“Laughing River,” by Greg Brown
October 6, 2017
This tune is part break-up song, part nostalgia, part baseball, and part hope. It is also 100% soothing. Listening to it makes me want to put my feet up and watch the world go by.
Month: October 2017
Quote of the day
October 4, 2017
“Owen,” Henry said excitedly, “I think Coach wants you to hit for Meccini.”
Owen closed The Voyage of the Beagle, on which he had recently embarked. “Really?”
“Runners on first and second,” Rick said. “I bet he wants you to bunt.”
“What’s the bunt sign?”
“Two tugs on the left earlobe,” Henry told him. “But first he has to give the indicator, which is squeeze the belt. But if he goes to his cap with either hand or says your first name, that’s the wipe-off, and then you have to wait and see whether–”
“Forget it,” Owen said. “I’ll just bunt.”
~Chad Harbach, The Art of Fielding
This day in baseball
October 3, 2017
Having led the American League in batting average (.377), home runs (9), and RBIs (107) during the 1909 season, Ty Cobb became the first player in Major League Baseball history to win the Triple Crown without hitting a ball over the fence. Astonishingly, all of Cobb’s homers for the year were inside-the-park home runs.
The end of the regular season
October 2, 2017
This past weekend saw the conclusion of the 2017 MLB regular season. Today, there is no baseball. Tomorrow, October 3rd, the Twins will be in New York to take on the Yankees for the American League Wild Card. Then on Wednesday, October 4th, the Rockies are headed to Arizona to compete with the Diamondbacks for the National League Wild Card.
The postseason has begun.
For my team, the Kansas City Royals, there is no postseason this year. And with the futures of players such as Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer now up in the air, things are definitely changing.
Ned Yost has agreed to return for one more year, and mainstay Alex Gordon is signed for a few more years, but Royals fans are in agreement: we are at the end of an era.
I just hope we aren’t staring down the barrel of another 30-year stretch of “rebuilding.”
The Freeze | Nigel Talton
October 1, 2017
As a runner and a baseball fan, I found this story from Runner’s World particularly entertaining. Atlanta Braves mascot, The Freeze, is actually 26-year-old Nigel Talton of the stadium grounds crew, and he is mind-bogglingly fast. He’s so fast, in fact, that he nearly qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials. That didn’t pan out, however, so to earn a living, Talton becomes The Freeze at Braves home games.
Braves fans who take on the Beat the Freeze challenge rarely are successful, even in spite of the ridiculous head start they are granted in each race.
Here’s an interview he did with ESPN a few months back. You can’t help but keep your fingers crossed for his running career. They bring up a good point — he’d make a heckuva pinch runner.
I’ve gotten faster in my own running, but I wouldn’t stand a chance against this guy. You can find the Runner’s World story here.