Sporcle Saturday: Appreciating Andrew Vaughn
Entering Friday evening’s game against the Rays, Andrew Vaughn is one of the few members of the White Sox to have logged an OPS of .800 or better on the season. Is that bad? Experts reveal, after extensive research, that while it’s bad the rest of the team isn’t hitting better, it IS good that Andrew Vaughn is doing well. Take the silver linings where they come, I suppose.
Regardless, what Vaughn is doing in just the second MLB season of his career (while playing out of position, no less) is pretty special. Among White Sox players in franchise history to have logged an .800 OPS or higher in their sophomore year while playing a minimum of 30 games, Vaughn is one of just 26. Now, there is of course the chance this post ages quickly and I don’t look so good at the end of the year when Vaughn has played another full season, but right now things are looking up.
And so, your task for today is to name the other guys on the list that made the cut. Some are names that are obvious, others less so. How many can you get? Good luck!
Quiz Parameters
- To reiterate: the player must have appeared in at least 30 games and logged an OPS of .800 or higher, all while in the second year of their career.
- I’ve allotted 10 minutes for completion attempts.
- For hints, I’ve provided the season, OPS, and position of the player.
Useless information to amaze, annoy, confuse, and/or confound your friends and family:
- The youngest player on this list was 21 (1969), while the oldest was 29 (1931).
- The highest OPS+ of the players on this list is 180 (1991).
- The average triple-slash: .295/.362/.483.
All data from stathead.com
20/26. Missed the 1996 3rd baseman and 1 other guy I knew. The other 4 I have no clue who they are. Another good quiz!
Vaughn needs to be in the lineup every day, even if it’s just as the DH. He’s been having some amazing at-bats, and as everyone but the Russa knows he should be early in the order.
9 out of 26
Too many old time players…some of them too obscure for me :p
20/26 before I ran out of time. All of my misses are from 1951 and early, with only one
1983 threw me for a second before I realized his September 1982 callup qualified him for this list.
One of my misses did not have a long playing career, but later was a scout who helped build the 70s-era Phillies and then the Sandberg-era Cubs.
Somewhat related (Phillies and Cubs scout), you should read “Prophet of the Sandlots: Journeys with a Major League Scout” by Mike Winegardner. It’s about legendary scout Tony Lucadello, and it’s one of those books that just stays with you years after you read it.
13/26. Sad that I forgot 96 OF/DH because I really liked him for some reason. Finally read a bio of 1931 OF because I only knew him as a name worth a guess on these quizzes
Felt better than usual. Feels almost embarrassing about ’96. I mean I know the names, but it was like, really? were they that good? I’m sure that it’s flavored by expectations, outcomes for that team, and relative novelty around things like OPS.
14 / 26. I got all of them on the left column except for the ’77 OF.