Two iterations in Clete Boyer's career

Clete Boyer was one of those Yankees ensconced in our mind with the early '60s chapter of the dynasty. The Yankees had a very long history of preeminence, of course. It must have been boring to see them on top so much. And remember, no wild card through all those years. The cheese stood alone in both leagues.
So, my Minnesota Twins in just their second year of existence, 1962, gave us ecstasy by finishing second to the Yankees, only five games out, but no post-season opportunities. That didn't get fixed until 1969. By '69 the Bronx crew had fallen with a thud off its one-time preeminence. But Clete Boyer had not fallen with them. The superb third baseman, remembered almost entirely for his defense, was with the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves were in just their fourth year in Atlanta. Prior to that, they had a quite successful run in Milwaukee. Mystifies me how they came to leave Milwaukee - I'm sure there's an interesting story and hard feelings.
The Braves with Boyer won the National League West - huh? - in the first year of East/West divisions. Atlanta in the west? Well there's a story or explanation there too. They faced off against the fabled New York Mets for the N.L. pennant. Surely New York would be in the East, n'est-ce pas?
The '69 Braves won a tough race with a lineup that had exciting players. How about Hank Aaron, Rico Carty and Orlando Cepeda? Can hardly top that for sort of a murderer's row. Add to that the novel pitching of Phil Niekro and his knuckleball.
Alas, the '69 Braves do not occupy any soft of storied place in baseball lore. First off they lost the playoff series 0-3. Secondly, the Mets became America's darlings, having emerged from their futile history with the big '69 surge, like Pinocchio suddenly turning into a real boy! The Mets captivated us in a year when the USA also reached the moon - lots of dramatic stuff going on and not all of it good. Divisiveness scarred America. Well, a lot like today? Let's put that subject aside.
Let's celebrate baseball from the time when America's baby boomers were young. We were entranced by the early '60s Yankees. We got familiar with all the names and personalities, even those players not getting All-Star consideration. I mean, if the Phil Linz "harmonica incident" had happened with a small-market team, would it even have been reported in the news? I ponder that with bemusement. It was fun dwelling on that episode along with the supposedly eccentric Yogi Berra and the players with peccadilloes - shall I mention consuming alcohol? In a time when society countenanced that so much more than today?
Billy Crystal paid homage to the early '60s Yanks with his movie about Roger Maris.
The 1969 Braves had to fend off challenges like the Houston Astros, a team that had its own "exile" from the Yankees of the early '60s: Jim Bouton. And Bouton wrote quite the book about '69 and used this for remembering his Yankee years, settling old scores etc. I don't remember Clete Boyer having a strong presence in the book but to the extent he's there, he is not presented in a particularly sympathetic way. I'm not dusting off my old copy to re-read it.
There is a photo in there of Bouton following through on a pitch with Boyer poised at third. Perhaps too poised, Bouton joked, as the third sacker was "over-reacting to what was probably a weak pop-up." Bouton probably threw a fastball for that scene. After '64 his arm lost its resilience. So in '69 he was "hanging on to the water wagon," to use a line from Robert Redford"s "The Natural," by throwing a novel off-speed pitch. He threw the knuckleball as a reliever for the Astros. He had his moments in '69 but he also got roughed up some. He tried hanging on into 1970 but had to withdraw, as the book's controversy loomed for him and his team.
 
Pinstripes in our memory
Fans my age have an image of Clete Boyer as a Yankee. He was important as he was right up there in fielding ability at third with Brooks Robinson. The two may even have been equal. Boyer hit well enough to hold his own. He stayed with the Yankees into their drastic descent after '64. So did Mickey Mantle and other well-established names.
Sad? I don't know, as in my mind the Yankees kept their particular mystique even when the wins evaporated. We were always awestruck seeing Mantle step up to the plate.
The Yankees fell all the way to the bottom of the standings in 1966. Boyer's departure from the Yanks after '66 was not offset by anything positive. He was traded to Atlanta for Bill Robinson. Robinson is remembered as a minor league phenom who couldn't produce at the top, not a lick.
Yankees management commented at the time of Boyer's departure that his bat was too much of a liability. Boyer's average in 1966 was .240. In 1961 when the Yankees had one of their greatest seasons, Boyer batted .224.
We see a guy playing Boyer early in the Billy Crystal movie, as the camera moves around the infield. The broadcaster in the movie refers to Boyer as "The Glove." Fielding in the infield is a mighty important commodity.
In the Yankees' pennant-winning '64 campaign, Boyer carried a .218 bat. It sure helps when you win. His average was higher in the decline years for the team, '65 (.251) and '66 (.240). Things were so bad for the team in '66, a broadcaster had his contract not renewed because he had the camera show all the empty seats for a game. As I recall, the fan turnout for that game was in the hundreds, not the thousands!
An analyst who uses "OPS" (above my knowledge, sorry) points out that Boyer in '65 and '66 was a slightly above average American League hitter. The Yanks should have kept the faith. But Boyer was traded to Atlanta for unproven commodity Bill Robinson. Bill came through with averages of .196, .240 and .171 in three seasons in New York.
And Boyer's replacement at third base? Charley Smith. I'm sure he's a nice guy but. . .

"Who's on the other end?"
Bouton got chuckles in his book for reporting the player who he was traded for: "Dooley Womack." I guess it sounds like a funny name but that's unfair - ditto nice guy, assuredly. Smith and Womack would be called "commons" among baseball cards. Unless, Womack maybe got a touch of celebrity for being cited in Bouton's famous book. Smith batted .224 with the Yankees.

Clete Boyer as Brave

While many of our beloved early '60s Yankees left the game or cruised through the mediocrity for a time, Boyer's story is more interesting. Yes we'll always picture him as a Yankee but he really found a second career with the Braves. He hit a career-best 26 home runs with the '67 Braves. His batting average stayed the same as his career norm.
Defensively he still had prowess, prowess which was an ingredient in the '69 division-winning year. It's too bad that team has become so obscure in baseball annals due to our "love affair" with the '69 Mets. I'm biased: Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman graduated from the West Central School of Agriculture in my town of Morris MN. Koosman came back here for a ceremony.
But we should also raise a toast to the '69 Braves with Aaron, Cepeda, Carty, Niekro and Boyer. A fine team that survived a challenging divisional race. Too bad the divisional format hadn't been established earlier.
Boyer played five seasons with the Braves and acquitted himself well. He had 619 plate appearances in '67.
His career home run total was 162, over 16 total seasons. His major league road began with the Kansas City Athletics, then considered rather a "farm team" for the Yankees, remember? He joined the Bronx crew in 1959. Boyer excelled in the Yankees' 1962 world championship year as he batted .272 with 18 home runs in 566 at-bats. He had seven hits in 22 at-bats in the World Series in which New York beat San Francisco. Remember the line drive caught by Bobby Richardson at the end?
Boyer's career was tarnished only slightly by a gambling misstep. He retired after the 1971 season. Thanks for the memories, Clete Boyer. Fans of "Ball Four" have matured and have learned to make a more measured assessment of the book.
 
Addendum: I remember Hank Aaron having the "Hank" phased out at a certain point, with "Henry" taking over. By the same token, the great Phillies player "Richie" Allen sought to discard that first name in favor of "Dick" and I even saw a baseball card where he signed "Rich!" And Chuck Barris of the Gong Show sang "Why does everybody call me Chuckie when they know my name is Chuck?"
 
Addendum #2: Is it true or urban legend that the Braves manager called a press conference to announce Phil Niekro would be pitching with two days rest, and when asked if he had any special concerns, the skipper said: "We're not worried about Niekro pitching on two days rest, we're worried about Uecker catching on two days rest."
  
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

I had a large collection of these Post Cereal cards!