Ray "Hooks" Dandridge

Ray Dandridge

Courtesy of BaseballLibrary.com

Born: 1913
Positions: 3B-2B-SS
Played Negro Leagues 1933-49
Teams: Detroit Stars, Newark Dodgers, Newark Eagles, New York Cubans
Hall Of Fame in 1987

Ray Dandridge was a masterful third baseman, a stylist who could make all the plays. He was smooth and relaxed, with soft hands, a strong arm, and the versatility to excel at any infield position. "People would pay their way in to the game just to see him field," claimed Monte Irvin. Roy Campanella said, "I never saw anyone better as a fielder." Hoyt Wilhelm, who played against Dandridge in Cuba and with him in Minneapolis (American Association), asserted, "No matter how the ball was hit, he always made the throw so that he just did get the man at first." Others observed that a train could go through Dandridge's bowlegs, but that a baseball never did.

Dandridge started his pro career with the 1933 Detroit Stars and moved to the Negro National League's Newark Eagles, for whom he starred throughout the remainder of the 1930s. A spray hitter with good bat control, he seldom struck out, and skillfully executed the hit-and-run. In 1935, he hit .368. Looking for more money in 1939, he opted to play in Latin America. He went to Mexico in 1940, and spent most of the decade there. When he came back for a year in Newark in 1944, he batted .370, leading the NNL in hits, runs, and total bases. In 1945 he set a Mexican League record for hitting safely in the most consecutive games and managed his team to a pennant. In nine Mexican League seasons, he compiled a .343 average. Following the 1948 season, he returned to the States as player-manager of the New York Cubans.

During his time in the NNL, Dandridge registered a lifetime .355 average, and played in three East-West all-star games, hitting .545. He played winter ball in Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Cuba; in 11 seasons of Cuban Winter League action, he batted .282.

Soon after Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Bill Veeck contacted Dandridge about playing with the Cleveland Indians, but Dandridge refused to leave Mexico without a bonus. Later, in 1949, at age thirty-five, he was signed by the New York Giants and assigned to their Triple-A farm club at Minneapolis. He batted .363 his first year there, and won the league's MVP award in 1950, when he led Minneapolis to the league championship. Despite his achievements, the Giants would not promote him to the parent club.

While at Minneapolis, Dandridge provided advice and assistance to a young Willie Mays, who never forgot the help or the man. Returning to Cooperstown for Dandridge's induction into the Hall of Fame (he was elected by the Committee on Baseball Veterans in 1987), Mays stated, "Ray Dandridge helped me tremendously when I came through Minneapolis. Sometimes you just can't overlook those things. Ray was a part of me when I was coming along." (JR)

by James A. Riley
Author of Dandy, Day, and the Devil and an expert on the Negro Leagues. His articles have been featured in SABR publications.

Courtesy of BaseballLibrary.com

Kirby Puckett

Kirby Puckett

1960-2006

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One of the most popular players of his (or any) time, Kirby Puckett radiated an effervescent joy both on and off the field that endeared him to fans, media and players alike. Built like a cross between a fireplug and a bowling ball, the 5'8" 210-lb Puckett collected more hits in his first 10 years than (2,040) than any player in the 20th century. When glaucoma prematurely ended his career before the 1996 season, his .318 lifetime batting average ranked as the highest for any right-handed batter since World War II.

Puckett was Baseball America's Appalachian League Player of the Year in 1982, California League Rookie of the Year in 1983, and Minnesota's Rookie of the Year in 1984, becoming the ninth player in major league history to debut with four hits in a nine-inning game and leading AL outfielders with 16 assists.

The ballhawking center fielder went almost one year, until April 22, 1985, before hitting his first big league homer. He exploded for 31 homers in 1986 however, making him the first player ever with 0- and 30-home run seasons (500 or more at-bats) in a career. He was starting centerfielder in the 1986 All-Star Game, received Gold Glove and Silver Slugger honors, and was the Twins' Most Valuable Player. His rise continued in 1987 with a .332 batting average (the best for Minnesota since Rod Carew's .333 in 1978) a league-best (tied) 207 hits, an unofficial eight home run-saving catches, and a .357 average in the Fall Classic as he led the Twins to a seven-game World Series triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals. The following year he turned in arguably his best offensive season when he complimented his 24 circuit blasts by setting career highs with a .356 batting average, 234 hits and 121 RBIs. An unrepentant free swinger who hacked at anything in the same area code as the strike zone, Puckett drew just 23 walks that year. In 1989 he hit only eight HR but led the AL with a .339 batting average -- only the second right-handed batter to do so in 20 years -- and also topped the league in hits for the third straight season.

Puckett's star burned brightest during Game Six of the 1991 World Series, which pitted the Twins against the Atlanta Braves in an unlikely matchup of teams that finished last in their division the season before. With the Twins trailing three games to two, Puckett collected three hits, three RBIs and two runs scored. He made a spectacular leaping catch against the Metrodome's center field plexiglass to rob Ron Gant of extra bases, and then led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a game-winning home run. The Twins claimed their second championship in four years the next day as ace Jack Morris tossed 10 shutout innings in a dramatic 1-0 win.

While Minnesota fell on hard times in the seasons to come, Puckett continued to produce at a steady rate. He led the AL in hits (210) for the fourth and final time while batting .329 in 1992, and was leading the AL with 112 RBIs when the players' strike ended the 1994 season in mid-August. Puckett would certainly have amassed more impressive career totals than his 2,304 safeties or 207 round-trippers (he batted .314 with 23 home runs in his final season) had he not awoken one day during spring training in 1996 with blurred vision that left him unable to continue playing the game he loved. In 2001 Puckett was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, becoming the third-youngest living player (behind Sandy Koufax and Lou Gehrig) to receive baseball's highest honor. (ME)

By Morris A. Eckhouse ME

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Lasorda's Wild Start

Tom Lasorda (Allsport)

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May 5, 1955 / Ebbets Field
By Hogan Chen

One of the most famous -- but least heralded -- members of the World Champion 1955 Dodgers was a mediocre lefty who appeared in just four games. The addition of Sandy Koufax to the roster had ended his chances of making the starting rotation, and within three years his big-league career would be over. But in his first major-league start on this day in 1955, Tom Lasorda matched a National League record -- with three wild pitches in one inning.

A brash southpaw with a decent curveball, Lasorda was brimming with confidence when he was tried out for the club in 1954. "I don't intent to let anyone push me off this club," announced Lasorda in the spring, "regardless of the record he has." But the Dodgers were already well-stocked with twenty-game winner Carl Erskine, proven gamers Russ Meyer, Billy Loes, Clem Labine and emerging stars Koufax and Johnny Podres. Lasorda's first start didn't come until the following May.

He blew it. After taking the mound in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals, Lasorda walked leadoff batter Wally Moon and promptly threw a wild pitch to Bill Virdon. Shaken, he uncorked two more with Stan Musial at the plate to tie the National League record. Adding insult to injury, Moon took the opportunity to deliver a painful souvenir when the record-setting wild pitch rolled to the backstop, spiking Lasorda as the hurler covered home plate.

Despite the wounds to his leg and his psyche, Lasorda came back to strike out Musial and Rip Repulski and induced a groundout to end the inning, allowing only one run. But Dodgers manager Walter Alston had seen enough of Lasorda and pulled him out of the game. Lasorda's career as a starter with the Dodgers lasted one inning.

After his two forgettable seasons in Brooklyn, Lasorda bounced around the minor leagues and had one final major-league stint in Kansas City where he pitched in 18 games in 1956, starting 5 games and finishing 0-4. He had a career ERA of 6.52.

Shrugging off his ignominious debut, Lasorda gained fame in his second career with the Dodgers. After replacing his former manager in 1976, Lasorda led the club to seven division titles, four pennants, and two world championships -- a six-game victory over the Yankees in 1981 and a five-game upset over the Oakland Athletics in 1988.

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A New Home For 'Dem Bums'

Players hauling the flag on Opening Day

at Ebbets Field (The Library of Congress)

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Ebbets Field / April 9, 1913
By James G. Robinson

Despite a first-place finish in 1900 and a bona fide star in Zach Wheat, Charles Ebbets' Brooklyn Dodgers fell to the National League cellar in the first decade of the century. By 1911, Ebbets had decided that the best way to drag his second-class team out of the cellar was to build them a first-class facility, even though the only plot of land he could afford was in an unsavory area of Flatbush known as Pigtown. This malodorous garbage dump, surrounded by shantytowns, would become the future home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Ebbets' quest for a new home had been partially motivated by jealousy; the New York Giants' brand-new, fireproof Polo Grounds was set to open in 1912 after the previous Polo Grounds burned down in 1911. Dwindling attendance at cheap-but-small Washington Park also provided justification for Ebbets to pursue his dream: a magnificent, state-of-the-art stadium that would finally bring his team some respect -- and perhaps even help the Dodgers catch up to their far-more-successful rivals across the East River. The vision was so grandiose that Ebbets soon found himself unable to finance the park alone; he was eventually forced to make up the difference by giving a half-share in the team to the two brothers contracted to build the stadium.
Construction was finally completed in time for an exhibition game against the Yankees in early April, although a host of fans were disappointed by the news that someone forgot to bring the keys to the outfield bleachers. Even worse, it was soon discovered that the architects inexplicably neglected to include a press box -- and for some reason, an American flag was nowhere to be found behind Ebbets Field's deep outfield fences. (The vast expanses of the outfield peaked at 476 feet from home plate in center and 420 in left, but the right field fence beckoned at 301 feet).

Everything except for the press box (incredibly, not constructed until 1929) was fixed in time for Opening Day on April 9th. The centerpiece of the stadium -- an impressive rotunda of Italian marble featuring a baseball-themed chandelier and various mosaics -- became a logjam of confused fans as 25,000 Brooklynites braved wet and chilly weather to see Red Dooin's Phillies shut out Bill Dahlen's Dodgers, 1-0.

The Dodgers began to improve in 1914 (thanks more to new manager Wilbert Robinson than to their new surroundings) and would win pennants in 1916 and 1920 before Ebbets died in 1925. He would not live to see the team's first championship in 1955. Walter O'Malley moved the team to Los Angeles three years later, leaving the empty stadium to be demolished in 1960 to make room for a block of apartment buildings.

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Hall of Fame Still Has Time to Honor Buck O'Neil

March 2, 2006
Sports of The Times
By GEORGE VECSEY

Courtesy of The New York Times

IT would have been a wonderful day for baseball if Buck O'Neil had been elected to the Hall of Fame on Monday. The grand old man of his sport, O'Neil could have been inducted into the Hall on July 30, the living symbol of deprivation turned into victory.

O'Neil plans to be there this summer, despite the firestorm over his exclusion in a special election. Keith Olbermann is blasting the vote on MSNBC and bloggers are whacking away on the Web, demanding a recount that is not going to happen. Meanwhile, O'Neil is reacting with the grace that has marked his entire 94 years.

"That committee, I know they were voting just like they felt it should be," O'Neil said in the first disappointing hours Monday.

O'Neil and Minnie Minoso were turned down by a special committee that voted 17 — count 'em, 17 — new members to represent black and Latino figures of the past.

Anybody considering the good of the game would have recognized the fiesta that would have been touched off by the election of two living icons — O'Neil, the star of the epic Ken Burns baseball documentary, and Minoso, the hero of the South Side of Chicago. What a no-brainer.

When at least 4 of the 12 voters chose to exclude O'Neil and Minoso, I called the decision lamentable. Lately my mood swings have gone from thinking the voters were mean-spirited and shortsighted to thinking they were intellectually faithful to their instructions.

You know the saying about no good deed going unpunished. The Hall, which is separate from Major League Baseball, was holding the one-time vote in response to the slow trickle of Negro league people into the Hall. Here was a chance to get it right.

The Hall certainly chose the perfect person to lead the group. Fay Vincent, as commissioner, apologized in 1991 for the many decades of segregation in the major leagues that finally ended in 1947. Vincent has a keen mind and a thriving conscience, and he has been involved with many corporate boards. Yesterday, before heading out for a day at Dodgertown in Florida, Vincent spoke on the phone, explaining the role of this highly controversial panel.

"It wasn't our job to address American history," said Vincent, who is not a voting member. "It was our job to address performance. People were hard-edged about it."

Vincent said he never told the 12 voters to consider the feel-good energy that living inductees would surely generate. He said he challenged the panel to include only Negro leaguers that might have been better than some superb players still not in the Hall — Cecil Travis, Marty Marion, Tommy Henrich, who was known as Old Reliable, Joe Gordon, Allie Reynolds, Dominic DiMaggio.

Given the vagueness of records and the lack of public exposure for Negro and Latino players in those days, all comparisons are difficult. Ultimately, the voters chose 12 players and 5 officials, but not O'Neil, a good player and a successful manager in the Negro leagues and a scout and the first black coach in the major leagues, and not Minoso, the first dark-skinned Latino player in the majors as well as a career .298 hitter.

Vincent defended the decision that the 12 voters would not discuss their ballots, but he praised O'Neil and Minoso. "You'd have to put a lot of weight on Citizen Buck," Vincent said, adding, "I was surprised Buck didn't make it."

So were a lot of people. Charles Margulis, an ecology activist in Oakland, Calif., was moved to set up a blog (www.inductbuck.blogspot.com.) comparing O'Neil favorably to members of the Hall.

Olbermann, who has a long sports background, complained that two men of color were excluded while two white officials, J. L. Wilkinson of Kansas City and Effa Manley of Newark, were voted in. This argument is inappropriate because Wilkinson held Negro baseball together for a long time, and Manley was a lifelong member of black society as well as a prominent team operator.

Last night, in an interview with Olbermann on MSNBC, O'Neil said: "Don't weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful."

O'Neil said he was grateful for the chance to be voted into the Hall.

"As a human being, I love Buck O'Neil," Dale A. Petroskey, the president of the Hall, said yesterday. "I knew he would be disappointed. But as president of the Hall of Fame, I had faith in the process."

O'Neil will have a role at the Hall on July 30, Petroskey promised. "We're looking at the best way to sort it out," he said.

At the very least, the Hall could create a Buck O'Neil lifetime achievement award — and give him the first one, to honor all the others who had to wait, and wait.

For that matter, the board could find a way to include O'Neil, straight in the front door. Much more rigid rules have been broken down in Buck O'Neil's long and honorable life.

E-mail: geovec@nytimes.com

Courtesy of The New York Times