Haven’t
added to my long-running “1975 In-Action” series in a while, so let’s
go and add “Mick the Quick” Mickey Rivers to it today shall we:
Take a look:
Mickey was coming off his first full year in the Big Leagues, leading
the American League with 11 triples in 1974 while batting .285 with 133
hits in 466 at-bats while stealing 30 bases.
1975 would see him lead the American League once again in triples, this
time with 13, while also topping the Junior Circuit with 70 steals while
hitting .284 on 175 hits in 616 at-bats.
Man, "Mick the Quick" was a player I loved when I first got seriously
into baseball in 1976 or so. He was that New York Yankee with the speed
and flash that my six-year-old mind latched on to back then.
He put together a nice 15-year career that saw him lead the league in
stolen bases once and triples twice, while topping 200 hits in 1980 with
the Rangers when he hit .333.
He even managed to retire from the game hitting .300 his final year in the big leagues, playing for Texas in 1984.
He'd finish with a .295 batting average with 1660 hits and 267 stolen
bases, as well as those two World Championships in the Bronx in 1977 and
1978.
