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Post by utahyank on Jun 22, 2019 9:55:40 GMT -5
now that you mention the Davis sidearm motion, I remember that....it was quite effective for him...
have you guys seen film on Ewell Blackwell?....he was very, very, tough on RH hitters...the durned old arm injury truncated his career...
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 23, 2019 18:45:43 GMT -5
now that you mention the Davis sidearm motion, I remember that....it was quite effective for him... have you guys seen film on Ewell Blackwell?....he was very, very, tough on RH hitters...the durned old arm injury truncated his career... Utah, I have seen films of the appropriately nicknamed Ewell "The Whip" Blackwell. However I couldn't find any on youtube. Definitely a tough delivery to have that 6'6" beanpole coming at you from the side. Despite a rather unimpressive record, he made six consecutive All-Star teams before that bizarre motion and kidney problems ended his career prematurely. An awful lot of great hitters, from Ted Williams to Jackie Robinson to Stan Musial to Ralph Kiner, considered him the pitcher they least wanted to face. He was a little before my time, but one of my uncles was a huge Ewell Blackwell fan and did a creditable impersonation of his delivery. Did you ever see film of Walter Johnson pitching? Holy cow, that 40-inch sleeve coming effortlessly from the side at 95-100 MPH. A freak of nature. |
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Post by utahyank on Jun 23, 2019 18:46:30 GMT -5
who you got in the CWS finals....Michigan and Vanderbilt.....one the over-achiever of the series, and the other the odds-on favorite coming into the series....I am pulling for the Wolverines....
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Post by utahyank on Jun 23, 2019 18:58:07 GMT -5
now that you mention the Davis sidearm motion, I remember that....it was quite effective for him... have you guys seen film on Ewell Blackwell?....he was very, very, tough on RH hitters...the durned old arm injury truncated his career... Utah, I have seen films of the appropriately nicknamed Ewell "The Whip" Blackwell. However I couldn't find any on youtube. Definitely a tough delivery to have that 6'6" beanpole coming at you from the side. Despite a rather unimpressive record, he made six consecutive All-Star teams before that bizarre motion and kidney problems ended his career prematurely. An awful lot of great hitters, from Ted Williams to Jackie Robinson to Stan Musial to Ralph Kiner, considered him the pitcher they least wanted to face. He was a little before my time, but one of my uncles was a huge Ewell Blackwell fan and did a creditable impersonation of his delivery. Did you ever see film of Walter Johnson pitching? Holy cow, that 40-inch sleeve coming effortlessly from the side at 95-100 MPH. A freak of nature. yeah, on Walter....his motion looked so effortless, and then, zip...…….He was retired before my watching time...I consider him on a pedestal a little higher than anyone else...just based on his record, and the fact he pitched for the second-rate Senators.. Blackwell was the real deal, despite any record problems....at a time before batting helmets or body armor, he must have been fearsome to face....If my memory doesn't fail me, he almost did the back to back no-hitters in his prime.....I want to say 1947, from where I remember hearing about it...I think he took the second no-hitter into the 9th......and while a more average pitcher like Vander Meer did that feat....Ewell was easily twice the pitcher Johnny was....I didn't know Ewell had kidney problems....thanks.. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 23, 2019 20:00:18 GMT -5
You have it right, Utah. Blackwell came within two outs of back to back no-hitters. He had to have a kidney removed during the middle of his playing career. Although most of his career was with the Reds, he spent part of 1952 and then 1953 with the Yankees.
People I know who saw both Walter Johnson and Bob Feller pitch were pretty divided as to who threw faster. No question they both touched 100 MPH, although measuring was primitive, especially in Johnson's day when a very poorly-devised test was laid out for him.
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Post by utahyank on Jun 23, 2019 20:55:52 GMT -5
I remember Ewell in the Bronx...just a shell of what he once was....George Weiss would buy NL players for a modest amount of cash to the NL clubs...some of them worked out for the Yanks...most did not....Mize probably had the most left in the tank...Sain helped some..Scarborough, Blackwell, Hopp, Slaughter, and others I forget did not have much left when the Yankees got them....sometimes you would see flashes of what they once were, though...
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Post by noetsi on Jun 23, 2019 21:00:12 GMT -5
From what I read Bob Gibson would have been really scary to face. He clobbered people who annoyed him it is said.
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Post by utahyank on Jun 23, 2019 21:08:31 GMT -5
From what I read Bob Gibson would have been really scary to face. He clobbered people who annoyed him it is said. yeah....Gibby had a mean streak when it came to hitters....he deserves to be in a short list of tough pitchers, I think....I am in Omaha now for the CWS, and this is Gibson's home town...I haven't seen him this year, but I think his home is still here.... |
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Post by noetsi on Jun 23, 2019 21:13:48 GMT -5
Joe Morgan described graphically what Gibson did to a player who hit a home run on him. These days that would get you suspended, but this was the late 60's I think.
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 25, 2019 13:38:24 GMT -5
I remember Ewell in the Bronx...just a shell of what he once was....George Weiss would buy NL players for a modest amount of cash to the NL clubs...some of them worked out for the Yanks...most did not....Mize probably had the most left in the tank...Sain helped some..Scarborough, Blackwell, Hopp, Slaughter, and others I forget did not have much left when the Yankees got them....sometimes you would see flashes of what they once were, though... Jim Konstanty gave them one good season. Dale Long for a brief stretch. But yeah, among that group, Big Cat Mize had the most impact. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 25, 2019 13:43:26 GMT -5
From what I read Bob Gibson would have been really scary to face. He clobbered people who annoyed him it is said. yeah....Gibby had a mean streak when it came to hitters....he deserves to be in a short list of tough pitchers, I think....I am in Omaha now for the CWS, and this is Gibson's home town...I haven't seen him this year, but I think his home is still here.... Bob Gibson was a great athlete -- he even played a season for the Harlem Globetrotters. He was an outstanding hitter for a pitcher, and fielded his position very well. But his energetic follow-through sent him falling off toward third base, and he really hated batters who bunted up the first base line. You were definitely getting a hard one in the ribs if you did that, even more so than if you hit a home run. He didn't even like his own catcher coming out to the mound. Tim McCarver often talked about Gibson glaring at him and asking "what are you doing here?" during a mound visit. It was his game face, and it was always on between the lines. |
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Post by utahyank on Jun 25, 2019 16:54:09 GMT -5
Pipps....in a previous discussion you remarked about the A's and who got credit for putting that team together....I don't know the names, but they had an exceptional scouting staff, and frankly probably got a bit lucky....but to think of the the talent that came to the A's in the few years from about 1965, is pretty impressive...Campanaeris, Hunter, Blue, Odom, Rudi, Monday, Jackson, Bando, Green, Fingers, and more that I forget......it's no wonder that they won 3 WS in a row...…
I remember in a crucial WS game, the announcers talked about Blue Moon Odom falling asleep on the training table after a massage, and they had to wake him to get dressed to pitch the game....how laid back he must have been to fall asleep at such a time...
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Post by inger on Jun 25, 2019 17:00:51 GMT -5
Pipps....in a previous discussion you remarked about the A's and who got credit for putting that team together....I don't know the names, but they had an exceptional scouting staff, and frankly probably got a bit lucky....but to think of the the talent that came to the A's in the few years from about 1965, is pretty impressive...Campanaeris, Hunter, Blue, Odom, Rudi, Monday, Jackson, Bando, Green, Fingers, and more that I forget......it's no wonder that they won 3 WS in a row...… I remember in a crucial WS game, the announcers talked about Blue Moon Odom falling asleep on the training table after a massage, and they had to wake him to get dressed to pitch the game....how laid back he must have been to fall asleep at such a time... Funny stuff, even to me... And I fell asleep in an MRI. The MRI tech chewed me out and ran me back through and I fell asleep AGAIN. A massage might put me in a coma... |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 25, 2019 18:08:06 GMT -5
Pipps....in a previous discussion you remarked about the A's and who got credit for putting that team together....I don't know the names, but they had an exceptional scouting staff, and frankly probably got a bit lucky....but to think of the the talent that came to the A's in the few years from about 1965, is pretty impressive...Campanaeris, Hunter, Blue, Odom, Rudi, Monday, Jackson, Bando, Green, Fingers, and more that I forget......it's no wonder that they won 3 WS in a row...… I remember in a crucial WS game, the announcers talked about Blue Moon Odom falling asleep on the training table after a massage, and they had to wake him to get dressed to pitch the game....how laid back he must have been to fall asleep at such a time... Good Blue Moon Odom story, Utah. I recall that many observers thought that of all the young pitchers the A's were developing at that time --Blue, Hunter, and Holtzman (who they got from the Cubs), Odom might be the best of the bunch. They really did have an amazing eye for talent from the mid to late 60s. You named most of the best ones, but you could also throw in Gene Tenace, Tony LaRussa, Chuck Dobson and Glenn Abbott, all of whom had long careers with varying degrees of success. I remember an obscure pitcher the A's developed named Jim Panther. He didn't do much in the majors. I swear Finley signed him just because he liked the name. The only thing I remember about him was that he was involved in a trade in which the A's got Denny McLain. Three straight rings, five straight division titles. It was quite a run. |
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Post by noetsi on Jun 25, 2019 18:28:36 GMT -5
not to mention Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Rollie Fingers and I think Tommy John (not sure about him).
Free agency killed the A's
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