Watching Ichiro Suzuki has been a real joy. He’s made at least 200 hits in each of his nine American Major League seasons, and that’s pretty damn impressive.
But what is also cool is the response this got him back home in Japan, particularly in high praise from THE all-time home run hitter, Sadaharu Oh.
Congrats Ichiro!
Candidate for Father of the Year.
I’d like to think I’d be as cool with my first caught foul ball being thrown back. Either way, nice reaction from the dad there.
Remember when pitchers were expected – and trained – to work hard so they wouldn’t crack under the pressure of a pennant race?
Yeah, I really don’t either.
Interesting concept. I might try to get some folks together and try it the next time I plan on breaking my neck tripping over a broom.
(I could do with better coordination is the point I’m trying to make.)
For some reason, people love to perpetuate the myth of the idyllic small town. Usually, such myths are used as a comparison to the evil, hedonistic, crime-ridden big cities. In small towns, so the myths go, neighbors cheerfully help one another, work hard, do their shopping on Main Street, and everyone lives a simpler, happier, more moral existence than, say, effete East Coast intellectuals.
The truth is that the myth of the idyllic American small town is by and large dead. Wal-Marts have rendered Main Street storefronts all but abandoned, family farms have long gone bankrupt or been rendered useless by multinational corporations, drugs and crime are sky-high, and people are hostile, distrustful, and bitter.
SportsByBrooks covers violent high school football hazing in a small Kansas town.
Stephen Strasburg may be the second coming of pitching, but having known asshole agent Scott Boras onboard makes me like him a whole lot less as a human being.
Apparently, I’m not the only one.
There have been some gruesome injuries both at the plate and the mound in recent days. Here’s a quick look at them and some commentary.
Normally, I give any story by Mike Pesca a wide berth but he’s usually pretty reliable when it comes to baseball. So I listened to – and enjoyed – this story concerning the origin of the box score.
You want to know why I think Bud Selig is the worst thing to happen to baseball since organized segregation? This is why.
There is a reason the Black Sox aren’t in the Hall of Fame. Most, if not all, of them cheated. The end. To even think of reinstating Pete Rose, after he affected the outcome of some games, is just vile.
I don’t care what you think of the guy personally or even his career. He cheated. As a manager capable of affecting the outcome of a game.
So yeah, keep him out. Keep out the steroid freaks if you can too. I even liked Sosa but come on. You have to draw a line somewhere.
Caple has a pretty good interview with Randy Johnson, covering his long career and his (hopefully soon) 300th win.
I’ve always liked Johnson as a player and was glad to see him get a World Series ring in what I argue is one of the best World Series ever played, particularly for the time in which it was played.
That said, it’s really hard to forget the bird incident: