RIP - Scott Reid

 

Scott Reid, an outfielder who played a handful of games for the Phillies from 1969-70, passed away on June 29, 2021 at age 74.

 

Reid was one of the Phillies' late-1960s' prospects, but his career never really got off the ground in the majors. But he sure was a sought-after prospect! Check out his draft history: 

 

- Athletics - Jun 1965 

- Mets - Jan 1966 

- Indians - Jun 1966 

- Mets (again) - Jan 1967 

- Phillies - Jun 1967 

 

He played in the Phillies' farm system from 1967-73, but only appeared in a few dozen games for the Phillies - 13 games in a September '69 call-up, and 12 games in a September '70 call-up. Between those 2 stints, he also played 13 games in late-May/early-June 1970, including starting 5 games in center field during one week.

 

After his playing career he was a scout for the Phillies, Cubs, and Marlins. Later he was a VP for the Marlins and Tigers. 

 

MLB.com obituary  

 

Detroit Free Press obituary 

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RIP - Dwight Siebler

 

Dwight Siebler, who pitched briefly for the Twins in the mid-1960s, passed away on June 16, 2021. He was 83.

After playing for the University of Nebraska (where he pitched a no-hitter in 1957) Siebler began his pro career in the Phillies' organization in 1959. 

 

He was acquired by the Twins late in the 1963 season, and pitched in a handful of games each season from 1963-65. 

 

Most of his playing time came during 1966, when he pitched 23 games, mostly in relief. It was the only season he was not also in the minors. 

 

Siebler only pitched 2 games for the Twins in 1967, both in April. They primarily used only 10 pitchers that year: Dean Chance, Dave Boswell, Ron Kline, Al Worthington, and 6 guys named Jim. 

 

Siebler retired after spending most of 1967 in the minors. 

 

Sports Illustrated obituary 

  

RIP - Mudcat Grant

 

Jim "Mudcat" Grant passed away on June 11, 2021 at age 85.

Grant was a starting pitcher for the Indians (1958-64) and Twins (1964-67), before finishing his career as a relief pitcher for the Dodgers, Expos, Cardinals, Athletics, and Pirates from 1968-71. 

 

In 1965 he had a career year, leading the AL with 21 wins and posting a 2-1 record in the World Series vs. the Dodgers. Two years later he was traded to the Dodgers in the deal that brought John Roseboro and Ron Perranoski to the Twins. 

 

After his playing career he was a broadcaster for the Indians and Athletics. He also wrote a book about the history of black baseball players - focusing specifically on all the black 20-game winners. He was honored for that at the White House in 2007.  

 

New York Times obituary  

 

Richmond Free Press obituary

  

RIP - Mike Marshall

 

Mike Marshall, a workhorse reliever for several teams in the 1970s, passed away on June 1, 2021 at age 78.

Marshall broke in with the Tigers in 1967. He pitched 59 innings (all in relief), but even though he posted a 1.98 ERA, he was back in the minors for all of 1968. He didn't even get a September call-up, and missed the Tigers'  1968 championship altogether. 

 

In 1969 he was a starting pitcher for the expansion Seattle Pilots, the only season where he was primarily a starter. 

 

After pitching part of 1970 for the Astros, he spent several seasons with the Expos. From 1972-74 he led the league in games pitched, with sixty-five, NINETY-TWO, and ONE HUNDRED SIX!  He also won the Cy Young Award in 1974.

All that wear and tear finally caught up with him, as he only appeared in 16 games in 1977. 

 

Marshall made a comeback with the Twins in 1978, pitching in 54 games. The following season he led the league with NINETY appearances. (Some teams don't learn from history.)

 

USA Today obituary 

RIP - Richie Scheinblum

 

Richie Scheinblum, an outfielder for the Indians, Royals, and others, passed away on May 10, 2021 at age 78.

Scheinblum played briefly for the Indians from 1967-69. After spending all of 1970 in the minors, the Senators took a look at him during the 1971 season. 

 

He moved on to the Royals in 1972, where he had his best season (and only season as an every-day player). He also made the All-Star team in '72. 

 

After his career year, he was traded to the Reds and it was back to the bench for his final 2 MLB seasons, playing for 4 teams in those 2 years. He then spent 2 seasons in Japan.  

 

Royals Review obituary

  

RIP - Del Crandall

 

Del Crandall, the Braves' catcher from 1949 to 1963, passed away on May 5th, 2021 at age 91.

He played 2 seasons with the Boston Braves before missing the '51 and '52 seasons for military service. He was the last surviving member of the Boston Braves. 

 

Crandall was one of the five players whose MLB career began in the 1940s and were still playing by 1966 and beyond. 

 

Robin Roberts - last game 9/3/66 

Del Crandall - 9/25/66 

Joe Nuxhall - 10/2/66 

Smoky Burgess - 10/1/67 

Curt Simmons - 10/1/67 

 

Crandall finished 2nd in the 1949 NL Rookie of the Year voting, and was an 11-time All-Star (making both squads in '59, '60, and '62). He probably missed the '61 All-Star games only because injuries limited him to 15 games that season. 

 

After the 1963 season, he played 1 year each with the Giants, Pirates, and Indians.   Crandall also managed the Brewers from 1972-75, and the Mariners from 1983-84. 

 

New York Times obituary  

 

Washington Post obituary 

 

Willie Mays is 90 today!

 

Wow! Where has the time gone? Willie Mays is celebrating his 90th birthday today.

Here is a model I made back in the early-1960s. You can read about it here.

 

RIP - Chuck Schilling

 

Early-1960s Red Sox 2nd baseman Chuck Schilling passed away on March 30, 2021 at age 83. 

 

Schilling broke into the Red Sox' lineup in 1961 and finished 3rd in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. 

 

He was their regular 2nd baseman for 3 seasons, before giving way to Dalton Jones in 1964. After 2 seasons on the bench, he was traded to the Twins before the 1966 season but never played for them. 

 

Schilling became a school teacher after his baseball career.  

 

Florida News Times obituary  

 

Obituary 

 

RIP - Joe Cunningham

 

Joe Cunningham, an OF/1B for several teams in the 1950s and 1960s, passed away on March 25, 2021 at age 89. 

 

 

He was a Cardinals' outfielder from 1954-61, making the All-Star team in 1959 while also finishing 2nd to Hank Aaron for the batting title. 

 

He manned 1st base for the White Sox in 1962, but an injury in 1963 limited his playing time in '63 and '64. He also played for the Senators from 1964-66. 

 

After playing, he worked for the Cardinals as a minor-league manager and later in sales.  

 

NBC-5 (St Louis) obituary  

 

MLB.com obituary

  

RIP - Stan Williams

 

Stan Williams, a pitcher for the Dodgers, Indians, and others for 14 seasons from 1958-72, passed away on February 20th, 2021 at age 84.

Williams broke in with the Dodgers in 1958, and was in their rotation through the 1962 season. He made both All-Star teams in 1960. 

 

After 2 seasons with the Yankees, he spent most of 1965-67 in the minors, then made a comeback with the Indians. 

 

Williams later played for the Twins, Cardinals, and Red Sox, and retired after the 1962 season. 

  

Dodger Insider obituary  

 

ESPN obituary 

 

Spring Training Sites

 

It's March, and thoughts turn to Spring Training. No, not this season, because I have no interest in today's baseball (or any pro sports, really). 

 

Here are the teams' Spring Training sites during the 1960s. Orange indicates Florida (of course), while yellow indicates Arizona. (I should have probably used yellow and green, the color of grapefruit and cactii.) 

 

(As always, click on the charts to enlarge.)

Teams named in red did not relocate their camps during the decade. 

I was surprised to learn that the Red Sox and Astros began the 1960s in Arizona. 

 

RIP - Juan Pizarro

 

Juan Pizarro, who pitched for 8 teams in 18 seasons from 1957-74, passed away on February 18, 2021 at age 84.

Pizarro debuted with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957, and pitched 4 seasons for them, including appearances in the '57 and '58 World Series. 

 

He then pitched 6 seasons for the White Sox, and made the '63 and '64 All-Star teams. 

 

Pizarro played for the Pirates, Red Sox, Indians, and Athletics from 1967-69 before settling in with the Cubs from 1970-73. 

 

He later played for the Astros, before returning to the Pirates for his final season. 

 

South Side Sox obituary 

 

RIP - Lew Krausse

 

Lew Krausse, who pitched for the Athletics, Red Sox, Brewers, and others from 1961-74, passed away on February 16th, 2021 at age 77.

Krausse broke in with the Kansas City Athletics as an 18-year-old bonus baby in 1961, pitching a complete game shutout in his major-league debut. After 2 seasons in the minors, he played parts of '64 and '65 with the A's before returning to the majors on a full-time basis in 1966. 

 

Krause was one of a handful of young starting pitchers for the A's in their final years in Kansas City (along with Catfish Hunter, Jim Nash, John Odom, and Chuck Dobson). 

 

After 4 seasons with the A's he was traded to the Red Sox, and 2 years later to the Brewers. 

 

Krausse returned to the A's in 1973 but spent the entire season in the minors before he was sold to the Cardinals on September 1st, so he missed out on Oakland's post-season glory years. 

 

After brief stops with St. Louis and Atlanta, he wrapped up his career with the A's triple-A team in 1975. 

 

Kansas City Star obituary 

 

RIP - Billy Conigliaro

 

Billy Conigliaro, an outfielder for the Red Sox and Brewers in the late-1960s to early-1970s, passed away on February 10, 2021 at age 73.

The younger brother of Tony Conigliaro, he played for the Red Sox from 1969 to 1971, and was their regular left fielder in 1970 (moving Carl Yastrzemski to 1st base). 

 

Billy was part of a 10-player trade with the Brewers after the 1971 season. That seems very 1-sided, with 6 players (George Scott, Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, Don Pavletich, Billy C, and Joe Lahoud) all going to Milwaukee for just 3 major-leaguers (Tommy Harper, Lew Krause, Marty Pattin) and a minor-leaguer. 

 

After just one season on the Brewers' bench, he played one year with the Athletics before retiring. 

 

ESPN obituary 

 

RIP - Pedro Gonzalez

 

Pedro Gonzalez, a 2nd baseman who played for the Yankees and Indians in the mid-1960s, passed away on January 10, 2021 at age 83. 

 

Gonzalez was from San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, possibly the first in a long line of major league infielders to hail from that small city.

He broke in with the Yankees in 1963, but hardly played for them except his 80 games in 1964. 

 

In May 1965 he was traded to the Indians. Most of his regular playing time came with Cleveland. He was their starting 2nd baseman from late-May 1965 to late-August 1966, and again in May and June 1967. 

 

After that, the job was given to Vern Fuller. Gonzalez kicked around in the minors from 1968-71 before playing in Mexico from 1972-74. 

 

My first year of collecting baseball cards was 1967. Being a Phillies fan, and with Tony Gonzalez' card in the unattainable 7th series, I often used Pedro's card as a stand-in for Tony's when I would play lineup games with my cards back then. 

 

From Wikipedia: 

San Pedro de Macoris is well known as the birthplace of a large number of professional baseball players. The Dominican capital of Santo Domingo has had 106 MLB players compared to San Pedro's 99, but Santo Domingo's population is more than ten times that of San Pedro. The city is often referred to as "The Cradle of Shortstops." 

 

Check out Wikipedia for the long list of players from San Pedro de Macoris.  

 

Obituary