Pappas probably got a bad rap after that. He continued performing at basically the same level as before. But Robinson's heroics vaulted his new team into the stratosphere, indeed. The Cincinnati braintrust was left with egg on their faces. They had judged Robinson to be an "old" 30. They judged his personality to be difficult - well, sports is full of such challenges, often with the most talented guys. Robinson had a background of pulling a pistol during a dispute at a Cincinnati restaurant. Reminds me of Johnny Paycheck.
Robinson had won the National League MVP in 1961 when his Reds won the pennant. They were stopped by the Yankees in the Fall Classic when the Yanks were at the peak of that era of dynasty.
Like in the movies
Robinson showed in spring training of '66 that big things were likely lying ahead for the Orioles. He hit home runs in a way remindful of the Roy Hobbs character, when the fictional guy (Robert Redford on the screen) stepped into the batting cage for the first time. Remember the reaction? A story told about the Orioles' '66 spring has Boog Powell watching and reacting with the same awe as Hobbs' teammates.
Pitcher Jim Palmer was there and was wowed by "F. Robby's" ability to hit any type of pitch delivered anywhere near the strike zone. I played the APBA simulation baseball game (with dice) that had "F. Robby" as the nickname, while teammate Brooks Robinson had the "B. Robby" moniker. I don't recall broadcasters going by those. Let's further note that APBA had Mike Cuellar nicknamed "Crazy Horse," perhaps politically incorrect by today's standards, and I never heard that over the air.
Palmer was along for the whole ride as the '66 Orioles were a precursor for other big things to come for Baltimore. Their pitching ended up as a defining element. Palmer was sort of a Robert Redford lookalike. Cuellar found his best stuff after a low-profile apprenticeship in Houston. Dave McNally was a boffo lefty, although I'm prompted to remember some post-baseball notoriety he got for being a sufferer of prolonged hiccups.
Most certainly the Orioles of their dynastic period did not endear themselves to me. I was a Twins fan. My team won the pennant in '65 and we felt certain a string of like success would develop. We were hardly bad in '66 but we finished in second, which in America I guess is an underwhelming thing. Remember that in those days, only the No. 1 team in each league advanced into post-season. There was the World Series and that was all.
Divisions were created in '69 and my Twins fell to the Orioles in a humiliating sweep. And my goodness, exactly the same scenario in 1970. Our terrific young pitcher Dave Boswell was desperately trying to win a hard-fought playoff game in '69: he went too long, bore down to strike out "F. Robby" with a slider, and the price he paid was a damaged arm. In an instant. He said his arm changed color. He would never be the same. And man, we lost the game anyway.
In '66 we finished second but rather out of the running: no suspense, nine games out. It's easy to blame the "steal" trade that Baltimore executed. The N.L.'s loss was clearly the A.L.'s gain. "F. Robby" excelled in every phase of the game, even with breaking up the double play. His triple crown offensive numbers were a .316 average, 49 homers and 122 RBIs. Naturally he got MVP and he capped it off with two home runs in the World Series.
Yes Alex, it was "bereft"
The World Series too lacked suspense and perhaps worse than that, it was rather bereft of offense. (I remember when Alex Karras had trouble understanding what "bereft" meant.)
The offense-challenged nature of the '66 Fall Classic was a sign of things to come for America's great game. A trend built that would climax in '68 with "the year of the pitcher." MLB took action after that with some tweaks, perhaps belatedly. You look over Tony Oliva's career stats and you figure '68 was a down year for the Cuban superstar. Not at all, as his .289 average was good for third in the league. Carl Yastrzemski was the only .300 hitter.
A remedy was needed. It was applied for '69 when expansion was also employed.
Palmer was a mere 20 years old in '66. McNally was still developing at 23. Wally Bunker and Steve Barber had become erratic because of arm problems, although Bunker reached back to throw a shutout in the World Series. It doesn't get any better than that. I seem to recall reading once that Bunker was insatiable for getting pitching innings when very young in youth ball. He may have enjoyed that greatly, but probably was unaware of the long-term consequences.
Steve Barber? How can we forget what we read about Barber in Jim Bouton's "Ball Four?" Barber may have had some shining moments in his career - let's give him his due - but sadly he succumbed to the sore arm malady, as we read about almost ad nauseam in "Ball Four." We learned the term "diathermy machine" in connection to Barber. Perhaps Bouton's emphasis was too strong - Barber was just a guy trying to hang on.
The crux of Bouton's book was that there was an underbelly to America's pastime: guys succumbing to their human, physical frailties. Writers traditionally gravitated to the glory. Bouton brought it all down to earth, a gesture that was probably healthy overall.
The bullpen did much to lift the '66 Orioles: Stu Miller with his celebrated changeup, Ed Fisher with - what else? - his mysterious knuckleball, big Gene Brabender and his sinker, and unforgettable prank artist Moe Drabowsky who got his "15 minutes of fame" in the Series with an incredible string of strikeouts. Wow! A whole baseball card was devoted to that, I recall.
I remember seeing Moe's last name with both "i" and "y" at the end. I learned years later that "i" was technically correct but the "y" caught on after an error in spelling. Such things happen as with the celebrated Alou brothers whose last name should have been "Rojas." A scout mishandled the name at one point. The rest is history.
And we loved baseball as an escape, like from the Vietnam war and other distressing "macro" things, loved it despite pitching taking over so much.
Baltimore '66 manager Hank Bauer used the bullpen stalwarts so much, the staff recorded only 23 complete games. In the World Series the team would face Sandy Koufax whose personal total of complete games was 27! Koufax had killed my Minnesota Twins' chances for the world championship in the '65 fall, that is, when he was available - couldn't pitch on Jewish holidays. In '66 he was mortal for the Series, and Baltimore with "F. Robby" exploited.
The '66 Orioles had five everyday starting pitchers under age 25. The unforgettable Luis Aparicio played shortstop, later to be succeeded by Mark Belanger. The Orioles clinched the pennant on September 22 in Kansas City, Palmer on the hill and outfielder Russ Snyder making a fantastic diving catch. Let's note that the team got a little carried away in the post-game celebration. You have to be careful with these things. The Twins lost Denny Hocking for the playoffs in 2002 - an unforgivable lapse in judgment.
Sprinkling of fans, surprising
Baltimore fans collectively yawned in the final drama-less weeks of the regular season in '66 - tiny crowds came to Memorial stadium, shocking to see the numbers. The Baltimore Colts of the NFL seemed more big-time then - they had Johnny Unitas. The Orioles disposed of the Dodgers in a quick 4-0 succession to enhance their distinction as a team not intimidated by the likes of Koufax/Drysdale. A tired but determined Bunker pitched a 1-0 shutout in Game 3 for a career highlight. Frank Robinson finished a storied career years later with 586 home runs (pre-PEDs) and became the first African-American manager. Belated, yes.
I have a podcast bonus for this post, in which I recite from Roger Angell's fine book "The Summer Game." This is from the chapter that focuses on the 1966 World Series. Just hearing the various names of the players should warm your hearts! The permalink is below. My podcast is "Morris Mojo."
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/The-1966-Baltimore-Orioles-eg7uhp
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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| The key guy |
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