1969 Padres; How Low Can You Go?

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TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Mickey Bauchan of Flint, MI, who correctly identified then number 19 as the most losses Gaylord Perry ever suffered in a single season. In fact, he was 19-19 in 1973 while pitching for Cleveland which one of our readers called "the mistake by the lake." The Prize: 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.

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TRIVIA QUESTION: Which 1969 San Diego Padres pitcher would play for another team in 1970 and record more saves in 1970 than the rest of his career of nine seasons combined?   
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Gaylord Perry was 19-19 in 1973 for Cleveland, thus the only season he lost so many games.

Expansion teams aren't supposed to be contenders right away. Most won't offer a polished pitching staff but most will hit, at least to some degree. Then there were the players of the expansion San Diego Padres. 

    (The Padres & Expos at Jarry Park in Montreal 1969)

The year was 1969 and the new San Diego team was far from it's days of Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield. Gwynn would toy with .400 at one point and offer a lifetime BA of .338. Winfield, before leaving for Free Agency, would hit 154 home runs and lead the NL in RBI with 118 in 1979.  

But that was later and 1969 was now. By the time the 1969 season had come to a close 10 Padres came to the plate and closed the season with a BA of under .200. Included was the team's starting shortstop, Tommy Dean, at .176 in 101 games (308 plate appearances). Few were far better. Starting catcher Chris Cannizzaro stuck it out at .220 while starting second sacker, Jose Arcia batted .215.

On the positive side, powerful Nate Colbert led the team in homers with 24, batting .255 while striking out 123 times (no big deal today but back then over 100 K's was a setback). Downtown Ollie Brown led the hitters at .254, adding 20 dingers, and Ed Spiezio and former Dodger Al Ferrara had double figure home run totals with 27 between them. The basic starting lineup rounded out with Cito Gaston's .230 mark.  

The Padres finished last (12th place) in nearly every hitting category in 1969 including runs, hits, doubles, walks, strikeouts, BA (.225) and every important other percentage statistic including on-base and slugging figures. They were dismal. They finished 52-110, 41 games out of first place. Only eight times did they beat an opponent by five runs or more, but lost by five runs or more 30 times!

Perhaps their season can be summed up this way. Twice they lost to opposing teams 19-0 and twice more 10-0. There were other double digit scoring losses but those embarrassments were the top of the heap for the 1969 Friars. 

The pitching wasn't much better overall but the starters were not bad. Despite losing 20 of 27 decisions 21-year old Clay Kirby finished with a 3.80 ERA. In fact, the four main starters were all under 4.00 in the ERA department. Only one pitcher who pitched any kind of innings however finished with a winning record. Reliever Jack Baldschun was 7-2. 

Of all the players on that inaugural team for San Diego, probably the only offensive player who went on to a strong big league career was Colbert. He hit 173 home runs during his MLB life. On the mound it was Joe Niekro who won 221 games in his career while losing 204. His brother Phil won 318 giving them a combined record of 540-478, which in itself is pretty amazing. 

   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. 

Gaylord Perry; "To the Moon!"

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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) 

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.

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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. 

It wasn't he was a bad hitter. He just wasn't a good one. He actually hit well in his early days. He hit .231 and .222 in 1962 and 1963. When he became a full time starter in 1964 however, the hitting became very, very secondary. That season he hit .054 with only three hits in 46 AB's. Aside from a couple seasons where he flirted with .186 and in the .155 range, he had a lot of years flirting with .100 or less. In the 1960's he never approached .200 again.

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  
 =======================================================
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 Long Relief Gamer

 

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TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Tim Fealy of Punta Gorda Fl, who correctly identified the Pittsburgh Pirates as the team Mickey Vernon played for at the end of his career. He got to play for the team which eventually would win the World Series in 1960 as the oldest player on the club at 42, the same age as manager Danny Murtaugh. He was signed for the September stretch run and got one hit in nine AB's but was not placed on the World Series roster. The Prize: 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.

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TRIVIA QUESTION: While there were a lot of great future and past hitters on the 1963 Houston Colt 45's, only one hitter won two batting titles. Who was he?   
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: The Pittsburgh Pirates were the last team Mickey Vernon played for in his Major League career, in 1960. 

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.  

        (Lee Maye of the Braves recorded this really cool song)

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.

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 American League Mets

 

FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel ! 

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Tim Nathan of Berkley, MI, who correctly identified Bill Monbouquette as the pitcher who gave up Hawk Harrelson's First Red Sox Homer. The Prize: 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.

===============================================================
TRIVIA QUESTION: With what team did Mickey Vernon play his last major league game?   
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Ken Harrelson made his Red Sox debut on August 29, 1967 and hit a home run in his first at bat for Boston in the second game of a double header. It was the Yankee pitcher Bill Monbouquette who gave up that home run.

When expansion came to the major leagues at the start of the 1960's most of the focus was on the National League where the New York Mets debuted and would go on to become the losing-est team in major league history. While the Mets were floundering in the NL, over in the AL the team representing the nation's capitol was holding court with equal risk. 

 

The Washington Senators proved to be as inept as their counterparts in government. While the Senators on Capitol Hill were struggling with a changing population and an explosion of an advancing America, the Senators on the ball field were just trying to find a way to win a game. 

In an unusual situation the two leagues expanded in consecutive years. The Senators opened their franchise playing in 1961. New York would have to wait until 1962 to see the Mets try to replace the NL Giants and Dodgers who had moved on four years earlier.

While the Mets would lose 120 games under Casey Stengel in the first season, the Senators would lose 100 under Mickey Vernon. New York was saddled with players who would never reach the plateau they so wanted in the bigs. Names such as Elio Chacon, Charlie Neal, Rod Kanehl and Choo-Choo Coleman would send as much fear into the opposing pitching staff as would the Senators Gene Green, Coot Veal, Willie Tasby and Billy Klaus.

Each team had it's fading stars. Gil Hodges, Richie Ashburn, Frank Thomas, Roger Craig and Clem Labine were big time players in the 1950's. So were Dale Long, Danny O'Connell, Dick Donovan and Mike Garcia who twice won 20 games with Cleveland. 

The fact would remain of the young players on those two rosters only two players, one from each team, would have much of a future as it were after the 1962 season. The Mets Ed Kranepool, a top and highly touted signee would only play in 17 games in the clubs inaugural season and bat .167. He would be a member of the 1969 Amazing Mets World Series winning team. Big Ed would hit .261 in parts of 18 seasons and drive 118 of his hits into the bleachers. 

On the AL side, the Senators had a 21 year-old left-hander named Claude Osteen. Osteen only pitched 18 innings, starting three games and splitting two decisions. His ERA was 4.91 but he showed promise. Signed by the Reds in 1957 he was traded in September of 1961 to Washington for Dave Sisler. He would pitch well enough for the cellar dwelling Washington club but he was a key figure in a much bigger trade in 1964.  

The Senators sent him along with John Kennedy and $100,000 to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later, Frank Howard, Ken McMullen, Phil Ortega and Pete Richert. The Dodgers sent Dick Nen (December 15, 1964) back to Washington to complete the trade. 

Osteen would go on to win in double figures nine times for the Dodgers, twice winning 20 (1969 ad 1972) and won a total of 196 games. He was a much better pitcher than his 195 losses would indicate. In the World Series he fashioned a five-hit shutout against the Twins in Game 3 of the 1965 classic.

When the dust had settled on those first seasons few players would stick around. Garcia who won 142 games in his career failed to win even one for Washington and retired after the season. Gene Woodling, Washington's best hitter at .313, was sold to the Mets halfway through the 1962 season. After the season Washington's home run leader with 18, Gene Green was traded to Cleveland in a four player deal for Jimmy Piersall. 

In New York, while Jay Hook lost 19 games, Al Jackson and Roger Craig both lost 20. Craig dropped 24, Jackson lost 20. Not to feel too bad about the opening season, Craig hung around and lost 22 the following year. Jackson would wait until 1965 to duplicate the same season with a record again of 8-20.

Mets Slugger Frank Thomas had his second highest homer total with 34, one shy of his final year in Pittsburgh in 1958. He hung around a couple more seasons while Ashburn's only season with the Mets was his last one and a good one at that. The former Phillie Wiz Kid batted .306, retired and later became a broadcaster. He even stole 12 bases at age 35. 

Through the clubs first four years the Mets would drop 452 games. The Senators during the first four years lost 407. Such ineptness may never be seen again. By the time the 1972 season rolled around the Senators would leave Washington for the friendly confines of Arlington, Texas, having never won more than 86 games. They closed out the decade in 1969 with the clubs only season where they won more than they lost, finishing with a .531 winning percentage.   

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.