Feeling Sorry For Kershaw?

 

I really like the style and ability of  Clayton Kershaw. I love to watch a true power pitcher perform is magic on the mound. And this season has seen him put together one of the most dominant seasons in the history of the game. He was so impressive, I expect he will be named league MVP as well as the Cy Young winner for the year. His stats led to him being compared favorably with Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson.

I saw both of those men pitch in person, even paid for Standing Room Only to see Gibson pitch in the the Astrodome in 1968. They were both impressive. But the thing that keeps Kershaw separated from their stratosphere is his inability to win in the playoffs. Tonight was the last game of the season for Clayton and the Dodgers because the Cardinals beat him again to clinch the series and a trip to the LCS, just as they did last year. This game tonight was a chance for Kershaw to take the next step in chiseling out a place in history. Leading in the 7th, Kershaw gave up a 3 run home to Matt Adams and went on to lose the game. He did not put the opposing team away. When the money was on the line in their day, Koufax and Gibson were deadly during the post-season.

I hope Kershaw gets to a World Series and does well, but for now, I kinda feel sorry for him. A little.

A Case of Mistaken Identity?

A couple of days ago, I received a phone call from a man I could hardly understand. I asked that he email his request so I could study it. Here is what I received:

Dear Rev.Bryant ,

Nice to speak to you this morning .
I am working for a Japanese Television called " TV Asahi " .
My name is Hideyuki MIyauchi .
TV Asahi has a weekly informational program called " Shiru Shiru MIshiru "( literally translated " To see is to know ") .

Their next subject is " What is the better ball to fly further by a baseball bat ? "
This is a kind of scientific research .
They like to invite you to Japan to hit various balls at s studio if you can .

They offer the cost of staying in Japan : trip , meeting , shooting , trip back .
The date they will shoot up to you soon as possible .

About your guarantee or donation to your church is up to you .
Please let us know .

I am sorry to bother you by a strange offer .
We have still a lot of your fans in Japan .

If you are willing to accept this offer , please let me know soon as possible .

Thank you so much for your time .

Best ,

HIdeyuki MIyauchi

Upon reading the missive, I realized that this executive thought he was speaking to the former Major League and Japanese League home run hitting star, not some old hotcornerhasbeen. I replied that I would be happy to accept his offer, but I thought he would be disappointed to discover he had found the wrong Ralph Bryant.

Remembering Robin Roberts

May 31 1957 was a magical night for a young baseball fan from South Texas. My family was visiting my mother's family in Bordentown, New Jersey for a couple of weeks. My dad and my uncle took me to Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia to see my first Major League game in person.

The Phillies' pitcher that night was the awesome right-hander Robin Roberts. He was in the midst of 6 consecutive seasons of 20 wins. And he was facing the Brooklyn Dodger with their awesome line-up, Gilliam, Cimoli, Snider, Furillo, Hodges, Campanella, Neal, Zimmer, and the Don Drysdale as the opposing pitcher.

The game lived up to my imagination. There was excellent pitching and defense. There was a majestic by the great Dodger catcher, Roy Campanella, off the top of the stadium. But Roberts only gave up three hits, pitched a complete game and got the win. For years after that magical night I would want to be a second baseman like Junior Gilliam. And, in my mind, I would pitch, copying Robin Roberts and throwing the perfect pitch in the pressure situation.

Robin Roberts passed away yesterday. But the memory of his mastery will live as long as I do!

Johnny Neun Quote!

I just read a quote by a man who was in his late eighties and still swinging his fungo in spring training at the time. Johnny Neun had played in the 1920's for Ty Cobb and managed the Yankees and Reds. Young players today would do well to listen.

"It is important to remember how careful you have to be about the way you live your life. It's to your advantage not to do too many things off the field that interfere with your life on the field. You turn on the TV and you hear that some committee or other is investigating things out of someone's past and lives get ruined. When you play this game, you're in the public eye. I once heard a great poet say that if you're going to go public with your life, your life belongs to the public. Be careful with our life. In the long run the thing that's going to be the most precious to you, the thing you're going to treasure all your life, is your peace of mind."

Dig in and make sure you get the full benefit of your natural ability. Only a few of you are going to make the Big Club. But for the others, you ought to be able to leave saying. "I gave it my best." Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about things you have no control over. Do it this way and someone may walk up to you and say, 'you're the one."

Opening Day At Minute Maid '10!!!

Opening Day has been a huge part of life for my wife and I. We have celebrated 43 anniversaries, 42 of them at Opening Day for the Astros. The only time we missed was when we celebrated our 35th in New York City. We just returned from the 2010 edition.

Roy Oswalt started for the 'Stros against Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, the reigning back to back Cy Young winner. Oswalt pitched creditably, but not well enough to avoid the loss. He gave up three runs in his six innings of work, while Lincecum did not allow a run in his seven innings of work.

Houston did not hit the ball hard very often tonight. Carlos Lee had a line drive off the wall in left, but the next well struck ball was in the 9th inning when J. R. Towles had a double to left center field to drive in the second run of the evening for Houston.

There were not too many bright spots for the over 43,000 in attendance. I wonder how many fans will be in the stands tomorrow.

Fantasy For the First Time!

I cannot believe I did so, but I signed up to participate in fantasy baseball on ESPN.com. I was watching a show during lunch time that was promoting the leagues and how to draft players and compete. It is all free, so I decided to give it a try. The league I joined is going to draft tomorrow morning, so I should have my initial roster by this time tomorrow and then I will start wheeling and dealing with the waiver wire and the free agents to try to upgrade my bench and pitching rotation!

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Competition in the Air

Right now there is extreme competition going on in at least a couple of realms. One is the NCAA basketball world. March Madness is just beginning and will infect the country for the next three weeks. The jockeying for a place in the 65-team tournament field is important to the athletes and to the institutions for which they play. The players will gain fame, and in many cases, fortune based on their performance in the pressure games against the best talent. And, of course, the colleges and universities that play in the tournament get to share in the revenues generated by the spectacle. Talk about competition!

And in the spring training camps for the major league baseball teams there is a lot on the line for the young players and the marginal players trying to make a roster. The money for a major league player is substantial, but for a minor leaguer, it is much more difficult to make ends meet. And for the younger guys, there is the worry that their talents may not allow them to fulfill the dream they have had for as long as they can remember.

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Pujols & Pedroia

The most valuable players in the National and American Leagues, respectively, are Albert Pujols and Dustin Pedroia. They are not similar in stature, Pujols is big and powerful, Pedroia is diminutive--physically! But both are intense competitors and the heartbeat of their teams. I think the voters got it right this time.

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I Got My Taco

Taco Bell had a promotion going that offered a free taco to everyone in America if someone stole a base in the first game of the World Series. Jason Bartlett of the Rays became a favorite of many fans when he stole second in the game. The give away was between 2 and 6 today. So I picked up my grandsons at school and drove through the local taco bell and picked up our freebies!

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Go Rays!

After the blown seven run lead in the seventh inning of game 5 of the ALCS, I was not sure the young Tampa Bay Rays would be able to hold off the veteran Red Sox. But they did.

I have long been a National league fan, and almost always pull for the National League representative in the World Series, even if it turns out to be my most heated rivals, the Cardinals. But this year I am enchanted by the story of the Rays sudden rise to greatness. So, GO RAYS!

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Network Nightmare?

The executives at the networks are probably not very happy about the outcome of the American League Championship Series. No doubt they would rather have had the Red Sox in the World Series. But the previously lowly Tampa Bay Rays have upstaged the Sox and are going to play the Phillies. I am usually a National League fan, but this time around I want to see the youngsters in Tampa win the whole enchilada!

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Infuriating!

Since 1998 I have hated the staggered playoff schedule that has, until this year been limited to the first round of the baseball playoffs. That year the Astros played the Padres in the first round and lost to Kevin Brown. Because of the extra day off that was inserted between game one and game 2, Brown was able to come back earlier than he would in the traditional format.

Now they bigwigs of baseball have bowed to the TV gods again and allowed a break in the LCS schedule that should not be there! Tampa Bay is on a roll and should not have to take a day off, allowing extra rest for the Sox' pitchers!

It is infuriating!

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Evacuate or Go To The Ball Game?

I have tickets to the games scheduled for Minute Maid Park tonight and tomorrow night. But Hurricane Ike is heading toward us and I live in Galveston County. The community next to us has been issued an evacuation order because it is in danger from a storm surge. I will go to the game tonight, but I wonder if the game Friday will be postponed. If not, take me out to the ball game...

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Baseball In the Newspapers!

I was out of the country for a few days in the middle of this month. When I got home I realized one of the reasons I love late February so much. It is because baseball has started!

When I opened the newspaper this morning to the sports section, I found a whole page filled with stories about what's happening at the Astros' spring training camp. In the wintertime there are so many days without even a mention of baseball in the newspaper that it always gladdens my heart be able to open and read about the game and the players in the hopes for the season.

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I Have Seen Quite A Few Major League Ball Parks, But Not All!

I wrote some time ago about driving from Houston to Chicago just so I could see a ball game in Wrigley Field before they put lights up on the stadium. I made that trip alone. At various times in my life I have seen games in Philadelphia, Kansas City, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Baltimore & San Diego.

When I moved to the city in which I now live, I found a friend who also loves baseball. He and I travel together to see games at various stadiums around the country. We have been to Dallas, Detroit, Toronto, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New York, Montreal, Boston, Cleveland, San Francisco, Oakland, as well as Cooperstown to see the Hall of Fame.

There are still several Major League cities I have yet to see. Plus there are new ball parks in some of the cities, so I get to go back to them to compare the old stadiums to the new ons.

And I need to see Wrigley with lights!

Like Old Times At the Ball Park

I took three of my grandchildren to the ball game at Minute Maid Park in Houston today. Before the game we went down to the rail near right field, while the Cardinals were taking batting practice. I used to do that with my girls and they frequently were able to persuade a player to give them a ball.

This afternoon a ball came to rest about 25 feet from where we were standing. A Cardinal with Flores on the back of his jersey came over to retrieve it. My 7 year old grandson shouted, "Mr Flores, would you throw me the ball, please?" Flores, a relief pitcher, I think, tossed the ball to the boy, who shouted, "Thank you sir."

A few minutes later one of the Astros' rookie pitchers, Chris Sampson, came down the rail signing autographs. As he approached us, another ball came to rest about 6 feet from us. When Sampson got to us, my 11 year old granddaughter asked him very sweetly, "Mr Sampson, would you mind giving me that ball, and signing it for me?" He could not resist. It sure reminded me of her mother 35 years ago.

So did the 2-1 pitcher's duel. That is the kind of game we saw all the time in the Astrodome!

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Thirty Runs!

When was the last time you saw a Major League game in which one team scored thirty runs? You never saw such a game! Not unless you are well over a hundred years old. The last time it happened was in 1897! But the Texas Rangers did it to the Orioles!

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It Was The Beer!

Do you like Shaggy Dog Stories (groaner jokes)? Here is one for you!


Do you know about Mel Famey? He was a great pitcher in the major leagues back in the Roaring 20’s. Famey was an incredible talent, his fastball was legendary, no one liked facing him. He had a wicked breaking pitch, and a change up that was devastating to batters. His control was pin point on all three pitches and his arm was never sore.

One year, on the next to the last day of the season, he pitched a shut out and won, to put his team in a tie for the league championship. After the game, Mel and some of his friends went out to celebrate. And that was always a problem for Mel Famey. He did not know when to quit drinking. He loved his beer. When his teammates went back to their hotel to get ready for the final game of the season, which would determine the championship, Famey continued his binge. After all, he would not pitch the next day. Or so he thought.

Famey came to the stadium the next day with a ringing hangover. He felt awful and was hardly aware that the game was a real battle. His team was ahead by one going into the ninth inning. But the opponents were able to get a couple of runners on base. Mel’s manager called for him to get loose. He wanted his best pitcher on the mound to put down the rally and secure the championship. He was unaware that Famey had really tied one on the night before.

By the time he got his arm loose, the bases were loaded with two out. So Mel came to the mound needing just one out to be a hero. But it was not to be this day. Famey walked in the tying run and the winning score. He never regained his success.

In an interview with the winning team’s manager, a newspaper reporter asked what had happened. The manager knew Famey’s reputation as a heavy drinker. He told the reporter what he believed, “It was the beer that made Mel Famey walk us!”

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On the Way to Opening Day!

My Wife and I celebrated our 40th anniversary on Saturday! On our first anniversary we did not have much money, and it was opening day at the Astrodome, which at the time was still very new and the place to go, even more so for a baseball fan! We could buy tickets for $4 each back then, park for $.50 and eat for $5--both of us! WE continued to go to Opening Day for our anniversary till it became a tradition with us. We have only missed two Opening Day games with the Astros since 1968, one when we took a cruise for out 25th and one when I took her to see Beauty and The Beast on Broadway for our 35th.
Today we debarked from a cruise to Cozumel at 10:15 in Galveston. We dropped off our dirty things at home, took a shower and now we are off to see the Astros open the season against the Pirates!

This is Wedded Bliss!

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1987 Rookie Cards

The card sets from 1987 are all rich with rookie cards of very significant players. THe rooie cards of Will Clark, Bo Jackson, and Barry Bonds were important at the beginning of the card trading year. Others became valued more as the year progressed and in the years since. Rafael Palmeiro and Greg Maddux have had great careers. One of the most sought after cards by the end of the season was Kevin Seitzer's Fleer Rookie card.
More about that card in another blog.

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