Friday, June 09, 2006 |
Today's Birthdays
Tom Egan CAL b. 1946, played 1965-1970, 1974-1975. A weak-hitting reserve catcher for the early Angels, he started out as a promising high school All-American at third base, signing for $100,000 in 1964. The Angels converted him to catcher and he never quite stuck in the majors, taking five years before he appeared in more than 50 games in one season. He allowed five passed balls in a July 28, 1970 game against the Yankees, but none others that year. Traded to the White Sox along with one of my sister's favorite players, Jay Johnstone, he resurfaced in a Halo uniform when the team got him back in the Rule 5 draft. He retired after the 1975 season, with the dubious career achievement of striking out in about a third of his at-bats.
Julio Gotay CAL b. 1939, played 1965
Irish Meusel BRO b. 1893, played 1927, d. 1963-03-01
Dave Parker CAL b. 1951, played 1991, All-Star: 1977, 1979-1981, 1985-1986, 1990. An undeniably great outfielder with the last of the great Pittsburgh teams of the 1970's and early 80's, the Angels got him on his penultimate stop to retirement; they released him in September, 1991, and he shuffled off to Toronto. The guy the Angels traded for him? Dante Bichette, a four-time All-Star with the Rockies whose offensive output, while undoubtedly plumped by the thin air at Colorado, ended up being better (.323/.348/.433 away) than anything the Angels got in 1992 from any of their starting outfielders Chad Curtis, Junior Felix, or Luis Polonia. An object lesson for those itchy to trade the younguns.
Mack Wheat BRO b. 1893, played 1915-1919, d. 1979-08-14. Rhyming brother of all-time Dodger great Zach Wheat (which see), he never did hit much, and ended his career after the 1921 season in a Philadelphia uniform.
: 6/09/2006 10:46:00 AMThe most unlikely back-to-back extra base hit parade I saw in person occurred on 27 Sep 1970. The Oakland A's lead-off man Allan Lewis homered and Tony La Russa followed with a triple off of Greg Garrett in the 4th inning. That was the only major league home run hit by Lewis, who usually was a designated runner. Indeed Lewis scored more runs (47) and stole more bases (44) than he had at bats (29) in his ML career. The triple was one of 2 that La Russa hit in the big leagues. Tony never homered in the majors.
: 6/09/2006 03:02:00 PM : 6/10/2006 06:55:00 AMNewer› ‹Older
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