Article:Baseball Notebook: Around the Bases...Tony Horton

= Baseball Notebook =

Baseball Notebook: Around the Bases

Yesterday was a day for shutouts with four shutout games and with two teams shutting out the losing team by 1-0 scores. Thirteen teams scored two or less runs so this was a day of some well pitched games.

American League

Angels 1 Twins 0

Joe Saunders 1-0 pitched the Angels to a 1-0 shutout win over the Twins. He held them to 4 hits in 8 innings. Neither team had an extra base hit in the game. Nick Blackburn 0-1 took the loss for the Twins despite giving up only one run in 7 innings. Howie Kendrick scored the only run of the game when Blackburn threw a wild pitch that got past the catcher Mike Redmond.

Royals 4 Tigers 0

Brian Bannister 1-0 held the Tigers to three hits by Edgar Renteria in the 4-0 win by the Royals. Bannister allowed only two hits in 7 innings. Today the Tigers send Jeromy Bonderman against Zack Greinke so could be another well pitched game today.

Red Sox 5 Athletics 0

Rich Harden pitched 5 scoreless innings for the Athletics but the bullpen gave up all 5 runs in the 5-0 win by the Red Sox. Jon Lester 1-1 allowed only 3 hits in 7 innings. The top three hitters and bottom three hitters in boxscore had 12 of the 13 Red Sox hits. Harden has allowed only one run in 11 innings this season for a 0.82 ERA while striking out 15. David Ortiz and Jason Varitek hit their first homers of the season.

Indians 7 White Sox 2

Fausto Carmona 1-0 allowed one run in 7 innings to take the 7-2 win over the White Sox. Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore combined to drive in 5 of the 7 runs scored by the Indians. Javier Vazquez 0-1 and two relievers all allowed runs in the contest.

Orioles 9 Rays 6

The Rays blew a 6-3 lead and the Indians scored six runs in their last 3 at bats. Matt Garza didn't pitch that well but left the game with the lead but Al Reyes blew the save and allowed 4 more runs to cross the plate while taking the loss. Rays will have to start winning these kind of games if they are to do well in the AL East.

Blue Jays 5 Yankees 2

A.J. Burnett 1-0 evened the Blue Jays record at 1-1 after pitching the Blue Jays to a 5-2 victory over the Yankees. The only two runs he allowed were on the first homer of the season by Alex Rodriguez. I guess since he found out he is getting paid more than the entire Marlins team he drove in two runs which was two more runs than the Marlins scored yesterday.

Mariners 4 Rangers 1

Carlos Silva 1-0 pitched seven inning of 3 hit baseball to pitch the Mariners to a 4-1 win over the hapless Rangers who could manage only 3 hits off of Silva and two relievers. Jose Lopez hit a three run homer to give the Mariners the win.

National League

Brewers 8 Cubs 2

Jeff Suppan 1-0 allowed 2 runs in 6 1/3 innings to lead the Brewers to an 8-2 win over the Cubs. Jason Kendall was the hitting star for the Brewers having a 3 for 4 day at the plate and stealing a base. Kendall may be making an even bigger contribution through his handling of the pitchers. If he can get pitchers like Suppan to pitch this well all season the Brewers could find themselves at the top of the NL Central division.

Nationals 1 Phillies 0

Tim Redding 1-0 held the Phillies to one hit which was a single by Pedro Feliz. Cole Hamels 0-1 wasted a strong pitching performance in the 1-0 shutout loss to the Nationals. Hamels allowed only one run in 8 innings. Ryan Zimmerman hit his second game winning homer of the season to give the Phillies the win.

Redding had vomited 6 times on Tuesday after eating oysters which didn't agree with but felt better today by gametime. The win was only the fourth win for Redding since 2004. He pitched so badly in one inning for the Yankees in 2005 that he only pitched that inning the whole season. In that one inning he gave up 6 runs, 4 hits and 4 walks. He didn't even pitch in the majors in 2006 but signed with Nationals last season.

Reds 6 Diamondbacks 5

The Reds came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning trailing by a 5-3 score but won the game when Edwin Encarnacion hit a three run walkoff home run. Conor Jackson the first baseman for the Diamondbacks had to be taken to hospital in fifth inning due to shortness of breath.

Mets 13 Marlins 0

Oliver Perez threw 6 shutout innings while holding the Marlins scoreless for 5 innings while striking out 8 in their 13-0 shellacking of the Marlins. David Wright and Ryan Church both drove in 3 runs for the Mets in the game. Mets had 17 hits with Wright, Church and Carlos Beltran all picking up 3 hits. The win was a big win for the Mets after learning Pedro Martinez could be out from four to six weeks after his hamstring injury. Nelson Figueroa was called up replace Martinez in the rotation.

Figueroa has a 7-17 record but hasn't pitched in majors since 2004 season. The Mets have to hope that Orlando Hernandez can return to the starting rotation sooner rather than later. Right now they have three top grade starters in Oliver Perez, Johan Santana and John Maine but with Mike Pelfrey and Figueroa as the fourth and fifth starters it weakens the team unless they perform better than expected.

Braves 10 Pirates 2

Jair Jurjjens 1-0 became the first Braves starter to win a game after Tim Hudson and Tom Glavine received non decisions in their starts. Jurjjens and six Braves relievers held the Pirates to seven singles. The Braves scored 7 times in the 8th inning to seal the win. By the end of the game Xavier Nady, Chipper Jones Yunel Escobar all had 6 runs batted in this season leading the majors with David Wright also having 6 for a four way tie for the lead. The Braves bullpen pitched the last 3 2/3 innings and allowed no runs and no hits. Yunel Escobar is showing why the Braves traded Edgar Renteria plus they apparently have a dependable starter in Jurrjens who the Braves received in the trade.

Cardinals 8 Rockies 3

Todd Wellemeyer 1-0 took the win in the Cardinals 8-3 defeat of the Rockies. Rick Ankiel hit his first home run of the season while having a 3 for 5 night while Ryan Ludwick also went 3 for 5. Albert Pujols reached base 5 times with 2 hits and 3 walks.

Astros 9 Padres 6

Astros scored 4 times in the top of the ninth to turn a 6-5 loss into a 9-6 victory. Astros hit 4 homers and Padres hit two homers in the contest. Petco Park is famous for not being a home run haven but last night 6 homers sailed out of the park. Lance Berkman hit a three run homer off the all time saves leader Trevor Hoffman who blew the save and took the loss. The major league saves leader of last season Jose Valverde took the win for the Astros.

Giants 2 Dodgers 1

Todd Lincecum 1-0 pitched in relief after the Giants used an emergency starter because of weatherman predicting rain after the start of the game. Lincecum gave up one run in 4 innings and Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand drove in the two runs by the Giants. The Giants have only scored 4 times in their first three games a double is the only extra base hit this season. Eugenio Velez is leading the Giants in hitting with a .500 batting average.

Players From the Past: Tony Horton

Tony Horton was born December 6, 1944 in Santa Monica, California. He played his first major league game on July 31, 1964 and played his last game on August 28, 1970. He will be 64 in December.

Horton was only 19 years old when he made his major league debut. He played for the Red Sox to start his major league career playing for them until he was traded during the 1967 season the same season the Red Sox went to the World Series and lost to the Cardinals. Horton was traded in June of that year to the Cleveland Indians along with Don Demeter in exchange for Gary Bell who started 24 games for the Red Sox and had a 12-8 record in 1967.

In 1969 he played his first full season as an Indian and put up good numbers hitting 27 homers and driving in 93 runs.

1970 was a year of ups and downs for Horton as he hit three home runs against the Yankees but the Indians lose anyway by an 8-7 score on May 24, 1970. On June 24, 1970 he attempts twice hit Steve Hamilton's "Folly Floater" and crawls off the field and is hospitalized because of his sensitivity to fans booing him.

The link to a short video of him attempting to hit the "Folly Floater" is provided below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFvp7kMraAw

On July 2, 1970 Horton hits three home runs in one game but on August 28, 1970 Tony Horton troubled by a slump and the fans booing is hospitalized for depression and never plays major league baseball again and his career ends at the age of 25.

The following paragraphs from Lavieenrobe website explain in detail what happened the day he faced the "Folly Floater" and how his career ended that August:

Honestly, when was the last time you saw a baseball game where the fans and the players in both dugouts were all laughing together about something that just happened on the field — other than watching some drunken, field-invading fan get clotheslined by security?

Of course, the reality behind this clip is darker and more complex than it would initially appear. Though Horton was clearly having fun with Hamilton, and his "crawl of shame" into the dugout was strictly for laughs, the Indians first baseman was actually teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown at the time. Booed by Indians fans for not carrying the team like he'd done in 1969, castigated by Cleveland sportswriters for demanding a salary increase, the high-strung Horton gradually lost his shit as the 1970 season wore on. But as the team (and major league baseball in general) had little knowledge at the time of how to deal with depression, Horton was pretty much left to stew in his own juices. Finally, after being pulled out of a game on August 28, Horton went back to his motel in Cleveland and slit his wrists. Thankfully, he was found by motel security before it was too late; and after several months of hospitalization, he was well enough to get on with his life, but he never played another game in the majors.

And that, to me, is way more interesting than however many homers a dude with body armor and an heirloom tomato-shaped head can hit.

It is sad to see a career end this way but playing major league baseball comes easier for some while not so easy for others. Booing is part of the game and players need to shut out the boos while playing but that is easier said than done as can be attested by Tony Horton.

White Sox Score 11 Runs In One Inning On One Hit

To avoid ending the article on a tragic note I am using this paragraph from baseballlibrary.com telling about one of the most unusual innings in baseball history:

On April 22, 1959 the Chicago White Sox were trailing the Kansas City Athletics by a 6-1 score come back to score 11 times in the 7th inning on one hit. In the 7th inning there are 3 errors, 10 walks of which George Brunet issued 5 bases-loaded walks and hit a batter with the bases loaded and the White Sox also had a single in the inning. Jim Landis of the White Sox made two outs in the inning both times grounding to the pitcher. Nellie Fox drove in two runs in the inning by walking. There are 3 other bases-loaded walks in the inning.

Below is a recap of that inning from baseball-reference.com:

Top of the 7th, White Sox Batting, Ahead 8-6, Tom Gorman facing 5-6-7 Tom Gorman replaces Preston Ward pitching and batting 9th --- 84% R Boone Reached on E6 (throw) (Ground Ball); Boone to 1B 1-- 88% A Smith Reached on E5/Sacrifice Bunt; Boone to 2B RR 12- 97% J Callison Single to RF (Line Drive); Boone Scores/unER; Smith Scores/Adv on E9/unER; Callison to 3B --3 97% L Aparicio Walk 1-3 97% B Shaw Aparicio Steals 2B -23 98% " " Walk Mark Freeman replaces Tom Gorman pitching and batting 9th; Earl Torgeson pinch hits for Sammy Esposito batting 1st R 123 99% E Torgeson Walk; Callison Scores; Aparicio to 3B; Shaw to 2B R 123 99% N Fox Walk; Aparicio Scores; Shaw to 3B; Torgeson to 2B O 123 99% J Landis Groundout: P-C/Forceout at Hm; Torgeson to 3B; Fox to 2B R 123 100% S Lollar Walk; Torgeson Scores/unER; Fox to 3B; Landis to 2B George Brunet replaces Mark Freeman pitching and batting 9th R 123 100% R Boone Walk; Fox Scores/unER; Landis to 3B; Lollar to 2B R 123 100% A Smith Walk; Landis Scores/unER; Lollar to 3B; Boone to 2B R 123 100% J Callison Hit By Pitch; Lollar Scores/unER; Boone to 3B; Smith to 2B Lou Skizas pinch runs for Johnny Callison batting 7th R 123 100% L Aparicio Walk; Boone Scores/unER; Smith to 3B; Skizas to 2B O 123 100% B Shaw Strikeout Bubba Phillips pinch hits for Earl Torgeson batting 1st R 123 100% B Phillips Walk; Smith Scores/unER; Skizas to 3B; Aparicio to 2B R 123 100% N Fox Walk; Skizas Scores/unER; Aparicio to 3B; Phillips to 2B O 123 100% J Landis Groundout: P-1B 11 runs, 1 hit, 3 errors, 3 LOB. White Sox 19, Athletics 6.