Baseball & Viet Nam

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to  Tim Fealy of Punta Gorda, FL, who correctly stated the 1961 NY Yankees were the only team to win the World Series in the decade and to lead the league in wins. They had 109. 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:  Of the seven players who went to war mentioned in the "last" paragraph of this column, five of them played in a World Series, however only two sets of them played in the same Series and against each other. Who were these players? And you can name either pair.
 
ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: The 1961 Yankees won 109 games during the season and were the only team to win that many games and the World Series in the decade.

IN HONOR OF VETERANS DAY WE EXPLORE BASEBALL & VIET NAM IN THIS ISSUE.

As we honor military veterans it is pretty amazing when you realize of the 58,000 Americans who lost their lives in Viet Nam, none were major league players, and only one was wounded.

In previous decades many star players lost years of their careers to military service, in war and peace times. Ted Williams, is most prominently mentioned in this group along with Christy Mathewson in World War One. However, Viet Nam posed some different scenarios. Going into the military wasn't the "hero" thing it was in either of the World Wars or the Korean conflict. Many young players who could have signed contracts and played in the minors chose to avoid the draft and flee the country. Others chose to go to war, while still others took a different route; the National Guard. 

                  (The only MLB player wounded in Viet Nam.)

A player could choose to join his local Guard and do service monthly, or on weekends stateside. Among those who chose this route were budding stars Gene Alley of the Pirates, Tony Conigliaro, Jim Lonborg and Dalton Jones of the Red Sox. Glenn Beckert, Don Kessinger, Paul Popovich of the Cubs were among the many who spent stints in the Guard during the season. The Red Sox won the pennant in 1967 despite losing players for extended games. We would listen to games on the radio and hear Bob Prince say "and Gene Alley won't be at shortstop today as he's doing a stretch of duty with the Guard."

         (Bobby Murcer was drafted during the Viet Nam war.)

The Congressional report released in April 1967 showed that 145 pro baseball players were serving in the National Guard or Reserve to successfully avoid the draft. The Draft didn't miss all players. The Yankees Bobby Murcer was drafted which changed his career drastically. An up and coming shortstop, when he returned to play full-time he was switched to centerfield. Even Nolan Ryan was a Reservist.

Some players only made the majors because of the Guard. Players who got their break during the Viet Nam war and were rushed to the big leagues included Ken Poulsen, Norm Gigon and Len Boehmer. Pitcher Darold Knowles was activated and served his time in a support role in Japan.

(Arrived in MLB due to Viet Nam war.) 

During the summer of 1968 there were several casualties in Vietnam among minor-league players. Dell Chambers and Chuck Chase were both killed in action. Among those wounded, Roy Gleason was the only former ballplayer who had once appeared in a major-league game. The Dodger player appeared in eight games in 1963.

There were several others who had their careers interrupted by going to war, not doing guard service or moving to Canada. Jim Bibby, Al Bumbry, Ed Figueroa, Chuck Goggin, Bob Jones, Garry Maddox and Carlos May. Bibby made his MLB debut in 1972 and won 111 games, Maddox also arrived in 1972 went on to hit more than 100 homers and had a career BA of .285. After his 1972 debut Bumbry would go onto 14 years in the Bigs with a .281 lifetime average, arriving in 1974 Figureroa would win 20 games in 1978, May came back in 1968 and spent 10 solid years in the majors with a .274 BA and 90 homers.

TRIVIA CONTEST; After reading this column you can enter the weekly trivia contest for a chance to win a Starbucks Gift Card. Enter via the following email. Send 1) your answer to the trivia question at the top of the column, 2) your name, address and email so where we know where to send the card if you win 3) any comment you have on the column. One winner will be selected at random each week based on correct answers with the odds being based on the number of correct entries.  Please cut and paste or enter the following email into your email system.
                             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.      

 

 

 

Total Dominance; the 1966 World Series

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Scott Hitchcox of Portage, Michigan, who correctly stated that six pitchers who were 20 game winners going into the 1969 Playoff Series'. They were Mike Cuellar, Dave Boswell, Jim Perry, Dave McNally, Phil Niekro and Tom Seaver. 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.

===============================================================
NEW TRIVIA QUESTION:  Which World Series winning team in the 1960s won the most regular season games and how many?
 
ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: There were six 20 game winners pitching in the 1969 NL and AL Playoff series. In the AL there were four; Mike Cuellar, Dave Boswell, Jim Perry and Dave McNally, while on the NL side were Phil Niekro and Tom Seaver.

It is time for the Fall Classic so we are looking back at 1960's Fall Baseball. 

There were six World Series in the 1960s which went the full seven games but the biggest shocker (minus the 1960 Series) was the Orioles stunning four game sweep of the Dodgers in 1966. Three years previous Los Angeles had swept the Yankees in what would be New York's final World Series until 1976 or a 13 year drought. 

The 1966 season was one of real transition. The Reds, who had traded Frank Robinson to the Orioles for Milt Pappas, lamented everyone of Robinson's 49 homers as he won the Triple Crown and the MVP in leading the O's to the Series. And every game Pappas missed due to a laboring arm didn't help. It would be the last Series for Sandy Koufax who retired after game four. And it was Don Drysdale's final trip to the Series as well.

The key to the four game sweep by the O's over the Dodgers was timely hitting, inept Dodger fielding and great pitching - by the Orioles young guns. The Dodgers scored two runs in game one losing 5-2. They didn't score another run in the Series. Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and Wally Bunker each pitched 9-inning shutouts and Moe Drabowsky pitched six innings in relief giving up just one hit to gain the Game One victory. In his only appearance in the Series the relief ace struck out 11 batters in six innings including six in a row at one point.

L-A scored two runs on 17 hits and only one homer. Jimmy Lefebvre knocked the only Dodger dinger for a club which had a few sluggers.  Frank Robinson hit .286 and slugged a pair of homers for the O's including a game winner. He knocked in more runs (3) in the Series than the entire Dodger team. It was such a dismal showing one of the key highlights is the ineptness of Willie Davis. The Dodger center fielder made three errors on two consecutive plays in Game Two.

Dodger pitching was solid as usual. Claude Osteen and Don Drysdale each lost 1-0 affairs while Sandy Koufax lost 6-0 in game two. Drysdale started and lost Game One. The Dodgers batted an anemic .147. Rookie starter Don Sutton, a 12 game winner, never got into the series.

The Series was the end of the road for several Dodgers. Koufax and Jim Gilliam retired after the series as did Dick Stuart and Wes Covington. Maury Wills, Lou Johnson, John Kennedy and Tommy Davis were traded and several more would be gone the following season.  Names such as Ron Hunt, Ken Boyer, Billy Grabarkewitz, Billy Sudakis and Paul Popovich would replace them along with Bill Singer.

The Birds would fly high for a few seasons returning to the Series in 1969, 1970 and 1971. They beat the Reds in 1970, pounding the Big Red Machine. They lost to the Amazin' Mets in 1969 and the Pirates in 1971. It was Roberto Clemente's last games played.    

TRIVIA CONTEST; After reading this column you can enter the weekly trivia contest for a chance to win a Starbucks Gift Card. Enter via the following email. Send 1) your answer to the trivia question at the top of the column, 2) your name, address and email so where we know where to send the card if you win 3) any comment you have on the column. One winner will be selected at random each week based on correct answers with the odds being based on the number of correct entries.  Please cut and paste or enter the following email into your email system.
                             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 very first Modern Era Playoff Series

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Jim Corrales of New York, who correctly stated that seven of the 11 pitchers in the 1963 World Series pitched for west coast teams in their careers. The four Dodgers plus Al Downing, Steve Hamilton and Stan Williams (Downing and Williams for the Dodgers, Hamilton for San Francisco.) 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.

===============================================================
NEW TRIVIA QUESTION:  How many pitchers who won 20 games in 1969, appeared in the 1969 AL and NL Playoffs. Bonus shout out if you can name them.
 
ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Seven of the 11 pitchers in the 1963 World Series played at one time in their career for a west coast team.

It is time for the Fall Classic so we are looking back at 1960's Fall Baseball.

It may be hard to believe but until 1969 baseball pennants were decided by the two best records in the National and American Leagues. In 1969 baseball expanded and the first playoffs were established 52 years ago! It was October 4th, 1969 when the first divisional playoffs began. The Twins faced the Orioles in Baltimore and the Mets took on the Braves in Atlanta.

(Hank Aaron hits two run homer in Game Three of the 1969 Playoffs)

In the NL series it was Mets ace Tom Seaver against Braves ace knuckle-baller Phil Niekro. Two future Hall of Fame pitchers squared off and nearly went the distance but neither was really effective. Seaver gave up five earned runs in seven innings, Niekro gave up nine but only four earned in eight innings. 

The first run of the game was scored in the second when the Mets Art Shamsky singled, Ken Boswell drew a walk and Jerry Grote singled home Shamsky. Boswell scored on a passed ball and the Mets led 2-0. The Braves played it close for a while but despite solo homers by Hank Aaron and Tony Gonzalez, the Mets won it 9-5. 

The big inning came in the eighth with the scored tied at four. The Mets scored five runs, four earned (an Orlando Cepeda error) to put the game away as only the Mets could do. New York went on to sweep the three game series and face the Orioles in the World Series.

The AL series was all about the power of the O's. Jim Perry opened against Mike Cuellar and Perry was brilliant except for one pitch; the gopher ball; three of them. He gave up solo homers to Frank Robinson, Boog Powell and of all people light hitting, Mark Belanger. For their part the Twins were playing pretty much the same game. Tony Oliva's homer provided two of the Minnesota runs. The other came when Oliva doubled, took third on an error and scored an unearned run on a sacrifice fly by Bobby Allison.

With the Twins leading 3-2 in the ninth Powell led off the bottom of the inning with a dinger to tie it, 3-3. The game almost ended in regulation. Brooks Robinson singled and went to second on an error. Another error put runners at first and second. A ground ball later put Robinson on third with two out. Believe it or not he was out trying to steal home.

The Twins loaded the bases in the 12th but veteran Dick Hall struck out Leo Cardenas and got Johnny Roseboro to fly out. The bottom of the 12th saw Belanger single off Ron Perranoski. Andy Etchebarren bunted him to second and one out later Paul Blair laid down a bunt, beat it out for a single and Belanger came around to score the winning run, 4-3.

The Orioles would go on to face the Mets in the Series only to lose to the Amazin's in the first National League World Championship for New York in more than a decade. 

 TRIVIA CONTEST; After reading this column you can enter the weekly trivia contest for a chance to win a Starbucks Gift Card. Enter via the following email. Send 1) your answer to the trivia question at the top of the column, 2) your name, address and email so where we know where to send the card if you win 3) any comment you have on the column. One winner will be selected at random each week based on correct answers with the odds being based on the number of correct entries.  Please cut and paste or enter the following email into your email system.
                             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.