Trizdon Interviews Iconic Cincinnati Red George Culver

I mean, I was about as mediocre as you could be in high school.

That's amazing that you started out.

And I guess that was a time where you didn't have to throw 95 to get looked at, which I guess there was no way of really being able to tell how hard you threw in the early 60s like that.

I mean, I guess they could tell if you threw hard or you threw soft.

But other than that, how would they scout somebody that wasn't a hard thrower in 1961?

I don't know.

I think you just check boxes for him.

He's a good competitor, good fielder, throws strikes, got a good breaking ball, whatever.

We'll give him a chance.

But a lot of guys develop just off of that.

Now you've

got a lot of these guys throwing 95 to 100.

And they never get any better.

They can just fire away.

And there are problems one after another.

I never had arm problems until my second year in Cincinnati.

My arm was bombing a little bit, but I kept pitching.

And then I got the Cardinals.

Spring training, I felt a little bit spring training.

The opening day, I pitched the opening day in St. Louis against the Mets.

That's awesome.

The defending world champion Mets.

And I beat him, but my elbow was killing me.

And so I hung on for three or four more starts.

Finally sent me to the doctor, and the doctor told me that I had tendonitis.