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TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Steven Bailey of Glen Cove, NY, who correctly identified Pete Runnels as the 1963 Houston Colt 45's player who won two batting titles during his career. He won the title in 1960 and 1962 as a member of the Boston Red Sox. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card. (EDS NOTE: As many of you know Glen Cove is the home of Strat-O-Matic, of course you APBA fans wouldn't know that -- LOL)
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TRIVIA QUESTION: Gaylord Perry won at least 20 games in a season five times during his 22 year career. What was the most games he lost in one season?
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Pete Runnels was the Houston Colt 45's player who won two batting titles in his career, both with Boston; 1960 and 1962.
On May 25, 1961, in a speech before Congress, President John F. Kennedy predicted the United States would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade; the 1960's. We did that when Neil Armstrong took that Giant leap for Mankind onto the moon's surface on April 20, 1969. So what does this have to do with baseball?
Funny you should ask. It was 1963 when San Francisco Giants pitcher Gaylord Perry predicted "They'll put a man on the moon before I hit my first home run" in the big leagues. Perry's quote withstood the test of time. There are those who claim a manager said the quote, another says a player, but it has most definitely been attributed to Perry himself.
He was an outstanding pitcher who pitched into the 1980's and for eight other clubs after the Giants gave up on the future Hall of Famer. While he was, as it turned out a great pitcher, he was never much of a hitter. Throwing in the American League in the 1970's was a blessing. He didn't need to hit because the AL instituted the Designated Hitter Rule.
But
there was that prediction. A man on the moon before his first homer.
Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon on July 20, 1969 at 20:17 UTC. It was
about the same time the Giants were facing the Dodgers (who else) at
Candlestick Park. Perry was on the mound up against an old nemesis,
Claude Osteen. It was a familiar match up.
Osteen
was marvelous for a short while. In the first he retired Bobby Bonds,
Ron Hunt and Willie Mays in order. In the second he got Willie McCovey,
Jim Davenport walked and Ken Henderson bounced into a double play.
Meanwhile, Perry gave up three runs in the first and was trailing 3-0
when the third inning came around.
Hal
Lanier led off the third followed by Bob Barton and both went down
easily, bringing Perry to the plate, still homer-less in his career. He
must have been waiting for this moment because just three hours earlier
Armstrong set foot on the moon. It was Perry's first time at the plate
after the moonwalk and he promptly took an Osteen pitch deep into the
seats for his first home run ever. The prediction was sealed.
It
didn't matter what the rest of the game looked like although Perry
would resume his old ways, grounding out and then striking out twice.
The fact of the matter was, he was the Old Garylord Perry on the mound.
He went the distance beating the Dodgers 7-3, giving up seven hits,
striking out six and walking just two.
For the rest of his career, Perry despite a low average did hit five more homers over the next 12 years, including one each of the next three seasons. His final dinger came in 1981 while pitching for Atlanta. He had a career high that season batting .250. He closed out his career batting .131, with six homers and 47 RBI.
Fortunately he was paid to pitch and not to hit. Perry finished his career with 314 wins and a 3.11 ERA over 22 seasons. Neil Armstrong never went back to the moon. We're sure he remembered the day like it was yesterday. The same could be said for a fellow named Gaylord.
SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO; brillpro@gmail.com
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