|
 Kiner Gets
Hall
Nod
NEW
YORK (Dec. 1) --
Ralph Kiner today became the first player elected to the UL Hall
of Fame, winning a run-off election with Stan Musial by the
margin of 35-24. The election caps a long list of firsts for
the former Detroit slugger. Kiner was the League’s first Batter of the
Month, first MVP, and first Player of the Decade, so it's only
fitting that he should also be the first in the league’s
pantheon of luminaries.
Kiner was the most dominant player in the league's first eight
seasons. He was named to five All-UL Teams and won two MVPs,
and though he won only one home run title (41 in 1953), he was
the league’s reigning home run king for a decade, thanks to seven
straight 35+ homer seasons and six second place finishes. But
it was his ability to get on base and drive in runs that made Kiner the most feared batter in the circuit. Ralph led the
league in walks every year from 1951-58, except 1956, which was,
ironically, one of the best batting years in UL history. He
ended his career as the only player in UL history with 1,000
hits, walks, and RBIs, and his career OPS of .948 still stands
as the best ever.
In 1956, Kiner became the first two-time MVP. Despite
missing a
month with a ligament injury, Ralph led the league in extra-base
hits and was second in home runs and RBIs. He set career highs
in batting (.346), and on-base percentage (.456) and established
UL records in slugging (.735), and OPS (1.191) that nobody has
come close to since.
Kiner’s career tailed off quickly after he turned 34 in 1958 and
played two seasons with Brooklyn (ironically the only two years
they lost the World Series). It was this sudden twilight that
prevented Kiner from being a shoo-in Hall-of-Famer. For
while he was named Player of the Decade in January 1961 and
Detroit’s new ballpark was named after him in 1964, by the time
voters marked the first Hall ballots, his achievements no longer
stood out from the crowd. As a result, Kiner took only a third of first-round votes, forcing a runoff
with Stan Musial.
|
1965 Hall of Fame Voting |
|
First Round |
|
|
|
Runoff |
|
|
|
Needed to Elect: 31 |
|
|
Needed to Elect: 30 |
|
Ralph Kiner |
20 |
33.3% |
|
Ralph Kiner |
35 |
59.3% |
|
Stan Musial |
16 |
26.7% |
|
Stan Musial |
24 |
40.7% |
|
Carl Erskine |
9 |
15.0% |
|
|
|
|
|
Roy Campanella |
8 |
13.3% |
|
|
|
|
|
Minnie Minoso |
2 |
3.3% |
|
|
|
|
|
Gene Woodling |
2 |
3.3% |
|
|
|
|
|
Stu Miller |
1 |
1.7% |
|
|
|
|
|
Hoyt Wilhelm |
1 |
1.7% |
|
|
|
|
|
Gus Zernial |
1 |
1.7% |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dick
Williams Big Winner at Arbitration |
|
 A
UL arbitration panel yesterday awarded Brooklyn LF Dick
Williams $5.1 million for 1966. Williams, 35, won
a Gold Glove and was an East Division All-Star. He
won his Gold Glove at LF, but he played four other
positions, while posting career highs in hits, doubles, runs, RBIs, and walks. Williams
hit .296-11-82, but walked 90 times, boosting his OBP to
.391. Among Superbas, he was second only to Mantle in RBIs, and to Hamner in hits.
Williams was an original
Superba; he was drafted by the Screaming Bats in the
41st round of the Inaugural Draft, but was released in
1955 after four seasons in the minors. Signed by the
expansion San Francisco Spiders, he played on the 1959
championship team before joining the Cleveland Barons in
1960. After two seasons there, he was traded to
Brooklyn, where he became a fixture in the lineup, if not on the field. He played 141 games at six
different positions. In 1963, he played mostly 3B, but moved back to LF in '64 and earned the starter
role after Al Kaline fractured his elbow early in the
season.
Brooklyn now faces a
payroll squeeze, as closer Tom Acker also earned a big
payday ($2.76 million, up from $1.91 million). Acker
posted a 2.01 ERA in 20 games with the Bas after a July
20 trade with Atlanta. Overall, the 35-year-old
righthander was 4-5, 2.45 in 41 games with 12 saves.
Over his last three seasons, Acker has a 2.49 ERA and 40
saves in 119 appearances. Brooklyn's payroll stands at
over $80 million, and the club will have to slice $5
million off his pay ledger before April 1.
Colts Cash In
 Five other players were
awarded salaries over $4 million, including both
Chicago Colts who went to arbitration. Tom "Smoke"
Sturdivant, 35, a key cog in Chicago's winning
machine, more than tripled his salary from $1.46 million
to $4.78 million. "Smoke" finished in the top 10 in
ERA, wins, and shutouts each of the last three
seasons, posting a 61-31 record and a 2.82 ERA. He has
won 18 or more games in each of the last five seasons,
save his injury-shortened 1962 campaign, and this year
he was second only to ace Don Mossi in wins, ERA and
strikeouts on the Colts, though he missed the World Series due to an
elbow injury in the final week. Colts closer Russ
Kemmerer will get $4.73 million next year, as the
panel continues its pattern of generosity toward
relievers. Kemmerer (5-3, 3.40, 17 SV) had an off-year
by his standards, but the 34-year-old fireballer has 60
saves over the last three years, leading the league in
1963, which he split between Cleveland and Chicago. In
68 appearances with the Colts in 1963-64, Kemmerer had
34 saves with a 1.74 ERA.
Other big contracts were
awarded to Dallas CF Roberto Clemente, who took
the maximum 20% pay cut to $4.8 million after an
injury-shortened season in which he hit .279-3-24 in 75
games. Clemente, the first overall pick by Los Angeles
in 1955, has had a disappointing career thus far. Although he has hit
.289 lifetime, he has been plagued by injuries --
missing half of 1957 with a torn calf muscle and two
months this year with a fractured wrist -- and in 11
seasons, he has only topped 160 hits three times, 70
RBIs twice, and .300 just three times. Clemente's status was one of the first decisions
confronting new Dallas GM Eric Clemons, who initially
wanted to release the 31-year-old Puerto Rican, but
decided to give the Puerto Rican one more chance.
|
|
 Boston's
Eddie Bressoud earned a top five
arbitration salary for the second year
running. The panels have run up the
shortstop's salary from $2.66 to $3.81
to $4.74 million in the last two
arbitrations, making him the second
highest-paid shortstop after Ernie
Banks. Bressoud hit .290 and drove in a
career-high 80 runs in 1965. He was
fourth in hits in 1964 (185), and he hit
.351 in 1963, despite missing six weeks
to injuries. Boston MR Larry Sherry
(6-1, 3.97, 102 IP in 61 games) also
got a sizable boost, from $800k to $2.12
million, pushing the Federals $1.6
million over their salary cap.
 Finally,
Cleveland CF Curt Flood earned a
richly-deserved pay increase ($4.27
million, up from $1.60). Flood hit .330
with a .376 OBP and captured his second
straight Gold Glove. The 27-year-old
led the East Division champions in
runs, hits, and batting average. He has
hit .335 over the last three seasons,
collecting 598 hits and ranking in the
top four in batting each year. Only
Washington's Dick Howser has had more
hits and a higher average over the last
three years.
|
|
SALARY ARBITRATION RESULTS |
|
|
|
Old |
New |
Change |
% |
|
3B Dick Williams |
BRO |
2020 |
5121 |
3101 |
153.5 |
|
RF Roberto Clemente |
DAL |
6000 |
4800 |
-1200 |
(20.0) |
|
SP Tom Sturdivant |
CHI |
1460 |
4780 |
3320 |
227.4 |
|
SS Eddie Bressoud |
BOS |
3808 |
4740 |
932 |
24.5 |
|
MR Russ Kemmerer |
CHI |
1300 |
4731 |
3431 |
263.9 |
|
CF Curt Flood |
CLE |
1600 |
4272 |
2672 |
167.0 |
|
SP Bob Purkey |
DAL |
2788 |
3583 |
795 |
28.5 |
|
SP Joey Jay |
DET |
1400 |
3488 |
2088 |
149.1 |
|
CL Tom Acker |
BRO |
1907 |
2763 |
856 |
44.9 |
|
SP Art Ceccarelli |
DAL |
2709 |
2167 |
-542 |
(20.0) |
|
MR Larry Sherry |
BOS |
800 |
2115 |
1315 |
164.4 |
|
SP Bill Monbouquette |
WAS |
1980 |
2040 |
60 |
3.0 |
|
SP Tom Brewer |
DAL |
2400 |
1920 |
-480 |
(20.0) |
|
1B Dick Stuart |
WAS |
1280 |
1544 |
264 |
20.6 |
|
SP Don Larsen |
WAS |
1680 |
1374 |
-306 |
(18.2) |
|
LF Wes Covington |
STL |
1620 |
1296 |
-324 |
(20.0) |
|
MR Marshall Bridges |
WAS |
800 |
1192 |
392 |
49.0 |
|
2B Bill Mazeroski |
LA |
1458 |
1166 |
-292 |
(20.0) |
|
CF Bobby Del Greco |
DAL |
1024 |
819 |
-205 |
(20.0) |
|
C Gus Triandos |
CLE |
1000 |
800 |
-200 |
(20.0) |
|
SS Rocky Bridges |
WAS |
891 |
798 |
-93 |
(10.4) |
|
C Gene Green |
DAL |
940 |
752 |
-188 |
(20.0) |
|
1B Ed Bouchee |
DET |
750 |
600 |
-150 |
(20.0) |
|
3B Andy Carey |
BOS |
567 |
571 |
4 |
0.7 |
|
3B Ken Boyer |
BRO |
680 |
544 |
-136 |
(20.0) |
|
C Charlie Lau |
DET |
500 |
400 |
-100 |
(20.0) |
|
|
|
43362 |
58376 |
15014 |
34.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
You And What
Arm?
Unprecedented Draft Ushers in New Era
|
by Charlie Qualls
The first
fourteen picks of the 1966 United League Rookie
Draft were pitchers. But no one would
have been shocked had the first twenty-plus
picks been mound hounds. The pitching class of
this year’s amateur draft was (Froggy) hands
down the best the UL has ever seen.
Arms For the Poor (And Everyone Else)
 The
rebuilding Atlanta Hilltoppers granted Jim
Palmer the honor (and pressure) of being
selected first overall, but no one would have
balked had they chosen Fergie Jenkins (S.F. -
#2) or Don Sutton (St. Louis - #3). In fact,
there were no surprises in the first round as
scouts belted out the praises of many of the
pitchers available. Some excitement came as a
thirteenth hour trade brought the third overall
pick to St. Louis, who are now proud to call Don
Sutton a Maroon. "Black & Decker" will most
likely see his tools put to use right away.
Every team but one landed at least one
legitimate starting pitching prospect.
Even Cleveland (who made their first pick at the
tail end of the third round) plucked Larry
Jaster, who many scouts regarded as a strong
swimmer in the deep rookie pool. Only the UL
Champion Colts eschewed starter prospects like
Ken Holtzman and Blue Moon Odom, opting for the
distinction of drafting the first non-pitcher:
defensive specialist 2B Horace “Good Eye”
Clarke. Still, despite drafting the most
position players, Chicago didn’t walk away
unarmed, adding tough looking (though not tough
sounding) relievers Darold Knowles and Dooley
Womack. |
Two-Fer’s
Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles all emerged from the
draft smelling sweetly, each adding two live-armed
starters. Brooklyn, still considered one of the
League’s elite squads, also scored two promising
starters in Woody Fryman and Blue Moon Odom. But the
winner in this group seems to be Washington. Not
only did the Monuments snag two starters in the first
round, but added an entire relief squad in subsequent
rounds, including the first reliever chosen in the
draft, closer Jack Aker (another UL first – No UL
draft has ever seen a reliever picked before the first
bat chosen – though HOF candidate Hoyt Wilhelm came
close in ’52 - second pick overall after Eddie
Mathews).
So Who Blew It?
Well, no one really. Chicago may eventually wish they’d
chosen at least one young starter (they do make tasty
trade bait if nothing else), but their farm
system needed a serious young lumber injection.
Cleveland’s kiddie squad remains by far the UL’s weakest
as they have been burning draft picks as if they
were draft cards. San Francisco, St. Louis and
Detroit only picked up one starting pitching
prospect each, but you won’t hear any of them
complain. Boston was the only team that
walked away with only one pitcher in this hurler
heavy draft (plus four position players),
but that pitcher is none other than Mike Cuellar, a
steal at overall pick #7.
Which Chick Will You Wake Up With?
Now comes the exciting part. Which players will live up
to the scouts’ ravings? Which late round afterthoughts
will be tomorrow’s All-Stars? Watch and find out.
But in the meantime, chew on this thought: if just half
of the touted arms live up to their bluster, the United
League could be plunged headlong into a pitcher’s era.
|
|
|
1966 ROOKIE DRAFT |
|
Round 1
2500-2000 |
Round
2
1500 |
Round
3
1000 |
Round
4
500 |
Round
5
300 |
|
1 SP Jim Palmer |
13
SP Jim Nash |
25
MR Eddie Watt |
37
SP Chuck Dobson |
49
RF Ollie Brown |
|
2
SP Fergie Jenkins |
14
MR Clay Carroll |
26
SS Sonny Jackson |
38
2B Davey Johnson |
50
C Randy Hundley |
|
3
SP Don Sutton |
15
2B Horace Clarke |
27
MR Dooley Womack |
39
MR Rob Gardner |
51
MR Bob Priddy |
|
4
SP Jim Merritt |
16
SP Ken Holtzman |
28
MR Casey Cox |
40
CF Tommie Agee |
52
C Andy Etchebarren |
|
5
SP Steve Hargan |
17
LF Roy White |
29
MR Dennis Higgins |
41
MR Bucky Brandon |
53
C John Boccabella |
|
6
SP Fritz Peterson |
18
SP Blue Moon Odom |
30
MR Dick Selma |
42
MR Tom Kelley |
54
2B Tito Fuentes |
|
7
SP Mike Cuellar |
19
RF Art Shamsky |
31
1B George Scott |
43
RF Jay Johnstone |
55
C Mike Ryan |
|
8
SP Froggy Hands |
20
MR Joe Hoerner |
32
CF Cesar Tovar |
44
LF Cleon Jones |
56
1B Chuck Harrison |
|
9
SP Rick Wise |
21
MR Dick Kelley |
33
MR Paul Lindblad |
45
2B Tommy Helms |
57
C Phil Roof |
|
10
SP Woodie Fryman |
22
CF Adolpho Phillips |
34
3B Joe Foy |
46
LF Rick Reichardt |
58
LF Larry Stahl |
|
11
SP Nelson Briles |
23
MR Darold Knowles |
35
CF Ted Uhlaender |
47
C Jake Gibbs |
59
C Paul Casanova |
|
12
MR Jack Aker |
24
MR Daffy Sanders |
36
SP Larry Jaster |
48
SP Frank Bertaina |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TRADES |
|
November 2
CHICAGO gets:
SP Sam McDowell
SF's '66 3rd round pick
SAN FRANCISCO gets:
$8 million cash
April 1
CHICAGO gets:
1M cash
OF Nelson Mathews
SAN FRANCISCO gets:
CHI's 1967 2nd round pick
1B Walt Bond |
November 2
BROOKLYN gets:
MR Larry Bearnarth
MANHATTAN gets:
2B Granny Hamner
SP Sonny Siebert
After draft
BROOKLYN gets:
Manhattan's 1967 2nd rd pick Manhattan's 1967 4th rd
pick
MANHATTAN gets:
Player to be named later
|
April
1
CLEVELAND gets:
SP Curt Simmons
MR Jim Hannan
LOS
ANGELES gets:
CLE '67 2nd round pick
SP Arnie Portocarreo
3B Rich Rollins
February 11
CLEVELAND gets:
3B Bob Johnson
ST.
LOUIS gets:
RF Joe Christopher
|
April
1
CLEVELAND gets:
RF Frank Thomas
DALLAS gets:
1B Bill Skowron
CLE 1967 1st round pick
$6 million cash
March 1
ST.
LOUIS gets:
3rd overall pick
MR Galen Cisco
WASHINGTON gets:
9th overall pick
12th overall pick
LF Irv Noren
SP Dennis Bennett
|
|
| |
|
1966 FREE AGENT
AUCTION |
|
BOSTON FEDERALS
Cap Space: 0 |
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS
Cap Space: 322 |
CLEVELAND BARONS
Cap Space: 50
|
2B Wayne Causey
(300, 1 yr)
1B Don Mincher (300, 1 yr)
|
SP Erv Palica
(490, 1 yr)
SS Maury Wills (450/500, 2 yrs)
LF George Thomas (400/430, 2 yrs)
RF Whitey Herzog (350, 1 yr)
C Hal Smith (350, 1 yr)
1B Dave Nicholson (330, 1 yr)
1B Gail Harris (330, 1 yr)
SS Chico Fernandez (330, 1 yr)
SP Ernie Broglio (330, 1 yr)
SS Leo Cardenas (330, 1 yr)
2B Al Weis (330, 1 yr)
C Carl Sawatski (300, 1 yr)
|
CF Vic Davalillo
(330, 2 yrs)
C Clay Dalrymple (326, 3 yrs)
C Russ Nixon (310, 2 yrs)
LF Carroll Hardy (300, 2 yrs)
RF Charlie James (300, 1 yr)
RF Gus Bell (300, 1 yr)
2B Roy McMillan (300, 1 yr) |
|
DETROIT GRIFFINS
Cap Space: 7,942
|
MANHATTAN GRAY SOX
Cap Space: 10,470 |
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
Cap Space: 1,960
|
3B Bobby Brown
(820, 1 yr)
CF
Tom Umphlett
(500, 2+ yrs)
2B
Sparky Anderson
(300, 1 yr)
SP Claude Osteen (300,
1 yr)
CF Jimmy Piersall (300,
1 yr)
RF Roman Mejias (300,
1 yr)
|
C Del Crandall
(1000, 1 yr)
RF Gary Geiger
(400, 2 yrs+)
3B Brooks Robinson (400, 2 yrs+)
|
(3) RF Willie Kirkland
(1500, 3 yrs)
LF Charlie Maxwell
(300, 1 yr)
CF Jim King
(300, 1 yr)
LF Gino Cimoli
(300, 1 yr) |
|
ATLANTA HILLTOPPERS
Cap Space: 10,957
|
CHICAGO COLTS
Cap Space: 2,276 |
DALLAS TEXANS
Cap Space: 7,834
|
SP Billy Loes
(410, 5 yrs)
SP Vinegar Bend
Mizell
(410, 5 yrs)
SP Roger Craig
(410, 5 yrs)
SP Don Lee
(410, 5 yrs)
MR Bill Fischer (410, 1 yr)
|
MR Jack Meyer (620,
3 yrs)
3B Eddie Kasko (600, 2 yrs)
SP Denny Lemaster (300, 1 yr)
SP
Buster Narum
(300, 1 yr)
|
(1) RF Frank Thomas (6000,
3 yr)
(2) MR Ray Narleski (5950,
1 yr)
(4) CF Jackie Brandt (1210,
1 yr)
(5) C Bill Sarni
(1100,
2 yr)
LF Wally Post
(1000,
1 yr)
MR Leo Kiely (1000,
1 yr)
SP Larry Jackson (1000,
1 yr)
2B Hector Lopez (870,
1 yr)
RF Leon Wagner (700,
1 yr)
MR Steve Ridzik (605,
1 yr)
MR Ray Crone (605,
1 yr)
SP Mudcat Grant (450,
1 yr)
|
|
LOS ANGELES OUTLAWS
Cap Space: 204
|
ST. LOUIS MAROONS
Cap Space: 2,474
|
SAN FRANCISCO SPIDERS
Cap Space: 0
|
SP Tom Cheney
(300, 1 yr)
2B Chuck Hiller (300, 1 yr)
SP Jim Kaat (300, 1 yr)
RF Wally Moon (300, 1 yr)
MR Bob Trowbridge (300, 1 yr)
1B Bill White (300, 1 yr)
3B Willie Jones (300, 1 yr)
C Bob Schmidt (300, 1 yr)
|
1B Steve Bilko
(1000, 1 yr)
RF Al Kaline
(920, 2 yrs)
C Frank House
(300, 1 yr)
MR Billy Muffett
(300, 1 yr)
MR Ike Delock
(300, 1 yr)
MR Gordon Jones
(300, 1 yr) |
2B Tony Taylor
(610, 1 yr)
MR Jackie Collum
(550, 1 yr)
MR Don Elston
(300, 1 yr)
MR Cloyd Boyer
(300, 1 yr)
|
|
Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Round 4 |
Free-for-All |
|
25
players signed
(Brooklyn 10, Cleveland 5)
Top
Bids:
STL: RF Al Kaline (920/2)
CHI: 3B Eddie Kasko (600/2)
BRO: SP Erv Palica (490/1)
|
13
players signed
(Atlanta 4, Detroit 3)
Top
Bids:
WAS: RF W. Kirkland (1500/3)
DET: 3B Bobby Brown (820/1)
CHI: MR Jack Meyer (620/3)
|
4
players signed
(Dallas 3)
Top
Bids:
DAL: CF Jackie Brandt (1210/1)
DAL: 2B Hector Lopez (870/1)
DAL: SP Mudcat Grant (450/1)
|
3 players signed
(Dallas 3)
Top
Bids:
DAL: RF Frank Thomas (6000/3)
DAL: MR Ray Narleski (5950/1)
DAL: C Bill Sarni (1100/2)
|
28 players signed
(Dallas 6, LA 5, STL 5)
Top
Bids:
DAL: RF Wally Post (1000/1)
MAN: C Del Crandall (1000/1)
STL: 1B Steve Bilko (1000/1)
DAL: MR Leo Kiely (1000/1)
DAL: SP Larry Jackson (1000/1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
United League Champions |
West |
East |
Most Valuable Player |
Cy Young Award |
Rookie of the Year |
|
1951 |
ST. LOUIS MAROONS
|
|
|
Ralph Kiner, DET |
Sam Zoldak, STL |
Jackie Jensen, LOU |
|
1952
|
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
|
|
|
Jackie Robinson, NYG |
Larry Jansen, WAS |
Stu Miller, WAS |
|
1953
|
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
|
|
|
Mickey Mantle, BOS |
Stu Miller, WAS |
Smoky Burgess, BRO |
|
1954
|
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
|
|
|
Stan Musial, STL |
Billy Pierce, STL |
Ed Bailey, LOU |
|
1955
|
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS
|
|
|
Roy Campanella, LA |
Tom Gorman, BRO |
Gene Conley, BRO |
|
1956
|
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
|
|
|
Ralph Kiner, DET |
Johnny Antonelli, LOU |
Frank Robinson, LA |
|
1957
|
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS
|
STL |
BRO |
Granny Hamner, BRO |
Gene Conley, BRO |
Roger Maris, BOS |
|
1958
|
LOUISVILLE COLONELS
|
LOU |
BRO |
Willie Mays, WAS |
Carl Erskine, WAS |
Orlando Cepeda, NYG |
|
1959
|
SAN FRANCISCO SPIDERS
|
SF |
BRO |
Granny Hamner, BRO |
Gene Conley, BRO |
Vada Pinson, LA |
|
1960
|
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS |
LOU |
BRO |
Hank Aaron, LOU |
Gene Conley, BRO |
Joe Gibbon, NYG |
|
1961 |
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS |
CHI |
BRO |
Granny Hamner, BRO |
Johnny Antonelli, LOU |
Dick Howser, WAS |
|
1962 |
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS |
CHI |
BRO |
Granny Hamner, BRO |
Johnny Antonelli, LOU |
Tom Tresh, LA |
|
1963 |
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS |
CHI |
BRO |
Ernie Banks, CHI |
Gene Conley, BRO |
Boog Powell, DAL |
|
1964 |
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS |
CHI |
BRO |
Mickey Mantle, BRO |
Whitey Ford, WAS |
Pete Ward, MAN |
|
1965 |
CHICAGO COLTS |
CHI |
CLE |
Ernie Banks, CHI |
Johnny Podres, CLE |
Dick Allen, DET |
|
|
|
|
|
