Doubleheader

Not in honor of the upcoming Labor Day holiday, I made an effort (labor = effort, get it?) to tell two stories that aren’t long enough for a single column, so I added them onto a regular-sized story and put them in this potpourri piece.

It was department store magnate John Wanamaker of Philadelphia who first offered customers a refund if they were not satisfied with their transaction. Decades later, two general managers put that practice into baseball to provide a refund for a transaction.

June 15 was the trade deadline in 1982. The Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, and Pittsburgh Pirates exchanged three players. Outfielder Bill Robinson went from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies. Wayne Nordhagen, an infielder/outfielder for the Blue Jays, went to the Pirates. A third player, outfielder Dick Davis, was later involved.

Nordhagen played one game for Pittsburgh, going 2-for-4 against Phillies starter Steve Carlton, who won his fourth Cy Young Award that year.

“Nordhagen complained that he had a back problem, and that basically he wasn’t healthy when he was traded on the June 15th deadline,” said Pat Gillick, then the Blue Jays’ general manager. “So consequently, we worked a deal out with Harding Peterson, who was the GM over there, and he put Nordhagen on waivers; we got him back on waivers and in return we sent him Davis.”

A United Press International story on the comings and goings began: “Wayne Nordhagen, recuperating from a back problem, may be forgiven if he feels his head is throbbing as well. Nordhagen, originally traded to Pittsburgh via Philly on June 15, the trading deadline, as part of a three-way deal, was reacquired Friday by the Blue Jays on waivers from the Pirates. The Pirates had received outfielder Bill Robinson in the deal while Toronto picked up Dick Davis. After playing in his first game with Pittsburgh last Saturday, in which he went two for four against Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton, it was discovered Nordhagen had an apparent back problem and would have to be put on the disabled list. As a result, the Blue Jays sent Davis to the Pirates last Tuesday for a player to be named later, who turned out to be Nordhagen.”

Technically, the Blue Jays did not owe anything to Pittsburgh for sending an injured player to them (this was before players had to pass physicals to complete trades), but Gillick didn’t want Peterson—or any other GM back then—to think he pulled a fast one on them. “You owe somebody something if you’re gonna deal with them and you’ve got a reputation that you don’t wanna stiff (another GM). If the guy is hurt, you don’t want to stiff a possible guy in the future that you might be dealing with,” said Gillick. “So, consequently we worked out a deal where legally we could take the player back, claiming him on waivers. That’s how the business worked 20 years ago, 40 years.” “These people (today) operate a little differently; we were a close bunch (the general managers).

“If anybody stepped out of line, if the other general manager stiffed another one, everybody knew about it. If Nordhagen was hurt, which he claimed he was, we did not know he was hurt. We thought he was fully recovered. But, to keep your reputation, you have to do things at times that hurt you but help you in the future.

“Pittsburgh dealt a perfectly healthy player and evidently Nordhagen still had a back problem, but he’s been playing, and he went over to Pittsburgh and played in a game with Pittsburgh and got two hits in the only game he played in, and we got him back on waivers from Pittsburgh. Complicated deal to talk about, but it’s basically a deal where if you’re dealing with somebody and you want repeat business, you better keep your eyes and ears open and also make sure that you don’t stiff one of your partners,” said Gillick.

In another UPI story, Pittsburgh’s Peterson said he was unaware that Nordhagen had any significant physical problem when the trade was made. “Since Nordhagen may have a medical problem, Toronto, in good faith, desired to rectify the situation. The Blue Jays have done everything and then some to satisfy the Pirates in this transaction,” Peterson said.

Robinson batted .239 with four home runs and 12 RBIs while playing for Pittsburgh and batted .261 in 69 at-bats for the Phillies with three home runs and 19 RBIs.

Davis was batting .279 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 68 at-bats with Philadelphia. In three games with Toronto, he batted .286 with no home runs and two RBIs. The Blue Jays acquired Nordhagen from the Chicago White Sox on June 15, 1982; he did not appear in a game for Toronto before being flipped that day to Philadelphia for Dick Davis. On the same day, the Phillies traded Nordhagen to Pittsburgh for Bill Robinson. On June 25, he was placed on waivers and claimed by the Blue Jays. For the remainder of the season with Toronto, he batted .270 with one home run and 20 RBIs.

The Phillies finished second in the NL East to the St. Louis Cardinals, while the Pirates finished fourth in the division. The Blue Jays, in their sixth year of existence, finished 78-84—their most wins since entering the league in 1977. In 1983, the Blue Jays began a string of winning seasons that culminated in consecutive World Series titles in 1992 and 1993.

(I showed Gillick’s comments about dealing with other GMs back in the day to Mike Bruckner, a good friend, big baseball fan, and former sports information director at colleges who was an official scorer for collegiate baseball games. He had an interesting take on Gillick’s comments about how things are different today when it comes to trades and dealing with other general managers: “This would never happen today because it’s a business and the general managers don’t trust each other, etc. In today’s world, there are hundreds of millions of dollars involved. While I don’t believe today’s GMs would intentionally deceive someone in a trade, I find it hard to believe that someone would ‘make good’ after the fact as did Pat Gillick. Also, today’s GMs have a much shorter leash with their owners and any advantage they can get will certainly help them keep their jobs.”)

Gillick is a Hall of Fame executive. He built the Blue Jays into a contending team that won consecutive World Series in 1992 and 1993. After winning two World Series with the Blue Jays, he went on to guide the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles to postseason play. He was general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies when they won the 2008 World Series, only the second time in the team’s history.

This story involves Milo Condran (who hopes to pitch in the big leagues someday) and Trenton, NJ (where Nomar Garciaparra and Aaron Judge pursued their goals of reaching the majors).

Condran’s and Trenton’s stories have intersected the past two summers, as the Trenton Thunder—once affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees—still offers its fans a chance to watch players work their way to the big leagues, while Condran is one of the team’s batboys.

The minor leagues underwent a huge transformation in 2020–21. The 2020 MLB Draft was shortened to five rounds because of the pandemic, and beginning in 2021 the draft was standardized at 20 rounds. Short-season leagues were eliminated as part of the 2021 restructuring, and Major League Baseball required numerous upgrades for minor league stadiums and facilities, such as improved training rooms, locker rooms, lighting, and more. A number of minor league teams lost their affiliation with major league clubs.

In a press release dated November 30, 2020, Major League Baseball and Prep Baseball Report (PBR) announced the formation of the MLB Draft League, focused on top prospects who are eligible to be drafted by MLB clubs that summer. With the 2021 MLB Draft moved back to July and being held as part of All-Star Week, draft-eligible players would have a unique opportunity to showcase their abilities and gain exposure to MLB clubs and fans. The founding members of the MLB Draft League were the Mahoning Valley (OH) Scrappers, the State College (PA) Spikes, the Trenton Thunder, the West Virginia Black Bears, and the Williamsport (PA) Crosscutters. A sixth team, the Frederick (MD) Keys, was added.

Plans included a 68-game regular season with an annual All-Star break centered around the MLB July Draft. MLB Draft League participants would receive visibility to MLB club scouts through both in-person observation and state-of-the-art scouting technology, plus educational programming to prepare them for careers as professional athletes. PBR would provide support for the league’s staffing, player and coach recruitment, on-field operations, and administrative functions, and would use its media and technology platforms to promote the league and its players.

MLB deliberately placed a Draft League team in a city that lost a minor league franchise. It was important to MLB to maintain some level of baseball (professional or high-level amateur) in as many of those communities as possible following the restructuring prior to the 2021 season. Only a handful of teams opted out of being part of the Draft League or MLB Partner Leagues.

Draft League players in the pre-draft part of the season are not paid—to keep their amateur standing—while players in the post-draft part of the season are paid. This July, 10 members of the Thunder were drafted; later, four players were signed by MLB teams as free agents. Players for Trenton, and the league’s other five teams, come from some of the better collegiate and high school baseball programs in the country. The Draft League almost resets from one half to the next—there are only a handful, at most, of returning players from the first half on each team, and the league develops a player pool to assign guys to each roster before second-half play begins.

Trenton built a stadium at a cost of $16 million hoping to draw a minor league affiliate. Mercer County Waterfront Park opened in May 1994. (From 2012 to 2020 it was known as Arm & Hammer Park. Today, it is called Trenton Thunder Ballpark.)

In 1994, the London Tigers from London, Ontario, relocated to Trenton. The following year, the team became an affiliate of the Red Sox, and it became a Yankees farm team in 2003.

On September 15, 2007, the Thunder defeated the Akron Aeros to win their first Eastern League Championship Series in team history. They also won league titles in 2008, 2013, and 2019.

Then came the restructuring and the loss of being a part of the major leagues.

“Disappointing is definitely the word that comes to mind,” said Mike Warren, the team’s broadcaster and director of media relations, who joined the club the year after Trenton lost its affiliation with MLB. “When you think about 2019, and everything that happened, but, yeah, it’s unfortunate, but what the (owners) have been able to do with their time in the Draft League and what this organization has been able to build—this season we’re averaging right around 5,400 fans per game through our first 27 home games this year, and the turnout we get on a night-to-night basis speaks volumes. The loyalty from our fans, the resiliency of our fans, but they know that (the Thunder is) still a good product, still at Trenton Thunder Ballpark, and I tell people this all the time, just because there’s not an affiliate playing there it doesn’t mean that there still isn’t a level of minor league ball being played at that ballpark. I would say because we haven’t seen a dip in our attendance.”

“We’ve had sellouts this year over 7,000, and again that’s just speaking volumes to the support that we’ve gotten in the Trenton area and beyond,” said Warren. “I wasn’t there when the Yankees left, but, you know, I’ve heard stories about what it was like when the Yankees were there and our ownership says we are running a Double-A operation,” he said.

This season, the Thunder is led by first-year manager Shawn Chacon, who pitched in the major leagues and made an All-Star Game. Coaching staffs are selected by a combination of MLB and USA Baseball personnel.

Warren said, “(Shawn) tells these guys the game doesn’t change just because you’re growing up and playing a deeper level of baseball. This game stays the same, and, you know, you got to be yourself. You gotta do what got you to this point and it’s not changing anything.”

“It’s learning how to become a professional, making sure you’re allotting the proper time for your body to prepare, to heal, to get treatment. Extra work, early work, things like that. These are things that, collegiately, these guys don’t always approach the same way, so you’re trying to teach these kids, and coach these kids, if you want to get drafted, when you get to this rookie ball league, it’s not gonna go this way. It’s not gonna be like it was, rolling up to the facility in college two and a half hours before the game,” he added.

The Thunder has received $25 million from the state of New Jersey and Mercer County to upgrade facilities and increase its chances of becoming affiliated with a major league organization in the future. Improvements include the renovation of player and umpire locker rooms, the addition of a women’s locker room for college women’s sporting events (and if women become umpires in the league), a cafeteria for players, and a state-of-the-art weight room. A new playing surface will be installed following the 2025 season. Also planned for 2026 are new video boards with enhanced next-generation Fan Cam capabilities; upgraded sound systems throughout the ballpark; and construction of a new hospitality and performance area overlooking the Delaware River.

The third phase will be to improve the “fan experience,” says Warren, with a video scoreboard, speakers throughout the stadium, and improvements on the stadium concourse.

The Reading Fightin Phils—the Philadelphia Phillies’ Double-A affiliate in the Eastern League, the same league the Trenton Thunder once played in—have budgeted roughly $45 million for upgrades to FirstEnergy Stadium. The project uses a mix of public and private funding, including contributions from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Reading, and Berks County. Team officials have said the club will cover a substantial share of the cost.

I heard a major league pitcher needs to have the guts of a burglar.

Milo Condran hopes to be a pitcher in the major leagues. He’ll have to work on his pitches, his control, etc. But he already has the guts.

When he was four, his mother found that he had a goldfish in his room.

“Where did you get that?” she asked.

“I found it,” he said.

She didn’t believe him, and eventually got Milo to admit that he’d taken it from a fish pond at a neighbor’s house. She asked where the house was. He took her to the home and waited while his mother knocked on the door. When the door opened, Milo took off. This wasn’t the home where he’d taken the fish.

Plenty of guts to face down a major league hitter.

Last year, Condran interned with the Thunder, handling batboy and other duties. This season, he’s an employee of the team.

To further his goal of being a big-league pitcher, Condran has been playing baseball in summer tournaments since he was eight. He is one of four batboys for the Thunder.

But Condran isn’t learning to be a better pitcher through osmosis, or by hanging out with the team’s managers, coaches, and players.

“My favorite part of being a batboy is being so close to the players and the game. It’s almost like watching a baseball game with 3D glasses,” said Condran, 20. “I’m talking to the managers, umpires, and the players. Throughout this experience I’ve tried to take all I can to learn and understand the game better. I also really enjoy working at the Thunder because of my co-workers and the overall positive attitude everyone has.

“The beauty of summer ball is not only the baseball, but also the lifelong friends and memories I have from playing,” Condran said. “My favorite memory has to be playing in Cooperstown when I was 12 years old. I remember meeting teams from all over the country. That just shows the power of baseball and sports in general. It brings people together that most likely wouldn’t have ever met or bonded if it weren’t for the sport. Of course, in Cooperstown we got to see the Hall of Fame and watch the All-Star Game there. The best part was being able to compete with 100 other teams for one trophy.” Milo has played baseball in Spokane, Washington; Maryland; Florida; Idaho; Texas; Montana; North Carolina; South Carolina; and, most recently, in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, a 12-team league comprised of New York and New Jersey squads.

(His father Ed, who frequently writes about sports, proudly noted Milo was one of the younger players in the league and had the league’s ninth-best ERA at 3.55. You can watch Milo’s baseball reel by clicking here)

The Thunder employs four batboys, who each work half of the home games. Their off-field duties include having dugouts supplied with water cups, seeds, gum, and ice towels. “We are responsible for getting all of this to the dugout and bullpen before the games. Besides that we try to help out the clubhouse managers as much as possible after the game, which is usually cleaning,” he said.

As for pitching, Condran said, “Over the summer my two biggest pitches were a fastball and slider. I am still trying to perfect my curveball and changeup, so I will throw them if they feel good, so it depends on the day for those two pitches. A pitch I want to learn is the splitter,” said Condran, who is six feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. For several years his arm was strong enough to play catcher and, last season playing for Bucks County (PA) Community College, he played every position but first base and batted .393. But this summer he decided to concentrate on pitching. Again, his proud father Ed noted, “It’s curious why a kid who hit .393 wants to just pitch.”

Tim Trainor, Milo’s baseball coach at Bucks County Community College, said, “The word I think of when I think of Milo is uncommon. I have met, watched, and coached hundreds of ballplayers in the last 30-plus years. Some surprise me, some disappoint me, some go on to bigger and better things, and some move on from the game. Milo is one of those rare ballplayers who can do anything on a baseball field if you ask him to. As a junior college coach who has varying needs from year to year depending on many factors, Milo was the answer. His natural ability marries perfectly with his penchant for hard work and his desire to succeed. He was asked to play almost every position during his tenure with our team. Milo was a vital cog in our baseball machine. If you watch him play, you can see his desire and determination to help his team win. If I had nine Milo Condrans, we would never lose.”

Milo Condran will soon start working with former major league pitcher Vance Worley on enhancing his skills. His plans are to finish his associate’s degree and transfer to a four-year school and play Division I, II, or III baseball and earn a bachelor’s degree. When his baseball career ends, he hopes to work in baseball or sports management, broadcasting, or media relations.

Trenton, say Condran and Warren, is hoping to once again be a minor league affiliate. “The next few years should be exciting—if not this year or the year after. Rumors are just rumors; the team has definitely taken the right steps toward being affiliated,” said Condran. “I mean, all the workers care a lot about it; there’s a really good community, so it definitely should be affiliated.”

I was reading the box score of a team that was shut out, and I noticed the club was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position (RISP). But the team did not score, so how did a batter get credit for a hit with a runner that was either on second or third base?

I never found out exactly, but here’s a possibility:

There’s a runner on second base with one or two outs. The batter hits a ground ball up the third-base line that does not go foul. The batter reaches first base, and the runner on second advances to third. The next batter or two makes an out, and the team is still scoreless.

Yes, the batter did get a hit with a runner in scoring position, but it did not produce a run. That seems almost contradictory.

I think the category with RISP should be changed to something such as “hitters with RBI potential.” If the batter produces a hit that scores a run in that situation, he’s credited for a hit in that category. If not, the team is 0-1 with RBI potential. Granted, the situation in which there is a runner on second or even third who does not score on a hit is rare, but it does happen. This isn’t a rule, just a name change I’m proposing.