Pat McGlothin, Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who once pitched a 19 inning game, dies at 94

Ezra Malachi “Pat” McGlothin, who pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1949-50, passed away on Friday October 24, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee, just a few days after his 94th birthday. McGlothin, a lifelong resident of Tennessee, was also a World War II veteran and a University of Tennessee alumnus.

During his two brief stints with Brooklyn, he made eight relief appearances over the course of two seasons, a position that was unfamiliar to him before he hit the big leagues.

"The Dodgers wanted to use me as a relief pitcher,” McGlothin said during a 2008 phone interview, “but that wasn't my forte. I didn't have that kind of arm to make the adjustment. I had a pretty good arm and I could throw every fifth day, but I couldn't relieve."

While much acclaim has gone to Tim Hudson of the San Francisco Giants for his involvement in two separate 18-inning playoff games, McGlothin had a herculean feat of his own that will be difficult for any modern era pitcher to match. On September 24, 1944, he pitched for the Corpus Christi NATB team, taking on the Pensacola NATB All-Stars led by Ted Williams. In a back and forth contest, Williams’ club knotted the score at four in the ninth inning, and the score stayed that way until the 17th inning when both clubs scored a run. Despite throwing over 200 pitches, McGlothin refused to come out. He forged his way through 19 innings, knocking in three runs, including the game winner in the bottom of the 19th. As for the legendary Williams, he had no answer for McGlothin, going hitless in seven trips to the plate. McGlothin took the legendary accomplishment in stride.

“I just stayed in there that's all and won the game,” he said.

After wrapping up his baseball playing days in 1954 as a player-manager for the Knoxville Smokies, he made a career change to selling insurance that would last him the next 60 years. McGlothin worked for the Mutual Insurance Agency, eventually buying the company. He remained their CEO until the time of his death, spending a few hours each day at the office with the help of a ride from an employee when he could no longer drive.

McGlothin played alongside all of the famed "Boys of Summer," including Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, and Duke Snider. While he isn't as revered as some of his Hall of Fame teammates, he humbly acknowledged his position in the game.

"I didn't necessarily think I was part of history, I just played hoping I would stay," he said in a 2011 interview with television station WBIR.

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Mickey Rivers video interview from the 2014 Harrison Apar Foundation Golf Classic

Mickey Rivers, the starting center fielder for the New York Yankees World Series championship teams in 1977 and 1978, sat down with us at the 2014 Harrison Apar Foundation Golf Classic to talk about Yankee baseball, including both captains Thurman Munson and Derek Jeter, as well as his enjoyment of being out with the people at various charity events.

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Earl Smith, last player to wear 21 on Pirates before Clemente, dies at 87

Pittsburgh Pirates fans can hardly remember a day when number 21 wasn’t worn by Roberto Clemente, but for the first month of Clemente’s 1955 rookie season, the famed number was on the back of another upstart Pirates outfielder, Earl Smith. The Fresno State graduate who challenged for the Pirates center field spot alongside Clemente that season, passed away September 27, 2014 in Fresno, California. He was 87.

Smith signed with the Pirates in 1949 and hit .324 during his first two minor league campaigns, driving in 100 runs with Modesto in 1950; however, it wasn’t until 1954 that he garnered the full attention of the Pirates front office. He hit an astonishing .387 with 32 home runs, 195 RBIs and 42 stolen bases for Phoenix, which earned him an invite to spring training in 1955.

Earl Smith  -  Kevin Baskin

Coming from one of the lowest levels of minor league ball at the time, he was facing an uphill battle going into spring training. Despite the long odds, he was excited to get the chance to compete for a major league roster spot after six seasons in the depths of their minor league system.

“It was something that you strive for,” Smith said during our 2011 phone interview. “You think you deserve a chance after a while. … I don’t know all of the politics of it, but I was real happy to have the opportunity to get the chance to go there.”

Most observers felt that Smith was going to be sent down for more seasoning after a trial in front of the big wigs, but Smith persisted. In an outfield that was only returning one starter in Frank Thomas, Branch Rickey was looking to fill the rest of the lineup with promising young talent. Smith batted over .400 during spring training to earn his place with Pittsburgh when they broke camp.

Smith was pegged to platoon with Tom Saffell in center field to handle the National League's left-handed pitchers. He made his debut in Pittsburgh’s second game of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies, going 0-3 against Herm Wehmeier. The road continued to get rougher for Smith. He played in four of the Pirates first six games, going 1-12 with only a single off of the Giants’ Don Liddle. He sensed his window of opportunity closing faster than expected.

“I was supposedly alternating with Tom Saffell,” Smith said. “He came from the Pacific Coast League. He was left-handed and I was right. I didn’t get too much of a chance; I had 12 [sic] at-bats or something. What I’m telling you is probably speculation; the facts I didn’t know because we weren’t told that much of anything really.”

Pirates manager Fred Haney put him in the lineup only one more time, starting in a 5-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on April 29, 1955. His 0-4 performance left him with a career batting average of .063 (1-16). He never returned to the major leagues.

“When [Branch] Rickey took over, he brought his own fellows in,” he said. “We were the last of the guys to be from the old regime so to speak before he took over Pittsburgh. … He knew what he wanted and we didn’t fit the mold.”

His departure allowed Clemente to drop number 13 in favor of Smith’s 21. It was the last time anyone else in a Pirates uniform wore the number. Even though their time together was brief, Smith could see Clemente’s talent and the backing he had from management.

“Without a doubt, he was one of the better up and coming young guys,” he said. “He had the full support of all the staff and that made the big difference.”

Smith last just one more season in professional baseball, calling it quits at the end of the 1956 season after bouncing around different farm clubs. The toll on his family became too great to bear.

“I look back on it, and that was probably my fault a little bit because they weren’t playing me too much in New Orleans because they had their team set,” he said. “I wanted to play more and I didn’t produce like I should have when I got in, so they moved me to Lincoln and that was sort of the downfall. ... I had a family and we were traveling. One year my wife traveled five or six-thousand miles just to keep up with me. … It was a tough go for the dough in those days so to speak.”

Back home in Fresno after hanging up his spikes, Smith entered a completely different line of work than what he prepared for at Fresno State. He studied to work in the athletic coaching field, but one of his baseball contacts swayed him into running a grocery store.

“When I was here and I played for the Cardinals, one of the backers had a grocery store chain,” he said. “I had gone to college to become a coach, but at that time coaching didn’t pay very much. A grocery job paid more, so that’s what I went into and stayed 40 years.”

Long removed from his playing days, Smith said enjoyed the correspondence from the Pirates semi-annual Black and Gold alumni newsletter, which allowed him to keep up with his former teammates.

“They send me information quite often and schedules for different things,” he said. “I haven’t been one to join up with some of the things they wanted, but I’m still interested in seeing the facts of the guys I played with.”

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A candid Willie Mays talking baseball with Billy Sample

Willie Mays

Billy Sample, former major league outfielder of nine major league seasons, talked shop with the legendary Willie Mays in the spring of 2004.

In this 15-minute interview, Mays is rather lucid as they discuss his career from humble beginnings in Alabama, making his way from the Negro Leagues all the way to the Hall of Fame.
 

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Bob Wiesler, climbed the Yankee ranks with Mantle, passes away at 83

Bob Wiesler wasn't even 21 years old when he first stepped on the mound at Yankee Stadium on August, 3, 1951. Looking up at the large crowd, Wiesler admitted that his nerves had set in before he threw his first pitch.

“[I was nervous] in front of all of those people!” Wiesler said to Kenneth Hogan in Batting 10th for the Yankees. “We used to have 1,000 in the minors. In Kansas City, we‘d usually have about 4,000. In Yankee Stadium they used to almost have full houses.”

Wiesler, who went on to enjoy six seasons in front of those packed crowds with the Yankees and Washington Senators in the 1950s, passed away August 10, 2014 at his home in Florissant, Missouri, just three days shy of his 84th birthday.

Bob Wiesler / Lonecadaver.net

The 6’3” lefty pitcher was a star at Beaumont High School in St. Louis, the same school that also spawned major leaguers Roy Sievers, Bobby Hofman, and future Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver. Many clubs aggressively pursued Wiesler in high school, but his admiration for Lou Gehrig drew him to the famous pinstripes.

“I read the book Pride of the Yankees and from that point Lou Gehrig was my idol,” he said. “I had the same kind of deal with each [team] so I picked the Yankees.”

He was assigned to their Class D team in Independence, Kansas, and was joined by another local sensation, Mickey Mantle. They played together for two seasons, working their way up the ladder of the Yankees system.

“He came out of high school in 1949 and joined us in Independence,” he told me in a 2008 interview. “He had a pretty good year, but in Joplin, he was tearing the ball up. [He] hit like .380 or .390, something like that and had a fabulous year.”

Wiesler did well himself at Joplin in 1950, going 15-7 with a 2.35 ERA. His performance attracted the attention of the Yankees management, earning him an invite to a special rookie school with Mantle for further development.

“Mantle and I, and quite a few others that they called prospects were down there in Arizona,” he said. “I impressed them that much to go to spring training in Kansas City and I stayed with them.”

With only two years under his belt, Wiesler was one step away from the major leagues in AAA with Kansas City. He continued to harness his control while in AAA, testing his stuff against those who had major league experience.

“There were some good ballplayers there,” he said. “There were a lot of veterans that were up.”

About halfway through the 1951 season, Mantle and another young pitcher Tom Morgan were not progressing fast enough at the Major League level as the Yankees desired. Looking for a change, the Yankees recalled Wiesler who was among the league leaders in strikeouts.

Playing for the division leaders, Wiesler only had the opportunity to pitch in four games, including an 8-0 loss in his debut against the St. Louis Browns. Forcing the Yankees hand was Mantle, who hit .364 in 40 games with 11 home runs. The two switched places again on August 21st.

“They sent me back down in August,” he said to Hogan, “but they did send me a little check at the end of the year after they split the World Series money.”

Wiesler had little time to enjoy his World Series share, as he was activated from his National Guard service in November. He was sent to Fort Allen, Vermont, where he spent the entire 1952 season on active duty.

After working his way back into playing shape with a full season in at AAA in 1953, the Yankees gave Wiesler another shot in 1954. Just as he was getting his footing in the major leagues, the rug was abruptly pulled from beneath him.

“I had won three games for them,” he said, “and I was supposed to pitch on a Sunday [against Baltimore]. They signed Ralph Branca who was released; he traveled with us and threw batting practice. George Weiss decided to sign him and sent me back down. I wasn't too happy about that.”

Displeased with the decision, Wiesler begrudgingly accepted his demotion. He worked his way back to the Yankees in 1955 and lasted the entire season, en route to a World Series showdown with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He did not pitch in the World Series, but was on the roster to unfortunately witness Johnny Podres help the Dodgers take Brooklyn’s only championship.

Wiesler was selected to go on a tour of Japan with the Yankees after the season, playing in Hawaii and Manila en route to the Land of the Rising Sun. That trip was the last time he wore a Yankee uniform. Early in spring training, he was involved in a seven-player trade with the Washington Senators that included Whitey Herzog. He took the baseball elevator all the way to the proverbial basement.

“I went from a first-place club to a last-place club. It was kind of disappointing,” he said; however, the move did have a small advantage. “I got to pitch more at Washington— I got to start every fourth day.”

He did the bulk of his pitching with Washington in 1956, appearing in 37 games, starting 21, but was plagued by a lack of control. He walked 112 batters in 123 innings on his way to a 3-12 record. It was his last season as a regular in the major leagues, save for cups of coffee in 1957 and 1958.

He finished his playing career in 1961 with Dallas Fort-Worth, ending with a 7-19 record in 70 major league games. He went to work for Anheuser-Busch, and stayed involved with baseball by pitching batting practice for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1964-1968. It didn’t take long for him to reconnect with his Yankee roots.

“I started throwing batting practice for the Cardinals in 1964 and here I am pitching for them and they’re playing the Yankees in the World Series!”


* Note - Wiesler played in Independence, Kansas, in 1949, not Missouri as originally reported.

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Dwight Gooden comes clean about his addictions at Nassau County Health Fair

Dwight Gooden visited the Nassau County Health Fair and Expo on Saturday August 9, 2014 at Mitchell Field in Long Island to talk about his struggle with drug addiction during and after his baseball career and how he's kept himself clean for the past three years.

Below is video of Gooden's talk from the event.

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Video: Eric Young Jr. of the New York Mets on the influence of his family on his baseball career

Eric Young Jr. interviewed by Ray "Digmi" Navarrete - N. Diunte

Eric Young Jr. of the New York Mets stopped by the Digmi Nation store in Port Washington, N.Y., on August 2, 2014, as part of the store's Digmi Discussions series.

Below, Young Jr. talks about how playing in New York allows him to be close to his family in New Jersey, as well as the close relationship between him and his father, Eric Sr., a veteran of 15 MLB seasons.

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Art Schult, 86, Korean War vet played for four major league teams

Art Schult, an outfielder and first baseman who played parts of five seasons in the major leagues with the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Senators, and Chicago Cubs, passed away July 25, 2014 in Ocala, Fla. He was 86.

Schult was born June 20, 1928 in Brooklyn, N.Y., but moved just north of the city to White Plains when he was nine years old. He was a star at White Plains High School, earning his chops on the semi-pro circuit while he was still in school.

“[While] playing in high school, there was a team, the Bronx Bombers,” Schult said to me in a 2008 interview. “They played in Van Cortland Park. They would give me $25 to play on a Saturday and Sunday, and I was still in high school.”

Art Schult Signed Photo - Courtesy of Art Schult

He decided to go to Georgetown University, where he had an opportunity to play against top level competition in the prestigious Northern Summer League.

“I went to Georgetown before I signed,” he said. “I played in the college Northern League which was in Vermont and New Hampshire. I played up there against Robin Roberts and Johnny Antonelli.”

Schult drew the attention of Yankees scout Paul Krichell, who signed him to their Class B minor league affiliate in Norfolk, Va., in 1948.

He led the team in hitting and performed well enough in spring training the next season to make the jump all the way to Triple-A, one step away from the major leagues.

“I was supposed to go to Binghamton in the Eastern League,” he said. “I ended up in spring training because I led the club in hitting, so Buddy [Hassett] took me down as an extra.”

Schult was in over his head, batting only .185 in 16 games before being sent back to Binghamton where he was originally slated to go. He finished the 1949 season with Binghamton and played there again in 1950, batting .303. Just as things were starting to turn around, the United States Army called him into military service for the Korean War.

“I got stuck in a tank,” he said. “Being 6’4” I didn’t fit in the damn thing very well, so I couldn’t get out of the escape hatch in the bottom, so I would sit there slumped over all the time. It took me about a year to get any kind of agility back.”

While stationed at Fort Devens, Schult roomed with Whitey Ford, who was also his roommate in both Norfolk and Binghamton. They both returned to the Yankees in 1953, looking to pick up where their careers left off. Their return was featured in the April 20, 1953 issue of Life Magazine.

“I reported to the Yankees in spring training in 1953,” he said. “They had won three straight World Series at that point. Since I was with the Yankees before I went overseas, I was a returning serviceman.”

Being classified as a returning serviceman, the Yankees had to keep Schult on the roster when he returned. The decision to keep Schult on the roster had heavy financial implications.

Bill Dickey, Frank Verdi, Art schult (l-r) / LoneCadaver.com

“Returning serviceman had to be retained by who they were with before. They called me into the office and they said, ‘Well you should play every day. We understand what you went through.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but you sent me a contract for $5,000 dollars a year.’”

The Yankees wanted to send him back to the minor leagues where he would be guaranteed to play full-time; however, they were unwilling to match the salary of his major league contract.

“If I get sent to the minor leagues, I get $600 per month and I have a wife and a child to support. I’d play in East Overshoe, Idaho, but I wanted to get paid. They said, ‘Well you signed a contract, that’s what you’ll have to do.’”

During Schult’s era, players were bound by the reserve clause to their clubs and had little rights to challenge the decisions of management; however, he had one ace left up his sleeve.

“I said, ‘I refuse to report on the GI Bill of Rights.’ They thought I was a clubhouse lawyer, but I wanted to make my family happy too.”

The Yankees, taking revenge for Schult’s bold stance, kept him on the roster, but limited him to seven pinch-running appearances, never sending him to the plate.

“I had a few problems and run-ins with Mr. Weiss and Mr. Stengel,” he said. “I hung around until they sent me to Syracuse in June at the trade deadline.”

Two of the veterans on the club sought out the young rookie to give him advice.

“[Allie] Reynolds and [Vic] Raschi came up to me just before the trade deadline and said, ‘Look, you’re beating your head against the wall. You’re not going to get to play. We’ll remember you’ve been here a half a year. We’ll remember you come World Series time. We’re 11 games in front of the league now.’”

Despite the assurance from the elder statesmen, Schult had to wrestle with the front office to get his due.

“I went to the office; they [asked] if they gave me the $5,000, would I report. I said, ‘Well I want a raise to go now. We’re 11 games in front; I want a World Series share.’ Boy they screamed. But, I finally did go, and I did get one-third of a World Series share that year.”

Schult never returned to the major leagues with the Yankees, as they sold him to the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League in 1955. It was a welcome move for the 27-year-old at the time.

“It was better than traveling in the big leagues,” he said. “When we traveled in the big leagues back then, we went by train. Being 6’4”, those roomettes, I didn’t fit in them. In the Pacific Coast League, you would get on a plane, you would fly to the next town, and you would stay there a whole week. You would then fly to the next town. You could unpack your bag. It wasn’t like you played three nights in a town and went on. It made it easier on the body.”

The Rainiers won the pennant in 1955 under the guidance of Fred Hutchinson. The club, which was filled with players who had major league experience, thrived in the conditions of the league.

“I made more money out there than with the Yankees. We won the PCL and Fred Hutchinson managed us. He called us in and said, ‘There isn’t one guy in here that doesn’t know how to play the game; you’ve all been to the big leagues and back. The only rule I have is that you give me nine good innings and we’ll get along fine.’ We won the league.”

Schult flourished in Seattle, and after batting .306 in 1956, the Reds gave him a look in September.

“Cincinnati took me up at the end of the year,” he said. “I pinch hit over .400 for them even though I wasn’t up that many times.”

He remained with the Reds to start the 1957, but found it difficult to break through their All-Star outfield.

“In Cincinnati they had Frank Robinson, Gus Bell and Wally Post in the outfield,” he said. “I’d spell Post when he’d go in a slump. Most of us were pinch-hitters; they led the league in homeruns.” (Cincinnati finished second in the National League with 187 home runs.)

Halfway through the season, the Reds sold Schult to the Washington Senators. In Washington, he played the longest stretch of his major league career, appearing in 77 games, while batting .263 in 247 at-bats.

He played the 1958 season in the minor leagues and spent parts of 1959 and 1960 with the Chicago Cubs. His time with Chicago allowed him to be up close and personal with a Hall of Famer in the making, Ernie Banks.

“With the bat he was superior as a shortstop,” he said. “He had a little trouble traveling to his right. He used to cheat to his right side. He could go to the left really well. At that time, I was splitting time at first-base with Dale Long, so I got to take a pretty long look at him.”

He retired from baseball at the end of the 1960 season, finishing his major league career with a .264 batting average, six home runs and 56 RBIs in 164 games.

After baseball he took over his father’s fabric business while he had cancer. After his father passed away, he left the family trade to open a uniform rental business in Connecticut, which he operated until his wife passed away in 1984. He moved to South Florida before settling in Ocala in the mid 2000s.

Baseball remained in the family bloodlines as his son Jim followed in his footsteps after he was selected in the 33rd round of the 1981 draft by the Detroit Tigers. He hit .326 in his first season with their Rookie League team, but after suffering a broken hand, he moved on from professional baseball. He was later part of the inaugural class of Mercy College’s (NY) Hall of Fame, earning induction in 2006 after batting .470 for his collegiate career. His grandson Jim was the 2011 Division III Co-Player of the Year at Eastern Connecticut State. He went on to play three years for various minor league independent teams.

Speaking almost 50 years after his final major league game, Schult reflected on how difficult it was for the players of his era not only break in, but to stay in the major leagues.

“There were only eight teams in each league," he said. "There were so many [minor league] teams back then; it was like a chain gang. I made the majors counting everything in five years.

“When you had a club like the Yankees that we were trying to make that was set [it was tough]. I played in Newark, Kansas City and Seattle. If I had one more good year, I would have played in Japan! They kept on moving you sideways.”

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Remembering Greg Maddux in his finest hour

Greg Maddux pitched in 744 regular season games, many in heat filled pennant races with the Atlanta Braves during their nine-year playoff run from 1995-2003, but when he was asked after the announcement of his 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame induction about his best mound performance, he unequivocally responded with a 1995 mid-season game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Asked Maddux what was the best game he ever pitched. This is what he answered, immediately: 8/20/95, at St. Louis: http://t.co/AvRRRY6Vum

— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) January 9, 2014

On August 20, 1995, Maddux was the model of efficiency, needing only 88 pitches to shut down the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0. He dueled with Cardinals pitcher Mike Morgan, who matched Maddux by allowing only one run on 84 pitches in eight innings.

Greg Maddux / Jasen Leather

It is ironic that Maddux matched up with Morgan in his finest hour. Both attended Valley High School in Las Vegas (Morgan graduating in 1978, Maddux in 1984), learning under the careful guidance of area scout Ralph Meder. As a young kid, Maddux grew up watching Morgan pitch in high school, a teammate of his older brother Mike.

“I knew him at 11 years old when he watched me pitch when he was in grade school,” Morgan said in a phone interview on Friday.

Morgan, who has been actively working to rebuild the youth baseball programs in Park City, Utah, immediately remembered the quick pace of their match-up.

“It was an hour and fifty-three minutes or something like that,” he said. “They barely got a run off of me.”

The Braves scored first when Chipper Jones plated Marquis Grisson in the third inning on a ground out to second base.

With the Cardinals down by a run early in the game, catcher Danny Sheaffer knew that both pitchers were going to be unyielding with their offerings.

Sheaffer got one of the only two hits surrendered by Maddux in that game. Speaking recently with Sheaffer, who is the current manager of the Tampa Bay Rays rookie affiliate in Princeton, W.Va, he recalled the evening well.

“It was obvious from the first inning that one run may be the difference in this game,” Sheaffer said. “Both were in control and [the] hitters knew it; [the] umpires were expecting strikes and made it clear that was their intention, a fast paced, as well as a well-played game.”

Seemingly in a race to get back to the dugout, Maddux struck out nine, surrendering no walks while only allowing two hits — a lead off single to outfielder Brian Jordan in the fifth inning, and a lead off double to Sheaffer in the sixth.

“He’s the best, he’s the best,” Jordan told The Dispatch in 1995. “As long as he continues to do that, he’s going to continue to win Cy Youngs every year. I don’t think there’s another pitcher out there who has such control.”

The Cardinals did whatever they could to scratch a run home against Maddux. Jordan stole second after his single in the fifth, only to have Maddux retire the next three batters, stranding him in scoring position.

“At least I feel like I did something,” Jordan said about his attempt to score.

In the later innings both clubs worked feverishly to tally another run. Maddux and Morgan continued to stifle their efforts.

“[We threw] ten pitches an inning,” Morgan said. “We would get strike three on an 0-2 or a 1-2 pitch. We didn’t go from 0-2 to 3-2 at all that night.”

Positioned behind the plate, Sheaffer could feel the heightened sense of urgency by the two clubs as both pitchers breezed through the lineups.

“Both teams played the game as if one run was going to potentially win,” Sheaffer said. “Both teams focused [on] situational hitting and neither had success; that's how good both pitchers were.”

Taking matters into his own hands while walking to the batter’s box to start the sixth inning, Sheaffer decided on a more aggressive approach against Maddux.

“The deeper in the count we would get with Greg, the more he would force us to hit "his" pitch,” he said. “I didn't want to be in that position.”

Sheaffer took a mighty cut at a first pitch fastball and came within inches of evening the score.

“I came within a foot of tying the game,” he said. “Yes, it was a mistake in location looking back at the tape, but without that mistake we wouldn't have come close.”

Just as Maddux did in the previous inning after Jordan’s lead off hit, he sent the next three batters after Sheaffer down in order, quelling whatever resistance the Cardinals could muster.

Despite the quiet bats of his teammates, Morgan remained firmly entrenched in giving his club the best shot against the junior statesman from his hometown.

“I was locked in,” he said. “He was one pitch better that day.”

Maddux retired the Cardinals in order for the next three innings, diminishing their efforts to match the lone run from the Braves in the third inning.

“He was never overpowering, but in every at-bat he would always give the impression that he could do whatever he wanted to with the baseball,” Sheaffer said.

Although Maddux said that he tired after the seventh, he continued to pound the strike zone with his impeccable control.

“I kept getting the fastball in there,” Maddux said. “That was my best pitch tonight.”

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Ken Griffey's new book 'Big Red' sheds light on a family tradition

Create a strong lineage and your legacy will last forever. Following in the footsteps of Stan Musial, Ken Griffey left the small town Donora, Pennsylvania in search of a career that would be more exciting than a life working in the steel mills.

Ken Griffey Sr. (r.) with co-author Phil Pepe

Two World Series championships and an unprecedented father-son combination later, the Griffey name became synonymous with excellence in baseball. On Tuesday July 15, 2014, Griffey appeared with co-author Phil Pepe at Bergino Baseball Clubhouse in Manhattan to discuss their new book, “Big Red” (Triumph, 2014).

The video below is the entire 40 minute question and answer session with Griffey and Pepe about many topics in Griffey's career including his relationship with Ken Jr., the Big Red Machine, and why Billy Martin's treatment of a young Ken Jr. caused him never to sign with the New York Yankees.

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How Don Zimmer took the reins from Clemente and Mays in Puerto Rico

With a lineup that included Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays, it was very unlikely that a career .235 major league hitter would steal the spotlight, but for a week during the 1955 Caribbean Series, Don Zimmer reigned supreme.

Don Zimmer crossing home plate with Santurce

Zimmer was the starting shortstop on arguably the greatest winter league team ever assembled, the 1954-55 Santurce Crabbers.

“We had a team that I thought that could beat two-to-three of the lesser teams in the National League,” Zimmer said when spoke in 2011 at the MLB offices.

“We had Bus Clarkson at third base, I played short, Ronnie Samford at second, and George Crowe played first. Valmy Thomas and Harry Chiti caught. Mays, [Bob] Thurman and Clemente played the outfield. People laugh when I tell them that. They say, ‘No!’ I say, ‘Yes, that was our outfield.’ … That was a great club!”

Zimmer almost played his way out of Puerto Rico that winter, but was saved by the last minute due to some quick thinking by Santurce’s manager Herman Franks.

“I was struggling with Mayaguez and they let me go. There was some kind of rule that if I left Puerto Rico, then any other club could bring me back to Puerto Rico to play … went to Miami, and Herman Franks called me to play for Santurce … got on an airplane to Puerto Rico,” Zimmer said in Thomas E. Van Hyning’s "The Santurce Crabbers".

Holding down the middle of the infield, Zimmer helped Santurce breeze through the Puerto Rican Winter League for a spot in the Caribbean Series in Caracas. They were the clear favorites going into the series, much to the chagrin of Bobby Bragan who managed the Cuban entry from Almendares.

“I remember going to Caracas,” he said. “Bobby Bragan was managing the Cuban team. He said, ‘They said you got a good team, huh? You’ll wind up second.’ Ronnie Samford was in a bar that night with us, having a beer. I didn’t want to say nothing to Bragan, but Ronnie said, ‘You couldn’t beat us.’”

Samford was right, the Santurce team ran over the competition, winning their first five games to clinch the championship. Zimmer hit .400 with three home runs, including a leading off Game 2 against Panama with a circuit blast.

Zimmer earned MVP honors for his performance, besting his teammate Mays, who hit .462 after starting the series 0-14.

“I was a cinch to be the Most Valuable Player of the Caribbean Series, except Mays got hot the last two days and took over,” he said in 2011.

While Zimmer couldn’t duplicate the success that he had in Puerto Rico in the major leagues, the experience he gained from playing with all of the veterans from the Negro Leagues and the Caribbean was invaluable in shaping the rest of his career.

“I was just 21 years old,” he said. “Just being around them was good enough for me, learning and watching the way they went about things.”

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Mario Picone, pitcher for the 1954 New York Giants World Series team, dies at 87

Mario Picone, a pitcher for the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds from 1947-1954, passed away October 23, 2013 in Brooklyn, New York. He was 87.

Born July 5, 1926, the Bensonhurst native grew up playing sandlot ball at the fabled Parade Grounds for a team called the “Chiros.” It was on those fields where Picone, who didn’t play for his high school team, earned the attention of Giants scouts just before his 18th birthday in 1944.

Mario Picone

“I grew up in the Parade Grounds,” he said in a 2008 phone interview from his residence in Florida. “Someone [from the Giants] spotted me there. They had me for tryouts in Jersey and they signed me.”

The Giants sent Picone to Bristol, Tennessee to play for their farm team in the Class D Appalachian League. The rookie phenom wasted no time making an impression. On June 15, 1944, he struck out 28 batters in a 19-inning victory over Johnson City, setting a professional record at the time. It was a feat that Picone almost didn’t have a chance to achieve if his manager Hal Gruber had his way that evening.

“In those days, you tried to finish everything,” he said. “It got to be the 9th inning, 10th inning, 11th inning … It was a 2-2 tie. Hal Gruber was the manager. He came to me and said, ‘I’m going to take you out.’ I said, ‘No you’re not. I’ll stay right here. If you take me out because you think I’m tired, I’ll be on the bus tomorrow and I’ll go home.’ Sure enough he left me there. We went 19 innings. Art Fowler came in the bottom of the 19th and pinch hit for me, he got a single, we scored the run and we won 3-2.”

Picone was a rising star in the Giants organization, skipping a level of minor league ball the next season to play with Class B Richmond in 1945. He led the league with a 19-6 record and 202 strikeouts. This earned him a promotion to AAA Jersey City in 1946, one step closer to the major leagues and a front row seat for one of baseball’s most historic moments.

In 1946, the Jersey City Giants opened their season against the Montreal Royals. Playing second base for the Royals was Jackie Robinson. Picone watched in amazement from the bench as Robinson started in his quest to break baseball’s color barrier.

“The first game that Jackie Robinson played in 1946 in Jersey City, I was there,” he said. “He had a bad day (laughs). He had a single, a double, a triple, a home run, and I think he walked. Isn’t that something? He was great. Exactly the way he broke in.

“It seemed like the people were watching, yet they didn’t know what to expect. He showed them. He sure did!”

Picone made his major league debut at the end of Robinson’s historical 1947 campaign. The Giants called him up in September, appearing in two games against the Philadelphia Phillies, starting the first and relieving the second. While Picone didn’t earn a decision in either contest, he ended the season with a .500 batting average, roping a hit in his first major league at-bat.

“I got a double off of the right field wall against Schoolboy Rowe,” he said. “He was in the twilight of his career and he didn’t throw that hard. I was fortunate enough to swing and I got into one.”

Picone had two more trials with the Giants in 1952 and 1954, making the team out of spring training during the latter. In his extended look in with the Giants 1954, Picone managed a 5.63 ERA in 24 innings and was sold to the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds sent him to the minor leagues after 16 days on their major league roster. He never returned to the big show, ending his career with a 0-2 record with an ERA of 6.30 in 13 appearances. He retired shortly after the start of the 1956 season.

“I gave it up in 1956,” he said. “I went into the home improvement business.”

Even though Picone only pitched in nine games for the Giants’ 1954 World Series championship team, the Giants included Picone in their 50th anniversary celebration at AT&T Park. They flew him and his wife out to San Francisco, providing them with a VIP treatment that included a limousine and first class accommodations.

While Picone languished during his trials in the major leagues, he took great pride in his ability to pitch complete games, something that definitely fueled the 19-inning effort at the beginning of his career.

“If I had to pitch every fifth day and pitch five innings,” he said, “I would have been pitching today with the arm I had. I can honestly say this. One guy for one inning, another guy and then comes the closer. That’s how you figured you were going to a higher grade. You had to finish a complete game. It was as good as winning.”

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Rare footage of Ralph Kiner interviewing Roger Craig during Mets 1962 spring training

A predecesor to Kiner's Korner, this is rare footage of the late Ralph Kiner interviewing newly minted New York Mets pitcher Roger Craig in 1962 during the team's first spring training. Craig entered the majors in 1955 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Kiner's last year in the majors. They never faced off in a major league game, as Kiner was in the American League with the Cleveland Indians.

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Charlie Osgood | 17-year-old hurler for the Brooklyn Dodgers dies at 87

Charlie Osgood, a pitcher of one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1944, died January 23, 2014, in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. He was 87.

In the summer of 1944, with the Brooklyn Dodgers roster depleted by players leaving for their World War II service, Branch Rickey reached into the depths of his available talent pool to pluck seven different players aged 18 or younger to fill the void left by his departed veterans.

Charlie Osgood / Author's Collection

For one of his recruits, Rickey didn't have to look any farther than the Dodgers' family. Clyde Sukeforth, the Dodgers scout who later gained notoriety for his instrumental role in scouting and signing Jackie Robinson, had a nephew in Osgood who was a prized high school pitching star in Massachusetts. Desperate to stem their pitching woes, Rickey signed Osgood directly to the major league club.

Fresh from facing high school competition, Osgood comprised a Dodgers bullpen that included fellow teenagers Cal McLish and Ralph Branca, a trio so young that Harold C. Burr of The Sporting News dubbing Rickey’s nubile talent, “Brooklyn’s Nursery School.”

Osgood made his major league debut on June 18, 1944,  against the Philadelphia Blue Jays (nee Phillies) at the tender age of 17. Pitching in relief of his elder statesmen of McLish and Branca, he had difficulty with his control, walking three batters and hitting another. Despite his wildness, he managed to escape with allowing only one run in three innings of work. It would be his only appearance in the major leagues.

A few weeks after his debut, Burr reported in the July 6, 1944 edition of The Sporting News, that the Dodgers had sent Osgood to Class B Newport News for more seasoning. He finished the season shuttling between their farm clubs in Trenton and Montreal, playing a few games at each stop. At the end of the year, he was left unprotected by the Dodgers in the minor league draft and signed by the Chicago Cubs.

Osgood’s career was interrupted in 1945 to serve in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. He returned to the Cubs organization in 1946, and after two pedestrian seasons in the low minors, Osgood was out of professional baseball.

In his post-playing days, he graduated from Suffolk University and went on to work as a credit manager at the Boston Globe before retiring in 1988. For most of his retirement, Osgood remained elusive to fans and collectors, ignoring requests for interviews and signatures. Only in the last few years of his life, did he entertain some of the mail that was sent his way, including the homemade baseball card below.

Charlie Osgood

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LaTroy Hawkins remains outspoken on the declining number blacks in baseball

LaTroy Hawkins, the 41-year-old veteran who will start his 20th major league season next month, appeared Tuesday, January 20th on the MLB Network Radio to discuss his views behind the decline of African-American players in the majors.

“I think the numbers are down every year simply because inner city African-American kids, they know going to college on a baseball scholarship is almost extinct for them,” said Hawkins, who pitched most recently for the New York Mets in 2013.

LaTroy Hawkins 2004 Fleer Tradition - Paul Hadsall

Tim Keown, a senior writer for ESPN Magazine, pinned the impact of declining African-American participation in an April 2013 article for ESPN.com, not on the lack of recognizable black stars, but the rising industry surrounding youth travel baseball. The proliferation of expensive summer teams and the increasing commitment to year-round training have priced most African-American youths out of the game.

“The game of baseball for the amateurs, for the young kids, has gotten so expensive,” Hawkins said. “Travel ball teams are $1,500 to travel for the summer. If would have went to my mom and would have asked her, ‘Mom, I need $1,500 to play on this travel team with the best players in the state, she would have looked at me [and said] – Hey, little league is $35 … and its $50 for you and your brother. I think I know where you’ll be playing at.’”

Often, those exorbitant fees are just for the costs associated with running the programs – umpire fees, league fees, tournament fees, baseballs, field rentals, and in some cases, the salaries of the coaches. Families are still responsible for equipping their kids with increasingly expensive gear.

“In baseball, you need all of the equipment – glove, bat, spikes,” Hawkins said. “[Basketball] all you need is a pair of tennis shoes. You don’t take that for granted, but a majority of kids have a pair of tennis shoes that they wear to school.”

According to a study by Mark Armour and Dan Levitt of the Society for American Baseball Research, African-Americans only comprised 7.2% of all major league baseball players in 2012. Rates of African-American participation in the major leagues once were stabilized between 16% and 19% for a 25-year period from 1972-1996, but have now fallen to less than half that number.

One of the conclusions from the SABR study was that the steep decline was due in part to the expansion of roster spots in pitching and catching, two positions where African-American players have been grossly underrepresented.

Ironically, Hawkins, who is a member of the small fraternity of African-American pitchers in MLB, is one of the most vocal when it comes to this complicated subject. He has used his position to urge more teams to take a flyer on the raw talents that exist in the urban areas.

“I think teams need to take more chances on African-American kids from the inner city who hasn’t played as much baseball as the kid in the suburbs,” he said. “Get them in the system. Let them get on a minor league schedule where they’re playing baseball every day, all day long, [where] they’re learning, and getting professional instruction from your coaches in the minor leagues. That would mean the world in the percentage of African-American baseball players in the big leagues.”

Audio of the entire interview is below.

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Jerry Coleman, 89, remained proudest of his military service

Hall of Fame broadcaster Jerry Coleman, who was an infielder for the New York Yankees for nine seasons and a decorated veteran of World War II and the Korean War, passed away Sunday in San Diego. He was 89.

Jerry Coleman / Baseball-Almanac.com

Coleman worked as a broadcaster for the San Diego Padres since 1972, pausing in 1980 to take over the reins of the team for a season, posting a record of 73-89. He returned to the booth where a generation of fans fell in love with him for his work on the microphone. The Baseball Hall of Fame bestowed him with the prestigious Ford Frick Award in 2005. The Padres released the following statement regarding his death.

"The San Diego Padres are deeply saddened by the news today of the passing of Jerry Coleman. We send our heartfelt sympathy to the entire Coleman family, including his wife, Maggie, his children and grandchildren. On behalf of Padres' fans everywhere, we mourn the loss of a Marine who was truly an American hero as well as a great man, a great friend and a great Padre."

Fans of the Yankees associate number 42 with the great Mariano Rivera who just retired at the end of the 2013 season; however, Coleman sported the legendary number during his entire tenure with the team. He earned a spot on the 1950 All-Star team and was later that season named the recipient of the Babe Ruth Award by the BBWAA of New York for his performance in the World Series. By the end of his career, he amassed four World Series rings as a member of the Yankees.

Coleman’s baseball career was interrupted twice for both World War II and the Korean War. He spent three years in the Marines during World War II, amassing 57 missions as a dive bomber pilot. He was later recalled to active service during the Korean War, flying an additional 63 missions.

His military service is an experience he revered above all of his baseball accomplishments.

“I’ve had many wonderful things happen to me,” said Coleman to MLB.com in November, 2013, “nothing better than the day I was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and got my Navy wings of gold.”

He spoke frequently of his military service, with the hopes of keeping the flame alive for those who perished.

“There are tens of thousands of people who died for this country and we can cherish that thought for as long as we live.”

Below is an hour-long interview of Coleman with the San Diego Air and Space Museum.

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Charlie Silvera | A gentleman of the Yankees dynasty

Charlie Silvera is a gentleman for any era. Last week, after 18 months, I received this nice note and signed baseball card from the former New York Yankees catcher apologizing for the delay in responding to my letter. At the time of writing to him, I enclosed an article I wrote about the passing of his former teammate Duane Pillette.

The 88-year-old Silvera won five straight World Series rings as a member of the Yankees from 1949-1953. Serving as a backup to Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra, he only had one season when he had more than 100 at-bats. His teammates nicknamed him the "Payroll Bandit," because they jokingly felt he was stealing money from the club.

After his playing career finished, Silvera followed his good friend Billy Martin as a coach while he was with the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. He remained involved in the game as a scout with the Chicago Cubs as recently as 2011.

Silvera told some more inside Yankee stories about Berra, Martin and Joe DiMaggio to Ed Attanasio of This Great Game.

Below is a 15-minute 2012 interview from the Inside China Basin podcast where Silvera discusses his role in the Yankee dynasty and the San Francisco pipeline that fed the New York Yankees from DiMaggio through the championship teams of the 1950s.



Video of Charlie Silvera at the 2008 Yankees Old Timers Day

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Milwaukee Brave Denis Menke recalls the greatest game ever pitched 50 years later

On July 2nd, 1963, a 42-year-old Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves squared off against the 25-year-old Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants in a duel for the ages. Sixteen innings later, the game ended with one of the future Hall of Famers on the mound watching the flight of a home run by another legend carry off into exile. What transpired in between those 16 innings makes this matchup one that many experts argue is the greatest game ever pitched.

Denis Menke, just a few weeks shy of his 23rd birthday, was a promising infielder for the Braves learning under the tutelage of veterans such as Frank Bolling, Roy McMillan, and Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews. Menke started that game on the bench, but was unexpectedly tapped by manager Bobby Bragan to enter the game in the fourth inning.

Denis Menke - 1963 Topps

 
"Eddie [Mathews] got hurt, that's the only reason he came out of that game," the 72-year-old Menke said Tuesday evening from his home in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Menke spent the remaining 12 innings of the game at third base, cementing his place in the legendary contest.

"It was just amazing, the people that were involved in that game, it was really something," he said. "You think about it now all of the Hall of Famers that were in that game." (There were seven future Hall of Famers that participated in that game, and an eighth in Gaylord Perry in the bullpen for the Giants.)

He managed two hits off of the stingy Marichal, who struck out ten Braves hitters that day. Despite the Dominican pitcher's dominance, Menke felt comfortable in the box.

"I didn't mind facing Marichal because I knew he was always going to be around the plate," he said. "He was going to give you a pitch to hit, what you did with it was up to you. He could throw a strike from any position, sidearm, overhand, three-quarters ... any pitch! That was what was amazing about him."

Maybe even more impressive than Marichal's efforts was the performance of Spahn at that stage in his career. At 42, he was a year older than the Giants manager Alvin Dark and still excelling at his craft.

"With Spahnie, I don't think he ever thought his age came into play," Menke said. "He was such a competitor and he just enjoyed the competition. I think that's one reason why he just kept on going. He had one of those great arms that could keep on throwing. His motion was so good. It was just one of those things you had to marvel at."

As each team put up zeroes, it became an increasing battle of wits between the two mounds men. Neither man wanted to leave the game. Pitch counts be damned, their pride was a bigger issue.

"You look at Marichal on the other end that was 25-years-old. He wasn't going to let a 42-year-old man to show him up. He wasn't going to come out of that game," Menke said.

The Braves had a scare in the 9th inning when Willie McCovey hit a towering fly ball down the left field line. Menke, who was playing third base, took a long look at it and couldn't tell whether the ball was fair or foul.

"McCovey in the 9th inning hit one just foul," Menke said. "Nobody knows if it was really foul. In Candlestick, they way the wind blew, McCovey hit 'em so high, it was hard to tell if it was fair or foul. I was on the third base side and they asked me if I could tell and I said, 'Nope.' For our sake, the umpire made the right call."

Both teams barely reached base in the extra frames until the 14th inning when an error by Menke loaded the bases for the Giants. Spahn extinguished that fire by getting catcher Ed Bailey to hit a pop-up to center field, but when Willie Mays stepped to the plate in the 16th, it was 1951 all over again. Mays garnered his first major league hit, a home run off of Spahn in 1951.

The Giants center fielder wasted no time this at-bat, and hit Spahn's first offering over the left-field fence for a home run. Spahn said it was a screwball that, "didn't break worth a damn." Finally after four hours, the game was over.

Spahn finished the year 23-7, tying his 1953 for his best season ever. It would also be his last effective run in the majors. He would pitch two more years in the major leagues, posting marks of well under .500 for the Braves, New York Mets and ironically the Giants. Marichal ended 1963 with a 25-8 record, starting a string of four consecutive 20-win seasons. The two would combine for 606 career victories, earning them both enshrinement in Cooperstown.

A half-century later, this particular contest left an indelible mark on Menke, an incredible feat for someone who spent 40 years as a player, coach, and minor league manager.

"I give those two pitchers a lot of credit because I don't think we'll ever see a game like that again."

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Bronx native Larry Miggins recalls Jackie Robinson's first day in the minor leagues

Jackie Robinson’s impact on baseball was felt immediately the moment he stepped on the field for the Montreal Royals in their season opener against the Jersey City Giants on April 18, 1946. In addition to all of the social implications behind Robinson’s debut, his 4-for-5 performance that included a home run, two bunt singles, and two runs scored by causing Jersey City’s pitchers to balk, left an indelible mark on his opposition.

Larry Miggins’ view of Robinson’s eye opening performance remains vivid some sixty-seven years later. The 20-year-old Bronx, New York native manned third base for Jersey City that day and had no trouble recalling how the day’s events unfolded.

“I remember it well,” the 87-year-old Miggins said from his home in Houston, Texas. “It was a full house, 45,000 fans. The place was packed.”

Larry Miggins

As the team went over its pre-game scouting report, information on Robinson’s tendencies were limited to what the manager had seen during batting practice. The Giants and Royals were due to meet in spring training, but the game was cancelled when officials in Jacksonville, Fla., upheld a city ordinance that did not permit mixed racial competition.

“Most of the guys were known by somebody, but when it came to Robinson nobody ever had seen him play,” Miggins said. “Our manager Bruno Betzel said he saw during batting practice that Robinson was a strong pull hitter. He said to me, ‘Miggins, you play him deep at third base.’”

Following his coach’s orders, Miggins positioned himself as instructed. During Robinson’s first two at-bats, the ball didn’t come Miggins’ way, as he grounded out to shortstop his first time up, and then hit a 335-foot home run down the left field line.

Expecting another powerful shot by Robinson, Miggins held his ground behind the third base bag as Robinson approached for his third at-bat.

“Next time up, I’m playing back, deep behind third base,” said Miggins. “He bunted and dropped one down. I could throw a ball through a brick wall in those days, so I pick it up and fire to first base and it was a real close play, safe. He could run too you know. He beat it out.”

Robinson proceeded to hit a single to right-center field during his fourth at-bat, which set the stage for Miggins to have another close encounter with the Royals second baseman. He did not think that Robinson would test him a second time with a bunt.

“Like an idiot, I’m playing him back at third base again the fifth time up. He dropped another bunt down and beat it out,” said Miggins. It was a lesson learned for the young infielder. “I gave him two hits that day and he never bunted again on me because I played him even with the bag from then on.”

Miggins went on to play parts of two seasons in the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1948 and 1952, but his involvement with Robinson’s debut is one that he wears with a sense of pride and humor.

“They got him into the Hall of Fame and there he was, Rookie of the Year, MVP, and a World Series Champ, all because of the great start I gave him in baseball!” said a laughing Miggins. “I gave him two hits opening day and he never stopped from there, he just kept going. I always look back and that 4-for-5 opening day gave him a thrust for his whole career.”

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'Bullet' Bob Turley, 1958 Cy Young winner, passes away at 82

"Bullet" Bob Turley has run out of ammunition. The 1958 Cy Young Award winner passed away Saturday evening from liver cancer in a hospice care center in Atlanta. He was 82.

Turley broke in with the St. Louis Browns in 1951 before being drafted into the Army during the Korean War. He returned in 1953 and stayed with their franchise as they moved to Baltimore in 1954.

Bob Turley in 1959 / Sports Illustrated

The right-hander was given the ball for the Orioles first home game on April 15, 1954. Opposing Turley that day was Virgil Trucks of the Chicago White Sox, who also passed away earlier in the week. Turley pitched a complete game, striking out nine batters while surrendering only one run.

"I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous going out there," said Turley to the Baltimore Sun in 2009. "But I pitched the whole game. Had to. Back then, if you didn’t go nine, they sent you back to the minors."

In their inaugural season, Turley led the team in wins and innings pitched, while his 185 strikeouts were enough to lead the American League. He won the team’s Most Popular Oriole award, which was done by fan voting. His prize was a brand new Cadillac. Author Gene Fehler told the story of Turley’s teammate Cal Abrams in “When Baseball Was Still King,” that the award wasn’t without some controversy.

“Halfway through the season, I was leading the popular by so many that I thought I had the Cadillac,” Abrams said. “At the end of the year, Bob Turley had doubled what I had, and I couldn’t figure out how until a few years later. He had told all the kids in the park to go in the stands and pull the coupon out of the booklet and put his name on it and stick it into the barrel, and that’s how he won.”

Turley’s advocacy for his cause was not enough to keep him in Baltimore past that first year. Baltimore’s most popular player was involved in a 17 player trade that included Don Larsen going to the Yankees, in return for a group of players that included Gus Triandos, who died on Thursday. (After baseball, Turley went into business with Triandos.)

He spent the next eight years in pinstripes, winning two World Series championships in 1956 and 1958. The latter championship season was Turley’s marquee year. He won the Cy Young award in 1958, going 21-7 while pitching a league leading 19 complete games. He capped off the season with two victories in the World Series, earning the Most Valuable Player award in the process. He attributed his success that season to his endurance on the mound.

“When I left spring training, I had to pitch nine innings in a spring training game before the season started," said Turley in a 2009 phone interview conducted by the author. "They take them out real early now.”

Known for his fastball, Turley became more efficient as he matured as a pitcher. He realized that he didn’t need to strike out every batter he faced.

“I would throw the sinker, and they would hit the top of it and it would get me out of innings pretty quickly," he said. "I developed a slider too. The biggest thing was, they hit it. When I reached back and threw a fastball, they'd tip it or swing and miss. You want them to hit it.”

Turley was sold to the Los Angeles Angels prior to the start of the 1963 season and split time with the Angels and the Boston Red Sox that year before retiring.

In his post-baseball career, Turley made millions as the national sales director for Primerica Financial Services. He told Sports Illustrated in 2001 that the currency of playing for the Yankees advanced him in his entrepreneurial pursuits.

"It helped me in the business world," he said, "Playing with the Yankees gave me the credibility to make the money Roger Clemens makes, and in business, credibility is your name.”

In retirement, he remained a fan favorite, graciously obliging his fans when he returned for Yankees Old Timers Day.

“I can’t understand some of these players today,” he said. “Nothing ever bothered me, signing autographs, doing interviews. You have all the privacy you want when you get out of the game.”

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