Ty Cobb Not a Notorious Racist?

A new biography makes the case that Cobb was libelled by a previous biographer, Al Stump.

And a review of the new biography by The Boston Globe can be found here.

The new biography is Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty.

Don'tcha Just Hate It When That Happens

José Canseco, who shot his finger off while playing with a handgun, had it reattached surgically, but apparently with little success, as it has fallen off.

Read the whole sorry story at the link.

Ceremonial First Pitch: The Brutal Facts

Story.

Res ipsa loquitur, they say:

The Scrooge

Trying to bring the screwball back to Major League Baseball.

Don Zimmer, 1931-2014: R.I.P.

The colorful, much-traveled baseball lifer has died at 83.

Man spent 65 years in baseball. I remember him as the manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1978 when Bucky Dent sent one over the Big Green Monster and broke Boston's heart. Managed the Cubs into the playoffs, was Joe Torre's bench coach on 4 World Series teams...what a great character and ambassador for baseball.

Baseball and BBQ

Joined at Charlotte's new uptown baseball stadium.

h/t BBQ Brothers.

The Sort of Thing That Amuses Me

This:

Yah, it's offensive and in bad taste. Deal with it, or find another blog to visit.

Found here.

Gaylord Perry In Town Friday

In town to throw out the first pitch at the Charlotte Knights game.

Most famous for throwing the spitball, of course. The need for the spitball died when the split-fingered fastball was developed, which duplicated the action of the spitball (a fastball that drops like a rock as it reaches the plate) while being a legal pitch.

Perry's a NC native, has a home in Spruce Pine and a fishing shack on the Outer Banks.

What I Watched Tonight

Knuckleball.

A documentary film about baseball's most baffling pitch, and the men who pitch it. Follows the recent seasons of Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey, with lots of commentary by other legendary knuckleball pitchers such as Phil Niekro, Charlie Hough, Tom Candiotti, Wilbur Wood and Jim Bouton.

It's a tough pitch when it works. The pitcher who throws it can't predict what it will do; the batter can't hit it, very often the catcher can't catch it, and the umpire struggles to call it a ball or a strike. Legendary baseball funnyman Bob Uecker, who was himself a catcher, best describes the task of catching a knuckleball: "I wait until it stops rolling and then go pick it up."

The knuckleball will be in baseball as long as the game allows it; there will always be one or two pitchers with more determination than ego who will be willing to put up with the ridicule that comes along with reliance on the pitch. Junkballer, has-been; those are the usual accusations against the man who pitches the knuckleball.

If you've played catch you've probably experimented with it a time or two. There's a definite trick to making it work. It isn't just a slow pitch that falls into the dirt. When you throw one and it actually works your mouth will fall open and you'll gape like an idiot with surprise. A fun feeling.

Well worth the rental.

Stan Musial, 1921-2013: R.I.P.

A legend passes.

Stan Musial was simply known as "The Man."

That's where the Hall of Famer stood in the annals of the St. Louis Cardinals, the National League's most successful franchise, and in the hierarchy of Major League baseball.

Musial, 92, died Saturday, the second baseball icon to pass away in less than 24 hours. Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver died Saturday morning.

Musial had battled Alzheimer's disease in recent years and was under hospice care.

Musial was one of the greatest. Even Ted Williams, no slouch himself as a hitter, once confided to his son that he thought that Musial was a better player.

He Struck Out Babe Ruth

"Olney Ray ‘Lefty’ Freeman, 98, struck out Babe Ruth during Fayetteville exhibition in 1935."

Ruth, in his final game in North Carolina, walked twice, hit into a double play and was struck out by Freeman, who recently had begun experimenting with what he called his “underhand delivery.”

His first pitch in the sixth inning almost struck Ruth in the head, and the aging star dove to avoid being hit.

The next two pitches were wide, and the fans booed Freeman for not throwing a strike. Ruth missed a 3-0 sidearm curveball, fouled off another sidearm curve and swung so hard at the third strike, an overhand curveball, that he fell down.

I hope that goes on his tombstone: He Struck Out Babe Ruth. That's one select group of men, my friends.

And maybe, up in baseball heaven, the Bambino has bat in hand, saying, "Let's just try it again, Lefty." After which he and Lefty would have a beer and a hot dog, and swap yarns of their Earthly lives.

"Released To Their Parents"

One teenager was arrested, and two released to their parents, at a baseball game between St. Louis and San Francisco after they were caught flashing players with a laser.

The first kid might actually get a felony conviction out of it, with all the ruin of life that black mark brings to an individual; but what about the kids "released to their parents?" Will they receive anything more than a scolding or withholding of privileges? Once upon a time one's father would administer a spanking that would be memorable for its severity, a paddle, belt or switch being the usual instrument of correction. Maybe by the time you're 16 or 17 it wouldn't really hurt that much, but the shame of your father treating you as if you were an idiot (and you were, of course) would leave a more permanent mark than the spanking did.

For You Baseball Fans...

...Tommy John has a blog now.


As a sample, here is the story of Tommy's reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden. Tommy was on the last airplane to land at LaGuardia Airport on 9/11/2001, and saw the burning World Trade Center as his flight approached for a landing.

Tommy lived here in Charlotte for 14 years, working for the class-AAA Charlotte Knights during that period.

AZ Diamondback's Booger-Eating Catcher

But he has his limits.

Jeff Motuzas, Your Typical Bullpen Resident

Up In Baseball Heaven...

...the batters are having a bad day.

Robert Feller, Hall of Fame Pitcher and Navy Veteran, has died at 92.

Please Send Prayers Out To...

...92-year-old Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher and Navy veteran Bob Feller, in hospice care for treatment of pneumonia.

Sparky Anderson, 1934-2010: R.I.P.

Baseball manager, most famously for the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds teams of the 1970's.

He was a good 'un. He died early at 76, apparently of dementia. Good manager.

Treasure Blog: 1960 World Series Broadcast

Sometimes treasure is a horde of silver coins, sometimes it's a huge gemstone.

Other times, it's the recorded video of a long-ago World Series Game.

Singer Bing Crosby, who at one time was a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, had Game 7 of the 1960 World Series recorded by Kinescope video. After Crosby watched it (he didn't attend the game live because of superstition that his presence would "jinx" the team) the reels of film found their way to Crosby's basement wine cellar/vault. There they stayed until recently re-discovered.

Yes, they'll be re-broadcast, so you will be able to see this remarkable game.

I Always Preferred Ted Williams, Anyway

Newly revealed records indicate that Joe DiMaggio was a poor example of a soldier during WWII, even though he never saw battle and was assigned to duties that most men would be happy to have. He performed his duties grudgingly and tended to malinger.

Hey, Chaplain, Got a Sympathy Chit and a Key To the Weep Locker?

Mr. President, Who's Your Favorite White Sox Player?

All of 'em!*

h/t American Thinker.








*extra points for the person who identifies where I got this answer.