Misc. Bull$h!t

It’s really so simple. Look within. That is where what some call God lives. In every man, creature. In objects animate and inanimate…

BILL MAZEROSKI

When asked how he used to get rid of the ball so quickly on double-play pivots, Mazeroski couldn’t actually explain it, saying: “It just happened. I didn’t catch the ball. The ricochet would hit right there (left palm) and this (right hand) would be down here and, boom, it would go like that. It’s quicker than anybody else ever did it. I don’t know how. I’ve never seen too many do it like me.” An 8-time Gold Glove winner, his career total of 1,706 twin killings is a major league record, and by a considerable margin*…

*more discussion about this point to come…

Mazeroski really was a magician when it came to getting rid of the ball quickly.  Joe Morgan was somewhat similar, and he consciously patterned himself after Maz, right down to using the undersized glove.

That DP record is interesting, and I look forward to your further thoughts on it.  Mazeroski really had only two DP partners for his whole career -- Dick Groat and Gene Alley.  (There was a brief interlude with Ducky Schofield, but I only bring it up so I can mention Ducky Schofield's name.)  Groat covered Mazeroski's early years, and while he neither had great range nor a strong arm, he was brilliant at positioning himself and like Maz had an exceptionally quick release.  So they complemented each other perfectly.  Groat was consistently among the league leaders in putouts and assists --as was Maz -- but he also made a lot of errors.  He was just always in the action, but I think in general his ability to get to the ball was a big factor in all of those DPs.  Alley was Mazeroski's keystone mate for the latter part of his career, and although he didn't play as long as Groat, he was a brilliant defender, just a tad below Belanger, and that too would have contributed to that DP total.  Maz played a lot of games behind Vernon Law and Bob Friend; I am not sure of the extent to which they served up ground balls, but at least anecdotally it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.

As you noted, Mazeroski leads in twin killings for a second baseman by a healthy margin, and in fact compiled that number while playing fewer innings than the three players immediately behind him -- Nellie Fox, Willie Randolph and Lou Whitaker.  He is also the all-time leader in Defensive WAR for second basemen.  He was unquestionably an exceptional defensive player, although he was nothing special with the bat, which was not uncommon for middle IFers of his era.  One quirky stat I found interesting was that despite his modest hitting skills, Mazeroski has more Intentional Bases on Balls than any other second baseman with 110.  Robinson Cano actually has two more, but he had over 350 ABs as DH, PH and a smattering of other games that accounted for at least three of those IBBs.  IBBs are heavily dependent on context -- Babe Ruth ranks 222nd, far behind many lesser players, because he had Lou Gehrig coming up after him.  Maz overwhelmingly hit either sixth, seventh or eighth, and on a lot of lousy teams, so there was probably more reason to give him a free pass with some scrubbini coming up behind him.

Mazeroski and his two SS partners, Groat and Alley, are all still alive, ranging in age from Alley at 82, Maz at 86 and Groat at 92.

Bobby Shantz was an amazing athlete.  He was listed as only 5'6" but he was a top-ranked gymnast, a competitive swimmer, a high school all-star football player, a high average bowler and a scratch golfer.  Even though Gold Gloves weren't awarded until his age 31 season, he still won eight of them.  He was a key contributor as a spot starter and reliever for the great Yankee teams of 1957-1960.  He threw pretty much every pitch there was from any angle you could dream up.  Magnificently coordinated.

I am pretty sure he is the last living player to play under Connie Mack; he turned 97 last year.  He was a regular at the Philadelphia A's Historical Society meetings that my father was active in for many years.  I got to meet him on two different occasions and he was just the most self-effacing, kindly person you could imagine.  He honestly looked more like 5'4" than 5'6", but then again he was pushing 70 when I saw him.  It was hard to get him to give a talk because he just did not like getting up in front of a group of people, even adoring people who would have applauded if he had read the phone book.  He was a local guy from the Philly area and ran a restaurant in the suburbs for many years after he retired from baseball.  He lived (and maybe still does) in Ambler PA and was a neighbor of the recently-deceased Curt Simmons.  He is one of those almost forgotten MVPs, although since he won it over 70 years ago I guess it's understandable.

Wally Moses was a fine player who was a Phillies coach when I was a kid.  He also used to attend the A's Historical Society meetings, although I never got a chance to meet him.  Unlike Shantz, he was a polished public speaker and a man of refined culture.  I did however get to meet his daughter when I was working in Saudi Arabia in the early 90s.  She was with the Voice of America and had come to Riyadh to do a feature on the hostilities between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.  This was the era of the scud missiles, if you recall.  I didn't get much of a chance to speak with her, what with a war going on and everything, but we had a nice brief chat about the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society and the fact that our fathers had met each other.  Wally Moses was from Vidalia GA, home of the best onions I've ever had.

I remember hearing his name invoked on broadcasts when I started watching a couple of years later…

Yanks are 3-2. If the playoffs started tomorrow, we’d be a wild card. We better made some more moves right away…🤓

Vidalia onions are a treat. My uncle used to buy them when we'd go fishing, and we ate them on sandwiches and even on the side of other dishes, like eating pickles or peppers.