TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Rich Klein of Grand Prairie, TX, who correctly identified Clete Boyer and Tom Tresh as the two NY Yankees who led the the team in batting average in the 1962 World Series. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.
NEW TRIVIA CONTEST: By answering the TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY you are automatically entered into a weekly drawing for a Starbucks Gift Card. Please enter via brillpro@gmail.com and please put your mailing address in with the answer so we can send you the gift card in the mail.
ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Clete Boyer and Tom Tresh were the two NY Yankees who led the the team in batting average in the 1962 World Series.
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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: In what year did the Beatles perform at Shea Stadium?
If
you were a long suffering New York Mets fan, 1966 was a real milestone.
It marked the first time in their short history the Amazin's DID NOT lose 100 games in a season. Doubly important, it was the first time in their history the Mets DID NOT have a 20 game loser on the mound.
It was the first time a manager other than Casey Stengel took over the club for a full season. Wes Westrum
actually replaced Stengel in 1965 after 95 games and 31 wins. Westrum's
record was to lose three times more than he won, finishing 1965 with a
19-48 record and the club lost 112. But in 1966 things finally started
to improve for New York's NL team.
On the pitching side, the club finished last in innings pitched, walks, strikeouts and Saves, but not in losses. Only the Chicago Cubs (103 losses) finished lower than the New Yorkers. Mets' pitchers did finish ninth in Wins, ERA, Shutouts, Hits allowed, Runs allowed, Earned Runs allowed and Home Runs allowed.
In their history to this date the Mets had these 20 game losers;
1962 Roger Craig 24, Al Jackson 20
1963 Roger Craig 24
1964 Tracey Stallard 20
1965 Jack Fisher 24, Al Jackson 20.
The 1966 Mets did finished last in eight of the top offensive categories and ninth in two more and on the pitching side they were last in four categories and ninth in seven others. Still it was a great improvement for the New York faithful who finished second in the NL, as 1.9 million people walked through the turnstiles.
Ron Hunt led the hitters at .288, while Ed Kranepool whacked 16 homers to lead the team and tied with Cleon Jones with 57 RBI. And a 19 year old kid named Nolan Ryan pitched a total of three innings, striking out six and walking only one. His first K was Pat Jarvis, the pitcher.
