Who is the man: Bill Sudakis saw his playing time decrease from 132 games in 1969 to 94 in 1970. But his power production was almost the same, with matching 14 home run totals in both years.
Can ya dig it: It looks like Sudakis has his left hand wrapped for whatever reason.
Right on: The "3b-catcher" designation is "right on." Sudakis played 38 games at catcher in 1970 and 37 at third base.
You see this cat Sudakis is a bad mother: Arrested for cocaine possession after his playing career and known for a hotel brawl with teammate Rick Dempsey that led to the injury of peacemaker Bobby Murcer, I'd say Sudakis had his share of bad moments.
Shut your mouth: Sudakis was part of a group of Dodgers youngsters in 1969 termed the "Mod Squad" after the popular TV show at the time. The others in that group were Ted Sizemore, Billy Grabarkewicz and Bill Russell, and in '69 they helped the Dodgers to their best start since 1957. But by 1972, the only player left on the team was Russell.
No one understands him but his woman: The Dodgers moved Sudakis to catcher because they had a surplus of players at third. But knee problems plagued him and he had trouble throwing out base runners. The Mets claimed him off waivers.
(A word about the back): Sudakis' home run in his first big league game came in the eighth inning of a game against the Phillies on Sept. 3, 1968. It was one of three home runs hit that inning off the Phillies' Dick Hall (Sudakis and Ken Boyer hit theirs back-to-back), and the rally turned a 7-2 Phillies lead into a tie game. The Dodgers would end up winning 10-9.
It must have been quite an honor for him to start his big league career at the same time as the author of the Odyssey.
ReplyDelete