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Sunday, March 31, 2024

From Brooklyn to Los Angeles

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Claude Osteen and Frank Howard combined for five seasons to each earn $100,000. The Prize: 15 points toward the person's total.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST: You will still be required to enter the drawing as usual. However,  through the end of 2024 you will get points depending on the complexity of the questions. Enter each week and correct answers will get those points-one guess per person per week. The reader with the most points after the years final column will get a $50 Starbucks Gift Card. Ties will be placed into a drawing. Questions will be worth anywhere from 10-25 points depending on degree of difficulty. Questions will be more difficult as the year goes on, so you are never really out of the mix. Tell your friends and sports fans who like trivia. We will keep track of your points. - YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Name the last five Brooklyn Dodger players to finish their careers in Los Angeles, and which Brooklyn Dodger player was active in the Dodgers clubhouse the longest? Answer is worth 50 POINTS.

 The 1960 Opening Day Game for the Los Angeles Dodgers saw seven players who actually played with the club in Brooklyn. They were a couple years removed from the New York Burroughs but there were still seven of the 12 players who appeared in that game, still active for the 1960 opener. The stars were Don Drysdale, Jim Gilliam, Duke Snider and Gil Hodges, while Charlie Neal, Don Demeter and Johnny Roseboro all made small contributions in Brooklyn.

The Dodgers were fresh off a World Series in 1959 and were looking to extend their winning ways in Hollywood. Game One of the 1960 season was a start. Tied 2-2 going into the 11th Drysdale was still pitching against the Chicago Cubs. (Talk about stretching out). Former Brooklyn team mate Don Zimmer homered for the Cubs earlier in the game. 

It was a familiar trademark game for the Dodgers who were known during the early to mid-1960's to play tight games. The bottom of the 11th saw the good hitting Drysdale's pitching come to an end when manager Walter Alston chose Chuck Essegian to pinch-hit against Don Elston. He promptly homered to win it at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Over the years those Brooklynites would eventually be replaced. Hodges and Snider would end up as original Mets, and Demeter would move on as well. Roseboro, would be a mainstay as would Gilliam who both played on future World Series teams for Los Angeles.

 TRIVIA CONTEST; 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 the end of the calender year based on the total points acquired via weekly contests.

                              brillpro@gmail.com 
 ==========================================================
I've written more than a dozen books including at least two sports books. You can find these at my Amazon page or at my own website www.bobbrillbooks.com. Please take a look at the sports books, the western novel series or the "Tattoo Murder," which is a crime book set in Ventura, CA.

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 books after reading this column.
  

Just a note to add; If you look at the top right hand corner of the side bar you will see a link to daily sports scores. We made an agreement with Baseball 24 in a mutual sharing situation. Hope its helpful to fans of several sports.

 

Sunday, March 24, 2024

The Trade - Howard for Osteen

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Mickey Vernon was ejected four times in his big league managing career. The Prize: 15 points toward the person's total.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST: You will still be required to enter the drawing as usual. However,  through the end of 2024 you will get points depending on the complexity of the questions. Enter each week and correct answers will get those points-one guess per person per week. The reader with the most points after the years final column will get a $50 Starbucks Gift Card. Ties will be placed into a drawing. Questions will be worth anywhere from 10-25 points depending on degree of difficulty. Questions will be more difficult as the year goes on, so you are never really out of the mix. Tell your friends and sports fans who like trivia. We will keep track of your points. - YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: How many times did Osteen and Howard combined to make $100,000 or more in their career? Answer is worth 20 POINTS.

A December 1964 trade involving seven players made history and it really was about one player for one player. Not to diminish the impact of the other six players because they made contributions, but the bottom line is Frank Howard and Claude Osteen were the guys. They each made big contributions to their new teams. Howard more than Osteen, but Osteen played for the better team in the long run and won a World Series.

The trade looked like this; Howard was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with a player to be named later, Ken McMullen, Phil Ortega and Pete Richert to the Washington Senators for John Kennedy, Claude Osteen and $100,000. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Dick Nen (December 15, 1964) to the Washington Senators to complete the trade.  

Osteen twice won 20 games for the Dodgers but he finished with a record of 196-195. Almost 200 wins but almost 200 losses. Howard, the former Rookie of the Year, went on to appear in four all-star games and blast 382 home runs in his career. from 1968-1970 he hit more than 40 home runs each year; 44, 48, 44. 

Likely the next two most important players were Pete Richert and certainly Ken McMullen. McMullen had five good years in Washington before moving on the Angels back in southern California. He had one season where he drove in 103 runs.  Richert won 29 games in his first two seasons in Washington and moved on to four other teams including back to the Dodgers, mainly in relief.

Ortega did pitch well in Washington but still finished 10 games under .500 in his Senators career. Kennedy spent two years with Los Angeles barely hitting .201 in his best season. His main job was to be a late inning defensive replacement for third baseman Jim Gilliam. Nen played three seasons with Washington where he too was a defensive player at first base. His best average was .260 with 18 homers over three seasons.

If you graded the trade today the Senators with Howard would get an "A" while the Dodgers with Osteen would get a "C-" figuring Los Angeles could have filled Osteen's spot with lots of other starting pitchers who would likely do better than .500.

TRIVIA CONTEST; 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 the end of the calender year based on the total points acquired via weekly contests.

                              brillpro@gmail.com 
 ==========================================================
I've written more than a dozen books including at least two sports books. You can find these at my Amazon page or at my own website www.bobbrillbooks.com. Please take a look at the sports books, the western novel series or the "Tattoo Murder," which is a crime book set in Ventura, CA.

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 books after reading this column.
  

Just a note to add; If you look at the top right hand corner of the side bar you will see a link to daily sports scores. We made an agreement with Baseball 24 in a mutual sharing situation. Hope its helpful to fans of several sports.