Nick Willhite was acquired via trade from the California Angels in exchange for Jack Hamilton on June 10th, 1967. Willhite's Met career only only lasted one start and three relief appearances. He was optioned to the minors in July and would never pitch in the major leagues again. His numbers during those appearances were not good, allowing an 8.64 ERA. It was later revealed that Willhite battled alcoholism throughout his career. After reaching rock bottom and losing his family, Nick recovered and became an addiction counselor later in life. He credited old friend and former Giants manager Herman Franks in standing beside him during his recovery. He died of cancer on December 14th, 2008.
The first ball was purchased via auction on eBay. The second ball was purchased from a collector as an upgrade from the first one. I haven't seen any other Willhite balls for sale since I began collecting. They seem to be out there, but definitely aren't very common.
No comments:
Post a Comment