2014 is nearly in the books. Outside of the mad dash that is
the remainder of the holiday season, another year is done for all intents and
purposes. It was another great 12 months for baseball, as the game continues to
be as popular as ever before. Whatever you celebrate (or don’t), have a
relaxing and enjoyable holiday season.
Now, on to the notes for the week…
*Former Los Angeles Angels first-round pick Ryan
Bolden was killed
in a fight over candy this week. The former outfielder was the 40th overall
selection in the 2010 draft. His career ended
following the 2013 season due to injuries and a lack of progress in his
development. In 112 career minor league games (all at the rookie league level),
he hit a combined .164 with three home runs and 26 RBIs. Bolden was 23.
*Another passing
to report in 86-year-old Herb Plews.
A former infielder who played parts of four seasons with the Washington
Senators and Boston Red Sox (1956-59), the right-handed batter hit a combined
.262 with four homers and 82 RBIs in 346 games. Originally signed by the New
York Yankees in 1950, a military stint interrupted his playing career. Read
more about his career and life in this official SABR biography written by Bill
Nowlin.
*Sean Lahman of the Democrat
& Chronicle has an interesting piece
about the 1960 Rochester Red Wings, the last American team to play in Cuba
before the U.S. embargo went into place. At the time, tensions were so high
that their departure from the country was more like something from a movie plot
than a standard short flight back to mainland. More than 50 years later, they
retain their place in history, but perhaps not for much longer given the
shifting political
climate.
*Speaking of baseball and communism, the two have had
connections in the past. Historian John Thorne at the MLB Our Game blog does his typical bang-up job in
researching how communist party leaders of the past viewed America’s Pastime,
including their belief that it was used as a device of distraction by
capitalism to divert the attention of workers from their “miserable
conditions.”
*Dwight
Gooden was simultaneously one of the best and one of the most flawed
players in baseball history. He won 194 career games in 16 major league
seasons, captured the 1984 National League Rookie of the Year and 1985 National
League Cy Young Award. Unfortunately, the incredibly talented right-hander was
also troubled
with drug, alcohol and other off-field problems that prevented him from putting
together a Hall-of-Fame resume. Now in retirement, he has his life in full control
and is able to look back on the follies of his youth. He recently penned a letter
to a younger version of himself that was published in The Players’ Tribune. His decades of maturation and reflection are
visible to all to see, and a good reminder of how well he has become since his
days as a nearly untouchable flame thrower for the New York Mets.
*Arm woes have halted or ended the burgeoning careers of
many a pitcher. Although the medical advancements of Tommy John surgery have
allowed many professionals to come back from previously catastrophic damage,
there is still great debate over how hurlers, especially those still in school
or college, should be handled when it comes to workload. The Boston Globe’s Obnoxious Sports Fan
looks at the efforts being made to treat arms right, and how the reluctance to
take these precautions prematurely ended many careers of varying degrees of
promise.
*There are many celebrities who claim membership in the fan
bases of baseball teams. One of the most well known is comedian Jerry Seinfeld
and his beloved Mets. He is as knowledgeable as any fan about the franchise,
and much funnier than any other. This clip from him sitting in
the broadcast booth during a 2010 game is a little glimpse of how he mixes his
humor with love of the game.
*There are also some baseball players who style themselves
as comedians. Check out this clip of Hall-of-Famer Reggie
Jackson telling one of his favorite jokes on a 1980s television show The Funniest Joke I Ever Heard while he
was a member of the California Angels.
*One way baseball has attracted fans has been through the
attachment of people to baseball cards. Being able to have the picture,
statistics and bright colors of logos and uniforms in the palm of one’s hand
has often been more than enough to develop undying allegiance. Joe Pinsker of The Atlantic has written
a cultural history of baseball cards and how their popularity has shifted over time
in this country. This is an especially interesting read given the recent passing
of card pioneer Sy Berger, who is credited with developing the first “modern”
baseball card with the Topps Company.
*Looking for any last-minute holiday gift ideas for the
baseball fans in your life (or yourself)? Freddie Fitzsimmons: A Baseball Life by Peter J. De Kever may be just what
you need. Fitzsimmons,
the Hall-of-Fame pitcher, who had a 20-year major league career with the New
York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, had more than enough interesting stories from
his time in baseball to be worthy of a biography.
*Finally, some amazing footage of the
batting practice/pre-game warm-ups at the old Polo Grounds in New York for the
1934 MLB All Star Game. With rosters chock-full of future Hall-of-Famers who
played before the era of television, actually getting to see them bat and throw
is a rare treat.
You can check me out on Facebook or follow me on Twitter @historianandrew
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