The Twins and the Orioles were playing the first-ever game in an American League Championship Series on Oct. 4, 1969, in Baltimore. The teams were tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 12th, with two outs, Mark Belanger at third and Paul Blair at the plate.
Billy Hunter, the Orioles third base coach, said quietly to Belanger, "Be alive, Paul's liable to lay it down."
Blair took a ball and followed with a big swing off Twins reliever Ron Perranoski. That was a deke, as Blair then dropped a soft bunt 30 feet down the third base line, there was no play to be had, and Belanger came home with the winning run.
The Orioles swept the Twins in three games, and did so again in 1970.
Blair is the comparable that I've offered when conversation has turned to the fielding ability of Byron Buxton.
I've seen attempts to attach less-than-dazzling "zone ratings" to center fielding wonders such as Blair and Willie Mays, which is absurd, since TV coverage was limited and only a small sample of film exists on their exploits.
The Blair comparison with Buxton also comes to mind because of down times as a hitter. Trouble is, Buxton's down times have become the norm. He's now at 1,062 plate appearances and isn't close to modifying that long swing for big-league competence.
Blair batted 211 with a .277 on-base as a 24-year-old in 1968 (Buxton's age), then came back with 26 home runs, 76 RBI, and a .285 average and .327 on-base in 1969. He was hit in the face by a pitch from the Angels' Ken Tatum in 1970 and that made him less of a hitter.
