On February 7 2019 — Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, a member of the 500 Home Run Club, a Triple Crown winner, the first player to win the MVP Award in both leagues, and the first African-American manager in major league history, passes away in hospice care in Los Angeles, CA at the age of 83. He was also a senior executive for Major League Baseball and was still serving as the honorary President of the American League. Robinson was one of the greatest players in MLB history, he was an All-Star in 12 seasons, won 2 MVP Awards, won a Triple Crown in 1966, won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 1956, won a Gold Glove Award in 1958, and was on 2 World Series champions (1966, 1970 Baltimore Orioles), winning the World Series MVP Award in 1966. His uniform #20 is retired by the Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Indians. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982 (89.2% on the 1st ballot).

Robinson had a very prominent post-playing career. Most notably, he became the first Black manager in MLB history in 1975 (with the Indians). He won the AL Manager of the Year Award in 1989 (with the Orioles).

In his amazing 21-year playing career (1956-1976), Frank had 2,943 hits, 586 HR, 528 doubles, 204 SB, 1,812 RBI, 1,829 runs, 1,420 BB, .294 BA, .389 OBP, .537 Slg., & .926 OPS.

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

When he posed for his 1959 Topps baseball card, Lew Burdette grabbed teammate Warren Spahn’s glove and pretended to be a lefty. Topps missed the joke and printed the card with the error.

Burdette would sign his name “Lewis” on his contracts, and would alternate between “Lou” and “Lew” for autograph-seekers. He said he really didn’t care how his first name (which was actually his middle name) was spelled.

Years before Mark Fidrych became famous for talking to the baseball, Lew Burdette used the same antics to psych himself up on the mound. Often accused of throwing a spitball, Burdette never bothered to refute that charge, and used the paranoia to his advantage. In the 1957 World Series, he shut out the New York Yankees twice in four days to give the Milwaukee Braves their only World Championship.

Lew Burdette

On October 10, 1957, Burdette shut out the Yankees for the second time in four days. He was the first pitcher in 37 years to win three complete games in a single WS and the first since Christy Mathewson (1905) to throw two shutouts in a single Series. The win gave Milwaukee the world championship and earned Burdette Series MVP honors.

Hall of Fame lefty Warren Spahn and righthander Burdette gave the Braves a formidable one-two punch, with 443 victories between them in 13 seasons. A slider and sinkerball pitcher, Burdette was widely accused of throwing a spitball as well. His constant fidgeting on the mound fed that suspicion; it didn’t indicate nervousness. Teammate Gene Conley said, “Lew had ice water in his veins. Nothing bothered him, on or off the mound. He was a chatterbox out there … He would talk to himself, to the batter, the umpire, and sometimes even to the ball.”

Besides winning 20 games in 1958 and 21 in ’59, Burdette won 19 twice and 18 once. His 2.70 ERA topped the NL in 1956. In two All-Star Games, he allowed only one run in seven innings. He no-hit the Phillies on August 18, 1960.

On May 26, 1959, he was the winning pitcher when Pittsburgh’s Harvey Haddix hurled 12 perfect innings against the Braves, only to lose in the 13th. That winter, the puckish Burdette asked for a $10,000 raise, explaining: “I’m the greatest pitcher that ever lived. The greatest game that was ever pitched in baseball wasn’t good enough to beat me, so I’ve got to be the greatest!”

“My best pitches were a sinker and slider,” Burdette said. “I’d move the ball in and out. I always tried to keep it down. I was always being accused of throwing at the hitters. Early Wynn always said that he was the meanest pitcher in the American League, and I was the meanest in the National League.” — Sports Collectors Digest, September 4, 1998

"I'm the greatest pitcher that ever lived. The greatest game that was ever pitched in baseball wasn't good enough to beat me, so I've got to be the greatest!" - Lew Burdette, 1959

""There should be 3 pitching statistics for Burdette: Wins, Losses, and Relative Humidity." - Red Smith, The New York Times

Join the Daily Rewind - Join.

Classic Baseball Broadcasts - reconnect with baseball history.

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Born: Sunday, February 05, 1928 in Roulette, PA USA

He was the kind of player who’s worth doesn’t always show up in the box score, but yet his determination and aggressiveness to win made him one of the most valuable players on the world championship of 1960. Don Hoak, nicknamed Tiger by Dodger pitcher Clem Labine because he was always starting fights, was a solid fielder who twice led the circuit in fielding percentage at third base who also would contribute at the plate, hitting over .280 in three of his four seasons with the Bucs.

Many players felt he was such an important cog to the club’s championship run. Cy Young Award winner Vern Law felt his fighting spirit rubbed off on everyone helped push the club over the hump to the title, while legendary reliever Roy Face thought he was the most underrated player on the team. What ever it was, Hoak definitely wanted to fit the tough boy persona. He was a Marine in World War II where he saw some action in the Pacific theater and also spent sometime as a boxer in the middleweight division and his tough image was something he prided himself on.

Tiger came up with the Dodgers in 1954 and was part of their memorable 1955 world championship team, the only title that the legendary team from Brooklyn would win. He was dealt to the Cubs the year after where he hit .215 and went on his way Cincinnati in 1957. It was there that his career finally started to take shape as he led the senior circuit in doubles with 39 and fielding percentage with a .971 mark while hitting career highs in both homers 19, and RBI’s with 89. Hoak was named to his one and only selection in the mid –summer classic that year. Don slumped in 1958 and was dealt to the Bucs along with Smoky Burgess and Harvey Haddix in a seven-player deal that many felt was the final piece in the Pirate 1960 championship machine.

In 1959, Tiger proved that his .261 average in 1958 was just a fluke as he broke .290 for the first time when he hit .294, before moving into his best all around season in the Steel City. Hoak would show a rare glimpse of power during that magical season, hitting 16 homers to go with 79 RBI’s and a .282 average. While his numbers were good, it was his grit, determination and leadership that found him finishing second to teammate Dick Groat in the National League Most Valuable Player voting ahead of such Hall of Famers as Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Roberto Clemente and Eddie Mathews.

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

February 4, 1957, manager Joe McCarthy and outfielder Sam Crawford are elected to the Hall of Fame. McCarthy, the winningest manager in history, won nine pennants and four consecutive World Championships with the New York Yankees.

Crawford, one of the greatest hitters of the dead-ball era, finished his career with 309 triples, first on the all-time list. Some have challenged Sam Crawford's status as a Hall of Famer, but the truth is that Crawford was one of the best sluggers of his era, hands down. Consider: Crawford retired as the American League career leader in home runs, extra-base hits, total bases, RBI, and triples. From 1910 to 1915 (when he was 30-35 years old), Sam led the AL in games played, total bases, RBI, extra-base hits, and triples. He was second in homers and hits, third in runs created, fourth in slugging, and batted .320 for that six-year stretch. He ranked that high while Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Home Run Baker, and Joe Jackson were in their prime. His total of 643 RBI from 1910-1915 were 118 more than his closest rival in the American League! Somehow however, it took a campaign by Cobb to get his teammate into the Hall of Fame.

Though he never played in the major leagues, Joe McCarthy earned the respect of his players as one of the most successful managers in history. He guided two teams to the World Series, and orchestrated four consecutive World Championships at the helm of the Yankees, from 1936 to 1939. He relied on his remarkable memory, his "Ten Commandments of Baseball," and his brillant ability to manage all types of players, and ended up with the highest winning percentage in the history of the game.

Description

"With his lantern jaw and chunky body," wrote author David Kaiser, "he could be an impressive presence on the field, and although he respected umpires, he also knew how to try to intimidate them in a key game."

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Fredric Michael Lynn was born on February 3, 1952

He arrived on the big league scene like a bolt of lightning through the evening sky. Fred Lynn played in his first game on September 5, 1974 and proceeded to smash major league pitching to the tune of a .419 batting average and a .698 slugging average over his first 15 games. He followed that up with one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, leading the Red Sox to the World Series and earning the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and Gold Glove awards for the 1975 season. Lynn was the first player to achieve this trifecta, an accomplishment matched by Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners in 2001.

Fred Lynn had the greatest coming out party in baseball history in 1975, when as a rookie, he played a stellar center field for the Red Sox and earned the American League Most Valuable Player Award. All season, opposing pitchers searched in vain for a way to get the left-handed hitter out, and all season they were left scratching their heads. Lynn hit .331 in his freshman campaign, and followed it with a .314 mark in 1976, but injuries kept him out of the lineup all too frequently for the remainder of his career. He was healthy in 1978 and 1979, and in the latter year, he had his best overall campaign, belting 39 homers to go with 122 RBI, 116 runs scored, 42 doubles, 82 walks, and a .333 average. But after he was traded by Boston to the Angels, he was never quite the same player. He did recapture his magic twice after leaving Red Sox Nation, however. In 1983 he hit the first grand slam in All-Star Game history, and in the 1982 League Championship Series, he punished Brewers' pitchers for a .611 batting average and 11 hits in the Angels' five-game defeat. Seemingly destined to become one of the game's greats, Lynn never met those lofty (and unfair) expectations, but he still produced 306 homers and more than 1,100 RBI in his injury-riddled career.

After he collected 11 hits in five games and batted .611 in the 1982 Playoffs, Fred Lynn became the first player on a losing team to be named Most Valuable Player in a League Championship Series.

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

February 2, 1969 – Pitchers Stan Coveleski and Waite Hoyt are voted into the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.

Stan Coveleski learned control as a youngster by throwing rocks at tin cans that swung from a tree. Though he pitched a shutout in his first big league start with the Athletics in 1912,

it was the spitball he later learned in the Minor Leagues. in 1913-1915, earning a permanent spot in the big leagues in 1916 when the Indians bought his contract.

Using a fluttering spitball that dove sharply and broke inside on lefties and righties, Stan Coveleski helped two unlikely teams to the World Series. He won three games in the 1920 Series — the first championship for Cleveland, against Brooklyn while yielding only two runs, he was traded on December 12, 1924: Traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Washington Senators for By Speece and Carr Smith, and in 1925 he helped the Senators to the World Series in his first year with that club, winning 20 games. He consistently topped 275 innings pitched and was a valuable pitcher well into his mid-thirties. A longtime resident of South Bend, Indiana, the ballfield in that college town bears his name.

What's in a Name?

He was born Stanislaus Kowalewski in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, which was mining country. He and four brothers all became professional baseball players. The last name was changed to "Coveleskie" for all formal matters, but somewhere along the line sources dropped the last "e" and made it "Coveleski." Stan's Hall of Fame plaque, and the stadium in South Bend, Indiana that bears his name, both spell the last name "Coveleski," but during their playing days, Harry (the only other brother to make the big leagues) and Stan were known as "Coveleskie."

World Series Aces

Pitchers who have hurled three complete game wins in one World Series:

Christy Mathewson, Giants (1905 vs. A's)

27 IP, 14 H, 18 K, 1 BB, 0.00 ERA

Babe Adams, Pirates (1909 vs. Tigers)

27 IP, 18 H, 11 K, 6 BB, 1.33 ERA

Stan Coveleski, Indians (1920 vs. Robins)

27 IP, 15 H, 8 K, 2 BB, 0.67 ERA

Lew Burdette, Braves (1957 vs. Braves)

27 IP, 21 H, 13 K, 4 BB, 0.67 ERA

Bob Gibson, Cardinals (1967 vs. Red Sox)

27 IP, 14 H, 26 K, 5 BB, 1.00 ERA

Mickey Lolich, Tigers (1968 vs. Cardinals) 27 IP, 20 H, 21 K, 6 BB, 1.67 ERA

Waite "Schoolboy" Hoyt pitched his first inning in the majors at the age of 18, and when he threw his last pitch 20 years later he had more than 230 wins in his Hall of Fame career. Originally signed by the New York Giants, Hoyt fell from the grasp of John McGraw and was with the Boston Red Sox in 1919-1920 before he was shipped off with the rest of Harry Frazee's big names prior to the 1921 season. Like many other Red Sox castoffs, Hoyt ended up with the New York Yankees, and it was there that he emerged as an ace. A clutch performer, Hoyt was 6-3 with a stellar 1.62 ERA for the Bronx Bombers in the World Series. He anchored the pitching staff for three Yankee championship clubs before moving on to several teams in his 30s.

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Feb 1 1875 Billy Sullivan born is born, he will debut in 1898. Despite being a notoriously poor hitter, Billy Sullivan is generally regarded as one of the best defensive catchers of the Deadball Era.

In 1901, Sullivan jumped to the Chicago White Sox of the new American League and was the catcher in the circuit's first game, collecting a pair of hits in an 8-2 Chicago victory over the Cleveland Blues on April 24. He batted only .245 that season, but would never again top .229, hitting as low as .162 in a full season and having an average below .200 five times. Between 1901 and 1911, the Sox never finished lower than fourth with Sullivan as their starting catcher and won two pennants, in 1901 and 1906. During the two seasons in which he missed significant playing time because of injuries, in 1903 and 1910, the team finished more than 30 games out of first place.

Sullivan is perhaps most famous for going hitless during the 1906 World Series, finishing 0 for 21 with 9 strikeouts. In spite of this lack of production, he played every inning of the Series as the White Sox beat their cross-town rivals the Chicago Cubs in six games.

Sullivan batted only .213 lifetime, the second-lowest batting average for a player with over 3000 at-bats (the lowest average belongs to Bill Bergen, a contemporary catcher). As poor as his offense was, his defense was outstanding: he was reckoned to have the best throwing arm in the American League and his ability to work with pitchers was second-to-none. During his career, he led the AL in fielding four times.

Todays catchers have Sullivan to thank who actually patented shin pads

Sullivan's son Billy Sullivan Jr. played in the majors from 1931 to 1943. When Billy Jr. played in the 1940 World Series for Detroit, the Sullivans became the first father-son pair to have played in the World Series.

Listen to his son Billy Sullivan JR discuss his father and what Ty Cobb thought of him

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

On January 31 1927 – National League President John Heydler rules that Rogers Hornsby cannot continue to both hold stock in the St. Louis Cardinals and play for the New York Giants. Seemingly oblivious, the Cards’ board of directors, meeting in St. Louis, votes stockholders a 10% dividend, earning Hornsby $2916 for his 1167 shares.

Hornsby had a fabulous stretch from 1921-1925. For that five-year period, his average season included a .402 batting average, 120 RBI, 123 runs scored, 216 hits, 41 doubles, 13 triples, and 29 home runs. If injuries in 1923 hadn't kept him from playing only 107 games, those yearly averages would look even more impressive. He won two Triple Crowns and hit over .400 three times in four years, peaking at .424, the highest average in the past hundred years. Nobody could rain base hits all over a ballpark like Hornsby, and he stayed hotter than hot for five straight years.

1921: Hornsby had 33 games with at least three hits, including five times in six games in July. In August he had 49 hits, and on September 25 he raised his average to .404. But he went only 5-for-22 the rest of the way, going hitless in his final two games to drop to .397. That's how close he came to hitting .400 four times in five years.

1922: This was Hornsby's best year, when he won the Triple Crown by hitting .401 with 42 home runs and 152 RBI. Late in the season, he put together a 33-game hit streak, batting .466 with 68 hits. He had multiple hits in 22 of the 33 games. Like Ted Williams in 1941, he was technically hitting .400 going into the last day of the season, with an average of .39967. Like Williams, he chose to play rather than protect his average. He banged out three singles to finish at .401.

1923 : After missing several weeks early in the season, Hornsby came back strong in July, batting .488 with a mind-boggling 61 hits. That included a stretch of 13 straight multi-hit games, when he went 33-for-56 (.589). Hobbled by injuries in September, he saw his average drop from .396 to .384 before missing the final 19 games.

1924: Hornsby started fast, hitting .429 in April, and dipped below .400 only briefly, in June. He got hot in July, including five three-hit games in one week. But that was nothing compared to what he did from August 20-26, arguably the best week any hitter has ever had. His Cardinals played three doubleheaders that week, so he played 10 games, starting with back-to-back twin bills. Against the Phillies on August 20, he went 6-for-7 with three doubles. The next day, facing the Giants, he went 7-for-7, giving him 13 hits in two days! The week ended with a 4-for-4 performance (three doubles and a home run) against Hall of Fame pitcher Burleigh Grimes of the Dodgers. Can you imagine someone getting 27 hits in a week? That's what Hornsby did. He went 27-for 39 (.692), with eight doubles, one triple, six home runs, 16 runs scored, 12 runs batted in, and a slugging percentage of 1.410. That sounds more like some bopper in a slow-pitch softball league. No, it was Rogers Hornsby at his best. He got six hits the next two days, but that was another week. For the month of August, he was 54-for 106, a .509 average.

1925: The hits kept on coming for "The Rajah" as he ran away with his second Triple Crown, hitting .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBI. A cold July, when he missed a week and hit only .326, forced him to finish fast to surpass .400 again. On September 15, his average stood at .389, and it's tough to gain points that late in the season. No problem for Mr. Hornsby. He got 18 hits in his final 29 at-bats. Before a September 27 doubleheader, he was hitting .399. He went 2-for-5 in the opener to stay at that mark, then had a single, a triple, a home run and a walk in the nightcap. The next day, he fouled a ball off his foot in batting practice, splitting open a toenail. That forced him to sit out the final four games of the season.

Here is Horsby on Tops in sports . .