Baseball
Page
Page
One of my favorite things in the
world, is the game of baseball. I love to
play, watch, talk about, read about, write
about, and basically study the game. It
never ceases to amaze me. Even after
100 years plus of baseball's existence,
new things, that have never happened
before, are occurring every all the time!
I am a Yankee fan at heart. The
Bronx Bombers had little success while I
was growing up in the 80s and early 90s,
but they were my team. They had won
the World Series the year I was born, in
1978, and then not again until I was a
Freshman in college, in 1996. The '96
Yankees are my favorite team of
all-time. They had a good squad all
year, but really came out of nowhere to
win the Series that year. In fact, the
1996 World Series may be the last time
I remember the Yankees being an
underdog. What a year that was!
Now, I live in Chicago, where I
attend as many Cubs and White Sox
games as I can possibly fit into my
summer. Even when I cannot afford to
make the game, I will watch it on TV,
listen to it on the radio, or find myself at
Horner Park, watching kids of various
ages play this great game.
I'm sort of like Jimmy Fallen's
character in the movie Fever Pitch, and I
don't mean because I love the Red Sox.
Trust me, I don't! Fallen's character
was a different person during the
season, than he was during the
off-season. That's me! Let's just say I
get a few more projects around the
house, done during the months of
November to March.
Baseball is a passion of mine, so I
decided that I needed my own web page
dedicated to the game, and here it is.
world, is the game of baseball. I love to
play, watch, talk about, read about, write
about, and basically study the game. It
never ceases to amaze me. Even after
100 years plus of baseball's existence,
new things, that have never happened
before, are occurring every all the time!
I am a Yankee fan at heart. The
Bronx Bombers had little success while I
was growing up in the 80s and early 90s,
but they were my team. They had won
the World Series the year I was born, in
1978, and then not again until I was a
Freshman in college, in 1996. The '96
Yankees are my favorite team of
all-time. They had a good squad all
year, but really came out of nowhere to
win the Series that year. In fact, the
1996 World Series may be the last time
I remember the Yankees being an
underdog. What a year that was!
Now, I live in Chicago, where I
attend as many Cubs and White Sox
games as I can possibly fit into my
summer. Even when I cannot afford to
make the game, I will watch it on TV,
listen to it on the radio, or find myself at
Horner Park, watching kids of various
ages play this great game.
I'm sort of like Jimmy Fallen's
character in the movie Fever Pitch, and I
don't mean because I love the Red Sox.
Trust me, I don't! Fallen's character
was a different person during the
season, than he was during the
off-season. That's me! Let's just say I
get a few more projects around the
house, done during the months of
November to March.
Baseball is a passion of mine, so I
decided that I needed my own web page
dedicated to the game, and here it is.
Kim and I at a White Sox/Indians game in April '06.
Favorite All-Time Player:
"Donnie Baseball": Don Mattingly
| Mattingly's Greatness not enough for Hall |
| Don Mattingly is my favorite baseball player of all time. When I was just 7 years old, my love for the game of baseball was just starting to develop, and I was entering my second year of T-ball. As it happens, I was drafted by the Yankees that year. They were already my favorite team, mainly because that's the team that my father loved. It was 1985, and that was the year that "Donnie Baseball" won the AL MVP by hitting .324, with 35 homeruns, and 145 RBIs. Although the '85 MVP was the only one Mattingly would win, he was the premier first baseman in the American League from 1984-1989. He won the Batting title in 1984 (.343), played in 6 all-star games, won 9 gold gloves, and ranks 4th, all-time, among first baseman in fielding percentage at .9958. In the early '90's, Mattingly's back began acting up, and his numbers began to drop. After the 1995 season, after he and the Yanks won the first ever, American League Wild Card, and had gone to the playoffs for the first and only time in Mattingly's career, the slugger retired. That year, they lost in heartbreaking fashion, in the first round, to the Seattle Mariners. In his only playoff experience, Mattingly hit .417, with 4 2B, 1 HR, and 6 RBIs. No other person wants Don Mattingly to be in the Hall of Fame more than me, but the simple fact is, he does not deserve to be there. He had 6 great seasons, followed by 7 tough, injury marred seasons. For his career, Mattingly posted a .307 average, collecting 2,153 hits, 222 HR, and 1,099 RBIs. Very similar numbers to Hall of Famer, Kirby Puckett's, the difference being that Puckett was a two-time World Champion, and a World Series hero, whereas Mattingly only briefly tasted the playoffs in his final year, and was never part of a World Championship team. Even if he had hung on longer, I don't know that it would have been enough. In my book, you have to dominate the game, amongst your peers, for a period of at least 10 years. Mattingly, as stated before had only 6 of those years. The career numbers just do not add up to a place in Cooperstown. But Hall or no Hall, the man who set records by hitting 6 grand slams in a season, and by hitting homeruns in 8 straight games, will always be my favorite all-time baseball player. |
| "I have discovered in twenty years of moving around a ball park, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats." -Bill Veeck |
ONE GOAL: SEE
EVERY STADUIM
EVERY STADUIM
There are 30 Major League
Baseball teams spread out
across the U.S.(including 1
in Canada), and each team
has it's own home stadium,
that it hosts contests in.
Some stadiums are brand
new, and some are pushing
100 years old. Some have
real grass, and some have
artificial turf. Some have
domes,and some are exposed
to the elements. Some even
have a retractable roof.
Each one is different and
unique, and I would like to
see a game in every one of
them! So far, I have made
it to 12 of the current
stadiums, and 3 that are no
longer standing, or in use.
In August of 2007, I went
on a road trip/bachelor
party, with 3 of my best
friends. Each of us big
baseball fans, we traveled
to 5 different cities, went
to 5 different stadiums,
and saw 5 Major League
Baseball games... all in a
span of 5 days! It was the
trip of a lifetime! On the
trip, we made it to RFK
Stadium (Washington DC),
Yankee Stadium (New York),
Fenway Park (Boston), PNC
Park (Pittsburgh), and
Comerica Park (Detroit).
As it stands now, I have 18
stadiums left to see. And
with a new Yankee Stadium
opening in 2009, it will
soon be 19. It may take me
a few years to accomplish
this goal, but mark my
word, I will see them all!
Baseball teams spread out
across the U.S.(including 1
in Canada), and each team
has it's own home stadium,
that it hosts contests in.
Some stadiums are brand
new, and some are pushing
100 years old. Some have
real grass, and some have
artificial turf. Some have
domes,and some are exposed
to the elements. Some even
have a retractable roof.
Each one is different and
unique, and I would like to
see a game in every one of
them! So far, I have made
it to 12 of the current
stadiums, and 3 that are no
longer standing, or in use.
In August of 2007, I went
on a road trip/bachelor
party, with 3 of my best
friends. Each of us big
baseball fans, we traveled
to 5 different cities, went
to 5 different stadiums,
and saw 5 Major League
Baseball games... all in a
span of 5 days! It was the
trip of a lifetime! On the
trip, we made it to RFK
Stadium (Washington DC),
Yankee Stadium (New York),
Fenway Park (Boston), PNC
Park (Pittsburgh), and
Comerica Park (Detroit).
As it stands now, I have 18
stadiums left to see. And
with a new Yankee Stadium
opening in 2009, it will
soon be 19. It may take me
a few years to accomplish
this goal, but mark my
word, I will see them all!
Stadiums that I've been to:
Yankee Stadium- New York
Wrigley Field- Chicago
AT&T Park- San Francisco
| ALSO BEEN TO: Old Comiskey- Chicago, IL US Cellular- Chicago, IL County Stadium- Milwaukee, WI Miller Park- MIlwaukee, WI Kaufman Stadium- Kansas City, MO Comerica Park- Detroit, MI Metrodome- Minneapolis, MN Fenway Park- Boston, MA Rogers Centre- Toronto, ON PNC Park- Pittsburgh, PA RFK Stadium- Washington, DC Safeco Field- Seattle, WA |
Get these guys in the Hall
The Baseball Hall of Fame's, class of 2008, was recently announced,
and once again, voters missed the chance to vote each and every one of the
deserving players in.
Rich "Goose" Gossage was deservedly voted in, but only after
unnecessarily waiting 9 years on the ballot to receive the nod. It's too bad
that the man that may be the most dominate closer ever, had to wait that
long, but at least he got in. I have to wonder, if there were 1 or 2
first-ballot kind of guys on the card this year, if "Goose" would have gotten
the vote surge that he needed and received this year?
Next year, Rickey Henderson, the game's all-time stolen base leader, and
greatest lead-off hitter of all-time, will be a first timer on the ballot, and he
will get in for sure. The question is, will any of the guys that have been
waiting, get in? Jim Rice was the closest this year, with 72.2%, of the
necessary 75%, to get in. Next were Andre Dawson at 65.9%, Bert
Blyleven at 61.9%, Lee Smith at 43.3%, and Jack Morris at 42.9%. Also,
finishing with 24.3%, was first-ballot man, Tim Raines. In my opinion,
each of these men should be in, first year, second year, 15th year,
whatever! Why some voters make guys like this wait, only to cave in and
vote for them later, I will never understand. But making guys wait, is a
whole other issue.
Jim Rice played 16 seasons, and was a dominate right-handed hitter
for 12 of them (1975-1986). He won an MVP (1978), and finished in the
top 5 of the MVP voting, 5 other times. Andre Dawson was an amazing
athlete, that hit 438 Homeruns, drove in 1,591 Runs, and was the only man
to win an MVP for a last place team (1987). Bert Blyleven won 287 games,
and ranks 5th all-time with 3,701 Strikeouts. Lee Smith saved an amazing
478 games, and currently ranks second in that department.
and once again, voters missed the chance to vote each and every one of the
deserving players in.
Rich "Goose" Gossage was deservedly voted in, but only after
unnecessarily waiting 9 years on the ballot to receive the nod. It's too bad
that the man that may be the most dominate closer ever, had to wait that
long, but at least he got in. I have to wonder, if there were 1 or 2
first-ballot kind of guys on the card this year, if "Goose" would have gotten
the vote surge that he needed and received this year?
Next year, Rickey Henderson, the game's all-time stolen base leader, and
greatest lead-off hitter of all-time, will be a first timer on the ballot, and he
will get in for sure. The question is, will any of the guys that have been
waiting, get in? Jim Rice was the closest this year, with 72.2%, of the
necessary 75%, to get in. Next were Andre Dawson at 65.9%, Bert
Blyleven at 61.9%, Lee Smith at 43.3%, and Jack Morris at 42.9%. Also,
finishing with 24.3%, was first-ballot man, Tim Raines. In my opinion,
each of these men should be in, first year, second year, 15th year,
whatever! Why some voters make guys like this wait, only to cave in and
vote for them later, I will never understand. But making guys wait, is a
whole other issue.
Jim Rice played 16 seasons, and was a dominate right-handed hitter
for 12 of them (1975-1986). He won an MVP (1978), and finished in the
top 5 of the MVP voting, 5 other times. Andre Dawson was an amazing
athlete, that hit 438 Homeruns, drove in 1,591 Runs, and was the only man
to win an MVP for a last place team (1987). Bert Blyleven won 287 games,
and ranks 5th all-time with 3,701 Strikeouts. Lee Smith saved an amazing
478 games, and currently ranks second in that department.
Jack Morris was the ace on 3 World
Championship teams. He compiled 254 regular
season wins, and completed nearly one-third of
his 527 career starts. He also may have pitched
the greatest postseason game in history with his
10 inning, Game 7, 1-0 shutout, to win the 1991
World Series for the Twins. Tim Raines may
have been the second best leadoff hitter of
all-time, behind Henderson, and stole 808 bases
at an amazing 84.6% rate. Each of these men,
rank among their era's best, and deserve to have
their place in Cooperstown.
Championship teams. He compiled 254 regular
season wins, and completed nearly one-third of
his 527 career starts. He also may have pitched
the greatest postseason game in history with his
10 inning, Game 7, 1-0 shutout, to win the 1991
World Series for the Twins. Tim Raines may
have been the second best leadoff hitter of
all-time, behind Henderson, and stole 808 bases
at an amazing 84.6% rate. Each of these men,
rank among their era's best, and deserve to have
their place in Cooperstown.
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by Josh Alton
by Josh Alton
by Josh Alton