 757 Robert F. Lewis II 27. Seattle Mariners 801 Adam R. Hornbuckle 28. Tampa Bay Devil Rays 815 Paul M. Pedersen 29. Texas Rangers 825 Jarrod Schenewark 30. Toronto Blue Jays 843 Russell Field Appendix A: National League Season Standings, 1876–2005 861 Appendix B: American League Season Standings, 1901–2005 891 Appendix C: National League Team Total Attendance, 2005–1890 915 Appendix D: National League Team Daily Average Attendance, 2005–1890 923 Appendix E: National League Team Attendance Rankings, 2005–1890 931 Appendix F: American League Team Total Attendance, 2005–1901 939 Appendix G: American League Team Average Daily Attendance, 2005–1901 947 Appendix H: American League Team Attendance Rankings, 2005–1901 955 Appendix I: National League Team Consolidated Profi t and Loss, 1920–56 (Dollars) 963 Appendix J: National League Team Dividends, 1920–56 (Dollars) 965 Appendix K: American League Team Consolidated Profi t and Loss, 1920–56 (Dollars) 967 Contents vii viii Contents Appendix L: American League Team Dividends, 1920–56 (Dollars) 969 Appendix M: Major League Baseball Team Salaries, Selected Years 971 Appendix N: Estimated MLB Revenues/Income, Franchise Values (in Millions), and Salaries, 1990–2004 975 Appendix O: Major League Team Payrolls, 1987–1989, 2005–2006 999 Appendix P: Major League Ballparks, 2006 1005 Appendix Q: Major League Ballparks used by Current Teams, with Name Changes 1009 Bibliography 1015 Index 1037 About the Editor and Contributors 1061 Introduction: A Brief History of Major League Baseball Teams Steven A. Riess The cornerstone of Major League Baseball has been the leagues and their teams. The majors are comprised of the National League, which dates back to 1876, and the American League, which became a major operation in 1901. The NL was itself predated by the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–75), which was arguably the fi rst major league. The NL itself op- erated in conjunction with the American Association, a major league from 1882 to 1891, and was rivaled by the short-lived Union Association in 1884 and the Players’ League in 1890. Since then the only other league to proclaim itself a major league was the Federal League (1914–15), which at its death merged into the established big leagues. The major leagues currently have 30 members, some of which date back over 125 years to the start of the NL, while Arizona and Tampa Bay just began in 1998. The NL now consists of 16 teams; the AL consists of 14. They are part of the most stable professional sports league in perhaps the entire world. No franchise has gone out of business for over 100 years, and between 1903 and 1952, no franchise even moved from one city to another. Baseball became the national pastime in the 1850s, and has long been the preeminent team sport in North America. However, the fi rst team sports in the United States and Canada were Native American contests like lacrosse and shinny. The initial Euro-American team sport was cricket, brought to the colonies by the English before the Revolutionary War. It became very popular by the 1840s when a cricket fad emerged in the Northeast among English im- migrants and middle-class Americans. By 1860 there were some 400 cricket clubs and 10,000 players. [...]... have purchased naming rights include Petco in San Diego and Comerica in Detroit Their management believes this investment enhances their visibility and displays hometown boosterism This support is particularly keen among financial institutions like Citizens’ Bank in Philadelphia, Chase in Arizona, Great American Insurance xxiii xxiv Introduction Company in Cincinnati, and PNC Bank in Pittsburgh, as well... first league switch since the American Association went out of business in 1891 The leagues divided themselves into three divisions in 1994, setting up a four-team playoff format with a wild card Then, in 1997, interleague play was initiated to increase fan interest There was more parity in the 1970s and 1980s, in part because the new format enabled more opportunities to win at least a divisional title,... limited partners Only 24 partners participated, raising $24 million for the franchise In 2000 a late-season swoon caused the Diamondbacks to finish in third place in the NL West with an 85–77 record The starting pitching got a big boost 5 6 Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball Clubs in July, however, with the acquisition of pitching ace Curt Schilling, who had attended high school and college in Arizona... Diamondbacks felt their free-spending ways netted an undervalued player and put them on the map as a legitimate destination for established major- league players The Diamondbacks participated in their first full spring training in 1998 in Tucson, home of their Triple-A minor -league affiliate Tucson Sidewinders Having their spring-training facility and Triple-A club less than two hours from Phoenix gives... roster limits and the introduction of the amateur free-agent draft in 1965, with teams selecting in reverse order of finish However, parity went out the door in the 1990s with the return of dynasties The Indians and Yankees each won five straight divisional titles (1995–99), with the Yankees winning four of five World Series The Braves’ domination of the NL was even greater, winning their division every... communities as public-spirited citizens who supported baseball because of their interest in their hometowns, but they were cold-blooded businessmen They used their political connections to secure inside information and preferential treatment from the municipality to help them run their operation as efficiently as possible Their political connections helped them secure Sunday baseball and police protection,... were also organized by residents of particular neighborhoods, workers in a particular craft (especially butchers, firemen, printers, and shipwrights), and African American organizations Players were typically single men living in boardinghouses, looking for a chance to socialize and display physical prowess They used their participa- Introduction tion and the wearing of uniforms that designated them as... cities with insufficient population bases Teams were given a territorial monopoly in their city Visiting teams received 50 percent of the 50-cent base admission to offset hometown population disparities and promote competition The league banned Sunday games, liquor, and gambling to keep out the riffraff and encourage middle-class audiences Despite the best-laid plans, the league struggled at first In... with particular teams, mainly in large-market cities, leaving teams in small cities without national televised games Starting in 1953 each team set up its own local broadcast policy League- wide packages were only permitted in 1961 following the passage of the Sports Broadcasting Act Several multipurpose cookie-cutter municipal stadiums were built in the period 1964–70, including downtown ballparks in... Devil Rays, worth just $176 million, with revenues of $110 million Overall, the average team had a value of $332 million, with revenues of $142 million The average operating revenues per team was $4.4 million, ranging from $30 million for Baltimore to a loss of $37.1 million for the Yankees.6 Major- league baseball teams, and professional sports teams in general, have a unique relationship Teams in baseball . Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball Clubs, Volumes 1 & 2 Edited by Steven A. Riess Greenwood Press Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball Clubs ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Major League Baseball. were typically single men living in boardinghouses, looking for a chance to socialize and display physical prowess. They used their participa- Introduction xi tion and the wearing of uniforms. giv- en a territorial monopoly in their city. Visiting teams received 50 percent of the 50-cent base admission to offset hometown population disparities and promote competition. The league banned