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Post by inger on Apr 23, 2021 15:44:48 GMT -5
EDDIE ROBINSON Eddie got my attention because I first noticed that Ted Williams had been quoted as calling him the most under rated and best hitters and clutch hitters he had ever seen. When Ted speaks, we listen, right? Then I noticed that Eddie is now the oldest living MLB player at 100 years + a few days. Ironically, the guy that’s in second place has the last name “elder”. Then as I started reading about the man I found out he was also the same Eddie Robinson that had spent time as the Texas Rangers general manager. I investigated Williams’ remarks about Robinson and found that he did tend to have slightly, but only slightly enhanced stats in some of the hitting situations we would consider to be clutch. Over all, he was an average to a bit player, depending on the season, and he did have a three years stretch where he knocked in over a hundred runs per season. He was a Yankee bench player a few seasons in the mid 50’s, notably 1955, when despite a .208 batting average he knocked 16 fingers in only 173 AB. The SABR bio below calls it a record for HR per at bat that still stands today. I’m not so sure that is totally accurate. Nonetheless, that SABR bio follows for those that like to know more: [br sabr.org/bioproj/person/eddie-robinson/ |
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Post by pippsheadache on Apr 23, 2021 17:51:00 GMT -5
Ted Williams versus SABR, I am taking The Splendid Splinter every time. Of course he only saw him when playing against Boston.
Eddie Robinson is one of the guys I can remember from the very end of his career. I had his 1957 baseball card with Cleveland I believe. Not many players have made it to 100. Of course not many people in general do, although it's clearly becoming more common.
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Post by inger on Apr 23, 2021 17:59:48 GMT -5
Ted Williams versus SABR, I am taking The Splendid Splinter every time. Of course he only saw him when playing against Boston. Eddie Robinson is one of the guys I can remember from the very end of his career. I had his 1957 baseball card with Cleveland I believe. Not many players have made it to 100. Of course not many people in general do, although it's clearly becoming more common. I even thought of that. There was nothing unusual about the way Robinson hit against Boston, either. Maybe Williams, who tended to hit some 70 points higher just felt that a .260 hitter should fail more often... |
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Post by inger on Jul 8, 2021 14:58:01 GMT -5
For Johnny Kucks, it had to be a magical and wonderful year in 1956. Four years later, he was finished. But for a young guy to be second on the staff in wins to Whitey Ford when he wasn’t expected to be I the rotation, and then to go on to win a shutout romp in game 7. Just too much. On top of that, he was THERE. It was that night at the Copacabana… sabr.org/bioproj/person/johnny-kucks/ |
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Post by kaybli on Jul 8, 2021 15:02:56 GMT -5
For Johnny Kucks, it had to be a magical and wonderful year in 1956. Four years later, he was finished. But for a young guy to be second on the staff in wins to Whitey Ford when he wasn’t expected to be I the rotation, and then to go on to win a shutout romp in game 7. Just too much. On top of that, he was THERE. It was that night at the Copacabana… sabr.org/bioproj/person/johnny-kucks/The night at the Copacabana was classic. 
Imagine if something like that happened today?
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Post by inger on Jul 8, 2021 15:06:10 GMT -5
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 8, 2021 15:10:55 GMT -5
I'm not hitting that link, because I suspect if I do that Barry Manilow will be on the other end of it. |
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Post by inger on Jul 8, 2021 15:59:06 GMT -5
I'm not hitting that link, because I suspect if I do that Barry Manilow will be on the other end of it. No. It’s the Van Lingle Mungo song. Not likely to be a hit in today’s market. I doubt it was a hit back in it’s time, either. It is in the jazz genre, and the lyrics are completely made up of baseball players’ names. I think you’d be pleased to hear it once. Twice? That I can’t say…I included it because Johnny Kucks is named in the song. I forgot to listen for his name though to be honest… |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 8, 2021 19:36:03 GMT -5
I'm not hitting that link, because I suspect if I do that Barry Manilow will be on the other end of it. No. It’s the Van Lingle Mungo song. Not likely to be a hit in today’s market. I doubt it was a hit back in it’s time, either. It is in the jazz genre, and the lyrics are completely made up of baseball players’ names. I think you’d be pleased to hear it once. Twice? That I can’t say…I included it because Johnny Kucks is named in the song. I forgot to listen for his name though to be honest… Hey Inger, I did enjoy the song and the recitation of all those great names. Rhyming Boudreau and Passeau, among many others -- Hal Trosky and Barney McCloskey. So Roy Campanella gets mentioned both here and in "Talkin' Baseball." I know I heard that song somewhere in the murky past, but it had slipped my mind. Good catch. |
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Post by kaybli on Jul 8, 2021 19:47:25 GMT -5
No. It’s the Van Lingle Mungo song. Not likely to be a hit in today’s market. I doubt it was a hit back in it’s time, either. It is in the jazz genre, and the lyrics are completely made up of baseball players’ names. I think you’d be pleased to hear it once. Twice? That I can’t say…I included it because Johnny Kucks is named in the song. I forgot to listen for his name though to be honest… Hey Inger, I did enjoy the song and the recitation of all those great names. Rhyming Boudreau and Passeau, among many others -- Hal Trosky and Barney McCloskey. So Roy Campanella gets mentioned both here and in "Talkin' Baseball." I know I heard that song somewhere in the murky past, but it had slipped my mind. Good catch. Speaking of "Talkin' Baseball", I prefer the Simpsons version  :
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Post by pippsheadache on Jul 8, 2021 20:10:53 GMT -5
Hey Inger, I did enjoy the song and the recitation of all those great names. Rhyming Boudreau and Passeau, among many others -- Hal Trosky and Barney McCloskey. So Roy Campanella gets mentioned both here and in "Talkin' Baseball." I know I heard that song somewhere in the murky past, but it had slipped my mind. Good catch. Speaking of "Talkin' Baseball", I prefer the Simpsons version :
You are a one-man Google, Kaybli. And that was a hilarious episode (one of hundreds.) |
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Post by desousa on Jul 9, 2021 6:26:48 GMT -5
I like any song that mentions Claude Passeau. |
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Post by inger on Jul 9, 2021 8:35:35 GMT -5
I like any song that mentions Claude Passeau. I thought of this song as being in the same vein as Neil Diamond’s “Done Too Soon”, or Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire”. It’s not quite the same. There’s only one statement, which is the professed love the writer had for each player and the sport they played. Diamond and Joel were giving us multiple history lessons and warnings along the way. Neither loved, or even liked, all of the subjects they were teaching. I like the ending of “Done Too Soon” the best. Each man there Had one thing to share They have sweated Beneath the same sun Looked up in wonder At the same moon And each one said a prayer For being done too soon For being done too soon … |
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Post by inger on Jul 9, 2021 8:51:05 GMT -5
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Post by inger on Jul 9, 2021 23:25:33 GMT -5
Tom Gordon signed with the Yankees in the winter of 2003 with little more expectation than what a 36-year old journeyman was bringing to the roster. He turned out to be an extremely valuable piece for the next two seasons as the Yankees topped the division.
His combined numbers out of the bullpen for the two seasons were
14-8; 2.38… easy to overlook… but 179.1 innings were well covered by Gordon…
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