Giant Versatility

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball …

Bobby Bolin’s 13-season career started in the bullpen, moved to the starting rotation, and veered back to relieving to close out his playing days. He was consistently effective in both roles.

Bolin was signed by the New York Giants in 1956. His rookie season with the San Francisco Giants was 1961, when he appeared in 37 games, all but one in relief. Bolin went 2-2 with a 3.19 ERA and 5 saves in his first big league season.

Among San Francisco Giants pitchers,
Bob Bolin was fourth in wins
during the 1960s (behind Juan Marichal,
Gaylord Perry and Mike McCormick). 

In 1962 Bolin was an important part of the bullpen for the National League champion Giants, a bullpen that included Stu Miller and Don Larsen. Bolin was 7-3 in 41 appearances with a 3.62 ERA, the best among San Francisco relievers. He saved 5 games.

Bolin won 73 games in 9 seasons in San Francisco with a combined ERA of 3.26. His best season with the Giants was 1965, when he went 14-6 with a 2.76 ERA.

An 11-10 record in 1966 included 4 shutouts, the second highest total in the National League. His 1.99 ERA in 1968 was second lowest in the National League (to Bob Gibson's 1.12 earned run average).

In December of 1969 the Giants traded Bolin to the Milwaukee Brewers for Dick Simpson and Steve Whitaker. He was 5-11 in his only season in Milwaukee, and then was acquired by the Boston Red Sox, where he was 10-8 with a 3.28 ERA over 4 seasons. Following the 1973 season, Bolin retired with a career record of 88-75 with a 3.40 ERA.

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Cubs Go to College

From This Week in 1960s Baseball …

(December 21, 1960) The Chicago Cubs set a baseball precedent with the announcement that next season’s manager would be … no one.

The Chicago Cubs entered the 1961 season without 
a field manager … but with a “college of coaches.”

Owner Phil Wrigley declared that rather than leaving the managing duties to a single individual, the Cubs would utilize a rotating “college of coaches” to run the team on the field.

The announcement followed a 1960 season when the Cubs finished 60-94 with Lou Boudreau as field manager. It was the Cubs’ fourteenth straight second-division finish.

According to Wrigley, "Managers are expendable. I believe there should be relief managers just like relief pitchers."

The experiment lasted 2 seasons. The Cubs finished seventh in 1961 (64-90) and ninth in 1962 (59-103). Attendance at Wrigley Field both seasons was down by more than 20 percent compared to 1960.

The college of coaches strategy was abandoned for the 1963 season, when Bob Kennedy was named manager. The team’s record in 1963 improved to 82-80, their first winning season since 1946. That record was still good only for seventh place in the National League.

After 2 dismal seasons without a manager,
the Cubs named Bob Kennedy to that post
for the 1963 season.

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Homer Happy: Frank Thomas

The Power in Polo

From their inaugural season of 1962 until 1975, the New York Mets’ single-season record for home runs belonged to a right-handed hitting outfielder who played for the Mets for only 2 seasons, but was a National League power threat for a decade.

Frank Thomas

Slugger Frank Thomas played both the outfield and first base for 7 different teams in 16 years. Over that long career, he batted .266 with 286 home runs and 962 RBIs.

Thomas signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947 and made his major league debut in 1951. In 1953, his first full major league season, Thomas batted .255 for the Pirates with 30 home runs and 102 RBIs. He was an All-Star 3 times in his 5 full seasons with Pittsburgh, and had his best season in 1958 with 35 home runs and 109 RBIs.

In 1959, Thomas was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in the deal that brought Smokey Burgess, Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak to the Pirates. Thomas spent one season in Cincinnati (12 home runs, 47 RBIs) and then was traded to the Chicago Cubs. With the Cubs, he hit 21 home runs with 64 RBIs in 1960, and a month into the 1961 season he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves. He had a solid season for the Braves, hitting 25 home runs (plus 2 with the Cubs) in a lineup that was loaded with power. The Braves team of 1961 was the first major league team to hit 4 consecutive home runs in a game. (Thomas hit the fourth, preceded by home runs from Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, and Joe Adcock.)

After the 1961 season he was traded to the Mets for outfielder Gus Bell. He led that first Mets team with 34 home runs and 94 RBIs. His home run mark was not topped by another Mets hitter until Dave Kingman blasted 36 in 1975.

Frank Thomas led
the expansion New York Mets
with 34 home runs in 1962.
It would be the most home runs
by a Mets batter for more than a decade.

Thomas hit 15 home runs for the Mets in 1963 and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1964. At this point in his career, the 35-year-old Thomas had become a part-time player and pinch hitter, batting .282 in 2 seasons with the Phillies. He retired in 1966 with 1,671 career hits.

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The Arm that Owned the Yankees

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball …

He “owned” the New York Yankees when that franchise was at the pinnacle of major league dominance. 

From 1955 to 1961, no other pitcher beat the Yankees as often or as consistently as Frank Lary.

Frank Lary, the "Yankee Killer"

And in between starts against the Yankees, Frank Lary was also a pretty good right-hander and the ace of the Detroit Tigersstaff going into the 1960s.

Lary was signed by the Tigers off the University of Alabama campus in 1950. He made his debut at the end of the 1954 season, and in 1955 went 14-15 in his rookie campaign with a 3.10 ERA. In 1956, Lary went 21-13, leading the American League in wins, games started (38), and innings pitched (294).

That was the season when Lary’s reputation as a “Yankee Killer” began. In 1956, Lary went 5-1 in 7 starts against the team that would end the season as World Series champs. In 1958 Lary won 16 games for the Tigers and led the league in complete games (19) and innings pitched (260.1). Against the Yankees he was 7-1 in 8 starts with 2 shutouts and a 1.86 ERA. He won 5 out of 6 decisions against the Yankees in 1959 when he went 17-10 for the Tigers. His best season came in 1961 when Lary went 23-9 and 4-2 against the Yankees. He finished third in the 1961 Cy Young balloting behind Warren Spahn and that season’s winner, Whitey Ford.

From 1956-1961, while the New York Yankees
were dominating the American League,
Frank Lary was dominating the Yankees:
25-9 with a 3.14 ERA.

Lary was never the same pitcher after the 1961 season.  From 1956 through 1961, he averaged 17 victories and 261 innings per season. From 1962 through 1965, arm problems limited Lary to a combined record of 11-23 and an average of only 90 innings per season. He stayed with Detroit into the 1964 season, and then bounced between the New York Mets, Milwaukee Braves and Chicago White Sox before retiring after the 1965 season.

In a 12-season career, Lary won 128 games, 28 against the Yankees, and 100 against everyone else.

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McCormick Comes Back

From This Week in 1960s Baseball …

(December 13, 1968) The San Francisco Giants today re-acquired left-handed pitcher Mike McCormick in a trade with the Washington Senators.

Mike McCormick
Returns to the Giants, the team
that signed him a decade earlier,

In exchange for McCormick, the Giants parted with pitcher Bob Priddy and outfielder Cap Peterson.

McCormick was coming off a 1966 season when he was 11-14 for the Senators with a 3.46 ERA. It had been his second season in Washington after being acquired in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles in April, 1965.

McCormick was originally signed by the New York Giants in 1956. He was 15-12 with the Giants in 1960, when he led the National League with a 2.70 earned run average. After going 13-16 in 1961 and 5-5 in 1962, McCormick was traded by the Giants to the Orioles with pitcher Stu Miller and catcher John Orsino for catcher Jimmie Coker and pitchers Jack Fisher and Billy Hoeft. McCormick struggled with arm problems in his 2 seasons with the Orioles, when he posted a combined record of 6-10.

McCormick’s return to San Francisco would be good for the Giants and for his career. He would have his best season in 1967, going 22-10 with a 2.85 ERA and claiming the Cy Young award.

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Left Side Savvy

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball …

George Brunet was a journeyman southpaw who finally got his chance to start regularly with the California Angels in the mid-1960s. He was a consistently effective pitcher for struggling Angels teams, and his record as a starter for California reflected his team’s struggles more than his own abilities.

George Brunet

Prior to the 1955 season, Brunet was acquired by the Kansas City Athletics from Seminole in the Sooner State League. He made his major league debut with the A’s in 1956, appearing in only 10 games over the next 2 seasons. He was traded to the Milwaukee Braves in 1960, winning both decisions in only 17 appearances. He pitched in only 22 games for the Braves over 2 seasons, and then was dealt to the Houston Colt .45s, where he was 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 17 games, including 11 starts. In 1963 he moved from Houston to the Baltimore Orioles, where he was 0-1 in 16 relief appearances. From 1956 to 1963, playing for 4 different major league teams, Brunet had compiled a record of 4-11 in only 73 appearances.

His break came in 1964 when he was purchased by the Los Angeles Angels and was put into the Angels’ starting rotation, going 2-2 with a 3.61 ERA over the last 6 weeks of the 1964 season. He made 26 starts for the Angels in 1965, going 9-11 with a 2.56 ERA and 3 shutouts. He was 13-13 in 1966 with a 3.31 ERA, pitching 8 complete games with a pair of shutouts.

When Dean Chance was traded to the Minnesota Twins prior to the 1967 season, Brunet took over as the team’s workhorse, pitching 250 innings in 37 starts. His record was 11-19, leading the American League in losses in 1967 despite a respectable 3.31 ERA. He followed in 1968 with a 13-17 record on a 2.86 ERA, with 8 complete games and 5 shutouts.

During the 1969 season, Brunet’s contract was purchased by the Seattle Pilots, and he compiled a combined record of 8-12 with a 4.44 ERA. He split the 1970 season between the Washington Senators and the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 9-7 with a 4.21 ERA. In January of 1971, he was traded with Matty Alou to the St. Louis Cardinals for Nelson Briles and Vic Davalillo. He was released by St. Louis after 7 appearances, and retired.

Brunet finished his 15-year career with a 69-93 record and a 3.62 ERA.

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Orioles Add Batman Named Robbie

From This Week in 1960s Baseball …

(December 9, 1965) The Baltimore Orioles today announced the acquisition of All-Star outfielder Frank Robinson in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds. 

Frank Robinson

In exchange for Robinson, the 1961 National League Most Valuable Player, the Reds received 2 pitchers and an outfielder: starter Milt Pappas, reliever Jack Baldschun and the right-handed hitting Dick Simpson.

The 30-year-old Robinson batted .296 for the Reds in 1965 with 33 home runs and 113 runs batted in. In 10 seasons with Cincinnati, he batted a combined .303 and averaged 32 home runs and 101 RBIs per season. His best season with the Reds came in 1962, when he batted .342 with 39 home runs and 136 RBIs. That season he led the National League in doubles (51), on-base percentage (.421 and slugging average (.624). It marked the third consecutive season when Robinson led the league in slugging.

Pappas was 13-9 for the Orioles in 1965 with a 2.60 ERA. In 34 starts, he pitched 221.1 innings with 9 complete games and 3 shutouts. In 8 full seasons with the Orioles, Pappas averaged 14 wins and more than 200 innings per season. His best season for the Orioles came in 1964, when he was 16-7 with a 2.97 earned run average.

Milt Pappas

The Orioles had acquired Baldschun 3 days earlier in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies. Baldschun was 5-8 for the Phillies in 1965 with a 3.82 ERA. He posted 6 saves in 65 appearances.

A week earlier, the Orioles had traded first baseman Norm Siebern to the California Angels for Simpson who batted .222 in 8 games with the Angels after hitting .301 with 24 home runs in Triple-A ball.

On paper, the trade looked like a steal for the Reds, who were rebuilding their pitching staff and had unloaded a hitter they believed was on the down-slope of his career. Robinson proved the Reds wrong. He had a career year for the Orioles, winning the Triple Crown and the American League Most Valuable Player award while leading the Orioles to their first World Series championship.

Jack Baldschun

Both Robinson and Pappas had productive careers that extended into the 1970s. But Robinson was the only player in the trade to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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The Glove Club: Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente earned his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame with an outstanding career as a hitter: 3,000 career hits and a .317 batting average over 18 seasons, with 4 National League batting championships. A 12-time All-Star, Clemente was arguably the best right fielder of the 1960s, with little room for real argument.

Roberto Clemente

A more meaningful discussion might be whether Clemente was in fact the best right fielder of all time. He might have been.

Clemente made his major league debut in 1955 with the only team he would ever play for at the major league level, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Originally signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers, Clemente spent only one season in the Dodgers' farm system before being acquired by the Pirates. He batted .255 as a rookie and then, in his first full season in 1956, batted .311. He batted .300 or better 13 times in his career, and hit for that average every year in the 1960s except 1968, when he “slumped” to .291. His highest batting average came in 1967, when he hit .367. He led the league in hits twice and in triples in 1969.

His play in right field was just as consistently dazzling as his work in the batter’s box. 

Spectacular plays were commonplace for Clemente, who won the Gold Glove every year from 1961 until 1972, 12 times altogether. He had a powerful throwing arm that let him reach any base with laser accuracy. As a right fielder, Clemente led the league in putouts 3 times and in assists 6 times. His career 256 assists in right field are the most in major league history. Twice he led all National league outfielders in double plays.

Clemente was voted Most Valuable Player in 1966. 

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Lights Out: Rocky Colavito

Detroit Slugger Goes 7-10 in a 22-Inning Game

When: June 24, 1962

Where:  Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan

Game Time: 7:00

Attendance: 35,368

It started out like any other Yankees-Tigers match-up on a lazy Sunday afternoon. But after Tigers starter Frank Lary threw the first pitch to Yankee shortstop Tom Tresh, little did either team – or the 35,000 Tigers fans in attendance – know that the outcome was seven hours away.

Or that Detroit Tigers outfielder Rocky Colavito would put on an unforgettable hitting display in 22 innings of baseball.

Rocky Colavito
Tigers outfielder went 7 for 10
in 22-inning game against the Yankees

Lary had a reputation for being a “Yankee killer.” A 23-game winner in 1961, the Tigers ace struggled against the Yankee bats on this day, allowing 7 runs in the first 2 innings, all earned, including the 3-run homer Lary surrendered to Yankee third baseman Clete Boyer. The Tigers scored 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the third off Yankees starter Bob Turley with a 3-run homer off the bat of right fielder Purnal Goldy (it would be one-third of his career total).

The Tigers added 3 more runs in the bottom of the third off Jim Coates with an RBI single by shortstop Chico Fernandez and a 2-run double by catcher Mike Roarke. The Tigers tied the game at 7 in the bottom of the sixth. Colavito singled off Bill Stafford to score Bill Bruton. And that’s the way it stayed until inning 22.

In all that day (and into the evening), Colavito would hit 5 more singles, plus a triple, going 7-10 with a walk through 22 innings. Known primarily for his power (45 home runs and 140 RBIs in 1961), Colavito could also hit for contact. He collected 1,730 hits during his 14-year career.

Jim Bouton
Picked up the win in the 22-inning marathon.

Colavito’s performance went for naught in the win column. The slugfest of the first 6 innings turned into a relief pitching duel, as both teams were shut out for 15 consecutive innings. In the top of the twenty-second inning, Jack Reed’s 2-run homer off Phil Regan finally broke the scoreless streak. In the bottom half of that frame, Jim Bouton retired the first 2 Tigers before Colavito collected his sixth single of the game. But Bouton got Norm Cash to fly out to John Blanchard in left field to end the game. Colavito was stranded at first, one of 22 Tigers left on base in the course of that marathon loss.

Excerpt from Lights Out! Unforgettable Performances from Baseball’s Real Golden Age. http://bit.ly/Hwd774

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Williams Wins Rookie of the Year

From This Week in 1960s Baseball ...

(November 30, 1961) Billy Williams today was selected as the National League Rookie of the Year.

Billy Williams

The 23-year-old outfielder batted .278 for the Chicago Cubswith 25 home runs and 86 RBIs. Williams also scored 75 runs and hit 20 doubles and 7 triples. He finished second on the team to George Altman in runs batted in and triples.

Williams won the award by receiving 10 out of 16 votes. Milwaukee Braves catcher Joe Torre finished second with 5 votes.

Williams would play with the Cubs for 16 seasons. He would be named to the National League All-Star team 6 times and win the NL batting title in 1972 with a .333 average. He would finish his 18-year major league career with 2,711 hits and a .290 batting average.

Williams would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. 

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Career Year: Vada Pinson – 1963

Vada Pinson was such a solid player for the Cincinnati Redsin the first half of the 1960s that it is actually something of a challenge to pick a career year for him. But 1963 proved to be the most productive season overall for the Reds’ center fielder. And it proved to be another season when Pinson’s excellence was overshadowed by a fleet of future Hall of Famers who patrolled the outfield as his contemporaries – including one on his own team.

Vada Pinson

“Overshadowed” aptly applied to the best years of Pinson’s 18-season career. Called up by the Reds for the last month of the 1958 season, he claimed the center field job in his 1959 rookie season and promptly led the major leagues in runs scored (131) and doubles (47). He batted .316 as a rookie with 20 home runs and 84 runs batted in, and was named to the 1959 All-Star team.

Rookie of the Year for 1959? Unfortunately, in 1959 a player had to have fewer than 75 official at-bats to keep his rookie status. Pinson had 96 at-bats in 1958, and thus didn’t qualify (though he would have under today’s rules).

He hit .287 in 1960 and led the league again in doubles with 37. In 1961, he batted .343 and led the major leagues with 208 hits. He also won his only Gold Glove that season, finishing third in the balloting for Most Valuable Player (won by teammate Frank Robinson).

All terrific seasons, and Pinson would have more. But none of his seasons was more “complete” as a hitter than the performance he turned in for 1963. Pinson batted .313 (seventh in the National league) and again led the majors in hits with 204. He appeared in all 162 games, tying him for first with Bill White and Ron Santo. His .514 slugging average was fifth in the league. He finished third in total bases (335), second in doubles (37), first in triples with 14, eighth in singles (131), third in stolen bases (27) and fourth with 106 runs batted in. 

An All-Star season? Not for Pinson. From 1961 through 1963, he batted  a combined .316 and averaged 20 home runs and 98 RBIs per season. But there were no All-Star appearances again in his career after 1960. The National League's 1963 All-Star team included Tommy Davis, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron as the starting outfielders, with Roberto Clemente, Stan Musial, Willie McCovey and Duke Snider in reserve.

All of them except Davis ended up in the Hall of Fame. None of them had a better 1963 season than Vada Pinson.

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Astros Ace

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball …

Right-hander Larry Dierker was the first Houston Astros pitcher to win 20 games in a season and retired after 13 seasons in Houston with the most wins in the history of the franchise. (He remains second all-time in Houston victories to Joe Niekro).

Larry Dierker

Dierker was signed by Houston in 1964 while he was still 17 years old, and he debuted with the big league team at the end of the 1964 season. He pitched in only 9 games in the minor leagues.

Dierker was a starter from the beginning of his major league career. He was 7-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 1965 and 10-8 with a 3.18 ERA in 1966. Injuries limited him to 6-5 in 1967, but he was 12-15 with a 3.31 ERA in 1968 and was 20-13 with a 2.33 ERA in 1969. His 20 complete games and 305.1 innings pitched are still franchise records. At the close of the 1960s, the 22-year-old Dierker already had accumulated 55 major league victories.

From 1970 through 1976, Dierker was 82-67 with a 3.49 ERA. He averaged 188 inning pitched per season, an average slightly skewed down by the mere 27 innings Dierker pitched in 1973. He was the Astros’ workhorse and the team’s ace for more than a decade.

In November of 1976, Dierker was traded with Jerry DaVanon to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bob Detherage and Joe Ferguson. He appeared in only 11 games for the Cardinals in 1977, going 2-6 with a 4.58 ERA. The Cardinals released him after the season, and he retired as a player, though he returned to Houston 20 years later for a highly successful 5-season tour as the team’s manager.

Dierker finished with a career record of 139-123, all but 2 of those victories coming with Houston. His career earned run average was 3.31. He pitched 2,333.2 innings including 106 complete games and 25 shutouts. Dierker was a member of the National League All-Star team in 1969 and 1971.

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Mets Spend for Spahn

From This Week in 1960s Baseball …

(November 23, 1964) - The New York Metsannounced today that they had purchased left-handed pitcher Warren Spahn from the Milwaukee Braves.

Warren Spahn

The 43-year-old Spahn was 6-13 with a 5.29 ERA for the Braves in 1964, his twentieth season with that franchise. Spahn won 355 games for the Braves, and won 20 or more games in a season 13 times, tying him with Christy Mathewson for the most 20-win seasons by a National League pitcher. Only a year before, he was 23-7 for the Braves and led the league in complete games for the seventh consecutive season. Spahn pitched only 4 complete games in 1964.

Spahn would make 20 appearances in 1965 before being released by the Mets and signed by the San Francisco Giants. For 1965, he would have a combined record of 7-16 and a 4.01 ERA. At the end of the 1965 season, Spahn would retire with 363 career victories, the fifth highest total in major league history and the most by a southpaw.

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Oh, What a Relief: Hal Woodeshick

Few players had as many “miles” on them as Hal Woodeshick piled up during first half of his career. He played for 7 different teams in his 11-year major league career, and spent 9 years in the minor leagues with 11 different teams … with 2 years in the Army. When he did finally arrive in the big leagues to stay, Woodeshick established himself as a “lights out” closer with a wicked slider and a bulldog temperament that was made for pitching his way out of crises.

Hal Woodeshick

Woodeshick signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1950 when he was 18 years old. He bounced around the minors for most of the next decade, arriving in Detroit in 1955 and making his major league debut in 1956 in 2 appearances with the Tigers. In 1958, he was traded with Jay Porter to the Cleveland Indians for Hank Aguirreand Jim Hegan. He was 6-6 for Cleveland as a spot starter in 1958, posting a 3.64 ERA. He was then acquired by the Washington Senators and won 6 games over the next 2 seasons, with intermittent returns to the minors.

When the Senators moved to Minnesota to become the Twins, Woodeshick stayed in Washington, drafted by the expansion Senators. He was 3-2 with a 4.02 ERA when he was traded to Detroit for Chuck Cottier. After going 1-1 in 12 appearances with the Tigers, Woodeshick was purchased by the Houston Colt .45s.

As part of the team’s first starting rotation (that included Dick Farrell, Ken Johnson, Bob Bruceand George Brunet), Woodeshick went 5-16 with a 4.39 ERA. In 1963, he moved to the Houston bullpen and became the team’s closer, going 11-9 with a 1.97 ERA and 10 saves. He would be a reliever for the rest of his career.

In 1963, Woodeshick emerged as one of the National League’s best relievers. He appeared in 61 games and finished 48 with a league-leading 23 saves and a 2.76 ERA. In June of 1965, he was traded by the Astros with Chuck Taylor to the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike Cuellarand Ron Taylor. Appearing in 78 games combined, he went 6-6 with a 2.25 ERA and 18 saves. His 1965 earned run average with the Cardinals was 1.81 in 51 appearances.

In 1966, he appeared in 59 games for the Cardinals, but lost his closer position to Joe Hoerner. Yet Woodeshick had another solid year coming out of the Cardinals’ bullpen, going 2-1 with a 1.92 ERA and 4 saves. In 1967, he went 2-1 with a 5.18 ERA, and retired after being released by the Cardinals after the end of the season.

Woodeshick was 44-62 in 11 major league seasons with a career earned run average of 3.56. He racked up 61 saves and was a member of the National League All-Star team in 1963.

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Swap Shop: How Billy Pierce Brought His Heart to San Francisco

In more than one way, Billy Pierce was the difference that got the San Francisco Giants into the 1962 World Series, and he accomplished this when he was generally considered washed up and a shell of what he had been a decade before.

Billy Pierce

The glory years for Pierce came in the 1950s when, as the ace of the Chicago White Sox staff, he rivaled New York Yankees southpaw Whitey Ford for recognition as the best left-hander in the American League, if not the American League's best pitcher, period.

Pierce was signed by the Detroit Tigers and traded to the White Sox in 1949. He was a combined 27-30 in his first 2 seasons with the White Sox, and then won 15 games in both 1951 and 1952, followed by an 18-12 campaign in 1953. After slipping to 9-10 in 1954, he won 15 games again in 1956 (while leading the major leagues with a 1.97 ERA) and was a 20-game winner for the White Sox in 1956 and in 1957. He led the league in complete games from 1956 through 1958, and overall posted a 186-152 record in 13 seasons with the White Sox.

In November of 1961, San Francisco sent Bob Farley, Eddie Fisher and Dom Zanni to the White Sox for Pierce and Don Larsen. It was one of the most important moves made by the Giants front office over that winter, as Pierce, who was 10-9 in his last season with Chicago, won his first 8 decisions for the Giants. He moved to the bullpen through the heat of the summer, and returned to the starting rotation in August, winning 5 out of 6 decisions.

The 1962 National League regular season ended in a dead heat between the Giants and their West Coast rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Finishing the regular season at 15-6, Pierce was selected by Giants manager Alvin Dark to pitch the opener of the 3-game playoff and responded with a 3-hit, 8-0 shutout. Game 2 in Los Angeles saw the Dodgers tie the playoffs with an 8-7 victory.

On October 3, 1962, the playoff and the pennant race came down to a single game. In the top of the third, an RBI single by Harvey Kuenn and a sacrifice fly by second baseman Chuck Hiller gave the Giants a 2-0 lead. The Dodgers scored one run against Juan Marichal in the fourth inning and took the lead in the sixth inning on Tommy Davis’ 2-run homer.

In the seventh inning, the Dodgers went up 4-2. In the top of the ninth, the Giants scored 4 runs on only 2 hits, and led 6-4 with the Dodgers coming up for their last at-bats.

As a member
of the San Francisco Giants in 1962

In the bottom of the ninth, Dark turned again to Pierce to wrap up the game and the pennant. After shutting out the Dodgers just 2 days before, Pierce added one more scoreless inning to his playoff ledger, retiring the Dodgers in order to give the Giants their first National League pennant since 1954.

Note: Pierce pitched 2 more seasons with the Giants

Eddie Fisher

(winning a total of 6 games) and retired. But the trade that cinched a pennant for San Francisco also had a major impact on the career of one other player, pitcher Eddie Fisher. While he was in Chicago (the first of 2 tours with the White Sox), Fisher spent time in the bullpen next to Hoyt Wilhelm and learned how to throw the knuckleball, a pitch that would transform him into one of the best relievers of the 1960s.

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Yankee Super Sub

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball …

It was John Blanchard’s misfortune to play for some of the best New York Yankees teams of all time, in positions stocked with MVPs and Hall of Famers. As a catcher, he played back-up to HOFer Yogi Berra and Elston Howard, who collected 4 MVP awards between them. As an outfielder, he was competing with HOFer Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (5 MVPs between them) as well as Tom Tresh and Berra.

John Blanchard

Never a strong defensive player, in the outfield or behind the plate, what Blanchard could do was hit with power. Given enough at-bats, he fully demonstrated his hitting ability, especially as a pinch hitter, and especially in clutch situations. He was an integral part of the Yankees’ success in the early 1960s, even with limited playing time.

Blanchard was signed by the Yankees in 1951 and had an outstanding season for Joplin in 1952, hitting .301 with 30 home runs and 31 doubles. He spent the next 2 years in military service and made his first appearance in a Yankees uniform in 1955. From 1956 through 1958, he hit well in the Yankees’ farm system, and was promoted to the big league club for good in 1959.

He spent more time sitting than playing in New York, never appearing in more than 93 games in any single season. He hit .242 in 99 at-bats in 1960, with 4 homers and 14 RBIs. He got more playing time and more at-bats in 1961, responding with the best season of his career: a .305 batting average with 21 HRs and 54 RBIs. Four of his homers came as a pinch hitter. That season the Yankees set a major league record with 240 team home runs, and six different players hit 20 or more round-trippers. During the 1961 World Series, Blanchard appeared in 4 games, hitting .400 with a double, 2 HRs and 3 RBIs.

In 1962, Blanchard’s batting average slipped to .232 with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs. He hit 16 homers with 45 RBIs in 1963, but his role was delegated more and more to pinch hitting, at which he was always a threat. In 1964 he produced 7 home runs and 28 RBIs in only 161 at-bats.

In May of 1965 the Yankees traded Blanchard with pitcher Rollie Sheldon to the Kansas City Athletics for Doc Edwards. He appeared in only 52 games for the A’s before being sold to the Milwaukee Braves in September. He retired after the 1965 season.

In 8 big league seasons, Blanchard hit .239 with 67 home runs and 200 RBIs. Blanchard appeared in 5 World Series with the Yankees, hitting a combined .345. He holds the major league record with 10 World Series pinch-hit at-bats.

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Stan Bahnsen Named AL’s Best Rookie

From This Week in 1960s Baseball …

(November 19, 1968) – New York Yankees pitcher Stan Bahnsen today was named American League Rookie of the Year for the 1968 season.

Stan Bahnsen

Finishing second to Bahnsen was outfielder Del Unser of the Washington Senators.

In 34 starts for the Yankees, the right-handed Bahnsen was 17-12 with a 2.05 ERA, sixth best in the American League. Bahnsen pitched 10 complete games and struck out 162 batters in 267.1 innings.

Bahnsen led all Yankees starters in earned run average and strikeouts. He was second on the staff in innings pitched and victories to Mel Stottlemyre (21-12).

It would be Bahnsen’s best season in a Yankees uniform. He would win 9 games in 1969 and 14 games in both 1970 and 1971. Traded to the Chicago White Sox in December of 1971, Bahnsen would win 21 games in 1972 and 18 games in 1973.

He pitched for 16 seasons in the major leagues, compiling a 146-149 record with 6 different teams. Bahnsen’s career ERA was 3.70. In 5 seasons with the Yankees, Bahnsen was 55-52 with a 3.10 ERA.

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The Glove Club: Ron Hansen

Ron Hansen was hardly the prototype for the 1960s shortstop. The shortstops of that era tended to be physically compact and quick, with sure hands and a bat loaded mostly with singles. That was the prescription for the shortstops of that era, led notably by the likes of Luis Aparicio, Tony Kubek, Dick Groat and Roy McMillan. (The glaring exception, of course, was Ernie Banks, the game’s best slugging shortstop since Honus Wagner.)

Ron Hansen

Hansen stood out from that group, both physically and as a hitter. He was huge by shortstop standards, standing 6-foot, 3 inches and weighing nearly 200 pounds. And he could hit with power. He hit 22 home runs with 86 RBIs in 1960, when he was an All-Star and American League Rookie of the Year. Both marks proved to be career bests for Hansen, who was plagued by back problems throughout his baseball career. From 1963 through 1965 – the only consecutive full seasons he could manage in a 15-year major league career – he averaged 13 home runs and 66 runs batted in.

But any hitting was a bonus. Hansen’s strength was his defense. And it was formidable.

He was graceful, almost fluid, as a shortstop, and quicker than he appeared. He had great range and a great arm. He made any infield a better defensive unit, and made pitchers better with his presence in the field.

As a rookie with the Baltimore Orioles in 1960, Hansen led American League shortstops in putouts. He led the league again in putouts in 1964 as a member of the Chicago White Sox. He led American League shortstops twice in double plays and 4 times in assists. Inexplicably, he never received a Gold Glove for his consistently outstanding fielding.

In 1965, Hansen set a record for handling 28 chances at shortstop in a double header. Playing for the Washington Senators in 1968, he completed the first unassisted triple play in the American League in 41 years.

When he first saw Hansen play as a rookie, New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel remarked to the press, “That kid looks like he was born at shortstop.”

He was.

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Lights Out: Ken Johnson

Defense Done Him In

When: April 23, 1964

Where: Colt Stadium, Houston, Texas

Game Time: 1:56

Attendance: 5,426

The first no-hitter of the 1964 season was also the first no-hitter in major league history to be thrown by the game’s losing pitcher.

Ken Johnson

Houston starting pitcher Ken Johnson came into the game having won his first 2 starts of the young season. Johnson had gone 6-2 for the Reds in 1961 before he was selected by the Houston Colt .45s as their twenty-ninth pick in the 1961 expansion draft.

Johnson went 7-16 in Houston’s inaugural season, though he pitched better than his won-loss record indicated: 3.84 ERA with 178 strikeouts in 197 innings. He also pitched 5 complete games and one shutout.

In the 1964 season, Johnson would go 11-17 despite lowering his ERA to 2.65. He would pitch 6 complete games this season and, again, a single shutout.

It should have been 2.

The Cincinnati starter was Joe Nuxhall, the left-hander who, in his major league debut on June 10, 1944, set a record as the game’s youngest player at age 15. Nuxhall had struggled through the early 1960s but had embarked on a major comeback season in 1963, when he went 15-8 with a 2.62 ERA. For 1964, he would finish the season at 9-8 with a 4.07 ERA, but he would record 4 shutouts in an injury-abbreviated campaign.

The first of those shutouts would be needed today.

Both Johnson and Nuxhall pitched scoreless ball through the first 8 innings. Through those 8 innings, Nuxhall scattered 5 hits and struck out 4 Houston batters. Johnson was simply overpowering … and unhittable. Through the first 8 innings, he struck out 9 Reds batters and walked only 2. And after 8 innings, the Reds’ line score read zeroes in hits as well as runs.

A no-hit performance wasn't good enough to win.

The shutout ended in the top of the ninth. Nuxhall grounded out to open the inning. Then Pete Rose reached first base on an error by Johnson. His throw into the dirt squirted by first baseman Pete Runnels, allowing Rose to move to second base. Rose went to third on a ground out by Chico Ruiz, and then scored when Houston second baseman Nellie Fox bobbled a ground ball off the bat of Vada Pinson. Pinson was safe at first and the Reds were ahead 1-0 without the benefit of a hit. Frank Robinson flied out to left field to end the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Nuxhall struck out leadoff hitter Eddie Kasko and induced Fox to ground out to short. Runnels’ hot grounder to third was mishandled by Ruiz, putting Runnels on first with the tying run. Bob Lillis went into the game to run for Runnels, but to no avail. Nuxhall struck out Johnny Weekly to end the inning and the game.

Never before had a major league pitcher thrown a complete game no-hitter and lost. But it was the kind of frustration that Ken Johnson would experience in different ways during the 1964 season as a talented pitcher on a second-year expansion team.

Excerpt from Lights Out! Unforgettable Performances from Baseball’s Real Golden Age http://bit.ly/Hwd774

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