ninety feet of perfection.

Last night, The New York Mets honored the late-great Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys by having the starting lineup use Beastie songs as their walk-up music. Like so many people, I found this so incredibly cool. While this is strictly a Baseball blog and I generally feel uncomfortable writing about other topics; I must admit that I have a deep love for music and the Beastie Boys have always been some of my musical heroes. With that said, I feel somewhat comfortable tying in the 2 here.

I tip my cap to the New York Mets organization for such a classy move. Here is the starting lineup and what song each player walked out to. Also, below I have posted screen shots of relevant tweets. MCA forever.

1. SS Ruben Tejada – “Intergalactic”
2. 2B Daniel Murphy – “No Sleep ’til Brooklyn”
3. 3B David Wright – “Brass Monkey”
4. RF Lucas Duda – “The New Style”
5. LF Scott Hairston – “Root Down”
6. 1B Ike Davis – “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)”
7. CF Andres Torres – “So What’cha Want”
8. C Josh Thole – “Make Some Noise”
9. P Dillon Gee – “Body Movin’”

Posted in Baseball
Tags: Adam Yauch, Andres Torres, Arizona Diamondbacks, baseball, beastie boys, Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Dillon Gee, Ike Davis, Josh Thole, Lucas Duda, Major League Baseball, MLB, Negro League Baseball, new york mets, pacific coast league, PCL, Ruben Tejada, san diego padres, Scott Hairston

Teddy Ballgame graces the cover of the September 1st, 1941 issue of Life Magazine. Two things cross my mind while looking at this: 1) I want this issue & 2) I wish I was around in 1941 to witness the amazing hitting feats accomplished by both Williams and DiMaggio.

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I came across this today while doing some reading on the relationship between Tony Gwynn & Ted Williams. I find it pretty interesting and funny at the same time. I could sit and listen to the dialogue between these great hitters for hours and never get bored. This is only 3.5 minutes long, so do yourself a favor and listen to it.

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Williams sits in on the production of his signature model gloves with a watchful eye. One thing that everyone knows about Ted Williams is that he was a serious perfectionist and this photo falls right in line with this perception of him.

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A scan of a San Diego based newspaper from 1937 in which Williams poses with his Padres teammates. 1937 was Williams’ 2nd season in professional ball and with the Padres.

This photo is from the VERY amazing book “The Kid – Ted Williams in San Diego” which I suggest anyone read if they are remotely interested in Ted Williams, the old Pacific Coast League, and life in San Diego during the early 1900′s.

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Ted Williams was potentially the greatest hitter of all time and had incredibly high expectations of himself. With that said, it’s well known that when he did not fulfill these expectations it strongly affected him as he wore his emotions on his sleeves. These photos capture this disappointment in himself for striking out and his remorse for throwing his bat afterwards is on display in a not so admirable way.

I found this scan during an image search last year and wish I knew where it came from? If you happen to know, please let me know so I can give credit and so I can purchase the book myself.

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A baby-faced Ted Williams during his rookie season with the Red Sox in 1939. What’s great about this photo is that it was taken at Fenway Park prior to the ads being taken down from the outfield walls. While I’m not entirely sure if it’s true, I have heard that Williams was instrumental in having the walls stripped clean from ads so he and his Boston teammates could see the ball better while at bat.

Posted in Baseball
Tags: baseball, boston red sox, Fenway Park, Jimmie Reese, Joe DiMaggio, Life Magazine, Major League Baseball, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Negro League Baseball, negro leagues, pacific coast league, PCL, san diego padres, ted williams, tony gwynn

If you know anything about Satchel Paige, then you probably know that he was not always the most dependable guy. He often disappeared without notice in between starts, showed up to games late, and was notorious for often ditching his teams for a highest bidder. The fact that this article mentions Paige not being in attendance during a game between his Kansas City Monarchs and a team called Boston Navy Yard is not at all surprising.

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This last Thursday Hall of Fame broadcaster, former San Diego Padres Manger, and New York Yankees second baseman Jerry Coleman threw out the ceremonial first pitch to kick off the 2012 MLB season in San Diego. The 87 year old Coleman is one of my all-time Baseball heroes and has been the one constant member of the Padres organization for my entire life as he been with them since 1972.

I know I wrote about it before in THIS post from a couple years ago, but if you’re ever looking for a great Baseball book to read, I would suggest picking up Coleman’s autobiography “American Journey: My Life on the Field, in the Air, and on the Air.” A great book about a great guy’s life.

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I came across this photo awhile back and unfortunately I have been able to figure out who’s on the ground, knocked out cold. It’s a very interesting and frightening photo that I would like to know more about. If you happen to know the back-story on this photo and who that is on the ground, please contact me!

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Joe DiMaggio crossing home plate after what looks like a home run during his time with the San Francisco Seals, which lasted from 1932 to 1935. How about that awesome Seals uniform??

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I saw this photo floating around a few months ago and liked it so much that I felt that I had to share it again. As much as I wish Prince would have played out his career in Milwaukee, I must admit that it is very cool that he is playing for is Dad’s old team.

Posted in Baseball
Tags: baseball, cecil fielder, detroit tigers, jerry coleman, Joe DiMaggio, kansas city monarchs, Major League Baseball, MLB, Negro League Baseball, negro leagues, new york yankees, pacific coast league, PCL, prince fielder, san diego padres, san francisco seals, satchel paige, The Yankee Clipper

Derek Jeter in a vintage Yankees cap, jersey, and glove. As a huge fan of Jeter and a fan of anything related to old Baseball; I must say that I LOVE this photo.

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A great photo of the 1946 San Francisco Sea Lions of the West Coast Baseball Association, which was also known as the West Coast Negro Baseball Association (click on the photo for a larger version). If you would like to know a little more about the WCBA, click HERE for an old post in which I gave a little background on the short lived league.

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1992. Buck O’Neil chats with Dave Winfield during his 1 season with the Blue Jays. I find this photo so very cool due to the fact that O’Neil & Winfield are 2 of my Baseball heroes and are also 2 individuals that I love listening to while talking about the game. To witness the both of them chat in real life had to be an amazing experience for anyone present the day this photo was taken.

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Ted Williams signed to the San Diego Padres of the old Pacific Coast League in 1936 while still a Senior in high school.

Photo is courtesy of “The Kid: Ted Williams in San Diego” which is an amazing book that gives an in depth look into Williams’ early life.

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1955. Jackie Robinson is congratulated by young fans after a game at the Polo Grounds in which his Dodgers beat the home-team Giants. This is the kind of photo which makes me love the game of Baseball due to everything being so perfect about it.

Posted in Baseball
Tags: baseball, boston red sox, brooklyn dodgers, buck o'neil, dave winfield, Derek Jeter, jackie robinson, Major League Baseball, MLB, Negro League Baseball, negro leagues, new york giants, new york yankees, Oakland Larks, pacific coast league, PCL, Polo Grounds, roy campanella, san diego padres, San Diego Tigers, San Francisco Sea Lions, ted williams, toronto blue jays, WCBA, West Coast Baseball Association, West Coast Negro Baseball Association

Tonight, my buddy Mitch and myself went to a very cool event at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco called “Play Ball! 160 Years of San Francisco Baseball.” Despite the poor weather, there were many people in attendance and they all seemed to have a lot of fun. There were several notable sports writers and authors from the Bay Area who gave an in-depth presentation on the local history of the game which goes back to 1851.

The presentation consisted of an informative lecture with lots of great photos & video and featured some neat Baseball artifacts on display. I could have done without the various jokes and comments bashing Oakland & The Athletics but I guess that’s what you get when you have a crowd which seemed to consist mainly of Giants fans.

My favorite part of the evening was meeting Rugger Ardizoia, the last living member of the San Francisco Mission Reds of the old Pacific Coast League (photo above). In addition to the Mission Reds he also played with various other PCL teams during his career such as the Oaks and Stars. He also spent some time in the Major Leagues in 1947 with the New York Yankees.

Rugger was a very cool fella who is still sharp and funny for a 92 year old. He told me that he liked my Mission Reds cap and that he wish he would have worn his own too. At one point he sized me up and informed me that he used to be my height prior to various surgeries in 1992. I replied by saying “Funny you say that, I used to be your height too!” We shared a laugh, I told him it was an honor meeting him, we shook hands and we went on our separate ways. It was fun to meet Rugger and I am glad I decided to approach him and introduce myself prior to leaving.

All in all, tonight was a good time. If you’re a Bay Area Baseball fan and did not come out, you definitely missed out.

Posted in Baseball
Tags: At&T Park, baseball, Bay Area Baseball, candlestick park, Ewing Field, hollywood stars, Major League Baseball, MLB, new york giants, new york yankees, oakland athletics, oakland oaks, pacific coast league, PCL, Rugger Ardizoia, san diego padres, san francisco giants, san francisco mission reds, san francisco seals, seals stadium

August 4th, 1993. Bo Jackson takes part in the now infamous Nolan Ryan & Robin Ventura brawl between the Rangers & White Sox. I love this photo as this brawl was one of my favorite Baseball moments from my childhood. If you wanna watch a great video of the incident, click HERE. I believe that this is some of the best Baseball entertainment you can find and the fact that Ventura got thrown out while Nolan stayed in the game only adds icing to the cake.

Also, it’s amazing to watch this brawl and see all the guys in the heat of the battle that catch my eye besides Ryan and Ventura. I swear that a huge chunk of my childhood Baseball cards were on these teams: Mickey Hatcher, Bo Jackson, Frank Thomas, Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, Ozzie Guillen, Dean Palmer, Jack McDowell, Rafael Palmeiro, Ellis Burks, Wilson Alvarez, Kirk McCaskill, Tom Henke, Craig Lefferts, Lance Johnson, Alex Fernandez, Tim Raines, and Joey Cora. The list goes on as I know their are guys I am missing too.

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Corky Miller is awesome. Not long ago, I read an article that suggested if Crash Davis (Bull Durham) and Jake Taylor (Major League) were both molded into a real-life baseball player, it would be Corky Miller. I cant disagree with that statement whatsoever.

Here’s to you Corky Miller and your awesome facial hair, I wish you the best of luck in making the Reds team out of Spring Training in 2012. To check out a home run he hit earlier this week, click HERE.

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Ted Williams during the 1999 All-Star game at Fenway park. I can watch the footage of the All-Century team introduction over and over again without getting sick of it. It still gets to me when Ted Williams was circled by his peers which consisted of players from both the past and present.  It must have been been an honor to be greeted in such a fashion.

I don’t care what anyone says, Williams is without a doubt the greatest hitter of all-time.

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Jamie Moyer, 2012. The moment he officially makes the Rockies team (assuming he does), I am going to look into the dates that Colorado come to San Francisco to play the Giants. There is no way I am going to miss him pitch before he retires.

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Keith Hernandez smoking in the dugout during his years with the Mets. No real reason to share this besides the fact that I find it funny and kind of interesting.

On a related note, yesterday I picked up Keith’s book “Pure Baseball.” I recently watched his interview on “Talking Baseball with Ed Randall” which is currently on Netflix Instant. The majority of the interview is discussing the book and what went into writing it, very interesting stuff I must say. If you have Netflix, check out that interview. By the way, I scored the book for $2.50 at a Goodwill. Picking up cheap Baseball books will never not make my day.

Posted in Baseball
Tags: 1986 new york mets, Alex Fernandez, baseball, baseball brawl, bo jackson, boston red sox, bull durham, cal ripken jr, chicago white sox, Cincinnati reds, Colorado Rockies, Corky Miller, Craig Lefferts, Dean Palmer, Dennis Eckersley, Dusty Baker, Ellis Burks, Fenway Park, Frank Robinson, frank thomas, Gene Lamont, Ivan Rodriguez, jack mcdowell, jamie moyer, joe torre, Joey Cora, Juan Gonzalez, Juan Maricial, ken griffey jr., Kevin Kennedy, Kirk McCaskill, Lance Johnson, Major League Baseball, major league movie, Mickey Hatcher, MLB, Negro League Baseball, negro leagues, new york mets, nolan ryan, Nolan Ryan & Robin Ventura Brawl, ozzie guillen, pacific coast league, PCL, Pure Baseball by Keith Hernandez, Rafael Palmeiro, Robin Ventura, san diego padres, san francisco giants, Talking Baseball with Ed Randall, ted williams, texas rangers, tim raines, Tom Henke, tony gwynn, Wilson Alvarez