Baseball History Podcast

Richard Hirschfeld Williams was born on May 7, 1929, in St. Louis, MO. Williams’s intense competitiveness and versatility earned him 13 years as a major league utility player. He parlayed those strengths into one of baseball’s most successful managerial careers.

Patrick Edward Dobson, Jr. was born February 12, 1942 in Depew, New York. Early in his Major League career, Dobson developed a strong working relationship with pitching coach Johnny Sain. He said Sain told him that he gripped the ball too tight and was teaching him to relax. Dobson explained that it gave his pitches better movement. Sain also taught him a different grip for his slider and it became his best pitch.

David Joseph Magadan was born September 30, 1962 in Tampa, Florida. Magadan, a lefthanded line-drive hitter, was the offensive hero of the Mets’ division-clinching game in 1986 during a late-season call-up.

Fury Gene Tenace was born October 10, 1946 in Russellton, Pennsylvania. His actual birth name is Fiore Gino Tennaci. Tenace was an underappreciated talent whose magnificent performance in the 1972 World Series displayed to the world his valuable but rarely spotlighted abilities. He reached 20 Home Runs in five of his seven seasons as a regular but throughout his career, his low batting averages were focused on. Missed was the fact that, after becoming an everyday player, he had an on-base average of .400 five times and over .390 three times.

David Francis Dravecky was born February 14, 1956 in Youngstown, Ohio. He was a consistently effective starter and occasional reliever for the Padres for over five seasons and the Giants for two.

Atanasio Pérez Rigal, more commonly known as Tony Pérez and nicknamed “Big Dog,” was born May 14, 1942 in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. Perez was a fixture on Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine clubs of the 1970s. A native Cuban, he left a job in a Havana sugar-cane factory to sign with the Reds organization. In 1967, he notched the first of seven 100 Runs Batted In seasons.

Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta, nicknamed Minnie (mean-YO-so, commonly pronounced minn-OH-so by media, was born November 29, 1925 in El Perico, Cuba. Minoso would do whatever was necessary to get on base, including getting in the way of fastballs. In 16 American League seasons, he set the league record by being hit by a pitch 189 times. He is one of just two players in Major League history to play in five separate decades

William Henry Davis, nicknamed “Three Dog,” was born April 15, 1940 in Mineral Springs, Arkansas. Widely considered to be one of the fastest players of the 1960s, Davis had 20 or more stolen bases in eleven consecutive seasons. Along with Maury Wills, he provided speed at the top of Los Angeles lineup, being part of three pennant-winning Dodgers teams.

Anthony Keith “Tony” Gwynn was born May 9, 1960 in Los Angeles, California. He was statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history; perhaps one of the best pure hitters of his era. He played his entire 20-year career, from 1982–2001, for the San Diego Padres.

Steven Patrick Garvey was born December 22, 1948 in Tampa, FL. The most durable player of his era, Garvey played a National League-record 1,207 consecutive games. Originally a third baseman with a suspect arm, he became part of baseball’s longest-running infield when he moved to first base. Ron Cey took over at third, and they flanked Davey Lopes and Bill Russell from 1973 to 1981.