Friday morning jokes

The way this day has started, I can already tell it’s going to be struggle to get to the weekend.  Therefore, in an attempt to lighten the mood, we have more jokes!

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A couple of Yogi Berra’s teammates on the Yankees ball club swear that one night the stocky catcher was horrified to see a baby toppling off the roof of a cottage across the way from him. Yogi dashed over and made a miraculous catch – but then force of habit proved too much for him. He straightened up and threw the baby to second base.

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A Spaniard name Jose came to Miami and wanted to attend a big league game. To his dismay he found that all the seats were sold out. However, the management gave him a high seat by the flagpole. When he returned to his home country his friends asked him, “What kind of people are those Americans?” He said, “Fine people, they gave me a special seat at the ball game and just before the game started that all stood up and sang ‘Jose can you see.'”

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One Day the Devil challenged the Lord to a baseball game. Smiling the Lord proclaimed, “You don’t have a chance, I have Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and all the greatest players up here”. “Yes”, snickered the devil, “but I have all the umpires.”

Baseball Devil

Infographic: The Age of the Yankees

I’m at an age where I’ve started noticing that many professional baseball players are younger than I am.  As a Royals fan, virtually the entire team that I root for is younger than I am, and I actually find myself surprised to notice when a player is older than me.

This infographic is a few years old, but it does present an interesting perspective that I’m sure we can all relate to as fans.

info-ageofyankees

This day in baseball: Brooks Robinson elected to HoF

On January 12, 1983, Orioles Gold Glover Brooks Robinson became the 14th player to be elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.  Also elected to the HoF this year was right-handed pitcher Juan Marichal.  Marichal was the former ace of the Giants and the all-time winningest pitcher from Latin America.

Here is Robinson’s Hall of Fame induction speech:

Quote of the day

The game has a cleanness. If you do a good job, the numbers say so. You don’t have to ask anyone or play politics. You don’t have to wait for the reviews.

~Sandy Koufax

koufax
Sports Illustrated

Graphic: Ruth traded

Babe Ruth trade

I don’t know who created this graphic, but it’s pretty brilliant.  (It seems highly unlikely that it is a genuine front page from the time, but someone please correct me if I’m wrong!)  Ruth’s leaving Boston to join the Yankees is one of those moments that has become part of the legend.  Admittedly, seeing his face split like this is a bit disconcerting, but the idea behind the photo is pretty cool.

“A Swing and A Miss,” by J. Patrick Lewis

This piece by J. Patrick Lewis was published in Light Quarterly in 1954.  It presents some lively descriptions of the various pitches a batter faces at the plate.  When one considers such a dynamic target, it’s no wonder that successfully earning a hit in one-in-three at-bats makes for an accomplished hitter.

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The fastball
that you hope to poke
is smoke

The curveball
that you thought was there
is air

The knuckler
wobbling up to you
can dipsy-do

The screwball
an ironic twist
hits your fist

The sinker
comes as a surprise:
it dies

The let-up pitch
you can’t resist?
you missed

The spitball
that by law’s forbidden
(is hidden)