Was Marichal the greatest Latino pitcher?

Who are the greatest Latino pitchers?   You can choose from Marichal, Cuellar, Tiant, Valenzuela, Martinez, etc.  It is a very impressive list.

My top five are:

1) Juan Marichal----243 wins and a 2.89 ERA. He started 451 games and completed 244 of them, pitching 52 shutouts. Marichal has one more complete game than wins. That's amazing! Marichal's career was played in the shadows of Sandy Koufax and Warren Spahn.

2) Mike Cuellar----In 15 seasons, Cuellar went 185-130 with a 3.14 ERA, 1,632 strikeouts, 172 complete games and 36 shutouts over 453 games......won 139 games in a 7 year span with Baltimore (1969-75) plus game 5 of the 1970 World Series pitching another complete game. Cuellar won't make the Hall of Fame but he is the most successful lefty from Latin America.

3) Camilo Pascual---the most underrated pitcher of his era. He was a 5 time All-Star starting in 1959 to 1962 and in 1964.......won 174 games yet pitching for bad teams for much of his career......a 3.75 ERA and 36 shutouts in 18 Major League seasons....led the league in strikeouts from 1961 to 1963 and was among the leaders in shutouts in 1959, 1961 and 1962.....struck out 2,167 batters in 2,930 innings.

4) Luis Tiant---He led the league with a 1.60 ERA in 1968 and a 1.91 ERA in 1972.....won 229 games with a 3.30 ERA over 19 seasons......won 20 games four times and led the American League in shutouts three times.

5) Pedro Martinez----A three-time Cy Young Award winner---1997, while with the Expos, and in 1999 and 2000 with the Red Sox.  Hall of Fame 2013.

Honorable mention goes to Fernando Valenzuela and Dennis Martinez.

Imagine a fantasy baseball team with a rotation of Marichal, Cuellar, Pascual, Tiant and Martinez.   I think that I'll do OK!

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World War II: The long and difficult year of 1942

Guest:   Barry Jacobsen, military historian and blogger..........we go from the German invasion of the USSR to the very difficult year of 1942.........the US is now in the picture......

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April 1973: "Saw a new morning" by The Bee Gees

APRIL 1973.....yes that was many years ago.....and I was listening to this song.....maybe I'm giving away my age........it was THE BEE GEES and "Saw a new morning".

It was released as a single and included in "LIFE IN A TIN CAN" album, a very underrated album from 1973.

The single "Saw a new morning" was a clue to "sounds to come".  I hear "Nights on Broadway", specially the way that Barry & Robin share the lead vocals.  I also hear "Edge of the universe" also from "MAIN COURSE" released in 1975.

Great song!

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  

April 17 and Mickey Mantle

We remember Mickey Mantle on April 17th: 

In 1951, he went 1-4 in his major league game; and

In 1953, he hit a 565-foot home run, the longest ever in the old Griffith Stadium in Washington DC.

Of course, he had a lot of other big days in his career:   .298 career average, 536 HR, 1,509 RBI, 2,415 hits in 2,401 games played.    

Mantle was the AL MVP in 1956, 1957 & 1962 and hit 18 HR in 12 World Series.

 

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The Beatles: 3 of my favorites songs!

How do you pick your favorite Beatles' songs?  Let me try these three, although I have to confess that it was not easy.

These songs are not in any particular order.

My first choice is "Day Tripper". I love the guitar rift and the way that John and Paul sing this song.

My second selection is "Paperback Writer". This song was a single released between the "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" LP's. 

It sounds like a better fit for "Revolver" because of the heavy electric guitar.   "Rubber Soul" was more melodic.

My third selection is "Hello Goodbye", a very catchy tune released between "Sgt. Pepper's" and "Magical Mystery Tour". 

In a future post, I will recall some of my favorite ballads.

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We remember Hugh Masekela (1939-2018)

We remember Hugh Masekela who was born in South Africa on this day in 1939.

Years ago, I bought a 45 by Hugh Masakela called "Grazing in the grass".   It was a great arrangement.  

We learned in January 2018 that Hugh Maeakela passed away. 

Great sound and super talent.

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