Category: Indiana University Hoosier (I.U) Sports (Page 9 of 31)
Indiana University Hoosier athletics
It may be a few days before this gets posted from my home office. Currently, I’m all alone at my son’s house while my wife entertains girlfriends at ours. I drove over here after dinner last night, went to bed shortly after, and ran a 5k this morning. My son is at work and the grandkids are at their mother’s. I’m watching the You Tube replay of the final I.U. basketball exhibition game against St. Francis before Saturday football starts. My stitched eyelids are itchy but the bruising and swelling is less noticeable.
The Hoosier soccer team won their first BIG tourney match against Penn State last night and will play #1 seed Maryland next week. The Terrapins won the National Championship over I.U. a few years ago in Santa Barbara with me in the stands. They are always a tough matchup especially come tournament time. The #16 Nittany Lions were equally formidable, falling 1-0 at Bill Armstrong Stadium. I.U. will now go on the road to Maryland, after failing to hold off a late tying score in the last match of the regular season. As a result, the #8 Terps got the top tourney seed and the unranked Hoosiers fell to 4th.
Without the responsibility of taking the dog out, I doubt if I see any more daylight today. My eyes are still a bit sensitive to the sun, so I’m content with a day in front of the TV, concluding with World Series game #6, perhaps the last of the season. I’ll also do some reading of Grisham’s The Boys from Biloxi, another reminder of hurricane devastation and the battle to collect insurance reimbursement. Massive piles of debris surround my son’s home. Ouch!
Sherman Lollar of the Chicago White Sox was the very first recipient of a Rawlings Gold Glove at the catcher position. In fact, in its inaugural presentation year of 1957, it was awarded to the best player regardless of league. In subsequent years it has been divided into American and National League position players. Lollar won the award three times while it was one of the few honors never bestowed on Yankee rival Yogi Berra.
“The 2022 winners were announced prior to Tuesday’s Game 3 of the World Series between the Astros and Phillies on “Baseball Tonight” on ESPN2, with a record 14 first-time recipients earning the honor for best defensive player at each position (the old mark was 11, recorded in both 2020 and 1958, the year the award was established to include both Leagues.” For the record, only nine were presented in 1957, the fewest of all.
National League 2022:
Catcher: J.T. Realmuto, Phillies First: Christian Walker, D-Backs
Second: Brendan Rodgers, Rockies
Shortstop: Dansby Swanson, Braves
Third base: Nolan Arenado, Cardinals
Left field: Ian Happ, Cubs (first Cub at that position)
Center field: Trent Grisham, Padres
Right field: Mookie Betts, Dodgers
Pitcher: Max Fried, Braves
Utility player: Brendan Donovan, Cardinals
American League 2022:
Catcher: Jose Trevino, Yankees
Trevino is the third player in Yankees history to win a Gold Glove Award at the catcher position, joining Thurman Munson (1973-75) and Elston Howard (1963-64). Trevino led all Major League catchers with 21 defensive runs saved, which was also tied for the third-most Defensive Runs Saved in baseball, regardless of position.
First base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
Second base: Andrés Giménez, Guardians
Shortstop: Jeremy Peña, Astros
Third base: Ramón Urías, Orioles
Left field: Steven Kwan, Guardians
Center field: Myles Straw, Guardians
Right field: Kyle Tucker, Astros
Pitcher: Shane Bieber, Guardians
Utility player: D.J. LeMahieu, Yankees
In other baseball notes:
“A managerial search that included candidates such as Joe Espada, Ozzie Guillén and Ron Washington, Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol’s candidacy flew a bit under the radar.” It appears that he will be the new White Sox manager for the 2023 season, replacing Tony La Russa at the helm.
I.U. alum Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies has now reached base in ten consecutive Playoff games with a first-inning walk. He was the first to cross the plate last night with Bryce Harper’s 2-run homer. “Schwarbs” then went on to hit a 2-run bomb in the bottom of the 5th, part of a 5-homer Phillies barrage that led to a 7-0 victory over the Astros in Game 3. He was already a “Taco Hero” after stealing a base in Game 1, but has yet to be a candidate for a Gold Glove.
While my wife has a busy day of appointments and errands, I don’t have much going on until the grandkids arrive for dinner. I’m watching my recording of last night’s Bear game, still stunned about the outcome. I did not expect the Bears to win in New England. Now, if only they could beat the Packers. It’s the first sports victory that I’ve enjoyed in months, as I bask in the glory. Could this be the start of great Fall? I’m certainly not counting on any more I.U. football victories, but basketball could be fun again.
I have some Halloween cards for the grands, but there are very few kids in our neighborhood to expect much in the way of trick-or-treating. The Hallo-wine event on Friday night at the Clubhouse will be the extent of our activities to end the month of October. Thanksgiving and Christmas this year will also probably be uneventful considering the trip to Kauai in between. We’ll also organize a mid-November “Meet the Neighbors” get-together and maybe host some dinner parties before the new year.
Yesterday’s movie, “Ticket to Paradise,” will never be a classic. The Bali scenery sure makes you want to go there. It was one of our cancelled destinations this year. We still need to make our March plans for Mexico and Arizona but I’m not very motivated to organize all this travel, let alone spend the money, after all our recent time away from home. It’s good to just relax!
Clean-up and repairs continue in our neighborhood from the damage left behind by Ian. We’re still waiting on the refrigerator repair person to get our unit going again. In the meantime, we’ve used the new outdoor kitchen and refrigeration drawers to our advantage. Today is “Matinee Monday,” so we’re off to another movie despite all the damage down in that area. The mall parking lot, where the cinema is located in Port Charlotte, is being used as a temporary Civil Defense post. Tuesday night we’ll have the grandkids back for dinner, as we try to reestablish normalcy. Friday night is a Hallo-wine event here in the neighborhood.
It looks like my son and I finally won a Fantasy Football game after three straight losses, while the Bad News Bears hope to do the same on Monday Night Football against the Patriots. The best news of all is that I.U. football gets the week off, so I won’t have to deal with that frustration. The World Series starts this Friday night following a long break due to the fact that the Phillies and the Astros made quick work in their respective Championship Series. I’m gaining new respect for Philadelphia star Bryce Harper after his game-winner, while teammate Kyle Schwarber continues to hit well. Schwarber, who I’ve followed for years with I.U., the Cubs, Nationals, and now Phillies, is probably now my current Major League favorite, so I hope he earns another ring. It doesn’t necessarily make me a life-long Philadelphia fan. However, I also like their cheese steaks!
It feels like I’m rapidly peeling pages off the desk calendar. Is it that the days are passing so quickly or have I just not been home to keep it up to date? Today is Oct. 23 and the calendar reads September 14th, so I’ll have to digest a month’s worth of trivia in a short period of time. I did not know that an average ear of corn has 800 kernels or that the world’s largest coffee cups holds just over 6,000 gallons. In fact, as I ripped off those 39 days, there were only seven questions that I answered correctly. I hope that next year our financial broker sends an easier version or better yet something with pictures rather than questions. I will, however, start tomorrow with a winner!
It will soon be November and another time change, my sixth in the last 35 days. It’s now been over a week since we’ve been home and my internal clock is still screwed up. Thankfully, as of this morning, everything in our home is now back it’s pre-storm place. One plant pot was broken as a helpful neighbor tried to hurriedly rush it inside, and it slipped from her hands. All else faired well in the high winds and flooding. We went down to nearby, storm ravaged, Englewood again last evening for “Date Night” at Snook’s Bayside. Most of their outside dining spots on Lemon Bay were blocked off with yellow crime scene tape, but their chowder was still good and the rock band played on.
It’s Football Sunday, but my fortunes have not been good on the playing field this year. Both Purdue and I.U. lost yesterday but thankfully college basketball is only a week away, with undoubtedly new frustrations. The Hoosiers are probably a bit overrated, considering that it is essentially the same poor shooting team as last year. For once, we finally made the tournament but got embarrassed by Saint Mary’s. Can we take it a step further this year? It’s long awaited tip-off time!
Fellow I.U. grad, Kyle Schwarber, hit a monster home run yesterday to assist in a Game 1 Phillies NLCS victory. It sparked memories of the Cubs World Series run six years ago where he and Anthony Rizzo, now a Yankee, made history. “Riz” also hit a bomb off of Verlander last night in a losing cause in his quest for another World Series ring. “Schwarbs” has made several appearances in the All Star Game Home Run Derby, slugging 55 home runs. Rizzo and Kris Bryant both participated in 2016, the first Cubs since Sammy Sosa’s 4th attempt in 2004. The only modern day Derby that I witnessed live was Miami 2017 with Aaron Judge winning it all. I ran across an interesting article written by Arnold Bailey about the early days of the 1960 TV show. It was a great childhood memory for me, recreating the event in our back yard with a whiffle ball and bat.
From a baseball card collecting perspective, “a set of 20 baseball cards was produced picturing the collection of sluggers the show would feature. Today, those cards have gained a cult-like following and are among the hobby’s scarcest. American Motors, the show’s sponsor, produced the cards which were handed out at the carmakers’ dealerships across the country. Created in 1954, American Motors was then No. 4 behind the nation’s Big 3 (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler), with Rambler its top car. Apparently, neither AMC’s cars or its cards were overwhelmingly popular. That may be one reason why the “Home Run Derby” cards are so scarce today.” I was certainly not aware of them.
“The cards are about postcard size (3 1/8”-by-5 1/4”) and are unnumbered with blank backs. The fronts feature black-and-white posed photos, most of which show players from about waist up. The pictured player’s name and team are in two lines across the bottom. A black circle that promotes the show with a ‘See Home Run Derby on TV!'”
“The 19 players include nine future Hall of Famers (Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Duke Snider) plus 10 other sluggers of that era. All but three of the players are pictured holding a bat, either resting it on a shoulder or positioned at the start of a swing. The other three – Bob Allison, Jackie Jensen and Eddie Mathews – are attempting to hold a smile while posing for the camera.”
“Fifteen of the 16 teams that then comprised Major League Baseball were represented on the show and the cards. Only the Chicago White Sox aren’t included, although the Pale Hose won the American League pennant in 1959. But the team hit few home runs despite its winning season (the team’s homer leader was catcher Sherm Lollar with just 22). While the pennant-winning White Sox have no representative in the “Home Run Derby” lineup, the lowly Washington Senators (who finished in last place, 31 games behind Chicago) have three (Killebrew, Bob Allison and Jim Lemon).”
“The other dozen teams sent one player each to hit homers: Banks (Cubs), Ken Boyer (Cardinals), Bob Cerv (Kansas City), Rocky Colavito (Indians), Jackie Jensen (Red Sox), Kaline (Tigers), Wally Post (Phillies), Dick Stuart (Pirates) and Gus Triandos (Orioles).”
“The home run totals for the 19 players would eventually reach 7,375 by the end of their careers. So the home run lineup was a powerful group, including three of the Top 10 homer hitters of all time (Aaron, 755; Mays, 680; and Frank Robinson, 586).
The 20th card (now the hardest to find) in the set pictures Mark Scott, the play-by-play broadcaster of the original TV show and one of the creators. Here’s a link to the article with even more interesting details:
https://sportscollectorsdigest.com/.amp/cards/tvs-home-run-derby-relived
