Lew Freedman - Game of My Life Cincinnati Reds: Memorable Stories of Reds Baseball

GAME OF
MY LIFE

CINCINNATI REDS

MEMORABLE STORIES OF REDS BASEBALL

CINCINNATI REDS

LEW FREEDMAN

Copyright 2013 by Lew Freedman

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Sports Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or sportspubbooks@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Sports Publishing is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.sportspubbooks.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-61321-327-8 Printed in the United States of America

T he Cincinnati Reds are the descendents of the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who began play in 1869. We would be quite fortunate to hear from some of those original Reds in great detail about some of their game experiences, but they passed away long ago.

Cincinnati baseball has endured, however. The city takes great pride in its team, and the citizens feel an ownership of the game because of those long-ago Red Stocking players. The community has not consistently been rewarded with the finest of teams on the field, but there have been numerous moments of glory.

The most intense Reds fan can tick off those periods that featured special teams, naming the seasons of greatest triumph the way they could name the birthdays of members of their own families. Time passes and its not as if memories dim, but age overtakes everyone, so there are no more living players from the 1939 pennant winner or the 1940 World Series champs.

However, although he has passed away, one of the luminaries of that group, Johnny Vander Meer, spoke publicly at great length about one of the most brilliant achievements in the history of the gamehis back-to-back no-hitters. It is the only time any pitcher has ever recorded the accomplishments, and it is worthwhile to hear Vander Meer speak from the grave about a performance that is unlikely to be repeated.

The season of 1961 was another special one for the Reds, a prized effort in capturing the National League pennant that fans would like to see bronzed. The men who competed for that Reds club then are senior citizens now, but for some that year was definitely the highlight of their careers.

While it seems amazing that more than 35 years have passed since the pinnacle of The Big Red Machine, Cincinnati baseball fans know how blessed they were to be able to watch this team grind up the opposition in the 1970s, to win two World Series crowns, and to enjoy Hall of Famers and All-Stars populating the lineup in abundance. As time passes, the greatness of that group is only reaffirmed and those teams are clearly among the best ever in the long history of baseball.

The 1990 season is another that conjures up special memories for Queen City baseball fans because the Reds picked off another World Series championship. A different generation of players had come along to make their mark.

And now comes a fresh group of players just beginning to embrace their star potential and to make a run at a World Series championship. The core of this team under popular manager Dusty Baker has been maturing into a contender and since 2010 has won two National League Central Division titles. There is every possibility that this bunch of 2000s Reds will be able to add their names to the family legacy of championship Cincinnati teams.

When it comes to cataloguing games of their lives players think differently. The topic is a big tent, a broad umbrella that includes favorite games, best games, or biggest thrills. That encompasses game-winning hits, Major League first games, winning pennants and winning World Series.

For some of these players the game of their lives was the thrill of their lives. And as those players came through in the clutch, felt the electrifying excitement of a dream long-awaited and now-fulfilled, Cincinnati Reds fans shared it with them.

Each year during the off-season, the Reds throw what can best be described as a gigantic party in downtown Cincinnati. It is a fan fest called RedsFest. Members of the current team appear and sign autographs. So do alumni from teams of years past. The December 2012 event attracted thousands of fans. The theme of the event, coming off a Central Division championship, displayed on signage and uttered by team CEO Bob Castellini, was that Cincinnati Reds fans are the best in baseball.

There is no empirical way to measure such a claim, but deeply ingrained in the spirit of baseball among those in the know is that Cincinnati has always been the home of rabid and savvy fans who love their team.

Lew Freedman

D uring his 13-year Major League career Johnny Vander Meer won 119 games and four times was selected as a National League All-Star. He spent 11 of his playing years with the Cincinnati Reds and had his greatest success with the team.

Vander Meer, who died in Tampa, Florida, at age 82 in 1997, is best-remembered for one spectacular baseball feat. He is the only pitcher in Major League history to throw back-to-back no-hitters.

The record, which has stood since 1938, has never been matched, and the odds of breaking it seem so astronomical as to never have been calculated. A gambler probably has a better chance of winning the Powerball lottery payoff than anyone does of hurling three straight no-hitters. At the least the lottery player knows someone is going to win eventually. There is no guarantee that anyone will ever surpass Vander Meers achievement as long as the game is played.

Vander Meer was born in Prospect Park, New Jersey, in 1914. He attended Midland Park High School in New Jersey, and the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him as a free agent in 1933. In 1934, the Boston Bees (Braves) bought Vander Meers rights from the Dodgers. With neither team did he reach the majors, however. In 1935, the Reds purchased Vander Meers contract, and Cincinnati became his team for most of his professional life.

He was 22 when he made his Major League debut in 1937 and in limited play finished 3-5. Vander Meer began displaying pitching maturity the next season in 1938. He went 15-10 with a 3.12 earned run average and was chosen for his first All-Star team.

That was not the season when the Reds had their greatest success with Vander Meer in the rotation, but that was his magical summer. In June of 1938, in two consecutive starts, Vander Meer pitched a no-hitter at home at Crosley Field against the Bees, and then four days later, on the road at Ebbetts Field, he duplicated the accomplishment against the Dodgers.

That was the season when Vander Meer, who was only 23 at the time, picked up the nickname The Dutch Master.

It is little known that at least three MinorLeague pitchers have matched Vander Meer, or preceded him. In 1901, Clarence Wright pitched two no-hitters in a row. In 1952, Bill Bell did so. And in 1989 Tom Drees performed the feat. Because of the sketchiness of some historical records, it is possible that someone else completed two straight no-hitters in the minors.