Alfredo Simon: Who Are You Anyway?

I got into a Twitter discussion with Dan from Camden Crazies last night about what kind of pitcher Alfredo Simon was and realized I was really making assumptions without looking at the data. I have been dismissive of Simon throughout his Oriole career and never really took him seriously. So lets take a closer look at Mr. Simon.

Batted ball data is incomplete for Simon over his minor league career but looking at the numbers show the following:

                    GB%   LD%   FB%   IFF%  HR/F
Simon (Minors)     48.7  11.8  28.9   12.9   9.1

Now, his strikeout and walk rate for his 9 year minor league career.

                  BB/9   K/9   K/BB  HR/9    
Simon (Minors)    3.2    6.9   2.17  0.9

Simon was signed out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 18 by the Phillies back in 1999. He bounced around a bit playing in the Giants and Ranger organization and the Mexican League before joining the Orioles and making his major league debut in September 2008.

Simon was mostly a starter during his minor league career but did make occasional appearance out of the bullpen. He demonstrated a good ability to induce ground balls and while his strikeout rate and control were not great, he did produce a good K/BB ratio of more than 2 to 1. His home run per fly ball rate was fair.

But despite decent peripherals, Simon gave up a lot of hits, 9.4 per 9 and a career WHIP in the minors of 1.39. When batters hit him, they were hitting him hard. All grounders are not created equal and to support that kind of WHIP when nearly half the balls you allow in play are grounders, a good portion must be sharply hit.

In his limited time in the majors:

                 BB/9    K/9   K/BB   HR/9   GB%   LD%   FB%   HR/F
Simon (Majors)   3.51   6.07   1.73   2.40  48.9  16.3  34.7   22.7

Firstly, I am shocked the he has been able to keep almost exactly the same ground ball rate that he had in the minors. Dan said that he was a ground ball pitcher and I completely missed that while watching him. (Probably because of what I am going to talk about next...) He has also maintained a respectable strikeout rate.

However, his command has slipped and his walks have creeped up, especially this season. He no longer has a 2 to 1 K/BB ratio. He's also giving up more liners and, especially, fly balls as his infield fly rate has diminished. And when batters get the ball in the air, it goes a long way. Every five times Simon allows a fly ball, one leaves the yard. (And he's on his way to once every four times.)

So the bottom line with Simon is this: some nights he's going to strike guys out, allow a walk and get grounders to save the game and others he's going to give up a walk or two and then allow a big home run. That's who he is.

Can he be a closer? Sure, in my mind. The closer does not have to be your best pitcher out of the pen and Simon can probably get by (and he has made it through most of the season in that role). And if he could drop the walk rate a bit, he could probably be a solid closer. But he's always going to give up homers which will probably put him on the wrong side of the Julio Lugo line.


edit: Our Twitter conversation spawned a post on Dan's site too. I have to admit that he was right about the ground ball rate. The homers? I don't think that's bad luck. More to come on that front...

The History of the Oriole Closer: From Zuverink to Sherrill - The 60's

The 1960's would see the end of the Paul Richards era, a championship during the brief Hank Bauer years and the dawning of the Earl Weaver regime. It would also see some of the best relievers in the game suit up in the Orange and Black.

Paul Richards still employed most of his relievers as spot starters but that practice basically ended with the arrival of Billy Hitchcock in 1962. By the time Hank Bauer took the helm, top relievers making starts was a virtually non-existent practice. "Firemen" were becoming increasingly specialized in their role and the best became highly coveted. Baltimore recognized the value and did their best to build some of the best bullpens in the American League

1960

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Hoyt Wilhelm   11-8     7   3.31  147
Jack Fisher    12-11    2   3.41  197.2
Wes Stock       2-2     2   2.88   34.1

After Hoyt Wilhelm's amazing 1959 season, he struggled as a starter in 1960. By mid-July, he was back to being a full time reliever and ended up finishing 24 games.

Frostburg native Jack Fisher was just 21 and continued his good work out of the bullpen in 1960. Out of all the young pitchers coming up through the Oriole system in the early 60's (a group that included Milt Pappas and Steve Barber), many scouts thought Jack Fisher was the best. Fisher was confident himself and was in a big hurry to get to the majors and prove it.

"I could have taken any (various offers from big league teams). But I picked Baltimore because the Orioles could give me a crack at the majors quickly, and from what I had heard Paul Richards had a way with pitchers."

"Fat Jack" would become a starter the next season but would never be more than an average starter in his 10-year big league career. He is more famous for home runs surrendered (he gave up Ted Williams final homer and Roger Maris' 60th) than for great exploits on the field. He would be part of the trade that would bring Stu Miller over from the Giants in 1963.

Rookie Wes Stock , returning from military service, showed up in late July and was better than either Wilhelm or Fisher down the stretch. More on him later...

1961

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Hoyt Wilhelm   9-7     18   2.30  109.2
Dick Hall      7-5      4   3.09  122.1
Wes Stock      5-0      3   3.01   71.2
Billy Hoeft    7-4      3   2.02  138.0

Wilhelm was now the primary fireman for the club. He would be on his way to a second All-Star appearance for the Orioles, this time as a reliever.

Dick Hall was a failed outfielder for the Pirates who had converted to a starter to save his career. (Branch Rickey had claimed that he would be the next Tris Speaker.) Unfortunately, he wasn't very good at that either. The Orioles traded for him in April of '61 and eased him into a relief role that he began to flourish in. Hall would become a fixture in the Baltimore bullpen throughout the 60's.

Stock continued to pitch well for the O's and would win 5 games while remaining undefeated. He posted two undefeated relief seasons for Baltimore (he went 7-0 in 1963) which at the time was the first occasion that a reliever had accomplished that feat twice. Stock would be traded to the Athletics for C Charlie Lau in 1964. Stock would go on to become a pitching coach for the Mets minor league system and was the pitching coach for the Athletics' 1973 and 1974 World Series championship teams.

Billy Hoeft's glory years were with the Tigers in the mid-50's. At this point, he was a 29-year-old veteran trying to keep his career afloat. His '61 performance helped as he won 7 games, primarily in relief.

1962

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Hoyt Wilhelm   7-10    15   1.94   93.0
Dick Hall      6-6      6   2.28  118.1
Billy Hoeft    4-8      7   4.59  113.2

Another fine season from Wilhelm, arguably his best season at the age of 39 and another All-Star appearance on his way to the Hall of Fame. The knuckleballer was the first relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame and would continue to pitch until his age 49 season.

Dick Hall, while never the primary "closer", was arguably the best reliever in the pen during many of his seasons with the O's. 1962 was one of them.

Hoeft fell off a bit in '62 but still saved 7 games. He would go with Jack Fisher to the Giants for Stu Miller in the offseason.

1963

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Stu Miller      5-8    27   2.24  112.1
Dick Hall       5-5    12   2.98  111.2

Stu Miller came over from the Giants and promptly led the AL in games pitched and was named "Relief Pitcher of the Year". He also came in 19th in the MVP voting and would finish in the top 20 in MVP voting three times during his Oriole career.

Dick Hall teamed with Miller and chipped in with 12 saves. Hall and Miller would team from '63-'66 as a dominant 1-2 punch out of the Oriole bullpen. They would combine for 66 wins and 130 saves over those four seasons.



1964

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Stu Miller      7-7    23   3.06   97.0
Harvey Haddix   5-5    10   2.31   89.2
Dick Hall       9-1     7   1.85   87.2

Harvey Haddix was 38 and had been a starter for most of his career. (He is most famous for pitching 12 perfect innings against Milwaukee in 1959...before losing the game in the 13th.)He was a dominant lefty out of the 'pen posting a 155 ERA+. He would hang around for one more season in Baltimore before hanging up his cleats.

Dick Hall did him one better, posting a 194 ERA+ for the finest season of his professional career.

Miller continued his good work. Milt Pappas once said, "Dick Hall has three speeds for his pitches: slow, slower and slowest." Regardless, he was nearly unhittable as he would post a 1.028 WHIP from '64-'66.

1965

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Stu Miller     14-7    24   1.89  119.1
Dick Hall      11-8    12   3.07   93.2

The dynamic duo is back in '65. This time it was Miller's turn for a career year and he came in 7th in the AL MVP voting.

1966

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Stu Miller      9-4    18   2.25   92.0
Eddie Fisher    5-3    13   2.64   71.2
Moe Drabowsky   6-0     7   2.81   96.0
Eddie Watt      9-7     4   3.83  145.2
Dick Hall       6-2     7   3.95   66.0

Hall was a bit banged up during the '66 season. Perhaps because of this, the Orioles acquired Eddie Fisher from the White Sox in June. Fisher had been named "Reliever of the Year" in 1965 and a lot of his success was attributed to a knuckler he learned from Hoyt Wilhelm while they were both pitching out of the Chicago bullpen. Fisher accumulated 13 saves in just over half a season for the Birds during their World Series push. Fisher was not so good in '67 however and was shipped off to Cleveland before the 1968 season.

Stu Miller's efforts garnered an 11th place finish in the MVP race. Stu was famous for throwing junk but asserted he still had a good fastball when interviewed in 1966:

Stu says his fastball is better than ever. "People get the idea that I throw nothing but junk, but I do have a good fast ball and I use it. I can't stand out there and throw it all day like Drysdale or Marichal but when I do slip it over on a batter it's travelling."

Rookie Eddie Watt acted as a swingman and racked up 4 saves. Watt would be a mainstay in the Baltimore bullpen well into the 1970's.

Of all of these talented relievers, only one made an appearance in the '66 World Series against the Dodgers. Moe Drabowsky was a 1965 Rule 5 draft pick from the St. Louis Cardinals, was undefeated out of the 'pen and struck out more than a batter per inning. Drabowsky struck out 11 batters in Game 1 of the World Series and earned Baltimore the win. The 11 strikeouts are still a World Series record for a reliever.

1967

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Moe Drabowsky   7-5    12   1.60   95.1
Stu Miller      3-10    8   2.55   81.1
Eddie Watt      3-5     8   2.26  103.2

Dick Hall was traded to the Phillies and the famed 1-2 punch of Miller-Hall became a three headed monster with Drabowsky leading the way. He again struck out more than 9 per game, had a 3.84 K/BB ratio and a 197 ERA+ for the defending champs.

Miller finished off his Oriole career in style with 8 saves and a 2.55 ERA. He was purchased by the Braves after the season but only appeared in two games after his departure. Miller finished his career only behind Wilhelm and Roy Face in saves. Interesting that the Orioles brass in the 60's believed enough in "the closer" that they employed two of the great trailblazers of that role.

Eddie Watt emerged as the heir apparent to Dick Hall, playing a fine second fiddle to Drabowsky.

1968

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Eddie Watt      5-5    11   2.27   83.1
Moe Drabowsky   4-4     7   1.91   61.1
Pete Richert    6-3     6   3.47   62.1

Eddie Watt continued to take on a heavier load and continued to perform.

Drabowsky had another great season in '68. He would be selected in the Expansion Draft by the Kansas City Royals after three stellar seasons in Baltimore.

In his first year exclusively as a reliever, lefty Pete Richert racked up 6 saves. Richert would have an larger role under Earl Weaver in the years to come.

1969

Reliever      Record   SV    ERA   IP
Eddie Watt      5-2    16   1.65   71.0
Pete Richert    7-4    12   2.20   57.1
Dick Hall       5-2     6   1.92   65.2

Eddie Watt and Pete Richert provided a lethal lefty/righty combo out of the bullpen and would for the next three years. Dick Hall returned from a two-year exile in Philadelphia and turned in one of his best years as the Orioles would win the AL pennant.

Fireman of the Decade: Stu Miller

100 saves for Miller put him at the head of the class. His total would remain a club record for nearly 18 seasons.

Honorable Mention: Dick Hall

Hall plays second fiddle to Miller yet again.

A History of the Oriole Closer: From Zuverink to Sherrill - The 50's

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the top Oriole relievers through the years to see how the closer role developed in Baltimore. Of course, when the Orioles moved from St. Louis in 1954, the term closer wasn't even invented. Your top reliever was usually called a "fireman". The save hadn't been invented yet and wouldn't be an official stat until 1969. How were top relievers utilized during the dawn of the franchise?

Yeah, well, not that intersting in a broad sense but it's interesting to me...so you're all stuck with these posts until I'm done

I decided to break it down by decade. For this post, it's the 1950's. Below are the relievers of note from each season.

1954

Reliever       Record   SV   ERA    IP
Bob Chakales    3-7      3   3.73  89.1
Howie Fox       1-2      2   3.67  73.2
 

Bob Chakales, "The Golden Greek", was traded to Baltimore from Cleveland for Vic Wertz on June 1st, 1954. He was never given much of an opportunity with the Indians but quickly found a role in the Oriole bullpen racking up 89.1 innings in 2/3 of a season. He made a few spot starts as well and there was no one guy to "close" out games in the Orioles bullpen. Chakales was traded to the White Sox after the season.

Baltimore lost 100 games in 1954 and only accumulated 8 saves. Howie Fox accounted for two of them. Fox was a former starter in Cincinatti but at age 33 was trying to hang on as a reliever in the majors. He had a good year for Baltimore but 1954 would be his last year in the majors. In 1955, he pitched for San Antonio in the Texas League and that would be his last in professional baseball. After that, Fox met a tragic end:

After baseball, Fox opened up his own tavern in San Antonio and was present when three men entered the bar and started making trouble with the bartender. Fox, in trying to stop the trouble, was killed by a knife wound from one of the thugs on October 9, 1955.

1955

Reliever        Record   SV   ERA    IP
Ray Moore        10-10    6   3.92  151.2
Harry Dorish      3-3     6   3.15   65.2
George Zuverink   4-3     4   2.19   86.1
 

In 1954, manager Jimmy Dykes had pitchers in the pen who were strictly relievers, not a common practice at the time. After Paul Richards replaced him for the 1955 season, that concept was gone. Richards used relievers for spot starts quite a bit and every regular starter pitched at least a couple games in relief. Harry Dorish was the only reliver to appear in more than 30 games to make less than 5 starts. With a staff full of swingmen, the saves were spread around. 16 of the team's 20 saves were accumulated by the top three relievers. With Chakles and Fox elsewhere, there were opportunities for new relievers to make their mark.

Ray Moore was a Maryland native (from Meadows, not too far from where I grew up...) and was traded to the Orioles from the Dodgers for his age 29 season. Early on, he found his niche in the bullpen getting 5 of his 6 saves before the end of May. He continued to relieve all season but started getting spot starts in July and ended the season with 10 wins.

Harry Dorish was a 33-year old journeyman reliever who was acquired from the White Sox (Paul Richards' former club)in June. Dorish was one of the first true relief pitchers starting only 40 games over his 10 year career. 1955 would be his last truly effective season in the majors and he would retire after the 1956 season.

At 30, George Zuverink was a journeyman starter who was, frankly, washed up. The gangly righty was picked up on waivers from the Tigers and he found some success in Baltimore out of the bullpen. He led all Oriole relivers in ERA in 1955 and it would be a harbinger of things to come.

1956

Reliver         Record   SV     ERA    IP
George Zuverink   7-6    16    4.16   97.1
Mike  Fornieles   4-7     1    3.97   111
 

In 1956, Zuverink became the first Oriole reliever that could be recognizable as a "closer". He saved 16 games (out of 24 for the team) and appeared in 62 games, finishing 40 of them, both marks leading the league. He didn't start a game in 1956. Zuverink's journey from waiver wire starter to top reliever was detailed in Baseball Digest in 1956:

"(Manger Paul) Richards told me that for a guy with my long arms, I wasn't getting enough leverage behind my pitches, (said Zuverink)

"I guess that night really changed my whole life in baseball..."

Zuverink has done such an about-face since then that for the first half of this season he was the number one ranking relief pitcher in the American League and had come striding out of the bullpen an average of once every other game. He became so consistently dependable that when Oriole starting pitchers showed even a slight trace of wilting in tight games, a regular "we-want-Zuverink" chant started in the Memorial Stadium stands...

With his new-found success, Zuverink has become the picture of confidence. He talks and acts like a pitcher who expects to get every hitter out every time he walks in from the bullpen. Richards sums it up this way:

"It's not bravado with George, it's just plain, simple belief in himself."*

Sounds like a closer to me.

Mike Fornieles led the pen in ERA but would not fare well during his brief Oriole career. He would be traded to the Red Sox in 1957 where he would eventually lead the AL in saves in 1960.

1957

Reliever          Record   SV   ERA   IP
George Zuverink    10-6     9  2.48  112.2
Billy O'Dell       4-10     4  2.69  140.1
Ken Lehman          8-3     6  2.78   68
 

Zuverink continuted his good work in '57 as well as combining with C Frank Zupo to form the first battery in major league history where the pitcher and catcher both had last names starting with "Z".

Lefty Billy O'Dell was a bonus baby who broke in with the Orioles in the bullpen and would go on to be an All-Star starter for the O's in 1958 and 1959.

Ken Lehman was also a lefty reliever who bounced up and down between the majors and minors during his career. At age 29, he had his best season racking up 6 saves and a 2.78 ERA. He went on to coach baseball at the University of Washington from 1964-1971.

1958

Reliever          Record   SV   ERA    IP
George Zuverink    2-2      7  3.39   97.1
Billy Loes         3-9      5  3.63   114
 

Zuverink continues to rack up the saves in '58.

Loes had been a pretty good starter for Brooklyn earlier in the decade and was an All-Star in 1957. He did good work for the Orioles out of the pen and in spot starts earning him more opportunities the next season.

1959

Relievers     Record   SV   ERA   IP
Billy Loes     4-7     14  4.06  64.1
Jack Fisher    1-6      2  3.05  88.2
 

With Zuverink battling injuries that would end his career during the 1959 season, Loes stepped right into the role that Zuverink had pioneered in Baltimore. Loes was strictly a reliever and finished 31 games.

20-year old Jack Fisher was the only other bright spot in the Orioles bullpen that season. A Maryland native, Fisher would have a couple nice seasons for Baltimore as part of an 11 year career. Fisher is most famous for giving up notable home runs. He gave up a homer to Ted Williams during the last at bat of his career, gave up Roger Maris' 60th home run and gave up the first longball at Shea Stadium.

Fireman of the Decade: George Zuverink

With 36 saves for a perennial loser, Zuverink was the first great reliever in the modern history of the Baltimore Orioles. It's really not close.

Honorable Mention: Billy Loes

* excerpt from How Zuverink Found His Lever to Stardom by Neal Eskridge, Baseball Digest, August 1956