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Monday, October 17, 2022

Dr. Strange Glove's Worst or Best Ever?

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Scott Hitchcox or Portage, MI,  who correctly identified the super minor league player Johnny Werhas of the Dodgers who was the answer to our question. 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.  Please enter via brillpro@gmail.com and please put your mailing address in with the answer so we can send you the gift card in the mail.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Johnny Werhas was the super minor leaguer the Dodgers employed every once in a while.

EDS NOTE; Since we are trying to expand our mailing list and readership we want to build our mailing list. Readers on our email list receive the column each Monday directly into their mailbox. Please help us out by sending your email to brillpro@gmail.com. We DO NOT SELL your emails.

NOTE; At the top right 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.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION:  In his professional baseball career Dick Stuart hit 512 home runs including 66 in one season in the minors. What was the most he hit in one season outside the United States?

 There was never any doubt Dick Stuart could hit and hit the ball very far. His 228 homers over a 10 year career belie the fact for five of those years he was one of the most feared sluggers in baseball. He led the 1960 Championship Pittsburgh Pirates with 23 dingers but it was the first year he played after being traded by the Pirates which tells an amazing story. And the story is NOT only about his hitting. As you might imagine it's about his fielding but we'll get to that in just a bit.

After hitting 85 homers in three years in Pittsburgh (and playing in spacious Forbes Field) Stuart fell off to 16 in 1962 when he only played in 114 games. The Bucs were rebuilding and with Donn Clendenon in their future they sent Stuart and pitcher Jack Lamabe to Boston for reliever Don Schwall and catcher Jim Pagliaroni. Pags would become a standout and fan favorite in Pittsburgh.

Boston salivated over the fact they had a big time right handed slugger to blast it over the Green Monster and Stuart took advantage of it. In his first year in Boston (1963), Stuart blasted 42 homers and led the AL in RBI with 118. He added 25 doubles while batting .261. He also led the league in Total Bases with 319. Then again he struck out 144 times and had a major league leading 24 times he grounded into a double play. Then there was his defense and that is where the story takes the twist.

Known as Dr. Strange Glove it was a fitting moniker for the first baseman as Stuart led his league in errors committed by a first baseman seven times for seven straight years! In 1963 however, he really proved his defensive prowess or lack of it. Here are the numbers for the AL first baseman that year;

Finished 1st in games played 155, Putouts 1207, Assists 134, Errors 29 (his career high) and third in Double Plays 100. For his career he finished 42nd all time in errors committed by a first baseman and he only played over 10 seasons, but just seven as a regular first sacker getting into at least 114 games. He had 169 booted or misplayed balls. An interesting figure shows in 1961 he was involved in 144 league leading double plays. Of course he was at the tail end of the play involving two guys named Groat and Mazeroski.

It was hard not to love this guy and later he had one good year with the Phillies while both the Dodgers and the Mets found ways to use him for pinch-hitting and as a back up first baseman. And while his home run hitting was paramount no one could ever accuse him of a gold glove season. 

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.
                              brillpro@gmail.com 
 ==========================================================
I've written more than a dozen books including at least two sports books. You can find these at my Amazon page or at my own website www.bobbrillbooks.com. Please take a look at the sports books, the western novel series or the "Tattoo Murder," which is a crime book set in Ventura, CA.

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 books after reading this column.
 
 

 

Monday, October 10, 2022

Super Minor Leaguers - MLB Bust

 


TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Jerry Parker of Queens, NY, who correctly identified the Cleveland Indians as the team Claude Osteen beat for his final win of his career. 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.  Please enter via brillpro@gmail.com and please put your mailing address in with the answer so we can send you the gift card in the mail.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Claude Osteen beat the Cleveland Indians for the final victory in his career.

EDS NOTE; Since we are trying to expand our mailing list and readership we want to build our mailing list. Readers on our email list receive the column each Monday directly into their mailbox. Please help us out by sending your email to brillpro@gmail.com. We DO NOT SELL your emails.

NOTE; At the top right 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.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION:  Who was the Dodgers super minor league player of the 1960's & 1970's who played well in the minors but over three seasons had a lifetime big league BA of  .173?

When a big time major leaguer gets traded and a super minor league prospect is part of the deal in return, fans often wonder what happened when that minor league player goes "bust." There are any number of their stories in baseball. We will take a look at three. First, Dick Simpson.

When the Reds decided they needed pitching more than they needed slugger Frank Robinson who was still in his prime, they sent the outfielder packing to Baltimore for Milt Pappas. Everyone knows what happened to Robinson who won the Triple Crown in leading the Orioles to the World Series. Pappas never panned out like the Reds hoped. Then there was the outfielder the Reds got in return; Dick Simpson. 

Maybe they were impressed with his stats a few years earlier. In 1961 Simpson slugged 42 homers, drove in 113 and batted .315 for San Jose's minor league club. In seven minor league seasons he would hit 108 homers and bat .286 for affiliates of many clubs. In his seven major league seasons he would bat just 518 times (the equivalent of just one full season) with 15 homers and a .207 BA. 

Simpson made more of an impact because of who he was traded for. After Robinson, the Reds sent him to the Angels for Alex Johnson who had a lifetime average of .288 and a career best .329. He was also traded for Dooley Womack, Bobby Bolin, Norm Siebern and Ron Davis. 

The minor leaguer the Cubs got in the Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio deal was Doug Clemens. In 1961 at Tulsa, Clemens hit a pretty impressive .342. He slumped a bit into the .270's the next couple of years but was promising. In five minor seasons he batted .298 with 48 dingers. His seven major league seasons amounted to just over 900 at bats and a lifetime .229 BA. His best season (.279) was the same season he was traded for Brock and came up right away. He never achieved that again. 

One of the most interesting careers was that of Moose Stubing who can be likened to Crash Davis in the film "Bull Durham." Stubing was signed by Pittsburgh in 1956, was sent to the NY Giants in 1957, who traded him in 1965 to the Cardinals for George Williams who then sent him to the Angels. His entire major league career as a player consisted of one season where he pinch hit five times and struck out four times. Actually I remember listening to the Angel games where that happened wondering if this guy would ever hit a fair ball.

Especially, this was interesting because, like the Bull Durham catcher Davis, Stubing had a grand minor league career belting 192 home runs over 15 seasons with a .283 BA and 811 RBI. Stubing of course went on to manage the Angels for eight games in 1988. The Angeles lost all eight.  He did have a fairly successful minor league managing career. Over nine seasons he finished above .500 six times. In 1982 he was named PCL Manager of the Year and later became a college referee.

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.
                              brillpro@gmail.com 
 ==========================================================
I've written more than a dozen books including at least two sports books. You can find these at my Amazon page or at my own website www.bobbrillbooks.com. Please take a look at the sports books, the western novel series or the "Tattoo Murder," which is a crime book set in Ventura, CA.

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 books after reading this column.
 
 

 

Monday, October 3, 2022

The Strange Case of Osteen Vs. Mays 1960

 


TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Craig McGraw of Middletown, DE, who correctly identified Hoyt Wilhelm as the pitcher who gave up Roger Maris' final home run as a Yankee. It was Wilhelm who halted Maris bid in 1961 to outdo Babe Ruth. 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.  Please enter via brillpro@gmail.com and please put your mailing address in with the answer so we can send you the gift card in the mail.

ANSWER to the Trivia question in the previous column: Hoyt Wilhelm gave up Roger Maris' final homer as a Yankee in his career.

EDS NOTE; Since we are trying to expand our mailing list and readership we want to build our mailing list. Readers on our email list receive the column each Monday directly into their mailbox. Please help us out by sending your email to brillpro@gmail.com. We DO NOT SELL your emails.

NOTE; At the top right 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.

===============================================================
NEW TRIVIA QUESTION:  Claude Osteen finished with a career record of 196-195 and had to win his very last game to be above .500. It was a shutout where he pitched 8 scoreless innings before giving way to Goose Gossage to close it out. What team did Osteen beat for his final victory 2-0?

Most fans know of the significance of the career and the history of former Dodger starter Claude Osteen. How he was a big part of mid-1960s Dodger championship teams. Most remember he was a key player in the trade which sent slugger Frank Howard to Washington. Few remember Osteen with his original team; the Cincinnati Reds. Fewer even remember the significance of his very first decision in 1960.

                         (A much later home run by Mays off Osteen.)

Osteen originally came up with the Reds in 1957 and pitched briefly over two seasons but failed to get a win or loss. Then on August 25th, 1960, he would make sort of history. It wasn't something records are made of but it sure likely stood out in Osteen's mind forever. It was future nemesis Willie Mays who gave him that loss and in the most unusual way.

Osteen got the start against Sam Jones of the Giants. He didn't last long, only 1 and 1/3 innings. He breezed through the first getting Jim Davenport, Joe Amalfitano and Mays. Meanwhile the Reds has staked him to a run, leading 1-0.

The second inning started off with a Felipe Alou flyout, but then things began to unravel. He walked both Willie Kirkland and Bob Schmidt after a single to Orlando Cepeda. That loaded the bases with one out. Eddie Bressoud and Sam Jones each hit singles and each drove in one run keeping the bases loaded with the score 2-1 Giants.

Davenport grounded into a force at second scoring a run making it 3-1 and he issued a walk to the pesky Amalfitano to load them up for Mays. Willie did not miss a beat. Mays smacked a ball into right field and as Gus Bell tried vainly to corral it, Willie raced around the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam home run and a 7-1 lead. 

Manager Fred Hutchinson had seen enough. Bill Henry came into relieve Osteen and got Alou to ground out to end the inning, mercifully. The Giants won the game 8-5. He would not get another NL decision until years later with the Dodgers after he was traded to Washington for Dave Sisler following the 1961 season. He found a home there until the trade which sent him to Los Angeles and a brand new lease on life. And....many more encounters with Willie Mays and the Dodger/Giant rivalry.

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.
                              brillpro@gmail.com 
 ==========================================================
I've written more than a dozen books including at least two sports books. You can find these at my Amazon page or at my own website www.bobbrillbooks.com. Please take a look at the sports books, the western novel series or the "Tattoo Murder," which is a crime book set in Ventura, CA.

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 books after reading this column.