Tag: National Baseball Hall of Fame

RIP Phil Niekro

December 28, 2020

Phil Niekro pitched for 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, spending 20 of those seasons with the Braves, both in Milwaukee and Atlanta. Niekro’s 318 career victories are the most by a knuckleball pitcher and rank 16th on MLB’s all-time wins list. He won the NL Gold Glove Award five times, was selected for five All-Star teams, and led the league in victories twice and in ERA once.

Niekro also earned the Lou Gehrig Award, the Roberto Clemente Award, and the Brian Piccolo Award for his humanitarian service off the field. He also served on the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors since 2009. Niekro was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

Phil Niekro died December 26, 2020 after a battle with cancer. He was 81 years old.

phil_niekro - wikipedia
Wikipedia

RIP Joe Morgan

October 12, 2020

Legendary 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.

Morgan Joe CR73-587_HS_NBLMcWilliams
Joe Morgan, 1973 (Baseball Hall of Fame)

RIP Bob Gibson

October 4, 2020

I just heard about the passing of Bob Gibson, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals for seventeen seasons. Over the course of that career, Gibson collected 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 ERA. He was also a nine-time All-Star, won two World Series championships, and he won two Cy Young Awards and the 1968 NL MVP.

Bob Gibson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. The Cardinals retired his uniform number 45 in September 1975 and inducted him into the team Hall of Fame in 2014.

Gibson died in Omaha, Nebraska on October 2, 2020 from pancreatic cancer.

Rest in peace.

45.bob-gibson
Sports Illustrated

RIP Lou Brock

September 7, 2020

Lou Brock spent the majority of his nineteen-year Major League career as a left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb’s all-time stolen base record in 1977. He was a six-time All-Star, and he led the National League in stolen bases for eight seasons. Brock led the NL in doubles and triples in 1968, and in singles in 1972. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

Lou Brock passed away yesterday, September 6, 2020 at the age of 81.

RIP.

lou_brock_2005
Lou Brock as a coach in 2005 (wikipedia)

RIP Tom Seaver

September 3, 2020

With a nickname like “Tom Terrific,” you know he was good at his job. Born November 17, 1944, Tom Seaver pitched for twenty seasons in Major League Baseball. Over the course of his career, he played for the New York Mets, the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago White Sox, and the Boston Red Sox.

Seaver won the National League’s Rookie of the Year in 1967, and during his career, he won three NL Cy Young Awards. He was also a 12-time All-Star, compiling 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, 61 shutouts, and a 2.86 ERA. Just to pad the résumé a little, Seaver even threw a no-hitter in 1978.

Tom Seaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. He passed away a few days ago, on August 31, 2020 from complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19.

Rest in peace.

Tom_Seaver_at_Shea_Stadium_1974_CROP
Wikimedia Commons

“Baseball, Hot Dogs, and Apple Pie,” by Da Wurst Band in da World

August 17, 2020

This song is dripping with satire as it tells about the Steroid Era of Major League Baseball.  It seems vaguely familiar to me, and it’s quite possible that I heard this on the radio on my drive to work at some point.  The song has been featured on radio stations all over the country.  To complement the hilarity of the song and its lyrics, someone put together this slideshow to watch as you listen.

Opening of the Baseball Hall of Fame clips

July 5, 2020

This short video from the Baseball Hall of Fame is a few years old, but I love the fact that it includes brief snippets from the opening ceremony in June 1939.  In the video, you’ll hear a few words from1939 inductee Eddie Collins as well as from Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, 1937 inductee Cy Young, and 1936 inductee Babe Ruth.  Videos of many induction speeches from those early years have proven hard to find, so coming across this video feels like a positive step in the right direction.

R.I.P. Al Kaline

April 7, 2020

Nicknamed “Mr. Tiger,” Al Kaline played the entirety of his 22-year Major League career with the Detroit Tigers.  Kaline won ten Gold Gloves as a right fielder and was an eighteen-time All Star.  He collected 3,007 hits, 399 home runs, and 1,583 RBIs in his career and finished with a lifetime batting average of .297 in 2,837 games played.

Al Kaline was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.  He passed away yesterday, April 6, 2020, at the age of 85.

Al Kaline 1957
Al Kaline in 1957 (Wikimedia Commons)