1968 was the year of the pitcher. Rookie of the Year, Stan Bahnsen posted a career best 2.05 ERA which was only enough to place him behind 5 other pitchers in the American League alone and put him tied for 8th place overall. Bahnsen would pitch for the Yankees through the 1971 season. After the season he was traded to the White Sox. In 1972 Bahnsen would have 21 wins in 41 starts. The following year he would start 42 games and lead the league in losses with 21. He flirted with a no hitter that season going 2 outs into the 9th before giving up a single to Walt "No Neck" Williams. "No Neck" was a teammate of Bahnsen's the previous season on the White Sox.
Neat card. Looks exactly like a '68 Bahnsen would have looks.
ReplyDeleteHe was part of one of the more fun days I've ever spent at a ballpark. Yanks-Indians weekday double header in June of 1970.
-Bobby Murcer hit four straight homers over the two games (including a couple of upper deck jobs) with a walk mixed in IIRC.
-A bench clearing fight at home plate between Bahnsen and Vada Pinson after Bahnsen tagged Pinson out when he tried to score on a pitch that got away behind home plate. Pinson got tossed and had to be dragged off the field.
-Some joker tossed a cherry bomb out of the upper deck above us which landed near home causing Indian catcher Ray Fosse to jump about four feet in the air. (We jumped, too, even though we saw it coming down!)
-Steve Hamilton entering the first game in relief and tossing his 'Folly Floater' to Tony Horton who looked very silly as he wiffed badly at two of them. Horton then popped one up to the catcher and proceeded to bow to Hamilton and crawl bad to the dugout on his hands and knees.
Good times.
That was Horton's last game. Later that day he attempted suicide.
DeleteCheck that ... his last game was 2 months later (same outcome).
DeleteHere is a photo sequence of Pinson's knock out punch (well knock down anyway) to Bahnsen. And the ensuing brawl.
ReplyDeletehttp://www1.dailynewspix.com/sales/largeview.php?name=7ya0km6e.jpg&id=149016&lbx=389579&return_page=searchResults.php&page=25
You've got a great memory. I barely remember posting this blog earlier today.
That's a day at the ballpark I'll always remember. It was amazing. We'd made friends with one of the regular ushers and he always found us seats in his section near the third base side dugout. We had a great view of all the shenanigans that day.
DeleteI've never seen those pictures though. Great link. I hadn't remembered that Ron Luciano was the ump! He probably pissed off Pinson even more by how he made out calls.
That doubleheader made up for all the crappy Yankee games of that era I went to not caring which team won.
Why did Topps screw up their rookie cards so badly in the late 60's and early 70's?? Piniella was on more than one "Rookie Stars" card, Bobby Murcer (one with Stan Bahsen in the '67 set), Hal McRae, Don Baylor, and Bahsen was on two of them too.
ReplyDelete