Brow Bros (‘70s Version)

The whole point of eyebrows is to channel sweat and rain from your forehead off to the side – so it doesn’t get in your eyes.  They also provide a little bit of shading, as well as keeping out dust, insects, and such like.

Interestingly, they are also used rather extensively in non-verbal communication.  They happen to be a very effective way to signal emotions such as surprise or anger.  Go ahead, try to look angry or surprised without ‘em.

So, I’m thinking these guys here either have really sweaty foreheads or major problems communicating their emotions.  Why else would nature give them such wide, wild, and wooly eyebrows?

Not too bad.  I do like the way they sweep up at the end though.

An argument could be made that Ed Kranepool is the original “Mr. Met”:

• He never played for anyone else
• He made his debut with them at age 19
• He was with them for 18 years
• He was there in ‘62
• He was there in ‘69
• He’s a local boy

Once again, I’ve seen worse.

Larry Haney was your basic backup catcher.  He was up for 12 years, never got 200 at bats in a season, and finished with 12 homers and a .215 average.

His son was Chris Haney, who arguably had an even worse major league career, though as a pitcher (5.07 ERA, 38-52 record).

Okay, this is more like it.  In fact, I think I’ve seen this look on some of the owls at the local raptor center.

Gary Gentry made a big splash in his rookie year, 1969.  He went 13-12 for the Mets in the regular season, started and won the division clincher, then won Game 3 of the World Series. 

After that, it was all rather downhill.  He started two more years for the Mets, but finished under .500.  After a trade to the Braves (for Felix “Groucho” Millan – see below) and an elbow injury, he played his last major league baseball in 1975.

Roger, on the other hand, has opted for the Muppet character look.

Roger Freed had a pretty non-descript career, with one major aberration.  Overall, he was up eight years, getting in a little over 700 at bats, and finishing with 22 homers, just over 100 RBIs, and a .245 average.  The aberration was 1977, where Roger hit .398, though in only 83 at bats. 

Freed died shockingly young – at only 49 – from heart disease.

Funny, Cox doesn’t sound like an Italian name.

Larry Cox had a very similar career to Roger Freed’s.  Cox was up for nine years, got in a little over 800 at bats, hit 12 homers and 85 RBIs, and finished with a .212 average.

You’re not going to believe this, but Larry also died very young of heart disease – at age 42.

I like these ‘cause they’re just plain weird.  Are they Velcro?

Greg Garrett was up for only two years and 83 innings, but finished with some decent numbers.  Though his record was under .500, he did have a 2.48 ERA.

His stats on baseball-reference.com, however, do not do him justice.  Would you believe that:

• He was an All-American badminton player at Cal State Fullerton
• He was also on the archery, golf, racquetball and swimming teams there
• After baseball, he became a bodybuilder, winning three power lifting world championships
• He had a kidney transplant at age 44, then won multiple gold medals in the National Transplant Olympics

"If I told you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?"

Felix “Groucho” Millan is the real star in this blog.  Over a 12-year career, he finished with almost 6,000 at bats, was elected to three All Star teams, and won two Gold Gloves.  He also won a batting title in Japan.

Somebody get this guy a cigar.



More brow bros, from the '50s (here) and '60s (here).