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The Ecstasy and the Agony of Baseball

September 18, 2018

“I had to hit that pinch hit grand slam against the Astros last night! – With my season stats at Seattle, I was well on the way to being out the door and back to living in a van ~ down by the river!” ~ Dan Vogelbach (not Chris Farley)

The Ecstasy of Marisnick and the Agony 0f Vogelbach

That sums up how we got to feel it in Houston last night. It was Seattle’s turn to feel the happy ending version of the same script. For our rendition here, it was a tale of a few 8th inning numbered pitches.

TOP OF THE 8TH, Hector Rondon now pitching, Astros still holding on to the 1-0 lead they’ve precariously protected from the Bottom of the 4th inning ~ to this moment. ~ Here’s what happened in a nutshell of pitches:

SEATTLE BATTING …. Hector Rondon pitching his first inning in relief for Houston:

Pitch #2: Lefty Nelson Cruz laces a single to center field.

Kristopher Negron enters as a pinch runner at 1st for Cruz.

Pitch #4: RHB Ryon Kelly is retired on a diving shoestring catch in center by Jake Marisnick!

Pitch #6: LHB Kyle Seager dumps a dying quail single to left field as Negron moves to 2nd.

LHB Robinson Canoe enters as pinch hitter for Cameron Maybin.

Pitch #8: Robinson Can is retired on a second diving shoestring catch in center by Jeff Marisnick!

Pitch #12 : On a 1-2 pitch, Denard Span takes an arguably missed strike to call to go 2-2 in the count.

Pitch #14: Span walks; Seager to 2nd; Negron to 3rd; bases loaded!

LHB Dan Vogelbach enters as a pinch hitter for Guillermo Heredia.

Pitch #17: Vogelbach hits a grooved middle-of-the-plate Grand Slam HR into the Astros RCF bullpen.

The Mariners take a 4-1 that will hold up as the final, most disappointing-in-Houston final score! The fielding heroics of Jake Marisnick are wasted and lost as a legend with a happy ending! The chance for Houston to expand its lead over 2nd place Oakland is gone for the day! And now one of the club’s deadly late game relievers has to both put this game’s outcome on short memory while he tries his hardest to remember that waist-high over the middle of the plate is no place to deliver a fastball ~ especially when the other team has the bases-loaded and he’s trying to hold on to a one-run lead late in the game.

********************

Top Ten AL Batting Averages 

Through Games of Mon., 9/17/18: 

BATTING AVERAGE

1. Betts • BOS ~ .337

2. Martinez • BOS ~ .328

3. Trout • LAA ~ .3181

4. Altuve • HOU ~ .3179

********************

AL WEST SCORES, 

Thru Mon., 9/17/18:

Seattle 4 – Houston 1.

Tampa Bay 3 – Rangers 0.

 LA Angels (did not play).

Oakland (did not play).

********************

AL WEST STANDINGS

Morning of Tue., 9/18/18

TEAMS

WON

LOST

PCT.

GB

Houston

94

56

.627

 —-

Oakland

90

60

.600

   4.0

Seattle

83

67

.553

 11.0

LA Angels

74

76

.493

 20.0

Texas

64

86

.427

 30.0

********************

SCHEDULE BALANCE FOR

HOU, OAK & SEA:

DATE

HOU

OAK

SEA

9/18

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/19

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/20

LAA

9/21

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/22

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/23

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/24

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/25

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/26

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/27

@BAL

TEX

9/28

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/29

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/30

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Baseball, culture, History, Houston | 6 Comments »

Other Buff Stadium Idiosyncrasies

September 17, 2018

Buff Stadium in Houston; Looking in from Center Field in the 1950s.

Other Buff Stadium Idiosyncrasies

Buff Stadium was the home of the Houston Buffalos/Buffs from 1928 through 1961. My discovery of the place, courtesy of my father, did not occur until 1947, when he took both 9-year old me and my 5-year old brother John to this local baseball cathedral to be absorbed into the magic of baseball, from then to eternity for me.

The other we wrote of the architectural adornments of the basilica. Today we will hit upon some of the other sensory immersions that anyone from that time and space who actually went inside would experience, whether these took hold of their souls or not:

  1. The turnstile clank. You couldn’t miss it. The sound it made as you walked through and registered your 9-year old presence clearly stated ~ “Clank! The kid made it spin! Let him in! Let him in!”
  2. The food fragrances. They mixed, but rarely were ruled by one smell over another for very long with any mobile person, presenting hot dogs, condiments, pop corn, peanuts, Cracker Jack, hamburgers, cotton candy, and beer in flows against and with each other. If all odors could be differentially colored, the air beneath the grandstands might otherwise have appeared, to one and all sighted persons, as a variously color-mixed unification of multi-directional rainbows, all held together in wind-paths of constant allure to one taste pallet or another.
  3. Not in Kansas Anymore. Walking up the ramp to the lower grand stands on the first base side was like the “Landing-in-Munchkin City” scene in the movie, “The Wizard of Oz.” By the time you reach the top of the ramp and stare out at the whole field for the first time, everything about life to this point has shifted from the gloom of everyday sepia tone to richly robust technicolor. You have never seen a greener bigger expanse of manicured grass in your life as the one that unfolds before your eyes. The infield dirt is an even toned sandy brown color and the bases and foul lines are the whitest you’ve ever beheld with your novice time eyes. Then it occurs to you also. – Even the billboards on the outfield walls are colorful, even if the apparel of these 1947 Houston fans is still a little bit on the drab, devoid of color side. You can even see the red neon-lighted outline of the Fair Maid Bakery sign that is one block away, above their two-story business site beyond the center field wall. Then the smell of freshly baking bread hits you as a reminder that it’s already been there with you – helping the sale of hot dogs and burgers.
  4. The Ballpark Organ Music. Organist Lou Mahan happily is working the crowd. She has them watching infield and outfield fungo bat practice, knocking out sounds and notes that match the speed, power, and contact points of a ball in flight. It is both her challenge and the theme. Even balls that get fungoed foul and go up and down the protective screen behind home plate get a matching ride up and down the note scales as they travel. Soon, as the game begins, we first time-at-the-park kids will be introduced to how organist Mahan is about to write and play a whole baseball opera of songs that will match up with the flow and needs of tonight’s game and, if the Buffs win, especially if they pull the game out in the 9th, we’ll get to hear her play the ever popular “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
  5. The Other Energy Sounds. You both hear and feel the sounds and energy of everyone whose there at the ballpark as players, coaches, fans, and vendors. The peanuts are as fresh and hot as the fans need them to be. If the fan’s need for a win is great enough, the peanuts are always fresh and hot. So listen up! – Just take me out to the ballgame! Take me out with the crowd! Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack! I don’t care if I never get back! So let’s root, root, root for the home team! If they don’t win its a shame! Cause it’s one! Two! THREE STRIKES YOU’RE OUT ~ at the old ballgame!

********************

Top Ten AL Batting Averages 

Through Games of Sun., 9/16/18: 

BATTING AVERAGE

1.

Betts • BOS

.337

2.

Martinez • BOS

.328

3.

Altuve • HOU

.319

4.

Trout • LAA

.318

5.

Segura • LAA

.308

6.

Brantley • CLE

.307

7.

Merrifield  * KCR

.302

8.

Smith • TBR 

.300

9.

Andujar • NYY

.298

10.

Duffy • TBR

.297

********************

AL WEST SCORES, 

Thru Sun., 9/16/18:

Houston 5 – Arizona 4.

Tampa Bay 5 – Oakland 4.

 LA Angels 4 – Seattle 3.

San Diego 7 – Texas 3.

********************

AL WEST STANDINGS

Morning of Mon., 9/17/18

TEAMS

WON

LOST

PCT.

GB

Houston

94

55

.631

 —-

Oakland

90

60

.600

   4.5

Seattle

82

67

.550

 12.0

LA Angels

74

76

.493

 20.5

Texas

64

85

.430

 30.0

********************

SCHEDULE BALANCE FOR

HOU, OAK & SEA:

DATE

HOU

OAK

LAA

9/17

SEA

@HOU

9/18

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/19

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/20

LAA

9/21

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/22

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/23

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/24

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/25

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/26

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/27

@BAL

TEX

9/28

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/29

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/30

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Baseball, culture, History, Houston | 2 Comments »

The Yount Brothers: MLB Extremes

September 16, 2018

Larry Yount: One of the few former major leaguers with less MLB field experience than Moonlight Graham.

Larry and Robin Yount were brothers whose MLB family experience with MLB is not likely to repeated again anytime soon, if ever.  This summary note we received from friend and devoted researcher Darrell Pittman the other day sums it up to a tee:

September 15, 1971: “Today in 1971, Larry Yount (Robin’s older brother) entered a game for Houston to pitch against the Braves for his MLB debut. He took the mound and injured himself throwing warmup tosses. He was taken out of the game, never having thrown an official pitch to a batter, but he’s in the official record, having been announced. He never returned to the big leagues (he pitched in the minors until 1975), while his little brother had a 20-year Hall-of-Fame career.” ~ Darrell Pittman.

For further edification of this phenomenal development, please use this link to read the excellent article by longtime baseball writer Ray Kirby on this happening:

http://astrosdaily.com/players/Yount_Larry.html

If you also want to check out the box score on Larry Yount’s one-game-entry MLB career of September 15, 1971, here’s the Baseball Almanac rather meaty version of that most primary base of all baseball records accounting:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=197109150HOU

Maybe the young sibling Younts should have listened to bystander Forrest Gump as they waited for the bus to life and the roads that would lead each brother to the big league fields of sweet destined or bitter fated possibility.

You do catch the reference, don’t you? ~ “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.”

********************

A Peek at the AL Batting Average Race 

Through Games of Sat., 9/15/18: 

BATTING AVERAGE

1.

Betts • BOS

.338

2.

Martinez • BOS

.328

3.

Altuve • HOU

.318

4.

Trout • LAA

.318

5.

Segura • LAA

.308

6.

Brantley • CLE

.307

7.

Merrifield  * KCR

.303

8.

Smith • TBR 

.303

9.

Andujar • NYY

.299

10.

Duffy • TBR

.297

********************

AL WEST SCORES, 

LAST THREE DAYS

(1) Thru Thur., 9/13/18:

Houston (did not play).

Baltimore 5 – Oakland 3.

Seattle 8 – LA Angels 2.

Texas (did not play).

********************

(2) Thru Fri., 9/14/18:

Arizona 4 – Houston 2.

Oakland 2 – Tampa Bay 1 (10).

Seattle 5 – LA Angels 2. 

Texas 4 – San Diego 0.

********************

(3) Thru Sat., 9/15/18:

Houston 10 – Arizona 4.

Tampa Bay 7 – Oakland 5.

Seattle 6 – LA Angels 5. 

Texas 6 – San Diego 3.

 

********************

AL WEST STANDINGS

Morning of Sun., 9/16/18

TEAMS

WON

LOST

PCT.

GB

Houston

93

55

.628

 —-

Oakland

90

59

.604

   3.5

Seattle

82

66

.554

 11.0

LA Angels

73

76

.490

 20.5

Texas

64

84

.432

 29.0

********************

SCHEDULE BALANCE FOR

HOU, OAK & SEA:

DATE

HOU

OAK

SEA

9/16

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/17

SEA

@HOU

9/18

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/19

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/20

LAA

9/21

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/22

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/23

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/24

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/25

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/26

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/27

@BAL

TEX

9/28

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/29

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/30

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

Tags:
Posted in Baseball, culture, History | 3 Comments »

Oh Give Us a Home Where the Buffalos Roamed

September 15, 2018

How the End of Baseball Season Once Looked
Back in the Day at Buff Stadium

If you were traveling north by auto on the Gulf Freeway post its 1948 completion, this is how a close up of Buff Stadium would appear on the right as you crossed Cullen Blvd at its intersection with I-45 South.

The Spanish architecture of the club offices, with their red tile roofs, are perched just above the main entrance and turnstiles.

And, as you’ve heard me describe them many times before, the upper perimeter of the roof, from far down each of the left and right field lines to this visible middle portion near the front grand entry, are a few of the 36″ diameter steel buffalo medallions that once graced the decorative facade of Buff Stadium from its 1928 first season to its 1961 finale. Each medallion featured a brown buffalo silhouette, surrounded by a perimeter circle of inwardly pointing orange triangles.

For this nine-year old first time fan visitor to Buff Stadium with his dad and little brother, John, in 1947, those buffalo medallions were the stuff that dreams are made of.

When they were tearing down Buff (later Busch) Stadium in the early 1960’s period of Houston’s first years as a big league club, untold numbers of the buffalo medallions fell to their destruction in the process. Somehow, and thankfully, many were salvaged and sold to individual fans and collectors who had come to witness “the sad times takedown” on a daily basis for the doable price of $4.00 each.

Wish I could have been there, but graduate school at Tulane in New Orleans made that possibility out of the question for me.

A close up look at one of the buffalo medallions described here.

Nobody knows for sure how many have survived to this day, but we do know that the Houston Astros are now in control of two medallions (see above) that have reached them as part of their fairly recent artifacts collection of items once owned and displayed by the Sammy Finger family at the Houston Sports Museum that once existed at the Finger Furniture store that once existed on the site of the former Buff Stadium. It is hoped that the Astros eventually will have a plan for displaying these important artifacts from the city’s earlier baseball history.

And thank you, Larry Hajduk, for bringing this favorite photo of the Buffalo Stadium exterior again to mind.

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Baseball, culture, History, Houston | 1 Comment »

Early Buffs TV Ad Harbors Memories

September 13, 2018

Buffalo Stadium 1953, Houston, Texas; KPRC-TV, CHANNEL 2
Had Been Covering Houston Buffs Baseball Since Their 1st Year on the Air in 1949 as KLEE-TV.

Thank you, Larry Hajduk, for sending me several photographic reminders the other day of that early precious time in my Houston Baseball Memory Book. Channel Two was the first and only TV station in Houston from 1949 forward, but they were soon joined by KGUL-TV (11) in Galveston and KTRK-TV (13) in the 1950s. Channel 11, of course, eventually moved to Houston and reorganized itself as KHOU-TV.

Unfortunately, one of those memories was quite shocking and forever sad.

Here’s a link to a brief column I wrote nine years ago on early televised Houston baseball and the time a man actually committed suicide by a self-inflicted fatal gunshot wound to the head, almost completely on camera, back on June 11, 1950. My dad and I were there that night, sitting only about twelve rows back from where this desperate act took place. We saw none of it, but we heard all of it. The sound and startle reflex we all had from the shot still rings home the whole upsetting memory for me. And yes. I used the same photo then that I’m using today. The picture of the camera man is pretty accurate to where he was situated that same night in reality, right next to the small table they set up with a mike for solo broadcaster Dick Gottlieb.

When the man standing next to the camera man shot himself in the head, the camera guy is said to have reflexively wheeled around and caught him in time for viewers at home to see some of the man’s body slumping to the ground. What a sad night it was.

Here’s the other article link: Suicide at Buff Stadium

Finally, what are the “Then and Now Bottom Line Differences Between Watching Baseball on TV at Home or at the Ballpark in 1950 and 2018?”

In 1950, watching baseball at home on TV made you want to go to the ballpark where you could much better see what’s happening. ~ In 2018, watching baseball at the ballpark makes you want to go home and watch baseball on HD, multi-camera angle perspective TV where you can much better see what’s happening.

********************

A Peek at the AL Batting Average Race 

Through Games of Wed., 9/12/18: 

BATTING AVERAGE

1.

Betts • BOS

.340

2.

Martinez • BOS

.329

3.

Altuve • HOU

.318

4.

Trout • LAA

.315

5.

Segura • LAA

.310

6.

Brantley • CLE

.307

7.

Smith  * TBR

.303

8.

Merrifield • KCR 

.302

9.

Andujar • NYY

.299

10.

Duffy • TBR

.297

********************

AL WEST SCORES, 

LAST TWO DAYS

(1) Thru Tue., 9/11/18:

Houston 5 – Detroit 4.

Oakland 3 – Baltimore 2.

San Diego 2 – Seattle 1.

LA Angels 1 – Texas 0.

********************

(2) Thru Wed., 9/12/18:

Houston 5 – Detroit 4.

Oakland 10 – Baltimore 0.

San Diego 5 – Seattle 4. 

LA Angels 8 – Texas 1.

********************

AL WEST STANDINGS

Morning of Thur., 9/13/18

TEAMS

WON

LOST

PCT.

GB

Houston

92

54

.630

 —-

Oakland

89

57

.610

   3.0

Seattle

79

66

.549

 12.5

LA Angels

73

73

.500

 19.0

Texas

62

84

.425

 30.0

********************

SCHEDULE BALANCE FOR

HOU, OAK & SEA:

DATE

HOU

0AK

SEA

9/13

@BAL

@LAA

9/14

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/15

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/16

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/17

SEA

@HOU

9/18

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/19

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/20

LAA

9/21

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/22

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/23

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/24

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/25

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/26

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/27

@BAL

TEX

9/28

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/29

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/30

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Baseball, culture, History | Leave a Comment »

Bill Gilbert Obituary and Funeral Plan

September 13, 2018

Bill Gilbert

William “Bill” C. Gilbert Obituary

William C Gilbert, age 82, passed away September 6, 2018 at his home in Austin, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Denver, Colorado in 1935 to John and Freda Gilbert. During World War ll the family relocated to California and Florida while his father served as an engineering officer in the navy. After the war, the family settled in Denver where Bill finished from South High in 1953. He then attended the University of Colorado and graduated with honors in Chemical Engineering in 1957. He served as an officer in the United States Navy in Japan from 1957-1959. After his service, he joined ExxonMobil in Baton Rouge, LA, where Bill met Evelyn Campbell of Ville Platte, LA, a graduate student at LSU, who became his wife of 57 years.

Bill retired in 1992 after a 35-year career with ExxonMobil in engineering and managerial positions in both Refining and Marketing. Most of these assignments were in Houston and Baytown, Texas, where he eventually settled to raise a family. After retirement, he worked for Tal Smith Enterprises on the baseball salary arbitration team, representing numerous MLB teams, while also writing articles on baseball for various publications. Left to honor Bill are his wife and their four children: John, Paul, Susan and Patrick and 9 grandchildren (Allie, Caleb, Evan, Grace, Zoe, Leah, Kara, Will, and Casey).

Before all else, Bill was a devoted husband and father. His lifelong passion was baseball. He was instrumental in the formation of the Society of American Baseball Researchers (SABR) chapters in Austin and Houston, where he made many lifelong friends. Bill felt a strong obligation to give back to the community in the many service and church volunteer organizations in which he was involved. He was a member of Emmaus Catholic Church in Lakeway, Texas, where he was a lector and choir member for many years. Bill also served in numerous capacities for many other organizations, including: President of the United Way of Baytown, a member of the Baytown Municipal Development Board and the Baytown Parks and Recreation Board, a Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary International, Little League Baseball as a coach and League Director for 15 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters Advisory Council, President of the Baytown Area Senior Softball Assoc., Tutor for Partners in Education and the GAP Program After School, Project Coordinator for the Executive Service Corps of Houston, YMCA Basketball coach, and Loaned Executive for the United Way of Texas Gulf Coast.

Bill will be dearly missed by all who had the good fortune to know him. To quote an old SABR baseball friend, “Bill’s passing leaves a hole in the lineup that will never be filled.”

The funeral Mass will be held at Emmaus Catholic Church in Lakeway, Texas on September 21, 2018 at 12:00 PM, followed by a reception in the church Great Hall. A Memorial Service will be held at 4:15 PM at Longhorn Village in Steiner Ranch, Austin where Bill and Evelyn reside.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association.

*********************

Memorial Mass

Friday, September 21
12:00 PM

Emmaus Catholic Church
1718 Lohmans Crossing Rd.
Lakeway, TX 78734
(512) 261-8500

********************

Link to the Bill Gilbert Obituary and Funeral Service Plan,

As It Appears Above, with Options for Your Participation

At the Funeral Planning Website:

http://wcfish.tributes.com/obituary/show/William-C.-Gilbert-106412336

********************

Farewell, William Gilbert.

We shall miss your softly spoken, affably sonorous voice,

And your ability to size up baseball perplexity into edible pieces

While there was still time for those sliced observations to matter.

We shall miss you, the baseball answer man king of timely comment.

~ Farewell in the Name of Love, Your distant close friend, Bill McCurdy.

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Posted in Baseball, culture, History | 1 Comment »

A Tale of Two Students in 1961

September 12, 2018

September 12, 1961: Rusty Staub Signs with Colt .45s.
Three Seasons before they became the Astros.

I received the following newspaper clipping from my friend Darrell Pittman yesterday afternoon. It was an article from the New Orleans Times-Picayune on the signing of Rusty Staub by the new, as of the same day, yet untested  Houston Colt .45s Crescent City phe-nom on September 12, 1961.

This one today could have been titled “An Economic Tale of Two Next-Door New Orleans University Students and Their Separate World Cash Realities” ~ simply to underscore the fact that Loyola freshman Rusty Staub was packing his things to go play baseball for the Houston Colt .45s for $75,000 as next door Tulane U. first year graduate student Bill McCurdy was headed for the library to make sure he stayed earnest on that $150 per month academic scholarship that a United Way social service agency in Houston  was paying me in return for some future time of indentured service post-graduation employment. I paid my debt, but I only got out of the work commitment early by a huge grant of $200 a month for a scholarship earned my first year from the National Institute of Mental Health for the 2nd year of my master’s degree program. It gave me the room to negotiate out of the Houston commitment so I could remain in Nw Orleans as a 24-year old member of the Tulane University Department of Psychiatry clinical services faculty at the whopping rate of $500 per month. I was making so much money that I came very close to opening my first checking account.

Here’s the Staub piece below. There isn’t an article on my stuff over the same period ~ and it’s probably just as well. We were all in our early to middle 20’s back then and Tulane University graduate school people did a ton of social research and most joyous celebrating down among the bright lights of the French Quarter jazz clubs back in that day. Turk Farrell and Jim Owens would have enjoyed our company.

At any rate, Houston General Manager Paul Richards seemed to understand that the Colt. 45s were getting their money’s worth in the signing of Rusty Staub for $75,000. It’s just too bad that the club’s latter day Prince of Bad Trades, GM Spec Richardson, didn’t see certain players with the same wisdom. The separate trade losses of Rusty Staub and Joe Morgan alone were enough to alter the future course of local baseball forever and to most seriously tilt the future of all big league baseball over the foreseeable eternity.

What a humbling thought, had he ever picked it up himself. ~ Had it not been for Spec Richardson, there might never have been a “Big Red Machine”!

Here’s how things looked in print a mere eye-blinking 57 years ago today:

New Orleans Times-Picayune, September 12, 1961:

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Baseball, History | Leave a Comment »

A 2018 Memoriam: “9.11.01”

September 11, 2018

May we never forget what allows us the freedom to fall in love, follow the passions of our talents, or simply pursue our day-to-day interests in the great game of baseball for most or all of the year. The thousands of our brothers, sisters, parents, children, relatives, friends, and strangers who died in that grotesquely violent assault upon their own rights to enjoy those same freedoms back on September 11, 2001 should never be forgotten as a result.

The day those innocent victims of 911 ever are forgotten ~ is the day that all is lost for the rest of us.

God Bless America! ~ Remember 911!

********************

A Peek at the AL Batting Average Race 

Through Games of Mon., 9/10/18: 

BATTING AVERAGE

1.

Betts • BOS

.342

2.

Martinez • BOS

.331

3.

Altuve • HOU

.317

4.

Trout • LAA

.316

5.

Segura • LAA

.310

6.

Smith • TBR

.307

7.

Brantley  * CLE

.306

8.

Merrifield • KCR 

.302

9.

Bregman • HOU

.299

10.

Andujar • NYY

.299

********************

AL WEST SCORES, 

LAST TWO DAYS

(1) Thru Sun., 9/09/18:

Boston 6 – Houston 5.

Oakland 7 – Texas 3.

Seattle 3 – NY Yankees 2.

LA Angels 1 – Chicago WS 0.

********************

(2) Thru Mon., 9/10/18:

Houston 3 – Detroit 2.

Texas 5 – LA Angels 2.

(Only Games Scheduled)

********************

AL WEST STANDINGS

Morning of Tue., 9/11/18

TEAMS

WON

LOST

PCT.

GB

Houston

90

54

.625

 —-

Oakland

87

57

.604

   3.0

Seattle

79

64

.552

 10.5

LA Angels

71

73

.493

 19.0

Texas

62

82

.431

 28.0

********************

SCHEDULE BALANCE FOR

HOU, OAK & SEA:

DATE

HOU

OAK

SEA

9/11

@DET

@BAL

SD

9/12

@DET

@BAL

SD

9/13

@BAL

@LAA

9/14

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/15

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/16

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/17

SEA

@HOU

9/18

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/19

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/20

LAA

9/21

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/22

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/23

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/24

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/25

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/26

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/27

@BAL

TEX

9/28

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/29

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/30

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

Tags:
Posted in Baseball, culture, History | 2 Comments »

Real Evil Eye Robs Astros

September 10, 2018

STOP! THE REAL EVIL EYE OF MLB SEES WHAT YOU HOUSTON ASTROS ARE TRYING TO DO!

 

It was clear as day from several angle shots on the play at the plate in the top of the seventh. Allowed to be as it should have been called in the first place, Jose Altuve scores and the Astros take a 6-5 momentum lead and continue batting. ~ But no! ~ The MLB in NYC review group concludes that Altuve was out, even though he is never touched by either the ball ~ or the catcher’s glove that holds the ball ~ prior to sliding his left hand across home plate for what the MLB faceless group decides shall be the third out in the inning.

Aha! ~ We see! ~ In spite of all our pre-game print fun with “el ojo malo” that the real “evil eye” lives within the eye sockets of the MLB game call review group ~ and they are going to flat-out trust their own perceptions over anything their “lying eyes” are trying to tell them. We’ve never seem Astros manager A.J. Hinch as upset as he seemed to be after the ten-minute review conference concluded to believe against the visually obvious.

“He did get in there,” manager AJ Hinch said. “It’s clear as day. I’m tired of these questions because replay is set up for precisely that type of play. We feel like we have clear evidence. There is a gap between the tag, his hands on the plate. Continually it gets harder and harder and harder to get a call overturned if they can just simply say it stands. It sounds like sour grapes after a loss, but it’s a tough loss for us.”

“In situations like that, where clearly he hadn’t put the tag on when his hand was on the plate, you would like an explanation,” Astros starter Dallas Kuechel added.

The male ESPN media guy that worked the game with Alex Rodriquez and the the female announcer speculated that the MLB group may have made a case for the catcher’s glove missing the tag in time, but the that the mitt possibly may have had some loose leather strings that came down and brushed Altuve’s arm before he touched the plate.

Whoa!!!!

I guess that means an out tag works something like an electrocution. If you can get the shock of an out contact from a loose glove string, as you might from an electric current, they judges may have been forced to conclude that Altuve was out as the similar-to-electricity-current result.

Pretty shocking!!!

Maybe we need to buy up some of the pictorially featured items below and start selling them to catchers and all infielders who have frequent chances at tag play outs.

 

For outs to be called on close plays, make sure that the featured glove appendage is in falling-strand contact with sliding runner’s body.

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Baseball, culture, History | 2 Comments »

Our “Boston See Party” Is on a Roll!

September 9, 2018

Our Astros Fan “Boston ‘El Ojo Malo’ See Party”
Continues in Game Three Today at Fenway!

 

We know it’s bad ~ to stare and curse

But losing to Boston ~ is far, far worse

So, Play it Again, Sam ~ the “El Ojo Malo” verse

Say it wildly with your eyes ~ that curse so terse!

 

And “Go Astros!” ~ Sweep the Red Sox in Game 3 today!

Expressed in the VooDoo Visual Powers Tongue (wink, wink.)

@ 8:00 AM, CDT, Sunday, September 9, 2018.

~ Just in case, Astros, let’s have a back up plan that includes great pitching, relentless hitting, savant level fielding, olympian grade base running, and genius club management, plus great morale-building group staring celebration of balls being blasted beyond the monster of greenery.

********************

A Peek at the AL Batting Average Race 

Through Games of Sat., 9/08/18: 

BATTING AVERAGE

1.

Betts • BOS

.341

2.

Martinez • BOS

.332

3.

Altuve • HOU

.316

4.

Trout • LAA

.314

5.

Segura • LAA

.311

6.

Brantley • CLE

.304

7.

Merrifield *KCR

.304

8.

Smith • TBR 

.302

9.

Bregman • HOU

.299

10.

Andujar • NYY

.298

********************

AL WEST SCORES,

Thru Sat., 9/08/18:

Houston 5 – Boston 3.

Oakland 8 – Texas 6.

NY Yankees 4 – Seattle 2.

LA Angels 12 – Chicago WS 3.

********************

AL WEST STANDINGS

Morning of Sun., 9/09/18

TEAMS

WON

LOST

PCT.

GB

Houston

89

53

.627

 —-

Oakland

86

57

.601

   3.5

Seattle

78

64

.549

 11.0

LA Angels

70

72

.493

 19.0

Texas

61

81

.430

 28.0

********************

SCHEDULE BALANCE FOR

HOU, OAK & SEA:

DATE

HOU

OAK

SEA

9/09

@BOS

TEX

NYY

9/10

@DET

9/11

@DET

@BAL

SD

9/12

@DET

@BAL

SD

9/13

@BAL

@LAA

9/14

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/15

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/16

@AZ

@TB

@LAA

9/17

SEA

@HOU

9/18

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/19

SEA

LAA

@HOU

9/20

LAA

9/21

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/22

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/23

LAA

MIN

@TEX

9/24

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/25

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/26

@TOR

@SEA

OAK

9/27

@BAL

TEX

9/28

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/29

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

9/30

@BAL

@LAA

TEX

 

********************

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

 

 

Tags:
Posted in Baseball, culture, History | Leave a Comment »

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