Bob Borkowski (08-03-2014)
I remember having great interest in a story about him, charting the location of every ball hit by players in the American league. He had binders and binders of data that he used for intel against opposing players. What a goofy concept.
He thrived as a scout.....and gets a lot of credit for Kirk Gibson's WS dinger of Eckersley.....as he had picked up Eck's modus operandi of throwing a back door slider on most 3-2 counts.
Last edited by VR; 01-01-2011 at 02:10 PM.
Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand
Here are a couple of additions to the 2011 list:
Karl Olson. He was an outfielder in the early to mid-50s but never got much playing time. I remember him because he was on baseball cards of the day...that made him some kind of hero in my eyes, of course.
John Rice. An AL umpire starting in 1955. He worked 4 World Series and several All-Star Games.
Check it out here:
http://www.thedeadballera.com/passings.html
...and another addition: reliever Ryne Duren.
He wore glasses that "resembled the bottoms of Coke bottles" and had a blazing fastball and erratic control. What a combination to intimidate batters.
He was a former Red also.
http://www.thedeadballera.com/passings.html
Duren also pitched for the 1951 Dayton Indians. My dad said he remembers seeing him pitch in Dayton. No one would sit behind home plate.
I had no idea that Phil Cavarretta just died. This actually kind of crushes me. He had been living in Atlanta and for some reason I had had it in my head that I was going to interview him someday. Hometown kid who played for the Cubs long before they were the dumb loser Cubs. He would have been fascinating to talk to.
There is no such thing as a pitching prospect.
Dave Sisler, son of Red George Sisler.
http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal..._rookie_in_56/
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
I was dismayed to see that the Enquirer, while mentioning that Dave played for the Reds himself, made no mention whatsoever that he was the brother of former Reds manager Dick Sisler. I'm sure it was the AP story, but usually they'll add in any local angles (such as the "former Red" mention about Dave).
“In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
The Baseball Emporium - Books & Things.
The Baseball Bookstore
http://tsc-sales.com/
http://tscsales.blogspot.com/
http://silverscreenbooks.com/
Roy Hartsfield.
He played in the early 50's for the Boston Braves but might be more noted for being the first manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 1977 thru 1979.
I thought it was kind of ironic that a guy who spent his life in baseball pursuits died in Ball Ground Georgia.
http://www.thedeadballera.com/passings.html
George Crowe
His career in the majors extended from 1952 to 1961 including 1956 thru 1958 with the Reds. In 1957 he hit .271 with 31 homers and 92 rbis. He was the guy the Reds looked to when Big Klu had back problems and couldn't play and then later when Klu was traded.
http://www.thedeadballera.com/passings.html
Here's a nice article on George Crowe from today's Indianapolis Star. As a high schooler in 1939, he was the 1st Indiana Mr. Basketball.
http://www.indystar.com/article/2011...ws|text|Sports
Sheesh, here's another one. I'm starting to feel my mortality. My whole baseball card collection from the 50s is flashing before my eyes.
Gus Zernial
From 1950-57 no AL player, not even Hall-of-Famers Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra or Ted Williams hit more homers than Gus Zernial's 220.
http://www.thedeadballera.com/passings.html
Crowe would sit on the bench with slippers on and wait until he was called in to PH when he was on the Cards. Ask any young black player from that era about Big Daddy and you're bound to hear nothing but praise and accolades.
As for Gus... he and Hank Sauer were the prototype for 50's era baseball, lumbering sluggers with negative range
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