ClimbingSky

Why Baseball, Books, and the Grateful Dead matter


Baseball History

This Day in Baseball History

  • Ripken, Ryno, & Time

    On September 6th, 1995,  Cal Ripken, Jr. played in his 2,131st consecutive Major League game to surpass Lou Gehrig’s 56-year record. Ripken received a 22-minute standing ovation and went 2-for-4, including a homer, in the Oriole’s 4-2 win over the Angels. It is difficult for me to believe that 30 years have already passed since that day in Read more

  • September Blues

    “I see great things in baseball. It’s our game, the American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us”.  ~ Walt Whitman It happens to me every September. One day I wake up and I realize baseball’s regular season is drawing to a close. And the weight of another long winter Read more

  • Big Papi

    On September 2, 1997, David Ortiz played in his first Major League game. Big Papi hit 541 homers in his Hall of Fame career. How many did he hit for the Minnesota Twins, the team that he debuted for that day? 48. In one of the dumbest moves in the history of the world, in Read more

  • How the Hell Did We Get Here?

    On September 1st, 1989, Eight days after banning Pete Rose from baseball for life, Commissioner Bart Giamatti dies suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 51 This summer Major League Baseball announced that Pete Rose was back on the eligible list for Hall of Fame voting even though he broke the cardinal rule of the Read more

  • Old Guys Rule

    On August 30th, 1986, Tommy John, 43, and Joe Niekro, 41, pitched a doubleheader for the New York Yankees against Seattle to become the first 40-plus teammate combo to start a doubleheader since Sept. 13, 1933, when the Chicago Cubs’ Sam Jones, 41, and Red Faber, 44, pitched against the Philadelphia Athletics. John lost the opener and Niekro won the second game, Read more

  • Wade Boggs & Feeling Old

    On August 27th, 1999, Hall of Famer Wade Boggs played his final game in the Major Leagues. In my mid-sixties now, there are times when I feel completely discombobulated by the passing of Time. If you would have asked me just yesterday, I would have said that Wade Boggs probably played his last game 10 Read more

  • Gaylord Perry

    On August 23rd, 1982, Seattle pitcher Gaylord Perry (and future Hall of Famer) was ejected in the seventh inning of a 4-3 loss to the Red Sox for doctoring the baseball. It was the first time in his 20 Major League seasons that the self-proclaimed spitball king had been bounced for that offense. Gaylord Perry was Read more

  • The Need for Speed in 2025

    Writing this as I am in late June, I am merely guessing at the direction my Local Nine, the Minnesota Twins, have gone. I suspect though it has not been pretty. The Twins in late June are considered the slowest team in the Major Leagues. With the exception of Byron Buxton and Harrison Bader the Read more

  • George Carlin

    This time of year, this great routine from George Carlin often comes to my mind. For those who have not seen it, you are in for a treat. For those who have seen it even as often as I have, it only gets better. Read more

  • Stupid Injuries

    On August 16th, 1954, In a throwing contest between Jim Piersall and Willie Mays before a Red Sox-Giants charity game in Boston, Piersall hurt his arm. He started the game but left midway. He woke up the following morning with a sore arm that stayed with him a year, and he would never throw quite as well again. Injuries are part Read more