As many of you already are aware, The Sandman, Mariano Rivera, was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame a couple weekends ago. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his Hall of Fame induction speech. What a humble guy.
It ain’t bragging if you can do it.
~Dizzy Dean
Pitcher Mickey Welch of the New York Giants reached the 300-victory milestone on July 28, 1890, making him the third pitcher in baseball history to reach the mark. Welch defeated Pittsburgh 4-2 that day, and would go on to record seven more victories before retiring from the game.
At Cleveland’s League Park on July 25, 1930, the Philadelphia Athletics pulled off a rare triple steal in the first inning of a game against the Indians, then proceeded to repeat the feat in the fourth inning. The A’s pounded Cleveland 14-1 in that game.
I’m gaining weight the right way: I’m drinking beer.
~Johnny Damon
This one is really cute. A little tip for all the baseball dads out there.
On July 21, 1921, the Yankees and the Indians hit a collective total of 21 doubles, establishing an American League record. Cleveland collected nine of the two-baggers, defeating New York 17-8 at League Park.
A friend of mine sent me this video by the Kalamazoo Growlers, and it had me laughing so hard that I just had to share the love. There is, of course, a whole heap of social commentary to be made about how this video represents the sorts of examples we are setting for our kids. In terms of pure entertainment, meanwhile, it does provide a couple minutes of comic relief.
One percent of ballplayers are leaders of men. The other ninety-nine percent are followers of women.
~John McGraw
This video popped up on my YouTube feed yesterday. (Thanks, YouTube, for stalking my viewing history to offer up this suggestion…) While the video is a tad lengthy, it’s also quite fascinating. It provides a history of logos of MLB teams, and even takes into account location and team name changes — for example, how the 1960s Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers, or how the Brooklyn Superbas eventually evolved into the present-day Los Angeles Dodgers.
Some of these logos I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Others I did remember, and they made me feel a bit nostalgic. Sports evolution, every aspect of it, is an interesting phenomenon.
