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Post by fwclipper51 on Dec 25, 2023 21:20:23 GMT -5
The Yankees and Birds complete the swap of 17 players
December 1, 1954-The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles completed the largest trade in MLB history as 17 players, including MLB stars Pitcher Don Larsen, OF Gene Woodling and Pitcher Bob Turley change teams. The 1st phase of the 17 player trade transaction began on November 18,1954. The Yankees had sent OF Gene Woodling, 2 Pitchers: Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, 2 Minor League Catchers: Hal Smith and Gus Triandos and MLB Reserve INF Willie Miranda. The Orioles would send Pitchers Don Larsen, Bob Turley and INF Billy Hunter to the Yankees. The trade will be conclude today after the 1954 MLB Rule 5 Player Draft is completed. The New York Yankees would obtained 1B Richard Kryhoski, Pitcher Mike Blayzka, Catcher Darrell Johnson, 2 Outfielders: Jim Fridley and Ted DelGuercio from the Baltimore Orioles, with the Yankees sending them Pitcher Bill Miller, 3B Kal Segrist, 2B Don Leppert and 2 minor leaguers to be named later. Only Catcher Darrell Johnson remained with the Yankees as a back-up catcher for Yogi Berra for the 1958-1959 AL seasons, before he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals organization, after the 1959 AL season had ended. The rest of the players involved in the trade were traded away or never played for the Yankees at the MLB level. While MLB pitchers Don Larsen and Bob Turley would joined the 1955 New York Yankees revamped starting rotation, joining Whitey Ford, Bob Grim and Eddie Lopat. Veteran Yankees starter Allie Reynolds had retired due to back problems from a team bus accident in Baltimore during the 1954 AL season. He had finished the 1954 AL season with a 13-4 record with a 3.32 ERA in 36 games. The only player involved in this trade, who would never see MLB action was New Jersey native, OF Ted DelGuerico.
This 1954 17-player between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles trade remains the biggest player trade in MLB History. The Yankees with one of the biggest minor systems in MLB at that time, they could afford to trade away young players. They were able to rebuild their 1955 starting rotation with Don Larsen and Bob Turley, replacing the retiring Allie Reynolds and the fading veteran Eddie Lopat. The Orioles were able to get some breathing room for their franchise, formerly the St. Louis Browns, one of the poorest franchises in the MLB, while they were rebuilding their minor league system. By the end of the 1950's, they would have home produced talent like Brooks Robinson, John "Boog" Powell, Milt Pappas and others in their MLB roster. Many of the young Yankee players were block at MLB level, especially those who were catchers, with the presence of All Star Catcher Yogi Berra behind the plate. Also the Yankees GM George Weiss didn't have to deal with MLB free player agency issues, players agents or no trade contract clauses in the MLB players contract. These the trades by the Yankees of trading away young talent for veterans would eventually catch up with the team in the med-1960's, when their minor league talent eventually faded away. The event of 1965 MLB Amateur Player Draft would stop the rich teams like the Yankees and Dodgers from obtaining the best baseball talent in America. Baseball would never be the same again.
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Post by inger on Dec 25, 2023 21:30:46 GMT -5
Except that the Dodgers are definitely back to flexing their financial muscle while the only thing stopping Hal is his cheapskate family wanting bigger profit shares from the ship building empire his daddy handed over when he died…
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Post by fwclipper51 on Dec 25, 2023 21:50:01 GMT -5
Baseball's Biggest Trade: A Revisionist's Recounting
By Jim Wright Re-edited by Clipper
The 1954 major league baseball season ended leaving a lot of questions about the 1955 campaign unanswered - especially for the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees.
In 1954, the Yankees, led by 64-year-old Casey Stengel, won 103 games (the only time in Casey's career that he would win 100 games) yet finished 8 games behind the Al Lopez-led Cleveland Indians, who had set the American League standard with 111 games won in a 154-game season.
The Yankee pitching staff was the oldest in the junior circuit with Allie Reynolds (39), Eddie Lopat (36), Johnny Sam (36), Tommy Byrne (34) and Jim Konstanty (37). Reynolds, with a sore hand and a thriving oil business, gave every indication that his retirement threats were for real this time. Also, he had hurt his back in a team bus accident in Baltimore during the 1954 AL season. Even though Casey favored going with his veterans he knew that some new, live arms were needed to round out his pitching staff, which also featured the 1954 AL Rookie-of-the-Year Bob Grim and 25-year-old Whitey Ford.
Shortstop was a sore point for Casey too. Phil Rizzuto at 36, had experienced his poorest year in 1954, by hitting only .195. He seemed to have lost a step or two in the field also. It became evident to Casey and the Yankee brass that an experienced man had to be brought in either to share time or replace the long-time Yankee star.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles, who had recently moved from St. Louis, had experienced their 9th straight losing season. Not since 1945, when they finished 3rd, had a Browns/Orioles team been able to finish higher than 6th place in the AL. Veteran Manager Jimmy Dykes head led the 1954 0's to a 7th-place finish, 57 games behind the 1st-place Indians and 3 games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics. Dykes played the regular 1954 season with one of the youngest pitching staffs in the majors. His everyday players were among the oldest.
Paul Richards was brought in from the Chicago White Sox to be both field manager and General Manager by Clarence Miles, the 0's President. Richards had enjoyed some success, leading the White Sox to 3 straight 3rd-place finishes. Miles hoped that Paul's knowledge of pitchers and his combativeness would turn the Orioles from a loser into a winner. Richards immediately saw that personnel changes would have to be made. He believed in the very old baseball axiom that in order to be competitive a team needed strong defense up the middle. Pitching was the Orioles strong point, yet they still managed to finish 57 games out in 1954. Richards quickly came to the realization that he would have to deal from his strength.
The other MLB General Managers were gleeful when the Yankees didn't win the 1954 AL pennant. They were not about to deal with the Yankees at a low cost. Chicago White Sox GM Frank "Trader" Lane had rebuffed all efforts by Yankee GM George Weiss to trade for Chicago star shortstop Chico Carrasquel and pitchers Sandy Consuegra, Bob Keegan and Billy Pierce. At this time the press was also reporting that the Yankees were actively pursuing the contracts of Baltimore's Shortstop Billy Hunter and Pitchers Don Larsen and Bob Turley. The Yankees were well stocked with both major and minor league catching talent. The Yankees were prepared to deal in earnest using their MLB catchers as bait.
Paul Richards had his eye on both Gus Triandos and Hal Smith. Triandos was more than capable at both 1st base and behind the plate. Smith was a hard-hitting catcher for whom the St. Louis Cardinals had offered the Yankees a large sum of money.
On November 17, 1954, Paul Richards of the Orioles and George Weiss of the Yankees engineered the largest 2 team swap of personnel in MLB history. The deal was announced in the media in 2 stages - 1st, on November 18th it was announced that the Orioles had sent the "Second Coming of Bob Feller" Bullet Bob Turley (AL leader in K's and BB's), Don Larsen (AL leader in losses with 21) and Billy Hunter (the 0's starting shortstop) to the New York Yankees for Pitchers Harry Byrd and Jim McDonald; Outfielder Gene Woodling; Shortstop Willie Miranda; and 2 Minor League Catchers: Gus Triandos and Hal Smith (the American Association's batting champ with a .350 average). Because of waiver and draft regulations the rest of the trade was not officially announced until December 2,1954. Baltimore would send Pitcher Mike Blyzka, Catcher Darrell Johnson, 1st Baseman Dick Kryhoski and Outfielders Ted del Guercio and Jim Fridley to the Yankees to complete their end of the deal. The Yankees in turn would send to the Orioles Pitcher Bill Miller, 2nd baseman Don Leppert and 3rd baseman Kal Segrist. Originally, it was reported, that the trade was to have also included Oriole Pitcher Lou Kretlow, but the 0's would withdrew his name and Yankees GM George Weiss would agreed to a 9 for 8 swap instead of 9 for 9.
The trade was met with great applause in New York - no more 2nd place finishes for the Yankees now that Bob Turley had been lured away. The fan reaction was not so endearing in Baltimore. Baltimore sports were in turmoil. The Orioles had just traded away the team's only 2 true heroes - and to top it off the trade was reported on the same day that the National Basketball Association Baltimore Bullets were reported to be in dire financial straits and in danger of having to forfeit the rest of the games on their NBA schedule. Baltimore sports fans were understandably upset. A small sampling of fan reaction as reported in the media follows:
It's like trading skilled mechanics for laborers.
I'm surprised that Richards did this. It's going to upset the entire state of Maryland.
The media reported Paul Richards' defense of the trade in the following manner:
Turley and Larsen were traded to improve the Orioles - they were the only players on the squad with real trade value.
I'm giving our farm system a chance to catch up - and, I don't think Turley alone can pitch the Yankees to a pennant...
The past 2 years this club has lost 200 games with Turley and Larsen. With all due respect to Turley, the best thing we could do was win more games rather than glorify one man... This deal puts us in business. We're a ball club now. It was either take a big gamble or watch Turley pitch every 4th day. Everybody knows when you take young ballplayers you're gambling.
Yankee Skipper Stengel, never at a loss for words, praised the trade at the Winter Meetings at the Commodore Hotel in New York City.
"Richards made a wonderful deal. I think the Baltimore fans are fortunate. They can see these good players every day instead of coming out to watch Turley or Larsen pitch once every 4th day. I know what talent I gave away, but I don't know for sure what I got in return."
Reached by telephone, Bob Turley is reported to have said:
"It is every ballplayer's dream to be a Yankee. I certainly am mighty happy to be here and be with a contender."
Cleveland Indians General Manager Hank Greenberg was interviewed and his comments were far from laudatory:
"Why did you have to bring Turley into the conversation? Are you trying to ruin my day? I'd feel a lot better about our chances of winning the 1955 pennant if the Yankees hadn't pried a pitcher of Turley's class from the Orioles."
There were many baseball "experts" who didn't consider Turley the key to the trade. Many tabbed Larsen as the sleeper in the package. His overall stats with the Browns/Orioles were poor, but many thought Don was a better performer than his record with the lowly 0's indicated.
For all practical purposes, it must be said that the Yankees traded Triandos, Smith and Miranda for Larsen, Turley, and Hunter. The Yankees filled their need for younger pitching and a shortstop and the Orioles for up-the-middle defense and power. The Orioles as a team hit only 52 HRs, 29 fewer than the Washington Senators in 1955. The Yankees also stocked the 0's farm system with players who would never be more than marginal big leaguers, but who might contribute to the Orioles immediate needs. Following are brief sketches on those players who were part of the trade yet did not contribute in a significant manner to their new ball clubs.
Catcher Darrell Johnson-played only briefly in 1957-1958 for the Yankees. Johnson's main claim to fame was managing the 1975 Boston Red Sox to the World Series against the Reds.
OF Ted Del Guercio-never played in a regular season MLB game.
INF Don Leppert-hit .114 in 1955 with 8 hits in 70 trips to the plate. 1955 was his only year in the major leagues.
1B Kal Segrist-hit .333 with 3 hits in 9 trips to the plate. 1955 was his last year in the MLB.
Pitcher Bill Miller-was 0-1 in 4 innings for the 0's in 1955 - he did not pitch again in the MLB.
Pitcher Jim McDonald a pitcher with a lot of promise early in his career. After going 4-1 for the 1954 Yankees, he had ended the 1955 season with a 3-5 record for the 0's. He ended his MLB pitching career with a 3-5 record in brief appearances for the White Sox in 1956-1958.
Pitcher Harry Byrd-came to the Yankees in 1953 as part of a 13-player Vic Power trade with the Philadelphia A's. He fell far short of expectations in 1954 with a 9-7 record. He was 3-2 in 65 innings for the Birds in 1955, before being traded on to the Chicago White Sox. Byrd's big league career was over by 1957, when he finished up with the Detroit Tigers. He had won the 1952 Rookie of the Year Award.
OF Jim Fridley-would never played a game for the Yankees. He resurfaced briefly with the Reds in 1958.
1B Dick Kryhoski-He didn't play a single game for the Yankees in 1955, as he was sold to the Kansas City A's along with Pitchers Tom Gorman and Ewell Blackwell on March 31,1955. He had batted .213 in 47 at bats for the A's and was gone from the MLB scene after the 1955 season.
Pitcher Mike Blyzka-did not pitch again in the MLB after going 1-5 with a 4.69 ERA in 1954 with the Orioles.
OF Gene Woodling-He was a slightly different story. Gene had been injured much of the 1954 season. At 32, he had a hand injury, hitting only .250 after hitting a respectable .306 in 1953. Casey figured along with Weiss that Woodling was on the down side of a good career. His .318 average in 5 World Series bolstered his value as a clutch performer. Gene fooled everyone by playing for 8 more years and actually had his highest season average of .321 in 1957 at age 35 for the Cleveland Indians. Gene did not last long in his 1st stint with the Orioles. On June 15,1955, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Outfielders Dave Pope and Wally Westlake.
In 1955 the Yankees would finished 3 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. In this writer's opinion, this was not due to the addition of Turley and Larsen to the Yankee staff. (Larsen began the season with a sore arm). Thirty-five year old Tommy Byrne, not counted on for much, turned his 1954 3-2 record into a fine 16-5 year in 1955. He would won the 1955 AL Comeback Player Award. On the other hand, Cleveland's Mike Garcia, 19-8 in 1954, would fall to 11-13 record and Indian 1st baseman Vic Wertz was stricken by polio after only 74 games into the season.
Turley and Larsen had identical 3.06 ERAs for the 1955 Yankees. Turley had tied for 2nd in the AL with Early Wynn with 17 games won; he would finished 2nd to Herb Score (245) in strikeouts with 210; ranked 3rd in innings pitched with 247; and gave up more bases on balls (177) than any other pitcher in the league. Larsen had appeared in only 19 contests with 13 starts and finished with a 9-2 record. Billy Hunter split the shortstop duties with Rizzuto, fielded well and hit a powerless .227.
The 1955 Orioles improved their record to 57-97 as 24 pitchers moved through Richard's revolving door and a total of 56 men wore the Baltimore uniform. Gus Triandos was the regular 1st baseman and led the 0's with 12 HRs, 65 RBIs and his .277 batting average was the highest among all Oriole regulars. Willie Miranda played a brilliant shortstop and hit a career high .255. Hal Smith was the regular catcher and hit a powerless .271. Smith was traded in 1956 to the Kansas City A's for Catcher Joe Ginsberg. Smith's main claim to MLB fame came in the 8th inning of the 7th game of the 1960 World Series, when he hit a 3-run HR off Yankees Reliever Jim Coates to help the Pittsburgh Pirates win the Series.
In 1956, Hunter had suffered a broken ankle and lost his starting shortstop job to young Gil McDougald. He was part of the 1st trade of real importance that the Yankees and KC A's were to make over the next few years. The Yankees had received Pitchers Art Ditmar and Bobby Shantz (sore-armed at the time) and minor league INF prospect Clete Boyer. The Yankee woulds send Hunter and his bum ankle and veteran MLB outfielder Irv Noren and his bum knees along with 3 Pitchers: Tom Morgan, Rip Coleman and Mickey McDermott, as well as Minor League pitching prospect Jack Urban. A year later Hunter was through as a player, when he would retire from the Cleveland Indians.
Larsen and Turley were disappointing in 1956. Larsen went 11-5 with a 3.25 ERA, meanwhile Turley would turned in an 8-4 record with a 5.05 ERA and only 91 K's in 132 innings. It was only a league leading 190 HRs and the pitching of youngsters Johnny Kucks and Tom Sturdivant, who both were 16 game winners along with Whitey Ford (18-7) that brought the Yankees in 9 games ahead of the Indians, who had boasted 3 20-game winners. The Yankees in spite of everything did barely manage to win the 1956 Series in 7 games against the Brooklyn Dodgers and Don Larsen did pitch a perfect game in Game 5. In 1956, Willie Miranda continued to field brilliantly and hit an anemic .217. Triandos became the regular catcher with Smith's departure and responded with a club high 21 HRs and 88 RBIs. Once again Richards sought the proper pitching combination as 23 different hurlers took the mound for the 0's.
In 1957, Turley regained some of his old form, as he started 23 times, winning 13 and losing 6. He had struck out 152 batters in 176 innings and finished with a respectable 2.71 ERA. Larsen was a deceiving 10-4 as his 3.73 ERA was exceeded only by Tommy Byrne's 4.34 ERA. Triandos, once again supplied most of the muscle and handled 20 different pitchers as the Birds finished at .500 for the 1st time in their short history. Miranda and his .194 batting average were spelled often by young Jim Brideweser, who was former Yankees infielder, who was purchased by the Orioles during the 1954 season.
Bob Turley's 1 true great year was 1958. He had won 21 and lost only 7. His 21 wins and .750 winning percentage led the league. He was 3rd in strikeouts with 168, 2nd in complete games and shutouts and he gave up fewer hits per 9 innings than any other qualifying pitcher in the MLB. He was voted the recipient of the Cy Young Award and won the crucial 7th game of the World Series by pitching 2-hit, 1-run ball in relief of Don Larsen. Larsen, injured much of the year, finished at 9-6 in 19 starts. Triandos once again led the 0's with 30 HRs and 79 RBIs and handled a pitching staff featuring a few winning pitchers. Miranda continued to excel in the field.
The 1959 season saw the basic demise of 3 of the remaining 4 principals. Larsen had ended the season with a 6-7 record with a 4.33 ERA and the handwriting seemed to be on the wall. The hurler, considered the sleeper in the original deal, was one of Stengel's favorites. Casey had a way of overlooking many of Don's excesses, but by 1959, he showed no signs, at age 29, of changing his ways. Larsen did not win a game after June because of a sore arm. Thus, during the off-season,Yankee GM George Weiss would shipped Larsen, 1B/OF Marv Throneberry, veteran MLB OF Hank Bauer and OF Norm Siebern to the Kansas City A's for utility shortstop Joe DeMaestri, 1st baseman Kent Hadley and slugging, but moody outfielder Roger Mans. Larsen, the sleeper, finished his Yankees career with 45 wins and 24 losses and 1 World Series perfect game. Turley, after going great guns in 1958, could do no better than 8-11 with a 4.32 ERA. In 1960, he made a modest comeback when he went 9-3 with a 3.27 ERA. By 1963, Turley was pitching for the expansion Angels and ended his MLB career that year with the Boston Red Sox. Turley's stay with the Yankees resulted in an 82-52 won-lost record, with 1,269 innings pitched, 909 K's, 1 Cy Young Award and no 2 seasons in a row with wins in double figures.
Willie Miranda had his last year in 1959. At age 33, the little Cuban had lost his starting job to Chico Carrasquel (the man originally coveted by the Yankees in 1954). Willie could only manage 14 hits in 88 trips to the plate. His anemic bat could no longer be carried by the now respectable Orioles. Only Gus Triandos remained as a significant force. He continued to pound the baseball and handle the up and coming "Baby Birds" of Baltimore. Although his average did fall to .216 in 1959, Gus remained the regular behind the plate until 1961. In 1962 Gus was traded to the Detroit Tigers as a result of age and a broken finger. Triandos is in the top 10 (through 1981) in 8 Oriole lifetime categories: 8th in total games played; 8th in at bats; 10th in hits; 5th in HRs; 9th in total bases; 6th in RBIs; 9th in extra base hits; and tied for 10th in slugging percentage with none other than Gene Woodling.
Larsen had pitched a perfect game in the media capital of the world and Bob Turley for 1 year was the best pitcher in baseball. The Orioles could not have won a pennant with the Holy Trinity on their side in the mid-to-late 1950's. If longevity and consistency are the chief attributes a baseball player can offer, then the Orioles with Gus Triandos had the edge over the Yankees with Turley and Larsen.
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Post by fwclipper51 on Dec 25, 2023 21:58:20 GMT -5
Except that the Dodgers are definitely back to flexing their financial muscle while the only thing stopping Hal is his cheapskate family wanting bigger profit shares from the ship building empire his daddy handed over when he died… The question is what is the MLB going to do about this much spending by 1 MLB team? Last time the Dodgers let the money fly back (3-5 million dollars) in the late 1950's; the MLB reacted with the creation of MLB Amateur Player Draft that was started in 1965. Will there be some kind of new team spending cap? Revised the luxury tax system? Should the whole system be revise with more accountability of the funds, what are the small market teams doing with the money given to them? Clipper |
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Post by rizzuto on Dec 25, 2023 22:14:09 GMT -5
Except that the Dodgers are definitely back to flexing their financial muscle while the only thing stopping Hal is his cheapskate family wanting bigger profit shares from the ship building empire his daddy handed over when he died… The question is what is the MLB going to do about this much spending by 1 MLB team? Last time the Dodgers let the money fly back (3-5 million dollars) in the late 1950's; the MLB reacted with the creation of MLB Amateur Player Draft that was started in 1965. Will there be some kind of new team spending cap? Revised the luxury tax system? Should the whole system be revise with more accountability of the funds, what are the small market teams doing with the money given to them? Clipper For the small market teams who pocket luxury tax money, a spending floor should be established or at least a percentage of revenue to be expended. |
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Post by fwclipper51 on Dec 25, 2023 22:23:14 GMT -5
The question is what is the MLB going to do about this much spending by 1 MLB team? Last time the Dodgers let the money fly back (3-5 million dollars) in the late 1950's; the MLB reacted with the creation of MLB Amateur Player Draft that was started in 1965. Will there be some kind of new team spending cap? Revised the luxury tax system? Should the whole system be revise with more accountability of the funds, what are the small market teams doing with the money given to them? Clipper For the small market teams who pocket luxury tax money, a spending floor should be established or at least a percentage of revenue to be expended. Good idea, maybe they have some of their amateur player draft choices be taken away as well. There has to be some kind of stability established by the MLB. They have taken over the control Minor Leagues completely. Clipper |
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Post by bigjeep on Dec 26, 2023 10:45:49 GMT -5
Baseball is in big trouble and has been for years! That's why we are seeing these dumb rule changes! Think about it! MLB is showing less of their product and that's supposed to be a good thing! So cutting game time is now a good thing? How sad is that! Showing less of your product is a good thing!  Now they are thinking about cutting the pitch clock time for next year! Baseball on steroids! Never mind that baseballs statistics and records are now completely meaningless! Football is king! Do you know how much "Game time" in football from hike to whistle is per game! An average of 12 minutes! The rest is commercials and dead time. I did one games first Quarter and got 3 1/2 minutes of action! Couple of long runs!  I won't get into the FA Merry-Go-Round!  |
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Post by desousa on Dec 26, 2023 10:58:56 GMT -5
Baseball's Biggest Trade: A Revisionist's RecountingBy Jim Wright Re-edited by Clipper The 1954 major league baseball season ended leaving a lot of questions about the 1955 campaign unanswered - especially for the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees.
In 1954, the Yankees, led by 64-year-old Casey Stengel, won 103 games (the only time in Casey's career that he would win 100 games) yet finished 8 games behind the Al Lopez-led Cleveland Indians, who had set the American League standard with 111 games won in a 154-game season. The Yankee pitching staff was the oldest in the junior circuit with Allie Reynolds (39), Eddie Lopat (36), Johnny Sam (36), Tommy Byrne (34) and Jim Konstanty (37). Reynolds, with a sore hand and a thriving oil business, gave every indication that his retirement threats were for real this time. Also, he had hurt his back in a team bus accident in Baltimore during the 1954 AL season. Even though Casey favored going with his veterans he knew that some new, live arms were needed to round out his pitching staff, which also featured the 1954 AL Rookie-of-the-Year Bob Grim and 25-year-old Whitey Ford. Shortstop was a sore point for Casey too. Phil Rizzuto at 36, had experienced his poorest year in 1954, by hitting only .195. He seemed to have lost a step or two in the field also. It became evident to Casey and the Yankee brass that an experienced man had to be brought in either to share time or replace the long-time Yankee star. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles, who had recently moved from St. Louis, had experienced their 9th straight losing season. Not since 1945, when they finished 3rd, had a Browns/Orioles team been able to finish higher than 6th place in the AL. Veteran Manager Jimmy Dykes head led the 1954 0's to a 7th-place finish, 57 games behind the 1st-place Indians and 3 games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics. Dykes played the regular 1954 season with one of the youngest pitching staffs in the majors. His everyday players were among the oldest. Paul Richards was brought in from the Chicago White Sox to be both field manager and General Manager by Clarence Miles, the 0's President. Richards had enjoyed some success, leading the White Sox to 3 straight 3rd-place finishes. Miles hoped that Paul's knowledge of pitchers and his combativeness would turn the Orioles from a loser into a winner. Richards immediately saw that personnel changes would have to be made. He believed in the very old baseball axiom that in order to be competitive a team needed strong defense up the middle. Pitching was the Orioles strong point, yet they still managed to finish 57 games out in 1954. Richards quickly came to the realization that he would have to deal from his strength.
The other MLB General Managers were gleeful when the Yankees didn't win the 1954 AL pennant. They were not about to deal with the Yankees at a low cost. Chicago White Sox GM Frank "Trader" Lane had rebuffed all efforts by Yankee GM George Weiss to trade for Chicago star shortstop Chico Carrasquel and pitchers Sandy Consuegra, Bob Keegan and Billy Pierce. At this time the press was also reporting that the Yankees were actively pursuing the contracts of Baltimore's Shortstop Billy Hunter and Pitchers Don Larsen and Bob Turley. The Yankees were well stocked with both major and minor league catching talent. The Yankees were prepared to deal in earnest using their MLB catchers as bait. Paul Richards had his eye on both Gus Triandos and Hal Smith. Triandos was more than capable at both 1st base and behind the plate. Smith was a hard-hitting catcher for whom the St. Louis Cardinals had offered the Yankees a large sum of money.
On November 17, 1954, Paul Richards of the Orioles and George Weiss of the Yankees engineered the largest 2 team swap of personnel in MLB history. The deal was announced in the media in 2 stages - 1st, on November 18th it was announced that the Orioles had sent the "Second Coming of Bob Feller" Bullet Bob Turley (AL leader in K's and BB's), Don Larsen (AL leader in losses with 21) and Billy Hunter (the 0's starting shortstop) to the New York Yankees for Pitchers Harry Byrd and Jim McDonald; Outfielder Gene Woodling; Shortstop Willie Miranda; and 2 Minor League Catchers: Gus Triandos and Hal Smith (the American Association's batting champ with a .350 average). Because of waiver and draft regulations the rest of the trade was not officially announced until December 2,1954. Baltimore would send Pitcher Mike Blyzka, Catcher Darrell Johnson, 1st Baseman Dick Kryhoski and Outfielders Ted del Guercio and Jim Fridley to the Yankees to complete their end of the deal. The Yankees in turn would send to the Orioles Pitcher Bill Miller, 2nd baseman Don Leppert and 3rd baseman Kal Segrist. Originally, it was reported, that the trade was to have also included Oriole Pitcher Lou Kretlow, but the 0's would withdrew his name and Yankees GM George Weiss would agreed to a 9 for 8 swap instead of 9 for 9.
The trade was met with great applause in New York - no more 2nd place finishes for the Yankees now that Bob Turley had been lured away. The fan reaction was not so endearing in Baltimore. Baltimore sports were in turmoil. The Orioles had just traded away the team's only 2 true heroes - and to top it off the trade was reported on the same day that the National Basketball Association Baltimore Bullets were reported to be in dire financial straits and in danger of having to forfeit the rest of the games on their NBA schedule. Baltimore sports fans were understandably upset. A small sampling of fan reaction as reported in the media follows: It's like trading skilled mechanics for laborers. I'm surprised that Richards did this. It's going to upset the entire state of Maryland.
The media reported Paul Richards' defense of the trade in the following manner:
Turley and Larsen were traded to improve the Orioles - they were the only players on the squad with real trade value.
I'm giving our farm system a chance to catch up - and, I don't think Turley alone can pitch the Yankees to a pennant...
The past 2 years this club has lost 200 games with Turley and Larsen. With all due respect to Turley, the best thing we could do was win more games rather than glorify one man... This deal puts us in business. We're a ball club now. It was either take a big gamble or watch Turley pitch every 4th day. Everybody knows when you take young ballplayers you're gambling.
Yankee Skipper Stengel, never at a loss for words, praised the trade at the Winter Meetings at the Commodore Hotel in New York City.
"Richards made a wonderful deal. I think the Baltimore fans are fortunate. They can see these good players every day instead of coming out to watch Turley or Larsen pitch once every 4th day. I know what talent I gave away, but I don't know for sure what I got in return." Reached by telephone, Bob Turley is reported to have said: "It is every ballplayer's dream to be a Yankee. I certainly am mighty happy to be here and be with a contender." Cleveland Indians General Manager Hank Greenberg was interviewed and his comments were far from laudatory:
"Why did you have to bring Turley into the conversation? Are you trying to ruin my day? I'd feel a lot better about our chances of winning the 1955 pennant if the Yankees hadn't pried a pitcher of Turley's class from the Orioles."
There were many baseball "experts" who didn't consider Turley the key to the trade. Many tabbed Larsen as the sleeper in the package. His overall stats with the Browns/Orioles were poor, but many thought Don was a better performer than his record with the lowly 0's indicated.For all practical purposes, it must be said that the Yankees traded Triandos, Smith and Miranda for Larsen, Turley, and Hunter. The Yankees filled their need for younger pitching and a shortstop and the Orioles for up-the-middle defense and power. The Orioles as a team hit only 52 HRs, 29 fewer than the Washington Senators in 1955. The Yankees also stocked the 0's farm system with players who would never be more than marginal big leaguers, but who might contribute to the Orioles immediate needs. Following are brief sketches on those players who were part of the trade yet did not contribute in a significant manner to their new ball clubs.
Catcher Darrell Johnson-played only briefly in 1957-1958 for the Yankees. Johnson's main claim to fame was managing the 1975 Boston Red Sox to the World Series against the Reds.
OF Ted Del Guercio-never played in a regular season MLB game.
INF Don Leppert-hit .114 in 1955 with 8 hits in 70 trips to the plate. 1955 was his only year in the major leagues.1B Kal Segrist-hit .333 with 3 hits in 9 trips to the plate. 1955 was his last year in the MLB.
Pitcher Bill Miller-was 0-1 in 4 innings for the 0's in 1955 - he did not pitch again in the MLB.
Pitcher Jim McDonald a pitcher with a lot of promise early in his career. After going 4-1 for the 1954 Yankees, he had ended the 1955 season with a 3-5 record for the 0's. He ended his MLB pitching career with a 3-5 record in brief appearances for the White Sox in 1956-1958.
Pitcher Harry Byrd-came to the Yankees in 1953 as part of a 13-player Vic Power trade with the Philadelphia A's. He fell far short of expectations in 1954 with a 9-7 record. He was 3-2 in 65 innings for the Birds in 1955, before being traded on to the Chicago White Sox. Byrd's big league career was over by 1957, when he finished up with the Detroit Tigers. He had won the 1952 Rookie of the Year Award.
OF Jim Fridley-would never played a game for the Yankees. He resurfaced briefly with the Reds in 1958.
1B Dick Kryhoski-He didn't play a single game for the Yankees in 1955, as he was sold to the Kansas City A's along with Pitchers Tom Gorman and Ewell Blackwell on March 31,1955. He had batted .213 in 47 at bats for the A's and was gone from the MLB scene after the 1955 season. Pitcher Mike Blyzka-did not pitch again in the MLB after going 1-5 with a 4.69 ERA in 1954 with the Orioles.OF Gene Woodling-He was a slightly different story. Gene had been injured much of the 1954 season. At 32, he had a hand injury, hitting only .250 after hitting a respectable .306 in 1953. Casey figured along with Weiss that Woodling was on the down side of a good career. His .318 average in 5 World Series bolstered his value as a clutch performer. Gene fooled everyone by playing for 8 more years and actually had his highest season average of .321 in 1957 at age 35 for the Cleveland Indians. Gene did not last long in his 1st stint with the Orioles. On June 15,1955, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Outfielders Dave Pope and Wally Westlake.
In 1955 the Yankees would finished 3 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. In this writer's opinion, this was not due to the addition of Turley and Larsen to the Yankee staff. (Larsen began the season with a sore arm). Thirty-five year old Tommy Byrne, not counted on for much, turned his 1954 3-2 record into a fine 16-5 year in 1955. He would won the 1955 AL Comeback Player Award. On the other hand, Cleveland's Mike Garcia, 19-8 in 1954, would fall to 11-13 record and Indian 1st baseman Vic Wertz was stricken by polio after only 74 games into the season.
Turley and Larsen had identical 3.06 ERAs for the 1955 Yankees. Turley had tied for 2nd in the AL with Early Wynn with 17 games won; he would finished 2nd to Herb Score (245) in strikeouts with 210; ranked 3rd in innings pitched with 247; and gave up more bases on balls (177) than any other pitcher in the league. Larsen had appeared in only 19 contests with 13 starts and finished with a 9-2 record. Billy Hunter split the shortstop duties with Rizzuto, fielded well and hit a powerless .227.
The 1955 Orioles improved their record to 57-97 as 24 pitchers moved through Richard's revolving door and a total of 56 men wore the Baltimore uniform. Gus Triandos was the regular 1st baseman and led the 0's with 12 HRs, 65 RBIs and his .277 batting average was the highest among all Oriole regulars. Willie Miranda played a brilliant shortstop and hit a career high .255. Hal Smith was the regular catcher and hit a powerless .271. Smith was traded in 1956 to the Kansas City A's for Catcher Joe Ginsberg. Smith's main claim to MLB fame came in the 8th inning of the 7th game of the 1960 World Series, when he hit a 3-run HR off Yankees Reliever Jim Coates to help the Pittsburgh Pirates win the Series.
In 1956, Hunter had suffered a broken ankle and lost his starting shortstop job to young Gil McDougald. He was part of the 1st trade of real importance that the Yankees and KC A's were to make over the next few years. The Yankees had received Pitchers Art Ditmar and Bobby Shantz (sore-armed at the time) and minor league INF prospect Clete Boyer. The Yankee woulds send Hunter and his bum ankle and veteran MLB outfielder Irv Noren and his bum knees along with 3 Pitchers: Tom Morgan, Rip Coleman and Mickey McDermott, as well as Minor League pitching prospect Jack Urban. A year later Hunter was through as a player, when he would retire from the Cleveland Indians.Larsen and Turley were disappointing in 1956. Larsen went 11-5 with a 3.25 ERA, meanwhile Turley would turned in an 8-4 record with a 5.05 ERA and only 91 K's in 132 innings. It was only a league leading 190 HRs and the pitching of youngsters Johnny Kucks and Tom Sturdivant, who both were 16 game winners along with Whitey Ford (18-7) that brought the Yankees in 9 games ahead of the Indians, who had boasted 3 20-game winners. The Yankees in spite of everything did barely manage to win the 1956 Series in 7 games against the Brooklyn Dodgers and Don Larsen did pitch a perfect game in Game 5. In 1956, Willie Miranda continued to field brilliantly and hit an anemic .217. Triandos became the regular catcher with Smith's departure and responded with a club high 21 HRs and 88 RBIs. Once again Richards sought the proper pitching combination as 23 different hurlers took the mound for the 0's.
In 1957, Turley regained some of his old form, as he started 23 times, winning 13 and losing 6. He had struck out 152 batters in 176 innings and finished with a respectable 2.71 ERA. Larsen was a deceiving 10-4 as his 3.73 ERA was exceeded only by Tommy Byrne's 4.34 ERA. Triandos, once again supplied most of the muscle and handled 20 different pitchers as the Birds finished at .500 for the 1st time in their short history. Miranda and his .194 batting average were spelled often by young Jim Brideweser, who was former Yankees infielder, who was purchased by the Orioles during the 1954 season.Bob Turley's 1 true great year was 1958. He had won 21 and lost only 7. His 21 wins and .750 winning percentage led the league. He was 3rd in strikeouts with 168, 2nd in complete games and shutouts and he gave up fewer hits per 9 innings than any other qualifying pitcher in the MLB. He was voted the recipient of the Cy Young Award and won the crucial 7th game of the World Series by pitching 2-hit, 1-run ball in relief of Don Larsen. Larsen, injured much of the year, finished at 9-6 in 19 starts. Triandos once again led the 0's with 30 HRs and 79 RBIs and handled a pitching staff featuring a few winning pitchers. Miranda continued to excel in the field.The 1959 season saw the basic demise of 3 of the remaining 4 principals. Larsen had ended the season with a 6-7 record with a 4.33 ERA and the handwriting seemed to be on the wall. The hurler, considered the sleeper in the original deal, was one of Stengel's favorites. Casey had a way of overlooking many of Don's excesses, but by 1959, he showed no signs, at age 29, of changing his ways. Larsen did not win a game after June because of a sore arm. Thus, during the off-season,Yankee GM George Weiss would shipped Larsen, 1B/OF Marv Throneberry, veteran MLB OF Hank Bauer and OF Norm Siebern to the Kansas City A's for utility shortstop Joe DeMaestri, 1st baseman Kent Hadley and slugging, but moody outfielder Roger Mans. Larsen, the sleeper, finished his Yankees career with 45 wins and 24 losses and 1 World Series perfect game. Turley, after going great guns in 1958, could do no better than 8-11 with a 4.32 ERA. In 1960, he made a modest comeback when he went 9-3 with a 3.27 ERA. By 1963, Turley was pitching for the expansion Angels and ended his MLB career that year with the Boston Red Sox. Turley's stay with the Yankees resulted in an 82-52 won-lost record, with 1,269 innings pitched, 909 K's, 1 Cy Young Award and no 2 seasons in a row with wins in double figures.
Willie Miranda had his last year in 1959. At age 33, the little Cuban had lost his starting job to Chico Carrasquel (the man originally coveted by the Yankees in 1954). Willie could only manage 14 hits in 88 trips to the plate. His anemic bat could no longer be carried by the now respectable Orioles. Only Gus Triandos remained as a significant force. He continued to pound the baseball and handle the up and coming "Baby Birds" of Baltimore. Although his average did fall to .216 in 1959, Gus remained the regular behind the plate until 1961. In 1962 Gus was traded to the Detroit Tigers as a result of age and a broken finger. Triandos is in the top 10 (through 1981) in 8 Oriole lifetime categories: 8th in total games played; 8th in at bats; 10th in hits; 5th in HRs; 9th in total bases; 6th in RBIs; 9th in extra base hits; and tied for 10th in slugging percentage with none other than Gene Woodling.Larsen had pitched a perfect game in the media capital of the world and Bob Turley for 1 year was the best pitcher in baseball. The Orioles could not have won a pennant with the Holy Trinity on their side in the mid-to-late 1950's. If longevity and consistency are the chief attributes a baseball player can offer, then the Orioles with Gus Triandos had the edge over the Yankees with Turley and Larsen.
Thanks for posting all this great information. I felt like I was perusing through my baseball card collection. It's too bad we'll never see trades like this today. I was managing a restaurant in Florida and got to meet Bullet Bob Turley one night when he had dinner. Could not have been nicer. While working at that same restaurant, I became friends with ex-Yankee infielder and then Braves scout Pedro Gonzales. He would wax poetic for hours about the lack of good power hitting, good fielding catchers during the 80's. He loved Gus Triandos, Earl Battey and of course, Elston Howard. One more thing. The baseball glove I used in little league was a Gene Woodling model. |
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Post by azbob643 on Dec 26, 2023 11:08:28 GMT -5
Baseball is in big trouble and has been for years! That's why we are seeing these dumb rule changes! featuring a comprehensive set of new rules resulting in increased action on the field, a quicker pace of play, and an opportunity for players to show their athleticism. In the first year of a balanced schedule and the second year of expanded Postseason play, MLB generated significant increases in attendance and consumption, with paid attendance reaching the 70 million mark for the first time since 2017. MLB attendance surpasses 70 million and records largest percentage increase in 30 years
Major League Baseball finished the 2023 season with attendance of 70,747,365, which is up +9.6% over last year’s total (64,556,636). The average attendance per game (29,295) increased by +9.1% marking the highest percentage growth in 30 years, not including COVID-impacted seasons, dating back to the 1993 expansion to 28 Clubs. Seventeen Clubs registered attendance over 2.5 million, matching the most in MLB history. Eight teams recorded attendance of more than 3 million fans for the first time in 10 years with more than 86% (26 out of 30 Clubs) registering attendance gains. Eleven weekends drew more than 1.5 million in attendance, which is the most since 2017. The previous four full seasons (2018-2019, 2021-2022) combined for a total of five weekends that topped that number. MLB.TV Sets a Record
MLB.TV recorded its most streamed season in its 21-year history with 12.7 billion minutes watched surpassing last year’s record total of 11.7 billion by +9%. Users watching MLB.TV increased +14% from 2022 and fans watched +17% more games than last season. Fans aged 18-24 watched +16% more games this season. Nine of the top 10 most-watched days ever for MLB.TV, including all of the top five most-watched days, were recorded this season. With shorter game durations, fans also watched deeper into games. The number of games watched in their entirety increased by +17%. www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-attendance-surpasses-70-million-and-records-largest-percentage?t=mlb-press-releases |
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Post by chiyankee on Dec 26, 2023 11:20:15 GMT -5
Baseball is in big trouble and has been for years! That's why we are seeing these dumb rule changes! featuring a comprehensive set of new rules resulting in increased action on the field, a quicker pace of play, and an opportunity for players to show their athleticism. In the first year of a balanced schedule and the second year of expanded Postseason play, MLB generated significant increases in attendance and consumption, with paid attendance reaching the 70 million mark for the first time since 2017. MLB attendance surpasses 70 million and records largest percentage increase in 30 years
Major League Baseball finished the 2023 season with attendance of 70,747,365, which is up +9.6% over last year’s total (64,556,636). The average attendance per game (29,295) increased by +9.1% marking the highest percentage growth in 30 years, not including COVID-impacted seasons, dating back to the 1993 expansion to 28 Clubs. Seventeen Clubs registered attendance over 2.5 million, matching the most in MLB history. Eight teams recorded attendance of more than 3 million fans for the first time in 10 years with more than 86% (26 out of 30 Clubs) registering attendance gains. Eleven weekends drew more than 1.5 million in attendance, which is the most since 2017. The previous four full seasons (2018-2019, 2021-2022) combined for a total of five weekends that topped that number. MLB.TV Sets a Record
MLB.TV recorded its most streamed season in its 21-year history with 12.7 billion minutes watched surpassing last year’s record total of 11.7 billion by +9%. Users watching MLB.TV increased +14% from 2022 and fans watched +17% more games than last season. Fans aged 18-24 watched +16% more games this season. Nine of the top 10 most-watched days ever for MLB.TV, including all of the top five most-watched days, were recorded this season. With shorter game durations, fans also watched deeper into games. The number of games watched in their entirety increased by +17%. www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-attendance-surpasses-70-million-and-records-largest-percentage?t=mlb-press-releasesAll of this combined with the revenue from all their national TV partners and the money is flowing for all the teams. I know the World Series had disappointing ratings but I though overall, regular season viewership was up. |
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Post by bigjeep on Dec 26, 2023 11:46:23 GMT -5
We will see next year when the curiosity wears off! If this is what the "new" baseball fan wants, so be it! But it's still not baseball and I did not see any increase in game action! Hitting 250 today will get you a million dollar contract. An earn run average of 4 will win you a long term million dollar contract! Next year we might see substitute runners! A computer calling strikes and balls! More red flags thrown! The fun in the game is gone. But remember, this is coming from a fan that remembers when baseball was played by players that loved the game and did anything they could to win! Not just for the next bidding war in FA. Watching Stanton jog around third base was a very BAD look for baseball as the Yankee TV team said at the time! His excuse didn't cut it!
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Post by azbob643 on Dec 26, 2023 11:53:54 GMT -5
Major League Baseball completed a historic 2023 regular season featuring a comprehensive set of new rules resulting in increased action on the field, a quicker pace of play, and an opportunity for players to show their athleticism. In the first year of a balanced schedule and the second year of expanded Postseason play, MLB generated significant increases in attendance and consumption, with paid attendance reaching the 70 million mark for the first time since 2017. MLB attendance surpasses 70 million and records largest percentage increase in 30 years
Major League Baseball finished the 2023 season with attendance of 70,747,365, which is up +9.6% over last year’s total (64,556,636). The average attendance per game (29,295) increased by +9.1% marking the highest percentage growth in 30 years, not including COVID-impacted seasons, dating back to the 1993 expansion to 28 Clubs. Seventeen Clubs registered attendance over 2.5 million, matching the most in MLB history. Eight teams recorded attendance of more than 3 million fans for the first time in 10 years with more than 86% (26 out of 30 Clubs) registering attendance gains. Eleven weekends drew more than 1.5 million in attendance, which is the most since 2017. The previous four full seasons (2018-2019, 2021-2022) combined for a total of five weekends that topped that number. MLB.TV Sets a Record
MLB.TV recorded its most streamed season in its 21-year history with 12.7 billion minutes watched surpassing last year’s record total of 11.7 billion by +9%. Users watching MLB.TV increased +14% from 2022 and fans watched +17% more games than last season. Fans aged 18-24 watched +16% more games this season. Nine of the top 10 most-watched days ever for MLB.TV, including all of the top five most-watched days, were recorded this season. With shorter game durations, fans also watched deeper into games. The number of games watched in their entirety increased by +17%. www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-attendance-surpasses-70-million-and-records-largest-percentage?t=mlb-press-releases All of this combined with the revenue from all their national TV partners and the money is flowing for all the teams. I know the World Series had disappointing ratings but I though overall, regular season viewership was up. WS viewership always seems to depend on which teams are playing. Didn’t seem to be much interest in either Rangers or D-Backs outside of Dallas/Phoenix. I’ve been surprised by the number of fans who follow the Yanks religiously, yet have no interest in following the postseason if Yanks aren’t involved. Finally…“Baseball is in trouble…” couldn’t be further from the truth. MLB isn’t “baseball”…it’s a league in which the sport of baseball is played. The game of baseball is played at many levels, from “sandlot” (although not so much anymore) thru youth leagues, high school, college and beyond. From my perspective, youth league baseball is thriving. |
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Post by azbob643 on Dec 26, 2023 12:00:59 GMT -5
We will see next year when the curiosity wears off! If this is what the "new" baseball fan wants, so be it! But it's still not baseball and I did not see any increase in game action! Hitting 250 today will get you a million dollar contract. An earn run average of 4 will win you a long term million dollar contract! Next year we might see substitute runners! A computer calling strikes and balls! More red flags thrown! The fun in the game is gone. But remember, this is coming from a fan that remembers when baseball was played by players that loved the game and did anything they could to win! Not just for the next bidding war in FA. Watching Stanton jog around third base was a very BAD look for baseball as the Yankee TV team said at the time! His excuse didn't cut it! Hardly a "new" baseball fan. Been following the game since tix to sit in the RF bleachers at YS cost me .75 cents. |
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Post by bigjeep on Dec 26, 2023 12:47:59 GMT -5
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Post by pippsheadache on Dec 26, 2023 12:54:51 GMT -5
Thanks for posting all this great information. I felt like I was perusing through my baseball card collection. It's too bad we'll never see trades like this today. I was managing a restaurant in Florida and got to meet Bullet Bob Turley one night when he had dinner. Could not have been nicer. While working at that same restaurant, I became friends with ex-Yankee infielder and then Braves scout Pedro Gonzales. He would wax poetic for hours about the lack of good power hitting, good fielding catchers during the 80's. He loved Gus Triandos, Earl Battey and of course, Elston Howard. One more thing. The baseball glove I used in little league was a Gene Woodling model. Without re-posting clipper's most informative writing, let me concur in that opinion. To boil that trade down even more, what it really settled into was the Yanks getting Turley and Larsen and the Orioles getting Triandos and Miranda. Triandos gave Baltimore eight solid years as a starting catcher, a guy with decent power and a great handler of the young Kiddie Corps pitching staff of Milt Pappas, Chuck Estrada, Steve Barber and Jack Fisher. Also perhaps the slowest runner ever not named Ernie Lombardi. But the Yanks had so much catching depth in their system they didn't need him. He wasn't better than Yogi or Ellie, and that's who he would have been behind, and we had Johnny Blanchard to fill that role most admirably. Willie Miranda gave the Orioles four solid seasons as a defense-only SS who couldn't hit a lick, but he was good enough to hold the job until Ron Hansen emerged in the late 50s. Hansen was a nice player in his own right. As for the Yankees, the first four seasons of Turley (59-30) and Larsen (39-17) made it all worthwhile. Four pennants in those four years, and it's all Whitey Ford needed as backup along with the rest of the rotating chorus of Tom Sturdivant, Johnny Kucks, Bob Grim, Bobby Shantz, Art Ditmar, etc. You could make an argument that without Turley in 1958 and his Cy Young Award and World Series MVP, the Yanks might have won the pennant, but not the Series. Down 3-1 to the defending champion Braves, Turley pitched a complete game shutout in Game Five, came in to get a one-out save in the tenth inning of Game Six (with the tying run at third and go-ahead run at first) and then pitched 6 2/3 in relief of Larsen in Game Seven, allowing only one run, to win the ring. And who would trade Gooney Bird's Perfect Game for anything? He was a favorite of Casey, as many of the carousers tended to be, although the main quote I recall from Stengel about Larsen was "he should be good, but he ain't." A Gene Woodling glove Matt? Wise selection. He was one heck of a player, both defensively and with the bat. Talk about under-rated! A career OBP of .386 -- virtually the same with every team he played for -- and an OPS+ of 123, always among the leaders in putouts and assists, an excellent post-season player -- five years with the Yanks, five rings, a slash line of .318/.442/.529 -- you can live with that. He and Hank Bauer, another post-season hero, were called "The Gold Dust Twins" and were the perfect complement to first Joe D and then The Mick in the OF. Jeez they had talent out the wazoo. My first glove was a Spalding Jerry Lumpe model (yikes), then a JC Higgins Bob Buhl six-finger (my favorite glove ever) followed by a Tony Kubek "deep pocket" Rawlings model. Those were the childhood gloves. |
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Now they are thinking about cutting the pitch clock time for next year! Baseball on steroids! Never mind that baseballs statistics and records are now completely meaningless! Football is king! Do you know how much "Game time" in football from hike to whistle is per game! An average of 12 minutes! The rest is commercials and dead time. I did one games first Quarter and got 3 1/2 minutes of action! Couple of long runs! 
I won't get into the FA Merry-Go-Round! 
