Remembering Jim Bunning

Baseball lost a Hall of Famer and a lot more with the passing of Jim Bunning on Friday. A star with the the Tigers and then the Phillies, and only the second pitcher to win 100 games and strike out 1000 batters in each league, he won 224 games and struck out 2855 over his 17 seasons. And while he came to the majors as a Tiger, he made his greatest mark for Philadelphia -- on Father's Day 1964, he threw a perfect game against the Mets at Shea Stadium. And I was lucky enough to be there.

Having the Phillies ace dominate the Stengel-era Mets was not a shock. So as Bunning's team pulled away and extended their lead, the outcome seemed inevitable. Sitting in the Upper Deck at Shea, slightly to the right of home plate, I still recall my father turning to me and saying, "Do you realize what's happening, this is very special?" I knew it was still a no hitter but hadn't heard the term perfect game used before. By the eighth inning, the crowd at Shea had begun rooting for Bunning. And when he retired John Stephenson on his 87th and final pitch of the day, the ovation was tremendous, as if he had pitched that masterpiece for the home team.

That also made Bunning the first pitcher ever to throw no-hitters for teams in each league. His baseball resume also includes stints as a minor league manager and player agent. And while in his later life he was known for being a conservative senator from Kentucky, he was also one of the players who recruited and pushed for the appointment of the former steelworkers union attorney Marvin Miller to head the baseball players association. That very progressive move helped to change baseball forever.

Bunning's 14 was the just the fifth number to be retired by the Phils. He's also honored in the Wall of Fame at Citizens Bank Park. The photo atop this post came from the Phillies 2015 Alumni Weekend.

Here's a thought, and maybe be a conversation starter over the rest of this holiday weekend: Was Jim Bunning the greatest pitcher never to appear in the World Series? Or the post-season, for that matter. (He later pitched for the Pirates and Dodgers, but not on teams that won pennants or division titles.)

Think about that as you remember the father of nine whose greatest achievement came on Father's Day 1964.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Avenue and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two...
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore...
Read more

Spring Training Flashbacks: Subway Series, Florida Style - 2016

Image
It's a return visit to the Mets' Florida home in Port St. Lucie, this time for a 2016 showdown with the Yankees. (Below), Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman chat during batting practice. Aaron Judge and Rob Refsnyder have their game faces on in the dugout... though neither would be in the starting lineup. (Above) A couple of Brooklyn natives that made their mark in New York baseball -- Lee Mazzilli and John Franco. (Below) Mets pitcher Josh Smoker makes friends by signing a few autographs. (Above) Mets reliever Jeurys Familia; (Below) 2nd baseman Neil Walker (Above) Curtis Granderson, one of the select few players to star for both the Yankees and Mets, getting ready for his third summer at Citi Field. (Below) Aaron Hicks came to the Yankees in a trade the previous November. 3rd baseman Chase Headley enjoying the Grapefruit League vibe, even against Mets ace Jacob deGrom. (Above) Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes watches where he hit one... so does Joe Girardi from the visitor's dugou...
Read more