A three parter: Who was on third base when Bobby Thompson hit his home run?
How did he get there?
Why did the manager select him for that role?
08
" There's nothing cooler than a guy who does what we dream of doing, and then enjoys it as much as we dream we would enjoy it. " -- Scott Ostler on Tim Lincecum
Posts: 1011 | Location: Monterey, California | Registered: May 28, 2004
Clint Hartung was running for Mueller, who, if my memory serves me correctly, busted his ankle slidding into third. Of course, we all know that Willie Mays was on deck.
JT
Posts: 3568 | Location: Lynchburg, VA | Registered: January 15, 2003
But why would the manager pick a slow pitcher as a pinch runner?
" There's nothing cooler than a guy who does what we dream of doing, and then enjoys it as much as we dream we would enjoy it. " -- Scott Ostler on Tim Lincecum
Posts: 1011 | Location: Monterey, California | Registered: May 28, 2004
Actually, by then I believe Our Clint was an OFer, and that he stopped pitchng in 1950.
My Dad played with Clint Hartung on a military team in Hondo (Hondo Hurricane --- geddit?), and Clint was kind enough to send Dad a team-signed ball from the 1951 Giants. Some pretty tasty names on THAT ball, I can tell you!
The bigger question would be how Clint lasted as long as he did....for all his success in baseball prior to MLB, he was (shall we say) disappointing....
"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance." --- Terry Pratchett
The Giants manager was Leo Durocher... In those days, the manager was also the third base coach. All game long he had been giving the Dodger pitcher Don Newcombe a hard time... calling him a choker etc. Don had been ignoring it...
From Leo Durocher's Nice Guys Finish Last:
"As Big Newk left the mound, he started right for me. "Well here I go again..." I said, and hartung who was standing right next to me, said,"Let him come over here, I'll take care of him." That's when I knew why I had picked Clint Hartung. He was the only man in the ball park bigger than Don Newcombe.
Newk took a couple more steps towards me before he got hold of himself and swerved towards the clubhouse..."
Now you know the rest of the story...
" There's nothing cooler than a guy who does what we dream of doing, and then enjoys it as much as we dream we would enjoy it. " -- Scott Ostler on Tim Lincecum
Posts: 1011 | Location: Monterey, California | Registered: May 28, 2004
