Baseball in the 1960's

Monday, February 15, 2021

Swingin' Gates Brown

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Rich Klein, of Plano, TX who correctly stated there were three players named in last week's column who went on to manage; Gil Hodges, Roger Craig and Maury Wills. 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 SO WE CAN SEND YOUR GIFT IF YOU WIN.

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TRIVIA QUESTION: When it comes to the great pinch-hitters in baseball, three of the best played for the Pittsburgh Pirates; Red Lucas, Jerry Lynch and Smokey Burgess. Which other team did all three have in common?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: The three players mentioned in last week's column who went on to manager in the big leagues were Gil Hodges, Roger Craig and Maury Wills.

Gates Brown is widely known as one of the best pinch-hitters in major league baseball history and while he did have seasons where he played a lot more than as a substitute hitter, 1968 would prove to be that magical season. It was so magical for Brown that the Strat-O-Matic Game Company chose to list one of his positions as "pinch hitter" on his game card. For SOM fans, like yours truly, this was a phenomenal achievement.

Brown was held back in the starting line-up by slugging Willie Horton. Horton's 111 homers from 1965-68 with a pair of 100 RBI seasons, was good reason to keep him in the line-up in left field. With HOFer Al Kaline patrolling Right there was no place for Brown to play on a regular basis. When he did play, oh did he hit.

Brown only started 17 games in the outfield and played one game at first base during the 1968 season. He fielded everything which came his way. At the plate he was unbelievable. He hit .370 for the season, with 34 hits in 92 at bats with 7 doubles, 2 triples and six Homers. It was in the clutch and in the pinch where he really excelled. In 49 substitute AB's he hit .450. He struck out only four times that season.

The Red Sox hated to see him come to the plate. April 11 he pinch hit a homer in the 9th for a 4-3 win, August 10, another pinch dinger against the Red Sox, August 11th in the first game of a double header his game winning homer came in the 14th inning 5-4 while in the second game he had the game winning RBI in the 9th.

Fans of the big guy remember the story of the hot dogging Gates Brown; literally. He was sitting on the bench and had gone into the clubhouse to grab a couple of Tiger Dogs. Manager Mayo Smith told him to grab a bat. Not wanting to the caught eating, Brown stuffed them into his jersey and strode to the plate.

"I always wanted to get a hit every time I went to the plate, but this was one time I didn't want to get a hit," Brown said later. "I'll be damned if I didn't smack one in the gap and I had to slide into second — head first, no less."

The result was as expected. Mustard and ketchup and smashed hot dogs and buns all over him. As you would expect the fielders and his teammates couldn't stop laughing. When asked about it later by Smith, Brown said he was hungry and where else could you eat a hot dog and have the best seat in the house?

Brown only had one at bat in the 1968 World Series, failing to get a hit. In his career, he did have other worthwhile years with 1964 being his best. He hit .272 with 15 home runs in more than 400 ABs. The following year however, Horton made his big splash and Brown sat more often, derailing what might have been a much better career. He'd finish his 13 seasons with 2545 ABs and 84 homers with a .257 average. No one will ever forget 1968 however, especially fans of SOM.

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Tuesday, February 9, 2021

It's Spring 1962 & Hope is Eternal

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Mike Mescall, of New Castle, PA, who correctly stated that Carroll Hardy as the two sport player with the San Francisco 49er's and an MLB career with several teams. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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TRIVIA QUESTION: How many of the players mentioned in the written article below (not counting the video) went on to become Major League Managers, and name them?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Carroll Hardy played a season with the SF 49er's and had an eight year MLB career with several teams.

You know what baseball fans say after the Super Bowl is over? "Pitchers and Catchers are just weeks away." Well, today it may be just days away but in the 1960s hope sprang eternal as the new fallen snow in New York said bye-bye to the players headed for the palm trees of Florida and Arizona. The Video below may tell you more than you want to know but in 1962, there was a lot of hope in the National League air.

No, as the announcer in the video said the "Giants had not won the pennant yet in San Francisco," but after starting the seasons with a five game winning streak, by May 8, 1962, they were 21-6. It was the year of the Giants who won 103 games, including that wild playoff series with the Dodgers and the pennant clincher 6-4 on October 3rd in game 165.

The Dodgers saw Maury Wills win the MVP Award while stealing 104 bases. Tommy Davis hit .346 to lead the NL in BA and drove in 153 to also take top honors in that category, Willie Mays 49 homers led the Senior Circuit. Don Drysdale led all pitchers in Starts, Strikeouts and Innings Pitched. as well as Wins with 25. Pittsburgh's Roy Face Saved 28 to top the relievers. The Cy Young Award went to Drysdale of course in what was to be his best season (if you can overlook that shutout string a few years later). He finished 5th in the MVP voting back when a pitcher could win both. Ken Hubbs was named Rookie of the Year for Chicago but only played a short time, as he was killed in a plane crash after the 1963 season.

Houston would debut with 64 wins and finish in 8th place of the 10 team league. That was because the Cubs were so bad and the Mets were basically the Mets. Houston opened the season winning their first three games, against Chicago. Pittsburgh castoff Roman Mejias led the Colt 45's with 24 homers, BA .286 and 76 RBI. It was his only good year and his only full time season. He was out of baseball after a short stint with Boston a couple of seasons later. Turk Farrell lost 20 games with a superb 3.02 ERA.

The Mets? Well, what can you say? Gil Hodges hit 9 homers in 54 games in his last full season, Roger Craig and Al Jackson lost 44 games between them (both lost at least 20) and Jay Hook lost 19. The club lost 120 games.

And then there were the Cubs. If it wasn't for the Mets, the 103 game losers would have finished in last place. Three managers and Ernie Banks 37 home runs could not right this ship.

But as we saw in the above video; it's Spring and Hope springs eternal, unless your club is basically mathematically eliminated by May 1st. And there is a big LOL on that one.

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

The Two-Sport Players of the 1960s

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Alan Drooz of San Diego, CA, who correctly stated that Hank Aaron had 21 Sacrifice Bunts during his career. . The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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TRIVIA QUESTION: Name the San Francisco 49er's player who despite just one season in the NFL, went on to an eight year MLB career with the Indians, the Red Sox, the Twins and the Colt 45's.

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: Hank Aaron had 21 Sacrifice Bunts during his career int he Big Leagues.

While there have been many players who have played in more than one professional sport there are only four men who played in both the NFL/AFL and MLB in the 1960s - playing for both during the decade. With the Super Bowl upon us, this seemed like a great time to point that out, especially considering none of them are household names.

The four were Dean Look, Rex Johnston, Tom Brown and Norm Bass.

Tom Brown is an interesting story. Signed by the Senators in 1963 as a 22-year old free agent he played in 61 games. He fielded well, not committing even one error playing the outfield and first base, but the old adage of "good field no hit" took it's toll. He batted .147, and struck out nearly half the time. He gave up on baseball and while drafted by Buffalo of the AFL, chose to sign with Green Bay of the NFL. He played six seasons with the Packers including starting at Safety in the first two Super Bowls. In 71 NFL games the defensive back had 13 interceptions and returned kicks as well, adding a punt return for a TD to his stats. He finished his career with one final season in Washington.

And then there was Norm Bass. Of the four Bass had the most impact in baseball. The promising right-hander opened his career with the Kansas City A's in 1960 by going 11-11, with a 4.69 ERA. All that belies the fact he started 23 games, completed six and tossed a pair of shutouts. Winning 11 games for a team which only won 61 and finished in 8th place out of 10 teams, was pretty spectacular. At age 22 he led the team in wins.

The following season Bass's ERA ballooned to 6.09 and while he started 10 games, pitched only 75 innings and was 2-6. He would never again achieve what he promised in his rookie season. The following season, his last in MLB he pitched in only three games and finished his career 13-17. He signed with the Denver Broncos for the 1964 season as a defensive back, and got into only one game. That ended his professional career.

Johnston was an outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1964 when he came to the plate 10 times, drawing three walks and failing to get a hit. By that time he'd already tried his hand at football. In his only NFL season, 1960, he was a return man for the Steelers. He wasn't bad but evidently didn't make the grade, despite returning 12 punts and 18 kick offs for just under 500 yards. He did have a 38 yarder.

Look's career was a short one in the Bigs, spending one season with the White Sox where in 1961 he failed to get a hit in six AB's at the age of 23. He did make contact, striking out only once. He made just as big an impression the following year with the New York Titans, carrying the ball twice for a total of 9 yards before ending his professional career.

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