Baseball in the 1960's

Sunday, August 13, 2023

The Mick or Roger? The Best of 1961!

TRIVIA WINNER: The winner of this week's trivia contest is Dennis Cympl of Wauwatosa, WI, who correctly ID'd Lee Maye as the player who released the 1964 song "The Breaks of Life."The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

TRIVIA CONTEST: By answering the TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY you are automatically entered into a weekly drawing for a Starbucks Gift Card. YOU MUST ENTER VIA THE EMAIL AT THE END OF THIS COLUMN. Please put your mailing address in with the answer so if you win we can send you the gift card in the mail.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: In what year did Mantle and Maris hang up their cleats?

There were so many phenomenal things about Roger Maris' 1961 season, to lump them all into 61* just isn't fair. When you look at the right-fielder's stat line it defies the odds. However, when compared to his slugging mate Mickey Mantle, there are fans who still argue who should have been MVP.

Maris could have hit for a higher average but Yankee brass discouraged it, choosing to get him to pull the ball for home runs into the short right field porch. That was the plan. Let the others get on base and have Maris take it deep. It was never done better, in that regard, than 1961.

Maris only hit .269 in 1961. Not much in comparison to Mantle's .317 and it should be noted The Mick did hit 54 homers compared to Roger's 61. He also missed the latter part of the season due to an injury. Let's look at what Maris really did accomplish though. Maris played in 161 games to Mantle's 153.

Maris scored 132 Runs to lead all major league players. He led the AL with 142 RBI. He led both leagues in Total Bases with 366 and of course did the same with 61 home runs, in being named the AL MVP. Let's look at what he didn't do however. He didn't strike out. He took the "K" only 67 times and added 94 walks. Mantle on the other hand struck out 112 and walked 126. He scored nearly as many runs (131) and drove in 128 Runs.

Maris was never walked intentionally (Mantle was usually batting behind him) where as Mantle drew 9 such walks. The big difference next is pretty amazing. Maris grounded into 16 Double Plays. Mantle hit into just two. And Mantle stole 12 bases to zero for Maris.

All this would lead you to believe, as many fans do, it was Mantle who should have received the MVP Award and not Maris. The voting was close, 202-198. And there in lies the bottom line.

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.
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Sunday, August 6, 2023

The Ace is the Reliever

TRIVIA WINNER: The winner of this week's trivia contest is Tom Fraser of Pittsburgh, PA who named three of the four 1969 California Angels who had sons who also played in the big leagues. We asked for three but there were four; Sandy Alomar, Clyde Wright, Pedro Borbon and Ruben Amaro. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Which Milwaukee Braves player recorded a song in 1964 called "The Breaks of Life"?

The biggest change from 1960s MLB to today's game is in the pitching department. Today a club carries half a dozen pitchers who may pitch as long as one full inning. In the bygone era of the 60s, it wasn't crazy to see a reliever go three innings. Hal Woodeschick was one of those guys who had a reputation of going even longer when needed. In fact, he was a member of the 1963 NL All-Star team most likely based on his performance in a game which took 4:46 minutes to play.

It was June 2, 1963. The "long" reliever for the Houston Colt 45's was called on to be a master of long relief and was rewarded for his efforts. The game at County Stadium in Milwaukee featured the powerful Braves and the barely born Houston club. Just over 8,000 fans packed the stadium for a club which was searching for a new home. Finishing 9th out of 10 teams in attendance the Braves would draw far fewer than a million fans on the season.

The Braves would hit 204 homers this season but this game saw none by Milwaukee which featured Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Torre and Lee Maye in their lineup along with Mack Jones. Denny Lemaster started against Bob Bruce. Both pitchers were masterful with the Colts scoring one in the second and the Braves their lone run in the third. That was it until inning no. 17. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

Bruce was masterful through 11 innings, allowing only one run on eight hits. Lemaster matched him pitch for pitch going 12.2 innings giving up only seven hits and striking out 10. He did walk seven and gave up the game's only home run to Carl Warwick.

In the 12th inning, manager Harry Craft called on Woodeschick to replace Bruce. Three times over the next six innings the Braves went 1-2-3. Only in the 15th did the ace reliever get into trouble and it wasn't his fault. Bob Uecker pinch-hit and sent a ground ball to third which aging Johnny Temple muffed. Maye grounded into a force out and advanced to second on a passed ball (Jim Campbell couldn't handle it) with Mathews at the plate. Woodeschick struck out Mathews looking, intentionally walked Aaron and got Torre to ground out. Inning over, no runs.

In the top of the 17th after Ron Piche struck out both Temple and Howie Goss, Warwick singled. Rusty Staub singled putting runners at first and second. Campbell and Al Spangler both singled driving in runs as the Colt 45's led 3-1. That was all Woodeschick needed. After a lead-off single to Roy McMillan in the bottom of the 17th, he got Maye, Jones and Mathews to earn the win.

His stat line read six scoreless innings, allowing two hits, striking out three and only one walk which was intentional. A masterful performance and what did the power hitting top four in the line-up of Maye, Mathews, Aaron and Torre do that game? They went a combined 0-24!

Woodeschick would have other solid years moving forward. This one he tossed 114 innings with 1.97 ERA. This was the first year he was converted to a full time reliever, having been a starter and swing man through out his previous big league years. Starting in 1963 he never started another game. It was worth it as he became an ace reliever, even leading the league in Saves with 23 in 1964. He retired after the 1967 season.

Monday, July 31, 2023

You Don't Mess with Andy M.

TRIVIA WINNER: The winner of this week's trivia contest is Jake Kribel of Amity, PA who knew that Willie Mays homered in the same inning ofthe Marichal-Roseboro debacle. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Three players on the 1969 Angels had sons who also played in the big leagues. Who were the ball playing dads?

The number 16 was a big factor for the 1969 California Angels. Two out of three times that number was on the losing side of the mark, but for one player it was the beginning of a solid career and a major milestone for baseball.

While Andy Messersmith came to the big leagues as a 22-year old rookie in 1968, 1969 was his break out year with the Angels. The fire-balling right-hander with electric stuff would make his mark, winning 16 and losing 11 in 250 innings. The Angels would only win 71 games that season and still finished 3rd in the AL West. Starting at Game 40 Lefty Phillips took over for the aging Bill Rigney and finished just under .500 the rest of the way.

For Messersmith it was a strange stat line as he pitched in 40 games, started 33, finished 5 and tossed two shutouts but managed two Saves as well. Over 250 innings he registered a 2.52 ERA while striking out 211, walking 100 and giving up just 169 hits. His 17 home runs was low for the time period.

Andy didn't get much support. Jay Johnstone led the team in hitting by a long shot at .270 and no one hit more homers than Rick Reichardt's 13. Hoyt Wilhelm and Ken Tatum led the bullpen but what Messersmith accomplished that season was pretty much all on him.

He would later be the key player in the case which ended baseball's Reserve Clause and opened the door to Free Agency as we know it today. Before then, despite a failed attempt by Curt Flood, every player was tied to the team that signed him and only that team.

Oh, by the way, the other two 16's for the Halo's in 1969? Both Tom Murphy (10-16) and Jim McGlothlin (8-16) owned the other no. 16's on the club's statistical roster that year. Another number was prominent in Messersmith's career; 20, which he won in two different seasons and had 19 wins in another.

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