Al Oliver—A Fifteen-year "Peak"

 By JT 

Al Oliver was one of my favs. Looking back it seems even I have underrated him. Here is his 15_year "peak" his top consecutive seasons. It spans for 15 years,s quite a long span—

From 1969 through 1983 only Pete Rose and Rod Carew had more hits.

So, in addition to having the third-most hits in MLB during his 1969-83 peak, Al Oliver played the second-most games, the second-most doubles (behind Rose) the fifth most triples, was fourth in runs driven in, hit .305 (good for seventh among those with 5,000 at-bats), and was 13th in fewest strikeout percentage and six of those ahead of him were middle-infielder singles hitters types. In addition, he hit 215 dingers. 

Also, from 1969-83 he was one of two players to have 2,000 hits, 1,000 RBI, steal 80 bases, have 40 triples, and 200 home runs showing power and some reasonable speed and power . . . the other? Bobby Murcer.  

Oliver was consistent in "blue shade" 12 of 18 seasons. Blue shade is seasons getting some sport of post-season honor, silver slugger, All-star game, what have you—

In 1969 Oliver was second in the Rookie of the Year race. 

1972—All-Star

1975—All-Star

1976—All-Star and Second-team All-NL (UPI)

1978—All-AL (AP and UPI)

1980—All-Star

1981—All-Star and Second-team All-AL (UPI)

1982—All-Star, Second-team All-MLB (AP), and First-team All-NL (TSN and UPI)

1983—All-Star

Bobby Murcer's All-Star Selections—1971-75, 1977

 By JT 

Bobby Murcer was always a favorite. He had a ton of pressure on him to be the "next Mickey Mantle" which he wasn't. he did not have Mantle's natural speed and ability and that showed up in his stats, fewer home runs and fewer stolen bases, lower almost everything.

However, Murcer was a fine ballplayer who could hit, hit for average, run, steal, field, and throw. He played 17 seasons and played the majority of his career for the New York Yankees. He was a one-time Gold Glove winner and five-time All-Star and was voted to the AP' American League 1970s All-Decade team. Murcer led the American League in on-base percentage in 1971, and in runs and total bases in 1972.

In this post, we will review his All-Star picks, both the All-Star games and the AP, UPI, NEA, and TSN picks.

The years he got post-season honors were 1971-75, and 1977. 

1971—All-Star (MLBAL,  AP-2nd team All-MLB, NEA-2nd team All-MLB, TSN-All-AL)

1972—All-Star (MLB-AL,  AP-2nd team All-MLB, NEA, 2nd team All-MLB, TSN-All-AL)

1973—All-Star (MLB-AL,  AP-2nd team All-MLB, NEA-2nd team All-MLB, TSN-All-AL)

1974—All-Star (MLB-AL)

1975—All-Star (MLB-NL, UPI All-NL-2nd team, AP-honorable mention)

1977—All-Star (UPI All-NL-2nd team)

Key: MLB = Major league All-Star Game; AP = Associated Press; TSN = The Sporting News; UPI = United Press International; NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association

Source: Newspapers.com

Bobby Murcer vs HOF Pitchers

 By JT  

Bobby Murcer couldn't live up to being the "next Mickey Mantle", but who could? Murcer was a fine ballplayer who Bob Costas said had a "worthy career". Agreed.

What is a nice little nugget is that Murcer actually hit better versus Hall of Fame pitchers than he did on his versus his career averages—

He had a higher average, better on-base and slugging percentages, more home runs facing the tougher pitchers. 

He had trouble with Gaylord Perry, whom he had a rivalry with over spitballs, and with Phil Niekro who had a fierce knuckleball about whom Murcer once said, "Trying to hit Phil Niekro is like trying to eat jello with chopsticks". 

Note:  when Jim Kaat and Tommy John—two pitchers that are near 300 wins, his at-bats go to 640, his batting average rises to .292 and his home run total goes to 24 and his RBI total jumps to 85.

Certainly, it can be said Murcer hit well against the best. 

Well done, Kid. 

Willie Mays Was Unfairly Caricatured in 1972 and 1973

 By JT  

Mays was streaky, especially late in his career. And the truth is he slumped badly early and late in 1972 and 1973. But as a role player, check out mid-season numbers, especially 1972. He was not the "Willie Mays" everyone had grown to know from 1951-71 but he was not the caricature some make him out to be with Mets—Too old to play, cannot field anymore. Those, in our view, were exaggerated to a large degree.

In 1972 when he arrived he hit a homer in his first game and from that day through August 20 he hit .288 with 8 home runs.

The next year he again slumped early then on April 28, again in spot duty, hit .249 with six home runs through August 24th.

Of course, his seasons' totals were not as good because of the aforementioned early- and late-season slumps.

But consider in 1973, for example, during that April 28 to August 24 period, here is what the Mets heavy hitters did.

John Milner, the power hitter hit .234 with 16 HR and a .746 OPS (Mays' was .743)

Staub hit .286 but his OPS was .785 and he hit 8 home runs over 220 more at-bats. 

The Mets regular centerfielder was Don Hahn. He was hurt early in the season and came aboard in June and hit .238 but with no power. From June 16 through June 23th had a .409 average, accounting for nine of his 40 hits in this mid-season span we are examining. 

Here are the Mets centerfielders for 1973—

Left fielder Cleon Jones during this span—

Third baseman Wayne Garrett had some pop in his bat hitting 9 homers in this span, three more than Mays but a lot more at-bats, and his slugging and OPS were both below .350.

In 1973 Ed Kranepool played first base and some left field. he was usually good for 9-10, 13 more homers a season. But in 1973 he began a period where he had a decent average but his power dried up hitting .288 from 1973-75 but average only three dingers a season. Then, in 1976, his power picked back up to its pre-1973 levels. Odd.

So, when Mays had hit good stretch in the middle of the season his stats were not great. However, on that team, they were helpful to a team that was built on dominant pitching (Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, and McGraw) and excellent fielding. 

Here is the team stats for the 108-game span we are discussing—

The team hit .249 had a slugging percentage of .339. 

The year before it was similar. 

From May 14, 1972 through August 20, 1972—

Tommy Agee hit .233 with 7 HR and 25 RBI and his OPB was .332 and .384 was his slugging and he had a .716 OPS.

John Milner hit .248 and 10 HR with 25 RBI and a .347 OBP and a .439 slugging and a .786 OPS.

Cleon Jones hit .232 and his .301-.320-.621 were is OBP-SLG-OPS

Again, Mays .288 8 HR  19 RBI and a .434 OBP, and .497 SLG and a fine .931 OPS.

As for the errors in the field in the 1973 World Series, they happened. And they happened to others as well. 

Cleon Jones lost one in the Sun

Joe Rudi lost one in the Sun

And Willie had his well-documented troubles as well—

And he has his success as well, getting the game-winning hit in Game-2—

He had also got a short chopper that broke open Game 5 of the NLCS and sent the 82-80 Mets to the World Series 

So while we are cherry-picking his midseasons of 1972 and 1973 and downplaying his early season and late season slumps (he was 41 and 42 years old) we just don't think it is fair that his error and losing a ball in the sun when other players did it is reasonable, this is to say, to blame it on his staying in the game too long. Maybe he did, but that was no proof of it. 

Yes, you could say 1972 and 1973 were not productive. We buy that. They were two seasons of good production in the middle of the year as well, as good as or better than most players on his team. So let's just remember that.

St. Louis Cardinal Baseball—Always Finding a Way to Win.

By TJ Troup

After losing to the Giants on Friday, July 16th, the Cardinals record was 44-47, and though there were many games left to be played— the boys from St. Louis just did not look like a playoff-caliber team. 

Cincinnati and San Diego have jockeyed for the final wild-card position for the past few weeks. Suddenly playing like Cardinal teams of the past with a record of 31-22—here they are positioning themselves for another playoff run. 

Can either the Reds or Padres pass them in the standings and win the final wild card? Of course, yet looking at the schedule the Cardinals have many remaining games with Milwaukee, and their so-called rival the Cubs. Over the last ten years St. Louis has a record of 92-83 against Chicago, but this year the Cubs led 7-5. 

Earlier in the year 40-year-old Adam Wainwright was 1-4 but has found his old magic to go 15-3 since, and lately(his last five starts a 1.26 e.r.a) led his team. 

Seven times in the past ten years St. Louis has earned a playoff berth; are they going to the postseason again?

DRINKING FROM THE SAME BROOK OR STREAM: Dodgers vs. Giants

By TJ Troup 

The Polo Grounds (lower left) and Yankee Stadium (upper right)
Separated by the Harlem River.

The word rivalry has been used many times in describing sports teams in competition. 

So, let's begin with a definition: "competition for same objective or for superiority in the same field". The origin or root of the word is from middle french/latin word "rivus", and defined as "a person who drinks from or utilizing the same brook or stream as another". 

Since this is from medieval times you can picture two knights from feuding castles eyeing one another as their horses drink from the same stream. Billy Shakespeare even used this word in his writing and would relish Billy describing the rivalry between the Giants and Dodgers. That said, let's begin our history lesson from the city of New York as these two teams battled many times to win the National League pennant. 

Moving west in '58 and establishing themselves on the coast, and building permanent iconic stadiums the teams continued to battle each other and other top-notch teams. San Francisco has not won the pennant since 1954, and with the Dodgers success in '59 the Giants must have felt this is just not what we wanted or hoped for. 

Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have won the last two National League pennants, and both have very strong teams in 1962, yet this is one of those seasons in baseball history where these two teams took the spotlight. 

The expansion New York Metropolitans, and Houston Colt '45's are gonna lose, and add to that a Chicago Cub team that ranks as one of their worst in history, and pitched like an expansion team—thus San Francisco and Los Angeles have outstanding won/lost records for the first five months of the season. 

When Koufax shut out the Giants in July the Dodgers had a 1/2 game lead and since he was dominating hitters on every team there was no reason to believe that San Francisco could or would win the pennant. Koufax injured his finger and was shelved till very late September, and of course, this gave the Giants an opportunity to pass the Dodgers in the standings. 

Don Drysdale had already proven he was a quality pitcher, and he sure picked up the slack in the pennant race as he won 25 games and the Cy Young award, but San Francisco with astute trades had by far their best starting rotation in team history and on Monday, September 3rd headed south to Chavez ravine for the pivotal four-game series. 

The Giants won three of four to gain momentum, and the key San Francisco victory was a Wednesday evening contest before 54,395 with young Juan Marichal on the mound. 

The "Dominican Dandy" with bullpen help blanks the Dodgers 3-0. Marichal picks league MVP, Maury Wills, off of 1st base, and Willie Mays goes 3 for 4 with two doubles, and two key rbi's. Though both teams struggled down the stretch with records barely over .500 they finished in a flat-footed tie with 101 wins. When you peruse the individual hitting stats by both teams you come away with WOW! 

So many men had outstanding seasons, yet the two that stood out for Los Angeles are Wills and league batting champion Tommy Davis. Not sure if I ever saw any hitter drive the ball off the left-field wall at Wrigley with quite the power that Tommy D. did during the year? San Francisco is so deep in hitting talent that Willie McCovey is a part-time player. 

efore moving on to 2021 wanted to mention that a Cub rookie in a season of despair and disaster was my bright light that summer. Kenny Hubbs from June 14th until September 5th—78 games did not make an error, as he flawlessly handled 418 chances at second base to set a record. His death still resonates with me, since all Cub fans that remember him always ask what he could have accomplished in a possible Hall of Fame career? 

This past weekend the Dodgers headed to San Francisco for the key series of the season so far, and as they have all year the Giants found a way to win two of three. Are both of these teams going to duplicate 1962 and finish with 101 wins and tie for the West? 

That remains to be seen, yet will be checking the standings and box scores every day. Yesterday the Giants continued to win by beating Colorado, and the Dodgers earned a victory in St. Louis. October of '62 and was able with the time difference to watch the Dodgers battle the Giants in the three-game play-off on television—would be awesome to have that situation occur again,  and we see San Francisco and Los Angeles battle in what is truly a "rivalry".

Tris Speaker in Color

 By JT

Here is our colorization of Tris Speaker

Pete Vuckovich Wearing Two Kinds of Spikes

By JT

Pete Vuckovich is shown here wearing Rawlings spike on his left foot and Adidas on his right. Would love to know the story behind that. I am sure there is a good reason, better fit, traction, whatever. Interesting. 

 

This one is Adidas and Nike—

Puma and Rawlings—

Tony Olivia and the All-Star Game at Angel Stadium in '67

By TJ Troup 

So many of us lifelong baseball fans have fond memories of watching the All-Star game, and tonight hopefully will be one of those games that is seared in our memory banks. After watching the games from '59 through '66 on TV had an opportunity to go to Angel Stadium with my dad and one of my brothers for the game in '67. 

The rosters for both league's is one of the most impressive ever in baseball history, and a 2-1 extra-inning game was exciting, and puzzling since there were so many great hitters. Dominant pitching was the highlight along with the three solo home runs in the 2-1 National League victory. Starting in centerfield for the American League was Tony Olivia of the Minnesota Twins, and he was one of the few men who actually had a productive afternoon (yes the games were played in sunshine in those days) as he got two hits. 

The first two months of the season Olivia struggled as he hit .204 (20 hits 98 at-bats), and the Twins were under .500 at 20-22. Olivia then began to hit like he had the previous three seasons as he went 141 for 459—.307 and with two games to go with Minnesota going 71-47 they headed to Boston for the showdown with the Red Sox and the pennant. 

Anyone who has seen footage of "Yaz" in those crucial games realizes he was no doubt the MVP of the league, yet Olivia went 3 for 8 in the two games. The Beantown miracle had happened, and the Twins along with the Tigers and White Sox were just winning teams. Did not see every American League team play at Angel Stadium in those days, but did go a few times to see the Twins play, and the main reason was Tony Olivia. 

He was one of the two best right fielders in the American League (the other was Kaline)...and like Al, Olivia began his career with a splash. He was up for a "cup of coffee" in 1962 & '63 (and went 7 for 16 for a .438 batting average) so he was still classified as a rookie in '64, and had a sensational season winning rookie of the year honors, finishing fourth in the MVP balloting, and leading the league in total bases, hits, doubles and runs and won the AL batting title. There was an expectation in '65 that the Twins were finally going to capture the American League flag...and they did. 

When a team wins the pennant many players had to contribute, and Olivia sure did. Recently read an article by Cliff Eastham concerning what he thought were the ten most glaring choices for league MVP in history, and he listed Olivia in 1965 as one of them. Zoilo Versailles had by far his best season, yet a careful look tells us he was vastly overrated. Olivia won the batting title for the second consecutive season, hit for power, was one of the better defensive right fielders, and he finishes second in the balloting? 

Tony finished sixth in the MVP balloting in 1966, but no one was better than Frank Robinson that year. After three years he has finished 4th, 2nd and 6th place finishes for the MVP, and his improved defense in '66 garnered him his only Gold Glove for his prowess in the right, over Kaline I might add. Have already discussed '67, and he continued to play well in 1968 and '69. Tony's outstanding season in 1970 again places him second in the MVP balloting. 

Hitting the ball "Where they ain't"—thank you Mr. Waner...is the goal of every hitter, and after seven seasons Olivia had 1,291 hits in 1,134 games. Would he have been able to get 109 hits in the 78 games he missed if he had played? 

How many American League players have been able to amass 200 hits a season over the course of seven consecutive seasons during the past 57 years? The failed balloting in the '65 MVP race is one of the reasons that Tony Olivia is not in the Hall of Fame. Sure enjoyed seeing him play in the mid to late '60s, and later this week Tony turns 83. 

Fifty-seven Years Ago: Chris Short Blossoms

By TJ Troup 

Recently read that Jacob deGrom established a new record for the lowest ERA in May. 

So, who held the record before you ask? 

Why none other than former Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Chris Short. Though he had some strong outings before 1964; he was 32-42 entering the season, but this was his breakout season

Along with a number of his teammates in one of the most thrilling pennant races ever. 

On this date—June 10th in a 4-1 win over the Pirates, Short was 4-1 with a 1.09 ERA. He continued to limit the opposition to very few runs and win games as the Phillies became the talk of the National League. 

On September 14th he was 17-7 with a 1.85 ERA, and as such looked like he might win the ERA title and be a 20 game-winner and go to the World Series. 

Many baseball fans know that the tailspin was soon to become legend for this star-crossed team. Short gave up 15 earned runs in his last five starts (30⅔ innings) and St. Louis won the National League pennant. 

Was able to see Chris Short pitch in person in the all-star game in 1967 at Angel Stadium, and he sure was impressive that afternoon.

Have written about the four men of the 2000 club before, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, and Henry Aaron—Chris Short allowed these four Hall of Famers just 11 hits in 31 at-bats in 1964, but even more impressive, these four sluggers combined to hit just one home run (Frank Robinson).

CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL: 1953 Home Run Leaders

By TJ Troup 

Once upon a time, Sport Magazine was an outstanding publication chock full of insightful stories, and for some of us who enjoyed the "numbers" a short column by stat man Alan Roth that always had real fun stats. 

Couple Mr. Roth's column concerning the Home Run leaders in 1953 with the humorous commercial with Maddux and Glavine where they learned that "chicks dig the long ball". 

During the 1952 season the two men that hit the most home runs were Ralph Kiner and Hank Sauer with 37, and while that total is rock solid; it pales in comparison to what the following six sluggers did in 1953. Will begin with the sixth man on the list "Big Klu"—as he hit 40 homers. 

The most he had hit previously was 25. An excellent first baseman and for many years he hit for average. When I first saw him play with the White Sox in the stretch drive of the '59 pennant race heard the stories about how he wore his uniform with Cincinnati because of his massive arms. 

Next up is the National League MVP and one of the handful of truly great all-around catchers of all-time—Mr. Roy Campanella. Campy hit 41 homers, which is eight more than he had ever hit before. My dad shared with me that as great as left-hander Warren Spahn was; Braves managers hesitated having him start games at Ebbetts due to Dodger right-handed power, which of course included Campanella. 

The third member of our group is a teammate of Roy, one of the three best centerfielders in baseball during the decade of the '50's (bet you can guess the other two)—Duke Snider. Mr. Snider belted 42 homers and finished third in the MVP balloting that year, but even more impressive this is the first of his five straight 40 homer seasons. 

The least known of our six is Gus Zernial and previously the most homers he had hit was 33, but during '53 he slugged 42. Zernial finished second in the American League in home runs in '53 and was bested by league MVP Al Rosen who hit 43. Rosen was the best third baseman in the AL and had a high of 37 homers previously.  

Finally, the youngster who exploded hitting the long ball in his second season Mr. Eddie Mathews. His rookie season total of 25 demonstrated he could hit for power, but how many men who hit at least 25 as a rookie, improve that total by 22 in their second campaign? 

Mathews finished second in the National League MVP balloting and set a new standard for hitting on the road. Eddie hit just .258 at home, but when wearing road gray he hit .343! Though hitting for a high average on the road is no doubt impressive, the new standard he set was home runs on the road with 30! 

So, we have six men who hit at least 40 home runs in a season—the first time ever in baseball history. 

Chart: Stathead

Was there a day where they all hit one out? Sadly no, but on August 9th, August 1st, May 30th, and today May 29th sixty-eight years ago four of these sluggers hammered one out of the park, and yes Eddie Mathews is the only man of the six who accomplished this on all four days.