Tony O and Kitty Kaat are in the Hall of Fame!

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coolhandgopher

coolhandgopher

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Great day for the organization and of course, these two 83 year olds who happen to be the only living members elected from today's group. Also happy to finally see Buck O'Neil elected posthumously.

If you've got 2 hours to kill, here's Kaat's masterful Game 2 win in the '65 World Series against Koufax and the Dodgers:

And a bit of my introduction to Buck O'Neil, the clear star of Ken Burns' Baseball documentary series:
 


Love it! So glad both are in and both are doing well health wise to enjoy this long overdue moment.

Win Twins!!
 

www.mlb.com

Buck, Gil, Minnie among 6 elected to Hall

The lasting impact of six former players was finally, formally recognized on Dec. 5 with their small-committee selections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022. Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso and Tony Oliva were elected by the Golden Days Era Committee, and Bud Fowler and Buck
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com
 

Both are good players. Neither belongs in the HOF.
 









Well, if you're going to take injuries into account - as in Kirby Puckett, then you have to take injuries into account for Oliva.

he basically played 8 healthy seasons, and he missed some time in two of those. In those eight seasons, he was American League Rookie of the Year, won 3 batting titles, and received MVP votes every year, finishing 2nd in MVP voting twice. Also played in 8 consecutive All-Star games. If you take average and power into consideration, Oliva was the Twins' best all-around hitter until Puckett.
people including Yankees' manager Ralph Houk called Oliva the best hitter in baseball.

from an article in the Strib:

Oliva became the first rookie to win an American League batting title that season (1964) at .323. What's not remembered as quickly is that he also led the AL in doubles (43), runs scored (109), hits (217) and total bases (374). Nine triples and 32 home runs gave him 84 extra-base hits.

So, these numbers you see from the young Tony O., another batting title in 1965 at .321, another league lead in hits at 189, and 40 more doubles.

Pitchers still were dominating when Tony won his third batting title in 1971. He was batting .375 on June 25 in Oakland, when he dived for Joe Rudi's sinking liner and smashed his already balky right knee into a sprinkler head. He missed a series of games, then returned and limped to the title at .337.
 

Reusse pointed out the 1970 Twins had what will be now 5 HoFers on their roster: Kaat, Oliva, Blyleven, Carew & Killebrew.

Still they were swept for the 2nd time by the Orioles who had few of their own (Palmer, B Robinson, F Robinson & Weaver), plus a handful of other really great players.
 




Oliva and Kaat were very easy to cheer for. Congrats to both.
 

Jim Kaat was referenced on PTI today for something I found astounding.

Ted Williams made his MLB debut in 1939 with the Red Sox.

Julio Franco ended with the Braves in 2007.

Kaat pitched against both of them. He faced Williams in 1959 with the Senators. During his final season, in 1982 as a Cardinal, he went against Franco who had been brought up by the Phillies.
 

Ope3 said:
Jim Kaat was referenced on PTI today for something I found astounding.

Ted Williams made his MLB debut in 1939 with the Red Sox.

Julio Franco ended with the Braves in 2007.

Kaat pitched against both of them. He faced Williams in 1959 with the Senators. During his final season, in 1982 as a Cardinal, he went against Franco who had been brought up by the Phillies.
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That’s an incredible stat.

Go Jim Kaat!!
 

Ope3 said:
Reusse pointed out the 1970 Twins had what will be now 5 HoFers on their roster: Kaat, Oliva, Blyleven, Carew & Killebrew.

Still they were swept for the 2nd time by the Orioles who had few of their own (Palmer, B Robinson, F Robinson & Weaver), plus a handful of other really great players.
Click to expand...

The Orioles rotation from 69-71 were one of the best overall from top to bottom in MLB History and during that era they won three pennants, 1 WS and amassed 100 Ws in three consecutive seasons.

Fifty-one years ago, Earl Weaver had something few managers ever possessed: a starting rotation with four 20-game winners. On their way to a third consecutive pennant, the 1971 Baltimore Orioles featured a rotation of Jim Palmer (20-9, 2.68 ERA), Mike Cuellar (20-9. 3.08 ERA), Pat Dobson (20-8, 2.90 ERA) and Dave McNally (21-5, 2.89 ERA).
 


Gopher_In_NYC said:
The Orioles rotation from 69-71 were one of the best overall from top to bottom in MLB History and during that era they won three pennants, 1 WS and amassed 100 Ws in three consecutive seasons.

Fifty-one years ago, Earl Weaver had something few managers ever possessed: a starting rotation with four 20-game winners. On their way to a third consecutive pennant, the 1971 Baltimore Orioles featured a rotation of Jim Palmer (20-9, 2.68 ERA), Mike Cuellar (20-9. 3.08 ERA), Pat Dobson (20-8, 2.90 ERA) and Dave McNally (21-5, 2.89 ERA).
Click to expand...
The 1970 World Series intrigues me (though I was just 1 year old), those O's going against Cincinnati just as the Big Red Machine was being assembled. Those teams along with the A's just before the dawn of Free Agency must have been a fun watch.
 

Ope3 said:
The 1970 World Series intrigues me (though I was just 1 year old), those O's going against Cincinnati just as the Big Red Machine was being assembled. Those teams along with the A's just before the dawn of Free Agency must have been a fun watch.
Click to expand...
I was born in 66, so I have scant memories of watching and of course the highlights throughout the years - I wish I was born a decade earlier baseball wise and have experienced all of the 60s and 70s from an older perspective- what a magical time- and yes I love the nostalgia of the game, that’s part of its charm
 

Last week on PBS they replayed the American Experience documentary on Roberto Clemente, really good program.

In it they showed this picture of Oliva & Clemente. Zoilo Versalles is also in the shot, highlighting the other players from Latin American who followed.

21.6.jpg
 

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