History

The New York Yankees.  Lord of their realm, with fans who let you know it.

Talking to a Yankee fan is generally an exercise in futility, since they are programmed to utter two basic phrases:

Phrase one: “Twenty-seven rings, baby”, or a something along that vein.

Yesterday, once again Nationals outfielder Willie Harris made a bigger impact in Mets infamy in making a game-saving catch on Rod Barajas. With two outs in the ninth inning, Barajas was up at the plate with the bases loaded. The Mets catcher would eventually hit the ball into left field where Harris had just came in the inning before.

Center field. That vast, green expanse where fly balls go to die. Where the swiftest, most athletic players thrive and make jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring plays on a daily basis.

Just ask Vic Wertz.

On Sept. 29, 1954, Mr. Wertz hit a prodigious drive out to center field in the Polo Grounds. It looked for sure like Wertz's drive was going to break the 2-2 tie between the Giants and the Indians, giving the Tribe all the momentum in Game One.

But, on the eighth day, God said, "Let there be Mays."

Rammy Manuel has rooted for the Los Angeles Dodgers since he came to the United States.

He is too young to have seen Bill Bevens' one-hitter in the 1947 World Series, but his father used to talk about that game whenever Rammy mentioned the New York Yankees, the one team that the elder Manuel really didn't like.

My father was at Ebbets Field on Oct. 4, 1947 to see the fourth game of the World Series between his beloved Dodgers and the hated, haughty New York Yankees.

So, have you heard about this Heyward kid?

I think he's really going to be special someday.

Obviously, you have heard a little about the J-Hey Kid by now, unless you've been in a coma for the last 24 hours—or two years.

Describing my reaction to the moment is not that difficult.

The New York Mets are a naturally occurring source of negativity.

You’d think they’d never won a World Series—something eight other expansion teams can claim, plus seven other clubs that have not exceeded the two championships won by the Mets.

Yet here we are at the beginning of another season, and the Mets are given little chance to finish third in the NL East, much less first.

Las Vegas has the Mets as an 18-to-1 underdog. Seems like pretty good odds compared to 100-to-1.

Baseball fans have been repeatedly told that the New York Yankees are the greatest dynasty in sports history, but they are rarely told that since 1958, the Yankees' dominance with respect to winning the World Series, has decreased.

From 1921-1958, the Yankees won 24 pennants and 18 World Championships.

From 1960-2009, the Yankees have won 16 pennants and nine World Championships.

Yankees Supremacy 

The 1961 New York Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds in a five game World Series that was closer than the final result indicates.

1961 was one of the finest seasons in Yankees' history, but the passage of time often creates a false reality.

Recently, the host of a sports show discussed the 1961 World Series. It was concluded that beating the Reds was almost a cakewalk. Nothing could be further from the truth.

They used to be scattered all over the state, particularly in the tri-county area.

The tony suburbs of Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills were popular for them, but towns like Washington and Livonia were home to some of them as well.

Theirs was a time when you not only played baseball for the Detroit Tigers, you stuck around to experience our winter months, too.

There is a sad story in the recent Orlando Sentinel about the deteriorating health of former Baltimore Orioles ace Mike Cuellar.

The story by Sentinel columnist, George Diaz, illustrates recent health issues for Cuellar that now have him in a hospital in the Orlando area living out his final days in pain.

A number of local businessmen and organizations are trying to assist Cuellar and his family with his expenses, including paying for his funeral.