Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
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Cooperstown Confidential by Bruce Markusen

The Rumor Mill

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the Red Sox feel they’ve solved their bullpen problems by moving Curt Schilling into the uncharted territory of late-inning relief. They’re still holding out hope that Schilling can move back into the rotation by August or September, and even if he can’t, they still believe they need to acquire at least one quality reliever through the trade market. Their most desired commodity is Tampa Bay’s Danys Baez, but they’re hoping that the Devil Rays back off on their exorbitant trade demands of three prospects for the talented but inconsistent closer… The Red Sox are also one of several teams that have shown interest in Bret Boone, recently thrown into the wasteland known as the designated-for-assignment list. The Sox’ interest stems from their concern over the shaky defensive play of Mark Bellhorn, whose hands have become a sore spot in 2005. Like the other teams that have expressed a desire for Boone—principally the Yankees and the Padres—the Red Sox will have decide whether to give up a small amount of value in a trade that will guarantee them the services of Boone, or wait until he becomes a free agent and hope that he chooses them over other contenders… The Red Sox do have an advantage over other teams in that they can offer Boone a regular playing job for the rest of the season. In contrast, the Yankees can only promise a platoon opportunity with impressive rookie Robinson Cano, while the Padres can only offer playing time until Mark Loretta returns from the disabled list…

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The Death of Dick Dietz

Former major leaguer Dick Dietz, an underrated player and a fun-loving teammate, died last month. While his name might not be familiar to younger generations of fans, he was certainly a recognizable player to those who grew up with baseball in the 1960s and seventies. He was also a Sabermetric favorite, in much the same way that Gene Tenace and Mickey Tettleton garnered preference in later decades. And for one season, Dietz was just about the best catcher in the National League—playing at a level that put him in company with Hall of Famer Johnny Bench.

In 1970, Dietz batted an even .300 for the San Francisco Giants while compiling 22 home runs, 109 RBIs, and 84 runs scored. Even more impressively, Dietz drew 104 walks, an excellent total for any player and a remarkable figure for a catcher who lacked the reputation of a Bench or Joe Torre. Although Dietz’ home run and RBI totals didn’t come close to matching those of Bench, his high walk total gave him a remarkable on-base percentage of .430—a 79-point advantage over Bench (.351.) On the way to producing such numbers, Dietz earned a berth in the All-Star Game and came off the bench to hit a key home run in the bottom of the ninth.
So why is it that Dick Dietz didn’t become a household name? Unfortunately, he never came close to matching his 1970 numbers again. After a respectable 1971 season, Dietz was surprisingly sold on waivers to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers during the spring of 1972. The reason? As the Giants’ player representative during the strike of ’72, Dietz had drawn the wrath of San Francisco management. The Giants decided to punish Dietz by selling him to another team, but they mostly punished themselves by receiving nothing of substance for a creditable major league catcher.

Shortly after joining the Dodgers, Dietz suffered a broken finger (in his first start with Los Angeles, no less) and missed most of the 1972 season. By then, Dietz’ days as an everyday player had come to an end. Dietz then moved on to the Atlanta Braves, where he became a valuable member of the team’s vaunted “F-Troop” bench brigade. And then, after a productive offensive season in 1973, when he compiled a .479 on-base percentage in a backup role and helped make the Braves’ clubhouse a fun place, Dietz never again played in the major leagues. Believing that he still had ample ability to hit the ball, Dietz felt that major league teams had colluded against him because of his active involvement with the Players’ Association.

Although Dietz was only 32, his career was over—just three years after his All-Star season, which had come at the tender age of 28. Sadly, such rapid declines are not uncommon for catchers, who are subject to more physical wear and tear to their bodies than any other position players. It’s quite likely that Dietz’ extreme workload in 1970 and 1971 contributed to a loss of arm strength, a falloff in his already questionable mobility behind the plate, and to his general lack of longevity. After playing in a staggering 148 games in ‘70 and another 142 games in ’71, Dietz’ physical skills had declined from overuse.

During his playing days, Dietz sported a solid six-foot, one-inch, 185-pound frame. After his playing career, Dietz fell victim to a condition that sadly plagues too many former players. He became extremely overweight, which may have contributed to the June 27th heart attack that took his life at the age of 63.

Much like his playing days, Dietz’ life was far too short. Let’s hope that doesn’t make him a forgotten man. Baseball fans should remember that for one season, Dick Dietz was pretty much the equal of Johnny Bench.

Here are a few other notes about Dietz:

*He was ineligible to play baseball in high school because he was already married. I don’t know if that was a rule specific to his high school or a rule that was enforced nationally, and I don’t know if the rule still exists today.

*Dietz was nicknamed “The Mule,” which was an unusually common nickname for the era. I know of at least three other players of the sixties and seventies who went by tag of Mule—Ron Fairly, Ray Fosse, and Don Mincher.

*In the most celebrated incident of his career, Dietz became an unwilling participant in a headline-making on-field controversy. During the 1968 season, Dietz appeared to end the major league record scoreless innings streak of Don Drysdale when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Well, not so fast. In a surprise ruling, home plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt determined that Dietz would not be allowed to take first base; the at-bat would have to continue because Dietz had made no effort to elude the pitch by Drysdale. (According to the rules, Wendelstedt likely made the proper call, but his decision drew howls of protest because of umpires’ general tendency NOT to enforce the rule.) A few moments later, Drysdale retired Dietz to prolong the streak, on his way to pitching a fifth consecutive shutout.

*In Dietz’ lone All-Star appearance, he homered in the ninth inning of the 1970 game, beginning a dramatic rally that would tie the game and force extra innings. It was a nice moment for a player who didn’t receive a lot of recognition—and certainly deserved a bit more acclaim.

*In 1973, Dietz was part of the Braves’ semi-famous “F-Troop” bench brigade. Almost all of the Braves’ bench players exceeded expectations that year, including first baseman Frank Tepedino and utility man Chuck Goggin. Splitting his part-time role between catcher and first base, Dietz compiled an on-base percentage well over .400 that season. Whatever the reason for his release, it’s a shame that no team wanted him on its 25-man roster in 1974.

In the meantime, the Yankees have given up on their efforts to acquire Mark Kotsay from Oakland. The reason is simple: Billy Beane’s asking price of top prospects Eric Duncan and Philip Hughes is way too high for the free-agent-in-waiting. The Yankees are now setting sites on Florida’s Juan Encarnacion, who is playing well for the Marlins but remains in the doghouse of Jack McKeon. The Yankees believe that Encarnacion, primarily a right fielder during his career, can make the transition to center field and give the Yankees more range and throwing power than Tony Womack, Bernie Williams, or Hideki Matsui. As always, the obstacle is what the Yankees can reasonably offer in return for Encarnacion. The Marlins would love Tom “Flash” Gordon, but the Yankees can’t afford to give up much more than Mike Stanton and the currently disabled Felix Rodriguez…

In the National League, the Cubs remain the favorites to pry Kotsay away from the A’s. Chicago is more than willing to offer the disappointing Corey Patterson along with some young pitching, which may be enough to convince Beane to pull the trigger. The A’s would then try their Moneyball approach on the talented Patterson, whose lack of patience at the plate remains the biggest landmine between mediocrity and stardom…

After some early-season optimism that he had returned to prior National League form, Javier Vazquez has once again returned to the rumor mill. For all the talk that Vazquez had rediscovered his mechanics and his fastball, his ERA remains mediocre, even in the suppressed hitting atmosphere of the senior circuit. With the Diamondbacks having fallen out of contention in the NL West, they’re now dangling Vazquez to several contenders, including the Braves, Nationals, Orioles, and Indians.

Bingo
I enjoyed a good baseball experience last month. For the first time this year, I participated in a book signing at a ballpark—specifically NYSEG Stadium, home of the Double-A Binghamton Mets and a very nice minor league facility. (Binghamton is only about and hour and fifteen minutes from Cooperstown, making it one of two minor league clubs within short driving distance; the other is the Oneonta Tigers, located about a half an hour from the heart of Cooperstown. Who says Cooperstown isn’t close to anything?) Even though the B-Mets had never before hosted a book signing at their stadium, they ran the show like veterans of a seasoned book store chain. The front office staff of the Mets could not have been nicer, in part because of the diligence and professionalism of general manager Scott Brown. We also owe special thanks to B-Mets intern John Trush, who stayed with my wife and I throughout the signing and made us feel welcome during our entire visit to the Binghamton ballpark. (John also informed me that he was a Dean Koontz fan and suggested that I, as a fan of horror and vampire tales, should read his book, Tick Tock.)…

Another satisfying part of our visit was the chance to talk with B-Mets broadcaster Rob Ford, who invited me to visit the booth and talk about Tales From The Mets Dugout for two innings. Formerly a broadcaster in the lower minors of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ chain, Rob is in his first season as the play-by-play man for the B-Mets. With his excellent voice, rhythmic play-by-play ability, and his solid sense of baseball history, Rob has a terrific future in the business. If there’s any justice, he’ll eventually be doing play-by-play for a major league team…

During a chat with another member of the Binghamton Mets’ front office, community relations director Nancy Wiseman, I learned about some current major leaguers who have passed through Binghamton in past years. Like everyone else, Nancy raved about the character and personality of David Wright, who managed to make an indelibly positive impression on the Binghamton community despite a relatively short stay with the Double-A team in 2004. The kind words for Wright make you want to root even harder for him to do well in the major leagues; it would be nice for the sport to have another star player with a down-to-earth ability to connect with fans.

Other former B-Mets who qualify as “good guys” include Heath Bell, currently a set up man for the Mets, and Tyler Walker, the bulldog closer for the Giants. I was also surprised to hear positive reviews for Grant Roberts, the troubled right-hander who has had problems with drugs and tested positive for steroid use earlier this season. Having recently re-signed with the Mets’ organization after being released during the spring, Roberts is attempting the long road back to the major leagues. Having heard such good things about Roberts, I hope that he’s learned from his mistakes and can make it back. Heck, the Mets could use the bullpen help—either now or in the near future.

Card Corner—Steve Barber

Steve Barber, the left-hander with the wry smile, stands as a testament to two developments: the widespread use of today’s speed gun in measuring fastballs puts all current-day pitchers on a level playing field, and pitchers of today seem to throw much harder than their predecessors of 40 years ago. Or do they?

Shortly after Barber (pictured here in his1965 Topps card) made his major league debut in 1960, his fastball was clocked at just over 95 miles per hour. That calculation gave him the third highest rating of all-time, behind only Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Walter Johnson. While a 95-mile-an-hour fastball is no small achievement, there are dozens of pitchers in today’s game who have been timed at such speeds—or higher. So what gives? On average, pitchers do seem to throw harder today. The average major league fastball was once placed at 85 miles per hour; today’s average seems to be about 88 miles per hour. Sports medicine, improved coaching techniques, and steroids may all play a part in the increase.

Then again, maybe it’s all perception. Some of today’s radar guns produce faster readings than others, which might make one question the overall efficiency of the practice of timing pitchers. And in Barber’s day, most pitchers did not have their fastballs clocked; the technology was simply not as prevalent as it is today. It’s also possible that the clocking machines of the day underestimated the speed of all pitches, including those of Feller and Johnson. After all, Barber was widely regarded as one of the real flamethrowers of the day, a pitcher with a fastball that popped and sizzled as much as it moved.

Whether the fastball readings were accurate or not, Barber was one of the most intriguing pitchers of the 1960s. In his youngest days, he threw almost as wildly as he threw hard, a tendency well noted by opposing major league hitters. He also threw a heavy sinker that catcher and teammate Elrod Hendricks described as having the qualities of iron, making it difficult to both hit and catch. With the movements of his pitches so unpredictable and unkind, few hitters felt comfortable facing Barber. He also had a picturesque motion, with a pronounced leg kick followed by a momentary hesitation of his right leg in mid-air, capped off with a smooth and stylish release of the ball toward the plate.

The hesitation in his delivery and the speed of his fastball made Barber a success with the Baltimore Orioles. With his left-handed talents, Barber became the first Orioles pitcher to win 20 games in a season, beating the more heralded Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, and Dave McNally to the milestone punch. He also achieved a bit of unusual fame along the way, combining with Stu Miller to lose a no-hit game in 1967. Proving that a walk is nearly as costly as a hit, Barber walked 10 batters in eight and a third innings on his way to losing a 2-1 decision.

After his early success with the Orioles, Barber fell prey to a winding road of obstacles. His stunning lack of control and inability to develop an effective breaking pitch eventually caught up to him. Barber hurt his arm several times, leveling his fastball to a mediocre range. Once an untouchable with the Orioles, he began to chart a journeyman course, bouncing from stop to stop. While trying to overcome the injuries to his arm, he pitched for the Pilots, Cubs, Braves, Angels, and Brewers.

During his time in Seattle, Barber became a villain of sorts. At least that’s the way he was portrayed in the classic Ball Four, where pitcher-turned-author Jim Bouton complained about Barber’s frequent visits to the trainer’s room and charged the veteran left-hander with selfishly taking up a roster spot that should have gone to a far more deserving youngster. Bouton’s take on Barber became an accepted part of baseball history, but I’ve always considered Bouton’s assessment hypocritical and unfair. After all, Bouton was also a onetime hard thrower felled by arm problems, motivating him to turn to the knuckleball. If Bouton had battled the kinds of aches and pains that Barber suffered in 1969 with the Pilots, wouldn’t he have done whatever he could to hang on? Why blame Barber for trying to prolong his career for as long as he could?

Bouts with injuries and charges of selfishness aside, Barber compiled a solid major league resume. He won more than he lost, posted an ERA that was decent even in a pitcher’s era, and helped the Orioles reach the World Series in 1966. He might have received more notoriety that summer if not for suffering yet another arm injury in August, which derailed what appeared to be his best season and prevented him from playing in the Fall Classic. Like Jim Maloney and Chris Short, Barber is one of those distinguished but mercurial pitchers of the sixties that’s become obscured by time (and by the likes of Koufax and Marichal), but his career was far too eventful to be completely forgotten.

Pastime Passings
Al Milnar (Died on June 30 in Cleveland, Ohio; age 91): Best known for his days with the Cleveland Indians, Milnar also pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Browns during an eight-year major league career. The left-hander enjoyed his finest season in 1940, when he made the American League’s All-Star team, but is probably best remembered for giving up Joe DiMaggio’s final hit during his famed 56-game hitting streak. Milnar’s major league career was interrupted by World War II, as he served for two years in the U.S. Army.

Dick Dietz (Died on June 28 in Dillard, Georgia; age 63; massive heart attack): A power-hitting catcher with a patient approach at the plate, Dietz played for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves from 1966 through 1973.
Although Dietz hit only .261 with 66 home runs and 301 RBI during a journeyman career, he achieved All-Star heights in 1970, when he reached career highs with a .300 batting average, 22 home runs, and 107 RBIs. Playing in that year’s All-Star Game, Dietz led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run against Hall of Famer Jim “Catfish” Hunter. The home run ignited a game-tying rally, setting the stage for extra innings. With Dietz watching from the on-deck circle, the National League won the game in the bottom of the 12th inning as Pete Rose steamrolled Ray Fosse at home plate.

After his offensive numbers fell off in 1971, the Giants sold Dietz on waivers to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the spring of 1972. He then played for the Atlanta Braves in 1973, becoming a key part of the team’s surprisingly productive bench. After his playing days, Dietz worked as a manager and coach in the minor leagues before retiring.
Following his career as a player, Dietz worked as a manager and coach in the minor leagues.

Walter Lundy (Died on June 18 in Chesapeake, Virginia; age 69): After playing in the Chicago White Sox’ minor league system, Lundy played one season for the Negro Leagues’ Indianapolis Clowns, a team known for its showmanship as well as its talent. He decided to leave the barnstorming team after the 1957 campaign, in large part because the team’s demanding travel schedule kept him away from his wife, Eloise. Lundy retired from baseball to work as a longshoreman, a job that he maintained until his retirement in 1994, but became familiar to more recent generations of fans as a frequent participant in Negro Leagues reunions. In 2002, Lundy earned induction into the Hampton Road African-American Sports Hall of Fame.

Bob Lennon (Died on June 14 in Dix Hills, New York; age not reported): Regarded as one of the greatest minor league hitters of all-time, Lennon made national headlines in 1954, when he batted .354 with 64 home runs and 161 RBIs while playing for Nashville of the Southern Association. Lennon’s Ruthian numbers earned him the league’s Triple Crown—and a late-season promotion to the New York Giants, where he played sparingly before being traded in April of 1957. The Giants dealt him and journeyman pitcher Dick Littlefield to the Chicago Cubs for Ray Jablonski and Ray Katt. Lennon made nine appearances for the Cubs, wrapping up a major league career that saw him hit .165 with one home run and four RBIs.

Bruce Markusen is author of Tales From The Mets Dugout, newly released by Sports Publishing. His next book signing will take place on Saturday, July 16, at Shea Stadium, prior to the Mets’ 7:00 pm start. The ballpark signing will begin at 6:00 pm.

0 comments

1 marty { 07.08.05 at 11:04 pm }

Bruce thanks for a great contribution to the site. Red Sox jumped at Alex Cora first, now let’s see what they get for Jay Payton. Sounds like Gabe Kapler is on his way back to Boston too from Japan.
Marty

2 Anonymous { 07.09.05 at 1:00 pm }

Bruce had lot of great stuff in his contribution plus the soap operas of Red Sox and Yankees. Gabe Kapler returning to the States, guess the internet article of him not like Japanese was true. Payton’s agent killed the rumor of Bradford trade, which is good for us in the Oakland faithful. Lastly Marty or Bruce, will Boston trade Bellhorn, Nixon, or Millar?

Its Saturday, its time for everybody’s favorite playa, Shooty.
Good summer weather and baseball on the radio,
Edgar B. Martinez, A’s Fan aka Pachyderm

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