As I write this, the Oakland A's have the best record in baseball, followed by their division mates, the Angels. Then there are the other division leaders around the league, and a number of teams vying for wild card spots. One of those teams, the Kansas City Royals, have the longest playoff drought in baseball at twenty nine years...TWENTY NINE...even with all the wild cards and new divisions since their heyday, the Royals have somehow managed to remain fairly irrelevant in the pennant race...until now.
I could do a whole thing on the history of baseball, from the many minor league teams there, to the great Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues, ( who had such future Hall of famers as Satchel Paige, Buck Leonard, and should be Hall of famer, Buck O'Neil) but I'm just going to keep it to the so-called "major leagues." (cynical enough for ya?)
It all starts with the Philadelphia A's. Owned and managed buy Connie Mack, the A's had two great runs in the first half of the twentieth century, where they won five world championships. By the mid fifties, however, with a different owner, Arnold Johnson and less and less cities being able to support two teams, the A's moved to Kansas City. Their early years there, they mostly seemed to serve as a sort of minor league team to the Yankees, giving them, among others, a power hitting right fielder named Roger Maris in exchange for a bag of magic beans and an autographed photo of Rin Tin Tin. After Johnson died, the notorious Charles Finley took over the team, and promptly refused to make deals with the Yankees, turning around the fortunes of the team.
By the time Finley had moved the team to Oakland in 1968, their farm system had already built up the makings of a dynasty, with Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, etc. starting to make an immediate impact. The next year brought the second wave of baseball expansion-the first being in 61 and 62-that awarded another franchise to Kansas City in the Royals, a name that had previously been used by the Brooklyn Dodgers farm club in Montreal. So even though both clubs in their respective cities began almost at the same time, their paths would be quite different.
From 71-75, the A's won their division, with three championships sandwiched in the middle. Meanwhile, the Royals were going through the usual expansion team learning pangs, mostly trying to keep fan interest going while their young stars like George Brett, Dennis Leonard, Paul Splittorf, and Frank White developed. Finley didn't take to free agency well, selling off, or simply letting go, a lot of his players in the mid to late '70s. The result would be a good five years of awful baseball in Oakland. Right about the time this happened, however, the Royals went on a mini run of their own, winning four division titles in five years, capped off with an A.L. pennant in 1980.
The strike year of 1981 would be the only year that both the Royals and A's would appear in a postseason together, where the A's beat the Royals in a bizarre postseason in which the best records of each half (before and after the strike) were to play the others. The A's-briefly invigorated by Billy Martin's "Billy ball", which was basically a managing style that relied on speed and stretching your starting pitchers to the limit- had that one playoff year, but all the Rickey Henderson's in the world couldn't keep Martin from getting fired...and hired again, by the Yankees, where he would once again manage Henderson in a few years.
The Royals returned to the playoffs in 1984, losing to a powerful Detroit team, but returned to the postseason the next year, winning it all. 1985 is the last season they made the playoffs to this date, but who knows this year...as for the A's, they used their down years in the early, mid '80s to build the farm system and make some trades, winning three straight pennants (88-90) and a World Championship in '89. Other than a playoff appearance in '92, they spent most of the '90s in the doldrums. They reappeared a few times in the '00s and this decade, but haven't gotten over the hump...(that hump has usually been the Tigers), but this is their strongest team since the late '80s teams.
So, in conclusion, the A's, barring a catastrophic collapse, are in, and the Royals are a gigantic "maybe." Then again, if the team in Kansas City and the team formerly known as Kansas City don't play in the post season together this year, there's always hope...If another strike happens, what with the new divisions and wild cards, and they use the same format from '81, pretty much every team will make the playoffs...Bud Selig, even when he's gone, is making his mediocre presence felt...
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Ejections getting ejected...
Last week, in a game against the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected for arguing a call...I almost wept. Future generations may never know, or get to appreciate the true art of managers getting ejected by umpires, due to the recent reliance on instant replay. Team skippers throwing tantrums over even the most marginal of bad calls, are disappearing faster than the one on one fight in hockey or the hook shot in basketball. One could say it's a good thing; umpires are getting the calls right, and it doesn't seem to take nearly as much time as it does in football. However, my argument is this...if the umpires were doing their job, we wouldn't need instant replay, but anyway...
A lot of people have their favorites, whether it's Lou Pinella picking up the first base and throwing it, (or later, Lloyd Mclendon picking it up and taking it with him to the dugout) Billy Martin's psychotic rants, or Bobby Cox's record setting 161 ejections, breaking the old record by John McGraw. It was something the fans could get into, whether the manager in question was home or away. It seems you almost need a team brawl, or the occasional bad ball/strike call to get the heave nowadays.
The all time master of this was probably Earl Weaver, who was tossed 91 times in his career, and while that's not the record, he made every one of them count. A diminutive man, Earl would run out to the field, turn his cap backwards, and give the ump a piece of his mind, in his gravely, smoker's voice. The real fun began once he was tossed. Unlike most managers, he would get his money's worth, staying out on the field long after he wore out his welcome.
In one game, early in the season, Earl was ejected in the first inning-FIRST INNING- of a game, mainly to go out an keep his hard hitting first baseman Eddie Murray from getting ejected on a balk call. Weaver got in between Murray and the ump, and after a few expletives, he said, "Your job, and every one else's job here is to fuck us!"...GONE...of course, that was only the beginning, as Earl accused the man in blue of poking him, saying, "you do that again, I'll knock you right in the nose." Then the ump got in a good line...after Earl said that he was the only one of the two of them going to the Hall of fame, the ump said, "for what, fuckin' up World series?" (Earl won it all only once in four trips.)
I'm not sure how long this instant replay will last. Maybe forever...if that's the case, we may be losing one of the most entertaining parts of the game. Sure, a manager can only challenge once so often, so there's still room for explosive anger and red faces, but I feel a part of my childhood die when I see the umpires gathering around to look at a play that they probably either should have gotten right, or, hopefully, get wrong, so I could see yet another swear laden rant, complete with tossed bats and ballbags from the dugout....hell, I'd even settle for one of Joe Torre's "cooler heads will prevail" type argument. That way, Don Zimmer would take over, and he was always good for an eruption...
.
A lot of people have their favorites, whether it's Lou Pinella picking up the first base and throwing it, (or later, Lloyd Mclendon picking it up and taking it with him to the dugout) Billy Martin's psychotic rants, or Bobby Cox's record setting 161 ejections, breaking the old record by John McGraw. It was something the fans could get into, whether the manager in question was home or away. It seems you almost need a team brawl, or the occasional bad ball/strike call to get the heave nowadays.
The all time master of this was probably Earl Weaver, who was tossed 91 times in his career, and while that's not the record, he made every one of them count. A diminutive man, Earl would run out to the field, turn his cap backwards, and give the ump a piece of his mind, in his gravely, smoker's voice. The real fun began once he was tossed. Unlike most managers, he would get his money's worth, staying out on the field long after he wore out his welcome.
In one game, early in the season, Earl was ejected in the first inning-FIRST INNING- of a game, mainly to go out an keep his hard hitting first baseman Eddie Murray from getting ejected on a balk call. Weaver got in between Murray and the ump, and after a few expletives, he said, "Your job, and every one else's job here is to fuck us!"...GONE...of course, that was only the beginning, as Earl accused the man in blue of poking him, saying, "you do that again, I'll knock you right in the nose." Then the ump got in a good line...after Earl said that he was the only one of the two of them going to the Hall of fame, the ump said, "for what, fuckin' up World series?" (Earl won it all only once in four trips.)
I'm not sure how long this instant replay will last. Maybe forever...if that's the case, we may be losing one of the most entertaining parts of the game. Sure, a manager can only challenge once so often, so there's still room for explosive anger and red faces, but I feel a part of my childhood die when I see the umpires gathering around to look at a play that they probably either should have gotten right, or, hopefully, get wrong, so I could see yet another swear laden rant, complete with tossed bats and ballbags from the dugout....hell, I'd even settle for one of Joe Torre's "cooler heads will prevail" type argument. That way, Don Zimmer would take over, and he was always good for an eruption...
.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Cheaters never win, unless they don't get caught.
Last night, Yankee pitcher Michael Pineda was ejected from a game with the Red Sox for having pine tar on his neck. The substance, which is legal when used on part of a bat, is considered illegal when used by a pitcher. This comes two weeks after Pineda apparently had a similar looking substance on his hand against the same Red Sox team, but Boston manager John Farrell chose not to investigate then (Probably because his own picthers, Lester and Buccholz have been accused in the past as well). New York won that game 4-1. This time, however, Farrell asked umpires to check it out, and they found it in an even more obvious place on his body. Yankee T.V. broadcaster Michael Kay said it was like "robbing a liquor store, getting away with it, and then going back to rob the same liquor store two weeks later."
Of course, this isn't the first time a pitcher was caught trying to "cheat." For decades, the spitball was a legal pitch, and- especially during the dead ball era- pitchers would do whatever they could to scuff up the ball to get the advantage over the hitter. The most famous pitcher to use a modern day version of the spitter (or just outright use various substances to doctor the ball), was Hall of famer, Gaylord Perry, who spent a lot of his career under scrutiny, but always seemed to avoid getting caught. I remember a time late in his career, where he threw a suspicious pitch to Reggie Jackson, who swung and missed...as he headed to the dugout, an incensed Reggie went over to a bucket of Gatorade, and dipped his hands in it, trying to show the umpired that Perry was putting something on the ball.
Then there was Mike Scott. Early in his career, he was a mediocre pitcher for the Mets, but seemingly reinvented himself in 1986, winning the Cy Young Award while pitching for the Astros. During the NLCS, Scott beat his former team twice, and would have probably beat them again, if the series had gone to a seventh game. Players on the Mets accused Scott of using illegal substances during the series, but nothing was ever found. For his part, Scott has either denied cheating, or has avoided the question.
The funniest example of a pitcher getting caught was Joe Neikro in 1987. Joe, the younger brother of Hall of famer Phil Neikro, was a knuckleballer in his final year in the Majors. He spent his career with seven teams, and now was with the Twins. He would help Minnesota win it's first ever World Series that year, but his most famous moment happened early in the '87 campaign. While pitching against the California Angels, umpires asked to see what he had in his pockets. When Neikro reached in, he grabbed two items and proceeded to throw his hands up, and, sure enough, both an emery board and a piece of sandpaper came flying out. Umpire Tim Tschida found it and ejected Neikro. He served a ten game suspension for his actions.
Don't know how long Pineda will be suspended, but no matter what, he'll be watched carefully from here on in, as will pitchers all over the league. Great. Like games aren't long enough...
Of course, this isn't the first time a pitcher was caught trying to "cheat." For decades, the spitball was a legal pitch, and- especially during the dead ball era- pitchers would do whatever they could to scuff up the ball to get the advantage over the hitter. The most famous pitcher to use a modern day version of the spitter (or just outright use various substances to doctor the ball), was Hall of famer, Gaylord Perry, who spent a lot of his career under scrutiny, but always seemed to avoid getting caught. I remember a time late in his career, where he threw a suspicious pitch to Reggie Jackson, who swung and missed...as he headed to the dugout, an incensed Reggie went over to a bucket of Gatorade, and dipped his hands in it, trying to show the umpired that Perry was putting something on the ball.
Then there was Mike Scott. Early in his career, he was a mediocre pitcher for the Mets, but seemingly reinvented himself in 1986, winning the Cy Young Award while pitching for the Astros. During the NLCS, Scott beat his former team twice, and would have probably beat them again, if the series had gone to a seventh game. Players on the Mets accused Scott of using illegal substances during the series, but nothing was ever found. For his part, Scott has either denied cheating, or has avoided the question.
The funniest example of a pitcher getting caught was Joe Neikro in 1987. Joe, the younger brother of Hall of famer Phil Neikro, was a knuckleballer in his final year in the Majors. He spent his career with seven teams, and now was with the Twins. He would help Minnesota win it's first ever World Series that year, but his most famous moment happened early in the '87 campaign. While pitching against the California Angels, umpires asked to see what he had in his pockets. When Neikro reached in, he grabbed two items and proceeded to throw his hands up, and, sure enough, both an emery board and a piece of sandpaper came flying out. Umpire Tim Tschida found it and ejected Neikro. He served a ten game suspension for his actions.
Don't know how long Pineda will be suspended, but no matter what, he'll be watched carefully from here on in, as will pitchers all over the league. Great. Like games aren't long enough...
Friday, April 4, 2014
Pick off triple play.
This year marks sixty years of Baltimore Orioles baseball. The franchise started in 1901 as the Milwaukee Brewers (not to be confused with the current Brewers team which started as the Seattle Pilots in 1969), then became the St. Louis Browns the next year. The Browns won only one pennant (1944) in their 53 year history, and often finished in the second division. When Baltimore took over the franchise in 1954, they weren't immediately successful, but a dozen years later, they won their first championship, in 1966. A few years later- under manage Earl Weaver- they won three straight pennants from '69-'71, as well as having one of the best records in baseball during the 1970s, ending that decade with yet another pennant.
Earl's last year as manager- not including a brief comeback in 1985- was 1982, when he came within one game of taking yet another division title, losing it to Milwaukee on the final day of the season. The next year, the Orioles won their third World championship, this time under manager Joe Altobelli. And while there's not that much difference between the Weaver teams of the early '80s and that '83 team, there was something that happened that year that had never happened before, and will probably never happen again.
On August 24th, 1983, Baltimore was playing the Toronto Blue Jays, when the game went into extra innings. Having run out of catchers, Altobelli was forced to put utility infielder Lenn Sakata at catcher, a position he had never played before in the majors. On the mound was lefty Tippy Martinez, a reliever enjoying his best season in the big leagues, having been voted to his only All Star appearance the month before. The Blue Jays Barry Bonnell reached first on a single, and couldn't wait to steal second, and take advantage of the inexperienced Sakata behind the plate.
However, Tippy suspected as much, and threw a pick off move to first, as Bonnell took off for second, eventually getting caught in a rundown. One out. Then speedster Dave Collins-who had stolen 79 bases with the Reds a few years earlier, and 31 that year- walked. He then took a big lead, and was also picked off by Martinez... two outs. Finally, Willie Upshaw, a power hitter with not much of a stolen base resume, reached first on a single. You'd figure he'd just stand on first with what he had just happened to his team mates, but apparently, the temptation was just too much. He also was picked off...three men on, three men picked off...Andy Petitte, eat your heart out.
After watching the tape of the feat, I'm not sure if those were balks or not (or even what the hell a balk is, really...it seems the rule keeps changing), but it still seems funny that after the first guy tried, that anyone else would. The Orioles were a blessed team that year; when stuff like that starts happening, you KNOW you're on the way to winning it all. I'm sure the '68 Cardinals tried to hit everything to Tigers "shortstop" Mickey Stanley, an outfielder placed there in the World series to add more offense to the team, which reminds me: Sakata wasn't the only one out of position in the 10th for Baltimore; outfielders John Lowenstein and Gary Roenicke were playing 2nd base and 3rd base, respectively (if not respectably). Luckily, nothing was hit to either of them...
Earl's last year as manager- not including a brief comeback in 1985- was 1982, when he came within one game of taking yet another division title, losing it to Milwaukee on the final day of the season. The next year, the Orioles won their third World championship, this time under manager Joe Altobelli. And while there's not that much difference between the Weaver teams of the early '80s and that '83 team, there was something that happened that year that had never happened before, and will probably never happen again.
On August 24th, 1983, Baltimore was playing the Toronto Blue Jays, when the game went into extra innings. Having run out of catchers, Altobelli was forced to put utility infielder Lenn Sakata at catcher, a position he had never played before in the majors. On the mound was lefty Tippy Martinez, a reliever enjoying his best season in the big leagues, having been voted to his only All Star appearance the month before. The Blue Jays Barry Bonnell reached first on a single, and couldn't wait to steal second, and take advantage of the inexperienced Sakata behind the plate.
However, Tippy suspected as much, and threw a pick off move to first, as Bonnell took off for second, eventually getting caught in a rundown. One out. Then speedster Dave Collins-who had stolen 79 bases with the Reds a few years earlier, and 31 that year- walked. He then took a big lead, and was also picked off by Martinez... two outs. Finally, Willie Upshaw, a power hitter with not much of a stolen base resume, reached first on a single. You'd figure he'd just stand on first with what he had just happened to his team mates, but apparently, the temptation was just too much. He also was picked off...three men on, three men picked off...Andy Petitte, eat your heart out.
After watching the tape of the feat, I'm not sure if those were balks or not (or even what the hell a balk is, really...it seems the rule keeps changing), but it still seems funny that after the first guy tried, that anyone else would. The Orioles were a blessed team that year; when stuff like that starts happening, you KNOW you're on the way to winning it all. I'm sure the '68 Cardinals tried to hit everything to Tigers "shortstop" Mickey Stanley, an outfielder placed there in the World series to add more offense to the team, which reminds me: Sakata wasn't the only one out of position in the 10th for Baltimore; outfielders John Lowenstein and Gary Roenicke were playing 2nd base and 3rd base, respectively (if not respectably). Luckily, nothing was hit to either of them...
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
One and done.
When the Major leagues first expanded in 1961, two teams- The Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators-were added. Many people think that the Minnesota Twins were an expansion team, but they were originally the first version of the Senators. After they moved to Minnesota, the AL decided to expand, and a second Senator team was formed. After eleven, mostly unsuccessful years, the team moved to Arlington Texas, and became the Rangers. The next year, the National League also expanded, with the senior circuit getting a team in New York after four years without one...the Giants and Dodgers having moved West in '58. The other team was the Houston Colt '45s, who had spent the first three years of their existence playing in an outdoor stadium, only to change their venue and name in 1965, to the Astrodome and Astros, respectively.
As confusing as the first expansion was, the second may have been even more so. 1969 saw four new teams added, two from each league: The San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos in the National League, and the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots in the American League. Obviously, two of these teams don't exist anymore. The Expos had a good run, though, lasting 35 years, making the NLCS in 1981, the best record in baseball in the other strike shortened season in 1994, and producing two (soon to be three) Hall of famers. (Gary carter is the only player to go to Cooperstown wearing an Expos cap, while Andre Dawson- who actually spent a lot more time playing for Montreal than any other team-went in wearing a Cubs cap. The Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2004.
So, that just leaves the Pilots, easily the most obscure team of the last 100 years. The Pilots played their one season in tiny Sicks stadium, which was the former home of the minor league "Seattle Rainers" (get it?), which only held 19,500 fans, although they ended up adding 6,500 more by opening day. The most famous person on the club may have been Jim Bouton, who, by that point was strictly a reliever. He talks about his one year with that team in his book "Ball Four." Mike Hegan was the lone Seattle player selected for the All star game, but was injured, so team mate Don Mincher took his place. Another player, speedster Tommy Harper, would have some good years with the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox in the early '70s. '
Of course, it was Milwaukee where the team moved the next year, thanks to local resident, and future Baseball commissioner Bud Selig. There wouldn't be another team in Seattle until the next expansion, in 1977. The Seattle Mariners are the only American league franchise left who have never won a pennant. The only N.L. team never to win one is/are the Expos/Nationals. The Mariners have had some success, though, making it to the ALCS twice (in '95 and '01), and at least two of it's players-Ichiro and Ken Griffey Jr.- will most likely go into the Hall of fame wearing a Seattle cap.
The Pilots are but a footnote, now, mostly being mentioned as part of the history of the Brewers...however, even though they only had one season-a season where they finished last in the newly formed A.L. West at 64-98-they served as lesson to be learned for anyone trying to bring a team to their city. For one thing, they had rather high ticket prices for an expansion team who played in a run down old minor league park. Also, they were all set to start the 1970 season as the Pilots, until several circumstances led them to become the Brewers on April 1st, 1970...APRIL 1st, as in only days before the season began. Guess Selig really wanted a team in his hometown...oh, if that were the only thing in baseball he did...
As confusing as the first expansion was, the second may have been even more so. 1969 saw four new teams added, two from each league: The San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos in the National League, and the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots in the American League. Obviously, two of these teams don't exist anymore. The Expos had a good run, though, lasting 35 years, making the NLCS in 1981, the best record in baseball in the other strike shortened season in 1994, and producing two (soon to be three) Hall of famers. (Gary carter is the only player to go to Cooperstown wearing an Expos cap, while Andre Dawson- who actually spent a lot more time playing for Montreal than any other team-went in wearing a Cubs cap. The Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2004.
So, that just leaves the Pilots, easily the most obscure team of the last 100 years. The Pilots played their one season in tiny Sicks stadium, which was the former home of the minor league "Seattle Rainers" (get it?), which only held 19,500 fans, although they ended up adding 6,500 more by opening day. The most famous person on the club may have been Jim Bouton, who, by that point was strictly a reliever. He talks about his one year with that team in his book "Ball Four." Mike Hegan was the lone Seattle player selected for the All star game, but was injured, so team mate Don Mincher took his place. Another player, speedster Tommy Harper, would have some good years with the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox in the early '70s. '
Of course, it was Milwaukee where the team moved the next year, thanks to local resident, and future Baseball commissioner Bud Selig. There wouldn't be another team in Seattle until the next expansion, in 1977. The Seattle Mariners are the only American league franchise left who have never won a pennant. The only N.L. team never to win one is/are the Expos/Nationals. The Mariners have had some success, though, making it to the ALCS twice (in '95 and '01), and at least two of it's players-Ichiro and Ken Griffey Jr.- will most likely go into the Hall of fame wearing a Seattle cap.
The Pilots are but a footnote, now, mostly being mentioned as part of the history of the Brewers...however, even though they only had one season-a season where they finished last in the newly formed A.L. West at 64-98-they served as lesson to be learned for anyone trying to bring a team to their city. For one thing, they had rather high ticket prices for an expansion team who played in a run down old minor league park. Also, they were all set to start the 1970 season as the Pilots, until several circumstances led them to become the Brewers on April 1st, 1970...APRIL 1st, as in only days before the season began. Guess Selig really wanted a team in his hometown...oh, if that were the only thing in baseball he did...
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Spread the wealth.
In 1903, the Boston Americans (later, Red Sox) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three in the first ever World Series. This past October, The Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals four games to two, in the most recent World Series. Not counting the two years when there wasn't a series- 1904 and 1994- that makes 109 total. Those two non-series years happened for two different reasons; in 1903, Giants manager John McGraw refused to play out of spite for his hatred of American League President Ban Johnson, while ninety years later, the season ended with a players strike in August of '94, much to the lament of Montreal Expos fans. ( an MLB best 70-44 at the time of the strike)
Out of the 109 series played, over half of them (55 total) are by four teams: The Yankees (27), Cardinals (11), A's (9) and Red Sox (8). Then if you take the next four teams- The Giants (7), Dodgers (6), Pirates and Reds (5 each) -the total is 78 titles from 8 teams. That leaves 23 franchises winning the remainder of the 31 championships, some of them multiple winners (Tigers, Braves, White Sox, Orioles, Twins/Senators etc.), and some just only one so far, (Royals, Angels and D'Backs).
Granted, 14 of the remaining teams are expansion teams, and they account for nine of them, but It just goes to show you how little parity there is/was in general. Not to say that there haven't been moments of true parity; the '78- '87 seasons are the ultimate example, with a different team winning it all in a ten year span. The early '00s looked to be similar, with the Yankees finally losing some steam after dominating in the late '90s, early '00s. Two teams broke 80-plus year curses that decade, (Red and White Sox...back to back years in '04 and '05), the Angels won their first in '02, breaking a 42 year drought. Newer teams got in on the act too- Marlins with their 2nd ring in six years, D'Backs winning it all in their fourth year- but of course the decade ended on yet another Yankee title.
One of the weird things about the Yankees dominance overall, is that it took them 20 years to get their first ring ...in 1923. Then there were years in the ensuing decades where they'd win two, three, four and even five in a row (49-53...Stengel's best team). Sure, there have been droughts; no championship between 63-76, and another dry spell during the '80s and early '90s. The latter one is the most significant, because the '80s are the only decade since their first title in '23 that the Bronx bombers didn't win a World series, despite the presence of Hall of famers Ricky Henderson and Dave Winfield...oh, and Donnie Baseball. Those teams scored a ton of runs and are a testament to the old adage: "pitching wins World series'."
Even if the Yankees don't win one for the next 25 years, they would still be the dominant all time champ...The Cardinals-the closest to them- would have to win 16 to tie, and I'm kind of sick of them anyway. I wouldn't mind some of the teams who won pennants in the past, but not the World series, get in on the act, like the Padres, Astros, Rockies, etc. Just not the Rays...they're the Bosox biggest competition now (ha). I think the Nationals (formerly Expos) and Mariners should have to win a pennant before they can win it all...sort of like an initiation into the club.
Of course, there are the long suffering teams: Pirates, Orioles, Tigers, Mets and Royals, whose fans surely would appreciate a title after 25-30 years of coming up short. There are the Indians, who despite having one of the most dominate teams of the '90s, never won it all in that decade...and then, the are the Cubs. For years, I sympathized with the boys from Wrigley; they seemed like a cousin to my equally hapless Red Sox. However, the difference was, at least the Sox actually would go to the World Series here and there, while the Cubs haven't won a pennant since 1945, which is actually a longer drought than the Indians last Championship in '48.
When the boys of Fenway won it all in '04...and again in '07, and again this past year, I felt my alliance with the Cubs slipping away. It's not that I don't still sympathise, it's just that I don't really relate to their plight anymore.. My N.L. team for years has been the New York Mets, mostly because I've lived in Brooklyn for a while and Mets fans hate the Yankees as much as Sox fans do, if not more. People say, "What about '86, Bill Buckner, etc.", and I say, after '04, all that is washed away. The Cubs still have the billy goat...they still have the black cat in '69...they still have the Bartman incident...and until they win it all- or at Least win the pennant- that stuff will still be relevant in some weird way. Trust me, I know...notice how nobody chants "Nineteen-eighteen" at Yankee Stadium anymore?
Out of the 109 series played, over half of them (55 total) are by four teams: The Yankees (27), Cardinals (11), A's (9) and Red Sox (8). Then if you take the next four teams- The Giants (7), Dodgers (6), Pirates and Reds (5 each) -the total is 78 titles from 8 teams. That leaves 23 franchises winning the remainder of the 31 championships, some of them multiple winners (Tigers, Braves, White Sox, Orioles, Twins/Senators etc.), and some just only one so far, (Royals, Angels and D'Backs).
Granted, 14 of the remaining teams are expansion teams, and they account for nine of them, but It just goes to show you how little parity there is/was in general. Not to say that there haven't been moments of true parity; the '78- '87 seasons are the ultimate example, with a different team winning it all in a ten year span. The early '00s looked to be similar, with the Yankees finally losing some steam after dominating in the late '90s, early '00s. Two teams broke 80-plus year curses that decade, (Red and White Sox...back to back years in '04 and '05), the Angels won their first in '02, breaking a 42 year drought. Newer teams got in on the act too- Marlins with their 2nd ring in six years, D'Backs winning it all in their fourth year- but of course the decade ended on yet another Yankee title.
One of the weird things about the Yankees dominance overall, is that it took them 20 years to get their first ring ...in 1923. Then there were years in the ensuing decades where they'd win two, three, four and even five in a row (49-53...Stengel's best team). Sure, there have been droughts; no championship between 63-76, and another dry spell during the '80s and early '90s. The latter one is the most significant, because the '80s are the only decade since their first title in '23 that the Bronx bombers didn't win a World series, despite the presence of Hall of famers Ricky Henderson and Dave Winfield...oh, and Donnie Baseball. Those teams scored a ton of runs and are a testament to the old adage: "pitching wins World series'."
Even if the Yankees don't win one for the next 25 years, they would still be the dominant all time champ...The Cardinals-the closest to them- would have to win 16 to tie, and I'm kind of sick of them anyway. I wouldn't mind some of the teams who won pennants in the past, but not the World series, get in on the act, like the Padres, Astros, Rockies, etc. Just not the Rays...they're the Bosox biggest competition now (ha). I think the Nationals (formerly Expos) and Mariners should have to win a pennant before they can win it all...sort of like an initiation into the club.
Of course, there are the long suffering teams: Pirates, Orioles, Tigers, Mets and Royals, whose fans surely would appreciate a title after 25-30 years of coming up short. There are the Indians, who despite having one of the most dominate teams of the '90s, never won it all in that decade...and then, the are the Cubs. For years, I sympathized with the boys from Wrigley; they seemed like a cousin to my equally hapless Red Sox. However, the difference was, at least the Sox actually would go to the World Series here and there, while the Cubs haven't won a pennant since 1945, which is actually a longer drought than the Indians last Championship in '48.
When the boys of Fenway won it all in '04...and again in '07, and again this past year, I felt my alliance with the Cubs slipping away. It's not that I don't still sympathise, it's just that I don't really relate to their plight anymore.. My N.L. team for years has been the New York Mets, mostly because I've lived in Brooklyn for a while and Mets fans hate the Yankees as much as Sox fans do, if not more. People say, "What about '86, Bill Buckner, etc.", and I say, after '04, all that is washed away. The Cubs still have the billy goat...they still have the black cat in '69...they still have the Bartman incident...and until they win it all- or at Least win the pennant- that stuff will still be relevant in some weird way. Trust me, I know...notice how nobody chants "Nineteen-eighteen" at Yankee Stadium anymore?
Friday, February 7, 2014
"Home run hitters drive Cadillacs, singles hitters drive Fords."
It's a great accomplishment to be beloved by two generations of fans. It could be argued that Ralph Kiner was beloved by three, possibly four generations, depending on your definition of "generation." I moved to New York in 2002, so by the time I saw Ralph Kiner, he was one of the elderly statesmen of baseball, usually showing up somewhere in the middle of Mets T.V. broadcasts, giving his insights while Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and/or Keith Hernandez called the game.
Of course being somewhat of a baseball historian, I knew Kiner was one of the most feared sluggers of the first half of the 20th century. After serving his time in WWII, he burst onto the scene with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946, leading the league with 23 home runs...he was only just getting started. Kiner led the National league in homers every year from 1946-1952, and in six of those years, he led the entire Major leagues in that category...both are still records to this day.
He was helped slightly by Forbes field's short leftfield porch, which they constructed for the then newly acquired slugger Hank Greenberg, calling it "Greenberg Gardens." After Kiner hit 51 homers in '47, fans renamed it "Kiner's Korner", which later became the name for a post T.V. broadcast show he would host. The Pirates were a second division club during his tenure there, so Pittsburgh's GM Branch Rickey decided to trade Ralph to the Cubs saying, "We finished last with you, we can finish last without you.
A bad back forced Kiner out of the game by the mid mid '50s, and he became a broadcaster in 1961 for the Chicago White Sox. The next year, he landed the radio broadcast job for the expansion New York Mets, in which he, Bob Murphy and Linsay Nelson would rotate duties. When the Mets won it all in '69, he was one of the announcers for NBC radio. As an announcer, he had the third longest run, trailing only Jamie Jarrin and Vin Scully while also hosting the aforementioned "Kiner's Korner on T.V., where he'd interview player's after the game.
During his last year of eligibility in 1975, Kiner was elected to the baseball hall of fame, making it by one vote. By that point, of course, he was probably more well known as a broadcaster than he was a player. One of the more amazing aspects of his longevity in that field was the fact that he suffered from Bell's Palsy, a condition which slurs your speech. He was able to deal with it for the most part, until his later years...His malapropisms were legendary, once calling Gary carter "Gary Cooper" and himself "Ralph Korner." He was a humble man, despite uttering the immortal line: "Home run hitters drives Cadillacs, singles hitters drive Fords..." (editors note: My last car was a Ford...)
Of course being somewhat of a baseball historian, I knew Kiner was one of the most feared sluggers of the first half of the 20th century. After serving his time in WWII, he burst onto the scene with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946, leading the league with 23 home runs...he was only just getting started. Kiner led the National league in homers every year from 1946-1952, and in six of those years, he led the entire Major leagues in that category...both are still records to this day.
He was helped slightly by Forbes field's short leftfield porch, which they constructed for the then newly acquired slugger Hank Greenberg, calling it "Greenberg Gardens." After Kiner hit 51 homers in '47, fans renamed it "Kiner's Korner", which later became the name for a post T.V. broadcast show he would host. The Pirates were a second division club during his tenure there, so Pittsburgh's GM Branch Rickey decided to trade Ralph to the Cubs saying, "We finished last with you, we can finish last without you.
A bad back forced Kiner out of the game by the mid mid '50s, and he became a broadcaster in 1961 for the Chicago White Sox. The next year, he landed the radio broadcast job for the expansion New York Mets, in which he, Bob Murphy and Linsay Nelson would rotate duties. When the Mets won it all in '69, he was one of the announcers for NBC radio. As an announcer, he had the third longest run, trailing only Jamie Jarrin and Vin Scully while also hosting the aforementioned "Kiner's Korner on T.V., where he'd interview player's after the game.
During his last year of eligibility in 1975, Kiner was elected to the baseball hall of fame, making it by one vote. By that point, of course, he was probably more well known as a broadcaster than he was a player. One of the more amazing aspects of his longevity in that field was the fact that he suffered from Bell's Palsy, a condition which slurs your speech. He was able to deal with it for the most part, until his later years...His malapropisms were legendary, once calling Gary carter "Gary Cooper" and himself "Ralph Korner." He was a humble man, despite uttering the immortal line: "Home run hitters drives Cadillacs, singles hitters drive Fords..." (editors note: My last car was a Ford...)
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Searching for Tony Plush
I've been saying for years that there needs to be more characters in the game. When Ozzie Gullien was fired as manager of the Marlins, it almost seemed like an end of an era. Gone are the days of Bill "Spaceman" Lee, Al "Mad Hungarian" Hrabowsky, and Dennis "Oil can" Boyd. Nicknames seem few and far between these days. Sure, you have your Tim "The Freak" Lincecums and your Carlos "El Caballo" Lee (who has retired, actually), but the true oddballs seem to be on the way out...which is why I was happy to hear that the Cleveland Indians had signed Nyger Morgan to a minor league deal.
Morgan doesn't have a nickname, per se, more of an alter ego by the name "Tony Plush." In recent years, football players like Chad Johnson (Ocho Cinco) and basketball players like Ron Artest ( Meta World Peace) have out and out changed their names...Johnson simply changed his name to his number in Spanish, and Artest to probably the last thing in the world he has ever represented. These moves seemed more like an ego thing, while Morgan just seems like he's trying to get a rise out of people. Of course, Johnson and Artest were both superstars, while Nyger is...well, the jury's still out...
Let's just say that baseball wasn't Morgan's first choice...Believe or not, it was hockey, being inspired by watching the 1988 Olympics. He played as an affiliate players for the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL, where he received ten penalty minutes (due, in part to his notorious temper). After not making the squad during training camp, he wandered from semi pro team, to semi pro team in Canada, 'til he decided to give baseball a try, eventually getting signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and making his debut with the big club in 2007.
He was traded to the Nationals for an even bigger head case, Lastings Milledge. Milledge was famous for a stunt he pulled while with the Mets, going around the field and hi fiving the fans after his first home run in the majors. It was with the Nationals where Morgan let his emotions get the best of him, as he tried to rob a home run from the Oriole's Adam Jones...thinking the ball fell out of his glove and over the fence, Nyger threw his glove in disgust, and stormed off, leaving his team mate to retrieve the ball, but not after Jones had circled the bases for an inside the park home .run
His temper got him in trouble again, as he was accused of throwing a ball at a fan. That move- plus another incident where he charged the mound after being plunked- led to him being fined. On the plus side, he also became the first Nationals' player to steal three bases in a game. He was/is undeniably fast, being among the league leaders in stolen bases for a few years. However, he also led the league in caught stealing twice...Tim Raines, he aint.
His best year so far was with the Brewers in 2011; hitting over .300 and stealing 42 bases. Nyger also got the game winning hit in game five of the 2011 LDS. It was around this time he developed the Tony Plush character. His stock never seemed higher. However, due to a poor 2012, Morgan- like a lot of major leaguers do- decided to revive his career in Japan. It seems to have worked, as the Indians are giving him a shot. Will he make the team ? I hope so...he is a breath of fresh air among the robots and Goddies in the game. He's almost like a less psychotic Milton Bradley...the baseball player, not the game board company...but then again, aren't we all...
Morgan doesn't have a nickname, per se, more of an alter ego by the name "Tony Plush." In recent years, football players like Chad Johnson (Ocho Cinco) and basketball players like Ron Artest ( Meta World Peace) have out and out changed their names...Johnson simply changed his name to his number in Spanish, and Artest to probably the last thing in the world he has ever represented. These moves seemed more like an ego thing, while Morgan just seems like he's trying to get a rise out of people. Of course, Johnson and Artest were both superstars, while Nyger is...well, the jury's still out...
Let's just say that baseball wasn't Morgan's first choice...Believe or not, it was hockey, being inspired by watching the 1988 Olympics. He played as an affiliate players for the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL, where he received ten penalty minutes (due, in part to his notorious temper). After not making the squad during training camp, he wandered from semi pro team, to semi pro team in Canada, 'til he decided to give baseball a try, eventually getting signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and making his debut with the big club in 2007.
He was traded to the Nationals for an even bigger head case, Lastings Milledge. Milledge was famous for a stunt he pulled while with the Mets, going around the field and hi fiving the fans after his first home run in the majors. It was with the Nationals where Morgan let his emotions get the best of him, as he tried to rob a home run from the Oriole's Adam Jones...thinking the ball fell out of his glove and over the fence, Nyger threw his glove in disgust, and stormed off, leaving his team mate to retrieve the ball, but not after Jones had circled the bases for an inside the park home .run
His temper got him in trouble again, as he was accused of throwing a ball at a fan. That move- plus another incident where he charged the mound after being plunked- led to him being fined. On the plus side, he also became the first Nationals' player to steal three bases in a game. He was/is undeniably fast, being among the league leaders in stolen bases for a few years. However, he also led the league in caught stealing twice...Tim Raines, he aint.
His best year so far was with the Brewers in 2011; hitting over .300 and stealing 42 bases. Nyger also got the game winning hit in game five of the 2011 LDS. It was around this time he developed the Tony Plush character. His stock never seemed higher. However, due to a poor 2012, Morgan- like a lot of major leaguers do- decided to revive his career in Japan. It seems to have worked, as the Indians are giving him a shot. Will he make the team ? I hope so...he is a breath of fresh air among the robots and Goddies in the game. He's almost like a less psychotic Milton Bradley...the baseball player, not the game board company...but then again, aren't we all...
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Crime Story...
Well, as we all know, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas were inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame on January 8th, 2014. There has been a lot of controversy about Maddux not being a unanimous pick, with 16 writers leaving him off, but the fact is, he's in. The Astros' Craig Biggio just barely missed getting in, but should get in next year, which makes last year's snubs even more infuriating. There's a complete logjam for candidates now...there obviously needs to be a change; if not for the way the voting is done, then for the voters themselves.
I mean, seriously, does Dodger beat writer Ken Gurnick really deserve a vote? Not only did he leave Maddux, Glavine and Thomas off the list, he left off EVERYONE who played during that era. The only player he had going in was Jack Morris and his 3.90 ERA. Maybe Morris deserves it, maybe he doesn't...point is, you can't blame every player from the "steroids era" as if they're guilty by osmosis. Really, is this clown going to deny Pedro, Smoltz and The Big Unit next year? It also says a lot about how much the voters in general are punishing the hitters-Thomas not withstanding- who played in the '90s and '00s. In other words, if things go the way they probably will, 5 out of 6 HOF entries for this and next year will be pitchers, unless Biggio squeaks in.
The only pitcher eligible for the Hall that has been linked to PEDs is of course, Roger Clemens. He, along with Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Palmiero, and the two who were never proven-Piazza and Bagwell-will probably have to wait a long time to get in, if they do at all. Maybe it's unfair, but I'm not here to debate that, mostly because that's all anybody ever seems to want do when the subject of the Hall of fame comes up. However, there still are some who are still in contention that I will talk about deserving induction.
Last year around this time, I wrote about Tim Raines, and how he should be a slam dunk candidate. He's still on the ballot, along with Lee Smith, Alan Tramell and Fred "Crime Dog" McGriff. While they're aren't many closers in Cooperstown, Smith probably deserves it. He was consistent- kind of like a pitching version of Eddie Murray- but he wasn't as dependable as say a Mariano Rivera, or had Cy Young seasons like Dennis Eckersley and Bruce Sutter. That, coupled with the fact that he pitched for many teams, probably have caused him to be overlooked...oh, and he took forever to get to the mound...
On the opposite end of the scale, Alan Trammell played his entire career with one team; the Detroit Tigers. His numbers were good for a shortstop in the '80s, but they suffered in comparison to the offensive minded shortstops of the following decade like Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Nomar Garciaparra and, to a lesser extent, Omar Visquel. Trammel- much like fellow team mate Jack Morris- seems to be Veteran committee bound once he falls off the ballot. Also, there's Schilling and Mussina, who will both have to wait awhile, mostly because of the pitchers ahead of them.
The one candidate who I think is completely being overlooked is McGriff. First of all, he had a great nickname...Crime Dog...People under the age of thirty (and over the age of sixty) probably won't get the reference, but in the mid '80s, the was a cartoon dog named "McGruff." He dressed like a detective from the '40s, and (naturally) had a rather gruff voice. He urged kids to "take a bite out of crime", sometimes paired with a non cartoon teenage girl, who sang and danced about the evils of drug use, singing "Users are losers and losers are users, so don't do drugs...don't do drugs..."
Crime dog led both leagues in home runs, hit 493 total ( tied with Lou Gehrig all time), drove in over 1,600 runs, never was linked to PEDs, to my knowledge-he had that muscular, yet slender, Jim Rice build- yet only received %11.7 of the vote, which is a crime, in my opinion. Sure, he played first, where you're supposed to produce, but so did Eddie Murray, who has very similar numbers.. .But then, Eddie hit the milestones that used to matter, in 3,000 hits and 500 homers, back before PEDs made things both confusing and infuriating, voting wise.
In conclusion, let me just say I think Biggio, Raines and Piazza will get in within the next few years, and Smith-who is still walking in from the bullpen as we speak-will get in during a slow year, much like former team mate Andre Dawson. As for McGriff...who knows...hopefully people will come to their senses...left off the ballot for years has been one player I think has been totally overlooked; catcher Ted Simmons, who made eight All star teams during his time with the Cardinals and Brewers. My favorite story of Simmons is when he was catching the Cardinal's insane closer, Al "The Mad Hungarian" Hrabosky, a pitcher who would regularly stomp on the mound and intimidate hitters with his homicidal glare and fu manchu moustache.
Many people got a little tired of the Mad Hungarian's act, mostly umpires. This one time, however, four time batting champion Bill Matlock came to the plate, and decided to mimic Hrabosky's antics on the mound while at bat. He stepped out of the box, stomped around, made a big fuss, much to the amusement of the crowd and umpire. Even Hrabosky seemed to enjoy it. The one person who didn't was Ted Simmon's, who decked Matlock when he came back to the plate...now THERE's a competitor...
I mean, seriously, does Dodger beat writer Ken Gurnick really deserve a vote? Not only did he leave Maddux, Glavine and Thomas off the list, he left off EVERYONE who played during that era. The only player he had going in was Jack Morris and his 3.90 ERA. Maybe Morris deserves it, maybe he doesn't...point is, you can't blame every player from the "steroids era" as if they're guilty by osmosis. Really, is this clown going to deny Pedro, Smoltz and The Big Unit next year? It also says a lot about how much the voters in general are punishing the hitters-Thomas not withstanding- who played in the '90s and '00s. In other words, if things go the way they probably will, 5 out of 6 HOF entries for this and next year will be pitchers, unless Biggio squeaks in.
The only pitcher eligible for the Hall that has been linked to PEDs is of course, Roger Clemens. He, along with Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Palmiero, and the two who were never proven-Piazza and Bagwell-will probably have to wait a long time to get in, if they do at all. Maybe it's unfair, but I'm not here to debate that, mostly because that's all anybody ever seems to want do when the subject of the Hall of fame comes up. However, there still are some who are still in contention that I will talk about deserving induction.
Last year around this time, I wrote about Tim Raines, and how he should be a slam dunk candidate. He's still on the ballot, along with Lee Smith, Alan Tramell and Fred "Crime Dog" McGriff. While they're aren't many closers in Cooperstown, Smith probably deserves it. He was consistent- kind of like a pitching version of Eddie Murray- but he wasn't as dependable as say a Mariano Rivera, or had Cy Young seasons like Dennis Eckersley and Bruce Sutter. That, coupled with the fact that he pitched for many teams, probably have caused him to be overlooked...oh, and he took forever to get to the mound...
On the opposite end of the scale, Alan Trammell played his entire career with one team; the Detroit Tigers. His numbers were good for a shortstop in the '80s, but they suffered in comparison to the offensive minded shortstops of the following decade like Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Nomar Garciaparra and, to a lesser extent, Omar Visquel. Trammel- much like fellow team mate Jack Morris- seems to be Veteran committee bound once he falls off the ballot. Also, there's Schilling and Mussina, who will both have to wait awhile, mostly because of the pitchers ahead of them.
The one candidate who I think is completely being overlooked is McGriff. First of all, he had a great nickname...Crime Dog...People under the age of thirty (and over the age of sixty) probably won't get the reference, but in the mid '80s, the was a cartoon dog named "McGruff." He dressed like a detective from the '40s, and (naturally) had a rather gruff voice. He urged kids to "take a bite out of crime", sometimes paired with a non cartoon teenage girl, who sang and danced about the evils of drug use, singing "Users are losers and losers are users, so don't do drugs...don't do drugs..."
Crime dog led both leagues in home runs, hit 493 total ( tied with Lou Gehrig all time), drove in over 1,600 runs, never was linked to PEDs, to my knowledge-he had that muscular, yet slender, Jim Rice build- yet only received %11.7 of the vote, which is a crime, in my opinion. Sure, he played first, where you're supposed to produce, but so did Eddie Murray, who has very similar numbers.. .But then, Eddie hit the milestones that used to matter, in 3,000 hits and 500 homers, back before PEDs made things both confusing and infuriating, voting wise.
In conclusion, let me just say I think Biggio, Raines and Piazza will get in within the next few years, and Smith-who is still walking in from the bullpen as we speak-will get in during a slow year, much like former team mate Andre Dawson. As for McGriff...who knows...hopefully people will come to their senses...left off the ballot for years has been one player I think has been totally overlooked; catcher Ted Simmons, who made eight All star teams during his time with the Cardinals and Brewers. My favorite story of Simmons is when he was catching the Cardinal's insane closer, Al "The Mad Hungarian" Hrabosky, a pitcher who would regularly stomp on the mound and intimidate hitters with his homicidal glare and fu manchu moustache.
Many people got a little tired of the Mad Hungarian's act, mostly umpires. This one time, however, four time batting champion Bill Matlock came to the plate, and decided to mimic Hrabosky's antics on the mound while at bat. He stepped out of the box, stomped around, made a big fuss, much to the amusement of the crowd and umpire. Even Hrabosky seemed to enjoy it. The one person who didn't was Ted Simmon's, who decked Matlock when he came back to the plate...now THERE's a competitor...
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Short people...
I was looking at a baseball website, (whose name I will not reveal) trying to see who the shortest home run hitters were. This site had two different lists; one was called "Shortest home run hitters", which included many 6 foot plus players. After a couple of people complained, they tried to rectify the situation by putting out a list called "Greatest home run hitters under 6 feet." On this list, there were such short players as 5' 7" Joe Morgan and 5' 9" Matt stairs, who weren't included on the previous list.
One player who was on neither list-and the reason I looked this up in the first place-was Hack Wilson. At 5' 6" tall, he would have been the shortest player to be included on either. The omission was shocking to me, to tell you truth. At first, I thought it was one of those, "I didn't live through it" kind of things, but there were a decent amount of old timers there, including Mel Ott, who was Wilson's contemporary.
Wilson hit only 224 home runs, but didn't play all that long, and for a time, was one of the most feared hitters in the league. His 1930 season alone should have placed him on the list; 56 homers-a National league record for almost seven decades- and 191 RBIs, which is still the Major League record. Granted, it was the '30s, where everyone seemed to be hitting it out, and he was playing half his games in hitter friendly Wrigley field, but still, those are eye popping numbers.
Also, it wasn't like he was .230 hitter... he batted .356 for the year ( on top of his 56 homers and 5' 6" frame, which is a little weird). While 1930 was his best year, there was a good four, five year period that Wilson put up awesome numbers for the Cubs, leading the league in homers a few years, and RBIs...although he did lead the league in strikeouts a couple of times, which is probably where his nickname came from(actually, there are many theories, one is that Giants manager John McGraw called him hack because his body was shaped like a taxi cab).
He started his career in the early '20s with the New York Giants, and got to play in the 1924 World series against the Washington Senators, making a costly error in one of the games that led to a loss. He was never a good fielder, and probably would have been a D.H. if he had played in the modern era. You might say he was almost the prototype for Dave Kingman...minus the rat giving abilities...After his gaffe in the series, he was shipped to the Cubs. He then ended his career with Brooklyn and Philadelphia.
Of course, all of us have our weaknesses. Hack's was alcohol, which not only shortened his career, but also shortened his life, dying at the age of 48 of pneumonia. There was also a saying that at 5' 6" and 190 lbs, Wilson was built along the lines of a beer keg, and not unfamiliar with it's contents... although I would say he looked like more of a whiskey drinker. He ended up bar tending outside of Ebbets filed, singing for drinks, and getting in trouble. Either way, he still is the shortest player to hit homers at such a pace, albeit briefly. He was inducted into Cooperstown in 1979.
One player who was on neither list-and the reason I looked this up in the first place-was Hack Wilson. At 5' 6" tall, he would have been the shortest player to be included on either. The omission was shocking to me, to tell you truth. At first, I thought it was one of those, "I didn't live through it" kind of things, but there were a decent amount of old timers there, including Mel Ott, who was Wilson's contemporary.
Wilson hit only 224 home runs, but didn't play all that long, and for a time, was one of the most feared hitters in the league. His 1930 season alone should have placed him on the list; 56 homers-a National league record for almost seven decades- and 191 RBIs, which is still the Major League record. Granted, it was the '30s, where everyone seemed to be hitting it out, and he was playing half his games in hitter friendly Wrigley field, but still, those are eye popping numbers.
Also, it wasn't like he was .230 hitter... he batted .356 for the year ( on top of his 56 homers and 5' 6" frame, which is a little weird). While 1930 was his best year, there was a good four, five year period that Wilson put up awesome numbers for the Cubs, leading the league in homers a few years, and RBIs...although he did lead the league in strikeouts a couple of times, which is probably where his nickname came from(actually, there are many theories, one is that Giants manager John McGraw called him hack because his body was shaped like a taxi cab).
He started his career in the early '20s with the New York Giants, and got to play in the 1924 World series against the Washington Senators, making a costly error in one of the games that led to a loss. He was never a good fielder, and probably would have been a D.H. if he had played in the modern era. You might say he was almost the prototype for Dave Kingman...minus the rat giving abilities...After his gaffe in the series, he was shipped to the Cubs. He then ended his career with Brooklyn and Philadelphia.
Of course, all of us have our weaknesses. Hack's was alcohol, which not only shortened his career, but also shortened his life, dying at the age of 48 of pneumonia. There was also a saying that at 5' 6" and 190 lbs, Wilson was built along the lines of a beer keg, and not unfamiliar with it's contents... although I would say he looked like more of a whiskey drinker. He ended up bar tending outside of Ebbets filed, singing for drinks, and getting in trouble. Either way, he still is the shortest player to hit homers at such a pace, albeit briefly. He was inducted into Cooperstown in 1979.
Friday, December 13, 2013
I got your legacy RIGHT HERE...
In the ever long, ever growing rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox, there has always (for the most part, anyway) been a constant theme: Legends in left for Boston and legends in center for New York. I was thinking about this after my arm got tired out, throwing shit at my T.V. when I found out Jacoby Ellsbury went to the Yankees. I'm over it now, but whether or not he knows it, Ellsbury has a lot to live up to, as did Damon when he pulled the same sacrilegious move seven years earlier. The most famous steal the Yankees got was Ruth, who played right, but as you'll see it's center field where legends and near legends (and total washouts) roamed.
The story begins in 1936, when Joe DiMaggio had a terrific rookie season, and of course led the Bombers to many titles in his relatively brief career. In 1951, he decided to call it quits, so the Yankees right fielder, Mickey Mantle took over and brought the same amount of winning play until his legs finally gacve out on him in 1968. The next center fielder to take over was Bobby Murcer, a very good, if not great player. Murcer had the unfortunate fate of being on some pretty bad Yankee teams, and when he returned in the late '70s, they had already won the two titles that generation of Yankees would win.
When Murcer was traded in 1974, Bobby Bonds spent his one season there. Bonds had spent his entire career up to that point with San Fransisco, but would spend the next seven years playing for seven different teams. When Billy Martin became manager, he expressed his dislike for Bonds, so that may have been the reason for it. Then for the next few years, Mickey Rivers patrolled center. Then Murcer came back and shared duties with Jerry Mumphrey, a fairly unspectacular player.
The '80s were a weird time for that position in the Bronx. The early years were filled with the Mumphreys, the Omar Morenos and-at the end of the decade- Roberto Kelly. There were those years in the middle (85-mid 89) where Rickey Henderson-usually a left fielder- played center for New York, which fit it with a Hall of famer playing the position theme...Henderson would return to left field when he went back to Oakland in mid '89.
After Roberto Kelly was traded to Cincinnati for Paul O'Neil in the early nineties, it made room for Bernie Williams, who played there until he retired in 2006 to play smooth jazz guitar full time. He put up some borderline Hall of Fame numbers, but fell short of the 3,000 hit club.... The aforementioned traitor Johnny Damon played until 2009, when they won it all. Damon actually has some HOF like numbers, with 1668 RBIs and 408 stolen bases, but somehow only made the All Star team twice. The Yankees then picked up Curtis Granderson (who actually has made three All star teams, go figure), who played there until an injury riddled 2013 season made him expendable... making way for traitor #2, Ellsbury. (Yeah, I said I was over it, but it's only been a week or so).
The Sox legacy in left starts around the same time as the Yankees center field legacy did, in the late '30s. 1939, to be exact... that's when Ted Williams started his 22 year career in left...well, it would have been 22 had he not fought in both WWII AND the Korean war (greatest generation, indeed). The year after Teddy Ballgame retired, Carl Yazstremski took over, and was the regular left fielder until around 1975, when another future Hall of Famer, Jim Rice took over. Yaz would sometimes play left, but mainly DH'd and played a little first until his retirement in 1983.
Rice continued to play left until 1987, when he became the full time D.H., and Mike Greenwell took over. A lifetime .300 hitter, Gator was also pretty bad in the field. After he retired, Troy O'Leary, who had been playing right, took over left for a couple of years, and was then replaced by "Jurassic" Carl Everett, named so because his deeply religious beliefs-he basically didn't believe dinosaurs existed, despite overwhelming evidence- and also, his temper was rather dinosaur-like ...
...and then came Manny. Idiot-man child/amazing hitter, Manny played to his own beat, which was off (hey, I just made that up, cool), and could be an adventure in the outfield; high fiving fans after a catch on the road, disappearing into the Green monster during the game. However, you put up with it when he does his usual .300 plus average, 35 plus homers, 100 plus RBI's Boston had had enough of his antics in 2008, where they traded him away and got Jason Bay for a year and a half.
In 2010, Daniel Nava was then called up at age 27 to platoon with veteran Bill Hall, but that was a one year plan...They then signed All Star Carl Crawford to a big contract, which was a bust, as he was hurt for most of 2011 and was then shipped off to the Dodgers, along with Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzalez. The Sox then signed Jonny Gomes to platoon with Nava, and that seems to be working out.
So with the Ellsbury signing, the rivalry continues...he may not be a future Hall of famer, but he's a vast improvement over Omar Moreno (callback!), who might as well have been Rita Moreno...if there was anyone outside of Vince Coleman who was made to play on artificial turf, it was Omar...and while the Gomes/ Nava platoon seems to be working as well as the old John Lowenstein/ Gary Roenicke tandem from the late '70s, early '80s Oriole teams, I'm still waiting for the next long term solution...if those still exists anymore...
The story begins in 1936, when Joe DiMaggio had a terrific rookie season, and of course led the Bombers to many titles in his relatively brief career. In 1951, he decided to call it quits, so the Yankees right fielder, Mickey Mantle took over and brought the same amount of winning play until his legs finally gacve out on him in 1968. The next center fielder to take over was Bobby Murcer, a very good, if not great player. Murcer had the unfortunate fate of being on some pretty bad Yankee teams, and when he returned in the late '70s, they had already won the two titles that generation of Yankees would win.
When Murcer was traded in 1974, Bobby Bonds spent his one season there. Bonds had spent his entire career up to that point with San Fransisco, but would spend the next seven years playing for seven different teams. When Billy Martin became manager, he expressed his dislike for Bonds, so that may have been the reason for it. Then for the next few years, Mickey Rivers patrolled center. Then Murcer came back and shared duties with Jerry Mumphrey, a fairly unspectacular player.
The '80s were a weird time for that position in the Bronx. The early years were filled with the Mumphreys, the Omar Morenos and-at the end of the decade- Roberto Kelly. There were those years in the middle (85-mid 89) where Rickey Henderson-usually a left fielder- played center for New York, which fit it with a Hall of famer playing the position theme...Henderson would return to left field when he went back to Oakland in mid '89.
After Roberto Kelly was traded to Cincinnati for Paul O'Neil in the early nineties, it made room for Bernie Williams, who played there until he retired in 2006 to play smooth jazz guitar full time. He put up some borderline Hall of Fame numbers, but fell short of the 3,000 hit club.... The aforementioned traitor Johnny Damon played until 2009, when they won it all. Damon actually has some HOF like numbers, with 1668 RBIs and 408 stolen bases, but somehow only made the All Star team twice. The Yankees then picked up Curtis Granderson (who actually has made three All star teams, go figure), who played there until an injury riddled 2013 season made him expendable... making way for traitor #2, Ellsbury. (Yeah, I said I was over it, but it's only been a week or so).
The Sox legacy in left starts around the same time as the Yankees center field legacy did, in the late '30s. 1939, to be exact... that's when Ted Williams started his 22 year career in left...well, it would have been 22 had he not fought in both WWII AND the Korean war (greatest generation, indeed). The year after Teddy Ballgame retired, Carl Yazstremski took over, and was the regular left fielder until around 1975, when another future Hall of Famer, Jim Rice took over. Yaz would sometimes play left, but mainly DH'd and played a little first until his retirement in 1983.
Rice continued to play left until 1987, when he became the full time D.H., and Mike Greenwell took over. A lifetime .300 hitter, Gator was also pretty bad in the field. After he retired, Troy O'Leary, who had been playing right, took over left for a couple of years, and was then replaced by "Jurassic" Carl Everett, named so because his deeply religious beliefs-he basically didn't believe dinosaurs existed, despite overwhelming evidence- and also, his temper was rather dinosaur-like ...
...and then came Manny. Idiot-man child/amazing hitter, Manny played to his own beat, which was off (hey, I just made that up, cool), and could be an adventure in the outfield; high fiving fans after a catch on the road, disappearing into the Green monster during the game. However, you put up with it when he does his usual .300 plus average, 35 plus homers, 100 plus RBI's Boston had had enough of his antics in 2008, where they traded him away and got Jason Bay for a year and a half.
In 2010, Daniel Nava was then called up at age 27 to platoon with veteran Bill Hall, but that was a one year plan...They then signed All Star Carl Crawford to a big contract, which was a bust, as he was hurt for most of 2011 and was then shipped off to the Dodgers, along with Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzalez. The Sox then signed Jonny Gomes to platoon with Nava, and that seems to be working out.
So with the Ellsbury signing, the rivalry continues...he may not be a future Hall of famer, but he's a vast improvement over Omar Moreno (callback!), who might as well have been Rita Moreno...if there was anyone outside of Vince Coleman who was made to play on artificial turf, it was Omar...and while the Gomes/ Nava platoon seems to be working as well as the old John Lowenstein/ Gary Roenicke tandem from the late '70s, early '80s Oriole teams, I'm still waiting for the next long term solution...if those still exists anymore...
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Talking Nessman...Homer and the Bugs...
I would like to talk about baseball on T.V. Don't worry, I'm not going to go off about baseball commentators. So (for now), I'm going to lay off Joe Buck and Tim McCarver...for one, McCarver is retired, and two, baseball season been over for a month. In fact, this entry won't have anything to do with modern day baseball games on T.V., or even real games in general. Instead, I'm going to write about my three favorite baseball related T.V. episodes. Over the years, there have been many movies about baseball, but precious few shows dealing with it. There was a show called " Hardball" that lasted for about six weeks in the fall of 1994. The fact that it aired during the strike season may be a coincidence, but another television event that aired around the same time was Ken Burn's "Baseball."
Anyway, there hasn't been a ton of shows with episodes dealing with the national pastime, but I've selected three from, coincidentally enough, three of my favorite shows ever. All three were/are comedies, and two of them are cartoons. Technically, only one of the episodes I've selected were about baseball, as the other two were actually softball related...
Anyway, there hasn't been a ton of shows with episodes dealing with the national pastime, but I've selected three from, coincidentally enough, three of my favorite shows ever. All three were/are comedies, and two of them are cartoons. Technically, only one of the episodes I've selected were about baseball, as the other two were actually softball related...
1) BASEBALL BUGS (1946)
When people try to tell me that Mickey Mouse was better than Bugs Bunny, I look at them like they just said they preferred E.L.O. to the Beatles...there's no contest. There are many classic episodes featuring the lovable trouble maker known as Bugs Bunny, but one of the undeniable classics has to be the baseball short from 1946. The game took place at the Polo grounds, although some of the park's nuances screamed old Yankee stadium. The game featured the fearsome "Gashouse Gorillas", which was made up of huge, well, gorilla-like players, who smoked cigars while they played, against the Teetotalers, a team made up of skinny old men.
The name "Gashouse gorillas" referred to the 1934 Saint Louis Cardinals, who were a bunch of reprobates who went on to win the World series that year, with players such as Dizzy Dean, Ducky Medwick, Ripper Collins, Pepper Martin and Leo Durocher. The term "teetotaler" refers to a person who doesn't drink, which, during the '30s and '40s in baseball, was probably seen as a sign of weakness, as there were many a alcoholic player in those decades. ( Hack Wilson, anyone?)
Needless to say, the Gorillas were pounding the teetotalers, hitting bomb after bomb out of the park so frequently, they started forming a conga line around the bases. Meanwhile, out in center field, Bugs- eating a hot dog bun with a carrot inside of it- starts to taunt the Gashouse Gorillas, calling them a "bunch of doity players", then claiming he could beat them all by himself with "Wam! a homer. Wam! another homer." This doesn't sit well with the Gorillas, and they challenge him to make good on his promise.
Bugs starts by striking out their players by throwing fastballs, then running behind the plate in time to catch the balls, all the while, essentially giving himself a pep talk. ("That's the pepper, boy...). When he bats, he hits (literal) screaming line drives; one of which is hit to an outfielder, who keeps yelling, "I got it, I got it." When he tries to catch it, it drives him so far into the ground, a tombstone replaces where he once was, which says, "He Got it!"
The second time he pitches, he decides to "perplex them with my pulverizing slowball", in which he makes a ridiculous windup, and then throws it so slow, all three batters strike out on the same pitch...strikeone,striketwo,strikethree you're out, strikeone, striketwo, strikethree, you're out, strikeone, striketwo, strikethree, you're out...When you hear modern day players talk about pitchers with great change-ups, such as Pedro Martinez or Johan Santana, they often refer to the pitch as the "Bugs bunny change-up."
Bugs has other tricks up his sleeve-distracting the catcher with a pin-up poster while trying to score, disguising himself as the umpire, and then tricking one of the Gorillas into calling himself out- but perhaps the most famous scene is right at the end. With Bugs ahead 96-95 and an out to go, one of the Gashousers-using a tree he just cut down as a bat- launches one completely out of the Polo Grounds. Bugs gives chase, hailing the first taxi he sees;unfortunately, the driver turns out to be the same guy who hit the ball...eventually, Bugs runs into the Empire state building, goes to the top, hurls his glove into the air to catch it. An umpire appears , calling the batter out. When the batter complains about the call, the Statue of Liberty chimes in, saying "That's what the man said, you heard him."
WKRP. "Baseball." (1979)
WKRP newsman Les Nessmen gathers his fellow employees into a room to make an announcement; he has challenged rival station WPIG to a softball game. They're not too enthused...WPIG are a good team, who- according to station manager Andy Travis- even beat the Baptists. However, Les tries to convince them by saying how he was never allowed to play ball as a kid, and had to instead take violin lessons. The crew remains unconvinced, until secretary (and blond bombshell) Jennifer Marlow agrees to play...in her tight red shorts.
KRP's team has some decent players, with Venus flytrap, well, catching flies in the outfield (When trying to convince the team to play, clueless Les says he knows Venus is a good athlete...simply because he's a Negro), Travis at short, Bailey at second, and so on. At first, PIG's team is hitting Arthur "Big guy" Carlson pretty well, until Doctor Johnny Fever has two good ideas; first, he tells the Big guy how to put some spin on the ball, and second, he has Jennifer stand by the mound, distracting the hitters. (While I thought Jennifer was attractive, I was always more of a Bailey guy, but anyway...)
The biggest problem they have, of course is Les's complete lack of skill at playing the game. At the start of the game, he wants to pitch, but after throwing a few balls nowhere near the strike zone, they convince him to move to third, telling him that Pete Rose played there. When that proves to be a bad idea, they move him to first, telling him that Pete Rose plays first. (the fact that Rose played a lot of different positions in his career certainly helped this premise) And when first proved to be too much, they finally move him to right field, telling him that Roberto Clemente played there. Even though Les does the sports for the station, he has no idea who Clemente is.
As bad as he was in the field, he was even worse at the plate, striking out every time. At the plate and in the field, he is constantly having flashbacks to his childhood, and his mother telling him it's time for violin lessons. Despite Les's shortcomings, the team- Venus, Travis, Bailey and even Herb Tarlick- keep the game close. One of the best plays is third baseman Bucky Dornster catching a line drive with a beer still in his hand, a feat I have tried many a time at softball games myself (I'm a third baseman with a love of beer too.)
With the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, Arthur Carlson-who the other team's captain keeps calling "Moose", which the Big Guy was called when he played ball in college- has a chance to put them ahead, despite the fact he hasn't hit anything all day. Then, WPIG's captain pulls a dick move, telling all of his fielders to come in, which is actually illegal. In the rule book, it says that all nine of the fielders have to be in the field of play during the game. I'm sure the producers of the show were trying to recreate the whole Satchel Paige thing, when he tried the same thing. However, Satch actually had all the fielders stand around the mound, thereby making it nice and legal.
Anyway, the Big Guy hits it pretty deep, and PIG's players have to run from their bench to the outfield. All the runners on base score, and Mr. Carlson-taking his time going around the bases- does as well. When the ump says "safe!", Carlson replies "I should hope so."
On to the bottom of the ninth, when, with two outs, a left handed batter comes to the plate, which isn't a good thing. Most likely, he is going to hit it to Les out in right. The previous two outs were caught by Venus in left and left center, but there is no way he can cover this fly ball, which heads straight to Les. As he circles around, with his childhood trauma still going through his mind, he finally puts his glove up in the air in desperation...and catches it.
3) The Simpsons. "Homer at the bat." (1992)
When Homer starts choking on a doughnut at work, his fellow employees Lenny and Carl passively look for the poster with the Heimlich maneuver instructions on it. Right next to it is a sign up sheet for softball. When he discovers this, Homer forgets that he's choking and goes to sign up. When his friends seem uninterested in playing, Homer informs them that he has a "secret weapon", which turns out to be a home made bat called, "Wonderbat." (An obvious reference to Robert Redford's bat in The Natural) After they sign up, and find out his secret weapon is nothing but
a bat, his friends are unimpressed, with Carl sarcastically informing Homer that he himself has an "enchanted jockstrap."
When the Plant starts winning ballgames, Mr. Burns makes a wager with the owner of the Shelbyville Nuclear plant that the Springfield plant will beat Shelbyville when they play each other in a week. The bet is for a million dollars, so Mr. Burns wants to makes sure they'll win, later asking his lackey Mr. Smithers, "Is it wrong to cheat to win a million dollars?" When Smithers replies, "yes", Burns says, "let me rephrase that...is it wrong for ME to cheat to win a million dollars?" Smithers then changes his answer.
In order to guarantee the win, Burns decides to get ringers...or as he calls them "professional baseballers." He orders Smithers to get such players as "Cap Anson, Honus Wagner, Mordecai "Three finger" Brown." Smithers interrupts by saying, "All those players have long retired and passed on...in fact your right fielder has been dead for 130 years." (I looked it up. The player was Jim Creighton, a great player who indeed died in 1862) Burns then tells Smithers to go get living players, and to scout " the American league, the National League, the Negro League. ( needless to say, the Negro League hadn't existed in about 40 years at that time...)
Smithers finds Mike Scioscia while Scioscia was hunting, almost getting shot in the process. He runs into Ozzie Smith at Graceland, while Ozzie is vacationing, and then goes to Don Mattingly's house to recruit him. The rest of the players are introduced at work: Darryl Strawberry, Ken Griffey Jr., Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Steve Sax and Jose Canseco. Burns introduces all of them as new workers, and asks them to sign up for the softball team, much to the team's dismay. The only player who doesn't do it right away is Scioscia; he claims he was hired to run the decontaminater machine. Burns says "One more outburst like that, and I'll send you back to the big leagues."
The team starts working out, and Homer finds out the player who is taking his position is Strawberry, who constantly sucks up to Mr. Burns. (obviously in complete contrast to his actually personality) Things are looking good, and Burns, wearing his old timey Zephyr uniform, makes out the lineup card. He then tells Smithers that there's no way they could lose...maybe if three players couldn't play, or six...there's an outside chance...but NINE? I'd like to see that...
Eight of the nine players don't show up for the game:
Ozzie Smith- Falls down a bottomless pit visiting a tourist spot.
Steve Sax- Gets arrested by the corrupt Springfield when they find out he's from New York.
Wade Boggs- Gets punched out by Barney at Moe's bar while arguing who the greatest Prime minister in England was.
Jose Canseco- Helps a woman recover things from her burning home...pretty much everything in it, actually...
Roger Clemens- The hypnotist who Burns hired to help the team, ended up convincing Clemens that he was a chicken.
Mike Scioscia- Was hospitalized for radiation poisoning, being the only player who actually Worked at the plant while there.
Ken Griffey Jr.- Was strictened with "Gigantism" from drinking too much nerve tonic.
Don Mattinley- Was fired by Burns for not shaving his sideburns. (He actually had a mullet, but Mr, Burns couldn't tell the difference.)
The only major leaguer who showed up was Strawberry, meaning that Homer still had to sit. However, with the game tied and the bases loaded, Burns decided to pinch hit Homer for Strawberry. (who, throughout the game had been taunted by Bart and Lisa shouting "Daryl...Daryl...much like Red Sox fans did to him during the '86 World series) Homer goes to the plate, and Burns goes over the signs with him, although Homer's mind wanders so much, he just ends up craving a bag of potato chips...so when Burns actually gives the Signs at third base, Homer becomes distracted, and gets hit in the head with the pitch, essentially winning the game for the Springfield power Plant.
So, those are the three best baseball (or softball) episodes in television history...sure, there was that Seinfeld one where George ends up plowing into Bette Middler, effectively knocking her out of the play that she's in...and of course, Jerry is dating her replacement...but I didn't think of this episode until after I wrote the other three, which are better anyway...oh, there's the Seinfeld one with Keith Hernandez, which parodies the Kennedy assassination, but there's not much baseball in that one...I'm gonna stop now...
Friday, November 22, 2013
Beyond Homerdome...
As of right now, the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays are the only two teams still playing in full time domes. ( a couple others have retractable ones, but that's a different thing...) So it was it was almost the end of an era when Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome ceased to be the home of the Twins in 2009. The building still serves as the home for the Vikings...until next year, where it will be demolished as soon as their new home is completed. I write this because parts of the Park/stadium are being auctioned off. ( the baseball sections, anyway)
The Twins were an outdoor team from their move from Washington to Minnesota in 1961 until 1981. Then, in 1982-inspired by places like Houston's Astrodome and Seattle's Kingdome- the Twins decided to find a permanent solution to the cold temperatures in early Spring and late fall, and the mosquitoes in the Summer. The move also meant a switch from natural grass to AstroTurf, which half the teams were using then. (the aforementioned Rays and Blue Jays are the only two teams still using artificial turf today)
The team hadn't had much success in the '70s after being a contender for a good deal of the '60s. The new decade picked up where the '70s left off...however, they had a core of good young players: Tom Brunansky, Gary Gaetti, Kent Hrbek and (eventually) Kirby Puckett. These would be the players that would help Minnesota win it all in '87 and in '91. The most famous game ever played there was probably game seven of the '91 series, where Jack Morris pitched a ten inning shoutout, beating a young John Smoltz 1-0. That series had a few other notable plays that took place in the Dome: The Chuck Knoblaugh fake out to trick Lonnie Smith into hesitating, and therefore not scoring from first on a double...The Kirby Puckett catch in game six, which he then followed up with a game winning homer. Cue Jack Buck: "and we'll see you....tomorrow night."
Actually, the Metrodome as a facility is the only place to host a World Series, an All Star game(1985), a Superbowl (1992) and a NCAA final four (also 1992). On the downside, it has collapsed on a handful of occasions; due mostly to heavy snowfall, but that only interrupted the football season. As for baseball, it would regularly wreak havoc on outfielders, as they lost ball after ball in the whiteness of the roof...the most notorious example was when Milwaukee's Prince Fielder hit a high fly ball that Lew Ford completely lost...by like 50 feet. The ball bounced so far away from Ford that Fielder, not exactly a speedster at 265 lbs, turned it into an inside the park home run. About twenty years earlier, the A's Dave Kingman hit a pop fly that went straight up and through the roof; he was credited with a ground rule double.
Then there was the game in 2000, when outfielder Butch Huskey ran after a ball which he had no shot at, only to run face first into the left field wall. It has been on blooper reels ever since, mainly because he didn't get hurt. It was during "Futuristic uniform day", which made everyone involved in the game look like they were playing for Japan...as shoguns...from the future. There was also the baggie in right, which was kind of like the green monster in Fenway; if it had been covered by a 20X100 ft hefty bag. The park was also called the "Homerdome", due to the large amounts of...uh, homers hit there...although compared to some of today's hitter friendly parks, it was almost Astrodome-like.
I could make a tasteless joke about homer hankies, but I won't. Instead, a brief history lesson...The park was named after former Minnesota Senator turned Vice President, Hubert H. Humphrey. I only bring this up, because I am writing this on the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination, and I thought it was a strange coincidence that I would write this story that had nothing to do with JFK, but yet, somehow did. (for those of you that failed history class, or haven't watched a T.V. in the last three weeks, Humphrey was LBJ's VP...basically, LBJ wouldn't have been commander in chief (and therefore, Humphrey, not the VP) if it would for that tragedy 50 years ago today...btw, the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is tomorrow...anyone have ideas on That connection? I'm stumped.
The Twins were an outdoor team from their move from Washington to Minnesota in 1961 until 1981. Then, in 1982-inspired by places like Houston's Astrodome and Seattle's Kingdome- the Twins decided to find a permanent solution to the cold temperatures in early Spring and late fall, and the mosquitoes in the Summer. The move also meant a switch from natural grass to AstroTurf, which half the teams were using then. (the aforementioned Rays and Blue Jays are the only two teams still using artificial turf today)
The team hadn't had much success in the '70s after being a contender for a good deal of the '60s. The new decade picked up where the '70s left off...however, they had a core of good young players: Tom Brunansky, Gary Gaetti, Kent Hrbek and (eventually) Kirby Puckett. These would be the players that would help Minnesota win it all in '87 and in '91. The most famous game ever played there was probably game seven of the '91 series, where Jack Morris pitched a ten inning shoutout, beating a young John Smoltz 1-0. That series had a few other notable plays that took place in the Dome: The Chuck Knoblaugh fake out to trick Lonnie Smith into hesitating, and therefore not scoring from first on a double...The Kirby Puckett catch in game six, which he then followed up with a game winning homer. Cue Jack Buck: "and we'll see you....tomorrow night."
Actually, the Metrodome as a facility is the only place to host a World Series, an All Star game(1985), a Superbowl (1992) and a NCAA final four (also 1992). On the downside, it has collapsed on a handful of occasions; due mostly to heavy snowfall, but that only interrupted the football season. As for baseball, it would regularly wreak havoc on outfielders, as they lost ball after ball in the whiteness of the roof...the most notorious example was when Milwaukee's Prince Fielder hit a high fly ball that Lew Ford completely lost...by like 50 feet. The ball bounced so far away from Ford that Fielder, not exactly a speedster at 265 lbs, turned it into an inside the park home run. About twenty years earlier, the A's Dave Kingman hit a pop fly that went straight up and through the roof; he was credited with a ground rule double.
Then there was the game in 2000, when outfielder Butch Huskey ran after a ball which he had no shot at, only to run face first into the left field wall. It has been on blooper reels ever since, mainly because he didn't get hurt. It was during "Futuristic uniform day", which made everyone involved in the game look like they were playing for Japan...as shoguns...from the future. There was also the baggie in right, which was kind of like the green monster in Fenway; if it had been covered by a 20X100 ft hefty bag. The park was also called the "Homerdome", due to the large amounts of...uh, homers hit there...although compared to some of today's hitter friendly parks, it was almost Astrodome-like.
I could make a tasteless joke about homer hankies, but I won't. Instead, a brief history lesson...The park was named after former Minnesota Senator turned Vice President, Hubert H. Humphrey. I only bring this up, because I am writing this on the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination, and I thought it was a strange coincidence that I would write this story that had nothing to do with JFK, but yet, somehow did. (for those of you that failed history class, or haven't watched a T.V. in the last three weeks, Humphrey was LBJ's VP...basically, LBJ wouldn't have been commander in chief (and therefore, Humphrey, not the VP) if it would for that tragedy 50 years ago today...btw, the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is tomorrow...anyone have ideas on That connection? I'm stumped.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Hizzah for the old guard!!!...
It's been two weeks since the World Series ended, so now I can put (most of) my emotions aside, and reflect on it logically, which is something I could NOT do after game three. Yes, I wrote a piece on that game right after it ended and posted it at around 12:45 the next morning. It was the obstruction call game, where Allen Craig tripped over Will Middlebrooks...in retrospect, it was the right call, but it was still bullshit. A World series game had never ended like that. Game four ended with Kolton Wong getting picked off by Koji Uehara, something else that had never happened before. These games followed the first two at Fenway, which both had costly errors in them. Game five was a pitcher's duel between Lester and Wainwright, and game six had the Red Sox winning it all at Fenway for the first time since (say it with me), 1918.
Lost in all the beards and weird calls was the fact that this was the tenth year in a row that an original 16 franchise won the World Series. Starting in 2004, it's been Red Sox, White Sox, Cardinals, Red Sox, Phillies, Yankees, Giants, Cardinals, Giants and Red Sox. (baseball nerd note: I use the word "franchise", because technically, the Yankees began life as the original Baltimore Orioles in 1901, then became the Highlanders, and later in the 1900's, the Yankees...The Giants, of course were in New York until 1957...). I don't really have an explanation for this. To makes things even stranger, the previous three seasons, (2001-2003) were won by expansion teams: Diamondbacks, Angels and Marlins.
The expansion era started in 1961, when the American league decided to add two new teams; the Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators. This was actually a different Senators team from the one that moved to Minnesota and became the Twins earlier in the year. The "2nd" Senators only lasted eleven years and then became the Texas Rangers. The next year, the National league expanded by adding the New York Mets and the Houston Colt '45s, who eventually became the Astros, once they moved into the Astrodome in 1965.
Baseball expanded again in 1969, with the AL adding the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots, who lasted one year and then became the Milwaukee Brewers. (not to be confused with the 1901 Brewers who lasted one year and became the St. Louis Browns, who eventually became the Baltimore Orioles in the mid '50s...not to be confused with the aforementioned 1901 Orioles who became the Yankees...I know, I know...) The N.L. also adding two teams; The San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos, who became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
In 1977, the A.L. added the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners. The 1980's was the first decade since expansion not to expand...I know , I know...in 1993, The N.L. gave us both the Colorado Rockies, (taking it's name from a now defunct NHL franchise;.they became the New Jersey Devils) and the Florida-soon to become Miami-Marlins. Finally, in 1998, the N.L. added the Arizona Diamondbacks, who became the fastest expansion team to win it all in 2001, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who lost the "Devil" part of their name in 2008,on their way to their first pennant.
So, in conclusion, there have been fourteen expansion teams since 1961...the most successful? Hard to say. I could look up total wins, but I don't know what that would really tell us. I know that only three of the teams (Mets, Blue Jays and Marlins) have won two World Series. I also know that only two teams (Mariners and Expos/Nationals) have never won a pennant. Times change, though...it was only a few years back that the Rangers were the only team to never make it to a LCS. Of course, that was before 2010, where they won the first of back to back pennants. They could/should have won it all in '11, but that's another blog altogether...they'll get there...just have to be patient...just ask the Cubs, an old guard team if there ever was...
Lost in all the beards and weird calls was the fact that this was the tenth year in a row that an original 16 franchise won the World Series. Starting in 2004, it's been Red Sox, White Sox, Cardinals, Red Sox, Phillies, Yankees, Giants, Cardinals, Giants and Red Sox. (baseball nerd note: I use the word "franchise", because technically, the Yankees began life as the original Baltimore Orioles in 1901, then became the Highlanders, and later in the 1900's, the Yankees...The Giants, of course were in New York until 1957...). I don't really have an explanation for this. To makes things even stranger, the previous three seasons, (2001-2003) were won by expansion teams: Diamondbacks, Angels and Marlins.
The expansion era started in 1961, when the American league decided to add two new teams; the Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators. This was actually a different Senators team from the one that moved to Minnesota and became the Twins earlier in the year. The "2nd" Senators only lasted eleven years and then became the Texas Rangers. The next year, the National league expanded by adding the New York Mets and the Houston Colt '45s, who eventually became the Astros, once they moved into the Astrodome in 1965.
Baseball expanded again in 1969, with the AL adding the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots, who lasted one year and then became the Milwaukee Brewers. (not to be confused with the 1901 Brewers who lasted one year and became the St. Louis Browns, who eventually became the Baltimore Orioles in the mid '50s...not to be confused with the aforementioned 1901 Orioles who became the Yankees...I know, I know...) The N.L. also adding two teams; The San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos, who became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
In 1977, the A.L. added the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners. The 1980's was the first decade since expansion not to expand...I know , I know...in 1993, The N.L. gave us both the Colorado Rockies, (taking it's name from a now defunct NHL franchise;.they became the New Jersey Devils) and the Florida-soon to become Miami-Marlins. Finally, in 1998, the N.L. added the Arizona Diamondbacks, who became the fastest expansion team to win it all in 2001, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who lost the "Devil" part of their name in 2008,on their way to their first pennant.
So, in conclusion, there have been fourteen expansion teams since 1961...the most successful? Hard to say. I could look up total wins, but I don't know what that would really tell us. I know that only three of the teams (Mets, Blue Jays and Marlins) have won two World Series. I also know that only two teams (Mariners and Expos/Nationals) have never won a pennant. Times change, though...it was only a few years back that the Rangers were the only team to never make it to a LCS. Of course, that was before 2010, where they won the first of back to back pennants. They could/should have won it all in '11, but that's another blog altogether...they'll get there...just have to be patient...just ask the Cubs, an old guard team if there ever was...
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Looks like I picked the wrong day to quit drinking...
Many people have been trying to figure out at what point Jim Leyland decided to retire...some of my friends have said that he went into the 2013 season knowing it would be his last. Others make the argument that not making it to the Series this year was the last straw. More specific than that theory, I believe it was the play during game six against Boston when Jhonny Peralta grounded to second; Pedroia tagged out Martinez, then threw home, where Saltalamacchia eventually chased down Prince Fielder. The visual of Fielder falling down a good three feet before the bag, followed by Leyland's exasperated look, pretty much said it all. Detroit could have had a big rally, but instead no runs scored...a couple of innings and Shane Victorino later...
Leyland was one of the last managers who never made it to the majors as a player. It used to be the norm; managers were either lifetime minor leaguers, or had very little time in the bigs. Earl Weaver, Dick Williams, Tony Larussa and the like fit that bill. Today, players that were good to great tend to be the norm; Don Mattingly, Dusty Baker, Robin Ventura, Ryne Sandberg and such are becoming more prevalent. The old thought was that if you were a good player, you wouldn't be patient enough with players who didn't have your talent. (Ted Williams managing the Washington Senators, comes to mind)
Starting his managing career with the Pirates in '86, Leyland eventually guided a young team to three N.L. East titles from 1990-1992, losing the first year to the Reds in '90, and then the next two to the Braves, the second of which in heartbreaking fashion, letting up a game winning hit to Fransisco (bleeping) Cabrera. (Cabrera was actually mentioned by then President George Prescott Bush, using the walk off hit as a metaphor for his campaign...if that was the case, then that makes Bill Clinton the Toronto Blue Jays.)
After leaving the Pirates organization for a few years, he then managed the Florida Marlins to a World Championship in 1997. While Leyland has always been pretty likeable, the '97 Marlins were not; with players that were basically bought for one season and let go, Florida were merely a collection of great players who happened to win it all...there was also a game against the Braves in the NLCS where Livan Hernandez threw ball after ball, but got strike calls from umpire Eric Gregg.
After a bizarre one year stint with the Rockies in '99, Leyland retired from managing for a few years. He was lured back by the Tigers in 2006 and won the pennant in his first year, then lost to the Cardinals in five games in the World series. He made it back to the Series in 2012, this time getting swept by the Giants. You kind of had the feeling that 2013 was going to be his last year; he had the best starting rotation in baseball and maybe the best 1 thru 5 hitters in the game as well...shame about that bullpen, though...we'll miss you Jim, you seemed like a throwback to the hard drinking managers of the past...somewhere, John McGraw and Billy Martin agree,,,
Leyland was one of the last managers who never made it to the majors as a player. It used to be the norm; managers were either lifetime minor leaguers, or had very little time in the bigs. Earl Weaver, Dick Williams, Tony Larussa and the like fit that bill. Today, players that were good to great tend to be the norm; Don Mattingly, Dusty Baker, Robin Ventura, Ryne Sandberg and such are becoming more prevalent. The old thought was that if you were a good player, you wouldn't be patient enough with players who didn't have your talent. (Ted Williams managing the Washington Senators, comes to mind)
Starting his managing career with the Pirates in '86, Leyland eventually guided a young team to three N.L. East titles from 1990-1992, losing the first year to the Reds in '90, and then the next two to the Braves, the second of which in heartbreaking fashion, letting up a game winning hit to Fransisco (bleeping) Cabrera. (Cabrera was actually mentioned by then President George Prescott Bush, using the walk off hit as a metaphor for his campaign...if that was the case, then that makes Bill Clinton the Toronto Blue Jays.)
After leaving the Pirates organization for a few years, he then managed the Florida Marlins to a World Championship in 1997. While Leyland has always been pretty likeable, the '97 Marlins were not; with players that were basically bought for one season and let go, Florida were merely a collection of great players who happened to win it all...there was also a game against the Braves in the NLCS where Livan Hernandez threw ball after ball, but got strike calls from umpire Eric Gregg.
After a bizarre one year stint with the Rockies in '99, Leyland retired from managing for a few years. He was lured back by the Tigers in 2006 and won the pennant in his first year, then lost to the Cardinals in five games in the World series. He made it back to the Series in 2012, this time getting swept by the Giants. You kind of had the feeling that 2013 was going to be his last year; he had the best starting rotation in baseball and maybe the best 1 thru 5 hitters in the game as well...shame about that bullpen, though...we'll miss you Jim, you seemed like a throwback to the hard drinking managers of the past...somewhere, John McGraw and Billy Martin agree,,,
Saturday, October 26, 2013
WORST CALL EVER!!!
I usually don't write about things that just happened, but this time I'm going to make an exception. I just watched the third game of the 2013 World series end on an obstruction call. It was the weakest, worst way to end what actually was a very exciting, well played game by both teams. For those who missed it, a ground ball was hit to Dustin Pedroia, who threw out Yadier Molina at home. After Salty applied the tag, he then threw wide to Will Middlebrooks at third, sending the ball into the outfield. After he had slid, the Cardinal's Allen Craig then attempted to head home and tripped over Middlebrooks, who was lying on the ground at the time. Nava's throw home beat Craig, but he was called safe because of Middlebrooks "tripping" Craig. The run was allowed to score, game over. The main culprits? Home plate umpire Dana Deluth and umpire Jim Joyce
You may remember Joyce as the man who made the terrible call on the last out of the no-hit bid by the Tigers Armando Galarraga. The runner was clearly out, and Joyce new it when he saw the play later, then tearfully apologized to Galarraga. (which is little solace to baseball record books) This call last night was even worse. Yes, I am a Red Sox fan, but even if it were the Cardinals, or (gulp) Yankees victimized by the blown call, I wouldn't feel easy about it. If Boston loses the series because of this, I'm going to suggest that umpires get fined every time they make such horrific calls like this. Sure, all the umpires agreed on the call, but they have been out of control as a whole for years; throwing out players for arguing strikes, throwing out managers before they even have a chance to make their point. Hell, even Earl Weaver got to put on a show before he was tossed.
This play has total precedent in the World series too; in 1975,( which, ironically enough, was also game three) the Red Sox (of course) were playing the Reds at Riverfront stadium, when Cincinnati's Ed Armbrister went to lay down a bunt, but missed. On the play, Cesar Geronimo took off for second, and Fisk had him dead to rights. However, Armbrister "obstructed" the throw, and it went sailing into center field. The fact that Fred Lynn actually threw Geronimo out at third, but was called safe, is kind of forgotten... but the play was a classic case of obstruction, yet was never called. Two blown calls on the same play, way to go, blue.
You may ask what the difference was between the two. Well, for one thing, Armbrister stepped into Fisk, while Middlebrooks was just laying there. Also, it wasn't a game ending play. I'm sure a game has ended this way before, but not in a pivotal game of a World Series. I know the umpires union is strong, but something needs to be done. They're making instant replay almost necessary for every friggin' play. I don't want it to turn into football, the games are too long as it is, especially on FOX. Seriously, if this game didn't end in the bullshit fashion that it did, it would have probably ended up being the longest World Series game in history, the way it was going. Fox airs so many damn commercials...
In conclusion, may I just say that, yes, I am angry because it is still fresh in my mind, and yes, I will get over it, but I'll tell you one thing; if anybody in the next twenty four hours tries to tell me that call wasn't bullshit, I am going to box their ears...this was, and will remain a travesty...man, I had this nice little funny blog about comparing Jim Leyland to Lloyd Bridge's character on "Airplane", and now that will have to wait (looks like I picked the wrong day to quit drinking, and so forth)...weird thing was, I just played a softball game yesterday that ended on a bullshit call...of course my team won because of it, so that's O.K. ( I keeeed)
You may remember Joyce as the man who made the terrible call on the last out of the no-hit bid by the Tigers Armando Galarraga. The runner was clearly out, and Joyce new it when he saw the play later, then tearfully apologized to Galarraga. (which is little solace to baseball record books) This call last night was even worse. Yes, I am a Red Sox fan, but even if it were the Cardinals, or (gulp) Yankees victimized by the blown call, I wouldn't feel easy about it. If Boston loses the series because of this, I'm going to suggest that umpires get fined every time they make such horrific calls like this. Sure, all the umpires agreed on the call, but they have been out of control as a whole for years; throwing out players for arguing strikes, throwing out managers before they even have a chance to make their point. Hell, even Earl Weaver got to put on a show before he was tossed.
This play has total precedent in the World series too; in 1975,( which, ironically enough, was also game three) the Red Sox (of course) were playing the Reds at Riverfront stadium, when Cincinnati's Ed Armbrister went to lay down a bunt, but missed. On the play, Cesar Geronimo took off for second, and Fisk had him dead to rights. However, Armbrister "obstructed" the throw, and it went sailing into center field. The fact that Fred Lynn actually threw Geronimo out at third, but was called safe, is kind of forgotten... but the play was a classic case of obstruction, yet was never called. Two blown calls on the same play, way to go, blue.
You may ask what the difference was between the two. Well, for one thing, Armbrister stepped into Fisk, while Middlebrooks was just laying there. Also, it wasn't a game ending play. I'm sure a game has ended this way before, but not in a pivotal game of a World Series. I know the umpires union is strong, but something needs to be done. They're making instant replay almost necessary for every friggin' play. I don't want it to turn into football, the games are too long as it is, especially on FOX. Seriously, if this game didn't end in the bullshit fashion that it did, it would have probably ended up being the longest World Series game in history, the way it was going. Fox airs so many damn commercials...
In conclusion, may I just say that, yes, I am angry because it is still fresh in my mind, and yes, I will get over it, but I'll tell you one thing; if anybody in the next twenty four hours tries to tell me that call wasn't bullshit, I am going to box their ears...this was, and will remain a travesty...man, I had this nice little funny blog about comparing Jim Leyland to Lloyd Bridge's character on "Airplane", and now that will have to wait (looks like I picked the wrong day to quit drinking, and so forth)...weird thing was, I just played a softball game yesterday that ended on a bullshit call...of course my team won because of it, so that's O.K. ( I keeeed)
Friday, October 18, 2013
Speed Kills...
In 1976, David Bowie released "Station to Station", the follow up to Young Americans. It was an ambitious work, featuring only six songs, two of which- Golden Years and TVC15- received enormous amount of airplay. Bowie got the title from a long gone form of telephone communication, in which the caller- with or without assistance from the operator-tries to reach his or her intended listener, and said listener can choose to accept the call...(this explanation almost seems as long as Bowie's title track to the album...a ten minute song which was the only song not released on a single from it...)
In baseball, the term "Station to Station" refers to a team that never steals, relying mostly on power to produce runs. A good example of this kind of play would be the 2013 Detroit Tigers, who stole only 35 bases during the season. Their opponents in the 2013 ALCS, the Boston Red Sox were just the opposite...historically so. Boston stole 123 bases in 142 attempts, a 86.9% success rate...second highest percentage in the live ball area. Jacoby Ellsbury stole 52 out of 56, good for 92.9%; the best single season mark since 1922. Sure, 123 for a team isn't super impressive-any number of '70s A's or '80s Cardinal teams have doubled and almost tripled that total- but the selectiveness is very impressive; even Big Papi was 4 for 4 this year...
What's most amazing to me is that this is a very recent development to say the least. The Red Sox teams I grew up with in the aforementioned '70s and '80s were as slow footed as they came, and would often have even their best players lead the league in double plays (Jim Rice comes to mind). Oh sure, they had Tommy Harper in the early part of the former decade, but he was before my time. In fact, it wasn't until they got Jerry Remy from the Angels, that the Sox had an actual base stealer, and he never surpassed his total of 30 after his inaugural '78 season.
Over the next two decades, Boston would have a few speedsters on the team...a Willie McGee here, and Otis Nixon there, but no one who was in their prime, really. (I guess you can count Ellis Burks, but he became more of a power hitter eventually) Then in 2002, they got Johnny Damon, an actual legitimate lead off hitter. No longer would the Sox have lead foots like Wade Boggs and Dwight Evans lead off. Of course, after a while, Damon did what a lot of fast players did for the Sox; he stole less and less each year,,,
In 2006, Boston acquired Coco Crisp from the Indians, but he was hampered by injuries during his time in Boston. Ironically, he's now having his best seasons in Oakland, a team that plays "Moneyball", which somewhat devalues the stolen base. (A far cry from the '70s A's and the Rickey Henderson-led teams of the early '80s) Coco eventually lost his roster spot to Ellsbury, which leads us to today. Paired with Shane Victorino in the #2 hole, Jacoby has changed to way Boston scores runs...sure, there's Papi, Napoli and such, and the players take a lot of pitchers...(which is very "Moneyball', actually) But you can't argue with results...no matter how hard I've tried to...btw, does anyone know what the fu#@%^"TVC15" means...?
In baseball, the term "Station to Station" refers to a team that never steals, relying mostly on power to produce runs. A good example of this kind of play would be the 2013 Detroit Tigers, who stole only 35 bases during the season. Their opponents in the 2013 ALCS, the Boston Red Sox were just the opposite...historically so. Boston stole 123 bases in 142 attempts, a 86.9% success rate...second highest percentage in the live ball area. Jacoby Ellsbury stole 52 out of 56, good for 92.9%; the best single season mark since 1922. Sure, 123 for a team isn't super impressive-any number of '70s A's or '80s Cardinal teams have doubled and almost tripled that total- but the selectiveness is very impressive; even Big Papi was 4 for 4 this year...
What's most amazing to me is that this is a very recent development to say the least. The Red Sox teams I grew up with in the aforementioned '70s and '80s were as slow footed as they came, and would often have even their best players lead the league in double plays (Jim Rice comes to mind). Oh sure, they had Tommy Harper in the early part of the former decade, but he was before my time. In fact, it wasn't until they got Jerry Remy from the Angels, that the Sox had an actual base stealer, and he never surpassed his total of 30 after his inaugural '78 season.
Over the next two decades, Boston would have a few speedsters on the team...a Willie McGee here, and Otis Nixon there, but no one who was in their prime, really. (I guess you can count Ellis Burks, but he became more of a power hitter eventually) Then in 2002, they got Johnny Damon, an actual legitimate lead off hitter. No longer would the Sox have lead foots like Wade Boggs and Dwight Evans lead off. Of course, after a while, Damon did what a lot of fast players did for the Sox; he stole less and less each year,,,
In 2006, Boston acquired Coco Crisp from the Indians, but he was hampered by injuries during his time in Boston. Ironically, he's now having his best seasons in Oakland, a team that plays "Moneyball", which somewhat devalues the stolen base. (A far cry from the '70s A's and the Rickey Henderson-led teams of the early '80s) Coco eventually lost his roster spot to Ellsbury, which leads us to today. Paired with Shane Victorino in the #2 hole, Jacoby has changed to way Boston scores runs...sure, there's Papi, Napoli and such, and the players take a lot of pitchers...(which is very "Moneyball', actually) But you can't argue with results...no matter how hard I've tried to...btw, does anyone know what the fu#@%^"TVC15" means...?
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Save us Vin Scully...SAVE US NOW!!!...
The other day I was saying how I thought Vin Scully should announce the World Series this year, a sentiment shared by many, including a writer from the Los Angeles
Times. The person I was talking to said, "Why? You're not positive the Dodgers are even going to be IN the Series this year..." I informed him that before FOX had the series, Vin Scully would often announce it...ALONE...no color man, no former jock pointing out the obvious. He would announce it just like he has been doing for Dodger games for the past 60 years, going back to the old Brooklyn Dodgers.
Vin had a lot to live up to when he replaced the legendary Red Barber in the early '50s; Red had been the voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers since the '30s, and was the first man to announce Jackie Robinson as a player in '47. Scully and Barber shared announcing duties until Red left to do Yankee games in '53. Eventually, Vin started doing World series games. Baseball fans were rather spoiled in the '80s, as not only did we have Scully do the T.V series games, but we also had the equally legendary Jack Buck do the games on the radio.
Jack Buck had been the announcer for St. Louis Cardinal games for decades. I remember when both he and Vin called the Kirk Gibson homer off of Eckersley...they went has such:
Vin Scully: "In a year that has been improbable...the IMPOSSIBLE has happened..."
Jack Buck: "I don't believe, what I just saw...I don't BELIEVE what I just saw..."
I have started a facebook thingy to have Vin do the series...it's more symbolic than anything else, really. In a perfect world, this would happen...unfortunately, Jack Buck is no longer with us, so the ultimate announcing team will no longer happen, but at least Jack's son, Joe, could realize that before Vin retires for good next year, Scully could AT LEAST do an inning or two. Lord knows I have things against Joe Buck; I have ranted on here and elsewhere about how he and Tim McCarver babble on and on and make people thank God for the mute button...McCarver used to be pretty good when he did Mets games, and is obviously knowledgeable about the game...
Even if Buck and McCarver chose to step down for even an inning or two, to FOX brass probably won't allow it. Fox sports have made some shamelessly outrageous plugs for their "stars"...there was Zooey Dechanel singing the national anthem before the San Fransisco Giants played a World series game...there was also a few years back, when Fox decided to have some American Idol hack sing the anthem in New Orleans before the NFC championship game...NEW ORLEANS!!! Home of some of the greatest music and musicians ever...in stark contrast, the NBA All Star game in 2008 had a half time show in the Big Easy which included Aaron Neville, Harry Conick Jr., and many other 'Nawlins legends, the way it should be...
In conclusion, it would be great to have an announcer who lets the game play out before he over explains what's going on...
Times. The person I was talking to said, "Why? You're not positive the Dodgers are even going to be IN the Series this year..." I informed him that before FOX had the series, Vin Scully would often announce it...ALONE...no color man, no former jock pointing out the obvious. He would announce it just like he has been doing for Dodger games for the past 60 years, going back to the old Brooklyn Dodgers.
Vin had a lot to live up to when he replaced the legendary Red Barber in the early '50s; Red had been the voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers since the '30s, and was the first man to announce Jackie Robinson as a player in '47. Scully and Barber shared announcing duties until Red left to do Yankee games in '53. Eventually, Vin started doing World series games. Baseball fans were rather spoiled in the '80s, as not only did we have Scully do the T.V series games, but we also had the equally legendary Jack Buck do the games on the radio.
Jack Buck had been the announcer for St. Louis Cardinal games for decades. I remember when both he and Vin called the Kirk Gibson homer off of Eckersley...they went has such:
Vin Scully: "In a year that has been improbable...the IMPOSSIBLE has happened..."
Jack Buck: "I don't believe, what I just saw...I don't BELIEVE what I just saw..."
I have started a facebook thingy to have Vin do the series...it's more symbolic than anything else, really. In a perfect world, this would happen...unfortunately, Jack Buck is no longer with us, so the ultimate announcing team will no longer happen, but at least Jack's son, Joe, could realize that before Vin retires for good next year, Scully could AT LEAST do an inning or two. Lord knows I have things against Joe Buck; I have ranted on here and elsewhere about how he and Tim McCarver babble on and on and make people thank God for the mute button...McCarver used to be pretty good when he did Mets games, and is obviously knowledgeable about the game...
Even if Buck and McCarver chose to step down for even an inning or two, to FOX brass probably won't allow it. Fox sports have made some shamelessly outrageous plugs for their "stars"...there was Zooey Dechanel singing the national anthem before the San Fransisco Giants played a World series game...there was also a few years back, when Fox decided to have some American Idol hack sing the anthem in New Orleans before the NFC championship game...NEW ORLEANS!!! Home of some of the greatest music and musicians ever...in stark contrast, the NBA All Star game in 2008 had a half time show in the Big Easy which included Aaron Neville, Harry Conick Jr., and many other 'Nawlins legends, the way it should be...
In conclusion, it would be great to have an announcer who lets the game play out before he over explains what's going on...
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Rust belts and concrete doughnuts...
Well, it looks like the elimination Wild Card game in the National league is going to be between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds, most likely to be played in Pittsburgh. While the Reds have had recent success, the Pirates haven't had a winning season since they last won the N.L. East back in 1992. That was the last of their three straight N.L. East titles, the first of which was against the Reds in 1990 (which Cincinnati won, on it's way to their last World Championship to this date.)
Neither team made the playoffs in the '80s, even though that decade was noteworthy for having many different teams make the playoffs and World series...from '78-87, ten different teams won the World Series, and that's not including the three teams (Brewers, Padres and Redsox), who made it to the WS but didn't win it. Both Pirate and Red teams had some great players during the decade that would lead to the success of the early '90s, like Barry Larkin for the Reds and Barry Bonds for the Pirates, but the '80s were fairly fruitless for both teams.
The '70s on the other hand featured mostly The A's, Yankees, Orioles, Reds, and Pirates (W/ the Dodgers, Mets and Red Sox rounding out the pennant winners). Back before all these new /old ballparks were built, many teams played in multi-purpose, cookie cutter stadiums, complete with astroturf and occasionally, bullpen cars. The Pirates with their Three rivers stadium and the Reds with their Riverfront stadium-two of the most notorious concrete doughnuts- played against each other many times in the playoffs that decade.
The first meeting was in 1970; rookie manager Sparky Anderson led Cincinnati over Pittsburgh, but then lost to Baltimore in the World Series. Next year, led by 37 year old Roberto Clemente, the Pirates defeated the Reds in the NLCS, then beat the Orioles to win it all. Again in '72, it was Pitt and Cin for the pennant...this time the Reds got to the series, losing in seven games to the Oakland A's.
In '73, the Reds lost the NLCS to a 83-79 Mets team. It was a heated series, which featured an on field fight between Cincinnati's Pete Rose and New York's Bud Harrelson...'74 saw the Pirates lose the pennant to the Dodgers, the last time manager Walter Alston would manage in the WS. Both rust belt teams hooked up again in '75, with the Reds winning it all in probably the best series ever played, against Boston. Cincinnati won again the next year sweeping the Yankees...
Neither team appeared in the playoffs the following two years... '77 and '78 were Broadway v.s. Hollywood affairs...however, the final year of the decade saw Pitt and Cin back at it. The only player left from the '71 Pirates team was 38 year old Willie Stargell, on his way to co-winning the N.L. MVP that year (w/ St. Louis' Keith Hernandez.), whereas the Reds had lost three major players from the big Red machine days: Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Don Gullet to free agency.
The Pirates, playing to the beat of Sister Sledge's "We are family", played and defeated (once again) Earl Weaver's Baltimore Orioles...maybe the Reds needed a theme song that year to inspire them. 1979 was one of the few years a song was identified with a team. Just for the hell of it, I'm going to post every World series winning team from the '70s with an appropriate song to go along with them:
1970 Orioles: " Groovin' is easy"- Electric Flag.
1971 Pirates: " It's your thing"- Isley Brothers.
1972-74 A's: " Signs"- Five man electrical band.
1975-76 Reds: " An open letter to my teenage son"- Victor Lundberg.
1977-78 Yankees: " Blitzkrieg Bop"-The Ramones.
1979 Pirates: "We are family"- Sister Sledge.
You can look it up....
Neither team made the playoffs in the '80s, even though that decade was noteworthy for having many different teams make the playoffs and World series...from '78-87, ten different teams won the World Series, and that's not including the three teams (Brewers, Padres and Redsox), who made it to the WS but didn't win it. Both Pirate and Red teams had some great players during the decade that would lead to the success of the early '90s, like Barry Larkin for the Reds and Barry Bonds for the Pirates, but the '80s were fairly fruitless for both teams.
The '70s on the other hand featured mostly The A's, Yankees, Orioles, Reds, and Pirates (W/ the Dodgers, Mets and Red Sox rounding out the pennant winners). Back before all these new /old ballparks were built, many teams played in multi-purpose, cookie cutter stadiums, complete with astroturf and occasionally, bullpen cars. The Pirates with their Three rivers stadium and the Reds with their Riverfront stadium-two of the most notorious concrete doughnuts- played against each other many times in the playoffs that decade.
The first meeting was in 1970; rookie manager Sparky Anderson led Cincinnati over Pittsburgh, but then lost to Baltimore in the World Series. Next year, led by 37 year old Roberto Clemente, the Pirates defeated the Reds in the NLCS, then beat the Orioles to win it all. Again in '72, it was Pitt and Cin for the pennant...this time the Reds got to the series, losing in seven games to the Oakland A's.
In '73, the Reds lost the NLCS to a 83-79 Mets team. It was a heated series, which featured an on field fight between Cincinnati's Pete Rose and New York's Bud Harrelson...'74 saw the Pirates lose the pennant to the Dodgers, the last time manager Walter Alston would manage in the WS. Both rust belt teams hooked up again in '75, with the Reds winning it all in probably the best series ever played, against Boston. Cincinnati won again the next year sweeping the Yankees...
Neither team appeared in the playoffs the following two years... '77 and '78 were Broadway v.s. Hollywood affairs...however, the final year of the decade saw Pitt and Cin back at it. The only player left from the '71 Pirates team was 38 year old Willie Stargell, on his way to co-winning the N.L. MVP that year (w/ St. Louis' Keith Hernandez.), whereas the Reds had lost three major players from the big Red machine days: Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Don Gullet to free agency.
The Pirates, playing to the beat of Sister Sledge's "We are family", played and defeated (once again) Earl Weaver's Baltimore Orioles...maybe the Reds needed a theme song that year to inspire them. 1979 was one of the few years a song was identified with a team. Just for the hell of it, I'm going to post every World series winning team from the '70s with an appropriate song to go along with them:
1970 Orioles: " Groovin' is easy"- Electric Flag.
1971 Pirates: " It's your thing"- Isley Brothers.
1972-74 A's: " Signs"- Five man electrical band.
1975-76 Reds: " An open letter to my teenage son"- Victor Lundberg.
1977-78 Yankees: " Blitzkrieg Bop"-The Ramones.
1979 Pirates: "We are family"- Sister Sledge.
You can look it up....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)