by NEILKAHN » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:18 pm
As I recall, the very first ever free agent signed was Andy Messersmith, by the Braves, and he stank for them for one season, and that was it. Guess that was the difference between playing in the Dodger black hole vs. "The Launching Pad" as it was known during the days of Hank. Incidentally, they were doing something to the baseballs while Hank was chasing the record. They had to be. It is the only logical explanation for the extraordinary homer totals by Darrel Evans, Dave Johnson, and Earl Williams during that period. Only Evans came close to the forty homer total in other seasons. Johnson's 43, when he never hit over 20 before or after is absolutely asinine, but nobody said boo because everybody loved Hank.