Baseball in space, 2019
Posted: November 20, 2021 Filed under: 21st Century | Tags: Baseball, Houston Astros, International Space Station, Major League Baseball, MLB, NASA, sports, Washington Nationals, World Series Leave a commentWhen the Houston Astros made it to the World Series in 2019, NASA astronauts on the International Space Station celebrated the game with their own game of baseball. Unsurprisingly, playing baseball in outer space looks a little different than it does here on Earth.
The astronauts were rooting, of course, for the Astros in that year’s Series. Unfortunately for the crew of the ISS, the Washington Nationals came out victorious in 2019.
This 17,500 mph fastball found its way to the @Space_Station cupola. We hope all are enjoying watching the #WorldSeries action back on Earth! pic.twitter.com/5EUq4OLKb6
— Jessica Meir (@Astro_Jessica) October 28, 2019
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Braves are World Champions
Posted: November 2, 2021 Filed under: 21st Century | Tags: Atlanta Braves, Baseball, Houston Astros, Jorge Soler, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports, World Series Leave a commentCongratulations to the Atlanta Braves on their World Series victory.
More exciting (for me, as a Royals fan, anyways), congratulations to Jorge Soler on winning MVP honors! Soler is just the second Cuban-born player to win the World Series MVP Award.
Jorge Soler (AP Photo)
2021 World Series schedule
Posted: October 24, 2021 Filed under: 21st Century | Tags: Atlanta Braves, Baseball, Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports, World Series Leave a commentThe 2021 World Series matchup is set! Beginning Tuesday, October 26th, the Astros and the Braves will be going head-to-head. All games will be broadcast on Fox, and the schedule is as follows:
| DATE | GAME | TIME (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| Tues., Oct. 26 | Game 1 – Braves at Astros | 8:09 p.m. |
| Weds., Oct. 27 | Game 2 – Braves at Astros | 8:09 p.m. |
| Fri., Oct. 29 | Game 3 – Astros at Braves | 8:09 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 30 | Game 4 – Astros at Braves | 8:09 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 31 | Game 5 (if needed) – Astros at Braves | 8:15 p.m. |
| Tues., Nov. 2 | Game 6 (if needed) – Braves at Astros | 8:09 p.m. |
| Weds., Nov. 3 | Game 7 (if needed) – Braves at Astros | 8:09 p.m. |
This day in baseball: Joe Niekro’s home run
Posted: May 29, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Atlanta Braves, Baseball, Houston Astros, Joe Niekro, Major League Baseball, MLB, Phil Niekro, sports 4 CommentsOn May 29, 1976, Joe Niekro hit the only home run of his big league career, and he hit it off his older brother, Phil. Joe Niekro had a total of 973 at-bats in his career, and his one round-tripper contributed to a 4-3 win for the Astros over the Braves.
Joe Niekro in 1976 (Wikipedia)
Happy Star Wars Day!
Posted: May 4, 2021 Filed under: 21st Century, Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, ESPN, Holidays, Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, MLB, movies, New York Yankees, sports, Star Wars Leave a commentWhile it doesn’t look like there’s going to be the typical “Star Wars Night” promotions going at at ballparks tonight, it appears that ESPN has found another way to exploit the fan holiday. I won’t be watching the broadcast (I don’t have ESPN), but that won’t stop me from indulging in a Star Wars movie or two in honor of the day.
May the Force be with you all!
This day in baseball: The Clemens faceoff
Posted: February 27, 2021 Filed under: 21st Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Houston Astros, Koby Clemens, Lexington Legends, Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, MLB, Roger Clemens, South Atlantic League, sports 1 CommentIn a minor league exhibition game held on February 27, 2006, 19-year-old Koby Clemens of the Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League hit a home run off his 43-year-old father, Roger Clemens. In Koby’s next at bat, Roger threw a brushback pitch at Koby in retaliation. The father-son duo would later play another game together in 2006, as the elder Clemens was making his comeback with the Astros and pitched a game for Lexington.
Roger and Koby Clemens (sbnation.com)
RIP Don Sutton
Posted: January 20, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: All-Star Game, Atlanta Braves, Baseball, California Angels, Don Sutton, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Oakland Athletics 3 CommentsDonald Howard Sutton was born on April 2, 1945 in Clio, Alabama. In a career that spanned 23 years, Sutton had a career record of 324-256 and an ERA of 3.26 while pitching for the Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels. 58 of his wins were shutouts, five of them one-hitters, and 10 were two-hitters. He is seventh on baseball’s all-time strikeout list with 3,574, and he was named to the All-Star team four times.
Sutton entered broadcasting after his retirement as a player. He worked in this capacity for a number of teams, the majority of which were with the Atlanta Braves. Sutton was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 with 81.61% of the vote. Sutton was also inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in July 2015 for his work as a broadcaster.
According to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Sutton died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, after a long struggle with cancer. He was 75 years old.
Rest in peace.
Sutton in 2008 (Wikimedia Commons)
RIP Joe Morgan
Posted: October 12, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: All-Star Game, Baseball, Cincinnati Reds, Gold Glove Award, Houston Astros, Joe Morgan, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Silver Slugger, sports, World Series 2 CommentsLegendary second baseman Joe Morgan played Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. Over the course of his career, Morgan won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the National League MVP in each of those years. Morgan was also a ten-time All-Star, a five-time Gold Glove winner, and won the Silver Slugger award in 1982. Morgan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990, and he has also been inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame and the Astros Hall of Fame.
Joe Morgan died on October 11, 2020 in Danville, California at the age of 77.
Rest in peace.
Joe Morgan, 1973 (Baseball Hall of Fame)
This day in baseball: Nolan Ryan is king of walks
Posted: June 5, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Early Wynn, history, Houston Astros, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Mets, sports, Steve Carlton 2 CommentsOn June 5, 1981, Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan surpassed Early Wynn as the all-time walk leader with 1,777 when he walked two in his 3-0 victory over the Mets. Of course, Ryan also struck out ten and only gave up five hits in that game.
Ryan would end his 27-year career with 2,795 bases on balls, nearly a thousand more than Steve Carlton, who is currently second on the career list for issuing free passes.
Nolan Ryan (Houston Chronicle)
This day in baseball: Nolan Ryan joins the Rangers
Posted: December 7, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, California Angels, Houston Astros, Houston Colt .45s, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Mets, Nolan Ryan, sports, Texas Rangers, Washington Senators Leave a commentFree agent Nolan Ryan signed with the Texas Rangers on December 7, 1988, making him the first major leaguer to play for all four original expansion teams. (The Rangers organization had played their first 11 seasons as the Senators in Washington, D.C.) Ryan first broke into the big leagues with the Mets in 1966, then went to the Angels in a trade in 1972 before signing with the Astros, who were originally known as the Colt .45s.
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