Friday, January 31, 2014

no. 257 - nelson briles


Who is the man: Nelson Briles was a Pirate in 1971, but a Cardinal one final time on this card. He was shipped to Pittsburgh, along with Vic Davalillo, for Matty Alou and George Brunet in January 1971.

Can ya dig it: Great photo. I love Briles chilling on the dugout step while his teammates (or coaches) casually stand behind him in the background.

Right on: Nice signature, too.

You see this cat Briles is a bad mother: Briles will always be known for his World Series performances. In fact, in his first season with the Pirates in 1971, he received the Game 5 start and staked Pittsburgh to a 3-2 series lead with a two-hit shutout of the Orioles.

Shut your mouth: I totally forgot about this, but USA Network used to air Thursday night major league baseball games in the early 1980s. Briles was a broadcaster on those games between 1981-83.

No one understands him but his woman: Briles is one of the few pitchers to give up a home run to another pitcher in the World Series. It happened in Game 2 of the 1968 World Series when the Tigers' Mickey Lolich hit the first homer of his pro career over the left field wall.


(A word about the back): Briles' numbers were way off in 1970 as he suffered several leg injuries during the season.

3 comments:

  1. As much as I hate the Cardinals, they just look so good. That is a beauty of a signature. I was just reading yesterday about the origins of the cardinals on the bat logo. It seems that for years one woman embroidered them onto the uniforms.

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  2. Briles personally ruined my 11th birthday (Game 3, 1967 World Series).

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  3. Didn't Nellie sing the anthem before one of the Series games he pitched?

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