Rap battle: Babe Ruth vs. Lance Armstrong
Posted: October 7, 2020 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Babe Ruth, Baseball, cycling, Epic Rap Battles of History, humor, Lance Armstrong, rap, rap battles, sports, videos 2 CommentsHere’s a weird little video whose existence I find rather mind-boggling. This is from a series called Epic Rap Battles of History, created by a couple guys who call themselves Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD. In this particular video, the creators dress up as Lance Armstrong and Babe Ruth. Armstrong comes under fire for the doping scandal, and Babe Ruth for his lifestyle in general. Pitting an endurance cyclist against a baseball slugger seems a lot to me like comparing apples to oranges, but it makes for an interesting, even entertaining, video all the same.
“The Kid” baseball cartoon
Posted: July 9, 2020 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, cartoons, Major League Baseball, MLB, music, sports, videos Leave a commentI’m having a difficult time finding additional information about this short video, so if anyone happens to know anything about it, let me know! I stumbled across this clip this morning, but the poster of the video didn’t include any information about it. I’m not sure who created the cartoon, nor if the creator had a particular player in mind (“The Kid” seems like a fairly popular nickname in baseball). I’m also curious about the song. Listening to it, it sounds vaguely familiar for some reason, but I can’t put my finger on why that is.
In any case, even if you don’t know anything about the origins of this video, it’s a fun little short to watch, and I imagine the song will be stuck in my head the rest of the morning.
Curious George plays baseball
Posted: May 2, 2020 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, cartoons, Curious George, sports, videos Leave a commentWatching a Curious George clip takes me waaaay back into my childhood. Watching this as an adult viewer, I can’t help but notice that George is a bit of a ball hog and they certainly took some liberties with the rules about pinch running. But I would not have noticed these types of things as an eager six-year-old. And the Cubby Bears vs. the Tiger Babies make for some awfully cute team names.
Mickey Mantle: The Definitive Story
Posted: November 27, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, biography, documentaries, history, Major League Baseball, Mickey Mantle, MLB, New York Yankees, sports, videos Leave a commentI can’t help but chuckle inwardly a little bit whenever a documentary or book declares itself “definitive” or something similar (really, can any biographical account ever truly be definitive?). Nevertheless, this documentary on Mickey Mantle is a good one, and a person can get a good solid overview of his life and career from it.
Even better, if you find yourself unable to get your hands on a copy, you can watch the film through YouTube.
2013 Boston Red Sox poem
Posted: September 16, 2019 Filed under: 21st Century, Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Dick Flavin, Major League Baseball, MLB, poetry, sports, videos Leave a commentAfter the Boston Red Sox won the 2013 World Series, Dick Flavin, known as the poet laureate for the Red Sox, released this poem written in their honor. I love this guy’s energy and sense of humor. It’s a lot of fun to listen to him read it.
Baseball is hard
Posted: August 30, 2019 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: AFV, America's Funniest Videos, Baseball, humor, Softball, sports, videos Leave a commentThe last couple weeks at work have been pretty brutal for me, so the laughs I got from this video are very welcome. I especially love how so many little kids will run after a ground ball like a football team after a fumble. Thanks, AFV, for this amusing compilation.
Creating plaques for the Baseball Hall of Fame
Posted: August 21, 2019 Filed under: 21st Century, Baseball 101 | Tags: Baseball, Major League Baseball, Matthews International, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, sports, videos Leave a commentThis video from 2015 is fascinating to watch. What a job that must be for Matthews International, to have the privilege to make these plaques! The Hall of Fame is already a treat to visit, but the story behind the creation of the plaques makes it all the more awe-inspiring.
Softball Stereotypes
Posted: August 15, 2019 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, Dude Perfect, humor, Softball, sports, videos 2 CommentsGiven the number of views this video has accumulated, I’m amazed I never came across it before now. The stereotypes depicted here by Dude Perfect are hilarious — all the more so because we’ve all encountered at least a few of these in our own baseball or softball experiences. The Nervous Nellys and Outrageous Umpires particularly struck a chord with me.
Mariano Rivera’s Hall of Fame induction speech
Posted: July 31, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: Baseball, Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, New York Yankees, sports, videos 2 CommentsAs 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.
6-year-old Coach Drake loses it after ejection
Posted: July 20, 2019 Filed under: 21st Century, Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, College baseball, humor, Kalamazoo Growlers, sports, videos Leave a commentA 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.
