Tag: MLB

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Pittsburgh Pirates

Oct 13 in Sports History: Pirates win the World Series


In 1960: In perhaps the greatest Game 7 in sports history, Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski hit the first series-winning, bottom-of-the-ninth homerun in 57 World Series’ to defeat the heavily favored New York Yankees. With the score tied 9-9 at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, Mazeroski connected off a 1-0 Ralph Terry pitch and drove it over the left field fence to give the Pirates their first title since 1925. Overlooked was the fact that the Pirates spoiled a remarkable comeback by the Yankees in the top half of the inning. Trailing 9-7 after unknown Hal Smith’s three-run homer in the eighth, the Yankees rallied behind Mickey Mantle and Bobby Richardson to tie the game. Maz trumped them all with his famous blast in the ninth, and sent jubilant Pirates fans onto the field and into the streets of Pittsburgh in celebration. It was one of the most contrasting World Series’ ever, as the Yankees won their games by scores of 16-3, 10-0 and 12-0, while the Pirates won the closer ones, 6-4, 3-2, 5-2 and 10-9. According to baseball library.com, Game 7 was the only WS game in history in which no strikeouts were recorded by either team. Mazeroski, known more for his defense than his bat, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001.

In 1982 After 70 years, the International Olympic Committee posthumously restored the two gold medals Jim Thorpe had won in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. Thorpe had easily won gold and set records in the pentathlon and decathlon. He was stripped of his medals, however, when the IOC discovered that the had been paid to play minor league baseball, which compromised his amateur status. Thorpe, a Native American, was widely considered the greatest athlete of his generation. Not only did he dominate the Olympics, but he also played professional baseball for the New York Giants, Boston Braves and Cincinnati Reds. He was an All-American running back in college, played pro football for the Canton Bulldogs and was even the first president of the National Football League. olympic.org

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MLB General

Odds and Ends: It must be Thursday – Scoop Jackson plays the race card



“bad Nat X impersonation”

Scoop Jackson wrote an article today complaining (surprise, surprise) that there weren’t enough minorities in Sports Illustrated’s Oct 9th cover of baseball’s all time dream team. Of course, with every passing column, we are reminded about how accurate Jason Whitlock’s words were in an interview with The Big Lead.


…there’s a big dropoff from being associated with Ralph [Wiley], Hunter [S. Thompson] and Bill [Simmons] than being linked to someone doing a bad Nat X impersonation. It pissed me off that the dude tried to call himself the next Ralph Wiley and stated some [bleep] about carrying Ralph’s legacy. Ralph was one of my best friends. I hate to go all Lloyd Bentsen, but Scoop Jackson is no Ralph Wiley. Ralph was a grown-ass man who didn’t bojangle for anybody. Scoop is a clown. And the publishing of his fake ghetto posturing is an insult to black intelligence, and it interferes with intelligent discussion of important racial issues. Scoop showed up on the scene and all of a sudden I’m getting e-mails from readers connecting what I write to Scoop. And his stuff is being presented like grown folks should take it seriously. Please.

In other news…

[St. Petersburg Times]: Chris Simms turned down $10M in guaranteed money before this year… ooops

[Adfreak]: Make your own Cowboys cheerleader ad

[DC Sports Chick]: For the trashy chick you know

[Fox Sports]: Stephen Jackson booked and released

[Indy Star]: Police report from Stephen Jackson incident

[FloydLandis.com]: Floyd Landis defense is now online

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MLB General

Oct 10 in Sports History: World Series edition



unassisted triple play

In 1920: An amazing trio of firsts occurred in the decisive Game 7 (of a nine-game series) of an otherwise drab World Series between the Cleveland Indians and Brooklyn Robins. In the first inning, Cleveland’s Elmer Smith hit the first grand slam in World Series history. In the fourth, the Indians’ Jim Bagby became the first pitcher to hit a home run in the WS; and in the eighth, little-used second baseman Bill Wambsganss converted the first (and only) unassisted triple play in World Series history to help the Indians take the Series 5-2. It was a bittersweet moment for the Indians; while they were celebrating their first championship, they were still mourning the death of Ray Chapman, who died earlier that summer as a result of a Carl Mays bean ball.

In 1926: While Babe Ruth was always considered a World Series hero for his feats in the postseason (pitching 29-plus scoreless innings for the Sox, calling his shot against the Cubs), he was actually a huge goat in the Yankees’ loss to the Cardinals in the decisive seventh game. Trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth at Yankee Stadium, Ruth reached first off a walk from a very hung over Grover Alexander (who won Game 6). With two outs and the slugging Bob Meusel at the plate with a 3-1 count, Ruth inexplicably took off on an attempt to steal second base without any type of sign from the coaches or manager. He got a horrible jump and was easily pegged for the final out of the series. Ruth was roundly booed, criticized and mocked in the newspapers for losing the series for the Yanks.

In 1904: Citing that the American League was a minor or “junior” league, New York Giants manager John McGraw refused to meet the Boston Americans (who had defeated the Pirates of the NL in 1903) in what would have been the second World Series. Arguments over rules, potential gate shares and personal animosity between McGraw and AL president Ban Johnson also led to the cancellation of the Series. Besides 1994 — when a player’s strike wiped out the postseason — it was the only time a World Series was not contested.

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MLB General

Sports History: Baseball postseason edition

In 1969 and 1995: New playoff formats were used for the first time in baseball history. In 1969, the League Championship Series (LCS) debuted, with the Braves meeting the Mets and Baltimore going against the Twins to determine the pennant winners, eschewing the tradition of the first-place finishers in the regular season meeting in the World Series. In 1995, the League Division Series (LDS), an additional round of playoffs, made its first appearance, with two series’ in each league. In the American League, it was Yankees-Mariners and Red Sox-Indians, while the National featured Reds-Dodgers and Braves-Rockies. New York and Colorado were the first ever “Wild Card” teams.

In 1959: A World Series game was played west of the Mississippi River for the first time, with the Los Angeles Dodgers meeting the Chicago White Sox in Game 3 of the Fall Classic. It was also the largest crowd in World Series history, with over 90,000 in attendance at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Dodgers won the game 3-1 and the series in six games.

In 1922: For the first time, an entire World Series was broadcast over the radio. Legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice handled the broadcasting duties while the second straight “Subway Series” between New York teams saw the Giants sweep the Yankees in five games (Game 2 ended in a 3-3 tie).

and of course, on Oct. 1, 1903: The first-ever modern World Sereis game is played at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Beaneaters. It was known more as the “Championship of the United States” during that first year. The Pirates won the first game 7-2, but Boston would take the Series behind the pitching of Cy Young, five games to three.

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MLB General

The Full Count: The Cardinals pull one out

Pujols for MVP?

1. A season-saving homerun?: The Cardinals looked like they were done. They came into yesterday’s game having lost seven in row, and it looked like they were going to end up losers once again. San Diego starter Chris Young had pitched excellently and the Padres got out to a 2-1 lead through seven innings. But no lead is safe when your opponent has Albert Pujols in the lineup. Pujols jacked a three-run homerun in the eighth to lift the Cardinals 4-3. Not only did this win the game, it might have saved the season for the previously reeling Cardinals. Now St. Louis has kept their 1.5 game lead with 5 games left to play. The Padres gave up some ground in the division to the Dodgers.
 

2. Untouchable: The Houston Astros, who seemed all but out of the playoff hunt a week ago, seemingly decided to start winning. There is no other explanation for their incredible 8 game winning streak. Though the Cardinals finally won, the `Stros kept their streak going yesterday. They defeated the hapless Pirates in 15 innings. Somehow Houston has a knack for playing (and winning) long games like these. They did it again, though even getting to extras was difficult this time around. Houston was down 6-1 after five innings but then rallied back to tie up the game. Brad Ausmus’ sac fly in the 15th sealed the deal. There is a negative consequence to playing all these long games like the Astros have. Their pitching staff has pitched the most innings among every major league team, meaning they might seem more fatigued than some of the other teams as Houston heads down the stretch.
 

3. Extra! Extra!: The Houston game wasn’t the only extra-inning game involving playoff contenders yesterday. The Phillies and Nationals couldn’t decide their game after nine innings either. They ended up going a whopping 14 innings, and Philly ended up winning. The Wild Card contenders won 8-7 as their offense looked excellent. Jimmy Rollins, perhaps the most underrated shortstop in baseball, went 3-8 with 4 RBIs, including the game winner. Chase Utley hit a homerun early on, and leads all second basemen with 32 homers and 102 RBIs on the year. The Phils currently stand one game behind the Wild Card-leading Dodgers.
 

4. Central Supremacy: The race for the Central between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins is the only important thing going on in the AL. Detroit was one game back heading into Wednesday, and they remain that way after both teams lost yesterday. The Tigers lost to the Blue Jays 7-4 in a game that featured seven combined homers by both teams. Meanwhile, the Twins fell to the pitiful Royals, who barely avoided their 100th loss of the season. The second and third best teams in baseball by record won’t play each other the rest of the season. The Tigers have one game left against the Blue Jays and a three-game set with the Royals. The Twins will face the Royals again and then the White Sox for three. And all of this, by the way, is just a race to see who will play the Yankees (wild card winner) or the A’s (division winner).
 

5. Bonds will be back: To the surprise of few, Barry Bonds announced that he’ll play in the 2007 season. Bonds has hit 26 homeruns this season to move him within 21 of Hank Aaron’s prestigious record. He should break that record next year if he could avoid a major injury. The big question is which team Bonds will play for. Of course right now Bonds is acting like he’ll stay with the Giants, but everyone thinks that he’ll end up as a DH for an American League team, likely the A’s or Angels.

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Boston Red Sox

Sep 28 in Sports History: Ted Williams is the last person to hit .400

In 1941: Ignoring his manager’s suggestion that he sit to preserve a .400 average, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox decided to play both games of a doubleheader in Philadelphia on the final day of the season. Williams went for 6 for 8 in the two games, and finished the season with a .406 mark, the last player to hit .400 in the major leagues.

and in 1960: In the final at-bat of his career, Williams hit his 521st career homer, a towering, 450-foot drive to the right-centerfield seats at Fenway Park. (baseballlibrary.com)

In 1951: In the opening Friday night game of the season, Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams threw for a record 554 yards in a 54-14 win over the New York Yankees. The record still stands today (Warren Moon  is second with 527 yards in a game). Van Brocklin –subbing for the injured starter– was 27 of 42 with five touchdowns and three interceptions. The Rams also boasted three 100-plus yard receivers, including hall-of-famer Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch (who caught four TD‘s). Van Brocklin later led the Rams to the 1951 NFL title. (The 2006 ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia)

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MLB General

The Full Count: Twins in, White Sox out


1. Twins are in: The Minnesota Twins became the third AL team to clinch a playoff berth. With an 8-1 victory over the Royals, they secured at least the Wild Card title. They could still win the overall division title, though that really wouldn’t do much for them. The 93-63 Twins continue to win even with injuries to stud starters Francisco Liriano and Brad Radke. That’s because of a dominant Johan Santana, a resurgent offense, and a capable bullpen. Joe Nathan has been the most underrated closer in baseball this season, with 35 saves, 6 wins, and a 1.65 ERA. On offense, players like Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau have been getting most of the attention, and they deserve it. But Torri Hunter and Michael Cuddyer have really stepped up the second half. Cuddyer in fact is having the most unknown 100-RBI season in baseball this year, while Hunter is having a career best season with 30 and 95. It’s all the little pieces that keep the Twins going and that make them the most dangerous team heading into the playoffs.

2. Unable to defend: The White Sox have gone from the best team in baseball to completely out of the playoff race. The Twins’ clinching of a spot yesterday meant that the ChiSox were eliminated from postseason contention. They got blown out 14-1 by the Indians in their final meaningful game of the season. The White Sox’s downfall was starting pitching. Contreras, Buehrle, Garcia, and Garland have all gone from ERA’s in the 3s last year to plus-4 ERA’s this season. While their offense has been one of the best in baseball, that hasn’t been enough to produce wins down the stretch. The team’s collapse even cost Jermaine Dye an MVP award. Expect to see a vastly different White Sox team take the field next season.

3. It’s not over–yet: Amazingly, the Houston Astros are still in the playoff hunt. After beating the Phillies yesterday in the opener of a pivotal series, the Astros improved to .500 for the first time in a long time. At 78-78, they are 2.5 games back from the division-leading Cardinals. Compare this to about a week ago, when they trailed the Cards by 8.5. Winning the division is about their only hope of making the playoffs, as they still trail by four games in the Wild Card hunt. Keep an eye on the Astros, but don’t expect much from this inconsistent team.

4. Will you win already?: The A’s have been sitting around with a magic number of 2 for the last few games. They have lost three in a row while the barely-alive Angels have won three in a row, meaning they still have to win to get in. While Oakland will still make the postseason barring an improbable collapse, it’s never good to be terrible at the end of the regular season. They allowed 21 hits yesterday in a 10-9 loss to Seattle. The Angels beat the Rangers, but are still five games back.

5. Junior ties Reggie: Ken Griffey Jr. tied Reggie Jackson at #10 on the all time HR list with three run pinch-hit dinger. At 563, he needs another 7 to pass Rafael Palmeiro for 9th place. The Reds have been out of the playoff race for some time now but it’s good to see Griffey reinforcing his stature as a Hall of Fame player.

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MLB General

MLB.com presents Take a Convict to School Day


Not to be outdone by the NFL and their “Take a Player to School” contest, MLB.com is offering you the chance to take Darryl Strawberry to school for an appearance of up to one hour.


This auction features the opportunity to have Darryl Strawberry come to YOUR school! The winning bidder of this auction will have the chance to have New York Legend Darryl Strawberry attend your school for a special appearance for up to an hour. Strawberry will also give a short speech to your school on valubable life lessons. Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to have a super star like Daryl Strawberry come to YOUR school!

The opening bid was $250 and the current bid is… $260. Just for the sake of Strawberry’s self esteem, people better start bidding up this auction. (Remember, this is a guy who once told a judge he’d lost the will to live.) For a guy who used to make millions, if the price people are willing to pay for his appearance is less than what you’d take out of an ATM before a big Saturday night…. man that’s just sad.

Links:
[MLB.com]: Have New York Mets Legend Darryl Strawberry Come to your School
[Wikipedia]: For you youngins, the story of Darrl Strawberry

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MLB General

Sep 15 in Sports History: Screw the Mannings



Alou brothers

In 1938, Lloyd and Paul Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates became the first brothers to hit back-to-back home runs in a major league game. It was Lloyd’s last career homer.

In 1963, All three Alou brothers – Felipe, Matty and Jesus started in the same outfield for the San Francisco Giants in a 13-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Matty was pulled before his first at-bat and Felipe and Jesus went a combined 1 for 7 with an RBI and three runs scored.

In 1985, pitcher Joe Niekro is traded to the Yankees, reuniting him with brother Phil in the rotation for for the first time since 1974, when they both pitched for the Braves.

In 1990, Brothers Cal and Billy Ripken both hit solo home runs off David Wells in the 5th inning of a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

In another strange theme today, several baseball games were cancelled or forfeited for a variety of off-the-wall reasons.

In 1946, A game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field was called in the fifth inning because a swarm of gnats was attacking players, umpires and the fans.

In 1977, despite being in a heated division battle with the Red Sox and Yankees, manager Earl Weaver of the Baltimore Orioles pulled his team off the field because of what he felt was a hazardous condition in the visitors bullpen in Toronto. There was a small tarp being held down on the mound by bricks. When Weaver refused to return his players to the field, the game was forfeited to the Blue Jays. The O’s finished tied for second with Boston at 97-64.

and in 1907, a game was called in St. Louis between the Browns and Detroit Tigers when a fan threw a soda bottle and knocked out home plate umpire Billy Evans. The crowd began beating up the fan, and police had to restore order. Evans was hospitalized with minor injuries.

(courtesy of baseball-almanac.com and baseballlibrary.com)

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MLB General

The Full Count: Here come the Twins


1. Closing in: We thought the Detroit Tigers had a divisional lead impossible to overcome. The Minnesota Twins thought otherwise. They just took 3 of 4 from the Tigers in dominant fashion. On Sunday, Johan Santana was able to shut down the Detroit offense once again. He threw 11 strikeouts and didn’t allow a run in Minnesota’s 12-1 blowout. Joe Mauer had two doubles and two RBIs for the offense, and Nick Punto had an excellent game with four hits. It was the Twins’ third win in a row to close out the series, and it gave them their smallest divisional deficit since April 18. The Twins are just two games back now of the Tigers. These teams don’t play for the rest of the season unless they meet in the playoffs.

2. The D-Train Returns: The Florida Marlins pitching staff got plenty of attention over the past week, but little of it went to Dontrelle Willis. He had been in the shadow of Anibal Sanchez’s no-hitter as well as some of the Marlins’ other rookies. But he showed on Sunday that he is still a very capable young pitcher. Willis pitched one of the best games the league has seen this season, going the distance for a complete-game shutout. He struck out 12 Phillies, matching a career high. The Marlins won 3-0 to salvage a series split against the Phils. The teams have identical records at 72-71 and stand 2.5 games back of the Wild Card lead.

3. Rollin’ Along: The Oakland A’s are still winning ballgames and still leading the NL West. Though they receive little attention, they have been just as good as the Yankees or White Sox, at least by record. The A’s are 82-60 after outlasting the Devil Rays 9-7 yesterday. The big news was Frank Thomas, who had a “perfect” day and homered for his fifth straight game. Thomas went 3-3 at the plate with 2 walks and now has 35 homers on the season. The A’s are still holding off the red-hot Angels in the division by 5.5 games. For the D-Rays, Delmon Young continued his incredible success since he was called up, going 3-5 to bring his average to .408.

4. Padres Power: The San Diego Padres still have the lead in the National League Wild Card. They’re going for their second straight playoff appearance, and the Padres moved to 2.5 games ahead of the streaking Giants after beating them yesterday. They won 10-2, as Woody Williams improved to 8-3 on the year and Brian Giles hit 4 RBIs. Rookie middle reliever Cla Meredith now has a 33 inning scoreless streak, as he hasn’t allowed a run since July 17 to decrease his ERA from 3.86 to 0.69. The Padres, who are off today, will take on Cincy this week before a pivotal series against the Dodgers.

5. Best in the business: The best players in the majors are performing better than ever. David Ortiz missed a week and a half in late August and early September, but he’s picked up right where he left off. Papi went 0-7 his first two games back, but then on Friday went 3-5 with 4 RBIs. Then, yesterday, Ortiz went 2-2 with three walks, three runs, and a homerun. The round-tripper gave him a career-high 48 this season, and he’s also on pace for career bests in on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS. Albert Pujols is also on pace for some career highs this year. His 45 homers are one off his best mark, set in 2004, and his 118 RBIs are nine away from his high. This is despite going on the disabled list for the first time earlier this season, and having almost 20 games left in the year. Other prominent players that are blowing up their career marks are Jermaine Dye, Travis Hafner (who is out the rest of the year with a broken hand), Derek Jeter, Alfonso Soriano, and Carlos Beltran, to name a few.