#138 John Romano The Sporting News Rookie Stars

Time to take a break from summer book suggestions and concentrate on the cards again. I'll do one more book related post soon with a whole list of baseball reading that I left out of the previous posts for one reason or another. Meanwhile I hope you are enjoying something interesting to read.

After a 1958 cup'o'coffee with Chicago John Romano found himself playing in a pennant race and ultimately a World Series for the 1959 Go Go White Sox. He hit .294 and slugged five homers in 53 games backing up Sherm Lollar that year. He even got an at bat as a pinch hitter in Game Six of that Series. Heady stuff for a rookie out of Hoboken N.J. 

That December he was dealt to the Indians and went on to his best years in the majors. In five seasons with the Tribe he made a couple of All Star games and hit double digit homers each season. 

Traded back to the White Sox for the 1965 season he wound down his career as their (mostly) full time backstop. For more about the trade that sent him back to the Sox, one that bugged him quite a bit, see this thorough and entertaining bio. 

Romano joined the Cardinals for their 1967 championship season. He only made a couple of appearances after July totaling four at bats and didn't get into the Series but I have to assume he got a ring. He retired after that season. 

My Romano card isn't seriously miscut. It's seriously mis-scanned. Topps chose to use a colorized pic of Romano wearing a #50 jersey. According to his Baseball Reference page he never wore that for the Sox so I'm guessing it was a spring training shot.

#12 Vern Law

Baseball writing doesn't get much better that that provided by Roger Angell. He's produced several volumes  and I believe this, his first, is his best. The Summer Game is Angell's collected essays on the game from the early sixties through 1972. These essays, which originally appeared in New Yorker magazine touch on nearly everything significant that occurred in the game during that decade.

I'll admit to a prejudice towards this time in baseball history because of the success my Orioles had. But each and every subject here, all the Series, all the stars and stories, get Angells' touch. He's very simply one of the best writers ever. And I don't think that's an exaggeration. 

After the success of The Summer Game Angell's collected baseball writing were published several times, each book advancing in time using his work in The New Yorker and elsewhere. I also read the book Five Seasons which picks up after TSG and as the title suggests covers baseball through 1977. just more good stuff. 

Angell's book spends most of it's time in the 1960's. The opening of that decade saw one of the most iconic moments in the history of baseball, Bill Mazeroski's World Series winning blast that sent the Pirates to the title over the Yankees in seven games.

And all the attention that homer got seems to overshadow the accomplishments on the Pirate starter who won two of those Series games, Vern Law.

Law, who pitched for the Pirates (and only the Pirates) from 1951 through 1967, had about as successful a season as a pitcher can have in 1960. He won 20 games (for the first and only time in his career), picked up a save and a win (holy cow!!) in a span of three days in the two All Star games held that season, took home the Cy Young Award, led the league in complete games, made three World Series starts (winning games 1 and 4 and was the starter in that fateful Game Seven) and added that World Series ring to his mementos. 

For his career Vern Law made 364 starts for the Buccos, winning 162. He had nine double digit winning years and also helped out with the bat hitting .216 with 11 homers.

But man, that 1960!! On his '59 Topps Vern appears to be peering into the future with two things on his mind... "Just wait until I show them my stuff next year" and "Why are we all wearing these damn helmets on the mound?"

#407 Moe Drabowsky

OK, I'll admit to some personal bias here because the Orioles are my team, but Black and Blue, etc. by Tom Adelman delivered quite a bit more than I was expecting. It's a pretty good book. While it deals primarily with the 1966 series and the Orioles surprising four game sweep of the Dodgers it covers a lot of other ground.

The author delves into the two cities involved and how they dealt with the turbulent times brewing. He shines a spotlight on the two franchises' marquee players, Sandy Koufax and Frank Robinson. Adelman looks at the chemistry and makeup of two very different franchises.

Black and Blue was quite a bit more than I was expecting and should interest even those who are not fans of either team. An interesting sidenote... while looking for an image to include here I came across a different cover, one that features Sandy Koufax rather than Jim Palmer. I'd never seen it nor did I know it existed. What made it interesting is that the Koufax-covered version has a slightly different subtitle. The original reads: "Black and Blue: the Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the World Series that Stunned America". The version with Koufax on the cover is slightly different: "Black and Blue: Sandy Koufax, the Robinson Boys, and the World Series that Stunned America".

Suddenly, a year after it's original publication the book's cover and title places a lot of emphasis on the Dodger star. I'm thinking that the 'Golden Arm' reference with the Jim Palmer cover was confusing and/or they publishers decided to take advantage of the 'Koufax' cache. Curious.

But, hell, if it was up to me Moe Drabowsky would have graced the cover! It was Moe, after all, who strolled in from the bullpen in the third inning of Game One of that Series in relief of Dave McNally. With the Birds up 4-1 and the bases loaded Drabowsky issued a walk to the second batter he faced. But Drabowsky went on to strike out a record eleven Dodgers while allowing only one hit and took the win in what would become a very surprising sweep. The run Moe forced in with that walk was the last run the Dodgers would score in the Series.

His relief win in that game capped a nice 1966 season for Drabowsky. He had gone 6-0 with seven saves while recording 98 k's in 96 innings. He had a sub .500 career w/l but he had great success one he established himself as a reliever in '65 with the Athletics. In 17 big league seasons with eight different clubs he won 88 games and saved 55. Drabowsky also got into the record book in other ways. He gave up Stan Musial's 3,000th career hit, took the loss in Early Wynn's 300th career victory and he was the first Royals pitcher to record a win.

One of only four Polish born players to appear in the majors (and the only one since 1932) Moe is an inductee in the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. But Moe Drabowsky's real legacy is his well deserved reputation as one of baseball's best known pranksters and all round funnyman. Fake bullpen calls, water cooler goldfish, hotfooting the Commissioner, etc are all part of Moe's resume.

I have three copies of this pink framed '59 Topps card. Each was an upgrade. And I have all his regular issued Topps cards. (Is it obvious I loved the guy?) Moe died in 2006. One of my most treasured Oriole pieces is an autographed team postcard from Moe. The '59 Topps cardback states that Moe gained a lot of 'Major League maturity' in 1958. Thank goodness he never got any other kind of maturity. He was just too much fun the way he was.

R.I.P. Moe

#270 Gil Hodges

"Gil is a renowned slugger..." states the back of this Gil Hodges '59 card. And likewise Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer is a renowned baseball book, one that you'll find on almost every 'Best Baseball Book' list. And when someone does a 'summer' baseball reading list it's a guarantee that Kahn's book will be on it.

And deservedly so. The Boys of Summer is remarkably well written, nostalgic without being sappy, sentimental without being maudlin. It's really three books in one: Kahn's growing up in Brooklyn and relationship with his father, his career as a sportswriter during the team's glory seasons and a look back at the colorful and talented players on those Brooklyn clubs. 

I read it when it was published and have been meaning to revisit it. When my own father, who grew up in Brooklyn, passed away a year or so ago I intended to reread it. We had lived there when I was very young and my grandparents remained in Flatbush for decades afterwards. I was looking to hold onto something I guess. But since my father was a Yankee fan (and only saw one game at Ebbetts Field, Game 3 of the 1949 Series) I realized that a Dodger based book was not the way to go so I read Joe DiMaggio, The Hero's Life (about his favorite player) instead.

Gil Hodges was an integral part of the Dodgers' franchise from 1948 through 1959. He never put up jaw dropping numbers but his solid seasons led to eight All Star game appearances, MVP votes nearly every season and Gold Gloves at first base. 

Among his achievements, as listed on the Gil Hodges website:

·Hit at least 30 home runs a season for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954

·Had over 100 RBIs during the 1949 to 1955 seasons

·Played in seven World Series, six with Brooklyn and one with Los Angeles

·Had a home run percentage of 5.3 percent

·Had a career batting average of .273

·Had a career slugging average of .487

·Had more RBIs during the 1950s than any other player at 1001

Hodges ended his playing career back in New York as a member of the Mets in their infant seasons of '62/'63. He was traded to the Washington Senators in 1963 so he could take over that club in his first managerial job. His Senators clubs improved their record each season. That led to his managerial stint with the Mets and the 1969 World Series title. His work in that season, getting that patchwork club to the top using strict platooning and a fine starting staff, ranks as one of the best jobs I've ever seen.

#429 Bobby Thomson

On September 9, 1965 the Dodgers' Sandy Koufax and Bob Hendley of the Cubs squared off in Dodger Stadium. The result was a remarkable game that ended in an hour and forty three minutes with Koufax having pitched his fourth no-hitter and only perfect game while Hendley had allowed only one hit to go with an unearned run. The game set records for fewest combined hits (1) and fewest base-runners (3).

Around an inning-by-inning account of that amazing game author Jane Leavy weaves the story of Sandy Koufax' life and career. Sandy Koufax A Lefty's Legacy was written without his cooperation but Leavy was still able to throughly explore one of baseball's more interesting superstars. 

Leavy was able, through scores of interviews, to examine a guy who was (and still is) a very private person who made his living at the position that least lends itself to privacy. It's hard to hide when you are standing alone on a pitching mound and every eye is focused on you. She deals with his Jewish religion and the way that played into his career, his relationship with black teammates with whom he felt a bond, his time spent in the television industry as an NBC broadcaster and many other subjects. 

I found it hard to put down and it increased my admiration for a player who has always been among my very favorite athletes. I especially liked how she wove in Vin Scully's play-by-play account of the final inning of the game. Great stuff.

Sandy Koufax struck out 2396 hitters in his brilliant career. The very first was Bobby Thomson on June 24, 1955 in the fifth inning of a Dodger 8-2 loss to the Milwaukee Braves. Koufax entered the game in relief of Johnny Podres and immediately loaded the bases on a single, an error and a walk. He them fanned Thomson and got Joe Adcock to ground into a double play. 

Of course Thomson is best remembered for his "Shot Heard 'Round The World", the homer off Ralph Branca that sent his New York Giant club to the 1951 World Series. When Thomson was fanned by Koufax in '55 the two opponents were heading in opposite directions on the ladder of baseball fame. Thomson had a couple of seasons as a regular still to come but his days as an All Star outfielder were in his past. We know where Sandy Koufax went.

My copy of Bobby Thomson's '59 Topps looks decent from the front. OK, maybe it does have a pink frame, but I like how his lopsided smile accentuates the off "centeredness" of the card. What looks crummy is the oily appearing stain that mars the back. I have a few like this and not surprisingly they all came from the same eBAY lot. Luckily it was a very inexpensive lot.

The Last Boy is Jane Leavy's latest baseball bio. It's on my shelf at the moment, awaiting my attention. It's received good reviews and I'm looking forward to it. 

#327 Gary Bell

I don't think it's a stretch to say that Jim Bouton's Ball Four was a groundbreaking book and changed baseball, or at least how people looked at the game. A diary of Bouton's 1969 attempt to resurrect his career, Ball Four would seem tame today but at the time it was roundly praised (and condemned) for the 'insiders' look at the major leagues. The previously profiled books by Jim Brosnan were also diaries but had little of the provocative content Bouton included in Ball Four. 

Bouton (his website is here) made a name for himself as a Yankee starting pitcher in the early 60s but injuries sidetracked his career. Sold to Seattle for the '69 season Bouton, always a literary type, decided that a diary kept on anything he could find to write on would make a nice memento. That diary became this book.

He turned clubhouse foolishness, bullpen conversations, manager Joe Schultz' 'pep' talks and life on the road into a classic. I received my copy as a graduation present from a high school friend. I read it that summer and it indeed changed the I thought of players, if not the game itself. Suddenly they seemed more human, more fallible. But that was kind of cool actually. 

Bouton took advantage of the hubbub that Ball Four caused and wrote I'm Glad You Didn't Take It Personally as a follow-up. It deals with the fallout from his first book including the condemnation he received from the baseball establishment, the final curtain of his career and much more. It's a fun read but read Ball Four first to get the 'full effect'.

Gary Bell, Bouton's roommate with the Pilots, gets a lot of 'airtime' in the book. 'Ding Dong' was known for his signature phrase, which he repeated through a scouting report on an upcoming opponent, "Smoke 'em inside".

Bell's career was almost at an end when he joined the Pilots for 1969 as an expansion draftee from the Red Sox. He actually pitched pretty well for the Bosox in '67/'68 winning a combined 23 games and he made (and lost) a World Series start against the Cardinals in '67. 

In nine plus seasons with the Indians he was a solid starter (for four seasons) and then a bullpen mainstay. He tossed a nine hit shutout for the Pilots in the first big league game ever in Seattle.

#392 Whitey Herzog



Seasons In Hell is seriously funny. I mean laugh a page funny. The early years of the Texas Rangers produced some awful teams. But from what I gathered from this book by Mike Shropshire that didn't stop the guys from enjoying themselves on and off the field.

Shropshire covered the Rangers for the Fort Worth Telgram and had a front row seat (sometimes a bar stool) to the foolishness. It's a tell-all in the tradition of Jim Bouton's Ball Four (coming soon on this blog) and what went on makes for some great reading.

One quibble.... the '74 Rangers were not terrible. They became the first (and still only) team to finish over .500 after two 100 loss seasons. But even an over .500 club can produce some funny moments.

Whitey Herzog managed the 1973 Texas Rangers and then was fired to open the job for Billy Martin and moved on to greener pastures. He managed the Royals and Cardinal from 1975 through 1990 putting together a Hall of Fame resume.

In all he managed six division winners, three pennant winners, one World Series champion (the 1982 Cardinals) and compiled a 1,281-1,125 (.532) career record.

Herzog's playing career was somewhat less spectacular as he played 8 seasons with four American League clubs during the 50s and 60s. He had a .257 lifetime average as an outfielder, firstbaseman and pinch hitter.

His '59 card is another portrait taken in Yankee Stadium (had several lately seems like) and shows him in an A's cap. Hard to tell if it's legit or an airbrush job. Mine is in pretty good shape. It might be an actual 'G" grade card.