Before There Was Dentistry (‘70s Version)

They’re pretty handy things. In particular, “they function in mechanically breaking down items of food by cutting and crushing them in preparation for swallowing and digestion” (thanks, Wikipedia). 

That said, they’re also rather ornamental, being exposed prominently whenever we smile – or eat, talk, yawn, or open our mouth for any reason. And that’s why models, and actors, and politicians, and a lot of just plain folks make sure they’re all nice and white and straight and perfect. But not, apparently, baseball players …

He’s back! Yup, Pete Ward’s been here before, with much the same pose.

In that previous post, I shared some stats, but didn’t mention that Pete was from Canada. As a matter of fact, Pete was born in Montreal, where his dad played right wing for the Canadiens. Can’t get much more Canuck than that, eh?  Pete is also in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

Not too bad. Definitely a little rodent-like though.

Jarvis Tatum’s Wikipedia entry comes in at a mere 35 words. Here it is, in its entirety:

Jarvis Tatum (October 11, 1946 – January 6, 2003) was a Major League Baseball center fielder who played for three seasons. He played for the California Angels from 1968 to 1970, playing in 102 career games.

Pretty much says it all, don’t it?

Alright, pretty bad. 

Wilbur Howard’s been here before as well, where we made fun of his signature. He wasn’t really smiling in that one, or I would have made fun of his teeth as well.

I didn’t share Wilbur’s stats in that post, so here we go … Six years, 1000 at bats, 6 homers, .250 average, 150 runs, 70 RBIs, 60 steals. Similar players include Albert Hall, Cecil Espy, and Boots Day.

Alright, alright. I know it’s an ’80. But those teeth are just so perfect.

Manny Sanguillen was one of my youthful heroes. He was the catcher for those great Pirate teams in the early ‘70s, and – like the rest of his teammates – could smack the heck out of the ball. Manny was up for 13 years, batted over .300 for four of those, and was a three-time All Star. He finished with a .296 average, the tenth-best all-time for catchers. 

Sanguillen was known in particular for swinging at anything. His career OBP was .326, less than 30 points more than his batting average. Interestingly, he’s from – not the Dominican Republic – but Panama.

I dunno … I’m thinking evil Japanese colonel in WWII prison movie. How ‘bout you?

I could have put this one under so many different categories. That said, here it is under “Teeth.” One of my all-time faves. 

Greg Minton was a pretty decent reliever. He lasted 16 years, finishing with 150 saves. He also set a record for most consecutive innings without giving up a home run – 269! That’s three full seasons!!!

He was also a real character, earning the nickname “Moon Man” through stunts that included:

• Hijacking the team bus
• Stealing the keys to the bullpen cart
• Flooding a minor-league ballpark so the season would end one day early

Can’t get enough of that horrible dentition? Well, you’ll definitely want to check out these beauts from the ‘50s and ‘60s.