Whoa!

Recently, we’ve had some posts featuring some rather unusual expressions, including the just plain odd as well as the seriously pissed off. We also had one on strange and unusual eyes.  

Put ‘em all together, and you get this post. Basically, it’s a bunch of guys using their eyes to express things. Things like, “I just saw a ghost,” or “nice melons,” or “I want to kill you,” or “The worms have eaten my brain.”

Saw a ghost 1.

Not a whole lot out there on Rich Coggins. Now, that may well be because Rich was up for only a few years. In those years, though, he did pretty well. He had two years where he was a regular, batting .319 in one and stealing 26 bases in another.

Classic case of thyroid trouble, I’m afraid. Yup, where other guys tear their rotator cuff or ACL, Rich just had to be different that way. Seriously, though, playing major league baseball is hard enough.  I can’t imagine doing it with thyroid issues.

Something just occurred to me though …  I’m not a doctor (nor do I play one on TV), but wouldn’t hyperthyroidism explain this poor guy’s bug eyes?

Saw a ghost 2. Though I may have had the same reaction too if I had been traded to the Bronx Zoo.

Mickey Rivers was a pretty decent ballplayer. He combined a good bat, a great glove, and blinding speed. Over 15 years, he hit .295, led the league twice in triples, and once stole 70 bases.  He was a post-season star as well, getting in 29 games with the Yankees and batting .308.

Mickey Rivers was also a major league character. I think we can all remember his mannerisms, his big smile, and his crazy quotes, which seemed to combine the best (worst?) of Yogi Berra and Satchell Paige. Here are a couple of my favorites: 

• “We'll do all right if we can capitalize on our mistakes.”
• “I might have to commute.  You know, left field, DH, wherever.”
• “Pitching is 80% of the game and the other half is hitting and fielding.”
• “Ain't no sense worrying. If you have no control over something, ain't no sense worrying about it – you have no control over it anyway. If you do have control, why worry? So either way, there ain't no sense worrying.”

He was also a man of many nicknames, including Mick the Quick, Gozzlehead, Warplehead, Rambling, Gulfstream, The Miami Greyhound, Muddy, The Weatherman, The Chancellor, and The Almighty Tired Man.

I got those from this website. In fact, I found several sites devoted to him. You can find the official one right here.

Watch out, ghost!  Curt’s going to swat you with his bat!

Curt Motton was up for eight years but almost exclusively as a backup and pinch hitter. Over those eight years, he only got more than 100 at bats once. That said, in his 500-some career at bats, he was able to swat 25 homers and drive in 89 runs.  

He sounds like a genuinely nice guy, who everyone knew as “Cuz.” Incredibly detailed bio right here.

Bizarre trivia fact: Curt played on a US Army team, the Alaska Goldpanners, with Rick Monday, Greg Nettles, and Tom Seaver.

Just saw a snake 1.

Al Bumbry was a Rookie of the Year and an All Star as well. He was known in particular for his speed, chasing down fly balls for the O's in center field and finishing his career with over 250 bases.

Al's nickname was "Bee," which I personally think is pure genius.

Continuing our military theme from Curt, above, would you believe that Al was ROTC in college, served 2 years in Vietnam, and earned a Bronze Star there?
  

Whoa, Kurt. Tone it down a little, would ya?

Like our other Curt, Kurt Bevacqua was primarily a pinch hitter and backup. Kurt with a “k” was able to string out his limited talents a lot longer than Curt with a “c” however. Bevacqua was up for 15 years and 2100 at bats. All that amounted to, unfortunately, was a mere 27 homers and a lowly .237 average.

Kurt is, though, remembered for his efforts in one of San Diego’s only two World Series appearances.  Though they lost to the Tigers 4 games to 1, Kurt batted .412, with two homers, four RBIs, and four runs.  

Bizzare trivia fact:  Kurt’s surname means “water drinker” in Italian.

“Whoa, check out that ball girl!”

Mickey Scott is kind of the pitching equivalent of Rich Coggins or Curt Motton. I’m talking about five years, 172 innings, an 8-7 record, and a mere four saves. 

Classic case of lefthandedness, I’m afraid. Yup, this is the guy they brought in to face that one batter in the eighth. As a matter of fact, those 172 innings were over 130 games. And not one of those 130 was a start.

Bizarre trivia fact: Mickey was born in East Germany.
   

“Must kill.  Must kill now.”

Bert “Campy” Campaneris was one of my favorites as a kid. I have no idea why.

He was a pretty accomplished ballplayer. Over 18 years (mostly with the A’s), he led his league in steals six times, at bats twice, and hits and triples once. He was also a six-time All Star.

It might, though, have been all the interesting other things he did over those years, things that often ended up on the back of his cards, things like:

• Pitching a game throwing both righty and lefty
• Playing every position in one game
• Hitting a home run off the very first pitch thrown to him

I always thought that beat something like “Bob enjoys hunting and fishing in the offseason” or “Skip led the Adirondacks League in putouts in 1953.”

Looks like somebody caught Ed ogling as well.

Actually, somebody caught Ed Bouchee doing a lot more than ogling. After an excellent rookie season (including winning the NL RoY award), Ed was convicted on indecent exposure charges in the offseason. He ended up playing five more years, but things were never quite the same, as you can imagine. 

Hmm, same creepy look ...