We're in the midst of a two and a half week stint of interleague play. I've not been a fan of interleague play at any time. When it was first discussed way back when, I thought it was a bad idea. The promise was for fans of the other league to see the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants and Dodgers. But they also have to see all the other teams as well. Sure, there have been some interesting matchups over the years, and I have enjoyed some of them, but overall they have had a negative impact on baseball in my view.
Baseball has put a spin on interleague play, claiming statistics that show an increase in attendance, etc., but most of this is just that - spin. Interleague games occur mostly in the summer when school is out and the weather is good. Most series are played on the weekends, so of course attendance figures will reflect those conditions. The "rivalry" series that baseball uses for attendance props can be good because of natural rivalries within any given metro or state area.
What I would like to see more than interleague play is to realign the divisions in baseball to allow for the maximum regional team groupings. The Yankees and Mets would be in the same division and play each other 20 games each year. Same with Cubs/Sox, Dodgers/Angels, A's/Giants. Now that would be great for baseball. One division could hold the A's, Giants, Dodgers, Angels and Padres. The Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, Orioles and Nats could be in another division. Maybe a southern division could hold the Rangers, Astros, Braves, Rays and Marlins. It won't happen anytime soon.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
A's vs. Giants
The A's played the Giants this weekend during interleague play. I grew up with both teams and was a die-hard fan of each team. Of all the metro areas with two teams, being a fan of both is most accepted in the San Francisco area. I've been asked many times how I could be a fan of both teams, and I always responded that they would never play each other when it counted. This was before interleague play and the 1989 World Series.
I was a full time bleacher bum at A's games, while sitting in the box seats at Giants games. When they tore out my bleachers to build Mt. Davis for the Raiders, I stopped going to A's games regularly, so now I still like the A's and cheer for them, I'm not the die-hard fan I once was. They're my second favorite team, and if I see the Giants play at the Colisuem, I'll cheer for the Giants.
Each team's fans seem to have unique view of the other team. A's fans are jealous of all the Giants popularity with the whole Bonds era and the new stadium. The Coliseum went from a fairly good place to watch a game to a pit once it was remodeled for the Raiders. I did see a great T-shirt, though from an A's fan point of view. It read, "Zero splash hits, four world titles." Giants fans on the other hand seem to have an arrogant dismissal of the A's and their fans. Oakland is the place where the saying is true: "there's no there there." Oakland is a place of inferiority complex compared to the most popular city in the world, and their place in the lowly American League west only reinforces that.
I was a full time bleacher bum at A's games, while sitting in the box seats at Giants games. When they tore out my bleachers to build Mt. Davis for the Raiders, I stopped going to A's games regularly, so now I still like the A's and cheer for them, I'm not the die-hard fan I once was. They're my second favorite team, and if I see the Giants play at the Colisuem, I'll cheer for the Giants.
Each team's fans seem to have unique view of the other team. A's fans are jealous of all the Giants popularity with the whole Bonds era and the new stadium. The Coliseum went from a fairly good place to watch a game to a pit once it was remodeled for the Raiders. I did see a great T-shirt, though from an A's fan point of view. It read, "Zero splash hits, four world titles." Giants fans on the other hand seem to have an arrogant dismissal of the A's and their fans. Oakland is the place where the saying is true: "there's no there there." Oakland is a place of inferiority complex compared to the most popular city in the world, and their place in the lowly American League west only reinforces that.
Giants Loss Projection Through June 1
May 20 through June 1:
18-29, 100; 19-29, 98; 20-29, 96; 20-30, 97; 20-31, 98; 21-31, 97; 22-31, 95; 23-31, 93; 23-32, 94; 23-33, 95; 24-33, 94.
18-29, 100; 19-29, 98; 20-29, 96; 20-30, 97; 20-31, 98; 21-31, 97; 22-31, 95; 23-31, 93; 23-32, 94; 23-33, 95; 24-33, 94.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Parity In Baseball
Many sports fans make a case for parity - the idea that all teams should be as equal as possible to allow every team a shot at winning a championship. This idea is quite widespread. Sports like basketball and football have tried to accomplish this idea by implementing such things as a salary cap and revenue sharing, etc. Well, there is a solution to the parity problem that nobody ever talks about, and it's the only one that makes sense. I'll mention it later in the post.
The call for parity comes from a realization that big market teams have all the money and much larger sources of revenue and media attention, and therefore can simply "buy" success, if not a championship. New York is a great place to have a team. Big market teams are always in the playoffs, and fans are tired of seeing them all the time. They want somebody else to have a shot. Fans tire of dynasties.
Now, I'm actually opposed to this idea of parity. In fact, football and basketball are boring because of it. I always hear in the news about a trade or pickup or attempt to keep some player that some team can't do becuase of salary cap limitations. What fun is that? Oh, the Steelers can't resign this guy for what he's worth because of the salary cap. Why not? I believe teams should be able to improve their teams, regardless of money. Yes, I hate seeing the Yankees in the playoffs all the time. But, money doesn't guarantee a championship, as the last seven years have testified.
I actually prefer eras in sports that include dynasties. They make sports history interesting. If a different team won each year, history would be much less meaningful. Dynasties in my lifetime include the A's of the early 70's, the Big Red Machine, the Blue Jays minor dynasty, and the late 90's Yankees. Without dynasties, a winning team would have little hope for the following year, and players would leave more easily. Dynasties create memories and conversation.
The real solution to the problem of parity can be summed up in the answer to a question. If New York is such a great place to have a baseball team, then why don't more teams play there? The real problem isn't the disparity of market size between metropolitan areas, it is the idea of "territorial rights" given to teams. In baseball, each team has a territorial right within a 75 mile radius. If a team wanted to move to San Jose, the San Francisco Giants could veto such a move. And they did when the A's wanted to move there. When the Expos moved to Washington, the Baltimore Orioles cried foul and wanted compensation for the invasion.
But here's the problem with the territorial rights rule: it creates disparity because it is based on land area and not population. Yes, George Steinbrenner has been given a 22 million population metro area, while the Brewers have 2 million. Teams are given entire markets, not just parts of a large market. What baseball really needs is more teams in the large markets, to dilute the population base for each team. Do New York and Milwaukee have the same number of McDonald's? Put a team in downtown Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, one in East Retherford, NJ, and then you're talking. Put one in San Bernardino, San Jose, Chicago suburbs, and another one in Boston somewhere. All the intra-area rivalries would help, and it would give the Tampa Bay's of the baseball world a real chance to win... by either being more competitive right there in Tampa, or by moving to Brooklyn.
The call for parity comes from a realization that big market teams have all the money and much larger sources of revenue and media attention, and therefore can simply "buy" success, if not a championship. New York is a great place to have a team. Big market teams are always in the playoffs, and fans are tired of seeing them all the time. They want somebody else to have a shot. Fans tire of dynasties.
Now, I'm actually opposed to this idea of parity. In fact, football and basketball are boring because of it. I always hear in the news about a trade or pickup or attempt to keep some player that some team can't do becuase of salary cap limitations. What fun is that? Oh, the Steelers can't resign this guy for what he's worth because of the salary cap. Why not? I believe teams should be able to improve their teams, regardless of money. Yes, I hate seeing the Yankees in the playoffs all the time. But, money doesn't guarantee a championship, as the last seven years have testified.
I actually prefer eras in sports that include dynasties. They make sports history interesting. If a different team won each year, history would be much less meaningful. Dynasties in my lifetime include the A's of the early 70's, the Big Red Machine, the Blue Jays minor dynasty, and the late 90's Yankees. Without dynasties, a winning team would have little hope for the following year, and players would leave more easily. Dynasties create memories and conversation.
The real solution to the problem of parity can be summed up in the answer to a question. If New York is such a great place to have a baseball team, then why don't more teams play there? The real problem isn't the disparity of market size between metropolitan areas, it is the idea of "territorial rights" given to teams. In baseball, each team has a territorial right within a 75 mile radius. If a team wanted to move to San Jose, the San Francisco Giants could veto such a move. And they did when the A's wanted to move there. When the Expos moved to Washington, the Baltimore Orioles cried foul and wanted compensation for the invasion.
But here's the problem with the territorial rights rule: it creates disparity because it is based on land area and not population. Yes, George Steinbrenner has been given a 22 million population metro area, while the Brewers have 2 million. Teams are given entire markets, not just parts of a large market. What baseball really needs is more teams in the large markets, to dilute the population base for each team. Do New York and Milwaukee have the same number of McDonald's? Put a team in downtown Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, one in East Retherford, NJ, and then you're talking. Put one in San Bernardino, San Jose, Chicago suburbs, and another one in Boston somewhere. All the intra-area rivalries would help, and it would give the Tampa Bay's of the baseball world a real chance to win... by either being more competitive right there in Tampa, or by moving to Brooklyn.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Cast And Crew: Coliseum Security Guards
A very important group of people in the history of the A's bleachers were the security guards. They were there every game, year in and year out. We all got to know them and they always talked to us. They were a special part of the bleachers because of the kind of people they were. Community as a part of life was as important to them as their jobs were. This simply made their jobs much better.
Most of the security guards were blue collar black guys from urban Oakland. They were all extremely mean looking, large guys that pumped iron. Biceps bulged in their shirt sleeves. You didn't want to mess with any of them. Their uniforms weren't your typical rent-a-cop looking security guard type of uniforms that you see at Disneyland or a corporate business park. They were olive drab in color, which made them all the more mean looking. But most of these guys were pussycats in many ways. They listened to soul, R&B, Barry White and old Motown and loved their wives. One of the bleacher guards was white, and he was stationed in right field. He didn't seem to be one of the cool ones, and had kind of the same image as the white cop on the TV show Sanford and Son.
They weren't busybodies, so standing around doing nothing while nothing wrong was happening was perfectly fine with them, and us. They talked baseball, cars and many other things. When fights broke out, we certainly saw them body slam their fair share of rowdies. They were fairly lenient with pot smokers, but occasionally ran some of them in to the security rooms somewhere within the concrete superstructure known as the Coliseum. But it was almost like the more pot somebody had, the less trouble they got into, because some of the guards simply took the evidence home for themselves. A couple of them were themselves often stoned on the job, and a couple of bleacher bums smoked dope with them on a regular basis.
The main guards as we knew them were: Sarge, whose real name was Bob; we just called him Sarge because he was the sergeant of all the guards. Champ, a shortening of his last name. Larry, and Gipson. One year I had all of them autograph a baseball for me. They were shocked at the proposition, but loved signing anyway. They were employed not by the A's, but by the Coliseum, so they did football, basketball, concerts and wrestling too. Wrestling events were the worst for them because of all the food and other things thrown. We loved the guards and talking with them, and made for a much more pleasant experience.
Most of the security guards were blue collar black guys from urban Oakland. They were all extremely mean looking, large guys that pumped iron. Biceps bulged in their shirt sleeves. You didn't want to mess with any of them. Their uniforms weren't your typical rent-a-cop looking security guard type of uniforms that you see at Disneyland or a corporate business park. They were olive drab in color, which made them all the more mean looking. But most of these guys were pussycats in many ways. They listened to soul, R&B, Barry White and old Motown and loved their wives. One of the bleacher guards was white, and he was stationed in right field. He didn't seem to be one of the cool ones, and had kind of the same image as the white cop on the TV show Sanford and Son.
They weren't busybodies, so standing around doing nothing while nothing wrong was happening was perfectly fine with them, and us. They talked baseball, cars and many other things. When fights broke out, we certainly saw them body slam their fair share of rowdies. They were fairly lenient with pot smokers, but occasionally ran some of them in to the security rooms somewhere within the concrete superstructure known as the Coliseum. But it was almost like the more pot somebody had, the less trouble they got into, because some of the guards simply took the evidence home for themselves. A couple of them were themselves often stoned on the job, and a couple of bleacher bums smoked dope with them on a regular basis.
The main guards as we knew them were: Sarge, whose real name was Bob; we just called him Sarge because he was the sergeant of all the guards. Champ, a shortening of his last name. Larry, and Gipson. One year I had all of them autograph a baseball for me. They were shocked at the proposition, but loved signing anyway. They were employed not by the A's, but by the Coliseum, so they did football, basketball, concerts and wrestling too. Wrestling events were the worst for them because of all the food and other things thrown. We loved the guards and talking with them, and made for a much more pleasant experience.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Many More Stories To Come
I was viewing my topic list that I still want to write about. I have over sixty stories on that list that I count as major experiences that I still want to write about. This doesn't include posts about players, stats, current events, ballparks, history, etc.; just stories. I can't believe it. I'm just scratching the surface of baseball things to blog about. Hopefully I won't run out any time soon.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
The Riot
There's a double header I attended back in 1988 (Dodgers/Giants at Candlestick) that I simply call "The Riot." A co-worker of mine was there and he recalled his version of the story to me just last week. It was great to hear it from him, because as he recounted it to me, I realized that unlike many fishing stories, my version hadn't grown each time I've told it. As I tell the following story, please be reminded that I am not exaggerating as to what happened.
The Giants hosted a rare double header against the Dodgers in July of 1988. Rare because they usually draw well and don't need a double header. The late 80's/early 90's saw the peak of fan rowdiness and unruliness, contrary to some moralist traditionalists that claim it is still getting worse. Well this night was tops I've ever experienced.
First, there were 50,000 extremely rowdy Giants fans in attendance for this twi-night double header. It started hours before the game in the parking lot. "Beat LA" and "Dodgers suck" chants were breaking out all over the place, and it lasted all night long. The second game went extra innings, so it was a truly long night indeed. The Dodgers swept, winning both games by scoring in the late innings, which infuriated the orange and black throngs.
Beer sales must have hit an all time record. There were tens of thousands of completely drunken fans. Plastered out of their minds. Normally, alcohol sales are cut off in the 7th inning of a game. But during the double header, sales weren't halted until the 7th inning of the second game. Liquor bottles sneaked in by the fans were lying everywhere, and you could hear one drop to the concrete every few minutes. Bathroom lines were hundreds of fans deep, and once inside, a drunken party atmosphere prevailed. There were fights in the stands every inning or so. The police were out in force, by the dozens, and they were wearing full riot gear. Helmets, shields, batons and combat boots. Every few innings a fight was bad enough that the riot cops descended on the fight, jumping in head first and pummelling people with sticks and such. Fans would rise to their feet to view the fighting. Dodger fans were being physically assaulted just for being Dodger fans. It was very ugly, especially in the bleachers. Rowdiness was anticipated, as the grass area between the bleachers and the chain link left field fence (where fans would pour out to shag home runs) was barricaded off and stayed this way for the rest of the year.
A mob mentality ruled the crowd the entire evening. Drunkenness, profane chants, you name it. An especially active group of rowdies were sitting behind the Dodger dugout, heckling and screaming at Dodgers on deck and those who returned to the dugout after making outs or errors. Not only did fans throw Dodger home runs back onto the field in game one (emulating the bleacher bums at Wrigley Field), but the fans had become so drunken and unruly in game two that they were even throwing back foul balls hit by the Dodgers. "Throw it back" chants broke out upon every Dodger foul ball. It became a really foggy evening as well (this could have been Halloween) and one pop fly was lost in the fog by a Dodger outfielder as it fell for a hit.
One foul ball hit by a Dodger behind home plate was caught by a Giants fan. I usually watch fans after they catch a ball to see how they react. Well, the Dodger batter got back into the batter's box, and this fan started sprinting down the aisle toward the field. He hurled a major league fastball at the Dodger batter, missing his ear by about six inches as the ball scooted across the infield. Within seconds, the entire Dodger dugout had climbed into the stands and started kicking the crap out of this fan. Riot police again descended into the mess and body slammed this fan to the concrete before escorting him off in handcuffs. With the Dodger players in the stands, fans by the dozens were hurling their beers at the Dodgers. Showers of liquid, debris and profane abuse were raining down from everywhere. They retreated to the field, where the deluge continued. The game was stopped and it took several minutes to clean up the mess and restore order. Special announcements were made before games the rest of the year because of this incident.
All in all, it was a scary night. I could feel it in the air. Even though I was a season ticket holder - and Giants fan - sitting in the most prime of box seats, I still felt like something could happen to me at any time. If it weren't for being such a baseball fan, and having a few beers in me myself, it would have been a good thing to just make it home as quickly as possible. My co-worker felt the same. And that's the reason I call this double header "The Riot." See the box scores for game 1 here, and game 2 here.
The Giants hosted a rare double header against the Dodgers in July of 1988. Rare because they usually draw well and don't need a double header. The late 80's/early 90's saw the peak of fan rowdiness and unruliness, contrary to some moralist traditionalists that claim it is still getting worse. Well this night was tops I've ever experienced.
First, there were 50,000 extremely rowdy Giants fans in attendance for this twi-night double header. It started hours before the game in the parking lot. "Beat LA" and "Dodgers suck" chants were breaking out all over the place, and it lasted all night long. The second game went extra innings, so it was a truly long night indeed. The Dodgers swept, winning both games by scoring in the late innings, which infuriated the orange and black throngs.
Beer sales must have hit an all time record. There were tens of thousands of completely drunken fans. Plastered out of their minds. Normally, alcohol sales are cut off in the 7th inning of a game. But during the double header, sales weren't halted until the 7th inning of the second game. Liquor bottles sneaked in by the fans were lying everywhere, and you could hear one drop to the concrete every few minutes. Bathroom lines were hundreds of fans deep, and once inside, a drunken party atmosphere prevailed. There were fights in the stands every inning or so. The police were out in force, by the dozens, and they were wearing full riot gear. Helmets, shields, batons and combat boots. Every few innings a fight was bad enough that the riot cops descended on the fight, jumping in head first and pummelling people with sticks and such. Fans would rise to their feet to view the fighting. Dodger fans were being physically assaulted just for being Dodger fans. It was very ugly, especially in the bleachers. Rowdiness was anticipated, as the grass area between the bleachers and the chain link left field fence (where fans would pour out to shag home runs) was barricaded off and stayed this way for the rest of the year.
A mob mentality ruled the crowd the entire evening. Drunkenness, profane chants, you name it. An especially active group of rowdies were sitting behind the Dodger dugout, heckling and screaming at Dodgers on deck and those who returned to the dugout after making outs or errors. Not only did fans throw Dodger home runs back onto the field in game one (emulating the bleacher bums at Wrigley Field), but the fans had become so drunken and unruly in game two that they were even throwing back foul balls hit by the Dodgers. "Throw it back" chants broke out upon every Dodger foul ball. It became a really foggy evening as well (this could have been Halloween) and one pop fly was lost in the fog by a Dodger outfielder as it fell for a hit.
One foul ball hit by a Dodger behind home plate was caught by a Giants fan. I usually watch fans after they catch a ball to see how they react. Well, the Dodger batter got back into the batter's box, and this fan started sprinting down the aisle toward the field. He hurled a major league fastball at the Dodger batter, missing his ear by about six inches as the ball scooted across the infield. Within seconds, the entire Dodger dugout had climbed into the stands and started kicking the crap out of this fan. Riot police again descended into the mess and body slammed this fan to the concrete before escorting him off in handcuffs. With the Dodger players in the stands, fans by the dozens were hurling their beers at the Dodgers. Showers of liquid, debris and profane abuse were raining down from everywhere. They retreated to the field, where the deluge continued. The game was stopped and it took several minutes to clean up the mess and restore order. Special announcements were made before games the rest of the year because of this incident.
All in all, it was a scary night. I could feel it in the air. Even though I was a season ticket holder - and Giants fan - sitting in the most prime of box seats, I still felt like something could happen to me at any time. If it weren't for being such a baseball fan, and having a few beers in me myself, it would have been a good thing to just make it home as quickly as possible. My co-worker felt the same. And that's the reason I call this double header "The Riot." See the box scores for game 1 here, and game 2 here.
The Bullpen
If we don't want our youngest to get into things while we are busy with something else, we put him in his play pen. As a baseball family I wonder why it took us so long to come up with a nickname for the playpen: The Bullpen
Friday, June 6, 2008
Devil Gone
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays officially changed their nickname this year from the Devil Rays to just simply the Rays. They even changed their website address, but with a forward link no doubt from the old name. I thought the Toronto Blue Jays did the same thing a few years ago, but upon visiting their site, apparently not.
I'm not sure what possessed the Devil Rays to change their name, but I don't much like either name. Their uniforms have pretty much said "Rays" across the front for a while now anyway. On second thought, I'm not sure what possessed them to be named the Devil Rays in the first place. A fan contest I seem to remember. Did only one fan vote? At least they were never the Tampa Bay Giants.
I'm not sure what possessed the Devil Rays to change their name, but I don't much like either name. Their uniforms have pretty much said "Rays" across the front for a while now anyway. On second thought, I'm not sure what possessed them to be named the Devil Rays in the first place. A fan contest I seem to remember. Did only one fan vote? At least they were never the Tampa Bay Giants.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Fun Night At The Ballyard
I went to last night's thrashing of the Mets by the Giants. It started out with deciding to drive to the game from work. A friend was also going and had to meet his family there so he hitched a ride. Another guy who lived in the City piled in so we crossed the bridge free in the carpool lane. We got there really early. It was a guy's night out with Mike and I. My good friend Shelly bought the other two tickets long ago and brought her dad.
It was Irish heritage night, so I opted out of my usual Lagunitas IPA and had a Guiness. It was also Tim Lincecum poster night for the first 20,000. I got there in plenty of time. I bumped into Shelly in the food line just before heading down to the seats. Her dad had an open container of pop corn which lasted for quite a few innings.
There were many Mets fans in attendance, with their usual machismo style of "bragging rights start before the game" swagger. A six run first shut all of them up. Funny how that happens. Anyway, it was a typical frigid San Francisco summer night, temps in the low 50's, foggy, with wind in the 30mph's. Overall, I had quite a bit of fun, what with the Giants win and an abundance of heckling opportunities of the Mets bullpen, what with all the scoring.
It was Irish heritage night, so I opted out of my usual Lagunitas IPA and had a Guiness. It was also Tim Lincecum poster night for the first 20,000. I got there in plenty of time. I bumped into Shelly in the food line just before heading down to the seats. Her dad had an open container of pop corn which lasted for quite a few innings.
There were many Mets fans in attendance, with their usual machismo style of "bragging rights start before the game" swagger. A six run first shut all of them up. Funny how that happens. Anyway, it was a typical frigid San Francisco summer night, temps in the low 50's, foggy, with wind in the 30mph's. Overall, I had quite a bit of fun, what with the Giants win and an abundance of heckling opportunities of the Mets bullpen, what with all the scoring.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Decline Of The Baseball Card Hobby
A few months ago I decided to look up the value of some of my baseball cards. My most valuable card, as far as I know, is a 1975 George Brett mini rookie card. The mini set was a Topps experiment on the west coast that never took hold. Those cards are worth more than the standard size. Last I checked, this card was worth about $750 ten years ago. Surely, I thought, it would be worth more today.
Not so. I found many of them on various internet market sites like eBay. The max asking price I found was $100 for a card in excellent condition. I don't know whether the price went down because the supply went up. By the supply going up I mean that the average card holder now has an easy way to market the card on the internet. In the past, trying to find a card for sale would have been tougher, maybe limited to seeking out a dealer. Also the glut of companies and various card series coupled with a lack of interest from the younger generation might have contributed to this. Nevertheless, it isn't worth what it used to be. Maybe that's good because I can keep it instead of selling it to get some much desired cash.
Not so. I found many of them on various internet market sites like eBay. The max asking price I found was $100 for a card in excellent condition. I don't know whether the price went down because the supply went up. By the supply going up I mean that the average card holder now has an easy way to market the card on the internet. In the past, trying to find a card for sale would have been tougher, maybe limited to seeking out a dealer. Also the glut of companies and various card series coupled with a lack of interest from the younger generation might have contributed to this. Nevertheless, it isn't worth what it used to be. Maybe that's good because I can keep it instead of selling it to get some much desired cash.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Update - Ballparks From The Air
In my last post I said I saw Dodger stadium at night all lit up from the airplane. Yes, the lights were on, but I made the mistake of saying that they were playing that night. Actually the Dodgers and Mets played in New York. I don't know why the lights were on.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Ballparks From The Air
Yesterday, I flew to our firm's San Diego office on business from the Oakland airport. It was a down-and-up trip, same day. San Diego is about 500 miles south of the Bay Area. (When you consider that we are still six driving hours south of the Oregon state line, it shows just how big California is). The flight starts out curving over the bay, then over San Fransisco out to the ocean. It follows the coast all the way down to San Diego. It is important to get a window seat on the left side of the plane.
From the air, I saw Dodger stadium, just to the east of all the huge buildings in downtown, from 35,000 feet. Then I saw Anaheim Stadium, or whatever they were calling it at 10am yesterday, just a few minutes later (it is 30 miles south of LA). I also saw our firm's San Diego office from the air. The approach to the San Diego airport, under normal wind conditions, is from the southeast. So I was able to see Petco Park close up amongst the downtown buildings. Nobody else on the flight would have been interested, so I got to see all these things in quiet wonder.
I had several meetings in San Diego, and didn't get any normal work done. But knowing that I was there while the Padres played a day game (I couldn't go to the game), was a bit of a downer. On my return flight, which was just after sunset, I had an aisle seat on the right side, so the view was extremely limited. But, I did get to see Dodger stadium again - in the dark with the stadium lights on. They were playing the Mets at 8pm when I flew by. It was an awesome view from the air.
The only thing I missed was seeing Pac Bell/SBC/AT&T/eHarmony Park on the takeoff out of Oakland. Usually, the flights go over downtown SF, making the park visible. But we veered off to the south, and it was foggy anyway.
Seeing parks from the air was really cool, and these were a couple of flights to remember.
From the air, I saw Dodger stadium, just to the east of all the huge buildings in downtown, from 35,000 feet. Then I saw Anaheim Stadium, or whatever they were calling it at 10am yesterday, just a few minutes later (it is 30 miles south of LA). I also saw our firm's San Diego office from the air. The approach to the San Diego airport, under normal wind conditions, is from the southeast. So I was able to see Petco Park close up amongst the downtown buildings. Nobody else on the flight would have been interested, so I got to see all these things in quiet wonder.
I had several meetings in San Diego, and didn't get any normal work done. But knowing that I was there while the Padres played a day game (I couldn't go to the game), was a bit of a downer. On my return flight, which was just after sunset, I had an aisle seat on the right side, so the view was extremely limited. But, I did get to see Dodger stadium again - in the dark with the stadium lights on. They were playing the Mets at 8pm when I flew by. It was an awesome view from the air.
The only thing I missed was seeing Pac Bell/SBC/AT&T/eHarmony Park on the takeoff out of Oakland. Usually, the flights go over downtown SF, making the park visible. But we veered off to the south, and it was foggy anyway.
Seeing parks from the air was really cool, and these were a couple of flights to remember.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
My 1987 Season
After my 1986 season of going to 173 regular season games in 11 ballparks, I kept it up in 1987 by going to 165 games in 7 ballparks. Only two of the ballparks were new for me, Royals Stadium in Kansas City and Busch Stadium in St. Louis. But, in addition to all those regular season games, I went to 10 spring training games (7 of them in Arizona, one in San Diego vs. the A's and the two Bay Bridge Series games), the All-Star Game in Oakland, the three NLCS games in San Francisco, and a minor league game in Reno. This for a total of 180 games. Plus, I was at the All-Star workout the day before the All-Star game.
A few noteworthy things about the '87 season. Spring training was lots of fun. I saw the A's in Kansas City, and I caught a foul ball off the A's Carney Lansford. Later that night former Royals manager Dick Howser died from cancer. The minor league game occurred during the All-Star break when Mike and I went to Reno to gamble. We looked up the minor league team (then Reno Padres, California A league). They played the Stockton Ports (Brewers) with future star Gary Sheffield. Sheffield had been recently involved in a police incident with his cousin (uncle?) Dwight Gooden in Florida. Sheffield was heckled greatly. I also attended my first LCS with the Giants playing the Cards. 1986 and 1987 were my all-out seasons, and I haven't attended nearly as many games ever since.
A few noteworthy things about the '87 season. Spring training was lots of fun. I saw the A's in Kansas City, and I caught a foul ball off the A's Carney Lansford. Later that night former Royals manager Dick Howser died from cancer. The minor league game occurred during the All-Star break when Mike and I went to Reno to gamble. We looked up the minor league team (then Reno Padres, California A league). They played the Stockton Ports (Brewers) with future star Gary Sheffield. Sheffield had been recently involved in a police incident with his cousin (uncle?) Dwight Gooden in Florida. Sheffield was heckled greatly. I also attended my first LCS with the Giants playing the Cards. 1986 and 1987 were my all-out seasons, and I haven't attended nearly as many games ever since.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Tampa Bay Best Record In Baseball
As of right now, the Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in all of baseball. No, it's not opening day. Amazing. The Yankees are also in last place.
More On My 1986 Season
In 1986 I attended 173 regular season games in 11 ballparks. I forgot to mention that I also attended two exhibition games just prior to the season. These were the last two spring training games played between the A's and Giants, one game in each Oakland and San Francisco, called "The Bay Bridge Series." So there were 175 games total.
The 11 ballparks I visited were: Oakland Coliseum, Candlestick Park, The Kingdome (Seattle), County Stadium (Milwaukee), Wrigley Field, Old Comiskey Park, Anaheim Stadium, Jack Murphy Stadium (San Diego), Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium and Olympic Stadium (Montreal).
In addition to the two "double headers the hard way" I did between Wrigley and Comiskey, I also did Dodger Stadium (day game) and Jack Murphy Stadium (night game) in LA and San Diego.
The 11 ballparks I visited were: Oakland Coliseum, Candlestick Park, The Kingdome (Seattle), County Stadium (Milwaukee), Wrigley Field, Old Comiskey Park, Anaheim Stadium, Jack Murphy Stadium (San Diego), Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium and Olympic Stadium (Montreal).
In addition to the two "double headers the hard way" I did between Wrigley and Comiskey, I also did Dodger Stadium (day game) and Jack Murphy Stadium (night game) in LA and San Diego.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Zitoriffic
The highest paid pitcher in history just recorded his first victory of the year, and is now 1-8. He pitched a three hitter into the seventh inning, but walked four and threw a lot of pitches. But, I'll take it. Maybe he'll get his confidence back, not to mention his fast ball. He needs to, he's being paid.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Every Fifth Game
In a typical season, the best of teams win about 96 games for a winning percentage of about .600. The worst of teams lose about 96 games for a winning percentage of about .400. These winning percentages can be had in as few as five games. A record of 3-2 yields a percentage of .600 and a 2-3 record is .400. So both the best of teams and the worst of teams win two games and lose two games. The difference between the good and bad teams is what they do with the fifth game.
It is interesting that the outcome of only every fifth game makes such a huge difference in a team's season. Over 162 games, this small difference is magnified greatly.
It is interesting that the outcome of only every fifth game makes such a huge difference in a team's season. Over 162 games, this small difference is magnified greatly.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Giants Loss Projection Thru May 19
May 3 through May 19:
14-17, 89; 14-18, 91; 14-19, 93; 14-20, 95; 14-21, 97; 14-22, 99; 15-22, 96; 16-22, 94; 16-23, 96; 17-23, 93; 17-24, 95; 17-25, 96; 17-26, 98; 17-27, 99; 17-28, 101; 17-29, 102.
14-17, 89; 14-18, 91; 14-19, 93; 14-20, 95; 14-21, 97; 14-22, 99; 15-22, 96; 16-22, 94; 16-23, 96; 17-23, 93; 17-24, 95; 17-25, 96; 17-26, 98; 17-27, 99; 17-28, 101; 17-29, 102.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Magowan: Rags To Riches But Without Rings
Today Giants managing general partner Peter Magowan announced his resigning from his position(s) of Giants president and managing general partner, making way for another owning partner and member of the organization to step up. This is a bittersweet thing. Magowan led a group of investors in an eleventh-hour buy of the Giants (actually it was about 12:30am) from an already made deal to a group from Tampa Bay. Imagine the Tampa Bay Giants. Ick.
Their wild dreams came true to a great extent and put San Francisco on the baseball map in a number of ways. The Giants former owner Bob Lurie put the team up for sale following the '92 season. Magowan rescued the Giants from sure ridicule in Tampa. Not only this, but this new ownership group immediately and stealthily signed Barry Bonds without the action from a general manager. They also recruited Jon Miller, baseball announcer extraordinaire, and built the most popular and widely acclaimed new stadium in all of baseball. The Giants sold out the entire first season, and have drawn over 3 million fans for 8 consecutive years. Giants fans were treated to amazing home run record chasing events by Bonds - along with 5 consecutive MVP awards (one from Kent) - and also saw a World Series and an All-Star game, not to mention the most competitive team in all of baseball. In the 8 years from 1997 through 2004, the Giants played only 11 regular season games that did not have a direct affect on their post-season destiny. The Bonds era saw the Giants run up the third best record in all of baseball.
Yet all this happened without a World Series ring. The current state of the team brings more questions than answers, and it appears that it will be a long while before they put themselves in another position to win it all. And God only knows that they've had a multitude of those chances. All in all, the current ownership group seems to have been more marketing than performance, more show than go. Maybe it's time for a change.
Their wild dreams came true to a great extent and put San Francisco on the baseball map in a number of ways. The Giants former owner Bob Lurie put the team up for sale following the '92 season. Magowan rescued the Giants from sure ridicule in Tampa. Not only this, but this new ownership group immediately and stealthily signed Barry Bonds without the action from a general manager. They also recruited Jon Miller, baseball announcer extraordinaire, and built the most popular and widely acclaimed new stadium in all of baseball. The Giants sold out the entire first season, and have drawn over 3 million fans for 8 consecutive years. Giants fans were treated to amazing home run record chasing events by Bonds - along with 5 consecutive MVP awards (one from Kent) - and also saw a World Series and an All-Star game, not to mention the most competitive team in all of baseball. In the 8 years from 1997 through 2004, the Giants played only 11 regular season games that did not have a direct affect on their post-season destiny. The Bonds era saw the Giants run up the third best record in all of baseball.
Yet all this happened without a World Series ring. The current state of the team brings more questions than answers, and it appears that it will be a long while before they put themselves in another position to win it all. And God only knows that they've had a multitude of those chances. All in all, the current ownership group seems to have been more marketing than performance, more show than go. Maybe it's time for a change.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Eugenio
Eugenio, pronounced "ay-oo-HAY-nee-oh", as far as I can see, is Spanish for "Eugene." The dad in a family I know, is sometimes called "Eugene" by his wife, who reads my blog. I know him as Gene. But the Giants have a kid playing right now named Eugenio Velez, and the Spanish pronunciation has caught on with some kind of cult following. I doubt she'll ever call him Eugenio.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
My 1986 Season
My 1986 season was a special one for me. I went to 173 regular season games in 11 different ballparks. People have asked me how I could have gone to 173 games when there are only 162 games in a season. Well, the baseball season is actually 179 days long (or was back then). Twenty six weeks (26 x 7) minus 3 days off for the All-Star break = (182-3=179). My basic pattern, with a few exceptions, was to go to every A's home game and every Giants home game, then travel to other ballparks on days off. (Note: for metro markets with two teams like New York, LA, Chicago and San Fran, baseball tries its best to schedule each team with opposite home/road schedules to give teams the best shot possible at the highest attendance plus minimizing radio and TV conflicts. 1986 for example saw no A's/Giants home games on the same day.)
I had a job working for my then future father-in-law out of his house. He allowed me to more or less make my own hours, so I would work a day shift for night games, and work a split shift for day games. I didn't start the season with the idea that I would go to so many games (I went to 64 in 1985 and 36 in 1984). I just went to each game I could, which happened to be every day for the first few weeks. Late in April I realized that I had gone to every game so far, and only then did I decide I would make an all-out season. Over all, I missed only one A's home game and six Giants home games (two three-game series); I was in other cities during these days.
Over the winters in the 80's (pre-internet) I made it a practice to write to every team requesting their schedule for the upcoming year. I made a master schedule and planned my traveling from that. My greatest trip was a whirlwind 8 games in 5 days in 5 ballparks with a friend. May 4, there was a double header at Candlestick vs. Montreal, May 5 we flew to Chicago and rented a car and drove up to Milwaukee to see the Brewers play Seattle. May 6 and 7 were "double headers the hard way." Both the Cubs (vs. Dodgers) and White Sox (vs. Yankees) were home on the same days (a rare occurrence), with the Cubs playing day games and the Sox night games - another four games in two days. Then, an early morning flight on May 8 landed in Oakland at 10:30am for a 12:15 A's game vs. Milwaukee. Whew! The only A's home game I missed was on May 7. Other trips included a three game series with the A's in Seattle in April (missed a Giants series), and a trip to Montreal at the end of the season vs. the division champ Mets (missed a Giants series) with a layover in New York to see the Yankees play the Blue Jays. Down and back day trips to Anaheim, LA and San Diego on days off were also regular during 1986.
It was a whirlwind season full of amazing memories. I still have stories to write about staying in the Mets hotel in Montreal and the trip to Seattle, as well as the 8/5/5 trip. Stay tuned.
I had a job working for my then future father-in-law out of his house. He allowed me to more or less make my own hours, so I would work a day shift for night games, and work a split shift for day games. I didn't start the season with the idea that I would go to so many games (I went to 64 in 1985 and 36 in 1984). I just went to each game I could, which happened to be every day for the first few weeks. Late in April I realized that I had gone to every game so far, and only then did I decide I would make an all-out season. Over all, I missed only one A's home game and six Giants home games (two three-game series); I was in other cities during these days.
Over the winters in the 80's (pre-internet) I made it a practice to write to every team requesting their schedule for the upcoming year. I made a master schedule and planned my traveling from that. My greatest trip was a whirlwind 8 games in 5 days in 5 ballparks with a friend. May 4, there was a double header at Candlestick vs. Montreal, May 5 we flew to Chicago and rented a car and drove up to Milwaukee to see the Brewers play Seattle. May 6 and 7 were "double headers the hard way." Both the Cubs (vs. Dodgers) and White Sox (vs. Yankees) were home on the same days (a rare occurrence), with the Cubs playing day games and the Sox night games - another four games in two days. Then, an early morning flight on May 8 landed in Oakland at 10:30am for a 12:15 A's game vs. Milwaukee. Whew! The only A's home game I missed was on May 7. Other trips included a three game series with the A's in Seattle in April (missed a Giants series), and a trip to Montreal at the end of the season vs. the division champ Mets (missed a Giants series) with a layover in New York to see the Yankees play the Blue Jays. Down and back day trips to Anaheim, LA and San Diego on days off were also regular during 1986.
It was a whirlwind season full of amazing memories. I still have stories to write about staying in the Mets hotel in Montreal and the trip to Seattle, as well as the 8/5/5 trip. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Betting on the Other Team As Insurance
I thought about what it means to bet on one's favorite team. Conventionally, people put money on their own team. This means that if their team wins, they also win some money. Double payoff. But if their team loses, not only do they have to endure the pain of losing a big game, they're out some cashola, too. Double pain.
But what about betting on the other team? Fans often say things like, "I'll give anything for my team to win the Series/Superbowl, etc." So why not bet on the other team in the amount that one would give to see their own team win? If their team wins, then the monetary loss would be worth it. But if their team loses, then they win some money to console them in their misery. Before the 2002 World Series, I should have put up some good money on the Angels - the amount I would have given to see the Giants win - so that when the Giants lost, I could have afforded to drown my sorrows.
But what about betting on the other team? Fans often say things like, "I'll give anything for my team to win the Series/Superbowl, etc." So why not bet on the other team in the amount that one would give to see their own team win? If their team wins, then the monetary loss would be worth it. But if their team loses, then they win some money to console them in their misery. Before the 2002 World Series, I should have put up some good money on the Angels - the amount I would have given to see the Giants win - so that when the Giants lost, I could have afforded to drown my sorrows.
Monday, May 5, 2008
My Altercation With Pete Incaviglia's Mother
I what I can only call my greatest game as a fan with all the weird stuff that happened, it was capped off with a truly bizarre incident. It was near the end of the 1986 season, the A's were in the tank, school was back in and it was a mid-week day game. Of the nearly 1000 games I've attended, it had the lowest attendance of all of them. I personally counted it at 1603. There were only 33 people in the bleachers and one lone fan in the third deck. He found a better seat downstairs in the 2nd inning.
The Rangers beat the A's that day 4-0, with all their runs coming off three home runs, two of them by rookie star Pete Incaviglia. Since school was back in, no kids with gloves were there, and with only 33 people in all the bleachers, I shagged all three home run balls. All the scoring in the entire game went home in my backpack that day. How many fans can claim that? Wow.
After the game, the friend I sat with and I decided to try to get Incaviglia's autograph. We waited at the player exit, and since it was getaway day, the bus was inside the barricade. The players came out, and I yelled at Incavigila that I had his home runs and wanted an autograph. But he got on the bus. There was a large group of people in the exit area, obviously players' families. One woman came over to me and asked why I was yelling at Incaviglia and said that she was his mother. I told her that I caught both balls and wanted an autograph but he got on the bus. "Oh, that's great!" she replied, "I'm glad for you! I'm his mother, so I can get him off the bus for you. I'm his mother."
I agreed, and was grateful that she was so kind. She went over to the bus for a minute, then returned. "Oh, he's already seated on the bus and can't come out. But he said if I bring him a ball, he would sign it for you. I'm his mother." I was delighted. So I gave her one of the balls, and she took it. Suddenly, she said, "On second thought, I'm his mother. I want the ball." "Huh?" I replied. "I'm his mother, I'm his mother. I've been to every game he's ever played, little league, high school, college, and I have all his souvenirs and collect everything. I'm his mother!" She must have said "I'm his mother" about a hundred times. "You know, you said you would get him to sign it, but if you won't, I want it back" I said. "No, I'm going to keep it! I'm his mother!"
By this time the situation was completely out of hand. She was going to steal the ball from me. She was still within arm's length, so I reached over the barricade and grabbed it back from her. But she clutched onto it and wouldn't let go. We were having a tugging war over a baseball. Then she screamed for security! "Help, security! He's taking the ball away from me!" Unbelievable. Now, how's this going to look to security: a long haired bleacher bum is fighting with a player's mother over a baseball. The guard came over and she pleaded her case. But fortunately I had gone to so many games that I knew the guard personally. "Hey, Bob, I caught both of Inci's homers today and she's the one trying to steal it from me." He believed me instead of her, and made her let go. Man what a day. View the box score here. (At the time, the American League counted tickets sold as the attendance, not the actual number of people that were there. I'm the one reporting that number!)
The Rangers beat the A's that day 4-0, with all their runs coming off three home runs, two of them by rookie star Pete Incaviglia. Since school was back in, no kids with gloves were there, and with only 33 people in all the bleachers, I shagged all three home run balls. All the scoring in the entire game went home in my backpack that day. How many fans can claim that? Wow.
After the game, the friend I sat with and I decided to try to get Incaviglia's autograph. We waited at the player exit, and since it was getaway day, the bus was inside the barricade. The players came out, and I yelled at Incavigila that I had his home runs and wanted an autograph. But he got on the bus. There was a large group of people in the exit area, obviously players' families. One woman came over to me and asked why I was yelling at Incaviglia and said that she was his mother. I told her that I caught both balls and wanted an autograph but he got on the bus. "Oh, that's great!" she replied, "I'm glad for you! I'm his mother, so I can get him off the bus for you. I'm his mother."
I agreed, and was grateful that she was so kind. She went over to the bus for a minute, then returned. "Oh, he's already seated on the bus and can't come out. But he said if I bring him a ball, he would sign it for you. I'm his mother." I was delighted. So I gave her one of the balls, and she took it. Suddenly, she said, "On second thought, I'm his mother. I want the ball." "Huh?" I replied. "I'm his mother, I'm his mother. I've been to every game he's ever played, little league, high school, college, and I have all his souvenirs and collect everything. I'm his mother!" She must have said "I'm his mother" about a hundred times. "You know, you said you would get him to sign it, but if you won't, I want it back" I said. "No, I'm going to keep it! I'm his mother!"
By this time the situation was completely out of hand. She was going to steal the ball from me. She was still within arm's length, so I reached over the barricade and grabbed it back from her. But she clutched onto it and wouldn't let go. We were having a tugging war over a baseball. Then she screamed for security! "Help, security! He's taking the ball away from me!" Unbelievable. Now, how's this going to look to security: a long haired bleacher bum is fighting with a player's mother over a baseball. The guard came over and she pleaded her case. But fortunately I had gone to so many games that I knew the guard personally. "Hey, Bob, I caught both of Inci's homers today and she's the one trying to steal it from me." He believed me instead of her, and made her let go. Man what a day. View the box score here. (At the time, the American League counted tickets sold as the attendance, not the actual number of people that were there. I'm the one reporting that number!)
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Giants Loss Projection Thru May 2
More loss projection for the Giants for games between April 18 and May 2:
6-11, 105; 7-11, 99; 8-11, 94; 8-12, 97; 8-13, 100; 9-13, 96; 10-13, 92; 11-13, 88; 11-14, 91; 11-15, 93; 12-15, 90; 12-16, 93; 13-16, 89; 13-17, 92.
So far this year their loss pace has been between 88 and 139 games.
6-11, 105; 7-11, 99; 8-11, 94; 8-12, 97; 8-13, 100; 9-13, 96; 10-13, 92; 11-13, 88; 11-14, 91; 11-15, 93; 12-15, 90; 12-16, 93; 13-16, 89; 13-17, 92.
So far this year their loss pace has been between 88 and 139 games.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Matt Cain Wins!
I went to the Giants game last night. Man, was it a cold one. About 15,000 were there and it dwindled down to just a few thousand at game's end, even though an announced attendance of over 30,000 was given. But the big news is that the Giants actually scored enough runs - combined with the bullpen not torching a Cain lead - to give him a very rare win. Usually when Cain throws a shutout the Giants lose. This time, he threw a shutout and the Giants won it for him.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Voice Of God Back
It is good to again hear Roy Steele doing the PA at A's games. I heard him do the opening day lineups, and it brought back a lifetime worth of memories. It must be hard to live up to the nickname "voice of God", but Steele is a former preacher and his name was given to him by Jon Miller while Miller was a radio announcer for the A's way back in 1970. I pointed out to Mrs. Scott beforehand how when he does the lineup he breaks his "batting second... batting third", etc., when he gets to fifth and instead says, "in the fifth position..." He followed through.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Extra Inning Games
I love extra inning games. They are one reason baseball is such a great game. As I type, the Giants are in jeopardy of blowing a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 13th inning in San Diego. Fresh in memory is still the Padres 22 inning game against the Rockies last week where all kinds of records were set. Extra inning games are so wonderful because nobody knows when they'll finish. During long extra inning games, managers can deplete both their bench and bullpen by substituting for players in strategic situations, only to have strategy fail inning after inning. Crazy things can result.
Extra inning games can magically (on insanely) push fans past that point of no return where they decide that they'll stay until the end no matter how long it lasts. It's even better when one or both games of a double header go extras. I have fond memories of extra inning games. One Giants/Dodgers gem I attended went 16, and the teams fell one player short of an all time record. Pitchers were playing the outfield, and Lasorda had the left and right fielders switch positions depending on whether a right or left handed batter was up. Giants closer Greg Minton played a hand in the end, when he had to bat for one of only a few times in his career, with two out and nobody on, trailing by a run. He got a hit and eventually scored. What a hilarious sight.
I used to tell people that I went to games with that I never left early, even if the game would go to the 25th inning at 3am. Well, the Giants just won, 3-2, gaining the final out after the Padres had the bases loaded and one run in. Now Mrs. Scott can watch Top Chef.
Extra inning games can magically (on insanely) push fans past that point of no return where they decide that they'll stay until the end no matter how long it lasts. It's even better when one or both games of a double header go extras. I have fond memories of extra inning games. One Giants/Dodgers gem I attended went 16, and the teams fell one player short of an all time record. Pitchers were playing the outfield, and Lasorda had the left and right fielders switch positions depending on whether a right or left handed batter was up. Giants closer Greg Minton played a hand in the end, when he had to bat for one of only a few times in his career, with two out and nobody on, trailing by a run. He got a hit and eventually scored. What a hilarious sight.
I used to tell people that I went to games with that I never left early, even if the game would go to the 25th inning at 3am. Well, the Giants just won, 3-2, gaining the final out after the Padres had the bases loaded and one run in. Now Mrs. Scott can watch Top Chef.
Eco-Friendly Giants Help The Environment
It all came to me these last two days. The Giants m.o. in losing Bonds and keeping worthless old men around all the while neglecting their farm system for a decade. The Giants suck so bad that nobody wants to come to the park to see them, and the lack of those people using polluting forms of transportation helps the environment.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Giants Weakest Offense
Through three full weeks of ball, the Giants have scored the fewest runs in the major leagues, while only six teams have allowed more runs. With a record of 8-11, on a pace to lose 94 games, the Giants are doing much better than their runs scored/runs allowed totals would suggest. Homers might blame the low run total on AT&T Park, but they can't do that for the pitching's high run total from a supposed great rotation.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Giants Loss Projector
I've decided to keep track of the Giants projected losses for the year based on each day's record. A few posts ago, they were 1-6, with a projected loss total of 139. After today's loss, they are 6-10, with a projected loss total of 101. Mike thinks they'll lose 103. I think they'll break the 100 mark. Anyway, for the first 16 games, their daily totals - won/loss/projected losses - are:
0-1, 162; 0-2, 162; 1-2, 108; 1-3, 122; 1-4, 130; 1-5, 135; 1-6, 139; 2-6, 122; 3-6, 108; 4-6, 96; 4-7, 103; 4-8, 108; 5-8, 100; 6-8, 93; 6-9, 97; 6-10, 101.
0-1, 162; 0-2, 162; 1-2, 108; 1-3, 122; 1-4, 130; 1-5, 135; 1-6, 139; 2-6, 122; 3-6, 108; 4-6, 96; 4-7, 103; 4-8, 108; 5-8, 100; 6-8, 93; 6-9, 97; 6-10, 101.
How To Heckle - Knowing The Minor Leagues
Knowing the minor league teams of the visiting team can be useful for heckling their players. A young or inexperienced player can be needled by reminding him that he is only one screwup from being sent down to the minors. Ahhh, yes, the minor leagues. Long bus rides and cheap motels. A far cry from the big show. Once back in the minors, it's a long way back to the majors.
"Hey, Johnson, can you spell 'Albuquerque'?" Or maybe, "It's a looooong bus ride back to Bakersfield!" That I chose traditional Dodger minor league teams is a mere coincidence. A good way to make an impression on the visiting target is to start with the AAA team. Then threaten demotion to the lower levels like AA and A ball. Players in the minors who have spent time up in the bigs will do anything to get back. But players in the bigs who are on the bubble are not looking forward to minor league hassles and minuscule salaries due to falling from grace.
"Hey, Johnson, can you spell 'Albuquerque'?" Or maybe, "It's a looooong bus ride back to Bakersfield!" That I chose traditional Dodger minor league teams is a mere coincidence. A good way to make an impression on the visiting target is to start with the AAA team. Then threaten demotion to the lower levels like AA and A ball. Players in the minors who have spent time up in the bigs will do anything to get back. But players in the bigs who are on the bubble are not looking forward to minor league hassles and minuscule salaries due to falling from grace.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
My First Foul Ball
My first foul ball came in 1982 at Candlestick Park. It was Giants pitcher Bill Laskey's first major league start, against the Montreal Expos. I was there with Mike. A foul ball came our way off the bat of an Expo and it landed in the stands right in front of us. We both jumped in to the scrum of a few fans, and each caught hold of part of the ball. We started a "fight" between us, punching each other to get the other to let go of the ball. I won the struggle, although I'm not sure that is a great accomplishment to get the ball. My friend is out of a ball. Anyway, it is good to remember getting even a chance, and with Bill Laskey's first start, it was something to remember. It turned out even better when Laskey pitched a complete game shutout. See the box score here.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Lose 139 Games?
At 1-6, the Giants are on a pace to go 23-139. No team has ever lost more than 120 games. My friend Mike got a bet at 4:1 for a Giants/A's over/under of 200 losses. If each team lost 100 games, he would win the bet. But if the Giants lost 139 games, the A's could have the best record in baseball and win the World Series and he could still win the bet. I don't think the Giants will lose 139 games, but maybe 103.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Opening Day 2008
Today the Giants had their home opener. It was a celebration of 50 years in San Francisco, 1958-2008. This celebration will last all year. It was a real treat to go to the game today. We secured the help of babysitters, and Mrs. Scott and I sat together without children for the first time in several years. The weather was sunny but cool. A perfect day for baseball until the sun made its way behind the light towers, making things a bit chilly. Mike and Nora were there too as was the family that always sits behind us. Although the Giants got killed - predictably so - there were a few highlights to take the mind off the pain of the impending tragedy known as the 2008 season.
The fans were sarcastic about this year's team, but individual players seemed to gain the endearment of the fans. We also got to ruthlessly heckle Trevor Hoffman while he was warming up in the bullpen in the ninth inning. We reminded him about his two blown pennant blown saves the last 3 games of last year's season.
The fans were sarcastic about this year's team, but individual players seemed to gain the endearment of the fans. We also got to ruthlessly heckle Trevor Hoffman while he was warming up in the bullpen in the ninth inning. We reminded him about his two blown pennant blown saves the last 3 games of last year's season.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Saturday Night Baseball?
For decades, three teams have traditionally played more than half of their games during the day. The Chicago Cubs, the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs didn't get stadium lights put in until 1988, and day baseball is still the tradition on the Northside. The A's and Giants have always played a high percentage of day games, and always a day game on Saturday, because of the cool, foggy nighttime weather in the Bay Area, with the midweek getaway day usually played under the sun, too.
Saturday afternoon at the ballpark in the sunshine has always been a treat. But things have changed, and the Giants have just this year started playing a large majority of their Saturday games at night. Why? The short answer is television. FOX has the rights to the daytime slot and teams are forbidden to televise their own games during that time. Since the Bonds era is over and the Giants really suck, FOX isn't going to show the Giants anytime soon. They were on FOX nearly every Saturday in at least a regional game for years. Now the Giants have nothing more than their historic name as a national TV draw. So, to take in TV revenue, they're moving most of their Saturday games to a night starting time so either the local FOX Sports Net or their new channel 11 can carry the game, and the Giants can still pull in some revenue. TV money rules baseball. Just my guess, anyway.
Saturday afternoon at the ballpark in the sunshine has always been a treat. But things have changed, and the Giants have just this year started playing a large majority of their Saturday games at night. Why? The short answer is television. FOX has the rights to the daytime slot and teams are forbidden to televise their own games during that time. Since the Bonds era is over and the Giants really suck, FOX isn't going to show the Giants anytime soon. They were on FOX nearly every Saturday in at least a regional game for years. Now the Giants have nothing more than their historic name as a national TV draw. So, to take in TV revenue, they're moving most of their Saturday games to a night starting time so either the local FOX Sports Net or their new channel 11 can carry the game, and the Giants can still pull in some revenue. TV money rules baseball. Just my guess, anyway.
Friday, April 4, 2008
One Game Series?
Aside from the dumb regular season games in Japan, the opening game this year was the Braves in Washington for the opening of the Nats' new ballpark. What was truly strange about this is that each team played a different team in its next game. They played a one game series. Kind of a waste of travel, huh? But then, a one game series really isn't a series because it takes two things to be in series.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Speaking Of Wire To Wire
Yesterday was opening day, and the Giants were the only team in the NL west to lose, so they're all alone in last place. Long season?
Monday, March 31, 2008
This Apocalyptic Day In Giants History - March 31, 2003
This day in Giants history, March 31, 2003. The Giants opened the season on the road. The very first batter in the top of the first on Opening Day, Ray Durham, hit a season leadoff home run to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. And, how fitting that was, because they quite literally never looked back all year long. The first at bat of the season gave them the lead, they won that opening day, and went on to become only the ninth team in major league history to hold first place wire to wire.
They were in first place every single day of the season and clinched the division. They won their first playoff game. From that first homer, they never looked back. Until Jose F***ing Cruz dropped that f***ing fly ball against the expansion wildcard Florida F***ing Marlins and started a World Series derailing collapse for the second year in a row. So much for opening day. ****!
p.s. ****!, #%@&! and #$%@!
They were in first place every single day of the season and clinched the division. They won their first playoff game. From that first homer, they never looked back. Until Jose F***ing Cruz dropped that f***ing fly ball against the expansion wildcard Florida F***ing Marlins and started a World Series derailing collapse for the second year in a row. So much for opening day. ****!
p.s. ****!, #%@&! and #$%@!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Giants Wacky Week
The Giants promise to really suck this year. A few days ago they lost to their minor league team, and their ace Zito was roughed up by a bunch of kids. The Mariners blew them away on Thursday, as the Giants played Little League ball, with a Little League homer by the M's, and plenty of mindless play. Of course it's still spring training. Then Tim Lincecum pitched 5 innings of no-hit ball against the A's. But the two losses this weekend to the A's put the Giants well into the cellar of spring training ball, finishing with the worst record of all. But Opening Day changes into hope, even if for only a day.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A's Fight Back
The Oakland A's fought back in game 2 of the series against the Red Sox in Japan. Good for them. What has been a one-sided media event turned out to be a statement by the A's that they're not to be taken lightly. The four game series continues next Tuesday at the Oakland Coliseum, or whatever the hell they're naming it these days.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Regular Season Games In Japan?
Why are the A's/Sox games in Japan part of the regular season? This makes little sense. Exhibition games would sell out just as easily over there. Plus, the A's lose two games off their home schedule and the game is on at 3am. Both teams now come back to the States and play a bunch more spring training games. The standings sit with two teams at 1-1 for a week. There is no standings competition between any teams during this series. That the Red Sox took first place a week before the season even starts is meaningless. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Claw
When I was a kid I knew that my dad still had his first baseman's mitt from high school. We brought it back out in the mid 80's. It was a 1941 Rudy York model. It had three separate "finger" looking sections to it. It was about two thirds the size of today's standard fielder's glove, but was the biggest thing ever seen back then. My dad let me use it and I brought it out to the bleachers to show my friends. They nicknamed it "the claw." I had it out there for a few games and it paid off big. I caught a line drive homer off Dave Winfield. If you know how Winfield hit his homers (screaming line drives), and that there was only the palm to catch the ball in, then you can figure out that my hand hurt for not just a few hours.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
How To Heckle - Doing Your Homework
One of the categories of heckling is the target player's personal performance. They might be in a slump, for example, so knowing that will help generate heckling material. Watching the box scores every day can be a great tool. Let's say Detroit is coming in next week. Watch their box scores to see what each player is doing. If your target is 0 for his last 15, or if he makes a game losing error in Anaheim prior to flying into your hometown, you'll know about it. Reminding him of his recent failures is a good way to get at his inner psyche and cause him to lose again.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
How To Heckle - Categories of Heckling
There are four basic subjects in heckling. The first is general heckling of a player. Things like "you suck" or "you're a bum". The second is a personally pointed heckling. Using things unique to that player, but still in a general sense. These two subjects cross over and are blurred in distinction. Each player wears a uniform, and with a number, and has a name. One can heckle using the player's name, like, "hey, Smith, you suck!" in a general sense or in a more specific sense like, "hey, Smith, your baseball card is blank on the back!"
The third is being specific with a player's performance. "Hey, Smith, you popped up so many times yesterday, your new nickname is 'The Toaster!'" The fourth is dealing with a player's personal life. Tabloid news junk, bizarre family stuff, drug problems, trouble with the law, bad blood in the clubhouse, etc. Heckler beware here. For example, back in the 80's when Luis Polonia was caught with a fifteen year old girl in a Milwaukee hotel room, a favorite heckling line of mine was, "Hey, Polonia, fifteen'll getcha twenty!"
The third is being specific with a player's performance. "Hey, Smith, you popped up so many times yesterday, your new nickname is 'The Toaster!'" The fourth is dealing with a player's personal life. Tabloid news junk, bizarre family stuff, drug problems, trouble with the law, bad blood in the clubhouse, etc. Heckler beware here. For example, back in the 80's when Luis Polonia was caught with a fifteen year old girl in a Milwaukee hotel room, a favorite heckling line of mine was, "Hey, Polonia, fifteen'll getcha twenty!"
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tickets Are Here - Draft Day
My season tickets arrived a couple of days ago. Last night the main players (myself, Mrs. Scott, Mike and Nora) had our annual ticket draft party where we divided up games for the season. Each of us has other buyers that take a few, and we speak on their behalf. We had burritos and beer and each kept a list. Mike and Nora each brought their laptops, but I stuck to the pencil and paper. Each year, the four of us take in Opening Day together. We have some "the four of us" games, some "girls night out" games and some "guys night out" games. It should be a fun season watching a losing team play in a half filled ballpark. The beer line will probably be shorter. Can't wait.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Vegas Line on The '08 Season
I heard on the radio, during the Razor and Mr. T sports talk show on KNBR, some Vegas odds on the upcoming season. In the NL West, the odds were reported as such: to win the division, San Diego Padres 2:1, Colorado Rockies 2:1, Arizona Diamondbacks 2:1, Los Angeles Dodgers 2:1 and San Francisco Giants 20:1. Hmmmm. Not only that, but no team in all of Major League Baseball had longer odds (they were tied with a couple of other teams) of winning the World Series than the Giants, 100:1. Got a Benny?
Saturday, March 8, 2008
How To Heckle - Different Reasons For Heckling
There are different reasons for heckling opposing players. One is to make other fans laugh. Another is to set yourself up as one who will regularly heckle. Yet another is to encourage others - even many others - to heckle as well, so that group heckling can occur. But the underlying idea behind all of it is to make the atmosphere as uncomfortable as possible for the visiting player (within reasonable limits), so that his performance is lessened. This adds real meaning to the term, "home field advantage." Fans doing what they can to help their team win is a mark of good fans.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Cast and Crew: Centerfield Bums
Just as there was an identifiable group of left field bleacher bums, there was one in center field as well. They sat just on the left field side of the "tunnel" in straight away center field. This tunnel was the gap between bleacher sections that provided the hitter's backdrop and the path for bringing things on and off the field through the center field gate.
Anyway, we could hear the centerfield bums yell, not always being able to make out what they yelled, and they had everyday regulars, just like we did. Before I got to know any of them, I knew them by nicknames given to them mostly by John and Mac. How these nicknames originated were sometimes beyond me and even beyond John and Mac too. Nicknames like Walsh, Grip and Mom. Mom was easy to understand because this lady always brought lots of kids to the game. I later found out that she ran a daycare out of her home, sometimes with special needs kids, and would bring them all to every day game. Walsh, whose name was really Dave, was the main heckler and the leader of group heckles. He always wore an old, faded felt A's hat from the early 70's, and was a hippie Berkeley attorney. Grip was a high school kid from Oakland. I later found out that Walsh had a brother there (the family name was White) who called himself Egg. So he was Egg White, and had an annual brain teaser trivia quiz. Another woman was Pegirae. There were a number of others who were there all the time that I never got to know. They had their special heclkings and group cheers, many of which we adopted.
Later on in the late 80's/early 90's another centerfield group arose, just on the right field side of the tunnel. They were early 20 something's who worshipped A's center fielder, Dave Henderson. They called themselves "Hendu's Bad Boy Club" and hung signs from the front row railing. They got to know Henderson personally and went out drinking with him, etc. I never got to know any of them. They were young and rowdy but had no sophistication beyond yelling "ooh, ooh, ooh" with their arms pumping like apes, as was the pop culture fad of the time. They also had the lowered Japanese pickup trucks with the loud subwoofers and the "bad boy" icon stickers (crew cut, scowl and protracted Popeye forearm.)
Anyway, we could hear the centerfield bums yell, not always being able to make out what they yelled, and they had everyday regulars, just like we did. Before I got to know any of them, I knew them by nicknames given to them mostly by John and Mac. How these nicknames originated were sometimes beyond me and even beyond John and Mac too. Nicknames like Walsh, Grip and Mom. Mom was easy to understand because this lady always brought lots of kids to the game. I later found out that she ran a daycare out of her home, sometimes with special needs kids, and would bring them all to every day game. Walsh, whose name was really Dave, was the main heckler and the leader of group heckles. He always wore an old, faded felt A's hat from the early 70's, and was a hippie Berkeley attorney. Grip was a high school kid from Oakland. I later found out that Walsh had a brother there (the family name was White) who called himself Egg. So he was Egg White, and had an annual brain teaser trivia quiz. Another woman was Pegirae. There were a number of others who were there all the time that I never got to know. They had their special heclkings and group cheers, many of which we adopted.
Later on in the late 80's/early 90's another centerfield group arose, just on the right field side of the tunnel. They were early 20 something's who worshipped A's center fielder, Dave Henderson. They called themselves "Hendu's Bad Boy Club" and hung signs from the front row railing. They got to know Henderson personally and went out drinking with him, etc. I never got to know any of them. They were young and rowdy but had no sophistication beyond yelling "ooh, ooh, ooh" with their arms pumping like apes, as was the pop culture fad of the time. They also had the lowered Japanese pickup trucks with the loud subwoofers and the "bad boy" icon stickers (crew cut, scowl and protracted Popeye forearm.)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Baseball On The Radio!
Today marks the first radio broadcast of Giants baseball from spring training. One of the greatest joys of winter is listening to the first game. Oh, what a day. Can't wait!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Evolution of Ballpark Beer
I had my first beer was when I was 17. It was in the left field bleachers at the Oakland Coliseum. It was Old Milwaukee. It came in what was known as a bucket, with a perforated lid that you could poke holes in to pour. Small plastic cups came with a bucket so it could be shared with other people. I think it was 32 oz. Old Milwaukee? Yuck! It was the A's cheap beer.
The Giants had Hamms as their cheap beer. Equally yucky. It came in those wax cups, which made it especially urgent to drink. The wax/paper combo would get soggy, and if you nursed your beer for more than four innings, the bottom would melt out, spilling all the beer. The cheap beers would get flat fast, so you had to drink them in a hurry. All this was in the early 80's.
The mid 80's saw a change in cheap beers. Now it was Bud or Miller. Plastic souvenir cups also came on the scene, so a beer could be free from that waxy taste. The 90's saw a greater availability of microbrews and specialty beers. Now in the 00's, you pretty much got yer pick. You pay, though. My ballpark favorite is the Lagunitas IPA on tap at PacBell/SBC/AT&T/Oprah Magazine Park. Hoppy & yummy.
The Giants had Hamms as their cheap beer. Equally yucky. It came in those wax cups, which made it especially urgent to drink. The wax/paper combo would get soggy, and if you nursed your beer for more than four innings, the bottom would melt out, spilling all the beer. The cheap beers would get flat fast, so you had to drink them in a hurry. All this was in the early 80's.
The mid 80's saw a change in cheap beers. Now it was Bud or Miller. Plastic souvenir cups also came on the scene, so a beer could be free from that waxy taste. The 90's saw a greater availability of microbrews and specialty beers. Now in the 00's, you pretty much got yer pick. You pay, though. My ballpark favorite is the Lagunitas IPA on tap at PacBell/SBC/AT&T/Oprah Magazine Park. Hoppy & yummy.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
How To Heckle - Getting Started
The first thing you need to start heckling is a voice. A loud voice. Yell. Yell loud. You will lose your voice before the end of the game, but over time you'll hopefully learn to pace yourself and yell "from the diaphragm" (just like singing) and maximize the decibels of sound to strain on the vocal chords ratio. A well trained bleacher bum yelling voice can yield nine innings per game of yelling over a 162 game season. Maybe a few days off for a bad cold, etc., just like being a player.
The best phrases to start with are, "You suck!" and "You're a bum!" These are standard and most people will laugh at least a little bit at these. It's best to use an identifier, like the player's name or uniform number. "Hey, Smith. You're a bum!" or "Hey, 39, you're a bum!"
The best phrases to start with are, "You suck!" and "You're a bum!" These are standard and most people will laugh at least a little bit at these. It's best to use an identifier, like the player's name or uniform number. "Hey, Smith. You're a bum!" or "Hey, 39, you're a bum!"
Friday, February 22, 2008
How To Heckle - An Online Blog Tutorial Series
I've decided to take all my favorite heckling sayings, subjects and methods and turn them into a tutorial. Learn for yourself how to heckle and what to say while doing it. But whatever you do, don't try this at home. Take it to the ballpark.
More to follow soon.
More to follow soon.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over
1985 was the worst season in Giants franchise history. Attendance had declined to near nothing and owner Bob Lurie, who was frustrated at the failure of the city of San Francisco to either build him a new ballpark or renovate the 'Stick, declared that Candlestick Park was not fit for baseball and that the Giants would not play there in 1986. Whether this meant an attempt to play at the Oakland Coliseum or to move the team to another city, nobody knew. What it did mean was that the last game that year would be the last game at Candlestick ever.
Kevin , Louie and I were at that last game. The Giants lost their 100th game of the year that day, and I bought the last hot dog ever sold (read the story here) just after the game. We decided that we would stay as long as we could; until we were kicked out of the stadium. People left, and the security did their sweep of the stands, just ahead of the cleaning crew. They started in left field and swept around the staduim toward right. We were told to leave, so we went down to the right field corner to buy some more time. We were told to leave again. So we headed up to the upper deck. Since attendance was so small that year the centerfield stands were essentially blocked off. But a gate held loosely with a chain and lock had a bit too much slack on the chain. So we slipped through and made our way to the upper deck in centerfield and hid in a tunnel. This particular tunnel had a crawlspace access in it, so when the security crew looked down the tunnel, he couldn't see us.
We watched the cleanup and the grounds crew water the field, then leave. We were the only ones left. We made it down to the field, ran around the bases and went into the dugout. We each used the toilet in the dugout. After our fun, we decided to leave. But we encountered a problem. All the exits were closed and locked. Oh, no. So we started trying to open doors to ticket windows and equipment rooms. We found one door unlocked. It was to a small empty room. This room had a light bulb in the ceiling with a chain. It was on. There was a rear door that led out of the park. We sang, "Turn out the lights, the party's over" as we exited. Yes, we locked the door behind us and turned out the light. Of course the Giants played at Candlestick in 1986.
Kevin , Louie and I were at that last game. The Giants lost their 100th game of the year that day, and I bought the last hot dog ever sold (read the story here) just after the game. We decided that we would stay as long as we could; until we were kicked out of the stadium. People left, and the security did their sweep of the stands, just ahead of the cleaning crew. They started in left field and swept around the staduim toward right. We were told to leave, so we went down to the right field corner to buy some more time. We were told to leave again. So we headed up to the upper deck. Since attendance was so small that year the centerfield stands were essentially blocked off. But a gate held loosely with a chain and lock had a bit too much slack on the chain. So we slipped through and made our way to the upper deck in centerfield and hid in a tunnel. This particular tunnel had a crawlspace access in it, so when the security crew looked down the tunnel, he couldn't see us.
We watched the cleanup and the grounds crew water the field, then leave. We were the only ones left. We made it down to the field, ran around the bases and went into the dugout. We each used the toilet in the dugout. After our fun, we decided to leave. But we encountered a problem. All the exits were closed and locked. Oh, no. So we started trying to open doors to ticket windows and equipment rooms. We found one door unlocked. It was to a small empty room. This room had a light bulb in the ceiling with a chain. It was on. There was a rear door that led out of the park. We sang, "Turn out the lights, the party's over" as we exited. Yes, we locked the door behind us and turned out the light. Of course the Giants played at Candlestick in 1986.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Giants Fan Fest
Our family attended the Giants Fan Fest on Saturday at AT&T Park. It was free, so we thought we'd go. The kids love taking the trains to the game. First, BART, our rapid transit system. Then we transfer to MUNI, San Francisco's transit system, to a subway train that daylights to surface streets along the Embarcadero on San Francisco Bay. It's a beautiful ride. We took our little one in a stroller, which turned out to be a challenge with all the stairs and steps in the clubhouse and dugout. The only way out for us was up from the field to the main concourse through the stands. A kind man helped me carry the stroller up.
All in all, it was kind of a cattle herd. A line formed for what was called a "self-guided tour" of the clubhouse and dugout. It was not. It was guided by the employees who urged us to keep moving. There was a constant stream of people with little time or space for taking photos. The field was covered a foot deep in dirt from a recent tractor pull. It ruined the whole charm of seeing a diamond prior to the season. Our friend Shelly tells of fan fests in years past, but wasn't able to attend this year. Would we go again? I don't know. The best thing about it was an excuse to get out of the house and see the ballpark.
All in all, it was kind of a cattle herd. A line formed for what was called a "self-guided tour" of the clubhouse and dugout. It was not. It was guided by the employees who urged us to keep moving. There was a constant stream of people with little time or space for taking photos. The field was covered a foot deep in dirt from a recent tractor pull. It ruined the whole charm of seeing a diamond prior to the season. Our friend Shelly tells of fan fests in years past, but wasn't able to attend this year. Would we go again? I don't know. The best thing about it was an excuse to get out of the house and see the ballpark.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Fifty Years, Forty Years
This year celebrates the Giants' fifty years in San Francisco. The team moved here in 1958. This means that the A's, who moved here in 1968, have been here forty years. A quick recap of each team's performance over such a time period will prove noteworthy.
The Giants are the winningest team in baseball history. They've been around longer than the Yankees (who have the highest winning percentage ever), and have the second highest winning percentage ever, and first in the NL. Yet they haven't won a World Series here in SF. How can the winningest team ever go over fifty years without winning a championship? They had the best record in baseball during the 60's, winning over 900 games (that's an average of over 90 wins per season for ten years!), yet could only tie for one pennant after a miracle. During the Bonds era, the Giants had the third best winning percentage in baseball, behind the Braves and Yankees, yet no rings.
The A's, on the other hand, have won four World Series since moving here. They have endured one of the most hated owners ever, a bad color combination for fashion, a terrible football stadium remodel, no fans, yet they're one of the most succesful teams in baseball since moving here.
The Giants have had some of the greatest sluggers ever to play for them, including three hall of famers in successive slots in the batting order. Mays, McCovey, Cepeda. No rings. The A's have succeeded mostly on pitching. Four rings. The teams have been as different as night and day, which is great for Bay Area baseball.
The Giants are the winningest team in baseball history. They've been around longer than the Yankees (who have the highest winning percentage ever), and have the second highest winning percentage ever, and first in the NL. Yet they haven't won a World Series here in SF. How can the winningest team ever go over fifty years without winning a championship? They had the best record in baseball during the 60's, winning over 900 games (that's an average of over 90 wins per season for ten years!), yet could only tie for one pennant after a miracle. During the Bonds era, the Giants had the third best winning percentage in baseball, behind the Braves and Yankees, yet no rings.
The A's, on the other hand, have won four World Series since moving here. They have endured one of the most hated owners ever, a bad color combination for fashion, a terrible football stadium remodel, no fans, yet they're one of the most succesful teams in baseball since moving here.
The Giants have had some of the greatest sluggers ever to play for them, including three hall of famers in successive slots in the batting order. Mays, McCovey, Cepeda. No rings. The A's have succeeded mostly on pitching. Four rings. The teams have been as different as night and day, which is great for Bay Area baseball.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Will Pete Be Happy?
Pedro Feliz (aka Pete Happy as translated into English) has signed with the Phillies. Although Citizens Bank Park is a hitter's park and AT&T a pitcher's park, Feliz' pending increase in offense might more than be offset by Phillies fans and their relentless heckling of their own players. Feliz is a decent player, but has more than one flaw. Chasing that outside breaking ball that the Giants were never able to cure will be headline news in Philly.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Cast and Crew: Clara
Moving the cast and crew scene to Candlestick, a little old Filippino lady in her 70's named Clara with season tickets sat directly behind me for 13 years. She was very small, frail, even more frail of a voice, moderately thick accent. But she knew her baseball and was very vocal at the game. She had coke bottle glasses, couldn't read the scoreboard, but she could see every pitch to within a millimeter of the black of the plate. "Dat ball was looooow! Dey are cheating the Giants!" She could only be heard for a few rows, but she loved to yell. She attended at least 70 games per year and never complained about the cold weather.
She was a widow and her husband set her up well. She lived in a good neighborhood and always took the bus with a friend. Her nephew set her up with tickets, and with her husband gone, she always had a very interesting character sit next to her. No matter how badly the Giants played, she managed to scalp her extra ticket (we were 7 and 8 rows behind home plate, respectively). What cop would harass an elderly Filippino lady scalping tickets outside the park? It happened on occasion, but they mostly left her alone.
Clara was a sweet lady and with the new ballpark, I miss her.
She was a widow and her husband set her up well. She lived in a good neighborhood and always took the bus with a friend. Her nephew set her up with tickets, and with her husband gone, she always had a very interesting character sit next to her. No matter how badly the Giants played, she managed to scalp her extra ticket (we were 7 and 8 rows behind home plate, respectively). What cop would harass an elderly Filippino lady scalping tickets outside the park? It happened on occasion, but they mostly left her alone.
Clara was a sweet lady and with the new ballpark, I miss her.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The Missing Piazza Trade
Back in May of 1998, I spent a week in the Caribbean with no access to baseball news. I flew through West Palm Beach (very close to Miami) and my return flight into Florida required an overnight stay. Obviously, I scheduled a Marlins game for that night. The Dodgers had just traded Mike Piazza to the Marlins before my trip. I was looking forward to seeing him play for his new team against the Mets.
I arrived back in Florida and was the only passenger on the shuttle from the airport to the car rental agency. The driver asked about my trip and I said I was going to the Marlins game. He said, "Oh, you'll get to see Piazza on his first trip back into town" after the trade. I replied that I knew about the trade, but what did he mean by "back" into town. I agreed that I knew that Piazza was traded, but what I didn't figure out for a few minutes - and what I had missed while in the Caribbean - was that Piazza had been traded a second time, to the New York Mets. The wild scenario in this case was that the Mets' first series after getting Piazza was a road series - back into Florida! He basically remained there, just changing uni's. I was shocked to discover this trade from the shuttle driver.
I made it to then Pro-Player Stadium. The Marlins had that infamous fire sale after winning the Series in '97, so the fans re-named the stadium "Semi-Pro Player Stadium" after the talentless team. This was hilarious. There were only 14,000 fans there that night, 10,000 of them Mets fans. They were rude and, well, New Yorkers. They owned the call-in show that night and spoke of the game as if it were a home game for the Mets. After a week in poverty stricken Haiti, I never felt so good to drink a Bud and have a sausage.
I arrived back in Florida and was the only passenger on the shuttle from the airport to the car rental agency. The driver asked about my trip and I said I was going to the Marlins game. He said, "Oh, you'll get to see Piazza on his first trip back into town" after the trade. I replied that I knew about the trade, but what did he mean by "back" into town. I agreed that I knew that Piazza was traded, but what I didn't figure out for a few minutes - and what I had missed while in the Caribbean - was that Piazza had been traded a second time, to the New York Mets. The wild scenario in this case was that the Mets' first series after getting Piazza was a road series - back into Florida! He basically remained there, just changing uni's. I was shocked to discover this trade from the shuttle driver.
I made it to then Pro-Player Stadium. The Marlins had that infamous fire sale after winning the Series in '97, so the fans re-named the stadium "Semi-Pro Player Stadium" after the talentless team. This was hilarious. There were only 14,000 fans there that night, 10,000 of them Mets fans. They were rude and, well, New Yorkers. They owned the call-in show that night and spoke of the game as if it were a home game for the Mets. After a week in poverty stricken Haiti, I never felt so good to drink a Bud and have a sausage.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Hearing Yourself On The Radio
Back in the mid-80's in the A's bleachers, we discovered a fun little pastime. One day, one of the bleacher bums brought a walkman to listen to the game. One of us yelled, and the bum with the walkman said he could hear the voice over the radio. Each of us took a turn to listen. The distance from the bleachers to the crowd mike behind home plate used by the radio station was great enough to cause a delay in the sound. So, we could yell loud, then hear ourselves a second later on the radio.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Longest Drive Home
One of the greatest pennant races in my life took place during the 1993 season. The Giants and Braves were hot that year, the Giants' first year with Bonds, both winning over 100 games and entered the last game of the year tied for first place with records of 103-58. The Giants closed out their season with a four game series in Los Angeles against the hated Dodgers. The Giants won the first three and the Braves won the first two of their three against the Rockies.
I drove the nearly 400 miles down to LA to witness that fateful last game of the year and bought tickets from a scalper. I stayed with some friends - not big Dodger fans but they cheered for them nonetheless. The first three games of the series were amazing in that there were more Giants fans in attendance than Dodger fans. The last game, however, was fan appreciation day and Dodger fans had bought tickets to that game all year long. Still, there were at least 15,000 Giants fans there. Dusty Baker made a controversial decision to start young head-case Salomon Torres instead of veteran Dave Burba. The Giants were nuked, 12-1. Meanwhile the Braves completed a season sweep of the Rockies, winning all 13 games and the division on the last day. The Giants won 103 games and watched the playoffs on TV.
The long drive home was painful. There were thousands of Giants fans on I-5 for hundreds of miles. I stopped at a gas station and a rest stop and both places were packed with fans.
I drove the nearly 400 miles down to LA to witness that fateful last game of the year and bought tickets from a scalper. I stayed with some friends - not big Dodger fans but they cheered for them nonetheless. The first three games of the series were amazing in that there were more Giants fans in attendance than Dodger fans. The last game, however, was fan appreciation day and Dodger fans had bought tickets to that game all year long. Still, there were at least 15,000 Giants fans there. Dusty Baker made a controversial decision to start young head-case Salomon Torres instead of veteran Dave Burba. The Giants were nuked, 12-1. Meanwhile the Braves completed a season sweep of the Rockies, winning all 13 games and the division on the last day. The Giants won 103 games and watched the playoffs on TV.
The long drive home was painful. There were thousands of Giants fans on I-5 for hundreds of miles. I stopped at a gas station and a rest stop and both places were packed with fans.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Ballpark Ages
Here's a list of all the major league parks and the year(s) they were either built or introduced to the majors.
Fenway Park, Boston (1912)
Wrigley Field, Chicago (1916 - built in 1914 for the Federal League)
Yankee Stadium, New York (1923, remodeled 1976)
RFK Stadium, Washington D.C. (1962)
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles (1962)
Shea Stadium, New York (1964)
Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, or whatever it's called right now (1966)
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland (1968)
Kaufmann Stadium, Kansas City (1973)
Metrodome, Minneapolis (1982)
Skydome, Toronto, or whatever it's called now (1989)
Comiskey Park/US Cellular Field, Chicago (1991)
Camden Yards, Baltimore (1992)
Dolphins Stadium, Miami (1993, built in 1987)
Jacobs Field, Cleveland (1994)
The Ballpark at Arlington, or whatever it's called now (1994)
Coors Field, Denver (1995)
Turner Field, Atlanta (1996)
Tropicana Field/whatever dome or whatever, Tampa (1998, built in the 80's)
Bank One Ballpark/Chase Field, Phoenix (1998)
Safeco Field, Seattle (1999)
Pacific Bell/SBC/AT&T Park, San Francisco (2000)
Enron/Minutemaid Field, Houston (2000)
Comerica Park, Detroit (2000)
Miller Park, Milwaukee (2001)
PNC Park, Pittsburgh (2001)
Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati (2003)
Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia (2004)
Petco Park, San Diego (2004)
Busch Stadium III, St. Louis (2006)
Coming very soon:
Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. (2008)
Fenway Park, Boston (1912)
Wrigley Field, Chicago (1916 - built in 1914 for the Federal League)
Yankee Stadium, New York (1923, remodeled 1976)
RFK Stadium, Washington D.C. (1962)
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles (1962)
Shea Stadium, New York (1964)
Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, or whatever it's called right now (1966)
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland (1968)
Kaufmann Stadium, Kansas City (1973)
Metrodome, Minneapolis (1982)
Skydome, Toronto, or whatever it's called now (1989)
Comiskey Park/US Cellular Field, Chicago (1991)
Camden Yards, Baltimore (1992)
Dolphins Stadium, Miami (1993, built in 1987)
Jacobs Field, Cleveland (1994)
The Ballpark at Arlington, or whatever it's called now (1994)
Coors Field, Denver (1995)
Turner Field, Atlanta (1996)
Tropicana Field/whatever dome or whatever, Tampa (1998, built in the 80's)
Bank One Ballpark/Chase Field, Phoenix (1998)
Safeco Field, Seattle (1999)
Pacific Bell/SBC/AT&T Park, San Francisco (2000)
Enron/Minutemaid Field, Houston (2000)
Comerica Park, Detroit (2000)
Miller Park, Milwaukee (2001)
PNC Park, Pittsburgh (2001)
Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati (2003)
Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia (2004)
Petco Park, San Diego (2004)
Busch Stadium III, St. Louis (2006)
Coming very soon:
Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. (2008)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Congratulations Goose
Congratulations to Goose Gossage on making the Hall of Fame. I remember him as being one badass pitcher. He claims that his trademark mustache wasn't to scare hitters, it was to tick Yankees owner George Steinbrenner off. But it scared hitters too.
Andre Dawson and Jim Rice came close, but didn't make it. I tend to be a "small-hall" type of guy with stricter standards for the Hall. Or so I tell myself. I'm not sure whether I think these guys should be in, but if the existing standard(s) is an indication, then Goose is borderline in, and I think Jim Rice should be borderline in as well.
Last year I heard one talk show host make an interesting point on qualifications for the Hall. He said that he just knows a hall-of-famer when he sees one. It's just obvious if somebody belongs in the Hall. Ruth, Mays, Cobb, Walter Johnson, Koufax. These guys are obvious. Rafael Palmero, despite the number of homers, just doesn't feel like a Hall kind of guy.
Andre Dawson and Jim Rice came close, but didn't make it. I tend to be a "small-hall" type of guy with stricter standards for the Hall. Or so I tell myself. I'm not sure whether I think these guys should be in, but if the existing standard(s) is an indication, then Goose is borderline in, and I think Jim Rice should be borderline in as well.
Last year I heard one talk show host make an interesting point on qualifications for the Hall. He said that he just knows a hall-of-famer when he sees one. It's just obvious if somebody belongs in the Hall. Ruth, Mays, Cobb, Walter Johnson, Koufax. These guys are obvious. Rafael Palmero, despite the number of homers, just doesn't feel like a Hall kind of guy.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Candlestick Wind Tunnel
I recently wrote about how the wind used to swirl at Candlestick. It vaulted over the hill behind the park, landed in center field, slammed into the center field stands, split in two, and rotated around the park in each direction. On more than one occasion, the two flag poles just beyond the center field fence, which were about 25 feet apart, could be seen blowing full force in opposite directions. A mind blowing sight.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Swish This
Today the Oakland A's traded Nick Swisher to the White Sox for a handful of prospects. Swisher was a fan favorite in Oakland and I really enjoyed watching him play. I heard a description of him on the sports talk show tonight, calling him the blue collar player that went all out. This is the player that grew his hair long only to shave it off and donate it toward cancer patient wigs. He was a spark plug with a certain infectious charisma. He'll be missed, but I'm not going to jump harshly on Billy Beane because he's pulled off quite a few good ones before. Beane admitted the A's are rebuilding and they can't afford to play status quo. Are you listening Brian Sabean?
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Baseball 2008
Happy New Year. It's now 2008 and that means that pitchers and catchers will be reporting next month. This should be an interesting season for fans. It's now the post-Bonds era for Giants fans, and the baseball world has yet to know what will happen with all the steroids crap that we've been hearing so much about. This will be Yankee Stadium's last year. The House That Ruth Built will be no more. It's fitting that the All-Star game will be played there. A new Evil Empire has risen in Boston and will surely be the target of the rest of baseball. They've now won two Series since the Yankees last time. We'll surely be hearing more about instant replay. Five new ballparks will open in the next three years, leaving Skydome as sixth in seniority in the bigs. A new park in Washington will open this year. Opening Day is three months away!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Candlestick Snow Globe
Candlestick Park was notorious for being windy. Not like in Wrigley Field where the wind blows either in or out, but it would blow in every direction at the same time. It swirled. The wind would come in over the hill behind the park and drop downward into center field. It would hit the enclosed center field stands and split into two, each half of the wind rotating around the stadium until they collided behind home plate. The result of the collision was wind that swirled in every direction, filling the rest of the ballpark.
One night it was very warm, about 70 degrees, and the wind was the strongest I ever experienced at the 'Stick. At a typical Candlestick game, all the hot dog wrappers (which then were 8" squares of wax paper) and other garbage would be blown by the wind and would collect in the front rows several inches deep. Most of the garbage would end up in the left field corner, sometimes a foot or two deep. On this night, the wind blew quite a bit of the garbage up into the air, and was quite a spectacle for the fans. Random flying shopping bags and hot dog wrappers swirling everywhere.
Then a few fans in the front row got the idea to throw handfuls of collected garbage up into the air. This caught on and hundreds of fans started doing it. The result was an incredible scene and the fans were cheering wildly. Candlestick Park looked like a huge snow globe that was freshly shaken. It was so awesome I got the idea of selling Candlestick snow globes with a caption that had the word "snow" crossed out and "hot dog wrappers" written in. I never followed up on my invention and kick myself. It coulda sold thousands.
One night it was very warm, about 70 degrees, and the wind was the strongest I ever experienced at the 'Stick. At a typical Candlestick game, all the hot dog wrappers (which then were 8" squares of wax paper) and other garbage would be blown by the wind and would collect in the front rows several inches deep. Most of the garbage would end up in the left field corner, sometimes a foot or two deep. On this night, the wind blew quite a bit of the garbage up into the air, and was quite a spectacle for the fans. Random flying shopping bags and hot dog wrappers swirling everywhere.
Then a few fans in the front row got the idea to throw handfuls of collected garbage up into the air. This caught on and hundreds of fans started doing it. The result was an incredible scene and the fans were cheering wildly. Candlestick Park looked like a huge snow globe that was freshly shaken. It was so awesome I got the idea of selling Candlestick snow globes with a caption that had the word "snow" crossed out and "hot dog wrappers" written in. I never followed up on my invention and kick myself. It coulda sold thousands.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Is The A's New Stadium For Real?
A good question to ask is if the A's new stadium is for real. Is it? The owners seem to impress upon the media that it is. Unlike the Nationals, Yankees, Mets and Twins, the A's have no definitive date for the opening of their new yard, Cisco Field. Sometime in 2010 or 2011, I guess.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Giants Season Tickets Available
If anybody is interesting in sharing in a partial season ticket plan for the 2008 Giants season, please contact me through a comment. Up to a quarter of the season is available. Some of our ticket partners have cut back this year on how many tickets they want, so there are some available.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Cast and Crew: Other Characters
Many other characters inhabited the left field bleachers at the Oakland Coliseum. Among them are a couple named Alan & Halle. Alan was as much a real life hippie as there is. (See him here in a bleacher picture) He made his own tie-dye t-shirts, and for other people too. Halle was a folk singer who put out an album and performed in local clubs. They were funny and fun to talk with. Wendy and Doc were a lesbian couple. Wendy was a huge baseball fan, and when weather permitted, she wore a bright blue Cubs jacket and/or hat. She was a social worker, and Doc was a doctor who, if I remember correctly, worked in medical clinics. Wendy had a great sense of humor. Dennis and Priscilla were a married couple. Dennis was a particle physicist at a big lab, and I forget what Priscilla did. Jay was a carpenter turned contractor who always had time to come to the game. He was a ball hound and always wore an Orioles hat. He was a friend of Young Mike.
Marvin and Evelyn were David's parents. They attended quite a few games and always had opinions on players and strategy. Others included a guy named Kevin and a friend. They always heckled Phil Bradley. Early on in the early 80's, a girl named Desiree was there. We had a nickname for her: the bleacher queen. Occasionally she would wear a halter top, shorts and high heels, attracting attention. Also Rick and Myrna.
Marvin and Evelyn were David's parents. They attended quite a few games and always had opinions on players and strategy. Others included a guy named Kevin and a friend. They always heckled Phil Bradley. Early on in the early 80's, a girl named Desiree was there. We had a nickname for her: the bleacher queen. Occasionally she would wear a halter top, shorts and high heels, attracting attention. Also Rick and Myrna.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Mitchell on Steroids
So former Senator George Mitchell released his "independent" report on baseball's steroids situation. Independent? Yeah, right. Commissioner Bud Selig hires a politician who works for the Boston Red Sox to investigate baseball. His "findings" aren't in the least surprising, despite the attempt of the media to make it look like it. The "list" consists of mostly aging or retired players, or nobodies. No Red Sox and tons of Yankees at that. The "proof" comes from putting the squeeze on a former bat boy. So gossip and hearsay are okay to skewer players in the court of public opinion? That's why Selig is a spineless weasel and Mitchell is a wanker politician. But the players' "crimes" occurred mostly while steroids were completely legal in baseball.
And completely known. We've known about the rampant use of steroids since the 80's. Owners like Bud Selig and commissioners like Bud Selig purposefully ignored the "problem" as it certainly didn't hurt the ticket sales. Now, President Bush is troubled by the findings. He said, "The players and the owners must take the Mitchell Report seriously. I'm confident they will." It's too bad you didn't take the issue seriously, Mr. President, when you were the owner of the Texas Rangers. Remember your star player Mr. President? Jose Canseco? The player for whom the "steeee-roooids" chant became popular even before then? Maybe a member of your staff can remind you.
The biggest problems by far are the hypocrisy of baseball's leadership and the zealousness of the feds' prosecution Nazis. Leave Bonds, Clemens and F.P. Santangelo alone and take a look at Selig, Mitchell and the prosecutors. Spring training is a few months away. Let's have a cold beer and watch some baseball.
And completely known. We've known about the rampant use of steroids since the 80's. Owners like Bud Selig and commissioners like Bud Selig purposefully ignored the "problem" as it certainly didn't hurt the ticket sales. Now, President Bush is troubled by the findings. He said, "The players and the owners must take the Mitchell Report seriously. I'm confident they will." It's too bad you didn't take the issue seriously, Mr. President, when you were the owner of the Texas Rangers. Remember your star player Mr. President? Jose Canseco? The player for whom the "steeee-roooids" chant became popular even before then? Maybe a member of your staff can remind you.
The biggest problems by far are the hypocrisy of baseball's leadership and the zealousness of the feds' prosecution Nazis. Leave Bonds, Clemens and F.P. Santangelo alone and take a look at Selig, Mitchell and the prosecutors. Spring training is a few months away. Let's have a cold beer and watch some baseball.
Giants Newest Centerfielder
The Giants recently signed Aaron Rowand to a contract. He joins Randy Winn, Dave Roberts, Rajai Davis and potentially Fred Lewis in centerfield. I know Willie Mays was the greatest centerfielder ever, but there really is something to the saying that quality is better than quantity.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Bonds to A's?
There was an article in the paper a few days ago stating that the A's were interested in Barry Bonds. This makes sense. He would instantly be their best hitter - or one of the best, could DH without any requirement to play the field. He could even play the outfield in NL cities during interleague. He wouldn't have to move. The A's are in need of attendance as they ready themselves for their new yard. Many Giants fans would show up in Oakland to see him. The A's may work out some kind of non-guaranteed contract in case he shifts to pursuing the prison softball home run record. It's a win-win idea.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Big Red Machine
A friend reminded me of the Big Red Machine today. They played during my fever pitch collection of baseball cards. I knew the lineups of every team, including the Big Red Machine. I can rattle off - completely off the top of my head - the 70's Reds in the field. Bench, Perez, Morgan, Concepcion, Rose, Foster, Geronimo, Griffey. I can vividly remember each player's batting stance and swing. Concepcion's one-hop throws to Perez off the gawd-awful astro-turf. I also remember those awful double-knit polyester pullover pajama uniforms and the symmetrical outfield fence with that stupid yellow line at the top.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Rumors: Not the Fleetwood Mac Kind
Miguel Cabrera a Giant? Santana? Trades? What about the prospects the A's traded Marco Scutaro for? Will Bonds set the all time prison softball home run record? Each of my ticket partners for the Giants season tickets have told me that they want fewer games next year. I'll have to get more bodies. Any takers?
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Reggie? Yawn...
During the 1986 season the then California Angels came to Oakland and one of the games was to be on ABC's Monday Night Baseball. Even though it was late in Reggie Jackson's career and he sucked by then, the media still gave him top billing as an attraction. So Kevin and I had a great idea for a prank. We saved up newspapers for a month or so and got together for a newspaper sorting party. When the game arrived, we stationed ourselves at each of the entrances to the bleachers and quickly gave each fan a single folded sheet of a newspaper and told them to act like they were reading it when Reggie Jackson came up to bat. We cut a tiny hole in each paper so the fans could really watch his at bat.
Well he came up the first time, and it was hilarious to see thousands of fans in the entire bleachers section from foul pole to foul pole reading newspapers! The message was that Reggie was washed up and boring. This was at a time that the networks decided not to show aberrant fan behavior like streaking and other things, so ABC didn't show us on national TV. But 40,000 other fans at the game saw us. It was worth every minute of prep.
Well he came up the first time, and it was hilarious to see thousands of fans in the entire bleachers section from foul pole to foul pole reading newspapers! The message was that Reggie was washed up and boring. This was at a time that the networks decided not to show aberrant fan behavior like streaking and other things, so ABC didn't show us on national TV. But 40,000 other fans at the game saw us. It was worth every minute of prep.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Baseball Cards
I collected baseball cards when I was a kid. It started in 1971, and Topps were my favorites, and almost the only brand I ever collected. In Little League, we bought cards at the snack shack after games. My fever pitch year was 1974 when I collected the entire '74 set through individual packs. In college in the 80's I collected old cards to fill in voids. I preferred commons to stars because I could get so many more cards.
My most valued card is a 1975 George Brett rookie card. It was a part of the mini-size set issued on the West Coast and is more valuable because of it. I almost threw all my mini cards away at one time because they always fell out from a handfull of cards. I always refused to put baseball cards in my bicycle spokes. I used playing cards instead.
My most valued card is a 1975 George Brett rookie card. It was a part of the mini-size set issued on the West Coast and is more valuable because of it. I almost threw all my mini cards away at one time because they always fell out from a handfull of cards. I always refused to put baseball cards in my bicycle spokes. I used playing cards instead.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Longest World Series Droughts
Here's an updated list of how long it's been for each team not to have won a world series. Years in parenthesis mean that franchise or specific team has never won, and the year listed is the year when they were an expansion team or moved to their current city.
1908 Chicago Cubs
1948 Cleveland Indians
1954 New York/San Francisco Giants
(1958) San Francisco Giants
(1961) Washington Senators/Texas Rangers
(1962) Houston Astros
(1969) San Diego Padres
(1969) Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers
(1969) Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
(1970) Milwaukee Brewers
(1972) Texas Rangers
(1977) Seattle Mariners
1979 Pittsburgh Pirates
1980 Philadelphia Phillies
1983 Baltimore Orioles
1984 Detroit Tigers
1985 Kansas City Royals
1986 New York Mets
1988 Los Angeles Dodgers
1989 Oakland A's
1990 Cincinnati Reds
1991 Minnesota Twins
1993 Toronto Blue Jays
(1993) Colorado Rockies
1995 Atlanta Braves
(1998) Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2000 New York Yankees
2001 Arizona Diamondbacks
2002 Anaheim Angels or Los Angeles or whatever
2003 Florida Marlins
(2005) Washington Nationals
2005 Chicago White Sox
2006 St. Louis Cardinals
2007 Boston Red Sox
1908 Chicago Cubs
1948 Cleveland Indians
1954 New York/San Francisco Giants
(1958) San Francisco Giants
(1961) Washington Senators/Texas Rangers
(1962) Houston Astros
(1969) San Diego Padres
(1969) Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers
(1969) Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
(1970) Milwaukee Brewers
(1972) Texas Rangers
(1977) Seattle Mariners
1979 Pittsburgh Pirates
1980 Philadelphia Phillies
1983 Baltimore Orioles
1984 Detroit Tigers
1985 Kansas City Royals
1986 New York Mets
1988 Los Angeles Dodgers
1989 Oakland A's
1990 Cincinnati Reds
1991 Minnesota Twins
1993 Toronto Blue Jays
(1993) Colorado Rockies
1995 Atlanta Braves
(1998) Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2000 New York Yankees
2001 Arizona Diamondbacks
2002 Anaheim Angels or Los Angeles or whatever
2003 Florida Marlins
(2005) Washington Nationals
2005 Chicago White Sox
2006 St. Louis Cardinals
2007 Boston Red Sox
Thursday, November 15, 2007
A-Rod to Yanks, Bonds to Giants?
The publicity stunt that was Alex Rodriguez promising he wouldn't play for the Yankees and the Yankees telling him to kiss off, only to sign him to a record contract says something about the possibility of Bonds returning to the Giants. Now that Bonds is indicted on federal charges, no other team would touch him. Except maybe the Giants.
I could see the Giants signing Bonds at a low salary - one they could take a risk on - with no guaranteed pay for prison time, taking advantage of his fallen name. The Giants are used to his antics and I'm wondering if refusing to resign him wasn't a ploy to resign him - for less.
I could see the Giants signing Bonds at a low salary - one they could take a risk on - with no guaranteed pay for prison time, taking advantage of his fallen name. The Giants are used to his antics and I'm wondering if refusing to resign him wasn't a ploy to resign him - for less.
Ten Games In History I Would Like To See
Here's a list of ten games in baseball history that I would like to have seen in person.
10 - Game 1 of the 1909 World Series - the war between Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb.
9 - Giants/Braves game in the 60's where Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn dueled a 16 inning scoreless affair (both pitched complete games). Willie Mays won it with a homer in the bottom of the 16th, 1-0. Probably the greatest game ever pitched.
8 - 1984 All-Star Game in San Francisco, because I didn't go.
7 - Nolan Ryan's sixth no-hitter in Oakland. I was going to go but stayed home because I felt ill.
6 - Game 7 of the 1962 World Series, even though the Giants lost.
5 - A game at Ebbet's Field.
4 - Hank Aaron's all time home run record, 1974
3 - All time record for lowest attendance. The St. Louis Browns game in the 1930's that drew 34 fans.
2 - Babe Ruth's "called shot" - 1932 World Series vs. Cubs
1 - Bobby Thompson's "Shot heard 'round the world" - Oct 3, 1951 - Giants vs. Dodgers
10 - Game 1 of the 1909 World Series - the war between Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb.
9 - Giants/Braves game in the 60's where Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn dueled a 16 inning scoreless affair (both pitched complete games). Willie Mays won it with a homer in the bottom of the 16th, 1-0. Probably the greatest game ever pitched.
8 - 1984 All-Star Game in San Francisco, because I didn't go.
7 - Nolan Ryan's sixth no-hitter in Oakland. I was going to go but stayed home because I felt ill.
6 - Game 7 of the 1962 World Series, even though the Giants lost.
5 - A game at Ebbet's Field.
4 - Hank Aaron's all time home run record, 1974
3 - All time record for lowest attendance. The St. Louis Browns game in the 1930's that drew 34 fans.
2 - Babe Ruth's "called shot" - 1932 World Series vs. Cubs
1 - Bobby Thompson's "Shot heard 'round the world" - Oct 3, 1951 - Giants vs. Dodgers
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Proposed Stat: Incomplete Plate Appearance
I've thought of a new statistic that could prove some use for baseball. I'll call it the "Incomplete Plate Appearance." Baseball has a stat called the "At Bat" which consists of all hits, outs and fielder's errors combined. An expanded stat called the "Plate Appearance" (is this the "AP" for "Appearance at the Plate"?) includes "At Bats" but adds walks, hit by pitch, sacrifices and sac flies." This is commonly viewed as the number of times a batter appears at the plate. But it is not.
Another incident in baseball that has no official accounting anywhere is the time when a batter comes to the plate, sees pitches, but the third out of the inning is made on the bases before his at bat concludes. This has no category. Because the third out is made during the at bat, he leads off the next inning, and that plate appearance is counted. But I'm wondering if his "appearance" the previous inning isn't counted anywhere because he doesn't decide the out. This unaccounted for "thing" may actually have a large effect on the game. It could eat up the pitcher's pitch count.
Say a batter comes up with a runner on and two out. He works the count to 2-2, fouls off five pitches, and the next pitch sees the runner caught stealing for the third out. He just ate up 10 pitches. If the pitcher has a 100 pitch limit, that one "thing" that isn't counted for is responsible for 10% of the opposing pitcher's time out there. And if he leads off the next inning with a five pitch "real" accounted for plate appearance, he could chew up 15% of the other pitcher's value, get him yanked an inning early, setting up a bullpen meltdown, resulting in a victory. The most valuable plate "appearance" could go unnoticed in the stats. The pitches he uses up are counted against the pitcher's pitch count, but the plate appearance isn't.
Better yet, let's say this player is a pinch hitter who doesn't stay in the field for the next half inning. He could prove to be the most valuable player of the game, but shows up nowhere in the stats. Let's account for this by creating the "Incomplete Plate Appearance."
Another incident in baseball that has no official accounting anywhere is the time when a batter comes to the plate, sees pitches, but the third out of the inning is made on the bases before his at bat concludes. This has no category. Because the third out is made during the at bat, he leads off the next inning, and that plate appearance is counted. But I'm wondering if his "appearance" the previous inning isn't counted anywhere because he doesn't decide the out. This unaccounted for "thing" may actually have a large effect on the game. It could eat up the pitcher's pitch count.
Say a batter comes up with a runner on and two out. He works the count to 2-2, fouls off five pitches, and the next pitch sees the runner caught stealing for the third out. He just ate up 10 pitches. If the pitcher has a 100 pitch limit, that one "thing" that isn't counted for is responsible for 10% of the opposing pitcher's time out there. And if he leads off the next inning with a five pitch "real" accounted for plate appearance, he could chew up 15% of the other pitcher's value, get him yanked an inning early, setting up a bullpen meltdown, resulting in a victory. The most valuable plate "appearance" could go unnoticed in the stats. The pitches he uses up are counted against the pitcher's pitch count, but the plate appearance isn't.
Better yet, let's say this player is a pinch hitter who doesn't stay in the field for the next half inning. He could prove to be the most valuable player of the game, but shows up nowhere in the stats. Let's account for this by creating the "Incomplete Plate Appearance."
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Slime-Rod and The FOX Sox Nation
This is old news by now, but I don't know what was more slimy, the announcement by A-Rod's agent during a World Series game that he would not pick up his option to play with the Yankees, or FOX's coverage of it with the immediate suggestion as to the Red Sox being just about the only team capable of affording him. A shot of owner John Henry just happened to be on the video in the truck, so they switched to it.
Right in the middle of a World Series game is not the place for a TV broadcaster to be interviewing a player agent. He wasn't doing his job. His job was covering the game. Now if FOX put him up to it, FOX wasn't doing its job. FOX's ratings were in the toilet, anyway. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.
Right in the middle of a World Series game is not the place for a TV broadcaster to be interviewing a player agent. He wasn't doing his job. His job was covering the game. Now if FOX put him up to it, FOX wasn't doing its job. FOX's ratings were in the toilet, anyway. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Number Nine: Yankee Announcer's Voice on Beatles' White Album
I'm convinced that the voice saying "number nine" repeatedly in the Beatles' White Album song "Revolution 9" is none other than the Yankees PA announcer Bob Sheppard. The White Album was put out in '68, so I'm guessing that the voice is an audio clip from Sheppard announcing a Roger Maris at bat sometime in '66 or earlier.
I Googled and surfed to find some confirmation of this. I did find a YouTube clip of him announcing a game in '06. At about 0:41 on this clip you can hear him announce a Texas Ranger player who wears uniform number nine. Forty years later, it sounds just like the White Album. After my discovery, I found this on Wikipedia.
I Googled and surfed to find some confirmation of this. I did find a YouTube clip of him announcing a game in '06. At about 0:41 on this clip you can hear him announce a Texas Ranger player who wears uniform number nine. Forty years later, it sounds just like the White Album. After my discovery, I found this on Wikipedia.
Joe Torre Is A Bum
Joe Torre is a Bum. That's right, with a capital "B." Why would I say such a thing since I have recently said I have respect for him? Well, he's a Bum in the sense that the Dodgers are 'Dem Bums. I don't hate Joe Torre. Yet. But he's a Dodger now. I'm sure it will change.
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