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Nominees for the Astros Hall of Honor

October 5, 2010

Who belongs in the Houston Astros Hall of Honor?

This past Friday night, Oct. 1st, the Houston Astros kicked off their celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the franchise in 2012 by naming their five major players for each of the five involved decades. I’m not sure how they came about these choices, but they certainly didn’t miss the inclusion of five players whose names belong on any Astros Wall of Honor. Jimmy Wynn got the nod as the player of the 1960s; Jose Cruz represented the 1970s; Nolan Ryan carried the flag for the 1980s; Jeff Bagwell was the man named for the 1990s; and Craig Biggio and his march to 3,000 hits picked off the first decade of the 21st century for his work over the first seven years of it.

I have no trouble with these selections, but I acknowledge that there are others out there asking what happened to guys like Larry Dierker, Joe Niekro, and Mike Scott? What happened to each of them and others is that you can only pick a single name for player of the decade, unless you change it to players of the decade. With one pick, several get left out.

I’ll try to fix that here by going for two names per decade, but that will still leave room for some unhappy faces out there, I’m sure:

1960s: Jimmy Wynn & Larry Dierker

1970s: Jose Cruz & Joe Niekro

1980s: Nolan Ryan & Mike Scott

1990s: Jeff Bagwell & Craig Biggio

2000s: Roy Oswalt & Lance Berkman

There. That feels better to me. Does it feel any better to you?

The next thing I’d offer is a few off-the-top-of-my-head suggestions for membership as the original class of the Houston Astros Hall of Honor, starting with the name of the place from the outset. I am no longer officially connected to the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, but I left with the retirement title of “president emeritus” for my seven years total time served and a little practical experience with the travails of what accompanies the process of bestowing honor upon others for their achievements.

You run into a few egos that possess all the resilience of an unrefrigerated tomato. These types need to be handled with care or not touched at all. And that mindful advisory leads straight to the thought that the Astros are choosing well to name their planned special place as the Astros Hall of Honor, rather than their Hall of Fame.

Anyone may attain fame for the most notorious of reasons. Honor is something that only enfolds around those who earn and deserve it for their performances in a given field of action.

When I think of an Astros Hall of Honor, and the candidates for that first class of inductees, I think of these names without hesitation. Any names that evoke hesitation can wait until next year as the Astros thresh out their standards for what shall determine their selection process. I may miss someone along the way because this sort of thing can never be a one-person job. Please feel free to add the names of anyone else you feel, as a fan, has earned the right to be so honored by the Astros. The Astros will end up doing this thing their own way, but it doesn’t cost us anything but our time to make suggestions here, while the door is still open.

Here are my Colt .45/Astro nominees. Please note that, with the arguable exception of Nolan Ryan, I do not include players whose signature achievements occurred elsewhere:

Larry Dierker, Jimmy Wynn, Bob Aspromonte, Don Wilson, Jose Cruz, Joe Niekro, Glenn Davis, Billy Doran, Art Howe, Phil Garner, Bill Virdon, Billy Hatcher, Bob Knepper, J.R. Richard, Roger Metzger, Dave Smith, Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Alan Ashby, Terry Puhl, Cesar Cedeno, Craig Reynolds, Bob Watson, Kevin Bass, Enos Cabell, Doug Rader, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Billy Wagner, Brad Ausmus, Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, and President Tal Smith.

If you care to eliminate any of my picks or add some of your own please leave a reply comment to this thread. The question is: Who should the Astros reward with “Hall of Honor” induction for their career or singular accomplishments as members of this franchise. I only selected one non-player for the honor, but I cannot imagine this hall even existing without him. Tal Smith has been a force within the franchise from 1962 almost continuously forward.

Now – let’s hear it from you too!

Tags:Baseball, History, Houston Astros
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2010 Astros Baseball: A Glorious End

October 4, 2010

Minute Maid Park, Houston: Sunday, October 3, 2010.

The weather was nothing short of glorious. On a day in which the Astros and the Chicago Cubs had little left to play for beyond a fourth place finish in the NL Central and a quick-game getaway for tired players heading home, our Houston nine took the standings prize as the Junior Bears chalked up 102 for their latest tally in years on “how long it’s been” since the Windy City North Siders have won a World Series. (It should be 103 failures since their last World Series win, but the name of fairness dictates that even we cannot hold the Cubs responsible for what happened to baseball in 1994.)

Does the number “1908” even ring a bell? You bet it does. In Chicago’s northern environs, “1908” rings bells that gong louder and much longer than the ones Quasimodo once manned in Paris. There’s another number identified as “1945” that rings almost as loud and few others, like “1969” and “1984” that also ping out some painful sound vibrations as well.

It is finished. Eight teams live on to compete in the 2010 playoffs while everyone else, Cubs and Astros included, goes home. And who remains? Round up the usual suspects. Everyone but the Rangers, Reds, and Giants are fairly regular attendees at these annual shindigs. Meanwhile, our locals simply put the positive wraps on a lost season that also saw two icons, Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, move on to a couple of the playoff party clubs. Counting the blessings of 4th place over 5th, and placing considerable hope faith in youth, the future, and the assembly judgment of General Manager Ed Wade, the Astros now move on to the job of rebuilding, restructuring, reconstructing, redirecting, or reloading (pick a “re” word that’s acceptable to your tolerance palate for the truth) their roster to the challenges of returning to the winning side of major league baseball.

Several things came off neatly in the Astros’ 4-0 finale victory of the 2010 season over the Cubs. For one, the ancient Nelson Figueroa again pitched like a keeper, working six shutout innings while giving up only six hits while walking only two ad striking out eight. All of that production on 103 pitches raised Figgy’s final record to 7-4 and lowered his season ERA to 3.29. If that doesn’t help him qualify s a legitimate candidate for the number five slot in the starting rotation next spring, I don’t know what will.

Carlos Lee also went two for three, including a third-inning, cork-popping 24th home run deep into the Crawford Boxes. Carlos has another year, plus a club option on one additional season, with a buyout penalty on the team for a refusal. Finding a fielding/hitting left fielder for 2011 while letting Carlos play out his string at first with Brett Wallace as the intern may make even more sense in days to come, unless Wallace suddenly jumps up as a great hitter. We shall see.

Brett Wallace did finally get his first and only triple of the season to lead off the fourth inning. It took a weird bounce off the wall in left center and a safe call on Wallace’s slide to pick up what probably will be one of his rarest hitting experiences, but he got it for the books that last forever.

Brian Bogusevic didn’t exactly distinguish himself positively on the offensive side Sunday. Starting in center and finishing in left, “Bogie” picked this last showcasing day of the season to earn a “Golden Sombrero” by striking out in each of his four trips to the plate. Ouch! Maybe he was affected by that foot injury that he will now face through surgery. Who knows? I’m sure Brian would prefer any alternative answer to the “I can’t hit major league pitching” conclusion that often comes to rookies who earn that amber alienation of affection award for disastrous batting.

Tommy Manzella attempted to break out of his growing “almost as good a hitter and fielder as Adam Everett” comparisons by going two for two with two RBI and a walk and an error-free day in the field. I still prefer Angel Sanchez for his more consistent bat and steady fielding, even if his range is more limited.

The Astros finished at 76-86, a game ahead of the 5th place Cubs and a game behind the 3rd place Brewers. More importantly, the boys finished 15 games back of the 1st place Reds. That’s a lot of ground to make up in 2011, but for one thing: I’ll bet you almost any of us could go back over the 2010 season, game by game, and find 15 winnable game losses that would have put the Astros right there, had the outcomes been reversed. Such an exercise wouldn’t change the truth, but it could shed a little more light on what the 2010 Astros lacked in detail that ended up keeping the club from being a winner.

I believe this much about that sort of detailed research: Sometimes the details simply confirm the general impressions we are forming about a club’s hitting, fielding, team speed, pitching, and game decision- making. At other times, the closer game-by-game specific look at a season may show us some things we may be either missing or glossing over in our surface level evaluations.

The keys to this kind of research are these, I think: (1) Go into the exercise with a clear idea of what you are looking for; but (2) Be open to seeing what you weren’t looking for. History is always a teacher, even when it’s only available in this year’s game accounts and box scores.

Have a nice Monday, everybody, and remember: For Astros fans and others in our position, the Hot Stove League is now officially in session.

Tags:Baseball, History, Houston Astros
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A First Hot Stove Squint at 2011

October 3, 2010

Happy Off-Season Greetings, Astro Fans!

So it’s come down to this. It’s the last day of the 2010 NL baseball season and the Astros are going head-to-head with the Cubs to see who takes 4th place in the NLC and avoids falling one murky step closer to Pittsburgh at the ancient deep bottom of the standings.

It will be nice if “Wonderful Wandy” Rodriguez shows up today, especially since I plan to be there to see him pitch. I always enjoy the games better when our Astros win, but you never know. All these years deep into his career, we fans are still wary that “Woeful Wandy” could show up long enough to spoil the day with a bad inning or two. It’s hard to enjoy the social company of any “Dr. Jekyll” when you have to worry about the next drink turning him into “Mr. Hyde.” And the same is true for good pitchers who lack consistency with their mound temperament and predictable control over and use us of their stuff. All that being said, it’s still hard to give up on a starter who can potentially win 12-15 games a season for you unless these wins come at the expense of a greater tally on losses. Last time I checked, a staff of sub-.500 win pitchers were not the stairway to the pennant.

Going into the next season, I’m concerned that first baseman Brett Wallace isn’t progressing all that well as a major league hitter. There’s still time, but next season is critical. If Wallace doesn’t pull her up to a better level and show that he’s capable of taking instruction where instruction is obviously needed, I’d say his transition will move rapidly from prospect to suspect. Some guys are too proud to ask for or accept help, but that mistake is fatal for young hitters who are having trouble with big league pitching. With six doubles and only two homers to show among his 31 MLB hits in 140 times at bat, Wallace has a lot of getting well ahead of him. His problems at the plate also helps make sense of the plan to play Carlos Lee at first base, more often or full-time, in 2011. Carlos can crunch the ball and we have to find a place for him for the balance of his unmoveable contract – and first place is about the only possibility.

First place is a better spot for Carlos because, God bless him, he’s no outfielder on defense, as it is. For better or worse, I’ve covered Carlos again in my note on two plays we don’t need to see again in 2011.

TWO ASTRO PLAYS WE DON’T WANT TO SEE IN 2011:

(1) Outfield. “There’s a curving drive into left center. Lee jogs in. Bourn speeds over. The ball is still heading toward the line. Lee gives up, but Bourne keeps charging. Bourne dives. And he miraculously catches the ball – just foul of the left field line. And Lee trudges over to help Bourne up, shake his hand, and thank him for a little help. One more time.”

(2) Infield. “Runners on 2nd and 3rd for the Cubs. Two outs in the top of the 9th. Cubs batting, trailing the Astros, 4-3, with Lyon trying to shut the door. Aramis Ramirez batting. – Ramirez slices a sharp two bouncer to Chris Johnson at 3rd. This should do it, but wait. – The ball rolls up Johnson’s left arm and now falls numbly over his right shoulder. There’s still time. All Chris has to do is pick it up and take aim. – He does, but he heaves the ball hard. – It’s sailing over Wallace’s head and bouncing down the right field line. – Two runners are going to score. – Ramirez will get all the way to 3rd on that one – as young Chris Johnson pounds his glove in disgust. – Cubs now lead 5-4 with the door open – and the possibility of defeat for the Astros now snatched again from the jaws of victory.”

In fairness to Carlos Lee, that Bourne play described here never happened, but I kept waiting for it. It just seemed that we are expecting extra range from three players, with Lee in left. The big demand was upon Bourne in center, but other “get back fast” weight fell upon short and third too. – And those extra steps came at the risk of another infielder having the Adam Everett season-ending experience should they suffer the casualty of running into Lee on the way back into shallow left.

If Lee can move to first, I say, give it your strong thought, Astros. Maybe it’s time to give Brian Bogusevic a shot at left and bring Wallace along a little more slowly. Besides, something may open up as a free agent possibility in left that we cannot even see today.

I like Angel Sanchez at short and Jeff Keppinger at second, plus Bourne in center, Pence in right, Johnson at third, and Castro at catcher are pretty much no-brainers for 2011, think. I’m a little hard on Chris Johnson because I do think his fielding needs improvement, but his bat cannot be ignored. He’s earned his job with “put ’em up” runs on that side of the fence. Now it’s time to work on the elimination of “give away” runs on defense.

As for starters, unless something more real comes along, I like Rodriquez, Myers, Happ, Norris, and Figueroa at the gate – with room to reconsider on a strong Paulino winter and spring record. The relief corps looks pretty good, but I would hope we seek out a tighter solution at closer. I don’t think either Lyon or Lindstrom, the guys who filled that spot in 2010, performed well enough to be presumptive owners of the job in 2011.

I really like Wilton Lopez. He deserves a spot somewhere in the pen.

That’s about it for now. The long winter of the hot stove league is about to descend upon us before the sun even sets again in good old Houston – and it’s only October 3rd.

Tags:Assessment, Baseball, Houston Astros
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Forgive Us Our Press Passes, But Thank God for Mickey!

October 2, 2010

Published in 2008: Available at Amazon.Com.

Last night the Houston Media Wall of Honor took on another name in special pre-game ceremony at Minute Maid Park. Local members of the Fourth Estate inducted Houston’s iconic sportswriter, Mickey Herskowitz, into the fold of those who have done this community special service as communicators of news in all its many forms.

Mickey Herskowitz was, and still is, the best. When it comes to writing about sports, and as they alway said about James Bond for other talents, nobody does it better. Houston, indeed, should be proud of this native son and early life cub reporter on the Houston Buffs baseball and Southwest Conference football. He grew up to be the man whose late 1950s articles on this city’s deservedness for major league baseball played their own quiet role in Houston landing a National League franchise that we first knew as the Colt .45s back in 1962.

Mickey covered it all, becoming a nationally celebrated biographer for famous people as diverse as Mickey Mantle and Bette Davis. (Imagine the interview possibilities and problems Mickey might have encountered had he gotten those two figures in the same room for s a single interview back in the day. I would imagine that might have been one “opportunity” that even Mickey might have passed over, if at all possible.)

“Forgive s Our Press Passes: The Mickey Herskowitz Collection II” is a classic collection of Mickey’s work on sports stories from several different areas that will only bring you reading joy, should you choose to acquire a copy. It’s available through Amzon.Com.

Mickey Herskowitz’s daily work with the Houston Post and Chronicle is where most of us got to know him some fifty years ago, but don’t let the passage of time fool you into thinking we are simply talking about a past figure here. Mickey Herskowitz is now a full-time journalism professor at Sam Houston State University. He makes a weekly trek up to Huntsville from his home in the northern Houston hinterlands to teach and then returns home each weekend.

Those lucky SHSU kids! I just hope that some of them are wise enough to appreciate how they’ve been blessed!

Mickey Herskowitz is an inducted member of the Texas baseball Hall of Fame (1997) and he also received the TBHOF’s Jimmy Wynn Toy Cannon Award in 2006.

Speaking of Jimmy Wynn, congratulations to “The Toy Cannon” too for the honor he deservedly received from the Houston Astros, also prior to last night’s Cubs@Astros game. In naming their “Player of the Decade” winners over the half century of their existence, Houston picked Jimmy Wynn as their Player of the 1960s. Jose Cruz was named for the 1970s, Nolan Ryan for the 1980s, Jeff Bagwell for the 1990s, and Craig Biggio for the first decade of the 21st century.

Nice picking, Astros! None of us cold have done it any better!

Back to Mickey for a moment. In case you don’t know, the Baseball Hall of Fame makes an annual award to a single writer that has contributed much to baseball. It’s called the J. Taylor Spink Award in honor of the former publisher of the old Sporting News.

Mickey Herskowitz has never won this award, but a lot us think this omission is an unforgivable, but still correctible passover. If you are interested in supporting Mickey Herskowitz for this honor by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, please get in touch with the man who is taking charge of the campaign in Mickey’s favor. His name is James Anderson and his e-mail address is jamesaa1946@yahoo.com> Mickey did not request this help, nor is he participating in lobbying for himself. The whole idea began and carries through from Mr. Anderson, an enormous Houston and Astros fan.

Publication Date is This Friday, Oct. 8th!

Speaking of books, here’s a reminder. “Toy Cannon” is available for purchase now through Amazon.Com too. This wonderful story of Jimmy Wynn’s life and baseball career is officially available this coming Friday, October 8th.

Have a great weekend, everybody. And let’s hope the Astros can turn back the Cubs in their titanic battle for fourth place in the national League Central.

Tags:Baseball, History, Jimmy Wynn, Mickey Herskowitz
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Great Article on 1954 Dixie Series

October 1, 2010

The 1954 Texas League Champion Houston Buffs

If you belong to SABR, you’ve probably seen “The 1954 Dixie Series,” a fine article on that contest between the champions of the Texas League, the Houston Buffs, and the champions of the Southern Association, the Atlanta Crackers.

Kenneth R. Fenster researched and wrote the article for the 2010 edition of “The National Pastime” as one of the featured stories for the collection entitled, “Baseball in the Peach State.” Fenster’s work and all the others beutifully shone the spotlight on the history of baseball in Georgia as part of SABR’s 40th anniversary convention and celebration in Atlanta this past summer.

For those of you who don’t know, SABR is an acronym for an organization that a number of his support as members because of its commitment to the accurate recording and preservation of baseball history. The letters stand for The Society for American Baseball Research. If you think you might like to join us, check out the website at http://www.sabr.org/

I won’t attempt to summarize Fenster’s fine work here. You need to read it for yourselves to fully appreciate the full rush of Atlanta’s great comeback and the gravity of Houston’s great fall in that Series.

All I will say is that the ’54 Buffs took my heart with them in that collapse. My three favorite players that year were an earlier version of the “Killer B’s” – 1st Baseman Bob Boyd (.321 BA, 7 HR, 63 RBI), 3rd Baseman Ken Boyer (.319 BA, 21 HR, 116 RBI), shortstop Don Blasingame (.315 BA, 5 HR, 53 RBI) and right fielder Willard Brown (.314 BA, 35 HR, 120 RBI). Brown got a lot of numbers with Dallas before coming over to Houston, but he proved to be the big difference-maker for Houston in the stretch. The best pitchers for the ’54 Buffs included WIllard Schmidt (18-5, 3.69 ERA), Hisel Patrick (10-3, 3.77 ERA), Luis Arroyo (8-3, 2.35 ERA), and Hugh Sooter (14-13, 3.28 ERA).

The Buffs had everything they need to go all the way. They just didn’t get there. Up 3 games to 1 over Atlanta in the 1954 Dixie Series, the Buffs crumbled. They lost three games in a row, allowing the Crackers to take the rush and the glory of the unbelievable comeback into their own treasure chest of great historical memories.

Have you figured out by now why I haven’t written about the 1954 Dixie Series through today? If not, then anything else I’ve written, am writing, or will write on Houston baseball isn’t likely to make any sense either.

Tags:Baseball, History, Houston Buffs
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Stan Musial: Great from the Git-Go

September 30, 2010

Stan Musial (L) relaxes at beach with friends during spring training 1942.

How times have changed. Back in the winter of 1940-41, a young pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated a Class D season pitching record of 18-8 and a batting average of .311 by going home to his little birthplace in the country at season’s end to stock and sack groceries at a local food store. Of course, he did. The kid was only 20 years old and much in need of that off-season job income.

That kid quickly grew to be the man – Stan “The Man” Musial, one of the greatest examples of a great pitching prospect forced by early arm injury and an even louder talking bat into make the conversion from the mound to everyday action as a position player.

From 1941 forward through 1963, the corkscrew hunching lefty would torment National League pitching with a hitting barrage that would easily carry him on a no-brainer path to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 22 big league seasons, Musial would win 7 NL batting titles and hit .331 for his career with 3,630 total MLB hits, 725 doubles, 177 triples, 425 home runs, 1,951 runs batted in, and 6 slugging average titles. We could go on and on, but the picture on Musial is already clear. He was a great producer from the very start of his career.

Stan Musial with Chuck Schmidt at spring training 1954.

In his 22 MLB seasons, Musial hit over .300 on 17 occasions. He won 3 MVP awards. He played in 4 World Series. And he played in 24 All Star Games. His 1969 induction into the Hall of Fame was anti-climatic to a foregone conclusion. The guy belonged nowhere short of baseball’s top rung of greatest hitters – and his outfield and first base play in the field was not too shabby either.

Two factors fail to show up clearly in most straight statistical looks at the career of Stan Musial, but much of the man’s true character and early ability leaks out in the above article I received yesterday from Bill Rogers, a St. Louis Browns friend in St. Louis. The little column from Springfield, Missouri back in 1941 speaks to how good “The Man’s” hitting was from early on – and the little comment about his off-season job in Donora, PA as a grocery clerk speaks humbly for his lack of ego about these God-given abilities. The man just got up each morning and went out and did what he needed to do – and what he was capable of doing – and that included stocking grocery shelves because he needed the money as well as knocking the covers off baseballs because he had the ability to do so.

Stan Musial and Yours Truly, St. Louis, 2002.

I was privileged to meet Stan Musial back in 1996 when I attended an annual banquet in St. Louis honoring former members of the old St. Louis Browns. I’ve since seen him several additional times at these same functions, although they are no longer being planned on the same level. Time and the loss in great numbers of the old Browns has changed everything except for the inevitable conclusion that finally falls upon all human endeavor. But it was fun while it lasted.

That first time I met Musial was dumbfounding. I was alone on an elevator in the banquet hotel, heading for a fan afternoon reception for the old Browns. All of a sudden, the door opens on a floor and a man enters to join me as the only other rider.

Here I am. Little Billy McCurdy from the Houston End. A guy who lives to find a rare Stan Musial baseball card. Now. Here I am again. Grown up and older Bill McCurdy. Riding alone on an elevator with my greatest baseball childhood hero – and I can’t even speak. I don’t want to put “The Man” through one of those Goofy-like, “Gawrsh, you’re Stan Musial, aren’t you?” moments that I’m sure he’s been through a gazillion times. But I also don’t want to seem stupid or disrespectful by ignoring him totally.

As the elevator door opens on our reception floor destination, I settle for a smiling nod and eye contact statement of “Hi, Stan!” It felt OK. And I later got a photo with him, plus his autograph on a baseball. By this time, everybody was doing it.

Over the years that followed, I learned that Stan Musial was as nice and down-to-earth friendly as anyone could be. Whether he actually remembered me from year to year, I can’t say, but he always behaved as though he did. He was as friendly toward me as my old Polish-ancestry baseball coach at St. Christopher’s back in the early 1950s. I will always remember his kindness as much as I do his greatness.

If you pray, keep Stan Musial in your prayers from here on. He turns 88 on November 21st, but he’s in frail health these days. When we lose him, we’re not getting another like him. They aren’t making any more Stan Musials in the 21st century.

Have a nice day too. It’s good to be back. I can’t guarantee I’ll be writing another daily blog for a while, but I will give what I do write here my best shot, as time and energy allows.

Tags:Baseball, History, St. Louis Cardinals, Stan Musial
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“Toy Cannon” Publication Date is Oct. 8

September 25, 2010

“Toy Cannon: The Autobiography of Baseball’s Jimmy Wynn” by Jimmy Wynn with Bill McCurdy is scheduled for release by McFarland Publishing Company on October 8, 2010. The book is available now for pre-order copies, or on Kindle, through Amazon.Com, Barnes & Noble, and all other national retail outlets. No schedule has yet been established, but Jimmy Wynn will be available locally in Houston and elsewhere this fall for book signings at a variety of retail outlets that will be carrying this very honest and full life story of a great Houston Colt .45/Astro icon.

When Jimmy asked me to work with him as a supportive co-author on this project, back on Father’s Day 2008, I was equally thrilled and humbled by the invitation. The story had to be Jimmy’s, told in Jimmy’s words, but it had to deal with all the significant events of his life, not merely his many accomplishments on the field. That was the task we embraced together. In the process, Jimmy Wynn’s wisdom from his personal experience came pouring through on tape.

As we are hoping you will see for yourselves, Jimmy Wynn proved up to the task. Told in the first person point of view, Jimmy takes us through what his life was like growing up in Cincinnati, how he came to be signed by his hometown Reds, how he quickly came over to the new Colt .45s in a minor deal, how he survived his initiation into the big time at the hands of “The Dalton Gang”, Turk Farrell and Jim Owens, and how he fared in the hands of managers in Houston like Harry Walker and Leo Durocher.

Specifically, Jimmy also gives us a good long look at some of the life lessons that came for him the hard way through marriage and life on the road back in the “old days”, along with a strong eye witness view on what it was like to be there as a player during the salad days of the Astrodome, playing with guys like Joe Morgan, Don Wilson, Larry Dierker, Cesar Cedeno, and others.

The story also covers Jimmy’s personal account of the 1967 home run race he barely lost to Hank Aaron in 1967 and his personal view on the major long balls he hit in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, plus a very powerfully moving story of his last home run in the major leagues. That one is not as well known, but it needs to be. It came in Yankee Stadium on Opening Day, 1977. We’ll save the rest. The story is Jimmy’s to tell.

There are too many people to thank here for the fine production we think this book will prove to be over time, but we thank everyone appropriately in the book. We especially do wish to thank our friend Mickey Herskowitz here, both for his support and advice, and his fact-check reading of the manuscript, plus the wonderful Sumner Hunnewell for his design and development of the important Index feature, along with some significant help of his own on fact-ckecking. Finally, and more than a little, we also want to thank the entire staff of McFarland Publishing for transforming the editorial and production phases of “The Toy Cannon” into a process for making the book a sharper, more clearly told story.

If you are interested, here’s a link to the Amazon information page on ordering. Jimmy Wynn and I will be grateful to any support you care to give our project.

http://www.amazon.com/Toy-Cannon-Autobiography-Baseballs-Jimmy/dp/0786458569/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285410514&sr=8-1

Thank you.

Tags:Baseball, History, Houston Astros, Houston Colt .45s, Jimmy Wynn
Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

Coming Up for Air

September 12, 2010

Sacred Soil from Home Plate Area of Eagle Field, 1950.

Hello, Friends. My apologies for the little hiatus going on here, but the past two weeks have been hung up with two impossible-to-ignore facts of life. The first involved a writing project. The second was a flu-like virus that leveled me from head to heels for about a week. I am still recovering at my own pace.

It’s not over. I am about to make the road trip of my lifetime, one that will continue to take me away from my home-sweet-home Pecan Park Eagle site for about two more weeks, more or less. Our son Neal, our Hounds of Baskerville-like canines, our security system, and our good neighborhood nosey friends are guarding the castle for us, 24/7, while Norma and I drop out of sight for a little journey we’ve been ready to take for years.

Random Observations

September 5, 2010

Astros Stirring Hope at 2010 Sunset.

With the Astros’ comeback for a 6-5 win over Arizona on Saturday stoking new coals of hope for the future, their record is now 63-72. They are now in full possession of 3rd place, ahead of Milwaukee, Chicago, and Pittsburgh in the National League Central. They are 16 games back of 1st place Reds, with 27 games to go, and they are 8 back games of the 2nd place Cardinals. They are also 14.5 game back of the Phillies in the wild card race.

The Astros can no longer fear 2010 as their first season to lose 100 games. The worst they could do now is drop all 27 and finish 63-99, Of course, they way they’ve playing in August, there’s an even greater slight chance that may run the table and finish 90-72.

Wouldn’t that last outcome possibility frost some pumpkins in the planting fields of baseball ore?

I like our position prospects and I like our pitching. Iron Man Brett Meyers, Wandy Rodriguez, cured of his Jekyll/Hyde complex, J.A. Happ, angling to become the next Andy Pettittee, and Norris, Figueroa, and Paulino are looking good as other hopes for are the 2011 rotation, unless we get some other guy to blossom or join the club by trade free agent signing.

Boby Thomson's famous HR in 1951 left the yard at 3:57 EST.

Of course, I knew he recently died. I wrote an article about him. I just learned, however, that Bobby Thomson died in his sleep at his home in in Savannah, Georgia.

What a charmed life the man led. He hits one the arguably most remembered home run in baseball history. rides off into the sunset as a hero, and then leaves this troubled world peacefully as an old man living out his years in one of the most beautiful places in America.

You deserved it, Bobby!

That’s going to be it for me today. I’m a little bit under the weather.

Have a great Labor Day celebration with family and friends!

Tags:Baseball, Bobby Thomson, History, Houston Astros
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Take a Bow, Billy Wags!

September 4, 2010

Through 9/03/10, Bill Wags is at 416 Saves & Hungry for More.

The guy is still amazing, After sixteen big league seasons, and after reaching the age of 39, the compact and powerful lefty has 31 saves on the 2010 season working as closer for the Atlanta Braves as one of the most successful relief game specialists in baseball history.

Billy Wags spent his first nine big league years (1995-2003) as a Houston Astro, compiling 225 of his 416 career saves for the good guys before going on to another 191 saves for the Philadelphia Phillies (2004-05), New York Mets (2004-09), Boston Red Sox (2009), and Atlanta Braves (2010).

In spite of his age and history with Tommy John surgery, the guy still looks pretty good out there at crunch time. His 31 saves for the current NLE division-leading Atlanta Braves also speaks in favor of him continuing his career into his 40s, but I have no idea what he plans to do beyond 2010.

I just always preferred Billy Wags to any closer we’ve ever had in Houston. He was cool. And he was powerful. He just blew it by hitters, frequently hitting triple digits on the radar gun, and putting out fires faster than they could even begin to smoke. Had he been able to come up with a really effective change-up, he could’ve become the most devastating reliever in history. He was pretty darn good as he was. The sounds of Sandman by Metallica as Billy trotted in from the pen will always be our reminder.

For hsi career through today, 9/03.10, Billy Wagner has a career record of 47 wins and 40 losses against a miserly ERA of 2.34. In his 890.1 innings of total work, he also has recorded 1,171 strikeouts and given up only 596 hits and 295 walks. That’s pretty impressive by anyone’s standards.

Good Luck, Billy Wags, in whatever you decide to do next year – and thanks for a full harvest of great baseball memories!

In case you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, the last few days have really consumed my writing time with obligations to a deadline on a major writing project.

I’ll be around.

Tags:Baseball, Billy Wagner, Houston Astros
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