By Paul Casey Gotham
If only I could get back those lost years. Some guys lost years because of the war. Some guys lost time because of injury. Me? I lost time time because I played in the Mexican Leagues. Who could blame me. I was making more money. Nonetheless, I lost four seasons because I was suspended. And to think I still 119 games in majors. In fact, after being suspended, I came back and led the league with an ERA 2.71. Yeah, I won 18 games that year. Two years later, I won 23. I pitched eight innings in my final outing of the season but didn’t get the win. Larry Jansen got the W when Bobby Thompson hit the “shot heard round the world.” It doesn’t matter though. I was 14-6 when we won the World Series in ’54. At one time or another, I played for all three New York teams. It was kinda convenient considering I was from western New York. I could almost hear the roar of the falls from my front door step when I was child. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I made my money pitching inside. I guess that’s why they called me “The Barber.”
Who am I?
The only name that comes to mind is Don Newcombe, but I have no idea if he played in the Mexican leagues. He pitched for Brooklyn in that era; that’s my only thought connecting him.
Well, that’s wrong. I should be looking for a Giant’s pitcher. No thoughts on that. I’m out – waiting on Wally to “Joyce” this one to a correct conclusion.
Didn’t know it ’til you mentioned the nickname…Sal Maglie.
By the way, I’ve been lurking on “Who Am I?” but I either never get there in time, or simply don’t know the answer without the research. The ones about baseball I usually know, but Wally always beats me to the punch, even with his long diatribes about how he pieced together the answer. 😉
Chas, you the man on this one. I researched after my second post and verified the answer. Nice going. While it’s a name familiar to me, I would have placed him in the 60’s. Even more deceptive was the years he spent in Mexico; not when I thought it would be. To my credit, he pitched against Newcombe in some big games, so I at least knew some pitcher in the correct era. That nickname only sounded vaguely familiar – all I could think of there was Red Barber, and I knew that wasn’t going anywhere. Good job. Tough to beat Wally to the punch, even when he’s on Alaska time.
You guys beat me to it today. Congrats and well done. “The Barber” … that was indeed the HUGE clue on this one.
We are in the process of moving … the house is indeed being packed up today and tomorrow. Started yesterday. We will be full time in Houston starting Sunday morning. In the meantime, I will likely become quite scarce. Take care, eveyone, and I’ll be in touch on the other side.