It’s true! What better gift to the fans of the St. Louis Cardinals than the title “World Champions”! This picture is my favorite of all the thousands because if shows the team and the fans in unison like they’re in it together and they did it together, which of course they did. Last year the St. Louis Cardinal fans were selected number one best fans in baseball based on knowledge of the game, loyalty and sportsmanship. San Francisco Giants fans were voted second. Continue reading →
Josh Hamilton was named MVP of the American League Championship Series as his Texas Rangers whooped the New York Yankees into submission yesterday and grabbed the AL Pennant for the first time in their long history. When he was asked about the award you couldn’t help but be impressed. Here’s what he had to say:
“I love my teammates. I love them so much. Any of these guys could have gotten this award. I’m happy to have them. At the same time , I don’t want to talk about myself, I want to talk about them! WE are the reason we’re here. The chemistry on the team is something like I’ve never known anywhere. All the guys love each other and we support each other.”
Texas Rangers on winning the ALCS
Manager Ron Washington said basically the same thing, acknowledging this was the best group of players he’s ever worked with. The Texas Rangers chemistry among each other seems to be contagious. Most would agree that the players on any team have to get along with each other, maybe not “like” each other but for sure they have to get along. Sometimes that promotes a winning team and sometimes not, but for sure these guys seem to really and truly “like” each other. This is evident in all the clubhouse interviews, on the field rapport, and articles written throughout this year. I don’t know very much about the Texas Rangers, but I have to be honest here, you can’t help but like these guys, each and every one of them!
Josh Hamilton, MVP
I decided not to write about all the great plays and statistics from this series. They were impressive and you can read all about them in the “Related Articles” below. But if you read my earlier blog about the Yankees and their tea party mentality, you gotta love these guys. This is the first time in their history they’ve won a Pennant and it does my heart good to see a bunch of guys whooping and hollering and jumping around like they really, really appreciate being here. Whatta series and what an accomplishment! Great win for the Texas Rangers. They deserve it!
"I was the worst hitter ever. I never even broke a bat until last year when I was backing out of the garage." Lefty Gomez, Yankees pitcher.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. ~George F. Will.
"Does Pete Rose hustle? Before the All Star game he came into the clubhouse and took off his shoes and they ran another mile without him." Hank Aaron.
More Baseball Quotes!
“You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.” - Jim Bouton
"I was such a dangerous hitter I even got intentional walks during batting practice." - Casey Stengel
"This isn't a job. This is a privilege, that's what this is!" - Mike Krukow, TV Commentator, on being at the ballpark each day.
"I've found that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats." -Bill Veeck, Chicago White Sox owner.
"Derek Jeter's accomplishment puts Pete Rose's hits record in perspective. 3,000 hits is phenomenal. 4,000? Freakish!" - Anthony Castrovince via Twitter
"The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second best thing is losing the World Series." - Tommy Lasorda
"You teach me baseball and I’ll teach you relativity.... You will learn about relativity faster than I learn baseball." - Albert Einstein
"Baseball is a game of race, creed, and color. The race is to first base. The creed is the rules of the game. The color? Well, the home team wears white uniforms, and the visiting team wears gray."
Joe Garagiola
GARLICFRIESANDBASEBALL is written by a long-time fan who simply loves the game. I write my own articles (hence the grammar and occasional misspellings). If I include an article from another source, credit is given to that source and will include links when appropriate. The opinions are my own.
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