This day in baseball: Anson reaches 3,000
Posted: July 16, 2019 Filed under: 19th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Cap Anson, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports Leave a commentOn July 16, 1897, Chicago Colts first baseman Cap Anson became the first player in major league history to collect 3,000 hits when he singled off Baltimore pitcher George Blackburn. Anson was forty-five years old when he reached the milestone as Chicago lost to Baltimore, 2-1.
These days, some controversy remains as to whether or not Anson should be considered the first player to reach this milestone. This hit total disregarded a rule in place for the 1887 season that counted bases-on-balls as hits. Anson had collected 60 walks during the 1887 season.
Cap Anson (Wikipedia)
Quote of the day
Posted: July 15, 2019 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Football, quotes, Sam Rutigliano, sports 2 CommentsIf God wanted football played in the spring, he would not have invented baseball.
~Sam Rutigliano
Wikipedia
“Shakespearean Baseball Sonnet #22,” by Michael Ceraolo
Posted: July 13, 2019 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, life, Michael Ceraolo, poetry, Spillwords Press, sports Leave a commentHere is another great Shakespearean Baseball Sonnet from the talented Michael Ceraolo. This piece was published by Spillwords Press earlier this week.
*
The glass shall not persuade me I am old.
But when I begin to miss the fastball,
Even when no Time’s furrows I behold,
The end of my career has come to call.
For all the honors that have covered me
Are but a memory when it’s time to part.
Living in record books for all to see,
Though sometimes disguised in a fancy chart,
It shows me a solid professional;
Mostly I played to my ability.
(This poem is not a confessional
Of those times when I lacked facility).
Overall I hope I gave fans pleasure,
What the game gave me in equal measure.
This day in baseball: “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” first appears
Posted: July 12, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, Pop culture, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Baseball's Sad Lexicon, Chicago Cubs, Frank Chance, Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Evening Mail, poetry, sports Leave a comment“Baseball’s Sad Lexicon,” featuring the famous double play combination of “Tinker to Evers to Chance,” was first published on July 12, 1910. However, the original name of the the poem was “That Double Play Again.” Six days later, the New York Evening Mail would republish the poem, this time with the title we know it by today, “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon.”
From left: Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance (Lawrence Journal World)
RIP Jim Bouton
Posted: July 11, 2019 Filed under: 21st Century | Tags: Baseball, books, Jim Bouton, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports 4 CommentsPitcher Jim Bouton passed away yesterday at the age of 80. Bouton, as many are aware, was the author of Ball Four, a baseball memoir that exposed the behind-the-scenes world of professional baseball. The memoir stirred up no small amount of indignation in the baseball world, and yet is now considered one of the most important sports books ever written.
Bouton passed away at his home in Massachusetts following a long battle with a brain disease called cerebral amyloid angiopathy.
Rest in peace.
Bouton in 1969 (Wikipedia)
Quote of the day
Posted: July 10, 2019 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Ken Griffey Jr, Major League Baseball, MLB, quotes, sports Leave a commentThere’s hitting, there’s defense, and there’s baserunning. And as long as you keep those three separated, you’re going to be a good player. I mean, you can’t take your defense on the bases, you can’t take your hitting to the field, and you can’t take your baserunning at the plate. But defense, is number one.
~Ken Griffey, Jr.
Strike Flea, You’re Out!
Posted: July 8, 2019 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, cartoons, Pink Panther, sports, videos 2 CommentsI remember watching the occasional Pink Panther episode as a kid, and I always enjoyed them. In this episode, the Pink Panther is transformed into a pitching sensation with a little help from an unlikely source. Enjoy!
