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Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Embracing the Negro Leagues - Finally (Satch)

 

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EDITORS NOTE: We thought with Major League Baseball finally bringing the Negro League players into the MLB world, it was only appropriate that we brought this column back this week as a tribute to one of the great players of that era.  While there were many who made the jump from the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues, Paige perhaps had the biggest impact in the 1960s of those who had long careers before the color barrier was broken. Willie Mays and Hank Aaron both played in the Negro Leagues for a short time, but their careers were really made in MLB. Not so for the likes of Paige and others. This is a slice of time for the great Satch.

 TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Marykay Honel of Bourbonnais, Il, who correctly stated Hoyt Wilhelm pitched five shutouts in his career as a starting pitcher. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST:  IF YOU ANSWER THE TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY YOU WILL BE ENTERED INTO A WEEKLY DRAWING FOR A Starbucks Gift Card.  YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN. DON'T FORGET TO PUT YOUR MAILING ADDRESS IN WITH THE ANSWER SO WE CAN SEND YOUR GIFT IF YOU WIN.

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TRIVIA QUESTION: While the Boston Red Sox did not have any players on their roster who played in the Negro Leagues, the Boston Braves did. How many Boston Braves players actually spent time in the Negro Leagues. Bonus if you can name them.  
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Hoyt Wilhelm pitched five shutouts in his career as a starting pitcher in the big leagues.

Who was the last player to ever get a hit off the great Satchel Paige? A lot of names might run through your mind considering the man who said he "pitched long enough to put butts in the seats" spent an entire career in the Negro Leagues before becoming a big leaguer in 1948.

Before we answer the question let's set the scenario. In September, 1965 the Kansas City A's signed Paige to a contract. Whether it was a stunt by promoter extraordinaire Charlie O. Finley or whether it was a bonafide (usually with Charlie O., the word is "bonehead") attempt to let the fans get one last look at the grand old man. Either way it was a full treat for everyone in baseball, or anyone who just loves the game.


(Actual footage of Satchel Paige earlier in his career.)


Paige was signed on the 10th of September at age 58! The A's were long out of the race and were on their way to a 103 loss season and landing in 10th place in the American League, 43 games back of the Twins. They would finish 10th in attendance with barely over half a million fans entering the ballpark. In fact, they rarely drew more than a few thousand people. On September 24th, they only put 2304 fans into Municipal Stadium. 

When it was announced Paige was pitching the night of the 25th, attendance soared. Old Satchel put 9289 "butts in the seats." Four times as many people came out to see the nearly 60 year old hurler compared to the night before. The opponent? The lowly Boston Red Sox who were just four games better than the A's at that point in the season on their way to a ninth place finish.

Satch got the start and for three innings he was untouchable. And that was that. He faced 10 batters in three innings, did not give up a run, struck out one and did not walk a batter. The lone hit was by Red Sox future Hall of Famer, Carl Yasztremski. A harmless double in the first.
Paige began the game getting Jim Gosger to pop out. He ended his string getting Gosger to ground out to short. He faced one over the minimum and was remarkable. He left leading 1-0 in a game the A's eventually lost to Boston, 5-2. He didn't qualify for the win if they had won. He was taken out after three innings with the minimum needed by a starter being five innings. He was relieved for the last time by Diego Segui.

Paige got his final at bat in the big leagues in that game. He struck out.  

Paige's career was legendary. There was talk he would be the first player to break the color barrier but that honor went to Jackie Robinson. Hit finally got his chance with the Indians in 1948 and pitched in the World Series. He was 42 and faced two batters, got them out, and also was called for a balk. A rarity at any level, let alone a World Series game. That season he went 6-1 with a 2.47 ERA.

During his Major League career he saved 33 games, or five more than his 28 wins. He lost 31. His 3.29 ERA was respectable, especially for a pitcher who came to the big leagues at an advanced age. He pitched for four other seasons after the initial rookie year. At age 45 he tossed 138 innings and at age 46 he threw another 117. In 1952 he also tossed a pair of shutouts. 

Paige passed away in Kansas City in 1982 at the age of 76. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971 as the first of the Hall's Negro League Inductees.  

TRIVIA CONTEST; After reading this column you can enter the weekly trivia contest for a chance to win a Starbucks Gift Card. Enter via the following email. Send 1) your answer to the trivia question at the top of the column, 2) your name, address and email so where we know where to send the card if you win 3) any comment you have on the column. One winner will be selected at random each week based on correct answers with the odds being based on the number of correct entries.  Please cut and paste or enter the following email into your email system.

                             SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO; brillpro@gmail.com  
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Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

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. 
 

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

The Day an F.Robby Ruined an Oriole's Season - 1962

FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel ! 

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Sean McCormack of Sparks, NV, who correctly identified Dick Selma as the 1969 Padres pitcher who would play for another team in 1970 and register 22 saves. He played for the Phillies.  The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST:  IF YOU ANSWER THE TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY YOU WILL BE ENTERED INTO A WEEKLY DRAWING FOR A Starbucks Gift Card.  YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN. DON'T FORGET TO PUT YOUR MAILING ADDRESS IN WITH THE ANSWER.

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TRIVIA QUESTION: Known mostly as a reliever, Hoyt Wilhelm was an outstanding starting pitcher too. How many career shutouts did Wilhelm have?   
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:
Dick Selma pitched for the 1969 Padres but went onto Save 22 games for the Phillies the following season

 If ever there was a turning point in a season it came for the 1962 Baltimore Orioles at the hands of F. Robby, and we don't mean Frank Robinson. It was Floyd Robinson, the slick fielding outfielder who patrolled the outfield for the Chicago White Sox. And it came on June 1, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. And it came at the expense of one of the games best relievers.

The Orioles only finished with less than 80 wins twice during the 1960s. It happened in 1962 and again in 1967 with the collapse of the World Champion Orioles who had both Brooks and Frank to lead the team. The 1962 version was not a bad club. They had power with Jim Gentile's 33 homers leading the way, Brooks hit 23 and batted .303 while Russ Snyder hit .305 and with Jerry Adair, Boog Powell and Jackie Brandt all hitting double figures in homers. 

The pitching was fairly solid with a young Steve Barber, Milt Pappas, Hoyt Wilhelm, Dick Hall and an aging but competent Robin Roberts. They were better than the 77 wins they recorded but the end really began on the first day of June.

The O's had never been less than 5.5 games back of first and actually spent a few days in April tied for at the top of the AL. The didn't have long losing or winning streaks but did have some in the 4-5 game range. Still they were pretty consistent. Then on June 1, 1962 they faced Ray Herbert and the White Sox. Pappas took the mound for the Birds. 

The game was uneventful with both starters going eight innings and heading into the ninth with Chicago holding a 2-1 lead.  Hall pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning but Herbert who was still in the game was tiring. After giving up a single to Gentile he was replaced by Frank Baumann. Charlie Lau sacrificed and Turk Lown came on to pitch. Two singles later the game was tied and it was Wilhelm, manager Billy Hitchcock called on as they went into extra innings. Lown stuck around.

A scoreless White Sox 10th led to trouble for Lown in the bottom of the inning. After striking out Johnny Temple, Russ Snyder doubled. An intentional walk to Brooks Robinson brought up Wilhelm. A wild pitch put runners on second and third before Lown K'd his opposite number and Lau to end the inning by striking out the side.

The top of the 11th was when F. Robby of the American League made his play. He worked Wilhelm for a walk and then promptly stole second. After Bob Farley popped out, Charlie Smith laced a single to bring Robinson home.  With Sammy Esposito at the plate Smith was thrown out trying to steal. Good thing for the O's because Esposito followed with a single and a Wilhelm knuckler got away from Lau sending pinch runner Luis Aparicio to second. The key to the inning was Smith getting thrown out as Cam Carreon struck out.

The O's went quietly in the 11th and the Sox had a 3-2 win and the O's were now six games back. Little more than week later they were 8 back and 7th in the 10 team AL. While they would get better for a couple weeks and actually move up in the standings by July 27th they were back to double digits behind the leader, 10 games off the pace. They would eventually finish the season at 77-85, 19 games back of the first place Yankees, losing their final four in a row.

Hitchcock would bring his team back in 1963 by almost identically reversing the teams 1962 record and finishing in fourth place. The O's had basically the exact same lineup as the previous year but Steve Barber turned into a 20 game winner and both Roberts and Pappas had outstanding seasons. 1963 also marked the year Wilhelm joined Robinson as a member of the White Sox in a trade which involved players who played in the above storied game.

 SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO; brillpro@gmail.com  
 =======================================================
Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

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. 
 


 

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

1969 Padres; How Low Can You Go?


 FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel ! 

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Mickey Bauchan of Flint, MI, who correctly identified then number 19 as the most losses Gaylord Perry ever suffered in a single season. In fact, he was 19-19 in 1973 while pitching for Cleveland which one of our readers called "the mistake by the lake." The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST:  IF YOU ANSWER THE TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY YOU WILL BE ENTERED INTO A WEEKLY DRAWING FOR A Starbucks Gift Card.  YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN. DON'T FORGET TO PUT YOUR MAILING ADDRESS IN WITH THE ANSWER.

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TRIVIA QUESTION: Which 1969 San Diego Padres pitcher would play for another team in 1970 and record more saves in 1970 than the rest of his career of nine seasons combined?   
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:
Gaylord Perry was 19-19 in 1973 for Cleveland, thus the only season he lost so many games.

Expansion teams aren't supposed to be contenders right away. Most won't offer a polished pitching staff but most will hit, at least to some degree. Then there were the players of the expansion San Diego Padres. 

    (The Padres & Expos at Jarry Park in Montreal 1969)

The year was 1969 and the new San Diego team was far from it's days of Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield. Gwynn would toy with .400 at one point and offer a lifetime BA of .338. Winfield, before leaving for Free Agency, would hit 154 home runs and lead the NL in RBI with 118 in 1979.  

But that was later and 1969 was now. By the time the 1969 season had come to a close 10 Padres came to the plate and closed the season with a BA of under .200. Included was the team's starting shortstop, Tommy Dean, at .176 in 101 games (308 plate appearances). Few were far better. Starting catcher Chris Cannizzaro stuck it out at .220 while starting second sacker, Jose Arcia batted .215.

On the positive side, powerful Nate Colbert led the team in homers with 24, batting .255 while striking out 123 times (no big deal today but back then over 100 K's was a setback). Downtown Ollie Brown led the hitters at .254, adding 20 dingers, and Ed Spiezio and former Dodger Al Ferrara had double figure home run totals with 27 between them. The basic starting lineup rounded out with Cito Gaston's .230 mark.  

The Padres finished last (12th place) in nearly every hitting category in 1969 including runs, hits, doubles, walks, strikeouts, BA (.225) and every important other percentage statistic including on-base and slugging figures. They were dismal. They finished 52-110, 41 games out of first place. Only eight times did they beat an opponent by five runs or more, but lost by five runs or more 30 times!

Perhaps their season can be summed up this way. Twice they lost to opposing teams 19-0 and twice more 10-0. There were other double digit scoring losses but those embarrassments were the top of the heap for the 1969 Friars. 

The pitching wasn't much better overall but the starters were not bad. Despite losing 20 of 27 decisions 21-year old Clay Kirby finished with a 3.80 ERA. In fact, the four main starters were all under 4.00 in the ERA department. Only one pitcher who pitched any kind of innings however finished with a winning record. Reliever Jack Baldschun was 7-2. 
Of all the players on that inaugural team for San Diego, probably the only offensive player who went on to a strong big league career was Colbert. He hit 173 home runs during his MLB life. On the mound it was Joe Niekro who won 221 games in his career while losing 204. His brother Phil won 318 giving them a combined record of 540-478, which in itself is pretty amazing. 

   SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO; brillpro@gmail.com  
 =======================================================
Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

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.