I've alluded it a few times during the season, and after totally forgetting to do it on Friday until after I made my post, I went back and purchased the contract of a pretty good former Cougar Doc Love. Love, now 43, spent his year in the lower minors of our system as a mentor to some of the youngsters, and with retirement all but given at the end of the season, he will be given one last opportunity to don a beautiful Cougars uniform. For a short window, he was one of the best pure hitters in the Continental Association, maintaining K% below 5 while hitting well over .300. Plenty of other guys did it, but Doc, who some people probably called the Love Doctor, found the seats frequently, slugging out some pretty impressive homers in his long career.
A former 6th Round Pick way back in 1927, the now grizzled Doc is playing his 22nd professional season. He was first in for the 1928 season with the Chattanooga Dynamos of the Southeastern League. Doc spent all of his season there, and looked quite impressive, slashing an outstanding .380/.434/.580 (160 OPS+) with 58 doubles, 15 triples, 9 homers, 109 RBIs, 124 runs, and 56 walks. He was worth 5.9 WAR in 138 games, in what was a historic season for Chattanooga. He ranked top five in single season offensive records for average (4th), slugging (3rd), OPS (3rd, 1.014), WAR (2nd), runs (3rd), hits (1st, 218), total bases (1st, 333), doubles (2nd), and RBIs (2nd). But despite the lofty numbers, Love did not secure everyday playing time the next season. Again with Chattanooga, he appeared in just 74 games, starting only 46 of them. As crazy as that seems, its even crazier when considering he hit .448/.485/.679 (200 OPS+), including 10 homers in 232 trips to the plate. He was worth 3.3 WAR as well, but all it amounted to was a late season promotion to AA where he went 1-for-3 with a walk and RBI.
This was a common theme for Doc Love, but at least in 1930, he was again an everyday player. Love returned to AA, where he spent 133 games, all starts, with the Wichita Rustlers. Again, Love made a huge impact at the plate, hitting an astronomical .396/.436/.647 (191 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 33 homers, and 130 RBIs. Love was worth just shy of 8 WAR (7.8) and added 197 runs with 6 steals. With these lofty numbers, its no surprise the Dynamos brought him to Detroit for Opening Day, but again, Love was relegated to a bench role. He started just 6 of his 78 appearances, leaving him with just 100 plate appearances on the year. The drop in playing time took a hit on his triple slash, as it dropped to .311/.354/.433 (109 OPS+). Still above average and promising for a 24/25-year-old, and with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 7 walks, and just 2 strikeouts, there was a lot to like about the overall work.
Still, the bench was his spot in 1932, but Love was back to hitting the ball with authority. He hit an impressive .324/.373/.588 (150 OPS+) with 7 doubles, 4 triples, a homer, and 9 RBIs, but managed to play even less. He had one more game off the bench, but made just 75 trips to the plate. 1933 was another year on the bench, 84 games with just 4 starts, and he hit .384/.440/.521 (166 OPS+) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 17 RBIs. With no shot of playing regular time, a savvy Chicago GM swept in, as he believed that Love was the missing piece after a tough WCS loss. The price was
a 3rd Round Pick and the athletic Jose Serna, as Love was brought in to replace Bobby Sprague in left. Unfortunately, the 1934 iteration of the Cougars had a ton of issues, but Doc was not among them.
Year one in Chicago went about as good as expected, as the outfielder hit an impressive .325/.381/.511 (142 OPS+) with 22 doubles, 13 triples, 21 homers, and 98 RBIs. Doc scored 109 runs, drew 57 walks to just 24 strikeouts, and posted what would remain a career high 4.4 wins above replacement in 149 games. Doc returned to left field for 1935, and made a league high 647 trips to the plate, producing a strong .340/.372/.501 (132 OPS+) batting line. He walked (36) a few more times then he struck out (33), and provided 22 doubles, 22 homers, 8 steals, 93 runs, and 105 RBIs. Love remained the regular starter for the next two seasons, with a slight downturn in 1936, as did most of the Cougars who posted their second most recent losing season, before regaining form in 1937. He posted another 4 WAR season, and slashed .322/.361/.485 (134 OPS+) with 28 doubles, 11 triples, and 79 RBIs. There was some signs of decline from the now 30-year-old, as he hit just 13 homers in 145 games. It was his lowest in four seasons, but the overall production was still impressive.
Unfortunately, that production was not maintained, as Doc endured his worst season as a pro, eventually being replaced by an upstart Leo Mitchell. He started 61 of his 110 appearances and hit just .220/.277/.347 (74 OPS+) wit just 10 doubles, 5 triples, 5 homers, and 38 RBIs. For the first time as a Cougar, he struck out (22) more often then he walked (20). Doc Love's time was starting to run out, as for 1939 he was moved to a bench role. He did go 5-for-14 with a homer, but Love wanted out, and his former team was the one who wanted to bring him in. It was a minor deal, one I wish we were still allowed to do, as the the almost 33-year-old wanted a trade. When his former team showed interest, all I asked for was an 8th Round Pick. That turned out to be
minor league captain Connie Wright, who is still in the organization at 32.
Doc's return with to Detroit was brief, but this time he started 46 of the 82 games he played in semi-regular time. Most of the starts came in his customary left field position, but for the first time in his career he got significant innings in the other corner (21 G, 161.2 IP). Of course, you call the Love Doctor for the bat not the glove, and he hit .272/.35/.487 (117 OPS+) with 11 homers and 37 RBIs. He again walked (18) more then he struck out (13) and tallied 7 doubles, 4 triples, and 33 runs. But that's all he'd end up doing for the Dynamos, as in the offseason they sent him to the now Cincinnati Cannons for a draft pick. Love was relegated to a part time player behind fellow offseason acquisition Moxie Pidgeon. In three seasons with the Cannons Love hit .271/.317/.413 (103 OPS+) with most of his positive production coming in the first season. Love appeared in 106 games and made 316 PAs, drawing 26 walks to 18 strikeouts, producing a 133 WRC+ and 1.7 WAR with 15 doubles, 5 triples, 10 homers, and 51 RBIs.
Doc was cut during the1942 season, and joined the San Diego Conquistadores of the Great West League. Back then, the GWL was a AAA league that had both affiliated and independent clubs. Prior to the '42 season, Love had never played in AAA, as he never spent a day injured so no rehab assignments were ever needed. As you might expect, he hit quite good, appearing in 77 games, as he was a fixture in San Diego's lineup once he arrived. Love hit .288/.329/.444 (117 OPS+). but Love actually struck out (25) more then he walked (20). Doc did continue to do that, as strikeouts were more common in AAA then FABL, but that didn't stop him from producing WRC+ of 146, 136, and 134. Once the GWL turned fully independent, Love didn't play as much, as the upstart league wanted to attract FABL talent for the first time. He only made 79 trips to the plate and ended up on the new "AAA" bench himself. He still hit well, but 40-year-olds aren't in high demand for playing time.
He didn't play at all last year, so I couldn't resist picking him up after the season ended. He still hasn't said he is going to call it quits, but the once prolific hitter struck out 6 times in 23 plate appearances down in A ball. His .318/.348/.364 (91 OPS+) line was below average, but he often went series without at bats. I'd love for him to get a pinch hit at bat or two tomorrow, allowing him to get a sendoff before eventually hanging up the cleats. Its been seven years since his last FABL at bat, and the then 35-year-old only hit .237/.268/.343 (69 OPS+) prior to his release. But Doc is
the ultimate team player, and I know former teammates Leo Mitchell, Harry Mead, Skipper Schneider, Carlos Montes, and Pete Papenfus would be happy if he got one more hit. Or even one more homer.
Doc has 104 of those, with 77 of them coming with us. That may not seem like a lot, and he did play just 726 games in his five plus seasons, but it's good enough for ninth in Cougars history. Carlos Montes just past him this week in Duke Bybee's 8-hit shutout of the Saints, and his former teammate Rich Langton is just one homer shy of Doc. His time in the top 10 won't last long, with Sal Pestilli (56), Red Bond (61), and even Harry Mead (73) all approaching him. And if all goes well, Otto Christian (14) will managed that in a few full seasons, as he's still tallied just 315 trips to the plate.
What may hold for a while, however, are his impressive career slugging percentage (.478, 4th) and OPS (.837, 5th). His 220 hits in 1935 are still the ninth most by a Cougar in a season, and a Cougar career .313/.359/.478 (126 OPS+) line is quite impressive. The only thing he did wrong was being past by a younger offensive talent, and Doc was always one of the more well liked players on the roster. Unfortunately we only have two home games remaining, but I think I'll find a way to fit him into one of those two games. What's one game in left for a team that's double digits out of a pennant race?
It's what the fans want! They're a little lovesick this season...