Mc-Durable

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball ...

Relief pitcher may be the most expendable position on a major league ball club. With a few exceptions (such as Hoyt Wilhelm, Roy Face and Lindy McDaniel), most relievers cannot extend top performance season after season.

Don McMahon was one of those exceptions – a standout reliever for 7 different clubs over an 18-year career. Only once did he lead the league in any pitching category, but you could count on his durable arm and pitching savvy for a full season of putting out fires.

McMahon was signed by the Boston Braves in 1950. His major league debut was delayed by military service and 5 years of minor league seasoning. But when he finally made it to the Braves, he did it in a big way: Appearing in 32 games for the 1957 World Series champions, McMahon went 2-3 with a 1.54 ERA and 9 saves. In 1958, he was selected for the National League All-Star team on the way to a 7-2 season with 8 saves. In 1959, he led the league in games finished (49) and saves (15) with a 5-3 record and 2.57 ERA.

McMahon spent 6 seasons with the Braves, appearing in 233 games and tallying 50 saves with a combined ERA of 3.34. In May of 1962, he was purchased by the Houston Colt .45’s, where he toiled for 2 seasons (6-10 with 13 saves and a 2.81 ERA) before being purchased by the Cleveland Indians. In 3 years with the Tribe, McMahon appeared in 140 games, posting a combined record of 10-8 with 28 saves and a 2.81 ERA.

In June of 1966, the Indians traded McMahon and pitcher Lee Stange to the Boston Red Sox for Dick Radatz. Again he was effective (11 saves and a 2.82 ERA in 60 appearances) and again he was traded – this time to the Chicago White Sox for infielder Jerry Adair. McMahon spent a “split” season with the White Sox in 1967-1968, going a combined 7-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 77 appearances.

He was then traded to the Detroit Tigers (for pitcher Dennis Ribant) where he appeared in 54 games over parts of 2 seasons, going 6-6 with 12 saves and a 2.97 ERA.

In August of 1969, McMahon was dealt to the San Francisco Giants. He followed with 2 of the best seasons of his career. He appeared in 61 games both seasons, going 9-5 with 19 saves in 1970 (2.96 ERA) and 10-6 in 1971 with 4 saves. But the juice finally began to fade from his arm. McMahon appeared in only 44 games in 1972 and only 22 in 1973. He was released by the Giants during the 1974 season.

McMahon finished his career at 90-68 with a 2.96 ERA. At the time he retired, his 874 career appearances (all but 2 in relief) were the fourth most all-time after Wilhelm, McDaniel and Cy Young.

Glad All Over

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball ...

During the mid-1960s, Fred Gladding was the heart of the Detroit Tigers’ bullpen staff. His niche was his consistency. What made him valuable – in Detroit and later in Houston – was his day-to-day dependability.

Gladding was signed by the Tigers in 1956 and made his big league debut at age 25 in 1961. His first full season was 1964, when Gladding went 7-4 with a 3.07 ERA. All 42 appearances that season were in relief. He finished 23 of the games he appeared in, with 7 saves.

Gladding appeared in 46 games in 1965, all in relief, going 6-2 with a 2.83 ERA and 5 saves. He raised his appearances to 51 in 1966, going 5-0 with a 3.28 ERA. His best all-around season as a Detroit Tiger came in 1967, when Gladding went 6-4 with a 1.99 ERA and 12 saves in 42 appearances. He also had his only career start that season.

Coming off his best year as a Tiger, Gladding was shipped to Houston to complete Detroit’s acquisition of slugger Eddie Mathews. After missing nearly the entire 1968 season, Gladding came back in 1969 to lead the National League in saves (29). He recorded 18 saves for the Astros in 1970, going 7-4 with a 4.06 ERA while appearing in a career-high 63 games. Over the next 2 seasons, Gladding averaged 44 appearances and 13 saves per season with a combined ERA of 2.43. He registered 14 more saves for Houston in 1972, and retired midway through the 1973 season.

In 13 big league seasons, Gladding compiled a 48-34 record with a 3.13 ERA and 109 saves. He finished more than half the games he appeared in (278 out of 450). He still ranks third all-time in saves among Astros pitchers.

Brave Slugger

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball ...

For more than a decade, Eddie Mathews was the slugger’s slugger. From 1953 through 1960, he averaged 39 home runs per season, leading the National League in that category twice with 47 in 1953 and 46 in 1959.

Mathews signed with the Boston Braves in 1949 and made the big league club in 1952, hitting 25 home runs and finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Joe Black and Hoyt Wilhelm. In his sophomore season, Mathews pounded 47 home runs (with 135 RBIs), a team record that was matched by Hank Aaron in 1971 and finally eclipsed in 2005 when Andruw Jones hit 51.

During the next 2 seasons, Mathews topped 40 homers and 100 RBIs each year. By the close of the 1950s, Mathews was the Braves’ all-time home run leader with 299 (Aaron had hit only 179 at that point). He was also the major leagues’ leading home run hitter in the 1950s.

During the 1960s, his power production gradually declined, but his numbers would still be envied by most hitters. From 1960 through 1965, Mathews averaged 30 home runs and 93 RBIs per season. A career .271 hitter, Mathews hit for a career-best .306 in 1961. A shoulder injury in 1962 seriously hampered his swing for the rest of his career, which included stops in Houston and Detroit. A 9-time All-Star, Mathews was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978.

Unstoppable at Short

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball ...

Jim Fregosi was the first everyday star for the Los Angeles Angels’ franchise, and maintained that status for most of the 1960s. Good hitter, good fielder and good looking, he collected hits and fans consistently over an 18-year major league career. In combination with second baseman Bobby Knoop, he was half of one of the American League’s most prolific doubleplay combinations during the 1960s.

The Boston Red Sox signed Fregosi in 1960. He spent 1 season in the Red Sox farm system before being selected by the Los Angeles Angels as the 35th pick in the 1960 expansion draft. He made his debut in an Angels uniform in 1961 and was the team’s starting shortstop by 1963, when he hit .287 with 29 doubles and 50 RBIs. In 1964 he made his first All-Star appearance, finishing that season hitting .277 with 18 home runs and 72 RBIs.

In 11 seasons with the Angels, Fregosi was an All-Star 6 times and won a Gold Glove in 1967. He hit for a combined .268 batting average for the Angels. In 1968, he led the American League in triples with 13. His best season was 1970, when he hit .278 and had career bests in doubles (33), home runs (22) and RBIs (82).

In December of 1971, Fregosi was traded by the Angels to the New York Mets in a deal that included pitcher Nolan Ryan. Injuries limited his effectiveness in New York. As a Mets third baseman for 2 seasons, Fregosi averaged only 73 games a season, hitting a combined .233.

In July of 1973, the Texas Rangers purchased Fregosi, who spent the next 5 years as a reserve infielder for the Rangers. He spent parts of 2 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates before retiring in 1978.

At the time of his retirement, Fregosi held the Angels’ franchise record in a number of career offensive categories: games (1,429), hits (1,408), doubles (219), triples (70), runs (691), runs batted in (546) and home runs (115). He would later serve as manager of the Angels, as well as managing the White Sox and Phillies.

Slam Bam Brave

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball ...

A hard-throwing right-hander, Tony Cloninger stepped up as Milwaukee Braves ace in the mid 1960s when time finally caught up with Warren Spahn. Cloninger was also, like Spahn, a dangerous hitter who could win games with his bat as well as his arm.

Cloninger was signed by the Braves in 1958 and made his debut with the team in June of 1961. During his first 3 seasons with the Braves, he had a combined record of 24-16 with a 4.31 ERA.

Cloninger’s break-out season came in 1964, when he went 19-14 with a 3.56 ERA. In 1965, Cloninger turned in a 24-11 season with a 3.29 ERA. He posted career highs in complete games (16), innings pitched (279), and strikeouts (211). He also led the league in bases on balls with 119, a feat he would repeat in 1965, when his record slipped to 14-11. That was also the season when Cloninger set a hitting record that no batter has ever topped.

On July 3, 1966 in Candlestick Park, Cloninger won his ninth game of the season with a 17-3 complete game performance over the hometown San Francisco Giants. Cloninger’s bat produced 9 of the Braves’ 17 runs that day, including 2 consecutive grand slam home runs.

Not a bad hitter for a pitcher (.192 lifetime average), Cloninger hit .234 in 1966, with 5 home runs and 23 RBIs. Unfortunately, by the end of the 1966 season, Cloninger was already on the downside of his pitching career. He won only 5 more games for the Braves over the next 2 seasons, and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in a deal that brought Clay Carroll and Woody Woodward to the Reds and sent pitcher Milt Pappas to the Braves. As a spot starter and long reliever, Cloninger was a combined 27-33 in 4 seasons with the Reds.

The St. Louis Cardinals traded Julian Javier for Cloninger just before the 1972 season, but he was only 0-2 in 17 relief appearance for St. Louis, and retired after the 1972 season. He finished with a career record of 113-97, and 11 career home runs.

MLB Goes Kuhn Hunting

From "This Week in 1960s Baseball ..."

(February 4, 1969) Major league baseball owners today named Bowie Kuhn as baseball commissioner.

Kuhn replaced William D. Eckert, who had served as baseball commissioner from 1965 until he was forced to resign at the end of the 1968 season.

Unlike Eckert, who had not personally seen a major league baseball game for more than 10 years when he was appointed commissioner, Kuhn brought to the job of commissioner a deep understanding of the game from an insider’s perspective. Kuhn had served as legal counsel for MLB owners for almost 20 years prior to his election as commissioner.

Kuhn’s tenure was marked by labor strikes (most notably in 1981), owner disenchantment, and the end of baseball's reserve clause. Yet during Kuhn’s reign as commissioner, the national pastime enjoyed unprecedented attendance gains and lucrative television contracts.

Talent Amid Turmoil

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball ...

It would be hard to imagine a more frustrating position in major league baseball than starting pitcher for an expansion team. Just ask Roger Craig or Al Jackson of the original New York Mets. Or ask Ken Johnson and Dick Farrell of the Houston Colt .45s.

Or ask Bob Bruce.

Bruce was a hard-throwing right-hander whose performance on the mound was consistently better than his won-lost record. He was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1952 and made his major league debut with the Tigers in 1959. In 1960 and 1961, he had a combined 5-9 record for the Tigers.

In December of 1961, the Tigers traded Bruce and Manny Montejo to the Houston Colt .45's for Sam Jones. He immediately moved into the Houston starting rotation, and at 10-9 was the only starter with a winning record (on a team that lost 96 games in its inaugural season). In 1963 his record slipped to 5-9, but he rebounded in 1964 with a 15-9 record and a 2.76 ERA. He also set team records that season with 9 complete games and 4 shutouts.

It would be the last winning record of Bruce’s career.

In 1965 he went 9-18 on a still-respectable ERA of 3.72. He set personal highs that season for innings pitched (229.2) and strikeouts (145). His 3-13 record in 1966 prompted Houston to trade the right-hander to the Atlanta Braves in a deal that brought Eddie Mathews to Houston. In 12 appearances for the Braves, Bruce posted a 2-3 record with his only career save. He was assigned to the Braves AAA club in Richmond, where he went 7-2 but never again pitched in the majors.

Bruce finished his career at 49-71 with a 3.85 ERA. But in his first 3 seasons with Houston, he was the team’s best starting pitcher and best chance at winning, going 30-27 with a 3.43 ERA.