"The Yankees are incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Whitey Ford. Whitey spent his entire 16-year career as a Yankee. A 6x WS Champion and 10x All-Star, The Chairman of the Board was one of the best lefties to ever toe the rubber. He will be deeply missed."
See also his nice obit in the NYT.
A New Yorker all the way.
ReplyDeleteChairman of the Board.
I am priviledged to have seen him pitch, a lot, during his best years ( pretty much all of them ).
If you needed a win, he pitched a shut-out. Simple as that.
And he went nine innings all the time.
When baseball was the game we fell in love with.
He'll soon be starting again..
R.I.P. Yankee Immortal
ReplyDeleteThe Times article said that Whitey Ford rarely overpowered hitters and was a pitching guru, sometimes even using the infamous spitball. Can anyone give any more details about his pitching style? Did he have an unusual delivery, how hard did he throw, did he throw the fastball a lot or was he more of an off speed pitcher, who was his pitching style most similar to, etc? From what I'm reading, it sounds like he pitched a little like David Cone (during Cone's time the Yankees), maybe a bit of El Duque Hernandez too.
The Hammer of God
Saw him pitch part of his last shutout—and I think, last win—on TV, in 1967.
ReplyDeleteThe ORIGINAL Chairman of the Board, and the last of the Old Breed.
The Yankees signed him, I think, for something like $2,000. The other two baseball teams in town passed on him because they thought he was too small.
So did the NYPD. Whitey cashed his signing bonus check, and went right out to buy a combination radio-record player for his parents. He was hauling it home to Queens when the cops took him in, thinking a kid like that must have stolen it.
Nearly pitched a shutout in his very first World Series game, but Gene Woodling lost a ball in the shadows. A record 10 wins in the World Series—not "the postseason"—and broke Ruth's record for consecutive scoreless innings in the Fall Classic.
He will be missed.
Damn. Freakish play.
ReplyDeleteBut that should be all for Cole. He has been giving out for two innings—no reason to bring him back out. The hitters have to bring this one home. Not that I think they can.
HC66--After all your years as a professional writer you serve up "He will be missed"? I know it's only a blog, but please try harder.
ReplyDelete
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