Thursday TCB Trivia Question

by Evan Hochschild on Sep 3, 2009 3:22 PM CDT

TCB Trivia Answer:

I'm not pleased that I gave y'all such an easy question this week. So, like most everyone guessed, the 1970 Astros' team MVP was in fact Mr. Joe Morgan.

The additional question, which two pitchers led the team in wins, was a little trickier. Larry Dierker (16 wins) was correct, but Jack Billingham snuck in there with 13 wins. Don Wilson had 11, for the record.

Next week, things won't be as easy. I promise.

Today's question concerns Astro history:

I don't know if the team still does this, but in the early years of the Astros franchise, the team would name a player as that season's "Astros MVP".

In 1970, the Astros finished 79-83. Harry Walker managed the club to a fourth place record. Fairly ho-hum season for the relatively new club.

However, a 26 year old hitter who would wind up being named team MVP had himself a nice season.

He would walk 102 times, while striking out on only 55 occurrences. (Yeeeeeeesh...too many o's there, Evan)

Not an extra base hitting machine, he would amass only eight home runs in 548 ABs. In fact he would hit more triples, 9, than homers in that season.

All those walks helped him lead the team in runs scored (102).

This may give it away, but the guy played the game the right way- bunts, stolen bases, the whole nine yards. Throughout his career he was a consistent contributor to his team.

So I'm asking ya: Who was the Astros' team MVP in 1970?

***HLP Update***: Ok, this is too easy I think. So here's an additional question: Which two pitchers led the team in wins in that 1970 season?

I'll give the answer later today. Also, I've been told this one is too easy..sorry if it is!

0 recs | 13 comments

Comments

I don’t know if the team still does this, but in the early years of the Astros franchise, the team would name a player as that season’s “Astros MVP”.

I don’t think the Astros themselves do it, but the Houston sportswriters vote on the Astros’ MVP and RoY. Last year, Berkman and Wesley won those awards.

And, HLP, you’ve got to make it tougher than Joe Morgan. Would’ve been harder if you hadn’t mentioned homer totals, because then it would be a legitimate tossup between Morgan and Wynn.

Only_A_Lad - September 3, 2009 reply

I am guessing that Michael Bourn wins the MVP for the Astros this year. Who would have thunk that before this season began?

clack - September 3, 2009 reply

McTaggart is already starting that trend

http://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/3737082224

Stephen Higdon - September 3, 2009 reply

Crawfish Boxes posts tabbed Michael lBourn long ago

McTaggert is a Johnny-Come-Lately

Joe in Birmingham - September 3, 2009 reply

The question is

Do we have to clout to claim being media members who started the trend?

Stephen Higdon - September 3, 2009 reply

I don't know if you want to claim to follow a trend

that Cecil Cooper started. Although he might have actually been right this time.

lnewcomer - September 3, 2009 reply

Jim Deshais is interviewed on Chip Bailey's fan blog....

and he says that Bourn is probably the team MVP.

clack - September 3, 2009 reply

Again no clue - don't even know who played for Astros in 1970

I was going to pick Enos Cabell for absolutely no reason – but Only_A_Lad ’s “easy” Joe Morgan call convinces me.

As for the pitchers, two more wild shots – Don Wilson and maybe Larry Dierker if they were on the team that year

Joe in Birmingham - September 3, 2009 reply

i'm with you, in that i dont really know who played on the astros in 1970 outside of the answers to the questions..

the only reason i know anything about don wilson is because a publishing company in nyc randomly started mailing me old school baseball cards of astro players, and don wilson is one of them. the company then sent me a letter telling me that one of their writers is coming out with a baseball card book and that i can get a free copy to read (and promote on here) if i wanted to.

Evan Hochschild - September 3, 2009 reply

Don Wilson was the Roy Oswalt of his time

(on the mound and as team leader, not in private lifestyle)

Joe in Birmingham - September 3, 2009 reply

Wilson was one of the fiercest competitors in Astros history. I might compare him more to Roger Clemens. He pitched two no hitters; his second no hitter followed the day after the Reds’ Maloney had no hit the Astros. Astrosdaily has a newspaper account on its web site. Wilson hated the Reds, because in his previous start against them at the Astrodome, he felt the Reds tried to humiliate his team before their home fans:

“They were ahead fourteen to nothing, and Johnny Bench was calling for breaking pitches on three-and-one counts,” Wilson charged. “Pete Rose was still running for extra bases. They weren’t satisfied to win; they wanted to make us look ridiculous. In the dugout they were laughing at us. They were even sticking out their tongues and turning their caps around backward — making fun of us. You just don’t do that in my book. Nobody is going to do that to our club and get away with it.”

Wilson had worked himself into an angry lather after the Maloney no hitter the previous day.

Once the game started, Wilson funneled his anger and frustration into a flaming fastball. He walked six batters and hit another but struck out thirteen. The one he hit was Johnny Bench. No one in the Reds’ dugout thought it was an accident. Wilson himself was hit by a Jim Merritt pitch and on two other occasions was forced to evade high hard ones. In the fifth inning, after Wilson had ducked a Merritt delivery, Reds manager Dave Bristol yelled to him, “Gutless, Gutless!”

“You’re a gutless bastard, Bristol,” Wilson yelled back.

Wilson carried on the verbal feud with the Reds’ players throughout the early innings of the game. “They didn’t have much to say in the late innings, though,” says Wilson. “I was throwing the ball down their throats.”

“I was determined to beat them… even to pitch a no-hitter against them. I was thinking about it from the first inning on. There were a couple of times my legs were shaking so much I had to step off the mound. I never wanted anything so bad in all my life as to pitch that no-hitter.”

In the 70’s, Don Wilson was on the verge of his third no hitter, taking it through the 8th inning. But the Astros trailed 1-0 on an unearned run. Manager Preston Gomez lifted Don Wilson for a PHer in the bottom of the 8th, and the 9th inning relief pitcher gave up a hit. Many Astros fans never forgave Gomez for that. But Wilson had no problem with it. To paraphrase his quote (I don’t have time to look up the exact quote), Wilson said, “I respected Preston Gomez. Now I respect him even more. He wanted to win just as much as I do.” I don’t know that I forgive Gomez, but I give credit to Wilson for wanting to win.

clack - September 3, 2009 reply

heh

Baseball was better back then.

Only_A_Lad - September 3, 2009 reply

Manzella

Agree that Manzella should definitely be given a shot this September. If nothing else, get him some big league exposure. Ease his transition next spring. If the team has to bench Tejada a few games a week, or move him to third, so be it.

jmike - September 3, 2009 reply

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