Baseball in the 1960's

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Wilbur Wood and the Knuckler

TRIVIA WINNER: The winner of this week's trivia contest is Henry Jackson of Jackson, MI who knew that five times Satchel Paige won at least 10 games in his Negro Leagues and Major League baseball career. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: In his career Wilbur Wood either led or tied his league in a pitching category 22 times, but only three of them were in the 1960s. Name the three categories and times he led the league or tied for a league leading category in the 1960s. ?

The decade of the 1960s must have been a blur for Wilbur Wood, and he must have thought about just hanging it up. Fortunately he didn't because it was after the decade where he became the most remarkable pitcher of his day and not without controversy.

(2013 Interview with Wilbur Wood.)

Wood came up with the Red Sox in 1961 and and after four seasons had still not won a big league game. He was 0-7 including the last two losses with Pittsburgh where he was sent in September, 1964 in a cash deal. By this time he had pitched in 39 games, tossing 104 innings and allowing 116 hits including 10 homers. Most pitchers would have given up by then. Not Wilbur. In a start and his first complete game, Wood pitched a nice game against the Braves but gave up the winning run in the ninth on a bases loaded walk to another Wood, Woody Woodward.

It was 1965 before he won his first game. It wasn't until August 29th Wood would see his name with a "W" next to it in the box score. In the 6th sixth inning and the score tied with Houston 2-2, Bob Friend allowed the first two batters to reach base. Harry Walker, the brash one, called upon the quiet man Wilbur Wood. Wood easily handled three straight hitters, Joe Morgan, Jim Wynn and Rusty Staub with a ground out, an intentional walk and a ground-ball double play.

In the bottom of the inning, Bill Mazeroski led off with a single, Jim Pagliaroni doubled him home and Jerry Lynch pinch-hit for Wood and drew a walk. The Bucs scored one more in the inning and went on to win 4-2. Wood had his first win.

One of the early cuts in spring training, 1966, Wood's wife, Sandra would later say he actually thought about quitting and he may have but she encouraged him to keep at it. With the Columbus Jets of the International League he was tremendous. He was 14-8 with a 2.41 ERA in more than 200 innings. The White Sox noticed him and sent former 19-game winner Juan Pizarro to Pittsburgh for Wood. One of the Bucs all time worst trades. Pizarro would win a total of nine games for the Pirates.

Wood meanwhile realized he needed to do something different, something bold. He'd experimented with a knuckleball while in high school. One of the best knuckleballers of all time was also with the White Sox and Wood approached Hoyt Wilhelm who agreed to help him. It changed Woods life forever. Using the weird pitch in 1967 he had a fine season, 4-2, 2.45. Then using it a lot more he broke out in 1968 the year of the pitcher and was named AL Fireman of the Year. He worked in a Majors leading 88 games, led the league in Games Finished with 46 for a 13-12 record and a 1.87 ERA. This was the start of the new Wilbur Wood.

The following season he closed out the decade strictly in relief again leading the AL with 76 games, 10-11 and a 3.01 ERA. At this point Wood had established himself and his knuckleball as one of the best relievers in the game.

However, as anyone who follows baseball knows it was in the 1970s he became a phenomenon. From 1971-1975 he never started fewer than 42 games in a season. He started 224 games during that time frame, each time either leading the AL or the Majors. He won at least 20 games for four straight years while winning 24 twice. He pitched over 300 innings each season except the last with 291. Twice he led the big leagues with 376 and 359 innings. He started 70 games on two days rest and even started both games of a double header.

He also had the dubious distinction of losing 20 twice during that span including in 1973 when he was 24-20. The latter a rare feat indeed. Wood finished his 17 year career in 1978 when he still pitched 168 innings with a 10-10 record but a 5.20 ERA. He entered Free Agency and when no one came calling he called it quits with a 164-156 record and a much fatter wallet. In 1967 when he came back to the majors he was making $12,000 a season. The year he retired he was making $140,000. Now that's progress.

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Monday, June 26, 2023

Satchel Paige's Last Game

TRIVIA WINNER: The winner of this week's trivia contest is Don Mather, of Houston, TX. He knew the three HOFers who were managers and were associated with the Angels were Whitey Herzog, Dick Williams and Frank Robinson. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: How many times did Satchel Paige win at least 10 games in his combined Negro Leagues and Major League career?

Who was the last player to ever get a hit off the great Satchel Paige? A lot of names might run through your mind considering the man who said he "pitched long enough to put butts in the seats" spent an entire career in the Negro Leagues before becoming a big leaguer in 1948.

Before we answer the question let's set the scenario. In September, 1965 the Kansas City A's signed Paige to a contract. Whether it was a stunt by promoter extraordinaire Charlie O. Finley or whether it was a bonafide (usually with Charlie O., the word is "bonehead") attempt to let the fans get one last look at the grand old man. Either way it was a full treat for everyone in baseball, or anyone who just loves the game.

(Actual footage of Satchel Paige earlier in his career.)

Paige was signed on the 10th of September at age 58! The A's were long out of the race and were on their way to a 103 loss season and landing in 10th place in the American League, 43 games back of the Twins. They would finish 10th in attendance with barely over half a million fans entering the ballpark. In fact, they rarely drew more than a few thousand people. On September 24th, they only put 2304 fans into Municipal Stadium.

When it was announced Paige was pitching the night of the 25th, attendance soared. Old Satchel put 9289 "butts in the seats." Four times as many people came out to see the nearly 60 year old hurler compared to the night before. The opponent? The lowly Boston Red Sox who were just four games better than the A's at that point in the season on their way to a ninth place finish.

Satch got the start and for three innings he was untouchable. And that was that. He faced 10 batters in three innings, did not give up a run, struck out one and did not walk a batter. The lone hit was by Red Sox future Hall of Famer, Carl Yasztremski. A harmless double in the first.

Paige began the game getting Jim Gosger to pop out. He ended his string getting Gosger to ground out to short. He faced one over the minimum and was remarkable. He left leading 1-0 in a game the A's eventually lost to Boston, 5-2. He didn't qualify for the win if they had won. He was taken out after three innings with the minimum needed by a starter being five innings. He was relieved for the last time by Diego Segui.

Paige got his final at bat in the big leagues in that game. He struck out.

Paige's career was legendary. There was talk he would be the first player to break the color barrier but that honor went to Jackie Robinson. Hit finally got his chance with the Indians in 1948 and pitched in the World Series. He was 42 and faced two batters, got them out, and also was called for a balk. A rarity at any level, let alone a World Series game. That season he went 6-1 with a 2.47 ERA.

During his Major League career he saved 33 games, or five more than his 28 wins. He lost 31. His 3.29 ERA was respectable, especially for a pitcher who came to the big leagues at an advanced age. He pitched for four other seasons after the initial rookie year. At age 45 he tossed 138 innings and at age 46 he threw another 117. In 1952 he also tossed a pair of shutouts.

Paige passed away in Kansas City in 1982 at the age of 76. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971 as the first of the Hall's Negro League Inductees.

Monday, June 19, 2023

The Lovable Angels of 1966

TRIVIA WINNER: The winner of this week's trivia contest is Tommy Burton of Topeka, KS. He knew that Joe DiMaggio's minor league hitting streak reached 61 games. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Name the three Angels who WERE managers who are in Baseball's Hall of Fame. Only two went into the HOF as "managers."

What made the 1966 Los Angeles/California Angels so interesting they would finish in sixth place in the American League but still finish first in attendance? While the team closed out the 1966 season 80-82, 1,400,321 fans went through the turnstiles of Anaheim Stadium. Bill Rigney's team did not have a .300 hitter or a batter with at least 20 homers. Aging Joe Adcock led the club with 18 in only 83 games. The club's leading hurlers each won 13 games (George Brunet and Jack Sanford) and ace Dean Chance was 12-17. So why did the fans turn out?

(The above video was posted on YouTube by a family at Opening Day 1966 Angel Stadium and while the quality is poor stick with it to the end as it shows a lot of what this article talks about.)

The team was never in danger of winning the pennant. They rarely won or lost more than five in a row. Their highlight was in mid-June when they won 11 of 13 and were seven games over .500. They were still eight games back of the Orioles but they were in fourth place. Then they dropped three in a row to Baltimore, another to Detroit and despite a four game winning streak which followed shortly thereafter, the season was essentially lost.

They still played good baseball overall, and by the end of July they were still over .500. However they were 14.5 games back of first place Baltimore. Perhaps it was the fact the Angels, despite looking up to see down trying to overcome the Frank Robinson led Birds, never gave up. On July 30th Chance pitched the Angels to a 2-1 win over Cleveland to put the west coast team into its only day in second place. They were 13.5 back. It lasted 24 hours.

Brunet, always the hard luck pitcher would face even more hard luck in 1967 when the Angels competed for the pennant, Fregosi continued to play well and alongside Bobby Knoop they were among the best double play duos of the era. Chance would become an outstanding pitcher, especially after being traded to Minnesota. The Norm Siebern/Joe Adcock platoon was replaced by Don Mincher the following season.

It was the slugging Adcock's final season and leading the team in homers at age 38 was pretty indicative of the 1966 Angels. Let's face it, this was a team of lovable players who were at a crossroads in a region hungry for a winner not named the Dodgers. They Angels were no match for the pennant winning team led by Sandy Koufax in his final season, Don Drysdale and fav's such as Wes Parker and Lou Johnson.

They really were every bit as talented as the Dodgers but were just not ready to eclipse the upper tier of the American League. The Orioles, the Red Sox and the Tigers were way too difficult for the team from Anaheim. They were never more than 3 games under .500, and as the 80-82 record indicated they played pretty evenly through the year. They had 9 walk off wins and 9 walk off losses which is pretty darn even.

This was a club of lovable characters. There were new kids on the block like Rick Reichardt, Paul Schall, Jim McGlothlin, Jackie Hernandez, Clyde Wright and Minnie Rojas. There was a mix of real fan favorites such as Adcock, Bubba Morton, Lew Burdette, Jimmy Piersall, Jack Sanford and Ramon Lopez.

Perhaps a real indication where this team of aging vets and young stars trying to shine is how they finished. One of the clubs best games was on Sunday October 2, facing Luis Tiant and the Indians. Knoop's 2-run triple in the bottom of the eighth plated the only runs of the game to back the 5-hit pitching of Jorge Rubio (WHO?). In the ninth, facing four batters, Rubio did not allow a fair hit ball. He walked Rocky Colavito and struck out Leon Wagner, Bill Davis and Fred Whitfield.

Rubio finished his career the following season with a 2-3 lifetime record in ten total career games. The Angels were a team waiting to happen with a fan base eager to see it happen. Or so one would think. The following season they were in the race for much of the year and finished 84-77 in 5th place. Attendance: Dropped off to fourth in the American League, down to
1,317,713. Some people just can't stand a winner.

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