The Stars of My Youth Are Dying in Droves

[OFFNY]

18 hours ago, LA2 said:

 

Jackson had an 18-year career !!! His obituary in the NY Times leads with his World Series-winning effort against the Orioles:

 

<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/obituaries/grant-jackson-dead-coronavirus.html?pageType=Article&collectionName=Those+We’ve+Lost+to+the+Coronavirus&region=footer&module=seriesCollection_Band&label=Those+We’ve+Lost+to+the+Coronavirus&name=STYLN_elevate_series_collections&template=>

I remember Earl using him with confidence on those early-1970's teams.

 

 

 

 

56 minutes ago, SteveA said:

 

I loved those days when you had guys in the pen who could go so many innings. It wasn't unusual for Grant or Sammy Stewart or Tippy to go 3, 4, or 5 innings. We always had guys who could do that. I still remember Tippy Martinez had a near-perfect 7-inning stint once, and the Orioles came from way behind to win the game. I want to say that maybe he gave up something to the first batter, then retired 21 in a row ??? I'll dig around baseball-reference for it when I'm not at work.

Today if you use a reliever for more than 1 inning, he probably won't be available to pitch the next day. And going 3 with a bullpen guy is considered cruel and unusual punishment. Yeah I know, they are throwing max effort, it's different, they aren't facing 7-8-9 hitters with .500 OPS's. Skip the annoying facts, let an old guy pine for the good ol' days in peace, please.

 

o

 

I remember when Sparky Lyle came out of the bullpen ........ on no rest, after having pitched 2.33 innings the day before ........ and pitched 5.33 shutout innings in Game Four of the 1977 ALCS against the Royals.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA197710080.shtml

 

And if that wasn't enough ........ the very next day, again on no rest after having pitched those 5.33 shutout innings the day before, he pitched another 1.33 shutout innings to get the W in the 5th and deciding game of the series.

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA197710090.shtml

 

o

[Ruzious]

21 hours ago, OFFNY said:

o

 

Braves Country !!! Remembering Phil Niekro, Don Sutton, Hank Aaron

 

 

o

Thanks for posting that - very thoughtful of you.  

[scOtt]

I don't mean to skew this thread off it's original intended path! NOT my intention at all.

The stars of MY youth (and later life...) were all rock stars, not baseball players. For the most part anyways... Brooks is still a hero! But Rock stars are dropping like flies. And will KEEP ON dropping! How long are Paul and Ringo, Mick and Keith, Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey, Jimmy and Robert Plant going to last? David Bowie, fought Liver Cancer for several years til he succumbed, without even his close friends knowing! Much less us plebes knowing. They're all in their 70's, or more, or pushing it.

Oz man with Parkinson's. My cousin in VA with Parkinson's. Michael J. Fox with Parkinson's!

And the younger guys... Chris Cornell is one big one for me. Partly because I held him in such high regard. Best voice in rock since... Robert Plant? Maybe better? And traveling, on a BUS, 300 days a year, sleeping in hotels if you're lucky, or more likely ON the bus. And EVERY night, the 10's of thousands of fans who have tickets are PSYCHED cuz they're going to see Soundgarden or whichever band, and expect them to come out and KILL! Every. Single. Night. Every single 300 nights a year you have to be ON.

That's a tough row to hoe!

 

 

Anyways, all MY heroes of my youth are dying too. Evey year there's 2 or 3 more.

[OFFNY]

o

 

He wasn't a baseball player, but he was a sports star from the 70's and 80's ...... "Neon" Leon Spinks died at the age of 67.

Spinks won an Olympic Gold medal in 1976, beat Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world in 1978, and challenged Larry Holmes for the WBC heavyweight title in 1981.

 

St. Louisan and Former Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks Jr. Dies at 67

(Associated Press)

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/other/st-louisan-and-former-heavyweight-champion-leon-spinks-jr-dies-at-67/article_2c41c5dc-0719-5f1e-a74e-6368605513cf.html#tracking-source=home-just-in

 

o

[Moose Milligan]

RIP Pedro Gomez.  Good reporter.

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30857724/espn-baseball-reporter-pedro-gomez-dies-58

[OFFNY]

o

 

When I was a kid, my oldest brother had a great game called "Be A Manager." All of the players from the 1969 season were included. Among them was Juan Pizarro.

Pizarro played in 18 Major League seasons between 1957 and 1974. In his first 2 seasons in the Majors in 1957 and 1958, his Milwaukee Braves played in back-to-back World Series against the New York Yankees, winning in 1957 and losing in 1958. Almost 2 decades later in 1974, Pizarro capped his MLB career at 37 years-old playing for the NL East champion Pittsburgh Pirates, tallying a 1.88 ERA in the process. Altogether he won 131 games while losing 105, racked up 79 Complete Games and 17 CG-Shutouts, led the American League in Strikeouts-Per-9-Innings in 1961 and 1962, and was selected to the AL All-Star team in 1963 and 1964.

 

Pizarro was 84 years-old.

 

 

 

o

[Moose Milligan]

RIP Rheal Cormier.

[OFFNY]

11 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

 

RIP Rheal Cormier.

 

o

 

He pitched  on 2 Olympic teams, 20 years apart (1988 and 2008) ...... I wonder if that's a record, or close to a record.

 

o

[DrungoHazewood]

On 3/9/2021 at 2:25 PM, OFFNY said:

He pitched  on 2 Olympic teams, 20 years apart (1988 and 2008) ...... I wonder if that's a record, or close to a record.o

In baseball, maybe, probably.  But Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai has appeared in eight Olympics from 1992-2018.  He's still active at 48, and wants to compete in Beijing in 2022.

[OFFNY]

On 2/6/2021 at 8:26 PM, OFFNY said:

o

 

He wasn't a baseball player, but he was a sports star from the 70's and 80's ...... "Neon" Leon Spinks died at the age of 67.

Spinks won an Olympic Gold medal in 1976, beat Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world in 1978, and challenged Larry Holmes for the WBC heavyweight title in 1981.

 

St. Louisan and Former Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks Jr. Dies at 67

(Associated Press)

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/other/st-louisan-and-former-heavyweight-champion-leon-spinks-jr-dies-at-67/article_2c41c5dc-0719-5f1e-a74e-6368605513cf.html#tracking-source=home-just-in

 

o

o

 

Another star in a different sport (basketball) from Frobby's youth has died.

Elgin Baylor actually played 2 seasons for the) Minneapolis Lakers )before the franchise moved to Los Angeles. While still in Minneapolis, Baylor won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1958-59 ...... 2 years later in Los Angeles, he was joined by another legendary teammate in Jerry West.

 

I remember seeing him in an episode of) The White Shadow )from its 3rd and final season.

 

 

Elgin Baylor, Silky-Smooth Lakers Hall of Famer, Dies at 86

(Associated Press)

https://www.startribune.com/elgin-baylor-lakers-minneapolis-los-angeles-dies-at-86/600037247/

 

o

[Moshagge3]

Usually Sully does the In Memoriam video at the All-Star Break but it's out for Opening Day this year.

[SteveA]

Jim "Mudcat" Grant died at 85.

He was the first black 20 game winner.

[Frobby]

On 6/12/2021 at 2:58 PM, SteveA said:

Jim "Mudcat" Grant died at 85.

He was the first black 20 game winner.

I don’t think so.  Don Newcombe won 20 games as early as 1951.  

Apparently Grant was first in the AL.

[SteveA]

RIP to James Rodney "JR" Richard.

Those of you who are below a certain age may not know much about him, because his stardom was brief, but for a few years in the late 70s and 1980 he was the most dominant pitcher in baseball.

His career was cut short by a stroke at age 30.

Richard was 71.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

4 hours ago, SteveA said:

RIP to James Rodney "JR" Richard.

Those of you who are below a certain age may not know much about him, because his stardom was brief, but for a few years in the late 70s and 1980 he was the most dominant pitcher in baseball.

His career was cut short by a stroke at age 30.

Richard was 71.

I never saw JR pitch, but it was a shame that his career ended early. The 1980 Astros might have been a World Series team in 1980 instead of losing to the Phillies in the NLCS. Maybe things go differently for the 1986 Astros too, but he 86 Mets were a tough out.