Who is the man: Ray Sadecki had just completed his first season with the Mets after coming over in a trade with the Giants in December, 1969.
Can ya dig it: That is a terrific action shot for the first year in which individual players' cards featured action photos. Fantastic.
Right on: It's a little eerie how you can't see any players besides Sadecki, the catcher (who I believe is Duffy Dyer), and the umpire. No batter, nobody in the infield or outfield.
You see that cat Sadecki is a bad mother: As a 23-year-old, Sadecki won 20 games and the first game of the 1964 World Series against Whitey Ford.
Shut your mouth: Sadecki struggled during the 1962 season and during a June 5 game with the Cardinals, he came in for the sixth inning and proceeded to give up five runs on three hits, make two errors and get no one out. Afterward, manager Johnny Keane said it was the "poorest exhibition of effort I've ever seen on a major league diamond" and fined him $250. Sadecki showed up late the following day and was suspended by the general manager.
No one understands him but his woman: Thanks to that incident and an easy-going style on the field, Sadecki received a reputation as a slacker that he didn't really shake until he played for the Mets and helped them to the 1973 World Series.
(A word about the back): Sadecki skipped college ball to sign with the Cardinals. He not only received the $50,000, but $18,000 more over the next three years.
What the hell? Did Keane think Sadecki purposely had a lousy outing? I'd always read that JK was a reasonable mgr, but fining someone $250 when that was real dough to a ballplayer ain't right.
ReplyDeleteI had the same thought, but we really don't know without having been there. I would like to have seen what the manager saw. And you can't show up late after a bad outing. That's when you have to get back up off of the mat.
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