Fun facts about Don Pavletich:
-Don was born in Milwaukee, WI, and signed with Cincinnati as a bonus baby in 1956.
-He missed most of 1957-1958 while in military service. He debuted in the majors in 1957, but his early MLB record consisted of single games played in 1957 and 1959.
-After batting .295 with 22 home runs at Triple-A Indianapolis in 1961, he got the call to the bigs in 1962 but played sparingly.
-Was unimpressive in part-time duty in 1963, but started to show something in 1964, hitting five home runs in just 34 games.
-Kept his momentum rolling with a .319 average, .394 on-base percentage, eight homers, and 32 RBI the following year.
-1966 brought career highs in home runs (12) and RBI (38) to go with a .294 average.
-Don's only career grand slam was a pinch-hit walkoff shot on June 11, 1967 to top the Astros in the second game of a doubleheader. He also took Mike Cuellar deep in the first game of the twinbill.
-In the final four seasons of his major league career, he played for three teams (Reds, White Sox, and Red Sox).
-Don's final career home run came against Hall of Famer Jim Palmer.
-Was traded to his hometown Brewers after the 1971 season, but they effectively ended his career by releasing him the following spring. In parts of twelve seasons, he hit .254 with 46 homers and 193 RBI.
Looks like Pavletich's offense finally came around just as Johnny Bench made his debut. Talk about bad timing!
ReplyDeleteJim - Yeah, he couldn't exactly wait around until Johnny hung 'em up in 1983, could he?
ReplyDeletehad arguments with a high school baseball coach on how to pronounce his name. At 9-years-old, I knew full well it was Pav-let-ick....
ReplyDeleteBill - Never argue with a young baseball fan...or a knowledgeable baseball fan, anyway. In college, I was talking to a Johnny-come-lately Yankees fan, and he pronounced Al Leiter's last name as "liter", as in the liquid measurement. I think my eyes nearly rolled out of my skull.
ReplyDeleteMr. Pavletich lived across the street from me after he was let go by the Brewers in 1972. I remember him as a good man and father to his 4 children.
ReplyDeleteTalk about nostalgia. I was in Crosley Field on June 11th 1967 when he hit that walk-off grand slam to beat Houston. The Reds lost the first game to a then unknown Mike Cuellar. I was a 12 year old sitting down the left field lower box seats with my dad. It cleared the left field screen, which was a major shot. I can still remember it to this day.
ReplyDelete