Header - Baseball by the Letters

Month: May 2011

Defending World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers? Not Against Chicago Cubs Pitcher Don Kaiser

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Same easy-going signature!

A lad from Oklahoma had a job to do. He didn’t care who had won last year’s World Series.

On June 2, 1956, Don Kaiser faced the Brooklyn Dodgers. He seems pleased with the results almost 55 years later.

“I guess the biggest thrill in my first start was after the game, knowing I pitched a two-hitter against the World Champions.”

(Thanks to http://www.retrosheet.org/, here’s the results of that amazing day, produced in front of an amazed Wrigley Field crowd.)

Less than one month later, a home crowd saw Kaiser shut out the Milwaukee Braves.

“That day in Wrigley Field was one of those days when everything went right. I mean, I had good stuff and good control and they weren’t hitting that day.”

Before adding his thanks, Kaiser summed up his career:

“Well, I can tell you that life in the Majors is the Best. I just wished I could have stayed up there a lot longer than I did.

I still follow the game pretty close, even though I have been out of the game since 1962. But I can always say that I got to play with and against some of the greatest players in the game.

After I got out of the game I got into law enforcement and spent 30 years in it. Thanks for asking all these questions. I hope I have helped you some.

Sincerely,
Don Kaiser”

Meet Phils Pitcher Bob Miller (the FIRST)

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Rookie of the…Me?

The 1950 Phillies “Whiz Kids” team lives on in the minds and hearts of fans and collectors, thanks to proud alums like pitcher Bob Miller, who furnished a kind reply to my questions.

First, I wanted to ask if he ever imagined himself going to the World Series in his first full year.

“Dear Tom,

From the first day of spring training, we thought we could win the pennant.”

I asked how he felt about the results of the 1950 National League Rookie of the Year balloting. The 11-game winner finished second in votes to Boston Brave Sam Jethroe. This answer floored me.

“I was never informed that I finished second in the voting. I found out about two years later.”

Today, agents would have incentive clauses getting bonuses for a player who finished so high in the vote totals.

Lastly, I thought I’d point out that I knew WHICH pitcher Bob Miller I was addressing. I asked Robert John Miller for examples of getting mixed up with the other two “pitcher Bob Miller” late arrivals.

“Yes, I met both Bob Millers. They became good friends.

Thanks for the nice letter.

Bob Miller
1950 Whiz Kids”

Minnesota Skipper Sam Mele Remembers White Sox Roadblock En Route to 1965 World Series

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Tattoo, or did Mele catch
a fastball on the bicep?

Sam Mele was Minnesota’s first Tom Kelly. Manager Mele turned the Twins into near World Champions in 1965.

I asked him when his thoughts changed from “good team” to “World Series bound.” He replied:

“Had a series with the White Sox and beat them. That gave us the lead.”

Mele’s baseball bloodline can be traced to Uncle Tony Cuccinello. I asked what special education he received as a nephew.

“All the fundamentals of baseball.”

Mele’s fame as Minnesota skipper followed a tidy 10-year career as a hard-working outfielder. His headline-grabbing moment as a hitter came in 1953, compiling a 22-game hitting streak.

I asked if there was one toughest game in which his streak was in doubt.

“Facing Yankee pitcher Allie Reynolds.”

A full look at Mele’s life in baseball is provided by writer Bill Nowlin’s wonderful biography, found on the SABR website.