Let’s lead off with the Pop Quiz questions from the past two Sundays:
1. From Bob Buscavage of Moriches: Name the former All-Star who plays a police sergeant in the 1996 film “The Chamber.”
2. From Gary Mintz of South Huntington: In a 1999 episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Ray (Ray Romano) and Robert (Brad Garrett) sing a famous baseball song while driving home from Cooperstown. Name the song.
OK, now onto an annual exercise. It’s time to name the 10 most intriguing people of this World Series. We do this unapologetically through a New York prism:
1. Carlos Beltran
After three heart-wrenching National League Championship Series Game 7 losses (2004 with Houston, 2006 with the Mets and 2012 with St. Louis), the 36-year-old has arrived at his first Fall Classic, ready to put another important resume line on what is increasingly looking like a Hall of Fame career.
Are there any Mets fans out there who still don’t appreciate how good this guy was and is? Any lingering resentment from one unsuccessful at-bat against a guy who has turned out to be a great pitcher (more on him later)? He isn’t the warmest and fuzziest person you’ll ever meet, but neither his production nor his dedication can be challenged.
And of course, his time in New York might not be complete. He’s a free agent this winter, and he should at the least be an item of discussion for both the Yankees and the Mets. The question for the Mets, who don’t have the luxury of a designated hitter for about 95 percent of their games, would be a familiar one: concerns about his durability. The Cardinals will help determine his future when they decide whether to make him the $14.1 million qualifying offer.
2. David Ortiz
He’s still the majors’ best DH at age 37. Remember when he looked done all the way back in 2009? He has delivered arguably the most important hit of this postseason, his eighth-inning grand slam off Detroit closer Joaquin Benoit that tied American League Championship Series Game 2 at 5-5 and set in motion Boston’s walkoff win in the subsequent inning.
And as I’ve found from covering Alex Rodriguez’s appeal hearing and communicating with Yankees fans, Big Papi is still an active, controversial figure in the hubbub surrounding illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
Many, many people wonder why Ortiz has skated on this issue. They want more scrutiny, more criticism.
Here’s my answer: Because Ortiz has never been caught using illegal PEDs during a time when there was individual discipline. His only known failed test came in the infamous 2003 survey testing, when enough players tested positive to trigger a penalty-based system for 2004. And let’s make it clear: That we know of that positive test means Ortiz was victimized. That information never should have seen daylight.
If there’s any justice, we will never see that “list” of 100 or so players who tested positive in ’03. And even if we do, it won’t give us the clarity for which some of us foolishly strive. Just as many of the Biogenesis folks beat the tests these past few years, there surely were people beating the tests back in ’03.
So those of you still obsessing over Ortiz and illegal PEDs? You need to get over the ’03 thing. You can shake your fist all you want about how he’s still mashing at this age. Until you have a failed test or a non-analytical positive, he’s innocent.
3. Michael Wacha
The Cardinals’ rookie stud pitcher figures to get two starts if the Series goes long. I’m looking forward to seeing him in person. The Mets are probably not looking forward to seeing him perform on this national platform, since they (along with 17 other teams, to be fair) passed on him in last year’s amateur draft. St. Louis popped him at 19.
Wacha’s surge puts more scrutiny on what already stood as a very important Mets draft. Remember, in 2011, the Mets opted to hold onto impending free agent Jose Reyes rather than deal him to a club for prospects. Then the Mets made only a half-hearted effort to retain Reyes. So what they have to show for him are two 2012 draft picks, which they used on catcher Kevin Plawecki and third baseman Matt Reynolds.
4. Jacoby Ellsbury
Speaking of national platforms, here’s one more week for Ellsbury to shine with the Red Sox before he hits free agency. He’s a Scott Boras guy, so don’t expect his situation to be resolved quickly this winter.
Who and what exactly is Ellsbury? That’s a question his bidders will be contemplating. He has just one season with double-digit home runs — but that was an astounding 32, back in 2011. Injuries limited him to 74 games last year and 18 in 2010, so you wouldn’t say durability is a strength. On the plus side, of course, he’s a great defender and baserunner and gets on base sufficiently to utilize that baserunning.
He’s going to do very well this winter, though probably not in New York. The Yankees will stick with Brett Gardner in center field, and the still conservative Mets likely won’t go as high on the price as necessary. He can do even better, as Larry Miller put it in this “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode, with a good Series.
5. Adam Wainwright
To complete the Beltran passage, Wainwright is of course the guy who, as a rookie closer with the Cardinals, got Beltran to look at the nastiest of curveballs for a called strike three to end the 2006 NLCS. It’s the enduring Beltran image for too many Mets fans.
So if Beltran were now to team with Wainwright to win a ring, it would be a nice touch of redemption for the outfielder. It would be like Bill Buckner and Mookie Wilson working together to get a title (or, alternately, fight crime).
If Wainwright’s only purpose was as some karmic guide for Beltran, he wouldn’t make this list. He has graduated from closer to one of the NL’s best starting pitchers and has inherited the injured Chris Carpenter’s role as St. Louis’ veteran ace.
6. Koji Uehara
How much could you have collected if you went to Las Vegas in March and laid down $1,000 on Uehara to win the ALCS Most Valuable Player honors? Goodness. Talk about your unlikely stories.
As my friend David Waldstein wrote in Monday’s New York Times, Uehara pitched so poorly for Texas in the 2011 postseason that he cried in front of Japanese reporters. He was the Red Sox’s third closer of this season, an afterthought when he signed with Boston last December. And now he has a good chance to become one of those “Never have to pay for a meal in this town again” guys.
7. Yadier Molina
He and Wainwright are the only members of this Cardinals club who played for the ’06 champions, and Molina played an even more crucial role in that NLCS than did Wainwright, putting together a 1.075 OPS and slamming the ninth-inning, two-run homer off Aaron Heilman that broke the 1-1 tie in Game 7 (and led to the Wainwright-Beltran showdown). What a pleasure it is watching Molina run a game behind the plate, and he has become an offensive asset, to boot. Here’s another opportunity for baseball’s best all-around catcher to shine.
8. Dustin Pedroia
He has my favorite beard of the Red Sox’s “Duck Dynasty” group, and Red Sox fans seem to like him best of all.
The “Pedroia vs. Robinson Cano” debate isn’t as close as Red Sox Nation would like it to be. Cano clearly is the superior player. However, Cano’s future in The Bronx is uncertain, whereas Pedroia gave the Red Sox an incredibly generous hometown discount (seven years, $100 million) from 2015 through 2021. If he can pick up his second World Series ring this week, with another eight guaranteed years with the franchise to go? That’s an enviable position.
9. Larry Lucchino
The Red Sox’s president used to spar verbally with George Steinbrenner and love it. He is legendarily feisty, and while he’s noted as a brilliant baseball/business mind — Camden Yards is his baby, as is PETCO Park, and he deserves plenty of credit for Fenway Park’s renovations since 2002 — he isn’t perfect. Two years ago, he pushed for Bobby Valentine to replace Terry Francona as Boston’s manager. Whoops.
He’s going for his third title with the Red Sox — Theo Epstein was his protégé, though their relationship eventually turned ugly — and when you account for his entire run in baseball, he is someone who deserves serious consideration for the Hall of Fame’s executive wing.
10. Tim McCarver
This will be it for the Hall of Fame broadcaster, whom many of us recall locally from his 16 years (1983-98) with the Mets. He’s calling his last World Series for Fox, which will hire a new partner (or multiple partners) for Joe Buck in 2014 and beyond as McCarver goes into semi-retirement.
Since I attend most postseason games nowadays, I don’t get to hear much of McCarver. I see the criticism on Twitter, naturally, and know he isn’t quite beloved by the younger generation.
For me, though, I’ll always remember McCarver as broadcaster who was a step ahead of the game — his questionings of defensive positioning were remarkable — and had a quick wit. And who is extremely friendly around the ballpark. Surely, he’ll make his presence felt in his final Fall Classic.
And now your Pop Quiz answers:
1. Bo Jackson
2. “Meet the Mets”
If you have a tidbit that correlates baseball with popular culture, please send me an email from here.
Have a great day.