RIP Rocky Colavito

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/spor ... -dead.html

Sorry to hear about Rocky, as a kid he was one of my favorite players. He was a New Yorker of Italian descent just like me and all the kids in my neighborhood. He was fun to watch in the batters box as he pointed the bat directly back at the pitcher before getting set to swing. A really good outfielder with a cannon arm. You look at his stats and they say HOF [my opinion] certainly as good as the two latest players to gain entrance. I rember how towards the end of his carrier that he finally got to play for the Yankees and in one game they even had him come into pitch. I believe he threw a scoreless inning. RIP Rock thanks for the memories

I knew him in the mid to late 60s when he was still in his prime and being a star.....but I knew him more from my first experience with SOM in mid-70s....a local rec center had the game and after having played APBA for a year or two before that, and CADACO All Star Baseball before that, fell in love with SOM over those two....my favorite team to use was the '65 Indians with McDowell and Seibert and Tiant on the mound, and Colavito, Daddy Wags Leon Wagner, and my namesake here, 1B Fred Whitfield (I gave him the nickname "Big") and the funny part as a competitive 15 year old, I got so excited when he or any team member would hit a HR, that the rec leader told me I had to go outside to celebrate....so, you can imagine, we're seated at table, and the dice roll comes up HR for me, and I walk/run to the door, and then go dancing yelling outside for a few seconds, then come back for more ;- )

Good memories, haha

RIP Rocky, you are fondly remembered