Sullivan: Milt Pappas always will be remembered for one call that went against him

From Paul Sullivan at the Chicago Tribune on April 19, 2016:

Milt Pappas never let go of the moment that defined his baseball career but eventually was able to laugh about it.

The right-handed pitcher, who died Tuesday in Beecher at 76, had a successful major-league career with four teams, including the Cubs from 1970-73. Overall, he had 209 victories, 43 shutouts and three All-Star Game appearances while also belting 20 home runs.

Yet one call Pappas didn’t get denied him a perfect game Sept. 2, 1972 at Wrigley Field, when umpire Bruce Froemming called a ball on a close, 3-2 pitch to Padres pinch hitter Larry Stahl with two outs in the ninth inning.

“Milt jumped up in the air,” former teammate Billy Williams recalled Tuesday. “I don’t know what he said, but you’d have to use asterisks and dashes and all that stuff (denoting profanity) if you printed it. He held that against Bruce a long time.”

Read the full article here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-milt-pappas-sullivan-sullivan-cubs-spt-0420-20160419-column.html



Originally published: April 21, 2016. Last Updated: April 21, 2016.