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Tuesday, February 14, 2023

The Best of the 1960s

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Alan Drooz of San Diego, CA, who identified the answer we were looking for; Archibald Moonlight Graham was the player mentioned in "Field of Dreams" and to the surprise of many was a real life player as depicted in the film. 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: Archibald Moonlight Graham.

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 slugger the Giants could not find a place for when Willie McCovey became their no. 1 first baseman and who ended up traded within the National League?

 Baseball is the place where arguments are too many and answers too few but its is probably one of the most fun things about the sport for fans. For instance, if we asked who were the best five non-pitchers of the 1960s you wouldn't need to think about it too much because there would be a consensus of  at least two-or-three but maybe not.

You would think Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson would be on the list. What about Willie Stargell, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Clemente, Joe Torre, Al Kaline, Rocky Colavito or Harmon Killebrew. Well, let's break it down.

Mays and Robinson had some great years in the 1950s as did Mickey Mantle so much of their stats are not included in the 1960s. In breaking down the players Home Runs, RBI and BA were key but for players who performed greatly but were not HR hitters we substituted Run Scored for RBI and times they had 200 hits was thrown in.

Henry Aaron stands out at the top of the list. 375 homers and 1107 RBI with seven times batting .300 or better. Harmon Killebrew and Mays and Robinson would be in the next three. Probably the strongest right handed hitter in baseball, Killebrew smacked 393 homers and drove in 1013 while never batting .300. Mays hit 350 and drove in 1003 while crossing the .300 barrier four times and Robinson  belted 316, drove in 1011 and six times hit the key BA mark.

Willie McCovey makes a case for top five while hitting 300 dingers and only once hitting .300 he did drive in 821. If Killebrew was the strongest RH hitter, McCovey makes a case along with Willie Stargell for being the strongest from the left side of the plate. Mantle continued to suffer injuries and lack of playing time in the 1960s but still managed to hit 256 homers, 668 RBI and four times in nine seasons batted .300.

Of the non-homer group Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose and Lou Brock led the parade. Rose hit .300 five times, four times he had at least 200 hits and scored 679 runs. He did all of that in seven seasons. Brock played seven years scored 767 runs and twice batted .300 while getting 200 hits on two occasions. Clemente was amazing when you figure he hit .300 in nine of 10 seasons, scored 916 runs, drove in 862, and four times had 200 hits. He could easily be in the top five.

There are certainly others in the mix and we've surely left someone out, so add yours to the list.

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 
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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.
 

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Best Baseball Names in the 1960a

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Congrats to Scott Hitchcox of Portage, MI, who identified the answer we were looking for; Hoyt Wilhelm started three games in 1963.  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 started three games in 1963.

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:  Made famous in a popular film, who was the New York Giants outfielder shortly after the turn of the century who played in just one inning, but who perhaps has the greatest name in baseball history?

While the names in this story are not as colorful as some of the wildest names earlier in the century, they do meet the criteria of best baseball names. The 1960s didn't have Boots Poffenberger, Pretzel Pizullo, Bunny Brief or Pete LaCock, but there were a few who stood out. We'll single out 10.

 At the top of the list is perfection. There is no better name for a big time pitcher than Early Wynn. Wynn came to the big leagues in 1939 with Washington and closed out his career in 1963 with Cleveland. He ended up with 300 wins on the nose and five times won at least 20. The last time he did it, he was 39 years old. 


Coot Veal came up in 1958 and played his last in 1963.  He played for Detroit, Washington and Pittsburgh and only batted .231 with just a single homer. 

You gotta love a guy named Elmo Plaskett. Plaskatt was limited to parts of two seasons with the Pirates and 35 AB's, getting one home run in his seven career hits. The outfielder/third baseman was born in the Virgin Islands. 

Zoilo Versalles had one great year in which he won the AL MVP and many lesser seasons. As a slugging shortstop he banged 95 homers in 12 seasons. The 1965 season was amazing but the Twins infielder was plagued by defensive lapses.

 Cookie Rojas starred for 16 seasons mainly with the Phillies and the Royals. A competent second-sacker he averaged .263 at the plate. He twice topped the .300 mark with a .303 mark for the 1965 Phils.

Boog Powell graced the great names list and stuck with Orioles from 1961-1977 including the late 60's glory years. Booger hit 339 home runs in 17 seasons, four times belting 30 or better. 

Right up there in the best names category is Granny Hamner. A Philly in 16 of his 17 major league seasons, it ended in 1962. Strangely enough in 1959 the Indians sent him to the minor leagues after 16 seasons. He came back up for a cup of coffee in 1962 with Kansas City going Oh-for-3 on the season. 

I always thought Ty Cline was a pretty interesting name. A child almost completely of the 60's he played for six teams in nine years, basically as utility player. Despite spending most of his time (5 seasons) with the Braves, he played the most in a year with the 1969 Giants and the 1962 Indians. 

Number nine on the list is Vinegar Bend Mizell. In nine seasons he won in double figures seven times and bounced around a lot. Starting in 1952 he was 10-8 for the Cardinals and closed out his career appropriately 0-2 with the 1962 Mets, the losingest team in baseball. 

And you can't have a Top 10 without Satchel Paige. While Paige's career was established in the Negro Leagues and most of it was spent in the 1940's-1950's, he did pitch one game in the 1960's. In 1965 he tossed three scoreless innings allowing just one hit for the Kansas A's. A Charlie O. Finley stunt, it was the last game he would pitch in his illustrious career. 

The Honorable Mentions would be Smokey Burgess, Mudcat Grant, Blue Moon Odom, Catfish Hunter, Gene Freese, Bobby Wine, Pumpsie Green, Jim Lemon and Ted Savage. Who are some of your favorites?

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.