The National Baseball Hall of Fame has four
new members. This past week, Pedro
Martinez, Randy
Johnson, John Smoltz
and Craig
Biggio all received the requisite amount of votes to establish their
permanent residency in baseball’s most exclusive museum.
These are all extremely worthy candidates but the voting
process is still in great need of an overhaul. Additionally, innuendo and
unproven allegations over things like PED use seem to be steering the
Hall-of-Fame paths of many otherwise deserving candidates. Character and
sportsmanship are the criteria this is used against, but it is applied
unevenly, and unfairly if players are assumed guilty.
With widely loved Ken Griffey
Jr. entering his first year of eligibility, the next vote should be another
interesting one.
Now, on to the notes for the week…
*Sad news in the recent passing
of former pitcher Stu Miller
at the age of 87. The right-hander played from 1952-1958 with five teams; most
notably the San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles, going a combined
105-103 with a 3.24 ERA and 154 saves. The slim hurler was perhaps best known
for allegedly being blown off
the mound while in his windup in windy Candlestick Park during the 1961 All
Star Game. However, he was dominant in his own right, twice leading the league
in saves and posting four seasons when he finished in the top-20 in MVP voting.
*Another former ball player passed
away in the person of former New York City mayor Mario
Cuomo. Although he never made the majors, he did play briefly for the 1952 Brunswick
Pirates. He didn’t progress as a prospect but certainly found his calling
in another arena.
*Speaking of politicians and baseball, here’s a photo of John F. Kennedy playing the
role of an impromptu catcher on what appears to be a beautiful summer day.
Given the former President’s sandal-clad feet, it seems safe to assume this
wasn’t the most competitive game.
*Here’s a nice picture of
dapper former Boston Red Sox manager Patsy Donovan
around 1911. He led the team to a 78-75 record that year, his last as a skipper
in the majors. Managers sure don’t dress like that any longer.
*Casey
Stengel hit .284 during a 14-year major league career as an outfielder.
However, he is best known in baseball circles for his work as a manager, which
included 1,905 regular season victories and seven World Series titles. This feature
by Gerald Holland in a 1956 issue of Sports
Illustrated follows around the old skipper when he was helming the New York
Yankees. Known as an eccentric and a jokester, his masterful ability to lead a
baseball team is put on full display in this piece.
*Two other tremendous managers from days gone by were Connie Mack
(Hall-of-Famer) and Kid Gleason
(led the 1919 Chicago Black Sox team). This is a cool clip of the two having a
brief conversation of their memories of “old time” baseball. They combined to
put in 91 years as players/managers during through respective careers, so
whatever they have to say about baseball should be listened to.
*On a recent
episode of the popular PBS television show Antiques Roadshow, a woman received quite a pleasant surprise when
she discovered her collection of late 19th century Boston Red Stockings (later
named the Braves) baseball cards was worth
in excess of $1 million. Undoubtedly, in light of the airing of the show, a
number of collectors scurried over to their nanas’ houses to forage their
attics in hopes of making similar discoveries.
*Some really cool signed
memorabilia from the Black Sox are going up for auction, including a ball
signed by Shoeless
Joe Jackson on the sweet spot. Although many collectors would surely love
to add these items to their collections, only those with some serious cash will
be able to seriously consider them.
*Outfielder Ty Cobb
may have a reputation as being one of the meanest players
in baseball history but he was also one of the most gifted. The .366 lifetime
hitter was a rare athlete, who was head and shoulders above his counterparts
when it came to his physicality and the brute force with which he played the
game. This footage
gives a rare glimpse into the legend, whose heyday came before the time much
baseball was caught on camera.
*Before the explosion of television, social media and the mobility
to regularly attend games, most baseball fans enjoyed the National Pastime by
listening to their radio. Announcers brought the action to life with
distinctive voices and well-crafted narrative of what they were seeing on the
field. Here is a complete
broadcast of a September 20, 1934 game between the Detroit Tigers and the
New York Yankees. In case you want to listen, I won’t spoil the outcome, but
the full box score is here.
It was an entertaining game, and one that has six future Hall of Fame players
and managers.
*The old A.J. Reach factory in Philadelphia no longer is the
hub producing official baseballs for the major leagues and the masses—at one
time producing as many as 24,000 balls per day. While that business has ceased
there, the old building is still keeping on, having found a new
life as housing. Hopefully, it will always maintain some connection to its
past, which was rich and vibrant.
*Finally, left-handed pitcher Al Hrabosky
had the nickname of “The Mad Hungarian” during his time as a player due in part
to his fiery demeanor. This clip from 1980 shows the
southpaw, who was then with the Atlanta Braves, going off on an announcer prior
to a game. It’s not clear what the dispute was about, as you can make out just
a handful of unbeeped words. Ironically, Hrabosky has been a long-time
announcer since his playing days ended in 1982.
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