Baseball History

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1936 the results of the first HOF elections are announced. There were five players named to the Hall and just as is the case now there were Baseball writers then who travel on a different plane than most when deciding if a player is worthy for the Hall of Fame. In that first vote there were 226 who voted and following each player’s name is the number of voters, who for whatever reason, felt they were not worthy of the Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb (4), Honus Wagner (11), Babe Ruth (11), Christy Mathewson (21) and Walter Johnson (35). A quick guess is that eating hot dogs was held against you.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=firs...A%2F%2Faarontallent.com%2F%3Fp%3D2544;666;667

It was 57 years ago on this date in 1958 that 8-time All-Star and 3-time MVP Roy Campanella was injured in an automobile accident at about 3:34 a.m. returning home from his job in a liquor store…this being in the days when ballplayers worked in the off-season. Approaching an S-turn in the road in Glen Cove, Long Island his car failed to turn right into the turn and instead when straight ahead and hit a telephone pole and turned over on its side. Why the car failed to execute the turn to the right is not known and assumed to be that it hit a patch of ice on the road. Campanella was paralyzed from the shoulders down, underwent several hours of surgery and was expected to fully recover. He did not although he did regain some use in his arms through rehabilitation.

http://explorepahistory.com/odocument.php?docId=1-4-9

Bill Voiselle was born on this date in 1919. He spent 9 seasons pitching in the Majors and although it was at the height of WWII he led the NL, as a rookie, with 312 Innings Pitched and 161 Strikeouts and won 21 games to boot. However, it’s the number 96 that remains his claim to fame. This is what Voiselle wore on the back of his Boston Braves uniform, a tribute to the tiny town of Ninety-Six, South Carolina where he was raised and spent most of his life.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=bill...logspot.com%2F2013_01_01_archive.html;498;693

Most things in baseball are arguable or a matter of opinion. Was Bud Selig a good Commissioner? Would you rather have Stanton or Trout playing in your outfield? Who was a better pitcher Maddux or Clemens? Should Tim Raines be in the Hall of Fame? However, once in a while there are some things that are for certain…for example, Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher on the face of the earth at this moment and has been for some time. With that said we’ll use Kershaw as a backdrop to something that took place on May 1, 1920. In those days (1914-1931) the Brooklyn Nine were known as the Brooklyn Robins out of respect to their affable Manager, Wilbert (Uncle Robbie) Robinson. It wouldn’t be until his tenure ended in 1931 that they would thereafter be known as the “Dodgers”. On that date the Robins are at Braves Field in Boston for the second of two games against the Braves. It ended up being the longest game in the ML history in terms of innings. The game went 26 innings and remarkably the two starting pitchers, Joe Oeschger for the Braves and Leon Cadore for the Robins went the distance throwing all 26 innings. The game was called after 26 innings due to darkness and ended in a 1-1 tie. The game was not suspended and finished later…it went into the books as a tie with all statistics counting. Of course, Oeschger and Cadore have the record for the most innings pitched in one game and I think it’s safe to say no one will challenge that record. Cadore, by the way, married the owner’s, Charles Ebbet, daughter.
Over the course of Kershaw’s 7 year career (yes, that long) he goes an average of 6 2/3 innings per start and faces 26 batters and throws 102 pitches. In that 1920 game Oeschger and Cadore went 26 innings and Oeschger faced 90 batters and Cadore a record 96 batters. Pitch counts weren’t kept in those days but you would have to think it must have been somewhere approaching 400 or so for each. The game took 3 hrs and 50 minutes to play. On May 8, 1984, the White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers played 25 innings and it holds the record for longest game in terms of time. It took the White Sox 8 hours and 6 minutes to beat the Brewers, 7-6.

May 1, 1920 Brooklyn Robins at Boston Braves Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

This and That:

Roy Cullenbine, who played from the late 1930s to the late 1940s primarily with the Tigers, was one of the best On-Base % players in the history of the Game. His lifetime OBP was .402. He was a decent hitter, .276 but his knack was walking. He holds the ML record for most consecutive games drawing a walk…22. He did it in 1947, his last season in the Big Leagues.

The strange career of Roy Cullenbine - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

Ty Cobb played 24 seasons and in his rookie season as a teenager hit a paltry .240 in only 41 games. He made up for it by never hitting under .316 in the next 23 seasons.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbty01.shtml

Players like Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose, Ted Williams and Babe Ruth hold the ML record by leading their League in Runs Scored in 3 consecutive seasons. No one has done it 4 years in a row but Mike Trout has a chance at doing so in 2015 after leading the AL in Runs Scored with 115 in 2014, the 3rd consecutive season he has done so.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/troutmi01.shtml

Trivia Question: (Answer Tomorrow )

The last ML pitcher to Win as many as 25 Games in a single season died in 2014. Do you know who it was?

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Lou Gehrig, #4 (There have now been over 150 MLB uniform numbers retired. Who was the first player to have his uniform # retired?)

https://www.google.ca/search?q=lou+...ED-4-Jersey-LAPEL-PIN-%2F121459741323;270;300

 

[Indrid Cold]

It was 57 years ago on this date in 1958 that 8-time All-Star and 3-time MVP Roy Campanella was injured in an automobile accident at about 3:34 a.m. returning home from his job in a liquor store…this being in the days when ballplayers worked in the off-season. Approaching an S-turn in the road in Glen Cove, Long Island his car failed to turn right into the turn and instead when straight ahead and hit a telephone pole and turned over on its side. Why the car failed to execute the turn to the right is not known and assumed to be that it hit a patch of ice on the road. Campanella was paralyzed from the shoulders down, underwent several hours of surgery and was expected to fully recover. He did not although he did regain some use in his arms through rehabilitation.

I hate to quibble, but that was actually Campy's own liquor store. The fact that the man would actually work in his own business still shows you how different things were then. I believe Shoeless Joe also bought a liquor store, although that was after being banned from baseball.

 

[67RedSox]

Indrid Cold, you're quite right on that point, thanks. The store was something Campanella invested in when he had his early success in Brooklyn after moving over from the Baltimore Elite Giants and working his way through the Dodger system. He had it at least as early as 1952 as you can find pictures of calendars for the store he produced for his customers...and perhaps before that. He worked there in the off-season but almost never at night. It was just bad luck he stayed in town that fateful Saturday I believe to do an interview which was postponed so he stayed at the store and closed it up. Here's the corner the store was on.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@40.8146...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sh42iX4_1729q-_P4Gdiu3w!2e0

 

[67RedSox]

The first Major League All-Star Game, a.k.a. Midsummer Classic, was played on July 6, 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. It was initiated at the insistence of Arch Ward, a sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, to coincide with the celebration of Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition…or better known as the Chicago’s World Fair. All-Star teams were originally selected by the Managers and the fans for the 1933 and 1934 games. From 1935 through 1946, the Manager of each All-Star squad selected the entire team and in 1947 fans were given the opportunity to vote on the eight starting position players. All went well until 1957 when fans of the Cincinnati Reds stuffed the ballot box and elected a Red to every position except 1B where Stan Musial of the Cardinals was chosen…nothing new for him as he had been an All-Star every season back to 1943 except in 1945 when he did not play due to Military Service. The Reds elected were…Johnny Temple-2B, Roy McMillan-SS, Don Hoak-3B, Ed Bailey-C, Frank Robinson-LF, Gus Bell-CF and Wally Post-RF. How dare those Cincinnati fans be such homers. Commissioner Ford Frick appointed Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves to substitute for Reds players Gus Bell and Wally Post and on this date in 1958 announces fans will no longer vote for the All-Stars. The teams will be selected by Major League players and coaches. In an attempt to modernize the marketing of Baseball, fan balloting for the starting eight was restored for the 1970 game and, of course, since then there has been no evidence of fans in any particular city voting for their own players.

1957 All-Star Game

On this date in 1923 the Boston Red Sox continue to feed the NY Yankees by trading Herb Pennock to them. Over the next 11 seasons Pennock, who was never an ace, would nevertheless become one of the pillars of the Yankees’ pitching staff winning 162 games, 3 World Series Rings and never losing a game in the Fall Classic. The 160 pound southpaw was impossible to fluster on the mound so pitching in high pressure situations didn’t faze him a bit.
Retiring after the 1934 season Pennock stayed in the Game although he didn’t need to work since he was independently wealthy, always had been but he did coach and looked after the Boston Red Sox Minor League system. In 1943 Bob Carpenter bought the Philadelphia Phillies and came knocking asking Pennock to be his GM…he accepted and remained at the helm until this date in 1948 when attending a League meeting in New York he collapsed into Carpenter's arms after passing through the revolving doors to the lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. He died two hours later of a stroke at the age of 53. In the weeks following his death he would be elected to the Hall of Fame. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included Pennock in their book, The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.

Can't Have Too Many Cards: Blow Out the Candles February 10

If you’re a Dodgers’ fan than the name Sandy Amoros needs no introduction. If you’re not a Dodgers’ fan then it was his glove and Johnny Podres’ magnificent pitching in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series that led the Dodgers to a 2-0 win in that game and their first and only World Series win in all their years in Brooklyn. Amoros was born on this date in 1930. It wasn’t too long after leaving the Game in 1960 that one of the heroes of the Dodgers only World Series victory fell on hard times. First Fidel Castro confiscated his ranch in Cuba and refused him permission to leave the country because he refused to accept the job of Manager of the Cuban national baseball team. Once allowed to leave the country he was a broken man living in poverty and with diabetes robbing him of his health. He would die in Miami in 1992 at the age of 62. The brilliant catch Amoros made off the bat of Yogi Berra in the 6th inning of Game 7 was really more spectacular than it looks on highlight reels and were never have been made if Amoros wasn’t left-handed. Often forgotten is that Amoros’ quick thinking after the catch resulted in a throw back to the infield to complete a double-play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Li5QM_cxPg

Baseball History in 1955: Next Year at Last

This and That:

In 1969 Kenny Holtzman of the Cubs throws a No-Hitter against the Braves…the oddity of his performance is that he did not strike-out a single batter in the game.

August 19, 1969 Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

During World War II, the U.S. military designed a grenade to be the size and weight of a baseball, since “any young American man should be able to properly throw it.”

https://www.google.ca/search?q=wwII...Fwww.inert-ord.net%2Fusa03a%2Fusa2%2F;350;381

In the 1950s Richie Ashburn of the Phillies led all of the Majors collecting 1,875 basehits. He was also pretty good at hitting spectators. On August 17, 1957 Alice Roth, wife of a Philadelphia Baseball sportswriter, decides to take in a ballgame with her two grandchildren. Ashburn, known as one of the best pitch-spoilers in baseball history, lined a foul along the 3rd Base side right at Mrs. Roth. Unluckily, she was paying more attention to her grandsons than the game and didn’t see the ball coming. It struck her directly in the face and broke her nose. As medical personnel rushed to take care of the bleeding and dazed Mrs. Roth, the umpires called time. After she was attended to for a short while, play resumed. The next pitch came in and Ashburn sent another foul ball to the left side that hit Alice…while she was lying on a stretcher being carried out of the section.

http://www.billy-ball.com/2010/04/d...-ashburns-foul-ball-not-an-april-fools-story/

Trivia Question: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Can you name the only player to collect at least 230 basehits in a single season, 1970 – present who later managed a team to a World Series Championship.

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Bob Welch, 27-6 in 1990. (The last ML pitcher to Win as many as 25 Games in a single season died in 2014. Do you know who it was? )

 

[67RedSox]

Baseball can be perplexing at times. We all know the greats of Baseball like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby or Jimmie Foxx even though they played long before our time. We can also list off dozens of journeyman ballplayers who might have made it to the Majors for a cup of coffee but we remember them anyway for whatever reason…perhaps as a 12 year old we had them as a baseball card. There are players we know who were neither Baseball greats nor journeymen because they enjoyed a moment or two of glancing fame like Johnny Vander Meer or Harvey Haddix. Then there are Baseball greats who we know nothing about other than some vague recollection of having seen their name here and there. 18,408 players have graced the Major League Baseball diamonds over time and for me one of those vague names from this group of thousands is Amos Rusie. I couldn’t say what teams he played for, what position he played or when he played other than it must have been before the Live Ball Era began in 1920. Yet, the guy is in the Hall of Fame and is one of the players that gave us baseball in the form we know it. It was on this date in 1977 he was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame along with Al Lopez, long-time catcher and White Sox Manager and Joe Sewell, the guy who struck out about as often as no-hitters were thrown.
As for Amos Rusie… think Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan or any other pitcher who would make batters’ knees buckle at the plate because that’s the sort of pitcher he was. He had a 10-season career in the National League (NL), which consisted of one season with the Indianapolis Hoosiers in 1889, eight with the New York Giants from 1890 to 1898, and one with the Cincinnati Reds in 1901. The velocity of his fastball was unknown, but it has been estimated that he threw it in the mid- to upper 90s. He led the League in strikeouts five times, and won 20 or more games eight times. He didn’t have good control of his pitches, leading the League in walks five times and being seventh all-time among the career pitching leaders in that category. In 1890 he walked 289, the all-time single-season record. Rusie's blinding fastball so terrified batters standing just fifty feet from the mound that in 1893 the National League and American Association ( forerunner of the AL ) officials moved the pitcher's box back to sixty feet six inches, where it has stayed ever since. Extending the pitching distance to 60’ 6” for the 1893 season did not hurt Rusie. In fact, it made his curveball more effective. He won 33, 36, and 23 games the next three years and led the League in Shutouts each year. The greater distance brought his strikeouts down to about 200 each year, but he still led the League. Rusie threw so hard that his catcher with the Giants, Dick Buckley, said he put a sheet of lead wrapped in a handkerchief and a sponge in his mitt when he caught Rusie. Once the toast of New York City his life after baseball was at the other end of the spectrum as he lived in virtual obscurity finally retiring to Auburn, Washington, a suburb of Seattle where he died in 1942, thirty-five years before he was recognized and elected to the HOF.

Amos Rusie Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

https://www.google.ca/search?q=amos...nl%2Fnygiantsb%2Fnygiantsbimages.html;175;250

84 and 99 years ago respectively, Ernie Banks and Jackie Robinson were born. Banks on this date in 1931 and Robinson on this date in 1919. It’s a popular birthday for Hall of Famers as Nolan Ryan was born on this date in 1947.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=erni...um-remembers-the-great-ernie-banks%2F;600;300

https://www.google.ca/search?q=jack...ust-jackie-jackie-robinson-facts%2F;1004;1024

https://www.google.ca/search?q=nola...-shares-photo-of-jerry-grote-video%2F;900;600

This and That:

Mike Marshall holds the NL record for Most Appearances in a season with 106. Do you know who holds the AL record…if you said the same Mike Marshall with 90 you would be correct.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marshmi01.shtml

Red Barrett of the Boston Braves holds the record for the fewest pitches thrown in a 9 inning Complete Game…58, when he beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 on August 10, 1944 in a game that took 1 hr and 15 minutes.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN194408100.shtml

On April 30, 1967 the Detroit Tigers put 14 men on base against the Baltimore Orioles but that didn’t stop them from being no-hit. Steve barber threw 8 2/3 innings of no-hit ball before Steve Barber came in to relief him for the last out and preserve the no-hitter. The Orioles combined no-hitter set the record for allowing the most baserunners in a no-hitter. The Tigers collected 10 walks, 2 hit batsmen and two men got on by way of errors.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL196704301.shtml

Three players have had multiple seasons where they hit 40 or more HRs and struck out fewer than 40 times. Ted Kluszewski leads the way having done it 3 times, Johnny Mize and Lou Gehrig each did it twice.

Baseball Trivia ( Answer Tomorrow )

In 1931 Frankie Frisch became the first of eight switch-hitters to win the National League MVP Award. Jimmy Rollins in 2007 was the last to do so. It’s a much rarer feat in the American League. Mickey Mantle did it three times in 1956, 1957 and 1962 and only one other switch-hitter has done so…it was done since Mantle. Who is the switch-hitting MVP’er, now retired who needs 3 fingers for his World Series Rings.

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question is…Joe Torre-230 base hits, 1970. (Can you name the only player to collect at least 230 base hits in a single season, 1970 – present, who later managed a team to a World Series Championship.)

 

[67RedSox]

During the New York and later San Francisco Giants first 100 years of existence as a National League team they had four players who won NL MVP honours. Three are Hall of Famers in the personages of Willie McCovey, Willie Mays and Carl Hubbell. Chances are the fourth is a trifle more obscure…it’s Larry Doyle. John McGraw who was the Manager of the Giants for 31 years from 1902 until 1932 when, plagued by health problems, he had to resign won 10 NL Pennants and 3 World Series so he knew a little something about the Game. After Doyle played 69 games as a rookie for the Giants McGraw saw enough in him to make him the Captain of the Giants in his first full season in the Majors at the age of 21. Doyle would play 14 seasons, over 1,700 ML games and everyone was with the Giants and not a single inning at any position other than 2B. Doyle was an MVP in 1912.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=larr...giants_slugger__mvp_sea-lot5438.aspx;781;1000

To say Ty Cobb was not well liked by his contemporaries would be an understatement. Part of that is attributable to how he played with reckless abandon especially on the base paths. Below are a couple of pictures of Cobb running the bases with his spikes leading the way. It was on this date in 1874 Harry Bemis was born. He was a small player even by the standards of when he played, 1902-1909, all with Cleveland in the American League. He was a catcher to boot and would have crossed paths with Cobb at home plate many times. Bemis’ career was non-descript except for one run-in he had with Cobb. In June 1907, Bemis was run over at home plate by Ty Cobb. The Tigers' star was trying for an inside-the-park home run and knocked Bemis down, jarring the ball loose in the process. Bemis then picked the ball up and beat Cobb over the head with it before he was restrained by the umpire; Bemis was also ejected from the game. Cobb later claimed that Bemis was one of only two intentional spiking targets in his entire career.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=ty+c...because-ty-cobb-goes-in-high-and-hard;630;468

https://www.google.ca/search?q=ty+c...edu%2Fpubaffs%2Fjackie%2Fearly1c.html;678;514

https://www.google.ca/search?q=harr..._the_trade__catcher_sho-lot5629.aspx;1000;764

“Strength up the middle”… we hear it all the time in Baseball. Its importance cannot be overstated. This includes the catcher, shortstop and the center fielder ( O.K., we’ll throw in the second baseman as well ). All three positions are difficult defensive assignments. Center fielders are responsible for covering the largest area of a baseball field. The position requires speed, good judgment, a quick first step and an explosive acceleration. Defense is so important teams are sometimes willing to suffer with a poor hitting, but defensively sound center fielder. Teams lucky enough to find one who can hit as well as field have something truly special a la a Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Kirby Puckett, Tris Speaker or Oscar Charleston if you want to dip into greatness from the ***** Leagues. Among the greatest defensive outfielders I have ever seen, Paul Blair, was born on this date in 1944. When you think of great CF’ers who played shallow and could go back and catch any ball that stayed in the park Tris Speaker and Willie Mays would likely top that list but Blair would be right there. Champions win and Blair won 4 World Series Rings in his time, 2 with Baltimore and 2 with the Yankees. Blair’s won 8 Gold Gloves patrolling CF and every single one of those was deserved. If you look at the 1966 World Series you’ll see the Orioles won the Series sweeping it in four straight games with the Dodgers held scoreless in the entire Series after the 3rd inning of Game 1. At first glance you’d say a terribly lopsided Series. In fact, it wasn’t…it was another of those great World Series that the 1960s gave us. Games 3 and 4 were both 1-0 games with the outcome in doubt until the last batter of the game. Blair’s 430’ Home Run was the only run scored in Game 3 and his over the wall catch of a Jim Lefebvre drive in the 8th inning preserved the 1-0 win for the Orioles in Game 4. Blair didn’t start Game 4…he came in as a defensive replacement in the 8th inning, as it turns out a genius move by Orioles Manager Hank Bauer. (By the way Willie Davis made just as great a catch, some might argue better, over the CF wall in the 4th inning of the game.)

https://www.google.ca/search?q=paul...repictureperfect.com%2Fsportspage.htm;708;565

This and That:

During his Major League career Bert Campaneris played in an amazing 11 No-Hitters.

John Olerud who had one of the sweetest swings in the history of the Game was anything but fleet afoot. In each of the 1997 and 2001 seasons he hit only 1 triple but they both happened to come in games when he also had a single, double and HR meaning he hit for the cycle. Talk about those triples coming at just the right time.

In 1950 Yogi Berra came to the plate 656 times and struck out a mere 12 times. Not bad, play every day and strike out only twice a month. Geez, I bet Adam Dunn could top that in just about any single game he played.

Maury Wills stole 535 bases in the 1960s. Lou Brock was closest to him at 387 and Luis Aparicio’s 342 rounded out the only other players to steal 300.

Bob Feller struck out 17 batters when he was 17. Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters when he was 20. That's the only two times in ML history that a pitcher has struck out his age. Kershaw will be 27 in the 2015 season…what da ya think, can he do it?

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

It won’t get you into the Hall of Fame but it’s pretty neat just the same…Can you name the only player to play for two different ML teams on the same day and get a hit for each of those teams. It happened in 1982.

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question is…Vida Blue, 1971 MVP. (In 1931 Frankie Frisch became the first of eight switch-hitters to win the National League MVP Award. Jimmy Rollins in 2007 was the last to do so. It’s a much rarer feat in the American League. Mickey Mantle did it three times in 1956, 1957 and 1962 and only one other switch-hitter has done so…it was done since Mantle. Who is the switch-hitting MVP’er, now retired who needs 3 fingers for his World Series Rings.)

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1876 that the National League was formed with teams located in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hartford, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis. It was the beginning of Major League Baseball. The American Association was formed in 1882 as the second Major League but disbanded in 1891 although some teams in that League like the present day Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds have American Association roots. The American League was formed from the ashes of the Western league which was originally formed in 1885 and was granted Major League status in 1901 and has been both the National League’s rival and partner ever since. The Federal league operated as a third Major League but only briefly in 1914 and 1915. The Federal League left its mark on baseball history in the field now known as Wrigley Field, which was originally built for the Chicago Whales Federal League team.

Baseball History in 1876 National League by Baseball Almanac

Red Schoendienst was born on this date in 1923 making him 92 today. You would think that would make him one of the oldest living MLB players and he is…the 42nd oldest. One year ago today he was the 54th oldest living player. Hard to believe that someone who was playing in the Majors while WWII raged on 70 years ago is still around to talk about those days. The Cardinals were never a favourite team of mine but Schoendienst seemed like just one of those Baseball guys whether as a player or a manager you just couldn’t dislike.
By the way you have to be 88 or older to make the list of the 100 oldest living ballplayers. There are still 5 players who wore the uniform of the 1950 New York Yankees who are at least 88 years of age and still living…Booby Brown (3B) and Charlie Silvera ( C ) are 90, Yogi Berra (C ) is 89, Hank Workman (1B) will be 89 later this week, Don Johnson (P) is 88 and not to forget Whitey Ford who went 9-1 in his rookie season that year…but he’s a few years away from the 100 oldest list…he’s a kid at 84. Finally, the oldest living Red Sox player and the 7th oldest living MLB player, Bobby Doerr (96) who was playing 2B for the Red Sox when Lou Gehrig was still playing goes back the farthest as far as ML service is concerned…he was playing 78 years ago in 1937.

Red Schoendienst Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

1950 New York Yankees Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

This and That:

Dick Stuart, a.k.a. Dr. Strangeglove, a.k.a. Stonefingers, was the 1B for the World Series Champion Pirates in 1960. The following season, 1961, he slammed 35 HRs for the Pirates while Don Schwall was winning 15 games for the Red Sox and winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award. In 1962 they would be involved in a trade. In 1963 Stuart has a monster power year for the Red Sox hitting 42 HRs and leading the AL with 118 RBIs and became the first player to hit 30 HRs in a season in both the NL and AL. Seems funny it took that long to happen.

Dick Stuart - Dr. Strangeglove

A player hitting 2 HRs in the same inning has been done 26 times…the most recent was Edwin Encarnacion in 2013. Only two HOF’ers have managed this feat…Al Kaline and Joe DiMaggio.

Rare Feats | MLB.com: History

In the 1968 World Series St Louis Cardinals infielder Dal Maxvill went 0 for 22 after going 3 for 19 in the 1967 World Series. That’s what being a Gold Glove Shortstop will do for you.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=dal+...t%2Fan-action-shot-of-dal-maxvill%2F;672;1000

Pitchers, Rollie Fingers (114-118), Bruce Sutter (68-71) and Satchel Paige (28-31) are all in the HOF…the only three HOF’ers with a losing record, Post-1900.

In 1935 Chicago Cubs outfielder Augie Galan led the National League with 748 plate appearances and did not hit into a single double play. He did, however, hit into one triple play.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=augi...30-s-early-1940-s-action-shots-3.html;438;657

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Who is the only player to win a Batting Crown in three different decades?


The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Joel Youngblood, NY Mets and Montreal Expos. (Can you name the only player to play for two different ML teams on the same day and get a hit for each of those teams.)

https://www.google.ca/search?q=joel...2F762004%2Funderappreciated-giants-vo;320;449

 

[67RedSox]

There was a wedding on this date in 1897 but we’ll come back to that. Here are some names of very good hitters in the history of the Grand Old Game with their lifetime batting averages in brackets…a pretty impressive group of batsmen. Paul Waner (.333), Stan Musial (.331), Wade Boggs (.328), Rod Carew (.328), Honus Wagner (.328), Hugh Duffy (.326) and Joe DiMaggio (.325). They’re all Hall of Famers and hold 34 Batting Crowns among them. They are all just outside of the group of players who have the Top 25 Lifetime Batting Averages. Now, if I mention the name of John McGraw what do you think of…personally, I think of the long-time (31 years) Manager of the NY Giants who went to the World Series time after time after time. However, I suspect like many, I don’t think of John McGraw as the baseball player. In fact, he was an excellent player - certainly the best ever to become a Manager. Chances are his record as a player might have been enough to get him into the Hall of Fame as his lifetime Batting Average of .334 is among the Top 25 Lifetime Batting Averages and higher than any of the players listed above. As well, his Lifetime On-Base % mark of .466 is 3rd all-time behind only Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.
Back to that wedding in 1897…John McGraw marries Minnie R. Doyle. Hughie Jennings is Best Man‚ while Willie Keeler and Joe Kelley are groomsmen. Pretty impressive to think that the Groom, Best Man and both Groomsmen were all future Hall of Famers. I guess sometimes you are defined by the company you keep.

John McGraw Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

Baseball is a team game and it isn’t always the stars who are highly respected for their abilities. This guy is one of the most highly respected players, of our time, among teammates, the opposition and umpires. He’s the only player who played in the 1963, 1965 and 1968 World Series winning a Ring each time. He played in three of the four no-hitters Sandy Koufax pitched including his Perfect Game, which I consider the greatest pitched game in the history of MLB and not just because of Koufax tossing the perfecto but also because his mound opponent tossed a 1-hitter that day. He was Sparky Anderson’s 1B Coach in Detroit and won a 4th Ring in that position in 1984. Happy 80th Birthday to Dick Tracewski who was born on this date in 1935. A light hitting good fielding utility infielder who could play at either 2B, SS or 3B. For the record he considers the three best players he ever saw play the game to be 1) Sandy Koufax…nuff said, 2) Maury Wills who changed the game, bringing back the days of Ty Cobb, and 3) Al Kaline, the best all-around field player he’d ever seen and a five-tool player.

Dick Tracewski Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

Staying with birthdays, Live Oak Taylor was born on this date in 1851. He was a substitute outfielder with the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball's first all-professional team and played an unremarkable total of 67 games in the Majors but he’s worth a mention for his nickname alone.

Live Oak Taylor Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

It was 100 years ago, on this date in 1915, that the emery ball is banned in the American League. The Emery Ball is a pitch, "invented" by pitcher Russell Ford , which relies on scarring or roughening part of the baseball in order to achieve an unnatural break. Ford had discovered the effects of scarring the baseball in 1907 while warming up with batterymate Jeff Sweeney while both were playing for the Southern Association Atlanta Crackers. He experimented with the idea of scuffing the ball in 1909 and parlayed it into an astonishing season with the Jersey City Skeeters limiting batters in the Eastern League to a league low 5.6 H/9 innings.
Ford would manage to keep the emery ball a secret for nearly a decade due to the fact that he was a spitball pitcher as well as being discreet. He was brilliant as a New York rookie, going 26-6 in 1910. He followed with a 22-11 mark in 1911. The spitball was a legal pitch at the time and the exceptional break from the emery ball was merely seen as proof of Ford's excellence as a spitballer.
By 1913 a second pitcher, Cy Falkenberg, caught wind of Ford's method of success and used it to revive his career with the Cleveland Naps. However, Falkenberg was less discreet with his new-found secret. Coupled with facts that Falkenberg was a a thirty-three year old veteran when he debuted the pitch and that he was not a spitballer like Ford, the sharp, unnatural break was suspicious to opposing teams, notably pitcher Kid Gleason and Manager Clark Griffith.
Both Falkenberg and Ford would jump to the Federal League in 1914 and use the emery ball to great success, but Falkenberg left behind a number of Cleveland pitchers who had seen the emery stitched to his glove. From 1913 to 1915, there were "many pitchers were practicing it. There was a grand stampede for the emery ball." There was speculation that the entire Red Sox staff and several Yankee pitchers were using the pitch. Once the barn door was open all three of the Major Leagues took steps to ban its use.

Emery ball - BR Bullpen

https://www.google.ca/search?q=russ...dia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3ARuss_Ford.jpg;529;407

This and That:

While Ted Williams was busy hitting .406 and Joe DiMaggio was hitting in 56 straight games there was another player in the American League in 1941 quietly banging out hits…far more than either Williams or DiMaggio collected. Cecil Travis led the AL in 1941 with 218 base hits to DiMaggio’s 193 and Williams’ 185. Soon after the season ended the attack on Pearl Harbor took place and Travis was inducted into the Army and WWII would rob him of the next 4 years of baseball. He did return but by then his playing days were effectively over.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=ceci...4-photo-colorizations-sal1199-23.html;280;494

Of Hank Aaron's 755 home runs only one was inside-the-park. It was on May 10, 1967 off of Jim Bunning of the Phillies in Connie Mack Stadium…the 448th of his career. Aaron hit the HOF’er Bunning pretty good for average, .323 , but it was the only HR he hit off him in his career.

In 1904 the Boston Red Sox had 148 Complete Games…145 more than they did in 2014.

The most home runs by any one player in any one ball park is 323 by Mel Ott at the Polo Grounds in New York. Babe Ruth hit 259 at Yankee Stadium.

http://www.centerfieldmaz.com/2014/03/new-york-giants-hall-of-famer-mel-ott.html

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

In the “Fabulous Fifties” this pitcher had 202 Wins and 149 Losses (tied with Robin Roberts) both marks were the highest in the Majors for the decade. Who was the pitcher?

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…George Brett – 1976, 1980, 1990. ( Who is the only player to win a Batting Crown in three different decades? )

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1956 the Cy Young Award is established to honour the recently deceased Cy Young and will be awarded to the Majors outstanding pitcher. It would not be until 1967 that each League would have its own recipient. Denny McLain recorded the most Wins by any pitcher winning the Award with 31 in 1968. The fewest number of Wins was 2…Eric Gagne in 2003. In fact Gagne’s 2-3 record that year is the only time the Award has been won by a pitcher with a losing record.

Cy Young Award on Baseball Almanac

What’s the chances this would happen to today’s player…it was on this date in 1882 players players became responsible for carrying their own bats and uniforms on road trips. They were also required to purchase and keep clean 2 complete uniforms‚ including the white linen ties to be worn on the field at all times.

The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City and for about a year it was the tallest building in the World until the Empire State Building topped it in 1931. Buildings have gone higher in the years since but the distance from the tip of the antenna spire to the ground is still a very long way, in fact, it’s 1,046 feet. If you were to shinny to the top of the antenna spire with a baseball ball in hand and drop it holding on to the end of the yarn wrapping it the ball would hit the ground without fully unravelling…there would still be 61 feet of the 1,107 feet of yarn in the ball remaining.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=the+...ecture%2Fbeauxarts%2FBeaux-Arts3.html;382;640

https://www.google.ca/search?q=base...d.php%3F3886-Inside-A-Modern-Baseball;293;245

Center field is an iconic spot on a baseball field, a position played by legends such as Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. Additionally, some of baseball's iconic stadiums have featured distant center field fences, forcing the great centerfielders to cover plenty of ground. The longest HR distance in a ML ballpark was at the Polo Grounds, home of the New York Giants before they headed west. When the horseshoe-shaped stadium opened, it had a distance of 505 feet from home plate to the center field fence. Eventually, that distance was reduced to 483 feet, which was the longest distance of any Major League Baseball stadium. Next longest HR distance was in Yankee Stadium. When it opened in 1923, it had a gargantuan distance of 490 feet to center field. That distance was soon reduced to 461 feet and it remained at that distance through 1973, when the distance to the center field fence was drastically reduced to 408 feet during the stadium renovation project. Tiger Stadium opened in 1912 and served as the home of the Detroit Tigers through 1999. When the stadium opened, the distance from home plate to the center field fence was 467 feet. The Tigers ultimately reduced the distance to 440 feet. Currently, at 436’ I believe Minute Maid Park is the deepest in the Majors.
Four players hit the ball over the fence in dead center field at the Polo Grounds. Luke Easter did it in 1948, Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves accomplished the feat in 1953, Lou Brock of the Chicago Cubs did it in 1962 and Hank Aaron of the Braves also blasted the ball out in center field in 1962.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=polo...nn-state-football-in-new-york-city%2F;960;421

https://www.google.ca/search?q=earl...2F2010%2F11%2F10%2Fsweater-weather%2F;517;343

This and That:

On September 9, 1945 the last place Connie Mack managed Philadelphia Athletics host the St. Louis Browns in a doubleheader and defeat them 6-2 in the opener. It gets worse for the Browns. In the second game Dick Fowler tosses a no-hitter against them. For Fowler it would be his only Win of the season. By the way, Philadelphia played 42 doubleheaders that season.

In Game 5 of the 1959 World Series Billy Pierce outduelled Sandy Koufax for a 1-0 victory. The attendance for the game at the LA Memorial Coliseum was 92,706 or 11,784 more than the St. Louis Browns drew in attendance for the entire 1935 season…80,922.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=game...-in-exhibition-game-at-la-coliseum%2F;600;280

Home or away it didn’t matter to Stan Musial. In his career he collected 3,630 base hits. 1,815 at home and 1,815 on the road.

In 1966 the Los Angeles Dodgers were the best team in the National League winning the pennant with 95 Wins. Larry Jaster, a rookie, with the St Louis Cardinals led the NL in Shut Outs with 5. Oddly enough all five were against the same team, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

If you were born in 1957 or later you have never seen a World Series in which both the NL and AL Home Run Champs both played in. The last time it happened was 1956…who were the HR leaders that season?

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Warren Spahn. (In the “Fabulous Fifties” this pitcher had 202 Wins and 149 Losses (tied with Robin Roberts) both marks were the highest in the Majors for the decade. Who was the pitcher?)

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1934 the greatest HR hitter in the history of the Game was born in Mobile, Alabama. Happy 81st to Hank Aaron. Tony Oliva taught himself how to hit with stones with broom handles. Hank Aaron in the poorest of times in Mobile during the Depression taught himself how to hit by hitting bottle caps with broom handles. Humble beginnings sometimes bring out the best in people.
Aaron wore #44 for 22 of his 23 seasons in the Majors but in his rookie year of 1954 he wore #5. Other big boppers wore #44 like Willie McCovey who didn’t hit as many HRs as Aaron but might have hit the ball harder… scary when he connected, Reggie Jackson was known to hit one out here and there, Adam Dunn who either buried one in the grandstand or struck out, Cliff Johnson who only hit 196 in his career but if you needed a pinch-hit HR he was your guy, even Dick Tracewski who I mumbled about the other day wore #44 proudly. On April 8, 1974 in front of 53,775 fans in Atlanta, Aaron broke the Babe’s record of 714 HRs with a fourth-inning shot off the Dodgers Al Downing…and yes, Downing also wore #44.
Also, on this date in 1999…Aaron’s 65th birthday, MLB announces that in his honour each League's best hitter will be presented with an Award named after him…present at the announcement… President Bill Clinton, Ernie Banks and Reggie Jackson.

Hank Aaron Quotes

This HOF pitcher went 48-25, 2.05 ERA and 625 Innings Pitched one year and topped that the next year going 59-12, 1.38 ERA and in 73 Starts he had 73 Complete Games and 678 Innings Pitched. Some will argue he won 60 games that season (1884) perhaps even 61 but it’s likely that will ever be completely sorted out. Throughout his lifetime and well into the career of Cy Young, he was hailed as the “King of Pitchers.” Little known today the pitcher in question is Charley “Old Hoss” Radbourn. How he ever got a nickname including “Old” is a bit deceiving as it was on this date in 1897 he died at the “young” age of 42. Radbourn started his ML career in 1881 during the underhand pitching era. He tossed the ball from varying arm angles, possessed great control and changed speeds constantly. He was perhaps the most resourceful of all 19th century pitchers…and he wasn’t above doctoring the ball to gain an edge.
Not long after he retired he was accidentally shot in the face by a friend while hunting. He had stepped from behind a tree when his friend fired a shotgun. Radbourn lost sight in his left eye and received considerable damage to his face, including partial paralysis and some speech loss. Once a big, strong, good-looking athlete, his disfigurement weighed on him the rest of his life. His waning years were unpleasant. Because of his face and ill-health, he became somewhat of a recluse at his apartment. He suffered from the effects of the paresis of the eye and other ailments and drank heavily. During his last year, Radbourn had severe cognitive troubles, perhaps brain damage likely from syphilis. He was also subject to convulsions. Here’s a quote about him… "No better pitcher than Charley Radbourn ever lived. He was as near perfection as it was possible to find a man . . ." One thing for sure is that even if he wasn’t the best pitcher who ever lived he’s where he deserves to be…in Cooperstown.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=old+...2Bpitcher%26id%3D119074%26is_corp%3D0;429;648

It was on this date in 1921 the NY Yankees purchased 10 acres of property in the west Bronx. The land, purchased from the estate of William Waldorf Astor for $675,000, sat directly across the Harlem River from the Yankees' current Manhattan home, the Polo Grounds, which they shared unhappily with the landlord Giants of the NL League since 1913. The relationship between the Giants and their tenant crumbled after the 1920 season when Yankee attendance boosted by their new slugging sensation, Babe Ruth, doubled to 1,289,422. That was over 100,000 more than the Giants, who, in 1921, notified the Yankees to vacate the Polo Grounds. Yankee co-owners Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast l'Hommedieu Huston set out to build a spectacular ballpark of their own, Baseball's first triple-decked structure. With a capacity of 70,000, it would also be the first to be labeled a "stadium." The construction contract was awarded to New York's White Construction Co. on May 5, 1922 with the edict that the job must be completed "at a definite price" ($2.5-million) and by Opening Day 1923. Incredibly, it was. In only 284 working days, Yankee Stadium was ready for its inaugural game on April 18, 1923 vs. the Boston Red Sox. Babe Ruth christened his new home with a three-run homer to cap a four-run third inning as the Yankees coasted to a 4-1 win. Because it was widely recognized that Ruth's tremendous drawing power made the new stadium possible, it would immediately become known as "The House That Ruth Built." Later that season, the Stadium hosted the first of 33 World Series and the Yankees won their first World Championship over their former landlord, the Giants.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=firs...youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrZn1qCwMqLQ;480;360

Don Hoak was born on this date in 1928. He played 11 seasons in the Majors, 1954-1964 and most will remember him as the Pirates 3rd Baseman on their World Championship team in 1960 but few remember he was also the 3rd Baseman for the Dodgers in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series in which the Dodgers beat the Yankees 2-0 to win their only World Series. Sadly, Hoak would die in 1969 at the age of 41 when he had, not a heart attack, but acute coronary occlusion (blocked artery) pursuing the thief who was stealing his brother-in-law’s car.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=don+....info%2F1960sBaseball_PP_DonHoak.html;385;275

This and That:

Hall Of Famer Eddie Matthews is the only Brave to play for them in all three cities… Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta.

There has only been one no-hitter in the history of Camden Yards in Baltimore. It was by Hideo Nomo. There has only been one no-hitter in the history of Coors Field in Denver. It was by Hideo Nomo.

In 1979 Willie Wilson of the Kansas City Royals hit six home runs, five of which were inside the park.

In 1972 Sandy Koufax became the youngest player ever elected to the Hall Of Fame, he was 36. Wow, he’s been in the Hall for 43 years or it’s been almost half a century since he last pitched.

Lou Brock never stole home during his MLB career.

Baseball Trivia : ( Answer Tomorrow )

Who is the only pitcher to win a World Series game in each of the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s.


The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Duke Snider and Mickey Mantle. (If you were born in 1957 or later you have never seen a World Series in which both the NL and AL Home Run Champs both played in. The last time it happened was 1956…who were the HR leaders that season?)

 

[67RedSox]

Well, how could we not lead off with today with anyone but the Babe who was born on this date in 1895 in Baltimore. Babe might tell you it was 1894 but for now he was born on February 6, 1895, 120 years ago. Since I can’t say anything about Ruth that everyone doesn’t already know let me just say this…Babe Ruth stole Home more often than Rickey Henderson, Lou Brock, Tim Raines, Luis Aparicio and Maury Wills combined did. Who says eating hot dogs during games is bad for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXLzWVdtLns

Providence is the capital and largest city in Rhode Island. It’s also one of the oldest cities in America as it dates back 379 years to 1636. The first Baptist Church in America and Brown University are there and Babe Ruth was there, briefly in 1914, on his way to the Boston Red Sox. It was on this date in 1878 Providence Grays becomes a member of the National League and would be a Big League city for 8 seasons. The crowning glory for the Grays is that in 1884 they defeated the New York Metropolitans to win the first “World Series” ever played. Although called the “World Series” it’s not recognized as a World Series as we know it today. Old Hoss Radbourn who I rambled on a bit about yesterday played in Providence for the Grays and set the MLB record for Wins by a pitcher with 59 in 1884 when the Grays went to, and won, that “World Series”. Although ML Baseball ended in Providence 130 years ago it still has a spot in the history of the National League and was there for the League when its existence was a bit wobbly and needed a little help.

1878 Providence Grays season - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1884 Providence Grays season - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On this date in 1962 the Phillies announce they are retiring Robin Roberts' uniform #36 when his new club, the Yankees, visits Clearwater to play Philadelphia in a March spring exhibition game. It will mark the first time that a uniform number has been retired in the 79-year history of the franchise. Other than Robert’s #36 and of course Jackie Robinson’s #42 the Phillies have retired 4 other uniform numbers. #1-Richie Ashburn, #14-Jim Bunning, #20-Mike Schmidt and #32-Steve Carlton.
Incidentally, only one other player has had uniform #36 retired…the Giants have retired uniform #36 in honour of Gaylord Perry who tossed for them for the first 10 seasons of his ML career.

Robin Roberts | SABR

Smoky Burgess was born on this date in 1927. Most won’t remember Smoky but he did play 18 years in the Majors, 1949-1967 and was a 6-time All-Star. Those who do remember him will so for one of these reasons…1) he was the catcher for the 1960 Pirates and hit .333 in the memorable World Series that year against the Yankees that Bill Mazeroski won with a 9th inning, Game 7 walk-off HR. Smokey played in 5 games in that Series and the Pirates won 4 of those games. In the two games he wasn’t behind the plate the Pirates lost 12-0 and 10-0. 2) he was likely the slowest man in the Majors during his entire 18 year career, or 3) He could flat out hit…and just about any pitcher in the Game. His lifetime BA was .295 and in 1954 he had the highest batting average in the NL at .368 but because he had just under 400 plate appearances so he didn’t qualify. He was a pinch-hitter extraordinaire finishing his career with a then record 145 pinch-hits later surpassed by Manny Mota, Mark Sweeney and Lenny Harris. Guys like Smoky should never be forgotten.

Black and Gold: 1960 Pirates: Where are they now?

This and That:

How can you not love Baseball. In 1990 both the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins finished in last place, so far back in the standings they were out of contention before April was over. Guess who played in the World Series the following year and gave us one of the greatest World Series ever played.

Whitey Ford was as tough a left-hander to steal a base against as they come. During the 1961 season Whitey Ford pitched 283 innings and not a single player stole a base while he was on the mound regardless of who was catching. Only three players even attempted. Willie Tasby was thrown out by Yogi Berra, Danny O'Connell was tossed out by Johnny Blanchard and Luis Aparicio by Elston Howard.

Coors Field is Baseball’s biggest field at 2.66 acres about 1/3rd of an acre larger than the smallest, Fenway Park. The average ML ballpark is about 2 ½ acres.

Harvey Kuenn made the final out of two no-hitters, both against Dodgers’ ace Sandy Koufax. On May 11, 1963, Kuenn made the final out of Koufax’s no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants. On September 9, 1965, Kuenn struck out to end Koufax’s perfect game against the Chicago Cubs.

27 Major Leaguers homered in their final at-bat in the Majors…24 in the National League and 23 in the American League. 2 of those 27 ended up in the HOF…Ted Williams and Mickey Cochrane. There have also been 2 HOF’ers who homered in their first MLB at-bat…Hoyt Wilhelm, a pitcher and Earl Averill.

Hank Aaron scored 2,174 runs in his career…Babe Ruth scored 2,174 runs in his career.

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Stan Musial did it! Duke Snider did it! Can you name the only other player in the National League to hit a HR in every season from 1948 to 1964…He’s a HOF’er but didn’t get there because of his HR hitting.

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Jim Palmer – 1966, 1970, 1971 and 1983 (Who is the only pitcher to win a World Series game in each of the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s.)

 

[67RedSox]

On this date in 1958 the Brooklyn Dodgers officially become the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the Giants following the Pacific Coast League already hurt by access to ML Baseball on television was dealt another blow. As a result, three of the PCL's flagship teams (the Los Angeles Angels, the Hollywood Stars and the San Francisco Seals) were immediately forced to relocate to smaller markets. The League never recovered from these blows. The Pacific Coast League reverted to Triple-A classification in 1958, and soon diminished in the public eye to nothing more than another Minor League.

Dem Brooklyn Bums Go West | City of Smoke

Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie was born on this date in 1874. He was the American League’s first star. His .426 Batting Average in 1901 is the Post-1900 single season record. He was a 5 time AL Batting Champ, Triple Crown winner and finished his career with 3,252 base hits the 3rd player after Cap Anson and Honus Wagner to achieve that mark. To understand just how significant Lajoie was how many players have had a MLB team named after them…in 1903 Cleveland renamed its team the Naps in his honour and it was known as such for a dozen years until it finally adopted the nickname of the “Indians” after his departure.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=nap+...Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FNap_Lajoie;744;546

This and That:

Casey Stengel and Walter Alston are both in the Hall of Fame primarily due to their success as ML Managers. Head-to-Head ( thanks to Stengel’s years with the Mets ) Alston enjoyed a 64-19 edge in game wins.

If you lived in Fresno and wanted to watch a MLB game live you could travel a little under 200 miles north to San Francisco or Oakland or a little over 200 miles south to Los Angeles to see the Dodgers or Angels ( sorry Anaheim ). If you were from Fresno and wanted to see two Fresno natives start a game against each other you would have to do two things, 1) travel 2,915 miles by car or 2,457 miles by plane to New York City to watch Tome Seaver and his Mets host Jim Maloney and his Reds. 2) You would have to time travel back to July 28, 1969 because that’s the only time two starting pitchers from Fresno faced off against each other. Spoiler alert, if you make that trip….Maloney beat Seaver, 5-3.
Maloney is one of those great, hard throwing pitchers that has faded from the memories of most MLB fans. Roberto Clemente who hit against all those great 1960s power pitchers had the least success against Maloney and said he could throw as hard as any pitcher he faced.

1960s Baseball - Player Profile - Jim Maloney

The NY Yankees went 312 games, two years…August 3, 1931 to August 2, 1933 without being shutout and that’s a record. I guess having Hall of Famers like Ruth, Gehrig, Dickey, Lazzeri, Combs and Sewell in your line-up helps.

Joe Dobson was a one of those very good but not great pitchers winning teams seem to have. Joe Dobson was just that for the Red Sox throughout the 1940s when he wasn’t wearing an Army uniform. On April 30, 1950 the Philadelphia Athletics visit Fenway Park and make it easy for Dobson as the Red Sox beat the A’s 19-0. (Incidentally, the game only took 2:11 to play). On June 7th the Browns come to play the Red Sox at Fenway and the Red Sox make it easy for Dobson again as the Red Sox win 20-4. Just to show they weren’t playing favourites the next day the Red Sox beat the Browns, 29-4. That marks the last time a team has scored at least 20 runs in back-to-back games.

In the six seasons 1965-1970 Bob Gibson was a 20 Game winner 5 times and the only year he wasn’t was in 1967 when he broke his leg. In a game against the Pirates on July 15th a liner off the bat of Roberto Clemente caromed off Gibson’s right shin. Gibson pitched to three more batters before his leg finally snapped just above the ankle. The episode cemented Gibson’s reputation as a competitive, gutsy player. Two weeks before that fateful start Gibson may have had his worst pitching performance of that magnificent 6 year run. In a game against the Giants Gibson can’t get out of the 1st inning. The first four batters touch him up for hits. Batting 5th is the ever scary Willie McCovey and with 1st Base open he gets an intentional walk before the 6th, 7th and 8th place hitters touch him up for three more hits…8 batters faced, all reach base and 7 score. Exit Bob Gibson…he would have to wait for his next start to redeem himself. Four days later the good hitting Reds come to St. Louis and Gibson is ready mowing down the first 12 batters he faces, striking out 9 of them. One of my favourite Gibson stories ( Jim Ray Hart is my favourite ) involves Ron Fairly and I’ll let Gibson tell it himself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF1NCyYg0T8

Baseball Trivia : ( Answer Tomorrow )

You’re good if you get either one of these…The NY Yankees in their history have copped 22 MVP Awards. Can you name the only pitcher to win the Award? OR The NY Yankees have copped 5 Cy Young Awards. Can you name the first Yankee pitcher to win a Cy Young Award?

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question… Warren Spahn. ( Stan Musial did it! Duke Snider did it! Can you name the only other player in the National League to hit a HR in every season from 1948 to 1964…He’s a HOF’er but didn’t get there because of his HR hitting.)

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1916 the NL votes down a proposal by Charlie Ebbets of Brooklyn to limit the number of 25-cent seats clubs can sell to 2‚000. Boston has 10‚000 such seats; St. Louis‚ 9‚000‚ Philadelphia‚ 6‚500‚ and Cincinnati‚ 4‚000. As far as I know I don’t think you can get a 25-cent in any ML park but I believe you can pay as much as $2,500.00 for one at Yankee Stadium.

It was on this date in 1956 Connie Mack the long-time owner and Manager of the Philadelphia Athletics. died at the age of 93. As Manager, he always wore a suit in the dugout, instead of a uniform. Mack played eleven seasons in the Major Leagues, primarily as a catcher. Although he later managed for decades in Philadelphia, he never played in Philadelphia, serving instead as a player for the Washington Nationals, the Buffalo Bisons and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Mack, Connie | Baseball Hall of Fame

It was on this date in 1982 the Dodgers break up the longest-playing infield unit in ML history by trading veteran 2B Davey Lopes to the A's for minor-leaguer Lance Hudson. Lopes‚ 1B Steve Garvey‚ 3B Ron Cey‚ and SS Bill Russell had been the Dodgers' starting infield longer than any other infield quartet.

Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey.
The Dodger infield that came to stay
Nothing flashy, but steady and true
Dating way back to Seventy-Two

The Durable Dodger Infield

There’s been a Lip, a Buck, an Oyster, a High Pockets, a Hack, a Ducky and a Duke win a NL Home Run Crown. There’s one more name to add to the list. On this date in 1867 Bugs Holliday was born in St. Louis and in 1892 he led the NL in HRs with 13. Dean A. Sullivan noted in “Baseball’s First Stars” that Holliday was nicknamed ‘Bug’ because at 5’11” and 151 lbs he looked so small playing center field.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=bugs...n.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBug_Holliday;200;310

This and That:

In 1965, the minimum annual salary for a baseball player was $6,000, just a thousand dollars more than it had been in 1947.

In 1937 the NY Yankees went 102-52 in a 154 game schedule. Amazingly, there wasn’t a single one of those 102 wins when the Yankees were outscored. Yeah, I know…sick sense of humour.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, houses the largest collection of baseball cards: 200,000 with 31,000 on display.

Mike Schmidt earned the first $500,000 salary in baseball in 1977.

Do you know what Rule 4.06(B) is all about…if you said fielders are prohibited from doing jumping jacks while an opponent is batting you would be correct. Here’s how it came about…after Boston Braves batter Bob Elliott asked the 2nd base umpire to move out of his line of vision on August 9, 1950, Giants second baseman Eddie Stanky saw the opportunity for a new distracting ploy. He moved to where the umpire had been standing and began to pace around, waving his arms and jumping up and down. He continued practicing his antics in subsequent games until umpires appealed to NL President Ford Frick, requesting a ruling on the legality of such actions. Arguments for both sides became heated, until those against the practice expressed concern for the safety of hitters who become distracted during a pitch. Frick instructed umpires to eject fielders who employed jumping jacks or other annoying antics to distract the batsman, and his decision is preserved in the official rulebook to this day.

Here’s a couple of infield pop-up stories… first, just how windy did it get in Candlestick Park. 3rd baseman Rocky Bridges called for a popup. He drifted past the shortstop, past the pitcher on the mound, past the second baseman. Finally, he was standing next to first baseman Vic Power as the ball fell four feet behind them. Second… Pirates pitcher, Bill Werle, got the Phillies Bill Nicholson to hit a high infield pop-up in front of the mound. As trained, he called for an infielder to make the play. "Eddie's got it! Eddie's got it!," he yelled. Then, he watched the ball fall untouched as catcher Eddie Fitzgerald, first baseman Eddie Stevens and third baseman Eddie Bockman looked on.

Rickey Henderson walked 796 times in his career when he was leading off an inning. That’s more times just leading off in an inning than Lou Brock, Roberto Clemente, Luis Aparicio, Ernie Banks, Kirby Puckett, or Ryne Sandberg walked in their entire careers.

“Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher I ever saw. He always pitches when the other team doesn't score any runs.” — Tim McCarver

Baseball Trivia:

Can you name the first player in MLB to win player to win each of the Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young Awards…not all in the same season. Here’s a clue…it was a pitcher!

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Spud Chandler, 1943 and Bob Turley, 1958. (You’re good if you get either one of these…The NY Yankees in their history have copped 22 MVP Awards. Can you name the only pitcher to win the Award? OR The NY Yankees have copped 5 Cy Young Awards. Can you name the first Yankee pitcher to win a Cy Young Award?)

 

[67RedSox]

Hall of Famer Oscar Charleston was selected for the Hall of Fame on this date in 1976, 100 years after he was born. He is considered by some to be the greatest of the ***** League players and by Bill James to be the 4th greatest player to ever play the Grand Old Game. Charleston was often compared with three great contemporaries: his hitting and speedy, aggressive baserunning (and hard-sliding style) brought favorable comparison to Ty Cobb; his physique (he was barrel-chested, with spindly legs), power, and popularity, particularly with youngsters, were reminiscent of Babe Ruth; and his defensive style and skills, playing a shallow, far-ranging centerfield with a strong, accurate arm and excellent fly ball judgment, brought visions of Tris Speaker. His professional baseball career began during WWI and ended during WWII, 26 years later. He must have been a joy to watch…as long as you weren’t playing against him.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Oscar_Charleston

It was on this date in 1920 the Joint Rules Committee bans all foreign substances or other alterations to the ball by pitchers‚ including saliva‚ resin‚ talcum powder‚ paraffin‚ and the shine and emery ball. A pitcher caught cheating will be suspended for 10 days. The AL allows each club to name just 2 pitchers who will be allowed to use the pitch for one more season. The NL allows each club to name all its spitball pitchers. No pitchers other than those designated will be permitted to use it‚ and none at all after 1920 (this will be changed…those designated pitchers can throw the spitter for the rest of their careers). The list of grandfathered spitballers will include Red Faber (White Sox)‚ (Doc Ayers and Dutch Leonard (Tigers)‚ Ray Caldwell and Stan Coveleski (Indians)‚ Bill Doak (Cardinals)‚ Phil Douglas (Giants)‚ Dana Fillingim (Braves)‚ Ray Fisher (Reds)‚ Marv Goodwin (Cardinals)‚ Burleigh Grimes and Clarence Mitchell (Dodgers)‚ Jack Quinn (Yankees)‚ Dick Rudolph (Braves)‚ Allan Russell (Red Sox)‚ Urban Shocker and Allen Sothoron (Browns). The last of these "grandfathered" pitchers, Burleigh Grimes retired in 1934.

Spitball - BR Bullpen

One of the Game’s better fielding 3B of the 1950’s and 1960’s, Gold Glove winner, Clete Boyer, was born on this date in 1937. He was a Gold Glove winner however not in the AL where he played his first 11 seasons in the Majors because some guy by the name of Brooks Robinson was winning there every year for 16 years in a row. Boyer won his in the NL in 1969 after he was traded to the Braves from the Yankees and after his older brother, Ken, had won 5 Gold Gloves playing the same position. In Game 7 of the 1964 World Series Clete and Ken became the first brothers to hit HRs in the same WS game.

Classic Yankees: Clete Boyer | Bronx Baseball Daily

Several days ago I yakked about the Polo Grounds in New York having the deepest center field in the history of the modern game which was 505 feet, later shortened to 483 feet and that only 4 players ever hit a ball out of the park there. Vic Wertz was born on this date in 1925. He was a very good ML player and enjoyed 17 seasons in the Big Leagues but will always be remembered for the one pitch he swung at and hit further than any other ball in his career. It didn’t come down until it was 450’ from home plate. Unfortunately, for Wertz it came down in Willie Mays’ glove and remains to this day one of the most memorable plays in MLB history known simply as, “The Catch”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dK6zPbkFnE

It was on this date in 1889, about 20 stars of the National League played ball on the desert sand of the Great Pyramids at Giza, Egypt. The event was the centerpiece of a world tour organized by Chicago White Stockings executive and sporting goods manufacturer Albert G. Spalding in an effort to promote America’s national pastime in foreign locales.
As a business proposition, the event was a bust. In addition to Egypt, the tour visited Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, India, Italy, France, Scotland, and England, generally attracting small crowds that consisted largely of American tourists. “I consider baseball an excellent game, but cricket a better one,” Britain’s Prince of Wales famously observed after the players’ March exhibition at London’s Kensington Oval. Spalding was said to have lost between $30,000 and $40,000 on the venture.
The tour did succeed, however, as a statement that baseball had come of age as America’s national pastime. Firmly in that belief, the 20 players—10 representing the White Stockings, the rest drawn from other National League teams—had set off the previous October for a trip designed to keep them abroad through March.
Three future Hall of Famers were among the tourists. Adrian C. “Cap” Anson was the first baseman and captain of the White Stockings, John Montgomery Ward played shortstop and Ned Hanlon center field for the All-Americas, as the opponents were called. Two other future Hall of Famers accompanied the group: George Wright as umpire and Henry Chadwick, the era’s best-known baseball writer.

Remember when baseball players attacked the Sphinx in 1889?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znoz9U54_1s

This and That:

Every once in a while you hear or read something that reminds you Baseball players are just paid too much money…try this one - Randy Johnson is an avid collector of Strawberry Shortcake figurines and memorabilia. In 1998, he paid $650,000 for a rare 1985 Berrykins Strawberry Shortcake doll that once belonged to Kim Jong Il.

55% of the players enshrined in the Hall of Fame were voted in by the baseball writers. 45% by the different variations of the Veterans Committees there’s been over the years.

In 1996 Vinny Castilla of the Colorado Rockies had these batting numbers - .304 / 40 / 113. In 1997 Castilla had these numbers - .304 / 40 / 113. Geez, not a bad rut to be in.

The fact that Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City has a fountain beyond center field isn’t there just to be there but to pay homage to all the other fountains around town. In fact, only Rome boasts more fountains than Kansas City’s registered 200 fountains. Also, every seat in the stadium is blue except for a single red seat behind home plate. It was placed there to honor Buck O' Neill, star first baseman of the Kansas City Monarchs in former ***** League. Buck viewed Royals' games from that very location for years. I’m sure that’s something every KC fan knows but I didn’t.

I could be wrong but with the renovations underway at Wrigley Field I believe ML Baseball will no longer have any bullpens in the field of play. In days gone by it wasn’t an uncommon sight to see pitchers warming up down the 1st or 3rd base lines…no more.

13 and counting! David Ortiz is the only ML player to hit at least 20 HRs in each of the past 13 seasons.

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Who hit the first “World Series” HR in Yankee Stadium. It was not Babe Ruth. It was not Lou Gehrig. It was not even a NY Yankee but it was someone who won 7 WS Rings wearing Yankee pinstripes.

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question….Don Newcombe. (Can you name the first player in MLB to win player to win each of the Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young Awards…not all in the same season. Here’s a clue…it was a pitcher!)

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1910 that construction began on Comiskey Park ( a.k.a. White Sox Park ) and would be home for the White Sox for 80 years. It was a “modern” ballpark in that it was built of concrete and steel following the lead of Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field and Philadelphia’s Shibe Park ( a.k.a. Connie Mack Stadium ). It was built, in less than 5 months, at a cost of $750,000.00 ( equivalent to about $14,000,000 today ) and at the time capacity was almost 32,000, a record. Briefly, it retained the nickname "The Baseball Palace of the World." The park's design was strongly influenced by Sox pitcher Ed Walsh, and was known for its pitcher-friendly proportions, 362 feet to the foul poles; 420 feet to center field. Later changes were made, but the park remained more or less favourable to defensive teams. For many years this reflected on the White Sox style of play: solid defense, and short, quick hits. The park was unusual in that no player ever hit 100 home runs there: Carlton Fisk set the record with 94. Even stars from outside the Baseball world played there…the Beatles played 2 concerts there in 1965. It was demolished in 1991 to create a parking lot for its replacement, Comiskey Park II - Cellular Field, built immediately beside it.

Comiskey Park - History, Photos and more of the Chicago White Sox former ballpark

It was on this date in 1925 that MLB decided to alternate the location of the World Series Openers between American League and National League Pennant winners rather than deciding it by a coin toss‚ with games 1‚ 2‚ 6‚ and 7 in one park and 3‚ 4‚ 5 in the other‚ unless a ban on Sunday baseball interferes in one city.

On this date in 1945 Jimmie Foxx’ Major league career begins its wind-up when he signs with the Philadelphia Blue Jays (Phillies) for his final season. He comes back to the city where his ML career began, albeit a different team and League. He was the Game’s most dominant player of the 1930’s. His average batting line in the 1930’s was .336 / 41 / 140 and he copped 3 MVP Crowns and a Triple Crown as well. His life after baseball was a struggle. A divorce, poor investments, the inability to find regular work, poor health and alcohol all led to him dying relatively young ( 59 in 1967 ) .

https://www.google.ca/search?q=jimm...12%2F06%2F02%2Fjimmie-foxx-the-kid%2F;554;768

Ralph Hodgin was born on this date in 1915…100 years ago today. His career, primarily as an outfielder with the White Sox was shorter than it could have been due to WWII and a beaning he suffered. After a brief cup of coffee with Boston in 1939 the War intervened in his career and he didn’t return to the Majors until 1943 when as a rookie with the White Sox he hit .314. Great things were expected of him, alas, he became one of the few players to bat .300 as a rookie but never repeat the feat. Then in 1947 he suffered a concussion after he was hit on the skull by a pitch from future Hall of Fame pitcher Hal Newhouser. After that he lost his aggressiveness at the plate and faded from the Majors. His playing career continued though in the Pacific Coast League and the Carolina League until the mid-1950s which isn’t an uncommon thing in those days. He wasn’t a star but he gets a salute for a couple of reasons…so that we don’t forget that players in the past who had careers significantly affected by War and military service and by his dedication to the Game…playing a total of 16 seasons in the Minors both before and after his ML career neither of which we see much of any more, fortunately. Some pretty interesting baseball photos below if you care to stroll through them.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/5579253595/in/photostream/

This and That:

Ichiro Suzuki needs 156 hits to reach 3,000. With more than 1,200 hits in Japan he’s one of 7 players to have 4,000 or more hits professionally…the others are Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Julio Franco, Hank Aaron, Ichiro Suzuki, Jigger Statz and Stan Musial. Jake Beckley and Sam Crawford may also have hit 4,000, but data for some of their Minor League seasons is missing.

It was Tom Lasorda’s 21 years as a ML Manager and 3 World Series Championships that earned him entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame. You likely only think of him managing the Dodgers but he did pitch briefly in the Majors in the mid-1950s appearing in a total of 26 games with a record of 0-4, 58 Innings Pitched and an ERA of 6.48. What few know about Lasorda and his bleeding Dodger blue is that during the 1950s he was the property of more than just the Dodgers…but also the Kansas City Athletics where he pitched in 18 of those 26 ML games he appeared in, the Philadelphia Phillies, the St. Louis Browns and yes, even the dreaded NY Yankees who he thought were always a class act in his day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvZR7BPg1CE

It happens more than you might think. How many position players do you think, active in the Majors in 2014, have appeared as a pitcher in a ML game in 2014…34 is the number, a number that surprises me.

In the 57 years since the Dodgers and Giants re-located to the West Coast they have consummated only three trades…in 1968, 1985 and 2007. In the 57 years prior to them re-locating they completed 28 trades.

In 2005 Baseball Almanac comprised a list of the 10 Greatest Baseball Teams since 1902. The method they used to determine the Top 10 was fairly detailed as you will see below. Of the Top 10 teams there is only one Post 1939…the 1998 NY Yankees and they were 8th. The Top 10 were: 1927 Yankees, 1939 Yankees, 1907 Cubs, 1932 Yankees, 1902 Pirates, 1910 Athletics, 1905 Giants, 1998 Yankees, 1906 Cubs and 1929 Athletics.

The Best Major League Baseball Team Ever From 1902-2005

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

He began his ML career with a cup of coffee for the Chicago Cubs in 1984. His first full season was in 1986 and from then until the end of his career in 1999 (14 seasons) he averaged 100 RBIs every single season. During those 14 seasons he led the AL in Games Played in 1989 with 162, he led the NL in Games Played in 1990 with 162 and he led the AL in Games Played with 162 in 1991. He also won back-to-back World Rings and in those two Series he hit 4 HRs.

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Casey Stengel. (Who hit the first “World Series” HR in Yankee Stadium. It was not Babe Ruth. It was not Lou Gehrig. It was not even a NY Yankee but it was someone who won 7 WS Rings wearing Yankee pinstripes.)

 

[67RedSox]

Willie Smith was born on this date in 1939. Although he played nine years in the Majors which by itself is quite an accomplishment he never became a ‘star’ however he’ll be remembered as one of the International League’s best pitchers in 1963 when playing for the Syracuse Chiefs, he led the League in winning percentage (.875) with a 14–2 won/loss mark, and posted a 2.11 ERA. Of course that got him a promotion to the Big Leagues and in 1964, as a rookie, he led all Los Angeles Angels with a Batting Average of .301 as an Outfielder…Go figure.

The Trading Card Database | Willie Smith Gallery

It was on this date in 2002 that Frank Crosetti died at the age of 91. The numbers 17, 23 and 37 are relevant to Crosetti who was a NY Yankee for 17 seasons and the Yankees shortstop in the latter years of Ruth Gehrig and before HOF’er Phil Rizzuto came along. Most players MLB careers would be complete with a World Series Ring. In Crosetti’s case he had enough WS Rings to fit every finger twice with one left over for a thumb. In 37 seasons playing and coaching the Yankees he went to the WS 23 times and won 17 Rings.

Classic Yankees: Frank Crosetti | Bronx Baseball Daily

This and That:

The name "Cardinals" was first used for the St. Louis National League team for the 1900 season. The nickname actually didn't refer to the bird but rather the color of the trim and stockings of the new uniforms, which had previously been brown. The year before, St. Louis Republic sportswriter Willie McHale wrote a column in which he quoted a female fan as saying…”what a lovely shade of cardinal”… when she saw the new uniforms. The name caught on with the fans. So just a year after the Robison Brothers changed the name of their franchise from the Browns to the Perfectos, they changed it for the last time to the Cardinals.

No one threw a no-hitter in Forbes Field’s 4,728-game, 61 year history and that was a pitcher’s park. Fenway Park, a hitter’s park, has saw 9 no-hitters tossed within its confines. The San Diego Padres are the only MLB team without a no-hitter thrown although it has been no-hit 10 ten times.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=forb...baseball.com%2Fpast%2FForbesField.htm;490;324

Here’s The Sprorting News Top 10 Baseball moments from the 20th Century. You may notice I have included 11, not 10, in the event anyone wishes to discount #7 which a certain portion of Baseball’s fandom will:

1-The Shot Heard 'Round the World
2-Bill Mazeroski's Home Run
3-Don Larsen's Perfect Game
4-Carlton Fisk Waves It Fair
5-Hank Aaron's 715th Home Run
6-Kirk Gibson's Home Run
7-Mark McGwire Hits No. 62
8-E-3 on Bill Buckner
9-Willie Mays' Catch
10-Enos Slaughter's Mad Dash
11-The Luckiest Man Alive Speech

The #1 Moment is Bobby Thomson’s play-off, walk-off HR in the 1951 NL Pennant play-off between the Giants and Dodgers. Just wanted to mention that Hank Aaron played with 326 players over the course of his career and Willie Mays played with 301. The only player who was a teammate of both Aaron’s and Mays’ was Bobby Thomson.

His name was Boom-Boom Beck. He first pitched in the Majors in 1921. He last pitched in the Majors in 1945. In the 24 years in between he won a total of 38 Major League games. Not much to show for such a long period of time but he also won 199 Minor league games including as many as 23 for the Mission Reds ( Pacific Coast league ) in 1935. If it wasn’t for Beck though one of Baseball’s funniest stories would never have happened…and Beck wouldn’t have got his nickname. Two of the Game’s most colourful characters…Casey Stengel and Hack Wilson join Beck in the story.. In 1933 Boom-Boom lost 20 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers who were managed by HOF’er Max Carey but not a very good team. In 1934 the Dodgers hired Casey Stengel as their new Manager to change their fortunes. The Dodgers fortunes improved but Beck’s didn’t. He went 2-6 for the Dodgers before finding himself in the Minors and wouldn’t get back to the Majors again for 5 years. Anyway, it’s a hot summer day and the Dodgers are playing the Phillies in Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl. If you’re not familiar with the Baker Bowl imagine Fenway Park but with the Green Monster in right field. The right field wall in the Baker Bowl was 280’down the line and 300’ to right-center with a wall-and-screen barrier that in its final form was 60 feet high and would “boom” when a ball bounced off it. Hack Wilson was playing right field and Beck was getting hammered. Wilson, known to have more than his fair share of alcohol, was a bit hung-over and wasn’t enjoying chasing down one ball after another booming off the outfield fence. Finally, Stengel goes out to the mound. Wilson takes a break by leaning up against the fence and relaxing. Stengel takes Beck out of the game and in disgust Beck throws the ball out to right field with enough force to bounce off the wall. Wilson, thinking the game had resumed runs down the ball and fired a strike back to the infield. Beck gets a nickname that game and Baseball gets a story.

Boom-Boom Beck Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

https://www.google.ca/search?q=the+...ture-portfolio-no-7-lost-ballparks%2F;895;605

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Since WWII only one player has led the Majors in Steals in 4 consecutive seasons…you get one shot only at this! Name that player.

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Joe Carter (He began his ML career with a cup of coffee for the Chicago Cubs in 1984. His first full season was in 1986 and from then until the end of his career in 1999 (14 seasons) he averaged 100 RBIs every single season. During those 14 seasons he led the AL in Games Played in 1989 with 162, he led the NL in Games Played in 1990 with 162 and he led the AL in Games Played with 162 in 1991. He also won back-to-back World Rings and in those two Series he hit 4 HRs.)

 

[moxie]

I could be wrong but with the renovations underway at Wrigley Field I believe ML Baseball will no longer have any bullpens in the field of play. In days gone by it wasn’t an uncommon sight to see pitchers warming up down the 1st or 3rd base lines…no more.

It's not often I get obscure trivia right, but I know this one! The Giants still have the bullpens on the field. It's one of my favorite places to sit, catching snippets of their conversations quite easily if I'm in the front row.

 

[67RedSox]

Moxie, thanks for clarifying this. My memory failed me big time and I appreciate you taking the time to post.

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1880 the Boston Red Stockings ( now Atlanta Braves ) cut the price of season tickets from $14 to $12 after they failed to win their 3rd straight pennant the previous season.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=1880...ton-red-stockings-cigar-label-digital;570;479

Hall of Famer Chick Hafey was born on this date in 1903. He was a fine hitter who won a NL Batting Crown in 1931 with a mark of .391. Hafey was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971 along with Dave Bancroft, Jake Beckley, Joe Kelley, Rube Marquard, and Harry Hooper. Subsequently, many of the selections made by the Veterans Committee, especially during this era, were seen as acts of cronyism, that honorees owed their selection to having been teammates of committee members like Frankie Frisch and Bill Terry rather than being based on merit. Controversy over admission of players chosen in this manner, including Hafey, continues to this day.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=chic...en.net%2Fdiamond_stars%2Fgallery1.htm;726;446

One of the biggest innovations in the Grand Old Game culminated on this date in 1878 when Fredrick Thayer received a patent for his innovative invention, the catcher's mask. The Harvard captain, who never played in a ML game, uses an oblong wire frame that supports a series of strategically-placed pads made from animal skins.
Baseball, once played seriously evolved quickly. Cincinnati Red Stockings’ founder and shortstop George Wright began to use a mouthpiece in the 1860′s. He patented it and made a pile of money. While many catchers were saving teeth, there wasn’t much they could do for the rest of their face, until the mid-1870′s. That’s when a few fellows at Harvard started talking about making a mask that would change the catching position forever.
In 1875 with a late season game between arch-rivals Harvard and Yale, Harvard pitcher Harold Ernst came to bat. As the first pitch approached he jumped back, startled by the extreme new swerving movement on the ball. Ernst struck out on three pitches. The rest of the Harvard lineup also seemed to be swinging at air. Ernst watched Yale pitcher Charles Avery’s throwing motion closely for the rest of the day. After the game, Ernst knew that to be one of the best he would have to learn the delivery of this tantalizing pitch. In the off-season he went about teaching himself how to throw what we now call the curve ball. The effects of Ernst’s offseason work were immediate. On opening day in 1876, throwing as many curves as his elbow could stand, Ernst no-hit the powerhouse Lowell, Massachusetts club. He led Harvard to a 25-12 record that season.
The curve ball was considered by most players and spectators as the best new pitch in baseball - but also the riskiest. Catchers everywhere were having a heck of a time holding on to pitches, causing a rise in errors as well as a rise in mangled jaws and noses. Harvard catcher Howard Thatcher wasn’t returning for the 1877 season, but he had helped to prepare James Alexander Tyng as his replacement. Tyng was Harvard’s best all-around athlete and would later go on to become the first Harvard alum to play in a ML game (1879 Boston Red Caps). Like Thatcher before him, Tyng was having a terrible time catching Ernst. His face was taking a beating and he was becoming increasingly worried about permanent disfigurement. This safety concern prompted Player/Manager, Fred Thayer to consider how to boost Tyng’s confidence and protect his face.
Thayer had been brewing an idea for a while, ever since some dugout chats he had once held with former catcher Howard Thatcher. Back in 1875, after Thatcher had taken a few too many foul tips to the noggin, the two men had discussed how to better protect a catcher without impeding his visibility. Realizing he could no longer sit on the idea, Thayer decided a fencing mask provided the closest blueprint to what they needed. In the winter of 1876 he hired a local tinsmith to construct a "bird cage" mask with padding in the chin and forehead area. During practices Tyng and Thayer experimented and revised the mask several times until they got it just right for Tyng’s face. On April 12th, 1877 James Tyng became the first man to wear a catcher’s mask in a professional game. The reaction in the media was mixed to say the least, some feeling it to be a complete success while others holding on to the belief it was unnecessary.
Later in the year, A.G Spalding and Brothers Company, the leading sporting goods dealer in the country, began selling the Thayer Catcher’s Mask for $3.00 in their catalogue. Slowly, catcher’s started to use it, but it wasn’t until 1879 that sales took off because of a rule change that did away with the one bounce rule. It was now necessary for a catcher to catch a two-strike foul tip in the air in order to record an out. With catchers moving closer to the batter in order to take advantage of this new ordinance, the catcher’s mask became indispensible.

The Invention Of The Catcher’s Mask « Inside Pitch

The MVP Award as we know it today really goes back to this date in 1924 when the NL joins the AL by announcing it will select an annual MVP as had the AL since 1922. The NL awards $1,000.00 to the player selected as MVP making the Award a substantial one. Despite both Leagues being on the same page with the Award there were still flaws in the voting process though. For example, previous Award winners were ineligible to win the Award and it was voted on by a Committee of eight Baseball writers. Because of these flaws the AL didn’t select an MVP in 1929 or 1930. The NL didn’t select a winner for the 1930 season. They finally got together on the process for the 1931 season…one writer in each city with a team filled out a ten-place ballot, with ten points for the recipient of a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, and so on. In 1938, the BBWAA raised the number of voters to three per city and gave 14 points for a first-place vote. The only significant change since then occurred in 1961, when the number of voters was reduced to two per League city. If you didn’t know the Award has a name…the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Memorial Baseball Award.
First Basemen with 34 have won the most MVPs among infielders, followed by second basemen (16), third basemen (15), and shortstops (15). Of the 25 pitchers who have won the award, 15 are right-handed while 10 are left-handed. Walter Johnson, Carl Hubbell, and Hal Newhouser are the only pitchers who have won multiple times…Verlander and Kershaw could join that select group.

Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Whitey Ford holds the World Series record for pitching Wins with 10. Can you name the pitcher with the most World Series Losses with 8?

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Lou Brock, 1971-72-73-74 (Since WWII only one player has led the Majors in Steals in 4 consecutive seasons…you get one shot only at this! Name that player.)

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1866 Crazy Schmit, sometimes called Germany Schmit due to his heritage and German accent, was born in Chicago. His 5 year MLB career, as a starting pitcher, was forgettable as he went 7-36 with an ERA of 5.45. He is credited with being the first pitcher to keep a “book” on the hitters he faced. That book was always in his pocket when he took the mound and listed the weakness of each hitter. Based upon his record the book didn’t seem to help him much. Story has it the caption in his book for Cap Anson, Baseball's first superstar and career leader in Basehits with 3,435 when he retired with a lifetime average of .334 was simply…”Base on Balls” and Schmit would walk him rather than face the consequences of trying to get one by him.

Crazy Schmit Stories | Baseball History Daily

Hal “Prince Hal” Chase was born on this date in 1883. He was the poster boy for an era when gambling and throwing games seem to have been much more common than anyone was willing to admit. Chase was the most notoriously corrupt player in Baseball history. He was also, according to many of those who saw him play, the greatest defensive first baseman ever. In 1981, 62 years after his last ML game, baseball historians Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book, The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. He’s remembered mostly for his 9 seasons with the New York Highlanders (Yankees) and three seasons in Cincinnati where, in 1916, he won the NL Batting Crown with a batting average of .339. His career, 1905-1919, ended the year before Judge Landis became the Commissioner of Baseball. Good thing…if you think Landis threw the book at the Black Sox players he would have thrown the whole library at Chase.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=hal+...om%2Fshowthread.php%3F75809-Hal-Chase;497;389

In honour of their long-time owner and manager, the A's renamed their Philadelphia ballpark from Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium on this date in 1953. During his 50-year tenure as Athletics skipper, the 'Tall Tactician' guided the team to nine American League pennants and appeared in eight World Series, winning five of the Fall Classics. Shibe Park wasn’t a big stadium, it had an even lower seating capacity than Fenway Park but it was a true ballpark. When it opened April 12, 1909, the French Renaissance designed park became the Game’s first steel-and-concrete stadium. Here’s how HOF’er Richie Ashburn described it… "It looked like a ballpark. It smelled like a ballpark. It had a feeling and a heartbeat, a personality that was all baseball.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Xajn6O5OY

In 1903 James Cool Papa Bell was born in Starkville, Mississippi (home of Mississippi State University) and moved to St. Louis as a teenager. Once he got to St. Louis any thought of him doing anything but play baseball was dismissed completely. How did he end up doing playing the Grand Old Game. He was elected to Cooperstown on this date in 1974, in 1999 he was ranked 66th on The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players, the St. Louis Cardinals have recognized Bell's contributions by erecting a bronze statue of him outside Busch Stadium along with other Hall of Fame St. Louis baseball stars, including Stan Musial, Lou Brock and Bob Gibson, his Hall of Fame plaque highlights the fact that Bell's contemporaries regarded him as the fastest runner on the base paths, a street in St. Louis where he lived was renamed in his honour as was a ballpark in St. Louis. Other than his abilities as a ballplayer what kind of man was he? That’s best summed up by one of his teammates, Ted Page who said…” Bell was an even better man off the field than he was on it. He was honest. He was kind. He was a clean liver. In fact, in all of the years I've known him, I've never seen him smoke, take a drink or even say one cuss word."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC2c-Nkt8jQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-Y2cWl_ag

This and That:

Oscar Taveras’ death in a car accident this off-season brings to 89, the number of MLB players who died during their careers including 4 Hall of Famers…Roberto Clemente, Ed Delahanty, Addie Joss and Ross Youngs.

Sir John Bowring was the Governor of Hong Kong from 1854 to 1859 and many consider him the greatest linguist who ever lived. He was said to know 200 languages and capable of speaking 100. That’s amazing but I have a question…I wonder how he would make out learning and understanding the language of Baseball. I know there have been books written on ‘the language of baseball’ and following is just a sample of terms we all know from our years of following the Game. It is a language unto itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_baseball

MLB made a rule during WWII, which said that in the event of an enemy bombing, whoever led after five innings would be declared the winner. No games were called after 5 innings because of enemy bombings.

If someone asks you if anyone has ever gone 0 for 11 in a ML game the answer is …Yes! Poor Charlie Pick, the Braves 2nd Baseman, went 0-11 in the longest game in Major League Baseball history, on May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves played to a 1-1 tie after 26 innings. That was the last of Pick’s 6 seasons in the Majors. I don’t if his going 0-11 had anything to do with that.
In the history of MLB there have been 23 ‘official’ Perfect Games tossed. That number increases to 24 if you count Armando Galarraga’s Perfect Game. Of even rarer variety are two things that have only been done once in ML history and they were both done in a pitcher’s ML debut. ‘Nothing to this’ is likely what Pete Richert was saying to himself on April 12, 1962 when Walter Alston called him into the game to relieve a faltering Stan Williams. Richert struck out the first six batters he faced in the Majors and every one of those six was a good hitter…Vada Pinson, Frank Robinson, Gordy Coleman, Wally Post, Johnny Edwards and Tommy Harper. That feat hasn’t been done before or since and the second thing he did in that game is become the only pitcher to have a 4-strikeout inning in his ML debut.

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Can you name the pitcher with the most strikeouts in a single MLB game?

The answer to yesterday’s trivia question…Whitey Ford. (Whitey Ford holds the World Series record for pitching Wins with 10. Can you name the pitcher with the most World Series Losses with 8?)