Baseball History Podcast

Wesley Noreen Westrum was born November 28, 1922 Clearbrook, Minnesota. He was known as a superb defensive catcher. In 1950 he set a National League record for catchers with a .999 fielding average. He later served as the second manager in the history of the New York Mets, replacing Casey Stengel.

Bobby Ray Murcer was born May 20, 1946 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Murcer was slated to be the Yankees’ shortstop but ended up being the center fielder, following in the footsteps of Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. A left-handed hitter, Murcer had a career .277 batting average and 252 home runs. He became one of the Yankees most popular players of the era.

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.

William Ellis Russell was born October 21, 1948, in Pittsburg, Kansas. Teamed with Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, and Ron Cey for over eight years, Russell was an integral part of baseball’s longest-lasting infield and a vital cog in the Dodgers’ annual drive for a pennant. He played his entire 18-year, 2,181-game career with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the starting shortstop for four National League pennant winners and one World Series champion

Cecil Randolph Hundley Jr. was born June 1, 1942 in Martinsville, Virginia. Despite being a lifetime .236 hitter, Hundley was one of the best fielding catchers of his era. He was a leader in the clubhouse for the strong Cubs teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was considered the best Cubs catcher since Gabby Hartnett.

Frank Robinson was born in Beaumont, Texas, on August 31, 1935. His aggressive hitting style won the support of fans, with a plate-crowding stance that earned him frequent knockdowns and a hefty number of hit-by-pitcher passes to first.

Albert Leonard Rosen, nicknamed “Al” or “Flip, was born February 29, 1924 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Al’s strength and determination to overcome any and all obstacles was the key factor in his rise to becoming a star ballplayer and his success as a baseball administrator. Physical and mental toughness served Rosen well through all his many life challenges.

Roger Lee Craig was born February 17, 1930 in Durham, North Carolina. In 1986 Sports Illustrated called Roger Craig “the acknowledged maestro of the split-fingered fastball.” He was best known as a player for being an original New York Met and was a stalwart of the legendarily bad team’s pitching staff, losing 24 and 22 games in those first two seasons. Remarkably during those two years, he completed 27 games while winning only 15, demonstrating that he was one of the best pitchers on the staff.

Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes, nicknamed “The Baby Bull” or “Cha Cha”, was born September 17, 1937 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. A powerful slugger during his 17-year Major League career, he withstood a series of knee injuries to become a seven-time National League All-Star.

William Nuschler Clark, Jr. was born March 13, 1964 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A 1990 poll of 65 major league players ranked Will Clark as the best clutch performer in baseball. Clark’s abundance of natural talent earned him the nickname “The Natural” and the tall first baseman never lacked for confidence.