Monday's Bunts and Boots--Pastime Passings

The last few days have been rough ones for ballplayers and fans of the 1950s, sixties, and seventies. We've lost four retired players since last Thursday, all of whom had an impact on the game. Here is a tribute to the good memories they've left with us.

Bobby Murcer (Died on July 12 in Oklahoma City, OK; age 62; brain cancer):
Bobby Murcer was not a Hall of Fame ballplayer. He wasn't the greatest center fielder in the history of the Yankees' franchise. He never won a world championship, not in New York, San Francisco, or Chicago.

And yet, none of that matters. Murcer was a very good ballplayer who upheld the fine tradition of center fielders in the Bronx. A five-time All-Star, he put up two superstar seasons in 1971 and '72--when he slugged .543 and .547 and totaled 58 home runs and 190 RBIs--along with about a half-dozen other campaigns of solid production. If he had been a bit luckier, he would have been part of two world championship teams with the Yankees. More to the point, above and beyond his many on-field accomplishments, Murcer had Hall of Fame personality and character. That's what matters most.

I never met Bobby in person, but did have one opportunity to interview him over the phone. Some might question whether I knew Murcer well enough to make any judgments about him. That might be a legitimate concern in the case of many ballplayers, but it wasn't with Murcer. When everyone in baseball tells you how good and caring and sensitive someone is, and that is corroborated the one time you have a chance to talk to him, that works well enough for me.

As a ballplayer, Murcer overcame an ill-fated stint as a shortstop and a lengthy stint in the Vietnam War to become an All-Star center fielder. He posted those two Hall of Fame seasons in 1971 and '72, becoming a beloved Yankee Stadium fixture along the way. He never reached that peak again, in part because of the Yankees' shift to Shea Stadium and in part because of an unwanted trade to San Francisco, where Murcer hated the ill winds of Candlestick Park. In spite of those geographical hardships, Murcer became one of the most productive outfielders of the 1970s.

In 1979, Murcer provided Yankee fans like me with two of the only highlights of a torturous and tragic season. The first occurred on June 26, when the Yankees brought Bobby back to the Bronx in exchange for an obscure right-hander named Paul Semall. The second came in early August, when only hours after delivering the eulogy for his friend Thurman Munson, Murcer drove in all of the Yankees' runs in a dramatic 5-4 comeback win on Monday Night Baseball against the Orioles.

Thanks, Bobby, for memories--so many others, too--just like that.

Steve Mingori (Died ion July 10 in Kansas City, MO; age 64; natural causes):
He didn't win a lot of games or earn many saves, but few middle-inning left-handers were as successful as Mingori. If he pitched in today's game, he'd easily command one of those three-year, $18 million deals on the free agent market. Inconsistent in his early years with the Indians, Mingori emerged as an important weapon for the Royals of the mid-1970s, pitching out of the Jack McKeon/Whitey Herzog bullpens. Mingori used a herky-jerky sidearm delivery that made him tough on left-handers, and owned a deceptive screwball that made him effective against right-handed bats. (Mingori's motion was so herky-jerky that it later caused him severe neck pain after his playing days, requiring surgery to alleviate the discomfort.) Off the field, Mingori was known as a joker and prankster. He became infamous for stealing food that belonged to the grounds crew at Royals Stadium, prompting one angry groundskeeper to dub Mingori "Crater Face."

Dave Ricketts (Died on July 13 in St. Louis, MO; age 73; renal cancer): 
Acclaimed as both a coach and a clubhouse prankster, Ricketts made many friends during his days with the Cardinals and Pirates. After a non-descript career as a backup catcher in the 1960s, Ricketts became a coach with the Pirates in the early 1970s. He was activated briefly as a player during Pittsburgh's 1971 world championship run, but didn't appear in an actual game that season.

Several years ago, the late Nellie Briles told me about the role that Ricketts, his former teammate with the Cardinals, played during the Pirates' world championship run in 1971. "Dave Ricketts was the No. 1 needler on the ballclub," Briles said of the journeyman catcher-turned-coach, who was actually activated for three weeks in 1971 but did not appear in any actual games. "That was the style we had in St. Louis.  When we were winning the championships [with the Cardinals], Dave Ricketts was also there.  [In Pittsburgh], we always had this constant needling going, and the only rule we had about needling each other is that we never got personal."

Ricketts remained with the Pirates' organization as their bullpen coach until 1973. He then re-joined the Cardinals as a member of Red Schoendienst's coaching staff. Ricketts' first coaching term with St. Louis lasted only two years, but he returned to the organization in 1978, kicking off a 14-year tenure as a coach and batting practice pitcher. During his second tour of duty in St. Louis, Ricketts received high praise from Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog. "The SOB is the hardest working man I've ever seen," Herzog told sportswriter Dick Wagner years ago. Even after his days as a major league coach ended, Ricketts remained with the Redbirds' organization as a spring training and minor league instructor.

Ricketts' work ethic and knowledge of catching earned him a reputation as a catching guru, with an unmatched ability to improve the defensive play of young receivers. Simply put, Ricketts was one of those unheralded baseball guys who become essential to the game through their ability to pass the torch from one generation to another.

Chuck Stobbs (Died on July 11 in Sarasota, FL; age 79; cancer):
Stobbs was best remembered for giving up a famed tape-measured home run to Mickey Mantle, one that allegedly traveled 565 feet, but he also won 107 games during a 15-year career with the Red Sox, White Sox, Senators, Cardinals, and Twins. Known as an intense competitor on the mound, Stobbs provided some other memorable moments. During the 1956 season, he once threw a wild pitch that landed, according to reports, in row No. 17 of the grandstand. Seventeen rows deep! Despite that momentary lapse, he led all American League starters with a ratio of only 2.3 walks per nine innings. He also won a career-high 15 games that summer, an impressive total given Washington's seventh-place standing at season's end.

After putting together his best season in '56, Stobbs lost his first 11 decisions in 1957 on his way to a 20-loss season. To his credit, he kept taking the ball late in the year, even as the milestone loss loomed. Later in his career, Stobbs moved to the Senators' bullpen, where he became the club's No. 1 reliever.