Word: bullpens
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...mollycoddler, Manager Mauch always has a train ticket ready for a slacker. Starting pitchers know that it is no use arguing when he wants a replacement from the bullpen. He simply marches to the mound and holds out his hand for the ball. His hair-trigger temper is legendary; he has been suspended three times for jawing with umpires, and wise players stay out of his way on a losing afternoon. One day last year, infuriated by a narrow loss to Houston, he stalked into the clubhouse, found the Phillies feasting gaily on a buffet of barbecued spareribs-and flipped...
...Yanks, 38,935 for the Dodgers. Total big-league attendance is down 126,158, and the figure would be far worse except for Boston-where the surprising Red Sox, with the two top American League hitters in the lineup and exciting Dick Radatz in the bullpen, have attracted 275,082 extra fans...
...volume, until all Fenway Park is chanting in unison: "We want The Monster! We want The Monster! We want The Monster!" Manager Johnny Pesky obediently trots out and lifts one hand high above his head, the signal that means: "Send in the Big Guy." In the Red Sox bullpen, Dick Radatz slips on a jacket, grabs his glove, steps out the gate and hops aboard a little red electric cart for the trip to the mound...
When the warmup call goes out to the bullpen, Radatz consults his mental book on the hitters that he is likely to face. "If lefthanders are coming up," he says, "I practice throwing overhand. For righthanders, I warm up sidearm." He throws his fast ball about 80% of the time, and some rival batters claim they actually smell smoke as it rips past. "Sal Maglie taught me the importance of getting everything behind each pitch," Radatz says. "He argued that 240 Ibs. was a natural blessing-so why not put it to good use?" Radatz likes to face pinch hitters...
...Finally Realized." A Michigan State graduate, signed by the Red Sox in 1959 for a $20,000 bonus, Radatz sulked at first when he was assigned to the bullpen. "Everybody wants to be a starter," he says. "But I finally realized that the only way I was going to make the majors was to obey orders. If they wanted me to be a starter now, I'd regard it as a demotion. Being a relief man pays good...