Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning
the 2014 World Series! Although not all of the individual games were nail
biters, Game 7 and the totality of the series made for great baseball. Giants’
pitcher Madison
Bumgarner (Don’t call me Bumgardner) was this year’s player to use the Fall
Classic as his personal coming-out party, earning two wins, a save and the
series MVP
award.
A big hand is also due to the Kansas City Royals, who took
the Giants to the limit. Not only did they bring playoff baseball back to their
city after a 29-year drought, their team brand of small ball hearkened to a time
gone by.
With the formalities out of the way, let’s move to the notes
for the week.
*Bob Ryan, the long-time writer for The Boston Globe, made an appearance
on the John Feinstein Show to discuss
the World Series and the amazing performance of Bumgarner. As someone who has
been around the game for decades, his perspective on the impact and history of
it all is a very interesting take—particularly when he elbows his way through
the mishmash of over-the-top commentary he believes enveloped the final seven
games of the 2014 season.
*Legendary author Roger Kahn got his start in writing doing
a beat on the Brooklyn Dodgers. During that time, he developed a particularly
close relationship with their ground and barrier-breaking star, Jackie
Robinson. On a number of occasions, he served as Robinson’s written voice,
ghosting pieces to a publishing and social world that weren’t always ready for
what he had to say.
Currently, Kahn has a legitimate claim to baseball’s poet
laureate, having penned such classic titles as The Boys of Summer, and most recently, Rickey & Robinson. However, he will forever be inextricably
linked to Robinson, a relationship recently explored in some depth by Bryan
Curtis of Grantland.com.
*There are certain baseball stories that will give fans literal
chills. One that I suspect will get this job done is a recent short
film produced by The New York Times
about San Quentin Prison’s baseball team. There are no major leaguers to be
seen, and no real tales of glory. Instead, it’s an amazing glimpse of how the
game can stabilize a community and allow people to crawl from the darkest of
depths to achieve some level of personal redemption where there may otherwise
be none to be found.
*Sad news to report in the passing
of former pitcher Jeff M.
Robinson at the age of 52. He pitched for the Detroit Tigers, Baltimore
Orioles, Texas Rangers and Pittsburgh Pirates for six seasons between 1987 and
1992. The right-hander had his greatest success with the Tigers, with his 13-6
record and 2.98 ERA in 1988 being his best individual season. His run with the
team ended prior to the 1991 season when he was dealt
to the Orioles for catcher Mickey Tettleton. Overall, he sported a career
record of 47-40 with a 4.79 ERA in 141 games (117 starts).
*Likewise, the game lost another of its alumnus with the
death of former pitcher Pat
McGlothin at the age of 93. The southpaw won 108 games in a 10-year minor
league career and had brief stints in the majors, appearing in eight combined
games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949-50. As a major leaguer, he was 1-1 with
a 5.60 ERA. His lone win
came on May 7, 1949, as he went the final five innings of a 10-4 victory
against the Chicago Cubs after starter Ralph Branca was knocked out early. His
resume may not be as dazzling as others but was enough to earn his enshrinement
in the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame where he will be remembered for many years
to come.
*These days, baseball cards come in a variety of flashy
colors, high-definition photography and other bells and whistles that drive
their cost ever skyward. This is a far cry from their early days. That being
said, the first cards may have been simpler with their materials but not
necessarily their style. Rebecca
Onion of Slate.com details some
of the elaborate poses nineteenth-century players struck on their cards in an
effort to make their diamond feats come to life in that era of black-and-white
studio photography.
*Former major league infielder Fred Marsh
batted .239 over seven seasons for a handful of teams, including the St. Louis
Browns. Unfortunately, he died in 2006, but fortunately left some primary
records documenting his time in the game, including this interview in which he
discussed such things as Eddie
Gaedel’s famous at-bat, playing with Hall-of-Famer Satchel
Paige, and much more.
*Outfielder Irv Waldron
was an instant star for the fledging American League in 1901, hitting a
combined .311 with 186 hits, 52 RBIs, 102 runs scored and 20 stolen bases for
the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Senators. Despite his success, he never
appeared in the majors again, although he played in the minors through 1911,
hitting an excellent .285. Graham
Womack of Baseball: Past and Present
has theories about why Waldron failed to stick around, which includes money and
a suspect glove. This is a must-read for baseball historians.
*Finally, thinking about taking a vacation during this
offseason? How about one combining baseball and history? The Hot Springs, Arkansas Historic
Baseball Trail is a unique way to make a hardball sojourn.
Before the days of Florida and Arizona, teams used to
conduct spring training in various locations in the south, including those with
natural hot springs, which were seen as an amenity for the returning athletes
to get back into shape. Hot Springs was once a bustling destination for
winter-weary squads, including Cap Anson and the 1886 Chicago White Stockings.
It sounds like a fantastic way to connect to the earlier days of the game, so
if you decide to go don’t forget to send a postcard.
You can check me out on Facebook or follow me on Twitter @historianandrew
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