Month: April 2009

Four years and still Zealotin’

tbzatum

Four years ago today, I wrote the first post for The Baseball Zealot. 

Four years goes pretty fast but we got a lot done.  We managed to put out a audio podcast for over a year (they’re still there if you want to listen to them).  I have a pretty impressive photo gallery if I may say so myself. 

I’ve spun off two websites because I thought the attention they were getting on the Zealot deserved it.  The APBA Blog focuses on the tabletop game APBA and the many leagues that play it.

Also, I began Illinois Baseball Report after covering the University of Illinois baseball team for a couple years on the Zealot.  I finally realized that the topic deserved their own site.  While the topic interest may not be as broad, I think it’s a website that well put together and I’m having a lot of fun doing it. 

By the way, not only is it The Baseball Zealot’s birthday but it’s also my good friend and co-blogger Teddy Ballgame’s birthday.  That’s how I remember his birthday.  Or maybe it’s the other way around. 

I couldn’t do the Zealot without Teddy and those aren’t just nice words.  I really couldn’t.  Especially during the college baseball season when I’m off to every home game covering the Illini, Teddy’s there writing about the MLB.  thanks, Tedd. 

Happy Birthday to you and us!

-TBZ

4/13/09: L-O-T-D – Orlando Hudson

orlando-hudson O-Dog became the first Dodger to hit for the cycle at Dodger Stadium, and the first since Wes Parker did so on May 7, 1970 in New York against the Mets.

Orlando Hudson 4 for 5, 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, 1 SO, 1 CYCLE

Orlando reached base on an infield single in the first inning. He homered in the third to put the Dodgers ahead, 1-0, and doubled in the Dodgers’ six-run rally in the fourth.

Hudson hit a ball down the right-field line in the sixth, stretching a double into a triple with a head-first slide to beat the throw.

Hudson said he knew he would go for the triple when he saw Giants right fielder Randy Winn turn his back — but said he wasn’t even aware of the cycle.

He claimed that he learned what he had done when he returned to the dugout after scoring a run.

“I was like, ‘Congratulations for what?’ ” Hudson said. “I had no idea what was going on.”

Matt Kemp didn’t believe him.

“He was trying to act like he didn’t know,” Kemp said.

“I’m not sure about that. Everyone in the stadium knew he needed the triple for a cycle.”

Whatever the case, the record crowd at Dodger Stadium — 57,099 fans, according to the team — responded with what might have been a record ovation when Hudson’s feat was noted on the video board as he was warming up at second base before the seventh inning.

The fans rose to their feet.

Hudson said that at that moment, he looked into the dugout and tried to lock eyes with Torre.

“I was just looking down at the dugout at Mr. Torre to see if he’d give me a little look, so I could tip my cap,” Hudson said.

“I didn’t want to make it all about me, you know, but I didn’t want the fans to think I was a jerk.”

BTW, The LA Dodgers won their home opener 11-1 over the SF Giants.

Baseball and Marriage

Put this in the “Now That We’ve Solved All Other Problems" category…

The University of Denver Center for Marital and Family Studies has found that divorce rates are lower in cities that have a MLB team. 

Specifically, the study looked at cities before they acquired a team and afterwards. 

A new study from the centre looking at divorce rates before and after cities got Major League Baseball teams is fascinating in its implications. The study showed that cities with major league baseball teams had a 28 percent lower divorce rate than cities that wanted major league baseball teams.

University of Denver psychology professor drew some rather interesting conclusions from this study:

“Going to a baseball game and not talking about relationship issues, but rather having fun and talking as friends is one of the ways to protect and preserve love,”

So go to a baseball game and don’t talk about those nasty relationship issues.  That’ll only get you in trouble. 

Reed Johnson: Defense matters

reedjohnsoncatch

Whatta catch by the Cubs’ Reed Johnson! 

If you haven’t seen it, catch the video at mlb.com. Johnson’s catch stole a bases-loaded home run from the Milwaukee Brewers’ Prince Fielder on Sunday.  The Cubs won the game 8-5.

Is it safe to say that Reed Johnson’s defense has won at least one game so far this year?

PS Alfonso Soriano hit his 51st career leadoff homerun in the game.  I guess it’s a matter of perspective.  I look at it as 51 home runs with nobody on base.

Mark “the Bird” Fidrych Has Flown Home

fidrych Mark Fidrych, a Northborough native whose aw-shucks charm and on-the-mound antics helped make him a national phenomenon as a Detroit Tigers rookie pitcher in 1976, was killed in an accident in his hometown this afternoon while working on his pickup truck. He was 54.

Fidrych, who won 19 games as a rookie before injuries derailed his career, was found dead on his 107-acre farm this afternoon, according to the office of Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. Fidrych was found by a family friend underneath his truck at about 2:30 p.m.

In the 1974 amateur draft, he was not selected until the 10th round, when the Detroit Tigers picked him. In the minor leagues one of his coaches dubbed the lanky right-handed pitcher “The Bird” because of his resemblance to “Big Bird” of the Sesame Street television program.

In the process Fidrych also captured the imagination of fans with his antics on the field. He would crouch down on the pitcher’s mound and fix cleat marks, what became known as “manicuring the mound”, talk to himself, talk to the ball, aim the ball like a dart, strut around the mound after every out, and throw back balls that “had hits in them,” insisting they be removed from the game.

At the of his rookie season, the Tigers gave him a $25,000 bonus and signed him to a three-year contract worth $255,000. Economists estimated that the extra attendance Fidrych generated around the league in 1976 was worth more than $111 million.

Fidrych tore the cartilage in his knee fooling around in the outfield during spring training in 1977. He picked up where he left off after his return from the injury, but about six weeks after his return, during a game against Baltimore, he felt his arm just, in his words, “go dead.” It was a torn rotator cuff, but it would not be diagnosed until 1985.

At age 29, he was forced to retire. After seeing everyone from chiropractors to hypnotists, Fidrych went to famed sports doctor James Andrews in 1985. Dr. Andrews discovered the torn rotator cuff, operated, and cleaned out the shoulder. But, the damage already done to the shoulder effectively ended Fidrych’s chance of making a comeback.

Fidrych remained cheerful and upbeat. In a 1998 interview, when asked who he would invite to dinner if he could invite anyone in the world, Fidrych said, “My buddy and former Tigers teammate Mickey Stanley, because he’s never been to my house.”

It doesn’t seem possible, he seems to young to be dead, maybe because his career was a flash of light, like a meteor streaking across the sky. I just watched a special on the MLB Network about Mark Fidrych, now surely to be replayed, I’ll be watching for it. But it brought back great memories of Bird Mania, what an exciting time it was, the ballpark was electric, and then he was gone, just like today. Gone too soon! Our thoughts & sympathies go out to the Fidrych Family & the entire baseball world. Gone, but not soon forgotten.

4/12/09: L-O-T-D – Aaron Harang

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Aaron Harang (1-0) 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO – 1 CG ShO

While pitching a dominant complete-game shutout against Pittsburgh on Sunday, right-hander Aaron Harang made life easy for his Reds colleagues — well, for most of them anyway.
Harang’s performance certainly didn’t leave Reds manager Dusty Baker with any simple options as his squad entered the top of the ninth. Sure, Harang eventually secured the 2-0 win for Cincinnati with his dominating three-hit, nine-strikeout performance. But Baker wasn’t sure what to do about his game plan entering the final inning.

“If it’s 3-0 or 4-0 — or 6-0, like it should have been — there’s no question,” Baker said. “But 2-0 in our ballpark with guys that can reach the fence … you just want that last strike to be thrown. Aaron was masterful, and it’s a tough position for the manager. Take him out and something happens, or leave him in and something happens.”

Baker knew Harang’s opinion about the matter without having to ask his 6-foot-7, 261-pound ace — “He was going to have to drag me off the field,” Harang said with a laugh — and Baker allowed him to take the mound in the ninth.

Although Pirates left fielder Nyjer Morgan, who reached base three times on Sunday, singled with one out, Baker never left the bench. Harang then coerced Freddy Sanchez to fly out and struck out Nate McLouth to end the game and seal the sixth shutout and 12th complete game of his career.

Last year Harang was 6-17 with a 4.78 ERA, while two years ago was his best in the bigs, 16-6 with a 3.73 ERA. It looks like Aaron is back!

Back-to-back Jacks are #300

73455753SD008_Chicago_White Jermaine Dye hit his 300th home run of his career against the Tigers in Detroit. Then the next batter for the White Sox, Paul Konerko stepped in against Zach Miner, and launched his 300th homer of his career. I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen, back to back players hitting their 300th career home runs, currently Chicago has a 10-6 lead over Motown.

RIP: Harry Kalas

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Born in Naperville, Illinois, Kalas graduated from Naperville High School in 1954. He attended Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa and later graduated from the University of Iowa in 1958. Kalas began his career in 1961 calling minor league games for the Hawaii Islanders while he was in the United States Army stationed in Hawaii.

Kalas made his major league debut in 1965 with the Houston Astros. He was hired by the Phillies in 1971 to replace Bill Campbell, and was the master of ceremonies at the 1971 opening of Veterans Stadium. After the retirement of By Saam, Kalas was paired with Andy Musser and Hall of Fame player Richie Ashburn. Kalas joined NFL Films in 1975, and remained there until his death.

Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas passed out in a press box at Nationals Park today and was pronounced dead at GW Hospital. He was 73.

“We lost our voice today,” team president David Montgomery said, his voice cracking. “He has loved our game and made just a tremendous contribution to our sport and certainly to our organization.”

Nats acting GM Mike Rizzo talked to Montgomery after Kalas’ collapse but there was never really a thought of canceling the game; Montgomery told Rizzo that Kalas would have wanted them to play. There will be a moment for silence for both Nick Adenhart of Hagerstown and for Kalas.

“Major League Baseball has lost one of the great voices of our generation,” Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. “Baseball announcers have a special bond with their audience, and Harry represented the best of baseball not only to the fans of the Phillies, but to fans everywhere.”

Montgomery said that Kalas was found unconscious in a broadcast booth, where he was preparing to work Monday’s game against the Nationals. He was found by the Phillies director of broadcasting at about 12:30 p.m.

Montgomery called his condition serious at that time, and the Phillies closed the visitors’ clubhouse to the media.

Kalas missed most of spring training after undergoing surgery in February. The team declined to reveal details of the surgery, saying it was a “minor medical procedure.”

Kalas, who has broadcast Phillies games since 1971, was known for his distinctive “Outta here!” home run call. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame after receiving the Ford C. Frick Award in 2002. He was in the final year of a three-year contract with the Phillies. Kalas also narrated for NFL Films, broadcast Animal Planet’s annual Puppy Bowl and did the voice-overs for the Chunky Soup commercials.

Kalas and Ashburn became beloved figures in Philadelphia, and also became best friends. They worked together for 27 seasons until Ashburn’s sudden passing on September 9, 1997 of a heart attack in his sleep in a New York City hotel room after broadcasting a Phillies/Mets game at Shea Stadium. Due to the closeness of Ashburn and Kalas, Kalas openly stated that he still grieved over Ashburn’s death, over eleven years afterwards.

Kalas’ familiar home run call was “Swing…and a long drive, watch this baby, outta here! Home run ” If it was a gigantic home run, he sometimes inserted “deep center field” after “and a long drive” and described it as “that ball’s way outta here!”. As a guest on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball on July 15, 2007, Kalas recounted that his famous “outta here” call originated in the mid-1970s. Standing around the batting cage during batting practice Philly slugger Greg Luzinski hit a ball into the upper deck to which Philly shortstop Larry Bowa reacted with the words, “Wow! That’s way outta here.” Kalas claims that it had a nice “unique ring to it and has been using it ever since”.

Harry Kalas died, doing what he did, and he did it good. I remember when 73 was old, not any more, tomorrow I turn 53, and 73 is too young to go. Kalas will be missed, sympathies go out to Harry’s family, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the NFL.