Header - Baseball by the Letters

Month: May 2010

Roy Face, Father of the Forkball

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Fans who rave about Bruce Sutter and the last generation of split-fingered fastball artists can’t impress old-school Pirates fans. Followers of the Bucs in the 1950s and 60s are sure they saw it all before, in the likes of Elroy Face.

Signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1949, Face was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950. On Dec. 1, 1952, he was chosen in the Rule 5 draft by the Pirates. Pittsburgh used him in 41 games the next season. His classic career highlights included 193 saves, three All-Star appearances and “NL Fireman of the Year” honors from The Sporting News in 1962.

Face remembered that special pitch and more in a kind reply:

“In 1954, I was in New Orleans to work on an off-speed pitch to go with my fastball and curve. I worked on it about the first half of the season, and started using it in games. It helped me make it back to the major leagues.”

About his 848 career games pitched, he wrote:

“I don’t have any idea of how many pitches I threw in the bullpen. In 1961 and 1962, Jack Hernon, a writer, kept track of the times I either pitched in games or warmed up. He said it was somewhere between 110-115 times each year.”

How dominating was Face in 1959? Try an 18-1 record. He hasn’t forgotten that one imperfection that year:

“What I remember of my one loss in 1959, was to the Dodgers. Charlie Neal got a broken-bat dribbler through the left side of the infield, between Don Hoak at third and Dick Groat at shortstop. That broke my 22 straight winning streak.”

The all-star resource www.retrosheet.org uncovered details of Face’s single loss here.

Ken McMullen’s Personal Touch

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Poor Ken McMullen.

After replying to an autograph request that included personalizing a card, McMullen suffered the recent wrath of a collector on a hobby website.

The post claimed that McMullen added “To —” only as a defense. He wanted to devalue the autograph on ebay, asserted the collector. The cynical attempt at humor followed, speculating on whether McMullen really thinks his autograph would be that valuable and in demand?

Here’s a wild idea:

The veteran third baseman believed the letter he received. In turn, he truly cared about the “fan” writing. McMullen wanted to prove his gratitude and show that he read the letter by inscribing the card.

Could be!

An autograph is an autograph. Yes, someday at an estate sale, buyers may moan, “All these autographs are TO TOM.” That’s because each signature tells three stories: the player’s, my own and the time we communicated. I’m not collecting future commodities for resale. I’m collecting memories NOW.

Pitcher Jack Spring: Still a Gamer

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Jack Spring is still in the game.

Thanks to collector Steve Smith of Fall River, Nova Scotia. He posted on the ever-handy www.sportscollectors.net that he had received two autographed cards from Jack Spring. Additionally, Mr. Spring provided a note saying why he couldn’t answer questions by mail.

It’s hard not to be a cynical collector these days. Upon seeing the posting by Steve, I thought of many reasons why Jack Spring was impatient with collectors.

Through sportscollectors.net, subscribers can send personal messages to collectors who’ve posted a success or failure. That meant I could find out the truth.

Steve forwarded the explanation that Mr. Spring is coping with Parkinson’s Disease, making writing answers difficult.

Nevertheless, the former pitcher isn’t letting autograph requests go unanswered completely. Even a signature may be getting difficult. That’s not stopping the stopper.

(One of Spring’s untold stories must surround June, 1964. Today’s sportswriters goof in claiming that the Cubs and Cardinals staged the swap of pitcher Ernie Broglio for Lou Brock. In a 6-player deal, the Cubs sent Spring and fellow moundsman Paul Toth to round out the deal.)

The moral? Appreciate every autograph. Treasure every extra. Some signers are taking extra efforts to give back to the game and its fans.

Bob Aspromonte Starred Off the Field

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Sure, Bob Aspromonte owns the stats to back up a 13-year career in the majors.

A few feathers in his baseball cap, worn 1956 and 1960-71…

* NL record for consecutive errorless games by a third baseman (157, in 1962)
* NL record for fewest errors (11) and highest fielding percentage (.973, also in 1964)
* Houston franchise record for career grand slams (6, later matched by Jeff Bagwell)

Interestingly, “Aspro” didn’t quote statistics when asked about some of his memorable career moments. For instance, regarding his debut with the 1956 Dodgers, this Brooklyn native and resident recalled:

“Taking the field in a Brooklyn Dodger uniform as a 17 year old kid just out of high school, sitting alongsdie Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider and many other superstars, are some of my greatest memories.”

Aspromonte’s devotion to a young fan in need inspired the 2008 docu-movie “Blind Faith: Bob Aspromonte,” one installment of “Amazing Sports Stories,” seen on FSN.

Bob promised a boy who had been struck by lightning on a Little League field that he’d hit a home run for him. Not once, not twice, but three times. The happy ending is recounted in this fine Memphis newspaper article. The legend remained largely untold for more than 30 years. I wanted to know if Bob’s Houston teammates had any idea of what happened.

“Gene Elston our announcer made the players aware of the Divine Intervention story.”

The Astros wound up on the other side of a headline in 1968. June 9 was declared a National Day of Mourning after the assassination of presidential candidate Robert Kennedy. Team owners insisted on playing. Aspromonte, Rusty Staub and Dave Giusti sat out the game in protest. While Houston played, no Astros challenged their absent teammates.

“They completely understood how strongly we felt about the National Day of Mourning for Robert Kennedy.”

All three players were dumped from the Houston roster at season’s end.

Bob and his brother Ken Aspromonte found fulfilling careers beyond baseball. Both are retired and live in Houston.

Pilot Jerry McNertney Never Forgot Seattle

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Catcher Jerry McNertney found that his most productive season in a nine-year career came with the 1969 Seattle Pilots. Looking back, those career highs at bat weren’t the only things he missed about the Pacific Northwest. McNertney wrote:

“Wonderful time in Seattle! Great fans, loved the game! Great outdoors country! Wish we could have returned!”

McNertney relocated to Milwaukee, serving as opening-day catcher for the Brewers. He returned there in 2010 to relive those uncertain first days with the Brew Crew in a special ceremony.

Ribbed by author Jim Bouton in Ball Four
for his clean-cut Midwestern attitude, McNertney claimed years later that he never read the book. Bouton didn’t seem to recall McNertney’s one-day vacation from good behavior. McNertney wrote:

“That ejection in Detroit: I can’t remember the ump. But I remember the hitter and pitcher, Norm Cash and John Gelnar. We had him K’d, but the ump disagreed!”

The ever-fascinating www.retrosheet.org uncovered McNertney’s clash with authority. Cash was awarded a walk. Subsequently, umpire Larry Napp provided McNertney a long walk back to the dugout, ejecting the normally-stoic backstop.

One of McNertney’s greatest accomplishments in baseball came in never forgetting his Iowa roots. His hometown honored him in 2009 with Jerry McNertney Day.