Wednesday, October 19, 2016

no. 587 - sonny jackson


Who is the man: Sonny Jackson served as the Braves' starting shortstop in 1970, appearing in 103 games and batting .259.

Can ya dig it: Jackson is shown bunting on his card for the second straight year. He's also shown bunting on his 1974 Topps card, meaning three of his final five Topps cards show him as a bunter.

Right on: Looks pretty deserted in that stadium.

You see that cat Jackson is a bad mother: Jackson finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting (to the Reds' Tommy Helms) in 1966 with, by far, his best season. His 27 sacrifice hits that season is in the top 10 for most in a season from the last 50 years.

Shut your mouth: When Jackson was installed at shortstop for the Astros in 1966, he admitted his arm wasn't the strongest. "My arm's not a shotgun, but the ball will get there in time," he said. "I'm not concerned about that. I'm just worried where the ball ends up."

No one understands him but his woman: Jackson broke a 56-year-old record when he established a new high for stolen bases by a rookie with 49 in 1966. That record stood for just 11 years when the Padres' Gene Richards stole 56 in 1977.


(A word about the back): Jackson's 11 stolen bases were surpassed on the team by only Felix Millan, who had 16. Not exactly a base-stealing team.

2 comments:

  1. Cy Young? I think you meant Rookie of the Year

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, I must've been tired last night. It's fixed.

      Delete