Wow, it’s been a rough few days. First Fritz Peterson, now a trio of notables, for different reasons.
I’ve never seen anything like this on the obituary page of The New York Times‘ website:
Carl Erskine, the last of “the boys of summer,” died Tuesday at the age of 97.
“Oisk” was a mainstay of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ rotation, going 20-6 in 1953. Surprisingly, he was only named to the All-Star team once (1954) and finished with a lifetime record of a relatively modest 122-78 — mainly because he played his last Major League game at the age of 32 — all with the Dodgers in both Brooklyn and their first few years in Los Angeles. Here’s his obit by Richard Goldstein (author of Superstars and Screwballs: 100 Years of Brooklyn Baseball) in today’s NY Times online.
Erskine published a couple of books: What I Learned From Jackie Robinson: A Teammate’s Reflections On and Off the Field with Burton Rocks in 2005 and a couple of editions of Carl Erskine’s Tales from the Dodger Dugout beginning in 2000. Naturally, he is also a major part of any book about the Dodgers of that era, beginning with Roger Kahn’s classic.
Whitey Herzog, aka The White Rat, died Monday at the age of 92. He didn’t have much of a career as a player, appearing in 634 games over eight years in the majors. But he made it to the Hall of Fame as a manager, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Championship in 1982. He also had the helm of the California Angels, Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals, finishing with a career mark of 1,281-1,125 (which is just 39th on the all-time list, leading to a raised eyebrow over his HoF credentials). Goldstein also wrote Herzog’s obit for the Times.
Herzog published White Rat: A Life in Baseball with Kevin Horrigan in 1987 and You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back with Jonathan Pitts, one of the many books about all the “problems” with baseball, in 1999.
Holtzman began his career with the Chicago Cubs as a 19-year-old in 1965. He spent the majority of his career with that club, for whom he tossed two no-hitters, before being traded to the Oakland A’s in 1971 for Rick Monday. His timing was great, as the A’s won five pennants and three world series during his stay. He sandwiched his only 20-win season (21-13) between two 19-victory campaigns. Holtzman was traded with Reggie Jackson to the Baltimore Orioles in 1976 and rejoined Jackson with the Yankees a season later. A thoughtful athlete, he did not have a great relationship with Yankees manager Billy Martin, to say the least. Holtzman was briefly a manager himself, taking the helm of the Petach Tikva Pioneers in the sole season of the Israel Baseball League in 2007. He left in the middle of the season, unhappy with the way the league was run.
Between the mainstream and Jewish presses, Holtzman’s passing will be well-documented. Here‘s Richard Sandomir‘s offering in the Times as well as obits from the New York Post, Washington Post, St. Louis Jewish Light (his hometown), and Chicago Tribune. Needless to say, he’s a staple of anything about Jews and baseball. I found one book on Amazon which apparently was published just yesterday: The Legendary Journey of Ken Holtzman: Unveiling the Untold Story of Baseball’s Trailblazing Icon.