San Gabrial Valley News story on Frosty Kennedy from april 1997

April 26, 1997 Sat. SGVN-Then and Now by Jim McConnell: In minors, less often can be more---- I believe it was former Governor Jerry Brown who coined the phrase, “Less is more.” Then again, maybe it was Linda Ronstadt. Be that as it may, the notion that less is more is handy for this column. For this column is about minor league baseball. Modern minor league baseball isn’t worth a column, but the minor league baseball of 50 years ago, well, now you’re talking. So I went to one of the world’s great talkers, Covina’s Frosty Kennedy, to get the skinny. Kennedy, 71 is a Hall of Famer. There is a display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., dedicated to those who have hit 60 or more home runs in a season. It’s been done by 11 men in the history of organized baseball, and Kennedy is one. Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, you know. The other nine, you should. Kennedy hit his 60 home runs for Plainview, Texas, in the Southwestern League in 1956. The Southwestern League was a Class B league in the old minor league classification system, which ran from AAA down to D. Now, before you freeze out Frosty with the thought that his accomplishment is merely a popsicle in the chocolate mousse of life, remember that less is more. And listen to man. “People knocking the minor leagues. I hear that stuff all the time,” said Kennedy. “I even hear it from ex-players. Pete Rose told me that once. I told him, okay, so how many times did you hit 60 home runs in a season?” “Believe me; I had a much more difficult time hitting my 60 than Ruth or Maris. A shorter season, rotten lights at rotten little ballparks, rotten pitchers who couldn’t or wouldn’t throw me a pitch to hit, freezing weather in the spring, hot as hell in the summer.” Don’t let anyone ever tell you there was anything cheap about my getting 60 home runs. I was there, Charlie.” Kennedy, as you might guess, is not the shy, retiring sort. And that made him a hometown hero in Plainview, Riverside, Pensacola, Lamesa, Yuma and Amarillo, in small towns throughout the south and southwest in days before shopping malls and multiplex theaters, days when the only game in town was the local ball team. In 10 Years in the minors, 1948-1957, Kennedy had a.342 batting average. He hit 228 home runs and stole 122 bases. No one in the major leagues has hit .400 since Ted Williams in 1941. Kennedy hit .400 twice in the minors, .410 at Riverside in the sunset League in 1949 and .410 at Plainview in 1953. Yet, Kennedy never played an inning in the major leagues. In fact, he never played an inning in Triple-A. “I had a couple chances to go up, but what was the point?” he says. “I would have made the major league minimum salary, $5,000. Shoot, I was making more than that in the minors. How? Well, back then, if a team wanted to keep you – and believe me they wanted to keep me because I put fans in the stands – they could find a way to-do it. I’d be listed on payroll as a groundskeeper or bus driver or something like that, which got me some dough, in addition to my player’s contract.” “Another thing to know: If you went out and had a great game, or hit a game-winning home run or something, the fans would give you money. One time, I hit a game-winning home run and the fans stuffed dollar bills in the backstop screen for me and, by the time I had collected ‘em all, I had over 200 bucks. That stuff happened all the time.” “Plus which, in the little towns where I played, the people always wanted to buy me dinner, buy me drinks. I made out real well right where I was at.” “Another thing that tees me off: People say Plainview was a small ballpark and the air was thin and the ball carried farther and all that stuff. Okay, maybe it was. So why didn’t guys, or 20 other guys, hit 60 home runs there? I wasn’t the only player who ever played in that ballpark, for cripes sake. But I was the only one to hit 60 home runs. So you figure it out.” To prove his point, Kennedy loaned me a book. It’s called “Minor League Baseball Stars” and was published by the Society for American Baseball Research in 1978. It’s out of print, which is a shame, because it makes for fascinating reading. Virtually every major league record has been bettered at some point, by someone in the minors. Maris’ 61 home runs? Heck, Joe Bauman hit 72, in only 138 games, for Roswell, N.M., in the Longhorn League in 1954. Bauman, at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, was the next-best thing to Frank Howard, or Frank Thomas. But, by 1954, he was already 32 years old. “Hey, I played against Joe, and he was one of the greatest hitters I’ve ever seen,: said Kennedy. “But he was an older guy, and he owned a couple gas stations there in Roswell, so he was happy to stay right where he was.” Turning the pages of “Minor League Baseball Stars” at random is an absolute joy, like discovering your boyhood baseball cards in the attic. Here’s Harry Chozen, a native of Pasadena, Chozen played briefly in the majors, but had a long minor league career as a catcher. And he’s in the book. It seems that in 1945, while playing for Mobile in the Southern Association, Chozen hit in 49 straight games. That year, he struck out only three times in 88 games. Billy Ashley, are you listening? Arnold “Jigger” Statz played center field for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League for 18 years. He first played for the Angels in 1920 , then spent several years in the majors. Statz returned to L.A. to stay in 1929 and played through the 1942 season, when he was 44 years old. To this day, many old-time players regard him as the greatest defensive center fielder they ever saw. In 24 seasons in organized baseball, Statz played in more than 3,500 games and had more than 4,000 hits. “I saw Statz play when I was kid,” said Kennedy. “He was great. Heck, every kid in Southern California wanted a Jigger Statz model glove or bat. He was a legend out here. So why would he want to go back to the majors?” The glory time of the minor leagues ended by 1958, with the major leagues’ expansion westward and the demise of the independently owned minor league teams. Kennedy’s final year in pro ball was also 1957, and it was the only year he actually had a major league contract. “That year, I was property of the Cincinnati Reds,” Kennedy said. “They talked about bringing me up and using me as a right-handed pinch-hitter, but I wasn’t interested. I wanted to play, and play every day. “I was a king in the minor leagues. Why go up the majors and be just a spear-carrier?”

60 HOMERS CLUB, 2007 SEASON

A. rodriguez has gone into a minor slump, but he can hit homers in bunches. P. Fielder has gotten hot and has tied rodriguez for the H.R. lead. No one in the minors is on track to hit 50 homers. J. Morneau rounds out the top three.

player-------------------games-------home runs----------------phr
A. Rodriguez--------------51----------19----------------------60
P. Fielder----------------54----------19----------------------57
J. Morneau----------------52----------16----------------------49

Players will need 30 homers by the All Star break to stay on track for 60 homers.

Leauge leading continders for the 60 homers club

Today we will list the projected home run leaders from each of the 13 leagues eligible for 60 homers club states.
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P. Fielder leads the National (MLB) league with 15 homers in 50 games. His PHR is 48.
He plays for the Milwaukee Brewers who will play 162 games

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Alex Rodriguez plays for the NYY in the American (MLB) league. 14 teams will play 162 games each. A. Rodriguez leads all players with 19 homers in 48 games and PHR of 64.

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Jared Goedert plays for the Lake county Captains of the 16 team South Atlantic league. Each team plays 140 games.
'Captains' parent club is Cleveland. Jared has 16 homers in 45 games and a PHR of 50, highest in the minors.
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John Whittleman has 9 homers in 44 games and a PHR of 28. J. Whittleman plays for the Clinton LumberKings/parent club Texas. 'Kings' play in the 14 team 140 game season Mid West league.

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Ryan Roberson plays for the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Florida State(A) league.
The 'Tigers' are in a 10 team league, each team plays 140 games. Detroit is the parent club. R. Roberson has 11 homers in 45 games and has a PHR of 34.

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In the 8 team Carolina (A) league Micah Schnorstein leads the HR race for the Winston-Salem Warthogs/parent club Chi. W. Sox. 11 homers in 45 games for a PHR of 34

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Bubba Bell of the A-California league plays for the Lancaster JetHawks. This team's parent club is Boston. The 10 teams each play 140 games. B. Bell has 14 homers in 48 games and has a PHR of 40.

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Joe Mather plays for the Springfield Cardinals/parent club St. Louis. J. Mather has 12 homers in 44 games leading this AA Texas, 140 game, 8 team league. His PHR IS 38.

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Matt Espuivel has 11 home runs in 49 games and has a PHR of 34. Mat plays for the Mississippi Braves in the 10 team 140 game AA Southern league/parent club Atlanta

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Sergio Santos plays for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in the 140 game(12 team) season AA Eastern league/parent club: Toronto. S. Santos has 11 homers in 39 games and a PHR of 39

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Mitch Jones plays for the Las Vegas 51s/parent club: LA Dodgers. He plays in the 16 team AAA Pacific Coast league they play 140 games. M. Jones has 13 home runs in 42 games and PHR of 43.

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Shelley Duncan plays in the International league (AAA) He plays for Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees/ parent club New York Yankies. 14 teams play a 140 games. S. Duncan has 12 home runs in 43 games for a PHR of 39.

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Donny Leon plays for the Pericos de Puebla team in the AAA Mexican league. They only play 110 games in this 16 team league. D. Leon has 20 homers in 49 games for a PHR of 45
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As of today the top five PHR players are:

A. Rodriguez---64/ P. Fielder---50/ J. Goedert---50/ J. Morneau---49/ P. Fielder---48

After an 11 day slump A. Rod went nuts and hit 3 homers in 3 games. Being the only projected 60 home run candidate so far this year in organized base ball, he only needs 12 home runs by the all star break to stay on track.
B. Bonds has slowed down and will hit number 756 well after the all star break I predecte. A recent CNN POLL showed that only 8% of responders said the record should be upheld, and an unbeliveable 92% said that it should not.
Steven Pearce is on track to hit hit 55 homers this year, but not with just one team.
J. Goedert leads all minor leauges with a projected home run pace of 53.

The leaders are:

player..............HR....G....PHR
A. Rodreguez........18....44....66(162 game season)
J.Goedert...........15....40....53(140 game season)
J.Hardy.............14....45....50(140 game season)
P. Fielder..........14....46....49(140 game season)
D.Leon..............19....44....47(110 game season)
A.Bates.............13....42....43(140 game season)
C.Jones.............12....41....47(162 game season)
B.Bonds.............11....41....43(162 game season)

2007 1/4 season projected home run leaders

Here we are at the first 1/4 of the MLB season. Here are the top leaders of organized base ball. Remember that the minors play about 144 games and the Majors play 162. Steven Pearce has been traded to LYN and while he may still hit 60 homers this year it won't be with one team.

PHR...PLAYER.............G...AB....AVG....BB...SO...HR...LEAUGE
60....A.RODREGUEZ........40..155...310....16...33...15...AMERICAN
51....J.HARDY............41..173...312....13...26...13...NATIONAL
48....C.JONES............37..140...300....24...23...11...NATIONAL
48....B.BONDS............37...99...303....43...17...11...NATIONAL
46....P.FIELDER..........42..162...290....19...36...12...NATIONAL
44....B.BELL.............41..165...345....32...20...11...CALIFORNIA(AAA)
44....A.DUNE.............40..147...272....21...56...11...NATIONAL
43....J.MORNEAU..........41..158...276....21...27...11...AMERICAN
42....S.SANTOS...........33..128...266....11...21...10...EASTERN(A)
42....S.DUNCAN...........36..123...325....17...29...11...INTERNATIONAL(AAA)
41....J.MATHER...........37..137...307....13...16...11...TEXAS(A)

SO AS YOU CAN SEE IT IS STARTING TO LOOK LIKE NOBODY WILL HIT 60 THIS YEAR.

60 HOMERS CLUB, 2007 SEASON

Talk about the bats coming to a halt. Steve Pearce is on a prjected pace of 55 home runs, highest in the minors. A. Rodriguez is the only player still on pace to hit over 60 homers. 60 homer club members S. Sosa and B. Bonds are way off the pace, funny how manditory drug testing can have profound effects on home run prudoction. Most teams will be at 1/4 mark of the season in the next 3 or 4 games.

A. Rodriguez--- 32games---15HR---PHR64---AVG.311
B. Bonds--------35games---11HR---PHR51---AVG.301
S. Sosa---------35games----9HR---PHR36---AVG.273

THE RACE FOR 60 HOME RUNS

 

Frosty Kennedys team photo (Riverside Dons- 1949)

These are the top five players by projected home runs:
PHR--PLAYER----------GP----HR----LEAUGE
75---A. Rodriguez----32----15----NATIONAL
68---S. Pearce-------19----11----Carolina (A)
62---J. Goedert------29----13----South Atlantic (A)
59---B. Bonds--------30----15----National
55---J. Mather-------28----11----Texas (A)

60 HOMERS CLUB, 2007 SEASON

 

B. Bonds needs only 11 more home runs to tie H. Aarons H.R. record and is one of five players on track as of today to hit 60 homers this year. A. Rodriguez is in a mild slump while S. Santos of the Eastern League (A) has joined the chase.

Player---------Team-----League-------G.P.------H.R.-----Avg.------P.H.R.
A. Rodriguez---NYY------American-----28--------14-------.366------81
S. Pearce------LYN------Carolina-(A)-19--------11-------.347------70
J. Mather------SPR------Texas-(A)----24--------11-------.333------64
S. Santos------NHM------Eastern-(A)--21---------9-------.268------60
B. Bonds--------SF------National-----27--------10-------.347------60

B.Bonds

I was going to post a picture of Bonds, but decided a picture of my grand daughter would be more pleaseing.

In the old days a lot could happen to a player to keep him from playing. If a player got hit on the wrist while batting that could keep him out for 15 days. Now days when a player comes to bat he has so much padding on its almost impossible to miss games becouse of a batting injery. Next time Bonds come to the plate check to see if he's not wereing shoulder pads.

When Bonds hits his 755th home run Hank Aaron will not be there, he knows it will be a cheap record. Here in Orange County the papers barley mintion it. Most of the country will know that the record will have been aided by things other than natraul ability.

What a differance 4 days will make. Our list of 8 players is down to 3, and it is now starting look like A. Rodriguez may not hit 100 homers this year.

Hear are the players still on track to hit 60 homers:

HR GP AVG PHR
A. RODRIGUEZ--14---23---.355--------98
S. PEARCE-----11---19---.347--------81
J. MATHER----- 9---19---.319--------66

Maddy