Catching Up

So I have made no promises this time around. That's good because this is my first post since June. Just when the casual fan feels baseball is over. Does any other sport have so many people walk away heading toward the end of the season and the playoffs? Is anyone even reading this? I would love to hear from you and if you are, feel free to retweet.

A couple of tidbits to share:

Did anyone else notice that in the Astros first game back home in Houston since hurricane Harvey they beat Matt Harvey?

Sept 2nd 1880, 137 years ago yesterday the first known night baseball game of any kind was played at Nantasket Beach in Hull MA. It was a game between employees of department stores R H White and Jordan Marsh. Thomas Edison had invented the light bulb the year before and Boston's Northern Light Electric Company wanted to test its potential.

The Last Idiot

Some may be too young to remember but for 86 years a World Championship eluded the Boston Red Sox. 13 years and 3 championships later some of us at a certain age still have a tough time wrapping our heads around that.

This past weekend, the backbone of that 2004 team that broke the curse as well as the others in '07  and '13 and arguably the greatest player that ever played for the local nine had his number retired.

What may have gone under the radar was on June 18th  the last of the '04 team may have pitched his last game. Bronson Arroyo of the Cinncinatti Reds lasted only 3 innings against the Dodgers. He has been shut down with shoulder soreness. He plans to remain with the team for the remainder of the year but he has stated that this is likely it.

In other apprpoes of nothing, Albert Pujols is just 4 GIDPs away from breaking Cal Ripken's all time record. We'll need to keep an eye on that.

Potential candidates for Mark Reynolds 200K Club
Joey Gallo Tex 102
Keon Broxton Mil 101
Khris Davis Oak 101
Miguel Sano Min 100

Curses in Baseball

As the Cubs and Red Sox square off this weekend, I can't help but reflect on each of the teams respective curses that had plagued them for decades.

There was the Curse of the Bambino that haunted the Red Sox for 86 years. Personally I believe Dropkick Murphys revitalizing the old Royal Rooters' "Tessie" may have helped that. The Red Sox had never won a World Series in a post Royal Rooters year.

I don't pretend to understand the Goat curse. A local tavern owner was asked to vacate his goat from the park and he said the Cubs would never win again. This kept them out of the World Series altogether. It would make more sense to me if they were cursed for allowing the goat to stay.

This brings me to the Washington Nationals. With baseball being the superstitious game it is and its past being so much part of its fiber, you might not want to unretire numbers. 8, 10 and 30 were retired by the Montreal Expos only for the gesture to be cast aside with the relocation of the team.

I understand they want their own identity so for that I say they don't have to display them anywhere. They make it to the playoffs in 2012, 2014 and 2016 never making it past the 1st round. It's time for a karma adjustment.

With Tim Raines being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, maybe officially re-retire the numbers of Andre Dawson, Gary Carter and Raines himself. I seem to remember Strasburg going down on the same day Dawson was inducted and he was lost for a year.

For those who don't believe in curses, this is a small gesture. What could it hurt.

4/15/17 A Day of Great Pitching

Ok, what kind of a Red Sox fan would I be if I didn't give a shout out to Chris Sale on his first win with his new club? One hairy inning which led to his one earned run but 12 strikeouts over 8 innings is pretty impressive.

The best performances were the 2 complete games. Ervin Santana of the Twins with a one hit shutout over the White Sox and Rockies hurler Tyler Chatwood over the Giants for a two hit  shutout. Chatwood has shown flashes of brilliance in the past but pitching half your games in Denver is not the best scenario. He pitched in San Francisco yesterday.

We almost had a third complete game but Seattle's James Paxton was pulled after 8 innings with a two hit shutout. I  understand there is a lot of money invested in these pitchers but less than 3 hits, you should complete the game.

Nonetheless, it was a great day for pitching. Happy Easter.

Senior and Junior circuts

There was a time that the National and American Leagues were referred to as the Senior and Junior circuit respectively.

The National League goes back to 1876 when the game had such stars as Cap Anson and Al Spaulding. The latter would go on to found Spaulding Sports Equipment.

In that inaugural year of the National League, Spaulding started on the mound 60 of the 66 games the Chicago White Stockings played (The White Stockings eventually evolved into the Cubs). Some have feciciously said that maybe he pitched every game because they were playing with his ball. It took some years for the game to evolve into the game we know today but I'm​ sure it wasn't that primative.

The American League came into being in 1901, 25 years after the National League, hence the Senior and Junior circuit nicknames. The first half of the 20th century, many cities had 2 baseball teams and it would be unheard of to be fans of both.

Apparently it was said a fan of a National League team and a fan of an American League team would have nothing to talk about. A genuine love of the game would not be enough. To this day if you are a Cubs fan you HATE the White Sox and vice versa.

Some American League fans have a belief that baseball didn't really begin until the American League began. As a child in New England that was my understanding as well. It was not until July 27th 1986 that the myth was actually challenged.

On that day, Don Sutton of the California Angels faced Tom Seaver of the Red Sox. It was the first matchup of two 300 game winners since.....1892????? WHAT?????

That's right, not only was there baseball in 1892 but there were pitchers who had won 300 games by that time. Upon mentioning this to my father, he was adament there was no baseball then and I got the vibe that any further discussion would be considered blasphemy. I realized though that my father did not know more than sportswriters.

The National League fan though appears very aware of baseball's origins and why they are far more protective of the game. The biggest example is not adopting the DH and I hope they never do (For more on that see my 3/20/11 post Unbalanced Schedule DH and Interleague Play)

One more myth to dispel. I apologize to any Cinncinatti fans out there but the current Reds are not decended from the first professional team from 1869 the Cinncinatti Red Stockings. That team lasted one year and owner Harry Wright disbanded the team and along with his brother George moved to Boston and named their new team the Red Stockings. That team evolved into the Braves.

And no I am not saying that baseball was invented in Atlanta by the inventors of the airplane.

Repost: A Very Dubious Milestone

This post is originally from 2011:It's a little dated but it's worth reposting to a new audience plus the original posting was butchered somehow



It was May 13th 1983, Anaheim Stadium. The ballpark the late great Ned Martin once referred to as "The House That Remy Built". The California Angels were in an extra inning battle with the Minnesota Twins. The Twins had taken the lead in the top of the 11th inning.With one out and Minnesota hurler Len Whitehouse on the mound, Angels DH Reggie Jackson came to the plate.

It was then that history was made. With almost certainly a fraction of the 29,469 of the paid attendance still at hand Reggie accomplished what no other player had done in the history of the game. It was at this moment that Jackson had struck out for the 2,000^th time in his career.

Jackson had already accomplished the all-time record for career strikeouts the previous year, passing Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell while Willie was still active no less.1982 was Stargell’s last year and was nothing more than a gate attraction while Jackson was whiffing sometimes 2 and 3 times a night. By the time Jackson called it a career he had struck out 2,597 times and was still the sole member of what I would like to refer to as the 2KK club.

Andres Galarraga reached the dubious plateau in 2003 followed by Sammy Sosa in 2004.In 2007 Jim Thome became the 4th member of this growing club and if he plays through 2012 he will most certainly relieve Jackson as club president. I thought it might be interesting to look further into this renaissance of strikeouts.

Aside from Thome there are 3 players who although won’t make it to 2,000 this year, will be in the top 10 at years end.

Mike Cameron (BOS) #10 1,842

Alex Rodriguez (NYY) #11 1,836

Manny Ramirez (TB) #13 1,809

Single Season records have been set as well with Adam Dunn of Cincinnati setting it in 2004 with 195. Ryan Howard of Philadelphia surpassed that in 2007 with 199. In 2008 Mark Reynolds of Arizona became the first player to strike out more than 200 times in a season. He’s done it 3 times (223 in ’09 and 211 in ’10)

Any feedback as to why so many are whiffing at a record pace would be welcome but it will be interesting to see if this trend continues.

Looking back from 2017 only A-Rod made it to 2000 with 2287 along with Adam Dunn at 2379. Reggie is still safely on top of the heap.

Mark Reynolds is no longer in a class by himself. While no one else has whiffed 200 times in a season 3 times, Chris Davis of Baltimore(2015,2016) and Chris Carter (2013,2016) now of the Yankees have each done it twice.
Drew Stubbs (2011) and Adam Dunn (2012) have each done it once.

I have been told the stigma of striking out is no longer the presence it once was.

I was right about one thing though, it has become more commonplace.

Resurrected from the dead

I thought I would give this another go. Another baseball season is underway. As we speak the Yankees are losing 3-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays. As a Red Sox fan,the Yankees losing is a great start.

I am seeking a wider audience via Twitter so this article is more to introduce the website. If you are reading this,feel free to read my posts from 2011.
I have a certain facination with obscure and dubious records. I found the birth of the 200K club in 2008 interesting. Since I last posted, Adam Dunn,Drew Stubbs, Chris Davis (twice) and Chris Carter (twice) have joined Mark Reynolds ( 3 times) as the only ones to accomplish that.
Albert Pujols is 15 away from the all time lead in grounding into double plays.

Anyway that is enough introduction. Hope you like it.