Author: Bill Grimes

I'm from Chicago. I worked in broadcast journalism for much of the 1970's and 80's. In 1990 I became a litigation consultant, retiring in 2017. Around 2005 I recall flipping through the sports section of the newspaper coming across "On this day in baseball history Willie Mays hit his 600th home run." I enjoyed the one-liners, but I wanted more. I wanted a story. I took my news reporting skills and started researching and telling baseball stories, one for every day of the year. TodayinBaseball.com is the result.

JUNE 8-Let’s play 2… sports that is

*1979 | NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Two future NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks were drafted right out of high school by major league baseball teams on this date in 1979. Dan Marino was selected in the 4th round by the Kansas City Royals. John Elway was drafted in the 18th round, also by the Royals. They both chose college instead; Marino – Pittsburgh and Elway – Stanford.

Elway was drafted again by the Yankees in 1981. He played 42 games for the Yankees Oneonta, NY farm team in ‘82, and showed promise. He hit .318 with 4 home runs and 25 RBI. He was also trying to get the Baltimore Colts of the NFL, who drafted him #1 in 1983, to trade him. They did. That’s how Elway ended up in Denver. Dan Marino did not play any professional baseball.

There have been a bunch of other two-sport stars. Here are a few of them:

Michael Jordan – The basketball icon, made a flight of fancy to the White Sox minor leagues in the mid-90’s. Getting back into basketball was a better use of his talents.

Bo Jackson – Played football for the Oakland Raiders and major league baseball for the Royals and White Sox. A hip injury cut short his involvement in both sports.

Danny Ainge – The future NBA star ( and current Boston Celtics general manager) played 211 games as an infielder for the Toronto blue Jays from 1979 to ’81, finishing with a .220 average.

Deion Sanders – Deion was probably the most successful two-sport pro athlete. He played parts of 9 seasons for the Yankees, Braves, Reds and Giants, hitting .273 and stealing 56 bases for Cincinnati in 1997. Much of this overlapped with his 14 years in the NFL, 8 as a Pro Bowler, around the same time. He is the only athlete to play in a Super Bowl and World Series.

Brian Jordan – Played defensive back (with Deion Sanders) for the Atlanta Falcons in the early 90’s. Jordan settled on baseball after that.

Dave DeBussshere – Pitched 102 innings for the White Sox in 1962 & 63 with an impressive ERA of 2.90 before settling full time on an NBA career with the New York Knicks.

Chuck Connors – Played baseball for the Dodgers and Cubs and basketball for the Boston Celtics in the late 40’s and early 50’s. He’s probably best known, however, for his lead role in an old TV show, “The Rifleman.”

George Halas – Played 12 games for the Yankees in 1919 before focusing on football and helping found the National Football League and the Chicago Bears.

 

JUNE 7-From the school yard to “The Show”

*1973 | NEW YORK, NEW YORK – This doesn’t happen very often. Three players chosen in the first round of the major league draft on this date in 1973 went straight to the major leagues. Number one pick David Clyde went from high school to the Texas Rangers. Outfielder Dave Winfield went from the University of Minnesota campus to the San Diego Padres. And Eddie Bane went from Arizona State University to the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher.

Another player from that draft became a regular major leaguer at 18 – Robin Yount – though he technically did not go straight from high school. He became the regular Milwaukee Brewer shortstop the following spring.

The results of these “can’t miss” draftees were mixed.

David Clyde started and won his first major league start June 27, 1973. His career was not a memorable one though. Clyde developed arm problems and his major league career was over before he was 25.
Dave Winfield was a highly sought-after athlete. The same year he was drafted by MLB, he was also drafted by the National Basketball Association and the National Football League. He never played professional football or basketball, deciding to stick with baseball. His major league career was spent mostly with the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees. He made his MLB debut June 19, 1973

Eddie Bane had an impressive major league debut July 4th 1973. He gave up one earned run over 7 innings, but got a no-decision. He finished the year 0-5 in 1973. He never quite got it together in “the show,” and was out of baseball by 1976.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
MLB Draft: The 1970’s
David Clyde  
Robin Yount
Dave Winfield

 

June 6 – A shot in the dark?

DSCN2130*1983 • NEW YORK CITY – Tim Belcher was the #1 pick of the amateur draft on this date in 1983, but he turned down the Minnesota Twins’ signing bonus. He wanted to wait until the supplemental draft in January of 1984. He was selected first in that one too, this time by the New York Yankees.

How good a pick was Tim Belcher? He had a decent career, but he was no superstar. On the other hand, there are some number 1 picks that totally bombed.

Next time you have a bad day, say to yourself, ‘Well, at least I’m not responsible for drafting Shawn Abner.” Who? Exactly. Abner was the first pick in the 1984 draft.

Or, ‘At least I didn’t pass on Albert Pujols 12 times. Pujols was picked in the 13th round in 1999. Or, John Smoltz 21 times. Smoltz was chosen in the 22nd round in 1985. Or, Mark Buehrle 37 times. Buehrle was chosen in the 38th round in 1998!

A lot of scouts, general managers and player personnel directors go out on a limb around this time of year trying to figure out who the next Alex Rodriguez will be. Sometimes they’re very close, sometimes their way off.

Here are the 1st picks for every draft since 1980:

1980 Darrly Strawberry-Mets – Some great years. Lots of baggage
1981 Mike Moore-Mariners – 14 year career, 161-176, no superstar
1982 Shawon Dunston-Cubs – Solid, no superstar
1983 Tim Belcher-Twins – Some good years, some mediocre
1984 Shawn Abner-Mets – Total bust
1985 J. Surhoff Brewers – Solid, no superstar
1986 Jeff King Pittsburgh – Solid, no superstar
1987 Ken Griffey Jr. Seattle – Superstar when healthy
1988 Andy Benes-San Diego – Won 155 games in 12 seasons.
1989 Ben McDonald-Baltimore – Won 78 games in 6 seasons
1990 Chipper Jones-Atlanta – Superstar, Hall of Famer
1991 Brien Taylor-New York (AL) – Total bust
1992 Phil Nevin-Houston – Some good years, no superstar
1993 Alex Rodriguez-Seattle – Superstar, took steroids
1994 Paul Wilson-New York (NL) – 40-58 in 7-year career
1995 Darin Erstad-California – Solid, no superstar
1996 Kris Benson-Pittsburgh – 70-75 in 9-year MLB career
1997 Matt Anderson-Detroit – Starter, 15-7 in 7-year career
1998 Pat Burrell-Philadelphia – 292Hr, 976RBI over 12-years
1999 Josh Hamilton-Tampa Bay – Good numbers, a lot of baggage
2000 Adrian Gonzalez-Florida – Possible HOF. Still active
2001 Joe Mauer-Minnesota – Solid career. Still active
2002 Bryan Bullington-Pittsburgh – 1-9 over 5-years
2003 Delmon Young-Tampa Bay – .283 BA over 10 years
2004 Matthew Bush-San Diego – Drafted as SS. Today Texas’ closer
2005 Justin Upton-Arizona – >200 HRs, >700 RBI. Still active
2006 Luke Hochevar-Kansas City – Middle reliever in 9-year career
2007 David Price-Tampa Bay – #1 starter. Still active
2008 Tim Beckham-Tampa Bay – Up and down. Still young
2009 Stephen Strasburg-Washington, #1 starter/injury prone
2010 Bryce Harper-Washington, budding superstar
2011      Garrit Cole-Pittsburgh-Brilliant & mediocre. Still young
2012      Carlos Correa-Houston-Potential Hall of Fame SS
2013      Mark Appel-Houston-25 years old. Hasn’t played in majors
2014      Brady Aiken-Houston-20 years old. Hasn’t played in majors
2015      Dansby Swanson, Arizona-Braves starting SS
2016      Mickey Moniak, Philadelphia-20 years old. Hasn’t played in majors

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
First overall picks
Baseball Draft Research Application
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/

 

June 5, 1974: Can’t we all just get along?

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – The Oakland A’s came out swinging on this date in 1974, before the game against the Detroit Tigers. A’s teammates Reggie Jackson and Billy North got into a fight in the visitors’ clubhouse. It was broken up by teammates Vida Blue and John “Blue Moon” Odom, who had their own scuffle two years earlier.

A few minutes after the first fight was broken up Jackson and North came to blows again. This time Jackson banged his shoulder, but teammate catcher Ray Fosse playing peacemaker crushed a disc in his neck that virtually ended his season.

Jackson and North were close friends at one time, but according to the Oakland Tribune they had not spoken in a month. Apparently they had something to say to each other that day.

The ’74 A’s weren’t exactly the picture of harmony, still they went on to win their third straight World Series; a feat no team not named Yankees has ever done.

Oakland players have said they played so well as a team because of their common dislike for micromanaging owner Charles Finley. Oh, by the way, the A’s beat the Tigers that day 9-1.

Contributing sources:
Oakland Tribune, June 6, 1974
Consecutive World Series winners
World Series winners

May 31-Legends meet in Milwaukee

1975 | MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – Baseball generations were bridged in dramatic fashion at Milwaukee County Stadium on this date in 1975. The Brewers were hosting the Kansas City Royals. Hank Aaron, in a Brewer uniform, was in his 22 major league baseball season, as was Harmon Killebrew, in a Royals uniform.

Also in Royals blue was pitcher Lindy McDaniel, in his 21st season. Playing shortstop for the Brewers was a tall slender, curly haired 19-year old named Robin Yount. Aaron, Killebrew and McDaniel all started playing major league baseball before Yount was born.

Aaron and Killebrew were at the ends of Hall of Fame careers. Yount was at the beginning of one. He would end up in Cooperstown twenty-four years later.

Yount would be American League MVP as a shortstop in 1982, the year the Brewers went to the World Series. He would be MVP a second time in 1989, as a centerfielder. One of only three players in baseball history to win the MVP at two positions. The others were Stan Musial and Hank Greenberg.

The ever modest Yount was probably in awe being on the same field with those legends back in 1975, but he went on to prove he belonged.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE:
Koppett’s Concise History of Major League Baseball, by Leonard Koppett, 2004