Denver mattress san angelo
Minnesota Timberwolves
2010.11.03 15:49 thenome Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota’s best (and only) NBA team. Back-to-Back Play-in champs.
2023.06.01 16:55 RecordReviewer This will be the first time in at least 38 years where neither team in the Finals was a top 5 championship contender entering the season.
Basketball reference has preseason odds dating all the way back to the 1984-85 season. Here is where every Finals team since then ranked in preseason odds:
This is also the 4th year in a row where the preseason title favorite failed to make the Finals, which is now the longest streak recorded (previous record was from '06-'08). Going back to '85, 2/3 of every Finals has featured the preseason favorite, and every single Finals up till this year has featured at least 1 team that was in the top 5.
submitted by RecordReviewer to nba [link] [comments]
| Year | Western champion | Preseason Odds Rank | Eastern champion | Preseason Odds Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Denver Nuggets | T-9 | Miami Heat | 8 |
| 2022 | Golden State Warriors | 4 | Boston Celtics | 13 |
| 2021 | Phoenix Suns | T-12 | Milwaukee Bucks | 2 |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Lakers | 2 | Miami Heat | T-14 |
| 2019 | Golden State Warriors | 1 | Toronto Raptors | 5 |
| 2018 | Golden State Warriors | 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 2 |
| 2017 | Golden State Warriors | 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 2 |
| 2016 | Golden State Warriors | 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 1 |
| 2015 | Golden State Warriors | 8 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 1 |
| 2014 | San Antonio Spurs | T-4 | Miami Heat | 1 |
| 2013 | San Antonio Spurs | 5 | Miami Heat | 1 |
| 2012 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 4 | Miami Heat | 1 |
| 2011 | Dallas Mavericks | 7 | Miami Heat | 1 |
| 2010 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Boston Celtics | 3 |
| 2009 | Los Angeles Lakers | T-1 | Orlando Magic | 10 |
| 2008 | Los Angeles Lakers | 16 | Boston Celtics | T-5 |
| 2007 | San Antonio Spurs | 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 6 |
| 2006 | Dallas Mavericks | 6 | Miami Heat | 2 |
| 2005 | San Antonio Spurs | 1 | Detroit Pistons | T-5 |
| 2004 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Detroit Pistons | T-7 |
| 2003 | San Antonio Spurs | T-4 | New Jersey Nets | T-4 |
| 2002 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | New Jersey Nets | 23 |
| 2001 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Philadelphia 76ers | T-10 |
| 2000 | Los Angeles Lakers | 2 | Indiana Pacers | 7 |
| 1999 | San Antonio Spurs | T-3 | New York Knicks | T-5 |
| 1998 | Utah Jazz | 2 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1997 | Utah Jazz | 10 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1996 | Seattle SuperSonics | T-6 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1995 | Houston Rockets | T-2 | Orlando Magic | T-2 |
| 1994 | Houston Rockets | T-5 | New York Knicks | 1 |
| 1993 | Phoenix Suns | T-6 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1992 | Portland Trail Blazers | 2 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1991 | Los Angeles Lakers | 2 | Chicago Bulls | 4 |
| 1990 | Portland Trail Blazers | T-15 | Detroit Pistons | 1 |
| 1989 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Detroit Pistons | 2 |
| 1988 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Detroit Pistons | 4 |
| 1987 | Los Angeles Lakers | 3 | Boston Celtics | 1 |
| 1986 | Houston Rockets | 5 | Boston Celtics | 2 |
| 1985 | Los Angeles Lakers | T-1 | Boston Celtics | T-1 |
2023.06.01 16:55 RecordReviewer This will be the first time in at least 38 years where neither team in the Finals was a top 5 championship contender entering the season.
Basketball reference has preseason odds dating all the way back to the 1984-85 season. Here is where every Finals team since then ranked in preseason odds:
This is also the 4th year in a row where the preseason title favorite failed to make the Finals, which is now the longest streak recorded (previous record was from '06-'08). Going back to '85, 2/3 of every Finals has featured the preseason favorite, and every single Finals up till this year has featured at least 1 team that was in the top 5.
submitted by RecordReviewer to nbadiscussion [link] [comments]
| Year | Western champion | Preseason Odds Rank | Eastern champion | Preseason Odds Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Denver Nuggets | T-9 | Miami Heat | 8 |
| 2022 | Golden State Warriors | 4 | Boston Celtics | 13 |
| 2021 | Phoenix Suns | T-12 | Milwaukee Bucks | 2 |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Lakers | 2 | Miami Heat | T-14 |
| 2019 | Golden State Warriors | 1 | Toronto Raptors | 5 |
| 2018 | Golden State Warriors | 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 2 |
| 2017 | Golden State Warriors | 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 2 |
| 2016 | Golden State Warriors | 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 1 |
| 2015 | Golden State Warriors | 8 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 1 |
| 2014 | San Antonio Spurs | T-4 | Miami Heat | 1 |
| 2013 | San Antonio Spurs | 5 | Miami Heat | 1 |
| 2012 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 4 | Miami Heat | 1 |
| 2011 | Dallas Mavericks | 7 | Miami Heat | 1 |
| 2010 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Boston Celtics | 3 |
| 2009 | Los Angeles Lakers | T-1 | Orlando Magic | 10 |
| 2008 | Los Angeles Lakers | 16 | Boston Celtics | T-5 |
| 2007 | San Antonio Spurs | 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 6 |
| 2006 | Dallas Mavericks | 6 | Miami Heat | 2 |
| 2005 | San Antonio Spurs | 1 | Detroit Pistons | T-5 |
| 2004 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Detroit Pistons | T-7 |
| 2003 | San Antonio Spurs | T-4 | New Jersey Nets | T-4 |
| 2002 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | New Jersey Nets | 23 |
| 2001 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Philadelphia 76ers | T-10 |
| 2000 | Los Angeles Lakers | 2 | Indiana Pacers | 7 |
| 1999 | San Antonio Spurs | T-3 | New York Knicks | T-5 |
| 1998 | Utah Jazz | 2 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1997 | Utah Jazz | 10 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1996 | Seattle SuperSonics | T-6 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1995 | Houston Rockets | T-2 | Orlando Magic | T-2 |
| 1994 | Houston Rockets | T-5 | New York Knicks | 1 |
| 1993 | Phoenix Suns | T-6 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1992 | Portland Trail Blazers | 2 | Chicago Bulls | 1 |
| 1991 | Los Angeles Lakers | 2 | Chicago Bulls | 4 |
| 1990 | Portland Trail Blazers | T-15 | Detroit Pistons | 1 |
| 1989 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Detroit Pistons | 2 |
| 1988 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1 | Detroit Pistons | 4 |
| 1987 | Los Angeles Lakers | 3 | Boston Celtics | 1 |
| 1986 | Houston Rockets | 5 | Boston Celtics | 2 |
| 1985 | Los Angeles Lakers | T-1 | Boston Celtics | T-1 |
2023.06.01 16:33 functor7 On the intersection of Pride and Math.
It is the beginning of Pride Month, and this year we're seeing a lot of organizations which have taken advantage of the post-Obergefell sentiments towards the LGBT community by throwing up some rainbow pfps distancing themselves in light of rising anti-LGBT sentiment and terrorist threats. These organizations didn't stand up for the LGBT community when it mattered, and they will reproduce this pattern now. Some may not know this, but the math community has - in the past - taken an active stance to stand up for its queer members and taken political action when it has mattered. That is, the intersection of LGBTQ+ history and Math history is not empty and not even measure zero.
The 80s were, to say the least, a very hard time for the LGBTQ+ community due to the AIDS epidemic and the complete lack of response from those in power about it. The medical community was slow to get research rolling and did not initially communicate with the gay community which made accessing proper medical care and information difficult. The Reagan Administration didn't even acknowledge the existence of AIDS for years, let alone invest resources into the development of treatments. The iconic Silence = Death poster is in response to the lack of action and acknowledgement for AIDS. Gay people were demonized and ostracized and the disease was seen as merely the "natural" consequence of their "delinquent" lifestyle. And arriving immediately after the religiously motivated Save Our Children homophobic activist campaign, AIDS was seen as a correction for moral degeneracy (weird how kids are consistently used to justify hate, almost like we could learn from the past...). By the early 90s, people had begun to take it seriously, but there was still a long way to go before people recognized the gay community as a community in need and struggling with a horrific disease. This is why pictures like that of Princess Diana showing compassion and touching someone struggling with AIDS is so iconic and important.
Point being, in the early 90s the LGBTQ+ community was struggling, not viewed with favor by the public, and finding themselves alone without any meaningful institutional support.
In 1992, Colorado voted on and passed an amendment to the state constitution which said that being queer was not a protected status. This meant that things like discrimination against LGBTQ+ people was totally fine and that violence against them would not be considered a hate crime. This was in response to many cities, such as Boulder and Denver passing laws in the 70s and 80s protecting LGBTQ+ people and functioned to strip away these rights. Coincidentally, the 1995 Joint Math Meetings were planned to take place in Denver. This would mean that mathematicians from around the nation (and world) - many of which are queer - would be congregating in a place that was actively unsafe for them. I think that the tragedy of Alan Turing should resonate strongly within the math community of what happens when we don't support those who are marginalized.
In response, two mathematicians - one gay and one just a real good ally - independently wrote and petitioned the heads of the MAA and AMS to move the JMM to a state which could protect vulnerable members of its community. This would not be an insignificant, easy, or cheap act. There would be backlash by those within the community who were less-than-understanding. Contracts and reservations are done years in advance with hotels and conventions spaces which the JMM would have to pay for breaking. And finding a new space and new bookings on a shorter timeframe would not be easy while all this was going on. That is, it would be not an insignificant cost to the AMS and MAA to move the meetings.
But the heads of both organizations met and agreed to move the 1995 JMM to San Francisco - a pointed decision given the LGBTQ+ haven San Francisco had consistently been and its history with Harvey Milk. This move ended up being a part of a larger dis-investment of organizations from Colorado. The state was branded "The Hate State" - a moniker we could probably bring back these days. Eventually appeals took this amendment to the Supreme Court which overruled it. Moreover the AMS and MAA have both made commitments to protecting vulnerable members of the math community as they now always have a "Change of Civil Rights Legislation Clause" in the contracts that they make for the JMM. As of now, the future JMM meetings appear to all take place in safe states.
When people say that math is not political, that identity doesn't matter, that it's all objective and just about proofs, or that we don't need to do work to resist the systemic injustices that infect all groups of people - including the math community - it's just clear that they are ignorant of their own privilege and ignorant of the history of math. Probably most prominently historically, the math community has struggled with antisemitism and has taken actions to both help and harm Jewish members of the community. The members of the AMS and MAA in the 90s knew the importance of taking risks to protect vulnerable members of its community and opening up mathematical spaces to them, and that mathematics is a political field and sometimes politicized statements are needed. And their action was not without internal backlash, the MAA even published dissenting letters which sound like they could have been written today (just replace "political correctness" with "woke").
The appropriately named mathematical LGBTQ+ organization Spectra came out of this action and provides a place for queer mathematicians to find community. They also do what they can to continue the work begun in the 90s. You can read more about this story and the founding of Spectra in this MAA article. The math community itself still has issues that it needs to work through regarding almost all marginalized groups and closing our eyes so that we blind ourselves to them under the illusion of "pure objectivity" is not the move. In general, mathematicians can take pride during Pride Month that - even if it still has major issues and work to do - that the mathematics community has it within them to take risks and act.
submitted by functor7 to math [link] [comments]
The 80s were, to say the least, a very hard time for the LGBTQ+ community due to the AIDS epidemic and the complete lack of response from those in power about it. The medical community was slow to get research rolling and did not initially communicate with the gay community which made accessing proper medical care and information difficult. The Reagan Administration didn't even acknowledge the existence of AIDS for years, let alone invest resources into the development of treatments. The iconic Silence = Death poster is in response to the lack of action and acknowledgement for AIDS. Gay people were demonized and ostracized and the disease was seen as merely the "natural" consequence of their "delinquent" lifestyle. And arriving immediately after the religiously motivated Save Our Children homophobic activist campaign, AIDS was seen as a correction for moral degeneracy (weird how kids are consistently used to justify hate, almost like we could learn from the past...). By the early 90s, people had begun to take it seriously, but there was still a long way to go before people recognized the gay community as a community in need and struggling with a horrific disease. This is why pictures like that of Princess Diana showing compassion and touching someone struggling with AIDS is so iconic and important.
Point being, in the early 90s the LGBTQ+ community was struggling, not viewed with favor by the public, and finding themselves alone without any meaningful institutional support.
In 1992, Colorado voted on and passed an amendment to the state constitution which said that being queer was not a protected status. This meant that things like discrimination against LGBTQ+ people was totally fine and that violence against them would not be considered a hate crime. This was in response to many cities, such as Boulder and Denver passing laws in the 70s and 80s protecting LGBTQ+ people and functioned to strip away these rights. Coincidentally, the 1995 Joint Math Meetings were planned to take place in Denver. This would mean that mathematicians from around the nation (and world) - many of which are queer - would be congregating in a place that was actively unsafe for them. I think that the tragedy of Alan Turing should resonate strongly within the math community of what happens when we don't support those who are marginalized.
In response, two mathematicians - one gay and one just a real good ally - independently wrote and petitioned the heads of the MAA and AMS to move the JMM to a state which could protect vulnerable members of its community. This would not be an insignificant, easy, or cheap act. There would be backlash by those within the community who were less-than-understanding. Contracts and reservations are done years in advance with hotels and conventions spaces which the JMM would have to pay for breaking. And finding a new space and new bookings on a shorter timeframe would not be easy while all this was going on. That is, it would be not an insignificant cost to the AMS and MAA to move the meetings.
But the heads of both organizations met and agreed to move the 1995 JMM to San Francisco - a pointed decision given the LGBTQ+ haven San Francisco had consistently been and its history with Harvey Milk. This move ended up being a part of a larger dis-investment of organizations from Colorado. The state was branded "The Hate State" - a moniker we could probably bring back these days. Eventually appeals took this amendment to the Supreme Court which overruled it. Moreover the AMS and MAA have both made commitments to protecting vulnerable members of the math community as they now always have a "Change of Civil Rights Legislation Clause" in the contracts that they make for the JMM. As of now, the future JMM meetings appear to all take place in safe states.
When people say that math is not political, that identity doesn't matter, that it's all objective and just about proofs, or that we don't need to do work to resist the systemic injustices that infect all groups of people - including the math community - it's just clear that they are ignorant of their own privilege and ignorant of the history of math. Probably most prominently historically, the math community has struggled with antisemitism and has taken actions to both help and harm Jewish members of the community. The members of the AMS and MAA in the 90s knew the importance of taking risks to protect vulnerable members of its community and opening up mathematical spaces to them, and that mathematics is a political field and sometimes politicized statements are needed. And their action was not without internal backlash, the MAA even published dissenting letters which sound like they could have been written today (just replace "political correctness" with "woke").
The appropriately named mathematical LGBTQ+ organization Spectra came out of this action and provides a place for queer mathematicians to find community. They also do what they can to continue the work begun in the 90s. You can read more about this story and the founding of Spectra in this MAA article. The math community itself still has issues that it needs to work through regarding almost all marginalized groups and closing our eyes so that we blind ourselves to them under the illusion of "pure objectivity" is not the move. In general, mathematicians can take pride during Pride Month that - even if it still has major issues and work to do - that the mathematics community has it within them to take risks and act.
2023.06.01 16:16 fishpen0 PSA: Air quality here is currently worse than LA.
 | submitted by fishpen0 to boston [link] [comments] |
2023.06.01 16:01 mtlebanonriseup A week from Saturday, there are local elections in Texas, and we know the best way to win the state is to start with the smallest races! Updated 6-1-23
This month there are local elections in Texas, and we know the best way to win the state is to start with the smallest races!
Keep checking our volunteer from home spreadsheet! It’s been updated with opportunities to volunteer for important races! As always, important events are bolded, and it is being constantly updated
Donate to the Expand the Senate Fund to keep the Senate in 2024!
Take our survey so we can update you on volunteer opportunities near you!
Houston - Chris Hollins for City Controller - Saturdays
Killeen - Bell County Candidates - Various Dates
McKinney - Stacey Donald and Scott Coleman for Collin College Board - Saturday, June 3
Pasadena - Ignacia Garcia for City Council - Saturday, June 3, Sunday, June 4, and Saturday, June 10
Chris Hollins for Houston City Controller - Sundays and Thursdays
Scott Coleman and Stacey Donald for Collin College Board of Trustees - Various Dates
Dallas - Friday, June 2
Dallas - Saturday, June 3
Dallas - Saturday, June 3
Dallas - Sunday, June 4
Denton - Friday, June 9
Denton - Friday, June 9
Denton - Sunday, June 11
Fort Worth - Saturday, June 3
Harlingen - Friday, June 2
Houston - Thursday, June 1
Houston - Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2
Houston - Thursday, June 15
McAllen - Saturday, June 3
McKinney - Saturday, June 10
Mission - Thursday, June 1
San Antonio - Saturday, June 3
San Antonio - Saturday, June 10
Pasadena - Harris County Democrats - Thursdays
You can also find volunteer and donation links for the candidates in upcoming runoff and special elections listed below. Elections are sorted by date.
Mike Johnston is running for mayor of Denver, Colorado. You can donate or volunteer. Visit his website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Wendy Pieh is running for Maine House of Representatives District 45. You can donate via the Maine Clean Election Act Service! Sign up to canvass! Visit her website, Facebook page, and Instagram!
Justin Jones is running for Tennessee House of Representatives District 52 after his unfair ouster! You can make a donation, visit his website, Twitter, and Instagram!
Lori Love is running for Tennessee House of Representatives District 3. Make a donation! Visit her Linked in, Facebook, or Twitter.
Andy Beshear is running for re-election as Governor of Kentucky. Please donate if you can, or sign up to volunteer! Visit his website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Instagram.
Pamela Stevenson is running for Kentucky Attorney General. Please volunteer or donate! Take a look at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Charles “Buddy” Wheatley is running for Kentucky Secretary of State. You can donate or visit his website or Facebook page!
Michael Bowman is running for Kentucky Treasurer. Please donate if you are able, or become a volunteer! Check out his website, Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube.
Kimberley Reeder is running for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts. You can visit her website or donate.
Sierra Enlow is running for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture. Please donate, volunteer, or attend an event. Visit her website, Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter.
Daniel McCaffery is running for Pennsylvania Supreme Court. If you are able, please make a donation or become a volunteer. Take a look at his website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Jill Beck is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court. Please donate to her campaign, or sign up to volunteer. Check out her website, Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram.
Timika Lane is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court. Consider making a donation. Visit her website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Matt Wolf is running for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. Check out his website!
submitted by mtlebanonriseup to VoteDEM [link] [comments]
Keep checking our volunteer from home spreadsheet! It’s been updated with opportunities to volunteer for important races! As always, important events are bolded, and it is being constantly updated
Donate to the Expand the Senate Fund to keep the Senate in 2024!
Take our survey so we can update you on volunteer opportunities near you!
Texas
Canvass
Dallas - Local Elections - Thursdays and SaturdaysHouston - Chris Hollins for City Controller - Saturdays
Killeen - Bell County Candidates - Various Dates
McKinney - Stacey Donald and Scott Coleman for Collin College Board - Saturday, June 3
Pasadena - Ignacia Garcia for City Council - Saturday, June 3, Sunday, June 4, and Saturday, June 10
Phone Bank from Home
Bell County Democrats - WeekdaysChris Hollins for Houston City Controller - Sundays and Thursdays
Scott Coleman and Stacey Donald for Collin College Board of Trustees - Various Dates
Voter Registration Training from Home
Battleground Texas - Wednesday, June 7Register Voters
Alamo - Saturday, June 3Dallas - Friday, June 2
Dallas - Saturday, June 3
Dallas - Saturday, June 3
Dallas - Sunday, June 4
Denton - Friday, June 9
Denton - Friday, June 9
Denton - Sunday, June 11
Fort Worth - Saturday, June 3
Harlingen - Friday, June 2
Houston - Thursday, June 1
Houston - Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2
Houston - Thursday, June 15
McAllen - Saturday, June 3
McKinney - Saturday, June 10
Mission - Thursday, June 1
San Antonio - Saturday, June 3
San Antonio - Saturday, June 10
Volunteer at the Polls
Plano - Plano Area Democrats - Saturday, June 10Write Postcards in Person
Austin - Texas Blue Action Democrats - Tuesday, June 13Pasadena - Harris County Democrats - Thursdays
You can also find volunteer and donation links for the candidates in upcoming runoff and special elections listed below. Elections are sorted by date.
June 6th
Mike Johnston is running for mayor of Denver, Colorado. You can donate or volunteer. Visit his website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
June 13th
Wendy Pieh is running for Maine House of Representatives District 45. You can donate via the Maine Clean Election Act Service! Sign up to canvass! Visit her website, Facebook page, and Instagram!
August 3rd
Justin Jones is running for Tennessee House of Representatives District 52 after his unfair ouster! You can make a donation, visit his website, Twitter, and Instagram!
Lori Love is running for Tennessee House of Representatives District 3. Make a donation! Visit her Linked in, Facebook, or Twitter.
November 7th
Andy Beshear is running for re-election as Governor of Kentucky. Please donate if you can, or sign up to volunteer! Visit his website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Instagram.
Pamela Stevenson is running for Kentucky Attorney General. Please volunteer or donate! Take a look at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Charles “Buddy” Wheatley is running for Kentucky Secretary of State. You can donate or visit his website or Facebook page!
Michael Bowman is running for Kentucky Treasurer. Please donate if you are able, or become a volunteer! Check out his website, Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube.
Kimberley Reeder is running for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts. You can visit her website or donate.
Sierra Enlow is running for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture. Please donate, volunteer, or attend an event. Visit her website, Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter.
Daniel McCaffery is running for Pennsylvania Supreme Court. If you are able, please make a donation or become a volunteer. Take a look at his website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Jill Beck is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court. Please donate to her campaign, or sign up to volunteer. Check out her website, Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram.
Timika Lane is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court. Consider making a donation. Visit her website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Matt Wolf is running for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. Check out his website!
2023.06.01 16:01 mtlebanonriseup A week from Saturday, there are local elections in Texas, and we know the best way to win the state is to start with the smallest races! Updated 6-1-23 Join r/VoteDEM for more!
Join VoteDEM, our permanent subreddit, to learn more!
This month there are local elections in Texas, and we know the best way to win the state is to start with the smallest races!
Keep checking our volunteer from home spreadsheet! It’s been updated with opportunities to volunteer for important races! As always, important events are bolded, and it is being constantly updated
Donate to the Expand the Senate Fund to keep the Senate in 2024!
Take our survey so we can update you on volunteer opportunities near you!
Houston - Chris Hollins for City Controller - Saturdays
Killeen - Bell County Candidates - Various Dates
McKinney - Stacey Donald and Scott Coleman for Collin College Board - Saturday, June 3
Pasadena - Ignacia Garcia for City Council - Saturday, June 3, Sunday, June 4, and Saturday, June 10
Chris Hollins for Houston City Controller - Sundays and Thursdays
Scott Coleman and Stacey Donald for Collin College Board of Trustees - Various Dates
Dallas - Friday, June 2
Dallas - Saturday, June 3
Dallas - Saturday, June 3
Dallas - Sunday, June 4
Denton - Friday, June 9
Denton - Friday, June 9
Denton - Sunday, June 11
Fort Worth - Saturday, June 3
Harlingen - Friday, June 2
Houston - Thursday, June 1
Houston - Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2
Houston - Thursday, June 15
McAllen - Saturday, June 3
McKinney - Saturday, June 10
Mission - Thursday, June 1
San Antonio - Saturday, June 3
San Antonio - Saturday, June 10
Pasadena - Harris County Democrats - Thursdays
You can also find volunteer and donation links for the candidates in upcoming runoff and special elections listed below. Elections are sorted by date.
Mike Johnston is running for mayor of Denver, Colorado. You can donate or volunteer. Visit his website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Wendy Pieh is running for Maine House of Representatives District 45. You can donate via the Maine Clean Election Act Service! Sign up to canvass! Visit her website, Facebook page, and Instagram!
Justin Jones is running for Tennessee House of Representatives District 52 after his unfair ouster! You can make a donation, visit his website, Twitter, and Instagram!
Lori Love is running for Tennessee House of Representatives District 3. Make a donation! Visit her Linked in, Facebook, or Twitter.
Andy Beshear is running for re-election as Governor of Kentucky. Please donate if you can, or sign up to volunteer! Visit his website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Instagram.
Pamela Stevenson is running for Kentucky Attorney General. Please volunteer or donate! Take a look at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Charles “Buddy” Wheatley is running for Kentucky Secretary of State. You can donate or visit his website or Facebook page!
Michael Bowman is running for Kentucky Treasurer. Please donate if you are able, or become a volunteer! Check out his website, Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube.
Kimberley Reeder is running for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts. You can visit her website or donate.
Sierra Enlow is running for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture. Please donate, volunteer, or attend an event. Visit her website, Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter.
Daniel McCaffery is running for Pennsylvania Supreme Court. If you are able, please make a donation or become a volunteer. Take a look at his website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Jill Beck is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court. Please donate to her campaign, or sign up to volunteer. Check out her website, Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram.
Timika Lane is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court. Consider making a donation. Visit her website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Matt Wolf is running for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. Check out his website!
submitted by mtlebanonriseup to BlueMidterm2018 [link] [comments]
This month there are local elections in Texas, and we know the best way to win the state is to start with the smallest races!
Keep checking our volunteer from home spreadsheet! It’s been updated with opportunities to volunteer for important races! As always, important events are bolded, and it is being constantly updated
Donate to the Expand the Senate Fund to keep the Senate in 2024!
Take our survey so we can update you on volunteer opportunities near you!
Texas
Canvass
Dallas - Local Elections - Thursdays and SaturdaysHouston - Chris Hollins for City Controller - Saturdays
Killeen - Bell County Candidates - Various Dates
McKinney - Stacey Donald and Scott Coleman for Collin College Board - Saturday, June 3
Pasadena - Ignacia Garcia for City Council - Saturday, June 3, Sunday, June 4, and Saturday, June 10
Phone Bank from Home
Bell County Democrats - WeekdaysChris Hollins for Houston City Controller - Sundays and Thursdays
Scott Coleman and Stacey Donald for Collin College Board of Trustees - Various Dates
Voter Registration Training from Home
Battleground Texas - Wednesday, June 7Register Voters
Alamo - Saturday, June 3Dallas - Friday, June 2
Dallas - Saturday, June 3
Dallas - Saturday, June 3
Dallas - Sunday, June 4
Denton - Friday, June 9
Denton - Friday, June 9
Denton - Sunday, June 11
Fort Worth - Saturday, June 3
Harlingen - Friday, June 2
Houston - Thursday, June 1
Houston - Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2
Houston - Thursday, June 15
McAllen - Saturday, June 3
McKinney - Saturday, June 10
Mission - Thursday, June 1
San Antonio - Saturday, June 3
San Antonio - Saturday, June 10
Volunteer at the Polls
Plano - Plano Area Democrats - Saturday, June 10Write Postcards in Person
Austin - Texas Blue Action Democrats - Tuesday, June 13Pasadena - Harris County Democrats - Thursdays
You can also find volunteer and donation links for the candidates in upcoming runoff and special elections listed below. Elections are sorted by date.
June 6th
Mike Johnston is running for mayor of Denver, Colorado. You can donate or volunteer. Visit his website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
June 13th
Wendy Pieh is running for Maine House of Representatives District 45. You can donate via the Maine Clean Election Act Service! Sign up to canvass! Visit her website, Facebook page, and Instagram!
August 3rd
Justin Jones is running for Tennessee House of Representatives District 52 after his unfair ouster! You can make a donation, visit his website, Twitter, and Instagram!
Lori Love is running for Tennessee House of Representatives District 3. Make a donation! Visit her Linked in, Facebook, or Twitter.
November 7th
Andy Beshear is running for re-election as Governor of Kentucky. Please donate if you can, or sign up to volunteer! Visit his website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Instagram.
Pamela Stevenson is running for Kentucky Attorney General. Please volunteer or donate! Take a look at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Charles “Buddy” Wheatley is running for Kentucky Secretary of State. You can donate or visit his website or Facebook page!
Michael Bowman is running for Kentucky Treasurer. Please donate if you are able, or become a volunteer! Check out his website, Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube.
Kimberley Reeder is running for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts. You can visit her website or donate.
Sierra Enlow is running for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture. Please donate, volunteer, or attend an event. Visit her website, Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter.
Daniel McCaffery is running for Pennsylvania Supreme Court. If you are able, please make a donation or become a volunteer. Take a look at his website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Jill Beck is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court. Please donate to her campaign, or sign up to volunteer. Check out her website, Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram.
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2023.06.01 14:46 ZandrickEllison [OC] Who is the best second banana? A ranking of the best sidekicks among all the 2000s title teams
We often hear the question: "Is Player X good enough to be the best player on a championship team?"
Less often, you hear: "Is Player Y good enough to be the second best player on a championship team?"
It's time to give these second bananas their due. We're going through the 2000s and ranking each SECOND best player on the title teams. Their values vary -- some were merely good starters, some were All-Stars, and some were arguably top 5 players in the entire league.
Ranking them isn't easy, but we're going to keep a few caveats in mind.
--- We're ranking based on the second banana's play during the course of THAT SEASON -- not their careers overall.
--- Statistics will be important, but not the be-all and end-all. After all, there's a big difference between stats from 2003 and stats from 2023. As a result, we may often defer to season accolades like "All-Star" or "All-NBA."
With all that said, here are my rankings, but feel free to disagree and explain your own ranks below.
The 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks were probably the most unlikely champion of the 2000s, with Dirk Nowitzki and a cast of older veterans who were seemingly on the decline. At the time, Jason Kidd was 37, Caron Butler was 30, Shawn Marion was 32, and Peja Stojakovic was 33.
You can make the case for Jason Terry to be the second banana here. Terry averaged 15.8 points off the bench for the Mavs that year, which is more impressive when you consider the context. (teams averaged 99.6 PPG then, 114.7 PPG now). Terry also pumped his numbers up to 18.0 PPG in their stunning upset over Miami in the Finals.
Still, we'll give the slight nod to Tyson Chandler as the teams' second most impactful player overall. Chandler finished 2nd team All-Defense and his strong playoff showing helped spearhead his DPOY campaign the following season (for the Knicks). Either way -- whether you give the nod to Chandler, Terry, or Kidd -- this would rank at the bottom of our list. None of those players was flirting with All-Star status.
(22) Tony Parker, 2003 San Antonio Spurs
The Parisian Torpedo will be a frequent contributor to this list -- logging a record-setting 3 "second banana" awards for his contributions to the Spurs' incredible run.
Naturally, his first would be his least impactful. Back in 2002-03, Tony Parker was still only 20 years old and in his second season in the league. Still, he was probably their second best player after a prime Tim Duncan. He averaged 15.5 points and 5.3 assists (solid numbers for the era) and held his own against Jason Kidd in the Finals. Parker wouldn't be considered a star yet though -- his first All-Star appearance came three years later.
(21) Andrew Wiggins, 2022 Golden State Warriors
Golden State's title last year was their biggest surprise run, fueled by Steph Curry and a solid-but-unspectacular supporting cast. Among them, you could debate the virtues and flaws of the second bananas -- Draymond Green struggled offensively, Jordan Poole struggled defensively, Klay Thompson missed significant time coming back from injury.
Of that group, I'd suggest Andrew Wiggins was their most well-rounded and consistent second banana. He averaged 17.2 PPG and even made the All-Star team. Better yet, he became a "winning player." He scored more efficiently (39.3% from 3) and played better defense -- particularly in the Finals. That said, Wiggins was probably on the level of a "good starter" more than a typical All-Star. For that reason, we'll rank him below a few others who didn't make the All-Star team.
(20) Tony Parker, 2005 San Antonio Spurs
Tony Parker re-emerges on our list and climbs even higher now in his age-22 season. He still didn't make the All-Star team, but he upped his numbers to 16.6 points and 6.1 assists per game. Again, we have to remember that these averages look better when you factor in the points "inflation" of today. Overall, we'll give him a slight edge over rising Manu Ginobili (who averaged 16.0 PPG off the bench that year), although it's debatable. Of the two, Ginobili played better in the Finals against Detroit. Still, whether it's Parker or Ginobili, the second banana would rank around this same range.
(19) Kyle Lowry, 2019 Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors finally broke through when they rented mercenary Kawhi Leonard for the year, but Leonard was backed up by a very strong supporting cast overall.
Among them, we're giving a slight nod to the old dog Kyle Lowry (then 32) over the rising star Pascal Siakam. Lowry felt like more of the heartbeat to the team. The numbers don't jump off the page (14.2 PPG), but he was a strong two-way player who averaged 8.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
(18) Khris Middleton, 2021 Milwaukee Bucks
We have another second banana debate here, although we're leaning to Khris Middleton over Jrue Holiday. It's easy for our memory to get foggy now that Middleton has struggled post injury, but he was a very good starter before that. He averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game (not far behind Jrue Holiday's 6.1).
While the 29-year-old Middleton didn't make the All-Star team this season, he was an All-Star caliber player; in fact, he made the team both the prior year and the year after.
(17) Chauncey Billups, 2004 Detroit Pistons
We're giving the primary "star" designation to Ben Wallace here. While "Big Ben" only averaged 9.5 PPG, his defense was the Pistons' biggest differentiator. In 2003-04, Wallace won Defensive Player of the Year and even finished 7th in MVP voting.
Among the other starters, we're giving the nod to Chauncey Billups over Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace. Hamilton had the slight edge in scoring (17.6 PPG to 16.9 PPG), but Billups led the team with 5.7 assists per game and tended to be their go-to guy offensively when need be. Sure enough, "Mr. Big Shot" would go on to win Finals MVP.
(16) Tony Parker, 2007 San Antonio Spurs
As Tim Duncan aged, Tony Parker got better and better. His best second banana season would come in 2006-07. Now age 24, Parker averaged 18.6 points and 5.5 assists per game and made the All-Star team. He shot less threes and relied more on his ability to drive and convert in the paint. He shot 52.0% from the field overall.
In the Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers had no answer for Parker's scoring. He whipped them to the tune of 24.5 points per game (shooting 56.8% from the field in the process). Parker would win Finals MVP for his part in the sweep.
(15) Kawhi Leonard, 2014 San Antonio Spurs
For their last title, the San Antonio Spurs were more the sum of their parts than any one true star. Tim Duncan was 37, Manu Ginobili was 36. Tony Parker had probably graduated from second banana to their marquee player -- he was their leading scorer and lone All-Star that season.
After him, we'll call Kawhi Leonard their next best player. While Leonard wasn't a big name or big scorer yet (averaging 12.8 PPG), he still had a massive impact on winning. He was an efficient offensive player (shooting 52.2% from the field) and an excellent defender. The raw stats suggest that Leonard should be lower than this, but the advanced stats suggest he was already an elite player. Overall, his BPM of +5.0 led the team. We'll make the playoffs the tiebreaker, where Leonard stepped up his scoring and won Finals MVP. If you want to consider him the team's best player this year (which feels like a bit of revisionist history), Parker would rank around this same range.
(14) Kyrie Irving, 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers
Young Kyrie Irving (then 23) also gets a boost for his excellent playoff performance. In the Finals, Irving exploded for 27.1 points per game and helped the Cavs defeat the 73-win Golden State Warriors.
If you look at his 2015-16 as a whole, it gets harder to rank Irving much higher than this. He didn't play that great in the regular season; in fact, it may have been the worst of his career. He only played 53 games, only shot 32.1% from 3 (a career low), and only averaged 4.7 assists (also a career low). He also missed the All-Star game. In terms of peak performance, Irving was an excellent second banana (particularly for LeBron James), but if we gauge this exercise season-by-season he'd rank around middle of the pack.
(13) Pau Gasol, 2009 Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant rightfully gets the lion's share of credit for the Lakers' repeat from 2009-10, but history may forget how good Pau Gasol was when he arrived from Memphis to help out the cause.
Right in the thick of his prime at age 28, Gasol averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. His size, skill, and basketball IQ made him the perfect mind meld with Bryant. All in all, Gasol made the All-Star team and even cracked 3rd team All-NBA. He's the first "All-NBA" sidekick we've registered so far, which explains his lofty ranking.
(12) Pau Gasol, 2010 Los Angeles Lakers
The following year, Pau Gasol was arguably even better. He started to control the paint even more, registering 11.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Once again, he made the All-Star team and 3rd team All-NBA. Between Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom off the bench -- this Lakers unit may have had the best frontcourt depth in the 2000s.
(11) Shaquille O'Neal, 2006 Miami Heat
When Shaquille O'Neal first arrived from L.A., he immediately assumed the mantle of the star of the Miami Heat. That first year, he even finished 2nd in MVP voting.
However, by the next year (2005-06), Dwyane Wade had usurped that mantle. Now 33, O'Neal shifted into more of a supporting role. He still had a major impact -- averaging 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks -- but became more of a second option as Wade tore up the playoffs. He appeared to slow down as the season wore on -- averaging just 13.7 PPG in the Finals.
Still, O'Neal's accolades this season rank highly -- he was an All-Star and 1st team All-NBA performer. For that reason, we're going to put him above some of the 3rd team All-NBA sidekicks. Still, you can argue against that as O'Neal was more on the level of a Pau Gasol than a true superstar at this point.
(10) Klay Thompson, 2015 Golden State Warriors
When we think about "sidekicks," you immediately think of someone with the skill set of Klay Thompson (then age 24). He took "3 and D" to the extreme -- nailing 43.9% from deep and contributing 1.9 "stocks" on the other end (1.1 steals, 0.8 blocks).
Like Pau Gasol, Klay Thompson made the All-Star and made 3rd team All-NBA that season. In fact, he even made an appearance on an MVP ballot and finished 10th overall in the voting. For a clear "sidekick," that's an impressive feat.
(9) Paul Pierce, 2008 Boston Celtics
Back in 2007-08, Danny Ainge wasn't cobbling together a team of a star + supporting sidekicks -- he was combining three stars who had gotten used to being "the man" in their previous stops. New arrival Kevin Garnett assumed the role as the alpha dog -- averaging 18.8 PPG, playing excellent defense, and finishing third in MVP voting.
Meanwhile, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen played the role of overqualified "Robins." Pierce averaged 19.6 points to lead the team, shooting 39.2% from three. Like our previous second bananas, he made the All-Star team and the 3rd team All-NBA. You also got the sense there was more in the tank when need be, as illustrated by his averaging 21.8 points and 6.3 assists in the Finals en route to Finals MVP.
(8) Dwyane Wade, 2013 Miami Heat
As we jump back and forth through time like a Chris Nolan movie, it may be hard to keep track of the ups and downs of these superstars. For this spot, we're talking about the Dwyane Wade of the "Heatles" days. In 2013, Wade was 31 years old, maybe a step past his prime, and a clear second banana to LeBron James.
Still, even in that role, Wade had a massive impact. In the regular season, he averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks. While he may have to take a backseat to LeBron James offensively, he utilized his athleticism to be a wrecking ball on the defensive end. Overall, he finished as an All-Star, 3rd team All-NBA, and even landed in 10th place in MVP voting.
(7) Kobe Bryant, 2000 Los Angeles Lakers
Again, let's pay attention to the timeline here. In the first three-peat of the Shaq and Kobe days, Kobe Bryant was only 21 years old and not at the peak of his powers. Make no mistake -- this was the Shaq Show early on. In the Finals, O'Neal averaged 38.0 points and 16.7 rebounds (more boards than Bryant had points with 15.6 PPG).
Despite that, Bryant was clearly a star player in his own right. He averaged numbers similar to 2013 Wade -- 22.5 points and 1.6 steals per game. He made the All-Star game, 1st team All-Defense, and 2nd team All-NBA, accolades that put him in this lofty spot on our rankings.
(6) Dwyane Wade, 2012 Miami Heat
We're toggling back to Dwyane Wade now -- in the year prior to our 8th place spot. In the Heatles' first title (and Wade's second overall), he was still 30 years old and arguably still in his prime. He averaged 22.1 points, 4.6 assists, and even better defensive numbers -- 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.
For his efforts, he was named to the All-Star team and to the 3rd team All-NBA. He also cracked the MVP voting again, finishing in 10th place once more. We're going to give him a slight edge on Kobe's first title year, but the two would be razor tight; they were both clearly top 10 players in the league at the time.
(5) Anthony Davis, 2020 Los Angeles Lakers
Say what you want about the COVID year, the bubble, and the "Mickey Mouse" championship, but Anthony Davis was a friggin' beast back in 2019-20. He averaged 26.1 points per game, keyed by his ability to get to the line and convert (84.6% shooting on 8.5 FTA per game). He caught fire in the playoffs, averaging a team-high 27.7 PPG with a 66.5% true shooting percentage.
Davis's defensive impact is what sets him apart from most other second bananas. He averaged 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, earning 1st team All-Defense and nearly winning DPOY. Overall, he made the All-Star team, 1st team All-NBA, and finished 6th in MVP voting. In terms of season accolades, that would be the best on our list so far.
(4) Kobe Bryant, 2001 Los Angeles Lakers
If 1999-2000 Kobe Bryant was still developing, he looked like a finished product by 2000-01. Now age 22, he was a dominant player on both ends. He averaged 28.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, and made 2nd team All-Defense. Overall, this version of Bryant finished 2nd team All-NBA and finished 9th in MVP voting. That ranking would have probably been even higher had he not missed some time in the regular season (only 68 games played).
Looking back, you could see where some of the tension between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal may have stemmed from. After all, it's not easy for a kid who put up 29-7-6 in the playoffs to accept being second banana forever.
(3) Kobe Bryant, 2002 Los Angeles Lakers
In the final year of the Lakers' three-peat, the 23-year-old Kobe Bryant had not only established himself as a superstar, but as one of the best players in the entire league. The numbers don't jump off the page -- 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists -- but we have to adjust for the era and the role he played.
The league clearly knew his value. He made the All-Star team, 2nd team All-Defense, 1st team All-NBA, and finished 5th in MVP voting (two spots behind Shaquille O'Neal). He'd jump even higher the next year, overtaking O'Neal as the leading scorer (30.0 PPG) and the leading MVP candidate (3rd overall).
(2) Steph Curry, 2018 Golden State Warriors
Finally, we answered the question that had stumped basketball analysts for years: what would happen if you added a superstar to a team that won 73 games the year prior? Turns out, they'd be pretty good.
For our exercise, the bigger challenge is determining who the "second banana" would be between two recent MVPs Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. I'm going to split the difference and say it was Curry's team the first year (when KD coincidentally missed 20 games) and then got handed over to Durant the following year (when Curry missed 30 games).
Through that lens, we're going to study Curry in that second season. Still only 29, Curry was still squarely in his prime. He averaged 26.4 PPG on a sparkling 67.5% true shooting percentage. Even though he missed 31 regular season games, he still finished 3rd team All-NBA and 10th in MVP voting. You could even argue that he was the most impactful player in the NBA at the time. After all, he had won back-to-back MVPs a few seasons prior.
(1) Kevin Durant, 2017 Golden State Warriors
If we're calling Kevin Durant the "second banana" for the first year in Golden State, he'd rank as the best two-way sidekick in the 2000s. Remember, we're not debating "Kobe vs. Durant" in terms of career achievement here; we're ranking their single-season efforts in a supporting role. Unlike some of our other stars (like a young Kobe), Durant was squarely in his prime at age 28.
In the regular season, he averaged 25.1 PPG on stone-cold efficiency (65% true shooting). Also, outside of Oklahoma City's super-sized lineup, he showcased his ability to protect the rim as well -- blocking 1.6 shots per game. Despite missing 20 games in the regular season, he still finished 2nd team All-NBA.
More than that, Durant demonstrated his true upside in the playoffs and Finals. Matched up with LeBron James and a historically-underrated Cavs team, Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.6 blocks on godly shooting splits of 56-47-93 (a 69.8% true shooting). Durant was arguably the best player in the NBA that year -- and would be top 3 at minimum. For that reason, he ranks at our top spot.
follow up: where would Jamal Murray or Bam Adebayo rank?
This year's Finals may not be Adam Silver's dream, but it's a great one for this exercise. We rarely see a clearer "second banana" in the hierarchy like Jamal Murray for Denver or Bam Adebayo for Miami.
Ranking them among the second bananas would be a more difficult task. Coming back from injury, Murray didn't have a great regular season. He's still never made the All-Star team. Still, his ability to raise his game in the playoffs and make tough shots does feel reminiscent of young Kyrie Irving during that Cavs title run.
Alternatively, Adebayo has a great case as a two-way stud. He's not the type of "back you down" big that some people want him to be, but he can still score in the mid-range, he's an underrated passer, and he's obviously an exceptional and switchable defender. He made the All-Star team and second team All-Defense this year. Among our second bananas, he reminds me most of Pau Gasol during the Lakers run.
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Less often, you hear: "Is Player Y good enough to be the second best player on a championship team?"
It's time to give these second bananas their due. We're going through the 2000s and ranking each SECOND best player on the title teams. Their values vary -- some were merely good starters, some were All-Stars, and some were arguably top 5 players in the entire league.
Ranking them isn't easy, but we're going to keep a few caveats in mind.
--- We're ranking based on the second banana's play during the course of THAT SEASON -- not their careers overall.
--- Statistics will be important, but not the be-all and end-all. After all, there's a big difference between stats from 2003 and stats from 2023. As a result, we may often defer to season accolades like "All-Star" or "All-NBA."
With all that said, here are my rankings, but feel free to disagree and explain your own ranks below.
THE BEST (title-winning) SECOND BANANAS of the 2000s
(23) Tyson Chandler, 2011 Dallas MavericksThe 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks were probably the most unlikely champion of the 2000s, with Dirk Nowitzki and a cast of older veterans who were seemingly on the decline. At the time, Jason Kidd was 37, Caron Butler was 30, Shawn Marion was 32, and Peja Stojakovic was 33.
You can make the case for Jason Terry to be the second banana here. Terry averaged 15.8 points off the bench for the Mavs that year, which is more impressive when you consider the context. (teams averaged 99.6 PPG then, 114.7 PPG now). Terry also pumped his numbers up to 18.0 PPG in their stunning upset over Miami in the Finals.
Still, we'll give the slight nod to Tyson Chandler as the teams' second most impactful player overall. Chandler finished 2nd team All-Defense and his strong playoff showing helped spearhead his DPOY campaign the following season (for the Knicks). Either way -- whether you give the nod to Chandler, Terry, or Kidd -- this would rank at the bottom of our list. None of those players was flirting with All-Star status.
The Parisian Torpedo will be a frequent contributor to this list -- logging a record-setting 3 "second banana" awards for his contributions to the Spurs' incredible run.
Naturally, his first would be his least impactful. Back in 2002-03, Tony Parker was still only 20 years old and in his second season in the league. Still, he was probably their second best player after a prime Tim Duncan. He averaged 15.5 points and 5.3 assists (solid numbers for the era) and held his own against Jason Kidd in the Finals. Parker wouldn't be considered a star yet though -- his first All-Star appearance came three years later.
Golden State's title last year was their biggest surprise run, fueled by Steph Curry and a solid-but-unspectacular supporting cast. Among them, you could debate the virtues and flaws of the second bananas -- Draymond Green struggled offensively, Jordan Poole struggled defensively, Klay Thompson missed significant time coming back from injury.
Of that group, I'd suggest Andrew Wiggins was their most well-rounded and consistent second banana. He averaged 17.2 PPG and even made the All-Star team. Better yet, he became a "winning player." He scored more efficiently (39.3% from 3) and played better defense -- particularly in the Finals. That said, Wiggins was probably on the level of a "good starter" more than a typical All-Star. For that reason, we'll rank him below a few others who didn't make the All-Star team.
Tony Parker re-emerges on our list and climbs even higher now in his age-22 season. He still didn't make the All-Star team, but he upped his numbers to 16.6 points and 6.1 assists per game. Again, we have to remember that these averages look better when you factor in the points "inflation" of today. Overall, we'll give him a slight edge over rising Manu Ginobili (who averaged 16.0 PPG off the bench that year), although it's debatable. Of the two, Ginobili played better in the Finals against Detroit. Still, whether it's Parker or Ginobili, the second banana would rank around this same range.
The Toronto Raptors finally broke through when they rented mercenary Kawhi Leonard for the year, but Leonard was backed up by a very strong supporting cast overall.
Among them, we're giving a slight nod to the old dog Kyle Lowry (then 32) over the rising star Pascal Siakam. Lowry felt like more of the heartbeat to the team. The numbers don't jump off the page (14.2 PPG), but he was a strong two-way player who averaged 8.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
We have another second banana debate here, although we're leaning to Khris Middleton over Jrue Holiday. It's easy for our memory to get foggy now that Middleton has struggled post injury, but he was a very good starter before that. He averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game (not far behind Jrue Holiday's 6.1).
While the 29-year-old Middleton didn't make the All-Star team this season, he was an All-Star caliber player; in fact, he made the team both the prior year and the year after.
We're giving the primary "star" designation to Ben Wallace here. While "Big Ben" only averaged 9.5 PPG, his defense was the Pistons' biggest differentiator. In 2003-04, Wallace won Defensive Player of the Year and even finished 7th in MVP voting.
Among the other starters, we're giving the nod to Chauncey Billups over Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace. Hamilton had the slight edge in scoring (17.6 PPG to 16.9 PPG), but Billups led the team with 5.7 assists per game and tended to be their go-to guy offensively when need be. Sure enough, "Mr. Big Shot" would go on to win Finals MVP.
As Tim Duncan aged, Tony Parker got better and better. His best second banana season would come in 2006-07. Now age 24, Parker averaged 18.6 points and 5.5 assists per game and made the All-Star team. He shot less threes and relied more on his ability to drive and convert in the paint. He shot 52.0% from the field overall.
In the Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers had no answer for Parker's scoring. He whipped them to the tune of 24.5 points per game (shooting 56.8% from the field in the process). Parker would win Finals MVP for his part in the sweep.
For their last title, the San Antonio Spurs were more the sum of their parts than any one true star. Tim Duncan was 37, Manu Ginobili was 36. Tony Parker had probably graduated from second banana to their marquee player -- he was their leading scorer and lone All-Star that season.
After him, we'll call Kawhi Leonard their next best player. While Leonard wasn't a big name or big scorer yet (averaging 12.8 PPG), he still had a massive impact on winning. He was an efficient offensive player (shooting 52.2% from the field) and an excellent defender. The raw stats suggest that Leonard should be lower than this, but the advanced stats suggest he was already an elite player. Overall, his BPM of +5.0 led the team. We'll make the playoffs the tiebreaker, where Leonard stepped up his scoring and won Finals MVP. If you want to consider him the team's best player this year (which feels like a bit of revisionist history), Parker would rank around this same range.
Young Kyrie Irving (then 23) also gets a boost for his excellent playoff performance. In the Finals, Irving exploded for 27.1 points per game and helped the Cavs defeat the 73-win Golden State Warriors.
If you look at his 2015-16 as a whole, it gets harder to rank Irving much higher than this. He didn't play that great in the regular season; in fact, it may have been the worst of his career. He only played 53 games, only shot 32.1% from 3 (a career low), and only averaged 4.7 assists (also a career low). He also missed the All-Star game. In terms of peak performance, Irving was an excellent second banana (particularly for LeBron James), but if we gauge this exercise season-by-season he'd rank around middle of the pack.
Kobe Bryant rightfully gets the lion's share of credit for the Lakers' repeat from 2009-10, but history may forget how good Pau Gasol was when he arrived from Memphis to help out the cause.
Right in the thick of his prime at age 28, Gasol averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. His size, skill, and basketball IQ made him the perfect mind meld with Bryant. All in all, Gasol made the All-Star team and even cracked 3rd team All-NBA. He's the first "All-NBA" sidekick we've registered so far, which explains his lofty ranking.
The following year, Pau Gasol was arguably even better. He started to control the paint even more, registering 11.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Once again, he made the All-Star team and 3rd team All-NBA. Between Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom off the bench -- this Lakers unit may have had the best frontcourt depth in the 2000s.
When Shaquille O'Neal first arrived from L.A., he immediately assumed the mantle of the star of the Miami Heat. That first year, he even finished 2nd in MVP voting.
However, by the next year (2005-06), Dwyane Wade had usurped that mantle. Now 33, O'Neal shifted into more of a supporting role. He still had a major impact -- averaging 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks -- but became more of a second option as Wade tore up the playoffs. He appeared to slow down as the season wore on -- averaging just 13.7 PPG in the Finals.
Still, O'Neal's accolades this season rank highly -- he was an All-Star and 1st team All-NBA performer. For that reason, we're going to put him above some of the 3rd team All-NBA sidekicks. Still, you can argue against that as O'Neal was more on the level of a Pau Gasol than a true superstar at this point.
When we think about "sidekicks," you immediately think of someone with the skill set of Klay Thompson (then age 24). He took "3 and D" to the extreme -- nailing 43.9% from deep and contributing 1.9 "stocks" on the other end (1.1 steals, 0.8 blocks).
Like Pau Gasol, Klay Thompson made the All-Star and made 3rd team All-NBA that season. In fact, he even made an appearance on an MVP ballot and finished 10th overall in the voting. For a clear "sidekick," that's an impressive feat.
Back in 2007-08, Danny Ainge wasn't cobbling together a team of a star + supporting sidekicks -- he was combining three stars who had gotten used to being "the man" in their previous stops. New arrival Kevin Garnett assumed the role as the alpha dog -- averaging 18.8 PPG, playing excellent defense, and finishing third in MVP voting.
Meanwhile, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen played the role of overqualified "Robins." Pierce averaged 19.6 points to lead the team, shooting 39.2% from three. Like our previous second bananas, he made the All-Star team and the 3rd team All-NBA. You also got the sense there was more in the tank when need be, as illustrated by his averaging 21.8 points and 6.3 assists in the Finals en route to Finals MVP.
As we jump back and forth through time like a Chris Nolan movie, it may be hard to keep track of the ups and downs of these superstars. For this spot, we're talking about the Dwyane Wade of the "Heatles" days. In 2013, Wade was 31 years old, maybe a step past his prime, and a clear second banana to LeBron James.
Still, even in that role, Wade had a massive impact. In the regular season, he averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks. While he may have to take a backseat to LeBron James offensively, he utilized his athleticism to be a wrecking ball on the defensive end. Overall, he finished as an All-Star, 3rd team All-NBA, and even landed in 10th place in MVP voting.
Again, let's pay attention to the timeline here. In the first three-peat of the Shaq and Kobe days, Kobe Bryant was only 21 years old and not at the peak of his powers. Make no mistake -- this was the Shaq Show early on. In the Finals, O'Neal averaged 38.0 points and 16.7 rebounds (more boards than Bryant had points with 15.6 PPG).
Despite that, Bryant was clearly a star player in his own right. He averaged numbers similar to 2013 Wade -- 22.5 points and 1.6 steals per game. He made the All-Star game, 1st team All-Defense, and 2nd team All-NBA, accolades that put him in this lofty spot on our rankings.
We're toggling back to Dwyane Wade now -- in the year prior to our 8th place spot. In the Heatles' first title (and Wade's second overall), he was still 30 years old and arguably still in his prime. He averaged 22.1 points, 4.6 assists, and even better defensive numbers -- 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.
For his efforts, he was named to the All-Star team and to the 3rd team All-NBA. He also cracked the MVP voting again, finishing in 10th place once more. We're going to give him a slight edge on Kobe's first title year, but the two would be razor tight; they were both clearly top 10 players in the league at the time.
Say what you want about the COVID year, the bubble, and the "Mickey Mouse" championship, but Anthony Davis was a friggin' beast back in 2019-20. He averaged 26.1 points per game, keyed by his ability to get to the line and convert (84.6% shooting on 8.5 FTA per game). He caught fire in the playoffs, averaging a team-high 27.7 PPG with a 66.5% true shooting percentage.
Davis's defensive impact is what sets him apart from most other second bananas. He averaged 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, earning 1st team All-Defense and nearly winning DPOY. Overall, he made the All-Star team, 1st team All-NBA, and finished 6th in MVP voting. In terms of season accolades, that would be the best on our list so far.
If 1999-2000 Kobe Bryant was still developing, he looked like a finished product by 2000-01. Now age 22, he was a dominant player on both ends. He averaged 28.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, and made 2nd team All-Defense. Overall, this version of Bryant finished 2nd team All-NBA and finished 9th in MVP voting. That ranking would have probably been even higher had he not missed some time in the regular season (only 68 games played).
Looking back, you could see where some of the tension between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal may have stemmed from. After all, it's not easy for a kid who put up 29-7-6 in the playoffs to accept being second banana forever.
In the final year of the Lakers' three-peat, the 23-year-old Kobe Bryant had not only established himself as a superstar, but as one of the best players in the entire league. The numbers don't jump off the page -- 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists -- but we have to adjust for the era and the role he played.
The league clearly knew his value. He made the All-Star team, 2nd team All-Defense, 1st team All-NBA, and finished 5th in MVP voting (two spots behind Shaquille O'Neal). He'd jump even higher the next year, overtaking O'Neal as the leading scorer (30.0 PPG) and the leading MVP candidate (3rd overall).
Finally, we answered the question that had stumped basketball analysts for years: what would happen if you added a superstar to a team that won 73 games the year prior? Turns out, they'd be pretty good.
For our exercise, the bigger challenge is determining who the "second banana" would be between two recent MVPs Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. I'm going to split the difference and say it was Curry's team the first year (when KD coincidentally missed 20 games) and then got handed over to Durant the following year (when Curry missed 30 games).
Through that lens, we're going to study Curry in that second season. Still only 29, Curry was still squarely in his prime. He averaged 26.4 PPG on a sparkling 67.5% true shooting percentage. Even though he missed 31 regular season games, he still finished 3rd team All-NBA and 10th in MVP voting. You could even argue that he was the most impactful player in the NBA at the time. After all, he had won back-to-back MVPs a few seasons prior.
If we're calling Kevin Durant the "second banana" for the first year in Golden State, he'd rank as the best two-way sidekick in the 2000s. Remember, we're not debating "Kobe vs. Durant" in terms of career achievement here; we're ranking their single-season efforts in a supporting role. Unlike some of our other stars (like a young Kobe), Durant was squarely in his prime at age 28.
In the regular season, he averaged 25.1 PPG on stone-cold efficiency (65% true shooting). Also, outside of Oklahoma City's super-sized lineup, he showcased his ability to protect the rim as well -- blocking 1.6 shots per game. Despite missing 20 games in the regular season, he still finished 2nd team All-NBA.
More than that, Durant demonstrated his true upside in the playoffs and Finals. Matched up with LeBron James and a historically-underrated Cavs team, Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.6 blocks on godly shooting splits of 56-47-93 (a 69.8% true shooting). Durant was arguably the best player in the NBA that year -- and would be top 3 at minimum. For that reason, he ranks at our top spot.
This year's Finals may not be Adam Silver's dream, but it's a great one for this exercise. We rarely see a clearer "second banana" in the hierarchy like Jamal Murray for Denver or Bam Adebayo for Miami.
Ranking them among the second bananas would be a more difficult task. Coming back from injury, Murray didn't have a great regular season. He's still never made the All-Star team. Still, his ability to raise his game in the playoffs and make tough shots does feel reminiscent of young Kyrie Irving during that Cavs title run.
Alternatively, Adebayo has a great case as a two-way stud. He's not the type of "back you down" big that some people want him to be, but he can still score in the mid-range, he's an underrated passer, and he's obviously an exceptional and switchable defender. He made the All-Star team and second team All-Defense this year. Among our second bananas, he reminds me most of Pau Gasol during the Lakers run.
2023.06.01 14:31 TheOtherArod AITA for not wanting to go on a trip with my pregnant fiancé that I can't afford?
My fiancé (31F) and I (30M) are expecting a baby in November. We both have full-time jobs, a mortgage, and 2 dogs. I cover around 80-90% of the household expenses, including the mortgage, power, insurance, internet, and water bill. She only pays for gas and groceries, and I usually cover the bill when we eat out. We've had this arrangement for several years. We have this arrangement because my income is a lot higher then hers and she has a car payment and student loans she’s paying off.
Recently, with the baby on the way, I've expressed the need for more careful spending. We've been discussing bigger expenses. However, today she suggested going to Mexico to visit her godkids. She got upset when I expressed my inability to afford an unplanned trip, especially considering the expenses we've already had this year. We took a trip to Denver in April, went to South Carolina last month for my uncle's birthday party, and I'm soon heading back to South Carolina to discuss his will since he has cancer and wants my assistance with carrying out his will.
The tickets for the Mexico trip alone are currently around $600 each, and the total cost of the trip would likely be at least $2,000, considering other expenses there. When she asked if I wanted to go, I honestly told her that I can't afford it due to the unexpected expenses we've already had this year.
I have more credit card debt than savings at the moment and need to focus on reducing it. Additionally, as first-time parents, we should be financially prepared for any unexpected expenses that may arise.
I also reminded her that I lent her $2,000 recently to pay her income tax bill, which she promised to repay as soon as she could save up the money.
She accused me of being selfish and claimed this might be our last chance to travel before the baby arrives. I suggested a more budget-friendly alternative, like a local trip to San Antonio using my accumulated points for a two-night stay. However, she instantly rejected the idea and insisted on seeing her godkids. I then told her that if she really wants to go, she can do so, as I believe it's more important for us to be financially stable before the baby arrives in five months. We haven't made any major purchases yet, despite her sisters planning a baby shower.
As I'm typing this, she is ignoring me and not speaking to me. Am I the asshole (AITA)?
submitted by TheOtherArod to AmItheAsshole [link] [comments]
Recently, with the baby on the way, I've expressed the need for more careful spending. We've been discussing bigger expenses. However, today she suggested going to Mexico to visit her godkids. She got upset when I expressed my inability to afford an unplanned trip, especially considering the expenses we've already had this year. We took a trip to Denver in April, went to South Carolina last month for my uncle's birthday party, and I'm soon heading back to South Carolina to discuss his will since he has cancer and wants my assistance with carrying out his will.
The tickets for the Mexico trip alone are currently around $600 each, and the total cost of the trip would likely be at least $2,000, considering other expenses there. When she asked if I wanted to go, I honestly told her that I can't afford it due to the unexpected expenses we've already had this year.
I have more credit card debt than savings at the moment and need to focus on reducing it. Additionally, as first-time parents, we should be financially prepared for any unexpected expenses that may arise.
I also reminded her that I lent her $2,000 recently to pay her income tax bill, which she promised to repay as soon as she could save up the money.
She accused me of being selfish and claimed this might be our last chance to travel before the baby arrives. I suggested a more budget-friendly alternative, like a local trip to San Antonio using my accumulated points for a two-night stay. However, she instantly rejected the idea and insisted on seeing her godkids. I then told her that if she really wants to go, she can do so, as I believe it's more important for us to be financially stable before the baby arrives in five months. We haven't made any major purchases yet, despite her sisters planning a baby shower.
As I'm typing this, she is ignoring me and not speaking to me. Am I the asshole (AITA)?
2023.06.01 14:14 Htown_Flyer Stats on Frontier's flight network, GWP strategies
I found this article a few days ago and have been pondering different ways the information might influence my future GoWild trip destinations or itineraries.
Inside Frontier: The Airline's Top Airports And Routes https://simpleflying.com/frontier-top-airlines-routes/
What are your observations?
Example 1: My two home city airports have a combined total of about 130 flights per month, increasing to 150+ on June 18 when 3x per week flights to two new destinations are added. That's about half of the #10 busiest Frontier city. I'm now even more envious of GWP holders who are based in one the Frontier hub cities.
Example 2: The list of frontier routes that exceed 3x per day is attractive from the perspective of those city pairs having the least intinerary disruption / stranding risk in the event of a flight cancellation or severe delay. (Also, for elite members, those routes are attractive for either a same-day flight change or standby flight options in the event of either Frontier IRROPS or a personal schedule change.)
Some excerpts from the article follow.
Although the data is over a year old. I still think the information is generally accurate. According to this list, https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Frontier-Airlines , Frontier's fleet has grown from 115 to 128 planes in that time, +11%. That probably isn't enough to move these lists around much. Seasonal flight changes might have some influence, too, e.g. the MCO-SJU and DEN-PHX routes seen below might drop from 3X to 2x per day in the summer.
Leading airports list (flights per month)
...some 26 routes are served twice-daily or more, with those above two a day shown below:
submitted by Htown_Flyer to gowildfrontier [link] [comments]
Inside Frontier: The Airline's Top Airports And Routes https://simpleflying.com/frontier-top-airlines-routes/
What are your observations?
Example 1: My two home city airports have a combined total of about 130 flights per month, increasing to 150+ on June 18 when 3x per week flights to two new destinations are added. That's about half of the #10 busiest Frontier city. I'm now even more envious of GWP holders who are based in one the Frontier hub cities.
Example 2: The list of frontier routes that exceed 3x per day is attractive from the perspective of those city pairs having the least intinerary disruption / stranding risk in the event of a flight cancellation or severe delay. (Also, for elite members, those routes are attractive for either a same-day flight change or standby flight options in the event of either Frontier IRROPS or a personal schedule change.)
Some excerpts from the article follow.
Although the data is over a year old. I still think the information is generally accurate. According to this list, https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Frontier-Airlines , Frontier's fleet has grown from 115 to 128 planes in that time, +11%. That probably isn't enough to move these lists around much. Seasonal flight changes might have some influence, too, e.g. the MCO-SJU and DEN-PHX routes seen below might drop from 3X to 2x per day in the summer.
Leading airports list (flights per month)
- Orlando: approximately 1,660 departures by Frontier in February 2022
- Denver: 1,360
- Las Vegas: 1,174
- Philadelphia: 608
- Tampa: 447
- Atlanta: 437
- Miami: 432
- Fort Myers: 380
- Phoenix: 346
- Cleveland: 319
...some 26 routes are served twice-daily or more, with those above two a day shown below:
- Orlando to Philadelphia
- Denver to Las Vegas
- Cleveland to Orlando
- Denver to Washington National
- Orlando to San Juan
- Denver to Phoenix
2023.06.01 14:12 sonofabutch No game today, so let's remember a forgotten Yankee: Jackie Jensen, "The Golden Boy"
Jackie Jensen, "The Golden Boy", was a superstar athlete in the 1940s who seemed destined for greatness as the heir to Joe DiMaggio... only to be supplanted by a different golden boy, the great Mickey Mantle.
Jensen would eventually live up to the hype, but with the Red Sox -- but his career prematurely because, as baseball expanded to the west coast, his fear of flying made road games unbearable!
The Yankees between 1947 and 1964 were utterly dominant, winning 15 pennants and 10 World Series. And it wasn't just the major league team that was successful. The Yankees of this era were loaded up and down the system, from Rookie ball to their two Triple-A teams!
With such a loaded major league roster, the Yankees had many talented players stuck either on the end of the bench or in the minors who would eventually find an opportunity with other teams, including Bob Cerv, Vic Power, Gus Triandos, Lew Burdette, Jerry Lumpe, Bob Porterfield, and Bob Keegan, who would all be All-Stars with other teams. Clint Courtney would be the 1952 A.L. Rookie of the Year runner-up after the Yankees traded him to the Browns, and Bill Virdon was the 1955 N.L. Rookie of the Year with the Cardinals (and then Yankee manager from 1974 to 1975!).
But the most talented player who just couldn't find the playing time in New York was Jack Eugene Jensen, born March 9, 1927, in San Francisco. His parents divorced when he was 5, and he grew up poor, his mother working six days a week, 12 hours a day. Jensen said the family moved 16 times between kindergarten and eighth grade -- "every time the rent came due."
After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Jensen went to the University of California in 1946 on the G.I. Bill. There he became one of the most famous college players in the country, leading Cal to the Rose Bowl. In 1947, he was the starting fullback as well as the team's top defensive back, and in 1948, he rushed for 1,000 yards and was an All-American.
He also was a tremendous two-way baseball player, pitching and hitting for the Golden Bears in 1947 as the won the very first College World Series, beating a Yale team that had George H.W. Bush playing first base. In 1949, he was an All-American in baseball, too.
His blond hair, good looks, and athletic accomplishments earned him the nickname "The Golden Boy."
Halfway through his junior year, Jensen left Berkeley to turn pro. Jensen would later say he couldn't risk playing a career-ending injury playing for free while teams -- baseball and football -- were trying to sign him to big-money contracts.
At the end of the year, the Oaks sold his contract (and that of Billy Martin, another Northern California kid) to the Yankees.
That same year, Jensen married his high school sweetheart, Zoe Ann Olsen, an Olympic diver. (By age 18, she had won 14 national diving championships and a silver medal in the 1948 Olympics.) "Together they looked like a Nordic god and goddess," Sports Illustrated reported. Nicknamed "the sweethearts of sports," they were the Dansby Swanson and Mallory Pugh of their era. More than 1,000 people attended their wedding.
Jensen would start the 1950 season not in the minors but in the Bronx. He joined the Yankees in a time of flux. They though they'd won the 1949 World Series, the Yankees knew they had to make some changes, with 35-year-old Joe DiMaggio nearing the end of his career. And their heir apparent was not Mickey Mantle -- at the time an 18-year-old shortstop playing in the Class C league, the equivalent of A-ball today -- but the 23-year-old Jensen.
But Jensen disappointed, hitting just .171/.247/.300 in 70 at-bats, and only starting in 13 games. Watching from the bench most of the season, Jensen would later lament the lost year of development, saying he'd have been better off playing every day in the Pacific Coast League.
The Yankees won the pennant for a second straight year, and in the World Series he once again was left on the bench. His only action was as a pinch runner in Game 3 as the Yankees swept the Phillies. That "Moonlight Graham" appearance would be his only taste of the post-season in an 11-year career.
The following year would be DiMaggio's last, and Mantle's first. Jensen began the year as the Yankees' starting left fielder and proved he belonged, hitting .296/.371/.509 through the end of July... and then, shockingly, was demoted to Triple-A and replaced with previously forgotten Yankee Bob Cerv.
I can see why they called up Cerv -- the University of Nebraska stand-out was tearing up Triple-A, leading the American Association in batting average (.349), home runs (26), triples (21), RBIs (101), and total bases (261) -- but why demote Jensen, who had a 140 OPS+ in the majors? Maybe the Yankees felt the brash 23-year-old needed to be taken down a peg. In any event, Cerv hit just .214/.333/.250 in August and was sent back to Triple-A, but Jensen also was left down there. He hit .263/.344/.469 and was recalled after the Triple-A season ended, only getting into three games (he went 3-for-9).
Mantle, too, had started the season with the Yankees, and after hitting .260/.341/.423 through the middle of July, was sent down to Triple-A. But he hit .361/.445/.651 in 166 at-bats, and unlike Jensen was back in the bigs by August 24. He would play pretty much every game the rest of the season, hitting .284/.370/.495 in 95 at-bats.
The torch had clearly been passed -- Jensen was no longer the heir apparent to DiMaggio. In the World Series that year, Mantle was the starting right fielder, and Jensen wasn't even on the post-season roster.
Jensen was so disappointed with how the Yankees had treated him in 1951 that he talked to the San Francisco 49ers about switching to pro football, but ultimately decided to stick with baseball.
Never shy about what he said to reporters, Jensen told The Sporting News on October 24, 1951:
Sportswriters spent the off-season speculating whether DiMaggio would retire, and if he did, whether Jensen or Mantle would take over as the center fielder, as there were still concerns that Mantle, who had hurt his knee in the 1951 World Series, wouldn't be fully recovered by the start of the season.
On Opening Day, April 16, 1952, it was Jackie Jensen in center and Mickey Mantle in right. Jensen went 0-for-5 with a GIDP; Mantle, 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base! Seven games into the season, Jensen was 2-for-17 (.118) and found himself on the bench. He'd never play for the Yankees again. On May 3, the Golden Boy was traded to the Washington Senators along with Spec Shea, Jerry Snyder, and Archie Wilson in exchange for Irv Noren and Tom Upton.
In two years with the Senators, Jensen hit an impressive .276/.359/.407 (112 OPS+), but the team was terrible, and Jensen wasn't happy. Still just 26 years old, he later said he had almost quit after the 1953 season... particularly after a harrowing flight to Japan for a series of exhibition games with a squad of All-Stars that included Yankees Yogi Berra, Eddie Lopat, and Billy Martin. That experience gave Jensen a lifelong fear of flying, a phobia that became so intense eventually he could only fly with the help of sleeping pills... and a hypnotist!
He might have quit if not for the trade on December 9, 1953, that sent him to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Mickey McDermott and outfielder Tom Umphlett. He was homesick, he hated flying, and he now had two little kids at home. Red Sox general manager Joe Cronin convinced Jensen to come to the Red Sox, telling him that Fenway Park was tailor made for his swing. Cronin was right: Jensen was a career .279/.369/.460 hitter, but .298/.400/.514 at Fenway.
It was in Boston that Jensen finally lived up to the hype, becoming a two-time All-Star and winning the A.L. MVP Award in 1958 and a Gold Glove in 1959. During his seven seasons in Boston, he hit .282/.374/.478 in 4,519 plate appearances. In his MVP season, Jensen hit .286/.396/.535 (148 OPS+) with 31 doubles, 35 home runs, and a league-leading 122 RBIs. During his peak with the Red Sox, 1954 to 1959, Jensen's average season was .285/.378/.490 (127 OPS+) with 28 doubles, 26 home runs, 111 RBIs, 14 stolen bases, and 3.6 bWAR. During those six seasons, no one in the American League -- not Mickey Mantle, not Ted Williams, not Al Kaline -- had more runs batted in than Jackie Jensen.
Of course, Mantle was the far better player -- even in Jensen's MVP season, Mantle had more runs, hits, home runs, walks, and a 188 OPS+ -- but Jensen's 127 OPS+ between 1954 and 1959 would have been an upgrade over the aging Hank Bauer's 110 OPS+ in right or the left field merry-go-round of Norm Siebern (113 OPS+), Irv Noren (107 OPS+), Enos Slaughter (103 OPS+), and previously forgotten Yankee Hector Lopez (101 OPS+). Casey Stengel would later say the Jensen trade was the worst one the Yankees had made while he was manager.
Despite his success, Jensen was sometimes booed by the Boston fans, just as they sometimes booed Ted Williams. There even was an article in Sport magazine, "What Do They Want From Jackie Jensen?", taking Red Sox fans to task for their unreasonably high demands from the Golden Boy. In 1956, in a game at Fenway Park against the Yankees, the hometown fans were razzing Jensen so much that teammates had to restrain him from going into the stands after a fan. Later that same game, Williams misplayed a wind-blown fly ball from Mantle, and the fans booed lustily. The very next play, Williams made a leaping catch at the scoreboard to rob Yogi Berra of a double. But Williams, still furious, spit into the crowd. He was later fined $5,000.
And Jackie was unhappy to be away from home. He and Zoe Ann had bought a house near Lake Tahoe, where they could both ski and golf year-round, as well as hit the casinos. They also had a home in Oakland, and a restaurant there, and each year Jensen hosted a pro-am golf tournament. But the marriage was struggling. Zoe Ann, once nationally known for her Olympic exploits, was frustrated to be a stay-at-home mom in the shadow of her famous husband, and Jackie became angry if she engaged in her favorite outdoor hobbies, suspecting there were men around.
Jensen's fear of flying also had become even more intense. Sometimes he was so drugged up that he had to be carried on and off the plane, fueling rumors that he was a drunk. Other times he took trains or even drove while his teammates flew.
Once again Jensen was talking about retirement, and in Spring Training 1957, the Red Sox allowed him to train with the San Francisco Seals, Boston's Triple-A team, rather than having to go to Florida. But he was still miserable. That year, he told Sports Illustrated:
After leaving baseball, Jensen invested in real estate and a golf course, but lost most of his money. He then got a job working for a Lake Tahoe casino, was a national spokesman for Camel cigarettes, Wonder Bread, and Gillette, and even tried selling cars. Ironically, Jackie found himself on the road almost as much as he had been as a ballplayer. In 1963, he and Zoe Ann divorced, remarried, and then divorced again.
In 1967, Jensen became a TV sportscaster, married his producer Katharine Cortesi, and eventually teamed up with Keith Jackson calling college football games for ABC and a college baseball coach, first at the University of Nevada-Reno and then at the University of California, and he managed the Red Sox team in the New York Penn League in 1970. In 1977, Jackie and Katharine moved to Virginia and started a Christmas tree farm while he coached baseball at a military academy. About five years later, on July 14, 1982, he died of a heart attack at age 55.
You Don't Know Jack(ie):
submitted by sonofabutch to NYYankees [link] [comments]
Jensen would eventually live up to the hype, but with the Red Sox -- but his career prematurely because, as baseball expanded to the west coast, his fear of flying made road games unbearable!
The Yankees between 1947 and 1964 were utterly dominant, winning 15 pennants and 10 World Series. And it wasn't just the major league team that was successful. The Yankees of this era were loaded up and down the system, from Rookie ball to their two Triple-A teams!
With such a loaded major league roster, the Yankees had many talented players stuck either on the end of the bench or in the minors who would eventually find an opportunity with other teams, including Bob Cerv, Vic Power, Gus Triandos, Lew Burdette, Jerry Lumpe, Bob Porterfield, and Bob Keegan, who would all be All-Stars with other teams. Clint Courtney would be the 1952 A.L. Rookie of the Year runner-up after the Yankees traded him to the Browns, and Bill Virdon was the 1955 N.L. Rookie of the Year with the Cardinals (and then Yankee manager from 1974 to 1975!).
But the most talented player who just couldn't find the playing time in New York was Jack Eugene Jensen, born March 9, 1927, in San Francisco. His parents divorced when he was 5, and he grew up poor, his mother working six days a week, 12 hours a day. Jensen said the family moved 16 times between kindergarten and eighth grade -- "every time the rent came due."
After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Jensen went to the University of California in 1946 on the G.I. Bill. There he became one of the most famous college players in the country, leading Cal to the Rose Bowl. In 1947, he was the starting fullback as well as the team's top defensive back, and in 1948, he rushed for 1,000 yards and was an All-American.
He also was a tremendous two-way baseball player, pitching and hitting for the Golden Bears in 1947 as the won the very first College World Series, beating a Yale team that had George H.W. Bush playing first base. In 1949, he was an All-American in baseball, too.
His blond hair, good looks, and athletic accomplishments earned him the nickname "The Golden Boy."
Halfway through his junior year, Jensen left Berkeley to turn pro. Jensen would later say he couldn't risk playing a career-ending injury playing for free while teams -- baseball and football -- were trying to sign him to big-money contracts.
"There was a money tree growing in my backyard. Why shouldn't I pluck off the dollars when I wanted to?"Jensen considered a number of offers, including from the Yankees, before signing a three-year, $75,000 contract with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. Jensen said he thought he'd face better competition in the Pacific Coast League, the top minor league of the era, than he would at the bottom of the Yankee farm system. He was right about it being more of a challenge -- he hit an unimpressive .261/.317/.394 in 510 plate appearances with the Oaks.
At the end of the year, the Oaks sold his contract (and that of Billy Martin, another Northern California kid) to the Yankees.
That same year, Jensen married his high school sweetheart, Zoe Ann Olsen, an Olympic diver. (By age 18, she had won 14 national diving championships and a silver medal in the 1948 Olympics.) "Together they looked like a Nordic god and goddess," Sports Illustrated reported. Nicknamed "the sweethearts of sports," they were the Dansby Swanson and Mallory Pugh of their era. More than 1,000 people attended their wedding.
Jensen would start the 1950 season not in the minors but in the Bronx. He joined the Yankees in a time of flux. They though they'd won the 1949 World Series, the Yankees knew they had to make some changes, with 35-year-old Joe DiMaggio nearing the end of his career. And their heir apparent was not Mickey Mantle -- at the time an 18-year-old shortstop playing in the Class C league, the equivalent of A-ball today -- but the 23-year-old Jensen.
But Jensen disappointed, hitting just .171/.247/.300 in 70 at-bats, and only starting in 13 games. Watching from the bench most of the season, Jensen would later lament the lost year of development, saying he'd have been better off playing every day in the Pacific Coast League.
The Yankees won the pennant for a second straight year, and in the World Series he once again was left on the bench. His only action was as a pinch runner in Game 3 as the Yankees swept the Phillies. That "Moonlight Graham" appearance would be his only taste of the post-season in an 11-year career.
The following year would be DiMaggio's last, and Mantle's first. Jensen began the year as the Yankees' starting left fielder and proved he belonged, hitting .296/.371/.509 through the end of July... and then, shockingly, was demoted to Triple-A and replaced with previously forgotten Yankee Bob Cerv.
I can see why they called up Cerv -- the University of Nebraska stand-out was tearing up Triple-A, leading the American Association in batting average (.349), home runs (26), triples (21), RBIs (101), and total bases (261) -- but why demote Jensen, who had a 140 OPS+ in the majors? Maybe the Yankees felt the brash 23-year-old needed to be taken down a peg. In any event, Cerv hit just .214/.333/.250 in August and was sent back to Triple-A, but Jensen also was left down there. He hit .263/.344/.469 and was recalled after the Triple-A season ended, only getting into three games (he went 3-for-9).
Mantle, too, had started the season with the Yankees, and after hitting .260/.341/.423 through the middle of July, was sent down to Triple-A. But he hit .361/.445/.651 in 166 at-bats, and unlike Jensen was back in the bigs by August 24. He would play pretty much every game the rest of the season, hitting .284/.370/.495 in 95 at-bats.
The torch had clearly been passed -- Jensen was no longer the heir apparent to DiMaggio. In the World Series that year, Mantle was the starting right fielder, and Jensen wasn't even on the post-season roster.
Jensen was so disappointed with how the Yankees had treated him in 1951 that he talked to the San Francisco 49ers about switching to pro football, but ultimately decided to stick with baseball.
Never shy about what he said to reporters, Jensen told The Sporting News on October 24, 1951:
"I felt so badly about the treatment that I received from the Yankees that, although I was in New York at the end of the season, I didn't feel like sticking around to even watch the club play in any of the World's Series games."Despite blasting his manager in the press, Jensen was still the property of the Yankees. That off-season, teams were circling, hoping to pry away the talented but disgruntled outfielder. There were newspaper reports of offers from the St. Louis Browns, the Detroit Tigers, the Philadelphia Athletics, the Washington Senators, the Cleveland Indians, and the Boston Red Sox -- with one rumor being Ted Williams to the Bronx in exchange for Jensen and several other players. (A Red Sox scout called the rumored deal "a lot of hogwash.")
"I do not feel the Yankees were justified in sending me to the minor leagues. When I was shipped to Kansas City, I was doing as good a job as any Yankee outfielder and better than some of them. I was hitting .296, which was ten points better than Hank Bauer and 30 points better than Joe DiMaggio, Gene Woodling and Mickey Mantle. Yet Casey Stengel didn't give me the chance I felt I deserved."
Sportswriters spent the off-season speculating whether DiMaggio would retire, and if he did, whether Jensen or Mantle would take over as the center fielder, as there were still concerns that Mantle, who had hurt his knee in the 1951 World Series, wouldn't be fully recovered by the start of the season.
On Opening Day, April 16, 1952, it was Jackie Jensen in center and Mickey Mantle in right. Jensen went 0-for-5 with a GIDP; Mantle, 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base! Seven games into the season, Jensen was 2-for-17 (.118) and found himself on the bench. He'd never play for the Yankees again. On May 3, the Golden Boy was traded to the Washington Senators along with Spec Shea, Jerry Snyder, and Archie Wilson in exchange for Irv Noren and Tom Upton.
In two years with the Senators, Jensen hit an impressive .276/.359/.407 (112 OPS+), but the team was terrible, and Jensen wasn't happy. Still just 26 years old, he later said he had almost quit after the 1953 season... particularly after a harrowing flight to Japan for a series of exhibition games with a squad of All-Stars that included Yankees Yogi Berra, Eddie Lopat, and Billy Martin. That experience gave Jensen a lifelong fear of flying, a phobia that became so intense eventually he could only fly with the help of sleeping pills... and a hypnotist!
He might have quit if not for the trade on December 9, 1953, that sent him to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Mickey McDermott and outfielder Tom Umphlett. He was homesick, he hated flying, and he now had two little kids at home. Red Sox general manager Joe Cronin convinced Jensen to come to the Red Sox, telling him that Fenway Park was tailor made for his swing. Cronin was right: Jensen was a career .279/.369/.460 hitter, but .298/.400/.514 at Fenway.
It was in Boston that Jensen finally lived up to the hype, becoming a two-time All-Star and winning the A.L. MVP Award in 1958 and a Gold Glove in 1959. During his seven seasons in Boston, he hit .282/.374/.478 in 4,519 plate appearances. In his MVP season, Jensen hit .286/.396/.535 (148 OPS+) with 31 doubles, 35 home runs, and a league-leading 122 RBIs. During his peak with the Red Sox, 1954 to 1959, Jensen's average season was .285/.378/.490 (127 OPS+) with 28 doubles, 26 home runs, 111 RBIs, 14 stolen bases, and 3.6 bWAR. During those six seasons, no one in the American League -- not Mickey Mantle, not Ted Williams, not Al Kaline -- had more runs batted in than Jackie Jensen.
Of course, Mantle was the far better player -- even in Jensen's MVP season, Mantle had more runs, hits, home runs, walks, and a 188 OPS+ -- but Jensen's 127 OPS+ between 1954 and 1959 would have been an upgrade over the aging Hank Bauer's 110 OPS+ in right or the left field merry-go-round of Norm Siebern (113 OPS+), Irv Noren (107 OPS+), Enos Slaughter (103 OPS+), and previously forgotten Yankee Hector Lopez (101 OPS+). Casey Stengel would later say the Jensen trade was the worst one the Yankees had made while he was manager.
Despite his success, Jensen was sometimes booed by the Boston fans, just as they sometimes booed Ted Williams. There even was an article in Sport magazine, "What Do They Want From Jackie Jensen?", taking Red Sox fans to task for their unreasonably high demands from the Golden Boy. In 1956, in a game at Fenway Park against the Yankees, the hometown fans were razzing Jensen so much that teammates had to restrain him from going into the stands after a fan. Later that same game, Williams misplayed a wind-blown fly ball from Mantle, and the fans booed lustily. The very next play, Williams made a leaping catch at the scoreboard to rob Yogi Berra of a double. But Williams, still furious, spit into the crowd. He was later fined $5,000.
And Jackie was unhappy to be away from home. He and Zoe Ann had bought a house near Lake Tahoe, where they could both ski and golf year-round, as well as hit the casinos. They also had a home in Oakland, and a restaurant there, and each year Jensen hosted a pro-am golf tournament. But the marriage was struggling. Zoe Ann, once nationally known for her Olympic exploits, was frustrated to be a stay-at-home mom in the shadow of her famous husband, and Jackie became angry if she engaged in her favorite outdoor hobbies, suspecting there were men around.
Jensen's fear of flying also had become even more intense. Sometimes he was so drugged up that he had to be carried on and off the plane, fueling rumors that he was a drunk. Other times he took trains or even drove while his teammates flew.
Once again Jensen was talking about retirement, and in Spring Training 1957, the Red Sox allowed him to train with the San Francisco Seals, Boston's Triple-A team, rather than having to go to Florida. But he was still miserable. That year, he told Sports Illustrated:
“In baseball you get to the point where you don’t think you have a family. It just looks like I’m not built for this life like some ballplayers. You are always away from home and you’re lonesome, and as soon as I can, I intend to get out.”The 32-year-old Jensen announced his retirement after the 1959 season, and he spent 1960 home with Zoe Ann and their children and running his restaurant. But he returned in 1961. After hitting just .130 in April, Jensen took a train from Detroit home to Reno, determined to quit once again. After a week away, he rejoined the team and had six hits in his next 10 at-bats. By the end of the season he was at .263/.350/.392, and this time he quit for good.
After leaving baseball, Jensen invested in real estate and a golf course, but lost most of his money. He then got a job working for a Lake Tahoe casino, was a national spokesman for Camel cigarettes, Wonder Bread, and Gillette, and even tried selling cars. Ironically, Jackie found himself on the road almost as much as he had been as a ballplayer. In 1963, he and Zoe Ann divorced, remarried, and then divorced again.
In 1967, Jensen became a TV sportscaster, married his producer Katharine Cortesi, and eventually teamed up with Keith Jackson calling college football games for ABC and a college baseball coach, first at the University of Nevada-Reno and then at the University of California, and he managed the Red Sox team in the New York Penn League in 1970. In 1977, Jackie and Katharine moved to Virginia and started a Christmas tree farm while he coached baseball at a military academy. About five years later, on July 14, 1982, he died of a heart attack at age 55.
You Don't Know Jack(ie):
- How good would Jackie Jensen have been as a Yankee? Maybe not great. He was a career .279/.369/.460 hitter, but just .238/.326/.398 at Yankee Stadium, which -- especially in that era -- was famously death on right-handed batters. Fenway Park was much more to his liking!
- Born in San Francisco in 1927, it's no surprise Jensen's favorite player as a kid was Joe DiMaggio, who made his debut with the San Francisco Seals when Jensen was a 5 years old. When Jensen made his major league debut, on April 18, 1950, DiMaggio went 3-for-6 with a triple in a 15-10 win over the Red Sox. Two weeks later, on May 3, Jensen made his first start, playing left field and batting second, and DiMaggio was in center and batting fourth.
- Jensen wore #36 at Cal. When he came up with the Yankees, he was first issued #40, then switched to #27, and finally to #25. (With the Senators, he wore #8, then #4; in Boston, he first wore #30 but primarily wore #4.) Currently, #40 is worn by Luis Severino. Other famous 40's include Chien-Ming Wang (2005-2009), Andy Hawkins (1989-1991), and Lindy McDaniel (1968-1973). #27 has been worn by Giancarlo Stanton since 2018; prior to him, it was worn by Austin Romine (2016-2017). It also was the number worn by Bob Wickman (1993-1996), Butch Wynegar (1982-1986), and Woodie Held (1954-1957). Gleyber Torres has worn #25 since 2018; it also was worn by Mark Teixeira (2009-2016), Jason Giambi (2002-2008), Joe Girardi (1996-1999), Jim Abbott (1993-1994), Tommy John (1979-1989), and Joe Pepitone (1962-1969).
- Jensen is one of six major leaguers to graduate from Oakland High School, but the only Yankee. Cal has sent 83 players to the majors, including twenty Yankees -- most notably, early 1990s pitcher Chuck Cary, 1930s infielder Lyn Lary, and 1990 A.L. ROY runner-up Kevin Maas.
- The Yankees during spring training in 1951 tinkered with the idea of using Jensen into a pitcher. Jensen had been a star pitcher at Cal, including pitching in the 1947 College World Series, and had pitched in a winter league that off-season. But he was bombed in a handful of spring training innings -- while crushing as a hitter -- and the Yankees decided to leave him in the outfield.
- College teammates said Jensen wasn't afraid of flying at Cal. His second wife Katharine said the phobia came from a near-miss experience on a flight early in his baseball career -- he looked out the window and saw another plane coming straight at him! The two planes managed to avoid each other, but he was never comfortable on a plane again.
- Billy Martin, who also had grown up in Northern California and was Jensen's teammate on both the Oakland Oaks and the Yankees, was merciless when it came to teasing Jensen about his fear of flying. In 1953, on a flight from Okinawa to Honshu to play a series of exhibition games in Japan, the plane ran into a bad storm and was bouncing pretty hard. Jensen, who wouldn't get on a plane without the help of tranquilizers, was blissfully sleeping through the turbulence. Martin found a lifejacket and put it on, then stood over Jensen and shouted "We're going down!"
- Arthur Ellen, a hypnotist that Jensen had used to try to cure his fear of flying, believed Jackie wasn't aerophobic at all. It was really a fear of losing his family. "Subconsciously, it developed as a good reason to leave the Red Sox and go home," the hypnotist said.
- Jensen is featured prominently in Norman Rockwell's famous 1957 painting, The Rookie. Jensen is the one seated on the bench tying his shoe in the middle of the painting. Standing behind him is Ted Williams, and sitting on the bench next to him is pitcher Frank Sullivan (#18). Wearing the catcher's mitt in the foreground is Sammy White, and the player with his hand over his mouth to the far right is Billy Goodman. Jensen, Sullivan, and White had gone to Rockwell's studio in Massachusetts to pose for the painting; the images of Williams and Goodman were based on photos. The shirtless player was one of Rockwell's assistants, and "the rookie" holding the suitcase was a local high school student!
- Boston sportswriters named Jensen the team's MVP in 1954, when he hit .276/.359/.472 with 25 home runs and 117 RBIs. I guess they were tired of giving the award to Ted Williams, who hit .345/.513/.635 that year, albeit in just 117 games as he had broken his collarbone in spring training. Williams didn't qualify for the batting title that year because he had only 386 at-bats... mostly due to his league-leading 136 walks. The rule was subsequently changed from at-bats to plate appearances.
- After Jensen was acquired by the Washington Senators, manager Bucky Harris -- who managed the Yankees when they won the 1947 World Series -- pulled him aside and told him he was the right fielder and he'd hit third. "No pep talk, no nothing, but he made it sound like I was the right fielder and third place hitter for a long time to come," Jensen later recalled. "It made me feel good." The 1950s Senators had a number of ex-Yankees and several of them told reporters that Harris was a much more low-key, hands-off manager than Casey Stengel, and Jensen agreed. "With Stengel it was always 'watch for that curve ball' or 'watch for that change up'," Jensen said. "Bucky leaves you on your own up there." But Jensen would later say Stengel was the smartest manager he'd ever had.
- Stengel obliquely mentioned Jensen in his famously long, rambling testimony before the Senate Anti-Trust and Monopoly Subcommittee on July 8, 1958. Asked about legislation that would exempt baseball from federal anti-trust laws, Stengel said about 7,000 words without really saying anything. The hearing was held the day after the All-Star Game -- the Stengel-managed A.L. All-Stars won, 4-3 -- and in the American League starting lineup were Jensen and two other ex-Yankees, Bob Cerv and Gus Triandos. Stengel was asked if the Yankees were going to continue to "monopolize" the World Series, and his confusing answer: "Well, I will tell you. I got a little concerned yesterday in the first three innings when I saw the three players I had gotten rid of [Jensen, Cerv, and Triandos] and I said when I lost nine what am I going to do? And when I had a couple of my players I thought so great of that did not do so good up to the sixth inning I was more confused but I finally had to go and call on a young man in Baltimore that we don't own and the Yankees don't own him and he is doing pretty well and I would actually have to to tell you that we are more the Greta Garbo-type now from success. We are being hated. I mean from the ownership and all we are being hated. Every sport that gets too great or one individual -- but if we made twenty-seven cents and it pays to have a winner at home why would you have a good winner in your park if you were an owner? That is the result of baseball. An owner gets most of the money at home, and it is up to him and his staff to do better or they ought to be discharged." After befuddling the committee with answers like that for 45 minutes, Stengel was excused and Mickey Mantle called upon. His opening statement: "My views are just about the same as Casey's."
- Casey Stengel later said Jensen plus Spec Shea, Jerry Snyder, and Archie Wilson to the Senators for Irv Noren and Tom Upton was the worst trade the Yankees made during his tenure. But in reality it was pretty much a wash for the Yankees. Jensen, in two seasons, would be worth 4.9 bWAR for the Senators before being traded. Shea, a right-handed pitcher who had been an All-Star with the Yankees as a rookie, pitched four years in Washington and was worth 2.9 bWAR. Snyder was a good-glove, no-hit infielder worth -0.1 bWAR in seven seasons with the Senators. (You must have a really good glove to last seven seasons with a 55 OPS+!) Wilson, at one point seen as a good prospect but now a 28-year-old minor league journeyman, only played 26 games in Washington before being traded. In exchange, the Yankees received the 27-year-old Irv Noren, an outfieldefirst baseman who played five years in New York and was an All-Star in 1954; he was worth 7.9 bWAR, making the trade essentially even by bWAR. (The other player the Yankees received, minor league infielder Tom Upton, never made it back to the bigs.) Prior to the 1957 season, Noren was traded to the Kansas City Athletics as part of a monster 13-player trade that included Clete Boyer, third baseman of the early 1960s dynasty!
- The two players Washington got from Boston for Jensen, Mickey McDermott and Tom Upton, were both future Yankees. McDermott was a left-handed pitcher whose father, Maurice McDermott, had played in the minors with Lou Gehrig. Mickey was just 25 years old at the time of the trade but had been in the majors for six seasons, going 48-34 with a 3.80 ERA (114 ERA+). In two years with the Senators, McDermott went 17-25 (but with a 3.58 ERA), then prior to the 1957 season was traded to the Yankees as part of a seven-player deal; he went 2-6 with a 4.24 ERA as a swingman, and closed out the Game 2 win in the 1956 World Series. After that one season in New York, he was part of the trade with the A's that brought back Clete Boyer.
- Umphlett, a 22-year-old infielder, was traded back to the Red Sox in 1955, and then the Red Sox traded him to the Yankees in 1962 for infielder Billy Gardner. He would spend 1962 and 1963 in Triple-A for the Yankees, then ended his career in the minors with the Minnesota Twins -- the team that had been the Senators until 1961.
- In 1956, the anthology television show Cavalcade of America had an episode called The Jackie Jensen Story. Jackie had a cameo as the adult version of himself, but the 30-minute episode was focused on Jackie's teenage years and the influence of his middle high school coach, a man named Ralph Kerchum who became a father figure. The coach was played by Ross Elliott, a Bronx native whose most memorable role might have been as the director in the Vitameatavegamin episode of I Love Lucy.
- Jensen's MVP in 1958 broke a string of four straight MVP awards for Yankees -- Yogi Berra in 1954 and 1955 followed by Mickey Mantle in 1956 and 1957. Nellie Fox of the White Sox won it in 1959, and then the Yankees won it four years in a row again -- Roger Maris in 1960 and 1961, Mantle in 1962, and Elston Howard in 1963. Then a long drought -- the next Yankee to win it would be Thurman Munson in 1976.
- Going by bWAR, Mantle should have won it a third straight year in 1958 -- his 8.7 bWAR led the league, followed by Frank Lary at 6.7 and Al Kaline at 6.5. Jensen's 4.9 was 10th that year. Of course, they didn't have bWAR back then!
- Jackie won a Gold Glove in 1959; it was just the third year of the award's existence, or he might have won more. "Right field in Boston is a bitch, the sun field, and few play it well," Ted Williams said. "Jackie Jensen was the best I saw at it." Jensen was renowned for his throwing arm -- he twice led the league in assists, and twice led the league in double plays as an outfielder. One Yankee scout said he had the best arm he'd seen since previously forgotten Yankee Bob Meusel, usually said to have the best cannon in baseball history until Roberto Clemente came along.
- Jensen was well known for his brashness, especially compared to Mantle's aw shucks attitude. Mantle, asked if he thought he could beat out Jensen to replace DiMaggio in center field, humbly replied that there were three positions in the outfield and he hoped to win any one of them. Jensen, on the other hand, vowed he'd "out-run, out-hit, and out-throw" Mantle, an arrogant answer that didn't go over well with teammates. Joe DiMaggio, asked what he thought of the duel for his old job, quipped that Mantle was "out-quoting" Jensen.
- When Mantle was asked what he thought about Jensen's quote, he replied: "I don't know what to make of that guy." Jensen would later say he was misquoted, but reports of his cockiness would follow him throughout his Yankee years. Later in life, Jensen said people mistook his shyness and anxiety for arrogance and rudeness.
- According to Sports Illustrated, Jensen is the only player to have played in the East-West football game, the Rose Bowl, the World Series, and the Major League All-Star Game. I'll take their word for it!
- As a freshman at Cal, the first time Jensen touched the ball -- on a punt return -- he ran it back for a 56-yard touchdown. Cal quarterback Charles Erb said they'd never seen anything like it. "He was all over the field, dodging and leaping over guys. The rest of us just stood there on the sidelines with our mouths open. Finally somebody said, 'Who in the hell is that guy?' "
- Jensen is one of two "forgotten" Yankees in the College Football Hall of Fame -- the other is 1960s catcher Jake Gibbs. (Other Yankees in the College Football Hall of Fame include John Elway, who was in the Yankee minor league system before joining the Denver Broncos, and Deion Sanders, who was on the Yankees in 1989 and 1990.) Jensen also is a member of the Cal Hall of Fame, the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, and... ugh... the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
- Despite his speed -- Jensen led the league in triples in 1956 and in stolen bases in 1954, and was in the top five in stolen bases in six seasons -- Jackie also was prone to grounding into double plays, leading the league in 1954, 1956, and 1957. His 32 GIDPs in 1954 was the major league record until Boston's Jim Rice hit into 36 in 1984, which is still the single-season record. Rice also had 35 in 1985. Jensen's 32 is tied for third with four others. The most by a Yankee? Dave Winfield with 30 in 1983, which is tied for 14th.
- Jensen lost most of his baseball earnings through a series of bad investments. His ex-wife, former Olympian Zoe Ann, later became a blackjack dealer in Reno to pay the bills.
- Jensen had four appearances on the popular show Home Run Derby, and set a record for most home runs in one match when he defeated Ernie Banks, 14-11, in Episode 24. The 25 combined home runs also was a record. He took on Mickey Mantle in Episode 3, with Mantle winning, 9-2, then defeated Rocky Colavito, 3-2, in Episode 25. He rematched against Mantle in Episode 26, with Mantle winning again, 13-10. Jensen set another record in that contest when he became the only player to hit four home runs in a row, and then a fifth home run in a row. That episode was supposed to be the season one finale, but it turned out to be the last episode of the series: The show's host and producer, Mark Scott, died of a heart attack at age 45, shortly after the last episode aired, and two months later the show's 64-year-old director Benjamin Stoloff also died. Rather than replacing them, the show was cancelled.
- Jensen's last game came against the Yankees, on October 1st, 1961, at Yankee Stadium. He appeared as a pinch hitter and popped out to shortstop Tony Kubek. In the 4th inning of that game, Roger Maris hit his 61st home run, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record!
- Jackie and Zoe Ann had two sons, Jon and Jay, and a daughter, Jan. Jay's son, Tucker Jensen, was a pitcher in the Blue Jays farm system in 2011 and 2012.
2023.06.01 12:03 Extreme-Brief-8285 🤠 One of the Rothschilds, Head of Investment Controls Carl Wilson, worked at Ripple from 2012 to 2015, heading the Institutional Liquidity Department
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2023.06.01 09:14 WheeeeeThePeople Mark Amodei (R-NV) is co-chair of the Public Broadcasting Caucus (and the only R in the caucus)
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