Do you remember a few years back when the Royals' Raul Mondesi, Jr. made his Major League debut? Do you remember what was significant about it, beyond a second-generation, blue-chip prospect making the ultimate ascent? Raul's first MLB appearance came as a pinch-hitter... on October 30, 2015 a.k.a. Game Three of the 2015 World Series. That's right, Mondesi's very first appearance in a Big League boxscore came on the absolute biggest stage that the game offers. A few days later, he'd be hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy along with the rest of his new teammates.
This wasn't the first time that a Major Leaguer made his maiden appearance in a postseason series. About a decade earlier, Mark Kiger cemented his place in the MLB history books by debuting for the Oakland Athletics, as a defensive replacement at second base, during the 2006 ALDS. What makes Kiger's instance especially unique is that the middle infielder would never again make it back to the Majors, making him the only player in the game's long history to appear in the postseason and never in the regular schedule.
Both of these cases are unique, as it's incredibly rare that a team will throw an untested player into the most important games of the year. To illustrate that point, before Mondesi and Kiger, it had been an astounding 121 years since the previous such occurrence. So long, in fact, that the Chicago Cubs were still known as the Chicago White Stockings, Providence and Buffalo still had NL entries, and overhand pitching had only been legal for two years.
The 1885 Chicago White Stockings - Champions of the National League
Speaking of the White Stockings, it was Cap Anson's club that threw a local amateur player into the fire. Although the American League was still more than a decade and a half away from existence, the American Association was the main challenger to the National League's authority and, from 1884 to 1890, the two leagues met in October to play an early version of the World Series to determine the overall champion of Major League Baseball.
The 1880's were a dynastic decade for the Stockings of White, as they won five Pennnat flags in that ten-year span. One of those NL titles came in the year 1885, where they matched up against the AA's St. Louis Browns, who would eventually become the detested Cardinals, in the precursor to the modern World Series.
The Series was much more informal in those days, with the rules and length changing from year to year; thus, it didn't carry quite as much prestige or pageantry as it's modern-day equivalent does currently. With that in mind, skipper Anson decided to rest some of his men, deciding that the tilt wasn't worth over-exerting or risking injury to his regulars. Enter Bug Holliday.
James "Bug" Holliday (so nicknamed for his often forlorn expression) was born in St. Louis and made a name for himself on the sandlots of the "Gateway to the West" as a premier amateur player, both on the mound and in the field. Word of his exploits reached the ears of Cap Anson and Bug was recruited to spell Chicago's regular right fielder, the legendary "King" Kelly, in Game Four of the seven game match-up. Big shoes to fill AND a big stage - talk about an opportunity.
Two of the heaviest hitters in 18th century baseball were involved in Bug's case.
Game Four took place on October 17th and St. Louis edged out Chicago by a tight margin, 3-2. Unfortunately, Holliday did not seize the day, going 0-for-4 with a fielding error, to boot. To put it bluntly, the local periodical summed up the hometown hero's performance by printing, "Holliday, who played right for the Chicagos... did very poorly yesterday." Holliday's services were not retained by the White Stockings, who would go on to disputably split the series, 3-3, kicking off the long and storied rivalry between the two clubs.
Despite his inauspicious beginnings, Holliday was still considered a top talent with a Major League future. The next year, he jumped from the amateur ranks to the organized minor league circuits, then would eventually go on to have a ten-year MLB career, starring in the Reds outfield... and it all began with a spot start as a "Cub" in the 1885 World Series. For more than a century, Bug was the only player to debut in the postseason.
Then Kiger and Mondesi showed up to steal Bug's thunder.
Why do I bring up the curious case of Bug Holliday now? Well, late last week, with work slowing down in anticipation of the looming Thanksgiving break, I found myself reviewing my copy of the Cubs' all-time roster. Since I compiled my list over a decade ago, I figured it might be time to compile a review and make sure I wasn't missing any one; honestly, I can't believe that I hadn't done this sooner... much sooner. Anyway, other than a few names not listed in correct ABC order and slightly misspelled surnames, everything appeared to be in order... outside of one exception: Bug Holliday.
You see, when I originally copied my list from the Cubs' official website, the curious case of Bug Holliday was included on their all-time roster. But, as I was looking over my spreadsheet, I noticed that my count was off by one when compared to the current website. Apparently, sometime in the intervening years, hug's name was dropped off of the all-encompassing tome. Why?
As you see in the screen shot above, Holliday's name should appear in between Ed Holley and Jessie Hollins, yet he is nowhere to be found.
My mind instantly filled with questions: Does postseason play not count towards the document? Are the NL vs. AA title bouts not considered to be official? Is this just some sort of oversight? I had to know.
The first bit of research I did after I noticed this discrepancy was to see if the aforementioned Mark Kiger was claimed by the Athletics, seeing as his only time in Oakland was also during the postseason and would make for the best direct comparison (Mondesi has since seen significant regular-season playing time in KC). Here's what I found on the A's official web page:
As far as whether or not those pre-World Series postseason contests are considered to be official Major League games, I can't say for sure. Baseball Reference seems to classify them as such, as Holliday's Chicago stat-line appears under his player page; however, BR is obviously not the official mouthpiece of baseball's governing body. It's quite possible that MLB views those "World Series" as exhibition contests, on the same level as Spring Training games. Of course, it seems as though all of the articles written about Kiger and Mondesi reference Holliday as the first player to debut in the postseason, lending an air of officiality (I just made up a word) to the matter. Can anyone with more knowledge on the subject enlighten me as to what the league's viewpoint is in this situation?
Courtesy of this murkiness, I'm left with no concrete ruling as to whether Bug is an official Cub - do I include him in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection or not? In my humble opinion, he definitely counts, due to his continued reference as the first such player and those early "World Series" carrying significantly more weight than your standard exhibition. However, I'm curious; if you were in my position, would you include Bug or would you leave him on the sidelines (like the Cubs appear to have done)?
Naturally, my next step after coming to this conclusion was to see what kind of cardboard was available for Mr. Holliday. Unsurprisingly, despite his stature as one of the premier power hitters of his era (19 big flies in 1889) and relatively long career, as a pre-20th century player, there aren't many options, affordable or not.
Beckett officially recognizes only two appearances for James Holliday - his multiple poses in the legendary, original and legendary Old Judge tobacco issue (name misspelled as Halliday), N172, and something called Pepsin Gum Pins from 1898. Neither one of these are going to fall into my low-end collecting budget and the latter isn't even actually a card. Therefore, I think I'm going to have to go a different route to add the baseball oddball. Perhaps it would have been easier to simply write him off!
An original "Halliday" Old Judge and Clark Griffith's Pepsin pin.
Thankfully, there exists a reprint set which reproduces several cards from the original Goodwin checklist and Bug happens to be one of them. The set is marketed by Larry Fritsch Cards, but I can definitively figure out whether or not they are also the manufacturer. At any rate, this exists as the best and most likely option, even if they are not particularly attractive cards - they look as though someone layed the originals on a fax machine and sent the copies to a printer by wire. Also, since these cards are traditionally sold as a set, singles tend to be tough to come by on the secondhand market and are often over-priced.
For instance, this reprint is currently available BIN on Ebay - however, at $2.12 for the card and $2.83 for shipping, it's not exactly a bargain. One never likes to pay more for shipping than they do the actual item.
On the other hand, there is one other modern option that I can identify - Ars Longa Art Cards. Similar to Helmar, whether or not these hand-distressed, mini pieces of folk-art should count as official baseball cards is a matter of some debate; what isn't up for argument though is that they are expertly crafted and quite beautiful, in hand. In fact, longtime readers of the blog might recall that I've gone the Ars Longa route a few times in the past to fill vacant slots that would likely otherwise stay empty. The real problem here is that these cards are only produced in microscopic print runs, ranging anywhere between two and ten, and are released in successive, inconsistent waves.
Holliday's Ars Longa card, featuring an image from his stint with the Des Moines Prohibitionists
So, do I wait for the next Beginnings: 1880's Holliday from Ars Longa (of which, seven are known to exist) or do I settle for the cheap facsimile of his original Old Judge? Hmmmm.... It will probably be a matter of whichever one I encounter first, at a price I'm comfortable with. If anyone has a good lead on either, I sure would appreciate the tip!
And so, that's the story of James "Bug" Holliday - the first Major League Baseball player to debut in the postseason, official/unofficial Chicago Cub, and dodger of my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection. All of this came out of my being bored at work... see what happens when I have too much time on my hands?
Before I wrap this up, I will pose the question to you, the reader, once again: all things considered, does Bug Holiday count as a Cub? Would you include him in such an All-Time Roster Collection? I've already arrived at my decision, but I sure would like to hear about how other collectors would handle this tricky situation. Do tell in the comment section below.
Would it "bug" you as much as it's "bugging" me?
I went to a Wilmington Blue Rocks game a few years ago, just because I happened to be in the area and MiLB is fun. I didn't even know who their MLB affiliate was before I got there. When they announced Raul Mondesi was up to bat, I tried really hard to remember just how old Raul Mondesi was in case he was hanging on like Rickey Henderson did, and see if the player in question appeared to be in his 40s. Without a big electronic scoreboard I couldn't see his face close up, but I ultimately decided he was too quick to be Raul Sr.
ReplyDeleteTo the question you actually asked, I'd count him. The way I see it, he played in a league game, and he certainly doesn't belong to any other franchise, so he's a Cub. Although, if he HAD later played in a regular season game for another team, my conclusion would likely be the same, that he's an MLB (or it's predecessor) player, and once represented my team.
I think he counts as a Cub.
ReplyDeleteHe counts. It was an official game, and the sports leagues are known to pick and choose what they want to acknowledge. The fact is, he played an official game for your team.
ReplyDeleteI would count him as an official Cub, and include him on your all-time roster.
ReplyDeleteI think he is a more interesting story than most guys on that roster, so count him. However, if you really can't find any of his cards at a decent price, you can always do the sour grapes thing in the end and decide you never wanted to include him, anyway. B>)
ReplyDeleteAgain, great history piece you've written here. I always get an education when I visit your blog.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, I think he counts, regardless of how informal the post season was back then.