Classic Baseball Daily Highlights

On March 26, 1951 —– In an exhibition game at the University of Southern California, Mickey Mantle propels a home run estimated at 654 to 660 feet. The shot clears Bovard Field and then goes the width of a practice football field before landing. Mantle has two homers, a bases-loaded triple, and drives in seven runs as the Yankees flunk the Trojans, 15 – 1.

Listen to Mickey talk New York, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, DiMaggio and Maris. 

Additionally, I will highlight today's Strat O Matic simulation of the 2020 season. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Mentioned in this episode:

New CBB Podcast Intro

Post Roll March 26

Join the Daily Rewind - Join.

Classic Baseball Broadcasts - reconnect with baseball history.

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Mentioned in this episode:

Post Roll March 26

New CBB Podcast Intro

On March 21, 1975, Hall of Fame outfielder Joe “Ducky” Medwick dies in Saint Petersburg, Florida at the age of 63. As one of the feared hitters on the famed “Gashouse Gang,” Medwick clubbed 205 home runs and batted .324 over a 17-year career. Medwick gained election to the Hall of Fame in 1968.

Listen to the hall of fame interview conducted on February 2 1968 - https://collection.baseballhall.org/PASTIME/joe-medwick-oral-history-interview-1968-february-08

Check out Ducky Medwicks Page - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/joe-medwick-page/

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Mentioned in this episode:

Post Roll March 26

New CBB Podcast Intro

On March 20, 1973 — Roberto Clemente becomes the first Hispanic American to gain election to the Hall of Fame. The Baseball Writers Association of America announces the results of a special ballot, with Clemente receiving 393 of 424 votes. Clemente died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve. In light of his tragic death, the Hall’s Board of Directors waived the five-year waiting period that is normally required before a player is eligible for election. A twelve-time All-Star, Clemente batted .317 and won a dozen Gold Gloves over an 18-year career, and batted .362 in World Series play. Named National League MVP in 1966, he was voted the outstanding player in the 1971 World Series, when the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles in seven games.

Roberto Clemente sits down with WPXI [then-WIIC]'s Sam Nover in October 1972, less than 3 months before his untimely passing. This is definitely his final at-length interview, and probably his only surviving extended interview that was captured visually. This was re-run by WPXI for the first time in 1989, and again on New Year's Eve 1997 [marking the 25th anniversary of his death], which is the source of this upload.

Check out his Page - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/?s=roberto+clemente

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Mentioned in this episode:

New CBB Podcast Intro

Post Roll March 26

On March 19, 1927 --- Don Richard (Richie) Ashburn is born in Tilden, Nebraska. A five-time All-Star, Ashburn will be a solid center fielder and a solid hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies. He will hit over .300 during 9 of his 15 major league seasons, twice capturing the National League batting title and conclude his career with a .308 lifetime average. Following his playing career, he will call Phillies games for more than three decades. Ashburn will be elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee in 1995.

Check out his interview on the Tops Sports Radio Network!

Visit Ashburn - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/1927-don-richard-richie-ashburn-is-born-in-tilden-nebraska-a-five-time-all-star-ashburn-will-be-a-solid-center-fielder-and-a-solid-hitter-for-the-philade/

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Mentioned in this episode:

New CBB Podcast Intro

Post Roll March 26

March 17, 1918: A young Babe Ruth, still primarily a pitcher, slugs a pair of home runs during a spring training game at Whittington Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The second long ball is thought to be the first 500-plus foot blast in baseball history. The Herculean shot—hit off Brooklyn Robins hurler Norman Plitt—soared far over the fence in deep right-center, coming to rest in the middle of an inhabited pond at the Arkansas Alligator Farm. The Boston Globe reported that "the intrusion" caused quite a "commotion among the Gators.” The epic drive was later measured at 573 feet—the distance from home plate to the pond's center.

Amazingly, Ruth replicated the feat a week later in another spring exhibition versus Brooklyn. In its coverage of the proceedings, The Boston Post wrote: "Before the echo of the crash had died away the horsehide had dropped somewhere in the vicinity of South Hot Springs. . . . The sphere cleared the fence [400 feet away] by about 200 feet and dropped in the pond beside the Alligator Farm, while the spectators yelled with amazement." Edward Martin, writing for The Boston Globe, opined: "Every ball player in the park said [it] was the longest drive they had ever seen. . . . Had Ruth made the drive in Boston, it might have cleared the bleachers in right-center."

"I've never in all my time seen a man use the bat as does the slugging Boston hurler," gushed manager Fielder Jones, who had witnessed several of Babe's colossal clouts. Former Red Sox catcher Les Nunamaker offered similar praise: "He has no weakness . . . and can hit anything coming in the direction of the plate. If a hurler is foolish enough to give him a high one on the inside, it is all off. He will knock it out of the grounds. It is the general belief of the players in camp that Ruth is the best sticker in the league. . . . He just handles that old bat as if it were a toothpick."

Babe's heroics carried over into the regular season. Appearing in 95 games, he hit .300 with 26 doubles and an AL-best 11 home runs—his first of 12 long ball crowns. Though Ruth's 1918 power output seems paltry by modern standards, consider that the junior circuit's single-season record holder at the time was Socks Seybold, who hit 16 big flies in 1902. On the mound, the 23-year-old went 13-7 with a 2.27 ERA in 161 ⅓ innings pitched (2-0, 1.06 ERA in the World Series). Despite Ruth's stellar pitching, it was his mighty war club that captured the public's imagination.

On November 26, 1918, The Associated Press wrote:

"There were many stars in last year's baseball firmament, but there was only one Babe Ruth. Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Jim Vaughan, Benny Kauff, and other stars received their usual amount of interest, but the fan always returned to the question: Did Babe Ruth make a home run today?"

✍️ Bobby King II

Check out Babe Ruth's Page - 

https://thisdayinbaseball.com/babe-ruth-biography/

☑️Sources: http://www.hotspringsbaseballtrail.com + https://www.baseball-reference.com + 

Mentioned in this episode:

Post Roll March 26

New CBB Podcast Intro

On March 16, 1907 -- After watching Ty Cobb quarrel with a black groundskeeper and with teammate Charlie Schmidt, Tiger manager Hugh Jennings was tired of dealing with Cobb's abrasive behavior and tries to deal him to the Cleveland Naps for outfielder Elmer Flick.

The Naps turned down a trade with the Tigers which would have exchanged Flick for the 21-year-old Cobb. They countered with Bunk Congalton, but the Tigers declined. Flick had been holding out but he signed a few days after the proposed trade. After Cobb was nearly traded away, Jennings attempted to repair the difficult relationships between Cobb and the other Detroit players. "Cobb is too good a hitter to let get away, when a little diplomacy will get the boys together", Jennings said

Flick will go onto hit .302 and lead the league with 17 3 baggers. Cobb will go on to hit .350 and lead the AL in hitting. He will also go on to become one of the top 5 players in Major League Baseball history and still holds the all-time record for career batting average at .367 which I will assume will never be broke.

Both players ended up in Cooperstown, Cobb was part of the initial class and Flick joined him in 1961.

Learn More About Ty Cobb - https://thisdayinbaseball.com/ty-cobb-biography/

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Mentioned in this episode:

New CBB Podcast Intro

Post Roll March 26

March 14, 2003 — Milwaukee Brewers TV/Radio play-by-play announcer Bob Uecker is chosen for induction into the broadcasters’ wing of the Hall of Fame as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. The 68-year-old former back-up catcher, who joined the Milwaukee broadcast crew in 1971, is best known for the humor he has brought to the game through his starring role in the cult movie Major League and the beer commercial in which the phrase Must be in the front row! has become a familiar cry in ballparks around the country.

‘Must be in the front row! “- BOB UECKER, a quip from beer commercials which has a become a famous cry in ballparks around the country.

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Mentioned in this episode:

Post Roll March 26

New CBB Podcast Intro

March 12, 1956  in Portland, OR . . . One of the most talented and complete players of the 1980s, Dale Murphy won two Most Valuable Player Awards and clubbed 398 homers while maintaining a squeeky-clean image. He was one of the most respected and popular stars of his era. He led the National League in homers, RBI, and slugging twice each. Though he declined rapidly late in his career, in his prime Murphy was compared to Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Mentioned in this episode:

New CBB Podcast Intro

Post Roll March 26

Big John Mize won four National League home run titles, a batting title and three RBI crowns. He was revered by fans in St. Louis and New York, where he ended his career by playing on five World Series champions in his last seasons as a Yankee. In the 1952 Fall Classic against the Dodgers he belted homer sin games three, four and five, batting .400 with six RBI.

Mentioned in this episode:

Classic Baseball Broadcasts

Mentioned in this episode:

Post Roll March 26

New CBB Podcast Intro