William Penn Life, 2019 (54. évfolyam, 2-5. szám)

2019-04-01 / 4. szám

Tibor's Take with Tibor Check, Jr.

Take me out to the ballgame *

ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I wrote about three American- Hungarian stars of the early years of Major League Baseball: Joe Medwick, Julius Solters and Eddie Yuhas. Well, another year has come and gone, and it's time for baseball once again. This month, I'm going to put the spotlight on a relief pitcher who brought a whole new set of special quirks and peculiarities to the game. In many ways, he may have ushered in the modem era of larger-than-life baseball personalities. A1 Hrabosky became famous in the 1970s and 1980s for his on-field antics, unique facial hair and a nickname to match-The Mad Hungarian.

He was born in Oakland, Calif., on July 21,1949. Before A1 was born, his father decided to change the spelling of the family name from "Hrabvoskzy" to make pronouncing it simpler.

At an early age, A1 moved with his family to Anaheim where he went on to become a star pitcher at Savanna High School. He also loved horses and the outdoors. In high school,

Hrabosky worked summers at nearby Disneyland along with his high school sweetheart, June.

Hrabosky attended Fullerton Junior College for two years where he established many school pitching records that remain unbroken.

In 1967, the Minnesota Twins drafted the California native, but he declined the offer. Two years later he was redrafted and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. He spent the next couple of years in the Cards' minor league system, exhibiting big league potential with a blazing fastball...and marrying June. He was called up by the Cardinals for several short stints, only to be sent back down to the minors to refine his game.

In the early off-season of 1973,

Hrabosky decided he needed to make his presence on the mound more menacing. While talking with friends and team members, he decided to grow a "Fu Manchu" mustache, similar in style to one worn in drawings by Attila the Hun. Initially, Hrabosky wanted to nickname himself "Mad Dog," but a close friend recommended another nickname would be a better choice because his original choice might offend dog lovers. The idea of being called

"The Mad Hungarian" stemmed from a question posed by a reporter who had asked if the budding star was born in Hungary. ATs answer at the time: "No, Southern California."

Despite his new nickname and look, The Mad Hungarian felt he needed one more trick to give him an advantage when pitching. A1 realized that his role was to take the

mound at the end of a close game, usually when opposing players were already on base poised ready to score. The middle of the baseball diamond would become center stage, and he was the main attraction. While warming up, he would pound the baseball into the webbing of his glove and after his final practice pitch would walk off in the direction of center field stomping and talking to himself as he continued to pound the ball repeatedly into his leather mitt. Suddenly, he I would turn and plod back to the pitchj ing rubber, staring at the batter with a I glare that would melt an iceberg. The image of "The Mad Hungarian" was I born.

From 1973 through 1977,

' Hrabosky was the most dominant I reliever in the National League. By ' 1974, Hrabosky's numbers earned him a "love him or hate him" reputation with adoration coming from the home fans and anguish from the opposing fans when the Cardinals f were on the road. Hrabosky once said: "When I am on the road, my greatest ambition is to get a standing BOO!" That same year, St. Louis fans were so upset that he was not named to represent the team in the All-Star game that a protest was organized by hundreds of fans carrying banners that said: "We Hlove Hrabosky Hbanner Hday."

The Mad Hungarian enjoyed his best season in 1975, as he was named to the National League All-Star Team and was awarded the coveted Sporting News "Fireman of the Year Award," awarded to baseball's best relief pitcher. That year, he led the National League in saves (22). With his pitching success, he became a media sensation throughout the country. That success continued into the 1976 season as Hrabosky remained a dominant closer for the Cardinals.

The next season would prove to be The Mad Hungarian's last year with St. Louis. Ownership replaced the

6 0 April 2019 0 WILLIAM PENN LIFE