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Tuesday, December 22, 2020

The Day an F.Robby Ruined an Oriole's Season - 1962

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TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Sean McCormack of Sparks, NV, who correctly identified Dick Selma as the 1969 Padres pitcher who would play for another team in 1970 and register 22 saves. He played for the Phillies.  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: Known mostly as a reliever, Hoyt Wilhelm was an outstanding starting pitcher too. How many career shutouts did Wilhelm have?   
 
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:
Dick Selma pitched for the 1969 Padres but went onto Save 22 games for the Phillies the following season

 If ever there was a turning point in a season it came for the 1962 Baltimore Orioles at the hands of F. Robby, and we don't mean Frank Robinson. It was Floyd Robinson, the slick fielding outfielder who patrolled the outfield for the Chicago White Sox. And it came on June 1, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. And it came at the expense of one of the games best relievers.

The Orioles only finished with less than 80 wins twice during the 1960s. It happened in 1962 and again in 1967 with the collapse of the World Champion Orioles who had both Brooks and Frank to lead the team. The 1962 version was not a bad club. They had power with Jim Gentile's 33 homers leading the way, Brooks hit 23 and batted .303 while Russ Snyder hit .305 and with Jerry Adair, Boog Powell and Jackie Brandt all hitting double figures in homers. 

The pitching was fairly solid with a young Steve Barber, Milt Pappas, Hoyt Wilhelm, Dick Hall and an aging but competent Robin Roberts. They were better than the 77 wins they recorded but the end really began on the first day of June.

The O's had never been less than 5.5 games back of first and actually spent a few days in April tied for at the top of the AL. The didn't have long losing or winning streaks but did have some in the 4-5 game range. Still they were pretty consistent. Then on June 1, 1962 they faced Ray Herbert and the White Sox. Pappas took the mound for the Birds. 

The game was uneventful with both starters going eight innings and heading into the ninth with Chicago holding a 2-1 lead.  Hall pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning but Herbert who was still in the game was tiring. After giving up a single to Gentile he was replaced by Frank Baumann. Charlie Lau sacrificed and Turk Lown came on to pitch. Two singles later the game was tied and it was Wilhelm, manager Billy Hitchcock called on as they went into extra innings. Lown stuck around.

A scoreless White Sox 10th led to trouble for Lown in the bottom of the inning. After striking out Johnny Temple, Russ Snyder doubled. An intentional walk to Brooks Robinson brought up Wilhelm. A wild pitch put runners on second and third before Lown K'd his opposite number and Lau to end the inning by striking out the side.

The top of the 11th was when F. Robby of the American League made his play. He worked Wilhelm for a walk and then promptly stole second. After Bob Farley popped out, Charlie Smith laced a single to bring Robinson home.  With Sammy Esposito at the plate Smith was thrown out trying to steal. Good thing for the O's because Esposito followed with a single and a Wilhelm knuckler got away from Lau sending pinch runner Luis Aparicio to second. The key to the inning was Smith getting thrown out as Cam Carreon struck out.

The O's went quietly in the 11th and the Sox had a 3-2 win and the O's were now six games back. Little more than week later they were 8 back and 7th in the 10 team AL. While they would get better for a couple weeks and actually move up in the standings by July 27th they were back to double digits behind the leader, 10 games off the pace. They would eventually finish the season at 77-85, 19 games back of the first place Yankees, losing their final four in a row.

Hitchcock would bring his team back in 1963 by almost identically reversing the teams 1962 record and finishing in fourth place. The O's had basically the exact same lineup as the previous year but Steve Barber turned into a 20 game winner and both Roberts and Pappas had outstanding seasons. 1963 also marked the year Wilhelm joined Robinson as a member of the White Sox in a trade which involved players who played in the above storied game.

 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, December 15, 2020

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 
 
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, December 8, 2020

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. 

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

The Long Relief Gamer

 


FOR MORE GENERAL TRIVIA CHECK OUT MY YouTube Channel ! 

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.