Baseball

It is the spring of 1976, before Mark Fidrych’s mercurial career took off, when “the bird” still meant something not so nice.

My friend Kris Donker and I are loitering in the expensive box seats next to the Tigers dugout at Tiger Stadium, prior to a weekend afternoon game. We take in the majesty of the ballpark, with Chicago White Sox players taking batting practice before us.

Unbeknownst to us, we are blocking the access to a swinging gate/door that leads directly to the field.

“Excuse me, fellas!”

Bottom of the ninth and two outs. There was a runner on first and a ghost runner on third, and Moose, the neighborhood meathead and opposing team's best hitter, was at the plate.

Filthy, drenched in sweat, and a tightly wound bundle of nerves, I stood on the mound (which was actually just a chalk line drawn on the ground)—the loneliest kid on earth.

Wayne Consalvi was more than likely in his Man Cave on Monday night, after a long day at work. He felt relaxed, he was home alone, and his wife now had a different last name.

He popped open a few beers and watched his beloved Philadelphia Phillies take on the St. Louis Cardinals.

The first beer was a congratulatory one for himself, the next pilsner, was a cheers for his son Steve.

By his own account Steve is, “a real good student, heading to Penn State,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

After Tuesday night’s gem against St. Louis, Phillies’ starter Cole Hamels lowered his season ERA to a less than desirable 4.42.

A fresh faced Jim Bowden bellied up to the bar once more.

The recent college grad of Rollins College (Florida) found himself in sports bars on a regular basis come the mid-80s. He wasn't so much interested in a cold tall one, but more the free happy hour grub.

"My second year with the Pirates I was making $12,500 a year," Bowden said. "I was having trouble getting food on the table."

Last year the Oakland A's made big noise in the acquisition of Matt Holliday. Unfortunately, it also meant that the A's gave up talent to the Colorado Rockies to get him and now that talent is doing so much more than Holliday did in an A's uniform.

This trade by far was the worst decision Beane has ever made for the A's. He gave up Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith, and Huston Street to bring Holliday over from the Rockies. Holliday didn't win many fans in Oakland with his lackadaisical play and his slow start to the season.

He eventually was traded on July 24th, 2009 to the St.

First off today, I want to mention the passing of Ernie Harwell.  

Ernie was an Michigan sports Icon and the best play-by-play baseball announcer I have ever heard.   

He might have also been the victim of  Bo Schembechler's worst decisions as a coach or sports executive when he fired Ernie in 1991.   

With Rick Ankiel finally being placed on the DL, the Royals have recalled Kila Ka’aihue (unfortunately, we had not yet gotten to cover him in our Prospect Trackers, which you can check out by clicking here and here ). 

"Baseball is the President tossing out the first ball of the season and a scrubby schoolboy playing catch with his dad on a Mississippi farm. A tall, thin old man waving a scorecard from the corner of his dugout. That's baseball."—Ernie Harwell in his Induction Day Speech (August 2, 1981)

Quotes from Ernie Harwell

"Baseball is a lot like life. It's a day-to-day existence, full of ups and downs. You make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in life."