1962 Profile: Bill Stafford

"Rarely does a hurler come along as quickly as Bill Stafford, the cool curver out of Athens, New York, who was a World Series starter as a sophomore. Bill arrived as a Yankee in his 1960 rookie season and continued in '61, winning 14 games and recording a 2.68 ERA. His refusal to panic in the face of enemy firepower made his second year a sparkling success. He worked his way to the Yanks via St. Petersburg, Binghamton and Richmond."

-Don Schiffer, The 1962 Major League Baseball Handbook

"If his 1962 spring training performances are any criterion, Bill Stafford is heading for a great season. The long, lean right-hander, who is just 23, pitched eight consecutive hitless, runless innings in his first two outings at Fort Lauderdale.

He's been a Yankee only since mid-August, 1960, and in that time has won 17, lost 10 and recorded an amazingly low earned run average of 2.58. Last year, his 2.68 ERA was second-lowest in the league. In World Series competition, Bill has a 2.25 ERA.

Bill is one of a growing group of Yankees and future Yankees who come from New York. Born in the Catskills, he resides in Athens. It was his Dad who helped him on his way to the majors. Throwing to targets erected in his backyard as a youngster, Bill learned control. In 255 major league innings, he has walked only 77 men for a per-game average of less than three.

Bill has a confident gait when you watch him walk to and from the mound. He's not cocky at all, but he goes out there to retire the opposition and believes he can on every pitch. The coolness and ease of his performance always are apparent.

Last season, Bill started slowly. He was in military service until late in the training season and really didn't get going until June. With a fine start, Bill Stafford may blossom into a top right-hander in only his second full big league season."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

William Charles Stafford (P)     #22

Born August 13, 1938, in Catskill, NY, resides in Athens, NY. Height: 6-1, weight: 183. Bats right, throws right.

Married.

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Second lowest ERA in American League (2.68) in first full season in major leagues, 1961.

-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"If Bill Stafford's first full season in a Yankee uniform is any measure of things to come, the rest of the American League is in for some bad times.

The 23-year-old hurler posted 14 wins and was the team's earned run leader with a splendid 2.68 ERA. Only Dick Donovan (traded to Cleveland during the off-season) of Washington bettered Stafford's mark among Junior Circuit hurlers working in the prescribed 162 innings necessary to qualify for the title.

Bill's favorite opponents were the Chicago White Sox. In picking up four victories against no losses against the "Go-Go" Sox, he permitted only six earned tallies in 36 frames. Kansas City was his victim on three occasions and the A's touched him for but four earned runs in 26 innings.

The Bronx Bombers signed Stafford in 1957 and sent him to St. Petersburg of the Florida State League. In nine games he posted a 5-3 record and allowed only 0.86 earned runs per contest.

The Athens, New York, resident moved up to Class A ball in 1958 and had an 11-7 slate with the Eastern League Binghamton Triplets. In '59 Bill ran into his only losing campaign. He was 1-8 with Richmond of the International League and 1-0 with Binghamton.

Bill received his big break midway through the 1960 season when he was called up from the IL by New York after winning 11 of 18 and having a 2.06 ERA for the Virginians. In his abbreviated rookie year (11 games), Stafford was 3-1.

His control is one of his biggest assets as his strikeouts versus bases-on-balls record indicates.

Bill's batting also helped the Bomber cause last season. He contributed 12 hits, including a brace of doubles and a triple, to the attack, a vast improvement over his previous effort with the willow (one hit in 22 1960 at-bats).

Now that he has had a full season of big-league experience, the Yankees are counting on Bill Stafford to be one of their big guns on the mound. He has certainly given Manager Houk every reason in the world to believe that he can produce in the majors."

-The 1962 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

STAFFORD'S ALWAYS REAL COOL

Poise Keys Yankee Hurler's Success

"'I never get excited,' says Bill Stafford. 'I really don't know why.'

The Yankees' young right-hander is apologetic and mystified by his ability to stay cool during hot ball games. Stafford has an air-conditioned mind, a businesslike manner and an ability to control his emotions on the mound.

In fact, the last time he got flustered was in 1956 when he was faced with the problem of deciding which of 15 big league clubs he ought to sign with. 'I was graduating from high school in Athens, New York,' he says. 'It was a lot of pressure, going in the box and knowing that 15 scouts were watching me. I knew if I didn't go good on that particular day they wouldn't come around anymore. But once I signed a contract, I knew I could have a bad day, as all kids do, and it wouldn't  hurt much.'

Athens (population 1,800) is a town on the upper reaches of the Hudson River south of Albany, south of Coxsackie, where Bill went to high school. It was there that he staked some mound performances that set both communities afire and brought baseball men from all parts of the country. 'I was playing shortstop for Coxsackie in 1954, my freshman year,' he explains. 'Our pitcher got hurt in the third inning and the coach sent me into the box.' With typical modesty, he adds: 'I struck out the next 15 men I faced. After that I was a pitcher. Four days later I pitched the biggest game of my high school career.

'Coxsackie and Ravena-Clemons were big rivals. I started that day and had to pitch 17 innings. No one scored until the fifteenth when we broke through with one run but they tied us up in the bottom of the fifteenth. We finally won, 2-1, in the seventeenth. I was fortunate enough that day to walk only four and strike out 31.'

Striking out 31 batters must be some kind of record; the cool Mr. Stafford really doesn't know. 'I got a lot of publicity at that time and the scouts started coming around,' he says. 'I  had a curve ball then but I didn't throw many. But I knew a lot about pitching, thanks to my father.'

Bill Stafford, Sr., was Bill, Jr.'s hero since his toddling days. 'He was a pretty good semipro pitcher who believed that practice makes perfect. When I was old enough to play baseball he ripped up the lawn and installed a pitcher's mound. He hung up a canvas with different-sized holes and made me work on my control. I kept pitching to those holes until I could put the ball through each of them. Control was my biggest asset as a high school pitcher and it's been my chief weapon as a big leaguer. As soon as I got my starting job in school I was out there throwing every day. There's nothing like knowing where the plate is if you want to succeed as a pitcher.

'My father was one of those semipros who would have been a major leaguer if they'd had adequate scouting systems in his day. Every little thing he has taught me has been valuable to me. He didn't urge me to become a ball player. He told me to make up my own mind. Well, if you know how to do a thing right you like to do it. Maybe this accounts for the way I act when I go in the box.'

Immediately after winning that 17-inning game scouts began to ring the Stafford doorbell. 'From then on they followed me through  my every high school game. I worked out with the Dodgers during the summer when I was only 15  years old. Al Campanis looked my over and tried to induce me to agree that I'd sign with him when I graduated. The next two years I worked out with the Yankees. The rest of the clubs went after me during my senior year. That season I pitched two no-hitters and didn't give up a single earned run in any game.'

All of which gave young Bill the only serious problem he has ever faced. 'I had 15 offers the day I graduated,' he says. 'At that time there was a rule which said that if you received a bonus over $4,000 you had to stay on the big league club. My father and I looked over the contracts. None offered me more than $4,000. I decided to play with the Yankees, though other scouts warned me it would be harder to make the Yankees because they were always up at the top and had top-notch players ahead of a rookie like me. I decided that if I was going to make it I'd rather make it with the best club in baseball, the Yanks.'

Bill banked the $4,000 Yankee scout Tom Kane paid him and reported to Richmond in September 1956, sitting on the bench until the season opened. 'The next season I went to D Ball in St. Petersburg,' he says. 'I was fortunate to get off to a real good start. In my first game, against the Palatka Reds, I pitched a 2-hit shutout. My record for the year at St. Pete was five wins and three losses for a 0.88 earned run average.'

All of this is said with little emphasis. Bill took for granted that if you know how to pitch you ought to pitch well. For example, he again thinks he was 'fortunate' to have led the Eastern League in 1958 with a 2.25 ERA, 11 victories and seven defeats. The fact is that he averaged approximately two strikeouts to one base on ball, the mark of a contol pitcher. He was ahead of most batters; he could work them into holes, compelling them to swing at his best pitches. And, even in crises, he kept cool.

'1959 was my worst year in professional baseball,' he says. 'I was sent up to Triple-A ball in Richmond and didn't win a game until mid-August- it was the only game I won all year. It was rather discouraging to look at my 1-8 record and 6.17 earned run average. It was hard to say what my trouble was. I just seem to be able to do anything right. I was facing good hitters and when I made mistakes I got hurt. I was throwing too many good pitches when I got ahead of hitters, trying to protect the plate. And there were too many veteran pitchers ahead of me on the staff. I didn't start often enough, with the result that me control was off, and when my control is off I'm likely to be hit hard. In my first game of the season I got beaten, 2-0, and didn't get another chance to start for 35 days. It wasn't manager Steve Souchock's fault- he wanted to win games with seasoned AAA pitchers, and I was just a kid coming up.'

He was a 'little let down' over his poor season, but not enough to let it affect him emotionally. That year's scouting reports invariably tagged him as a sure prospect for the Big Team. He was off to a poor start in 1960, 'but I soon got going and by August had won 11 games with a 2.06 earned run average. The Yanks brought me up to the Stadium.'

The Yankees were in dire difficulties the day Bill reported. They were in third place behind Baltimore and Chicago. Chief scout Bill Skiff was haunting International League ball parks. He had 'discovered' Luis Arroyo in Jersey City and recommended that Stafford be tried out. The two new Yanks added strength to the wobbly box staff at once.

Bill unpacked his bags that first day and was assigned to the 'rookie locker,' a cubicle at the right of the clubhouse door. Newspapermen were immediately impressed by the cool, professional way he handled himself. They had to pry out of him the back story that he'd tossed five shutouts and two 3-hitters for Richmond. They said his poise was remarkable for a kid just 22 years of age.

Bill's first big league start was in Boston a few days later. 'It was a big day for me,' he says. 'I faced the greatest hitter in the game, Ted Williams. I made him roll out to the infield three times. We were trailing, 2-1, in the seventh inning when I was relieved, but we won, 3-2, in the tenth. I was very fortunate that day.'

He was again what he calls 'fortunate' in his first Stadium start. 'Ray Herbert pitched for Kansas City and he held us to five hits but I held the A's to four and won, 1-0, for my first big league shutout.' Bill won three and lost one by the season's end.

Less than two months after he reported Bill appeared in a World Series game. Veteran Yankees may have been annoyed by butterflies in their bellies, but not the kid from Athens. And baseball writers may have so busy that they overlooked Bill's contribution to the Yankees' vain effort to conquer the Pirates. 'I was supposed to start the fifth game,' he recalls. 'However, Art Ditmar got the assignment at the last minute. He was knocked out early and after Arroyo stopped the Pirates' rally I went in. I pitched five innings and gave up three singles and no runs. And I was in that wild last game- they got one run and one hit off me in one inning.' Series statistics show Bill led the Yankee staff with a 1.90 earned run average.

Thirty-six hours after the defeated  Yankees sadly trooped off Forbes Field, Bill was in the Army. At Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Fort Lee, Virginia, he planned his return to baseball. 'I knew I'd have to miss the first six weeks of spring training. I remembered by father's advice to work hard. I spent every spare running and throwing, indoors and out. Running outdoors was impossible on snowy and sleety days and tough on the leg muscles because the ground was hard with frost. And indoor workouts weren't much better. I may have thougtht I was in shape when I reported at St. Petersburg late in March, but I wasn't.

'I did a further injustice to myself and the team by overworking myself after I reported. Ralph Houk eased me into a few games in relief after the season opened. By May I'd lost two games and won none and had something a 5.00 earned run average. I think that if I'd had any other manager than Ralph I'd have been sent back to the minors. He called me into his office and told me not to worry, that I'd stay on the staff all season. He sort of read my mind and took the worries off it. I'm thankful to him for the real good year I had in 1961.'

On June 1 Houk announced at clubhouse meeting that Bill would henceforth work in four-day rotation. Four days later he held the White Sox to seven hits, winning 4-3. Four days more and he eased to a 6-1 victory over the A's. 'But I still suffered from lack of slow rounding into shape in camp. My arm began to feel tender and I had to miss several starts. That's why I asked Ralph to let me report this spring on February 5. A pitcher's arm must be nursed into shape. Tension must be worked out of the muscles. The extra training I did last February has done me a lot of good. My arm feels better right now than ever in my career. It's strong and loose.'

Bill's arm was strong and loose on July 6 last year when he twirled a 4-0 2-hitter against the Indians at the Stadium. Willie Kirkland doubled in the second and Mike de la Hoz singled in the ninth- that's all, brother! From August 1 to the end of the season he was the Yankees No. 3 starter behind Whitey Ford and Ralph Terry, pouring it on in the great stretch drive after doing his bit to stop the Detroit Tigers in the super-duper early September series at the Stadium.

Bill held the fort in the fourth Series game with the Cincinnati Reds. He was trailing, 2-1, and still strong when Manager Houk removed him in the seventh in a rare switch for Ralph, who believes in leaving in men in the box until they obviously need relief. With a man on base and left-handed Vada Pinson up, Ralph removed Bill for southpaw Bud Daley. The Yanks won, 3-2, on homers by Johnny Blanchard and Roger Maris.

'Yes, it was a big game,' says Bill. 'But not the biggest for me. The biggest games were ones I wasn't in, the game that won the pennant and the game that won the world's championship.' Which is about par for modesty for a 23-year-old who won 14 games in his first full season.

Bill uses a good fast ball and fast curve with speed variations, a change-up and a slider. 'A lot of people have helped me develop my stuff, my father first, then the minor league managers and coaches who worked with me. I've been lucky and so have the Yanks to have a coaching staff like the one that's guiding the team now. I had a flat slider in the minors, but Johnny Sain showed me how to get a sharper break on it and that's been a big help to me. My slider now goes down and out.

'I don't keep book on hitters. I find it better to rely on my head. And here's another thing that's helped me greatly- the receiving by Ellie Howard. Ellie is the best catcher I've seen in the majors. He's more than just a receiver to me. He studies the hitters just as much as I do, and knows a lot more about them than me. He makes pitching easy. If I'm pitching a batter outside and getting him out regularly, the guys likely to shift his feet on me. It's pretty hard to see such things from the mound. Ellie sees them. If a catcher isn't alert in noticing changes of stance and spreads of feet like Ellie is, the pitcher can get into an awful lot of trouble. When a hitter steps back for an inside pitch, Ellie calls 'em outside. He's won a lot of games for me by just helping me think.

'We think along the same lines which is why he likes to catch me and I like to pitch to him. We have a theory that nothing can go wrong if we agree. Sometimes I'll shake him off, sometimes he'll overrule me. We work as a two-man team in a wonderful relationship.

'I pitch the same way to everyone. I mean, every man who's got a bat in his hands is dangerous and you can't afford to ease up at any time. Just because a batter's hitting .360, as Norman Cash did last year, doesn't faze me. I'm not going to walk him. I not going to try to get him out with the best stuff I have. If a pitcher hasn't enough confidence to keep cool against the best hitter in the league, he doesn't belong on the staff. Otherwise the battle's lost before it really begins. All hitters are tough until I get 'em out. They can be got out by outthinking them.'

In every respect Bill Stafford is a model pro. Like Cletis Boyer, his roommate on the road, he is young, ambitious and determined to overlook nothing that will help him become a star. He has no outside interests, plays golf occasionally and bowls. If he's fortunate enough to rise into the high-income brackets, he hopes he'll go into the ball player's favorite sideline, operating bowling alleys.

'Clete and I are real pals,' he says. 'We enjoy being together. I married Janice Maher, who went to high school with me, two years ago. We rent a house in Yonkers, just over the New York City line. If things break right, we'll buy a house near New York and settle down. Janice is a registered nurse. She's planning to go back to it this year. In the meantime, baseball is plenty for me.'

The wise men who preside over the world's champion Yanks have no doubt that things will break right for Bill. Their unanimous opinion is that he is destined to become one of the American League's leading hurlers during the next decade, with more than one 20-win season under his belt.

'A cool cucumber with a good head,' is their estimate of the young Athenian- that is, if cucumbers have heads.

Bill Stafford has ... "

-Charles Dexter, Baseball Digest, June 1962

"Bill Stafford at the age of 24 is a member of the Yankees' 'Big Three' pitching rotation. The Athens, New York, right-hander has had a winning record since coming up to the Bombers late in 1960 and his lifetime ERA is well under 3.00.

He has no Series decisions, but does have an imposing 2.25 ERA in the fall classic."

-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)

1962 Profile: Ralph Terry

1962 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR

"The right-handed hurling ace in the 1961 pennant push was Ralph Terry. He won 16 and lost only three times, gaining the second-best percentage in baseball (Ford's .862 topping all others).

Terry started as a Yankee in 1956 but was dealt to the Athletics in '57; he returned to New York in '59 and has 48-49 lifetime totals. His fastball and curve are his main assets. He was born in Big Cabin, Oklahoma."

-Don Schiffer, The 1962 Major League Baseball Handbook

"Since 1954 the Yankees have been watching Ralph Terry develop, always believing that he would become an outstanding star. Eventually, he was traded to Kansas City, later re-acquired. Still, the promise was greater than the performance ... then came 1961! Ralph arrived! He posted a 16-3 record and a fine earned-run average of 3.16. Never in his major or minor career had Terry won as many as 16 nor posted an ERA as low as 3.16.

Now he has won his place as the ace right-hander of the Yankee squad, although that position could be challenged by Bill Stafford and others this season. But the Terry promise of 1954 has now been realized. At the age of 26, Ralph should have his 'big' years still ahead of him.

In the last two seasons, Terry has pitched the pennant-clinching game on the road and last August he produced a run of 25 consecutive scoreless innings. Injuries retarded him in the first half of last season, but he won 11 games in the last half when the chips were down.

He possesses a good variety of pitches and the knowledge of how to use them. And in 188 innings last season, Ralph walked only 42 men, or an average of only two a game. Though he enters this season with a lifetime mark under.500, Ralph hopes his 1962 performance will alter that and give him his first 20-victory campaign."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Ralph Willard Terry (P)   #23

Born January 9, 1936, in Big Cabin, OK, resides in Larned, Kansas. Height: 6-3, weight: 184. Bats right, throws right.

Married and father of one boy, Raif Galen (4 months).

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Won pennant-clinching game for Yankees at Boston, September 25, 1960.

Pitched 25 consecutive scoreless innings, August 11-29, 1961.

Won pennant-clinching game for Yankees at Baltimore, September 20, 1961.

-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"Ralph Terry's fifth full season in the American League was by far his best one. The 26-year-old right-hander compiled one of the best won and lost records in the Junior Circuit, 16-3, and had a splendid earned run average, 3.16.

The 6'3" native of Big Cabin, Oklahoma, had posted only 32 victories in his major league career prior to the 1961 campaign. His splendid work brought his lifetime mark up to 48-49.

New York and the St. Louis Cardinals had both signed Terry in 1954, but the commissioner ruled in favor of the Bombers. St. Louis' loss was New York's gain.

Ralph spent his first season in O.B. with the Yankees' Eastern League affiliate, Binghamton, and had an 11-9 record in Class A company. He divided the 1955 season between Denver of the American Association and Birmingham of the Southern loop.

In 1956, after setting the AA on fire with a 13-4 mark, he was promoted from Denver to the Yankees. His stay in the Bronx wasn't long-lived though.

The Bombers traded him to Kansas City in June of 1957, along with Billy Martin, for outfielder Harry "Suitcase" Simpson. Ralph was only 5-12 in '57 but had a 3.34 ERA. In 1958 his record at Kansas City was 11-13.

Then, in 1959, the New Yorkers reacquired the 192-pounder in a deal that also brought Hector Lopez to the club. The A's received pitchers Johnny Kucks and Tom Sturdivant and infielder Jerry Lumpe for the duo.

Ralph's '59 record was 5-11 and in 1960 was 10-8, but the Pirates bombed him for two losses in the '60 Series.

Terry was moved into the Yankees' regular starting rotation by manager Ralph Houk last summer and proceeded to post at least one victory over each of the other nine AL teams. His "cousins" were Cleveland (4-0) and Chicago (3-0). In 188 innings, the powerful righty was touched for only 66 runs.

Terry did okay as a batsman last season, getting 15 hits including a pair of doubles. Only Whitey Ford had more safeties among New York moundsmen.

Ralph's control has always been an asset as his strikeouts versus bases on balls indicates.

Cincinnati's lone victory in the World Series was against Terry, who now has a record of 0-3 in the Fall Classics.

Helping the Yankees win the championship is, of course, Ralph's No. 1 objective for 1962. But you can bet that his No. 2 aim is to post a victory against the National League in the '62 Series."

-The 1962 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

"At the age of 26, Ralph Terry already is a veteran of six and a half seasons in the majors. This year he became a 20-game winner for the first time, after his brilliant 16-3 season in 1961. Ralph pitched the most innings in the league and had a chance to top both leagues.

His victory total was the biggest by any Yankee right-hander since George Pipgras with 24 and Waite Hoyt with 23 in 1928.

With all of this success for Ralph, the elongated Kansas is seeking his first World Series victory for the Yankees this fall."

-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)

1962 Profile: Phil Linz

B: R, T: R. Ht.: 6-1, Wt.: 160. Born in Baltimore, where he resides.

In 1961 batted .349 in 105 games for AA Amarillo of Texas League, .239 in 14 games for AAA Richmond of International League.

Scouting Report: "Quick bat. Little power but hits ball sharply to all fields. Good hustler. May have trouble advancing if he remains at shortstop."

-Baseball Digest Scouting Reports, March 1962

"Built along the long, lean lines of Marty Marion, 22-year-old Phil Linz has the credentials to fill the Yankee shortstop berth. In nearly five seasons in the Bombers' farm system, the bespectacled Phil has been increasing his batting average while moving up in the minors. In 1960, he led the Carolina League with .321 and last season topped the AA Texas League with a robust .349 mark. This is his first try with the Yankees."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Philip Francis Linz (IF)     #34

Born June 4, 1939, in Baltimore, Maryland, where he resides. Height: 6-1, weight: 180. Bats right and throws right.

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Leading hitter in Carolina League (.321), 1960.

Leading hitter in Texas League (.349), 1961.

-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"Twenty-three-year-old Phil Linz is one of the Yankees' top rookie prospects for the 1962 campaign. He'll be given a shot at both the vacant shortstop post and a utility berth and, on the strength of his minor league record, he seems a sure bet to stick with the club.

In 1961 the 6'1", 160-pounder was the Texas League's batting king. Playing for the Bombers' Amarillo farm club, he posted a .349 batting average in 105 games. He was also with Richmond of the International League during the '61 season, batting .239 in 14 contests.

A bachelor, Phil hails from Baltimore. He's a righty all the way, and while he doesn't hit for power, he can slap the ball to all fields.

Phil, who wears glasses, has good speed, both in the field and on the bases."

-The 1962 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

LINZ'S CLASSY PINCH-HITTING

"Although Phil Linz has been overshadowed by Tom Tresh- his rookie counterpart at shortstop for the Yankees- he needs no one to make any excuses in his behalf to Ralph Houk. The Yankee manager tabs Linz as 'one of the best-looking young pinch hitters I have ever seen.'

Going into the doubleheader of August 8 with the Orioles, Linz had seven hits in 12 pinch-hitting appearances. The rookie, who led the Texas League in batting last year, also is a man-in-motion for the Yankees. He plays short, third and second, and in the outfield."

-Til Ferdenzi, The Sporting News (August 18, 1962)

"Along with Tom Tresh and Jim Bouton, this will be the first World Series for rookie infielder Phil Linz. The scrappy shortstop has filled in well at three infield positions after leading two minor leagues in hitting in 1960 and 1961. Phil has been one of the club's best pinch hitters and has a fine future."

-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)

1962 Profile: Tom Tresh

1962 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR

B: S, T: R.. Ht.: 6-0, Wt.: 180. Born Sept. 20, 1938, in Detroit, Mich., resides in Taylor, Mich.

Son of big league catcher Mike. Hit .315 in 141 games at Richmond (AAA International League) in 1961.

Scouting report: "Outstanding prospect. Excellent in field, switch hits, good bunter and can hit ball where pitched. Best of all, he loves to play."

-Baseball Digest Scouting Reports, March 1962

"As this was written, switch-hitting Tom Tresh and Phil Linz were waging a battle for Tony Kubek's temporarily vacated shortstop berth. These two rivals are long-time friends and competitors.

Tom is the son of the former star catcher, Mike Tresh. While Tom was in high school in Detroit, Mike urged his son to try switching from his normal right-handed stance. It worked and the young shortstop has been hitting with authority ever since. He was the International League's 1961 Rookie of the Year. He would like to repeat this season in the American League."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Tom Michael Tresh (SS)     #15

Born September 28, 1938, in Detroit, Michigan, resides in Taylor, Michigan. Ht.: 6-1/2 inch., weight: 180. Bats left and right, throws right. 

Married.

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Son of former major league catcher Mike Tresh.

Named Rookie of the Year in International League, 1961.

Attends Central Michigan University during off-season.

-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"Young Tom Tresh, who came up to the Yankees at the end of the 1961 campaign, looms as the number one candidate for the Bombers' shortstop job this season. Certainly, based on his showing last season, he will be the man to beat for the job formerly held by Tony Kubek, who is now in the Army.

The 23-year-old rookie batted a healthy .315 in 141 games for Richmond last season and was the International League's All-Star shortstop. He had fair power, was an excellent bunter and showed plenty of desire.

In his brief stint with the Bronx Bombers, nine games, Tom had two hits in eight official appearances at the plate.

A six-foot and one half-inch, 180-pounder, Tom is the son of former American League catcher Mike Tresh. His dad toiled for the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians during the '30s and early '40s. Tom was born in Detroit and now makes his home in Taylor, Michigan.

He's a switch-hitter and rates highly as a glove man."

-The 1962 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

BORN TO THE MAJORS

Tom Had A Big League Uniform At Three

"Tony Kubek had just returned from nine months' duty in the Army reserves and the clubhouse chatter was all about him and his shortstop replacement, Tom Tresh. Tony had been the American League's premier shortstop in 1961. Would he go back to his old post or be shifted to the outfield? If he went back to pivoting what would happen to young Tresh, who was batting .276 with ten home runs and 58 RBI's and fielding glitteringly?

Newspapers had been grinding out reams of speculation about Tony and Tom. Manager Ralph Houk hadn't tipped his hand. As for Tresh, he reported a few minutes late that August morning. 'Had to drive my wife in from Jersey,' he explained. 'She's seeing today's game with the Twins.'

Just then Tony strode by, clad in a smile. 'Looks like I'm playing today in left field.'

Someone asked Tom if he didn't feel the pressure of fighting to hang on to a job he had already won.

'Heck, no,' he said. 'I've been playing under pressure ever since my first game of ball. People have always expected more of me than from any other player. If I hit a home run or pulled off some clutch play I was only doing the expected because, as they'd say, 'He ought to be good- he's the son of Mike Tresh, the big leaguer.' '

Tom was all but born on the diamond. His father was just about his own age, 23, when he caught his first big league game for the Chicago White Sox in 1938. Like Tom, Mike married the girl of his choice during his rookie year. Like Mrs. Tom Tresh, Mrs. Mike Tresh was expecting a baby within a year after her marriage, and Mrs. Mike's baby was Tom.

Within a year after his birth, Tom was watching games at Comiskey Park from a seat in his mother's lap. 'And she went to the game every day,' Tom says. 'My father bought me a White Sox uniform when I was three. I had the run of the clubhouse and dugout at four. I worked out with the White Sox from the time I was six. I shagged flies in the outfield and ran with the pitchers; Dad wouldn't let me practice in the infield for fear I'd get hurt.

'We lived in a hotel on the South Side, where my favorite playmate was Judy Moses, daughter of Wally Moses, who's the Yankee batting coach now. When my parents took an evening off Don Lee was my babysitter. Don's the son of Thornton Lee, then the Sox' star southpaw; Don's now starting on the Los Angeles Angels. He's four years older than I am. My father's closest friend on the team was Luke Appling, who was just about the best hitting and fielding shortstop in the game in the '30s and '40s. Luke gave me a pretty good idea about how shortstop should be played.'

-Charles Dexter, Baseball Digest, October-November 1962

"Tom Tresh, the Yankees' outstanding candidate for Rookie of the Year, played a vital part in the Bombers' title defense this year. The youngster from Detroit replaced Tony Kubek at short while that All-Star was in military service, then moved to left field and played as though he had been there all his life.

Tom showed power at bat, speed on the bases and ability in the field."

-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)

1962 Profile: Tony Kubek

"Replacing an All-Star shortstop is no easy task. While the Yankees have fine young talent competing for the vital shortstop berth, Manager Ralph Houk will welcome Tony Kubek when he completes his tour of duty with the Wisconsin 32nd Infantry Division. The 25-year-old veteran of five full Yankee seasons was recalled into service last November, shortly after his wedding.

In addition to being named the American League's All-Star shortstop last summer, the blond Milwaukeean was named to the major league's mythical All-Star team by the Associated Press. He has been winning honors ever since he first donned the famed Yankee Pinstripes. In 1957, Tony won the James P. Dawson Memorial Award as the top rookie in the Yankee training camp and then went on to cop Rookie of the Year honors in the American League.

Although he has played every position, except pitcher and catcher, as a Yankee, Tony was used only at short last year by Manager Houk. Kubek's Dad played in the  American Association, and Tony played in the AA under Houk at Denver in 1956. Although he has yet to hit .300 in the majors, Tony is improving offensively and defensively and should have many valuable Yankee years ahead of him after he completes service for Uncle Sam."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Anthony Christopher Kubek (SS)     #10

Born October 12, 1936, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he resides. Height: 6-3, weight: 190. Bats left, throws right.

Married.

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

American League Rookie of the Year, 1957.

Shares record for most home runs in a World Series game by a rookie (2), October 5, 1957.

All-Star shortstop, American League, 1961.

Recalled to active military duty with his Wisconsin Army Reserve unit, November 3, 1961.

Has played every position except pitcher and catcher for the Yankees.

-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

REGAINING THAT OLD 'TOUCH' NO. 1 TASK FOR EX-GI TONY

Kubek Helps Pick Up Slack Caused by Mantle Injury

"Tony Kubek says the biggest obstacle he's had to overcome in fighting his way back into topflight condition is clumsiness.

Kubek, back in a Yankee uniform after nine months in service, says that regaining the proper physical condition is 'the least of my worries.'

'The big thing is to regain the touch a player has when he's in the lineup every day,' the Yankee shortstop said. 'Once I get rid of that clumsy feeling, I'll be ready to play every day- and anywhere they want me to play.'"

-The Sporting News (August 18, 1962)

OLD FRIEND GREETS KUBEK

"Ed Hurley, the only American League umpire to chase Tony Kubek from a game, extended his hand to the Yankee star when he went to bat the first time, August 7, following his release from the Army.

'He said, 'Nice to have you back. I hope you have a good year the rest of the way,' Kubek reported.

'Yes, that's what I said,' Hurley admitted, 'and I like Tony. He's a nice boy.' Hurley gave Kubek the thumb last year in his only banishment from a major league game."

-The Sporting News (August 18, 1962)

"The American League's 1961 All-Star shortstop, Tony Kubek, spent most of the current season in military service as a reservist. But he came back to resume his fine fielding and hit .314. Tony moved up to the leadoff spot in manager Ralph Houk's new batting order and added real punch to the top of the lineup.

Rookie of the Year in 1957, Tony is an experienced, able star today and he won't be 26 until next week."

-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)

1962 Profile: Hector Lopez

"Things will be different in 1962, avers Yankee outfielder Hector Lopez. The Panamanian right-hand hitter, a native of Brooklyn during the summer season, is sure that 1961 was just one of those 'bad years' that every athlete suffers now and then. Hec was off in all offensive departments last year but suddenly found himself late in September. He started hitting and the form reversal carried into the World Series in which he hit .333 including a mighty line-drive home run in the finale at Cincinnati. Playing winter ball in Panama and Nicaragua, Lopez continued to hit well.

An infielder by trade, Hector has been used primarily as an outfielder by the Yankees. And he found Yankee Stadium's fabled left field on the treacherous side for a while. But no more! 'I used to read about how tough it was to play. I think it made me worse than I really was. Now that I look back, I'm sure left field at Yankee Stadium isn't nearly as tough as the stories make it out to be.'

Hector has had highs of 22 homers, 93 RBIs and a .294 batting average. He'd like to combine these all into the 1962 season. He thinks this will be a good year for Lopez and for the Yankees."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Hector Headly Lopez (OF)     #11

Born July 8, 1932, in Colon, Panama where he resides. Height: 5-11 1/2, weight: 182. 

Married.

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Hit three home runs in one game for Kansas City against Washington, June 26, 1958.

-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"One of the many players to come to New York from Kansas City, Lopez was acquired from the Athletics along with Ralph Terry in May of 1959. The Bombers gave up Jerry Lumpe, Johnny Kucks and Tom Sturdivant in the transaction.

Hector was a third baseman during his minor league years and in his first five years as an American Leaguer. His fielding, however, left a lot to be desired and the Yankees converted him into an outfielder in 1960.

During his first year as a New Yorker, Hec led the club in runs batted in with 93. He has good power, having been credited with 95 home runs since coming to the big time in 1955.

Lopez's best day in the majors was with the A's in 1958 when he hit three homers in a contest against the Washington Senators."

-The 1962 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

"Hector Lopez would like nothing better than to repeat his final game performance in last year's Series when he hit a homer and triple and drove in five runs. The Panamanian outfielder had a good year at bat, though it was short of his season highs. But in Series play, Hector is a .375 hitter."

-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)

1962 Profile: Clete Boyer

"Look for the sport's best-fielding third baseman to move to shortstop in 1962. That would be Cletis Boyer, brother of Cards' Ken, possessor of baseball's quickest hands when they're stopping a batted ball.

Born in Cassville, Missouri, Boyer became Yankee in 1959, serving at Kansas City as a part-time teenage performer in '54 and '55. Nobody around can match him for amazing agility at third base."

-Don Schiffer, The 1962 Major League Baseball Handbook

"Yankee Stadium fans and those around the league have watched Clete Boyer make 'impossible' stops and still get his man. The newest magician in the game, Boyer is one of five brothers to play professional baseball. Best known, of course, is Ken, the great third baseman of the St. Louis Cardinals. While Ken swings a more potent bat, it is Clete who has become the master glove man at the hot corner.

Boyer, only 25, has shown real power at the plate, despite a lifetime batting average of .226. He has garnered 35 extra-base hits in each of his last two seasons. With the help he received from Joe DiMaggio and Wally Moses this spring and his determination, Boyer is an almost sure bet to hike his batting average this season.

Manager Houk considered moving him to short, to plug the hole left by the Army call to Tony Kubek. And Boyer can play short, too. But the Yankee manager is anxious to keep his defensive star in his normal position. Last year was Clete's first full season as a regular third baseman and his defensive play gave the Yankees their strongest infield in many years. Boyer may well be the anchor man of a great infield for many years to come."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Cletis Leroy Boyer (IF)     #6

Born February 8, 1937, in  Cassville, Missouri, resides in Webb City, Missouri. Height: 6-0, Weight: 183. Bats right, throws right. 

Married and father of two girls, Valerie (5) and Stephanie (2 1/2).

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

Bonus player with Kansas City Athletics.

Brother of Ken Boyer of Cardinals and Cloyd Boyer, former pitcher for Cardinals.

-1962 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"Fans around the nation got to see what American League fans had witnessed all season when they saw the 1961 World Series: the finest fielding third baseman in the game today, Clete Boyer.

To Clete, the hard play is routine, the impossible play, just another out. He blocks hard-hit grounders like a hockey goalie, dives through the air for liners and somehow always (or so it seems) manages to make the play.

The 25-year-old native of Cassville, MO, comes from a real baseball family. His brother, Ken, is one of the National League's All-Star performers with the St. Louis Cards, and another brother, Cloyd, hurled for the Athletics not too many seasons back.

Kansas City signed him to a bonus contract in 1955 and because of the then-existing rule, Clete was forced to spend two years with the Athletics when he could have been gaining valuable minor-league experience.

The Yankees acquired Boyer during the winter of 1956-1957 and sent him to Binghamton of the Eastern League. He was with Richmond of the International League in 1958, dividing the '59 campaign between Richmond and the Stadium.

In 1960 Boyer became the Yankees' regular third sacker. During his first full season with the Bombers, Boyer hit .242 and smacked 14 homers. Last year his average dipped to .224, but he drove out 11 four-baggers and upped his RBIs from 46 to 55.

Now a resident of Webb City, MO, Cletis is married and the proud daddy of two. He stands an even six feet and weighs 180 pounds.

Boyer can play shortstop and second base, but the Yankees are happy having him at third where he can turn "sure doubles" into outs.

Coach Wally Moses worked with Boyer on his batting during the Spring and if he can pick up a few points, Clete may soon be an All-Star."

-The 1962 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

OH BOY, OH BOYER!

Acrobatic Clete Adds Power To Yankee Role

"In the very first inning of the first World Series game last October, Clete Boyer came out of nowhere to fling himself leftward, slide on a shoulder, glide on an ear and come up with a hot shot that he fired to first while still on one knee. Fans who had been watching Yankee games all season had been boasting that Clete was the best third baseman on defense since Pie Traynor. Now all the world knew they were right.

That is, except for St. Louis Cardinals fans, who could argue that they had a Boyer, Ken, who was just as good on defense and had outbatted Clete by 105 points, .329 to .224.

Whereupon Clete and his Yankee mentors decided to do something about improving Clete's form with the stick. The result, during this season's first weeks, was astonishing. Clete broke into a rash of home runs, doubles and singles and, as of May 10, was batting exactly .329, his brother Ken's 1961 mark.

All of this means that the baseball-minded Boyer family is about to stage an inter-league competition of its own. And if the Cards win the pennant and the Yanks face them in next October's global setto, it'll be Boyer vs. Boyer at the hot corner, and let the better brother win ... 

Not since the DiMaggios- Vince, Joe and Dom- scurried around center field on three big league teams two decades ago has a family demonstrated such aptitude for baseball as the Boyers. There are seven of them, five of whom have already played the game for pay, with two more coming fast. Cloyd, now 34, was a pitcher for the Cardinals and A's (1949-55) and is now a coach with Richmond, the Yankees' farm club in the International League. Wayne, now 32, pitched in A ball before his arm went dead, and is now a dentist in Kokomo, Indiana. Ken, 31, and Clete, 25, are, of course, established big leaguers. Lynn, 29, might have been in the big time, too, if he hadn't broken his wrist in his second professional year; he was an up-and-coming first baseman who recently graduated from the Kansas State Teachers College. Ronnie, 17, plays third base on his high school team in Missouri; Leonard, 16, is its second baseman. Both of these Boyer boys are being scouted, with Lenny, six-one and still growing, rated as a top prospect for a future outfield or first base job in the majors.

It was raining outside Yankee Stadium and the night game with the Red Sox had been called off. Clete, who takes things easy when he isn't on the diamond, felt like talking about the Boyers. He pulled up a stool and tried to explain how the family's seven strapping young men became ball players. 'You see, we grew up in Cassville, Mo., which you won't find on the map because it's so small, about 350 population,' he said. 'My father was a small farmer and in a town like that there was nothing to do but work on the farm- no movies, no TV, no street corners to hang out on. And across the road from our house was a baseball field.

'We were poor. I don't mean we didn't have enough to eat- you always eat enough down on the farm. But we didn't have money to spend dashing around in automobiles. When we had time off from school or farm work we played ball. We'd start playing when we were ten and by 14 or 15 we'd be good enough to get on a team in the Ban Johnson League. And we could stick in that league until we were 21, playing a regular schedule with games every day. That meant that we'd get in five to seven years of steady play- and there's nothing like steady play for making a boy develop rapidly.

'It's no accident that every one of us, including Ronny and Lenny, went out for shortstop first. Every kid wants to be a big wheel on his team and the two most important positions are pitcher and shortstop. Well, you can't have more than one shortstop on a team, so we'd shift around the infield or try the box. Max Buzzard, who was my coach, wanted me to become a pitcher because my arm was strong, but I like infielding better and stuck to it. I was a second baseman when scouts started thinking about me seriously.

'At that time I'd had seven years of Ban Johnson play. Many of the fellows in our league had signed up for the majors. Ralph Houk had gone to the Yankee organization before my time. Ralph Terry also became a Yankee. Most of our coaches had professional experience.

'To us kids along the western border of Missouri, there was only one big league team, the Cardinals; that is, until the Athletics moved to Kansas City. Cliff Marr, who was then a Cardinal scout, signed up Ken in 1949 and had an eye on me. Marr switched jobs to Kansas City, however,  and when the scouts got hot after me Joe Bowman of the Kansas City staff came down and looked me over. By then other clubs were making me offers. Bowman's was the best, $35,000. That's how I became a member of the A's.'

The Kansas City A's were suffering the after-effects of the Mack family's long struggle to survive in Philadelphia. They were no longer under a bankrupt ownership but they were desperately player poor. 'I was only 18 and weighed only 165 pounds with the result that I was not much use to a big league team, but I had to stay with the A's for two years because of the bonus rule that was in force then, instead of going to the minors for regular play and development. In 1955 and 1956 I was used mostly at second base, with a few games at third. My manager was Lou Boudreau, and there's no one who can teach a pivot play to a kid better than Lou. Harry Craft was a coach for the A's then. Day after day he'd hit fungoes to me, sharpening my reflexes. But it was pretty frustrating. I'd have been better off if I'd been in the minors playing regularly and learning how to meet game situations instead of bench-warming most of the time.

'The A's were perpetually battling for the cellar championship. They had no big farm system to draw on for recruits. Parke Carroll, the general manager, adopted the policy of trading for quantity, hoping he'd come up with winners. I didn't know that the Yankees had their eyes on me, especially Lee MacPhail, who supervised the Yankee farm system then. They concocted a five-for-seven deal. It was made in February 1957, but Commissioner Ford Frick voided it as far as I was concerned because I hadn't finished my two-year bonus term. So I sat on the bench from the opening of the season until June 4, when my bonus term ended. I headed East but never put on a Yankee uniform. I was shipped out to Binghamton of the Eastern League for the rest of the season and went up to Richmond the following year.'

Clete's prospects of becoming a Yankee regular were dim. 'The Yankees decided to convert me into a shortstop. I'd had some good experience in Kansas City, teaming with shortstop Joe DeMaestri. But I had trouble going to my right from the shortstop position. The Yankees gave me an accelerated course, sending Jerry Coleman down to Richmond for a full week just to tutor me.'

Finally, in 1959, Clete put on a Yankee uniform for the first time. 'But I had no place to play except as a late-inning substitute for Gil McDougald at shortstop. Tony Kubek was standing by, ready to take Gil's place when he retired. I'd had a little experience around third in Richmond but when Kubek went to short McDougald moved to third, and there was I, waiting around with nothing to do.

'But although my chances of becoming a Yankee regular were poor I had that good Yankee feeling.'

That 'good Yankee feeling' is there, in the air, in that Pin-striped uniform, in the hectic atmosphere of New York. Clete explains it this way: 'In Kansas City the boys would go to the ballpark, and they'd play to the best of their ability. In New York the Yankees to the ballpark to WIN a ball game. The Yankees have been winning for so many years that they can't stand the idea of losing. You feel the uplift as soon as you open the clubhouse door. You know you've got to do better than your best in every game, every inning, every time you go to bat. And when the team's behind, you're expected to come through in late innings.

'Well, there I was, a fifth or sixth wheel in the Yankee infield as the 1960 season opened. I'd get into a few games now and then when Casey Stengel juggled the lineup. Late in May Casey got sick and went to the hospital for ten days. Ralph Houk managed during his absence and put me on third base. I'd worked out at third at camp that spring. I'd talked about third base play with Ken at home, and, since the Cards also trained at St. Petersburg, Ken would drop and watch me play in our games with the Cards, and give me pointers afterwards.

'Then Stengel retired and Houk became our manager. In camp last year he called me aside and told me I was the regular third baseman whether I hit .220 or .320. Now it's okay for a manager to tell you that. But you've got to prove to yourself that you're good enough to stick, and you've also got to be sure the manager means what he says when he tells you what Ralph told me.

'My big day, the day I was confident I could stick and knew Ralph meant what he said, came in May. Los Angeles was leading by run one in the seventh. It was my turn to bat. Let's face it- in a situation like that the previous year, Stengel would have taken me out for a pinch hitter. Ralph left me in. I singled, tying the score. Then in the ninth-

'The A's were leading in the ninth- 4-3. We had two on base. Again it was my turn to bat. I looked around. Houk said, 'Get in there and knock those guys in.' I did, with a double. We won, 5-4. I was the hero.

'Look at it any other way- a fellow plays better when he knows he's won a regular job. I knew it that day. It was Ralph's way of telling me so, letting me bat in a clutch, me and my .224 average.'

There was never any doubt in Houk's mind about Clete's ability to cover third brilliantly. Third base used to be an old man's home for aging shortstops and second basemen. Clete was young, agile and gifted with a strong enough throwing arm to hold down the shortstop post in any company. As for his acrobatics: 'If you play like me from the time you're 14, you acquire an instinct for knowing what to do. One way of saying it is the old crack about your reflexes being sharper. That's true but it's only part of the truth. After ten years' infielding you learn how to play the hitters and after two or three months in the same set lineup, you know what kind of stuff your pitchers are throwing and can set yourself for an upcoming play accordingly.

'I don't keep book on opposing batters like some infielders do. After I've watched them a few times I file away the information about their batting habits somewhere inside my head. As a result, I have a mental jump on them. Fielding hot shots, line drives, balls off to my left or along the foul lines, coming for bare-hand pickups of bunts becomes a matter of routine. I've read that I have quick hands. Maybe so, but it's the quickness of all your faculties that makes hard chances seem easy. I remember when I'd play in too close for the double play or play the ball instead of handling it naturally. Steady work during games, playing regularly, cures such bad habits. And playing beside the same infielders every day helps a man know what to expect from his teammates. He becomes part of a smooth-running machine. He's no longer an individualist.

'As for those so-called acrobatics of mine, that's a matter of keeping in prime physical shape all the time. I think I'm that limber because every day before a game I put myself through calisthenics. That's like oiling up a machine before you put it to use.'

Until this season Clete's only serious problem was that puny batting average. He had the bad habit of fishing for outside pitches which smart boxmen knew and kept flinging at him. 'This spring Wally Moses, our batting coach, sold me on the idea of using the same method at bat that I use in the field. I mean, getting the jump on the pitcher. Wally's great on making an explanation sound clear. He pointed out that if I could gain a second in watching the ball as it leaves a pitcher's hand I'd have just that much more time to follow the ball and get set for it. A second doesn't seem much, but it's meant a lot to me thus far this season. I see the ball quicker, know whether it's going to be in the strike zone or not that much sooner. And I have more time to shift and place the ball in right on outside pitches, all of which adds points to my batting average.

'And I'm no longer a kid growing up. I've hit my right weight, about 185 pounds. My power has increased. I don't commit myself at bat as quickly as I once did. I have that much more advantage on pitchers. Maybe if I don't forget Wally's lessons I'll catch up to Ken in the averages.'

Then there's the added incentive that comes from being a Yankee. 'It's a funny thing,' Clete says. 'Here's Ken, the best third baseman in the game, five times a .300 hitter, third in the National League last year and everybody's All-Star third baseman. But he's in St. Louis and I'm in New York, and I get more press notices and magazine stories than he does. And, by the way, more of those nice little sideline emoluments that come your way when you're a Yankee.'

So at 25 Boyer is apparently set for a long, successful and profitable Yankee career. Tall, exceptionally good-looking, with black hair and dark eyes, he's the baseball hero type. But-

'I'm a farm boy,' he says. 'I have no desire to live it up in a big city. There's too much traffic, too much noise. I don't want a big house in Jersey or on Long Island. And I'm not looking for an outside business here in New York or any place else. I got married to Marilyn Sue King, a hometown girl, when I was 18. We have two little daughters, Valerie, who's six, and Stephanie, who's three. I'm in partnership with Marilyn's brother, who runs a grocery store in Webb City, Missouri, five miles from Mickey Mantle's motel in Joplin. Wintertimes I work in the store. Summertimes Marilyn and the girls come East, where we live across the Hudson River in River's Edge, New Jersey. That's enough for me.'

That ... and being the best third baseman the Yankees have had since Red Rolfe covered the hot corner 20 years ago ... "

-Charles Dexter, Baseball Digest, July 1962

"Probably the most spectacular fielding third baseman in the American League this year was the Yanks' Clete Boyer. Anchoring the Yankees' classy defensive infield, Boyer also showed great improvement at bat this season, raising his average some 50 points over 1961 and over his lifetime batting mark. The younger brother of the Cards' Ken set personal highs in batting, homers and RBIs in 1962."

-Official Souvenir Program of the 1962 World Series (Yankee Stadium)