Manny Jimenez--1968
The back of Manny Jimenez' card neatly
sums up his career in one sentence:
Manny's best day in the majors came
on July 4, 1964 when he exploded for
three home runs in a game.
What else could the Topps people write?
A prolific hitter in the minor leagues, as
the native Dominican won a batting title
and routinely hit well over .300; Jimenez
wasn't able to duplicate his magic in the
big leagues--- well, except for one day.
After a solid .301 showing as a rookie
with the Kansas City A's, the lefty
swinger's career took a downturn as he
was relegated to a backup role.
However, Jimenez did catch lightening in
a bottle on July 4th of '64, when he went
4-for-4, with three home runs and five
ribbies.
After a first inning single, his slugfest
started with two big flies against the
gopher ball king (now #2) Robin Roberts.
At 37, the future Hall of Famer
right-hander was enjoying his last
successful season as a member of
Baltimore Orioles. Jimenez would also
connect off of righty reliever Dick Hall in
a game that would oddly end in a 6-6 tie.
The fly chaser would remain on the A's
bench through 1966 before he was
selected in a minor league draft by the
Pirates, who subsequently moved him on
to the Cubs a few years later.
In all, Jimenez would hit 26 homers in the
bigs to go with a .272 average over parts
of seven seasons. And on July 4, 1964
he provided the Baltimore fans with his
own personal fireworks display.
May your Fourth of July holiday feature
as many (and more) fireworks as those
provided by Manny Jimenez back in
1964.
(7/4/10)
sums up his career in one sentence:
Manny's best day in the majors came
on July 4, 1964 when he exploded for
three home runs in a game.
What else could the Topps people write?
A prolific hitter in the minor leagues, as
the native Dominican won a batting title
and routinely hit well over .300; Jimenez
wasn't able to duplicate his magic in the
big leagues--- well, except for one day.
After a solid .301 showing as a rookie
with the Kansas City A's, the lefty
swinger's career took a downturn as he
was relegated to a backup role.
However, Jimenez did catch lightening in
a bottle on July 4th of '64, when he went
4-for-4, with three home runs and five
ribbies.
After a first inning single, his slugfest
started with two big flies against the
gopher ball king (now #2) Robin Roberts.
At 37, the future Hall of Famer
right-hander was enjoying his last
successful season as a member of
Baltimore Orioles. Jimenez would also
connect off of righty reliever Dick Hall in
a game that would oddly end in a 6-6 tie.
The fly chaser would remain on the A's
bench through 1966 before he was
selected in a minor league draft by the
Pirates, who subsequently moved him on
to the Cubs a few years later.
In all, Jimenez would hit 26 homers in the
bigs to go with a .272 average over parts
of seven seasons. And on July 4, 1964
he provided the Baltimore fans with his
own personal fireworks display.
May your Fourth of July holiday feature
as many (and more) fireworks as those
provided by Manny Jimenez back in
1964.
(7/4/10)
