best swing in BB

[skate]

watching Ryan Howard brings this to mind

makes it look easy

[OTM Al]

Its is an interesting comment you make, but maybe not for the reason you made it. Have you ever noticed that basically every player that is ever referred to as having a "sweet swing" is a lefty?

One arguement that was put out there was that the lefty's motion is more natural as the swing puts him in motion down toward first base whereas the righty has to twist around to head toward the bag. This seemed plausible until I brought up the issue with a couple friends who were from India who had taken to baseball, probably due to a lack of cricket. They heard this arguement and replied that the cricket players that had the sweetest swings were also all lefties. If you know how cricket is played, there are only 2 wickets (think bases), so the batter having hit the ball from either side would run straight forward rather than off at a 45 degree angle. So that pretty much destroyed the theory for lefties in baseball.

So we are back to the beginning. Why do lefties have the sweetest swings?

[46zilzal]

any one of the pretty girls who retrieve the foul balls.

[Dave Schwartz]

Baseball has tremendous advantages for left-handed hitters. A hit past the 1st baseman is often worth three bases while the same hit to left is only worth two. The impact of such hit placement on advancing runners from 1st to 3rd is even more important.


Dave Schwartz

[Overlay]

Baseball has tremendous advantages for left-handed hitters.

I've always been left-handed and thrown left, but was naturally (and exclusively) right-handed in swinging a bat or a golf club. I never could figure that out. I still remember looking through a book on the Baseball Hall of Fame when I was a kid, trying to find some member that had that same combination. The only one I recall seeing at that time was Bill Dickey, the catcher for the Yankees in Babe Ruth's day.

[Valuist]

Its is an interesting comment you make, but maybe not for the reason you made it. Have you ever noticed that basically every player that is ever referred to as having a "sweet swing" is a lefty?

One arguement that was put out there was that the lefty's motion is more natural as the swing puts him in motion down toward first base whereas the righty has to twist around to head toward the bag. This seemed plausible until I brought up the issue with a couple friends who were from India who had taken to baseball, probably due to a lack of cricket. They heard this arguement and replied that the cricket players that had the sweetest swings were also all lefties. If you know how cricket is played, there are only 2 wickets (think bases), so the batter having hit the ball from either side would run straight forward rather than off at a 45 degree angle. So that pretty much destroyed the theory for lefties in baseball.

So we are back to the beginning. Why do lefties have the sweetest swings?

I can't answer that but it is true. The one that comes to mind IMO is Billy Williams. Today, maybe Ken Griffey Jr.

I've heard that lefty QBs have the best looking deliveries in football; same w/lefty pitchers

[slotterhaus]

I'm left-handed, I pitched and got every break imaginable in my sorry baseball career. Think soft tossing version of Frank Tanana when he was a Tiger. Despite having a phantom fastball, a curve barely more pronounced than the earth's surface and a "slider" that was laughed at in Babe Ruth ball, I got by with the trusty Johnny Podres "circle" change. If you can throw strikes and get the ball to go down and away from right-handed hitters, you can miraculously advance in the game. I got all the way to college ball with this garbage.

But enough about me, the sweetest swinger in the game today: Chairman Joe Mauer, another portsider.

[JustRalph]

Griffey Jr. Best swing there is.........

[falconridge]

I still remember looking through a book on the Baseball Hall of Fame when I was a kid, trying to find some member that had that same combination. The only one I recall seeing at that time was Bill Dickey, the catcher for the Yankees in Babe Ruth's day.'Lay, I must admit that at first I couldn't make head or tails of your post. I thought, surely there are many other bats-left/throws-right players enshrined at Cooperstown. To my surprise, I couldn't name more than a handful. Let's see, there's Elmer Flick, Frank "Home Run" Baker, Eddie Collins, Fred Clarke, Zack Wheat, Charlie Gehringer, Goose Goslin, Mel Ott, Johnnie Evers (though not in the Hall for his stickwork), and Sam Rice and Frankie Frisch (switch hitters). Others, though they would have been admitted years after you looked through that volume, include Earl Averill, Arky Vaughan, Eddie Mathews, George Brett, and, of course, Mickey Mantle (another switch hitter). Okay, that's a few more than a handful, but I admit that I had to check on Flick, Rice, Goslin, and Averill.

Of righty swingers, the prettiest strokes I remember seeing were those of Joe Dimaggio and Paul Molitor. For all the fluidity and grace of the Yankee Clipper's baseball swing, he was as awkward, jerky, and off-balance with a golf club in his hands as, well, ... as a certain college chum of mine (to be fair, O.L., I do recall that you wielded that Louisville Slugger well enough to launch the horsehide far beyond my reach when we played "fungo" on the Pomona soccer field).

The bats-right/throws-left pattern is, of course, much less common than the reverse. The one I remember best is Sandy Koufax, who was just about as sorry a batter (it would be too much of a stretch to call him a "hitter") as I ever saw. He had but one swing plane; whether the pitch were high, low, inside, outside, or right down Broadway, he'd wave lamely, with no discernible regard for its location.

I'll never forget the time I heard the report of the Koufax four-bagger that came at the expense of Warren Spahn. I was tuned in to the Giants' broadcast on KSFO Radio-AM 560 when Russ Hodges was updating listeners on scores of other games around the league: "At Crosley Field, after eight innings the Reds lead the Pirates eight to seven; in Milwaukee, the Dodgers have tied the Braves on a home run by ... [off mike] check that; that can't be right; you sure? ... [back to the mike] ... on a home run by [i]Sandy Koufax? [Pause] Ladies and gentlemen, it says here that Sandy Koufax has homered off Warren Spahn!" Later Koufax recalled that an incensed Spahn chased his opposite number around the bases and cursed him vilely at every step of his home-run trot.

[rrpic6]

Ichiro Suzuki has the best swing since Rod Carew. He can foul off most pitches at will until he is able to place a ball in play to any part of the field.

[Dave Schwartz]

Ichiro Suzuki has the best swing since Rod Carew. He can foul off most pitches at will until he is able to place a ball in play to any part of the field.

Forgive me for saying so, but I just do not believe this is a true statement. (The bold part, that is.)

While there are certainly pull hitters who almost always hit the ball to their strong side, and there are "inside out" hitters who often hit the ball "the other way," the reality of the game is that you hit it where it is pitched: Inside pitches typically go to the power side and outside pitches to the weak side. That is simply the physics of the game.

Nobody "places" the ball in play to the part of the field that they choose on anything that resembles a consistent basis. That includes Rod Carew, who was one of the finest contact hitters of all time (not to mention being an absolutely fine human being).


Regards,
Dave Schwartz

[betchatoo]

Another hitter who comes to mind is Tony Gwynn. Always had his bat at the right place at the right time. As for righties, Bill Madlock had a great swing.

[cj]

Although a bit past his prime now, I always thought Mike Piazza's swing was as nice to watch as any left handed hitter. He is as stable as a golfer when he completes his swing. Of course, he doesn't leg out many infield hits.

[chickenhead]

lefty's are usually purer bb shooters than righties as well. Not always, but a higher percentage of them.

[Valuist]

Although a bit past his prime now, I always thought Mike Piazza's swing was as nice to watch as any left handed hitter. He is as stable as a golfer when he completes his swing. Of course, he doesn't leg out many infield hits.

Piazza does have a good swing. Piazza also was adept at hitting the ball hard to all fields. RH pull hitters don't have especially aestetically pleasing swings. Maybe I'm biased, being a left handed hitter up through the high school level.

Carew, as great a hitter as he was, had a very unconventional way of hitting. Sometimes his hands would be apart, and his weight was heavily on his back foot.

Did anyone see Bonds' home run the other night? He basically leaned out and flicked his wrists. The top hand was barely on the bat at point of impact. And the ball went over the CF fence.

[Bathless]

....Sandy Koufax, who was just about as sorry a batter (it would be too much of a stretch to call him a "hitter") as I ever saw.

As a hitter, Dean Chance made Koufax look like Ted Williams. Chance was the worst ever. He was cross-eyed, which probably helped make him so effective as a pitcher. Once, he foul tipped one and they stopped the game....:D

[skate]

man oh man , i learned a lot bout BB, brought back some nice recollections.

i agree, with postings

i was, in my mind, watching (i've not seen him much), R. Howard the other night.it is what he does with the "ultimate hit" home run, and not really the everyday single (which is tough enough).
granted he is big and he needs some practice with fielding.
but just looking at the swing, it is not reckless, but pure. his opponents know what is coming and are helpless.
the stat i like the most, he is the leading hitter, with 2 strikes. could be luck, sure a little, but this guy is a Musiel/Stargil type player.
how can this be...? nice guy to boot. i mean not boot but...

[bigmack]

Griffey Jr. Best swing there is.........
Smooth as butter. It's so effortless that facially he appears without a care in world, perfectly at ease.

[falconridge]

As a hitter, Dean Chance made Koufax look like Ted Williams. Chance was the worst ever. He was cross-eyed, which probably helped make him so effective as a pitcher. Once, he foul tipped one and they stopped the game....:DGot me there, Unsoaped One. Before the A's moved from Kansas City to Oakland, I didn't follow the American League much, but I do remember Chance. I believe he at least threatened Bob Buhl's record for futility (70 at-bats over a full season, with nary a hit), if he didn't break it. I recall reading a Sport magazine article in which the Angel right-hander disputed a teammate's claim that, in more than 40 at-bats, Chance hadn't so much as driven a ball out of the infield. Statistician Allan Roth confirmed that Chance was right: weeks earlier he had popped out to third base; though the AB was properly recorded as a simple F-5, the third-sacker had had to backpedal about ten feet onto the outfield grass to bring down Chance's mighty blast!

Some good-hitting pitchers from the 1950s and '60s:

Bobby Shantz--especially during his years with the Philadelphia A's; great all-round athlete;
Don Drysdale--always a long-ball threat; went "yard" seven times one season;
Warren Spahn--never an automatic out, even as a quadragenarian;
Tony Cloninger--Milwaukee Braves' righty hit two slams vs. the Giants in one game at Candlestick; piled up nine RBI (which bettered Vic Raschi's single-game record for a pitcher) in that tilt while narrowly missing on a bid for a third round-tripper (knocked down at the warning track by a Candlestick gale--which hadn't aided either of his slams)
Bob Gibson--the ultimate battler, on the mound, at the plate ... or in the street, sandlot, or trenches;
Earl Wilson--homered 35 times (ya kiddin' me?) over eleven seasons with the Bosox and Tigers;
Catfish Hunter--country boy could larrup that ol' horsehide;

and maybe the best of the lot ...

Don Newcombe--led '55 Bums in slugging percentage; offensive stats for that season: AB: 117; hits: 42; doubles: 9; triples: 1; HR: 7; RBI: 23; BA: .359; slugging pct: .632. Oh, yeah; he also won 20 games, and went the distance 17 times.

[shanta]

Robinson Cano has the sweetest swing in the game. This young one is special in my opine.

Richie :)

[bigmack]

Don Newcombe--led '55 Bums in slugging percentage; offensive stats for that season: AB: 117; hits: 42; doubles: 9; triples: 1; HR: 7; RBI: 23; BA: .359; slugging pct: .632. Oh, yeah; he also won 20 games, and went the distance 17 times.
Now you're talkin'

[falconridge]

I'm a little surprised that nobody has yet mentioned Barry Bonds' stroke. Yes, I know he's been playing under clouds of suspicion of all kinds of skullduggery, but his swing (even before he found a way to pack on 30 pounds of muscle in early middle-age) was always a thing of beauty--efficiently compact, but (again, notwithstanding the possibility--or likelihood, if you will--of its being 'roided up) the epitome of power and grace.

Expanding on my most recent post in this thread, I advance the falconridge "pitchers-named-Rick" theory: any moundsman who goes by "Rick" will almost certainly be a big threat at the plate. Think about it; can you name any pitchers named Rick who weren't well-above-average hitters? To support my contention, I submit the following evidence: Rick Wise, Rick Rhoden, Rick Rueschel, Rick Sutcliffe, Rick Reed.

Irrefutable, no?

[falconridge]

Did anyone see Bonds' home run the other night? He basically leaned out and flicked his wrists. The top hand was barely on the bat at point of impact. And the ball went over the CF fence.Sorry. I'd forgotten that Valuist did mention--if only briefly and without the kind of effusions I loosed in my last post--Barry Bonds. :blush:

Never mind. :)

[Dave Schwartz]

Falcon,

Good list of pitchers there... From memory, I recall Gary Peters, a White Sox pitcher in the '60s who used to pinch-hit once in awhile was quite good as well.

Nobody as good as Earl Wilson, though. Found the green monster often as I recall.

Dave

[falconridge]

From memory, I recall Gary Peters, a White Sox pitcher in the '60s who used to pinch-hit once in awhile was quite good as well.Good call, Dave. I remember Peters, a 20-game winner and a better hitter than most of the everyday players on the offensively weak Sox squads of the '60s. I just looked up his power figures: 19 home runs and 102 RBI in a little more than 800 career AB--no mean feat for ANY player at old Comiskey Park, where it was 352 down the lines and Death Valley in center field.

I didn't look up Gibby's numbers 'til just now. I'm surprised--though I probably shouldn't be--to learn that he had 24 career HR and drove in 144 runs. Spahn hit 35, with close to 200 RBI, but his career was nearly as long as the last ice age. Vernon "Deacon" Law, devout Mormon, Cy Young winner, and the last major-league hurler to pitch 18 innings (!) in one game, was another who knew how to help himself with the hickory. And George Brett's older brother Ken, who pitched for the Red Sox, Brewers, Pirates, and others, used to boast that he was the best hitter in the Brett family. Not bloody likely (I think Ken was needling his little bro), but it was still a shame that he had to bury that not inconsiderable talent when he went to the AL after the imbecilic imposition of the DH (yeah, I'm that old; down with the DH! :mad: ).

[betchatoo]

As a hitter, Dean Chance made Koufax look like Ted Williams. Chance was the worst ever. He was cross-eyed, which probably helped make him so effective as a pitcher. Once, he foul tipped one and they stopped the game....:D

The Braves had a pitcher named Bob Buhl who looked like his bat was allergic to the ball.

[falconridge]

The Braves had a pitcher named Bob Buhl who looked like his bat was allergic to the ball.Robert Ray Buhl's at-the-plate performance in 1962 (between Milwaukee, where he pitched most of his career, and the Chicago Cubs):

At-Bats: 70; Hits: 0; RBI: 1 (must've drawn a bases-loaded walk :D )

[Bathless]

Got me there, Unsoaped One. Before the A's moved from Kansas City to Oakland, I didn't follow the American League much, but I do remember Chance. I believe he at least threatened Bob Buhl's record for futility (70 at-bats over a full season, with nary a hit), if he didn't break it. I recall reading a Sport magazine article in which the Angel right-hander disputed a teammate's claim that, in more than 40 at-bats, Chance hadn't so much as driven a ball out of the infield. Statistician Allan Roth confirmed that Chance was right: weeks earlier he had popped out to third base; though the AB was properly recorded as a simple F-5, the third-sacker had had to backpedal about ten feet onto the outfield grass to bring down Chance's mighty blast!


In 11 seasons, Chance hit 0.066. In 662 at bats, he fanned 420 times. In 1963, his 2nd full season in the bigs, he had a career high 12 hits, including 1 of his 2 career doubles, for an average of 0.150, which he never again came anywhere near.

In 15 seasons, Buhl hit 0.089, including 14 hits in 1960. In 857 At-bats, he also had 2 doubles and struck out 389 times.

These guys are close, but it's Wilmer Dean by a nose. In both cases, it's not putting the bat on the ball but the ball accidently hitting the bat.

Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com

[Bathless]

Some good-hitting pitchers from the 1950s and '60s:

Bobby Shantz--especially during his years with the Philadelphia A's; great all-round athlete;
Don Drysdale--always a long-ball threat; went "yard" seven times one season;
Warren Spahn--never an automatic out, even as a quadragenarian;
Tony Cloninger--Milwaukee Braves' righty hit two slams vs. the Giants in one game at Candlestick; piled up nine RBI (which bettered Vic Raschi's single-game record for a pitcher) in that tilt while narrowly missing on a bid for a third round-tripper (knocked down at the warning track by a Candlestick gale--which hadn't aided either of his slams)
Bob Gibson--the ultimate battler, on the mound, at the plate ... or in the street, sandlot, or trenches;
Earl Wilson--homered 35 times (ya kiddin' me?) over eleven seasons with the Bosox and Tigers;
Catfish Hunter--country boy could larrup that ol' horsehide;

and maybe the best of the lot ...

Don Newcombe--led '55 Bums in slugging percentage; offensive stats for that season: AB: 117; hits: 42; doubles: 9; triples: 1; HR: 7; RBI: 23; BA: .359; slugging pct: .632. Oh, yeah; he also won 20 games, and went the distance 17 times.

Don't forget Rick Wise. Batted 0.195 for his career, including 7 seasons with 11 or more hits (including 23 in 1971). Had 15 career dingers. Wise is most famous for the trade for Steve Carlton, but he and Earl Wilson are the only pitchers in MLB history to throw a no-no and homer in the same game. Wise holds the distinction of homering twice in his no-hitter. I'm not planning on living long enough to see that again. I would say that this and Fernando Tatis's 2 salamis in 1 inning are my favorite Fabulous Feats.

Current Philly Randy Wolf is a pretty fair hitter; BA only ~ 0.200, but he's a tough out and will take you deep once in a while.

[Valuist]

As for good hitting pitchers, Carlos Zambrano has 4 home runs this year.

[Bathless]

As for good hitting pitchers, Carlos Zambrano has 4 home runs this year.

Whoa! He doubled his career total. This guy is so good that, as bad as the Cubs have been, he might get the NL Cy Young. Didn't know he was that good a hitter.

[Overlay]

At-Bats: 70; Hits: 0; RBI: 1 (must've drawn a bases-loaded walk :D )

Could also have been a sacrifice fly, or a fielder's choice. :)

[Bathless]

Getting back on topic, I always liked Jose's swing. Not because it was sweet or anything, but because the guy swung harder than anyone. I saw him play in Atlantic City (when he was with the Newark Bears, just before he signed with the White Sox). I sat in the 1st row behind home plate and I swear I felt the breeze when he missed....

[falconridge]

I advance the falconridge "pitchers-named-Rick" theory: any moundsman who goes by "Rick" will almost certainly be a big threat at the plate. To support my contention, I submit the following evidence: Rick Wise, Rick Rhoden, Rick Rueschel, Rick Sutcliffe, Rick Reed.Whoa, there, Soap-starved! Let's not get into a lather.

Who's forgetting Rick Wise? And how, being a "Rick," could he not have been a good-hitting pitcher? By the way, any other diminutive of "Richard"--Rich, Richie, Ricky, Dick--just doesn't seem to work. More Ricks:

Rick Aguilera: In his brief turn as an NL starting pitcher (about three seasons)--the only time he had any real opportunities to bat--Rick Ag had 27 hits (3 doubles, 3 home runs, 11 RBI) in 127 AB.

Rick Ankiel: In his rookie (-of-the-year) season, before he contracted Steve Blass Disease, Rick Ank batted a more-than-creditable .250, with a double, triple, and two homers in 68 AB.

Rick Baldwin: After a brief ML career that saw him spending only parts of three seasons with the Mets in the mid-'70s, Rick B retired with a career .273 BA.

Rick Behenna: Spent only part of one season in the NL (with Atlanta) before being sent to Cleveland. Career BA: .333.

Rick Mahler: One hundred seventy-four career hits. Batted .296 for Atlanta in '84.

Undsoweiter ... :D

[Bathless]

Falcon, where are you getting your info/stats? Just curious. Always looking for better sources....

I missed your mention of Rick Wise. Mea culpa....

[falconridge]

Falcon, where are you getting your info/stats? Just curious. Always looking for better sources....

I missed your mention of Rick Wise. Mea culpa....The one I use is www.baseball-reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/). :ThmbUp:

[Bathless]

In 11 seasons, Chance hit 0.066. In 662 at bats, he fanned 420 times. In 1963, his 2nd full season in the bigs, he had a career high 12 hits, including 1 of his 2 career doubles, for an average of 0.150, which he never again came anywhere near.

In 15 seasons, Buhl hit 0.089, including 14 hits in 1960. In 857 At-bats, he also had 2 doubles and struck out 389 times.

These guys are close, but it's Wilmer Dean by a nose. In both cases, it's not putting the bat on the ball but the ball accidently hitting the bat.

Koufax was a career 0.097 hitter. In 776 ABs, struck out 386 times. In 1965, a year he won 26 games, he also had 20 hits and a career-high BA of 0.177. Sandy had 2 career HRs and 9 doubles, which puts him light years ahead of Chance and Buhl as a hitter.

Koufax batted right-handed and his HRs came in 1962 and 1963, so they were in Dodger Stadium (not at the Coliseum, where they could have been 240-footers down the left-field line), and, thus, legit.

I'm sure that with a little digging, we can come up with hitters even more inept than Chance and Buhl.

[Dave Schwartz]

I read an interesting book some years ago that was all about baseball players from the 50s-60s and what they were doing in the 80s-90s.

WIth so much discussion about Dean Chance, he was a "carny."

What do you suppose happened to Bo Belinsky?


Dave

[Valuist]

I read an interesting book some years ago that was all about baseball players from the 50s-60s and what they were doing in the 80s-90s.

WIth so much discussion about Dean Chance, he was a "carny."

What do you suppose happened to Bo Belinsky?


Dave

I thought I heard he died fairly recently; maybe in the past year or two.

[Overlay]

Died November 23, 2001 in Las Vegas, not long before he would have turned 65. (I hadn't remembered that he appeared in three games for the Reds in his last season (1970). He was only 33 when he left the game.)

[bigmack]

What do you suppose happened to Bo Belinsky?

A philosophical guy, after throwing the first no-hitter in the history of the Angles said, "If I'd known I was gonna pitch a no-hitter today, I would have gotten a haricut"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Bo_belinsky_64topps-315.jpg

[falconridge]

Koufax batted right-handed and his HRs came in 1962 and 1963, so they were in Dodger Stadium (not at the Coliseum, where they could have been 240-footers down the left-field line), and, thus, legit.Okay, Unsudsed, it's time for me to come clean. I admit to a little fabulating in my account of Russ Hodges' report of Koufax's homer against Spahn, but I've managed to turn up this dirt from the digging I've done since posting that "time when ... " chronicle: Sandy's four-bagger came in the more homer-friendly setting of Milwaukee's County Stadium--not at the relatively capacious Dodger Stadium. The Koufax clout turned out to be the difference in L.A.'s 2-1 victory over the Braves on that evening of June 13, 1962. And by the way, it was the Giants--not the Pirates--who fell to the Reds that night at Crosley Field. Pittsburgh had already defeated the Cubs, 6-4, in an afternoon tilt at Wrigley (Beat 'Em, Bucs!!! :jump: ).

Time-warpedly,

falconridge

[skate]

falcoridge;


good call on Newcombe.
i can remember Roberts / Newcombe, and many times, either one would get the Key hit.
usually it was a 2/1 game

coarse they went 9 innings, always.

hey, a GUY named Ruth (as a pitcher) was also a pretty good hitter, but then he went someplace else and i think he played more often

[freeneasy]

A philosophical guy, after throwing the first no-hitter in the history of the Angles said, "If I'd known I was gonna pitch a no-hitter today, I would have gotten a haricut"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Bo_belinsky_64topps-315.jpg

and i think that was the first major leauge game of his carreer

[Overlay]

I believe it was actually his fourth start of the 1962 season, and made him 4-0 on the year at the time. He eventually went to 7-1, but ended up at 10-11.

[freeneasy]

had a real nice swing. dont know how many times he had back to back for over 200 base hits in a season. there was a period when iam pretty sure he put together something like 4 or more straight 200 base hit seasons. awsome. bill russel, shortstop for the dodgers had one of the ugliest swings i ever saw but i think he was about a carreer .260 hitter. i liked manny mota i thought always he had a nice way of comming around on the ball. willie mays always had good timing on the ball too.

[falconridge]

falcoridge;


good call on Newcombe.
i can remember Roberts / Newcombe, and many times, either one would get the Key hit.Thanks, skate. I met Don Newcombe when he came to our Athenaeum a few years ago to talk about how he'd battled alcoholism during his playing days and afterward. Nice guy--more than that, really: a prince of a man. When he asked me how such a young man could recount so vividly the players and events of his--Newk's--floruit, I told him that I'd heard most of it from my father, who grew up in Pittsburgh, where he'd watched Fritz Ostermueller (to whose odd, double-pump windup I'd just referred) pitch for the hapless Pirates.

Newk: Oh? And how's your dad doing?
Me: Not well, I'm afraid. Lately he's been in poor health, and seems terribly frail and depressed.
Newk: I'm awfully sorry to hear that. When you see him again, be sure to tell him I said "Hi," and that I hope he's feeling much better soon.

Whereupon he asked me for a pen and paper on which to write my father a get-well note.

It was only later that I could appreciate fully the graciousness of Newcombe's gesture. It took me some time to realize that, minutes earlier, I'd put my foot in my mouth while trying to show off how much I knew about Newk and his contemporaries. I'd gushed over what a heroic effort Robin Roberts had made in getting the Phillies' "Whiz Kids" (the NL pennant winners in 1950) into the World Series by pitching the deciding playoff game on only two days' rest. What I'd forgotten was that that win had come against Brooklyn, and that Newk himself, also pitching out of turn, had matched Roberts until the tenth inning, when, with the score tied at one, Dick Sisler's home run tagged Newcombe with the loss and sent the Dodgers home without the pennant. Newk's only comment on my discourse that night was, "We should have won it in the ninth [only then did I recall that it was Newk's Dodgers that the Phils had defeated]. Cal [Abrams, who'd been on third base with only one out in the Dodgers' half of the ninth] didn't want to go [i.e., didn't want to challenge Richie Ashburn's arm by trying to score on Duke Snider's fly ball to short right field], but Burt [Shotton, the Dodgers' manager] sent him anyway. Felt real bad about it afterwards."

[bigmack]

Nice story of Newc. Trust most have read his recollection of the Phillies game but 4 those who haven't, here she be

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_12_63/ai_n6355554

[betchatoo]

Thanks, skate. I met Don Newcombe when he came to our Athenaeum a few years ago to talk about how he'd battled alcoholism during his playing days and afterward. Nice guy--more than that, really: a prince of a man. When he asked me how such a young man could recount so vividly the players and events of his--Newk's--floruit, I told him that I'd heard most of it from my father, who grew up in Pittsburgh, where he'd watched Fritz Ostermueller (to whose odd, double-pump windup I'd just referred) pitch for the hapless Pirates.

Newk: Oh? And how's your dad doing?
Me: Not well, I'm afraid. Lately he's been in poor health, and seems terribly frail and depressed.
Newk: I'm awfully sorry to hear that. When you see him again, be sure to tell him I said "Hi," and that I hope he's feeling much better soon.

Whereupon he asked me for a pen and paper on which to write my father a get-well note.

It was only later that I could appreciate fully the graciousness of Newcombe's gesture. It took me some time to realize that, minutes earlier, I'd put my foot in my mouth while trying to show off how much I knew about Newk and his contemporaries. I'd gushed over what a heroic effort Robin Roberts had made in getting the Phillies' "Whiz Kids" (the NL pennant winners in 1950) into the World Series by pitching the deciding playoff game on only two days' rest. What I'd forgotten was that that win had come against Brooklyn, and that Newk himself, also pitching out of turn, had matched Roberts until the tenth inning, when, with the score tied at one, Dick Sisler's home run tagged Newcombe with the loss and sent the Dodgers home without the pennant. Newk's only comment on my discourse that night was, "We should have won it in the ninth [only then did I recall that it was Newk's Dodgers that the Phils had defeated]. Cal [Abrams, who'd been on third base with only one out in the Dodgers' half of the ninth] didn't want to go [i.e., didn't want to challenge Richie Ashburn's arm by trying to score on Duke Snider's fly ball to short right field], but Burt [Shotton, the Dodgers' manager] sent him anyway. Felt real bad about it afterwards."


Newcombe was on the mound in one of the best games I ever saw. Lost 1-0 to Sad Sam Jones and the Cubs. Ernie Banks hit a seventh inning home run for the only score.

[Bathless]

The one I use is www.baseball-reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/). :ThmbUp:

Just discovered this site today:

http://www.shrpsports.com/mlb/

[sq764]

Baseball has tremendous advantages for left-handed hitters. A hit past the 1st baseman is often worth three bases while the same hit to left is only worth two. The impact of such hit placement on advancing runners from 1st to 3rd is even more important.


Dave Schwartz
Not to mention the majority of pitchers are right handed..

What impresses me most about Howard is that for a power hitting 2nd year player, he is hitting .276 against lefties..

He has a legitimate chance to have a .300/55/150 year... That is incredible

[skate]

falconridge;


yes, you brought back some more good memories, nice story with Newcombe.
i always remember him and Campy.



sq764;

we'll see what comes about when he gets a big raise for next year. he sure looks like "the real thing".

not sure but i think he's in the range of $175,000. a big contract may change his thinking??

[sq764]

falconridge;


sq764;

we'll see what comes about when he gets a big raise for next year. he sure looks like "the real thing".

not sure but i think he's in the range of $175,000. a big contract may change his thinking??
He makes $355,000 this year.. If the Phillies do not lock him up long term, he will go to arbitration next year.. Probably get in the $3-5 million range for one year.

I think the Phillies will save themselves money (and the Yankmes trying to lure him) if they lock him up to a 5 year $40-50 million contract..

[Bathless]

3 dingers for Ryan yesterday, another today, #53 off Springer.
Cole gave up tying run in 8th. His #s: 8IP 2R 2ER 3H 0BB 8SO. Both Houston runs on solo dingers.

[skate]

bigmac;


great post on the dodgers-phils game.
3 points, from your post.

D.N. goes for the third time in 5 days, one was a relief.
D.N. walked Roberts, once was a lead off and then walked Roberts for the second time in the 14th. talk about respect.
D.N. gets a standing O, from the phila. fans.

[skate]

Bathless;


i see they gave R.Howard an intentional to lead off an inning.

loooks like they have their bullpen back (flash).
and that was some emotion gernerating homer in extra innings by Utley.
they could not beat houston, till now.

things may be interesting, to say ther least