Daily, in my inbox, I receive MLB Daily Dingers. If you’re not a baseball fan, dingers stand for home runs. MLB Daily Dingers currently features each MLB team, Single-Season HR Leaders at Each Position. A few days ago, the Los Angeles Angels were featured. In 1962 their second season, left fielder Leon Wagner hit 37 dingers. Today, his 37 home runs are still a left-field team record. In September 1962, Leon Wagner was honored with a vinyl record, the Leon Wangner Wiggle.
Category: baseball
Punxsutawney Phil Isn’t Perfect
Today February 2, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. It scared him, and he ran back into his burrow. Thus 6-more weeks of winter weather-no early spring. Then again, spring is 46 days from now. Let us do the math 6 (weeks) x 7 (days per) equals 42 days. I don’t know how all of this forecasting works.
Another prediction tied (who knew) to Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow; according to Market Watch if Phil sees his shadow and it’s bad news for stocks. I don’t know about this prediction, either.
What does all this mean? I don’t know. But let us cut Punxsutawney Phil some slack. He’s not a meteorologist or economist.
61 in 61
1961 is my favorite New York Yankees baseball season, Mantle, Maris home run chase, and Detroit Tigers battling the Yankees for first place. I followed the 1998 Sosa, McQuire home run chase ending with McGuire hitting 70, and Bonds in 2001, hitting 73, home run seasons. Now we have Aaron Judge chasing all of them.
It’s August 1, the start of “The Dog Days.” On this day in 1961, the Yankees had played 102 games, and Roger Maris was sitting on 40 home runs.
July 31, 2022, the Yankees just played game 103, and Aaron Judge hit home run number 42.
The talk is whether Aaron Judge will match or surpass Roger Maris 61 in 61.
Today’s question: Is 61 in 61 the defacto home run record?
The Bard, Broadway to Streaming Baseball Games
Daniel Craig’s ‘Macbeth’ Is a Modern, Bloody Broadway Puzzle, With Soup on the Side
In a convention-defying, sometimes puzzling “Macbeth” on Broadway starring Daniel Craig and an excellent Ruth Negga, the most powerful moments remain rooted in Shakespeare’s text.
When it comes to The Bard, my wife and I are apart. She is not a fan, and I am. To her credit, she goes with me to see Shakespeare. Knowing Macbeth, starring Daniel Graig, was coming to Broadway, I asked, “would you be interested in going?” I got a big fat NO! A Wednesday Matinee alone is looming in my future.
Moving on. I watched last night’s Yankees vs. Royals on Appel TV. The coverage was a new experience; I liked it. That aside, I would guess the streaming audience is small in my age group, 75+. My question is, is MLB chasing away the older diehard MLB fan, many of whom get their joy of baseball through cable TV?
Ozzie Sweet Photos Of The Washington Senator 1971 Spring Training Camp
Spring Training 2021 comes to an end on March 30, and the 2021 MLB season officially begins April 1, with the Yankees vs. Blue Jays at 1:05 at Yankee Stadium.
My archives are a series of Ozzie Sweet original film/pictures taken in 1971 at the Washington Senators Training camp. This year made it 50 years ago. Since 90-percent of those pictures have not been seen in public, I thought, time to share them. On March 22, I began posting pictures of Ozzie Sweets 1971, Washington Senators, photoshoot for Sport magazine on my Twitter page.
Why 1971? In February 1971, the Washington Senators spring-training camp opened, helmed by manager Ted Williams.
In camp is Curt Flood, who lost his challenge to baseball reserve clause in court. And Denny McLain, who broke baseball’s rules associating with gamblers.
Curt Flood, age 33, left the team 13 games into the season, never to play again. Denny McLain fought with Ted Williams all season, winning only 10-games, losing 22. By the age of 28, 1972 playing for two other teams, 2x Cy Young and 1x MVP, and last pitcher to win 30 games going 31-6 1n 1968, was out of baseball forever.
For more information:
Denny McLain https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2018/09/06/1968-detroit-tigers-denny-mcclain/1195283002/
Should I Stay or Should I Go
Florida Spring Training 2020 road trip:
These were the words that were rolling around in my head, leading up to our annual Florida Spring Training 2020 road trip:
“Well, come on and let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know“
We left for spring training on February 29th, with a return date of April 1st. I follow the news closely every day. The reports on the COVID-19 Virus did raise our concerns. After all, we would be living in hotels, eating in restaurants, and attending spring training baseball games.
The second night in South Carolina in the hotel elevator, I talked to a couple heading back to Canada, they express that they feared Canada would close the border due to the coronavirus. You could sense their apprehension. Back in our room, I told my wife of the encounter she became even more concerned. I checked the news, we talked and agreed to continue on.
Once in Florida on the east coast at New Smyrna Beach, a real beach town my parents had lived in. we realized they had very little knowledge or concerns about the ‘Virus.’ This same attitude would follow us to the west coast and the four spring training games we attended.
Once MLB canceled Spring Training 2020, follow the NBA, NHL, and significant sports organizations around the world, we started to hear some conversations and not always concerns over the coronavirus. It was now March, 13th, just arriving in Fort Myers, and we made the decision to cancel the rest of our trip and return home ASAP.
When we got back home, we had a lot of work to do. Luckily the painters had finished working in the bedroom, and the closet renovations were completed. All we had to do was put it all back together.
“Well, come on and let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble“
Tomorrow Atlanta Braves New Spring Training Ballpark Cool Today Park
Nationals Suspended Game Roster Moves
The WASHINGTON POST
So, how will the Nationals’ suspended game against the Yankees work?
“Nationals Manager Dave Martinez said his understanding is that the Nationals must send their lineup changes to the league ahead of time — i.e., who will play in Kendrick’s place, in Stevenson’s place, etc. — and can then proceed with the game as usual. If they want, the Nationals can then replace Kendrick with Murphy and Stevenson with Eaton, or find a place for Soto. If they do find a place for Soto, history will change. He made his major league debut on May 20, 2018. If he plays in a game that officially began on May 15 . . . well, people have dedicated lifetimes to lesser question”.
Link to full article:
Red Sox and Yankees Rivalry Heats Up
Going into tonight’s action, the AL East race for first place got just a little tighter and stranger.
Yankees bust Red Sox in high-tech cheating scandal
Pete Rose Strike-3
Yesterday’s news on Pete Rose is strike-3.
Washington Post Des Beiler August 2, 2017
‘The woman’s testimony was introduced in a Pennsylvania court as part of defense proceedings in a defamation lawsuit Rose filed last year against John Dowd, a former federal prosecutor whose report on Rose’s gambling had played a major role in the latter’s ban from baseball. In 2015, Dowd told a Pennsylvania radio station that, during Rose’s days with the Cincinnati Reds, an associate of the 17-time all-star had helped him meet girls of “ages 12 to 14,” with whom he committed “statutory rape.”
“The woman, identified in the court filing as Jane Doe, said that Rose had contacted her in 1973 when she was 14 or 15 and a resident of Cincinnati and that they had a sexual relationship for several years. Rose contends that they began having sex in 1975, when she was 16, meeting Ohio’s age of consent, and he was a 34-year-old married father of two”.
As a baseball fan and contributor, to the BBHOF I understand and know that Rose’s admission to gambling would forever keep him out of the BBHOF.
However, I have encountered in every ballpark that I’ve visited around the country fans expressing, he‘s “done his time let him in; baseball should forgive him.” “After all, he is baseballs all-time base hits leader.”
So Rose, not only broke baseballs cardinal sin, and bet on baseball he’s also reminding the voters of the ‘Character’ clause.
Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.
Yesterday’s news will forever keep the door to Cooperstown closed to Pete Rose.
BALLPARK PRINTS 