RetroSimba

Closers get the glory, but catchers get the most valuable saves.

Within an eight-month period, August 1966 to March 1967, catchers Andy Etchebarren (Orioles) and Dave Duncan (Athletics) saved people from drowning.

Etchebarren rescued his teammate, Frank Robinson, who sank to the bottom of a swimming pool. Duncan saved a girl who tumbled into the Gulf of Mexico.

Deep end

The 1966 Orioles made themselves hard to catch in the American League pennant race, winning 12 of their first 13 games and then 25 of 33 in June.

A key to their success was Frank Robinson. Acquired from the Reds in December 1965 _ Bill DeWitt Sr. made the decision to trade him _ Robinson would have a spectacular 1966 season, achieving the Triple Crown as the league leader in home runs (49), RBI (122) and batting average (.316). He also was tops in total bases (367), runs scored (122), on-base percentage (.410) and slugging (.637).

“Frank Robinson was the catalyst who transformed a good Baltimore team into one that could be the strength of the American League for several years,” Steve Jacobson of Newsday noted.

On a day off, Monday, Aug. 22, the Orioles (80-43) awoke with a 12.5-game lead over their closest pursuers (Detroit). To reward his hometown heroes, Baltimore mortician Leonard Ruck gave them a private party at his estate that evening.

Many of the guests gathered around or in the swimming pool. Boog Powell, the massive first baseman, slipped and fell trying to throw teammate Moe Drabowsky into the pool. Powell suffered a cut above his right eye and had to go to the hospital for stitches, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Frank Robinson said other players threatened to toss him in fully clothed, even though he told them he couldn’t swim, the Associated Press reported. He said he changed into swim trunks (which he apparently had brought for lounging on the pool deck) and eased into the shallow end to prevent an expected dunking.

“I was jumping up and down (in the water) when I slipped off into the deep end,” Robinson told reporter Gordon Beard. “I went down a couple of times and kept yelling for help every time I surfaced. My wife thought I was kidding, and I guess everybody else did, too.”

Orioles outfielder Paul Blair recalled to the Associated Press, “The way Frank was jumping up and down, it looked like he knew how to swim. We were trying to catch (teammate) Charley Lau to throw him in at the time, so we weren’t paying too much attention (to Robinson) anyway.”

Sensing Robinson, 30, was in trouble, rookie Andy Etchebarren, 23, jumped in. “I thought he was kidding at first,” Etchebarren said to Gordon Beard, “but then I decided it was time to do something. When I reached Frank, he was just off the bottom and couldn’t move up.”

Etchebarren grabbed Robinson, then let go and returned to the surface for air. “I didn’t take a deep breath when I jumped in because I wasn’t really sure if Frank was kidding,” said Etchebarren. “When I realized he wasn’t, I pushed him a few yards and then resurfaced.”

Robinson told the Associated Press, “I remembered that a person in this kind of trouble is not supposed to struggle, so I kept as calm as I could. After giving me a couple shoves, Andy lost contact with me for a few seconds. I could see the headlines: ‘Robinson drowns at team party.’ Finally, Andy grabbed me again and shoved me to the side of the pool.”

No resuscitation effort was needed. “We let him lie by the side of the pool for about five minutes and then he got up,” Etchebarren said to Gordon Beard.

The next day, Etchebarren learned he had a cracked bone in his hand. Five weeks earlier, when he was struck on the hand by a Dennis Higgins pitch, X-rays showed no fracture. Pain persisted, and when another exam was done the day after the pool rescue, the fracture was discovered.

Etchebarren was back in the lineup a week later. In the Orioles’ World Series sweep of the Dodgers, he was the starting catcher in all four games. He fielded flawlessly, with no errors in 36 innings, and handled a pitching staff that limited the Dodgers to two total runs.

Frank Robinson’s home run against Don Drysdale lifted Baltimore to a 1-0 victory in the decisive Game 4. He received both the World Series Most Valuable Player Award and the American League MVP honor. Boxscore

Taking the plunge

After clouting 46 home runs for minor-league Modesto in 1966, Dave Duncan, 21, went to the Kansas City Athletics’ 1967 spring training camp at Bradenton, Fla.

On March 24, 1967, the day after Duncan walloped a 400-foot homer to break a tie and propel the A’s to an exhibition game win against the White Sox, he was fishing from Rod and Reel Pier in Anna Maria, Fla. A family from Benton Harbor, Mich., 11-year-old Vickie Peet and her parents, were fishing there too.

Vickie lost her balance, fell into the sea and sank in about 12 feet, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Duncan, fully clothed, leaped in after her and “brought the struggling girl to safety,” according to the Bradenton Herald.

“She was backing up (on the pier) and it looked like she stumbled,” Duncan told The Sporting News. “She was struggling around in the water and no one was doing anything, so I jumped in and got her.”

According to the Bradenton newspaper, the girl’s parents, Nick and Patricia Peet, “were eternally grateful.”

Duncan began the 1967 season at Birmingham, Ala., and was brought to the A’s for stints in June and September. He started in 27 games for Kansas City.

In February 1975, Duncan was traded by Cleveland to Baltimore for Boog Powell and Don Hood. With Duncan and Elrod Hendricks sharing the catching spot, the Orioles no longer needed Etchebarren, who was sent to the Angels in June 1975.

Duncan, who played in two World Series for Oakland, became a pitching coach, primarily on teams managed by Tony La Russa. As a coach, Duncan helped Oakland to three American League pennants and a World Series title and St. Louis to three National League pennants and two World Series championships.