Tag Archives: Mickey Mantle

Oh Those Lowly Dodgers ……..

Posted on September 5, 2017 | Leave a comment

Baseball Surprises!

Recently, I asked my brother-in-law if he thought the Dodgers would be able to put together 100 wins this season.   It seemed a given, but they’ve lost 9 of their last 10 games and it reminds me of the 2008 season when the first place San Diego Padres lost 10 in a row in the last month of the season to allow the Giants to win the division, and eventually the World Series.

I know.  I get it.  Us Giants fans are supposed to hate the Dodgers so we’re always cheering for their demise, but I’m older and have a different perspective.  Back in the 1950’s when there were only 16 MLB teams, the closest being located in the Midwest, you had to be a Dodger or Yankee fan, but you couldn’t be both.  I was torn because Mickey Mantle was my hero.  But the Dodger’s were generally considered the underdog, so they had to be my team.

When the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers moved West it changed everything.   West Coast fans were of course delighted.  Since I was an Oregonian at the time the closest MLB team was now San Francisco Giants.  And that’s how it’s been since 1958, when I got to watch my first live pro baseball game between the Giants & Dodgers at Seal Stadium.

I may be the only Giants fan who’s delighted in watching  Yasiel Puig, the snot nosed rookie from Cuba, dive in over his head to become a bonafide contender against the odds.  And it wasn’t because he didn’t have the talent, he did.  But his attitude stunk up the place and we generally cheered for his demise. His numbers aren’t all that great even now, but I still pay attention when he’s at bat.  And then there’s Kershaw.  If we could have him and the D’Backs Goldschmidt we could easily be back in the saddle again.   But “what ifs” are for Fantasy players.

So this morning’s Wall Street J0urnal published a great article by Jared Diamond bringing up some memories of the 2001 Mariners and comparing that team to the current Dodgers in their win/loss record.  The semblance is striking and should make the Dodgers a bit nervous about their chances in this year’s playoffs.

After the awful season the Giants have put us through this year, I’m going to root for the Dodgers and hope I can get some sort of satisfaction through them.  I’ll just pretend it’s 1958 and start all over again.

 

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Posted in A1 Baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners

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Mickey Mantle Shares Billy Martin ….. Youtube

Posted on January 31, 2013 | 4 comments

If you watch the video on full screen there’s not a thing to prevent you from imagining you’re sitting right there as he tells his story.  Mickey Mantle was my teen-age heart throb and it never really went away.  Maybe it was that soft spoken southern drawl or maybe it was just his dang good looks.  But no matter, I wasn’t the only one.  Thousands became immediate fans of the shy, freckle-faced  baseball player from Oklahoma.   Here he tells an entertaining story about his friend, Billy Martin, that has very little to do with baseball! 

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A Thanksgiving Poem to Baseball

Posted on November 21, 2011 | 3 comments

"Here's to the little kid in all of us"

I’m  enjoying a visit with my family this week so I’m taking the Thanksgiving holiday a little early.  Here’s a poem that can easily be construed as one of  thanksgiving when looking back over the years and realizing how important baseball has been in my  life.

                                                   Dreams and Things        

  • If you had told me way back then
  • That baseball diamonds filled with men
  • Would somehow make my life a den
  • Of hopes and dreams and acumen
  • I doubt I would have listened.
  • That memories from way back then
  • of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays,
  • Of Whitey Ford and double plays
  • Would somehow make my older days
  • Much better than my childhood Continue reading →

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General

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The Good Old Days you say? How About Here and Now?

Posted on August 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Sully’s at it again.  He takes us from the beginning right up to today and lets us know what’s not so good about baseball back then and what’s so good about it  now, today.  And I have to agree with him although I have to admit my fondest memories are still of  Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and Joe DiMaggio.   Take a look and see what you think.   Thanks again Sully.  I love this kind of stuff!

Paul Sullivan’s website:  http://sullybaseball.blogspot.com/

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A5 Baseball Videos, New York Yankees

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Best Players in Past 58 Years ……. A Mathematical Study!

Posted on August 12, 2010 | 6 comments

I came upon an interesting study a few months ago.  It was written by Don Davis, Mathematics Professor at Lehigh University, Bethleham, PA.   There’s a lot of criteria used in determining different aspects of this study, but for the most part the players names are all recognizable and only a few to make the list are surprises.   The following table lists the top five All Star Teams, using 4 pitchers per team.    It also lists the overall rating percentage by player.   Take a look:

Pos’n First team Second team Third team Fourth team Fifth team
P1 Roger Clemens, 266.2 Tom Seaver, 166.9 Bob Gibson, 129.2 Jim Palmer, 106.4 Johan Santana, 85.4
P2 Greg Maddux, 203.9 Warren Spahn, 160.5 Robin Roberts, 128.3 Gaylord Perry, 96.1 Tom Glavine, 84.8
P3 Randy Johnson, 202.4 Bob Feller, 143.7 Sandy Koufax, 126.0 Phil Niekro, 96.1 Curt Schilling, 80.7
P4 Pedro Martinez, 185.7 Steve Carlton, 140.7 Juan Marichal, 109.5 Fergie Jenkins, 91.7 Bob Lemon, 79.9
C Johnny Bench, 115.5 Yogi Berra, 97.2 Mike Piazza, 82.2 Ivan Rodriguez, 77.7 Gary Carter, 75.5
1B Albert Pujols, 145.4 Jeff Bagwell, 103.2 Eddie Murray, 95.2 Willie McCovey, 92.1 Harmon Killebrew, 86.4
2B Joe Morgan, 140.3 Rod Carew, 94.5 Ryne Sandberg, 92.4 Jackie Robinson, 82.4 Roberto Alomar, 81.1
3B Mike Schmidt, 173.2 George Brett, 119.2 Eddie Mathews, 111.7 Wade Boggs, 108.0 Brooks Robinson, 88.4
SS Alex Rodriguez, 145.4 Cal Ripken, 113.6 Robin Yount, 93.0 Ernie Banks, 90.7 Derek Jeter, 81.6
OF1 Barry Bonds, 270.7 Stan Musial, 205.2 Frank Robinson, 145.3 Ken Griffey, 114.2 Tony Gwynn, 100.3
OF2 Willie Mays, 226.8 Mickey Mantle, 198.3 Rickey Henderson, 141.5 Al Kaline, 110.1 Pete Rose, 99.7
OF3 Ted Williams, 213.4 Hank Aaron, 195.6 Carl Yazstremski, 127.5 Reggie Jackson, 108.9 Roberto Clemente, 99.3
DH Frank Thomas, 115.0 Edgar Martinez, 64.4 Paul Molitor, 62.4 David Ortiz, 43.4  

Are you kidding me?  Can you even begin to imagine a game with all of these guys on the same team?  What was particularly interesting to me is  that mathematically Roger Clemens is the highest rated pitcher and Barry Bonds is the highest rated batter.   These  ratings are through the 2009 season,  and personalities and private lives are not taken into account.   This is just  using good old fashioned baseball statistics.  

I found the study intriguing and spent a lot of time viewing the criteria used in coming up with the lists.  Rather than go into all the particulars here, you can view the study yourself @ Lehigh University   http://www.lehigh.edu/~dmd1/baseball.html  

 This information is being used with the permission of Professor Davis.

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Posted in 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, 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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