Comments on: Larry Biittner in . . . The Nagging Question

By: rerdman20

rerdman20 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:12:35 +0000

Jim Dwyer. He had a card in the APBA board game my friend and I had just bought in 1974, and we also knew ANOTHER guy named…Jim Dwyer! They were both from the Chicago area. I was astounded…two Jim Dwyers, and one was a major leaguer! Wow. After seeing how sparingly Dwyer was used and how he bounced around in his first few seasons, I would have never dreamed he’d have an 18-year MLB career.

By: cyclist4d

cyclist4d — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:07:44 +0000

My Joe Shlabotnik was Larry Biittner. My older brothers who loved Ernie Banks never understood it, but Biittner was the clutch guy during a time when the Cubs didn’t have much else to be excited. I still have an autographed photo of him that he sent me after sending a fan letter as a 10 year old and cherish it as much now as I did then. He was Super Sub the Super Cub!

By: crosscatch

crosscatch — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:57:17 +0000

49. Larry was my favorite player in an era where the Cubs only had a few good position players. He didn't strike out much and hit to all fields, occasionally hitting with power. He was decent with the glove and didn't make mistakes. He hustled too! He sure was slow. Geez. I believe Biittner was gassed before he got to the mound. It was about 105 degrees that day. As Herman Franks said, he came within one pitch of being a hero. I'm sure if we could've read Biittner's thought balloon, it would've said, "gee, thanks". It was an ugly day indeed. I thought he had a pretty good curveball though.

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:59:05 +0000

48. 47 : He also has an important part in Red Sox history; he was, if I'm remembering correctly, the guy who replaced Yaz in left in Yaz's last game.

By: Zernialophile

Zernialophile — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:32:37 +0000

47. Chico Walker, who drifted in and out of the Cubs teams of my youth but who did eventually pull off an extremely rare and exciting play...he hit an inside-the-park grand slam.

By: Mr OK Jazz TOKYO

Mr OK Jazz TOKYO — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:12:22 +0000

46. Alvaro Espinoza. He gave hope to bespectacled skinny middle infielders everywhere.

By: JaxJaguar

JaxJaguar — Tue, 22 May 2007 23:08:02 +0000

45. I have been made aware of a wonder website called http://www.paperofrecord.com This is a website of newspapers that have made their past editions available on the web. Big deal, right? Not exactly. The main focus here is The Sporting News. You can search any of its issues going back to 1889. Imagine finding the first issue to talk about a young pitcher by the name of George Herman Ruth or Tyrus Raymond Cobb. You can look up Larry Biitner, Adrian Garrett, Garry Hancock or ANYONE your grew up idolizing. Enjoy!

By: Josh Wilker

Josh Wilker — Tue, 22 May 2007 03:54:30 +0000

44. Thanks very much for that info about Adrian Garret, JaxJaguar. That's much appreciated. I go to great lengths to shape (or even distort) the exploits of many of the major leaguers from my childhood into metaphors for my own disappointments and failures, and in doing so I often obscure just how fricken amazing anybody good enough to make the major leagues for even a single game is. Even Garry Hancock deserves a standing ovation, which is why it was so cool that he actually got one. If Adrian Garret never got his major league standing O, let me be the first to get up off my middle-aged butt and make some noise for him. And actually I'm not the first--there are others here who not only remember him but count him as first among all their childhood heroes.

By: JaxJaguar

JaxJaguar — Tue, 22 May 2007 00:50:10 +0000

43. I am a good friend of Adrian Garrett’s. Please check out this website covering his career and family: http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Adrian_Garrett

Other than in 1975 & 1976, Adrian was never given a real opportunity at playing in the Major Leagues. Lets see if you can hit 43 home runs at AAA, and then perform well when you are brought up to the Major Leagues and pinch hit about once a week. He finally went over to Japan in 1977 & hit 102 home runs in 3 years. His team (Hiroshima Carp) won the Nippon Championship in 1979. Dick Schaap flew from the U.S. to Hiroshima to interview Adrian in 1978.

By: doug frobel

doug frobel — Fri, 18 May 2007 05:02:04 +0000

42. My Shlabonski is Jim Morrison. If I had to pick a pitcher, it would be Tom Dettore. Check out Dettore's cards from like 1973 or 1974. Looks like he could kill someone.