Saturday, September 30, 2017

1960s Blog Hall of Fame Results (#9)


Billy Williams was the lone inductee this time, joining the 28 others shown below.


Williams was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1961, and a 6-time All-Star.  He also finished 2nd in the MVP balloting in 1970 and 1972.

Billy led the NL in hits and runs in 1970, and played in 1117 consecutive games from 9/22/1963 to 9/2/1970.  He joined the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.




Complete results:

12 voters participated this time.  The polls were open for about 5 weeks, but 11 of the votes were cast in the first week, with the final vote coming in the closing hours of the poll, just barely pushing Williams to the required 75%. One player received less that the minimum 15% to be retained for the next ballot.

I think I will have shorter voting periods in the future, since most everyone who was interested had voted in the first few days of the poll.


(Click the "hall of fame ballot" label below to see all past results.) 

Sunday, September 10, 2017

RIP - Gene Michael


Former shortstop, manager, and GM Gene Michael passed away on September 7, 2017 at age 79.


"Stick" played mostly for the Yankees (1968-74), but also for the Pirates (1966), Dodgers (1967) and Tigers (1975).

After his playing career, Michael managed the Yankees twice (who hasn't?).  He piloted the team for the split 1981 season, then was brought back midway through 1982 for a short time. He also managed the Cubs for parts of 1986 and 1987.

Michael was also the Yankees' GM twice, from 1980-81 and again from 1990-95. During his 2nd stint, the Yankees acquired many of the players who led them to multiple World Championships. After getting the ax in 1995, he continued to work for the Yankees in scouting positions.

New York Times obituary

ESPN obituary
 

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

RIP - Paul Schaal


Paul Schaal, who played 3rd base for the Angels in the mid-1960s before becoming a member of the expansion Kansas City Royals in 1969, passed away on September 1, 2017 at age 74.


Schaal became the Angels' everyday 3rd baseman as a rookie in 1965, and remained there through the 1968 season (except for missing the 2nd half of the '67 and '68 seasons with injuries).

He was selected by the Royals prior to 1969, but missed the first half of that season, then was their regular 3rd baseman for the 2nd half, as well as all of 1970-73. (He started every game in 1971.)

With George Brett taking over in May 1974, Schaal returned to the Angels to complete his final season.

Kansas City Star obituary