Baseball in the 1960's

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Niekro vs. Niekro - a Key Holiday Game - Cubs vs. Braves

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Jacob Kribel of Amity, PA, who correctly identified Jayson Werth as the best home run hitting member of the Dick Schofield Family. 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.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Jayson Werth hit the most homers in a season when it came to the family of major leaguers related to Dick Schofield.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Which Niekro brother had the most seasons where he lost at least 10 games?

The 1967 season was a real turnaround for the Chicago Cubs, transforming from 59-103 and a tenth place finish in the National League in 1966, to being right in the thick of things in 1967, before finishing third at 87-74, 14 games back of the Cardinals. The key game sending the Cubs toward destruction in 1967, was the battle of knuckle-balling brothers; Joe and Phil Niekro.

The Cubs went into a July 4th holiday double header in Atlanta, atop the NL and tied with the St. Louis Cardinals at 46-29. They had won seven in a row and 14 of 15 and were flying high. The previous night they belted the Braves 12-6. The Braves were 6.5 games back in fourth place. The first game of the twin bill would feature future Hall of Fame pitcher, Phil Niekro of the Braves against his brother Joe of the Cubs.

Each team featured some of the greatest sluggers of all time. The Cubs had Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and Billy Williams, while Atlanta sported Hank Aaron, Mack Jones, Fellipe Alou and Rico Carty. Phil Niekro set the Cubs down in order in the first but Joe suffered the hard luck fate of the brother duo in the bottom half of the inning.

Alou led off with a double and went to third when a ground ball by Mack Jones was mishandled by shortstop Paul Popovich and with the first of his two errors, Popovich allowed Jones to take second. Following an intentional walk to Aaron, Carty singled home two runs, giving the Braves the lead.

The Cubs scored solo runs in the second and third but with the scored tied at two in the bottom of the third, the roof caved in on Joe. Jones belted the first of his two homers on the day (no. 9 on the season) and two outs later Carty also hit his ninth. That was enough for manager Leo Durocher. He let Niekro finish the inning but that was it.

The Braves would roll on to win it 8-3 with Phil Niekro going the distance, pitching a 4-hitter and striking out seven Cubbies. It would be a game which the Cubs would like to forget. They lost the second game of the double header as well, 4-2. Chicago would begin the July Slide, losing seven of the their next eight and falling four games back of first.

They would go on another winning streak, picking up nine wins in 11 games, but the damage had been done. In August another seven game losing streak sealed the deal. They tried to stay in contention and actually did spend two more days in first. However, on August 5th they lost again to Phil Niekro, 2-1 with ace Fergie Jenkins taking the loss. It dumped the second place Cubs 8 games back of the Cardinals. When the season came to a close, they ended up in third place, 14 games out of first.

In the 1967 season Joe Niekro went 2-3 against the Braves, Phil was 2-0 against the Cubs, including his win over brother Joe on July 4th.

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Monday, August 15, 2022

The Super Duck

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Jim Blanken of Detroit, MI, who correctly found the Boston Red Sox hit the most AL homers in 1965 with only 165. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: The Boston Red Sox led the AL in 1965 in homers with 165.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Which of the three Schofield clan who played in the majors hit the most home runs in one season?

If ever there was a super utility player in the 1960's, it was Dick Schofield, better known as Ducky, or just the Duck. He arrived in Pittsburgh from the Cardinals and before his 1960's career was over, he'd play for six different teams, while in his overall career; seven teams. He had three separate stints with the club which originally signed him; the St. Louis Cardinals.

Schofield's best season was 1960 when he filled in late in the season for MVP Dick Groat as the Bucs went onto win the National League Pennant. He hit .333 in just over 100 at bats. He matched it in the World Series, going one-for-three against the Yankees as Groat returned to start for the Pirates.

As a fielder during that memorable season he was adequate in 23 games at shortstop, committing six errors. However, teamed with all-star Bill Mazeroski he did participate in 16 double plays. The Duck fielded flawlessly at the other infield positions when he filled in.

In his only three seasons as a regular, 1963-1965, he batted .246 twice and .209 in the other lackluster year in which he spent most of it with the Giants, after having been traded for Jose Pagan in a swap of shortstops. Pagan would move to third base in Pittsburgh, Schofield remained mostly at short. He did continue to shift around the infield and actually in 1969 played a few games in the outfield.

San Francisco would sell him to the Yankees who traded him to the Dodgers for Thad Tillotson and after his release the Cardinals picked him up once again. In the same year St. Louis sent him to the Red Sox for Gary Waslewski before going back to the Cardinals for Jim Campbell. He finished out his career with Milwaukee.

Perhaps his greatest achievement in baseball, aside from his longevity and ability to be the Super Utility Player, was his linage. His son, Dick had a good major league career also as a shortstop, and his grandson Jayson Werth did as well. One of the now many three generation baseball families.

Monday, August 8, 2022

The Red Sox Lose 100

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Scott Hitchcox of Portage, MI who correctly identified Jerry Doggett as Vin Scully's sidekick during the 1960s. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Jerry Doggett was Vin Scully's sidekick and broadcast partner in the 1960s.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: The 1965 Red Sox finished in 9th place out of 10 teams, but where did they finish in team Home Runs?

For the first time in 33 years the Boston Red Sox were to lose 100 games. It was 1965, just two years before the Sox with Carl Yastrzemski leading the way, won the American League Pennant. With a line-up of eight players 30 years old or more, it figured the team was going to need an infusion of young talent soon. Four players would fill that role.

(We could not find any "good" video of the Red Sox 1965 season so we went to 1980 for a "hit" by Yaz."

A 20-year old slugger named Tony Conigliaro was a perfect fit for the Red Sox. A youngster with an Italian surname who could easily challenge the Green Monster, he immediately became a fan favorite. Dalton Jones at 21 would prove to be a capable and clutch hitter and at 23 Jim Lonborg was just scratching the surface of his talent. Also at 20 shortstop Rico Petrocelli was emerging. And Yaz was only 25. The other youngsters didn't make a dent and many would be gone soon enough.

Lee Thomas, Eddie Bressoud, Felix Mantilla, Dick Radatz and Frank Malzone, all found their way through the early 1960s in Boston but as the middle of the decade approached, they would soon be all but forgotten. In a year when the club lost 100 games, it was to be expected. Earl Wilson may have been the exception at 30 and was sent to Detroit for Don Demeter and Julio Navarro which turned out to be a bad and wasted move by Boston.

(You can see how bad the Red Sox were by the 'other' player on this rookie card.)

How bad was it? GM Mike Higgins was fired two weeks before the season ended, replaced by Dick O'Connell. The club would finish ninth in a 10 team league, 40 games back of champion Minnesota. They never lost more than eight straight but they never won more than four in a row. They were consistently inconsistent winning 31 games before the All-Star Break and 31 after it. The worst was in June and July when they won 17 and lost 42 games. The club had a streak of 3-14 at the start of June. They would finish the season losing eight of 10.

One of O'Connell's first moves was to try and shore up the infield. He worked a trade which was a disaster. On October 4, 1965 he packaged a deal where George Smith was traded by the Detroit Tigers with a player to be named later and George Thomas to the Boston Red Sox for Bill Monbouquette. Detroit would later send Jackie Moore to Boston to complete the trade. Smith would barely hit .213 and was out of baseball at the end of the 1966 campaign. Monbouquette was out of baseball two seasons later. Dick Radatz was also sent packing in a deal which brought starter Lee Stange and Don McMahon to Boston.

In 1966 they would again finish ninth but with a couple of key acquisitions who would serve them well in the run for the pennant in 1967. The team improved by 10 games but saw manager Billy Herman depart late in the season. First baseman George Scott and third baseman Joe Foy arrived. Two others made their debut in 1966. Reggie Smith and Mike Andrews who would go on to be stalwarts got their chance to show the Red Sox faithful, what this club could do. All were either products of the Sox farm system or were drafted a few years earlier from other clubs.

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