Wood vs. Wood #117

EDIT: Well, I goofed up pretty significantly on this post earlier today. Apparently I can't tell a '61 from a '62. I'd like to blame it on being busy or something but I guess somewhere in my brain I had mixed up the sets. Thanks GTT for setting me straight.

Last time 1987 squeaked out a 4-3 victory. Who will come out on top this time?

Gary Geiger takes a swing for the photographer. Looks like it might be Comiskey Park? Geiger was an outfielder with a little power and a little speed. His best years were 1961-1963, when he was a regular in the Boston outfield, hitting 52 home runs over three seasons. However, starting in 1964 he was bedeviled by a variety of injuries and illnesses. He hung around with Boston, Atlanta and Houston through 1971, but never had more than 126 at-bats in a season. During his career he had a well-known fear of flying that he would control with a few drinks before each flight, which left to a life-long struggle with alcoholism. He worked as a building superintendent for a while after his career, but was also unemployed for long stretches. He died in 1996 from cirrhosis of the liver.

Jim Beattie watches the game from a chain-link fence in front of the dugout. Beattie came up with the Yankees in 1978, and despite some initial struggles which angered owner George Steinbrenner, he won some big games down the stretch, most notably eight shutout innings in the second game of the famous Boston Massacre in Fenway Park. He also won the fifth game of the 1978 World Series, pitching a complete game 12-2 victory over the Dodgers. After two years for the Yankees he was traded to Seattle for Ruppert Jones, and had several solid seasons for some pretty bad Mariners teams. He became a front office executive after his playing career, including stints as General Manager of the Expos and Orioles. He was then a Blue Jays scout for many years, retiring after the 2018 season. He shared a baseball card story with this blog in 2010.