Baseball Players From the 60s 70s and 80s

[scotto]

In honor of this fucking snow:
Remember: Pitchers and catchers report in two weeks!



(And I'll wager that he and his brother are the only siblings named Dane and Garth to play pro ball.)

[joelle]

In honor of this fucking snow:
Remember: Pitchers and catchers report in two weeks!

this
battery=aces

[Clams]

the penguin...

[Clams]

big, mean, bad-ass first basemen of the 70's and 80's...

update...

Royals hire Willie Aikens

By William Weinbaum
ESPN
Feb. 2, 2011

Three years after leaving federal prison and 26 years after his playing days in the major leagues ended, Willie Mays Aikens is back in baseball as an employee of the team with which he achieved his greatest glory in the sport.

The Kansas City Royals hired the 56-year-old Aikens on Tuesday as a minor league coach, based at the team's complex in Surprise, Ariz.

"I'm blessed, I'm thankful, I'm at peace, I'm joyful and I'm thrilled with life right now," Aikens told ESPN.com by phone Tuesday. "I'd like to put my skills as a hitter to work for the players in the Royals organization."

In the 1980 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the left-handed hitting Royals first baseman and designated hitter batted .400, drove in the winning run in the Royals' first World Series game win ever and became the first player in history with two two-homer games in a single Series. Aikens hit 88 home runs during four years with the Royals beginning in 1980 and a total of 110 homers in a career that also included two-year stays with the Angels and Blue Jays. His lifetime batting average was .271.

After serving 14 years on crack cocaine charges, Aikens was released in 2008 as mandatory minimum sentencing laws were overturned, because of the disparities in crack and powder cocaine cases.

Upon his release, Aikens apologized to Royals fans and said he hoped to get back into baseball.

Since his release, Aikens has lived in Kansas City, working primarily on a road construction crew and making public appearances to speak out against drugs. Aikens testified in 2009 before a House Judiciary Committee examining the sentencing issue and its racial implications. The vastly divergent mandatory minimums in crack and powder cocaine cases had been enacted in the wake of the 1986 death of former Maryland basketball star Len Bias, which was initially and erroneously attributed to a crack cocaine overdose.

"Royals fans are well aware of Willie's background and what troubles he has overcome in his life," Royals director of minor league operations Scott Sharp said in a statement. "We feel confident that his story and experiences will serve as a positive influence to all the young players in our organization that he will coach and mentor. His passion for the game of baseball and the Kansas City Royals, specifically, will be a major asset in his new position."

While he was in prison, Aikens received a letter from commissioner Bud Selig, pledging to try to help him find a role in baseball upon his release. But Aikens says no such opportunities were presented to him until this offer from the Royals.

"I don't want to just teach young players about the fundamentals of hitting but to help and mentor some of the guys if they are having problems off the field," Aikens said. "I have that life experience, as a person who was successful and hit rock bottom. If I can go in and talk to the guys and keep them from going in the same direction I went in, it'll be a blessing for them, too."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6080281

[never going back]

Where's the MLB2011 thread?

*Nevermind. Found it. Haven't been around much so I'm slow...

[WSPDBT]

met this guy in vegas

[beantownbubba]

met this guy in vegas

LOL, how perfect is that?

[WSPDBT]

lol he was watching horse racing reading the newspaper from a local horse track

[Clams]

[WSPDBT]

[Clams]

[WSPDBT]

[cortez the killer]

[Clams]

Sheesh. Never saw that before. What's the story there?

[Gator McKlusky]

[Clams]

Luv me some Marge and Schotzee
Excellent work Gator.

[cortez the killer]

Sheesh. Never saw that before. What's the story there?

Tony Conigliaro was an up and coming young superstar tragically beaned by Jack Hamilton during the 1967 "Impossible Dream" season.

[WSPDBT]

[WSPDBT]

[never going back]

met this guy in vegas

LOL, how perfect is that?

Well played.

[beantownbubba]

You're obviously not from new england, clams. EVERYONE here knows the legend of Tony C. In fact, when i was growing up in NYC, i knew 2 jewish guys from the bronx who were somehow red sox fans and they used to light a candle every year on the anniversary of the beaning. This one's deep in the fabric of red sox fans & new englanders. Tony C was local (grew up in Lynn MA IIRC) and great (i think he's still the youngest player to ever lead one of the leagues in HRs, tho i'm not 100% certain; it was certainly true at the time). He tried to come back but couldn't really do it, then suffered a horrendous heart attack/stroke at a very young age, lived for a while in a very incapacitated state (i don't know all the details) and then died young. A terrible story all the way around.

FYI, his brother billy also briefly played for the Sox.

[Clams]

You're obviously not from new england, clams. EVERYONE here knows the legend of Tony C. In fact, when i was growing up in NYC, i knew 2 jewish guys from the bronx who were somehow red sox fans and they used to light a candle every year on the anniversary of the beaning. This one's deep in the fabric of red sox fans & new englanders. Tony C was local (grew up in Lynn MA IIRC) and great (i think he's still the youngest player to ever lead one of the leagues in HRs, tho i'm not 100% certain; it was certainly true at the time). He tried to come back but couldn't really do it, then suffered a horrendous heart attack/stroke at a very young age, lived for a while in a very incapacitated state (i don't know all the details) and then died young. A terrible story all the way around.

FYI, his brother billy also briefly played for the Sox.

Rings a bell now that you mention it (bad choice of words, I admit). Didn't know the full story though.

[dime in the gutter]

big rangers fan growing up.

[Clams]

I still have my brother's old Richie Zisk-model Rawlings baseball glove. It's got his signature burned into the cowhide. That guy could hit.

[beantownbubba]

Mickey Rivers!!! I loved that guy! That old man shuffle of his just cracked me up.

Yeah, Zisk could hit but i didn't even remember that he played for the rangers.

[dime in the gutter]

Mickey Rivers!!! I loved that guy! That old man shuffle of his just cracked me up.

Yeah, Zisk could hit but i didn't even remember that he played for the rangers.

zisk was with tx for 3ish years in the late 70's. big time pick up for us at the time. disappointing. lots of dp's and long fly outs as i remember.

mickey had wheels. slap hitter.



also had the scoop.

[Clams]

RIP Woodie Fryman. I remember him (vaguely) as a serviceable if unspectacular starting pitcher.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6095284

[Gator McKlusky]

been digging around in the old man's slides tonight and found these:





a little googling and I am almost certain this was September 29, 1966 in St. Louis.

On September 29, 1966, near the end of the regular season, Koufax threw a four-hitter to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1, achieving a third 300-strikeout season, the first major league pitcher to do so since Amos Rusie did it in 1890-92.

Woot!! Woot!! Go Dodgers!

[Tequila Cowboy]

Nice Gator!

[beantownbubba]

That would have been Koufax's last regular season game ever

Excellent, Gator!!