Saw this movie a few weeks ago and forget to let you all in on it -
It's the story of a young Dominican player making his way through the minor leagues in a different world than he is used to. It's hilarious at parts and heartbreaking at others. This is definitely worth seeing if you are a baseball fan. You will not be sorry that you did.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The MVPs
The next stack of cut outs or whatever these cards were is of the MVPs - some all time greats here
Maury Wills - 1962 - Set the then record (over Ty Cobb) by stealing 104 bases beating out teammate Tommy Davis for the award. Maury hit .299 and scored 130 runs.
Stan Musial - 1943 1946 1948 - "The Man" is one of the iconic players of his era. The people of St Louis are spoiled to have had him for his career and now they get Pujols too - Musial won seven batting titles during his career.
Roy Campanella - 1951 1953 1955 - I never realized until this moment how good this dude really was - When he won his 3rd MVP in 1955 he joined Musial as only the third player ever to win 3 NL MVP awards - Lets take a look at his 3 winning seasons
1951 - .325/33/108
1953 - .312/41/142
1955 - -.318/32/107
Those are some pretty gaudy numbers - especially out of your catcher.
Roberto Clemente - 1966 - A wonderful player and better man - died in a plane crash after collecting his 3000th hit - won 4 batting titles in his career - to win the MVP he put up a line of .317/29/119 and led the league in OF assists.
Dick Groat - 1960 - His name sounds like something you try to avoid in college - hit .325 to take the award in 1960 and led the league in total chances per game at short stop. career .286 hitter.
Ernie Banks - 1958 1959 - was the first player to win back to back MVP awards in the NL. 1958 .313/47/129
1959 .304/45/143.
Ernie hit 512 career bombs.
Johnny Bench - 1970 1972 - Formerly the best hitting catcher of all time (ahem - Piazza) Johnny was a force
1970- .293/45/148
1972 - .270/40/125
Thats production you would take out of any player - let alone your catcher who doesn't play everyday.
Harmon Killebrew - 1969 - in 1969 hit 49 hrs and drove in 140 runs - hit 573 career homeruns and drove in 100 runs 9 times.
Maury Wills - 1962 - Set the then record (over Ty Cobb) by stealing 104 bases beating out teammate Tommy Davis for the award. Maury hit .299 and scored 130 runs.
Stan Musial - 1943 1946 1948 - "The Man" is one of the iconic players of his era. The people of St Louis are spoiled to have had him for his career and now they get Pujols too - Musial won seven batting titles during his career.
Roy Campanella - 1951 1953 1955 - I never realized until this moment how good this dude really was - When he won his 3rd MVP in 1955 he joined Musial as only the third player ever to win 3 NL MVP awards - Lets take a look at his 3 winning seasons
1951 - .325/33/108
1953 - .312/41/142
1955 - -.318/32/107
Those are some pretty gaudy numbers - especially out of your catcher.
Roberto Clemente - 1966 - A wonderful player and better man - died in a plane crash after collecting his 3000th hit - won 4 batting titles in his career - to win the MVP he put up a line of .317/29/119 and led the league in OF assists.
Dick Groat - 1960 - His name sounds like something you try to avoid in college - hit .325 to take the award in 1960 and led the league in total chances per game at short stop. career .286 hitter.
Ernie Banks - 1958 1959 - was the first player to win back to back MVP awards in the NL. 1958 .313/47/129
1959 .304/45/143.
Ernie hit 512 career bombs.
Johnny Bench - 1970 1972 - Formerly the best hitting catcher of all time (ahem - Piazza) Johnny was a force
1970- .293/45/148
1972 - .270/40/125
Thats production you would take out of any player - let alone your catcher who doesn't play everyday.
Harmon Killebrew - 1969 - in 1969 hit 49 hrs and drove in 140 runs - hit 573 career homeruns and drove in 100 runs 9 times.
Again - want anything here? let me know
The Home Run Champs
Finally we have the Home Run kings - man would these guys make for a fun home run derby to watch
Duke Snider - 1956 - Duke hit 40 HRs 5 seasons in a row leading the league with 43 in 1956. He has 407 career dingers.
Al Rosen - 1950 1953 - hit 37 in 1950 and 43 in 1953 - almost won the triple crown in 1953 losing out on the batting average title by .001 points to Mickey Vernon.
Larry Doby - 1952 1954 - The first black player ever to appear in the American League, Doby became one of its most feared hitters. hitting 32 HR each year 952, 54) to take the homerun crowns, larry had a career total of 253 long balls and twice led the league in RBI
Ralph Kiner - 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 - yup - 7 straight years of winning the HR title - twice he hit more than 50 - in his career Ralph averaged 1 homer ever 14 at bats - incredible. Also - as a man recalled to me on the 7 train last year -
Once while doing the call for a Mets game that was really lopsided, Ralph kept commenting on a young couple making out in the stands before letting out this beauty of a quip
"I figured it out - he's kissing her on the strikes and she's kissing him on the balls"
yup - thank you Mr. Kiner for saying the dirtiest thing ever spoken during a baseball broadcast
Eddie Mathews - 1953 1959 - Part of the most potent 1-2 punch when teamed with Hank Aaron for most of his career, Eddie took the title with seasons of 47 homers in 536 and 46 homers in 59. Eddie hit 512 career blasts.
Hank Aaron - 1957 1963 1966 1967 - amazing the real record holder only led the league 4 times - from 1955-1973 Hank never hit less than 24 hrs in a season leading the leagues with 44 in 1957, 44 in 1963, 44 in 1966, and 39 in 1967.
Joe DiMaggio - 1937 1948 - Can you imagine the damage he would have done left handed? Joe led the league with 46 homers in 1937 and 39 in 1948. Has a career total of 361 bombs hitting more than 30 seven times.
Duke Snider - 1956 - Duke hit 40 HRs 5 seasons in a row leading the league with 43 in 1956. He has 407 career dingers.
Al Rosen - 1950 1953 - hit 37 in 1950 and 43 in 1953 - almost won the triple crown in 1953 losing out on the batting average title by .001 points to Mickey Vernon.
Larry Doby - 1952 1954 - The first black player ever to appear in the American League, Doby became one of its most feared hitters. hitting 32 HR each year 952, 54) to take the homerun crowns, larry had a career total of 253 long balls and twice led the league in RBI
Ralph Kiner - 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 - yup - 7 straight years of winning the HR title - twice he hit more than 50 - in his career Ralph averaged 1 homer ever 14 at bats - incredible. Also - as a man recalled to me on the 7 train last year -
Once while doing the call for a Mets game that was really lopsided, Ralph kept commenting on a young couple making out in the stands before letting out this beauty of a quip
"I figured it out - he's kissing her on the strikes and she's kissing him on the balls"
yup - thank you Mr. Kiner for saying the dirtiest thing ever spoken during a baseball broadcast
Eddie Mathews - 1953 1959 - Part of the most potent 1-2 punch when teamed with Hank Aaron for most of his career, Eddie took the title with seasons of 47 homers in 536 and 46 homers in 59. Eddie hit 512 career blasts.
Hank Aaron - 1957 1963 1966 1967 - amazing the real record holder only led the league 4 times - from 1955-1973 Hank never hit less than 24 hrs in a season leading the leagues with 44 in 1957, 44 in 1963, 44 in 1966, and 39 in 1967.
Joe DiMaggio - 1937 1948 - Can you imagine the damage he would have done left handed? Joe led the league with 46 homers in 1937 and 39 in 1948. Has a career total of 361 bombs hitting more than 30 seven times.
Once again - anything you like? it's yours, just let me know.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
You knew last time - so what are these?
You can blame my lack of posting on fight Night for the PS3 - you are looking at a the new world champion - I know impressive right!
Anyway - So in that box that had a bunch of stuff I don't remember, I found these cards - they have the same TMCA copyright on the back with the year 1985. The edges are awful - some look like they are perforated, some look like they were just regular cut out cards - either way they are neat.
I have 4 groupings coming up - Rookies of the year - MVPs - Cy Youngs - Home Run Champs - Today we will take a look at the Rookies.
Herb Score - ROY 1955 - One of the greats that never were thanks to a line drive to the face - in his rookie year Herb was 16-10 and struck out 245 hitters in 227 1/3 innings. In his 2nd season he was 20-9. This guy had everything - except the luck to avoid Gil McDougald's batted ball.
Billy Williams - ROY 1961 - Made his mark right away with a rookie season line of .278, 25 HR, and 86 RBI - over the next 13 seasons he never hit lower than .276 or hit less than 20HR or knocked in less than 84 runs - A model of consistency
Luis Aparicio - ROY 1956 - Stole 21 bases while playing stellar defense to take home the ROY - led the league in steals 9 straight seasons - I'm sure there is another Steve out there who could tell you more.
Frank Howard - ROY 1960 - Frank is one big son of a bitch - 6'7 and 255 lbs. in 117 games his rookie year Frank hit 23 bombs and drove in 77 runs. He was one of the most feared sluggers in the game.
Harvey Kuenn - ROY 1953 - Won the award for getting 209 hits and hitting .308 his rookie year. Played 15 years in the bigs leading the AL in hits 4 times and winning 1 batting title.
Again - these are neat but I'm not too attached to them - anyone see anything you want - let me know.
Anyway - So in that box that had a bunch of stuff I don't remember, I found these cards - they have the same TMCA copyright on the back with the year 1985. The edges are awful - some look like they are perforated, some look like they were just regular cut out cards - either way they are neat.
I have 4 groupings coming up - Rookies of the year - MVPs - Cy Youngs - Home Run Champs - Today we will take a look at the Rookies.
Herb Score - ROY 1955 - One of the greats that never were thanks to a line drive to the face - in his rookie year Herb was 16-10 and struck out 245 hitters in 227 1/3 innings. In his 2nd season he was 20-9. This guy had everything - except the luck to avoid Gil McDougald's batted ball.
Billy Williams - ROY 1961 - Made his mark right away with a rookie season line of .278, 25 HR, and 86 RBI - over the next 13 seasons he never hit lower than .276 or hit less than 20HR or knocked in less than 84 runs - A model of consistency
Luis Aparicio - ROY 1956 - Stole 21 bases while playing stellar defense to take home the ROY - led the league in steals 9 straight seasons - I'm sure there is another Steve out there who could tell you more.
Frank Howard - ROY 1960 - Frank is one big son of a bitch - 6'7 and 255 lbs. in 117 games his rookie year Frank hit 23 bombs and drove in 77 runs. He was one of the most feared sluggers in the game.
Harvey Kuenn - ROY 1953 - Won the award for getting 209 hits and hitting .308 his rookie year. Played 15 years in the bigs leading the AL in hits 4 times and winning 1 batting title.
Again - these are neat but I'm not too attached to them - anyone see anything you want - let me know. Monday, July 27, 2009
Best album I've hear all summer
Ok - everyone there - if you are fan of singer/songwriter type stylings - or like the Pogues if their singer was a bit more of a pussy check out the stream of his new(ish) album "Love, Ire, and Song" here
http://www.punknews.org/bands/frankturner
I'm halfway through the stream here at work and am mightily impressed with this album thus far. If you played this for me when I was 15 I would have thought you were so lame - does this make me old or lame now? Not sure - but check it out if you have a few.
http://www.punknews.org/bands/frankturner
I'm halfway through the stream here at work and am mightily impressed with this album thus far. If you played this for me when I was 15 I would have thought you were so lame - does this make me old or lame now? Not sure - but check it out if you have a few.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
1980 TMCA HOF cards - the last 4
Hopefully you all have enjoyed these cards as much as I have - I'm looking forward to digging into the 1983 set in the next week or so.
Bucky Harris - 2nd Base - Washington Senators - A slick fielder who took over managing the Senators @ the age of 27 - went on the win 3 pennants and 2 world championships - HOF 1975
Jesse Haines - Pitcher - St. Louis Cardinals - career mark of 210-158 - pitched for the Cards for 18 years and threw 1 no-hitter - HOF 1970
1927 New York Yankees - There were a couple of good players on this team
Billy Evans - Umpire - I found Billy to be the most interesting man of this entire set (of the cards that I have). Billy was regarded as the American League's best umpire from 1906-1927. After he stopped being an umpire - he went on as Manager of the Cleavland Indians for 6 years, Farm Director for the Red Sox for 5 years, and then became the GM of the Tigers. How about that - umpire to manager to front office - pretty frickin' cool - HOF 1974
That was good. Again - if any of you out there collect any of these men or teams and need these cards for your collections, let me know.
Bucky Harris - 2nd Base - Washington Senators - A slick fielder who took over managing the Senators @ the age of 27 - went on the win 3 pennants and 2 world championships - HOF 1975
Jesse Haines - Pitcher - St. Louis Cardinals - career mark of 210-158 - pitched for the Cards for 18 years and threw 1 no-hitter - HOF 1970
1927 New York Yankees - There were a couple of good players on this team
Billy Evans - Umpire - I found Billy to be the most interesting man of this entire set (of the cards that I have). Billy was regarded as the American League's best umpire from 1906-1927. After he stopped being an umpire - he went on as Manager of the Cleavland Indians for 6 years, Farm Director for the Red Sox for 5 years, and then became the GM of the Tigers. How about that - umpire to manager to front office - pretty frickin' cool - HOF 1974
That was good. Again - if any of you out there collect any of these men or teams and need these cards for your collections, let me know. Wednesday, July 22, 2009
1980 TMCA Hall of Famers Part 3
Only 8 more to go - But don't worry - I found another bunch of cards from a similar set from 1983 for next week.
Waite Hoyt - Pitcher - New York Yankess - Lifetime record 237-182 - After playing career was over he was an announcer for the Reds - HOF 1969
Charlie Grimm - 1B - Chicago Cubs - "Jolly Cholly" was a career .290 hitter in 20 seasons who went on to be a player/manager and then manager for 19 more seasons - When he died - his wife was granted permission to spread his ashes on Wrigley Field
Branch Rickey - Manager - St. Louis Browns - Will always be remembered for bringing Jackie Robinson to Major League Baseball - HOF 1967
Judge Landis - Commisioner - Commish of baseball for 24 years until he passed away in 1944 - elected to the HOF that year.
How awesome would it be to be able to get these cards autographed? I really think they would look sharp.
Last 4 cards tomorrow.
Waite Hoyt - Pitcher - New York Yankess - Lifetime record 237-182 - After playing career was over he was an announcer for the Reds - HOF 1969
Charlie Grimm - 1B - Chicago Cubs - "Jolly Cholly" was a career .290 hitter in 20 seasons who went on to be a player/manager and then manager for 19 more seasons - When he died - his wife was granted permission to spread his ashes on Wrigley Field
Branch Rickey - Manager - St. Louis Browns - Will always be remembered for bringing Jackie Robinson to Major League Baseball - HOF 1967
Judge Landis - Commisioner - Commish of baseball for 24 years until he passed away in 1944 - elected to the HOF that year.
How awesome would it be to be able to get these cards autographed? I really think they would look sharp. Last 4 cards tomorrow.
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