“Ballplayers will cheat under any circumstances if they think they can get away with it. Our job is to prevent it.”

Nestor Chylak began his umpiring career in 1946, after World War II had ended. He had served in the Army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. While fighting that battle, he nearly lost his sight, when shrapnel from an exploding shell wounded him. During his service in the Army, he was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

He started umpiring in the Pony League. He moved to the Canadian-American League in 1950, followed by the International League in 1952 and reached the American League in 1954. His career included many different highlights and firsts. He umpired in the first ALCS game in 1969. Then went on to umpire in the 1972 and 1973 ALCS games, serving as crew chief in two out of three series.
 

He also worked in six All-Star games and five World Series. Among the most notable World Series games was the seventh game of the 1977 series, in which he was behind the plate.

During his career, he worked such gems as Sandy Koufax’s last game in the 1966 World Series. He also was the home plate umpire during the first game in Toronto, in 1977, against the White Sox, in the middle of a snowstorm.

Nestor had to call two notable forfeits in his career. One, during his umpiring days, was declared a forfeit when the crowd, on “10 Cent Beer Night” (June 4, 1974) in Cleveland, got unruly. Fighting, among the spectators, spilled out onto the field, where Nestor was hit over the head with a chair.

Nestor retired from umpiring in 1978 and became an assistant league supervisor of umpires. It was during this part of his career, where he had to call another notable forfeit on July 12, 1979. When a demonstration by a local disc jockey, during the intermission between games resulted in a riot, Chylak insisted that the second game would not be played. This is now known as the infamous Disco Demolition at Comiskey Park. White Sox owner Bill Veeck protested, but American League president Lee MacPhail upheld Nestor’s decision and awarded the second game in the Tigers favor.

Upon his death in 1982, of a heart attack, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn said, “Few have ever been more respected in his field. Everyone looked up to him, and I developed more respect every time I saw him in a World Series or All-Star Game.”

Chylak was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999, by the Veterans Committee.

See Chylak’s page at baseball-reference.com

Written by Steve G. at whitesoxcards.blogspot.com

“If I’m compared to Babe Ruth or Willie Mays, that’s great. But I’m just going to go out there and be myself.” ~ Ken Griffey, Jr.

Ken Griffey, Jr. is one of the most charismatic baseball players ever to put on a major league uniform. Beginning his career in Seattle in 1989 as a 19-year old phenom, “The Kid” was immediately a national superstar. He finished his rookie season with 16 home runs and a .264 average in 127 games, then followed that with three straight seasons of 20+ home runs and a .300+ average. In 1993, Junior really took off, smacking 45 balls out of the park, just one less than Juan Gonzalez. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, he led the American League with 40 home runs, and two years later came up one short of 50 in 1996.

In 1997, Griffey went yard 56 times while driving in 147 runs and hitting .304, earning the AL Most Valuable Player award. He repeated his home run total in 1998, though his average dropped below .300 for only the third time in his career. In 1999, for the third consecutive year, Griffey led the American League in home runs, the first player since Harmon Killebrew to accomplish that feat.

After eleven years in the majors, at the age of 29, Ken Griffey, Jr. had hit 398 home runs for the Seattle Mariners. Then the unthinkable happened–the Mariners traded Junior to the Cincinnati Reds, where his father had played right field for the 1975 and 1976 World Championship teams.

Griffey’s first season in Cincinnati was successful, though not what hometown fans had hoped for. He hit 40 home runs and had 118 RBIs, but those numbers were only good enough for 9th in the NL, and his batting average dropped to .271. The years that followed were filled with injuries; he only reached 20 home runs twice from 2001-2004. Junior made a minor comeback in 2005, slugging 35 home runs and driving in 92 runs while batting .301, the first time since 1997 he reached the .300 mark. Griffey followed that up with 27 home runs in 2006, and 30 in 2007. At the end of the 2007 season, he had hit 593 home runs in his career.

On June 9, 2008, Griffey connected off Mark Hendrickson of the Florida Marlins for his 600th career home run, joining Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa as the only players in history to hit that many.

Griffey has been selected to 13 All-Star teams in his career, starting in nine. He won the Gold Glove Award for ten straight years from 1990-1999 and was a seven-time Silver Slugger. On July 31, 2008, he was traded to the pennant-chasing Chicago White Sox as he attempts to return to the post-season for the first time in over a decade. While his best years are behind him, it’s still a thrill to see “The Kid” smiling at the plate.

See Griffey’s career statistics at baseball-almanac.com.

Written by JT at The Writer’s Journey.

Koufax’s greatness was a long time in coming. Signed as a bonus baby for $20,000 he was resented by the Dodger veterans because he had to be kept on the roster for two years. Like most youngsters he tried to do too much too soon and came down with a sore arm. Wildness persisted year after year. He was so wild that the Dodgers worked him out privately so he wouldn’t embarrass the club. He led the league in wild pitches in 1958.

Going into 1961, after 6 years in the majors Koufax had a record of 36 wins and 40 losses. He seriously considered quitting baseball. For the six remaining years of his career he compiled 129 wins and 47 losses, a winning percentage of .732. From 1962 to 1966, his final five years, he led the league in ERA each year averaging under two runs per nine innings pitched. He led the league in strikeouts and shutouts in three of those years and for four consecutive years he pitched no-hitters, including a perfect game in 1965.

In his best season, 1965, the lefty was 26-8, with a 2.04 ERA. He had eight shutouts, 27 complete games, and set the major league record of 382 strikeouts, still the most by a lefthander, but superseded by Nolan Ryan with 383 in 1973.

Koufax was the league MVP in 1963 and unanimous Cy Young Award winner in 1963, 1965 and 1966, when only one winner was elected from both leagues. He fanned 18 in a game twice and had a 0.95 ERA in his World Series appearances.

His decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur, gained national attention where his religious beliefs took precedence over social pressures.

It often appeared as if Koufax was putting his body through torture with his tremendous back and leg push. Most everyone understood that he put a great deal of strain on his arm, but no one expected the end would come so quickly. Koufax said, “I’ve got a lot of years to live after baseball and I would like to live them with the complete use of my body.” At the height of his career at age 30 he was forced to retire with arthritis that threatened to disable him.

Koufax was the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1972 with 86.87% of the vote.

See Koufax’s career statistics at baseball-almanac.com.

Written by Bill at the Golden Age of Baseball Cards.

“Stretch” made his debut in July 1959, going 4-4 against Phillies hurler Robin Roberts. Despite the late start he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, playing so well that no other rookies in 1959 even received a single vote. In the 52 games he played that year, he went yard 13 times and drove in 38 runs while batting .354. It was 1963, however, when McCovey truly started tearing the cover off the ball, slugging 44 home runs to tie Hank Aaron for the NL lead and earning his first of six trips to the All-Star Game.

He was a generally quiet individual who let his bat do the talking, and the MVP voters listened very closely to that bat. In his 22 seasons, McCovey received MVP votes 10 times, winning the honor in 1969 with 45 home runs, 126 RBI, and .320 batting average. It was a close race, as he and Tom Seaver both received 11 first-place votes, but McCovey edged him out for the award 265-243.

The Giants only reached the postseason twice with McCovey on board, in 1962 and 1971. In eight games, he hit three home runs, drove in seven, and batted .310. In All-Star Game play, the slugger only had three hits in 16 at-bats; two of those hits were home runs smashed in the 1969 contest.

McCovey joined the once-exclusive 500-home run club in 1978, and finished his career in 1980 with 521 longballs. He ranks among the top 50 players for career home runs, runs batted in, bases on balls, strikeouts, adjusted OPS+, runs created, and extra base hits. He is third all-time with 260 intentional walks; only Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron received more free passes in their careers.

McCovey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.

See McCovey’s career statistics at baseball-almanac.com.

Written by JT at The Writer’s Journey.

Prove something is what Nolan Ryan did with his entire career. It’s difficult to decide what is most impressive: his seven career no-hitters (three more than any other pitcher), or his 5714 strikeouts (over 1000 more than the runner-up). Or perhaps the power with which he pitched, even after reaching the age of 40. The longevity of Ryan’s career–a major-league record 27 years–is also astounding. In fact, there isn’t much about the pitcher that one could say was not impressive.

Ryan began his big league trek in 1966 with the New York Mets, but was demoted after just two games because of his inability to find the strike zone. In 1968 he came back and finished behind Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman for the most K’s on the starting staff.

Ryan’s stay in New York was not very successful, and at the end of the 1971 season he was shipped to the California Angels with three other Mets in exchange for Jim Fregosi. Ryan made an immediate impact on the American League, winning 19, 21, and 22 games in his first three seasons. In 1973, he broke Sandy Koufax’s modern-day record for strikeouts in a season with 383. While he dominated much of the decade with the Angels, GM Buzzie Bavasi was not convinced Ryan was worth $1 million, letting him go to the Houston Astros for a then-record million-dollar salary.

During his nine years in Houston, Ryan and the Astros appeared in the postseason three times (1980, 1981, and 1986), but never advanced past the first series. On an individual level, he passed Walter Johnson on the all-time strikeouts list, pitched his fifth career no-hitter, and twice led the National League in ERA. In 1987, with a league-leading ERA of 2.76, ERA+ of 142, and 270 strikeouts, Ryan finished fifth in Cy Young voting, despite his 8-16 won-loss record.

After the 1988 season, Ryan was again involved in a contract dispute and left the Astros for the Texas Rangers. While in Arlington, he recorded his 5,000th strikeout and pitched his sixth and seventh career no-hitters.

He retired at the end of the 1993 season with a 324-292 record (currently 14th on the all-time list for wins), 5,714 strikeouts (1st all-time), and 9.55 strikeouts/9 innings (4th all-time). In 1999, Ryan was inducted into the Hall of Fame, just six votes shy of a unanimous selection.

See Ryan’s career statistics at baseball-reference.com.

Written by JT at The Writer’s Journey.

Roy Campanella, known as “Campy”, is considered by many to be one of the best catchers ever to play baseball. While still in school at the age of just 15, he played on weekends for the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro National League. He was MVP of the 1941 East-West all-star game, then jumped to the Mexican League in 1942 and 1943. He came back to the Giants and led the league in doubles in 1944 and in RBIs in 1945.

Charlie Dressen was the opposing manager in October 1945 when Campanella played for a black all star team in an exhibition series against white major leaguers. The Dodgers soon signed him for Nashua, NH in the Eastern League. Playing under manager, Walter Alston, he hit .290, led the league in putouts, and assists, and won the MVP award. In 1947 he advanced to Montreal, the Dodgers’ International League team, and again was named the MVP.

Campanella was then brought up to the majors and for the next nine years caught for outstanding Brooklyn teams. He was very light on his feet and very agile for his build. He handled the Dodger staff with great insight and was respected by that glorious staff of hurlers. “The Boys of Summer” won National League pennants in 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956, narrowly missed two others, and reached Brooklyn’s baseball history peak with its only World Series triumph in 1955.

Campanella won the MVP award three times in five years. In 1953, his best season, he batted .312, and scored 103 with 142 RBI, which led the league. He was an All Star every year from 1949 through 1956. He won the MVP award in the National League three times: in 1951, 1953, and 1955. In each of these seasons, he batted over .300, hit over 30 home runs and had over 100 runs batted in. In 1953, Campanella hit 40 home runs in games in which he appeared as a catcher, a record now held by Javy Lopez with 42.

“In the days when he caught, catching was basically a white position…. Catching was a thinking position that most of America didn’t think people like Campanella could handle. He broke the mold. Because of the mentality of the country, the mentality of baseball, to be black and an MVP meant he had to be head and shoulders above anybody else in the league.” — Dusty Baker

I remember Campanella appearing on a television sports show regularly after his automobile accident. I was very young and had only seen him play a few times prior to the accident. On numerous occasions he was asked if he would ever play again. His attitude was positive and hopeful, but as time went on reality sunk in. It was a lesson to me at an early age that you’re not guaranteed anything in this life, so make the most of what you have while you can.

Roy Campanella was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969 with 79.41% of the vote.

See Campanella’s career statistics at baseball-reference.com.

Written by Bill at the Golden Age of Baseball Cards.

In the 1925 World Series against the Washington Senators, he had a game-winning home run in the second game, and in game seven his 2-run double in the 8th defeated Walter Johnson and Washington 9 to 7, making it the only time in his career he would be part of a championship team.

His nickname “Kiki” (pronounced like bye-bye), supposedly came from the way he stuttered his own last name. Another version is that while running in from center field the second baseman and shortstop would yell “Cuy” for him to take it, and the pressbox turned it into “Kiki”. Whatever the reason, it is not pronounced “Kee-Kee”.

Cuyler verbally expressed his dislike for batting second in the lineup and was benched halfway through the season in 1927 because of an argument with his manager, Donie Bush, related to a stand-up slide. It did not help that Cuyler won a salary dispute with the Pittsburgh owner, Barney Dreyfuss. To the amazement of the Pirate fans, Cuyler sat out the end of the season and was not allowed to play in the World Series. The salaries of Cuyler and the Waner brothers were probably more than the organization could bear, and late in the year, Cuyler was traded to the Chicago Cubs.

In what some have claimed the greatest game in Cubs history outside of Hartnett’s “Homer in the Gloamin”, on August 31, 1932 against the Giants Cuyler had four hits. He singled in a four-run ninth that tied the game at 5-5. The Giants scored four in the top of the tenth, taking a 9-5 lead. In the bottom of the inning, after the first two men were out, the Cubs scored two and had two on. Cuyler then hits a walk-off home run for a 10-9 win, the Cubs’ 12th straight.

On September 20, 1932, five years after the Pirates had gotten rid of him, Cuyler blasted a triple against the them to clear the bases and clinch the second pennant for the Cubs in four seasons.

Cuyler swung hard and struck out often for this era of contact hitters. Batting in a style like Rogers Hornsby he could hit with power to all fields. Cuyler led the league in stolen bases four times and had 328 steals for his career. He batted over .300 ten times with a .321 lifetime batting average. In 1925, Cuyler collected hits in ten consecutive at-bats in September, to set a National League record, since tied by 9 other players. His 1929 total of 43 stolen bases stood until beaten by Maury Wills in 1960.

I would ask my father, who was fortunate enough to be a Cubs fan in the 1920s and 1930s, about the players he liked the most. I expected to hear about the exploits of Hack Wilson and Rogers Hornsby, but instead the name “Kiki” Cuyler always surfaced. Ironically, in the same breath, he would mention “Big Poison” and “Little Poison”, the Waner brothers, as if to say, “If it weren’t for the Waner brothers Kiki Cuyler may never have left Pittsburgh to help the Cubs win multiple pennants in the 1930s.”

Cuyler was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1968. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.

See Cuyler’s career statistics at baseball-reference.com.

Written by Bill at the Golden Age of Baseball Cards.

Looking at the man to the left that is hard to believe. Bo Jackson was one of the best athletes that I have ever seen. Jackson played in the Major Leagues less than ten years, but his mark will forever be on the sport. His promising career was cut short by a hip injury suffered while playing his “hobby” sport of professional football. If not for that injury who knows what could have happened?

Bo was drafted by the Royals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL in 1986. He chose baseball and started playing for the Memphis Chicks in the Royals farm system. He was called up at the end of the year, and was a star right away. Bo was known for running up walls after a catch, breaking his bat over his knee or head, and of course the catch phrase “Bo Knows.” In addition to his bat Bo also had a rocket arm. He once threw out Harold Reynolds at home from the right field warning track flat footed. The throw quickly became legend.

Bo’s best baseball season probably came in 1989. He hit .256 with 32 home runs and 105 RBI’s. He was elected to his first and only All-Star game that year as well. In his first All-Star at bat he hit a 448 foot home run. He won the MVP of the 1989 All-Star game for his efforts. In 1990 he hit 28 home runs and raised his average to .272.

He won the Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1993 after coming back from his football injury. In his first at bat after hip replacement surgery he hit a home run for the White Sox. It was an amazing comeback just to get back to the Major Leagues, but Bo was not the same. His hip was hindering him, and he retired after the 1994 season.

Bo Jackson was honored by the White Sox in 2005 when he threw out the first pitch in game 2 of the World Series. He was a great athlete that could probably have gone pro in any sport. He chose to play two at the professional level. That choice might have cost him a shot at the Hall of Fame. His ability though formed a legend that will live on through generations. Not many people could win the Heisman Trophy as well be selected to play in two major sports All-Star games in the same season.

See Jackson’s career statistics at baseball-reference.com.

Written by Dave at >Confessions of a Sports Junkie.

Ted Williams made his Major League debut on April 20, 1939. In his first season he finished fourth in the MVP voting. Just three short years later he won the American League Triple Crown. His season of 1941 was overshadowed at the time by Joe DiMaggio, but it was one of the greatest in baseball history. He was hitting .400 going into the last day of the season, but played in the doubleheader anyway raising his average to .406 for the season. He is the last player to hit .400 in a season. In 1942 Ted won the first of two Triple Crowns. He hit .356 with 36 home runs and 137 RBI’s. He came in second in the MVP voting to Joe Gordon of the Yankees.

After the 1942 season Ted served his country in World War II. He would not play again until 1946. In that season of 1946 Ted won the MVP award and led the Red Sox to the World Series. He won another Triple Crown in 1947, but finished second in the MVP race to Joe DiMaggio. “Teddy Ballgame” would take home another MVP in 1949 though. He continued to have great seasons up until 1960 when he retired. He hit a home run in his final at bat at Fenway Park, and did not play the last series of the year at Yankee Stadium.

“A man has to have goals . . and that was mine, to have people say ‘There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.’” – Ted Williams

I think that many would say that Ted was the greatest hitter to ever play the game. His 20-10 eyesight is legendary. It is said that he could see the stitches on the ball as it came towards home plate. The numbers that he put up in his career may help prove his cause. He hit .344 with 521 home runs and 1,839 RBI’s in his career. It is said that he lost at least 140 home runs because of his military service.

He also won two Triple Crown’s, and two MVP’s all in different years. He was a member of 17 All-Star games during his career, and won six batting titles.  The “Splendid Splinter” was truly one of the best hitters to ever play the game. He hit for both average and power, and we may never see his like again.

Ted’s career would have been even better if he had not lost time defending his country. His baseball statistics suffered, but his legend only increased because of it. From 1942-1946 he served as a Marine Corps pilot during World War II. He spent the war training pilots in Pensacola, Florida. During his training he set the student gunnery record. He was released from active duty in 1946, but was called back to active duty in 1952 during the Korean Warr. He flew 39 missions during the war, and was awarded the Air Medal and two gold stars for his efforts. He answered the call of his country at the expense of his career. He lost five years of baseball during his prime, but helped the country the best way that he could.

Ted Williams was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966 with 93.38% of the vote on the first ballot. His acceptance speech is credited with helping former Negro League players gain entrance to the Hall. His number 9 was retired by the Boston Red Sox in 1984. He was honored along with the other members of the all-century team at the 1999 All-Star game. He threw out the first pitch to Carlton Fisk after a long ovation. He died on July 5, 2002.

See William’s statistics at baseball-reference.com.

Written by Dave at Confessions of a Sports Junkie.

Bob Gibson will forever be remembered for his 1968 season. Nolan Ryan for his seven no-hitters and 5000 strikeouts. Don Larsen for his perfect game in the World Series. And Gaylord Perry for his spitball.

The stories about Perry’s doctored pitch abound, even from former teammates. Catcher Gene Tenace said, “I can remember a couple of occasions when I couldn’t throw the ball back to him because it was so greasy that it slipped out of my hands. I just walked out to the mound and flipped the ball back to him.” Despite the anecdotal evidence, he was not ejected from a game for doctoring the ball until 1982, near the end of his career. For that incident, he was suspended for ten games.

Perry reached the two key “magic” pitching numbers considered automatic for Hall of Fame induction–300 wins, 3000 strikeouts–and finished his 22-year career with a 3.11 ERA. In 1983, his final season in the majors, Perry was one of three pitchers to pass Walter Johnson on the all-time strikeouts list (Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton were the others). He now ranks eighth on the career list for strikeouts with 3534.

Perry played in five All-Star Games, and started the midsummer classic in 1974. He was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both the American and National League, with the Indians in 1972 and the Padres in 1978. The feat has since been repeated by Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, and Randy Johnson.

Perry was ranked 97th on The Sporting News’ list of 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

See Perry’s career statistics at baseball-reference.com.

Written by JT at The Writer’s Journey.