You never know what might turn up on the Blog. I'm hoping Pete Rose had the common sense to fire his agent after appearing in this ad. Since he'll never be in the baseball Hall of Fame, they should locate his barber and place the bowl he used to cut Rose' hair and put that in Cooperstown.
This was an odd story that may or may not be true. Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry was most famous for throwing "spit" balls using Vaseline under his cap. Like most pitchers in the major leagues, he was not known for his ability to hit. In 1963, while taking part in batting practice, a sportswriter commented that Perry "had some power." Perry's manager at the time, Alvin Dark, scoffed at the comment and reportedly said, "Let me tell you something. There'll be a man on the moon before he ever hits a home run."
Fast forward to July 20th, 1969. The San Francisco Giants were playing the L.A. Dodgers at Candlestick Park. The public-address announcer informed the crowd that Neil Armstrong had just walked on the moon. About twenty minutes later, Gaylord Perry hit the first home run of his career. (He eventually added five more. Not exactly Sammy Sosa.) Now you know the rest of the story... http://www.snopes.com/sports/baseball/perry.asp
ESPN did a documentary on Steve Bartman, the Chicago Cubs' fan who interfered with a foul ball in 2003, thus preventing his team from winning game 6 of the NLCS. The Florida Marlins scored eight runs in the 8th inning after Bartman gave them new life. Security guards had to escort him out of the stadium for his own safety. The Cubs went on to lose game 7. It didn't help Bartman that he looked like a villain with his turtleneck sweater and his walkman. The guy went to the game and became the story of the game. That Halloween, the most popular costume in Chicago was the "Steve Bartman" look.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is the mystique that surrounds Bartman even to this day. He won't speak to the media and has turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars in appearance fees and autographs. The guy who ended up catching the ball sold it for $100,000. Here is the hour long documentary broken down into 10 parts...
I can't believe I've never seen this guy before. San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson looks like Ulysses S. Grant on crack.
I was at Casa De Pizza on Elmwood, eating some very good wheat pene, when I happened to look up at the TV screen. At first, I thought that maybe he'd escaped from some of weekend pass. I've never seen someone look this ridiculous in my life.
Besides the size of the thing, the most striking part of Wilson's beard is the color. It is jet black, unlike his actual hair, which looks brown. Wilson looks like he might be in the witness protection program or a really big fan of Fidel Castro...
It's a matter of instinct, it's a matter of conditioning, It's a matter of fact. You can call me Pavlov's dog Ring a bell and I'll salivate- how'd you like that? Dr. Landy tell me you're not just a pedagogue, cause right now I'm Lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did Well I'm lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did.
A judge upheld a league's decision to disqualify three men from the 2008 gay World Series for not being "gay" enough. Shockingly, the team in question hailed from San Francisco. You're telling me San Francisco couldn't find nine gay men to form a team? In an unsuccessful effort to sway the judge, the three defendants showed up to the hearing wearing Wham! t-shirts...
Judge refuses to toss out lawsuit over gay softball
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by three men who claim they were disqualified from the 2008 Gay Softball World Series near Seattle for not being gay enough.
The men, members of a San Francisco softball team, say they were questioned in front of a room full of strangers about their sexual preferences after a protest was lodged alleging their team had violated a rule that limited to two the number of heterosexuals on any team.
The team has already found at least one replacement for the three...
Here's a cool baseball play from the state of Texas. A runner rounds third base for a play at the plate. The throw is perfect. The runner slides. The catcher goes to tag the runner, who at the last second, comes to a dead stop (mid-slide) and jumps over the tag. The umpire is in the perfect position to call him safe. As the catcher initially went to tag him, he must have wondered where he went.
Lou Gehrig being helped off of the field after being hit by a pitch in 1934, coincidentily, the same year Brian Higgins was first elected to Congress.
You can impress your friends (although if you're reading this blog, chances are you probably don't have any) with this interesting report from a leading journal of neuropathology: Lou Gehrig probably didn't suffer from the disease that bears his name...
Although the paper does not discuss Gehrig specifically, its authors in interviews acknowledged the clear implication: Lou Gehrig may not have ever had Lou Gehrig’s disease. The report suggests Gehrig died as the result of a concussion and brain trauma, most likely from being hit by a pitch. They believe this concussion led to the erosion of his spinal chord.
A.L.S. will officially be changed from Lou Gehrig's disease to the disease we thought Lou Gehrig had until some nerds proved he didn't. Stay tuned next week as we find out who is actually buried in Grant's tomb:
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There have already been two perfect games in baseball this year. Their appeared to be a third this week when Detroit beat Cleveland 3-0 the other night. Veteran umpire Jim Joyce blew the call at first base and called the Cleveland runner safe with two outs in the top of the 9th inning. People need to know, these calls are easy to second guess on slow motion replay but sometimes hard to call at full speed. I hate instant replay in sports.
To Joyce's credit, he admitted his mistake after the game. He didn't make excuses but said he felt bad about making a bad call.
This was not a perfect game because human error is part of the game of baseball. I think that is one of the good things baseball still has going for it.The centerfielder made a spectacular "Willie Mays" over the shoulder catch to keep the perfect game going. More people will be talking about the perfect game that wasn't than the other two perfect games this year. I know about this one, but couldn't tell you who the pitchers involved in the other two were. Phil Niekro and Dwight Gooden?
People are talking about Alleganey Limestone High School baseball coach Paul Furlong telling two of his pitchers to throw at opposing players. While this might be common in the pros and in college, it is unacceptable at the high school level. Furlong has admitted his mistake and is now taking ssome time off in Tibet.
Throwing inside to back a player from crowding the plate is one thing. That is part of the game. But throwing at a player? Some coaches need to stop and think about why they are involved in youth sports.
Our correspondents in the Southern Tier were there and were nice enough to send us this video of the incident:
I put together a list of some great and bizarre moments in baseball. There are countless more I'm sure.It just seems like the fans were more a part of the game in the past. I hope Rogo and my cousin Paul Blake(two of the biggest baseball fans I know) approve of it.
9.)86' Mets parachute man- Some crazy New York City lawyer lands on the out field just before the famous rally (Bill Buckner's error) in game six with a sign that read Go Mets! It looked like his 8 year old kid drew the sign.I remember watching the game at home. I think this wacko fan got everyone in the crowd going. I could not find video of this landing but a picture of it is at the top.
8.) Mark "the bird" Fidrych. A real life Forrest Gump. This guy played with a lot of enthusiasm and was known to talk to the ball at times.
7.)Hank Aaron's record breaking home run. Check out the two fans congratulating him as he goes around 2nd base:
6.)Cubs fan Steve Bartman being escorted out of Wrigley Field after he got in the way of a catchable ball to prevent his own team from winning a playoff game:
5.)Also in Chicago (but this time at Comiskey Park),Disco Demolition Night. A local radio station put an end to the disco era by blowing up disco records out in center field. The ensuing fires and riot weren't part of the original promotion:
4.)Ten cent beer night in Cleveland. Another great idea.
3.)Reggie Jackson dodging and running over fans to get to the dugout in the era before security became really necessary:
2.)Earl Weaver getting tossed out of a game. He and the umpire were both miked. I like at 2:00 where he brags to the ump that he's going to be in the Hall of Fame. The ump says, "for what? Blowing the World Series?
1.)Two fans came out on the field and tried to burn the American flag in some type of political protest in Los Angeles. Dodgers outfielder Rick Monday races to the flag and grabs it before they could light it. Some people call it the greatest play in baseball history.
A retired South Buffalo resident, identified only as "Bob", recently had the winning bid ($9,000)for a baseball signed by Joe Dimaggio and several prominent New York Yankees. I have a few guesses about Bob's identity but I'll keep them to myself.
Dimaggio possesses one of the greatest, if not the greatest, record in all of sports. He hit safely in 56 consecutive games. This is a true record because unlike home runs (which rely on power), Dimaggio's record could not be beaten by the human growth hormones masquerading as baseball players of today. I also remember reading that he was robbed twice of base hits on great defensive plays in what would have extended the streak to 57 games. After it was broken, he started another streak of hitting safely in something like 13 more games. I guess that's what you call "being in a zone." Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio? A nation turns it's lonely eyes to you. Joltin' Joe has left and gone away...