Happy 90th Birthday Monte Irvin

February 25th, 2009 marked the 90th birthday of baseball icon Monte Irvin. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973, Irvin is the last living star of the Negro Leagues. Starting with the legendary Newark Eagles in 1937 as a shortstop under the name Jimmy Nelson to protect his amateur status; he went on to play in 4 East-West All Star games before being signed by the New York Giants in winter of 1948. Due to the presence of future Hall of Famer Willie Wells at shortstop, Irvin made the switch to outfield, and a legend was born. Staring with the Giants as a 30-year old "rookie", he went on to post a .293 career average, and was third in the MVP voting in 1951 en route to a World Series appearance.

Irvin is one of the classiest acts in baseball, often readily traveling to spread the word about baseball's history at dinners, signings and stadiums. He is a walking baseball encyclopedia and one of our sports greatest resources. He currently lives in a retirement community in Houston.

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Manuel Names Daniel Murphy Mets Left Fielder

New York Newsday reports that Jerry Manuel has named Daniel Murphy at his starting left-fielder for the 2009 season. Murphy batted .313 in 49 games last season after his August 2nd call up. Murphy meteorically rose to the Mets last season, spending most of 2008 in AA, playing only one game in AAA before being summoned to the big show.
"I don't want him to get into a strictly platoon situation," Manuel said. "I think he's a little better player than that. Also, with Church being a lefthanded hitter, I kind of see Murphy being a better hitter right now at this time, so Tatis could go that way [in rightfield]. It all depends on how well they're doing. If they're not getting hits, they're not going to play. Development or whatever, they've got to perform."
While Murphy has shown that he can hit well, there are concerns surrounding his shaky outfield defense. The Mets even attempted to convert Murphy to second base in the Arizona Fall League to supplant Luis Castillo, but that experiment was unsuccessful. He spent the remainder of the off-season working out at his alma mater, Jacksonville University, with his brother Jonathan who is a freshman outfielder. He has also been receiving assistance from Carlos Beltran.
While Manuel's move may seem premature as the Mets have yet to play a Spring Training game, Manuel is sure about the young player's abilities. "I'm confident. The way he swings the bat, I'm confident that he can handle that. I don't have a problem with that."

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Nationals Prospect Lied About His Age

Washington Nationals officials acknowledged Wednesday that top prospect Esmailyn Gonzalez was actually Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo, a 23-year-old who was four years older than the team believed. The Nationals in 2006 gave Alvarez a team-record $1.4 million signing bonus, believing him to be 16 at the time.
This is not a recent problem, as prominent Major League players have admitted lying about their age, including Rafael Furcal, Miguel Tejada and Adrian Beltre. This goes back even farther during World War II when returning rookies and Negro Leaguers would take a year or two off of their age to look more palatable to doubting owners. As the opportunity for a large signing bonus looms heavily over the heads of young talent, shaving a few years off of one's "real" age can mean the difference between prospect and suspect. In poor countries such as the Dominican Republic, the spoils of a large signing bonus can allow an entire family to move out of a multi-generational cycle of impoverished living.
In the case of Alvarez, the Nationals did three prior investigations into his background before discovering the fraud. Nationals president Stan Kasten said Wednesday, "The protocols are the baseball protocols. I think 90 percent of the time they're very effective. We've turned kids in that baseball has kicked out for fraudulent IDs. That's usually how it works, and it didn't work in this case, and that's a shame."
As the investigation continues, we will find out what the Nationals will do with Alvarez in regards to his signing bonus and standing in the organization.

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Griffey Jr. Signs With Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that Ken Griffey Jr. has signed a one year contract for approximately $2 million laden with incentive clauses based on games played, attendance and plate appearances. Griffey Jr. broke in with the Mariners as a rookie in 1989.

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Ken Griffey Jr. Likely To Make His Decision On Wednesday

MLB.com reports that current free-agent outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. "hopes to make a decision later today (Tuesday) or tomorrow morning" regarding his signing with either the Braves or Mariners. Griffey Jr. spent his first 11 MLB seasons with the Mariners, but his Orlando, Florida residence is closer to Atlanta. Both officials from the Braves and Mariners have confirmed that a decision has yet to be made. The 39 year old Griffey Jr. hit a combined .249 with 18 HR's and 71 RBI's in 143 games with the Reds and White Sox last season.

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