I’m back in warm Champaign-Urbana. And by “warm”, I mean it was in the twenties and not in single digits. Practically a heat wave.

Many thanks to my buddy Tyler who I didn’t see all weekend but who lent me his place for the weekend while I attended the Cubs Convention. His place was well within walking distance and had all the amenities I needed (an Internet connection being the primary one).

Sweet Lou getting his photo taken with a fan.

This was my second Cubs Convention and while it doesn’t make me an expert, I did know the ropes a little more and was a little less intimidated by the crowds, lines, and excitement.

Ron Santo during “Storytelling with Cubs Legends”

Last year I spent a good amount of time acquiring autographs. Not this year. I decided to forego this in favor of enjoying the atmosphere, taking in a few talks and hopefully meeting a few people. I didn’t spend a lot of time or money on memorabilia. Just a Divisional Champion ballcap for my son and 3 pins.

These guys were playing all throughout the convention

By the way, something of interest… Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue caught Piniella in a Q&A and Lou responded with a tentative opening day lineup:

Soriano, lf
Theriot, ss
Lee, 1b
Ramirez, 3b
Fukudome, rf
DeRosa, 2b
Soto, c
Pie, cf
Zambrano, p

I don’t hold much in lineups formulated well before Spring Training but it’s something for us to munch on.

Oh, one last thing. the answer to the trivia question that the Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit (at the Convention) asked and had everyone stumped. The question again:

Which player has played the most games for the Yankees?

A. Yogi Berra

B. Lou Gehrig

C. Bernie Williams

D. Mickey Mantle

Many people in the audience either guessed Berra or Gehrig. The answer: Mickey Mantle with 2410 games. Gehrig is second (2164), Williams 3rd (2076) and Berra is fourth (2116).

The convention was fun and now it’s less than a month till pitchers and catchers report.

Go Cubbies!

See all the photos from the convention at The Baseball Zealot Photo Gallery

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Tags: 2008 Cubs Convention, Cubs, Trivia by The Baseball Zealot
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This was the last day of the convention and events weren’t scheduled much past morning. Even as I got there, some folks were dragging their luggage out the door of the Hilton.

In an effort, I suppose, to appeal to the kids, Curious George was on hand. It didn’t work on this kid who was a bit timid to hug a strange man in a monkey suit.

Daryle Ward shares the love during a photo session.

Though the fare was a bit light on Sunday, the autograph hounds were still out in full force. Here the line for Daryle Ward.

The Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit was out today with a video and a baseball trivia contest. Let me run this question by you all and see if you get it without looking it up. Only two people in the audience got this right and I was not one of those two.

The question: Which player has played the most games for the Yankees?

A. Yogi Berra

B. Lou Gehrig

C. Bernie Williams

D. Mickey Mantle

I’ll give the answer tomorrow.

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Tags: 2008 Cubs Convention, Cubs, Trivia by The Baseball Zealot
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I played in the big leagues for twenty years, which spanned four decades. While in the field I participated in a record 2,044 DPs. Who am I???

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Tags: Articles by Teddy Ballgame, Statistics, Trivia by Teddy Ballgame
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1. Dan Uggla hit his 20th homerun tonight. The Marlins have the chance to be the first NL team to have 3 rookies with 20+ homeruns. Josh Willingham has 19 and Mike Jacobs has 17.

My question to you: What AL team did this?

2. Before today, the Arizona Diamondbacks ninth spot in the lineup has only 2 rbis less than the number 4 spot.

Their cleanup hitters have hit a grand total of 8 homeruns this year.

Granted, the nine hole includes pinch hitters and position players on the rare occasion when the DH is in effect against AL teams.

But still.

3. Orlando Hudson leads the D-backs in rbis since the All-Star break.

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Tags: Trivia by The Baseball Zealot
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I read in a book published around 1990 that Pittsburgh Pirates, as a team, have the most batting titles throughout history.

I wondered if that was still true. A quick check found it was that no longer the case.

What team can claim the most batting titles (starting from 1901)?

The answer in a couple days.

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Somebody’s sitting in my usual seat tonight. The booth I usually sit at has a picture above it of Bob Richards. He’s a University of Illinois alumni and a former athlete.

My question for you is what was his unusual nickname and what was his sport? They go hand in hand.

No fair searching the web.

The college summer leagues are winding down and many (most?) of the Illini are involved in the playoff picture. The fightingillini.com website has all the details. I won’t bother repeating what’s already there. However, since they didn’t bother linking the team’s or league’s web sites, I took the time to look them up and link them on this post.

Good luck, Illini and look forward to seeing you at the Alumni Game this fall!!

Coastal Plain League

• Fayetteville Swampdogs

Northwoods League

• Duluth Huskies
• Rochester Honkers
• Madison Mallards
• Waterloo Bucks

Central Illinois Collegiate League

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Tags: Trivia, University of Illinois Baseball by The Baseball Zealot
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With his win against Toronto on June 23, Tom Glavine has joined an elite group of pitchers. According to The Hardball Times, Glavine is now 100 games over .500 with a record of 286-186. At this point, there are only twenty pitchers who can claim that. Of those twenty, fourteen are in the Hall of Fame. The rest are still active.

Of course, with the nature of this kind of record, Glavine could be easily taken off this list with a loss. He’s had a heckuva year but his last few starts have been iffy.

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Actually because of a tie, there are eleven.

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Tags: Trivia, Tuesday's Top Ten by The Baseball Zealot
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In the last fifty years there have been three major leaguers to bat .300 or better for ten straight years. Right now Vladimir Guerrero has done it nine consecutive years and is well on his way to number ten. He’ll be the first righthanded hitter to accomplish this task. Can you name the lefthanded hitters who have done it?

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Tags: Articles by Teddy Ballgame, Trivia by Teddy Ballgame
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