Rebel Oakes, Marvell Wynne & Kevin Correia...
- 1883 - CF Ennis “Rebel” Oakes was born in Lisbon, Louisiana. He played five years for the Reds and Cards, then jumped to the Federal League when it was established in 1914. After two seasons as the player-manager for the Pittsburgh Rebels, perhaps named in his honor, the league folded and Oakes never returned to MLB despite his .295 BA. SABR writer Phil Williams believes “Rebel Oakes was effectively blacklisted” after the Federal League's demise. Btw, he didn’t earn his nickname by being particularly iconoclastic; when he was in the minors, an Iowa sportswriter dubbed him Rebel because of his Deep South birthplace.
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| Rebel Oakes - Cracker Jack 1915 series |
- 1959 - CF Marvell Wynne was born in Chicago. He started his career with the Pirates, playing from 1983-85. Projected as a leadoff hitter, he stole 46 sacks but batted just .245 with an OBP of .297 before being traded to San Diego for Bob Patterson. His son, also named Marvell, became a pro jock, too, but as a MSL soccer player.
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| Marvell Wynne O-Pee-Chee 1985 series |
- 2010 - RHP Kevin Correia signed as a FA with Pittsburgh, agreeing to a two year, $8M deal. In those two seasons, he would post a line of 24-22/4.49 before joining the Twins after losing his spot in the rotation to Wandy Rodriguez. He started 54 games, appeared 59 times, represented the Pirates at the 2011 All-Star Game and was their Opening Day pitcher that same season.
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| Kevin Correia photo Gene Puskar/Associated Press 2012 |
I always thought that Correia was a good signing for what he was, ie, a fourth/fifth starter who would reliably take the ball, was durable, and would usually keep his team in the game with a chance to win. Great, definitely not, but I think he was a better pitcher than he is typically given credit for and that he was particularly effective for the Pirates.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on both counts, Will. KC was a fourth guy and performed well in that role. Unfortunately, he was at the end of the era when every Pirate pitcher was a #4 or 5 arm, and his success, at least in W/L terms, got him confused with a top-of-the-rotation guy. Berra was another Bucco snowman, but your baseball analysis is pretty right on; in fact, I think he was used at 3rd more than SS once he left Pittsburgh.
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