i9s

What a magnificent talent!

Méndéz is a clear front of the rotation starter, among the best in the game from his debut as a 21 year old through the mid 1910s. And then … well, clearly there was an injury, but what to do after that is quite a challenge. He never reached his prior heights, but the overlap with the Deadball Era on the front end and Lively Ball era on the back end makes his numbers look both better and worse than they actually were.

El Diamante Negro should have been among the league leaders in IP and strikeouts a few years between 1909 and 1914, consistently logging well over 300 innings as a front of the rotation starter. And then 1915 sees much reduced usage, and he only hits 200 innings twice over the next decade. We see Méndéz as, while never regaining the level of dominance of those early years, becoming an effective rotation arm with a higher than usual relief rate through most of his 30s.

He had great control throughout his career and, over 2 decades, really only had a small handful of bad years.

Whether his career ends in 1924, 1925, or 1926, it’s clear that he ran out of gas by the time he hit 40.

We added an abortive year in 1916, but that’s the only fictional season in these projections.

It’s not clear what to do with Méndéz as a two-way player. He performed decently over large sample sizes, especially during the years he was recovering from a significant injury. That indicates that maybe, just maybe, he could have done well as an OFer. I remain skeptical: he looks like a slap hitter with little power and a decent eye for the strike zone, and those players don’t usually hold down careers in the corner OF spots.

The usage shape of his career is pretty set–front of rotation starter for just under a decade; useful swing starter for another decade plus. But I do think further research could convince me to lower his early peak and/or increase his later effectiveness. Regardless, any projection that doesn’t show Méndéz as a clear HoF candidate should be disregarded: he was obviously that good.

Name	José Colmenar del Valle Méndéz (El Diamante Negro)
ID / Status	mendez049jos / Draft
Pos	P
DOB / i9s Career	01/02/1885 / 1907 - 1926
Birthplace	Cárdenas, Cuba (Cuba)
Height / Weight	5'10" / 152
B / T	R / R

 

Batting Projections

 

Pitching Projections

Year	G	GS	IP	HA	W	K	HRA	eD	eT	eHBP	BB/9	H/9	K/9	ERA	WHIP
1907	33	17	188.0	161	58	122	0	0	0	7	2.8	7.7	10.5	1.98	1.16
1908	41	25	254.0	165	55	177	1	0	0	7	1.9	5.8	7.8	1.19	0.87
1909	41	38	323.0	224	69	232	2	0	0	8	1.9	6.2	6.5	1.34	0.91
1910	49	47	394.0	308	90	193	6	0	0	10	2.1	7.0	4.4	2.07	1.01
1911	49	36	336.0	297	80	247	3	0	0	8	2.1	8.0	6.6	2.18	1.12
1912	43	41	344.0	334	104	171	8	0	0	10	2.7	8.7	4.5	3.03	1.27
1913	46	44	369.0	297	98	209	2	0	0	9	2.4	7.2	5.1	2.14	1.07
1914	38	36	303.0	261	78	178	2	0	0	4	2.3	6.9	4.4	2.15	1.02
1915	24	16	156.0	119	40	76	4	0	0	4	2.3	6.9	4.4	2.15	1.02
1916	8	4	45.0	50	15	17	1	0	0	1	3.0	10.0	3.4	3.42	1.44
1917	13	5	66.0	76	25	20	0	0	0	2	3.5	10.5	2.8	3.62	1.55
1918	18	11	111.0	71	31	56	1	0	0	2	2.5	5.8	4.5	1.56	0.92
1919	28	16	168.0	132	29	70	3	0	0	3	1.6	7.1	3.8	2.10	0.96
1920	34	27	243.0	231	63	89	9	0	0	5	2.3	8.6	3.3	3.04	1.21
1921	19	4	78.0	82	21	19	4	0	0	2	2.4	9.5	2.2	3.83	1.32
1922	28	11	141.0	170	45	66	2	0	0	4	2.9	10.9	4.2	3.99	1.52
1923	40	33	291.0	293	93	114	6	0	0	8	2.9	9.1	3.5	3.39	1.33
1924	19	9	103.0	100	26	45	2	0	0	2	2.3	8.7	3.9	3.19	1.22
1925	16	2	57.0	75	12	18	3	0	0	1	1.9	11.8	2.8	4.96	1.53
1926	22	5	91.0	86	13	25	2	0	0	1	1.3	8.5	2.5	3.14	1.09