Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Old Buff Freebie Ducats Part of Larger Plan

July 14, 2017

In 1960, these cards were redeemable at Buff Stadium for a free reserved seat at future Houston Buffs game in which comp seats were available. They were even signed by club president Marty Marion to make them look more authentic to the fan who used them.

 

KTHT, 790 kc, whose call letters are now associated with an FM music station, was the primary identity for Houston’s AM 790 main host of Buffs baseball broadcasts from 1950 through 1961, the final year of minor league baseball in Houston. Judge Roy Hofheinz was the KTHT station owner during most, if not all of that period, with Loel Passe handling the play-by-play, mostly solo, until Gene Elston joined him in 1961 in preparation for their continuing team effort in 1962, Houston’s first year in the big leagues as a National League expansion club.

KRCT, 650 kc, was a small 250 watt station in Goose Creek near Baytown that soon moved to Pasadena and found itself renamed KIKK as country and western music station in 1961. A lot of stuff hit the fan before that change occurred. If you really want more, this link will take you to a site on earlier Houston radio that you may find helpful:

http://houstonradiohistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/60-years-on-650.html

What was the purpose of these tickets?

Marty Marion was strong on marketing. We are only assuming here, but given the fact that these ticket redemption ducats were issued in 1960, that they were part of Marty Marion’s plan to boost the gate at Buff Stadium in ledger-line support of his group’s bid for the new NL expansion club franchise later that fall.

On October 17, 1960, Marion’s ownership group, in fact, lost out to Judge Roy Hofheinz and the Houston Sports Authority for that expansion club award. Once that domed baseball stadium commitment hit the bidding fire before the NL people, Marion’s group had no snowball’s chance at all of getting the nod. Besides, Judge Hofheinz was the one throwing around the creature-comfort snowballs of a new world of tomorrow. As a result of his loss, many say that Marion tried to stick it to Hofheinz on how much the HSA would have to pay as compensation to Marion and company for the loss of the Marion group’s AAA minor league territorial rights to Houston.

Hofheinz saw Marion’s AAA rights price demands as highway robbery.

All that rancorously forced payment did was stiffen Hofheinz’s resolve to abandon HSA’s original cheaper plan to keep Houston’s first MLB years of play in Buff Stadium until the new domed stadium was ready – and to build the temporary Colt Stadium on the property where the Dome was going up. Hofheinz found the extra expense of a new temporary stadium justifiable. – It would give the fans a chance to build their hunger for air-conditioned baseball as the new NL team played their first years amidst the heat, humidity, and mosquitos of “Colt Stadium.”

The fans would get to watch as they sweated and scratched.

The bad blood that resulted between Marion and Hofheinz destroyed any last hope of some Houston fans that the club would simply play their way into the big leagues, but retain their historical identity as the Houston Buffaloes. Personally, I doubt that would have happened with Hofheinz, anyway. The Judge liked to put his personal brand on things. I do think that Marty Marion would have left the club’s “Buffs” identity intact for the 1962 big league club debut, had his group gotten the franchise award.

There was just no way for the Buffs to survive as our local baseball identity. Even as early as the October 17, 1960 franchise award date, Judge Hofheinz was busy getting ready to build Houston the only unique baseball venue in the world. Ever.

Indeed. In time. In 1965. The Astrodome would open as a new Houston baseball home – where no buffalo ever roamed.

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

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

 

mmmmmmmmmm

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Surviving St. Louis Browns Down to 14

July 13, 2017

Bill McCurdy and Ned Garver
1996 St. Louis Browns Banquet
St. Louis, MO

The recent deaths of former St. Louis Browns pitcher Ned Garver and outfielder Roy Sievers brought the question home: How many of the former Browns are still alive to this date in 2017? As a younger fan, I used to know the answer like the back of my hand, but not so much in recent times. The Browns haven’t existed since their last game of the 1953 season. As you probably know, they left St. Louis after 1953, moving east to become the Baltimore Orioles in 1954.

Ned Garver was the amazing right-handed pitcher who won 20 games for the last place 102 season-team-loss last place 1951 Browns. That’s right. He was the same guy who was refused a raise in 1952 by club owner Bill Veeck with the simple explanation that “we can’t give you more money. Look at us. We could have finished 1951 in last place without you!”

Roy Sievers was 1909 AL Rookie of the Year, who later went on to have his best home run production years as a member of the Washington Senators. As a St. Louisan, however, he remained a loyal Brown alumnus into retirement and he would become one of the pillars of the community that started the St. Louis Browns Historical Society and Fan Club, an organization that continues to this day under the able care of Executive Director Bill Rogers and the club’s amazing “Pop Flies” periodical and few local annual gatherings.

As a member of the clubs, I remember when we could have annual banquets and player-fan gatherings in St. Louis annually, but that future has dwindled away with the availability of survivors of every kind.

Thanks to a quick turnaround to my request for an update from Bill Rogers, here’s the tab on the 14 surviving former Browns:

Surviving St. Louis Browns

By Birthdates & Ages in 2017 *

01) Chuck Stevens 07/10/18 – 99
02) Tom Jordan 09/05/19 – 98
03) George Elder 03/10/21 – 96

04) Johnny Hetki 05/12/22 – 95
05) Jim Rivera 07/22/22 – 95

06) Tom Wright 09/22/23 – 94
07) Billy DeMars 08/26/25 – 92
08) Frank Saucier 05/28/26 – 91

09) Johnny Groth 07/23/26 – 91
10) Ed Mickelson 09/09/26 – 91
11) Al Naples 08/29/27 – 90

12 Billy Hunter 06/04/28 – 89
13) Don Larsen 08/07/29 – 88
14) J.W. Porter 01/17/33 – 84

* Ages each will be on this year’s birthday.

Notes:

With 11 of their 14 survivors now already in their 90’s, maybe it really was true what some coaches used to yell at us kids: “Go out there and give it your best! Losing won’t kill you!”

Don Larsen is the most famous survivor, best remembered for his perfect game victory for the New York Yankees in the 1956 World Series. Larsen is also a surviving member of the last 1964 Houston Colt .45s club of 1964 and also a survivor of the first Astros club to play in the Astrodome in 1965.

Errata: As my friend and colleague, Tom White, has pointed out to me, I mistook Chuck Stevens for former Dodger/Pirate Ed Stevens when I wrote that Chuck once addressed our Larry Dierker SABR Chapter. I do know better. (Most of the time). – Yes. We heard from Ed Stevens. Not Chuck Stevens. – Thanks, Tom. At least it was an error that serves itself appropriately on a column about an aging group of ballplayers.

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

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Two Young Fans of the 1897 Houston Buffs

July 13, 2017

Two Young Houston Buff Fans
As Pictured in the Houston Daily Post
On June 20, 1897
And Research Mined by Darrell Pittman
Thank You, As Always!

 

The Short Story
As Described in the Houston Daily Post
On June 20, 1897

 

The Short Story (As Re-Typed by Darrell Pittman for Easier Reading)

Recently two little boys appeared at League park during a game, each of whom was attired in a full uniform of the Houston team. No one in the audience could recognize them. When asked their names they would reply: “Reed and Cote.” They occupied seats on the bench as Mascots. The father of one of the young fellows had them photographed and one of the pictures was presented to the sporting editor of The Post, and it appears above, the boys’ names being shown under each of them.

~ Houston Daily Post, June 20, 1897

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

Bill McCurdy
Age 10
Summer of 1948

John McCurdy
Age 6
Summer of 1948

Fifty-One Years Later, in 1948, Houston kids were still decking out in Buff facsimile uniforms that their parents helped them acquire in the years prior to Little League coming to town. Here we are, my little brother John and me, at ages 10 and 6, standing in the front yard of our Pecan Park home, wearing Houston Buff uniforms that our mom made for us. They had those “iron-on” letters available to uniform creators in those days and Mom just used them to spell out “HOUSTON BUFFS” in two lines across the chest of the jerseys. I tried to tell her that she wasn’t following the Buffs plan for putting their jerseys together, but she just told me to shut up and be grateful I was getting anything at all.

I did. I just wish I’d had possessed the gumption back in the day to save items like this for my later-in-life appreciation. If they were thrown out, and they were, it wasn’t Mom who did it. It was Dad who did it. But that was a useful trait too. Dad believed in throwing anything out that was no longer useful to everyday life in the household. I’ve always felt that Dad’s attitude in that regard was helpful to both my younger brother John and me both knowing when it was time to go.

That’s Japonica Street behind each of our pictures. And that’s “Eagle Field” – our Pecan Park field of dreams, across the street beyond my left shoulder.

Fly again, Eagles! ~ Roam Again, Buffs!

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

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Chronicle’s Brian Smith is an Honest Man

July 12, 2017

Aside from the fact that probably thousands of Astros fans swore back in 2013 that they would never again see a Houston game because of the Bud Selig shift of the franchise to the American League, the 2017 Astros and their juggernaut-level winning style seems to have softened a few hearts. If the Astros’ current plus 30,000 attendance average is any measurement, it appears that either a lot of broken local hearts have either mended in four years – or that there’s an endless stream of new followers who will gladly pay to watch a club that possesses the ability to bludgeon a foe by 19-1 at any time and place.

Houston Chronicle writer Brian Smith, whom I’ve come to enjoy more and more over time, is that he dances through the case for Astros fans forgiving Bud Selig as though he were Demosthenes himself.

Smith doesn’t bully pulpit that we should forgive Selig for moving the Astros to the American League. He simply uses his own words to suggest that many fans may now have done so, based upon what has happened.

Here’s an example of Smith’s honesty in his search for the larger truth:

Had it not been for the AL move and the concurrent rise of Jeff Luhnow as our Astros GM, we would not have had the rebuilding opportunity to pick some of the young talent that is now propelling the club into the “best club in baseball” discussion that goes with our 60-29 mark at the All Star Game break. Or, as Smith puts it, the league shift now leaves the Astros as one of the five best teams in baseball, but the only one now located in the more somnolent AL.

Smith even writes in language that would have been read as heresy in 2013, but maybe not so much in 2017 – due to the monster offensive club the Astros now possess. Smith says “…. this (2017 Astros) team isn’t as dangerous if (pitcher) Brad Peacock is hitting instead of Carlos Beltran or Evan Gattis.”

Better watch out, Brian! It almost sounds like you don’t mind the presence of the DH in the current Astros lineup! Are you implying that you would rather see Marwin Gonzalez come to bat as a DH in the 6th inning of a tie game with the lead run on 3rd base and two outs – when you could be watching reliever Chris Devenski take his cuts at helping his own cause at the plate?

Here’s the link to Brian Smith’s column. Read it over and let us know what you think. Is Houston really ready to thank Bud Selig for all he did to put us in this winning position?

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/columnists/smith/article/Switching-leagues-actually-a-good-thing-for-Astros-11281919.php

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

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

1934: Hubbell Fans 5 Future Hall of Famers

July 12, 2017

It happened in the 1934 All Star Game.

 

Here’s a brief synopsis of one of baseball history’s most legendary moments. Enjoy. We never know if or when something this big is ever going to happen again. And sometimes, as is the case here, we had to wait a number of years to fully appreciate the greatness of Carl Hubbell’s accomplishment on this particular day. We would be reminded six times. Once for the time that Carl Hubbell entered the house of the baseball gods at Cooperstown, and five other times for each of the other future Hall of Famers who joined him in this milestone day as failed resistant participants at the second All Star Game in 1934.

I have to add this personal note. When Carl Hubbell died at age 85 in 1988 in a Greater Phoenix area traffic accident, I was really taken back by the very thought of it. – Is that any way for one of the greats of our game to go out? Yeah,  I know. Our baseball “gods” are really as mortal as the rest of us. I only wished it could have been a gentler launch for old Carl. He deserved something better than a t-bone hit propulsion into eternity.

That’s. OK. We love him anyway. And his memory always will be connected more to dates in the 1930s than it ever will be to anything that happened in 1988.

Here’s the story account:

Top of the 1st, AL Batting, Carl Hubbell Pitching for the NL. No Score, Game Starting

# 1) Charlie Gehringer of Detroit opens the game with a single to center; he advances to 2nd base on the same play when an E-8 mishandling of the ball by center fielder Wally Berger of the Reds makes it possible.

# 2) Heinie Manush of the Senators then coaxes a walk to place runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs – and things not looking good for Hubbell of the Giants and the NL.

# 3) Lightning strikes the 1st time. Hubbell screwballs Babe Ruth into a strikeout for his first K of the day.

# 4) Gehringer and Manush pull off a double steal to 3rd and 2nd during Lou Gehrig’s time at bat, but Hubbell then derails “The Iron Horse” with his second consecutive K of a future HOF god.

# 5) Hubbell retires the side with no harm done by striking out Jimmie Foxx of the Athletics for his 3rd straight K-kill of a baseball immortal. (Wait a minute! How do you kill an immortal?)

Inning Tab: 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB. Score: AL All-Stars 0, NL All-Stars 0.

 

Bottom of the 1st, NL Batting, Lefty Gomez Pitching for the AL, Score 0-0

# 1) Gomez of the Yankees gives up a HR to deep RF by Frankie Frisch of the Cardinals; NL Leads, 1-0.

# 2) Pie Traynor of the Pirates grounds out 4-3 for the first out.

# 3) Gomez fans Joe Medwick of the Cardinals for out # 2.

# 4) Kiki Cuyler of the Cubs grounds out 6-3 to retire the side.

Inning Tab: 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Score: AL All-Stars 0, NL All-Stars 1.

 

Top of the 2nd, AL Batting, Carl Hubbell Pitching for the NL, NL All Stars Leading, 1-0.

# 1) Hubbell strikes out Al Simmons of the A’s; his 4th straight K of a future Hall of Famer in this game.

# 2) Hubbell fans Joe Cronin of Washington for his 5th and final Hall of Famer in a row – and out 2 in the inning.

# 3) Bill Dickey singles, saying “no thanks” to the idea of becoming the 6th future Hall of Famer to fall before the Hubbell screwball on this day in baseball history.

# 4) Hubbell strikes out mound rival Lefty Gomez to retire the side. Gomez technically is the 6th future Hall of Famer in total to be fanned by Hubbell today, but Lefty didn’t get there as a hitter, so it hardly counts and, besides, it wasn’t connected with the first five, anyway.

Inning Tab: 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Score: AL All-Stars 0, NL All-Stars 1.

 

Hubbell Summary

Carl Hubbell would leave the game for a pinch hitter to start the bottom of the 3rd with a 1-0 lead and no real damage to him on the day. He gave no runs and 2 hits in 3 innings, striking out 6 and walking 2. The NL would a 3-spot to their 1-0 lead in Hubbell’s inning of departure, but it would not hold up over time. The AL would go on to win the game by 9-7, but the final score would not be what history remembered about this day. Even though he wasn’t involved in the final decision, Carl Hubbell would be remembered as the pitcher who once struck out Babe Ruth and four other future great Hall of Fame hitters in a row in the 1934 second game contest in All Star Game history.

Here’s a link to an enjoyable page of facts and stats about the memorable Hubbell game:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/allstar/1934-allstar-game.shtml

 

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

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

A Mid-Season Numbers Tale of Jose Altuve

July 11, 2017

“Swing hard.
Drop a bunt.
Run as fast as you can.
You won’t catch me.
I’m the Venezuela Man.”

 

The Top Ten MLB Hitters for Batting Average, July 1o, 2017

RK PLAYER TEAM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
1 Jose Altuve HOU 334 62 116 25 2 13 50 18 4 37 46 .347 .417 .551 .968
2 Daniel Murphy WSH 325 57 111 29 2 14 64 1 0 27 33 .342 .393 .572 .966
3 Jose Ramirez CLE 328 62 109 27 5 17 48 10 4 30 42 .332 .388 .601 .988
4 Ryan Zimmerman WSH 297 52 98 22 0 19 63 1 0 22 62 .330 .373 .596 .969
5 Aaron Judge NYY 301 75 99 13 3 30 66 6 2 61 109 .329 .448 .691 1.139
6 Carlos Correa HOU 317 62 103 18 1 20 65 0 0 41 68 .325 .402 .577 .979
7 Bryce Harper WSH 305 69 99 21 0 20 65 2 2 57 69 .325 .431 .590 1.021
8 Buster Posey SF 275 36 89 18 0 10 35 1 0 33 33 .324 .406 .498 .904
9 Ben Gamel SEA 254 42 82 16 2 4 29 2 0 24 68 .323 .379 .449 .828
10 Charlie Blackmon COL 367 72 117 17 10 20 61 8 6 29 81 .319 .372 .583 .955

The Top Six Astros for Batting Average at the ASG Break

(All Stars in Bold Type)

PLAYER BA HR RBI OBP
Jose Altuve .347 13 50 .417
Carlos Correa .325 20 65 .402
Josh Reddick .313 09 41 .365
G. Springer .310 27 61 .380
M. Gonzalez .308 16 53 .391
Yulie Gurriel .297 11 44 .321

Enjoy tonight’s 2017 All Star Game from Miami this Tuesday, July 11th. This great season will resume regular season play on Friday, July 14th, with our Houston Astros entertaining the Minnesota twins for the first of a three game weekend series at Minute Maid Park.

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

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

And May the Best Be Yet to Come

July 10, 2017

July 9, 2017: The Houston Astros put on another of their game-ready demonstrations of “The Big Bang Theory” today, demolishing the Toronto Blue Jays in their own home garden by a score of 19-1. The victory pulled the Astros to an MLB-leading win total of 60 games at the All Star Game Break.

 

Unbelievable!!!

Unbelievable to those of us who’ve lived in the long shadow of Houston sporting teams, not merely the Astros, taking our fan hearts and then dropping them off the invisible barrier cliffs that have almost forever separated us from meaningful championships on the various fields of athletic endeavor. Hats off to the Houston Rockets for winning back-to-back NBA crowns during the 1994 and 1995 seasons that Michael Jordan went on sabbatical from the round ball game to demonstrate that hitting a basket with a bottomless net underneath was a heck of a lot easier than hitting even a lower minor league curve ball, but there was no big sense of fulfillment here for a lot of us Houston fans over those early AFL crowns of the rag-tag Oilers – or from those thrilling football conference victories in the Missouri Valley Conference by UH, or any of those Grandpa Gordy Howe lesser light hockey league crowns in the early years of the old Summit.

Bringing the point home more personally now – as a baseball fan, beyond all else – we’ve never won a World Series in Houston up until now – (didn’t even win a game in that 2005 shot against the White Sox) – and now it seems we’ve even go a chance to get there again – in spite of the heart-daggers to our baseball souls we had to fight off from the disappointments of 1980 and 1986.

This juggernaut offense of the 2017 Houston Astros renews the fire of hope in that possibility, even if we do stay on guard to the contrast that was so clearly demonstrated in the Toronto series. If the Astros continue to play like the team that won Games 2 and 4 this long weekend – and not like the club that coughed up Games 1 and 3 – and, if they are able to keep that going through the playoffs, a Mack Truck won’t stop us this time.

Check out this current quick view of the 2017 Houston Astros offense:

2017 Houston Astros Offense Through Games of 7/09/2017

PLAYER BA HR RBI OBP
Jose Altuve .347 13 50 .417
Carlos Correa .325 20 65 .402
Josh Reddick .313 09 41 .365
Geo. Springer .310 27 61 .380
Mar. Gonzalez .308 16 53 .391
Yulie Gurriel .297 11 44 .321
Evan Gattis .284 08 39 .343
Nori Aoki .264 01 12 .316
Alex Bregman .256 08 27 .338
Brian McCann .255 10 43 .333
Jake Marisnick .248 10 24 .320
Carlos Beltran .227 11 35 .284

When have the Astros ever gone into the mid-season break with 5 legitimate .300 hitters and another knocking at the door? Answer: Never.

When before have the Astros ever posted a strong plus 7 runs road game scoring average going to break? Answer: Never. The Astros are now in territory only occupied previously by some of the great Yankee teams of the 1930s.

When have the Astros ever had 6 players, including 3 starters, named to the All Star team? Answer: Again never.

When have the Astros ever had 8 players in double-digit figures for home runs at the break? Same answer as redundantly answered above.

When was the last time the Astros led all MLB clubs with 60 wins at mid-season – or even had that many wins by the All Star game? Answer: You know the answer by now. We’ve called its name here incessantly tonight.

When Astros relief pitcher Francis Martes gave up what would have been a 19-0 franchise margin of victory shutout win today by surrendering a home run in the 9th with two outs,  I was, of course, offended by its blight upon our perfectly level joy with the job of Blue Jay demolition, but even more so by its reminder of our pitching vulnerability. Pitching mistakes at critical moments, especially with pitcher Mike Spiers on Saturday, aided by sloppy play in the field got us beat in Games 1 and 3 in Toronto. We need better pitching and heads up fielding to go from here and our easy to say “best team in baseball proclamation to – performing well all the rest of the way forward for the sake of becoming World Series Champions of 2017.

The long season is far from over, but let’s catch our collective breath for now and simply enjoy all of the All Star Game activities on our digital plate over the next couple of days.

____________________

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

 

Tags:,
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Babe Ruth’s Busy Life

July 8, 2017

Time Never Runs Out on The Babe.

 

How Busy Was The Babe?

First, let’s remember – Babe Ruth was a superstar player with a grinder life schedule most of the year. No player today would be asked to do what he was expected to do back in the mid-1920s. Each season he played a ton of games in spring training that were every bit about gate as they were season skill-honing. Nobody honed the Babe. Yankee manager Miller Huggins just put him in the #3 hole and then sat back like everyone else and watched him blast golden eggs, whether he got to the park on time – or just came in from an all night romp in time to blast a homer in his first eye-rubbing trip to the plate. Give the Yankees a four-hour delay on their pre-season trip home from spring training and they would quickly find a game to play against a jaw-dropping over-matched put-together team of local amateurs before a paying crowd.

Once the 154-game American League season schedule began back in the Babe Ruth 1920s Era, the Yankees would continue to schedule off-days paying gate games against nearby minor league and amateur club, using their front line players, when possible, or Babe Ruth and bench players, if necessary. Either way, there would be a game, every time.

No Ruth. No game. No payday. That simple.

These sidebar risks to injury – or real AL game performance decline due to fatigue – just were not figured into the decision to play all these extra-buck contests. The Yankees were merely like chickens in the yard, pecking up every loose piece of corn they could see.

And That’s Not All

Once the season ended, and that was often with the World Series for the Yankees, Babe Ruth and others were off to play the barnstorming circuit across America on their own. For the balance of post-season October and most of the part of November that leads up to Thanksgiving, clubs like the “Bustin’ Babe” and “Larrupin’ Lou” (for Gehrig) All Stars would each other or others another thirty or forty games in whole or in part – as members of a local club – just so people could watch their daddies play ball with or against – Babe Ruth – or his lesser light major league buddies. Unlike organized white baseball, Babe Ruth and company welcomed the opportunity to cross the color line and play games with some of the ancient greats of the Negro League too. And that’s where the Babe and his white buds got to learn full bore that some excellent great players were being denied their opportunity to play the game on its self-proclaimed “biggest stage.”

Aside from the really racist white players who did not play in games with Negro League barnstormers, there had to be at least as many marginally talented white guys who did play inter-racial games – who saw the color line as the only thing out there protecting their shelf life in the big leagues.

Babe Ruth had nothing to fear from integration. He launched iconic distance homers against some of the best Negro League pitchers. And he struck out in gusto too. He was the Babe. He could play the game like no one else, but like everyone else in the thirty years prior to Jackie Robinson he did all these things, even the greatness of Babe Ruth wasn’t big enough to push aside the deep level of blind ignorance and bigotry that protected racism in the 1920s like the Grand Canyon from the better America that awaited us on the other side of racial change.

I Had A Dream!

“I had a dream …. now fulfilled by men named Robinson, DiMaggio, Doby, Williams, Paige, Musial, Irvin, Mantle, Mays, Kaline, Aaron, Aparicio, Clemente, and so many others …. that one day …. the greatest baseball players of all time shall meet on the same field with each other …. and not have the sides they played for determined by the color of their skins …. whether that color happened to be black …. white …. brown …. or whatever! …. And may the team of best color-blind strength and ability emerge victorious as the ultimate triumph of justice in human effort! …. I had a dream!”

~ MLK didn’t actually include this stanza, but he could have.

The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs

“The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs” is the playful title of Bill Jenkinson’s wonderful 2007 book. It chronicles the official activity level of Babe Ruth in 399 pages, 412 pages, if you include it’s jewel of an index for further research. The author could just as well have called it any year he picked during Ruth’s 1920-1934 Yankees career, maybe cutting a little fat off the earliest and latest years in that fabled run. Even the Babe had to wind up for starters and wear down as eventuals.

And the activity only side-brushes the amount of time and energy that Ruth spent dealing with the public on these side jaunts – signing baseballs, taking pictures, shaking hands, visiting sick kids, and even make short speeches. And this doesn’t explain either how Babe found time to work in his compulsive pursuits of debauchery that flew into high gear priority for the Babe during his early and mid-career years. Chalk those up to the magnetic pull that “wine, women, and song” had upon Babe Ruth during his salad days. Nothing ever opens a closed and rusty locked gate that stands between supply and demand faster than the driving forces of addiction – and Ruth had his full load bag of things he compulsively required in his pursuit of happiness to the point of addiction on a close to daily basis.

All that. And 714 career home runs. The public loved him in 1927. And we still love him in 2017.

And September 30, 2017 is the 90th anniversary date of Babe Ruth’s 60th one-season home run record. The record lasted until 1961, when Roger Maris broke the mark by hitting 61*

* The record fell in the first season of the new 162 game season and was hit by Roger Maris on October 1, 1961, in the last game of the new longer season.

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

Check out a copy of Jenkinson’s book too. You probably will find a used copy for sale on Amazon or E-Bay.

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

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

 

 

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Correa Blames Osuna for Showing Him Up

July 7, 2017

Carlos Correa
Houston Astros

According to Chris Henderson of the Jays Journal, Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros was simply showing his immaturity when he reacted to Toronto Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna’s behavior on the final out pitch of Thursday night’s, 7-4, Canada Dry win. On an easy 3-2 count tapper back to the mound, as we saw it on ROOTS TV from home in Houston, it appeared to us that Osuna played the ball as though it were the saunterings of someone getting ready to make a casual walk to the refrigerator during a commercial break from his favorite TV show.

Osuna first easily gloved the slow bouncing Correa tap back to the mound. Then, as Correa tore off down the base paths in vain hope of escaping his fate as the last nail into the Astros coffin of defeat, Osuna took about six casual steps toward first base before deliberately removing the ball from his glove and arching a quiet overhand lob to the base in ample time for the out on his frenzy-running foe, Correa.

As Osuna takes the time, so does the home crowd roar of approval ascend to a crescendo level of approval. And of course, they do. This is Toronto, home of the floundering Blue Jays, and the fans have just witnessed their rare-do-well boys steal a sloppy win over the best team in baseball. Who wouldn’t scream for joy to have their favorite team win under these circumstances, even if the Toronto victory was little more than proof that even the greatest baseball club in the game cannot win them all?

Check out this link for a video review of the play and a few thoughts from Blue Jays writer Chris Henderson:

https://jaysjournal.com/2017/07/07/blue-jays-osuna-called-astros-correa/

Chris Henderson of the Jays Journal thinks that Carlos Correa “needs to grow up a little here”. Henderson invites us too, as do we, that you check out the play yourself and decided what you think of it:

“If you didn’t see the way the game ended, give it a gander below and judge for yourself if Osuna did anything offensive. I’d venture a guess that 99.9% of us wouldn’t think twice about the play without any prompting. Evidently, Correa is in that 0.1% category.” – Chris Henderson.

Our Eagle Thoughts

Keep in mind too, especially if you’ve never played the game at an organized league level, that show-ups happen – and, even if we think they all play obviously to the crowd for a reaction, many do not. No matter what any of us think here, Correa and Osuna now have what I think of as a “thing going on” – and like all things going on”, from “Me and Mrs. Jones” to “Juan Marichal and John Roseboro”, this one will either play out fast or play out over and over again – over time.

All I can say is that Mr. Henderson may need to study up on the phenomenon of sample error. His 99.9% conclusion that Osuna meant nothing at all by his actions on the last play may have been effected by a survey of people who were basically Blue Jay fans. Even on the Internet, sample bias happens. Henderson should do the same survey on the last play among Astros fans in Houston and see what kind of results he gets. And keep in mind, everything we need to know about a “thing” from a fairly distant digital video.

As for me, even if I am now trudging through my 80th year in residence on this planet, I am still not immune to a sudden burst of immature support for our Astros too, upon occasion. If I were Carlos Correa, I wouldn’t be trying to homer off Osuna the next time I see him. I would be aiming to hit one back through the box at 120 mph bat speed. Let’s see if Osuna can even walk back to the dugout if he tries to play that crushed ball – or even get out of the way of that career altering smash.

Jeez, I’m awful, aren’t I? 🙂

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

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Maxwell Kates: A Review of SABR 47

July 7, 2017

 

Introducing Maxwell Kates

Maxwell Kates

Maxwell Kates worked in commercial sports radio in the 1990s before deciding instead to become a CPA. The Ottawa native and Toronto resident first joined SABR in 2001. After serving the Hanlan’s Point Chapter as its Director of Marketing for twelve years, he worked behind the scenes with the Larry Dierker Chapter in the months leading to SABR 44. He attended the Houston convention, presenting “The Bikers Beat the Boy Scouts” about facial hair and the 1972 World Series, along with “Catching Rainbows and Calling Stars,” a written report about Alan Ashby for the convention magazine.

In February 2017, Maxwell returned to Houston to present “Biographing the Miracle Mets” at a SABR meeting. The report contrasted three biographies he wrote for the SABR anthology about the 1969 Mets, emphasizing the effectiveness of using different research methods to capture the lives and careers of different players. Including Houston and New York, he has attended twelve SABR conventions.

Get ready for a treat, dear Pecan Park Eagle readers. Maxwell Kates is our kind of guy. He’s passionate about baseball and he’s honest about what he sees. And, he’s also bright and engaging in the ways he writes about the subjects of his material as a whole thought.

Enjoy the effort here. We are looking forward to more from Maxwell in the future. The blue summer skies of The Pecan Park Eagle just got a little brighter with the presence of another selective contributing writer.

Welcome aboard, Maxwell! – Give us what you got!

As per usual, the New York hotel convention dais served as the forum for thought on a broad range of baseball subjects.

A REVIEW OF SABR 47

By Maxwell Kates

For 47 years, members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) have congregated in a different city to present original research and to celebrate all matters relating to baseball history and statistical analysis. The 2017 incarnation of the SABR convention was held in New York, from June 28 to July 2, at the Grand Hyatt hotel. Adjacent to Grand Central Station, the hotel attracted a record shattering attendance of approximately 800 delegates.

The essence of any SABR convention consists of research presentations and at SABR 47 there were 32 to choose from. Some of the lectures I attended included Jacob Goldfinger’s “Ball of Confusion: Dick Allen, the Arkansas Travelers, and the Integration of Little Rock,” Douglas Schoppert’s “Louis Armstrong: Swinging,” and Don Zminda’s “South Side Hitmen: A 40th Anniversary Celebration of a Memorable Season.” Other highlights included an MLB Now panel on “The Changing State of SABRmetrics” along with incumbent J. G. Taylor Spink Award winner Claire Smith’s interview of Yankees executive Jean Afterman.

For me, the panels encompassed both the highlights and lowlights of the convention.   One of the disappointments for me was the Jackie Robinson panel; with a title of “A Celebration of 70 Years: Jackie Robinson’s Journey,” I would have expected more than a passing reference to the Dodgers legend and American hero – but that was not the case. On the other hand, panels celebrating the lives and accomplishments of Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra, and Jim Bouton were informative, insightful, nostalgic, and witty all at once. Panelists included Ira Berkow, George Vecsey, Steve Jacobson, Harvey Araton, and Yogi’s granddaughter Lindsay Berra. Having read their books and contributions to Yankees and Mets yearbooks of years gone by, to listen to the scribes discuss the heroes in pinstripes was a virtual trip down memory lane.

Baseball writers John Thorn and Jim Bouton

Of course, many of those Yankees yearbooks were edited by another featured guest of the convention. Marty Appel, who edited the yearbooks from 1970 through 1977, participated in both the Casey Stengel and Jim Bouton panels. He also conducted a book signing of “Casey Stengel: Baseball’s Greatest Character” prior to the Mets game on Friday night. Sadly, Bouton is fighting a neurological disease after suffering a severe stroke in 2012; the author of “Ball Four” and his wife, Paula Kurman, were on hand to raise awareness for his affliction.

“TAKE US OUT TO A METS GAME!”
…. and so, SABR did.

Often the highlight of any SABR convention is attributed to serendipity and could not be scripted within the confines of the program. On Friday afternoon I decided to pass on the Mets panels at Citi Field in order to visit the United Nations and the Rockefeller Center before riding the 7 train on my own to the ballgame. While awaiting the gates to open, I overheard a woman exclaim “Do you know who’s going to be at the game? Ed Charles!” Assuming the Glider’s appearance would be public, I asked how I could meet him. The woman told me to wait by a certain gate just before game time, and that’s where he would be. While waiting for Ed Charles to arrive, I spent time talking to Stan “The Man” Manel, a retired insurance man who has worked as an usher for the Mets since 1962. Although Jacob deGrom lost his bid for a no-hitter after five innings, he did hang in for the win, a 2-1 decision over Philadelphia.

We only know them here as “Abby Rosario and SABR Friends,” but their smiles tell it all. SABR fans are the greatest when they can be contacted in great abundance, and that, dear friends, is what happens at SABR conventions.

Saturday morning I attended the donor breakfast, at which time executive director explained why there was no banquet and no player panel. Given the costs to organize a banquet at the Hyatt, SABR would have been required to charge upwards of $100 to attend. Similarly, if Phil Linz can earn $2,500 to speak to Hadassah of Ozone Park, SABR did not think he would likely accept an invitation to attend a pro bono speaking engagement.

Since I was already in New York, I decided to stay three extra days to see the city sites. Let’s start off with Maxwell Kates. No, not him, I see him every day. I’m talking about the property management firm which founder Bob Freedman named after his children Maxwell and Catherine. There’s also a Maxwell SchooI in Brooklyn and a bakery called Mrs. Maxwell’s Cakes.

We were fortunate at the convention to be situated so close to Broadway. I was able to attend two plays, “A Bronx Tale” and “Bandstand.” The former was an adaptation of the Chazz Palmienteri coming of age story while the latter chronicled the story of Second World War veterans who decided to form a swing band after the war had ended. I also had the opportunity to visit with cousins from Philadelphia, a college friend from Baltimore whom I had not seen in eighteen years, and a friend from Washington who was visiting his family in Riverdale. Monday I took a cruise around New York Harbor before attending a Yankees game, a 6-1 White Owl wallop over the Toronto Blue Jays.

On Tuesday morning I visited the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. My family had a personal connection to the neighbourhood, as this is where my uncle Irving landed when he emigrated from Austria in 1919. Trust me, it’s not Uncle Irving’s Lower East Side any longer. This particular museum tour showcased the typical living quarters of an immigrant family while narrating the histories of a German family from the 1870s and an Italian family from the 1920s. Having read a fair number of books set in the Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century, it was interesting to see streets like Orchard, Delancey, Bowery, and Rivington spring to life.

A tenement museum home interior
Lower East Side Manhattan

After the Tenement Museum, I took a subway towards Central Park. On my way, I noticed the Great American Health Bar on 57 Street. It was at this restaurant in 2005 where I met Neil Simon, still one of my favourite memories of New York. Being the 4th of July, it was Neil’s 90th birthday. I thought lightning might strike twice that I would see Neil Simon again but not this time. However, I did run into a famous New York writer along my three hour walk in Central Park. His name, Marty Appel.

A Part of the Post-SABR 4th of July Fireworks

The grand finale of the trip consisted of the famous 4th of July fireworks. So concluded my SABR experience but there will be another convention in 2018, in Pittsburgh from June 20 to 24.

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

Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle

Tags:
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »