HoF Class of 2017
Congratulations to the Baseball Hall of Fame’s latest inductees! Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez.
Congratulations to the Baseball Hall of Fame’s latest inductees! Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez.
We’ve all had a similar experience at some point. Or is that just me?
With just one pitch, Ken Ash of the Cincinnati Reds was credited with not only a full inning of work, but also with the 6-5 victory over the Cubs on July 27, 1930. Entering the game in relief of Larry Benton, Ash managed to induce a triple play ball from the Cubs’ Charlie Grimm at Redland Field. Ash was then pulled for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the inning, when Cincinnati took the lead for good.
After I hit a home run I had a habit of running the bases with my head down. I figured the pitcher already felt bad enough without me showing him up rounding the bases.
~ Mickey Mantle
Given the title of this song, one would think there would be more than just a passing reference to baseball. Even though this tune isn’t necessarily about the game itself, it does provide a great example of baseball as a metaphor for life.
Hitting a Major League fastball is a difficult feat against any pitcher, but against Nolan Ryan, the task was even harder. Gene Fehler captures the difficulty of doing so when he compares it to hitting a pea with a toothpick in this poem published in 1991.
*
He threw a white pea
fast faster faster fastest
of them all,
Try hitting a pea
with a toothpick
and you’ll see what it’s like
to bat against the
fast faster faster fastest
of them all.
On May 1, 1906, Brooklyn pitcher Mal Eason had been on the losing end of a no-hitter against Johnny Lush of the Philadelphia Phillies. Then, on July 20th of that same season, Mal Eason managed to hurl a no-hitter of his own, this time finding himself on the victorious side of a 2-0 game agains the St. Louis Cardinals.
Find something you love and go after it with all of your heart.
~Jim Abbott