Nothing sparks optimism and heightens the expectations of baseball fans at the start of a new season than expecting to see an immediate contribution to their favorite team from a new player acquired during the offseason. From baseball generation to baseball generation, fans have experienced feelings of anticipation and opening day hope generated by their team’s newest addition. As the 2012 baseball season begins, Los Angeles fans will eagerly await the immediate production of new Angel Albert Pujois and Detroit Tigers fans will look forward to the same of their new first baseman, Prince Fielder. This is not unlike the hopes and expectations of fans on opening day for 3 teams from past generations of baseball.
Chicago White Sox (1956) – In their continuing attempt to catch the New York Yankees, who had won the American League pennant 6 of the previous 7 years, the White Sox got future Hall of Famer Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians after the 1955 season. . Doby, the first African American to play in the American League, was a six-time All-Star. He was 32 years old, but he still hit 26 home runs in 1955; more than any White Sox. Chicago fans hoped that Doby could be the slugger the team so desperately needed and he delivered on those expectations by leading the team in home runs (24) and RBIs (102). However, the White Sox finished in third place, 5 games behind the pennant-winning Yankees. In 1957, despite showing signs of the arrival of Father Time, Doby was the team’s co-leader in home runs with 14; but the White Sox finished second behind the Yankees and he was traded after the season.
New York Yankees (1960) – In mid-June of the 1959 season, the Yankees were in fifth place, 2 games under .500. The franchise that had won 9 pennants and 7 World Series since 1949 needed an infusion of younger talent that its minor league system was producing too slowly. Yankees fans expected changes after seeing the team finish in third place. The Yankees obtained twenty-five-year-old Roger Maris from the Kansas City A’s after the season. An All-Star in 1959, Maris had hit 35 home runs in his two years with the A’s. The Yankees literally stole it by giving the A’s 2 older players and 2 still-developing prospects. Maris immediately began fulfilling the hope of Yankee fans by hitting 2 home runs against the Red Sox in Boston on opening day of the season. He hit 39 home runs that year and 61 the next; winning the American League Most Valuable Player award in both years. Along with Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle, Maris propelled the Yankees over the next 5 years to 5 American League pennants and 2 World Series championships.
St. Louis Cardinals (1962 and 1963) – With future Hall of Famer Stan Musial nearing retirement, the St. Louis Cardinals made two unsuccessful attempts to bolster their outfield. After the 1961 season, they traded longtime Cardinal Joe Cunningham to the Chicago White Sox for 7-time All-Star Minnie Miñoso. Although he was 36 years old, Minoso in 1961 had hit .280 with 14 home runs and 82 RBIs, and the Cardinals expected him to produce those numbers in 1962. But Minoso broke his wrist and played in only 39 games; and he was traded after the season. Prior to the 1963 season, the Cardinals traded Larry Jackson, their most consistent pitcher for the previous 6 years, to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder George Altman. An All-Star the previous 2 seasons with a 24 home run average, Altman was the type of hitter Cardinal fans hoped would add power to their team’s lineup. However, Altman only hit 9 home runs for the Cardinals that year and was later traded.
Players change and teams change from one generation of baseball to the next, but the opening day hopes and expectations of fans remain the same; resisting the tests of time.
