Header - Baseball by the Letters

Year: 2011

Angels Skipper Winkles Describes Nolan Ryan As Hard-Working, Humble Hurler

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This Topps Card Only
Hints at Winkles’
Storybook Life!

California manager Bobby Winkles arrived to witness Nolan Ryan’s skyrocketing success. What kind of personality did the fastballer sport in 1973?

Winkles replied:

“Nolan Ryan was the hardest working pitcher I ever saw in the major leagues. He was a gentlemen and modest. Nothing cocky about his demeanor.”

Winkles’ resume includes a managerial stint with Oakland, along with longer coaching assignments with the Giants, White Sox and Expos. Surprisingly, he filled in some of those earliest details, long before he was the toast of college coaching ranks.

“I was raised on an 80-acre farm. Biggest crop was cotton. We lived 3-1/2 miles from Swifton, Arkansas, population 526. We didn’t have electricity or plumbing — only pump water — 10 people in a three bedroom house.

I went to Illinois Wesleyan University. Graduated in 1952. Two years in the Army. Signed with the White Sox. Retired from 7 years in minors.

While playing went to Univ. of Colo. Got a master’s degree in two semesters.

Not a bad career for an Arkansas cotton farm boy.

Regards,
Bob Winkles”

Winkles’ story challenged me. That name…

Swifton? Swifton, Arkansas? THAT Swifton, Arkansas!

Hometown of Hall of Famer George Kell. The Post Office is named after him. Seems like Swifton produced more than cotton.

Tomorrow: Retracing Kirby Puckett’s beginnings through autographs.

 

Reggie Jackson’s College Scouting Report

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A Veteran Rookie
in 1973

New manager Bobby Winkles came to the California Angels in 1973 as college baseball royalty. The two-time NCAA Coach of the Year, he piloted Arizona State University from 1959-71. His teams won three college world series crowns.

Although he wasn’t a major league coach in 1965, the newly-instituted college draft reminded Winkles that he was in competition with major league baseball. His players faced pro baseball’s yearly temptation.

He wrote:

“The 1965 draft — college coaches weren’t affected too much. NCAA rule — college players could sign at the end of their sophomore year. Later chanced to end of junior year. A high draft pick was more likely to sign because big money was hard to turn down for an 18 year old and his family. I lost Rick Monday, Reggie Jackson and Skip Handcock as sophomores. That hurt our program.”

That second player mentioned? Yep. Winkles knew Mister October long before the majors did.

“Reggie had unlimited tools. He worked hard. There was no doubt in my mind he would play in the M.L. No college coach could predict the Hall of Fame for a player. He had all the tools and he made the best of them.”

Tomorrow: Winkles grows up in the shadow of a Hall of Famer.

California Angel Jim Fregosi Rode Two Cycles!

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Same Flamboyant “F”
In Today’s Sigs

Six-time All-Star Jim Fregosi was the enduring face of the California Angels franchise in the 1960s.

Forget the anemic infielder stereotype. Fregosi previewed the ideal of what a slugging shortstop could look like.

He surprised me with the explanation of his career high 22 homers in 1970, writing:

“They used a different ball that year!”

Fregosi tasted history twice. He hit for the cycle on July 28, 1964 and May 20, 1968. His memories?

“First cycle started by Clete Boyer dropping a foul ball at third base.


Both cycles ended with a single.”

(Thanks to http://www.retrosheet.org/ for filling in inning-by-inning details. Fregosi “cycled” his team to wins on both days!)

Fregosi knew team owner Gene Autry as a player and manager. What made Autry different from other owners?

“Gene Autry loved the game, big fan, and kept score of every game.”

I’m touched when a former player will add an extra sentence to close a letter, taking a moment to look back on their life in baseball. Fregosi closed with elegance:

“Lucky to be involved in baseball since 1960. Great game and all my friends are involved with the game. Very happy with my life and baseball and working for an outstanding organization like Atl.

Jim Fregosi
#11″

When Norm Sherry Topped Warren Spahn

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Debuted at age 27

Although Norm Sherry owns just 18 career home runs, he nicked a future Hall of Famer for two of the dingers.

“Hitting homers off [Warren] Spahn was something for ME. [His upper-case emphasis!] The first one came late into a game at home in L.A. and tied the game up. We went on and played 11 innings before we won. Second came in New York as a Met. Both came off fastballs over the middle of the plate.”

Sherry’s comeback as a major leaguer came in 1976, when he became manager of the California Angels. Although his stint as skipper didn’t last two years, he found a lengthy assignment as a San Francisco Giants coach. His assessment of three big league bosses intrigued me.

“Gene Autry was a real baseball fan and was ever present. Always in the clubhouse before the game and after. A real super man.

The owners that I played for? Walter O’Malley was a very nice man. They just didn’t pay well in those days.

At S.F., Bob Lurie was the best. Very serious.”

Tomorrow: a letter from the heart and soul of the 1960s California Angels, Jim Fregosi

Dodgers Norm, Larry Sherry Shared A Dream

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Courtesy Mark Langill,
Los Angeles Dodgers

Catcher Norm Sherry dared to dream.

Making the majors? Playing (and winning) a World Series?

It’s enough to wish big for yourself. To be a kid who dreams that same dream for someone else — then sees it come true, times two? There’s no baseball statistic able to measure such a victory.

When I wrote to Norm Sherry, the ultimate prize I envisioned for him was sharing those dreams with a special teammate: brother Larry Sherry (Most Valuable Player of the 1959 World Series.)

Sherry confirmed that, writing:

“Being on the same team with my brother was a very big thrill. As kids, we played baseball all the time and always hoped we could some day play in the Big Leagues and be on the same team.”

The ultimate expression of that joy might have occurred on May 7, 1960. Sherry smacked a two-out walk-off homer to give his Dodgers an extra-inning win in front of a grateful home crowd at the Memorial Coliseum. This was Sherry’s first career four-bagger. If that wasn’t enough, the home run gave the victory to his batterymate: brother Larry! (Thanks for the memory, http://www.retrosheet.org/.)

Tomorrow: Sherry shares two good days against one Hall of Famer, then remembers three team owner bosses.