Just reg'lr trivia?

[JohnU]

Reds got a pretty good pitcher out of the deal and were only a handful of years away from turning into a top franchise. Had Robby come along today, he's be making Pujols money and earning it.

Of course, most fans today aren't old enough to remember the trade. I remember it quite well (it was on my 19th birthday) and stood astonished for several days afterward, despite the assurances that Pappas and Baldshun and Simpson would all be quite valuable to the Reds. Pappas finally ended up with the Cubs. A bit of trivia there ... in 1970, the first year of the BRM, they were shut out only once that season -- by Pappas.

The expectations for Robinson were predictable though nobody could ever anticipate a Triple Crown.

I always read that Robby was not especially happy with race relations in Cincy and I suspect that may have had more impact on the deal than his "elderly" status. A bit of grumbling from some less tolerant sorts about him and Pinson in the same outfield. I never really read much about this other than what I've heard over the decades.

My favorite Robby moment was him taking Koufax over the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth with 2 on base to win. Crosley was SRO that night and we were SRO.

 

[JohnU]

The only shutout against the Reds in 1970

July 23, 1970 Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com

Trying to find the box for the HR that Robby hit off Koufax but I don't recall the year.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Yep, race played a factor in the Robinson trade. Gotta remember, the guy that was at the center of all that was Curt Flood. Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson were less controversial, but no less concerned with racism, human rights and white people telling them what or what not they could do. Cincinnati may have been on the Underground Railroad, but it was right next door to the Jim Crow south. Reds bigoted brass didn't want Flood type trouble, and they needed a pitcher or two. The comments about Robbie being an "old 30" were interpreted by some as being a "lazy" player, and not coincidentally, as a top player, someone that black politics sought to leverage their goals. Although the cause was a worthy one, it wasn't perceived as good business to all at the time. The Dodgers saw it otherwise, but NY and LA were much more cosmopolitan than Cincinnati, still are, but in the 60's it was more pronounced.

Their plan was to unload a future problem for improved pitching, and wound up allowing Robindon to thrive in a city (Baltimore) that had plenty of pitching to spare. It was a small minded result from small minded people.

 

[JohnU]

Listening to the announcers last night, all blathery over the low ERA's of the pitchers ... relief pitchers should have low ERA's ... that's the nature of relief pitching. But I got to thinking about the top relievers in recent history ... recalled Dennis Eckersley. I looked up his lifetime numbers.

Amazing. A 20-game winner in 1978.

And in 1990, the best relief pitcher in MLB. Of course, Thigpen had 57 saves that year for the White Sox. Eck was with a winner. (Oh, who did win that W.S.)

Dennis Eckersley Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com

 

[BigDDude]

Listening to the announcers last night, all blathery over the low ERA's of the pitchers ... relief pitchers should have low ERA's ... that's the nature of relief pitching. But I got to thinking about the top relievers in recent history ... recalled Dennis Eckersley. I looked up his lifetime numbers.

Amazing. A 20-game winner in 1978.

And in 1990, the best relief pitcher in MLB. Of course, Thigpen had 57 saves that year for the White Sox. Eck was with a winner. (Oh, who did win that W.S.)

Dennis Eckersley Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com

Shows you what little I know. I had always thought that Thigpen was truly a 1 year wonder. Turns out, that was not the case. More like 1 great year, 3 really good years, and, 5 "no so much" years.

 

[JohnU]

Less a question than a query:

Did Maury Wills ever sing the National Anthem? It seems to me that he did.

 

[JohnU]

What amazed me about Eckersley was that he stuck around for 24 years. Some of that time with some pretty good A's teams but mainly what impressed me was his ability to reinvent himself. You would be hard-pressed to find brain-dead managers today who would be willing to let that happen at the top level. He'd have to go back to the minors first.

 

[chico ruiz]

curt flood. some of his stories from the south atlantic league & carolina league, while with reds farm teams, are terrifying and were perpetrated to be dehumanizing by design (institutionalized). i understand exactly how that would instill more contempt for the reserve clause in the african-american player. more, baseball's anti-trust exemption stunk to high heaven for more than 50 years. how can a owner continue to have the rights to a man after a contract has been completed? it wasn't the money; it was the concept. 1507 is 100% correct, and then some. the owners had little, or no, foresight. if they had, baseball might very well be in a better place right now.

 

[JohnU]

The original baseball owners were a clanny little club and used their baseball teams in much the same way a horse owner would use his stable. Playing ball for money was considered a luxury in an era when a good job was being a coal miner.

The attitude peaked with the nonsense called the "Black Sox."

Landis' ruling on that muddling mistake allowed abuse of the system to become much more pronounced. The owners had won a big victory. Earlier attempts at breaking the grip were the Union Association and the pretty-good Federal League that inspired the construction of Wrigley Field.

Had those teams been better-financed, they'd have survived. Doubtful the system would have changed.

I recall the Flood hearings and, oddly, a lot of fans at the time hoped he'd fail ... he was "uppity" by all accounts. A damned good baseball player. Had the Reds kept him, no telling how good they'd have been.

I read a book years ago called "The Lords of Baseball" that suggested owners had two sets of brains -- the brains it took to become rich enough to own a team, and the brains it took to blunder through their fairyland. The owners who succeeded in the early days are -- yep -- the ones we grouse about today:

The Yankees and the Cardinals.

 

[BigDDude]

Less a question than a query:

Did Maury Wills ever sing the National Anthem? It seems to me that he did.

I have no idea. I know Jose Lima did in his short stint with the Dodgers. The reason I know is that there was a picture of him doing it, and, standing next to him was his wife.

With a huge and memorable rack.

 

[JohnU]

A couple of bombs bursting in air, huh?

 

[BigDDude]

A couple of bombs bursting in air, huh?

I remember SO MUCH wanting to console her after his passing........



BAZINGA!!!!

 

[JohnU]

I suspect she's been consoled lately.

 

[BigDDude]

I suspect she's been consoled lately.

Of course she is. Not withstanding the fact that I could not afford her, but still..........

 

[Redsfan1507]

I heard some rare wisdom from a lady with similar anatomy once, sypathetic to the human male condition; that we men "spend 9 months trying to get out of a woman's body, and the rest of their lives trying to get back in".

Pretty much sums it up.

 

[BigDDude]

I heard some rare wisdom from a lady with similar anatomy once, sypathetic to the human male condition; that we men "spend 9 months trying to get out of a woman's body, and the rest of their lives trying to get back in".

Pretty much sums it up.

True. So true. However, the "entry fee" increases exponentially as the woman's dress size in question falls.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I'd say the ex-Ms. Lima either made an investment in her treasure "chest", prior to Lima, or he contributed to it after meeting her. If so, nice of him not to just leave her with the insurance and stuff, but give her the assets to make a similar living in the future.

I got some good financial advise as a young man-"Buy your cars and lease your women".

 

[JohnU]

I dated a woman once who had a rather impressive set of melons. I learned after awhile that once you get to know the woman, the melons are the least of your concerns. Ain't nothin' real these days except the tattoos.

 

[JohnU]

Weird stuff you find.

Four sluggers have put a ball over the center field wall in the Polo Grounds (Version IV). Those sluggers are Luke Easter of the ***** Leagues in 1948; Joe Adcock on April 29, 1953; Lou Brock on June 17, 1962; and Hank Aaron on June 18, 1962.

Distance: 484 feet.
I would never have guessed Lou Brock on this list.
And Aaron doing it a day later ... yes, those lovable '62 Mets.

 

[BigDDude]

Weird stuff you find.

Four sluggers have put a ball over the center field wall in the Polo Grounds (Version IV). Those sluggers are Luke Easter of the ***** Leagues in 1948; Joe Adcock on April 29, 1953; Lou Brock on June 17, 1962; and Hank Aaron on June 18, 1962.

Distance: 484 feet.
I would never have guessed Lou Brock on this list.
And Aaron doing it a day later ... yes, those lovable '62 Mets.

This takes me back to the days of Sesame Street - "Three of the things belong together. Three of these things are quite the same......"


Maybe a Nor'Easter blew through the day Brock hit his???