Left to Right: (1) Jerry Lewis takes the field as an Astros first baseman, planting a hug on base umpire Hank Soar; (2) Jerry congratulates home plate umpire Greg Olsen for getting it right; and (3) Lewis ignores the Tigers catcher.
Rest in Peace, Jerry Lewis. As you probably know by now, one of the great comedic talents of the 20th century left us yesterday morning, Sunday, August 20, 2017 when Jerry Lewis passed away in Las Vegas of natural causes at the age of 91. My family and I were fortunate to catch his live performance as Mr. Applegate in the Broadway road ensemble company that performed “Damn Yankees” at Jones Hall in 1995. Lewis was great as the devil incarnate deal maker that recruited aging fan Joe Hardy into becoming a major league star for his home team Washington Senators in exchange for his immortal soul. In the process, we real fans got our musical education into the fact that, whether it’s baseball or just the down in the trenches part of everyday life – “you gotta have heart, miles and miles and miles of heart!”
Where heart is concerned, Jerry Lewis had plenty of it. In fact, over time, the comic giant probably became as famous for his annual driving leadership of the Labor Day weekend telethons to raise funds for victims of muscular dystrophy.
Did you also know that Jerry Lewis has a place in the history of the Houston Astros? If not, here’s a link to the column we wrote for The Pecan Park Eagle about that lesser known moment in his life. It originally was published here on November 27, 2013:
https://bill37mccurdy.com/2013/11/27/1973-jerry-lewis-gets-a-hit-as-an-astro/
Goodbye, Jerry Lewis, and thank you. If people failed to learn anything about “heart” from following your life and career, they weren’t paying much attention.
********************
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST STANDINGS
THRU GAMES OF SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017
| RANK | AL WEST | W | L | PCT. | GB |
| 1 | ASTROS | 76 | 48 | .613 | |
| 2 | ANGELS | 64 | 60 | .516 | 12.0 |
| 3 | MARINERS | 63 | 62 | .504 | 13.5 |
| 4 | RANGERS | 61 | 62 | .496 | 14.5 |
| 5 | ATHLETICS | 54 | 70 | .435 | 22.0 |
********************
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST GAME SCORES
THRU GAMES OF SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017
ATHLETICS 3 – ASTROS 2.
WHITE SOX 3 – RANGERS 2.
RAYS 3 – MARINERS 0.
ANGELS 5 – ORIOLES 4.
********************
AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGE LEADERS
THRU GAMES OF SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BA |
| 1 | JOSE ALTUVE | HOU | 473 | 171 | 35 | 3 | 19 | .362 |
| NR * | CARLOS CORREA | HOU | 325 | 104 | 18 | 1 | 20 | .320 |
| 2 | ERIC HOSMER | KC | 470 | 148 | 23 | 1 | 20 | .315 |
| 3 | JEAN SEGURA | SEA | 395 | 124 | 23 | 1 | 7 | .314 |
| 4 | AVISAIL GARCIA | CWS | 376 | 118 | 21 | 3 | 13 | .314 |
| 5 | DIDI GREGORIUS | NYY | 392 | 121 | 20 | 0 | 18 | .309 |
| 6 | MARWIN GONZALEZ | HOU | 345 | 106 | 22 | 0 | 21 | .307 |
| 7 | JOSE RAMERIZ | CLE | 460 | 140 | 39 | 5 | 18 | .304 |
| 8 | GEORGE SPRINGER | HOU | 412 | 125 | 24 | 0 | 28 | .303 |
| 9 | DUSTIN PEDROIA | BOS | 340 | 103 | 17 | 0 | 6 | .303 |
| 10 | EDDIE ROSARIO | MIN | 393 | 119 | 27 | 2 | 17 | .303 |
| Other Top 40 Astros | ||||||||
| 17 | YULI GURRIEL | HOU | 427 | 126 | 33 | 1 | 15 | .295 |
| 21 | JOSH REDDICK | HOU | 382 | 112 | 25 | 3 | 12 | .293 |
| 32 | ALEX BREGMAN | HOU | 411 | 114 | 30 | 5 | 15 | .277 |
NR * LOST TIME ON THE DL HAS TEMPORARILY REMOVED CORREA FROM AN OFFICIAL QUALIFYING PLACE IN THE RANKING OF TOP 40 HITTERS.
*******************
Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
The Pecan Park Eagle 
August 21, 2017 at 3:57 pm |
From the August 6, 1973 edition of Sports Illustrated:
“Arriving at a dinner party later that evening, Lewis was still wearing his Houston uniform with his name and number stitched across the back ‘You’ll need a meat cleaver to get this off me,’ he said. ‘When I die, you’ll have to peel it off like marlin skin.'” RIP.