Post by Blunashun on Jun 4, 2021 14:37:28 GMT
Of course everyone knows about guys like Reggie Jackson & Carlos Beltran. What about guys who either weren't great players to begin with, or somehow flew under the radar?
I found this this morning after looking up MVP balloting for the 1974 season. Saw Lou Brock's name & clicked on his profile. I already knew he had never had a bad postseason. Then I clicked on Aaron. Somehow I had missed his 1969 postseason.
Brock appeared in the World Series 3 times. 1964, 1967 & 1968. The first two resulted in Championships. The last one went to seven games against the Tigers.
In 1964 Lou hit .300-1-5 w/ 2 doubles in the Fall Classic against the Yankees. Ken Boyer hit a grand slam & that's what most people remember. The Cardinals beating the Yankees behind Boyer's grand slam. Ken was NL MVP that year. I have his baseball card.
In 1967, Brock hit .414-1-3 w/ 2 doubles, a triple & went 7 for 7 on stolen base attempts. The Cardinals beat the Red Sox in seven.
In 1968 he posted .464-2-5 w/ 13 hits, 3 doubles, 1 triple & went 7 out of 9 on stolen base attempts. The Cardinals lost in seven to the World Champion Detroit Tigers. Lou never appeared in another postseason.
For his career Brock hit .391-4-13 / .424 / .655 w/ 14 SB's in 16 attempts. That's in 92 PA's. A .655 SLG% from a guy who hit 149 homers in 2,616 regular season games. It's pretty obvious he wasn't content to draw a walk & wait for a homer to drive him in.
Aaron was plagued by playing in distant outposts like Milwaukee & Atlanta. Where his contemporary, Willie Mays, played in New York & Frisco (self-styled as a metropolis), no one heard about a lot of Hank's exploits. He finally came to national attention when he was chasing Babe Ruth & started receiving death threats from angry peckerwoods.
In 1957 Aaron hit .393-3-7 in 7 games against the mighty Yankees. From 1949 to 1960, the Yanks appeared in the World series ten times. Ask a Dodger fan how that came out. On only two occasions did they fail to win it all. 1955 against the Dodgers, & 1957 versus the Braves.
The Braves made a return trip in 1958. Aaron hit .333-0-2 w/ 2 doubles & 4 walks in another 7 games. He had only walked once the year before. The Yankees had learned their lesson.
In 1969, at the age of 35, Hank made his last postseason appearance, this time versus the Miracle Mets. Their pitching staff included Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Tug McGraw & Nolan Ryan. Hank hit .357-3-7 / .357 / 1.143 w/ 2 doubles in 3 games. Yes. Every one of his hits went for extra bases. The LCS was best of five back then. Naturally we all know the Mets advanced to the World Series to face the Baltimore Orioles.
For his career, Hammerin' Hank hit .362-6-16 / .405 / .710 in 74 postseason PA's.
Who else can you think of?
I found this this morning after looking up MVP balloting for the 1974 season. Saw Lou Brock's name & clicked on his profile. I already knew he had never had a bad postseason. Then I clicked on Aaron. Somehow I had missed his 1969 postseason.
Brock appeared in the World Series 3 times. 1964, 1967 & 1968. The first two resulted in Championships. The last one went to seven games against the Tigers.
In 1964 Lou hit .300-1-5 w/ 2 doubles in the Fall Classic against the Yankees. Ken Boyer hit a grand slam & that's what most people remember. The Cardinals beating the Yankees behind Boyer's grand slam. Ken was NL MVP that year. I have his baseball card.
In 1967, Brock hit .414-1-3 w/ 2 doubles, a triple & went 7 for 7 on stolen base attempts. The Cardinals beat the Red Sox in seven.
In 1968 he posted .464-2-5 w/ 13 hits, 3 doubles, 1 triple & went 7 out of 9 on stolen base attempts. The Cardinals lost in seven to the World Champion Detroit Tigers. Lou never appeared in another postseason.
For his career Brock hit .391-4-13 / .424 / .655 w/ 14 SB's in 16 attempts. That's in 92 PA's. A .655 SLG% from a guy who hit 149 homers in 2,616 regular season games. It's pretty obvious he wasn't content to draw a walk & wait for a homer to drive him in.
Aaron was plagued by playing in distant outposts like Milwaukee & Atlanta. Where his contemporary, Willie Mays, played in New York & Frisco (self-styled as a metropolis), no one heard about a lot of Hank's exploits. He finally came to national attention when he was chasing Babe Ruth & started receiving death threats from angry peckerwoods.
In 1957 Aaron hit .393-3-7 in 7 games against the mighty Yankees. From 1949 to 1960, the Yanks appeared in the World series ten times. Ask a Dodger fan how that came out. On only two occasions did they fail to win it all. 1955 against the Dodgers, & 1957 versus the Braves.
The Braves made a return trip in 1958. Aaron hit .333-0-2 w/ 2 doubles & 4 walks in another 7 games. He had only walked once the year before. The Yankees had learned their lesson.
In 1969, at the age of 35, Hank made his last postseason appearance, this time versus the Miracle Mets. Their pitching staff included Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Tug McGraw & Nolan Ryan. Hank hit .357-3-7 / .357 / 1.143 w/ 2 doubles in 3 games. Yes. Every one of his hits went for extra bases. The LCS was best of five back then. Naturally we all know the Mets advanced to the World Series to face the Baltimore Orioles.
For his career, Hammerin' Hank hit .362-6-16 / .405 / .710 in 74 postseason PA's.
Who else can you think of?