Bob Myrick was drafted by the New York Mets in 1974. Bob advanced quickly through the Mets' farm system and was called up to the majors in May 1976.
Myrick was used mostly as a left handed middle reliever. In 1976 Bob was 1-1 with a 3.25 ERA in 21 games (1 start).
Bob stayed with the Mets for the entire 1977 season. He was a middle reliever and a spot starter. Myrick had a decent season, especially considering how depleted and demoralized the Mets were that year. Bob was 2-2 with 2 saves and had a 3.61 ERA in 44 games (4 starts). Myrick had a stint on the disabled list in July due to a rib cage injury.
Myrick struggled with his confidence at the beginning of the 1978 season. He had a 3.25 ERA in 17 games, but he was also 0-3. On May 18, manager Joe Torre wanted to get Myrick some more confidence so he sent Bob to AAA Tidewater. No one knew it at the time, but Bob would not make it back to the majors.
Bob started the 1979 season on the disabled list due to tendonitis in his pitching shoulder. In mid-June Myrick was traded (with a minor leaguer) to the Texas Rangers for Dock Ellis. Bob spent the rest of the 1979 season with the AAA Tucson Toros. Myrick struggled in Tucson and was released after the season.
The Mets resigned Myrick for the 1980 season and sent him to Tidewater. In mid-June Bob was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a minor leaguer. Myrick spent the rest of the 1980 season in AAA Wichita and pitched well. It looked like he would have a good shot at making the Cubs roster in 1981.
Bob's shoulder problems flared up again in 1981. He spent some time in Wichita, but he struggled and was released. Myrick retired and went back to Mississipi to work in the family business (Economy Supply).
Myrick continued with Economy Supply until he retired from the business in 2012. On August 23 , 2012 Myrick died of a heart attack.
1977 Stats: 2-2, 2 saves, 3.61 ERA in 44 games (4 starts)
1977 Highlights:
Aug 5 - Earned the win in the Mets' 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Bob shut out the Giants in the final 1 1/3 innings and the Mets rallied in the 8th inning for the win.
July 11 - Scored the first two runs of the game and started the winning rally in the 9th inning with a triple as the Orioles beat the New York Yankees 4-3.
Ken Holtzman had a strange 1977 season. There were no apparent injuries, but he was rarely used by manager Billy Martin. Oakland A's owner Charlie Finley didn't have anything nice to say about Holtzman in 1977.
Hector Cruz somehow was third in NL Rookie of the Year voting even though he batted .228 (I guess the 17 HR impressed the voters). Cruz had a slightly better batting average in 1977, but his power numbers were way down. Hector was the starting 3B for the Cardinals during the 1976 season, but when the Cardinals got Ken Reitz back Cruz became an outfielder. Hector played five more seasons after 1977, but he was a backup player for the rest of his career.
Hector wasn't happy with his playing time in June and suggested that if he couldn't play every day in St. Louis that he should be traded. At the time he was batting .293, but the Cardinals had a surplus of outfielders and he wasn't able to play as much as he would have liked.
July 14 - Appeared as a pinch hitter with the score 5-5 in the 11th inning and doubled in the go-ahead run. The Cardinals scored once more and held on to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6.
Jack Kucek started the 1977 season with AAA Iowa. He put up good numbers and in July was brought up to Chicago. Jack spent two months pitching for the White Sox before a separated shoulder ended his season in late August.
After his pitching career Jack invented a pitching device called Strikeout Strippz
Below is a video of a commencement address Kucek gave a while back.
1977 Stats:
Chicago White Sox - 0-1, 3.63 ERA in 8 games (3 starts)
Iowa Oaks (AAA) - 6-8, 2.54 ERA in 16 games (15 starts)
1977 Highlights:
July 13 - Started the second game of a doubleheader and allowed 5 runs (2 earned) in 10 2/3 innings. Doug Rader hit a 2-run home run in the 11th inning to beat the White Sox 5-3.
Before the 1977 season Jim Wohlford was traded (with Jamie Quirk and Bob McClure) to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jim Colburn and Darrell Porter. Jim started in left field most of the time for the Brewers. Wohlford managed only a .285 on base percentage and a .320 slugging percentage. It was Jim's last season as a starting player. He was more effective coming off of the bench in future years.
The Detroit Tigers were better than they were the last couple of years, but Mark Fidrych's injury problems helped to derail a potentially good season. They brought up Jason Thompson and Steve Kemp to start the 1977 season, and future stars Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammel, Jack Morris, and Lance Parrish all came up late in the season.
Ralph Houk was signed by the New York Yankees in 1939. Ralph was a catcher in the minors for a couple of years and then his career was interrupted by World War II. Houk entered the war as a private, was decorated for his bravery during the Battle of the Bulge, and was discharged as a major (hence his nickname "The Major"). Ralph returned to baseball in 1946 and was brought up to the Yankees in 1947. Ralph wasn't going to get much playing time with Yogi Berra as the starting catcher. He was mostly in the minors in 1948 and 1949 and then spent a lot of time on the bench for the Yankees from 1950-1954. In eight years with the Yankees Houk played in only 91 games, but he did bat .272 during that span.
In 1955 Houk became a player-manager for AAA Denver. He did the same thing in 1956 and then was exclsively the manager in 1957.
Ralph was very successful as a manager and in 1958 he was promoted to the majors to be Casey Stengel's first base coach. He coached for the Yankees from 1958-1960.
By the end of the 1960 season Houk was a very hot commodity as a possible manager. The Yankees didn't want to see him leave, so they discharged Stengel and made Ralph the manager of the club. The Yankees won three pennants and two world championships from 1961-1963 under Houk.
Ralph moved into the General Manager's role in 1964 and hired Yogi Berra to manage the Yankees. Houk was disenchanted with Yogi's work as manager and after the Yankees lost the 1964 World Series he fired the popular Berra. Houk hired Johnny Keane to manage the Yankees in 1965, but he was more suited to managing younger players than the aging veterans that made up the Yankees team. After the team struggled in 1965 and in 1966, Houk came back to the dugout in May 1966.
Houk managed the Yankees from 1966-1973. The Yankees never made it back to the post season during Ralph's second tenure as manager. Ralph resigned as the Yankee manager after the 1973 season and was promptly hired by the rebuilding Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers struggled in Houk's first two seasons, but by the end of the 1977 season the team was on its way to start contending again. Houk retired after the 1977 season.
Ralph stayed retired for three years and then came out of retirement to manage the Boston Red Sox. Houk managed the Red Sox from 1981-1984. Houk was a special assistant for the Minnesota Twins from 1987-1989.
