Link to the Show / Show NotesDuring an 11-year playing career, Roger Craig (born February 17, 1930 in Durham North Carolina) won 10 or more games in 1956, 1957, and 1962. A master at the split-finger fastball, Craig started his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and closed out his playing career with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Craig was best known for being an original member of the New York Mets. In 1963, he suffered through an 18-game losing streak. Remarkably during those two years, he completed 27 games while winning only 15, demonstrating that he was one of the best pitchers on the staff.
From 1986 to 1992, Craig was the manager of the San Francisco Giants. In Craig's first five full seasons with the Giants (1986-1990), they never finished with a losing record. Prior to coming to San Francisco, Craig served as a pitching coach for the 1984 World Champion Detroit Tigers and as manager of the San Diego Padres (the Tigers' opponent in the 1984 World Series) from 1978-1979.
Under Craig (who along the way, instilled the unique motto and rallying cry "Humm Baby"), the Giants won the National League Western Division title in 1987. The original term of "Humm Baby" was given to the roster's third catcher for the 1986 season, Brad Gulden, who was on his way out of baseball but he managed to squeeze onto the roster for the 1986 season. Craig felt that Gulden didn't really have the talent but he had the heart so he called him the "Humm Baby". The Giants' divisional title in 1987 came just two years after they lost 100 games; Roger Craig replaced Jim Davenport for the remaining 18 games of the 1985 season (posting a 6-12 record). The Giants came within one game of going to the World Series that year having lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
In 1989 though, the Giants won their first National League pennant since 1962 by defeating the Chicago Cubs in five games in the NLCS. Unfortunately, Craig's Giants were swept by the Oakland Athletics in the World Series, which was interrupted by an earthquake, in a four game sweep.
Roger Craig stepped down from the San Francisco Giants in 1992 after posting a dismal 72-90 record. His successor, Dusty Baker went on to win 103 games the following year and eventually won the 1993 National League Manager of the Year Award.
This data was drawn from Wikipedia.
This episode was originally broadcast as a national radio syndication in May 1987.
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