Dick Stuart and the managers he frustrated
From SABR member Joe Guzzardi at Baseball Past and Present on February 1, 2012:
After Dick Stuart hit 66 home runs and drove in 171 runs for Lincoln Chiefs in the “A” Western League in 1956, he began to add the digits “66” to every autograph. But by the time Stuart was promoted to the Hollywood Stars in 1957, he always signed with a five-point star above his name. What no one could figure out, then or now, is whether the star reflected Stuart’s team or his image of himself.
As Stuart immodestly said after his record breaking season:
If the pitching was better, I would have hit 90 home runs. I had to chase a lot of bad balls to get those 66 homers.
By 1957, the Pirates minor league system was starting to produce high quality prospects. Stuart was considered among the brightest. In his typically brash manner, when he arrived in Hollywood awash in publicity Stuart immediately announced that he would lead the league in homers and RBIs.
Read the full article here: http://baseballpastandpresent.com/2012/02/01/dick-stuart-managers-frustrated/
Originally published: February 3, 2012. Last Updated: February 3, 2012.