Category: MLB

I had the opportunity over the weekend to be in Texas and to see two MLB baseball games between the Texas Rangers and the Colorado Rockies. I had never seen the Rockies play in person, so it was a neat experience from that perspective. Also, it gave me the chance to see Michael Cuddyer play, who is in his first year with Colorado.

Michael came up through the Minnesota Twins organization, and started his professional career playing for the Ft. Wayne Wizards in the late nineties. We got to know him at that time, and we will be doing a story on his career in an upcoming posting.

I have truly gained a loving affinity for the Rangers ballpark. It is a great place to watch baseball. My son Joey, who works for the Rangers, will always take me on a special tour, and it is fun to see different parts of the stadium from an employee’s perspective.

If you get the chance to go there and watch a game, there is a new Monument to see that is right outside of the West entrance. A statue has been erected that commemorates Fathers and their children going to the ballpark. The statue is also a memorial to Shannon Stone.

About a year ago, Stone and his son were attending a game there. Early in the game, as Josh Hamilton was running off the field at the end of an inning after making a play, he harmlessly tossed the ball towards Stone and his son, as he has done countless times with fans throughout his career. Tragically, as Stone went to catch the ball, he lost his balance and fell over the railing in front of him, and he fell about 20 feet to the concrete below. As he was quickly attended to by emergency personnel, his last words were that he was asking about his son (who was 6 yrs. old), and if his son was alright. He passed away a short time later at a local hospital.

The statue is a touching reminder as to how fragile that life is. Things can change in the blink of an eye. Live life to the fullest with the ones that you love, and do it each and every day.

 

Last Monday night, I had the pleasure of being at the Oakland Coliseum to watch a baseball game that presented quite a bit of intrigue for me.

Jarrod Parker, from Norwell High School is Ossian, Indiana (NHC Conference Member), was going to be going to be pitching against my beloved Texas Rangers.

If you recall, it was back in 2007 that Parker led Norwell to the state championship, who had an unblemished 35-0 record. He was then drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round (top ten) of the amateur draft. Arizona traded him to Oakland this past off season.

Parker was dominant from the get-go. He was in total command, as he had the Rangers off balance and hitless through the first seven innings.

Going into that seventh inning, Parker had thrown 103 pitches. He had three innings to go, and not a lot of pitches left if he was going to throw a no-hitter. Manager Bob Melvin had to be squirming on the Oakland bench as he probably knew that Parker most likely wouldn’t be able to finish the game, whether the no-no was intact or not.

When Parker got through the seventh inning by retiring Texas on only 4 pitches, the door was still cracked, if only slightly, that Parker might be able to finish the game.

The Athletics certainly have to be very careful with the health of Parker’s valuable right arm. He has already had “Tommy John” surgery, and they certainly can’t take any chances by stretching him out any further than need be.

So with having thrown 107 pitches, the 8th inning got under way. One of the best contact hitters in the game, Michael Young, led off for the Rangers. On the first pitch, Young shot a hard grounder up the middle for a clean single. In the blink of an eye, the no hitter was gone.

Oakland won the game 12-1. Parker got the win. (Melvin took him out shortly after the Young base hit).

It was a performance to remember by “one of our own” from NE Indiana. Happy to say, I was one of the one’s there to be able to enjoy it in person.

I originally published this story a few months back, and since that time, Omar Vizquel has announced that he will be retiring at the end of this season. During that time, both Jeter & Rodriguez have moved up a few notches on the all-time hits list, but Omar’s name still is not highlighted. It’s somewhat hidden down there near the bottom of top 50 of all time.

With the baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies this weekend, I just wanted to take this opportunity so say once again what a travesty it would be if Omar Vizquel were not elected to the Hall of Fame when his time comes. In five years. On the first ballot.

As Peter Griffin of “Family Guy” has been known to say, I saw something this morning that really “grinds my gears.”

There was a list in a local publication that had the top 50 hits leaders of all time in major league baseball. Out of those 50, players still active were listed in bold print. Sitting at 19 was Derek Jeter, and sitting at 47 was Alex Rodriguez. That was it for current players.

Taking a closer look, in 45th place, in non-bold print mind you, was Omar Vizquel. Omar is still a utility infielder for the Toronto Blue Jays.

This “omission,” somewhat describes Vizquel’s career, always flying “under the radar.”

If you have followed Omar when he burst onto the scene as shortstop of those Cleveland Indian great teams of the mid to late nineties, you realize that simply put, no one compares to Vizquel when it comes to playing the position.

Besides being the best fielding shortstop in the history of the game, Omar has amassed almost 3000 base hits.

It will be a travesty if Vizquel does not end up in Cooperstown when his playing days are over. I certainly hope that not doing back flips on the diamond keeps him out of “the hall.”

I had the opportunity to attend a Texas Rangers-Cleveland Indians game at “Progressive Field” in Cleveland over the weekend.

In my heart, this stadium is still “The Jake.”

Having witnessed many a game at this facility after it opened in 1994, most of the time it was in an SRO environment. The Indians sold out over 400 games back during that period.

So on Saturday night, in a game between 2 division leaders, with the Rangers having won the past 2 American League pennants, the Tribe had their second biggest “crowd” of the season, at a little over 21,000.

Where are the fans? The Indians have a number of fine young players, and also sport a number of wily veterans.

Is it apathy? Do the people care? Is there that much animosity towards the owners? How is the team marketed to the public?

These are all legitimate questions. The only thing that I know is this. If I lived in the area, I would attend some games and stay behind this team.

In case you don’t know, they are for real, and are in it for the long haul.

Anyone around my age who grew up in NE Ohio loving baseball, probably had the opportunity to go to a Cleveland Indian’s game at the “old mistake by the lake” in Cleveland.

I actually use that term with true affection, as I enjoyed many a Summer night watching my beloved Indians play.

I saw my first game in July of 1965 with my Dad and 2 brothers, as we went to see my favorite player, Sam McDowell, pitch against the defending American League champs, the New York Yankees.

McDowell pitched a gem, as he shutout the Yankees, 3-0. My second favorite player, Leon Wagner, even hit a home run. Along the way, Mcdowell struck out Mickey Mantle 3 times.

During most of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, it was mostly futility for Cleveland, as the Indians rarely had a winning season. Along the way though, many great memories with many great friends took place in that ballpark.

Over the course of a 5-6 year period, I saw the Indians sweep 5 doubleheaders, when DH’s were still in vogue. I missed seeing a no-hitter pitched not once, but twice by one day during those years. (Sonny Siebert & Dick Bosman)

I even witnessed Nolan Ryan’s last win in the Major Leagues in August of 1993 at the Stadium.

I think back on those years fondly, as they were times of great enjoyment.

I know that when people talk old ballyards, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Tiger Stadium are always mentioned prominently.

But in my heart, Cleveland Stadium will always be the best.

As I mentioned in a previous article, I had the opportunity to go to Comerica Park in Detroit this past Friday to watch the 2nd game of the Rangers-Tigers series. It was a rematch of last year’s ALCS.

Matt Harrison of Texas would be facing Rick Porcello in what promised to be a very good pitching match-up.

About an hour before game time, the rain started coming down. Even though it wasn’t a downpour, it was steady, and the radar didn’t look good.

While it was delayed, I had the chance to walk around and take in the amenities of the ball yard. It was my first time visiting Comerica, and it was an impressive venue. Even during the storm, there were plenty of places to seek protection from the elements, and be quite comfortable at the same time.

After about 90 minutes or so, the powers that be decided to postpone the game. Even though being disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to see the contest, it was a great opportunity to spend a little more time with my son who was on the road with the Rangers.

I love baseball, but I love spending time with my boys even more.

I love baseball. Always have, always will.

I love all of the quirky little things about the game. You can go to a game and have the opportunity to see something that you’ve never seen before, or has rarely happened. (I.E. perfect game this past weekend)
with that being said, something has to change as far as the usage of replay during a game.

There is no reason that baseball couldn’t implement a system similiar to football, where a coach gets at least one “challenge” per game.

The technology is available, let’s use it to make things “right.”

Even though I’m a Texas Rangers fan, having a replay challenge available to Detroit manager Jim Leyland in last Sunday’s game against Texas would have given the officials the ability to see that a bunt with the bases loaded and the game on the line bounced off the knee of the Texas hitter before rolling into fair territory.

The ball was ruled fair, and the go ahead run scored for Texas.

Mr. Selig, please tear down that wall that exists for not being able to use replay on plays such as this.

This will be my first update on Major League baseball for the just underway season. I had the opportunity to attend Spring Training in Arizona a few weeks back. I saw the Cubs, the Giants, the Reds, the Angels, and the Texas Rangers up close and personal.

My first observation that stuck out were the smooth swing and hitting production of the Cubs Alfonso Soriano. He homered in the game that I saw, and looked good in his other at bats. Can this continue and keep up for the entire season?

Also, I had the chance to watch Yu Darvish of the Rangers throw an inter-squad game. He has very good “stuff.” He was impressive in the 6 innings that he threw. I’ll have the chance to see him in a real game against one of the most lethal lineups in baseball this Friday as I’ll travel to Detroit to see the Rangers take on the Tigers.

At this point, the Texas Rangers are the team to beat. They are on a mission to win it all this year.