Jack Morris and the Hall of Fame

When I first heard of Robin Yount, it was in the old Milwaukee Journal sports pages. It was during the 1974 Spring Training, when I saw his picture with his name. I thought that he did something special in the previous game, although I didn't look it up in the box score. A few days later, my dad told me that the Brewers' new shortstop, Yount, is an eighteen year-old. I thought, "Wow, we now have a shortstop for the next 20 years."

Well, the Brewers did have a shortstop for the next 20 years and beyond, but it wasn't always Yount. He had a shoulder injury in the 80s, and moved to centerfield. Nonetheless, the Brewers had him for 20 seasons. I remember his first season wasn't very productive offensively, as he had three home runs and 26 runs batted in, although he may have been batting eighth or ninth in the lineup. He did hit .250.

He was cited as a good defensive player that year, as he had 27 errors, which, I guess, was good. The following season, in 1975, he committed 44 errors, while he did hit 8 homers with 67 RBI, which was very good for a shortstop. I think that the difference in his seasons had to do with the Brewers keeping its infield grass higher in 1974 than in 1975. That also affected the team pitching earned run average. Milwaukee's ERA was much lower in 1974 than in 1975, as was Yount's errors. I don't think that it had anything to do with his range, which was among the best in the American League. In 1975, the ground balls came through the infield faster, thus the more errors.

After that, I'm not sure how Yount's fielding was rated. I do know that he usually ranked among the leaders as far as total chances at his position, thus his good range. To sum here quickly, the rise in Yount's errors in his second year was due to circumstances that beyond Yount's skills.