You know you’re getting a special letter when the former player apologizes:

“Sorry about my writing. I had my left hand smashed. Finger still sore.


Best wishes,
Marc Hill“

Despite the pain, the autograph has the same sparkle as it did during his career.

I asked about Candlestick Park. Hill replied:

“The ballpark was cold and windy, but gave me six years in big leagues. Pop Ups [his emphasis!] could start off behind the plate and end up down 1st base or 3rd base line. It was tough.”

Did he have a best home run memory? Hill chose three:

“The first homer was the best. [Against Carl Morton, April 12, 1975.] Got it behind me.


Then, when we played the Cardinals, my former team, hit homer off John Denny.


And home run off Tom Seaver.”

Best wishes to Marc Hill and all his fingers.

Tomorrow: how much did a no-hitter pay in 1974? Learn from Dick Bosman.  

San Francisco pitcher Jim Barr knew Candlestick Park. Did he know AND love the ballpark? I quizzed him on three subjects. He replied:

“CANDLESTICK — yes, it was COLD and windy. My thought process was: this is my job, what I am expected to do, and it was the MAJOR LEAGUES. Yeah, it was nice to pitch on the road, in better weather and a lot more fans. But pitching at home, well, it was YOUR HOME PARK.”

Barr registered three near no-no’s in his career, a trio of two-hitters. Regrets?

“Honestly, I never thought of a NO-HITTER. All the games were reasonably close, so winning was the #1 priority.”

Barr was the pitcher who got away, being drafted six times before turning pro. I asked him if it was more than money that caused him to turn away major league chances.

“I signed with the Giants because I was graduating from college. I didn’t sign earlier because I had a very good college degree on the line and all the other offers couldn’t make up the difference of my college degree.”

If Barr’s praise of education sounds like he’d be a good college coach, the former Giant must agree. I found him profiled on the Sacramento State website as the school’s baseball coach.