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Showing posts with label 1960s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1960s. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

UECKER For the Hall - OOPS he's already there!


                   FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel ! 

 TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Rich Klein of Plano, TX who correctly identified Daryl Patterson and Pat Dobson as the two players who led the Detroit Tigers in Saves in their 1968 Championship Season. The Prize this week: Starbucks Gift Card.


NEW TRIVIA CONTEST:  IF YOU ANSWER THE TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY YOU WILL BE ENTERED INTO A WEEKLY DRAWING FOR A Starbucks Gift Card.  YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN. DON'T FORGET TO PUT YOUR MAILING ADDRESS IN WITH THE ANSWER SO WE CAN SEND YOUR GIFT IF YOU WIN.

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TRIVIA QUESTION: When the Braves traded for Bob Uecker during the 1967 season, which player did they send to Philadelphia for the future Hall of Fame broadcaster?. 
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Daryl Patterson and Pat Dobson were the two Detroit pitchers who led the Tigers in Saves in 1968.

Bob Uecker would never make the Hall of Fame for his playing days, he never managed and he certainly wasn't an executive contributor. For his "contributions," the elevation and the "fun" of baseball he certainly should be. Besides that, the lifetime part time, .200 hitting catcher who holds the dubious distinction of being in the Top 10 all time for Passed Balls in a season despite only playing 76 games, Bob Uecker homered off of Hall of Famer, Sandy Koufax.

In his later days as a broadcaster (which is why he is in the Hall), comedian, and ambassador as Mr. Baseball, Uecker often joked the homer he hit off Koufax that day could have kept the Dodger Ace out of the Hall of Fame. Not likely, but as one of the 14 home runs Uke hit in his career, it was an important one, if only for a day.

It was a beautiful and balmy July 24th evening game in 1965 when the St. Louis Cardinals invaded Dodger Stadium. The Cards were a .500 club, the Dodgers were a game up in first place in the National League. L-A's best pitcher was on the mound facing Ray Sadecki in a battle of lefties. The house was nearly full with a pair shy of 49,000 fans in attendance. It was Dodger baseball at its best. 


A pair of sacrifice flies by Lou Johnson and Ron Fairly gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead into the fifth. With two out in the fifth, Uecker approached the plate as he always did knowing he was unlikely going to get a hit. Add the blazing Koufax on the mound and Uke figured a third out was a sure bet. He couldn't have even felt bad if the Dodgers walked off the field (ala Satchel Paige) and let Koufax do it all on his own. That didn't happen, but what did happen was pure magic.

Uecker found a pitch to his liking, or maybe Koufax let one slip (nah, for fun's sake we'll let Uecker play Super Man here). Uecker took Sandy deep to left and outta here for a home run. As Uecker rounded the bases he was probably in more shock than anyone of the 48,998 fans in the park. The score was now 2-1. 

Curt Flood would later hit a sac fly to tie it up and after nine it was still tied 2-2. Don Drysdale pinch hit for Koufax and Ron Perranoski came in to pitch the 10th. A muffed fly ball by centerfielder Willie Davis brought home the unearned run and the Cards went on to win 3-2 in 10 innings. 

As it figured Uecker's home run was the only hit which drove in a run in the entire game. Three sacrifice fly balls and an error on another fly ball confirmed the other runs scored. A moment of "greatness" for Uecker? Sure why not. Although the year before he did get two hits off Koufax in a game, so maybe he had Sandy's number. Nah. 


That milestone for Passed Balls? In 1967 he caught 59 games for Atlanta and allowed 10 Passed Balls. It can be argued he was the catcher for Phil Niekro and his knuckleball. He often joked
the best way to catch a knuckleball was to wait until it stopped rolling and pick it up. That season he was traded to the Braves by Philadelphia and finished the season with 76 games played and a league leading 27 Passed Balls!

For the record Uecker hit .200 lifetime, 14 homers, 74 RBI with his best season being 1966 with Philadelphia. He only hit .208 but drove in 30 runs (almost half his lifetime total and whacked 7 of his 14 career homers. And he fielded one of his best seasons .985 allowing only four Passed Balls. Unfortunatley he only threw out 12 of 44 base runners for a miserable 27%. It wasn't his worst in that category either.

 And YES -- He still belongs in the Hall and it is a show of the best of humanity that he IS in Baseball's Shrine.

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  
 ==========================================================
Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book "Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"  for $15 Shipping Included 
 
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 book after reading this column. 
 

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Brooks the Iron Man



FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel !
 
TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Steven Tighe of Bridgeville, PA, who correctly identified Lew Krause as the Oakland A's pitcher to start the very first A's home game in Oakland April 17, 1968. The Prize this week: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST:  IF YOU ANSWER THE TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY YOU WILL BE ENTERED INTO A WEEKLY DRAWING FOR A Starbucks Gift Card.  YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN. DON'T FORGET TO PUT YOUR MAILING ADDRESS IN WITH THE ANSWER SO WE CAN SEND YOUR GIFT IF YOU WIN.
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TRIVIA QUESTION: In what year did Brooks Robinson win the MVP of the Major League All-star game? 
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: The Oakland A's pitcher who started the A's first home game in the bay area was Lew Krause. The A's opened at home in game six on April 17th, losing to Baltimore and Dave McNally 4-1
. They also lost their Road opener to Baltimore on April 10, 3-1

The fact Brooks Robinson was destined to be a Hall of Famer, is a well known fact. Few doubt he is among the best fielding third basemen ever. He was a clutch hitter and a team leader. Four times in his career he either hit above .300 or flirted with it. Six times he cranked at least 20 homers in a season in an era where 20 was considered an accomplishment. What you may not realize is that he was truly an iron man.
                         
(Brooks and Frank in the 1966 World Series)
From 1961-1968 he played in every single game of the season in four of the eight years. In 1963 he played in 161 of the 162. All five times he either led or tied for the league lead in games played. In two of those years he played in 163 games when the schedule called for 162. That in itself may be a record.

In 1961 he led the AL in at bats with 668 while in 1964 he led the league in RBI with 118. It was  his finest season batting .317 and banging 28 homers. All three were career highs. For his efforts he was voted the American League's Most Valuable Player. The team finished over .500 but fourth in the AL, 18.5 games behind the Yankees.
When 1966 rolled around and he was teamed with Frank Robinson under Hank Bauer, there was no stopping the Birds. The first World Series against the Dodgers showed complete dominance over a very strong Dodger club.

For all his cat like reactions on the field he left all of that behind on the base paths. Not built for speed he owns the record he wished he did not; hitting into four triple plays in a career, two in one season. Twice he led the league in double plays grounded into. No one said he could run, but he could field, oh how he could field. The 1970 World Series, won by the Orioles over the Reds was a Robinson clinic on fielding.

If ever there was any doubt he belonged at the top of the fielding charts for third basemen, they were erased in that series.

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  
 ==========================================================
Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book "Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"  for $15 Shipping Included 
 
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 book after reading this column. 


Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Jim Bunning = 4 X 19

FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel !
 
TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Nils Westholm, of Springfield, IL, who correctly identified Buzzie Bavasi as the General Manager of the San Diego Padres in 1969 when the team came into existence. The Prize this week: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST:  IF YOU ANSWER THE TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY YOU WILL BE ENTERED INTO A WEEKLY DRAWING FOR A Starbucks Gift Card.  YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN.
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TRIVIA QUESTION: The Pittsburgh Pirates sent two future All-Stars to the Phillies in what turned  out to be an ill-fated trade for Jim Bunning. Who were those two players? 
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Buzzie Bavasi was the GM of the new San Diego Padres in 1969 and his son Peter was the Scouting Director on a team loaded with former Dodger players and execs
.

Few pitchers in baseball history can make the claims Jim Bunning could. The future US Senator from Kentucky and baseball Hall of Famer was one of the most dominant pitchers of the 1960s. He never 20 twenty games during the decade; he did that in 1957 (20-8). He did however have four years out of five where he came as close as a pitcher can ever come; four times in five years he won 19 games. The saddest mark coming in the final stretch of 1964 (see final paragraph below).
                                (Jim Bunning's Perfect Game Final Out - K)
Bunning was an amazing pillar of consistency. From 1960-69 he only failed to win in double figures once which turned out to be the worst season of his career. It was the year the Pirates, looking to bolster a sagging starting staff to back it's Lumber Company powerhouse, acquired Bunning for four players. Bunning left them cold with injuries and was 4-14 in his only full year in Pittsburgh. The Bucs shipped him off to the Dodgers in mid-1969 where he ended with a 13-10 record.

In the 1960's he averaged 259 innings a season, 15 wins, with an ERA mostly in the 2.60 range and strong WHIP. In 1962 he was 19-10 with the Tigers. Two  years later the Phillies acquired Bunning and from 1964-1966 he was one of the top right-handers in the big leagues. In those three years he was 57-31 and his WHIP was an amazing 1.03 (approximate), winning 19 games each season.
Bunning struck out 739 batters and walked only 163, in 889 innings. He was an intimidator, leading the league four times in Hit Batsman. He plunked 45 in those three years. It wasn't as if Bunning was wild. He was calculated, pitching inside. He had amazing control while at the same time leading the league in hitting batters was pretty much "I own the plate, don't even try it." The fact he is 13th All Time in hitting batters while striking out nearly three times as many batters as he walked, showed how hitters respected Bunning, or were forced to.

Known for throwing no-hitters in each league, Bunning was dominant pretty much through all of his career. The seven time all-star spent 17 seasons in the big leagues. He finished with 224 wins and 184 losses. A total of 51 of those losses came in his final four seasons as he was playing out the string and hanging on. He still managed to 32 games during that stretch. So if you were to discount those final four years he'd have finished 192-133, or 59 wins over the .500 mark.
                                                    (REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine)
Did we forget to mention he was an outstanding fielding pitcher who four times led his league in fielding his position? In a key modern day statistic, eight times he finished in the top 10 at his position in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) and is 196th overall in the category. On top of that he served six terms in the United States Congress and Two terms in the US Senate. Bunning, who died in 2017, is the only member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to serve in the Senate.

Unfortunately, he never got a taste of the post season. The year he came closest was the 1964 Phillies collapse. In that stretch, Bunning won no. 18 but the Phils dropped the next 10 games (three losses going to Bunning) before Bunning won his 19th on the final day of the season and the Cardinals captured the NL title.
 
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  
 ==========================================================
Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book "Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"  for $15 Shipping Included 
 
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 book after reading this column. 
 

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Johnny Podres of the San Diego Padres



FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel !
 
TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Alan Beatty, of Bound Brook, NJ, who correctly identified Pete Ward as the 1964 White Sox home run leader with 23. The Prize this week: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST:  IF YOU ANSWER THE TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY YOU WILL BE ENTERED INTO A WEEKLY DRAWING FOR A Starbucks Gift Card.  YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN.
================================================================
TRIVIA QUESTION: The 1969 Padres were loaded with Dodger history including both players and executives. Who was the General Manager of the expansion Padres? 
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:
Pete Ward hit 23 home runs in 1964 to lead the Chicago White Sox in long balls.

If ever there was a pitcher whose career was more storied than successful, it was the pitching saga of Johnny Podres. When Podres stepped onto the mound on June 21st, 1969, he reached back for one last time, looking back on 15 years of Major League Baseball. It was not as a member of the historical Boys of Summer; the Brooklyn Dodgers of 1955. It was not as a member of the 1959 and 1963 World Series Los Angeles Dodgers. This time it was as a member of the pitching staff of the new San Diego Padres.

The Padres were brought into existence with the Montreal Expos in the final year of the decade and were loaded with the usual cast offs and young wannabees any expansion team is given. MLB has never been kind to expansion cities. The general feeling was "they got a team, what more do they want?' It was true.
Podres had been released by the Detroit Tigers two seasons earlier, sat out 1968 and for whatever reason was signed by San Diego in March, 1969. Maybe it was his Dodger roots (only a two hour drive from the new Padres playing field), maybe it was the nostalgia of seeing a player on the 1955 Brooklyn championship team, or maybe it was an opportunity to give a young pitching staff the expertise of a guy who'd been there and done that. Podres did go on to become the Padres pitching coach.

For whatever reason, Johnny Podres was going to the mound for one last time in a meaningless game with the Houston Astros. Pretty much every game the Padres played in 1969 was meaningless, and not much more could be said for the Astros. Houston would finish 81-81 and in fifth place in the six team NL West. The Padres would finish last in nearly every category including attendance (512,000) as they only won 52 games.
With Houston leading 4-0 manager Preston Gomez called on Podres to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning. He got Johnny Edwards and Curt Blefary easily which brought up opposing pitcher Tom Griffin. Whether he had to reach back on Griffin or whether he just faced down another pitcher, Podres struck out his opposite number and his career came to an end.

The Padres went down 1-2-3 in the ninth and that was that. At age 36 the career of John Joseph Podres was over. It was his 17th game pitched since the club signed him as a free agent exactly three months earlier. He'd started 9 games, completed one, tossed 64 innings while giving up 66 hits. He finished the season with a 4.31 ERA, striking out 17 batters.

It was Griffin's rookie season and striking out was a regular thing, 35 times in 62 AB's, and while Edwards and Blefary would go onto play into the 1970s, both were past their peak.


Podres, who was named World Series MVP in 1955 and pitched in both the '59 and '63 Series could look back on some nice accomplishments. He was named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated and Sport Magazine gave him a Corvette for his 1955 Brooklyn Series. Overall, he would compile a 148-116 record with 1435 K's and a 3.68 ERA with 24 Shutouts. His best season might have been 1961 when he went 18-5 despite not pitching his best. In 1957 he tossed six shutouts and led the league in ERA at 2.66. After retiring from the Padres, Podres would go onto be a pitching coach for 23 seasons. He passed away at 75 in 2008.

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  
 ==========================================================
Need to get out of a baseball hitting slump, or a golf swing slump? Order my new book "Beating the Slump; An athlete's guide to a better career." See it on Amazon for only $5.99. That is for the Paperback, you can also order Kindle on that link. You can also order paperback copies directly from me via the email below for my other books.

You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book "Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"  for $15 Shipping Included 
 
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 book after reading this column.