Baseball History Podcast

César Leonardo Tovar was born July 3, 1940, in Caracas, Venezuela. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, César Tovar was a fixture at the top of the Minnesota Twins lineup. The speedy, enthusiastic Venezuelan came up as a second baseman, but he could handle just about any position.

Derrel McKinley Harrelson, nicknamed “Bud”, was born on June 6, 1944 in Niles, California. Harrelson was typical of shortstops of his era: good fielder, poor hitter. His excellent fielding kept him in the lineup no matter what his average, but he also contributed with his speed on the basepaths and by drawing more than his share of walks.

Robert William “Bobby” Brown, MD was born October 25, 1924 in Seattle, Washington. More than 16,000 players have played major league baseball, but Dr. Bobby Brown’s lifetime profile has no parallel. He played professional baseball on a team that won five world championships, was a practicing cardiologist in Texas, served as interim president of the Texas Rangers, and spent ten years as president of the American League.

Bert Blyleven was born April 6, 1951 in Zeist, Netherlands. His birth name was actually Rik Aalbert Blijleven. Blyleven carved out a great career by possessing the premier curveball of his era. His vicious curve was among the best in baseball for nearly twenty years.

Charles Oliver “Charlie” Hough was born January 5, 1948 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He became one of the greatest starting pitchers in Texas Rangers history. The knuckleballer led Texas in wins, complete games, and innings pitched each year from 1982 to 1987, winning a higher percentage of his club’s victories than any other major league hurler those six years.

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.

José Canseco Capas, Jr. was born July 2, 1964 in Havana, Cuba. Canseco was a baseball giant in size, potential, and gossip, and became the first member of the 40-40 club when he was a mere 23 years old, winning the Most Valuable Player award that year in a landslide. But arrogance and injuries, some inadvertently caused by the bulging muscles that gave him such exceptional power, ended up wreaking havoc with his career.

Brian Jay Downing was born October 9, 1950 in Los Angeles, California. Known for his hard work and hustle, Downing transformed himself, through hard work, weight training (before it was common), and experimentation, from an inconsistent, weak-hitting catcher to a reliable clutch-hitting slugger who set the American League record for consecutive errorless games by an outfielder at 244 games.

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.

Clyde Wright was born February 20, 1941 in Jefferson City, Tennessee. A left-hander, he was a star pitcher at Carson-Newman College in Tennessee. He went on to pitch the California Angels from 1966 through 1973, Milwaukee Brewers in 1974, and Texas Rangers in 1975.