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The veteran first baseman was a member of the Seattle Pilots, one of the four new expansion teams in Major League Baseball that season. His previous team, the California Angels, left him unprotected from the Expansion Draft, because they considered him “damaged goods” from being beaned by Sam McDowell of the Cleveland Indians on April 11, 1968.
The beaning caused Mincher to initially miss nine games, but the lingering side effects of headaches and dizziness throughout the season led him to be sent to the Mayo Clinic in September. After being examined by three doctors, he was given a “clean bill of health”, but the Angels were still not convinced that he would fully recover for the upcoming season.
Matthew Carter was a curatorial intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development
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