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Wednesday, February 27, 2019

The Super Duck

                                                   (TEASE: Check out the two videos below.)

TRIVIA QUESTION:  When the 1967 Angels traded Norm Siebern to the Giants the picked up a guy they thought could help out around the outfield and back up Don Mincher at first. Turns out he played a handful of games before being shipped to the Dodgers for another super minor league player. Who were those two players involved in the Dodgers/Angels swap?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:  When the Angels released Joe Adcock at the end of the 1966 season, and traded the Twins for Don Mincher, it essentially ended the career of the "other" Angels first baseman; Norm Siebern. Siebern, the lefty hitter, got more playing time than Adcock the right handed slugger in 1966. Siebern batted 336 times in 1966 while Adock batted 231 times.  Mincher's arrival opened the door for younger players and Siebern was shipped off to San Francisco.

 If ever there was a super utility player in the 1960's, it was Dick Schofield, better known as Ducky, or just the Duck. He arrived in Pittsburgh from the Cardinals and before his 1960's career was over, he'd play for six different teams, while in his overall career; seven teams. He had three seperate stints with the club which originally signed him; the St. Louis Cardinals.
Schofield's best season was 1960 when he filled in late in the season for MVP Dick Groat as the Bucs went onto win the National League Pennant. He hit .333 in just over 100 at bats. He matched it in the World Series, going one-for-three against the Yankees as Groat returned to start for the Pirates. 

As a fielder during that memorable season he was adequate in 23 games at shortstop, committing six errors. However, teamed with all-star Bill Mazeroski he did participate in 16 double plays. The Duck fielded flawlessly at the other infield positions when he filled in.
In his only three seasons as a regular, 1963-1965, he batted .246 twice and .209 in the other lackluster year in which he spent most of it with the Giants, after having been traded for Jose Pagan in a swap of shortstops. Pagan would move to third base in Pittsburgh, Schofield remained mostly at short. He did continue to shift around the infield and actually in 1969 played a few games in the outfield. 

San Francisco would sell him to the Yankees who traded him to the Dodgers for Thad Tillotson and after his release the Cardinals picked him up once again. In the same year St. Louis sent him to the Red Sox for Gary Waslewski before going back to the Cardinals for Jim Campbell. He finished out his career with Milwaukee.
Perhaps his greatest achievement in baseball, aside from his longevity and ability to be the Super Utility Player, was his linage. His son, Dick had a good major league career also as a shortstop, and his grandson Jayson Werth did as well. One of the now many three generation baseball families.


                                                               "SPECIAL OFFER"
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"Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"
for $15 Shipping Included 
Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 


Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column. It has been appreciated. 

Also: Please check out our new Western Short Film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iron-gun-western-feature-film/#/

 
Please share this blog with your friends and colleagues and leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you have one. Thank YOU VERY MUCH!! Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.     


Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Joe Adcock - Slugger Extrordinaire

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TRIVIA QUESTION: In 1967, the year after Joe Adock retired as a player, the Angels traded for their new first baseman; Don Mincher. It also ended the Angels career of another player, the player with whom Adcock shared first base. Who was that left handed hitting first baseman ?  

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: In 1968 Don Drysdale set a new scoreless innings streak of more than 58 consecutive innings. When the streak finally came to an end Dodger announcer Vin Scully told his audience "of all the people who had the chance to end this streak, the great players, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays and Henry Aaron, it finally comes to an end with Howie Bedell." Bedell, playing in his second and final major league season came to bat as a pinch-hitter for the Phillies and hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the streak ending run. It was his ONLY RBI in seven at bats in 1968. 

 While Joe Adcock arguably had his best games in the 1950's, it was a career which carried into the 1960's which led the slugging National Leaguer into true respectability. In the 50's he had a four-homer game, he got the hit (read here a home run turned into a double) which destroyed Harvey Haddix's 13 inning perfect game and he smashed the longest home run to date in the Polo Grounds. He also hit a career high 38 dingers in 1956. However, one can conclude it was the 1960's which really capped his career rather than sending him off to obscurity.
Playing for the Milwaukee Braves for most of the decade before playing a single season in Cleveland and finishing up the final three years of his career with the Angels, Adcock was mostly a platooned first baseman at this point. He had his share of injuries but with the Braves he had to compete with some pretty good first sackers, too. 
A vocal and aggressive guy who crowded the plate, Adcock was a dead pull hitter. Along with the Polo Grounds homer, he hit other tape measure shots including blasts at Connie Mack Stadium and Ebbetts Field.
                                                                   (The Polo Grounds)
While in 1960-61 he was the first baseman, starting in 1962 the Braves began using other players more often at the position. Tommy Aaron, Eddie Mathews, and finally in 1963 the club sent Big Joe to Cleveland to make way for Gene Oliver. It was a trade where the only real name player was Adcock. A year later he was dealt by the Tribe to the Angels. 
He started the 1960's at age 32 when most players were beginning their retirement run. Not Adcock. He was just getting his second wind. from 1960-1962 he hit 25, 35 and 29 home runs. While his average fell from .298, .285 and finally .248, he drove in 277 runs over the span. Over the final four years he still hit 66 homers while serving in strictly a platoon role, batting about 1200 times.

In his final season with the Angels before being released into retirement, at age 38, he still managed to bat .273, and hit 18 home runs in 83 games. Of his 63 hits, 31 went for extra bases. And perhaps the most amazing stat of all when it comes to the big slugger; in 17 seasons and 1959 games, he NEVER Struck out 100 or more times in a single season. Despite all of that, 336 home runs and a lifetime BA of .277, he only made the all-star team once; 1960. 

He would return to the Indians for one season in 1967 as the manager. His club finished in eighth place at 75-87 and the fiery Adcock was ejected on three separate occasions.  It marked the end of his professional baseball career. He died in 1999 at age 71.


"SPECIAL OFFER"
You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book
"Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"
for $15 Shipping Included 
Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 


Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column.

Also: Please check out our new Western Short Film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iron-gun-western-feature-film/#/

 
Please share this blog with your friends and colleagues and leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you have one. Thank YOU VERY MUCH!! Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.     


Wednesday, February 13, 2019

1968 Dodgers - Who Were They?

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TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was the player who drove in the run which ended Don Drysdale's scoreless inning streak?  

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Minnie Minoso finished in the Top Four in MVP Voting four times in his career; 1951, 1952, 1954 and 1960. He garnered MVP votes an additional four seasons.

If there was ever a team of cast offs, has beens and never-were-to-be's, it was the 1968 Dodgers. Just two years earlier they were in the World Series. Sandy Koufax had retired, Maury Wills was gone, Jim Gilliam had said goodbye and the lone holdover from the Brooklyn club which moved to L-A was Don Drysdale. Big D was the lone bright spot in what was a dismal year, which if it had not been for his 58 1/3 controversial scoreless innings streak, the 1968 team would have been a forgotten cast of characters.
A look at the players who were basically closing out their careers or were within a wisp of it, players who had been stars or close to it, were as follows; Ken Boyer, Rocky Colavito, Zoilo Versalles, Tom Haller, Len Gabrielson, Ted Savage, Mudcat Grant, Hank Aquirre and Phil Regan. 
Players who would make contributions to the club but who really were either journeymen were; Paul Popovich, Willie Crawford, Jim Fairey, Luis Alcaraz, Bill Sudakis, Bart Shirley, Jim Campanis, Cleo James, John Purdin and Alan Foster.

In the group however, were several players who would make their mark in the few following years. They included Bob Bailey, Al Ferrara, Mike Kekich and Jack Billingham.
The guys known as "Dodgers" who were just hanging on at the time; hold overs from the World Series year of 1966; Willie Davis, Ron Fairly, Jim Lefebvre, Jeff Torborg, Wes Parker, Claude Osteen, Bill Singer, Jim Brewer and Joe Moeller. Don Sutton was still with the club and would go onto a Hall of Fame career.

The Dodgers finished in seventh place, 12 games under .500. It was a season in which Fresco Thompson was promoted to General Manager during the season and died a few months later. 

The club home run leader was Gabrielson, the Giants' cast off, who smacked 10 homers. He was the only player to reach double figures. The club finished next to last in homers hit with 67! And, Mudcat Grant hit one of those. The Team BA was .230 with a lowly .289 OBP and a .319 Slugging Percentage. 

When it came to pitching four of the five starters won in double figures but only Drysdale won more than he lost, 14-12. He had to pitch eight shutouts to get to that point. Looking deeper, the pitchers did throw 20 shutouts (third best in the NL) with Singer getting six. 
The pitching staff was amazing when you take a solid look. The top four starters were all under 3.00 in the ERA department with Osteen's 3.08 being the worst. Drysdale finished at 2.15. The bullpen was solid. In a combined 336 innings, allowed only 264 hits, with 8 homers. ERA's looked like this; Brewer 2.49, Grant 2.08, Billingham 2.14, Aquirre 0.69 and Purdin 3.07. Brewer led the team in Saves with 15.

To be sure it wasn't only 1968. In 1969 the club improved in the hitting department with 30 more homers and raising the BA by 24 points. The cast of characters changed and the results were better at 87-75, moving up to 4th in the new divisional set up. Drysdale fell off to 5-4 in  his final season. 
While the club sent away veterans Colavito, Ferrara and Bailey they did bring in aging vets Jim Bunning, Manny Mota and Al McBean. The year 1969 did lay the groundwork for the future however. A solid crop of rookies arrived on the scene. Among them Steve Garvey, Ted Sizemore, Billy Grabarkawitz, Bobby Valentine, Bill Buckner and Von Joshua. Joshua would have his best years elsewhere.

As for the 1968 move on's; Ferrara would become a regular and solid player in San Diego, Kekich would perform well for the Yankees, Bailey would join the ranks of the elite sluggers in Montreal finally achieving the success expected when he signed as Pittsburgh's bonus baby and Billingham would win 142 games (he won 145 overall) in other places including two 19-win seasons with the Reds.


"SPECIAL OFFER"
You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book
"Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"
for $15 Shipping Included 
Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 
 
Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column. It has been appreciated. You can click on the link above (my childhood photo) to see how to purchase this book; "Tales of My Baseball Youth; a child of the 60's."

Also: Please check out our new Western Short Film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iron-gun-western-feature-film/#/

 
Please share this blog with your friends and colleagues and leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you have one. Thank YOU VERY MUCH!! Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.