M E E T   T H E   R O O K I E S  ·  1 9 6 2

Boog Powell · #1 overall, Dallas Texans
An immense lefthanded slugger, Powell batted cleanup for the Orioles for over a decade and helped them to the WS four times in six years from 1966 to 1971. Standing slightly over 6'4" and weighing at least 230 lb, Powell had bulging biceps and a thick neck, as well as a youthful-looking face topped by a shock of reddish hair. He batted behind Frank Robinson beginning in 1966 to form half of Baltimore's fearsome power combination, and in the field he was an ample target at first base as well as a master at scooping low throws from the dirt.

Powell joined the Orioles after leading the International League in home runs at Rochester in 1961, and spent his first three seasons as a slow-footed left fielder before switching to first base in 1965. Offensively, he was an immediate success, hitting 25 HR in 1963, then leading the AL in slugging percentage (.606) in 1964 while blasting a career-high 39 HR despite missing several weeks because of a broken wrist. He slumped to .248 with 17 HR in 1965, then won AL Comeback Player of the Year honors in 1966 (.287, 34 HR, 109 RBI) while being hampered by a broken finger.

Before the 1967 season, Powell lamented, "Once, just once, I'd like to through a whole season without an injury," and he did just that, playing over 150 games each of the next three seasons. In 1968 he hit a career-high .304 with 37 HR and 121 RBI, and in 1970 he was the AL MVP, narrowly missing a .300 average on the last day of the season and hitting 35 more HR with 114 RBI. In the WS, Powell homered in the first two games as the Orioles whipped the Reds. Powell helped Baltimore to a third straight WS the following year, blasting a pair of home runs in Game Two of the ALCS, but he hit only .111 in the WS as Baltimore lost to Pittsburgh in seven games.

The aging slugger was traded to Cleveland with Don Hood for Dave Duncan and a minor leaguer before the 1975 season, and he hit .297 with 27 HR for the Indians that year, but he hit only nine home runs in 1974 and none as a pinch hitter for the Dodgers in 1975. Powell hit three home runs in a game three times, and is second only to Eddie Murray on the Orioles all-time home run list. (SCL)

Dean Chance · #2 overall, Manhattan Gray Sox
A hard-throwing righthanded starter with an unorthodox twisting windup, Chance won the AL Cy Young Award in 1964 at the age of 23 but never evolved into a consistently dominating pitcher. With a touch of wildness and the disconcerting habit of never looking at home plate once he received the sign from his catcher, Chance would turn his broad back fully towards the hitter in mid-windup before spinning and unleashing a lively fastball, good sinker, or sidearm curve.

Chance was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels from the Orioles organization in the 1960 expansion draft and as a rookie in 1962 was 14-10, 2.96 as an occassional starter for the Angels. He began taking regular turns in the rotation in 1963 and was 13-18 with meager support from his teammates, then in 1964 he blossomed into the AL's most overpowering pitcher. Pitching his home games in spacious Dodger Stadium, Chance was 20-9 with a 1.64 ERA in '64, and tossed 11 shutouts, including six in which he won 1-0. On June 6 that year he pitched 14 shutout innings against the Yankees, only to see the Angels lose 2-0 after he left the game, and on September 10 he pitched a one-hitter against the Twins, allowing only an infield single to Zoilo Versalles in the eighth.

Chance slipped to 15-10 in 1965 and 12-17 in 1966, and after he began to berate his temmates for their poor play behind him was traded to Minnesota before the 1967 season. He enjoyed a resurgence with the Twins, going 20-14, 2.73 to win AL Comeback Player of the Year honors and pitching a no-hitter against the Indians August 25. On the final day of the regular season he faced the Red Sox with a chance to clinch the pennant, but lost, sending Boston to the WS instead. Chance was 16-16 in 1968 and 5-4 in only 15 starts in 1969, then was traded to the Indians along with Graig Nettles in a six-player deal that brought Luis Tiant to the Twins. The Indians sold Chance to the Mets in mid-1970, and he spent his final season pitching mostly in relief with the Tigers in 1971.

Chance was a notoriously poor hitter, batting .066 in 662 career bats while striking out 353 times. (SCL)

Lou Brock · #3 overall, San Francisco Spiders
Signed out of Southern University for a $30,000 bonus in 1961, Brock moved up to the Cubs within one season. He hit only .263 and .258 in two full seasons with Chicago while showing flashes of both speed and power, including a 450-foot home run into the centerfield bleachers at the Polo Grounds, one of only four homers ever to land there. He came into his own after moving to St. Louis in a six-man trade on June 15, 1964. The deal was essentially Brock for pitcher Ernie Broglio, and is regarded as one of the worst the Cubs ever made. Brock averaged .348 in the 1964 stretch drive and finished the season at .315, with 111 runs scored, 200 hits, 30 doubles, 11 triples, and 43 stolen bases. In fourth place when Brock joined them, the Cardinals overtook the Phillies, Giants, and Reds to claim the pennant in the last week of the season. Brock then batted .300 with a homer as the Cardinals beat the Yankees in the World Series. He scored 107 runs and stole 63 bases in 1965, then won his first of four straight and eight total stolen-base championships with 74 in 1966. Brock's greatest season was probably 1967, when he led the Cardinals to another World Championship with a league-leading 113 runs scored, 52 steals, and career highs of 21 homers, 76 RBI, and a .472 slugging average. Brock batted .414 with seven steals against Boston in the WS, breaking or tying four Series records. Although he slumped to .279 in 1968, Brock helped St. Louis win the pennant again by leading the NL in doubles (46) and triples (14) as well as steals (62). The Cardinals lost the World Series to the Tigers in seven games, but Brock was sensational. He hit .464 to lead both clubs, with two homers and seven steals. At that time he had the highest average (.391) of any player in two or more World Series, along with a Series-record 14 steals. His .655 slugging average ranked fifth and his seven doubles ranked eighth. Brock hit between .297 and .313 in each season from 1969 through 1976 and led the NL with 126 runs in 1971. Former teammate Bobby Tolan edged Brock, 57 to 51, for the 1970 stolen- base championship, but Brock then won four more titles in a row with 64, 63, 70 and 118. Brock's 118 steals in 1974 shattered Maury Wills's major league record of 104, set in 1962, and remains the National league record through the 1980s (Rickey Henderson broke the ML record with 130 in 1982). At 35, Brock was by far the oldest man to steal 100 bases. "I figured it was now or never," he said. He dropped off to "only" 56 steals in each of the next two seasons. Dipping to .221 and 17 steals in 1978, Brock lost his regular job and was urged to retire. Instead he rebounded to .304 with 21 steals, retiring first all-time in stolen bases with 938. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility. Despite Brock's high averages and electrifying feats on the bases, his stature is disputed by baseball experts. He struck out over 100 times in nine seasons, over 90 times in 12 seasons, and fanned more often than he scored in 11 seasons. He also struck out 1,730 times career, the most all-time at his retirement, while walking only 761 times, a poor ratio for any player and horrendous for a leadoff man. Brock also led the NL in errors seven times, including five years consecutively, never committing fewer than 10 from 1964 through 1973. He was shifted from centerfield to right before settling in left in 1966, primarily because of his defensive shortcomings. (MC)

Jim Hickman · #4 overall, Washington Monuments
This original New York Met was both the first member of the franchise to hit for the cycle (8/7/63) and the first to hit three home runs in a game (9/3/65). During his first seven ML seasons Hickman was considered a clumsy outfielder whose occasional power insufficiently compensated for frequent strikeouts. The Cubs acquired him from the Dodgers in 1968, and he batted a paltry .223. On August 1, 1969, he was down to .216 on the first-place Cubs. While his teammates faltered in the stretch, Hickman came off the bench to hit .301 for August, with 10 HR and 25 RBI. He kept hitting well the next year with a .315 average, 32 HR, 115 RBI, and 13 game-winning hits. In the 1970 All-Star Game, his 12th-inning single drove in Pete Rose for the game-winning run. He was slowed in ensuing years by various ailments. (AA)

Dick Radatz · #5 overall, St. Louis Maroons
This 6'6" 230-lb flamethrower was a devastating reliever from the time he joined the Red Sox in 1962 through 1965, saving 100 games in four years and winning 49 more. Radatz had unusually fine control for a one-pitch strikeout artist. As a rookie in 1962, he led the AL with 62 appearances, nine relief wins, and 24 saves to gain Fireman of the Year honors.

Radatz was even better in 1963. He won 10 consecutive decisions on the way to a 15-6 record, a 1.97 ERA, and 25 saves. Yankee manager Ralph Houk called him "the greatest relief pitcher I have ever seen." Houk named him to the 1963 All-Star squad, and Radatz struck out Willie Mays, Dick Groat, Duke Snider, Willie McCovey, and Julian Javier while working the last two innings. Another Fireman of the Year season followed in 1964, when Radatz made 79 appearances and led the league with 29 saves, 16 wins, and nine losses in relief. He recorded a win or a save in 45 of Boston's 72 wins and struck out 181 batters in 157 innings. But he called the 1964 All-Star Game his biggest disappointment; he gave up a three-run homer to Johnny Callison with two out in the ninth to lose 7-4.

Radatz saved 22 in 1965, but by 1966 he was losing movement on his fastball, and he was traded to Cleveland. Unable to convert to finesse pitching, he was out of the majors in 1968. He resurfaced with the 1969 Tigers and finished with the expansion Expos. He never made a start in 381 ML games, and he retired with 122 saves. (FK)

Tom Tresh
#6 overall, Los Angeles Outlaws
Tresh, the son of former ML catcher Mike Tresh, was AL Rookie of the Year in 1962 when he hit .286, with 20 home runs and 93 RBI, as a switch-hitting Yankee shortstop when Tony Kubek was in military service. Moved to left field in 1963 when Kubek returned, he continued to hit homers, three times topping 25, but his batting average declined steadily. On September 1, 1963 he became only the eighth player to homer from each side of the plate in a single game. He accomplished that feat twice more in his career, including a June 6, 1965 doubleheader when he hit four home runs, three in the nightcap. A damaged knee in 1967 hastened the end of his career. (RTM)