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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 14, 2019 18:40:02 GMT -5
Utah, great to see those old names like Rivera and Carrasquel and Minoso and Fox. Then in the mid-50s came Looey Aparicio, who dominated the stolen base crown for a decade. A lot of these guys seemed to be around where Al Lopez was. A great manager and as I am sure you know the only non-Yankee manager to win an AL pennant between 1949 and 1964. Once with Cleveland in 1954 and once with Chicago in 1959. Some of the big slow sluggers I think of from the 50s are Ted Kluszewski, Joe Adcock, Gus Zernial, Wally Post, Steve Bilko, Roy Sievers, Del Ennis, Bob Cerv, Luke Easter, Rocky Colavito. Most of those guys were good players actually, but not what you would call five tool. Sure, even in the 50s there were fast guys. In addition to those you named, Richie Ashburn, Willie Mays and nobody then or now faster than Mickey Mantle. you are right of course that there were many plodders in the 50's, I just saw it as a transition period as more athletic guys had a chance...Mays and Mantle...two fantastically gifted athletes....Billy Bruton could fly....I remember some rob jobs he pulled in CF with the Braves in 57 and 58 in the WS... Mantle was the fastest of course of the Yankees...but Rizzuto was quick....otherwise not much speed in the 50's...Woodling had decent speed....Bauer faster then one might think...Tresh pretty good....Bobby Brown was decent too.... Do you remember a relief pitcher named John Wyatt with the KC Athletics?......I was assigned to a struggling division in KC in 1964, I think, and got acquainted with Wyatt....had some barbecue with him a time or two....John was a vigorous eater, and I picked up the tab...lol......one of his favorite things was taking some money from a young white kid in a bet on a footrace....John was heavy, and looked out of shape, but he could really run...for a short distance anyway....he would draw a line from second base and they would race the 90 feet to the first base line....do you remember Nelson Matthews?....he could run well, and John took his money...…. I sure do remember John "Smoke" Wyatt. Hard throwing reliever from the days when the A's had Wayne Causey and Norm Siebern and Russ Snyder. I remember in 64 Sports Illustrated did a feature on Wyatt. Seemed like a very brash guy. And I actually do remember Nelson Matthews. I think he was a highly-regarded prospect who never went too far. I think he was around the same time as Shelley Duncan's father Dave and Jorge Posada's Uncle Leo. Good call on Billy Bruton, a fine centerfielder on some great Braves teams. Played between Hank Aaron and Wes Covington. Or sometimes Andy Pafko. Another fast guy from the 50s was Don Blasingame. At the very end of the 50s Maury Wills came along and for awhile had the single-season SB record. If you were around for John Wyatt, you must have had contact with a young Bert Campeneris. Maybe even Catfish or Reggie? |
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Post by inger on Jun 14, 2019 18:46:00 GMT -5
When any act in sports becomes too commonplace and one faction or the other becomes dominant, I feel it makes the sport less entertaining.
When a guy with a big strikeout pitch is on the mound, he can be exciting to watch, but when everybody strikes out with frequency, it’s no longer such a big deal.
When one of the precious few players that can hit the ball 500 feet does so, it makes news. When seemingly every line up has four of those guys, it’s “meh” when it happens.
I’m not really so sure some of these modern guys would have looked as fearsome in the older days of the game. There are fewer kids playing baseball than ever before, perhaps making it easier to stand out in the sport vs. your peers.
Yeah. That’s an old man rant that I never thought would come out of me, much less be typed by a single thumb when it did. (don’t laugh, it’s a pretty damned fast thumb)...
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Post by inger on Jun 14, 2019 18:48:14 GMT -5
I was amazed when Wyatt became the record-setter by appearing in 80 games as a pitcher...That’s been topped many times now...
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Post by utahyank on Jun 14, 2019 20:36:57 GMT -5
you are right of course that there were many plodders in the 50's, I just saw it as a transition period as more athletic guys had a chance...Mays and Mantle...two fantastically gifted athletes....Billy Bruton could fly....I remember some rob jobs he pulled in CF with the Braves in 57 and 58 in the WS... Mantle was the fastest of course of the Yankees...but Rizzuto was quick....otherwise not much speed in the 50's...Woodling had decent speed....Bauer faster then one might think...Tresh pretty good....Bobby Brown was decent too.... Do you remember a relief pitcher named John Wyatt with the KC Athletics?......I was assigned to a struggling division in KC in 1964, I think, and got acquainted with Wyatt....had some barbecue with him a time or two....John was a vigorous eater, and I picked up the tab...lol......one of his favorite things was taking some money from a young white kid in a bet on a footrace....John was heavy, and looked out of shape, but he could really run...for a short distance anyway....he would draw a line from second base and they would race the 90 feet to the first base line....do you remember Nelson Matthews?....he could run well, and John took his money...…. I sure do remember John "Smoke" Wyatt. Hard throwing reliever from the days when the A's had Wayne Causey and Norm Siebern and Russ Snyder. I remember in 64 Sports Illustrated did a feature on Wyatt. Seemed like a very brash guy. And I actually do remember Nelson Matthews. I think he was a highly-regarded prospect who never went too far. I think he was around the same time as Shelley Duncan's father Dave and Jorge Posada's Uncle Leo. Good call on Billy Bruton, a fine centerfielder on some great Braves teams. Played between Hank Aaron and Wes Covington. Or sometimes Andy Pafko. Another fast guy from the 50s was Don Blasingame. At the very end of the 50s Maury Wills came along and for awhile had the single-season SB record. If you were around for John Wyatt, you must have had contact with a young Bert Campeneris. Maybe even Catfish or Reggie? Glad you and inger remember John Wyatt.....he was a unique guy... I was there when Finley signed Catfish, and brought him up to the club...if my memory is right Jim never pitched in the minors...yes, I was there with a young Campy and an old Colavito...Rocky impressed me the way he would cut down on his swing and single up the middle or to RF if it meant a win...he had a great arm too...…….About that time was the first ever draft, I think...Rick Monday was the first selected if I recall....I'm not sure if I was in KC or Florida for Monday....I left the AEC in 1965 and went with NASA at the Florida Space Center....I know I was in Fla when Reggie was at Arizona State because I felt deprived of baseball in those years, although there were other exciting things happening (grin)….you mention Covington...it is possible I am transposing the play of Bruton and Covington in the two WS with the Braves...…….they were both excellent outfielders...those Brave's teams were very good....very good.....Eddie Matthews was my favorite to watch hit on that team... |
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Post by utahyank on Jun 14, 2019 21:07:10 GMT -5
I was amazed when Wyatt became the record-setter by appearing in 80 games as a pitcher...That’s been topped many times now... Wyatt was pretty effective for a couple years.....Boston had a closer named Radatz who had fearsome stuff, but command issues sometimes... |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 14, 2019 21:15:44 GMT -5
Great stories Utah. I will write more later, but loved your comments on Rocco Domenico Colavito. What a powerful arm! Sometimes too powerful.
Those late 50s Braves were for sure great teams. Missed a third straight pennant by an eyelash. Four Hall of Famers -- Aaron, Mathews, Spahn and Schoendienst. Eddie Mathews was just a tick below Mike Schmidt as the all-time third baseman IMO. Two tough cookies on the left side of that IF between Mathews and Johnny Logan. And Joe Adcock at first was not a man to be trifled with either. And of course he shared time with Joe Torre's brother Frank.
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Post by utahyank on Jun 14, 2019 22:26:08 GMT -5
Thinking about the high schooler named Jim Hunter being brought directly to the majors brought to mind another that really was hurt by being rushed...I am thinking of David Clyde and Texas...that was a shame....but before Tommy John I think...so maybe it could have turned out better today.
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Post by utahyank on Jun 14, 2019 22:41:50 GMT -5
If it stops it will end is one of the most profound statements I have ever read... At least not said by Yogi Berra or Casey Stengel... (: inger...thanks for pointing that out.....it sounds very Berra-esque indeed.....if it stops it will end.....wow... |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 15, 2019 16:58:33 GMT -5
Thinking about the high schooler named Jim Hunter being brought directly to the majors brought to mind another that really was hurt by being rushed...I am thinking of David Clyde and Texas...that was a shame....but before Tommy John I think...so maybe it could have turned out better today. Boy do I remember the hype around David Clyde. Pitching in the majors at age 18, had a few good early starts for the Rangers -- I remember him being on one of those "Game of the Week" telecasts. He was sort of the Stephen Strasburg of his day, except he hurt his arm early on and never recovered. The Rangers were filling the park when he pitched, so they kept throwing him out there. A classic case of ruining a young pitcher. Definitely in the "What Might Have Been" Hall of Fame. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 15, 2019 17:03:51 GMT -5
Utah, were you a scout for the A's? Those are some great anecdotes. You are correct, Catfish Hunter never pitched in the minors. He is one of four pitchers in the history of baseball to have 200 victories by the age of 30.
The others were Cy Young. Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson. Pretty good company, huh?
Somebody in that A's organization had an eye for talent. I can't believe it was Charlie Finley.
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Post by greatfatness on Jun 15, 2019 20:36:19 GMT -5
How are his hemorrhoids ?
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 15, 2019 20:40:15 GMT -5
How are his hemorrhoids ? I think he put a little pine tar on them and that took care of it. |
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Post by utahyank on Jun 16, 2019 9:40:22 GMT -5
Utah, were you a scout for the A's? Those are some great anecdotes. You are correct, Catfish Hunter never pitched in the minors. He is one of four pitchers in the history of baseball to have 200 victories by the age of 30. The others were Cy Young. Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson. Pretty good company, huh? Somebody in that A's organization had an eye for talent. I can't believe it was Charlie Finley. no...not a scout....my father was a business associate of Clarence Mitchell...the old spitballer….Clarence had many contacts with scouts and other baseball people in the 30's and 40's...one of the Cleveland scouts took me under his wing so to speak...and I learned a lot about how to watch baseball games...the Cleveland scouts son and I became close, and until he passed recently, we communicated regularly....just a baseball fan.....regards.... |
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Post by inger on Jun 16, 2019 11:50:10 GMT -5
How are his hemorrhoids ? I think he put a little pine tar on them and that took care of it. I once had a truck driver that would make an odd run for me on occasion that had the nickname “Stinkfinger”. Never knew why, never asked. Tried not to care... |
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Post by utahyank on Jun 16, 2019 12:18:49 GMT -5
I think he put a little pine tar on them and that took care of it. I once had a truck driver that would make an odd run for me on occasion that had the nickname “Stinkfinger”. Never knew why, never asked. Tried not to care... I think Brett said that the hemorrhoids were behind him now.... |
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