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Showing posts from October, 2010

Old Time New York Giants Pitcher: Bill Walker (1927-1933)

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William Henry Walker was born on October 7th, 1903 in East St. Louis Illinois. Long before there was an Arch on the other side of the Mississippi, Walker was playing baseball in the St. Louis area. He was brought up by the New York Giants back in 1927 & got his feet wet his first two seasons mostly in relief. In 1929 he emerged as the Giants #3 starter behind Carl Hubbell & Freddie Fritzmorris, winning 14 games against 7 losses. His 3.09 ERA was the best in the National League surprising many people. In 1930 he was 3rd in ERA with a 3.90, 4th in wins with 17, 6th in strikeouts with 105, but he also lost 15 games. His last good season was 1931 when he led the NL in both ERA (2.26), and shutouts (6). He won 19 games (16-9) and threw 239 innings striking out 121 against only 64 walks. Things turned sour the nest season going 8-12 with his ERA doubling to 4.14. He also gave up a league leading 23 HRs after only giving up six the previous season. He was traded to his hometown S

Former Italian / American Player of the Day: John Castino (1979-1984)

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John Anthony Castino was born on October 23, 1954 in Evanston, ILlinois. He attended Rollins College at Winter Park, Florida getting picked by the Twins, third round in 1976. In the minors he was the AAA Southern Leagues All Star third baseman leading the league in fielding percentage. He came up to the Twins in 1979 taking over as their third baseman winning the Rookie of the Year Award, tied in the voting with Alfredo Griffin. He played in 148 games but only had 393 at bats. He hit .285 with 112 hits 5 HRs 13 doubles 8 triples, 52 RBIs & a .331 on base percentage. He followed that up with career highs in HRs (16) RBIs (64) batting average (.302) & games (150). In 1981 he led all AL third basemen in put outs (86) turning 24 double plays posting a .975 fielding percentage. He would play in over 100 games the next three seasons, but began to suffer from chronic back issues which ended his career by 1984. He never matched his first two seasons numbers, batting a best .2

Former New York Giant: Wally Berger (1936-1938)

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Walter Anton Berger was born October 10, 1905 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in San Francisco & was a high school team mate of future Hall of Famer Joe Cronin. He came up with the Boston Braves in 1930 and set a rookie record by hitting 38 HRs that record stood for 58 years until Mark McGwire broke it in 1988. Berger drove in 119 runs, also a rookie record until broken by Albert Pujols in 2001. Berger also hit 27 doubles 14 triples & batted .310, quite a debut. He hit over .300 over the next three seasons & over .290 the next five. In 1934 he hit 34 HRs with 131 RBIs both third best in the league. The following season (1935) he led the league in both HRs (34) & RBIs (130) with 39 doubles a .295 batting average & a .355 on base percentage. He hit over 30 HRs three times & drove in over 100 runs four times, making four All Star teams & coming in among the top vote getters for the MVP Award five times. Babe Ruth called him the best centerfielder in the

Ozzy's Birthday Tribute to John Lennon

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This is just great, well done Ozzy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awOcbVoS4yE&feature=youtube_gdata_player