Monthly Archives: September 2014

Ethics Hero: American League Batting Champion Jose Altuve

Posted on September 29, 2014 | 1 comment
Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

Ethics and sportsmanship. Two of my favorite topics and my favorite blog dealing with the subject is “Ethics Alarms”. This isn’t a baseball blog, or even a sports blog for that matter, but I find myself quoting it often and I’m always able to learn from it. In this blog he talks about doing the right thing and what interested me most was, even if he hadn’t done the right thing, most fans would never have noticed. Chalk one up for another great article from Ethics Alarms’ Jack Marshall, ethicist, lawyer, and the president of ProEthics, Ltd., trying to keep us on the straight and narrow and reminding us there still is such a thing.

Ethics Alarms

Altuve

There was another baseball Ethics Hero who emerged on the last day of the regular season yesterday. File it under “Sportsmanship.”

Houston Astros secondbaseman  Jose Altuve (at less than 5′ 5″, the shortest athlete in a major professional sport) began the day hitting .340, three points ahead of the Tigers’ Victor Martinez, who was at .337. Even with all the new stats and metrics showing that batting average alone is not the best measure of a baseball player’s offensive value, a league batting championship remains the most prestigious of individual titles, putting a player in the record books with the likes of Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Rogers Hornsby, George Brett, Ichiro Suzuki and Tony Gwynn. It’s still a big deal. If Altuve didn’t play in Houston’s meaningless last game, Martinez would have to go 3-for-3 to pass him, giving the DH a narrow .3407 average compared with Altuve’s .3399. By…

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Posted in A1 Baseball, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros

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Mad Bum Out of the Box and, Please … No More Bunts!

Posted on September 24, 2014 | Leave a comment
Madison Bumgarner , the Pitcher

Madison Bumgarner , the Pitcher

Madison Bumgarner, The Hitter! (Photo Courtesy Getty Images)

Madison Bumgarner, The Hitter! (Photo Courtesy Getty Images)

I love this guy! What about this? To Bruce Bochy: How about putting Bum in left field on his days off?  That will get him in the line-up and God knows we can sure use him. AND NO MORE BUNTING PLEASE!

Madison Bumgarner’s a cowboy, down on the farm, strong as an ox type guy. He can do this. And it probably wouldn’t hurt to let him get that pitch count up there a little more either.

I mean, seriously, we’re getting down to the wire here and it’s never too late to think outside the box.  Just saying …….

And take a look at another take on the subject from Hardball Talk.  Great stuff!

 

 

 

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Posted in A1 Baseball, San Francisco Giants

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Video: Yasiel Puig made a fantastic throw last night to nail Brandon Belt at the plate

Posted on September 23, 2014 | Leave a comment

That Pesky Puig just won’t go away. I was trying to explain this play to someone today, but nothing I could say did it justice.  It was just one of those plays dreams are made of.  Thanks to Hardball talk here’s an instant replay ….. if MLB will let us use it for awhile and not delete it.

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Posted in A1 Baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants

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Name Origins of all 30 Major League Baseball Teams

Posted on September 22, 2014 | Leave a comment
Cincinnati Red Stockings. 1st Professional Baseball Team

Cincinnati Red Stockings. 1st Professional Baseball Team

Cincinnati Red Stockings Photo Courtesy “www.todayifoundout.com” Daven Hiskey.

I “Stumbled” on this great post that lists the origins of all 30 Major League Baseball Teams.  It appears the Boston Red Sox hold the oldest named team dating back to the 1860’s, popularized by the Cincinnati Red Stockings from 1867-1870 and used by Boston’s National League franchise from 1871-1876.

But the actual team name origin that’s  with the same team is the San Francisco Giants, formerly the New York Giants, that dates back to 1885.    

Read the original Post  Stumbleupon.com, written by Scott Allen. 

 

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Posted in A1 Baseball, A1 Baseball, General, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, General, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

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Clayton Kershaw wins his 20th game of the season

Posted on September 19, 2014 | 2 comments
National League All-Star pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw watch the Home Run Derby Monday July 15, 2013, at Citi Field in NY. Photo by SF Giants/Andy Kuno

National League All-Star pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw watch the Home Run Derby Monday July 15, 2013, at Citi Field in NY. Photo by SF Giants/Andy Kuno

I love this guy! Okay, so I’m a Giants fan, but who can argue with the stats? Not to take anything away from Madison Bumgarner, but Clayton Kershaw rocks and if we don’t make it (and things aren’t looking too good right now) I’m cheering for the Dodger blue. Well, at least for the rest of the season.   And I’m trying to figure out how the Giants are going to be able to acquire Kershaw while keeping Bumgarner.  Yes, I know.   One thing at a time.

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Posted in A1 Baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants

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Baseball is dying, you guys

Posted on September 18, 2014 | 2 comments
SF Giants Fan Fest 2013. Good Grief!

SF Giants Fan Fest 2013.
Good Grief!

A few weeks ago my grandson said this exact same thing. I took into account his passion was basketball and surmised he watched only a few baseball games each year, if he had to. Jake lives in Oregon and, granted, there’s not a lot to get excited about in Oregon except maybe Oregon Duck football and OSU Beavers during baseball season, and maybe once in a while the Trailblazers.

Juan Marichal. Just your Basic Pitching Form

Juan Marichal. Just your Basic Pitching Form

But having grown up in a baseball family I just don’t get it. I don’t get that others don’t get the athleticism of baseball players, the finesse of a perfectly thrown ball, the artistry of a catch that was so impossible to make, even the opponents keep playing it over and over in the clubhouse the next day. Once-in-a-lifetime stuff. So when I read this comment on Hardball Talks,one of my favorite blogs, I had to ponder again what Jake said, and meant, about baseball not making it more than 5 or 10 years. And to Scott Conray who posted this little ditty, I have to tell you we have not seen baseball’s most famous player yet.

LA Dodger Yasiel Puig on an ordinary day.

LA Dodger Yasiel Puig on an ordinary day.

One example, and there are many, is the rookies coming up from the farm teams. These kids are exciting to watch. And they’re winning games. And they’ll continue doing this. If you have any doubt about the fans love for the game read “Casey at the Bat”, again and you’ll get it. The poem was written over 100 years ago with the same passion and fervor that baseball fans still experience every time they watch a great play, a fantastic pitch, an out of the park home run or a rookie walking to the plate making the sign of the cross and blasting it out of the park. And I don’t care which sport you’re passionate about, it just doesn’t get any better than that. In my humble opinion, of course ……

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Posted in A1 Baseball, A1 Baseball, General

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Bruce and Brett Bochy make MLB history

Posted on September 14, 2014 | Leave a comment
Brett & Bruce Bochy

Brett & Bruce Bochy

Last night, during the LA Dodgers batting practice, the SF Giants manager Bruce Bochy called his son, Brett, from the bullpen to the mound. It was the first time this has happened in the history of the game, according to the announcers. And it was emotional. Maybe not so much for the father-son pair, but for the fans and teammates and, for sure, this blogger. Brett Bochy was at spring training this year and eyes were on him as would be expected. I never really followed his progress but like most fans hoped he would make it. And that’s true for most rookies. We cross our fingers and toes when they step onto the field and hope they make it, do well, make mom and dad proud. The Giants have had several situations of that exact thing happening this season and it’s special. Just like last night was special. Brett Bochy proved he can hold his own despite the fact his dad’s a major league manager. Good for you kid ~ and good for dad too!

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Bud Selig can’t remember the last domestic violence incident in Major League Baseball

Posted on September 13, 2014 | Leave a comment

Ronni’s Note: But just because Bud Selig doesn’t remember an incident doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. The law of averages says it is. Maybe it just isn’t getting reported. But what’s going on over at the NFL? Reporting of it’s becoming epidemic and that’s a good thing, but can’t somebody get a handle on this? Condi, where are you?

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Posted in A1 Baseball

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