Pedro Borbon

[Overlay]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/pedro-borbon-dies-age-65-former-cincinnati-reds-reliever-back-to-back-world-series-champion-060412

Pedro Borbon, an anchor in the bullpen for the Big Red Machine in the 1970's (including Cincinnati's back-to-back World Series titles), has succumbed to cancer at age 65.

He even got cinematic mention during his career (although not as a Red) :) :

CahNAauFgys

[JustRalph]

I loved Pedro. I grew up on the Big Red Machine. There were tons of stories about Borbon being outrageous and very eccentric. He was known to go into the kitchen and school the chef's on proper Latin cooking, in several restaurants in Cincy.

During the strike year he showed up to play for the Reds. In interviews he would rip the players for being spoiled etc.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/hof/hof/directory.jsp?hof_id=111227

In an interview on WLW radio after a Reds game the opposing manager was asked what Was the most dangerous weapon in the Reds arsenal. He replied
" besides Borbon's teeth? ". Read the above link For the reason for that reply.

I loved the guy! RIP Pedro.......

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/images/hof/flash/assets/profiles/borbon_pedro/bio.jpg

[cj]

Funny you post that baseball card. I can remember when players would die we would go bury the baseball card of the guy. I remember Borbon well. Always sad to see these guys die at a young age.

Remember in those days, the other league was like a mystery. There were few games on national television and no interleague play. You learned the other teams via baseball cards, box scores, and This Week in Baseball.

[JustRalph]

Funny you post that baseball card. I can remember when players would die we would go bury the baseball card of the guy. I remember Borbon well. Always sad to see these guys die at a young age.

Remember in those days, the other league was like a mystery. There were few games on national television and no interleague play. You learned the other teams via baseball cards, box scores, and This Week in Baseball.

You are so right. I didnt know crap about the American league. But ask me about the Dodgers/Padres/Astros etc and I have lots to discuss. Especially from the days when the Reds were in the National league west. A road trip to the west coast would last ten days and I wouldnt get any sleep at all due to the time change. Listening to Al Michaels and then Marty Brenneman and crew are some of my fondest memories. My mom would let me get away with having the radio on, but not dad. If he heard it, I would have to read the box score in the paper. Al Michaels wasnt around long, but it was fun to be a kid growing up 2 hours from Cincy in the 70's.

In fact, talking Orioles with your dad and him directing me to the local MASN network who re-runs old games in the winter, was very revealing to me.

I watched the replay of the 1970 World Series between the Reds and O's on your dads suggestion. It was great. It provided context from when I was a kid. In Cincy and all of Reds country the trade of Frank Robinson to the O's is roundly considered the biggest idiot deal in Reds history. I was a very young kid, but can remember my dad taking me to the barber shop when I was a kid and listening to the discussion of this trade. Watching Frank Robinson beat the Reds in the world series all these years later, still hurt :lol:

For some reason the only real memory I had of that series was how much I hated Boog Powell :lol:

I used to get pissed when I would open a pack of Baseball cards and it had American League players in it. I would give those cards away.

[Bettowin]

Funny you post that baseball card. I can remember when players would die we would go bury the baseball card of the guy. I remember Borbon well. Always sad to see these guys die at a young age.

Remember in those days, the other league was like a mystery. There were few games on national television and no interleague play. You learned the other teams via baseball cards, box scores, and This Week in Baseball.

TWIB Notes. Never missed it:)

[Valuist]

Wasn't Borbon into voodoo? I swear I remember hearing that somewhere.

Borbon was a "real" reliever. Could come into the game in the 7th to put out a fire, or the 9th to close it out. Back in the days before agents were all powerful and before saves became an overblown and overvalued stat.

TWIB was great. Used to look forward to it every week around 1979-1980.

[Marshall Bennett]

Had posted that him and Mario Soto were both part of the machine. I've discovered that Mario came a few years later. Both threw amazingly hard none the less.
Rip tough guy.

[cj's dad]

Funny you post that baseball card. I can remember when players would die we would go bury the baseball card of the guy. I remember Borbon well. Always sad to see these guys die at a young age.

Remember in those days, the other league was like a mystery. There were few games on national television and no interleague play. You learned the other teams via baseball cards, box scores, and This Week in Baseball.

Where's the Mantle rookie card ?

[cj]

Where's the Mantle rookie card ?

I didn't say anything about burying rookie cards!

I remember Don Wilson, Bob Moose, and of course Thurman Munson for sure.