Ron Pexa: What About That Call?
On December 8, 1941, before a joint session of Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his address asking for a declaration of war on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor the previous day, began with eleven words that have echoed in history, "Yesterday December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy." And infamously that date has ever since been known.
Last week, on August 14, something in the back of my mind was nagging at me that had some especially infamous significance in the game of baseball, something that I finally recalled when discussing with a friend this year's three way National League Central pennant race involving the first place Cubs, second place Brewers, and third place Cardinals. With only about 35 games remaining to be played this season, reminders of an infamous date may make even the most optimistic Cubs fan a bit nervous. On August 14, 1969, the Cubs had a season best 9.5 game lead over the Mets in their quest to become the first National League East pennant winner, thereby giving them their best chance to return to the World Series for the first time in 24 years. Infamously for Cubs fans, on the following day the Baby Bears began what was to become one of the worst pennant collapses in Major League baseball history. After only thirteen days, the red-hot Mets had pulled within two games and finished the season on October 2nd with an 8 game lead over the second place Cubs. The Cubs had lost 14 of their final 20 games thereby helping the aptly christened "Amazin' Mets" win their first pennant of any kind and go on to an eventual World Series victory over the Baltimore Orioles in 5 games.
Interestingly enough, the Cubs and Cardinals have both been involved in four other historical pennant collapses in their storied histories, each however coming out on top over a team that faded badly down the stretch. In 1934 the New York Giants became the first team to enter September with a seven-game lead and lose the pennant. The Giants went 13-13 for the month while the Cardinals finished at 21-7 giving them the N.L. crown by two games.
On September 4th, 1938 the Pirates also led the Cubs by seven games. But thanks to a September record of 22-7 and Gabby Hartnett's famous "homer in the gloamin" in a September 28 6-5 victory over the Pirates, the Cubs won the pennant by 2 games.
On August 5th, 1942, the defending National League champion Brooklyn Dodgers had a 10 game lead over the second place Cardinals. St. Louis won 43 of their final 51 games finishing with 106 victories and the N.L. pennant. The second place Dodgers 104 victories made them the team with the most wins in American Major League history by a team that did not make the playoffs.
In late September of 1964, the Phillies led the Cardinals by 6.5 games with 12 remaining to be played. Philadelphia proceeded to lose 10 in a row and St. Louis finished 9-3 giving them their first National League crown in 18 years by a game over the Phillies who finished tied for second with the Reds. If the Cardinals had lost to the Mets in the final game of the year, they would have ended the season in an unprecedented three-way tie for first with the Phillies and Reds.
This weeks question comes from Ben in Waterloo who gives this base running scenario. "A runner on first with less than two outs runs as the pitch is thrown to the plate. The batter hits a deep fly ball which is caught and by this time the runner from first is nearly to third base. Can the runner be put out by touching second base before the runner touches second on his way back to first?" No. Rule 7.10 states "Any runner shall be called out, on appeal, when- (a) After a fly ball is caught he fails to touch his original base before HE or his ORIGINAL BASE is tagged. (b) With the ball in play, while advancing or returning to a base, he fails to touch each base in order before HE or a MISSED BASE is tagged." Therefore since the runner between second and third didn’t have the opportunity to retouch second on his return to first before second was tagged, it can't be considered a "missed base". Either the runner or first base would have to be tagged to make the put out.
In another couple of months the baseball season will be behind us and football will be in full swing, so in coming weeks, both baseball and football will share time in this column. As many of you may recall in my first column, any alleged "expertise" this writer may have tried to convey has come from 25 plus years refereeing and umpiring football, basketball and baseball. I don't know about you, but the dwindling number of baseball games remaining to be played is somewhat of a downer. Baseball has and always will be my favorite sport, perhaps because it coincides with summer and all the other outdoor activities it brings. My passion for the game of baseball reminds me of something President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, befitting of anyone who truly loves the game. "When I was a small boy in Kansas", Eisenhower reminisced, "a friend of mine and I went fishing. I told him when I grew up I wanted to be a real Major League baseball player. My friend said that he'd like to be President of the United States. Neither of us got our wish."
Copyright 2008 by The East Iowa Herald
Drink the DH Kool-Aid...Drink It, I Say!
On Apr. 6, 1973, Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees became the first designated hitter in American Major League Baseball history. Thank God.
Watching a pitcher attempt to hit a baseball is like watching John Goodman trying to squeeze into a spandex jumpsuit. It ain't pretty. It's been 35 years. It's time to get over it. All you National League fans and so-called baseball "purists", please take your seat at the table and drink the Kool-Aid. It's surprisingly refreshing. Microwave ovens. Cable TV. iPods. Satellite radio. Oreo Cakesters. Chocolate Pez. It's called progress, people.
I, for one, have no desire to go back to a world in which I have to get up from the couch every time I want to change a channel on the TV, wait 45 minutes for a TV dinner to cook, or watch Luis Tiant swing feebly at a pitch that my grandmother could hit into the gap for a stand-up double.
The designated hitter makes baseball better. It makes it more interesting and more fun to watch. It adds to the enjoyment of the game. It makes your whites white and your colors bright. It tastes great and it's less filling. It's a floor wax and a dessert topping.
If I had a sister, I would want her to marry the designated-hitter rule and have its babies. And if you still aren't convinced, well, let me know your address, and I'll send John Goodman over to try on a couple of Ban-Lon tube tops. You'll cave.
Copyright 2008 Bleacher Report, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Little League coach teaches rules of baseball, and life
There are dozens of Little League coaches in Sonoma County. Every one commits loads of time and effort to teaching the arts of bunting and sliding and the lessons of life that youngsters can learn while alternately rejoicing and shedding tears over America's game, baseball. But one manager, John Perry, though perhaps shorter and softer-spoken than most, stands way out.
Perry has coached the major-division A's of Santa Rosa's Westside Little League for 35 straight seasons. He was 22 when he agreed to help his brother-in-law coach a team; now he's 56. Unlike most youth-sports coaches, Perry has no children. He treats as his own the fortunate 186 kids who've played on his teams since 1974. Every Mother's Day, Perry snips clean the rosebushes in the yard of his west Santa Rosa home and gives the roses to his players to present to their moms.
Every Christmas, long after the close of the Little League season, he hosts a holiday party and gives the boys hand-personalized gifts, nice ones. He insists that the 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds thank their parents, in writing, for driving them to practices and letting them be in Little League. Even before the kids join the team and become Westside A's, they know by reputation that Perry demands effort, punctuality, respectful behavior and good sportsmanship.
"I give them words that they have to look up in the dictionary: Integrity. Responsibility. Morals," Perry said.
He may be the only manager-coach in Sonoma County who requires that his players wear the traditional stirrup-style baseball socks. "They just look like baseball," he said. Perry instructs and quizzes his players on the fundamentals and history of baseball and takes them to see their big-league counterparts at Oakland A's games.
He had trouble finding practice fields years back, so he built his team a Field of Dreams -- complete with corn stalks out beyond the bases -- on an assistant coach's pig ranch on Scenic Avenue. Former Westside A's player Matt Corby, 19, said that to this day he cannot smell manure without his mind turning to baseball.
And coach Perry keeps the most astounding records. You can ask him how many bases Mitch Nott stole in 1977 (34) or how many errors Ben Morinaga committed at shortstop in '07 (none). If he doesn't remember (and chances are he will), he'll find the answers in his binder of hand-written records documenting the performance of all his 186 players through all their 894 games.
"People think I'm nuts," Perry said. So be it. He works nights, coating glass at JDS Uniphase, the former OCLI. He gives his days to Little League and the kids who play it.
"We learned a lot from him," said former base-stealer Nott, now 43 and working for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. He made us work pretty hard," Nott said. "He stressed the fundamentals. He puts a lot of time into it. I can't even imagine how much time he puts into it."
Former second baseman Corby, now a sophomore at Harvard University, said Perry
really was tough. "My third season with him, our team got off to a terrible, 0-5 start, the worst A's start in something like 21 years," Corby said. "He pounded that into us, over and over and over, perhaps too much.
But we began to win, and we ended up winning 17 straight games after that, which I think is somewhere in the record book."
"The bottom line is that John really, really cares," Corby said. "The A's are his life, and he takes his job as coach very seriously."
Another of the 186 kids Perry coached was Brett Callan, who later switched to basketball and was a standout at Petaluma's Casa Grande High School when he died in the crash of a friend's car in 2004.
"It would have been nice to see him grow up," Perry said. "He was very respectful. I think he would have been someone very special."
L.J. Callan said his son "just wanted to please John. He always tried his hardest just so he wouldn't let John down.John Perry is one of those people who command respect, rather than demand it."
Efren Carrillo, who grew up in southwest Santa Rosa and at 27 is running for Sonoma County supervisor, played on All-Star teams coached by Perry 15 and 16 years ago.
"This guy cares about baseball, but beyond that he cares about children," Carrillo said. Out on Little League fields, "You don't see that as much as you'd wish."
Another longtime Perry admirer is Mel Arnerich, the former Santa Rosa High baseball coach and minor-league player who helps run T&B Sports.
"Baseball is just the tool he uses to teach kids about life," Arnerich said. "He's just a quiet guy, he's so unassuming. He's totally not in it for himself."
"A community needs to appreciate a contribution like this," Arnerich said. "There's such value to what John does, intrinsic value. Like the credit-card commercial says, it's priceless."
Perry knows he can't coach Little League forever.
"There's got to be a time when I've got to finish it," he said. But right now he's working on the boys' Christmas gifts and laying plans for the 2009 Westside A's.
Copyright 2008 PressDemocrat.com
Muted rivalry led by mellow skippers
It would be simple to claim the Giants/Dodgers rivalry has eased.
The heightened expectations of climbing over the other en route to the postseason are muted this season with only the Dodgers currently looking the part of a playoff contender. The Giants continue to search for an identity in the post-Barry Bonds era and their substandard record has made them mostly active as players in the Trade Deadline market.
Even the fans settled into a warm summer evening at Dodger Stadium on Monday, not with the edge of watching a heated rival but more with the calm that surrounds the simplicity that is baseball. Gone are the days of Juan Marichal taking a bat to the head of catcher John Roseboro, instead replaced by catchers Bengie Molina and Russell Martin exchanging greetings in the top of the second inning. Dodgers outfielder Reggie Smith once went into the stands at Candlestick Park, but the scene as the Giants opened a three-game series against the Dodgers saw Dave Roberts and Mark Sweeney catching up, and coaches Mariano Duncan and Roberto Kelly sharing a laugh.
So despite two teams that brought with them a rivalry that was born in the boroughs of New York and became strictly Californian as they migrated West a half-century ago, the current iteration is defined less by animosity and more by circumstances. That would be the standings in the National League West, where the Dodgers have a dog in the hunt as they chase the Diamondbacks, a team they trail by a game.
The winningest franchise in American Major League Baseball history notwithstanding, the Giants' main goal on the year could very well be trying to avoid suffering their second straight last-place finish. The Giants haven't been to the postseason since winning the NL West in 2003, while the Dodgers last earned a playoff berth as a Wild Card in 2006 but are looking for their first division title since 2004. While their paths are seemingly headed in opposite directions as the baseball season approaches its final third, the Giants and Dodgers are each guided by managers who project a similar quiet yet firm demeanor.
The Giants' Bruce Bochy is more country, born in France where his dad was stationed in the Army, but reared in Virginia and Florida. Joe Torre, the first-year manager of the Dodgers, is all city, a product of Brooklyn.
One has horse sense, the other is street-wise but each leaves little question as to who is in charge. Torre put it simply when pressed on the handling of a star player who is currently struggling.
"I treat baseball players like people," Torre said.
A novel concept, especially in a stats-driven era in baseball that is fueled by ever-escalating salaries, but it's exactly why Torre and Bochy are both respected practitioners of a job that aptly reflects its title. Torre had talent aplenty in New York, but it was his ability to juggle the demands of owner George Steinbrenner and an omnipresent press corps while keeping his clubhouse focused mostly on baseball that not only produced four World Series titles but allowed Torre to enjoy a 12-year run in the Bronx. Bochy also spent 12 years at his former gig as manager of the Padres. And while the media glare in San Diego is often the curiosity of a lone reporter, Bochy developed a reputation as a player's manager. That, along with the climate, was a reason veterans often put the Padres high on their list of preferred destinations.
The two also hooked up when both were in their previous jobs. That was in 1998 as the Padres and Yankees played in a World Series that resulted in a sweep and produced the second of four titles for Torre. In their new jobs (Bochy is in his second year in San Francisco), each man has a sense of calm and not simply one bred from experience but is a by-product of perspective. It is not uncommon for some managers to throw batting practice or swing a fungo during infield, but Torre and Bochy more often prefer to take a step back and observe.
The Giants/Dodgers rivalry has not dissolved -- the derisive chants by the loyalists in blue proving to the contrary as the Dodgers picked away at a seven-run deficit Monday. Torre even got tossed by first-base umpire Greg Gibson during an argument following Casey Blake striking out. But the 2008 version, at least, has mellowed for the moment and is reflective of two managers who let their players play and allow the scoreboard to be the true indicator.
2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Kaline to partake in All-Star festivities
Add Tigers legend Al Kaline to the list of Hall of Famers who will be at Yankee Stadium for next week's All-Star festivities.
Major League Baseball released its latest list of Hall of Famers scheduled to attend, including the man known by many in Michigan as "Mr. Tiger." MLB is trying to have as many living Hall of Famers as possible take part in this tribute to Yankee Stadium, which is hosting this year's Midsummer Classic in its final season. So far, more than 40 Hall of Famers have been announced. They'll participate in the All-Star Red Carpet parade up New York's Sixth Avenue along with the current All-Stars on Tuesday, July 15, prior to the game. Kaline became the youngest batting champion in American League Baseball history when he won the crown in 1955 at the age of 21. He was just getting started. He had 3,007 hits, 399 home runs and 10 Gold Glove Awards over a 22-year career spent entirely in Detroit. He was selected to 15 All-Star Games.
Kaline currently works for the Tigers as a special assistant to team president Dave Dombrowski and is a valued voice in the front office. The 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage. XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game.
2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
Church hosts former Yankee for free baseball clinic in McCandless
For three years, Coleman Mazur has been trying to perfect his fastball. A trip to church, so to speak, and a morning at the side of a former major league pitcher opened his eyes.
"There are a lot of little things that you don't notice unless you have a professional looking at you," said Mazur, 15, of Ross, who pitches and plays first base for North Hills Federated Baseball. "Like, I kept dropping my elbow a little. I never knew that. It's been a fun experience."
About 50 aspiring baseball players learned at the knee of a former New York Yankees pitcher this week during the first Iron City Baseball Clinic. Sponsored by Iron City Church, the free, three-day clinic for children in grades one through 12 brought Aaron Small to McCandless to teach teens and children how to do their best on and off the field. Small pitched a 10-0 season with the Yankees in 2005. He was drafted at 17, weeks after graduating high school, by the Toronto Blue Jays. His career included stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins and Oakland Athletics, along with numerous minor league teams. His 10-0 season, the first in Yankee history and one of only four 10-0 starts in American Major League Baseball history, came just as he was about to walk away from the game.
"I told God I was sorry for having such a bad attitude about life, and then this all started," said Small, 36, of Loudon, Tenn. "He let this happen."
The clinic is part of Iron City's "revolutionary love ministry," said pastor Tommy Duke. The church, which meets every Sunday at North Allegheny Intermediate High School in McCandless, encourages its members to show no-strings-attached love to their neighbors. For instance, Duke said, members will pass out bottled water with a card briefly explaining the ministry to people in North Park, or purchase coffee for the customer in front of them at Starbucks.
"Sometimes the church gets known for taking instead of giving," said Duke, 30, of Ross. "The Jesus I read about in scripture is about giving. All he asks is to follow him. We're using this just to give back."
Small's visit coincides with the Yankees' first visit to Pittsburgh since 1960, when Bill Mazeroski hit a World Series-winning home run for the Pirates. But neither Duke nor Small knew until recently that the clinic would be during the Pirates-Yankees series. Small said he hoped to teach the children about more than just baseball during their three days together. "I hope to encourage them," he said. "I can talk about baseball and Jesus all day long. We're going to hit balls and have fun. I want them to know, hey, there's people from Tennessee that care about you and that Jesus died on a cross for you."
M's dump GM Bill Bavasi
Five seasons into a game plan gone up in smoke, the Mariners finally pulled the plug on general manager Bill Bavasi. But the big question remaining after Bavasi's firing on Monday was exactly how much of his blueprint will remain intact going forward. The Mariners, with the worst record in baseball, will now determine whether they are still only a handful of players away from contending next season. Or, just as likely, they might decide to blow the existing roster to bits and start all over again.
"I'm not going to pull your leg and sit up here and tell you that two or three guys are going to make a big change," Mariners chief executive officer Howard Lincoln said at a news conference Monday. "I don't know. What I'm saying to you is that we're going to make whatever changes are necessary to get this thing turned around as quickly as possible. And nothing's off the table."
That could involve several players being moved out of Seattle as the July 31 trade deadline approaches. The Mariners have named associate GM Lee Pelekoudas, a longtime front-office employee with the club, as Bavasi's interim replacement. Mariners president Chuck Armstrong will oversee the search for a new GM, with Pelekoudas among the candidates. But Armstrong doubts a new GM will be named until after the season because some potential candidates have existing commitments to other clubs. For the time being, Armstrong said he'll be keeping a closer than usual watch over any player moves contemplated by Pelekoudas. But this doesn't mean the Mariners will balk at making such moves.
"Not necessarily," Armstrong said. "But we might be active the other way. We may, instead of trying to acquire players, we may find some good fits (with other clubs) where we can help ourselves (by trading players)."
Among the first players to go could be first baseman Richie Sexson and designated hitter Jose Vidro, in the final years of their contracts. Both have underperformed this season and are more likely to be released than traded. Trade candidates could include starting pitchers Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista, all under contract through the 2009 season. Arthur Rhodes could also generate interest, given that left-handed relievers are often at a premium come trade-deadline time.
"It's still early to say what direction we're going to go in," Pelekoudas said. "I'm here to look forward at this point in time. Trying to dissect what's wrong with this team performance-wise, or how it was put together, I'm not going to do that. We do have to figure out what's wrong in moving forward. In that regard, the first thing, in my estimation, is that the team has just flat-out underperformed. I think there's more talent on this club than it has shown on the field."
Pressure had been mounting for the team to make a move as the losses piled up. Last week, the Mariners fired hitting coach Jeff Pentland, but fans continued to blame the team's collapse on Bavasi, its architect. Fans commenting Monday on seattletimes.com weighed in heavily in favor of the decision to fire Bavasi. Bavasi had losing seasons in three of his first four campaigns after taking over as GM in 2004. But he'd increased the team's win total from 63 to 69 to 78 in those seasons. Then, after Lincoln announced that Bavasi would be on the "hot seat" last year, he earned another season when the Mariners unexpectedly won 88 games and finished second in the American League West. Ownership committed USD 117 million to this year's payroll and signed off on a controversial Bavasi trade last February that sent outfielder Adam Jones, reliever George Sherrill and three minor-leaguers to the Baltimore Orioles for left-handed starting pitcher Bedard. But not even halfway through the season, the Mariners are 24-45 and on pace to become the first team in major-league history to lose more than 100 games with a payroll of more than USD 100 million.
"Clearly, the high expectations that we had for the team going into the season have fallen by the wayside," Lincoln said. "And it's clear that we need new leadership, a new direction and a fresh approach."
The Bedard deal might have ultimately sealed Bavasi's fate. Bedard was supposed to be a staff "ace" but is struggling to go six innings per outing and has a pretty ordinary 4-4 record and 4.14 earned-run average. Bavasi spoke at length with reporters in his own news conference, also held at Safeco Field. He displayed some humor when asked if he'd do anything over differently.
"In retrospect, maybe I should have put a chain on the (clubhouse) door and torched it," he said with a smile. Bavasi admitted to being beyond frustrated with the turn of events. He feels the club has the talent to do more.
"They've learned to become dysfunctional, though," he said. "And they have to unlearn that."
Lincoln wouldn't single out any player for blame. Nor would he give a vote of confidence to current manager John McLaren. "Quite frankly, as I sit up here, I'm really not in the mood to sing the praises of anybody in our clubhouse," Lincoln said. "Whether it's the manager, the coaches or the players. It's a very fluid and difficult situation that we find ourselves in. But I expect John and his coaches and his players to get going and to do what is necessary to turn this thing around as quickly as possible. If that doesn't happen, we will make further changes."
Copyright 2008 The Seattle Times Company
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