Today marks the 36^th Anniversary of the final day of one of the most remarkable weeks any major leaguer ever had at the plate  – and, this “Week of the Hitter” came in the midst of the 1968 season, often referred to as the “Year of the Pitcher.”

Between May 12 and May 18 of that hurler-dominated season, Washington Senators’ hulking first baseman Frank “Hondo” Howard made history by banging out a record 10 home runs in a single week (six games). In that span, Howard went 13-for-24 (.542), homered in all six games, drove in 17 runs and scored 10 times. His 13 hits included the ten homers, one double and two singles, for a slugging percentage of 1.833.  Howard struck out four times in the six games and, surprisingly, despite the hot streak, was walked only once.

A few notes on Howard’s streak.

• Five of the six contests were on the road (Detroit, Cleveland, Boston) – only the first game was at home.
• Washington had a 3-3 record during the streak.
• Both the first home run and last home run (last two, actually) in the streak were hit against the Tigers’ Mickey Lolich.
• Howard’s 17 RBI represent 59 percent of the runs scored by the Senators during the streak.
• Howard’s HR-victims were: Mickey Lolich (3 HRs); Sam McDowell (2 HRs); Jose Santiago, Fred Lasher, Ray Culp, Joe Sparma,  Lee Stange.
• Howard would finish 1968 with an MLB-leading 44 home runs, eight more than AL runner up Willie Horton and NL leader Willie McCovey.

Over his 16-season MLB career, Howard hit .273, with 382 HRs and 1,119 RBI.  He was the 1960 NL Rookie of the Year (.268-23-77 in 117 games for the Dodgers), a four-time All Star (AL – consecutive 1968-71), twice led the AL in HRs (1968, 1970) and topped the AL in RBIs once (1970).

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Hats off to Baseball Reliquary honoree!

The Baseball Reliquary is a unique organization, dedicated  dedicated to the character and characters of baseball – from the fans’ point of view.  Each year, the Baseball Reliquary selects inductees to its Shrine of the Eternals, the Reliquary’s version of the National Baseball Hall of Fame – recognizing individuals who have changed the face of the game, both on and off the field.   For more on the Shrine of the Eternals and this year’s honorees click here. What organization, then, is better positioned to recognize not just players, coaches and front office personnel – but also the fans who put their heart into the game. This week, the Baseball Reliquary recognized a pair of individuals who have exhibited a long-standing passion for baseball –  past and present.  These two were honored with the Reliquary’s Hilda Award (passionate fandom) and Tony Salin Award (preservation of baseball history). What follows is the official press release on their selection.  For more on the Baseball Reliquary click here.  I think you’ll enjoy the read.

THE BASEBALL RELIQUARY ANNOUNCES

JERRY PRITIKIN AND JERRY COHEN

RECIPIENTS OF 2014 HILDA AND SALIN AWARDS

 The Board of Directors of the Baseball Reliquary, Inc., a Southern California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history, is pleased to announce the 2014 recipients of the Hilda Award and the Tony Salin Memorial Award.  Jerry Pritikin, the legendary “Bleacher Preacher” long associated with the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, will receive the 2014 Hilda Award.  Jerry Cohen, founder and owner of Ebbets Field Flannels in Seattle, Washington, will receive the 2014 Tony Salin Memorial Award.  Both awards will be formally presented at the Shrine of the Eternals Induction Day on Sunday, July 20, 2014, beginning at 2:00 p.m., at the Donald R. Wright Auditorium in the Pasadena Central Library, Pasadena, California.  The festivities will include the induction of the 2014 class of electees to the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals: Dizzy Dean, Don Zimmer, and Rachel Robinson.

Cubs’ fan Jerry Pritikin.
Photo: Mia Aigotti

Established in 2001 in memory of Hilda Chester, the legendary Brooklyn Dodgers fan, the Hilda Award recognizes distinguished service to the game by a baseball fan.  To Baseball Reliquarians, the award is comparable to the Oscar or Emmy: it acknowledges the devotion and passion of baseball fans, and the many ways in which they exhibit their love affair with the national pastime. The 2014 Hilda recipient, JERRY PRITIKIN, became a Chicago Cubs fan in 1945 at the age of eight.  When the Cubs clinched the National League pennant, he asked his dad to take him to the World Series.  His father felt Jerry was too young but made him a promise: he would take him the next time the Cubs made it into the World Series!   And, of course, nearly seventy “wait until next years” later, he’s still waiting to get to the Promised Land. Pritikin rooted for the Cubs even while in “exile” in San Francisco, where he worked as a freelance photographer and publicist from the early 1960s until the late 1980s, at which time he moved back to his beloved Chicago and became a regular at Wrigley Field, earning the moniker “The Bleacher Preacher” for his efforts to convert non-believers to the Cubs.  As “The Bleacher Preacher,” Pritikin wore a pith helmet with a solar-powered propeller; his antics included cavorting with a life-size voodoo doll that would be dressed up in the uniforms of opposing teams, and carrying around handmade signs including one fashioned after the Ten Commandments, inscribed “The Ten Cub-mandments,” and another which read, “How Do You Spell Belief? C-U-B-S!”  While he has attended well over a thousand games, his most memorable one was on May 18, 1947, when he was on hand to see Jackie Robinson’s Chicago debut, and noticed many of the 47,000 fans brought binoculars that day to get a closer look at the future Hall of Famer and Shrine of the Eternals inductee. Called “The #1 Cubs fan” by broadcaster Harry Caray, the 77-year-old Pritikin has been inducted into both the Chicago Senior Citizen Hall of Fame (2012) and the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame (2013), the latter for “excellence and courage as a sports fan, photojournalist, and advocate.”  An early gay rights activist and close friend of Harvey Milk, Pritikin played on gay softball teams for over 30 years, finally hanging up the spikes last year.  Among his fondest memories was in 1981 when he got former major leaguer and friend Glenn Burke to strike out swinging on his knuckleball.  Pritikin regularly played in the annual Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association’s Senior Cup softball tournament, receiving the Oldest Active Player Award four times.

Tony Salin Award Winner Jerry Cohen.
Photo: Laurent Laporte

Established in 2002 to recognize individuals for their commitment to the preservation of baseball history, the Tony Salin Memorial Award is named in honor of the baseball historian, author, and Reliquarian who passed away in 2001.  The 2014 Salin Award recipient, JERRY COHEN, founded Ebbets Field Flannels in 1988, a Seattle, Washington-based company which manufactures historically-inspired athletic apparel, ranging from handmade reproductions of vintage flannel baseball jerseys to T-shirts, baseball caps, and even grounds crew jackets and sweatshirts, all made with a high level of craftsmanship and respect for authenticity.  Simultaneously, Cohen has been preserving the legacies and stories of obscure teams and leagues of the past that might otherwise have been forgotten.  His apparel represents teams from the minor leagues, Negro Leagues, the short-lived Federal League of 1914-15, and often obscure independent and barnstorming teams like the House of David.  The company’s handiwork was recently seen on the big screen, as Ebbets Field Flannels made all the minor league and Negro League uniforms for 42, the Jackie Robinson biopic. At one time an aspiring rock musician, Cohen was born in Brooklyn the year after the Dodgers left the borough for Los Angeles.  His work might best be described as “wearable history,” and his replicas are meticulously researched and often involve painstaking detective work, because hardly any original garments exist for the teams and all the photos are black and white. Ebbets Field Flannels currently offers over 400 different historic jerseys, and each one is created using authentic materials, with virtually everything crafted in the U.S.  The same dedication goes into making their authentic ballcaps, each of which features wool broadcloth construction, soft crown, satin undervisor, and period-style felt lettering or embroidery. “We don’t follow trends, and we aren’t sitting around thinking of how we can create something to fit the current fashion market,” notes Cohen.  “We look at history as our guide.  And we see ourselves as archivists, and people who are trying to bring things forth out of history and turn it in to a living thing as authentically as possible, with as little interference from the original thing to the wearable item today.  That’s not always what gets us the biggest selling product, but I think it’s what people respect and like about the brand.” Both Jerry Pritikin and Jerry Cohen will attend the Shrine of the Eternals 2014 Induction Day in Pasadena, California to personally accept their awards.

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Last July, BBRT posted an article on Tyrone Horne, who on July 27, 1998, became the only professional ballplayer to hit for the “home run cycle” – a solo home run, two-run homer, three-run round tripper and grand slam all in the same game. Horne accomplished the feat at Double A ball, as his Arkansas Travelers topped the San Antonia Mission 13-4.  You can read that post by clicking here.

Today, I’d like to celebrate a college player who also hit for the home run cycle – AND MORE – on this day 15 years ago (May 9, 1999).  The player was Florida State Seminoles’ infielder (3B/2B) Marshall McDougall and on that day – in a 26-2 victory over the Maryland Terrapins – McDougall not only hit for the Home Run Cycle, but added a couple of additional round trippers for good measure.  That day, in fact, he set a still-standing NCAA single game records for home runs (6), RBI (16) and total bases (25). And, as you will see in the video – there were no cheap shots for McDougall on that record-setting day.

I should not here that the game was not one of those early season, out-of-conference mismatches that coaches schedule to build team confidence.  It was an Atlantic Coast Conference game, played at Maryland’s Shipley Field.  Still, it was a bit of a mismatch. Florida State came in with a 43-10 record and a top-five national ranking (the Seminole would finish with a 57-14 record and make it all the way to the title game of the College World Series), while Maryland’s record stood at 21-26 (6-14 in the conference).

McDougall’s, a junior at Florida State was in his first season with the Seminoles, having played and schooled at Santa Fe Community College as a freshman and sophomore (where he was an all-state selection both years).  McDougall continued his strong performance after moving up to Florida State – he was hitting .405, with 17 homers, 70 RBI and 11 stolen bases coming into the May 9 contest.

The day started out mildly enough for McDougall – with a single in the top of the first inning.  But thing heated up from there.  Here’s how his at bats went:

• First inning – single
• Second inning – solo home run
• Fourth inning – three-run home run
• Sixth inning – two-run home run
• Seventh inning – three-run home run
• Eighth inning – grand slam (completing the HR Cycle)
• Ninth inning – three-run home run

McDougall went on to finish the season, playing 71 games, with a .419 average, 104 runs, 26 doubles, three triples, 28 home runs, 106 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 25 attempts.  He topped all of Division 1 in hits, runs, RBI and total bases –  earning recognition as a first-team All-American and Athletic Coast Conference Player of the Year.  And, McDougall wasn’t done yet.  In the 1999 College World Series, McDougall hit .385, with three doubles, three home runs, six runs scored, eight RBI and one stolen base in six games.  McDougall finished in the top five in nearly every offensive category and lead the Series outright in hits, runs scored, total bases, while also tying for the lead in doubles and home runs.  He was selected to the All-Tournament Team and as the Series’ Most Valuable Player (despite the fact that Florida State lost to Miami 6-5 in the final game).

His senior season was not as spectacular – 72 games, .342 average, 22 doubles, five triples, 15 home runs, 67 RBI and 15 steals – but still earned him the Oakland A’s ninth-round draft pick in 2000.

McDougall spent 5 ½ seasons in the minors (A’s, Indians and Rangers systems) – compiling a .281 average, with 69 home runs, 380 RBI and 52 steals in 563 games – before being called up to the Rangers in June of 2005.  At the time of his call up, he was hitting .341, with 11 home runs and 64 RBI (in 57 games) at Triple A Oklahoma. He got in just 18 games with the Rangers – 18 at bats, three hits, ten strikeouts.

The “rest of the story” reflects McDougall’s passion for the national past time. He started the 2006 season back in the minors (where injuries,wrist and knee, began to take their toll) and from 2006 through 2008 played in the Rangers, Dodgers and Padres systems.  He then went on to play in the Mexican League, independent ball and even in Taiwan.  In 2012, at age 33, McDougall put up a .341-10-32 line in 35 games for the Reynosa Broncos of the Mexican League. In August of 2013, McDougall was named head baseball coach at Wiregrass High School (Wesley Chapel, Florida), leading the team to a District Championship in his first season.

How appropriate that an individual with such a passion for the game would have, arguably, the best day at the plate EVER.

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On this day six decades ago – May 2, 1954 – Stan “The Man” Musial had one of the greatest days at the plate in major league history.  That day, the New York Giants faced Musial’s Cardinals in a double header before 26,662 fans at Busch Stadium (I).   (Keep that number of fans in mind, it will come into play later.)

As the Cardinals won Game One 10-6, Musial was brilliant, recording four hits and a walk in five plate appearances – including a solo home run in the third inning, a two-run homer in the fifth and a three-run blast in the eighth.  It was the first time Musial had hit three round trippers in a single game.  He ended with contest with three runs scored and six RBI.

Musial reportedly enjoyed a between-games sandwich and glass of milk before going out to face knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm in Game Two.  If Stan was going to continue his long-ball heroics, he would have to provide his own power – and he did.

In Game Two, Musial collected two hits and a walk in five plate appearances – including a two-run homer in the fifth inning and a solo shot in the seventh, scoring three runs and driving in three in a 9-7 Cardinals loss.

So, for the doubleheader, Stan Musial was six-for-eight, with two walks, six runs scored, nine RBI and five home runs.

The Musial/Colbert Link

Musial, that day, became only the first MLBer to hit five home runs in a double header.  Ironically, among the 26,662 fans witnessing Musial’s feat was eight-year-old Nate Colbert – who, on August 1, 1972, would become the second player in MLB history (and there are still only two) to hit five round trippers in a double header.

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On August 1, 1972, lightning struck again.  This time from the bat of Nate Colbert, whose San Diego Padres faced the Atlanta Braves in a double header before a meager crowd of 5,784 at Atlanta.  Colbert got his day off to a quick start, as the Padres’ clean-up hitter hit a three-run homer in the top of the first inning.  Colbert went on to add a run-scoring single in the third, another single in the fourth, and a solo homer in the seventh before striking out to open the ninth.  For the game, won by the Padres 9-0, Colbert was four-for-five, three runs scored, five RBI and two home runs.  COLBERT WAS JUST GETTING STARTED.

Game two started out quietly enough, with Colbert drawing a first-inning walk. Things heated up fast, as Colbert added a grand slam in the second, a ground out to third base in the fourth, a two-run homer in the seventh and a day-topping two-run round tripper with  two out in the ninth.  In the process, he went three-for-four with three runs scored and eight RBI – becoming only the second player with five home runs in a double header. (The Padres, by the way, won game two 11-7.)

For the double header, Colbert was seven-for-nine, with a walk, seven runs scored, 13 RBI and five home runs.  Stan Musial, however, was not in the stands.

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BBRT today launched its own baseball award – The John Paciorek Award – or JPA (which could stand, in this case for “Played Just Abit.”  The JPA will recognize players who have had short, maybe very short, major league careers, but whose accomplishments, nonetheless, deserve recognition.  Just as the emergence of these  players on the MLB scene was often unexpected, the JPA will be awarded on no specific/expected timetable.  BBRT, in fact, most often uncovers these brief, but bright, stars when researching some unrelated baseball topic.  Spoiler Alert – the first JPA winner is San Francisco Giants’ infielder Brian Dallimore, but first a bit about John Paciorek, whose MLB career is the inspiration for this recognition. (Note: Just as the Cy Young is the answer to the trivia question, “Who is the best pitcher to never win a Cy Young Award?”, BBRT hopes John Paciorek will be the answer to: “Who is the most interesting MLBer to never be recognized with the John Paciorek Award?”

John Paciorek’s baseball history and heritage is, indeed, interesting.  First, John Paciorek made it to the major leagues at a very young age.  Signed out of Saint Ladislaus High School in Hamtramck, Michigan (where he had starred in football, basketball and baseball), Paciorek appeared in his first major league game on the final day of the 1963 season (September 29) at the age of 18.  Second, Paciorek comes from a true baseball family.  He was the first born of eight siblings and was followed to the big leagues by younger brothers Jim and Tom Paciorek.  (Like John, Jim’s MLB career was short – 48 games for the Brewers in 1987. Brother Tom, however, achieved a .282 average over an 18-season – 1,392 game – MLB career.)

But, back to John.  The 6’ 1”, 200-pound outfielder, had spent the 1963 season with Class A Modesto Colts, hitting just .219 in 78 games.  The parent club, the Houston Colt .45s (that was their name then), however, was suffering through a difficult season – they were 65-96 going into that final game.  The September 1963 Colt .45s were all about the future and, in fact, on September 27, had fielded an all-rookie lineup (average age 19). So, John Paciorek’s spot in the season’s final starting lineup was no surprise. What he did that day, however, was.

Playing right field and batting seventh in a 13-4 win over the NY Mets, Paciorek ended up with three hits and two walks in five plate appearances, with four runs scored and three runs batted in.  Perhaps equally surprising is that it marked Paciorek’s only MLB appearance.  Back pain the following spring, followed by back surgery (he played 49 minor league games in 1964 and missed all of the 1965 season) put an end to his MLB playing days. (He did play in four more minor league seasons.)  Still, you will find John Paciorek in the Baseball Encyclopedia and his is arguably the greatest one-game MLB career ever.  Among one-gamers, he holds the record for times on base and runs scored, and shares the record for batting average, on base percentage and RBIs.  You can find more details on Paciorek’s lone major league game here.

Paciorek, by the way, went on to become a high school teacher and multi-sport coach, and the author of two books (Plato and Socrates – Baseball’s Wisest Fans and The Principles of Baseball, and all there is to know about hitting.) You can enjoy Paciorek’s prose directly at his blog “Paciorek’s Principles of Perfect Practice.”

So much for the inspiration – now, on to the first JPA winner.

Brian Scott Dallimore did not, like John Paciorek, make it to the big leagues at a young age.  He was, in fact, a 30-year-old veteran of eight-plus minor league seasons when he finally got the call. He was, in baseball parlance, a true journeyman.  He had journeyed from minor league city to minor league city, seven teams in those eight years.  He had also journeyed from one parent team system to another (Astros, Diamondbacks and Giants).  And, he had traveled around the infield, playing third base, second base and shortstop. What he had never done was give up on the dream.  And, things were looking up.

From 1996-2000, Dallimore played in 468 minor league games (never above AA), compiling a .264 average (with a high of .275 in 2000).  Then, in 2001, things seemed to click, as Dallimore hit .327, with eight home runs, 67 RBI and 11 stolen bases for the Diamondbacks’ AA affiliate El Paso Diablos.  He followed that up with a .294-6-50, 13 SB season at AAA Tucson.  He was, however, 28 and the Diamondbacks did not resign him.

Dallimore signed a minor league deal with the Giants and went on to hit .352 in 91 games with AAA Fresno in 2003. That performance didn’t earn him a September call up, but it helped get him his first-ever invite to major league camp for  2004 Spring Training, where he hit .279 in 21 games.  While he started the 2004 season back at Fresno, the minor league veteran had been noticed.  The Giants’ players selected Dallimore as the winner of the 2004 Harry S. Jordan Award, annually recognizing a player in his first Spring Training whose performance and dedication to the game best reflected the spirit of the San Francisco Giants.

Dallimore didn’t know it then, but he was only a poor Giants’ start and an injury to Ray Durham away from finally making his major league dream come true.  Dallimore was called up to the big club and made his debut as a pinch hitter (grounding out) on April 29^th, 2004.  It was his performance on April 30^th, however, that earns Dallimore the first-ever BBRT John Paciorek Award.  In fact, if it wasn’t for that April 29^th pinch hitting appearance, Dallimore would have recorded one of the best first games ever in the MLB history.  As it was, he still carries the honor of having his first major league hit be a grand slam home run.  In a game won by the Giants 12-9 (and in which the score stood at 9-9 after just two innings), Dallimore walked and scored in the first inning, crashed a grand slam home run for his first MLB hit in the second, singled in the third, singled and scored in the fifth, and was hit by a pitch in the sixth. So, for his first start, Dallimore was on base five times in five plate appearances, had two singles and a home run (grand slam) in three at bats, scored three runs and drove in four.

Dallimore ended up hitting .279 with one home run and seven RBI in 20 games for the Giants that year – he also went .324-8-65 in 111 games back at Fresno. He played seven more games at the major-league level in 2005, hitting a double in seven at bats (he also hit .302-8-45 in 100 games at Fresno that season.)

Dallimore signed as a free agent with the Brewers after the 2005 season, but retired before the 2006 season began.  Despite his short stint in the majors, on April 30, 2004, Brian Scott Dallimore truly had his day in the sun – or in this case under the lights. So, for that – and for his love of the game – BBRT selects him as the first JPA winner.

                                                   BRIAN DALLIMORE

BBRT invites your nominations for the JP Award – players with short, but notable, stays in the major leagues.

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On this date (April 16) in 1940, 21-year-old Bob Feller threw the first – and still only – Opening Day not hitter in MLB history.  That makes this an appropriate day to reflect on just how talented the pitcher, who would become known as “Rapid Robert” and “The Heater from Van Meter” was.

Bob Feller was very good – very early.  He didn’t just go directly from high school to the major leagues; he went to the major leagues while he was still in high school.  In fact, he earned a share of the major league single-game strikeout record before he earned his high school diploma.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.  If Van Meter, Iowa native Robert William Andrew Feller wasn’t born to be a baseball player (BBRT would argue he was), he certainly was raised to be one. Feller’s father William was an avid baseball fan and started tutoring Bob at a very young age and, by the time Bob was twelve, Feller’s father had built a baseball field, complete with scoreboard and bleachers, on the Feller farm.  The field was called Oakview Park and was home to the Oakviews, a team (including Bob Feller) of semi-pro and high school players.  In Feller’s formative years, he played not only for the Oakviews, but also for the Adel American Legion team, the local Farmers Union team and his high school team.

In 1935, Feller, sixteen-years-old and still in high school, was signed by the Cleveland Indians – reportedly for one dollar and an autographed baseball. The next year, Feller made his major league debut as a 17-year-old, pitching one scoreless inning in relief on July 19, 1936. In his first six games, all in relief, Feller totaled eight innings pitched, giving up 11 hits, seven runs, eight walks, and notching nine strikeouts. Despite those stats, the Indians felt the youngster – who had shown a blazing fastball and knee-buckling curve – was ready for his first major league start.  It came on August 23, 1936, against the St. Louis Browns.  In that initial start, Feller threw a complete game 4-1 victory, giving up six hits and four walks and striking out 15. The teenager suffered a pair of losses (to the Red Sox and Yankees) before evening his record at 2-2 with another complete game win over the Browns in which he fanned ten.  Then, on September 13, Feller bested the Athletics 5-2, throwing a complete game two-hitter, walking nine, but striking out seventeen – which, at that time, tied the MLB single-game strikeout record.  Feller finished the 1936 season with a 5-3 record, 3.34 ERA and five complete games in eight starts.  He walked 47 and fanned 76 in 62 innings. And, of course, he had yet to complete high school.

In his first start of the 1937 season (April 24 against the Browns), the teenage phenom – who had been featured on the cover of the April 19, 1937 issue of Time magazine – came up with a sore elbow.  Feller ended up pitching six innings, striking out 11, in a 4-3 loss and didn’t appear in another game until mid-May, then was shelved again until June 22.  The break did give Feller time to complete high school (his graduation was broadcast live on NBC Radio).  He finished the year, 9-7, 3.39, with 106 walks and 140 strikeouts in 148 2/3 innings. Not bad for an 18-year-old, but the best was yet to come.

From 1938 to 1941, Feller won 93 games (44 losses) – making the All Star team all four seasons and leading the AL in wins three times, ERA once, complete games twice, shutouts twice, innings pitched three times, and strikeouts all four seasons.  At the end of the 1941 season, Feller had 107 major-league victories.  And, he was all of 22-years-old.

In that four-season span, Feller also set a then major league record for strikeouts in a single game (18 versus the Tigers on October 2, 1938) and threw the previously noted Opening Day no-hitter.  Note: That 1940 opener was an omen of what was to come, as 1940 proved to be, perhaps, Feller’s greatest season.  He led the league in wins (27), ERA (2.61), complete games (31), shutouts (4), innings pitched (320 1/3), and strikeouts (261) – finishing second to Hank Greenberg in the MVP voting.

The career of Bob Feller – baseball’s most rapidly rising comet – was, however, about to be interrupted. Two days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into World War II, Feller became first professional athlete to enlist in the U.S. armed forces; eventually serving as a Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama. Feller was discharged from the Navy in late August, 1945, having missed 3 ½ MLB seasons. He immediately rejoined the Indians and finished up the season with a 5-3, 2.50 record, completing seven of nine starts and striking out 59 in 72 innings.

In his first full season after his discharge, Feller picked up right where he left off before the war,  leading the league in wins (26), complete games (36), shutouts (10), innings pitched (371 1/3) and strikeouts (a then MLB-record 348), while posting a 2.18 ERA.   In the first three full seasons after his post-war return, Feller led the league in wins twice, complete games once, shutouts twice, innings pitched twice, and strikeouts three times.  Makes one wonder what Feller would have done without the war-time interruption.  You can get a pretty good idea when you consider that, in the six full seasons surrounding his military service, (three before/three after), Feller’s average season was 24-12, 2.80 ERA, 26 complete games, five shutouts, and 239 strikeouts.

Ultimately, Rapid Robert Feller finished an 18-season career with 266 wins, 162 losses, a 3.25 ERA, 3,827 innings pitched, 279 complete games, 44 shutouts and 2,581 strikeouts. He made eight All Star teams, threw three no-hitters (12 one-hitters), led the AL in strikeouts seven times, wins six times, innings pitched five times, shutouts four times, complete games three times and ERA once.

Just how good was Bob Feller? In his December 15, 2010 obituary, the New York Times described Feller like this: “Joining the Indians in 1936, Feller became baseball’s biggest draw since Babe Ruth, throwing pitches that batters could barely see — fastballs approaching 100 miles an hour and curveballs and sinkers that fooled the sharpest eyes.”  The statistics back that assessment up and so do the hitters.  Accomplished batsmen from Stan Musial to Joe DiMaggio to Ted Williams have described Feller as one of the best – if not the best – pitcher of his time. In DiMaggio’s words: “I don’t think anyone is ever going to throw a ball faster than he (Feller) does. And his curveball isn’t human.”

Finally, I would be remiss to not note that I was privileged to meet Bob Feller at a minor league baseball game (long after his retirement as a player) and he was a true gentleman who retained his love for (and insight into) the game and his appreciation of the fans (no one was denied an autograph or a smile that day.)

Bob Feller – very good, very early, very long.   And, very much missed.

I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT