On
the blog today, a fun little "tweak" to Earl Weaver's 1971 card, this
an All-Star designation as the American League's skipper in the 1970
Midsummer Classic, something I did with the starting nine for both
leagues almost ten years ago:
Weaver
had the honors of leading the A.L. in the 1970 All-Star game based off
his pennant winning season of 1969, when the Orioles were stunned in the
World Series by the "Miracle Mets".
It
was Weaver's first full season as a Major League manager, taking over
at mid-season the year before for Baltimore and leading them to a second
place finish before his run of three first place finishes between 1969
and 1971.
I loved Earl Weaver
as a kid, who paired up nicely with my favorite manager, Billy Martin:
fiery, combative, and always ready to stick his neck out for his team.
By the time he
retired after the 1986 season, Weaver finished with a record of 1480
wins against 1060 losses, for a very nice .583 winning percentage, with
four Pennants and a World Championship in 1970, posting a
winning season every year of his tenure except his very last, when he
finished 73-89.
In 1996 he was voted
into the Hall of Fame as a manager, celebrating one of the most
colorful managers of the era, and rightly so!
