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the angels & mlb remember

Despite his poor record, the Giants recognized Newcombe was one of baseball’s best-hitting
his potential and brought him back for the 1956 pitchers. His .271 career batting average is ninth-
season. He rewarded the parent club by winning best among pitchers in Major League history.
an astounding 24 games on the mound. While he Newcombe had 238 hits in 878 at-bats with 15
was only 20 years old, Navarro thought his suc- home runs, 108 RBIs, 33 doubles, three triples,
cessful season warranted a Major League look. 94 runs scored and even had eight stolen bases.
As the Giants moved to San Francisco, Navarro He spent two-plus seasons with the Reds and
continued to inch closer to the Majors. By 1959 finished his career with the Indians in 1960. He
he was at AAA, but his career stalled there. When signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nip-
it became clear that he was trapped in the Giants pon Professional Baseball for the 1962 season
deep farm system with no clear path to their ro- and was a teammate of former Indians outfielder
in memoriam
tation, the Los Angeles Angels swooped in during Larry Doby, the first black player in the American
the 1962 season to open a new door. League.
Navarro specialized as a reliever for the Angels, Following his playing career, Newcombe worked
pitching 71 games out of the bullpen in three with the USO to help veterans who were dealing
seasons until he was traded to the Detroit Tigers with substance abuse issues.
in April 1964. He found a supporter in Tigers Newcombe, who served as special adviser to the
manager Chuck Dressen. chairman with the Los Angeles Dodgers since
Navarro threw his final Major League pitch with 2009, was regularly seen at Dodger Stadium in a
the Atlanta Braves in 1970; however, he contin- suit and fedora.
ued to play in the minor leagues, Mexico, and
Puerto Rico until 1977. He then turned his atten- MARTY PATTIN, a former An-
tion to his son Jamie, who followed his lead on gel and Major League All-Star in
the mound, playing for 20 professional seasons, 1971, who won 114 games in a
12 in the Major Leagues. The elder Navarro cred- career that spanned 13 seasons,
ited his son’s longevity due to his father reinforc- died last October 3. He was 75.
ing flawless mechanics. Pattin pitched for the Royals from
DON NEWCOMBE, the first Major 1974 to ’80 and also the Califor-
nia Angels, Seattle Pilots, Milwau-
League player to win the Rookie kee Brewers and Boston Red Sox.
of the Year, MVP and Cy Young He had lived in Lawrence, KS since 1982 when
awards and one of the Dodgers’ he accepted a job as head baseball coach at the
links to their days in Brooklyn, University of Kansas where he led the Jayhawks
died this past February 19th. He from ’82 to ’87.
was 92.
The New Jersey native made his Pattin — known as ‘Duck’ because of his uncanny
impersonation of Donald Duck — remained an
Major League debut in 1949 with
the Brooklyn Dodgers, who signed him after he active Royals alumni member since his retire-
ment in 1980. He attended Royals fantasy camp
spent one year in the Negro Leagues with the several winters in Arizona and living in the area,
Newark Eagles. He was named the N.L. Rookie of attended many Royals games.
the Year after going 17-8 with a 3.17 ERA (244.1
IP – 86 ER) and a league-high five shutouts. He stayed home to attend college and after a
Newcombe pitched for the Dodgers from 1949- successful career at Eastern Illinois University
(his jersey No. 19 was retired in 2009) and was
51 and again from 1954-58. He missed two selected in the seventh round of the 1965 draft
seasons while serving a two-year military stint by the Angels. Pattin made his big league de-
during the Korean War. Along with Brooklyn but on May 14, 1968 by hurling a perfect inning
teammates Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella, against the Chicago White Sox. Pattin pitched his
Newcombe was among the first African Ameri- final game for the Royals in the 1980 World Se-
cans to play in the Majors. ries against the Philadelphia Phillies. In his final
Known simply as “Newk,” he went 149-90 with inning, he struck out All-Stars Greg Luzinski and
1,129 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA (2154.2 IP – 852 Mike Schmidt. His lone All-Star appearance came
ER) over a 10-year MLB career. He was a four- as a member of the Brewers.
time All-Star and pitched in three World Series.
Newcombe went 20-5 in 1955, leading the league DR. KEN RAVIZZA, an interna-
tionally renowned leader and
in winning percentage. It was his second 20-win pioneer of sports psychology and
season after going 20-9 in 1951, when he led the mental skills programs, died last
league with 164 strikeouts. He started Game 1 of July 8, 2018. He was 70.
the 1955 World Series against the Yankees, who
won the opener 6-5, but lost to the Dodgers in Ravizza’s reach was wide and
seven games, triggering a celebration across the long, impacting athletes and
borough of Brooklyn that lasted for weeks. coaches from the profession-
al, college, and amateur ranks,
Ironically, his best season was a year in which Olympic athletes and more. A Professor at Cal
he was not selected as an All-Star. Newcombe State Fullerton for 38 years, he created one of
claimed both the MVP and Cy Young awards in the first applied sport psychology graduate train-
1956 when he went 27-7 with a 3.06 ERA (268 IP ing programs in the United States as well as the
– 91 ER) to help the Dodgers return to the World University’s first undergraduate stress manage-
Series, where they fell to the Yankees in seven ment course.
games.
During his tenure, he taught thousands of stu-
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