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LA TIMES writeup of last night's great game.
MLB.com Gameday...
Preview of tonight's Dan Haren Versus King Felix Matchup
Around the American League West
This is great because it names the only players younger than Mike Trout to ever have multi-homer games. The list was two players long and both are pretty big names.
Jerome Williams: The Angels "Luck" Personified - U.S.S. Mariner
Anything dolts cannot measure they call "luck" because they are already devout atheists who don't believe in "magic". Here they scratch their slide rulers over Jerome Williams.
Scandal and Outrage Forty Years Ago Today... Angels outfielder Alex Johnson had his hearing to dispute his suspension from the team. You won't see any of this recalled in the 50th anniversary celebrations, but it was big news back then. Bigger news than an Angels team being 23 games out of first place!
In mid-June, Chico Ruiz had pulled a gun on Johnson in the locker room - suffice to say, there was no Torii Hunter keeping things light and cheery before the game back then. By late June, the Angels suspended Johnson for failing to compete. Hey, he had benched him 5 times, fined him 29 times! You couldn't really say "SURPRISE!" here at this suspension coming down. The reason for the suspension was listed as a "Refusal To Compete" (as opposed to the Jeff Mathis affliction of "inability to compete").
At the end of September, these August 31, 1971 hearings would yield a ruling that Johnson should have been put on the disabled list for stress and that he was owed his salary for suffering emotional duress. He was found not insubordinate... Wonder how Arte would take this mess. Here is some coverage of the hearings...
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Here is a short rundown of Johnson's hearing.
The Press-Courier - Google News Archive Search
This discussion of Johnson's hearing mentions Angels teammates who attended and testified. Plus you can get a front end alignment for $7.95!!!!
Baltimore Afro-American
The headline to this paper's story reads Double Standard. You mean to tell me that a black player didn't necessarily get a fair shake back in 1971? And a paper catering to "Afro-Americans" would report on the racial undertones of the scandal? But I thought society was crumbling now from a golden age past of brotherhood and lollipops. What is this thing called "What really happened" and its ugly cousin "How things really were back then". Suffice to say, the Angels clubhouse is a lot better now and the team is not 23 games behind Oakland. Front end alignments, however, have gone up in price...