Friday Stuff
Trading Hall of Famers Edition
Monday
After the 1970 season ended, the Red Sox were unhappy with their infield and didn’t seem to know what to do about it. And those problems started several years earlier when third baseman Frank Malzone turned 35 and lost his ability to hit.
He’d been their regular third baseman since 1957, a very good defender who’d won three Gold Gloves, made the All-Star team in six different years, and had a roughly average big league bat with an OPS+ of 97 from 1957 to 1963. But he slipped a bit in 1964, and crashed entirely in 1965. He missed time, batted .239, and had an OPS+ of only 70. He appeared to be done, and the Red Sox released him after that season.
They were right to do so. Malzone signed with the Angels but hit just .206 in 82 games and ended up retiring after the season. The Sox gave the job to rookie Joe Foy, and he was pretty good for a couple years as the team improved all the way to winning the 1967 pennant. Rico Petrocelli blossomed at shortstop, George Scott was very good at first, and rookie Mike Andrews took over second base in 1967. All four of them were 24 or younger, and the Sox appeared to have a set infield for the foreseeable future.
