Ed Spiezio--1970
After languishing on the St. Cardinals
bench during the mid-1960s, stuck
behind Ken Boyer, Charley Smith and
Mike Shannon; Ed Spiezio got his big
break when expansion came around in
1969.
Traded along with others to the Padres
for Dave Guisti prior to the '69 season,
Spiezio made a big splash
in the Padres first game, as he hit a
home run in his second at-bat. The blast
off Houston's Don Wilson would register
several "firsts" in the San Diego record
books--- for hit, home run, run scored
and run batted in.
With a career average of .205 during five
seasons with St. Louis, Spiezio would hit .
234 with 13 long balls in his debut with
the Pads. He would follow that up with a .
285-12-42 line in 1970.
Which leads us to ask, "Ed, you're a third
baseman. For Heavens sake, why are
you bunting in your 1970 cardboard
rectangle?"
Why?
After all, Spiezio would log just seven
sacrifice bunts during his 9-year career,
six sacs with the Padres. We guess this
must have been one of manager Preston
Gomez's big mind games.
In the end, Spiezio would hit .238 with 39
homers during his career. He would sire
a son, Scott, as the father-son duo would
both collect World Series hardware with
the Cardinals.
We hear that you can check out the
elder Spiezio's World Series Ring and
receive bunting instruction in-between
sets, as he is pounds out the polkas on
his accordion nightly at the Bavarian
Lounge in the Joliet Holiday Inn, with
three shows during the holidays.
(12/23/11)
bench during the mid-1960s, stuck
behind Ken Boyer, Charley Smith and
Mike Shannon; Ed Spiezio got his big
break when expansion came around in
1969.
Traded along with others to the Padres
for Dave Guisti prior to the '69 season,
Spiezio made a big splash
in the Padres first game, as he hit a
home run in his second at-bat. The blast
off Houston's Don Wilson would register
several "firsts" in the San Diego record
books--- for hit, home run, run scored
and run batted in.
With a career average of .205 during five
seasons with St. Louis, Spiezio would hit .
234 with 13 long balls in his debut with
the Pads. He would follow that up with a .
285-12-42 line in 1970.
Which leads us to ask, "Ed, you're a third
baseman. For Heavens sake, why are
you bunting in your 1970 cardboard
rectangle?"
Why?
After all, Spiezio would log just seven
sacrifice bunts during his 9-year career,
six sacs with the Padres. We guess this
must have been one of manager Preston
Gomez's big mind games.
In the end, Spiezio would hit .238 with 39
homers during his career. He would sire
a son, Scott, as the father-son duo would
both collect World Series hardware with
the Cardinals.
We hear that you can check out the
elder Spiezio's World Series Ring and
receive bunting instruction in-between
sets, as he is pounds out the polkas on
his accordion nightly at the Bavarian
Lounge in the Joliet Holiday Inn, with
three shows during the holidays.
(12/23/11)
