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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 25, 2020

Bizarre Boxscore Saves Face

                     FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel !

  TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Joe Smagala of Russellton, Pa, who correctly identified Dick Nen as the player to be named later in the trade which sent Frank Howard to Washington for Claude Osteen. 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 Roy Face was brought on to help the 1968 Detroit Tigers bullpen, he only pitched one inning for them. Two Tiger pitchers led the team with 7 Saves each. Name one of them. 
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Dick Nen was the player to be named later in the trade between Los Angeles and the Senators which, among other players, swapped Claude Osteen for Frank Howard.

 When generations of the future look back upon the box score of a little heralded game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves on August 31, 1968, they will little understand the magnitude of it's bizarre-ness. The box score will show two appearances by the Pirates best pitcher that season, Steve Blass. It was sandwiched around the final appearance ever for long time ace reliever, Roy Face.

Face was a local favorite dating back to his 1959 season when he was 18-1 in relief. A record for winning percentage which still stands today. At .947 The Baron of the Bullpen set a record which may never be broken. His other records have been but he still is up in the all time greats in many relief categories. When he retired after 17 seasons only Cy Young and Hoyt Wilhelm had pitched in more games. Many have surpassed him since the era of the reliever became apparent.

But on this day, it was strange. It was the last day of the transaction deadline for MLB. The Pirates were going nowhere in September (20 games back of first) and Detroit was going to win the AL Pennant. The game was in Pittsburgh with only 4671 fans in the ballpark. They were the lucky ones. They were to see something rarely seen during that time period.

Then manager Larry Shepard decided to give the fans a treat, one last look at "little Elroy," as some called him as a term of endearment. Blass started the game and got Felipe Alou to ground out to third baseman, Maury Wills. Shepard came to the mound and brought in Face to pitch for the 802nd time in a Pirates uniform and an NL Record at the time. Blass moved to left field replacing Carl Taylor. Face induced Felix Millan to ground out to shortstop Freddie Patek for the second out. 

Shepard again came to the mound, removed Face and brought Blass back to the mound. Left field would now be occupied by Manny Mota. Blass promptly gave up a double to Hank Aaron but the Braves didn't get much more. Led by a potent Bucs line-up, Blass went the distance giving up five hits for his 13th win. Patek drove in three runs, Chris Cannizzaro had three hits and the Bucs went on to score an 8-0 win. Blass could not get credit for the Shutout because Face pitched to one batter. (SEE BOX SCORE BELOW)

After the game it was announced Elroy Face had been sold to Detroit where he would pitch a total of one scoreless inning that season. He moved to Montreal for the 1969 season, his last, with a 4-2 record. That one day box score read; Blass .1 inning, Face .1 inning, Blass 8.1 innings. Rather unique and a real treat for the Pittsburgh faithful who watched Face give his all in the 1960 World Series.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Pitching IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BF GSc IR IS WPA aLI RE24
Steve Blass, W (13-5) 0.10000002.26177

0.214 0.51 3.2
Roy Face 0.10000002.601
000.013 0.58 0.1
Steve Blass, W (13-5) 8.15002502.263077

0.214 0.51 3.2
Team Totals 9 500250 0.0032154000.441 0.51 6.6

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 18, 2020

22 Shutouts the Wrong Way

                   FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel !

  TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Philip Engel, of Plymouth, MN, who correctly identified Frank Quilici as the man who replaced Bill Rigney as the Twins field manager during the 1972 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 Dodgers and Senators made the Osteen/Howard trade in December 1964, who was the player the Senators received as the Player to be Named later? 
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Frank Quilici, the light hitting former Twins infielder of the 1960's was the man who replaced Bill Rigney as manager during the 1972 season.

 The 1964 season started off on the wrong foot for the Washington Senators with a 4-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. By the end of the season on October 4th, there would be 21 more shutout losses. When it all ended the hapless, Gil Hodges led Senators would finish 37 games out of first place with the right to "look up to see down." While the 22 Shutouts in a season was far from the record of 33, it was an embarrassing year for Washington.

In that first game ace Claude Osteen (who later that year would end up in Los Angeles with the Dodgers) pitched a really good game. He tossed seven strong innings giving up just three runs. His counterpart on the mound however, Ken McBride pitched the game of a lifetime. McBride went 6.1 innings of magnificent baseball before giving way to Julio Navarro. McBride gave up one lone hit - to Osteen. It was a double to center in the third. He did walk five batters but was never in trouble until the seventh.

In the seventh inning with one out, McBride lost his control. He walked Don Lock, Ken Retzer and John Kennedy in succession. Bill Rigney had seen enough and brought in Navarro who struck out Dick Phillips and got Don Blasingame to ground out, ending the inning. That was pretty much it and the Angels went on to record their opening day win in the nations capitol before 40,000 fans.

What followed was an horrendous season for the national team. In June they lost 20 of 25 at one point, dropping 10 more games off the pace approaching 20 games back of the league leaders. No one expected the Senators to compete in 1964. They would lose at least 100 games in a season four years running. However, this was the final year of that run. Finishing 62-100. The next year they would only lose 92. 

Lock led the team in 1964 with 28 homers but hit only .241 and he struck out 137 times. Only two players bettered .270 with Bill Skowron (.271) and Chuck Hinton (.274) besting the mark. Osteen's 15 wins (15-13) were pretty remarkable when you consider the team only won 62. With starters Buster Narum, Bennie Daniels and Dave Stenhouse in the rotation this team was not going far.  Ron Kline Saved 14 to lead the bullpen.

By the end of the season ownership had had enough and sent their best pitching packing to Hodges former team. The Dodgers received Osteen, Kennedy, $100,000 and a player to be named later for Frank Howard, Ken McMullen, Phil Ortega and Pete Richert. Those players formed the foundation of a Senators team for most of the rest of the decade

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 11, 2020

Bill Rigney, the Players Manager

 

                      FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel !

  TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Brent Bourrel, of Grand Forks, BC, Canada, who correctly identified 1966 as the year Brooks Robinson was named MVP of the MLB All-Star Game. 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: Which former Minnesota Twins infielder replaced Bill Rigney as manager during the Twins 1972 season? 
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Brooks Robinson was named MVP of the 1966 All Star Game. Robinson went 3 for 4, scored a run and hit a triple off Sandy Koufax in the AL's 2-1 loss to the NL. Robinson scored the first run of the game when he came home on a Koufax wild pitch after hitting the triple. It was the only run of the game for the Junior Circuit which lost on a Maury Wills RBI single in the 10th.

If ever there was a manager who utilized his players to get the most out of them, it was Bill Rigney of the Los Angeles Angeles in 1964. While some managers such as Earl Weaver look basically at the same eight guys every day there are those like Jim Leyland of the Pirates and many others who used every player as if he was a starting player. In 1964 Rigney did the extraordinary for the day.

Of the 25 men on the roster, 13 of those Angels batted more than 200 times. Only four of them batted over 400 times. Catcher Buck Rodgers interestingly enough played in 148 games and batted 572 times. For a catcher to play that much puts them in iron man status. The infield combo of Jim Fregosi (591 AB) and Bobby Knoop (162 games played) were the team leaders.

Aging Joe Adock, the former Braves slugger showed he still had the pop with a team leading 21 homers in 366 AB.  Outfielders Willie Smith and Lou Clinton rolled into the mid 300's, while Ed Kirkpatrick, Albie Pearson, Tom Satriano, Jimmy Piersall, Felix Torres, Bob Perry and Vic Power all had more than 200 AB's with Billy Moran just under at 198.

It can be argued Rigney didn't have much to work with. The club only hit 102 homers (last in the AL) and batted a lowly .242 (8th in the 10 team league).  He still managed an 82 win season good for 5th in the American League. For an expansion team in it's fourth season this was a strong finish, even for one just two years removed from ending up in the top three teams in the AL.

And it wasn't only with the offensive players. He managed the pitchers the same way. Five pitchers started 114 of the 162 games. The other 48 were spread out among eight others. Dean Chance was the lone 20 game winner (20-13) while Freddie Newman was 13-10 and Bo Belinsky went 9-8. A total of 19 pitchers graced the mound for Los Angeles that season and Rigney made the most of them. Bob Lee led in Saves with 19 but also started five games on his way to 137 workhorse innings. 

 Team owner Gene Autry chose Rigney over Leo Durocher feeling he had the patience to develop an expansion team of young players and former greats. It worked for most of the decade. He took over the club in 1961 the first year of it's existence, and was fired after a disastrous 11-28 start in 1969. In his eight full seasons managing an expansion club, Rigney teams finished in the first division three times. He never did win a pennant, finishing first only once in 1970 managing the Twins, but losing in the playoffs to Baltimore.

Bill Rigney died in 2001 at the age of 83, having spent eight years as a player and 19 as a manager. In 1948 he was named to the NL All-Star team

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.