Baseball in the 1960's: 2025

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 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: 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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Sunday, April 27, 2025

Wilbur Wood; Mr. Endurance!

TRIVIA WINNER: The 1968 Astros scored 16 runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates to achieve their highest total on the season. 10 points toward the person's total.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: In 1927 Lou Gehirg stroked 117 Extra Base Hits but still had time to lay down some sacrifice bunts. How many times did he successfully bunt? TOTAL 10 POINTS.

The decade of the 1960s must have been a blur for Wilbur Wood, and he must have thought about just hanging it up. Fortunately he didn't because it was after the decade where he became the most remarkable pitcher of his day and not without controversy.

(2013 Interview with Wilbur Wood.)

Wood came up with the Red Sox in 1961 and and after four seasons had still not won a big league game. He was 0-7 including the last two losses with Pittsburgh where he was sent in September, 1964 in a cash deal. By this time he had pitched in 39 games, tossing 104 innings and allowing 116 hits including 10 homers. Most pitchers would have given up by then. Not Wilbur. In a start and his first complete game, Wood pitched a nice game against the Braves but gave up the winning run in the ninth on a bases loaded walk to another Wood, Woody Woodward.

It was 1965 before he won his first game. It wasn't until August 29th Wood would see his name with a "W" next to it in the box score. In the 6th sixth inning and the score tied with Houston 2-2, Bob Friend allowed the first two batters to reach base. Harry Walker, the brash one, called upon the quiet man Wilbur Wood. Wood easily handled three straight hitters, Joe Morgan, Jim Wynn and Rusty Staub with a ground out, an intentional walk and a ground-ball double play.

In the bottom of the inning, Bill Mazeroski led off with a single, Jim Pagliaroni doubled him home and Jerry Lynch pinch-hit for Wood and drew a walk. The Bucs scored one more in the inning and went on to win 4-2. Wood had his first win.

One of the early cuts in spring training, 1966, Wood's wife, Sandra would later say he actually thought about quitting and he may have but she encouraged him to keep at it. With the Columbus Jets of the International League he was tremendous. He was 14-8 with a 2.41 ERA in more than 200 innings. The White Sox noticed him and sent former 19-game winner Juan Pizarro to Pittsburgh for Wood. One of the Bucs all time worst trades. Pizarro would win a total of nine games for the Pirates.

Wood meanwhile realized he needed to do something different, something bold. He'd experimented with a knuckleball while in high school. One of the best knuckleballers of all time was also with the White Sox and Wood approached Hoyt Wilhelm who agreed to help him. It changed Woods life forever. Using the weird pitch in 1967 he had a fine season, 4-2, 2.45. Then using it a lot more he broke out in 1968 the year of the pitcher and was named AL Fireman of the Year. He worked in a Majors leading 88 games, led the league in Games Finished with 46 for a 13-12 record and a 1.87 ERA. This was the start of the new Wilbur Wood.

The following season he closed out the decade strictly in relief again leading the AL with 76 games, 10-11 and a 3.01 ERA. At this point Wood had established himself and his knuckleball as one of the best relievers in the game.

However, as anyone who follows baseball knows it was in the 1970s he became a phenomenon. From 1971-1975 he never started fewer than 42 games in a season. He started 224 games during that time frame, each time either leading the AL or the Majors. He won at least 20 games for four straight years while winning 24 twice. He pitched over 300 innings each season except the last with 291. Twice he led the big leagues with 376 and 359 innings. He started 70 games on two days rest and even started both games of a double header.

He also had the dubious distinction of losing 20 twice during that span including in 1973 when he was 24-20. The latter a rare feat indeed. Wood finished his 17 year career in 1978 when he still pitched 168 innings with a 10-10 record but a 5.20 ERA. He entered Free Agency and when no one came calling he called it quits with a 164-156 record and a much fatter wallet. In 1967 when he came back to the majors he was making $12,000 a season. The year he retired he was making $140,000. Now that's progress.

Sunday, April 20, 2025

REDS vs. Astros, not many people saw this game in 1968

TRIVIA WINNER: Cy Young won 20 games only once in his career, although he won more than that a lot, but the only 20 win season was in 1900 with the St. Louis Cardinals in their first season as "the Cardinals." 10 points toward the person's total.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: While the Astros gave up 17 runs in their worst game of 1968, what was the most runs the team scored that year in one game? TOTAL 10 POINTS.

April 29th, 1968 was a date few of the 10,000 plus fans at the Astrodome will ever forget. It was a day four Astro's pitchers were pounded for 17 runs at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. Interestingly enough, the Reds did not make a position change substitution in the nine inning game.

The Reds scored four runs in the first three innings off Jim Ray but by the fourth it was all but over. That inning the Reds burst thru for a six-spot and led 10-1 after four innings. In the fourth Tony Perez tripled to drive in two and scored on another hit. The Astros never got off the ground.

Jim Maloney went five innings with Bob Lee going the final four as there was no need to waste the starting pitcher leading 11-1. Lee finished it up and the Reds destroyed Houston 17-2.

Four Reds had three hits, and Pete Rose had four. Tony Perez drove in five runs, Rose and Lee May each drove in three. Ray gave up seven runs in three-plus innings while Danny Coombs gifted three, Tom Dukes four and Don Wilson the last three.

Johnny Bench and Perez each homered and when the dust settled the Reds had 22 hits to the Astros 10. It would be hard to imagine more than a handful of hard core fans were left in this Monday night game to see the final out.