This week, a guy who now lives on a 60 foot boat in Florida...Joe Price! A lefty who was effective as a starter and reliever for 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles. He was very good in the 1987 NLCS (1-0, 0 earned runs and 3 hits in 5.2 innings) and played for both Oklahoma and OK State!
This week, we finally talk about a great New York Yankees player! It's Louisiana Lighting, aka Gator Ron Guidry! Guidry's 1978 was one of the best pitching seasons Yankee history, 25-3 with 1.74 ERA. Ron won a Cy Young, 2 rings, 5 gold gloves, and his #49 was retired in 2003.
Ron's great 1978 helped the Yankees to 100 wins...and Ron started and won the final, 163rd game against the Red Sox which secured the AL East. He played 14 seasons, all for the Yankees, finishing 170-91 with a 3.29 ERA. In 2003, the Yankees retired Guidry's number 49 and honored him in Monument Park.
This week, Ivan Calderon. We didn’t plan it, but today (3/19/2024) would have been Ivan’s 62nd birthday. Ivan was a top prospect for the Seattle Mariners who gave up on him early and sent him to the Chicago White Sox. He wore a ton of gold chains and had a great 1987, hitting .293 with 28 home runs. Ivan dealt with injuries, was traded for Rock Raines, was an all star in Montreal, and retired at 31.
Ivan was murdered at 41 and no one has ever been arrested in connection with his death. RIP Ivan Calderon.
This week, the card says Dodgers but the story has some St. Louis Cardinals history and a dose of Baltimore Orioles Magic! Tito Landrum had a famous minor league teammate, an alter ego named Vapor Man, and a huge 1983 ALCS moment! This story had a lot of unexpected twists.
Terry Lee "Tito" Landrum played 9 big league seasons and amassed 13 total homers and a .249 average for his career. In the playoffs for the Orioles and Cardinals he played 19 games and hit .347 with 2 home runs. That includes one of the biggest and most unlikely home runs in Orioles history to break a 0-0 tie in game 4 of the the 1983 ALCS. Tito went on to be named valedictorian of his NYU class in 1998, earning his bachelors in physical therapy.
