Header - Baseball by the Letters

Month: March 2011

Boston Pitcher Dick Brodowski, One ‘Lucky’ Teen

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Dick’s sig is the same.
I bet the smile is, too!

What did you do at age 19?

A recent reply from pitcher Dick Brodowski stunned me. Aren’t all Major Leaguers older than us? Could a kid pitch against the New York Yankees…and win?

Dick took me back to June, 30, 1952 (Thanks to the aid of www.retrosheet.org.) —

“High points of that victory turned out to be Billy Goodman colliding with Sam White and Goodman being replaced by Dick Gernert. Gernert and Vern Stephens were the four-run offense that was needed to win.

My key moment was a bases-loaded situation in the seventh inning — one out — Bob Kuzava hitting and 3-1 on Bob. I felt I had to get lucky and throw two fastballs for strikes and struck him out.

Irv Noren then hit a soft fly to center and got out of that jam.

I was 19 at the time and very lucky.”

Brodowski had his moments at bat, too. He homered off Ted Gray (1952) and Don Larsen (1955).

Somehow, his teammates never razzed the pitcher over either surprise blast.

“Not much of a reaction to either HR — I was thrilled — hitting two over the left field wall. Larsen had just hit one off of me!”

Another team, the U.S. Army, chose Brodowski. The career interruption derailed the pitcher’s promising 1952 debut. He recalled:

“I didn’t pitch much in the Army. I was a good hitter in the service and played second base. I loved it. Never realized it would take me two years to get some decent stuff back!

Brodowski closed his letter with some Major League gratitude:

“I was a decent AAA player with some spirts of getting some big leaguers out.

I loved the opportunity and did the best I could!”

Tomorrow: My apology to pitcher John D’Acquisto.

Alex Trebek Helps Me With My Collection

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Why would I seek this sig?
Tune in tomorrow!

“Who should I write to next?”

Suddenly, I imagine Alex Trebek buzzing me out. “I’m sorry. The answer we were looking for was: Who are..”

I’ve taken to asking myself questions (in true JEOPARDY fashion!), trying to group former players into subsets. If all seven names have a common thread, writing the letters will be more fun. There will be unifying elements in all the letters.

Here’s the seven names I contacted in the last week. See if you detect a theme in the bunch:

Chris Bando
Tom Bradley
Ray Herbert
Doug DeCinces
Alan Benes
David Nied
Ken Frailing

Ideas? I’ll reveal the link I found in the collection tomorrow.

Collectors rejoice! Harvey Meiselman Selling Team-Specific Baseball Address Lists!

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How much does a Yankee address cost?

For the first time in three years, address king Harvey Meiselman is giving team collectors a special treat.

For anyone who hasn’t bought the entire Baseball Address List because of their team-specific collection, Harvey is offering a special deal.

Choose your team for only $15 postpaid. Want just one team? That’s all you need to pay for.

For his previous team promotion, Harvey didn’t offer the team address lists until July 4. Back then, he says the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies were the top sellers.

This year gives collections a headstart on their team collecting.

Depending on each team, there’s a different number of addresses. Harvey promises more than 800 Yankee addresses. Imagine. Reaching Bronx Bombers for less than 2 cents per addy!

Here’s the special ordering instructions from Mister M himself:

“For this special I can only accept payments one of two ways: 1) Paypal payments sent to chickenparm2go@ bellsouth.net OR 2) a check or money order mailed to: Harvey Meiselman – 9723 Lemonwood Way – Boynton Beach FL 33437. Please specify the team that you want when you order. No payments for these special lists will be accepted through my website.”

Harvey will offer quarterly address updates to all purchases by e-mail. New addresses, invalid addresses and deaths will be noted.

New to autographs, or want to start a limited collection? This is the way to do it, from one of the hobby’s greatest resources!

Tomorrow: Who’s next on my “to write to” list? I’ll give you my 7 names, and you guess the theme!

Rick Monday Beat Pitcher Doug Rau To Stop 1976 Dodger Stadium Flag Burners

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Don’t mess with Texas. Or Texan Doug Rau.

The Dodgers pitcher might have provided a new twist on the fabled story from April 25, 1976. Outfielder Rick Monday thwarted two protesters (a father and his 11-year-old son!) who wanted to burn the American flag in Dodger Stadium’s center field.

If Monday hadn’t intervened, Rau says he was ready to take action. In this classic note from 2002, Rau explained his perspective of the situation:

“Thomas:

I was in the dugout, far left, near 3rd base, and I simply reacted by instinct. Monday beat me to the draw, and he said little when he gave me the flag.

I think I gave it to a grounds-crew guy (Tom or Scottie), and from there I know nothing.

The team was stunned, and I faintly remember Lasorda saying something to me about those…

Photos courtesy Mark Langill, Los Angeles Dodgers

Doug Rau”

What happened to that flag? Check out this impressive 2010 feature from Arizona reporter Zach Buchanan.

Tomorrow: Address king Harvey Meiselman offers TEAM address lists!

Boston Red Sox Pitcher Ted Bowsfield Toppled Rival Yankees Three Times In 1958

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Same sweeping sig
five decades later!

Yankee haters should send Ted Bowsfield valentines each year.

The Boston-New York rivalry existed in 1958. Red Sox pitcher Bowsfield bested the Bronx Bombers not once, not twice, but three times. Yankee manager Casey Stengel called the pitcher “the feller that throws them ground balls.”

In an exciting letter, Bowsfield explained:

“The Yankee wins in 1958 were very special and a lot of fun. The two wins in Yankee Stadium were a little easier, just because of the sizes of the ballparks. Boston was tougher and maybe a little more rewarding. The N.Y. fans and Boston fans were great, but they always are when you win!!


The press was very good to me that year, but they changed when I struggled the next year. Winning makes for easy print, also.”

Bowsfield reached double-digit win totals with the 1961 Angels.
Of course, historians feel it’s required by law to say EXPANSION Angels! I asked if being with a just-formed team seemed tougher than with an established franchise like Boston.

“My two years with the expansion Angels were two of my best and fun years in the majors. Greater owner (Gene Autry) wonderful organization. Manager Bill Rigney and staff were superb, but all that pales to the group of guys I played with. They were all wonderful and buddies forever. The chemistry on that 61-62 team was the best I ever saw and probably a big reason we did so well. Can’t say enough about those two years. My whole time in the bigs was a dream come true and those two years are etched in the old memory bank forever!!”

Bowsfield wasn’t shy about using “fun” to describe his baseball experiences. His love of the American pastime is remarkable, considering that he grew up in Canada. Not hockey? Did he feel one sport got more respect?

“I did play a little hockey as a kid. Not very good. Couldn’t skate well enough, but a lot of hockey players played baseball also, and I played semi-pro with some of them and they were good players. So hockey and baseball went well together!! They were viewed equally. Just more hockey players than baseball players.”

The humble hero left out one important detail about his country of origin. Bowsfield was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.

From 2006, here’s a fine retrospective about Bowsfield’s beginnings by Canadian baseball historian Kevin Glew.

Tomorrow: pitcher Doug Rau recounts the role he played when Rick Monday saved the American flag April 25, 1976.