Quote of the day
September 30, 2015
I couldn’t see well enough when I was a boy, so they gave me a special job—they made me umpire.
~Harry S. Truman
Month: September 2015
Infographic: How baseball gloves are made
September 29, 2015
I feel like, in baseball, there tends to be a lot of focus on the composition of the bat and of the ball, but so little attention is paid to the glove. And it’s a shame, really, because the baseball glove is one of the best parts of the game. The way a well-made glove fits, the smell of the leather, the struggle to break in a new glove properly, how there are different types of gloves for the different positions… Here’s an infographic describing the process of how these wonderful tools are made. It’s fascinating how much of the process is still completed by hand.
Click on the image for a larger view.
Don’t swing
September 28, 2015
This cartoon makes me think of Eddie Gaedel of the St. Louis Browns, the shortest player in Major League history. Gaedel made only one plate appearance on August 19, 1951 and was walked with four consecutive balls before being replaced by a pinch-runner at first. Supposedly, before sending him to the plate, Browns owner Bill Veeck had warned Gaedel not to lift the bat from his shoulders. If Gaedel found himself tempted to swing, Veeck warned, he need only remember that Veeck would be standing on the roof of the stadium with a rifle trained right on him.
Quote of the day
September 26, 2015
I believe in the Rip Van Winkle theory—that a man from 1910 must be able to wake up after being asleep for seventy years, walk into a ballpark, and understand baseball perfectly.
~Bowie Kuhn
This day in baseball: Mays’s 50-homer milestone
September 25, 2015
Having already been the youngest player to hit 50 home runs in a season, accomplished in 1955, Willie Mays also became the oldest player to accomplish the feat on September 25, 1965. Mays was 34 years old when he hit number 50 that year and would finish the season with 52.
“Meet the Mets”
September 24, 2015
Even though I’m not a Mets fan, I can’t help but love this tune. This song was written in 1961 by Ruth Roberts and Bill Katz, and it definitely puts me in that time period. It kind of makes me want to get dressed up, stop for some ice cream, then stroll down to the ballpark.
R.I.P. Yogi Berra
September 23, 2015
The great Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra, has passed away. At the age of 90, there’s no doubt that Yogi had a long and full life. He played on 10 Yankee championship teams, had 15 consecutive All-Star appearances, and even led both the Yankees and the Mets to the World Series as a manager.
Lawrence Peter Berra was born on May 12, 1925 in a primarily Italian neighborhood of St. Louis called “The Hill.” His parents didn’t know what baseball was, but their son learned to play baseball in local American Legion leagues. He earned his nickname from a friend who said he resembled a Hindu yogi whenever he sat waiting to bat or after losing a game, with arms and legs crossed.
After declining a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, Yogi signed with the Yankees in 1942. With the start of World War II, however, he joined the Navy, taking part in the invasion of Normandy and in Operation Dragoon. In the latter assault, he was injured and earned a Purple Heart.
He returned to baseball after the war, being assigned to the Newark Bears in the Yankee organization. The Yankees summoned him to the big leagues in September, and in his first big league game he had two hits, including a home run. He became known for his ability to hit bad pitches, but even more so as his phenomenal defense as a catcher. He led all American League catchers eight times in games caught and established an American League record for catcher putouts with 8,723 (a record which is now held by Carlton Fisk).
Upon retiring after the 1963 season, Yogi was named manager of the Yankees. In spite of leading the team to the World Series (which they lost to the Cardinals), he was fired at the end of the 1964 season. Almost immediately, he was signed as a coach with the Mets across town. He became the team’s manager in 1972, and led the team to the 1973 World Series (lost to the Oakland A’s). Yogi would make another brief appearance as Yankees manager, before being fired by George Steinbrenner, and as a coach with the Houston Astros.
Yogi Berra was most popular, perhaps, for his one-liners, commonly referred to as Yogi-isms. Some of my favorites:
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
“Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.”
“It’s like déjà vu all over again.”
“He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.”
“You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.”
Yogi Berra was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
Quote of the day
September 22, 2015
Baseball has prostituted itself. Pretty soon we’ll be starting games at midnight so the people in outer space can watch games on prime-time television. We’re making a mistake by always going for more money.
~ Ray Kroc
This day in baseball: Bye, bye Braves
September 21, 2015
The Braves played their final game in Boston on September 21, 1952. The last home run hit at Braves Field was hit by Roy Campanella of the Dodgers as Brooklyn defeated the Braves, 8-2. The Braves would be headed to Milwaukee for the 1953 season.
An interview with Ty Cobb
September 20, 2015
This is a cool little find that I happened to come across this morning. In 1930, a little over a year after he retired from baseball, Ty Cobb gave an interview with Grantland Rice. He was 43 years old at the time of this interview, reflecting on his career and the players he faced. He also talks about his conditioning, the differences between baseball in his time and the current game (in 1930), and his predictions for the future.
Posted to YouTube by Vintage Baseball.