Denny McLain's Special Season

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Andre Rodgers was once traded in a deal for Alvin Dark who later became  a big league manager. Rick Slocumb of Fargo, ND correctly answered the question. 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 was the winning pitcher in Denny McLain's last loss of 1968?

You kinda new 1968 was going to be a special year for Denny McLain when after his first six starts he was 5-0 and the Detroit Tigers scored 31 runs behind him in those five wins. He got a no-decision in his first start which Detroit lost 4-3, but from then on McLain was on his way to 31 victories. It's a feat which hasn't come close to being achieved since.

 1968 of course was the year of the pitcher. With McLain topping the pitching world in the AL, Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale were doing similar things in the National League. Starting pitchers all over the majors were having unbelievable seasons. It led to the pitching mound being lowered the following season so pitches would be flatter and more hitting would take place. It worked.

As for McLain he didn't get his third loss until mid-July. By that time he was 18-3 with more than two months left in the season. Remember this was a time when pitchers threw on three days rest. Along with Mickey Lolich and Earl Wilson they formed the nucleus of the Tigers starters. 

 A week later he would win his 20th, beating the Orioles with a 3-hit shutout. He was 20-3. With three days left in July, he still had enough time to get in the rest of his 41 starts. He made the most of it, going 11-3 down the stretch and completed 29 of the 41 starting assignments. He also tossed six shutouts along the way in helping the Tigers win the pennant. 

It was an electric season for Motor City. McLain finished with a 1.96 ERA and gave up about 100 hits less than innings pitched.  

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.

 

First in the Bahamas and Elsewhere Around the Infield

 

TRIVIA WINNER: Wes Covington was traded three times in his career and Don Larsen was the most famous player he was traded for and who despite his fame, was under .500 lifetime as a pitcher.  Dennis Cimpl of Wauwatosa, WI had the correct answer. 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: Among the players Rodgers was traded for became a manager. Name him.

It's not often a journeyman player makes a huge impact, but such is the case of shortstop Andre Rodgers. Rogers was born, raised and died in the Bahamas. Nassau was home and his final resting place. As the first Bahamian player to go to the big leagues he had to overcome being a great Cricket player. He did. 

His acceptance into the majors started kids playing baseball in the Bahamas and it paved the way for players such as Ed Armbrister among others to go north. Baseball became more popular than Cricket because of Rodgers. Rodgers big league career began in 1957 when he played in New York with the Giants and traveled with them to San Francisco.

By 1961 he'd played out his time with the Giants and the Cubs needed a shortstop with Ernie Banks moving to first. However, not before Rodgers made a non-playing stop in Milwaukee. On Halloween, 1960 the Giants sent him to Milwaukee but before the season started in 1961, he was shipped to the Cubs in a four player deal which brought Moe Drabowsky to the Braves.

Rodgers best had been .250 in a part time role. In 1962 he became the Cubbies starter at Short and immediately performed. He had his best season at the plate, hitting .278 in over 400 at bats. In 138 games he also hit eight triples.

The following season he fell off drastically with more playing time, hitting .229 in 150 games but also teamed with Ken Hubbs at second to set the league doubleplay record for the time. He rebounded a bit in 1964 raising his average to .239, cranking out 12 home runs which doubled his previous high. It would be his high water mark.

With Don Kessinger waiting in the wings and ready for prime time, the Cubs dealt their 30 year old shortstop to Pittsburgh for Roberto Pena. The Bucs would need to shore up the infield due to an injury to Bill Mazeroski. Gene Alley was blossoming at short but played second in Maz's absence, opening the door for Rodgers to fill in at his natural position. Bob Baily was locked in at third when he wasn't playing the outfield. Rodgers played one game at second, and ended up filling in around the horn.

On the year he played in 75 games and has his best average over all at .287. He would help the Bucs compete for the pennant in 1965 and in 1966 before calling it a career after 1967. His 11-year career BA was .249.  He went on to play one year in Japan in 1969.

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.