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Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Hunter Makes the Grade in Final KC Home Game



FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel !
 
TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Dave Hubert of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, who correctly identified Bobby Shantz as the former 24-game winner who was tossed in the deal for Lou Brock with Ernie Broglio. 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: While Jim Catfish Hunter as you expect started the Opening Day game for the 1968 Oakland A's, who started the first Home Game for the 1968 Oakland A's (it was not Hunter)? 
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: The Cubs sent Lou Brock to the Cardinals for a few players but mainly Ernie Broglio but few remember the Cubbies also got former 24 game winner Bobby Shantz in the deal. Shantz, who won 24 years earlier with Philadelphia never came close again in his career
.

The final game the Kansas City Athletics ever played at home showed off what the future would hold for a future Hall of Famer. Jim Catfish Hunter took the mound on September 27, 1967 before a robust crowd of the faithful in Kansas City's Municipal Stadium against the Chicago White Sox. Only 5,325 people showed up to say good-bye to Charlie Finley's A's who would move on to Oakland after wrapping up the season on the road against the Yankees in New York. But this day belonged to the Hunter.
                                    (Jim Catfish Hunter at his Best)
Backed by a line-up of guys who at the time were less than spectacular at the plate, Hunter had to be at his best and he was. With lead off man Ted Kubiak carrying a .149 average to the plate along with John Donaldson, Mike Hershberger, Ramon Webster, Rick Monday, Jim Gosger, Sal Bando and Phil Roof, Hunter knew runs would be scarce. While Monday and Bando would go on to have "careers," the others were like the fifth card in a poker hand when you have four Aces. They were place holders.
The Catfish didn't allow a hit until the fifth when Ron Hansen singled. Don Buford singled in the 6th and Tommy McCraw doubled in the 7th. Aside from walks to Buford and Ken Berry, that was it for the White Sox. When Tommie Agee, Ken Boyer and McCraw weekly hit the ball into the air for outs in the ninth, it was all over in KC.

Fortunately, the A's bats came into play. And it was Jim Hunter who got it started. Facing a scoreless duel between himself and Sox Ace Joel Horlen, Hunter led off the 6th with a single. Kubiak singled and Donaldson singled home Hunter who was running for all he was worth to score any run. It was 1-0. That would have stood up, but the A's were inspired.
After Hershberger grounded out moving up the runners, Webster singled in two more, 3-0. Knuckle-baller Wilbur Wood replaced Horlen to face Monday. Monday hit a ground ball to second which Buford muffed. Gosger singled but Ken Berry, playing right field this day instead of center, rifled a throw to the plate to cut down Webster to save a run.

Bob Locker replaced Wood and sent a pitch which the catcher could not handle for a passed ball and Monday scored the unearned run to finish the scoring at 4-0. And it all started and ended with Jim Catfish Hunter. Make no mistake about it, the A's finished 62-99, 29.5 games out of first and last in the American League but their last game in KC was one of their best.

Hunter would complete the shut out to go 13-16, striking out two, walking two and allowing only three hits. He would lose the final game of the season for the KC A's, the final game ever for the KC A's, a few days later in New York, 4-3. He finished the season 13-17. He would go on to win 131 more games with the Oakland A's, reeling off four straight 20 win seasons, before signing with the Yankees and winning 23 in his first season there.

Hunter would finish 224-166 with a 3.26 ERA in an even 500 games. His lifetime WHip was 1.13 which is pretty solid. the Hall of Famer died in 1999 at the age of 53 of Lou Gehrig's Disease.


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 
 
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Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column. 


Tuesday, July 21, 2020

1963 Cubs: Lovable Losers Crazy Season


FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel !
 
TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Tim Nathan of Berkley, MI, who correctly identified Woody Fryman and Don Money as the future All Stars Pittsburgh send to Philadelphia in the Jim Bunning trade. 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 Cubs traded Lou Brock to the Cardinals in a six player deal mainly for Ernie Broglio. However, few remember the Cubs also got a former 24 game winning left handed pitcher in the deal. Who was he? 
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: The Pittsburgh Pirates sent future All-Star players Don Money and Woodie Fryman to the Phillies in exchange for 19 game winner Jim Bunning in a trade which did not work out for the Bucs
.

After 16 straight losing seasons the Chicago Cubs became an enigma of sorts when they finished the 1963 season over .500. Oh, don't be wowed too much. After finishing with an 82-80 record the Cubs would go on a losing streak again for the next three years before finally turning things around and becoming winners. Still, they finished 1963 as winners but were 7th out of 10 teams in the National League, 17 games out of first place.

The season was an enigma because the man who had for so long led the Cubbies had his worst season. Ernie Banks, now playing first base, finished with only 18 homers and a .227 average, limited to just 130 games. On the other hand, starting pitcher Dick Ellsworth had his best season. Ellsworth went 22-10 with a 2.11 ERA and never again even came close. He never won more than 16 in any other season.

Ace reliever Lindy McDaniel picked up 13 wins and Saved 22 in 56 games (88 innings). After Ellsworth no Cub regular starter finished .500. Larry Jackson at 14-18, and Bob Buhl, 11-14 handled the bulk of the starts. The rest of the starters and bullpen were so-so at best.

The club did shine with the bats of two sluggers. Billy Williams and Ron Santo stood out while Banks slumped. They each belted 25 homers and approached 100 RBI. Santo had 99 while Williams drove in 95. Santo hit .297, Williams clocked .286.

It was the year two other players served the Cubs for such a short time. Ken Hubbs, the second baseman who would be killed in a plane crash in the off season was on the verge of stardom at second base, while Lou Brock was set to break out. The 24 year old Brock would lead the team in stolen bases on his way to the Hall of Fame with 24 and a .258 average. Hubbs hit .235 and would participate in 96 double plays at second base. He was just 21. The 1963 season was his second full year and his last.
The 1963 season was Brock's last full year in Chicago before being traded to St. Louis after 52 games into 1964 for Ernie Broglio in one of the most famous "bad moves" ever made in baseball history. Batting only .251 when the trade happened, Brock hit .348 the rest of the way for the Cards.

The Cubs did have some of the best "utility" players in the business but it just proved you can't win with just a bunch of guys who are pedestrian at best, but capable of playing multiple positions. Andre Rodgers, Jimmy Stewart and John Boccabella were three guys who would be valuable on any club. Having all three was not an advantage for the Cubbies or manager Bob Kennedy.

However, they never lost more than six straight but never won more than six straight and never, ever led the NL during the season. The sad thing is even the lovable Cubs failed to draw a million fans, with just over 979,000. It was the year after the rotating manager situation and Kennedy got the full time gig. As for GM John Holland who traded Brock - he stuck around for a number of  years after that. Cubs fans never forgave him.

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.
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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.