Casey Stengel signed a two-year contract to manage the Brooklyn Dodgers on February 23, 1934. Replacing skipper Max Carey, Stengel would finish 43 games under .500, finishing no higher than fifth place over three years of managing the team.
Hello again, everybody. It’s a bee-yoo-tiful day for baseball.
~Harry Caray
Okay, so for a couple of teams, pitchers and catchers are already in the midst of workouts. But for the vast majority of the league, pitcher and catcher workouts begin tomorrow, which means that spring, and baseball, is just around the corner!
I have never watched a Banana Ball game, but I’ve heard of these. It’s basically the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. Right now, if you’re interested, a game is happening live on YouTube:
I gotta say, I love the uniforms these guys are wearing. And for those of us who are still learning about this version of baseball, the rules were helpfully provided in the description of the video:
🍌 Banana Ball Rules: 🍌
1. Every Inning Counts: The Team with the most runs at the end of the inning gets a point, the team with the most points wins the game! In the last inning, all runs count for a point!
2. Two Hour Time Limit
3. No Stepping Out of the Batters Box
4. No Bunting
5. No Mound Visits
6. Walks are Sprints
7. If a Fan Catches a Foul Ball it’s an Out
8. Batters Can Steal First
9. One on One Showdown Tiebreaker
Right-handed pitcher John Clarkson passed away on February 4, 1909 at the age of 47 from pneumonia. Over the course of his major league career, Clarkson compiled a 328–178 record, placing him twelfth on the MLB list of all-time wins. He pitched over 600 innings in a season twice and won a career-high 53 games in 1885. At the time of his retirement from baseball, Clarkson was the winningest pitcher in National League history. John Clarkson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963 by the Veteran’s Committee.
