[irishmic]

All great memories Udon, George Brett, a truly great hitter, he had a brother Ken Brett, ended up playing for my team, Pittsburgh Pirates, he was a hell of a hitter for a pitcher, they used him several times to pinch hit! of course were talking of the Pirates. Think I read he may have died. Pirates also picked an outfielder from the Royals, Amos Otis, an allstar with KC, past his prime with Pitt. Also I remember a "Shortstop" 5'4" Freddie Patak, played both on Royals and Pirates.

[mack]

You're correct Irish, this is from the net:

"Ken Brett, the brother of Hall of Famer George Brett and the youngest pitcher in World Series history, died on Nov. 18 in Spokane, Wash. after a long battle with brain cancer. He was 55.

In 14 seasons in the major leagues, Brett was 83-85 with a 3.93 ERA in 1,526.1 innings pitched.

He was also a pitcher who could hit, compiling a .262 average with 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 347 career at-bats. In 1973, while pitching for the Phillies, he set a record for pitchers when he hit a home run in four straight starts.

[nosehair]

A "Walk Off" Home Run....a dramatic blast that ends the game with the home team victorious......Robert Redford gets into the act in "The Natural"...

[nosehair]

Even the Queen likes baseball....here she makes a guest appearance in...."The Naked Gun"....a F N funny 5 minute clip....

[nosehair]

Team mascots have never really been accepted by fans in Major League Baseball.... with a couple of Big exceptions....here is IMHO, the best ever baseball mascot....the San Diego Chicken....

[irishmic]

Nose, I confess that being a Pittsburgh Pirate fan all my baseball life has had its ups and downs (down for the last 15) I started reading about the Montreal Expos, enjoyed Rusty Staub, Steve Rogers, and the whole idea of a Canadian team (weird) I remember they had what had to be the most stupid mascot in sports, the Youppi, any memories of this?

[nosehair]

Babe Ruth is the most famous of all sports hero's in the US....sure...Michael Jordan, Ali and Tiger Woods are or were giants in the sporting world and made/make an incredible amount of dosh in endorsements, but the biggest of the big names of sport and legend is still Babe Ruth.



They made movies about his life and he popped up in newsreels that were featured at theatres all over America during the great depression....


Ask 10 knowledgeable baseball fans "who was/is the greatest baseball player of all time?"....9 of them will reply..."Babe Ruth".

[Udon Corleone]

Originally Posted by irishmic

Pirates also picked an outfielder from the Royals, Amos Otis, an allstar with KC, past his prime with Pitt. Also I remember a "Shortstop" 5'4" Freddie Patak, played both on Royals and Pirates.

Irishmic you have hit upon two of my favorite players from my youth. Freddie Patek was a hero to lots of kids in KC back in the early 70's, since most of us were about the same height. Here's a shot of Freddie leading off of first base with 6'6" Frank Howard of the Senators holding him on.



Then there was "Famous" Amos Otis, who patrolled centerfield for the Royals for most of the 70's (thanks to Amos and Willie Wilson the Royals only had 2 centerfielders over a 20 year span). The fans used to chant "A-O, A-O" when he batted. He was known for his nonchalant manner of catching fly balls with one hand. Everybody used to yell, "Two hands, Amos" when he'd catch a fly ball. A really good solid ball player who could hit for average, steal bases, and knock one out of the park when needed.



Thanks for letting me stroll down memory lane.

[mack]

I remember Otis and Wilson, both of them could fly around the bases. My favorite Pirate, being older than everyone on this board except figjam, was the great Roberto Clemente, who died in the off season while he was still playing, when a plane flying emergency supplies to quake victims in Nicaragua crashed with him on board. He was not only great but played with a style and flair that's rarely seen. Roberto Clemente

[nosehair]

Originally Posted by mack

I remember Otis and Wilson, both of them could fly around the bases. My favorite Pirate, being older than everyone on this board except figjam, was the great Roberto Clemente, who died in the off season while he was still playing, when a plane flying emergency supplies to quake victims in Nicaragua crashed with him on board. He was not only great but played with a style and flair that's rarely seen. Roberto Clemente

mack...Roberto Clemente was one of the greatest ballplayers I've ever seen play the game.

He was one of my fav players as a kid until.....he squared off with one of my all time fav's, Billy Williams of the Cubs, in a bench clearing brawl at Wigley Field in the late 60's....will never forget my two heros trading blows...they must of hated each other.

Roberto finished with exactly 3000 hits before he perished in the plane crash. A great player trying to help a ravaged country by hauling in medical supplies....a far different story than the ones we read today about selfish athletes and athletes who are/or act like thugs.

to you Roberto.