Gil Hodges. Joe Jackson. Leo Durocher. DiMaggio Brothers. Willie Mays.

•December 18, 2012 • 7 Comments

Gil Hodges Brooklyn

Gil Hodges shows off the hands which earned him three consecutive Gold Glove awards during his career in the big leagues (’57, ’58, & ’59).

If you catch yourself looking at Gil’s satin uniform and wondering what the back story behind it is, I believe I have the answer. If I remember correctly I once read that the Dodgers satin uniforms of the 1940’s were a response to the rise of night baseball and it was believed that the players would be more visible under the lights with satin uniforms. I have never heard if this actually helped or not.

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Joe Jackson 1922

1922. Shoeless Joe Jackson takes batting practice prior to a game with a semi-pro Baseball team based out of Westwood, New Jersey. Jackson played his last game in the big leagues at the end of the 1920 season and from that point on, played with and managed various semi-pro teams through the years.

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leo durocher giants

A great photo of Leo Durocher during his time as Manager with the New York Giants (’48-’55). I could be wrong, but I’m assuming that this photo was taken at the Polo Grounds? Also, it looks as if there may be padded walls on the backstop too which is interesting to me. If anyone can clear this up, it would be much appreciated.

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DiMaggio Brothers in Oakland

Dom, Vince, and Joe DiMaggio talk hitting with fellow Bay Area Baseball legend, Lefty O’Doul. I assume that this was taken during an Old-Timers game in Oakland during Joe’s time as a coach (’68-’69). O’Doul passed away in late 1969, and the uniforms worn in this photo match one of the uniforms worn during Joe’s time in Oakland, so I’m pretty sure this photo was taken during that 2 year period of time. Regardless though, I would have loved to hear these four guys talk Baseball.

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Willie Mays 1957 polo grounds

1957. Willie Mays at-bat at the Polo Grounds. I love this photo so much. I can almost visualize what happened seconds later: Mays running the bases at full speed and sliding safely into third base for a triple. I have no idea what happened during this at-bat, but I’m going to assume that this happened for the sake of my imagination.

Maris & Mantle. Uhalt. Cobb. Williams & DiMaggio. Berra.

•November 24, 2012 • 1 Comment

1961, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Not too much more to say here.

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April 10th, 1938. Frenchy Uhalt of the Hollywood Stars safely scores the winning run in a game against the San Francisco Seals at old Gilmore Field. I don’t think you could capture a finer Baseball moment on film, everything is absolutely perfect about this photo.

Frenchy Uhalt played parts of TWENTY years in the Pacific Coast League with the Stars, Oaks, and Seals while playing part of just ONE season in the big leagues with the White Sox. He was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame after accumulating a .332 Batting Average with 2798 hits during his long career in the PCL.

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All signs point to this being a comic in a newspaper after Ty Cobb‘s now famous incident on May 12th, 1912 in which he went into the stands and attacked a New York fan. A great article telling the story of the altercation and the aftermath can be found HERE.

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1969, Oakland, Coliseum. Ted Williams & Joe DiMaggio meet for the first time in fifteen years; Williams as Manager of the Washington Senators and DiMaggio as a Coach/Vice President of the Oakland A’s.

I have a hard time believing that these Baseball legends had not met since 1954. Their lives and careers were always magnified, compared, and coincided with each other on such extreme levels that I would think that their lives would cross paths at some point; especially after Williams retired after the 1960 season. But then again, knowing what I know about these guys being some of the most hard-headed individuals to ever walk the Earth, this is probably true.

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1959. Yogi Berra playing some Outfield in order to rest his thirty four year old legs. According to the photo’s description he returned to behind the plate later in the game; so I guess his legs didn’t get all that much of a rest. I love photos and video of players not in their natural positions. It helps me appreciate and view them in a fresh and different light.

Bill Murray. Annabelle Lee. Bo Jackson. Joe DiMaggio. Rickey Henderson.

•November 17, 2012 • Leave a Comment

Oh no big deal, it’s just Mark McGwire and Bill Murray hanging out during the 1990 All-Star Game at Wrigley Field. For those of you who may be completely puzzled by this, Bill Murray is a huge Baseball fan who is a part owner of several Independent and Minor League Baseball teams. This is addition to being a life-long Cubs fan and having a good relationship with the team. Murray is regularly seen at Cubs games sitting near the home dugout, where he is often seen chatting with players and fans alike.

To see an amazing video of Murray throwing out the first pitch of the 2012 season at Wrigley Field, click HERE. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Kerry Wood is giving him the middle finger while giving him the sign from home plate.

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Annabelle Lee during her time with the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).  As the photo says, Annabelle was the only player to pitch a perfect game in the 12 year history of the league. This is very cool if you ask me. By the way, Annabelle is the Aunt of Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos Pitching legend Bill “Spaceman” Lee. Since the Spaceman is one of my favorite players in Baseball history, I could not pass up sharing this photo.

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April 9th 1993. This moment was one of my favorite Baseball moments of my childhood. I distinctly remember watching this game with my brothers as we were big fans of Bo Jackson and George Bell (also in photo). We were excited to see Bo come back from his hip injury and to play for the White Sox. He did not disappoint whatsoever as he homered in his first swing.

I lived in Redding, California at the time and didn’t get to watch many games outside the “local” Giants & A’s broadcasts, the Cubs on WGN and the Braves on TBS. So when ESPN did happen to bless us with a good game, it was a big deal and everything Bo did was a big deal to the kids of my generation. This pretty much explains my vivid memory of this day.

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A great photo of Joe DiMaggio racing down the first-base line at Seals Stadium during a game against their rivals across the Bay, the Oakland Oaks. Not quite sure what year this is from but it obviously had to be taken between the years of 1932 and 1935 while Joltin’ Joe was slugging in his hometown of San Francisco.

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April 5th, 1994. Rickey Henderson looking about as cool as you possibly can get in his Oakland Oaks throwback uniform from a late Spring Training game against the San Francisco Giants. To see a photo of Mark McGwire from this game, click HERE. Also, a photo of Barry Bonds wearing his Seals uniform that day can be found HERE.

Lefty O’Doul. Gil Hodges. Mickey Mantle. Billy Martin. Joe DiMaggio.

•October 16, 2012 • Leave a Comment

1939. Manager/Player Lefty O’Doul of the San Francisco Seals spends time with some young fans on top of the home dugout at Seals Stadium. I can honestly say that this Seals uniform is one of my favorite uniforms in Baseball history and the fact that these photos are in color make me admire them more than ever.

(Click on the photo for a larger version with more detail)

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The great Brooklyn Dodger First Basement, Gil Hodges poses for a photo at First Base. Hodges is one of my favorite players of yesteryear and I think it’s a shame that he’s still not in the Hall of Fame. Last I checked, Hodges holds the record for receiving the most Hall of Fame votes without actually being inducted into the Hall. I cross my fingers that the Golden Era Veterans Committee will get him inducted in 2014, however I won’t hold my breath for this.

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Mickey Mantle stretches for a pose at First Base during Spring Training sometime late in his career. Something about this photo is depressing as it captures a superstar in the twilight years of his career. The Mick was a Center Fielder through and through but during the 1965 season he moved to Left Field. For the 1966 season he was moved to First Base, where spent the last two seasons of his career.

I’ve never heard how he fared at the position, but I assume he couldn’t have been all that bad if he was stationed there for two full straight seasons to close out his career.

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Billy Martin. I’ve never heard of Martin being referred to as “Billy The Kid” but this nickname wouldn’t surprise me due to his fiery temperament on and off the field. Needless to say, this is a pretty cool photo of the Yankee legend.

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1944. Joe DiMaggio stands on deck in his Fort Lawton baseball uniform during a game played outside of Seattle during World War II. I can’t be only person to be taken off guard by his smile? I’m just so used to seeing the Yankee Clipper with a solemn or unhappy look on his face after his Major League career took off.

To read a newspaper clipping describing the photo, click HERE.

2012 BBA Post-Season Voting

•October 16, 2012 • Leave a Comment

As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance it is required that I vote 4 times a year in regards to different matters relating to Major League Baseball. We vote on the following awards every calendar year:

January: Hall of Fame vote.  This vote is based on the official Hall of Fame ballot for the BBA recommendation of who should be selected.

March: We vote for the Ring Lardner Award. This is given to the baseball writer who, along with quality writing, has a strong internet presence.

June: All-Star Game voting, self explanatory.

October: Post-Season awards. There are five awards voted on: Willie Mays Award (Rookie of the Year), Connie Mack Award (Manager of the Year), Walter Johnson Award (Cy Young Award), Stan Musial Award (MVP), and the Goose Gossage Award (Top Reliever).

Considering that my votes are due today for the Post-Season awards I should get this up. So here we go…

Connie Mack Award (manager of the year):
American LeagueBob Melvin (This was a toss up between Melvin & Showalter and in my eyes, Melvin wins. However, I admit that this may be due to the fact that I’m an A’s fan and was much more familiar with his season
National LeagueDavey Johnson (If Davey doesn’t win National League Manager of the year I will be shocked)

Willie Mays Award (rookie of the year):
American LeagueMike Trout (No need to explain my decision here)
National LeagueBryce Harper (I could have easily went with Wade Miley here but I was very split and when I am split on a decision like this, I will always pick a position player over a Pitcher. Sorry Wade)

Goose Gossage Award (top reliever):
American LeagueFernando Rodney (Quite a no-brainer if you ask me)
National LeagueCraig Kimbrel (My first instinct was to go with Kimbrel, but Aroldis Chapman was not far behind whatsoever)

Walter Johnson Award (Cy Young):
American LeagueJustin Verlander (If someone were to vote for anyone other than Verlander for this award, I would question their sanity)
National LeagueRA Dickey (Much like Verlander above, no one else is as deserving as Dickey as far as I’m concerned)

Stan Musial Award (MVP):
American LeagueMike Trout (Yes, I know Cabrera won the triple crown which is cool and all, but come on people it’s 2012. Get with the times)
National LeagueBuster Posey (This was very difficult as I believe Ryan Braun is just as deserving. If Posey wasnt a Catcher I probably would have gone with Braun)