Posted on 10/31/2015 7:38:54 AM PDT by gasport
Lawrence Peter Berra—you know him better as Yogi—died a month ago. Berra was a devout Catholic, who also happened to be a brilliant baseball player and one of America’s most lovable wits. We pray for the repose of his soul, but this column is not about Yogi Berra. Nor is it about the hapless Chicago Cubs, who for the 107th year in a row will have to once again “wait until next year.â€
It is about baseball, which is on the mind of any sports fan in the country in October, the glorious month of the postseason and the World Series.
More importantly, it’s about ecumenical understanding, personal conviction and religious obligation.
(Excerpt) Read more at georgiabulletin.org ...
It didn't matter. With Drysdale as a back-up they were good to go. The Dodgers were ALWAYS up there in October because they spent MOST of their budget on pitchers.
Pitching is the name of the game; always was; always will be.
As I recall Drysdale was hit and hit hard, when Walter Alston went to take him out Drysdale - legend has it - told Alston “bet you wish I was Jewish”
Lordy... I can't image how much more devastating a Clemens or Randy Johnson or Nolan Ryan would be from a 15 inch mound.
Lol. Sounds like an media invention. Drysdale was a mean bugger, whose forte was pitching, not talking.
There was another "funny" going around: "History of famous Jewish athletes," only it was a PAMPHLET, not a book. :o)
ESPECIALLY Nolan Ryan's specialty 100 M.P.H. pitch. There were a FEW times he clocked 100+ M.P.H. I remember seeing a camera shot of what one of those pitches looked like from the catcher's point of view. YIKES!!
If any one of those pitches hit the helmet...dead meat for that batter.
Those pitches could have given COMETS a run for their money.
They dropped to a 10 inch mound in 1969. Nolan Ryan was pitching in the majors in 1966 and 1968 (missed the 67 season for military service). So maybe the Ryan Express helped lower the mound from 15 to 10. (Probably not as he was a spot reliever in his early years)
“Sounds like an media invention. Drysdale was a mean bugger, whose forte was pitching, not talking.”
Drysdale became a baseball radio broadcaster after he retired. He was on the Dodger team with Vin Scully. The Dodgers used only one announcer at a time.
All Dysdale did was talk in this job
He also did little acting bits, for example in the Brady Bunch.
I had always heard the main reason was Bob Gibson’s incredible 1968 season, when he ended with a 1.12 ERA and was thought to be unhittable with the shorter mound.
arg...I’m still trying to forget 1969. Ryan was a Met ...nuff said.
There was a curious counter-effect, though: batters who routinely ignored the strike-zone anyway weren't hurt by its enlargement prior to '68. Case-in-point: 6'7" Frank Howard, who in '68 had his best season to-date, leading the AL with 44 HR, .552 SLG, and 330 TB.
He also had an appearance on ‘’The Donna Reed Show’’. Willy Mays too, as I recall
How right you are. A few months ago I did a little checking on playoff teams. In the last ten years virtually every team that made the playoffs were the teams with the best pitching stats.
Moral of the story: It's far better to have a strong pitching staff and average hitters and fielders than it is to have a mediocre pitching staff and good hitters and fielders.
Berra certainly did! RIP
AMEN.
The Dodgers were masters of the "scrounge run," that is, getting across home plate SOMEHOW.
Of course, with that flash of lightning, Maury Wills, getting across home was easier because he STOLE 2nd, 3rd and even home, if he was sent.
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