RIP Bob Welch - For One Moment...

Bob Welch has passed away from an apparent heart attack. Welch won the Cy Young with 27 wins for Oakland in 1990. No pitcher has won more than 24 games since then.

He struggled with alcoholism during his career, which was unknown until he wrote a book about it in 1981. Obviously, he overcame it.

 But if you're of an age, what stands out was his classic showdown with Reggie Jackson in Game Two of the 1978 World Series. The hard throwing rookie vs. the game's biggest star. It was the kind of moment that makes the World Series The Fall Classic.

 The Confrontation:

As this article tells, Reggie got even in Game Six (that shot almost went to the moon!), but oh, it was a scintillating nine-pitch at bat in Game Two.

This Day in Baseball History (June 8, 1961) - MacPhail's Reds Fly

'The Reds becomes the first team to travel in an airplane when Cincinnati GM Larry MacPhail flies 19 of his players to Chicago for a series against the Cubs. In 1946, New York will be the first team to fly on a regular basis, using a chartered a Douglas DC-4, that will become known as the 'Yankee Mainliner'.'

Larry MacPhail was a great baseball innovator. Along with introducing air travel (which opened America up to expansion), he brought night baseball to the major leagues (also in Cincy). He also began broadcasting Dodger games on radio, breaking a pre-existing agreement with the Giants and Yankees to not do so, fearing people would stop coming to the ballpark.

Initially a lawyer here in Columbus, OH who became owner and President of the AAA Red Birds, MacPhail went from Cincinnati to Brooklyn and converted the pathetic Daffiness Boys into a World Series squad.

MacPhail is (rightfully) in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame announcer Red Barber's book, "1947: When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball" is primarily about the relationship (and feud) between MacPhail and Branch Rickey during Jackie Robinson's rookie season. Here's my review of that one.

This Day in Baseball History (June 8, 1961) - Lew Krausse Signs with A's

'The A's sign Lew Krausse, who hurled 19 no-hitters and struck out 24 batters in one game on the scholastic level, as an amateur free agent the day after he graduates from high school for $125,000. Eight days from now, the 18 year-old fireballing phenom will throw a three-hit shutout against L.A. in his major league debut.'

Krausse was a sixties version of David Clyde (What? Never heard of him! There's a future post). Krausse proved over matched by major league hitters, was banished to the bullpen and then the minors. It was 1966 before he would stick in the majors.

He never lived up to expectations, playing with five teams over twelve years and compiling a record of 68-91 with an ERA of 4.00. Being trotted out to a major league mound at age 18, combined with surgery the next year surely played large parts in his mediocre career.

SABR's excellent biography of Krausse can be found at the link.

Don Newcombe - Almost a Hall of Famer?

The Dodgers and Yankees met in the World Series in 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1956. Brooklyn managed to win only the 1955 match up. The greatest advantage that the Yankees had was their starting pitching. Whether it was Eddie Lopat, Allie Reynolds, Whitey Ford, Bob Kuzava or Don Larsen, the Bronx Bombers always seemed to come up with somebody in big moments (if not for Cookie Lavagetto, Bill Bevens would be included on that list).

During this era, Don Newcombe rose above the other Dodger would-be aces, such as Carl Erskine, Ralph Branca and Johnny Podres (though the latter certainly carried the flag in the 1955 Series). Big Newk missed the 1952 and 1953 seasons, as he was serving his country, fighting in Korea. And his 1954 season was a poor one: it took him a year to get back to form after being released from service.

But in 1949-1951 and  1955-1956, Newcombe went a combined 103-40, with 92 complete games. Those are some impressive numbers for the 1949 Rookie of the Year.

However, he got a reputation as a choker in big games. He went all ten innings against the Phillies on the final day of the 1950 season, with the Dodgers needing a win to force a playoff. But he gave up a three run homer to Dick Sisler in the top of the tenth in the season-ending 4-1 loss (which would have been a win if third base coach Milt Stock had simply held Cal Abrams at third in the bottom of the ninth).

He carried a 4-1 lead into the ninth inning of that famous game three playoff against the Giants in 1951. But he couldn't hold on and he had been relieved by Ralph Branca when Bobby Thomson hit the home run heard round the world.

And in three World Series', he just couldn't get the job done for the Dodgers. He started 5 games, going 0-4 with an ERA of 8.59 and lasting about 4 innings a start.

Yogi Berra hit a pair of two-run
homers off Newcombe in
Game 7 in 1956

In 1956, he won the (very first) Cy Young Award and the NL MVP, going 27-7. But in the World Series he couldn't make it out of the second inning of game two or the fourth in game seven. And he climbed into the bottle after that World Series. His career was effectively done, as he went a combined 37-42 in the four years after that Cy Young season. He spent 1961 in the minors and quit the game.

A Trail Blazer

Newcombe was one of the first black players signed by the Dodgers. He and Roy Campanella played with Nashua of the New England League (B) in 1946 and 1947. Newcombe was dominant, going 33-10 with an ERA well under 3.  He probably would have played in AA ball in 1947 but the Dodgers' two AA teams were in the south and not yet ready to be integrated.

In 1948 he went 17-6 at AAA Montreal and got called up to the Dodgers early in 1949. He was the second black pitcher in the major leagues and the first good one (Dan Bankhead pitched in four games for the Dodgers in 1947).

Close to Cooperstown

Newcombe lost a season or two to baseball's color barrier.

And he lost nearly three peak seasons to the Korean War.

Finally, had Newcombe pitched better in the World Series (especially in 1956), he might well have continued on as one of the NL's top pitchers instead of spiraling into alcoholism.

The third factor was certainly within his control. But if the last two had been a bit different, Don Newcombe might well be in the Hall of Fame today.

He and Justin Verlander are the only players to win the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP awards.

Four pioneers: Roy Campanella, Larry Doby,
Don Newcombe and Jackie Robinson at the 1949 All Star Game

The Greatest Pitcher You Never Heard Of

Twenty-year old Karl Spooner joined the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Class D farm club in Hornell of the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (PONY) League in 1951 He went 10-12 with an ERA of 4.18

By 1954, he had moved up through the C, B and A leagues and started the season with AA Fort Worth in the Texas League. Spooner walked nearly as many as he struck out, but he could dominate, as evidenced by a no-hitter in 1953.

He brought to mind Rex Barney, a young Dodgers fire baller from the previous decade whose fastball was compared to Walter Johnson’s, But Barney had major control issues. Sportswriter Bob Cooke said, “Rex Barney though that the plate was high and outside.” Spooner’s control compared favorably with Barney’s.

Spooner went a stellar 21-9, with a 3.14 ERA at Ft. Worth. He struck out 10 per nine innings, but also walked 6 per.  

He got a late season call up to the Dodgers. Manager Walter Alston had no intention of using Spooner, but changed his mind and sent him to the mound on September 22 to take on the Giants, who had clinched the pennant the prior game, ending the Dodgers’ hopes of a third consecutive World Series appearance.

In front of only 3,256 Ebbets Field faithful, Spooner took on 21-6 Johnny Antonelli. With Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Monte Irvin in the lineup, Karl Spooner had one of the greatest debuts in major league history.

Going the distance, Spooner scattered 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 15 batters! And 2 of the walks and 1 hit came in the first inning. Spooner would destroy the Giants over the final 8 innings. The final two outs of the game were strikeouts. And he even scored a run himself!

A twenty-three year old who had never even pitched in AAA dominated the Giants, who would win the World Series in just a few weeks. It’s hard to imagine a more impressive start to a major league career.

The final game of the season saw the last place Pirates come to Ebbets Field on September 26. With only three days rest, Spooner was given the ball again. The hapless Pirates were 38 games behind the second place Dodgers. 9,344 showed up to see Spooner: nearly three times as many as for his first outing.

The Pirates had a couple good hitters: slugger Frank Thomas and Sid Gordon. But this was a weak lineup on a team that would lose 101 games. Still, Spooner had pitched only one game above AA and likely had just caught lightning in a bottle against the Giants. He would surely struggle in his second major league start. Nope.

Another complete game shut out: 4 hits, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts. Gil Hodges’ home run in the seventh provided all the scoring in the 1-0 win.

Karl Spooner appeared in two games in the final week of 1954. He tossed two complete game shutouts, giving up 7 hits, 6 walks and striking out 27 batters. After spending the season in AA ball! Only Hall of Famer Bob Feller had ever struck out more batters in back-to-back games (28).

Brooklyn fans were always waiting for that superstar pitcher who would carry them to World Series success. Don Newcombe, Ralph Branca, Carl Erskine, Rex Barney: the applicants were many but there was no Sandy Koufax (actually, there was, but he just wasn’t any good until a few years later in Los Angeles). Karl Spooner was going to be the one.

 

Except, he would pitch his last major league game barely one year later. On March 9, 1955, in spring training, Spooner was rushed into a game one inning earlier than he was scheduled to pitch. He hurried his warm-ups and something popped in his shoulder as he threw a curve ball. He kept pitching. The season would be a month old before Spooner and his sore shoulder would take to the mound in a real game.

 

But the magic was gone.  He was shelled in his first start in May and again in his second. In 1955, Spooner would appear in 29 games, starting 14 of them. He went 8-6 with an ERA of 3.65. Walter Alston turned to him to start game six of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. There was no fairy tale finish: 3 hits, 2 walks and 5 earned runs in one-third of inning. The last pitch he threw in the majors was a home run ball to Bill Skowron.

Spooner would appear in 39 minor league games over the next three seasons, with an unsuccessful surgery in 1957. Once a superstar in the making, he hung up his spikes at age 26. His meteoric rise was equaled by his abrupt fall. He died in 1984 at the age of 52.

Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella said, “The pitcher who was absolutely the fastest I ever caught was Karl Spooner. Nobody ever threw harder than that kid did in those first two games he pitched in the majors.”

Unexpectedly, for two wonderful days in the final week of the 1954 season, as the faithful said, “We shoulda had Spoona soona!” Karl Spooner was the greatest pitcher in Brooklyn Dodger history.

 

RIP DON ZIMMER - He'll always be a Bum (that's a compliment)

Classy guy, that Pedro

Don Zimmer passed away. Most folks know Zim from his days as a Yankees coach under Joe Torre as a Bug-eyed, giant wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek. And for Pedro Martinez tossing him to the ground during a Yankees – Red Sox brawl (I never liked Martinez). But Zimmer began his career as a member of 'Dem Bums' - those beloved Dodgers of Brooklyn.

Zimmer was a power hitting shortstop who signed with the Dodgers at 18. In 1953, twenty-two years old and just one step away from the majors, Zimmer was hit in the head with a pitch while playing for the AAA St. Paul Millers. It was thirteen days before he regained total consciousness and they had drilled holes in his head to relieve the swelling. It looked like his career was done.

But Zimmer was a fighter and he actually worked his way up to Brooklyn late in the 1954 season. Jackie Robinson, whose legs were starting to give out, was moved to third base and rookie Jim Gilliam took over at second base for the 1955 season. Zimmer made the team out of spring training and appeared in 88 games, playing at both second and third. He hit 15 homers as the team's power threat off of the bench. Brooklyn brought home its only World Series title in 1955. 1955 was Next Year (if you don’t get that reference, please go read a book on the history of the Dodgers. Or even the Yankees).



Check out the guns on
young Zim!
 

The next season, he took a pitch to the face, shattering his cheekbone. But Zimmer recovered and moved west with the Dodgers in 1958. He spent 12 seasons in the majors, playing with five different teams. He managed 13 years for three different teams (plus he was an interim manager for the Yankees once). He helmed the Red Sox when Bucky Dent went deep on Mike Torrez in the 1978 playoff game. And he led the hapless Cubs to the 1989 NL Championship Series (losing to the Giants in 5 games).

His long tenure with the Yankees came to an end because he was tired of seeing how George Steinbrenner treated people. He was working as special assistant with the Tampa Bay Rays at the time of his death.

I heard this morning that Zimmer never earned a paycheck for anything not related to baseball. Meaning he spent his entire working life as part of the game. That's pretty cool.

If you're listening to comments about Zimmer on sports radio today, there's nary a bad word said about the man. RIP Zim!

 

Bob's Books - 1947: When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball by Red Barber

Barber and Robinson

Red Barber is a Hall of Fame baseball announcer who was broadcasting for the Brooklyn Dodgers during Jackie Robinson’s rookie year. From reading the cover and the dust jacket, you would think that 1947 – When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball was about Robinson. But it’s actually not.

To be sure, there’s much about the man who broke baseball’s color barrier. But this book is really about the relationship between Branch Rickey, General Manager of the Dodgers and Larry MacPhail, part owner and essentially GM of the Yankees; and their teams, which squared off in the World Series.

The two men had a long history; first as friends, and by the end of 1947, as enemies. Rickey and MacPhail were great baseball men who had dramatic, lasting impacts on the game. For example, Rickey invented the minor league farm system, while MacPhail created night baseball. This book, in looking at the 1947 pennant races, tells their story.

Any Dodgers or Yankees fan interested in the 1947 editions of their teams will enjoy this book. And of course, followers of Jackie Robinson will be interested in hearing from the man who broadcast Dodgers games that year.

MacPhail and Rickey in happier days

At least as early as 1943, Branch Rickey began preparing the way for adding a black man to the Dodgers roster. A committee, headed by Larry MacPhail, was appointed by Major League Baseball to look into the issue of signing Negro players to contracts. The group voted 15-1 against the idea. Branch Rickey, the lone dissenter, stormed out and knew that he would be going it alone. MacPhail reportedly was angry with his former mentor for defying the group.

Days before the first game of 1947, Commissioner Happy Chandler suspended Brooklyn manager Leo Durocher for the season. Not only was it a blow to the Dodgers, who had finished two games behind the Cardinals in 1946, it was also a monkey wrench in Rickey’s plans for integrating baseball. For he was ready to install Jackie Robinson at first base for the Dodgers and he knew that the fiery Durocher would battle on Jackie’s behalf. And Larry MacPhail played a huge part in Leo’s suspension.

Barber takes us through that historic season, with Rickey and MacPhail usually at the center of the action. And they remain there to the last few pages. Barber also provides a look at the world of radio broadcasting in those days before television dominated the airwaves. In our modern era of ESPN highlights and digital channels, it’s like the Stone Age.

I find 1947 to be one of the most fascinating seasons in baseball history and this is a good accounting of it. However if you want a Robinson-centric look, this isn’t your best bet.