|
Post by tonyo on Mar 25, 2007 12:31:05 GMT -5
TRIBE HALL OF FAME CLASS FOR 2007 Mar 25, '07 1:12 PM by Jim for everyone
neverlast Heritage Park, the newly completed Hall Of Fame section at Jacobs Field will welcome four players from the Class of 2007. This year's inductees will be slugger Andre Thornton and pitchers Jim Bagby Sr., Mike Garcia and Charles Nagy.
After a 30 year hiatus the Indians again started to enshrine players last year. The 2006 class included Rocky Colavito, Al Lopez, Al Rosen, Ray Chapman and pitchers Addie Joss, Herb Score and " Sudden Sam " Mc Dowell. The four 2007 inductees will bring the Hall Of Fame total to 31.
Bagby played seven years for the Indians. He went 31-12 the year the Indians won it all in 1920. He was 127-88 for his total career.
Mike Garcia appeared in one game in 1948 and he went on to be an Indian for 12 years. He was 19-8 for the AL pennant winning Tribe of 1954. His career ledger was 142-97.
Charlie Nagy was a mainstay in the Tribe rotation during the 1995 and 1997 AL pennant winning seasons. He went 16-6 in 1995 and 15-11 in 1997. In all he played 13 seasons for the Tribe. He finished his career with a 129-105 record.
Andre Thornton was a ten year Tribe member. He hit 214 home runs for the Indians. He hit 253 in his career with 895 RBI's and a lifetime .254 ERA.
Congratulations to these fine and popular players of days gone by who will be inducted during a ceremony at the Yankees-Indians game August 11th at the Jake. Thornton and Nagy are scheduled to appear. Bagby and Garcia will be inducted posthumously.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Mar 20, 2007 19:20:10 GMT -5
FRANK ROBINSON ; HE WAS MORE THEN JUST A MANAGER... Mar 20, '07 8:18 PM by Jim for everyone
neverlast Frank Robinson is well known for being the first African-American Major League manager. He took over the Cleveland Indians in 1975 as a player / manager. He has gone on to have a fine career as a manager with other teams and as an executive in the Major League front office. In fact Frank has made such a mark in his post playing days that we tend to forget what a great player Frank was.
Frank broke in with the 1956 Redlegs and showed he was a force to be reckoned with as he cranked out 38 home runs. Frank was part of the 1961 Reds who won the National League pennant but lost to the powerful New York Yankees in the World Series. That year Frank batted .323 with 37 home runs and 124 runs batted in. The following year Frank hit a career high .342.
After ten years with the Reds, Frank was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1966. Bad move by the Reds, great move for the Orioles. Frank feasted on American League pitching clubbing 49 homers and driving in 122 while batting .316 to win the Triple Crown. The Orioles went on to beat the Dodgers in the World Series that year. In all Frank put in six solid seasons with Orioles. In 1972 he went back to the National League to play with the Dodgers.
In 1973 Frank went to the Angels and late in 1974 he was sent to the Cleveland amidst the rumors that he would be named the manager. Frank's actual playing career ended after the 1976 season. In his 21 years as a player Frank batted 10,006 times. He hit safely 2,943 times for a career average of .294. Frank belted 586 home runs while driving 1,812 across the plate. He even managed to steal 204 bases. Yes Frank Robinson was a true Hall Of Fame caliber player. One of the best to ever play the game.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Mar 14, 2007 6:41:42 GMT -5
The "Dog Days" Of The Yankees. The New York Yankees dominated baseball in late 1940's, the decade of the 50's and even into the early 60's. It seemed to most that the dynasty would never end. On closer examination it should have been obvious that the Yankee machine would enevitably grind to a halt. When the Yankees lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1964 World Series little did they know that they would have to wait eleven years to return to the fall classic. No Yankee fan in their right mind would have believed it. Starting in 1965 it became a harsh reality. During the eleven year hiatus from the Series, close to 180 players wore the famous pinstripes. Some of those players were now worn down remnants of the Yank's glory days. Mantle, Maris, Ford, Elston Howard, Tom Tresh, John Blanchard, Clete Boyer, Bobby Richardson and Tony Kubek were either traded or faded in to the sunset. In 1964 the great Yogi Berra left the playing field to manage the Yanks. When St. Louis took the Series that year, Berra was bounced and the 1964 Cardinal manager Johnny Keane took over in 65. Maris for one had some success on some very good Cardinal teams in the late 60's. As this group of formidable players moved on, a new wave of Yankees wandered into the clubhouse. It quickly and painfully become obvious that the new Yankees were on the highway to hell better known as last place. Who would have believed that only two years after appearing in the World Series that they would plummet into the cellar. Looking at the names on the Yankees 1966 roster it is very hard to conceive how they had such a dismal year. Mantle, Maris and Ford were still in the fold but did not have the same impact as in days gone by. Some good looking prospects like Bobby Mercer, Mel Stottlemyre, Fritz Peterson and Roy White were aboard. Even a couple veteran pitchers like Bob Friend and Pedro Ramos could not help. Looking back it is now easy to see that in 1966 the roster was made up of players that were past their primes or young budding players who had yet to reach their potential. The next eight years were not much better. There were some highs and many lows and alas, no World Series invitation. Mercer, White, Stottlemyre and even Peterson would blossom in to solid Major Leaguers. Still the players they brought up through the Yankee farm system for the most part failed to produce. The Yankees even brought in some veterans with good reputations to fill in the cracks but they failed to do so. Rocky Colavito, Johnny Callison, Bobby Bonds, Alex Johnson, Ron Swoboda, Jay Johnstone, Dick Howser, Sandy Alomar Sr., Sam McDowell and even Felipe and Matty Alou donned the pinstripes. Still no A.L. flag. Finally the Yankees were tore down and built back up again. In the mid and late 70's they would again become a baseball powerhouse. As the old saying goes, sometimes you have to hit bottom before you can rise to the top.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Mar 12, 2007 7:54:22 GMT -5
Yes you could make a strong case for Jack. He was one of the best pitchers of his era. A real leader and competitor.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Mar 11, 2007 21:45:48 GMT -5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three That Should Be!
There has been an oversight. A great injustice at The Baseball Hall Of Fame.
Three pitchers have been unjustly passed over for years. Why? These pitchers did not reach that "magical" figure of 300 career wins but they came very, very close. There are pitchers in the Hall who did not come as close as these three men did. Those pitchers are inducted and will be forever honored in Cooperstown and rightfully so. Still there are three who are on the outside looking in. What a shame!
First off Jim Kaat logged in 4530 Major League innings. His lifetime ERA was a respectable 3.45. He won 283 games and fanned 2461. He won numerous Golden Gloves for his outstanding fielding ability. Late in his career he become a first rate middle reliever and set up man.
Tommy John is famous for having a career saving surgery to prolong a wonderful stint in the majors. Since more fans remember the "Tommy John Surgery'', less time has been devoted to paying attention to how good Tommy really was. Tommy pitched a total of 4710 innings. He amassed 288 career victories and fanned 2245 batters. His lifetime ERA was 3.34. Tommy helped anchor some fine pitching staffs while with the Dodgers and the Yankees.
Last but not least is Bert Blyleven. The "Dutchman" won 279 games while pitching mostly for mediocre teams. He worked 4837 big league innings and posted a fine 3.27 ERA. He is very high on the career strikeout list with 3631 whiffs. On most of the staffs he pitched on he was usually the ace. The man they turned to in order to stop a losing streak.
Under slightly different circumstances each could have won #300. Maybe one or two more seasons as a starter instead of toiling, as a reliever would have pushed Kaat to that plateau.
If the surgery would have never taken place and Tommy had a sound arm throughout his career, 300 wins and them some would be a fair assessment.
Say if Bert would have played on more contending teams. Maybe they would have given Bert better run support. That may have added a few more wins to his ledger. Who knows?
There you have it. I say make room in the Hall for these deserving individuals. The recognition is long overdue.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Mar 3, 2007 9:16:54 GMT -5
BROOKLYN DODGER STAR CLEM LABINE PASSES AWAY Mar 3, '07 9:13 AM by Jim for everyone
neverlast Long time Brooklyn Dodgers relief pitcher Clem Labine passed away at the age of 80. Clem broke in with the Dodgers in 1950 and in eleven seasons he saved 83 games for them. He was part of the 1955 Brooklyn and 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers World Championship teams.
Clem started 1960 with LA then went to Detroit and finished in Pittsburgh. He had a decent year for the defending world champion Pirates in 1961 going 4-1 with a 3.69 ERA and eight saves in 92.2 innings of work. He went to the infamous New York Mets in 1962, his final season.
In thirteen big league years Clem was 77-56 with a career 3.63 ERA. He had 96 total saves and he even started 38 games in his career.
Rest in peace.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Feb 26, 2007 19:35:40 GMT -5
LUIS ARROYO ; THE 1961 YANKEES WERE MORE THEN JUST MANTLE AND MARIS Feb 26, '07 7:34 PM by Jim for everyone
neverlast The 1961 New York Yankees were arguably among the best teams of all time. It is a team and a year that centered around the race to break Babe Ruth's long standing single season home run record of 60. Team mates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris chased the record throughout the club's 162 game schedule. A late season injury slowed Mantle who finished with 54 blasts but Maris broke the Babe's record with 61 round trippers.
While the focus was on the ( M+M Boys ), Mantle and Maris, the Yankee squad won the American League pennant and then defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. It was redemption time for the Yankees after their 1960 World Series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. After the loss to the Pirates, long time manager Casey Stengel was gone. He was replaced by Ralph Houk and in his rookie managerial season he returned the Yankees to the pinnacle of Major League baseball.
There is no doubting the fact that Mantle and Maris were the cornerstones of this great club. Still there were several other players who made significant contributions. First baseman Bill " Moose " Skowron supplied more power with 28 homers. Catcher Elston Howard had a tremendous season with 21 home runs, 77 RBI's and a lofty . 348 batting average. Yogi Berra was getting more and more time in the outfield and less behind the plate but he had a solid year with 22 balls over the fence. Utility outfielder, catcher and pinch hitter Johnny Blanchard added 21 to the team's home run total.
Shortstop Tony Kubek, second baseman Bobby Richardson and third baseman Clete Boyer did not make major offensive contributions but they more then made up for it with their sparkling defensive play. The starting pitching rotation was anchored by Whitey Ford ( 25-4 ) and Ralph Terry ( 16-3 ). The two together were an astounding 41-7 !
Then there was relief pitcher Luis Arroyo. Born in Puerto Rico in 1927, " Yoyo " broke into the big leagues with the Cardinals in 1955 at the age of 28. From there Luis went to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati before arriving in New York in 1960. Arroyo had a decent year out of the Yankee bullpen going 5-1 with a 2.88 ERA and seven saves. Then came 1961...That year Luis put together one of the finest seasons by any relief pitcher of that era. Arroyo appeared in 65 games and worked 119 innings. He fanned 87 batters and finished with a stingy 2.19 ERA. Most impressive though was his 15-5 won-lost record to go along with his 29 recorded saves. It was a truly marvelous performance.
Believe it or not Arroyo only played two more seasons with the Yankees with minimal success before he left the Majors. Still when everyone talks about the great " 61 " Yankees with Mantle, Maris, Howard, Berra, Ford and Terry, remind them of the feats of the unheralded Luis " Yoyo " Arroyo.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Feb 25, 2007 21:50:33 GMT -5
BASEBALL'S ROCK WHO COULD SOCK
The great sports city of Cleveland, Ohio has produced players of legendary status. From homegrown boxing heroes like Jimmy Bivins and Joey Maxim to players who were brought in to perform for the city's franchise teams. Even today Jim Brown is considered by many as the greatest football player ever. Today in basketball the Cleveland Cavaliers have a budding superstar in Lebron James.
Baseball's Cleveland Indians have many players that have achieved the highest level of popularity with the fans. Mel Harder, Lou Boudreau and Bob Feller come to mind. One that truly stands out for me and I'm sure to many Tribe fans of my generation is simply known as " The Rock ".
Rocky Colavito had a terrific career. His home run swing kept the fans on the edge of their seats. He broke in with the Tribe in 1955, one year after the Indians were upset in the World Series by the New York Giants. Rock only played in five games but he latched on for good in 1956 belting 21 home runs and driving across 65. He improved his numbers slightly in 1957 with 25 clearing the fence and 84 batters driven in.
The year 1958 established Rocky as a bonafide superstar. He blasted 41 home runs and sent 113 men across the plate. He also batted a career high .303. Although his average dipped to .257 in 1959 he also ripped 42 homers to lead the league and also had 111 RBI's. The fans loved Rocky Colavito.
In 1959 Harvey Kuenn, an outstanding contact hitter with the Detroit Tigers had paced the American League in batting at a .353 clip. Frank Lane who was the Indians General Manager at the time saw justification for swapping the league's home run leader for the league's batting leader and just like that Rocky was off to Detroit. The fans were stunned to say the least. " Trader " Lane had made a deal that in the eyes of many cursed the Tribe for 35 years !
In 1960 with the Tigers Rocky was still belting them out. He launched 35 of them to be exact. With the Tribe Harvey Kuenn who was a good ballplayer hit only nine home runs. He did bat a very respectable .303 but he was soon gone. He was sent to the San Francisco Giants in a deal that brought the Tribe Willie Kirkland. Willie had hit 43 homers in the two combined seasons of 1959 and 1960. He had the makings of a solid ballplayer.
The following season, 1961 was the year of the M and M boys Maris and Mantle. Their pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record dominated the news. It also overshadowed fine seasons by Baltimore's Jim Gentile and Rocky's team mate Norm Cash ( Also an ex-Indian. Maris was too. ). Maris hit 61 to break Ruth's record while an ailing Mantle pulled up with 54. All Rocky did was hit 45 out of the park while driving in 140 runs. MVP numbers any other season. Willie Kirkland had a decent first year with the Indians hitting 27 homers and getting 96 RBI's. In San Francisco Harvey Kuenn slipped to a .265 average with only five home runs.
Rocky was still busting the fences in 1962 with 37 HR's and 112 RBI's. Kirkland's numbers dipped to 21 HR's and 72 RBI's. Willie's batting average was a paltry .200. Although his numbers went down Rocky still had a solid season in 1963 with 22 HR's and 91 RBI's. Kirkland would slip to 15 homers and only 47 RBI's. His days in Cleveland were numbered. So were Rocky's in Detroit.
In 1964 Rocky found himself with the lowly Kansas City Athletics. Still he continued to shine with a solid 34 homer 102 RBI season. Then it was back home. Back into the confines of Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Rocky was traded back to the Tribe. He responded well. He batted a neat .287 and hit 26 dingers. He also led the American League with 108 RBI's. He was also walked 93 times to lead the league. Gee it was good to be back home again.
The numbers slipped a bit in 1966. Rocky still had the power with 30 home runs but his RBI total was cut to 72 and his average dipped to .238. During the 1967 season Rocky was sent to the Chicago White Sox. His combined totals with Cleveland and Chicago were 8 HR's and 50 RBI's. Very un-Rocky type statistics. Rocky started 1968 with the Dodgers but finished with the Yankees and then it was over. Rocky had reached the end of the line.
Although I doubt if Rocky will ever get inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame, for a decade he was one of the premier long ball hitters in the game. His final numbers were impressive. He had 374 career home runs and delivered 1159 RBI's. He retired with a respectable .266 average. With these numbers in mind let us compare the stats of Willie Kirkland and Harvey Kuenn who will forever linked with " The Trade " ! Willie's career numbers were 148 HR's and 509 RBI's. He finished with a .240 batting average. Kuenn would finish up his fine career with a very respectable .303 average. Even though he ended his career with only 87 home runs he drive in 671.
During his career Rocky was considered a dependable fielder with a rifle for an arm. His arm was so strong he was even called in to pitch a few innings during his career.
" Don't Knock The Rock " was a book written by Gordon Cobbledick about Colavito. Rocky was immortalized in Terry Pluto's excellent book " The Curse Of Rocky Colavito. He's a hero and a legend. In Cleveland he's just " The Rock ".
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Feb 23, 2007 21:49:25 GMT -5
ANGELO LOUISA’S ITALIAN AMERICAN
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-TIME ALL-STAR TEAM
As an Italian American, a baseball fan since the age of four, and an inveterate list maker, I knew that it would be only a matter of time before I would give in to temptation and put together an Italian American major league baseball all-time all-star team. That time came two years ago when, in honor of the 83rd anniversary of my late father’s birthday, I constructed such a team and sent it to a few of my friends. One of those friends was Jim Amato, who has since encouraged me to go public with a revised version of the team and present it on his website. I agreed to do so, and in complying with Jim’s suggestion, I would like to not only dedicate my labor of love to my father, who was a very good amateur baseball and softball player and the man who took me to my first major league baseball game, but also to all the fathers who have instilled a passion for the game of baseball in their children.
However, before I unveil my team for your viewing pleasure or pain, depending on whether you agree with my choices, several notes of explanation are needed.
1. Anyone with at least one parent of Italian ancestry—like Billy Martin and Roy Campanella—was eligible for the team, but if I couldn’t verify this information, I didn’t choose the man. Thus, if in the future, I can prove that a better player at a particular position is indeed at least half-Italian American, I’ll modify my team accordingly.
2. I did not include any active Italian American players (e.g., Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, and the man who may pitch forever, John Franco). My reason was that since their careers are not over, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to compare them to players whose careers have ended. And to be consistent, I applied this rule to managers and coaches as well. That explains the absence of Joe Torre (as a manager, though he qualified as a player), Tony LaRussa, Leo Mazzone, and other managerial and/or coaching standouts.
3. The team consists of a manager, two coaches, a trainer, an honorary captain, and 25 players—30 men in all. Therefore, not every successful Italian American major leaguer made the cut.
4. Tony Bartirome may not have been much of a big league first baseman, having played only one season in the majors and that with the 1952 edition of the atrocious "Rickey Dinks." But he was an outstanding trainer for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
5. As good as Joe DiMaggio was as a defensive outfielder, his brother, Dom, was even better. So, I moved Joe to left field, where he played 66 games, and made Dom my starting center fielder.
OK, without further delay, here’s the team:
Manager: Tommy Lasorda
Coaches: Billy Martin and Frank Crosetti
Trainer: Tony Bartirome
Honorary Captain: Ed Abbaticchio (probably the first Italian American to play in the major leagues)
Starting Batting Order:
Dom DiMaggio, CF
Phil Rizzuto, SS
Joe DiMaggio, LF
Dolph Camilli, 1B
Rocky Colavito, RF
Yogi Berra, C
Ron Santo, 3B
Tony Lazzeri, 2B
Bench:
Roy Campanella, C
Joe Torre, C, 1B, 3B
Phil Cavarretta, 1B, OF
Tony Cuccinello, 2B
Jim Fregosi, SS
Robin Ventura, 3B
Carl Furillo, OF
Tony Conigliaro, OF
Starting Pitching Rotation:
Frank Viola
Sal Maglie
Johnny Antonelli
Tom Candiotti
Vic Raschi
Spot Starter: Kevin Tapani
Starter/Reliever: Don Mossi
Relievers: Dave Righetti and Dave Giusti
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Feb 20, 2007 22:43:13 GMT -5
Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley have got to be on here.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Feb 17, 2007 0:00:27 GMT -5
I just finished reading the book “Tony C.” The Triumph and Tragedy of Tony Conigliaro. It was well written by author David Cataneo and it got me thinking. How good was Tony Conigliaro? He was one of my favorite players so I decided to compare him statistically with two of my other favorites, Tony Oliva and Rocky Colavito. I decided since Tony C. really only had five “productive” years, I would pick the best five years for Oliva and Colavito. Ironically the years I picked for Oliva coincided with Conigliaro’s. They were years 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, and 1970. For “The Rock” I chose 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964, and 1965. In that five years stint Oliva batted 3,135 times with 994 hits. An outstanding .317 average. Colavito batted 2,840 times hitting at a respectable .282 clip and Conigliaro batted 2,549 times averaging .255. To bring everything up to par, I brought Rocky and Tony C’s at bats up to 3,135 to match Oliva’s then I adjusted the rest of their statistics in the line with each ones performance per at bat. In Conigliaro’s case he had 586 less at bats then Oliva. By adding these at bats and adjusting his stats accordingly it gave Tony C. 32 more home runs, 97 RBI’s, 25 doubles, 4 triples, and 3 stolen bases. For Colavito he was 295 at bats shy of Oliva. Upon making adjustments, Rocky added 20 home runs, 59 RBI’s, 15 doubles, 1 triple, and 1 stolen base.
So now here are the final adjusted stats for Colavito and Conigliaro along with Oliva’s pace setting statistics;
Oliva AB-3135 H-994 D-190 T-32 HR-120 RBI-487 SB-59 Conigliaro AB-3135 H-833 D-134 T-22 HR-172 RBI-522 SB-15 Colavito AB-3135 H-887 D-151 T-10 HR-208 RBI-633 SB- 9
This now breaks down to six categories; batting average, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI’s, and stolen bases. Oliva was the leader in four of the six with Colavito taking the lead in home runs and RBI’s. Who was the better of the three overall based on these statistics? Below is the breakdown. As you will see in some areas the differences are quite notable.
Average: Oliva .317, Colavito .282 (-.035), Congliaro .255 (-.062) Doubles: Oliva-190,. Colavito 151 (-39), Congliaro 134 (-56) Triples: Oliva-32, Congliaro 22 (-10), Colavito 10 (-22) HR’s: Colavito 208, Congliaro, 172 (-36), Olivo 120 (-88) RBI’s: Colavito-633, Conigliaro-522 (-111), Oliva-487 (-146) SB’s Oliva-59, Conigliaro-15 (-44), Colavito-9 (-50)
In the final analysis Oliva was by far the best contact hitter. His superior speed enabled him to stretch would be singles into doubles and doubles into triples. He was also by far the best base stealer. Still Colavito’s power numbers cannot be ignored. In the adjusted five-year period he averaged over 41 HR’s and 126 RBI’s per season. That would draw mega-bucks in today’s outlandish salary market. In comparison Oliva would average 24 HR’s and 97 RBI’s per season. Along with his .317 average he was the complete package.
As for Tony C., his yearly averages would read 34 HR’s and 104 RBI’s. Although he would exceed Oliva by 10 HR’s and 7 RBI’s per year in power it would not make up for being 62 points behind in batting average. In comparison to Colavito, Rocky would average 7 more HR’s and 22 more RBI’s per season plus hold a 27-point margin in batting average. Conigliaro’s numbers are solid and who knows what he would have accomplished if fate had not intervened
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Feb 14, 2007 23:46:13 GMT -5
' THE BIG BEAR ' ; MIKE GARCIA...PART OF THE TRIBE'S ' BIG FOUR ' ROTATION OF THE 1950's
During the 1950's you can make a very strong argument that the Cleveland Indians were the second best team in the American League behind the great New York Yankee clubs. In fact the Tribe broke the Yankee stronghold when they won the pennant in 1954.
The Indians had great hitting but they had even better pitching. In fact their starting rotation featured three future Hall Of Famer's, Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and Early Wynn. It also had a fierce competitor in Mike Garcia. Nicknamed " The Big Bear " Mike put in several solid campaigns for the Indians in the early and mid 50's.
Born in California in 1923 he broke in playing in one game for the Indians World Championship team of 1948. He became a starter in 1949 and went 14-5 with an impressive 2.36 ERA. Mike went 11-11 in 1950 and then rebounded in 1951 to post 20 wins. He followed that the next season with a 22-11 ledger and a 2.37 ERA. Mike had a fine 18-9 record in 1953 and in 1954 Garcia played a major role in the Indians pennant drive. Mike went 19-8 with a 2.64 ERA.
Mike finished 1955, 56 and 57 with double digits in victory column gaining 11, 11 and 12 in those respective seasons. In 1958 and 1959 Mike's role with the Indians had diminished and he went to the White Sox in 1960. The following season was spent in Washington D.C. That was his final year. In the last four years of his career Mike only appeared in 66 games picking up just four wins. Nevertheless Mike retired with some very, very respectable numbers.
Garcia won 142 while losing only 97. He won 104 games between 1949 through 1954. He had a lifetime 3.27 ERA. Mike fanned 1,117 batters and pitched 27 career shutouts. He even saved 23 games. Al Lopez was a great manager for the Indians during this era. Lopez, a former major league catcher had a knack when it came to handling pitchers. He handled Feller, Lemon, Wynn and Garcia just fine.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Feb 10, 2007 19:06:51 GMT -5
PETE ROSE ; HALL OF FAME ? I've been going back and forth with baseball fans about Pete Rose being allowed into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. It really is close as fans seem to be split down the middle on the issue of his induction into the HOF.
I have NO problem with him being banned from participating with anything to do with major or minor league baseball in a working capacity. To me that is punishment enough. To keep him out of the HOF is ludicrous and to me an insult to a fan's intelligence. The HOF should only worry about performance on the field. Take away the gambling stigma and Rose is a first ballot inductee. Same for Shoeless Joe without the Black Sox scandal.
Mark McGwire could have been a first ballot pick. If not he was a shoe in to be inducted at one point. Probably sooner then later. The steroids issue took its toll on Mark and it is reflective in the amount of votes he didn't receive this year. Will Rafael Palmiero suffer the same fate ? What about some that are suspected of using steroids like Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa ?
Author / pitcher Jim Bouton talked about players using " greenies " ( speed ) back in the 1960's and 70's. Surely this helped the players performance. In many cases though I think it was used by some players to counteract the effects of the night before ( hangover ). To me that is much different then the steroid issue.
Steroids actually turned some players into ball hammering monsters. The increase in their size and strength has reached almost super human proportions. Is this cheating ? You bet. To me it's a hell of a lot worse then what Rose did in his post career. Rose didn't use steroids. He didn't cork his bat. Hell I'll bet he never took a " greenie ". He would not have needed it. He was Charlie Hustle himself.
Do we put an * asterisk " next to the records or stats of every player that used or was suspected of using steroids ? Why should they even be considered for the HOF ? They actually cheated while they were playing the game. Hell in the Old West if a poker player was caught with an ace up his sleeve he was usually shot right on the spot. Why ? Because he was cheating. Every time one of those steroid filled, pumped up players stepped on to the field they had an ace up their sleeve. They were cheating. It's a hell of a lot worse then Pete Rose ever did. Pete Rose deserves to be in !
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Feb 8, 2007 5:45:08 GMT -5
I'm not 100 % sure but I believe he died from cancer.
|
|
|
Post by tonyo on Feb 7, 2007 22:53:28 GMT -5
Big Bob Allison ; Played For Twins 1965 Al Pennant Winning Team --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Allison was born in 1934 in Missouri. In 1958 the 24 year old, 6"4" - 220 power hitter broke in with the Washington Senators. He became a starter in 1959 and blasted out thirty home runs while driving in 85. He only hit 15 HR's in 1960 but followed the team when they moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.
In 1961 he cracked 29 homers and drove in 105. He came right back in 1962 to again hit 29 dingers and pushed 102 runs across the plate. In 1963 Bob hit a personal high of 35 round trippers but fell short of the 100 RBI mark with 91.
In 1964 Bob again hit over thirty home runs for the third time in his career with 32 to go along with his 86 RBI's. You could see the Twins emerging as a threat in the American League with Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva and Allison plus an improving pitching staff.
The Twins finally put it all together and won the AL flag in 1965. Allison contributed 23 homers and 78 RBI's but he hit a career low .233. The Twins lost the World Series in seven exciting games to the Koufax and Drysdale led Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1966 Bob only played in 70 games.
Allison bounced back in 1967 with a solid 24 HR, 70 RBI campaign. He hit 22 more homers in 1968 . In 1969 Bob batted just 189 times . In 1970 he only made it to the plate 72 times. That was his final season. Bob ended his career with thirteen seasons under his belt. He sent 256 balls over the fence. He drove in 796 while posting a career batting average of .255. He even stole 84 bases. He was a solid outfielder / first baseman.
Bob passed away April 9, 1995. He had a very respectable career spending it all with the same organization.
|
|