Batting leadoff, an apology: Last week’s Mystery Met episode was too damn hard, and for that I am truly sorry.
Sure, our subject resembled Ken MacKenzie or Craig Anderson or any other random 20-year-old Camelot-era dude who would pass for a modern-day 45-year old.
But unlike MacKenzie and Anderson, this guy never made it to the Show. He toiled as a pitcher in the low minors for five seasons, setting up his shaving mirror in far-flung locales like Quincy, Auburn, and Salinas.
He must’ve had a tantalizing arm, as he managed to compile a 58-32 record over the course of those five years, averaging 9.5 Ks/9 innings.
But control was an issue, as he dealt walks at a WHIP-inflating rate of 5.3/9 innings.
Paul Alspach left baseball after a solid season for Greenville in 1966, his biggest claim to fame being a 1963 game in which he struck out 24 Batavia Pirates:
And I promise, the next episode of Mystery Met will be much easier. We’re talking, like, a head shot of Tom Seaver with “TOM SEAVER” written in bold block letters across the bottom of the picture…
The mystery is solved! Now maybe I can get a good night’s sleep.