Sept. 14, 1964 - Johnny Callison does not catch fly balls at his waist, holding his hands like a basket. Johnny Callison does not yell “Say hey” or lose his cap when he runs or slide on his belly. Johnny Callison doesn’t get his picture on cereal boxes.
All Johnny Callison does is hit with power, run intelligently, play right field with a stubborn efficiency, and talk in short sentences.
He hit a two-run homer tonight and he almost threw a man out at first base on a single to right field as the Phillies beat the Colts in Houston, 4-1. Philadelphia increased their lead over second-place St. Louis to 6½ games.
Callison has started 142 of 144 games this season, and he has hit more homers (27) than he has ever hit before, and driven in more runs (92) than he ever has before, and people who appreciate talent know how valuable he is.
Chris Short knows how valuable Callison is. He pitched a four-hitter tonight, and he is now 17-7, and he knows the kind of ally he has in Callison.
“I wish someone would look it up,” Short said, “and see how many games Callison has won for me with homers. He won a game against Spahn for me, and there were at least three last year he won for me.
“It’s not just offensively. I think he’s the best defensive rightfielder in the league. You have a guy like that out there, it makes you feel confident.”
With 18 games to go, the writers have to start thinking about honors, and there is the chance that the Phillies could sweep the board with Richie Allen rookie of the year, Jim Bunning the Cy Young winner, and Callison their best threat as most valuable player.
Manager Gene Mauch cringes when the subject comes up. “I haven’t talked about it, and I don’t want to talk about,” he said.
Well, is Callison having a strong year?
“Strong isn’t a strong enough word for it,” Mauch said.
Callison doesn’t spend any time brooding about the MVP discussion.
“I’d love to have it,” he said. “It’s the greatest honor in baseball. Anybody who said they didn’t think so would be lying. But I can’t worry about it, and I don’t.”
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