BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO was the title of a 1962 song written by  Neil Sedaka. It’s primarily about the “break ups” with all the angst & frustration  of teenage couples.  At times, it could have referred to other situations that were more permanent—losing jobs, marriage partners, close friends.  However, in this view, it’s a look @ some MLB players who had a tough time “BREAKING UP” with their life profession & life style.

….Of course, this idea stemmed from the Adam Wainwright 2023 season. Wainwright, a true role model for children & adults, just couldn’t “BREAK UP” from the baseball & the Cards. Going into 2023, he held  a 195-117 record,  with his ERA in 2022 of 3.71. Opposing batters hit .261 against him. None of those numbers were the best of his career but he just couldn’t “BREAK UP” from the Cards/MLB. As a result, he’s become a sad figure. He just can’t do it any longer. The 2023 season shows him holding 3 wins & 9 losses with an ERA of 8.61. He’s given up 124 hits in 77 innings and batters are hitting .360 against him…ouch! BREAKING UP WAS VERY HARD for Wainwright & the Cardinals. But he’s not alone in “going too long” because BREAKING UP REALLY  IS HARD TO DO for many athletes.

…Even the greatest Cardinal of all-time-Stan Musial found BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO.  After hitting .330 in 1962 as 42 year old, Stan returned for another season in 1963. However, Fr Time tapped him on the shoulder in ’63.  Musial batted a career low .255 (his lifetime batting avg was .331) in his final year. 

… Other HOF players that found BREAKING UP WAS HARD TO DO….

….Maybe the most Classic example of finding BREAKING UP WAS HARD TO DO in MLB baseball was Willie Mays—an ALL-STAR for 19 years. In his 23^rd year in the MLB, Mays played for the Mets in 1973. While he was more of a “drawing card” than a major contributor, Mays enjoyed reaching the World Series in ’73 as the Miracle Mets – in addition they beat Oakland in the World Series. Mays batted .211 in ’73,  6 HR in 200+ AB while striking out 47x of his 239 Plate appearances—20% of the time!

…Randy Johnson came back for his 22nd season at age 45 because BREAKING UP WAS HARD TO DO!! His goal was 300 wins…similar to Wainwright but 100 additional wins. Johnson had 295 wins as he entered the 2009 season. On the SF Giant pitching staff for his 1st & only year, he DID reach his goal with an 8-6 record for ’09. This 5-time Cy Young winner(he finished 2nd 3 other times) posted an 8-6 record (remember he was 45 years old), but had his highest ERA of any season-4.88.  He had already led the MLB in ERA 4-times and completed his career with a stunning 3.29 ERA in 22 seasons!! Johnson led the league in strikeouts in 9 different years!

….Another HOF pitcher who found BREAKING UP WAS HARD TO DO was Nolan Ryan. Ryan pitched 27 years with a total of 773 starts! Pitching in his last year as a 46 year old in 1993, Ryan was 5-5 with a career worst ERA of 4.88. To Give you an idea.. .his career ERA for 27 years  was 3.19!!!! His WHIP (walks/hits per inning pitched) for that year was the worst of his career—1.417—remember he WAS 46 years old! His strikeouts per 9 innings pitched was the lowest of his career—6.2.

….Another  player, who had a short trip though the Lou, Minnie Minoso, found that BREAKING UP WAS HARD TO DO on several occasions.  Minnie arrived in StL in 1962, coming off a .280 avg in 1961 in Chicago, hopes were high. He batted .196 in 1962 as a Cardinal. He suffered through multiple minor injuries but also a major one. On May 11, he ran full speed into the concrete wall @ Busch Stadium. He missed extended time for that injury and 2 other injuries- a HBP fractured his forearm in August. The Cards dumped him after the season but Minoso just couldn’t BREAK UP WITH BASEBALL.  He played in 1963 & 64…took a retirement status… returned in 1976 for 3 games. But…it still wasn’t over…he played again in 1980 in 2 games & 2 at bats.  Boy….he really had a difficult time finding that BREAKING UP WAS HARD TO DO.

….It’s still going on today—right in front of our eyes. Joey Votto is finding that BREAKING IS HARD TO DO as he toils for the Reds. Now as a 39 year old, who’s played his entire career in Cincy, the separation seems even more difficult for Votto. As recently 2021 he batted .266, with 36 HR and an OPS of .938. He slipped badly in 2022 and 2023 is more of the same. He holds a .202 average with 55 strikeouts in 196 plate appearances. That’s a strikeout once every 3.6 AB!!! Not an out…a STRIKEOUT.

He currently is surrounded by an abundance of young players. Possibly, the Red management is hoping that Votto, who was an MVP of the NL once, is helping the Reds current players grow into professional, successful MLB players.  He also received votes in other years in the MVP voting…he was 2^nd in MVP voting in 2017’ 3^rd in MVP voting in 2015;  6^th in 2011 & 2013; 7^th in 2016 and 16^th in 2021. Currently the Reds are in 3^rd place in NL Central with a 65-61 record. Most MLB observers had them picked for 4^th in the preseason. Soooo…maybe the extra experience of Votto is helping these younger players mature into solid MLB players.

…on a different level, Bob Feller found it that BREAKING UP FROM BASEBALL WAS HARD TO DO. He really took an unusual route.  In his first 3 years in the MLB, he won 20 gamess. The World War II came. He volunteered early as he found it absolutely necessary to serve our country in WWII. The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, he entered the US Navy. He missed the next 4 MLB seasons due to his service. While in the US Navy, he realized that he was missing key years of his career. Sooo…after his discharge from the Navy, he wanted to make up for lost time and lost money. When the MLB season had concluded, he formed a traveling barnstorming teams. We cringe as we read the next part. It would pit the “White” Players vs the “Black” players. He would pitch as the primary pitcher in the vast majority of the games for the “white” team as the faced the African-American team. Satchel Paige helped him play an instrumental role in forming the best Negro players on the “Paige” team. Now 27 years old, the “tour” went to multiple cities–  Feller’s ambitious plans by September called for a 27-game tour beginning Sept. 30 at Pittsburgh with the itinerary including stops in such outposts as Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Newark, New York, Columbus, Dayton, Louisville, Davenport, Des Moines, St. Paul. Omaha, Wichita, St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, Vancouver, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and Tacoma. Feller even set a game in Versailles, Ky., home of Chandler. Teammates on Bob Feller’s All-Stars included Bob Lemon, Mickey Vernon, San Chapman, Charlie Keller, Spud Chandler, Phil Rizzuto and Stan Musial. Satchel Paige’s All-Stars included  the top performers from both the American & National Leagues and the Negro League. Paige’s team included Max Manning, Barney Brown, Hilton Smith, Buck O’Neil, Hank Thompson, Art Wilson, Howard Easterling and Quincy Trouppe and young budding star-Larry Doby.  Feller pitched every game (often they were DH!). The did receive permission from baseball commissioner, Happy Chandler. All the players were back and ready to go for the next season! Maybe Feller’s MLB career was shortened but he did pitch more than 290 innings/year -5 times in his career. Not 200 innings…290 innings!!!! After 18 MLB seasons, Feller retired with a HOF record of 266-162 with 3,826 MLB innings (not counting any of those traveling barnstorming innings) with 2581 strikeouts!!! How many would he have struck out if he had “rested” his arm for those barnstorming years?

…On the other hand, 20% of MLB players play just 1, or part of 1, season! Then, they get the bad news that they aren’t needed any longer. Certainly, BREAKING UP IS REAL HARD TO DO for those young men. Most have spent most of their entire life playing “select”, college, minor leagues, etc.  But….it’s over for them during or after that 1^st year.

…Well….it’s time(probably overtime!! I got a bit carried away with Bob Feller, even though, BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO, we have to break up until next week. I’d LOVE reading any of your thoughts…choose 1 or more of the “stories” above. If you’d like—post it directly on my Facebook page. Or, add another player who found it hard to say goodbye. Thanks for the read and have a fun week… Bob         Spread the word of the Buzz to your family, friends, work buddies, etc—THANKS!