Sunday, March 31, 2013

Bullet Bob Turley Passes On

 

They called him “Bullet Bob,” and if any proof were needed beyond the 1,265 strikeouts and 101 wins he racked up in 12 seasons in the American League, it was provided early in his career by a DuMont cathode-ray oscilloscope, whose photoelectric eye clocked his fastball at 94 to 98 miles an hour.
 
Bob Turley, who lived in Alpharetta, Ga., died of liver cancer in hospice care at Lenbrook, a retirement community in Atlanta.
      
On a Casey Stengel Yankee All Star team loaded with legends — including Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Hank Bauer, Moose Skowron and Elston Howard — Turley was a mainstay of a pitching staff led by Whitey Ford and Don Larsen, whose perfect game in the 1956 World Series symbolized a golden era of Yankee dominion.
 
Terry Turley told the AP that his father, one of the last St Louis Browns as well,  will be missed all over.      
 

Monday, March 25, 2013

World Oldest Bomber Passes On!

Virgil (Fire) Trucks, who at 95 had been the oldest living former Yankee, died Saturday in his native Alabama. Trucks, a right-handed pitcher, pitched the final season of his 17-year major league career with the Yankees, when he went 2-1 with a 4.54 ERA as a 41-year-old in 1958. Overall, Trucks' record was 177-135 with a 3.39 ERA. He spent 12 seasons with the Detroit Tigers.

********************

The Yankees have claimed right-handed reliever Danny Otero 28, off waivers from the Giants, the team announced. Left-hander Cesar Cabral was placed on the 60-day DL to create 40-man roster space.  Danny Otero boasts a 5.84 ERA (2.77 FIP) in 12.1 career big league innings, all with the Giants last year.