The Baseball Thread!!!

[ChadR]

Sad to hear about Seaver. Never got to see him pitch live. Best I ever saw pitch live was Nolan and Randy Johnson. Got to see Nolan pitch twice. Saw his start right after he won his 300th game. Never had I rooted harder for him to get a no decision than I did for the game before we got to see him pitch.

[fenders53]

It was always fun when Gaylord Perry pitched. I never thought he was all that extraordinary but he did win 300 games. Spitters were part of his mystique. He just wore the umps out. They knew he was probably hiding a small amount of vaseline or hair tonic somewhere, and just didn't want to deal with it every game. Just part of baseball lore. He admits he cheated a hell of a lot though.

[fenders53]

(09-03-2020, 09:13 AM)ChadR Wrote: Sad to hear about Seaver.  Never got to see him pitch live.  Best I ever saw pitch live was Nolan and Randy Johnson.  Got to see Nolan pitch twice.  Saw his start right after he won his 300th game.  Never had I rooted harder for him to get a no decision than I did for the game before we got to see him pitch.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-c...er-report/

I think you just got dissed.  Pretty sure the Rangers aren't eliminated yet but it's already a presumed neutral site.  

[NilesMike]

(09-03-2020, 12:31 PM)fenders53 Wrote: It was always fun when Gaylord Perry pitched. I never thought he was all that extraordinary but he did win 300 games. Spitters were part of his mystique. He just wore the umps out. They knew he was probably hiding a small amount of vaseline or hair tonic somewhere, and just didn't want to deal with it every game. Just part of baseball lore. He admits he cheated a hell of a lot though.

I have the same opinion of Gaylord -not extraordinary but the record says otherwise. He was a helluva pitcher through the 60's and early 70s with 2 Cy Youngs .

I did always love the theatrics around the spitter.

[fenders53]

(09-10-2020, 07:10 AM)NilesMike Wrote:

(09-03-2020, 12:31 PM)fenders53 Wrote: It was always fun when Gaylord Perry pitched.  I never thought he was all that extraordinary but he did win 300 games.  Spitters were part of his mystique.  He just wore the umps out.  They knew he was probably hiding a small amount of vaseline or hair tonic somewhere, and just didn't want to deal with it every game.  Just part of baseball lore.  He admits he cheated a hell of a lot though.  

I have the same opinion of Gaylord -not extraordinary but the record says otherwise. He was a helluva pitcher through the 60's and early 70s with 2 Cy Youngs .

I did always love the theatrics around the spitter.

I looked a little closer and he was actually still pretty impressive the first few years I was old enough to follow baseball.  His winning % is what gives the appearance he was just above average, but he had a nice run of 18-24 win seasons.  Many years on non-contending teams, and he pitched about four years too long.  

I think the mystique of the spitter was just to get in the opposition's head.  Hitting requires concentration, and it was a distraction.  Not to mention a managerial staff trying to catch him cheating.  I do remember him getting busted once.  He had a wad of vaseline under the brim of his hat.  Wasn't even being particularly sneaky about it that day.    Probably purposeful.

[NilesMike]

Things seemed more fun in those days.

Speaking of which, I know you're in Iowa and I'm not sure how far from Byron Illinois you are, but if you ever get a chance, go to the Meltdown Drags. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...yRNTd8nuTE


My brother and I went 2 years ago and it was an absolute blast!!
I even commented to him that, for us anyway, that was the Golden Age. Drag racing was the rage, Beach Boys, color TV on the come, bodybuilding's Golden Era, space launches. Now things don't seem to have that same feel.

[fenders53]

(09-10-2020, 08:39 AM)NilesMike Wrote: Things seemed more fun in those days.

Speaking of which, I know you're in Iowa and I'm not sure how far from Byron Illinois you are, but if you ever get a chance, go to the Meltdown Drags. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...yRNTd8nuTE


My brother and I went 2 years ago and it was an absolute blast!!
I even commented to him that, for us anyway, that was the Golden Age. Drag racing was the rage, Beach Boys, color TV on the come, bodybuilding's Golden Era, space launches. Now things don't seem to have that same feel.

I love drag racing but I skipped it this year.  I need to get the stang in the garage this winter.  It doesn't need much but I parked it this year to avoid the expense.  The engine I built is too much for the drive train so I just run it a half dozen times a year and I'm sure to bust it at least once.  Warn me next year and I'll meet you at Byron.  I run at Cordova.  It's 20 minutes away.  

Yeah sports seemed more fun back then but it may be because we were young.  The Twins are exciting to watch now.  They bring the stadium to life.  They play and celebrate like 18yr olds trying to win a state championship.  The old man Nelson Cruz is like the MN Baseball Messiah.  He brought confidence to a bunch of kids.

[NilesMike]

Will do!

[fenders53]

(09-10-2020, 09:39 PM)NilesMike Wrote: Will do!

Is it always the same date?  I'm sure I could answer that question myself. 

[ChadR]

(09-09-2020, 02:08 PM)fenders53 Wrote:

(09-03-2020, 09:13 AM)ChadR Wrote: Sad to hear about Seaver.  Never got to see him pitch live.  Best I ever saw pitch live was Nolan and Randy Johnson.  Got to see Nolan pitch twice.  Saw his start right after he won his 300th game.  Never had I rooted harder for him to get a no decision than I did for the game before we got to see him pitch.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-c...er-report/

I think you just got dissed.  Pretty sure the Rangers aren't eliminated yet but it's already a presumed neutral site.  

Yeah, we're going for the worst record in our history and the #1 pick in next year's draft.  But at least we're getting the World Series.  They love to kick us while we're down.  Though as long as we have Jon Daniels as our GM, we're going to be down for a long time.

[fenders53]

(09-11-2020, 09:04 AM)ChadR Wrote:

(09-09-2020, 02:08 PM)fenders53 Wrote:

(09-03-2020, 09:13 AM)ChadR Wrote: Sad to hear about Seaver.  Never got to see him pitch live.  Best I ever saw pitch live was Nolan and Randy Johnson.  Got to see Nolan pitch twice.  Saw his start right after he won his 300th game.  Never had I rooted harder for him to get a no decision than I did for the game before we got to see him pitch.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-c...er-report/

I think you just got dissed.  Pretty sure the Rangers aren't eliminated yet but it's already a presumed neutral site.  

Yeah, we're going for the worst record in our history and the #1 pick in next year's draft.  But at least we're getting the World Series.  They love to kick us while we're down.  Though as long as we have Jon Daniels as our GM, we're going to be down for a long time.

I wish they would allow fans for you.  I like the decision though.  No weather issues, and half the MLB cities are likely hot spots for rioting.  And NO I don't want this thread to get political.  It's just our reality for at least a few more months.  Baseball doesn't need any more challenges this year.

[ken-do-nim]

Red Sox fan here. I did get to see Pedro Martinez pitch a couple decades ago, but I happened to pick a day when he had to be pulled after 5 innings because his arm/shoulder was balking. He was a very frail pitcher.

Best game I ever went to was when the Red Sox played the Mariners. The Mariners had a great ballclub back then, but they didn't have much of a bullpen. It was a crazy game; Ken Griffey Jr surprised everybody by trying to bunt for a base hit. By the end of the game, the Sox were down something like 5-4 but Nomar Garciappara came up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th and hit a grand slam. We all chanted "MVP! MVP!" as he rounded the bases. It was probably 1998.