A YANKEE GREAT HAS PASSED

If I told you Johnny Kucks died, you wouldn't know who I was talking about.  If I told you he was a New York Yankee, and a Yankee hero in the 1956 World Series... you would.

Yogi Berra once said Kucks sinker was the "heaviest sinker ball" he had ever seen.  Kucks was a side arm right-hander and he played for the Yankees from 1955 to 1959.  He was in the service and did not play in 1953 and 1954.  He compiled a 42-35 record with a 3.82 ERA for the Yankees. 

As the New York Daily News reports, Kucks "...spent 4½ seasons with the Yankees from 1955-59 and appeared in eight games over four World Series with a 1.89 ERA in them. But his finest hour was when Yankee manager Casey Stengel gave him the ball for Game 7 of the 1956 World Series at Ebbets Field — after the Dodgers had tied the Series 3-3 the day before on a 1-0, 10-inning shutout by Clem Labine — and Kucks responded by pitching a three-hit shutout in a 9-0 Yankee win..."

Another baseball great is gone.  Remember the old-timers and embrace them... these are the guys that pushed baseball into the forefront.

Rest in Peace Johnny.

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