rico43
01-13-2015, 08:38 PM
#53 CLARENCE GASTON
Outfielder
What came before: Born in Seguin, Texas, Gaston grew up in the same area as a Hall of Fame Negro League, “Double Duty” Radcliffe. Braves scout Al LaMacchia spotted Gaston in 1961 playing for an amateur team, the Cardona Welders in San Antonio, but did not convince the Braves to sign him until March of 1964.
http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii562/ricocarty25/66GASTON001_zpsddd9cae8.jpg
He quickly was placed his his first pro team, in middle Georgia, but was hobbled for nearly a year by a cracked shinbone that went undiagnosed.
That 1966 season: Gaston was nowhere on the radar of the Braves before the season, but the finally healthy Gaston wowed folks in spring training and exploded on the scene by hitting .330 with 28 homers and 104 RBIs for Batavia in the NYP League – winding up second in hitting, only five points shy of the league Triple Crown. He got a brief stint in the Texas League as well, and enjoyed his homecoming of sorts with four more RBIs in four games.
The Braves, red-hot and climbing through the standings in late 1966, did not summon Gaston that season.
What happened next: The Braves were drooling at Gaston's potential, as the 6-3, 190, outfielder returned to the Texas League and produced a .305-10-70 season. He finally made his MLB debut that September, but hit only .130 with one RBI in nine games.
The team that had a major crush on Gaston wound up being the San Diego Padres, who drafted him in the 1969 expansion draft after languishing in the minors the entire 1968 season. His rookie year was nothing special, but he went on to win his second winter league batting title in Venezuela following the year. But the phenom surfaced in 1970 as Gaston went .319-29-93 and made the NL all-star team and earned MVP votes.
He would never enjoy that level of success again, and indeed returned to the Braves in 1975 in a deal for reliever Danny Frisella. He spent four seasons as an extra outfielder and pinch-hitter, briefly going to the Pirates before ending his big-league playing career in 1978. After two seasons of play in Latin America, he formally retired, and Hank Aaron promptly hired him to be a minor league hitting instructor for the Braves in 1981.
But his old friend Al LaMacchia, now an executive with the expansion Toronto Blue Jays, did not forget his protege, and joined the coaching staff of new Blue Jays manager Bobby Cox in 1982. He was still the hitting coach in 1989 when then-manager Jimy Williams was fired. Gaston was first named interim manager, but eventually accepted the job full-time. All he did was lead the Blue Jays to the AL Eastern Division championship.
Under Gaston, the Blue Jays never finished lower than second over the next five seasons, winning four more divisions and back-to-back World Championshps in 1992 (defeating the Braves) and 1993. He stepped down during the 1997 season with the Blue Jays headed for their fourth straight losing season. But no other team called and the Blue Jays front office and he remained close, and he was brought back as hitting coach for the 2000-01 seasons and again, intended to retire.
Flash forward to 2008. The Blue Jays were in a 4-13 slump and manager John Gibbons was canned. Gaston, who had interviewed for only few other managerial positions over the years, was called by his old club and the uniform still fit. Toronto went 51-37 the rest of the way and he again was at the helm. He managed through 2010, again stepping away after a 85-77 season at age 66, only good enough for fourth place in the tough division.
Outfielder
What came before: Born in Seguin, Texas, Gaston grew up in the same area as a Hall of Fame Negro League, “Double Duty” Radcliffe. Braves scout Al LaMacchia spotted Gaston in 1961 playing for an amateur team, the Cardona Welders in San Antonio, but did not convince the Braves to sign him until March of 1964.
http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii562/ricocarty25/66GASTON001_zpsddd9cae8.jpg
He quickly was placed his his first pro team, in middle Georgia, but was hobbled for nearly a year by a cracked shinbone that went undiagnosed.
That 1966 season: Gaston was nowhere on the radar of the Braves before the season, but the finally healthy Gaston wowed folks in spring training and exploded on the scene by hitting .330 with 28 homers and 104 RBIs for Batavia in the NYP League – winding up second in hitting, only five points shy of the league Triple Crown. He got a brief stint in the Texas League as well, and enjoyed his homecoming of sorts with four more RBIs in four games.
The Braves, red-hot and climbing through the standings in late 1966, did not summon Gaston that season.
What happened next: The Braves were drooling at Gaston's potential, as the 6-3, 190, outfielder returned to the Texas League and produced a .305-10-70 season. He finally made his MLB debut that September, but hit only .130 with one RBI in nine games.
The team that had a major crush on Gaston wound up being the San Diego Padres, who drafted him in the 1969 expansion draft after languishing in the minors the entire 1968 season. His rookie year was nothing special, but he went on to win his second winter league batting title in Venezuela following the year. But the phenom surfaced in 1970 as Gaston went .319-29-93 and made the NL all-star team and earned MVP votes.
He would never enjoy that level of success again, and indeed returned to the Braves in 1975 in a deal for reliever Danny Frisella. He spent four seasons as an extra outfielder and pinch-hitter, briefly going to the Pirates before ending his big-league playing career in 1978. After two seasons of play in Latin America, he formally retired, and Hank Aaron promptly hired him to be a minor league hitting instructor for the Braves in 1981.
But his old friend Al LaMacchia, now an executive with the expansion Toronto Blue Jays, did not forget his protege, and joined the coaching staff of new Blue Jays manager Bobby Cox in 1982. He was still the hitting coach in 1989 when then-manager Jimy Williams was fired. Gaston was first named interim manager, but eventually accepted the job full-time. All he did was lead the Blue Jays to the AL Eastern Division championship.
Under Gaston, the Blue Jays never finished lower than second over the next five seasons, winning four more divisions and back-to-back World Championshps in 1992 (defeating the Braves) and 1993. He stepped down during the 1997 season with the Blue Jays headed for their fourth straight losing season. But no other team called and the Blue Jays front office and he remained close, and he was brought back as hitting coach for the 2000-01 seasons and again, intended to retire.
Flash forward to 2008. The Blue Jays were in a 4-13 slump and manager John Gibbons was canned. Gaston, who had interviewed for only few other managerial positions over the years, was called by his old club and the uniform still fit. Toronto went 51-37 the rest of the way and he again was at the helm. He managed through 2010, again stepping away after a 85-77 season at age 66, only good enough for fourth place in the tough division.