I’m going to come right out and say that I believe that Gil Hodges should be in the Hall of Fame. Much has been written about the subject and nothing that I offer here is unique or original to me. I will just say this, if a player can be voted in for being a tremendous person, then Gill Hodges would be a unanimous first ballot selection. I was too young to know much about his character when I watched him play. I just observed that he was as steady as the Rock of Gibraltar, a quiet and humble man that was incredibly strong and plied his trade in a very workmanlike manner. I did, however, learn a lot about his character In doing this research through what his fellow players said about him.
“Not getting booed at Ebbets Field was an amazing thing. Those fans knew their baseball, and Gil was the only player I can remember whom the fans never, I mean never, booed.” Clem Labine “… epitomizes the courage, sportsmanship and integrity of America’s favorite pastime.” back of his 1966 Topps baseball card
“Gil Hodges is a Hall of Fame man.” Roy Campanella
“If you had a son, it would be a great thing to have him grow up to be just like Gil Hodges.” Pee Wee Reese
“He was a great player but an even greater man. Gil Hodges is a Hall of Famer; he deserves it and it’s a shame his family and friends have had to wait so long.” Duke Snider
“He [Hodges] was such a noble character in so many respects that I believe Gil to have been one of the finest men I met in sports or out if it.” Arthur Daley, New York Times
“Gil was the heart and soul of the Brooklyn Dodgers.” Jackie Robinson
“I’ve never met a finer man.” Johnny Podres
“If I had sold or traded Hodges, the Brooklyn fans would hang me, burn me, and tear me to pieces.” Walter O’ Malley
Gil Hodges was born on April 4, 1924(It’s a known fact that April babies are superior!! That topic is not open for discussion), in Princeton, Indiana. When born his last name was Hodge but apparently became Hodges by 1930. Gil’s parents were Charles and Irene Hodges. When Gil was 7 years old, the family, including older brother, Robert, and younger sister, Marjorie, moved to Petersburg, Indiana. Apparently his father, who was known as “Big Charlie” did not want his sons to work in the coal mines as he did. Gil’s father had lost an eye and some toes in various mining accidents and died of a heart embolism in 1957.
Big Charlie taught his sons how to play sports at an early age. Gil Hodges was a four-sport athlete at Petersburg High School. He ran track and played baseball, basketball, and football, earning a combined seven varsity letters. In 1941, like his brother before him, Hodges was offered a Class-D contract by the Detroit Tigers, but he declined it and instead enrolled at St. Joseph’s College on an athletic scholarship. St. Joseph’s had a well-regarded physical education program, and Hodges had thought about pursuing a career as a college coach. He played baseball and basketball for St. Joseph’s College and was a member of the Marines ROTC.
After his sophomore year, Hodges was offered a contract by a local sporting-goods store owner and part-time Dodgers scout, Stanley Feezle. By this time, the thought of playing in the major leagues was too exciting for Hodges and so he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Without playing a single game in the minors, Brooklyn called up the 19-year-old Hodges late in the 1943 season. On October 3, 1943, in the Dodgers last game of the year, Hodges made his debut against the Cincinnati Reds facing Johnny Vander Meer (he of the successive no-hitter fame). Hodges went 0-for-2 and made two errors while playing third base. Eleven days later, he entered the Marine Corps and was sent to Hawaii, first to Pearl Harbor and later Kauai. Hodges served as a gunner in the 16th Anti-Aircraft Battalion. From Hawaii he went to Tinian, in the South Pacific. In April 1945, Sergeant Hodges, now assigned to his battalion’s operations and intelligence section, landed on Okinawa with the assault troops. He would earn the Bronze Star with combat “V” for heroism under fire in Okinawa. Don Hoak, a future Dodgers teammate, said, “We kept hearing stories about this big guy from Indiana who killed Japanese soldiers with his bare hands.” Hodges was discharged in February 1946, and went straight to spring training with Brooklyn.
Hodges was solidly built at 6′ 1½”, and weighing 200 pounds. He was considered big for players of that era. However, Hodges was a gentle giant, often playing the role of peacemaker during on-field brawls. His hands were so large that teammate Pee Wee Reese once remarked that
“[Hodges] could have played first base barehanded but wore a mitt because it was fashionable.”
After spring training, Hodges was sent to the Newport News Dodgers, who were in the Class-B Piedmont League. Hodges was converted from infielder to catcher. Hodges played in 129 games, hitting .278 with 8 home runs and was voted to the All-star team.
In 1947, Hodges broke camp with the Dodgers, as the second string catcher, behind Bruce Edwards. He only played in 24 games, hitting a sorry .156. It was clear that Hodges was not going to have a future behind the plate. Plus, with Roy Campanella on the way, it didn’t look good for Hodges’ future playing time.
During the spring in 1948, Hodges was switched to first base. As manager Leo Durocher said
“I put a first baseman’s glove on our other rookie catcher, Gil Hodges. … Three days later, I’m looking at the best first baseman I’d seen since Dolph Camilli.”
In 1948 Hodges played 96 games at first base, and he also caught in 38 games. Committing 13 errors at first, he had a fielding percentage of .986. That would be the only year he played regularly that he fielded under .990! Hodges also hit 11 home runs, with 70 RBI for the third-place Dodgers. He would not drive in fewer than 100 runs over the next seven seasons, nor would the Dodgers finish lower than second place over the next eight campaigns.
On December 26, 1948, Hodges married Joan Lombardi. The couple made a permanent home in Brooklyn, one of the few Dodgers to do so, and raised four children, Gil Jr. (who would spend some time as a player in the New York Mets minor-league system), Irene, Cynthia, and Barbara. (As of 2019, Joan Hodges still lived in that house in Brooklyn.)
In 1949, Hodges became a regular contributor to the Dodgers’ lineup. That season he hit .285, and tied with Duke Snider for the team lead in home runs with 23, and his 115 RBI were second on the team to Robinson’ 124. He was an All-Star and finished 11th in the MVP voting. The Dodgers would win the pennant, but they lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in five games. Hodges drove in four of the team’s 14 runs in the Series.
The next two years, 1950 and 1951, brought consecutive second-place finishes. Hodges’ power numbers continued to improve: He averaged 36 home runs and 108 RBI for those seasons. He established his career high in runs scored in 1951 with 118, one of three seasons in which he topped 100. On August 31, 1950, Hodges had his biggest day, when he became the fourth major leaguer to hit four home runs in a nine-inning game. He went 5-for-6, with 9 RBI, hitting the home runs off four different Braves pitchers. His 17 total bases tied a major-league record.
The Dodgers won pennants in 1952 and 1953, only to fall again each time to the Yankees in the Series. In 1952, Hodges hit 32 home runs and drove in 102, while in 1953 he had 31 home runs and 122 RBI, despite hitting just .181 through May 23. The slump with which he started the 1953 season was actually a carryover from the previous year. In the seven-game Series, Hodges went 0-for-21 with five walks. However, instead of booing Hodges, the Dodger fans embraced him, cheered him warmly, sometimes with standing ovations, before each at-bat. In his classic, “The Boys of Summer”, Roger Kahn wrote,
“The fans of Brooklyn warmed to the first baseman as he suffered his slump. A movement to save him rose from cement sidewalks and the roots of trampled Flatbush grass. More than thirty people a day wrote to Hodges. Packages arrived with rosary beads, rabbits’ feet, mezuzahs, scapulars.”
In his book, “The Game of Baseball”, Hodges recalled that slump in his typical humble fashion:
“The thing that most people hear about that one is that a priest [Father Herbert Redmond of St. Francis Roman Catholic Church] stood in a Brooklyn pulpit that Sunday and said, ‘It’s too hot for a sermon. Just go home and say a prayer for Gil Hodges.’ Well, I know that I’ll never forget that, but also I won’t forget the hundreds of people who sent me letters, telegrams, and postcards during that World Series. There wasn’t a single nasty message. Everybody tried to say something nice. It had a tremendous effect on my morale, if not my batting average. Remember that in 1952, the Dodgers had never won a World Series. A couple of base hits by me in the right spot might have changed all that.”
The 1954 season saw the Dodgers finish in second place. Hodges posted career highs in batting average (.304), home runs (42), RBI (130), and slugging (.579). It was his second consecutive year over the .300 mark. His 42 homers and 130 RBI were both second in the National League. It was the closest he would come to winning a home-run or RBI title.
In 1955 the Brooklyn Dodgers won their first and only World Series. Hodges hit .289, with 27 homers, 102 RBI, with a .500 slugging percentage to help the Dodgers to their first-place finish. Hodges hit .292 (7-for-24) with a homer, three walks and five RBI in the series. Hodges drove in the only two runs scored in the seventh game of the Series, and he recorded the final putout on a throw from Pee Wee Reese.
Hodges would appear in two more World Series, 1956 and 1959. He continued to play as a regular over the span of those years, averaging 26 home runs and 82 RBI. Hodges homered once in each Series; in the 1956 seven-game loss to the Yankees, he had a hand in 12 of the Dodgers’ 25 runs, and he batted .391 in the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers Series win over the Chicago White Sox. In that Series, he won Game Four with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth that snapped a 4-4 tie. In all, Hodges played in 39 World Series games, compiling a .267 average (35-for-131) with 5 homers, 21 RBI, and 15 runs scored.
After the 1961 season, the New York Mets selected Hodges in the first National League expansion draft. On April 11, 1962, he hit the first home run in Mets history,. Overall, he appeared in 54 games for the woeful ’62 Mets, hitting .252.
Hodges began 1963 as an active player, but retired when the two-year-old Washington Senators asked him to be their manager. After clearing waivers, he was traded to Washington for outfielder Jimmy Piersall on May 23, ending his playing career. Fittingly, Hodges’s last major-league hit was an RBI single against the San Francisco Giants. He had hit his 370th and final home run on July 6, 1962. Until April 19th of the next season, when Willie Mays hit career home run 371, Hodges had the most home runs by a right-handed batter in National League history.
Hodges would manage the Washington Senators from 1963 to 1967. Their record improved each year with him at the helm. In 1968, after the Mets paid the Senators $100,000.00 and traded them pitcher Bill Denehy, Hodges signed a 3 year contract to be the manager of the New York Mets. He managed the Mets from 1968 to 1971. The highlight, of course, being 1969 when he led the “Miracle Mets” to a World Series victory. In that World Series, Hodges and the Mets defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles (who had four future Hall of Famers, including manager Earl Weaver) in five games, making the Mets the first expansion team to win a World Series.
Over his career, Hodges hit .273, with 370 home runs, 1274 RBI, 1105 runs, 1921 hits, .359 on-base percentage, .487 slugging average, 44.9 WAR, .846 OPS and 120 OPS+. At the time he retired, Hodges’ 370 home runs ranked 11th in history (3rd for right-handed batters and 3rd for first basemen). It’s without question, that Hodges’ statistical totals were affected by the fact that he lost three prime years to his time in the military during World War II. He was an eight-time All-Star; he drove in 100-or-more runs in seven straight seasons; he had 11 straight seasons with at least 20 home runs. In one span from 1949-’59, he averaged 30 home runs and 101 RBI. His 361 home runs with the Dodgers remain second in team history to Duke Snider’s 389. He set a National League record for career grand slams, with 14, breaking the mark of 12 shared by Rogers Hornsby and Ralph Kiner. On August 31, 1950, he joined Lou Gehrig as the second player to hit four home runs in a nine inning game, and he is one of only 18 players in major league history to accomplish the feat.
In important defensive categories for first basemen (putouts, assists, double plays, and fielding percentage), Hodges excelled. He led the National league three times in putouts with 10 top-10 finishes; led the league three times in assists with 10 top-ten finishes; led the league four times in double plays with 12 top-10 finishes; and led the league three times in fielding percentage with 11 top-ten finishes. He also did well in numerous range factor categories; and he won three Gold Glove awards (the award wasn’t created until the last years of Gil’s career. Had it existed earlier, he would have won many more). His 1,614 career double plays places him behind only Charlie Grimm (1733) in National League history. His 1,281 career assists rank second in National League history to Fred Tenney’s 1,363, and trail only Ed Konetchy’s 1,292 among all right-handed first basemen. Only a handful of the first basemen already in the Hall of Fame have a higher career fielding average than Gil’s .9925.
Over his career, Gil Hodges played on seven pennant winners and managed another. He was a member of three World Series championships, two as a player and one as a manger.
So why isn’t he in the Hall of Fame? Here are some of the arguments against him being enshrined:
1. He never led the National League in any important offensive category.
While certainly true, Tony Perez, Barry Larkin, Alan Trammell, and Harold Baines, among others never did either. But I ask myself, why does that even matter? In the 1950s, Gil Hodges was unquestionably the most dominant first basemen, both offensively and defensively. The fact that you are the best at your trade for a decade has to account for something.
2. He never won an MVP award.
Also true. But neither did Eddie Mathews, Al Kaline, Billy Williams, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez, and Harold Baines among many others. Hodges did receive MVP votes in nine different seasons. One of the reasons he did not win an MVP is that he had some of his best seasons in years the Dodgers didn’t win the pennant. Also, he can’t be blamed for losing in MVP votes to the likes of Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella (twice), Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. Those are some outstanding ball players!!
3. He went 0-21 in the 1952 World Series
True, but numerous other Hall of Famers endured severe batting slumps in World Series play, including Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, and Ted Williams. Despite the one slump Hodges would redeem himself with several good and clutch performances in other World Series.
4. His home run total is not high enough
He hit 370 home runs. That would place him 12th among the 24 primarily first basemen already in the Hall of Fame. But one has to ask, how many current Hall-of-Famers can match his 11-year span of averaging 30 homers and 101 RBI? Moreover, he remains the only one of the 21 players who had 300 or more home runs by the time of retirement who has not yet been elected. Gil Hodges’ 370 home runs is currently 80th all-time in major league history. Were he elected to the Hall of Fame, his 370 home runs would rank a very respectable 39th among elected members, behind Carlton Fisk in 38th place with 376, and ahead of Ralph Kiner in 40th place with 369.
Also, his career home runs-to-at-bats ratio (19) is virtually the same as Joe DiMaggio’s (18.97); and higher than Hall-of-Fame sluggers such as Stan Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, Al Kaline, Billy Williams, Johnny Bench, Orlando Cepeda, Yogi Berra, Tony Perez, Chuck Klein, Rogers Hornsby, Hack Wilson, Al Simmons, Dave Winfield, Frank Thomas, Chipper Jones, and Harold Baines.
5. His career batting average of .273 is low by Hall-of-Fame standards.
True, but again, he was not just an outstanding offensive player. He was also an excellent defensive player, as was Brooks Robinson whose average was lower than Hodges’ average. Another defensive player, Rabbit Maranville also had a career average lower than Hodges; and there are many others, including such notables as Luis Aparicio, Bill Mazeroski, Mike Schmidt, Gary Carter, Reggie Jackson, Pee Wee Reese, Joe Morgan, and Johnny Bench. There are at least 20 players in the Hall with averages below Gil Hodges’ .273. Batting average alone should not be the only qualification for entry into the Hall. If it’s true for the likes of Robinson and Mazeroski, it should also be true for Hodges.
6. His managerial record is below .500.
That it was. However, Hodges was willing to manage two expansion teams. First, the Washington Senators improved each season with Hodges as manager. Then there was the Mets. Even the legendary Casey Stengel had little to no success managing them. What did Hodges do? He led them to an amazing 100-62 record and one of the most dramatic World Series upsets ever. The Mets under Gil Hodges’ became the first World Series winner to have finished 15 games under .500 the previous year. He never won an MVP, but Hodges was named the Sporting News Manager of the Year for 1969.
7. There are too many Dodgers from that team already in the Hall of Fame
So what? Should Gil Hodges be punished just because he was on a good team with a lot of stars? When you look at the 1955 Dodger roster, four regulars were later enshrined in the Hall of Fame: Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, and Jackie Robinson. Sandy Koufax didn’t become the Sandy Koufax until a few years later and Don Drysdale didn’t start contributing until 1957. Two others, Tom Lasorda and Walter Alston, gained entry as managers. Hodges’ Dodgers won five pennants and two World championships during the Fifties. If you go back three years in the 1940s, you can add in another two. If elected, Gil Hodges would be the fifth regular selected from the Dodgers of this era. By comparison, the Chicago Cubs of the Leo Durocher era never won anything. Nevertheless, they have four regulars in the Hall: Ron Santo, Ernie, Banks, Billy Williams, and Fergie Jenkins. Certainly a team as good as that era’s Dodgers could stand to have a player as good as Hodges was for them voted into the Hall.
Here’s some other things to consider: Gil Hodges has received more votes for the Hall of Fame than any other player not selected. He appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot the maximum 15 times, getting 63.4% of the vote in 1983, his highest total in his final year of eligibility. Ironically, seven players who finished behind him in voting that season would later be voted into the Hall of Fame: Nellie Fox, Billy Williams, Red Schoendienst, Jim Bunning, Orlando Cepeda, Bill Mazeroski and Joe Torre. There’s also this tidbit, during his 15 years of eligibility, Hodges appeared on the same ballot numerous times with 13 players who were later enshrined. In head-to-head voting, Gil almost always received more votes than these 13 players. Mark Moreno, elaborated upon this point:
“What if I told you that 13 future Hall of Fame members regularly received less support from the baseball writers than Gil Hodges. Yes, the actual writers – the ones who saw them all play every day – each year routinely voted Gil ahead of all 13.” (The numbers below indicate how many times Gil was on the same ballot with the named player – and how many times Gil received more votes):
“Gil was 3 for 3 vs. Bobby Doerr; 4 for 4 vs. Orlando Cepeda; 4 for 5 vs. Johnny Mize; 6 for 6 vs. Bill Mazeroski; 6 for 6 (plus 1 tie) vs. Hal Newhouser; 7 for 7 vs. Jim Bunning; 8 for 8 vs. Phil Rizzuto; 8 for 11 vs. Enos Slaughter; 9 for 9 vs. George Kell; 9 for 10 vs. Pee Wee Reese; 13 for 13 vs. Nellie Fox; 14 for 14 vs. Richie Ashburn; 15 for 15 vs. Red Schoendienst. Eventually, all these players were elected into the Hall of Fame. Gil Hodges, who out-voted every one of them, has not.”
For some reason the 3 years that Hodges lost to military service is not given the same consideration that other star players (DiMaggio, Williams, Musial come to mind) received. I’m not sure why Hodges is slighted in that regard.
The final argument for his inclusion has to be the intangibles like character, leadership, and integrity, there were few better than Gil Hodges. A deeply religious man, he was devoted to his family and played an active role in his community, especially with youth sports. And how was he viewed by his teammates? To say he was admired and respected would be a gross understatement. You need only reread the quotes I added above.
On April 2, 1972, Hodges was golfing with coaches Joe Pignatano, Rube Walker, and Eddie Yost in Palm Beach, Florida. As they walked off the final hole of their 27-hole day, Pignatano asked Hodges what time they were to meet for dinner. Hodges answered him, “7:30,” and then he fell to the pavement. He was pronounced dead 20 minutes later when he got to the hospital. Hodges, a life long smoker, died of a heart attack. Hodges was just 47 years old. As Billy Joel sang “Only the Good Die Young”. Who knows what Hodges could have done if he manage another 20 years.
When I think of all of the statements made about Hodges, one shared by his son while at the his father’s funeral, Jackie Robinson then held Hodges Jr. and said, “Next to my son’s death, this is the worst day of my life.” Robinson himself would die of a heart attack six months later. Hodges was a very good player and a very good man!
If you ask me, Gil Hodges deserves to be in the Hall of Fame! What say you all?
Discussion (142)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Speaking of gift cards, I just gave out a few yesterday to my mailman and trash haulers…Through all of this, they’ve been steady as sin…
Another Dodger besides Newcombe instrumental in assisting players thru hard times was Sweet Lou Johnson…I attribute my sobriety in part to Sweet Lou…
Great idea Mark, to hand out Subway gift cards which can’t be used to buy alcohol.
We (the assembled multitude here) don’t seem to be able to agree on Covid or politics but it seems as though we all agree that the mental health system and how it interacts with the justice system is in dire need of some sort of overhaul.
I remember reading years ago about Maury Wills’ issues in the early 80s. He suffered from depression and paranoia, he then started using cocaine. This stemmed from his stint as the Mariners manager where he didn’t last the season. He lived in seclusion in his Playa del Rey home. He was hallucinating, seeing persons outside his bedroom window. He covered them with blankets, lived in the dark. Refused to answer his door or phone. No one could reach him. Not family or friends.
Fred Claire and Don Newcombe camped out in front of his house until Maury finally appeared and they were able to talk him into going to a rehab facility for assistance. Wills said they saved his life. But it took more than one rehab stint. Relapses occurred again and again. I was thinking that perhaps the Andrew Toles situation was similar, but the Dodgers kept a lid on this situation. We really didn’t know the depths of his problem until today.
Before the Toles stories came out today, I thought that perhaps the team could provide the assistance he needed, but it appears that attempts have been made on numerous occasions. This mental illness situation is such a difficult problem to resolve. My heart aches for the family that is helpless is getting him better. I believe the Dodgers wanted to help, so did the family, but the rights of the individual take precedence, even when their mental state is not right.
Jason Schmidt?
Nah.
David Ortiz?
Maybe…
I would never trade for that guy… you know… PTBNL. He has been traded so many times that I am surprised anyone still wants him. To top it all of, he has a dumb name: PTBNL… is that Italian or maybe Russian?
Many of the homeless on the streets are indeed mentally ill and their families can’t do anything about it.
Many are harmless but some are dangerous and most are public health problems.
We need to get a mental health system that works, but how do you do that without stripping them of their rights?
It is a huge problem. Due to our Weather, Indy doesn’t have the homeless problems that other cities in warmer climates do, but it still exists.
I carry Subway Gift cards and instead of money, I give them a $10 gift card, so that at least they can eat. We need to do more…
First trade in the new era. Oakland sends former highly regarded middle infielder Jorge Mateo to San Diego for that proverbial player to be named later.
First, I would love to see JT stay with LA when his playing days are over. Many iconic Dodgers left the organization and went elsewhere. Or got out of baseball completely. Reese, Snider, Koufax, all did other things. Even Drysdale was an announcer somewhere else before he came back to LA> I feel for Toles family. That is hard to take. My son suffers from depression a lot. But he is a pretty strong kid, and fights it as best he can. His was triggered by the loss of his son. NO parent should have to do that.
JT just oozes the “good guy vibe” in every interview that I have ever seen him in.
I pray for Andrew and his family… Good therapy and maybe he can fit in, which was difficult for him… I’m glad there was no drugs mentioned…
Made me think of one of the greatest Little Lg. and HS hltters I ever saw, Sean Burroughs out of Long Beach, Ca…. Fell victim to a 3 year affair with drugs… He did scratch his way back to the bigs and some independent…
Ditto on Gary Sheffield having a vicious swing…
Nightengale did a nice job on that article. One thing he points out is that Toles still has some of his baseball earnings so he can hop a plane to anywhere. That makes him all the harder for his family to find when he disappears.
Needless to say, we all hope that he will be willing to accept the help that so many are willing to offer. My thoughts are with all of you who have these kinds of conditions that are hitting you close to home. It must be an impossibly hard burden to bear.
Typical of JT, he has already offered to pay Toles’ medical expenses. And that is why the front office needs to keep him around for many years to come, either as a player or as a coach. He is the heart and soul of this team.
Me too. I hope for his sake and wellness and the family who supports him and tries to help. He is on my prayer list.
I have been away from baseball news since Friday noon, until late Monday afternoon. I had no internet access, but I was able to get headline notifications and saw something on Andrew Toles. This AM I started to read everything I could get my hands on about Toles. The best article I could find was by Bob Nightengale at USA Today:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/06/30/andrew-toles-dodgers-homeless-mental-illness/3285031001/
Being diagnosed with severe depression, I know quite a bit about depression and schizophrenia. I am not bi-polar and I am not diagnosed schizophrenic, but I am well aware of the power of paranoia. I am not sure how many of you know any severely depressed people, but without treatment it is a monster. I am literally writing this with tears in my eyes because I know what he must be going through. I agree with his sister, Morgan, who says the family does not care if he is ever able to play baseball again. Their sole hope is that he can “be a functioning human being in society”.
Andrew is going down a rabbit hole. The more people try to help him, the more he fights it, and the more paranoia kicks in. I only pray that he is retained in the hospital until his court date, and the laws will allow that the family can apply for guardianship and get him treatment.
The latest on Andrew Toles:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/06/30/andrew-toles-dodgers-homeless-mental-illness/3285031001/
Andrew Toles has been in at least 20 mental health facilities since 2019, his sister says, but he never stays long enough to get the help he needs. He usually stays a week, and then vanishes, moving onto the next city.
The family was hoping with the latest arrest he would be kept in jail, perhaps as long as six weeks, providing enough time to get help. The family seeks legal guardianship, but are powerless to obtain it without his consent. Instead, an anonymous person posted the $500 bail, believing they were helping, but let him loose on the streets again.
3-4 weeks ago, Jayne Cobb reported that his source has told MiLB players that there will not be a season this year. Per Baseball America, that report has come to fruition, pending the formal announcement that is due some time today. MiLB will forever be changed, and not for the better…in my opinion.
2D2. Where did you find that picture of Hodges? As far as I have seen there are no cards available that look like that. I have his 60 card. He is hatless. I just think that card is really cool. I also have a 59 Maury Wills. But there was never one made. Wills did not appear on Topps cards until 1967. The only Wills I had growing up was a Bell Brand potato chip card. One of those now days sells for big money.
I watched a game with a couple of friends between the Dodgers and Cardinals and Gibson against Sutton.
We made three beer bets during the game. Two of them had to do with scoring situations and I bet the right way both times. The third bet was my attempt to return the favor and buy a beer for my two friends. One of them took me up on it and the other said I was too hot to go against me. The bet? I bet a beer that Willie Crawford would hit the next pitch off Gibson for a home run. Another free beer for me. Love that memory.
Apparently SF RBI’s did not exist before 1954. Can anyone verify if that is true?
I liked both Sutton and Garvey. I saw Sutton’s rookie debut at Dodger Stadium in 1966. He lost to the Astros (them again), 4-2, but I was impressed with his pitching ability. He seemed to be very bitter and almost anti-Dodger in his announcing after he retired. I am not comparing Hodges and Garvey. Clearly, Hodges is my choice of the two. I do not know if sometime in the future, Garvey will be considered. Garvey was a decent 1st baseman saving lots of errors for the infield, not that that should be a HOF prerequisite. One good thing, he did save a lot of errors at first base.
Hey, we are talking baseball. Go Blue.
Wow! What great subject matter 2d2….lol. I’ve read most of this before but I sure enjoyed reading it again. My uncle was raised in Washington, In. That’s about 15 miles north of Petersburg, where Gil grew up. He told me that they hung out together now and then. My uncle is the reason I became a Dodgers and Gil Hodges fan living in a sea of Yankees fans. The 54 in my posting name represents Gil’s best year (his uni # was 14)
Gil lead the ML with 19 SF’s in 1954, I believe that was and still is a ML record (not sure of that). He also holds the record in the NL For most RBI’s in the 1950’s decade with 1,001.
I read somewhere that some of the pitchers would toss a new ball to Gil, He would then squeeze it in his strong hands which would slightly raise the stitching. (fact or fiction?).
As far as the HOF goes, I think that ship has sailed. A few years ago there was a “Golden Age Era” vote and Gil didn’t come close. I think there was to be another “Golden Age Era” vote this year, but I’m not sure. I also think I read that he would no longer be eligible.
Thank you 2d2 for writing a piece on my favorite player of all time.
You could argue about who is deserving and who is not all day. Since I saw both of them play, Hodges to me is an easy pick. Garv not so much. There are a lot of players who are on that bubble. Some are really good players, and I have mentioned a few. How about this, Gary Sheffield, all 500 plus HR’s, and over 1300 ribbies, is not in the hall, This year he got his highest vote percentage ever, 30%. He has 4 more years on the ballot. Of course, he has the PED thing hanging over his head like Bonds and Clemens. McGwire and Palmiero. The only way McGwire gets in is via the Vets committee. And with the guys on that committee now, he has 2 chances, slim and none. Hodges to me is a special case. He deserves the honor, and he should have been enshrined years ago. That he is not there makes the hall less relevant to me than it should be. There is an empty place that needs to be filled.
Hodges for sure…
Garvey not so sure…
I still will never forget the Garvey experiment at 3B, now that was humorous…
Who did Garvey have the skirmishes with in the clubhouse??? Was it Sutton?? Also humorous…
Speaking of 1B, I was so damn happy when we got Eddie Murray… I know he was a lil llong in the tooth, But to get to see him run onto the field at the Ravine made me happy… He was one of my idols…
Garvey was a good player, but he had 100 less HR than Gil Hodges and his career OPS of .775 pales to Hodges .846. Gil would be #75 on the All-Time OPS list of HOF players. Gil so much deserves to be in, but there are worse players than Garvey in the HOF too.
Hope so, Bobby.
So I became a Dodger fan in 1983. Which means not only did I NOT see Hodges play, but I also never saw Garvey as a Dodger. When I started watching, Garv was a Padre.
I’ve always heard that Garv was also deserving of being a Hall of Famer. For the smart folks here, who was better, Hodges or Garvey? Does Garvey also belong in the Hall? Who deserves it more? I know MT guessed that Hodges gets in within 2 years, but will Garvey ever make it?
Rumor has it (as Adele would say) that Giants at Dodgers will be the opening day matchup. Since we already know Yanks at Nats is the official opener, I hope we’re the 2nd opener that day.
Matt Kemp to sign with Colorado. Might be interesting .
Great piece of writing, 2D2. If Gil Hodges does not deserve to be in the HOF, I don’t know who is. Thank you for a very interesting background story on him. I was not aware of his military accomplishments. I remember him as the skipper of those “amazing Mets”, one of the most exciting World Series.
Singing The Blue……You are right, it is Price on my new shirt. You can go to redwingstee.com to see it if you wish.
MT, you are going to convince anyone who does not have the desire to hear or understand, it’s time proven and has gone on for thousands of years. I am reminded of a quote that I have read many times over the years and it applies to what we are seeing today.
“You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart”.
This quote was written thousands of years ago (as in BC), but I think it is sadly accurate for today. I know where you are coming from MT and i hear you loud and clear. Keep up the good work, don’t grow weary in spreading the facts that some just can’t deal with, it goes against the mindset and heartset of too many in this country.
Gil Hodges a little ahead of my time, but not by much. From what i have read and heard about his play, he sounds like a great player and a great man too. Was there something in his background or something that created a bias against his HOF election? In his era, was he just overshadowed by other great players that did get elected to the HOF?
Great article, Rob.
This is a great book: https://www.amazon.com/Praying-Gil-Hodges-Familys-Brooklyn-ebook/dp/B003G93Z5O
The Indiana Boy will be in the HOF in the next two years.
I predict it!
Outstanding piece about one of my all time favorite players. To whom do we write to try and influence the HOF veterans committee to make right a long standing wrong?
Great article 2D2. Gil was/is an under appreciated player, manager and man.
June 30, 1962 – With the aid of 13 strikeouts and a Frank Howard home run, Sandy Koufax no-hits Bob Miller and the Mets 5-0 in Los Angeles.
My father thought it unforgivable that Hodges was not in the hall.
As Badger said, I am a strong proponent of Hodges for the hall. That Gil is not already in is a travesty. He compares favorably with Tony Perez, who is in the hall. Hodges was a rock on those Brooklyn Teams of the 50’s, and a big part of the first World Championship team in LA. He scored the winning run in the deciding playoff victory over the Braves in 59. Solid defender. And did pretty well as a manager. Like to know where you got the card that is on the post. That is not the 1960 Topps that was in the packs that year. He was cap less. The other Hodges card from 1960 showed him coming home after hitting the winning homer in the 59 series.
OK, we’re making progress.
Just signed Knack for $715k which is about $440k under slot. That much more to hand out to Beeter and/or Vogel.
It has already been said enough over the years that Hodges should be in Cooperstown, but no cigar…
I’ll be quick, MAGA Man M.T. will soon go fishing and like a fart in church, it’s just plain embarrassing…
Trace Thompson was my guy a couple years back when he came with the back… I thought he had a chance at say a #4 OF… I’ll be watching for him…. Boy would he have added to the families lore..
By the way, in researching the guy (Dr Frank) that wrote what Mark posted I found this in the comments section:
“Anonymous April 4, 2020 at 8:33 am – Reply
I will be blunt – the guy is one of the biggest frauds on the internet. I’ve been reviewing his facebook site and he is now all over the board – anywhere from 9,000 – 60,000+ deaths. He’s just making up stuff as he goes along and talking stupid stuff like embers, logs, and forest fires. Eventually, he will see the reality that the experts who predicted 100k-200k will probably be accurate (unfortunately).“
Not a lot of gray area in that person’s opinion. And he was reading what I was reading at the time – 100k-200k fatalities.
Hodges in the Hall. In a word “oh hell yes! He was one of my early heroes. My grandfather knew him, I was hoping to get to meet him, but never got the honor. Nicely done 2d. (Bear will no doubt be shortly to support the call)
Bobby I had copied and pasted this when the last thread was closed (not slammed shut mind you, just closed. Suddenly. Without any warning)
“So we’ve won the division 7 straight times (in 162 games, of course). But if we pretend that each of those seasons was only the first 60 games, as will be be the case in 2020, we would’ve only won the division 2 times! In fact, we would’ve finished last in 2013, and 2nd in 2014 and 2016! Shows that our depth gets us thru the dog days and we start pulling away in the 2nd half.“
Now that is some significant statilogical scoop right there. Good work.
So we’ve won the division 7 straight times (in 162 games, of course). But if we pretend that each of those seasons was only the first 60 games, as will be be the case in 2020, we would’ve only won the division 2 times! In fact, we would’ve finished last in 2013, and 2nd in 2014 and 2016! Shows that our depth gets us thru the dog days and we start pulling away in the 2nd half.
So this 60 game sprint won’t be easy whatsoever. Cannot afford a few blown saves early, and we can’t say “oh, it’s early, Kenley (or whoever) will get it right by playoff time”
I like it. It will be unique and gut wrenching if we’re 20-20 to start things.