Mid Seventies Mets Pitcher: Rick Baldwin (1975-1976)

Rickey Allen Baldwin was born June 1, 1953 in Fresno, California, the home town of Mets Hall of Famer Tom Seaver. The tall six foot three, side armed right handed throwing Baldwin, was drafted by the New York Mets in ninth round of the 1971 draft. In 1972 he was second on the Mets A ball Visalia staff, to Cecil Reynolds going 12-8 leading the team with 90 strike outs. Baldwin won nine games at AA Memphis (1973) & AA Victoria (1974) while posting winning records in each of the next two seasons.

In 1975 Baldwin impressed the team and made it North out of Spring Training with a lot of promise for his future. The team gave him Tug McGraw’s old uniform number 45, since McGraw had been traded to the Phillies that off season. Baldwin made his Mets debut in the second game of the 1975 season pitching a scoreless 8th at Shea Stadium in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

On April 11th, he blew a 9th inning game at Pittsburgh as he was brought in to relieve Jerry Koosman with the bases loaded & a 3-1 lead. Baldwin allowed a two run single to Rennie Stennett, and then Mac Scarce who had come over in the Tug McGraw trade gave up the final losing hit. In his next outing Baldwin blew a two run lead to the Cardinals in St. Louis but was taken off the hook as the Mets scored seven runs to win the game 14-7.

Baldwin then earned his first save on April 20th in three innings of relief against the Chicago Cubs. In that game he did allow three runs. By June Baldwin became one of the Mets top relievers out of the bullpen, something they needed badly after they had traded away McGraw. By the All Star break he had four saves but also had blown five saves as well. Upon his return he saved two more games on the road in Chicago & St. Louis.

In September he earned his third & final win on the year pitching four scoreless innings at Shea against the Montreal Expos. For the 1975 season, Baldwin would be second on the club to Bob Apodaca in saves with six. He led all Mets pitchers in appearances with 54 going 3-5 with a 3.33 ERA, he had 54 strike outs with 34 walks in 97 innings pitched.

In 1976 he started out the year at AAA Tidewater, having a good year going 8-4 with 14 saves, posting a 2.31 ERA. He was called up to the Mets for two brief weeks in June then returning again in September. In 11 games with New York he appeared in 22 innings and posted a 2.26 ERA, with no record.

In 1977 Baldwin was rolling along at 4-1 at AAA Tidewater when he was called back up in late May. He would appear in 40 games mostly in middle relief, going 1-2 with a save and a 4.45 ERA. On June 21st he earned his only victory against the Atlanta Braves. He pitched the last game of the 1976 season earning the save at Busch Stadium in the Mets 6-4 win over the Cardinals. That game would be his last MLB appearance.

He was drafted away by the expansion Seattle Mariners in 1977 but never cracked their big league staff. He pitched at AAA through the 1978 season, ending his big league career. In his three year career he appeared in 105 games, going 4-7 with seven saves & a respectable 3.60 ERA, striking out 86 batters with 75 walks in 182 innings pitched.

Concert Review: Steve Winwood at the Beacon Theater (New York City)

Steve Winwood began his career as a teenager at Great Barr School where he became part of the Birmingham blues scene. He backed people like Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley & Chuck Berry before joining the Spencer Davis Group (1963-1967) at age 14. Winwood co wrote the Spencer Davis hits Gimmie Some Lovin & I'm A Man playing organ & singing on the records.

In 1967 he formed the great band Traffic (1967-1974 / 1994) with Jim Capaldi, Dave Mason & Chris Wood. Winwood' Traffic classic works include the songs Feelin' Alright, Paper Sun, Freedom Writer, Empty Pages, the instrumental Glad & the ultimate classics Dear Mr. Fantasy & The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. In 1968 he also played organ on Jimi Hendrix classic Voo Doo Chile as well as some other tracks on Electric Ladyland.

In 1969 if this wasn't enough Winwood formed the super group Blind Faith with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker & Rich Grech. This classic album included Winwood's Can't Find My Way Home & Had To Cry Today. In the late seventies he began a successful solo career that produced two number one U.S. songs (Higher Love & Roll With It) & six top ten U.S. hits (While You See a Chance, Valerie, The Finer Things, Don't You Know What the Night Can Do). 

His solo career also has produced three top ten albums Back In the High Life (1986), Arc of a Diver (1981) & the number one Roll With It (1988).

Winwood reunited with Traffic to play Woodstock 94 & toured with a new album. He later reunited with Eric Clapton in 2008 playing an incredible three sold out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City. An album & DVD was also released. The two collaborated on a new song- Dirty City, from Winwood's Nine Lives album in 2009.

In 2007 his solo album Nine Lives was released & reached #12 on the billboard charts. Winwood has also produced & done session work with countless people (George Harrison, David Gilmour, Billy Joel, the Grateful Dead, Christine McVie, Lou Reed, Marianne Faithful & Rober Palmer to name a few.

Last night Winwood put on an incredible performance at New York's Beacon Theater, one of his four NY/NJ area shows this week. The multi instrumentalist played his electric organ for most of the night, stepping out front to play guitar on the Blind Faith classic Can't Find My Way Home & Dirty City in the early part of the show.

For the most part Winwood played older vintage songs from his early days, while just covering solo songs from his last two albums with the exception of Higher Love which closed out the show prior to the encores. His band consisted of a four musicians including Guitarist José Neto and multi-instrumentalist Paul Booth, a drummer & percussionist rounded out the band. The songs were mostly extended versions of the originals with lots of solos & Winwood allowing the musicians to expand their instrumental parts.

Winwood's vocals sounded great & his versatility as a musician phenomenal. He soared on his organ with some great arrangements on the old Spencer Davis & Traffic tunes. He did some great guitar work on Dirty City & Dear Mr. Fantasy showing how good of a guitar player he is, which is often overlooked.

To me Dear Mr. Fantasy & Low Spark are worth the price of admission alone, & tonight they certainly did not disappoint. I also want to point out how much I enjoyed the psychedelic part of the Traffic song Pearly Queen. All we needed was a light show, it was very sixties.

I thought that the extended version of Light Up Or Leave Me Alone went on a bit too long & wished there was more time for more of his solo songs from the eighties. Winwood kept the stage simple, no bass player, no piano & no female back up singers which took a bit away from some of the great arrangements on the songs we are familiar with All in all it was a great show that ended too quickly, especially when you anticipate so much from Winwoods incredible library of great songs.

May 23rd 2012- Steve Winwood Set List
I'm A Man (Spencer Davis Group)
Fly
We're All Looking
Cant Find My Way Home (Blind Faith)
Dirty City
Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys (Traffic)
Empty Pages (Traffic)
Pearly Queen (Traffic)
Light Up Or Leave Me Alone (Traffic)
Higher Love

encores: Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic)
Gimmie Some Lovin' (Spencer Davis Group)

centerfieldmaz Visits the New Marlins Park in Miami Florida

On Monday night 5/20/12 centerfieldmaz attended a game at the new Marlins Park located in the Little Havana section of Miami, Florida. The ball park is home to the newly named Miami Marlins, this night they hosted the Colorado Rockies.


I was quite impressed with this new ballpark, it was a lot better than I expected. It was pretty easy to get to coming South down I-95 from Fort Lauderdale. Although there are not many signs directing you there, the large white domed building stands out in the low rise neighborhood. It almost looks like a giant space ship  landed in the middle of a quiet town. It reminds me of the setting of the old parks like Wrigley Field & Fenway Park.

There are four parking garages that surround the building and when you leave your car your right at the entrance to the ballpark. I am sure if there are capacity crowds for big events the area can get congested, we all know the hassle of leaving a four level parking garage when full. Also the streets surrounding the area are not big & will get tied up pretty fast. We got there way early & leaving wasn't that bad as we left just as the game was about to end.

The ballpark is the third smallest baseball venue, seating 37,000 fans. It is the sixth park with a retractable roof, which takes 15 minutes to open or close.

Florida Palm trees line the walkway into the park and a very courteous staff is more than happy to help you with any questions you may have. The roof was closed on this night making it a comfortable air conditioned environment. I am not big on domes but I can certainly understand the value of one in South Florida between the heat & the thunderstorms.

You can walk around the whole stadium from the main concourse on the Promenade level. There are plenty of eating options, from hot dogs, burgers & fries to Pizza, a Kosher Deli & excellent South Florida Cuban fare. In the left field area we ate at the Taste Of Miami, enjoying some awesome Pork sandwiches, classic Cuban Sandwiches, tamales & a side of plantain chips. The food was great.

This was the only area of the ballpark where you were actually able to stand up & eat. There was a long counter approx. 40 feet long underneath the huge 60 foot tall windows which overlook downtown Miami. The view is beautiful & the sunset over the city was spectacular.

As you walk around the outfield you pass the back of the large Fish Fountain. This is a mechanized sculpture that illuminates with Marlin fish leaping out of the water, along with sea gulls flapping their wings under rotating suns when a Marlin player hits a HR. The fountain also shoots water into the air, all representing a celebration of the beaches of South Florida.


We were lucky enough to see it in action when Gian Carlo Stanton hit a dramatic Grand Slam HR off the Colorado Rockies Jamie Moyer. The HR was a mammoth 440 foot shot that knocked out some panels of the Lefty field scoreboard.

Other features of the Marlins Ballpark include a huge fish tank with live tropical fish located located behind the home plate backstop area. The classic Bobble Head Museum which features bobble heads from all MLB teams throughout the years, including reserved spots for ones being distributed this year.

A swimming pool in the Clevelander (a South Beach nightclub) section of the outfield, complete with a bar, dancing girls & a private seating area right behind the left fielder next to the bullpen.

There is a small tribute to the old Orange Bowl which was once located on this very site. The Orange Bowl was home to many great Miami Dolphin teams including the 1972 undefeated team, as well as Super Bowls & classic College Bowl games.

There is also dancing & acrobatic entertainment by the Mermaids, Manatees & Billy the Marlin in between innings.

The blue seats seem to all have pretty good views especially down in the lower section where we sat. There is a huge scoreboard in right center field that shows clear video replay & focuses on the fans in between innings. During play it is quite busy with stats & player information. There is another board high up in left field as well.

All in all it is an exciting time in Miami for baseball. There are friends, families, people of all ages enjoying the sights & atmosphere of this great new ballpark. I had been to games before at the old ballpark & never seen the excitement surrounding the team like now.

The fans have become well knowledged & dedicated to their team. The fact that Miami is a big vacation spot also makes it likely the visiting team will have always have a few fans on hand as well. I have been there for Mets games & they draw very well. I was surprised to see a decent amount of Rockies fans there on Monday night.  This is a friendly place & a great baseball experience from what I have witnessed. 

As a Mets fan I must say it was weird watching Jose Reyes in a different home uniform in a different ballpark. He is already one of the most popular Marlins players as Reyes #7 Jerseys are everywhere. And yes the "Jose Jose Jose" theme song is alive & well in Miami.

Italian / American Umpiring Supervisor: Frank Pulli (1972-2012)

Frank Victor Pulli was born on March 22, 1935 in Easton Pennsylvania. In high school he played baseball as well as basketball eventually turning to umpiring. He began working games in the Mid West, Eastern & International Leagues in the sixties & early seventies.

Pulli made it to the major leagues as a National League Umpire by 1972 using the number 14. On April 8th, 1974 he was the first base umpire at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium in the game where Hank Aaron broke the All Time HR record. Pulli would officiate sic NLCS Series: 1975 / 1979/ 1986/ 1991 / 1993 & 1997.

In the 1986 NLCS Pulli woked home plate at Shea Stadium in Game #3 where Lenny Dykstra hit a two run walk off HR to beat the Houston Astros & put New York up two games to one.

Pulli would officiate four World Series: 1978 / 1983 / 1995 & 1990 where he was the crew chief. In the 1978 World Series blew a major call in the 6th Inning of Game #5. The A.L. New York club's Lou Pinella hit a low liner to Dodger short stop Bill Russell. He dropped the ball then flipped it to second baseman Davey Lopes. Lopes threw to first base but base runner Reggie Jackson stuck out his hip in order to get hit by the ball.

The ball caromed off Jacksons' leg & the runner scored from third base as Steve Garvey argued the call. Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda came out to argue as well but the call stood, as L.A. lost the game 5-4 in extra innings. Had the call been corrected, the Dodgers would have won the game & been ahead 3-2 in the Series.

Pulli also worked the 1977 & 1988 All Star games, being the crew chief in the latter game. In 1993 he was named an NL Umpire chief. In 1999 Pulli was the first umpire to use instant replay. In a game in Florida between the Marlins & the St. Louis Cardinals, Cliff Floyd had hit a ball near the yellow line on the outfield wall.

The play was first ruled a HR but then Pulli used a television monitor to review the play. He reversed the call to a double & the Cards won the game 5-2. The play caused a lot of attention, & the NL Office ruled the umpires erred in using Instant Replay. Instant Replay would not be used in MLB again for almost ten years.

Pulli retired from umpiring on the field at the end of the 1999 season, completing 28 years of MLB umpiring. In 2000 he was named an umpire supervisor & still holds that position today. He is a liaison between the umpires & the league.

Italian / American Television Star & Baseball Player: John Berardino

Giovanni Berardino was born May 1, 1917 in Los Angeles California. He was a child actor that appeared in some of the classic Our Gang episodes but no credits are mentioned on any existing films. He eventually turned to baseball and played on the USC baseball team in the 1930s.

He was signed by the St. Louis Brown as a middle infielder making his debut in the 1939 season. He would play for the Browns for six seasons, coming in last place five times. In 1940 he had his best season with a career high 16 HRs & drove in 85 runs (2nd best on the team). He followed that up with a career high 89 RBIs in 1941 and a .271 batting average. In each of those two seasons he also hit over 30 doubles and struck out very rarely.

In 1942 he went off to the military serving in World War II & returning to baseball four years later. 1946 was his last full season & his last with the Browns, as he hit .265 with 5 HRs & 68 RBIs. He was traded to Cleveland in 1948 & although he only batted .190 in 66 games he went from last place to a World Series championship with the ’48 Indians. He injured his leg and his playing days were over by 1952 after 11 seasons. In an eleven season playing career he batted .249 lifetime with 755 hits 167 doubles 36 HRs & 387 RBIs in 912 games played.


After baseball he became a successful actor starting out in a guest role in “The Adventures of Superman” & as a state trooper in Frank Sinatra’s 1954 thriller Suddenly. That movie also starred Sterling Hayden, Officer McClusky in the Godfather. After appearing in dozens of B movies, he got the role of Dr. Steve Hardy in a new soap Opera called General Hospital in 1963. He would play the part for 36 years until his passing in 1996 of pancreatic cancer.

Honors: Berardino has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame & is a member of the USC Athletic Hall of Fame. He is the only player to have a star on Hollywood Blvd. & win a World Series. His image on the opening of General Hospital remained on the show’s opening clip until 2004.

Italian / American 1969 Mets Pitcher: Jack DiLauro (1969)

Jack Edward DiLauro was born May 3, 1943 at Akron, Ohio. In high school DiLauro was a star baseball, basketball & football player. He then attended the University of Akron, where he was signed by the Detroit Tigers as a pitcher. He was also offered a pro football contract but chose baseball instead.

He pitched for the Toledo Mud Hens located within two hours of his home at Akron in the late sixties while within the Tigers organization. He went 6-5 in 1967 as the Mud Hen’s won the Governers Cup. In 1968 he went 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA as the Mud Hens won the pennant.

That season the big league club Tigers won the World Series by DiLauro would not be around with them the next season. In December of 1968 he was traded to the New York Mets for catcher Hector Valle, who never caught a big league game with the Mets or the Tigers.

In 1969, DiLauro was the oldest Mets rookie on a very young staff, at the age of 26. When he arrived with the Mets he never thought he’d crack the talented pitching corps. He began the season at AAA Tidewater going 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in the first month of the season.

In early May when Nolan Ryan was put on the disabled list Dilauro got the call up to the big leagues. He made his MLB debut on May 15th 1969, at Shea Stadium pitching in relief of Cal Koonce, throwing two scoreless innings in a 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

He got his first start on June 4th at Shea Stadium against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching nine scoreless innings allowing just two hits. He got no decision but earned a standing ovation from the Shea Faithful as he walked off the mound. The Mets won the game in the bottom of the 15th inning. DiLauro earned his only Mets victory at Jarry Park in Montreal, on July 20th pitching the in the 10th inning in the second game of a double header. The Mets beat the Expos when Bobby Pfiel singled home Ron Swoboda.

He would continue to pitch in relief through August & September, appearing in 23 games overall for the 1969 Amazing Mets. He got four starts on the year, going 1-4 throwing 63 innings, allowing only 17 earned runs good enough for a 2.40 ERA.

That ERA is one of the Mets All Time best for pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched. His last Mets game was on the final day of the regular season, as he did not appear in the post season. DiLauro appeared on the Ed Sullivan show with the World Champion 1969 Mets & actually did an impersonation of Sullivan that night; it was one of his personal proudest moments.

He got dropped from the roster when the season ended & wasn’t protected getting picked up by the Houston Astros that December. In 1970 DiLauro went 1-3 with a 4.28 ERA for the Astros before landing back in the minor leagues.

In 1971 he was traded along with Tug McGraw’s brother Hank, to the Braves organization but would never pitch in the big leagues again. He would retire at the age of 29, ending his brief two year MLB career at 2-7 with a 3.05 ERA with 50 strike outs in 97 innings pitched in 65 appearances.

Retirement: DiLauro went on to work for the Koenig Sporting Goods Store in Akron Ohio, becoming district manager for 31 of their stores. He was elected to the Greater Akron Hall of Fame & lives there in a lakefront home. He has appeared at baseball card shows honoring the 1969 Mets

1987 Italian / American World Series Hero: Steve Lombardozzi (1985-1990)

Stephen Paul Lombardozzi was born on April 26, 1960 in Malden, Massachusetts. He attended the University of Florida getting drafted in the 9th round of the 1981 draft by the Minnesota Twins. He was an excellent defensive second baseman known more for defense rather than his bat. After four years in the minors he was brought up in 1985 & the next year replaced Tim Tueful as the Twins regular second baseman.

In his rookie season he led all AL second baseman in fielding (.992%) & made just six errors in 701 chances. His locker at the Metro dome was right next to Kirby Puckett’s, & he joked that he knew the back of all the writers heads since they were always around Puckett.


In the Twins 1987 Championship season, he batted just .238 with 8 HRs & 38 RBI but went on to have a great post season, becoming an unlikely hitting hero. In the ALCS against Detroit he hit .267 driving in a run, going 4-15.

Post Season: In Game #1 of the World Series he hit a 5th inning two run HR off St. Louis’ Bob Forsch in a wild Metro dome as the Twins went on to win the game 10-1.

Quotes: Lombardozzi remembers: "The feeling was unbelievable. As soon as I hit it I knew it was gone, but I didn't believe it. I hit first base and between first and third, I had all these thoughts about all the friends and family and relatives that were all back home. I was visualizing all these different families - there were probably 10, 12, 15 of them all huddled around a TV going, 'Oh my God, our Steve hit a home run in the World Series! It was a highlight of my whole career."

In Game #6 with the Twins trailing the Series three games to two, Lombardozzi singled home two runs breaking a 5-5 tie. Minnesota never looked back as they went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in that game & the next to earn their first Championship title. Lombardozzi finished the series leading his team in hitting, batting .412. He was second with Tim Launder in hits (7) with a HR & four RBIs.

Despite his World Series heroics after just one more season, the Twins acquired veteran Tommy Herr by 1989 & Lombardozzi was traded to the Houston Astros. There he helped tutor Craig Biggio with his transition to second base. He played very brief in two seasons in Houston & his playing days were over by 1990. In a six year career he hit .233 with 20 HRs 61 doubles 107 RBIs. He posted a .986 fielding% making 31 errors in 1837 chances.

Retirement: After his playing days, he ran a small business & raised his family. He eventually went into coaching & is a minor league instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

His son Steve Jr. was born with a clubbed foot deformity. At two years old he needed surgery which was done by the old NHL Minnesota Northstars hockey team surgeon. His clubbed foot never hurt his ability to play baseball. Like his dad he is a second baseman who plays in the Washington Nationals minor league system.