Chauncey and Chumley's Dad

I was so saddened to hear of the passing of Tom Seaver. He was one of the all-time great pitchers and human beings in Major League Baseball. He was truly a pitcher as opposed to a thrower. He used his legs to generate power in his delivery. That also helped him preserve his arm and continue as a starting pitcher into his early 40’s. He was a student of the game and he was always focused when he was on the mound. He led by example and I do not think anyone ever had a bad thing to say about him.  

My first exposure to Tom Seaver was May 4, 1969. My buddy Chris and I went to a Sunday double header at Wrigley Field. The Cubs had a great team that year and appeared destined to go to the World Series. On the other hand, their opponents, the New York Mets, were the perennial bottom feeders of the National League. Surely, we would see the Cubs sweep the two-game set! The Mets, however, turned the tables on the Cubs and won both games by identical 3-2 scores. Tom Seaver was the starting pitcher in Game 1 and went the distance for the win. Tug McGraw matched Seaver’s performance in Game 2. I remember being stunned. How could the mighty Cubs drop two games to the lowly Mets? It was a portend of things to come. After holding onto first place most of the season, the Cubs would infamously collapse in September and the Mets would go on to win 100 games and the World Series. Tom Seaver posted an incredible 25-7 record with a 2.21 ERA.

Seaver’s career with the Mets was from 1967-1977. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds during the ’77 season. He pitched his only no-hitter in a Reds uniform. He stayed with the Reds until the end of the 1982 season when he was traded back to the Mets. Having posted 9 wins for the Mets that year and just 5 wins for the Reds the previous season, it seemed that his star was fading. At age 39, the Mets left him off their protected list, assuming nobody would want an old pitcher with a high salary. However, the Chicago White Sox claimed Seaver in a free-agent compensation draft. Seaver, no doubt, wanted to finish his career with the Mets. My recollection is that he was fit to be tied over the fact that the Mets left him unprotected and he threatened to retire. Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf convinced him otherwise and he joined the team. (Coincidentally, the pitcher he replaced in the Sox starting rotation was his old ’69 Mets teammate, Jerry Koosman. Seaver and Koosman were the one-two punch in the Mets starting rotation and led the team to their ’69 championship.) Seaver would go on to have a couple of fine seasons with the White Sox; 15-11, 3.95 ERA in ’84 (age 39) and 16-11, 3.17 ERA in ’85 (age 40). Remarkable! By today’s standards, he could have been the ace on just about any starting rotation in MLB. During the 1986 season, the White Sox traded him to the Boston Red Sox and he retired at the end of that season. It was wonderful being able to see Seaver pitch for the White Sox. I went to a lot of White Sox games in the 80’s and got to see him on several occasions. He won his 300th career game in a White Sox uniform, and finished his Hall of Fame career with 311-206, 2.86 ERA. He was clearly one of the greatest pitchers to play the game and I am glad I was around to follow his career.

I’ve got a lot of baseball on my mind today so I’m just going to throw it all on one post.

1) Glenn Beckert passed away two days ago (April 12, 2020) at the age of 79. He played most of his relatively short career for the Cubs (1965-1975). He was a rock-solid second baseman and part of a great middle infield with Don Kessinger. Primarily a singles hitter, he hit .342 in 1969 yet finished 3rd in the NL Batting Title. Check out this list from that year: Joe Torre (STL) .363, Ralph Garr (ATL) .343, Beckert (CHC) .342, Roberto Clemente (PIT).341, Hank Aaron (ATL) .327, Manny Sanguillen (PIT) .319, Cleon Jones (NYM) .319, Matty Alou (STL) .315, Lou Brock (STL) .313., Rusty Staub (MON) .311. I guess lowering the pitching mound from 15 to 10 inches after the 1968 “Year of the Pitcher” had a positive effect.

2) Jim Frey passed away yesterday (April 13, 2020) at the age of 88. He led the 1980 Kansas City Royals to the World Series. (They lost to Philadelphia.) He went on to manage the Chicago Cubs to their first post-season appearance in 39 years in 1984. (Cubs choked against San Diego, losing a 5-game series after winning the first 2 games.) In 1989, he was the Cubs general manager when a group of youngsters and mostly no-names won the NL East. (They lost to the Giants in the division playoffs.) During the 1987 and 88 seasons, he was a color commentator on the Cubs radio broadcasts. I spent a lot of time on the road back then and listened to a lot of Cubs games on the radio. One of my favorite moments was when, during a game, Frey was asking Lou Boudreau about the College of Coaches from the Cubs early 1960’s team. Hearing Frey pepper Boudreau with questions, Boudreau trying to offer answers suggesting the system made some sense, and Frey’s maniacal laughter after each answer made for superb radio comedy. (You’ll have to Google College of Coaches to understand what I’m talking about.)

3) Kirk Gibson - My wife sent me a post from Twitter that asked, “What is the greatest home run you’ve ever seen in person?” For me it was May 10, 1985, Chicago White Sox vs Detroit Tigers at the original Comiskey Park. It was a balmy spring evening and we were sitting in infield seats on the 3rd base side of home plate. Tom Seaver was pitching. Kirk Gibson hit a home run over the right field roof. It cleared the roof at 350 feet and was an estimated total distance of 525 feet. With my view looking down the first base line, I was able to watch the trajectory of the ball as it disappeared into the night. I’ll never forget that moment.

4) Tony Armas – This is my runner up. It occurred during a Saturday afternoon game at Comiskey Park on April 28, 1984. The White Sox were playing the Red Sox and Tony Armas cranked a line drive into the center field bleachers, only the 6th of 7 such home runs hit in the 80-year history of the ballpark. (As with Gibson’s home run, Tom Seaver was the White Sox pitcher.) Comiskey Park bleachers were small (compared to it’s North Side counterpart Wrigley Field that sports bleachers from foul pole to foul pole). They were just a small section underneath the score board in center field. The center field fence was 415 feet from home plate, but the bullpens were behind it. The actual seating area was about 450 feet from home plate. My wife and I were sitting in the outfield grandstands that day, maybe 20 feet from the bleachers. But here’s the thing; I had left my seat to get beer or food or whatever and I missed it! When I came back, my wife calmly said to me, “You should have seen this home run.” And casually pointing at the bleachers, “It went in there.” I was like, “W-H-A-T?!? There was a home run hit in the bleachers! AND I DIDN’T SEE IT!!!” At any rate, I tried finding video of that home run along with Kirk Gibson’s home run but came up empty. (The other home runs in the Comiskey Park bleachers were Jimmie Foxx (1934), Hank Greenberg (1938), Alex Johnson (1970), Dick Allen (1972), Richie Zisk (1977) and George Bell (1985).