Monday, November 5, 2007

Catch-All (Random Baseball Trivia, Week Four)

In honor of Joe Girardi being named manager, today's Random Baseball Trivia nuggets all concern catchers!

First, we have this one:

On May 15, 1973, California Angels backup catcher Jeff Torborg catches the third no-hitter of his career. He previously backstopped gems for Bill Singer and Sandy Koufax while with the Dodgers. This one is a 3-0 blanking of Kansas City and the first no-hitter for teammate Nolan Ryan.

I believe Mr. Ryan went on to have a few more no-hitters in his day...


Then we have:


On November 5, 1978, Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Manny Sanguillen was involved in one of the strangest trades in history. Oakland A's manager Chuck Tanner was still under contract. To obtain the rights to hire Tanner, the Pirates traded Sanguillen and $100,000 to Oakland for their Manager Tanner.

I wonder how that feels, being traded for a manager...is that a plus on your game calling skills, or saying that you're now officially too flabby to run around the bases?


The catch-all sourcs

3 comments:

  1. Any thoughts on the 4th paragraph down?

    http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/

    ReplyDelete
  2. A-rod's clause:

    Boston has a whole at shortstop, A-Rod is orginally a shortstop. Boston has the $ to pay A-rod, and a few sources have mentioned Boston is interested.


    However, I'd consider it a last resort, given that Boston fans have been vociferous about not wanting A-Rod.

    My take? If he goes to Boston it's only because he is not welcome anywhere else...and while it might not be Boston's best solution at short, it's, all in all, not a horrible one...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Manny Sanguillen WAS wearing down by 1978 [and, Pittsburgh must have done the right thing in trading him, as they won the Series in '79], but in his heyday, Manny could fly. In my memory at least, he has to be the fastest catcher, ever. Wonder if anyone else has a candidate?

    ReplyDelete