Category: Baseball

World Serious

In case you’re kind of interested, but not really paying attention, Game Five of the World Series resumes tonight at 6:37 PM MDT with the Phillies coming to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning and the score tied 2-2. This is the first time in World Series history that a game has been suspended (Monday night due to rain).

If the Phils win tonight, they win the Series, so it might be an exciting three innings — which often enough is about all the baseball one really wants to watch.

And more than too much of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. I think I’ll watch Fox but listen to Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on ESPN Radio.

Redux best line of the day

Originally posted four years ago.

It has long been believed that the source of Boston’s sorrows is the legendary Curse of the Bambino, brought on by selling young Babe Ruth to the Yankees. This is untrue. Boston is actually cursed because the Red Sox took an unconscionably long time to get around to hiring any black players.

— Teresa Nielsen Hayden

The Red Sox were the last baseball team to integrate; they did so in 1959.

NewMexiKen is old enough to remember this — and that the Washington NFL franchise was worse, not integrating until 1962. I’ve pretty much rooted against these teams ever since.

World Serious

The 104th World Series began last night. The Phillies have the fewest world championships (1) of any of the 16 franchises that have been around since the first World Series in 1903. The Rays have none.

In all, 22 franchises have won at least one World Series (which means 8 teams have not won any):

  • Yankees 26 (in 39 appearances)
  • Cardinals 10
  • Athletics 9 (5 in Philadelphia, 4 in Oakland, none in Kansas City)
  • Red Sox 7
  • Dodgers 6 (1 in Brooklyn, 5 in Los Angeles)
  • Giants 5 (all in New York)
  • Pirates 5
  • Reds 5
  • Tigers 4
  • Braves 3 (one each in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta)
  • Orioles 3 (none as the St. Louis Browns)
  • Twins 3 (two in Minnesota, one as the Washington Senators)
  • White Sox 3
  • Blue Jays, Cubs, Indians, Marlins, Mets 2 each
  • Angels, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Royals 1 each

Appeared in a Series, but haven’t won:

  • Padres (twice)
  • Brewers (once, while in American League)
  • Astros
  • Rockies
  • Rays

Never been (and year began play):

  • Mariners (1977)
  • Expos/Nationals (1969)
  • Senators/Rangers (1961)

Which will move up the list this year, the Phillies (their second) or the Rays (their first)?

The World Series began in 1903, but there was no Series in 1904 or 1994.

Know nothings

NewMexiKen watched the Phillies-Dodgers game before turning to the debate. Even in the first half-hour or so I grew tired of Tim McCarver and Joe Buck going on and on about how Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels was high in the strike zone, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Imagine my pleasant surprise to tune back in more than 90 minutes later in the 7th inning and see Hamels still pitching, beating the Dodgers 5-1.

Not yet anyway

Name the major league teams that have never been to a World Series.

Washington Senators/Texas Rangers (48 seasons)

Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (40 seasons)

Seattle Mariners (32 seasons)

Tampa Bay Devil Rays (11 seasons)

Go Rays!

(The Rockies left this list last year in their 15th season.)

Excellent idea

The view from DEEP right field

While watching the Colorado Rockies defeat the hapless San Diego Padres 6-3 Friday night, Ken, official oldest child of NewMexiKen, suggested that baseball adopt that European soccer practice of dropping the poorest team in the league each season and moving up the best team from the next level.

Good bye Mariners. Good bye Nationals or Padres.

Hello Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Hello Iowa Cubs or Salt Lake Bees.
 
 

Photo taken with iPhone from upper, upper right field seats August 8th. Click image for larger version.

Almost a no-no

Jill and Byron and their three boys are on vacation, tonight taking in the ballgame at Fenway.  Jill has been an Angels fan since she was a wee Sweetie herself and tonight she got some excitement.  Not only did her Angels win 6-2 over the Bosox, but Angel pitcher John Lackey took a no-hitter into the ninth, giving up a single and home run with one out.  He hung on for the win.  

NewMexiKen saw a one-hitter (Nolan Ryan) in person once, but never a no-no. By the late innings I was so excited at the prospect of Jill and family getting the chance, you’d have thought I was there myself.

Byron, by the way, had this to say earlier in the evening:

“Yankee stadium has some charm. Wrigley has tons of charm. Fenway has no charm. This stadium needs to be blown up.”

Joltin’ Joe

Joe DiMaggio did not get a hit on this date in 1941. Too bad, if he had his consecutive game hitting streak would have been 73. As it was, he hit safely in 56 consecutive games up to this date — and 16 after. (44 is the best by anyone else.)

At AmericanHeritage.com a couple years ago, John Steele Gordon told two good DiMaggio stories:

A few years before he died, in 1999, when baseball salaries had been going through the roof, a reporter asked DiMaggio what he thought he might be paid if he were playing baseball then. DiMaggio smiled and answered, “I’d just knock on Mr. Steinbrenner’s door and say, ‘Howdy, pardner.'”

The other story concerns his brief, disastrous marriage to Marilyn Monroe. Monroe was a film actress, used to working in front of cameras and technicians, not audiences. After their wedding, DiMaggio and Monroe went to Korea to entertain the American troops fighting there against the Chinese communists. There were perhaps 5,000 soldiers on the air-base runways waiting to greet them, and when they stepped out of the plane, the soldiers started cheering. Monroe, startled by the ovation, turned to her husband and said, “I bet you’ve never heard such cheering, Joe.” DiMaggio, who had brought a sold-out Yankee Stadium screaming to its collective feet more times than he could count, just said quietly, “Oh, yes I have.”

Then he beat her.

The Great Ichiro

Ichiro Suzuki is among the greatest to ever hit a baseball — in another decade or two when my grandkids ask who were the best players I ever saw in person, Ichiro will make the list — along with the likes of Mantle, Berra, Ryan, Reggie, Bonds, Schmidt.

But Ichiro can also be more quotable than most as this item at Bats reveals.

Overrated, as nearly all Yankee players are

Sports Illustrated recently published the results of a poll taken among 495 major-league baseball players. The question was “Who is the most overrated player in baseball?” and the winner, with 10 percent of the vote, was Derek Jeter. Barry Zito – he’s not overrated, just overpaid – came in second, followed by J.D. Drew, Alex Rodriguez and Kevin Youkilis. Rounding out the top 10 were David Wright, Mark Prior, Andruw Jones, Curt Schilling and Juan Pierre.

Paper Cuts

David Kelly has more, including his list of the all-time most overrated.

Leroy Robert Paige

Stachel PaigeBaseball Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige was born 102 years ago today. A huge star in the Negro Leagues, Paige began pitching in 1926 and was the oldest major league rookie ever when he joined the Cleveland Indians at age 42. Paige pitched in his last major league game in 1965 (at age 59).

In the barnstorming days, he pitched perhaps 2,500 games, completed 55 no-hitters and performed before crowds estimated at 10 million persons in the United States, the Caribbean and Central America. He once started 29 games in one month in Bismarck, N.D., and he said later that he won 104 of the 105 games he pitched in 1934.

By the time Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 as the first black player in the majors, Mr. Paige was past 40. But Bill Veeck, the impresario of the Cleveland club, signed him to a contract the following summer, and he promptly drew crowds of 72,000 in his first game and 78,000 in his third game. (The New York Times)

Paige first published his Rules for Staying Young in 1953. This version is from his autobiography published in 1962, Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever.

  1. Avoid fried meats which angry up the blood.
  2. If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts.
  3. Keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move.
  4. Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society — the social ramble ain’t restful.
  5. Avoid running at all times.
  6. And don’t look back — something might be gaining on you.

We don’t have to get no stinkin’ hits

Two Angels pitchers held the Dodgers hitless for eight innings last night, but it’s not a no hitter because the Dodgers didn’t bat in the ninth inning. They didn’t have to. They were the home team and they were ahead. The Dodgers won without a hit.

It’s only the fifth time since 1900 that a major league baseball team has won without getting a hit.

Angels, no runs, five hits, two errors.

Dodgers, one run, no hits, two errors.

The Los Angeles Times has the story on the Dodgers no hit 1-0 win.

Moonlight Graham

Those who have seen Field of Dreams or read the book on which it was based, Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, will remember the character “Moonlight” Graham, played by Burt Lancaster in the film.

Archibald Wright Graham (1876-1965) was an actual player, and a doctor. Graham played in one game for the New York Giants on June 29, 1905 (in the movie it was the last game of the season in 1929). Graham played two innings in the field but never batted in the major leagues; he was on deck when his one game ended.

Baseball Hall of Fame

1939 Baseball Hall of Fame

Sixty-nine years ago today.

Back row: Honus Wagner, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, Walter Johnson.
Seated: Eddie Collins, Babe Ruth, Connie Mack, and Cy Young.
Ty Cobb is absent from the photo; he had missed a train and arrived late.

Baseball Postage Stamp

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was officially dedicated in colorful ceremony on June 12, 1939. The game’s four ranking executives of the period — [Kenesaw M.] Landis, [Ford] Frick, [William] Harridge and William G. Bramham, President of the National Association — participated in the ribbon-cutting. Of the 25 immortals who had been elected to the Hall of Fame up to that point, 11 were still living; and all of them journeyed to Cooperstown to attend the centennial celebration. A baseball postage stamp commemorating the occasion was placed on sale that day at the Cooperstown post office, with Postmaster General James A. Farley presiding.

Origins of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Check out the Babe’s socks. He was into the low-cut sock look long before anyone else.

Salaries vs. Performance

salary vs performance is a chart that “looks at all 30 Major League Baseball Teams and ranks them on the left according to their day-to-day standings. The lines connect each team to their 2008 salary, listed on the right.”

The more vertical the blue line, the better the ratio. (Congratulations Rays and Marlins!) The more vertical the red line the worse. (Way to go Yankees, Tigers and Mariners!).

We Get Emails

Bob Ormond sent along this item:

Despite a court-ordered ban on the teaching of creationism in US schools, about one in eight high-school biology teachers still teach it as valid science, a survey reveals. And, although almost all teachers also taught evolution, those with less training in science — and especially evolutionary biology — tend to devote less class time to Darwinian principles.

The quote is from an article at New Scientist

And LP sent along a link to this good story that analyzes some mythology about Thurman Munson, the great Yankee catcher in the 70s, and his competition with Carlton Fisk.

“Obviously, something happened. Somewhere. At some time. But I’ve got three versions of the same story, and none of the versions checks out.”

What are the odds?

Last Wednesday in the fifth inning at a lopsided Mets-Dodgers game in Los Angeles, the winners of a James Loney-John Maine matchup were sitting in the stands. With the Dodgers trailing, 11-0, Mr. Loney fouled off five pitches before hitting a relatively meaningless double. Two of those foul balls, though, were caught by glove-less friends Glen Walker and Joe Castro, who were sitting in adjacent seats at field level between third base and home.

The Numbers Guy, who discusses the likelihood of this happening.

Out. Out. Out.

Try here for the video.

Asdrubal Cabrera catches Blue Jays’ Lyle Overbay’s line drive, steps on second to force out Kevin Mench (running from second and not seen in the video) and tags Marco Scutaro (running from first) for an unassisted triple play.

It was just the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history; only seven have been turned in the last 80 years.

More reasons May 6th should be a national holiday

Mays card

Willie Mays is 77 today.

When Joe DiMaggio died in 1999, baseball luminaries were asked who inherited the title of greatest living player. NewMexiKen had a different assumption. I thought Willie Mays became the greatest living ballplayer when Ty Cobb died in 1961.

Willie Mays, the “Say Hey Kid,” played with enthusiasm and exuberance while excelling in all phases of the game – hitting for average and power, fielding, throwing and baserunning. His staggering career statistics include 3,283 hits and 660 home runs. The Giants’ superstar earned National League Rookie of the Year honors in 1951 and two MVP awards. He accumulated 12 Gold Gloves, played in a record-tying 24 All-Star games and participated in four World Series. His catch of Vic Wertz’s deep fly in the ’54 Series remains one of baseball’s most memorable moments.

National Baseball Hall of Fame

Two quotes about Mays:

• Ted Williams: “They invented the All-Star game for Willie Mays.”

• Manager Leo Durocher, who must have been from Deadwood, once recalled a remarkable home run by Mays: “I never saw a f—ing ball go out of a f—ing park so f—ing fast in my f—ing life!”

Orson Welles was born on this date in 1915. To many who grew up with television, Welles was simply the larger-than-life spokesman for Paul Masson Wines — “We will sell no wine before its time.” But at age 23 Welles had scared thousands of Americans with his realistic radio production of War of the Worlds. At 25 he wrote, produced, directed and starred in what many consider the best film ever made, Citizen Kane. For that film alone, he was nominated for the Oscar for best actor, best director, best original screenplay and best picture (he won, with Herman Mankiewicz, for screenplay). Welles was nominated for the best picture Oscar again the following year — The Magnificent Ambersons.

Amadeo Peter Giannini was born on this date in 1870. Giannini was one of Time’s 20 most influential builders and titans of the 20th century. Daniel Kadlec wrote the story:

Like a lot of folks in the San Francisco area, Amadeo Peter Giannini was thrown from his bed in the wee hours of April 18, 1906, when the Great Quake shook parts of the city to rubble. He hurriedly dressed and hitched a team of horses to a borrowed produce wagon and headed into town–to the Bank of Italy, which he had founded two years earlier. Sifting through the ruins, he discreetly loaded $2 million in gold, coins and securities onto the wagon bed, covered the bank’s resources with a layer of vegetables and headed home.

In the days after the disaster, the man known as A.P. broke ranks with his fellow bankers, many of whom wanted area banks to remain shut to sort out the damage. Giannini quickly set up shop on the docks near San Francisco’s North Beach. With a wooden plank straddling two barrels for a desk, he began to extend credit “on a face and a signature” to small businesses and individuals in need of money to rebuild their lives. His actions spurred the city’s redevelopment.

That would have been legacy enough for most people. But Giannini’s mark extends far beyond San Francisco, where his dogged determination and unusual focus on “the little people” helped build what was at his death the largest bank in the country, Bank of America, with assets of $5 billion. (It’s now No. 2, with assets of $572 billion, behind Citigroup’s $751 billion.)

Most bank customers today take for granted the things Giannini pioneered, including home mortgages, auto loans and other installment credit. Heck, most of us take banks for granted. But they didn’t exist, at least not for working stiffs, until Giannini came along.
…

Giannini also made a career out of lending to out-of-favor industries. He helped the California wine industry get started, then bankrolled Hollywood at a time when the movie industry was anything but proven. In 1923 he created a motion-picture loan division and helped Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith start United Artists. When Walt Disney ran $2 million over budget on Snow White, Giannini stepped in with a loan.
…

When Giannini died at age 79, his estate was worth less than $500,000. It was purely by choice. He could have been a billionaire but disdained great wealth, believing it would make him lose touch with the people he wanted to serve. For years he accepted virtually no pay, and upon being granted a surprise $1.5 million bonus one year promptly gave it all to the University of California. “Money itch is a bad thing,” he once said. “I never had that trouble.”

Bob Seger is 63 today. George Clooney is 47.