Where Has the Time Gone?

The 1969 baseball cards at the right (Pagan, via Baseball Almanac and Northrup via Flickr) came out when I was a 10-year-old basebal lfan in Madison, Wisconsin. I followed the Chicago Cubs and Minensota Twins then. The two players pictured who both passed away this past week -- Jose Pagan and Jim Northrup -- arguably did not get the notoreity, and certainly not the money, that they deserved. Both of them played key winning roles on their respective teams before such players made big salaries and before ESPN or MLB Network would do a profile on those who made champions because they provided the spare parts to make the engine run all season long until the proverbial NASCAR vehicle reached the finish line.

Pagan was a youngster with the San Francisco Giants who came within one line drive off the bat of Willie McCovey of winning the 1962 World Series. It was not until Pagan accepted a utility role with the Pittsburgh Pirates that his value was clear. He could play any infield position and occasionally played outfield or caught if injuries made it necessary. What always impressed me was Pagan's slick glove work and timely hitting when he was often called upon to perform in the critical parts of a ballgame. My trusty Baseball Encyclopedia (MacMillan 1979) has right-hand columns for every player on games played iun the field and pinch-hitting. Pagan's 1969 backs up my argument about his clutch playing. In 42 pinch-hit at-bats, Pagan stroked 19 hits for a PH batting average of .452. Of his 78 total hits, 24 went for extra bases, including 11 doubles and nine home runs. In only 274 at-bats, Pagan knocked in 42 runs. Had he played regularly, that's approximately 80-85 for an entire season. Not bad for a utility glove man. In eight seasons with the Pirates, Pagan found himself on two division and one World Series champion. Had there been divisional play or wild cards in 1965 and1966, Pagan would have helped those teams make the post-season, too.

Jim Northrup is most remembered as a Detroit Tiger centerfielder who had a key triple and a grand slam home run as the Tigers won the 1968 World Series from the St. Louis Cardinals. What some fans forget is that those heroics were more necessary than usual because the Tigers were facing the defending world champions and trailed three games to one before taking the last three games for Detroit's only World Series win among the powerful 1960s Motor City Mashers of Al Kaline, Willie Horton, Norm Cash and Bill Freehan. Unlike Pagan, Northrup was primarily an outfielder, playing 1,277 games there over a 12-year big league career. Northrup was unique in a number of respects. A native Michigander from Breckenridge, Michigan, he started out one for 12 as a 1964 rookie nd could have decided to hang up his spikes. In a back-up role the following year, Northrup batted just .205 in 80 games and 219 at-bats, showing some power with 12 doubles, three triples and a pair of homers. The Tigers were patient and so was Northrup, who emerged with 16 homers in 1966, raising his average 60 points and was 4-for-10 as a pinch hitter. From 1966-1973, Northrup was a fixture in the Detroit outfield. In fact, he could have been used as a designated hitter in 1973, the first year the Amerrican League used a batter for the pitcher, but was not. His range and arm proved too valuable in spacious Tiger Stadium. Northrup exceeded 20 homers a season 1968-1970. In the memorable 1968 campaign, he swatrted 21 dingers, knocked in 90 runs and hit. 264 in the Year of the Pitcher when the American League had only one .300 hitter and the league batting average was .230. Hiw teammate Denny McLain won 31 games and lost just six. Perhaps Northrup's contributions helped McLain reach that 30-win milestone.

Once Jim Northrup left Detroit, his career was about done. He played for the Tigers, Expos and Orioles in 1974, finishing with Baltimore in 1975. I had a Northrup baseball card when he was pictured as an Oriole but it didn't look right, except for the mop of blonde har underneath the cap. One senses he was truly a Tiger, olde English "D" and all. He batted .300 just one time, in his last season in a Detroit uniform in 1973.

Jim Northrup and Jose Pagan were thoroughbred baseball players who won't make the Hall of Fame or be remembered for setting major records. But their teams needed them and baseball needs to remember them and find more players like them.