“Fastball,” by Dwayne Brenna
Posted: September 30, 2013 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, Dwayne Brenna, poetry, sports Leave a commentThis poem was Spitball Magazine‘s Baseball Poem of the Month this past April. I fell in love with it right from the first line.
*
Fastball
sniper fire
from the un-grassy knoll
cocaine high
you see in living colour after that
pure white smoke
and bee bee at the knees
arrives like a punch in the face
or a pail of cold water
and hops and sometimes drops
and sometimes disappers
(ask any ump)
and thwack goes the mitt
a foley artist couldn’t make that sound
statement of unbending bluntness
black and white
and no detente
you on that side
me on this
and hit it if you can
~Dwayne Brenna
This day in baseball: The Catch
Posted: September 29, 2013 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: 1954 World Series, Baseball, Cleveland Indians, history, Major League Baseball, New York Giants, Willie Mays 1 CommentSeptember 1954 proved to be quite a month for baseball legend Willie Mays. Besides clinching the batting title on the last day of the regular season, during Game One of the 1954 World Series, Mays made a spectacular defensive play now known simply as “The Catch.”
With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning and runners on first and second, Cleveland’s Vic Wertz launched a pitch deep into center field. Mays, who had been playing shallow, took off in a dead sprint, and managed to make an over-the-shoulder catch while still on the run. Still aware of the runners, Mays immediately turned and threw the ball back into the infield, and the Giants got out of the inning with no runs given up to the Indians.
The Giants went on, not only to win the game, but to sweep the entire Series.
Quote of the day
Posted: September 27, 2013 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Branch Rickey, quotes, sports Leave a commentOnly in baseball can a team player be a pure individualist first and a team player second, within the rules and the spirit of the game.
~Branch Rickey
Photo source: BostonArtsDiary.com
This day in baseball: Mays shoots to the top
Posted: September 26, 2013 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Don Mueller, Duke Snider, history, Major League Baseball, Willie Mays Leave a commentOn 26 September 1954, in the final game of the season, the Giants’ Willie Mays collected three hits to boost his batting average to .345. In doing so, he passed teammate Don Mueller (who finished at .342) and the Dodgers’ Duke Snider (.341) to win the National League batting title.
Photo source: Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers
“715 (For Hank Aaron),” by Peter Cooper
Posted: September 24, 2013 Filed under: 20th Century, Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, Hank Aaron, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, music, Peter Cooper, sports Leave a commentThis song is not only a tribute to the great home run hitter, Henry Aaron, it also draws attention to the racism of Aaron’s time and all that he had to overcome the whole time he made his way to becoming one of our greats.
Quote of the day
Posted: September 23, 2013 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Gene Mauch, Major League Baseball, MLB, quotes, sports Leave a commentLosing steaks are funny. If you lose at the beginning, you got off to a bad start. If you lose in the middle of the season, you’re in a slump. If you lose at the end of the season, you’re choking.
~Gene Mauch
It’s a can o’ corn!
Posted: September 22, 2013 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, comics, humor, sports, Steve Edwards Leave a commentHere’s a comic by Steve Edwards that plays off of baseball lingo and jargon. I found it quite amusing, and I hope you do too!
Photo source: stl-illustrator.com
This day in baseball: Dean brothers domination
Posted: September 21, 2013 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, Dizzy Dean, Ebbets Field, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, Paul Dean, sports, St. Louis Cardinals Leave a commentIn a doubleheader at Ebbets Field on 21 September 1934, brothers Dizzy Dean and Paul Dean dominated the Dodgers, each starting a game on the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals. In the first game, Dizzy Dean pitched a two-hit shutout, blanking the Dodgers 13-0. Not to be outdone, his rookie younger brother, Paul, followed up in game two with a no-hitter, as the Cardinals defeated Brooklyn 3-0. This performance made Paul Dean only the fifth pitcher in Major League history to throw a no-hitter in his rookie season.
Paul and Dizzy Dean, 22 March 1934 (Photo Source: Baseball-Fever.com)
This day in baseball: Brett’s last day at .400
Posted: September 19, 2013 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, George Brett, history, Kansas City Royals, Major League Baseball, Ted Williams 2 CommentsIn 1980, Royals third baseman George Brett made a strong run at finishing with a batting average above .400 for the season, an accomplishment last achieved by Ted Williams in 1941. The last day of the season in which Brett’s average stayed above .400, however, came on September 19th, when he went 2-for-4 against the A’s in Kansas City. What followed was a 4-for-27 slump, from which Brett could not rebound in time. He finished the season hitting .390 and won the American League MVP award.
Photo source: MinorLeagueBall.com
Quote of the day
Posted: September 18, 2013 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Jackie Robinson, poker, quotes, sports Leave a commentBaseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he’s losing; nobody wants you to quit when you’re ahead.
~Jackie Robinson
