Saturday, September 12, 2026

Wood vs. Wood #352

Last time the vote was suppressed by Blogger's commenting issues, but 1987 gets the victory, 3-2.

Phillies pitcher Frank Sullivan poses in front of a sky that is partly blue, partly cloudy and partly Bill Wetmore. Sullivan had some good seasons for the Red Sox in the mid-1950s, most notably 1955 when he led the AL with 18 wins and made the first of his two All-Star teams. Like many players at the time he seemed to hit a wall at age 30, going 6-16 with a 5.10 ERA, prompting a trade to the Phillies for Gene Conley. Sullivan was 6-6, and Conley was 6-9, making it the tallest trade in baseball history at that point. With the Phillies, Sullivan went 3-16 for a team that went 47-107. After a brief stint with the Twins his career ended. Overall in 351 games (219 starts) he went 97-100 with a 3.60 ERA. After his playing career he moved to Hawaii and became the head golf pro at the Kauai Surf Hotel. He died in 2016.

At 5-8, Mike "Tiny" Felder was almost a foot shorter than Sullivan, and he also poses in front of a partly cloudy sky. Felder was a speedy outfielder who was a solid bench player and pinch hitter for four teams over 10 seasons. His best seasons were with the SF Giants, where he was a fan favorite, even shaving "Beat LA" into his hair. His most famous moment was a walk-off squeeze bunt to win one of the first Turn-Back-The-Clock days in 1991. In recent years he has been a college coach, but he is now retired.
 

2 comments: