Ken McMullen---1964
The other morning, I was sharing a
breakfast table with former major
league outfielder Del Unser and talk
turned to third basemen. Thinking
back to my days with the Cincinnati
Reds, I remember an aging Buddy
Bell who at age 35 could virtually field
the slow roller in his sleep. Charging
the ball to scoop and throw in one
fluid motion, Bell was a master. He
also passed along his slow roller
gene to sons David, Mike and Ricky,
as they were a pleasure to scout
when they played at Cincinnati’s
Moeller High School.
Known for his speed during his
younger days playing with the Indians
and Senators, I queried Unser about
Brooks Robinson in the 1960’s. While
he noted that Robinson was very
good at fielding the slow roller, he
surprised me with the name of Ken
McMullen as one of the better third
basemen with regard to making the
play coming in.
Unser related that while McMullen
didn’t have a strong arm, he could
put zip on the off-balance throw from
down under. Also, McMullen had
huge hands which allowed him to
scoop the ball up with relative ease
and without incident.
Taking a look at McMullen’s 1964
card, the back notes that:
“Ken has his sights set on the regular
third base job in ’64. The youngster
jumped from the C League to Triple
A in one season in 1962. Ken has
played the outfield in the American
Association.”
Sure enough, records show that
McMullen was Omaha’s left fielder in
1962. With a 33-year-old Daryl
Spencer at the hot corner for the
Dodgers in 1962, McMullen went to
the fall instructional league to learn
the nuances of playing third base.
McMullen must have done well, as
the 21-year-old was the Dodgers’
Opening Day third baseman in 1963.
While the early years weren’t
necessarily pretty for McMullen at
third base, by 1967 the former
outfielder began a streak of six
consecutive seasons where he
bested the league fielding
percentage for third basemen.
Routinely hitting around .250 during
an era when pitchers dominated the
diamond, McMullen became a staple
at the hot corner for the Washington
Senators (1965-70) and California
Angels (1970-72). Not bad, for guy
who started out his career chasing
flies in the tall grass.
(9/17/08)
breakfast table with former major
league outfielder Del Unser and talk
turned to third basemen. Thinking
back to my days with the Cincinnati
Reds, I remember an aging Buddy
Bell who at age 35 could virtually field
the slow roller in his sleep. Charging
the ball to scoop and throw in one
fluid motion, Bell was a master. He
also passed along his slow roller
gene to sons David, Mike and Ricky,
as they were a pleasure to scout
when they played at Cincinnati’s
Moeller High School.
Known for his speed during his
younger days playing with the Indians
and Senators, I queried Unser about
Brooks Robinson in the 1960’s. While
he noted that Robinson was very
good at fielding the slow roller, he
surprised me with the name of Ken
McMullen as one of the better third
basemen with regard to making the
play coming in.
Unser related that while McMullen
didn’t have a strong arm, he could
put zip on the off-balance throw from
down under. Also, McMullen had
huge hands which allowed him to
scoop the ball up with relative ease
and without incident.
Taking a look at McMullen’s 1964
card, the back notes that:
“Ken has his sights set on the regular
third base job in ’64. The youngster
jumped from the C League to Triple
A in one season in 1962. Ken has
played the outfield in the American
Association.”
Sure enough, records show that
McMullen was Omaha’s left fielder in
1962. With a 33-year-old Daryl
Spencer at the hot corner for the
Dodgers in 1962, McMullen went to
the fall instructional league to learn
the nuances of playing third base.
McMullen must have done well, as
the 21-year-old was the Dodgers’
Opening Day third baseman in 1963.
While the early years weren’t
necessarily pretty for McMullen at
third base, by 1967 the former
outfielder began a streak of six
consecutive seasons where he
bested the league fielding
percentage for third basemen.
Routinely hitting around .250 during
an era when pitchers dominated the
diamond, McMullen became a staple
at the hot corner for the Washington
Senators (1965-70) and California
Angels (1970-72). Not bad, for guy
who started out his career chasing
flies in the tall grass.
(9/17/08)
