Monday, September 30, 2024

Wood vs. Wood #220

Last time 1962 won 8-1. Will it win again here?

Roy Sievers was traded to the Phillies after the 1961 season; this hatless photo was likely taken when he was a White Sox, maybe even a Senator. Sievers came up with the Browns in 1949 and was the AL Rookie of the Year. However, he was injured for much of the next four years, and after the 1953 season the Browns traded him to Washington. There Sievers became a big star, with five straight seasons of 25+ HR and 95+ RBI. His best season was 1957, when he hit .301 and led the AL with 42 HR and 114 RBI. After a down year in '59 the Senators traded him to the White Sox, where he returned to form with two almost identical seasons in 1960 (.295/.396/.534, 28 HR, 93 RBI) and 1961 (.295/.377/.537, 27 HR, 92 RBI). He was then traded to the Phillies where he was still a formidable slugger, with 40 HR over two seasons. He ended his career back in Washington with a different Senators team, the expansion club with which he ended his career in 1965. Overall in 1,887 games he hit .267 with 318 HR and 1,147 RBI. After his playing career he did some coaching and was a salesman for Yellow Freight Systems. He died in 2017.

Joe Carter plays first base in what looks like Anaheim Stadium. In two day games at California in 1986, he was 3-for-9 including a 3-run home run on June 29, the difference in a 6-4 Cleveland victory. Carter had low batting averages and walk totals but was the definition of a clutch hitter, with ten seasons of 98+ RBI in an 11-year-stretch. He was similarly clutch in three postseasons with Toronto. In 29 games he hit just .252 but with 6 HR and 20 RBI. When the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series in '92 and '93 he was the last to touch the ball each time, with a putout to end the series in 1992, and of course his series-winning walkoff in '93. Overall in 16 seasons, mostly with Toronto and Cleveland, he hit .259 with 396 HR and 1,445 RBI. After his career he did some announcing but has mostly been involved in community and charitable endeavors. His annual golf classic in Toronto has raised millions for the Children's Aid Foundation.


3 comments:

  1. Carter, despite him being responsible for possibly the worst moment of my baseball fandom.

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  2. Several times I've said both cards are very nice; this time, not so much. Ugh. I've been using Sievers in Immaculate Grid fairly often, as he played for several teams and he's a forgotten guy who had good stats. But that hatless shot is brutal. The Carter isn't great with the shade across his face but I'll vote for it.

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