Well I just received this MLB news text message from ESPN and had to snap a screenshot. Is this really news worthy?? In any case, Miguel’s situation just went from bad to worse as the media is going to have a heyday with this “news worthy revelation” regarding his issues with alcohol.
Oh yeah, my iPhone’s desktop is Satchel Paige & Jackie Robinson. Much cooler than yours.
The Boston Red Sox: Today is my 3rd installment of my 30 Teams. 30 Posts segment which I am slowly but surely knocking out. So here we go…The Bosox. What can I say? To tell you the truth, they are one of my least favorite teams in the Major Leagues but I am not so sure if that has anything to do with the actual team itself. I guess the majority of their fans annoy me post 2004 and the fact that they have so much money to spend on the free agent market frustrates me. But hey whatever I don’t loose sleep over it. If I had to explain my true feelings about the organization I would say they are my least favorite team in the AL East even though some of my favorite players have been members of the team in the past (ie. Bill Lee, Ted Williams, Fisk, Greenwell, Oil-Can Boyd, Doc Roberts, etc.) and still are to this day (Adrian, Papi, Jacoby, Cameron).
Also, I do got to admit that I rooted for them in 2004 when they finally beat the Yankees in the playoffs and eventually beat the Cardinals to win the World Series. It was one of the greatest Baseball moments in my life in a historical sense and in my opinion it was impossible to not like the players one that 2004 team (unless you’re a Yankees fan). Well that’s about all I have on the Red Sox, here are 5 great Red Sox photos that I love and want to share.
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Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS placed The Yankees on the brink of eliminating the Red Sox once again and therefore continuing their dominance over the Boston organization. However in the 9th inning all that changed when Dave Roberts came in to pinch run and accomplished what is now considered to be one of the most famous stolen bases in Baseball history. EVERYONE knew what his job was and what he was going to attempt to do and he did not let down. I know this is a famous photo/moment in Baseball history and like I have mentioned more than once in the blog is that I try to steer away from extremely well documented moments in Baseball history however I will make an exception here. I LOVE stolen bases in high pressure situations and I LOVED Doc Roberts as a player. Forget a Homerun, lets see some stolen bases and fundamentally sound Baseball when it really counts.
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A great photo of Fred Lynn in 1975 making an incredible catch as he so often did during his time as the Center fielder for the Red Sox. During his his 7 year tenure in Boston he was voted to the All-Star game 6 times and won 4 Gold Gloves. Oh yeah, in 1975 he won both the AL MVP & Rookie of the Year becoming the first person in Major League history to do so. Fred Lynn was awesome.
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The 1874 Boston Red Stockings. They were an early predecessor to the Boston Red Sox who officially established themselves as a Major League team in the American League in 1901.
(UPDATE: A reader named Jamie brought to my attention that the Red Stockings were a predecessor to the Braves, not the Red Sox. Thanks Jamie for catching this!!)
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April 14th, 1939 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Ted Williams hits a Homerun in his first at-bat as a member of the Boston Red Sox. This came during a exhibition game against a team called Holy Cross at Fitton Field. I assume Holy Cross was a semi-pro or school team?
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Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, and Dwight Evans. Imagine if this was your favorite team’s Outfield. Well from late in the season of 1974 to the end of 1980 the Fenway Outfield was patrolled by these studs. The fans at Fenway were definitely spoiled during those years. On a side note, does Dwight Evans’s eye brows freak anyone else or is just me?
“During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.” – Mickey Mantle
“Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me. I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.” – Ichiro Suzuki
“Barry Bonds? I’ll tell you what, if he hit a home run off Gibson or Drysdale and stood and admired it, they’d knock that earring out of his ear the next time up.” – Hall of Fame Umpire Doug Harvey
“It helps if the hitter thinks you’re a little crazy.” – Nolan Ryan
“All pitchers are liars or crybabies.” – Yogi Berra
“Baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand.” – Wes Westrum
Yesterday I renewed my MLB.tv account again and today I am watching my first game of 2011…The Blue Jays vs Pirates. Not my ideal choice but still better than watching Basketball or Hockey on a rainy Sunday. Too bad the Padres/A’s game don’t have a video stream right now but oh well I am listening to it on the radio while watching the stream of the above game. That’s how I roll. Thank you technology for making this possible.
Pee Wee Reese and Don Zimmer of the Brooklyn Dodgers practice infield drills during Spring Training in 1955. Ole’ Popeye, or “The Gerbil” as Bill Lee calls him is now 80 years old and a coach for the Tampa Bay Rays. He is currently the last remaining former Brooklyn Dodger with on-field responsibilities in Major League Baseball.
A great photo of Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe blocking the plate as a base runner attempts to score. Something that caught my eye in this photo is that the Umpire is white and I assume this is a Negro League game? I’d like to think that I am pretty knowledgeable of the Negro Leagues and while I know that many of the Umpires in the Negro Leagues were retired players themselves; I am just not sure if their were White Umpires in the league? I guess the answer to this would have to be yes there were due to this photo unless this is a photo of Barnstorming teams playing each other?
The 1913 Homestead Grays. Holy shit this photo is incredible.
Julio Franco being awarded the MVP award of the 1990 All-Star Game. As a kid I loved Julio and his whacky batting stance. I remember practicing his stance and thinking it felt SO weird and unnatural. In 2007, at age 49 Franco played his last season in the big leagues as a member of both the Braves and Mets. He let it be known that he wanted to keep playing past 50 and I was rooting for him like crazy but it wasn’t in the cards as he announced his retirement in Spring of 2008. In 2009 he was awarded the Managerial position of the Gulf Coast Mets, the rookie level team of the New York Mets. Even now as a retired 52 year old Manager I think he could get out there and smash. All hail Julio Franco.
Michael Jordan as a member of the Scottsdale Scorpions during the 1994 Arizona Fall League. He hit .252 for the Scorpions as a 31 year old Rookie and showed much improvement from his season with the Birmingham Barons where he struggled and hit .202/.289/.266. I really would like to find the rest of his Arizona Fall League stats online but just can’t seem to. All I know is what was reported in the ESPN 30 for 30 special “Jordan Rides The Bus” which was that he showed incredible improvement and was beginning to turn heads of those who had already wrote him off (cough* Sports Illustrated *cough) and people were starting to take his Baseball intentions more seriously. I believe the 1994 player’s strike was one of the driving forces to him hanging up the cleats which is just one more reason why the strike was retarded. Just think, what if Mike made it to high Minors or even the Majors?? I guess the 14 year old boy in me will always wonder.
ninety feet of perfection. 
