Think of the women.
The money. The toys. The adulation.
Who wouldn’t want that hair?
Those clothes. That look. That sneer.
Yeah, especially that sneer …
*Pretty subtle, but it’s definitely there.
A decent ballplayer, Norm Siebern will probably go down in history as one of the guys the Yankees unloaded to get Roger Maris. That said, Norm put up some nice numbers during a 12-year career – 132 HRs and over 600 runs and RBI both, with a nice .369 OBP to boot. He was a Gold Glove winner and a three-time All Star too.
And would you believe Norm’s got a blog dedicated just to him?
Ah, Jim Rittwage, where are you now?
Jim did finally make it to the majors, albeit six years after this card came out. And that was for a mere eight games in a single year.
His one win was pretty dramatic though – a shutout against Dave McNally and the pennant-winning Orioles, with Jim striking out Brooks Robinson with the bases loaded to end the game. Wow!
Hey, Elvis never had a buzz cut!
But Wayne Comer did.
Comer was up for five years, playing with three teams. Highlights include a 1.000 World Series average (a pinch hit for Detroit in ’68) and a full-time gig for the Seattle Pilots in 1969 (15 HRs, 18 SBs, 88 runs)
For some reason, there are two lengthy bios on Wayne, here and here.
Jerry Buchek’s career was eerily like Wayne Comer’s. Right down to the single World Series at bat – and hit!
And like Wayne, for some reason there are two lengthy posts all about Jerry – this one and this one. I assume Jerry and Wayne shared a love of Elvis as well.
*Tony, you really need to grow that hair out a little and add some sideburns. If you really want to look like the King, that is.
Tony Cloninger was a pretty decent pitcher. He finished with over 100 wins and 1000 strikeouts in a 12-year career.
Tony was also a pretty decent hitter. He finished with .192 average, 11 homers, and 67 RBIs. He’s the only pitcher to ever hit two grand slams in one game.
He’s a local boy, by the way, and still resides in the (Charlotte, NC) area.
*Hey, Black guys can do it too.
Donn Clendenon’s a frequent flyer in this blog. You can pretty much count on him to give you an odd expression or have his eyes closed.
In those other posts, I shared Donn’s stats and also some of his intellectual accomplishments. Check ‘em out!
*Giving it your best Elvis sneer with a mouth full of chewing tobacco was a real skill.
And John Melvin (“Bubba”) Phillips had it.
You’ve met Bubba before, where we discussed his resemblance to a well-known pit bull. I didn’t really have space there for much else, so here goes …
A multi-sport star in college, Bubba turned down an offer from the San Francisco 49ers to play baseball. In a ten-year major league career, Bubba was a starter in six and finished with over 3,000 at bats. A good fielder, he led his league in traditional things like putouts and also more esoteric things like range factor and total zone runs.
Man, he’s got the hair and everything. Wilbur Wood, you are the King!
Wood was a true knuckleball star. He finished ninth among knuckleball starters in wins, and third among knuckleball relievers in saves. He won 20 twice, lost 20 twice, and managed to do both in a single year once (24-20 in 1973). He was a three-time All Star and came in second, third, and fifth for the Cy Young award.
Knuckleballers are hardy souls. Wilbur led the league in games started four times, games played three, and innings pitched two. He was the last pitcher to start both ends of a doubleheader.
Of course Elvis had his own baseball card set. Actually, he had a number of them.
* - author has this card
Actually, Elvis had a buzz cut when he was inducted into the army!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Ralph Gagliano has his cap on inside out.
ReplyDeleteJerry Buchek was the Mets starting second baseman the first year I remember watching baseball. He hit a bunch of home runs and they thought they really had someone. I think he was gone before the next year was over. That happens with lousy teams. They fall for a lot of false hopes.
I happened to see that last double header that Wilbur Wood started both games of. It was against the Yankees, a twi-night double header on a Friday night. I grew up in NYC, but was a White Sox fan. I was excited to watch the games. I don’t think Wood was originally scheduled to pitch both games, but he got bombed out early in the first game, so Chuck Tanner ad lib threw him into the second game. Wood lost them both.
Thanks, Frankie. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteAnd it reminds me that I never said a word about our current pretender to the sneer-like-Elvis throne - Mookie Betts!