Header - Baseball by the Letters

Year: 2010

Jake Gibbs Remembers Yankees Teammate Thurman Munson

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Catcher Jake Gibbs is a Yankee fascination. He chose baseball over football, spurred by a signing bonus topping $100,000. A star quarterback, he belongs to the College Football Hall of Fame. Giving even more back to Mississippi collegiate tradition, he coached Ole Miss baseball for 19 seasons.

He wore the Yankee pinstripes from 1962-71. Gibbs answered three questions with a kind hand-written response:

Q: What pressure did you feel after signing such a huge deal to play for the Yankees?

“A: I wasn’t the first bonus baby by the Yankees. Frank Leja. It wasn’t a big deal. I just went out and tried to play good baseball.”

(This is in contrast to Gibbs’ 1969 Topps card cartoon, which read: “The Yankees paid Jake a huge bonus to forget about football.” I told him the card read like a James Bond plot.)

Q: I can imagine some of the hard hits you endured as a quarterback. What were some of the toughest collisions you faced at home plate with the Yankees?

“A: I had many. I blocked the plate one night in KC, the old park, and got run over about the time I was catching the ball. Really popped my neck. The trainers rubbed me for two hours the next day. It was your job to protect the plate.”

Q: What were your first impressions of Thurman Munson?

“A: Thurman and I played together two years. We worked together very well. I tried to help him knowing the pitching staff. He was a great hitter with a real quick release to second base.

“We became good friends. I still think about him.”

Johnny Edwards knows no-hitters

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Johnny Edwards shined behind the plate from 1961-74, serving the Reds, Cardinals and then Astros.

A three-time All-Star and recipient of two Gold Gloves, Edwards doesn’t remember Jim Maloney’s two gems as the majestic records some fans might.

Edwards wrote:

“In the first no-hitter, I was taken out for a pinch-runner. Boy, was I mad.

(Ironically, Maloney was credited only with the loss, not a no-no, as the Mets rallied in 11 innings. See the box score here.)

“In the second no-hitter, Jim was so wild, I believe he walked 11 hittters. Every time in the late innings, there was a man on third and I was afraid of losing the game on a wild pitch.”

(This happier ending, this official no-hitter, is documented here.)

Edwards followed the path of Curt Flood. Both moved from the Reds to Cardinals.

“I didn’t play with Curt in Cincinnati, but he was great outfielder with St. Louis. The modern players should thank him. He (Edwards’ emphasis) was responsible for obtaining free agency. The owners blackballed him. I don’t think he will get into the Hall.”

Ironically, Edwards never mentioned partnering with pitcher Ray Washburn on a no-hitter for the Cardinals in 1968. Flood patrolled center field that day.

Edwards once told Tim McCarver that he remembered Flood always cheering on teammates, no matter the score or Flood’s own success in the game.

You can’t help but keep cheering for Johnny Edwards, too.

Duane Pillette’s Major League Father

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Pitcher Duane Pillette didn’t have the usual roadblocks up-and-coming hurlers face. Pillette’s first obstacle was his father, major league veteran Herman Pillette.

Fans might think a father with big league experience (a 19-game winner with the 1922 Tigers!) would be the golden ticket to the majors, the perfect parental coach.

“There’s is no doubt that you love the game of baseball–and do I,” Pillette began. “My father was always my hero and I wanted to be just like him. I knew that was impossible, but I swore to myself I would make the majors, although it was against his wishes.

“You see, my dad was a farm boy and he had very little education. Therefore, he seldom made money playing ball. He wanted me to get an education and not always worry about money. He even refused to show me anything about pitching. But I said, ‘Dad, you can’t pay my way to college, so how else can I get that education? I must be good enough to receive a scholarship.’

“He gave in, but said, ‘Okay, you must earn it on your own.’

“I did get that education, and one of the best in the country. Santa Clara, it was a Jesuit (we are Catholic) University, and they are tough. I knew if I could make the grade there, I could make it to the majors.

“But it wasn’t easy, because I received a letter saying I was to join the service. I spent three years, and it made me be tough enough to do anything.

“Sorry, I got carried away. But remember, if you want something bad enough, go get it.

“No, he never saw me pitch, but he read about me, first high school, then college and finally the majors. I wasn’t great, but I stayed eight years, and that made my goal.

“Yes, he was proud of me.

“Remember, whatever you do, do it the best you can and you will be happy.

Sincerely,
Duane Pillete”

Pitcher Duane Pillette’s Field of Dreams

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Duane Pillette is an eternal all-star. Forget the statistics. I’m talking about a baseball evangelist, someone unmatched at spreading love for the game.

Pillette responded with a 2-1/2 page response to questions about his career.
His insightful, inspirational letter is worthy of Hall of Fame enshrinement.

First of all, Pillette offered a perspective of his time with the St. Louis
Browns not heard from many Brownies. How did it feel to go from 1953 Brown
to a charter member of the Baltimore Orioles?

“Tom: The St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles. They were really the same team. But St. Louis’ park was used by the Cardinals, also, and the infield was dirt, not grass.

Baltimore had grass, and I was a ground-ball pitcher. So in 1954, my only year with them, I made the All-Star team.”

For fans, Baltimore was Memorial Stadium.

For Pillette, Memorable Stadium!

Tomorrow, discover Pillete’s inspiring story of his major league father.

Johnny “Bear Tracks” Schmitz is 89

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Pitcher Johnny Schmitz recorded a decade of solid left-handed success. A two-time All-Star, he was the National League’s strikeout leader in 1946.

All this may pale in comparison to owning one of the greatest nicknames of his day.

Source after source claims that the moniker “Bear Tracks” refers to Schmitz’s gait to the mound.

Everyone except Schmitz.

“Bear tracks: I got that name in spring training in 1938 with Milwaukee of the American Association,” he writes. “In Hot Springs, Arkansas, they took a picture of me putting on my shoes sitting in the stands. They saw I had big feet.

“I like that name.”

Schmitz seemed modest about his quick return to the majors in 1946, following his World War II military service.

“We (the Cubs) had a good ball club when I came out of the service,” he remembers. “We finished in third place. I was 11 and 11. We didn’t get many runs.”

Upon sharing the tribute from Dodger hurler Rex Barney that Schmitz could drop his curve into a coffee cup (full interview from a 1996 Baseball Digest), the veteran lefty’s smile seemed to leap off the page.

“Rex Barney was right,” Schmitz notes. I beat him 1 to 0. You know, there was only one left-hand hitter in their lineup. I always got the best (opposing) pitchers when I pitched. They (Dodgers) had the best club in the league.”

Schmitz concludes with…

“I am now 89 years old, going on 90 Nov. 27.

Thank you.”

It’s my pleasure, Mr. Schmitz.