The fans speak out

Baseball Digest, Nov, 2005 by Larry Feigh, Pete Loken, Ron Rigsby, Mike Basil, Frank Quek, Walter C.Nelson Robertson, Lyle, Neil Rothenberg, Tom Theisen, John (American foreign correspondent) Laurence, Tom Chmielewski, Paul Hitchcock, David Magnusson, Bill Weiss, Larry Briggs, Matthew B. Southern, Noel Nicholas, Richard Riis, Holmes Braddock, Ron Brown, Gerard F. Keogh, Jr., Mike Robinson, 4th Earl of Dunmore

I was wondering if you could provide me an address where I can reach Buck O'Neill, the great Negro League player. It would be greatly appreciated.

Larry Feigh

Clearfield, Pa.

O'Neill is a director of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. You can contact him through the museum by calling (816) 221-1920. The museum's address is 1616 E. 18th St., Kansas City, MO 64108.

Now 94, Buck starred for the Kansas City Monarchs when they won four consecutive Negro American League pennants from 1939 through 1942. He was a smooth-fielding first baseman.

After serving with the Navy in a construction battalion during World War II, he returned to the Monarchs in 1946, winning the Negro American League batting title with a .353 average and leading his club to another pennant.

During his time as a scout for the Chicago Cubs, he helped sign Ernie Banks and Lou Brock. He also coached for the Cubs.

O'Neill has served as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans Committee for many years.

Many thanks to Baseball Digest and author Randy Schultz for the informative article on Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn in the September issue.

Schultz elaborated on the conditioning and durability of Spahn. I remember as a young man listening to a 1963 game on late-night radio as Milwaukee played at San Francisco.

Spahn and Giants' ace Juan Marichal squared off in a fabulous pitching duel the likes of which are unheard of today.

The Giants beat the Braves, 1-0, in 15 or 16 innings, with both Spahn and Marichal pitching the entire game.

Spahn was an amazing 42 years old at the time, and despite the loss, he continued to have a fabulous season.

Can you research Spahn's 1963 totals for wins, complete games, shutouts and ERA? Has any modern pitcher over age 40 ever had a comparable season?

Pete Loken

Green Bay, Wis.

Spahn posted some amazing numbers for a 42-year-old pitcher in 1963 when he went 237 with a 2.60 ERA, 22 complete games out of 33 starts, and seven shutouts. His 22 complete games were the most in the majors that year.

See the accompanying chart showing how some pitchers fared after reaching the age of 40.

How many pitches did Don Larsen of the Yankees throw in completing his perfect game against the Dodgers in the 1956 World Series at Yankee Stadium?

Ron Rigsby

Anderson, S.C.

In his masterpiece, Larsen threw 97 pitches, 70 strikes and 27 balls.

He threw 15 pitches in the first inning, 11 in the second, seven in the third, eight in the fourth, 15 in the fifth, ten in the sixth, eight in the seventh, ten in the eighth and 13 in the ninth.

I met my future wife at an Angels home game in 1989. I was so smitten by the dark-haired cutie sitting directly in front of me that the game itself was pretty much of a blur.

I do remember pitcher Joe Price of Boston allowing my favorite player, Devon White, to steal second, third and home all in one inning (the fifth or sixth, I believe).

Price was so blase about the first two steals I just knew Devo was going to swipe home to put an exclamation point on the inning.

The Jamaican-born speedster did not let me down. Neither did the wonderful lady sitting in front of me (we were married six months later).

I would appreciate it greatly if you reprinted the box score of that game, played on September 8 or 9.

Not only would you be supplying me with some much desired info, but you would also be saving me the embarrassment of having to ask my wife the actual date.

Mike Basil

E. Greenwich, R.I.

The game was played on Saturday night, September 9, with the Angels winning, 8-5, at Anaheim Stadium before a crowd of 42,033 fans.

After singling to left field in the sixth inning, White stole second, third and home against Price who had come in to relieve Oil Can Boyd. The Angels scored three runs in that inning to tie the score at 5-5. See the accompanying box score.

In 1977, Rick Burleson batted leadoff for the Red Sox. He had 663 at-bats, 194 hits and 47 walks so he was on base at least 240 times.

Batting behind him were Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk, Carl Yastrzemski and Butch Hobson, all of whom drove in more than 100 runs, and George Scott who had 95 RBI.

Yet, Burleson scored only 80 runs that year. Am I missing something? How did Burleson score so "few" runs with such firepower behind him?

Frank Quek

Las Vegas, Nev.

During the 1977 season, Burleson was removed from the bases through double plays 20 times, through forceouts, 16 times, and through pickoffs, twice. He was caught stealing 11 times, was thrown out trying to advance an extra base five times, and was hit by a batted ball once.

So, he was removed from the bases 55 times, a total that does not include the occasions he was in scoring position when a double play he was not involved in ended the inning, or the many times he reached base with two outs and was left stranded.

That pretty much sums up the reason for his scoring "only" 80 runs in 1977.

In the September issue, the chart on most wins for pitchers with only one loss in a season failed to include Johnny Allen of the Cleveland Indians.