Ted Wieand Cincinnati Reds
Career: Originally in the Cardinals chain, Wieand spent seven seasons in the minors before he got a one-game taste of the majors with Cincinnati at the tail end of the 1958 season. He had come to the Reds the previous winter in the deal that sent Curt Flood to St. Louis. Other than another short trial with the Reds two years later, Weiand played out his career at the AAA level with the Reds and Yankees before he retired after the 1962 season. In his six total games, his only decision was a loss in his second game in '60.
In 1960: Wieand made the Reds' roster out of Spring Training but was knocked around in five shots out of the pen and was demoted to AAA.
Off The Charts: Wieand gave up a homer to the first batter he faced in the majors, Milwaukee's Frank Torre. And he gave up a homer to the last batter he faced in the majors, the Phils' Jimmie Coker.
Wieand's father was unemployed when young Ted was born in 1933, the last of 10. Grateful for President Franklin Roosevelt's WPA, which gave him an income in hard times, the elder Mr. Wieand named his newborn Franklin Delano Roosevelt Wieand. According to Ted, some in his family were not as enthusiastic about FDR as his father, and they took to calling him 'Teddy' as in Republican icon Teddy Roosevelt.
This came from a 2014 interview that was posted on Soundcloud. I'm unsure if the show (John Pielli's Passed Ball Show) was part of a podcast series or a local radio thing.
One of Franklin Delano Roosevelt 'Ted' Wieand's teammates on that 1960 Reds club was Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma 'Cal' McLish. I figured you'd want to know.
The Card: Neat cartoon and Wieand looks like somewhat of a badass on this, his only Topps card, no?
Cool fact about giving up a home run to the first and last MLB batters he faced. I wonder how many other MLB players can say they've done this.
ReplyDeleteHere's a list of guys who allowed one to the first batter they faced. Would take some research to find guys on that list who matched Wieand.
DeleteHe is also on the short list of guys with three consecutive vowels in their names. ;-)
Oh and here's a fun fact from that page above:
"On August 3, 1988, Dave Eiland allowed a home run to the first batter he faced. On April 10, 1992, Eiland hit a home run in his first major league at-bat giving him a pair of feats unmatched in Major League history."
Sounds like an entertaining homework assignment. I'm in the midst of a lazy Tuesday. But maybe tomorrow ;D
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