by Rany Jazayerli
May 24, 2000
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=593
Raves for Rafael (And the Braves)
Barely a month ago, I wrote that the Braves were taking a needless risk in
rushing Rafael Furcal straight from A ball to the major leagues. While the
financial ramifications are still going to crop up down the road, it is
fairly obvious that from a talent standpoint, Bobby Cox knew exactly what he
was doing. Again.
And fans should be thankful for the gamble, because it has allowed us to
watch one of the greatest teenage players ever to play. How unusual is Furcal
’s combination of youth and speed? His 10 stolen bases already rank eighth
all-time for players under age 20. The seven players ahead of him:
Name Year SB
Ty Cobb 1906 23
Cesar Cedeno 1970 17
Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 16
Edgar Renteria 1996 16
Johnny Lush 1904 12
Robin Yount 1975 12
Sherry Magee 1904 11
Incidentally, Edgar Renteria is still listed by many sources as being born in
1975, not 1976, even though it is all but acknowledged that he (or the
Marlins) fudged his age by one year when he signed.
With 26 runs in 43 games, Furcal is on pace to score 98 runs. The most runs
scored by a teenager in a single season:
Name Year R
Buddy Lewis 1936 100
George Davis 1890 98
Phil Cavaretta 1935 85*
Bob Kennedy 1940 74
Joe Quinn 1874 74
*Cavaretta was just 18 in 1935.
Furcal is also on pace to challenge the teenage record with 57 walks. Again,
the record holders:
Name Year BB
Will Smalley 1890 60
Rusty Staub 1963 59
George Davis 1890 53
Mel Ott 1928 52
Buddy Lewis 1936 47
What makes Furcal’s feats--and feet--more impressive is that he is only
playing part-time. On a per-at-bat basis, Furcal, at .324/.405/.378, is as
productive as any teenager ever. Only four teenagers in history have hit .300
with at least 300 plate appearances:
Name Year Avg
Mel Ott 1928 .322
Ty Cobb 1906 .316
Cesar Cedeno 1970 .310
Edgar Renteria 1996 .309
Buddy Lewis 1936 .291
And no teenager has ever posted a .400 OBP:
Name Year OBP
Mel Ott 1928 .397
Edgar Renteria 1996 .361
Ty Cobb 1906 .355
John McGraw 1892 .355
Tony Conigliaro 1964 .354
How unusual is it for a team as competitive as the Braves to break in such a
young player? Consider this: of the 70 teams in history who won 100 or more
games, exactly one, the 1936 Chicago Cubs, gave even 60 at-bats to a
teenager. And those Cubs had a ready excuse: Phil Cavaretta, who was 19 when
he batted 458 times in 1936, had already been a regular in 1935, when he hit
.275 with eight home runs in the most productive season by an 18-year-old
ever.
As an aside, was Cavaretta the Cesar Cedeno of the 1930s? Can you imagine
what we’d say today about an 18-year-old who plays 146 games for a
pennant-winning team with an OPS above league average? While Cavaretta
finished just shy of 2,000 hits and won a batting title and an MVP award,
both in war-torn 1945, he hit just 95 homers in his career. He hit eight
homers at age 18, and finished with a career high of just 10.
If we expand the search to include the 305 teams defending a first-place
finish from the previous season, only eight gave at least 100 at-bats to a
teenage position player:
Year Team Player AB
1936 Chicago (NL) Phil Cavaretta 458
1925 New York (NL) Freddy Lindstrom 356
1951 New York (AL) Mickey Mantle 341
1923 New York (NL) Travis Jackson 327
1949 Boston (NL) Del Crandall 228
1974 Oakland Claudell Washington 221
1915 Philadelphia (AL) Lew Malone 201
1996 Atlanta Andruw Jones 106
That’s right. This is only the ninth time in history that a team has
attempted to defend its title with a teenage hitter in the lineup...and the
second time that the Braves have done it in five years.