With the conclusion of the recent All-Star Game festivities,
the major league baseball season has officially reached the other side. It will
now be an all-out sprint to the finish line to see who makes it to the
playoffs, and of those teams, who has what it takes to advance to the World
Series. In the meantime, refresh yourself with another helping of the Baseball
Historian’s Notes.
-Former right-handed pitcher Jim Bouton
has passed
away at the age of 80. A solid hurler, who won 21 games for the 1963
New York Yankees, and had a total of 62 victories in a 10-year career, he gained
his greatest fame with his pen. His seminal work was titled Ball Four, which was a tell-all of his
experiences as a player. It was the first work to fully draw back the curtain
and allow fans to see the often ribald and wild/inappropriate behavior that went
on behind the scenes. This insider view was a first of its kind and was a
complete departure from the saccharine takes newspaper baseball writers offered
(since their livelihood quite literally depended on not embarrassing their
subjects). Widely ostracized by his peers after being published, he launched a
brief playing comeback in 1978 after eight years away from the mound and honed
his career as an accomplished author and speaker.
-Alex
Rodriguez retired following the 2016 season as undeniably one of the
most talented and most polarizing players to ever step on a baseball diamond. A
first-ballot Hall of Fame career was complicated by PED positive tests and a
suspension, along with a personality that often seemed to run people, including
fellow players, the wrong way. Now that he is on to the next chapter of his
life, the former slugger has become a savvy entrepreneur, who is engaged to
mega star Jennifer Lopez. Sports Illustrated
has profiled
the improbable turn he has taken from heel to likeable in the past few years.
-Jerry Remy
enjoyed a 10-year playing career as an infielder before going on to become a
beloved television announcer for the Boston Red Sox for more than the past 25
years, has released a book titled If
These Walls Could Talk. The Rem Dawg tackles difficult topics, such as his
bouts with cancer and his son, who is serving a life-sentence in prison for
murdering his girlfriend and mother of his child. Co-written with the late
great Boston Globe writer, Nick
Cafardo, the book has garnered much buzz and promises to be a captivating read.
-All-time hit king Pete Rose,
who is currently under permanent banishment from baseball, has gained an unlikely
supporter advocating for his inclusion in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus recently publicly threw his support
behind the push to put Rose in Cooperstown. That would definitely help mend his
achy, breaky heart…
-Former player David Segui
doesn’t think
it’s fair that baseball turns its back on those associated with PEDs, but in
his opinion embraces those who test positive for other illicit substances. An
outfielder, the switch hitter spent the bulk of his 15-year big league career
with the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos, hitting a combined .291 with 139
home runs. He has previously admitted his own PED use as a player but believes
he has been held to a different standard since that admission.
-African American former player Jim Wynn
hit 291 home runs in a 15-year major league career that spanned 1963-1977 with
five teams. Unfortunately, it was less than easy along the way, having to work
and succeed in an unfair and often biased climate during the Civil Rights era.
The “Toy Cannon” spoke about some of his experiences in the new documentary
film, “A Long Way from Home: The Untold
Story of Baseball’s Desegregation,” which is detailed in this recent
piece in the Dayton Daily News.
-Organists and batter walk-up songs have long been part of big-league
baseball. But, where did it all start? Michael Clair from MLB.com did some checking and has published a very interesting article
that outlines the evolution of this musical aspect of the game.
-Former right-handed pitcher Dwight
Gooden saw what should have been a generational Hall-of-Fame career
hijacked by lingering drug problems. He still managed 194 wins and a 3.51 ERA over
16 seasons, but never achieved all that he was capable of (His 1985 season saw
him go 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA) because of ongoing issues with cocaine, which
continued after he retired following the 2000 season. Sadly, it was just reported
that, now 54, he was just arrested for possession of cocaine during a traffic
stop. Here’s hoping he can get his life together.
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You can check me out on Facebook or follow me on Twitter @historianandrewI have also authored a number of books (eBook and paperback) on topics of baseball that are available on Amazon.
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