Baseball in the 1960's: 2025

Sunday, May 18, 2025

The Geiger Counter: The Rule 5 Draft Crafts a Three-Decade Career

TRIVIA WINNER: Dutch Leonard in 1914 had an ERA of 0.96, winning 19 games. 10 points toward the person's total.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST: You will still be required to enter the drawing as usual. However, through June 2025 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 June's final column will get a $50 Starbucks Gift Card. Ties will be placed into a drawing. 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: Who gave up Mickey Mantle's final home run? TOTAL 25 POINTS.

[THIS IS A GUEST COLUMN WRITTEN BY AARON WOIEN AND HE EVEN ADDED THE TRIVIA QUESTION - THANK YOU AARON]

“I was a little too tall, could have used a few pounds.” From Night Moves, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, 1976.

Since 1954, when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Roberto Clemente from the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Rule 5 Draft has been an underrated source of serviceable major league players. Starting in 1977, the Toronto Blue Jays have been the franchise which most often benefitted from shrewd selections in the Draft. In between, the player who has benefited the most from the Draft has been Gary Geiger.

After four minor league seasons in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization, he was selected by Cleveland in the Draft in 1957. After a successful 1958 season as the Indians’ fourth outfielder, he was traded to Boston with Vic Wertz for Jimmy Piersall. Geiger then played at least 120 games for four of the following five seasons, missing the final half of the 1960 season with a collapsed lung. All the while, he played outstanding defense in centerfield with a strong throwing arm while posting respectable offensive numbers.

After missing nearly all of the 1964 season with a bleeding ulcer and stomach
obstruction, the already skinny Geiger carried only 130 pounds on his six-foot tall body.
He then missed most of the1965 season with a triple fracture in his hand incurred early
in the season, after which the Red Sox assigned him to AAA.

After being selected for the second time in the Rule 5 Draft, Geiger played two years for
Atlanta, batting .262 and .162, respectively, before being released and signing a minor
league contract with the Cardinals’ organization. From there he was selected for a third
time in the Rule 5 draft by Houston, where his career ended in 1970. Gary Merle Geiger died April 24, 1996 with complications from cirrhosis of the liver.

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 calendar year based on the total points acquired via weekly contests.

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Sunday, May 11, 2025

The Rare Air of Roberto

TRIVIA WINNER: The three pitchers highlighted in last week's column; Robin Roberts, Warren Spahn and Early Wynn, appeared in a combed six World Series. 10 points toward the person's total.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: He threw for 224-plus innings in his finest season in the American League and had an ERA of under 1.00 with a WHIP of 0.866. Who was he and what was his ERA that season? Hint: He was one of two pitchers with the same name. TOTAL 100 POINTS.

It was the rarest of rare events when Roberto Clemente made a major error. It was even more unusual when it cost his team a game. However, that was exactly what happened on August 14th, 1965. It was a memorable night to begin with because it was right in the middle of the Watts Riots and it happened at Dodger Stadium. Attendance was only 29, 237, mainly because people were afraid to leave their homes. The city was on fire and people were dying. Baseball however, witnessed great pitching match-up and a game which few will remember except those who were there. I was.

Sandy Koufax squared off against Don Cardwell. The former in his prime, the latter heading toward the end of a decent career. The Bucs were headed for sixth place in a ten team league. The Dodgers would go on to defeat the Twins in the World Series. For Koufax he was looking for win no. 21 in a season where he would dominate again.

The Pirates were a good hitting team as usual back then, but a team in transition. Clemente was still in his prime and batting .342 and was backed by Donn Clendenon's 28 homers, Willie Stargell's long taters and the amazing defensive play of Bill Mazeroski and Gene Alley up the middle. Catching Cardwell that night was journeyman, Jim Pagliaroni.

For Los Angeles it was the switch hitting infield of Parker, Gilliam, Lefebvre and Kennedy and the speed of Willie Davis backed by Lou Johnson and Ron Fairly. Johnny Roseboro as usual was catching Koufax.

The game was scoreless and a real pitchers dual. I remember Mazeroski getting the Bucs' first hit, a single in the second. With two out in the bottom of the second Davis hit a shot to deep right field. Clemente, the ever graceful outfielder, leaned into the ground level box seats and robbed Davis of a home run. Without that the Dodgers would have had a 1-0 lead and the game would have ended in nine. Not to be.

To show you this was the 1960's, with two out in the top of the tenth and the game scoreless, Pirate manager Danny Murtaugh let Cardwell, the pitcher, bat. He struck out. The Dodgers would have their chance in the bottom of the tenth.

The inning began harmlessly. Roseboro flied out to Clemente followed by Kennedy also hitting a line drive out to Clemente. Then came the ultimate mistake. With two out in the bottom of the 10th, Cardwell walked Koufax. The mortal sin in baseball is to walk the opposing pitcher. Koufax was not a great hitter and manager Walt Alston chose to let his ace bat. Wes Parker followed with another walk and Murtaugh did not take Cardwell out.

Jim Gilliam hit a line drive to Clemente. The Great Roberto charged in for what looked like a routine final out. The ball hit off his glove and bounced away for an error. Koufax, running on contact, scored easily despite a good throw to the plate. Dodgers win 1-0.

It was an amazing game, both pitchers throwing 10 innings and a lot of unusual things you will never see again, or even before that. It was a night to remember and both men are now in the Hall of Fame.

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Illustrious Careers which Ended in the 1960's

TRIVIA WINNER: In 1967, according to Baseball Reference.com, Lou Gehrig hit .373, with 52 doubles, 18 triples and 47 homers, as well as driving in and scoring well over 100 runs. However, he also found time to lay down 21 Sacrifice bunts, believe it or don't. 10 points toward the person's total.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: The three pitchers highlighted in this column each appeared in the World Series. How many different WS did they combine for, not the total games, just the Fall Classics total? TOTAL 10 POINTS.

Some of the greatest pitchers of the era had great careers which really took place in the 1950's, to only extend to some point in the 1960's where it all ended. The three we like to cite are Robin Roberts, Warren Spahn and Early Wynn. The latter with one of the great baseball names.

Wynn toiled from 1939 to 1963 and won exactly 300 games. Five times he won 20 or more games, topping out at 23 in 1952 and 1954. Both with Cleveland. He helped the White Sox win the AL Pennant in 1959 with 22 wins and leading the AL in Games Started for a fifth time. He was 29-31 in the 1960s, finishing a great career. A total of 15 times in 23 seasons he won in double figures.

Warren Spahn was superb in the latter part of his career. From 1942 to 1965 he toiled mainly for the Braves, missing three seasons to the military. His career ended in 1965 with San Francisco. in 13 different seasons he was at least 20 games. Amazingly consistent, eight times he won 21 games. Inall he had 363 victories with 103 coming in the turbulent 1960's including what might be considered his best ever season, going 23-7, with a 2.60 ERA in 1963 at the age of 42! He pitched 259 innings that season, too.

Robin Roberts, like the other two spent most of his career in the 1950's, starting out in 1948 and lasting until 1966, winning 286 games including six consecutive 20 win seasons. After closing out the decade he went onto to win 80 games, including 14 in 1963 for Baltimore when he pitched more than 250 innings at age 36. During that amazing six season run he never started less than 37 games, 41 in a single season and three times won 23. In 1952 he was 28-7, and missed a seventh consecutive 20 win season by won game, He won 19 in 1956.

Pitchers will never see those numbers again.

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