BASEBALL
-
On July 27th, 1927, New York Giants 18-year-old rookie Mel Ott hit his first Major League home run at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. It was an inside-the-park round-tripper. It is the only inside-the-park homer of his 511 career home runs. I have been thinking lately about how I would rank the following baseball plays Read more
-
On July, 26th, 1984, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announced that free-agent pitcher Vida Blue will be suspended for the remainder of the season as a result of his conviction on cocaine possession charges in November 1983. In July of 1984, I was living in Houston, Texas, and going to Astros games. I was a child of the 1970s Read more
-
On July 25, 1998, Jesse Orosco pitched in his 1,000th career game in relief for the Baltimore Orioles. The visiting Seattle Mariners won the game 4-2. Orozco pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Jesse Orosco pitched in an astounding 1252 Major League games in four different decades. No one else has pitched in so many Read more
-
On July 24th, 1983, in the memorable Pine Tar Game at Yankee Stadium, George Brett hits an apparent 2-run home run off Rich Gossage to give the Royals a 5-4 lead with two outs in the ninth inning. But Yankees manager Billy Martin points out that the pine tar on Brett’s bat handle exceeds the seventeen inches allowed in the rules. As a Read more
-
On July 23rd, 1991, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rob Dibble, who was just back from a three-game suspension, was ejected for throwing at, and hitting, Chicago Cubs baserunner Doug Dascenzo in an 8-5 Reds loss. The model professional ballplayer is even-tempered and steady. In other words, kind of boring. Think Mike Trout, Derek Jeter, and Aaron Judge. Great Read more
-
On July 22nd, 1960, the Red Sox playing at home in Fenway defeated visiting Cleveland, 6 – 4. Vic Wertz hit a three-run homer and had four RBIs. Ted Williams also homered and, in the 7th inning, stole second base. Williams set a major-league record as the first and only player to steal bases in four consecutive decades (1930s, 1940s Read more
-
On July 21st, 1970, San Diego’s Clay Kirby held the New York Mets hitless for eight innings but was lifted for a pinch hitter by manager Preston Gomez. With the Padres trailing 1-0 with two out in the eighth, Gomez elected to go for the win instead of letting Kirby finish the game. The Padres lost the no-hitter Read more
-
On July 20th, 1925, Brooklyn’s Dazzy Vance struck out 17 Cubs’ batters. The Dodgers beat Chicago 4-3 in 10 innings. What has happened to all the great baseball nicknames players used to have? Names like Dizzy, Dazzy, or Babe? My childhood team, the Oakland A’s, had an owner who loved nicknames, thought it was good for business Read more
-
It is customary at All-Star Break time for front offices, sports writers, and fans alike to take some time to assess their clubs. At a little over half-way through the 162-game schedule, what do we know about our teams’ strengths and weakness? What pieces could be added (if the team is still in the playoff Read more
-
Marianne Moore throwing out the first pitch 1968 Marianne Moore was a voracious reader. This encyclopedic nature of hers is at the heart of why she is a difficult poet. She brings more to a poem than any other poet I can think of and hence asks more of her readers than any other poet. Read more
ClimbingSky 