6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

Bert Griffith BRO b. 1896, played 1922-1923, d. 1973-05-05

Jesse Jefferson CAL b. 1949, played 1981

Willie Keeler BRO b. 1872, played 1893, 1899-1902, Hall of Fame: 1939 (BBWAA), d. 1923-01-01. A tremendous bat-control man marked by high-.300 OBPs throughout his career, "Wee Willie" owned three National League batting titles, and had one of the best nicknames in the history of the game to boot. He was a master of the "Baltimore Chop", a swinging bunt with the bat choked up almost halfway, designed to hit the hardened ground in front of home plate. The resulting skyball bounced well over the infielders' heads, and the speedy Keeler easily got to first. Keeler was one of several important players on the Baltimore Orioles who later got traded to the Dodgers when the two teams were merged during syndication, a move that proved immediately profitable for both clubs, but later provided the impetus for the formation of the American League.

Keeler remains in the Dodgers record books for his high averages; two of the best single-season batting averages (.379 in 1899 and .362 in 1900) are his, and he has the franchise best career average, of .352. He's also on the leaderboard for single-season runs scored (140 in 1899), hits (216 in 1899), and singles (first with 190 in 1899, 175 in 1900, 170 in 1901, and 161 in 1902).

He was one of few players to wear the uniforms of three New York teams. After his playing days, bachelor Keeler made his fortune in real estate. "I hit 'em where they ain't," he said. It's still good advice.

Joe Koukalik BRO b. 1880, played 1904, d. 1947-01-02

Bobby Locke CAL b. 1934, played 1967-1968

Ed Phelps BRO b. 1879, played 1912-1913, d. 1942-01-31

Scott Radinsky LAN b. 1968, played 1996-1998

Paul Schaal CAL,LAA b. 1943, played 1964-1968, 1974

Ed Sukla CAL,LAA b. 1943, played 1964-1966

John Ward BRO b. 1860, played 1891-1892, Hall of Fame: 1964 (Veterans), d. 1925-03-04. Pitcher, shortstop, manager, and attorney, Ward filled a variety of shoes in his career, but is most famous in his legal role. He twice pitched nearly 600 innings with the Providence Grays, going 47-19 as a 19-year-old; Ward was only two years a Dodger in the latter stages of his career. He and Ned Hanlon formed the first players' union which resulted in the disastrous Player's League; later, Ward was partly responsible for organizing one of the first labor agreements in baseball, the idea that a team couldn't cut a player's salary and keep the reserve clause in force. It lasted one year. He also represented Fred Pfeffer when unpopular Giants owner Andrew Freedman cut him from the team and denied him his salary. It was one of many acts that ultimately cost Ward a shot at becoming NL President, a job he lost by one vote; the owners still hated him, even years later.

Bruce Aven LAN b. 1972, played 2000-2001

Hiram Bocachica LAN b. 1976, played 2000-2002

Giovanni Carrara LAN b. 1968, played 2001-2002, 2004-2005. There hasn't been any news about him, so I don't know where he is these days. Last I checked, he'd been sent down to Las Vegas. Good luck, Gio; you were always one of my favorites.

Johnny Enzmann BRO b. 1890, played 1914, d. 1984-03-14

Bill Hart BRO b. 1913, played 1943-1945, d. 1968-07-29

Jim Korwan BRO b. 1874, played 1894, d. 1899-07-24

Leron Lee LAN b. 1948, played 1975-1976

Lefty O'Doul BRO b. 1897, played 1931-1933, All-Star: 1933, d. 1969-12-07. Had a brief and relatively unsuccessful career as a pitcher, which ended at 26. Returning to the PCL as an outfielder, he taught himself to hit and five years later was back in the majors, posting a .398 average with the Phillies in 1929. Later a manager with his hometown San Francisco Seals in the PCL, his memory is enshrined in a restaurant and bar that bears his name, not far from AT&T Park.

Jeff Pfeffer BRO b. 1888, played 1913-1921, d. 1972-08-15

Dazzy Vance BRO b. 1891, played 1922-1932, 1935, Hall of Fame: 1955 (BBWAA), d. 1961-02-16. A great player on a number of mediocre-or-worse, carousing Brooklyn teams known as the "Daffiness Boys", Vance led the NL seven times in strikeouts, and in K/9 eight times, all with the Dodgers.

Vance came to the Dodgers as a quirk. He had already burned out his arm pitching in the minors; finally, surgery and a manager in New Orleans willing to let him pitch on four days rest instead of three proved the trick. But the Dodgers weren't interested in Vance; they wanted his batterymate, catcher Hank DeBerry, and were forced into taking Vance. Funny how deals in baseball work out.