(By the way, Jack Benny's death was huge, huge news. I mean, I knew he was a big deal, and I actually do remember some of the retrospective stuff that aired on TV after his death because my parents were down for all of that, but I was still a little stunned at just how heavily newspapers in December 1974 played his sickness and death.)
Despite big offseason acquisitions of Hunter and, from the Giants, Bobby Bonds, the Yankees are off to a bad start, and some in the Shea Stadium crowd heaved fruit onto the field toward the end of a loss Sunday. Manager Bill Virdon had his Yankee hitters back at Shea on their day off Monday, for an afternoon of batting practice, before today's start of a series with Boston.
Dick Young, of course, covers the Mets for the Daily News. It would not exactly surprise me if he was the only sports writer of the day (or any day) who reversed the batting shorthand to put the at-bats before the hits: "Jerry Grote is the experienced catcher. He is 13-for-0, a frustrating experience. Milner has gone 14-for-1, a single. John is pressing. he had a poor citrus season. His last hot streak was in Japan. There, they showered him with boxes of candy and all sorts of goodies for hitting homers. Would Barricini like to put up an incentive?" (Barricini was a candy maker that staked out a tenuous, certified-kosher-but-open-on-the-Sabbath position in the battle for New York's Jewish market for chocolates.)
Dick Young’s might be the most famously sharp, but elbows are up all over the Daily News sports pages. Here’s a great lede by Bill Verigan on a story about the opening of an NBA75 semifinals series: “Houston coach John Egan called pivot ‘the crucial matchup’ before the Rockets and Celtics began their best-of-seven playoff series tonight. Certainly nothing good can come of that for the Rockets.”
And while it isn’t particularly cutting, here’s a really good lede on an ABA-semis story by Larry Fox: “Kevin Loughery took his Nets directly from the airport to Nassau Coliseum for a one-hour workout yesterday and after it was over decided to play a pat hand for what could be the final deal of the season tonight against St. Louis.” Great choice on the no commas in that sentence. It didn’t absolutely need one, and the lack helped convey how quickly things are slipping away for New York.
I’ll bet Larry Fox was traveling right along with the team, which is how he probably knew about the direct-from-the-airport workout. Also reminds me how Kornheiser talks about living in the same apartment complex as Julius Erving around this time.
Cincinnati (4-2) is on top in the N.L. West. The Reds start a series in Los Angeles (2-4) today. The Dodgers, last season's N.L. champs, were swept in a season-opening series at Cincinnati, and now both Bill Russell and Steve Yeager are hurt.
And in the A.L. West, it’s Charlie Finley’s team and old town. The 4-1 Oakland A’s are at the 4-1 Kansas City Royals starting tonight. On the mound for Oakland will be Mike Norris (1-0), who was noted by Peter Gammons in his regular Sunday “Baseball Beat” column in the April 13 Boston Globe: “Not only does he begin the season as Oakland’s No. 3 starter, but he goes and fires a three-hitter in his debut. Who is Mike Norris? A skinny 20-year-old kid from San Francisco who was 7-8 at Birmingham last year. Frank Malzone of the Red Sox saw him in Arizona and calls him ‘a darned good-looking young pitcher.’ Charlie Finley may spend $9.95 a year on that club, but he comes up with players."
In addition to Catfish, the 1975 A's are without their 1974 World Series hero, Dick Green. Here's part of Rory Costello's terrific bio for the Society for American Baseball Research:
It’s the 3-2 Red Sox at the 1-4 Yankees this Tuesday night, April 15, 1975, at Shea Stadium—Bill Lee (0-2) vs. Jim “Catfish” Hunter (0-1).
ReplyDeleteYou might recall that Jim "Catfish" Hunter previously played for the Oakland Athletics ("A's").
ReplyDeleteWell, on New Year's Eve, the 1974 American League Cy Young Award winner signed with the Yankees, and CBS sent Ed Bradley down from the 212 to the 252 to get the 411.
ReplyDelete(By the way, Jack Benny's death was huge, huge news. I mean, I knew he was a big deal, and I actually do remember some of the retrospective stuff that aired on TV after his death because my parents were down for all of that, but I was still a little stunned at just how heavily newspapers in December 1974 played his sickness and death.)
Despite big offseason acquisitions of Hunter and, from the Giants, Bobby Bonds, the Yankees are off to a bad start, and some in the Shea Stadium crowd heaved fruit onto the field toward the end of a loss Sunday. Manager Bill Virdon had his Yankee hitters back at Shea on their day off Monday, for an afternoon of batting practice, before today's start of a series with Boston.
ReplyDeleteThe Red Sox, Brewers and Tigers are all 3-2 and tied atop the A.L. East.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I am reminded of in flipping back through these old newspapers is how much they leaned on cartoonists for illustrations beyond the editorial and comics pages. For example, the April 15, 1975, Daily News right above Red Foley's Yankees-beat report features a cartoon of George "Doc" Medich, the pitcher of decision in New York's only MLB75 win so far. It's drawn up as a prescription for the Yankees after a diagnosis of "Losingitus:" "Use #42 at least every fourth day mixed with multiple base-hits and if possible, positive fielding by patient." (Medich wore 42.)
ReplyDeleteIt's clever--but also kind of ominous, in hindsight.
Dick Young, of course, covers the Mets for the Daily News. It would not exactly surprise me if he was the only sports writer of the day (or any day) who reversed the batting shorthand to put the at-bats before the hits: "Jerry Grote is the experienced catcher. He is 13-for-0, a frustrating experience. Milner has gone 14-for-1, a single. John is pressing. he had a poor citrus season. His last hot streak was in Japan. There, they showered him with boxes of candy and all sorts of goodies for hitting homers. Would Barricini like to put up an incentive?" (Barricini was a candy maker that staked out a tenuous, certified-kosher-but-open-on-the-Sabbath position in the battle for New York's Jewish market for chocolates.)
ReplyDeleteI might send a question to Kornheiser about Dick Young's "13-for-0" thing.
ReplyDeleteThe Mets are 1-3. Pittsburgh, the defending N.L. East champion, is MLB75's last undefeated team, at 3-0.
ReplyDeleteDick Young’s might be the most famously sharp, but elbows are up all over the Daily News sports pages. Here’s a great lede by Bill Verigan on a story about the opening of an NBA75 semifinals series: “Houston coach John Egan called pivot ‘the crucial matchup’ before the Rockets and Celtics began their best-of-seven playoff series tonight. Certainly nothing good can come of that for the Rockets.”
ReplyDeleteAnd while it isn’t particularly cutting, here’s a really good lede on an ABA-semis story by Larry Fox: “Kevin Loughery took his Nets directly from the airport to Nassau Coliseum for a one-hour workout yesterday and after it was over decided to play a pat hand for what could be the final deal of the season tonight against St. Louis.” Great choice on the no commas in that sentence. It didn’t absolutely need one, and the lack helped convey how quickly things are slipping away for New York.
ReplyDeleteI’ll bet Larry Fox was traveling right along with the team, which is how he probably knew about the direct-from-the-airport workout. Also reminds me how Kornheiser talks about living in the same apartment complex as Julius Erving around this time.
But back to baseball ...
ReplyDeleteCincinnati (4-2) is on top in the N.L. West. The Reds start a series in Los Angeles (2-4) today. The Dodgers, last season's N.L. champs, were swept in a season-opening series at Cincinnati, and now both Bill Russell and Steve Yeager are hurt.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the A.L. West, it’s Charlie Finley’s team and old town. The 4-1 Oakland A’s are at the 4-1 Kansas City Royals starting tonight. On the mound for Oakland will be Mike Norris (1-0), who was noted by Peter Gammons in his regular Sunday “Baseball Beat” column in the April 13 Boston Globe: “Not only does he begin the season as Oakland’s No. 3 starter, but he goes and fires a three-hitter in his debut. Who is Mike Norris? A skinny 20-year-old kid from San Francisco who was 7-8 at Birmingham last year. Frank Malzone of the Red Sox saw him in Arizona and calls him ‘a darned good-looking young pitcher.’ Charlie Finley may spend $9.95 a year on that club, but he comes up with players."
ReplyDeleteI've only started sorting my baseball cards into the MLB75 rosters--about three-and-a-half A.L. West teams in so far--so I don't know how this compares leaguewise. But, with regard to this cheap-Finley thing, I will note that Oakland (which, to be fair to Charlie, won the last three World Series and still didn't draw so great) has the smallest coaching staff I've found so far. Baseball Reference indicates that Billy Martin had seven guys working for him with the 1975 Texas Rangers.; Chuck Tanner with the Chicago White Sox and Dick Williams with the California Angels, five each. Alvin Dark has four coaches in Oakland: Bobby Hofman, Dal Maxvill, Wes Stock and Bobby Winkles. The A's also have the fewest minor-league affiliates I've seen so far--just one AAA, AA and A club each and then a short-season Rookie League team.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Catfish, the 1975 A's are without their 1974 World Series hero, Dick Green. Here's part of Rory Costello's terrific bio for the Society for American Baseball Research:
ReplyDelete“I’m just not going to come back. … I’ve had enough. I’m done.” He had a beautiful home and the moving business was booming, but a big factor for Green was the loss of Catfish Hunter to free agency. He thought the A’s couldn’t win without the ace pitcher.
To reflect losing a potential World Series share, Green made what appears to be a largely symbolic request for a salary hike of $20,000, to $80,000. “I’m asking for more than I’m worth,” he said. In early March, the A’s released Green – he hadn’t bothered to send in the formal retirement letter.
Dick Williams, who had become the Angels’ manager in mid-1974, went so far as to say the A’s would miss Green more than Hunter in the long term. Williams called Green the stabilizer in the infield and was another of those who thought the second baseman deserved to be MVP of the 1974 World Series. In 2002 Green echoed a common sentiment toward Williams, stating, “I played for 11-12 managers, and as far as liking managers, he was near the bottom of that list, maybe at the very bottom. But he was the smartest baseball man I played for.”