Hoping for Hutch; 1964 Reds + TRIVIA + TRIVIA

SPECIAL NOTE: You may see a Trivia Video at the top of the column occasionally. It is my YouTube Channel Daily Trivia Contest which I invite you to view and even subscribe and Like. The regular column is still here and will continue to be. The Mobile Version is a little different but the column is there as well. Thanx!

FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel !
 
TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Tim Nathan of Berkley, MI, who correctly answered the trivia question about who the Yankees got in trade for Clete Boyer. It was Chi-Chi Olivo and Bill Robinson. He was then was selected in a random drawing. This week is a new week and a new Trivia Contest. The Prize this week again is a 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, SO PLEASE READ ON. With the shelter in place orders its been difficult to get out to Starbucks and get the Gift Card but I will send them very soon.

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TRIVIA QUESTION:  Joe Nuxhall, until then the youngest player ever to play in the big leagues spent almost his entire 16 year career with the Reds. What other two teams did he play for?  
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: In the trade which sent Clete Boyer to Atlanta the Yankees got two players in return;  Chi-Chi Olivo and Bill Robinson.

The Cincinnati Reds in the 1960s were known as good hitters and decent pitchers but in the 1964 season when they almost won the pennant it was pitching which carried them.  While Frank Robinson led the club with 29 homers, he was the only regular over .300 with a .306 BA. Vada Pinson had 23 and Deron Johnson 21, but the team only batted .249, scoring 660 runs and finishing in the middle to bottom of the pack in almost every statistical category. That is except two; pitching and speed. They were second in stolen bases with 90, and on the mound they were first in fewest runs allowed and second in ERA with an amazing 3.07. Even more amazing was the WHIP, which we barely noticed back then. The walks and hits per inning pitched was a major 1.17!

It was a team Fred Hutchinson helped build and it was the last team the beloved manager would call his. Hutchinson had been diagnosed with cancer before the season started. The players knew it was probably his last hurrah.

While Tommy Harper with 24 and Robinson with 23 led the team in steals, the rest were spread around. They had team speed with Pinson who scored 99 runs, Pete Rose and super utility guy Chico Ruiz. Rose in his second NL season batted only .269.

The starting pitching was strong. Jim O'Toole (17-7 2.66) and Jim Maloney (15-10 2.71) both pumped out over 200 innings. Bob Purkey and Joey Jay each won 11 with ERA's under 3.40. 

However, it was the bullpen which made this team shine. Future starter Sammy Ellis tossed 122 innings and only started five of his 52 games. He went 10-3 with a 2.57 ERA. Toss in Billy McCool 2.42 and Ryne Duren 2.89 and you would have had a formidable pen leaving it at that. That does not account for the one wild card. In 36 games Bill Henry only tossed 52 innings but what innings they were. He only allowed 31 hits and finished with a 0.87 ERA and 0.82 WHIP!

The club was 60-49 when Dick Sisler took over for Fred Hutchinson and took the Reds down the stretch with a 32-21 record. They would finish just one game behind the Cardinals in the year of the Phillies collapse.  Sisler took over when Hutchinson was forced to step down due to a battle with cancer. The beloved Hutch would pass away in November of the same year.

From September 16-27 the Reds were on fire while the Phillies were collapsing. Cincinnati won 12 of 13, capped off by a double header win over the Mets. With five games left they controlled their own destiny, and were in first place by a game. 

Then it happened. The Pirates Bob Friend beat them 2-0 on an 11-hit shutout with Bucs second sacker Bill Mazeroski driving in both runs. They were still tied for first. The following day it was a 16-inning affair with Pittsburgh with Donn Clendenon doubling followed by a single by Jerry May to drive in the games only run 1-0. Maloney and Bob Veale battled it out into the 12th inning before giving way to relievers. 

The loss left them a game back with three left.   It was a 5-4 Reds win the next day but Cincinnati could not pull off anything in the final two, losing a pair to the Phillies who needed the wins. It was 4-3 and then a 10-0 embarrassing loss to Jim Bunning in the final game. It was over. The team was hoping to win it for Hutch but it wasn't to be. The Cardinals would take it and go on to beat the Yankees in the World 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. 
 

Bob Brill's Trivia Party Volume 0008

Unheard of NY Yankee Season + TRIVIA

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to John Rollins of Jasper, Alabama, who correctly answered the trivia question and then was selected in a random drawing. He correctly answered that Bill White was the third 1964 St. Louis Cardinal to bat .300 or better behind Lou Brock and Curt Flood. White hit .303 with 21 homers and 102 RBI. This week is a new week and a new Trivia Contest. The Prize this week again is a 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, SO PLEASE READ ON. With the shelter in place orders its been difficult to get out to Starbucks and get the Gift Card but I will send them very soon.

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TRIVIA QUESTION:  After the 1966 Season Clete Boyer was traded from the Yankees to the Braves. What two players did New York get in return?  
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: There were three regulars who batted .300 or better during the 1964 Cardinals season. Lou Brock, Curt Flood and Bill White was the third batting .303.


When you read the title "Unheard of NY Yankee Season" I'm sure you thought of some of those great Yankee teams of the past. It wasn't my intention to disappoint you but the unusual fact is during the 1966 season, the New York Yankees did not even spend ONE DAY in first place. It was a time of hard transition for the former Bronx Bombers.

                                              (The highlight of the "1967" Season)
They lost Opening Day 2-1 before 40,000 plus as the Tigers Mickey Lolich outdueled the aging Whitey Ford. They never looked up again, losing nine of the next 10 games and when the dust had settled on the 1966 season, the Mighty Yankees were in last place. They were 26.5 games behind the World Champion Baltimore Orioles at 70-89.

It was a strange year to be sure. Johnny Keane piloted the club for the first 20 games and lost 16 of them before Ralph Houk was brought back to manage the club. Houk's club never recovered going 66-73. They were shutout 13 times, while shutting out opponents in seven games.

While Joe Pepitone led the club in homers with 31, an injury plagued Mickey Mantle still held sway. At 34 he led the club in batting .288 with 23 homers in just 108 games with 333 AB. It was  his lowest AB total and his worst season since his rookie year of 1951. He would rebound in 1967 to play a full season and be the Mick once again, but 1966 was a disaster for the switch-hitter and everyone who followed New York. No one else on the club bettered .266.

On the mound it was a young pitching staff in transition. Ford was at the end of his career and while he would pitch again in 1967, he was through. In '66, despite being the opening day starter, he was used mainly in relief and while he had a respectable ERA (2.47) he would finish 2-5 in only 73 innings. In the opener he looked like the old Ford going 8.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk. Three of those singles came in the ninth as the Tigers scored the winning run.

The other starters were all 27 years old or younger, led by Mel Stottlemyre who lost 20 games in 32 decisions. Fritz Petersen was 12-11, Al Downing was 10-11, Fred Talbot was 7-7 and Jim Bouton, who at 27 was the oldest of the young starting corps, was 3-8 but led the starters in ERA with 2.69. 

Reliever Dooley Womack burst on the scene  as a rookie with a 7-3 record in 75 innings and four Saves. Pedro Ramos took the lead in Saves with 13 but Womack moved to the forefront in 1967. There were other highlights. Stan Bahnsen arrived at age 21, Roger Repoz looked solid batting .349 in 37 games. Horace Clarke and Roy White came into their own as well as a kid named Bobby Murcer who would eventually take over for Mantle in center-field.

Murcer had to take two seasons off for the military during the Viet Nam era and other players took their turns doing weekend duty with the National Guard. It was a common occurrence in the mid-1960's with the war in southeast Asia raging.

The end was near though for those familiar names in 1966. Clete Boyer would end up in Atlanta, Roger Maris would move on to St. Louis, Elston Howard would finish his career with the hated Red Sox and Bobby Richardson would call it a career.

Some of the other older players who made the season one to forget in New York who were on the roster that year were Bob Friend, Dick Schofield, Hector Lopez, Billy Bryan and Ruben Amaro. The following season, New York moved up to 9th place but the club was ready to improve with some really good players making strides. The mid 1960's were not what Yankee fans wanted to see, but the players were still fan fav's.

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. 
 

The Black Sox Died in the 1960s + TRIVIA

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Mark Hutchinson of Greendale, WI, who correctly answered the trivia question and then was selected in a random drawing. He correctly answered that Mario Mendoza (known for the Mendoza Line) smacked a total of 4 home runs in his career. This week is a new week and a new Trivia Contest. The Prize this week again is a 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, SO PLEASE READ ON. With the shelter in place orders its been difficult to get out to Starbucks and get the Gift Card but I will send them very soon.

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TRIVIA QUESTION:  The 1964 St. Louis Cardinals had three starting players who hit .300 or better. Lou Brock, Curt Flood and who was the third one?  
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Mario Mendoza's lifetime BA was only .215,  and his lifetime home run total was FOUR.

When the decade of the 1960s ended so did a key cog in baseball's darkest hour. In 1969 Eddie Cicotte passed away at the age of 84 in Detroit. He was probably the most important of the players charged with throwing the 1919 World Series as the White Sox were then labeled the Black Sox. Cicotte won 29 games that season and his story is well documented. But there is more to the story most people miss.

Gamblers approached players Chick Gandil and Swede Risberg who agreed to reach out to several other players. Gamblers, headed by Arnold Rothstein arranged to pay eight players to fix the series so the gamblers could bet heavily on the under dog Cicinnati Reds. 

Eventually there was a trial, the players were acquitted but newly named Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned them from baseball. The controversy continues to this day. What most people don't know is that 10 players were actually banned, not eight. And all but one of the eight Black Sox played for the White Sox in the 1920 season, they all got raises from the previous year and nearly all had great if not better seasons, plus the club won more games in 1920.

The other two players who were banned, who are rarely if ever talked about were Hal Chase, a long time player who was also a well known "fixer" of games and associate of gamblers. Playing for the New York Giants, helped put the gamblers and the players together and was banned for life. Joe Gedeon was a player with the St. Louis Browns and an acquaintance of Sox shortstop, Risberg. Risberg tipped him off before the Series an Gedeon bet heavily on the Reds. Landis banned both Gedeon and Chase for life with the eight Black Sox.

Rumors spread during the 1919 World Series that a "fix" was in and Cicotte and pitcher Lefty Williams who won 23 games were the keys. The gamblers also wanted Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackson was reluctant and even went to owner Charlie Comiskey to ask to be taken out of the line up before the series started so his name could not be associated with the fix. Comiskey refused even when Jackson told him of what "might" be happening. There were event reports Jackson tried to give the money to Comiskey. Jackson had a great series, hitting the only homer.

Comiskey put it in Cicotte's contract that if he won 30 games he'd get an extra Ten-thousand dollar bonus. With a week left Cicotte had 29 wins. Comiskey told manager Kid Gleason to rest Cicotte for the Series. In his final game Cicotte was taken out in the third inning with a lead. It assured the team Cicotte would finish with 29 wins, not 30. When Eddie went to the owner to try to get the money, he was told "no." It angered Cicotte and made him the perfect dupe for the gamblers.

Cicotte was ordered to hit the first batter he faced in Game One if the "fix" was on. He did, hitting Reds second baseman, Morrie Rath. He was later remorseful and tried to win but the plans were laid out too well. Gamblers threatened the lives of Williams' family and when the final game was on the line, Lefty Williams made sure the Reds were going to win. 

The year 1920 was one of the most important years in American history. Women got the right to vote, Prohibition was in full swing, terrorists attacked Wall Street killing 38 and injuring 200 more in what at the time was the worst act of terrorism on US soil. The New York Yankees were playing the White Sox in Chicago that day. Imagine the reporters upon getting the news on the AP Wire, running down to interview the Yankees. Something else happened that year; Babe Ruth saved the national past time, belting 54 home runs. No one had ever come close. One reason was the owners decided a new ball was to be put in play more regularly, so a "live" ball was now in play nearly all the time. It was also the year Ray Chapman was beaned and killed during a game and it was the first time ever games were played in the newly formed Negro League. Few people were paying as much attention to the Black Sox until near the end of the season.

In 1920, Gandil wanted a $10-thousand dollar raise. Comiskey said no and Chick retired to California. It is believed he took the bulk of the money with him. He would come back later for the trial in 1921. The other seven players got raises including Happy Felsch whose salary about doubled for the year. Suspicion was cast upon Comisky who many wondered why he would give raises to players who cheated? Was it to throw suspicion off himself not for the fix, but for being a cheapskate owner?

The 1920 season was coming to a close but with three games left in the season and the Sox trailing the AL leading Indians by only a couple of games, they had a shot to return to the Series. AL President Ban Johnson had told a reporter he was totally against the Sox going back. Most speculated the scandal would come up again if they did.

Then the unthinkable happened. One of the gamblers told a newspaper reporter his version of the fix and three days before the end of the season the story broke. Cicotte decided it was time to fess up and he went to Comiskey's lawyer and turned himself in, telling the whole story eventually to the Grand Jury. It is believed while he mentioned Jackson and Buck Weaver, he did not implicate them directly as taking money and throwing games.

Comiskey had no choice but to suspend the seven players with three games remaining and the Sox were done. On September 27, 1920 the seven played their last game in the big leagues. A year later they were acquitted in a trial of any wrongdoing, but it was well known most of them were guilty. Commissioner Landis made his decision and they were banned for life. Below are their stats from 1919-1920.

                                1919              1920

Eddie Cicotte          29-7             21-10
Lefty Williams        23-11           22-14
Joe Jackson             .351              .382
Buck Weaver           .296              .331
Swede Risberg         .256              .266
Happy Felsch          .275               .338
Fred McMullin        .294              .197
Chick Gandil           .290       (Retired-did not play)

Team                      88-52           96-58
 
If you were to ask most historians about the series today, it's pretty much assured they don't think Weaver and Jackson did anything to throw the series. Gandil, Risberg, Felsch and Williams were as guilty as they come. Cicotte was too but had an epiphany during the series and tried to correct his errors. He even spent an entire sleepless night throwing up over his involvement during the series. McMullen didn't have much of a chance although it is believed he was definitely in on it. As for Chase, he should have been banned long before that and Gedeon probably deserved less punishment but Landis was harsh.
 
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. 

Almost Home-r-less Woody Woodard + TRIVIA

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Dan Taguchi of Los Angeles, who correctly answered the trivia question and then was selected in a random drawing. He correctly Gil Hodges as original New York Met went on to manage the Washington Senators finishing a five season run without a winning record. This week is a new week and a new Trivia Contest. The Prize this week again is a 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, SO PLEASE READ ON. With the shelter in place orders its been difficult to get out to Starbucks and get the Gift Card but I will send them very soon.

==================================================================
TRIVIA QUESTION:  Famous for the "Mendoza Line" with a lifetime .215 batting average, how many career home runs did Mario Mendoza hit?  
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Gil Hodges was the original New York Met who went on to manage the Washington Senators for five seasons without a winning record. Of course he did manage the Mets to the 1969 World Series title.


Few position players who reach the major leagues and stay for "a career" ever go through that entire career without hitting a home run. Woody Woodward was that guy; almost. When Woodward broke into the big leagues in 1963 with the "then" Milwaukee Braves no one figured him to break Babe Ruth's records or even challenge teammate Henry Aaron. He was known as a decent field-no hit infielder in a group of lesser fielding players who were on the team rotating around the second sack.

Mike de la Hoz, Frank Bolling, Denis Menke, Sandy Alomar and Roy McMillan. None of them would drive fear into opposing pitchers and none of them, save McMillan possibly, would hold out hope for a gold glove. Woodward himself would fit right in. Between them in 1964 they would smack 24 home runs. Twenty of them by Menke. The 1960's Braves could hit with the likes of Aaron, Joe Torre, Felipe Alou, Eddie Mathews and at times players such as Rico Carty, Mack Jones and Gene Oliver. Hitting was not their problem and even the pitching was at times outstanding.

On the mound they had stalwarts such as Tony Clonigar, Denny Lemaster, Wade Blasingame and an aging Warren Spahn. These Braves were good but what they lacked was that strong middle infield duo to back the pitching and get on base ahead of the hitters. They traded for players, they worked the farm system and really nothing much happened.

Woodward himself was a sort of strange case. He was adequate in the field. As a hitter he was serviceable. Dependable probably is more the word Braves fans might use to describe him. The interesting thing about Woodward though was his lack of power. He spent the 1960's without a home run.

In 1964 he batted 123 times without a dinger. Forgivable since he really was a rookie getting his feet wet. The following season he played in 112 games and came to the plate 280 times. Still no homers. In 1966 he became  a regular, playing in 144 games and reaching his lifetime best 516 plate appearances. Of his 26 extra base hits that season, none left the park. The following year, 1967 at age 24, it was pretty much the same scenario. Limited to 80 games in 1968 the Braves sent him to Cincinnati who needed an infielder and thought Woodward would be their guy. No home runs there either. When 1969 rolled around he would close out the decade playing in 644 games and still never leaving the park.

WoodyWoodward has spent nearly the entire decade of the 1969's, seven seasons and 1825 plate appearances without ever hitting a home run. Today, in the days of launch levels and "lift" he may not even make the major league club; any major league club.

Then on July 10, 1970 after nearly 2000 trips to the plate,  he would hit his first and only home run. Ironically it came as a two run shot off Ron Reed of the Atlanta Braves, the team which he played for until two years earlier. Woodward would say afterwards "If I hit one home run for every seven seasons, it will take me 4,998 seasons to catch babe Ruth."

In a nine year career Woodward would play in 880 games and hit .236 with the lone home run. His slugging percentage would come down to .287.

While Woodward was never the Babe Ruth of anything he did end up being a pretty good general manager. Early in his GM career he didn't last long with the Yankees or the Phillies, but as head of the Seattle Mariners he took the team to the playoffs in 1995 and 1997. During that time he drafted Alex Rodriguez, Jason Varitek, Bret Boone and Derek Lowe. He also acquired Randy Johnson from Montreal. He also traded away David Ortiz who became of the greatest clutch home run hitters in baseball. Then again, Woody Woodward never did know much about home runs.

 
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.