Baseball in the 1960's

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Ron Hanson's Triple Play & Then Some

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Augusto Medina of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, who correctly stated Howie Reed gave up the home run to Mudcat Grant in the 1965 World Series. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA CONTEST: By answering the TRIVIA QUESTION CORRECTLY you are automatically 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 if you win we can send you the gift card in the mail.

Just a note to add; If you look at the top right hand corner of the side bar you will see a link to daily sports scores. We made an agreement with Baseball 24 in a mutual sharing situation. Hope its helpful to fans of several sports.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Three of Hansen's K's came off Sam McDowell. The fourth time Hansen struck out in the game below, he was the victim of a relief pitcher. Who was the pitcher who struck out Hansen in the 9th inning of that 10-1 Cleveland win.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Howie Reed gave up the homer to Mudcat Grant in the 1965 World Series.

It was a strange week for Washington Senators shortstop and former Rookie of the Year Ron Hansen which really began on July 30, 1968. All 5937 fans in attendance in Cleveland for the night game got a rare treat and it happened right away. In what turned out to be a 10-1 blowout by the Indians, they could have left at the end of the first inning and never have forgotten that night.

(Ron Hansen discussed the triple play about 1:27 into the video.)

In the bottom of the first inning Bruce Howard gave up a single to Dave Nelson and a walk to Russ Snyder. Joe Azcue stepped to the plate and promptly smacked a line drive headed for a base hit to center field. But WAIT! The slick fielding Hansen snared the line drive for the first out, his momentum carrying him to touch second base vacated by Nelson for the second out and then with "blinding speed" (Hansen's words jokingly) he chased down Snyder and tagged him out.

It was the first unassisted Triple Play in the majors in more than 40 years and put Hansen into the record books. It would have been nice if the Sens had won the game but they didn't, dropping a 10-1 decision. Hansen would have liked to have contributed in other ways but he didn't. The shortstop struck out four times on the day (three of them coming off the hand of Sam McDowell) and he committed his 17th error on the season.

(The actual baseball used in the Triple Play sits in the Hall of Fame.)

Hitting .185 at the time, he was one of three Senators with a BA under .200 in the game. It wasn't over for Hansen by any means. Just three days later Washington traded Hansen to the White Sox for utility infielder Tim Cullen. The odd ball thing about that is less than six months earlier Hansen was traded by the Chicago White Sox with Dennis Higgins and Steve Jones to the Senators for Tim Cullen, Buster Narum and Bob Priddy.

Hansen would finish his career with a fairly respectable .234 lifetime average and 106 home runs. He would forever be in the record books though for one defensive play in 1968. Interestingly enough, Azcue, a power hitting catcher would finish his 11 year career with just 50 homers and a .252 BA. Cullen, Azcue and Hansen would all end their careers with the 1972 season.

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Monday, June 14, 2021

MUDCAT GRANT AND NUMBER 20

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Steve Wade of McKinney TX, who correctly stated Whammy Douglas had two Topps cards which is one more than seasons played in the big leagues. And several of you commented on his glass eye. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Which Dodger pitcher gave up the home run to Mudcat Grant in the 1965 World Series? (HINT: You can see it in the video below)

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Whammy Douglas had two Topps cards which is one more than MLB seasons played.

On September 25, 1965 a mere 9373 people witnessed history in the nation's capitol. And what they saw was the best a man could give in a momentous moment. Up until that day, no Black pitcher had ever won 20 games in the American League. That is until the man they called Mudcat. Jim Grant had toiled in the big leagues seven previous seasons and while winning in double figures five times he never came close to winning 20. He would never come close again.

Grant was in the perfect place at the perfect time. The Twins were laden with sluggers Harmon Killebrew, Jimmie Hall, Don Mincher and Bobby Allison. Shortstop Zoilo Versalles was having an AL MVP season matched by few at his position at the time. The Twins were dominating while the Yankees had fallen on hard times and the Red Sox were yet to be a force to reckon with in 1965.

Sitting on 19 Wins, Grant only had one nemesis in this particular game; Don Blasingame, the light hitting second-sacker for Washington who would hit .223 on the season. He led off with a walk. In the fifth inning catcher Jim French also drew a walk. In the third, usually sure handed Frank Quilici booted a ground ball at second base allowing the runner to get on board. Two ground ball outs later Blasingame blasted a double for the only hit of the game for the Senators. Grant would force batters to hit 15 ground balls. All but one were recorded for outs including a double play.

It can be surmised that if Quilici fields the ball cleanly, Blasingame never comes to the plate in that situation. No runners scored and Grant got Ken McMullen to ground out to end the inning. Meanwhile Versalles and the Twins were rocking. The shortstop banged a homer, a triple and a pair of singles for a four hit, 2 RBI day. Sandy Valdespino drove in a pair with a pinch hit and Tony Oliva plated another. Grant had singled before the shortstop came to the plate and scored on the home run.

When the dust had cleared Mudcat had faced 30 batters, three over the minimum, allowed only the one hit, walked two and struck out seven to run his record to 20-6 with a one-hit shut out of the Senators 5-0. When Willie Kirkland hit a ground ball to Quilici with two outs in the ninth and Don Mincher recorded the out at First, James "Mudcat" Grant's name was written into the record books 18 years after Jackie Robinson broke into big league baseball. Larry Doby broke the AL color barrier three months after Robinson on July 5, 1947 for Cleveland.

Grant died this past week at the age of 85. He would retire 145-119 with 54 Saves as he became a dynamite reliever. Grant was 2-1 in four World Series games (3 with Minnesota, one with the A's), and he even blasted a 3-run homer in the 1965 Series, leading the Twins in a 5-1 decision. A Series they eventually lost to the Dodgers.

Monday, June 7, 2021

Harvey Haddix Final Win

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Ken Levasseur of Amherst, NH, who correctly identified Steve Bilko as the hitter who banged the last home run of the 1961 Angels inaugural season. It came as a pinch hitter. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: How many mainstream Topps baseball cards did Whammy Douglas have?

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Steve Bilko was the hitter who banged the last home run of the 1961 Angels inaugural season.

Most baseball fans know one thing about Harvey Haddix; he pitched a 13 inning near perfect game and lost. Harvey Haddix was much more than that. From his early days as a Cardinal to the days when he was traded to Pittsburgh in a deal which brought one of the best names in baseball history to St. Louis, Haddix was special. Very few people remember one season pitcher Whammy Douglas. He had more baseball cards than years played.

Few people remember how good Haddix (known as The Kitten) really was over a stretch of 14 years. Those years included 18 and 20 win seasons. Haddix was traded four times and over the stretch of just a couple of days he was sent from one team to another and back again. On August 30, 1965 the Orioles sold him to the Braves, only to get him back three days later. Imagine how that must have felt. There is much, much more to the life of Harvey Haddix but we will focus on one aspect here.

While his first win came in the 1952 season, his last victory on July 16, 1965 was a genuine achievement. Pitching for Baltimore he was no longer a starter but a trusted reliever who performed many roles in his final season. His last start came in 1963 with Pittsburgh. In mid July, 1965 with a 2-0 record, The Kitten found himself in a tight battle with Tigers in Detroit.

Milt Pappas and Denny McLain started the contest but after three, Pappas was gone while McLain stuck around into the eighth inning. Dave McNally and Stu Miller followed Pappas. With the score tied 1-1 in the ninth, Haddix was called upon to keep Detroit at bay. The only O's run by this time was a long blast by Boog Powell.

Haddix entered the ninth and with one out issued a walk to Jake Woods. He got Dick McAulliffe to hit into a double play. That was unusual because McAulliffe rarely hit into twin killings.

In the 10th Norm Cash hit a one out double and after an intentional walk to Al Kaline, Willie Horton hit into a double play.

In the top of the 11th Brooks Robinson doubled to lead things off and then the roof fell in on pitcher Larry Sherry. Facing Curt Blefary, Sherry uncorked TWO wild pitches and Robinson came around the score to make it 2-1. The 5'9" Haddix would enter the game for the last time as a pitcher with a win on his record.

After a pair of fly ball outs by George Thomas and Don Wert, he issued a walk to Bill Freehan. Don Demeter followed with a pinch-hit single and the dangerous McAuliffe strode to the plate. As if he were back on the mound in his heyday, Harvey reached back and sent three strikes past the Detroit second sacker and the game was over. Haddix was 3-0. He would finish 3-2 on the season and his lifetime record of 136-113 with a respectable 3.63 ERA came to a close a few months later. Harvey Haddix died in 1994 at the age of 68.

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