Game Of The Week (Video): Lyman Bostock's 4-4 Night Sept. 21, 1976

ENTIRE Video Link at MediaBurn.Org

A video I discovered the other night, with the help of my Twitter friend Lord Of The Fries. It is the last 20 minutes of the 13-6 win against the White Sox on September 21, 1976.
Bostock, during his final at-bat
Beautiful beyond words. From seeing that uncomplicated, whippy swing of Lyman Bostock, Larry Hisle settling in under a can of corn in left field, Mike Cubbage (think John Denver in baseball hosiery), and that crazy pitching delivery of Tom Burgmeier from the first base side, to how impossibly unathletic Glenn Borgmann REALLY appeared - all on top of seeing hitless wonder Bob Randall (4 hits that night), Roy Smalley (in his first go-around with the Twins)  AND hitting wonder Rod Carew bat (hitless that night) - is too much for words. It was when my fandom was in its most innocent stage.

 "My last time up, I was definitely trying to hit a home run [for the cycle] and I almost got it." - Lyman Bostock, Winona Daily News, September 22, 1976 (VIDEO LINK: STARTING WITH BOSTOCK AT BAT)

BONUS: besides getting to see the faux, 1893-era Sox uniforms, you get to hear Harry Caray go completely incoherent at about the 5:30 minute mark, remarks about "Minnesota's proximity to Oakland versus Oakland's to Kansas City." Or some such gibberish. Oh yes - -I will be adding additions to this post on the original Minnesota Lumber Company faster than a psychotic carpenter, rest assured.

I couldn't watch this segment, and Caray's references to the leaders in the batting title race, without thinking about the controversial finish to come days later in the season finale (Oct. 3, 1976)  for Carew and Bostock against Kansas City's George Brett and Hal McRae. Brett won the title (news story pdf) by .001 of a point with a ninth inning inside-the-park home run, which McRae claimed Twins left fielder Steve Brye let drop purposely because of racial bias on the part of Twins Manager Gene Mauch. A story for another time..

Harry Caray, wiseguy: 

"Minnesota has a great shot at finishing second!" LOL! (5:00 mark)

Signing off, in the style of our old broadcasting buddy, Herb Carneal:

"So long, everybody!"

President Kennedy, Earl Battey, And The 1962 All Star Game

"World War II Aviation hero Quesada and a few other friends"

                                           Those little tykes (Dennis Marcel, Frank Brown, members of the Washington Boys Club)
                                                     certainly got a front row to history! PHOTO: Cecil (Cecil William) Stoughton 

The Twins would win their first pennant in this same ballpark three seasons later.

The above photo was posted by Minnesota Twins President Dave St. Peter on Twitter today, the 50th anniversary of November 22, 1963 assassination. Earl Battey shakes hands with President Kennedy at D.C. Stadium before the playing of the 1962 All Star Game. Between them stands then-MLB Commissioner Ford Frick, and Elwood R."Pete" Quesada  (glasses), the new Senators chief majority owner. Off to the side (left) stands Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey and an unidentified dignitary. Do examine this You Tube video of the game. You see superb footage of not just the ceremonial first pitch, but that of Pascual pitching in the the 6th inning during the NL rally, the Rollins blooper hit, run scored, and closeups of JFK sitting in the box seats.

In it's lightheartedness, the entire scenario that included two young boys as guests stands in stark contrast to the pivotal fall approaching, i.e., the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the year to follow in the Kennedy's lives.

Above Photo from Alton Evening Telegraph 7/11/62- "Minneapolis Twins" - LOL!! (see PDF)

Battey was the starting catcher for the AL that day, going 0 for 2 at the plate in the 3-1 loss to the NL. He still shined, however, using his howitzer of an arm to throw out Roberto Clemente on an attempted steal in the fourth inning. Twins third baseman Rich Rollins also started that day going 1 for 2, scored the only AL run, and was hit by a Don Drysdale pitch (yes, Dandy Don drilling someone, quite the shock!). 

Twins star righty Camilo Pascual was the losing pitcher, tossing 3 innings, and allowing 2 earned runs.   The Sporting News (page 1) of  July 21 included a great account of the game, with the circumstances surrounding their handshake in the photo, plus a black and white photo of Battey on page 2.

You can view a story with this Kennedy photo, game report included, at a newspaper PDF link to the Burlington Daily Times of July 11, 1962. One of my personal favorites, Stan Musial, was playing in his 22nd All Star Game that day, got a key hit off Camilo, and earlier had a personal audience with JFK (see Eau Claire news link PDF). Dodger shortstop Maury Wills also got a ton of press with his exploits, running wild and stealing bases.  The Lima News also had a nice account and photo of the game's stars the next day. 

It was the first All Star Game ever played at D.C. Stadium, the home of the new expansion Washington Senators. They had come into existence in 1961, when the original Senators franchise up and moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul to become the Minnesota Twins. D.C. Stadium would later host the 1969 All Star Game, renamed R.F.K. Memorial Stadium by then. Clem's Baseball retro stadium site is fantastic in its photographic and architectural schematics of the stadium and its history. The FIRST cookie-cutter style stadium, as the You Tube video makes plain.

Kennedy threw out the First Ball, with Lyndon Johnson standing by (left), hoping he'd be asked to throw one of his infamous curve balls in relief if needed - you'll read of the photographers caught napping at The Sporting News link above. That would include Presidential Photographer Stoughton.

Prior to handshake - President attends the 32nd All-Star Baseball Game, throws out first ball. Speaker of the House John W. McCormack, Dave Powers, Vice President Johnson, President Kennedy, Commisioner of Baseball Ford. C. Frick, Lawrence O'Brien, others . Washington, D.C., D.C. Stadium - PHOTO: Cecil (Cecil William) Stoughton

First pitch of the game below: note high pitch, where Battey sets up to receive - higher strike zones were more the norm, especially pre-1969...

Photo: Logansport (IN) Herald 7/11/62, see PDF)

More than likely, I'll be adding to this post later, the incessant tinkerer.

Ready to wing it towards Earl!

As Herb Carneal signed off after post game shows:

"So long, everybody!"

Sweet Swingers: Harmon Killebrew GIF

Sweet swings from The Killer: Harmon Killebrew    

               

A few general impressions...

This was Killebrew yet in his prime.

The top frame is attractive for the imagined mayhem. You never see ball meet bat, nor the trajectory of the pitch, or whom Harmon is batting against. But you can well infer it's bad medicine for whomever's chuckin. Just another sunny day for the fans at Metropolitan Stadium, with The Killer providing the thrills. 

These give just a quick take on the violence of the basic, Killebrew homerun cut. As if he was hacking down a maple. I recall Bloomingtonite Kent Hrbek sitting at a panel of others (Jack Morris, Paul Molitor, Jim Grant) three years ago when Killebrew passed away, and saying that Harmon was like the mythical Paul Bunyan for him as a kid.

Appropriate he would choose an icon central in Minnesota lumbering history in describing the area's favorite "ax-man" of the diamond. For a really great view of that swing, you should pick up the great Red Sox commemorative 1967 DVD, which features the oldest known preserved, full-length, color MLB game on record. Harmon homers for number 44 of the season in game 161(box), and it is the true, typical vicious swing for which he was known.

The second frame gives a bit more context of  "The Fat Kid," at work (see book excerpt below) as Jim Bouton referred to him. In fact, when I first saw the pitcher in the road blue, yellow piping, I immediately thought "Oh...Seattle Pilots, 1969!," but then noticed Harmon's jersey didn't have the MLB 1969 Centennial logo on his right arm sleeve (see photo ABOVE, BELOW), which would date the image from the 1970/71 seasons - which means the opponent was not the Pilots, but their children, the newly transplanted Milwaukee Brewers.

I had said this was Harmon in his prime. A Few stats from BBRef: keep in mind, ye not impressed -  this period was still part and parcel of the pitching rich late-60's. A special player! As a public service OPS & OPS+ are linked to a definition for old dudes like me who've time-traveled in from the '60s, other times unknown, and were fed mostly RBI, jacks, doubles and triples on the backs of their Topps baseball cards :

Year	G ▴	PA	AB	R	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB
1970	157	665	527	96	41	113	128	84	.271	.411	.546	.957	159	288
1969	162	709	555	106	49	140	145	84	.276	.427	.584	1.011	177	324

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table. 

Generated 11/5/2013.   BOLD TYPE = LEAGUE LEADING TOTALS

Killerologists will recall he finished third in the MVP voting in 1970, and took home the heavy hardware in 1969, the only such time he was honored. It will be worth my while to post some more gifs of this subject. Yes, there are a few in the pipeline, and the world awaits.

It's the least I can do for the player who taught me it was okay to eat Old Dutch chips in the dugout during a game.

To sign off in typical Herb Carneal Fashion:
"So long everybody!"