And Then There Were Few

                                             Like the Vets from the second world war, the men who played baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, have their numbers grow smaller every year. At this point in time, only four players who played in Brooklyn remain alive. Bob Aspromonte, Jim Gentile, Fred Kipp and Sandy Koufax. Carl Erskine passed in April of 2024, and Tommy Brown passed away in January. Kipp is the oldest of the four at 93, he turns 94 in October.

                                            Koufax of course debuted in 1955. He was a bonus baby, so the team had to keep him on the MLB roster for two years. Many believe this stunted his development. His first six seasons were mediocre at best. His next six propelled him into the Hall of Fame. 3 Cy Youngs, an MVP, 2 World Series MVP’s, four no-hitters including a perfect game, setting a World Series record with 15 strikeouts against the Yankees. 2 shutouts in the 65 World Series. Set a MLB record for strikeouts in a season with 382. Still the most by a left-handed pitcher, plus he struck out 18 batters in a game twice. And with some apologies to Kershaw fans, still the pitcher I would want on the mound in a must win game 7.

                                            Fred Kipp debuted with Brooklyn in 1957. It was more like hi, how are you. He pitched in 1 game going 4 innings allowing 4 runs on 6 hits. He came back in 1958 and had his best season with a 6-6 record in 40 games. He pitched 2 scoreless innings for the 1959 team and then was traded to the Yankees for Dick Sanders and Gordon Windhorn. His stay with New York was short, he pitched in 4 games and was sent down to AAA. He pitched there in 61-62 and then retired from baseball at the age of 30. 

                                           Bob Aspromonte also debuted in 1957. His cup of coffee lasted just 1 game also. He returned to the team in 1960 and played in 21 games. He played in 47 games in 1961. He was exposed to the expansion draft and was selected by the Houston Colt-45s. He played 7 years with Houston posting a .258 average. He then spent 2 years with the Braves and finished his career with a 1-year stint with the Mets. His brother, Ken, also played in the majors. He played for 7 years with 6 different teams.

                                          Jim Gentile, a first baseman, got into 4 games with the Dodgers in 1957. He was 1-6 and his only hit was a home run. He got into 12 games with the 58 team and hit just .133. With Gil Hodges and Norm Larker, already on the major league roster, and Ron Fairly in the minors, LA traded him to the Orioles in October of 1959 for Willie Miranda and minor leaguer, Bill Lajoie. Lajoie never made it out of AAA, and Miranda retired and never played a game for LA. Gentile on the other hand, spent 4 of his 9 years in the majors with the O’s, crushing 124 homers for them with a career best, 46 and 141 RBIs in 1961. He never reached those heights again, and finished his career with stints in Kansas City, Houston and Cleveland.

                                           There are six players still living who played for the Giants in New York. Joey Amalfitano has ties to the Dodgers. Amalfitano, like Koufax was a bonus baby. Joey was born in 34. The other five are Jackie Brandt,1934, Ray Crone,1931, Joe Margoneri,1930, Bill White, 1934 and Al Worthington, 1929. Brandt played 11 years in the majors but did not blossom until he was traded to the Orioles. Crone was originally signed by the Braves but pitched his last 2 years for the Giants.

                                         Margoneri lasted just 2 years in the majors with the Giants. Bill White broke in with the Giants in 1956 hitting .256 with 22 homers, but he spent 1957 in the military. He was then traded after the 1958 season to the Cardinals. Al Worthington debuted with the Giants in 1953. He stayed with them for 6 years. LA fans will remember him with the Twins during the 1965 World Series.

                                          Joey Amalfitano spent close to two years riding the bench because he was a bonus baby. He did get into 36 games in 1955. He did not make it back to the Giants until 1960. He ended up playing 10 years in the majors, then he went into coaching. He was an interim manager of the Cubs twice, and then their manager for the 1981 season. After he left, he joined the Dodgers coaching staff in 1983 under Lasorda and remained there until 1998 when he retired.

                                        Jackie Brandt was signed by the Cardinals in 1953. He was with them in 1956 when he, along with Red Schoendienst, Dick Littlefield and Bill Salmi, were traded to the Giants for Al Dark, Ray Katt, Whitey Lockman and cash. Cardinals later sent 2 minor leaguers to the Giants to complete the trade. He did well for the Giants hitting .299 in his only year in New York. He missed 57 because of military service and then played the 58-59 seasons with the Giants in SF. He was traded in November of 59 to the Orioles for former Dodger, Billy Loes and LHP Billy O’Dell. He played with Baltimore for 6 years with a .258 average. He finished his career with stints in Philadelphia and Houston.

                                     Ray Crone, originally signed by the Braves, was traded to the New York Giants at the deadline in 1957, along with Bobby Thompson and Danny O’Connell for Red Schoendienst. He pitched parts of 5 seasons in the majors. His best two seasons were with the Braves in 55-56 when he won 10 and then 11 games. He retired after the 1961 season having spent his last 3 years in the minors.

                                     Margoneri had by far the shortest career in the majors of any of these guys, just 2 seasons, both with the Giants. He had a 7-7 record in his two stints in New York. He pitched until 1960 when he finished his baseball career in the Mexican League. He had an overall minor league record of 88-52.

                                     Bill White had a 13-year career in the majors, most of it with the Cardinals. Although he showed well in his debut with the New York Giants, when he returned from military service for the 1959 season, the Giants had two power hitting first basemen ahead of him, Orlando Cepeda, and Willie McCovey.  So, the Giants shipped him to the Cardinals, who had an aging Stan Musial and Whitey Lockman as their first basemen for Don Choate and Sam Jones, also sent to St. Louis was 3rd baseman, Ray Jablonski. White flourished in St. Louis and was part of the 64-championship team. He hit .298 as a Red Bird then finished his career with the Phillies. His career was good enough to earn some Hall of Fame votes. He also was President of the NL for five years. 

                                  Al Worthington joined the Giants in 1953; two of his 4 wins were by shutout. After that he did not have much success and spent 1955 back in AAA. He came back to stay in 1956 but now was used mostly in relief or as a spot starter. He moved with the Giants to San Francisco in 1958. He was traded in March of 1960 to the Red Sox for Jim Marshall, a first baseman. Boston then sent him to the White Sox after 6 games. He then was drafted in the rule 5 draft by the Reds. In June of 1964, he was purchased by the Twins and would finish his career there. He pitched against the Dodgers in the 1965 World Series, allowing 1 unearned run in his 4 innings on the mound.  That run came in game 4, a 7-2 loss for the Twins. 

                              These 10 players are the last link to the Brooklyn Dodger-New York Giants era. When they are gone, only fans who saw the teams play at the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field will remember who they were. Oh, we can read about them but actually seeing them play was special