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Post by fwclipper51 on Jul 3, 2024 14:51:54 GMT -5
In the spring of 1959, the San Francisco Giants were loaded with young 1B talent: Willie McCovey, Bill White and Orlando Cepeda. They would trade a young 1B Bill White to St. Louis Cardinals in March of 1959.
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Post by inger on Jul 3, 2024 16:15:33 GMT -5
In the spring of 1959, the San Francisco Giants were loaded with young 1B talent: Willie McCovey, Bill White and Orlando Cepeda. They would trade a young 1B Bill White to St. Louis Cardinals in March of 1959. Now that I think about it, they are all dead anyway… 🤓 |
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Post by inger on Jul 3, 2024 16:36:26 GMT -5
RUBE MARQUARD
After shutting out the Cubs for his final decision for NYG in 1911, Marquard made history by winning his 1st 19 starts of 1912—still a record for the most wins without a loss to begin a season.
Marquard had signed a huge bonus to play for NYG, but no-hit the Columbus Senators before reporting to John McGraw in New York City.
When he was signed to a $200-a-month contract with Indianapolis, Marquard’s father was not pleased. “ The chief engineer for the City of Cleveland, Fred Marquard, is quoted as saying to his son, said, “Now listen, I’ve told you time and time again that I don’t want you to be a professional ballplayer. But you’ve got your mind made up. Now I’m going to tell you something: When you cross that threshold, don’t come back. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
The city of Cleveland should build a giant statue of a toilet in Fred Marqaurd’s honor…
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 3, 2024 16:45:22 GMT -5
HARMON KILLEBREW From 1960 through 1969, Killebrew homered 393 X. Hank Aaron had 375 & Willie Mays 350. Frank Robinson had 316 & Wiley McCovey 300 to round out the top 5… Among natives of the state of Idaho, Killebrew’s 573 HRs dwarf the 71 hit by Vance Law and Law has 2 X as many as the 3rd place total. He had 6 top 5 MVP seasons. He was 3rd in 1962, 4th in 1963, 4th in 1966, 2nd in 1967, 3rd in 1970, but in 1969 he was the AL MVP. In 1961 Killebrew tied the MLB record by hitting HR in 9 consecutive games played vs. a single opponent when he did so vs. the Royals. The only other player to accomplish this feat was Joe Adcock, who did it against the Brooklyn Dodgers on 1956… What a wonderful player Harmon Killebrew was. One-dimensional, but he was so good at that dimension that he was always an asset. Leading the league in HRs six times. Such raw power. As with Mantle, I would love to know what his exit velo was. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 3, 2024 16:47:57 GMT -5
In the spring of 1959, the San Francisco Giants were loaded with young 1B talent: Willie McCovey, Bill White and Orlando Cepeda. They would trade a young 1B Bill White to St. Louis Cardinals in March of 1959. Now that I think about it, they are all dead anyway… 🤓 Bill White is still among the living at age 90. Excellent player, excellent broadcaster, excellent executive. He used to broadcast Big Five college basketball in Philly in the early 70s, and he was outstanding at that too. A great gentleman and Renaissance Man. |
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Post by inger on Jul 3, 2024 16:49:26 GMT -5
HARMON KILLEBREW From 1960 through 1969, Killebrew homered 393 X. Hank Aaron had 375 & Willie Mays 350. Frank Robinson had 316 & Wiley McCovey 300 to round out the top 5… Among natives of the state of Idaho, Killebrew’s 573 HRs dwarf the 71 hit by Vance Law and Law has 2 X as many as the 3rd place total. He had 6 top 5 MVP seasons. He was 3rd in 1962, 4th in 1963, 4th in 1966, 2nd in 1967, 3rd in 1970, but in 1969 he was the AL MVP. In 1961 Killebrew tied the MLB record by hitting HR in 9 consecutive games played vs. a single opponent when he did so vs. the Royals. The only other player to accomplish this feat was Joe Adcock, who did it against the Brooklyn Dodgers on 1956… What a wonderful player Harmon Killebrew was. One-dimensional, but he was so good at that dimension that he was always an asset. Leading the league in HRs six times. Such raw power. As with Mantle, I would love to know what his exit velo was. I would think those measurements might be at least estimated ofc of old film, if anyone with the wherewithal decided to do so. Money and access to film along with our old friend Mathematica should reveal the answers… |
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Post by inger on Jul 3, 2024 16:53:24 GMT -5
Now that I think about it, they are all dead anyway… 🤓 Bill White is still among the living at age 90. Excellent player, excellent broadcaster, excellent executive. He used to broadcast Big Five college basketball in Philly in the early 70s, and he was outstanding at that too. A great gentleman and Renaissance Man. Great to know. I thought he passed away decades ago… I see that at 90 years, 157 he holds the honor of being 69th oldest of all MLB stars… Hang around a while with us, Bill… |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 3, 2024 16:55:20 GMT -5
What a wonderful player Harmon Killebrew was. One-dimensional, but he was so good at that dimension that he was always an asset. Leading the league in HRs six times. Such raw power. As with Mantle, I would love to know what his exit velo was. I would think those measurements might be at least estimated ofc of old film, if anyone with the wherewithal decided to do so. Money and access to film along with our old friend Mathematica should reveal the answers… I've thought the same thing too, Inger. There has to be a way. It's going to be fun when they figure this out. Sounds like a job for Kaybli. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 3, 2024 16:57:46 GMT -5
7 MBL players have hit more than 2,500 singles. The only two that batted exclusively right handed are: Cap Anson Derek Jeter… I love this stat. Jeter's career began nearly a century after Anson's ended. Only in baseball. |
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Post by inger on Jul 3, 2024 16:58:21 GMT -5
I would think those measurements might be at least estimated ofc of old film, if anyone with the wherewithal decided to do so. Money and access to film along with our old friend Mathematica should reveal the answers… I've thought the same thing too, Inger. There has to be a way. It's going to be fun when they figure this out. Sounds like a job for Kaybli. Maybe that’s the project that’s keeping Russ so busy this year. Very little time to post. Of course it’s likely having to wait until he maps out all of the hits that traveled at the softest speeds and had proper attention paid to steering them gently away from the defense. We can expect results from him within 50 years… |
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Post by inger on Jul 3, 2024 17:00:54 GMT -5
7 MBL players have hit more than 2,500 singles. The only two that batted exclusively right handed are: Cap Anson Derek Jeter… I love this stat. Jeter's career began nearly a century after Anson's ended. Only in baseball. I don’t know how far you’re looking back on this thread, but if you go back one page you’ll find Tim Harikkala. I think you’ll like him… |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 3, 2024 17:12:46 GMT -5
TIM HARIKKALA Harikkala is the answer to the trivia question “Who holds the record for longest time between major league starts for a pitcher with no starts in between?” First start = 19-Jun-1996. Next start = 12-Aug-2007 for COL. So… 4,021 days passed between the only 2 pitching starts of his MLB career. He played in College for Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. N his professional career, he played for three AL teams, one NL team, 7 different AAA teams, teams in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Finland, Korea, Mexico, and Venezuela. Somehow he never played in Japan. Tim Harikkala pitched for six years in the major leagues. In 2009, he conducted a pitching clinic in Helsinki, Finland; Harikkala speaks Finnish as his parents were originally from Finland. He was the only former major leaguer to pitch in Finland through 2019, going 5-0 with a 0.45 ERA in 40 IP for the Espoo Expos in limited appearances from 2010-2015… Love this Inger. Thanks for bringing it up. Man, that guy is well-traveled. I can think of lots of Finnish NHL players, but Finnish baseball players are in short supply. There has only been one MLB player actually born in Finland, a guy named John Michaelson (birthname Mikkola) who pitched for the White Sox in 1921. Kevin Tapani and Jeff Lahti are the only Finnish-American players I can think of, although there probably are a few more. |
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Post by inger on Jul 3, 2024 17:47:39 GMT -5
TIM HARIKKALA Harikkala is the answer to the trivia question “Who holds the record for longest time between major league starts for a pitcher with no starts in between?” First start = 19-Jun-1996. Next start = 12-Aug-2007 for COL. So… 4,021 days passed between the only 2 pitching starts of his MLB career. He played in College for Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. N his professional career, he played for three AL teams, one NL team, 7 different AAA teams, teams in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Finland, Korea, Mexico, and Venezuela. Somehow he never played in Japan. Tim Harikkala pitched for six years in the major leagues. In 2009, he conducted a pitching clinic in Helsinki, Finland; Harikkala speaks Finnish as his parents were originally from Finland. He was the only former major leaguer to pitch in Finland through 2019, going 5-0 with a 0.45 ERA in 40 IP for the Espoo Expos in limited appearances from 2010-2015… Love this Inger. Thanks for bringing it up. Man, that guy is well-traveled. I can think of lots of Finnish NHL players, but Finnish baseball players are in short supply. There has only been one MLB player actually born in Finland, a guy named John Michaelson (birthname Mikkola) who pitched for the White Sox in 1921. Kevin Tapani and Jeff Lahti are the only Finnish-American players I can think of, although there probably are a few more. The two “K”s in his name were pretty much a give away. I figured he was your kind of trivia… I wonder how he’d do on a few more years of rest. Maybe Cashman should look him up… |
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Post by inger on Jul 4, 2024 1:00:16 GMT -5
AL LOPEZ
. HOF 1977. That’s the first Floridian to make the HOF. He’s not alone anymore.
Lopez lived in Tampa, not too far from the Senators’ spring training venue and worked for them in 1925 when they were the reigning World Series champions. What kind of work, you ask? Well, he was 15 years old catching BP for the Senators.
Harvesting sponges & tobacco were 2 prominent employment opportunities on Florida’s west coast then. Tino Martinez tells similar stories. Luckily for Lopez, his family owned a cigar factory. That was easier, more steady work…
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Post by chiyankee on Jul 4, 2024 9:37:50 GMT -5
Now that I think about it, they are all dead anyway… 🤓 Bill White is still among the living at age 90. Excellent player, excellent broadcaster, excellent executive. He used to broadcast Big Five college basketball in Philly in the early 70s, and he was outstanding at that too. A great gentleman and Renaissance Man. White was my favorite broadcaster growing up as a kid. |
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