Lazzari’s Baseball Roundup 2

TRIVIA QUESTION: The 1990 Philadelphia Phillies–who finished 4th in the NL East under manager Nick Leyva–were led in victories by a starting pitcher with a measly total of just TEN. Can you name this former left-handed hurler? Answer to follow……….I have a new nickname for Bill Hall of the Boston Red Sox: “The Pendulum.” WHY? Because he’s ALWAYS swinging. When he drew a walk last weekend vs. Chicago, it was his first in 85 at-bats–dating back over a MONTH. I’m totally convinced that the next time a floating hot dog wrapper is near home plate while Hall is in the batter’s box, he’ll offer at it and start running to first base……….This week in sports history, September 14th, 1968: The Detroit Tigers rally for two runs in the bottom of the ninth–defeating Oakland 5-4 and enabling pitcher Denny McLain to garner his remarkable 30th win of the season. Willie Horton drove in the winning run for Detroit–singling over a drawn-in infield to score Mickey Stanley. The victory improved McLain’s season record to 30-5; he became the first 30-game winner in the American League since 1931 when Lefty Grove compiled a record of 31-4 while pitching for Philadelphia……….Is it me–or are baseball announcers currently supplying more useless/non-impressive information than ever before? During last week’s meeting between Cincinnati and St. Louis, Cardinals color man Al Hrabosky remarked that Jonny Gomes of the Reds had hit safely in 4 of his last 5 games . Wow, Al, now you have me wondering if a parade should be in order if a player hits in 15 or more consecutive games……….Answer to trivia question: PAT COMBS–who led the Phils in wins that year while pitching to a record of 10-10……….Anyone out there remember major league shortstop Tom McMillan? I didn’t think so. Well, he’ll celebrate his 59th birthday this week. Perhaps the reason why his name is so “foggy” to the average baseball fan is because he played just ONE year in the “bigs”–1977 with the Mariners–appearing in just TWO games. McMillan came to bat five times that year without a hit–thus joining a select group of players who’ve gone into the MLB record books with a lifetime batting average of .000. Hey–he CAN tell his grandchildren that he handled five chances in the field that season WITHOUT making an error; yes–he can always brag that his career fielding % will forever remain a perfect 1.000. Best wishes for many more birthdays to come, Tom.

Bob Lazzari is an award-winning sports columnist for both Connecticut’s Valley Times and NY Sports Day , where his “Sports Roundup” column is featured weekly. He is a member of the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance and host of “ Monday Night Sports Talk ,” a cable television show on CTV/Channel 14 in Connecticut.