Hits and Runs XV

Oct 14, 2024

“I love the tradition of baseball.” ~ Derek Jeter

I’d like to again apologize for my previous prolonged absence. The White Sox season was depressing and took some joy out of baseball for me. I watched, but with a fatalistic approach. I began to watch the Sox a new way, once they started playing poorly, making an error or not hitting well, I’d grab my guitar and start learning a new song. It took an edge off the game, and it expanded my musical / performing repertoire! This, coupled with my 60 and over wooden bat baseball team on which I play having a losing season and my poor play, it just made writing hard. Now that the playoffs are underway, the consist upgraded play is fueling my baseball fix again. Get ready to read (a lot).

I felt that since a lot of my notes and quotes have been sitting dormant since mid-summer, I’d clean house and start anew. If you’re a long-time subscriber, you are familiar with this themed post; if you’re a newer subscriber (welcome and please tell others about us) or reader, I occasionally write these “Hits and Runs” to get rid of notes that I feel wouldn’t be a complete article, but that they have readability value as snippets. Enjoy and tuck some of these away for Trivia Night at your local bars.

Baseball (bas bol), Noun

1. Possibly the greatest thing in the world. Particularly reserved for the very intelligent and good looking.

(Found on the internet. Assuming Public Domain.)

“Everybody wants to know. ‘How do you throw a curveball, how do you throw a slider, how do you throw this and that’ when they can’t even locate a fastball. Learn how to control your fastball and then once you’ve got that, move on to other things.” ~ Cliff Lee

“He throws a ‘radio ball,’ a pitch you hear, but you don’t see.” ~ Gene Mauch on Sandy Koufax

Kids, aged 15-19, account for 57% of all Tommy John surgeries in the USA.

Ron Hunt had 6,158 career plate appearances and was hit by a pitch in 4% of them.

“I never threw the spitter, well maybe once or twice when I really needed to get a guy out real bad.” ~ Whitey Ford

“My mother has the same kind of an arm, even today at 74. She could throw a ball from second to home plate with something on it. I got my arm from my mother.” ~ Roberto Clemente

The Chicago White Sox outfield one game consisted of Walt Williams, Carlos May, and Pat Kelly. Jimmy Piersal, their colour guy at the time said, “we’ve got no neck, no thumb and no arm in the outfield today”!

Orel Hershiser had more hits (3) than Joes Canseco and Mark McGwire (2) combined in the 1988 WS.

“This is a game of competition and adjustments. It’s not showcase or spring training games. What worries me is that we’re evaluating on some of the wrong things. You can’t evaluate a player simply by exit velocity or launch angle and things like that. Hitting is about situations and adjustments to how you’re being pitched.” ~ Don Mattingly

“Baseball is made for radio.” ~ Bill Mazerowski (Iconic WS HR hitter)

In 1977 the Kansas City Royals got their uniforms stolen in shortly before their game started, so they had to wear their opponents, the Milwaukee Brewers, road jerseys to play the game.

Ricky Henderson once went 0 for 0 with five stolen bases and four runs scored.

“A catcher must have the heart of a lion and the mind of a strategist.” ~ Bob Uecker

“If you want to argue Josh Gibson didn’t face the best competition, well, neither did Babe Ruth.” Ken Rosenthal, Senior Baseball Writer

Nancy Faust, in 1972, played “Jesus Christ Superstar” for the White Sox slugger Dick Allen and it’s believed to be one of the first instances of what fans now consider a player’s walk-up song.

She also started the White Sox fan tradition of singing “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” when opposing pitchers were pulled from the mound. She has a gold record from Mercury Records for re-popularizing the 1969 hit and bringing it to sports stadiums. (Click on the hyperlinks to hear Nancy playing these songs.)

George Brett went in for his yearly eye exam and the DMV waived it. They said if he can hit .350 he can see.

“I made a game effort to argue but two things were against me: the umpires and the rules.” ~ Leo Durocher

“The sandlot is dead. Kids don’t play the game on their own anymore. We need to give kids the space to play the game on their own for fun. There is no greater gift than letting a kid just play the sport they love for fun, without the fear of failure.” ~ Tom House

Mike Elias, Baltimore Orioles General Manager: “I’m just saying you can’t start Austin Hayes in LF.”

Brandon Hyde, Baltimore Orioles Field Manager: “Well, I am starting him in LF.”

Mike Elias: “I don’t think so. He plays for Philadelphia now.”

Hank Aaron is the all-time leader in total bases with 6,856. That’s more than 700 ahead of Stan Musial, who sits second.

“Baseball is the only game you can see on the radio.” ~ Phil Hersh, Chicago Tribune

“If you had a career .331 lifetime batting average, you’d be happy all the time too.” ~ Stan Musial

Nobody understands the lifelong bond between a boy and the mediocre MLB player he watched when he was ten.

Dick Stuart, first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates led the league in errors a record seven years in a row from 1958 through 1964. His license plate was E3.

“I led the league in go get’em next time.” ~ Bob Uecker

“Baseball is 75% mental, 25% physical, and the other half is luck.” ~ Yogi Berra

In 1991, Dave Winfield became the oldest player in MLB history to hit for the cycle at age 40 against the Royals on June 24^th.

In 1936, Babe Ruth was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class with 95.1% vote.

“He’s listed as day to day, but then again, aren’t we all?” ~ Vin Scully

“The difference between relief pitching when I did it and today is simple: there’s too much of it. It’s one of those cases where more is not necessarily better.” ~ Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians pitcher

If Tony Gwynn’s 20-year career were split into two careers, 10 seasons apiece, he would rank first and second in franchise history in runs, hits, total bases and doubles.

Players (not a complete list) who went on to manage:

C – Yogi Berra

1B – Frank Robinson

2B – Rogers Hornsby

SS – Alan Trammel

3B – Eddie Mathews

LF – Ted Williams

CF – Mel Ott

RF – Pete Rose

DH – Paul Monitor

P – Walter Johnson

“It’s not what you achieve, it’s what you overcome. That’s what defines your career.” ~ Carlton Fisk

“I get stopped all the time by those fellows whose dads had taken to the ballpark. I appreciate them. And they appreciate me because I didn’t cheat them.” ~ Dick Allen, on Philly fans

Max Scherzer received $15,000,000 from the Washington Nationals this year; $30,833, 334 from the New York Mets this year; $12,500,000 from the Texas Rangers this year, while pitching only 9 games for them this season.

Carlton Fisk caught all 25 innings for the Chicago White Sox in their 7-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers (they used to be in the AL) on May 8, 1084.

“I went crazy. I called Bruce Froemming every name you can think of. I knew he didn’t have the guts to throw me out because I still had the no-hitter.” ~ Milt Pappas, on losing his perfect game bid to a walk on a “borderline” pitch.

A senior citizen saw John Kruk smoking a cigarette after a game: “That’s horrible, to see a professional athlete like you smoking.” “I’m not an athlete, lady, I’m a baseball player”, Kruk replied.

According to Buck O’Neil and Monte Irvin, players in the Negro Leagues were given the equivalent of a dollar a day. When Babe Ruth would barnstorm with them, he’d bring in $1500 a game to be distributed to the teams. Ruth was a longtime advocate of integrating baseball and took care of the players.

Once Bob Uecker went to the mound to talk with his pitcher, Bob Gibson. Gibby yelled, “What are you doing out here?” Uecker replied, “Oh, nothing, I’m just going out to talk to Curt Flood in center field.”

“Don’t let anyone tell you they saw a better knuckleball than Wilhelm’s.” ~ Ted Williams on Hoyt Wilhelm.

Wilhelm was the first reliever enshrined in the Hall of Fame, first to break Cy Young’s games pitched mark, the first to win the ERA title in both the AL and NL. He was a 7x All-Star, 1954 WS winner, threw a No Hitter in 1958. He also pitched until he was 49 years old. He was a WWII Vet and a Purple Heart recipient.

There is a bar behind the centerfield wall at historic Fenway Park named the Bleacher Bar. From there you can look out the centerfield was and watch the game.

Inside the bar is a men’s restroom where you can also watch the game while using the urinal.

The bar is only accessed from Lansdowne Street and does NOT require a ticket.

I miss baseball so much that I made hotdogs for my family today and charged them $10 per hot dog.

On the baseball and football front: In 1989, Vincent “Bo” Jackson hit 32 HRs and had 105 RBI. That same year, he averaged 5.5 yard a carry in the NFL.

A basketball snippet: Kareem held the NBA’s all-time scoring record for 39 years and only hit 1 three-pointer in his career.

A great football snippet: When asked about Earl Campbell’s inability to finish a one mile run in training camp, Bum Phillips, the Houston Oilers head coach said, “when it’s 1^st down and a mile, I won’t give him the ball.”

Here’s the only John Fisher, owner of the (former) Oakland Athletics story you need to hear or remember. During Covid, Fisher tried to stop paying Minor Leaguers their $400.00 a week. Shin Shoo Choo, the Texas Rangers Designated Hitter on the other hand gave all 191 Ranger MiLB player $1000.00.

“When a pitcher is throwing a spitball, don’t worry and don’t complain, just hit the dry side like I do.” ~ Stan Musial

(A sad picture from the Oakland Athletics last home game. Found on the internet. Assuming Public Domain.)

If you are new to “Comments” feel free to browse the Archives for past articles. If you enjoyed this one, please click on the hyperlink of the previous posts of this theme, “Hits and Runs”, “Hits and Runs II”, “Hits and Runs III”, “Hits and Runs IV”, “Hits and Runs V”, “Hits and Runs VI”, “Hits and Runs VII”, “Hits and Runs VIII”, “Hits and Runs IX”, “Hits and Runs X”, “Hits and Runs XI”, “Hits and Runs XII”, “Hits and Runs XIII”, and “Hits and Runs XIV (Pitcher’s Edition)”.

In the near future I will give my views on Pete Rose and the ever-popular debate of his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame. There will also soon be a post concerning a childhood friend of mine and a Milt Pappas baseball card. I figured I’d throw a couple “teasers” out there. I hope you’re enjoying the playoffs!

Thanks for your support,

~ Coach Mike

Comments From Coach Mike

Discussion about this post