Double play

Wikipedia - "In baseball, a double play (denoted on statistics sheets by DP) for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as 'turning two'."
Wikipedia
Merriam-Webster
MLB: Yanks turn two (Video)

Cyclone Joe Williams

Wikipedia - "Joseph Williams (April 6, 1886 – February 25, 1951), nicknamed 'Cyclone Joe' or 'Smokey Joe', was an American right-handed pitcher in the Negro leagues. He is widely recognized as one of the game's greatest pitchers, even though he never played a game in the major leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999."
Wikipedia
Baseball Reference
agate type
YouTube - Smokey Joe Williams HOF

The Texas Rangers Are Not World Champions, Thanks To David Freese

"Game Six featured eleven innings, five official errors, numerous others in judgment, and what will not be Albert Pujols' final plate appearance in a Cardinals uniform—a tenth-inning intentional walk—but it was an official game and then some, one the Texas Rangers did not win. The Cardinals owe their stay of execution to David Freese, whose 9th-inning triple with two outs and two strikes forced extras, and whose 11th-inning walkoff homer ensured the first World Series game seven since 2002. Lance Berkman also fought off a two-strike, two-out 10th-inning guillotine by delivering an RBI single. That, of course, was forced by man-of-many comebacks Josh Hamilton, who gave the Rangers a 9-7 lead in the top of the 10th. We'll be talking all about this game Friday, but for now, enjoy the majesty that is David Freese."
Deadspin (Video), The New Yorker: Five Errors, Six Home Runs, NYT: Was It the Greatest World Series Game Ever?, NYT - As Game 6 Echoes, Here Comes Game 7, George Vecsey, Grantland: Can the Texas Rangers bounce back and win the World Series? History says no., Grantland: Game 6 Revisited: "How Did This Happen?"

Mike Shannon - "A Little Extra Sock"

Somewhere back in the sixties
I remember reading that
Aaron or Mays - someone of that caliber -
Fearing for the moral effect on America's youth,
Never allowed himself to be photographed
Having a post-game smoke in the clubhouse

Around the same time in the sixties
Norm Cash of the Tigers was belting homers
With a little extra sock -
Barrels filled with secret cork.


The Day Satchel Paige and the Pittsburgh Crawfords Came to Hertford, N.C.

The Top 21 Moments of a Crazy Game 5

"The top 21 moments of last night's thrilling, ugly, preposterous, hilarious, stupefying, impossible 4-2 Game 5 Rangers win, ranked in reverse order, according to a proprietary formula of leverage, entertainment value, and outcomes that couldn't possibly be true."
Grantland

Hank Aaron

Wikipedia - "Henry Louis 'Hank' Aaron (born February 5, 1934), nicknamed 'Hammer,' 'Hammerin' Hank,' and 'Bad Henry,' is a retired American baseball player whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned the years 1954 through 1976. Aaron is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, SABR: Hank Aaron, Georgia Encyclopedia, ESPN: Hank Aaron: Hammerin' back at racism, MLB - The Hammer: Hank Aaron, YouTube - Hank Aaron: The Shot, Legends & Legacies: Hank Aaron

Bronx Banter Interview: Glenn Stout

"There is at least one thing Red Sox fans can look forward to this fall and that’s the publication of Glenn Stout’s new book. But it’s not just for Sox fans, it’s a story that will appeal to seamheads everywhere. In a review for The Christian Science Monitor, Nick Lehr writes that Stout’s 'narrative could have easily become bogged down in a never-ending sequence of truncated game recaps, culminating with the World Series; however Stout’s greatest triumph is his ability to manage the pace of the 152-game season, breaking up game summaries by delving into the lives of the teams’ larger-than-life characters.'"
Bronx Banter, The Christian Science Monitor, Verb Plow, amazon

Baker Bowl

Wikipedia - "Baker Bowl is the best-known popular name of a baseball park that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its formal name, painted on its outer wall, was National League Park. It was also initially known as Philadelphia Park or Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds. It was on a small city block bounded by N. Broad St., W. Huntingdon St., N. 15th St. and W. Lehigh Avenue. The ballpark was initially built in 1887."
Wikipedia, Baseball Statistics, SABR Research Journal Archives, Andrew G. Clem, A Historical Sketch of Baker Bowl, BaseballChronlogy

Bill Davis - "Why People Watch Baseball"

One of the most beautiful events
I have ever witnessed
was the expression on Lou Pinella's face
(dogging it down the first base line
as Yaz settled under the ball in lane)
when the ball somehow hit the wall,
Yaz turned, took it on one bounce,
and from 370 feet away
threw him out at first.
Yaz homered his next time up
after a two week slump,
and the way he went around the bases
is why people watch baseball.


Local 254, 1976

Lance Richbourg

Untitled, 1978, Oil on canvas
Lance Richbourg: "I was the batboy and swept out the wooden bandbox stadium after home games. Those who care about baseball may be relieved to hear that I now enjoy watching baseball. I've come to learn about the game from doing the paintings. I would debate anyone that baseball is far superior to any other sport in terms of its beauty, intricacy, the broad range of skills required to play it, and because of its clarity and its subversion of time. As an artist, I have been satisfied with the formal possibilities of depicting the light and space of the playing field and the variety and grace of player movements amidst explosive action."
OK Harris, Poetry Foundation: "To Infuse (As Life) By Breathing" by Elaine Segal, Field Studies: Lance Richbourg's Baseball Paintings Hit Home, SEVEN DAYS: Blonde Ambition, Posterunlimited

Why Time Begins On Opening Day - Thomas Boswell

"The long-time sportswriter for the Washington Post, Thomas Boswell, wrote a timeless piece collected in a book of the same name, Why Time Begins On Opening Day, published in 1984. Boswell muses on the 'resolute grasp' that baseball maintains for so many of us" and why our 'affection for the game has held steady for decades, maybe even grown with age.' He asks what baseball is doing among our other 'first-rate passions.' And, indeed, when one looks over the posts on this blog, it could seem incongruous to have baseball up there with such serious and important issues as social justice, civil rights and capital punishment."
Fair and Unbalanced, amazon

Tim Peeler - "Spikes and Leather"

when he throws the
high hard one

it's like a razor
slicing skull

the ball and mitt
slam dancing

to dusty umpired rhythms

the batter
is not wired to his music

and cannot trust
his own instrument

the catcher cradles
a quick leather signal

squatting on new spikes
waiting for the curve

to drop like a head
into his basket.


Touching All the Bases

Get Your World Series Programs Here!

"They feature some of the nation’s most famous players, managers, owners, stadiums and even presidents. There are pictures of elephants, bears and tigers, as well as cartoons of babies and spacemen. Some graphics are Baroque, while others scream Art Deco. The World Series program has been a chronicler of the ages, a mirror not only of baseball’s biggest stage, but also of the game’s link to the world wars, the Great Depression and the optimism of the space age."
NYT, NYT: The World Series Cover Story

Ty Cobb

Wikipedia - "Tyrus Raymond 'Ty' Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed 'The Georgia Peach,' was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, SABR: Ty Cobb, Ty Cobb, Ty Cobb Museum, amazon, IMDb, YouTube - Ty Cobb's HOF Video Bio, Ty Cobb Footage, "Cobb" Movie - Tommy Lee Jones

O Holy Cow! The Poetry of Phil Rizzuto - "Poem No. 61"

Here comes Roger Maris
They're standing up.
Waiting to see if Roger
Is going to hit
Number sixty-one.
Here's the windup.
The pitch to Roger.
Way outside.
Ball one.

The fans are starting to boo.
Low...
Ball two.
That one was in the dirt.
And the boos get louder. Two balls no strikes
On Roger Maris...

Here's the windup.
Fastball
HIT DEEP TO RIGHT-
THIS COULD BE IT.
WAY BACK THERE.
HOLY COW.

HE DID IT.
SIXTY-ONE HOME RUNS.

They're fighting for the ball out there.



October 1, 1961, WPIX-TV
Boston at New York
Roger Maris batting against Tracy Stallard
Fourth inning, no score, bases empty
Final: Yankees 1, Red Sox 0

Cosmic Baseball

2001 World Series

"The 2001 World Series (also known as the 'November Series'), the 97th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, took place between the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League and the New York Yankees of the American League. The Diamondbacks won the best-of-seven series four games to three. The series went down as one of the most memorable in baseball history, featuring two extra-inning games and three late-inning comebacks. It ended on a Game 7 walk-off hit in the form of a bases loaded bloop single off the bat of Luis Gonzalez. This was the third World Series to end in this way after 1997 and 1991."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, amazon, MBB: A fant-AZ-tic finish!, 2001 world series game one intro, Randy Johnson tribute - 2001 WS Game 2 reel, Game 5, Game 7, MLB: 20 Greatest Games #9

1961 Golden Press

"The 1961 Golden Press set includes 33 cards which consist of Baseball Hall of Fame members. The card measure 2 ½” by 3 ½” and feature full color photos. The cards were distributed in a booklet and were perforated so they could be easily detached."
Vintage Card Traders

Inside the collapse

"... The story of Boston’s lost September unfolds in part as an indictment of the three prized starters. But the epic flop of 2011 had many faces: a lame-duck manager, coping with personal issues, whose team partly tuned him out; stars who failed to lead; players who turned lackluster and self-interested; a general manager responsible for fruitless roster decisions; owners who approved unrewarding free agent spending and missed some warning signs that their $161 million club was deteriorating. How a team that was on pace in late August to win 100 games and contend for its third World Series title in seven years self-destructed is a story of disunity, disloyalty, and dysfunction like few others in franchise history."
Boston Globe, Pitchers Hooked On Beer, Fried Chicken, And Video Games! Francona On Pills! The Boston Globe’s Version Of The 2011 Red Sox Collapse, ESPN - Sources: Theo Epstein, Cubs agree, ESPN - Tito victim of latest Sox smear campaign, Huffington Post: David Ortiz To Yankees? Red Sox Star Discusses Free Agency, Boston Collapse

Season Ticket: A Baseball Companion - Roger Angell

"Face it, unless you're a die-hard fan, the mere thought of going to a baseball game these days is enough to inspire dread. Getting good seats is next to impossible, waiting in long lines for expensive food isn't much fun, and the traffic jams are too painful to contemplate. Well, here's Roger Angell to remind us once again that what goes on between the foul lines is what really counts in baseball, and even a mediocre game can provide enough psychic rewards to justify a trip--however difficult--to the local playing field. Angell seemingly hasn't been to a game he hasn't enjoyed, and his positive attitude is contagious."
LA Times, amazon

Mikhail Horowitz - "Big League Poets" (cont.)

Wallace ICE CREAM STEVENS starred for the Hartford Harmoniums, where he was known as "The Catcher as the Letter C." In the late innings of close games, he was prized for his ability to come up with insurance runs.

Robert LEFTY LOWELL set many records in the Quaker Ballyard at Nantucket. Known for confessional clouts, at time he would fall prey to a regressive hitting syndrome known as Lord Weary's Battingslump; but he was nevertheless a Yankee all the way, and a throwback to the game's Old Glory.

Federico Garcia GYPSY LORCA was a great hitter whose bat was a bitter root. Starring for the old Granada Green Sox, He was a graceful fielder as well, though it was darkly rumored that his glove hid a "blood webbing."

Dylan YOUNG DOG THOMAS twirled for the Swansea Sweetsingers. It was common knowledge to the fans that, whenever he pitched, both the bases and Thomas were loaded. He did not go gentle into that good night-game.


Big League Poets

Frank Robinson

Wikipedia - "Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935), is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues. He won the Triple crown, was a member of two teams that won the World Series (the 1966 and 1970 Baltimore Orioles), and amassed the fourth-most career home runs at the time of his retirement (he is currently tied for eighth). Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, YouTube - Frank Robinson, Junkies-Underrated #4 Frank Robinson

Longest professional baseball game

Wikipedia - "The Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings, two teams from the Triple-A International League, played the longest game in professional baseball history. It lasted for 33 innings over eight hours and 25 minutes. 32 innings were played from 18 to 19 April 1981 at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island."
Wikipedia, NYT: 33 Innings, 882 Pitches and One Crazy Game, amazon: Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game, Let’s play…3?, YouTube - PAWTUCKET Rhode Island 33 INNING BASEBALL GAME

Lillian Morrison - "Of Kings and Things"

What happened to Joey on our block
Who could hit a spaldeen four sewers
And wore his invisible crown
With easy grace, leaning, body-haloed
In the street-lamp night?

He was better than Babe Ruth
Because we could actually see him hit
Every Saturday morning,
With a mop handle thinner than any baseball bat,
That small ball which flew forever.
Whack! straight out at first, then
Rising, rising unbelievably soaring in a
Tremendous heart-busting trajectory
To come down finally, blocks away,
Bouncing off a parked car's
Fender, eluding the lone outfielder.

Did he get a good job?
Is he married now, with kids?
Is he famous in another constellation?
I saw him with my own eyes in those days
The God of stickball
Disappearing down the street
Skinny and shining in the nightfall light.


Hummers, Knucklers, and Slow Curves

Pie Traynor

Wikipedia - "Harold Joseph 'Pie' Traynor (November 11, 1898 - March 16, 1972) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a third baseman with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1920–37). He batted and threw right-handed. Following the Second World War, Traynor was often cited as the greatest third baseman in major league baseball history. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1948."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, SABR, The Bardball Times: The telegram to Pie Traynor and the lost Pirates pennant of 1938

Phillies Feel the Sting of the Rich and Vanquished

"Ruben Amaro Jr., the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, walked somberly through the tunnel outside the home clubhouse late Friday, all alone. He wore a suit, but now his tie was off, and if he noticed people passing by, he looked through them. His ashen expression said it all. Amaro had witnessed a crash and burn. The St. Louis Cardinals had extinguished the Phillies, 1-0, toppling the No. 1 seed in its home park in the decisive game of its division series. The night before, the same scene had played out in New York, where the Yankees lost a one-run finale to the Detroit Tigers."
NYT: Phillies Feel the Sting of the Rich and Vanquished

October 1964 - David Halberstam

NYT: "Damned Yankees. In 'October 1964,' David Halberstam recounts the end of the New York Yankee dynasty that began in 1949 -- an era that included 14 pennants and nine world championships. After their loss in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964, the Yankees would not return to the World Series until 1976. I myself have never entered Yankee Stadium -- as a matter of class loyalty. I grew up in Brooklyn, during the 1950's, where the Dodgers were perceived as steelworkers with a history of failure, while the Yankees were seen as U.S. Steel executives with a history of dominance. Yet even this unreconstructed Dodger fan found Mr. Halberstam's narrative engaging, his anecdotes amusing, his insights into the game and its players often shrewd."
NYT, amazon, Brothers Judd, LA Times, Culture Cartel

Disco Demolition Night

Wikipedia - "Disco Demolition Night was a promotional event that took place on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, during which a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field. It was held during the twi-night doubleheader baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. During the climax of the event, rowdy fans surged onto the field, and a near riot ensued. It would ultimately prove to be one of the most notable promotional ideas and one of the most infamous since 'Ten Cent Beer Night' in Cleveland in 1974."
Wikipedia, YouTube - ESPN story about Disco Demolition - July 12, 1979

Charles Barasch - "I Was Glad My Grandma Was There"

I was glad my Grandma was there
at Yankee Stadium
when the peanut vendor with no voice
came by. The other vendors shouted, BEAH HEAH!
and SCORECARD YANKEE SCORECARD
but he could only whisper "Peanuts."
I felt frightened and sad.
After the game, in the subway,
I held my Grandma's dress
while the train shook and screeched,
and looking out the window
into the dark tunnel
I saw only my own reflection.
That night in bed I curled.
I heard a crowd roar.
I felt myself becoming smaller and smaller
and was afraid I might disappear.


Baseball I Gave You All The Best Years Of My Life

Lyman Bostock

Wikipedia - "Lyman Wesley Bostock, Jr. (November 22, 1950–September 23, 1978) was an American professional baseball player. He played Major League Baseball for four seasons, as an outfielder for the Minnesota Twins (1975–77) and California Angels (1978). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Bostock's career was cut short when he was shot and killed in his hometown of Gary, Indiana."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, ESPN: Fifth and Jackson, SABR: Lyman Bostock, YouTube - Lyman Bostock Story Part 1, part 2

League Park: The History of a Neighborhood Ballpark

Wikipedia - "League Park was a baseball park located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was situated at the northeast corner of Lexington Avenue and E. 66th Street in the Hough neighborhood. It was home to the National League Cleveland Spiders, the American League Cleveland Indians, and the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League. Most of the structure was demolished in 1951, although some remnants still remain."
W - League Park, YouTube - League Park: The History of a Neighborhood Ballpark, The League Park Society, Ballparks of Baseball, Andrew Clem, Cleveland Memory, YouTube - Cleveland Buckeyes

Mike Shannon - "Ty Cobb's Contributions"

Flailing fists,
A violent temper,
And a hatred of the opposition;
You gave what you had to give.

And who am I to criticize you;
I, who never played a game
In your razor-sharp spikes
Nor felt a rush at making
A gash in a baseman's leg?



The Day Satchel Paige and the Pittsburgh Crawfords Came to Hertford, N.C.

Shea Stadium

Wikipedia - "...Shea Stadium was the home of the New York Mets since its inception in 1964, and hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game that same year, with Johnny Callison of the Philadelphia Phillies hitting a home run in the ninth inning to win the only Mid-Summer Classic held in the Queens ballpark. A month earlier on Father's Day, Callison's teammate, future Hall of Fame member and United States Senator Jim Bunning, pitched a perfect game against the Mets."
Wikipedia, History of Shea Stadium, Ballparks, Andrew G. Clem, Ballparks of Baseball, The Baseball Page, YouTube - History of Shea Stadium

Virgil Trucks

Wikipedia - "Virgil Oliver Trucks (born April 26, 1917) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1941 through 1958, Trucks played for the Detroit Tigers (1941–1943, 1945–1952, 1956), St. Louis Browns (1953), Chicago White Sox (1953–1955), Kansas City Athletics (1958) and New York Yankees (1958). He batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, Virgil Trucks Interview, The Bardball Times - Blast From The Past: Virgil Trucks, Books on Baseball: No-Hitter Flashback: Virgil Trucks

1929 World Series

(From L to R): Bing Miller, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Mickey Cochrane
Wikipedia - "In the 1929 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs in five games. The famous 'Mack Attack' occurred in 1929, named for manager of the Athletics, Connie Mack, in which the Athletics overcame an eight-run deficit by scoring ten runs in the seventh inning of Game 4. The inning featured an infamous Cubs moment when center fielder Hack Wilson lost Mule Haas' fly ball in the sun resulting in a bases-clearing, inside-the-park home run, although the A's still trailed 8–7 at that point."
Wikipedia, The Pop History Dig: Baseball, 1929, Baseball Almanac: Connie Mack's '29 Triumph, SI: Lost In History, American League 1929, viddler: Athletics Win 1929 World Series Favorite (Video), YouTube - 1929 World Series Philadelphia A's vs. Chicago Cubs

Sarah Freligh - "Yankees"

They leave early, still dark. Tomas drives, sipping whiskey from the fifth he's tucked between his thighs. Al props mitt against the window to pillow his head, dreams catching a fly ball hit by Maris, or better yet Mantle, dreams of leaning over the railing after the game, one of a flock of boys waving slips of paper, tickets, programs, chirping Mick, hey, Mick over here, and only Al will have a game ball, gleaming moonbig in his glove ...Albany, his dad says, snapping silence of the miles behind them. the sun comes up, a peacock of light flashing tail feathers. Al buries his face in his mitt, breathes its shoe-polish smell, hears his mother laughing at his father's fresh-combed hair. Greasy, she says. Don't you know a little dab'll do ya?


Sort of Gone