Category: OLD SPORT SHORTS (Page 15 of 68)
An old guy’s perspective on all sports
Steal a base…Steal a taco. It’s a Taco Bell promotion and I.U. alum Kyle Schwarber, as a result, is a World Series hero. Schwarber at 6′ 229 lbs. is a slugger not a speedster by any stretch of the imagination. Going from base-to-base with a piano on his back is one description, but who needs to be fast when you can take your time rounding the bases after celebrating another over-the-fence moon shot like Game 1 of the NLCS against Yu Darvish, another former Cub, and the San Diego Padres. Coincidentally, the Topps card of this achievement just arrived in the mail this morning. Hopefully, they will produce another to commemorate the stolen base, although it didn’t really figure in the 6-5 extra innings win. The real hero of the game was J.T. Realmuto with his 10th inning homer that sealed the victory.
Through the years, Mookie Betts, Cameron Maybin, Lorenzo Cain, Trea Turner, Francisco Lindor (Indians), Angel Pagan, Jason Bartlett (Rays), Jacoby Ellsbury, Ozzie Albies, and now Kyle Schwarber have all “secured Taco Bell goodness for everyone who wants to indulge.” In the ten years that the campaign has existed, “teams whose player secures the first stolen base of the World Series are 8-2.” Only the Rays and Indians fell short.
In last night’s Series opener, Schwarber reached first base on an infield single off Astros reliever Bryan Abreu in the top of the seventh and the score tied 5-5. While still nursing a knee injury, he then stole second to move into scoring position with only one out. The successful swipe means a free Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco for anyone that downloads the app. I will, of course, claim my Taco prize!
Note: Schwarber World Series heroics date back to 2016 and the Cubs. (See Post #119)
Tonight is game one of the World Series that practically everyone in the world can watch on TV if they want. However, that wasn’t the case up until September 30, 1947 when three networks shared the broadcast of the very first World Series featuring the Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers. NBC televised games 1 and 5, CBS games 3 and 4, and DuMont games, 2,6, & 7. It was the first racially integrated series with Jackie Robinson going 7-27 and getting his first hit in game 2 to tie the score. Although it was televised, games were only seen on a small number of Eastern markets with stations connected via coaxial cable.
Sherm Lollar started game 3 at catcher for the Yankees wearing #29. He was a right-handed hitter and went 2-3 with two doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored. When the Dodgers brought in right-hander Ralph Branca in the 7th, manager Bucky Harris sent Lollar to the bench in favor of lefty Yogi Berra, who then proceeded to hit the very first pinch-hit home run in World Series history. The Dodgers still won 9-8, claiming their first victory in the series. Incidentally, four years later, Branca, pitching for the New York Giants, made unwelcome history again by giving up the 1951 Bobby Thomson “Shot heard round the world.”
Lollar did not play again until game 6 when he shared the catching duties with Aaron Robinson, the game 5 starter with Berra in right field. Sherm had another single and scored another run, going 3-4 in the series overall and earning his first World Series ring. His Yankees won it all in Game 7, but Robinson did the catching and Berra played right field. Neither of them had a hit. It’s the only time, so far, that the New York Yankees have won a Game 7 at home. In my collection, I have a piece of Sherm Lollar’s uniform from that series. He was traded to the St. Louis Browns in 1949 and finished his career with the Chicago White Sox starting in 1952.
Lollar’s next World Series was in 1959 with the Sox, losing to the Dodgers. He went 5-22 in that series. In 1966, he was a coach with the World Champion Baltimore Orioles.
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
I’m Jonesin’ for a sports fix since I haven’t been in front of a TV for 20 days now. Plus, the game I last watched was the Packers beating my Bears, leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Today, is Game Day and I.U. lost another football game that I couldn’t thankfully see, while the nemesis Boilers stayed on track for a Bowl game invitation. The baseball playoffs are going on but all I can do is monitor the play-by-play on my phone. We’re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a cruise ship, and live TV or streaming is not available. The MLB app can’t figure out where I am. To make matters worse, both the White Sox and Cubs did not make it to the postseason. Even my high school team games, the most likely to win each week, is limited to just a score. Yes, the Elkhart Lions did win – 35-0.
I.U. Basketball’s annual “Hoosier Hysteria” event was yesterday, and although I’ve never been, at least at home there are opportunities to see some of the action. Can’t See at Sea! Right now, the Rays and Guardians are scoreless after 14 innings in a game of potential elimination, but I’m limited to the ESPN app updates. It will be another few days when I finally can get on shore in Hawaii to sit in a bar and watch a live game. I thought that might happen a few Sundays ago in Juneau when I stepped inside the swinging doors of the Red Dog Saloon. However, for some reason, there was no live TV, just monitors showing beer commercials. Our fantasy team also lost this past week, with spotty access to scores on the internet. I need a fix!
It’s college football Saturday and at least I have scores to monitor. It’s five hours earlier than our Florida Eastern time zone, so I don’t have to stay up late, but all I can do is check my phone. Friends are headed to the ballpark, while others have checked in from Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Everyone else that I know is watching at home or on their phones. I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere, no land in sight, with access to plenty of on-board bars showing nothing but boring monitor programming. There’s even a whisky tasting later today, but I’ll have to do it without a game in the background. It just doesn’t seem right – I’m Jonesin’!
The baseball season may well be over for the White Sox and Cubs, but there’s still some exciting developments. Albert Pujols joined the 700 club, Aaron Judge tied Babe Ruth’s single season mark, and the Dodgers are on track to set the single season win mark. Teams that haven’t already claimed their Division titles are focused on the Wild Card race and Shohei Ohtani is in the running for MVP.
The White Sox playoff chances came down to a 4-game series with the Guardians. They won the first game in Cleveland but as has been the case all year couldn’t take advantage of home field and were easily swept. Now, they are 10-games out after folding to the bottom-feeding Tigers also at their oddly unfriendly home park. The meaningless battle for Division runner-up will soon take place against the Twins. Thankfully, it won’t be at Guaranteed Rate, so maybe they can maintain their two-game margin?
Outcomes have not been all bad for this sports fan. IU football is 3-1 after their loss to Cincinnati and are still capable of bowl eligibility with 3 more victories. IU Soccer has been a bit disappointing at 3-2-2 because it’s usually the brightest Hoosier athletic program at this time of year. IU basketball is filled with what might be unreal expectations, but fun to dream about enjoying a winning season with hopes of tournament glory again. The Colts and Bears are both off to great starts with both teams winning against top foes too foes on Sunday – a rare occasion of late. Promise is in the air.
We’re experiencing very bad internet service in Skagway. I can see where the Colts and Bears both won today but can’t get any details. The same is true with my E-Bay auction that ends today for the Sherm Lollar Lanes match book -pretty sure I’ll get sniped at the last minute but it’s not worth more than the $20 bid I made. It ultimately went for $20.50 as I feared.
We spent the morning in a fog, missing most of the sights along the White Pass Summit Vintage Railroad tour. It was amazing to see how this route was built through rock and over fjords to establish a goods exchange between the city of Skagway and its Canadian neighbors. It runs along the narrow rocky trail that prospectors used during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1899. I was concerned that the Canadian Mounted police might board the train as we circled back just over the boarder, demanding my surrender for not taking the mandatory covid test that I was randomly selected to undergo (See Post # 2147). Once the threat never materialized, my wife counted over 60 waterfalls along the way back until she lost interest and began to focus on downtown shopping.
I had a Alaskan beer yesterday afternoon at Juneau’s Red Dog Saloon complete with swinging doors and sawdust floors. It was my first beer since our Portland Leadership Meeting at Two Dogs Tavern – a dog theme is apparently forming when it comes to bars. Three Dog Night is probably next or the Dog Sled Saloon. I’ve mostly stuck to premium red wines or Chef’s Table pairings, Champagne, Limoncello, and Cranberry juice/Tito’s Vodka spritzers on the cruise.
As we crossed the treacherous bridges and trestles along the way, my wife was feeling squeamish and wondering why I was’t? Well, she had me all psyched for yesterday’s Brotherhood Bridge that turned out to be just street level, plus heights don’t seem to bother me in an enclosed area like the train car. It was built to celebrate the joining of the Huna Tlingit eagle and raven clans through marriage, as it is unacceptable to marry a fellow clan member. We learned all about Alaskan tribal clan houses, Potlatch parties/hats, and totem pole lore in Ketchikan.
It made me think of all the bridges we’ve crossed just in the past few months. These include Alabama’s Selma Bridge, Michigan’s Mackinac, Florida’s Skyway, Hope Memorial in Cleveland with the Guardians, the L&I over the Ohio River linking Indiana and Kentucky, the Venice Island drawbridge in our hometown, and the many bridges that span the canals in our Islandwalk neighborhood. Tomorrow, we’ll spend some time exploring Glacier Bay where the only bridges are made of ice.