Word: batting
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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When he walks to the plate like an outsize Little Leaguer, batting helmet resting loosely on his ears, hardly anyone in Boston cheers, or even boos. When he stands in to bat lefthanded, only the shortstop bothers to play him deep. The front office talks blandly of trading him, fans pass him blankly on the street, his manager bats him seventh and remarks flatly, "You never really know he's around." At 34, the Red Sox' James Edward ("Pete") Runnells is one of the most inconspicuous players in baseball. He is also the best hitter in the American...
...never could pull, from the first day I picked up a bat. I pull a ball and you know where it goes? It goes to right centerfield, that's where." In the era of the home run, Singles Hitter Runnells is an overlooked oddity...
...never been much for walking up to people and saying 'Hey, I'm Pete Runnells,' " he says. "It's probably embarrassment. Maybe if I were more pushy I'd have made more dough." Never Mind. This season, as usual, Runnells' busy bat is doing all the pushing. But Pete has still mistaked only nine home runs in 1962. "It used to be quite a thing to lead the league in hitting," he says. "But now, from the standpoint of the fans, that don't sit so high. I just...
...Castro himself, in a final pep talk: Cuba's athletes were going to Jamaica "not as athletes, but soldiers fighting the cause of socialism. There will be people who will try to kidnap you." As protection, he sent 20 secret-service men to guard his warriors; even the bat boy on Cuba's baseball team...
...Cuba's soccer team was dumped 2-1 by the tiny Dutch West Indies. The water polo team was humiliated 23-4 by Panama. Next, the Cuban baseball team lost 4-3 to Puerto Rico, but not before the game had been delayed 20 minutes by a bat-swinging riot that left seven fans and players hurt...