TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Brian Walsh of Jackson, MI who correctly identified Jeff Torborg as the Dodger right-handed hitting catcher who usually spelled Johnny Roseboro for the mid-1960's Los Angeles club. Doug Camilli (sold to Washington after the 1964 season) also did it but Torborg was THE man we were looking for, and who actually caught his share of no-hitters while being an average hitter. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.
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TRIVIA QUESTION: In Satchel Paige's last game how many non-Latin, African American players appeared for the Kansas City A's, in addition to Paige? A Bonus if you can name them.
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: During the mid-1960s Jeff Torborg was the guy who usually got behind the plate when the Dodgers faced left-handed pitching. This gave lefty hitting Roseboro the day off.
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 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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