MLB, minor leagues, historical anecdotes, even Yogi Berra quotes:
Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
Only in Florida... ...could there be a team (unironically) called the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
Love the minor League names. My son played on PONY League teams that used minor League team names...the Hammerheads (Jupiter FL) and also the Hooks (Corpus Christi) but no oxymoronic names used in the League. Somehow he ended up on teams with names related to the water. The Hooks logo is great.
When I was in grad school, the double-A team in town was the Captains -- a reference to old riverboat days. Some of my colleagues would go, mostly to hit the beer garden. =D Unfortunately, the club relocated or folded outright only a few years after I graduated.
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
Our PBS affiliate is showing Ken Burns’ “Baseball”. “Check your local listings for dates and times in your area.”
It’s weird looking at the older-style diamonds with the dirt track between home plate and the pitcher’s mound.
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
Even in sports, ya can’t necessarily believe what the media tells ya:
For the majority of the season, the fans and media had constantly rooted against Roger because of their tenured obsession with Mantle. The Mick was the darling of the Big Apple and had kept pace with Maris until a leg injury took him out of contention for Ruth’s record.
While the media portrayed the two talented teammates at odds with each other, those accounts couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Back in the 60s, they wrote’em up as enemies and you know how the press kinda likes to create controversy. But as the years went on we found Mickey and dad were really close friends. While they were playing, as well as off the field.”
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
I was saddened by the end of season collapse of the Phillies in their wipeout in Atlanta for a shot at the NL East title. I ended up with a free subscription to the MLB app when I switched to T-mobile in the spring, and I've watched more Phillies games this year than any time in my adult life. I might think about paying them for it next season. Since I'm out of the Phillies TV market here in Oregon, I'm not restricted on any game feeds.
"All glory to the HypnoTrump, or else..."
"It all makes sense when you remind yourself that the GOP is no longer a political party but turned into an organized crime family"
"You are always at a disadvantage with a kidnapper who is willing to kill the hostage without hesitation"
"I hope to live long enough that the name Trump is reviled as much as the name Hitler or Stalin"
I was saddened by the end of season collapse of the Phillies in their wipeout in Atlanta for a shot at the NL East title. I ended up with a free subscription to the MLB app when I switched to T-mobile in the spring, and I've watched more Phillies games this year than any time in my adult life. I might think about paying them for it next season. Since I'm out of the Phillies TV market here in Oregon, I'm not restricted on any game feeds.
My husband's beloved Red Sox are giving him heart palpitations. He has been paying for the MLB app for several years because he can see them play regularly.
Only in Florida... ...could there be a team (unironically) called the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
I liked the Savannah (GA) San Gnats so much I bought a tee shirt. I have an Albuquerque Isotopes polo. The Isotopes are the leading minor league memorabilia sellers because they are Homer Simpson’s favorite team. Sentimental favorite: Toledo Mud Hens
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Rev Martin Luther King Jr.
Obamacare took my guns away and put me in a FEMA reeducation camp. Anonymous
Calumny is only the noise of madmen. — Diogenes
When you have no basis for an argument, abuse the plaintiff. Marcus Tullius Cicero
What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate. Donald Trump
Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card playoff game. My husband is one happy fan. Beating the Yankees is everything...almost better than winning the World Series.
We're going to a wedding this weekend back East that will be filled with Yankee fans. He's looking forward to that.
Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card playoff game. My husband is one happy fan. Beating the Yankees is everything...almost better than winning the World Series.
We're going to a wedding this weekend back East that will be filled with Yankee fans. He's looking forward to that.
The appropriate quote for the end to the Yankees' season:
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Rev Martin Luther King Jr.
Obamacare took my guns away and put me in a FEMA reeducation camp. Anonymous
Calumny is only the noise of madmen. — Diogenes
When you have no basis for an argument, abuse the plaintiff. Marcus Tullius Cicero
What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate. Donald Trump
Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card playoff game. My husband is one happy fan. Beating the Yankees is everything...almost better than winning the World Series.
We're going to a wedding this weekend back East that will be filled with Yankee fans. He's looking forward to that.
(Wicked evil grin) re the upcoming encounter with Yankees fans.
Don’t the Sox have to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the upcoming round? TBH, I can’t get overly excited, since the Rays didn’t even exist until well after I graduated from college, but they’re still the closest MLB team to me, so Go Rays!
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card playoff game. My husband is one happy fan. Beating the Yankees is everything...almost better than winning the World Series.
We're going to a wedding this weekend back East that will be filled with Yankee fans. He's looking forward to that.
(Wicked evil grin) re the upcoming encounter with Yankees fans.
Don’t the Sox have to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the upcoming round? TBH, I can’t get overly excited, since the Rays didn’t even exist until well after I graduated from college, but they’re still the closest MLB team to me, so Go Rays!
Yeah and the Sox will lose, but they kept the Yankees from advancing!
At the table yesterday, Dear Son tells me, "Buster Posey is retiring."
Me: Huh? Who?
DS: You know, as in "Buster Posey Field", where we played the playoff game back in May.
Me: Oh! Now I remember. (looks up story, sees where player grew up in North FL)
I guess I didn't appreciate that the dude's alma mater was so impressed by his accomplishment of making the bigs (or he donated enough $$$) that they named the field after him while he was still playing...
Granted, I know of at least one HS field in FL named after a former Major Leaguer, so maybe the other isn't too farfetched...
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
At the table yesterday, Dear Son tells me, "Buster Posey is retiring."
Me: Huh? Who?
DS: You know, as in "Buster Posey Field", where we played the playoff game back in May.
Me: Oh! Now I remember. (looks up story, sees where player grew up in North FL)
I guess I didn't appreciate that the dude's alma mater was so impressed by his accomplishment of making the bigs (or he donated enough $$$) that they named the field after him while he was still playing...
Granted, I know of at least one HS field in FL named after a former Major Leaguer, so maybe the other isn't too farfetched...
Yeah, he will probably be a Hall of Famer. People here in Northern California are in mourning over his retirement. And that name and his face are straight out of a Saturday Evening Post cover by Norman Rockwell.
Labor troubles brewing for MLB, the first since before many of MLB’s current players were even born. Nothing like a lockout to keep the fans interested in the offseason, amirite?
Baseball fans need to buckle in for a long winter.
The Major League Baseball collective bargaining agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, 2021, marking the first time since 1994 that the deadline has passed without a new agreement being reached. Now, the league has locked out the players and frozen all transactions until an agreement is reached.
There is still a lot of offseason left, but when can people expect a new deal to be signed off?
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
Labor troubles brewing for MLB, the first since before many of MLB’s current players were even born. Nothing like a lockout to keep the fans interested in the offseason, amirite?
Baseball fans need to buckle in for a long winter.
The Major League Baseball collective bargaining agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, 2021, marking the first time since 1994 that the deadline has passed without a new agreement being reached. Now, the league has locked out the players and frozen all transactions until an agreement is reached.
There is still a lot of offseason left, but when can people expect a new deal to be signed off?
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association intend to hold multiple bargaining sessions -- perhaps every day -- as early as Monday, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
While exact plans are not finalized, multiple owners and players expect to fly in for sessions leading up to MLB's stated Feb. 28 deadline.
Meanwhile, a bargaining session between MLB and the players' union lasted just 15 minutes Thursday and produced little progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.
Meanwhile, the college teams in this part of the world begin the season this weekend, and the high schools have season openers next week.
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
Meanwhile, the college teams in this part of the world begin the season this weekend, and the high schools have season openers next week.
I just happen to be in Omaha right now, and my friend drove me around the new stadium where the college baseball world series is held every year. That's a big event here, and the park (from the outside) looks as modern as any major league venue. It can hold 24,000 and expand to 35,000 spectators.
"All glory to the HypnoTrump, or else..."
"It all makes sense when you remind yourself that the GOP is no longer a political party but turned into an organized crime family"
"You are always at a disadvantage with a kidnapper who is willing to kill the hostage without hesitation"
"I hope to live long enough that the name Trump is reviled as much as the name Hitler or Stalin"
Meanwhile, the college teams in this part of the world begin the season this weekend, and the high schools have season openers next week.
I just happen to be in Omaha right now, and my friend drove me around the new stadium where the college baseball world series is held every year. That's a big event here, and the park (from the outside) looks as modern as any major league venue. It can hold 24,000 and expand to 35,000 spectators.
From what I gather, TD Ameritrade Field is quite the facility. The former CWS home, Rosenblatt Stadium, is hallowed ground to some folks…
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
This was supposed to be the first weekend of Spring Training. All over Florida, places like Charlie’s Family Restaurant in Lakeland would be serving breakfast with a side order of baseball chatter.
Instead, it’s mostly just the regulars who are dropping the cozy joint in a strip mall. It’s just up the street from Joker Marchant Stadium, where the Detroit Tigers train.
Nobody’s sitting around Charlie’s debating whether Javier Baez will be the answer at shortstop this season. They’re wondering if the season will completely pass them by.
[snip]
Decision hits hardest in Lakeland
That's not a concern in Gainesville. Even with NIL and player empowerment, the Gators aren’t going on strike. It’s a huge deal in places like Fort Myers, Clearwater, Sarasota and Lakeland.
Especially Lakeland.
Detroit has been training there since 1934. There was a lot of buzz that spring about Hank Greenberg, who’d hit .301 as a rookie the previous year.
Other franchises hopped around Florida over the decade, and most have headed south. In the past few years, the Astros left Kissimmee, the Braves abandoned Disney World and the Nationals said good-bye to Viera.
The Tigers haven’t budged. Frostbitten Michiganders packing up and heading to Lakeland is a tradition that will hopefully never end.
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
I am kind of torn about it. On one hand I am generally pro union and workers rights. I feel that the wealth of a business is derived primarily out of the efforts by its workers. In this sense baseball is no exception to this. Its worth comes directly from its talents. On the other hand it is hard to get too worked up over a fight between millionaires and billionaires. The average salary in MLB is $4.17 million a year, a median of $1.15 million and a minimum of $563,500. It means the fans will foot the bill as the owners will not yield a dime from themselves. Baseball is one of the circuses of Bread and Circuses and it is being ripped from the hands of the average person. It is one thing to say you are willing to pay an extra $.50 or whatever for a burger if the burger flipper gets a living wage, it is entirely another matter if a ticket becomes so expensive that it is more than you are willing or able to afford.
Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn't freedom, it is adolescence.
"To get your playing more forceful, hit the drums harder." — Keith Moon, May 6, 1967, Melody Maker magazine
On the other hand it is hard to get too worked up over a fight between millionaires and billionaires. The average salary in MLB is $4.17 million a year, a median of $1.15 million and a minimum of $563,500. It means the fans will foot the bill as the owners will not yield a dime from themselves.
People get super excited when some hitter gets a $200 million contract. Then they complain about $20.00 beers. The owners aren't paying the hitter, the fans are.
When the new Yankee Stadium was built and prices were revealed, someone calculated you could fly to Seattle, watch a game from behind home plate, stay for a weekend at a high end hotel for LESS than the cost of similar seats at Yankee Stadium.
We've been to a couple of minor league games in Texas and New Mexico, Small stadiums, nice facilities, intimate seating. One exception is Coors Field in Denver. Some of the ground level seats are 10-15 dollars. Box seats about halfway up $20.00. Beers still cost a lot, but you didn't break the bank getting to the seat
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Rev Martin Luther King Jr.
Obamacare took my guns away and put me in a FEMA reeducation camp. Anonymous
Calumny is only the noise of madmen. — Diogenes
When you have no basis for an argument, abuse the plaintiff. Marcus Tullius Cicero
What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate. Donald Trump
Baseball is one of the circuses of Bread and Circuses and it is being ripped from the hands of the average person. It is one thing to say you are willing to pay an extra $.50 or whatever for a burger if the burger flipper gets a living wage, it is entirely another matter if a ticket becomes so expensive that it is more than you are willing or able to afford.
Unfortunately, it’s going the way of the NFL, NBA, and (in the Power Five, anyway) college football and men’s basketball—the live entertainment is going to be exclusively for the corporate titans and celebrities. Even the upper middle class is getting priced out of tickets to many events.
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez
We've been to a couple of minor league games in Texas and New Mexico, Small stadiums, nice facilities, intimate seating. One exception is Coors Field in Denver. Some of the ground level seats are 10-15 dollars. Box seats about halfway up $20.00. Beers still cost a lot, but you didn't break the bank getting to the seat
My baseball attendance (outside of college and Dear Son’s school) is scant. Caught one Yankees’ Spring Training game when they were still doing it in Ft. Lauderdale (late ‘70s) and one Phillies game at the Vet during the awful mid-‘70s. Chem PhD, however, has seen the Pirates play in all three home venues of the last century—Forbes Field in the ‘60s, Three Rivers in the early ’80s, and PNC Park (with Dear Son & yours truly) in 2019.
I liked the modern venue of PNC Park. The seats weren’t outrageously priced and afforded a good view of the field…and downtown Pittsburgh across the river. Concessions weren’t cheap, but I wouldn’t say it was overpriced for what you got, either.
(About fame) Living for likes, shares and follows is a form of validation. The question is whether it is also the source of our self esteem. If it is, we’re screwed. And, culturally, it seems as if it’s become more and more our shared value. ... Meringue is no longer a sweet and pretty topping but the body itself. ~Charles Perez