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Post by inger on Nov 5, 2023 15:04:56 GMT -5
I love hearing these names BillyBones. Most of them were just before my time, but they are the guys I would hear my father and uncles and their friends bring up when I was a child. Yes, Sid Gordon came to the Braves from the Giants the year after the Braves won their pennant. Leo Durocher, who had just come to the Giants, liked fast players, which Gordon as you noted most definitely was not, and he traded Sid for Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky. Monte Irvin had come along to play left and made Gordon expendable. Durocher and Stanky always had a mutual admiration society. Between a late start and World War II, Gordon didn't really hit his stride until he was 30 years old, and then proceeded to hit between 25-30 HRs a year for the next five years. He's undoubtedly the third-best Jewish player to come out of New York City, after Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax. He died in 1975 at age 57 after suffering a heart attack while playing softball in Central Park. Tommy Holmes is usually described as the most popular player in the history of the Boston Braves. He was apparently about as congenial as they come. Everybody loved him, and he was an excellent hitter -- a .302 lifetime BA, a .366 OBP and an OPS+ of 122. My only firsthand memory of Holmes is when he came out to congratulate Pete Rose when Rose surpassed Holmes's record of the longest modern National League hitting streak at 37 games in 1978. Rose of course went on to hit in 44 straight -- at age 37, by the way -- but Holmes is still third all-time in the NL after Jimmy Rollins racked up 38 straight over two seasons. That's a bit different of an achievement in my view, but whatever. In 1945 Holmes had an amazing statistic. He hit 28 HRs while striking out only nine times and batting .352. I'll take that any day. Holmes has the third-best strikeout to walk ratio in MLB history, behind Luke Sewell and Mickey Cochrane. Did you know that he was originally signed by the Yankees? He played three years for their AAA Newark Bears affiliate from 1939-1941, a team usually mentioned among the greatest minor league teams ever. Unfortunately the Yankees OF at that time was DiMaggio, Keller and Henrich, so there was no room for Holmes and he was traded to Boston. Holmes worked in the Mets community relations department for 30 years, not retiring until he was 86 years old. Bob Elliott who you mentioned was also a really solid hitter, and considered the best defensive third baseman of his era. He had a career .289 BA, a .375 OBP and an OPS+ of 124. He was a seven-time All Star. My only memory of Elliott was as manager of the Kansas City Athletics in 1960. I had his baseball card and I remember my father telling me about what a good player he had been. Elliott was also a coach on that first Angels team in 1961 that we discussed a few days ago. He died quite young from a ruptured windpipe at the age of 49. Okay, I see what you meant about Richie Ashburn, he was on the 1948 All Star team. That was his rookie season. I saw him play many times at Connie Mack Stadium when I was a kid. Number One. And for ages I listened to him doing Phillies' broadcasts. He was there for 35 years. Richie and Stan Musial are my two favorite non-Yankee players ever, and in both cases I had a personal interaction with them. In the case of Richie, it was actually just about six weeks before he died in 1997. I was living in Los Angeles then and went to a game at Dodger Stadium when the Phillies came in. It was my father's birthday, and I gave a note to one of the attendants to pass to the Phillies' broadcast team, asking if they could wish him a Happy Birthday and that he would be watching back in Philly. Well the attendant came back to me and said that Richie and his broadcast partner Harry Kalas invited me to come into the booth before the game. I went in of course and Richie and Harry treated me like I was an old friend, asked me questions about my father and about where I was from, things like that. When I mentioned that my father's parents had a boarding house back in the 20s and 30s where a lot of Philadelphia A's players had stayed, they were genuinely interested. I pushed for one last request and asked if they could send birthday greetings early in the game because my father was elderly and would probably fall asleep if it was too late in the game. They said they'd do what they could. As soon as I left the booth I called my mother to tell her to make sure my father stayed up as long as possible because Richie and Harry were going to mention his birthday. Well they wished him a Happy Birthday in the top of the first inning and my father was so touched by that. He was deluged with phone calls by people who had heard it. Like both of my parents, I was an Ashburn (and Kalas) fan long before that, but that really was the icing on the cake. One more reason to love baseball. Great post, Pipps and a touching memory of your father. Hearing one's name on television was something otherworldly when I was a kid. I still recall seeing my cousin Walter Rizzuto's name scrolled on the screen during the news when I was a kid. He was one of a multitude of people that were arrested in a drug bust. When I told my father, he didn't even acknowledge it. Evidently, he knew Walter had a problem with drugs, and my father was very reluctant to talk negatively about his immediate family and his brothers' kids. An Italian thing. Something that was 180 degrees different from my mother's side. Whomever wasn't in the room was fair game. Just an aside, Alvin Dark went to high school in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and attended both LSU and USL (now UL). Dark was born in 1922 and my father in 1925. After WWII, there was a fast pitch softball league in south Louisiana that Dark joined and wanted to play shortstop. The coach told him to play shortstop, he needed to unseat my father Anthony Rizzuto. My father held on to the shortstop position for the season, and Alvin went on to play shortstop and third base in the major leagues. My father's younger brother Marion Rizzuto was considered the best shortstop in our town's history, manning the position for the only Louisiana State High School Championship our high school ever had - still to this day. Both of my oldest brothers and my cousin Phil Rizzuto came close to a basketball championship in 1967, 1968, and 1969 - losing to the same eventual champion in each of those seasons in very close games in the finals and semi-finals. I’ve never (knowingly) been on TV. A Baltimore TV news reporter that Pipps will surely recall, Al Sanders once stuck a mic under my nose, but I refused to be interviewed. My answer would have been controversial, which I diond Mind was that it might have been hurtful to the local family of a young soldier who had been killed in action. The soldier was not 100% mentally, which had been obvious in high school. I felt he was collateral damage and perhaps due to his condition may have been pushed to the front in more dangerous circumstance as “expendable”. Here is his story: dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000pHKyhEAG |
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Post by pippsheadache on Nov 5, 2023 20:54:54 GMT -5
Great post, Pipps and a touching memory of your father. Hearing one's name on television was something otherworldly when I was a kid. I still recall seeing my cousin Walter Rizzuto's name scrolled on the screen during the news when I was a kid. He was one of a multitude of people that were arrested in a drug bust. When I told my father, he didn't even acknowledge it. Evidently, he knew Walter had a problem with drugs, and my father was very reluctant to talk negatively about his immediate family and his brothers' kids. An Italian thing. Something that was 180 degrees different from my mother's side. Whomever wasn't in the room was fair game. Just an aside, Alvin Dark went to high school in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and attended both LSU and USL (now UL). Dark was born in 1922 and my father in 1925. After WWII, there was a fast pitch softball league in south Louisiana that Dark joined and wanted to play shortstop. The coach told him to play shortstop, he needed to unseat my father Anthony Rizzuto. My father held on to the shortstop position for the season, and Alvin went on to play shortstop and third base in the major leagues. My father's younger brother Marion Rizzuto was considered the best shortstop in our town's history, manning the position for the only Louisiana State High School Championship our high school ever had - still to this day. Both of my oldest brothers and my cousin Phil Rizzuto came close to a basketball championship in 1967, 1968, and 1969 - losing to the same eventual champion in each of those seasons in very close games in the finals and semi-finals. Thank you Rizz. The athletic gene obviously runs strong in your family. I know Alvin Dark was a great all-around athlete, so your father keeping him out of the SS position speaks extraordinarily well of his ability. Unfortunately neither I nor my siblings inherited our parents athleticism. We were all rather pedestrian high-school participants. My father played freshman basketball at St. Joseph's University, but then World War II came along and by the time he got out of the Army Air Force that career had passed by. He had a teammate named George Senesky who played in the early years of the BAA/NBA for the Philadelphia Warriors. My mother was a first-team All State Girls High School player at PS DuPont High School in Wilmington DE both her junior and senior years. But in those days there wasn't much in the way of collegiate womens basketball. She went to the University of Delaware but they only had club teams for her to play on in those years. I know I mentioned before how she could routinely beat my high school basketball teammates in games of horse with her two-handed set shots on our backyard court. And she would have been in her late 30s early 40s by then. It was hilarious to watch. And that team was good enough to make it to the state quarter finals. I don't think she could have beaten them one on one, but she knew to play to her strength. I remember the organist in Philly used to play a few bars of The Chipmunks song "Alvin's Harmonica" when Alvin Dark came up to bat. Maybe the first walk-up song in history. Dark managed that 1962 Giants team that the Yanks defeated in a classic World Series, and then won the last ring in Oakland's three-year run in 1974, which I think you might remember. I love how you know all your Louisiana guys! There are far more of them than I could have imagined. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Nov 5, 2023 21:00:40 GMT -5
I’ve never (knowingly) been on TV. A Baltimore TV news reporter that Pipps will surely recall, Al Sanders once stuck a mic under my nose, but I refused to be interviewed. My answer would have been controversial, which I diond Mind was that it might have been hurtful to the local family of a young soldier who had been killed in action. The soldier was not 100% mentally, which had been obvious in high school. I felt he was collateral damage and perhaps due to his condition may have been pushed to the front in more dangerous circumstance as “expendable”. Here is his story: dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000pHKyhEAGI do remember Al Sanders. He was probably the highest-rated anchorman in Baltimore with Channel 13. He might have been there when Nick Charles was doing sports. He actually replaced Oprah Winfrey as co-anchor at that station. I think as a general rule it's a good idea to refuse to be interviewed by any media. I was continually amazed at how people would talk to reporters even when I was a reporter. |
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Post by rizzuto on Nov 5, 2023 21:17:49 GMT -5
I’ve never (knowingly) been on TV. A Baltimore TV news reporter that Pipps will surely recall, Al Sanders once stuck a mic under my nose, but I refused to be interviewed. My answer would have been controversial, which I diond Mind was that it might have been hurtful to the local family of a young soldier who had been killed in action. The soldier was not 100% mentally, which had been obvious in high school. I felt he was collateral damage and perhaps due to his condition may have been pushed to the front in more dangerous circumstance as “expendable”. Here is his story: dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000pHKyhEAGI do remember Al Sanders. He was probably the highest-rated anchorman in Baltimore with Channel 13. He might have been there when Nick Charles was doing sports. He actually replaced Oprah Winfrey as co-anchor at that station. I think as a general rule it's a good idea to refuse to be interviewed by any media. I was continually amazed at how people would talk to reporters even when I was a reporter. Remember when Nick Charles and Fred Hickman were the biggest sports show rivals to ESPN? They had a great chemistry and were very smooth but relatable. I never did understand hockey, but Nick Charles could get me fired up: “And there goes Grant Fuhr with a high stick!” |
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Post by pippsheadache on Nov 5, 2023 21:25:24 GMT -5
I do remember Al Sanders. He was probably the highest-rated anchorman in Baltimore with Channel 13. He might have been there when Nick Charles was doing sports. He actually replaced Oprah Winfrey as co-anchor at that station. I think as a general rule it's a good idea to refuse to be interviewed by any media. I was continually amazed at how people would talk to reporters even when I was a reporter. Remember when Nick Charles and Fred Hickman were the biggest sports show rivals to ESPN? They had a great chemistry and were very smooth but relatable. I never did understand hockey, but Nick Charles could get me fired up: “And there goes Grant Fuhr with a high stick!” Grant Fuhr -- some old Edmonton Oilers knowledge! Nick and Fred were great together. Sadly Nick died over 12 years ago and Fred passed away almost exactly one year ago. Neither of them made it to 70. |
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Post by BillyBones on Nov 5, 2023 21:25:47 GMT -5
Masterful post about Gordon, Holmes and Elliot, Pipps. How touching the radio tribute to your father from Ashburn. And, how interesting to hear of Rizzuto's athletic family. Impressive. No, I had no idea that Gordon was originally a Yankee. I knew he was from New York, so not surprising that one of the NY teams signed him. Thanks for all the responses. I have enjoyed reading them immensely.
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Post by pippsheadache on Nov 5, 2023 21:38:13 GMT -5
Masterful post about Gordon, Holmes and Elliot, Pipps. How touching the radio tribute to your father from Ashburn. And, how interesting to hear of Rizzuto's athletic family. Impressive. No, I had no idea that Gordon was originally a Yankee. I knew he was from New York, so not surprising that one of the NY teams signed him. Thanks for all the responses. I have enjoyed reading them immensely. Do keep contributing here when you can, Billy. A lot of us learn so much from what you remember living through. I always feel inspired reading your posts. |
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Post by inger on Nov 5, 2023 22:58:21 GMT -5
I’ve never (knowingly) been on TV. A Baltimore TV news reporter that Pipps will surely recall, Al Sanders once stuck a mic under my nose, but I refused to be interviewed. My answer would have been controversial, which I diond Mind was that it might have been hurtful to the local family of a young soldier who had been killed in action. The soldier was not 100% mentally, which had been obvious in high school. I felt he was collateral damage and perhaps due to his condition may have been pushed to the front in more dangerous circumstance as “expendable”. Here is his story: dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000pHKyhEAGI do remember Al Sanders. He was probably the highest-rated anchorman in Baltimore with Channel 13. He might have been there when Nick Charles was doing sports. He actually replaced Oprah Winfrey as co-anchor at that station. I think as a general rule it's a good idea to refuse to be interviewed by any media. I was continually amazed at how people would talk to reporters even when I was a reporter. A co-worker of mine took the bait and they did a full screen head shot close up. He came off looking very dorky and he tip-toed around the mental issues of the slain soldier by saying something like “Greg was a fellow who tried harder than most people.” |
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Post by domeplease on Nov 7, 2023 17:51:34 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Nov 7, 2023 19:32:51 GMT -5
I’m going to say that even though I don’t know him, he lived his life with the pedal to the metal and had a great time. Let’s hope his spirit life can match or exceed it… |
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Post by domeplease on Nov 8, 2023 17:45:58 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Nov 9, 2023 12:30:59 GMT -5
Ichiro breaks math class window with 426-ft. homer
November 6th, 2023
Imagine you're in math class. Your teacher is explaining the difference between an isosceles and a scalene triangle (things that will surely come in handy later in life) and your mind is drifting off -- thinking of somewhere, anywhere else you'd rather be.
All of a sudden, a baseball comes crashing through the window and lands on your desk. And it's not just any baseball: It's a home run hit by Ichiro Suzuki, almost certainly a future Hall of Famer.
Math class is actually maybe the best.
Although it sounds like something out of a movie, that's what happened recently at Asahikawa Higashi High School in Hokkaido, Japan.
Ichiro, now 50 years old, was at the school to teach the students basic drills and relay advice on how to be better ballplayers -- something he's been doing all around Japan the last few years. His hope is for the Asahikawa Higashi team to get to Summer Koshien -- the country's pre-eminent high school tournament -- for the first time ever.
But what better way to show kids how to play baseball than to just hit a bunch of home runs?
Ichiro took about 63 swings, twice clearing the 26-foot-high netting that protects the building. Maybe even better than the window-breaking home run? Ichiro's reaction. He looked like a kid who might get put in detention for doing what he did.
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Post by BillyBones on Nov 9, 2023 14:07:00 GMT -5
Regarding Phil Masi: For some reason he is a dim memory to me, but it seems he was quite a good player, especially as a catcher. There is an interesting story connected with the first game of the 1948 World Series. Masi was inserted for a pinch runner for the starting slow-footed catcher. He got to second base. Bob Feller tried to pick him off second and his throw to Boudreau and subsequent tag seemed to get him, but he was called safe. A base hit brought him home to score the only run of the game in a 1-0 Braves victory. The game was a great pitching duel between Feller and Johnny Sain. There was a lot of controversy because photos show Masi being clearly out. Years later, when his will was read after his death, it was found that Masi had inserted a statement revealing that he was really out.
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Post by inger on Nov 9, 2023 14:49:44 GMT -5
Regarding Phil Masi: For some reason he is a dim memory to me, but it seems he was quite a good player, especially as a catcher. There is an interesting story connected with the first game of the 1948 World Series. Masi was inserted for a pinch runner for the starting slow-footed catcher. He got to second base. Bob Feller tried to pick him off second and his throw to Boudreau and subsequent tag seemed to get him, but he was called safe. A base hit brought him home to score the only run of the game in a 1-0 Braves victory. The game was a great pitching duel between Feller and Johnny Sain. There was a lot of controversy because photos show Masi being clearly out. Years later, when his will was read after his death, it was found that Masi had inserted a statement revealing that he was really out. A wonderful story about a deathbed confession. That play you mentioned was a Bob Feller to Lou Boudreau timed pick off attempt. Rather than insist he was safe when retelling the tale Masi simply would say, “It was close. Real close.” The only things I “know” about Masi are what I get from his BR pages. He was in MLB for 14 years, a decent length for a career. He only got into 100 or more games in four of those seasons, so he spent most of the time as a back up. He had a lifetime OPS of 97, slightly below the average player, but also better than the average catcher, especially as a back up. When Masi did get to start, he showed well. He was a 4 time all-star, and in 1947 his .304 average was 10th in the NL. His defense wax well-respected and he was known for doing all the “little things” that contribute to winning, and a hustler (as much as a catcher can hustle). He had a range factor per 9 innings lower than the league average, meaning that he made fewer plays than other catchers, though his fielding percentage was slightly better than average. I I simply said that he threw out 40% of base stealing attempts he would sound better than he was due to lack of context. The average catcher in his days threw out 44%. He was certainly no slacker to stick around so long, so I’d say that yes, he was a “pretty good” player. We tend to worship the big states and too easily dismiss the backups, without whom the game would not be possible… |
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Post by pippsheadache on Nov 9, 2023 15:26:49 GMT -5
Regarding Phil Masi: For some reason he is a dim memory to me, but it seems he was quite a good player, especially as a catcher. There is an interesting story connected with the first game of the 1948 World Series. Masi was inserted for a pinch runner for the starting slow-footed catcher. He got to second base. Bob Feller tried to pick him off second and his throw to Boudreau and subsequent tag seemed to get him, but he was called safe. A base hit brought him home to score the only run of the game in a 1-0 Braves victory. The game was a great pitching duel between Feller and Johnny Sain. There was a lot of controversy because photos show Masi being clearly out. Years later, when his will was read after his death, it was found that Masi had inserted a statement revealing that he was really out. Like Inger, I have no first-hand recollection of Masi. But I love that story, which I had never heard before. Just looking over his career, he seemed to have the misfortune of being stuck behind some very good catchers. First with the Braves, playing for Casey Stengel, he had Al Lopez and then Ernie Lombardi in front of him. Then he got his chance and became a four-time All Star. Then as he got a little older the Braves had Del Crandall coming along, so they traded him to the White Sox, where a young Sherman Lollar was just breaking in. So he did well when given an opportunity Do you have any recollection of seeing this Series on TV? More likely you recall those highlight films they showed in movie theaters narrated by former major leaguer Lou Fonseca. Those things were classics. Anyway, thanks to you, I've put more thought on the 1948 Boston Braves over the past few weeks than I probably did in the rest of my life. You have some outstanding recollections. |
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