Tagged: pete rose
Goodbye Yogi – Baseball Legend Dies at 90
Photo via Neilleifer.com
As some of you know, I’ve been writing a book for the past year…make that almost two. Yes, I may have underestimated how long this takes.
I interviewed 50 ball players and personalities, many of them Hall of Famers. There are three I’m the most proud of. Sitting with George Brett in the President’s box in Kauffman Stadium ranks up there. Interviewing my childhood idol, Dave Winfield also makes that top list, as does my interview with Cito Gaston. Ok, maybe I have more than three favourites. But this interview I hadn’t mentioned to many people. This one was very special, and I was planning on keeping as a surprise. Well, perhaps now is an appropriate time to say that it was Yogi Berra, and let us all take this time to say goodbye to a baseball legend.
Yogi was a man who beat the odds. What do I mean? Just like Pete Rose was told, Yogi was probably too small for baseball, at 5’7″ and 185 lbs. The Yankee catcher would go on to hit 358 HR’s over his 19-year tenure, being selected to the All-Star team 18 times! He was also a 13-time World Series Champ, and won the MVP 3 times. Not bad for 5’7″, eh?
I was talking to a seasoned veteran baseball writer back when my book was just an idea, and mentioned I wanted to interview Berra.
“You need to be more realistic”, he said. “Yogi doesn’t do interviews anymore”.
Well that was true, as I discovered. But I persisted, and Yogi agreed to an interview via his son Dale, who asked Yogi my questions for me. I asked Yogi to tell me the funniest conversation he had on a baseball field. This was his response:
In St Louis, playing against the Browns, the temperature was in the high 90’s and Casey made me catch both games of a double header. I started arguing every call the umpire made in an effort to get thrown out…the umpire said to me, “Yogi, you can curse me and call me every name in the book, but if I’m staying out here, you’re staying, so shut up!”
Shortly after my interview with Yogi had been completed, Yogi’s wife Carmen passed away. 18 months later, the great Yankee slugger has joined her.
Yogi was perhaps most famous for his hilarious stories and sayings. “It ain’t over ’till it’s over”, is perhaps one of the best known.
Well, it ain’t over Yogi.
Your legend will live on forever.
Is Video Replay Ruining Baseball?
Pic via @MarcSRousseau
In the off-season, baseball changed some rules. The changes were meant to improve the game. The collision rule at home plate was meant to prevent serious injuries such as the one that was the beginning of the end of Ray Fosse’s career at the hands (or should I say helmet) of Pete Rose in 1970, and more recently (2011) the collision that ended Buster Posey’s season. While catchers blocking home plate has been a part of the game for so long, I can see the upside to the new rule.
The other change was implementing video replay to help overturn blown calls at pivotal times in the game. Traditionalists might say that you’re taking away a natural part of the game – human error. This very same human error cost Detroit pitcher Galarraga a perfect game in 2010, and also cost the Blue Jays a triple play in the 1992 World Series.
What video replay has done for the time being, is take away an element of the game which if for no other reason provides fans with entertainment value. When an ump blows a call (or appears to) in the past the manager would fly out of the dugout and argue the call. Sometimes, these arguments would turn heated, complete with yelling, swearing (one magic word supposedly gets you tossed instantly), kicking of dirt, tossing of bases (Lou Piniella), and ejections from the game. While I’m not an advocate of abusing the umpires, some might even say that a manager getting tossed can be a ploy to fire up his team.
Sweet Lou’s soccer skills (pic via nydailynews.com)
Sweet Lou turns a base into a projectile (pic via 90feetofperfection.com)
Sweet Lou performs his patented cap kick (pic via chicago-cubs-fan.com)
You just spit on me! (pic via bullpenbrian.com)
Will we ever see these arguments again?
Over the course of the past few games, baseball has seen many calls challenged via video replay. Some calls have been overturned, which means the rule change was a good one, right? Sure, but what we’re seeing now, is a manager taking a slow stroll out to the ump, and talking about anything non baseball-related while waiting for a signal from his dugout (who are waiting for the team in their video-control room to let them know if the call was blown or not).
So…do you like fishing? (pic via sports.nationalpost.com)
This slows the game down even more, and let’s be honest: it’s a really slow game already.
Here’s what I propose: give the manager a challenge flag, like in football. Give them a time limit in which they are allowed to challenge a call (say, before the next pitch). And if a manager is still looking for a way to get tossed, they can argue balls and strikes. That way we’re not having more conversations about what to get Jimmy for his wedding, because you can only talk about candle sticks for so long before things get awkward.
Indiegogo Baseball Book Campaign – Tales From The Batter’s Box
Click here to donate and learn more about the campaign.
For the past few months I’ve been keeping a secret, and I’m finally able to share it with you. I’m writing a book! This is a huge deal for me – I’m pouring my heart and soul into this project, and I’d love for you to be a part of it in some way. Read below for more details.
This book — this campaign, is the next step, and a very important one for me, towards a career in baseball. This is an opportunity for me to realize a dream, and create something special for baseball lovers and story lovers alike. This book will be a compilation of many unique stories based on interviews I conduct with current and former MLB professional players, female professional players from the AAGPBL (1943-1954), and a few special guests, such as Babe Ruth’s Granddaughter, Linda Ruth Tosetti. I have connected with George Castle, a baseball historian and author of 11 baseball books. He has covered baseball for 35 seasons, based in Chicago. George will be my historical reference for the book.
Learn more here: http://igg.me/at/TheDugout
What the funds are for:
I’ve been presented with the rare and incredible opportunity to attend and cover as accredited media personnel, three separate baseball events this season. In Kansas City, The Negro League Baseball Museum will be having their inaugural “Hall of Game Ceremony”, inducting their first ever “Hall of Famers”. In St. Louis, the Cardinals organization with be unveiling their new Hall of Fame Museum in their Ballpark Village, for which I have been invited to the Ribbon-cutting Ceremony. And in Iowa, The Field of Dreams Movie Site (made famous by Kevin Costner) is hosting their Team of Dreams Event, a charity softball tournament that last year had 14 former Major League Baseball stars (including 10 Hall of Famers) participate. I will be conducting interviews at each of these events for my book.
The funds being raised will go to cover the cost of:
– Travel
– Accommodations
– Audio & Video Equipment Purchase/Rental
– Book Cover Layout & Design
– Costs associated with publishing
Donate here: http://igg.me/at/TheDugout
The Rewards:
In addition to tons of digital rewards such as interview clips and an opportunity to be a guest on my show The Dugout, I also have baseball memorabilia rewards such as baseballs autographed by Fergie Jenkins and Matt Stairs. Linda Ruth Tosetti (Babe Ruth’s Granddaughter) has autographed some baseballs and prints, and I’m also including some beautiful limited edition Blue Jays prints from Chris Ripley at BlueJaysArt.ca.
More details here: http://igg.me/at/TheDugout
The Blue Jays Dugout 