Baseball in the 1960's

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Score & Wynn; They Gave their All to Cleveland & Chicago

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Douglas King of Chicago, Illinois, who correctly identified the Cincinnati Reds as the team three great pinch-hitters played for; Red Lucas, Jerry Lynch and Smokey Burgess. 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: Who was the seven-time 20 game winner who took the mound after Herb Score was injured and went on to complete the game, beating the Yankees 2-1?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: The Cincinnati Reds was the common team for three great pinch-hitters; Red Lucas, Jerry Lynch and Smokey Burgess.

Two of the great pitching names in baseball had careers which channeled into the 1960s with less than spectacular endings. Both Herb Score and Early Wynn showed periods of domination on the mound and tried to carry it through to the decade of the "60s, but it wasn't to be. They can both be claimed by Cleveland and Chicago. One career a short eight seasons, the other 23 years. They were teammates for much of their careers, forever tied to each other. In Cleveland they were together from 1955-57, while from 1960-62 they hurled for the White Sox.

For Score, his story is well documented. A 20 game winner in only his second year in the big leagues finishing the first two seasons at 36-19. In the first inning a line-drive to his face off the bat of Gil McDougald, cost him much of his vision for a while and virtually ended his dominant career. Wynn took the mound the very next game. While Score did fully recover, he was never the same. Some believed he changed his delivery because he feared another such incident. Score denied it, saying he suffered an arm injury which caused him to change his delivery.

Score was so powerful he struck out 508 batters in his first two seasons. He only struck out 329 the final six seasons of his career. After the line drive he pitched three more seasons with Cleveland going 13-15 and was sent to the White Sox for Barry Latman to start the 1960 season. Never regaining his form, he was 5-10 in 1960 and 1-2 in a dozen games the next two years. He called it quits after the 1962 season and eventually wound up in the Indians broadcast booth where he enjoyed a highly praised career. He died in 2008 at the age of 75.

Early Wynn (and who could doubt that was the perfect name for a pitcher) began his MLB career in 1939 with Washington! In 1943 he was 18-12 and playing for the lovable losers in DC his record didn't get going consistently. Then he ended up in the military towards the end of WW II. Coming out of the War, he was still up and down. Winning 17 one season, losing 19 the next. Then came the change of scenery.

In 1948 he was traded by the Washington Senators with Mickey Vernon to the Cleveland Indians for Joe Haynes, Ed Klieman and Eddie Robinson. He quickly paid dividends and over the next 10 years with the Tribe he won 164 and lost 102, four times posting at least 20 wins in a season, three times winning at least 17. With Cleveland he never had a losing season until his 10th when he was 14-17 for the sixth place Indians. He still led the league in strikeouts and made the All-Star team.

The Indians shipped him to the White Sox December 4, 1957 with Al Smith for Fred Hatfield and Minnie Minoso. In 1959 at the age of 39 he led the AL in starts and Innings Pitched, winning 22 games. By the time 1960s came along he was 40 years old and NOT ready to hang them up.

Father Time has a way of changing things however and Wynn took his final four seasons into 1962 with records of 13-12, 8-2, 7-15 and 1-2. For the final season he was released and resigned by Cleveland where he ended his career. In 23 years (plus one for Uncle Sam) Wynn won exactly 300 games and lost 244. If it wasn't for the miserable years in Washington, his record might have rivaled even more of the all-time greats.

The five time 20-game winner died in 1999 at the age of 79.

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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.

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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.

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.

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