American Association Sunday Insider- Hamburger in the Hall?

 News broke on Friday afternoon that current St. Paul Saints infielder Ryan Fitzgerald got the call and will be joining the Minnesota Twins. Fitzgerald began his career in the American Association in 2017 as an infielder with the Gary SouthShore RailCats. His first professional game was played at CHS Field in St. Paul. The Saints noted in their announcement that his first hit came off of Mark Hamburger. 

If it was off of Robert Coe, John Straka or Benji Waite, it wouldn't have not likely been even mentioned who Fitzgerald got his first hit against. Upon Fitzgerald's arrival in St. Paul, Sean Aronson told me a story about talking to Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald remembered his first pro hit, remembered it was off Hamburger and asked if he still came around the ballpark. 

That right there should tell you about the kind of impact Mark Hamburger had in his three seasons in the league (2013, 2016-17). Hamburger was a pitcher who had Major League like stuff. I remember heading out behind the bullpen at Midway Stadium and watching him throw his bullpen before a start. The ball just sounded different hitting the catcher's mitt. 

photo courtesy of Dan LeMoal

We'll get into the numbers later, as they were impressive. But in the era in which Hamburger pitched, social media was a thing. But it was nothing close to what we see today. The league does a good job of marketing players and they become household names throughout the league. Hamburger became a household name without the benefit of any of those means. 

On the road, Hamburger was either that pitcher you wanted to see pitch live and possibly get a chance to meet when he came to your ballpark or the ex MLB pitcher you wanted to see your team put some runs up against. There was no mistaking Mark in his final two years in St. Paul. Long hair flowing from his StP cap. Wearing his stirrups high, a classic baseball look.

I remember a time when I was heading to Sioux Falls to see the Saints. I didn't attend the first game of the series. Hamburger had pitched and shut down the Canaries. I asked a friend of mine what he thought about Hamburger. He was bitter. He said, why doesn't he go back to the Majors. A staple of Mark's was his vehicle, a 1970's style station wagon he named Hazel. He had driven it to Sioux Falls for that series. I used to tailgate in Sioux Falls. Hamburger and Robert Coe were guests of mine at times out there, so there it was, my friends showed up for tailgating and Hamburger and Coe are out there with me, just a couple of guys enjoying a good bratwurst.  By the time I left Sioux Falls, my friends had become huge Hamburger fans after they got to meet Mark as a person and not just a former big leaguer on the mound. 

Last year saw Reggie Abercrombie make the Hall of Fame. Abercrombie, the current all time home run king, and Hamburger became good friends. The story was told to me that Abercrombie was frustrated at times that he wasn't being pitched to. And when he was, it was breaking pitches galore. Hamburger told Abercrombie that each at bat he would get at least one fast ball to try to hit. Sometimes Hamburger got the best of the matchup, sometimes the tables were turned, but there was a mutual respect between the two American Association legends. 

In Hamburger's first stint in the American Association, he went a middling 6-8 for a not so good St. Paul Saints team in 2013. In an era where we were around the end of six innings being an acceptable start, Hamburger averaged over seven innings a start. Hamburger threw 149 innings in 21 starts, throwing five complete games and accumulating a 3.26 ERA. His ERA was fifth in the league, his 120 strikeouts fourth, and 149 innings third, amazing considering he had been a reliever most of his pro career to that point. 

His numbers were enough for the local MLB team, the Minnesota Twins to take notice and give Hamburger a chance once again. Hamburger had been signed by the Twins out of an annual tryout camp but was traded to Texas in a trade for the Twins to get another former pitcher back in Eddie Gaurdado. The Twins wanted Hamburger to sign in mid August but Hamburger out of loyalty to the Saints, stuck it out through the end of the season.

Fast forward to 2016, the Saints signed Hamburger to anchor their pitching staff. Hamburger won 12 games and threw 158 innings in 20 starts and one relief outing. Seven of the 20 starts were complete games. Hamburger had a 3.29 ERA with 100 strikeouts. I remember one start as manager George Tsamis was considering pulling Hamburger from a game. Tsamis wasn't known for his joking around during games, but on this night he brought a pink slip to the mound as he felt he was going to get one if he pulled Hamburger from the game. 

Hamburger had offers throughout the season to sign with MLB teams. Out of loyalty to the Saints along with his desire to stay a starting pitcher, he chose not to sign.

Hamburger finished 8th in ERA, tied for first in wins, and led the league in innings and complete games. 

Hamburger mania had hit St. Paul. Hamburger stuck around the field long after games to sign autographs and meet fans. You knew when Hamburger was pitching in St. Paul on a particular night as his family would show up in droves, tailgating with a large Hamburger flag in the parking lot. There was a joke making the rounds that the Saints needed a special "when's Hamburger pitching" phone line for selling tickets.

In 2017 even the local media took notice as WCCO TV did an in depth feature on Hamburger. 

 

Hamburger came back for 2017 going 13-7 for a Saints team that swooned for the last half of the season to end up out of a playoff spot. Hamburger was a constant for a pitching staff that saw lots of injuries and ineffectiveness. In 22 starts and one relief outing (on Fan Appreciation night and his last game in a Saints uniform) Hamburger threw an amazing 172 innings in a league that only had 100 games. Prorate that to an MLB season, that's the equivalent of throwing 278 innings in an MLB season. Hamburger struck out 115 in those 172 innings. 

Hamburger's 13 wins tied for best in the league. His 172 innings led the league with the next best being 158. 

Hamburger concluded his career pitching in 2018 season in New Britain, for the Bees who had just become an Atlantic League team. Hamburger never found the magic in New Britain that he had in St. Paul. When asked about the inning load he carried, his line was, "you can't break Gumby". Gumby was eventually broke as an elbow injury concluded Hamburger's career but cannot tamper his legacy he had in the American Association. 

Among league records, Hamburger's seven complete games in 2017 are most in league history. The 172 innings are most in league history. Hamburger is in the top five in five different pitching categories in St. Paul Saints history.

We know as far as pitchers go, Kevin McGovern is a shoo in for an American Association Hall of Fame spot. But I will plead to the committee that there was never an American Association pitcher that had as much of an impact on and off the field as Mark Hamburger even if it was only for three seasons. Please consider him for a spot among the legends of Independent Baseball, frankly baseball hasn't been as fun since he left.