It's been a while. Let's try to get back into the swing on things.
The last few days have been rough for Sox fans, with the sudden losses of postseason star Dave Henderson and ace third baseman Frank Malzone. I believe Malzone was associated with the Red Sox for close to 70 years in one capacity or another, except for a brief stint with the Angels in 1966. His picture was still in the Red Sox' yearbook as recently as this year.
My favorite line about Malzone comes from the Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, just because it sums up the sorry state of the Sox of that era:
"Malzone scored 107 runs for Milford in the Eastern Shore League in 1948, but didn't make the majors for only nine years after that because of a serious injury, military service, assorted bad luck, and the fact that the Red Sox were run for much of the 1950s by morons."
Malzone's rookie card is in the 1955 Bowman set; he and Elston Howard are the most notable rookies in that set. Above is what his 1955 Topps card might have looked like if he had had one. And yes, the small pic is from his 1964 Topps Stand-Up card, a mere nine years later. Best I could do.
In 1957, Malzone was the third baseman on the very first Gold Glove team (there was one combined AL/NL that year only), and is still the only Sox third baseman to win a Gold Glove (sorry, Shea Hillenbrand or Jack Brohamer fans).
We all know about Hendu and his 1986 ALCS homer. Part of me has always wished he had just made an out to end Game 5; it would have saved a lot of heartbreak later on. On the other hand, in the words of Wayne Brady, it's go big or go home. If you want to win the World Series or the Super Bowl, you're going to have to risk losing in dramatic fashion. If you can't take the heat, go move to Cleveland or something.
Besides, that homer -- especially with Al Michaels' dramatic call -- puts a smile to my face every time. The photo on his hypothetical '86 Topps card is from that homer.
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