Remembering Well Traveled Slugger Deron Johnson

 

TRIVIA WINNER: The winner of this week's trivia contest is Raymond Jones of St. Louis, MO, who knew that Larry Brown clubbed the first Indians home run of the 1969 season and he hit it off Denny McLain. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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. Please put your mailing address in with the answer so if you win we can send you the gift card in the mail.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION:The 1969 Kansas City Royals had basically five starting pitchers. Two of those pitchers had one stat which was exactly the same for both. Who were they are what was the stat we are looking for?

While his career would start with the storied New York Yankees, he'd make his mark as a Cincinnati Red and finish as a member of the Boston Red Sox, while playing for five other teams in between. Make no mistake about it; Deron Johnson was a slugger extraordinaire.

He would play all three outfield positions, first base and his natural position; third base. He came up with New York in 1960 and was sent to Kansas City along with Art Ditmar for Bud Daley in 1961. Two years later he was sold to the Reds where he had his best seasons, blasting 90 homers in four years. He hit 32 and led the league with 130 RBI in 1965 while batting .287.

By 1967 the Reds sent him on to Atlanta in a four player swap which brought Mack Jones to the Reds. A year later he was sold to the Phillies. In the next four seasons he hit 87 homers including 27 in 1970.  In the next three years he was traded three times, sold once, released twice and signed as a Free Agent once. And in all of his travels, the only name player he was swapped for really was Jones, a slugger in his own right.

So why was this really good player who could hit for a respectable average, blast long homers consistently and play good defense, so well traveled? 

The 1961 Yankees were loaded so there was little need for developing a player of Johnson's caliber. Kansas City was a mess and who could figure anything Charlie O. Finley did during the 1960s. The Reds knew what they had. However, in 1967 Johnson's power had fallen off to 13 homers and he only hit .224. In addition, Lee May was waiting in the wings and ready. Johnson became very expendable. 

Johnson didn't hit in Atlanta and the Braves picked up Orlando Cepeda so moving him on to the Phils was easy. He regained his stroke in Philadelphia and was again back in the power numbers with 17, 27 and 34 home run seasons to follow, with another 20 in the year they shipped him off to Oakland. 

His stops in Milwaukee, Boston (twice), and with the White Sox were all career ending moves where he was used as a pinch-hitter and clubhouse experience-guy. At age 36 he did have a final year of power with 19 dingers but called it a career after the next season. 

It was just one of those careers where he was in the right place at the wrong time, and for a short period of time at that. His 245 career home runs and 923 RBI were decent numbers for a guy who spent time with so many clubs during 17 years in the big leagues.  Among his accomplishments was hitting four consecutive homers over two days against Montreal. He followed his playing career by serving as a coach and in 1992 while coaching the Angels he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died at age 53.

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.  

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.

 

The Indians? 100 or Not 100.

 

TRIVIA WINNER: The winner of this week's trivia contest is Scott Hitchcox of Portage, MI, who knew that Rocky Colavito played for six MLB teams in his career. The Prize: Starbucks Gift Card.

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. Please put your mailing address in with the answer so if you win we can send you the gift card in the mail.

NEW TRIVIA QUESTION: Who hit the first home run of the 1969 season for the Indians and who gave up that gopher ball?

                                             (The Cleveland Indians Song -- Sorry Cubs Fans)

In MLB; 1969 it was the season the Orioles would rebound to win 109 games before going on to defeat the 97-win Minnesota Twins to make it to the World Series. 

It was also the year the Amazin' Mets won the East, and then beat the Braves to move on to play in one of the most memorable World Series ever. The Mets beat the O's and were kings of not only New York, but the baseball world. 

There was one team which was in danger of losing 100 games that initial playoff year; The Cleveland Indians. To lose 100 when playing in the first divisional season would be the ultimate embarrassment. The Indians were not a terrible team. They would finish the season both fifth in team hitting and team pitching. They were also fifth in fielding. 

They had power with both Ken "Hawk" Harrelson and Tony Horton blasting 27 homers with Duke Sims pitching in another 18. The clubs .237 team BA belied the fact only three starters batted above .250 with .278 topping the list. They only scored 573 runs and only two teams scored fewer. Clutch, they were not.

On the mound Sam McDowell won 18 but Luis Tiant lost 20, which is why perhaps the game on Tuesday September 23rd was so important. The Indians had 61 wins and 92 losses (44.5 games back of the Orioles) with seven games left. A loss to the Orioles on this date would mean if the Indians did not win another game to finish out the season, they would lose 100 games. 

The club had just beaten the Senators and was to face Baltimore in a three game set in Cleveland's final home stand of the year. McDowell would go the mound seeking his 18th win. He'd face 14 game winner Tom Phoebus and a line up packed with power hitters the likes of Frank Robinson (31 homers to date), Brooks Robinson, Boog Powell and Don Buford. 

The game started out with both pitchers breezing through the first two innings. In the third however, McDowell would not be denied. He led off the inning with a single and went to third when Jose Cardenal laid down a bunt, which catcher Andy Etcheberren mishandled. After Frank Baker walked to load them up, Harrelson and Horton both drew bases on balls to send in two runs, 2-0 Indians. When Chuck Hinton hit a sac fly to drive in the third run, it was all McDowell needed, leading 3-0.

Despite Frank Robby's 32nd homer, a solo shot, it was all the O's could muster off the masterful and determined Sudden Sam. McDowell went the distance, giving up three hits, walking none and striking out six for his 18th and final win of the season, 3-1. Final because as might be expected the Indians went onto lose the next seven games to finish out the season with 99 losses.

They dropped the next two to the O's, three to Washington and a pair to the Yankees to close out the season in New York. It was a long ride back to Cleveland after that final game, but the Indians could take heart; they did NOT lose 100 games.  Oh I forgot, the Cleveland faithful could have applied for stardom in the film "Major League." The Indians finished 11th out of 12 teams in attendance. Rachel Phelps would have been proud, if not ecstatic.

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.  

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.