Category: March

MARCH 5 – YANKS SWAP WIVES

MARCH 5, 1973 |FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – On this date New York Yankee pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich dropped a bombshell on spring training camp on this date. They announced to the world that they had swapped wives… and kids and a poodle and a terrier. “It wasn’t a wife swap,” they said, “It’s a life swap.” It was no joke.

America had lived through the turbulent, permissive 1960’s, but this was a shock on so many levels, not the least of which was that the swap was announced to the world.

Just like in baseball; you win some, you lose some and some get rained out. Peterson and Kekich had been close friends for years. They said there was nothing sordid about the “affair.” They and their wives began discussing the switch the previous summer and put it in effect in October, 1972.

Fritz Peterson was still living with Susanne Kekich and her two daughters, aged 4 and 2, at the time of the press conference, but Mike Kekich and Marilyn Peterson‘s relationship had already gone south. Their living arrangement with her two sons, aged 5 and 2, had been on-again/off-again. It also became apparent that the two left-handers had had a falling out over one affair working and the other not. Murray Chass wrote in the next day’s New York Times that, “…it was obvious they had bitter feelings toward each other.”

Fritz Peterson and the former Susanne Kekich eventually married and had four children of their own. The last that was heard they were still married and living outside Chicago. Peterson attended a Yankees charity event in Fort Lauderdale in January of 2013. The Mike Kekich and Marilyn Peterson affair was over before it started. Kekich eventually remarried and at last report was living in New Mexico.

Both achieved some success on the mound, but neither saw their careers flourish after the swap. Kekich finished his 12-year major league career with a 39-51 record. Peterson had career record of 133-131 over an 11-year career. He also did better on the domestic front.

There are rumblings that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck may make a movie about the “affair.” No joke.

Contributing sources:
The New York Times, March 6, 1973, pages 51-52, by Murray Chass
The New York Times, September 9, 2009, Fritz Peterson writes a book
Washington Times, March 7, 2005
The Palm Beach Post, January 26, 2013   
Jackson, MS Clarion Ledger, by Rick Cleveland, August 29, 2000

Mar 1: MANTLE RETIRES

MARCH 1, 1969 | FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – A sports icon of the 1950’s and 60’s retired on this date.  Mickey Mantle made the announcement at the spring training home of the New York Yankees, ending an 18-year career.

It’s remarkable it lasted that long considering “Mick” endured a variety of injuries, mostly to his legs. In announcing his decision, Mantle revealed the frustrations of a proud athlete, whose body would not perform, “I don’t hit the ball when I need to. I can’t steal when I need to, I can’t score from second base when I need to.” It’s cruel how 37 can look so old.

Mantle had superstar numbers, but they could have been better. He was the prototype 5-tool player when he came up to the Yankees at age 19. He could run, hit, hit for power, throw and catch.

Early in his career he was described as the fastest player from home to first, but that was before leg injuries turned him into a 4-tool star.

Career Milestones:

  • 3-time MVP
  • 16-time all-star
  • On 12 pennant winners
  • On 7 World Series championship teams
  • 536 home runs
  • .298 average
  • .421 on-base percentage
  • .557 slugging percentage

Being among the first superstar players to face the best Black ballplayers for an entire career, Mantle put a mark of authenticity on the American athlete. When the news came, “Mickey Mantle Retires,” it was the end of an era.

Contributing sources:
New York Times, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 2, 1969
More on Mantle

A STORY FROM MARCH 31st IN BASEBALL HISTORY – EARLIEST KNOWN REFERENCE TO “BASE-BALL”

TODAY IN BASEBALL TAKES US WAY BACK TO SHERE, ENGLAND, MARCH 31, 1755. The earliest known reference to “base-ball” was made on this date.

That was not a misprint – 1755.

And it was made in England, not America. The entry was made by William Bray, a successful lawyer and meticulous recorder of daily life in County Shere outside London.

Here’s what he wrote some 260 years ago:

“Went to stoke church this morn. After dinner went to Miss Jeal’s to play at base-ball with her, the three Miss Whiteheads, Miss Billinghurst, Miss Molly Flutter, Mr, Chandler, Mr. Ford, Mr. Parsons. Drank tea and stayed til 8.”

It was a startling discovery. While British games like “Rounders,” “Town Ball,” and “Cricket,” were believed to have influenced base ball, it was thought to be a purely American invention. But if that was the case, what was the earliest known reference to base-ball doing in the diary of a  Brit in 1755?

Contributing sources:
John Thorn is the Official Biographer for Major League Baseball
David Block, baseball historian, author of “Baseball Before We Knew it: A Search For the Roots of the Game”
Origins of Baseball

MARCH 30: SOSA FOR BELL

MARCH 30, 1992 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – The Chicago White Sox traded Sammy Sosa and reliever Ken Patterson to the cross-town Cubs for George Bell on this date in 1992. It was one proven star at the end of his career for an unproven star at the beginning of his. The Cubs got the better end of the deal in Bell for Sosa.

The big name was Bell, whom the Sox hoped would be the final piece of the puzzle to get to them to the World Series.

Bell had averaged 27 home runs and 102 runs batted for the six previous seasons. Sosa was a 23-year old outfielder who showed promise as the regular right fielder in 1991 hitting 15 home runs and driving 70 for the White Sox, but he also struck out 150 times in 153 games.

It took a couple years after Sosa joined the Cubs for him to blossom into the RBI and home run hitting machine he became. Sosa’s break out year was 1993 when he hit 33 home runs and drove in 93. Sosa would hit at least 25 home runs for the next 13 seasons, three times hitting more than 60.

George Bell had a good year for the Sox in ’92 with 25 home runs and 112 RBI, but tailed off considerably in 1993, which turned out to be his final year in the majors. The White Sox found a right-field star of their own a few years later in Magglio Ordonez. He was not the home run/RBI producer Sosa was, but he was probably a better all-around player. In this trade it’s quite obvious, the Cubs got the better end of the deal. The Cubs got the better the better end of the deal in Sosa for Bell.

Contributing sources:
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, March 31, 1992.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bellge02.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sosasa01.shtml

A STORY FROM MARCH 29 IN BASEBALL HISTORY – The one & only Cy Young

TODAY IN BASEBALL TAKES YOU TO GILMORE, OHIO MARCH 29, 1867. Denton Young was born on an Ohio farm on this date in 1867. Better known as Cy Young, he won more games, 511, than any other pitcher in baseball history. The pitcher in second place, Walter Johnson, had 94 fewer wins than the first and only true Cy Young.

Young’s nickname was coined by a catcher who, after warming him up, compared his fastball to a cyclone. He played for four teams during a 22 year career lasting from 1890 to 1911. His 511-wins and 316-losses are not the only stats that are eye-popping:

 • 15 seasons of at least 20 wins
 • 5 seasons of at least 30 wins
 • 19 double digit winning seasons
 • A 2.63 lifetime Earned Run Average

And of course, today the best pitcher in each league is recognized with the “Cy Young” Award.  Here are the fifteen winningest pitchers of all time:

Cy Young – 511
Walter Johnson – 417
Pete Alexander – 373
Christy Mathewson – 373
Pud Galvin – 365
Warren Spahn – 363
Kid Nichols – 361
Greg Maddux – 355
Roger Clemens – 354
Tim Keefe – 342
Steve Carlton – 329
John Clarkson – 328
Eddie Plank – 326
Nolan Ryan – 326
Don Sutton – 324

There have been dozens of Cy Young award winners. Denton Young is the first and only true Cy Young.

Contributing sources:
More on Cy Young
300 win Club
Most wins career