Remembering Jackie Robinson

This past April 15 marked the sixty-fifth anniversary of Jackie Robinson becoming the first African-American to play Major League baseball.  When Robinson put on the Brooklyn Dodger uniform to play at Ebbet’s Field against the Boston Braves on April 15, 1947; he broke through the racial barriers that had been established by Major League team owners since before the turn of the century.   To baby boomers like me who were infants during his Major League career, Jackie Robinson was an African-American sports pioneer that continued to fight for the civil rights of his race long after he retired from playing.  But what I did not fully understand at the time was how good Jackie Robinson played baseball.

My love affair with baseball began when I was six years old in 1957, the year after Robinson retired.  So I was not able to collect his baseball card, look at the baseball box scores in the daily newspaper sport pages during the summer to see how well he did, or see him play on television.  The Jackie Robinson I saw marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights campaigns of the 1960’s.  With his speckled gray and black hair, Robinson had an authoritarian voice that spoke out for the concerns of black people with strength and courage that got attention.   As a young black baseball fan, I realized Jackie Robinson was on a higher pedestal than Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Ernie Banks and the other African-American players I idolized whose careers were in progress.

But after reading a number of the books published about  Robinson written since 1997, the 50 year anniversary of his erasing of baseball’s “invisible color line”; I have an awakened revelation of his playing career.  Although Robinson was not the best player in the Negro Leagues when the Dodgers signed him from the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945, he had an outstanding Major League career. 

He was named National League Rookie of the Year in 1947.   Robinson was voted National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1949 and was in the top ten receiving votes for the award three other seasons.  With a career batting average of .311, Robinson hit over .300 six times and under .295 only twice.  He scored over 100 runs six seasons, and had over 150 hits in seven.  Selected for six All Star Games, Robinson batted .333 in the mid-summer classics.  He also led the National League in stolen bases twice.    

From 1947 -1956, the Dodgers won six National League pennants and one World Championship.  While Pee Wee Reese was the field captain of those winning Dodger teams, Jackie Robinson was the emotional leader; the teams’ heart and soul.  A fierce competitor, his aggressive playing style sometimes antagonized opponents; but it brought an excitement to the game fans had not seen.

What has to be remembered is the pressure he was under.   All that Robinson accomplished his first years was done with the weight of his race on his shoulders.  At the very least, he had to be better than mediocre white players to make it.  If he had failed, who knows how long it would have been before the door opened again for black ballplayers.  But Jackie Robinson did not fail.  Because of his late start, he was 28 years old his first Major League season, Robinson played only 10 years.  But his performance on the diamond during his relatively short career changed baseball forever. 

What are your memories of Jackie Robinson?

1965: A year of change for baseball

The last year I collected baseball cards was 1965, one sign of the late beginning of my adolescence.  The nation was also going through changes that year.  It was the first full year of President Lyndon Johnson’s administration.  Malcolm X was assassinated that winter (February 21).  And after bloody civil rights demonstrations in Selma, Alabama, the Voting Rights Bill of 1965 was passed by Congress that summer.  The passing of time results in changes to each aspect of our lives, even to the game we love; baseball. There were three changes in Major League baseball that occurred or were about to occur during the 1965 season I remember.

The frustration of New York Yankee haters finally was relieved in 1965.  After winning the American League pennant nine out of the previous 10 years and four World Series, the stronghold the dreaded Yankees had on the rest of the league was over.  The effect of aging and nagging injuries had taken its toll on Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Roger Maris and the other core players on the team.  Their farm system was not able to restock the team with young players with big league talent.  And they could no longer dump their older players in trades for younger prospects of other teams as they had done in the past.  Losing the 1963 and 1964 World Series were clear signs of the team’s pending demise.  In 1965, they finished in sixth place and would not win their next pennant until 1976,

The Houston Colt 45’s were renamed the Houston Astros and opened the season playing in the first indoor baseball stadium, the Astrodome; called “The Eighth Wonder of the World”.  The first game in the new facility was an exhibition contest between the Astros and New York Yankees on April 9; and Mickey Mantle hit the first Astrodome home run.

My first exposure to baseball was from Henry Aaron and the World Champion 1957 Milwaukee Braves.  However, by 1965; only Aaron and an aging Eddie Mathews were the remaining star players from the successful  Braves teams that won more games than any other National League franchise between 1953 and 1960 (719).  With fan attendance in Milwaukee declining and a great financial opportunity luring by becoming the first Major League franchise in the south, Braves management moved the team to Atlanta after the season. 

What do you remember about the 1965 baseball season?

Remembering Don Mincher

During the late 1950s and early 1960s there were many utility players in the American League that would have been perfect Designated Hitters.  They were good at hitting a baseball, but had fielding liabilities that kept them on the bench accept for pinch hitting situations.  But the American League did not put the Designated Hitter Rule into place until 1974, after the careers of these players were over.  Don Mincher was one those players.  Mincher died this past March 4, 2012, he was 73 years old.

Initially signed by the Chicago White Sox in 1956, Mincher was a part of the successful effort to be competitive by the lowly Washington Senators in 1960.  He was acquired from White Sox that April, but Senators’ fans did not get to see much of him.  The team moved to Minneapolis after the season and became the Minnesota Twins.

By 1964, the Twins were a contending team with a power hitting line up of future Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall, Earl Battey, and 1964 newcomer Tony Oliva; all capable of hitting the ball a long way.  When Don Mincher played first base in place of Killebrew, opposing pitchers did not get much of a break.  Mincher was also a home run threat.

After the Twins hit six home runs against my hometown Kansas City A’s on May 2 that year; my friends and I decided to go see this power show on display the next day.   The A’s won both games of the doubleheader, but what I remember most was the rocket shot home run Mincher hit the second game.  

When Killebrew missed a part of the next season, 1965, due to injury; Mincher stepped in and helped the Twins win the pennant.  He hit 22 home runs and drove in 65 runs.  He also hit a home run in the Twins’ Game 1 World Series win.

Leaving the Twins after 1966, Mincher became an All Star at first base for the California Angels in 1967 and the Seattle Pilots in 1969.  His last season was 1972, the year before the Designated Hitter Rule was initiated.  Mincher would have been the ideal Designated Hitter.  He hit 200 career home runs as basically a reserve player.   I believe he would have been a nightmare for opposing pitchers as a DH.

Who else do you think would have been a good DH from Mincher’s era?  What about Gates Brown or Dick Stuart?   

Who was C. I. Taylor?

On this past January 28, 2012, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum had its Twelfth Legacy Awards ceremony.    The awards were given to Major League players and managers chosen by the museum for their outstanding performances during the 2011 season and other individuals recognized for outstanding achievement in baseball.   Each award is named after a baseball pioneer drawn from the archives of Negro League baseball.  The museum is in Kansas City where the first official Negro baseball league, the Negro National League, was formed in 1920.

One highlight of the evening was Texas Rangers’ Manager Ron Washington receiving the CI Taylor Award for American League Manager of the Year.  Washington has gained national attention by leading his team to winning the American League pennant the last two seasons.  But the award also brings deserved attention for whom it is named, CI Taylor. 

Who was CI Taylor?  Negro League baseball was criticized for having unstructured teams with undisciplined players.  Although some of the criticism was valid, it unfairly became a stereotype of all Negro League teams.  However, neither the criticism nor stereotype was true for Charles Isham (CI) Taylor.

Co-owner and manager of the Indianapolis ABC’s (1914 -1921), CI Taylor was a strict disciplinarian that had a dress code for his players.   The son of a Methodist minister, Taylor’s manner was different than most of his contemporaries, black or white.  He did not curse, nor rant and rave at his players. There was a sense of calm and composure about him rarely seen on a baseball field.  Described as being fair, honest, and patient; Taylor was well liked by his players.  CI taught them the fundamentals of the game and many went on to be managers themselves in Negro League baseball.  He was especially a mentor for his brother, Ben, and Oscar Charleston, both in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  

Most importantly, CI Taylor’s teams won.  His 1916 ABC team was the best black team in the midwest that year.

When the first official Negro League was formed in 1920, Taylor played a key role.  His team was a charter member of the Negro National League (NNL) and he was the league’s Vice-President.  Taylor’s unexpected death in 1921, at age 48 was a setback for Negro League baseball.   Without his leadership, the ABC’s disbanded after the 1923 season.

Who is your favorite manager from the archives of baseball history?

Baseball free agency and the 'hot stove league'

The “hot stove league”, the winter off season for professional baseball, is a time for baseball fans to look forward to the upcoming new season with enthusiasm and optimism about their favorite teams.    Baseball’s winter off season has become shorter because of Major League Baseball’s expansion.   Whereas the World Series used to be over before mid-October, this past season officially ended on October 28 and spring training for each Major League club will begin in less than a month.          

But the major change in the “hot stove league” has occurred because of player free agency.  The biggest attention grabber during winter used to be blockbuster trades.  In December, 1965, the Cincinnati Reds traded All Star Frank Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles.  Robinson won the American League Triple Crown and Most Valuable Player award that next season and helped Baltimore win four pennants and two World Champions.  What “hot stove league” trade do you remember that helped your favorite baseball team?

But now free agent signings are what stoke the coals during the winter.  This past December, three time National League MVP Albert Pujois left the St. Louis Cardinals and signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  And last week, Milwaukee Brewer All Star slugger Prince Fielder signed with the Detroit Tigers.  Due to free agency, over 40 players will take the field next season with a different team.  For baseball fans of the free agency generation, dramatically different team rosters from year to year have always been an aspect of the game.

Baseball fans of the “baby boom” generation; however, fell in love with the game when players were bound to the team in which they signed their first professional contract.  Player movement was totally controlled by team owners.  It was not a good system for the players, but it was great for fans because the core of their team stayed together year to year.   St. Louis Cardinals fans did not have to worry about losing Stan Musial, Ken Boyer, Bob Gibson, or Bill White to free agency. 

But, free agency is more beneficial for the players.  They are no longer “well paid slaves” as the late Curt Flood, former Cardinal, called them.  So forgive us baby boomers if we miss those times when teams were together longer.  We are still adjusting.

  What “hot stove league” trade do you remember that helped your favorite baseball team?

The first Cy Young Award winner

Who is your favorite Los Angeles Dodger pitcher?  The franchise has a deep history and tradition of producing good pitchers.  The Dodgers have continued to build their teams around pitching and defense which best accommodates the “pitcher friendly” outfield dimensions of Dodger Stadium. 

Is your favorite Dodger pitcher the late Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Fernando Velenzula or Orel Hershiser?   What about Clayton Kershaw who last month became the eighth Dodger pitcher to win the National League Cy Young Award? 

My favorite all-time Dodger pitcher is the subject of this week’s Negro League Baseball history fact.  Don Newcombe began his pitching career in Negro League Baseball with the Newark Eagles in 1945.  The next year he was signed by Brooklyn Dodger General Manager Branch Rickey and became the pitching stalwart of their pennant winning teams of the late 1940s and early 1950s.  In 1956, Newcombe was the first recipient of the initial Cy Young Award.

A power pitcher, Newcombe started by going 17 – 8 in 1949 and winning the National League Rookie of the Year award.  He won 19 games in 1950, 20 Games in 1951.   After missing the 1952 and 1953 seasons while in the Army and struggling through a year of readjustment in 1954, Newcombe won 20 games in 1955.

For the first 10 years (1956 – 1966) of the Cy Young Award, there was no separate winner for the American and National Leagues.  Only 1 pitcher received the award each of those years. In 1956, Newcombe was 27 – 6 with a 3.06 ERA and five shutouts.  He was chosen to receive the award that season over Warren Spahn, Robin Roberts, Whitey Ford, and Early Wynn; all Hall of Fame pitchers. Newcombe also was named National League Most Valuable Player, the first of only seven pitchers to win both awards the same year.

Although Newcombe won big games to help the Dodgers win pennants, he could never replicate his great regular season performances in the World Series.  The 256 innings pitched he averaged yearly would take a toll on him come October.  In five World Series games against the powerful New York Yankees, he was 0 – 4.

Newcombe was not the greatest Dodger pitcher.  His career record of 149 – 90 will not get him into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.  However, he was the first successful black starting pitcher in the Major Leagues.   

Who was your favorite Major League pitcher in the 1950s or 1960s?

1962 World Series disappointment

As a baseball fan, losing the World Series leaves you feeling deep disappointment.  It is a deeper hurt than your favorite football team losing the Super Bowl.  That is just one game.  But with the World Series, you have the emotionally draining ebb and flow of each game.  Texas Ranger fans are still reeling from losing this year’s Series, especially after coming so close to winning it all in Game 6.  What has been the most disappointing World Series lost for you?        9D79XSUG6D3F

The pain from losing the 1962 World Series resurfaced for me last month when I met former New York Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry at a Kansas City Baseball Historical Society meeting.  The Yankees played the San Francisco Giants that year.  New York was the defending champion and was favored, but my heart was with Willie Mays and the Giants.

Ralph Terry had been the Yankee’s goat of the 1960 World Series.  He surrendered the last of ninth inning, 7^th Game winning Home Run to Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Terry also struggled in the 1961 World Series the Yankees won against the Cincinnati Reds.    He was the losing pitcher in Game Two, the Reds only win.  The Yankees staked him a 6 – 0 lead  in their Series clinching Game Five, but Terry could not get through the 3^rd inning and did not record the win.  Terry won 23 games during the 1962 regular season, but he had memories of those past World Series performances he had to erase.  However; it started badly for him, he lost Game Two of the Series 2-0.

His World Series losing streak ended when he won Game 5; 5 – 3, giving the Yankees a 3 – 2 Series lead.  A Northern California rain storm cancelled Game 6 a Series record 3 times.  When play resumed, the Giants won and set the stage for a chance of Ralph Terry’s total vindication in Game Seven.

In that game, Terry led the Giants 1 – 0 going into the bottom of the ninth inning.   With two outs, Matty Alou singled and Mays doubled.  The next batter was Willie McCovey who had tripled in the seventh inning and homered off Terry in Game Two.  McCovey hit a line drive to Second Baseman Bobby Richardson to end the Series.  Giant fans still speculate about the outcome being different if McCovey’s drive was a few feet to the right or left.

It has been 49 years since the 1962 World Series, but seeing Ralph Terry last month brought back my painful memories of it.  It was a Series that ended in frustration for me, but final vindication for him.

What has been your most disappointing World Series lost?