Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to put these ones in their own little grab bag then. Enjoy!
Well, this looks pretty straightforward. So, what’s the problem?
Well, as it just so happens, this is actually not Aurelio Rodriguez. In fact, this is the batboy. The two did a swap on a dare from Aurelio’s teammates.
Aurelio Rodriguez was up for 17 years, getting in over 2000 games. He was known primarily for his defense. He got a Gold Glove in 1976 (when Brooks Robinson was still around!), and was a ten-time league leader in defensive categories like putouts, assists, fielding percentage, and some weird Sabermetric stuff.
Sadly, Rodriguez died at the very young age of 52 when he was hit by a car that drove up on the sidewalk where he was walking.
Hmm, I’m wondering if Stan might have gotten traded to the Indians from somewhere else. That’s definitely not an Indians uniforms. Whoever they are, it looks like their colors are black and white. Also, their home uniform has pinstripes. Let’s see. Pirates? White Sox? Expos?
Stan Williams played in three decades (from ’58 to ‘72), compiling over 100 wins and 1000 strikeouts. He had two nicknames, “Big Daddy” and “Big Hurt.” Oh, did I mention that he was 6’5” and 230 lbs.?
Ah, the old hidden ball trick.
You’ve met Tommy John before, where he was a little off-center. There, I made an argument for his inclusion in the Hall of Fame.
Here are a couple of other tidbits about Tommy:
- At 26 seasons played, he tied the then major-league record (since broken)
- His kids are named Tommy, Tammy, Travis, and Taylor
- He is a Sagamore of the Wabash (the highest honor the governor of Indiana can bestow)
- He lives near me – in beautiful Charlotte, NC!
It’s a left to the kisser! Mike hated the press. Yup, even the guys from Topps.
Mike McCormick is another three-decade player, coming up with the NY Giants in 1956, and bowing out with the KC Royals in 1971. In those 16 years, Mike won an ERA title and a Cy Young Award. He was also a two-time All Star (but, interestingly, not in his Cy Young year).
Not sure what else there is to say about ol’ Carlton. A couple of things I didn’t mention before:
- Carl actually led the NL in shutouts in 1958 – as a rookie!
- In his one World Series experience, he struck out two of three Yankees he faced
- Upon retirement, he was a scout for the Phillies
- He also worked as parole officer, managed a blueberry-freezing plant, and raised Christmas trees
You’ve heard of Pete Grey, right? That was nuthin’. Bill Henry here was a pitcher!
Bill “Gabby” Henry punctuated his 16 years in the bigs with two league “crowns”, appearances in ‘59 and oldest player in ‘68. He also compiled 90 saves overall.
Bill also had the rather unique experience of reading his own obituary. Turns out some other Bill Henry, of roughly the same age and appearance, passed himself off as our Bill. When the counterfeit Bill died, the national press got ahold of that obit and ran with it – prompting our Bill to announce, in the spirit of Mark Twain, that the rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated. Complete details right here.
Look closely. Yes, his fly is open. Nope, he hasn’t a clue.
Claude “Frenchy” Raymond had a career very similar to Bill Henry’s. Like Henry, Raymond was a decent reliever who managed to stick around for a few years and compile almost 100 saves. No league “crowns” for Claude, but he was an All Star once.
As far as I can tell, Raymond was not a victim of identity theft however. Post-playing-day highlights for Claude including announcing Expos games (in French and English), coaching for them, and announcing baseball for the Atlanta Olympics (seulement en francais).
