There are lots of guys like Burt Hooton. 

     Well, not at your local bar, or at church or the grocery store.  Unless former pro ballplayers hang out there.  Former pro ballplayers who won the clinching game of the 1981 World Series.  Against the Yankees.  What I mean by Burt being like lots of guys is that the annals of baseball have so many players we tend to remember mostly the Babe Ruths and Ty Cobbs and –insert random player name here- and so on.  But the game is larger than even the biggest stars.  The game consists of so many players, so many games, so many stats, that unless a player was on your favorite team he may only garner a fleeting memory, an “oh yeah, I kinda remember him” reaction.  If you followed the Cubs in the early to mid seventies, or the Dodgers from 75 to 84, you remember Burt Hooton.  He’ll never get into the hall of fame, but his career is worth a look; there are definitely enough interesting moments to warrant it.  This isn’t some guy who had one or two moments of fame; he had a career’s worth.  Currently he is the pitching coach of the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

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      Albuquerque Isotopes at Round Rock Express  June 12 2009

     So the battle for the Pacific Coast League American South Division is on.  After last night’s rainout, the series finally got underway, with both teams tied for first in the division at 28-32.  Albuquerque had been in a bit of a slump, going 3-7 in their last ten games, while Round Rock went 6-4.  Oddly, the teams had identical home and road records going into the series.  Offensively, the Isotopes overall stats looked better; they completely eclipsed the Express in home runs, RBIs, total bases, walks drawn and whiffed on fewer strike outs.  They also were way ahead in stolen bases and OPS (my new favorite stat).  Pitching-wise, Round Rock held a slight (and I mean VERY slight) edge.  For the most part the pitching was evenly matched concerning overall stats, but the Express were facing Charlie Haeger, who was 7-3 with an ERA just over 4, one of the better ones in the PCL.  And to give credit where credit is due, Haeger pitched a helluva game, good by any standards: he went seven innings, gave up four hits and one run, and only walked two.  Usually that’s more than enough for a win against Round Rock’s pitching, but Mark McLemore is improving very fast.  In his third start since returning from extended spring training, he only gave up three hits (all singles) in six innings, allowing no runs and getting four strikeouts while only issuing two walks.  After him, Casey Daigle and Brendan Donnelly got the hold and the save.  In three innings of relief, they combined to allow one hit and no runs while notching three strikeouts and doling no walks (Round Rock only gave up two walks the whole game, quite remarkable for team who throws more BBs than a shotgun).

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