El Tiante. A very underrated pitcher. Cool pic.

funkiest windup in history. 😛

And that one of Jackie Robinson & Branch Rickey will always remain a classic. Haven't seen that one in a long time....

funkiest windup in history. 😛

He was fun to watch.

I always got a kick out of Al Hrabosky, the Mad Hungarian. His antics were so funny on the mound.

I always got a kick out of Al Hrabosky, the Mad Hungarian. His antics were so funny on the mound.

I grew a Fu-Manchu because of him. Had to use a straight razor for it. The experiment stopped when one sleepy morning I almost severed my lip

I always got a kick out of Al Hrabosky, the Mad Hungarian. His antics were so funny on the mound.

I grew a Fu-Manchu because of him. Had to use a straight razor for it. The experiment stopped when one sleepy morning I almost severed my lip

Another entertaining player for sure.

Mark "The Bird" Fidrych

Clyde "The Glide" Drexler

Regarding Fidrych : The first baseball game I ever went to was at Tiger Stadium in 1976. I went with my T-Ball team. My mom gave me $1.25 to spend. That was it. $1.25. That's all we had. Never forgot that.

Tiggers lost to the Twins by the way. They rocked Fidrych. 😉

funkiest windup in history. 😛

He was fun to watch.

If you go by WAR in 1968 El Tiante was the best pitcher not named Bob Gibson. But I will always remember him sitting in the hot tub with a cigar in his mouth when pitching for the Red Sox. With him on the mound for the Red Sox while the crowd chanted "Luis.Luis" What a second act

Jimmy Wynn

291 HR
1,224 BB
.802 OPS
225 SB

Jim Wynn remains as my favorite baseball player ever. Nicknamed "The Toy Cannon" by Casey Stengel not for his tape-measure power, but actually because of his throwing arm. Jim had exceptional speed and once caught a ball at the base of the CF wall in the deepest part of Candlestick Park, whirled and threw a perfect strike to home on the fly, nailing a Giant runner trying to score. Willie Mays said it was the greatest throw he ever saw.

Then the tape-measure shots hit by the 5-9, 160 pounder. I was fortunate to be in the stands to see Wynn become only the second player to hit a home run into the Yellow upper deck at the Astrodome. I still remember some of the Braves coming out of the dugout to see for themselves where the ball actually landed. Pretty remarkable.

Jim hit a ball completely out of Crosley Field, over the 45 foot scoreboard onto the freeway that ran behind the leftfield stands. He hit a shot over the flagpole at Forbes Field which stood at the 457-foot sign, and also hit a blast off the Budweiser sign behind the leftfield stands at Busch Stadium....Pow!

He was one player I idolized as a kid. Just the way he warmed up, the way he jogged on and off the field, ever-present toothpick in the side of his mouth. He was just too cool.

Jimmy Wynn could do it all on a baseball field, and do it spectacularly.

Regarding Fidrych : The first baseball game I ever went to was at Tiger Stadium in 1976. I went with my T-Ball team. My mom gave me $1.25 to spend. That was it. $1.25. That's all we had. Never forgot that.

Tiggers lost to the Twins by the way. They rocked Fidrych. 😉

The Bird, becoming one with the mound :

I got his autograph on a baseball as a kid, when they played in Cleveland, I don't think he pitched that day.

Some of he stuff I've read about Fidrych suggest he was mishandled badly by the Tigers, hungry to get him back on the mound for more automatic sellouts. He injured a knee in Spring Training and rushed back with insufficient time to heal properly. His throwing motion was altered ever so slightly to compensate for the sore knee which led to the arm injury. Sad story.

Just like the broken toe that led to the end of Dizzy Dean's career.

Some of he stuff I've read about Fidrych suggest he was mishandled badly by the Tigers, hungry to get him back on the mound for more automatic sellouts. He injured a knee in Spring Training and rushed back with insufficient time to heal properly. His throwing motion was altered ever so slightly to compensate for the sore knee which led to the arm injury. Sad story.

Growing up in Detroit, I recall this time well as I mentioned. The media attention even back then was crazy. I can't imagine what it would be like today. From everything I have read, the Tigers really rushed him back. He only had one good season.

Terrible shame about his accident in Massachusetts.

🙁

I enjoy looking at this thread. Good memories of them all.

News came out today that Stan Mikita has Lewy Body dementia. Which is supposedly a combination of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

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Trammell and Whitaker. 19 years together. Trammell should be in The Hall of Fame. Maybe Whitaker too.

For some reason I can't drop a picture here; but here's to Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins who could have been the best ever if given the chance. There is no Doc J or MJ if he didn't come first.

Fernando Valenzuela

173-153
3.54 ERA
2,074 K's

Curt Flood

Hall of Famer George Kell. I actually have this card.

Dave Kingman -- "Sky King"

442 HR

Raymond Berry

Don Drysdale

209-166
2.95 ERA
2,486 k's

For some reason I can't drop a picture here; but here's to Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins who could have been the best ever if given the chance. There is no Doc J or MJ if he didn't come first.